thanks for the reviews! yay, lol.


Gabriella hugged the pillow tighter and rubbed her cheek against the pillow comfortingly. She heard a soft snoring and she turned over on her other side. She opened her eyes slightly, not recognizing the room, but she didn't let herself worry about that. She closed her eyes and attempted to fall back asleep. She heard the door open and the gasp, but Gabriella kept her eyes closed and she didn't move, she just hugged the pillow to her chest and dozed off.

Anna Bolton was at the door. Her eyes were wide and she let out a gasp. "Oh my..." she mumbled. "Troy!" she cried, walking over to her son and pulling the blanket from under him. "Troy!"

Troy wiped his face with the back of his hand and shook his head. He sat up and leaned against the bed. His eyes were tired, but once he saw his mother a little angry, we was wide awake. "M-Morning..." he muttered with a soft smile.

"Troy, who is that? Wake that person up now." Anna demanded. "I thought you had a girlfriend..." she suddenly stopped when she realized who it was. "Troy! Is that Gabriella?"

Troy was sitting on the bed, beside the sleeping girl. Troy bit his lip and gave her an apologetic smile. "I can explain...she was in some trouble at the party and I decided to help her out."

Anna scoffed. "Yeah, you did help her out." she shook her head, disapporvingly. "What is your father going to say?" she whispered.

Gabriella woke up, she sat up tiredly and wiped her eyes. Her mouth hung open when she saw Troy by her side and Mrs. Bolton in front of her. Gabriella made an awkward face. "H-Hi...Mrs. Bolton. Lovely home, I haven't visited it in awhile...am I interrupting anything? Family reunion?" she said, with an awkward smile as Anna's glare silenced her.

"Well Gabriella..." Anna said, sounding a little dissappointed.

"Mrs. Bolton, please. I didn't do anything, we didn't do anything! Please believe me, I got into some trouble last night...I was pushed into your pool and I got sick and...Troy was only helping me...he got me a change of clothes," Gabriella said, in a convincing voice.

"She passed out in my bathroom." Troy added quickly.

"I would never do something to you...or your son. I know this is your home, and we never disrespect you in away." Gabriella said, sincerely as her warm brown eyes glowed with honesty.

Wow, whatta convincer, Troy thought as he smiled to himself. "Ma, I gave Brie some clothes and she just passed out...I brought her back to my bed and I slept on the floor. Nothing happened." he said, emphasizing 'nothing'.

"Okay..." Anna said, finally convinced. "I'm sorry, just...stay out of trouble. Brie, I'll call your mom to let you know you're here, okay? Do you want a ride home, sweetheart?" she said, in a gentle voice.

"I'll take her." Troy assured his mother, as she nodded.

Gabriella smiled at Anna. "Thank you, Mrs. Bolton."

Anna responded with a nod, she knew Gabriella too well, she would never. Gabriella turned to Troy and smiled happily. She gave him a thankful hug. Whens she wrapped her arms around his neck gently, his heart began to beat faster and he was mesmerized by her presense. When the two released, Troy had a goofy smile on his face.

"Thank you, Troy." Gabriella said finally. "I'm gonna grab my dress, I'll go."

Troy just stared at her. He never realized how beautiful she was. Her dark hair complimented her soft tan skin and her dark brown eyes sparkled every time she smiled and everytime he saw her, he felt his heart was going to explode. He never felt this before.

"T-Troy? Is something wrong?" Gabriella asked, with a sense of worry in her voice.

Troy shook his head. "Nothing, you just look pretty good in my uniform," he joked.

Gabriella laughed. Troy's heart skipped a beat. "Thanks," she giggled. "I'm gonna grab my stuff."

Later, Gabriella and Troy went to the Bolton's kitchen. Anna had already set up a breafast, and Jack Bolton was sitting in front of the TV sipping his coffee and his watched the recap of last night's game. Anna flashed the two a smile and handed them both a plate of waffles, bacon, and eggs.

"Mrs. Bolton, I don't think..." Gabriella said.

Anna smiled. "No, Gabriella, really. It's my way of apologizing for being a little overreacting."

"Overreacting?" Troy asked, slightly shaking his head.

Anna sighed and let out a quick laugh. "No, really, I insist. I even called your mother. Um, Troy who cleaned up last night? Was it you?"

Troy shook his head, as he took a mouth full of his waffles. He and Gabriella slipped into the seats of their stools and began to eat their breakfasts. "Chad and Taylor." he said, which was hardly understood thanks to all the food in his mouth.

"Hm," Anna mumbled. "Really? Chad's very nice, I just wouldn't expect him to...you know," she said, tilting her head. "Maybe it was the girl. Am I right?"

Gabriella nodded as she sipped her orange juice. "Most likely." Gabriella said, with a smile. She turned to Troy, who immediately blushed.

Then, the phone began to ring. Anna rushed by it's side and answered it. It was probably one of her close friends, since she squealed excitedly and walked over to her husband, who was trying to concentrate on sports.

"Your parents are so cute," Gabriella said, with a smile. "So, how's Carlie? I really hope I didn't ruin anything."

Troy shook his head. "No, you didn't do anything, Brie. I mean, you were only defending yourself, so it's a little different. Just expect a week or two of full on-attitude." Troy said, as Gabriella laughed, he immediately blushed. "Yeah, it's like she's PMS-ing or whatever she calls it, it's like her excuse for me to avoid her all week."

Gabriella laughed. "Wow, now she's probably going to make the bottom of the Cheer pyramid." she giggled. "I'm really sorry though, but if there's a little difficulty there, I'll try to smooth it out."

"It's not your fault."

"Yes it is."

"Brie."

"Troy."

"Brie."

"Troy."

"Brie."

"Whaat?" Gabriella wailed, with a frown. "Okay fine, you win. But for now, it's not my fault. When she put's me on her most-wanted list, it will be my fault. Okay?" she said, with a bright smile.

Troy cocked his head and smiled, happily. "I'm contemplating about breaking-up with Carlie."

"No," Gabriella said, with a small frown. "Troy, don't. She's gonna think it was me, she's going to say it's my fault, then cut my hair during class."

"Like you did to me?" Troy said, with a laugh.

Gabriella laughed. "No, but don't Troy, she's a nice girl...somewhere, deep down inside her." Gabriella said, with a reassuring smile before she put her eggs in her mouth.

She is very convincing, Troy thought as he smiled as he sipped his juice. "Deep, deep, down inside you mean. I mean..."

"Troy, what's the reason you asked her out?"

Because she's hot, Troy thought.

"Troy," Gabriella said, like a stern teacher warning a young student.

"Okay, 'cause she was hot. What's wrong with that? She was hot. She's a flirt. I was a flirt. She was fun." Troy admitted, raising his hands, as if he was being caught by the police.

"Whoa, whoa, fun?" Gabriella said, cocking an eyebrow.

Troy laughed. "I mean to hang out with, we didn't...you know." he said, letting out a sigh. "It's different now. It seems like, she was this really nice, cool girl when I met her then throughout the relationship she was not...herself."

Gabriella nodded, understandingly as she took a quick bite of her bacon. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I'll let you in on a secret," she said, leaning closer to Troy.

Troy immediately began to blush and he smiled. His heart skipped a beat or two and he tried to hold in his big smile. "What?" he whispered.

"Girls act different around guys, just to impress them. But when they're with their girls, they're their true selves." Gabriella said, with a small smile, and she returned to her original polisition on the stool.

"Ahhh," Troy said, it began to make sense to him.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah, I'm not saying all girls do that, it's just an observation I made from the past years." she said.

"Do you do that?" Troy asked.

Gabriella made a quizzical face. "Um...I don't think so. I never actually like liked a guy." she said, with a nod. "If I do act weird around guys, do you promise you'll tell me? And promise you'll break up with Carlie, when you know it's right." she said, holding out her pinky. "Pinky promise."

Troy chuckled before they locked pinkies. "Okay, then. Pinky promise."

His heart beated faster.


Gabriella was sitting his Troy's car, as he drove her to her house. They were talking about anything under the sun, basketball, cheerleading, school, songs, his car, and everytime he heard her laugh, he wanted to hold her in his arms. Everytime she smiled he wanted to be around her. And everytime she looked his way, he wanted to kiss her.

Wait...am I in love with Gabriella?! She's my best friend! Troy looked over at her smiling face, she was beautiful. She was kind, caring, dedicated, smart, and...she was perfect. Troy wanted to look at her forever, but he remembered he was driving. I can't be in love with her...I'm dating Carlie...but I don't like Carlie. Then why am I with her? What if I'm in love with Brie? I can't ruin this relationship...

"Um..." he said, while Gabriella's giggles slowed down. "Have you ever been in love?" he asked, awkwardly.

Gabriella stared at him, as Troy looked at her, waiting for the green light. Gabriella had a blank face on and her mouth hung slightly open. She just stared at Troy, looking a little dissappointed. Her lip quivered and she finally regrouped herself and put on an awkward smile on her face.

"Troy, the light's green." she said, simply.

"Oh," Troy muttered as he pressed on the gas and continued down the road.

Gabriella shifted in her seat, her body facing foward. She played with her purse a little and hugged her clothes, since she was still in Troy's wildcat uniform. He's choosing her over me, isn't he? Gabriella let out a sigh. "Um..." is all Gabriella managed in the silence. She outside the window and finally recognized her neighboorhood. "This is it." Gabriella said.

Troy unbuckled his seatbelt, to walk her to the door, but she stopped him.

"No, it's okay." Gabriella said, tiredly. "And for your question. It's okay to be in love with Carlie..." she began, as Troy gave her an odd look, but she ignored it. She looked away and bit her lip. Then she returned her gaze to his soft blue eyes. "I don't like her personally, but she's your girlfriend, and...I'll support whatever you choose, Troy." she said, letting out a sigh. "And no, I've never been in love. That's a pinky promise." she said, coldly before getting out of Troy's car. Leaving him confused and speechless.


oohh, burn. lol, jk. anyways, reviews are nice. wanna know a secret? this chapter was a little short, but then I added stuff last minute, lol.

- xlovelyloserface