yay reviews! thankyou, thankyou, lol. anyways... (:

fun fact : New Jersey is where the first movies were filmed, but due to the cold weather they moved to California. They still film movies/TV shows in New Jersey, such as Law & Order and the Sopranos.

"See, I told you, you could do it." Gabriella smiled, as she held Dylan's quiz, which she prepared for him, herself. "That's an 85, that's great. Why can't you do that in class?"

"Well," Dylan smirked. "I don't have anyone like you."

"Aw," Gabriella smiled, as she pushed her dark ringlets away from her face."Well you do really good. Just continue studying and reviewing, and before you know it...you'll probably pull your grade up to a B, maybe even a B+." Gabriella said, with a reassuring nod.

Dylan nodded. "Yeah, I'll try." he said. "You've been really helpful."

"Well, you've been a great student." Gabriella smiled, as the two studied together in the library.

Troy Bolton arrived at the library, leaning against a bookshelf, quietly watching Gabriella and her student. He gave her a little nod and she responded with a small smile.

"Um, Dylan, that's all for today. Um, will finish tomorrow?" Gabriella asked, as she stood up and gathered her things. She held her two books and threw her messanger bag over her shoulder.

"Sure, see you then." Dylan said, gathering his things. "Hey, Bolton." Dylan said, greeting him with a high-five before leaving the library.

Troy smiled. "Tutoring." he said, with an awkward nod.

"Yup," she said, in a soft tone as she shuffled her papers. "Uh, let's get going." she said, softly as the two left together.

"This is it," Gabriella said, as she opened the house door. She was a little surprised Troy didn't start an arguement today. "You can leave your stuff here," she said, pointing to the bottom of the coat rack.

Troy nodded, and placed his gym bag on the floor. "Uh, this is a nice house. Lived here long?" he asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"All my life," Gabriella said, walking to the kitchen to place her books. "What about you?"

"Uh, I moved here from Ohio, when I was three." he said.

Gabriella nodded. "Let's go upstairs," she said, in a soft tone.

She walked up the stairs, with Troy not that far behind. The two entered the second floor, and Troy followed Gabriella to her den. She opened the door slowly, and stuck her head in.

"Daddy?" Gabriella whispered, then she opened the door fully.

James Montez was sitting on his desk, drawing out the blue-prints of a house. He turned around to greet his daughter, with a kiss on the forehead. "Hey, Ella." he said.

"Uh, Daddy, this is my classmate, Troy Bolton, we're working on a project together." Gabriella said to her father.

Troy stepped up, next to Gabriella and greeted Mr. Montez with a quick handshake. "Hello, Mr. Montez, you have a nice house." he said, with a sincere smile.

"Thank you, I designed it." James said, with a reassuring smile, as he crossed his arms and nodded.

"My dad's an arichtect, he's currently working on the blue-prints of a law firm downtown." Gabriella explained.

Troy nodded. "My mom works at the Matthews Firm,"

"Oh, yes, That's the one I'm working on. Their second building, actually." he said with a nod.

"Well, we'll see you later." Gabriella said, as she closed the door. She went out the hallway, with Troy just a couple feet behind her. She walked over to her room, and opened the door. "This is my room," she said.

Her room was all-white, with a simple oak desk and mathcing dressers, and a vanity. Her bed was white, and had a canopy and she even had a balcony with french doors. Gabriella walked into her room, and placed her messanger bag on her bed.

"You can leave your bookbag on the floor," Gabriella instructed, softly. She opened her bag and pulled out all the books and paper.

"Okay," Troy said in a whisper. He opened his backpack and pulled out some papers.

Gabriella placed her things on the floor, her notes, information, and books. "I prefer to work on the floor." she said, avoiding Troy's bright blue eyes.

Troy sat down on the floor next to her, and they worked together in silence. Gabriella began making an outline for the paper and Troy began to highlight information he got off the internet. Gabriella quietly glanced at him, then returned to her work, and Troy did the same, giving her work quick glances.

"You know, plagerism is against the law, not to mention the school, which could get you suspended from you basketball thing." Gabriella whispered to him, without making eye contact. She pulled her long hair in a messy bun, with some ringlets touching her face.

"Yeah, I know that." Troy said, watching her as she wrote some stuff down. He looked around the room, and spotted some photos, one of Gabriella and Taylor, another of her and some group of kids, and another with your parents. "Is that your mom?" Troy asked, referring to the picture.

Gabriella looked up at the picture. "Um, yeah, that is." she said, softly.

"You look like her."

Gabriella paused for a second. "Thanks," she said, Troy hardly hear her. She sniffled a little and hid her face behind her curls. "Yeah...alot of people say that."

Troy nodded, realizing he touched a nerve. "Um, I don't mean anything but...where is she?"

Gabriella inhaled sharply and gripped her pen tighter. She began to clear her throat, and she hid her face again. She closed her eyes then opened them. Tears began to form in her dark brown eyes, and her breathing became loud. "She's not here," she said, on the verge of tears. "She's here, but not...here." she whispered, in an upsetting tone.

"I-I'm sorry..." Troy said softly.

Gabriella didn't respond, she composed her original form, before continuing her work. "She, um...didn't leave us. She's just...sick..." she said, sniffling a little, as a tear streamed down her soft face. "It's more like...we left her."

Troy didn't say anything. He hardly moved. He watched Gabriella cry softly, and rub away her tears. He watched her close her eyes, then continue his work. He couldn't stop watching her, the mesmerization happened again. That's what the song was for.

"Um," Troy said. "That was a nice song...you played the other day."

Gabriella nodded, appreciative. "Thanks. Don't tell anyone. About the song, I mean. Also about this. No one knows...well some people do, they just haven't heard it from me...I haven't told anyone...they just know." Gabriella whispered softly, doodling on her page. "I know we're not friends..." she said, looking up at Troy. "Just don't say anything. Please."

Troy looked into her teary eyes and nodded understandingly. "I wouldn't think about it...not to you,"

Gabriella gave him a small smile. "Thank you," she whispered before continuing. "I guess I underestimated you..." Gabriella admited with a soft smile.

"I underestimated you too...not with the academic stuff...just with..." Troy trailed off.

"I understand." Gabriella smiled.

TA - DAAAA! i wrote this at 12 at night, since my family's up, iderno. also, reviews would be lovely & i'll continue to post fun facts, since i just think they're cute!

- xlovely loserface