Underneath the Mistletoe

Christmas was in the air at Albuquerque…

Everyone was into the Christmas spirit and there was a lot of hustle and bustle about…a lot of people were doing their Christmas shopping, grocery and a lot more. Carolers were seen and a crowd has gathered to hear them sing. Troy Bolton goes by them and smiles sadly, he also wanted to watch, maybe even sing with them but he had to do his Christmas shopping. He also had to do the grocery so that food won't run short on the Christmas party he was planning to have.

I'll be home for Christmas

You can plan on me

Please have snow and mistletoe

And presents on the Christmas tree

Troy hummed along with the song and he was really feeling it as he went around the grocery store picking out the food he'll prepare for his guests. It would be a kind of Christmas reunion for his batchmates at East High. It had been a decade and two years since he last saw them and he wanted to reminisce being in high school again…

Christmas Eve will find me

Where the lovelight gleams

I'll be home for Christmas

If only in my dreams

That seemed to dampen his mood, he had been listening closely to the song and now he wanted to chuck the piece of ham he got at the speakers. How can anybody play a song like that when everyone is in the Christmas spirit? He shook his head and continued with his grocery while trying not to listen to anymore songs. He paid and put the groceries at the back of his new little toy, a sleek red Ferrari. Being a basketball star made all this possible…

He drove to his new home, a Caribbean style mansion near the outskirts of Albuquerque, and parked his car on the driveway. He headed inside and prepared for the party with the help of Josephine and Jose, his housekeepers. He made sure that everything is alright then got up to get himself prepared for the party. When he got down the stairs, he saw a black Lamborghini pull up and a man with a 'fro and his wife got out. They walked towards the front door.

Chad, Troy's best friend, barged right into the house, high-fived Troy and sniffed the air. Without saying a word, he went off in the direction of the kitchen leaving his best friend with a confused look on his face and his mouth hanging open.

Watching this little scene was Taylor who rolled her eyes and closed the front door. Then she kissed Troy's cheek and giggled because he remained standing there, looking at the direction Chad took. Getting impatient, she snapped her fingers in front of his face. That seemed to bring him back to reality…

"Taylor!" Troy gasped.

"Yes Troy, I am Taylor. That's my name…" she said slowly, as if to a five year old. Troy looked at her bewildered.

"I see you have met Chad, my husband. I'm sorry for his behavior, I'll be fetching him now." she continued, her voice unnaturally polite.

"Stop using your 'political' tone!" Troy cried cringing. Taylor used to be an intern in a government office and he and Chad teased her when she used that kind of tone when talking with her boss on the phone. He didn't like it, it seemed, weird…

Taylor giggled madly, Troy looked pained.

"Ok, just stop gazing in the direction of the kitchen, you know how Chad is." she said matter-of-factly.

"But this time, he did not say hi…" Troy whined. Taylor rolled her eyes at him.

"Are you gay or something? Since when did Chad not saying 'hi' to you, actually affect you?!" she looked shocked, so did Troy, he didn't mean it that way!

"I'm just shocked, that's all…" he tried to explain. Taylor obviously knew what he meant.

"I know he regresses from time to time but you gotta admit he cannot resist your cook!" she joked.

"Yeah… hey let's go check on him! Knowing Chad, half the food's gone by now…" Troy said heading towards his kitchen Taylor following behind.

They found Chad tasting everything that Josephine had prepared and had they not gone there sooner, the food would've probably gone.

"Dude, if you eat everything now, how am I going to feed my guests?" Troy asked.

"Dunodcare…" Chad said his mouth full of food.

"Oh Tay, imagine me, the great Troy Bolton, having a reunion and feeding our batchmates water and crackers?" Troy lamented as Taylor giggled. This did not, however, have any effect on Chad. So Taylor hit him at the back of the head and told him that the food ain't for him.

"No need to slap me at the back of the head, woman!" Chad exclaimed.

"Oh don't you dare call me woman" Taylor threatened.

"Well you could've told me in a nicer way…" whined Chad.

"Like when? You went straight here and didn't even bother to be polite." she said with a huff.

Chad just shrugged and said nonchalantly, "Was hungry, knew Troy won't mind…"

"Can't you complete a sentence now?" she started to hiss.

"What for? You could do it for me. After all, you are my woman…" Chad started to tease with a mischievous grin which earned him another smack, this time at the side of the head, from Taylor. Troy knew that they could go on forever so he stopped their bickering and made them help finish the last touches for the party.

At last, party time is about to start. As Taylor went into the kitchen to grab them all a glass of water, Chad turned to Troy and told him to seat down.

"Dude d'you know Sharpie's coming!" he said with enthusiasm. Troy knew that Chad hated Sharpay, what on earth happened to him to be excited about her?

"Are you alright?" Troy asked Chad. His friend shook his head, 'fro bouncing side to side, and looked at Troy seriously.

"Yeah man, question is, are you?" he replied, his face suddenly filled with concern.

"I dunno really…" Troy said.

"Why do you have to leave Shar? Is it something I did?" Troy asked, his blue eyes filled with worry as he gazed at Sharpay who was slowly backing away from him.

"It's…co…compli…complicated!" she mustered to yell though deep inside, she was cracking up…

"Don't leave me!" Troy was crying now, he wasn't ashamed to show that she caused him pain. Sharpay flinched and hurried to Troy. She cupped his cheek and kissed him passionately on the lips. Then she stepped back and put Troy's hand on her chest, where her heart is. Troy looked at her beautiful hazel eyes, wishing he could get lost in them and never be found…

"If it still beats this fast when we meet again, I sure as hell will go back to you…" she promised. Troy grinned sadly. "If we meet again, can I touch you there?" he asked innocently indicating her chest. Sharpay giggled and pushed Troy's hand away.

"We'll see Bolton. Now I really have to go. Ciao!" she smiled and went off. Troy watched her leave him…

Waking up from his flashback, Troy saw the water on the coffee table and drank it in one go. He saw Chad was looking at him patiently, though he was grinning wildly. He must've taken a picture of me. Troy thought but before he got to ask, Chad cut him off.

"It's going on my facebook, yeah baby!" he hollered, "but going back to business, she's like the hottest bitch since Paris Hilton! And we all knew you guys had a thing then…" he continued. Troy just chuckled softly…

"So what happened to you guys?" he asked innocently causing Troy to choke while drinking. He coughed as Chad laughed like a hyena on the floor his 'fro shaking and shaking. Taylor came in and patted Troy's back. Then she sat beside Troy and made him look into her eyes.

"We just want to know…" she said simply, her eyes pleading and a small smile on her lips.

"She said it was complicated…" Troy explained and Chad looked devastated.

"I'm his best bud! How did you do it?!" Chad demanded, his "being gentle" did not work.

"I didn't make him spit his water.' Taylor answered and Troy laughed. As the two got ready for another bickerthon, people started arriving and the party started rocking.

Hello's here and there. Chitchat, chitchat and more chitchat. Who's with whom? What are their jobs? How much money do they make? What happened to her? What happened to him? What happened to them?! Everyone had a lot of catching up with everyone and they were all having a good time.

Troy saw Zeke, already a professional pastry chef with his own store. Jason is a coach for second graders and the others took up other professions. There was a lawyer, a doctor, an entrepreneur. After the whole basketball team, he saw Martha Cox then he saw Gabriella. She came with her husband and the ex-couple talked for quite sometime. Gabriella broke it off with Troy during their second year in college because they both found other people. Gabriella found Samuel, her husband and Troy found Sharpay who left him.

As he was about to give up hope on seeing his one true love again, a new couple arrived. Troy could hardly recognize the tall, lanky, tanned and blonde man in front of him with the dazzling smile but he could not forget Kelsi, he and Gabriella's used to be playmaker. She still looked the same except without the glasses and a bump in her belly. Troy looked at her husband and his jaw dropped when she introduced him, it was Ryan Evans!

"Ryan!" Troy exclaimed looking thoroughly shocked to see the change of the other Evans twin. He was tanned and he looked more confident than he did being his sister's lapdog. Troy ushered them inside his home.

"Ry, Kels, how nice of you to join us!" Taylor squealed from the living room and Kelsi walked hurriedly over her. That left Troy and Ryan down the hall.

"I hear she's great…" Troy said solemnly.

"She never told you why she left?" Ryan asked his face full of surprise and concern. Troy just found the floor much more interesting.

"No, obviously not…" Ryan concluded. Then he touched Troy's shoulder.

"She's coming; second chances like this meant you blew the first one. So be wiser this time." the blonde hunk advised and sauntered over to his wife. Troy looked around the hall, be wiser this time… wonder what that meant? After pondering for a while, he heard the bell ring and opened the door to see Sharpay. She stared at him and strode inside taking off her mink coat to reveal a long black gown that hugged her in all the right places. It also had an incredible neckline which extended to her navel and she looked so freaking hot! Troy just couldn't get his eyes off her.

"Oh Troy, even without saying anything you flatter me." Sharpay said dramatically in a low and husky voice. She put her hand over her heart lightly and Troy noticed: no ring. He wanted to scream "Hallelujah!!!" but knew it would look to weird. She went on with a pouty face…

"I literally left him speechless!" Sharpay said her voice loud and filled with wonderment, she was acting. Troy finally realized she was…

"Hi Shar…" he said brightly as Sharpay didn't mock him a few minutes ago.

"Troy…" she nodded stiffly. Troy was taken aback until he saw her giggling madly over what happened.

"Can you give a guy a break here?" Troy whined and Sharpay rushed to him and planted a kiss on his cheek and headed to the party. Troy's heart was somewhere out of the Milky Way and he was touching his cheek where Sharpay's lips landed a while ago. He dazedly went back to the party.

Everyone was having a good time. A lot of dancing and talking happened just like before. By midnight, they were all heading home. Some had children, some had work, and others just didn't want to be a nuisance. After all, it was Troy's home. Troy surveyed the place, nothing really worth serious cleaning. Wow, everybody had matured alright…

Just then he spotted Sharpay sitting out on his terrace and he silently approached her. She still looked as beautiful as before. His heart ached and he wanted so much to be near her, to hold her again. They separated so suddenly, right in the middle of their plunge to a happy and perfect relationship.

Troy looked deeply into Sharpay's eyes and saw pure love and adoration in her hazel orbs. It was as if struck by lightning, they were captured, enamored, and starstruck. With no second thought, they both leaned in and kissed, as if was the most natural thing to do. It was heaven, it was magic, it was love…

Or so he thought; she left him just as things started to fall into place…

He approached Sharpay cautiously from behind. He got close enough to take a whiff of her golden locks mixed with her perfume and just her smell made him intoxicated much faster than all of the booze in his house combined.

She turned around to face him and he looked into her eyes, getting lost again. Sharpay looked back at Troy and decided she couldn't keep it longer… she had to tell him.

"Remember when I said things were complicated so I had to go?" she asked him. He nodded.

"I was scared Troy. I schemed and plotted all those years in high school and I thought that you were getting even but when I look in your eyes, all these doubts are swept away… but I couldn't handle it. There was a play in France, I auditioned and got the part…" she trailed off.

Troy was speechless! She left him because she feared he'd get even? That was the last thing on his mind. Sharpay changed during college and the Sharpay he used to know resurfaced and he liked that Sharpay…

"You know I'd never do that…" he said.

"I'm weird that way…" Sharpay conceded with a small smile. Troy melted, he was powerless against her.

Suddenly Sharpay grabbed Troy's hand and placed it over her heart. Troy felt the familiar heartbeat that was only Sharpay's. He could still remember that night…

"My heart beat that way for seven years…" she said teary-eyed. Troy was speechless! He felt like all his prayers were answered, that his life had finally found its place in the circle of life. There was so much joy that he actually looked up and cheered at the stars which seemed to twinkle brighter that night.

Sharpay also looked up and she noticed that they were standing under mistletoe. She nudged Troy and he looked at it too. Then he looked at Sharpay and got lost in her eyes again as did she. He slowly leaned in and she tilted her head in perfect timing and their lips caught each other in a passionate lip lock, one too afraid to let go of the other. Slowly, they let each other go and stared deeply into the others eyes.

The moment was ruined; Troy looked up to see the mistletoe being dragged by some invisible hook and looked up to see Chad holding a fishing pole with a grin on his face and a video camera on his hand.

"Perfect catch don't you think? You both fell for it, hook, line and sinker!" he hollered down at them with glee. He laughed like crazy and looked down to see that the couple disappeared. Thinking they went back inside to talk, he put down the pole and tucked the tape in his pocket.

He turned around and saw Troy and Sharpay in the doorway. Ooops, he thought. He grinned and stood his ground as the couple advanced toward him and when they got closer; he bolted and scrammed as fast as possible, 'fro flying, and hollering for his wife that they get the hell outta here.

Troy just shrugged and pulled Sharpay closer for another kiss. The couple savored the moment. They were captured, enamored, and starstruck once again…

***Hi guys!!! I just wanna wish you all an advanced MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! :D
This is my favorite time of the year and I'm incredibly happy every December... anyway, this is a kind of a Christmas fanfic? I hope you like it, though its not so Christmas-y.. :D
Please read and review!!! :D