GUESS WHAT??

i own noting... [

and its nearly Christmas lmao!

Chapter 3

Sharpay was not the only one who Gabriella had left thinking today. Troy still couldn't concentrate on his work, and if he was honest, he didn't want to. Through his glass door, he saw Gabriella entering the office, obviously just coming back from her lunch break with Sharpay.

That was it! After a short moment of being proud of himself, Troy dialled Sharpay's number. She had to know what was bothering her best friend, right?

After three ringings, the receiver was picked up. "Welcome to 'The Evan', fashion for everyone, you're speaking to Madison Baker," Madison sung into the receiver, trying to sound extra-friendly.

Troy couldn't help but smile at how exaggerated Madison sounded on the phone every time.

"Yeah, Troy Bolton speaking here," he started, "I was wondering if you also had Spiderman costumes in your product line. There's a lot of rain predicted and I don't want to get wet." Troy grinned to himself, again proud of the fabulous joke he just had made.

"Well, I guess you'd have to come by and see if we have anything that suits you… usually we don't have clothes for bean-poles, you know?"

Troy laughed. "No matter how hard you try, my dear, you're never gonna be as funny as I am. Hey, why I'm calling… is Sharpay there?"

Madison hesitated. "Yeah, but she's very busy… what do you want from her? I mean, can't I help you?", she asked.

"I guess not. I want to talk about Gabriella .", troy explained.

"Gabriella." Madison sounded mad. "Why, do you have a flashback to High School, does she start to ignore you again?", she snapped.

Troy lost his patience. It was always the same with Madison, she was jealous like hell, and when it came to Gabriella, it would have been the best for Troy not to mention her name at all in his girlfriend's presence.

"Oh, don't start that again, Maddy. Gabriella's one of my best friends, and I got the impression that she needs me, that's all."

"Fine. Don't forget, dinner at seven today."

With a pang, the receiver landed on the counter. Troy shook his head. He couldn't understand Madison's behavior. But on the other hand, she was a woman, so maybe that was the explanation.

After a few moments Sharpay picked up. "Troy?", she asked. "What's up?"

"I don't know, you tell me," Troy answered. "Did you have lunch with Gabriella today?"

"Yeah, I did, why?"

"Did you notice anything strange on her? Or did she tell you what was going on?"

Sharpay left the store where she had picked up the phone and went into her office, so Madison couldn't hear what was about to follow. "You mean her lip? She told me it was an accident, but I don't really believe her."

"So she made up an excuse. She did the same to me, and I bet to all the others here in the office as well."

Sharpay frowned. "Do you think Eric…. I mean, do you think he hurt her?", she asked carefully.

"Yeah, it's the only possibility. No one has such a stupid accident, falling over and bruising his lip like that."

"Exactly what I thought," Sharpay answered, "Only… did she tell you she fell? Because she told me she had bit herself at breakfast… but before I could react, she just cut me off and practically drove me out to lunch."

Troy shifted in his seat. "I'm quite worried about her, if she even didn't tell you what was going on.", he said, his mind working.

"Oh yeah, well… she told me something." Sharpay hesitated. "And maybe everything's better than it seems, and her situation's just a little too much for her." Sharpay didn't know if she should tell Troy about Gabriella's pregnancy, since she made her swear she wouldn't tell anyone.

"And are you going to tell me or should I just sit here and guess until I find out?", Troy said.

Sharpay hesitated. "Look, she told me not to tell anyone until she was ready. So just give her some time and you'll find out. But if that's any comfort for you, I'm going out with her on Sunday night, so maybe she'll tell me a little more about what's bothering her, ok?"

Troy felt anger rising. "This is so not ok! Why can't you just tell me? I'm worried about her, she's my best friend, and I want her to be happy!" he shouted, making the people passing by in front of his office look at him. He waved at them and smiled. "I'm sorry, I'm totally obsessed by 'The Valley', and I just found out that Carol cheated on John, so that's kind of a letdown."

Sharpay frowned. "Troy, what are you doing over there?" she asked, confused.

"Making those sports freaks minding their own business." He answered. "So you are not gonna tell me?"

Sharpay was uncomfortable. "I'm gonna call you on Sunday, when we are home, and I'll tell you if there's anything that should be bothering us, ok?"

Troy nodded. Realizing that Sharpay couldn't see him, he gave his ok and hung up. If nobody wanted to tell him now, all he could do was wait.

Wouldn't he be leaving at all tonight? It was seven thirty, and usually Eric went out at seven, and returned shortly after midnight. Gabriella was nervous. Eric mustn't find out that Sharpay was coming over, let alone that she was going to go out. She stood in the kitchen, washing the dishes, and glanced over to Eric, sitting on the couch in the living room, where he was watching some old cowboy movie, having his sixth or seventh beer tonight.

Seven thirty-two. She had to get him out of the house, and if that didn't work, she had to make up some silly excuse to Sharpay why she couldn't be going tonight. She looked down on her belly, which slightly started to become rounder every day. And she had to tell Eric about this. How could she have allowed that her life had become such a mess?

Finally, Eric stood up from the couch and came into the kitchen. Gabriella stared at him, waiting for him to say something. He had the prettiest green eyes she had ever seen. They were one of the reasons that made her do the terrible mistake of cheating on Troy years ago. Eric had been kind, sweet, and such a gentleman. Not even the strongest woman on the planet would have been able to resist him. He didn't hurt her all the time. It started when he lost his job as a journalist, something he had loved and been all passionate about. He had to get another job, and since he was working at the gas station, he seemed all changed and unhappy with his life. Worst of all, he let the frustration he had out on Gabriella. And now, if something didn't go the way he wanted, he became violent, because that gave him control about things.

"I'm off now," he said, putting his empty beer bottle beside her. "And I need more of these."

Gabriella nodded. What had happened to Eric? She had never seen a man more change in such a short time. He was threatening to kill her if she ever told somebody that he became violent sometimes. So she kept her mouth shut, partly because she hoped that some day, Eric might change and become his old self again.

When she heard the door closing, she quickly washed up the rest of the dishes and went into the bedroom to change. Her lip had lost its evidence, so just a little bit of powder might be able to hide it today.

She put on a nice blue dress, made her hair hang loose down her slim shoulders and put on a little touch of make-up. Just when she was finished, Sharpay blew her horn, to show her she was there. Gabriella smiled at herself in the mirror. "This is who I am", she said happily. Grabbing her purse, she left the house as fast as she could.

Just a few seconds later, Gabriella hopped into Sharpay's car. "Hey, Shar! So where are we going?"

Sharpay smiled. "I don't know, some place nice, where we can talk. Like, 'The Seven Eleven'?" she suggested.

"Sounds good to me", Gabriella agreed, and before she could put on her safety belt, the two girls were off in a night of girl fun and talk.