Showing a few more cracks in paradise in this chapter, and a bit of a sweet edge. I hope everyone likes it.

"You, uh, never mentioned that your uncle was staying with you," Gabriella said as she opened up the front door and they walked inside. Troy followed her and then strayed to the lounge, where he turned on the TV and sat down on the couch in a slouched position which said he was very comfortable in this enviroment. He didn't answer her and Gabriella sat down opposite him, confused. "Troy?" He looked over and her and sighed.

"Mum and dad went away for a few weeks. One of mums aunties is sick and they say there's a good chance that she's not going to make it. So they went to see her and spend the last few weeks with her." Gabriella shook her head.

"Ohmigod, that's so sad. Are you okay?" He nodded shortly. "So why is your uncle here? You could've just stayed with me, or Chad."

"Well, David has been out of a job for a couple of months, and he just split up with his wife. She was really nice, we all liked her. And so things haven't been going so well, financially and otherwise. So mum and dad said he could come stay here, and they're paying him to look after me," Troy's voice went bitter. "Like I'm ten." Gabriella was confused. It wasn't like Troy to act this way. Usually, he wanted to help people who were in trouble, and it sounded as though his uncle was. The Troy she had known for so long wouldn't care that he was being looked over by another family member if they were in that much trouble.

"There's gotta be something else," she began. "What's wrong? You sound…Upset." Troy shrugged, his face closing up and he turned on the television. Gabriella sighed, still confused. She got up, walking into the kitchen. She heard Troy move around behind her as she opened up the cupboards, looking for something to eat. "Are you hungry?" She called over her shoulder.

"Not really," Troy called back. Gabriella went still again. Troy? Not hungry? That was the first time she had ever heard such a thing and she had known Troy since she was nine. Something was wrong. She got a pizza out of the freezer, unwrapped it, and put it in the oven.

"I put a pizza in the oven," she said as she flopped down on the couch opposite Troy. He nodded, his eyes locked on the TV. It was an old rerun of Friends. Gabriella frowned. She loved watching reruns of the show, but Troy hated it. He always complained when she changed the channel to two at that time of night. They would have argument after argument about the show. And yet here he was, his eyes glued to the screen as though it was the most interesting thing around. And that was after he had told her he wasn't hungry.

Something was definitly wrong.

"Troy? I know you might not want to talk about, but don't lie to me about nothing being wrong," she said softly. Troy looked over at her. For a long moment, their eyes were connected and silence fell uncomfortably between them. Troy nodded slowly.

"Okay, I won't tell you nothings wrong," he said to her. "But I won't tell you whats wrong." Gabriella couldn't help but feel hurt, but she nodded, knowing that he would open up to her when he felt he needed too. She grabbed two cans from the fridge and sat back down next to Troy. She flicked through the channels until she found a movie.

"You alright with this one?" She asked him. Troy nodded. Gabriella sighed. Something was wrong with her bestfriend. And it worried her.

That night, Troy couldn't sleep. All he could think about was Gabriella. He had watched her that night, brush her teeth, and then comb out her hair and put it into a ponytail. Then change into a singlet and a pair of his boxers. Then she went around her room and cleaned anything that was out of place or untidy, laid out her outfit for the next day and then finally, drank a glass of milk. He had watched her go through this routine many times, often times he had teased about the routine she preformed so religously each night. But tonight, as she done these things and then slid between the covers of her bed, he felt a pull in his stomach and his heart. He had wanted to climb in next to her, feel her arms around him, fall asleep with her breath kissing his cheeks. Without registering completely what he was doing, he pushed off the blanket and climbed off the couch, walking up the stairs to Gabriella's room. Her breathing rythmic, her sleep a deep one. He walked over to her bed, gently pulling the duvet back and climbing in next to her. Her breathing jumped slightly and he hesitated.

"Gabi?" He asked softly. There was no reply, and he slid completely under the covers, pulling the duvet back over them. The bed was warm, and Gabriella molded herself against him, her head fitting snuggly into the crook of his arm as he put it around her. As he moved around to get comfortable, Gabriella opened her eyes slightly.

"Troy?" She murmured.

"Is this okay?" He asked her. Gabriella's eyes closed again as she nodded ever so slightly, a smile crossing her lips. Her breathing became normal again and she fell back into a deep sleep. The smell of her peach shampoo filled his nostrils and he felt his eyes droop. Her chest rose and fell against his sturdy chest and the rythmic sound of her breathing soothed him. His eyes shut completely and he was in a deep sleep within minutes.

When Gabriella awoke in the morning, she was hugged close to Troy's body. For a moment, she felt shock run through her, then she remembered vaguely Troy last night, sliding in next to her, whispering her name. She closed her eyes again, just enjoying the bodyheat, and the comfort coming from her bestfriend. Then, she saw the time on the alarm flashing, and she realized that they were going to be late for school if they didn't start moving soon.

"Troy?" She whispered. "Troy you have to wake up. We have to get ready for school." He rolled over, trapping her underneath him.

"Don't wanna get up," he grumbled. She felt a bubble of laughter rise in her throat, and then she realized what situation she was in. She was in a tiny singlet and boxers and Troy was in...Just boxers. She felt a funny feeling inside as she realized they had fallen asleep together, hugged up with each other, in this attire.

"Troy, Troy we have school," she repeated more forcefully. She pushed his arm off her and got out of bed, quickly grabbing the clothes on her seat and walking quickly to the bathroom across the hall. She was changed in a matter of minutes, and brushed her teeth and put on her makeup. It only took twenty minutes from her to go from the sleepy, beautiful Gabriella, to the the gorgeous, ready-to-face-the-world Gabriella everyone saw. When she walked back into her bedroom, Troy was just sitting up, blinking sleepily, looking adorable in his sleepy, mussed up state.

"The fact you can get up and be ready in only minutes is unnatural," Troy mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"It's been half and hour since my alarm went off," Gabriella replied with a smile, crossing the room to open the curtains. There was a groan from Troy as the sunlight hit him and he drived back under the duvet and pulled it shut around his head.

"Half an hour is a merely minutes when it's seven thirty in the morning!" He called from his burrow. Gabriella rolled her eyes and left the room, knowing he would get up and be ready in seconds once he realized she would leave without him. She was right, she went outside and turned on her car to warm the engine and Troy was at the door, his hair looking slightly damp from wetting his hands and running through his hair to give it the styly, messy look, and dressed in a black hoodie and a pair of jeans.

"Morning sleepyhead!" Gabriella called cheerfully from her seat in the car. Troy rolled his eyes and slammed the door shut behind him as he walked over and got into the passenger seat. When the engine was fully charged, Gabriella turned the key and they backed out of the drive. When Gabriella turned to check both ways for traffic, and then change gears, her arm brushed against Troy's, and the hairs on his arm raised. Everything from last night came flooding back, the urge to climb into bed beside her, being close to her with her head snuggled up to him. Things felt perfect.

But it was Gabriella! His bestfriend!

Things weren't supposed to perfect in that particular sense with Gabriella!

That was what he kept repeating as they sped through the streets on their way to school.

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