Disclaimer: I only own the plot and uh title.

Light's Off

Chapter Twenty One: Not Sharpay

Troy walked down the hall in long strides, hoping to get to the gym as fast as possible in order to beat the crowds. Whenever a school assembly was called, he knew how easy it was to get trapped in the middle of students swarming the halls at once, their destination all the same.

Classes had be shortened to almost half their usual time period today, as had lunch hour, and the final period had just let out for the pep assembly. A lot of the time when there was an assembly, half the sophomore, junior, and senior classes (whoever could drive) would peace out; letting themselves off of school early, going unnoticed when they did not show up at the assembly. But today was a big day, literally one of the most sought after days of the school year, since the basketball boys with their undefeated season twelve years running, did pretty much run the school after all, meaning all students who had been present in their classes had not miraculously disappeared off campus today.

After squeezing through a group of sophomores all trying to wedge their way into the gym at once, he went in search of his friends in the junior seating section. The first of his close friends he spotted was Jason, sandwiched in between Chad and Martha, who was next to Kelsi. The two girls were distracted, looking at something on Martha's phone.

"Hey," Troy said, approaching them in the bleachers and scooting in the middle of Jason and Chad.

"So you haven't told us what you've done with your jacket today," Jason told him by way of greeting. Troy shrugged. All the guys on the team were flaunting their home team jerseys, wearing the wildcat logo proud. Martha, on Jason's other side, gladly wore his varsity team jacket. Taylor had not yet arrived but Troy saw her earlier showing off Chad's. And where was his? Hanging by itself in his closet back home, completely sheltered from the world.

"I didn't do anything with it."

"Troy it's tradition-"

"Come on, it's not a big deal Jason," Troy cut him off, not wanting to hear it, especially since he was right. It wasn't just about the jacket, it was that the whole deal with the jackets and the girls had been a tradition for several years running, one he'd been fine to follow since freshman year, with the great help of Sharpay.

But Jason seemed to get the hint, and simply answered "alright."

"Have you talked to her?" It was Chad's turn to speak. Troy turned to him with blank eyes, deciding to play it stupid.

"Who?"

"Ms. Darbus about the musical," Chad answered sarcastically. "Your girlfriend man. Have you talked to Sharpay?"

Troy shrugged his jersey-covered shoulders that showed off his toned biceps. "You know that's over. And no, well barely."

"I also know you wish it wasn't."

"Not completely."

"How much did I miss when I was gone?" Jason exclaimed, as he'd been out sick nearly all last week. His teammates said nothing directly to him, but merely muttered inaudible nothings as if that would be response appropriate.

"What's up?" The boys turned to their right upon hearing Taylor approaching. She slid in next to Chad.

"Anyone seen Gabriella yet?"

"No," the three shook their heads.

"Ohp there she is," Jason pointed downwards toward the gym floor. It took the others a second but after a little while they all could spot the Latina walking slowly up the bleachers, a confused look set upon her face.

"Gabriella! Up here!" Taylor called to her new friend that she had already become pretty close with in such a short amount of time. The girls had a lot in common.

Brown eyes shot up toward the group upon hearing her name, relief washing across her face. Squeezing past the moving people around her in search of their own friends, she quickly made her way up to them, sliding in the wooden seat next to Taylor.

"Hey."

She and Troy shared a smile.

"So what's going down tonight?" Jason asked the group, but mostly directing his question at Chad and Troy.

"Well if we win, after party at my place!" Chad answered excitedly.

"And what about if we lose?" Troy cut in, not really caring or even noticing if this comment pointing out the possibility put a damper on the mood.

"Not gonna happen," his best friend answered certainly. "But even if it does, who says we can't still party anyways?"

"I don't remember you ever saying anything about a party," Taylor gave him a stern look, knowing what parties could do to him, with or without alcohol. That boy was just crazy.

"Yeah and would your parents even allow it? We all know what happened last time…" Jason reminded him.

"What happened last time?" Gabriella wondered, hating feeling left out of the loop.

"So? They called a repair man over the next day for those windows! It wasn't a big deal," Chad defended, and then let out a sigh. "But I guess you guys are right. They rarely ever leave me home alone for more than a couple hours anymore anyway. So we can't have it at my house. How bout at your place Jason?"

"My grandparents are visiting for the weekend. My parents said the house has to be "completely spotless" and everything "MUST be kept in 'tip-top' shape" for when they fly in tomorrow morning or I'm fucked."

"So that's a no on that. Troy?"

"What?"

His two friends shot him knowing looks.

"Alright there's no way any party at my house is gonna happen. My parents will be home and my dad's Coach guys, so if you two wanna play post-party-pick up crew, be my guest, cuz I swear my old man will make you. Otherwise it's not happening."

"Damn." Chad muttered, snapping his fingers. "Well we've got to have it someplace!"

"I didn't even know there was a party in mind…" Troy said. "But there's other guys on the team. Ask someone else later."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Think the word about a party tonight will get out fast enough?" Jason asked them.

"Already on it," Chad answered, holding up his cell phone.

"Tell me again what you're doing with this guy?"

Sharpay shrugged at her brother. "I don't really know."

"Alright so lemme get this straight," Ryan paused. "Out of impulse, you call up some guy at midnight who before all week you didn't think twice of, and make plans with him to hang out tonight, but have no idea what they even are, all just because you're pissed off at Troy?"

"No Ryan, it's not all just because I'm pissed off at Troy. Damn! Aren't you and mom the ones that have been bothering me to do something with my life while were here? I'd just like to hang out with someone other than my family for once this week, especially since we're leaving Sunday. Dalton knows his way around here, he can show me a good time," Sharpay snapped back at him impatiently. The twins were leaning on the balcony railing outside their hotel room while their parents went out for a late lunch/early dinner. They'd invited Ryan and Sharpay, but Ryan had apparently already ate and Sharpay was making sure to leave her stomach empty for later in case she and Dalton went for something to eat.

"So why didn't you make an effort to call him before?"

"I forgot alright! Jeez!"

"No need to get feisty."

"Since when do you use words like feisty?"

"Since you forced me to have to use it? I don't know."

"Whatever Ryan," Sharpay rolled her eyes.

"But really, what are you and Dalton doing tonight?" His tone was teasing and he wore a smirk.

"I already told you, I don't know!" Sharpay exclaimed.

"Well, what did he say when you called him?"

Ryan had heard her get up to go to the bathroom the night before, and could very clear her hushed whispering no matter how hard she'd attempted to be quiet as possible, so of course he'd asked her about it the next morning out of sheer curiosity... and a bit of nosiness.

"He said hi. We chatted and ended up making plans for tonight," she answered him casually.

"Some plans," Ryan said sarcastically, "you don't even know what they are."

"Alright I'm meeting him at some movie theater and from there I honestly don't know what."

"Movies two nights in a row?" Ryan just had to point out, as the family had gone out to the movies the night before. "You could easily do that back home…"

"Ryan could you please just stop trying to make good points and let me go with the flow here!" Sharpay scoffed. "I really don't even care what we do, I just need to do something with someone other than you and mom and dad for a night…"

Ryan stayed quiet, clearly noticing how she didn't even bother to throw in a "no offence" with that one. Oh well, that was Sharpay for you.

"I need a night to just… forget about things at least for a little bit; I think Dalton can help me with that. Yeah, I really don't even know him. But he's a nice guy, so I know it'll be fun… whatever we end up doing."

Ryan shrugged, "alright."

"…4…3…2…-"the ear splitting buzzer that sounded throughout the gym was loud enough to drain out the voices in the stands shouting "one!" in unison. It was the end of the second quarter, meaning half time. The bleachers were crowded with even more bodies than had been present at the pep assembly hours prior. Ninety percent or more of the student body in addition to parents and kids from East Middle School down the street flooded the same bleachers that had been filled earlier on one side, while the opposite side of the gym was sandwiched in with supporters of the opposing team- West High. Currently the ball was held captive by a Knight, who quickly handed it over to a ref and jogged off the court with his teammates when the timer went off as the East High Band started playing and the Wildcats filed off in a separate direction, towards the Varsity Team locker room. Troy could hear a few voices calling out to him as he hurried off the court and exited the gym, but he paid no mind to them and remained solely focused on his team and the game- even at half time. There was no stopping him when he was really into a game, basketball especially. He was way too focused to start caring about his peers in the bleachers now, regardless of who was calling out to him.

And he wasn't the only one in this state.

"Everyone in?" Coach Bolton hurriedly asked the boys as they filed into the locker room. "Come on come on! I don't have time for a head count!"

14 teens shuffled into a locker room cubicle.

"Alright boys listen up… we're up by eight, but remember that's no reason to start giving any less than a hundred and ten percent. You guys are doing great- you're playing at one hundred percent; push even further. Look I'm not going to cherry coat it- this whole season I've been telling you to just have fun and love the game of basketball. But tonight? Tonight it's more than that! Yes it's about fun, and… I know you guys want to win! I want to win. Are we about to let these guys beat us on our home court, our very last game of the season?"

"No, coach," the boys answered.

"This is West High- our hometown rival! Are we going to let the Knights win?"

"NO!" their reply this time was more enthusiastic.

"Then get out there and keep kicking ass!" Coach exclaimed. "Alright you boys all know the starters- and I want you to start off the quarter with play 3. Saltzman! How's that ankle?" his gaze shifted to one of the tallest boys on the team, a usual starter who played a guard for the first quarter but had taken a pretty hard fall near the beginning of the second quarter and though he wouldn't admit it, everyone had been able to see him limping and struggling to keep up with the game for a while, so Coach Bolton had pulled him out.

"Great Coach, I want to go back in-!" he leapt up from his spot on a wooden bench, but then winced in slight pain as he came back down on his feet.

"I don't think so; Baylor! Can you keep playing for him?"

"Gotcha," Zeke Baylor answered. "I'm not tired at all."

"Alright- Troy!" He called out to his son, who for the next sixteen minutes still held the title of Team Captain.

The blue eyed teen looked up at his father. "Coach?"

"Anything else I forgot?"

Troy stood, patting his best friend on the back. "I think we're good. Chad?"

And for what would be the last time that season, the bushy-haired athlete began the traditional chant.

"What team?"

The rest of the team jumped up as they started their way back out of the cubicle.

"Wildcats!"

"What team!"

They sprinted outside the locker room, darting back to the gym.

"Wildcats!"

"WHAT TEAM?"

"WILDCATS!"

They busted through the gym double doors where the crowd still remained and the band still played.

"WILDCATS!" Chad roared to the entire gym jam-packed full of people.

"Get'cha head in the game!" the rest of the team plus those bystanders who were close enough to Chad to hear screamed back at him, stunning the West High side. There were still a couple of minutes left on the half time clock, and the West High players were not even back on the court yet. Troy ran over to his team's side and reached into the black ball bag that was brought to every game, tossing back six individual basketballs at his team before joining them for shoot around.

His eyes scanned the bleachers then, in search of his friends not on the team that he knew were there. He spotted Kelsi first, seated between Martha and Taylor, who on her other side sat Gabriella. He waved at the girls, knowing they were watching him, before his eyes locked with Gabriella's, who smiled warmly and waved back, her brown eyes bright and cheery.

Troy sighed in content as he broke eye contact due to Jason tossing him a ball. He almost couldn't believe how earlier that day and all week he'd been freaking out nonstop about this very game and this very moment- the game that the entire season had led up to- that he'd been waiting for. Of course, he'd pictured it very different… he'd pictured Sharpay at least being here. But, his team was winning even without his "good luck charm" present so, so far, so good. Everything was right, and honestly… he wasn't even thinking about her.

Sharpay sighed in relief as she pulled into the parking lot, driving around a little until she found a space close enough that didn't require much walking because she really didn't feel like it. Once she found one, she pulled in and killed the engine, which caused the radio that was turned to some boring static-y station to turn off as well. She hadn't been able to find any good radio stations, as she had no idea what the good ones were down here in Miami, but she hated driving in silence, so she dealt with it. Her arm was still casted but it was surprisingly easy for her to drive one handed- though her parents hadn't advised it, they'd let her take the rental car anyway. Apparently they were going to be taking some romantic stroll along the beach and then head back to the hotel room so they didn't need the car anyway. Sharpay hadn't told them exactly where she was going with the car but she did tell her parents that she was going with a "nice-looking guy" she and Ryan had both met earlier in the week on the beach, only because her mother liked the pry and had practically forced it out of her. So, after Sharpay gave her this little bit of information, Darby had snitched to Vance, who then had turned to his son, asking if anything seemed wrong with the guy since his wife had said that according to Sharpay, Ryan met him too. And Ryan, being the ever-so-loyal brother that he was, had given his blessing, and then Sharpay was off, as hesitant as her parents still were.

So now, here she was, meeting this college about-to-be sophomore at the same movie theater she'd been at the night prior. She was relieved to have found it again since she hadn't been exactly sure where it was, but never the less, she found it. It was just after 8:30 PM. The movie she'd agreed to see with Dalton, which thankfully was not the same movie she'd been forced to view with her family last night, was supposed to start at 9:00 sharp but Dalton and her had settled on meeting up here at 8:30, just to give them enough time to get situated and well… find each other and whatnot.

She climbed out of the car and started up toward the theater and, the closer she got, the more she could very clearly begin to make out the face of the gorgeous guy she'd only met once that she would be hanging out with tonight. He stood casually outside a set of doors leading into the theater, with one hand stuffed into his pocket while he was looking at the watch on the rest of his other, his sandy blonde hair illuminated by the outside lights of the theater.

He looked up and saw her coming toward him, and he spoke before she could.

"Hi there," he smiled at her; looking just as handsome as he had that day at the beach, minus the fact that now he had a shirt on (thought she really wouldn't mind if he didn't), and that dumb aggressive dog of his was nowhere in sight.

"I uh, figured I'd just wait for you out here, it feels nice out."

He took a moment to look her over, very clearly checking her out but she had no problem with in, in fact… she couldn't help but even slightly enjoy it.

His gaze returned to her chocolate brown eyes. "You look nice."

Sharpay smiled politely, appreciating the compliment, though not the type of girl to be won over just that easily, no matter who the guy was.

"Thanks," she answered casually, speaking for the first time. Her hair was down in its natural wavy condition and her makeup was neutral. She wore a casual aqua blue summer dress secured with a simple dark brown belt under the bust line, along with a couple of simple bracelets to match and a wooden peace sign necklace on a long dark chain, and brown sandals. It only took her a couple of minutes to throw together as the clothing and accessories she brought along on her trip were somewhat limited.

"I got our tickets," Dalton told her. "I just figured I'd wait for you out here."

"You bought my ticket?" Sharpay asked him. "You didn't have to do that," she said when he nodded like it was only the most natural and obvious thing in the world. It's not like this was a technical "date" or anything… they really did not even know each other. She honestly hadn't been expecting for him to pay.

"Well it uh, gave me something to do while I waited," he chuckled. "It's not a big deal."

"Well… thanks," Sharpay gave him a small smile as he nodded again and turned to lead the way inside.

The party was held at Troy's place.

Troy was nervous.

It was all Chad's fault.

After pretty much every member of the team had made up some bullshit reason for why they couldn't host the after-party at their house, Chad had had the bright idea of convincing Coach to let them have the party at his place- "he could even come if he wanted!"

It couldn't have been easy, Troy knew, as he honestly didn't know how his best friend did it as he'd been showering at the time of discussion, but Chad had clearly succeeded somehow. Though, it wasn't that Troy thought his dad would be hard to break, it was his mom who'd be sketchy about any kind of teen party. In any case, Jack and Lucille had hung around for maybe five minutes before deciding to get the hell out of there, as they were well past their partying stages. Troy didn't know where they'd went or when they'd be back but they'd made him and Chad promise to keep things under control.

That's when the nerves set in.

"You think we'll be able to handle all this?" Troy asked Chad over the blaring music as they stood by a couch that had been pushed aside to a corner in the living room.

"Relax, man. Tonight, we're champions; things are allowed to get out of control."

This statement didn't make Troy feel any better.

"Man I just don't want my parents to flip. How the hell did you convince my dad to let us do this anyway? Do you see how many people are here?" he exclaimed, wide eyes scanning incredulously over the room. The party had been going on for maybe a half hour and he was still having a hard time believing the ridiculous number of bodies currently crammed into his very own living room at once. It was just after 9:30. The game had ended at around 7 and Troy had gone out to dinner with his friends before coming home. People had started arriving at 8:30- early, for a Friday night party, but people were eager to get things going. Things didn't really seem to get into full party mode until about 9.

"Told him we're considering it your late birthday party as well as a game celebration. I mean you didn't do shit on your birthday anyway, and I told him that, guess he thought it was a good point," Chad shrugged.

"Yes I did," Troy protested. "I had a good birthday. I mean, the next day sucked ass but I had a good time on my birthday."

"Oh yeah I forgot that was the night you got it on with Sharpay."

"One of the times," Troy mumbled, frustrated that Chad reminded him of her again. He'd been doing just fine (well…sort of) before he just had to go and bring her up, making him remember one of the reasons he wasn't in as great of a mood as he knew he should be.

"Man, she needs to be here."

"You miss her now?"

"No shit," Troy responded. It still just didn't feel right without her here, no matter what had happened between them. He'd even be okay with her just showing up here and especially at the game earlier- they wouldn't even have to speak to each other, just as long as she was physically present.

"Call her. Tell her we won."

Troy decided to change the subject, realizing who he hadn't spoken to since dinner. "Where are Gabriella and Taylor?"

"I don't even know if they're here," Chad shrugged. "There's too many people to tell."

"I'll see ya later," Troy said, stalking off towards the kitchen, the second most packed room in the house. And it took him a little while but after a few slaps on the back and a "hey great game man!" here and there, he finally spotted Gabriella, talking to Jeremy Fawbush, some weird guy from Troy's science class, by the… punch bowl?

What ever happened to regular canned soda?

Shrugging off the strange thought with even more strange thoughts of why the heck is Gabriella talking to that guy?, Troy wonderingly made his way over to the duo.

"Hi…" he greeted the pair cautiously.

"Oh hey Troy," the Latina turned and smiled at him, leaving Troy unable to help feeling pleased when Jeremy's face seemed to scrunch up in disapproval when Gabriella's attention was completely transferred to him from Jeremy. What was he doing here anyway?

"Where've ya been? I haven't seen you..?"

"Oh I got here with Taylor not too long ago, she had to stop at home for something before we came and we carpooled so.." Gabriella trailed off with a shrug.

"Well where is she now?"

"She went to look for Chad."

Troy half-nodded in understanding before finally bothering to direct attention at the greasy haired skater guy standing before them. It wasn't that he cared if the guy was here at his house, it was the fact that guys like him and the people he ran around with typically didn't show up to these kinds of parties- the kinds that were held due to successful events relating to a happening at school.

Nope, Jeremy and his boys were typically more likely to be found at a 21 and older club or something of that sort, which is why it struck Troy as odd that him and someone as sweet and innocent as Gabriella would be conversing.

"How's it goin?"

"Fine. Good game man," the scrawny boy spoke. Troy nodded in confusion. He was at the game?

"Thanks."

Jeremy's dark eyed centered in on Gabriella.

"So," he said, having every intention to get back to their original conversation before that Preppy Bolton Boy butted in. Though it hadn't been a very exciting one, he was hoping it would sail into a more interesting conversation soon…. It would probably help if Bolton got lost. That would certainly make it easier for the hot Mexican girl to quit making googly eyes at the guy, and easier for him to really get to "talking" to her if that happened.

"You like East High?"

"Yeah, I mean being here hasn't disappointed me yet," Gabriella giggled.

"So can I get you a drink?" Jeremy asked, holding up a plastic red cup, already leaning towards the bowl of bright red punch without bothering to wait for a response.

"Oh, I'm not very-"

"Gabriella have you seen our trampoline?" Troy blurted out suddenly, placing a protective hand on her shoulder and giving it a slight tug. She glanced back at him confusedly.

"I haven't…"

"Well let's go check it out then!"

He turned and started to walk away, expecting her to follow, but his footsteps ceased when he realized she wasn't going to.

"Are you coming?" he asked eagerly, turning back to her while ignoring the WTF looks both she and Jeremy shot at him.

"Um sure… in a minute," Gabriella told him, not wanting to come off rude and make it seem like she was blowing off Jeremy just like that, even if she had only known the guy for ten minutes. She'd been standing around with Taylor when he'd approached them. About two minutes had passed before Taylor wanted to find Chad, but seemed hesitant to leave Gabriella alone with Jeremy. Now Gabriella wasn't typically one to judge, but even she had to admit he seemed a little well… on the creepy side. But after assuring Taylor she was OK anyway, her friend broke away from the circle in search of her boyfriend, and now here they stood with Troy very obviously trying to usher her away, somehow having made their way over by the punch bowl.

"Anyways you thirsty?" Jeremy asked Gabriella after shaking his head at Troy, holding out the now filled cup to her expectantly.

"As a matter of fact, I am. Thanks!" Troy cut in, swiping the drink out of Jeremy's hand before Gabriella could take it and taking a long swig of it for emphasis.

"Dude what the fuck? That was for her."

"Oh, sorry I'm not sexy enough for you to get wasted and fucked tonight," Troy snapped angrily. "You really think she's gonna fall for this? I mean it's a random, mysterious bowl of what looks like punch but is probably some spiked shit. Nowadays normal people would just go over to one of the coolers and grab a coke. Gabriella's too smart to fall for that shit anyway, so who the hell do you think you are trying to pull something over on her like this?"

Jeremy stood his ground, glaring hard into Troy's ocean blue eyes with his own cold slate colored pair.

"And who the fuck do you think you are, Bolton? Butting your faggot ass into this private conversation."

"As long as you're in my house trying to fuck with anyone like Gabriella, no conversations are private," Troy threw back at him.

"Think you're that hard Bolton? How about you just leave the room, faggot?"

"Alright wanna talk some more shit? Get out of my house," Troy growled. Gabriella was stunned, barely able to comprehend Troy's outburst, especially since all of this was him just sticking up for her. He was right though; she was not about to accept anything poured by Jeremy. She'd been set to decline any offers made by him from the start. She could take care of herself, but she couldn't stop the joy from swelling up in her heart at the way Troy Bolton would stick up for her like that. For her.

As for Jeremy, he remained frozen in place, the same hateful look still plastered across his always pale face. He continued to hold his pose for several seconds before giving in with a sharp intake of breath, shifting a less hateful but still intimidating look to Gabriella.

"Ask anyone for my number if you ever decide to stop hanging around these kinds of faggots," he told her and then turned on his heel, storming away towards the living room and disappearing into the crowd of moving bodies.

Troy and Gabriella stood frozen in place after Jeremy's retreat, a wave of awkwardness mixed with amazement having suddenly washed over Gabriella, while Troy was busy trying to figure out why the room suddenly looked and felt as if he were on a teeter-totter.

"I uh… wonder what kind of faggots he hands around then," Gabriella joked lightly after a little while.

"…Wait, what?" Troy asked, tilting his head to look at her while squinting his eyes. The sudden movement caused a rush of dizziness to his head.

"'Cause he said "these kinds of faggots"…" The Latina chuckled nervously, worried she'd just made the World's Stupidest Joke –slash- Worlds Greatest "Fail" Comment. "So I wonder what kind of faggots he hangs with."

"Oh… ha-ha," Troy laughed lightly in response. She looked at him carefully.

"Troy, are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine," he assured her. "Just a little… dizzy is all.."

Arching a clearly unconvinced brow, Gabriella let her gaze fall from his tired looking eyes to the plastic cup he still clutched a little too tightly in his shaking left hand after swiping it from Jeremy.

Oh… fuck…!

"Troy, I think there's something in that drink. Something strong,"she realized, her voice panicky.

"Yeah, that's why I saved you from drinking it!" Troy exclaimed proudly, a goofy smile growing wide on his face, blinking a few times. He paused. "Uh, is it just me or is the room spinning?" he looked dazed as he suddenly had to lean against the counter to support himself after quickly setting the cup down.

"Oh no…" Gabriella's eyes darted quickly to the tainted bowl of punch less than a foot away on the very same counter.

"Troy you drank it! …We need to get rid of that now."

"What?" Troy burped into his fist. "Get rid of what?"

"The punch…! Before anyone else gets to it- oh who am I kidding? I need to find Taylor…"

"Taylor?" Troy grinned even wider. "She's a nice girl. Chad's girl. She's nice."

"Troy come on.. snap out of it…" Gabriella begged, anxiously biting down on her thumb nail while scanning her eyes over the room for someone, anyone she knew that could help. She knew these people were her fellow student body peers, but Jeremy was a creep, so really, how many of them could she actually trust, and how many of them were just like him? She was still too new to really know anyone all that well, or at least too new to be able to fully distinguish the creeps from the good ones.

"Jason!"' she exclaimed suddenly, spotting her acquaintance and one of Troy's very own best friends reaching into a cooler just a few yards away. Even if he was close, she still had to shout to be heard over the laughter and chatter of people in addition to the blaring music. The wildcat team member looked up at the sound of his name being called, eyes scanning over the bodies in the kitchen in wonder.

"Jason! Over here," Gabriella waved to him. He spotted her after a few seconds, and he gave her a small smile.

"Hey," he greeted, sauntering over to her and Troy. "What's up?"

"Long story short, that punch is seriously like, contaminated with some kind of really strong drug or alcohol… and Troy took a drink of it. Just one drink and he already seems out of it. Help?"

Jason took a moment to look over his friend. "Troy?"

"What?" the brunette answered a bit too fast. "Jaaaaseeeeeeeeeee?" his words were slurred. "I feel bouncy."

"Bouncy?" Jason couldn't help but laugh at his friend in this state. Troy had never been much of a heavy drinker with a few exceptions. Usually when he was though, Sharpay was around. Anyone who'd been a close friend of Troy's for a while knew he was a pretty lightweight when it came to alcohol, and usually, Sharpay was the only one ever willing to take responsibility for him when he got wasted.

"What do we do?" Gabriella asked Jason pleadingly. She'd never had to deal with a drunken person before.

"Well, we could just let him walk around like he is and enjoy the party and let people discover the punch for themselves and join him…" Jason laughed, clearly amused by this, but his grin quickly faded when he caught sight of the death glare Gabriella shot at him.

"Or! I could get rid of the punch and you could lead him up to his room," he was quick to give the smarter alternative.

"Okay…" Gabriella agreed a bit uneasily. "Which room is his?"

"Third on the left," Jason nodded.

"Alright. Troy?"

"That's me!" The star basketball player exclaimed happily.

"I'm gonna take you upstairs for a while, okay?" Gabriella told him, her voice shaking slightly, suddenly feeling as if she were dealing with a small child, a feeling she did not like one bit especially when actually dealing with the guy she maybe kind of sort of liked. She'd rather not have to play the role of babysitter for him tonight but she supposed she had no choice. It was either that or let him get into trouble. He'd stood up for her already, now it was her turn to be there for him.

"B-but whyyy? Let'sss jusst enjoyyyy thee… party!" Troy exclaimed while nodding vigorously.

"Okay alcohol did not do this to him. He's fucked up as hell on drugs. Unless it's alcohol and drugs...Do you see how gone he is?" Jason laughed, clearly finding this much more amusing than a horrified Gabriella. She looked at Jason, eyes wide.

"Roofies?"

"Could be…" he shrugged. "Either way you need to get his ass upstairs."

"What do I do once I get him up there?"

"Just lay him down, make sure he's good… that's what Sharpay usually does when he gets like this… well, when he gets drunk."

"S-Sharpaaaaaaay?" Troy asked, pushing himself off the counter and placing his hands lazily on each of Jason's shoulders. "Diid you juss ssay Sharpaaayyyy?"

"Yeah… Sharpay. But she's not here man, so Gabriella's gonna take care of you," Jason told him, shaking his friend's hands off his arms and taking a step or two back.

"Sharpay…" Troy smiled, a dazed look set upon his eye "She smells gooood."

"Troy, let's go," Gabriella took a hold of his arm, and much to her surprise and relief, he didn't fight with her when she tugged him away after muttering a "thanks" to Jason."

"Where are we going? ToGoSsee Sharpaaay?"

"You can see her another time, Troy. Right now we're going to your room," Gabriella told him and couldn't help but roll her eyes even slightly as she pushed her way through the crowd of people, making her way out of the kitchen, into the living room, and up the stairs with Troy.

"When can I seeeeee herr? I-I miss herr…" Troy whined. They were almost to the top of the staircase now.

"Maybe when she gets back from Florida. But not now, Troy. She's not here," Gabriella told him, an ounce of jealousy coating her voice at the continuous mentioning of the girl who had ditched to go party it up in Miami. Here she was taking care of Troy in this stupid, drunken state of his, and all he could think about was some girl halfway across the country.

"Whensshee'comin' baack?" Troy wondered as Gabriella found the third door on the left side of the hall and led him into it, closing the door quietly behind them.

"Just go sit down," she commanded quietly. He lazily made his way to his bed and fell forward onto it, face first.

At least he doesn't argue, Gabriella thought, biting her lip and making her way over to him cautiously.

"Are you going to be okay Troy?"

What kind of a stupid question…? Ugh never mind now I'm not making sense.

"Sharpayy?" Troy yawned, lifting his head lazily, squinting up at her in the light that nearly blinded him as Gabriella flicked on his bedside lamp. "That youu?"

"No… Troy it's-"

"I've misssed you soo muchhh," Troy slurred, propping himself up on his elbows as Gabriella kneeled on the floor , her chin resting on his bed, looking up at him as he now stared up at her. Was he seriously that out of it? He was being completely delusional. She could tell he was about to pass out in just minutes.

"Troy I'm not-" Gabriella stopped, beyond the ability to breathe any longer as her breath hitched as he suddenly brought his face just inches from hers.

"Stop. Juss lemme'talkk.." he whispered, eyes already half closed. All she could do was sit there, completely frozen, as his face and lips… oh god his lips!.. seemed to inch closer and closer.

"I'm still pisssed at you.. for the whole almoss abortion thing… but I juss hope you know… I love you Sharpay, n I always willl.."

Her eyes sprang upon, not having the last clue of what in the world he was talking about, but her own world was spinning. She couldn't think straight. Almost abortion thing? What? She wanted to hear more. She ached for more facts. She hated not knowing, but that was only half of why she was having trouble getting her head on right. The other half may have had to just have to do with the fact that they were practically touching noses at this point.

"Troy-"

"I'said lemme'talk…" Troy continued, his voice quieter and quieter by the second. "I..love you, Sharpay. Only you. And I made a mistake… letting you goo… yyou were right… you need me… but you'know what you never ssaaiid?"

Gabriella could feel her heart thudding vigorously against her chest. Sharpay… he seriously thought she was Sharpay. But she didn't care about that any longer, all she cared about was the ache for knowledge… and the feel of his warm breath against her upper lip as he came closer… and closer… and-

"You never'once accussed mee of needing;you… but I do Sharpaayyy.. I need you like you need'me… noo matter'what happens.. with our chhild.. or.. anything 'else."

Child? CHILD?

Almost there… his lips were almost touching hers… and her mind kept screaming at her to pull away, but she couldn't bring herself to. It's like there was some force, holding her back for once from what she knew was right. An evil force… telling her to do the wrong thing… no matter what kind of what she assumed to be top secret news had just filled her ears.

"Sharpaay… if you loveme.. like I knoww you'do… then kiss me back."

Gabriella didn't know what to do. Or say. Or think. She'd lost the ability to breathe several long seconds ago, but as she saw his eyes fully close, she became defenseless against him. And finally, there they were; his warm lips, pressing against hers, ever so gently at first, but with more added force over the shortest amount of time. This was so wrong.. she was positive of it. He wasn't thinking straight, he was all hyped up on Roofies or whatever shit this was that stupid drink did to him. She knew this couldn't be right… no matter how right it felt to her… his mouth on hers. She felt like she was taking advantage of him. She was taking advantage of him. That fucked up sentence alone just sounded wrong.

But no matter how much her mind screamed it, disregarding any consequences, she just couldn't bring herself to pull away… as simple as that. She felt his mouth pop open slightly, his tongue making its delicious way out and dragging across her lower lip. Gabriella let her own mouth fall open the tiniest of all amounts as she hoisted herself up on the bed until she was all the way on top, hovering over his body with her own like they were meant to be there.

Honestly, she didn't know what was coming over her, but she was sick of thinking about it and how wrong it was… why couldn't he of ever kissed her before, when he wasn't in this state?

Oh yeah, Sharpay, that's why, she thought bitterly. But she was tired of thinking of that girl, and feeling like a shriveled up piece of nothing in comparison to her; when she was in a whole different time zone especially. She had Troy right now, granted, he thought she was someone she was not… who was the one on top of Troy right at this moment, making out with him like there was no tomorrow? Her, Gabriella. Not Sharpay. Gabriella Montez.

His hands rested on her lower back, slowly guiding them upwards until he was softly caressing the back of her head in small circles while continuing to kiss her fervently... passionately… just so needing. She let herself get lost in his kisses, and consumed by every touch. It sounded so silly, but as she kissed him… from the very first moment too… she knew it for herself, that he had to be the one for her.

He pulled away only slightly, half asleep, murmuring what he thought to be her name, into her soft pink lips.

"Sharpay…"

Gabriella's heart sank, but she continued to kiss him anyway, and continued to let their tongues glide smoothly over each other. Besides- how many other chances like this would she get, since she wasn't truly the one he loved? She knew he was the one for her, she could just feel it, just by his exotic kisses and touches…

Why couldn't she be the one for him?

A/N: O_o HOLEE SHIIIIIIIIITEEEEE. I know, I know… no comment. I mean I wrote it. What am I supposed to say about it? :P Other than I had a LOT more planned for this chapter of course but I felt I had made you guys wait long enough already… Gahhh im SO SORRY. I've been so busy this summer… busier than I ever have been any other summer.. but I finally decided to buckle down and get to work. I really hope I have ANY readers out there. Anyone at all. I know I probably don't deserve it, but please, it honestly, truly, would mean EVERYTHING to me if any readers I have left would leave me a review. Even if only a few words. I would really really appreciate it… and it'd encourage me to get the next chapter up MUCH faster. Cuz trust me, there's lots of stuff comin your way with this one… if I still have any readers that is.

Love you all.

-xHeSaidSheSaidx