I Miss Her

Normal POV

It's been a week since Taylor left to go get help for her eating disorder. It seems like Gabriella, Troy, and all the others have moved on. But she's the first thing Chad thinks about when he wakes up in the morning and the last thing he thinks of before going to bed.

Chad stared down at his SAT book in front of him. They had a test on the seventy-five vocab words he was supposed to be studying, but they all seemed so foreign to him. Chad found himself drifting back to the last moment he and Taylor were together.

"Mr. Danforth?" Mrs. Anderson, their English teacher, said, trying to get his attention.

Chad looked up from his book. "Yes, Mrs. Anderson?"

"Are you all right, Chad?" Mrs. Anderson wondered.

Chad sighed. He knew he wasn't okay, he was far from it, but to make his teacher feel better, he answered, "Yes, Mrs. Anderson. I'm fine. Just a little tired."

Mrs. Anderson sighed and walked back to her desk. Chad looked down at his SAT book again, and sighed. He knew maybe ten of the seventy-five words he needed to know by tomorrow's test.

"Are you sure you're all right, man?" Troy spoke up, sitting next to his best friend.

Chad shook his head. "Not at all," he admitted. He looked into Troy's eyes. "I miss her."

Troy smiled a small smile. "I know, dude, so do we, but she'll be back soon. But in the meantime, maybe you should study. You can't fail tomorrow's test. And we have the midterms coming up next month too."

Chad blew out a sigh. "I know, Troy, but how can I concentrate on my schoolwork when all I can think about is how much I miss Taylor, about how much I want her here in my arms?"

Gabi smiled as she came over to Chad. "Just remember why she left. You want her to get better. She wants to get better. Being in that rehab center might help her get better."

Chad sighed again and just nodded. The bell rang, signaling the end of 3rd period, and Chad gathered his books and left the classroom.

The day pretty much went like that. Every class he was in, his teachers asked him if anything was wrong.

"I'm fine" was always his answer but he knew it was a lie.

In actuality, Chad was the farthest thing from "fine". He missed Taylor with all his heart, and not having her near him was killing him.

Finally, the final bell rang, and the kids of East High raced out of the building. But Chad was the last one to leave. It was Friday, but for the first time, Chad had no desire to go home. Every Friday evening since Chad and Taylor became friends, they'd spend the day together. Taylor would come over to Chad's house, and they'd go out to a movie, or out to eat. Things just wouldn't be the same this Friday, or the next few Fridays until Taylor came home.

Chad walked into his house an hour after school ended. He had spent that hour sitting on the rooftop, gathering his thoughts, thinking about nothing but how he longed to have Taylor back protectively in his arms.

"Chad, honey, are you okay?" his mother asked when she saw him.

"Yes, Mom," Chad answered through clenched teeth. As if he didn't hear it enough in school, he was hearing it at home too. "I'm not all that hungry, all right? I think I'm just gonna pass on dinner."

As he trudged his way upstairs, his mother turned to his father, "He's not okay. That boy never passes down a meal."

"You know why he's like this, hon," Mr. Danforth told his wife, wrapping an arm around her waist. "He misses Taylor. He won't be the same until he's back."

Mrs. Danforth sighed in defeat, planting a kiss on her husband's lips. "You're right, baby."

Upstairs in his room, Chad lay down on his bed. He looked over at his night stand and he almost cried.

Sitting right by his bed was his favorite picture of him and Taylor. Taylor wore his Hollister hoodie, and she had the biggest and goofiest smile on her face. Chad stood next to her, one arm around her shoulders, another hand doing the "Peace" sign. He had to laugh, though. Even now, after three years since that picture was taken, it still managed to put a smile back on his face. Much like Taylor can.

Why do I miss her this much? Chad thought to himself. I'm in love with her. Man, I hope she gets the help she needs and comes back here soon. I miss her way too much . . .

A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. Gabriella, Troy, Ryan, and Sharpay came in a few seconds later.

"Hey, guys," Chad said, giving them a fake smile.

Gabi and Troy saw through it in a heartbeat. They knew their beat friend wasn't at all happy.

"What are you guys doing here?" Chad wondered after an uncomfortable silence.

"Since Taylor isn't here, we're gonna take her place," Troy started. "Just until Taylor gets back."

"We're going out tonight," Sharpay continued.

Gabi winked at him. "Wether or not you like it," she added.

"Yeah," Ryan spoke up. "We know how much you miss Taylor but you can't just pull away from people who are trying to help you. Taylor wouldn't want you to do that, would she?"

Chad finally gave in. "Fine," he said, to make them happy.

The first place they went was to the movies to watch Jessica Alba's new movie The Eye. Then they went out to eat. But it just wasn't the same. Taylor always had some crazy story for Chad, or some way to annoy the people at the restaurant or movie theater.

"I appreciate this, guys," Chad said, "really I do, but it's just not the same. This was my and Taylor's thing. It just isn't the same without her here."

Gabi thought for a moment. "When you two came out to eat, what did you guys talk about?"

Chad smiled at the memories. "Well, she'd always have a crazy story. And when she was out of those, she always had new ways to annoy the other people in the restaurant."

"Oh . . . "

Chad stood up and handed Gabi some money. "Thanks for this, guys, but I think I'm gonna head home."

They watched Chad leave, and Gabi turned to Troy. "We have to do something."

Troy nodded his head in silent agreement. "I know."

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Taylor didn't know what to expect when she first walked into the rehab center but it wasn't at all what she found.

She had sort of expected it to be like a hospital, white ceilings, white walls, everything. But it wasn't. It was the farthest thing from a hospital. Her room, which she had all to herself, was like a mini apartment. It had a kitchen, along with a fridge that was fully stocked, a dining room, a living room, and her bedroom. She even made some friends around her age the second day she came here.

The first few days Taylor was there, she'd go for walks by herself, or sit out by the lake that was right next to the treatment center and read her book. But, somehow, her thoughts always drifted back to Chad.

How long would it be before she saw him again? Maybe it was sooner than she thought because in the last week alone, she had put on four pounds, and she hadn't felt the urge to purge yet.

Right now, she was sitting out by the lake, her back to the center, a book in her hand, thoughts filling her head. Her eyes were trained on the book in front of her but she had been reading the same page for the last ten minutes. She always thought about Chad but for some reason, she couldn't get him off of her mind today.

"Hi, Taylor," she heard a voice say. She jumped in fright and turned around, relaxing when she saw who it was.

"Oh, hi, Marcie," Taylor greeted one of the few people she met there.

"Whatcha reading?" Marcie Thompson asked, taking a seat next to Taylor.

"Uh . . . " Taylor looked down at the book in her hands. "Just some scary stories."

"Are they scary?"

"Ah, not really," Taylor admitted, folding down the corner of her page and setting the book aside. "What's up?"

"I got bored," Marcie stated simply, "so I decided to go for a walk and that's when I saw you." Marcie smiled at her new friend. "So, how was your life back in Utah?"

"It was okay," Taylor told her. "There were some rough patches when I went out with this guy, but my friend helped me get over it. How was your life back in Maine?"

Marcie blew out a sigh. "Terrible," she admitted, her eyes scanning the horizon of the pretty lake. "My dad was abusive, and my mom wouldn't let me eat. My friends all tried to help me but I just pushed them away. I didn't want them to get hurt too."

"Yeah, I know the pain. My boyfriend abused me, and no matter how much my friends tried to help, I just pushed them away. He had told me that he would kill my friends if I told them what was happening to me."

"How come guys can be so cruel?" Marcie wondered.

"Not all guys are like that," Taylor answered. "There aren't that many decent guys left in the world, and I was lucky enough to find one of the very few."

Marcie got tears in her eyes. "Must be nice," she said. "Having someone to love."

"It is," Taylor smiled. "It's the best feeling in the world." She looked over at Marcie, putting an arm around her. "Come on, Marce. There's a guy somewhere out there for you. You'll find him eventually."

"Yeah, sure. Every guy I go out with all seem to be the wrong on."

"Hey," Taylor said soothingly. "You have to go through all the wrong ones until you finally get to Mr. Right."

Marcie smiled. "You really think, somewhere out there, there's a guy for me?"

"Sure. You just have to look for him. But he's there. Somewhere."

"You're a really great person," Marcie said after an awkward silence. "Your friends, and boyfriend, must be lucky to have you." Marcie got up with a wave of her hand. "See you tonight for dinner?" she wondered, and Taylor nodded her head.

"See you tonight," she agreed.

Marcie walked away, and Taylor, once again, was left alone, her thoughts on nothing but how much she couldn't wait to be back in Chad's arms.

Did you like it? Plz R&R! There might only be a few chapters left 'cause I'm kinda getting tired with this story. And do any of you have ideas on how to end this? 'Cause I don't. Anyway, plz R&R

JonasFreak07