After hanging out at Zeke’s with the gang through three movies and way too many brownies, Ryan drives home in Pink Grapefruit with Chad in the passenger seat and Kelsi in the back. They all sing along with the radio deliberately badly and as loud as they can while Kelsi’s in the car. As soon as they drop her off, both kissing her on the cheek and ( Read more... )

It’s not always so serious. Sometimes it’s small things, like a shopping trip to the mall; Kelsi makes a good companion. She doesn’t try to be a substitute for Sharpay; she’s herself, and that’s enough, more than enough. She brings over her Gilmore Girls DVD collection and they watch it for hours together, eating fresh baked snacks supplied by Zeke ( Read more... )

Meanwhile, back at Ryan’s house, Zeke and Kelsi invade the kitchen, causing culinary chaos in the pursuit of dinner. Chad checks on them every now and then, but mostly he dozes on the couch with Ryan. They’re watching Mythbusters when Ryan speaks.

The first word Ryan says, voice scratchy and hoarse after weeks without use, is Chad’s name. Just ( Read more... )

That weekend, Troy and Gabriella stand face to face and realise they’ve run out of things to say to each other. Gabriella cries, but she looks pretty; she only looks pretty crying if she doesn’t mean it. They hug goodbye, before he climbs back in to his truck and leaves. Their embrace feels stiff, formal. They’re like strangers. Troy doesn’t know ( Read more... )

Kelsi has always been quiet, but now she’s quiet in a different way. She thinks about death and she cries. She has nightmares about broken glass and twisted metal and blood, too much blood. She hates herself, because it’s her fault as much as the blame can be put on anyone. She knew Sharpay was angry and upset and drunk, but she didn’t say anything ( Read more... )

They all have their own ways of coping with their tragedy ( Read more... )

Everyone’s talking in soft voices, as if they think it makes a difference, but they might as well be shouting, screaming in his face, because they’re all saying the same thing anyway; Your sister’s dead.

They're still at Troy's house and Ryan's clinging to Chad, because holding onto Chad is the only thing making any sense right now. They called and ( Read more... )

Ryan doesn't know to worry, until they realise no one's seen her for a couple of hours and Zeke's passed out but she's not with him, then he calls and calls but she doesn't pick up. She doesn't pick up because she can't, and she never will. They'll never speak again.

There was a wall and she hit it.
Witnesses said she had time to see it, that she ( Read more... )

They have too much alcohol (there’s no such thing!) and they’ve all had enough already, they’re all drunk enough already (except Kelsi, who is still sipping delicately at her first drink and will never make it beyond that). Gabriella and Taylor are sharing an armchair, giggling a lot as they gossip in what they think are quiet voices; Gabriella is ( Read more... )

It starts on the stage at the end of their High School Musical, with Ms. Darbus announcing where they'll be going and Troy revealing that he is, once again, doing something unexpected and carving out his own path. This marks the beginning of the end. The future's coming soon and they're being pulled in a hundred different directions (okay, that may ( Read more... )