Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with the HSM and Twilight franchise in any way, shape or form. Nor do I hold any rights to Willow by Julia Hoban, Sweethearts by Sara Zarr, Bloom by Elizabeth Scott, Sarah Dessen's books, It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini, and John Green's Paper Towns and An Abundance of Katherines.

A/N: I finished this on Saturday so I could post it on Monday, but I'm only posting it now because my Mac went in for upgrades on Sunday and my cousin just dropped it off like 30 mins ago. =) Thanks again to xZANESSA4LIFEx, liv3. in. lov3, kaos2405, pumpkinking5, Tayweezy, xxfallblossomsxx, jj, Clembo29 and Sharkay. Enjoy dearies!

to pumpkinking5: Troy is just so amazing. This is probably my most favorite version of Troy that I've written. I know, I know. The Gen/Gabi relationship is so complicated with the whole one-sided blame game.I hope this chapter makes you as happy as you were for the last one. Thanks for the lovely review!

to Tayweezy: lol It does not. If anything, it makes me a dork for even noting that you were my first reviewer of the new year. =) This chapter below is not as sad..in retrospective. Thanks so much for the support!

to jj: Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! I'm glad you're liking it and I hope you stick around for more!

It's out there. She thinks as she pulls her knees to her constricted chest. All of this attention is eating at her. Where's a good hiding place when you need one?

"Wait a minute," Chad says as he throws down the cards in his hands and turns around to get a better look at Gabriella. "Ella? As in the Ella from West High that Troy met over winter break?"

Zeke bangs his fist on the ground in some sort of agreement to his friends words. "You're the chick Troy was obsessing over?"

Taylor, having understood what the boys were saying, turns sharply to the cowering brunette beside her. "You let us trash talk you the other day and didn't say anything?"

"What are you doing at East High?"

"Will you join the dance team?"

"Why'd you transfer?"

"Why didn't you tell us?"

Gabriella has lost track of exactly who is talking, rather she wishes she could block out their voices. She hugs her knees ands keeps her head down. "My mom died," she says bluntly. It was one sentence, but that one sentence that they strained to hear was enough to shut them up.

"I'm so sorry." Sharpay's voice is soft, but it is heard well above the silence that surrounds them. She expects this from Taylor, but she is touched that those words came from the bubbly blonde. "I'm sure she was a really amazing person."

She was.

Troy clears his throat and pushes himself off the ground. "Gabriella's actually just on her lunch break now. We better go and actually get lunch before she has to go back."

She can't bear to look at any of their apologetic faces as Troy gives her a hand to help her up.

"Okay, man. See ya later. Bye Gabs," Chad says and she can hear the forced enthusiasm in his voice. As they walk away, she can feel their sad eyes drill into her. She walks in a daze as he pulls her along, his hand clamping on hers rather stiffly. Her previous actions replay in her head and she imagines what she must of looked like to them.

I looked mental.

"Gabriella, I'm-"

"Don't say it," she snaps as she pulls her hand out of his grip.

"How do you know what I'm going to say?"

"Ever since we first met, you have done nothing, but apologize. Okay, so not the first time we met, but recently. You have nothing to be sorry for. So just stop it! I brought this on myself. I can stop calling it murder to please you, but it doesn't matter because in the end, she's still dead. Everything is my fault."

"Is that why you cut? Because you feel guilty about what happened?"

"No, that's not it at all. It's because it's the only damn thing that I can control. Nothing has been the same since the accident and there is nothing that I can do about it. My own sister hates me and I hate myself for it," Gabriella pauses and takes a breath in awe of what she admitted. "As crazy as it sounds, cutting make me feel better. It's something concrete for me to hold onto. Not that I expect you to understand." She mutters the latter sentence and begins to walk away. She doesn't know care if she's going the right direction, she just wants to get away from him. There are a lot of things that she has told him that no one knows, but her latest confession is just the icing on the cake. Anger courses through her body as she stalks past a couple of children laughing. Why is it that she can't control anything that comes out of her mouth when he's within two feet of her?

"Wait a second," he says suddenly, jogging a bit to block her from walking any further. "What's your favorite color?"

"What?"

"I propose we have a normal conversation. One that is completely lighthearted and doesn't have anything to do with anything serious."

Gabriella stares at him for a few moments, internally debating if he was joking. She had just bared her soul to him and was about to stalk off, but now as he smiles easily, the tension in the air has dissolved. "I've never met anyone like you," she admits more to herself than him.

"Too bad I can't say the same thing about you. I mean, you're just like everyone else in this world," he says with sarcasm dripping from every word.

It could be because of her delirious state caused by exhaustion or perhaps the ludicrous behavior she showcased earlier, but she laughs. Her eyes drift shut and she shakes her head from side to side, as if to literally shake some sense into herself. "God, your friends must think I'm crazy."

"Not crazy, remember? Unpredictable," he says with an amused smile. He begins walking backwards and she makes the unconscious decision to follow him.

"Orange."

"What?" he asks, stumbling a bit as he almost trips over a rock.

She sighs and runs a hand through her curly locks. "My favorite color is orange."

"Oh right," he says and she swears that she can see a slight blush creeping on his cheeks. "Favorite book? Let me guess, does it have to do with sparkly vampires?"

"Oh God, no. I was infatuated with the whole Twilight Saga for about a week and then I realized Bella is incredibly spineless and Edward's just odd. I'm more into realistic fiction, but it's hard to pick just one book. Sweethearts by Sara Zarr, Bloom by Elizabeth Scott and all things Sarah Dessen top the list though."

"I'm guessing that they're all like chick flicks, but in word form."

"You guessed correctly this time," she says as she tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. "Are you into books at all? Or are you too busy with basketball to pick up a book?"

"I'm not a huge book reader, but I do read if I have some time to kill. It's a tie between Looking for Alaska by John Green and It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini."

"John Green? I read An Abundance of Katherines by him last year. The writing was wonderful, but the plot was dragging in the beginning. It didn't really compel me to read more of his work. "

"I'm with you on that. I read that after Looking for Alaska and it was kind of a let down. It was good, just not amazing. Looking for Alaska, on the other hand, was phenomenal. It really helped me figure some things out."

"What was it about?"

"There's this kid named Miles and his life has been this long nonevent, so he goes to a boarding school in search of something call the 'Great Perhaps'. He befriends some people and one of the people is Alaska Young. Now, Alaska's described to be basically the perfect woman- literate, articulate, beautiful and adventurous. Miles falls really hard for her, but they can't be together because she's in love with her boyfriend back home. What's great about the book is that it doesn't really involve some romance. A big chunk of the book is about how they have a full out prank war against some other kids at the school. Anyway, the story is divided in to two parts: 'Before' and 'After' what is climatically Alaska's suicide or presumed suicide. It's like meant to show how big of an impact someone can have on your life. "

"Sounds depressing."

"That's kind of ironic coming from you," he comments, causing her forehead to crease. "You know, I think that you're Alaska materialized."

"How so?"

"The reason that they don't know if it's a suicide or an accident is because Alaska was a bit self-destructive to begin with as a repercussion of watching her mom have a brain aneurysm when she was eight. She was shocked and young, she didn't think about dialing 911. Her dad eventually forgave her, but she always carried that guilt."

"Is that what sparked the idea that I'm suicidal?"

"No, my anxiety towards that was fueled by something entirely different."

The detached emotion in his voice causes her mind to drift back to her conversation with the girls the night before. She clear her throat and glances sideways at him. "And that would be?"

"A story for another time," he says with what she perceives to be a forced smile. "We're keeping it lighthearted today. Remember?"

Despite the fact that she would much rather continue her interrogations, she nods in acceptance. Biting down on her lip, she crosses her thin arms beneath her chest and steps to the side to allow a cyclist to past. "What does a lighthearted conversation entail?" It's a peculiar question, but for Gabriella it's completely reasonable. Gossiping with the girls was easy. A few smiles here and a couple of "No way!"-s there and they were good to go. Talking to Troy was much different.

"Is there anything you want to ask me?"

"How much farther till we reach the diner?"

He smiles again; this time it reaches his alluring eyes. Taking a step closer to her, he points straight ahead of them. "Wanna race?" he asks, his grin growing wider.

"Not really."

"Awe, are you scared that it was beginner's luck the first time?"

"Of course not."

"Then you'd have no problem racing me, right?"

She rolls her eyes and uncrosses her arms. "I can't believe I'm doing this again," she mutters to herself as she begins to tie up her ebony curls with the elastic on her wrist. "Ready?"

"Just to the sidewalk, okay?"

"Got it."

"Go!"

Looking much like children playing tag, they begin their spur of the moment race with Troy in the league. There is no underlying motivation for her to beat him, other than the fact that it felt good beating him. She pushes herself to go farther and the tiredness from earlier is gone with the wind. Taking even breaths, she finds the strength to pass him. They reached the crackled concrete walkway in a matter moments with Troy just just a step behind.

"How did you get so fast?" he asks after he has steadied his breath.

"Practice. I had to stay in shape for dance, " she answers in a nonchalant tone as she readjusts the ponytail on top of her head.

"So, you really were a dancer?"

"Is that so hard to believe?" she says with annoyance written on her face as his eyes sweep over her body. She attempts to glare at him, but finds it hard to do when he looks abashed and turns away.

"Not really. I'm just surprised, is all." he says, shrugging and looking both ways before crossing the street. He stops midway and looks at her expectingly. "Are you coming?"

She nods and scurries to meet him.

"So, you can sing and dance," Troy comments as they reach the other side of the road. "If you add acting to that list, you'd be a triple threat," he jokes with an easy smile. He examines her face as he holds the door of the diner open for her. He notes that she nervously glances around and it's not because they are entering the warmth that was the corner diner. "You used to act, didn't you?"

Breathing in the sweet smell of cinnamon and apples, she meekly follows Troy to raised seats at the long counter. There weren't a lot of people eating now, but the warm atmosphere made it seem otherwise. She swallows the lump in her throat and says, "I might of participated in a few school productions."

"Wow. So far, you're sounding like Sharpay: the brunette version," he says as he hands her a menu. "Wait. Weren't you on the Decathlon Team too?"

"How did you know?"

"I think my mom mentioned it once or maybe it was your sister last year when she was telling us her life story. I don't know, but it doesn't matter." He shakes his head, then turns to Gabriella. "You are Alaska!"

She frowns and sets down the menu on the counter in front of her. "Alaska the state or the character from the John Green book?"

"The character."

Tilting her head to the side and pursing her lip slightly, she then says, "How- You know what, I don't even want to know. Why don't we talk about for you for a change?"

Troy shrugs nonchalantly and crosses his arms on the counter, leaning forward. "There's not much to tell."

"C'mon. It's only fair," she says with a small pout.

He takes one look at her protruding bottom lip that makes her looks even more so alluring and sighs. "I've lived in Albuquerque my whole life. My parents got married young and divorced when I was five. They've always told me that it was a mutual decision; I guess I believe them. Mom married my stepdad when I was 13. He's a good guy and he's the one that taught me how to shoot a three-pointer, thus jump starting my basketball career. They had my half-sister a couple of months ago. The end."

"Did your dad ever remarry?"

"No," he says, looking down at his calloused hands. "He actually passed away two year."

The bitter confession strikes a chord with her. She knows that the normal thing to do would be to empathize with the other person because if anyone understands the feeling of losing a parent, it would be her. Biting down on her lip, her mind wanders back to when he blew up at her for moping that day in his room and of course Sharpay's words.

It makes sense.

"You've probably heard it a thousand times, so I'm not sure if you want me to say, 'I'm sorry for your loss,' or any other generic sentiment." she says truthfully, as they slip into an awkward silence.

He clears his throat and picks up the menu in front of him. "What are you in the mood for? They have milkshakes here; they're really thick and creamy. You like strawberries right?" With such ease, he maneuvers them out of the dreariness that surrounded them.

Gabriella, on the other hand, finds it difficult to shrug off as she musters up as much enthusiasm as she could and says,"They're the best, but I'm not really hungry."

"When the food comes and you smell how good it is, then you'll be hungry," he says as he waves to one of the older waitresses.

"Good to see you again, hun," a red head in her early 60s says as she approaches them with a little notepad in her hand. Her heavily lined eyes fall on the thin brunette beside him and she smiles. "Now, who's this pretty little thing?"

"Gabriella meet Ginger and Ginger meet Gabriella. She just transferred to East High."

"Well, Miss Gabriella. You are just beautiful," the waitress says with the corners of her red lips turned up in a smile, causing the timid brunette to flush and offer a polite smile before returning her attention to the menu in front of her.

"What can I get you two? You want your usual Troy?"

"Thanks, Ginger," he says cheerfully and nudges the beauty beside him.

She looks up at him, slightly dazed. "Huh?"

"What do you want to eat?"

"Oh umm.. Just a burger."

"Do you want a side of fries or onion rings?"

"Fries, please."

"Oh and she wants a strawberry milkshake," he says, ignoring the way she shakes her in denial. "Yes you do. You're life will not be complete without one."

"Fine," she mutters as she shuts the menu and hands it to Troy, who returns them back into their holder.

"I'll go put your orders in and bring out your shakes," Ginger says with a smile and walks away.

"What's wrong now?" Troy asks with a frown. "You're not still thinking about what I said about my dad, are you? Because you know that you don't have to say anything about it. It's been about 2 years and I'm not in mourning anymore. Besides, it's not like you even knew me back then."

Shaking her head in denial, she lies through her teeth saying, "I'm just tired all of a sudden."

"It's probably because you're hungry."

"You're worse than Gen and Adam combined," she says whilst rolling her dark eyes.

"Speaking of Adam, why is it that he compared me to Edward?"

Gabriella laughs quietly as she could almost hear her brother-in-law's words in her head. "It's really stupid and not even close to logical," she says. "A better question is, where you really watching me sleep earlier?"

Troy raises a hand to scratch the back of his neck and looks away, a movement she has learned to mean that he's embarrassed. "I seriously thought you were sleeping," he mutters.

Her nose crinkles and she tilt her head a bit to the right. "That's kind of creepy."

"Okay, it's not like I took pictures of you that I'm going to put up in my room. I came in and I honestly could not decided if I should wake you up. Then your boss came in and made it sound so much more than it really was."

"Whatever you say." A smirk tugs at her lips and she looks down. Out of the corner of her eyes she notices that the salt shaker was on its side with its cap off, the sand like grains spilling out. Impulsively she reaches out to pick it up, throwing a bit of the white substance over her shoulder before screwing that cap on. When she looks up, she notices that he's looking at her with a small smile. "What?"

"You're superstitious," he says in an accusing tone and a teasing smile on his lips.

"Well, not really, but sort of," she says as she starts wringing her hands. "I just figure that if it doesn't really bring me luck, then whatever. It can't hurt, right?"

"Totally," he says with a warm smile. "That's why the team and I have a pair of lucky socks for big games. Speaking of, I never thanked you for coming last night."

"Did I have a choice?"

"You could of left when you found out who we were playing, but you didn't."

"I didn't even stay, so I don't know why you're thanking me."

"I'm thanking you because I know that it was hard for you and it means a lot to me that you even attempted to stay for the whole game," he says and places his hand over her joined hands.

A sly smile slips onto her lips and her eyes dart down to where their hands were now entwined. Gabriella doesn't know what to say to Troy's genuine confession. She feels the smallest sliver of joy that she did something right. More so, she did something that made him happy after everything she's put him through. For a moment, she has forgotten what brought her back to Troy in the first place. To the surrounding customers, she assumes that she and Troy look normal; that they don't see her as seemingly depressed. She imagines that this is what it could of been like if they returned to Albuquerque and reacquainted themselves with each others.

"And Gabriella?" he says, making her head lift and causing his mesmerizing eyes to connect with her brown ones. "I don't know if I mentioned this already, but I'm really glad that you haven't hurt yourself lately."

"Oh. I- uhh..thanks," she mumbles, looking away abashed. The room suddenly feels much warmer and so she slips her hand out of his grasp to push up the dark gray sleeves of her cardigan. She pulls the cuff of each sleeve towards her elbows, stopping just below the unmarred skin of her wrist. Catching sight of a particularly dark scar, she asks, "How do you put up with me?"

"You don't make it all that easy, but I don't know, I think you're kind of worth it," he says with a smile that makes girls swoon, but Gabriella merely shakes her head at him.

"Well, I think that you're a big softie," she teases; finding the courage to look up at him with a small smile.

Their tender moment is interrupted by Ginger bringing their milkshakes. She sets a dark, creamy substance filled glass in front of Troy and sets a pink one in front of her. Before walking off to another customer, she showcases her warm smile and mumbles something about their lunch being right out.

"Go ahead, have a sip," Troy encourages, gesturing towards the frosty glass in front of her. "It's the best thing you've ever had."

She picks up the bright red cherry sitting on the cloud of whip cream and holds it up to him by the stem. "I don't like cherries."

He lets out a dramatic gasp. "What's wrong with you?" he asks rhetorically, shaking his head in mock disapproval. He opens his mouth and looks at her expectingly.

"What are you? Two? I am not feeding you," she says firmly and plops the cherry on to the whip cream topping his chocolate shake. She gingerly wraps her hand around the chilled glass and raises the neon pink straw to her lips. She sucks on the tube and the fruity, thick liquid fills her mouth. "That's really good," she says when she sets the glass down after a few more sips.

"I told you," he says smugly before drinking his own milkshake. "You want to try the chocolate?"

"I'm actually not a big fan of chocolate."

"That's it, you're officially weird."

"Oh jeez. Thanks."

"What do you like?" he asks, blatantly ignoring the sarcasm that dripped from her every syllable.

She shrugs and merely nods her heads towards her milkshake. "Strawberries."

"How about chocolate covered strawberries?"

"Those are an exception," she says as if it was obvious.

"You're so weird," he teases as he picks up his milkshake and makes a show of drinking the creamy substance. "Yum! Yum! Chocolate," he says with a boyish grin on his face, causing her to laugh.

They continue to draw the attention of the surrounding diners with their loud laughter. She supposes that no one complained about them because they seemed like relatively harmless teens. In the midst of their impromptu lunch, Gabriella pauses to steady her breath from laughing so hard. Looking around the diner, she observes that there was a mixture of ages and varying sizes of groups. At one of the larger booths, she spies a group of what looked like high school students. Her brown eyes suddenly come in contact with the perky redhead from Chemistry and she assumes that it's jealously that fills the redhead's eyes. And why wouldn't there be jealousy? Troy was probably the most selfless person the planet. Spending a homestyle lunch with the gorgeous basketball captain made her realize how incredibly lucky she is to have him still want to be around her. Yes, the prospect of falling for him was quite frightening, but that didn't mean friendship was completely out of the question. Right?

I'm done pushing him away.

A/N: She made progress!! Anyone else happy? I know I am. Oh and if you are ever looking for a good book to read, I highly recommend the books mentioned in their convo (also listed in the disclaimer). They are all my favorite books, especially John's books. Speaking of reading, I gotta go read 30+ pages of The Poisonwood Bible and other homework. Oh joy. Thanks so much for reading and I've written like a third of the next chapter.
I'd love to know your thoughts on this chapter. XD
Much Love,
Kae xoxo