Hey everyone! How did everyone's week go? Mine went by pretty fast, if I say so myself. :) The reviews were amazing as always and I hope that soon you'll be getting what you all want. ;) The drama is just about to begin. Enjoy!

I'll Email You

Chapter sixteen

Brother-Sister Moment

Gabriella was sitting at her kitchen table a few days later when Charlie walked in, dressed in his basketball clothes, ready for practice that was starting in about an hour. Gabriella rolled her eyes as he took a swig of orange juice right from the carton and she pushed the glass of orange juice that she had poured for herself aside. Charlie sat in front of her with a bowl of cereal and he barely glanced at her as he shoveled the frosted flakes into his mouth.

"So have you seen Troy around lately?" Gabriella asked him as she speared a piece of fruit with her fork.

"Um, yeah, like everyday at practice." Charlie answered as he looked up at his sister. "Why?"

Gabriella was somewhat surprised that Charlie was taking the slightest amount of interest in her question. She shrugged and put the fruit in her mouth.

"I haven't talked to him in a while." She explained to him.

"You mean in like three hours?" Charlie said as he rolled his eyes.

"No, I'm serious Charlie; I haven't talked to him in like three days." Gabriella told him, the worry in her voice somewhat recognizable.

"What?" Charlie asked in confusion.

"He hasn't emailed me." Gabriella explained.

"Call him or go over to his house, Gabriella. Maybe his email isn't working." Charlie told his sister as he got up, finished with his cereal.

"I went over to his house yesterday and the guys weren't home." Gabriella explained as she got up as well and took her plate towards the sink. "And he never answers his phone.

"Well, he's not dead." Charlie told her. "So he must be busy."

"Thanks for that, Charlie." Gabriella said with a shake of her head.

"No problem." Charlie said with a smile. "I'll see you later, sis." He said, leaving the kitchen and heading towards the front door where he grabbed his basketball bag and left the house.

Gabriella loaded the dishwasher with the dishes that had accumulated on the counter over the past couple of days and then she made her way towards her room, expecting a call from Sharpay. Her phone rang about twenty minutes after she got into her room and she smiled as she answered it, hearing Sharpay's happy voice.

"Hey, Gabs!" Sharpay said excitedly.

"Hey, Shar, how are you?" She asked with a smile as she put laundry away in her dresser drawers

"I'm good! I just got the okay from my parents and they said that everyone can come over tonight, so if you want to come, you're welcome to." She told her.

"Yeah, sure, I'll be there. I might be late though because I have to pick up a few things today and I have a feeling it's going to take forever." She explained to Sharpay.

"No problem, but don't take too long. The fun doesn't start until you get there." Sharpay said.

"I'm sure you're just saying that." Gabriella laughed softly.

"I so am not." Sharpay laughed. "Hey, so do you know how long Will is going to be here for?" She asked her.

"No, why?" Gabriella asked her, finishing putting her clothes away.

"Well, I haven't seen Zeke much and every time I talk to him, he has to hang up after like twenty minutes to hang with Will. I know I'm being selfish, but I miss him." Sharpay vented to her friend.

"You're not being selfish, Shar." Gabriella assured her friend. "I wish I could tell you how much longer he's going to be here for, but I haven't seen or talked to Troy in three days." Gabriella told her.

"Gabi! Three days?! And I thought I was being deprived of conversation!" Sharpay said quickly. "Are you okay?" She asked her.

Gabriella laughed softly at her worried friend as she started to one-handedly make her bed.

"Yeah, just a bit lonely. I'm starting to really hate my empty house. I know how crazy this is going to sound, but I'm usually disappointed when Charlie has practice." Gabriella admitted.

"I never thought I'd hear that!" Sharpay said with a laugh.

"I never thought I'd say it." Gabriella smiled as she fluffed her pillows, arranging them on her bed carefully.

"I promise I won't tell Charlie that you secretly miss him." Sharpay laughed. "But only if you promise not to spill that I'm secretly getting really ticked off."

"I promise." Gabriella smiled as she put a few random items in the right places around her room.

"Okay, well, I'll see you tonight. I have some shopping to do." Sharpay said.

"Okay, bye, Shar."

"Tootles!" Sharpay sang happily, hanging up.

Gabriella laughed quietly and hung up her phone, setting it on her nightstand as she went over to her balcony doors to open them, wanting to get some fresh air in her room. She heard her phone ring as she opened the doors and walked quickly over to it, jumping on her bed and lying down before she answered it.

"Hello?" She asked, smiling because Troy was the caller.

"Oh, hey! I'm sorry; I didn't mean to call you." He said in a happy tone.

Gabriella's smile faded immediately and she sighed.

"Oh, that's okay." She replied. "I guess I'll let you go." She said.

"Okay, bye, Gabriella." He said as he hung up.

Gabriella hung up her phone and dropped her head onto her bed, letting her arms fall over the side to dangle limply as she screamed into her mattress. She got up after laying there for five minutes, a few curse words floating through her mind. She headed downstairs, ready to tackle the mess that was somehow going to eat them alive if they weren't careful while walking.

Charlie made his way towards his room, noticing that the house was extremely clean. He saw Gabriella lying tiredly on her bed, starring at the ceiling as he passed. Stopping abruptly at his room, Charlie's eyes widened slightly.

"GABRIELLA! Why is my room clean?" He shouted from the doorway.

"It was disgusting and I was bored." She called back tiredly.

Charlie made his way towards Gabriella's room and stood somewhat upset in her doorway.

"Where's all of my stuff?" He asked.

"It's called a closet." Gabriella said as she emphasized the word closet.

"Don't touch my stuff ever again, Gabriella." He warned her.

"It's not like you had anything of value in there." She said with an eye roll.

"Says you." He replied as he started to make his way back to his room.

"Okay, fine, I will never touch your Play Boy magazines ever again, you pig!" She called after him with a small laugh.

"Okay and I will never touch your dream journal again, Mrs. Bolton!" He said.

Gabriella's eyes widened and she immediately looked in her nightstand drawer, seeing her dream journal missing. Screaming, she ran towards Charlie's door which was closed and lock. She pounded on it, screaming frantically. Her journal was where she explained the dreams that she had while she was sleeping in and some of them were beyond embarrassing.

"CHARLIE, GIVE IT BACK!" She kicked the door harshly, swearing as her foot throbbed from the impact.

"YOU BETTER NOT BE SHARING THAT INFORMATION! IT'S PRIVATE!" She screeched as she hit the door once again, sliding down to the floor, winded. "I hate you!" She shouted.

"Okay, Mrs. Bolton!" Charlie called back, obviously laughing.

"I never wrote anything about that!" She defended herself, frowning obviously.

"May 5th." Charlie read. "I had this weird dream that Troy and I got married… Charlie walked me down the isle and it was beyond awkward!" He said in a girly voice.

"Charlie! Stop it! I'm going shopping! When you decide not to be an ass, I'll talk to you again." She said angrily as she stood up.

"June 15th!" Charlie called after her.

"Shut up!" She screeched.

"July 4th!"

"I'm not listening!" She called after him.

"August first! A.K.A yesterday!"

Gabriella screamed as she slammed the front door closed, as she marched angrily to her car. She took a few deep breaths as she sat in the driver's seat and closed her eyes to calm herself down before she made her way towards the grocery store.

***

Everyone was at Sharpay's house, everyone except Gabriella that is. They were sitting around the pool, the night sky darkening as the pool lights changed colors. Chad and Taylor were sitting by the pool, their feet dangling in the water as Taylor held onto Chad's arm securely. Zeke and Sharpay were talking to Troy and Will and Sharpay laughed loudly as Will made a joke about Zeke's baking abilities. Charlie was sitting on the diving board, texting on his phone, bored that everyone was paired up and although he wouldn't admit it, he was waiting for his sister to get there so he'd have someone to talk to and or annoy.

Troy's cell phone rang and he answered it, half listening to what Will was talking about.

"Troy, honey, its Mom. I need you and one of the boys to come home for a minute. I'm rearranging the furniture in the family room and your father nearly pulled his back out trying to help." She explained.

"Okay, I'll be there in a minute." Troy said with a nod, hanging up.

"Where are you going?" Will asked, hearing Troy's conversation.

"We're going home real quick to help my mom move furniture." Troy answered.

"Sweet." Will said with a smile.

"Do you need me to go with you?" Zeke asked, hearing a dramatic sigh come from Sharpay.

"Nah, hang with Shar for a while." Troy said. "We can handle it." He said, nodding as Sharpay smiled at him thankfully.

"Alright, man, come back." Zeke said with a smile.

"We will." Troy said with a laugh, heading towards the back doors of Sharpay's house.

Gabriella rushed towards the pool area, knowing that she was later than usual. She opened the back door quickly and smiled when she saw Troy and Will coming towards her. Troy smiled, noticing that Gabriella was somewhat dressed up tonight.

"Hey." She smiled. "Where are you going?" She asked when she noticed that they were leaving.

"Home." Troy replied. "My mom needs us to move furniture."

Gabriella's smile faltered slightly as she nodded, wishing that she could have gotten there earlier so that she could catch up with Troy.

"You're looking nice today, Gabriella." Will noted, smiling at her.

"Thanks." She smiled lightly, walking away towards her friends.

"Hey, Gabs." Sharpay smiled as Gabriella came towards her.

Gabriella feigned a smile as she sighed.

"He said he was coming back, Gabs." Sharpay said with a nod, noticing the somewhat sad look on her face.

"I know." Gabriella nodded, shrugging lightly as she looked around the pool area, smiling as she saw Taylor wave at her.

Walking away when Zeke and Sharpay exchanged a look, Gabriella walked towards Charlie. She stood at the edge of the pool, taking her shoes off as she walked towards the diving board.

"I still hate you." She said as she walked on the diving board, sitting down next to him, feeling a shiver run through her body as her toe touched the water.

"What took you so long, Mrs. Bolton?" He asked in a serious tone.

"Please don't call me that, Charlie." She said with a sigh.

"Okay, but seriously, what took you so long?" He asked with a smirk.

"Well, we had no food in the house so it took me forever to grocery shop and then I had to take a shower and look somewhat presentable before I came here." She explained to her brother.

"For Mr. Bolton?" He asked with a laugh.

"Do you want to get pushed into the pool?" Gabriella asked as she shook her head.

"Sorry." Charlie sighed. "I put your dream journal back in your drawer. I actually didn't read it. I just thought I'd torture you." He explained.

"Well, thanks for that." Gabriella said sarcastically.

"I think there's something up with Troy." Charlie pointed out as he tossed the ice in his plastic cup into the pool.

"You've noticed." Gabriella sighed. "I don't know, like you said, he must be busy."

"I just don't like that you're getting all sad about it." Charlie admitted to her as he glanced at her.

Gabriella laughed, shaking her head.

"I am not sad." Gabriella laughed.

Charlie raised an eyebrow, looking seriously at his sister.

"Seriously, I'm not." She told him, her face becoming serious.

"Yet." Charlie replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gabriella asked, honestly not knowing what her brother was referring to.

"Well, you obviously have feelings for him." Charlie pointed out.

"I do not." Gabriella said in awe.

"Come on, Gabs, you're not good at hiding it." Charlie told her.

"Well, so what if I have the slightest feelings for him… what's wrong with that, Charlie?" She asked him, surprised that Charlie, of all people, was the first person she somewhat admitted her feelings for Troy to.

Charlie scratched the back of his neck, sighing softly as he shrugged.

"I don't know if he feels the same way, Gabs." He said quietly.

Gabriella's heartbeat quickened as she looked up at him and then back at the pool water. Of all the mean and brotherly things Charlie had ever thrown at her or told her, like the summer before when he told her she was flabby, which resulted in her flat stomach this summer, and the time he told her to f-off when he broke up with his last girlfriend, this answer hurt her more than anything she'd ever heard from him. She felt his arm around her, pulling her closer to him when she didn't say anything and she shrugged his arm off of her, standing up.

"Gabs…" Charlie started.

"Don't worry about me, Charlie. Thanks for telling me, okay?" She said with a nod, trying to smile. "I love you." She told him.

"I love you too, Gabs." He said sadly, wishing that he could have kept his mouth shut for once.

Gabriella walked carefully off of the diving board, slipping her shoes on when she got to them and she walked along side the pool, stopping when Sharpay walked towards her.

"Did you and Charlie just have a brother-sister moment?" She asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I guess." Gabriella said with a shrug, swallowing the lump that was forming in her throat.

"You okay?" Sharpay asked when she noticed her friends slight frown.

"Yeah." Gabriella nodded. "I think I'm going to head home though. I'm not feeling very good." She explained.

"Okay, feel better." Sharpay said hugging her softly.

"I will. Don't worry." Gabriella answered.

Gabriella walked quickly towards the back door of Sharpay's house, sad that the brand new sun dress she was wearing was only seen by Troy for about twenty seconds and she looked behind her, noticing Charlie watching her from his spot of the diving board and when she got into the house, she ran as fast as she could down the long hallway of the Evans' house, opening the large front door with ease, and got to her car as fast as she could.

Troy and Will were in Troy's car, driving back to Sharpay's house after rearranging the furniture for Mrs. Bolton over three times. The radio was playing softly and both Troy and Will's windows were open, letting the cool air in.

"So, Tammy called me last night and said she was wishing that she could see you and Zeke again." Will said as he bobbed his head to the music.

"It would be great to see Tammy again." Troy smiled. "I still can't believe you two are getting married." Troy told him.

"I'm excited." Will smiled brightly. "Do you think you'd come back to California?" He asked.

"It's not like I'm never coming back." Troy explained. "Maybe for spring break or something I'll visit everyone."

"What about like permanently?" Will asked. "Everyone misses you and Zeke. It's not the same without you."

"I don't know, man. If my dad ever gets transferred there, I'd obviously go, but I don't think my mom could handle me leaving for California." He laughed softly. "It probably wouldn't be a reasonable thing to do."

"Well, just know that you're welcome to visit. You can stay at my place if you don't want to bunk with your grandparents." He replied.

"Thanks man, I'll keep that in mind." Troy nodded. "I definitely crave being right next to the ocean."

"So do I!" Will exclaimed, laughing because it had only been a few days since he got to Albuquerque.

Troy and Will made their way back towards the pool once they parked on the Evan's large driveway. Laughing, as they approached their friends, Troy and Will both noticed that Gabriella was no longer there.

"Where's Gabriella?" Troy asked Charlie who was impatiently holding his phone to his ear.

"She wasn't feeling good so she went home… I'm going to go see if she's okay." He told him, hanging up his phone, and sticking it in his pocket.

"She looked fine when I saw her." Troy said to Charlie.

"She was busy all day so it must have caught up with her. I'm sure she's fine." Charlie nodded, backing up slowly.

"Tell her I hope she feels better." Troy said with a worried expression on his face.

"Maybe you should email her or something…it might make her feel better." Charlie suggested with a shrug.

"I will." Troy nodded.

"Talk to you later, man." Charlie said as he turned to leave.

Taylor leaned towards Sharpay and raised her eyebrows.

"And I thought Charlie didn't care about Gabriella." She whispered to Sharpay in surprise.

"Apparently he does." Sharpay whispered back, surprised as well.

Charlie sprinted up the stairs when he got into his house and he slowed when he saw the light coming from Gabriella's room, knowing that she was in there. He walked into her room, noticing that she was lying on her bed, her outfit she had on before was still on.

"Gabriella." He said, tapping her gently on her arm.

"What?" She whispered, keeping her eyes closed.

"Why didn't you answer your phone? I was trying to call you." He asked, trying to sound like he hadn't just run from his car to her room.

"Did you run here or something? You sound tired." Gabriella pointed out, keeping her back to him.

"I power walked." Charlie replied, shrugging.

Gabriella shook her head, knowing he was lying.

"You didn't have to come home. You could have stayed there." She told him, sighing softly.

"It wasn't that entertaining with out you there and plus, Troy and Will were there just before I left, I didn't feel like talking to them." He replied.

Gabriella turned around to face him, sighing as she saw him standing next to her bed.

"You don't have to ignore them." She said in annoyance.

Charlie noticed that Gabriella's eyes were red and her face was somewhat pale.

"Were you crying?" He asked her.

"No." She answered, avoiding eye contact with him.

"Liar." He said to her, rolling his eyes.

"I wasn't crying, Charlie. I don't cry over stupid things like boys." She explained angrily.

"Whatever you say, sis. Do you need anything?" He asked.

"Since when have you been nice to me?" She asked him with a small smile.

"Since I made you cry." He answered, walking towards the door.

"You didn't make me cry." Gabriella said in annoyance.

"Okay." Charlie said sarcastically.

Gabriella sighed, grabbing a stuffed animal and holding it close to her chest. She ignored the fact that her heart was beating extremely fast as she reached over to her nightstand and turned her lamp off, turning on her side to go to sleep. She hoped and prayed, as she closed her eyes, that she wouldn't have the "I-now-pronounce-you-Mr.-and-Mrs.-Bolton" dream again.

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Much love,

unknownbyhim22