Brain Drain

Chapter Ten

Ball Practice Gone Wrong

Ryan was fretting; he was ready to pull his hair out. He was standing by Sharpay's locker, waiting for her to turn up. She had told him that she would meet him at school because she needed some more time to pick out her outfit. It had to be "Sharpay-ed" enough for her. He had every reason to be nervous; she could do something stupid, be late for school, or someone could mention her ice queen façade.

"Oh shit," he mumbled to himself. "Where is she?!" He had tried so hard not to spill the beans to Sharpay, but he couldn't hold it in, he really needed to tell her. He saw a glimpse of blonde hair and sprinted down the hall.

Breathing heavily he spluttered, "Sharpay!" She looked at him, weirdly, her eyes still sparkling with happiness.

"Uhm, Ryan. Are you okay? You look a bit… worn out."

"Look, I need to tell you something about the guys."

"Okay," she nodded, holding onto Ryan's arm and walking with him. They'd gotten much closer since the little accident. Sharpay hadn't been mean to him and he wasn't holding back to say something to her. He wasn't scared of her anymore, and that was an improvement for him. In some ways, this accident had been good, right?

"It… doesn't matter anymore, it's fine." He had changed his mind for the one-hundredth time today, he couldn't do that to her. He couldn't break her heart, even though she'd done it many times to himself, he couldn't do it to his sister. He loved her.

"Oh, okay." She flipped her hair back, and spun around. " So, you like my outfit?" She giggled and clapped her hands.

"Yeah, I love it Shar, it looks… nice?"

"Thanks Ry! Okay. I'm gonna go catch up with the girls, okay?" He nodded and let her walk off, strutting along the hallway with her Chanel sunglasses planted perfectly upon her head. She saw the girls, they were standing next to Taylor's locker. She waved, but before she could walk over, Troy stepped in front of her.

"Hey Shar." He grinned and she nearly passed out. That boy's smile could make any girl faint.

"Hey Troyboy!" She smiled back; he let his eyes wander for a little walk down to her cleavage. She noticed the silence and added, "So, what's up?"

"H-Huh?" He looked back up to her face, "Oh, yeah." He looked to her neck, noticing the necklace that he'd bought her. "Hey! You're wearing the necklace!" His smile grew larger.

"Mhm," she said. "I love it, but… Troy, what does this mean?" She showed him the writing on the back. He raised an eyebrow.

"You have to work it out for yourself," he winked and walked away leaving her even more confused. She shook her head and walked over to the girls who were staring at her.

"Hey girlies!" She smiled; Taylor and Kelsi smiled back and returned her hello. Gabriella just stood there, looking at her, she wasn't glaring, but she wasn't looking at her in a good way either. "Gabriella? What's wrong?"

"What were you talking to Troy about?" She immediately answered.

"Uhm, he said… hi, and that he realised I had the necklace on he bought me. Then, I asked him what the writing meant on the back." Gabriella nodded, and looked to the floor.

Sharpay could understand her mood. They'd broken up and she'd really loved him, but she didn't have to be like that with her, did she? She wondered if something had happened with her after the sleepover, maybe he called her or maybe he didn't call her. Sharpay expected him to call and apologise, apparently not.

It was just so weird for her. She knew she didn't remember any of Troy and Gabriella's relationship before she hurt her head, but what she had seen for now – it was perfect. It was weird that Troy didn't think so anymore. It made her feel so sad that it could happen with just a snap of her fingers. Troy and Gabriella were all happy together and then suddenly they weren't. It confused her a lot.

She wanted the hurt Gabriella felt to go away. She wanted to make everything okay for her. She was her best friend, and she wanted her to be happy. Of course she was still very concerned about the things she overheard during their sleepover, because they were frightening. She couldn't quite get it to make sense, and that was why she tried not to think too much about it. It was weird that Kelsi had mentioned something about a mean Sharpay. She knew that she could be talking about somebody else, but what were the chances of her knowing another Sharpay? They were low, this Sharpay knew that.

And also the things they said about Troy. How the 'old' (this confused Sharpay too; what did they mean by 'old'?) Sharpay would have driven to his house to get him to go out with her, right after Gabriella and him broke up? Sharpay didn't know anyone who would do such things to their friends. It was other people feelings in the matter, and you don't just joke around with them. She really felt like she wanted to ask them what was up, but then again she didn't have the nerve. She'd have to think more about it, and it'd probably be a spur of the moment kind of thing if it did happen.

"What did it mean?" Taylor then wanted to know, referring to the inscription.

Sharpay shrugged, "He said I had to work that out myself." She replied, before she reached into her purse for her chapstick; her lips were kind of dry, she believed.

Kelsi raised an eyebrow, "Weird." She mumbled, before she turned back to look at Gabriella, a smile on her face, "Anyway, I think I remember which song you're referring to. It was… eh, it was the opening song, right? The one that Arnold and Minnie sang together?"

Gabriella nodded in reply and started to talk about something regarding the song and her and Troy, and Sharpay just listened closely while she made sure her lips stayed perfect. She got that the three were talking about something to do with the Twinkle Town musical last year, but she felt so stupid because she didn't know what it was.

She had been there, she had been a part of it, and her best friends had been the leads. She should be able to remember these kind of things, and she always felt like such a dumb blonde when something like this occurred; when something she didn't remember was brought up and she had to nod along and act perfectly fine. She hated it, and frankly she just wanted her life to get back to normal.

"Do you remember the skirt you wore?" Taylor then questioned and looked at Gabriella, "The little one with the polka dots. It was so unbelievable cute."

Gabriella smiled, "Yeah, but kind of different."

"That's what made it so cute!" Kelsi agreed, and Taylor nodded too; that had probably been her thought as well.

Sharpay then butted into the conversation. It was about a skirt, and she HAD to know what exactly it had looked like, "Hey… what colour was it?" she questioned, hoping her best friends would answer that simple question for her.

But Taylor just scrunched her nose up in an adorable way before she nudged Kelsi in the side, "Do you remember the hat you always used to wear back then?"

"Oh yeah!" Kelsi's face lit up in a huge smile which reached all the way into her eyes, "It was green, right?"

Gabriella shook her head, hair falling across her shoulders, "I don't think you can call that colour green, Kels." She mumbled, with a sneaky smile across her face, and Sharpay felt herself sigh loudly.

They didn't want to explain everything to her, and she sort of understood them. Why would they want to have to relive every detail just because she wasn't there? She ought to find someone else to hang out with for now. Maybe her girlfriends would be done with this conversation during lunch and she could talk to them about important stuff there. It was a pretty cool idea if she did say so herself (and duh, she like did, because apparently her friends wouldn't listen to her!).

She excused herself to her friends, but they didn't even notice that she stepped away. She felt really sad. It was these kind of things she wished she could just wipe away. Otherwise her life was pretty perfect in her opinion. She could feel herself smile when the bell rang, therefore she didn't have to deal with finding something to take her thoughts away from her previous life.

--

Sharpay had to admit that during lunch her girlfriends still weren't done talking about their (apparently) very cool high school past. It bothered her that they didn't notice how left-out she felt, but she figured they had their rights to reminisce at times. Therefore she had settled herself with Troy instead. Chad and the other guys had gone to play a round of baseball, but luckily for her Troy didn't want to participate in that. Which meant she had someone to share her lunch with.

And she could try to get Troy to tell her, what the inscription on the back of her necklace meant.

"Aw, please tell me, Troysie!" she begged him, using her best puppy-dog eyes, but apparently they didn't work on Troy. He seemed immune towards her tries, and it was kind of fun to have to work for it right now, even if it bothered her that she didn't know.

Troy shook his head as he chewed his sandwich, "No way." He firmly said, and locked eyes with her, "I won't tell you, Sharpay, you're just gonna have to wait. And please," he added, with a mischievous smile across his face, "can we talk about something else now?"

Sharpay nodded and searched her brain for something else to discuss with him, but as she kept thinking, nothing came up. She would just have to do something great to start up a conversation. Her eyes searched him quickly, just to think of something, anything!, and landed on his basketball jersey. She smiled to him as she said, "I really want to see you play a game soon." She said, with a glint in her eyes.

Troy smiled warmly at her, he looked happy to hear her say so, "Sure, that'd be awesome." He replied, as he took another bite of his sandwich and chewed before he continued, "Hey, we actually have a team practice after school. You could watch us if you want?"

Sharpay's face stiffened, she wasn't quite sure what to reply to that. She had an English assignment due in a few days and she had thought she would begin on it today after school. But really… she did want to watch him play.

"You could do homework meanwhile?" Troy quickly suggested, hope in his voice, "On the bleachers?"

Sharpay felt herself smile again. She didn't know what it was about Troy, but he managed to get her to do everything. She simply couldn't say no to him, because he was so cute. She remembered the crush she used to have on him. She still found him completely adorable, but she would never do anything to him when he was Gabriella's ex-boyfriend. It was one of the rules, and so that be it. She couldn't break a rule.

"Please?" Troy continued.

"Oh yeah," Sharpay gave in, and kicked him lightly beneath the table, "I'll just have to work on that assignment too. But yeah… I'd love to watch you at practice."

Troy couldn't hide his happy smile, "Great!" he said, "That's awesome…" he took another bite of his sandwich and Sharpay sipped her water. When he had chewed again, he then added, "Sooo… tough assignment, huh?"

--

Sharpay waited for her two best friends at her locker, like they did everyday after school. She was going to tell them she couldn't come because she was helping out with something after school. She didn't want Gabriella to get mad with her; she loved Gabriella like a sister and she really didn't want to hurt her feelings.

She stood there for ten minutes, waiting and waiting for them. They didn't show up, they didn't come, they'd left her. Sharpay looked down the halls, no one was coming. The place was deserted. She sighed and made her way down the halls to the gym. She really didn't understand why they hadn't met up with her. She'd have to ask them, they would have a good explanation; it would've been something urgent. They wouldn't have left her on purpose, would they?

"Nah, they wouldn't do that. They love me too much," she smiled and then realised she was talking to herself. She was glad that there was no one around, that would've been embarrassing.

The blonde walked into the gym, her stilettos click-clacking against the floor. She held her books close to her chest and walked up the stairs to the bleachers. She turned around, to see if Troy had came out while she had had her back to the court. He hadn't. She smiled and sat down, straightening her skirt out. She pulled her books, and a piece of paper out, resting it on her knee. She was really excited to watch Troy play, but she was nervous too. She didn't feel right, she felt like she was betraying Gabriella, going behind her back. But she wasn't really, was she? She was only watching Troy play a game, and by Troy she meant the whole team. She clicked her pen four or five times and bounced her knees up and down.

She looked down to the piece of paper and wrote her name in the top left hand corner. She didn't even understand the work she was supposed to be doing. It was about some stupid book or something; she hadn't even read the book. She began to write. She was concentrated so hard, that she didn't even notice Troy walk into the gym with Chad walking behind him.

"Yo dude, I heard you broke up with Gabriella. Why, man?" Chad put a comforting hand on Troy's shoulder, but Troy shrugged it off and shook his head.

"It doesn't matter," Chad looked up at the bleachers, passing him the ball.

"What's she doing here?" He pointed towards her and Troy looked up.

"She wanted to watch a game, so I told her she could come watch tonight while we practice." Chad nodded, he understood. It's not like Sharpay could remember them playing a game.

"Dude, I broke up with Gabriella because… I-I have feelings for someone else." He scratched the back of his neck, while balancing the basketball in one hand. "It's complicated."

"I bet it is, do I know her?" Troy nodded, reluctantly. "Wait. It's not Taylor, is it?"

"Noo, no." Chad let out a sigh of relief, "She's your woman, Chad."

"So, who is it?" Troy looked away. "Dude, you can tell me." Troy looked towards Sharpay and back to Chad, nodding.

"Her."

"SHARPAY?"

Sharpay looked up and realised they were on the court, she smiled sweetly to Troy and waved. Troy sent a flash of warning to Chad, and waved back to Sharpay, sending her a smile that could make any girl faint. Once Sharpay had looked back down, he thumped Chad on the arm.

"Dumbass."

"Dude, are you serious?! That's like… wrong!"

"I kno-… wait, what? How?"

"She has a mind of like … a ten year old."

"Not anymore!"

"Still, she doesn't remember anything. Her mind is fucked up, and so is yours apparently!" Troy bounced the ball and made a shot at the net.

"It's not that bad, is it?"

"Dude, it's bad. You just broke up with her best friend!" Troy frowned, "She can't go out with you, it's like the rules of women or whatever!"

"… And you know this, why?"

"Taylor made me watch Mean Girls," he mumbled.

"That explains it," He laughed and passed the ball to his afro friend. "But Chad, I really like her. I can't just ignore my feelings, I need to tell her."

"Then tell her, I'm not stopping you." Chad dribbled the ball. "Just be prepared to be slapped by Gabriella, she'll find out. She knows everything, and I mean everything. Except you liking the Ice Queen."

Chad walked back into the changing rooms, to pump up the boys. Troy practised his free-throws, while thinking about what he'd just told his best friend.

Gabriella? I never thought of her feelings, and I never thought of Sharpay hating me because I'm going to tell her. Or ask her out, or whatever. I'm not even sure yet! Ugh, stupid me. He looked up at her, her blonde locks covering her face as she leant down, writing. He smiled, she was so dedicated. You need to sort yourself out Troy, talk to her. Go on.

He quickly glanced above his shoulder to make sure that the guys weren't out yet, before he let his ball fall to the ground, and heard it bounce and bounce as he made his way towards the blonde goddess. She was so absorbed in her work, she didn't even hear him, and only looked up when he sat down next to her on the bleachers.

"I thought you guys were going to play?" she wondered aloud and clicked her pen a few times, before she let it rest on the piece of paper she had been writing at before.

Troy smiled warmly at her; he loved the way she looked and the way she spoke. There was just something to enchanting about her. He knew it was wrong of him to fall for his girlfriend's friend, but he hadn't been able to help himself. That was why he had broken up with Gabriella in the first place – he didn't want it to be so tough. He just wanted Sharpay to be his. And he was going to get her. He remembered how they were almost a thing so many years ago, and now he wished he hadn't been so dumb. She was an amazing girl, and he wanted to be with her. It didn't matter that she couldn't really remember anything; she had to know of his feelings.

"Yeah…" Troy softly mumbled and got lost in the way her eyes twinkled and the way she looked in the faint light coming down on them, "Yeah, we were. I think Chad's talking to the boys. I'm not really a part of that…" he chuckled lamely, not knowing how to explain to her why he wasn't in there with them, discussing everything. Because he didn't have a good explanation. The only explanation he had, was that he wanted to be with her, but that would probably freak her out; sure, he wanted her to know, but he had got to take it slow.

He had to remind himself of that, though, because all he could think about was what it would be like to kiss her right that moment. Her lips looked so inviting and soft. They were all red and he bet her lipgloss tasted amazing. It was all sparkly, and she looked stunning. Gabriella never used to wear that stuff; not that it was a must or anything, it was just weird how different the two of them could be. Gabriella would never dress up just for school, but Sharpay always did.

"Well, that's cool, I guess." Sharpay replied and leaned slightly back, so she was resting against the bench behind her, "I think it's awesome… the concept of basketball, I mean." She held a slight pause, and Troy studied her every move, "I'll never get the rules of course, but I think it's great that so many people can care so much about something. Hello, the entire school worships the ground you players walk on!" she laughed, and Troy couldn't help but chuckle lamely along, because her laugh was stunning.

He shook his head though, "They do not!" he told her, a slight whine in his voice.

She gave him a stern look beneath those long eyelashes, "They do, Troy, just admit it." she looked away from him for a second, and stared oddly into space, "And it's great, I really think it is," she continued, but then softly added, "I just wish the drama club would have as many supporters. People don't like us… for some odd reason."

Troy nudged her softly in the side, "I just think you're misunderstood." He felt for her, he really did. She cared so much about drama and plays, and the school never even showed up for any productions before he and Gabriella joined the club, "They don't know how hard work it is. I didn't know either, but since I've tried, I totally respect you guys. It's tough – there are a lot of things to take care on."

Sharpay bit her lip, "There really is." She said, her voice was firm and he could tell that she really believed what she told him right that moment; she believed every word and she wanted to stand by it. She was so dedicated and determined… and he was so attracted to her.

"Hey Troy?" she added, her voice now light and happy again; it was clear that their former, meaningful conversation was over, "Thank you for being best friends with me. Thank you for standing by me." she told him, and glanced right into his eyes. He felt so moved by her. Those brown orbs held so much emotion, and right now, everything that floated in there was aimed towards him. And it was all love and devotion.

He couldn't have felt more special.

He swallowed hard and rested a hand on her thigh, just to feel a bit closer to her, "You're welcome, Sharpay." He whispered. He was really close and doing something. Something he shouldn't do because he really wanted her, but he had to talk to her about it first – but the urge to kiss her was so strong, he almost couldn't hold back.

She giggled, "Give me a hug!?" she said, before she placed her arms around him and pulled him so close he couldn't possibly get much closer. He savoured every second of it; every sense, smell and touch. It was amazing to have her that close. He knew he wouldn't be able to describe it if someone asked him afterwards. There were no words for this feeling; it was too surreal and too amazing for him.

As she pulled back from him, the words just blurted out of his mouth, "I love you, Sharpay." He knew he should have prepared her for this, he knew he shouldn't have just let the words slip that way, but he couldn't help himself. When she was so close to him, she intoxicated him. He had never experienced anything like that before and it made his mind go wild. He'd do anything – anything – to have her. And he just had to let her know how he felt.

She smiled warmly at him, "Well, I love you too, Troysie." She replied, but he knew she didn't mean it in the same way as he did. To her they were friends; maybe because that was how she felt, or perhaps – and this was his hope speaking up – because she didn't have the courage to tell him how she really felt. But this was it. He was going to do it now.

"No." he firmly said and stared deeply into her eyes so he had her full attention, "No, Sharpay… I really love you." he could hear his own voice, he could listen to himself and tell that he was getting extremely emotional. But this was so new to him, he couldn't help himself. Perhaps he got carried along, but what's a boy to do? "I'm in love with you…"

As the last words left his lips, he saw her face stiffen slightly. A confused look came in her eyes, and they moved from side to side; first searching his right eye, then searching his left. Eventually they settled down and she scooted away from him just an inch, "What?" she asked him.

He scooted right after on the bleachers, "I'm in love with you." he said, and felt himself swallow a lump that had formed in his throat, "That's why I broke up with Gabriella. Because I couldn't lie anymore, because I had to let you know how I felt."

"But Troy!" she argued and stood up from her seat; he followed right after so they were at the same eyelevel, "You can't love me like that!" she continued, shaking her head rapidly, "You're Gabriella's ex! I'd never do that to her! And…" she added, her voice going slightly softer, "I'm not ready for that kind of thing yet. I'm still not fully recovered and it might set me back, and I might…"

She didn't continue, she just stared at him helplessly. He didn't know what to say. He felt like his heart had broken just because she told him those things. But he wasn't about to give up on her; he wanted her, and he was going to get her. Even if he had to show her how amazing they could be. He'd just have to prove it to her! That was it; he had to do it that way, if he really wanted her.

And he really did.

"Sharpay…" he softly said and took a step closer, slowly reaching out, testing the waters to see if she'd move, but she didn't. She let him place his hand on her shoulder, and he immediately felt like his wish was within his reach, "Sharpay, I really, really like you…"

She brushed his hand off again, and he had to admit; the angry look suited her rather well too, "No!" she said, voice harsh, "You can't like me, so forget it Troy. Gabriella's my best friend, and even if she hasn't treated me the best, I'd never do such thing to her, it's regarding her feelings, I know you have feelings too, and frankly so have I, but I'm not getting into something like this, I'm not! Please, please, just understand, because I-"

Troy had cut her off. The angry look had really given him a new side of her, and whether or not she wanted it, he had decided to show her who he was, so he kissed her. He pressed him lips to her glossed one and gave the kiss everything he had. He hoped she might realized what a great catch he was, and that she should forget all about Gabriella's feelings, but none of that happened.

She was stiff as a board for about ten seconds, and then she started to struggle. She pushed and scratched, her long, manicured fingernails ripping his bare arms. She wasn't the strongest person, but she moved her head from side to side, mumbled against his lips, and eventually she had him pushed off.

"What are you doing!?" she screeched, her brown eyes full of hurt and anger. He hated to admit it, but he saw tears in there as well, "How could you do that to me Troy?" she asked him, voice getting soft and emotional again, "How can you just do something like that to me…? You're supposed to care."

He brushed his lips off with the back of his hand and gave her a perplexed look.

"I can't believe you!" she continued, her voice gaining strength again, as she seemed to gather herself together, "You're a jerk Troy! How can you do this to me, huh!? To Gabriella too!"

She seemed so angry, and right that moment Troy hated her for it. He hated her for thinking of herself and of Gabriella, but not thinking of him. Wasn't he important too? Didn't he mean anything to her?, "And what about me!?" he asked her, voice hurt and full of pain, "Maybe you haven't changed so much!" he added, his voice raising too, to match her previous one, "Maybe you are still an ice queen!"

She stared blankly at him, and he regretted the words they minute they left his lips. She didn't say anything; her look was confused and hurt, and she turned around on her heel, left all her stuff and ran out of the gymnasium.

How could I be so stupid?

So yeeah. We hope you enjoyed this chapter much. We know it's not the best writing at all, but that's just how it's gonna be. Thank you for the reviews for last chapter. Please review us again? We'll update faster next time, we promise.

- Stessa and Bethany.

Disclaimer; We don't own HSM.