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"Have you seen her? She's dressed so weirdly."
"Where did her locker go? That insanely large and sparkly pink monstrosity?"
"I heard she had a lobotomy."
"Well I heard she was abducted by aliens and then kicked off the spaceship for trying to take over."
"Even her followers have no idea what's going on but in classic style are dressed in dark colors with her."
"Someone told me that she found out she was no longer heir to the Evans' fortune, that it was all going to Ryan. Could you imagine? Being the oldest and then having your younger sibling take that all away?"
"That can't be true, Ryan isn't like that. I heard something better. Sharpay actually killed someone!"
The last quietly murmured piece of gossip snapped the control Gabriella had over her thoughts and emotions. She eyed the lower classman that was nearby before shaking her head at him. "Sharpay is a great many things but never repeat that, do you hear me? She didn't kill anyone!"
"Geez, don't kill the messenger! I thought you two weren't friends, why are you sticking up for her anyway?" he asked.
"Because she doesn't deserve to be labeled a killer," replied Gabriella, watching as the boy shrugged his shoulders and just walked away with his friends. 'Although God knows I could have cooked up a number of other things to call her in the past year, especially yesterday, after everything was revealed.'
There was a soft clearing of the throat to Gabriella's right so she turned her head, smiling a little as Ryan stood there smiling back at her. "That was very big and noble of you Gabriella, sticking up for Sharpay the way you just did. I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to spread that rumor more than stop it."
"Maybe if it was anything else but I can't let her go through what I have, knowing it was my fault. No one deserves that, no matter what they have done," replied Gabriella, looking over to where Sharpay was now shuffling through her new smaller, standard issued locker dressed in a black velvet tracksuit with a gray t-shirt underneath.
"So you don't blame her?" questioned Ryan, intrigued by Gabriella's admission, wondering in truth what exactly Gabriella had been going through.
"As much as I'd love to, I can't, not with a clear conscience. Your sister is twisted in the mind but I now see a human side of her coming out, at least I think so," returned Gabriella, looking back at Ryan.
Ryan chuckled a little. "What you see is not Sharpay acting by choice. Well, maybe her clothes but the locker change was a mandate from Mom and Dad on top of many other things that she has to endure as penance."
"They aren't going too hard on her are they?" asked Gabriella, surprising both of them by the note of concern in her voice.
"Let's just say after you left our place yesterday that Sharpay spent a long time with my parents, discussing things. I believe she has had her special rights at school stripped, like the special locker and her reserved parking spot, had her credit cards taken away except for one that has a five thousand dollar limit, had her check book taken away, and was issued a standard cell phone with no camera attached. Of course all that came out slowly throughout the day. I think my parents' aim is to take away everything that she used to cause trouble for you and Tristan," answered Ryan, pondering that last bit. "You do realize that Sharpay had a reason to lure you out to the lake in that note she forged right? That she intended to prove by you showing up that you still loved Tristan and not Troy and try to get you that way? I love my sister because she is my twin but she is not all that innocent."
Gabriella shrugged her shoulders as she said, "That may be true, in fact I know she isn't innocent, but I can't blame Sharpay for what happened with Tristan, as much as I'd like to because it wasn't just her. I know I was beyond furious yesterday but after some calming down at home after that, I realized that while she added fuel to the fire, there were a lot of other things going on with Tristan that I hadn't even realized."
"You hinted a little earlier that you held or hold yourself accountable for Tristan's suicide but yet you let my twin, who clearly did some type of damage to Tristan's psyche, off the hook. What's up with that?" questioned Ryan, searching Gabriella's face for answers.
"I may not know the real extent of whatever deal or partnership Sharpay and Tristan briefly had but I don't think Sharpay ever took the time to really get to know Tristan, who he was, what he liked to do, what he wanted to be in the future. In fact, I know she didn't otherwise she would have realized Tristan didn't need her money or her plane tickets because Tristan's family is very well off to the point where I've teased Tristan about bringing his favorite cook out here on visits," explained Gabriella, tears gathering in her eyes as she thought of him again. "Because I knew him, I feel more responsible but to be honest, knowing a bit more of what was going on with him besides his life at home and school, knowing this other piece, it does somehow give me a bit more closure, understanding a bit more of what he was going through, although my heart breaks even more for him."
"And that right there is why I'm just astonished you aren't ripping into Sharpay. Look, I'm not encouraging it but I have to be honest and straight with you here when I say I'm really, really surprised," stated Ryan, each syllable filled with sincerity.
Before Gabriella could say anything, she felt a familiar muscular arm snake around her waist, feeling the warm, soft lips press against her forehead. She looked to her left and smiled as she met Troy's gaze, feeling better by him just being there. "Hey Brie, Ryan," greeted Troy, nodding at the other guy. "What's up?"
"Oh, Gabriella and I were just talking about Sharpay…" started Ryan only to stop when Gabriella shook her head at him in a subtle but noticeable way.
"Sharpay? Has she done something else to upset you Brie?" questioned Troy, turning Gabriella's body so she was facing him more, searching her eyes for a hint of what was going on.
"Actually Troy," began Ryan again, only to get cut off by Gabriella who spoke up just then.
"Troy, aren't you hungry? I'm sure you are, you always are," joked Gabriella.
Troy narrowed his eyes as he was studying his girlfriend, sure that there was definitely something more going on. "What are you trying to cover up Brie?"
Ryan sighed, shaking his head. "Gabriella, you should probably tell him. Honest, I know what you promised about not saying anything but I don't think this would be a breach."
Slowly, Troy began trying to force the puzzle pieces together, not quite getting them to snap together correctly. He looked at Ryan and then Gabriella and back again before laying his light blue eyes back on his girlfriend. "Brie? Is there something going on between you and Ryan?"
Gabriella paled while Ryan coughed rather uncomfortably, both of them shaking their heads. "No, of course not, why would you think that?" asked Gabriella, shocked that question came out of Troy's mouth.
"Well, it's clear you don't want to tell me something that Ryan knows about. I know, stupid, rash assumption but I had to ask," replied Troy, rubbing the back of his neck as they all shared an awkward moment together.
Knowing that it would be best to clue him in and tell Troy the full truth later as Ryan suggested, Gabriella cleared her throat and said, "Actually, it does have to deal with Sharpay but I don't want to put any power behind the already rampant rumors running around. Can you just trust me long enough until we go home after my session, after your practice, that is if you will still take me?"
Troy's features softened at just the hint of uncertainty and sadness in her voice. Placing his hands on each side of her face, Troy lovingly stared down into her eyes, feeling the constant and immediate bond between them a little bit more intensely than normal in that moment. "Of course I'll take you. Brie, no matter what, I'm here for you, remember? And of course I trust you and I can wait for whatever it is you want to tell me. You have me curious but if you don't want to say now, I know you have your reasons and trust that."
"Thank you," she whispered, reminding herself at that time how very blessed she was to have Troy as he was, so sweet, loving, and understanding.
He closed the space between them and kissed her lips in a tender way, pulling back after lingering for a short time, knowing exactly where they were, standing in the middle of an emptying East High hallway as other students made their way to lunch spots around campus. "Ready to go grab some lunch?"
Gabriella smiled and nodded her head, taking his hand in hers. "Gotta feed you so you can make it to the rest of the day until you can eat again right?"
"Hey, you make me sound like Chad!" pouted Troy, chuckling as Gabriella rolled her eyes. He saw Ryan kind of standing a bit awkwardly still off to their side. "Hey Ryan, why don't you join us?"
"Me?" asked Ryan, unsure if he heard the basketball captain right. "I would think all of your friends would be sick of me from this summer and not want Sharpay's poodle hanging around especially after everything."
"They don't know everything and they won't," Gabriella reminded Ryan, piquing Troy's curiosity again as to what "everything" truly was.
"You seriously are going to keep your word to my parents huh? I have to say, you have more class than my entire family put together Miss Montez," complimented Ryan, offering her a bow, which made Gabriella giggle.
"Just like I was telling you earlier, I have my reasons. Only a select few will know that secret but that's it, it ends there, with those people and no one else," returned Gabriella. "Nothing special, just following the Golden Rule if nothing else."
Troy scoffed at this, drawing both of their attention. "So I don't know what this deal is but will later, I accept that, but seriously Gabriella, you doing something not special? That's a lie if I ever heard it!"
Just as Gabriella was about to deliver a witty response, Troy's stomach let out a loud gurgle that could not be ignored. "Well, I think your stomach is speaking the truth in its hunger, that's for sure!"
"Best get this guy fed," agreed Ryan, all three sharing in a laugh as they walked down the hallways together towards the cafeteria, a new friendship born.
Troy set both of their bags down onto the floor near Gabriella's desk as Gabriella turned on her computer and logged in, letting the operating system fully load before she opened an empty browser window. She stood up and walked over to her bag to pull out a picture, staring down at it for a few moments before daring to look up to meet Troy's eyes.
Gabriella nibbled on her lower lip for a few moments before rounding up enough courage to do what she was about to. "I talked to Dr. Johnson about this whole ordeal, I want you to know. I also told my mom some of this so she knew what was going on but I want you to know that I haven't shown anyone this website nor do I intend to. First, do you recognize this picture?" she asked, handing Troy the picture she had found in the picture frame of her and Tristan.
While Troy was studying it, Gabriella looked over to her bedside table and smiled a little, seeing the picture back in its original frame minus the glass, Gabriella unable to bear it being separated from the frame that once was kept on Tristan's own bedside table. When she looked back at Troy, he wore a puzzled expression that Gabriella had been suspecting. "It looks like it was taken that night we were with the gang at the bowling alley, when you fell and I asked you to be my girlfriend," Troy said, giving Gabriella the picture back. "All this was over a picture?"
"No, that is just the start of it," answered Gabriella, turning the picture over to reveal Tristan's handwriting on the back. "Enter in the website address."
Troy just did as he was told, taking a seat on her desk chair and keying in the website, unsure of what he would find. Feeling the need to just hold Gabriella to him, Troy reached out and gently pulled Gabriella to him, seating her on his lap just as the page fully loaded, revealing a purple background with a picture of Gabriella and Tristan. "What is this Brie?"
"Just watch," she replied, her voice now laced with sadness that Troy heard even though he could only see part of her face.
Curiosity won over his concern for his girlfriend just moments later though when the next page came up after Gabriella logged on, displaying links in columns. "So it's a website for what?"
"Tristan was trying to tell me something, something that I only wish he had told me before," said Gabriella simply, clicking on the last link under the airplane icon to show the image of the airplane ticket. "This is an airplane ticket that was bought for Tristan to come back to Albuquerque but not by him or me. In fact, this was from a trip I didn't even know he made, after we ended things, after I told him I couldn't see him."
Troy heard a catch in her voice just then and tightened his arms around Gabriella's midsection, kissing her cheek softly. "It's okay, we don't have to look at this Gabriella. I can tell that is upsetting you."
Gabriella though shook her head. "No, you need to know this, I need to share this with you."
"Okay," he said as Troy watched Gabriella closed the page that was open to open another, this time under the dollar sign icon, this page showing a check written out for $5,000. Troy's eyes scanned the image, his eyes narrowing at the signature he recognized in an instant and then at the name and address of the bank account owner. "Why was Sharpay giving Tristan money? Do I want to know this?"
Gabriella heard the slightest bit of anger and deep suspicion already seep into Troy's voice and scooted a little so she could turn her body to sit sideways now on Troy's lap, giving her the ability to look him fully into the face. "If you don't want to know, I'm not going to force you to see this but I think that you deserve to know this, I agree with Ryan, especially as you've been through everything you have with me. I can stop though, honest."
Troy took a few moments to debate this in his mind but shook his head. "No, I need to see this, you and Ryan are both right. It can't be as bad as my mind is thinking it is, with you this calm."
"Remember, I figured this out yesterday morning. I've had time to sort this out so just take this in baby steps, okay?" replied Gabriella, kissing Troy on the cheek before maneuvering herself back around so she could navigate to the next set of links she wanted Troy to see, the many camera pictures.
"Dude, was she spying on us all the time and taking these pictures or something?" wondered Troy, concentrating on the different things Gabriella was showing him, getting the bigger picture with each link clicked.
"I'm not honestly sure," stated Gabriella, pausing as she hovered over the last link. "Are you ready for the thing that will make this all make sense, real fast?"
Seeing his silent nod, Gabriella clicked on the link and turned up her speakers to make sure Troy could hear Sharpay's recorded voicemails on the audio file, shifting again so she could watch Troy's face, his reaction. Gabriella didn't have to wait long as halfway through the first voicemail, Troy balled up his fists while he squeezed her a bit tighter to him. Troy's mouth also managed to hang open despite his tenseness as Sharpay called Tristan weak and then continued to confess to scheming with him to hurt Gabriella and Troy. "That fucking bitch," she heard him curse, his blue eyes now hiding behind tightly closed eyelids.
When the audio file was done playing, Troy opened his eyes and immediately sought out Gabriella's that were watery despite the hardness that entered her brown orbs. "How can you so calmly sit there after hearing all this, seeing all this? Sharpay has crossed the line one too many times and needs to be called out on this shit!" he exclaimed, surprising both of them with his sudden outburst.
"Trust me, she was dealt with but in my own way," answered Gabriella, placing a soothing hand on the right side of Troy's face, calming him some despite the renewed fury Gabriella felt rushing through her body again. "I'm not happy with her, I don't approve of this, any of this, but at the same time, we can't do anything that will make a difference that matters. Tristan's already gone Troy! If anything, I'd just want to go back in time and save him, save him from Sharpay and her clutches, to help him better after I let him leave here."
Troy stared back at Gabriella, seeing the mixture of grief and guilt thrown in with the frustration and fury all in her eyes, knowing he had to push back his own instinct to go over and settle the score and get Sharpay out of their lives for good if not more. It tore Troy to do this, to fight against his strong instinct to act, to protect what was his, what Troy treasured most in this life, but he managed to chain his own feelings just enough to give Gabriella the support she desperately needed as more tears filled her eyes. "What are you thinking?"
"Just, thinking about it now, what could I have done differently? How could I not have known Sharpay would reach out to Tristan to try to break us up, keep us apart? How could I let him get mixed up with her?" blurted out Gabriella, raising a trembling hand up to her face to brush away some of the tears. "I brought her into his life Troy! In so many ways I feel more closure, I do, but I also feel more guilt. If it wasn't for me, Tristan would never have been involved with Sharpay nor would he have known her. Tristan would still be a happy teenage boy instead of spending the rest of eternity in the cold ground!"
"Hey, stop that Brie, stop," soothed Troy, turning her shoulders around gently and ducking his head to meet her downcast eyes, his heart breaking with hers as she sniffled. "You don't know any of that. From what I've heard you say, what Sandra has said, Tristan was depressed. He had school pressures, football pressures, problems at home, and who knows what else. Yes, this scheme, plot, or whatever it was that Tristan was involved in with Sharpay probably didn't help him but it wasn't your fault, this is far more not your fault than you are believing it to be. Brie, for Sharpay to have done what she had for that fake letter she created, it shows that they did collaborate together, that Tristan did supply her with pictures of you. However, from what I can tell with what is on this site, Sharpay herself was fueling a lot of this behavior on her own, giving him all the loaded ammunition he would need to get worked up and want to act out of jealousy against us. I don't think she really got what she wanted though, we're still here together, right?"
Gabriella sniffled again as she wiped a few more tears away, letting out a sigh. "I know, you're right, and I think that's why I'm not even worse off about this. This still sucks, don't get me wrong. Tristan suffered so much because of her. I know him and Tristan, as you pointed out just now, did participate but something changed for him along the way. Sharpay wouldn't have to send so many pictures, so much money, to get Tristan to cooperate with her if he really wanted to. I can't be mad at him for any of this, I just feel, I feel so sad for him, even more so now."
"Come here Brie," murmured Troy, gathering Gabriella into his embrace, letting her tuck her face into his neck as she cried a little, kissing her forehead as Troy ran a comforting hand up and down Gabriella's back. "I have to admit, I really want to give it to Sharpay right now, as ungentlemanly of me as it is. This truly is just ridiculous, outrageous even."
"She's already being punished Troy," said Gabriella once her tears were under control again, remaining snugly tucked into Troy's body. "I went over and confronted her at the Evans mansion yesterday and her parents ended up getting involved, Ryan was witness, and from what he was telling me earlier at school, Sharpay is being monitored and punished by her parents."
"As good as that is, to hear she actually is having consequences for this, don't you want to see more happen?" questioned Troy, wondering if he was the insane one for wanting some type of justice on behalf of Tristan and Gabriella both.
"I did when I first saw all this, trust me I did," replied Gabriella, thinking back to all the ranges of emotions she had felt in the last day or two. "Then though I thought about how Sharpay looked when I think she finally realized the truth, that Tristan was really dead and was then told it was a suicide. She's only human Troy."
Troy scoffed at this. "Sharpay, human, after all this? You have got to be kidding me Gabriella."
"Wildcat, she is. Honest, if I thought she wasn't sorry for Tristan's death, I probably would be seeking blood but I saw the guilt, I saw the instant remorse that even the drama queen herself can't fake," returned Gabriella. "But I don't want anyone else to know about this, besides the therapist, Mom, and now you, I don't want anyone else to know."
"Why?" asked Troy, confused by these decisions Gabriella made.
"Because as much as I have grieved over Tristan and hurt each day, I know he is no longer among the living, I know what it's like to go through the self-torture that I am almost one-hundred percent sure she is feeling right now. Her parents' monetary punishments and having privileges revoked aren't all that is making Sharpay down and far from herself," pointed out Gabriella, reminding Troy of the things he himself had seen but had dismissed like her different locker and Sharpay wearing dark colors. "I don't want her to go through all the pain that I have known. Even though Sharpay wasn't the nicest to Tristan and was acting out of bad motives when she did all this that's on this website, she doesn't need to go down that road with me making it worse for her. No one should ever have to feel like they are alone like that Troy, the way I can only imagine Tristan must have felt."
Troy sighed, running a hand through his hair as he soaked in everything Gabriella had said to him, seeing the sense to it but hating how very sensible and sensitive Gabriella was, knowing she was the bigger person here. "I can see what you're saying but does this also mean that you have let yourself off the hook too?"
"Some," answered Gabriella, being truthful this time with him. "I talked to Ryan about this and Dr. Johnson but I especially feel worse because I knew Tristan, he was and is my first love Troy, I can't lie about that."
"I know, and I don't want you to," replied Troy, nuzzling their noses together before pulling back and catching a glimpse of something on the screen that was moving. "Hey Brie, what's that?"
Gabriella gave him a curious look before looking back at the screen, for the first time seeing a blooming rose animation further down the page. "Just an animation it looks like," she answered while she examined it a bit closer, hovering the pointer over the animation and seeing it change to a hand, which indicated there was a link behind it. "Or not…"
While holding her breath, not knowing what to expect, Gabriella clicked on the link and saw a new page show up, a few pictures of her and Tristan from the past few months of his life and their junior year scattered around the page, the text though catching her attention.
Ella, I don't know exactly what to write here but that I'm sorry. If you are reading this, that means my strategic plan to get one last message to you worked. I'm sorry for even joining forces with Sharpay in the first place; I realize how wrong that is now. She really has a thing for the status Troy would bring her and I think that focus, that desire to separate you two just for material reasons and not love on her part, really woke me up, made me wonder why if I was doing it out of love, why I was doing it her way that was so calculating, so cold. Anyway, I wanted you to know the truth, so you can watch out for Sharpay because I've failed to protect you and know now that you deserve so much more than me, someone who wouldn't even think about doing what I have. You really and truly make me as happy as I could ever ask. Know that without you, I would never have made it this far. Be happy Ella, live your life to the fullest, and love thoroughly. Whoever that man is in your future, he's a lucky bastard, that much I know for sure. I love you Ella, forever, no matter what happens.
Love,
Tristan
Strangely, Gabriella felt yet another weight lift off her shoulders reading the final note Tristan would ever write her, barely recognizing it though as a deep sense of mourning settled back in. Tears gathered in her eyes as she read the note a second and a third time, feeling like this was truly a good-bye, Tristan's way of giving Gabriella closure, a closure Gabriella wasn't all that sure she wanted if it meant losing all sense of a connection with Tristan. Instead, Gabriella just let herself feel, remembering Dr. Johnson telling her that the whole point of therapy was to help her feel again, no matter what it was. As the tears continued to flow, as Gabriella's body trembled with sobs, Gabriella slowly let go of the grief and guilt she had been harboring close to her heart, within her soul, for weeks, unaware of Troy, who was desperately trying to calm and soothe her with loving words and actions, only knowing that it really was time to let Tristan go.