Woah, quick update huh? Well I thought it was. I also think this chapter is a little longer than the previous one, and it get really deeply into their feelings, so it's not quite as fluffy as usual (which I like).

Disclaimer: Because I'm getting no reviews that means that no one is reading this anymore, so why bother disclaiming ownership of HSM when there's no one to challenge whether I own it or not? That's what I think anyway.

After their argument, Troy and Gabriella tried to avoid each other for the rest of the evening, which was pretty hard because they were in the same house. Gabriella followed her mum through the house, pretending to be interested in Lucy Bolton's tea set and continuously glancing around to make sure that Troy wasn't planning on sneaking up on her and forcing his company upon her. Troy just stayed in his armchair in the living room, talking with his dad about basketball. He couldn't wait for dinner when Gabriella couldn't avoid him anymore.

When Lucy called for dinner, Gabriella tried to seat herself between the two women, but their continuous chatter forced her to the head of the table. She sat nervously and tried to be as small and unnoticeable as possible. Troy smirked when he entered the dining room and took the seat on her right. As he sat his knee accidentally bumped hers and Gabriella felt an unwanted tingle travel up her leg.

Jack Bolton brought out the plates of food and told everyone to dig in. Troy obliged as Gabriella picked at her food, it didn't exactly look delicious… when she noticed her mum glaring at her Gabriella began eating properly, trying to ignore Troy looking alertly at her on her right.

"So, how's school been for you Gabriella?" Lucy Bolton asked. Gabriella shrugged -her mouth was full- but Elena indicated for her to answer properly, so she swallowed (with difficulty).

"Okay. My singing's going well, and maths and stuff is all good too." She said modestly. Troy smirked to himself, 'good' was an understatement for Gabriella's school stuff, especially in comparison to him.

"What about outside of school, I know that when you started singing you were a little worried that it might impact your relationships." Troy winced when her singing was brought up, both couldn't help but remember earlier that day and the hallway incident. That was the closest he'd gotten to showing Gabriella how he felt, but Josh managed to stuff that up every time. He felt a type of cruel satisfaction when Gabriella shrugged uncomfortably.

"That's good too." Everyone was silent. The adults glanced between each other, hoping for a longer answer than that.

"Gabi has a boyfriend now, tell them about Josh sweetie." Gabriella shot her mum a death glare, then Troy an apologising look.

"Oh, Josh… yeah, we're good as well." She didn't know why she kept on saying 'good', but it seemed to do the job. Everyone nodded as if they understood perfectly.

"What about Troy, how's he doing at school?" Elena asked the question to Troy's parents not to Troy, which Gabriella thought was pretty rude.

"Troy's doing quite well I think. There was winning the basketball finals last year, which was fantastic, and the exams went okay for him…" Troy put down his cutlery and stared stonily at his plate, he hated his parents showing off about him.

"But his studies aren't going as well anymore, not as good as we'd like him to do. He's falling behind quite a bit in maths and science mostly. Basketball seems to make a big indent in his school and social life." Gabriella's eyes widened as Lucy Bolton continued. She could see Troy looking angrily at his plate next to her.

"Mum, my studies are going fine, I just didn't like the test, we hadn't been taught most of the stuff in it." Troy defended himself, and Gabriella nodded in agreement even though everyone knew that she wasn't in his class.

"Regardless, I think 30 is definitely a problem grade. You're much too focussed on basketball, everything else is important you know."

"Basketball is important too." Jack added, although not particularly for Troy's sake, mostly for his own.

"I know Jack, I know." Lucy spared him a few words, before the two mothers dug deeper into their conversation, but Troy had blocked them off. He didn't want or need to hear about how he was a 'problem student' he already knew that. Standing up, he shoved his chair in and took his plate into the kitchen, dropping it in the sink then hurrying up to his room, not bothering at ask if he was allowed. Gabriela stared uneasily after him. She knew that he knew that he wasn't going well in his studies, but she didn't understand why his mum brought it up in such an accusing way, it was hardly his fault that there was so much basketball training that it kept cutting into his classes.

"May I be excused?" She asked quietly, and when Jack nodded at her she walked into the kitchen and put her plate with Troy's in the sink, then went after him upstairs.

Not bothering to try and be quiet, just in case Troy had randomly decided to get changed (unlikely, but not impossible) or if he wanted to avoid her, Gabriella wandered up the stairs and towards his room. She noticed almost immediately that the door was shut; he'd probably known that she would come. Gabriella stared t the door for a moment, was it really her job to comfort Troy? They weren't close, pretty far away from being best friends, and didn't really talk that much outside of school anymore, was it still her job to be there for him?

Stepping back from the door, Gabriella pondered her idea further. Wasn't Chad his best friend now? Everyone knew that. And it was hardly like they ran in the same circles. He spent almost all of his time in the gym, practising basketball or skipping classes. She, on the other hand was always in the science lab with Taylor, or in the music centre doing her singing lessons. She was academically focussed, and almost definitely would get a scholarship for biology or chemistry at some Ivy League college. He was sport centred; everything he did at school brought him a little closer to acceptance into a sporting college. They would never run in the same circles- they hadn't for a long time.

Gabriella sighed and turned around, walking slowly back towards the stairs. She couldn't help feeling a tiny bit of sorrow at the sudden loss she'd discovered. But it was perfectly clear in her mind, one of the few things that formed a clear, straight line between the points of the past, present and future: her and Troy were over. That was if they'd ever began, which she wasn't completely clear about. As she started down the first step she could swear that she'd heard a door open behind her, and passed. She listened hard, waiting for Troy to call to her or approach her; nothing happened. Sighing again, Gabriela continued down the stairs, turning the corner and disappearing from sight, her expression stiff, holding back the dull sadness that she felt.

Troy's cobalt eyes watched her retreating form. So she'd gone. Finally. He kept his door open and leant on the doorframe beside him. Once Gabriella had been his best friend, once, the sight of her leaving without talking to him would have made him disappointed or angry or sad, once he'd liked her friendship. Now he didn't. Now her friendship just wasn't enough. Once he would have yelled at her to come back and talked to him, but now he was older he resisted. Now it was so much more complicated than two friends fighting, because that was just it; they weren't fighting.

He stumbled back towards his bed and sat there, overwhelmed by the dumb reality that he'd lost his friend since pre-school, his long-time crush, and the girl who he had a nagging feeling that he was in love with. That was annoying, wasn't it? Troy suddenly felt a confident urge to go after her, and even as he formed a perfect plan to run up to her and kiss her he drowned the idea. It was stupid, she didn't like him, and she'd just walked away. The reality hit him that for once he couldn't fix it. He hadn't told her to leave; she'd left by her own free will. It had been her decision to walk away from him.

I actually liked that quite a bit, and fianlly I liekd one of my chapters that didn't involve a make out scene... or much fluff at all really. PLZ REVIEW!!! I got so many for I Want (which isn't over yet) and so many people added me to their author alert so I know that at least a few people must be reading this. Just review once and I'll be greatful. Plus., the deal still stands that if you review enough/ give me a really nice review that's make me feel all warm n fuzzy (see that chapter of I Want where I dedicated to a reviewer from this and one from First Time because their reviews were really nice, and read their reviews for an outline of what to say) I will name a character ater you. Hopfully reading this chapter has made it obviosu that this story has only just beyun, there is plenty more waiting to happen, just you wait... (that was an overuse of the word 'wait', wasn't it?)