AUTHOR'S NOTE.

Replies to reviewers:

pilargirl -- thank you so much! please keep on reading. thanks for the support!

troyellazanessastars -- thanks. that song is lovely. i might use it. thanks for the idea:)

luvinjashley -- i'm sorry it wasn't sooner. i'll update as much as i can, okay?

skater gir -- yeah, she is. actually, her character's introduced in this chapter. enjoy reading!

Hey guys. I'm sorry I haven't updated in quite a while. We had our Holiday out-of-town trip, so I didn't have a way to write.

Anyway, here's the next chapter. I hope you like it:)

I own the plot; sub-plot actually, but not the characters. Disney does.

And by the way, I forgot to say that the songs in the last chapter were Crush by David Archuleta and My Happy Ending by Avril Lavigne.

"Sshhh. Gabriella, it's okay."

"I .. I just .. I can't take it anymore! I mean, this thing going on between me and Troy. I can't stand it. I've been with him for all of my life and right now, I can't bear not seeing him. Well, mostly seeing him not around me. And seeing him around other people. I don't know. I feel like I lost half of my life without him."

Gabriella sniffed to stop the tears from falling while Drake shrugged. Gabriella settled deeper in Drake's embrace.

"It's okay, Gabriella. I'm here."

"That's just it, Drake. I know you're there. I don't even know why I'm here, crying. I thought I was strong enough, thought I was okay. I didn't realize I was broken when I started singing that song."

"It's not your fault, Gabriella. It was Troy's fault. He was wrong for leaving you, hurting you. But, don't worry; I'll do my best to make you happy again."

Drake smiled at Gabriella, hoping that it would help stop the pain, even for a while. She smiled back and felt happier. She put a hand to her face and started rubbing her eyes, trying to get rid of the tears.

"Thanks, Drake. For listening, for being there, for being my friend. It's no use wasting tears over Troy."

They hugged for the last time and stood up.

"Are you okay? Or, do you want to go already? We can see the results tomorrow, anyway."

"Is it okay? Could we go?"

"Of course. No problem."

Gabriella smiled as she remembered how kind Drake was to her last night. She looked at him, next to her. She felt really peaceful -- tranquil even, whenever she looks at him. He really is a great friend.

"Gabriella?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay? You seem a little .." He paused looking for the right word, "dazed."

"No. It's okay. Actually, I'm thinking of something."

"Me?"

"You wish. Haha!"

"Your laugh sounds beautiful, you know. You should laugh more often."

Gabriella smiled, knowing that she was blushing.

"Cut it out, Drake."

"Now, that isn't laughing, nor smiling. That's just being Gabriella."

He got a slap on his shoulder for that remark.

"Hey. That hurt."

"That's what you deserve, Frell." She chuckled. "Should we go now?"

"Are you ready?"

"Of course. You?"

"As I ever will be."

Gabriella and Drake went to the Vocal Class Room where the results were posted. They were very nervous, but the presence of the other made it more bearable.

"Take a deep breath, Gab."

"You go take a deep breath, I'm fine."

"You look like you're dying."

"Just hold my hand. Let's go."

They went to the bulletin board and saw the scrap of paper.

Voice Class Auditions

Results

Evans, Ryan

Frell, Drake

Hale, Alexandra

Montez, Gabriella

Welcome to the Vocal Class, students. We regret to inform you that instead of the original

8 people, we were down to 4. This is the decision of the panel. Thank you for understanding.

Congratulations to the new members.

The first official meeting will take place today, August 22, 2008 at 3pm.

Attendance is a must.

And, please see the president as soon as you have read this announcement.

Katherine Darbus

They stood still, not quite over the truth in front of them. Both of them were smiling widely. Only one thing interrupted the silence -- a scream.

"Oh my gosh!!!! Drake, we made it. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!"

Gabriella was jumping like crazy and when she stopped, she immediately put her hands around Drake.

"Thanks, Drake."

She smiled and he smiled back, pulling her into another hug.

"Thanks, Gab. I couldn't have done this without you."

"Me? You helped me. We should celebrate."

"Deal."

Just then, the bell rang.

"Let's go, songbird."

Troy walked down the corridors of East High, occasionally turning his head to his left, then to his right. He was looking for someone. Well, actually, he was looking for a certain person. One who has brown hair and brown eyes. He groaned. This was becoming more and more frustrating for him. He stopped when he saw a brown-haired girl walk inside the room at the corner. Was that Gabriella? He gathered his thoughts. It wouldn't be logical to follow someone especially if you're not sure. What if it wasn't Gabriella? What if it is? He tried to compose what he wanted to say, but he failed. 'Gabriella-Gabby, I want to apologize.' That seemed like a good start. He was thinking of the next line when he heard someone scream. That had to be Gabriella.

Troy ran to the room, pausing only to breathe. He stopped when he saw Gabriella hugging Drake and Drake hugging back. It was pretty surprising. He dashed back out, before someone even saw him. His thoughts were in a jumble. Confusion over what he was feeling, betrayed, lonely, and a whole lot of other things. If there was one thing that is sure: He HATES Drake Frell.

He heard the bell ring and started to go. Troy walked -- well, more like stomped, to class. He was enraged. The scene he just saw kept on repeating itself on his head. It was glued to his memory, etched into his vision. He saw Gabriella enter the classroom.

'She looks happy.' He thought. 'Maybe I should go talk to her now.'

Troy started to get up but before he even got to his feet, Ms. Darbus entered the room, obviously frustrated.

"Sit down, children. I have bad news -- very bad news."

The students started sitting down. Some were wondering if Ms. Darbus was bordering on insanity, but one look at her stern face made them understand she was serious.

"See here, class. Ms. Lewis just filed a leave of absence, leaving no one to fend for her, nor her English class. The office decided to merge the two sections, with me as the professor. So, let's get moving everybody. Class 1-8 will be joining us for the rest of the semester."

Ms. Darbus was cut short as dozens of kids starting walking inside the room. One girl stood out.

"OMG. Ella?"

Sharpay walked to where Gabriella's seat was. She hugged her best friend.

Gabriella was taken in surprise.

"Shar-What?"

"Don't be silly, Ella. Let's be seatmates." Sharpay said, sitting next to Gabriella.

"But, aren't you classmates with .."

Sharpay nodded, showing she understood.

"Where is he?"

Just like reading her mind, a guy appeared from the corridor and went towards Gabriella.

"Gab!"

"Hey, Drake."

Both of them smiled at each other, which was not noticed by Sharpay but definitely noticed by Troy.

"So, Ella. What are your plans for your birthday?"

"Birthday?"

"Yeah, Drake. Ella's birthday is on Sunday. You didn't know?"

Before Drake even had the chance to answer Sharpay, Ms. Darbus' booming voice started talking.

"Okay, settle down, people. We don't have a whole day for your reunions. Let's start to work. First up this semester would be a project, done in pairs. Let's take it easy. You'll do it in pairs, your respective seatmates. For example, Frell-Montez and Evans-Bolton. It will be a report about a literary piece, classical or contemporary; your choice. It would be reported sometime next week."

Before Ms. Darbus could continue, the bell rang.

"Saved by the bell. Start talking about it. You're dismissed."

The day went by swiftly. Gabriella, becoming happier in Drake's company, and Troy, becoming as frustrated as ever.

Soon, it was time for the meeting.

Alexandra ran as fast as she can, she did not want to be late for the first official meeting of the Voice Class. She stopped as she saw two persons in front of her. She recognized the guy, of course. How could she not?

She walked closer, so as to recognize the girl. She knew who she was.

Gabriella Montez is going to pay.

A/N.

Yay! Gabriella's finally happy.

I'm so happy for her.

What do you think guys?

Please review! Pretty please?