That evening, Troy rang the doorbell at Gabriella's house. When the door opened, it was not Gabriella he came to face with. It was her mother.

"Who are you?" Maria asked.

"I'm Troy Bolton," he said, holding out his hand.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Gabriella called," Troy said. "She said she had my sweater."

"Oh, well –" Maria began.

"Troy!" another voice said and Gabriella appeared. "Hey. Come on in. I'll get your sweater."

"Thanks," Troy said as Maria stepped aside and he entered.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Troy," Maria said.

"It's nice to meet you, too," Troy said. "Are you going somewhere?" He pointed to the suitcases which stood in the hallway.

"Yes, actually," Maria said. "I'm going to Paris for a couple of weeks on business."

"My sister is a big fan of your designs," Troy said.

"It's always nice to be appreciated," Maria said just as a car honked outside. "Where is Gabriella? I have to go now."

"Shall I carry your bags to the car?" Troy offered.

"Thank you," Maria said and Troy grabbed the bags and headed out. "Gabriella! My ride is here. I have to go."

"I'm coming," came Gabriella's reply.

Maria waited for Gabriella for another minute before walking out of the house.

"Ms. Montez," Troy said following her. "Maybe you should wait to say goodbye to Gabriella."

"You don't tell me what to do," Maria said. "I called her and she didn't come."

"Maybe you could've gone to her," Troy said as she got into the car.

"Goodbye, Troy," Maria said and slammed the car's door shut.

"Hey, wait a second," Troy yelled as the car drove away.

"Mom!" Gabriella called as she ran downstairs, carrying a frame with flowers around it in her hand.

"Ella," Troy said.

"She left?" Gabriella asked.

"I'm sorry," he said walking over to her. "I tried to stop her."

"I just wanted to give her this," Gabriella said, holding up the frame. "One of the flowers came off and I pasted it."

"Maybe you can give it to her when she comes back," Troy said.

"No," Gabriella said, pushing the frame into Troy's hands. "I don't want to. I don't want to see this again, either."

Then, she ran upstairs. Troy sighed knowing how hurt Gabriella was. He looked at the frame. It had a picture of Gabriella, Maria and another girl, who Troy took to be Gabriella's sister. He set it on the mantelpiece before going upstairs. He knocked on the door.

"Ella," he called. "Are you okay?"

There was no answer. Troy opened the door and walked in. Gabriella was standing out on the balcony. Her shoulders were shaking and Troy realized that she was crying. He hurried over to her and wrapped his arms around her in a hug.

"It's okay," he said. "Don't cry, Ella."

Gabriella nodded and wiped her tears away. "I'm sorry," she said.

"You don't have to be sorry," he said. "If anyone has to be sorry, it's your mother. Not you."

"I would just like to be left alone," she said.

"Okay," Troy said, quickly. "I'll go. Give me a call if you need anything, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed.

"Should I come by tomorrow?" he asked.

"I'm going out with my friends," Gabriella said. "I'll see you at school on Monday."

"Bye, Ella," Troy said, giving her a kiss on her forehead.

"Bye," Gabriella said, softly as he left.

A/N Hey, guys. I'm really sorry for the late update. My laptop's broken!!! Anyways, leave a review.