On Monday morning, all the kids got ready for school in their normal routine. As Troy and Gabriella went to say goodbye to the twins so they could head to school in his truck, Jack interrupted them. "Actually, I was thinking I'd drop everyone off since it's your mom's day off, is that alright with everyone?" The juniors nodded and the twins agreed excitedly, all walking out to the car.
Once they were at the primary school, Troy and Gabriella got out of the car to say goodbye, the boy fist-bumping his brother and hugging his sister as he always did. Gabriella hugged Jacob a little tighter that morning, now knowing how much the small gesture meant to the boy and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Have a good day Jakie."
"You too Gabi."
Gabriella hugged her sister and felt the little girl whisper in her ear. "Be careful Bria."
The junior pulled away slightly and tucked a stray hair behind Lilliana's ear. "I'll be fine little one, don't you worry ok? I just want you to have fun today and play with your friends and I'll see you when I get home." Lilliana nodded. "Ok, have a good day."
"You too, I love you Bria."
Gabriella placed a kiss on her sister's forehead, whispering. "I love you too Liv."
When Jack was out of sight, having taken the twins into school, Troy grabbed Gabriella around the waist to face him, placing a chaste kiss on her lips. "Everything alright?" The girl nodded in response. "And with Lil?"
"She's a bit anxious but I think everything's ok now."
The boy waited a few seconds, fiddling with the bottom of her shirt before speaking again. "Can I ask you something?" Gabriella nodded, despite looking at him curiously and somewhat confused. "Why do you and Lilly always say I love you to each other anytime one of you is going somewhere?"
"I guess it's kind of reassuring for us. It's hard growing up the way we did and sometimes it felt like everything was falling to pieces so to have that one person who you knew was always there for you and you knew loved you was really comforting. And I guess I was kinda in fear of something happening, so it's comforting to know that if I ever have to say goodbye for the last time without knowing it, my last words to her would be that I loved her."
Troy was in shock. "Wow Brie that's huge... I hope you don't think that 'cause I don't say I love you every time that I don't -"
She shook her head. "Of course not Wildcat, I know it's not like that, it's just a thing Liv and I have had for a while. I-I don't doubt that you love me, you drove six hours straight to get to the hospital the same day I was brought in."
"Of course I would."
Gabriella smiled to herself before glancing at the gate. "We should probably move before your dad comes back, I don't think that'd be a fun conversation."
Troy laughed, pulling away. "No, no it wouldn't."
A few minutes later, Jack came back and they drove to East High. "I'll meet you both here this afternoon." The teenagers nodded and the three walked towards the door."
Troy looked towards the crowded entrance and turned to Jack. "Why are there so many people?"
As they approached the group, the crowd turned to reveal reporters shoving microphones and cameras into their faces – specifically Gabriella's – as they shouted their questions. 'Gabriella, is it true you were kidnapped from this school?' 'Who kidnapped you? Did you know them? Why did they kidnap you?' 'What happened while you were kidnapped?' 'Where did they take you? What was their motive?'
Gabriella froze, grabbing Troy's hand in a death grip. Jack pushed his way through the reporters, making a path for Troy to lead Gabriella through as the girl looked down and leant towards her boyfriend. Once they were inside, Jack turned back to the reporters. "This is private property, remove yourself from the premises." Closing the door, the man turned back to the juniors. "Are you alright Gabriella?" She nodded slowly. "Alright, I'm gonna talk to Matsui about this and about that receptionist who needs to lose her job."
Finally looking up, Gabriella turned to Jack. "Thank you Mr Bolton."
The man nodded in response. "Alright well both of you, try and have a good day today and I'll see you this afternoon."
Once he'd walked away, Troy looked to his girlfriends. "Are you really ok?" She shook her head and he heard her whisper 'everyone knows now,' making him sigh. "It'll be alright, we'll figure it out Brie." He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Come on, we'll get ready for homeroom." As they walked to his locker, they were immediately swarmed by their friends yelling over one another. Troy held Gabriella tighter before silencing them. "Enough, I get that you want to know what's going on but it's been a tough couple weeks so just back off her for a bit." He addressed his girlfriend. "Would you be ok with telling them at lunch? We could go to the gym or even Dad's office if you really wanna make sure no one else hears." The girl nodded in response so he turned back to the others. "Alright, you heard it so you'll find out everything you wanna know at lunch, in the meantime, let's just get to homeroom, we'll meet you there."
The couple walked to Gabriella's locker, letting her grab her belongings before they walked to homeroom. Just before they were about to enter, Gabriella grabbed Troy's hand, pulling him back to whisper. "I love you."
He squeezed her hand in reassurance. "I love you too Baby." He watched her nod and take a deep breath before they walked into homeroom and took their seats.