It's the Real Thing

AN: The next chapter is here!

JenniGirl1 – I think you're the first person to guess about the picture! Yay you? Anyways, I love that line too, I think my entire FAMILY feels threatened by my computer… Haha, anyways, you'll be proved… erm, well, just keep reading -innocent smile-

xoxMusicalxox – Thank you! Yeah, Gabby does get pretty angry, doesn't she? Hrmm. Didn't plan that…

Lil-Evans – Thanks! I try to upload as soon as possible :) And maybe, maybe she does… ;) I'm glad you like the mystery, sometimes it gets to a point where even I don't know what's going on… yeah, weird, I know

jUztafAn – Fight, fight, fight! Ahaha, well, you'll get to see what happens between them… big fights are hard to write, though, at least for me. I'm not good with comebacks, so that makes it a bit tougher. A good fight always has good comebacks… right?

mars.x – Hmmhmm, does it, does it… well, you'll have to wait and find out :)

Toxic Bubbles – Hey, that's what a story's for, right? To keep the readers amused. And to pour out any locked up emotions that you're too scared to show the world… but, ah, that's besides the point...

xxxPrincessJololaxxx – I'm so glad to hear from you again :D Glad you're enjoying the story!

Disclaimer: Suuure, of COURSE I own High School Musical. And here's something for you since you asked. -hands over 'dunce' cap-

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Breaking Point

Gabriella slipped into the silent apartment at five that evening, still breathless with laughter from one of Sharpay's departing jokes. She stopped at the door of the kitchen, seeing Troy standing there stonily. His hands were around a piece of paper. She smiled slightly, glad that he was up and about – no wonder she had never wanted to become a nurse, it was so tiring to take care of other people. Life was all about taking care of yourself, although having friends to help you along was always a nice thing.

She made a wry face at her mental wording; "nice thing" indeed! Giggling slightly, she stepped further into the kitchen, alerting Troy to her presence. He looked up from whatever he was clutching and gave her a brief smile. Gabriella tilted her head, surprised at the coldness of his greeting – usually she would get a wide smile or a "Hi Gabby" when she returned from somewhere. Troy was a sweet person, but Gabriella wasn't sure that saying "yes" to him had been her best idea.

He tried hard to ask her about her books and her interests, and genuinely seemed interested, but all he really knew about was basketball. The one or two times she had timidly broached the subject with him, his face had lit up and he had talked non-stop for at least half an hour. Gabriella fiddled with the silver chain she was wearing around her neck as she hesitantly smiled back at him. Troy's usually warm blue eyes were a cooler gray now.

"Gabriella. You're back." It was a statement, not a question, but she nodded anyways. Leaning against the kitchen counter, she watched him carefully, suddenly realizing how little she knew about his moods and his little mannerisms. Was the crease between his eyebrows from frustration, worry, anger or all three? Or something else? Was his body stance tense because of the small amount of space between them or because he was trying to control his emotions? She fidgeted with the ring on her finger, drawing Troy's eyes to it.

When she looked up to gauge the expression on his face, she saw his eyes fixed on her ring, an oddly tight smile stretching across his face. She wrinkled her nose slightly, clearing her throat. "Um. Hey. Glad to see your ankle's better."

Troy smirked faintly. "Yeah. Yeah, it's better." He ran a hand through his dirty blond hair, gesturing towards the hallway. "You know what, what I have to say will be better received if we sit down. How about the living room?"

Gabriella frowned. What he had to say? What did he have to say? Confusion numbed her limbs for a second, and then she nodded again. "Yeah. Sure." She exited the kitchen first, moving towards the living room. She was comfortably curled up in an armchair by the time Troy got there, wincing slightly and clinging onto a nearby floor lamp for support. Gabriella blushed, wondering if she should have helped him. Well, it was too late for that now.

He took a seat on the couch next to her armchair, staring ahead expressionlessly. She prompted him with a small cough, which seemed to return him to the present. He jerked his head back and relaxed his hand muscles. She watched him curiously, wondering what he was going to say to her.

"I'm going to show you something, and I want you to tell me if you've ever seen it before." He spoke slowly, thinking out each word. Gabriella made a noise of consent and he turned, avoiding her gaze and extending the hand with the paper in it towards her. "Take it." His voice was low, but not angry. Or was it? Gabriella shifted uncomfortably and took the paper from him, turning it over.

Her face drained of all color. She stared at the picture, her heart throbbing at a million miles per hour. How had he found this? She had hidden it in his closet because she knew men never checked their closets too closely. Or was he different? A silent groan came from her – had he managed to uncover something she wanted to keep hidden because she didn't know enough about him? Would she ever know enough about him?

Troy watched her with a deadpan look on his face. "I was wondering about that picture," he said softly. "Could you tell me who that is, Gabriella? Why you're in the picture? Why it was hidden in my closet?"

She set the photo down, her eyes losing their bright spark and matched his tone of voice. "I didn't really want to answer this, but I guess you deserve to know." Gabriella knew all about hiding her emotions and keeping the quaver out of her voice. "This… this is my brother. Alan Montez, as I'm sure you've already found out."

Troy frowned in confusion. Hadn't she told him that she was an only child? Seeing the puzzlement on his face, Gabriella continued in the same quiet voice, "I should say… w-was. Was my brother, Alan Montez."

She could see the shock on his face. Maybe he had only been upset that she had kept something from him, and had no idea of the vastness of the secret she had been keeping. Gabriella played with her wedding ring while she waited for Troy to say something.

"I… I didn't know." His voice was barely a whisper. Gabriella lowered her eyes to her clasped hands. "I… I was just… I mean, I was angry, Gabriella. I thought we were supposed to share everything with each other."

The hurt in his voice made her temper flare dangerously. "You know what? That's what's supposed to happen between a husband and wife, yes. But has it ever occurred to you that we're not really husband and wife, Troy? Legally, we are, and we live in the same house. But I don't knowanything about you! I don't know those little things that spouses are supposed to know! This isn't a normal marriage. It's like… I don't know!"

Her words stung him deeply, especially since she had come so close to the truth. "Well, how am I supposed to know anything about you if you keep such important stuff hidden away, Gabriella?" he retorted. "You could have told me! I can understand, I have a sibling who's dying too…"

Her face was pale again as she shook with barely suppressed fury and grief. "You think that's what happened?" she whispered. "You think he died? He didn't die, Troy! But if he did, I killed him!"

She saw the blankness in his eyes. Her fingers played with the hem of her shirt as she struggled to contain her emotions. No one had ever seen her cry properly – not even her mother had seen her cry. She would always keep it all inside until she could sneak away and weep in a corner. And Troy had seen her cry twice before. She couldn't come unhinged in front of him again. She glared at him, narrowing her eyes fiercely.

"What… what do you mean?" he managed to ask. Her expression softened slightly.

"I… it's hard to explain," she replied awkwardly. "I-I shouldn't have said that." She ducked her head. "I'm… I'm not some manic killer, d-don't worry." She let out a faint laugh, but Troy's look did not change, and he didn't even crack a smile. "I…"

"Gabby." His voice was soft. He had been furious at her for keeping something so important from him, but all he could see now was a hurt girl in front of him that needed to be comforted. He got off the couch and came to kneel in front of her, taking her hand and tracing circles on his with his thumb. She flinched at the intimate gesture and pulled her hand away hurriedly.

"I…I was eleven. I didn't really know how to take care of a baby sibling… Alan was about a year old. I begged my mom to let me take him to the nearby park… you know, the one on Dogwood Road?" Troy nodded slowly. Gabriella felt her stomach clench painfully.

"It was close to home. My mom agreed… I was going to meet a friend there. My mom was going to come too, but then she was c-called away for something…" She took a deep breath. "So I took Alan alone. I thought I could handle it. I mean, how hard could it be?"

"But I messed up, I messed up really badly. My friend called me over as soon as we got there, and instead of taking Alan with me, I put him down on the nearest bench and ran over to her. We talked for so long, and I… I forgot about Alan. And when I turned back, he was gone."

"We searched the entire park, my friend and I. We couldn't find him. When I told my mother, she slapped me, and yelled at me… I know she didn't mean it, she was so shocked and upset, but… and… and we've been looking for him ever since, but we haven't found him. It's all my fault! I let my brother be kidnapped, or killed, or, or…"

And suddenly she couldn't control it anymore – she bent her head and let the tears fall, all the tears she had wanted to keep inside since that day twelve years ago. Troy's face was a mixture of shock and pity. He took her hand in his again and slowly pulled her towards him, letting her bury her head in the crook of his neck. Gabriella cried softly, wrapping her arms instinctively around the man before her, wanting to have something to hold on to. And that moment, she knew that even if the entire world spun out of balance, Troy would hold her in place. Maybe she knew him better than she thought she did. Maybe this was a normal marriage. Maybe she could learn to love him.

AN: So we get to see Gabriella break down this time. I was originally planning on having Alan dead, but I decided that was used too often and chose this instead. I know, it sounds totally unlikely, but Gabriella wasn't as practical and rational when she was eleven – very few of us are. Hopefully I've clarified that she wasn't too sure about the marriage either, but she's learning to love Troy. Can he learn to love her too? Hrmm, well, you'll just have to wait and see ;)

I noticed a lot of people thought that it was Gabriella's child – wow, I was really surprised! I never thought of that, honestly.

A small note – I may not be updating as regularly now, because I have school again(I had a week off earlier). Just to let you guys know. I'll try as hard as I can, though!