OKAY! Finally, here's the next chapter! Thanks sooooooo much to you reviewers, you make this worthwhile :D sorry if this next one's a bit crappy, i had to rush it :( read and review :D
"Dude! Hurry up!" Troy shouted back to Chad who was struggling to keep in pace; stumbling with trousers half way down his shins, bright blue swimming shorts in full view.
"Okay okay, keep your hair on! Gabby won't be going anywhere, they promised they'd wait."
Troy stopped running and leant sideways on the hallway wall, crossing his arms in front of him. A lamppost from the hotel gardens lit a faint glow through one of the windows, fortunately for the boys, who would otherwise have been running blind.
That afternoon, as soon as miss Darbus had finished her speech, the gang had found just enough time to plan a midnight dip in the pool before getting dressed for dinner. The complex would shut its door to the guests at 8pm, at which point the janitors would get to work, cleaning the area for another half hour. The pool lobby would be open during this time, but when that finally closed, the space would be free and unguarded until 1am. Then the doors would automatically lock.
It took no longer than 15 minutes for the girls to obtain this information from the "cute" bellboys wandering around the hotel, but it had taken Chad almost three times as long to find his swimsuit and sneak out of the room.
Finally, with his sweat pants slung over his arm, he caught up with Troy, and expecting him to instantly run off again, overtook him…while Troy remained glued to the wall.
"Who invited Sharpay and Ryan?" the question wasn't meant to insult, but it slipped from Troy's lips before he could think twice, as he saw the twins suddenly turn the corner he and Chad had passed a minute ago. He had suggested sharing the midnight swim idea with the Evans' as soon as the plan was decided, but they had both disappeared somewhere since dinner, materialising only now, almost spookily from the lamplight.
Chad turned then and stood in shock, he and Troy on one side of the hallway, the Evans' on the other, now staring at each other as if before a duel.
"Um…" Troy spoke, breaking the quiet, glancing at his friend, then at Sharpay, whose expression was unreadable.
"What are you guys doing here?" she interrupted him, relaxing into almost a smile.
"We're um, on our way to the pool…" Troy answered, fidgeting wildly with the strings on his trunks. The run from the bedroom to the ground floor, past the few teachers who were still awake, hovering by the hotel bar, hadn't made Troy's heartbeat rise more than a few beats; he was a healthy boy after all, but now he felt the pounding quicken, and he heard it loudly, a thudding in his ears. Chad nudged him hard, thankfully, this seemed to help.
"Oh what a coincidence, so are we!" Ryan chirped, stepping across the floor to the boys, followed closely by his sister.
"I guess we'll join you," she grinned widely, pausing by Troy, then spontaneously linking her arm with his.
The move was something she would not have given a second thought to once upon a time, but things were a little different now… and as soon as their arms touched, she wished she hadn't been so bold. Take it back! Move away! her head yelled. She tried to step away, she really did, and if it was just her own stubborn Troy-craving arm which wouldn't budge, she probably would have moved away… eventually. But the arm which was locked firmly in place this time, was Troy's. Oh no, he's clenching up, he must be annoyed at me.
She felt him flinch, and she saw the look Chad gave when she sidled into her place. But Chad now put on a smile, however forced.
"Well, I guess…" he raised his eyebrows, sucking in his disappointment, "I guess it's off to the pool then!"
He and a slyly smirking Ryan began walking, with Sharpay and Troy stepping behind them; the hallway wasn't big enough for four to walk in one line. They were silent until reaching the glass doors, every now and again Chad looking behind at Troy, but neither he nor Sharpay were alert enough to notice the stares.
Poor Troy, Chad thought, he's gone completely pale, I hope he doesn't puke!
A sudden vibration hit him and he jumped, the two behind him walking right into his back.
"Woah, sorry, didn't realise you'd stopped," Troy laughed nervously, but Chad shushed him, taking his cell from his pocket.
"Hey Tay, we're just at the doors… yeah, I'm waving at you right now! Hellooooo! No, that's Ryan beside me… and um, Sharpay is here too…." then he quickly stepped aside and hushed his voice. Ryan looked at his sister apologetically; she wasn't stupid, she knew the others still held a grudge against her, but still… there was no need to be so obvious.
"So, it's not just you two then?" she asked Troy, biting her lip, and slipping her arm from his. This time, he let her go.
"Nah, Zeke and the girls are already at the pool, Chad was just late getting changed."
She nodded, biting her lip harder still.
"The girls?" Ryan's expression perked up suddenly, but it went unnoticed; the two beside him were both concentrating on only the floor. Troy replied without even looking up.
"Gabriella and Taylor."
"Okay then," Chad rejoined them, rubbing his hands together, "shall we?"
Stepping outside, the complex was unrecognisable from its busyness at daytime. The lifeguard station was empty, and the tables deserted. Only the sound of crickets and distant whispers could be heard, only the objects touched by moonlight could be seen, and everything had a silver glow. By the pool the rest of the gang appeared, a small group of four people, figures lit from the side instead of above; candles lined the path to their left, leading from the pool to the hotel cabins, through the forest.
It's a shame Gabriella's here, Sharpay thought bitterly as Gabby ran to Troy, flinging her arms around his neck, it would have been so romantic otherwise…
"Here I cooooooooooooooome!" Chad's voice faded with the last few "o"s as he took a running leap, dive-bombing into the water. His girlfriend scowled as he hadn't noticed her outstretched arms before running past them. As he rose above the spray though, he blew her a kiss to compensate; she couldn't help but smile then.
"Nice!" Zeke shouted to him, "but not quite as sexy as Sharpay's dive this afternoon," he winked over at her, expecting to be met with a death-stare, but she hadn't even been listening. Chad aimed a killer though, defending the greatness of his dive. Zeke looked from him to Ryan, who had snapped his eyes away from a certain brown haired girl in a red swimsuit, to defend his sister…and there his looks stopped while he made a mental note not to hit on Sharpay in front of her brother and the boy who hated her.
Little did he realise there was a third person he should watch out for, a person who had also glared at him for a completely different reason, but one he couldn't yet understand, who was so shocked at his own reaction that he immediately followed Chad into the pool to cool off.
"Come on the rest of you," the boys called from the water, "we haven't exactly got long!"
One by one, Zeke, Gabby, Taylor and Kelsie joined their friends, splashing so much the pool was nearly half empty when Sharpay and Ryan, after exchanging glances, finally decided to dive in themselves. When the water and the laughter had calmed, Gabby asked the question on everyone's minds.
"So, what now?"
"Well, we could always…" Taylor grabbed Chad's hair and ducked him under the water, inspiring Ryan to do the same to Sharpay, who hadn't expected it and took in a lung-full of water, squealing as she rose above the surface.
"Ooooh, dude, I bet that felt good," Chad remarked, receiving a huge splash. And then the war began; heads were dipped into the water and legs were pulled from underneath.
Sharpay made another impulsive decision, a chance for contact with Troy. She looked around frantically for his face, but she couldn't see him anywhere. Gabby was laughing with Taylor, but where was he?
She then felt the pull on her leg. She lunged her hands forward desperately, but only air came into her grasp; the force was too quick and she went under. Flailing her arms around wildly, too many bubbles in front of her eyes; she didn't see how close her fingers came to Troy's head until he caught her hand. It hurt to keep her eyes open, but he was staring at her so strangely that she bore the pain out of curiosity. They trod water for as long as they could, neither one moving closer nor further apart. If we could only kiss right now we would never have to go back up… Sharpay felt the burn in her chest, and she kicked her legs and broke the surface, followed a moment later by Troy.
They both gasped for air. The others stared.
"So, anyone for a game of hide and seek in the forest?" Zeke suggested, and Gabby swam to her boyfriend, standing between him and the girl whose hand he had only just released.
"Sure," Sharpay agreed, as long as we can hide Gabriella and never seek.