"Chad, open the door! Chad!" Troy hollered, pounding on Chad's door.
"Do you have to be so loud?" Chad asked as he slowly opened the front door. The mop head rubbed his sleepy eyes and glared at his friend. "Why are you here?"
"You'll never guess who I bumped into yesterday!"
"Oprah?" squealed Chad. "Oh my God, I love Oprah!"
Troy smacked his friend, "No, not Oprah! I bumped into Gabriella!"
Chad's eyes widened, "Gabriella, as in Gabriella Montez?"
Troy nodded furiously. "I couldn't believe it was her! It's been two years since we'd seen each other! But…she has a boyfriend."
"What, she has a boyfriend? That perv, you guys never officially broke up!"
"Chad, Gabriella is not a perv. But she has a daughter." explained Troy.
"What else does she have in store for us? First, she appears out of nowhere. Next, she has a boyfriend!"
Troy interrupted Chad by saying, "Who is four years older than her."
"Okay, she's dating a twenty-two year old. Then, she has a daughter! At eighteen? How old is her daughter?"
"I believe she is two years old," answered Troy.
"That means Gabriella got pregnant when she was sixteen! That little whore!" yelled Chad.
"She is not a whore!" Troy's long-lasting feelings for Gabriella were beginning to show.
"Troy, think about it. If you do the math, Gabriella got pregnant when she was with you, or right after! She was cheating on you!" It was so like Chad to jump to conclusion.
Troy stammered, "I-I refuse to believe that. And besides, she seemed happy to see me again."
"Why did I have to see Troy again?" Gabriella cried, burying her face into the palm of her hands.
Anna placed a soothing hand on her daughter's back, "You never know, honey, maybe fate is bringing you together. Now Alexis can live with her mom and dad."
Gabriella winced, "Mom, how many times do I have to tell you? I am with Walter now; I don't have feelings for Troy anymore."
"Uh-huh…of course. Do you remember when we just moved to Alabama? You were devastated because you missed Troy. I don't think it's possible to just…drop your feelings for him." said Anna.
"Mom, do you have to make me feel worse about not telling him?"
"I know what will make you feel better." Anna pulled out a strip of paper and scribbled an address on it. "Take Alexis and drive here."
"Mom, where am I going?" Gabriella asked, picking up Alexis who was playfully flipping her wavy brown hair.
"You'll see when you get there."
"I'd better not be going to Troy's house. If I am, you're going to—" Gabriella was interrupted by her mother.
"Hush, Gabriella!" Anna laughed. "Just go, it's not Troy's house, I promise." Gabriella raised an eyebrow, waiting for the truth. "Gabriella, as your mother I command you to go to this address."
After being pushed out the door by her mom, Gabriella strapped Alexis into her car seat and hopped into the driver's seat. "Alright Lex, we're off to…somebody's house." she informed as she started the engine.
"Yay!" squealed Alexis.
Gabriella drove accordingly to the directions her mother had given her and winded up in front of a small but decent apartment with a garden full of bright colored flowers. "Pretty!" Alexis giggled.
Gabriella took a deep breath and gently knocked on the hard coated door. Within seconds, Taylor McKessie had answered it. "Gabriella?" Taylor asked, stunned.
" Taylor?" The two girls stared at each other in deep silence until they started squealing and hugging.
"Oh my God, I can't believe it's been two years! Gabby, I missed you so much!" squealed Taylor.
"I've missed you too, Taylor. I can't believe I'm actually seeing you again!" Gabriella squeezed her best friend.
"Why are you here? You didn't tell me you were moving back! Or aren't you? Are you just visiting for the summer?"
"No, I'm moving! My mom's job transferred her here again, and even better, I got a full scholarship to UNM!" exclaimed Gabriella.
"Oh my God, that's perfect! I'm going there too! Gabriella, this is going to be like old times!" Taylor wiped her tears and motioned for Gabriella to step inside the apartment.
"Come on, Alexis." said Gabriella. The two year old toddled up to her mom and grabbed the bottom hem of Gabriella's shirt.
"And who is this adorable sweetheart?" asked Taylor, bending down to Alexis's level.
"Alexis," she replied, taking her thumb out of her mouth.
"Hi, Alexis! Oh Gabriella, she's beautiful! Did your mom have another baby?" Taylor pinched Alexis's red cheeks.
"Um, no…actually, Alexis is my daughter…and Troy's."
Taylor's mouth hung open. "What? You got pregnant and never told me? Troy is exactly the subject I was going to bring up next!"
"Please don't bring Troy into this!" Gabriella begged.
"Does Troy know?"
Gabriella sighed, "He knows about her but he doesn't know that Alexis is his."
"Well you've got to tell him!" yelled Taylor, putting her hands on her hips.
Gabriella shook her head, "Please, no Taylor. I'll tell him when I'm ready."
Taylor swooned, "Wow, you guys can finally be together again."
"I'm dating someone else, Taylor." Gabriella informed her.
"What?!" Taylor gasped. "No, you're supposed to be dating Troy! Who is this guy you're dating?"
"His name is Walter Bennon, he's twenty-two."
"Walter? You're dating a Walter? And even worse, he's four years older than you!" Taylor looked disgusted.
"He's a very nice man and he loves me." countered Gabriella.
"But Troy loves you! You guys were made for each other!"
"Walter is a great example for Alexis, he treats her like his own. I don't see Troy doing that." explained Gabriella.
"That's because he barely knows her! And besides, if Troy knew that Alexis was his daughter, he would be the best father in the world to her." declared Taylor.
"I'll tell him when the time is right."
"You still love him!" cried Taylor, pointing a finger to her friend's face,
"What? I do not!" Gabriella pouted.
Taylor raised an eyebrow, "Then why are you so afraid to tell him? You're afraid that he'll be mad at you and reject you."
Gabriella looked at the palms of her hands, "I guess you're right."
"Hey, sweetie." Walter greeted, walking through the front door. Anna had already gone home so it was just Gabriella and Alexis. He kissed the top of her forehead and sat down next to her. "How was your day?"
Gabriella closed her eyes and sighed, "It was fine."
"What's wrong?" Walter asked.
"Nothing," she replied. Walter leaned in to kiss her but Gabriella pushed him away. "Walter, please, no."
"Why not? Tell me what's wrong."
"I'm just not feeling well, that's all." she scooted to the other side of the couch.
"Let me kiss you and make it better."
"Walter! No…" cried Gabriella, pushing him away.
A/N: If you haven't heard Ashley Tisdale's song "We'll Be Together" I suggest you listen to it now because this fic follows the storyline of that song. Also, check out the blend I made with a friend for this story. And yeah, that's what Troy and Gabriella look like in this story. The link is in my profile! It's close to the top, you'll know it when you click on it. Before the link I said "Look at this amazing blend..." so that's the one!
If you want to listen to "We'll Be Together" there is a link in my profile that goes to my YouTube account. You'll see that I have a video of Ashley performing it live at the HSM concert, and I have made two videos with that song. The background to my YouTube channel is the blend I made!
Please review, no flames!
Lots of Love,
Kayslee