She couldn't stop staring at him. She couldn't take her eyes off him. Even completely depressed, upset, and wasted, she still couldn't think of anyone more perfect then him. She was certain there wasn't a flawless bone in his body, even the way he stubbled into the sand and laughed like an idiot. Gabriella's eyes couldn't leave him.

She was standing with her feet in the sand, next to Sharpay who had Zeke's hand in her own, and Melissa and Angie. Taylor was over with Chad, trying to make sure the two guys didn't kill themselves as they kept tripping over everything. Gabriella wasn't drunk, she hadn't been drinking, even though it would have been so tempting to just flush all her problems away. But life didn't work that way, even though it seemed to be working perfectly for Troy Bolton. But that was because anything that had to do with Troy Bolton was perfect.

"Don't be said Brie, it's Friday! That means tomorrows Saturday! Shortened day!" Sharpay exclaims while taking another sip of her drink. Gabriella had no idea how Sharpay did it. She could get wasted every weekend, but wake up the next day completely fine. It never ceased to amaze her.

"I'm trying." Gabriella says while watching Troy attempt to get up again. She had been watching him the whole night, and knew he was doing the same to her. But the look in his face was different then when she had seen him earlier in the week. It had been the same when he first arrived at the party, but after drinking more a more, Gabriella could tell that the alcohol was bringing the color back into his face and making him look semi-normal again. Well, it just could have fooled anyone that he wasn't depressed.

"He's a complete wreck… just look at him." Zeke exclaims while pointing to Troy who was attempting to walk in a straight line someone had drawn in the sand, but Gabriella watches as he falls to the ground with a crash and laughter from other wasted people around him, like Chad. "You gotta talk to him Brie."

Gabriella sighs. She didn't want to talk to him. She knew she was going to have to someday, but being pissed off at him was so much easier, so she was going with that route right now. "I don't have to do anything Zeke. He should have thought about this before he lied to me." She says while taking a sip of her water bottle and turning around to see the party stretching on for what looked like another hundred feet.

"If I were you… I'd forgive him in a heartbeat." Angie says while taking a drink of whatever she was drinking. "He IS Troy Bolton." She says while Gabriella rolls her eyes. She didn't need this commentary right now.

"But he lied to her." Melissa says and Gabriella feels a sudden liking for her. It was nice to know someone was on her side. "And it was Amber too."

"So?" Angie rebuts, Gabriella feeling her face fall again hearing it. "Amber sleeps with everyone, it's not a huge deal."

"Thanks guys, but I really have to figure this one out of my own." Gabriella says with a slight irritated tone in her voice. She didn't need commentary from everyone else about her own issues. Right now she just needed to find a way to solve them.

"Speak of the devil…" Zeke says while Gabriella turns around again to see that Amber was staggering towards them with Marcus' hand in hers. "I'm gonna take this one away before all hell breaks out." He says while referring to Sharpay. He begins leading her in the other direction.

"But I don't wanna go!" Sharpay exclaims while Gabriella rolls her eyes. She didn't blame Zeke because there was no way that Sharpay and Amber would be able to have a civil conversation with each other while both of them were drunk.

"Hey!" Amber's voice enters Gabriella ears and makes her cringe. She glances over to see that Troy was now sitting on the ground with Chad, pointing up at something in the sky. She turns back to Amber who was ignoring Gabriella, just like she had done all week after she found out Gabriella got the senior solo. But Gabriella wasn't complaining at all. "Isn't this party amazing?" She asks while taking a sip of whatever was in Marcus' cup in the hand that wasn't holding hers.

"Yea… it's great." Melissa says while looking around, probably trying to find a way out of the situation.

"We're in MEXICO Lis!" Amber exclaims, even though Gabriella was pretty sure she had never called Melissa 'Lis' in her life. "Loosen up… have some fun." She says while swaying her hips from side to side and giving Gabriella a dirty look in the process. But Gabriella just rolls her eyes and ignores it. Why stoop down to her level.

"Yeah… Mexico… party…" Angie says sarcastically and Gabriella's impression of her shoots though the roof again. She was officially back on Gabriella's good side. "We're leaving in a couple weeks though." She says while Amber's face completely drops.

"That's right!" She says as if it was something new. "Just the showcase and then that's it." She exclaims while looking at Gabriella through her piercing green eyes. "You must be nervous. With the solo and everything."

Gabriella doesn't want to respond, but her personality kicks in. "I'll deal." She says with attitude in her voice.

Amber looks at her up and down for a moment, while Gabriella could see Marcus doing the same, but for different reasons. "Well, she should have given it to someone with more experience. Someone who deserves it." She says while taking another sip out of her cup. Gabriella's anger was running through her veins and she wanted to hit this girl.

"Whatever." Gabriella says, not wanting to cause anything. "I'll see you guys later." She says to the other two girls while glancing back at Amber with a glare. Marcus gives her a smirk that gives her the shivers, so she immediately starts to walk away.

Her eyes lock back on the boy who had her heart to see that he hadn't moved in the position he was in before, but now his face looked so much paler. She could see Taylor standing with her back to Gabriella, with her hands on her hips while Chad pointed to something else. It would have been hilarious if Gabriella was on speaking terms with her boyfriend, but that wasn't the case, of course.

Her feet start carrying her over to Taylor until she stands next to her, going unnoticed by Troy or Chad. "How's it going?" She asks Taylor who looks at her and rolls her eyes.

"This is your fault." She says.

"My fault!" Gabriella exclaims while looking down to see Troy was completely obvious to her being there. "How is it my fault?"

"Because…" Taylor sighs like it was completely obvious. "If your boyfriend wasn't depressed, then he wouldn't have gotten my boyfriend completely wasted and they wouldn't be searching the skies for Pluto right now!"

"I t-hink it's right there!" Gabriella shivers as she hears Troy slur from down below. "Wait… or is that Neptune?"

"I dunno man, it's all so big." Chad says while leaning back on his head.

Taylor rolls her eyes and looks back at her. "I'm gonna take these two four year-old back before they puke, which I think Troy's gonna do soon." She says and Gabriella looks down to see Troy's face pale again.

"Please make sure he doesn't die." Gabriella says while looking back down at him. She wanted to be there to help him, but she still couldn't face him yet, sober or drunk. She watches as Taylor pulls Chad up into a standing position. He steadies himself before Gabriella watches with slight jealousy as Taylor grabs Troy and brings him into a standing position as well.

Taylor gives her a warm smile. "I promise. After I get them back, I'll meet you in the room."

"Alright… I'll see you then." She says and then suddenly feels a pair of almost gray eyes on her.

"Gabriella!" Troy exclaims as Taylor puts a hand on his shoulder.

"No Troy… leave her alone. She doesn't want to talk to you right now." Taylor says but Gabriella couldn't find the strength to pry her eyes away from him.

"No! Gabriella!" Troy yells while running staggered over and grabbing Gabriella's hand. She could feel sparks flying through it as she stared up into his eyes. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry."

She could feel her heart melt with every word that he said, but the angry side of her told her that he was just drunk and he still broke her heart. Gabriella shakes her head and takes a step back from him. "You're wasted!" She exclaims as she points at him. "Just… go Troy, ok? Just go."

She watches as his face falls and Taylor runs over to grab his arm. "Come on Troy…" She says while Troy and Gabriella's eyes were locked on each other, neither one of them wanting to break the stare first. They continue to look at each other until Gabriella couldn't see his face anymore. A sigh escapes from her mouth as she runs two hands through the front of her hair. She wasn't able to do this anymore.

Her feet begin to work their way around the people who were completely drunk and walk towards her hotel that was only two down from where the party was. She glances up at the hotel Troy was staying in, and couldn't help but scan the windows in hopes of maybe getting a glimpse of him. Why was this so hard?

But she moves her head back down and suddenly gets a strange feeling in her stomach. She could see a figure standing about twenty feet away from her, right where what looked like her hotel was. She could feel her stomach starting to turn as her speed increases, until she finally sees the outline of a guy with a smirk on his face.

"Gabriella." Marcus breathes out as Gabriella could feel the weird feeling in her stomach start to grow again. "I'm so glad to see you." He says in his heavy Hispanic accent while grabbing her hand and putting it to his mouth. She couldn't help but feel the warning bells running through her head as he lowers her hand a smiles at her.

"Er… hi Marcus." She says slowly while feeling her hands shake a little as he drops it. "Um… where's Amber?" She asks while walking inside the gate and feeling him fall into step next to her.

"Still at the party. I decided to come back here and wait for her, but I ran into you instead." He says and Gabriella could see there was truth in his eyes, that he wasn't lying about that, but she still didn't want to be around him right now.

"Oh well, you should probably get back to waiting." She says while she could hear the ocean waves crash up against the beach as she finally got to the back door of the hotel and turns to him. He had a greedy look in his eyes as he stared down at her.

"I could stay and keep you company too." He says while taking a step closer to her, but she backs up immediately.

"Um… I'll be fine." She says.

Marcus shakes his head. "What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't make sure you got to your room ok?" He says while wiggling his eyebrows a little and Gabriella shakes her head. This was the final straw, she was done with this guy trying to make a move on her. All she could think about was how she'd rather be with Troy right now then around him.

"No Marcus. It's sweet that you want to help, but your girlfriend comes first." She says while shaking her head and grabbing the door inside.

"But Gabriella…" He starts to protest but Gabriella shakes her head.

"No ok? Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go." She says while opening the door. "And I'd appreciate it if you'd stay away from me." She says and then shutting it in his face. Marcus stares at her for a moment, but Gabriella doesn't see since she immediately starts walking towards the stairs, away from him and all the drama he could have caused.

"You look like you're dying." Chad says while Troy lays his head back on his pillow.

Troy could feel his head pounding as he rubs his forehead. It felt like a giant airplane had decided to land on it last night. Why was he so stupid? Sure, it felt good to let go last night and try not to think about Gabriella, but all that did was make him think about her more while drunk, and now he had the pounding headache to back it up. "I think I am." Troy moans as he places a pillow over his head to try and block out all light that was shining on his face.

"I hope Perez didn't see that today." Chad says while flipping through the channels on the TV as Troy's head pops out from under the pillow.

It was 9:30 PM, and Troy was sitting in a pair of red basketball shorts and a white. He glances over to see Chad was dressed nicely, since he was taking Taylor out tonight. Zeke was going to be with Sharpay and Jason was hanging out with the guys, who had invited Troy to come along so he wouldn't have to be by himself, but Troy had no desire to go. He had no desire to do anything except try to figure out ways to get his girlfriend back.

"Whatever if he did." Troy says while shrugging and turning over on his side. "I don't care anymore."

Chad sighs as he turns off the TV and looks back at Troy. "You don't seem to care about anything anymore."

Troy sighs as he shrugs. "Shit happens."

Chad sighs again while turning to him. "Just talk to her dude."

He shakes his head in responds. "Have you not listened to me in the past like four days? She doesn't want to talk to me."

"Well, try harder." Chad says and Troy could hear a hint of irritation in his voice.

"There's nothing I can do! She doesn't want anything to do with me alright? It's over, I blew it. I was just to stupid alright?" He says exasperated and a moment of silence erupts between the two of them.

"Did you tell her yet?" Chad asks even though he and Troy had been over this a million times. Troy looks up at the white ceiling and shakes his head.

"Why would I? She hates me right now." He says while sighing and looking up at his best friend again.

"She doesn't hate you." He says, anger rising in his voice as Troy shakes his head again.

"Dude… she hates me." He says while Chad finally stands up, looking determined and angry about something.

"She doesn't hate you!" He exclaims again in a louder voice that actually makes Troy look back in shock. "Dude, I'm sick of you mopping around ok? You tried to talk to her… what once? I'd probably be pissed off at you too! Dude, if you care about her you gotta fight!" He says while shaking his head at Troy. "But if you're gonna sit here on your fucking ass and not do anything, then I have no sympathy for you." He says while Troy stares at him, in shock of his friend's outburst. "But stop fucking acting like your brother died all over again because if you're not gonna do anything about it, then you deserve to have Brie dump your ass."

Troy's mouth literally drops open. Chad just broke an unwritten rule. They never talked about Aaron dying. Sure, they mentioned it, but it never actually came out in conversation. He stares as his best friend takes deep breaths as Troy finally sits up on his bed and scratches the five o'clock shadow that he still hadn't shaved yet.

"Wow…" Was all Troy could say as he and Chad kept staring at each other. "I'm sorry?" He says more as a question then an actual apology.

Chad shakes his head. "Don't say sorry to me."

"She said she's talk to me when she was ready alright?" Troy says while still comprehending what just happened between them. Especially how he had just brought up Aaron.

"Then fucking fight for her! Show her that she should be ready to talk to you now!" He exclaims with out the anger in his voice anymore. That relaxed Troy, since usually Chad didn't get mad at anything.

Troy sighs and closes his eyes. "You're right man." He says while standing up. "I'm sorry."

Chad lets out a breath and then pats Troy on the shoulder. "It's alright." He says and then looks down, slightly embarrassed. "And I'm sorry… for you know… bringing up…"

"It's cool." Troy says before he could say Aaron's name and shrugs. "Whatever."

Chad smirks a little as Troy finally hears a knock on the door. "That's Tay." He says while grabbing his wallet on the nightstand and then turning to Troy. "And man?"

Troy looks at him with a raised eyebrow. "Yea?

Chad smiles even more. "Take a shower before you go. You smell like shit." He says while Troy smirks a little and rolls his eyes.

"Thanks man." He says, laughing that Chad had just gone from inspirational speaker to joking around in less then three minutes.

"And shave… the shadow's not working for you either." He says with a wave as he opens the door and then walks out. Troy sighs as the door shuts and he could hear complete silence. His eyes look to the mirror, to see an unfamiliar face staring back at him.

He saw a scared boy. A long, pale face with gray pale eyes staring back into his own normal piercing blue, that weren't present right now. This wasn't him. Chad was right, this wasn't him at all. He was stronger then this. He was Troy Bolton, there was nothing that stopped him. A small grin forms on Troy's face as he could suddenly see speckles a blue form in his eyes as hope returned to his body. He turns on his feet and runs into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him, getting rid of the depressed Troy and getting in the shower to get his girl back.