Troy looked out into the bleachers the game was this weekend to be exact the game was two days away. He looked around the gym and it was empty, school was out over an hour ago and he knew Eddie had walked Kelsi home. As for Gabriella she didn't show to his art show, she must have lost track of time. Right? That had to be it.

Troy took a deep breath and looked at the ball in front of him. Columbia accepted him, hands down, the interview was a hit. Only the first and only person he wanted to tell was nowhere to be found. Troy looked up at the basket and made the shot. Grabbing another ball from the cart beside him he lined up another shot and made it.

"There you are?" Gabriella voice echoed through the gym and Troy's eye brows arched.

"You were looking for me?"

Gabriella came closer to him and he could smell the soft aroma of perfume, her skin seemed so soft and her hair was in ringlets around her face. "Of course I was looking for you," Gabriella said extending her arms out. "Did Aaron and Stacy ask you to throw the game in the exchange of naked photos of me?"

Troy's body went tense and he quickly turned to face her dead on. "How di-"

A slap came across his face before he could finish and Gabriella lifted a finger to him. "Don't you ever keep a secret like that from me again, especially when it's about me!"

Troy's cheek stun as he adjusted his jaw and turned back to face her, "I'm sorry, I was going to tell you I really was."

Gabriella crossed her arms as she looked at him. "What are you going to do, what did they want in return they said something about throwing a game?" Gabriella uncrossed her arms and pushed him back with her hands. "You're going to throw the game Saturday aren't you? Did you think about what that's going to do for Eddie? For chad? All of them are counting on you and you're going just give that up!"

Troy shrugged his shoulders. "You're a little more important to me than stupid game," Troy said taking a step back from her.

"Were you even going to ask me if it was true?" Gabriella came at him again, "Did you even think for a second that maybe I wasn't that kind of girl?" Gabriella choked on a sob. "Is this the real reason why you don't want to be with me?"

"Of course not, I was trying to protect you by keeping myself at a distance," Troy said letting his shoulders fall. "Why do you think I don't want to be with you? I do want to be with you? Do you know how hard it is to not be with you?"

"Because you keep lying to me."

"I'm not lying to you," Troy shouted, "Reporters can be harsh, if this got out they would rip you to shreds."

"I know that,"

Troy took a step forward. "The thought of anyone hurting you drives me nuts. The idea that someone would take advantage or even make you-"

"No one made me do anything, and no one takes advantage of me," Gabriella said stepping towards him.

"How was I supposed to know that?" Troy said raising his voice. "I've only known you a few weeks everyone has a past, everyone makes mistakes, what was I supposed to say? What was I supposed to do? You had life before I met you and in case you missed your ex-boyfriend is an asshole so I didn't put it past him that he be that sleazy."

"I know!" she yelled back, "God, I must seem like a idiot to you, throwing myself at you when I barely know you, and you just stand there on your perfect high horse and judge me while I'm down here on the ground."

"You're the most frustrating person on the planet," Troy lurched forward his hand shoving its way into her hair as he forced their lips to meet. She fought him back for all of millisecond before her hands slid down his shoulders relaxing on his hips.

Troy other hand came around her waist and pulled her to him, closer against him, smashing their bodies together as his kiss continued to leaving her lifeless against him. Lost in his touch buzzing from the current of electricity that was circulating between them. His lips pulled away from hers and her eyes flew open.

"I'm not judging you," he said quietly as he let his thumb gently pass over her cheek. "As far as I'm concerned you belong to me and if I want to protect you I will." Troy's voice was softer as he watched her lips with a hungry expression. "If I want to throw a game for you, I'll throw it because I'm not worried about everyone else. I don't care about anyone else. I'm worried about you. I care about you."

"What about college?" Gabriella whispered.

"I got into Columbia, full ride."

Her eyes opened a little wider as she smiled only the smile was temporary as pushed away from him, "Wait."

"Now what?" Troy stifled a groan as he let his arm fall and allowed her to leave him.

"I'm still not okay with any of this,"

"With what?"

"Troy whether you like it or not you're a Basketball star and East High's hero, I know the cost of every decision you have to make when all the eyes are you. I've been there. It's a shitty position. I know you rather just be like everyone else and taking a dive in that game was going to help you do that. It's what you've been saying from day one, and I'll be damned if you use me as your excuse."

"What?" Troy tossed his arms out, "Do you hear yourself?"

"Do you hear yourself? Because let's face facts you're not prince charming and I am not some helpless Cinderella waiting in a dark room for some stupid guy on a white horse." She said ranking her hands through her hair before turning away from him and then doing an about-face. "And if you haven't gotten the idea yet, those pictures don't exist because I'm not that type of girl."

"I never said you were,"

"You didn't have to, you said it the moment you decided to throw the game," Gabriella said beginning to walk away.

"Gabriella how are you going to get home," Troy said watching as she left.

"I rather walk then get in a car with you right now," she said pushing the metal doors open.

Troy brought his hands up and ranked them through his hair. Then in a surge of frustration he kicked the basketball cart in anger sending basketballs left and right all over the gym.

Hours later Gabriella sat on the carpet of the white and pink room as Sharpay fanned her toe nails and Taylor sat with a pillow between her legs listening to Gabriella's every word.

"So it seems like Aaron and Stacy's romantic front is just a sex for trade arrangement," Taylor said as she leaned back, "That is so gross."

"At least I know why she was late to practice," Sharpay said leaning back and looking at her toes. "Although I had a hunch."

"So they really had Troy going?" Taylor frowned.

"He was going to throw the game," Gabriella said with a shrug. "If he throws that game, everyone is going to be devastated. Especially Eddie, how could he do that to him? I mean that's a lot to put on me, his basketball career, Eddie? Chad? The team and wither or not they get funding. I mean why wouldn't he tell me?"

"How do you tell someone something like that?" Taylor questioned as she lightly shook a bottle of polish.

"When is there even a right time to tell someone something like that?" Sharpay shrugged her shoulders as she picked up a different shade of pink for her French tip. "The last time he was in your room he had his hands down your pants."

"Which by the way, he is so into you," Taylor said with a matter of fact tone. "No 18 year old guy is gonna do that and not expect something in return."

"Yeah Troy a good fit for you despite the whole picture scandal. Pick a punishment, give and then I say lock the door to your room and rip his clothes off."

Taylor placed a hand on Gabriella shoulder. "All things aside what are we going to about college?"

"I applied to some other schools," Gabriella said leaning back against the wall on the floor. "I'm sure I got into a few of them."

"So that's it, you're really just going to give up on Julliard?" Taylor asked looking over at Sharpay then at Gabriella.

"I have no other option, if I go I'll never know if it's me or my dad that they want and I want start new not come in with the same problems I have here," Gabriella said picking at her toe.

"Well if you applied to other places we're just going be positive that you're going to go to college," Sharpay said coming down to the floor to brush Gabriella's hands away and reach for her bottle of tickle me pink. "You got the second highest GPA at east high, who wouldn't want you."

"Actually it's just by a point," Taylor said with a smile. "You're practically at the top."

Gabriella leaned back on the door. "I can't believe the last few weeks of my life," she said looking over at Taylor.

Sharpay propped her foot up and begun to paint. "Well what about Troy?"

"He's an asshole," Gabriella murmured watching as Sharpay begun to paint her toe nails.

"Right you agreed he was an asshole the rest of us really like him," Sharpay blew on Gabriella's toe nail. "Your skin tone is perfect for pink."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "The whole thing is confusing and I don't know what to think anymore or what to do about it. I mean when I think about last night I'm just mixed with this excitement and embarrassment at the same time."

"Gabriella he was defending your honor," Taylor said with a smile. "I think its sweet he tried. Point is there were no pictures and he said he was going to tell you, Stacy and Aaron just beat him to the punch. If you'd gone to the art room we'd be having an entirely different conversation, maybe even laughing about this."

"And he really likes you," Sharpay said focusing on Gabriella's toes. "Trust me, he doing the right thing by not sleeping with you, I mean you're not in the right mind set Gabs, he was on to something when he said you're doing this to prove you can."

"This coming from you?" Taylor asked pointing at Sharpay, "Classic, what happen to code red."

"Hey I'm just saying if it were Aaron you'd be knee deep in regret, embarrassment and Stacy seconds," Sharpay said making a face. "At least Troy can control himself, he fingered you and that was practically because you made him."

Gabriella let out a groan and hid her face in her hands. "I hate it when you make sense," Gabriella said lifting her head and banging her it against the wall.

"I try not to do it too often for you, but once in a while I slip, what can I say?" Sharpay looked over at Taylor with a smile.

"Troy is a nice guy." Taylor said coming over so she could sit by Gabriella. "Did you see his drawings today; they were all over the art room," she asked Sharpay, "It's so obvious that he likes you. It's almost like in the titanic where Jack draws Rose, only you have clothes on and you're not on a boat traveling to your death."

Gabriella let out a groan and banged her head again. "I wish I was."

"People are starting to talk about you and him, you know," Taylor said inserting a pillow between Gabriella's head and the wall.

"About what we barely talk to each other," Gabriella looked over at Taylor and then at Sharpay, "Why are we even talking about this now?"

"Because you're letting your problems bury the fact that you do like him," Sharpay said looking up from Gabriella's toes. "You're making piss poor decisions left and right, we're only trying to help."

"Sharpay's right anyone who knows you can tell this guy is throwing you for a loop," Taylor said leaning forward and bringing her knees to her chest.

"Yeah and he thinks so much of me that I would take naked pictures and send them to guys." Gabriella said looking down at her hands. "What does that say about someone? What does that say about me?"

"Maybe he was looking for a picture?" Sharpay said with a laugh. "Joking," she said to Gabriella when she realized she wasn't laughing. "Alright, you're not defenseless but you are carrying a lot on your plate and I can totally understand why he didn't tell you about the pictures." Sharpay shrugged. "Don't think of it as he's trying to cover your eyes but think of it as he's trying to lessen you're load. If he threw the game he'd be throwing himself willingly into social suicide and he cares about you enough to do that. Think about it he'd do it if it meant not seeing you have to go through something as embarrassing as the whole world seeing your goodies."

Taylor wrapped her arm around Gabriella, "Whatever you do we support you, you're stubborn and we love you for it."

Gabriella let out a laugh and looked down at her toes. "Please tell me someone else has some gossip that's not about me?"

"Well I heard your brother and Kelsi are and item now," Sharpay said with a smirk. "I knew they we're going to get together."

"I also heard that Stacy is doing two other guys as well as Aaron," Taylor said sitting up and smiling at Gabriella. "Once a slut always a slut."

"Tell me about it," Gabriella said with smirk. "I wish she'd get hit by a bus."

"Hey I know people," Sharpay said looking up at them. "Say the word, I'll throw in a reverse and hit her again for free."

The girls started to giggle as they continued to joke in the comforts of Sharpay's bed room.