Firstly, i want to apologize for how long this has taken me to get out. I've been on and off writing it for weeks and just generally been busy with courseworks, essays and exams so please bear with me.

Also, i wanted to say THANK YOU! to everybody that has reviewed this story, seriously it means so much when i get a review. I love them all :D So thanks again.

I just want to dedicate this story too tinkerbell .xox- I'm sorry i lost your memory stick :/ Lol.

Anyways i hope you like it :D Enjoy ;]

Chapter Six

Troy opened the door half-heartedly, he pushed it open without really caring if it banged into the wall. Did he care about anything anymore?

Sharpay followed in behind him, barely making a sound. The heels she had on, still on from the Country Club meeting, were the only sound entering the room. The noise of the Clickety-Clack was starting to get to her, so she decided to take them off. Not really caring, she flung them to the side. Without another word, she flicked on the kettle, not really bothered whether he wanted a hot drink – she was going to make him one anyway.

Troy lowered himself down to the sofa, slowly. Had all this really happened? Today had not been great; the only good thing was being with Sharpay but still today had sucked royally. He was still trying to wrap his head around it, trying to understand it all, trying to figure out what to believe.

"Troy, I can explain." Gabriella looked at him sheepish, like she'd been caught taking a cookie from the cookie jar without permission. She looked…guilty.

"What's going on? Someone better start talking." He could feel the anger rising in him. If Gabriella had secretly been seeing Ryan behind his back…he didn't know what he would feel.

Hurt? Insulted? Betrayed? If he felt heartbroken he knew it would be just because it was Ryan and no other reason, nothing more then that. He didn't love Gabriella; he never had and if he did it was only as a brother would love his sister. "Well?" His eyes flitted his eyes between both Ryan and Gabriella whilst Sharpay hovered in the background.

"Its not what you think Troy." Gabriella mumbled, holding her hands tightly together. His head moved with an instant, his eyes no doubt glaring.

"Oh yeah? Why don't you tell me then?" He snarled and Gabriella quivered. Ryan placed his arm around Gabriella, pulling her closer to him and glaring back at Troy.

"Hey! You can't talk to her like that-"

"Why don't you keep the fuck out of it Ry?" Troy began to walk closer towards his 'best friend', his fists clenching. "Something tells me you're a little too involved…Ry." Sharpay shivered at the way he was talking, she had never seen him like this before and she couldn't imagine anybody else had either. It scared her, too much. Ryan quivered a little bit; he had no idea how to react towards him. He hadn't expected everything to fall apart this way.

"Just listen to us for a second okay?" Ryan begged.

"Oh. Us!? Its 'us' now is it?" Troy sneered but didn't stop. "How adorable."

"Troy. Please stop being like this! Listen to us!" Gabriella half-screamed, desperate for him to listen but not so desperate for the audience from inside the party. Troy was so near to retorting back when a soft voice called out from behind him.

"Troy. Just please…listen to them." His fist began to unclench at the sound of her voice, it was soothing him but then he looked at Ryan's arm around his supposed girlfriend, the way Gabriella was looking at Ryan and the way Ryan was giving Gabriella a pointed look for the way he was reacting to Sharpay. He clenched them again, the pair of them irritating him. How dare Ryan realise the way he felt for Sharpay before he fully knew himself!

"Fine." He grumbled. "Fucking tell me. Quick." He snapped. Gabriella jumped but left Ryan's arms and walked towards Troy. At first she attempted to take his hands but seeing the way he flinched towards her, she decided against it. "Now." He huffed impatiently after Gabriella was taking several minutes to speak up. She flinched at the sound of his harshness, never in the last couple of years of knowing him had she ever seen him this hurt. She couldn't describe the heart-wrenching pain she was feeling at this moment.

"Troy…when I first met you." He shivered at her words, remembering the day they first met. "I thought…I thought you were amazing and handsome and so, so kind. Especially to me." He couldn't resist rolling his eyes, what typical things to say when the guilt kicks in. Gabriella could see his reaction towards her. His coldness…she had never felt anything like it. She was usually a carefree type girl and had never even dreamed – let alone found herself – in a situation like this. "Troy, please don't be so cold towards me." He sighed and groaned inwardly.

"Fine. I'm listening."

"As I was saying, when I met you – it was amazing but I didn't feel anything. No spark, no electric…feeling. I guess what I'm trying to say is I didn't feel anything between us the way I felt something when I met Ryan." By this time Gabriella had turned to look at Ryan, he let out a smile, unable to hold it back, Gabriella gave him a controlled one, careful to Troy's feelings. "And when you did call me after a week, I didn't get the butterflies in my stomach that I get – that I still get – when Ryan calls me. And I am so sorry if I've hurt you and I didn't want it to come out this way. I know our relationship hasn't exactly been real lately but I didn't want this to end this way." Troy sighed and closed his eyes; he rubbed the pain that was forming in his neck. He turned slightly to look at Sharpay. She was looking at the ground but when she sensed him looking at her, she looked up and smiled. As briefest a smile could get in this situation. He didn't smile back but his eyes did light up and that was enough for her.

"Your right. We've been over for a long time Gabriella. I know this. We were never…right. I just didn't think you'd go behind my back-"

"But I didn't." Gabriella interrupted. "I promise you, nothing has happened between Ryan and I." His eyes flicked to Ryan quickly who nodded. "But I am guilty. I'm guilty of feeling something for someone who is not you. And I'm so sorry for that. I never wanted to hurt you. And I know your not hurt in the way people normally are. You're hurt because you trusted me and I let you down. I'm so sorry." Troy didn't say anything but nodded, softly in agreement. She was right. He wasn't hurt at the idea of her cheating on him but he was hurt because he and trusted her and he had trusted Ryan and they had let them down. But he wasn't going to hate them for that.

"Okay."

"Please forgive me, Troy." He sighed again.

"I do, I just. It's going to be awkward between us for a while. I don't know if it will ever be the same between us again. But I'm not mad. I don't know, maybe I should be but I'm not. This thing we have – had Gabriella. Its over. It's done." And with that Troy took Sharpay's hand and they made their way back to their apartment.

"Here." Sharpay passed him a cup of coffee, he looked at her, confusion filled his eyes and she looked back. She grimaced, worried if he would suddenly get mad by taking some initiative, she smiled lightly.

"I didn't ask-"

"I know but I don't care. You needed a drink, or so I thought so, so drink up." She said sternly, he raised his eyebrows and she relented. "Please." He huffed and shrugged his shoulders, taking the drink and having a sip.

"Happy." He said sarcastically, he hoped it came of as joking.

"Ecstatic." She played back.

There was a moment of silence, Sharpay looked over to see Troy deep in thought. She wanted to know if he was feeling down, hurt –or course he's hurt, she scolded herself but was he heartbroken? Sure, he had said to Gabriella their relationship was over and that he didn't feel anything anymore but was he just covering all that up?

"Troy?" He looked up, questioning and she sat down on the edge of the coffee table opposite him.

"Is everything okay?" He was concerned for her; she let out a slow chuckle. "What?"

"No. Nothing. Its just…after everything that's happened today, my parents, Gabriella and Ryan – your asking if I'm okay?"

"Yeah, well-" She could see he was about to put himself down. She placed a hand over his shoulder.

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that. I just mean…your so genuinely nice Troy. I don't think I've ever met anybody like you before. You're an original. You don't even realise how amazing you are!" She grinned and he smiled. "Was that a smile?" She teased and his smile grew. "Oh my gosh, there it is again…" She stood up and rifled through her apparently never-ending handbag, Troy chuckled in the background.

"What are you doing?" She paused what she was doing and turned to look at him, grinning wildly.

"Why, finding my camera of course! Gosh, who knows when I'll see it again!" Troy laughed again, he was surprised with himself that he could feel this happy this quick. Not that he had forgotten or anything…just not dwelling he guessed. She quickly started snapping photos of him, doing little things to make him chuckle, it was working, he was forgetting and he actually looked happy. Sharpay felt pleased with herself. She didn't want to make Troy forget Gabriella…just the pain he was feeling that had been caused by her.

"Please stop!" Troy begged, still laughing. She snapped a few more and grinned.

"But such beautiful smiles deserved to be photographed." She began leaning her camera towards him, leaning more into his face, snapping more photos. "All…the…time!" She snapped some more and finally decided to put her camera away, her giggles still heard by Troy.

Instead Troy patted the spot next to him on the sofa and Sharpay sat next to him, whilst she sat going through the 'one million and one' photos she had just taken of him [some had included her] Troy was flicking through the channels on the TV. He came across E! News and scowled.

"As if anybody would watch this show…who cares about some dumb celebrities?" Sharpay looked up in mock horror. She playfully slapped him.

"Hey! Don't diss, this is my favourite show okay?" Troy's mouth fell open.

"B-but this is…this show is for shallow people and you-"

"Your saying I'm shallow?!"

"No! No I did not mean that it's just…" Troy began to backtrack. Shit, what if he had really upset her?!

"What?! I'm ugly and will never be as pretty as those Celebs? So I should just get over it and live in a dustbin my whole life?"

"Shit. I'm so sorry Sharpay. I did not mean that. You are pretty, beautiful even and I-" He was cut off when Sharpay fell into a fit of giggles, he was confused. Why was she laughing?

"I can't believe you fell for that." She pinched his arm. "Your such a loser, Troy!"

"Yeah…well…I can't believe you tricked me, now that's just rude!" Sharpay giggled.

"Aww, I'm sorry. Forgive me?" Troy rolled his eyes and fake-huffed.

"I suppose…if I have to."

"You do." Sharpay instinctively lay against his arms, still flipping through the photos she had taken, she stalled for a second. "Hey, I really like this one." She held the camera up, her and Troy were messing around, both looking at the camera and both smiling the biggest possible smiles they could.

"Yeah, I like it too."

"What do you reckon? Our first official photo?" Troy looked confused so Sharpay clarified. "The first photo of me and you that will be displayed around here.

"I like that idea." They both grinned and continued holding each other. After a few moments of silence and a few minutes of E! News, Troy had felt bad after insulting Sharpay so decided to let her watch it, he still didn't get it but figured he didn't need to. "Hey, lets do something."

"What do you mean?"

"Something, tomorrow night maybe. I figured the way that I am going to…deal with all this I guess, is if I get over it quickly." Sharpay wanted to ask…if he really did have feelings for Gabriella still but she was afraid of the answer she might get, so instead she nodded.

"The movies. I want to see that new one. About the blue people. Looks interesting don't you think?" Troy chuckled, shaking his head.

"Blue people…"

--

Troy and Sharpay had gone to see the movie about the blue people and Troy had rather enjoyed it, he couldn't say the same thing for Sharpay though, she fell asleep forty-five minutes in. Only when she did wake up, which was right when the credits had finished, Troy had wanted to wake her up but the feel of Sharpay resting against his arms and pulling him closer every once in a while was almost too much to let go, Sharpay had asked if the human 'guy' and the 'blue girl' had gotten it on. Troy had chuckled, put his arm around her and lead her out of the cinema, her question going unanswered.

Troy and Sharpay had gone out many times over the last several weeks. It had been exactly one month and seventeen days since the revelation of Ryan and Gabriella. Sharpay had done her best to make him happy or rather happier. Could she ever make him happy? She wondered, she hoped one day she could.

They had been to see all the latest movies together, been out for dinner at some random diner and when Sharpay wasn't working her nights, sometimes they would stay in, order in pizza, Sharpay would beg him to order ice-cream along with it and watch some movie that Sharpay had bought. She had shelves of DVD's. Tonight though; Troy had decided they were going out. He wanted to take Sharpay to a nice restaurant, one he could actually afford – he wasn't trying to impress her parents just Sharpay, and then maybe something later on. He wanted to thank Sharpay for all that she had done for him the last few weeks. Whilst he wasn't heartbroken, he hadn't seen one of his best friends in a while. Ryan had asked to work on a separate house on the estate, he only saw him once and he wasn't sure who avoided whom.

Sharpay had taken almost an hour to get ready, since Troy wouldn't really delve into details, just that they were going to a nice place to eat, she had no idea what sort of outfit would be appropriate. So instead she decided on a simple, dark blue dress that cut off at the knee. The top part was laced and there were no straps. Sharpay had found it rather fascinating since the dress could be suitable for a nice day out or a nice meal out. Worked both ways.

Sharpay had been immensely impressed with the restaurant Troy had picked, it was classy yet not over the top at the same time. Any place that still had chips on the menu worked for Sharpay. They were just settling into their meals after Troy had insisted on getting them both a starter, Troy was having Steak and Sharpay was having a rather fancy risotto of some sort.

Sharpay had also managed to persuade Troy into purchasing her a small glass of wine. Troy didn't mind so much since he knew Sharpay would not get ID. She may look young but she pulled of sophistication very well and just like he thought, the waiter didn't hesitate.

Troy was amazed at how relaxed he felt around Sharpay, whenever he was with her, he would always laugh and just generally feel happy. His happiness however was short lived. When he looked over to the doorway to see Ryan and Gabriella hand in hand. Sharpay followed his eye line and too was surprised. It wasn't long until four pairs of eyes were each flitting back and forth to each other.

Ohhhh...What do we have here? O.o

Sorry if you were hoping for Troypay to getttt itttt ooooooon. But i thought that would be a bit insensitive. And oh sorry for Troys contradictions. He is not heartbroken (!) By Gabriella. but hurt by their semi-betrayal. Just incase any of you guys were like ...wtf?!

Reviews are (L) Oh and i'll try to get to the Troypayness as soon as but i want to establish their friendship first ;]