Gabriella sits down at the lunch table slowly. Her eyes were glued on the cafeteria door as if trying to make them open up just by staring. She sighs as the noise of the huge room was filling her ears, with people talking and laughing and probably arguing. At her own table, Sharpay and Zeke were sitting there flirting with each other, while Jason and Kelsi were talking with Gabriella and Taylor. There were three empty seats at the table, which people around them were eying to see if they could snag a spot at, but then realized their golden boy along with his best guy friend weren't there yet, so they didn't bother to make a move.

Lunch had just started on the second day of school. The day was so much more relaxed then the day before, which Gabriella was thankful for. She had gone back to wearing a black loose cami with a gray short sleeved zip up sweatshirt and jeans. She felt so much better just by wearing that instead of what Sharpay picked out for her yesterday. It was almost as though just her clothes made her in a slightly better mood. "She's in my calc class." Gabriella hears Kelsi say, ripping her eyes away from the door for a moment since it didn't seem like Troy had gotten out of his class yet. They had all just sat down and she was pretty sure he was coming from gym, so it could take a little longer.

"Who?" Sharpay asks finally ripping her eyes off of Zeke to look at the small girl.

"Olivia." Gabriella does her best not to narrow her eyes at the name. She hadn't met her yet, since yesterday it seemed that she was sitting with Julia at lunch, even though she saw Troy sneak glances at her the whole time. It made her sick. She was also in choir with Gabriella, which was right after lunch, but was positive that the girl had no idea who she was. Why would she?

"She's in my English class with Zeke." Taylor says while nodding at the dark boy who was just starting to open his lunch now. "I met her then. She seems nice." Gabriella shoots her an evil look. Taylor rolls her eyes. "What? She is! And you haven't even met her yet."

Gabriella rolls her eyes and grabs the rubber band on her wrist and begins snapping. "Thanks Tay, I'm so glad you're supportive of this."

It was Sharpay's turn to roll her eyes. "Come on Gabs. You know how Troy is. He'll be over her in like… three days."

Everyone at the table knew that wasn't true, and Gabriella knew that they were just trying to be nice. But suddenly, her eyes look up to see that the cafeteria doors had just opened. Her breath becomes caught in her throat as she looks to see the Wildcat's golden boy was smirking as he walks into the cafeteria. He looked incredible in his orange shirt and jeans. But her smile suddenly drops as she sees the thin, beautiful girl walk up next to him with Chad on his other side. The lunch table suddenly all looks at Gabriella to see that her expression was hurt, but they had no idea how much it was killing her staring at them.

His piercing blue eyes lock on hers and she suddenly feels her heart break even further. His smile grows huge, but Gabriella had to look away. The three of them walk over and Chad takes a seat next to Taylor who was sitting next to Gabriella, while Troy sits down on his other side and Olivia stands, looking a little awkward. "Hey guys." Troy says in his perfect voice that Gabriella loved. "Liv is gonna sit with us."

Liv? LIV? He had a nickname for her already? Gabriella feels her hands clench the bottom of her seat, feeling her knuckles turn white. How could he have a nickname for her already? But she tries to take deep breaths to calm herself down. "Hey Olivia." Zeke says, his friendly side showing through. She sits down with a sweet smile.

"Hi." She says somewhat shyly as Gabriella tries not to roll her eyes. This girl sounded way too sweet for her liking. Why couldn't Troy have picked a bitch to fall for, so then Gabriella could have reasons to hate her?

Troy's eyes lock on Gabriella for a moment. She feels the familiar turning sensation in her stomach as he grins slightly at her. "Uh… have you two met?" Troy asks while Olivia's chocolate brown eyes meet Gabriella's deep ones. She watches as another sweet smile plays on her perfect lips as Gabriella looks her up and down. She was gorgeous, so much thinner than Gabriella herself was which made her stomach flip in anger. "Gab, this is Olivia Walker. We met at a party while you were gone." He says as her smile grows brighter. Gabriella tries to force a smile on her lips. "Liv, this is my best friend, Gabriella Montez."

It seemed the entire lunch table was silent and intent on watching how the scene played out before them. Gabriella could feel all eyes were on her, especially the pair of piercing blue that she loved so much. "It's nice to meet you." Gabriella says in a quiet voice, while watching as Troy's smile grows brighter at her acceptance of the girl.

Olivia's smile grows brightly. "And it's amazing to finally meet you. I've heard so much."

Gabriella's eyebrows rise as she glances at her best friend. "Really?" She asks, feeling the butterflies in her stomach calm a little at the sound that Troy had talked about her while she was gone.

"Yeah… Troy says you guys are really close." She says and Gabriella's smile falls a little. That sounded like what someone would say in a movie when their girlfriend was being introduced to another friend.

"They are." Sharpay chimes in and Gabriella's head whips around to look at her, grinning slightly. "Closer than close." She says and Gabriella hears Taylor giggle beside her. She always knew she liked Sharpay for something. "They're all each other has."

Troy rolls his eyes. "Thanks for the commentary Shar."

"Hey, I'm just telling it like it is." She says while smiling at Olivia. Gabriella was thankful that it seemed Sharpay agreed with her that Troy shouldn't be with her. She knew that the rest of the gang wanted them together as well, but Sharpay was just more vocal about it.

"So, what's Salt Lake City like?" He asks while opening up the brown lunch bag that was sitting in front of him and takes out a sandwich. So Olivia was from Utah. It was now Gabriella least favorite state.

"It's nice… I hear the weather's nicer here though. But skiing is always fun in the winter." She says with her sweet smile that Gabriella really wanted to shove right back up her ass.

The gang starts eating and talking while Gabriella glances disgustingly at her own ugly brown bag. Her stomach was knotting up, telling her that it didn't want anything to eat, and if she did, she would just add to her flaws as it would sit in her stomach, growing stick fat on her body. Her hand reaches down and begins to reflexively snap her wrist, pulling herself out of this trance. The deep brown eyes look up to see that Olivia was laughing at something Troy had just said, along with the rest of the gang. She could see the brunette's perfectly formed face, and how gorgeous she was. No wonder Troy liked her.

"Gabs… come on. Eat something." She hears a low voice enter her ear as Taylor nudges her back.

"I know I know." Gabriella shakes her head as she finally opens her brown bag, looking at the food disgustingly before taking a bite of her apple. Her throat closes up, almost forcing her not to swallow, but she does reluctantly. Her eyes look up to see that a pair of drowning blue was staring at her. She sighs as they seem to be talking with each other's eyes. He was staring at her with understanding, but with almost a look that seemed to bring her confidence back that she could do this. Gabriella takes another bite of the apple while his lips form a smile, which gets her though eating the rest of her apple and sandwich, along with a small bag of carrots.

Another victory over her mind down. That was worth celebrating until the next time she had to eat in the war that was always going on inside her.


Troy could feel sweat run down the sides of his face and bare chest as he lifts one foot up after the other. His mind couldn't seem to get away from the thoughts of the brunette. She was so amazing, incredible to him. Even though they had only known each other for three weeks, he seemed to connect with her so well. And she was so beautiful. Her hair, her eyes, everything about her. He couldn't help but just want to run his hands all over her.

The overcast light felt good instead of the usually blazing Albuquerque sun while he was running. So much was on his mind and it was only the end of the second day of school. And most of it had to do with Olivia. He couldn't even describe how much he liked being around her. Rumors were already flying around school about how the new girl was already stealing away the golden boy's heart, but what he wasn't aware of were the whispers behind his back about how the new girl was actually stealing away the golden boy's heart from his best friend.

His feet suddenly turn him down a street that was so familiar to him; he didn't even realize he had turned down it. His eyes reflexively count five from the end when he suddenly finds himself staring at a white, somewhat large house. His feet suddenly stop, whether his mind wanted to or not as he pants a little from being out of breath. They then carry him up the small driveway until he makes his way towards the white fence that separated the front yard from the back. After making it through, he works his way about the willow tree that hung low until he reaches the back. There was a wooden fence that held some sort of dying plant, but Troy knew that the only reason it was there was because the girl who lived there pretended that she wanted the plant to grow to her parents, but in all actuality it was really just a ladder for him.

Once climbing up the fence and swinging his legs over the balcony, he walks over to the two glass doors. He smiles as he could see a thin figure standing there in just a pink sports bra and black shorts. It was one of Troy's favorite things about surprising her up here, because usually he got to see her body in ways that most normal people didn't.

He opens one of the screen doors and watches as the girl spins around in shock. Her hair was completely down and in tight curls, but that wasn't what drew Troy's attention. There was a small silver metal object on her flat stomach around slightly red skin that wasn't there four weeks ago. "Troy! It's called knocking!" She says while grabbing a zip up black sweatshirt that was sitting on her bed. "One of these days you're gonna come in and I'm gonna be naked." She says angrily while zipping up the sweatshirt. Troy rolls his eyes and walks over to her.

"Then I'm gonna be lucky that day." He says while Gabriella rolls her eyes. But he keeps walking closer to her. "What the hell was that?" He asks while pointing to her stomach that was now hidden behind the sweatshirt.

Gabriella runs a hand through her long hair as she looks up into his piercing blue eyes with her deep brown. Troy smiles down at her as she shrugs. "What was what?" He stops in front of her and grabs the zipper. "Troy don't." She says while slapping his hand away. He knew he was going to get that reaction, but there was hope that maybe, just maybe she would be on a good day.

"Gab… come on." He says while staring into her eyes. He didn't have to say anything, but he was trying to convince her through his own eyes. He leans closer to her and drops his voice. "It's just me." He says, pleading with her. It was a way he tried to help her. Usually, if he could get her to do things around him, then sometimes she would open up a little more to the rest of the world.

Gabriella sucks in a deep breath as Troy could see her eyes were staring intently at his. But she swallows as he backs up towards her purple bed that had white pillars to it as he sits down. A smile plays on his lips as she walks towards him and nods. Her small fingers touch the zipper and plays with it. "Fine. But just a peak."

He nods as she pulls the zipper down a little more. Troy swallows as his male instincts kick in. He suddenly feels himself twitch a little and stiffen as she pulls further, revealing bare skin. Troy doesn't even bother to think it was weird that he was getting turned on by his best friend. Sure, he didn't like her like that, but there were moments like this where Troy looked up at her and didn't see the five year-old he used to play with. He'd look up into her gorgeous deep brown eyes, like he was doing right now, and see a very sexy woman, one that he would have killed to run his hands up and down. But Troy knew that was just the effect Gabriella had on guys. She was the hottest girl in the junior class, there was no denying that. She just never showed her gorgeous body off because she still thought it was a far thing from gorgeous.

Gabriella finally pulls the zipper down so you could barely see the small silver ball on her belly button. Troy smirks as his hand grabs her rough one that still had the zipper on it. It may have been his imagination, but he could have sworn he heard her grasp a little at his touch. He could feel himself completely hard now as he pulls the zipper down all the way and watches as the two halves split apart. His warm hand gently lifts up and touches the smooth surface of her flat stomach, while gently running his fingers over the belly button ring. In that moment, he had completely forgotten about Olivia as he smiles slightly, thinking about what it would feel like to run his hand further north up Gabriella's body and touch her chest.

But as quickly as it happened, Gabriella takes a step back and then zips up the sweatshirt again. Troy shakes his head, bringing himself out of the trance he was in and looks up at her. Her face was the color a tomato as she looks down at him. Troy tries to shake of the feeling, but still couldn't help but think about her sexually. But that was natural, wasn't it?

"So… is that what you did in Frisco?" He asks while finally standing up from her bed as her breathing now normal. "When Tay got her tattoo?"

She nods slowly. "I know it's not a big deal or anything, but I just wanted to do it."

It was a huge deal for Gabriella though, and Troy knew that. It was something she did for herself. Sure, a lot of girls got their belly button pierced, but to him it meant so much more that she did it. To him, it seemed like a step forward for her. Since she did it, which meant deep down, subconsciously maybe, she was comfortable enough to let people see it. It was defiantly a step forward in the right direction, and Troy was ecstatic for her. "It maybe not be a big deal, but it's so sexy. And I swear I'm not just saying that."

He always made compliments to her like this, like saying she was hot or beautiful or something like that. He tended to stay away from sexy when he was serious though, but this time he was dead serious. She flashes him a smile. "Thanks Troy." She says while then sitting on the bed. He walks over and sits next to her, still feeling that he was still hard and was trying his best to calm himself down. It was evident through his basketball shorts he was wearing, but if Gabriella noticed, she didn't say anything. "So… why didn't you tell me about her?"

Troy suddenly remembers the girl that had been on his mind for awhile now. He looks at Gabriella who had somewhat of a hurt expression on her face, but Troy just figures that was because he didn't tell her. "About who?" Troy tries to play dumb as Gabriella hits him on the back of the head. "Ow!"

"Olivia!" She says and Troy rubs the back of head at the impact point, since that actually sort of hurt. "You meet someone and you don't even tell me about her? Thanks." She says, he could tell there was a slight seriousness in her voice, yet it was meant to come across as a joke.

"Sorry. I just didn't know how you'd take it." He says honestly as Gabriella sighs and nods. "And then I was gonna tell you at the party, but it slipped my mind seeing you again." He says honestly again.

"She seems…err… nice." She says slowly and Troy nods, with a small smile playing on his lips at the thought of those gorgeous chocolate eyes and that amazing body.

"Yeah… she is." He says while watching her as she looks down at the floor. "She's a lot like you actually."

This was true. Troy saw a lot of similarities between Olivia and Gabriella. Except Olivia was shy, while Gabriella was out going. But they were both really nice, caring, passionate, and a lot of other things. Gabriella looks up at him and makes eye contact. "She's not fucked up though huh?"

Troy sighs as he shakes his head and places a hand on her small arm. "We've been over this. You're not fucked up." He says with concern laced with his voice. With most girls, he would have thought that this was just a fish for a compliment, but he knew that Gabriella truly believed this. "We're just taking it day by day remember?"

Gabriella sighs, obviously not wanting to talk about that touchy subject right now. "So… she's in gym with you?" She asks as Troy smiles again.

"Yeah… I get to see her hot ass legs." He says with a smirk as Gabriella hits his arm.

"I'm a girl Troy; I don't wanna listen to that." She says as he rolls his eyes.

"Bullshit. Do you know how many times I have to listen to you complain about your period or cramps? Don't even talk Montez." He says while Gabriella giggles a little as he nudges her with his elbow playfully. That was one of the things about her that he loved. They could go from a completely serious topic and make jokes after, or vise versa. She was just the easiest person to talk to in the world, and Troy wouldn't trade her for anything.

"Ok… ok you win." She says while getting up from the bed and her small figure walks towards the door. "I'm thirsty."

Troy smiles as he looks up at her. She was getting better that was for sure. Fewer than ten months ago she would have never let him see that part of her. She wasn't totally cured, and Troy didn't expect her to be. She still never wore tight clothing, and Troy knew that every meal for her was a challenge, especially when she was stressed out. Since she had gone into a pattern of not eating at all, he knew her body wanted to rebel against her when she ate currently. But her confidence was boosting a little, although Troy knew that the little voice inside her head still called her fat and when she ate it said she was loosing control, but she was learning to ignore it, which he was proud of her for.

She opens the door and Troy finally stands up from the bed again and follows her out. He was still only wearing basketball shorts, but was thankful that he was no longer hard. His feet follow hers as she walks down the steps and into the kitchen. "Dad? Are you here?"

Troy glances at her and gives her a dirty look as if to tell her to shut up. But she smiles innocently at him as he hears footsteps in the family room and then suddenly sees the tall man standing up while looking at Troy and his daughter.

"Troy. I didn't even know you were here." He says slowly while looking at the teenage up and down. Troy suddenly desperately wishes that he had worn a shirt running.

"Uh… yeah I was just running, and I was in the neighborhood…" He says while scratching the back of his neck. Gabriella giggles a little as she looks between the two guys and Troy shoots her another dirty look.

"I didn't hear you come in before." Mr. Montez states while Troy looks at Gabriella nervously.

"I… uh…"

"I let him in Daddy." She says while smiling. Gabriella walks to the refrigerator and grabs the pitcher of water. She then grabs two cups and pours while she looked at her dad.

"Really?" He asks while glancing at the window towards the backyard. He then turns back to Troy who was still feeling extremely awkward right now. "I'm thinking it's time we take down that vine fence." He says while pointing over his shoulder. Troy's eyes grow wide as he looks at Gabriella, who doesn't make any movement that anything would be wrong. They both knew that Mr. Montez knew what it was really for, but as long as they could avoid talking about it, it usually never came up in conversations. "The flowers aren't growing anymore and it's just a… hassle now." He says while looking at Troy.

Gabriella doesn't make any indication that there was another use for it. Troy assumes that she had gotten so good at lying to her parents last year that it was easy for her, while with him, she knew it was more difficult. "I guess if you want to. But it's so pretty Dad. I'd hate to waste it." She says while staring at her father and grabbing the two cups of water.

Mr. Montez sighs as he glances at Troy. "I haven't decided yet." He says while Troy looks back to see that Gabriella was walking towards him.

"Here take this." She says and while holding out a glass. She then turns back to her father. "We'll be on the porch if you need us." She says while grabbing Troy's wrist.

"Uh… it was nice seeing you Mr. Montez." Troy says while Jose looks at him.

"As well Troy." He says in a somewhat annoyed tone while Gabriella drags him out of the kitchen. They walk outside and she sits down on the front step to her house while taking a sip of water.

"He used to like me!" Troy exclaims while taking a seat next to her. She giggles beside him and he sighs. "What did I do?"

"You turned into a teenage boy." Gabriella says while Troy rolls his eyes.

"He's liked your boyfriends! And they all try to screw you!" He exclaims while Gabriella rolls her eyes.

"Don't ask me." She says. "And he does like you. I swear he does."

Troy raises his eyebrows. "He has a fucked up way of showing it."

Gabriella giggles. Troy had absolutely no idea that the real reason Mr. Montez was more hostel towards him then the other guys Gabriella brought over was because he was the only really big threat to take his daughter away from him. It was a fatherly instinct, but Troy had no idea that was the reason.

Gabriella looks up at him and smiles. "So… next weekend I have a session. Are you still taking me?."

Troy smiles a little. Gabriella had therapist meetings regularly once a month. When she was first diagnosed, she had to go everyday after school, and Troy went with her. Now that she was doing better, they moved it to once a month, unless she would have a breakdown or something. But it was almost like a tradition that Troy would take her, just to show her how much he cared about her. "Wouldn't miss it. And I'll take you out to ice cream after too, just cuz I like you." He says while she looks straight ahead with a small smile on her face.

"If I feel up to it." She says while glancing at him.

Troy sighs as he wraps an arm around her shoulder and nods. Just one day at a time, it was all he could ask for.


A/N: I said this story would be a lot heavier. Thanks so much for giving this story a chance. You reading and you're reviews are amazing. Thanks so much!