Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical…or anything in this fic as of yet besides plot and such.

Chapter Dedication: This one's for Charmingly Char for her birthday.

Chapter 3: Albuquerque, We Have A Problem

Sharpay was sitting on her bed, looking into her closet. If her parents were going to send her to camp then she might as well dress for it. She couldn't believe Ryan was still hanging out with those Wildcats. It hurt when her friends ditched her to dance on stage at Lava Springs with her classmates, but it stung so much worse when Ryan had gone behind her back to work with Kelsi to sabotage her only chances of getting together with Troy. Well, she'd just have to act like she was glad that she was going to camp and Ryan wasn't. After all, she could always just spend the week somewhere else and pretend she'd gone.

She sighed as she lied back on her bed and gave up trying to plan her week away from home. She didn't want to admit it, but she'd miss her brother too much. She'd cried her eyes out in her dressing room at the talent show not because she wouldn't be able to win the competition or get Troy, but because Ryan had betrayed her. Ryan had been like a security blanket to her ever since she could remember. He was more than that; he was her brother, her twin brother, her best friend. And now that he'd found other friends, she was more afraid than ever that he'd forget about her and how much he meant to her.

Sharpay quickly shook her head and tried to forget about all that. She sat up and decided she'd go downstairs and talk to her parents. When she reached the kitchen, she heard her mom on the phone talking to someone else. She was about to walk in and interrupt her, but something she heard caught her attention and she stopped.

"The camp bit was a great idea." Mrs. Evans laughed quietly. "I'm sure they'll love it."

Sharpay sucked in a breath. So, there were more people going to camp this summer? She listened carefully, being sure to keep hidden from view. She was positive her father was in there reading the newspaper at the kitchen table.

"So, they're going next week?" Mrs. Evans continued and waited for a confirmation, "Good. So, we'll leave Sunday night and we'll be in Japan by Monday afternoon."

Sharpay thought about that for a moment. Who else was going with her to Japan? Didn't she say she had a job offer there? Was she bringing her friends along with her? Something didn't sound right.

"Of course, then we'll take another jet to France, where we'll go shopping in Paris. Doesn't that sound fun?" Mrs. Evans laughed, reminding Sharpay of how she'd call up her friends and plan the perfect shopping trip. Then she sighed, remembering how she'd always drag Ryan with her and he'd go without argument.

"The guys are taking another jet to Florida for golf and then they're going to watch more sports in Hawaii," Mrs. Evans stated; the smile could be heard in her voice.

Sharpay thought about that. She never said anything about shopping in Paris.

"That's right, honey." Mr. Evans chuckled. "Sports are very important to the economy."

Sharpay rolled her eyes at that. So, there were more than just her parents planning this unfair summer vacation for who knows how long. Someone else's parents were going to make their kids go to camp so they could have fun traveling around the globe for a while. But who else could afford all that besides the ladies from Lava Springs and her mom didn't just bring them shopping in Paris for the fun of it.

"No, don't worry about it. We're paying for everything," Mrs. Evans reassured whoever was on the other end of the phone.

What? So, it wasn't someone from the country club. But the only other people her mom talked to were… the Wildcats' parents. She wouldn't.

"I'm sure Kelsi and the rest of the kids will be fine alone while their siblings are gone. It will teach them responsibility before they go away to college in a year," Mrs. Evans spoke assuringly.

So, she was talking to Kelsi's mom? Why would she be doing that? Why did she even have her number? She wasn't the one who needed to contact Kelsi for rehearsals for the musicals. Then Sharpay thought of something. If they were teaching them all responsibility for college by leaving them home alone for a week, while everyone else was gone, why were they sending her to camp? What was so special about Ryan? Maybe they thought she was the more responsible of the two. She smiled at that.

"I know Ryan's a good kid and all, but I've been worried about him lately," Mrs. Evans continued, quieter now, "He hasn't been acting the same."

Sharpay bit her lip as she strained to hear what they were saying. There was a long pause while Mrs. Neilson said something in response.

"I don't know what it is, but ever since the incident at Lava Springs, he's been… different," Mrs. Evans explained.

Now that she thought about it, Sharpay realized that Ryan really had been acting strangely towards all of them. She didn't know what it was that might have been the cause of it, but it was starting to worry her. Then a thought crossed her mind. Maybe Ryan didn't care about her anymore.

"He's been saying harmful things without thinking and when we told them about our trip and about sending Sharpay to camp, he just made fun of it," Mrs. Evans spoke worriedly, "Do you have any idea what might be going on? Is this happening with Kelsi or does she know what it might be?"

Ugh, there goes the talk about Kelsi again. Ever since that girl got together with Jason, her mother hadn't stopped talking about the girl. Sharpay sighed again as she leaned against the wall. She wanted to leave now and just forget this ever happened, but then something her dad said made her freeze in place and her eyes widened.

"I'm more concerned about Sharpay," Mr. Evans explained, "I don't want her to handle this too badly. You remember how she stomped upstairs. One of these days, it might get worse."

Sharpay was shocked. He knew she wasn't unstable like her guidance counselors thought she was. The last time they had called her in to talk about how she'd felt about not getting the part in the musical, they'd called her emotionally unstable and called her parents to tell them that. After that, she just quit going to see them.

It had worked while she'd thought her parents didn't believe them, but now it was clear they were starting to doubt her. How could they do that? Didn't they love her and trust her enough to know that she'd never do anything stupid like that? Most of her teachers had even thought she was bulimic or anorexic or something like that. They even told her to start taking care of herself at home. It wasn't her fault most of them didn't understand the pain of being a teenage girl with cramps. But now her parents were going back there again. How could they? She shook her head and listened.

"What do you mean you're more worried about Sharpay?" Mrs. Evans asked her husband, clearly confused, "She seems fine to me."

Thank goodness her mom didn't believe that. Or maybe she was just too concerned about her little baby boy that she didn't care enough. Sharpay shook those thoughts away. Of course their parents were just concerned about them.

"Well, I don't know why you're all worked up about Ryan," Mr. Evans retorted, "He's a strong young man now and I'm sure it's nothing we need to worry about. Sharpay just doesn't seem like she can handle him growing up and making new friends without her. I'm just concerned about how she might start taking this."

Well, they were right about one thing. She didn't want Ryan to make new friends without her in case he forgot she was even there.

"She'll be fine. Those guidance people are idiots anyway," Mrs. Evans tried to reassure him, "Ryan needs more attention. He's been mean to Sharpay and he's always leaving the house to go hang around his new friends, leaving Sharpay home alone. He doesn't listen to her anymore. I'm just afraid that he's trying to get away from us. Oh, no… I'm not saying this is any of their fault."

She had obviously just remembered she was on the phone with Mrs. Neilson, who'd apparently heard that and thought she was trying to blame Kelsi. Ah, poor little Kelsi. Everyone thought she had problems just because she never talked to anyone and she was just too quiet.

Sharpay took another big breath as she thought this over. Her parents thought the two of them had problems one way or another. Maybe Ryan did, but she knew for a fact that the only real problem she had was Ryan. He was never around, he didn't seem to care anymore, and he was just too distant.

"Well, either way, if anything else comes up, we might have to send them both away to get help," Mr. Evans stated before going back to reading his newspaper.

Sharpay gasped. She had to tell Ryan. She quietly headed back upstairs to her room, closing her door behind her. Why was this happening? Couldn't their parents just go back to caring too much about their jobs or anything else that would make them forget any of this could be possible? The answer was obviously no.

She went over to her bed and sat down. Picking up her phone, she opened it and was halfway through dialing Ryan's cell phone number, but she closed it and shook her head. Who was she kidding? He wouldn't pick up anyway. He was probably too busy with his "friends". They were obviously more important to him than she was.

If Ryan wanted to get away from her, she couldn't change that about him. Whatever his problem was, she decided she didn't care. For all she knew, those Wildcats could have been putting ideas into his head. They were probably poisoning him right this very minute with plans for what they were going to do next week without her. Not that they didn't do that every day, but somehow she knew this time would be different. They were going to plan something they couldn't do while she wasn't there to try and tell him not to. It was so obvious they would do something like that.

Ryan had hurt her too much since Lava Springs. No matter how many chances she gave him to prove that he wasn't being a jerk to her on purpose, he just kept doing the same things over and over again. She knew she was being stupid to think he actually cared or that anything would go back to normal before they ever ran into the Wildcats… now that he was one of them.

It was then that she decided what she was going to do. Next week when Ryan was going to be doing she-didn't-care-what… She was going to camp and she was going to forget about Ryan once and for all.

(A/N) I'm dedicating this chappie to charmarctravis! Happy b-day char! Luv ya! Hope you have the best birthday ever! So, for everyone else, plz leave me loads of pretty reviews to let me know what you think. I don't know where this chappie came from, but here it is. Thanks for everyone who reviewed already and I hope you'll continue to do so. Hugs and a virtual fruit basket for everyone who leaves me one of those much cherished reviews. L8rs!

EDIT:

Well… I fixed grammatical errors and the formatting again in this chapter.

I remember I basically wrote it in a state of mind… that wasn't entirely all there – one that I've been told writers cherish and pray for. Aka: I was zoned out daydreaming while I typed this. There… A perfectly healthy state of mind for a writer, I suppose. I just let my fingers do all the work. XD Heheh…

So, I figured that, since this chapter was mostly focused on Sharpay, charmarctravis (now Charmingly Char… or something along those lines) would love it as a birthday gift… because she's a Sharpay fanatic. Well, I don't really care much about that now, since those days are behind me. And hopefully behind her, too. *crosses fingers*

Original Post: 1/29/09

Revised: 10/27/11

Reposted: 10/30/11