Disclaimer: I do not own the High School Musical franchise

Chapter Six: Untouchable

Untouchable like a distant diamond sky

I'm reaching out and I just can't tell you why

I'm caught up in you

Untouchable burning brighter than the sun

And when you're close I feel like coming undone

In the middle of the night when I'm in this dream

It's like a million little stars spelling out your name

You gotta come on, come on say that we'll be together

Come on, come on little taste of heaven

-"Untouchable" Taylor Swift

A cry echoed through the house. Gabriella rolled over and dug her head into her pillow. The cry continued. Adding a pillow to the top of her head she squeezed her eyes shut.

The cry grew louder.

Sitting up, she pushed the covers back and rubbed her eyes. That's right, my parents aren't here. I have to make Allie shut up. Standing up, she stumbled through the dark room to the door. Flicking on the lights, she squinted as her eyes adjusted to the sudden light. Opening up her room door she walked down the hallway towards the cries. When she opened the door she saw Allie rolling around hysterically.

"There, there Allie. Please be quiet. No one wants to hear this crying at," her eyes strayed to the clock and she groaned, "3:37 am." Allie just continued to cry.

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Troy stared down at his the breakfast plate his mom put in front of him. Eggs, bacon, grits and toast. The works. He pushed it back.

"Troy you need to eat something." His mom watched him from behind the island where she stood sipping coffee, flipping through the newspaper with Jack.

"Not hungry." He mumbled.

"Well I am, so I'll eat yours too." Emma picked up a slice of his bacon. He just glared at her. "Dude what is your childhood trauma?" Emma asked, "You're being a total jerk."

Troy rolled his eyes, "I'm not the total jerk. You're the total jerk." He pointed it at her.

"Kids." Jack warned.

It was Emma's turn to roll her eyes as she scoffed, "Oh please Troy, not this again. You're hardly an innocent angel."

Troy shrugged, "Whatever Emma. Are you riding with me or not?" He asked as he stood up.

"Pulease, Nicky is picking me up." The doorbell chiming indicated she was correct.

"I'm going out the back." Troy muttered.

"Oh why don't you just admit you have feelings for her too." Emma sang out as she tossed her gym bag over her shoulders.

Troy glared at her and responded by slamming the garage door loudly. Emma shrugged and waved goodbye to her parents as she sprinted to the front door to open the door for Nicole. Lucille waited until the door was shut before she turned to face Jack, "And what was that all about?"

Jack sighed, "I think it's still about Gabriella Montez." He shrugged, "Troy hasn't told me anything more since the other night."

"Are you sure he hasn't?" Jack chuckled at the warning tone in his wife's voice.

Kissing the top of her head he replied, "Yes Lucille, I'm sure." Picking his briefcase up off the island he gave her a salute, "And now I must get to work."

Hearing the door slam one more time, Lucille sighed, "Things are never easy around here." She mumbled to herself.

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Ava Hernandez glanced at the clock, "Gabriella!" She called up the stairs as she bounced Allie on her hip. The fifty-six year old woman who had watched Gabriella when she was young waited to hear footsteps before she continued, "You're going to be late carina."

Gabriella stopped at the foot of the steps and smiled at the woman, "I know Mrs. Hernandez, but I'm going now. Thanks so much for watching Allie."

Ava smiled at the teenager, "You look tired carina, did Allie keep you up last night?"

Gabriella shrugged, "She's two months old, it's what she does." Picking up her car keys from the entryway table she waved, "See you after school. Thanks again!"

Before Gabriella could shut the door Mrs. Hernandez called out, "Happy eighteenth birthday carina! I can't believe it's been eighteen years!"

Gabriella paused with her hand on the door knob, "Thanks Mrs. Hernandez!" She called out before shutting the door behind her. Gabriella breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad I'm not a mother." She mumbled as she unlocked her Jeep.

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"Listen Danforth, I suggest you and your posse move along. Of course Gabriella didn't do your homework for you, she's not a cheater." Gabriella stopped at the sound of Taylor's voice. Looking down the hall she saw Taylor and Kelsi facing off with Nicole, Chad, Emma and Sharpay. That was hardly a fair fight.

"Look, she's a nerd," Nicole began spelling the situation out for Taylor, "she does what we say. And so do you for that matter."

Taylor scoffed, "Have I ever done what you said Murphy?" Taylor leaned back, letting her weight rest against the locker. Now why can't I be that confident?

"Montez will pay for this." Chad's voice was low and in Kelsi's face.

"And your fearless leader will be so upset with you when she does." Kelsi cocked her head to the side as she spoke. Even Kelsi is braver than I am, Gabriella sighed.

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Troy glanced down at his phone clock, where are they? He looked around for his friends again. Even though the quiet with just Zeke, Jason and Ryan was nice, he wondered where Emma, Sharpay, Chad and Nicole where wreaking havoc. And on who. But he already knew the answer to that. They were bothering Gabriella. Again. He groaned and banged his head against the locker behind him.

"Dude, that won't stop them." Ryan continued to flip through the book of sheet music for the fall musical audition in his hands.

"Yeah, and the more you get worked up about it the more intense Emma gets." Jason didn't look up from his iPhone as he continued to play Angry Birds.

"I get it she's like a five year old who wants what I say she can't have." Troy muttered banging his head again.

"And the more you complain about her in particular," Zeke chimed in, "the more Shar thinks there's something going on between the two of you."

Troy groaned as his head connected with the metal harder than he intended it to, "Believe me dude, there's nothing going on with me and Montez."

Ryan and Jason looked up, both looked at Troy curiously and then at each other. There was something in the way Troy had said 'nothing', something in how emphatic he was that he and Gabriella Montez had nothing. Jason shrugged and looked back down at his game. Ryan stared a moment longer before flipping the page in his book again.

Zeke clapped Troy's back, "Dude I know that, we all know that, Shar just needs more drama in her life right now. I mean come on, like you would ever date a nerd. Seriously? It's absurd."

Troy did his best not to react to Zeke calling Gabriella a nerd, but Jason noticed how his body tensed. How he stilled for just a moment before banging his head against the locker again. Jason glanced over to Ryan, but he wasn't paying any attention to him. Shrugging, he went back to his game.

The bell ringing for homeroom stopped Troy from banging his head again. "Now you can move on to whacking your head against a desk while Darbus drags on about Shakespeare and cell phones." Ryan slapped Troy's back as he picked up his messenger bag and led the way to homeroom.

"Great." Troy mumbled as he tossed his own backpack over his shoulder and followed Ryan, Zeke and Jason to homeroom. Where she will be hating me for putting a target on her back. Where she will be hating me for having feelings for her.

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Gabriella walked into homeroom and did her best to avoid looking at Emma, Nicole, Chad and Sharpay as well as Troy. The list of people I want to avoid at this stupid school is growing bigger everyday.

"Gabs! Happy birthday!" Taylor called to her from her seat in the back.

Plastering a smile on her face, Gabriella moved towards Taylor and Kelsi and took her own seat in the back.

"Happy birthday Gabi! How's your grandma?" Kelsi leaned around Taylor to ask.

Gabriella gave a grimace, "Thanks girls. It doesn't feel much like a birthday honestly. It was a really bad stroke. Mom and Dad should be in the air now on their way to Florida. They may bring her back. I don't know. Last night mom was talking about staying with her." Gabriella shrugged and set her head down on the cool wooden top, "I just don't want her to die. She's the only family I have besides my parents and Allie."

Taylor rubbed her back, "Everything will work out fine. It always does."

"Not with the Ice Bitch of the East and her lackies." Gabriella mumbled.

"I don't know why they like picking on you so much." Taylor tapped her fingers against her desktop. I know why, Gabriella thought, and it's called Troy Bolton. That's why.

Mrs. Darbus clapped her hands to get the homeroom's attention just as the final bell rang, "Alright class this morning we're going to discuss Shakespeare and how wonderful his time period was. You know there were no cell phones in the late 1500s." Gabriella groaned quietly in response.

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"Okay Gabs, I think we're ready for the sodium chloride." Taylor adjusted her goggles with her glove covered hand as she glanced down at the mixture they were putting together in AP Chemistry.

Gabriella nodded and picked up the beaker with the sodium chloride. Holding it carefully, she began slowly mixing the powder with the liquid. "Miss Montez," Gabriella looked up when her teacher called her name, "there are some gentlemen here to see you." Her eyes traveled over to the two policemen and Principal Matusi.

"Gabriella!" Taylor cried out as the chemicals foamed over the beaker on the burner and all over the table, drenching their assignment sheet.

"Shit," Gabriella murmured, "I'm so sorry Taylor. I got distracted."

Taylor looked up at the policemen and principle who were waiting patiently for Gabriella and nodded her head, "Go, I can take care of this." Gabriella nodded and ripped off her goggles and gloves, "Just call me tonight so I know you're okay?"

Gabriella smiled at Taylor and nodded, "Of course Tay." Picking up her bag she followed the officers out the classroom door. When they were in the hallway she asked, "What's going on?"

Principal Matusi spoke, "I think we should take this to my office. Miss Montez, officers." He guided them down the hallway in silence. Once they were safely behind the closed door of his office, a place Gabriella hadn't been since the first day of school, well before yesterday that was, the headmaster spoke again, "Gabriella these gentlemen would like to ask you a few questions."

"About what?" She could hear her own voice waver.

"About your parents." The tall officer spoke up, "I'm Lt. Flynn. This is my partner Lt. Provenza." Gabriella shook their hands and waited silently, "Do you recognize these pictures."

Lt. Flynn laid out two DMV photos. One of her father and one of her mother. She nodded, "That's my father Juan and my mother Cameron. What's going on?" She asked.

Lt. Flynn looked at his partner and at Principal Matusi, trying to gage his words carefully to lessen the blow he was about to give the newly eighteen year old girl.

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XOXO

MAS