Disclaimer: It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.
Author's Note: So, these are unrelated oneshots unless otherwise noted. In this one, Troy and Gabriella haven't gotten together yet.
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HSM Romance Challenge
Theme: Death
It all started on Monday… right after Troy had almost kissed Gabriella for the first time.
He had been sitting with her on a bench outside the school, talking as they waited for their rides after rehearsal. At a lull in their easy conversation, it suddenly felt just right to lean over toward her lips… and then, Ryan Evans appeared out of nowhere.
Letting out an exasperated breath, Ryan sat down hard next to Gabriella, making Troy jump back. Crossing his arms tightly, Ryan cursed loudly, oblivious to what he had just interrupted. "God… I just hate her sometimes!" he said.
And immediately, Gabriella turned to see what was the matter. Feeling slightly stunned, Troy swallowed hard and tried not to turn red as Ryan let it all spill out. It turned out that Sharpay had booked a commercial she had auditioned for yesterday… and she hadn't told Ryan about the auditions at all.
Ryan seemed on the edge of tears as he choked out the last part. "And the worst part is that she skipped last period to go… and she had me cover for her!" He put his head in his hands. "I just can't believe she would do something like this to me. I mean, my own twin sister!"
Gabriella's voice became sympathetic. "Ohhh, Ryan. I'm so sorry. That's really rough."
She was genuine. They all knew Sharpay often took advantage of him, and if Ryan was actually seeing the light… this might be the start of a big, painful step for him. And until her ride finally arrived, Gabriella kept going, trying to soothe Ryan's hurt feelings. "Well, you should let her know how you feel about it, Ryan. And if you need anything… don't be afraid to ask. I'm here for you. Troy is too."
Troy snapped to attention, lost in listening to Gabriella speak. "Oh.. yeah. For sure, Ryan. Whatever you need--we'll make it happen."
But little did he know that Ryan would take them up on the offer. And what he seemed to need was a new Sharpay to fill the void. Suddenly, no matter where Troy found Gabriella, there was Ryan, always ready to join them. During downtime at rehearsal… there was Ryan. During free period… there was Ryan. After school, waiting for the bus… Ryan again.
On the second day it happened, Troy discreetly leaned over to Gabriella during rehearsal, as Ryan went off to talk to Ms. Darbus about his lines.
"Don't you think Ryan's kind of hanging around a lot?" he asked.
Gabriella sighed. "Troy, cut him some slack. I talked to him on the phone last night, and this fight with Sharpay is really hard on him. He doesn't really have any other friends. I think he just needs our support right now."
That was tough to argue with. Troy swallowed his words and nodded dumbly, feeling a bit like a jerk. But for the rest of the week, it was hard not to think that a cruel joke was being played on him. He couldn't stay away from Gabriella… but it was agony not being able to talk to her like they used to. And the memory of the almost-kiss echoed in his mind over and over. She probably hadn't even noticed… how embarrassing.
But the worst part was that Ryan had become increasingly depressing as the week went on… and he dominated all conversation by constantly itemizing all the injustices Sharpay had ever caused him. Today at lunch, for example, he was discussing what Sharpay did to him when they were seven. Sitting between Troy and Gabriella at the table, he picked absently at his lunch tray and spoke in a whining, petulant tone.
"We got the same set of paint-by-numbers books from our aunt for Christmas that year," said Ryan. "But Sharpay spilled water all over hers, and then she wound up taking my books as a replacement." His shoulders sank. "And I didn't even notice until a week later, when I finally wanted to paint. She'd finished all the pages in every book!"
Wincing inwardly, Troy nodded, trying to seem supportive as Ryan continued. But glancing casually around the table, he caught a glimpse of Ryan looking furtively up at Sharpay's table upstairs… and saw Gabriella let out a small sigh as she looked away from Ryan.
Without thinking, Troy kicked her foot under the table. She jumped slightly and her eyes clapped straight onto his. He could read the look in them loud and clear. I'm so sorry about Ryan… but I just can't stand it anymore, they said.
So much for support, he thought. And then suddenly, he felt like laughing out loud. The whole situation just seemed overwhelmingly hilarious. They had probably both been enduring Ryan's drone for the longest time, neither one willing to say anything to save face in front of the other. He ducked his head to hide his smile, and then felt a small kick at his foot under the table. Looking up, he saw Gabriella looking at him, her eyes wide. Putting her hand over her mouth to hide it from Ryan, she mouthed one word: Help.
And then he did laugh, almost uncontrollably, in a big, raucous burst. He could see Gabriella suddenly grin, and Ryan's eyes turned to him balefully. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing," choked out Troy, trying to control himself. "Just a joke Gabriella told me earlier today."
"What joke?" Ryan's eyes darted between the two of them, looking frantic. "What?"
"It's nothing, Ryan," Gabriella said firmly, trying to hold back her smile and shooting Troy a warning look.
Troy nodded his head, smiling. "No, it's nothing," he said, then grabbed his lunch bag and stood up from the table. "But if you two will excuse me, I'll be right back. I've just got to get something."
"Don't take too long," said Gabriella, trying to mask her desperation with a casual tone.
He nearly laughed again, meeting her eyes with a warm look. "It'll only be a minute."
Then he turned away from them and headed up the stairs. On the top floor, he looked around until he saw a familiar blonde head. Walking over, he sat down at the table between Sharpay and Zeke. Sharpay smiled, but he could see that she was picking at her food in the same morose way as her brother.
"Hi guys," he said cheerfully. "What's going on?"
"Nothing much, captain," said Zeke, smiling. "Sharpay's just feeling a little under the weather. I made her some cupcakes, but even those aren't taking."
Sharpay looked at Zeke mournfully for a moment before turning back to her lunch tray.
"Well," said Troy. "That's kind of why I'm here. Sharpay—I think we've got something that belongs to you at our table down there."
She looked over the railing to see Ryan, who quickly pretended he hadn't been looking up at her. Letting out a sigh, Sharpay resumed picking at her food. "I don't know. I've tried, but he won't talk to me, even at home. I don't really know what to do." She shrugged. "He can just get so clingy, you know? I had to escape. He'd ruined the last three chances I had at a commercial. He interrupted my reading, got too fussy about the working conditions… It's kind of a nightmare sometimes."
Don't I know it, thought Troy. "Well… I don't know. He's pretty hurt. But if I'm not mistaken… I'm pretty sure he misses you."
She seemed to perk up. Glancing down at the other table, she saw Ryan look quickly away again. "You think?"
"Positive."
"But he won't talk to me."
"Well…" Troy thought for a minute. "How did you make up after you stole his paint by numbers books way back when?"
Zeke spluttered out a laugh. Sharpay shot Troy a look of blazing anger. "He told you that?"
"Uh, yeah." Troy grinned. Zeke laughed even harder, then let out a yelp, reaching down to rub his shin. Sharpay had kicked him hard under the table.
"You're ruthless, Sharpay," said Zeke, smiling. "But you know I like that about you."
Her face softened, and she laughed quietly. "Well… I got what I wanted, I guess." She paused, thinking. "Well… I guess I bought him some candy from the store and he cheered up pretty quickly."
"The cupcakes." Zeke grabbed the box on the table. "They've got extra frosting. Give them to him. Go!"
He tossed them to Sharpay, and before she could protest, Troy had grabbed her hand and pulled her down the stairs toward Gabriella's table. Ryan looked up, startled, but Troy started to speak before he could interrupt.
"Guys, we can all tell you're both miserable. But please. Sit down and talk it out." He glanced over at Gabriella. "I think you'll make all of us a lot happier if you do."
Ryan started to balk. "But…"
But Troy thrust Sharpay's arm forward, handing him the box of cupcakes. "Oh, and Sharpay got you something."
Ryan's face immediately softened as he opened the box. "Oh… they say 'Cheer up' on them."
And finally, he smiled at Sharpay as she sat down beside him. Then, as the two started to talk, Troy quietly backed up, grabbed Gabriella's hand, and raced away from the table.
They waited until they were safely into the hallway before the laughter began to pour out of them. But Troy kept running, pulling her out the front doors into the sunshine and stopping at the stone fountain in the courtyard.
"Oh my God," said Gabriella, doubling over with laughter. "When you left, he started talking about how Sharpay always steals his face cream from the bathroom. I was seriously thinking of slashing my wrists right there. Or his wrists. Whichever would have killed one of us faster, I guess."
She collapsed onto the sidewalk in front of the fountain, still laughing. "Oh man, they'd better work it out. I don't know how Sharpay does it. He was smothering me to death. Do you know he was calling to talk to me for like two hours every night?"
"Lucky you," said Troy, laughing and sitting down beside her.
"It was unbelievable," she said. "Imagine all that complaining—except without a buffer like you around." She shook her head. "Anyway, thanks so much for bringing Sharpay down. You totally saved my life."
He grinned. "Well, I would have done it sooner, but I thought we were supposed to be supportive."
"Yeah, well… so did I." She smiled guiltily at him. "I guess I didn't realize just how much support Ryan would need."
They both laughed, and then suddenly, there was a warm silence between them. He looked over at her, and she was looking back at him, smiling. And before he knew it, he had turned his body to face hers, his heart suddenly racing.
"Hey…" he said, his voice suddenly halting. "On Monday… just before all this Ryan stuff happened…"
She smiled. "You were going to kiss me out there on the bench."
He was shocked. "So… you knew?"
"I've kind of been thinking about it all week." She laughed softly. "It's sort of… one of the reasons I couldn't wait to get away from Ryan by the end of it."
And gently, she put her arms around his neck and smiled at him, making him suddenly happier and more hopeful than he had ever been in his entire life. Then carefully, he slid his arms tightly around her waist, and drew her close into a soft, sweet kiss.
He grinned at her as they broke apart, but he could see a look cross her face. She appeared to be listening hard for something.
"What?" he asked.
She looked at him playfully. "I think you did it. I don't hear Ryan coming." Then she grinned. "But just in case… we should probably do that again."
He laughed, hugging her tightly, and then leaned in for another kiss. And when they broke free, he smiled mischievously. "For safety's sake… let's do it one more time."
She laughed as he closed the space between them again. "Hey, let's make it twice," she said, smiling. "Just to be sure."
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Author's Note: Yay, it's longer! Much longer. Read and review, please!
Added note: So there's been a couple of questions about where the death is in the story. It's the "smothering to death" bit and all the death imagery used in the middle there. Subtle, I know! But it's tough writing a happy oneshot about death without really killing someone!