A/N: You guys are officially going to hate me, I just know it. But, we hope you keep reading :) McFly were awesome last night!!! They're so hot. Anyway, enjoy :)

Don't own HSM x

Gabriella shut the front door behind her and finally burst into tears. She slid down so she was sitting on the floor with her back against the door and she cried into her knees. She'd actually done it. She just hoped that everything would work out because at the moment, she felt like shit. She wanted to run back there and beg for forgiveness but her legs wouldn't let her stand up. "Oh, god, I'm an idiot!" she cried.

"Bells?" Carl asked through a yawn.

Gabriella lifted her head to see Carl standing at the bottom of the stairs in just a pair of pyjama bottoms. "Carl?"

Carl immediately woke up and crouched down. "Have you only just come back?"

Gabriella finally stood up and frowned as Carl followed her into the kitchen. "Yeah. Don't say a word." She opened the freezer and took out a tub of Ben and Jerry's fudge brownie ice cream.

"Ice cream for breakfast?" he asked worriedly as she sat at the island after getting a spoon.

She nodded and ate a mouthful. "Yeah. I feel like crap and this isn't working."

"Why do you feel so bad?" Carl asked as he sat next to her.

"I acted like a slut. A cheap, filthy slut. I'm no better than a cheerleader," she mumbled, eating more ice cream.

"Care to elaborate? I know you. You'd never act like a slut. Tell me what's wrong. I won't tell anybody," he said softly as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I want you to listen to me. Don't overreact, okay? Last night, I took Troy to the cabin at Shar's place. We made love. Actually, we made love a lot. God, I'm so tired. This morning, I woke up and got dressed while he was still asleep. He woke up while I was getting my stuff together…and I broke up with him," she whispered, stabbing the ice cream in front of her.

"Why? I thought you loved him!" Carl exclaimed.

"I did. I mean, I do. A lot. But, I've hurt too many people because of it. I've always wanted Dad to be there for me and to be proud of me and to support me. And he didn't. I hurt him. And, besides, I'd miss Troy too much while I'm at Stanford. It's much better this way. Troy's mad at me, I can try to get Dad to forgive me and…" She trailed off, scooping ice cream onto her spoon.

"And what about you?" he asked softly.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I'll never fall in love with someone else. So, I guess I'll be a doctor and a hermit."

"Part hermit. I mean, you'll be with some people, just not a guy. You did break up with him, though, right? He didn't break up with you…"

She giggled weakly. "I broke up with him, I promise. Is Mom and Dad up?"

Carl shook his head. "No. I've been worried about you all night and that's why I heard you come in."

She smiled slightly. "I bloody hope Dad lets me go to Stanford, otherwise, I've just been an idiot and thrown away everything that made me happy. I told Shar that I'd always choose Troy over my family. But, when it came to it, I couldn't because I love Dad so much. He's a freaking idiot when it comes to U of A and basketball but, I love him. I want him to be proud of me."

"Can I ask a question?"

She nodded. "Sure."

"You are being safe with Troy, aren't you? You know, with protection." Carl raised his eyebrows.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah. We are. I promise."

"Good. I don't want my baby sis getting knocked up too early," he teased.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Love you."

He smiled. "You know, we may be the only brother and sister to say that to each other and mean it. Love you, too. Would you like me to be there when you tell Dad?"

"When you tell Dad what?" a voice asked from behind them.

The two twins turned around to find Maria and Greg stood in the doorway in their robes. "Daddy?" Gabriella stood up and rushed over to hug him.

"Are you okay, princess?" Greg asked slowly. "You're not in your pyjamas."

Gabriella sighed. "Can I please talk to you? In your office, maybe? I need to tell you something."

Greg took his daughter's hand and led her into the hallway and into his office. They sat down on the small two-seater leather couch and he sighed. "What's up, mi hija?"

She wiped her eyes and sighed. "Daddy, I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I never wanted to go against what you've taught me. But, I love Troy so much and I couldn't help it. I do love you so much and all I've ever wanted is for you to be proud of me and to support me."

"Sweetheart-" Greg started.

"No, Dad, let me finish. And I've thought about what you said. About how I had to choose between Stanford and Troy. I'm not saying Stanford is more important because it isn't. Not in a million years. But, I don't want to lose you over him. I love Troy with all of my heart but I'm your little girl. I'll always love you. I'll always come to you if I fall off of my bike. I'll always curl up on the couch with you to eat ice cream together. And you're the number one guy in my life," she said softly.

"What are you saying?" he asked quietly.

Gabriella took a deep breath. "Last night, I made love to Troy. And this morning, I broke up with him. Not just for you. But, because I don't think I can be away from him. So, I made him mad and hopefully it'll be easier to cope. So, now, I don't want you to worry. I won't be tainted by that 'scumbag' anymore." She got to her feet and headed to the door.

"Sweetheart," Greg started as he stood up.

Gabriella turned to him. "Daddy, I'm really tired and I want to have a shower. Then, I'm going to start packing for Stanford."

"No, princess, can I tell you something?" he asked quietly.

She nodded wearily. "Yeah. Of course."

Greg took a deep breath. "I am proud of you. If only because you went after your dream. That means more to me than any scholarship. You'll be a great doctor." He kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms around his only daughter.

Gabriella felt tears leak from the corners of her eyes. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you, too. Go and rest up. You look tired," he commented. He, then, realised something. "Oh, Gabby, you snuck out."

She nodded guiltily. "Yeah. I did. I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. It's done. Go and rest."

"Can you ask Carl to go and get Daisy from Troy's, please? I know Troy won't want to talk to me," she mumbled.

"Don't worry. You'll have Daisy back soon, I promise," he whispered before she left his office.

Greg took a deep breath and walked back through the hallway to the kitchen. He saw that Zeke and Landon were both now awake and were all eating pancakes. Maria was stood at the oven and she turned to him. "Is she okay?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "She's going to rest for a while. Carl, son, could you go and get Daisy back from Troy's as soon as you're ready?"

Carl nodded. "I'll go and get dressed now. Bella will want Daisy as soon as possible. Thanks for the breakfast, Mom." He kissed Maria's cheek as he placed his plate and cutlery in the sink.

* * *

Carl walked nervously up the garden path and knocked on the door. This was alien territory. He'd never set foot in East Albuquerque other than to prank the Wildcats or to crash a party or something along those lines. And now, he had just knocked on Bolton's door to practically call a truce. He had to admit, to himself and Gabriella, for the short time he'd talked to Troy after their relationship had been revealed, he'd seemed almost nice. It was an almost. He was certainly serious about Gabriella and Carl admired him for that.

The door suddenly opened and he jumped when he saw Lucille standing there in her robe. "Oh," he started in slight embarrassment, "hi Mrs Bolton."

She wrapped her robe tighter around her body. "Hi…Carl, right?"

Carl nodded. "Yeah. That's me. Listen, not to be rude or anything but, is Troy here?"

Lucille frowned. "Why?"

"Don't worry, I'm not going to beat him up, I promise. I came here to get Daisy. I would like to talk to him, too, though," Carl replied quietly.

"Come in," Lucille whispered as she opened the door further. As soon as Carl was inside, she shut the door. "Troy came home about an hour ago and didn't say a word to me. He's in his room."

Carl nodded appreciatively. "I apologise for coming here so early. My sister wants her dog back."

Lucille nodded with understanding. "Of course. Troy's room is upstairs, first door on the left. I beg you, no matter how much you hate my son, please wake him up gently if he's asleep. He gets super grumpy if he's woken up."

Carl cracked a smile. "It's called being a teenage boy. May I ask where your husband is?"

"He's at his parents. My father-in-law is very sick," she whispered, "and he said he needed to get away for a while."

The young boy nodded. "I didn't want him to attack me or anything. Thank you so much, Mrs Bolton." He smiled politely as he started up the stairs. He saw Troy's bedroom door which had a large picture of a basketball stuck on it with a fourteen painted neatly in the centre. He knocked rhythmically and then stepped back.

"Go away. I'm not getting up," Troy grumbled.

Carl sighed. "Troy, dude, open the damn door!"

"Carl?"

"Yeah, it's me," Carl replied.

"Oh. Well, in that case…go away!" Troy exclaimed.

Carl tried the door handle and rolled his eyes as he pushed the door open. "Dude, word of advice: if you don't want people to walk in, lock your door!"

Troy sat up and glared. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to get Daisy," he explained. He looked over to the two dogs and Blitzen got to his feet, growling protectively. Daisy got to her feet and yawned before she padded over to sit at Carl's feet, her tail wagging. "Hey, Daisy. Did you enjoy your sleepover?" He turned back to Troy and sighed. "So, how are you?"

Troy ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know. I'll tell you when I know. But, I do know that today is the worst day in my life."

Carl sat next to him on the bed. "She told me what happened."

Troy nodded glumly. "Yeah."

"Can I ask a question? Why didn't you run after her and fight for her?" Carl asked.

"I don't know. I wanted to. But, she said she never wanted to see me again. She didn't say why. I don't know if I did something to hurt her or if it's to do with your dad…I wish I knew what was going through her head," he muttered.

"She doesn't want to hold you back," Carl explained. "Well, that's part of it."

"Holding me back? What? My grades haven't been better since we met," Troy exclaimed.

"I was talking about basketball and the theatre. And she wants Dad to forgive her. She didn't want to break it off with you. I'm kind of glad she found someone who wasn't simply looking for some status and loved her because she was Gabriella and only Gabriella. I'm glad she found you, no matter what your name is," Carl admitted softly.

"Well, now it's over and your dad doesn't have to worry about us being together. I mean, while she wants to be a doctor and save people, what do I want to do? Play basketball and go into theatre. Yes, I could be a big star and I'd use all of my money to treat Brie like the queen she deserves to be treated like. But, that's not going to save other people. Let's face it: I'm selfish when it comes to her and she's better off without me." Troy pulled the necklace out of his shirt and looked down at it.

"I beg to differ," Carl started, "for one thing: she felt more confident about going against what Dad wanted and went for Stanford and chased her dream. You know, when she told me, I felt so proud of her. I don't know whether it was because she got into Stanford early or because she went for her dream despite what her family would think." He sighed as he looked at Troy. "And if you support her and give her a confidence she's always lacked, you're great for her."

He shrugged. "Well, now, she can go to Stanford, meet a Californian man with movie star looks, be the best doctor in America and she'll never see me again."

"Whoa. Hold up. Californian man with movie star looks?" Carl asked in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Inside joke. Brie would find it funny," Troy muttered.

"How did it come about? I'm trying to find out as much about your relationship with my sister as possible." Carl ran a hand through his hair.

Troy let go of the necklace and looked over at him. "Please don't go into overprotective brother mode on me, please?"

Carl laughed but nodded. "Okay."

"Well, just over a week after the whole paint fiasco, Brie and I were back together. We were so strong simply because we'd admitted how our feelings weren't some crushes anymore." He sighed softly. "I'd got her to give me another chance by telling her that I love her. I also gave her a locket that she's worn everyday since I gave it to her. It's got my basketball number on the back and her birthstone on the front. I wanted to give her something that would blend right in. Anyway, I climbed up her tree and into her room and then Sharpay came around but whatever. Then she left and you called saying how your dad was taking you for burger and fries. She told you she was studying, right?"

"Gross! I don't want to know what she was studying," Carl proclaimed.

"Nothing happened that night, I swear. We just made out a little and she prefers that to happen if I'm shirtless. I did not just say that. Don't tell her I told you," Troy muttered. "And I joked, saying how I was insulted because I was something to study. She turned around and said that she either 'studied' me or studied a biology book, leaving no time to touch me and then she'd be off in California where, apparently, there are guys with movie star looks on every corner with no brothers stopping her. That's what it is." Troy rubbed his eyes, trying to discreetly wipe his tears away.

"What's the deal with Blitzen and Daisy?" Carl asked, looking over to where Daisy had laid down next to Blitzen who was licking her back.

"He's in love with her or something," Troy mumbled. "He'll be heartbroken when you leave with her."

"Dude, are you crying?" Carl asked quietly.

Troy nodded. "It's like I can feel myself getting depressed all the time."

"She gave you something to live for, didn't she? Like something worthwhile."

"Yeah. She did. It's not that I don't enjoy life or that I'm moping around, wondering why I'm here. I just know there's more to life than basketball. And when I'm with your sister, I feel like I'm just…Troy. Not Troy the playmaker or Troy the basketball boy. When I'm with Brie, I'm whoever I want to be because I knew she'd support me no matter if it's a really stupid idea," he said softly.

Carl chuckled quietly. "I know what you mean. The only girl who truly knows me is Gabriella. She must have a gift to be able to treat people how they want to be treated. If I could find another girl like her, that would be amazing. All I've ever been is the Knights' captain and a Montez. Especially to girls. You're lucky."

"I was lucky. Now, though, I feel like shit. Can you tell her that I hope that she follows her dream and finds a guy that's better than me and makes her happy, please, Carl?" Troy asked, his eyes shining with tears.

Carl nodded immediately, being reminded of how Gabriella had looked after the prank with the paint. He looked so vulnerable and helpless. "Of course I will. You're okay, you know. You're cool." He held his fist out to Troy.

Troy cracked the smallest of smiles and bumped his knuckles against Carl's. "That means a lot coming from you."

Carl glanced at the clock on Troy's bedside table and sighed as he got to his feet. He walked over to Troy's desk and got Daisy's leash. He returned to sit down on the bed. "If you get the chance to talk to Gabriella before she leaves, please try to get her back."

"But, what about your dad?" Troy asked.

Carl shrugged. "He'll get over it. As much as he doesn't want Bells to be 'tainted' by you, he doesn't want her to leave and never return. He wants her to be happy, just like I do. I'd better go. Good luck at the game."

"You, too. May the best team win," Troy nudged his shoulder jokingly. "I'm sorry for everything that me and my friends have done to you. You're kind of cool."

"Thanks. I'll leave you to rest. From what Bella told me, you need it." Carl raised his eyebrows.

Troy blushed lightly and nodded. "Yeah. It doesn't mean I will. All I keep hearing is how she doesn't want to see me ever again. All I keep seeing is…her."

"You do know she's leaving, right? In a week! Troy, dude, come on. Do something!" Carl exclaimed.

"Like what?" Troy muttered.

"I don't know. Anything. Anything that will get her to take you back. See you later," Carl whistled and Daisy regretfully stood up and walked over to him. He attached the leash to her collar and looked at Troy one more time before he stood up. "By the way, you have my permission to be with my sister. Hell, if she takes you back, you can marry her as long as you treat her right and make her happy."

Troy nodded. "Thank you. That's all I've wanted: for her to be happy."

Carl sighed and left the bedroom with Daisy, shutting the door behind him. One week. There was one week before the championship game. There was one week before Gabriella left for Stanford. One week before, he knew, people's emotions would go haywire. He would miss his twin immensely, Sharpay would be worried about Gabriella's well-being in California, Troy would be even more depressed and their fathers would most likely be confused as to what to do that was best for their children.

All of his life, Carl had watched his older brothers fight through the championships in their senior year and the victory had varied between the two schools over the years. It was only recently that the Wildcats had been on a winning streak. But, now, he couldn't wait for it to be over. And it was certainly not because he was looking forward to summer.

A/N: Quick question: Who do you want to win the championships?

A) Wildcats

B) Knights

Sorry, those are the only two options. Please vote, I can't decide and neither can HSMandChelseaFCfan. HELP!!!