Ello all!

I'm sorry for the delay in the update. I had hoped to update after I came back, but 1) I hadn't written a chapter over vacation and 2) School started. That will be the main reason that I won't be able to update so frequently. School really consumes my time.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Gabriella, with a pudding snack in her hands, ran back to Taylor's locker. Only to find that Taylor wasn't there...and her books were cleaned up.

"Did something happen that I don't know about?" she called aloud to no one in particular. She scanned the premises once more and when she was positive that Taylor wasn't around, she skipped off back down the hallway to the cafeteria.

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Following Chad down the hallway, Taylor looked at the hand that was grasped around her wrist. Chad, after helping her clean her books, took her hand and motioned her down the hallway.

"You seem to lose this book a lot, don't you?" he asked, smiling.

"Yeah, it's because I lost it that I failed my English quiz," Taylor answered, "And then my father's gonna find out and then..." Taylor stopped herself before saying too much.

"Your dad? Was he at home that one day? I didn't see him," Chad took a turn to a hallway.

Debating whether to tell him the truth or not, Taylor remained silent. "Should I tell him? Part of me wants to tell him, a part of me wants to trust him, but how do I know I can? What would happen if I do? It would probably be across the school in just a matter of minutes."

Chad, though mildly selfish and slightly arrogant, had noticed Taylor's sudden silence. "She's been doing this a how lot, getting quiet so fast. I wonder what's wrong." He continued leading her down the hallway, stopping in front of a room.

"What are we doing here in front of the Home Ec. Room? I don't have this class this semester so how could it be in there?" Taylor asked.

"You don't, but I do," Chad answered, opening the door. He took her by the hand and led her to the back of the room. Letting go of her hand, Chad bent down and searched through a very messy pile of papers, books, and bubble gum wrappers. After tossing everything in the pile aside, he pulled out a textbook, Taylor's textbook to be exact.

"Where'd you find it?!" she questioned, taking the book in her hands.

"In health class. You left it there on Friday when you left. I guess I kinda felt so bad about making saying what I said to you, I felt that I should at least make it up to you by giving you this back," Chad explained, not looking up at her.

"Really Chad?"

"Yeah, but now it's my fault that you failed the test. I'm really sorry Taylor, about everything that I've done for you the past few days," he answered, still not daring to look up at her. "It's okay if you hate me forever." Chad started walking out toward the door of the room, but was stopped by Taylor.

"It's okay Chad. I mean, it's only one test. Everyone's bound to fail at one point. No one can be perfect one hundred percent of the time," Taylor pulled him down into the seat beside her, "Plus I think it was really nice of you to take care of my book...or at least attempt to."

"Hey!" he started, but he stopped when he realized she had a point. "You're right."

Taylor looked at the time, noting that it was getting late. "We better get to our next class. Don't wanna be late for my next class."

"You're right. I definitely need to get to the library to work on my Social Studies stuff...or actually get started to work on my project."

"You've got a project you need to work on? Need any help?" Taylor asked, holding the door open as he followed her out.

"Nah...actually, yeah. I don't have anything yet. It's just so hard for me to remember who invented what and what that invention did."

"I can help you," Taylor told him as they met the turn in the hallway.

"Really?"

"Yeah. When and where?"

"Can you get out next period?"

"I'll try and convince my teacher, but I think we have a quiz today. I always finish with so much time left, so yeah, I can probably get out next period."

"Cool. If you can, meet me in the library. 'kay?"

"Sure. I'll try to get out."

Chad and Taylor arrived at the end of the hallway and took a turn toward Taylor's locker. When she arrived at her locker, Taylor noticed that Chad was still behind her.

"You know you didn't have to escort me to my locker. I think I could safely take my book back into my own locker," Taylor said, twirling in her locker combination and gathering her books.

Chad blushed. "Yeah, I know that. I just - ah - I'm gonna go now. I hope to meet you in the library later."

Taylor watched as Chad walked down the hallway, holding her books close to her chest. "I hope to see you there too," she whispered quietly to herself.

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Chad looked behind his shoulder, noticing the smile that crawled on her face. Ducking into a hallway, he peeked out and watched as she pulled more books out of her locker and piled them into her arms. With a quiet slam, she closed her locker and continued down the hallway.

"Hey Chad!"

With a scream, Chad turned around and was face to face with his best friend. "Troy! What are you doing here?" he questioned, holding his hand to his speeding heart.

"Going to math class," Troy answered, "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at the library?"

"I'm on my way there. I just had to do something," Chad replied. He nervously put his hand behind his head, trying to steady the shakiness in his voice.

"Okay..." Troy responded in an odd tone of voice, "I guess I'll catch you later then. We're still on for our one on one game today, right?"

"You're not hanging out with Gabriella after school today?"

"No. She's off doing her own thing with Taylor after school today. Plus our practice is cancelled today. My dad's got something to do after school today. I suspect that I might be getting a baby brother or sister soon."

"Seriously?"

"I dunno for sure, but whenever me and Gabi go out, my parent's go out too. Some nights on the weekend, they don't even come home until noon the next day."

"Let's just hope that it's a brother. At least with a brother, you can teach him to play basketball and other sports."

"Yeah, I hope so too."

The warning bell rang and students started to file past Troy and Chad, pushing and shoving to make it to their class across the school. The boys dove to the wall for safety from the wave of students.

"I guess I better get to the library," Chad said, rather shouted, over the volume of the mass of teenagers.

"See ya after school today in the gym?"

"Yeah. I'll see you!"

With the last affirmation, Troy and Chad walked their separate ways. Being pushed forward, Troy accidentally bumped into Taylor, reaching up into her locker.

"Watch where you're going!" she shouted as her books fell on the floor.

"I'm so sorry," Troy answered, not noticing who it was. He bent down and helped pick up her books, hearing her mumble something under her breath. When he stood up, it was then that he saw that it was Taylor who he was knocked into. "Hey Taylor. This is your locker?"

"Obviously. Why else would I be getting my books out of this locker?" she answered coldly.

Sensing the chill in her voice, Troy backed off a little. "So, you're not late to class, are you?"

"No. If you must know, I'm heading to the library," she pulled out a blank notebook and closed the locker. She walked down the hallway without saying another word to Troy, her heels clicking with every step that she took.

"I guess Gabriella was really telling the truth. Taylor does have a thing against me. But is that true about Chad? Does he have something against the group Gabi came from? And why would he be standing in that hallway? There's no reason why he should be here."

The sound of Taylor's heels clicking resounded down the hallway.

"That was...until now." Troy looked down the hallway and saw Taylor's ponytail sway with every step that she took. When she took a turn in the hallway, Troy remembered that he had to head to math class and dashed down the hallway to his class.

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"So all you need to remember is that Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, which helped enormously in the textile industry," Taylor explained, pointing to his picture in a book they had pulled off the shelf. She looked at her wristwatch, seeing how late the hour had gotten.

"Oh, okay," Chad answered, nodding.

"Listen, I've gotta go. The bell is gonna ring soon. And I don't wanna be late for my next class."

"Yeah, I understand. I think I've gotta enough work for my project."

"You sure? I mean I could always stop by after school and help you."

The bell rung and the other students in the library started heading out. Taylor started out, seeing that she was going to have to head across the school to gather everything that she needed. She looked back to see Chad gathering his books, wanting to turn back and help him. But something in the back of her mind told her not to and that she should've never offered to help him in the first place. She faced forward and continued walking out.

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Taylor opened the door to her house and cautiously walked into her home. She looked around, checking to make sure that she wasn't really making too much noise.

"Taylor!"

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Remember that since I have school, I won't be able to update as frequently as I use to be able to. After this story is finished, keep an eye out for a new Troyella by me. I already have another idea to start it on. Check out my profile for a full explanation.

Also, I want to stay that I'm so proud of how Vanessa is acting in the current situation she is in. If you don't know, somehow a nude picture of her is circulating around on the internet (most likely by an ex). At first people thought that they were taken and sent to Zac (which is false) but now people are making up outrageous rumors that she took them to send to Drake Bell (which is crazy that they would think that) because if you have seen the picture (not that I'm expecting you too), she doesn't look like she does now. It looks like it was around the time that she did Thunderbirds when it was taken, that was also around the time she appeared in Drake and Josh.

I just think that it's sad that the picture got out. Even if it was a bad decision, the pictures were taken in private and never meant to be made public. I'm very proud that Vanessa is facing the public and taking the consequences for her actions instead of hiding from the public. This little thing will not take away any respect that I have for Vanessa, in fact I just admire her even more for having the courage to still appear in the public.

Sorry for rambling, but I would like to say that everyone just needs to forget about this whole thing and let it blow over. But as I'm talking about this, can I point out something? Since people originally thought that Vanessa sent them to Zac, it must mean that a ton of people are Zanessa. Just thought that I'd inject a ray of light in a bleak situation.

Lotta love,
Kat