Make Lies Not War

You know that awkward silence that sweeps through a room when a little kid posts an uncomfortable question to a parent- and everyone's all tense until someone starts laughing and shoos the kid away? Well, the tensity of Danforths' living room as the five fabian friends waited for someone to break the silence was neither similar nor as easily erased as the previously given example. In fact, the example is completely irrelevant to the situation in every way except that it explains how Chad approached the scenario. He acted as though Troy's involvement and his and Ryan's transgressions were just like the little kid's and tried to be the one to clear away the feelings of unease.

He began with annoying comments like, "So how's everyone been lately?" and then moved onto, "It's so nice that everyone could come over tonight so that we could all just stare at each other," -anything to get a response. In his opinion, even a threat or eye roll would be welcome at this point. It'd been over an hour since the catastrophic unveiling and no one, besides Chad, had said a word. There was nothing but a chilling silence.

Chad couldn't take it anymore. "Alright everyone," he announced, "listen good and listen now. We all like each other, am I right? Course I'm right. The only reason we're here is to answer a few questions and work through some problems in a group environment which will discourage fellow members from harming other members; people are less likely to commit murder with so many witnesses. Anyway, here's what we're going to do... No Taylor, I'm taking care of this," Chad snapped as Taylor opened her mouth to speak. She quickly backed off and he continued, "Troy is going to tell us about his part in all this, questions can be asked and must be answered. Everyone must by honest and keep their cool at all times. After that 'couples' can talk through whatever. Troy at that time you can do whatever you want/ need to do but don't leave. We'll reconvene and them go our separate ways. Agreed?"

Everyone nodded, slightly awed by Chad's monologue.

"Good," Chad said approvingly and nodded to Troy to begin.

Taking a deep breath, Troy turned to look up at the ceiling, as though staring at the swirling white paint and bright lights would miraculously give him an idea of what to say. He turned his focus back to his hands which were resting in his lap and settled into his chair. "I don't what to say," he admitted in a small voice.

"It's ok," Gabriella whispered encouragingly.

Troy's head shot up and it took Gabriella a second to realize that he hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"Just start from the beginning," Taylor suggested. "We already know that you, Chad, and Gabriella were best friends in high school..."

"-We know what now?" Ryan gaped.

"Ryan," Gabriella said, "Troy, Chad, and I were friends in high school. Troy and I dated... briefly." She glanced at Troy to measure his reaction but his face was blank. Turning back to Taylor she said, "Now we're all caught up, please continue."

"Thank you Gabriella," Taylor nodded. "Now, as I was saying, we all know that Chad, Troy, and Gabriella went to school together and that Troy and Gabriella..." Taylor stopped mid sentence as the realization hit her. "Wait a minute," she said turning to Troy and Gabriella. "You two dated? As in, were a couple. Meaning that not only were you, Troy, trying to trick a woman into thinking she'd found her soul mate, but you were also tricking you're high school girlfriend as well? On top of that, the only boyfriend Gabi had back then turned out to be a complete jerk. So if that was you, I have to ask: What the hell's wrong with you?"

"Taylor don't," Gabriella begged, but there was no stopping her.

"Don't you think you did enough damage to her back then? Now you have to ruin her life all over again? You are certainly not the man I thought you were Troy Alexander Bolton."

"Excuse me?" Troy snapped. "I was just doing my job. Ryan came to me. He asked me to help, and that's what I did. You're acting like this is all a part of my diabolical plan to break her heart. It's not like that. I never wanted to hurt her."

"And yet here we are," Taylor remarked. "Just like seven years ago."

"Hey, this is a safe speaking environment. Put away the claws ladies," Chad shouted.

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HAPPENED SEVEN YEARS AGO!" Troy yelled.

"You're right. I don't know because she was too torn about what you did to even think about it, let alone tell her best friend," Taylor sniped smoothly.

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!! She's the one that left," Troy choked out as though the words were strangling him. "And now it's my turn." He turned to walk out the back when Chad cleared his throat. Troy turned to look and his friend and seemed to second guess his decision. "I'll just sit in the kitchen I guess," Troy half asked. Chad nodded and everyone watched as Troy staggered into the adjoining room.

Chad cleared his throat to pull the focus back to him. "And on that note, Tay can we talk?" Taylor nodded distantly, as though her thoughts were elsewhere. Chad motioned for Gabriella and Ryan to give them some privacy. They obliged and awkwardly moved across the room towards the front wall.

The wall was covered, floor to ceiling, in windows varying in shape and size. Gabriella situated herself by one shaped as a arc which had a view of the rose garden out front. They could hear bits of what Chad and Taylor were whispering, but they remained silent. Ryan knew that he should be the one to break the silence. He knew that he needed to apologize. But everytime he tried to say something, he'd catch a glimpse of tears rolling down her cheeks, and the words would get stuck in his throat.

"Ah Little Rose- how easy for such as thee," Gabriella whispered quoting one of her favorite poets.

"Gabriella," Ryan started. "I should tell you that I..."

"... know who that is?" Gabriella asked.

Ryan stopped, startled by the interruption. "Who? What?" he asked mystified. Gabriella just stared out the little arc shaped window. Ryan followed her gaze and they watched as a little brunette got out of her and car and walked up to the Danforths' door.

Before the doorbell rang Troy ran into the room shouting, "I got it, I got it. Ignore me. Keep talking." He quickly pulled the protesting female behind him and into the kitchen.

Ryan laughed as he watched the scene but when turned back to Gabriella, he noticed something was... different. "Gabriella?" he asked worriedly. She didn't respond again, just stared into space, lost in a memory.

"Troy you owe me BIG time!" she muttered as she tottered through the gravel towards the big white house. She almost fell twice before safely reaching the concrete pathway which led to porch. Reaching the stairs she took out a compact and checked her reflection. She looked like she'd just left drama practice, sped home, changed into the first dress she'd found, thrown up her hair, and driven a distance, which usually takes three hours to travel, in just one hour. Which, in all honesty, was exactly what she'd just done. He'd called her while she was in practice and after a few short words, had convinced her drive one hundred miles to his family reunion to "save his sanity and brain cells from committing suicide." All the same, she didn't want to look like it'd been a last minute thing!

She tried to smooth out her dress and hair as she stepped onto the porch, trying to look halfway decent before ringing the bell and meeting his family. This was something she'd been waiting for. It was a sign that he was interested in her. A sign that the "more than friends" stage was possible. He'd once told her that before he put too much thought into dating someone, he always took her to meet his family. "If she can deal with them, she can deal with me."

And now, she was here. She'd been thinking about this day since he'd told her about the whole "intro to the family" thing. But she'd never once imagined it quite like this. In any case, she wanted to look good, but she didn't really get the chance to primp because as soon as she took and step towards the door, it swung open and a figure pulled her into an embrace. "God Gabs. You rock. You rock hardcore!" Troy gasped as he squeezed the air from her lungs.

"No prob Wildcat," she managed to choke out. "Can you let go. You're crushing me, crushing me hardcore," she giggled mockingly. He was always adding "hardcore" to everything and she couldn't not make fun of him for it. He just rolled his eyes and grinned his gazillion watt smile.

"Troooyy..." someone inside yelled, "are you going to bring your friend in to see us or are you just going to make the poor thing stand outside and talk to you?"

Troy turned pale and inhaled an exaggeratedly long breath. "Brace yourself soldier, we're goin' in," he said. Then he ducked back into the house, leaving Gabriella laughing on the porch. He returned seconds later when she didn't follow him in and pulled her inside. He'd dragged her through the house expertly avoiding everyone without actually looking like it was entirely on purpose. Like: "Oohhh I didn't show you the painting in this room" or "There's some expertly installed tile in the bathroom, I should show it to you." Never said subtlety was one of his strengths.

Later that night, while he was driving her home in her car (he lived next door so it wasn't like he'd have to walk far), he'd turned to her, his eyes sparkling and said, "Can I ask you something?"

Her heart had started pounding so hard, she was sure he could hear, but she'd stayed cool and said, "Always."

She'd looked up at him with bright, hopeful eyes. Anxiously waiting for the words. He turned back to her smiling, opened his mouth to speak, and then he went blank. He turned his attention back to the road and stammered, "Can I have some gum?"

"That depends," she'd said through squinted eyes.

This surprised him. "On what?" he asked, still not looking at her.

"On what you were really going to ask me," she said matter-of-factly.

"Do you really want to know?" he asked seriously.

"Yea," Gabriella said, "Why wouldn't I?" He suddenly veered off the road and started driving up a steep, dirt road. "What are you doing!?" she screamed alarmed. "Here take the gum," she said throwing a piece at him.

He grinned and plopped the gum his mouth and kept driving like a maniac. And just as suddenly as it'd begun, it ended. "Come on," he said putting the truck in park.

"What are we doing here Troy?"

"I want this to be something you won't forget," he said taking her hand and leading her into the woods. They'd been walking for what seemed like an eternity when tiny lights started to become visible. Troy motioned Gabriella forward. She waked towards them nervously and gasped when she discovered what she was looking at.

"Is that Albuquerque?" she gaped.

"Yep. Cool huh?"

"Cool? It's amazing!" she cried. The city was spread out below them as a random array of multicolored lights. The background was made up of millions of stars surrounding a bright moon. It was a sight she'd never forget. Especially since at that moment, Troy leaned down and whispered the most perfect question in her ear...

"Gabriella, you still there?"

Her head shot up. "What?" she asked. "Oh right, yea I'm.... fine," she murmured as she was thrown back into reality.

Ryan looked down at his shoes. He wasn't a mind reader, but by the way she was gazing longingly at the kitchen, he knew that he wasn't the one she was daydreaming about. He turned away, disgusted with himself. He was no match for Troy Bolton even on his best day. Add the forever bond of first love into the mix and stick a fork in him, he's done. If only there was a way to convince her that he was the better choice. He stared out the window and a certain white car caught his attention. He couldn't. Could he?

Stealing a glance at Gabriella he took in her heartbroken eyes and knew it wouldn't be too hard to convince her. He knew he really cared about her. He never would have gone through all this if he didn't. He had money, enough to give whatever she wanted. They had so much in common. She'd be happy with him. He would make her happy. He would never do anything hurt her, at least not after this.

He walked over to where she was spying through the open door leading to the kitchen. Troy and the girl were talking excitedly, like they were making plans. He kept saying things to make her laugh and she punched him playfully. He ran his fingers through his hair and laughed along.

They were still talking when Gabriella turned to him and asked, "Do you know who she is? I saw them together at the coffee shop. They were so happy," she whispered. She wiped her eyes before continuing, "I just don't know who she is. Do you know her name?"

Ryan nodded. "Her name's Kelsi. I think they went to school together. They're always talking about the 'old times' and that sort of thing." That much at least wasn't a lie, but he still felt guilty. He knew that the way he'd just said that had made it seem like Troy and Kelsi were together. Which they were, but not in a romantic way. He'd just deceived Gabriella. Sweet little Gabi. And by the look on her face, he knew she believed him.

Sighing, Gabriella retrieved her purse and returned to Ryan. "I think I'm going to go home. It's been a long day. Can we do lunch tomorrow?" she asked sadly.

Ryan raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yeah," she answered. "I want this to work out. The whole you and me thing is good. I like being with you Ryan and I'd miss you if went away."

Ryan stared at his shoes, it was working. He stomach knotted up but he ignored it. "I like being with you too," he smiled. "How's Millie's? Noon?"

Gabriella nodded and quickly shouted a goodbye to Taylor. Without waiting for a confirmation that Taylor had heard her, Gabriella allowed Ryan to lead her outside and help her into his car. The ride back to house was quiet, but comfortable. She laced her fingers with his and smiled up at him. She was going to make things work with Ryan. Troy had moved on, now she would move on with Ryan. As he pulled up to her apartment building and parked in the fire lane. He ran around to her side and helped her out. Gabriella closed the door behind her and he pulled her into an embrace. "Thank you," he whispered and turned to walk away.

Without thinking, Gabriella grabbed his hand and pulled him back. "Stay," was all she said. She handed a maintenance man Ryan's keys and a twenty and led him towards the elevator. Her mind was blank as she led him down the hall and into her room. It wasn't until she'd closed and locked the door behind her and felt Ryan's lips on hers that she thought about anything. And it wasn't what she expected to think. The thought wasn't the one that had originally plagued her when this idea had first popped into her head: the reason she'd kept her mind blank on the way up. Instead it was, "Didn't I drive to Taylor's today?"

A/N: Sorry, thought I'd finished this chpt. my bad. i'm a scatterbrain. lol... thnx alexnoelle!!!!