Disclaimer: I never have and never will own any portion of High School Musical, Disney or its characters.

Sharpay took a deep breath and stepped forward. This was not something that she would normally do but today wasn't, well, normal. The cool breeze played with her hair and sent goose bumps up her arms but she didn't seem to notice. She was too intent on what was in front of her. Taking another breath, she reached her hand out slowly, the determination set in her usually soft features. This was the night. This was the night she would finally end it all. For good.

Eternal Being

Sea of Mystery

"I can't do this any more," Sharpay hissed in an anguished whisper from behind her uneaten ham sandwich. Ryan looked up from his own lunch and studied his twin's face. Normally he would scold her for broaching this topic at school, but they were currently the only two at their table in the lunch room and the excited chatter of the surrounding almost graduated seniors buried any discussion they'd have.

Ryan sighed heavily and dropped his pizza back down onto his plate. "You don't really have a choice," he whispered back harshly, his face contorted into a false display of concern.

Sharpay wasn't fooled, she knew his irritation was bubbling just beneath the surface. Not wanting to anger him any further, she pressed her lips together in a thin line and looked down into her lap, her hands involuntarily wringing together. "I'm just," Sharpay paused, searching for the words. "I'm just tired of going through the same routine. Every time. I mean, what's the point, doing it again?" Her voice caught in her throat as the tears she'd been holding back all day threatened ever more presently to spill down her perfectly make-up'd face.

That was it for Ryan. With a deep scowl he leaned in closer, his eyes scanning the nearest students to see if they were listening. "Fine," he clipped sharply, satisfied that their conversation was still unnoticed. "Fine, you can't do it any more. I get it. So how do you suppose you're going to end it, huh, Sharpay? What's your plan? Because if you can figure something out then, please, do share! I've been stuck in the same position you are for the same amount of time and I've pretty well had it with your whining and self-pitying." Standing, Ryan violently grabbed his lunch tray and threw it into the trash before storming out of the cafeteria in such a dramatic display of rage that half the students in the room finally stopped their conversations to watch, the other half too afraid to be caught looking but listened none the less.

Sharpay sat where she'd been left, stunned motionless. Ryan was usually the collected twin, it wasn't often that he let his emotions get the better of him. But when they did, it always resulted in such an aggressive show that she was afraid he'd end up hurting somebody. Sharpay took a deep breath, willing the tears that were collecting behind her eyes to disappear.

She was slowly starting to gather her lunch, her appetite suddenly gone, when a familiar voice spoke from behind her. "Sharpay, are you alright?" he asked softly, so that only she could hear him.

Sharpay hesitated at the level of concern that was in his question but quickly forced herself to ignore it. Standing, she turned to face the boy with a sarcastic grin on her face. "It was just Ryan, Bolton. I think I can handle this one. Besides, I'm not one of your fair maidens that needs saving. I can take care of myself."

Troy's concerned expression quickly hardened as he bit back his response. "Whatever," He mumbled quietly, his eyes narrowing, before turning and rejoining his group of friends at a nearby table. Sharpay watched him walk away, sadness washing over her in thick waves. Taking a deep breath, she gathered her lunch, dumped it in the same trash bin that Ryan had so ferociously used and nearly ran out of the cafeteria.

/

He watched her from a distance, not sure whether it was safe to approach. He'd been out for a late jog when he saw her angrily stomping across the gravel on the path up ahead. Intrigued, he slowed his pace and watched as she strode up and back muttering under her breath. She was clearly still angry about whatever she and Ryan had been discussing at lunch that day.

Troy watched her a lot. In class, at lunch…right now. It was always from a distance and always with the sense that she was hiding something from the rest of the world. And it was that something that fascinated him and, at the same time, terrified him.

Tonight was no different. Watching her, Troy felt as though there was a sea of mystery suspended in the air between the two of them and he wasn't sure he was ready to swim through it just yet. Frustrated with his constant cowardice and berating himself on that very trait in his head, Troy slowly turned and took a step away, the crunching of the gravel beneath his feet deafening.

"Troy?" her small, confused voice floated through the sea of mystery, reaching Troy's ears and echoing in his brain.

Troy cringed slightly at his blunder but quickly changed his face to light surprise as he turned once more and exclaimed, "Sharpay? What are you doing here?"

Sighing sadly, she quickly averted her gaze to the ground and collapsed into the bench that was aligned with the path. "Just thinking," she said softly, almost too softly for him to hear.

Troy hesitated, the silence between the two teenagers growing. Did she expect him to leave? Does she need somebody to talk to? Was she annoyed by his presence?

She continued to stair at the pebbly trail, apparently lost in thought.

Had she already forgotten that he was standing right there?

"Have you ever just felt…trapped?" she asked suddenly, finally interrupting his extensive internal debate.

Troy paused, studying her intense gaze, still a short distance away. "Sure," he said too brightly, he was trying to sound encouraging. He cautiously worked to close the distance between them, all the while watching her reaction with an intensity he rarely knew. Her body had contracted ever so slightly with his answer, a look of dissatisfaction settling in her weary eyes but she said nothing about his approach.

Troy diffidently joined her on the bench, making sure to keep as much distance between their bodies as the small bench would allow. He still wasn't sure whether or not he was welcome and that sense of mystery – of secrecy – was still hanging thick in the air.

The two sat in silence, the only sound being the grass as it danced playfully in the breeze, clearly unconcerned with the tense atmosphere it contradicted. Sharpay remained in an infectious gloom, staring at something that Troy could not see; something far away. Troy watched her out of the corner of his eye, curious as to what could possibly make Sharpay Evans feel trapped.

Troy cleared his throat awkwardly. "Why do you feel - trapped?" he asked softly with a slight jerk in his voice, finally breaking the silence that had carried on for so long. Sharpay started at the sound of his voice and looked at him as though she'd forgotten he was sitting there. Troy was nervous she didn't want him to stay but she quickly softened her expression.

He was still safe.

Troy waited for an answer patiently but Sharpay just gave him a sad smile and shook her head, looking away and losing herself in thought once more.

Troy sighed but didn't leave. Couldn't leave. Something wouldn't let him go just yet.

The silence ensued.

A car squealed down the road somewhere in the distance and the sound of an ambulance siren could be heard echoing off of the small store fronts it was passing. Troy looked up to the sky and stared at the hundreds of stars glistening in the inky black existence.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Troy murmured softly.

Sharpay looked over curiously. "What?"

"Stars," he replied warmly, turning his gaze to stare straight into Sharpays wide, questioning eyes. "No matter what happens here – what horrors or disasters, what wars or plagues – the stars are always there. Twinkling down on us, as if pitying our fleeting existence here on Earth."

Sharpay's already wide eyes grew bigger with fear. "I should go," she whispered grabbing her purse that was laying on the stones beneath their seat.

"Wait, Sharpay!" Troy exclaimed, startled by her sudden, dramatic reaction. He stood as she did and, before she had a chance to run away, grabbed her wrist tightly in his strong fist. Sharpay gasped sharply at his touch and yanked her arm from his hand, staring at him accusingly with narrowed eyes.

But Troy didn't notice her expression as he was staring incredulously at his own hand, the one he had just grabbed her with, the one she had just ripped her arm out of. His hand had turned a bright, unnatural red and was fiery hot to the touch, though the feeling was rapidly fading. He slowly lifted his eyes to meet Sharpay's, they were both wearing different degrees of incredulity in their expressions. The two teenagers stood frozen for a moment, perplexed and unsure, until Sharpay lowered her gaze guiltily and mumbled in haste, "I should go," before turning and running down the path and out of sight.

/

"Are you sure?" Ryan whispered, though there was nobody else in the small, dark room.

"Yes, I wouldn't have imagined it. His hand was practically glowing!" she replied, also in a whisper, her brows furrowed together, deep in thought.

Ryan fixed her with a disbelieving gaze and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. This irritated Sharpay. "Yes, but are you absolutely sure?" he asked more earnestly, doubtfully.

Sharpay rolled her eyes in response, but his skepticism was effectively causing her certainty to waver.

"It's just," Ryan closed his eyes and started to rub his temples vigorously. "I thought yours had died ages ago."

"Maybe they get reborn, I don't know," Sharpay shrugged hopefully and looked away, the guilt she'd felt earlier creeping back in unsolicited.

"So, are you going to do it?" he asked softly, his own sadness dominating his tone.

Sharpay looked up, indecision written all over her face. "How can I not?" she asked, trying to convince herself as much as her brother. "We can finally put an end to our misery. A misery going on two hundred years, now."

"Yeah, but it's Troy," Ryan reminded her in an infuriatingly sing-song voice.

Sharpay groaned. "I know! But, Ryan, you don't understand. I can not do this any more." She said each word forcefully, emphasizing her own pain in every syllable.

"Yeah, but it's Troy," Ryan said more quietly, gazing intensely and entirely serious, this time, into her eyes. Sharpay lowered her gaze, tears springing to her eyes, she hugged her knees close to her chest. "I mean, you could wait one more time. Till he's not…you know…Troy…anymore."

"And what if I can't find his reincarnation?" Sharpay asked bitterly through her tears, her feeble resolve already crumbling.

Ryan paused, slightly taken aback by her vehemence. "I just want to make sure you keep your perspective."

/

Troy stepped through the door to homeroom, his heart pounding in his chest. He didn't dare to glance around the room until he was sitting safely in his seat. Then, with his backpack stowed under his chair and his elbows propping him up, he stole a glance in Sharpay's direction. She was sitting in her usual seat with her back turned to him, chatting away animatedly to Ryan who seemed to only be half listening. Troy's breath immediately caught in his throat as his heart gave another unexpected jolt.

Suddenly, almost as though she had heard the sporadic pounding of his heart, she turned around and looked directly at him, a strange uncertainty flitting across her eyes. Troy was embarrassed at being caught watching her but he couldn't seem to look away. The expression on her face was so vivid and yet so pained. They both sat frozen, studying the other's expression when, just as suddenly as it had happened, she turned away and continued her conversation with Ryan. It happened so abruptly, Troy wasn't entirely sure he hadn't imagined the whole thing.

But as Ms. Darbus was calling the class to order he saw her furtively take one last glance in his direction before turning her gaze to the front of the class to feign interest in Ms. Darbus's daily announcements. And he knew that his time for cowardice was over. He knew that last night marked the beginning of something, he did not know what just yet. But he knew that he was no longer standing on the banks of the sea of mystery. He had dived in, head first, and he had a small burn blister on the palm of his hand to prove it.

/

I understand that this may be slightly confusing. I know that there is a lot currently going unsaid within the story. Just think, enjoy the ride, contemplate what could possibly be the mystery surrounding Sharpay (and the most clever of you will have probably read the summary and quite possibly figured out the bulk of it all ;)

Please Review! It helps so much.

Love you.