Something Is Wrong.

It was funny how something so small, so insignificant, could make such an impact.

How something could make the biggest change.

And how upsetting and confusing this little thing could be.

As she stared down at the little stick with the even smaller plus sign now brightly clear in her mind, she realised how every little thing that hadn't made sense over the last few days, weeks and months, how everything managed to fit into place. And how annoying it was that her being pregnant was the only thing that un-muddle those thoughts.

The endless sickness.

The endless eating for comfort.

The endless pains in her back and chest.

The endless toilet trips.

And the endless tears at things which weren't worth crying for.

That little plus sign seemed to make everything make sense, in some way. And yet she found she wasn't ecstatic. She wasn't hopeful. She wasn't full of joy. And she definitely couldn't wait to bring a child onto this Earth. Into her world. A world where it wouldn't have a father. Some would say she was old fashioned, that many single parents have brought up amazing children, with no problems at all. But wanting the father to be there, for her, wasn't possibly about the child. However selfish it made her, she wanted him there for her. For the comfort. The reassurance. The love, that only a partner could bring.

She blinked back the tears resting on her eyes and realised she was still in the bathroom, still in her pyjamas, and still leaning over the sink with a fidgeting Sharpay at her side.

"Gabi! What does it say?" Sharpay squealed in impatience once again.

It seemed like the stick was glued to her hand, and that the words weren't coming up her throat. She couldn't form any sentence. It was the shock , she supposed.

Sharpay searched for answers. "Is it wrong? Is the stick faulty? Should we try another one?"

Sharpay's words kept coming, but got no reply from the silent Gabriella. Sharpay was starting to worry. Was there any way you could faint standing up? Without falling down? She doubted it. Yet her friend, her friend she'd shared most of her adult years of life with, was standing stalk still, no movements, and no words.

"Gabriella. Talk to me. Please."

And then she turned. It was like she'd been standing there for years. Like she'd been standing there forever, and since the moment she'd let her eyes look at the stick, she'd aged dramatically. Sharpay knew instantly that the answer on the stick wasn't what Gabriella wanted. Her face had drained, she looked like the living dead. A zombie. Sharpay watched as Gabriella left the stick on the counter for the world to see and wandered away in the direction of her bedroom, her feet sloping. It wasn't a pretty sight.

Once Gabriella was safely away, she stood and saw the stick, her hand covering her mouth as she gasped. Gabriella was pregnant, and all she could find to say was, "Oh God."

Gabriella pushed her door closed and wished she could close her life behind. She was confused, or more her brain was confused. She'd never thought she'd get pregnant, and now she was placed with the reality of it all, thinking was out of the question. But her heart was still beating, life definitely seemed to be continuing, and all Gabriella could think to do was fall to the floor and cry.

Tears of pain.

Tears of hurt.

Tears of frustration.

They strolled down her face at an alarming rate, unsure of where to go. Her already pale skin turned paler, if that was possible, and her hands covering her eyes shook terribly. Her mind was such a mess, she didn't know where to begin. Starting with the basics; she was pregnant. She could finally admit that she was. If Sharpay hadn't got that through to her, she'd probably still be in denial until she gave birth. Although she could be a pain, Sharpay was a good type of pain.

And Sharpay, she supposed, was all she had now. Troy wasn't there, Taylor wasn't as close, and she'd fallen apart from her parents since college. An argument about which college to attend lessened the force of their connections. They had wanted Gabriella loser to home, while all she'd wanted to do was run away from it all. And when she'd ran, she'd left them and their support behind. She couldn't turn to them now.

So she was basically going it alone, the whole process, and she didn't know where to begin. The Doctor's would be a good idea, but she was too afraid. Gabriella thought they might put her down, a single parent. And she wasn't exactly proud.

She climbed over to her bed, nestling down into the covers for some comfort. Maybe sleep would make things better? A knock on the door startled her.

"Gabs? Are you okay?"

Gabriella nodded, but then realised Sharpay could see her. "I'm fine." She croaked, her cried out voice cracking.

"Alright, I've brought you some tea." She saw the door shake, and Sharpay was obviously trying to open it from the other side. She'd find it locked. Reluctantly throwing off the covers, she shuffled her bare feet across the carpeted flooring to the door, opening it slightly ajar.

A smiley Sharpay was on the other side. Gabriella smiled pathetically back. She took the tea thankfully and got ready to close the door. Sharpay's foot jammed it open. She stroked Gabriella's shoulder. "Gabs. Are you okay about all this? Want to talk about it?"

She watched as Gabriella's tearstained face shook. "Thanks for the support Shar, but I'm not ready to talk about it right now. I just need some space. I might go paint."

Sharpay smiled encouragingly. At least Gabriella might do something productive. Anything to get her mind off what was ahead.

"That sounds good. Well, I'm going out, so have fun. And if you need me, just call." Sharpay smiled, but in the back of her mind she was worried about leaving Gabriella in her very fragile state. Gabriell saw the worry in her eyes.

"Sharpay, I'm fine. Go. It's okay."

Sharpay arched her eyebrow. "Sure?"

Gabriella put on her most convincing smile. "Of course. I'm positive."

Sharpay kissed Gabriella's cheek and she watched as her friend exited their shared house. Slumping against the wall, she drank her tea, leaving the cup hazardly on the floor, but she didn't care. The only thing that would make her truly forget would be the thing she loved most.

Painting.

--

Something was wrong.

Something wasn't right.

And only Troy could feel it.

His head mysteriously cocked up from his bulging workload, and his eyes travelled around the room. Yes, everything was in order, nothing had moved, so why did he feel like something was missing? Or that something was incredibly wrong?

Letting his pen fall to his desk and he stood up to admire his new room. The view that held from the window was amazing. What a pity it rained nearly every day! It would look beautiful in the sunshine. The hills with the skyscrapers covering some of their beauty. And when he looked down he was reminded of the life that went on here. How every single person on the roads below was different. They had different lives, different problems, but something made them similar. They were all human. And all made mistakes.

Troy had made many of them.

His fingers rested on the glass, fingering the pains carefully. His biggest problem, was the one that he let happen with Gabriella. How he wished he could turn back time! Anything to see her face again. Because he'd done wrong. So wrong. And only wished he could fix it. Somehow.

And he'd been wrong a couple of times too.

At first when he'd been offered the job here in Chicago, about 2 weeks ago, he'd jumped at the chance. He'd vainly thought that getting away from New York, moving away from home, would make it easier to get rid of the pain and guilt that crawled through him every day. He'd been every stupid - since he'd been here, she'd been all he'd thought about. Leaving New York had been the last thing he should have done, because now she was ever further away. And almost impossible to find. But Mr Banks had promised that this set up wouldn't be forever. What Mr Banks didn't know was that Troy was hanging on to his word very tightly.

"Troy?"

He turned around quickly, to see Jason standing at his desk. He'd been so wrapped up in his thoughts hat he hadn't heard the door. He looked at his friend, colleague, and sighed. His sad face. Jason's red rimmed eyes. He'd never known a man to miss his partner so much. As much as him, at least.

Jason had been missing Kelsi miserably. She was always on his mind, every moment of the day, as much as Gabriella was on Troy's. They hadn't broken up, but both of them were full of pain and want for each other, yet Jason had a duty to do, and was miles away from her. Troy could only imagine what it would be like if he were in that position with Gabriella. It would be truly heartbreaking, he imagined. Jason talked frequently about Kelsi, and how happy they had been before him moving. And their hour long phone calls had been extending, but at least their relationship was still alive. For he knew life for Jason wouldn't be worth living, without Kelsi by his side.

Troy shook his head, coming back to the present. "Jason, what can I do for you?"

Jason ran a hand through his hair, before his drained and sore voice replied. "Eh, Mr Banks wants you to fax the work you've been doing to him by Monday. He tried your phone, but couldn't get through. So he phoned me, and yeah, I'm just passing on the message." Jason paused, looking at Troy carefully. He watched Troy turn back to the window and his eyes rise restlessly to the clouds. "Troy? Are you okay? You've been really distant."

Troy shook his head once more, and put on a smile. "Nah, I'm fine, thanks for asking. Just thinking."

Jason nodded his head. "I know what you mean, I'm finding it hard to concentrate. What the woman in our lives do to us, right?!"

Troy laughed ironically. At least Jason had the woman he wanted. "Yes, I know what you mean."

The silence approached, but Troy turned to Jason. "Jason?"

Their eyes connected. "Yep?"

"Does something feel… strange to you, today? I mean, does something feel like it's changed… or its weird, or something?" Troy knew he was clutching at straws when he saw Jason's puzzled face.

He saw his work mate shake his head. "No, do you?"

Troy went back to staring at the window. "Yes. Something's wrong. I can feel it."

--

Gabriella felt the tears run down her cheeks once more. They had been continuously coming for the last three hours she'd been in her studio, and now she knew why.

She stared back at her canvas, her fingers covered in paint fingering her work. The jaw, the lips, those eyes. She'd painted him. And she hadn't even known.

The last three hours had been a blur. All she knew is that she'd been painting, but her mind hadn't been in it. She knew her hands were moving, the paint spreading, but other than that, she was on a different planet.

She sat back to admire her work, realising for the first time that this picture, which she'd drawn from memory, was the only thing she had left of him. The only piece of Troy she might ever have.

Letting that canvas go to the floor, she brought another blank one onto the easel and started again, another view of his face, but from a different angle.

If this was the only way she could have Troy, she'd take as much as she could get.

A/N; Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter. Things will start getting awkward soon, so look out for future chapters. Since I'm on holiday, I'm trying to update more, hoping that I'll be able to get more into this story before school starts again. When it does start though, I don't know how much I'll be able to update, so please bare with me. :)

Anyways, enjoy the frequent updates, and please...

REVIEW! :D