Chapter Thirty One! Sorry about the wait. I had a long line of shifts at DQ. I hope you find this chapter to your satisfaction. (LOL, I've been talking to too many customers.) Enjoy!

Troy ran after Gabriella as she tore down the halls. She pushed through the doors, escaping into the sunshine. Troy was tired. His legs screamed for him to stop but he continued to run. He chased Gabriella, continually calling out her name, to the garden behind the hospital.

"Gabi! Slow down!"

Troy's legs burned as he wove through the trees that surrounded the garden.

"Why aren't her legs hurting? I'm a freaking basketball player and I'm tired!"

Finally, Troy caught up to Gabriella, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her to a stop. He saw the tears streaming down her face and used his thumb to wipe them away. He felt his heart break when fresh ones replaced them. Gabriella buried her head in Troy's chest, sobbing into his jean jacket. Troy ran his arms up and down her back, trying his best to soothe her.

"I'm so sorry, Gabi. No one should have to go through that."

Troy felt Gabriella nod. He rested his chin on top of her head, holding her close to his body, He had no idea how to help or calm her. Troy's blue eyes scanned the garden, noticing two elderly women watching them from their wheelchairs. Two nurses were standing behind them, ready to push them around the garden.

"This must be the garden for patients to visit."

Troy looked around and saw a bench sitting under a large oak tree. Troy slowly pulled away from Gabriella and took her hand, leading her over to the lonely bench.

"Come sit over here, Gabi."

Gabriella just nodded and allowed Troy to lead her to the bench. She was no longer crying, having no tears them to cry. She used her sleeve to wipe the tear stains from her cheeks. She sat down on the bench and felt Troy sitting beside her. Troy turned hi body to face Gabriella, wrapping his arms around her petite waist.

"I'm here for you, Gabi. I'll always be here for you. I love you."

Gabriella nodded and stood.

"I'm gonna go, Troy. I just need to be alone."

Troy nodded, understanding why she wanted to be alone. He hid his hurt as he gave her a hug and a small smile. He watched as she walked back towards the hospital, searching for her dad. Troy sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He sat under the tree for a few minutes and walked back to the parking lot.

♪

Wednesday morning, Troy walked into the office and presented the secretary a note from his uncle, dismissing him from yesterday's class.

"Okay, Mr. Bolton, you're all set."

Troy nodded and walked to homeroom. He took his seat before the bell rang and pulled out his iPod. Leaning back in his chair and propping his feet on the desk, he listened to his music fir fifteen minutes until the bell rang. Troy watched as the other students filed into class, not surprised that Gabriella was not among them.

"Her mother just died yesterday! Of course she wouldn't be here."

Troy watched as Chad and Taylor walked in, hands linked. Behind them came Sharpay and Zeke. She was giggling as he whispered something in her ear. Kelsi and Jason walked in together, hand in hand and grinning like fools. Ryan came in last by himself, smiling as he blew a kiss out the door to the girl in the hall.

Troy couldn't help but feel slightly jealous that he and Gabriella couldn't be like that. He had tried to call her the night before, but she didn't answer her phone. Troy had tried Mr. Montez's cell.

"Just give her some time, Troy. She'll come around when she's ready."

Mr. Montez's words rang in Troy's head. Troy sighed as everyone made their way towards his desk. Chad punched his arm.

"Hey, Troy! Sup, man? Haven't seen you in a while."

Troy forced a smile as he looked at his gang of friends.

"Not much, Chad. I was with Gabi yesterday."

Chad's eyebrow rose.

"You and Gabriella skipped to be together?"

"No! Something cam up and I needed to be there for her."

The girls immediately bombarded Troy with questions.

"Is she okay?"

"Is she sick again?"

"Is she gonna die?"

Troy sighed.

"She's not okay, Taylor. Kelsi, she's sick but that's not it. And Sharpay, she's not gonna die."

"THEN WHAT IS IT!?!"

Troy was startled at everyone's outburst. It was funny how they were all in sync.

"I'm not in the position to say anything. I'll ask Gabi if I can tell you, though."

Their conversation was interrupted when Principal Matsui's voice blared through the PA system.

"Troy Bolton, Chad Danforth, Zeke Baylor, Jason Cross, Taylor McKessie, Sharpay Evans, Kelsi Nielson and Ryan Evans, please report to the office."

They gang looked at one another before glancing at the teacher. She nodded her head and the group of close friends rushed out the door. The gang burst into the office, startling Ms. Mary, the secretary. She smiled when she got over the shock.

"Mr. Matsui is waiting in his office."

Troy knocked on the principal's door.

"Come in."

The gang filed into the fairly large office, not sitting because of the lack of seats. Troy saw that Mr. Montez occupied one of the two chairs in front of Mr. Matsui's desk. Principal Matsui looked at the group of kids standing in his office.

"I understand that you are all friends with Ms. Montez. Her father wanted to discuss some issues with you."

Mr. Matsui nodded at Mr. Montez, motioning him to start. Greg cleared his throat, causing the eight friends to become nervous.

"As you all know, Gabriella has leukemia."

Everyone slowly nodded, fearing the worst. Troy was the only one to know that it wasn't the "issue".

"Something has happened to our family recently, causing Gabriella to go through a lot of stress. This isn't good for her, already weak, body."

Sharpay became impatient.

"Well, what happened?"

Sharpay shrank back after she received a glare from the principal. Mr. Montez gave Sharpay a tired smile, thankful that Gabriella had found such caring friends, even if they were impatient.

"Her mother died this weekend. She had developed a tumor in her brain a few weeks ago. She died after surgery."

Everyone but Troy and Mr. Matsui gasped. Taylor, Sharpay and Kelsi had tears in their eyes. Chad looked pretty emotional, something that surprised everyone.

"Is there anything we could do for you?"

Greg smiled at the big haired boy.

"If you could just be there for Gabriella, that'd be great. She needs her friends right now, even if she won't admit it."

Everyone nodded and Mr. Matsui stood and walked to the door, opening it.

"You can return to class now. Ms. Mary will give you all admit slips. Thank you."

Mr. Montez stood also, placing a hand on Troy's shoulder.

"Can you stay for a minute, Troy? I'd like to talk to you."

Troy nodded and sat in the chair beside Mr. Montez. They waited until everyone left. Mr. Matsui walked out, closing the door behind him to give them privacy.

"Troy, Gabriella is not dealing with this well. She has spent the day in her room. She came out to get an orange for breakfast but went back in her room. She won't talk to me. I think if anyone could get through to her, it's you."

Troy nodded, feeling his heart ache because of the pain Gabriella was going through.

"I'll try my best, Sir. I love your daughter and I want to be there for her."

Mr. Montez placed his hand on Troy's shoulder again.

"I know, Troy, and I appreciate it. Gabriella appreciates it, too.

♪

And there it is. Hope you enjoyed it. This story is gonna come to a close soon; maybe a few more chapters. I just want to know if you all want a final chapter that has a list of all the reviewers. I noticed that some stories have them, so I'm wondering if you guys want one. Another thing, I don't think I'm going to make a sequel. I may come back to this story in the future, but I don't think I have the time to right now. I'm not even sure I'm going to start posting another story. I think I'll just write one in my spare time and post when I feel it's ready. Thank you so much for all of your support. Please review.

Jay