Chapter One

Two Years Later

Ryan had decided long ago that being a twin was one of Nature's great peculiarities.

It gave him a sort of heightened awareness of other people's emotions which, unfortunately, meant he felt obliged to get to the root of their problems whether they liked it or not. Needless to say, he had gained the reputation of a nosy, interfering sneak who would, most likely, spill everyone's secrets to Sharpay.

Kelsi had once said, all those summers ago at Lava Springs, that it made him the best friend anyone could ask for, but no one else had seen it like that.

Regardless of what people thought of his almost uncanny quality, it was he, and only he, who had noticed that the nail varnish on Sharpay's fourth finger was almost all chipped away. Whilst her foundation may be flawless and her eyeliner smudged, that one imperfection was all Ryan needed to know that something inside her was cracking.

For as long as he could remember, Sharpay had been unhealthily obsessed with her appearance, right down to the smallest detail. Even if she was able to fool their parents with a dazzling smile, the fact that she'd let her manicure slip below its usual standard did not go unnoticed by Ryan.

****

He wandered through the Lava Springs lobby, into the members' dining area and somehow ended up in the kitchens. It wasn't that he was looking for the Wildcats; he knew full well they wouldn't be there, but some part of him longed to relive that summer. Even seeing Fulton's beige suit would be enough to pull him out of his despondency. God knows where he'd gone after he'd been fired.

That was so typical of Sharpay: to cast off those who ceased to be of any use to her. His acceptance of the Julliard scholarship, which she had seen as rightfully hers, had already forced a wedge between them. Add that to the distance between New York and Albuquerque, and the result was that they'd barely spoken since the first semester at their respective universities.

Realising that he was in the way of a rather hectic lunch service, Ryan slipped out of the kitchens back into the Lava Springs lobby. The portrait of the Evans', frozen in a scene of a familial bliss, still hung on the wall, but time had changed everything so greatly that the enlarged photograph and his surroundings seemed unfamiliar.

Outside, the members displayed their surgically enhanced bodies by the poolside, judging each other through the lenses of their designer sunglasses. A feeling of sudden revulsion seized Ryan and he ducked out of a side entrance to the car park, anxious to avoid the attentions of members who enjoyed the idea of being seen chatting to the owner's son.

****

The house hadn't changed at all since he'd left; it still resembled a perfectly ordered and exquisitely furnished show home to be admired, not truly lived in.

Ryan picked up his small suitcase from where he'd left it that morning, before visiting Lava Springs, and headed up the stairs to his old bedroom.

He stood for a while in the doorway, examining every unchanged inch with his eyes. It was almost as if his parents had shut the door after he'd left and preserved his eighteen year old self within.

Stepping inside, he dropped his suitcase on the floor and collapsed on the bed. From there he could take in all the posters he had tacked to the walls with the utmost precision. Various musicals he'd seen, school plays and, tucked away in a corner, a Wildcat flag.

He jolted when he caught sight of it and sitting up, he lifted the forgotten, framed photograph from his bedside table and cradled it in his hands.

There he was, dressed in that ridiculous mascot costume with the head tucked under his arm. Even now he could still recall the feeling of intense pride at being a Wildcat, albeit an honorary one. It showed in the photograph, as did his awkwardness at being adopted by a group who would never see him as one of their own. Behind him stood the real Wildcats, captured whilst they laughed at a joke he hadn't understood. Troy, Zeke, Jason, Chad........

His mother padded slowly into his room, bracelets clinking on her arm, forcing him to take his eyes off the frame.

"Welcome home, Duckie."

"Hi, Mom. Sorry, I didn't see you earlier, I went straight to – "

" – oh, no, that's quite alright. I was busy......"

She let the sentence hang unfinished and curved her lipstick tinted lips into a vague smile.

"Okay, well, I'm going to unpack so – "

"I'll leave you now, then."

She walked back towards the door and turned.

"A message came for you. Something about a school reunion. There's a note downstairs."

With that she glided out, a serene smile fixed on her face. Ryan watched her back disappear with a frown etched on his brow.

She'd always been like that; calm and unconcerned, but it was only now that he thought to wonder why she didn't rattle with the amount of Prozac inside her.

****

Ryan had accepted the invitation but, in all honesty, it was the last place he felt like going. Still, he'd promised to accompany Sharpay so, at seven thirty the following evening, he found himself driving the familiar route to East High.

As he stepped through the main entrance a wave of nostalgia, bittersweet as always, threatened to engulf him. Apart from a fresh lick of paint, there were no obvious differences that he could see, but Sharpay grabbed his arm as she marched down the corridor, heels clicking smartly on the polished floor.

A crowd had gathered in the auditorium and as they took their seats, Ryan scanned the faces of his senior year, looking for someone he recognised.

The new principle took the stage and welcomed them back warmly, despite never having seen them before. Clapping along with the others, Ryan rose from his seat and collected a glass of champagne.

All around him people were talking, laughing, introducing each other to their spouses, but for the life of him, Ryan couldn't remember a single person. Finishing his drink and reaching for another so as to have something to do with his hands, he suddenly noticed a familiar face and, clutching at straws, attempted to make conversation.

Jason was beaming round at everyone, his smile not faltering at all when he caught sight of Ryan.

"Hey, man! How's it going?"

"Alright, thank you. What have you been up to?"

Reaching into his jacket pocket, Jason pulled out several well-worn snapshots, shoving them under Ryan's nose.

"Me and Martha had twins last year, and we're expecting another in three months." Exuding all the pride of a new father, Jason's smile stretched even wider. Ryan murmured appreciatively as the photos of two large, pink toddlers, grinning toothily at the camera. He opened his mouth to summarize his own activities of the last few years, but Jason had already turned away towards someone else, holding out the photographs again.

Sipping another mouthful of champagne, Ryan returned to his observations of the crowd until a voice behind him called out his name. Spinning round, he became caught in Zeke's bear hug, a friendly hand slapping him on the back.

"Ryan! It's been forever since I've seen you! What have you been doing with yourself?"

Smiling gratefully at his old acquaintance, Ryan answered,

"Well, I graduated from Julliard two years ago, worked in New York for a while, and now I've decided to move back here."

"You're swapping New York for Albuquerque? I thought you loved it there."

"Yeah, but, you know.........I wanted a change. I'm flying back tomorrow to empty my apartment. Anyway, enough about all that, what about you?"

Zeke opened his mouth to answer, but at that moment, Sharpay's shriek caused them both to wince.

"Zeke!"

She pushed her way through the crowd, purse under one arm and clutching a glass.

Smiling awkwardly, Zeke greeted her, before wrapping an arm around a girl Ryan didn't recognise.

"Hey, Sharpay. I'd like you to meet my wife, Emily. She was a cheerleader at West High."

The petite brunette waved shyly, but Sharpay's mouth had frozen into a tight line. Ryan nodded at the pair of them, trying to ignore the sudden icy coldness emanating from his sister.

Turning on her heel, Sharpay stalked towards the exit and, shrugging apologetically at Zeke, Ryan ran after her.

He found her leaning against the car, arms folded and teeth clenched. When he asked what that was all about, she answered tersely,

"Take me home, now!"

****

The ride back to the Evans' had begun in an uneasy, tense silence, for which Ryan was intensely grateful. Dealing with a hysterical Sharpay was difficult at the best of times, but after the fiasco at the reunion, it would be near impossible to calm her.

As he waited for the lights to change from red to green, he breathed out a quiet sigh of relief, until he heard a jangling of jewelery as Sharpay sat up straight.

"How dare he!"

There it was. The explosion.

"How dare he choose to marry her!"

Ryan looked over at her furious expression and attempted to reason with her.

"Well, you never showed any interest in him the whole time you were at school together. You can't blame him for moving on."

"Moving on?" She screeched. "From me? He adored me, worshiped the ground I walked on. How could he give it all up for that tart!"

"I think it's unfair to judge – "

Ryan was cut off by another tirade of anger.

"I played the game of rejection to see if he was worth my time and he had earned my approval. Why would he turn me, me, down for her?"

"Shar, you've barely seen him since you graduated from East High, people change."

"I'm surprised the 'Golden Couple' didn't show up, just to bask in everyone's compliments and spite us all."

"Troy and Gabi aren't like that! They've never asked – "

" – oh, that's right, I'd forgotten your adoration of the Wildcats. How do you feel now that they've all left you behind?"

Ryan's knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel, trying his utmost not to lash out at his sister and keep his eyes on the road.

"They're probably busy tonight. Unlike you, they don't push people away and enjoy watching them beg for your attention."

Sharpay slammed the car door so forcefully it was a wonder she didn't shatter the window. Before marching up to the house she turned and added spitefully,

"Not even that Danforth boy and his science geek girlfriend are bothered with you now."

There was no answer Ryan could fabricate in time as Sharpay turned on her heel and went inside.

It was true: Chad hadn't called him to see how he was doing, or even turned up at the reunion. Obviously that summer spent at Lava Springs and their continuing friendship through senior year wasn't a strong enough incentive for him to pick up the phone.

Ryan leaned against his car, unwilling to go in just yet. It was funny, in a painful sort of way, that only now, years after Graduation, did he regret his years spent trailing after Sharpay. Maybe if he'd broken away sooner he would be like all the others back at the school: welcomed back warmly and eagerly asked after.

Breathing in the pleasantly warm night air he shook his head in an attempt to clear is thoughts. He braced himself to go inside, but one nagging worry still bothered him. Realising now that he had partly accepted the invitation for the chance to see that curly haired jock again, said jock's absence disappointed him far more than it should.