A/N: I don't own HSM... This is my first story... I hope you like it!
She leaned in, intoxicated by his smell. Her eyes took in his deep brown, as they fluttered closed, and her rosy painted lips parted in anticipation. Their lips began a slow dance that was new and unfamiliar, which confused her. She could see his piercing eyes in her mind, the ocean blue she loved, tinged with sadness. She slowly pulled back, and opened her eyes, again locking onto the sparkling chocolate brown. Wait, brown? Gabriella knew that wasn't right.
"What's wrong?" asked a high pitched voice. What happened to the smooth silky tone she knew off by heart? Gabriella's stomach churned in dread, and she finally broke contact with the eyes, and took in the rest of her companion. She blinked a few times to clear her hazy vision. Her heart stopped as she stared in horror at the thin sallow boy in front of her. His pasty skin contrasted with his bright pink shirt, and his blonde hair lay flat on his head, under a glittery hat. This was all wrong. Instead of her Troy, she was staring at one of her best friends, who had a concerned look on his face.
"Ryan?" she whispered, afraid that if she said his name aloud that it would all be true. But Gabriella could not wake up from this nightmare. She couldn't believe what had happened.
There was no doubt that Ryan and Gabriella had grown really close over the summer. She found herself calling him, and going over to his house whenever Troy couldn't make it to their dates. She hadn't noticed then, but he was slowly taking the place of her absentee boyfriend. When she broke up with Troy, she cried in her room for an hour before she called Ryan. It was then that she knew that he meant more to her than even Taylor. But Troy had come around, and done the right thing in the end. After she sang with him at the talent show they spent a week talking about everything, their hopes and dreams for the future, and the importance of their relationship. It hadn't been easy, but they had worked it out, and she had forgiven him. Everything was going great until Troy discovered Ryan was now a permanent part of her life. In fact, it was a huge argument, possibly the biggest one they had had in their whole relationship.
"I don't want you alone with him," Troy pleaded.
"He's my friend Troy, he's a part of this group. Just like Chad, Jason or Zeke. Would you have a problem if I was hanging out alone with any of them?" Gabriella retorted. She couldn't understand why Troy was behaving like this, especially since she had just forgiven him.
"Gabi, it's not like Chad or Jason or Zeke. They are my best friends, and anyway, they have girlfriends. I don't trust Ryan. "
Gabriella looked up into the stormy blue eyes of her boyfriend in disbelief. He doesn't trust Ryan? After what they just went through Gabriella couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"You don't trust Ryan? Or is it that you don't trust me?" Gabriella snapped.
"Gabi, it's not like that. It's just..." Troy quickly attempted to cover.
"You know what Troy? That's just great. Because, after this summer, I'm the one who can't trust you." She felt a pang of guilt as she saw Troy's eyes shut in pain, but she was too incensed to stop now. "While you were off securing your future, at any cost, Ryan was there for me. He was there for all of us. Now I know we're trying to move past that, and I have forgiven you, but you can't just expect everything to go back to the way it was. Ryan was there for the guys when you bailed on them for the baseball game. He was there for us when you left us without a lead for the talent show. And most importantly, he was there for me when you weren't." Unable to take it anymore, Gabriella dissolved into tears. "Whether you like it or not, Ryan is a part of the group now, because you weren't this summer." Troy hung his head in shame and Gabriella knew she had hit him where it hurt. She loved Troy so much, but she just couldn't let this one go. Ryan had helped her through so much; she couldn't just forget him now that Troy was back.
Troy looked at her with tears in his eyes. "Gabriella, I will never forgive myself for the way I treated you. Future or no future, there's no excuse for acting like such a jerk. And I know Ryan filled my place with our friends, the place I left open. I get it. That's why I don't tell Chad or Jason or Zeke to stop hanging out with him. But this is different Gabi. He doesn't just want to be your friend. I've seen the way he looks at you. Let him take my place as a friend, teammate, or musical lead, but please don't let him take my place as your boyfriend."
"Troy, you don't know what you're saying. I love you, and I know you love me. But he is my best friend, and I will hang out with him whenever or wherever we want," Gabriella stated firmly, as she felt her resolve building again. She gathered her purse and coat, and stood up to leave.
"But Gabi," Troy started as he rose.
"No buts Troy. I've heard enough. You can't tell me who I can or cannot see. Not now, not after this summer." With that she slammed his front door, and left him alone.
Troy had apologised and had genuinely tried to get along with Ryan. They had overcome another obstacle in their relationship, or so she thought. When she told him about this party, he had brought it up again. He had said crazy things about Ryan being in love with her, and how he didn't like her going to a party where she didn't know anyone else. It had made her angry, and so he had relented, not wanting to fight. As she looked back on her outrage, that her boyfriend did not trust her enough to hang out with her friend at his cousin's 21st birthday party, her heart sank, realising that she had proven him right.
"Gabriella? What's wrong?" Ryan repeated. "Are you ok? Do you want to sit down? It's quite crowded here." Gabriella barely noticed the other bodies compressed together on the tiny dance floor, but she nodded weakly, and followed as he led her back to their table. The sorrowful azure eyes popped into her head again as she began running through her options in her mind. However, even though she was extremely emotional, Gabriella's computerised brain knew there was only one logical answer. She had to tell him. But how? She felt Ryan slow down, and she matched his pace. Her dread grew as her thoughts drifted towards her friend.
Ryan. Ryan, who was there for her, when she needed someone the most. She would be hurting him too. She could sense through his concern for her current state, that he was truly excited about their kiss. How could she explain it to him that it was Troy she was thinking of? It was Troy that she really loved.
Her head was pounding as she felt Ryan's hand on her back as he guided her to the foyer of the club, where it was quieter. The cool breeze floating through the open door calmed her, albeit just for a second. She knew she had to get out of here.
"Ryan?" she whispered as she turned to face his concerned face. "I think I want to go home." She couldn't bear it anymore.
"Of course Gabriella, let's go. I just need to tell my cousin." He turned to head back into the throng of people. Gabriella clutched onto the doorframe to support herself. She barely knew what was happening until she felt herself being pulled towards Ryan's convertible. She shut her eyes to block out the thoughts racing through her head, but all she could see were those blue eyes staring back at her, this time in confusion. How could she explain what had happened when she herself didn't quite know. Keeping her eyes closed did stop Ryan from talking to her, and for that she was grateful. The last thing she needed was to be making small talk when she really wanted to wake up from what surely must be a nightmare.
"Gabriella? We're here," Ryan paused, leaning toward her. Gabriella 'woke up', and unfastened her seat belt.
"Uh, thanks for tonight Ryan" she mumbled before mentally slapping herself for implying she had a good time. Before she could make the situation any worse, she bolted towards her front door. Her hazy vision was finally clearing, and her headache was getting better, but the stab of pain in her heart was slowly tearing her to shreds. She forced herself to turn around and smiled weakly at Ryan while waving as he grinned at her enthusiastically before finally driving off. She shook her head at his excitement. What was she going to do?