Floor 6

...

Taking a deep breath, Gabriella walked into her classroom and sank into a chair that was hidden at the far corner, hoping to keep herself concealed from Dave. Her heart pounding, she shoved her hands in the large pocket of Troy's hoodie, which he had allowed her to borrow, and closed her eyes. As childish as it sounded, maybe if her world was dark, the rest of the world would be shut out as well, and she wouldn't have to suffer through the day.

"Hey, Gabi." Kelsi waved as she walked toward her friend. "Why are you sitting back here?"

"I'm just not in the mood to be a good student today." Gabriella shrugged.

"Aww, how come?"

"Nothing. Just a long weekend." She used the hair tie that was around her wrist to pull her damp curls into a messy bun. She hadn't bothered to dry or style her hair before she left her apartment, as she had been feeling too lazy to properly get ready for her classes.

"You sure?"

Gabriella nodded and drew her phone from her pocket.

"Well, alright then. I'm gonna go sit in my usual spot. If you wanna talk at all about anything, just let me know." Kelsi turned away.

"I will," mumbled Gabriella as she typed out a text to Troy. When she looked up again, she saw Dave entering the classroom. He appeared to be a bit hungover-hopefully he hadn't indulged too much as a result of the breakup. Letting out a sad sigh, she put her phone away and pulled out a notebook and a pen. She might be failing the class, but the least she could do was try to pay attention. Maybe she could even earn a passing grade if she tried hard enough. Then, she would never need to take biology class again.

...

Gabriella didn't arrive home until nearly midnight. After her classes, she had gone to the library to study, which she spent more time on than she ever imagined was possible. Thanksgiving break was three weeks away-and she was beyond thrilled for its arrival. That meant four whole days, including the weekend, where she did not have to worry about classes, exams, or projects. And it also meant her family was coming to visit her. It would be great. But for the time being, she had to get through her work, which seemed to be piling up more with the passing of each day.

When she finally walked into the apartment, everything was dark and silent. As was evident by the sound of even, peaceful breathing, Troy was already asleep. However, once she turned on the lamp, she heard him mumble her name.

"Yeah?"

"You're finally back," he stated, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"Well, I wasn't planning on staying out all night."

"I didn't know that. I was getting a little worried about where you were."

"You need to stop these worrying habits," she teased, removing her jacket and boots.

"And you need to stop causing me to worry," he retorted with a smirk.

Sticking her tongue out, she selected a large t-shirt from her dresser and headed into the bathroom. After washing up and changing, she pulled her hair into a messy bun and ventured out into the kitchen, suddenly realizing that she hadn't eaten anything since lunchtime. As she reached to open the refrigerator, she noticed something fastened onto the door with a magnet. Looking closer, she saw that they were movie tickets. "Troy, what are these tickets for?"

"Oh, there was a deal at the movie theater for buy one, get one half off on tickets. So I got two for Minions. I know it sounds stupid, but I happen to think those little guys are awesome. It opens this Friday, so if you're looking for something to do, you're welcome to come along. If not, I can just ask someone else."

"Do you really think I'm gonna go see a movie with you?"

"Maybe, maybe not."

"Just kidding." She giggled. "Of course I wanna go." Grabbing the cherry Coke and half a hoagie that she assumed had been left from her roommate's dinner, she shut the door and grabbed a cup. Once she had poured her drink, she headed into the living room.

"Eww, you're not wearing pants." Troy picked up a pillow and hid his eyes, pretending to be offended.

"Eww, you're a pervert." She plopped onto the couch and turned on the TV. "My t-shirt's long enough, you know."

"But still...inappropriate."

"Shut up. I have underwear under this, for one, and for two, I'm sleeping in my own bed tonight, so you won't have to be anywhere near me."

Troy climbed down the loft and, pulling on a shirt, sat next to Gabriella. "You know, I'll never understand you-or females in general for that matter. You don't like pants, you love bubble baths...I'm just gonna conclude that women love being naked."

"You jerk!" She slapped his arm in mock disgust. "FYI, I absolutely cannot stand being naked. I mean, I wouldn't talk to you for days when you saw my boobs."

He shook his head. "Yet you're not wearing pants." Smirking, he laid his cheek on her shoulder. "You're just so ironic."

"Nah, more like I'm just comfy around you. Like obviously not comfortable enough to be butt naked, but comfortable enough to dress how I feel like dressing-even if that means no pants." She giggled.

"Well I guess I should feel honored, then." He lifted his head and nudged her arm. "By the way, why are you eating my sandwich?"

"Cause it was in the fridge and I was too lazy to make anything. I mean, it's after midnight now." She gave a half-smile as she licked some mayonnaise off her fingers.

"You're funny." He lifted his head. After pushing a few stray strands of hair behind her ear, he gave her shoulders a squeeze. "Well, I'm going back to sleep now. Goodnight, Brie."

"Night." After finishing her meal, she climbed the ladder to the loft and cuddled under her covers. As she settled down, she began to contemplate her day. Sitting in a classroom with Dave had been less awkward than she had anticipated, but the overall events were still stressful nonetheless. Hugging her bear, she closed her eyes and buried her face in her pillow, ready for a good night's sleep.

...

"Hey Troy," Gabriella began. She had just gotten into her roommate's car, ready to go see Minions with him.

"What's up?" Troy turned to look at her as he put the key in the ignition.

"So...my family is coming to visit me for Thanksgiving, and they wanted to know if they could stay in our place."

"By 'family', do you mean your parents and siblings?"

She nodded.

"Well, I'm not really sure where we'd put everyone. I mean, we only have two mattresses plus a couch, and while I could share a bed with you to free up some space, I really don't feel like getting killed by your dad."

She giggled. "True. I mean, you could sleep on the couch, I could sleep in my bed with my siblings, and my parents could sleep in your bed. It would be a tight fit, but it could work."

"But what about getting ready in the morning? No offense, but it would be a pain in the ass since you take at least half an hour just to shower and get clothes on, and with your mom and sister here as well, I probably wouldn't even get a chance to pee until noon."

"I do not take that long!"

"Yuh-huh. Yesterday, I sat around forever while you were in the shower singing."

"You heard that?" Gabriella's cheeks turned red.

"You were practically screaming. Of course I heard."

Looking away, she bit her lip. How embarrassing was that? Her guy roommate had heard her in the shower, and most likely had thought up some raunchy thoughts as a result.

"Hey, it's cool." As he pulled up to a stop sign, he nudged her arm with his elbow and smiled.

"It's awkward."

"It's only awkward if you make it awkward."

"You're so cheesy."

"You know, you should be nice to me. After all, I didn't have to invite you to come to the movies with me. I could've been weird and taken Chad or Jason or something."

"Yeah, how come guys always hang out in groups of three or more? Like seriously..."

Troy shrugged. "I dunno. That's just how we operate. We have a hard social life sometimes. We hang out in a group of guys, people think we're up to some sort of crime. We hang out in pairs, people think we're gay. We hang out in a group of girls, people think we're players. We hang out with one girl, people think we're an item."

She laughed. "Well, I'm your sister. Kind of."

"Of course you are." Pulling into the parking lot of the theater, he cast her a smile. "Now let's go have some fun."

...

Three hours later, Gabriella was comfortably snuggled up in bed beside Troy, who was holding her waist. After the movie had ended, they'd picked up some coffee and dessert, then come back home to spend time chatting before they fell asleep.

"You have freckles," he pointed out, brushing a finger across her nose.

"I know." She sighed. Ever since she was a kid, she had had a small dusting of light freckles across the bridge of her nose. She'd never liked them, though, and often used concealer to cover them up.

"In eighth grade, I had a crush on a girl and she had freckles...only she had a lot more than you do. I thought it was adorable. But sadly, she never liked me as anything more than the guy who sat next to her in English class. It was the heartbreak of my childhood."

"Aww, poor Troy got rejected," she said teasingly, making a pouty face.

He rolled his eyes. "You're real sympathetic."

Smacking his arm, she pulled the covers up over the both of them. "I'm sleepy."

"Then sleep." Pushing the blanket off of him, he crawled out of bed.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm turning out this light."

Gabriella's eyes were almost instantly met with darkness. She heard her roommate climbing back up to the loft, then felt his arms tightly squeeze her waist. "What the hell?"

"I thought you liked hugs."

She smiled despite the fact that she knew he wouldn't be able to see her face. Perhaps it was because he couldn't see her face. "I do. It's just that...well, I never had you hold me like that before...like squeeze me that much."

"Hey, you're my little sister. I just want you to know that I care about you, and that I'm always here for you no matter what you need."

"Got it." As she cuddled into his chest, she was met with the feeling of his lips against her hair. Suddenly feeling guilty that he was always giving her kisses and she never reciprocated, she leaned up and boldly brushed her mouth against his cheek.

"What was that for?"

"For being my big brother." Settling back against his body, she found one of his hands, which was still holding her waist, and grabbed it.

Troy kissed her again, this time on the forehead. "Goodnight, cupcake."

"Goodnight." She paused. "Wait, can I ask you something before we sleep?"

"Sure, anything." She felt him shrug.

"Could you please stop calling me 'cupcake?'"