Originally I had intended for this story to be a one-shot but as I looked over it I definitely saw some chapter story potential. So please read through it and if you want me to continue it please let me know. Thanks.

Elements of confusion and surprise wormed and twisted their way through the halls of East High. Something out of the ordinary was heading towards the students in the left wing of the school. They didn't know it yet but an ominous force was about to permeate their lives, if only for a few minutes. Those students were sure to be mystified and it was probable that some of them would be caught in the backlash. If possible those students should have packed their bags and left the school as soon as was humanly possible. Rumors and gossips floated along in sentences behind these warnings.

Troy Bolton had cheated on Gabriella Montez. And they were both headed this way.

Gabriella stormed down the center of the hallway gripping her books so tightly that her knuckles had turned white, not caring enough to notice that she was forcing students to shoot out of her way. Not that any one of them was going to stop her. They could feel the waves of fury that rolled off of her. They could see the scowl that had twisted her generally delicate features. The normally sweet, even tempered Gabriella had become nothing short of a force of nature.

"Gabriella! Will you stop for one second?!" Paces behind her Troy followed the brunette occasionally reaching out a hand as if to grab her shoulder. Though there were still traces of confusion and anguish in his face, Troy's expression was quickly becoming irritated. Sporadically he would shoot a look of sympathy to someone Gabriella had nearly run over or a grimace when he passed one of his friends. It was obvious to any of the spectators watching that Troy Bolton was about to become single.

Gabriella slammed into her locker; she was so lost in her rage that she had stormed right by it. Violently she spun the lock to form the right combination and swung the door open, letting it crash noisily into the adjacent locker. Troy caught up to her and leaned against another locker. He allowed himself to glance at his fuming companion and an involuntary sigh escaped his lips.

"Look, Gabriella I know you're mad at me but- Hey!" The brunette had dropped her bulky history textbook in the exact place that Troy's foot had been seconds before. It connected with the ground with a dull thunk, a sound that assured the basket ball captain that he would have been limping for the next week if not for his toned reflexes.

"So sorry." She hissed in a way that made it clear that Gabriella was only sorry that the missile had missed its target.

Gabriella angrily shoved assorted text books and binders into her bag. She hoped that she had grabbed the right ones, although she sincerely doubted that she would be doing any homework that later night. She slammed her locker closed again, twisted the lock until it clicked shut and stalked away without looking once at Troy.



"Gabriella!" Troy called after her and again he was chasing her down the hall. He had never seen Gabriella react this way before. He had never even seen her as angry as she was in his life. The worst part though, was that although Troy still didn't have a complete grasp on what he had done to make her react in this way, he knew that it was entirely his fault.

Gabriella couldn't honestly remember being as angry as she was at the moment in her life. She knew that she had been angry when Sharpay had done her best to break her and Troy up. As hard as she tried though Gabriella couldn't find that anger at the moment. She tried to tell herself it was because she was so mad at Troy that she couldn't find any more anger inside herself. But Gabriella had never been one to delude herself and she knew that it was because at that moment she dearly wished that Sharpay had succeeded.

They needed to talk, that much Troy knew. He wasn't sure exactly why Gabriella was so mad at him, although he was quite capable of guessing correctly. Still Troy wanted to hear from Gabriella the reason why she was so mad at him before he started throwing ideas out there. After all God knew that Troy didn't need her to be any angrier at him than she already was. So he said the one thing that he knew would send her over the edge in an effort to discover where Gabriella's anger had come from.

"What the hell is your problem?" Troy stopped walking and stood in the middle of the hallway with his arms half raised in a questioning manner. As he had anticipated Gabriella stopped walking away from him. Instead she turned around stalked back until she was standing less than a foot away.

"My problem? Troy, you are my problem. Because apparently my boyfriend doesn't love me. Apparently I'm not enough for him!" Gabriella was yelling by the end of her tirade. The same Gabriella who was shy, sweet, and easy-going was now drawing more attention to herself than she ever had before. She didn't notice though because she was too busy waiting for the excuse she already knew was coming. She had ears, she had heard the gossip, and Gabriella only wanted to know how much of it was true.

"I was drunk Gabriella! It meant nothing! She meant nothing! I don't even know her name!" Troy did his best not to draw any more attention to the argument, whispering his part quietly enough that only Gabriella could hear him. Still his words carried the same fierceness that Gabriella's yell had.

"And you think that makes it okay? Troy you never should have been drinking in the first place!" Gabriella's words had quieted and she had taken on a defeated tone. It was as if she knew the argument was over and was waiting for one of them to make the final decision.



"I know that Gabriella, I do. What can I say though? I already know that we're over." Troy had successfully guided them out to the middle of the crowded hallway and into a secluded corner. He stood as far away from her as possible as if getting used to the idea that they no longer belonged together. They were no longer two halves of whole but rather two puzzle pieces that had seemed like they were going to fit together but in the end hadn't.

"Is that what you want?" She asked simply.

"No, but it's what's right. Will you ever trust me again?" He asked already knowing the answer. Gabriella didn't even have to respond verbally, the way she looked to the ground instead of in his eyes was enough for Troy. He knew he had made the right decision. Maybe not right for him, but it was undeniable right for her.

"You know that if we break up it's over for good. I won't go out with you again." She said.

Troy nodded, he knew about her rule. Gabriella was not into the break-up make-up scene. She felt that if a relationship ended there was a reason. If a couple had so many problems that they ended their relationship then there was no use getting back together. She had seen firsthand that they didn't work any better the second time around.

"I know."

Gabriella simply nodded and walked away at his answer. Numbly she walked through the hallway and out of the school. Mechanically she climbed the few stairs to enter her bus and sat in the seat across from Taylor. Gabriella pursed her lips together and reminded herself not to cry. She was still in public and knew how important it was to keep an impassive mask on her face. If people knew how she really felt the pity would come and Gabriella had no use for pity. She'd gotten her fill of pity long before.

"So…?" Taylor asked tentatively. She was no idiot, Taylor was well aware of what had happened but Gabriella was not the first recently single female she knew. Her sister had gone through many break-ups before. It was always better if the other person started talking first.

"We're over." Gabriella answered still on auto pilot, "No, I don't want to talk about it."

"You will though. So call me okay?" Generally Taylor would have hugged the person she was talking to at this time but she knew Gabriella too well. The pain was raw and Gabriella would rather bury it for the time being. The time for talking, hugs, and trash talking would come later. Right now all she could do was watch from afar and make sure Troy avoided Gabriella for the time being. Taylor hated to think about the effects that that encounter could have.



The rest of the bus ride passed slowly, Gabriella stared out the window of the bus watching the trees and houses speed by. Again and again she ran through the conversation trying to find the exact point that things had gone wrong, had gone downhill. On some level Gabriella assumed that she had known that they were going to break-up. Still it hadn't felt real until Troy had said those words. Now though, everything just felt surreal. She was sure that when she looked back someday it would seem like she had overreacted but Gabriella didn't know when she'd be able to think back to this day without feeling such intense pain.

She unconsciously exited the bus at her stop and dazedly walked the short distance back to her house. Gabriella knew that her mom wouldn't be home just yet, she rarely left work on time let alone came home early. This fact, she calculated, gave her around three hours to compose herself before facing any more human contact.

Gabriella unlocked the front door, entered her house and relocked the door once again. Quietly she deposited her bag in the laundry room, kicked off her shoes, and headed upstairs. Upon entering her room Gabriella threw herself on her bed and promptly broke down in tears. She sobbed for the next two and a half hours.

Gabriella Montez had finally reached her breaking point.

One-shot? More chapters? Throw it in the trash? Please let me know what you think. Again thanks. :)