theplaymaker | Troy not alone in New York

If it had been Ryan, she'd have taken his hand or arm, but she didn't want to freak Troy out so she just smiled and started walking down the hall and stairs, simply walking next to Troy.

"I'm really happy to see you. Even if you coming here is crazy, but I'm sure Chad already told you that."

He didn't object, knowing that she was still just respecting boundaries and he appreciated it. He didn't remove his arm from her shoulders though as he followed her out of the dorm.

"I don't see what's so crazy about it. I was already partway here. Not like there's much going on on the west coast anyway. Tell me about stuff here, that's what I'm interested in."

"You have Disney and Hollywood though, that's pretty cool." Kelsi laughed and shook her head. "It's so embarrassing everyone keeps asking me about it, I still think the greatest thing to do is to hide out somewhere with a piano. But there are some really nice places. Like the place we're going to now. And I just like that you have a bit of everything and everyone here, you know?"

"I haven't been to Disney that much, it's still a far drive." But he was falling into the conversation with ease. "It's pretty cool though, Gabriella and I--" He stopped short, blinking in surprise. Okay, ow, that still hurt to talk about. He just shook his head. "It's a fun place."

He was quick to change the subject then, tilting his head to get a better look at Kelsi. "You can take the girl out of Wildcat country, but you can't take the Wildcat out of the city girl. That doesn't surprise me at all." He looked ahead again. "It's so…big. Like compared to home, I thought home was pretty big and California's huge but this is ridiculous. I can see why everybody wants to come here."

Kelsi looked at him from the side, not commenting on his slip-up, but reaching out to put a hand on his arm and give it a slight squeeze. The upside to being a girl, she didn't have to pretend to be too cool for things like that.

"I know, it's gigantic. I was so lost at first. Scared, too. I'm so lucky Ryan was here, too, I think by myself I'd have just ended up huddled in a corner somewhere."

A tentative grin was enough to let her know he appreciated it, hand massaging her shoulder briefly. This was acceptable. He didn't feel weird about this with Kelsi, he was a lot less awkward knowing she sort of understood he was a mess.

"Ryan's sort of good at dragging people out." The comment was said without much thought, and suddenly he stopped and laughed. "That's. Not really what I meant. But you know what I mean…New York's probably like his back yard. But now look at you showing us tourists around."

"He is, though, that too. But, yes, he had a lot less trouble getting used to it all." Kelsi shrugged and looked at the street, watching the cars go by. "It's a good city for artists, I think. Especially for anyone in musical, of course. Broadway and all that. And you have that energy everywhere."

She shrugged and slowed down as they approached the shop she'd been leading him to. "There you go, frozen yogurt. They have waffles, too."

"Makes sense for you guys to be here then." He was busy taking in all of the sights, trying to make sense of what he was seeing and take it all in. New York and California were vastly different and even though initially he was here to hide, he wanted to get in some good memories.

When she stopped though he looked up at the sign for the shop, peering in the window without really breaking contact with her.

"So if I wanted to get frozen yogurt on top of waffles…could they do that? And better yet you'd be joining me right?"

"Makes sense for you to drop by here, too. If you stay that long, you'll have to come and practice with me. Okay?" Kelsi wasn't actually scheming to have everyone be in New York and obviously the circumstances here were terrible, but she was still glad to have Troy be here.

"They could do that, of course. And yes, I will! Haven't had breakfast yet."

"Sure." The idea actually didn't sound that terrible. The nice thing about UC Berkeley was that he was scratching that itch for the theatre life…not that it was anything compared to East. The people made a world of a difference. "Name a time and place and I'm there."

His eyes lit up a little bit though not only at the idea of a frozen yogurt-topped waffle but also at the idea of having Kelsi's company. "Cool. Let's get food and rub it in Chad's face when he gets out of class. Bastard left this morning without waking me up."

Which was probably because he desperately needed the sleep. He still looked like he needed the sleep truth be told, but he was more functional today.

"New York, Juilliard. We can do just the two of us or some others I'm working with, whatever you prefer. It's so great here, having all these facilities and all that talent, but it's still not the same as East." She grabbed Troy's wrist and pulled him inside. "My treat, by the way."

While standing in line she looked at Troy, inspecting his face as if it would help her read his mind. "How is it for you that Chad figured out so many things away from you?" Brain to mouth filter. Oops, she really needed one.

"...sorry. Thinking out loud."

"Can I see Juilliard?" There was a hint of excitement in his voice. Even though it was a year later and they were sophomores now, he still thought about the "what if" of Juilliard and New York City. When she grabbed him though he didn't resist the tug, following right along. "Not even. I'd be a lousy date if I made the girl pay."

But when they were in line, he didn't say much. Instead he allowed his guard to drop again. He was still pretty pathetic, pretty broken if he was honest with himself, and he hated that description so much. His fingers were flexing inside his pocket like he still had a grip on his phone and he was allowing his eyes to roam but not linger too long.

At the question he focused on Kelsi though. "…smooth, Kelsi." He wasn't too disturbed though, giving her another easy-going grin. "…and I don't know. I'm pretty proud of him but it's…I don't know. I don't know a whole lot right now." He was lacking his own brain to mouth filter, it seemed.

"…sorry. That didn't come out right."

"Think it did, Troy. I think I get it." Kelsi was still watching him, really trying to read his face. It worked less than she'd have liked, but enough to worry her. There wasn't much else she could do though, aside from being there, taking him out to eat frozen yogurt and talk, because she did think he needed to talk.

"It's not easy. I don't know a lot of things, either."

Despite his claims that he wasn't the captain, the fact of the matter was that Troy Bolton was still the alpha dog of the Wildcats. The longer he stood in line with Kelsi though the faster he was starting to crumble and he silently thanked whoever was listening that he wasn't prone to public meltdowns. Instead he just slipped his hands in his pockets, fiddling with his wallet and his keys.

"I think you know a lot. You're a conductor, Kels. You know more about all of us than I think you've ever let on." He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "For example, I know you know more about Ryan Evans than even his own twin does sometimes. You might even know the new Chad better than I do."

"It's not difficult to see more than Sharpay does. She wants to see what she wants to see, not what is actually there." She paused for a moment, worrying her lower lip before continuing. "That's probably the one point where you are similar. Only you always try to see the best in other people, not what'd be best for you."

She shook her head as she continued. "Chad... He hasn't changed that much. He only changed what he had to and then, what he wanted to. All because he figured out who he liked. It's coming together, but he's still the same Chad. Promise."

"She's not that bad," he cut in, once again proving Kelsi's point exactly. "I saw her this summer, she's changed a lot. It's just…hard to see it sometimes." He shrugged again, watching Kelsi a little more closely.

"Not that I don't wish she'd lay off Chad a little. Ryan knows what he's doing…I think." But at that he visibly looked a little more relieved. "Is it dumb that I wasn't really sure? About Chad, not about Ryan. Ryan's exactly the same."

"No, that's not dumb. You thinking that Ryan hasn't changed, that is dumb." Kelsi couldn't help but smile and she'd have said more if they hadn't reached the counter by then and she placed her order, waiting for Troy to follow suit and pay. Such a gentleman, but that was hardly surprising.

He rolled his eyes but he didn't get a chance to argue yet as they approached the counter. On the bright side he didn't have to worry about Kelsi judging him for binge-eating. A stack of waffles with frozen yogurt it was. He grabbed for his wallet and paid with his credit card, tucking everything back in his pockets before indicating they step out of the way to wait for their food.

"What about that is dumb?"

"Do you think you've changed, at least for a while, that summer in Lava Springs, with Sharpay all over you? Now imagine a lifetime of that, only instead of building you up she's holding you down just a bit below herself. Then you get the scholarship to Juilliard instead of her and you're on your own for the first time in your life, no one holding you back, but no one dragging you along, either." Kelsi looked at the toppings being scooped over their yogurt as she talked, shrugging finally and looking back at Troy again.

"In a nutshell."

"Sounds familiar," he remarked as casually as possible, keeping his eyes glued to their food. He was a lot hungrier than he thought he was, but he also couldn't have this conversation looking her in the face. "Having to live up to someone else's plans for you and then getting a chance to break free? I guess you're right, that would change anyone." Even if he didn't like the entire change.

"What about you then?"

Kelsi smiled for a moment, not because it was funny, but because it was working. She didn't really want to bring up Troy's father directly after all, but luckily he seemed to put two and two together very fast. "Me? I don't know about me. I'm just writing."

He definitely got it. He'd tackle the whole thing with his father once he had food but currently he was more interested in Kelsi. "Saying that you're just writing is like saying I'm just playing basketball or Ryan's just acting. It's a huge part of who we are, and that part's always going to constantly change. I guess I just want to know how much."

"I don't know. Writing always feels different, but not because I change. Only depends on what I write. I'm not special the way you are or Ryan is, but I can write and imagine what it'd be like to be anyone doing anything and that's more than enough change." As their food was ready Kelsi stepped forward to take her order, looking around. "Do you wanna keep walking or sit down?"

He was close to telling her to stop telling him he was special, but he shut up again. "It's because you have the biggest imagination out of all of us. You know that. You can create worlds and people and events, and Ryan creates the motions. That's why you two are the artists and the rest of us are the canvas."

He grabbed his food, looking at it briefly before glancing outside.

"Somewhere outside we can sit?

"You make for a very beautiful canvas." Kelsi laughed, then nodded, leading the way back outside. "We could go back to the campus, might make meeting Chad easier." She looked at Troy from the side, then decided to just go for it. "How long are you gonna stay?"

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