AN: Hey guys! Sorry I'm a day late getting this up. My computer is having issues, so I'm using the one at school. No Ryan and Sharpay in this one I'm sorry to say. But Troy and Gabi needed some time so Troy could explain himself . They will be back! Hope you guys like it!

Disclaimer: Retyping this is making me sad, so go back and look at the first chapter. I own nothing.

"Troy?" Gabriella asked slowly as Troy stared after Ryan and Sharpay.

"Yeah?" He asked her, having a feeling what she was going to ask about.

"What happened with you and Sharpay?" She questioned.

"Well, like I said before, we dated when we were like in 8th grade and a little in 9th grade. She was different then though. Not as mean and not icy at all. She and Ryan hung out with me and Chad all the time. We got along great if you discount some of the looks and warnings I got from Ryan about how I'd better not hurt Sharpay." Troy told her smiling. "He has a major protective streak when it comes to her. Everyone thinks he's just a drama geek, but as a person who has been on the receiving end of his anger, I can tell you he is not a geek at all. He has a great right hook actually."

"He hit you?" Gabriella asked surprised. She was having a hard time picturing Ryan Evans actually punching anyone, let alone Troy.

"Yeah, I kind of deserved it though. Sharpay and I had this huge fight. I got angry at her and said some things I didn't mean. I told her that she was the worst girlfriend ever and that she was selfish and mean." Troy said looking guilty. "She wasn't being any of those actually. I think the fight was because she had a dance class and couldn't come to one of my games and I just freaked out on her. I really should of known she would run to Ryan. Apparently she was roaming the halls crying when Ryan found her. I think he comforted her enough to stop her from crying and asked Kelsi to walk her home. Kelsi was friends with them at the time too. Then he came into the gym where we were warming up for the games. I didn't even see him coming. He just punched me one good time on the cheek. I felt like he had broke it! He told me that if all I was gonna do is spout lies to his sister then I needed to stay the hell away from her. Then he turned and apparently caught up to Kelsi and Sharpay cause Kelsi was at the game.

"So what did you do?" Gabriella asked.

"Well, first I had my basketball game, which was the worst I've ever played in my life. I kept thinking about the fight Sharpay and I had and couldn't concentrate. Not to mention my cheek was swelling, so I as having problems seeing out of my right eye. Dad ended up benching me in the first quarter. We lost the game and we lost bad. Chad actually told me to go fix things with Sharpay because we couldn't afford to suck that bad the rest of the season. He told me later that he didn't want to chance that Ryan might put me in the hospital if I hurt Sharpay anymore." Troy said with a smirk.

"So, did you fix things?" Gabriella asked him.

"Yeah, I went straight from the game to their house. And after about a half hour of telling Ryan why I needed to talk to Sharpay and another fifteen minutes of promising I wouldn't make her cry again and telling him I was sorry, I finally got to talk to her." Troy told her.

"Their parents let Ryan grill you for forty-five minutes before you were allowed to go in?" Gabriella asked, her surprise evident.

"They weren't home." Troy simply told her. "Once Ryan and Sharpay hit 4th or 5th grade, their parents started going on business trips all the time. The staff took care of them because their parents were only home like every other week and weekends. Once they started middle school though, in 6th grade, that got cut back to one week a month and weekends. But Ryan and Sharpay started giving the staff the time off, and by 8th grade, they had all but fired them. They only time they have a full staff is when their parents are home. The cleaning lady comes twice a week but that's it."

"No wonder Ryan is so protective of Sharpay. She's all he has." Gabriella concluded.

"Oh, don't kid yourself. He isn't the only protective one. Sharpay is pretty protective herself when it comes to Ryan." Troy replied with a grin.

"So their parents aren't home much?" Gabriella questioned looking sad.

"Yeah, it's even worse now though." He told her. "I overheard them talking after we won the leads in Twinkle Town. They said that their parents come home only like two weekends a month or," Troy said giving Gabriella a sad smile. "when they get the leads in the musicals."

"That's why they got so upset over us trying out and getting the leads!" Gabriella exclaimed looking like she wanted to cry. "That's so sad!"

"Yeah." Troy said looking down. "You still want to hear the rest?"

"If you don't mind telling me." Gabriella answered Troy softly.

"I need to tell you I think. Maybe you can help me find a way to fix it." Troy told her.

"I can try." Gabriella smiled at him.

"Well, things were going great between me and Sharpay. We had started high school and were about two months in. Ryan wasn't at school. I think he left early for a doctor's appointment or something like that. Chad and I were hanging out and we were really immature then. We had started making fun of people who were different than us or had different interests. It was kind of the beginning of all the different cliques we had when you started here. It was mean and stupid I know. But we were being stupid. We had talked about a few people including Kelsi, when Chad brought up Ryan."

"Wait, why did you make fun of Kelsi? She's so nice!" Gabriella cut him off.

"Honestly, we didn't understand her love for music or writing, so we made fun of her for it." Troy told her looking guilty.

Gabriella's eyes flashed and she looked ready to scream at him, when she suddenly just took a deep breath and calmed herself down. "Ok, tell me what happened."

"Well, it started out simple, just calling his hats stupid. But as it went on, it got worse. We made fun of his clothes and his love for drama. I even said that maybe he was suppose to be a girl, cause that would explain everything. Then Chad called him a queer. I thought I heard a noise behind me but I ignored it. Then I said something mean that I really regret saying." Troy said looking down.

"What did you say?" Gabriella asked seeming to brace herself.

"Well Chad said that maybe Ryan and Sharpay were so close because they had something going on that wasn't exactly brother/sister type stuff. I was trying to defend Sharpay, but I totally went about it the wrong way. I was way out of line." Troy went on.

"Troy! Just stop rambling and tell me what you said!" Gabriella exclaimed, her frustration getting the best of her.

"I said that maybe Ryan was taking what he wanted from Sharpay because that would explain why she wouldn't put out for me." Troy finally spit out.

"Oh my God Troy!" Gabriella said in disbelief. "You said that you thought Ryan was raping his twin sister because she wouldn't screw you???"

"No! I didn't mean it like that!" Troy exclaimed. Gabriella glared at him and he began to back track. "Not exactly anyways. Sharpay wouldn't do more than a peck on the lips and I was frustrated." Troy tried to explain. Gabriella started to go off but Troy stopped her. "Look, I'm not trying to justify what I said. It was wrong and I hate that I said it, but I can't go back and change it now." Troy said looking guilty.

Gabriella took pity on him and went on. "So did someone hear you and tell Sharpay?"

"No, worse." Troy grimaced. "She heard us. After I said what I did, Chad started laughing and I joined in. After a few minutes, Chad stopped laughing and his eyes got huge. I turned around to see what he was staring at and there stood Sharpay." Troy swallowed hard but went on. "She looked horrible. She was crying hard, tears falling really fast down her face. Her makeup was running but she didn't seem to care. I was about to ask her what was wrong until I saw her eyes were flashing. That's when it hit me that she heard what I said. She walked toward us and then slapped me so hard on the cheek that I fell down, then before Chad or I could respond, she spun around and punched Chad so hard in the eye that he fell to the ground to. Then she looked down at me and said "We're through!" and stormed off."

"Can't say that I blame her Troy." Gabriella said softly.

"I don't either." Troy answered honestly.

"So she changed after that?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah. Ryan and Sharpay were absent the next, but the day after that they were back. They were so different it was almost scary. They came into the school and it was like you could immediately feel the chill in the air. As soon as she and Ryan were through the school doors, she yelled "Evaporate!" to get everyone to part for her and Ryan." Troy told Gabriella.

"And they did it?" Gabriella asked surprised.

"I think they were scared not to." Troy said with a smile. "After that, they only hung out with the drama people. But mostly they just hung out with each other. It was like she didn't care about having any friends besides Ryan after that. Same with Ryan. And I don't think he knew what was said at that time. He just kept glaring at me. If he had really known then what had happened, he would have been more hurt, at least I think so. I probably wouldn't of gotten away without more bruises for the things I said, because it would of pissed him off for me to say something like that involving his sister, or Chad with his incest comment."

"You want to know what I think?" Gabriella asked her boyfriend.

"Sure, go ahead." Troy replied.

"I don't think Sharpay became icy overnight because she was angry at you." When it looked like Troy was going to interrupt she hurried on. "I mean, yeah, I'm sure she was extremely pissed that you talked about her brother and twin like that, but if you ask me, she was more hurt than anything."

"Why do you say that?" Troy asked curiously.

"Well, it seems to me that she probably cut herself off from everyone, except Ryan, so she wouldn't be hurt again." Gabriella explained. Troy began to shake his head as Gabriella went on. "No, think about it." She implored him. "You were her first boyfriend, probably the first guy she ever kissed." Troy looked like he wanted to disagree until Gabriella cut him off. "Ryan is her twin brother Troy. He doesn't count on the list of guys she has kissed, which seems to just consist of you."

Seeing Troy hang his head, she continued. "Their parents don't sound like they are involved in their lives other than paying credit card bills and visiting a few times a month. You and Chad were their friends and you betrayed them. I know you didn't really mean to, but you did Troy. She is probably scared to let anyone in because she is afraid of it happening all over again. And I think, in some twisted way, she probably feels that if she isn't apart of the deal and Ryan is the one making friends, that he won't be hurt either. Which makes it seem like to me that she somehow blames herself for you and Chad making fun of Ryan." Gabriella carefully explained.

"You mean like she thinks she did something wrong and we went after Ryan because of it?" Troy asked.

"Yeah." Gabriella replied sadly.

"We would never of made fun of Ryan just to get back at her." Troy replied adamantly, but understanding seemed to dawn on him. "Oh my God, you're right." He said putting his head in his hands.

"How do you know?" Gabriella questioned. She had only been guessing.

"Think about the things she and Ryan talked about. She seems to blame herself for being labeled the Ice Queen and for Ryan not having many friends. Plus, why would she push Ryan to be friends with us after Chad and I talked about him if she didn't think she was the reason we were mean to him to begin with???" Troy questioned.

"You're right, it doesn't make sense." Gabriella agreed.

"Gabi, would you be ok with us trying to become friends with Sharpay? Like asking her and Ryan to eat lunch with us and asking them to hang out with us and being sincere about it?"

"Sounds like a great plan." Gabriella smiled kissing Troy's lips. "But you'll have to get control of Chad." She told him.

"Why?" Troy asked curiously.

"Think about it Troy. Chad still calls her the Ice Queen and talks bad about her. I mean, it's the reason Ryan doesn't really care to hang out with us all that much. Because he doesn't want to hear Chad talk about his sister." Gabriella explained.

"Do you think I should tell him what we heard so he'll understand?" Troy asked. "I mean, I think he started the Ice Queen thing for me anyways."

"What do you mean?" Gabriella curiously asked.

"Sharpay seemed so completely over our break up when she came back. I was still upset over it, so Chad started saying "She was just an Ice Queen who didn't have feelings, that's why she was over it so quick" to make me feel better." Troy told her.

"Then you might have to explain it to him, so he can realize that she isn't really an Ice Queen, just a really good actress." Gabriella replied.

Just then, Gabriella felt her phone vibrating in her jacket pocket. "Man! It's been forty-five minutes since we left the others." Troy exclaimed looking at his watch.

"Hey Taylor." Gabriella answered after looking at the ID name. "Yeah, we're on our way. Took longer to find my math book than we thought. No, Ryan isn't here, so he isn't coming." Gabriella responded looking at Troy. "Yeah, we'll be there in about fifteen minutes. See ya." Gabriella told Taylor as they hung up. Gabriella grabbed her math book off the floor and stood up along with Troy.

"Hey," Gabriella said putting her hand on Troy's arm. "lets just go have fun with our friends and not worry about this. Tomorrow at school we'll start being nicer to Sharpay and try to include Ryan and her more."

"You do realize that she is probably going to lash out at first." Troy responded.

"Yeah, she will. It's all part of trying to protect herself. But we'll get through to her." Gabriella told him. "Besides, could you really be totally ok with not doing anything after all we heard?"

"You're right. It would drive me crazy. I just want to make sure you know what you're getting into." Troy told her.

"I know this won't be easy Troy, but if we can end up being friends with Sharpay and better friends with Ryan, it will be worth it. But I hope you realize that Sharpay won't be the only skeptical one. Ryan will be too." Gabriella explained to Troy as they walked out of the theater.

"Yeah, I'm sure he will be. Chad and I have treated Sharpay so bad in the past, he probably won't understand why we suddenly are wanting to be friends with her. Come to think of it, Chad might not understand that either at first." Troy told her with a smile.

"Ryan might even try to keep her from becoming friends with all of us to try and keep her from getting hurt. It sounded like he really doesn't trust you and Chad, especially Chad." Gabriella said.

"We'll make this work. I have to try and make it up to her and Ryan." Troy said, looking worried.

"Don't worry Troy, this will all work out. We'll make sure of it." Gabriella told him as they walked out of the school towards the movie theater where there friends were waiting on them, having no idea about the changes that would take place the following day.

AN: Hope you guys liked it! Please please R&R and let me know what you think! Katie