"Dude," Troy said the next day to Chad while he, Chad, and Taylor lounged in the living room while Gabriella was at school.
"What?" Chad asked not taking his eyes off of the television. Taylor turned to look at Troy.
"Never mind, Chad. Taylor," He said. "Did you know Gabriella has a date today?"
"She does?!" Chad and Taylor asked at the same time. Troy nodded.
"She didn't tell me!" Taylor said heatedly. "Maybe you heard wrong, Troy." She suggested turning off the television.
"Hey!" Chad said.
"Shut up!" Taylor said slapping him over the head.
"Is that how you treat your boyfriend?" Chad asked rubbing the spot she hit.
"No, that's how I treat my soon-to-be ex-boyfriend." Taylor said sweetly. Chad quieted instantly. "Anyway what exactly did she say?"
"She said 'oh, I forgot I have a date'." Troy said bitterly.
"So, you still like her?" Taylor asked.
"No," Troy said. "If she's over me then I'm over her."
"If you say so." Chad said. Troy suddenly got up and announced that he had to get something.
"Okay," Taylor said turning the television back on. When he left the room Taylor said, "Why is Troy always wearing long sleeved clothes lately?"
"Do you not feel the weather outside?" Chad asked. Taylor stuck her tongue at him and said, "No, even since we've been in Albuquerque and you know it's warm there."
"I don't know but I do know what you're talking about." Chad said. He stood up and began walking towards the hallway with the bedrooms. When he was about to pass the wall that was made of glass, Taylor jumped up and followed him feeling weird about being left alone.
"Where are you going?" Taylor asked.
"To check on Troy." Chad said. They walked slowly to Troy room and Chad slowly tried the knob. It was locked so they bent their head to the door and listened. There was a sharp intake of breath and then a slight sob.
"What is he doing?" Taylor whispered. Chad put his lip to his mouth and Taylor quieted. They heard him moving around and they ran back to the living room just as Mrs. Montez walked into the living room from the elevator with bags from different stores.
"Hey, Mrs. Montez," They said in unison with a smile as they stood next to each other. Thank God she doesn't know we're together, Taylor thought.
"Hey, guys," Mrs. Montez said. "I'm sorry I forgot to tell you guys New York was freezing so I bought you each some coats."
"Thanks!" They said walking over to her.
"You guys want some lunch?" Mrs. Montez asked as she handed each of them one bag out of the three bags.
"Sure," Taylor said. "I'll help you."
"Okay," As they walked to the kitchen, Mrs. Montez said, "Where is Troy?"
"In the room." Chad said from the living room. "This coat is hot!"
Mrs. Montez laughed and then continued to the kitchen.
"Look at this coat your mom bought me, Gabs!" Taylor exclaimed the moment Gabriella stepped out of the elevator. Gabriella looked at the coat and smiled as two girls stepped out of the elevator.
"I love it." Gabriella said taking the coat from her and looking at it. One of the two girls behind her coughed slightly and Gabriella said, "Oh, Tay, this is Madison and Jennifer. You can call her Jenny. And this is my best friend from Albuquerque, Taylor."
"Hi," They all said at the same time. Gabriella noticed Jennifer and Madison give Taylor the once over. Madison wasn't the mean one but Jennifer could be mean at times. Gabriella preferred Madison.
"Uh, you guys want to help me get ready for my date?" Gabriella asked trying to break the tension between them.
"Yes!" Jennifer said excitedly. "Now, I was thinking that since you're going out for an evening date, you should wear a skirt."
"Where are you guys going?" Taylor asked as they walked to Gabriella's bedroom.
"To the movies." Gabriella said with a sigh. Troy just then came out of his room and looked up and saw the girls.
"Hi," Troy said.
"Hi," Jennifer said holding her hand out for Troy to shake it. "I'm Jennifer and that's Madison. And you are…"
"Troy," He said before going towards the living room. Jennifer shrieked as quietly as she could and said, "He is hot!"
"And you can't have him." Gabriella said with a smile.
"Why not?" Jennifer asked turning around to watch Troy walked. "He's only going to be here for a week and I want my chance."
Gabriella and Taylor exchanged looks of shock. Gabriella coughed and said, "I think I'm going to wear jeans and a nice shirt. What do you think, Taylor?"
"Yeah, why should you dress up just to go to the movies?" Taylor said as they stepped into Gabriella's bedroom.
"What's Troy like?" Madison asked curiously.
"Just go talk to him if you want to know." Gabriella said shaking her head before stepping into her closet. Jennifer immediately left the room and Taylor rolled her eyes wondering how Gabriella felt about this.
"So, what's it like in Albuquerque?" Madison asked curiously.
"Well…" Then Taylor went into a whole list of details about Albuquerque. Madison was very interested and eventually, Gabriella emerged from her closet in a jeans and a t-shirt that said 'Don't you wish you were hot like me'.
"That's so cute." Madison said smoothing down her brown hair, which was in a ponytail that hung to her back. Taylor nodded in agreement and Gabriella smiled. She heard a loud, flirtatious giggle and Gabriella rolled her eyes knowing that it was Jennifer.
"Seems like their having fun." Gabriella said bitterly. Wait, why do I care? I don't like Troy anymore, she thought.
"Wait, is Troy the boy you liked and had to move away from?" Madison asked standing up quickly. Gabriella nodded with a sigh.
"Don't tell Jennifer that it's him." Gabriella warned.
"Why won't you tell her?" Taylor asked. Madison and Gabriella shook their heads and rolled their eyes.
"Anytime Jennifer knows someone likes or liked someone, even if it's her friends, she'll go after them just so she can rub it in your face." Madison explained. "She did that to me last year with my first boyfriend, well ex, Todd. After he dumped me she went after him and would flaunt him around in front of me and then say he did so and so."
"And you guys hang out with her why…" Taylor said smiling. The girls shrugged not really sure themselves.
"She can be okay…" Gabriella said.
"When she wants." Madison added.
A moment later, Jennifer came back and sat down on the bed with a dreamy expression. "Troy is so cute. He plays basketball!"
"Yeah, he's the captain." Gabriella and Taylor said in offhand voices.
"He is?!" Jennifer cried. She bit down her bottom lip and sighed. "Is he going to be here tomorrow?"
"We're all going out." Gabriella explained. "Shopping and eating and stuff…"
"Cool. Can I come?" Jennifer asked.
"Uh, well," Gabriella began trying to come up with an excuse. "I just wanted to spend some time with them alone before they left."
"Hey, Gabriella!" Chad said poking his head in the door. "
"Hey, Chad," Gabriella said waving and smiling. Chad nodded and then went somewhere. A moment later, Chestnut flew into the room barking madly and began jumping up on the bed and smelling everyone.
"Calm down, Chestnut!" Gabriella said picking him up. He began licking her face and his tail wagged excitedly. "Okay," Gabriella said placing him gently on the floor. "You guys want any snacks from the kitchen?"
"Yeah," Taylor said.
"Come on," Gabriella said walking towards the door. As she walked, Chestnut followed her eagerly with his tongue hanging and tail wagging. When they reached the living room, Troy was sitting on the couch examining his right hand with a sad expression.
"What are you doing, Troy?" Gabriella asked flicking him on the back of the head playfully as she passed the couch.
"Nothing," Troy said with a sigh. "What are you guys doing?"
"Nothing," Jennifer said sitting next to him. Troy didn't look at her and Gabriella smirked as they continued their walk to the kitchen.