Chapter Six

"I'm really busy right now," Sharpay called out when Ryan knocked on her door. "I've got a date in, like, two hours and I'm so not ready." He opened the door anyway and stepped inside. Sharpay clicked her tongue at him. "I told you I'm busy."

Ryan managed a smile. "You're dressed, you've got your jewelry on and you're nearly done with your make-up."

"Yes, but I've still got hair and accessories." Sharpay said over her shoulder. "And that could take ages."

"Well, I only need a few minutes." Ryan leaned back across the door, his arms crossed over his chest.

Sharpay studied him in the mirror as she smoothed some sort of goopy white paste into the underside of her neck. "What is it then?" she wiped her fingers on a pink towel and then screwed the cap back onto the bottle. Ryan watched as she picked up a jar of god knows what and dipped her pinky into it. She dabbed it under her left eye and then her right, her mouth pulled into a frown. Sharpay let out a frustrated noise and tossed her head. "Spit it out, Ryan, I haven't got all day."

"You are slathering more money onto your face than most teens make in a year." He walked across the room and picked up the jar she had just recapped and began to read. "Uses advanced technology to help firm, lift and restore skin's youthful appearance. Helps firm and nourish with caviar extracts and La Prairie's exclusive cellular complex. Seriously? You are putting caviar under your eyes?" he tossed the jar and caught it neatly.

"Give me that!" Sharpay snatched it from him. "That's La Prairie and it's three hundred a jar! Mother would kill me if I ordered another one before I'm due."

Ryan laughed. "Way to prove my point, Shar."

She ignored him as she settled her precious fish egg extract back into place. "Did you have a reason for coming in here? Or was it just to bother me?"

"Actually," Ryan eased his hip onto her vanity, "I need to talk to you about something Troy said."

"Troy?" her face lit up and she gave him her full attention for the first time since he entered the room. "What did he say? Was it about my new dress? No, he told me himself he thought it was," she wrinkled her nose, "nice." Sharpay frowned then shook her head. "Whatever. What was it Ry? Don't keep me in such suspense!"

"It was about you and him and a little plan involving me and Chad."

"Oh." Sharpay made a dismissive motion with her hand. "That." She shifted so that she was facing the mirror again. "I thought it was something important." She picked up a brush and uncapped a thing of light brown powder then cut her eyes towards him. "Could you move? You're ruining my light."

He slipped off and took a couple steps back. "Is that all you are going to say?"

"What do you want me to say?" she applied the face powder with neat little swishes of the brush.

"Maybe that you are sorry? I was really tore up about every that went down, as you very well know."

"Oh please." Sharpay shook a can of sparkly pink powder, popped the top and dabbed the tip of a fat brush into it then sent the brush gliding over her cheeks, leaving her looking fresh and glowing.

Ryan stared at her with morbid fascination. "You know, if you spent half the time on your character that you do on your grooming, you would be pretty much the best person ever."

Sharpay gave him a nasty look in the mirror. "You are such a drama queen."

"I'm a drama queen?" Ryan snorted. "Hey pot, this is kettle, you're black."

"I so don't have time for this right now, Ry." Sharpay waved a hand at him.

"You know what I don't have time for?" Ryan fumed, but Sharpay cut him off.

"Spare me." She picked up her brush and dragged it through her hair. "Look, I'm sorry. Alright? Does that make it better?"

Ryan took a deep breath, "Shar," he started, but she cut him off again.

"No, really. I am. I was wrong to break you and your smoopie-poo up. Clearly, it was true love. And I was such a terrible, terrible sister for making you see that he wasn't that into you. Honestly, I should be sent to Siberia or something. After all, I set it up so that you could see what he was saying about you behind your back. Which, I'll remind you, was totally talking shit. But, whatever. I broke your poor little heart into pieces and I'm sorry." Sharpay slapped the brush down and twisted in her chair. "Or not at all. Because he is a tool, Ry. And you can so do better."

"I see." Ryan touched his finger to his chin in mock thoughtfulness. "Yes, it's all clear to me now. You arranged things so that I would overhear Chad talking trash about me because you care about me and just want me to know what sort of a scum sucker he is. And not," he narrowed his eyes at her, "because of Troy Bolton, a boy who still hasn't asked you out I'll remind you."

Sharpay tilted her head to the side, considering her makeup. She ran the lip gloss applicator over her lips one last time and then smiled at her reflection. "Seems right to me," she answered cavalierly as she fluffed her hair. "Now, how do I look?"

Ryan pressed the tips of his fingers into his forehead and took a deep breath. "Sharpay, focus."

"I am." She clipped a bow into her hair and then made a face. "Too fussy." She removed it and then slipped an ice blue headband into place. "I don't know," Sharpay tapped her lips. She stood up and adjusted her tops so that it dripped off one arm, revealing more of her cleavage than Ryan ever needed to see. "It's a little Daisy Mae, but I like it. What do you think?"

"First, that you are the most selfish person on the face of the planet, and second that you couldn't pull off Daisy Mae if your life depended on it," Ryan snapped.

"Ryan!" Sharpay whirled around and glared at him. "I would make a fabulous Daisy Mae!"

She stamped her foot dramatically and heaved a sigh, no doubt ready to quote some line or other, but Ryan wasn't interested in hearing it. He held up a hand. "Don't even start."

"Oh, fine. If you want to know the truth, then I'll tell you. And you have only yourself to blame if you don't like it." Sharpay crossed her arms and made a face. "Troy kept mopping about, whining about that lump he calls his best friend. I put up with it for as long as I could, but when he started singing off key, I had to do something. Honestly, I can't see why you are complaining about it. Like I said before, he so wasn't boyfriend material."

"Except that he was," Ryan said through clenched teeth.

"Whatever." Sharpay turned back to the mirror. "You only hooked up with him because you were just bitter about me speeding all my time with Troy. I don't know what made you latch on to Chad Danforth, of all people, but I'm sure you would have snapped out of it all on your own in a week or two."

"This is not about you." Ryan shook his head in disbelief as Sharpay rolled her eyes. "You know what, forget it." He stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

"And then he said that I have to earn his trust somehow if I ever want to be with him again and just walked away like I wasn't standing there with my heart on my sleeve begging him to take me back," Chad finished. He ran a hand over his face and shook his head.

Taylor patted his shoulder reassuringly. "It sounds like you've got your work cut out for you, then."

"Yeah, well," Chad flung himself back on his bed and crossed his arms behind his head. "Where do I even start? That's what I want to know. What can I possibly do to prove to him that it was just a moment of weakness or whatever." He waited for Taylor to come up with something brilliant, and when she didn't he blathered on. "I mean, I didn't even say anything that hurtful, when you come right down to it. He said he wanted to keep things on the down low. He said he didn't want the whole school knowing what was going on. If I hadn't said what I did," Chad trailed off and stared at the ceiling like it would suddenly solve all his problems.

"It seems to me," Taylor said slowly, "like you still haven't accepted your responsibility in this whole mess."

Chad made a face. "It's not my fault that Troy and the Ice Princess where setting me up. If I had known then I would have said something, I don't know, nicer? Different anyway."

Taylor slapped his leg. "See? That right there proves that you knew you were saying something you didn't want to get back to Ryan. Even if he hadn't been there don't you think that he still might have found out? And wouldn't he have been hurt then too?"

"I admit that it was a dick thing to do. I haven't tried to say that it wasn't. But I was under a lot of stress and I didn't mean it," Chad protested.

Taylor made a disgusted noise. "You know what, you don't deserve him." She stood up and started picking up her books.

"Tay," Chad sat up, tucked his legs under him and gave her a pitiful look, "please don't leave. I really need your help with this."

"Fine." She dropped her book back on his desk with a loud thump. "First things first, you admit that you are wholly to blame for this and stop acting like a martyr." Taylor crossed her arms and glared at him.

Chad sighed. "Alright. Alright. I'm to blame. It was me and my big mouth that got me into this. Ryan didn't do anything that I wouldn't have done in his place. And even if Troy is the biggest dick in the whole world, that still doesn't give me an excuse for badmouthing my boyfriend and calling his whole dance thing stupid. I mean, it is, but I should have been sensitive or something and not told everyone how lame I think it is."

Taylor laughed. "Oh Chad, you almost had it."

"What?" Chad lifted his eyebrows. "Don't tell me that you think that musical theater is the It thing, because you don't."

"That's it!" Taylor beamed at him.

"What's it?" Chad was instantly suspicious.

"You are going to try out for that spring musical."

Chad gave her a dirty look. "That hell I am."

"Think about it," Taylor coaxed. "How else are you going to show him that you respect his life choices."

"Could you sound anymore like an after school special? Who talks like that?"

Taylor rolled her eyes at him. "Did you or did you not come to me for help?"

"I did, but--"

"No buts. I am giving you my advice. If you want those big blue eyes batting in your direction, you are going to try out for that god awful show."

"I knew it!" Chad crowed. "You hate all that singing and dancing stuff as much as I do."

Taylor gave him an amused look. "It doesn't matter what I hate. I'm not the one trying to get out of the doghouse."

"But you'll be the one auditioning along side me."

"What?" Taylor gave him a confused look. "Are you out of your mind? I have so much on my plate right now it is not even funny."

"Who else am I going to practice with? And besides, it will look good on your college applications," Chad wheedled.

"Gabby," Taylor said with a snap of her fingers.

Chad shook his head. "Hasn't talked to me since this whole thing went down."

"Don't you know any other girls?"

"None that I would want to sing and dance with," Chad said with what he hoped was a charming smile.

Taylor laughed. "You know, that would work better if I didn't know that you were head over heels for some skinny white boy."

"You never know," Chad teased, "Maybe if I had met you first I would have ended up with you."

Taylor swatted at him. "Tell that to someone who has seen you go all gooey-eyed over him."

Chad gave her a hard look. "I do not go gooey-eyed."

"Oh sure, and sun sets in the east." Taylor bounced down onto the bed besides him. "You are crazy for Ryan. Anyone with eyes can tell. And that's a good thing, because if it weren't true love I wouldn't be willing to risk my GPA by devoting time I could be using to study to prance up and down a stage with you."

Chad leaned over and kissed her cheek. "You're the best!"

Taylor pushed him away. "Save your gratitude until after you've seen me dance," she said with a smile.

Chad opened his mouth to say something witty, but was cut off by the ringing of his cell. He grimaced as the strains of The Boys Are Back in Town filled the room and reached to press ignore. Taylor rolled her eyes and snatched it up before he could.

"Hello?" she cleared her throat. "Oh, hey Troy. Yeah, he's right here." She paused. "I don't know. I'll ask him." Taylor gave Chad her 'don't be an idiot' look and then said, "Are you free to talk, Chad?"

He rolled his eyes at her and held out his hand for the phone. She gave it to him and he put it to his ear. "Hey."

"Yo, bro. Long time no talk," Troy said with a nervous laugh.

"Yeah." Chad picked one of his shoelaces loose. "So, um, what did you call about?" Troy was silent for so long that Chad glanced at the screen to make sure the call hadn't dropped. "You there?" he asked.

"Yeah." Troy paused again and then said, "Look, I know you are pissed at me, but I really need to talk to you. Do you mind if I come in?"

"Come in?" Chad got up and moved to his window. He flicked the curtain aside and glanced out. "Dude. Are you seriously standing in front of my house?"

Troy ducked his head and then asked, "Can I come in?"

Chad looked over his shoulder and saw Taylor packing up her bag. "You leaving?"

She nodded. "You and Troy need to clear the air and I've got to get home and start practicing my dance moves."

"You rock," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow during free period, alright?"

"Dude," Troy cut in.

"Give me a sec," Chad answered. "I'll let you in when I walk Taylor out." He flipped his phone shut and tossed it back on his desk. "I'm serious, Tay. You rock." He crossed the room and wrapped her in a tight hug.

She squeezed him tight and then pushed back and gave him a weak smile. "Try and just listen to him," Taylor advised. "I know you're pissed at him and all, but Troy's got a good heart."

Chad snorted. "He doesn't ever think about what he's doing until it's done. Then he's all sorry about whatever clusterfuck he just caused, but it's too damn late to do any good."

"Well, I never said he wasn't as dumb as bricks." Taylor slipped the strap to her bag over her shoulder and then gave herself on last glance over in the mirror. "Just that he has a heart of gold and doesn't mean harm."

"I know," Chad agreed. He walked over to the door and pulled it open in. "And I promise I'll try and keep that in mind when he's explaining to me why he didn't mean to royal screw me over."

Taylor gave him a wry look, but didn't say anything as she walked ahead of him down the stairs. She paused at the bottom, waiting for him to catch up with her before she opened the front door. Troy was standing there with his hands in his pockets and a hangdog expression on his face. Taylor gave him a tight lipped smile and then nodded at Chad. He lifted a hand in response.

Troy waited for her to be out of earshot before saying, "Why did you never tell me about you and Ryan?"

Chad dragged a hand through his hair and sighed. "You better come in. I'm so not having this conversation on my doorstep." He gestured for Troy to precede him.

"Your room?"

"Where else?"

Troy lifted a shoulder in response and headed up the stairs. Chad followed him, trying to make sense of his mixed up emotions. He was pissed. No doubt about it. Troy had fucked up one of the best things in his life over some petty bullshit. But, on the other hand, Troy was his best friend, had been since they were sprouts not even big enough to properly hold a basketball. They had a history between them and that was hard to let just slip away, no matter how big of a douche Troy had been. Chad scowled and shook his head. This whole thing sucked massively.

"Uh." Troy stopped in the doorway and looked at Chad over his shoulder.

Chad rolled his eyes and pushed past him. "Just sit anywhere." He watched as Troy walked towards his bed and plopped down on it. "So," he lifted an eyebrow.

Troy hunched his shoulders. He glanced at Chad and then back down. "Yeah," Troy paused, then took a deep breath and said, "I was talking to Gabby and she said that you and Ryan were, you know, hooking up and that I got between you and fuck." He let out and exasperated noise. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"About me and Ryan?" Chad made a face. "I wanted to, but he wanted to keep things on the down low."

"Well, yeah, about you and Ryan too, but that's not what I meant." Troy leaned back on the bed, his weight resting on his elbows. "You're my brother from another mother, dude. So why doesn't Gabby know that you're gay and I don't?"

"First off, I'm not gay. I'm bi. Second, I didn't tell Gabby. I told Ryan. And, um, she just happened to be there when I did." Chad winced, knowing that was about as weak an excuse as possible. "But whatever, I would have told you. I wanted to. It just never came up before and, like I said, Ryan didn't want anyone knowing."

"Why?" Troy's brow furrowed. "Was he ashamed of you or something? Because if he was then he's an even bigger freak than I thought. You are pretty damn amazing and any guy would be lucky to have you."

Troy looked so indignant that Chad laughed. "Dude, calm down. It wasn't anything like that. He just knew that I wasn't out and he didn't want me to do something I would regret. He said that if things worked out between us and I was still comfortable with the whole dating thing, then we could wear matching tuxes to Prom."

"That's cute. Matching tuxes." Troy grinned and Chad balled up a piece of paper on his desk and chucked it at him.

"Like you won't be wearing something equally stupid to make some girl happy," he shot back.

"Duh. That's how it works." Troy's grin got wider. "But you would have enjoyed it. Which it totally different."

"Whatever. It doesn't really matter now does it? Ryan won't even talk to me, so I'm pretty sure we won't be doing anything together, let along coordinating our clothing."

Troy's face sort of crumpled in on itself. "Dude, I'm sorry about that. I didn't know you two were, you know. I just thought that," he stopped and shook his head. "I wasn't thinking. I was jealous that you two were hitting it off and I wanted my best friend back. So when Sharpay came up with this idea to get things to go back the way they used to be, I jumped on it. I should have known it was a jackass thing to do."

"Yeah, well," Chad shrugged. "What you going to do about it now?"

Troy's expression brighten again. "I'm going to fix things, that's what."

Chad looked at him like he had lost his mind. "Dude, whatever you're thinking, just stop right now. It won't work."

"Sure it will." Troy flopped back onto the bed and laced his fingers behind his head. "You'll see."

"No, seriously. Don't." Chad warned. "I've got this under control."

Troy propped himself back up on one arm, concerned etched on his face. "I'm the one who got you into this mess. I'm going to get you out. It's the right thing to do."

Chad sighed. "I'm not going to be able to talk you out of this, am I?"

"You never can, bro." Troy's eyes all but twinkled and Chad felt the urge to both laugh and cry.