Troy sat out on the field and carried on with his homework. Nobody knew he came out here sometimes after school to do work - the air cleared his head and the fresh breeze calmed him. He was writing his ideas down like there was no tomorrow and he smiled to himself as he came to the end of his paper.
He glanced up to the neighbouring football field with the running track surrounding it. He saw the football team happily leave the field - they must've won, he thought to himself. Just as he was packing up his books and about to walk off, he spotted Chad running around the track.
He climbed to his feet and approached. Stopping next to the bleachers, his eyes followed Chad as he circled the field.
When Chad started coming back round to where Troy was stood, for a reason unknown to even Troy, he hid behind the bleachers so that Chad didn't see him. He smiled to himself as he saw Chad pushing himself and his body further and further. Troy knew that the lack of sports would have been killing Chad these past few weeks, so he was hardly surprised to see him doing some kind of sport anyway. That was the good thing about Chad - he'd always find a solution. Troy hung his head, and knew that eventually he'd find a solution to how he was feeling at the moment. Only - he didn't completely understand what that was.
Troy skulked off in the opposite direction again feeling the unknown desire to hide. He felt like he was spying on Chad. He rolled his eyes at himself, throwing his backpack over his shoulder and started a gentle jog home.
----------------
The time had finally come around for the all-important last game of the basketball season. To everyone's delight, Chad's wrist had healed just fine and was able to play.
Troy took a deep breath and ran out onto the court, shortly followed by Chad. The crowd was roaring, but Troy found Gabriella in the crowd in a second. Her small wave and beaming smile filled him with adrenalin and the energy built up inside of him, and he flew into action on the court.
Troy couldn't believe the feeling running through his veins. He was full of electricity, and knowing that Chad was back and completely on form fuelled him further. And just as he shot the winning basket, he felt dizzy to almost the point of blacking out. The sudden roar of the crowd rang in his ears, slow motion and muffled. Troy folded at the waist and put his head between his knees. He clutched his head and tried to realign his brain with reality.
When he stood up straight again, his eyes glanced around the crowd. His eyes focussed in front of him, just in time to see Chad running towards him. As Chad collided with him, the pair almost fell to the ground. Troy's mind was just starting to come to terms with what was happening. He felt Chad's arms around him, followed by someone else's arms around him from behind. After a split second, he knew from the sweet smell and delicate hands, that it must have been Gabriella.
"Dude, we did it!" Chad excitedly shouted in Troy's ear. Troy brought his hand up and ruffled his friend's curls. He brought his other hand on and gently squeezed his girlfriend's arm.
The after-party shortly followed. Troy was never short of people coming up to him and congratulating him, Gabriella linked to him by the arm. The party was an outdoor affair, in Troy's garden. There was a DJ in one corner, and a large buffet of various foods along an opposite wall.
About half an hour into the party, a tall, middle aged man approached Troy.
"Troy Bolton. My name is Frank Weaver. I watched you play today, and I was very impressed. May we please talk in private?"
Troy nodded and followed, leaving behind a confused Gabriella.
"Hey, where's Troy?" Chad asked, approaching Gabriella and putting his arm loosely around her shoulder.
"Some tall man just took him away." Gabriella sighed as she nodded her head towards her boyfriend. Chad frowned and shrugged his shoulders.
"Huh. Okay, well, I'll be back in a few."
Chad walked off, leaving Gabriella alone once again. She folded her arms and tilted her head to the side as she saw Troy's face turn to one of surprise and joy. The tall man handed him a small card and shook his hand. Troy stood on the spot for a moment, as the tall man walked off. Eventually he started to walk back to Gabriella, seemingly in a daze.
"Troy, are you okay? What did he say?!" Gabriella searched for answers.
"Uh, uh… yeah! You'll never guess…." Troy started excitedly relaying the conversation.
Chad, not too far away, grabbed a mic from the DJ and climbed onto a table. He cleared his throat and switched the mic on.
"…so now I have to tell Chad that I won't be going to U of A with him."
"He's gonna be crushed. Speak of the devil…" Gabriella pointed to behind Troy where Chad was stood.
"Can I have your attention please?!" Chad coyly said down the microphone. Almost everybody turned around to face him.
"Thank you!" He continued, grinning in pride at himself. "I would like to propose a toast. To the East High Wildcats. And to the best final game ever! Guys - that's it. We played our last game, and what a game it was. The game and, in fact, the entire season, and the season before that… wouldn't have been so perfect if it wasn't for every single team member.
"And not just those players on the court. Ryan Evans, our faithful mascot, and the amazing East High cheerleaders, you guys have given us such tremendous support and we couldn't be more grateful. And, of course. Jack Bolton, our inspirational coach. You've pushed us, and encouraged us, and most of all, moulded us into the superstars we are today."
Troy glanced over at his Dad, and chuckled as he could tell he had started to choke up. Every one of Troy's team mates looked extremely sad, Chad knew how to strike a chord with a crowd.
"We, of course, cannot overlook the hard work and dedication of our captain. Our playmaker. Mr Troy Bolton."
Troy's face turned a shocking shade of red as the entire crowd turned round to look at him. He threw a short smile, before glaring up at a grinning Chad.
"Troy… come up here. Give us a speech."
Troy shook his head, before realising that there was no way he was gonna get away with not getting up on "stage". He approached the table, gesturing up to Chad to give him the microphone.
"Hey guys." Troy laughed, clearing his throat. "First of all, I'm not getting up on a table. I don't wanna break my face."
The crowd laughed, while Gabriella rolled her eyes.
"There's not much I can really say that Chad hasn't already said. And all he said, I want to express my agreement. There's been such an amazing chemistry with all the Wildcats, you can't pin down our amazing achievements to one factor, everybody has just given it their all and, I for one, am very proud of everyone involved in this amazing journey.
"I wanna thank my girl, Gabriella, who has kept me on track. I love you baby!" The crowd aww-ed, making Gabriella blush.
"Now, everyone involved in making this a great experience has been mentioned Except one. Chad, co-captain, co-playmaker, co… number one inspiration. I'm not embarrassed to say in front of all these people - I love you man."
Troy stared at the floor as the crowd clapped, and eventually went back to their business. Within seconds, Gabriella was by his side, arm linked in his, stroking his arm. Chad climbed down from the table and stood in front of Troy.
"Sweet." Chad grinned at Troy. Troy looked up from the floor and rolled his eyes. Chad had to say nothing, Troy knew from his expression how moved he was.
"Chad, um…" Troy looked at Gabriella, who unlinked her arm. "Let's go and have a talk."
Troy led Chad away to a quiet corner of the garden. He propped himself against a wall, but quickly stood back up, as he was in no way feeling relaxed enough to take up such a position.
"Chad. A guy came to watch the game today."
"Oh yeah, was that the guy you were talking to earlier?"
"Um, yeah. He's actually a scout. For a new basketball association putting together youth teams, who learn about the industry and get first-hand experience in the professional basketball world, on and off-court. They are in association with NBA so chances of getting work is high…."
"Oh…." Chad said, seemingly starting to realise what Troy was trying to tell him. "You mean like an apprenticeship?"
"Yeah, something like that. Um… well, he…. He asked me to join them this September. So, I…." Troy drifted off and looked at his best friend.
Chad clamped his eyes shut. He felt all the blood rushing to his head and he leaned slightly on the wall next to him.
"You, uh…" Chad said, opening his eyes. "You're dropping out of college. Before it's began."
"I just…" Troy said quietly, also feeling the need to prop himself against the wall. "I'm just exercising my options. This is an amazing opportunity."
"Yeah, yeah it is…" Chad croaked, standing upright on both feet. "Congratulations."
Without warning, Chad suddenly ran for his life. He ran away from the Wildcat party, away from Troy, he just needed to get away.
He couldn't think. At least not about anything but running, and getting away from the thing that was causing him such strange, frightening pain. He finally came to a halt on a bridge over a fast flowing river.
Chad fell to his feet, and hunched himself up against the railings. He knew Troy would be worried, and wondering why his reaction was so drastic. Then again, he himself was wondering that exact same thing.
Chad, recently, was feeling things, thinking things, and doing things, that he could provide no explanation for. And now, this. He searched his brain for some form of reasoning. His rational mind was brought into play as he tried to break it down. How was he feeling?
He felt empty. Yeah, definitely empty. Let down, that's a given. A sense of loss.
Chad thought that maybe what he was feeling now was similar to how Troy felt about Gabriella pulling out of college. They had been friends forever.
They both knew that it was more than a friendship. They had such a bond that neither of them thought could ever be possible. No, not a friendship. It was brotherhood. Chad never got bored of Troy, not once in their fifteen years or so of knowing each other.
And now, his brother who had been there through pre-school, elementary, middle and high school was actually leaving him. He'd spent fifteen years with Troy by his side. It's all he knew. And now he'd be without Troy, and in college. This is when Chad identified a new emotion, fear. He was scared.
It all started to get a bit much for Chad. He poked his legs through the railings, and looked down to the water. His eyes started to well up, and before he knew it, tears were streaming down his face. He started to feel angry with himself now, too. Angry for fleeing the party, angry for being angry at Troy, and angry for crying. The more he told himself that crying wasn't manly, the more upset and angry he got. Finally, he let go and let himself sob his heart out.
Little did Chad know, in years to come, he would look back upon this day as a momentous one. The very day his life started to change.
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Please don't forget to review!! I'm from the UK and basketball isn't a big deal here so I had to do a bit of research lol and I winged a lot of it so I hope nothing's too unrealistic!!