Thanks for the reviews guys; I really do love all your feedback and comments. The two poems I use in this are written by my favourite poet Pablo Neruda. Read and review guys and thanks so much again.

It was exactly two weeks before prom, Gabby and I had finally got round to getting our dresses last week, everyone had been talking about it and we were all excited. Troy and I weren't doing so great; we'd spent these last few weeks growing distant even Gabriella was beginning to worry about our failing almost relationship. We arrived to school separately and left separately. We barely spoke and when we did it ended up in a huge argument over nothing where one of us would storm off.

I ran into school crying gaining stares from everyone as Troy walked behind me not even bothering to see if I was okay. Everyone knew there and then something was up. I got to my locker frantically pulling books out before slamming it shut and furiously wiping at my face. I walked into homeroom and saw Troy sat smugly at our desk in the centre of the classroom. I walked past him not even bothering to look at him. I saw Gabriella and Sharpay's jaws drop as I opted to sit at the back in the spare desk. I put my head on my desk and silently sobbed.

I could hear the whispers in the class, circulating over what happened to our once unbreakable friendship and continued to cry. Troy and I had run the race and now he was letting go because he was too scared to face up to my father. Troy Bolton cared about his future more than he cared about my heart.

"Okay class, it's time for you to share your poems, I hope none of you forgot your homeroom assignments, you know it's never too late in the year to hand out detentions" Mr. Smith said as I groaned remembering the class assignment. I hoped he didn't pick me first because I was a mess right now; it was always times like this when lady luck seemed to leave your side. Mr. Smith called me up to get the class started seeing as I seemed to already have fallen asleep so early. I got up and slowly walked to the front of the class.

"My poem is titled I do not love you except because I love you By Paulo Neruda" I said before coughing and pausing to look at Troy quickly. His head hung, he couldn't even look at me.

"I do not love you except because I love you;

I go from loving to not loving you,

From waiting to not waiting for you

My heart moves from cold to fire.

I love you only because it's you the one I love;

I hate you deeply, and hating you

Bend to you, and the measure of my changing love for you

Is that I do not see you but love you blindly.

Maybe January light will consume

My heart with its cruel

Ray, stealing my key to true calm.

In this part of the story I am the one who

Dies, the only one, and I will die of love because I love you,

Because I love you, Love, in fire and blood."

I finished, I read the whole poem looking at Troy who had only managed to look up at me once before looking down again. The class clapped and the teacher praised. I walked back to my seat avoiding all eye contact with anyone. I sat down, tired and broken because I loved him. He volunteered to go next and my head shot up from the table when I heard his voice.

He begun

"My poem is called If You Forget Me also by Paulo Neruda" He started before pausing and looking toward the back at me, I almost, almost let myself lock eyes with him but thankfully I looked away before I could get drawn in again. I should have known he would choose my favourite, I'd read some of his work to him a couple of months back over the phone one night and he'd loved it. He had to steal everything from me didn't he, even my poet.

"I want you to know

one thing.

You know how this is:

if I look

at the crystal moon, at the red branch

of the slow autumn at my window,

if I touch

near the fire

the impalpable ash

or the wrinkled body of the log,

everything carries me to you,

as if everything that exists,

aromas, light, metals,

were little boats

that sail

toward those isles of yours that wait for me.

Well, now,

if little by little you stop loving me

I shall stop loving you little by little.

If suddenly

you forget me

do not look for me,

for I shall already have forgotten you.

If you think it long and mad,

the wind of banners

that passes through my life,

and you decide

to leave me at the shore

of the heart where I have roots,

remember

that on that day,

at that hour,

I shall lift my arms

and my roots will set off

to seek another land.

But

if each day,

each hour,

you feel that you are destined for me

with implacable sweetness,

if each day a flower

climbs up to your lips to seek me,

ah my love, ah my own,

in me all that fire is repeated,

in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,

my love feeds on your love, beloved,

and as long as you live it will be in your arms

without leaving mine."

He finished, and looked at me before returning to his seat, the class was silent, they wondered in their heads what had happened to us and I did too. Gabriella's head kept turning back to catch my eye, Sharpay just full stop turned her chair around and stared at me hoping I'd look up. I didn't but instead I sobbed into my desk. My head was hurting but the tears kept coming. Everyone read out their poems, some good and other not so good. I couldn't only hear the sound of my heart breaking. The bell went and I quickly pushed past everyone ignoring Gabriella and Sharpay's calls and heading straight to the toilets.

"Taylor what the hell is going on?" Sharpay demanded as they flew into the toilets nearly knocking me over with the door.

"Troy... we're over, we never even begun!" I cried as Gabriella embraced me

"It's okay sweety, just tell us what happened" Gabriella said rubbing my back,

I nodded and begun to tell them, of the previous plan we'd made at his house that to pretend to break up until graduation after my father's threats but the Troy had said that wasn't going to work the next day at school. That's when all our arguments had begun; he'd started getting distant and making up excuses not to hang out with me and not to see me anymore, then finally this morning he said he wanted out. He said he didn't care about us anymore and he wanted a normal girlfriend, someone who didn't take up so much effort and so much work. He didn't want us anymore.

Gabriella and Sharpay were as shocked as I was when I explained everything to them. I'd finally calmed down and pulled myself together. They'd walked me to algebra and picked me up from each lesson until lunch where I knew I would finally have to face him. I could hear the whispers and I could see it in their faces, East High was waiting for a show down. I walked into the canteen to meet his eyes, he was with the team. I was too busy trying to keep my composure to notice Gabby, yes Gabriella Montez march over there and give the Troy the loudest slap I had ever heard. Nothing but silence filled the canteen.

"That's for breaking her heart. How could you Troy? When she wanted out you fought to keep her and as soon as you had every little part of her heart you decided it was too hard! Too hard?!" She screamed as a shocked Chad along with the entire East High body watched on not knowing what to make of the situation. I didn't know what to make of it either; I mean this was Gabby, calm, cool and collect shy Gabriella. Yet there she was fighting my battles like she always promised she would.

"You are a coward Troy Bolton and you never deserved her. That much was clear from the beginning" Gabby finished before smoothing down her dress, kissing Chad's cheek, smiling and walking away looking like the Gabriella we all recognised again. Even Sharpay was lost for words as we were led off by Gabriella.

"Damn it Gabby! I wanted to be the one to slap him" Sharpay exclaimed as we sat on down at a nearby table. The last I'd seen Troy had walked out of the canteen and hadn't returned.

"You made me so proud Gabby but you shouldda given him another one for me" Sharpay continued as I sat there in silence. Had Gabriella Montez seriously just slapped him?

"Tay are you okay?" Gabby asked as she rolled her eyes as Sharpay, I slowly nodded

"Thank you" I replied smiling feeling proud of my best friend

"what for, I always said I'd give him a piece of my mind if he ever hurt you besides no one and I mean no one makes my sister cry" she replied firmly squeezing my hand. I smiled at her and nodded.

It was two weeks before prom, I didn't have a date anymore, I didn't have a heart anymore because he'd forgotten to give it back and I didn't have him anymore. So I did what I usually did when something hurt me, I cried it out, prayed about it and got over it, getting over it wasn't so easy. Troy Bolton wasn't my maker and he definitely wasn't going to break me. I was angrier at myself if anything for letting him get under my skin, silly, silly, silly me.

That was last week Monday, Troy and I hadn't uttered a single word to each other since that morning. We avoided each other at all costs, I'd even noticed Zeke beginning to cold shoulder him but I'd talked to him and reminded him that regardless of everything Troy was still his best friend. Prom was tonight and I was considering not going, but I didn't want to be home with father on Friday night and so that gave me enough motivation to go.

My dad and I were not on speaking terms, he still thought he'd done the right thing but after a week of me crying myself to sleep every night after school he'd begun to regret it, but regret wasn't enough to mend my broken heart. I'd done the Christian thing and forgiven them both, Troy and my Dad I mean, but forgiveness didn't mean I had to be best friends with them. I was civil but that's as far as my forgiveness stretched. I had to give myself time to heal.

Today was prom night, Friday the 18th of April, exactly a month and two days away from my eighteenth birthday. I was waiting with Gabby for Sharpay and Zeke to finish saying goodbye so we could head back to Sharpay's to get ready for Prom. Then Chad and Zeke would come by and pick them and me up in the limo. I wondered if Troy would come with us, I mean he had paid part of the Limo fees with the rest of the guys. That was before everything had gone down.

I was worried about him, I'd over heard Chad tell Zeke about how him and his Dad weren't currently seeing eye to eye. Troy wasn't doing well at all and it showed, he'd begun to lose weight and thank God Basketball season was over because apparently according to Chad, Troy's game seemed to get worse at each practice. Troy's eyes didn't sparkle like they used to anymore, Troy's soul didn't shine through whenever I looked at him. Troy wasn't Troy anymore, just some stranger in his body.

I saw him walk by, his head hanging low I wanted to talk to him, see if he was okay but I couldn't, it still hurt. So he walked by glancing at me for a second before getting into his car and driving off. I sighed as Gabby and I got into Sharpay's car to get ready. I really wasn't feeling this but I'd feel stupid if I missed my senior prom. And anyway I didn't pay over $300 for my prom dress so it would sit in my closet.

"Wow! You look amazing Tay" Gabby chimed when I walked out of the bathroom in my floor length red gown. It was a strapless fitted dress that hugged my body; it had a small slit at the back. My hair been straightened so it was now falling past my shoulders, leaving my bangs to fall in my face. Sharpay had done my make-up; she'd given me smoky eyes with a nude lip gloss. I had to admit I looked good.

"Thanks G You look amazing as well" I replied honestly. She sported a tightly fitted floor length black strapless gown which hugged her figure perfectly. Her hair was in a curly up do, she had a middle parting with loose curls falling in her face while the rest of her hair remained tucked up with pins, giving it a bob illusion. She was wearing dark red lipstick with dark eye make-up.

"So do you shar" I smiled at the blonde who was wearing a baby pink Dior dress that stopped just above her knees. Her blonde hair was in loose curls falling on her shoulders and light pink lip gloss on her lips with heavy eye make-up.

"I know! We all do" she smiled "C'mon I know the boys have been waiting for us" She said as we left to go downstairs. Zeke and Chad all complimented us on how great we looked and we all go in the limo to go to school. Troy was in the limo like I'd hoped; hopefully he'd be at prom. I didn't want him to miss his senior prom.

We'd been here for half an hour and I still hadn't spotted Troy anywhere, Gabby and Sharpay were dancing with their men while I stood by the drinks watching on, despite the countless number of compliments I'd got tonight I couldn't take my mind off Troy for long enough to enjoy the night.

"Hey Taylor" I heard a familiar voice say from behind me, I knew it was him and I froze

"What do you want Troy?" I replied when I finally turned around

"You look beautiful" He replied avoiding my question. He looked good in a suite too, he was wearing a black suite with a white shirt and thin black tie. His eyes glistened in the dark room and his smile pierced my soul.

"What do you want?" I repeated slowly ignoring his compliment as he sighed. All that time I'd wasted wishing he was here and now he was I couldn't stand him. I just wanted him to go away; I got what I wanted I knew he was still breathing now he could go breathe somewhere else.

"I just wanted to see you" He said looking down

"well you have now you can go" I replied beginning to walk away toward the exit. I knew this was a bad idea; I walked out of the gym and took a deep breath leaning against the door. I got myself together and kept on walking until I found my myself outside, I wrapped my arms around myself as the wind hit me, before feeling someone's jacket go around me from behind.

"It's to keep you warm" the voice said again, I could smell his cologne and once again I knew it was him.

"Thanks" I replied snuggling into it

"I'm sorry Tay" he said

"No save it Troy" I replied turning around to meet his eyes "Please just save your apology, I really don't need to hear it. I forgave you a while ago" I replied trying not to give any emotion away in my voice

"Thank you but I don't deserve your forgiveness" He said looking down

"I know, but I'm not God, I didn't make me so forgiving" I replied smiling as he nodded, silence covered us for a while

"How have you been?" He finally asked as I laughed bitterly, if only you knew

"Okay" I lied as he nodded again "You haven't been looking too good though"

"Yeah, it's been weird without you in my life" He admitted

"Well I wasn't the one who walked away remember" I quickly replied before regretting the look of hurt I saw flash through his eyes

"I know... and I've missed you Taylor, so, so much. I don't remember how to be me without you anymore. I Swear I don't, and it's only been two weeks so maybe I need a little time but I don't even want time Taylor I just want you, just you" He whispered brokenly

"Then why did you do it?" I replied, why was he doing this now, did he enjoy playing with my emotions? He'd said just two weeks ago he wanted out, he didn't want to do this anymore but now he's telling me he wants us back.

"I can't tell you that Tay, just please trust me on this... just until graduation okay, I can't take you being mad at me anymore" he sighed, what was this boy talking about now

"Please just trust me and promise me you won't go running off with anyone else once you're eighteen" He added

"Why Troy? Why should I make any more promises to you huh?" I questioned "All you've done so far is cause me pain and now you expect me to make you more promises on the basis of trust! Have you lost your mind?" I laughed, he was seriously tripping

"Give me one good reason why I should" I demanded

"Because I still love you Taylor" he replied taking my hand and I started laughing again, if I didn't laugh I would cry it was one or the other really

"But you loved me before and you still hurt me... what's changed?" I asked not bothering to remove my hand from his, I just didn't have the energy anymore

"I can't tell you, but please trust me on this; I promise I will not hurt you again. I promise." He said pulling me closer toward him

"Well maybe your promises don't mean anything to me anymore Troy" I said finally breaking eye contact with him "They don't mean anything Troy" I sighed

"No please Taylor, don't say that I can't lose you, I can't, not now please don't say that." He whispered beginning to cry, I was a little taken back. I'd never seen him cry not even when we talked about his mom. Crying was something Troy didn't do so when I felt his tears hit my forehead a part of me broke inside. I found myself pulling him closer to me, wanting to comfort him.

"I need you Tay, I really do. I did this for you, you have to believe me and I thought I could handle being away from you but I can't Taylor. I did it for you, for us, please just trust me okay" He asked looking into my eyes, I bit my lip knowing Gabby and Sharpay would kill me for what I was about to do but I agreed anyway. I found myself nodding my head, why did my heart never listen to my heart!

"Thank you, thank you" he whispered over and over into my ear causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up. I finally let myself relax under his hold and placed my head on his shoulder as we swayed from side to side. We seemed to have picked up a habit of dancing to no music.

"I missed you" He said as I stayed silent, I had missed him too but right now I still had my reservations and I wasn't letting my guard down anytime soon and he knew that. I let him have his moment regardless of all the protesting going on in my head because I didn't love Troy Bolton... except because I loved him.