You Can Crush Chapter 2: Can You Handle It, a high school musical fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or places created by the High School Musical franchise or by Disney nor the songs used in this story by various artists.

Part 2 – Katherine's POV – Can You Handle It

I don't like the way you look at her, she looks at you
It's frustrating
People say when we're together it looks more like you two are dating

More than you and me

I tell you some things you do that make me feel uncomfortable
You tell me I'm trippin and that I should let it go
Though, I wonder to myself would you still think it's all good if the shoe was on the other foot
I don't think you would, no

People say that I'm lucky. They say I'm lucky because of the natural beauty I was born with. I also hear that I'm lucky to have a family who is as rich as mine. People cite that I'm lucky to be as athletic and graceful as I am. Thing is, I've worked hard just as many other people have to get what they want. Not everything is handed to me, Katherine Anderson, on a silver platter, as much as I wish it would be. I worked my ass off to be the captain of the Varsity Cheerleading Squad this year, my senior year at East High. Yeah, all right, maybe the fact that my daddy bought all new uniforms for the team this past summer helped there but if I wasn't good enough, that still wouldn't have been enough to get me to where I am today with the team.

I used to think I was lucky at least in my love life, when after shamelessly flirting with Troy Bolton, the hotter and stronger Co-Captain of this year's Varsity Basketball team, he asked me out. From there, we fast tracked it from just dating to being in a relationship and I became the girl everyone envied and wanted to be, even more so. After all, what was hotter than two good looking people being together to reign over the school?

That was before I realized that with Troy came one slight glitch, his childhood best friend Gabriella Montez. At first, I didn't think much of her. She dresses in shorts or jeans all the time with t-shirts that are too big for her. Even if they are sometimes baby-t's, the girl doesn't know the definition of form fitting clothes to save her life. True she isn't wearing all baggy clothes or anything, but they aren't anything that had a remote sense of femininity to it. At least her girlfriends occasionally wear a skirt or a dress to school, especially Sharpay Evans, the only girl at school who I recognize as being richer than me.

For the first few weeks of dating and being exclusive with Troy, Gabriella didn't even make it onto my radar of awareness because she didn't dress well and was around but didn't seem like a threat. Then when Troy and I began hanging out more with his little group of friends more so, I began to see things that I didn't like and pretty much had it out with him about his behavior concerning Gabriella, especially when my own friends started telling me that they thought Troy was cheating on me with that little nobody.

"Kat, come on baby, what's wrong?" Troy wrapped his arms around my waist and dragged me backwards until I was sitting on his lap, on a couch in the living room of my house. "You're pouting is sexy and all but I know something is clearly bothering you."

All right, if he wants to know, I'll tell him. I've never been known to be beat around the bush, ever. "I don't like how you flirt with other girls right in front of me."

"Flirt with other girls? What other girls Kat?"

I saw the confused look on his face and scoffed, shaking my head as I untangled myself from him. "Really? You don't know what the hell I'm talking about? Who I'm talking about? Who else could you be so close to that my friends think you're cheating on me with? There better not be more than one fucking girl Troy Bolton!"

Seeing Troy blink a few times while he actually had to think about who I could possibly mean made me queasy. What if there was more than one girl he was that friendly and flirty with?

"Gabriella? You're getting this worked up over Ella? Babe, don't be ridiculous, she's just my best friend, well one of the two of my best friends."

"Shouldn't I be the third?" I demanded, now glaring at him from the other end of the couch where I had moved so I could turn and face him without being too close. "And don't tell me I'm being ridiculous! I've seen countless times the way you flirt, the way you drape your arm around her. It's ridiculous for just two so called best friends to be like that!"

Troy at least had the decency to sit there as he tried to think about all that I said only to come back at me with another denial. "That's just, Ella and I have always been that close. She's like a sister to me Kat. Seriously, there's nothing going on there, honest. If there was, why would I be with you and not her?"

"I don't know, why are you with me and not her?" I countered, part of me needing to hear his answer while another was just pissed off that he was acting so nonchalant about all this.

That part of me that was already mad only got more mad as I watched Troy roll his eyes at me. "Katherine, please, you're not being fair here."

"I'm not being fair?" I heard myself echo. "Troy, do you know what it's like watching you be all chummy with your little best friend? She is clearly into you or she wouldn't look at you so adoringly. You look back at her in that same way!"

"Okay, now I know you're crazy. This is irrational Kat! I've grown up with Ella and I like her a lot as my best friend but that's it."

Oh, so now I'm irrational huh? "Okay fine. What if I had my own best friend who happened to be a guy. Would you be okay with me hanging onto him like she hangs onto you? I don't think you would."

I watched as Troy ran a frustrated hand over his face before his eyes opened again, a dullish blue tint looking back at me. He opened his mouth and closed it again, clearly trying to figure out how to respond while I felt a smirk growing on my face. Of course he doesn't know what to say. That's exactly my point, it's not natural!

To my surprise though, Troy said something I didn't expect. "I trust you Katherine, and if you had a best guy friend like I have a best girl friend, I'd trust you not to be doing anything else with him than just being his best friend. Nothing is going on with me and Gabriella, I swear it. Don't you trust me?"

And there it was, the trickiest question ever to be asked during a fight with someone you're in a relationship was. If you say yes, you agree to being the paranoid one, the one in the wrong. If you say no, well, what are you doing in that relationship then? He had me in a corner, whether he knew it or not.

"Fine, let's just forget about it," I suggested, avoiding the question all together.

That really had been that, the last conversation where I ever brought Gabriella up to him. But tonight, tonight I can feel that there is going to be another round tonight when he takes me home. Why? Because I'm staring at my boyfriend as he has his arms wrapped around her. Yup, there's no mistaking it this time. My boyfriend is clearly flirting with his best friend right in front of me.

Honestly, since that talk a little while ago, I have tried not to act like a mega bitch about his so called friendship with the girl but this was beginning to be too much. He didn't change a God damned thing about how he treats her and it is still driving me insane, case in point right now.

"Are you cold Ella?" I hear him ask her, hearing her reply "No."

I narrow my eyes as I see the blush creep onto her cheekbones, clearly an indication that it wasn't the night air that had just made her visibly shiver. That little minx is so out to get my man! He's mine!

But, being that we are here with Troy's precious little friends without a single one of my own around, I grit my teeth and bear it, straining to hear the soft words Troy spoke into her ear. My eyes never leave them, watching the way that the corners of Gabriella's lips pull upwards while she seems to be listening and the way Troy looks at her so softly, with that adoring look on his face again. Am I really the only one here that sees what they are doing, what's happening between them right now? I can practically feel the heat they are producing!

When I see the bitch's eyes close after they putted that stupid golf ball together, I feel my anger and jealousy rise to another level, itching to tear the two of them apart but knowing I can't act on that impulse. Instead, I clamp my mouth shut as I watch her open her eyes in surprise when, of course, the golf ball makes it into the hole in one shot. What else would one expect to happen when Troy practically putts for the girl?

Once again, I roll my eyes as he lets out a victory yell. "Yes! I knew I could help you get a hole in one! Who is the master? Huh? Who is the master?" Yeah Troy, you're the master. A master idiot for doing this again to me!

When Gabriella turns to face Troy though, I can't stop my feet from moving in their direction, not like I really want to at this point. I'm sick of this, completely. Gabriella Montez, Miss Sweet and Innocent, clearly has the hots for my boyfriend and I will not tolerate it for another damn minute! This time for sure, when I talk to my boyfriend tonight, he is going to open his damn eyes and see that I'm not being irrational or delusional or anything like that!

I hear her finally speak again. "Is that all that was? Just another thing to do to prove that you are the resident golf pro?" What? You thought Troy was going to confess his undying love for you just because he helped you during mini-golf? Please, you're such a little amateur.

My feet stumble though as I hear silence, seeing Troy rub the back of his neck, a sign I already know is a tell tale sign that he's nervous or is about to lie. I see that look that passes between them, seeing the chemistry, and find myself that much more angry now. "It's an accomplishment, on both of our parts," he finally says. Yeah, total bullshit.

In order to make Gabriella believe that everything was fine between me and Troy, to make her understand she doesn't have a chance in hell of stealing Troy away from me, I put on my best smile before I wrap my arms around his waist, peering over his shoulder with a victory smirk on my face before I nuzzle his neck. I make sure to make a big show of kissing his neck, grinning for real when Troy turns around to face me, now giving me that look of us that he usually reserves for when we're in private, the type of look that tells me he's still attracted to me.

"Good job baby. You were wonderful!" I exclaim with false excitement in my voice, making sure I maintain eye contact with him.

I feel the way his arm slips around my own body while his other hand pushes back some of my hair to rest behind my shoulder, doubling back to run his fingers through my hair, sending shivers through my body despite my earlier anger and annoyance with him. "Thanks babe."

Staring into his brilliantly clear blue eyes, I almost forget all about how I felt just minutes before, getting the sense that he was there for only me. Maybe that's part of the Bolton charm, making any one person feel like they are the most important of everyone else with just one look.

Without much effort, I lean towards him as he does the same to me, both of us sighing with contentment as our lips touch, caressing each other's. Easily I forget all about where we are, who is watching, well almost everyone with the exception of one brunette who I am more than sure is green with envy right now, as I slip my tongue into his mouth, exploring the terrain that I already knew so well.

"Dude, get a room!" Chad calls out, annoying me once again as this makes Troy pull away to give him a glare.

"Shut up and putt!" he returns, looking back at me a moment later. "Sorry, immature best friend and all."

I wish I could speak my mind freely in that moment but just nod, knowing to choose my battles wisely.

For the rest of the night, I make sure that Troy is constantly by my side with the exception of one time where I couldn't hold it any longer and have to use the restroom.

Surprise, surprise. When I come back, I see Troy with his hands on Gabriella's arms, rubbing them up and down while they are both laughing, twisting my stomach yet again. Guess we are going to have another talk tonight after all…

What if your friends started paying more attention to me?
Would you handle it?
Tell me could you handle it, boy?
What if your friends started paying more attention to me?
Would you handle it?
Tell me could you handle it, boy?

Hey boy
What if I told you Tony said I was pretty?
When you're not around he goes out of his way to come and chill with me

So a week and a half has passed and I did talk to Troy about his behavior that night at the mini-golf place while we sat in his truck outside my house. A lot of good that did. I got the whole "you're imagining things" bit again from him but there was less conviction there in his eyes and in his voice, that much I did notice. Already tired from that boring night, I let it go.

Perhaps that was a mistake on my part, perhaps I should have had it on with him then and there. Why? So I don't have to witness with my two girlfriends, who are also on the Varsity squad with me, my dearly devoted boyfriend spinning around his little best friend, hearing her giggle carry down the hall towards me. My eyes narrow as I clearly can see from here the way his arms are tightly wrapped around her waist from the back, the smile he has on his lips while Troy looks down at Gabriella, who finally is able to put her feet down on the floor of the hallway when Troy puts her down.

To Gabriella's credit, she's the one that breaks the embrace when she happens to look in my direction and spots me watching them. I see her say something to Troy before splitting the scene, leaving Troy looking down the hall at me and rubbing the back of his neck. So busted.

Hearing only some faint sympathetic words from my friends, I decide then and there that I don't want to talk to him. In fact, to save whatever relationship we have left, I cannot talk to him right now or it will be over, plain and simple. I take one last glance at him, giving him my best "you're so in deep shit" look and turn on my heel, going an alternate way to my locker that wouldn't bring me past him.

Instead, I run into Tony Fitzgerald, another member of the Varsity Basketball team, literally running into him after I part ways with my friends on my way back up the stairs to my locker after having taken the hallway downstairs to bypass Troy.

When Tony's hands quickly shoot out to steady me, lingering there on my upper arms, I feel something pass between us but dismiss it to just shock of almost getting knocked down to the ground.

"Hey Kat, sorry about that. Guess I was in a rush to go down the stairs while you were coming up. That would have been really terrible for us both if we tumbled down the stairs, especially for me cause you probably would have messed up that pretty face of yours…" I stand there and watch the way his animated face continues to change as he rambles on and on. "…You really are pretty Katherine. Troy is a lucky guy."

Tell me something I don't know. Seems like the only person that doesn't realize how lucky he is is Troy himself. "Thanks Tony." I can say a lot more but choose not to. "Umm, you can let go now."

"Oh, sorry," he apologizes, now giving me a bashful look as he drops his hands from my arms. Why do I strangely want to take his hands and put them back on my arms? "So, umm, where's Troy?"

"Probably boning his innocent best friend," I grumble, seeing I did a good enough job of disguising my words as Tony looks at me with a confused expression. "He's, umm, he's…"

"He's right here," Troy's familiar voice pipes up from nearby, not looking at me but at Tony. "How's it going Tony?"

I watch as they do that stupid thing guys do, fist bump, before they get involved in some discussion about basketball that I drown out by singing my favorite song of the moment in my head. Sure, as the captain of the Varsity Cheerleading Squad I should be knowledgeable enough about the sports we cheer for to know when to lead the rest of the squad but frankly, I hate sports. So why cheerleading? Because I enjoy that and of course the attention it gets me. Quite honestly, I get enough of basketball and football especially from just being at the games. Having to listen to Troy and Tony and all the others ramble on about it is quite a bore.

Before I know it, Tony is leaving and that leaves me and Troy standing there in the stairwell together, the occasional East High student scurrying by or around us to get to where they want to go before they all head home for the day.

After sharing a stare with Troy and seeing that he wasn't going to be the first to speak, I turn on my heel and walk towards my locker, holding my head up high. Before the stairwell door closes behind me, I hear it open again and know that Troy is now following me as I walk to my locker. I smile a little as I think of this and what it means.

I take my time putting in my locker combination, enjoying the feeling of making Troy hover there, waiting for me as I now open the locker door and start getting everything I need for the night of homework out while putting back in what I don't from my last few periods. While I was acting like I was solely focusing on my books and notebooks, I keep tabs of Troy and see him first rub the back of his neck and then shuffle his feet. Yup, I'm still pissed at his behavior but there's something about making him suffer then that makes me that much happier at the moment.

When I'm done, and only then, I zip up my bag and slide it onto my shoulder, closing the door to look at Troy. "Oh, hi Troy. I didn't realize you were there."

"Oh, really?" he answers, cocking up one of his eyebrows while he seems to be casually leaning against the locker two down from mine. "I think you did, just like how you saw me at Gabriella's just a little bit earlier but then disappeared to what it appears avoid me. What's going on Kat?"

Really? Did he just ask me that? Why I ought to… No, get control Katherine. Maybe if you try to press your point now, for a third time, Troy will finally hear you. "Oh, don't mind me Troy. I'm just busy imagining ways of how you and your best friend could be flirting and having a blast in the very halls I walk through too. It just must be my mind being so completely bored in classes that I just keep dreaming up ways for you to be picking her up and spinning around for now good reason. Wow, I really am so delusional, aren't I?"

Within a half of a second, Troy's face changes before my eyes. Gone is the look of concern. No, now I'm looking at a guy who seems to be ready for battle after a fleeting look that I caught before it changed into his current resolve, a look of guilt. "Katherine, I thought we have discussed this already. It's been going so good between us babe that I honestly thought we were over all this bullshit."

"Then why is the bullshit still occurring Troy, huh? I'm sick and tired of hearing you tell me I'm a head case when every time I turn a corner here at school, cause God knows I will not hang out with your stupid friends again if she's there, you're there with her! Do you know what that does to me? How that paints me to look like? A fool!"

"Come on Kat, don't be like this. No one is calling you a fool," he starts before I shut him down.

"No, of course they don't. They all think I'm lucky to be dating you. Well guess what? You're damn lucky to be dating me! Newsflash, I'm not some innocent and shy girl like that mouse of a best friend you have. Other guys are interested in me, Tony included, and I could have any one of them! Am I with them though? No! Why? Because I seem to only want you!" A nagging feeling tugs on the back of my mind as these words escape my mouth but I put them in a box and lock them away.

"Well what the fuck do you want me to do? I keep telling you the truth, there is nothing going on between me and Gabriella! Next thing I know, you'll get some fucking crazy idea of having me cut her out of my life to prove that I'm serious about you. Straight out of some chick flick movie!"

I am about the respond to that, to deny it, when I stop and realize that his "crazy idea" he just mentioned has merit to it, quite a bit. "Actually, that's exactly what I want Troy."

"What? No, absolutely no way Katherine! Gabriella is my best friend!" he argues, straightening his body so he is now standing in front of me, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Then you're telling me there is something going on between you two then? Glad to hear you finally admit it!" I throw out, knowing that I was not being even half fair with him but wanting to see how far I could push this. In some ways, I could sense that I was closer to getting what I want from him than I had been before.

Slowly, Troy unclenched his jaw, his eyes becoming a dark gray as they stared into my eyes. "For the last time, there is nothing going on between me and Gabriella… now or before. You don't know what you're asking me to do Katherine."

"Oh, but I do Troy," I reply, giving him a smile. "We've been together for a few months now and I know exactly what Gabriella means to you and how she feels about you and you her, that is if what you're saying to me is the truth. She's just a friend and I'm your girlfriend, the girl you asked to Homecoming, the girl who you love steaming up the windows of your truck with. Choose Troy, Gabriella or me."

Using all the will I have, I keep up a strong front as he surveys me, trying to figure out if I was actually serious, which I was absolutely serious about, or if I was playing like he was hoping. "Please Kat, don't do this." I hear his plea, I see his face soften again, but I stay strong.

"Choose Troy because I don't have it in me to keep watching the guy I really like, that I have committed myself to, play me like a violin, so smoothly, while he woos another girl."

Immediately after I say my piece, my vision gets blurry and I realize for the first time how much this actually hurts. There's nothing lucky about having this discussion with my boyfriend, no matter what sparks I just shared with Tony, no matter how detached I've believed myself to be. Standing here in front of Troy and seeing that indecision on his face pains me more than a broken nail, more than the bruising I've gotten from falls during practice.

The longer Troy stands there, silent, my demand between us, the more the pain grows despite me blinking away the tears. At some point, I can recall Troy stepping forward to touch my face but I automatically move back, staying out of his grasp.

"Katherine…"

"Choose God damn it Troy, choose!" I order, hating the shake in my voice.

After some contemplation, Troy finally opens his mouth but not to say what I desperately want him to say. "I can't, I'm sorry."

With that, I leave him behind me as I walk down the hall, too frustrated with myself to have lost that much control in front of him to say anything to him. I decide then and there that I would rather Troy believe me to be a mega bitch than to ever see me that vulnerable ever again.

La la la la la la
La la la la la la
La la
What if I do what you do, baby?
La la la la la la
La la la la la la
La la
What if it had been to you baby?

After I change and give my squad a warm congratulations on another excellent performance for the Varsity Basketball team, I talk briefly to our coach before heading out, my bag firmly on my shoulder. As I walk to my car, I'm spy a male figure leaning against it, dressed in red and white East High warm-ups. When I get closer, I find myself not all that surprised to see that it's Tony with a smile on his face that I find myself returning.

It's been another week and a half or so that has passed since I gave Troy that ultimatum and he may have not verbally told me his choice but I could tell at the end of last week that it wasn't me. Then again, I haven't seen him around with Gabriella either, at least at school.

Instead, I allowed myself to be accompanied places like to the movies by Tony, who has been all too eager to replace Troy. In fact, I realize as I greet him with a hug that in my mind, Tony really has replaced Troy. Maybe it is too early to say considering how long it took me to get Troy and me to where we are, well where we used to be, but this feels different already from what Troy and I share.

"You looked hot out there tonight, just as usual. Your hot little ass almost made me miss a pass Chad shot to me," Tony teases me, smirking as I roll my eyes at him. "Now I know why Coach warns us that we need to stay focused on the court only. If I allowed myself to watch you all night long, I'd never make a productive shot."

Have I mentioned what a great flirt Tony is? "Oh stop, you're just being silly. I know you don't mean that."

"Don't I? Then why the hell have I been wanting to taste your lips for the past year?"

His questions freeze me as I stare back at him, realizing for the first time that he really did mean everything he has been saying to me. Tony has been sincere in his interest in me while I thought he was flirting all this time, flirting to the point of not really meaning anything about it while my own feelings about him continued to grow while I wasn't really paying attention.

Eyeing him for a few moments, seeing the way he intently stared back at me, I give him my best seductive smile. "Then why don't you finally taste them?"

Another invitation apparently doesn't have to be made as Tony grabs my hips and roughly pulls my body against his before gently kissing my lips, the contrast driving me crazy, in a good way. I let him tentatively explore before I wrap my arms around his neck, taking control as I deepen the kiss, hearing his chuckle at my aggressiveness.

"Wow, you really weren't lying when you said Tony was interested."

I pull away from Tony just enough to see Troy standing not five feet away, standing there with his arms crossed and a triumphant look on his face, not quite the expression I thought I would see just moments before when I first heard his voice.

Swallowing, I gather my wits about me before turning to face him, stepping away from Tony, giving him an apologetic look before focusing back on Troy. "I told you there were other guys Troy. Other guys that are just as good looking as you and as talented."

Troy lets out a sarcastic laugh as he shakes his head at me. "You know what's really pathetic? That I was trying so hard to please you, to make things right between you and me, that I honestly contemplated giving up my best friend for you a week and some odd ago. Thing is, every time I thought of cutting her out of my life, it felt like I was cutting out the fresh oxygen I need to breathe. I was trying so fucking hard to find a way to make us work Katherine when really, I just needed to see that you already moved on. You could have at least told me Katherine."

"I did, I warned you! It's not fun being on the receiving end of seeing your girlfriend flirt with a friend is it? I told you that it felt like shit!" I exclaim, thinking of our countless arguments over Gabriella, the heated arguments now suddenly seeming like a distant memory.

Troy shakes his head though at me, making me wonder what he is feeling. "No, it doesn't feel like shit because what I just saw wasn't a girlfriend flirting with a friend or even a best friend. It was an ex-girlfriend making out with her new victim. Get over yourself Kat, there's a big difference between what you just did, what maybe you've been doing all along with Tony, and my relationship with my best friend, Gabriella."

"You've always loved Gabriella though Troy, admit it! We may be over but don't do me this disservice. Admit it!" I can't help but demand the truth from him one last time. Sure, it stings to see everything between Troy and me unravel so but I strangely find it a relief to see it over, even better knowing that I have Tony, who clearly is genuinely interested in me without a pesky little best girl friend around.

The words I throw at Troy seem to stun him as he stands there, blinking a few times before a smile actually appears on his face. "Maybe I have Katherine, maybe you've been right. Thing is, I was so into you that I pushed aside all those inklings. If it wasn't for your constant badgering me about it, things would have been different. I probably never would have stopped to really examine how I see Gabriella. Thanks Kat. Have a good night you two!"

I can't help but watch as Troy smirks at me before striding away into the darkness, towards where his truck is probably parked in its usual spot. I continue to stare even after he is long gone, blinking only when I feel a hand on my waist and see Tony step up so he is next to me.

"Katherine, are you okay? Shit, I'm sorry, I thought you and Troy were over Kat," Tony starts, stopping when I shake my head at him.

"We may be officially over now Tony, but we were over a few weeks ago unofficially, even if he didn't realize it. Gabriella, as much as I hate to admit it, has always owned his heart, whether Troy Bolton is aware of it or not." Sighing, I meet his eyes and see the concern there, the remorse. "I'm all right, really."

Tony studies me for a few moments then nods his head. "All right, fair enough. Why don't we go to Starbucks and I buy you that white chocolate mocha with extra whip and two packets of Splenda you like? My treat."

A smile spreads across my face as I realize there, in the darkness, that in so little time, Tony has already learned my favorite drink, something Troy never got right. Yup, Tony really did seamlessly replace Troy and I couldn't be happier about it.