His soft pink lips rounded as he blew softly into the bubble wand, creating a steady stream that had the two young girls standing at his feet giggling in delight. His mouth stretched as he smiled, his teeth flashing as he laughed, a brilliant white against his coffee and cream complexion. His dark curls bounced around his face, framing it.

Though, all Suzie Danforth saw as she walked into the living room was her childish, idiotic older brother, blowing bubbles for the six-year-old twins. She rolled her eyes as Chad laughed- trying to catch one on the wand. Some people were just so immature.

Then she looked around as her brother grinned over at the other side of the room. Another boy was lying across the couch, with eighteen-month-old Louise dozing off on his chest.

Suzie watched him with appreciation. She always took a moment to stop and observe Troy Bolton. Let's face it, he was gorgeous. Bright blue eyes seared out of a tanned face, while the floppy, dark brown hair only made his eyes appear all the more vibrant. His face was a work of art in itself- good natured, with subtly defined cheekbones and a smile to die for. He was tall and lean, with definite muscle mass, but not in excess. He was, in summary, the man of Suzie's dreams.

And when he glanced up, flashed her a cheeky grin, her heart damn-near melted on the spot. "Hey, Sue."

He was the only person she ever allowed to call her that. For everyone else, it was either 'Suze' or 'Suzie'. "Hi, Troy."

She moved to him, but his gaze was drawn back to Lou as she grabbed his finger. He tugged on it gently, making a light growling noise in the back of his throat that made Lou laugh happily. Suzie had to suppress a coo. She found it annoying when Chad played with the baby- but when Troy did it, it was just adorable.

"You okay?" he asked her, sitting up as she drew near and swinging his legs round so she could sit next to him on the couch. He chuckled as Lou slid down his chest, catching her bum with his arm before she fell right down.

"I'm good," Suzie said, hoping he wouldn't notice the blush in her cheeks. "And you?"

"I'm great as long as I have my future girlfriend on the same couch as me…" he said fondly. And Suzie stared at him with a slack jaw. Was he…? Then he lifted Lou higher up in his arms, put one thumb to her nose and pressed lightly. "Isn't that right, Lou? We're going to get married when you're older…"

Suzie felt her stomach drop as she realised he was talking about Lou, and not her. Okay, if she wanted to do this, she wanted to do it now. She took a deep breath as Troy kissed Lou on the head fondly. "Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm-" They were interrupted by a crash, and they both looked over to see that the twins had managed to knock Chad to the floor, and they were now proceeding to sit on him where he lay. He tried to knock them off; though not too hard- letting them have some satisfaction. Troy laughed, that stunning smile appearing again.

"So immature," Suzie commented.

Troy gave her a look of amusement, "I think it's cute." His gaze flicked back to the three on the carpet, "What were you saying?"

"I really like you. Do you want to go out sometime?" she blurted out. His brow knitted together as he frowned, and he turned to face her again.

"Sue…"

She'd regretted it the second it was out of her mouth. "Forget it," she begged him, turning her head away as her gaze made her face flush a dark red. "Forget I said anything."

"Sue," he said firmly, and she reluctantly turned her head to look at him. He was smiling, "I'm flattered. Really, I am. But I'm already going out with someone."

She blinked. Out of all his possible responses, she hadn't even considered that eventuality. "Who?"

His gaze slid across the room again, "Your brother."

Suzie's jaw bounced off the cushions of the sofa. "Chad…?" she whispered.

"I'm sorry." Troy leaned over and brushed his lips over her cheek gently. Then- accepting that she probably didn't want to share a couch with him right now- he stood up, balancing Lou on his hip and walking over to Chad, who was on his feet again as the twins tried to clap the bubbles that he blew.

Suzie watched her brother's face light up as he saw Troy coming his way, and wondered why she'd never seen it before. Now she knew, it was so clear… They just…clicked.

She sighed, cupping her face in her hands as she watched Chad blow a stream of bubbles into Troy's face, laughing as Troy's initial instinct was to protect Lou's eyes rather than his own. He moved closer to Troy to say something into his ear, something that had Troy's lips curving up slowly. Their eyes shone with something more than friendship as they looked at each other. More than what she'd assumed it was.

Yup, Troy Bolton was the man of Suzie Danforth's dreams.

Unfortunately for her, he was also the man of her brother's dreams.

And Chad had beaten her to the post.