Thanxz for all of your great reviews, and YES. This is going to be a Troypay, not a Jarpay or whatever. Jason is Sharpay's decoy. You know the one that makes her realize...

Hey. That's giving away the story. And that's not how I roll. On to the chapter.

"So... you and Sharpay..." Chad started he leaned against the bike rack outside of the school as the sky went pink. We were all a little exhausted from basketball conditioning, and Chad's talking was the only thing keeping the rest of the guys awake before our parents picked us up. "Are you guys... a thing?" he interrogated Jason.

Jason furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and shook his head. "Sharpay? No. I always thought that..." he trailed off and nodded in my direction, earning a laugh from the rest of the guys. I turned red. I was confused. Were they laughing because it was so obvious that I was curoius about Sharpay? Or because she still liked me and it was utterly embarrassing...? But I did what any normal eighth grade boy would do. I denied it all.

"No way!" I practically shouted. "I... I uh..." my lie crumbled from beneath me. Luckily, Chad cut me off, preparing one of his smart-mouth remarks.

"He's too busy with Bridgett Oliver..." he playfully rolled his eyes, shoving me at the shoulder. "Jason, you hang out with girls too much." he stated, and I was glad that the attention was taken off of me. "I mean, you're always around Sharpay, giving everyone the wrong idea." he shrugged, almost as if it made perfect sense, and didn't need anymore explaining. But I was still lost in confusion. Why had they ganged up on me like that? It just wasn't normal.

"She's my best friend." Jason said simply, like it was actually okay for a boy to have a girl as a best friend. Maybe if it was some normal girl, it would have been fine, but this was Sharpay we were talking about! The rest of the boys fell silent. This was a special case, a boy, actually being best friends with a girl. We suddenly knew what we were dealing with. A man. A man not afraid of saying the wrong thing to a girl or suddenly feeling aroused just by the sight of a pretty girl. I suddenly grew a strong respect for Jason. But it was a shame that we were still on the subject of Sharpay, because along with that respect, a pang of jealousy crashed in. "What'd I say?" he asked, noticing the silence. The same exact thoughts were running through every basketball player's head: Jason's a fourteen-year-old mature man.

"Dude..." Chad widened his eyes in the same awe and bewilderment he did when someone had swung open the girl's locker room door, revealing a number of half-naked seventh grade girls the year before. "That's... peculiar." For once, Chad's voice didn't drip with sarcasm. This was most definitely different.

The first car of the evening pulled up to the curb of the school. "In fact, I'm heading over there right now." he shrugged nonchalantly and tossed his duffel bag into the white Jeep waiting for him. "See you guys tomorrow?" he asked. It was like we had met Jason for the first time. And he rocked.

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It was like everyday after school. Except for the fact that for the first time in the history of Sharpay Evans, she wore torn jeans as she gardened. I wondered what that meant, that she had traded in her usual floral sundress and wide straw hat for a pair of faded Levis and New Balances. I knew it had something to do with the fact that Jason was sitting right next to her in the dirt, but I didn't know what. Hold on... why did I care?

"Okay... I'm lost." my mother came from behind me and dropped the white curtain. "Everyday after school, I find you right here. In the exact same spot. What is out there that you find so interesting?" I quickly stepped in front of the curtain, blocking her view.

"Nothing!" I said quickly and stuffed my hands into my pockets. "It's nothing... I swear." My mother gave me a confused look. "It's just... always nice out." I shrugged, and I could feel how skeptical my mom was radiating between us. She turned around, heading back towards the kitchen, and I made sure that I could hear the sound of clattering pots and pans before opening the curtain again.

My hands were still in the pockets of my jeans, and I realized that I still had the four flowers Sharpay had given me deep in my pockets. My stomach dropped as Sharpay and Jason inched towards each other, almost as if some force was bringing them together. And what was I supposed to do, throw something at them? All I could do was will them to tear apart. My eyes widened seeing his lips just centimeters from hers, and my fingertips nervously grazed the delicate tips of the flower petals in my pocket.

Across the street, Sharpay suddenly froze. She looked back to me in my window, and all she could do was stare. It was almost as if the flowers had worked telepathically. I dropped the curtain, not being able to take her stare. Our experiences and interactions were always borderline-creepy.

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Sharpay shoved a pink flyer into my chest, not even noticing that I was carrying an armload of books. As I bent over to pick up the texts that had fallen to the floor, I read the sheet of paper:

Save The Middle School's Music Program...

Before It's Gone For Good.

Just a few simple words. I had heard that our middle school wasn't able to afford the musical instruments and sheet music that cluttered the choir room anymore, and that they were ready to take away our musical program. But it didn't really bother me. I wasn't into the whole musical performance thing. I grinned, thinking of how ridiculous it would be for one of my friends to try out for a school musical. And I burst into laughter imagining Chad in a leotard, singing showtunes... "What's so funny?" Bridgett Oliver's manicured hands snatched the sheet of paper out of mine and she read the thick bold letters. "This has Sharpay written all over it." she cackled. "Who cares about stuff like this?" she asked.

I looked down the hallway, seeing Sharpay silently hand out flyers. Half of her copies ended up on the school floor. "Poor thing..." Bridgett Oliver shook her head in pity before crumpling up the flyer and tossing it to the ground. "Come on, we're going to be late for class." Bridgett Oliver flashed her green eyes in my direction, and for the first time, I realized that Bridgett Oliver was like a Barbie doll- drop-dead gorgeous on the outside, but just empty and plastic on the inside. Why couldn't I just say no? Why couldn't I say that this whole relationship was running dry? "You coming?" she batted her long eyelashes at me and smiled, taking my free hand.

That was why.

Because she was pretty. And I was good-looking. Because it's what everyone else expects from us. Just for once, I wanted to rebel. To say no. "Yeah." I nodded as we walked down the hallway together, turning heads as usual. We passed Sharpay, and Bridgett Oliver giggled into her palm, just to show Sharpay how ridiculous she was being. It was hard for me to admit, but I let the thought run through my head that if 'beautiful' was what my peers expected from me, then why was I paired with 'pretty' Bridgett Oliver?

And not someone as beautiful as Sharpay Evans?

Gasp! He admitted it! Dont' worry, that whole 'Save the Music' thing is coming back to haunt this story. Leave a review! And remember... THIS IS A TROYPAY!