So Christian is out of the picture but in fan fiction is anything ever that simple, especially where Troyella is concerned . . .Here's hoping they get there. But this one is a bit of filler, so it's not great. Love Tink. xx

Once inside the house all Gabriella's bravado left her and she crumpled into tears, a hundred emotions hitting her at once. She had been manipulated and controlled for so long now, that part of her felt she should go and try and sort things out with Christian. The other more rational part of her reminded her that he was a jerk and had treated her more like a possession than a girl friend. The most prevalent emotion was guilt, guilt about the way she had neglected and rejected her friends when they were there for her. She just couldn't believe he had so totally brainwashed her.

She had thought everything he'd said was right, that she was too fat, that she dressed wrong, that she had a problem being intimate with him, that these were all things wrong with her. All her problems, all her fault.

As she cried silent tears, Taylor found her huddled in a corner.

"Hey Gab, I heard what happened, are you ok?" she asked her wrapping an arm around her as she cried.

"I'm so sorry Tay, I can't believe I was so dumb, I thought he really liked me you know" she cried, wiping her cheeks on her sleeves.

"He did really like you, but his idea of like was totally different to everyone else's. We could all see it"

"So why couldn't I? I'm not stupid, why didn't I see what he was really like?"

"Perhaps you liked the idea of being a couple so much that you couldn't see him for what he was, you were running and Christian caught you"

Gabriella shivered inadvertently, thinking about the time Troy had talked about being caught.

"I wasn't running"

Taylor nodded "Yes you were, from Troy. I don't know what happened between you but what ever it was; it was enough to send you running to Christian"

"It's complicated" she sighed "I think I was so desperate to forget Troy and convince everyone how happy I was that, I just didn't care how he was with me. I thought everything he did was for me, all the changes, always wanting to be with me. I thought he loved me"

"That isn't love Gab, that's control. He manipulated you when you were vulnerable from your fall out with Troy" Taylor pointed out.

"But what about Shar, why did she do that to me?"

"It was the only way I could get him away from you, so people could try and make you see what a bastard he was" said Sharpay with a sheepish smile as she came into the room.

Gabriella turned to look at her "You could have just asked to talk to me" she said still feeling a little bitter; it had hurt when she thought one of her best friends was coming onto her boyfriend.

Shar and Tay shook their heads "That wouldn't have worked, he'd already tried to poison your mind against us, he would only let you go, if he thought he was going to get something out of it"

"He was the worst kisser ever by the way! All slobbering and horrible, course you won't know that, not having anything to compare him to" Sharpay said in an off hand sort of way.

Gabriella flushed bright red and stared at the ceiling, not saying anything.

"Gabriella? Have you kissed someone else? Who? When? And why the hell didn't you tell us?" Taylor asked excitedly and Gabriella looked at the floor.

Sharpay narrowed her eyes for a moment and then smirked

"It was Troy Boy, wasn't it?"

Gabriella looked at the door, avoiding their eyes

"Gabriella Montez, have you or have you not kissed Troy Bolton?" Tay gasped

"I, it was, er, he kissed, then I kissed, then- oh heck" she stammered, flushing redder still.

Sharpay and Taylor did a little dance on the spot with Gabi trapped between them.

"Oh very mature" said Troy as he strolled in the room, his eyes on Gabriella's tear stained face but laughing face.

The girls stopped giggling and looked at him, before laughing again.

"What's so funny?" he asked Gabriella.

"Oh nothing, nothing, they are just being so juvenile!" she exclaimed, sending them warning looks with her eyes.

Shar and Tay grinned, watching the pair closely, if Troy noticed he didn't say anything.

"So Brie, I was wondering if you wanted a ride home?" he asked trying to sound casual, he had so much he wanted to tell her, so much he wanted to say to her.

Gabriella nodded "Yeah thanks" she said softly, causing Sharpay and Taylor to go into riots.

Troy shook his head "You two are weird you know that… You ready to go now?"

"Sure . . . I'll see you guys later"

"Call us later! No excuses" Sharpay demanded as the pair left.

Once they were alone together Gabriella felt strangely nervous, they hadn't spoken for so long and there was a lot to talk about.

"Do you wanna talk about him?" Troy offered as he started the engine.

Gabriella shrugged "There's not much to say is there, he was a jerk and I finally saw sense and broke up with him"

"Tay and Shar said he really did a number on you, mentally I mean"

"How so?"

Troy looked uncomfortable "Just about your weight, and how you dressed, stuff like that"

She sighed "I thought he was doing what was best for me, looking out for me and all it really was, was a way to control me"

"You don't need to change for anyone Brie, I like you just as you are" he said so softly she wasn't sure she heard him right. She felt a surge of affection for Troy, followed by a surge of discomfort.

"Troy, about what happened between us . . . My feelings haven't changed, especially now, after all of this … I don't even want to think about romance or couples or any of that stuff for a long time, Christian messed with my head and I don't know how long it will take for me to feel like me again. .. I'm sorry" she said honestly, feeling bad.

He smiled easily at her "Its okay, we can be friends right?"

"Best friends" she smiled and sat back in silence, content to know things were getting back to normal.

Troy couldn't pretend he wasn't disappointed with Gabi's choice but he understood it. She'd had been through a lot and it was only natural that she would want time to gather herself, remember who she was. Although Christian had only been in her life a relatively short time, he had done some damage to her self esteem and the last thing she would want is some over interested best friend coming on to her. All Troy could do was give her the space she needed and be there when she realized that she wanted more than friendship from him. He snuck looks at her as he drove, noticing the dark circles under her eyes, her hollow cheeks, she had lost her sparkle, her zest for life, her bubbliness and it was all thanks to that ass hole Christian. His hands tightened on the steering wheel as he drove, his knuckles white in his anger.

Gabriella was pleased as they pulled up outside her house.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Troy asked as the engine ticked over.

"I think so, with a little help from my friends" she said with a shy smile.

"You know we're all here for you, if you wanna talk or just do something to take your mind off him"

She nodded "I know" she said softly "G'night Troy"

"Night Gab" he said and watched as she climbed out and made her way up the drive.

Waiting until she was safe inside, Troy span the car around, parked on his own drive and went inside.

As Gabriella changed for bed, her phone beeped, flicking it open she saw it was a text from Christian.

"Babe, don't do this to us. We're good 2gteher! I know it was wrong but it was all Sharpay. Call me pls. xx"

She read aloud, wondering if she should call him and let him explain. But remembering what Shar and Tay had said she deleted the message and got into bed.

Ten minutes later her phone went again, another message from Christian.

"Gabs, pls talk to me. It was a mistake, u know I luv u. Call me. Xx"

Gabi sighed and deleted the message, he was trying to convince her he was sorry but after the things he's said it was too little, too late. Within five minutes her phone went off again

"Dammit Gabi, I want to talk to u. I need u. U need me. Call me. xx"

Five minutes later another text

"Gab, this is ur fault, if u want me u back, u better call me. U know it makes sense U need ME .xx"

Followed shortly by another,

"I know you're there Gab, don't ignore me u bitch. This needs sorting!"

After a further three messages where Christian became increasingly angry, she deleted his number and turned her cell off, hoping to sleep. But she was too wound up, the events of the night kept playing through her mind and she could not shake the feeling that somehow what had happened had been her fault. She was the one who let Christian change her, she was the one who obviously needed changing or else why would Sharpay and Taylor have suggested it too? She was the one who found it hard to go further with Christian; maybe he had been justified in kissing Sharpay? Why would anyone do all the things Christian did? Because he had cared about her, she told herself, maybe everyone had him all wrong, he was looking out for her not controlling her? It didn't seemed logical that a person would set out to change another unless there was something that needed changing, maybe she should stick with the changes.

After all she only had another 7 lbs to lose and she would be able to control that, what she ate and when she ate. Everybody would like you if you were thin, Christian had told her, and it would make her happier in the long run, even if she had to sacrifice a bit at first. The more she thought about the suggestions he had made, the more she realized that maybe he had been right, even if his methods and reasons were not the best. As sleep finally claimed her, she decided to stick with her diet and be more careful about what she wore; the last thing she wanted now was anymore male attention.

The next morning when she awoke and switched on her cell, she had twelve text messages, ten more from Christian and one each from Shar and Tay wanting to know what had happened with Troy. She scanned Christian's briefly before deleting them; they were filled with vitriol,

"This is ur fault because u r a fat frigid bitch"

"Gab I'm sorry, I am just angry and missing u"

"Gab, call me"

"U won't get anyone else Gab, this is ur last chance"

Sharpay had sent,

"So what happened with u and the Troy boy? Call me ASAP. XXX"

Taylor's was in a similar vein, wanting to know what Gabi planned to do now Christian was no longer in the picture.

She shut her cell and decided to call them later, right now she had lots of thinking to do and she didn't want anyone clouding her judgment. Although Taylor and Sharpay meant well, they could sometimes push her to things she didn't want, all for her own good, just like Christian she supposed. He had told her everything he did was for benefit; did she really want to chuck all her hard work away?

The one thing she was certain of was that she wasn't giving Christian any more chances; he was out of her life for good.