Sharpay looked up again at the clock. It was getting later and Sharpay knew her final decision still needed to be made. Sharpay had been asked by four other boys to dance while she was sitting against the wall. She knew that it was rude to tell boys no, so she kept saying she was feeling dizzy and sick. The boys were all really nice, but Sharpay knew that if she was going to have her first dance tonight, she wanted it to be with Troy Bolton.

Sharpay swallowed hard. Then she saw Taylor coming over with some other girls. They all sat down by Sharpay. "Hey, Sharpay. Have you danced at all?" Taylor asked.

"Nah, I haven't really been feeling great."

"Oh. Well the dance is going to end soon. I hope you get to dance before it's over!" Taylor turned to her right and began talking to the other girls.

Sharpay looked forward and replied. "Me too." The DJ's voice interrupted the music again. He said a few words about the dance and then played the next song. Sharpay didn't recognize the tune, but she did recognize it had a slow tempo. She looked up at the clock and sighed. Then her eyes came down from the clock and she saw Troy running towards her. He finally reached her and was panting.

"Sharpay," Troy said. "At least one slow song?" Then he reached his hand out as an offering to help her up. He lifted one corner of his mouth into a smile.

Sharpay looked deep into the mix of brown and gold in Troy's eyes and smiled back. She slowly lifted her arm and placed her hand in his. "Yeah, at least one slow song."

Troy's smile became full and helped Sharpay up. He held out his arm, and told Sharpay to put her arm through so he could escort her to the floor. As she placed her arm through his, she could feel how nicely toned his muscles were. Sharpay looked up at Troy. "Like this?" Troy didn't respond verbally, he just winked. She held her head a little taller as she walked arm in arm with Troy Bolton.

They got out onto the dance floor, and Troy smiled again. "Okay. Put your hand on my shoulder, I'll put my arm here. Then our other hands just go out to the side like this." He grabbed Sharpay's right hand and held it up. "See? Simple." Sharpay was surprised at how easy it actually was.

He looked into Sharpay's eyes again. "You still feel sick?"

She was not nervous at all anymore. "No, I'm good," she replied. Troy and her talked like they had been friends since kindergarten.

Out on the dance floor, it seemed like it was only them and Sharpay didn't pay any attention to other couples or the music. Troy had his full attention on her, and Sharpay was totally focused on him as well. They were still dancing when the music switched to a fast song.

"Oh, we better stop…you can't dance slow style to fast music," Troy said laughing. "Sharpay, we just danced through two slow songs."

"We did? Oh my gosh!" Sharpay was stunned. "That's funny, considering how nervous I was and how much I hate dancing."

Troy looked into Sharpay's eyes. He looked so good up close. She could read in his eyes that he wanted to say something more. It seemed like he wanted to just hold her, put his hands around her face and kiss her. She closed her eyes for only a few seconds before Troy's voice broke her thought. "So first dance was a success?"

Sharpay moved in closer to Troy and reached her arms through his to give him a hug. She leaned her head gently against his chest, feeling his muscles through his collared shirt. "Success," she said.

…..

August 6, 2010

Youth Day Camp today! So remember how I made a vow to never dance in my life? Yeah, that changed tonight. I danced with Troy Bolton. Through two songs. It was amazing.

My first dance was a "success" as Troy would say. I don't know what is going to happen between me and him, but I am glad he was my first dance. Cute. He kept saying "at least one slow song" to me every time I saw him. And we danced through two. I am just so happy right now.

Troy is a great guy. I wish I hadn't treated him like dirt when he first came here. He is so nice and cute. During the dance I couldn't believe how great his body looked: his muscles were formed perfectly and his tan was a perfect shade. His eyes just make me crazy when he looks at me and smiles. I hope that he will take me on a date now that we are both "dateable".

Anyway, I am super happy. Before I left today, my mom told me that whatever choice I made about the dance I would be happy with. I don't think I would've been if I hadn't danced with Troy. I would've never known how to dance, and I wouldn't have known it's not as stupid or scary as I thought it would be. I also wouldn't be friends with Troy and THAT would be, well, as Troy would say: "a failure." I'm glad I followed Troy's advice and danced at least one slow song. What a change of heart, huh?

Sharpay set her pen down and looked up, just remembering how it felt to be physically so close to Troy.

Then her phone buzzed. It was her friend Laura.

Laura: I just heard what happened…are you okay, Shar?

Sharpay drew her eyebrows together in confusion.

Sharpay: What?

Her phone buzzed not even five seconds later. She opened the text message and read it. And when she read it, she could not believe what she was reading.