AN: Okay, so this chapter is dedicated to my talented editor who has returned to FF! She has the best stories around. Check her out. Seriously. This is for Gizmo8us.

Also…..One of my readers sent me a review with the words "Aww, Troy is treating Sharpay appallingly." Now, two things must be known from this statement. One, this in not a Troypay story. I repeat, not a Troypay story. Stop reading if you only like those. I like Ashley Tisdale a lot but A) she has a real life bf that is not named Zac Efron. And B) I firmly believe in the Zekepay relationship, believing that it is based on real feelings, not cookies, and only hasn't come out because she is scared of not being the most popular girl with the most popular boy. The second thing is that this is a Troyella story. A soul wrenching, heart breaking, cry myself to sleep at night, longing, passionate, lustful, angsty, romantic, Troyella story. You have now been warned.

Gabi nervously drummed her fingers against the windowsill as the car drove along the dark road, towards Chad's house where the 'Welcome Back to School' party was being held this year. The theme was golf hos and tennis pros which would explain why Gabi was dressed in a short, very short white pleated skirt and a tight, body hugging, red polo shirt that barely covered her belly button. She knew she looked good but was still nervous about going to this party, the first time she would even see Troy since she'd started dating Ryan.

Right, Ryan. The boy who was driving the car, humming a song with a grin on his face. Gabi had to admit, he looked good in his light blue polo, with his khaki pants, and argyle socks. But, it was probably unfair to the rest of the boys that would be at the party. Ryan dressed like this normally. Well, maybe without his socks on the outside of his pants, but the clothes definitely.

The car continued down the road, passing the big houses in Chad's neighborhood. Chad, unlike Troy, didn't need the basketball scholarship, but was still looking to get recruited.

'And he would have to do it without the help of Sharpay.' Gabi thought. 'I hope Troy helps him out.'

"Here we are." Ryan said as he pulled up Chad's long driveway. The house was already alive, kids spilling out onto the front lawn that was shielded by the long driveway and a row of trees. And with Chad's parents out of town, well it proved to be one of the best places to party, beaten only by the Evan's house, or rather the Evan's estate.

Gabi opened her door, shivering slightly in the cool September air. Ryan walked around to her side, helping her descend from his car.

"You look beautiful." He said, eying her up and down.

Gabi laughed sarcastically. "You mean slutty, don't you?"

Ryan looked embarrassed, " I mean, you look, -"

Gabi smiled, relieving the tension in the air. "It's okay. I'm supposed to be a tennis ho, remember?"

Gabi took Ryan's hand as she started the familiar walk up the pathway to Chad's front door, passing classmates she hadn't seen all summer, sprawled across the grass.

She could feel their eyes on her as she walked up the trail, hand in hand with someone other than Troy. They were whispering and openly pointing at her.

"I'm sorry." Ryan whispered as they walked up to the door.

"Don't be." Gabi replied, not bothering to lower her voice. "It's sad that they have nothing better to talk about than my social life. Besides, I knew it was going to be like this when we got here." Gabi laid her hand on the doorknob before turning to Ryan. "I'm glad I'm here with you. Are you okay with being here with me? With all these stares? Because this is what school's going to be like. And I want to make sure you know this now."

Instead of replying, Ryan leaned over and kissed her, deepening the kiss as she wrapped her other arm around his neck, opening the door at the same time.

And that was how Troy saw her for the first time that evening, framed by the door, looking content, absolutely beautiful, and wrapped around Ryan. His mouth dropped open, gasping for air. He couldn't look away, yet knowing that he needed to, the image burning into his brain. Troy turned away quickly, desperately in search of a drink.

"I need to get some air." Taylor mouthed to Gabi a couple of hours later as they faced each other on the dance floor, Chad and Taylor dancing while facing Gabi and Ryan.

Gabi nodded and leaned back over her shoulder. "Taylor and I are going to get some air." She said into Ryan's ear.

He nodded okay; motioning to her he was going to get a drink.

Taylor grabbed her hand, pulling her through the packed dance floor, towards the stairs. They climbed the stairs to the part of the house that was off limits to most, the bedrooms. When they reached Chad's room, Gabi reached towards the door, and twisted the knob but was unable to open the door.

"It's locked." She said, turning towards Taylor who had her hand plunged into her bra.

"Got it!" she proclaimed as she produced a small key and smiled at Gabi's shocked face.

"And when, might I ask, did you get that?" Gabi questioned Taylor, following her into Chad's bedroom.

"Last week." Taylor said, smiling widely. "Eight month anniversary gift. Among other things."

"Tay!" Gabi squealed, flopping onto Chad's bed, as Taylor threw open a window and breathed in the fresh air.

"What?" Taylor shot Gabi a devilish grin. "He said since I spent so much time inhere, I might as well have the key to it."

Gabi threw a pillow at her; glad to just be able to relax and not have to deal with everything that was going on downstairs.

"So," Taylor started uncertainly. "How are you holding up?"

Gabi flipped her hair over her shoulder, trying to look extremely calm.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You know, the pointing, the staring, the whispering." Taylor said, flicking them off on her fingers. "And, well, Troy."

Gabi squeezed her eyes shut as the mental images of seeing Troy and Sharpay dancing downstairs, Sharpay's hands all over him, Troy's eyes looking at Gabi, watching her all night.

"I'm fine." She replied quickly, forcefully. "I mean," Gabi took a deep breath, trying to stop her heart from beating so quickly. "I'm fine."

"Uh, uh." Taylor replied. "Gabi, this isn't anybody you're talking to. This is me, your best friend. Truthfully, how are you doing?"

Gabi looked away, trying to blink away the tears that were slowly filling her eyes. "Awful." She muttered.

"Aww, baby." Taylor said, sitting down next to her on the bed. "I'm sorry. I just hate seeing you hurting."

"Is it that obvious?'

"No." Taylor smiled sympathetically, trying to make Gabi feel better. "Just I noticed. And Chad."

"And did you see the way he was watching me?" Gabi asked, clearly still upset, her voice cracking with the effort it took to stop the tears. "Why was he doing that?"

"Because he still loves you." Troy's voice filled the room from where he stood by the open door.

Gabi and Taylor sat there in surprise, shocked to see him standing there.

"I should probably go." Taylor said quickly, sliding off the bed.

"Wait, what?" Gabi said. "Taylor, no. Don't go."

"No it's cool. You guys probably need to talk." She said, slipping past Gabi's out stretched hand.

"Wait, did you-" Gabi began to question, her eyes following Taylor's movements towards the door.

"No." Troy's voice cut through. "She didn't plan this. I followed you up here."

Taylor flashed Gabi a slight smile before leaving, locking the door behind her.

Gabi refused to look up at Troy, her eyes glued to the floor.

"Gabi-"

"Great." She spat, avoiding his eyes. "Now you have me cornered. Happy?"

Troy shifted his weight from one foot to the other, unused to being cast as the bad guy in any situation, especially a girl that he loved.

"Gabi-" he tried again, slowly coming towards the bed.

"What about Sharpay?" Gabi asked, her voice slicing at Troy's heart, her cool tone breaking his calm exterior.

"Dammit Gabi!" he said, slapping his hand against the wall. "I don't care about Sharpay. Don't you get it? I love you."

"You have a funny way of showing it." She muttered, pulling her knees to her chest.

"Do you know how happy I am to even be in the same room with you right now?" Troy asked, moving towards where she sat in the middle of the bed. Gabi slid away from him, backing up towards the headboard. "Do you know how much I've missed?"

"Why?" Gabi questioned, finally looking Troy in the eye. He gasped when eh saw the pain that shown through. "You looked very comfortable downstairs with Sharpay, your hands all over her."

"That's a lie and you know!" he shouted, crawling towards where she sat on the bed. She tried to scramble back but had no space left to move. Troy reached her and knelt there, settling himself into place by placing one hand on either side of her head, palms against the headboard. "I. Love. You."

He leaned forward, capturing Gabi's lips with his. They moved against hers, trying to evoke a response. Her mind screamed at her to run, warring with her body that clearly had no intentions of moving. She pushed against his chest, using all the strength she could muster to try to escape him, but he was too strong for her, she was unable to move, his strength stopping her. Or maybe it was just the feel of his lips against hers, driving his desire into the kiss, his tongue begging entrance, that stopped her from escaping.

Gabi did her best to resist him, not giving into her need to kiss him back, but her fight was getting weaker. How could she possible fight him and herself at the same time. This was Troy, her Troy. Her body knew it, even as her mind continued to tell her to run.

The instincts, the coursing need flowing through her, at last won out and finally, she let herself respond. Her lips parting, granting access to him, her hands gripped his shirt, pulling him towards her. She leaned forward, pushing him back onto the bed.

"God, I've missed you so much." He murmured against her lips, her fingers sliding through his hair, his hands gripping her waist so hard she could feel his fingers digging into the flesh there.

She heard a groan and wondered for a moment where it had come from before she realized it was her. Sitting up, her knees tucked into the sides of his body, her hands reached for the bottom of his shirt, tugging at it. He happily helped her pulled it off, his eyes locked into hers the whole time. The air seemed to be sucked out of the room like they were enclosed in a vacuum despite the opened window. She felt her chest heaving as a result, or maybe it was the feel of his fingertips skirting along the edges of her shirt. Whatever the reason, she felt like she couldn't breath couldn't get enough oxygen into her lungs. She licked her suddenly, very dry lips as she ran her hands over the smooth, hairless, hard planes of his chest and the desire pooled between her legs, an unendless pounding, throb that began there and radiated through her entire body. His mouth was attached to her neck; causing electric sparks everywhere he touched. Her body was on fire, every part of her. Troy reached over to pull her shirt up; she helped him and flung it into a corner. She ran her fingers down his chest, lightly touching him, teasing him, causing his body buck under her. She could feel his desire pressing into her naked thigh and she let her leg grind into him, making a low nearly painful sounding groan escape his lips.

"You're so beautiful." He said, trailing his fingers up her arms, over her shoulders, gently touching the lace of her bra before sliding them down to rest at her hips.

Naked, raw desire shone in his eyes, mirroring, she was certain, the look in her own.

As he reached for her face, wanting to bring their lip together and devour her sweet taste, a voice was heard from the hallway.

"Gabi?" Ryan's voice sounded, searching for her in Chad's house. "Gabi, you up here?"

Troy cursed under his breath as he felt Gabi stiffen under his hands.

"Shit." She whispered, her head cocked to the side, listening to Ryan's footsteps approach the door, as reality hit her like a lead weight, causing her stomach to plummet. "Shit, shit, shit."

"It's okay." Troy said. "The door's locked."

"It's okay?" Gabi said. "It's okay? I'm about to do to him what you did to me. What am I doing here?"

Troy's hands tightened around her as Gabi tried to climb off him.

"What are you doing?" he asked, holding her down on him, unwilling to let her go.

"I do not belong here." She said, struggling to move. "I belong outside, downstairs, with Ryan, as far away from you as possible." She finally managed to break free of his grasp, sliding off the bed and searching for her shirt on the floor.

"What?!" Troy demanded, propping himself on his elbows. "What are you talking about? You belong here, with me." He reached out and grabbed her tiny wrist, pulling her back towards the bed. "What about us? What about what just happened?"

"Great, so it's clear I'm still sexually attracted to you." Gabi said, trying to shake him off. "Your gorgeous. I can't deny that. But that doesn't change what you did to me."

"I'm sorry! You know that!" Troy protested, refusing to let her go.

"That isn't good enough." Gabi said, her wrist lying limply in his hand. She steeled herself before uttering the only words she felt he would hear at the moment, the only thing that could get him to let her go. She had to force herself to say it. "I don't love you." It sounded foreign even to her. She was sure he would know she was lying, would be able to see through the lie so easily it would be laughable.

Instead, the shock made Troy release her wrist, his eyes widening in the pain and his face losing all its color.

Gabi turned and hurried towards the door, unlocking it silently. She couldn't look at him now, couldn't watch the horror play out over her face. She had done what she had to do. Now her only option was to escape and put as much distance between them as she possibly could.

"Don't talk to me again Troy. This can't happen again. I'm trying to get over you. This isn't what I wanted, it's because of what you did." Gabi took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice under control. "And if you really love me, you won't tell anyone this happened." With those words she slipped through the door.

Troy fell back on the pillow, his eyes moist with the tears that were slipping down his checks. "No, no, no." He whispered to an empty room, his arms wrapping themselves around himself. "I love you Gabi. Please." His vision blurred, unable to even see through his tears. "Please come back."

Gabi hurried down the stairs, wiping away the tears that had managed to escape from her eyes. Spotting Ryan standing at the bar, she ran over, slipping into his arms. He looked down at her, a smile spreading across his face.

"I was look-" he started to say but couldn't finish his thought. Gabi pressed her lips against his, her hand traveling into his hair. Ryan was shocked at her display of affection towards him but happily smiled into the kiss, bringing her body towards his.

Gabi was trying to convince herself that this was what she wanted, pushing passion into her kiss, desperation clear to those who were watching.

Taylor and Chad shared a look behind Gabi's back. Taylor shook her head while Chad looked towards the staircase to see a white knuckled Troy clutching the banister, staring at Gabi and Ryan. Troy's eyes squeezed shut for a second, looking as if he was going to throw up.

As Gabi pulled away from Ryan, she saw him over Ryan shoulder. Gabi looked away, unable to see him in pain. She knew she had followed her head, making the smart choice, the safe choice. But how was not following her heart the right thing to do?

Troy sat on the couch, his eyes glazed over, holding his sixth beer, surrounded by people who were all trying to bask in his presence, all wanting to just be near Troy Bolton. Chad fought his way through the groupies, coming to stand before his best friend.

"I'm sorry man." Chad said, unsure of how to handle this.

"It's not your fault." Troy said, taking a long sip from the bottle.

"I thought it was going to work."

"It almost did. But I'm just going to keep trying, to work harder."

"I'll always be there for you." Chad said, clapping Troy on the shoulder.

"And I'll always be there for you." Troy looked across the room where Ryan and Gabi were sitting on a love seat, making out in a corner. "But I'm not going to give up." He closed his eyes tightly, trying to block the scene in front of him, but it didn't help. The image of her wrapped around Ryan, his lips on hers, her hands in his hair, it was a scene that would play itself over and over in his mind.

"Troysie!" Sharpay said, sitting down on his lap and pulling him away from his dark thoughts. "I want to have sex with you so badly right now." She proclaimed, slurring her words. Chad looked away, embarrassed, yet trying to contain his laughter.

"C'mon Sharpay. You're too drunk. I'm going to take you home." Troy said, pulling her into his arms, letting his guilt over his treatment of her guide him. "Let's go."

Gabi's eyes followed Troy as he carefully maneuvered Sharpay through the throng of partiers and towards the front door. Her heart sank in her chest and a stab of jealousy ran through her. She had no right. She knew that. Here she was sitting in Ryan's lap, but still the feelings were there whether she wanted to deal with them or not. He hadn't meant it. How could he have? How could he have told her he loved her and then, a few hours later, take home the one girl he knew would her hurt to see him with? It was a game. He was playing with her. She knew it, but was she any better? Wasn't the pawn in her own game even now burying his hand in her hair and inhaling the smell as so deeply she could hear him breathing?

"Wait, Troy!" a voice behind him called as they neared the front door. Troy turned to find Zeke walking towards him "I'm a DD, I'll take her."

"Thanks Zeke." Troy said, gently depositing Sharpay in Zeke's arms. "I'm going to go sleep this off upstairs."

"All right man, take it easy." Zeke turned towards the front door, carefully stepping over students. "She'll come around. You'll see!" he called over his shoulder as Troy slowly started to make his way towards the upstairs bedroom that was where he slept when he was to drunk to go home, a room he had often shared with Gabi. He hoped it didn't hurt too much to sleep alone.

Now, maybe some of you noticed that the title changed. I think this one will fit much better. But I am now looking for a new summary for this story, based on these three chapters. Just leave me your idea, as the reviews so I can see them and the best one will become the summary. I will even give u a writing credit!!

Please review people. Even if all you say is "Good" or "Pie". What ever you feel that this story makes you feel.