"Gabriella!"

She could feel his presence next to her, almost as if she were awake to see it. For the first time since her birthday, she hadn't had a vision quite like this. Not one where she could still control her mind, where she could prevent her brain from forcing disturbing images of Troy's death upon her. It was almost like her eyes were glued shut, but everything she owned was working properly. She should be able to see something now, anything…so why hasn't she?

"Gabriella…"

The soft yet worried, voice was echoing in her mind, repeating over and over again, torturing her with the fact she couldn't respond. By the time she had stopped replaying his voice in her mind, she could feel his hands snaking around her, and her body become lighter. He had picked her up and pulled her close to him, his hand protectively pressing her head against his chest. She felt his emotions, like they were her own. He was shaking, which only caused her to shake in his hold.

His delicate voice rang in her ears again, and this time, she was positive her mouth wasn't going to open. She let her mind slip away at the fear of never being able to open them again, and this time…her vision changed from black to Troy. Only he wasn't wearing what he was wearing that day, nor was he hovering over her with worry, he was standing in front of her with a frown on his face, just before his blood splat all over her face. If it was real, she would've vomited.

Gabriella's eyes shot open in pure adrenaline as she gasped for necessary breath.

"Thank god…" Troy said quietly. He pushed a loose curl behind her ear and let his finger linger on her cheek. "Are you okay?" He added quickly.

Gabriella stared up at him for a moment before reluctantly taking her eyes off of him and glancing around the room. She'd recognize this place anywhere; the nurses office. Only it was missing something very important, the nurse.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered. She didn't know why, but she needed to get it out. It was her fault for putting him through that anxiety, when in reality, she was the one that should've been worried; for him.

His eyes widened as he anxiously shook his head, cupping her cheek into his trembling hand. "Why are you sorry? It wasn't your fault you fainted…" Troy said.

How would she ever be able to tell him what she had told Alex, about all these premonitions? The idea was absolutely preposterous.

"Where's the nurse?" She asked as she sat up cautiously, his urge to pull her against him increasing.

"She went to go call your parents…" He told her. "Jesus, Gabriella, you've been unconscious for 20 minutes."

Gabriella's calm eyes soon became wild with shock. No, it merely felt like five minutes. How could that even be remotely possible?

"I must've been dehydrated…" She said, rubbing her forehead. His hand instinctively pulled away and rested on his leg dangling over the bed.

He nodded, although he still had trouble believing that.

"Did you say she's calling my parents?" Gabriella asked in a hushed voice.

"Yeah…It's kind of a rule." He chuckled nervously. His pulse was still racing against his chest with distress. She seriously knew how to scare a guy.

She leaned back against the fluffed pillow and sighed heavily. Her parents wouldn't come. There was even a chance they wouldn't answer the phone. Business was business, and they certainly didn't want any interruptions.

"Can you do me a favor?" She asked Troy after a few minutes of silence. His head perked up at her voice and he immediately nodded. "Can you get Alex? Text him, call him, whatever." She smiled softly.

Not another word needed to be spoken as Troy grabbed his phone out of his pocket, typing furiously fast at the lightened up keys on the pad. He was so concentrated, it was oddly adorable.

"Well,"

Both Gabriella and Troy removed their gaze from their interest and turned their heads to see the nurse walking in from a connected room. She had a tired face on, her eyes almost darkened with red around the edges. How ironic; someone destined to treat people, yet she couldn't even treat herself.

"Your mother seemed very occupied," She smiled appreciatively, but even that seemed forced. "She said she'll be here as fast as she can."

Gabriella felt her heart leap out of her chest. Her mother, the same mother that acted like a stranger, was going to actually be a mother? No, she couldn't believe it.

"Are you sure?" Gabriella whispered in disbelief and slowly glanced at Troy. He even seemed truly shocked.

The nurse gave her an awry look. "Yeah, kid, I'm sure." She lifted her eyebrows and looked at the boy sitting close by Gabriella. "Get to class." She said sternly.

Troy had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. "Okay." He said.

The nurse gave them both a bored look before reentering the same room as before and leaving the two teens alone.

"She's right," Troy looked back at Gabriella and she smiled. "Get to class."

If Troy wasn't paying such close attention to her, he probably wouldn't have noticed the desperation in her voice. The only problem was that he didn't understand if she wanted him to leave, or to stay.

"You know…" He started and she raised her eyebrows. "I could just bring you home. I only have about two classes left, and they aren't that important."

Gabriella hesitated to answer, just by seeing his gorgeous eyes glisten with hope her heart broke. "This is a rare occasion – my mother caring. I shouldn't take it for granted." She smiled. "Thank you though. Seriously, thank you." Gabriella pulled his hand into hers and squeezed gently, feeling that tingling shock run through her body. Although, it didn't feel right. Quickly, before he could even respond with his hand, she shook it off carefully.

"I'll text you later okay?" She watched him quickly look at his phone before looking back at her.

He only nodded and stood up, his body awkwardly turning to face the door. She blinked, waiting for him to leave, but he only stayed frozen in his spot.

"Troy?" She said quietly, desperately awaiting his response.

God, he thought. He must look like an idiot. Standing there, thinking about what he ached to do. He didn't know where they stood, relationship wise, and he definitely did not know if he should do what he was about to do.

Gabriella softly breathed when his lips came into contact with her forehead, his warm lips so close to hers. If only he could move them further down, where she truly wanted his lips. But this feeling was wonderful and comforting to her, making her heart race with desire.

"Feel better," He murmured against her skin, and just like that the warm feeling was gone, and he was out of the room.

Gabriella cursed out loud, not caring if that old nurse could hear her. Why hadn't he made a move to actually kiss her? Did she have to beg?

"Oh Gabriella, baby,"

Gabriella knew that voice.

She knew it like her own.

She'd grown up without hearing it much, but that didn't mean she couldn't recognize it.

"Mom?" Gabriella pulled herself into a straighter position and dangled her legs over the bed. Her mother was dressed in her business suit, the plain black and white boring theme. Gabriella grew tired of seeing it every day. But now, it wasn't her main concern. What the hell happened to her mother?

"I was so worried," She rushed over, dropped her purse to the floor and engulfed Gabriella into her arms. Gabriella sat there with her arms stiff and hanging, just like her brain. This was nothing like her mother.

"Um…" Gabriella said.

Gabriella's mother pulled back, staring at Gabriella with nearly closed eyes, just enough for Gabriella to catch a glimpse of her iris's. Wow, she mused. Almost fooled her.

She didn't know if it was the fact that her mother was faking the care, or that Gabriella felt her emotions, just like she did before with Troy, but she was fed up with her. What an act. Pretend to actually fear for your daughter's health; must be hard.

"Can we go home?" Gabriella asked flatly. Her mother opened her eyes fully and tilted her head. Yeah, didn't expect that, did you mom? She thought.

"Of course dear,"

The ride back home was quiet, as it usually was with her mother. Gabriella couldn't utter a word; neither could she glance at her mother. For a moment, Gabriella honestly believed her mom was starting to love her, like any parent should. It was wrong of her to think that.

"Baby are you okay?" Gabriella glared at her mother and forcefully opened the car door. "Gabriella-"

"No." Gabriella swiftly turned back around and slumped her body down so she could see her mother eye to eye. "Just because you pick me up once from school and call me a bunch of pet names, does not mean anything. You do not suddenly become a mother because you do one loving thing for your child," She shook her head disgustingly. "A real parent wouldn't need to try this hard to care for her kid. Do you understand what that says about you? It says you're fake. And you're certainly not my mother."

Gabriella took a very, very large breath and exhaled before charging into the house with gritted teeth. What the hell provoked her to say that? Never in her life had she ever stood up to her mother, not with the actual truth. The sad thing was, she didn't regret it.

Just as Gabriella thought something could've sparked in her mom and made her realize the truth, she heard tires hitting the gravel. Gabriella slowly walked over to her window and looked outside, spotting an empty driveway. Nothing would change between them, nothing.

"Gabriella?"

She pushed her book further into her knees and turned her head to see her brother panting at the doorway. It had only been 30 minutes since she left school, so seeing him here at this moment, was a bit surprising.

"Alex? Don't you have to be at school?" She frantically swatted her book away and jumped off her bed, eying her brother down.

He patted his chest and shook his head, his breathing still wild. "I…had to make sure…you were okay…" Alex yawned in exhaustion. That took a lot to get out.

"Why are you breathing like that?" She reached out to him and placed her hand on his shoulder, steadying his body.

"Ran…home…" He said.

Gabriella's eyes widened. "Why didn't you take your car?"

Alex instantly closed his mouth and breathed through his nose. "I have a car…" He confirmed and Gabriella giggled loudly. "Right, forgot." He shifted on his feet. When he got the text from Troy, he didn't even think to remember he had a car. He just ran. And when the nurse told him she left with their mother, he ran faster.

"Are you okay?" He ignored his mistake and focused his attention back on Gabriella, walking closer and studying her figure. She looked fine, absolutely fine?

Gabriella nodded. "Just had a little vision and fainted," She said. He almost forgot the whole physic thing.

"Anything else?" He egged on. She raised her eyebrow.

"Would are you trying to ask, brother?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well…I heard about-"

Immediately, she recognized where he was going with this. "I don't know what's wrong with her. She picked today to fake being a mother. But hey, better than nothing right?" Gabriella half-joked. Alex cringed.

It wasn't long before she was embraced in a tight hug with her tears staining her brother's shirt. She hadn't cried over her parents in such a long time and at the worst possible period in her life, she decided she needed to let it out.

Monday nights were never Gabriella's thing. It usually consisted of her being bored out of her mind, with no one to talk to, except a few friends she wasn't quite close to. Sharpay was at some dance class until 9, and by then, she was too exhausted to even hang out with Gabriella. Alex hung out with friends, did homework, practiced basketball, and went to sleep. It was just a routine.

But this Monday night happened to be different.

She now had a new person in her life.

And he had a greater affect on her than anyone could possibly imagine.

"No!" Gabriella giggled, shaking her head in defeat.

Troy grinned as he slammed the cards against the carpeted floor. "Give me the money, Brie."

Gabriella giggled again and flashed her teeth. "What? Troy, this is goldfish. I don't have any money." She rolled her eyes playfully.

"Huh…" He said quietly. "And here I thought I was gonna get reward," He feigned hurt.

"Oh please." She laughed. "If you really want something, I think I have some real goldfish downstairs. I'm starving."

"Goldfish? Isn't that a little…sick?" He tilted his head.

Gabriella squinted her eyes and quickly shook her head. "Troy, I didn't mean the fish…" She let out an exasperated giggle.

He nodded. "Can you hold off that stomach for just a little bit longer? I wanna go for another round," Troy smirked. He won every time, every 10 times they played.

"Why? So you can beat me?" She accused. "I don't think so."

"Hey! It's not my fault you suck at his," He defended.

Gabriella giggled. "Ok, how about we play a different game, and then you accompany me to get some goldfish?" She practically begged with her eyes. This game was seriously starting to piss her off.

"Depends…" He rubbed his chin in thought. "What game?"

"Hm," She stood up from the floor and walked over to her closet, glancing up at the few games she had stacked on the rack. There weren't a lot of options. She hadn't played many games since she was like, 10. But when he came over with that beautiful face of his, she needed something to distract her from jumping him. Since earlier today, she couldn't stop thinking about the simple kiss to the forehead, and how she wished it could be more. Maybe he wasn't noticing her signs for the past hour, because she's been giving a few subtle hints every now and then. Her brother went to his friend's house earlier, and her parents were gone, so it was just them in this empty house. She was safe to get kissed.

"I have twister?" She suggested, turning her head at him. He chuckled, but of course, nodded. A game to get physically close to her? Count him in.

Gabriella only took about five minutes to lay out the mat and neatly place the spinner on the floor before jumping with excitement. This was her favorite game as a kid. Just seeing it assembled brought back so many memories. When she was young, and didn't have all these issues.

"You wanna start?" She asked.

He grinned as her eyes beamed when she asked him. "I think you should probably start," He said.

Gabriella giggled and nodded, not even bothering to question him further. She quickly spun the wheel and glared as it turned to green; her least favorite color. She looked at the other spinner and frowned when it landed on a hand. She liked using her feet better.

It was about an hour into the game when they both felt extremely bored and somewhat tired. So far, with his luck, he only brushed against her skin twice. Funny thing, isn't it? This game is supposed to guarantee touching.

"Troy?" Gabriella whispered, her arm looped under his to rest her hand on blue.

He mumbled softly, too concentrated on her hand placement to realize what she was saying.

"Thank you for coming over. I know you didn't have to."

Troy's ears picked up her immediate sigh, and he couldn't help but feel guilty for ever putting a thought like that into her head.

"I'll always come." He confirmed truthfully. "Besides, I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"As you can see, I'm fine." She added a small giggle before collapsing onto the floor, exhausted.

Troy fell next to her and turned his face toward her. "Game making you tired?"

Gabriella shrugged. "Or, it could be how bored I am." She said quietly.

"Yeah…" He agreed.

"It's not how I remember it as a kid," She pouted.

"I guess it's cause you're older now? It's not as exciting?"

Gabriella scoffed playfully. It was still exciting, just as exciting as when she was a little toddler. Maybe it was the fact that he still wasn't getting her hints that bored her. She even tried 'accidentally' brushing her hand over his dick. Either he couldn't feel it, or he did not feel the same she felt for him.

"Mondays always suck," She sighed.

Troy chuckled from the side and nodded his head in agreement, although she wouldn't be able to see with her eyes focused on the ceiling.

"I'm sure we can make it a fun night." He compromised.

Gabriella excitedly glanced at him and raised her eyebrow. He had a devilish smirk on his face, one that made her heart stop in her chest. "What do you have in mind, boy?" She smirked with him.

"Well you're a sucker for games, right?"

A nod was all it took for Troy to shoot up off the ground and carry Gabriella with him.

Gabriella giggled loudly as Troy used all his upper arm strength to grip onto her stair railing. She could see the look of determination on his face, the same look he's had for about ten minutes. He just wasn't succeeding at this.

"Troy…" She giggled loudly and instantly covered her hand with her mouth when he glared at her.

"I got this," He breathed loudly and let his body fall onto the mattress.

"Ready?" She asked through her fingers.

He shook his body, cracking all his muscles in the process, and gave Gabriella a nod to start. Gabriella giggled once more before kicking the large mattress down the steps. Before she could even begin to laugh, he went flying with the bed down the stairs. She could hear the faint down of his rumbling from the bumps and shook her head amusedly. He fell onto the sturdy ground a moment later, without the mattress.

"Fuck," He said loudly and energetically.

"You alright?" Gabriella suppressed a giggle.

He looked from the bottom of the stairs to her, the distance between them being very slim, and chuckled. Once he brought the old mattress back up the stairs, he let it fall at the top and gripped Gabriella's shoulders.

"What are you doing?" She gasped as he carefully placed her on the mattress and got behind her. Oh god, she thought, he was so close to her. His chest pressed up against her back and his hands snaked around her waist, tightly holding onto her. She was getting that reoccurring feeling of comfort when he pulled her closer and rested his chin on her shoulder. Gabriella could feel his hot breath against her neck, and she had to bite her lip to hold back a dreamy sigh.

"We're going down together…" He murmured against her neck.

Gabriella so desperately wanted him to kiss her then, but she couldn't manage to turn her head to look at him. And the fact that he was tracing invisible circles on her clothed stomach was definitely not helping. This had to mean he liked her, right?

"Wait-" Gabriella couldn't finish her thought when she squealed for her life as he jumped slightly and brought them tumbling down the steps. Her eyes were tightly shut by the time they got to the bottom, unscathed and laughing.

Gabriella noticed he was still holding onto her. "Oh my god," She let out a deep breath and twisted her head to face him.

He grinned at her. "I don't remember that being so fun." He mumbled.

Gabriella's breath hitched in her throat as he removed his hands from her waist and used his left one to turn her face closer to his. He unconsciously moved closer to her, his eyes only focused on her lips. Inside she was jumping with excitement, but on the outside, she kept her calmest expression on. It was only until their lips were almost touching that she allowed a smile to creep onto her face.

"What is going on here?"

Troy sprung apart from Gabriella as fast as he could, knocking himself onto the floor in the process. Gabriella didn't even need to see the face the voice belonged too before she took her attention of off Troy and onto her mother.

"What are you doing here?" Gabriella snapped.

Troy coughed awkwardly in his spot and made a notion to stand up, but Gabriella looked back at him as if she knew, and shook her head softly.

"I got off of work early," Her mother explained with a scoff. "Who is this boy, Gabriella?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "It's none of your business," She stated.

For a minute, Gabriella thought she could see a flash of hurt in her mother's eyes, until it turned into a deadly glare at Troy. "I think you should leave." She demanded.

Gabriella stood up quickly and got in front of her mother. "He's not leaving, mother."

"This is my house." She looked back at her daughter. "I want him out,"

Troy was finally calm enough to speak, "I should probably get home anyway." He interrupted and both Montez's looked at him.

Gabriella swallowed hard. She didn't want him to leave. They were so, so, close to finally kissing. And then her stupid mother had to ruin it. "Troy-" Gabriella started.

"Good idea." The voice Gabriella was soon despising spoke behind her, and Gabriella gritted her teeth.

"See you in school?" He said.

Gabriella didn't want to, but it was useless. She nodded.

He gave her a small smile and quickly kissed her cheek before leaving the house in a hurry. Gabriella touched her cheek and rubbed it softly.

"You have got to be out of your mind, Gabriella." She walked in front of Gabriella. "Having a boy alone in the house with you? They only want one thing, sweetie."

Gabriella rolled her eyes again. "Don't call me sweetie, and don't speak to me."

"Watch your tone with me young lady, I am still your mother. And I do not approve of that boy being here."

Gabriella scoffed and laughed. "Since when did you ever care what happens to me?" She hissed.

"I always-"

"No, you didn't. If you did, I wouldn't be as screwed up as yo-"

Gabriella was cut off with a loud slapping sound echoing the room that could've damaged someone's ears with the noise. Her eyes widened in shock as her hand instantly covered the same cheek Troy had kissed before.

"Gabriella-" Gabriella raised her free hand to stop her mom from continuing.

She then felt the tears fall down her face and flow over her now red, skin.

Her mother had hit her.

Something she never expected, but something that shouldn't have came as a big shock.

"Don't…" Gabriella whispered.

"Baby-"

"I said don't!" She practically screamed at the top of her lungs, and the sudden sound of glass breaking filled the room, replacing the slapping sound that was implanted in Gabriella's brain.

Her mother looked behind her in fear of someone else being there to witness what she had just done, but it was only empty space. And that's when Gabriella noticed what she was looking at, and her eyes widened even further. Her mother's cherished vase was now scattered across the floor, completely shattered. And no one was even there to do it.