Ending {Ryan and Sharpay}

[Sharpay Evans]

It has been 3 hours since the Theatre incident, and it has been the quickest 3 hours for Sharpay. Marco had not left her alone even when he's not around her since he has been constantly leaving her messages in her Sidekick, reminding her of what she has to do, and to do it soon, or else.

She sat in the middle of their own dance studio inside their house, her head resting on her hands. She didn't exactly know why she picked this place of all places in the house to tell him. Maybe it makes sense to her because this is the place where usually the tension between her and Ryan builds up, but those were because of the pressures of staying on top, of staying as the best performers of East High. If they had a fight about that, they would make up easily later. But what she was about to do tonight was different, and she knew they wouldn't be able to make up just as easily. It was hard enough to avoid Ryan, to lie to him once again, and to make excuses as to why she couldn't return his kisses like she used to, how harder it would be for her to break his heart right in front of her.

The message alert tone of her cellphone broke Sharpay out of her reverie, and it was of course none other than another message from Marco. She almost wanted to throw her phone against the mirror, but it's no use anyway. It's something that just...has to be done now, no matter how much she wished there was another way to settle this...but it was too late.

With shaking hands, she started to type her message for Ryan. A short message like "I'm in d dance studio" usually only takes up a few seconds for her, but now it took her at least 20 minutes to just type and send it to him, partly because her hands were shaking a lot that it was making it hard for her to type, and also because she really didn't want to send it to Ryan. She would stretch it even more if she could, but she knew Marco wouldn't stop bothering her until she does, and he is serious about his threat.

As she pressed send, Sharpay closed her eyes and dropped her phone on the floor...hoping to God Ryan wouldn't come, or better yet, she hoped for some kind of a miracle that would turn everything around again, just like how things are way back in the summer.

[Ryan Evans]

Today has been weird.

That was the only thing Ryan could think as he ran his towel over his head for what felt like the 100th time since having stepped out of the shower over 40 minutes ago by now, he wasn't even sure why he seemed to be making no progress in getting dressed since he was still sitting on the edge of his bed in just his pants, fumbling to put his socks back on. At the moment all he could process was that everything seemed to be in some kind of weird funk. He shook his head again as he tried to jog these thoughts out of his head, but something about what Zeke had told him in gym seemed to be resonating, everything was just too weird not to add up somehow.

With a deep sigh, a slight inaudible groan leaving his chest again, feeling stupid again for over thinking everything, again. Any couple could be prone to their bad days, this was just what this was, after all he was having an off day too, everything would pass tomorrow. With a slight smile on his face he couldn't help but grin that tomorrow really would be another day, and whatever weirdness would probably pass with sleeping, after all, gym had taken a lot out of him. With another shake of his head, he made a move to stand with a quick roll off his bed and walked to his closet. With a quick run of his head through his hair he began sifting through his racks of hangers, fruitlessly noticing that all of them were painfully alike. He let out another sigh as he grabbed a t-shirt, the faint sound of vibrating from his phone on the bed side table snapped him out of his clothing based stupor.

Pulling his t-shirt quickly over his head he strode over to were his phone was rattling back and forth on his dresser, noting that no one was coming up on his contact screen so he had to assume he was getting a text which automatically meant it was from Sharpay, she was the only one who ever seemed to text him, hell she was the only person he knew who could text just as proficiently as they could speak. With a soft chuckle as he mused on this thought he shuffled through the menus on his phone until reaching the One New Message listed on his inbox screen.

Reading over the short amount of black letters that had been texted to him, he couldn't help but feel that same feeling of slight confusion of creeping over his brain, the Dance Studio. As he stood beside his bed he couldn't remember for the life of him the last time they'd been in the studio, it had to have been long before the start of the summer, since even they had taken a break from their rigorous rehearsing schedule to partake in different activities. Ryan furrowed his brow slightly as he placed his phone into his pocket and ran his hand once more through his hair, exiting his room trying to remove the slight scowl of intensity from his face. The last thing he needed to do was worry Sharpay over some unknown...thing populating his head.

As he walked down the stairs, he decided that for now, he had nothing to worry about, it was just stupid things like school getting to him, nothing more than the usual, after all: what was the worst that could happen when they were safely at home, nothing could touch them here. He let another slow grin cross on his face, now feeling that sensation of comfort wash over him, they were safe here, that was the only fact that would never change in his head. Shoving his hands into his pockets he let out a happy sigh, turning into the room with a nonchalant slump of his shoulders, his smile growing as he saw Sharpay sitting on the floor.

"Hey you," he called out as he walked into the room, the typical smile plastered back on his face like it had never left. "I got your text," He said with a chuckle and a quick pat of where his phone was now in his pocket. He sat down beside her and leaned over and gave her a quick kiss, feeling that comforting rush that he always felt with her. "So, were you struck with dancing inspiration, or did you just want to sit on the floor?" He asked, jokingly grimacing his face as he knocked his fist on the hardwood floor and looking back to her. "Either way, as long as we're not doing homework, I'm happy." He admitted jokingly with a nod as he leaned back onto his hands.

[Sharpay Evans]

As she heard footsteps fast approaching the dance studio, Sharpay's heartbeat accelerated just as fast. She lifted her head, which was resting on her knees, up, trying to compose herself once more, but was having a hard time as she tried to think of what she's going to say to him, and how to tell him the hardest thing that she has to tell him, ever. But as soon as she saw Ryan's face by the door, all she could think about was I can't do this...

She tried to return his smile, as hard as she could, and kissed him back. Her heart pounded on her chest as he sat close beside her, his smile continuously melting her. It made her forget for a moment what she was supposed to do in the first place, and just leaned in close to him, enjoying this last moment with him.

"So, were you struck with dancing inspiration, or did you just want to sit on the floor?"

Sharpay looked up and smiled a bittersweet smile as she felt a strong urge to dance with him again, at least for the last time. She nodded slowly as she made a move to stand up. "Actually, Ry...yes, I think we should dance," she slowly stood up and waited for Ryan. It just makes sense now. Because she knows that after telling him what she was supposed to tell him, they won't get to dance together again, maybe for a long time...or maybe never again. It pained her so much as she realized that after all of this, she wouldn't get the prom that she had dreamed of, and even the future that they have planned together.

"Ry," her voice cracked as she spoke up once again, "I want to do a different dance this time."

[Ryan Evans]

As Ryan watched Sharpay stand from the floor, he quickly followed suit and brushed himself off as he tucked his hands back into his pockets, the smile still fixed softly on his face as he watched her. When she mentioned actually wanting to dance, he let out a faint chuckle and just locked a look of mock disappointment on his face as he pouted his lip out slightly for added effect. "Damn," He said with a joking snap of his finger as he scanned the room, turning his gaze back to her with his typical off hilt grin on his face. "I was really hoping we'd just sit on the floor, but I guess if you insist on dancing," the emphasis dragged out on his last word as he removed his hands slowly from his pockets and placed them lightly on his sides. "Well how can I say no?" He asked in a jaunty rhetorical tone as he grinned at her widely, running his hand through his hair once again for what felt like the hundredth time since he'd left his room.

When he finally focused his attention back on Sharpay, Ryan couldn't help but notice the look on her face seemed to have a different edge to it, something was different, not drastically so, but something just didn't suit her normally ecstatic and bubbly demeanor. He had half a mind to ask her but for now he was just going to oblige her wish, if she wanted to dance then that's what they would do. He let his thoughts wander once more thinking that was maybe what they needed, after all, dancing seemed to help them work out whatever issues they had in the past.

He cracked his neck lightly and stretched out his arms, his attention spiking again when Sharpay spoke, not sure if the slight change of tone he heard in her voice was imagined, or if she was really having issues. He dropped his gaze in thought, honestly hoping that the weird atmosphere in the room was just him over thinking, after all he had been mulling over what Zeke had told him for close to four hours now, there was bound to be some paranoia. He shook his head slightly, chuckling ounce again at the fact he really was living up to his drama king name, his arms now crossed over his chest as he eyed Sharpay quizzically. "Different?" He asked, feeling his eyebrows give an involuntary raise. "What did you have in mind?" He asked again, his shoulders dropping lightly as he flashed a smile at her.

Different couldn't hurt.

[Sharpay Evans]

Despite her inner sufferings, Sharpay had managed to grin at Ryan's jokes, and she even responded by hitting him playfully. "We both know that between the two of us, you're the better dancer," she stuck her tongue out at him, before giggling and leaning in to give him a quick peck on the lips. "And you love dancing more than I do...right?" She winked at him and continued her giggles, and it was as if everything was normal again in that moment.

She nodded eagerly at his question and smiled shyly, just the thought of doing this different dance brought weird butterflies in her stomach. "Yes...different," she replied, before turning around and walking slowly towards the CD player. She sat down and quickly browsed through their collection of CDs. Given the number of CDs they have in the dance studio, it took her a while before she finally found what she was looking for. She quickly put it in the player and pressed play, smiling as she went back to Ryan.

When she was finally standing in front of him, she leaned up and whispered on his ear, "I want to slow dance with you." And as if on cue, slow music started playing in the background, slowly filling the room. She smiled at him as she waited for his reaction. At this moment, she decided she was going to forget about everything else but just him and her, this would be their last moment as a couple, and she needed and wanted nothing more at the moment than to make this moment last for as long as she could.

She slowly took his hand in hers and looked at him, the shy smile still on her face. "Ryan Evans, will you dance with me?"

[Ryan Evans]

Ryan couldn't help but chuckle as the soft hit landed on his chest, this was the type of playful routine that he was used to, the very thing he missed when they were in school clearly honing their acting skills unbeknownst to everyone else around them. "I thought we went over this before," He quipped with a faint laugh. "I'm only a good dancer with you as my partner." He retorted with his off hilt grin still plastered to his face as he stuck his tongue back out at her, his laughter brimming louder in his chest now. "And as for me loving dancing more than you," He started again as he reached up his hand into a point. "Well, since you know me so well I refuse to comment on that." He quipped once again, his jovial mood coming back as he grinned wider at her grin.

Then remembering the matter at hand, his brow furrowed in slight consternation. "What do you mean by different, Shar?" He questioned again, still confused by the fact her answer only seemed to lead to more questions. "I thought we were well past that phase of you dressing me up in a tutu?" He jokingly asked as he watched her sit beside their CD rack, his look of confusion cycling to various shades of amusement as he watched her shuffle through their stacks of CDs. "Have you finally decided to give in to my urge to learn breakdancing?" He joked again as he popped a little wave motion out with his arm before crossing his arms as she put a CD into the nearby CD player.

He was about to make a joke about he would be able to do a headspin to this music, that was until Sharpay neared him again, the grin on his face finally reaching its zenith as she leaned up and whispered in his ear, still eliciting the same slight shiver in his spine, along with the faint tap of his foot as he breathed out happily. "That's a much better idea than breakdancing." He breathed out again, the giant smile still on his face as he leaned down and kissed her softly. When he pulled away though he couldn't help but give a faint laugh as he gave raised his eyebrow questioningly at her. "I believe that's my question," He chuckled out softly, before clearing his throat as he stepped away for a moment and looking intensely into her eyes. "Sharpay Evans, may I have this dance?" He asked softly as he held his hand out to her, trying his best to keep his calm facade composed, fighting his goofy grin once more.

[Sharpay Evans]

Sharpay could feel her heart fluttering as Ryan leaned in and gave her a soft and lingering kiss. She smiled at his laugh, and shook her head, knowing that Ryan is ever the gentleman, and he wouldn't miss any opportunity to show that, most especially to her. Her heart started to beat fast again as he stared at her intensely, his gaze holding hers intensely that Sharpay never really wanted to look away anymore as she looked back deep into his eyes. But she felt a slight pain in her chest as she suddenly felt afraid that her eyes might show him what she was trying to hide at the moment.

"Sharpay Evans, may I have this dance?"

As Ryan spoke those words, it was like magic. Her thoughts, doubts, and fears were gone, and was replaced by a longing to touch him and be near him once again. She smiled so widely, and from her peripheral view, she could see how happy she looked at her reflection in the mirror. It was the kind of happiness that no one in East High has ever seen, and she couldn't help but think that after this, no one would probably ever get the chance to see it.

It took her a few seconds before she finally nodded at him, holding his hand tight in hers, and giving it a light squeeze. "Of course you may," she responded with a giggle. She looked deep into his eyes once more, the smile never leaving her face as she slowly placed her other hand on his shoulder. She felt a pang of guilt, though, as the thought that Ryan doesn't even know anything yet entered her mind. He has absolutely no idea that this would probably be their last dance, together, and it pained Sharpay the most. And ironically, in this last dance, it would be his turn to lead once more, and she would be the one to end it.

[Ryan Evans]

Ryan let out a contented sigh as he felt Sharpay's hand lightly on his shoulder, a soft chuckle brimming in his throat as he looked at her. "I'm... I'm not actually much of a slow dancer," He admitted as he tried to mentally go over the basic steps he remember from when he was forced to learn as a kid. He coughed slightly as he placed his hand lightly on her hip, chuckling again at the fact even now in his head it was like trying to review an awkward diagram thinking that maybe his only proper knowledge of slow dancing was from "Goofy's How To Dance", Disney probably wasn't going to help him here. "But for you, I'd attempt anything, even if retardedly." He chuckled out as he moved closer to her.

He breathed out again, feeling that same feeling of disconcerted comfort, even knowing that was an oxymoron, but something about dancing here with Sharpay he still felt strangely out of his element being that he hadn't slow danced with her since they were kids, and it was much different then. "I think maybe before prom I'm going to have to brush up on my ballroom dance skills," He spoke softly as he tried his best to move in his awkwardly socked feet, knowing that he'd have better luck in at least proper dancing attire. "I think they have stuff like that on Wikipedia now, so we're in luck." He said with another soft chuckle and a nod, the grin still plastered on his face as he smiled at her.

Moving a little bit closer to her, trying to keep his steps as rhythmic and conventional as possible despite the unconventional scenario he couldn't help but think it was a bit odd even for Sharpay of all people to want to slow dance in the middle of the afternoon for no reason at all, but then again Ryan was getting used to the weird spontaneity of their afternoon activities, a far cry from last year when all they would do would be: homework, plot, and more homework.

"So, back to my earlier question, amended now," He started again as the expression on his face turned to a slightly quizzical one. "What struck you with this type of dancing inspiration," He questioned, knowing that even though they weren't the most normal of people to begin with, slow dancing was not typically on their to-do list. "I don't mind though," He added with a chuckle as he grinned, knowing that he'd rather spend his time this close to her. "But slow dancing, are we just getting in early practice for prom?" He asked in a slight joking manner, knowing that it could very well possibly be true after his slightly awkward display of his dance skill here.

[Sharpay Evans]

Sharpay's heartbeat fell out of rhythm once again as soon as Ryan's hand touched her, his hand resting lightly on her hip. She looked him in the eyes and shook her head when he said he is not much of a slow dancer. He has been good at it when they were younger, and she should know since she mostly relied on his lead even then. "Ry, remember what our instructor had said?" She arched one eyebrow at him with a slight grin on her lips. "Just feel the music," and as she said this, she closed her eyes for a bit, just listening to the slow music, and then opened her eyes again to meet his. It pained her once again to see his innocent eyes staring back at her, and for a moment she was afraid that he might see through her once again. So she broke the intense eye contact and leaned her head on his chest instead, listening to his steady heartbeat, calming her down.

She giggled as he went on talking about him needing more training and research about ballroom dancing, when in fact he is doing much better than her. "No worries, you're doing good," she lifted her head up and winked at him. "Really good." This time, the smile she gave him was different. It was bittersweet. He really was doing so good, and Sharpay would give up anything and everything for the time to just stop so they wouldn't need to end this dance.

When she heard his question though, she shrugged her shoulders, trying to feign nonchalance. "I just thought we've never done this type of dancing for a long time, and yes, we're gonna need this for--" her voice broke slightly again as she remembered the whole situation for a moment, "for prom." She knows by now that there would be no prom anymore, at least for the two of them. "Now if you don't mind, my love, can we dance in silence?" She grinned slightly, it was just her way of avoiding any more of his many questions.

This is their last dance, and she was determined to make this one last. She had let go of his other hand and rested both of hers on the back of his neck, pulling him even closer to her, so close that all they could do was sway to the music. Feeling the music, she pulled his face closer until their noses are touching and slowly closed her eyes, concentrating solely on their moment.

[Ryan Evans]

Ryan let out another slow breath, replaying what Sharpay had said over and over again in his head like it was some foreign idea to him. Feel the music, it seemed like an obvious enough idea to follow, what with all his years of dance it had been one of the first lessons he'd been taught, and he'd never been lead astray by feelings before, but that wasn't really what he was worried about. Standing here awkwardly in the dance studio in his socks while slow dancing was not what he was having a hard time with, this was really business as usual for him, but there was one thing that had made this all different: this time it wasn't about who was the best, it wasn't about winning or anything like that; Ryan was more worried about letting Sharpay down.

As she closed her eyes again, he couldn't help but keep the frown fixed to his face, while still all the while smiling, once again the random irony was never lost on him when it came to Sharpay. He couldn't help but wonder if she knew that he was having a hard time feeling the music because all he could feel was the awkward slowly off rhythm beat of his heart, hoping that the labored breathing was only as loud as this to him and came off as inaudible nervousness to her, even if she did now have her ear pressed to his chest and could probably hear each and every small betrayal of his heart and lungs. He couldn't help it though, it just seemed odd that no matter how confident he could be about himself or what he was capable of, he would never see himself as being good enough for her, no matter what she said-- either meaning that he was not as obviously himself as he thought, or Sharpay was just happily oblivious; Ryan was not going to be the one to complain about his luck, not right now at least.

When Sharpay turned her gaze to him again he felt his heart miss the beat again, causing him to have to readjust to the rhythm of the music momentarily, trying to fight the chuckle, knowing full well that if she knew the power she had over him that he'd never be able to keep anything from her again. He took in a deep decided breath as he moved closer to her again, thinking that this moment that it really could still be so perfect, she had even said it herself: they would need this type of dancing for prom. As the idea of prom crossed his mind more he couldn't help but let the smile slowly smooth away the steady frown that had found its way into his usually happy demeanor. It was a comfort to have something solid to hold onto, some type of way to gauge the fact that they could stay together even through everything they had dealt with so far-- it was an emboldening idea that they seemed to be untouchable
, he thought with a slightly smug smile beaming onto his face.

Ryan let out another soft chuckle, rotating slightly on the dance floor, amused by her suggestion of dancing in silence, now realizing that he must have been yammering on before. "Okay, okay," point taken." he said into a soft chuckle as he felt her slowly creep both arms up to his neck, slowly adjusting his position so that he hands rest lightly on her hips again, their dance never faltering. When he face brushed against hers lightly, he finally let his eyes close, just taking in everything around him slowly, slightly overwhelmed once again that it never failed to seem like the perfect movie moment. "I know you said you wanted it quiet," He started with a trepidacious
chuckle. "and I'll shut up after this," he added quickly with another soft laugh. "just wanted to tell you I love you." He finished softly, pressing his forehead to hers, his eyes still closed with a crooked smile on his face, thinking that if this moment was perfect to him-- well he just couldn't imagine anything more perfect than this ever, and that was fine with him.

[Sharpay Evans]

With her ear pressed closely on Ryan's chest, she could hear his heart beat and his breathing so clearly, and couldn't help letting out a soft giggle at how his heart missed a few beats quite a lot and he seemed like he was having trouble breathing while they were dancing so close to each other. She knew her heart was doing the same, no matter how bad she was feeling inside, her own heart was betraying her feelings. Instead of feeling so broken already, it was still so much alive and jumping in joy as she continued to dance with Ryan. It didn't even matter that they were not in their proper dancing attire and shoes, given that Ryan was just wearing socks and she was just barefooted making it slightly hard to reach him, nothing else really mattered but just the two of them in that very special moment.

She moved perfectly in rhythm with him when he rotated both of them on the dancefloor, and she could feel her heart betray her even more when she felt Ryan's hands on her hips, and when he moved even closer that there was little to no space left between them already. They were dancing so close to each other that she could feel his always comforting warmth, it felt really good to have him like this so close with her, it was as if in this moment it almost seemed like nothing could really happen to them and that they couldn't really be separated...except that reality had to destroy that dream through Marco Ventura.

With their noses touching, their lips just a few inches apart, Sharpay felt the strongest urge to kiss him once again, even just for the last time, but she knew she had to fight it...she would not really want to make it harder for the both of them. But as she listened slowly to Ryan's words, her heart jumped even more violently, she could feel her defenses going weak, her mind no longer holding on to what she was thinking earlier. Suddenly, her logic did not make any more sense. She wanted so badly to tell him she loves him back, so much...possibly even more than he does...but she couldn't hurt him more, she just couldn't do that. There was only one way to let him know that...forget everything for a moment. She wrapped her arms tighter around his neck, making him lean down to her more until it was easy for her to touch her lips to his.

She kissed him softly, just enough to let him know how much she really loves him, and to hopefully send the message that what she has to do later on...she didn't really wanted to...and that she wouldn't really do it if it would not mean that they possibly would not be able to see each other again. She was hoping he would understand even through that simple kiss.

I love you too Ry, so much...so much that I hate myself even more...