Alirghty, guys, I'm so glad you like it!

Practice the following afternoon didn't go so well. The girls were hot and bothered, and so were the boys, and neither of the coaches were there. Halfway through, both Troy and Gabriella realized that hardly anyone was paying any attention and they called a break. Everyone was glad and they all swarmed to the stands, talking immediately taking over. Gabriella sighed and mopped her head with a wet towel. Troy rolled his eyes and made his way over to her with reluctance.

"Hey," Troy muttered. Gabriella barely looked at him. His eyes hardened. "Okay, be like that then!" He snapped. "We need more room, we need the whole court. So you guys are gonna have go spin and twirl somewhere else!" He yelled, his voice risen.

"Go shoot your hoops somewhere else!" She yelled back.

"In case you haven't realized yet, this is a gym! This is where we're meant to shoot hoops!" He snapped at her.

"And in case you haven't realized, I don't wanna be here, we got put here," she snapped and spun on her heel. Troy felt like shouting something after, but refrained. Leslie Dixon, the dancer he had spoken to the other day, watched them with interest. On the other side of the court were a couple of the cheerleaders, including Amanda, whose house the party had been at. Amanda smile as Gabriella stomped away to the toliets.

Once practice resumed, things didn't get better. Gabriella jumped and landing with a crash. Toy shot a hoop and missed. This happened several times and both groaned in exasperation. By the time the practice finished, everyone was ready to leave. Troy and Gabriella were the only ones left in the gym. Gabriella looked up as she picked up her bag and locked eyes with Troy. She sighed and looked away, walking towards the door. Troy watched her, licking his lips as he watched the way she walked. Her hips swayed from side-to-side and her hair swung. Troy shook his head quickly and ran over to her, meeting her in the empty hallway. She looked up at him in surprise.

"What?" Gabriella asked in a tired voice.

"I want to call a truce," Troy quickly said. Gabriella raised an eyebrow but shrugged.

"Okay, why?"

"Because…" Troy looked off to side uncomfortable. "Because…" Gabriella's dark eyes watched him as he stuttered. "Coz I like you!" He blurted out. Gabriella's eyes sharpened and she looked at him carefully. "When we were at the pool, all I wanted to do was kiss you. Yesterday, I wanted to do anything just to make you feel better. Now…I like you, okay?!" Gabriella's eyes softened momentarily, and then she shook her and her eyes hardened again as she stalked off. Troy frowned in confusion and ran after her. "What?! What did I say wrong?!" He yelled, catching up with her again.

"I'm not doing this!" She snapped angrily.

"Doing what?" He asked.

"What every other girl does—gives herself up so easily to you! You're just saying that coz you want to screw me!" She yelled at him, stopping and facing him. He shook his head.

"No, I don't! I mean, I do, but...That's not why I'm saying it!" He cried. "I'm saying it coz it's true!"

"Uh, yeah, right," she scoffed. "And what proves that I can trust you?" He frowned slightly.

"Well…I haven't told anyone about Rochelle," he said.

"You found out yesterday afternoon!" She cried. Troy sighed.

"Gabriella, I'm being honest with you here! Cut me some slack!" He cried. Gabriella sighed and tilted her head to one side. Troy took a hesitant step forward and put his hands on her shoulders. Their eyes connected and Gabriella felt tingles run all over her body. His face got closer to hers until she could feel his breath on her lips. At the last moment, though, she pulled back. Troy sighed and took his hands off her shoulders. "Okay…" Gabriella looked at him one last time before walking away. Troy sighed and leaned against the wall.

Unbeknownst to them, Amanda and Leslie had been watching. Amanda frowned. They hadn't heard what was going on, but it was obvious by there actions—they had almost kissed, for crying out loud. Leslie crossed her arms in a huff.

"How come that tramp gets him?" She muttered angrily. Amanda raised her eyebrows.

"How's Gabriella a tramp? She's hardly been out with anyone," Amanda stated. Leslie scoffed.

"You know that girl that she brings to practice?" Leslie asked, and Amanda nodded. "That's her daughter." Amanda's eyes widened and she looked across to where Troy was looked after Gabriella, a cruel smile spreading over her face.

The next morning, Gabriella walked into school with Taylor and Sharpay. They talked and laughed as they made their way over to their lockers, but something was different. People looked over at them strangely and then spoke quickly to their friends. Gabriella frowned as she realized this. Shrugging, she opened her locker and pulled her books out. As she turned around, a wide-eyed Kelsi sprinted over, panting. Sharpay and Taylor laughed and shook their head.

"What's the rush, Kels?" Sharpay laughed, but Kelsi's face remained panicked.

"They know!" She gasped. Gabriella raised her eyebrows.

"Know what?" She asked.

"About Rochelle," Kelsi cried. Several more people past and looked at them strangely. Gabriella bit her lower lip as she slowly came to grips with it, a strange look crossing her face. "Everyone knows!" Gabriella went pale and leaned against her locker, hot and cold rushing over her quickly and a sick feeling entering the pit of her stomach. Sharpay frowned and touched her friend's shoulder.

"Gabi? You okay?" She asked, but her voice sounded blearily to Gabriella.

"Sharpay! Everyone knows about her and Rochelle! Of course she's not okay…" the rest of what Taylor was saying faded off as Gabriella slumped against her locker, unconscious.

"…Ms Montez? Ms Montez…Wake up," someone was saying. Gabriella's eye fluttered open as the school nurse shook her shoulder lightly. "Oh, thank goodness. You past out, your friends brought you here." Gabriella nodded slowly, and then the events all raced back. She laid back down, taking everything in and took deep, urgent breaths. "Are you okay?" The nurse asked, frowning. Gabriella nodded, but hot tears sprung to her eyes. The nurse frowned and patted her shoulder. "It's okay…" she said before turning around and walking off. Gabriella shook her head as the sick feeling entered her stomach once again.

Everything was not okay.

Alright, poor Gabi, huh?

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