Gabriella closed her eyes and rested her head on her pillow. She really needed to tell him if they were going to be friends again, or even more, hopefully. She just couldn't bring herself to do it. It scared her to death knowing that she'd almost told him last night.

When she finally got to sleep and stopped worrying, her alarm went off. She groaned and sat up. Another day of school. Another day of having to see him ignoring her with all of his friends. But, maybe, just maybe things had changed.

"God, she actually looked pretty at the musical," Sarah Evans muttered to Lacey Barrett when the bell rang for free period.

"I know, impossible."

Sarah bit her lip. "But I know what we can do to change that." They snuck off to find some of their friends, especially Chad. They knew her secret and they wanted to ruin her, to tear her down. But she didn't know that…yet.

LUNCH:

Gabriella walked into the lunch room with Taylor and Sharpay. Everyone was laughing and looking at their own piece of paper. Then, when they got into view, every eye snapped up toward Gabriella. "What did you do?" Taylor murmured.

"I don't know…"Gabriella whispered. Taylor and Sharpay moved toward one of the pieces of paper. They both gasped and Taylor grabbed the piece of paper from Jason and Zeke, who were in hysterics over it. "Is this you?" Sharpay asked, as Taylor showed her the paper. It was a picture of Gabriella, only without hair, and completely naked.

Tears formed in her eyes. She wasn't that fat, was she? She looked down at her flat stomach and imagined tat she was. She closed her eyes and she began to tremble all over. Her tray fell to the floor. Sharpay knelt down and started picking things up and Taylor stood gazing at the picture. People around her still were laughing and pointing.

She felt tears running down her cheeks. She turned and took off toward the door, running right into Troy, who had just entered the lunch room. He wrapped his arms around her. "What's wrong?" He whispered in her ear, seeing the tears. She nodded toward Taylor and he let go of her, walking over to Taylor.

He took the picture out of her grasp and stormed over to Chad, who was laughing his head off. He faked a smile and Chad pointed toward the picture. "You never said that she was bald and she was that fat under all that…" Troy punched him right in the stomach. He stumbled back into Sarah and spit up some blood.

Troy dropped the picture. "Our friendship…"Chad said, "It's over." Troy nodded. "It's done."

"Fine by me," Troy replied in a nasty tone, walking back over to Gabriella, who was now wrapped in Taylor and Sharpay's firm grip. He nodded to them as if to say 'I got it' and they let go. Troy took off his jacket and wrapped it around Gabriella's shoulders and led her out of the lunch room.

"Baby, don't listen to them," Troy whispered, rubbing his hand up her arm as they walked out the school doors.

"Do I really look like that?" Gabriella asked, looking down at her stomach again.

"Of course not," Troy shook his head. "You're beautiful."

Gabriella gave him a half smile. "I don't feel so good." She was glad he hadn't realized the most important thing about the picture. The thing that those girls had put there on purpose, because obviously, they knew.

"I'll take you home, okay?" Troy asked. Gabriella nodded. "Shar will take your car home later." Gabriella nodded again.

He walked her to his car and opened the door for her, then he ran over to get in on his own side. "They're just jealous, because they're nowhere near as pretty as you are." Troy said, reassuringly. Gabriella gave him a watery smile. 'That's my girl." He grinned, rubbing her back with one hand and starting the car with his other.

He pulled in to her driveway. Maria ran out, noticing Troy's car immediately. "What happened, sweetie?" She asked, soothingly. Gabriella didn't answer, she just looked down. "Did you throw up again?"

"Throw up?" Troy asked. "Why would she throw up? 'Brie, are you sick?" He asked, looking at Gabriella as he led her up to her house. She shook her head furiously, giving her mom a weird look. Maria nodded her head, understanding. He didn't know yet.

"Mom, I don't want to talk about it right now," Gabriella whispered, tears once again filling her eyes. "Later?" She asked. Maria nodded.

"Of course honey," She replied, smiling warmly at Troy and her daughter.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Troy asked, Gabriella, taking her up to her room.

Gabriella nodded. "But you have to get back to school…"

"I'll skip school. My dad will cover for me….say he came to school to get me at lunch and forgot to tell Matsui." Troy responded, sitting her down on her bed.

"I'm going to call the school and tell them you're sick, Gabby, so they don't think you're skipping class, okay??" Maria asked. Gabriella nodded.

"Thanks, mom." She said in a quiet voice.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Troy asked her. She shook her head.

"I just wanna rest," she whispered.

"Okay," Troy agreed, "Okay." She lay down on the bed.

"Will you lay with me?" She asked. He smiled.

"Sure, baby," he said calmly, crawling over her and laying behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. Maria poked her head in the room to make sure everything was okay. Everything seemed to be going wrong for her daughter.

She was only in high school, but maybe God had a bigger plan for her after all of this. Maria was sure that Gabriella would make it through all of this. She had raised a strong girl. She as strong just like her father was and that was how Maria had wanted it to be.