Sorry about the technical error, I was so tired last night I don't know what happened! Here is Chapter 11. I have uploaded the new chapter ten- I Know where I stand. Thanx for pointing it out, you know who you are. xxxxxx

Gabriella left Troy's house unable to believe what had happened between them. She'd thought she was doing the right thing, trying to protect Troy, protect his rep, she thought with a bitter little laugh as tears leaked from her eyes. Instead she'd made him mad and probably lost him, he'd become the arrogant Troy she hated from school, the Troy that had bullied her and made her life a misery for the last few years. Gabriella knew that when she returned to school she would be in trouble with Troy and the rest of the basketball robots.

She was a block away from home when her cell rang, it was Taylor.

"Gabi, where are you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Tay really, I'm nearly home" she reassured her.

"Troy told us what happened, boy he sure is pissed at you"

Gabriella felt awful "I know and I tried to say that I'm sorry but he woldn't listen to me"

"So what you planning on doing?"

"I'm going to go home and eat a whole gallon of ice cream and try to forget all about Troy Bolton" she said softly, as she rounded the corner to her house.

"Gabi maybe you should try and talk to him. . .He won't be able to stay mad at you"

"I don't know Taylor, I think I really annoyed him, you know what he can be like . . . I think I'll give him some time to cool off"

Taylor sighed down the phone, worried about her friend "Well tell me you're at least going to Sharpay's tomorrow"

"I don't know if I can face him Tay"

"Gabriella you can't hide a way from him, yeah you had a fight but that doesn't mean you're done with him"

"Look Tay, I'll let you know. I gotta go Tay" she said and hung up the phone.

"Well?" asked Chad looking at Taylor, concern on his face.

Taylor shook her head "I'm not sure, she sounded really upset but I don't think she wants to make up with him, I think she's scared"

Taylor was worried about her friend, she had just seemed to be relaxing with Troy and now Taylor was worried she would become introverted again.

Chad smiled at the pretty girl and touched her face "Well then it's up to us to get them on track again"

Taylor was touched that he would do that for Gabriella and leaned into him.

"Give me a kiss handsome" she said brushing her mouth over his, feeling his smile against her mouth. The kissed for long moments, arms wrapped around each other, until Troy barged into kitchen and they sprung apart looking guilty.

Troy would have smiled, if he hadn't felt so angry with Gabriella. What she'd said to Sharpay really pissed him off, it wasn't just that she said she wouldn't be interested in him, it was a denial of everything that had happened between them. He'd thought they were getting on well and although she didn't realize it, Troy was considering making things more permanent between them. She made him feel different like he could be anybody around her, and not just the cool popular guy from school, who always had to be seen with the right people at the right places. He couldn't think of any girls he knew that would happily spend hours at the park with a three year old playing,. He also couldn't think of any other girls, that would challenge him the way Gabriella did, she was a novelty for him but one he found he liked.

He told himself he was just angry with her but he wasn't, he was hurt too and he felt rejected, which wasn't a feeling he was used to.

"So dude, you planning on calling Gabriella?" Chad asked

Troy shook his head "Nope, she knows where I am if she wants me, Troy Bolton doesn't go to them, they come to him"

Taylor rolled her eyes at Troy, unable to believe that he said that about Gabriella, he sounded like such a jerk. She could see he was back to being Lunkhead basketball man and there would be no getting through to him.

"Return of Neanderthal man" she muttered under her breath and Troy just looked at her.

Chad elbowed her in the ribs with warning look.

"You have a problem Mckessie?" he asked her

"Well actually I do, you're acting like a big jerk. Gabriella was doing what she thought was best" Taylor snapped at him.

"Well she got it wrong then didn't she" he replied angrily and then turned to look at Chad.

"You better get her outta here; I'm not in the mood for any more nerds"

Chad looked helplessly at his best friend and would be girlfriend unsure what to do. Did he call Troy out for calling Taylor a nerd? Or did he let it go; it was something Chad himself would have said once over, before he hooked up with Taylor. He looked between their angry faces, Taylor was right Troy was acting like a jerk.

"That's unfair Troy" he said to Troy and turned to Taylor "c'mon lets leave him to it"

With a final glare at Troy, Taylor followed Chad out of the door.

Troy was alone, he had some thinking to do.

The next day Gabriella and Taylor hung out with Kelsi, an idea of Taylor's to take Gabi's mind off Troy. It wasn't working; Taylor could see by the way Gabriella acted. She tried to be chirpy and upbeat, but her laughs were too loud and her smiles too wide, her expressive brown eyes so sad.

Gabriella was really missing Troy and felt so bad that she had upset him, but she didn't know how to make it right. All she'd done was what she thought Troy would want but she realized she should have asked him. In the time they had spent together, neither had mentioned what would happen after the vacation. Gabriella assumed it was only a spring fling but maybe she had it wrong. Could it be possible that Troy would want more from her? She knew she had to speak to him and find out, she just couldn't leave it like this.