Sweetest Devotion ||Troy Bolton||

Chapter Nineteen

It could be because Troy had been debating whether or not to try out for the school musical ever since Gabriella mentioned it in passing. It could be that ever since New Year's Eve, Troy had loved the feeling of singing on stage, especially with his girlfriend. Or maybe it was the way that Sophie's shoulders deflated and her face became disheartened (and he can't stand to see his girlfriend sad, she's normally so happy). Either way, Troy couldn't help but volunteer to audition for the musical Twinkle Town.

Ms. Darbus looked up just in time to see Troy appear from behind the wall with his hand in the air and a grimace on his face. Sophie turns in surprise to her boyfriend who simply takes her hand and pulls her closer to their homeroom teacher.

"Troy Bolton? Where is your sports posse or whatever it's called?" Ms. Darbus questions as Sophie is forced to smother a giggle with her free hand. More often than not, that's what Sophie calls Troy's group of friends.

"Team," Troy deadpans, knowing why his girlfriend is so amused.

"Ah."

"But I'm here alone. Actually, I'm here to sing with her. Sophie, I mean."

"Yes, well, we take these shows very seriously here at East High. I called for the pairs audition and you didn't respond. Free period is now over."

"But she has an amazing voice!" urged Gabriella, "So does he! And together they sound amazing."

Looking somewhat conflicted, especially knowing first hand that most of the things this young couple do together are amazing, Ms. Darbus sticks to her guns, "Perhaps the next musicale."

The trio look at each other in disappointment as their teacher makes her way out of the auditorium. Despite feeling disappointed, Sophie can't help but be proud of Troy. He finally took a step out of his comfort zone. Missing one more school musical won't hurt her, but in the long run, sticking to the status quo might hurt him.

Sophie's thoughts are interrupted by a loud crash followed by a scream and the fluttering of papers. Turning around quickly, the three see that the pianist, Kelsi, tripped and fell to the ground.

Without missing a beat, Troy runs to the stage with the girls following behind. The two reach the stage just as Troy starts to shuffle the pages into a pile.
"So you're a composer?" Troy questions as the girls begin to help. Kelsi stares at him blankly so he continues, "You wrote the song Ryan and Sharpay just sang? And the entire show?"

She nods hesitantly.

"Well, that's really cool," Troy adds before offering her a hand up. "I can't wait to hear the rest of the show," he smiles as the girls finish gathering the rest of the papers. The girls voice their agreement as they, too, stand, Sophie with Troy's hand coming to rest at the small of her back.

"So, why are you so afraid of Ryan and Sharpay?" Troy began. Sophie makes a noise of protest because it was just yesterday that Troy whined about being left alone with Sharpay for too long. "I mean, I understand because I guess I am sometimes, too," he corrects. "I just mean, it's your show."

"It is?" Kelsi murmurs, her eyes widening slightly.

"Isn't the composer of the show kind of like the playmaker in basketball?"

"Playmaker?"

Laughing because Troy always has to bring the topic back to basketball, Sophie goes to clarify. She might as well put those boring hours spent with the Bolton men discussing basketball to use. "The playmaker is the one who makes everyone else look good."

"Right!" He exclaims. "Without you there is no show. You're the playmaker here, Kelsi."

A smile grows on Gabriella's face as she watches Troy interact with the pianist. She's starting to see for herself that just because her new friends are the IT couple, doesn't mean they have to be stereotypical. Troy isn't a dumb jock and Sophie isn't a mean girl. They're more than the rumors spread about them, and Gabriella's proof was growing by the day.