DISCLAIMER: I OWN ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, ESPECIALLY HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, EXCEPT THE PLOT!

A/N: ok, after reading a lot of those reviews, it seems to me that like, everyone hates Geo. Hah, I don't really blame any of you. So, let's just see what happens next!


My heart dropped.

"What….did…you….just….say?" I asked, hoping I had heard him incorrectly.

There were soap subs in the sink, and Geo was scrubbing my shirt with the toothbrush. He replied irritably, "I said I wonder how Bolton got in this party."

Oh, no. Troy saw me! Geo also said that Taylor and Ryan were with him. Alone. Secluded in a bathroom. All three of them must have seen me taking off my shirt. They must have gotten the wrong idea. Oh god, what just happened! My head started spinning.

"The girl looked really familiar. Oh, isn't she one of our cheerleaders? Oh…uhm..Taylor! Taylor McKessie. That's her. Taylor opened the door with Bolton and the queer standing behind her. Taylor was really surprised, and her eyes widened," he continued as he rung out the water. I stood beside him, frozen and infuriated, watching him pull out a blow dryer from a drawer and plug it into the outlet. He started to dry my shirt. "The blonde guy had his mouth wide open as if he hasn't seen a girl in a bra before, and Bolton looked like he was about to cry, so I waved my hand at them to make them go away. Do you know them? Well, of course you must know Taylor."

Tears gathered in my eyes as I waited for him to finish drying my top. Anger and frustration bottled inside of me as I stood where I was. I started to breathe fast and shallow. He went on, "Bolton's pretty pathetic. Thinking just because he won the game today that he can barge into this party acting like he owns the place. He's an ass kissing rodent. I'll bet you he only got into Berkeley was because he screwed the---" I cut him off as I throw my clenched fist as hard as I could into his face. Then, remembering 'Miss Congeniality', I thrust my palm up at his nose, causing it to break and bleed. He quickly grabbed his nose.

I yelled in his face, "DON'T YOU EVER TALK ABOUT TROY BOLTON THAT WAY! YOU DON'T EVEN DESERVE TO BE MENTIONING HIS NAME! HOW CAN YOU SAY SOMETHING SO HURTFUL TO SOMEONE I LOVE SO MUCH! YOU FUCKING JERK!" Still not satisfied, I let out all my anger as I fiercely launched my spiked heels into his…well, you know.

He fell to the floor, grabbing his face and his crotch, squirming in pain. I grabbed my top and pulled it on. Thankfully, Geo washed all of the drink out and had dried it enough for me to wear it.

I ran towards the door, turned around, and said coolly as hot tears streamed down and stung my cheeks, "You're the one that's pathetic, and don't you dare speak to me ever again." I wiped away my tears and stormed out.

I flew back towards the stairs, knocking the DJ to the floor. I quickly turned around to apologize, but while I was going down, I missed a step, and toppled over, falling flat on my face. Great! Just what I need. And how many times have I fallen on my face today? First at the game, tripping outside of the gym, and now this! Karma hates me. I didn't want to get up, so I laid there, on the floor, on my stomach, with my face down, hearing gasps and people talking in my direction. I mentally rolled my eyes and stayed sprawled out. This was actually the only time I got close to taking that nap I wanted since eating at Crustaceans.

I felt my knee with the two bruises I had gotten today ache with piercing throbs. Uh-oh. I tried to move my right leg, but it hurt every time I tried to get up. I looked up and saw people staring at me, not even bothering to offer their aid. I tried to lift myself up, but it was no use. Then two warm, soft hands gripped my arms and lifted me up. I let out a huge yelp as I wrapped my hands around Troy's neck, and he carefully held my back and legs. I heard Kelsi, Jason, Taylor, Ryan, Sydney, Gena, and Brylee running behind him as we made our way out of the house. As Troy made his way down the stairs to his car, I felt my head ache and ache. Now, I was seeing black spots everywhere. Instantly, I passed out in Troy's arms.

The first thing I saw when I fluttered my eyes open were three blinding ceiling lights, all turned on. I looked to my left, and I saw a metal railing caging me inside the bed. I looked to my right and saw a vase full of daisies. I looked down to see that I was in a white hospital gown and covered in a white cotton blanket. My head was wrapped in bandages.

I sighed out loud, looked back to my right, and smiled. Troy was sleeping in a chair with his feet hoisted up on the foot of the bed, chin in his hand, drooling. I failed to attempt to nudge his feet with my right leg, for a thick cast plastered my knee down. No use trying to move it, so I 'ahem'ed. When that didn't work, I softly said, "Troy?"

He opened his eyes and took in a deep breath. He brought his feet down, stretched his arms, and rubbed his eyes. He greeted me with a smile, but the smile quickly faded. I didn't like the way he was looking at me: stern, serious, a little bit scary. He folded his arms and continued to look at me.

We sat in silence for a while when he finally said, "Quite a fall you took. Again." There was no joke in his tone. It was cold, and I didn't like it. But I guess I deserved what I got. Karma bites. I shifted uneasily. Silence. I watched as he got up and walked towards the window. He was still wearing the same clothes. I glanced over at the wall clock. It read '10:05'. Sunday morning.

After staring out into the street, Troy walked beside my bed and handed me a shiny, narrow black stick from his back pocket. I was a little confused at first, but after he handed it to me, I realized it was one of my spiked heels from my shoes. This is the fault of my fall. I twirled the heel in my hands absentmindedly.

Troy walked away, shaking his head, placing his hands in his front pockets. He paced back and forth in front of me for what seemed like forever. He looked at the ground, thinking hard what about to say to me. Finally, he stopped.

"Uh, the doctor said that you strained your knee and twisted your ankle. You, uh, had a small concussion when you fell. You might not be able to cheer for a couple of weeks or so," he said as he pointed at the bandage on my head. He sat back down in his chair. I nodded in response and continued to play with the heel. Cheerleading is the farthest thing in my mind right now.

"Geo came by while you were asleep," he blurted out. His voice was subtle and sincere. I looked up and waited for a reaction. He had a blank expression as he stared at the daisies. "He told me everything."

Great. Just exactly what is 'everything'.

As if reading my mind, he said, "Everything. From the time you innocently danced with him," he said as he emphasized 'innocently'. He gave me a playful look that implied that he didn't really mind. I could feel my cheeks turned a Crayola Red (don't own that either). "To the time someone threw up on you," he had a wide smile on his face. "To the time I caught you taking off your shirt," his smile faded. "To the time you kicked the life out of his balls!" his smile reappeared. He paused for a moment and then, "And well, I guess that…nothing happened between you two." I let out a relieved sigh. I shook my head for assurance and smiled.

You got that right, buddy.

He chuckled. "He walked in with a nose cast, a cane…and a crotch cast." He burst out laughing. "Nice work, Montez." I laughed, too. "He's not such a bad guy. It's just bad timing I guess." I nodded.

"I'm sorry, Troy." My voice shook, and tears filled my eyes.

"Gabriella," he said. He got up from his seat and walked to my right side of the bed to wipe away my tears. "You have nothing to be sorry about. If anything, I should be sorry for letting you go out of my sight."

He entwined his right hand in mine and smiled. His eyes were shiny, too. He hesitated for a moment and then slowly bent down to press his lips against my own. He pulled away as a tear trickled down from his chin. I was lucky to have a guy like Troy. He was very understanding and forgiving. He could be able to look past minor mistakes.

"By the way," I said. "I was trying to find you in the crowd a few minutes after I let go off your hand. Where did you go?"

He quickly cleared his throat and wiped away his tears.

"Well, I was trying to look for you. But then I ran into this blonde drag queen. Actually, no, she ran into me. She had blye eye shadoweverywhere, and the pinkest cheeks you've ever seen, even in the dark, and the brightest red lipstick ever made! Nearly knocking me into a bunch of strangers. That girl was wasted. So anyways, she was stumbling everywhere, so I tried to stabilize her when I realized it was...Sharpay. She was about to say something to me, but I ducked my head, dropped to my hands and knees, and somehow I found my way to Taylor and Ryan. Man, they were dancing. Intense dancing." He made a face and scratched the back of his neck. "So anyways, I found out that Ryan and Sharpay own that house." Of course, it looked so familiar. Must have had it done to match their house back home. "I asked if any of them had seen you. They said 'no', so I asked Ryan to show me around to see if I could find you. And then...I found you."

"Sharpay," I repeated with a hint of disgust.

"Uhm, I think Taylor and Kelsi have been in the waiting room for a while, too. I'll go get them," he said to change the subject. He bent down once more to kiss me on the cheek. He let go of my hand and started towards the door.

"Wait, Troy!" I called just as he placed his hand on the door knob. He turned around swiftly and came back to my side.

"Yeah?"

"I was just wondering…how long are you here til? I mean, I know that you probably have school tomorrow, and that you need to head back to Berkeley. But---"

He cut me off. "As long as you need me." I gave him a confused look.

"There's something called online courses, Montez," he said with a smile, which caused me to smile.

"Well what about basketball practices? I don't want to keep you from that."

"Don't worry about that," he answered. He playfully winked, turned around, and disappeared out the door. A few minutes passed, and the door clicked open again. Kelsi and Taylor, also in the same outfits from last night, sleepily walked towards me. Both had dark circles under their eyes from the lack of sleep I assumed they had.

Kelsi came to my side and sat down on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling?"

Just then, I realized that something bulky was in my hand. I opened it up slightly to reveal the golden locket Troy gave me. Tears freely fell down my face. Taylor and Kelsi exchanged worried looks.

I smiled, held up the locket for them to see, and replied, "I'm great."


A/N: okay, everyone. After a bit of writer's block for a couple of days, I managed to come out with this chapter. Guys, I did you a favor for updating, and I know that a lot of you read this story. Trust me, I check those stats every chance I get. So, please return the favor and REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!

I'm thinking about closing the story with one or two more chapters.

Come on. The REVIEW button is just right there. Submit one!