Tyler hadn't known why it happened, but it did. Gabriella had ditched him. Ordinarily, he wouldn't have minded that much. He knew that she had other friends and priorities other than him. Angrily, Tyler slammed his car door after finding the note that explained the reasons behind Gabriella not needing a ride. He crumpled it up and threw it on the floor before starting his car and leaving East High's parking lot.
"You're kidding right?" Gabriella giggled while putting a piece of popcorn into her mouth. She was currently at the Bolton's house but it wasn't because of her boyfriend. It was because of her lab partner.
"Nope. It's the truth." Troy replied smiling. They had gone to the library to get books about the topic of their report that was due in a week. After about an hour of doing prep work for it they became bored and went downstairs to find something to do. They came across several old movies and popped some popcorn.
"That's not possible. Pikachu doesn't die." Gabriella said skeptically while Troy chuckled. Pokémon had been Troy's favorite show when he was growing up and surprisingly it was also Gabriella's. She grew out of her infatuation with the show quicker than Troy did though.
"You're right but it would have been cool if he did. Talk about Drama." Troy shrugged his shoulder while grabbing a couple pieces of popcorn to shove into his mouth.
"Ash would probably kill himself though." Gabriella giggled when Troy shrugged his shoulders indifferently once again.
"That's ok. They had Brock and Misty." Troy laughed when Gabriella's mouth hung open at his apathy towards Ash.
"That's so mean. Ash was my favorite." Gabriella crossed her arms earning her a smile from Troy.
"Why?"
"Don't tell anyone this but I had a secret crush on him when I was little." She whispered while putting her finger to her mouth.
"You did realize that he was just a cartoon, right? My lab partner isn't insane is she?" Troy's eyebrows furrowed together which made Gabriella laugh.
"I was little! I didn't know the difference." Gabriella argued back as she stood up collecting her things.
"Mrs. Gabriella Ketchum." Troy said slowly testing the sound of the name on his tongue. He contemplated for a moment before coming to a conclusion. "Catchy."
"I know right?" She exclaimed excitedly and he laughed. "I'm going to head home before I get in trouble for ignoring curfew." Troy nodded in understanding before reopening his bedroom door. Sure enough when he turned towards the hallway, Tyler was standing there with his arms crossed.
"Oh uh hey." Troy said awkwardly before turning around to sit back on his bed. "What's up?"
Tyler ignored his brother's comments and turned to Gabriella. "This is what you ditched me for? Stupid Pokémon movies?"
"Well actually we were working on a project for Chem." Gabriella started but was cut off before she could finish.
"It sure didn't seem like you were working on a project!"
"Well actually we got bored and raided the basement for something to do." Troy explained from his sitting position on his bed.
"I didn't fucking ask you!" Tyler spat back focusing his attention on his little brother. No matter how old and mature he got, Tyler would always hold the five minutes over Troy's head. Tyler had been in the world five extra minutes before Troy decided he would grace everyone with his presence, therefore he deserved more.
"Tyler!" Gabriella screamed. "We were working on a project and then got bored. We went downstairs and found some movies. Movies without popcorn is just weird so we popped some popcorn. Stop letting your stupid insecurities get the best of the situation." Tyler stood there frozen not knowing what to say. Sure, Gabriella had yelled at him a countless number of times but never once had she actually put the blame on him. He suddenly heard Troy chuckle and turned to glare at his brother. They heard a car start and speed away.
"Dude, what the fuck is your problem?" Tyler growled at his younger brother. Troy stopped laughing to look at his brother seriously.
"She's my lab partner. We were doing work." Troy repeated making it clear in his tone that it was going to be the last time he explained it.
"Stay away from her or I swear to G-d you're going to regret it." Tyler exited Troy's room letting the door slam behind him. Troy sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He really hadn't meant to upset Tyler, he was just having a good time with his lab partner. That's right Bolton. She's just a lab partner. Nothing more.
The next morning Gabriella woke up to several text messages and missed calls; All from the same person. She switched her phone off and went to go and take a shower. Downstairs she could hear them doing the same thing they always did. Sighing for the second time that morning she got into the shower letting the warm water wash away all her thoughts. After what felt like hours of avoiding the inevitable she went downstairs to be once again dragged into another argument.
Tyler threw his phone against the wall as he heard the other end once again go to voicemail. He needed to fix what he seemed to have destroyed with a couple of careless comments. He made his way downstairs to eat the breakfast his mother had surely made. When he reached the kitchen he saw Troy already helping himself to the homemade waffles. He frowned but nonetheless sat down across from him.
"Hey sweetie. Staying in today?" Mrs. Bolton inquired as she handed her eldest son a plate. Troy smirked while looking back down at his plate.
"Yes. Because of you're stupid son." Tyler spat back and Lucille sighed. Of course the only time she got with both of her sons in the same room they were fighting.
"What did you do Troy?" Lucille wasn't really interested in the accusations, knowing that both of her sons over reacted several times before.
"He is the reason why me and Gabriella broke up!"
"Actually it's Gabriella and I." Troy replied while smiling sarcastically at his brother. "And no, it wasn't me. It was you. You're the one who went all world war three."
"You and Gabriella broke up?" Lucille asked before Troy had the chance. Tyler shrugged and violently tore apart the waffles in front of him.
"Well, not exactly."
"Troy what exactly did you do?" Troy looked up from his plate surprised that he was being blamed.
"I didn't do anything! Me and Gabriella were just doing a stupid Chemistry project."
"Actually it's Gabriella and I." Tyler mimicked his brother to irritate him. "And you weren't doing your stupid project! You were watching Pokémon!"
"We were taking a fucking break!" Troy yelled as if he had explained this hundreds of times before. Lucille gasped and began to yell at Troy for using foul language but was interrupted by the door slamming. Troy looked at his mom who was shaking her head, irritated by her two sons. She put up her hands and began to wash the dished that her sons neglected to acknowledge. Troy took this time to stand up from the kitchen table and exit the house the same way Trevor had; with a slam of the door.
"Hey." Troy was greeted by Chad as he walked through the doors to East High. Troy didn't respond but kept walking towards his locker. He looked across the hallway at his brother and Gabriella. Gabriella was running wild hands through her hair while explaining the situation over and over again the same way it had been explained before. Troy sighed knowing that in a couple of days they'd be back together and he'd again have little chance with her. "Dude what's up?"
"Nothing." Chad watched as his best friend slammed his locker door shut and walked quickly to his first period class. He wasn't sure what but he knew something was going on. Something bigger than Troy could handle by himself, but instead of following his friend like he ordinarily would have done, he trudged off to his own classroom.
Troy opened the door to his chemistry class earlier than he expected to. He needed to clear his head and do some homework, but they were the farthest thing from his mind. He heard voices from within but opened the door anyway.
"Well it's about my partner." He heard Gabriella's voice fill the room. Noting that he was the subject of the current conversation he quieted down in order to make his presence unknown.
"Ah, Troy Bolton. What about him?"
"Can I switch?" The three words he'd been dreading to hear filled his ears making his heart race. He didn't want another partner but it was evident that she did. The words echoed through his head and he couldn't stop them. They just kept repeating over and over again and it killed him.
"Well, if you think it's the best idea." Gabriella smiled softly and turned to the door only to find Troy standing there shocked.
"Troy." She quietly breathed out but he had already left the classroom.
A/N: Back from the beach. I start school next Wednesday so I'm hoping to update once before then and then hopefully every Sunday after that. Yes, I'm going weekly. Unconnected Love might be updated today. I'm not sure though. It'd be easier to update it on Monday though. Don't forget to review!
