Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.

A/N: **IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Hey Everyone! So I actually uploaded a chapter last weekend, but most of you probably didn't know because I just replaced the content of the author's note with chapter, which unfortunately meant you didn't get an alert. SO, if you haven't read the last chapter GO READ IT NOW!

Now, if you've read chapter 6, then enjoy chapter 7 :D

Chapter Seven – As Far as the Siblings are Concerned

Later that afternoon, Gabriella sat on her bed working on her homework. The short chat with her mother had gone well, better than she had expected. She felt a lot better about the whole situation. Maybe this would work out after all. They could start over and maybe one day her mother would be the one she called when she needed advice. She sighed, that still seemed like a long way off.

Just then, there was a timid knock at her door.

"Come in" she called, looking up to see who was at her door. The door opened and in walked Lucas and Lily. Gabriella quickly shut her math textbook and rushed over to her brother and sister, hugging them tightly.

"I'm sorry" she murmured.

"We're just confused, Gabi" Lucas admitted.

"Come on, let's go sit on my bed and talk," Gabriella suggested. When the three siblings were situated on Gabriella's bed, Gabriella decided she'd better speak first.

"What are you guys thinking?" she asked carefully, "About everything that's happening?"

Lily sighed, "We don't know how to feel."

"Should we be happy that she's back? Or should we be angry that she left?" Lucas continued.

"Can we trust her?" Lily added.

Gabriella was slightly taken aback. Her siblings had the same feelings she had? She was so relived though, she wasn't the only one feeling this confusion!

"We know you'll know what do Gabi, you always know what to do," Lucas stated confidently.

And that's when Gabriella's heart broke a little bit. Yes, her siblings shared her same feelings, but they were looking to her for answers. For answers that she didn't have. She placed a comforting hand on one of each siblings' hand.

"The truth is guys, there are no answers. We have to follow our gut. We have to think about what feels right for us. It's ok if you feel happy and angry at the same time. You're allowed to take time to figure out which one you feel more," Gabriella explained carefully. She wasn't sure where this was all coming from, but it was the best she had right now.

"But Gabi, what are you going to do? We don't want to upset you by making the wrong choice," Lily protested. Both siblings looked torn. It was as if they knew Gabriella was really upset by their mother being back, but they were happy that she was back. Was she swaying their opinions? That didn't seem right.

"I'm going to be honest with you guys, because I think you deserve it. This is really difficult for me. I'm just as confused as you are. But I need you to listen to me very carefully. Just because this is hard on me, does not mean that it has to be hard on you. If you're happy that you have your mom back, that's great. Feel that, embrace that. Don't worry about what I feel, or how I'm coping. You won't upset me," Gabriella spoke honestly.

"You're not going to leave us are you?" Lily asked nervously.

"Of course not, you guys are stuck with me forever. You mean the world to me," Gabriella said softly, bringing her brother and sister into a tight hug. She squeezed her eyes shut as she hugged her brother and sister. She knew they ready to have a mother in their life again and she didn't want to be the one who prevented Lucas and Lily from having a mother. Even if that meant suppressing her own feelings of doubt and lack of trust.

The next afternoon Gabriella stood behind the cash register.

"Have a good afternoon," she said politely as she handed the customer her change.

It had been a quiet afternoon at Borders, only a few people in the store and even less who actually bought books. Gabriella was thankfully for that. She was exhausted - with everything that was going on, she hadn't really gotten a ton of sleep.

"Finished stacking all the books!" Owen exclaimed enthusiastically as he made his way behind the cash register.

"I'm so proud," Gabriella muttered sarcastically.

"Well isn't someone miss happy today?" Owen fired back equally sarcastic.

Gabriella shot him a look, "Excuse me for being tired."

"We're all tired, it's the school year," Owen reminded her. Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"Dude!" Own suddenly exclaimed, "I just remembered, the craziest thing happened a few days ago!"

"What happened?" she asked. This had actually peaked her interest, nothing exciting ever happened in a book store.

"This woman comes running in here, looking really flustered and she was like 'is Gabriella here?' And I said no, because you'd just left. Then, she was like, 'do you know where she is?' At this point I was thinking this woman is crazy, but I said you went home, but I definitely couldn't give out your address because that would be really creepy, right?" Owen explained, hand gestures and all.

"What did she look like?" Gabriella asked tentatively.

"She had dark hair, kinda curly. She was wearing a business suit," Owen described, "She looked like she was on a mission, but a super creepy mission" he added.

Gabriella stared blankly at Owen. Her mother had come back to the store? So she had recognized her. She had remembered. That made Gabriella feel better, a lot better. It made her feel less forgotten, less unwanted, more loved.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Owen's hand waving in front of her face.

"Helloooo? Earth to Montez."

Gabriella quickly snapped out of her thought trance, "Hey, sorry."

"Don't worry too much, she didn't look like that much of a stalker," Owen teased.

Gabriella stared at him blankly, again.

Owen's eyebrows furrowed. What was going on with this girl? Usually Gabriella had some witty remark. Right now, she had nothing. Something was certainly up.

"Wait a second…" Owen began, "you know this woman."

"Of course I don't" Gabriella lied, unsuccessfully. She turned her head away from Owen in hopes that he wouldn't see her untruthful eyes. Her efforts were unsuccessful – the tone of her voice gave her away. Owen quickly made his way to the other side of the counter, so he could look Gabriella in the eye.

"Don't lie to me Montez. You owe me," Owen reminded her.

"What are you talking about? I don't owe you," Gabriella defended.

"Oh yes you do," Owen countered, "from that time I cleaned up the puke because someone can't stand the smell."

Gabriella frowned as she recalled the small boy who had thrown up in the back of the store. As the two youngest employees Owen and Gabriella had been given the task of cleaning up the vomit. Gabriella remembered the horrible smell that had filled her nostrils as she had approached the scene and how it had made her want to throw up as well. She recalled how Owen had graciously agreed to clean up the vomit, as Gabriella's face turned greener and greener.

She did owe him. Curse that small boy.

She sighed and gave in, "That was my mother."

With that, she turned her back to Owen and started pulling paperwork to organize the receipts.

"Oh no you don't. You're not getting off that easy Montez. What the hell do you mean, your mother? That doesn't make any sense," Owen retorted.

Gabriella snapped her head around, "It's complicated Owen. I don't want to talk about it," she said quickly.

"What? Is there some melodramatic hatred between you two. You can't bear to be in the same room as her and she is always searching for your forgiveness," he mocked. "Why do girls always seem to hate their mothers?" he muttered.

That pushed Gabriella over the edge. How dare he assume he knew everything about her life?

"She walked out on us," Gabriella snapped angrily, "She thought her career was more important than her family, so she left us and now she's back." She turned away from a shocked, and slightly embarrassed Owen.

Owen slowly made his way back around the counter and placed a comforting hand on Gabriella's shoulder,

"Gabriella, I didn't know. I'm sorry," he apologized softly.

"It's alright, I'd rather not bring it up again," Gabriella said quietly.

"If I can say one last thing?" Owen requested. When Gabriella didn't object, he leaned closer and whispered, "I say you punch her in the face. She deserves it."

Gabriella couldn't help but laugh. Deep down inside that's exactly what she wanted to do.

"Tempting, eh?" Owen chuckled.

Gabriella nodded, still laughing, "Very," she admitted. Owen grinned proudly.

Just then the two heard the store door open. The two turned around and saw Troy enter the store.

"Ready to go Brie?" he asked, making his way over to the counter.

Gabriella smiled, "Yeah, let me just run and get my bag, it's in the back." She quickly darted off, leaving Troy and Owen standing there, awkwardly.

Unable to stand the awkward silence that had fallen over them, Troy stuck out his hand, "Troy Bolton, I'm Gabriella's boyfriend," he introduced.

"Owen Reynolds, I work here as well," Owen introduced, shaking Troy's hand. Troy's grip was firm as the teenagers shook hands, as if he was sizing Owen up (which he was). When the released hands, Troy spoke again,

"You don't go to East High, do you? I don't think I recognize you."

"Nah, I go to West High," Owen answered casually. "Go knights," he joked, pumping his fist.

Troy smiled, but only to be polite. Gabriella soon appeared with her bag in hand, ready to go. She walked over to Troy and interlocked her hand with his, "All set."

"Great, let's go," Troy smiled.

"See you later Owen," Gabriella waved.

"See you Montez. Nice to meet you Troy," Owen waved back.

"You as well Owen." Troy held his hand up as a way of saying goodbye.

Troy and Gabriella turned to leave the store. As they were walking towards the door Troy placed a kiss on Gabriella's head and then turned to glace back at Owen before he pushed open the door for Gabriella.

'West High. Interesting.' He thought.

After a short drive back to Troy's house, Troy and Gabriella were walking up Troy's front path to his house. The Boltons had invited the Montez family over for dinner. It would be the first time Maria would meet the family, who had been so kind to Gabriella and her family. More importantly, it would be the first time Troy met the woman who broke Gabriella's heart. Troy opened the door and called out to his family,

"We're here!"

"We're in the dining room," his mother called back.

"Perfect timing," Troy whispered to Gabriella, "looks like dinner is just about to be served."

Gabriella smiled, thankful she wouldn't have to engage in any small talk in the kitchen while Lucille finished up the preparations for dinner.

When Troy and Gabriella entered the dining room, Lucille was the first to greet the couple,

"Oh Gabriella, it's lovely to see you again," she gushed, embracing Gabriella in a warm hug. While everyone else smiled and waved as a greeting, Maria stood up from the table to meet Troy.

Gabriella gestured to her mother, "Troy this is my mother," then she gestured to Troy, "and Maria, this is my boyfriend, Troy."

Maria quickly held out her hand to shake Troy's, "It's lovely to meet you Troy."

"You as well," Troy smiled politely. Maria smiled as well as she shook the hand of the boy, who she knew was Gabriella's biggest fan. The boy she knew she needed to gain the trust of, in order to gain the trust of Gabriella.

"Well, let's not let the dinner get cold. Everyone sit down and get started," Lucille grinned.

After the Boltons and Montezes had been well fed, Troy and Gabriella had been assigned dish duty, while the rest of the families retired to the family room to sit and chat. Troy and Gabriella didn't mind dish duty so much, they were together, so it didn't matter to them what they were doing.

Gabriella washed the dirty dishes with warm soapy water, while Troy dried the dishes and put them away.

"So what do you think of my mother, now that you've met her?" Gabriella asked curiously.

"She seems alright, she did seem to talk a lot about her work. And she wanted to know what my parents did," Troy shrugged, "Although I noticed you don't call her mom," Troy pointed out.

"Do I sense a question there?" Gabriella replied.

"You most certainly do."

Gabriella sighed, "I don't know. I don't feel right calling her mom. She doesn't feel like my mother yet. When she does, then I'll call her mom, no problem. But for now, I can't," Gabriella explained. "Does that make sense?" she added, looking worriedly up at Troy.

"That makes perfect sense," Troy assured her. "How are you two getting on?"

Gabriella shrugged, "We're trying. Sometimes it's kind of awkward because we have nothing to talk about, but we can usually hold a civil conversation. We're getting there."

"And Lucas and Lily?" Troy probed.

"They seem alright. At first, I think they were confused, mostly because of me though. They didn't want to upset me by making the wrong choice. But I assured them that however they cope with the whole mom being back thing, it won't upset me. They seem to be getting on better than I am. They're more open," Gabriella explained.

"And are you ok with that?" Troy asked.

"Of course I am," Gabriella answered quickly.

"Ah that's very much a Gabriella move," Troy stated.

"What do you mean?" Gabriella asked, confused.

"Well, you somehow always manage to put Lucas and Lily ahead of yourself," Troy pointed out.

"Of course I do, they're my younger brother and sister. Do you think there is something wrong with that?" Gabriella demanded putting her sponge down to face Troy.

"Of course not," Troy answered, placing his dish towel over this shoulder as he turned to Gabriella, "What I want to make sure of, is that you are really and truly ok with the fact that your brother and sister are having a much easier time with this than you are," Troy explained, studying Gabriella's expression carefully.

Gabriella looked away shyly, "It's not fair you know me too well," she murmured.

Troy smiled softly, "You want to talk about it?"

"I want Lucas and Lily to be happy, I really do. You know that. But part of me, is jealous that they're adjusting so much easier. Why is it so hard for me to forgive her? How come I still feel this anger inside of me? How have they forgotten the pain? How have they taken the first steps in forgiving her and why can't I do the same?" Gabriella sighed.

"They weren't as old as you when she left. They probably don't remember what she was like before she left," Troy pointed out, "The wounds of her leaving aren't as freshly implanted in their memories. Whereas the memory you have of you mother leaving will forever stay with you."

Gabriella nodded, Troy did make a good point. That didn't make it any easier, but she knew he was right.

Troy studied Gabriella as she continued to wash the dishes in the short silence that had fallen over the two. There was still something else though, something else that was bothering her. Troy could feel it. What was it though?

"What else is bothering you, Brie?" Troy asked gently.

Gabriella didn't even bother to try to lie to Troy, she knew he could see right through her. She shook her head, "It's stupid."

"I'm sure it's not stupid. You can tell me," Troy assured her.

Gabriella looked up at him guiltily, "What if they don't need me anymore?"

There was the real root of the problem. Yes, Gabriella was bothered that Lucas and Lily were adjusting better, but she was also terrified by the fact that with a new mother figure in their lives, their need for Gabriella would disappear.

Troy placed his hand on Gabriella's and locked his blue orbs with her brown ones.

"Your brother and sister love you very very much Gabriella. Anybody can see that. No one, not even their own mother, will ever replace you. They're not going to forget all you've done for them. There is never going to come a time when they won't want to spend time with you Brie, I promise you. Don't you worry yourself about that. You've been the best big sister anyone could ask for, and Lucas and Lily are well aware of that." Troy's voice was kind, but firm. Gabriella knew he really believed the words that were spilling out of his mouth and they made her feel a lot better.

She went up on her tip toes to give Troy a kiss on the lips, "I love you," she murmured.

"I love you as well Brie," Troy whispered, kissing her softly back.

A/N: So….what did you guys think? Yay Nay? Let me know with a lovely review! Thanks for reading!