AN: Thank you to all of you who reviewed for me, I really love hearing what you say. I know the end seemed a little odd but there is always something more. Here is the next chapter where you will learn even a little more, but not everything. I still hold the Ace of Hearts.

Chapter 4

Troy walked into the library the next morning a few minutes before seven. He wasn't sure what to expect that day with Gabriella after the weird night they had before. Gabriella was there already working, no surprise there. He set down his bag and sat in the chair across from her. She didn't look up at him. That bugged him, but he couldn't tell you why. He got out his work and started. They worked in silence for a while. "Are you ever going to acknowledge that I am even here?" Troy couldn't stand the silence anymore.

"Do you want me to?" Gabriella finally looked up at him.

"Just stop being so silent, it is worse than a cemetery."

"Hello, happy?"

"Very."

Silence fell between them again.

"Troy," Gabriella said breaking the silence again.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for last night with the free throws."

"You're welcome," Troy said uncomfortably. He wasn't really into thank yous or sorrys. He couldn't even remember the last time he actually said sorry out loud. He never said it. Chad knew of a look he used to convey that he was sorry to him, but he never said it. And Chad never saw the look that too often. And thank yous were rare as well. So far this school year, Troy could only think of saying it twice. He just wasn't a touchy feely guy, at least not at school. Home was a little different, he was polite to his parents and family, but even then it was mumbled and hard to hear and understand.

Gabriella continued to work and so did he. Troy tried to not think of anything but the Incas and their accomplishment and not of the girl sitting across from him. She didn't notice his restlessness.

"Same thing tomorrow?" He asked as a warning bell rang and he gathered up his stuff.

"Yeah," she said. She finished her sentence and then packed up her stuff. Her phone went off and she looked at it confused. Troy heard her answering it as he left the library.

He was mad at himself for noticing that she wasn't in homeroom. He pushed it to the back of his mind as he got up to leave after the bell. He wondered what the phone call entailed. One of the first things that happened to Troy when he walked out of the classroom was run into Austin Lee, quarterback and captain of the Varsity football team, a senior and a class 'A' ass. You could say he was like Troy, but Troy always found a reason of why he was better that Lee.

"What where you are going Bolton," Lee sneered.

"I was, but if I were you, heaven forbid something that bad would happen to me, I would be taking that advice," Troy sneered back.

"Well it is a good thing that you aren't me, because if you were, this school wouldn't have gotten a state championship last year since you failed at yours unlike me," Lee said dredging up the fact that last year and this year Lee had led his team to a championship. Troy was still working on this years, but last year he had played with a temp. of 102.3 and his team ended up losing by 2 in triple overtime.

Troy was ready to come to punches with Lee when Chad showed up. Chad saw what was happening and he grabbed Troy by the waist and dragged him off down the hall and around the corner before any contact was made. They ended up near Troy's locker when Chad let go if him, "Another fight and you'll be sitting next game," Chad said as Troy straightened his shirt and looked to see where they were at.

Some sophomores were looking at them and it bugged Troy, "Scram!" He screamed at them. They quickly darted away. Troy saw his locker a few feet away and went to it. He opened it and grabbed a book. "Hey, Chad."

"Yeah, dude?" Chad said looking at him.

Troy looked around to see who was around them, there wasn't really anyone. "Um, thanks dude," Troy said quietly. He was glad someone was watching out for him even when he didn't was someone to, or he wished he didn't need anyone to watch out for him.

"Just doin' my job dude, and we need you next game if we want a chance at winning," Chad said, "See you later man." Chad wondered off.

"Yeah," Troy shut his locker and walked in the opposite direction of Chad. He saw a crouched figure wrapped up in a ball down the hallway. They were crying, great. That is exactly not what he needed now, was a crying person. Troy hated crying people, they bothered him. And he didn't know why. Either because they were weak enough to break and cry or because they were strong enough to show such real emotions. Troy was neither, he had never cried.

As he got closer to pass the person he saw it was Gabriella. He had a heated, quick internal debate of whether or not to stop. He got to her and grabbed her arm, hauling her up. He pulled her along until he came to a familiar door. "Don't cry in public, it brings everyone else down," He said as he opening the door and gently pushing her in there. He closed the door and walked away to his class. He just hoped she wouldn't be there when he needed it.

Gabriella wasn't even sure it was Troy as she stood inside the door. There were stairs to her left. She looked at the door once again before she walked up the stairs. They lead to a small balcony covered in plants. It over looked the school and it was beautiful. A roof top garden, Gabriella wondered how many knew of this place. She would definitely have to remember it. It was nice, it was peaceful. She walked to the bench there, sat down and started to cry again. She failed to notice the start of the next period when it came along.

"Are you done crying yet, this is my spot and I would like it back," a voice said a little harshly. It was Troy. Gabriella tried to stop her tears. She got up to leave; it was easy to see he didn't want her there. "Don't go back down there if you are just going to start crying again. There is no reason you should bring down someone else's day just because yours sucks."

Gabriella looked at him. She couldn't believe he said that, "Sorry, next time my grandmother dies, I'll make sure that I'm in solitary confinement. Oh, wait, you only die once."

"You can die more than once, doctors bring people back to life all the time," Troy argued.

"Those people aren't legally dead, their heart just stops beating."

"They are still dead."

"They aren't being prepped for a funeral."

"Just don't cry, it doesn't help."

"Then what am I suppose to do?"

"I think that I played solitaire for about five hours after I found our my grandmother died. Never shed a single tear."

"You are so callous!"

"She loved the game, knew at least five different variations. She played it all the time since she didn't have anyone to play with."

"So I am just suppose to play cards, yeah, don't think that is going to help me."

"It is something other that crying, crying gets you nowhere."

"It releases emotion."

"It express emotion, but goes no where in dealing with those emotions."

"So how are you supposed to deal with them?"

"You have to figure that out yourself, no one can tell you how."

"Well that was a big help."

"You have to come to terms with it!"

"Maybe I don't want to!"

"Then dig your own grave. It just hurts you."

"How do you know what's good for me? You don't even know me!" Gabriella shouted.

"I am not talking about just you, I am talking about everyone, you are just specifying it to yourself!" Troy shouted back.

"You are infuriating," Gabriella said. She got up and pushed her hair out of her face and stomped down the stairs. She wiped away her last remaining tears and turned to Troy, "There, no tears." She stomped off to class.

Troy watched the door slam shut. He had a sub in his class, they wouldn't be doing anything worthwhile, so he was skipping. He knew there was nothing wrong with crying over the loss of the loved one. He was just never able to do it. Two years back when his grandmother died, he heard his father quietly weeping in his office. But Troy never did it. It never happened to him. He couldn't ever remember letting a tear roll down his cheeks. Not at his grandmother's funeral. Not when he was five and he scraped his knee so bad, he had to have stitches. Not when he was in a car crash when he was eight. Not when his cousin committed suicide almost five years ago. Not when he found out in 8th grade that his girlfriend was cheating on him. Not when his mother had cancer and ended up having a hysterectomy. He didn't cry when he lost the championship last year. He almost cried as a baby according to his parents. Maybe he was just physically able to cry, whatever it was, he never cried. And he didn't think there would ever come a time he would.

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AN: I know that is short. But right after I post this I am beginning work on the next chapter. Leave me a review and maybe I'll get the next chapter up tonight too. And I know this one took longer than I thought it would, and I am sorry, but am seriously about to go start work on the next one.