Thanks once again for the amazing reviews – I especially love the ones where you were all worked up over what's going on! I loved them!

Stephanie – I'm glad you love my style of writing, and I'm sorry about the cliff-hanger ... all I'll say is you're going to hate me again!

Here is chapter 4. Enjoy :)


Chapter 4

Troy paced back and forth across his carpeted bedroom floor, watching the glowing red numbers on his clock tick closer and closer toward 7am.

He had stayed on the phone with Gabriella for close to an hour – he had wanted to go over but as her breathing regulated once again and she began to calm down, she managed to convince him that going out in his truck half asleep and getting himself killed on the road wasn't going to help either of them. She told him that as long as she could hear his voice she would be fine. It was around 4am when he heard her fall asleep on the other end of the line, but he had still not been able to get back to sleep himself.

Instead, he had gotten up and paced around the room, waiting for the clock to finally read 7am when he could call Maria Montez knowing she would definitely be awake.

6.58am...

"Come oooon!" Troy said aloud, frustrated.

6.59am...

Troy practically held his breath, stopping completely still and fixing his gaze on the clock.

7.00am.

Troy practically pounced on the cordless phone, dialling the number he knew off by heart, and beginning to pace again as he waited for an answer.

"Hello, Maria speaking," Troy heard as the phone was answered.

"Morning Maria, it's Troy. Sorry to call so early," Troy apologised.

"Hi Troy, it's fine. Gabi told me what happened earlier. I've got her an appointment with Doctor McKenzie first thing this morning. Whatever this virus is, it has hit her pretty hard. Having said that, though, she's sitting up here eating breakfast right now. She says she is feeling a lot better – just a bit fluey and achy still. I...ok, ok Gabi – one second – I...ok Gabi! She wants to talk to you, Troy – hold on."

Troy heard rustling and fumbling as the phone was passed on and then, finally, the voice he needed to hear the most.

"Hi Troy," she did sound better. Troy let out a breath he didn't realise he had been holding.

"My god, Brie – you don't know how good it is to hear your voice. You sure had me frightened earlier."

He heard her giggle slightly. "I'm sorry – I didn't mean to worry you but I was so scared I didn't know what to do – I couldn't co-ordinate my feet to walk to Mom's room and I couldn't get enough breath to yell out..."

"Hey, don't apologise – I'm just glad you are feeling better now...I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to you Brie," Troy told her sincerely.

Gabriella smiled. "You're a sweetheart. So, how are you going to get through another day at school without me there?" she teased.

Troy laughed. "More to the point – how are you going to get through another day with no school?"

Gabriella sighed dramatically. "Well luckily my genius brain will allow me to catch up quickly," she joked. "Unlike someone else I know who, if he doesn't get his butt into gear and leave for school soon, is going to wind up in detention with Ms. Darbus until he is 40..."

"Oh shoot," Troy muttered, noticing the time as Gabriella pointed it out. "You're right I had better go. Can I come and see you after school?"

"It's a date. We can work on homework together, because you're going to collect mine for me, aren't you?" she winked at her mother, who smiled and shook her head at her daughter's 'bossiness'.

"Of course," Troy replied, knowing Gabriella would just not feel right if she went more than one night with no homework.

"Thanks. I'll see you later then?"

"Couldn't keep me away if you tried. Good luck at the doctors – make sure they know if they don't give you the best antibiotics around to knock this bug out of your system, then they will have to deal with me," Troy grinned.

"I will," Gabriella laughed. "And Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't know what I'd do without you either..."

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

Troy slid into his homeroom seat with approximately 3.2 seconds to spare. Breathing a sigh of relief, he turned around in the chair to be met by the questioning stares of Taylor and Chad. Troy simply shook his head and mouthed 'later'.

Turning back to face the front of the room, Troy tried to pay attention to Ms. Darbus. But his focus shifted to the clock and he watched the seconds tick by painfully slow as he counted down the minutes until he could be with Gabriella again.

"Mr Bolton?" Troy was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of Ms. Darbus' voice calling his name.

"Huh?" he blurted out.

"The answer?" Darbus said impatiently.

"Uh...42?" Troy guessed.

Ms. Darbus sighed, removing her glasses and pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and her forefinger.

"Wordsworth, Mr Bolton – William Wordsworth compiled Ecclesiastical Sketches in 1822. Please pay more attention or else you will find yourself with a thousand word essay on the life of Wordsworth. Now, can anyone tell me who..." Ms. Darbus' voice became just a drone in the background, as Troy's mind once again drifted to a certain curly-haired brunette.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

Across town, Gabriella was resting her head against her mother's shoulder as they sat in the waiting room of the doctor's surgery. She was feeling very tired again, and eager to get the appointment over with so she could get home and rest.

"Gabriella Montez?" Maria helped Gabriella up and they followed Dr McKenzie into the surgery.

"So, Gabriella – what seems to be the problem?" Dr McKenzie smiled from across his desk.

"Just the flu, or some sort of virus I think," Gabriella replied. "Stuffy nose, cough, aching joints...just really really tired."

"She's been running a low grade fever on and off, and waking up with cold sweats as well," Maria added.

Dr McKenzie nodded. "Sounds like a pretty nasty virus to me," he moved from behind his desk and around to Gabriella with a thermometer and stethoscope. "Ok Gabriella, lean forward for me and take a few deep breaths."

Gabriella flinched as the stethoscope came into contact with her skin.

"I'm sorry, is it cold?" the doctor asked.

"No," Gabriella frowned. "It just itches my back."

Dr McKenzie frowned and pulled her top up further. "Gabriella, how long have you had this rash for?"

Gabriella looked at her mother. "We noticed it a few days ago...we thought it must have been an allergy or something – I gave her some antihistamine and it went away." Maria informed him. "It must have spread again."

The doctor gently ran a finger over the fine red markings. "Does it hurt at all?" he asked.

"No," Gabriella shook her head. "I just feel kind of itchy."

Dr McKenzie nodded. "Ok. Ok, well I'm going to note your height and weight, prescribe you some antibiotics, then send you off to pathology for a quick blood test before you go home. Your glands are up and your chest doesn't sound too good so it is probably a strain of flu like you thought. I'll let you know if I need to see you again, but otherwise, just see the course of antibiotics out and come back if you aren't feeling any better in a week to ten days."

Gabriella and her mom nodded. "Thanks doctor."

Little did they know, they would be seeing Dr McKenzie again much sooner than they thought...

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

"Can I lie next to my Gabriella-ella-ella-ey-ey-ey..." Troy sang softly as a smile began to creep across Gabriella's face. Without opening her eyes, she wriggled over on the couch so there was enough room for Troy to lie next to her. He kicked off his shoes and carefully curled up beside her, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her on the forehead.

"How was the doctor's?" he asked quietly.

"Faaantastic," Gabriella replied jokingly, her eyes still closed. "Like I told you – just the flu, I'll be right as rain after some antibiotics and rest."

Troy smiled. The phone rang in the background and he heard Maria answer it as he held Gabriella closer and placed a trail of soft kisses from her cheek to her lips. "And in the meantime, I get to pamper you like a princess, right?"

Gabriella giggled, opening her eyes. "Troy, you always pam...Mom, what's wrong?"

Maria had appeared in the lounge room, the cordless phone in her hand.

"Gabi, honey...that was Dr McKenzie. We need to meet him at the hospital right away..."


Ya, I know – I'm really really evil – ANOTHER cliffy! Hope you liked the chapter, please review :)

Charli xox