"…Okay, Gabi, you can do this," Gabriella told herself, taking one long look at herself in the restroom mirror. Conversely, her reflection was different from what it had been only a few weeks ago. Her face was wet and pale from crying, and she had new cuts and bruises doting her face from two nights ago and from only several minutes earlier when Lance had cornered her and confronted her for not telling Troy they couldn't be friends, even though she planned to do it after school.
As she wiped her face with a few damp paper towels, Gabriella's mind reviewed all the past week's events. She thought this would never happen, not to her, at least. She always believed that she was smart enough to know who to stay away from, but, now, she understood that it could happen to anyone at any time, just like rape. Everyone who was ever raped previously said, at some point, that it would never happen to them, and, as far as Gabriella knew, every girl or woman who was ever in her position has said at one point that it would never happen to them. Gabriella still didn't fully believe this was her life now. She wished it was a dream, a horrible nightmare she would soon wake up from.
As much as she didn't want to, Gabriella felt inclined to stay with Lance. She no longer liked him, but she felt he needed someone there who could help him. No matter what, she always wanted to help anyone and everyone whether they wanted her to or not.
As much as she tried to believe that was the only reason, she knew there was an underlying one she wouldn't mention out loud. The other reason she didn't want to leave him was because she felt intimidated by him. Though none of her friends or mother knew about it, Gabriella was terrified of him; she was afraid of what he would do if she did leave him. Her friends were blind to it, and they couldn't help her through it as long as they didn't know. As long as she had it her way, they would never know. She knew Lance was capable of doing far worse acts than what he did so far; she could see it in his eyes. Gabriella cared too much about her friends to let anything happen to them. She refused to let them suffer in any way over her problem. That's why she had to let Troy go. She already lost someone important to her: her father. She didn't need to lose the only other guy she ever felt completely safe with to death as well.
After cleaning up, Gabriella left the girls' restroom and slowly walked through the halls, silently bracing herself for what was to come. She soon found Troy at his locker and stopped at the end of the row. Choosing not to go any further, Gabriella waited patiently until he was finished. When he saw her, he smiled widely, the kind that would make anyone else smile back, but not her, at least not today. Soon, he walked over to her, noticing her quiet demeanor.
"Hey, Gabriella, how've you been?" he asked her, standing a foot away from her. As predicted, he saw her black eye and small cuts on her face, and, instantly, he began to worry. "What happened?"
"I'm a klutz. I got hit in the face with a kickball in gym class," she lied but Troy saw through it immediately.
"Gabriella, we're on the volleyball unit," he stated. "Plus,that doesn't explain the cuts."
"But, you're in a different class," she pointed out, although she knew he had caught her.
"Every class is doing the same thing," he told her, trying to suppress his anger. No matter who it was, he hated being lied to, especially by someone he loved. "Gabriella, I hate being lied to. I'm sick of it. Tell me what's really happening."
"Troy, please don't pressure me to answer," she pleaded. "I'm under a lot of stress right now, and I have something urgent I need to tell you."
"Fine, what?" he asked, his tone laced with bitterness and his eyes hard. This look terrified her. His soft expression was hardened with anger, just like Lance's. She felt a black pit swallow her insides.
"Lance thinks we spend too much time together and that we're too close of friends. He thinks I'm cheating on him or will cheat on him with you," she said, partially telling the truth. "He says we can't be friends anymore."
"So? Just dump him, he's not worth it if he says and thinks that," Troy told her, fearing what he predicted she would do.He just met her; he didn't want to lose her already. He never felt so desperate, like, if she left him, he would get on his knees and beg for her to stay with him.
"I-I can't, Troy," she said, tearing up. She hated herself for this, whether it was her fault or not. She loved him and it killed her inside that she was lying to him and hiding things from him. It made her feel guilty, knowing he wasted all his care and worry on her. Even though she felt she was doing this to protect him, she still felt miserable.
"No, no, Gabriella, please don't tell me…." he trailed off. The look of pain on his once angry face made her guilt a hundred times worse. He knew what she was about to say, but he didn't want to give her up, not yet, at least. It was killing him to know he may never get to talk to her again. It cut him deeply that she would care more about Lance's feelings than his. No one could possibly care more about her than him.
Gabriella sighed. She had to end this. She couldn't lead him to think there was still a chance for them; that would only hurt worse. This was a clean break, she thought. "I love him, Troy."
Troy felt his heart shatter as she spoke. He lost her, all because he was too nervous to ask her out in the first place. But, how could she love Lance? He had slept with more than half the girls in their grade startingin eight grade; why would Gabriella want a guy like that? Unless she was that kind of girl, he thought bitterly. He thought she was better than this. He thought she was someone who had her loyalties in order. He thought she would always be his friend....
"I'm sorry, Troy," she said softly. "But, I think it's time to say goodbye, before we get too close. And, just so you know, I'm quitting the musical. Besides, it's so over-rated. It's just a bunch of people making fools of themselves."
"Just like how you made a fool out of me?" he snapped. "I guess that musical is perfect for me, then."
Gabriella winced. She hadn't thought he would take it this hard, but he did and now he would make her suffer. "You're not a fool. I'm the fool."
"Whatever," he said coldly, masking the hurt with a cold front. He wouldn't look weak in front of her; he refused to let her see that she broke his heart. This caught Gabriella off guard, for he had never used this tone with her. Frankly, she didn't know he was capable of speaking to her like this."I don't care about you or anything and everyone associated with you! You're just a waste of my time! I don't know why I ever wasted my time worrying about you. You're obviously fine, minus the cold heart."
As he walked away, Troy sensed Gabriella was crying behind him. Normally, he would've ran back to her and apologized profusely, but, at that moment, he couldn't have cared less. He wanted her to hurt, just like he was hurting. He wanted her to feel his pain. He never knew what it was like to have his heart broken, but now he did and it felt much worse than he expected. He felt like a fool for falling for her. Nearly every girl in their grade and younger, some even older, were 'in love' with him, but he just had to fall for a girl who couldn't even be his friend for longer than a month.
"Te amo, Troy," Gabriella whispered softly but loud enough for him to hear through her tears. Before she set him free, she felt she needed to tell him her true feelings for him, but, at the same time, she didn't want him to know right away. She had a good feeling he would find out soon what she had said, which is what she wanted. She wanted him to know she loved him and cared about him. That was why she was doing this.
Troy stopped momentarily, taking in what Gabriella had said. Even though he lived in New Mexico, he knew very few words in Spanish and 'te amo' wasn't a phrase he was familiar with. However, he figured she had said 'I hate you'. At that moment, nonetheless, he didn't care. She wasn't interested in him, and that was all he needed to know.
When he started walking away again, she suddenly started running after him. When she caught up with him, she spoke again, "I wouldn't be doing this without having a good reason."
Troy scoffed. "You call Lance a good excuse?"
"Troy, there's more to it than that. Please, just don't be mad at me," she pleaded gently, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"One of my closest friends is hiding things from me and choosing her idiotic boyfriend over me. What do you expect?" he said, pushing her off of him as though she was an annoying bug, once again taking her by surprise. Never in her life had she thought Troy would shove her away like that. He didn't seem capable of ever hurting her in this way. This new realization brought on a new round of tears.
"Troy, I'm sorry! But, Lance, he threa-" Just as Gabriella was about to reveal the main reason behind her decision, Troy rudely interrupted.
"Save it. I told you already, I couldn't care less about you or him. When he breaks your heart, don't come crying to me! When he hurts and uses you and leaves you crying alone, I won't be there to comfort you! You made up your mind and you don't want me in your life so live with it, " he told her harshly. "And, I'm not sure where those bruises and cuts are coming from nor do I care anymore. Maybe you do deserve it after all."
Gabriella gasped. He was the second person to tell her that, and so maybe they were right. However, this wasn't the Troy she knew. The Troy she knew was warm and caring. This Troy was cold and heartless. This side of him scared her more than anything; she didn't know what he would do or what he coulddo. Would he snap and physically hurt her? She wasn't sure, but she figured that, in this state, he probably would.
"Look, I have to get going," he said, brushing past her. Gabriella didn't respond. She stood in the middle of the hallway wondering what she should do. The problem was, all she could think about was Troy and how much she needed him. Her heart felt empty and vacant, but, at the same time, it felt heavier than ever. She suddenly felt completely lost and damaged without him. She never knew before then just how significant he was in her life, but it was too late to turn back now. He was walking out of her life for good.
Two days passed, and Troy and Gabriella hadn't said a word to each other. Their friends knew little of the incident but decided to keep them separated until the two could stand to see each other. No one, other than Gabriella, knew the real reason behind the split; all they knew was that their 'perfect match' could never be, according to Troy and Gabriella.
"Troy, I left my keys in my office. Can you go back and get them?" Jack asked him from the main office.
"Sure, Dad," Troy answered and left, heading toward the gym. It was Wednesday afternoon, exactly forty-eight hours after Gabriella had more or less dumped him, but he didn't care about it anymore, so it seemed. He tried to get over her but he couldn't. It had only been two days, but he already missed seeing her smile, hearing her laugh, and being able to hug her when she needed one. He missed the way her soft brown eyes penetrated his soul. Thetruth was, he just missed her.
After thinking it through, he realized how idiotic he was for how he treated her. Although he was upset, he shouldn't have taken it out on her. He knew something was going on that she wasn't willing to tell him. He knew he should've said 'okay' and left it at that. If what he thought was going on really was going on, then she needed him to support her, not scream at her when she's a victim of a much larger problem.
As he walked, the silence of the vacant hallways calmed him. Usually, the hallways were over-crowded and loud, making it impossible to think straight. When he reached the outside doorway to the boys' locker room, he opened the door and walked into his father's office. Once he had retrieved the keys, he walked back out of the office, only to hear loud noises coming from the gym. Looking out the small window on the door, Troy saw what looked like Lance and a girl whom he recognized immediately to be Gabriella. Quietly opening the door, Troy listened in on the couple without being seen.
"No one gives a damn about you!" Troy gasped upon hearing this. He suspected Lance was hurting her, but he was praying that his feelings were false. However, it appeared to be true. He wanted to go and 'correct' Lance for that comment, but he stayed and listened, not wanting to miss anything that could be vital to him finding out the truth.
"I know," Gabriella replied, her tone low enough that Troy couldn't hear.
Troy could tell there was more going on than what he was aware of, and he would stop at nothing to figure it out. He lied when he said he didn't care; he cared more than she could ever imagine, and that's why it hurt him so much that she didn't want to be friends anymore. But, he still loved her no matter what she did, and he had a feeling he would always love her.
"You're just an ugly nerd. No one would want you, anyway," Lance stated harshly.
"Then why are you with me?" she questioned.
"Charity case," he answered bluntly.
"Of course," she said quietly. "I guess if someone actually did care about me, you'd threaten me to get rid of them, too."
"Like anyone would honestly care about you," Lance replied. Troy wanted so badly to knock Lance's teeth out for that statement but couldn't; if he did, he could miss something vital, he kept reminding himself. "You thought Bolton cared, but he was only using you as a charity case as well."
'What? I love her! I never used her!' Troy thought, angered that Lance would tell her that. But, then, he realized. She would never believe him if he told her that he loved her after how he treated her. In fact, she probably wouldn't trust him ever again, he thought miserably.
Looking down to the floor, Gabriella didn't reply. When it came to Troy, she didn't know what to think or believe anymore. She didn't want to talk about him; it hurt too much.
"See? No one cares about you," Lance repeated.
"Well, maybe someone would if you'd quit threatening my friends' lives!" she yelled but quickly regretted it.
Lance smacked her hard across the face. "Don't yell at me, you bitch!"
Troy gasped again and quickly covered his mouth. He could feel his face being drained of its natural coloring. The room seemed to spin as if he was the one who had just been slapped. He definitely felt that way. Nonetheless, he knew his suspicions were correct. Gabriella was being abused by her so-called boyfriend.. He saw it himself; that's the only proof he needed. Instead of going after Lance like he wanted to do, however, he just stayed there, frozen in place. He would just observe unless it got worse. In that case, he would knock Lance's teeth down his throat. He had to talk to Gabriella alone and get the full story. The last thing he wanted was or her to hurt worse because of something he did. However, he knew her secret now; she couldn't deny it any longer.
