Disclaimer: I do not won high school musical it belongs to the evil empire that is Disney.
Chapter 7: the ass hole and the bitch.
Sharpay
I looked on from the island in the kitchen as Zeke cheered along with Jason and chad. I never actually let Zeke know that i enjoyed watching the games sometimes. He would only feel insulted that i had more interest in football then i have ever had in basketball. It was only the preseason so i had no idea why they had to get in such an uproar. He had showed up a week after the day of the barbeque and as much as i wanted to tell him to hit the road i always caved where he was concerned. But today i felt like used. Like he was pushing my buttons to see how far i will let him go.
My mind drifted to a few weeks ago the unbelievable party at Naomi's apartment. I was not sold at first the neighbourhood had me sceptical at best but as soon as we crossed the threshold from outside to the small quaint apartment, rules no longer applied. It was just the four of us at first then more arrived. I remembered one boy, sweet josh. He was just a silly flirt, not the real thing not what i had with Zeke.
I felt my phone vibrate again and sighed. He was relentless in his pursuits though. " I'm just glad he didn't open his big mouth" Ryan said the next morning over coffee.
" he actually apologized" troy explained. I was lost in the conversation but Ryan soon explained how he started in on troy the night before. I smiled synthetically and troy shrugged.
" well it doesn't matter" she said " its not like we decided to elope it was just nice to do something different then hang out with the real couples of u of a". my eyes found the flat screen as the boys cheered and i realized they where celebrating being up my 12 after the first quarter.
" i swear dude" Jason said.
"is there a reason they let him out?" chad scoffed and i felt my face getting red with humiliation for some reason. I had no idea what they where talking about but i had a feeling they where talking about troy.
" who sleeps in a park?" Zeke asked. I felt a pang of anger inside me. Ryan was with troy that night.
" i don't know dude" Jason said. " he was probably drunk" they laughed as i looked on clenching. My feelings had always been foggy on the subject of right and wrong with what troy did but seeing him again having fun like he used to it was eye opening, yeah he had changed, what he went threw changes people he was moving on from it and he was not a dangerous person.
" that reminds me" chad said looking over his shoulder at me. "you're brother called me a cunt the other day" i glared at him.
" so..?" i asked. What the fuck am i going to do about what my brother said to him?
" so maybe you should tell him to learn some respect" he said with a smirk, Jason and Zeke laughed. I looked at all three of them unbelieving. I wanted to throw something. The old me would have smashed a glass on the all above the TV but i let out a steady breath instead.
" what would a cheater know about respect?" i seethed. The boys fell silent. Chad looked at me with venom, as if what i said was sacred and unspoken of. I don't know why i was defending troy but i was. He was a good person that i know now.
" that was low Sharpay" Zeke said shocked " Jesus" what a surprise Zeke takes his friends side over mine.
" what's low is you sitting here bad mouthing my brother and my friends" i defended.
" i didn't know you where friends with troy" Zeke said. He had been reluctant to even speak to troy after that first night he had come for dinner.
" did you forget what he did?" Jason asked.
" did you forget whose house this is?" i asked sarcastically. I glared at chad. " i don't care what happened between you and troy and Gabriela but in my house keep your garbage to yourself"
" you don't know shit Sharpay" chad snapped in anger" so shut your mouth and tell your faggot brother to shut his." the closest glass was in my hand at that point. I was livid i wanted chad to feel how it felt to hear those words. I threw it and he ducked and it hit the TV smashing the plasma screen. The boys looked on in horror.
"Sharpay!" Zeke yelled.
" get the fuck out!" i yelled " get out of my house" i pointed towards the door. " and stay the fuck away from my brother and troy!" the boys stood and Zeke looked at the TV then back at Sharpay.
" you guys better leave" Zeke said. They wasted no time.
" you too" i let out an unsteady breath i felt the tears coming to my eyes my built up anger bottled ready to explode. " how dare you, how dare you let him say that...I'm tired of this of you"
"Sharpay?" he asked sullen.
" go!" i shrieked. He looked at me like i was crazy but i didn't care. I didn't care about chad or my TV or Zeke. He left after his friends and i held back from screaming out after him. Fuck him fuck all of them, Fuck chad most of all.
Troy was his best friend." you don't have to say anything Sharpay" troy had said siting down on the steps of the fire escape. The night was humid and my hair was frizzy and damp, his skin glossed like an immortal Adonis.
" i know" i said " i just wanted to say i didn't mean to offend you if i did" i had been a bitch last night with the wine and all, Zeke was not sold on seeing troy i was sceptical.
" i understand why you might think I'm crazy" he said.
" i don't think you are crazy troy..." i said quickly he smiled warmly.
" i understand why you where sceptical" he said " i did a bad thing i was reckless but just..." he was clearly thinking about the experience. I had always wondered how it could have been so traumatizing to be broken up with... i never understood what drove him to beat chad in cold flesh.
" troy?" i asked " what happened?" i wasn't sure if i was overstepping my boundaries i wasn't sure if he was comfortable talking about it but i knew what i knew and i wanted to know the truth.
He looked out over the ally. " what brought me to violence?" he asked. I nodded and he bit his lip.
" i walked in on them" he said " in her room" i was bewildered for a moment. I searched his face, did he know the lies did he knew what everyone thought what everyone thought he did and why? It brought on nausea for a brief moment. He studied me.
"why what do you know?" he asked curious. I wanted to tell him, i wanted to tell him what chad was throwing around as the truth the stores being told behind his back.
I couldn't. " i hadn't really heard anything" i said with a shrug. I wondered if my brother had delved into fake truths.
I had picked the fight with chad. I had chose to insult him and i had done it because i couldn't bring myself to do anything else in his presence. Poor Taylor, i hadn't scene her since graduation, did she know the truth did she know how it had all gone down. Had chad had enough respect for her to at least share the truth with her? I collapsed to the floor in tears. I was alone again, i had told Zeke to leave with his awful friends and i was alone. I felt my phone buzz and let out a loud scream and tore it from my pocket throwing it across the apartment.
I cried for a few minutes on my carpet. The silence was deafening and depressing. I heard the familiar sound of poker face flowing threw the room and my head lifted off of the floor. I got up and walked across the room to where i had thrown my phone. Thank god i had wall to wall carpeting threw out the house except for the kitchen and bathroom, carpet didn't belong in a bathroom. i Picked it up and wiped my eyes before answering the number was unknown. " hello?"
" hey Sharpay?" asked the sceptical male voice on the other end.
" who is this?" i asked my voice horse and strained.
" are you okay...? he asked concerned " oh its josh, josh from Naomi's ?" he said to jog my memory, but it was already jogged. I couldn't forget him and how he had clung to me in hopes of something. Just like every other guy.
" i told you i have a boyfriend" i said strained and annoyed by his constant texts and advances. " leave me alone!"
" I'm sorry" he said. I felt a little bad but i knew i shouldn't, guys like josh only wanted one thing and i was not going to just hook up with a random guy not when i had a boy friend. I thought of Zeke and immediately felt sick to my stomach. I really hated him at the moment. Him and Jason , they where so stupid they didn't know the truth and they believed everything Chad told them. A part of me wondered why i should care at all what they think or how they see troy or treat him. If i hadn't gone to Naomi's that night i might have sat here tonight and said nothing.
" no" i said softly. " I'm the one who should be sorry, i was kind of a bitch just now" he scoffed.
" its okay" he said coolly. It was almost attractive, the tone of his voice. It was deep yet intelligent. I had to admit he was good looking of coarse i wouldn't admit it to myself, i had a commitment to Zeke but right now that seems less important. This wasn't an argument like we have had before. I have never had to argue with him about my brother, i had never been put in the situation where i would have to choose, is that what this was now? It was clear that they would never choose troy no matter how much time goes by, but Ryan had chosen Troy and Ryan is my brother.
" what are you doing right now?" i asked out of nowhere. Now it was like i was the one who was coming off to strong. " I'm just, i sort of need to be distracted."
" i can be a fun distraction" he said suggestively and i giggled. "what did you have in mind?"
i thought on that. I had no idea, in a regular world a girl and a guy meeting up meant sex. But that was not what i wanted right now, was that what he thought this was? " I'm not having sex with you" i blurted he laughed on the other end.
" I'm not a cheating enabler" he said " I'm not interested in sex"
" really?" i asked not believing it for a second.
" well obviously but, I'm not some nympho" he defended " look text me your address and i will come grab you and from there you will just have to roll with the punches"
" is that right?" even though he was cocky i found it all so sexy in a way. Zeke, he was always more submissive then anything when it came to conversations or our relationship in a nutshell. " attire?" i asked causally.
" no girly cloths" he said " jeans, and then whatever i don't care"
" alright then" i said " by the way why did you're number come up as unknown when you called?"
" pay phone" he said " i have unlimited text and nothing else"
" oh" i said " well see you soon"
" you're actually gong to text me the address right?" he asked skeptically." you're not just fucking with me and going to hang up the phone are you?"
i thought about it for a moment, i hadn't even thought about it till now but clearly he had. He was really interested it seemed. " no, i wouldn't do that"
" okay" he said back in his cool deep voice. " see you soon then" i nodded and then realized he couldn't see me nodding threw the phone. I rolled my eyes at my own stupidity.
" yeah" i said " looking forward to it."
i got ready slower then i thought. i Thought about josh, tall tanned dirty blond hair not unlike Ryan,s. That night he was in a simple red and black striped tank top and black shorts. I needed to be simple, it would do no good to where designer today i think. I ended up going with a pair of tight blue jean shorts a white tank top with a leather vest over it. I pulled my hair back into a pony tale leaving my bangs to fall in front of my eyes. For make up i used the style that Naomi had shown me. " less is more" she had told me cross legged on her bed. " except for the eyes, the eyes are your playground" she dragged the liner across the edge of my upper lid. " guys will gawk at your ass and your tits but making him come that comes in at the eyes"
i smiled at myself in the mirror. When i thought about it i hadn't been out in a really long time when i did it was always with Zeke and his friends, never to do anything i wanted to do. I never went to collage parties or mixers or club nights. I thought about my year at u of a. Instead of being the vibrant centre stage diva i had always been i had lost my zeal tight off the bat and had fallen into the category of basket balers girlfriend like so many other plastic bobble heads.
I could admit i was blond and sometimes i could be an air head but i was more then a basketball players girlfriend. I shook off the thought and decided i would wait in the lobby for josh to get here. I'm not really sure i liked the new door woman. It used to be this old man who was friendly to everyone who lived inside the building but suspicious of everyone who didn't. Now it was a woman with a polish accent who looked like she didn't want to be there. I didn't need to sit down because as i was approaching the door i saw a motorcycle pull up and was surprised to see josh.
" you ride a motorcycle" i said as if i had nothing to be surprised about . he did seem like the type to either ride a motorcycle or a wave.
" yeah" he said hopping off and taking off his helmet. " thought it would be a surprise."
" well I'm surprised so yeah" i said nervously knowing that now i was expected to get on the back. He unclasped another helmet this one didn't have a visor but it was a helmet none the less.
" would you be more comfortable with my helmet?" he asked. I was surprised by his chivalry but was hesitant to accept. For some reason i felt like i had something to prove with josh. There was something about him. Cool good looking tall and confident. Ozzing with confidence, he could have any girl he wanted and here was here with this high maintenance bitch. I could here my brother in the back of my head. "you're not just any girl sharpy" i shook my head.
" no I'm fine with that one" i said taking it from his hands. " where are we going anyway?"
" you will see" he said with a smile that left butterflies in my stomach. Although they where nothing compared to the feeling i got when we where clear of the city and racing down the open roads of New Mexico. I felt alive , free. It was a rush i had never experienced and i could not hold my excitement.
He laughed along as we went faster and faster. I knew what we where doing was dangerous and illegal and it went against everything i used to think. Even though it was all of those things i couldn't feel more safe. I held his waste his chiseled chest flexed as he twisted and turned down the desert road, cars passing us like a blur." having fun!?" he yelled over the purr of the wind in our ears.
" yes!" i said simply screaming out.
" hungry?" he asked. It was a random question while speeding threw the desert. I hadn't eaten dinner yet but it was only seven so i knew i could eat anytime.
" I'm fine" i said he slowed and pulled off of the road onto a dirt road taking it up to a cliff trail. He parked and we got off the bike. " where are we?"
" just a place i like to come" he said he opened up the side compartments on his bike and took out a lunch box and a blanket. I bit my lip. He planed a picnic? It was cute and no boy had ever done that for me. Zeke would make me food all the time and it was amazing but this was something different. It made me think of troy and the crush i had harboured for so long and how heart broken i was the day he had picnicked with Gabriela at lava springs. I had wished it was me, that day and i let my jealousy control me.
Times like that i hated myself, i blamed myself. Maybe if you weren't such a bitch troy would have liked you, and you would have never cheated on him not like she did. Josh took a hold of my hand and i zoned back in. " ready?" he asked with a toothy grin. It was contagious and i returned it letting him take the lead.
The trails where no place for heals so once again i sighed a breath of relief that i had decided to wear flat boots. At some parts we had to climb a few rocks and towards the end it was more of a climb then anything but once we reached the top i knew why he liked to come here. The rock is smooth and warm from the sun and you can see the whole desert and more importantly the orange sun was minutes away from setting over the cliffs on the horizon.
" this is beautiful" i said he laid down the blanket. " so is this how you get into all of the girls pants?" i meant it as a joke but he looked seriously taken aback.
" no actually" he said " I've only ever come here alone" his words settled into me.
" really?" i asked surprised. If he had only come here by himself before now why was he bringing me here now? " why did you bring me here then?" i arched my eyebrow.
" when i called you seemed... upset, i figured you could use some cheering up" it had worked, It had worked a lot. I had forgotten about the days events and wished i could clear them from my memory. What had happened to to all of us?
" again, I'm sorry about that" i said
" its okay, you're a bitch i get that" he said. Blush crept over my face at the insult. " don't worry i didn't mean it in a bad way"
" there's a good way of being a bitch?" i asked.
" yeah" he said like it was obvious. " look i know what its like to be a little bit more real then everyone else. You see things how they are so do i, i can admit i am kind of an ass hole, the first time i met troy off of the court i let my moth get ahead of me and was a complete dick"
" why was that by the way?" i asked. I had heard what he had said.
" i don't know i guess its a dominance thing" he said shrugging " but if i had known he was gay i probably wouldn't have said anything" i let out a honk of a laugh.
" troy gay?" i asked " troy is not gay, Ryan is but troy is straight"
" are you sure?" he asked " i mean he and Ryan are pretty tight"
" troy is just... really lost right now" i said " his old friends want nothing to do with him and well Ryan just has more compassion then the rest of us"
" that's true" he granted but i could sense his doubt. And even i doubted it. That day at Maratha's when Ryan held troys hand. " i don't know its not my business" the idea seemed really unlikely, you don't just go away for a year and become gay. But when i thought about it troy had never dated anyone before Gabi and even that wasn't as real as he had thought it was. I shook my head. He was right it was not our business. Right now i was watching the sun set over Albuquerque and even though i had the gnawing anxiety that if Zeke knew about this it would be over for us, i couldn't help but smile.
A/N: okay i know its been a while since we have scene any Ryan troy action and i can tell you it is coming soon, but i needed to open up to more characters and get the story on the track it needs to be on. Thanks to everyone reading and i hope you enjoyed this chapter.