A.N: I'm glad you guys like the story. AND IT'S JUST BEGINNING! Also there's a little from RYAN'S POV later on. More hectic stuff to come. By the way I'm sorry for any spelling errors. I'm not used to writing stories on the computer.

To Gabriella:

Hey baby, Just txting 2 see how u are.

Love u,

Troy.

I was suddenly overcome with guilt. I had cheated on Troy.

I can't believe I had done this. I looked over at the sleeping body in my bed and felt a few tears escape my eyes. I quietly slipped on some pj pants and a shirt and went downstairs. I went to the kitchen and checked the messages on the answering machine. There was one from my mom.

"Hey Gabriella. Not sure where you are but you're probably out with Troy. I won't be coming home until later because I was asked to stay longer. If you're hungry there is food in the fridge. Love you, honey."

I sighed at the mention of Troy's name. I looked at the clock and saw that it was almost 8:30. I walked over to the fridge and took out a pizza and popped it in the oven. I hadn't realized how hungry I actually was. I heard some movement from the top of the stairs and looked up to see Ryan coming down the stairs and fortunately he was dressed. He stopped at the doorway.

"Hey." He smiled. I couldn't help but smile. I looked away embarrassed.

"Hi." I said shyly. I turned away from him to get a drink from the fridge. "I'm making a pizza… Do you want some?" I asked.

"Thanks for the offer but I should probably get home. My family might be worried." He said and I nodded. We stood in our places for a few awkward moments. "So yeah… I'll get going now." I nodded again. He turned around and started to walk away.

"Wait, Ryan!" I ran after him and caught him before he got outside. It was still raining out.

"Yeah?"

"Um. I'd really appreciate if you didn't tell anyone what happened" I said looking at my feet. I was scared to see his reaction. I felt him lift my chin up.

"Don't worry. I won't tell a soul." He said smiling and kissed me tenderly on the lips. He then left and walked out of the house.

"Do you want a ride?" I called out to him. He turned around and smiled, raising his arms above his head and spinning around.

"Nah. I think I'd like to walk." He laughed and headed off. I sighed happily and leaned against the doorframe and watched him walk away.

After he was out of sight I walked back inside and collapsed on a living room chair.


The next morning I walked into class and took my seat. I hadn't seen Troy or Ryan yet this morning and I was nervous to see both of them. 10 minutes of class had gone by and both Troy and Ryan had not came. That's strange. Maybe Ryan got sick from walking home in the rain. That was probably the reason he didn't come. Or maybe he was just scared to see Chad. At the thought of Chad I looked to my side and saw him talking and laughing with his friends. He turned around and smiled at me.

"Hey Gabi!" He said. I glared at him and turned my head back towards the teacher. For the rest of the class I could feel Chad shooting me nervous glances. Soon the bell for the period change went. I got up quickly and left the room. I could hear Chad calling my name. I turned around and saw Chad scrambling through the crowd of people to get to me.

"Gabi wait up!" he called. I leaned against the locker and tapped my foot impatiently. "Hey what's going on?" He asked when he finally reached me. "What was that look about in class?"

"You are UNBELIEVABLE, Chad" I said harshly. He gave me a questioning stare.

"…Huh?"

"Oh don't even start. I can't believe you did that to Ryan. You make me sick." I spat out. His look went from confused to completely lost.

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Hmmm… Yesterday… After school… Near the dumpster. You and your friends beating on Ryan!" I said coldly. Chad pushed me over to a secluded area underneath the stairwell.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said crossing his arms. I scoffed.

"Yes you do! Don't even try that. Ryan told me what happened. You and your gang jumped him after school and beat him up." Chad's confused glance didn't fade. "I know you did it…" I said but I could feel the uncertainty in my voice.

"Gabriella, I don't know what Ryan told you but we never beat the guy up. We had basketball practice right after school. Anyway even if I don't like the guy, which is true, I wouldn't beat on him." I could hear the honesty in his voice. I knew Chad well enough to know that he was a horrible liar and he was definitely not lying.

"Well then… Who would beat up Ryan?" I asked. But suddenly a thought popped in my mind. "Chad, was Troy at basketball practice yesterday?" I asked quickly. Realization dawned on his face.

"No… He said he had an appointment or something." He said. We looked at each other and I became worried. Both Troy and Ryan had been away today. Maybe that's the reason Ryan had lied to me about who beat him up. He wanted to protect me from finding out it was Troy because he knew I'd be upset. "So… you think that Troy pounded on Ryan?" Chad asked uncertainly.

"I don't know… But it seems the most likely and it does make sense. Troy said he had been jealous of Ryan because I was paying more attention to him." I said. Suddenly an idea popped into my head. "Chad I gotta go. See ya!" I said running off. I ran all the way to the gym and went to the gym office. I saw Troy's father, Jack Bolton, sitting at his desk. He heard me enter and he looked up.

"Oh, hello, Gabriella." He said politely, "Is there something I could do for you?" Coach Bolton said.

"Hello, Coach Bolton. I'm just here to ask where Troy is today and how come he wasn't at basketball practice yesterday." I asked cautiously. Coach Bolton sighed and took a long sip of his coffee.

"Well, yesterday Troy said he wasn't feeling well enough to go to basketball practice so I told him to go home. I was unaware that he didn't come to school today. He must still be sick." He said. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh I was just wondering where he was… He wouldn't pick up his phone when I called." I lied. Coach Bolton nodded. "Thank you Coach Bolton" I said and walked out. I took out my cell phone and called Troy. He didn't pick up. I tried to call Ryan but he didn't pick up either. I decided it was time to take a little trip.

I ran to the parking lot, not caring if I missed any school, and hopped in my car. I set off towards Ryan's house. When I got there I got out and ran to the front door. I rang the doorbell and prayed someone would answer the door. No one came so I rang the doorbell again. This time the door opened and Ryan was standing there in sweatpants and a black shirt and he had on the same sexy smirk as when I first witnessed his personality change. The bruises from yesterday hadn't cleared up and he had a very distinct black eye.

"Gabriella. What a pleasure" He said. I tried to regain my composure but seeing him like that made me a little week in the knees.

"Can I come in?" I asked. He sighed and made room for me to come in. I walked in and stood in the foyer.

"Is there something you want?" He asked. He didn't seem to care much that I was there. Which was surprising after what happened yesterday.

"Um… yeah. I want to know what really happened yesterday." I said. He laughed and stepped closer to me, grabbing my waist.

"Well first you brought me home and then managed to get my shirt off and then it kinda progressed from there." He said slyly. I tried to hide my blushing face.

"I meant… Before I picked you up. What happened with the fight?" He laughed and walked around me.

"I told you. Chad and his pals jumped me beside the school and pounded on me." He said leaning against the doorframe. I sighed.

"It wasn't Chad, Ryan." I said and his smile fell off his face. He stuck his hands in his pockets and clenched his jaw.

"You confronted him about it?" He asked angrily.

"Of course I did!" I shouted, "What was I supposed to do?"

"You were supposed to forget about it!" he yelled. I let out a small gasp. He quickly calmed down. "Whatever…"

"No not whatever… Tell me the truth. What happened?" I asked. He sighed and looked away. "It was Troy wasn't it?" I asked. He looked back at me and hesitated. He then smiled.

"Well, you figured it out. Props." He said laughing. I backed off. This wasn't funny at all. Why was he laughing?

"This isn't funny, Ryan" He stopped laughing and got serious.

"You're right. This isn't a laughing matter." He said gravely. I rolled my eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me it was Troy?" I said sadly. Ryan's face loosened up and he walked towards me. He lightly held my hands in his.

"I told you it was Chad because… I didn't want you to get hurt. I know how much you care about Troy and I knew you wouldn't want to know that Troy would do something like that." He told me softly. I let a few tears that had been waiting to spill, escape. He hugged me tightly. "I'm sorry Gabriella." I looked into his face and saw him smiling.

"Thank you for telling me the truth, Ryan." I said and let go of him. I begin to walk towards to the door.

"No problem, babe." He said. I turned around and saw him grinning at me. I decided to let that comment slide, no matter how un-Ryan like it was.

"Well I should go. Good bye Ryan" I said and walked outside. I turned back to the house to see Ryan still watching me from the doorway. He smirked and waved.

RYAN'S POV

I smirked and waved as I watched her walk away from my house. I closed the door and walked slowly to my bedroom. I lay on my bed and smiled to myself, thinking about how much I had Gabriella wrapped around my finger. Troy was definitely going to have an unpleasant encounter with Gabriella later on.

Suddenly something happened and I changed. I got up quickly and began breathing heavily.

"What did I do?" I said to myself.