A/N: Finally done! lol. chapter 3 is here! hehe. Don't own HSM

Chapter 3 - Different

I went to school that week feeling like a robot. I felt numb, and alone, and depressed. Who could blame me?

I hadn't talked to Johanna since my parents broke the news to me. (Actually, I hadn't talked to anyone except my English teacher once.)

Now, Wednesday evening, I was seriously contemplating sleeping on a bench in the park. Actually, I had packed my overnight things and was sitting on the stairs of the front porch, debating. The fighting was too much to handle. Every night, every day – and then, the worst of it had come when I found out that both my parents were having affairs. (My dad proclaimed to be in love with his secretary, but they hadn't gotten physical yet. My mom …she claimed to have slept with a few guys here and there…)

I wasn't an outdoorsy person. I hated the trees, the bugs, the cold – everything, really. I wasn't usually the type of person to cry; I took my parents' fighting in stride but I had no one to turn to. No one at all.

You know what they say: When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

So hell, I was out of here.

I stood up, my over-stuffed backpack straining against my shoulders, and made my way to the near-deserted park. It was nine o'clock at night, and all the benches were empty. The small pond nearby was completely still and the only sound was an owl hooting in the background. I made myself comfortable (well, as comfortable as I could get), and sat down, my bag sitting at my feet.

I found myself thinking about how long it would take for my parents to notice that I was gone, and if they would notice at all. I doubted the latter part.

The tears started flowing down my face, and I brought my knees up to my chest as I shivered in the cold. When I looked up again to wipe my eyes, there was someone sitting next to me. "Oh, my god," I gasped, clutching a hand over my heart and scooting over to one edge of the bench. I wiped my eyes again, and pinched my arm to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

Troy Bolton smirked. "And so we meet again," He proclaimed dramatically. He sighed loudly. "Will you tell me your name?"

"Are you stalking me, or something?" I shuddered. Sure, I had heard stories about his playboy ways (who hadn't?), but suddenly things started falling into place: the way he seemed to have sex with the entire female population of East High, the way he disappeared during lunch and always left his basketball buddies looking for him…

I sobbed, covering my face with my hands. He was going to kill me, and then stuff me in a brown bag and the police would find my body in twenty years, and they -

And then he laughed. A sound – I suddenly realized – was musical. His blue eyes twinkled as he tried to catch his breath, and with a last chuckle, "Oh, god…no. I was just playing basketball. It's my way to forget the pressure and stress, just playing basketball without anyone looking at me and judging me helps. And then I heard you crying, so I came out here."

We sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments, and I blushed hard at my silly assumption. As if Troy Bolton would stalk me. Oh, God, I'm going insane. Troy Bolton may be obnoxious and a player but, I knew at the back of my mind that he wasn't a stalker.

"I'm Gabriella. I've been in your homeroom for the past…six years, I think," I said finally, breaking the silence.

His eyes widened, and he ran a hand through his bangs. "I remember you. Oh, my god, I remember you, I really do. You were the girl who skipped a grade, and you used to spend lunch in the library before you decided that you preferred eating lunch on the rooftop garden!"

I blushed again. "How did you know that? I thought I was the only one who knew. Well, except for the science club."

"No," He grinned. "Used to be my spot, but when I saw you eating there one day during lunch, I left. You didn't see me. It's totally cool, don't worry about it. I liked the football field better," He winked. "Why are you crying?" He looked at me with a look in his eyes I didn't recognize.

"Personal reasons," I muttered vaguely, avoiding his eyes. Last thing I wanted was for him to go spreading my story through the whole school.

He scooted closer to me, and gently lifted my chin so that I was looking at him. "I promise, I won't tell a soul. It's just, this is, like, the millionth time I've seen you cry this week and you don't strike me as the crying type of person. What's up?"

Somewhere in that speech, I broke down. He moved closer, so he was sitting right beside me and allowed me to rest my head on his shoulder while I spilled my life story, and he nodded. It wasn't a nod like he wanted me to think he was listening. It was a nod that told me he was there for me.

* * *

"…and I always feared my parents would separate but I never really thought it would happen." Gabriella cried into Troy's shoulder.

Somewhere during her story, Troy's arm had wound around her shoulders and Troy didn't plan to stop holding her anytime soon. How anyone could deprive this girl from the attention she deserved and – no matter how much she denied it – craved was beyond Troy. Whilst her parents fought at home, people in school ignored her. If they didn't ignore her, they bullied her. He felt his chest tighten at the realization that he hadn't helped at all. He hadn't noticed her blank expression in any of his classes he shared with her. Which was, he now realised, more or less every one except gym.

"And now Jo is off in New York and I thought it was okay being alone – something I wanted. But," Her lip trembled as a fresh load of tears poured over her cheeks, "It's not. I used to have friends, I swear I did. But, that was before high school. And before the sixth grade."

Troy shifted so that his arm was still wrapped around her but he was facing her. He could tell from her eyes that it was the end of her story and knew that she was silently asking him to be her friend. "I'm so sorry Gabby." He whispered.

She suddenly glared at him furiously, breaking from his hold to move even further away from him. "I don't want your sympathy." She snapped.

"I know that." He said conversationally as he stayed where he was. The last thing he wanted to do was to push her even further away. So, the best thing, he decided, was to let her come to him. "I wasn't offering sympathy. I'm offering something you and I both know you want and need."

She looked across at him and shivered slightly. "I don't need you, Troy."

Troy held his hands up. "I wasn't talking about me, personally. I was talking about my home. Where it's warm and dry and there's always food in the fridge." He paused before he finally moved over to her and grasped her hand. "And I'm there. Me. The guy who has noticed you."

"You forgot I've been in your homeroom since the sixth grade, Troy. And what about Tiara and all those girls? My emotions have been meddled with enough by my own family. Why should I give you the chance to do the same?" She whispered, turning her focus to her lap.

Troy sighed. "Gabby, you're different. I swear I would never hurt you."

"That's what everyone says until they do." She muttered, her fingers still interlocked with his.

"What can I do to make you trust me?" He asked gently, tilting her head to look in her eyes.

"I don't know." She whispered. "Why should I trust you?"

"Because I care about you." He whispered in reply. "I swear I do. I may not know anything about you but I want that to change. I want to know everything about you and protect you. Please, Gabby! Don't stay out here alone."

Gabriella sighed and nodded. "Okay." She whispered. "Why do you call me Gabby?"

"Doesn't everyone call you that? It's kind of the obvious one."

She shook her head. "I'm only ever Gabriella." She suddenly gave him a small smile. "I like it."

"Good." He murmured as he hesitated before he planted a quick kiss on her cheek. "So, um, do you want to come back to my place? I mean, you'll have to cope with my crazy family but, I mean, you were friends with Sharpay for years."

She giggled quietly but sighed. "I don't know, Troy. I mean,"

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, no girl has been in my room before. I promise you. You'll have to sleep in my room tonight because my parents will be in bed and the guest room needs sorting." Troy explained. "But, I'll totally sleep on the floor. It's cool."

She bit her lip thoughtfully and saw the honesty within his eyes. "Troy, I'm fine here."

"You sure?" He asked skeptically. "You don't seem all that into nature."

"What do you mean?" She asked indignantly, tugging on his arm slightly as she waved her hands about. "For your information I love-" She interrupted herself to scream in surprise as she heard an owl hoot in the background and then a flock of birds flew overhead at the sudden disruption.

Troy raised his eyebrows in amusement. "Oh, yeah. I can see that you just love the outdoors. Come on, I'm serious. I'm taking you home with me."

Gabriella sighed and stared at their still interlocked hands. "You're very stubborn, aren't you?"

Troy sighed. "Kind of. I just want you to be safe. And if you're not coming home, I'm staying here."

She looked up at him and finally nodded. "Okay, I'll stay at your house. It can't be worse than mine."

Troy got to his feet and picked her bag up. He pulled it onto his shoulder before smiling down on her. He offered her his hand. "Come on. There's a nice warm house where we're going. And a crazy little girl but you'll cope with her. I promise."

Gabriella accepted his hand and allowed him to pull her up. "You know, no one's ever been bothered about me before." She whispered.

"I am. Remember last week when you walked into me twice. Once when I attempted to hit on you?" He asked softly.

She nodded. "Sure. They weren't the best pick-up lines, by the way."

Troy chuckled as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders once again and started leading her out of the park. "I know that. But, I haven't stopped thinking about you since then. And then I saw you crying outside my house and… I don't know. You're different, Gabby."

* * *

I stood there nervously as Troy unlocked his front door. My bag was still hanging from his shoulder – he refused to let me carry it – and his East High sports jacket which he had been wearing was now around my shoulders. I had been shivering the entire walk to his house and I finally accepted the warm jacket. "Are you sure your parents will be okay with this?"

Troy pushed the door open and sighed as he pulled me inside. "They'll be cool with it. I'm eighteen. I'm going to college in September. I'm a legal adult. They can't tell me what to do." He shut the door and turned to me.

"But, what if they think that we've, um," I swallowed in embarrassment, "you know, did things and you get in trouble?"

Troy smiled and shook his head. "You don't know my parents. Despite my reputation at school, they trust me. My dad knows about the reputation, obviously, but that's all it is to him. A reputation."

"I take it you don't bring many girls home, huh?" I asked quietly as I followed him into the kitchen where he flicked the kettle on.

"I've brought two home." He admitted. "Sharpay and Vicky. Coffee, tea or hot chocolate?"

"Uhh…Coffee, please." I replied timidly. I walked over to him and touched his arm – which had been exposed to the cold air and was like ice under my touch – and he looked down at me. My lip trembled slightly and I rested my forehead against his upper arm. "You don't like your reputation, do you?" I whispered.

Troy turned back to spooning the coffee into two mugs, his muscles flexing under my forehead. "Not really." He muttered. "It comes with the territory."

"Why don't you just…stop, then?" I asked, lifting my head to frown at him.

He sighed and poured the boiling water into the mugs. He then poured the milk in and stirred them both. "Gabby, sometimes I want to be invisible."

"Invisibility isn't all it's cracked up to be." I whispered as I sipped my warm drink.

He sighed as he placed his mug down and cautiously wrapped his arms around my waist, his hands resting at the small of my back. My mug was still cradled in my hands. "Gabby, what I meant was that I just want things to be calmer and I just want to go to school and get good grades. I do. That's the reason I began going up the rooftop garden. It's quiet and I can think up there."

I nodded and took another sip. "I get it, Troy. Life isn't fair. Take it from somebody who knows." I whispered, looking up at him.

Troy removed his arms from my waist and picked his mug up again. "Gabby, it'll get better. I mean, look at this way: it can't get any worse."

"Is that your attempt at making me feel better?" I asked quietly as I felt a smile tug at my lips.

"Maybe. Come on. I'll show you to my room." He offered, grasping my hand. He picked my bag back up again and began leading me back through the house, turning the lights off as we went. He pulled me up the stairs and I followed him up the stairs.

"Troy?" I whispered.

"Yeah?" He asked as he let go of my bag and pushed open the door at the top of the stairs.

"What about your friends?" I asked nervously.

He turned to me as he turned the light on. His room wasn't so bad: the books on his desk were piled haphazardly, a few pairs of boxers on the floor and his bed was unmade. "Do you not want them to know about this?"

I shook my head slightly. "I might want a friend but I like to stay invisible. A girl like me gets harassed and it's better to be invisible. You just need someone to help me through it."

"Well, congratulations!" Troy exclaimed as he shut the door and kicked some stuff under his bed. "You're hired as my English tutor."

"What?" I asked quietly. Since when was this part of the deal?

"You don't want my friends to know? We'll say you're my English tutor. I mean, everyone knows I'm failing so I mean…Besides, I could use with a bit of help for the finals next month…" He trailed off as he set my bag down on his bed.

"I'll be your tutor." I whispered. "On one condition."

He turned to me and shrugged. "What?"

"Promise me I'm not some girl, right? You're not going to just leave me hanging as soon as the finals are done? I mean, when I leave, I don't-" I cut short at what I was about to say. He doesn't need to know that yet.

"I promise." He said softly. He kissed my cheek again before taking me in his arms.

I nodded in satisfaction and pulled back. "Um…I'm going to get ready for bed…"

Twenty minutes later, Troy and I were standing opposite each other awkwardly, silently asking each other what to do. "Ummm…I can sleep on the floor." Troy offered. He was in a grey t-shirt and some boxer shorts. I could tell by how he kept pulling at his shirt that he wasn't used to it and usually slept in boxers.

"I can. I'm the guest." I protested. Without thinking, I had grabbed the tank top and short pyjamas with pink bunnies on them and I kept shuffling my feet in embarrassment every time he looked at me.

"Exactly." Troy whispered.

I bit my lip before I took a deep breath. "Troy, you've got a king sized bed. Why don't we just share? Besides, I don't want to be responsible for messing up Troy Bolton's back."

Troy finally nodded. "Okay. That's fine, I guess. Tomorrow my mom will sort out the guest room so you can stay in there."

I smiled slightly in appreciation as we both climbed into bed. I pulled the covers up to my neck and sighed slightly. "Troy?" I whispered, looking towards his back – he was facing away from me.

"Yeah?" He asked into the darkness.

I leant over him to kiss his cheek. "Thank you."