A/N: Here ya go guys. Sorry for the way late update, but truth is, I have had no time since school started so I am writing this now. Stupid school, getting in the way of my writing.

Chapter 12

Gabriella shut her bedroom door and had tried her hardest not to slam with such force that it shook the house. How could he be so mean? She went to him to apologize and he just acts like she initiated World War III! Gabriella threw her bag from spending the night at Kelsi's on her bed and walked over to her computer. She sat down in the black chair and turned it on but the tears that were stinging the back of her eyelids seeped out. With a sigh, Gabriella got back up shortly after the computer was started up. She walked into her in-suite bathroom. She needed to wash away the evidence of tears on her face before her parents or Chad saw her.

Once she undressed and stepped into the hot shower, all her problems erased for a second. That second was short lived though. Soon her thoughts went to Troy Bolton. He was the reason for all of this-for all of this stress- so why did she want to kiss him over and over again when she should really want to scream at him and slap him across the face.

That she didn't even know the answer to.

Gabriella sighed as she saw Chad sitting on the couch watching TV. Chad turned his head to look at who came in the door and his expression changed drastically. His dark brown eyes turned coal black and glared at her.

"Chad? Um… can I talk to you real quick?" Gabriella asked hesitantly.

"I'm right here aren't I?" Chad said coldly.

"Yeah, I guess. Umm…I'm sorry. I think I know why you are ignoring me, and it really isn't what you think." Gabriella was a bout to continue when Chad spoke up.

"Troy Bolton. Out of all the guys you had to get involved with Troy fucking Bolton." Chad said through gritted teeth. Gabriella almost ran off right then; Chad never used the 'f' word. He was ignoring her for the entire thing with Troy. Kelsi was right.

"Chad, I know you two have so kind of rivalry-" Chad cut her off once again.

"Rivalry? That what you think it is?" Chad let out a spiteful laugh that almost made Gabriella curl back. "I fucking hate him! He uses everybody and always gets what he wants!"

"Chad-" Gabriella tried to stop his rant. She could see that his face was turning red from anger and wanted to stop him from getting even more out of line.

"He wants you! Just because I am you step-brother, he has to have you. That is the only reason he is even talking to you Gabriella! He is using you! Just like he does everyone else!" Chad accused in a roaring voice.

Gabriella felt tears sting the back of her eyelids. He never said 'step-brother' before. And now, when she was really thinking that she actually liked Troy, Chad goes and accuses him of using her!

"How could you even-" Chad continued but Gabriella cut him off this time.

"No Chad! Troy is amazing! You have no right to judge him like that!" Gabriella fired. She really didn't even think about it. She wasn't even positive that she liked him, and she was already defending him.

"You like him?" Chad caught on to her defending Troy, "You like him!" Chad concluded, seeing the look on her face, "He just using you Gabriella! Don't come crying to me when you find out how right I am and you are left heartbroken!" Chad stormed off into the kitchen and Gabriella couldn't follow him, because if she did, he would see how much his words hurt her.

Gabriella couldn't control the quiet sobs that shook her body as the water ran over her tan skin. She was hoping with her heart and soul that Chad would forgive her, and that he was wrong. Wrong. There would be no heartbreak, and Troy wasn't using her.

She wouldn't believe it.

Gabriella stepped out of the shower and wrapped a white towel around her that would cover her upper body and fell to the top of her thighs. She walked out of the bathroom and was in her bedroom. Padding over to her dresser, she retrieved a teal tank top and a pair of black boy shorts. Gabriella glanced around her room and noticed that the curtains to her balcony were still open so she walked over and shut the tan fabric in case anyone happened to be looking into her room.

Gabriella let the towel drop from her body and slipped on her tank top. She then slipped on her underwear and started to put her black shorts on. One leg through the black fabric, her computer dinged. Gabriella nearly jumped out of her skin! One moment she was in the midst of putting on her shorts, and the next, she was on her cream colored carpet and was guessing that she had a rug-burn on her back.

Gabriella grumbled to herself before getting back to her feet and pulling her shorts up all the way. Her computer dinged again. Luckily, she only jumped this time and didn't get a second rug burn—or any other injury for that matter. She walked over to the computer and sat in the comfy chair once again, but this time her thoughts were clear.

For that exact moment anyway.

On her computer screen a window had appeared, and in that window was the writing of the insanely good looking teen that had been clouding her thoughts. All Chad related thoughts exited her mind like they had never fought less than just a half hour ago.

Screamingmyname14: Hey, Gabriella.

Screamingmyname14: Haha. Don't have much coordination, now do you?

Gabriella was instantly confused. How did he always know what she was doing? And why had he asked what color her bedroom walls were a few days ago? Or how many days ago was that? Since she had been talking to Troy, the days seemed extremely long, yet oddly short at the same time. If that made any sense at all.

Troy was seriously messing with her head.

Getting her train of thought back on the right tracks, she typed out her questions.

Ikickyoass24: Wtf? Do you have like hidden cameras in my room or something? Stalker!

Screamingmyname14: Wow. You can make some pretty far out assumptions. No I am not a stalker, nor do I have hidden cameras in you bedroom.

Ikickyoass24: Just answer how you know what I am always doing. And answer why you needed to know what color my walls were a few days ago.

Gabriella didn't have enough patience to deal with his joking or anything similar to that. She just wanted an answer—and she wanted to take a nap.

Screamingmyname14: Well, I needed the color of your bedroom walls to make sure I was correct.

Gabriella huffed to her self. She typed her reply as fast as her fingers would brush across the keys without errors.

Ikickyoass24: Correct about what? I'm not in the mood to have you teasing me. Not in the mood at all.

Screamingmyname14: Well, Sorry!

Ikickyoass24: Just tell me already!!

Screamingmyname14: I'm your neighbor.

Gabriella felt her jaw drop and she could have sworn it banged against the desk and could have stretched to the floor.

Ikickyoass24: Are you serious?!

Screamingmyname14: Completely. Go out on your balcony.

Screamingmyname14 has signed off.

Gabriella's face contorted into an even greater look of confusion. Nonetheless, Gabriella got out of her chair and walked over to her balcony doors. The doors were a pair of French doors with white wood. She had a curtain rod above them so she could pull the tan curtains over the doors at night when her lights were on so no one could see into her room, or when she just felt like not having sunlight in her room when she woke up in the morning. Most of the time she had the curtains open because of her love for the outdoors, but she had drawn the curtains shut when she was getting dressed (and falling) so she opened the curtains and the door before stepping out onto her balcony.

When Gabriella felt the chilly air hit her skin, she shivered. Ignoring the goose bumps on her skin, she looked out. The house beside hers was almost exactly the same as her own house. It was red brick, medium sized, each house had a balcony on the right side of the house, and had a back yard and front porch. Her house was just a tad bigger. But at this moment, she wasn't concentrating on the house. Her eyes were glued to the blue eyed, brown haired, teen with his arms on the window sill and the window open who was staring right back at her.

A/N: Hopefully you could picture the last few paragraphs in your head. That was my goal. And just to tell all of you guys, I am going to focus on writing a one shot at the moment. I really want to write two one shots. One for Twilight (Bella and Edward) and one for The Host (A Stephanie Meyer book that is also insanely good). If any of y'all guys think you would read it if I wrote those one shots, please leave it in a review. I wouldn't want to take time away from Beat Up By A Girl and She Don't Want The World if no one is going to read my one shots.

Review! Thanks for reading!