Author's Note: .4 percent of car accidents in Canada are cause by a moose. Okay. You can read now.

Chapter Fifteen: Not Just Act

Sharpay's heels clicked as she walked boldly into the locker room, her head held high, her eyes ignited with fire. She came to a stop, the lights shining down on her head and she stood hands on hips, staring dead on at Jack and Troy.

"What are you doing in here?" Jack snapped.

"Get away from him," Sharpay sneered.

"I said what are you doing in here?" Jack screamed.

Sharpay looked unfazed by Jack's comment and she stared delicately at Troy. She reached out her hand and said, "Come on, Troy. Let's get you home."

Troy looked at his dad, his eyes wide with fear- not for himself but for Sharpay. His dad had that manic gleam in his eyes that he always got before he broke off hitting and kicking. Instead of getting helped gently off the floor by Sharpay, Troy was roughly picked up by his father and Jack said, "He's not going anywhere."

"Sharpay, what are you doing here?" Troy asked desperately, hoping he would be overcome with the power of telepathy and tell Sharpay to get out.

"I didn't believe you for a second, Troy," Sharpay said, tossing her hair behind her back. "I could tell you were lying and now I have proof."

"Get out of here, Sharpay," Troy said in a low, shaking voice. Sharpay shook her head defiantly and stood firmly in place.

"Only if you come with me."

"Sharpay, now!" Troy screamed. His words echoed through the locker room and Sharpay, once again, shook her head. She turned to Jack, an angry look covering her face.

"Why are you doing this to him?" She asked, stepping closer. "What has Troy done?"

"That's none of your business!" Jack sneered. Sharpay gave a short, fake laugh.

"Of course it isn't!" Sharpay said. "It's the polices' now. I'm going to report you no matter what Troy says."

"No!" Troy and Jack screamed in unison. Jack shoved Troy backwards and Troy hit the lockers with a clang. Sharpay looked angrily at Jack as he approached her, his eyes gleaming malevolently in the light.

"Why you little slut."

Sharpay's face twisted into a look of pure hatred and she reached her hand up, bringing it forward to slap Jack hard across the face but just before her hand reached its destination, Jack's hand came up and clamped her wrist tightly.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Jack said with an evil smile. Sharpay gave him a look and tried to tug her wrist away. She lost her nerve after tugging vainly for a few seconds; Jack was strong. That wasn't a good thing. Sharpay reached her leg up and kicked Jack hard in the shin, her heel digging into the skin. Jack let out a howl and let go of her, clutching his shin angrily.

"How do you like it?" Sharpay asked with a smirk. She walked around Jack with a definite air of arrogance and headed over to Troy who was trying to get himself off the floor but failing miserably as his tired body would just fold to the ground all over again.

Sharpay gave a sad, tiny smile and took his upper arm, causing him to flinch. She almost let go of his arm but decided against it. She helped him gently off the floor, "Come on-."

She was cut off by Jack grabbing her arm and pulling her away from Troy. Troy let out a cry and said, "Dad, please. Let her go."

"Troy, this is going to teach you a lesson," Jack said, looking evilly at Sharpay. "On how to be strong."

Troy shook his head, his eyes wide with guilt. His body started to shake as he tried to step closer. When he took one step, Jack's grip tightened on Sharpay's arm, causing her to let out a cry. Troy stopped in his tracks and looked at Jack.

"Dad, please," He begged. "Please don't."

Jack's arm drew back and Troy dove forward, smashing into his dad. Jack stumbled and let go of Sharpay who slunk backwards against the wall of lockers. Sharpay covered her mouth to muffle her cries as Jack and Troy fought in front of her eyes.

Troy threw some good punches from what Sharpay could see, but Jack always came back on top with better ones. Troy grew weaker by the second and eventually, with a punch to the head, Troy collapsed. Sharpay let out a blood-curdling scream. Jack looked horrified and smacked her across the face. "Quiet!"

Sharpay drew back clutching at her cheek. She was determined to stay strong in front of Jack. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Sharpay threw him a look and ran over to meet Troy. She sunk down to the floor next to him and looked up at Jack. "You monster. How could you?"

Jack chuckled and replied, "Well, sweetie, that was your fault."

Sharpay felt her stomach backflip, dreading the fact that it was true- that if she hadn't come down and hadn't tried to hit Jack, this would not have happened. She didn't really know that she had interrupted a beating that would've gotten much worse, had she not arrived. Her eyes filled with hot tears and she said, "I'm going to the police!"

Jack's eyes gleamed in the dim light of the locker room. He bent down to Sharpay's level and looked her directly into her eyes. "Now with the police coming, I could crack and maybe accidentally…" He looked down at Troy who Sharpay was clutching tightly in her arms. "Break his neck."

Sharpay and Jack sat in silence as Sharpay's mind went flying from one thought to the next. She looked at Troy's face. Sharpay gulped, held back a wave of tears, and said, "Fine. I won't tell."

"Good girl," Jack sneered.

…

Taylor walked through the gym as everyone began to file out. Small groups of people chatted with some of the team before they all headed out for a little celebration. She looked towards Chad and Gabriella who were talking animatedly near the bleachers, and her heart swelled with a twinge of guilt.

She decided to try and make thing right- to get back her friendships and break down this wall of silence. She may not have liked Troy or agreed wholeheartedly with what he was saying but she had to try. And she really wanted to see for herself.

"Gabriella!" She found her voice. Gabriella and Chad's heads spun around to watch her approach. Taylor stepped closer. "I need to talk to you."

Chad looked at Taylor with a look of disdain and said, "I'll catch you later, Gabi."

"Wait, Chad," Taylor said softly, grabbing his arm as he turned away. "I want to talk to you, too."

There was a long moment of silence where words just couldn't form on Taylor's lips, where the noise could not escape her throat. She looked back and forth at her friends and hung her head, "It's just so hard to believe, guys. It was a lot for me to take in. I've known the Boltons since I was five years old. Mr. Bolton's always seemed so nice."

"But why would Troy lie about that?" Gabriella asked incredulously. "No one would say something like that. It's not something anyone would go around and lie about."

"I was just in shock," Taylor exclaimed. "I didn't know what to think. I was just in denial." They sat silently for a moment and Taylor looked at the ground. "I just want to know if it's true."

"It's too late for that," Chad said. He couldn't help but to smile. "Ever since Cassidy- Mr. Bolton's new wife- showed up, everything stopped. Troy's not getting beaten anymore."

Taylor gave a tiny smile back. "That's great," She said. She stopped for a second and said, "I'm going to go find Troy. Apologize and stuff."

She started to walk away when something interrupted.

"Taylor!" She whipped around to see Gabriella smiling at her. "Good to have you back."

Taylor smiled and headed on her way down the hallways. She reached the locker rooms- girls on the left, boys on the right- when she heard what seemed to be a scream. The voice- it was so familiar. It sounded so much like… Sharpay? No. It couldn't be. It was coming from the boys' locker room!

She walked down and into the right door. It swung open at her lightest touch and she stepped in, letting the door shut quietly behind her. As she headed down the hall, she heard sobbing. Loud, tired sobbing. Coming from somewhere nearby.

Taylor's pace quickened to a run as she made her way through the locker rooms. She looked into every section she passed but each one was empty. Finally, she heard sobbing in the last locker section there was. She stepped up to move into it, but stopped upon hearing voices. She dove into the locker room she was standing at and strained her ears to listen.

"So, we're clear?" Jack sneered to Sharpay. She nodded, letting loose a wave of tears. "Good." He walked out of the locker room, passing Taylor on his way. She pressed herself against the wall as he passed and didn't breathe until she was sure Jack was long gone. Taylor ran into the section next to her and heard Sharpay's sobs again.

"Troy, please," Sharpay was begging the unconscious form. "Troy, wake up." Taylor looked at the scene. It was so unreal: Troy, unconscious, in Sharpay's arms. Sharpay sobbing. A steady bruise forming on Sharpay's cheekbone. And herself, standing frozen in the doorway.

"Sharpay?" Taylor said. Sharpay looked up at Taylor and sniffled. "Taylor! What are you doing here?"

"I heard you scream," Taylor said. She heard the distant click of a door and the sound of faraway footsteps- getting nearer. "Sharpay, we have to get out of here. Now."

Sharpay started to cry uncontrollably and shook her head. Taylor grabbed her by the hand and dragged her out of the room, heading as quietly as she could for the back door of the locker room that lead out into the back parking lot.

Taylor looked over her shoulder and saw Jack about forty feet away. She felt their eyes connect and Jack let out a howl of rage, running to catch up with the two girls. Taylor shoved Sharpay out the door and headed out of it behind her, shutting the door tightly.

They heard Jack screaming and headed behind a car. They ducked down as Jack stood in the doorway, the light from the locker rooms spilling out onto the dark parking lot. They held their breath and waited for him to leave. Jack let out a scream of infuriation and slammed the door shut.

Sharpay jumped up quickly and said through her tears, "Come on! We have to go back!" Taylor shook her head and grabbed Sharpay's wrist so she wouldn't run to the locker room. Sharpay gave Taylor an angry look and started to tug at her wrists. "We have to get Troy! We can't just leave him there!"

"Sharpay!" Taylor said, pulling Sharpay closer to her. "We can't go back."

"We have to help him!" Sharpay screamed, tears rolling down her cheeks. "You made us leave him behind! We have to get him back!"

"Sharpay, there's nothing we could do!" Taylor said. "He was already unconscious. If we had stayed, there's no knowing what could've happened to us. Troy can take this better than we can."

"You didn't see him pass out then," Sharpay said indignantly. "Because I did. …He can't take it anymore, Taylor. He's too weak now to put up with this stuff." They sat in silence, their breath fogging the cold air in front of their faces. "If we don't go back, someone else should."

Taylor sat silently for another moment and said, "Fine. Let's go ask the boys to check on him."

"No!" Sharpay screamed, pulling Taylor back towards her. "They'll be suspicious! We have to be discreet!"

"Why?" Taylor asked, somewhat alarmed.

"Because… we just have to," Sharpay said. "Troy obviously lied for a good reason, so we should respect what he had to say." They sat silently and Taylor nodded. "Okay, Taylor, you can't lie. We all know that." Taylor nodded, knowing it was true. "I'll tell the boys something."

"Good idea," Taylor said.

…

Ten minutes later found Sharpay talking to the boys, her eyes tearless and her demeanor happy. Acting was a strong suit for Sharpay- she could definitely play this up. "Hey, guys! Congratulations!"

"Thanks, Sharpay!" Zeke said, wrapping his arm around her waist. She smiled and went on. "Let's go celebrate. Pizza on me."

The boys smiled and said, "Thanks!"

"Okay, so… wait," Sharpay said, miming confusion. "Where's Troy?"

"Oh." Everyone seemed to notice this for the first time.

"He's probably still in the locker room," Zeke said. "I mean, just because the beating's over, doesn't mean he wants everyone to see his bruises."

"Yeah, that's probably it," Taylor said. Everyone smiled, knowing that they had Taylor back for good. Taylor took Chad's hand lightly, dreading the moment that Sharpay would speak again, knowing that everything that Sharpay was about to say, was a lie.

"Why don't you guys go get him and we'll meet you guys at JJ Twigg's in thirty minutes?" Sharpay said. The boys, including Ryan, nodded and headed to the locker rooms as the girls headed off to their cars.

The boys laughed and joked on their way down, snickering about their huge win and about how easy that game had been. They made it down to where Troy's locker was and they stopped, looking in. Jack was standing over Troy, who was laying on the ground unconscious. Upon hearing the footsteps and the laughing of the boys, Jack's demeanor changed.

"Troy!" Jack said. "Troy, are you okay?"

Troy had come around by this time and he looked at his dad, anger lining his face. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"What happened?" Jack asked, helping him off the ground. "I mean, I walked in and you were unconscious on the ground!"

Troy looked at his dad angrily, trying to mask it on his face. "Dehydration I guess," He said and he turned to his friends. "Hey, guys. What're you doing down here?"

"Oh, we're going to JJ Twigg's," Ryan said. "We were coming to see if you wanted to come."

"Oh," Troy looked at his dad. "Dad, can I go?"

"Troy… are you feeling up to it?" Jack asked through gritted teeth. Troy could see plainly in his dad's eyes that Jack was telling him no but he still said, "Yeah. I just need some water and I'll be good."

"Okay," Jack said, his jaw clenched tightly. "Have fun."

"Umm," Chad said, interrupting their talk. "Troy, you want to stay at my house after? I'm having all the guys over anyway."

"Yeah!" Troy said too quickly. "Yeah, of course I'll come." He went into his locker and pulled out his sports bag. "Okay, Dad. See you tomorrow!" He headed out the locker room, feeling his dad's eyes burning a hole through the back of his head and he stopped, causing the others to stop too.

"I'm going to change," Troy said. "I'll meet you at Chad's car in a minute."

They all nodded and headed out to Chad's car while Troy turned around and faced his dad, "You said yes. It's too late to change your mind now."

"I won't forget about this, Troy," Jack said. "You're going to pay for letting her go."

Yes, because there's so much I can do while I'm unconscious, Troy thought to himself. He nodded at Jack as if he really didn't care and ran into the showers to change.

…

That night, Ryan, Chad, Troy, and Zeke all gathered around a small fire, roasting marshmallows in Chad's back yard. They laughed as Troy finished telling his story.

"So then Cassidy and my dad were trying millions of names," Troy said. "So, now on their list they have, Lighting, Rainbow Sunshine, Kinnikie Rainbow Sunshine (Cassidy's on a Grease kick), Autumn Mist, and Raspberry Ice."

They all laughed. "I swear," Zeke said, pulling his marshmallow off his stick- it was perfectly golden. "That kid is going to very messed up if you don't do something."

"I don't know," Ryan teased. "I'm thinking Raspberry Ice Bolton is a pretty cool name." They all laughed. Troy smiled brightly. He hadn't had this much fun in a long time. Being with his friends, and laughing, having a good time- it was all worth the lying. It was things like this that he missed sorely. Though he felt bad about lying, he brushed it away. Because that's what friends do, they make things seem better than they are.

Chad watched Troy out of the corner of his eye. Troy laughed and tossed a burnt marshmallow at Zeke who jumped back just in time for it to land in the fire. He smiled and pulled his marshmallow off his stick. "Now you're in trouble, Bolton."

He threw the marshmallow quickly and Troy ducked. The marshmallow flew right into Ryan's laughing mouth and he laughed harder upon feeling the sugary treat touch his tongue. He ripped open the bag of marshmallows and tossed a handful, pelting Troy and Zeke. Thus began a long marshmallow fight.

Everything went silent as Troy clutched a marshmallow in his hands. His eyes locked with Chad's and Chad took a big step back. "You wouldn't dare."

"Yes," Troy said. "I would."

He drew his arm back and threw the marshmallow, hitting Chad squarely in the forehead; Ryan sneaked up behind Chad and dumped the remaining marshmallows into his afro. "You messed with the afro! Now it's on!" He launched a fistful of marshmallows at his friends and dove behind a tree.

Chad backed up slowly, hoping to find a way to escape the bombardment of marshmallows. He felt something hit his back and he flipped around to see Ryan poking him with his roasting stick. Chad brandished his like a sword and he looked over to see Zeke and Troy already engrossed in a battle themselves. Troy hit Zeke's stick with such a force that the stick snapped in half. Zeke looked at his stub of a sword and said, "Uh oh."

Denfenseless, he fought back the way he had been used to- the way boys were used to- an all out, punching, hitting, kicking war. He jumped onto Troy who dove out of the way just in time. Zeke hit the ground and laughed, knocking Troy to the ground with his feet. Troy collapsed and laughed as his back hit the frozen ground.

They were laughing and having a great time when it got a little out-of-hand. Chad and Ryan had also abandoned their sticks and started to horse around with each other. Zeke and Troy were rolling on the ground, laughing and play-fighting, when Chad fell over them, kicking Troy hard in the side. Troy let out a scream, clutched at his side, and doubled up on the ground, gasping in pain.

The silence that followed was only broken by the crackle of the fire and the whisper of the wind as it sliced through the trees. Troy rocked on the ground, holding his side, and clenching his eyes shut and teeth together. Ryan, Zeke, and Chad stood, no knowing what to do, as Troy stayed doubled-up on the ground. Troy felt like an idiot for breaking their fun time, so he stood up (very painfully) and took a stick. He jabbed it under Ryan's arm and Ryan fell to the ground, his tongue hanging out and his eyes rolled back into his head. The boys laughed.

Chad noticed it, you would've, too, and he knew something was wrong. But now he knew why Troy had lied and said that everything was better: he wanted everyone to be happy. So Chad didn't speak that night about it; he didn't bother to act like he knew.

Because that's what friends did. They made everything seem better than they are.

But Chad knew, if he was a friend, he would try to make things better. Not just act.

Author's Note: Voila. A somewhat obnoxious chapter. One that was very difficult to write. I have to ask now: Sequel or Prequel first? You guys tell me. Thanks! Please review.