Disclaimer: (sorry for not putting it on the last couple of chapters) I do not own or am affiliated with any of the HSM cast and crew.

Chad walked to the door of Taylor's apartment the next night feeling scared. He knew that with agreeing to do this, Taylor and he would have to relive painful memories. Hesitating at first, he knocked on the door. From the inside, he could he footsteps coming closer.

"Hi Chad," she said through a forced smile. Taylor eyed him from head to toe, feeling the same attraction coming over her from back in their high school days. She shook those feelings away, he's probably dating someone else by now…

"Hey Taylor," He replied back. He too was taken back by Taylor's beauty, the way she didn't need tons of make up because she was naturally gorgeous. She was wearing dark denim jeans with a dark green dressy tank top. Her hair was styled in curls, just the way he liked it.

Chad was distracted from his thoughts when he felt something tugging at the bottom of his pants. Looking down, he smiled to see a Sammy wagging his tail happily at his presence. "You have a dog?"

"No Chad, it's the new carpet," she mumbled sarcastically. Chad then remembered how stubborn she could be sometimes.

Taylor decided that she should stop and apologize, "Sorry… come on in." She stepped back from her doorway as he carried a duffel bag full of a weeks worth of clothing. She let him shut the door behind him.

"Where do you want me to put my stuff?"

"Oh, right, follow me," Taylor led him down the hall and into the guest room which was across the hall from hers.

The walls were full of pictures with the gang, Chad wasn't surprised that she hung up the ones without him in them Between the two bedrooms was a bathroom that they would have to share., "I just changed the sheets and on top of your bed is a stack of clean towels…"

Chad smiled, remembering how neat she could be and how much she hated mess. "Thanks."

"I'll leave you to settle in or whatever," she said before turning around and walking into her own bedroom and shutting the door.

Taylor leaned against her door and sighed, she couldn't do this. She couldn't possibly live with Chad for a week without letting her feelings get the best of her. She couldn't live with him without having something spill.

Millions of questions started racing through her head: what if he sees the signs of her being sick? What if he picks up the phone and it was her doctor? What if she fainted again but this time in front of him?

How could Troy and Gabriella do this to her? How could they leave her alone with Chad, of all people, Chad! What hurt her most was that Gabriella was in this too; her best friend was trying to set her up with someone that she was still trying to get over.

Chad started knocking on Taylor's door, "Tay, you in there?"

"Uh yeah, I'll be out in a second," She called from the other side of the door. A minute later opened it and stood face to face with him. Taylor stepped back and looked down, "S-sorry." Another awkward moment and it was just the beginning of what she knew would be a very long week.

"I was just wondering if you had dinner yet. You know, because if you're hungry we could order in or just go out."

She nodded, "Yeah. I am pretty hungry, ordering in some take-out sounds good." There was no way she would go out to dinner with him; just the thought of going out brought back a lot of memories.

"Do you still like Thai food," he asked. "Pad Thai noodles sound good?"

"Sure," she replied. "Whatever." Taylor made her way onto the living room couches to continue reading a book that she had started on before Chad arrived at her house.

Chad rolled his eyes at her last response. Whatever? He shook it off and made his way to dial up the number of the restaurant so he could order their food. As soon as he finished ordering, he made his way back to the guest room and decided to change into more comfortable clothing. Looking through his duffel bag, he decided on basketball shorts and a wife-beater.

Taylor stood in his doorway, coughing quietly so he would notice she was there. When he finally looked up, she continued, "The food is here. I'd pay but they don't accept credit cards…"

"Oh, okay let me just get my wallet," he said quickly. Once he found it he made his way to her door to pay for the food. He took the food out and set the table for the both of them to eat.

The dinner table was quiet, neither of them had a clue as to what to talk about.

Chad finally spoke up, "This whole week I'm at work from nine to four. I tried to get my father to let me out earlier considering the circumstances but that was all he gave me. Are you going to be okay by yourself?"

She hated the way he was babying her so she rolled her eyes in annoyance. Because it was spring, she didn't have to teach any classes due to the kids being on spring break. "Chad I've been living by myself for quite some time, I think I can manage seven hours without you."

"OK, I'm just saying."

"OK, but you don't have to treat my like an idiot," She retorted.

"Taylor, I wasn't treating you like an idiot. I was just asking a question!"

"Whatever; just drop it."

The rest of the time was spent like this. As soon as she finished eating, she left her plate for him to wash on the table and made her way into the bedroom.

How dare he treat me like a baby and try to cover it up by saying he was asking me a simple question?Taylor kept replaying the whole thing over and over in her head.

One part of her was saying that he just didn't understand that she wasn't the same person anymore. That part of her was mad at Chad and kept saying how he didn't understand her anymore. Another part of Taylor just wanted to tell him everything that happened from the beginning to now.

Chad hated the way they acted towards each other. He laid on his bed wondering what Gabriella and Troy were doing right at the moment.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

Gabriella and Troy were on the plane ride to Chicago. Gabriella was still feeling guilty about leaving Taylor home with Chad.

Yeah, she's had fights with Taylor before but they had only lasted a couple of minutes before one of them would start apologizing. That morning before they left, Gabriella called Taylor's house to see if she was okay and if she needed anything before they left. As soon as Taylor found out it was her on the phone, she immediately hung up.

Troy looked at her, seeing that she was still beating herself up over this and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her on the forehead. "Gabi, she's okay."

He was tired of seeing Gabriella like this. She had to stop worrying about other people and start worrying about herself. Last night, he saw that Gabriella was too upset to eat or sleep.

"She hates me right now," Gabriella said. "I should just call her and start apologizing." She sighed, "I made my best friend hate me."

"Gabi, she needs this push."

Gabriella nodded and continued to stare out of the plane window. She put her hand in Troy's and he started to rub her hand. "I hope you're right, I really hope you're right about this."

Author's Note: Reviews and ideas are always appreciated!