Chapter 1 – Lost Puppy
The room was mostly dark, with a few flashing lights here and there. Gabriella pushed her way through clusters of sweaty teenagers, trying to keep her head in place. With trashy music blaring in her ears and the stench of alcohol strong, that was a hard thing to do for a girl who spent most hours with her nose in a book. She couldn't believe she had let Troy convince her to come here, when all he had done was run off anyways. So much for a good Friday night evening with the boy who supposedly loved her. Using her arms to drive at boys who came close, Gabriella scanned the room with her caramel eyes for the familiar figure of Troy. Where was he?
"Gabi!" a familiar voice shouted, and Gabriella instantly shifted her view to the right where it had come from.
There stood Taylor, flashing a smile in Gabriella's direction. A sigh of relief overcame her, and Gabriella pushed through more people, trying to get over to her best friend's location. Finally someone she knew… and maybe she had seen Troy recently.
"Taylor! It's so good to see you. I was just looking around for Troy. Have you seen him?" she asked Taylor, half-smiling.
"Troy? No. But Gabi, I'm glad I found you. Now we can have some fun!" Taylor looked at her, with excitation churning in her eyes. Disappointment flooded over Gabriella, and she stood silently, knowing that Taylor was expecting a response.
"Look, I'd love to stick around, but I was really only here because of Troy. I think I'm just going to head out," she finally replied, motioning an arm towards the front door of the home. Taylor nodded looking discouraged, but gave Gabriella a hug anyways. It felt nice to have caring arms around her, Gabriella thought. Just the wrong arms.
After goodbyes, she turned around and began to head towards to the door, hoping she could slip out without anyone else seeing her. She didn't know if the anger she felt inside was for Troy ditching her, or the fact she had believed him when he told her they'd have fun tonight. Whatever it was, Gabriella decided to let it go and just go to bed for now. There was always a new day tomorrow.
As she got closer to the door, a hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder causing her to shriek. Whipping around to let out a few foul words, Gabriella only managed to muster something along the lines of "asshole" when she saw it was Troy standing there.
"Where you going, Gabriella? The party's only getting started." The way he smiled innocently made her burn in rage even more.
"I'm going home, Troy. That's where. Good to know we spent a lot time together tonight like you promised." Feeling satisfied, Gabriella began to walk again before being stopped once more. What did he want now?
"Hey, I'm really sorry," he beamed, grasping her thin arm, "I got caught up with a few of the guys. But I'm here now."
"No, it's fine. Go have your fun. I'm out," Gabriella scowled, and pulled herself away from him. How dare he even act like everything was perfectly okay. While she wandered around the party like a lost puppy, he was 'caught up with a few of the guys'. Not even turning around to see his expression, Gabriella bounded out of the house as fast as her legs could take her.
Remembering Troy had driven them there, she decided walking a few blocks couldn't hurt her. Gabriella began to list the reasons in her head as to why she was arriving at home so early, knowing her mom would surely ask. The cool air of the night brushed against her burning face, and Gabriella tried to keep in the hot tears that began forming in her eyes. She had never felt so hurt by something that was so small before. Maybe it was the fact that this was her first serious relationship with a boy, and it was already turning out to be a downfall.