A/N High School Musical Settings and Characters all belong to Kenny Ortega and Disney. Any original characters and this story are copyright © 2011-2018 to Hopelessromanticgurl, all rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.
Camp Rock Settings and Characters all belong to Matthew Diamond and the Disney. Any original characters and this story are copyright © 2011-2018 to Hopelessromanticgurl, all rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.
WOOHOO I'M BACK! Now that this story is finished I will try to post AT LEAST once a week, maybe more but never less. I'm so excited to be back! Anyway I'm sure you're all excited too so I'll let you get to reading. This chapter may sound familiar but that's because I made just a few changes so I reposted it. Enjoy and don't forget to leave a review!
A couple more days passed and things got a little better. Gabriella was finally able to stay alone with the Torres Family during the day without a problem. She still froze and panicked if she was alone with Steve but she was more comfortable with Connie and Mitchie. It wasn't until nighttime when Gabriella seemed to change and wanted Troy to come back.
They always allowed Troy to come and stay the night on the couch but they didn't know Gabriella always came out and fell asleep on the couch with Troy and he'd have to carry her into her own bed again.
It was Friday Afternoon, the last Friday before school started. Gabriella was sitting the kitchen table with Mitchie both going over their school lists to make sure they had everything. Troy was at Basketball Practice to prepare for the new season.
Connie was just walking past with a basket full of laundry that needed to be folded.
The doorbell rang causing them all to stop.
"Are you expected company?" Gabriella asked.
"No, not that I know of," Connie answered.
She set down the laundry basket she was carrying and went to answer the door.
"Can I help you?" Connie asked as she opened the door.
A tall woman stood there. She had a clipboard in hand and was dressed in a nice suit wearing glasses.
"My name is Shelly Barns. I work with Child Protective Services. I'm here to evaluate the living conditions of one…." Shelly stopped and looked down to her clipboard. "Ms. Gabriella Marie Montez."
"Oh yes, come right in, please," Connie said.
Shelly walked into the house, and Connie closed the door behind her.
"Connie!"
Connie rushed into the kitchen only to have Gabriella crash into her and hide in her arms. Connie rubbed her back. "It's ok, Sweetie. This is Shelly Barns; she's from Child Protective Services. She just wants to see that you are being taken care of."
Gabriella started to cry. "I don't want to leave. Don't let them take me away, please."
"Nobody is going to take you anywhere. I promise." Connie said. "We have nothing to hide."
Gabriella just nodded. She wished she could be as sure as Connie was.
"Where does the child sleep?" Shelly asked.
"In her bedroom, down the hall to the left." Connie answered.
"I'm going to have a look around the house." With that Shelly was gone.
Connie took Gabriella into the living room and sat down on the couch.
Gabriella inhaled and exhaled a deep breath.
After looking around Shelly came into the living room. "I'd like to speak with the child alone."
"Of course." Connie gave Gabriella a kiss on the head and left the room. Shelly took her spot on the couch.
"Gabriella do you like living here?"
"Yes." Gabriella nodded.
"Does the family treat you right?"
"Yes."
"Have you fully adjusted to your new life."
"Not fully but a little bit."
"Do you like your family or would you rather a new one?"
"I like this family." Gabriella said.
"What's your relationship like with each family member?"
"Connie and Mitchie are cool. We like to do fun girl things together. Connie is really great and let's me be in control of our trips and I never have to do anything I'm not comfortable with. Mitchie quickly became like my best friend and now she's like a sister to me. I can talk to her and Connie about everything and anything. If I have a problem at school or with a boy they are there to help and listen."
""What about Steve?"
"Oh. Steve? Um...well...I..."
"Why did you suddenly become uncomfortable?"
"Steve is...well Steve is...Steve and I..."
"Are you close?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Well I...He..."
"Has he done something to you?"
"No."
"So why are you so scared of him?"
"Um...well I...he just..."
Shelly sighed. "Gabriella this isn't a good sign. Please just be honest."
"I'm...well I...Steve..." Gabriella sighed softly.
Shelly wrote something down on her notepad.
Just then Steve walked into the room. "What's going on?"
"NO!" Gabriella screamed. "GO AWAY!"
Shelly looked back and forth between Gabriella and Steve. She stood up and left the room.
"Things are not looking good." She told Connie. "If my next check in goes as badly as this one I will be taking Gabriella out of this house and she will be put in the foster care system until we can find a better home for her. Whatever is going on between her and Steve need to be taken care of before I come back."
With that Shelly left.
Gabriella came running out of the living room and ran to her room slamming and locking the door. They could hear her crying loudly.
"That could have gone better." Steve said. "We've got to get her to trust me."
"We need to figure out why she is so scared of you first. After that you can work on building your relationship and getting her to trust you."
"We better do it fast before the next check in. Otherwise Gabriella will be taken away before she can even get comfortable."
Connie just sighed and nodded. She knew what Steve said was true, but the question is...how?
School started that Monday. Mitchie was nervous but knew Troy and Gabriella would have her back. As least she hoped they would.
It was just the three of them as they walked inside. Troy and Gabriella led Mitchie to where she'd get her books map and schedule. Then led her to her locker.
As she was putting her books into her locker Troy looked at her class list. "Hmm, you've got almost all the same classes as Gabriella."
"Oh good. At least I'll know one person." Mitchie said.
"That also mean you must be really smart. Gabriella is in all AP classes." Troy smiled.
Gabriella blushed.
Mitchie giggled and blushed. "Yeah I guess I am."
"Well first is homeroom." Troy said.
"Mrs. Darbus again?" Gabriella asked.
"Yep."
Gabriella looked to Mitchie. "Make sure your phone is off or on silent. Mrs. Darbus hates cell phones. If one goes off she gives the whole class detention…well everyone who checks their phone. She won't go easy on you because you're new."
"Oh wonderful." Mitchie muttered.
"I learned that the hard way."
"Thanks for the warning."
All three of them shut their phones and headed to their first class.
They arrived early and all took a seat in the front. They made small talk until Sharpay Evans walked into the room. Mitchie could tell right away this was the girl she had been warned about. She was tall, blond, and wore very rich clothing.
"Is that…" Mitchie checked.
"Yep." Gabriella said. She was surprised when Sharpay came over to her. "Hello Gabriella." She said in an overly happy voice.
"Hey, Sharpay." Gabriella said nicely.
"So how was your summer?" Sharpay asked.
"Fine. How was yours?"
"Oh the usual shopping in Paris. I heard you went to this musical camp is that true?"
"Yeah." Gabriella nodded. How did she know this?
"That must have been really boring."
"No, actually it was a lot of fun."
"Spending the entire summer with a bunch of wannabe singers couldn't possibly be fun."
"It was actually. That's where I met Mitchie." Gabriella said pointing to her.
"Oh, is this her?" Sharpay squealed.
Troy was starting to suspect Sharpay was up to something and it wasn't going to be good.
"This is my friend Mitchie. She just moved here with her family." Gabriella said.
"Don't you mean sister, and isn't your family now too? After all your mom abandon at that camp and never came back and your father was abusive, right?"
Gabriella turned white and felt sick to her stomach. How did she find out?
"How did you find out?" Mitchie asked.
"Who told you?" Troy growled.
"Well, let me put it this way. You three and your other loser friends are the only ones who know the truth. Your new mommy and daddy also know the truth. How much do you trust your new daddy? Aren't you worried he'll be the same as your other father? Maybe he's the one who told me…"
Gabriella turned to Troy and reached out to him. He was instantly by her side. "Sharpay, just stop tormenting her and tell her who told you."
"I would never reveal my secrets. You have to be careful who you trust after all." Sharpay smirked and went to sit in her seat.
Gabriella looked to Troy. Troy did his best to comfort her but looked to Mitchie worriedly. Sharpay was right about one thing. Very few people actually knew what happen, so someone must have betrayed Gabriella, and if it did turn out to be Steve Gabriella would never be able to trust him again.
There had to be another answer. None of the wildcats would betray Gabriella that way…would they?
A/N YAY! SO I'M BACK! I'M SO HAPPY TO BE BACK! But I do have to ask...is anyone still reading? Have I lost all my readers? Is anyone still interested in reading this story? Please let me know and leave me a review.
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