#benignbitch19

However, as she paces around the waitingroom in the hospital, Sharpay feels her guard coming down. Nerves are ragingthrough her body and as she feels a pair of dark brown eyes follow her, sheknows that she’s going to break.

How, she doesn’t know. It could go eitherway. She could either start screaming bloody murder or she could start crying.

She knows neither are desirable options.

“Babe, please sit down,” a male voicespeaks up, concerned and slightly vexed.

Her golden brown eyes lighting up with afurious fire, Sharpay turns to glare at her husband, her fists clenching as heraises a blonde eyebrow in a challenge.

“No.”

With that curt answer, she continues topace, trying to regulate her breathing as panic starts to overcome her evenmore.

“Sharpay…” Peyton tries again and Sharpayfeels the fury beneath her skin aching for a release, but before she can yellat him, she’s interrupted.

“Let her be,” a female voice suddenly pipesup, Sharpay narrowing her eyes as they meet the brown ones that have been thebane of her existence for the majority of her life.

There’s an understanding warmth in hereyes, as Gabriella Montez – no, Bolton– smiles kindly and shrugs, Sharpay feeling slightly envious of how okay she seems.

“We’re all nervous, right?”

That’s what breaks Sharpay.

“I’m not nervous!” she yells, beforeflushing slightly as every single pair of eyes in the waiting room turns toher. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see how startled Troy is and how Peyton looks like he’s ready to jump in to contain her.

She takes a deep breath, before taking amenacing stride to stand in front of Gabriella.

“I’m not nervous,” she repeats, her voicedown to a menacing hiss. “I’m just angry at your son. Because of him, mydaughter is in unbearable pain. Do you remember childbirth? Because I do, andit’s a nightmare. And don’t get me started on the fact that I have to sharegrandchildren with you. So, no, I’mnot nervous. I’m furious.”

Part of Sharpay hopes that Gabriella jumpsup and starts her usual rant about how there’s two people involved in makingbabies, and how Sharpay will have to deal with them sharing grandchildren.Anything to feel a sense of normalcy.

However, Gabriella doesn’t say anything.She just continues to smile warmly and Sharpay grunts before starting to pacein silence again.

She won’t break.

She continues like that for what feels likean eternity, before suddenly a familiar figure appears in the hallway.

Her dark eyes, similar to his mother’s, areexhausted, but there’s a lazy, happy smile on his face, which widens as Peyton,Gabriella and Troy all jump up in anticipation.

“Congratulations, grandparents.”

With a sob, Gabriella jumps to hug Anthonytightly, and Troy quickly follows, wrapping his arms around his wife and son astears swim in his eyes.

Sharpay feels Peyton grip her shouldertightly and she can’t help the smile from blossoming on her face as he grinsdown at her.

As soon as Troy and Gabriella let go ofAnthony, Peyton gives him a congratulatory hug, too, and Sharpay follows withan awkward one – she’ll never get used to Anthony Bolton being her son-in-law, and he’ll never not be scared of her.

As she lets go of Anthony and really takes in the unbridled happinessin the new father’s eyes, her own eyes go misty.

She’s a grandmother.

She barely registers as Troy and Peytonshare a tight hug, too, and she doesn’t hear anything that Anthony tells afrantic Gabriella about the babies’ weight and about how Sabrina and the twinsare doing.

All she can register is how happy she is.

She doesn’t realize that she’s crying tearsof joy until she feels a soft hand wraps around her shoulder and she looks downat an equally emotional Gabriella.

When she promised herself that she wouldnever break in front of Gabriella Montez, she didn’t think she’d ever become agrandmother together with her.

So, she just smiles weakly and wraps herarms around Gabriella’s shoulder as they embrace. It’s slightly awkward, butit’s weirdly comforting and soft and warm.

They just smile at each other as they letgo of each other, and don’t say another word as Gabriella goes to hug Peytonand Sharpay steps into Troy’s arms.

They don’t speak of their hug or Sharpay’stears again, a mutual understanding between them that there’s still too muchawkwardness.

But, later, as they sit opposite eachother, each with a tiny baby girl in their arms, they share another smile andSharpay finds that she doesn’t care that she broke in front of Gabriella.

Maybe she’ll regret it down the line. It’shighly likely that she will, really.

Now Sharpay is going to share grandchildrenwith Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez. She now shares family with them. As much as Troy and Gabriella have tried to burythe hatchet with her, Sharpay still can’t fathom the thought.

Therefore, while today should be one of thebest days of her life, being her daughter’s wedding, Sharpay is not in the bestmood. So Troy Bolton doesn’t need to be grinning at her like that, teasing her aboutsmiling inadvertently.

Troy and his wife and his son are thereason why she can’t enjoy her daughter’s wedding.

“I know you hate us, but you’re allowed tofeel happy for your daughter, Sharpay,” Troy says to her, and Sharpay sighs asshe continues to look at the happy newlyweds.

“I don’t hate you.”

Troy lets out a sound of disbelief and shelooks up at him again, shrugging casually as he raises his eyebrow at her. “Ireally don’t.”

“Your first reaction to their engagement wasto threaten to kill my son and letting him die a slow and painful death.”

“I congratulated them first,” Sharpay says,rolling her eyes, but feeling a small smile threaten to break out on her faceagain as she remembers everyone’s curious mixture of amusement and horror asshe detailed horrid ways to murder Anthony. “But I still don’t hate you. Gabriella,yes, but you, no. I’ve always liked you. I just didn’t like that you were in myway.”

Then, she lets out a humourless chuckle. “Youknow, I once wanted to marry you. I have no idea what I saw in you, though,besides popularity. I like you as a person, but you’re still so… you. Nooffense.”

“Hard not to take offense,” he comments,frowning for a second, before smiling that innocent, lopsided smile of his thatalways makes her roll her eyes with a strange fondness.

“You remember when you told me that we weremeant to sing together when I was working at Lava Springs?”

Furrowing her eyebrows, she nods. “Vaguely,yes.”

“That felt like a marriage proposal to me.I was literally imagining you in a wedding dress,” he says, before chucklingand shaking his head. “Can you imagine how horrible that would have been? Us,married?”

“Atrocious,” Sharpay agrees.

Troy continues to smile as he suddenlywraps his arm around her shoulder and points to Anthony and Sabrina. “We were aterrible match. They aren’t. They’re great for each other. Don’t you want thatfor your daughter? Someone who is good for her?”

With a wistful smile, she replies, “Ofcourse. I mean, I still don’t like him, but he’s a lot like you, so I guess hecan’t be that bad.”

“And she’s a lot like you, which means sheknows what she wants. And what she wants is clearly to be happy with him.”

“Stop being so preachy, Bolton,” Sharpayreplies, and both of them roll their eyes and laugh as they continue to watchtheir children.

Troy’s arm feels nice and comforting aroundher, and she can’t help but let her arms circle around his waist as they cuddlefor a small moment.

“I am happy for her,” she says as she laysher head on his shoulder, before sighing. “It’s just still a lot to take in.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, Ipromise to be a good grandfather to our grandchildren,” Troy replies cheekily, andbefore she can punch him like she so desperately wants to, he lets her go andquickly walks off in the direction of his wife.

“Stop ruining my life, Bolton!” Sharpayyells after him, and she rolls her eyes as Gabriella looks at her in alarm whileshe grabs onto Troy’s arm.

Troy, however, doesn’t seem to share thatwariness, for he just winks at Sharpay, which makes her roll her eyes again.

--

Gabriella finds out because she senses that something has changed in both her children after the arrival of Sabrina.

Anthony has been particularly perky recently, always in a peculiarly good mood. He’s brought her more bouquets of flowers than she can count and she’s caught him singing in the shower a few times too many.

Meanwhile, Isabela has been quiet and desolate, isolating herself from her family and Gabriella’s quite certain she’s heard Isabela screaming in her room on more than one occasion.

Gabriella suspects Anthony is in love. She suspects Isabela is on the verge of a mental breakdown.

She doesn’t realize that both these changes in her children’s behaviour – one that makes her want to squeal with excitement and one that fills her stomach with dread and concern – are due to the same person and situation until Troy casually mentions Sharpay’s daughter who has causing him headaches all semester during dinner one evening.

From the corner of her eye, Gabriella sees Troy gaze at Anthony sharply, but what really perks her interest is that Anthony and Isabela both respond to Troy’s comment.

Anthony’s face completely lights up and he grins widely yet awkwardly under his father’s gaze, while Isabela slumps in her chair, sulking.

It doesn’t take long for Gabriella to put two and two together with regard to Anthony; he has a crush on Sabrina.

Isabela’s reaction is more difficult to figure out. She suspects that Sabrina might be harassing Isabela and the thought brings back terrible memories of the rivalry she had had with Sabrina’s mother.

However, she also notices the soft blush that settles on her daughter’s face, matching the blush on her brother’s face and while she is still wary of Sabrina due to Troy’s stories and the fact that she’s Sharpay Evans’ daughter, Gabriella can’t help but smile.

Her children both have feelings for the same girl.

Then the tragedy of it all settles in and her smile turns sad as she grabs both Anthony and Isabela’s hands and squeezes tightly.

She just hopes it won’t lead to too much heartbreak.

--

Sharpay and Peyton find out the first time they meet Anthony.

Anthony and Sabrina aren’t dating yet, but both Sharpay and Peyton are more than suspicious when they find a boy residing in Sabrina’s room.

To be fair, it’s broad daylight and they’re genuinely doing homework, but Sharpay is more shocked by who it is.

The minute she walks in, Anthony gets up from his position on the floor by Sabrina’s bed, sticking his hand out and nervously introducing himself as he scratches his neck.

He’s the spitting image of both his parents, Sharpay thinks, seeing that same goofiness in his smile that had drawn her to his father, the object of her former affections, while his eyes are innocent and sickeningly sweet like his mother’s.

Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez’s son is in her daughter’s room. Her daughter is friends with her former rivals’ son.

It’s the way that Sabrina is leering at Anthony, not unlike the way she herself used to leer at Troy, that raises her suspicions that they may be more than friends.

She should be happy that her daughter is showing emotion, she knows that, but Sharpay is bitterly angry that she’s showing that emotion towards him of all people.

So, her body trembles with rage and her face turns red as she opens her mouth to scream at Anthony Bolton to get out of her home, but it’s Peyton’s comforting hand on her shoulder that calms her down enough to ask Anthony to leave nicely.

Sabrina springs up from her bed defensively as she exclaims that nothing is going on between her and Anthony and Peyton almost believes her, until she sees Anthony’s hand land on her shoulder and Sabrina relax, the gesture perfectly mirroring Peyton’s own way of calming down Sharpay.

Peyton knows the stories about Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez, but he can’t help but feel a rush of relief at seeing his daughter express emotion, so he just smiles and apologizes for Sharpay as he shakes Anthony’s hand, before the boy grabs his things and rushes out of the house, Sharpay watching his every movement with a menacing glare.

Sharpay hopes that she’ll never have to see Anthony Bolton again.

Peyton hopes that Anthony will return as soon as possible.

--

Ryan and Kelsi find out through Rory.

Rory mentions it in passing during dinner one day and Ryan almost chokes on his drink, Ben quickly patting his husband’s back to avoid any Sabrina-related deaths, while Kelsi’s eyes widen in horror.

Then, they share an amused yet pained look as they realize what an utter disaster this is going to be and after dinner, they make a pact to talk to both parties to stop this from reaching levels of catastrophe. To gauge the situation and to provide any necessary advice.

They expect their advice to be about ending the relationship, but it’s not.

Ryan talks to Sabrina first. When he brings it up, less subtly than he hopes, she launches into a tantrum that makes him wince with the recollection of far too many memories of his sister subjecting him to similar tirades.

If it were his sister, he’d probably roll eyes and make a few snarky comments, but now he sits through it and smiles and holds his niece’s hand until she’s finished.

She turns to him and tells him, shakily, that she really likes Anthony and Ryan feels something tug at his heart, for he doesn’t often see her so vulnerable.

He tells her that Anthony’s a great guy and that he’s sure they’ll make a great couple and that she won’t screw it up.

He’s known Anthony for years, so he knows the first part is true, but he’s not quite sure whether he believes the second part.

He hopes he’s right, though.

After Ryan tells Kelsi what happened with Sabrina, Kelsi invites Anthony over for a nice cup of tea to catch up and discuss the recent developments of the East High drama department – she already knows all of that through Troy, though, but Anthony doesn’t need to know that.

When she mentions Sabrina, he goes bright red and when she probes a little further, he spills his whole heart out to her. He tells her about how much he likes Sabrina and how much it scares him and she finds it adorable, the whole situation bringing up fond memories for Kelsi of watching the early days of Troy and Gabriella’s relationship.

She hugs him at the end and tells him to go for it, that he has nothing to fear – she doesn’t tell him that she knows about Sabrina’s feelings through Ryan – and that she’d be a fool if she rejected him.

He laughs and tells her he’s not sure that’s true, but he promises her that he’ll go for it.

Ryan and Kelsi share a small victory dance when they find out that Anthony and Sabrina are dating.

--

Chad and Taylor find out through Troy and Gabriella.

When Troy and Gabriella first bring it up on their bimonthly double date, Chad bursts into a fit of hysterical laughter as he claims it’s bullshit, while Taylor goes off on a tangent about how Sabrina is probably not good enough for Anthony and how she already has to deal with Sabrina as Brad and Paige’s new best friend and she can’t handle her as Anthony’s girlfriend, too.

However, Chad does start to notice that Anthony and Sabrina’s energy in gym class is… odd. He notices small, lingering touches, flirty teasing, blushes.

After a week of watching them carefully, he reluctantly admits to Troy that he was right and after that, he resolves to make the most of it by constantly teasing Anthony about it and making his godson’s life a living hell.

Taylor doesn’t get it until she sees Anthony and Sabrina interact at the Bolton’s annual end-of-summer barbeque, to which Sabrina and her parents are invited this year in a new attempt of Gabriella’s to bury the hatchet.

Taylor takes great pleasure in Sharpay’s bitter scowl that doesn’t leave her face all through the night, but she also takes pleasure in seeing how Sabrina snuggles into Anthony’s side hesitantly and how he stares at her like she’s hung the moon.

It embarrasses Taylor as she realizes she’s given Sabrina the same treatment she gave Troy back in the day, her distrust born out of unfounded prejudice.

She vows to be more considerate of Sabrina from now on and to tell Anthony later that she’s truly happy for him.

She also vows to stop her husband from making more unsubtle innuendos towards the lovebirds and to stop him from drinking too much and doing something embarrassing in general.