I'm so so so sorry about the super super late update. But I moved and I'm in college now, and it's alot of fun. and I'll try to keep on updating. I know I'm leaving this a terrible moment. But I will try my best to write it asap. Thanks for being patient.

Petting the Mountain Lion

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Thursdays, I think they're the crazy days. Coach sees it as us "getting back into it" after getting a "break" from the day before. Even though the majority of us do some sort of work out on our break, so called. It's one thing then another and another, and he just piles it onto us, and by the end all of us are so exhausted that we can't tell the showers from the decorative fountain outside of the school. And trust me, bathing in the fountain outside, is not good basketball PR.

He rounded us up to do one-on-one drills. Troy and I grabbed a ball, and started. He went left, I blocked, he tried again, again stopped. For the third time, he faked right, and then tried left again, I stopped him. "Dude, I get it, you can go left just as well as you can go right. But everyone knows that now."

Troy grinned sheepishly and we went back to practicing. "So, you know the long weekend we have coming up?"

I looked at him curiously, "Yeah, what about it?"

"I was thinking, we should go camping."

My eyes lit up at the thought. "That would be cool, we can bring along the whole team, and make it really sweet."

"Well," He hesitated. "I was actually thinking that it would just be me, you, and the Evans."

I stopped and the ball dropped from my hands. "No. No! Make it a Hell no!"

Troy mustered up the sincerest look that he possessed. "Please? I know she wasn't the nicest to you at the after party, but you did kind of deserved it."

I stopped to remember the events, her hands tangled in my hair, mouth on top of mine, pushed up against a wall. Man she was hot, and just so tempting... I shook my head to clear the thoughts. "No, she's crazy. I like Ryan, he's a cool kid, but his sister? Seriously, no."

A whistle sounded to our left, we both turned to see Coach, Troy's dad, glaring at us. "Bolton! Danforth! This isn't afternoon tea, now go get your ball and get your head in the game!"

Troy hustled to get the ball, and when he came back he threw it at me hard, "We'll talk about this after practice."

(page break)

When we were done, I tried to get out as fast as possible. Troy was my best friend, but I was not spending three days on an island in seclusion with the Mountain Lion. There would be no one to hear my screams.

I heard footsteps behind me. Trying to hurry up without being obvious about it, shouldering my bag and ducking my head. I pretended not to hear the calls of my name behind me. There was a tap on my shoulder, and I sighed and turned around, and met Troy's pleading eyes.

Sighing I turned to face him, "What?"

"Come on, I'll give you a ride home."

Giving him a look, I paused, getting a ride would be a lot nicer than walking. "Fine."

As we walked to the car, I couldn't help but think, there had to be some sort of ulterior motive to this camping trip. I mean, whether you like someone or not, you don't just volunteer to spend three days in the wilderness with two high maintenance people.

Troy put the key in the ignition, and looked at me. I sighed, and looked at him. "Well?"

"Well, say you'll come with?"

"No!"

"Why not?"

I sighed again, "Because, you're asking me to torture myself."

"Not exactly..."

"You have no idea what she did to me last weekend."

"It couldn't have been THAT bad!"

"Actually-" I paused, "It was." Originally, I thought I was going to tell him what actually happened, but then I realized that maybe I should think before I said anything about that, after all, it was just a one time thing.

"Come on man, it's only for a few days. Besides you'd enjoy watching Sharpay out in the wild, admit it."

I considered this thought for a while, it would be interesting to see the Mountain Lion in her unnatural habitat. "Well... are you sure you need me around?"

Troy raised an eyebrow, "Me in the woods with two inexperienced Evans?"

He did have a point, I nodded, "I guess."

"Thanks man, you're awesome."

I smirked, "Yeah, what else?"

"There is one more thing," Pulling up to a stop sign he gave me a hesitant look.

I rolled my eyes, of course, "What?"

"You know how I have a two person tent, and you have a two person tent?"

"Yeah?" It wouldn't be a problem, Troy and I had shared a tent before.

"I sort of promised Ryan I'd protect him from the bears... so,"

He pulled into my drive way, he was not... Oh great.

"I understand if you don't want to, but it would just mean a lot to Ryan and I, because well we've gotten really close lately, and I really like him... I mean- I like spending time with him." He looked a bit flustered at this slip up.

I looked him in the eye, and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Troy?"

"Yes?" He looked kind of nervous.

"You're gay, I get it, I'm cool with it."

His eyes lit up, and his face grew into a wide smile. "Really? How? I mean, we've been trying to keep it secret, and we didn't want anyone to know and... You really just knew?"

"Please, the entire basketball team knows, the looks you give each other?"

He grimaced, "That obvious?"

"Yeah."

"So you'll do it."

"You owe me man, you owe me big." I got out of the car and shut the door behind me. Troy sped off, still a little bit delirious from the weight lifted off of his shoulders.

(page break)

I tapped a pencil against my note book. Looking at it again, I tried to figure it out, "Okay, the cosine of 60 is one half, so the secant is..." Running my hands through my hair in frustration, I tried it again, trig needs to die.

Giving up I picked up my phone and called Taylor.

She picked up after a ring, "Yes, dear?"

"I don't get it!" I tried to keep the whiny tone out of my voice, but I don't think I succeeded very well.

Taylor laughed quietly, and I could just see her push her own Calculus BC book aside, and switch the phone from her right ear to her left, "What don't you get Chad?"

"All of it."

"Okay well, tell me the problem."

I told her and in a matter of minutes she set me straight, and helped me through the next couple of problems.

"Thanks Tay, you're a life saver."

"I know," I could tell she was smiling through the tone in her voice, "So, what are the big plans for the long weekend? I was thinking we could rent Casa Blanca and have a good movie night."

"Sorry baby, but I promised Troy I would go camping with him this weekend, and I'd invite you along, but I know it's not your thing. And he's bringing Ryan... along with Ryan's sister."

"I don't want to come then."

I laughed imagining the look that crossed her face, "I know. But Taylor? There is one more thing."

"Yes?"

"Well, Troy wants to share a tent with Ryan so that leaves me with..."

"Sharpay," she finished my sentence for me.

"Yeah..."

"It's okay. I trust you."

Oh great, here she is all sweet and trusting and I just... at the party and... wow.

"Taylor, there's something else I have to tell you."

I waited for a response, but I guess she was waiting for me to tell.

"I-I... I think you should go shopping with Gabriella this weekend or something, make it a girls weekend, you know have fun! Watch old romance movies with her, she'll enjoy it more." I couldn't tell her, I don't know how she would react. Besides it's not like it was ever happening again, the She-lion hates me and I hate her, right?

Taylor giggled quietly pulling me out of my thoughts, "Okay, sounds like a plan, I'll be sure to tell her it was all your idea."

"And that's why I love you."

"Love you too." She hung up, and I turned back to my math. What's the Arcsine of 90 degrees?

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Danielle, you're not a bad beta, you are amazing and I love you. And the rest of you might become as cool as her if you would leave me some feedback.