Sharpay is Kinda Cute
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It was when I was stealing
Glances from you,
It was when I was feeling,
You stole from me too.
--
Troy made his way up the driveway, excited about his night with Gabriella – his girlfriend of almost 5 months. He couldn't wait to spend some time with her. They'd both been so busy that they hadn't had time. She'd been acting weird around him too, and it was probably because of all the stress.
He usually played basketball, or rehearsed for the new musical, while she was busy with the Scholastic Decathlon Team, or spending time with Taylor. When she didn't do that, she was 'having some much needed time alone', as she liked to put it. He didn't know what the hell she meant by that, and he somehow didn't like it, since it was all she had been doing lately.
That was why he was gonna go surprise her tonight. He had made a fine, little basket with stuff for them to enjoy, and even though she had told him she wanted time alone, he was gonna go be with her. He was her boyfriend, after all, so it was okay for him to want to be with her.
It was weird, really, that their relationship was going like this. Just 3 months ago, everything was great, when they were still happy and in love. Everything was new and exciting. But something changed, and he didn't like it. He was afraid, that if they didn't get their happy sparkle back, he was going to have to break it off with her. If she got mad about him being there tonight, like he suspected she would, he was gonna sit down and have the talk with her right there, right then.
He just hoped it wouldn't get that far. He liked her. She was… different. From anyone he had ever met in his life, and he suspected, that was a very good thing.
He looked at the garage and realized that her mother wasn't home, so he decided to go in and surprise her. Therefore he was happy to learn that the front door was not locked. He opened it and started to sneak up the stairs, happily holding on to his basket. He crept down the hallway, trying not to make any noise.
When he was outside her room door, it was closed, so he was about to open the door, when he heard her voice.
"I don't know… I don't know, I'm so confused!" Gabriella whined, and Troy suspected she was really worked up about something, and whoever she was in there with, was not helping, "I want to be with you, but I don't want to hurt Troy! He's a great guy. But I love you."
Troy's heart started beating faster by her words, and he immediately got tears in his eyes. He also felt extremely mad, but at the moment, yet again, where he wanted to open the door, another voice interrupted him. A voice that shook him to his very core.
"Yes, Gabby, but don't you think it's hurting him that we're sneaking around behind his back? He'd be much more happy if you told him the truth, and then you and I could go out for real."
"I don't know… I don't know." she mumbled, calming down a little. He then heard the unmistakable sounds of kissing noises, and that pulled the trigger. Enough was enough. It probably wasn't meant for him to find out this way, but they could at least have told him, and he'd have been okay with it! It wasn't like he was crazily in love with Gabriella… It was just a simple crush, he got those all the time.
He pulled the knob down, and stepped into the room, leaving his basket in the hallway. The kissing couple broke apart, horror written across their faces. Gabriella pulled away from her guy, while Chad Danforth stared in shock at his best bud.
"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Troy yelled, his face getting red, he could feel it, "Sneaking around behind my back! My best friend and my girlfriend! How can you do this to me!?"
"Troy-"Gabriella begun, but he cut her off.
"Step out of this Gabriella!" he yelled, looking at Chad, anger, hurt and betrayal flashing across his face, "Chad! I thought you were my best friend!? Friends have odes, you know! How can you do this… I can't believe you!"
"Look, I'm sorry man!" Chad said, standing up to be at level with Troy, "I really am, Troy. I never meant for this to happen, but I couldn't help it… I love her. I love her, Troy."
Troy breathed out and got slightly calmer. He could tell Chad meant what he was saying, just the look in his friend's eyes, made him realize that. But it was still not right, the way they had gotten together.
"We never meant to let it go on for this long…" Gabriella butted in, brushing her hand across Troy's bare arm, "We kissed one time, and then I meant to tell you that I wanted to be only friends. But then it was our 2 months anniversary and you got so happy, and… I still couldn't keep away from Chad, so I just… I – I … I went to see him, and then we agreed to tell you together, but the time was never right!"
"There is no right time for stuff like this, Gabriella!" Troy yelled, looking into her eyes, while slapping her hand away, not wanting to feel her body right now, "No time will ever be right! It just has to be done!"
"We're sorry…" Gabriella whispered, and he could see small tears welling up in her eyes.
"Don't give me that shit, Gabby!" Troy said, "I- I came here tonight to see why you've been so weird lately, I guess I found out, huh?" he paused and closed his fists tightly, trying his best not to break Chad's nose, "I can't believe you two…"
"I'm sorry, Troy…" Chad said again, trying his luck once more, "But… You gotta understand me… please? Can you try?"
"No. Not really." Troy said, and then he turned to leave, going for the door. Chad's hand on his arm, stopped him though, so he turned around, biting his lips, stilling fighting the urge to hit his former best friend, "Chad, I swear… If you don't let go of me right now, I'm gonna do something to you that might hurt…"
Chad quickly let go of Troy's arm, and hurried with what he was going to say: "I know this looks bad… But I remember a certain someone's crush before Gabriella arrived here. Dude, whatever happened to Sharpay is kinda cute?"
Troy shook his head lightly and threw a dirty glance at his cheating girlfriend, "Gabriella happened!" he spat, and then he turned around and ran away from the house, ignoring their yells for him to stay there and talk. The hell he wouldn't! They cheated on him! They betrayed him! How could they do this to him, just like that…? Stuff like this was not supposed to happen. He was Troy Bolton for God's sake. Every girl would want to be with him, and yet Gabriella choose Chad.
He felt his vision blur with tears, as the realization finally dawned on him. Chad was finally better at something than him. He had beat him out for something. He had taken his girlfriend, and hurt him in the worst way possibly, and Troy was no longer the best. It hurt to think that way, and he hated himself for always believing that he was better than Chad, but it had always felt that way.
Until now.
It was hard to come around the thought, as he slowed down on the sidewalk, making his way towards the park's entrance. He needed some time to think, and even though it was late, it was still quite hot outside, and several people were walking in the park. It was cool to not be alone there, that would have felt kinda creepy.
He found the first bench he could see, and sat down, resting his head against it. He shot his eyes tightly, letting out a deep breath. He had gotten a huge headache, and the hurt and the longing to go back in time, filled his body, and he wished to just crawl into a hole and die. If he could wrap himself up in a ball and die right there, that would be an option too.
He could hear people pass by, but luckily none of them stopped to see if he was okay. He honestly wouldn't have been able to tell someone about this. He had no idea how to explain it to his parents. He wouldn't even think about what it was gonna be like to go to school now, knowing everybody would know about his let down. Maybe a lot of them already knew, and just hadn't told him… He could feel a bash of angry tears welling up again, just by the thought of that.
It hurt, God, it really hurt. Just the thought that they had been sneaking around for 3 months. He wouldn't exactly say he loved Gabriella, but he had never thought she'd cheat on him. Let alone with his best friend!
He was about to opt for a walk home, to watch TV in bed, when Sharpay appeared out of nowhere, and sat down next to him, arching her eyebrows slightly together, as if saying 'what are you doing here?'.
"I'm just…" Troy trailed off, "I needed some time alone, if you don't mind."
"I didn't ask." Sharpay quickly defended herself, holding her hands up before her chest, as if she needed protection.
"But you thought it."
"No, I didn't."
"Yes you did. I recognized the eyebrow-question."
"The eyebrow question?"
"Yeah, that little thing you do with your eyebrows, when you're confused, or when you want to know something."
"I don't do anything with my eyebrows."
"Yes, you do."
"No, I don't, Troy, maybe you're mistaken. Maybe you're confusing me with your little girlfriend, Montez." She scoffed, as if she just remembered something.
"Gabriella is not my girlfriend, she's Chad's girlfriend." Troy quickly said, crossing his arms in front of his chest, as he looked into space again, trying to ignore the blonde Drama Queen next to him.
"Oh, so you found out?" Sharpay just questioned, eyeing him, her brown eyes curious. She had known about Chad and Gabriella almost since day one. She caught them in the auditorium after school, going wildly at it, their clothes half off. She'd wanted to tell Troy, but Chad had bribed her, and then she didn't feel like being all nice to the basketball king, after the way he treated her during the Winter Musical, after they had almost been going on.
She still liked him, though.
Troy turned to her, questions in his eyes, "What do you mean by Oh, so you found out? Did you know? How many knew, and why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't feel like it, I'm the Ice Princess, remember?" Sharpay said, "And no one else knew, as far as I know. Don't worry, I haven't told anyone, and I doubt Gabby and Chad will tell the school how they hooked up. Everyone would hate them for hurting you. You certainly won't lose face."
"I didn't mean it like that."
"Oh you did, Troy, and you know it!" Sharpay laughed, as she scooted closer to him on the bench, "But that's okay too. I know everything about losing face." She paused, and studied his face closer, "Is it something you need to talk about?"
"I don't understand how they could do this to me!?" Troy blurted out, turning his face to lock eyes with her, "I mean… He's supposed to be my best friend, and she's supposed to be the sweet girl."
"Well…" Sharpay trailed off, pausing, as she thought of something, "I'm gonna tell you something, I thought of, and I've come to know is true about first impressions, but promise not to yell at me."
"I won't, I promise."
"Maybe they weren't that nice to begin with." She offered, "Maybe they were just as bad as the rest of us. As me, they just hid it, and I don't. I hate being a fake, I am who I am, and that's it. If people don't like me, that's their problem."
"I like you."
"Thanks, but I wasn't finished." Sharpay said, her smile getting bigger.
"Oh." Troy just let out, and he couldn't help but chuckle.
"The thing about not being nice was option one, I have an option two too, if you want to hear it?"
"I do."
"Great, well…" she paused for a second, as if to remember what she wanted to say, "Option two is that… maybe they are nice people, and maybe they do care about you, and just couldn't help themselves, because it's true love. And who are you to stand in the way for true love?"
"But how do I know if it's true love and I should forgive them for just giving in?" Troy questioned, as his eyes trailed over her pale, milky skin, and to her pink lips, over her nose, and ended to lock eyes with hers again. Beautiful.
"If it's true love, they'll end up getting married." Sharpay said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "So, you can think back to his moment in 30 years, and if they're married and have 5 kids, you'll know it was true love and forgive them. That'd be a waste of time, of course, because then your friendship with them would be ruined."
"Is this your sick way of telling me that I should believe them and just forgive them?"
"Maybe." Sharpay shrugged, and shot him a 'whatever' look.
"Maybe, yeah." Troy just stated, leaning back on the bench, to once again stare into space. He didn't know what to say to her now. Her logic made him wonder, because what she said was kinda true.
"Well, I'm gonna go home now." Sharpay told him, standing up to leave him in the park, "Call if you need me, or anything… just call."
Troy watched her as she turned to leave, and he cocked his head to the side, watching her back, as she got further and further away from the bench. He thought back at how they used to flirt all the time before Gabriella came to East High. Before Christmas break, he'd actually asked her out, but she'd had to say no, because she had singing practise with Ryan, and then they didn't see each other during the holidays, and after them, Gabriella came, and he'd forgotten everything about her.
He suddenly wondered how that had made her feel.
When she was out of sight, he suddenly felt very lonely, and very weird. Before he knew what was going on, he stood up and made his way in the same direction she had gone, knowing if he didn't catch up on her, there'd always be her house, where they could talk or whatever.
She was probably a very fast walker, because he didn't catch up on her until he reached her house, where she was sitting on the front porch, looking at him, as he came closer. He simply sat down next to her, and pulled her body closer.
"I wondered when you were gonna catch up to me." she giggled slightly, and God, did he love her giggle?
"You knew I was gonna follow you?" Troy just questioned, as his eyes locked with her beautiful brown eyes.
"I know you better then you think Troy Bolton." Sharpay told him, "I may not be in the Troy Bolton Fan Club anymore, but I was president for it once…" she paused, as she let him chuckle, "But I still know you. I'm just not that desperate."
"That's what I like about you now." Troy told her, tracing his finger across her cheek, "And you know what? I've decided to forgive Chad and Gabriella. They fell in love, it's not their fault. Thanks for helping."
"You're welcome." Sharpay said, as she pulled herself out of his grasp, to stand up, checking her golden watch, "And I've officially missed curfew, so I better get inside, alright?"
Troy swallowed hard, not wanting this night to end. No matter how bad it started, it had a nice, sweet ending to it, "Okay…" he whispered, standing up, "We should hang out soon, Sharpay."
"Okay." Sharpay nodded, her eyes half closed, "I'll see you later, Troy."
He grabbed her arm, as she turned to leave, just as he should have done in the park, "…and Sharpay?"
"Yeah?" she questioned, turning around to look at him.
"You're a cool person."
"You too, Troy." She replied, studying his face close for a second. And then she let out a deep breath and tip-toed up to place a sweet, short kiss on his slightly parted lips. She pulled back and giggled, before slowly walking into her house.
Troy watched the door close, and slowly touched his lips, where her taste was still lingering.
Maybe Sharpay was kinda cute.
So yeah. I figured I better post this before the sequel officially came out. The whole thing is inspired by Troy's line during basketball practise, and the idea has been stuck with me for a very, very long time. Now I just decided to type it up. First, I had an idea to make this a very short story, like 5 chapters or so, but I wanted to have it out soon, so it was easier to write a one-shot, and frankly, I think this turned out better than the five chapter story I had planned.
I also wanted to write something with hints of Chadella, don't ask me why, but I've always wanted to.
And I promise that this is my last Troypay one-shot for now. I'm gonna start a story soon, I think (at least I hope), if I get time. But ah, I just started another story with Noukka, and our two others are done soon, but then we also have a new BIG story coming up soon, we just need to do the story-line and the plot. It'll probably be awhile, but it'll come up sometime. And… I think I'm taking back my promise about Troypay one-shots, if I get an idea, I know I won't be able to not write it. So I'm not promising anything, lol.
Music provided by Alphabeat: Ocean Blue – the song is amazing, listen to it. Actually, everything by Alphabeat is amazing, so just buy their CD, it's awesome.
Dedication: Pennia, my Corbin Bleu-buddy. You're the one I talk to about practically everything (Corbin), and HSM2 (Corbin), and we also talk about the songs, where I am in love with 'I Don't Dance' (once again; Corbin). I love you girl, and I'm glad you like Alphabeat too. I hope you liked this, if you even read it, lol.
I don't own High School Musical, or Ocean Blue, I'm just borrowing them. Sad, isn't it?