Chapter 21: Not Mad

On Monday morning, Troy walked into homeroom and saw that everyone was excited about something. Once he looked around the room, he figured it out. The yearbooks had just been handed out and everyone was happily looking at them and passing them around to be signed.

"Ah, Bolton I'm glad that you decided to join us this morning." Ms. Darbus noticed him coming in later then usual.

"Sorry Ms. Darbus." He told her.

Unexpectedly, she just shrugged it off and handed him a red and white hardcover book. "The year is almost over, if I haven't drilled the importance of being on time into your head by now, then I'll just have to wait until next year." She gave a small laugh before turning and leaving him slightly perplexed.

"Troy, there you are man!" Chad rushed over and started pulling his friend over to their usual spot.

"Here you go Chad." Sharpay thrust a yearbook into Chad's chest and put the cap on the top of her pink marker. "Oh hey Troy, I'm signing, let me do yours." She wrenched his book out of his hand before he could even do anything about it.

"Okay…" He just shrugged and leaned against the desk beside him.

"Good morning." Came a voice in his ear, just as he felt hands on his back. Troy turned around to see Gabriella standing there. She didn't look particularly happy, and he knew exactly why.

"Hey…Gabby." He said carefully with a small smile.

"Hi." She stepped past him to get to the back of the classroom where she usually sat.

Troy sighed and turned to follow her. "Okay, I get that you're probably mad at me but…"

"Mad?" Gabriella looked at him. "Why would I be mad?" she said sarcastically. "I mean, my boyfriend didn't call me when he promised he would, and when I called to make sure he was still alive, he told me he wasn't really in the mood to talk." There was an edge in her voice. "But no, I'm not mad because I know that what you're not happy about has nothing to do with me." She finished, crossing her arms against her body.

Okay, what was he supposed to say to that? "Gabby…" he started.

"Here Gabs, I'm guessing you'll be wanting this." Sharpay came over with Troy's yearbook and handed it over to her friend.

"Thanks Shar." Gabriella took it with a sigh. Sharpay had already moved on to somewhere else in the classroom.

"Alright people, I know that getting yearbooks is exciting for you all, but there are a few announcements to be made before you all head off to your first period classes." The voice of Ms. Darbus boomed over all of the students.

Gabriella looked at Troy. "Look, we'll talk about this later okay?" she said quickly before heading to her seat. Troy figured he better get to his quickly before Ms. Darbus scolded him for the second time in one morning.

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Later didn't seem to come at any point that day at school. Troy and Gabriella seemed to be busy at completely different times. Finally, at the end of the day, Gabby gave up trying to find him and went home. She lay on her bed for the longest time, trying to figure this out. Then she reached into her school bag, and pulled out Troy's yearbook, which she still had from homeroom this morning. She hadn't written in it yet, because she hadn't been able to figure what to write all day. Instead of thinking about it, she flipped through the pages, looking at all of the pictures. A smile came to her face and she picked up a marker, feeling the words come to her.

Just as she was setting the book back down on her bed, her phone rang. She knew it was Troy from that old picture he'd taken of himself on New Years. "Hello?" she picked it up.

"Hey." She heard him sigh. "We missed each other today."

"Yeah." She agreed. "We never talked." She added.

"Yeah I know…" Troy fell silent.

Gabriella looked down at the red and white book in her hand. "I still have your yearbook." She informed him. "Mind if I bring it over?" she used it as an excuse, hoping it would work.

"That sounds good." Troy replied.

Gabby sighed. "Alright. See you soon then." She got up from her bed, preparing to leave as soon as she got off the phone with him.

"Bye."

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Troy was lying on his bed, like he had spent most of his time since Friday night. Then his bedroom door opened slightly and closed again. He at up onto his elbows and saw that it was Gabriella. She didn't look quite as comfortable as she normally did when she was here. But she was coming towards him slowly. He saw his yearbook in her hands.

"Don't read this until later." She told him before putting it down on his bedside table.

Troy just nodded, watching and waiting for what she would do next. Surprisingly, she got up onto his bed and stretched herself out beside him. She rested her head on one side of his chest, her hair spilling all over his arm. She wrapped an arm across his stomach, pulling herself close.

"I don't like being mad at you." She shook her head slightly. "But I don't like waiting around for you to call either."

"I know." Troy sighed. "I'm sorry."

Gabriella was silent for a while, taking that in and analyzing it and picking it apart. She knew he meant it. She also knew that this weird mood of his had nothing to do with her. "On Friday you told me you were okay." She said finally. "Shocked, but okay."

"Yeah, I guess it's a bit more complicated then that." Troy closed his eyes, waiting and preparing for what she was going to say next.

"What is it that is making you so unhappy about this?" Gabby asked, toying with the fabric of his shirt between two of her fingers.

Troy gathered his thoughts. He's learnt over the past little while that it was better to just tell Gabriella everything. It caused so much less confusion and hurt. "Okay well… It's not that I don't like Kevin, he seemed like a good guy I guess. It's just that, well I don't think that either Ben or I really want her to be with anyone…" he tried to get his point across as clearly as he could.

Apparently it wasn't clear enough, since Gabby turned her head to look at him. "You don't want your mom to be happy?" she was confused.

"No." Troy shook his head. "That's not it at all. I want her to be happy, I do. It's just well, I think I've always had this vision of my parents finding their way back to each other." He told her. "I sometimes feel like Ben and I are the reason they split up in the first place, and maybe they never really meant it." He finished with a sigh.

Gabriella got up a little bit so that she could fully look at him. "Troy…whatever happened with your parents is not your fault." She told him seriously. "Don't even think that okay?" she wanted to make sure he understood. She knew he did when he nodded slightly. "I know you'd probably do anything for them to be back together, but maybe you just have to accept that it's probably not going to happen." She watched his eyes while they took in her words.

"I know." Troy sighed.

"Just try to adjust to this, I know you want to see her happy." Gabby suggested. "Then, if you really can't live with it, then tell her." She told him. "Because she wants you to be happy no matter what."

Troy let out the smallest smile. "What would I do without you Gabriella Montez?" he asked her quietly.

She leaned over him, bringing her face down close to his. "I love you Troy Bolton." She replied in a whisper, not really answering his question at all. She gave him a soft kiss before pulling away and laying her head on his chest again. Now she was on top of him, matching her breathing with his. Lower down, their feet were tangled at the end of the bed.

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Later when Gabriella left, Troy was feeling a lot better. He knew that she was right about his mom. He was set on making sure that she was happy. When he went back into his room after saying bye to Gabriella, his eyes fell to the yearbook on the table beside his bed.

He was curious to see what Gabby had written, so he picked it up and sat on the edge of his bed, opening it up to the back where the signatures went. Practically an entire page was filled with Gabriella's neat, curly writing.

Troy,

Have you ever met someone and felt something inside of you telling you that they were going to be one of the greatest people to come into your life? Well, I haven't. When I met you on New Years Eve, I knew that there was something there, but I never expected for it to go anywhere. It was obvious right away that we were from two different worlds. But apparently that hasn't stopped us. I don't think there's any need to re-tell what has happened in the short time we have known each other. I know that I will never forget it though.

Can't wait for summer!

Love, Gabriella

P.S. You're an amazing person Troy, never forget that.