Yeah, you'll hate me when you read this chapter, but it had to be done.
7 more days until the deadline for the contest entries! I only got 3 stories, so have yours by the 12th or you're (dun dun dun) disqualified!
A week came faster than Gabriella thought. Before she knew it, she was walking through the doors of East High seeing what she was expecting. People were running all over the place with smiles plastering their faces, excited that Troy was finally coming back.
Gabriella just finished getting her books for English and Science when screams could be heard down the hallway. She spun around and smiled when she saw the blue eyed boy in a blue striped polo walk through the doors (Just think about what Zac wore during the What Time is It video) with a tired smile on his face. Chad and Zeke were by his sides, trying to protect their friend from the crazy students.
"Hey Troy!" Jason greeted his friend, patting him on the back.
"Good to have you back, Mr. Bolton." Ms. Darbus smiled.
"It's good to be back." Troy smiled back halfheartedly.
Troy was bombarded with more questions and greetings before he reached his locker. He had Chad and Zeke fight off the crowd and leave him alone. Gabriella saw him glance her way and she smiled warmly. He shifted his gaze to the floor and shook his head, shutting his locker and taking off down the hallway. Gabriella's grin fell as she sighed, closing her own locker and following her stubborn boyfriend to homeroom.
When the brunette reached Ms. Darbus's room, she saw Troy with his head resting against his hand, staring at Brandon's empty desk with a sad expression across his face. When he felt Gabriella's eyes on him, he moved his own to the face of his desk, the sorrowful expression still etched on his face. Gabriella's heart dropped. She hated seeing her boyfriend in pain.
"Hey Gabby." Taylor greeted her friend with a smile. "Troy's finally back!"
Gabriella nodded "I know. Thank God."
"Has he said anything to you yet?"
"Nope. Still avoiding me."
Taylor huffed "The nerve of him. How can he still think that you're cheating on him?"
Gabriella shrugged "I don't know. It does make sense if you think about it. I shouldn't have made all those excuses."
Taylor comforted "Don't worry Gabby. He'll come around eventually. Just give him some time. I bet he's still shaken up by the Brandon incident."
Gabriella nodded "I know he is. He keeps staring at his empty desk. He really does miss him."
"I know the feeling," Taylor sighed "I miss Brandon too. When's he coming back?"
Gabriella answered "I don't know. I guess in a few weeks. I just hope everyone forgives him like you and me."
Taylor sympathized "I'm sure they will when they see Troy doing the same thing."
Gabriella nodded, hoping that her best friend was right.
--
...Lunch...
Gabriella sulked to lunch with her head low. She had tried many times to try and talk to Troy, but he always blew her off. It was like they were broken up and avoiding each other.
Suddenly, Sharpay came running up to her and asked "Gabby, can I talk to you?"
Gabriella nodded "Sure, what's up?"
Sharpay took a deep breath and explained "Zeke just asked me out. I really, really like him but I don't wanna ruin our friendship. You've been put through this, so what should I do?"
Gabriella immediately replied "If you like him enough to keep the relationship strong, then go for it. I mean, look at me and...oh never mind. He's avoiding me."
Sharpay sighed "Don't worry. I'm sure he'll come around eventually."
"That's what Taylor said."
"Well you should listen to her. She's a smart girl."
Gabriella grinned falsely. She looked down the hallway and her eyes locked with Troy's. It looked like he was going to smile at her, but he just quickly glared at her and walked away with Chad to lunch.
She sighed "I'm scared Shar. What if he breaks up with me?"
Sharpay replied "Gabriella, just talk to him. I'm sure he'll understand."
Gabriella nodded and saw Taylor wave to them. She grabbed Sharpay's arm and pulled her in the direction of the cafeteria, her mental script for talking to Troy forming in her head.
--
...After School...
Gabriella grabbed her books that she needed for homework and bolted out the door of the school, rushing to her car. She hopped in the front seat and sped away to Troy's house.
As soon as she pulled into his driveway, she could see that he was already home.
"Probably trying to avoid me again..." she thought to herself.
She sighed and pulled herself from her car, walked up the front steps to the doorstep, and rang the doorbell. In a few seconds, she came face to face with Lucy.
"Hi Gabriella." Lucy smiled, opening the door a little wider to let her in.
"Hi Lucy. Is Troy home?" Gabriella asked, walking into the house that she called home for a month.
"Yeah, he's up in his room. You know where it is." Lucy replied with a smile.
"Thanks." Gabriella rushed up the carpeted stairs and opened the white door on the left. She peeked inside the room to see Troy in his white wife-beater and his jeans from school. He was listening to his iPod with his arm covering his eyes.
"Troy?" Gabriella called softly.
Troy paused the song and curiously looked up to see who called his name, but his eyes darkened into a half glare as he growled "What?"
Gabriella walked over to his bed and sat down beside him, grinning. "Chad told me that you wanted to talk to me after you got out of the hospital. What's up?" she smiled, leaning in for a kiss.
Troy quickly darted away. "When did I say that?"
"But Chad said-"
"I meant whoever said that I want to talk to you?" Troy glared at her, anger flashing through his eyes.
Gabriella looked taken aback. Troy had never spoken to her like this and even though she expected it, it still hurt to hear it actually happening.
"Troy, I know what you're thinking, but I never cheated on-" Gabriella tried, but Troy cut her off.
"Gabriella, we both know what happened, so just let it go. I understand what happened and why you did it."
Gabriella argued "Troy, just stop and let me explain what you think you heard over the phone!"
Troy shot up like a rocket and seethed "I know what I heard Gabriella! I'm not an idiot!"
"I never said you were!"
"Gabriella, why is it so hard to accept the fact that you were tired of me fighting your brother and you just ran off with another guy?! Just come up to me and say it to my effing face! I'll understand!"
"Then why are you getting so angry over this?" Gabriella asked, exasperated.
Troy rolled his eyes "Because you're making up excuses and trying to act like it's not happening! Just get some guts and act like a teenager, not like a 5 year old!"
"Troy, I didn't cheat on you! Just let me explain!" Gabriella pleaded, but Troy softly pushed her off the bed and demanded "Out. Now."
"Troy-"
"Gabriella, just leave. I need time to think and all this stress isn't good for me especially when I'm on medication. Just get out."
Gabriella had to fight away the tears that were making their way up to her eyes and nodded, walking over to the door, whispered "I love you Troy."
"Mmhm..." Troy muttered, playing catch with himself with his basketball pillow.
Gabriella sighed, closed the door, and ran out of the house before anyone got the chance to see her tears.
--
...That Night...
Gabriella sat awake that night in her bed, staring at a picture of her and Troy on Myspace. It was from the night that Isabelle and Sarah went to the movies with them. They were all on Troy's bed and Isabelle was taking the picture. Gabriella was kissing Troy's cheek while Troy was grinning cockily. Sarah was giving a sly grin while Isabelle just simply smiled and gave the peace sign. Good times, good times.
Gabriella clicked the Next button and laughed at the picture. They were all in a downstairs closet that was extremely small. They were all fighting to get out while having painful, hilarious looks on their faces. Troy was elbowing Sarah in the face, Gabriella was pushing herself out by using Troy's shoulder, and Isabelle was struggling to keep Sarah's butt out of her face and take the picture at the same time. Gabriella remembered how they all landed on the living room floor with a thud. They were sore for the rest of the night, especially since Troy was the one who landed on top of everyone and Sarah, being the smallest, was on the bottom.
Gabriella's memory session was ended when her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and gasped when she saw who it was.
"Troy?" She answered.
"Hey." He whispered.
"Hey. W-what's up?" Gabriella asked, trying to start a comfortable conversation.
"Can you meet me at the lake in 5 minutes?"
Gabriella froze. The first time they were at the lake together, Troy's ego got hurt. The second time, Gabriella told him that she got hurt. Someone was bound to get hurt this time. Nothing good ever happened to them at the lake.
"S-sure. See you then."
"Bye." With that, they both hung up.
Gabriella gulped. Sliding her sandals onto her feet, she hoped that this would be the first time someone wouldn't get hurt at the lake.
--
...At the Lake...
Gabriella nervously trotted to the bench where her and Troy have met twice before. She sat down and waited for her boyfriend to arrive.
A few minutes later, Troy walked across the bridge to the bench that Gabriella was now sitting at. Gabriella looked up at him and couldn't help but grin slightly. He was so gorgeous under the Albuquerque moonlight. All of his scars were healed and his eyes shone with...sadness? Why was he sad?
"Hey Gabby." He whispered, digging his hands in his pockets.
"Hey yourself," she replied, standing up. "So what's going on? We only meet at the lake when something bad happens."
Troy took a deep breath and looked off to the side. Gabriella felt a pang of horror at her heart. As much as she wanted to ignore it, she kept hearing the same word replay over and over again in her head. Breakup, breakup, breakup...
"Gabriella, I've never felt this kind of love before, but...but I just...I don't know. I'm finding it hard to trust you now."
"Troy, I didn't che-"
"I'm not saying that you did," Troy groaned. "I'm just saying that you've been making up excuses and I think that you're hiding something from me. Not necessarily another relationship, but I just remember us saying that we won't hide anything from each other. If you have a problem, I'll try my best to help you, but I can't do that if you're going off and sneaking around my back. You're putting me in a tight situation Gabriella."
"Troy, you're making this harder than it has to be!" Gabriella almost yelled. "If I tell you the truth, will you stop being so stubborn?"
Troy shook his head. "Gabby, I want to give you a chance. I really do. But I just think that...I have a feeling that it's just another lie."
"Troy-"
"I think that we're better off as friends." Troy finally whispered, keeping his gaze to the floor to hide his tears.
"You're breaking up with me without even knowing the truth?!" Gabriella sobbed, not caring if her tears were ruining her makeup.
Troy nodded. "I don't think there is any truth in this. I'm gonna believe what I believe and you can come up with another lie if you want. I don't wanna hear it."
"But Troy-"
"I have therapy in 5 minutes." Troy interrupted, checking his watch. "I'll see you at school."
"But I-" Gabriella couldn't finish. Troy walked off down the bridge and Gabriella had a feeling that he wasn't coming back.
She slid down to her butt and buried her head in her arms. This is what it must've felt like for Brandon when Troy ditched him because of a lie. Brandon...
"Where's your shoulder to cry on when you need it?" Gabriella sobbed to herself. Then she remembered. He ran away to get away from his hellish life.
Running away.
That gave her an idea.
She jumped to her feet and sped home, a plan in her head the whole way.
--
...2 Hours Later...
12:00. Midnight. Perfect timing. Gabriella rang the doorbell and waited for an answer. About a minute later, a very sleepy figure came to the door and grumbled "Whoever the hell you are, do you have any sense of time?"
"Open your eyes and look at me." Gabriella grinned.
The person opened their tired eyes and they automatically widened. They scooped Gabriella into a tight hug and whispered "What are you doing here?"
Gabriella replied tearfully "Troy broke up with me."
"He what?"
"Let me in and I'll explain." Gabriella wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. The person nodded and opened the door wider. Gabriella smiled and stepped inside. She walked over to the couch with the person right behind her. She sat down and heard them say "Okay, what happened?"
Gabriella went through the story that she had lived just 2 hours ago and finished with "...So that's when I thought...c-could I maybe...s-stay here for awhile?"
She saw them nod and smile "Of course you can. We're family."
Gabriella jumped onto their lap and concealed them in a tight hug, mumbling "Thanks Brandon. I owe you one."
Brandon kissed her hair and replied "Just the fact that you're here is all the thanks I need. I love you."
"Love you too." After that, Gabriella drifted to sleep on her brother's chest, feeling all of her problems fade away.
Yeah, sorry for making Troy and asshole, but he'll clean it up eventually.
Rachel :)