Chapter 7 – World War Three

AN: Yes, I decided to use that as a title because I really wanted to! And just to tell you a little spoiler, which will be said in the first couple of paragraphs, Chad and Sharpay HATE each other… for reasons that will be made known!

Sorry it is taking me a little longer to update, but the last couple of days have been really hectic and i have had no time. Plus, i just got my computer back today from the shop because the virus('s) have been fixed. There was a lot wrong with my computer! Anyway, i promise i will try to get another chapter of "Love Doesn't Come Smoothly" out real soon!

So, get reading! And then tell me what you thought! Okay?

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Isabella's crying woke me in the morning. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was already 10:34. I jumped out of bed and ran to Isabella's room, to see her tiny tear-streaked face looking up at me. Once she saw me, a small smile graced her face and she began kicking her feet in the air playfully.

"Hey baby girl. How are you this morning?" I lifted her into my arms and began rocking her gently. "Want to do eat? Of course you do. And after that, we'll take you to see mommy. You'll like that." I had gotten into the habit of calling Gabriella 'mommy' around Isabella, it just felt right.

I didn't know how this could be happening, but I was starting to fall in love with a woman who was in a hospital bed. I didn't know her at all in person, except for the few seconds where I saw her that day on the road. The only times I had seen her away. But I was sure, if she was anything like little Isabella; cute, laughing, sweet, that she would be perfect. She already was beyond beautiful, even with all of the machines in the hospital.

I fed Isabella her bottle, got her dressed in the little Burberry dress and Prada shoes, which would make Sharpay happy, and headed off to the hospital. I parked, got Isabella out of her car seat and carried her towards the building.

Once inside, many of the doctors came up to me, greeting me. I had come to know and befriend many of the staff at the hospital due to my frequent visits, and it was also very valuable to know them if I ever wanted to get in to see Gabriella before or after hours.

"Hey Mr. Bolton. And hello to you to, Isabella!" Clara, the girl at the reception area called out.

"Hello Clara." I raised Isabella up and allowed Clara to tickle her under the chin, a pattern that seemed to be happening with many people, and watched as Isabella's legs thrashed around as she giggled. "Any news today?" She always made sure to check on Gabriella before starting her shift, and informing me if anything was different.

"No, sorry. The doctor did say that we wanted to see you though." I raised my eyebrow as I looked at her. "What? It kind of slipped that I was checking up on her for you." I laughed. Clara wasn't the 'quiet' type, as I had learned.

On the plus side, I was never out of the loop when it came to the hospital gossip.

"I'll see you later Clara."

"Bye!" She said, waving. I waved back and headed off down the familiar corridor to the elevators. Gabriella had now been moved to a permanent room so that the intensive care unit was free for incoming patients. Once I got to her floor, waving hello to countless nurses, I finally headed down to her room. As I got there, the doctor was just walking out.

"Ah, Mr. Bolton, just the person I wanted to see. I see you brought Isabella again."

"Always do." I replied. "So, what did you want to see me about, doc?"

"Well, it's about Gabriella." I sighed. Of course it was.

"Has anything changed?"

"No, nothing like that. It's just, Gabriella has already been in here for a couple of week, and there has been no improvement. If this continues, in a month or two I would recommend moving her to a permanent nursing home until she wakes up. There seems to be no major damage at all except to her head, which is why she isn't waking up. Do you need me to find a place to take her?" I knew this was going to happen eventually. I didn't expect it to happen so quickly, but there was nothing I could do about it.

"No thank you. I already had a place booked in case it came to this. When do you think we should move her?"

"As soon as you want. Definitely she should be in the nursing home before Christmas. We seem to get the most patients at that time." He smiled and me, and I returned it.

"Thanks doc."

"Anytime." We shook hands, and he headed down the hallway. I walked into the hospital room, hoping for at least a small change, but there was none. She still remained in that bed, pink blanket covering her. I noticed that the pink lilies, which I was told were her favourite, were starting to wilt, and I made a mental note to buy some more for tomorrows visit.

I walked up to the bed, gently placing Isabella in Gabriella's lifeless arms, and sat down in the chair beside her. Isabella's stomach was pressed against Gabriella, and it was quite a sight. I grabbed my digital camera out of the baby bag and snapped a picture. I made it a habit of capturing every moment with Isabella for Gabriella, so when she woke up she won't feel like she missed anything. I had a variety of pictures, from cute pictures, professionally taken picture, and silly pictures that Chad had taken. At those moments I regretted giving the camera to Chad, but now I look back and laugh at the memories that were made.

"Hey Gabriella. How are you today? I'm fine, and Isabella is just as precious and adorable as usual. I have taken pictures for you, don't worry." I grabbed her hand, and watched as her chest rose gently, lifting Isabella along with it. Isabella had already been lulled to a peaceful sleep, her little hand curled up in a tiny fist and laying gently on her mother.

"Well, Sharpay's coming over today, you know, your friend. She insists that she wants to see Isabella as often as possible, which includes bringing over many designer outfits. I think that your daughter is the best-dressed baby in the state." I laughed. "The only problem is, my friend Chad is coming over as well, and they don't exactly see… eye to eye. He's not what you call the, high-class social type. Just be lucky you're in here, and not at my house. Not, that I want you to be here, of course, it's just that…" I was rambling, something that I noticed usually happened when I was nervous.

Yet this was the first time I was ever nervous in front of a girl.

A girl who happened to be in a coma.

I just hoped that while she was lying there she didn't think I was a complete baboon.

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"Hello Bolton." Sharpay Baylor dramatically walked through my front door, designer heels clicking against the marble tiling as she stepped into the foyer. "Where's Isabella."

"Oh, she's just upstairs in her crib. I decided she should rest up before she came down."

"Well then I'll go up and see her. I want to dress her in the new pajamas I just bought her!" She said, holding up a huge shopping bag to prove it.

"Go right ahead. It's up the stairs, make a left and go down the hall. It's the third door on your right." She nodded, and headed up the stairs. Just as I saw her pink dress leave view, another figure came up to the door.

"Hello! I'm Zeke Baylor, Sharpay's husband. It's a real pleasure to meet you. You're a legend to me! What you've done with your restaurant is just, genius. You're just… AMAZING!" The man was tall, almost a couple of inches taller than me, and eagerly shaking my hand. Obviously, he was a fan.

"It's no problem. If you want, I can show you some tips in the kitchen." The man's eyes widened in excitement.

"Really? Oh that would be amazing! Thank you sir, uh, Mr. Bolton, uh…"

"Just call me Troy."

"Right. Troy!" This man seemed like the complete opposite that little-rich-princess Sharpay, but I wasn't going to say anything.

"Please. Come in. If you want, Sharpay is upstairs playing dolly with Isabella." Zeke looked confused.

"Okay, I may not know a lot about kids, but I am almost positive that Isabella is a tad too young to be playing dolls." I smiled.

"I know. Isabella is the doll." Zeke and I burst out laughing, and Sharpay must have heard us.

"ZEKE! Can you please come up here? I want you to meet Isabella!" She called down.

"That's my cue." Zeke said, and bounded up the stairs.

"One down." I murmured. On cue, I saw a familiar jeep pull up in the driveway. Sure enough, my curly haired friend stepped out, his wife coming behind him.

"Hey Man!" He called as he ran up the driveway. When he reached me we did our 'man-shake' and then ran inside the house. As I was greeting Taylor, his wife, I heard the familiar sports network theme songs playing in the background.

"Basketball game?" I asked.

"You got it." Taylor replied. We stepped into the house, and I talked with Taylor for a while. Suddenly, I heard stiletto heels pounding down the stairs, and turned to see Sharpay coming down the stairs, an oblivious Isabella in her arms.

"BOLTON! Please, will you turn that TV off! Or put it on a normal station, not the sports network!" She yelled. She then noticed me. "Wait. If you're here, then who…" she looked at Taylor curiously. "Who are you?"

"Hello. My name is Taylor Danforth." Sharpay looked at her, pondering something in her head.

"Danforth…Danforth…where have I heard that name before?"

Then… the light bulb turned on. Sharpay turned to me, here eyes suddenly vicious.

"You didn't."

"Yo! Troy! Where's the dip? I can only find…" Chad stopped in place when he saw who was standing before him.

"YOU!" The both exclaimed. I took Isabella from her arms, then passed her on to Taylor, bracing myself for the fight that was about occur.

"Bolton! Did you really have to invite this lowlife, inconsiderate pig of a man here? I mean really, he doesn't even act dignified!"

"Troy, man, did you really have to do that? Invite the wicked-witch of the east?" Sharpay glared.

"At least I'm not a slob!"

"At least I'm not a blonde!" I looked at him confused, as did his wife.

"Dude, what kind of a diss is that?" I asked.

"You know I'm not good with insults!" He insisted.

"Who you calling the blonde now, freak!" the two stepped closer together, almost inches apart.

"Okay guys, knock it off. Let's stop this before your insults get more… colourful. We have little ears in the room." They both looked at Isabella, then at me, then back at Isabella, and sighed.

"Fine!" Chad walked over towards Taylor, and the two crooned over Isabella. Sharpay took her chance and walked towards me.

"Bolton, next time warn me when you are planning to invite that animal over."

"I would have, but you hung up."

"And you can't call somebody?"

"I didn't have your number!" She stretched out her hand, and I passed over my blackberry to her. She quickly typed away at the keypad, and handed it back.

"There! Now you have it! Just… please warn me next time you decide to invite him."

"Sorry."

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Surprisingly, we managed to avoid world war three as we all sat in the living room, talking about Isabella and passing around the already full photo album I had of her. Sharpay and Chad manages to stay quiet most of the time, sitting at complete opposite ends of the room. Occasionally, Chad would do something that 'repulsed' Sharpay, or she would start tapping her nails against the wooden coffee table, and they would start bickering. Of course, Taylor and I became neutral ground, calming them each time it got to out of hand.

Finally, the day was coming to a close and it was time for them to leave.

"I'll see you soon Bolton. And you better start using more of the clothes that I bought. At least three quarters of the stuff still had the tags on it!" She said. Zeke was behind her, and was already asking when we could meet to discuss baking techniques. I told him I would call him.

"Bye man! See you soon!" He said, and Taylor hugged me as they headed out the door at the same time as the Baylors.

"Hey blondie!" Chad called, and Sharpay turned around.

"What?"

If a blonde and a brunette fell off a building, who would hit the ground first?" Sharpay rolled her eyes.

"Are you really asking a dumb blonde joke?"

"You want the answer? The Brunette, because the blonde would have to stop for directions!" Sharpay almost flung herself at Chad if Zeke hadn't grabbed her by the waist.

"Just you wait Danforth! I'll get you back!" She screamed, and then headed off into her car. Chad turned to me.

"Well, that was interesting."

"Bye Chad." I said, knowing how he could prolong his stays.

"Bye man! See you soon!" He and Taylor left, and I came back into the house with Isabella.

"Well, wasn't that fun?"

She just gurgled.

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AN: I really want to have a fun conflict going on between Sharpay and Chad!

Please! Tell me what you think!

Next Chapter – Isabella shares a special moment with Gabriella

Review if you want to find out what happens next!

Xoxo,

Lar