Author's Note: I have nothing to say except that I am so sorry that this took me so long to get out. I've been working on this for an entire quarter. I just have been so overworked, and I have finals this up coming week, and I was super stressed, so I decided to finish this. I'm not really all that happy with it, but I guess plot wise it's kind of important. I don't know though. Anyway, the song is "Never Gonna Be Alone" by Nickelback. Please read and review!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Caught in the Act

Chapter 7: Never Gonna Be Alone

With Sharpay:

The entire cast seemed much more relaxed after the rehearsal the other day. However, the most obvious change was in Gabriella, who was much more like the bubbly girl they considered her to be.

During rehearsals she would sing with a renewed vigor. Her dedication was inspiring the whole cast, all of whom had rediscovered their passion for the show. Everyone was captivated when she performed, as she radiated empathy and understanding. If she was not on stage or running lines back stage, she was helping a fellow cast member with their own lines or dances.

To most it seemed that she was coming out of her slump, but to those close to her, there was a mutual understanding that something much deeper was happening to their sweet and dynamic friend. Sharpay, Kelsi, and Ryan were excited, because they all saw her becoming the girl that they knew she truly was. However, Sharpay could tell that something was still upsetting the girl who was quickly becoming one of her best friends. Both she and Troy often caught Gabriella staring vacantly into space, at which point they would share concerned glances before one of them went over to check in with her. Sharpay had a feeling Troy knew what the issue was, but had never broached the subject with him, reasoning that if it she needed to know, he would tell her.

However, this did not stop her from wanting to help her friend get better and be happier, though she was struggling to find a way to do so.

As she sat in English class, writing notes back in forth with Zeke in their notebooks, she came up with an idea, and quickly scribbled a note to Zeke.

Are you free on Saturday night?

He stared at the note for a moment, before writing a quick note back.

I think so, why?

She smiled, hoping that everything would come together.

Nothing, just keep it open, I'll text you with the details later.

She leaned back in her chair, suddenly feeling very accomplished. As a plan formed itself in her mind, she returned her attention to her English teacher, absentmindedly taking notes.

As soon as the bell rang, she packed up her stuff, and went in search of this year's male lead. She reasoned that he would full heartedly agree with her idea, since she could tell he would do anything and everything to make sure that Gabriella was happy again, but she wanted to make sure that she was not over stepping any boundaries.

And yes, Sharpay did understand the meaning of boundaries. She just mostly disregarded them.

She founded him leaving his math class, on the way to the gym, presumably to play some basketball. Sharpay knew that Troy had been splitting him time between the show, homework, worrying about Gabi, and basketball, and that it was starting to take at toll on the young star. Though he would never admit it for fear of worrying Gabriella, Troy's game was suffering due to rehearsals, and the team was suffering because of it. It was not that the team was dependent on him, as the school seemed to think. Each member of the team was an amazing player in their own right, and each of them brought their own personal tastes and talents to the game. The Wildcats were a well-oiled machine, everyone knowing the other's weaknesses, and each trying to compensate for these, as well as better themselves as players.

From her spot by the door, Sharpay watched Troy throw some free-throws, apparently effortlessly dropping them into the basket. But he was tense, and his shots were ever so slightly off.

She was shaken out of her reverie by a presence behind her. She turned around to see the tall form of Zeke standing behind her. He looked at her questioningly, and she felt the color rise in her cheeks be for she gestured to Troy with her head.

"I wanted to talk to him about Saturday."

A smile spread across Zeke's face. "Am I right in assuming this has something to do with Gabriella?" he asked her, a knowingly look in his eye.

"Maybe…" Sharpay replied evasively.

With Zeke:

Realizing that he was not going to be getting any more information from the blonde, he nodded, before walking towards the door.

"I'd love to stay and talk, but Chad called for an lunch time practice, so I better get going. I don't really want him angry with me, as he's taken to calling this an "emergency" practice, as supposed to the relaxed warm-up it ought to be."

With a smile she moved out of the way, and he entered the gym.

"Hey man, how's it going?" called Troy, carelessly throwing a basket before approaching Zeke, the ball sailing through the net before bouncing and rolling away.

They greeted each other before he responding, "I'm alright man, what about you?"

Troy shrugged, "Honestly, stressed, but did I just see you chatting up Shar outside the gym? You better be careful, if Chad sees you he'll have a cow."

Zeke shrugged. "I was just wondering why she was staring at you." Troy looked up on surprise as Zeke laughed before continuing on. "She needed to talk to you about something. She said something about keeping Saturday open in English class today, so I'm assuming it's related to that."

"You sure that wasn't her way of asking you out," replied Troy, with a light punch to the arm. The two teens shared a look before bursting into laughter. The day Sharpay asked a guy out would be the day the earth froze over. They sombered up as they saw Troy's father walking towards them.

"Hey coach," the team chorus together, causing Troy and Zeke to realize that the rest of the team had entered during their conversation. Both of them quickly noticed a distinct divide amongst the team members. Coach Bolton stood in the middle, with Troy, Zeke, and Jason, who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, on his left, and Chad and the rest of the team on his right.

"Alright, Chad called this practice so I'm going to let him lead, and will step in when needed. So Chad, why don't you come up here and begin."

Chad came forward before turning to the team.

"Alright we have a game against St. Steven's this Friday, and we are not ready." He spoke with authority, keeping his eyes trained on Troy the whole time. "We are going to start with 15 suicides, so everyone line up."

The team groaned, and the three guys shared a look, disappointed in their friend's attitude. They all made their way to back line.

"Ready, one… two…" called Chad from the half court line.

"Woah, hold up man, you gotta be running these too," said Troy, straightening up.

"I don't need to run these, Bolton. Unlike you, I haven't been prancing around on stage in a leotard instead of focusing on the game. In fact, wildcats, you all can come here except for Bolton. He's been the one skimping out, he should be the one to face the music, so to speak." There was a murmur of agreement from the team, and they walked over to Chad.

A look of furry crossed Zeke's face before he spoke up "Chad, man, you're being unreasonable."

"I didn't say you had to run them too Zeke. You haven't been ditching out on practices."

"But Troy hasn't missed any practices," said Jason, confusion clouding his eyes. "Why are we punishing him?"

"Because our team leader over here fails to realize and understand the true meaning of teamwork." All head's turned to the speaker as Coach Bolton stood from the sidelines and walked onto the court. The team was nodding in agreement, while Zeke, Jason, and Troy were looking at each other in surprise.

"What Chad does not see is how dedicated Troy is to the team." Now it was the rest of the teams turn to be surprised.

"Yes, Troy is my son, but I can't remember ever seeing him work as hard as he is now. You may think that being in the musical is nothing more than skipping around a stage in a leotard, but if the weekend rehearsals in our living room are any indication, then your version is entirely off. In fact, I bet none of you know much about the everyday lives of your fellow team members. For example, Williams, tell me something unique about Cross."

Clark Williams looked at his team member, begging for a hint before shrugging. "He can hold his liquor?" Clark replied, though it was more of a question than an answer.

Coach Bolton rolled his eyes. "I'm going to pretend like I didn't hear that. Danforth. Tell me something about Baylor."

Chad rolled his eyes. "That's easy. He has the hots for Sharpay Evens, though I have no idea why he'd be interested in that drama freak."

Jason had to reach out and hold Zeke back. Coach Bolton looked furious and was about to yell at Chad when Troy spoke up.

"Zeke is an amazing baker. He made all of those cookies that you thought were his mother's. Jason plays a mean guitar and bass, and once considered joining a band. Look, we may all have different outside interests, but we are all here today because we come together to play a game that we all love. That is why we are a team. But if this is what teamwork has turned into, then I'm not sure I want to be part of it. I'm not going to quit, because basketball is really important to me, as is the future of this team, but for the first time in three years, I feel like we aren't the team we could be, and that is what's hurting us. Not the fact that I am in the musical. So I ask you: What team?"

Everyone was silent for a moment, taking everything in.

"Wildcats!" replied Zeke, Jason, and Coach Bolton.

The rest of the team looked to Chad, who stared daggers at Troy. "Wildcats?" Chad yelled out.

The rest of the team picked up the cue.

"Get your head in the game!" they yelled together, before walking out of the gym as a group, not looking back.

The four remaining men looked at each other helplessly.

Troy spoke up. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that by being in the musical, I would cause this much trouble for the team."

Jason looked at him in confusion. "It's not your fault Troy. Chad is just being stupid."

Zeke nodded. "Jason's right, this is all them and their stubborn need to stick to the status quo. I say lets keep this practice going, and we'll deal with the rest of the team when they are ready to, ah, face the music. Pun intended."

Troy smiled in gratitude before the four men went onto the court for a short pick-up game of two on two.

With Troy

After showering up after their pick-up game, Troy walked towards his next class. Today he had a double period of drama, which meant another two hours of grueling rehearsal. While he was looking forward to seeing Gabriella and all the rest of his friends, he knew that what he really needed was a long nap. No matter how much he tried to deny it, and put forward a happy face, all of this work and time was having a definite affect on his personal and mental health. While he was not showing signs of stress the way Gabriella was, it was definitely there. He felt like he had to be strong for Gabriella, but he also knew himself well enough to know that he was getting to his breaking point.

Troy walked into the cafeteria and bought two chocolate muffins stuck them in the microwave for himself and Gabriella, and walked towards the theatre for class. With a sigh, he pushed the theatre doors open with his shoulder, and looked around the theatre for his costar. He smiled as he found her, and then he walked towards their seats in the back of the theatre. He often found her sitting back here when she was stressed, and he knew that his gift would be greatly appreciated.

"You like heated chocolate muffins too?" Troy asked his sullen costar as he placed the plate with the warm muffins on her lap. Gabriella smiled up at him.

"Of course! You do too?"

They smiled at each other, and spoke simultaneously "People think I'm so weird!"

"That's because you are!" yelled out Sharpay as she entered the theatre. The two teens rolled their eyes before turning to the young blonde.

"Seriously guys, I have no idea how on earth you eat those, and I'll eat just about anything" quipped Ryan.

Mrs. Darbus spoke up from the stage. "Alright, alright, quiet down. We all know Troy and Gabriella have unusual taste. Even though I've told them before that they should not eat chocolate before performing." She glared at them, mentally smirking at Gabriella's blush, and Troy's complete disregard as he took another bite. "We are going to run scene 6 of Act 2 today."

The cast got quiet. They had been waiting for this scene for a while, as it is the scene where Arnold and Minnie admit their feelings for each other, but Mrs. Darbus had been putting it off, because it was also a very emotional scene and she wanted Troy and Gabriella to have a good handle on their characters before they approached it.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get on stage for warm up!"

With Ryan:

After warming up, Ryan grabbed his script before returning to the house, taking a seat in the first row. He was not in this scene and because he had already memorized all of his lines, he decided he was going to watch his friends perform.

"Alright," said Mr Darbus, "when we start this scene, Minnie is going to be hiding behind the dumpster up stage right where Arnold was first seen with her notebook, so Ms Montez, if you would take your place." Gabriella walked towards the dumpster and sat down, leaning against it. "Now Troy, you are off stage, but you are going to enter through the down stage left. Make sure that you come off as very harried and worried, so that the audience knows just bad this situation is."

Ryan was momentarily inspired. "Um, Ms Darbus?" She turned towards him. "I was thinking, it might be kind of nice if Arnold comes through the house, because I feel like the audience will feel like they are coming on this journey with him." Ms Darbus smiled at him.

"Yes, Yes, I quite like that Mr. Evans. Mr. Bolton, you will be entering from the house, and coming the stage left stairs to get to Gabriella. I want you at the top of the stairs watching Ms Montez about four beats before Ms. Montez starts crying." Ryan watched as Troy shifted uncomfortably at that thought before heading to the back of the theatre.

"From the top!" Yelled out Mrs Darbus, and Gabriella began.

What Ryan loved about Gabriella's performance was her ability to completely absorb herself into her character. When she was Minnie, she was not Gabriella any more, and she was entirely believable. While he did not know the details, he knew that this story hit very close to home for Gabi, and it showed in her performance.

He watched as the young actor curled up into a ball against the dumpster. She paused for a moment, seemingly gathering her thoughts before starting to sob softly. Ryan smiled. Gabriella was such a different type of actor then his twin sister. Gabriella was very quiet and reserved during emotional scenes, while Sharpay was loud and in your face. He did not have a specific preference between the two, but was happy that Gabriella was stepping out of her shell.

Gabriella looked around in confusion. She hugged her legs to her chest, starting then stopping. She glanced at her script, and tried to begin, before stepping out of her character.

"I'm sorry Mr. Darbus, but I can't say these lines. Minnie would not act like this in this situation. She writes when she's upset, but she doesn't have her journal. However, she would not speak her problems out. She is far too withdrawn for that. Perhaps Arnold could come in, and she could rant to him? She wouldn't have this conversation with herself though."

"But Ms Montez, this soliloquy is an integral part of the show. Minnie comes out of her shell."

"But she wouldn't. If anything, she would withdraw herself more. Why else would she have run away?"

Ms. Darbus was contemplative for a moment, before slowly nodding in agreement. "Mr. Bolton, you will come on before she speaks. We are cutting this monologue. I will rewrite the dialogue, so in the mean time, let us practice from the beginning of the song."

Troy nodded, and walked on stage, taking Gabriella's hand and bringing her to center stage. They nodded at Kelsi and began to sing.

(Troy)

Time, is going by, so much faster than I,

And I'm starting to regret not spending all of here with you.

(Gabriella)

Now I'm, wondering why, I've kept this bottled inside,

So I'm starting to regret not selling all of it to you.

(Together)

So if I haven't yet, I've gotta let you know...

Never gonna be alone!

From this moment on, if you ever feel like letting go,

I won't you fall...

Never gonna be alone!

I'll hold you 'til the hurt is gone.

(Gabriella)

And now, as long as I can, I'm holding on with both hands,

'Coz forever I believe that there's nothing I could need but you,

So if I haven't yet, I've gotta let you know...

(Together)

Never gonna be alone!

From this moment on, if you ever feel like letting go,

I won't let you fall.

When all hope is gone, I know that you can carry on.

We're gonna see the world out,

I'll hold you 'til the hurt is gone.

(Troy)

Ooooh!

You've gotta live every single day,

Like it's the only one, what if tomorrow never comes?

(Gabriella)

Don't let it slip away,

Could be our only one, you know it's only just begun.

(Together)

Every single day,

Maybe our only one, what if tomorrow never comes?

Tomorrow never comes...

Time, is going by, so much faster than I,

And I'm starting to regret not telling all of this to you.

So if I haven't yet, I've gotta let you know...

Never gonna be alone!

From this moment on, if you ever feel like letting go,

I won't let you fall.

When all hope is gone, I know that you can carry on.

We're gonna see the world out,

I'll hold you 'til the hurt is gone.

(Troy)

I'm gonna be there always,

I won't be missing a word all day,

(Gabriella)

I'm gonna be there always,

I won't be missing a word all day.

Troy and Gabriella leant into each other, each closing their eyes, about to kiss each other, when Sharpay ran on stage, with a dramatic cry of "Minnie! You're alive!" before Mrs. Darbus clapped, signaling the end of the scene.

Please review and let me know what you think!