Here is Chapter 41, I hope you like, there's more Mack in this one.

"Yeah, I'm going to need it."

Mack smiled from the door. So, Troy was skipping the banquet, that explained why he kept getting called. Troy ran out the door and Jason resumed his place leaning on the wall. As Troy ran, he slid his cellphone into his pocket. Mack cocked her head to the side, he didn't even answer it.

She looked over to Jason who was hiding his face in a magazine. "I smell something funny, and it's not all this fancy food," Mack whispered to herself. She shut the door and walked back to the table. Her parents were having a conversation with a woman her mom worked with.

"Where were you," Jack asked, sliding into Troy's empty chair.

Mack considered not telling her dad about Troy left for about thirty seconds. She thought of all the gains, the blackmail...but, Troy had been getting on her nerves lately, not paying any attention to her. Gabriella this, Gabriella that...ugh.

You could call her a little green eyed monster, but she was just exercising her right as Troy's little sister to make his life that much harder that it already might be. It wasn't her fault that she was used to her brother always being there for her, and now that all his attention was focused mainly on Gabriella...well she was just going to have to intervene.

"Troy's gone."

"What?"

"He left," she said. She looked at Jack and saw that he mad at Troy. She put on her innocent voice and pretended like she needed to strain to remember the information, to make it that much more believable. "He was talking to Zeke on the phone and I think I heard Gabriella's name in there somewhere. Oh and Jason's out there hiding behind a magazine and when we look as if Troy's being missed, he calls him and Troy comes back."

Jack looked hurt for a minute before being completely angry. "That boy's got nerve."

Mack felt a little bad because she didn't know the whole story, but she was sure that Troy deserved it. And then she got an idea, an awful idea, and she smiled.

"Daddy," she said. "Don't punish him to badly, he's just a teenager with the thought that Gabriella is his true love."

"Troy shouldn't have left this, he deserves to be punished."

"He'll get punished soon enough, I'm sure of it."

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

"I'm sorry Gabriella," Troy said rushing into the room.

"Is Mack okay," Gabriella said looking for the girl.

"Chad told you I presume," Troy said, hoping Chad's lie wasn't like the alien one he had told earlier.

"Yeah, the poor thing has hives on her face. What's she allergic to?"

Troy bit his lip, "um...we don't know, something in the food. She ran upstairs so that you couldn't see her, she's really embarrassed." One of the second floor doors slammed shut and Troy couldn't help but think that his friends thought of everything.

"I'm going to go," she said as she walked to the stairs. "I hope you feel better," she shouted.

"Yeah, bye Gabriella," came a high pitch, coughing voice.

Gabriella looked back at Troy. "I guess she's worse off than we thought," he lied, covering up for the coughing. "I'll walk you home?"

"I think you better stay with Mack," she said, looking back up the stairs concerned.

"Chad can watch her."

"Do you trust Chad with your sick little sister?" She walked to Troy and kissed his cheek. "Stay with her. It's not a far walk, I'll be fine."

Troy grabbed her hand, "are you sure?"

"She needs you more than I need you right now."

Troy watched her walk out the door and sighed. He felt three figures walk up behind him and he turned to face them. "You made her sound like she was dying!"

"We didn't know how allergic she was," Ryan said.

"She's not allergic to anything!"

"You're getting better at lying Troy," Chad said. "I'm proud to call you my best friend."

Troy sat down in a chair. "Now, I get to sit down and relax," he said shutting his eyes.

"Yeah," Chad said. "Let's get this place cleaned up." He looked at Troy and laughed. "He's out of it!"

Troy had fallen asleep on the chair. The others, being tired too, blew out the candles and turned on the lamps. Chad was the first to collapse on the couch, Zeke started to snore softly in the armchair and Ryan sat down in Troy's dinner chair and laid his head on the table.

None of the boys were awake when "Roundball Rock" started coming from Troy's pocket.

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

Elaine unlocked the door around 11:30pm. At nine they had lost hope that Troy was coming back. There were lights on in the house, so they figured he was home. Jack was behind her, holding a sleeping Mack in his arms.

"I'm going to put her to bed," Jack said. Elaine followed him when she saw him stop in the living room. She stood behind him and smiled at the sight of the four teenagers.

"Looks like something when on in here," she said. "I think I know why Troy left."

"Me too," Jack said. Elaine walked over to the stereo and turned off the romantic music that was playing. She shook her head as she picked the candles up from the table and grabbed the rose Gabriella left on the table.

"He's growing up Jack," she said. Mack started to move in his arms. "You better put her to bed." Jack turned and walked up the stairs carefully so Mack wouldn't wake up.

Elaine looked at her son and smile. "You're making me feel old Troy," she said as she brushed the hair out of his face. "I guess you listened to me, you haven't lost her and I can tell your not going to." She smiled. "Troy and Gabriella Bolton, has a ring to it."

"As much as I hate to admit it..."

Elaine looked up at her husband. "You're not loosing him Jack. You just have to share him."

"But, what if we don't want to share him?"

"That's not our choice," she said. She looked at Troy. "We both knew this day would come."

"I'd rather share him than loose him, I guess," he said taking a good look at Troy. "He's going to be a senior next year, can you believe that?"

"And Mack will be a freshman."

"What happened to the days when their only concern was learning to count to ten?"

Elaine just shook her head and the two of them walked into the kitchen. Once they were out of hearing range, a whispering voice said, "perfect Troy. 'You just have to share him.' I don't want to share him, as far as I'm concerned, Gabriella can keep him."

Well...we do have ourselves trouble brewing in the Bolton household. Mack seems to be the only one upset by Troy...hmm...

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