Hey everyone! Bookworm here. So here's the next chapter, hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything here. I wish I did. Then my last name would probably be Efron.

Troy slowly woke up and almost sneezed. There was something tickling his noise. And it smelled. Not an altogether unpleasant smell, just an unusual smell. Like hairspray and….. an unnatural super girly smell.

He opened his eyes and was immediately attacked by pink. Pink everywhere. Troy quickly closed his eyes. It was too bright for him. Too early. Where was he? He wasn't in his room, that room was covered with basketball pictures. He wasn't in Chad's room; normally he slept on the floor there. He was too high off the ground for that. He wasn't in Gabi's room, that room was – oh shit! Gabi.

Troy tried to sit up; fully intent on getting up and getting dressed, formatting a plan as he went. But something prevented him from springing up. There was someone draped across his body, her hair in his face. Oh, that would explain his need to sneeze. And the smell. And the pink. That was Sharpay, in her underwear, draped across his body. And he was in her bed, in her room, in his boxers. Shit. Yeah, they definitely slept together.

"Fuck." Troy muttered. Sharpay stirred at the sound of his voice. Her arms tightened around his waist, before opening her eyes and looking up at Troy.

"Morning Troysie." She said. Sharpay slithered her body up his, kissing him on the lips before sliding out of the bed, walking towards her closet. Troy's lips barely responded to her kiss but his body couldn't ignore the fact that a pretty girl was walking around in front of him in her skimpy underwear.

"Are you hungry?" she called from inside her walk-in closet before emerging in a short silk robe, not bothering to tie it.

"Um, " Troy said, "Well-"

"I'll order the cook to make some of those pancakes you like, the ones you had when you slept over a few weeks ago." Sharpay said, not waiting for his answer. She picked up the house phone that was on her vanity and started talking to her housekeeper in a quick low voice. Troy sat up in her bed, immersed in bright pink blankets and pink lacy throw pillows.

"Sharpay-"

"I'm so glad you cam over last night Troy." Sharpay said, her back to him as she faced her vanity mirror, brushing out her long blond hair.

"Sharpay-"

"I knew you would see reason eventually. I mean, ever since pre-school I knew we were meant to be together."

"Sharpay-"

The house phone rang.

"Hello?"

Troy got out of the bed as Sharpay started to talk on the phone. He looked for his clothes, checking under the bed, behind the door, on the chair.

Troy hoped he could gently tell her that this was a mistake. That he was sorry, but he had been angry and drunk and - . Troy got distracted by what Sharpay was saying on the phone.

"To Gabriella's? Why?"

Troy looked up at Sharpay, his search forgotten at these words.

"Okay." Sharpay said, her voice conveying how uninteresting she found this conversation. "Have fun. Though I don't see why you would want to go."

Troy froze, his mind imaging who was on the other end and what this conversation was about.

"Okay, fine have fun." She said, sarcasm dripping from every word. "See you later."

Troy slowly walked up to stand behind Sharpay who had gone back to brushing her hair.

"What was that about?" Troy asked, his voice coming out in a brisk tone, his shoulders tense. Sharpay didn't notice.

"Oh well, that was Ryan." She answered as she started to arrange her hair, looking at herself in the mirror from different angles. "Apparently he's going over to Gabriella's for the day."

"Why?" Troy asked through clenched teeth.

"Apparently staff day is cancelled and she's throwing some little party for the minor staff. You know the people that work in the kitchens, dining room, and poolside. All the manual labor staffers. How boring." She commented, pulling her hair into a high ponytail with a pink glittery srunchie. "It's better. Now the pool can be open to the guest. Ryan told me he already called Mr. Fulton."

"Oh."

"And Ryan is going over to Gabriella's early to help her set up." Sharpay nodded at herself in the mirror, apparently satisfied with her appearance.

"Why?" Troy asked, his hands slowly curling into fist, furious at the thought of the two of them alone together again.

"Well, apparently they are together now or something. I don't know, I wasn't really listening to him. He was babbling on about some kiss last night but whatever."

Troy's face darkened, but at that exact moment there was a knock on the door.

"Breakfast is here!" Sharpay jumped up from her seat and opened the door of the bedroom. Taking the tray from the maid, Sharpay shut the door and turned towards Troy.

Troy had walked up to her. Taking the tray from her hands, placing it on her vanity, he turned back towards her. Wrapping one of his large arms around her waist, he crushed her into him, kissing her roughly on the mouth. He pushed her back onto the bed and pulled off her robe. Again it happened, and again it wasn't gentle or loving. It was almost angry, almost cruel.

Ding Dong.

The sound of the doorbell echoed through Gabi's large empty house, making her jump in her seat on the couch where she had been sitting, and waiting for that noise. Gabi slowly started to walk towards the door, her hands playing with the hem of her skirt in nervousness. She knew who was behind that door but she didn't know if she was happy about it.

After agreeing to go to Chad's party with him tomorrow night, he had stayed for a couple of hours, the two of them making out like regular teenagers. And that had been, well Gabi could only call it weird. But it wasn't normal weird. Like Ryan was an amazing kisser, and it had been nice to just be able to make out with someone for fun. But normally, well normally she would be kissing Troy. And with Troy, Gabi's heart sped up just thinking about kissing Troy. With Troy, it wasn't just about making out. With one kiss, one touch, even just one look from Troy, she had felt his love, his passion, and his desire. With him there was never any hesitation, never any doubts. Forever. When she kissed Troy, she felt that this would go on forever. That is of course, until this summer.

Which lead her back to where she was right now, smoothing down her skirt as she stood in front of the door to her house. Taking a deep breath, Gabi reached out and grasped the shiny metal doorknob, opening the door to reveal Ryan standing on her doorstep.

"Hey." She said timidly, a little smile on her face.

"Hey" he replied, grinning. Ryan stood leaning against the doorframe, his hands jammed into his pockets. After a second, both of then just staring at each other, Ryan leapt forwards and wrapped his arms around Gabi's waist, completely encircling her small frame in his arms. He lifted her slightly off the ground and placed a kiss on her lips.

She closed her eyes and kissed him back. He really was a good kisser, and he smelt nice. But he still felt wrong. To thin, to bony, his skin too pale, his eyes to light. But Gabi missed being held, missed being kissed.

"Oh god," he whispered against her lips, "You taste like candy."

Gabi tensed up under his gaze, his words evoking a memory, her heart still breaking.

……Flashback……

Gabi giggled as Troy flipped over her couch.

"Ahh!" he yelled, a loud thump being heard from his side of the living room.

"Oh my god!" Gabi giggled again, the sight of her agile and graceful boyfriend sprawled out on her floor making her laugh. "Troy!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." He replied, sticking one hand up in the air. "But I might have just overdosed on candy."

Another giggle escaped her lips.

"You silly boy. You can't overdose on candy."

Troy rolled over and looked towards where she was sitting against the wall. His eyes filled with lust as he watched her sit there and giggle. Slowly he crawled towards her, his eyes never leaving hers.

Gabi watched him approach, her smile fading from her face. Instead she felt her knees go weak even though she wasn't standing. Her heart began to race, her breathing grew heavier.

When Troy reached her, his face inches from hers he gently kissed her.

"You taste like candy. I could never get to much of that taste."

………End Flashback…………

"What's wrong?" Ryan asked, feeling her body tense up in his arms.

"Oh nothing." She replied, pulling away. "Just a lot to do today before people get here."

"Hey." Ryan caught her hand in his, turning her body so that he could see her face. "We'll get it done. Don't worry."

Gabi smiled at him, the thoughtful, kind, cute, kissable boy, who simply wasn't Troy.

Ryan grabbed her hand, pulling her into the house.

"Okay Montez, what should I do?"

Chad bounded out of his car, a beach ball that looked like a basketball under one hand, 2 six packs in the other.

"C'mon Tay!" he called over his shoulder as he slammed the door. "I don't want to be late!"

Taylor climbed out of Chad's car, holding a platter of fruit in one hand and her beach bag in the other.

"Chad, we are not late! We just spoke to Kelsi and Jason who are still at his house, and Zeke and Martha are still both on their way."

"Yeah, but most of the other staff is here!" Chad shot Taylor a puppy dog look, his big brown eyes begging her to hurry up.

"Okay," Taylor replied, laughing at his eagerness. "Run ahead. I'll catch up."

Chad bounded up Gabi's driveway, jumping over the front steps and hitting the doorbell with his elbow, bouncing on the soles of his feet. Taylor walked up behind him, leaning over to give him a kiss on his check.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon." Chad muttered, "I'm so hungry."

"You're always hungry." Taylor giggled.

"Yeah, hungry for you." Chad replied turning towards Taylor with a huge grin on his face.

Before Taylor could reply, the door opened to reveal Gabi, in a cute, blue, knee length, sundress look happy and flushed. And right behind her, with a beer in his left hand and his right hand slung around Gabi's waist, his hand placed on her hip, stood Ryan.

Chad's smile faltered for a second, unused to seeing anyone except Troy standing next to Gabi. And he had never really liked the way that anyone but Gabi had looked standing next to Troy. But there, in the spot that Chad had reserved in his mind for his best friend, stood Ryan. Looking possessive and in charge. Only a light pinch from Taylor reminded him that he was staring.

"Hey Gabi, Ryan! What's up? I'm starving." Chad quickly pushed past them, heading to the back of the house. Gabi shot Taylor a confused look, as she had never seen Chad act like that before. Taylor shrugged her shoulders, not wanting to get into this conversation right now.

"Hey Gab, hey Ryan." Taylor said, walking into the house. "Where should I put this?"

"Cannonball!" Zeke yelled as he launched himself off Gabi's diving board.

"Ahh! Zeke!" Kelsi yelled as a splash of water got on her legs as she sat by the pool.

Sputtering, Zeke emerged from the water, laughing at Kelsi's scolding look.

"Boys." Kelsi muttered to Martha, loud enough for Zeke to hear. Martha laughed, nodding her head in agreement.

"So, who's bummed bout school starting Monday?" Chad asked from where he sat in between Taylor's legs on the pool chair.

"Ugh. Don't remind me." Ryan said as he walked over to where the rest of the group was sitting, bringing Gabi with him.

Taylor and Kelsi exchanged looks at how close Ryan and Gabi were standing.

"I am not going back to being Sharpay's assistant this year." Gabi flinched at his sister's name but Ryan didn't notice. Chad and Taylor however both shifted, almost as if to reach out and comfort her. Gabi caught Taylor's look and shook her head, not letting her reactions be known to the rest of the group.

"But it's going to be so much better this year." Ryan continued, not noticing how his words had affected Gabi. "Especially since I got this one here right next to me." Gabi looked up at those words, smiling at Ryan. He leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips.

Zeke made a face, Jason grimaced, and Chad made a gagging noise.

"Hey, do you think you could go get me a drink?" Gabi asked Ryan, her voice sweetly trying to cover up the other boy's reactions.

"Sure, what do you want?" Ryan asked quickly, his face still smiling from the kiss.

"Ice tea with a lime slice."

"Coming right up." He said, quickly walking away, a spring in his step.

"Troy would have known that." Chad muttered, not bothering to lower his voice or wait till Ryan was out of earshot.

Taylor smacked Chad's chest. "Chad!"

"Oww." He cried out, rubbing his chest with his hand. "What was that for?"

Taylor rolled her eyes before shooting a look over at Gabi who was following Ryan with her eyes, a sad look now placed on her face.

"No, it's okay Tay." She said, not looking away. "He would have known that."

"How can you be with him Gabi?" Chad exclaimed. "I mean-"

"He's a nice guy Chad." She said, her voice sounding small, almost defeated.

"Yeah, he's a nice guy but-"

"He played baseball with you guys over the summer." Gabi said, turning slowly towards the dark brown eyes of the boy sitting next to her "He taught us the dance for the show. He stood up for us to his own sister. He stood up for me."

"But he's so boring!" Chad said, his voice almost sounding as if he was complaining about the lack of excitement he would bring to their group.

Gabi laughed, but it was more of a tired laugh then her normal full-throated joyful laugh. "I'm not asking for you to date him." She said. "But, he's nice. And safe."

"He's so lanky."

"He's not a boxer Chad."

Chad sighed, exasperated. "He's so, so, girly!"

Gabi smiled up at Chad, shaking her head slightly. "Sorry he doesn't dress like a slob."

Chad's hands balled into fist. "God Gabi! He's not Troy!"

Silence meet his remark, the whole group changing their focus from the two of them which they had been following like a tennis match, instead resting their eyes solely on Gabi, waiting to see what her reaction would be to that statement.

For a moment, Gabi didn't move, as if the reality of that statement was just hitting her. She was no longer dating Troy Bolton. Gabi closed her eyes as if in pain but they flew open a second later, rounding on Chad who cringed at the expression on her face.

"Is that your objection to him? God Chad! I had no idea!" she almost yelled, her voice coming out hard, like a steel blade. She rubbed her eyes, breathing out deeply. "No Chad, he isn't Troy. Right now, he's better then Troy."

"Gabi-" Chad said, reaching a hand out to place on her leg. She moved it away, out of his reach.

"Chad" she said, avoiding everyone's eyes, afraid of their pity. "He likes me. A lot. In fact, he said he loves me"

The girls gasped, Kelsi bringing her hand to her mouth.

"So what?" Chad exclaimed, determined to find anything to stop the continuation of this discussion, unable to let the realization of this relationship sink in for him. "I love you too."

"No Chad," Gabi said softly. "He's in love with me."

Zeke and Jason shared a look, shaking their head at Ryan's action.

Chad was silent, then scoffed.

"Yeah right." he said.

"I think its true." Gabi said, her voice becoming defiant. "I think he does."

"Oh my god." Marla said. "Oh, my, god."

"Gabi" Taylor said. "How do you feel about him?"

"I don't know."

"How do you feel about Troy?" Chad asked, as if he was challenging her.

"Chad!" Taylor exclaimed, moving her hand as if to hit him but he quickly moved out of the way, stilling looking at Gabi.

"Gabi, you know. Think about it!" he pleaded with her.

"I-"

"C'mon Gabi, just say it!"

"I can't love someone who did what he did to me! I can't love someone who cheated on me with Sharpay! I can't love someone who destroyed my heart!"

The girls eye's widened, their reactions of horror displayed on their faces. Jason looked disgusted, Zeke looked pained. Only Chad look unsurprised, just shameful.

Gabi was watching him.

"You knew, didn't you?" she questioned, her voice tinged with hurt, incredulity, disbelief.

Everyone turned to look at Chad.

Chad nodded slightly, his eyes on the ground.

"How could you not tell me?" Taylor asked. "How could you not tell Gabi?"

Chad turned towards Taylor, pleading with her to forgive him. "He made me promise. But Gabi," he said, facing her. "He really regretted it."

"That, Chad Danforth, doesn't make it okay." Gabi replied coolly.

"Look Gabi, as not only Troy's best friend, but as someone who cares about you like a sister, don't do this. Don't be with Ryan when Troy is right there waiting for you!"

"No."

"Gabi! He loves you! He loves you, Gabriella Montez! And he's sorry. You know he is. Why is that not enough?"

Gabi took a deep breath before answering, here yes slowly filling with the tears that had been threatening to spill all day. "Troy and I were a mistake. I wish it were real, that we were enough for each other. That I was enough for him. But, he's proven that I'm not. So I have to go to something different. My alternate universe, where there is a boy willing to help me mend it. Chad, this is my alternate universe, my broken heart."

No one said anything, afraid to let their emotions run as freely as the tears streaming down Gabi's face. Taylor squeezed Chad's hand, letting him know she was there for him. Jason got out of the pool, climbing into Kelsi's lap where she held him close, stroking his hair. Marla wiped a tear away from her check; Zeke squeezed his eyes shut in pain.

"Hey!" Ryan's cheerful voice broke through the group. "Why does everyone look so sad? I couldn't hear what you guys were saying over the music, but what were you guys talking about?"

Gabi smiled up at Ryan, her smile forced cheerfulness. "Nothing. Just school. Nothing so serious."

Chad got up and stalked away.

"Is he okay?" Ryan asked, looking after him.

"Yeah," Taylor replied, getting to her feet. "I'll go check on him."

"Chad!" Taylor called, running after him, "Chad!"

Chad slowed down, not turning towards her. "What?" he asked, refusing to meet her eyes.

"You know what! You can't do that!"

Chad tensed up, but slowly his shoulders relaxed.

"I know," he said. "I just don't get why anyone would want to be with Ryan instead of Troy. And if real love like theirs can't survive, what chance do I have of you loving me?"

Taylor took Chad's face between her hands. "I, Taylor McKessie, promise to always love you. No matter what. You stole my heart the first time we set our watched in synch. Don't ever forget that."

Chad looked into Taylor's mocha colored eyes and wrapped his hands around her hips, dragging her into him.

"I love you." He whispered before pressing his lips to hers, his tongue begging entrance that she happily granted. Her hands lost themselves in his hair, wrapping his curls around her fingers, tugging lightly in lust. She slowly pulled away.

"Give her time to heal. She knows what she has with Troy. Let her figure that out on her own."

Chad nodded, pulling Taylor back to him.

So, there was chapter 2. Chapter three is Chad's party. Wait for the drama to commence. Evil giggle.