A/N: :O drama! I only did this in a couple of days. I don't know how I wrote so much! good news: my last exam is Friday!!! Woot! And a week on Friday, I am going with my entire family to see McFly for the third time!!! Woohoo!!! lol. Anyway, I wrote this all by myself because I kept thinking of something to write lol. But, HSMandChelseaFCfan seemed to like this so, I hope you do, too :)

Don't own HSM x

Chapter 18 – The Truth

Ever since Troy and Gabriella had made love, Troy would rush over to her house after school just so they could be close. On Wednesday, the heat had been bordering on unbearable again and with Maria at work, Landon practising for the Redhawks and Greg, Carl and Zeke practising at West High, Troy and Gabriella found themselves savouring the silence, allowing themselves to freely express their love for each other without worrying about being caught. Troy had always left in the evening to spend a couple of hours with his parents before he went to sleep. Gabriella had tried to help him with his homework but she was getting so stressed with her own homework and finals that she had actually cried whilst helping him work out a quadratic equation. He had soothed her with kisses and whispers, wiping her tears away with his thumbs. He had told her not to worry about it and that Taylor or Kelsi would help him with it.

Gabriella honestly couldn't be happier. The only thing that was possibly decreasing her happiness was how she still had to tell practically everyone about Stanford and her relationship with Troy. However, Troy had a wonderful knack for calming her down and assured her that no matter what happened, he'd never leave her. Her locket still hung from her neck but the only person who had questioned it was Sharpay.

Her friends and family had all noticed the difference in her. She now was playing more basketball with her brothers and the only thing that stressed her out was her finals and whenever U of A was mentioned. However, even that was becoming less frequent.

The championships were now one week away. She knew that Troy had told her to cheer for the Knights but she knew it would be hard not to cheer for her boyfriend. Then, she'd be leaving. She still had to tell everybody. It was the one thing that couldn't escape her mind. Even when Troy calmed her down, the thought was always niggling at her, preventing her from simply enjoying Troy's love and affection.

On the Saturday, the whole Montez family – except Gabriella's three oldest brothers – were enjoying the heat in the park. Sharpay, Ryan and Martha had joined them, too. Gabriella was dressed in a soft yellow sundress, knowing her brothers' reactions if she wore anything else, and she was lying on her stomach on a soft blanket, a biology book spread out in front of her. Greg and Maria were sitting on a wooden picnic bench nearby with a picnic spread out in front of them. Sharpay was lying on her back on a similar blanket next to Gabriella. Carl, Landon, Zeke, Ryan, Martha and even Daisy were playing close by with a Frisbee.

"How are you and Zeke?" Gabriella asked, turning to her best friend.

Sharpay sighed. "Beyond perfect. How are you and Mr Romeo?"

Gabriella giggled. "We're great. We're amazing. He's amazing. He knows just what to say and do. And I'm so excited for when we'll be in Cali together. I mean, I'm terrified of telling everybody but I'm really looking forward to it. Shar, I really love him."

Sharpay nodded. "I know you do, honey."

She sighed. "One week until I leave. I can't believe it. It doesn't seem long enough."

"If he's worth it, you'll be fine," Sharpay said softly.

Gabriella smiled as she turned the page. "I know. But, listen, I'll call you when I'm in Cali."

"If you don't, I'd send Troy up there to punish you," Sharpay threatened.

Gabriella sighed dreamily. "You don't know what he thinks 'punishment' means, though."

"Gross! Gabs!" Sharpay exclaimed.

Gabriella giggled. "I'm sorry, Shar."

"So, where is he today?" Sharpay asked.

"With his friends. Much like I am, probably," Gabriella exclaimed.

"That's cool." She suddenly sat up and looked at Gabriella, startling her. "Please tell me how he is!"

"You have Zeke. Why do you want to know?" Gabriella exclaimed, sitting up as well.

Sharpay raised her eyebrows.

Gabriella sighed. "Well, he was my first, as you know. And so I don't know how it feels to other girls but, it felt amazing to me. Not just the actual…you know, but how he did everything. He always made sure I was okay and he always looked me in the eyes and he was so gentle as if he was afraid to hurt me by just touching me. I'd never really thought about what it would be like but, I'd never imagined it to be so…peaceful. He kept whispering to me that he loved me. It's so cheesy and cliché but it felt like it was just him and me. Like there weren't any worries about college or a stupid feud. Like it was only us in the world." Tears were trickling down her cheeks and she wiped them away with the back of her hands.

"You okay?"

The young girl nodded. "Yeah. It's just…I never thought him of all people could make me so happy. I never want it to end."

Sharpay grinned. "I'm glad he was the one who rescued you. That wasn't a coincidence, you know. It was fate. You two are meant to be together."

"I don't know, Shar," Gabriella said dubiously. "I've never really been into that stuff."

"Oh, come on! It's just like Romeo and Juliet. You know, star-crossed lovers and whatever. I mean, I hope you guys don't die because that's kind of…scary. But, you know the book better than me. What does it say about them?" Sharpay asked.

"Exactly that. Shar, you didn't help. You basically said that while Troy and I are together, we're going to die!" she exclaimed, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry. I've never been good at that English stuff. You know I prefer art and drama," she defended. "Well, Gabs, he won't let you go without a fight. And remember what you said? You'd still choose him over your family, right?"

Gabriella nodded her head vigorously. "Of course."

Sharpay shrugged. "Just make sure I'm the godmother of your first child!"

"We're not married yet!" Gabriella exclaimed indignantly.

Suddenly, Daisy barked and ran away from the current Frisbee game. Gabriella quickly twisted her head to face the direction her dog disappeared in. "Oh, no."

"What? What's wrong?" Sharpay asked hurriedly.

Gabriella got to her feet and faced Sharpay as she, too, stood up. "Daisy only runs away for one thing: Blitzen. He must be near but that means Troy is, too."

"Hey, where'd Daisy go?" Carl asked, looking around.

Gabriella lifted her thumb and forefinger to her mouth and a piercing high pitched whistle knifed the air, causing silence to fall over the group of Knights. "Daisy!" she hollered, praying that Blitzen wouldn't follow. However, she cursed the high heavens when Daisy bounded excitedly back but with her companion. They both sat down obediently at Gabriella's feet, their tails wagging happily. Their brown eyes shone brightly in the sun and they were both panting, waiting for a command from her.

She sighed and knelt down in front of them, one hand fussing each dog. "Daisy, what have you done? You know I love Blitzen just like Troy does, but why did you bring him here? Where's Troy?"

Blitzen barked happily and twisted his head in the direction of the lake and then turned back to her.

"Well, go! Don't stay here!" Gabriella exclaimed in frustration.

"Who is Daisy's friend?" Zeke asked as he jogged over with Carl.

"Uh…" Gabriella looked up at Sharpay who shrugged.

"Blitzen!" a loud, boisterous voice called.

Gabriella looked up and groaned when she saw Chad and Jason approaching with Troy rushing after them, obviously trying to stop them going in Gabriella's direction. "Oh, god."

"Wildcat alert," Carl mumbled lowly.

Greg and Maria, along with the rest of Gabriella's friends joined them and Greg glared as Chad, Jason and Troy came to a stop. "What are you doing here?"

"Getting Blitzen back, Troy's dog. Blitzen!" Chad called but Blitzen kept sitting and licked Daisy's neck.

Greg looked horrified. "That's your dog?" He pointed an accusing finger at Troy.

Troy nodded and stepped forward so he was kneeling opposite Gabriella and fussed Blitzen. "Yes, he's mine." He looked into Gabriella's eyes and shook his head softly and mouthed I'm sorry.

She nodded in acknowledgement and took her hand away from Blitzen. "Daddy, I can handle this."

"No!" He said sternly. "Get your filthy mut away from my daughter," he growled at Troy.

"Daddy, leave it. He's not interested in me," she paused to take a deep breath and connected her eyes with Troy's, "he wants to be with Daisy."

"How do you know?" Carl asked quietly.

"I'm sorry." She whispered to Troy before she rose to her full height. "Because I know Blitzen. He and Daisy have known each other for a while now."

Greg raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Princess, he's a Wildcat."

"Excuse me, Mr Montez, Sir," Troy raised his hand nervously as he stood up, "my dog doesn't go to school. He's just a German shepherd, that's all. He doesn't care if he's a Wildcat or," he looked into Gabriella's eyes, "if Daisy's a Knight."

"Wait a second!" Landon exclaimed angrily. "Let me get this straight…you know him?"

Gabriella sighed as she saw Jack, Lucille and the rest of Troy's friends approach. She closed her eyes as Jack spoke, "What's going on?"

"What has your brat done with my daughter?" Greg snarled.

"What?" Jack asked, turning to Troy. "Son, what's going on?"

Gabriella crouched down again, finding comfort in her faithful companion. "I'm so sorry, Daddy."

"Princess, I just want to know what's going on."

Troy knelt beside her and rested a hand on her back. "Brie, you okay?"

"Just tell them," she whispered, moving into his open arms to cry into his neck.

"Get off my daughter!" Greg bellowed.

Troy rolled his eyes, expecting this and let go but Gabriella only held onto him tighter. "Sir, Gabriella wants me to hold her." He wrapped his arms back around her and helped her to stand up. "Um, we've been keeping something from you and we're sorry. We're very sorry and we hope you'll forgive us. We've been going out for a while now…"

"Her? Really? Why?" Jason asked quietly and Kelsi hit him over the head.

Troy sighed. "Jase, it's hard to explain. I love her, okay? I don't care what you say but I do."

"Bells…" Carl started quietly.

Gabriella lifted her head and whimpered at the disappointment in her twin's eyes. "Yeah, Carl?"

"But…I don't understand. How did you meet?" he asked.

Gabriella wiped her eyes and glanced around at all of the people surrounding her. She immediately whimpered and buried her nose into Troy's chest. "I'm sorry, Carl."

"Alright," Maria stepped forward and looked around, "I think this should end. Anyone not directly related to Troy or Gabriella should leave. This is strictly about us."

The friends reluctantly left, Sharpay hugging both Troy and Gabriella, and Gabriella smiled thankfully at Maria. "Gracias, Mama."

She nodded and sighed. "I think this should be sorted at our house."

"Why your house?" Jack demanded.

Greg stepped forward. "We have the bigger house!"

"I'm sorry; I didn't want the Brady Bunch!" Jack snarled.

Gabriella broke from Troy's arms and wandered over to the picnic bench and picked up a bottle of water, taking a swig of it. Troy watched on helplessly and leaned his head back, groaning in frustration. He lifted his head when he felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned to find Carl looking him up and down in an evaluating manner. "Hi."

Carl nodded in acknowledgement and folded his arms. "You and my sister?"

Troy shrugged uncomfortably. "I didn't plan on being with a Knight, if I'm honest. I definitely didn't plan on being with a Montez. And if I didn't feel so strongly about her, I'd probably let it go. But," he paused to close his eyes and swallow a large lump in his throat, "I can't live without her. I know it's weird with you being her brother and all but, I can't. I love her so, so much and I need her. You know when me and my friends pulled the prank on you guys?"

Carl nodded slowly, still evaluating everything Troy was saying. "Of course. It really knocked Bella's confidence."

Troy winced at the icy tone. "I know. She broke up with me and wouldn't answer my calls or e-mails or anything. My family actually thought I was becoming depressed again."

"Oh, yeah," Carl grinned, "The Comeback Kid! I remember that. What was it? Four years ago?"

Troy nodded. "That's why I got Blitzen. In a way, he's why we met."

Carl raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"He liked Daisy immediately." Troy shrugged. "I honestly don't know how I'm going to cope next week."

For the first time since the revelation, Carl cracked the ghost of a smile but it vanished so fast, Troy questioned himself as to whether it was even there. "You going to miss her?"

Troy nodded sadly. "Can I tell you something? You know, in confidence? Don't worry, Brie knows. I know we've never seen eye-to-eye…and I apologise. I just want you to know that U of A is your territory next year."

"What do you mean?" Carl asked suspiciously.

Troy shrugged, his hands in his pockets. "I'm going to the University of California in Berkeley."

"Berkeley? Isn't that near Silicon Valley…" He trailed off with realisation. "You accepted that to be with her, didn't you?"

"She was part of the reason. The other part…I want to leave Albuquerque. It drives me crazy how everyone expects me to hate you and up until Taylor told me her name a couple of weeks before I met her, I didn't know Gabriella's name." Troy spoke softly, willing Carl to trust him, knowing how much his approval would make Gabriella happy.

Carl nodded in understanding. "It annoys Bells, too."

"I'm sorry for anything insulting I ever said about her. That's my point: people expect me to hate you but I don't know you at all."

Carl sighed. "I'm not making promises but I think I need to give you a chance. You obviously mean so much to Bella and that's good enough for me. For now."

Troy sensed the teasing tone in Carl's voice and smiled at him. "Thank you. Do you think we should help our moms attempt to stop our dads from fighting?"

Carl looked over at the scene. "I don't know. Your mom looks pretty strong."

Troy hit his arm and glared. "Hey!"

"You get my sister, I can look at your mom." Carl shot back.

The two boys glared at each other before they both burst out laughing. "Just make sure it stays to looking. She's married to my dad."

"Deal," Carl agreed.

* * *

After finally getting Greg and Jack to stop fighting, everyone had packed up and travelled back to the Montez house. Whilst Greg, Maria, Carl, Landon and Zeke rode in Greg's car, and Jack and Lucille followed in their car, Troy, Gabriella, Daisy and Blitzen walked there, giving them both some time to think. Gabriella was quiet. She was ignoring any attempts Troy made to talk and he eventually sat her down on a wooden bench, Blitzen and Daisy sitting at their feet.

He rested a hand on her thigh but not in the seductive manner she had grown accustomed to. "Baby, please talk to me."

She stared at his hand and sighed, closing her eyes. "I didn't want them to find out like that. I wanted to tell them. Carl is so disappointed in me."

"That might be. But, he loves you enough to give me a chance," Troy said softly. "Baby, it'll work out. Maybe not quickly, but it will."

"Vegas is looking better and better," she mumbled.

"Hey, come on. Listen, I know we didn't plan for everyone to find out this way but everyone knows and I think its better this way," he whispered, nudging her neck with his nose.

Gabriella snuggled into him and sighed. "I just feel so humiliated. Especially by your friends."

"Hey, my friends probably won't beat you up. Me, however. Oh, god, Chad…He'll be so pissed off with me. I lied to him and dated a Knight! That's breaking nearly every rule of our friendship," he exclaimed as he lifted his head from her shoulder.

"You made a rule up to not date a Knight?" she asked slowly.

Troy shrugged. "I never thought I would. And I know Chad wouldn't ever and Jase wouldn't ever. It just seemed like common sense."

She leaned over and kissed him deeply, allowing him to show the first public display of affection ever. She felt his hands rub soothingly over her back and she brought comfort from it. Her hands ran gently through his hair and she moaned into his mouth the second their tongues met. She pulled back breathlessly and she looked down at her lap, not wanting Troy to see how much her eyes had watered. "I don't want them to keep us apart. I need you and I love you so much. I know I won't ever fall in love with anyone else. You're everything to me, Troy."

Troy lifted her head and his eyes went wide. "Brie, come on. Please don't cry. I hate it when you cry. Please. Listen, we'll be in Cali next year and we can stay as long as we want. We don't have to just stay there for college!"

She released a weak giggle but it didn't last. "I know. Troy, my father can be very…um, persuasive when it comes to my boyfriends. With past ones, I just let it go. I barely liked them. They just wanted some status in Albuquerque because I'm a Montez. But, please don't give into him. On the other hand, don't give him any reason to hate you. I mean, he already does but you know what I mean."

Troy smiled brightly at her. "Baby, you must know by now that I love you, right?"

"I love you, too," she replied gently.

"Exactly. I'm not giving up on you. And, I won't let him scare me because I'll keep looking over at your beautiful face and I won't break down. Besides, I don't get scared easily. I cope just fine with your brothers," Troy exclaimed, tugging coolly on his collar.

"Really?" she whispered, shuffling closer to him so their legs were touching and her face was as close to his as was possible without them ending up kissing. "You looked pretty terrified of my dad back there."

"Hey, I could practically read his thoughts. He was going to rip me up and put me on a skewer and eat me as a kebab!" he exclaimed. "The glare he was sending me was scary."

She giggled and kissed him gently, savouring the sweet taste of his mouth. "I love you," she mumbled.

He pulled back and peppered kisses all over her face. "I love you, too," he muttered between kisses.

She pushed him away and took a deep breath as she stood up and held her hand out for him. "I need you."

Troy nodded and got his feet, ignoring her hand and immediately slipping his arm around her waist. He kissed her temple and tugged on Blitzen's leash. "Come on, buddy. We gotta go."

They walked slowly to Gabriella's house, savouring the feel of each other's presence. Gabriella's hold on him slowly got tighter with every step, eventually making him ask her to let go a little bit. She sighed and leaned into him more. "You know if our parents stop us seeing each other?"

"They won't," Troy decided. "But, carry on. What about it?"

"In Cali…you'll wait for me, right?" she asked, tilting her head to look at him.

He nodded. "Duh! Of course I'd wait for you. I'd wait forever for you."

"Good," she whispered as she kissed his cheek.

They approached her house and saw the two cars lined up on the driveway. Gabriella breathed deeply but found great comfort in Troy simply linking their fingers together. She pushed the door open and immediately let Daisy off of the leash. Troy followed suit with Blitzen who followed Daisy out into the back yard. Gabriella shut the door behind them and she immediately reached for his hand, needing to touch him in some way. She wasn't sure why but knew that simply touching the love of her life made her feel safe and comforted.

He lifted her knuckles to his lips. "Come on. We need to do this sooner or later."

She nodded reluctantly and trudged into the lounge. She saw an uneasy sight. Maria and Lucille were both sitting awkwardly on the couch, cups of coffee nursed in their laps. Each of the armchairs was occupied by Greg and Jack, their glares locked on each other. Carl, Zeke and Landon were nowhere to be seen. "Mama? Where's Carl? And Zeke and Landon?" she asked in a whisper.

Maria smiled apologetically. "We sent them over to Sharpay's and Ryan's. We thought it would be better if they weren't around."

"No," Greg argued. "You thought it would be better." He rose quickly to his feet and turned to Troy. Gabriella stood instinctively in front of Troy, knowing her father would never hurt her. "You need to be taught a lesson by my sons."

"Daddy, please," Gabriella begged, her fingers still interlocked with Troy's.

"Can't you see?" Greg asked in disbelief. "He's obviously using you to get to your brothers."

Gabriella let out a quiet whimper and tears began to roll down her cheeks. "Please let me explain."

"How could you be so careless?" he yelled angrily. "A Bolton? Are you insane? Does your name mean anything to you?"

Maria stood up, placing her cup on the coffee table. "Greg, please calm down. Gabriella doesn't need this. Gabby, mi hija, why don't you and Troy sit down?"

Lucille rose, placing her cup on the coffee table, too, and was soon joined by Jack. Troy and Gabriella sat down nervously in front of their parents, their fingers linked in Gabriella's lap. "Mr Montez, Sir, I wouldn't ever use your daughter for anything, I swear."

"You would say that, wouldn't you?" Greg growled.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Troy, please tell me you had some genius plan to prank the Knights behind all of this?"

Troy bowed his head and then shook it, denying the question. "No, Dad."

"So, you want to be with…her," Jack exclaimed, pointing accusingly at Gabriella.

Gabriella flinched under his stare and Troy immediately let go of her hand to pull her into his arms. "Dad," he began strongly, not wavering under his father's harsh glare, "please, listen to us. Give us a chance to explain."

"Gabby, princess, really? What happened to all of the basketball team we talked about? You know, the guys who I would actually let you go out with." He spoke with a tense voice, trying to keep his anger averted away from his only daughter.

She shrugged. "Daddy, do you honestly think any of those guys would go out with me for Gabriella and not for Montez?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked quietly.

She stood up and wiped her eyes. She threw her hands up in frustration. "What do you want from me? Whenever a guy from the basketball team asked me out, I said yes because one of my morals is that everyone deserves a chance. But, then, a couple of weeks later, you hate him. Now that I have fallen in love with the most incredible guy I've ever met, you want me to date the entire basketball team? When will you understand that anyone other than a Wildcat just wants me because of you! They want some status in Albuquerque and think that I'm an easy way in. Please tell me what's going through your mind because, quite frankly, it may be the one thing I don't understand."

"You told me you didn't follow my conversation with Sharpay about musicals," Troy said in confusion.

She turned to him and laughed sarcastically. "Shut up!" She turned back to Greg. "Daddy, those guys at West High, they don't like me. They don't care about me. I'll bet you they don't know what I want to do when I leave school. But, Troy does."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Troy, are you seriously that depressed? That you needed to date a Knight?" he asked in disbelief.

Troy stood up and glared. "I'm not depressed. Far from it. Gabriella makes me so happy and if you even thought about me, you'd see that."

A silence fell over the group of people. Gabriella shifted uneasily and sat back down again. "And, just for the record," she mumbled, "he makes me happy, too."

Troy sat down next to her and kissed her temple. "Please. We love each other."

Greg swallowed his anger and chuckled lifelessly. "So, how did you meet?"

Gabriella shrugged to herself. "Daddy, guy with the dog, Troy, my daddy."

"You rescued my daughter?" Greg gasped.

Troy nodded. "Yes, Sir."

"Hmmm…I suppose I owe you a thank you," he murmured.

"You're welcome."

"I said I supposed I owed you one. I never said I was giving it to you," Greg warned.

Troy cowered back. "Sorry, Sir."

Gabriella sighed and clapped her hands together. "So…"

"So?" Jack asked quietly. "That's all you can say?"

She shrugged. "What do you want me to say?" she asked timidly.

"Princess? Have you and Troy done anything together?" Greg asked quietly.

"Well, sure. We've had a few picnics and we do homework together all the time," she replied, acting like she didn't see the obvious meaning behind the question.

"You know what I mean," he said sternly.

She sighed and nodded. "Yeah. We have. We've, um," she closed her eyes and breathed deeply, "We've made love a couple of times."

"You made love to my daughter?" Greg asked slowly.

Troy nodded. "Yes, Sir."

"Are you just deranged, Gabriella? You allowed this…thing to violate you and brand you into marriage?" Greg exclaimed.

Gabriela's eyes were wide. "Marriage? What are you talking about?"

"Well, I assume you were a virgin, right?" Greg asked bluntly.

"Of course. What do you think I am? A whore?" she exclaimed.

"Well, that's my point. He's got your virginity and you should be married now."

"Carl's slept with more than one girl and you didn't basically plan his wedding for him," she argued back.

"Yes, but you're my daughter. It's completely different," he exclaimed.

She folded her arms and frowned. "Daddy, Troy and I made love because we love each other," she whispered.

"You don't know what love is," he complained.

She looked up at him, her eyes flashing dangerously. Troy touched her hand, wanting her to calm down before things were said that he was positive she'd regret. The last time he'd seen her so angry was at the teen club when she'd been angry at him. She turned to face him and seemed to get his message. She replied with a silent nod and took a deep breath. She turned back to Greg and shrugged. "I don't know what you feel love is. I don't know. I didn't know what to expect love to be like. I just…didn't. But, this feeling that Troy gives me is amazing. I never want it to stop. He makes me feel safe and protected. I don't know about everyone else but I think being in love means making sure someone's happy. And Troy always asks me if I'm happy. Daddy, I promise we love each other."

Greg shook his head. "No. You're eighteen. How could you be so careless?"

"I'm not pregnant!" she exclaimed. "I'm not that stupid."

"But you had sex with him. That's taking a risk. What about your future? What about U of A? What about basketball?" he exclaimed. His face suddenly drained of colour and glared, switching the direction of it between Troy and Gabriella. "You did it in this house, didn't you?"

The heat rose in Gabriella's face. "Daddy!"

"Gabriella Anna Maria Juanita Costa-Brava Montez, you will tell me right now," Greg demanded.

Gabriella cringed. "Why does my name have to be so long?" she whined. She took a deep breath and nodded reluctantly. "We made love here. Where else could we? In a field?"

Greg glared at Troy. "You took my daughter's virginity…in my house?"

Troy's eyes grew wide and quickly remembered his promise to his girlfriend. He turned to face her and took in her beauty, ignoring the evident fear and embarrassment which had come from her father's persistent questions. He turned back to Greg and nodded. "Yes, Sir. I did. I made love to her. But, it was her choice. I never brought it up."

"Why? So you can add her to the long list of girls you've slept with?" Greg accused.

"No, Sir. Actually, I've only slept with one other girl – a past girlfriend. She wasn't a one night stand and neither was Gabriella. I made love to her because she makes my life better. Ever since we met I just kept thinking how happy she made me." By the end of his speech, Gabriella had curled into his loving embrace, a few tears trickling over her tanned cheeks.

"You'll stay away from my daughter and my sons. You'll stay away and you'll never step foot into this house ever again." His gaze became harsher as he spoke.

Gabriella immediately leapt to her feet. "Daddy, you can't do that. I told you: I love him."

Troy joined her, his fingers snaking together with hers. "Baby, calm down."

"I won't calm down!" she yelled. "He can't stop you from seeing me. I won't let him. I love you and need you and," she turned to Greg and glared as she continued, "you can't tell me what to do anymore. I'm going to college in September. I'm eighteen. I'm not a little kid anymore."

"You'll stop seeing him and concentrate on your studies. He's not welcome in this house or family." Greg's voice was stern and steady, his eyes locked on his daughter's.

An embarrassing whimper escaped Gabriella's lips as she looked frantically between her father and her boyfriend. She suddenly glared at Greg and released a scream. "Well, it's a good job I'm leaving next week, isn't it? I was planning on coming back but I don't want to now."

Greg's face drained of colour at Gabriella's words. Troy soon realised that the thought of his only daughter leaving Albuquerque was honestly scaring him. "Gabby, Princess, what are you talking about?"

Gabriella's skin took on the same shade as Greg's as she turned to Troy, looking like a bird in the presence of a cat. "Troy, tell me I didn't."

Troy brought her into his arms, a hand resting gently on the back of her head. "I'm here, baby. I promise."

She nodded fearfully as she turned in his arms to face her father. Her hands rested on his forearms, wanting as much strength as she could gather from his embrace. She looked towards Maria and then turned back to Greg. "I'm leaving after the championship."

"What? Am I missing something? What about graduation?" he asked quietly.

Gabriella took a deep breath. Troy's hand rubbed soothing circles on her stomach as he whispered in her ear, "It's time. You gotta tell him."

Gabriella nodded and felt a tear drip down her cheek. "Daddy, I love you. And I didn't mean to lie to you. About Troy or about…Stanford."

"Stanford? What about Stanford?" Greg demanded.

Gabriella flinched and felt Troy tighten his grip on her. "I got accepted into Stanford and they want me to go next week for their freshmen's honour programme. It's for three weeks until graduation."

"But, U of A…your scholarship!"

Gabriella shrugged. "A scholarship would be great. I'd love it. You know, not having to worry about tuition or anything. But, I don't want to go to U of A. I've wanted to go to Stanford since Mom told me she went there. I'm really sorry. U of A is a great college for Carl but not for me."

Greg turned to Maria. "You knew?"

"It was her choice to accept and her choice to tell you," Maria said softly.

Greg turned back to Gabriella, any trace of anger gone. "Princess, really?"

"I wanted to be a Redhawk, I promise. When I was little and saw Danny on that court, it looked so cool. The lights and the crowds…But, remember when I broke my arm when I was six? Ever since then, I've wanted to be a doctor and go to Stanford. I am so sorry, Daddy." She released another whimper and lifted a hand to her mouth.

Greg frowned at her, disappointment evident. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know," she whispered. "I guess you were so proud that I got in on a scholarship and you brought the Dean around and it was driving me crazy. I love basketball but I don't want it to run my life."

Greg's eyes lowered to the ground and he sighed. "I thought I knew my daughter."

"Ha!" Jack exclaimed.

"What?" Greg asked, turning to him, his glare appearing on his face once more.

"You see, my son tells me everything," Jack gloated, pointing proudly to Troy.

"Then why didn't he tell you he's sleeping with my daughter?" Greg shot back.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Well, that's obvious. I was talking about my boy's future." Jack reached over and brought Troy closer to him, causing Troy to let go of Gabriella. "He tells me his dreams and he's going to U of A and be a proud Redhawk."

Gabriella folded her arms and raised her eyebrows. "Troy, please…"

Troy immediately moved back over to her, his arms holding her tightly to his body. "I know. One second. Let me hold you."

Gabriella sniffed back her tears as she turned her head and saw Greg staring at them. The look in his eyes was something she couldn't fathom. "It's okay," she whispered.

He lifted his head and cupped her face. "I gotta do it, right?"

"They might as well know. They know about us." She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "And I'm here. I promise."

He held her hand tightly and turned to Jack. "Dad, I'm not going to U of A this fall. I don't want to go there. I think the same thing happened to Brie but, the more you pushed me into it, the more I looked into other colleges."

Jack suddenly laughed. "That's a good one, Troy. But, seriously, tell Montez that we always talk about your future."

Troy groaned. "No, Dad. You talk to me about my future. You just assumed that I want to continue with basketball and I do but…"

"I don't understand." He turned to Greg when he started laughing. "Stop enjoying this." He turned back to his son and frowned. "Where are you going to college, then?"

"Berkeley. The University of California offers me basketball and theatre. Same tuition as U of A except I need to pay for dorms and stuff. But, it's a really great school with a great sports department. I'm even going to be kicking some Redhawk butt in November," he said softly. "Dad, I'm sorry, okay? You lived your Redhawk dream, and then became a teacher but it's not for me. I want to go into theatre."

Jack frowned. "Why?"

"It's something I enjoy other than basketball. I mean, basketball is great but when I can guarantee I'll make a basket every time-" He saw Jack go to speak and he continued. "Except when Gabriella broke up with me, okay? That's why I was getting bloody depressed and why I couldn't make a basket. It gets boring after a while."

Gabriella squeezed his hand. "Troy?"

He turned to her. "What?"

She ran her free hand through her hair. "I need to go." She reached up to wipe the corners of her eyes. "I can't be in the room anymore. I've hurt too many people. I'm sorry." She kissed his cheek and released a sob as she fled the room, her hurried footsteps echoing through the large house.

Troy turned back to the four adults facing him. "This is awkward." He sank back onto the couch and ran his hands over his face.