A/N: Hello lovely readers,

I know, I'm sorry-I'm sorry-I'm sorry! I know it's been ages but I have been moving house and stuff. But now I'm on Christmas holiday so... yay:) But then I have Mock Exams straight away when I get back :( Boo.
Not looking forward to that.

Anyway, I got a Macbook Pro for my birthday (I couldn't believe it either!) which means I can sit in any location I like and beaver away at my writing! Yay!
So yeah, I'm 16 now, and tbh it doesn't feel any different. I keep having to remind myself actually. Hahaha.

Anywaaay, Sorry this one is so short :/ What's happened is I'm happy with this bit but not the rest, which I'm still in the process of writing, but I thought maybe you guys deserved a chapter since I've made you wait so long, and the end of this seemed like a good cut off point, so as a result, I split it :) ...

OKAY, so, if there are any mistakes I apologise - my Beta LittleMissEmz has gone home for the holidays to Oman for the first time since she moved and she doesn't have internet there yet.

REVIEW PLEASE. LET ME NOW IF YOU HATE/LIKE/LOVE IT & WHY!

––STARSWalkBACKWARD xxxxx

Disclaimer: All rights belong to DISNEY... Me and my writing are just a product of their huge fan base:)

Spring (Easter) Break –– Day 19 (Friday)

Blind to the Truth (Part 1)

Having a disability was like a virus.

It could be treated, toned down, disregarded... but never cured.

If there was one thing certain in Gabriella's life - it was that.

Though these thoughts were not at all relevant to her current situation as she sat on Emily Anderson's bed, they suddenly projected themselves out of the depths and shadows, to the very front of her consciousness.

She was pulling on her pajamas when she caught sight of her reflection. The sight of her form in only underwear caused her to stop and stare hard at the mirror.

Slowly her eyes traced what she saw there. Awkward, stiff legs; weak, knobbly knees...

She turned sideways slightly.

Slight cellulite on her behind; wobbly thighs; and an even wobblier stomach.

Gabriella gritted her teeth as her eyes settled on the aspect of herself she hated even more than her walk: the extra weight on her stomach.

Truth be told, Gabriella Montez couldn't remember a time when she hadn't felt 'fat.' Though so many scolded her for being 'ridiculous' whenever she spoke her weight opinions aloud, as, technically, she was only a size 12-14. However, she felt bigger, and so it was continuously a nagging anxiety she just couldn't shake.

Many automatically assumed she was just another pitiful teenage girl who felt sorry for herself because she wasn't a size eight. Gabriella understood this thinking at least. The issue really was nothing short of pitiful, and that was something Gabriella knew very well... But all reasoning of who was 'fat' and who was not seemed to leave her once she looked down at the layer of flesh that made her stomach stick out, and that lay like a small muffin top on the top of her jeans.

It's wasn't a huge amount of weight—she had to remind herself that some people sometimes spoke of how they wished they had her 'figure'—but it was enough to knock the remaining levels of her confidence.

Sometimes she found herself deciding it may be better to be even larger in size. She knew this, to most, sounded totally hypocritical and counteracted completely with her feelings about weight, but there was a real theory behind it.

Mostly, if she was honest, she wished she was larger in size because being larger would mean that at least no one would expect or assume that she was thin like everyone else.

At least if she looked fat from the outside, and not just under her clothes, then people wouldn't be surprised or––in a guys case––disappointed by the extra weight they would discover if she took her shirt off...

Adam's chilling words suddenly came back to her, knocking her off-guard. "What makes you think I want to sleep with a fat, disabled virgin like you?"

Though she knew better than to take anything an ass such as Adam Kingston said seriously, his words did very much reflect her deepest anxieties.

Deep down she worried that Troy felt that way about her too

Did Troy think she was just a fat, disabled virgin?

Because after all, technically, she was.

She pulled on her Calvin Klein black and white males boxers and a white sports bra before pulling a tight LA Lakers t-shirt. Realising she was probably taking too long and leaving her friend waiting with all this thinking, she quickly attempted to bend her legs so she could reach her feet to pull on her socks. This was not an easy task however, as her joints were no where near as flexible as an ordinary persons. After merely half a minute as folding her left leg over her right, her left hip cramped as it sometimes did, causing her to lose her breath from the sudden discomfort.

"Ow!" she hissed, quietly, rubbing her hip, as she quickly finally managed to pull her sock over one foot before her hip could cramp again. After leaning down to put on the next sock on her other foot, she stood and stretched, walking into the living room and kitchen area.

"Hey Chick!"

Gabriella smiled as she rounded into the kitchen, where she found Emily mixing cocktails, that made Gabriella feel drunk just by looking at them.

"What are you doing?"

Emily looked at her deviously.

"Making cocktails."

Gabriella raised her eyebrows.

"I'm underage," Gabriella dead panned with a smile.

"And I'm only just twenty-one. Go figure."

Emily handed Gabriella a tropical looking cocktail in a martini glass before carrying her own into the living room. She sat on the sofa in front of the TV that was playing MTV music videos, as Gabriella followed behind her.

As they sat watching whatever was on, Emily looked down at Gabriella's odd-sock clad feet.

"Nice socks." she asked, comically.

"What? I hate my feet," Gabriella said bluntly, not picking up on her friend's intended humour.

Emily laughed. "Everyone hates their feet."

"Not as much as I hate mine."

Emily smiled at her sympathetically before she turned back to the screen. Gabriella looked down at her bunions; the joints of her big toes that stuck out and so caused her toes to press together.

The shape of her feet just looked very...alien. The bunions made her feel like she had concurs growing on the inner sides of her feet.

She looked down at her feet again.

Urgh. They were so disgusting.

"So, what's eatin' ya'?"

Gabriella swallowed a gulp of her exotic looking drink and let the taste of alcohol swill around her mouth and down her throat. It was sweet yet bitter at the same time; Gabriella guessed it was some sort of fruit flavour topped with a spirit... Perhaps vodka?

"Me? Oh just...boys."

Emily crossed her legs easily over each other on the sofa.

"Still no call from Troy, eh?"

Gabriella wrinkled her nose, suddenly feeling disappointment fill her again at the thought of Troy's lack of contact.

"No call. No text. No message. Nothing."

"Maybe it's his mom? After all, he is being punished for the fight..."

Gabriella sighed, not convinced. "I guess…"

Emily frowned. "He'll come around."

Gabriella was still frowning as she looked blankly at Usher dance across the TV screen.

"It's just it's been days, and he wasn't exactly...himself last time he spoke to me..."

Emily looked sideways at her. "Honey, he started a fight for you."

"You don't know that's what their fight was about."

"Yes, I do. How many times do I have to tell you that if Troy Bolton even so much as...implies something, then because of his own self honour and the traditions he has, he has to mean it. It's just who he is... "
"Where are you going with this?"

"He'll come around..." she repeated. "And if he doesn't, I'll kick his ass."

Gabriella smiled. "Ihope you're right," she murmured, her voice barely audible, as her fingers automatically found the area on her shoulder where Kingston had began assaulting her with his mouth...

"Something else wrong?" Emily asked in a suddenly serious and caring tone, suddenly noting her friends fidgeting.

"Kingston."

Emily gulped down the remainder of her drink. "Oh boy. What did he do?"

Gabriella blinked furiously to try to blank out the flashbacks.

"Quite a bit," she murmured.

"Shit," Emily cursed, huffing, as if suddenly worn out, before standing to refill her glass and attempting to cover her ears. "Wait a minute!—I don't think I want to know right now… Let's not think about it right now, okay? Tonight is not about boys. Stupid boys. It's about us girls… and gossiping."

Gabriella gulped. She was silently grateful for this. Even though her original intention of agreeing to a sleepover was to share the days ordeal with Kingston, she suddenly felt also physically sick at the thought of speaking of him out loud.

She felt scared.

And terribly ashamed.

A false smile stretched the width of her face. "Agreed. Screw stupid, idiotic boys!"

"Amen!" exclaimed Emily, then laughed. "More cocktail?"

Gabriella smiled weakly, laughing at the idea.

"Sure. Why the hell not!"

"Yay! Vodka time!" The mischievous glint in Emily's eyes somehow got even brighter.

Oh, boy. Gabriella thought. Well done me. I've really done it now.

༻~ⓣⓦⓝⓒ~༺

Emily was laughing uncontrollably after her third glass.

And Gabriella was laughing even harder.

"No way," Gabriella giggled.

"No lie," Emily spluttered, holding back more laughter. "The one and only Troy Bolton," she repeated, stopping to take a breath, but she still laughed again, "shaved h-half of his eyebrow c-clean off."

Gabriella's alcohol clouded mind caused her to fall backwards with laughter.

"Oh," she cooed, smiling at the thought of Troy. "Oh, bless him."

Emily placed a hand over half her eyebrow, imitating the Troy that shaved off half his eyebrow in sixth grade.

Emily giggled, more and more, and so as a result of her semi-intoxicate state, fell backwards off the sofa.

Gabriella creased up laughing and found she had tears falling down her cheeks.

"How strong are these?" Gabriella asked, lazily pointing to her glass.

Emily suddenly appeared again, her head popping out front from behind the arm rest. Her dark hair was all over the place from the fall, and she was still chuckling. She held up a thumb and finger in front of her face, looking through them.

"Just a lil' bit."

Again, more insane laughter.

Gabriella picked up her phone from the table, quickly checking for any sign that Troy was still living, only to sigh heavily to herself when there was none.

Emily noted this and laughter loudly.

"You loove him. You want to kiss him—"

Gabriella threw a cushion in Emily's direction, but having zero co-ordination, she missed terribly.

Emily huffed melodramatically.

"Won't you just call him already?"

Gabriella's face scrunched with worry and disbelief.

"No.. N-no. I hate talking on the phone."

Emily looked at her, bemused. "What the hell. Why?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Insecurities? I don't know! I just do."

Emily's eyes suddenly flashed with a look of triumph, as though she had just gained pole position in the last minute of a basketball game.

"Well, fine then. I'll talk to him."

Gabriella suddenly let out a huge wave of almost completely incoherent protests as Emily reached for the phone and dialed. Gabriella felt anxiety climb so high in her chest that she didn't realise at first that she had begun rugby-tackling Emily on the floor for the phone.

"Emily, no! Please don't. Please. Give me the pho—"

A faint "Hello?" could be heard through the handsets inner-speaker.

Oh, shit.

"Boltooon!" whooped Emily down the receiver, deliberately making Gabriella curious by not putting the phone on loud-speaker.

"What's up?"

Gabriella was still trying to grab the phone silently, while giving Emily an evil glare. She realised a moment later that her whole face was pink from the remainders of a blush, so quickly hid her face.

"Oh, not much." Gabriella watched her reply to and unheard question. "Just a sleepover."

Hearing half the conversation was really going to get annoying.

Gabriella became very conscious of how at that moment all she wanted was to hear that voice again that made her jittery and high.

God, she thought. I really must be suffering from Bolton withdrawals.

"Who with?" Emily repeated, looking at Gabriella teasingly. "Uh, well... You know her... She's got brown eyes, brown hair—curly hair. She's—"

Gabriella launched for the phone, suddenly unable to resist the urge to hear his voice any longer.

Emily struggled and failed to keep hold of the phone in her much more tipsy state.

Out of breath, Gabriella smoothed her hair for a moment before pressed the phone to her ear.

She could hear breathing.

Then there was a pause.

"Emily? Hello?" he enquired.

Gabriella felt her heart hammer.

She felt her inner self sigh with relief.

There is was.

That voice

His voice.

"Hell-oo?" he enquired again.

Gabriella gulped, and took a leap.

"...Hi Tro—"

Before she could finish, Emily pulled the phone from her, suddenly impatient.

As the phone was pulled away Gabriella would have sworn she heard Troy enquire "Gabriella?" from a distance through the inner-speaker of the handset.

Gabriella felt her jaw drop with angst again her friend.

"Emily!" she hissed, irritated.

"What?" shrugged Emily, forging innocence. "You're the one who said you didn't like talking on the phone!"

"Emily! Give me the phone!"

Emily laughed. "Oh so now you want the phone? Indecisive much?"

Gabriella launched across the sofa again for the handset, much to Emily's discontent.

"Give me the phone!"

Emily laughed. "No."

More hustle and bustle occurred, and before either of them could stop it, the phone fell from both their grasping hands and hit the floor. As a result, the back cover broke off and slid across the floor, causing pieces from under the battery cap to fall out.

"Oh...crap!" Emily exclaimed.

Gabriella tried to cover her laugh, failing miserably.

"Do you think he knew I was here? I think he did."

Emily looked up from picking up phone pieces on the floor.

"Ya' think?" Emily exclaimed sarcastically. "Of course he faacking did!"

Gabriella sat down on the sofa again, all giddiness gone, suddenly feeling weary. All the anxiousness to hear Troy's voice left her feeling hollow.

"Oh, come on! Forget Troy. Forget the phone! Dress up," she ordered, throwing a pink feather bower at her, "and dance with me!"

Gabriella frowned, amused. "Are you bipolar or something?"

Emily laughed, pulling Gabriella to her feet. "No. Just a taaad crazy."

Gabriella raised her eyebrows. 'Tad' crazy may just be the understatement of the century.

༻~ⓣⓦⓝⓒ~༺

Gabriella felt puffed out after twenty minutes of on-off dancing.

Puffed out, and rather self-conscious.

"Oh my god," Gabriella said laughing at herself. "I can't dance."

Emily filled up their glasses. "Neither can I, honey. It's all part of the fun."

Gabriella gave her a sideways glance pessimistically. "Whatever you say."

There was beloved silence for a moment. Even the TV was silent.

Not that that lasted long.

Suddenly, the sound of Beyoncé's 'Single Ladies' could be heard from the music video channel on the TV.

Emily squealed suddenly, making Gabriella laugh. "Oh my god, I love this song!"

As more cocktails were poured, the two began to dance ecstatically.

Gabriella felt exceedingly embarrassed as she tried her best to let loose and dance. She didn't exactly feel attractive tonight and so her movements were uneasy and awkward. Still, she was laughing hard to cover her inner feelings. Nothing new there.

'All the Single Ladies. All the Single Ladies. All the Single Ladies, now put your hands up.'

Gabriella let the, now lemon flavoured, alcoholic cocktail flow down her throat. It really did taste good.

"'Up in the club, we just broke up. I'm doing my own little thing. Decided to dip and now you wanna trip, Cause another brother noticed me,'" sang Emily, not quite in tune to Gabriella's knowledge. She giggled as she watched Emily twist her body to the beat enthusiastically. Realising she had nothing to lose, she began to sing and dance along too.

"'I'm up on him, he up on me. Don't pay him any attention! Just cried my tears, for three good years. Ya can't be mad at me...'"

Gabriella was slowly feeling her usual awkwardness leave her––finally.

"'Cause if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it. If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it! Don't be mad once you see that he want it. If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it! Oh, oh, oh..."

The two did the famous dance movements to the song as they danced around the small living room and jumped on the sofa, both now officially tipsy, wearing tutus and feather bowers over their nightwear.
Gabriella looked over at her friend who had tied a bandana around her head to push back up her hair, while also still wearing her eye patch to cover her bad eye. She looked a real sight. Gabriella had to laugh, by now not at all worried about what she looked like herself.

"'I got gloss on my lips, a man on my hips. Got me tighter in my Dereon jeans. Acting up, drink in my cup. I can care less what you think. I need no permission, did I mention. Don't pay him any attention, Cause you had your turn and now you gonna learn, what it really feels like to kiiiiiiiss me...'"

Gabriella looked at Emily, giggling. "You sang it wrong!"

Emily scoffed, readjusting her bandana. "Did not!"

Gabriella put a playful had on her friend's shoulder, not realising how much she was leaning on her friend. "Yes you did! It's '...what it really feels like to miss me––not, 'kiiiiss' me."

Emily wrinkled her face, disgruntled. "Whatever. I liike my version."

Gabriella smiled wryly. "Of course you do."

"'If you liked it then you should have put a ring on it. If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it. Don't be mad once you see that he want it. If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it. Oh, oh, oh...'"

Gabriella whirled her hair round and sang to the point where she didn't care if she was in tune anymore.

The song carried on as the two began singing even louder.

So loud, in fact, that neither heard the front door open.

Or footsteps nearing them.

But they halted at the sound of one voice.

"Gabriella?"