i want my own dream.

"Oh, I know what happened between them, yeah. I even wrote a song about it, I was so inspired by the whole ordeal." Though it had wound up being a song she and Marie had completed together, it was Dash and Lil who had inspired it in the first place. "Long story short, they were coworkers, and they started dating, or so Lil had thought. Somehow, I think from my friend Angelica's boyfriend, she found out that he was actually doing it to distract her from her soccer team--they coach together. He wanted her to lose. What a crazy fucker," she mused, shaking her head with an exasperated sigh as she sipped her wine. "I don't know how much Phil told her, but now she knows, and got all bothered by seeing Lil talk to him again."

“Well that’s fair, I think. Kelsi being upset, I mean. I wouldn’t exactly be all that happy to see my girlfriend hanging around with a guy that did something like that to her either,” he admits, frowning now as he wondered just how worried his friend must be over this situation. It wasn’t often that Kelsi really actually made it this far in the stage of liking someone, so he was pretty sure she’d never had to deal with anything like this before, which meant she was likely on the verge of spiraling if not already at that point. “Are we… are we sure all Lil was doing was talking?” It’s a bit of a bold question to ask, but Troy feels it's better to just get it out there than be blindsided by the answer later on.

"We should've had a drinking game going for how many times people were going to say 'Hi, Barbie!' or 'Hi, Ken!' to us tonight. I'd be blackout by now," Sharpay commented as she finally caught up with her boyfriend, fresh off a conversation with her ex-husband that she thought he might want to hear about. Parties like these always came with their fair share of drama, and Sharpay was simply counting herself lucky not to be at the center of it this time. It was much more entertaining to sit on the sidelines and gossip. But, first, she needed a drink. "Come with me to the kitchen?" she asked, a statement more than a question as his hand was already in hers and her body was already pivoted in the direction of the source of a refill.

As she entered the kitchen, Sharpay was quick to pluck the white wine from the array of liquors on the counter, the chill on the bottle indicating someone had just set it down with no intentions of putting it back in the refrigerator. "Hooligans, can you believe this? They were going to let this go warm," she complained aloud with a disapproving click of her tongue. The glass she'd taken from the cabinet was one only she was allowed to have, getting special permission from the hosts to forgo the plastic cups forced upon the rest of the guests. "Okay, so, apparently, Kelsi saw Lil talking to her ex, Dash, and asked Phil what his deal was. So, now, he's, like, all concerned, and I think you should probably be the one to talk to her. We both know I have the potential to do more harm than good in the Kelsi department."

Over years of hanging out with the blonde, Troy had long learned that unchilled, warm white wine was practically a crime in her world. The first time he had suggested that she simply add ice had been the last time he ever thought that to be an acceptable solution, the lecture he had received on the importance of wine temperature and taste was one that still haunted him at times. After she was done pouring the drink into her special glass, he gently took the bottle and placed it back in the surprisingly mostly empty refrigerator. Either the Deville’s hardly ate or someone had emptied out the fridge before the party had started, likely to prevent everything from getting stolen by the who knows how many twenty-somethings that would be attending tonight. Turning back to the island with all the liquors and mixers, he makes himself a simple rum and coke as he lists to his girlfriend explain the latest gossip she had just heard from her ex-husband. “Is Kelsi upset?” he asks, though he’s pretty sure that’s a given it’d be best to know what he was walking into when he sought her out in a few minutes. “Do we know what happened between Dash and Lil? Or is that why she’s worried?”

All of her hours spent by his side hadn't gotten her nothing--this was precisely what Sharpay had hoped would happen way back when she'd coaxed him back to life when Gabriella had dumped him. It wasn't her fault that everything she planned just seemed to work out how she'd wanted it to, despite the minor hiccups along the way. "Well, you made the right choice," she replied confidently. It was her chance to finally show Troy the kind of pair they could be, and Sharpay would do practically anything to prove it. It was strangely validating to hear that holding onto hope hadn't been for nothing. "I love that idea," Sharpay agreed, already envisioning the final image of Troy on the side of the stage, wearing a shirt with her face on it. "Oh, my god, this means I finally get to live out my dream of being a basketball girlfriend," she gushed. "Not that watching you coach is nearly as hot as it was watching you play, but, I'll take what I can get. You'll just have to make up for it by letting me catcall you when we go golfing."

When it came to admitting his reasoning behind his choice, Troy had known there was a fifty-fifty chance of how the blonde would react. Though he had hoped she’d understand what he’d been thinking, he’d also prepared for it to not be a decent enough explanation - for Sharpay to have wanted him to have fully discarded any thoughts of Gabriella completely and be fully and totally on board only for her. Which, he was, don’t get him wrong. He felt confident in his choice, but he couldn’t lie and say that all thoughts of his ex were fully banished from his head. Which wasn’t something that Sharpay would ever want to hear. “I think I did too,” he states instead, not showing any sign of even the smallest amount of doubt. Laughing at her excitement over being a so-called basketball girlfriend, his head shakes ever so slightly. “Guess I’ll have to look into some local basketball leagues for you. Can’t let you miss out on the full experience.”

Despite knowing for years that this might happen, it was a bit surprising that he'd suddenly come to this conclusion. Sharpay had wondered just what had gotten him there, just like she'd thought the same when he'd decided to sleep with her months ago. If there were ever a time to ask without sounding too crazy, it was now. "What, like, made you decide?" Curiosity would kill her, if it had the power to, but she had to know what had drawn him to her instead of his longtime ex-girlfriend. "No, no, they'll love you. I'll just have to start writing some love songs about you so I can flip the narrative." That would be easy--she already had some lyrics written from back when he'd simply been an unattainable crush. "That, and you'll have to start coming to my shows with, like, my face on a shirt. This way, they'll all know why you're there." She paused, giving him another kiss, just because she could. "And, it'll be really hot of you, just saying," Sharpay added with a nonchalant shrug, despite the smirk forming on her lips.

The question of why and how he finally made his decision was one he expected to come eventually, but he hadn’t quite thought it’d be one of the first things the blonde had to ask. But it made sense, her need to know. “There were a lot of reasons,” he admits, starting off with a little raise of a shoulder in a halfhearted shrug. “Gabriella and I had our shot. And while I understand why we ended and how it was for the best for both of our sakes… that didn’t change the amount of pain I went through when it ended. You remember that, I’m sure. And I just… I was afraid of risking that again.” It was the truth - the fear of how things might end if they didn’t work out on a second try was what had held Troy back for so long from even considering making another move on his high school ex. “Plus I had been working my way up to asking you out, before she showed up again and I got all confused. It felt wrong to not follow the feelings I’ve had for you for a while now. I had to see what we could be.” It may not be the most romantic of answers, and potentially not what Sharpay had been hoping to hear, but he wasn’t about to lie just for the sake of making it sound better than it actually was. Those were his reasons and they had been enough for him to feel confident in his choice, he had to just hope she would agree. “Do I at least get to pick the pictures? I’ll get a new one made for every show, I’m sure your fans would get a kick out of that.”

Her eyebrows raised the change of the conversation turning into one of her, "Oh, that! It's coming along nicely, uh, Ryan event thinks we could look into bringing it over to New York. Y'know, for like an off-broadway type deal, and that'd be really cool, like, if that happened." The plan was ambitious, a bit too much for Kelsi's taste, but she wasn't going to outwardly rag on Ryan's idea. It was something that needed some hearing out, and she was even hoping Troy could be one to see the same problems that she did but she didn't want to insinuate anything just yet. Just that news alone should've been enough to chew on so she let that sit in the air, not letting out what else she thought on the matter.

At the news of their musical being almost done it seemed and potentially even good enough for making it in New York, Troy’s grin only grew with pride for his two friends. If it were anyone else, he might have some reservations about shooting so large right off the get-go, but he’s heard Kelsi’s music before. Hell, he’s performed in almost all of her shows, he knows how great they all are. And Ryan has had a successful enough run back on Broadway that he trusts his judgment - if the Evans boy thinks their work is strong enough to open straight in the city, Troy believes it. “That’s amazing, Kels!” he gushes with excitement. “Are you both going to head out there whenever it’s done? That’d be an approved reason to leave, I’m willing to bet, so don’t even worry about that. But that’s so awesome.”

It was interesting to stand in front of the boy he'd heard all the stories about, the same one who broke her heart and then put it back together in a matter of weeks. Slightly had hoped to avoid this moment for as long as possible but it came to an inevitable end. He forced a half smile along with a nod to not give away his immediate distaste. This was something he'd fake for Sharpay's sake, then so be it. "Thanks, man," Slightly responded simply. "I guess we're just a dime a dozen, here I thought it was a pretty popular instrument." It was all everyone wanted to learn in the orphanage but not everyone picked it up as quickly or was willing to put in the time to learn. "Do you play anything besides basketball?" The boy wanted to say more but held back his unnecessary comments. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if this was how Peter felt talking to Phil, pinning that thought for another time.

"It's just part of your charm," she agreed, reaching for him as he came closer. Reality could be ignored, at least for now, while she relished the moment she'd been waiting for since middle school. "You're sure this has nothing to do with feeling bad for me after my set got hijacked?" Sharpay questioned with a raised brow, sliding her hands into his. "Also, I am sorry, like, now, that you inspired some really harsh material, but I'm afraid I'm still gonna have to keep performing the whole album, or else my manager will fire me. So, unless you want me unemployed, I'm unfortunately going to have to keep singing them."

Despite the fact that he’s fairly certain she’s mostly joking with her question of whether or not he’s certain this is what he wants, to make light of the rough road that had led them here, he’s still accurately aware that there has to be some kind of actual worry behind it. Which is valid after everything he’d done, Troy gets that, but it still sucks that she’s having even the tiniest bit of doubt. Again though, that’s something they can discuss later - they don’t need to hash everything out right now. “Considering I’ve been planning on doing this for a few days now, I don’t think the attack had anything to do with it,” he answers with a firmness in his decision. A chuckle escapes him as he shakes his head, not really wanting to think of how often he was going to have to hear the songs detailing exactly how shitty he’d been. It was gonna suck, no denying that, but he was too proud of Sharpay’s success to ever ask her to pretend like her first album simply never happened. “I guess I can put up with that. Just as long as you don’t air out all the dirty laundry completely. Your fans probably already don’t like me, but let’s not give them any more reason to keep up with the hate. I’d rather not start getting death threats or anything.” There was an undertone of amusement in his words, but he did really mean it all.

After so much time apart Gabriella couldn't blame him for wanting to move on, things had changed and she would be there as he explored a new part of his life. What they once had sat in the past now but whatever future they had now was uncertain. There had been a time when she imagined him at the end of the aisle, starting a family, and one day watching their own child go off to become a genius basketball star. That was a blip now and she'd have to wonder who it was that might one day be the one for her. Since high school, the brunette had only really imagined a life with Troy but now there were more unknowns than ever and she sat back to see where life would take her now.

A wide smile formed at his confirmation that he now enjoyed his sandwiches with the crust on but amusement at the time when he didn't. "Wooow, look at you. I didn't know you were up to the seed crust now." She feigned amazement as she placed a hand on her chest as if he'd told her something unheard of. "I'm so proud," Gabriella spoke theatrically as if she was about to cry. Regardless of their relationship status, it had been her best friend that she missed the most. After so many years together no one knew her quite like him and dating Sharpay wouldn't change that. "Next you're going to tell me you don't still have those Spiderman pajama pants, they were the best." They had been stolen many nights when she slept over. "Those are just irreplaceable if you ask me. You can't find them like that anymore."

Warmth fills his cheeks at the mention of his old spiderman pajama bottoms, the ones that he knew were her favorite, and he wishes he could say that he did indeed still have them. They had been a staple of his teenhood years, but after the breakup Troy simply hadn’t been able to look at them anymore without remembering all the times she had worn them instead. “Uhh, no. I don’t. I actually, uhh, donated them a while back,” he admits, not saying out loud the reason behind that choice, though he bets she can piece it together herself. It had been one of his half hearted attempts to move on, giving away some of the things that made him think too much about her. The pajama pants had just been one of the many victims of that phase.

It was a good thing Troy was smart. Not that she hadn't had to spell things out before for him, but it made this particular moment entirely less humiliating. "Is it?" she asked coyly, a smirk curling on her lips as she prepared for him to state the obvious. It was almost as important of a question as someone asking her hand in marriage, and one she'd been waiting for just as long to come from Troy himself. If it were anyone else, Sharpay would've remembered just how awful it'd felt to assume this was what he would've been asking her months ago. But this was Troy, and she would be crazy to deny the one boy she'd pined after for half of her life. "Well, duh. I thought you'd never ask."

Again, her agreeing to be his girlfriend isn’t exactly a surprise, but it sure is a relief. For all Troy had known this was what she wanted, he hadn’t been fully confident that she’d accept him so easily - not after all the shit he’d put her through over the past few months. But he wasn’t about to bring that up and ruin the happy moment. There would be plenty of time to apologize for his mistreatment and confusion later, right now he was just going to focus on the present and their future at hand. “Yeah, well, I’m a dumbass, you’ve always known that,” he teases with a grin, glancing over at the still not yet boiling water one quick time before taking a few steps forward to close the gap between himself and the blonde. “But I figured it out. I know what I want now and it’s you.”

Slightly hadn't been all that interested in going out since the increase in attacks. He used that time to write, finding the best way to express his worries for his world was through song. That was where he felt he could actually put things together like he wanted to, words never coming as easy to him when it was through conversation and not lyrics. Somewhere between the notes he'd find what he wanted to say all along. Tonight he'd premiered a few at a bar to get some idea of what he wanted to fine-tune before presenting any of them to his boss. It wasn't like Slightly thought Sharpay would actually do anything with them but trusted her opinion on all things music-related. She'd come to understand his sound, having been the one that gave him a chance to really show what he could do. Slightly was packing away his guitar when a man approached him whom he only recognized from watching that same smile drop from his face during Sharpay's first performance. "Troy, right?" The boy stood up, giving him a nod in greeting. "I'm Sharpay's guitarist, so I guess my association." Or from her having some choice lyrics for him and the brunette he'd brought as his date that night, though that was best kept to himself. "Name's Slightly."

While the truth stung more than she wanted to admit, Gabriella couldn't fault him for wanting to explore something new. They had their chance and it had been her that decided to end this after all. She couldn't blame him for moving on, actually happy to hear he'd found someone worth chasing after, though she silently wished it had been anyone else. After the trouble they had with the blonde growing up Gabriella wondered if she'd matured but from the concert fiasco there were doubts. She hoped that now this feud between her and Sharpay could come to a close, and the other girl was finally getting the man she'd pined for since high school. "It's okay, I understand Troy. You have to see where this path leads, no one wants to be left asking what-ifs." That had been what fueled her own decision to leave when she had. They had to figure out things without one another, but Gabriella was just happy to be there now.

"Really? Tell Sharpay that," the brunette laughed in return, offering him a satisfied smile. It hadn't been what she wanted to hear but as long as she wasn't losing him entirely it would be alright. After all that they'd been through together, Gabriella was confident they could always be friends. They'd survived high school which some would say are the worst years of their life but she'd argue he made her time there better. "Don't worry about that, you know I'm not going anywhere if I still talk to you after finding out your mom cut the crust off your sandwiches all through high school," a small jab meant with love. Regardless of their story from here on out, she still fondly thought of their memories together.

“I will,” he promises, a grin growing on his own lips at the sound of her laugh. It was strange, the way the noise still plucked on his heartstrings but for the first time in months it didn’t bother him. He wasn’t left feeling like he was missing something. Instead he simply got to enjoy a moment of companionship with her, without wishing or wanting for it to be something more. “Hey! You promised you wouldn’t hold that against me,” he teased right back, pointing a finger in accusation her way. “Besides, I’ll have you know I eat the whole sandwich now. Crust and all. Even the kinds with the seeds around the rim.”

Just the look of relief on his face was enough to bring a grin to her lips, she always just wanted her friends to be happy and this seemed to make Troy happy so she was okay with this. Her eyebrows raised at the news that she was the first to know, "she would've figured he'd gone to Chad or maybe even either of the girl's about his decision but to hear that was a bit reassuring to their friendship."Oh? Was Chad too busy to pick up the phone or are you just afraid of what he's gonna say so you thought coming to me was gonna be easier?" Honestly, Kelsi couldn't blame him for going that route, if true. Their friend's staunch opinion on the blonde hadn't changed much since high school so it was pretty obvious how the news would be handled. "I think that's a smart idea. With my luck, I probably would accidentally say something before you got the chance to tell her."

At the jab Kelsi made at herself, he couldn’t help the automatic chuckle that left him before he shook his head to reject the idea. “Nah, you’d never do that,” he reassures, feeling absolutely confident in those words. If there was one person Troy trusted with a secret, it was the girl sitting across from him. She was too loyal to go around telling anyone else’s business like a piece of easy gossip and too smart to accidentally blurt something out she knew wasn’t supposed to be told. “But enough about me. How have you been? How’s the show you and Ry are working on going?”

"Way better than the cereal I was planning on having," she agreed, sliding into one of her barstools as she watched him set down his supplies. "The company's not so bad, either, personal chef aside." Sharpay attempted to walk the tightrope before her toward the conclusion she was hoping for, cautious as she went along with the cues that there was something different about this particular night. "Do you bring over liquor and cook for all your friends, or is this just reserved for people experiencing tragedy? Because, Troy, I've known you a long time, and this is the first I'm going to taste your cooking."

With the pot of water on the stove, getting ready to heat up into a boil, Troy finally looks away and over at the girl sitting a few feet away, waiting for him and his answer. Taking a step or two, still keeping a bit of distance between them but only enough so that he’s not hovering right above her, his smile becomes a bit more sheepish and shy as he glances down at the ground before looking back up at the blonde. “No, this is the kind of stuff I do for my girlfriend, actually,” he admits, raising a shoulder in a half shrug to try to seem a bit more cool about this than he actually was. In truth his heart was racing and he felt like a high school boy all over again, nervous in a way he hasn’t been around anyone in years. “Which I was kinda hoping you might still want to be?”

At least, that's what it seemed. Sharpay knew better than to get her hopes up for the guy who had made it clear time and time again that he didn't see her as more than a friend. Leaping toward the conclusion she'd always wanted to hear, only to be rejected again, would be far more embarrassing than she could take. This could be some sort of friendly gesture, for all she knew, after what had happened to her. So, it was with cautious optimism that Sharpay let him inside. "No, this is--it's really sweet. I probably would've been alone for the rest of the night, so, thank you, actually. You didn't have to, like, do any of this, though. I'll be fine, I just need some time."

“I just have mac and cheese. It’s nothing fancy, like I said, but it’s better than nothing, right?” he repeats as he moves into the kitchen and sets his little bag down onto the countertop. Taking the bottle of bourbon out of it, he holds it out for the blonde with a smile. “If that’s alright with you. I wanted to cook for you, making something special for tonight.” He’d still yet to actually say what was so potentially important about this night, but he had a gut feeling she could tell where he was planning on going with it and a part of him wanted to see how long she’d let him dance around the subject before demanding an answer.