A/N: Hello all. Glad to see that you have made it all the way to chapter ten. Thanks so much for reading my story. Any opinions on what you think should happen, I am open for ideas. Just review or send me a PM. I love the support of all you guys; you have no idea what it means to me. If you see any mistakes or anything, feel free to point them out. Without criticism - constructive criticism that is - you can't get better. Thanks again. I really appreciate it.

Previously: The next day, Taylor, Chad and Troy all came over before I left. They helped us pack the last of the boxes into the U-haul. I got several hugs from all of them. As we pulled out of the driveway, it was all I could do to keep myself from bursting into tears. I turned the radio up. Neither me or my mom spoke a word to the other the entire drive.

Chapter 10: How Sorry?

Taylor POV:

Chad asked me on a date. I couldn't believe it. After Gabbi left, we all hung out for a little bit at the park, but then Troy had to go help his mom with something at the café so it was just me and Chad. We were sitting on the swings.

"I bet I can go higher," he challenged.

"Oh, it's on," I replied, pumping my legs.

"Is that all you got?" he called over.

"What are you talking about? I'm totally beating you!"

Our playful banter went on like that for a few minutes until Chad jumped off his swing and landed in the grass gracefully.

"Beat that!" he teased. I laughed and jumped off my swing. Although I beat him in distance, I didn't beat him in grace. In other words, I fell right on my butt. He started laughing at me immediately.

"Hey, I won, so shut up!" I said, defending myself.

"Sorry," He said, still laughing but he offered me a hand to help me up. I took it and he pulled me up a little too hard and I almost fell on top of him. "Whoa, watch it," he said.

"You did it," I remarked.

"You liked it," he answered flirtatiously.

"You wish," I retorted. We began wandering slowly over to the picnic tables on the other side of the park.

"You know, most girls can't pull that off without looking like an idiot."

"Well, I'm not most girls," I replied sassily.

"I know."

I glanced at him and he smiled at me. I wondered if my smile gave him butterflies the way his did to me.

"I like you," he stated, looking forward again. I giggled a little.

"Okay?" I said, questioningly. This was actually the first time he'd ever said this. He said it without a question in his voice or a doubt in my mind, and it seemed more sincere than anything I've ever heard him say.

"Do you like me?" He tucked his hands in his pockets, a nervous habit of his that I've come to admire. Other than that I wouldn't have noticed he was anxious at all.

"Yes," I smiled. "I like you too."

"Good. Race you to the tables" he said, and just like that, the conversation was ended as he took off running to get their first.

"No fair!" I called, running after him. "You got a head start," I said when I met him at the table.

"It's not my fault you weren't paying attention," he smirked. I punched him on the arm lightly. "So there's this movie I've been meaning to go see," he began, hesitantly.

"Yeah?" I smiled.

"Well, I was wondering if you would like to go with me."

"Sure." My smile grew. "That sounds great."

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Gabrielle POV:

When I got Taylor's text saying that Chad had asked her out, I was happy for her, but I felt a little sad. I had just left this morning and they were already planning their lives without me. I sighed and began unpacking, wondering how long it would be before all of them started fading from my lives just as everyone else had.

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The summer passed slowly. I talked to Troy and Taylor a lot, even Chad texted me on occasion and there were a few visits, but not many. My mom was working, and she really seemed to like this job for some reason. She was happy more often then not, but maybe it had to do with the fact that almost every weekend she went out with that guy in the expensive car. A lot of days she came home late from work after dinner with a friend - as if I didn't know what was actually going on. I wondered when she'd just come out and tell me.

Taylor and Chad finally started going out in July, leaving even less time for me. She was happy, and I was happy for her, but I missed everyone, and it seemed like they were getting along just fine without me. Even Troy.

I spent most of my summer either in my room reading or at the library getting more books. I didn't really meet anyone, except I saw the neighbor a few times. She was the girl who was our waitress on our very first visit. She was always coming and going but we never met.

Sometimes my mom bugged me to go out and meet people but she didn't push me as hard as she usually does. She was pretty distant all summer. Finally August ended and it was time to start another new school.

The first days I didn't really talk to anyone. The waitress, Melanie, was really friendly. We talked a few times, and on my third day she invited me to sit with her at lunch. We sat with her friends - a guy named Jason who had really dark, wavy hair, and chocolate brown eyes, and twins Amber and Amanda. They were absolutely identical, except Amanda wore these nerdy little glasses that somehow worked perfectly on her.

I quickly learned that their appearances were where the similarities stop. Amber was outgoing and would talk to anyone. Amanda was shy and preferred her books over people. Amber didn't necessarily get bad grades, but they were terrible compared to Amanda's perfect GPA. Amber went through guys like Amanda went through books. I'm not saying she's a slut- she's definitely not. She just changes her mind a lot, and most guys can't handle her. On the other hand, Amanda has probably never even had her first kiss yet. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I just got my first kiss, after all.

Even though Amanda was really quiet, even she talked more than Jason. He was really closed off from the whole group it seemed. Everyone would be laughing about a joke, and he would sit there, solemnly eating his chicken nuggets. We were lucky if we got so much as a little smile out of him.

The group of friends was odd. None of them were alike and yet they all got along together perfectly. They accepted me into their group without a question, and for that I was grateful.

Sitting at lunch with them quickly became an every day thing. I quickly became accustomed to all their strange habits - Amanda reading while she ate, Amber randomly taking food off of other's plates, Melanie's foot tapping under the table while her fingers played a nonexistent piano. The only thing I didn't get accustomed to was Jason and his strange silence. Even after two weeks of school, I'd still only heard him say about two words, total.

On the second Wednesday, after school I got a text from Troy.

From: Troy

Hey, wanna do something this weekend? My parents said I could drive up.

Naturally, my heart started beating faster and I smiled. I quickly replied.

To: Troy

Of course! Call me later and well figure it out.

The next day, during lunch, Melanie was talking about how she was playing on Saturday at the café where she worked. She was ecstatic about it.

"You guys are gonna come, right?" She said.

"Of course!" Amber said enthusiastically. Amanda smiled in agreement.

"Definitely," Jason said. Word number three. And a smile as well. Quite an accomplishment for Melanie.

"What about you, Gab?" Melanie asked me. I felt so bad telling her no.

"Well, one of my friends was coming up, but I'm sure he won't mind coming with," I told her. "As long as that's okay with you!" I quickly added.

"Of course it is!" She threw her arms around me, knocking over her milk in the process. Did I mention she was a bit of a klutz? "Oopsies," She said as Amanda grabbed it and flipped it upright and Jason went to get the napkins. It was a routine they had down.

"Thanks, guys," Melanie said as she wiped up her mess. I felt a warm glow inside at being a part of this. It was nice.

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Saturday, I spent an hour getting ready. I wore a black tee shirt with a deep purple plaid vest over top, my favorite jeans, and my new, solid black converse - my old ones had, sadly, worn out over the summer and my mom had forced me to get new ones for the beginning of the school year.

"I wanted to spend time with you," Troy explained gently, brushing my cheek with his finger, looking down at me with sad eyes.

"You will be with me," I said, confused.

"Alone," he specified, putting extra emphasis on the word.

"Oh," I said. "Well, it'll only be for an hour or two, tops," I promised. "Then we can come back here and watch a movie or something," I suggested.

"Okay," he gave in. "If it's really that important to you."

"It is," I smiled, glad that he was willing to go. I didn't want to let Melanie down so soon after gaining her friendship.

When we got there, there was surprisingly very little room. Thankfully the twins and Jason had saved us seats and waved us over when we walked in. I squished onto a couch made for two in between Jason and Troy. The twins were sharing a seat. I had enough time to make quick introductions before the concert began.

Melanie was amazing. I hadn't realized how good she was. She switched between her guitar and keyboard, but she always sang. Jason offered to buy everyone something to drink, and I got a hot chocolate. Troy declined, saying he had his own money, but Amber jumped at the chance to spend some one else's money. It was one of her specialties. Amanda, like me, got a hot chocolate.

After the concert, we sat at the café talking for awhile. We all congratulated Melanie. Considering it was her first real, paying job, we were all pretty proud of her. After talking for awhile, and drinking two hot chocolates - Troy bought me the second one - I decided to leave. I could tell Troy was getting pretty antsy.

When we got him I told him to pick out a movie while I made the popcorn. While the popcorn was popping, I got out sodas for both of us and searched to see if there was any other junk food stashed anywhere. I took in a sharp breath when he slid his arms around me, but I relaxed and leaned into him immediately.

"Did you pick a movie?" I asked.

"Yep," He said, grabbing his soda and opening it. We talked while we waited for the popcorn to finish, and then went into the living room to watch the movie.

We cuddled on the couch and munched on our popcorn and soda throughout the movie. My mom got home from work when it was halfway through. She said hi to us, and then disappeared into the kitchen. When the movie was done, she came in and told me she was going out with a 'friend' tonight. I nodded having expected it. After asking me halfheartedly if we'd be okay for dinner by ourselves, she went to get ready.

While she was getting ready, I went into the kitchen to find something to cook. Troy followed. We ended up just throwing a frozen pizza in, and we found some chips hidden in the back of a cupboard.

"Oh, good, you found something," my mom said when she came back out of her room. She was wearing a knee length skirt and a long sleeve shirt. To my surprise she actually had a little makeup on, and she'd straightened her hair. "Oh, that's my ride," she said as someone pulled in the driveway. "I'll see you too later."

"Have fun," I told her as she walked out the door.

After we ate, Troy said he wanted to see my room. I thought it was odd, but I brought him to my room anyways. I had unpacked most of my things, but there were still a couple of boxes here and there.

"Do you like it here?" he asked.

"Yeah, I do, actually. More than I expected to," I admitted.

"Oh," he said, sounding disappointed. "Home isn't the same without you anymore. My mom says you need to come over sometime and visit." I smiled.

"I'll get right on that," I said.

"You better," he came forward and put his arms around me. "I want you to come visit too." Then he kissed me, but it was kind of forceful, and I didn't like it. He was pushing me gently, and I stumbled backwards a bit.

"Troy," I said, trying to push him back, but he just kept coming towards me. "Troy," I repeated, turning my head away from him. He'd never done this to me, except that very last day. He'd always been gentle and he never made me feel uncomfortable with what we did.

"What?" He whispered huskily as his breath tickled my ear. I shivered.

"Can you stop please?" I said, but I didn't sound like I meant it.

"Stop what?" he said, teasingly as he pulled me against him and began kissing my neck.

"Troy!" I pushed him back, more forcefully this time.

"What?"

"I said stop," I said, sounding like a scared little kid. I hated the shakiness in my voice.

"Okay," he said, stepping forward and hugging me tightly against him. "I'm sorry." He sounded sincere, but I was beginning to wonder how sorry he actually was.

A/N: Uh-oh. Things are starting to look a little shaky for Troy and Gabbi. Review and let me know what you think about it. I hope you don't mind too much that I'm changing things up a bit from the movie. I think I've said this before but I have some really good ideas for this and I think it's going to be fun. (: Anyways I hoped you enjoyed it and thank you so much for taking your time to read this story. I love you all. (: