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At a red light, she finally let go. Tears trickled down her cheeks, dripping along the curves of her chin, till they finally fell onto her shirt and disappeared into the fabric.

The light turned green and she pressed down on the gas pedal, as if she could out run her fears, her thoughts, and all that was bothering her. The wind lashed at her face, drying her eyes and lifting a huge weight from her chest. She felt like she could breathe again-like she could be anyone she wanted to be.

After narrowly avoiding getting a speeding ticket, Gabriella pulled into her drive way. Both her parents were at work and wouldn't return till it that night, her mom around 5, her dad around 6 or 7.

Her mind was set and, after she raced inside and grabbed a fistful of money, a smile was on her face. She locked the front door behind her with the house key she always carried in her purse.

The sun seemed to agree with her choice, because it followed her all the way to the mall, never hiding once. This gave her renewed courage-that was popped like a balloon to a pin once she saw them. Her hope deflated and she almost considered turning and walking out. No, I have to do this, now or never.

Gabriella walked into the mall and to the foodcourt, which was the first thing you saw once you entered. Then she strolled up to Troy. She would try first, see if he would come to his senses, and if he didn't then Plan C (change) was a go. The brown haired jock saw her coming, and whispered to Sharpay, Chad, and a few other cheerleaders that happened to be surrounding him, "Here comes Supergeek, but her side kicks Smart and Smarter appear to be no where. Cue superman music while she 'flies' in to save the world of people who aren't as smart as she is -"

"Bolton, can I speak with you, Your Greatness?" Gabriella clenched her teeth. She had heard what he said. He was a big jerk and he needed to hear it from someone if his friends couldn't even tell.

Everyone had laughed over Troy's words, but then quickly quieted down when The Queen Of Geeks, another one of the nicknames Troy had crowned her, spoke. But the quiet didn't remain for long when they heard what Troy had to say to that. "What do you want, Supergeek? Where's Smart and Smarter?" His words were cool, and his blue orbs stared her down.

Gabriella knew she would burst into tears if they didn't get alone quick. She grabbed his arm and pulled him away, throwing an "Excuse me," over her shoulder. Troy looked over his shoulder, his face confused. He then shrugged, and followed his former best friend.

"What is with you??" She asked, once they were across the foodcourt at their own table. If she looked hard enough around the heads of many others, she could find his friends, sitting close to the entrance. They seemed to have forgotten all about Troy.

Troy just looked exasperated. He took his hands in hers, across the table, like that day at the Smoothie shop a week ago. If Gabi had had any strength left, she would have torn her hands away. "You know this is all an act, right?" He asked her.

She couldn't believe him! "An act, an act?? You call ditching me, calling me names, flirting with… with HER, an act?" Gabriella whispered back, her voice sharp and to the point. Literally. Troy let her hands slip out of his as he leaned backwards in his chair, clearly surprised.

"I didn't think you cared," was all he could manage, and obviously Gabriella didn't think that was a good enough excuse. She just looked into his eyes, hers portraying the hurt she had felt over these past few days, more then she had felt in her entire lifetime.

"I don't know what you thought Troy," her voice was stiff and cold-hearted. "But I did care." She got up, grabbed her bag, and started to walk away, leaving Troy speechless. But then she thought better of it, and turned around to meet the eyes of a grinning boy. He obviously thought she was going to apologize and take him back.

"No, Troy. Not this time." Gabriella yanked the ring off her finger and dropped it onto the table with a clatter, then strode off. If Troy had even a mere wisp of a thought of what to say before, it was now gone, along with his short-lived hope. All the basketball lunkhead could think about now was just how far his heart was going to plummet into the hole of despair, and whether it would ever stop.

Tears burned the girl's eyes as she ran from the table. She didn't leave though, like Troy thought she would. Instead, she headed deeper into the mall, like she was going to go shopping. "This girl breaks up with me, even though we were never really official, and then she can go and shop like nothing's happened! God, don't I mean anything to her?" Troy's eyes were looking skyward, or roofward, in the mall, though his head was resting in his arms as his body slunk over the table. He could barely hold himself up. What kind of jerk was he? A rude jerk, no, a really rude, (following a string of curses) jerk.

Gabriella walked into Abercrombie™. At least she could dress nice, wearing brand names, for a starter. It wouldn't cause her look much different, but in school, it could make all the difference.

She chose 3 shirts and a pair of jeans (this stuff was expensive!), then checked out. She made her way through the crowds to a bathroom, where she changed clothes. Before, she was wearing a blue long-sleeved shirt, low-cut front, and she changed into a blue, long-sleeved shirt with a low-cut front, though slightly lower than her other shirt, that had Abercrombie™ written across the front.

Her jeans were the same-they looked identical only the Abercrombie™ jeans had the brand written across the back. There goes at least a third of my summer job money. She thought, sighing lightly. But if Troy noticed her, it would make all the difference, right?

She walked out, her old clothes in her bag. If you just glanced at her once, you wouldn't assume anything was different. But when Gabi looked at herself in the mirror, her legs looked longer, her shirt make her look skinnier, and all together, she looked better. She would almost think that the clothes made her look pretty-till she shoved that thought out because it wasn't scientifically possible.

Sure, the clothes could make her feel better, causing her to think she looked better. But they couldn't really make her look better-right? I guess it's up to Troy to decide that, she thought.

Gabriella walked out of the main mall and back into the food course. Her courage had once again lifted, and as she made her way past the table that was occupied by Troy and his friends, she couldn't help suppressing a smile.

Why? Because each one of their heads whipped around to look at her. Nothing was really different, just her clothes. She had reapplied her make-up, more heavily than normal, but it was nothing special. Maybe because she walked with more confidence?

What ever the reason, Gabi bit back a grin as Troy asked, evidently surprised, "Gabi?"

3rd chapter up, really the 2nd, but whatever. You guys are awesome, thanks for the great reviews! I'm hoping to hit 25 before tomorrow, which is when I'll hopefully post the next chapter. My school starts Wednesday (shiver/cry), so after that I'll only get around to updating once, twice, maybe 3 times a week. You can almost always guarantee a chapter a week and a chapter a weekend, making that 2 chapters a week. I don't know how long this will be, and if I do have writers block, I'll say so and warn you that the next chapter might not be up for a while.

Anyway, please R&R! (I feel so corny saying that…)