A/N: Hey guys!!! I feel like it's been forever since I've updated this! Haha, probably cuz it has been! Well anyways, this IS the most popular story of mine, and I'm glad, cuz I really like it too!!! Lol. So, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Check my profile please for a new A/N that's pretty important! I need your help!!! Anyway, enough of me, onto the story!!!

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Chapter 15: Lonely

Troy's eyes widened at the sight of Gabriella. Her hair was messed up, and she looked so sad. Almost like she was talked bad to, or just didn't care about what she did when she woke up this morning.

Gabriella immediately straightened out her hair, and put on a fake smile. "Uh-hey guys! Glad your back…" She said slowly, as everyone stared her down.

"Gabriella…" Troy said in a daze. Taking a step closer to her, he gently put a hand on her arm and pulled her into a hug. "What happened to you?" He whispered to her, trying to comfort her.

But all Gabriella did was pull away from him. "I'm fine Troy. Just fine" She insisted through gritted teeth, but then smiled again when she looked at Chad and Taylor.

"Chad! Taylor! So glad you guys are back!" Gabriella exclaimed, as she ran and gave Chad a warm hug.

After Gabriella was done hugging Chad, she took a step back and looked at Taylor and gave her a sad smile. "Hey Tay…" She whispered lightly, "I know you don't remember me…but…." She went on but Taylor stopped her.

"I know I don't. But it's ok. Chad's told me a lot about you, and I'm really to get to know you better if, that is, you want to. Maybe it will help me bring my memory back?" Taylor asked hopefully, her eyes glistening.

Gabriella sniffled and smiled. "I would like that. Very much" She replied, hugging Taylor as they both laughed. But behind Taylor, Gabriella's eyes very much started to water.

Chad sighed, as he walked over to Gabriella quietly and placed a reassuring hand on her back telling her, 'It's all going to be alright'.

Troy just stood behind everyone else, pursing his lips, and had his arms crossed. Sharpay walked over to him and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Troy just sighed. "Nothing. Wait scratch that. There IS something wrong with me. Something's not right with Gabriella, I mean, she's totally out of place today. Way too emotional" He told her, as he just shook his head.

Sharpay snorted. "God, you sound like a girl telling another girl about gossip!" She laughed, but when she received a look from Troy, she added, "It could just be that her dragon boss is breathing too far down her neck. Maybe she needs a break" Sharpay shrugged, before walking off.

Troy thought of what Sharpay had said. What if she's right?

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Everyone went out to eat after they had picked Chad and Taylor up from the airport. When they all finished dinner, they went back to Chad and Taylor's place to talk.

Taylor felt so out of place and uncomfortable and asked, "Hey guys? Can I have alone time with Gabriella? I mean-we really need it…" She sighed, lowering her eyes, as did Gabriella.

Chad smiled gratefully at Taylor. "Yeah sure. Come on guys" Chad called out, waving at everyone to leave as they all hurried out the door.

Gabriella laughed unevenly, as she slowly paced her breath in and out and walked over to the couch where Taylor was, and sat down. "So…"

"Yeah. Listen…um….Gabriella. I don't know you anymore. And you don't know me. I'm sorry for that….I really want to know you, and all…but….you have to know that…" Taylor started, almost choking from keeping herself from crying.

Gabriella stopped her, "No Taylor. Don't be sorry, it's not your fault, not at all…" She reassured her, pulling her into a warm hug.

Taylor sniffed and nodded as she pulled away from Gabriella and wiped her eyes. "Sorry for that…I mean, things are just becoming a big blur….it's hard to…you know…" Taylor tried to explain.

Gabriella let out a small laugh. "It's okay, really. You don't need to explain" Gabriella told Taylor, giving her a small smile before turning her head away to pick at the cloth pillow beside her.

"I wish I could remember you….but I can't…." Taylor whispered sadly, out of nowhere.

Gabriella looked at her and sighed as she slowly nodded, "I wish could too…." And with that, Gabriella turned her head away, tears falling from her cheeks.

"Hey….is something wrong?" Taylor asked Gabriella worriedly, as she slowly turned Gabriella to face her, and saw the tears falling from her cheeks. Taylor sighed and said, "Oh Gabi…"

Taylor then got up and looked around the room curiously. Her eyes then landed on a box of Kleenex's as she let out a, "Ah hah!" And walked over to the box, and grabbed it as she walked over back to the couch.

"Here you go" Taylor said as she pulled out a few and handed them to Gabriella. Gabriella smiled gratefully as she took them, "Thanks."

Taylor nodded as she plopped back down on the couch. "Okay then. What's this all about?" She asked her straight up, hoping for an answer to why she was crying.

Gabriella bit her lip, thinking about what she would say, "I um….it's just that, you coming back…and not remembering me…it hurts, and I KNOW that you can't do anything about it…and I understand…but, it's not the same…"

Taylor sighed. "No way, am I believing that" She shrugged, looking Gabriella straight in the eye.

Gabriella finally looked up at Taylor and asked her in disbelief, "What?"

Taylor just gave her a "okay stop" look as she continued, "You aren't crying because of me. I know that, even a person who doesn't REMEMBER you knows that….something's wrong, and it has been wrong since the moment I saw you at the airport!"

Gabriella just shook her head quickly as she said, "No no! It's NOT because of something else! I mean, we've been best friends for a long time! And you….you've been the best friend I could EVER ask for…ever since I came to East High…" Gabriella sobbed.

Taylor fought back her tears and shakily asked, "What's wrong?"

Gabriella groaned angrily. "NOTHING IS WRONG OTHER THAN ME HAVING THE FACT TO DEAL WITH MY BEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WORLD NOT REMEMBERING ME!!!" She yelled loudly, causing Taylor to jump up.

"Okay….just calm down…" Taylor told Gabriella calmly, resting a firm hand on her shoulder.

Gabriella sobbed into the pillow beside her as she just nodded, and continued to cry and cry. Taylor sighed as she just rubbed Gabriella's back and just let everything out.

Once Gabriella was calm enough, Taylor asked one final time, "Now. What's this all about?" She asked her.

Gabriella looked up at Taylor, pursed her lip, and started to tell her story which involved many tears, angriness, and love all inbetween.

And Taylor did what any friend would do: She listened.

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The next day, Taylor woke up, rubbing her eyes from her bedroom and looked around. Where am I? She asked herself, but then realized she was in her and Chad's apartment, in the guestroom.

She groaned as she pulled the covers off of her and sat up, getting used to the environment around her. She crawled out of the bed and slowly patted across the floor as she pulled on a robe that was hanging from the door.

Taylor slowly turned the knob and peeked her head out from the door and checked the hallway. All clear. She decided to tiptoe across the floor, as she slowly made her way down the stairs.

But then she stopped short when she saw Chad on the couch, watching Sports lazily, a glass of orange juice in front of him.

Taylor took a deep breath as she made her way down the stairs and walked over to the couch where Chad was. "Hey…" She said warily, as Chad snapped his head towards her,

"Hey!" He exclaimed, grabbing the remote for the T.V. and turning it off and turning towards her.

"You know that you didn't have to turn the T.V. off….I didn't mean to disturb you…" Taylor rambled to him, nodding towards the television.

Chad laughed. "Oh that? I was just watching what I've already watched. It's cool" He told her, giving her a slight smile.

Taylor just smiled back as she looked around the room awkwardly, not knowing what to do or say next. To her, just studying the room seemed good enough to do right now.

Chad watched her as her eyes looked around the whole place curiously and he asked, "Do you um, want any breakfast?" Getting up quickly and walking over to the kitchen. "Yeah….thanks" Taylor smiled at him.

"Well….technically this is your place too….so you don't have to thank me…" He laughed uneasily, as he looked through the fridge to see what they had.

Taylor laughed back and sighed as she asked, "Well then what do you have….that you can cook?" She asked but then added under her breath.

"Well….there's cereal, pancakes, waffles, milk, muffins, bananas, practically everything you would usually ask for…." Chad called out to her from inside the fridge as he poked his head out and asked, "So which will it be?"

Taylor eyed him, "You can cook?" She asked him, as he let out a laugh, "Yeah I know….surprising isn't it?" He joked back.

Taylor laughed and said she wanted pancakes, and he nodded as he got out the mix and started to cook them.

After they ate, and finished, Chad took their plates and washed them in the sink as Taylor walked around the living room, and explored a little bit more.

She saw lots of photo frames and she walked towards them and smiled at what she saw. There were lots of photos of just her and Chad, usually out to eat somewhere, or on a vacation.

There were also photos from High School. One that especially caught her eye was a photo from the Senior Prom, as Taylor was in a beautiful gown smiling widely, as Chad was in a tux, with the same reaction.

Taylor smiled as tears came to her eyes as she shifted over to the next picture. She saw the whole gang in this one. It must've been at some pool or beach there, hanging out, as they were all laughing and having fun.

The next picture was the one that Taylor liked the best out of all of them. It was a picture of her and Chad in the water at the pool, and in the picture, he lifted her up out of the water, as she smiled down at him.

Taylor sniffed, as Chad heard that. He looked into the living room and saw Taylor looking at old photos. He quickly shut off the water from the sink and dried his hands as he slowly made his entrance into the living room.

"Wow…that was a long time ago…" Chad told Taylor as she snapped her head towards him, and looked back at the picture she was holding.

She laughed as he carefully took the picture from her hands and into his as he glanced at the picture. "Yeah…this one's my favorite out of all of them…" She told him, as they both just stared at the picture.

Tears came to Chad's eyes as he reminisced, but he didn't let them fall in front of Taylor. He heard a quick mailbox shut, as he looked out the window and saw that the mailman just came.

Chad put the picture back down and told Taylor, "Be right back. Got to get the mail" And then he rushed out of the house.

He prayed that he would find something good in the mailbox, as he quickly opened it up and grabbed the mail from inside. He shuffled through the mail quickly, occasionally saying, "Bill…bill….stupid ad….magazine….AHA!" He yelled out.

His eyes landed on a package, which he ran inside before he opened. Taylor watched Chad as he ran into the kitchen with something, and she slowly made her way in there to see what it was.

Taylor saw Chad opening a package and look at what were inside. They looked like photos as she walked up to him, to get a closer look.

What Taylor saw, almost made her cry. They were wedding photos. Taylor snuck a glance at Chad and saw tears going down his cheeks as he flipped through the photos. Then his eyes landed on the last photo of them all.

It was a picture of Taylor and Chad outside, her in her beautiful gown, and him in his tux, and they were both holding each of their hands together and gazing into each other's eyes.

Taylor smiled as she grabbed the photo from him and whispered, "They're beautiful."

She wracked her brain of any sign of remembering when and where that was taken or anything. But she couldn't remember a thing.

Chad sighed as he quickly took the pictures away from her and picked out a couple of them and held them up as he turned to her.

"I will do ANYTHING that helps you bring back your memory!" He told Taylor forcefully.

Taylor just nodded quietly, tears coming from her eyes as she gazed at the photos he held. She then looked away from the photos, not being able to bear them any longer.

"I'll try…" She whispered, but then got up and looked Chad squarely in the eye. He looked back at her as they locked eyes with each other. Taylor's breath got caught into her throat, as she stood up and kissed Chad's cheek. "I really will…I'm going to go get dressed" She told him, before running up the stairs.

Chad let out a smile, as he touched the spot where Taylor kissed his cheek. Man, this feels like I'm falling in love with her all over again…

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Later that day, Chad had gotten a call from the gang, asking for them to get together. He told them to meet at his house, needing to tell them something. They all agreed to meet now.

Chad's doorbell rang, as he opened the door and smiled at the gang. "Hey guys. Come on in" He gestured for them to enter as they politely did, and they all sat around the living room.

"Where's Taylor at?" Sharpay asked, looking around the apartment.

"She's upstairs….taking a nap. She was um, really tired…."Chad told everyone, looking away, trying to tell them that he didn't really want to talk about what had happened earlier with the pictures.

They all nodded, and looked around the room awkwardly. "So dude, what was it that you had to tell us?" Troy asked him curiously.

Chad sighed. "I think you all know what" He told them carefully.

"We need to get Taylor her memory back!" Sharpay exclaimed out of no where as everyone quickly agreed. Chad smiled, "I know."

But Kelsi looked around the room, confused, and asked, "Wait-where's Gabriella?"

Troy sighed as everyone looked towards him. "At work….where she always is…" He told them all in a whisper, and looking down at the floor.

"She's at work?" Taylor asked from the top of the stairs, as they all turned their heads towards her.

Chad jumped up quickly and said, "Taylor! You're uh….I thought you were asleep…."

"I was" Taylor told him, and then turned towards Troy, "You said she was at work right?" She asked him curiously, taking a step closer towards him, as he eyed her.

"Yeah….why?" Troy asked Taylor curiously, thinking she knew something.

Taylor just shook her head, as she looked from one person to the other and said, "Oh uh….nothing….nothing…." She stuttered, turning her head away from everyone.

"Taylor…." Chad warned her, knowing that she knew something and she needs to tell them. Taylor sighed and looked at everyone who all had worried expressions on their faces.

Taylor sighed. "Okay guys….there's something you all should know…." She told them. Troy listened very carefully. Oh this is not going to be good…He thought.

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Gabriella groaned slightly as she pulled into the entrance of her work. She shut the engine as she thought, Thank God I didn't have to be at work until later today…I probably would have died by now…

Gabriella stepped out of the car as she felt a gust of wind hit her face. She tightly pulled her jacket over her body more. Jeez, it's Summer and the wind is really going today She thought as she took a deep breath.

She shivered slightly as she started to walk towards the entrance of her work. All Gabriella felt was lonely and scared as she walked into the entrance.

Immediately, she saw Rachel give Gabriella a worried look as she walked in. Gabriella stared confusingly back at her, as Rachel pointed towards their boss.

Gabriella gasped as she looked at her boss, who was on the other side, just glaring at Gabriella. In a matter of seconds, her boss had dragged all the way across the room, and stared Gabriella straight in the eye and asked, "Where were you?"

She just gave her a confused look. "Uh-you…you asked me to be here right now…at least I tho-thought you did…" Gabriella studdered, as her boss got closer to her.

Her boss whispered harshly, "Listen you. You should know me by now, to know, that I would never ask a employee of mine to come in at 1! You filthy little…." She started but was cut off by a voice.

"Hey! Don't you EVER talk to her that way…."

Gabriella turned around quickly, and her eyes bulged out as she saw who it was.

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OOOHHHH…who was it that came to Gabriella's rescue? Well I guess you'll have to wait until next time! Sorry:-)

Well again, so sorry that took so long to get up…I'm really trying here! Thanks guys for your patience, and I'll update soon!

PLEASE REVIEW:-)