Wa-lah! I hope you guys know how hard I worked to get this chapter out this week. ;) Gimme some good reviews, please! Enjoy. Oh and this is dedicated to UnwritttenTale (again) because she really inspried to get this finished. If you haven't checked her out yet, go do that now. Her iCarly fic Knockin on Your Door is totally awesome!

Chapter 5: Our Thoughts Do Not Make Us

As Troy sat alone in his bedroom listening to his parents' whispered conversation through the thin walls, he found it hard to be completely broken by Gabriella's good-bye. He sort of knew it was coming all along. Unfortunately, his concerned parents hadn't and they continued to make un-educated guesses about Troy's relationship problems. Troy grabbed his MP3 player and plugged in his ear buds. He turned up the volume until he could no longer hear the voices outside his door.

Gabriella had left Troy so many times before he could always tell when it was coming. It was as if she had a meter in her mind. If Troy made a mistake that registered as too high of a threat according to her measurements, she would leave him. Then Troy would have to balance the scales by rearranging his life to better suit her standards. It would only satisfy her until he failed again.

Troy rolled over on his bed.

Though, he really loved her and all in all, they had had a good relationship, the good-bye was bitter-sweet. Troy was pretty tired of the halos Gabriella expected both of them to wear. No, Gabriella wasn't conceited but she was really sweet—all the time. And she never got moody or made a fuss unless she absolutely without a doubt felt she'd been wronged. She knew that and she made it clear but Troy just wasn't like that. He never was, nor would he ever be.

He got angry without warrant or warning. He wasn't as thoughtful and considerate as he should've been at times. Yes, even the Troy Bolton forgot birthdays and anniversaries. Sometimes he was selfish and he could bully Chad when he felt like it. Occasionally, Troy Bolton forgot or purposely chose not to do his homework. And though, Gabriella wouldn't accept it, Troy didn't win every game of B-ball he played.

So in a way, Troy felt more relief than sadness with the ending of this relationship. And more than that, he just wanted to jump right into something scary with Sharpay. Gabriella had said 'Do what you want' but Troy knew in the back of his mind that rushing into another relationship right after a bad break-up was not a good idea.

Still, he couldn't stop himself from picking up the phone and calling Sharpay.

It went straight to voicemail, which meant one of two things: her phone was either off or busy.

Sharpay was in her room, pacing the floor with her cell phone to her ear. She sighed as Zeke's voicemail message began again. His recorded voice came on and it took her back to a time that felt so foreign now. Zeke was telling her to leave message, telling her he would call back at the first available moment. This was void guarantee now because she'd left about 8 messages within the last 2 hours. Then her own voice came on the recording and Sharpay stopped her pacing.

"Yeah, well, he might not get back to you as soon as possible cause Zeke here is a little busy enjoying me right now. He'll catch ya when he can. Deal with it," she laughed giddily. Sharpay had heard this recording too many times today and it was finally getting to her. She snapped the phone shut, not bothering to leave a ninth message. She flopped down on her bed and threw her head back. As she lay there, a realization hit her. Was she even sure she wanted to mend things between her and Zeke? It was obvious she loved Troy and the 'just friends' thing wasn't going to fly under anyone's radar.

She snatched the pillow from under her head and smashed it against her face. She screamed in it and thrashed her body wildly. Of course she wanted to patch up her relationship with Zeke! She couldn't just leave it like this. There was a time when Sharpay Evans wouldn't care who or what she hurt—as long as she got what she wanted in the end but Zeke had changed all that.

Sharpay had done some awful things in the past but when she got together with Zeke, she really changed her ways—even Ryan was impressed. She had put her life back together and 'manipulative' was a word that no longer described her. Sharpay had worked hard to earn his trust.

But now, she had gone and messed everything up; and for what? Troy was still with Gabriella, for better or for worse. And she still had to work it out with Zeke and the new 'Sharpay' wasn't willing to give up on a relationship she had put so much into.

The next day at school, Sharpay stood at her locker collecting the materials she needed for 1st and 2nd period. When she finished, she shut the door and turned to see Zeke leaning against the locker next to hers. Sharpay put her back to the pink locker she called her own and stood beside him. Not daring to meet his eyes, she stared straight ahead. Zeke sighed nonchalantly.

"So," he started coolly, "I got all your messages." He laughed to himself. "My phone was ringing so much my mom actually asked me if I was seeing more than one girl." His smile faded and Sharpay shifted awkwardly. He wasn't going to make this easy for her. Zeke continued, his tone serious this time, "After I finally listened to all the messages, I got to thinking … I don't even know if I have a girlfriend anymore." Sharpay shifted again but Zeke never took his eyes off of her.

"I also don't know if I've got all the facts straight, now do I?" He asked, with the smallest of smiles. Sharpay finally looked up at him, her eyes bright and hopeful.

"Well, whattaya say we go work it out?" she asked sheepishly. Zeke nodded slowly, his smile widening.

"I'll listen to what you have to say but I can't promise anything more." Sharpay giggled softly and took his hand in hers. He hesitated for a moment, looking from their hands to her eyes and back again; but he decided not to pull away. Zeke let her lead him by the hand to a quiet place where they could talk.

Sharpay tried not to get her hopes up but their intertwined hands made her feel so safe; she never wanted to let go. In the back of her mind, she had her doubts. Is it possible to be in love with two people at the same time, she wondered.

Troy watched dumbfounded as the happy couple skipped away. In all his thoughts last night, he had never added Zeke to the equation. How could I be so selfish, he thought; now what? He looked down at the single red rose in his hand, the one he had stolen from his mom's garden earlier that morning. He glared at it, jealousy branding it to his palm. He squeezed out his frustration on it; he let the broken petals fall out of his hand and started down the hallway.

He had almost made it to the chemistry lab before he noticed the extra set of footsteps in the empty corridor. He slowed his pace and so did the shadow behind him. Troy sped up quickly; the shoes behind him did as well. Finally he stopped in his tracks. The follower stopped inches from his back. Without turning around, Troy asked,

"What'd you want?" The small, sweet-smelling student took a silent step backward before responding.

"It's not over, you know" said the girl. The voice tickled Troy's senses and he thought he might know her. He twisted his neck a little, trying to get a glimpse of her.

"Don't turn around," she quickly ordered; then added, "Please."

"What's not over?" Troy asked, defeated.

"You and Sharpay," the voice was getting further away. "Did you notice what she wearing today?" Troy quickly turned around but the body was already around the corner. He thought about chasing after the girl but he was out of energy. Tired and confused, lost and scared, he slowly bent down and picked up the books he had dropped in the whirlwind.

As Troy stood up, finally ready to get to chemistry, Miss Darbus walked up to him.

"Shouldn't you be in class, Mr. Bolton?" she asked. Before he could even answer, she asked another question. "May I see your hall pass?" Troy patted the pockets he already knew to be pass-less and came up empty-handed. Miss Darbus sighed and pointed to the detention room.