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Troy stared back at the image of himself in the mirror as he finished fixing his purple tie that Sharpay had picked out for him to wear for the night. Tonight was the first dance of their senior year, a welcome back dance held at the gym, and Troy felt odd that he was not getting into his truck to pick up Sharpay. He found out earlier in the week that Sharpay had a distinct distaste of his car and had insisted on letting her pick him up and using the Evans driver for the night.
"Troy, about Friday's dance," Sharpay said in a too sweet voice. "I want our driver to take us, okay?"
Troy looked over at Sharpay with a surprised look. "I thought I was just going to pick you up and drive you myself in the truck."
Sharpay scrunched up her face in disgust. "The truck? Me in the truck? Troy, you know I don't like riding in your truck, especially for a dance!"
"Well I'm sorry I don't have a better car to suit your stylish needs," Troy replied, clenching his teeth so he would not say more than that.
"Troy, you know that doesn't matter to me, the type of car you drive. I just prefer not to be seen in it," Sharpay returned, not knowing it was the same thing in Troy's eyes.
"Fine, whatever you want Sharpay," Troy returned, remaining silent for the rest of their date on Tuesday night.
He heard the doorbell ring and ran downstairs to get the door. His parents were out for the evening so there would be no witnesses to this embarrassment of being picked up by the girl he was dating. "Hey Sharpay," Troy started to greet before he realized it was her driver on the doorstep with an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, Ms. Evans is waiting in the car. Right this way, Mr. Bolton," he said, gesturing with his right arm and hand. Troy locked up the house, followed the driver to the car, and entered the sedan when the door is opened.
"Hey Sharpay," Troy greeted again but this time to his girlfriend.
Sharpay offered her cheek to Troy indicating to him she wanted to be kissed, so he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, inwardly having rolled his eyes at her need to not mess up her lipstick with a kiss. 'She's so high maintenance, I swear,' he thought to himself as the car took off for East High.
"See, purple does look like a great color on you Troy," Sharpay commented, taking in her boyfriend's appearance. "Do you like my dress?"
Troy eyed the purple spaghetti strapped dress that looked like it cost more than his truck was worth and nodded his head. "You look beautiful Sharpay, as always," he said as he leaned in and kissed her on the lips, ignoring her initial protest until he felt her kiss him back. "See, kissing me with your lipstick on isn't that bad."
Sharpay smiled back at him for a moment before checking her compact. "Not! Now I have to reapply," Sharpay whined. "Hold!"
Troy is handed Sharpay's purse as she reapplied her lipstick and touched up her makeup. He looked at his own face with her spare mirror and saw her shade of lipstick on his face. Troy used the back of his hand to wipe it off, satisfied when the pink tone was no longer present on his face. When the car stopped, Troy groaned as he realized that Sharpay was still not done with her makeup. "Sharpay, we're here," Troy stated, hoping to hurry her up.
"I'm not ready. Don't worry, the driver knows to wait until my signal to open the door," Sharpay reassured him.
Instead of watching Sharpay and her makeup, Troy rolled down his window to watch other East High students enter the gym from the parking lot. All the students, since this was not a ball or even semi-formal, drove in their cars and were dressed in a semi-casual flare. Troy instantly felt out of place now in his tie and jacket that Sharpay had insisted he wear, remembering her telling him that it was their duty as the popular couple to set a good example and always look their best.
His people watching was refocused on his classmates to a particular group in particular as he saw three familiar cars pulling in - Chad's, Jason's, and Ryan's. They each helped their dates out of the car before they walked into the gym together, all the couples holding hands. 'I'm starting to feel like a stalker with all this watching of them,' Troy thought to himself as he returned his attention back to Sharpay who looked to be done.
Sharpay knocked on the glass twice and the door magically opened, the driver having been ready the whole time outside. He assisted Sharpay out and then held the door open for Troy as he got out himself. "Stay here until we leave, got it?" Sharpay commanded of her driver who nodded in response. "Come on Troy, our spotlight awaits!"
Troy took her hand and nestled it in the crook of his arm as they walked the short distance to the gym where the dance was already in full swing. "Do you want to dance?" Troy offered, seeing a shake of the head from Sharpay.
"No, let's go cruise and find a popular table to sit at. I don't want to get all sweaty and ruin my makeup and hair just yet," Sharpay responded. She led Troy around the room three times before picking seats with some people he didn't know. "Troy, be a dear and get me a drink."
Troy nodded his head automatically and got up to fetch her drink for her, realizing he was just commanded to do something just like a dog. 'Remember Troy, this is all for your future, all for your future,' Troy thought to himself, waiting in line for the refreshments. His eyes wandered around the room as he felt a smile creep onto his face as he took in a familiar scene. Ryan, Jason, Chad, and Zeke were watching from a table as Gabriella, Taylor, Kelsi, and Martha rocked out to the fast music that was pumping through the speakers.
"Can I help you?" a voice asked Troy interrupting his thoughts. "What will you have?"
"One coke and a diet please," Troy answered back, being drawn back into the moment and away from the scene on the dance floor.
"Don't look now, but I think Troy is doing that staring thing again," Martha said, having spotted Troy glancing at the group with a wistful look in his eyes.
"Where?" Kelsi asked, catching the end of Troy's episode before he turned around to get drinks for him and probably Sharpay.
Gabriella ignored this comment and kept dancing with Taylor, letting the music just take over her body, her favorite way to get rid of stress and overwhelming emotions. She had had a rough week, trying to keep on top of her own studies in addition to helping at the tutoring center with Taylor. This drama with whether or not Troy was coming around along with this growing attraction to Ryan was enough to drive any female crazy and over the edge in addition to the other things that were going on in her life at that period of time.
She smiled over at a petite Asian girl named Audrina and one of her friends who joined the four girls in their dancing. Gabriella had met Audrina during the tutoring sessions and was already very fond of the junior girl. They shared the same shift on Wednesdays and Thursdays, which they used to get to know each other before and after sessions. More students had signed up for help so their shifts were longer than Mr. Thomas had originally planned. The tutoring center staff made sure though they had fun when they could, so it wasn't all work and no play in the library after school. Audrina was already feeling like a little sister to Gabriella.
Audrina made her way over to Gabriella and gave her a little squeeze in hello as the girls smiled at each other, dancing right next to each other to the still bumping music. Taylor waved hello to the two girls, acknowledging them as well as Gabriella got back to focusing on driving her conflicted thoughts out of her head, focusing on the now, which was the dancing and having fun.
When Martha saw the bored looks on the guys' faces who were at the table, she got an idea and started slowly pulling all six girls together so they were dancing very seductively together. Taylor let out a laugh as she heard the familiar groan of the guys as they understood what was going on. Kelsi was blushing at what they were doing, her being the shyest, but Gabriella and Audrina were living it up, not caring who saw or what they thought. Somehow, Gabriella shortly found herself in the middle of the group with Audrina, still dancing her heart out while Audrina complimented her dance moves.
Ryan was the first to get up and smiled as he saw Gabriella had spotted him and drew him over with her signature sweet smile with a hint of something else. Soon, the other three boys followed, joining the girls in their little circle around Gabriella and Audrina, who hadn't missed a beat. Ryan felt himself get dragged into the middle between the two girls by Gabriella and started dancing along with them, feeling like he was on top of the world between two pretty girls. After a few songs, the tempo slowed dramatically down as a slow song gets put on, which left Gabriella happily swaying in Ryan's arms.
Gabriella let out a laugh, thinking of what state she must look like after all that dancing. "I'm sorry, Ryan, I'm probably all gross with this sweat and makeup," Gabriella apologized, knowing he was studying her face at the moment.
Ryan smiled down at her in return. "Don't worry, you look wonderful," he replied. "You always look wonderful, no matter what you are wearing."
"Oh stop, you are such a flirt," Gabriella kidded, but found herself sobering up as his blue eyes meets her brown eyes in an electrically charged moment.
"I'm serious! In fact, Gabriella, if I'm not careful, I believe that I could fall for you, totally and completely," Ryan finally admitted aloud with a husky voice.
Gabriella stared back into his blue eyes, a bit shocked by his declaration. "Ryan…" she started.
"Shhh…" he whispered as he leaned down slowly and kissed Gabriella on the lips, a bit softly at first to feel out her response only to have increased the pressure after she responded with her own kiss. Ryan pulled away, a little nervous to look at Gabriella's expression but grinned as he saw her soft smile on her face. "Wow…"
"Shh…" Gabriella whispered in return with a slightly bigger smile, her eyes twinkling, as she leaned up and kissed Ryan with a little bit more intensity than their first kiss. She wrapped her hands behind his neck to deepen it for a moment as she felt Ryan slide his arms around her waist, effectively having pulled her closer to him if possible. After a few moments, Gabriella pulled away, nervously biting her bottom lip as she looked up at him, happiness filling her entire soul for the first time in months as she gazed up into his caring face.
"Wow," Taylor murmured, having watched the whole scene from a few feet away where she was dancing with Chad. "They finally did it."
Chad nodded his head with a grin. "Finally! I thought Ryan was going to lose his chance with all that stalling he was doing, but I think he caught onto the vibe from Gab that she needs everything to be super slow right now," added Chad.
"Guys, did you see that?" Martha asked, also eyeing Ryan and Gabriella who were now dancing together with their foreheads pressed together. She had been dancing with Zeke when she spotted the two light up the room with that special moment. Martha turned her attention over to Kelsi and Jason and smiled even bigger. "Then again, they might have competition. Look who also just had a moment, the new lovebirds."
Zeke, Chad, and Taylor all smile as they looked over to where Martha had directed their attention to see Jason and Kelsi share another small kiss. "Aww, tonight is so special guys, for so many reasons," Taylor concluded, turning her attention back to her best friend still slow dancing with Ryan even though the music had changed to another fast song.
"If only he wasn't going to ruin it," Chad commented as he sees Troy get up and look like he was going to approach the happy couple. "Captain doesn't look so happy to see his former girl in the arms of another guy."
"Let him stew," Zeke said with little sympathy. "Gabriella deserves all the happiness in the world, and if Ryan does it for her, he does it for her. I'm still upset Captain went and dated my girl of my dreams."
"Zeke, seriously, what is it with you and this obsession with Sharpay?" Chad asked, surprised that it came out again after all this time of Troy and Sharpay dating.
"Crushes die hard," Zeke said with a shrug. "Pain of being betrayed by my crush and one of my best buddies just makes it that much harder."
"Oh Zeke," Martha and Taylor responded together as they hugged him from both sides.
Chad threw Zeke a sympathetic look but refused to take his eyes off of Troy, who currently looked like he could throttle Ryan at the moment. Right before Troy could take another step though, Sharpay appeared by his side and grabbed his arm to drag him off with her little group to take a picture, much to Chad's relief. "Close call," he muttered to himself, letting the tension in his body ease. Chad had prepared himself in that short span to block Troy before he reached the new couple, even though he knew it would have been dangerous from the look on Troy's face.
After hearing some giggling, Chad turned his head to see that Kelsi and Jason had joined Zeke, Martha, and Taylor in watching Gabriella and Ryan, who were still slow dancing despite the fast music that had been going on for quite some time. Chad found himself laughing at the two, knowing that they had finally found a piece of happiness they both deserved but more at the absurdity that the two hadn't noticed the change in music.
"Ryan," Gabriella whispered, breaking the trance they both were in. "I think the music is more upbeat dancing music now."
"So? I'm dancing with one of the most amazing girls here," Ryan replied, rewarded with a blush from Gabriella followed by a laugh. "What?"
"I never knew you were such a charmer," Gabriella answered, really enjoying this new side of Ryan. 'I took a chance with him and it looks like I'm finally getting rewarded,' she thinks as he smiled down at her and reluctantly lets go of her waist and puts some distance between them.
"Finally! I thought I was going to have to use the jaws of life to get you two apart," called out Zeke with a grin on his face as the two look over at their friends who they could tell had witnessed most of what just went on.
Ryan wrapped an arm around Gabriella's waist as she wrapped an arm around him and they stared back at their friends. "So?" Ryan challenged, a smile on his face.
"Nothing," Kelsi responded, a genuine smile on her face. "If you're happy, we are."
Gabriella and Ryan surveyed their friends and see they are all in agreement. "Good, because we are," he replied grinning down at Gabriella, who smiles back.
"Earth to Troy, I've been talking to a brainless basketball guy for the past ten minutes. What's up?" Sharpay asked, snapping Troy out of his thoughts for the tenth time in the short time they were waiting for their pictures to be taken with her friends. "Where have you been? It's great to have the eye candy to hold onto but I'd appreciate the whole package."
'Did she really just say that?' he wondered as they move up to being the next in line. "I'm fine Sharpay, just have a few things on my mind," Troy replied.
"Like me?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at him.
"Like U of A and my game this season and my grades. There's a lot going on in my life right now," Troy explained, hoping Sharpay bought it. "This year is important Sharpay, for both of us."
"Don't worry Troy. Daddy promised that you are going to get that scholarship already. I don't see why you are so worried," Sharpay said. "It's in the bag, no matter what happens this year. Now, can we focus on me?"
Troy shook his head at this statement, knowing it was most likely true since Mr. Evans could buy his influence at University of Albuquerque, but Troy still didn't want to take any chances. Besides, he knew what was really going on in his head and it wasn't the scholarship at the moment, it was the image of Gabriella's lips touching Ryan's a few minutes ago.
"There you go again! Troy Bolton, either you come back down to Earth with me or I swear I'm going to leave you without my presence for a long time," Sharpay threatened, once again snapping Troy out of his thoughts.
"Sorry Sharpay. I guess I've been a bad date tonight. Forgive me?" he asked as he kissed her on the lips, more aggressively than lovingly.
"Fine," she returned, pulling out her mirror to make sure her lipstick was still in perfect condition. "Just don't do it again."
Soon, it was their turn and Troy allowed himself to be manipulated into position so he was down on one knee, with Sharpay sitting on his propped up leg. He cheesed it for the camera, never having felt so fake in his life. When they got up from their pose, one of Sharpay's friends called out to her about a party being held at one of their mansions. Troy watched as Sharpay confirmed their attendance with a nod and then smiled up at him.
"I think it's time we blow this kiddy dance and go to a real party," Sharpay purred in his ear, followed by a kiss placed on his collarbone. "Ready to go?"
Troy was about to decline when he saw the gang had entered the picture area, Ryan and Gabriella hand in hand and leading the way. "Sure, let's go," he agreed, taking one last look at his past, wondering if they would ever be in his future again, before heading to the awaiting sedan with Sharpay, his present.