A/N: As always, thanks so much for reading. Hopefully you guys enjoy this chapter.


There was an unknown tension that hung in the air in the Montez household that Friday evening. It rained upon Gabriella's curvy body as she drenched herself in the hot shower. It twisted around her long hair as she wrapped the fibers into a towel. She could feel it haunting her fingers as she neatly applied her eyeliner and mascara for the evening. It wiggled up her body as she danced into her tight jeans. There was no denying that something was upsetting under the roof, but she was too terrified to wish to find out.

Or worse, that someone would find out about her.

Gabriella finally applied the finishing touches on her make up when a sudden voice caused her elbow to slam against the mirror and almost shatter it. "Can I use your…"

"Shit!" The junior exclaimed before she cupped her throbbing arm and squeezed her eyes shut painfully. It wasn't until her mocha orbs fluttered opened that she realized her youngest sister was standing in the threshold of her doorway with a slightly amused smirk on her dark skin. "You could have knocked."

Anna giggled before walking further into the room, her bare feet sticking to the floor. "Sorry about it. Do you have hairspray I could borrow?" She asked while shaking her straight strands and watched as they fell delicately over her floral halter. Gabriella raised her thin eyebrows with curiosity before furiously rubbing her now pink skin to numb the tingle.

"Anna. You have straight hair. You don't need hairspray," Gabriella rolled her dark eyes before glancing into the mirror at her beachy curls. "Besides, isn't Luke coming any minute now?"

She nodded before bouncing of the soft surface of Gabriella's mattress. "Yeah… but I just wanted to… look good," she blushed. "So um… hanging with Tyler tonight?"

Gabriella couldn't help the smirk that crossed her face when Anna referenced Troy's code name. After Sunday, Anna seemed to have finally grown attached to Troy not only as Gabriella's boyfriend, but also as someone she could be friends with. It was what Gabriella had always wanted and she honestly couldn't imagine how she had managed without Anna's support for two years. It was as though a heavy burden was lifted from her chest. Things finally seemed to be appearing a little brighter, even if she was still terrified of the hanging gloom that floated through the residence.

She glanced warily towards the door to make sure no one was around. "Shar's throwing us a 'back together' party at Heaven. We haven't all hung out in awhile so…" Gabriella referenced the total of forty eight juniors aware of the secret.

"I wanna go!" Anna jumped with her eyes glittering in desire. Gabriella shook her head forcefully before turning to her little sister.

"Absolutely not," The last thing she needed was her baby sister in the same room with Absolut vodka. "Besides, you have a date tonight."

Anna shrugged her bony shoulders. "He could come with…"

Gabriella sighed before she strode barefoot to stand in front of her. She popped a slender hip out, finally gaining about half the weight she lost without Troy back so she once again had the womanly curves that made her so appealing. "Anna. We're not supposed to be together. You can't go running around telling everyone okay?"

Her straight hair fell backwards as she threw her head back. "I know, I know! I just hate it." She complained with irritation in her demeanor.

Gabriella raised her eyebrows. "You hate it? An… I've been dealing with this for two years…"

Anna pouted before she rose from sitting to come up short to Gabriella's height. "Fine… since you're being stupid… where's the hairspray?"

Gabriella slapped her hand to her forehead with a "clap" and took her sister's hand before leading her towards the cluttered bathroom to doll her for the evening. "Come on…"

She dragged her little sister out of the room before suddenly listening to hushed voices down the hallway. Her body froze momentarily when she remembered Adrienne's blonde best friend had arrived only an hour previously. Maybe that was the cause of Gabriella's fright, the sly senior was in her house. She took Troy's words to heart the other night about not worrying about the future, but Crystal's references were scaring her.

"Shh…" Gabriella momentarily placed a thin finger to her lips and let go of Anna's arm. She tip toed over to where the crack in the door showed on her curious face as she pressed her ear against the door, only to pick up brief words behind the muffled sound.

"Phone…not possible…what…call…no…asshole…"

"What's wrong?" Anna whispered while sneaking behind her sister. But Gabriella shook her head rapidly before ripping away from the tempting idea of trying to eavesdrop.

Gabriella shook her head furiously as though to tell her to shut up. She leaned closer towards the door and felt her heart hammering wildly against her breast. This was stupid, why was she getting so worked up anyways? They didn't know. Crystal did not know. "Shhh… listen…"

"Not… right… Don't… believe it…" Adrienne's voice sounded both distressed and angered. Gabriella's stomach smashed to the floor before she attempted to coach herself through this. No. They did not know.

"See… letter… how many do you…has to be him…" Crystal's perfectly corrupted voice rung and she couldn't help but feel bile collecting in the back of her throat.

"What's going on?" Anna barely spoke as terror was in her irises.

"Nothing. I'm just being paranoid," She mumbled back before feeling the loom of the unknown wrap around her again. Her tiny bones shivered before gripping Anna's forearm in support for herself. "Come on, Luke will be here any minute…" Gabriella rushed her sister into the bathroom and slammed the door to silence the fears racing through her.


A sick sensation crept up Troy's back as he stepped onto the hardwood of the kitchen. It was difficult to describe, but his stomach was writhing like a cobra and fear slithered through his veins. There was something disturbing that pumped through his powerful muscles as he took in the scene of his mother, leaned up against the counter, drinking a glass of crystal water while his father was sitting lazily at the table with a plate of half eaten ribs sitting before him. Lucille's caring eyes lifted at the sound of her youngest son.

"Well, don't you look nice?" His mother commented at the red, white and black plaid button up he rolled at the sleeves and his light washed jeans. However, Troy figured she was actually referencing the giant beam on his face that hadn't been washed away since he reconnected with his love on Friday night.

"Thanks Mom." He strode away from the basement door leading to his room and sat down at the table to join his father. Jack glanced up with barbeque sauce smeared all over his mouth as a chuckle erupted from Troy's mouth.

"What?" Jack questioned before Lucille rolled her light eyes and placed her hands onto his shoulders.

"You got a little something right here Dad." Troy pointed to his own bronze cheek before Jack threw a spotted napkin in his direction.

Lucille laughed again. "No fighting in the house, you'll get Aaron and Steve down her and then I'll have to clean up the mess."

Troy's eyes shifted towards the ceiling as though he could see his brother and Steve sitting lazily on his navy bed probably trying to figure out how they were going to crash some party and get smashed. He was uneasy, however, about the way his older brother had treated him this past week. It seemed Aaron was watching him like a hawk, but still spoke no different as he may normal do so. It sent Troy on edge, but he tried to shake off the feeling. Nothing could bring him down.

"So how late do you think you're gonna be?" Lucille asked while letting go of her husband's shoulders and eyed Troy carefully. Troy shrugged lazily and knew that being away for the entire weekend had not settled well with his mother whilst he was busy having make-up sex with Gabriella.

"What time do you want me home?" Troy casually asked, praying that she'd say six in the morning, but he wasn't getting his hopes up too high.

"Midnight, okay?" She pressed before Troy finally stood and watched his father's dirty face look up at him.

"Where are you going anyways?" Jack questioned before throwing his stripped bone onto the pile building.

Troy didn't skip a beat with his lie; he had done it so many times that hesitation was no longer a betrayal. "Sharpay's having people over," Lucille's eyes shot warily at the sound of Troy's "ex-girlfriend who caused him so much distress". Jack raised his eyebrows cautiously before Troy held out his hands as if to halt their thoughts. "Everyone's gonna be there. We're working on being friends." Had lying always been this easy?

"Behave." Jack muttered, which served as Troy's approval to leave. He slowly rose from the table before Lucille gave him a quick wave before he turned towards the entrance of the neatly decorated house. While lacing his Converses, he suddenly caught a growing conversation that was developing at the top of the stairs.

Troy's eyes narrowed as he listened to his brother's voice approaching. "…cking kill him. You hear me?! I can't believe this…"

"Dude… do you trust her? Cuz she's…" Steve began but was cut off by a ravenous tone.

"I know fucking well who she is. But she doesn't know my number. She wouldn't waste her precious little time unless it was legit." Aaron snapped and the voices became louder, more defined as the senior boys reached the end of the stairs.

Immediately, Troy knew something was wrong.

Aaron's eyes were black. Usually they were just a dulled version of Troy's cerulean, but these looked as though they were pitches of hell. His fists were balled and his knuckles cracked. The large muscles derived from swimming were strained, almost throbbing as he turned to face his little brother. An angry storm circled around his head and each step he took rattled the house in his wake. Troy carefully stood from his crouched position as his older brother glared ruthlessly at him, as though he had been mutilated into a pile of muck he wished to dispose.

"Where the hell are you going?" Aaron spit, probably not caring that his parents were sitting happily in the other room. His veins had fire raging through them, and Troy almost took a step back in intimidation. Steve narrowed his eyes and his tight curls seemed to be fuming in an inferno.

"Shar's." Troy responded defiantly, proving that he wasn't going to succumb to whatever his brother was upset over. It gave him shivers up his spine and fear pulsated through his veins, but he refused to show weakness. What was going on?

Steve snorted. "Yeah… and I'm the queen…"

Aaron smacked his chest in silence before sending atomic bombs in his brother's direction. "I thought you were done with her." He hissed through his bright teeth.

Troy crossed his arms in a protective stance. "What does it matter if I am? I'm allowed to go where I want aren't I, Mom?" He mocked.

"You know she's a bitch." Aaron pressed, making Troy's fear escalade.

"It's my choice who I'm around, bro." Troy tested before feeling the adrenalin course through his body.

The uneasiness caused Troy's heart rate to accelerate and his palms to sweat. For a moment, terror raced through him. Did he know? Did Aaron finally discover what Troy had been hiding for two years? No. That was impossible. Aaron was clueless. He was probably having a bad day or Amanda wouldn't sleep with him or something. There was absolutely no way Aaron knew. His life, his secret, his love and his world was safe at Heaven. There was no need to panic. He was Troy Bolton, he shouldn't be afraid of anything.

"Whatever." Aaron growled before he stepped aside, the earthquake shaking violently around him. Troy hesitated before he slowly walked between the two raging friends. His eyes carefully shifted from both seniors, feeling tension as though one of them were going to pounce and rip his body apart. But neither flinched as Troy approached to door and shot a wary look backwards.

"Have a good night, whatever you do." Troy slowly departed and was just about to close the door before he heard…

"Don't worry, we will."


It appeared to be a party of celebration. Happiness was running through each attendee as they laughed, hugged, and toasted to the friends that hadn't been able to acknowledge each other for three weeks now. Music was humming beneath the ecstatic conversations and the lights were dimmed intimately. The plasma TV played as a distraction and no one really found the need to drink excessively, for no one wanted to miss a moment of the pure bliss that was being held in the house. Nothing would tear the juniors down. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves carelessly.

All except the two hosts.

Both Gabriella and Troy were on edge, their bodies rigid and fake smiles plastered over their faces. She had barely spoken to him all evening but could tell he was jumping from guest to guest because he could not sit still, just as she was. The tension that hung through the thick air was overpowering and neither seemed to be able to distract themselves from the looming threat of exposure. Neither were drinking at all, for in some subconscious reasoning, both wanted to have their full wits if something were to occur. They had briefly discussed Aaron's ravenous behavior and Crystal's appearance at the Montez household before the party fully commenced. There was no denying that Troy's lucid attitude about Crystal had been suddenly rattled, and he was now just as concerned about the comments as she was.

"Yeah… I can't wait to see what goes down for prom. You know you're going to be on court for sure Gabs." The spectacle wearing Brian commented as Gabriella stared distantly at the white cap of her water bottle, twisting it mercilessly and not paying attention to the conversation. Her mind was completely lost and tormented as she obsessed over the past week. She was absorbing everything Crystal had ever said to her and tried to pry apart the meanings.

"Earth to Gabriella!" Taylor's dark hand suddenly waved in front of her distressed face as Gabriella's head immediately shot up as though she had just been awaken from a nightmare.

"Hmmm? Oh sorry… what were we talking about?" Gabriella asked while feeling the condensation of the bottle bleed through her trembling fingers.

"Prom… how you're going to get on court. We vote this week." Kelsi pointed out from across the way with Jason's hand holding hers tightly.

Gabriella cocked her head to the side as if the word didn't register to her. Wait, prom… the biggest dance of the year and the event that she and Troy were escaping during that weekend. "Oh right… I think Troy and I are gonna ditch though. He said he might take Shar for like an hour and then claim he got food poisoning and leave. We're going to drive up to Santa Fe and rent a hotel." She shrugged lazily.

"It'd be hilarious if you two were king and queen." Zeke, who was holding Sharpay's cup since she was in the bathroom, stated just before taking a long sip of the alcohol in the plastic.

"I wouldn't doubt it," Brian chuckled before smirking at her. "I would pay money to see you two trying to be disgusted with twirling each other around for the first dance."

Gabriella shook her head. "We wouldn't do it, the teachers wouldn't make us do it. They know about everything just as much as we do."

"So where is prom gonna be anyways?" Jason asked somewhat stupidly. Every member of the junior class couldn't stop talking about the night of their dreams. It seemed bizarre that he did not pick up the information while speaking to one of their classmates.

Taylor's eyes lit up. "Oh, it's at the Marriott. We've got the one of the rooms there. It's going to be beautiful."

"Speaking of the prom king." Kelsi nodded as Gabriella glanced behind her shoulder to see Troy weaving through the content guests before allowing a fake smile to be stamped on his face.

"Hey guys… having fun?" Troy asked politely while sliding a tense arm around Gabriella's lower waist. She felt familiar shockwaves shimmy down her body as her cheek reflexively rubbed against his plaid shirt. Troy's fingers ran soothing circles on the black knit she was wearing.

"Of course man. We're just happy we can do this again." Brian smiled brightly.

Troy nodded before releasing her hip and placing a tender hand onto her exposed arm. "You wanna help me in the kitchen for a sec, Gab?"

Gabriella could see the fear threaded through the azure orbs and knew that there was no help that was needed. He leaned down and pressed an electrical kiss to her cheek before taking her hand gingerly. She turned back to the rest of the group with a pretend grin that could have made Sharpay's acting skills appear mediocre. "We'll be right back."

Troy led her from the living room until they reached the sink where empty beer bottles were begging to stack. There were teenagers scattered throughout the kitchen as well, but Gabriella only had eyes for the basketball captain who had just leaned against the counter in the attractive way that Gabriella couldn't get enough of. "You're tense." He commented before trailing his hypnotic fingers down her skin.

Gabriella narrowed her dark eyebrows. "I was going to say the same thing to you."

Troy closed his eyes and shook his head as though he was struggling with himself. "I know… I just can't stop thinking about Aaron and Steve. I know that was like… two hours ago but still…"

She felt his hand creep further up her skin as though touching her was causing him to relax. The look of angst in his eyes was causing her to be uneasy. Troy had been convincing her all week that they didn't need to worry about their families but now? He was just as fearful as she was and it was as though with his confidence dwindling, hers was falling rapidly as well. Gabriella reached out and wrapped her arms around his lower back, inducing trembles from his stone body. He glanced down at her as she attempted to give a small smile, but it appeared much more twisted than she intended.

"Try not to think about it… you're freaking me out and this is about celebrating us." Gabriella pressed her forehead against the division of his undershirt and his button up. She felt his muscles contract around her tightly before he dug his nose into her hair.

"I'm sorry… I know. This is about you and me." He slowly unwound himself and took her olive face into his warm palms. Gabriella once again felt tingles ripple down her spine at his touch.

Gabriella felt a devious smile smear over her face before she arched her back so his pelvis was bending forwards. "So, your mom said midnight?"

Troy's eyebrows furrowed curiously, but his smirk grew naughtier as he caught on to the question. "Yeah… that's two hours from now.

Gabriella wiggled in his grasp to provide tension to his groin. "Um… do you think they'd notice if we uh… had our own party upstairs?" Referencing the excited teenagers around them.

Troy licked his thin lips at her sexual suggestion and she heard an aroused growl rumble from his throat. "I think they might."

She giggled sweetly before threading her long fingers into the delicate fibers of his hair, completely lost in his eyes. Actually, she was so gone that she didn't even notice the rattle of the front door slamming to a shut in the distance. "But Troy, there's so many other people there! And you have… needs…" Her dark eyes cast down towards the growing bulge beneath his jeans.

"You got that right." He muttered against her lips before finally connecting them.

The kiss was so intoxicating that Gabriella was completely stripped from reality. Her calf slipped around his as he pried her teeth open with his tongue, commencing the never ending duel of their mouths. Gabriella moaned as she bent her back further, feeling the bliss rush through her at the sensation of Troy kissing her. It was as though the music stopped playing and the chatter of the house suddenly halted as they headed to cloud nine…

…and when Troy's lips finally left hers, she realized the noise had been silenced. Her thin orbs narrowed before she glanced up at her love and saw his piercing stare completely petrified. His arms trembled as he held her and he looked as though he had just seen the devil storm into the house. Gabriella's heart stopped beating as she mechanically turned around, feeling her entire world shattered with less than a million second.

It wasn't the devil. It was far worse.

Standing in the threshold of the doorway was her worst nightmare. Fuming Adrienne Montez and furious Aaron Bolton stood side-by-side with murderous daggers in their black eyes. Oxygen was ripped from her wheezing lungs as she gripped Troy's hand tighter in fear of their rage. Gabriella's body was thrown into paralysis as Aaron's eyebrows rose in pure hatred and his mouth opened cruelly, "So, you had a party and didn't invite us, huh?"