There he was. Standing in the doorway, hidden by the shadows I watched as the scene unfurled before me. The person I gave my heart to was ripping it out and he never gave it a second glance. Jason sat there on the couch making out with some random guy. 8 months, 17 days, and 5 hours. All for nothing. I wasn't going to be seen, hell I wasn't even supposed to be here. He told me not to come over until 7. I glanced at my watch 6:32pm. When did I become such an idiot? Why did I fall for this crap? I turned around adamant about not being seen. I stormed out of the room and out of his apartment slamming the door on my way out. I heard him yell for me but I refused to turn around. I ran into my car as I felt the tears stinging my eyes. I was stronger than this. I was Troy Bolton, captain of the East High Wildcats. I was strong. I shouldn't be blubbering like a little queer. I was above that.
Ring Ring Ring- my cell phone rang
I quickly answered it without looking to see who it was.
"Hello."
"Hey baby, did you stop by?"
"Did I stop by, you know damn well that I stopped by. How the hell can you ask me that?"
"Troy, listen I know you're upset. Please let me try to explain."
"Explain…how can you explain being caught sucking face with some nameless jerk?"
"His name is Jeff…"
"How long?"
"What?"
"How long Jason? I want to know how long this has been going on?"
"I had to find someone to dish some out. You were holding out."
"I ASKED HOW LONG?" I screamed into the phone.
"I don't know… 6 months maybe."
I slammed the phone shut and sped home. The memories of the past eight months flashed before my eyes as I raced home. I gazed outside the window in an effort to stop the memories from coming. The trees and cars whizzed by in a blur and I realized that the needle on the speedometer was pressing past 100 mph. I slammed on the brakes in shock and swerved into a tree. Of course, I swerve into a tree right in front of my dad who was crossing the intersection. Upon impact the tears flowed freely as I lost consciousness. In my unconscious state, I dreamed.
DREAMWORLD
"Troy…………Troy…….." A mysterious voice whispered. I found myself resting my head on my desk in English class. Great, my life wasn't bad enough; I had to dream about being stuck in English class. My life was destined to be filled with NO MORE SMILES.
I listened to the voice calling me and I decided on following it. I got up from my seat and stared at my fellow classmates. They weren't moving. It was like time was frozen. I left the classroom quickly after being a little spooked at the situation. I walked down the familiar halls and heard singing coming from the auditorium.
What else could it be he just had to cheat
I made a promise never to settle Chorus:
Why didn't I keep it?
'Cause I hated the heartbreak
Crying and cheating, the fooling around
(But) I'm not missing you
I'm not going through the motions
Waiting and hoping you call me
I'm not missing you
I walked into the auditorium and saw Ryan Evans standing on the stage singing while throwing darts at a picture. As I walked towards the stage he stopped singing and turned his attention toward me.
"Troy, what are you doing here?" Ryan asked.
"I heard you singing. Felt like the words applied, so I decided to hear more."
"What would Troy Bolton know about heartache?"
"Quite a lot. Seeing as how I caught my boyfriend of eight months cheating on my with another. Got so pissed off I slammed my car into a tree and now I am here probably because I can't wake up in the real world."
"So you are trying to have a cathartic episode while unconscious in hopes that it will straighten your life out. Hmmmm…sounds too easy. Life isn't supposed to be that easy. But I can tell you something. Jason Lux was not the one for you. In fact, he was never with you. You were there to look like a cute couple. He only thought about sex. Which is why he cheated on you with 13 other guys."
Ryan stepped down off the stage and grabbed my hand.
"Follow me real quick." I followed politely but still irked at the fact of being here. He was not the Ryan Evans I knew. He was all prophetic and intelligent. We rose onto the stage and Ryan stood me in front of the picture he was throwing darts at. I saw the face of a young man there. By my standards he was hott. I looked curiously at him and he knew the question floating inside my head.
"My ex. If I am not mistaken you just caught him with your ex. Ironic isn't it?"
"Yeah." I replied uneasily.
He waved his hand across the picture and the image turned into that of Jason's. He handed me six darts. Three were red and three were black. He ordered me to hold the darts up and say Jason's name. When I did the three red darts flew from my hand. When they hit the picture three words appeared. Security, lust, communication.
I pondered the three words and they reminded me why I fell in love with Jason in the first place. He was my security, whenever I am wrapped up in his arms I feel safe. The lust, well, he wasn't half bad looking. And communication. I could talk to him about anything. We had common interests.
I said his name aloud again and watched as the dark darts flew into the picture. Once again three words appeared again. Trust, love, Maturity. These words represented the three things that he lacked. I couldn't trust him, I definitely couldn't fall in love with him and he wasn't mature enough for me.
"So what now?" I asked Ryan.
He smiled at me and said, "Find love Troy Bolton. You have the potential to make someone happy and find a person who makes you just as happy. For now, follow your heart."
He clapped his hands together and I woke up. My eyes tried to focus as the bright hospital lights. As I blinked my eyes furiously, I felt my dad grab my hand.
"Hey sport, how ya doin'?"
"Dad?"
"It's me Troy. How are ya feeling?"
"Like crap. What happened?"
"I was hoping you could tell me. All I gathered this past week was that you went to Jason's house, which I told you not to. You got in an argument and now you're in the hospital. Wanna tell me what happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it right now dad." I mumbled as I watched doctors come in and attend to the person in the next bed. My eyes were glued to the cloth partition as shadows flickered across the material. As I watched the shadowy figures move about, I heard a low groan. The person next to me was in a lot of pain. I wonder what happened to him.
"Who is he?" I said while nodding in direction of the other bed.
"A kid from your school. He was found at the park beaten pretty badly. He has been unconscious just as long as you have."
"How long have I been out?"
"One week. It's been hell for me and for that boy's sister. We've both been here everyday. We're glad you guys are awake. Unfortunately neither of you are telling us what happened?" My dad said hinting as his intention to get me talking. I was too tired to argue.
"Dad, I just wanna get some rest. A week of a coma can be really tiring." I joked. He chuckled and allowed me to go back to sleep. As I drifted off to sleep I thought about the dream and about the boy in the next bed.