Part Two:
The next few days were, for a lack of a better word, weird. Gabriella was seeing Sharpay in a different light. A tolerable one. She was not nearly as annoying as she was before. In fact, she was actually pleasant to work with. Sure they still butted heads but Gabriella wasn't used to working with someone who was completely focused on the assignment and was hardly ever distracted. She was used to working with Troy who was like a little kid with ADD.
The two girls were working on the project on a Saturday night and they were exhausted. Gabriella rubbed her temples as she re-did the sketch of the Grecian woman on her sketchpad for what seemed like the millionth time. It was times like these that Gabriella hated being a perfectionist. She looked over at Sharpay who was now writing their faux article on a scroll that they had made. She also looked frustrated.
"How's the scroll going?"
"Long. It's frustrating because it's not like I can start over if I mess up. It took us forever to make this look like a scroll." Gabriella went over to her and looked at what she had so far.
"It looks good. Very authentic."
"Thanks, how's the sketch going?"
"Also frustrating." She showed Sharpay her sketchpad.
"That looks fine, just needs a little fine tuning."
"The curse of being perfectionists." Gabriella went back to her desk and sighed. She was starving. She hadn't eaten since lunch. "Are you hungry? My mom said we can order pizza."
"It's nearly 11, who delivers this late? And plus pizza would go straight to my thighs." Gabriella looked her up and down wondering what exactly Sharpay saw when she looked in the mirror.
"There's a pizza place that's open until three in the morning, and what thighs? You're a toothpick." Sharpay gave her a "so what" look.
"Fine, I'll order you a salad." She left the room and went downstairs.
"With low-fat dressing!" Sharpay yelled after her.
Sharpay threw her calligraphy pen down and rubbed her eyes. They were swimming. She looked over at Gabriella's bed and was tempted to just curl up in it and fall asleep. It looked so soft and inviting. Sharpay got up and started walking towards the bed when Gabriella's cell phone rang making her jump. Looking at the call ID, she saw that it was Troy. She was debating on whether to answer it or not when Gabriella walked back in just as the phone went to voicemail.
"Hey, Troy just called." Sharpay told her handing her the cell phone.
Gabriella took the phone and looked at it. "I'll call him back later. Food should be here in 20 minutes." She went to back to her desk and continued sketching. Sharpay didn't go back to work but instead stood by Gabriella kind of hovering. Gabriella noticed this and turned to look at her. "Something wrong?" Sharpay eyes fell on the framed photo of Gabriella and Troy on her desk.
"Why did you guys break up?" She finally asked. Gabriella looked at the photo and suddenly got defensive.
"I don't think that's any of your business." Sharpay never really cared if it was her business or not, she always pried.
"It's just, you guys still act like you're together. He calls you everyday, you still hang out, and you guys still act all…coupley. Exes don't do that."
Gabriella hated when people referred to them as exes. It seemed so mean like they had a horrible break up. "We're not just 'exes,' we're still best friends. We're just not together anymore."
"But why? You guys seem so perfect." Gabriella looked at Sharpay annoyed, and tried to steer the conversation elsewhere.
"I'm surprised you didn't go after him the minute we broke up. I thought you'd be all over him." Sharpay let out a laugh.
"Please, Troy is so last year and plus, I didn't—" She stopped herself. "I wasn't interested anymore."
Gabriella put her pencil down and crossed her arms across her chest. "Troy's 'so last year?' I wasn't aware that he was a fashion trend."
"I just meant that I've moved on to other things."
"Other things? Like what?" Gabriella was glad that they stopped talking about her and Troy.
"Other things. Have you moved on from Troy?"
Damn.
She sighed. "Troy and I both wanted different things, okay? Things that we couldn't find with each other. That's why we broke up." There was a finality in her voice
But Sharpay kept pushing. "Different things?"
Why was she so interested? "Sharpay, I really don't want to talk about this anymore. Can we get back to work?"
Sharpay ceased her inquiries as she went back to the computer desk. They worked in silence until the pizza guy came with the pizza and salad. Gabriella walked in with the food and two cans of Coke, one diet and one regular, and set it on the floor of her room.
"Dinner's served." She handed Sharpay her salad and opened up the pizza box. The smell was intoxicating as Gabriella took a slice. Sharpay watched her as she ate the pizza. She wondered how Gabriella can look that good when she ate this kind of food.
"What kind of pizza is that?" Sharpay asked looking at the pizza with her mouth watering.
"A supreme. It's got pretty much everything on it." Gabriella looked at her and almost laughed. "Why? Do you want a slice?" Sharpay looked at her salad and diet Coke and thought for a moment.
"Just a slice." She grabbed a piece and brought it to her mouth. Gabriella watched her intently as if she was an infant about to take her first step. Sharpay took a bite and chewed. "My God, this is like the best thing I've ever put in my mouth." Gabriella burst out laughing.
"I'm not going to touch that line with a ten foot pole." Sharpay blushed realizing what she had just said.
"I just meant it's really good." She took another bite. "I really don't know why I'm on this diet. It prevents me from eating food like this."
"Then get off the diet. Sharpay, you have a really nice body." Sharpay raised her eyebrows at the comment and Gabriella bit her lip realizing, what she just said. "I mean, you don't need to be on a diet." Sharpay looked at her body.
"I know. I just like eating healthy."
"You can indulge from time to time." Gabriella waved another slice of pizza in her face. The two girls finished the medium pizza in about 15 minutes leaving the salad forgotten.
"I feel like I just ate an entire horse." Sharpay said as she patted her stomach.
"Want dessert?" She, too, was full. It amazed Gabriella how Troy ate so much and still had room for dessert. She couldn't even think of food at the moment.
"God, no." She stifled a yawn. "What time is it?" Gabriella looked at her watch.
"It's almost 12."
"I should be getting…" Another yawn. "Home."
"Why don't you just sleep over? You're too tired to drive home and I'd rather not have your driving accident on my conscience." Sharpay chucked a napkin at her.
"Thanks for your concern, but I can't sleep in these." She indicated her clothes.
"I'll lend you some pajamas. And we have extra toothbrushes and stuff." Gabriella got up and went to her dresser. Pulling out a pair of East High shorts and one of her shirts she handed them to Sharpay. She took the shirt and looked at it. "What's the matter?"
"Do you have anything bigger?" Gabriella arched her eyebrow.
"Bigger?"
"That's not what I meant I just tend to sleep in oversized shirts. They're more comfortable."
Gabriella went over to her closet and found a much larger shirt and gave it to her. Sharpay noticed that it was a guy's shirt.
"This is Troy's, isn't it?"
"Yeah, he left a bunch of shirts here and I never gave them back. And yes, they are comfortable."
"Thanks."
"No problem." Gabriella left to put away the pizza box and cans of coke.
Coming back to her room, she found Sharpay only in her bra and shorts. Gabriella blinked and opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. She knew she shouldn't have been staring awkwardly. She knew she should have left to go to the bathroom or something, but the only thing running through her mind was that little mole that Sharpay had below her collarbone. Gabriella finally snapped out of her reverie when Sharpay spoke. By that time, she had already put on the shirt.
"Are the extra toothbrushes in the bathroom?" She just nodded as Sharpay moved passed her on the way to the bathroom.
Gabriella ran her hands through her hair as she tried to figure out what just happened. She was completely confused on why she reacted the way she did. She shook her head. She was just tired and was working too long.
When Sharpay came back in, Gabriella was shocked to see that she had removed her make-up and put her hair in a ponytail. The entire time she's known her, Gabriella couldn't remember when she saw Sharpay without make-up. Gabriella stared awkwardly again. She was looking at her eyes that she, for the first time, realized were brown.
"What are you looking at?" Sharpay asked somewhat perturbed. Gabriella looked away.
"Nothing. It's just, I'm not used to seeing you—"
"Looking like crap?"
Gabriella let out a breath that she didn't notice she was holding. "No, just without all that make-up. And I don't think you look like crap." Sharpay just stared at her wondering why Gabriella was acting all weird and giving her compliments. First, about having a nice body and now this.
"Well, I'm tired and about to pass out." She made her way over to the bed and climbed in the side closest to the window.
Gabriella was about to turn off the lights when she looked over at Sharpay and asked, "You don't have any weird sleeping habits, do you?"
"No, not that I know of."
"Good, because if you snore or drool or move around a lot, I will push you off the bed."
"Oh please, like Troy didn't snore."
"Yeah, he did, and he ended up on the floor a lot of times." She reached over and turned off the light.
"Wait, did you and Troy do it on this bed?" Gabriella didn't say anything. "Ew!" Sharpay jumped out of the bed and started wiping herself as if she was trying to get dirt off of her.
Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Oh my God, grow up. I've changed the sheets since then." She pulled the covers back, inviting Sharpay back in. "Unless you want to sleep on the floor. Troy said it's not comfortable." Sharpay pouted as she got back in. "Goodnight, Sharpay."
"Night."
--&--&--&--
Sharpay didn't know what woke her up the next morning, but it took her a while to remember where she was. Gabriella's room was still dark and she heard rain and thunder coming from outside. She squinted her eyes when she saw movement by the window. Sharpay saw a dark figure standing by her side and without thinking, let out a scream.
"Ahhh!"
The dark figure screamed as well. "Ahhh!"
"What's going on?" Gabriella's panicked voice came through the screams. She turned on the lights and saw Troy standing by the window soaking wet from the rain. Sharpay was hiding under the covers.
"What are you doing here?!" Sharpay screamed when she realized it was Troy. He jumped back thinking she was going to attack him.
"Troy likes to come over whenever he wants to." Gabriella explained.
"Through your window?"
"Yeah, and what are you doing here?" Troy went over to Gabriella's side trying to avoid Sharpay.
"Troy! You're getting my floor all wet." Gabriella got up, got a towel, and threw it over Troy's head. He dried his hair and threw the towel back at her.
"Is that my shirt?" He asked Sharpay who finally emerged from the blankets. She glared at him. "Why is she wearing my shirt?" He asked Gabriella.
Gabriella took him by the arm and led him outside her room. "Troy just go downstairs and go eat some of my mom's breakfast. I'm pretty sure she's making pancakes."
"Pancakes? Sweet!" He sped downstairs. Gabriella looked over at Sharpay who was still recovering from Troy's appearance.
"You okay in there?"
Sharpay put her hand to her chest. "Yeah, I think my heart rate has returned to normal." Gabriella laughed.
"Yeah sorry about that, Troy likes to climb the tree by my balcony when he comes over."
"And that's normal to you?"
She shrugged. "He does it all the time."
Sharpay sat up. "And why are you guys not together anymore? You're both so equally weird."
"I already told you."
"Still doesn't make him climbing through your window any less strange."
Gabriella sighed. "Look, Troy's a great guy. Actually he's nothing short of amazing, but we're just better off friends. There wasn't any real chemistry between us."
Sharpay arched her eyebrow disbelieving. "Didn't you guys sleep together?"
"Well, yeah. It was great, don't get me wrong. There was just something missing. I thought it would get better, but it was always felt the same. I mean, it was just really… comfortable, but there wasn't any spark or passion." Gabriella stopped herself, realizing she was just sharing her sex life with Sharpay.
"What are you fifty? Passion and spark? It's sex!"
Gabriella rolled her eyes. "I guess it was like, this may sound really weird, but it was like if you were having sex with your brother…but not."
"Ew!" Sharpay gagged. "Ew! Seriously, I did NOT need to know that." Gabriella laughed.
"Your brother is hot." Sharpay covered her ears.
"Shut up! Just… stop talking." She threw a pillow at her. "Seriously, I do not need that in my head." Gabriella was cracking up. "Ugh, I wish I can gauge out my mind's eye."
"Well you kept asking."
"Too much information, Gabriella. Too much." Gabriella got back into the bed and sat next to Sharpay.
"So…you want to stay for breakfast?" There was a hint of hope in her voice. Sharpay looked at her and saw that hope in her eyes. She bit her lip not really knowing what to say then turned her attention to the clock on Gabriella's nightstand.
"Um, actually I should be getting home. My mom probably thinks I died in this storm."
"Oh okay." She could tell Gabriella was disappointed. And honestly, she was a bit disappointed too.
"I'm just gonna go get changed." Sharpay got out the bed and headed to the bathroom. Gabriella let out a long sigh once she left the room. She had no idea why she was feeling this way. She had no idea why there were knots in her stomach or why her heart felt all light. Gabriella brought the pillow Sharpay was laying on to her face. It smelled like lavender and laundry detergent. Like Sharpay.
--&--&--&--
Gabriella walked Sharpay to the front door and stood there awkwardly when Sharpay finally spoke.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow." Sharpay opened the door and braced herself for the rain.
"Hey, what are you doing later today?" Gabriella suddenly asked.
"I don't know. Why?"
"Well I was thinking we could--hang out-- um, work on the project."
"Yeah okay." Sharpay surprised herself at how readily she agreed.
"What? I mean, yeah cool." Gabriella wasn't really expecting Sharpay to say yes.
"Okay, well I'll come by around two?"
"That sounds good."
"Alright I'll see you then." Sharpay turned around and started to walk out into the rain.
"Wait, here take this." Gabriella handed her one of her zip ups that was hanging on the coat rack by the door. "So you don't get yourself wet." Sharpay took it and smiled.
"Thanks." She finally left the house and ran to her car. Gabriella watched her as she drove away. Sharpay gave her a little wave right before she pulled out of the driveway. She waved back and smiled. She didn't really know how long she was standing there with her hand still waving when she felt Troy come up behind her.
"So why did she sleep over?" Gabriella turned around and saw Troy holding a fork and a plate stacked with what looked like seven chocolate chip pancakes smothered in syrup. She rolled her eyes as she made her way to the kitchen.
"Did you at least leave me some?" He followed her forking mouthfuls into his mouth.
"Your mom's making more. And you didn't answer my question." Gabriella entered the kitchen, grabbed a plate, and went over to the stove where her mom was.
"Morning mom, sorry for the little screaming fiasco earlier." Her mom put two pancakes on her plate.
"That's okay, I figured it was Troy." Ms. Montez eyed him.
"What? You act like I've never done it before." Gabriella shook her head and made her way to the dining table. Troy followed her but not before filling his plate with more pancakes. He sat down across from her.
"So you want to tell me why she slept over?" He asked again.
Gabriella played around with her pancakes not looking at Troy. "We were working on the project late and she was too tired to drive home."
"So want to tell me the real reason why she slept over?"
She looked up. "What are you talking about?"
Troy stabbed his pancakes with the fork. "I mean she does live only 12 minutes away."
Gabriella put her chin on her hand and eyed Troy up and down. "12 minutes exactly?"
"Yeah."
"And how would you know that?" It was Troy's turn to play with his pancakes.
"That's how long it takes me to get to the Evans' when I go to work on the project with Ryan."
"Right."
"Anyways, we're not talking about me, we're talking about you."
"I thought we were just talking."
"You're a smart ass."
"That's why you love me."
"Can't argue with the truth." He reached over and tried to take some of Gabriella's pancakes but she pulled her plate away.
"Seriously, Troy, you had nine."
"So?"
She gave him a disapproving look as she gave him some of her pancakes. "Oh, to be a bottomless pit."
"So what are we doing today?" He asked when he finally stopped eating.
"Actually, I have other plans." Troy put his hand to his heart and feigned a hurt look.
"Without telling me? I thought we told each other everything!" Troy put his head in his hands and started to sob.
"You know, I think you're hanging out with Ryan too much. You're starting to act like him."
"Look who's talking." He muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing. Who are your plans with?"
Gabriella's face lit up a little. "Sharpay and I are going to work on the project some more."
"Touché."
"What?"
"Nothing, so you saw Sharpay last night." He started counting off his fingers. "She slept over and now you're seeing her again?" Gabriella started fidgeting and playing with the loose thread on her pants.
"So?"
"You sure you don't want to tell me anything?" Troy's eyes pierced right through her. She got up and started putting away her plate.
"Troy, I really don't know what you're talking about." He followed her into the kitchen.
"And I'm really not as dumb as you think I am."
"I beg to differ."
"I resent that." She laughed as she grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. Troy took her arm and turned her around so they were facing each other. He looked her in the eyes, all joking aside. "But, Gabriella, you know you can tell me anything right? I'm always here to listen." Gabriella looked into Troy's eyes and saw the genuine concern. She wanted to tell him what she was feeling but she had no idea exactly what it was.
"I know, Troy. But just let me deal with whatever this is by myself first, okay?"
"Alright."
--&--&--&--
Gabriella had no idea why she started to get really nervous as two o'clock started to approach. She started rearranging her room for no reason. She put all her books in different places and all her picture frames in size order. Gabriella took a step back and looked at what she just did.
"What the hell am I doing?" She asked her newly arranged room. Gabriella groaned as she started to put everything back the way it was. She hadn't even noticed the time when she heard her mother's voice coming from downstairs.
"Gabriella! Sharpay's here!" Gabriella immediately rushed to her mirror and checked herself to make sure she looked decent before going downstairs. She could hear her mom talking with Sharpay when she reached the bottom landing.
"I swear, Sharpay, you're here just as much as Troy is these days." Sharpay smiled.
"Don't worry, Ms. Montez. I promise I won't be climbing through Gabriella's window anytime soon." Gabriella laughed at the thought of Sharpay trying to climb the tree. "Oh hey." She just took notice of Gabriella standing on the landing of the stairs. "I was just telling your mom that I won't be pulling a Troy anytime soon."
"That's good because I don't think this household can handle another Troy when we already have a Ryan."
"That's true."
"You girls going to be working on your project?"
"Yeah, and if we're lucky, we'll probably finish it." Sharpay followed Gabriella up the stairs and into her room. "So the only thing we have to do is put your sketch and the scroll together in some semblance, and we're done." She gingerly took out the rolled scroll from her bag and handed it to Gabriella.
Gabriella carefully unraveled and read it. "Wow, this is really good. I really like your penmanship. It actually looks like it's from the Greek ages." Sharpay was used to being praised but coming from Gabriella, it seemed so much different. It was actually sincere.
"Can I see your sketch?" Sharpay asked indicating the sketchpad on Gabriella's dresser. She opened it and was utterly impressed. Sharpay was never the type of person to give out compliments, but the sketch was unbelievable.
Gabriella bit her lip waiting for Sharpay's reaction. She had no idea why, but she wanted Sharpay to like it and thought she'd be devastated if she didn't.
"Gabriella, this is amazing. The shading and the light and everything. If we don't get an A on creativity alone, I'm going to be really mad." Gabriella's face lit up at Sharpay's words.
The two girls put their finished projects together and held it up to examine it.
"Wow." They said simultaneously.
"This is probably the best project I've ever done with a partner."
"Yeah, me too. Ironically it's with you of all people." It wasn't meant to be an insult because Gabriella couldn't agree more. She remembered when they first started the project thinking that it was going to end in disaster and they'd both fail. "Oh, I actually also wrote the script for the newscast we're going to do in class. Read it and tell me what you think of it." Sharpay went to her bag and took out three pieces of paper stapled together and handed it to Gabriella.
Gabriella took it and sat on her bed. Sharpay sat next to her and they both started looking over it. As she read on, Gabriella became increasingly impressed at how well put together the script was. For all her glamour and dramatics, Sharpay was a surprisingly good writer. She turned to tell Sharpay exactly that and stopped. She had no idea how close they were sitting. Sharpay's head was bent low, eyes moving over the pages and seemed to be blissfully unaware of how Gabriella's heart rate just started beating double time. They were just close enough for Gabriella to feel strands of blonde hair tickling her nose. And if Sharpay were to turn her head just now, their noses would be touching.
Gabriella could smell her. Lavender and laundry detergent. She didn't think she'd ever tire of that smell. And up this close, it was intoxicating. She leaned closer to get more of it, simultaneously aware of how hot her body had suddenly become and that she was probably about to cross some serious boundaries. Sharpay chose that moment to look up, done with the reading. Wide brown eyes stared right back at her. Gabriella stopped breathing.
"This is really good." Gabriella's voice was shaky and she swallowed.
Sharpay looked equally as shaken. "What's good?"
You. Me. This close. "This script. It's good. Really, really, really good."
An amused expression crossed Sharpay's face. "One 'really' would have been enough." She moved closer.
"Yeah?" Gabriella breathed.
"Yeah."
Gabriella's gaze fell to Sharpay's mouth. She bit her lip, closed her eyes, and let herself fall.
She kept falling as Sharpay kissed her. Her lips were soft and tasted sweet. She was warm, hot. She felt Sharpay's tongue graze over her lips as she parted them. Gabriella felt like her entire body was on fire when Sharpay wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer. Their bodies were touching now. They had no idea how long they were kissing when Gabriella's door swung open. Sharpay jumped up so quickly that Gabriella didn't have the time to register what just happened. Her mom just entered the room.
"Hey ladies, how's the project going?" Sharpay was flushed as she started to gather her things.
"It's going great, actually we're done. I have to go now, it's late." She said all this very fast, not looking at Gabriella.
"Late? What? Sharpay…" Gabriella had gotten up and started following her around the room as she gathered her things.
"Yeah, I have to be home." She indicated her wrist that had no watch on it and started to leave the room. "Don't worry, I'll walk myself out. See you, Ms. Montez." Ms. Montez didn't think anything of Sharpay's strange behavior as she watched her leave the room.
"Sharpay!" Gabriella called but she already heard the front door close. She sat back on her bed in disbelief.
"So you guys are all done?" Her mom asked. Gabriella just stared ahead trying to wrap her mind around on what just happened a minute ago.
"Yeah…we're all done."