Brady sat on a bench outside the women's locker room, waiting for Gabriella to get changed. She hadn't said much on the way to there, only telling him where to turn and which doors to go through. She had held tightly onto his arm the whole time; he could still feel where her fingers had been on his skin.
He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. Everything had gotten so crazy so fast. He had no idea how he had gone from being in the ocean during a storm trying to save Mack, to being saved by Gabriella in a country club pool. Brady felt a headache coming on as he tried to figure out what was happening.
"Fulton!" a shrill female voice yelled from around the corner, making Brady start and cementing his headache in his skull.
A girl in a sparkly swimsuit and high heels appeared, looking like she was about to tear the place apart.
She spotted Brady and made a beeline for him, almost causing him to get up and make a break for it. However, that strategy didn't go so well with Fulton, and he couldn't just leave Gabriella, so he decided to take a more calm approach this time.
"Can I help you?" he asked the girl, who stopped abruptly in front of him and looked him up and down.
"Not unless you know where that deranged old man Fulton is! I have been looking all over for him," she vented, hands on her hips. "He must not really like his job if he's going to hide away all day and not do what I tell him to!"
"What do you need from him?" Brady asked cautiously, not sure what was up with this girl. He sensed that she didn't really care who he was; she only wanted to use him as an object to which she could voice her complaints.
"What do I need from him? I need him to make sure those Wildcats don't ruin my show! I need him to put out an announcement that junior staff aren't allowed in the show this year so that they don't try and steal my Star Dazzle Award or my big moment with Troy!" she cried.
"Sharpay! Are you serious right now?" Gabriella voiced from the doorway of the locker room, having overheard Sharpay.
"What are you doing here?" Sharpay asked indignantly. "Shouldn't you be outside, pool girl?"
Brady watched in surprise as an angry Gabriella marched right up to Sharpay and stuck a finger in her face.
"You are the most selfish, delusional person I have ever met!" Gabriella fumed. "Those Wildcats have been working incredibly hard on their act to make your show better, not to mention working day after day to keep your country club running, and this is the thanks you give them? What good is cutting them out of the show going to do?"
"I need all junior staff members to work during the show. We wouldn't want to be understaffed, would we?" Sharpay asked rhetorically, standing her ground.
"You just don't want them to outshine you! You're jealous that Ryan found someone else to perform with after you kicked him to the curb, and you're jealous that they're actually really good!"
"You don't know what you're talking about," Sharpay said tightly.
"Sharpay," Gabriella tried to reason, "It's your show. If you want the Star Dazzle Award that badly, then just give it to yourself! The Wildcats won't care, and honestly, they won't be surprised. But don't take the show away from them."
"I'm going to do whatever I want, and some freaky little genius girl isn't going to stop me," Sharpay barked.
"Hey, don't talk to her like that," Brady said, standing up and towering over Sharpay.
"And who do you think you are?" Sharpay asked, not about to back down from anyone.
"He's my friend, and I'm tired of you pushing around people that I care about," Gabriella said, stepping closer to Sharpay.
"First you cast your little spell on Ryan, and now you're with this guy? You just wait until I tell Troy," Sharpay threatened.
"What do you think is going to happen?" Gabriella asked, genuinely exasperated with the girl in front of her. "Do you think running to Troy and telling him whatever lies you make up is going to make him forget me and fall for you? I know you're smarter than that, Sharpay."
Sharpay practically hissed, "If you think that you're going to still have this job tomorrow, you're severely mistaken."
"I don't want it! I don't need this job, and I definitely don't need the stress. I took this job because of Troy, but if I'm not wanted here, I'm gone! I quit! Come on, Brady, let's go," Gabriella said, taking his arm and leading him away from Sharpay.
"You don't deserve Troy," Sharpay said to Gabriella's back, stopping Gabriella in her tracks.
"Gabriella," Brady said gently, nudging her forward.
Gabriella shook her head, letting go of him and turning around.
"And you do?" Gabriella asked Sharpay.
"Yes, I do," Sharpay replied matter-of-factly, crossing her arms.
"Whether or not I'm in the picture," Gabriella said slowly, gathering the words she had been keeping inside for too long. "Troy has zero feelings for you, and that's something you can't demand or buy or trick him into. That's the truth, and sooner or later, you're going to have to deal with that. If you want to wait until he's forced to say that to your face, then go ahead, that's your choice. But just know that no one is going to be there by your side for the fallout."
"Gabriella?" Troy asked as he came out from his hiding place around the corner, looking completely confused. "What do you mean whether or not you're in the picture?"
He had been sneaking around the building Charlie's Angels-style with Mack when he overheard Gabriella confronting Sharpay.
"Not now, Troy," Gabriella said, looking at him wearily and just wanting to get away from both of them.
"No, Gabriella, now. Tell me what's going on," he said seriously, approaching her slowly.
"Gabriella just quit her job," Sharpay reported with a smirk.
"I didn't ask you, Sharpay," Troy said uncharacteristically harshly without looking at her, shutting her down.
Not sure what was happening or why Troy had suddenly left her alone in their hiding place, Mack peeked cautiously around the corner. Her eyes immediately locked on to the person she and Troy had been searching for, making her drop all thoughts of sneaking around and being quiet.
"Brady!" she cried, running down the hallway toward him.
"Mack!" he exclaimed, relief rushing through him as he caught her in his arms.
"I'm so glad that we found you," she said, squeezing him hard. "I was starting to think that Fulton had gotten you and handed you over to the police to be tried as an adult!"
Sharpay eyed the two strangers and then looked to Troy and Gabriella, who were also watching Mack and Brady. Gabriella frowned slightly and then looked at the ground, seeming to be very uncomfortable. Troy stared, looking as if someone had just kicked his puppy.
"Are we safe here? Where did he go?" Mack asked Brady, referring to Mr. Fulton.
"Yeah, where is he?" Sharpay asked suspiciously as Brady and Mack let go of each other.
"Ryan and Taylor are driving him to the hospital right now," Gabriella said quietly, not looking up.
"The hospital? What happened?" Troy asked with concern.
Gabriella explained, "He had an accident in the pool…"
"An accident in the pool? What did you do to him?" Sharpay asked with an accusatory tone, as if she cared about Mr. Fulton's welfare.
"She saved his life, that's what she did to him!" Brady stepped in, surprising Mack, who had rarely ever seen him upset. "She saved me too, and she doesn't deserve to be treated like this!"
"You meet a pretty lifeguard because she has to save your sorry butt, and in the same day you think you know what she does and doesn't deserve?" Sharpay scoffed.
"No one deserves to be treated the way you treat her," Brady said at a normal volume, having calmed down. "Not even you."
"Get off of my property," Sharpay said pointedly, albeit more quietly than usual.
"My pleasure," Brady said, turning and walking away. Gabriella fell in step behind him, leaving Troy and Mack to look at each other in confusion and then follow after them.
Sharpay watched them go and huffed in frustration, trying her best to fight back the nagging echoes of the ugly truths that had been spoken to her. She had to push down those thoughts so that she could hold on for dear life to her made-up world and carry on as usual—entitled, regretless, fabulous…
So, a couple of questions… One, pairing-wise, what do you expect to happen based on what you've read so far? And two, what would you prefer to happen? I'm curious.