Gabriella was supposed to work with Jason on Saturday morning, but she got her other best friend to do it for her as if she did talk to Jason right after their argument the night before, then Gabriella knew she might make a mistake and say something she didn't mean. As much as she wanted to talk to him, she didn't want to risk it anymore.

Now that Gabriella didn't have to get up at seven in the morning to get ready for work, she planned on catching up on her sleep by sleeping in. When she got home from the party which was right after Jason left the party, Gabriella very deliberately shut all her windows in her room along with all her curtains to keep the sun out. She made sure that her alarm clock was turned off. She also made sure that her cell phone was out of use.

However it wasn't any sounds that had her up by eight o'clock that morning. It was the smell coming from the kitchen that awakened her senses as she could smell the bacon sizzling and the pancakes being flipped. She groaned as she rolled onto her back and rubbed her eyes. The effects of the previous night settling in as she quickly forced the thoughts out of her mind.

She slowly got out of bed and grabbed the nearest sweatshirt to pull over herself and her tight tank top. She only noticed that it was Jason's when she walked past the hallway mirror and saw his last name on the middle of her back due to it being almost three sizes too big.

"Someone's up early." Her mother greeted her in the kitchen as she was the one sitting down at their countertop sipping her coffee while doing one of the newspapers puzzles while her dad was cooking.

"Hello to you too." Gabriella mumbled as she poured herself a glass of orange juice.

"How many pancakes sweetie?" Her dad asked her cheerfully.

It was either fighting with her best friend, not going to bed at a decent time, or both that had Gabriella in a tired mood.

"Three please. And do you two always have to be so cheerful?" Gabriella complained.

"Would you rather us be workaholics and not care about how you dress, where you live, or how you get food?" Her mom teased some more as Gabriella took a seat next to her as her dad got down plates for the three of them.

"No." Gabriella grumbled. "I'd rather you guys not be so cheerful though."

"Someone got in late last night." Her dad commented casually as he knew exactly where she was. He had heard some of his players talking about heading over to Zeke's house the previous night, and he chose to ignore it as it wasn't easy having a high school teenager who hung out with the kids who threw the parties.

"I called." Gabriella defended herself as her dad put a plate in front of her. "Thanks. And it was a long night with the game and then going over to Zeke's. Where were you anyways?" Gabriella turned towards her mother.

"I got stuck at the office last night. I meant to call, but I was in one of the biggest meetings we've had so far." Anna explained. "Oh and that reminds me, they changed my doctor's appointment again."

Gabriella and Carlos both looked up in alarm now as Gabriella stopped mid-chew. "What?" Gabriella was the first one to speak.

Anna didn't seem upset as this was one of the first days in a week and a half that she didn't feel sick to her stomach or have a headache. "Yup. It was scheduled for this weekend again, but an emergency came up with another patient as they need surgery, and if we want to stick with the same doctor, which we do," Anna added. "then I'll be going in next week Wednesday. So it's only pushed back four days."

"I can't believe this." Carlos grumbled no longer in his good mood. "This is the second time that they rescheduled on us. First it's double booking and now the doctor is busy again?! That's unacceptable."

Anna looked at her husband quizzically. "It's not Dr. Roberts fault that one of her patients isn't doing too well. And what's the big deal? It's not like there's anything wrong with me right now. Unless you think there is?"

It was a question that had two sides to it, and however Carlos answered he knew that his answer could either have disastrous effects, or heart breaking effects since it would be a lie, and lying was never good.

If he told her there was something strange going on, and that the last week with the head aches and the getting sick part was what was worrying him, she would get mad saying that she was perfectly fine. They would most likely get into an argument about her saying that she knows what she's capable of, and that it was just a minor cold.

And then on the other hand, he could lie to her to keep everyone perfectly happy. He could say there was nothing wrong; like he's been doing the past week, and pretend everything was perfect. He could kill two birds with one stone as not only would he get himself to believe that everything was okay with his true-love, but he could reassure his daughter who had been through so much already too.

"No. I think you're perfectly fine. The cold is going around, a bunch of kids at school are out sick with it."

This lie would come back and haunt him.


The weekend was uneventful. He barely saw his dad as he was away at work which was unlikely for him on weekends, but every once in awhile he would get those weird weekend calls to come in and help out.

Usually on weekends like those Jason would go over to Gabriella's house and they would hang out. They would find something to do or they would hang out with Sharpay and Zeke. A couple of times when they were bored they would go do to the manmade beach and just hang out down there. It would be a both relaxing and peaceful weekend. But Jason had to work, and he was more than relieved that when he walked into work on Saturday that it was Taylor who he ran into and not Gabriella.

Taylor was one who always looked at both sides of the story. Whenever Jason and Gabriella had a misunderstanding--which wasn't often--she would always defend him as he pretended not to notice so to not unbalance the flow. He didn't know the particulars to what she says to Gabriella, but whatever they were, it always seemed to work as Gabriella always seemed to give him a second chance if he messed up. So when he had to work a five hour shift with Taylor that day, he didn't mind as the two of them stuck to their jobs, and when they had their lunch break they went to go eat in the food court together. It was just like any other day to Jason, or at least that was what he was pretending.

But when Jason walked into school Monday morning he was sought out by Zeke who looked extremely happy.

"Hey man. Guess what?" He asked excitedly.

"What?" Jason asked wryly as Zeke was known for coming up with ideas that usually resulted in funny memories, but bad outcomes as sometimes the police actually had to get involved. "And keep in mind that I can't get in trouble anytime soon."

"My parents have this cabin down south a little ways away from here, and since the seasons are changing and it's getting colder, they suggested that we use it one last time before the weather down south gets cold also."

"Is this the beach house we're talking about?" Jason asked as he had been on vacation with the Baylor's one summer and the drive wasn't that long as it was still in the confines of New Mexico, but it was long enough to say that it was a road trip.

"The one and only. And since it usually doesn't get that cold down there, why not go next weekend?" Zeke and Jason both threw their things in their lockers as various kids walked by them.

"No supervision?"

"Of course your parents don't have to know that."

Jason snorted at that idea. "I hardly think they would care anyways. My mom's too oblivious to notice anything."

"So you in?" Zeke asked with a wide grin on his face.

"Hell yeah. Two nights away from all this crap. And it helps that we don't have a game for basketball that night."

"We're taking two cars probably to fit everyone since it's a seven hour car ride, we don't want to be uncomfortable, and we're all bringing stuff. I already called dibs on the drinks, so better think of something different."

Jason didn't care what he got stuck bringing whether it be the music, or some food, but he was still caught on the two car thing. "Who's all coming?"

"Well of course Shar, Tay, and probably Gabi when I ask her. Then there's you, and if you want to bring someone then whoever the hell that person is, and I was thinking some guys on the team."


It was her free period along with Sharpay, and Taylor as all three of them were outside just standing around and talking as other various students who all three of them got along with filtered in and out.

"So you two are going, right?" Sharpay asked as they ended up talking about Zeke's beach house.

"As long as my parents agree." Taylor said as a group of boys walked past, and they recognized them as being on the basketball team.

"I swear, he's yummy." Sharpay said as she licked her lips.

"Shar, you have a boyfriend!" Taylor shrieked. "But who are you talking about again?"

"Troy Bolton."

Gabriella backed away from Sharpay and Taylor a little bit. "So um…I got to go. See you two later, and for now Shar? Count me in and tell Zeke." Gabriella didn't wait for Sharpay's or Taylor's replies as she turned a complete 180 and called out, "Troy!"

His head turned as the guys he was walking with all departed away from him and Gabriella was sure that she was getting strange looks from Taylor and Sharpay as she jogged to catch up with Troy.

"Hey." She greeted.

"Hey." He mused. "I think your friends are mad that I stole your attention."

Gabriella looked behind herself and only Sharpay looked mad as Taylor was sober when Gabriella told her on Friday what happened between them; although Gabriella never fully told her the whole story.

"They'll live." She shrugged her shoulders as if it was no big deal. "Um…so what are you doing now?"

"Now? I was just gonna walk someplace." He looked around as usually he did go on a campus walk and found some place quiet to go do homework, or even read a book. "You want to come?"

"If you don't mind."

They fell into step as Gabriella seemed hesitant at first as she followed at his side; letting him choose which direction to go too. They walked near the front where the most grass was at their school, along with the water fountain and the parking lots for teachers and students.

She hadn't seen him all weekend. She would be lying if she said that she didn't check out her balcony window a couple of times to see if he was outside playing basketball, but he was no where to be seen. And so that left them having their last conversation with her running after Jason and leaving behind Chad, Molly, and Troy without an explanation.

Troy wasn't surprised as when at the party he knew Jason would somehow find out that him and Gabriella were together and hanging out. After what Chad told him and how Jason was with him when he went to the library, Troy knew Jason knew about that. The only thing that surprised him was that Jason hadn't snapped yet. Maybe he was better at hiding his anger than what he let on?

"So did you stay at the party long?" Gabriella asked for small talk conversation.

"Not very. I was there long enough though to see Zeke attempt to do various different kinds of flips and gymnastic routines. Very amusing."

Gabriella giggled as she had been to various other parties where Jason and Zeke would both do something stupid like that. "I'm just glad I don't get like that when drunk."

"You? Drunk? That's something I'd like to see." Troy teased as he was serious though. He was curious to see how Gabriella acted. He had seen her tipsy at the first party he was at, and he went home before he could see her drunk, but then at the second party he went to over at Zeke's house, she only had a couple of drinks. Hardly enough to get her wasted like Zeke.

"Oh no you don't. I happen to be very open about what I say. It can never be good." Gabriella said with a small smile. She coyly looked at Troy as they came near a big oak tree in the grass; providing for perfect shade. "It sounds like to me that you want me to get drunk. You're not thinking of taking advantage, are you Bolton?"

"Who do you think I am Brie? My mother raised me to be a gentlemen." Neither one of them said anything about the nickname that had come tumbling out of Troy's mouth.

Usually when by himself Troy did read, but instead he let the cool air brush against his skin as it mixed well with the sun that was still out. He sat against the tree trunk as he took in the girl next to him. Her hair was in waves and not curls for a change as she was wearing simple jeans that had holes in the knees and a shirt that cut low in the front, but not too low as it let almost every guys' imagination run wild.

"You're quiet today." He murmured.

"Am I?" She smiled coyly.

He studied her as she connected eyes with him.

"If you're not quiet, then you're different because usually during your free periods you aren't out here."

"I told you before that if you had a problem with me being--"

"Chill Brie." Troy smiled at her. "It's not a bad thing…just different."

She nudged his hand playfully as she scooted back by him to share the tree trunk as a back rest. "Sometimes different can be good."

All her life Gabriella had the same friends. Granted she met more people throughout high school and different events, but she kept the same group of friends within her inner circle. There was Zeke and Sharpay who were counted as good friends. They balanced each other out as no one knew how Zeke put up with Sharpay's sometimes vicious personality. Then there was Taylor who Gabriella could go to for anything that had to do with relationship advice. And last but not least there was Jason. Her best friend since she could remember, as she basically grew up with him living at her house.

The two were inseparable as throughout grade school almost all kids go through the 'boys have cooties', 'girls have cooties' phases, they didn't. They set the trend back in intermediate school to have opposite sex friends and not actually be boyfriend/girlfriend. In middle school Jason became known for being perfect at basketball. He lead the teams in 7th and 8th grade to victory. Gabriella was still his best friend, and she only remembers the one day where it was the turning point. The turning point of where she got out of her mom's car with Jason by her side, and all of these people came up to talk to them. It had been a shocker, but as she went through the days and soon got to high school, she was known for being Jason's best friend. No one would mess with her.

It had been the same thing for years now as pretty soon, any normal human being would get tired and bored of it. It was like eating cereal every morning. Only some people could keep up the show as others would get tired and change it up with waffles. In Gabriella's case, it was changing friends and widening her circle.

It was much like the day in 7th grade where she got out of her mom's car in late October, and was immediately surrounded by kids. She woke up on Saturday after the party and still had a guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach. But on Sunday when she woke up, and after a day of not seeing Jason nor Troy, she decided out of the blue that she wasn't going to feel bad for talking and hanging out with Troy. She still felt bad for lying to Jason, but that was the past and she would serve those consequences, but now is the time to live in the present, and she was going to hang out with Troy.

"You want to go out on Tuesday?" Gabriella asked in the quiet air.

Troy was jolted out of his thinking and studying of Gabriella as he looked at her through wide eyes. "You're not supposed to ask. I am." This definitely threw him off guard. He was playing the sensitive role. He was going to lead into a discussion about his least favorite person, and ask how everything went. Then he was going to somehow lead into the previous conversation they had at the party. And then he was going to pop the question.

Gabriella bit her lip out of nerves. She had been thinking about going out with Troy, but she didn't mean to say the words out loud.

"Sorry, it's just…do you?"

"Yeah! Yes! Of course, I thought we established this on Friday night?"

"We did."

"It's just you kind of left earlier than I expected on Friday, so I didn't get time to ask you." Troy continued.

"You can ask me now." Gabriella prompted.

"You just asked me. That's like me reasking you. Totally unnecessary."

"Well since I asked you, does that mean that I also have to drive and pay for the movie?" Gabriella teased.

Troy rolled his eyes. "You're not gonna make this easy for me." Gabriella shook her head. "Fine," he exhaled nosily. "Gabriella Montez, do you want to go out for dinner and a movie this Tuesday night? A night in which I'll drive, pay, and I might actually talk to you also if you're lucky."

Gabriella bit back a giggle at how cute Troy sounded and smiled widely at him. "I would love too."

The bell rang off in the distance as they both looked startled before Troy stood up and offered Gabriella his hand. She took it graciously as she also pulled her American Eagle bag off the ground.

"So studying tonight?" Gabriella asked as they started heading back to the school's front doors.

"Yeah?"

"Well after practice which ends at like four-thirty tonight, and my mom has to work late as my dad has a teacher's meeting right after. So that leaves me to start dinner and I can't do that if we're at the library."

"Is this your way of asking me over?" Troy teased coyly.

"Maybe. If you didn't sound so smug about it."


The basketball team wasn't in the gym at all that day as some of the guys met up during their own free period which was spaced out throughout the day and played some mini games, but on this Monday the coach surprised them and switched it up as usually it was Wednesdays that they went to the weight lifting room. But Coach Montez switched it around since the next game was on Wednesday.

Jason had finished early as he usually went off by himself and when he got to the equipment where he absolutely needed a spotter, than usually the assistant coach was more than willing to spot for him as this way, Jason could leave earlier and get more things done like going to the actual gymnasium to shoot around.

But as he entered the locker room he wasn't the only one in there as he heard a locker door open. He walked further in and poked his head around the next set of lockers to see Troy taking his duffel bag out while still in his athletic shorts and t-shirt.

A ringing went off and Jason soon saw that it was Troy's phone that was flashing a picture on it as it sat on the bench. It was close enough that both Troy and Jason could see the picture as Troy was oblivious to Jason being there due to the earphones in his ears.

Jason saw the picture. He recognized the almost black hair. He recognized the olive golden skin. He recognized the girl in the picture as being his best friend.

Troy picked up his phone and read the text saying that she would meet him at her house as cheerleading practice just got done.

"First you get a spot on the team and now you're taking away best friends." Jason chided.

Troy looked up as he heard what Jason said perfectly clear. He took out his earphones anyways as he put his phone down. "I don't know what you're talking about Cross. But whatever it is, I'm sure you're just overreacting. Just like you always do." Troy egged on.

"You know…" Jason let out a non-comical laugh, "I used to smash guys like you, and Gabriella would always be so…disappointed." He looked around. "She would always get this look in her eyes. You know the look, the look of disappointment and for some reason I would always feel bad. But hey, she's not around right now."

"I dare you Cross. Step over the line and we'll see what happens." Troy threatened.

"Just stay the fuck away from her!" Jason shouted as his fist banged against a nearby locker.

"Who are you?! Her bodyguard?!" Troy taunted.

The dark sets of eyes glared at each other as neither one wanted to be the first one to back down. They each had Gabriella's best interest in order. Jason as her best friend; he didn't want her to get hurt. He knew of all her past and how hard things would be if she got hurt. But Troy was someone who could give her excitement; just neither boy knew that yet.

"Her best friend, and I'm only gonna give you one warning." Jason seethed. "I swear, if you hurt her, then next time, I won't hold back."

Jason wasn't going to hit Troy. He wasn't going to do any physical harm as he spoke the truth. Gabriella would be even more upset, and even though they had an argument, he also meant what he said. He was more mad about the fact that Gabriella lied to him than the fact that she was hanging out with Troy. And if hanging out with Troy made her happy, then he would have to learn to accept that. And no matter if Gabriella thought he shouldn't have to learn to accept it, it was just the matter of life. He wasn't just gonna get over it within a day or two.

Troy watched as Jason spun around and left. It was like a trail of fire was following him as there was nothing but truth behind Jason's tone. He really did care about Gabriella, and he was getting in the way of their friendship.

Too bad both boys got their stubbornness from their father.


Author's note--I am so AMAZED at all the reviews I got for last chapter. It really excites me when I see that I am actually getting people to tell me what they like and what they don't like with my story. So THANK-YOU! Here's another chapter for you guys, and it's dedicated to all who reviewed. And I know that it's kind of like a filler, but it's setting it up for some later chapters, and is instrumentally going to be important. Thanks once again, and who's excited for this up-coming Friday and the U.S. release of High School Musical 3?!