AN: Oh My God! I haven't updated this is FOREVER! Writers Block and procrastination has really hit me hard when it's come to this, so I hope you don't think this chapter is bad or anything! This will be the last chapter, and hopefully the longest chapter, so I hope you've enjoyed this story! Please check out my other High School Musical fics, as well as my Camp Rock one! Love you all for reading! I'll be quiet now and you can get on with reading, lol. xx

Chapter 10 – The Big Decision

Things had moved so fast for Sharpay in the last couple of hours, and she didn't know what to make of any of it. The sun was starting to set, and the dread set into Sharpay's stomach. She knew the show would be starting soon, and how upset and disappointed Kelsi would be when she turned up to collect her, and she wasn't there. Even if Sharpay had her money or a cell phone and could call Kelsi, there was no way she could tell her where she was. Even she didn't know. All she knew was that it was a Greyhound bus stop. Star was still set on them getting to New York, and the part of Sharpay that had originally thought it was a good idea, was starting to regret it as much as the rest of her was.
"I can't believe that guy at the front door was so dumb!" Giggled one of Star's friends, chewing on her fingernails.
"We had the slips, even if he didn't believe us he couldn't stop us from leaving." Snorted Star. "Sharpay, I never knew you had it in you to think of such a foolproof plan!"
"Mmm…neither did I." She muttered, rubbing her hands together. The night was getting colder, and she didn't know how long this bus was supposed to be. All she wanted right now was to go home.

Ryan shivered as he sat in the back seat of Kelsi's car. It had taken her a lot of persuasion, but eventually Ryan had given in, and said he would come with Kelsi to collect Sharpay, as a surprise for her. In fact, the closer the time got, the more nervous and excited he was about it. From all of Kelsi's accounts, Sharpay was now back to her normal self, although she was a lot nicer, which Ryan especially liked the sound of. He couldn't wait to get his sister back to her old self. He sat there for a few minutes in the silence, growing more and more confused about what was taking Kelsi so long. Eventually, curiosity got the better of him, and he got out of the car, and entered, where he heard something very rare. Kelsi was shouting.
"There must be some mistake! I explained that I was coming to collect Sharpay! She knew I was coming to get her and take her straight there!"
"As I've explained Ms. Nielsen, Sharpay is not here, and there is no mistake. The only way she would've got out was using the permission slip she was given.
"Sharpays not here?" Asked Ryan, gently. His voice was so quiet that Kelsi barely heard him. She span around and hugged him, nodding slightly.
"They said she already left. The guard saw her go."
"Yeah, her and a bunch of friends." Everyone looked over at the security guard, who followed Sharpay's counsellor in.
"What friends?" The counsellor demanded. "The only permission slip that has been given all week is Sharpay's!"
"A load of them had them." Said the guard, confused. "All legitimate, all signed." Ryan and Kelsi saw the counsellor swear under her breath, before turning to Kelsi.
"It seems that Sharpay and her friends have gone against my trust in them, and ran away. We will of course contact the police, but for the time being there is nothing we can do. We can only apologise."
"Apologise?!" Ryan's voice suddenly burst, and he looked at the counsellor with tears in his eyes. "This isn't something that a simple apology can solve! You've lost my sister! She's ill, and you weren't looking after her and now she's ran away! This was supposed to be her evening, and you've let a bunch of stupid teenage girls change her mind!"
"Ryan, it's okay…" Said Kelsi, soothingly. The counsellor didn't speak for a few minutes.
"…I have faith in Sharpay. She has worked well with us since day one, and she's made amazing progress. The other girls constantly slip up, and they think that we don't know about their late night binge parties, but we do, and are in the process of stopping them. But not once did Sharpay do anything that could jeopardise her chances of performing in this show. Or of seeing her brother again, and telling him how sorry she was." She added on the end, which made Ryan well up.
"…She did all this…for me?" He asked, his voice shaking. The counsellor nodded.
"She'll come back. I know she will. She won't want to be without you for too long."

Time seemed to pass slowly for Sharpay. She wasn't sure how long they'd been waiting for this bus, and she'd disconnected herself from Star and the others. She just wanted to get home, and perform, and see Ryan. Ryan was the most important person in her life, and definitely someone more important than her.
"Hey what you thinking about?" Asked Star, carefully lowering herself next to Sharpay. She tried not to look at the painful sight of Star's bones sticking out, and spoke.
"I just miss my brother. That's all." She said, simply.
"Ah you can send him a postcard when we're in New York." She replied, dismissively. "You're going to be a star, Sharpay! That's all that matters, we all are!"
"Not looking like that you're not…" Sharpay muttered, hoping that Star hadn't heard her.
"What did you say to me?!" She snapped, and Sharpay sighed, annoyed.
"Nothing, I just—"
"Did you just call me fat?! Oh my god, you did!" Screeched Star. "Have you not looked in the mirror lately, honey? You're so FAT!"
"No I'm not fat enough!" Shouted Sharpay, back. She stood up. "Just look at yourselves, you're disgusting! You're thinner than a twig, it's gross."
"How dare you!" Shouted another girl, storming over. "What do you know, huh? You're not miss perfect!"
"No I'm not, but neither are you! You're far from it. No-one wants you because you're too skinny! Did it ever occur to you that people like you for who you are on the inside, and not the outside? I was HATED at school. Was it for my weight? No! Because I was so horrible and vicious to everyone I met that I pushed everyone a way! I lost out on my big crush because I was so mean to everyone he knew!" Tears filled Sharpay's eyes. She hadn't planned anything she was going to say, it just all fell out of her, and what hurt the most was that she knew it was all true. The rest of the girls stood silent, unsure about what to say when one of them let out a scream.
"I can hear police sirens! We need to get out of here!"
"What way??" Asked Star, forgetting Sharpay all of a sudden. "We've gotta get out of here, I'm not going back!"
"We can't go the way we came, that's where they're coming from!" Announced another girl. Star nodded.
"Then there's only one thing we can do." She grabbed hold of Sharpay's hand. "Run!"

Ryan didn't say another word to anyone until Kelsi had got him backstage at the show. He had gotten ready a long time beforehand, thinking he'd be too happy to see Sharpay to worry about hair and makeup. Just as he and Kelsi entered, Gabriella was just finishing up on her makeup.
"Hey guys…Where's Sharpay?" She asked, softly. Ryan shook his head, and sat down in front of his mirror. Kelsi mouthed that Gabriella didn't want to ask, and went to sit with Ryan.
"…She'll come back."
"What if she doesn't. What if she's not changed, and this was all an act." He sighed, looking down at his hands. "Don't hate me for saying it Kels, I know you were thinking the same thing." Kelsi took a while to answer, but eventually nodded.
"You just…have to believe that she'll come back.
"I'm tired of just trusting her word. The number of times she gave me her word before she went in to get help…And she just carried on doing her own thing. She pulled the wool over my eyes, she can easily do it to them, and you as well. She's an amazing actress."
"…I guess you're right." Sighed Kelsi, and Ryan could see she was clearly disheartened, so gave her a quick hug.
"Curtain up is in five minutes. We should get this party on the road." Ryan reminded her. "And…don't think about Sharpay right now. She lost her chance." Kelsi nodded, and got up to do last minute checks of the cast and set.

"Slow down!" Gasped Sharpay, holding onto Star tiredly.
"No! They'll catch up with us!" She shouted back. The police cars were still following them, and Sharpay was even more lost than she had been before. They had past various street signs, but she didn't recognise any of them, and they'd been running past most of them so fast that she didn't have a chance to have a good look at them.
"I can't run a second more!" Called one of Star's friends.
"Look, we can stop. If…If they catch up we can…we can just…go back and—"
"I'm NOT going back!" Said Star, angrily. "They're not going to make me fat!" Suddenly her eyes shot a little way into the distance. "There's a train track just a little ahead. If we jump over the fence, we can quickly get to the other side of the track. Then there's a little distance between us and then."
"That's crazy! What if a train comes!" Said Sharpay, as Star was pulling her towards the track anyway.
"Then you'll just have to be quick." Star retorted. "You all go first, I'll keep watch." Sharpay knew there was no turning back, so just nodded meekly.

As the first act closed, Ryan found himself peaking out of the curtains. He could see his mom and dad in the front row. They hadn't known about Sharpay's performance, and this was when it was supposed to have happened. He looked around the theatre, as if expecting to see her sitting out there, waiting to be announced. But there was no sign of her in the audience.
"…Hey." A voice behind Ryan made him jump, and he turned round to see Troy standing there. He instantly turned round again.
"This is your fault." He said, bitterly. Troy sighed.
"We both know that it's not my fault. Or your fault. Or anyone's fault except her's."
"How dare y—"
"Hey man, let me finish." Said Troy, holding his hands up. "Ry…your sister is….gorgeous. The whole school knows she is. Hell, Zeke is obsessed with the fact that she is. But her personality…isn't as beautiful. She needs to understand that…that's the only thing people have ever disliked about her."
"…She was nice to Kelsi." Said Ryan, awkwardly.
"Then…she's getting better. And if you see her before we do…let her know that…the whole teams routing on her getting better. The school just…isn't the same without her around. And Zeke sucks a lot more at basketball when she isn't here cheering him on." Ryan laughed.
"…I'll let her know. If we ever find her." He sighed. Troy patted his back.
"Good luck, man."

Sharpay carefully jumped down onto the track, and as quick as her legs would take her, she jumped over the tracks, and pulled herself up onto the other side. The other girls had gone first, and had taken a lot longer than she had.
"Okay Star, whenever you're ready." She called out, unsure.
"And hurry up, those sirens are getting louder!" Called one of Star's lemmings. Star nodded, and jumped down onto the tracks, stumbling a little.
"Careful!" Called Sharpay, seeing her nearly step on a live track. She didn't even want to think about what would happen if she did.
"Relax, I'm fine!" Jeez!" Snapped Star, carefully stepping over the tracks in a similar way the others had. "See? As easy as pie."
"Ugh…Don't mention pie. My stomach wouldn't be able to take it." Grumbled one of the girls, rubbing her obviously starved stomach.
"Now you just have to pull yourself up." Explained Sharpay. Star didn't seem to pay attention to her, and seemed a little in a daze. "Star, are you okay?"
"…I…Huh?" Star started to mumble to herself, and stagger around a little. Sharpay's eyes grew wide. If she was feeling faint, there was no way she was going to be able to make it up onto the platform with the rest of them.
"Star, grab my hand!" She instructed. Star stumbled forward in a dream-like state, and let Sharpay grab hold of her hand. Sharpay began to pull Star, but it was making no difference. Star was like a dead weight, and she felt her hands slipping from Star's wrist. "Star, hold onto me!"
"There's a train coming!" Screamed one of the girls. Sharpay began to panic.
"Star hold ONTO MY DAMN HAND!" She screamed. Star's fingers slowly wrapped around Sharpay's, and Sharpay began pulling her. Sharpay's heart beated faster and faster, as she saw the train getting ever nearer. Just as she saw the front of the train, Sharpay pulled Star up onto the platform. "You're okay."
"Yeah…I just…" Muttered Star. Before Sharpay could react, she saw Star stumble around the edge of the platform, and watched horrified as just as the train reached them, she fell back onto the tracks, unconscious.
"Star!!" Screamed Sharpay, but over the sound of the train, she couldn't be heard. The rest of the girls were in hysterics too, and before any of them could react and call an ambulance, they saw the police running towards them.
"Help her…" Sobbed Sharpay, hysterically. The policewoman gripped onto her shoulders, and not saying another word, pulled her away from the scene.

Sharpay sat in the squad car for a while in silence, letting everything sink in. She knew that there was no way Star survived the train. If she hadn't been electrocuted, then she would've been crushed by the train. The more she thought about it, the more it scared her. If she hadn't realised in time that forcing herself not to eat was hurting her more than helping her, that could've been her under the train.
"Miss, we're going to have to take you back to the clinic now." Said a cop, turning to face her. Sharpay shook her head.
"I need…I need to do something first…Please take me to East High School."

Ryan had a quiet second half. His character died at the end of the first half, and was only needed for a dream sequence at the end of the second half. He was so impressed by Gabriella though, she was really doing the part well, although he knew deep down that Sharpay would've done it so much better. The things that Troy had said were still running through his head, and he knew deep down that he was right. There was nothing Troy or himself could've done to stop Sharpay acting the way she did.
"Ryan, you're on." Whispered Kelsi. "Knock em dead." Ryan nodded, and entered the stage for what would be the last scene. He had the last line of the show, after all. Halfway through his big monologue, however, the doors of the theatre flew open, and Ryan lost his concentration. Looking up at the back door, his eyes grew wide. There, in a pair of his sweat pants that he remembered giving to her years ago, and in a police department sweatshirt, stood Sharpay. She had tears streaming down her face, but she nodded for him to continue. Taking a deep breath, he barely managed to finish his monologue without bursting into tears. Just as everyone was about to leave the stage for the curtain call, he began shouting.
"Okay guys can we just quieten down for a second, please! There's one last…very important performance to take place tonight. In fact, it's the most important performance I've seen and heard in a long time. This was supposed to happen during the interval, but here, making her dramatic entrance as normal, is my amazing….brave sister…Miss Sharpay Evans." The crowd looked confused as Sharpay slowly walked towards the stage, and stood centre, taking the microphone from Ryan after giving him a big hug.
"I missed you, brother." She sniffed into his ear. He rubbed her back, and sat at the front of the audience with their parents.

"…I know you all know what happened with me." She said calmly. "But…I'm not here to give you a sob story. I'm here to say sorry. Sorry to every single one of you that I have ever hurt. Be it with my words, or my actions. Especially my brother, who has had to deal with my craziness these past few months. I thought…I thought I had to be someone. Someone….amazingly beautiful and picture perfect. But…what's the point in being that person if…you can't be yourself." She rubbed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I just saw…a friend of mine…die. Because she was trying to be the perfect girl. The perfect figure. A complete…illusion. I don't want to end up like her. So…this is for her." Kelsi took this as her signal to begin playing, and soon Sharpay's voice was filling the drama theatre.

Not the girl that you see in the magazines
Perfect face and perfect body
Never be anyone but the one I am
I can't bend to your expectations
Look to fulfil any fantasy
If what I am is what you need

Love me for me
And not for someone I wish that I could be
Cause what you get is what you see
And I can't be anymore than what I am
Love me for me
Or don't love me.

Silence filled the theatre for a few seconds after the last bars of music were played, and then applause erupted, mainly from Troy and the other basketball players, who were clapping as loud as possible, and Gabriella, who was watching with tears in her eyes from the side of the stage. Ryan was in awe of his sister, and ran up and gave her another massive hug.

After the curtain call, which of course included Sharpay, Ryan pulled her aside while Kelsi began tidying the stage.
"That was amazing." He sniffed. "And…you meant what you said?"
"Every word." She said, hugging him again.
"Then, that's great! You're better!"
"Ryan…" She sighed. "I need to go back. Tonight. Mom and dad are going to take me."
"But….You're fine, you said…"
"I don't want to risk a relapse." She said, seriously. "And…After seeing what happened to Star…I really need to be around people who understand what's going on in my head. I don't…want any visitors until I know that I'm going to be coming home."
"…You've really grown up, haven't you, sis?" Smiled Ryan, slightly. Sharpay nodded, and smiled just as much.
"For the best, Ryan. For the best."

The End

AN: Loved? Hated? Want to kill me? Just let me know! If you have any ideas on a sequel too, let me know. No promises of course, I'm just curious in what you think could happen! Love you all for reading!