Author's Note: Sup-uh? :P Thank you so, so much for the response to the first chapter! 24 reviews, 23 Favorites, and 41 Alerts? That's amazing! I love you guys.

I hope you enjoy the second chapter just as much :)

Also, this is the last update for about three weeks or so because both Dani and I have finals coming up and we're going to be busy. But after then, the updates should be coming much faster.

Again, this goes out to Miss Dani (pandora147). You rock dudesterr!

Bittersweet Love

TWO—Connected

…

'I feel connected, protected, it's like you're sitting right with me all the time…'

RBD 'Connected'

…

It was 9:28am and Troy was staring impatiently at the clock. It seemed as if each second was an hour. Ms. Darbus was still rambling in the front of the classroom He really wanted to throw Chad's basketball at her to see if she'd shut up. But he had enough self-control to not do so.

Troy hated the fact that he had to sit through Ms. Darbus' class from 8:10 to 9:30. Why did she have to be his English teacher? Out of all of the teachers in the English department, why did it have to be her? He had enough of her during homeroom from 8:10 to 8:20.

He sighed once more and thought that the only good part of all of this was that he had free period next and even though he would have to spend it painting sets, he would get his cell phone back and text Gabriella.

Gabriella sat through her Calculus class, intently listening to her teacher, Mr. Lee explain Derivatives.

Calculus was one of Gabriella's fortes. She loved working out the equations and they've just worked so easily in her brain ever since she was seven. A young age, yes, but her curious nature happened to lead her to her grandfather's study and she coincidentally stumbled upon a Calculus for Dummies book.

The bell rang a mere minute later. After she neatly wrote down her homework, she headed out of the classroom. She walked into the yellow and blue locker-clad hallway which was quickly filling with students. The Senior Class had free period all at the same time so she had planned to head to the library to work on her story for Drama Class that was due at last period. Of course, she had finished it before the break was over, but now she was merely tweaking it. A writer was normally never fully satisfied with his or her work and she was no different.

Finally reaching her blue locker, she put in her combination and opened it. She neatly stacked her Calculus textbook and notebook. Then she took off her track jacket and hung it on the silver hook before closing the door.

"Hey Gabriella," a voice said, smiling as he stepped toward her.

Gabriella looked up to see Ryan Evans. Ryan Evans was the kind of guy who was polite and kind to everyone he met. The gene pool hadn't been so kind to his slightly high strung, melodramatic twin sister. Sharpay had gotten her way since birth, which included being sent to East High as opposed to West High; just because Sharpay thought that red and white were far better suited to her complexion than West High's blue and yellow. Their parents simply obliged because it would also give Ryan a chance to express himself and not be in Sharpay's shadow as they had noticed while the two were growing up. He was passing through the main corridor of lockers when he spotted his friend reaching into her locker.

"Were you planning to come to my birthday bash?" Ryan asked.

Gabriella smiled shyly at him. Ryan Evans was one of the few people at West High that didn't seem to have making her life miserable as a part of their agenda.

"I'm not sure," Gabriella replied honestly.

"Is inviting the freak to your party your act of charity for the day?" a bitchy voice said from behind.

Gabriella didn't need to turn around to know that it was Missy Harrington, and from the chorus of laughter that followed her remark, that her posse was in tow. Gabriella was about to excuse herself to go to her next destination when she had a minor interruption.

Okay, maybe not minor because she got slammed into her locker.

"What the f…" Gabriella couldn't even finish her sentence, wincing at the pain on the left side of her body.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," Missy said in a sickly sweet voice, as she walked by with her posse.

Gabriella didn't say anything as she was still recollecting herself, trying to get over the pain on her side. She glanced at the large group, noticed that Missy was draped over none other than Gabriel Montez, her 'twin brother.'

Whatever happened to the world in which big brothers protected their little sisters? Even if their little sisters were only 17 minutes younger.

"You coming, Ryan?" Missy demanded. Ryan gave Gabriella a sympathetic smile and whispered a sorry before joining in with the group.

She glared at the group of 'Rulers of the Social Hierarchy'. Oh if looks could kill…

FINALLY! The bell had rung and English was finally over. And Troy would get his phone back from Darbus. The only disappointing part was that he would have to wait fifteen minutes to text Gabriella back.

Troy got up out of his seat and walked toward the door before being stopped by,

"Troysie," Sharpay Evans said in a peppy voice as she took his hand. "I know you're upset about the whole Detention thing, but I'm going to try to talk it over with Ms. Darbus now, ok?"

"Really?" Troy asked hopefully.

"I know how important basketball is to you, and I know you don't like missing practice. So, wait here, I'll be back in five!" Sharpay said kissing his cheek. "Tootles!"

Troy smiled at how quickly she could change the tone of her voice from understanding to peppy. He suddenly felt guilty again. The only reason he was upset was because he couldn't talk to Gabriella not because he was missing practice. And here was his GIRLFRIEND getting him out of detention. He sighed inwardly.

This was getting harder by the minute.

There was this girl he had met online who was so much like him and treated him like the real him—perhaps because she was one of the only people who knew the real him. Her name was Gabriella. She brought out the best in him and he liked that. With her he was just Troy.

And then there was Sharpay; the cute, peppy, and annoying head cheerleader and president of the Drama Club. She cared for him and looked out for him. And even though she annoyed the hell out of him, she was always there.

"I'm back!" the blonde said, walking over to him, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"The verdict?" Troy asked.

"I already told Chad. She said that you two can go fling your balls for touchdowns in baggy shorts," Sharpay repeated what her beloved Drama instructor had just stated.

Troy chuckled at this, his teenage mind thinking the double entendre of the simple phrase of an annoyed teacher. "Thanks Shar, you're the best."

"I know!" Sharpay said conceitedly. Troy rolled his discreetly. Why couldn't she just be modest and say 'thanks' or 'no, I'm not'? "Here's your phone," she handed him his beloved Blackberry.

"Thanks! See you later," He said before turning on his heel.

"WAIT!" Sharpay turned him around. "My kiss?" she asked expectantly.

"Sorry," Troy said before rolling his eyes again and placing a zealous kiss on her lips, leaving her with a dazed look on her face. Troy chuckled and kissed her cheek, "Later baby."

"S-s-see y-y-you l-l-later," Sharpay stuttered. God, he was an incredible kisser.

Troy practically sprinted to the locker room, making sure he got to his locker before the majority of the team got there for free period workout. He picked up his phone and saw the text message that Gabriella had sent before class. He opened it and it said:

'Thanks for the Skittles :). And no, I'm not a genius. -Gabi xx'

Troy smiled. It was a simple message that he was freaking out over but it meant so much because it kept them connected. He started to type another message back.

"Yo, hoops!" Chad's voice rang through the locker room. Troy groaned inwardly before shoving his phone in his book bag and slipping off his Vans.

"Sup, Chad? I thought you'd be here before I did," Troy said peeling off his blue t-shirt to make it look like he'd already started changing.

"I kinda got hung up by one of the honeys."

Troy snorted and rolled his eyes. "Some things never change."

As she walked in the hallway, Gabriella was thoughtful. She wondered why people ragged on her so much. She stayed out of everyone's way and was always in her own little world.

She sighed as she walked before being stopped by Ms. Patricia Hughes, her guidance counselor.

"Hello, Gabriella," Ms. Hughes greeted with a smile.

"Hi, Ms. Hughes," Gabriella smiled slightly.

"Remember our meeting this Friday!" Ms. Hughes reminded Gabriella. "Have you spoken to your parents about your early acceptance to the Freshman Honors Program at Stanford?"

This topic really annoyed Gabriella. Antonio and Marisa were as close-minded as can be and they didn't want her to take the opportunity. For being as careless as they were, they were trying to 'protect' her and keep her under the watchful eye of her 'brother' at the University of Albuquerque.

"Actually, I have," she lied. Never in a million years could she talk to those sperm and egg donors about something so important to her. They never listened. If the sperm and egg donor would stop complimenting Gabriel and instead listen to her for more than 3.5 seconds, then maybe she'd have the chance to bring the matter up. "The sp… my father said that he would prefer that I went to U of A with Gabriel."

"But this is the opportunity of a lifetime," Ms. Hughes said a little shocked. "And it's Stanford! It's the number four university in the country."

"I know," 'Trust me, I know.' She thought. "Um…I talked to him about it yesterday and he said he would ponder it," Gabriella lied once more. "Bullshit," she thought to herself.

"Good, good!" Ms. Hughes smiled. "Well, I will see you later, honey."

"See you later Ms. Hughes," Gabriella half smiled as the counselor walked away.

"Ugh…" Gabriella groaned and continued her walk to the library.

After finally arriving at the library, Gabriella took a seat on one of the hidden tables in the back. She did not feel like being disturbed during her free period, especially now that thanks to Missy's little stunt, she was going to be in pain all day.

After sitting down, she pulled out her iPhone along with a pack of Sour Skittles. She looked at her phone and saw that there were two new text messages from Troy.

Gabriella smiled, instantly forgetting about her shoulder pain and touching the messages with her finger.

'I'm sure you're in class now, I'm headed there too, but I just wanted you to know that I got your text. And yes, Gabriella; you most certainly are a genius, ;) –Troy.'

She smiled. An authentic smile that as of late, only Troy brought to her face. She touched on the next message and it read,

'P.S: Here's some more Cyber Sour Skittles. They'll keep you energized. I know the Cyber Starbursts will keep me going. Here: (insert picture of Sour Skittles here). There you go! Hugs, -Troy.'

Gabriella giggled at the picture of the Sour Skittles. It was obvious Troy had tweaked it on Photoshop because on the top corner it now said 'Gabi's Sour Skittles' and at the bottom it said, 'Perfect for AP Chem. & Advanced Calc!'

"Troy you're so silly," she whispered to herself. She saved the two messages into her inbox, as she did with all of his text messages and opened a new text message.

'Thank you. :). –Gabi xx'

"Hey Gabriella," someone said coming up to the hidden tables. Gabriella jumped nearly a foot in the air since she wasn't expecting anyone. In her jumping her fingers accidentally typed on the keyboard of her iPhone and pressed the send button.

"Kelsi! You scared me!" Gabriella scolded in a loud whisper.

"Sorry," the shorter brunette blushed.

Kelsi Nielsen was one of the few girls at West High that hadn't been corrupted by the cheerleaders and the stupid status quo. She was nice to everyone and didn't hurt a fly. She was quiet and always had several sheets of music paper in hand.

Now, Kelsi and Gabriella weren't best friends, but the two were nice to each other and got along well.

"It's okay," Gabriella smiled. "What's up?" she asked as she slipped her iPhone into her pocket.

"Why are you all alone?" Kelsi

"I was about to work on the story for Drama," Gabriella said, technically not lying. "I didn't want to be interrupted."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Kelsi said about to leave.

"Oh no, that's fine, Kelsi," Gabriella stopped her. "What brings you around here?"

"I was actually headed to the music room. I came in to get a book for my French class and I saw you."

"Oh."

"Well, I've gotta go, I have to get that song done for Drama," Kelsi said. "It was nice talking to you, Gabriella. I'll see you around."

"Same here," Gabriella grinned.

Right when Kelsi left, she felt her phone vibrate against her thigh. She pulled it out to see that it was a text message from Troy.

'You know, I don't really speak or read gibberish so 'Thank you. :) –Gabi xx aflkjafshasfh' means nothing to me. I'd love to help you find a tutor for your English, though. My little sisters maybe? ;D –Troy :P'

Gabriella giggled at the cheekiness behind the text. She rolled her eyes before texting.

'Shut up, Troy. –Gabi xx'

Author's Note: Review, please? :D