Standard disclaimer applies.


Heart of the Game
Part IX


"Chad. Are you sure you're okay?"

"For the hundredth time, mom; I'm fine," the disinterested and somewhat agitated tone rang from inside the closed door.

Mrs. Danforth had spent the good part of five minutes knocking on her son's door, hoping that her inquiries would be answered with something more elaborate than an obviously untruthful 'yes'. So far, her attempts had been shot down in flames.

Chad had returned home just about ten minutes ago. He'd walked sombrely and almost soundlessly through the house, up the stairs and into his room without so much as a 'hello' to his parents. The last time that happened was when he'd gotten into a row with Troy and had ended up not leaving his room for two days. But this time, something deep inside told her that it was something more serious than a mere argument. It was something intuitional and Mrs. Danforth always took her intuition very seriously. There was no way Chad was going to go through the rest of the way without telling her what was wrong.

"Chad. Open this door this instant otherwise I'll get Uncle Ty to take it down. And once that door is down, you can bet your socks that it isn't going to go back up. So buck up, open this damn door or you're going to have to get used to doing your business with the entire household watching!"

There was a moment of tense silence before the sound of stomps headed towards the door and the click as the knob was unlocked. Mrs. Danforth couldn't help but bask in her own feeling of smug superiority.

She pushed open the door and walked in just in time to see Chad plop himself ungracefully onto the bed and throwing a pillow over his face. Smoothing her skirt, she took a seat on the edge of the mattress, her knee touching Chad's as he had both his legs thrown over the side.

"Tell me what happened. Did you get into a fight with Troy?"

From beneath the pillow, her son shook his head.

"But it does have something to do with Troy?"

A small nod. Mrs. Danforth gave herself a proverbial pat on the back. At least it was going somewhere, whether her son wanted it to or not.

"Is Troy…doing something that you don't want him to?"

She heard Chad mumble out something, but combining the fact that he was currently attempting to smother himself with his pillow and from the way he spoke, it sounded like he didn't really want to say anything at all. She placed a hand on his arm and was slightly startled when he suddenly rose up into a sitting position. His shoulders were hunched and his expression downcast.

"It's not good to keep things bottled up inside, honey. If you want to talk about it--"

"Troy had a stroke," he said simply, eyes never leaving the floor.

"…What? A…a stroke?" she stuttered out, covering her mouth with her free hand.

"Troy took some drugs and he had a stroke during practice earlier."

"Wha…Oh, my god. Is he all right? Has his parents been notified?"

Chad merely nodded his head, too overwhelmed with emotion to say anything.

"Do your friends know?"

Again, he nodded his head. "I told the team after we went back from the hospital. Gabriella, Ryan and Sharpay--the Evans twins--knew from the start. The four of us were at the hospital earlier with his parents before they went to see him. I think the principle made an announcement about it to the school. He left out the drugs part though…that's a good thing."

"Yes. It clearly is."

"I'm scared, mom," he spoke in a small voice, finally looking to meet his mothers eyes as tears brimmed in his own. "It's Troy. He's my best friend and if anything happens…I…I don't know what I'll do," he choked out, allowing himself to be pulled into an embrace. "I'm scared. I don't want to lose him."

"You won't, honey. You definitely won't. Troy's a strong boy. I'm sure he'll get through this. But you're going to have to be strong for his sake as well, hmm?" she rested her cheek on the top of his head, rubbing his back comfortingly. "You and your friends are going to have to give him the support he needs. There's not going to be any of this giving up, you hear?" though she spoke with unyielding confidence, the truth was that she was attempting to convince herself with her own words as well. But when the sobs stopped and Chad pulled away from her, locking her with a strong and inspired look as he brushed away the tears on his cheek, she knew that she'd said the right thing.

"You're right. We have to be strong for Troy. Thanks, mom," through the worry that still gripped him, Chad managed his mother a grateful smile before sprinting out the door.

As the thundering down the stairs faded and the sound of the front door slamming to a close reached her ears, Mrs. Danforth took a deep breath, intertwining her hands together in front of her she gave a small prayer that everything would turn out all right. She'd known Troy since he was child, when he and Chad and met in elementary school and through the years, he'd grown to be more of like son to her than just merely her son's friend.

- - - - -

Quarter to five. That's what was read on the round clock that hung over the entrance door of the waiting room.

Sharpay sighed, taking a small sip of the cup of coffee in her hand, careful not to burn her tongue on the steaming liquid. It had been almost two hour since they'd hitched a ride with Mrs. Darbus to come to the hospital; two and a half hours since hearing the news of Troy's collapse from Chad; approximately five and a half hours since lunch when they'd discussed the topic of Troy. It seems like a million years had passed since Sharpay got out of bed that morning. She had such high hopes for the day too.

"Are you sure you don't want some coffee?" turning to the silent brunette in her company, Sharpay held out the cup she'd placed gingerly by her side to the girl, who shook her head, declining politely.

"No, thank you," forcing a small, but sincere smile onto her face, Gabriella once again turned her attention away from the flashy blonde and fixed her gaze on the far side of the wall.

Sharpay just accepted the answer since she didn't really know what else to say or to convince Gabriella. It must be quite a sight to see, now that she thought about it more intently, looking at the downcast girl beside her; seeing Gabriella and herself, of all people, sitting placidly by each others' side. She, Sharpay Evans; Ice Queen, Drama Queen and all those other alias' the students had come up for her and Gabriella 'brainiac' Montez sitting side by side, offering comfort to each other in this dire time. But it was like what people believe: true understanding can only be reached when tragedy has befallen.

Taking a deep breath, Sharpay absentmindedly picked at the folded cardigan on her lap.

"Do you think he's going to be all right, Sharpay?" hearing the quiet mutter, Sharpay turned her head to the side, her blonde ponytail brushing against her bare shoulder.

"I…don't know," she answered truthfully, mimicking Gabriella as she looked at the dirt spot on the otherwise clean floor.

"I'm scared…"

"…I am too."

Neither girls looked up to face the other as they spoke. Gabriella would once and a while dab her eyes with the embroidered handkerchief Sharpay had lent to her sometime ago. Sharpay in turn kept to her uncharacteristic silence. She'd always had a crush on Troy, ever since her eyes fell on him on the first day of school. She had been quite mad and jealous of Gabriella at first when she'd met her for so easily captivating Troy while she'd done everything she could and had ended up with nothing. But one day, a few weeks after the auditions as she sulked in her room, bawling her eyes out at not being cast in the main role, did she have an epiphany; it came in a tall, blonde form and bore the name Ryan Evans. Never had she ever, until that point in her life, realized just wise her younger twin brother really was.

"You girls really should go home. Your parents will be worried about you."

Simultaneously looking up at the elderly doctor, both shook their heads.

"My brother will tell our parents about what happened," Sharpay said, recalling the downcast face of Ryan as he left a few hours ago.

"Mrs. Darbus said she'll tell my mother…I don't really want to leave now."

The doctor could do nothing more than accepting the answers with a nod of his head. "Then why don't you go down to the cafeteria for some food. I don't wish to be the bearer of bad news, but I doubt that your friend will be up and welcoming of visitors anytime soon."

Gabriella and Sharpay just nodded, muttering out a quick 'thank you' to the doctor as he walked out, leaving the two girls to their thoughts. Once and a while, Gabriella sniffled, inviting a sympathetic look from the blonde girl beside her. Sharpay sighed, watching the ripples in the half empty cup in her hands. "Troy…you'd better be alright," she muttered, more to herself than to anyone else. Bringing the rim of the Styrofoam but to her lips, she swallowed the remnants of the bitter coffee.

To be continued


Just for your information, I 'crave' constructive criticism to the highest level -end hinting-