"Sean keeps asking me out." Gabriella told Troy. They were at Target at six in the morning being bored. School started in an hour.

"Are you going to say yes?" Troy asked. He had yet to tell Gabriella about Sean having a girlfriend. And it had been a week. It was slowly killing him on the inside.

Gabriella scrunched up her nose, "Ew no. He just doesn't get it. He's like one of those people I'm going to have Angelo and my cousins beat up for he gets it."

"I don't think you guys should go out anymore." Troy said.

"Why not?" Gabriella questioned. This was very suspicious of Troy. A week ago he was making her date him, but she let it go.

Troy shrugged, "I don't know. I just changed my mind." He lied.

"Ok." Gabriella replied, still suspicious.

"Good."

~At School~

"Gabriella we have to go out." Sean said.

Gabriella smirked, "Oh really? And why is that?"

"Because I like you." Sean said. "And we already had sex, so let's just make things official."

Gabriella shook her head, "No thank you. I'm good."

Sean gave her his best pout, "Gabriella, please?"

On the other side of the room, Jason and Troy were fuming, "Look at him. All smug and shit. What an asshole."

Jason nodded, "I totally agree. I should tell that Lauren chick." He joked. "I have her number in my phone."

Troy's blue eyes brightened, "Do it."

Jason shook his head, "No thank you. I was joking. Couldn't you tell?"

"Gabriella is my best friend. I don't want her to get hurt." Troy begged.

Jason sighed, "Fine." He took a picture of Sean and Gabriella who looked like they were about to kiss and sent it to Lauren. "Are you happy?"

Troy smiled, "Estatic."

~At Lunch~

"The food here is usually edible, but Fridays are not to good." Kelsi said, pushing her plate back.

Gabriella nodded in agreement, "Yeah. I want a steak. A really big one. Well done with a potato with grilled onions, sour cream, cheese, and bacon bits."

Chad smiled, "Personality of a female, appetite of a male. Gabs, I love you."

"Everyone does." Gabriella joked.

Jason nudged Troy. In came Lauren, who was walking towards Sean. People couldn't make out what they were saying but it wasn't good. All of a sudden, she motioned for Gabriella to come over.

"Who is she?" Gabriella asked. "And why does she want to talk to me?"

Zeke shrugged, "Go find out."

Gabriella walked over to a furious looking Lauren and a guilty looking Sean. "Can I help you with something?"

"Are you Gabriella Montez?" Lauren asked.

"Yeah." Gabriella answered. "Why?"

Lauren slapped her, "You're the homewrecker who slept with my boyfriend."

Gabriella was still in shock due to Lauren slapping her. When Gabriella finally snapped back into reality, grabbed Lauren's head and pushed her to the ground. Lauren fell on her face, hard. "What are you talking about?"

"Gabriella calm down." Sean ordered.

"You've been asking me out for two weeks." Gabriella said. "I may be a fan of casual sex, but I have standards...and morals...and common sense."

"Look I'm really sorry." Sean apologized. Gabriella put her hand in his face to shut him up.

"Why should I care?" Gabriella questioned. "I was just using you for sex." She turned to Lauren. "You might want to get some ice for your nose."

Lauren stood up, "You stupid, homewrecking, whore. I don't know how you do things in New York, but we don't sleep with other people's boyfriends out here."

Gabriella laughed, "Oh please. I knew nothing about you up until four minutes ago when you slapped me. I have enough class as a women not to go after someone's boyfriend."

Lauren scoffed, "Whatever. You Upper East Side snobs may act like golden children, but everyone knows just how ruthless you are."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "One, you obviously watch way too much Gossip Girl and two, you're wasting my time with this complete bullshit," She started, "Your boyfriend was the one playing you. So you should talk to him." She turned to Sean, "And you can go to hell." She walks out of the cafeteria, but not before kicking Sean in the groin.

~Later That Night~

Gabriella was sitting in her bedroom, eating a bowl of cheddar cheese popcorn, trying not to cry. She honestly felt guilty about what happened. There was only one thing that could make her feel better. Troy Bolton. She dialed his number.

"Talk to me." She heard Troy say, answering the phone.

"It's me." Gabriella said.

"Brie. Are you crying?" Troy asked.

"No." Gabriella lied. She sighed, "Can I come over please?"

Troy nodded, "Of course you can. I'll see you in a few minutes."

Seven minutes later Gabriella was walking into Troy's bedroom. He could honestly say he had never seen her so normal looking. She was usually in DKNY, Prada, and Jimmy Choos. Right now, she was wearing a pair of purple pajama pants, a white t-shirt, and Troy's hoodie that she failed to give back.

"What's the matter?" Troy asked, with concern in his voice. "No offense but you look kind of sloppy."

Gabriella sat down, "That Lauren girl was right about me. I am a stupid homewrecker."

Troy scoffed, "You're too nice for that. And that Lauren chick was just upset. You are a pretty great person."

Gabriella smiled, "Why are you such an amazing best friend?" She asked.

Troy shrugged, "It's in my DNA. I cant help it."

"But you knew, didn't you?"

"What?"

"You knew." Gabriell repeated. "About Sean having a girlfriend."

Troy sighed, "Yeah. I knew. Jason told me."

"Is that why you didn't want us to go out?"

Troy nodded. "I'm really sorry that I didn't tell you when I found out. I thought that since you two weren't really dating, that it would be irrelevant."

"That's true."

Gabriella and Troy sat in silence for a few minutes. It was comfortable and natural, just like everything else between the two. "Dylan and I aren't going to work. We went out yesterday and we won't be going back out." Troy spoke.

"Why not?"

Troy shrugged, "We just don't work. We had to force it."

Gabriella frowned, "Aw. I'm sorry."

"But she won't leave me alone." Troy said, "She's becoming a stalker."

Gabriella laughed, "Like Fatal Attraction stalking?"

Troy shook his head, "Oh God no. She just keeps calling and texting and being annoying. She isn't trying to stab me or boil my pets."

"What are you going to do about her?"

"I don't know. I just might come up with a really good lie."

"Didn't your parents ever tell you that lying is bad?" Gabriella teased.

Troy nodded, "Yeah. I'm not a huge liar, though. I have manners. But enough about me. I'm here for you."

Gabriella smiled, "Thank you. You're too sweet."

"Yeah I know." Troy agreed.

"Dont get conceited, now. You are supposed to say thank you." Gabriella explained.

"Thank you." Troy corrected.

"Your welcome."

Troy grabbed Gabriella's hand. "Maybe we should stick to our promise to stay single. Even though technically, we were both still single."

"Yeah." Gabriella agreed. "Relationships are trouble. No more dating...just for a while."

~To Be Continued~