A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you all like this story so much. I'll be updating more frequently, because I've already finished the 5th chapter. I'll be submitting the 4th tonight after working on the 6th. This is the short chapter. Enjoy!

As she was driving home she called Taylor on her cell, praying that her best friend would still be awake.

"Hello?" She heard Taylor say into her phone.

"Tay! Hey, it's Gabi," She told her friend.

"Hey Gabs. What's up?"

"I wanted to talk to you about Chad," Gabriella told her friend hesitantly.

"Gabi…please. I don't want to get into another fight about him."

"Taylor, I just talked to Troy. He thinks that Chad will hurt you again if Troy were to stand up to Chad," Gabriella responded.

"Honey, I've been thinking hard about this since our conversation. I'm not sure if Chad and I really have a…um…future," Taylor said almost sadly. "You see, I've thought about it for a long time, even before you talked to me about it. My guidance councilor asked me, when we were talking about colleges, to think about what I'd be in 5 years. I know he meant what profession, but then I started to think about whom I'd be with in 5 years. For some reason, I couldn't imagine myself with Chad."

Gabriella had just pulled into the driveway as Taylor was talking. She stopped dead when she heard what Taylor just said. "Excuse me? Did you just say that you didn't want to be with Chad anymore? Omigosh honey! You've finally come to your senses!"

"Hold on there Gabi," Taylor said sternly. "I said that I probably wouldn't be with him forever. That doesn't mean I don't want to be with him right now."

Grrr, Gabriella thought. And I was so close. Gabriella stepped into her house and saw her mom sitting on the sofa reading her book. Uh-oh, Gabriella thought.

"Tay," Gabriella said into her phone. "I've got to go." She hung up her phone as Taylor said a quick goodbye.

"You're late," her mother, Maria, said simply.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I lost track of time," Gabriella said quickly.

"Gabriella Rosario Montez! (A/N: I don't know if that's her middle name. I just made it up.) I'd understand that excuse if I hadn't of called you half an hour ago."

Uh-oh, she used my full name, she thought. I'm going to be grounded.

"You are grounded for a month, missy," her mother told her sternly.

Wow, she thought. I could be a psychic.

"Go upstairs to your room now," her mother told her. "Lets hope that staying out late won't effect your school work. You need to keep your grades up if you want to get into Stanford."

"I know, mami," Gabriella said. "Goodnight."

Gabriella slowly walked upstairs to her room. She knew that she couldn't argue her way out of being grounded. She learned from her early teen years to not argue with Mom's ruling, unless you wanted her grounding to be extended. She'd just have to serve her time.

A/N: Sorry about it being so short. I just didn't want the other chapter to be so long.

Katie