--
Kelsi twirled a lock of bleached hair as she simpered at Troy. Troy stiffly smiled back, inwardly rolling his eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck. What a fake bitch, he thought. I can't believe I ever even gave that a chance! He took a deep breath. What he was doing was for Gabriella. Just think about Gabriella, he mused. Ah...
"-and so, I totally get that you, like, hate Gabriella right now and, like, I'd totally take you back now, Troy. Because you know I love you" she batted her eyelashes.
Troy blinked, before bursting out in laughter, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
"Y-you think I want to get back together with you?" he spluttered through his guffaws.
Kelsi looked confused. Was he still bitter about that Gabriella girl?
"Why wouldn't you? It's not like you have anyone better" she spat out harshly.
Troy's handsome face darkened.
"I would rather go out with a llama than a bitch like you" he retorted darkly.
Kelsi's jaw dropped.
"Excuse me?" she asked incredulously.
Troy rolled his eyes.
"You heard me. Did you honestly think I wouldn't find out?" he arched an eyebrow.
Kelsi began to panic.
"W-what are you talking about?"
Troy scoffed, his blonde hair falling in front of his steely eyes.
"Sending the entire school pictures of me and Gabriella together, just to get back at me for dumping you? How pathetic can you get?"
"I don't know what you're talking about Troy, but this is so not the way to win me back" she said defiantly, hoping her confident voice would cover her nervousness.
Troy shook his head.
"Don't you get it, Kelsi? It's. Over. I know you were the one that sent everyone those pictures. And the doctor's certificate. Who else would have access to medical information but the hospital CEO's daughter?" he sneered.
Desperation clawed at the back of her throat as her mind scrambled to find a plausible retort. Her carefully crafted plan was falling apart right in front of her eyes.
"Y-you don't have any evidence that I did it!" Kelsi snapped, ignoring her wavering voice.
Troy smirked, before pulling out a gold iPhone. Kelsi gasped. She had been looking for her phone since the end of lunch! He waved it in front of her face tauntingly.
"Taylor had kindly taken your phone from the window sill and, would you look at that! You've sent a message around the whole school, with images attached!" Troy's steely tone cut through Kelsi like a knife.
Troy rolled his eyes as tears began to roll down her porcelain cheeks.
"Save those for someone who cares, Kelsi. Just stop trying to destroy what Gabriella and I have right now"
"What do you guys have?" she hiccupped through her tears.
How could she stop when she didn't even know the reason he didn't want her? Wasn't she pretty enough? Wasn't she popular enough? She could change! Troy looked at her, pity swimming his soulful eyes.
"I don't know. But all I know that I don't want to lose it" he murmured, shoving his hands in his pockets.
He stared coldly into her red-rimmed eyes.
"And I'm not going to let some possessed tramp take that away from me. Pull a stunt like this again, I'll get you expelled. You're just lucky Gabriella didn't want you to get in trouble or I would've ruined you by now. Just get out of my life" he spat out.
Kelsi nodded, tears streaming freely down her cheeks. She had lost Troy to some nobody who was lucky enough to fall in bed with him. Just like she lost everyone else important to her. Kelsi could feel what was left her heart shatter. Troy sighed, looking away. At last, everything was neatly tied up and fixed. But it didn't make him feel better about the crying girl in front of him. She deserved it, remember? Troy cringed. It was that little voice again! Well, for once it was right, he thought.
And with that, he walked away, leaving a broken Kelsi behind.
As soon as Troy had walked out of earshot, Kelsi collapsed against a wall, silent sobs wracking her body. The cracks in the life were beginning to show, and she didn't know how to fix them. Before, she had just covered them with her father's money and power, ignoring how lonely and unloved she felt. Troy's rejection brought on the fierce pain she had buried from being left alone by her uncaring father. She slid onto the ground, bringing her knees up to her chin. Her heart ached.
"Why doesn't anyone love me?" Kelsi whispered to herself.
--
Gabriella's chocolate eyes lit up as Troy walked into the courtyard, a reassuring smile on his face. She beamed back at him. Taylor rolled her eyes.
"Why don't you guys just go get a room and make some babies? Oh wait, you already have" Chad smirked, poking out his tongue.
Gabriella made a face, before stealing a chip from Jason.
"Hey!" he protested with his mouth full.
Gabriella grinned cheekily as Troy slid into the seat beside her.
"Pregnant women have to eat for two, you know!" she chirped.
Sharpay and Taylor nodded knowingly.
"I can't wait until that brat finally pops out" Jason grumbled, shielding his food away from Gabriella.
Chad chuckled, his dark eyes sparkling, before turning to Troy.
"How'd it go with Kelsi the super-bitch?" he asked.
Troy shrugged.
"She won't be bothering us anytime soon again" he replied, snagging some of Gabriella's chicken.
"Hey! You're not pregnant, why do you need food?" she protested, pouting.
"But I'm hungry!" Troy whined.
"You can have some when you have another person inside of you" she retorted, snatching the fork out of his hand.
Troy pouted. Sharpay shook her head, giggling. Chad and Jason guffawed into their sandwiches.
"You two act like a married couple. Which you guys practically are, seeing that Gabriella's just moved in with Troy" Taylor winked, shaking her head in amusement.
Troy and Gabriella blushed. Troy snuck a glance at a red-faced Gabriella. She smiled shyly back. His heart soared. This was it, he thought. It was time to finally tell her how he really felt about her. Troy stared into her soft eyes. Nothing had ever felt so right in his whole life. He opened his mouth to speak.
"He-"
"Gabriella!" Joe's velvety smooth voice cut into Troy's confession.
Gabriella turned to look at Joe, albeit disappointedly, before beaming brightly at him.
"Hey, Joe! Um, what's up?" her sweet voice rang through his ears.
Joe flushed, shuffling his feet nervously. He was never this jumpy around girls before!
"I heard about the rumours-" he started.
"And they're true" Troy retorted sharply, narrowing his eyes.
He didn't like the way Joe kept on sneaking glances at Gabriella. Gabriella threw Troy a dirty glare, before nodding.
"Well, yeah. I'm definitely pregnant" she pointed at her slightly swelling stomach.
"Oh" Joe nodded, nervously laughing.
He took a deep breath, ignoring the pointed glares from the group at the tables. Especially from a certain, sandy-haired father-to-be.
"Um, Gabriella, can I talk to you? In private?"
Gabriella's brows furrowed in confusion. She looked at Sharpay and Taylor, whose eyes clearly told her 'no'. She snuck a glance at Troy. His face was blank, and he was stabbing indifferently at his food. A lump grew in her throat. He looked like he didn't even care. Gabriella bit her lip, before turning to smile falsely at Joe.
"Sure"
--