"So are we going out tonight?" Gabriella asked Troy. "Lola was like we should do a Montez/Bolton sibling bowling competition."
Troy laughed, "That's not fair. You have two siblings. I have one."
Gabriella nodded, "Yeah well Angelo just wants to go for food so it will be like a boys vs. girls thing."
"I'll talk to Marcus." Troy said.
"Yay." Gabriella smiled. "I'll see you later on tonight."
~Later That Night~
"What's up Montez clan?" Marcus greeted as he walked into the bowling alley. "You guys ready to get whooped?"
Lola scoffed, "Oh please."
"Do you see these muscles?" Troy asked as he flexed his arms. "Beating you two will be a breeze."
"I really hope all that time playing Wii Bowling will pay off." Gabriella said, picking up a purple ball.
"Don't hit anyone." Troy joked as Gabriella rolled the ball. It went directly down the middle and Gabriella got a strike.
"Dont underestimate this city girl, Bolton. We don't spend all our time at parties." Gabriella teased.
"Well being from Texas and all, Marcus and I are gentlemen." Troy started, "We might let you win."
"I didn't know you were from Texas." Gabriella told him.
Troy shrugged, "You never asked. And I lived out there until I was 4. I go back every summer."
Angelo groaned, "While you guys are doing this, I'll get something to eat. I'm starving." He gets up from his seat and walks to the snackbar.
"Why isn't he bowling?" Marcus asked.
"He hurt his arm yesterday at baseball practice." Lola replied. She rolled down the ball and only knocked 4 pins down. "Dammit."
"Are you guys coming to my parent's superbowl party?" Troy questioned.
"Yeah." Gabriella replied. "I won't be paying attention because the Saints didn't make it. If Reggie Bush's ass is not on my television, I'm not watching."
Troy laughed, "Yeah. The but we are going for the Steelers."
Lola smiled, "Good we are too."
"Even though everyone in my family is a die hard, Cowboys fan." Troy added.
Troy heard someone laugh and his heart hurt. It was Her laugh. Michelle's laugh.
He turned around and saw Michelle sitting with her siblings. They just came out of the arcade. His chest started aching.
"Are you alright?" Marcus asked, hitting his brother on the chest.
"Yeah. I'm fine." Troy lied. "Let's continue to bowl." He tried his best not to turn back around. He didn't want to seem desperate.
~That Night~
"Hey Bolton." Gabriella greeted, walking into Troy's bedroom and being met by All The Right Moves by One Republic.
Troy lifted the pillow up that was on his face, "Hey Montez."
Gabriella sat on Troy's legs, "Are you alright?"
"Yes." Troy said.
Gabriella rolled her eyes, "I'm from the Upper East Side, I can tell when people are lying. I saw Michelle tonight and I know you saw her too."
"Yeah." Troy replied. "So what?"
Gabriella sighed. Troy was just as stubborn as she was. "You can tell me if you miss her."
Troy shrugged, "Alright. I miss her. I still love her. You win."
Gabriella grabbed his hand. She and Troy weren't so afraid to touch each other in fear of ending up sleeping with each other anymore. "I don't blame you. My old boyfriend before I moved out here, Jacob, dumped me for my so-called best friend. We were together for almost a year and I told him I loved him...which was stupid. The trick to moving on is to find someone new. That someone happened to be Lucas. Turns out, he's an asshole."
Troy had a blank look on his face, "What is the point of this story Brie?"
Gabriella huffed, "I was getting to that. Anyway, I don't miss Jacob. The betrayal is still there and I might still love him but its not taking my happiness away. I'm finally over it. You and Michelle were together for almost two years. You love her and I still think she loves you."
Troy scoffed, "Whatever. If she loved me, she wouldn't have cheated on me."
"Let me finish. At that time, she hated me more than she loved you. She didn't want to hurt you. She wanted to hurt me. She didn't want to get pregnant. But you dont get the things you want in life. If that wasthe case, I would be married to Reggie Bush and we would live in Hawaii and Kim Kardashian would be dead."
Troy knew everything Gabriella was saying was true. "What should I do?"
"Try to move on with your life." Gabriella urged. "You don't have to move on to another girl, but find someone or something to take your mind off of her. The pain will go away eventually."
Troy nodded, "You're pretty wise, Montez."
Gabriella smiled, "Yeah I know. Now take a shower, get some sleep, and shake this depression off." She kissed him on the cheek. "You and I are going to have fun tomorrow."
Troy smiled, "Oh really?" He seriously loved his best friend...just not in love with her.
"Yes really. I'll see you tomorrow." Gabriella made her way out of his bedroom.
~The Next Morning~
"So what are you and Troy doing today?" Lola asked her sister, who was getting ready.
Gabriella shrugged, "Probably to the mall. Hang out. But I kind of also want to kick his ass in Dance Central. And we might just bug people."
Lola laughed, "You guys are a mess."
Gabriella scoffed, "Says the girl who has Marcus wrapped around her tiny finger. And you two aren't even dating. Now thats a mess."
"Touche."
Gabriella looked at her watch, "I have to go. Tell mom and dad I'm hanging out with Troy for the day." She started walking down the stairs.
"Have fun." Lola called out.
Gabriella skipped down the steps to her porch and into Troy's car, "Hey. How you feeling?"
Troy sighed, "Better than last night. What about you?"
"I am ready for a super fun day with my best friend." Gabriella answered.
"You sound like a Hallmark card, Montez." Troy teased. He sped out of her driveway.
Gabriella hit him playfully, "Oh please. You know you love my mushiness. I could put Hallmark out of business if I wanted to."
"So where are we going today?" Troy asked.
"Well I want to go to the mall." Gabriella told him. "I'm in the mood for frozen yogurt."
Troy nodded, "Ok."
~At The Mall~
"I love this new self serve yogurt slash ice cream place." Gabriella exclaimed as she reached the topping bar. "I could work at a place like this."
"You're so lazy." Troy announced.
"You're ugly." Gabriella joked.
"Whatever." Troy said. He wiped his yogurt stained hand on Gabriell's face.
Gabriell gasped, "I cant believe you did that. You are an asshole."
Troy shrugged, "Thats what you get for calling me ugly."
Gabriella smashed her cone into Troy's face. "Payback is a really big bitch Bolton."
"You want to go, Montez." Troy challenged.
"Bring it on."
Soon the two teens had the entire yogurt shop turned upside down. Chocolate chips, pieces of fruit, and oreo crumbs were flying around. Coming to the shop was a mistake.
"Gabriella you are going down." Troy declared. He went behind the counter and grabbed the ice cream scoop and started hurling ice cream at Gabriella.
"Troy I am going to kill you." Gabriella tried to run behind the counter but slipped in a puddle of melted ice cream. "Oh no. My ass."
Troy laughed, "Ha. I'll help you up." He reaches for her hand but Gabriella pulls him down too.
"Now we're equal." Gabriella said, laughing. Soon Troy also couldn't helo but laugh. Everyone in the small shop was looking at them like the were crazy.
"What the hell is going on here?" They heard a man ask. They looked up and saw the manager staring at them with anger in his eyes.
Gabriella shrugged, "He started throwing ice cream at me. I was minding my own business when he attacked me."
"Get out of here and never come back. You two are banned!" The manager told them.
Troy and Gabriella slowly got up and walked out. As soon as they were out of the shop, they burst into laughter.
"That was so much fun." Troy told her honestly. He hadn't had that much fun in a while.
Gabriella nodded, "How are we going to get home?"
Troy shrugged, "I'll call a cab. Those things are pretty dirty."
"So much for a fun day at the mall." Gabriella said, sarcastically. "I'm sorry."
Troy smiled, "That was great, Brie. Give me a hug." He tried to give her a hug but Gabriella backed up.
"Gross. You're all sticky."
"So are you. Come share the love, Gabriella." He wrapped his arms around her. Suddenly all thoughts of Michelle left his mind. All he could think about was how much fun Gabriella was.
"You're such a dork." Gabriella couldnt help but think about how right and calm things felt between them. It was almost scary. "But I'm glad you had fun."