A/N: Hello, lovelies. This is the last chapter before the long one I told you about. No, its not the last chapter. This story has a few more to go before the ending, otherwise, I'd have to leave you all hanging, and I wont. This chapter is pretty good length-wise. Writing wise, you decide. Its longer than my past few ones, so hopefully if it aint good quality, its good quantity.

Thanks for all the reviews babes

Disclaimer: no way, I don't have time to own HSM. Too much college work, parties, friends, sleep and fanfictions to do. Don't have time to own a hit movie.

Chapter 6:

Gabriella arrived at school with new hope. After the day at the funeral with Troy, she felt like they had gone back to where they used to be. Although he hadn't called her the day after, she still kept the hope strong.

Gabriella grinned as Taylor walked to her holding up a party invitation, "Tada!" Taylor exclaimed as she handed Gabriella the slip of paper.

"Morgan Livingston's' Party?" Gabriella asked as she read off the paper. She looked up to Taylor, who nodded excitedly.

"Everyone's who's someone is going. And WE" she gestured to herself and Gabriella, "are finally invited!"

Gabriella smiled at her friend cautiously, "why? We weren't last year. I distinctly remember Morgan handing us invitations saying-"Gabriella put on her best Valley Girl accent, "To all the geeks and nerds, losers and turds, have a good weekend…at home!" Gabriella rolled her eyes at the memory.

Taylor sighed nodded, "yah, well, this year I'm dating Chad-well, sort of, and you're with Troy. And we've also got Sharpay. So that officially qualifies us as part of the-"Taylor made air quotes, "in-crowd"

"Hmm" Gabriella nodded and looked back at the invitation, "I don't know. I'll have to see if Troy wants to go"

Taylor sighed and nodded, "too dependant on your boyfriend hon, we can go just girls if we want to"

Gabriella considered it, but then remembered what happened between her and Troy at the funeral and shook her head, "I can't. I have to try to be there for Troy as much as I can this week because he needs some support"

Taylor rolled her eyes, "fine. I understand"

Gabriella smiled at her, "thank you best friend"

Taylor grinned, "your welcome, best friend" They hooked arms and walked to chemistry class together at the sign of the bell.

At lunch, Gabriella found Troy in the gym, practicing hoops.

"Hey, Superstar, some alone time before chillin' in the caf?" she grinned as she walked towards him.

Troy turned towards her and stopped playing basketball, "whats up, Gabi?" he asked. Gabriella shrugged and gave him a weird look, "do I need a reason to see my boyfriend?"

Troy nodded and went back to bouncing the ball. Gabriella was a bit confused by his actions. Did he not want her there?

She stood close to him anyways, "there's this party this weekend, Morgon Livingston's" she said as she grabbed he ball from him, noticing how he wasn't even listening to her, "lets just talk for a second Troy, please?"

Troy sighed and turned to face her. Gabriella noticed that he was wearing a red and white long sleeved shirt. Granted it was on of her favorites on him, but why was he wearing a shirt like that when it was nearly a million degrees outside.

"Its hot, don't you want to at least roll up your sleeves?" Gabriella giggled at him as she grabbed the edge of his sleeve and tried to pull it up.

Troy backed away quickly and covered up his arm, but not before Gabriella got a peek of what was under.

"Troy?" she asked in an almost whisper, "what did you do?"

Troy shrugged and looked away, "I was trying to fix my car and I got cut" it was a lame excuse and Gabriella knew it

"I don't believe you Troy" she shook her head, "did you do this yourself?"

Troy didn't look her in the eyes but instead said, "could I have the basketball?"

Gabriella looked at him angrily, "why are you doing this? Why are you hurting yourself like this Troy?" she cried as she stood closer to him to get a better look at his arm.

Troy pushed her away, "Gabriella stop. This isn't any of your business" he replied firmly.

Gabriella just couldn't take it anymore, "Fuck you, Troy Bolton!" she cried out, "why do you always make it seem like none of this affects me. Like none of this hurts me?"

Troy looked up at her with same angry glare he gave her on her balcony that night, "why the fuck do you always have to make this about you Gabriella?" he yelled back.

Gabriella was taken aback, but she did not lose her voice, "I don't, Troy, so shut the fuck up. Why didn't you tell me about your mother, Troy? Why didn't you tell me about the alcohol? Why are you being so fucking distant one minute and all caring and loving the other?" she yelled out the questions she's been keeping bottled up inside of her for a while.

Troy looked at her surprised, but then regained his confidence, "look Gabriella, I don't want you to be in my business, alright? Stop being such a pathetic and needy girlfriend. I don't need that"

Gabriella almost felt like she could slap him again, "don't need that? It fucking seems like you don't need me anymore!"

"Maybe I don't!" Troy yelled back. Gabriella stopped her actions when she realized what he had said.

"Its over Gabriella, just get the fuck out of here" He said angrily as he grabbed his ball from her and dribbled the ball, shooting it into the hoop.

Gabriella stood there for a minute before turning around and walking out so that he wouldn't see her tears. When she was near the exit, she began to walk a little faster. She couldn't hear the sound of him dribbling anymore and she could have sworn she heard him call out her name, but it didn't matter, she was already gone.

Gabriella spent lunch in the bathroom stall. The same place she had spent her lunch on her first day of school in. Gabriella wiped away her tears with the toilet paper the school had put in. She sniffed and breathed in heavily. Its over. He broke up with her. She knew that he may have been calling her back, but it didn't matter. She knew he would break up with her again soon. All he seemed to do was get angry at her. Nothing she ever did was right for him anymore. So, its over.

Gabriella heard chanting coming from the hallways outside the girls' bathroom.

"Fight! Fight! Fight" she heard people calling out, she also heard a couple of, "kick him in the balls" or "get him in the gut"

Then she heard them call out, "Go Troy!" and she immediately stepped out of her stall. 'Was Troy in a fight?' she washed her hands and dried them with a paper towel before pulling open the door of the bathroom.

The hallway was crowded and people were packed in, trying to get a better look at what was happening.

Gabriella pushed her way to the front, lucky for her that she was shorter and smaller than most. She got to the front where she could see Troy punching Samuel Carlson in the face. Samuel managed to tackle Troy and shove him towards the lockers. Troy pushed him off and punched him again. Samuel grew more furious and shoved Troy towards the lockers, punching him in the face.

Gabriella couldn't stand to watch anymore, she squirmed through the rest of the crowd and ran up to the center, making her way in between Troy and Samuel.

"Stop, you guys! Stop fighting!" Gabriella tried to separate them, but they kept getting to each other.

"Gabriella, get the fuck out of here" Troy said moved past her and threw another successful punch to Samuel.

Samuel couldn't take it anymore, "Move it bitch" he yelled to Gabriella before he shoved her to the lockers, where her back hit the handles and she sank to the ground in pain.

Troy turned to Samuel and tackled, "don't you dare fucking touch her" he pinned him to the other side of hallway lockers, where the crowd cleared space for them.

Gabriella got up and ran towards them again. She knew it was stupid, but she wasn't going to let Troy get expelled.

She came in between them again and yelled out, "stop fighting or I'll call a teacher and get you both kicked out of school"

The boys didn't listen but Samuel yelled at Troy, "get this bitch out of the way or I'll take her down right before I get to you"

Troy glared at him but turned to Gabriella, "Gabriella, get the hell out of this right now"

Gabriella shook her head, "Stop fighting or I stay. He can try to do whatever the hell he wants, I'm not going to move" Troy grew frustrated,

"Gabriella, I'm not kidding, get the fuck out of here" he said to her. The crowd was beginning to boo at her. They wanted to see the fight. Samuel threw her an evil gleam and a wink. She gave him a disgusted look.

Suddenly, she felt someone grab her arm tightly. It was Samuel, "if you ain't gonna move, bitch. I'll move you.

"Ow" Gabriella cried out as he twisted her arm.

Suddenly, Samuel freed her arm and Gabriella turned to see why.

Troy was holding him by his shirt collar, "get your fucking hands off of her. This fight's over"

Samuel looked to Troy, who was the same height as he was, "are you giving up over this bitch?" Samuel grinned coyly.

Troy threw Samuel back against the lockers, grabbed his bag and walked away. Just then, the bell ran and the crowd of students started to scatter before any teachers came back from lunch duty.

Gabriella ran after to Troy to find him headed towards his car, "Troy!" she called out, "where are you going?"

Troy threw his bag into the car and opened the driver's seat door, "Gabriella, leave me the fuck alone. Its over"

He drove away without even looking back at her. Always leaving her confused.

Gabriella walked into the hallways in a daze. She had no idea what was going on and felt it was too complicated to try and figure it out now.

After visiting her locker and gathering her books, she made her way into English class, already late enough as it was.

"Ms. Montez" her English teacher, Ms. Dobbins looked up at her from her desk, "this is your warning tardy. One more and its detention, you know the rules."

Gabriella nodded and took her usual seat next to Taylor.

For the next few minutes of class, Gabriella's mind wandered a bit. Half of it trying to solve the mystery that was Troy, and the other half almost crying out for the days of last year where her Troy was like a knight in shinning armor. As cheesy as it sounded. He almost was. Sure, they fought on a daily bases. What will they watch, why she broke the ipod, why he stained her skirt, why she forgot his game, or he didn't call. It was always little fights, but deep down she knew that she was as crazy about him as he was about her. What happened to those days?

She was snapped out of her daze by a note that landed on her desk, she looked up and saw Taylor beside her with a gesturing nod.

Gabriella opened up the note and read,

Oh my god! Gabriella, can you believe what happened? I would have never guessed!

Tay Tay

Gabriella turned over the note, grabbed her pen and wrote

I wasn't there. I don't know why they were fighting. What happened?

- Gabbs

Gabriella threw Taylor the folded note when Ms. Dibbons turned around to face the bored. And just like she'd predicted, a minute later, the note managed to find its way back to her.

Gabi, this is like the hugest thing ever! Samuel was telling a couple of the other jocks that his mother, who was Troy's mom's nurse at the hospital, told him that his mom overdosed on drugs and not died in a car accident! She committed suicide! Troy heard them talking and got into a fight with Samuel!

-Tay Tay

Gabriella's eyes flew over the words, 'She committed suicide" over and over again. Troy's mom? Why? She was the sweetest person Gabriella had ever known. Why would she ever commit suicide?

Gabriella's thoughts flew to Troy

"Oh, god. Troy" she whispered to herself as she buried her head into her hands. What was she going to do?

A/N: okay, I know you guys are all going, huh? Why is Troy caring one minute and shitty the next. Its okay, there's an explanation for it and its, well, going to become more clear in the next few chapters. He's pretty much leaving Gabriella hot and cold for a while. And I know there's some Troy hating going on as well. Some of the reviewers have made that clear, lol. That's the way I want it to be. Some of you might be surprised by the ending. Twisty, no? ;p