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Gabriella and Taylor are walking into school as they see Kelsi and Martha running towards them. "Gabriella! Have you seen the magazines? You're famous!" Martha exclaims, shoving such said magazine at Gabriella.
Gabriella takes it from Martha and gasps as she sees her kiss with Hunter from last week's launch on the cover. "Oh my," she gets out before hearing Taylor squeal.
"Well well, who would have thought our shy little smartie pants would actually land Hunter Smith," Jasmine says rather nastily, passing the group of friends. "Whatever he sees in you, I'll never understand, just like how I never understood Troy's interest in you. Maybe it's the little sweet angelic act you have perfected. You know, that's probably your downfall. Real men can only take it for so long before they get frustrated with your 'innocent' ways. We all know that Troy broke up with you because you wouldn't go beyond kissing him."
Gabriella's giddiness evaporates at Jasmine's words and presence. Taylor is about to defend her best friend when Gabriella finally lets loose on the cheerleader. "Get lost Jasmine! I know for a fact you are still burned because Troy still won't run to you after he and I broke up. Doesn't that tell you something about your sad little obsession with him? It's not going to happen!" Gabriella half yells, coming face to face for the real first time with her tormentor.
Jasmine looks Gabriella up and down. "So you think you're all tough and mighty now that you're dating a Hollywood star huh? Such a delusional one you are. Maybe I should show you what a real woman can do. Hunter Smith is rather hot and it would give me real pleasure not only to show him what he's missing while being with you but also seeing him break up with you, just as Troy did, leaving you all heartbroken and in tears. Hey, maybe I'll get both of them in the end. Wouldn't that be so sad for you Ms. Smartie?"
"You don't know anything! And as to the reason Troy and I broke up, you don't even know the half of it and believe it or not, your schemes had absolutely ZERO to do with it. Don't you see? Outside your own little clique, you don't really have the power you think you do! You are just some power tripping cheerleader captain who doesn't have a single friend. Your companions standing behind you right now and the rest of your team? They deal with you out of fear, not true loyalty or friendship," Gabriella returns, unable to stop herself. "Hunter and Troy have way better taste than you, and they are a whole lot smarter than you give them credit for if you think just showing them your stuff is going to get them to run over to you."
"I think you just issued me a challenge little girl," Jasmine spits out. "I never back down from a challenge." She then turns on her heels, her two companions following, and heads down the halls, swaying her hips. Gabriella stands there for a few moments, seething over Jasmine's audacity, only to find herself engulfed in a huge hug.
"That was amazing!" Kelsi exclaims, being one of the three girls hugging Gabriella.
"You finally stuck up for yourself!" Martha adds.
"Jasmine and her crew are so over! I bet she'll think twice before thinking she can run you over again," Taylor says, adding her hug too. "Don't let her ruin your day Gabriella, you were right in what you said. She's still all upset that she hasn't nabbed Troy yet."
"Was that a cat fight we just saw?" Chad asks, coming over with Jason and Troy in tow. "Did our little Gabriella actually get vicious?"
"Shut up Chad," Taylor says, rolling her eyes. "Jasmine didn't get anything she didn't deserve. Unfortunately, I don't think that's the last of her in truth, as much as I'd wish that it was. It sounded like she meant business about Troy here and Hunter both."
Acknowledging the truth in that with a nod, Troy still smiles over at Gabriella, having just caught the very end of the fight as he and Chad enter the halls. He was so happy that she finally stood up for herself. Gabriella smiles back but they have their attention stolen away from each other when Sharpay comes running down towards them. "Gabriella Montez, how could you hold out on us like this?"
"Uh oh, she must have seen the magazine," Kelsi murmurs as Sharpay thrusts a different magazine at Gabriella, this time a picture from the miniature golf night on the cover and the title "True Puppy Love for Hunter?" on the top.
Gabriella looks over at Troy whose face is now clouded over as he looks at the building collection of magazines Gabriella has in her hands. She throws Sharpay a warning look and indicates Troy as Sharpay realizes who exactly was standing around Gabriella. "Sorry," she squeaks out, "I was just over excited. It's no big deal, really."
"You know Sharpay, for a drama diva, you suck at acting sometimes," Taylor says, now keeping an eye on Troy and Gabriella.
Troy, not being able to withstand all the eyes on him, decides to walk away and go to his locker. Chad accompanies him, wanting to make sure he wasn't by himself. Troy finally makes it to his locker and finds a copy of a magazine waiting for him in his locker, a different picture of Hunter and Gabriella on the cover. "Argh! Who wants to keep tormenting me like this?" he angrily asks, knowing seeing the magazine was just a minor part of his problems.
He bangs his head on a nearby locker and angrily wipes away a few tears of frustration from his eyes. Just as he is calming down, he hears a feminine voice behind him. "Troy, are you okay?"
Troy turns around and sees Marlene looking back at him, concern in her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine," Troy responds, looking over to Chad who is still watching over him after getting his own stuff from his locker nearby.
Marlene carefully puts her hand on his arm and gives him a little smile. "Well if you change your mind, I'm here for you Troy," she says, giving him a small kiss on the cheek before heading to class.
"You know Troy, I used to want to be in your shoes but after all this drama, I don't know if I'd ever wish that again," Chad confides, putting a comforting arm around Troy's shoulders.
"Gee, thanks Chad," Troy responds sarcastically, stuffing his stuff in his bag, including the magazine. "We better go or we're going to be late for Spanish 3."
The two head down the hall to their first class of the day, passing Taylor and Gabriella, who is holding hands with Hunter, in one of the halls on the way. "Don't worry about it Troy, it'll all work out in the end," Chad reassures his friend as he hears Troy let out a frustrated sigh.
"I can only begin to hope you're right Chad," Troy responds, turning his head to watch the three continue on to their A.P. English class before turning his attention back to making their own way to Spanish.
Not being able to handle all the whispers and stares from her fellow East High classmates any longer, Gabriella finds herself heading up to Troy's secret spot; she couldn't call it their spot anymore, hoping to find some peace and quiet. Much to Gabriella's surprise, Troy is already sitting on the bench, looking at a magazine with an unreadable expression on his face. She is about to head back down when he looks up and spots her, softening his facial expression.
"Wait, don't go Gabriella. I think you need the sanctuary up here probably more than I do. I can leave," he offers, getting up.
"No, it's okay," Gabriella says quickly. "You were here first and it is your spot. I'm the one intruding. I'll just go to the library or something."
Troy lets out a dry laugh and shakes his head. "Look at us, we can't even be in the same place alone now? What's happened to us Gabriella?"
Gabriella walks up the final steps again and puts her bag down, leaning against the railing. "I wish I knew Troy, I honestly do," she answers sadly. "It's been weird, seeing you and knowing I can't be with you."
"Maybe then this was all a big mistake, especially on my part. I mean, I know what I did was for the right reason but it has been so tough to see you with Hunter, having fun with our friends," he says, indicating the magazine he was looking at that has pictures from the miniature golf date. "That should be me with you and Chad and Taylor, not Hunter, not that way."
"But I thought that was what you wanted," Gabriella replies, searching his face for something that would clue her in to what he was really thinking.
"I want you to be happy," Troy says, matter-of-factly. "If he makes you happy, then I'll be happy for you but for me, I honestly can't stop thinking about you and what I gave up a few weeks ago."
Gabriella sees the sincerity in his eyes and closes her own, trying to find something to ground her before getting lost in those blue eyes she loves gazing into. "Why did you do it Troy? Why were you so adamant about breaking up with me?"
"I told you then what it was. I needed to give you the freedom to explore what was at your fingertips, to find out if your fantasy love with Hollywood heartthrob Hunter Smith could be a reality. If I hadn't given you that chance, I would never have forgiven myself, especially with the way I was treating the situation. I broke up with you when I did, so suddenly, because I could see myself getting more and more jealous each day, as rumors flew around faster. To be honest, I knew that if I hadn't done it when I did, you would have done it for me a little bit later on," Troy confesses, keeping eye contact with Gabriella. "But Hunter wasn't the only reason. I struggled with this for quite some time Gabriella. I knew I loved you so much by the end of this past summer, I felt that you returned it too."
"More than you ever will realize," Gabriella murmurs, causing Troy to smile a little.
"You and I were getting so close, so committed, that, well, call me silly but I could see us together, much later in life. My biggest worry was that one day, we'd look at each other and forget why are together, like it was habit and not desire, not love. This is the first serious relationship both of us have been in and I just didn't want us to be that couple who end up together for twenty years then wake up wondering what else is out there. I want both of us to be sure this relationship is what we want," Troy concludes, standing up and taking Gabriella's hand in his. He looks down at the still slightly visible scar on her left hand and kisses it, hearing her let out a soft sigh. "This of course, since I am being truthful, is the other reason. Jasmine and her dangerous games. Had she gotten close to you one more time when we were together, I was sure she was going to do worse. Call it a gut feeling."
Feeling guilty, Gabriella gently pulls her hand out of his grasp and takes a step back to put some distance between them. "I can understand all that, and I would agree that maybe we needed to test the waters so we aren't that couple. But, I disagree with the timing. Look at us Troy, we both still have feelings for the other but we're not free to express them now. I would have said yes, we should take a break if feelings were starting to falter, we were wondering about the other's sincerity and commitment but now, when feelings are so strong? Troy, I made that decision to come back to you the night of the talent show because I knew already that you were the one for me. Now," she begins shakily, "now you are the one that got away."
Troy looks away, drawing in a slow breath and nodding. "Because of Hunter, right?"
Gabriella smiles sadly at him and nods. "I can't do something like what you are asking me to do right now Troy. It wouldn't be fair to Hunter."
"Do you love him?" Troy manages to choke out, afraid of what her response will be.
She takes a few moments before saying, "Remember, life is not always what it seems, and neither are the events that happen in life."
"Well that was a rather cryptic way of answering that question," Troy says, examining Gabriella's body language which was pretty stiff at the moment. "I guess I don't really have a right to ask that anyway."
"Besides, you have your own girlfriend right? Marlene I heard her name was?" Gabriella asks, turning the tables on Troy. "Shouldn't you be worried about her in all this?"
"Marlene is just my friend," Troy answers truthfully. "We've been hanging out a little more is all. It could be more, but I honestly haven't given it any thought. Maybe I should though."
"That's your call, not mine," Gabriella softly responds, feeling her heart ache a little more. "I better go, Hunter and Taylor are going to wonder where I am. I'll see you in PE?"
"Sure," Troy responds, shocked as Gabriella leans up and kisses him on the cheek. He watches her scoot down the stairs and into the main halls of East High before going back to the bench and sitting down. He strangely feels better about things after that discussion as it gave them both the time to air things out, and yet he felt worse, knowing that there was about a 2% chance of them getting back together in this lifetime. 'Maybe I really should try to move on now,' he thinks to himself. It couldn't hurt, right?'
After Physics, Troy walks with Marlene over to her locker so she could get her cheerleading bag out of her locker. While she is rummaging through things to also get out books she would need for homework, Troy finds the courage to do what he had decided on at lunch.
"Marlene, what are your plans this Saturday?" he asks, his voice cracking a little from his nervousness.
Marlene stops fumbling in her locker and turns her full attention onto Troy. "Well, I think I have absolutely zero to do. What a loser am I?" she jokes.
Troy smiles and takes a deep breath. "Want to maybe catch a movie and a bite to eat with me then? We could be losers together."
"Losers together? That was so charming Mr. Bolton," Marlene kids with a smile. "Seriously, that sounds like a fantastic idea. Do you want to maybe meet at the theater?"
"Sounds like a plan," Troy responds. "Well, if you're ready, I have to go hit up my locker for a few things and then we can head on out to the gym."
Marlene happily closes her locker and picks up her bag. "Ready!" she answers, letting her right hand naturally reach out and hold Troy's left one. He looks down at their hands intertwined and smiles, only inwardly thinking how weird it felt. 'Time is changing Troy, you better get used to it,' he thinks, as they continue walking down the halls to their destinations.
"All right missy, you better spill. You have been in a slump since after lunch," Hunter states, leaning against the locker next to Gabriella's. "Now what's going on?"
Gabriella avoids his gaze and continues to look through her locker for something, even though she already has everything she needs in her bag. "It's nothing Hunter, really," she replies.
"Then why are you avoiding looking at me?" he asks, eyeing her actions. "Seriously Gabriella, what is going on? You are searching for something that isn't there and your locker is already the most organized in East High. You have no reason to be in there except to avoid answering my questions."
She lets out a sigh and closes the locker to lean against it. "All right, you win. I had a run in with someone and it left me with mixed feelings."
Hunter nods, observing a couple who is coming down the hall holding hands. He looks at Gabriella and sees the sadness creep into her eyes as she watches them too. "Was it by chance a run in with a certain jock with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes who just so happens to be dating a cheerleader now?"
Gabriella groans, knowing Hunter saw through all of her defenses. "Maybe," she comments, forcing herself to look away from the happy couple. "Don't worry, nothing happened, I promise."
"Gabriella, I trust you," Hunter says, placing his hands on either side of her face. "You are the absolute best thing that has happened to me here at East High and I'm not going to jeopardize it with some insane and explosive angry act. Don't forget, I also work in an industry that is fueled by rumors so I'm used to whispers, whether they be true or false. I've learned from that that trust is key and you, Ms. Gabriella Montez, have 100% of my faith and trust."
She smiles up at him, looking into his dark brown eyes. "You know Mr. Hunter Smith, if I didn't know better already, I would tell you that you were too good to be true," she says with a wink. "Ready to take me home?"
"That's right, no musicale practice for us today, whoo! How about a ride around town and then ice-cream? I have my motorcycle today, I hope you're okay with that."
A grin spreads across Gabriella's face. "I'd love to go riding with you! I've never been."
"Well then, it's a plan," he says, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek and grabbing her hand in his as they walk to the parking lot.
Across the parking lot, next to the gym, Troy is saying good-bye to Marlene when he spots the other couple climbing onto Hunter's motorcycle and putting helmets on. He feels an all too familiar pain in his chest as he sees Gabriella wrap her arms around Hunter's waist and bury her face in his back as he takes off.
Marlene, seeing she has lost Troy, looks in the direction he is looking at and inwardly sighs. 'Better not get too attached, for several reasons,' she thinks, looking back at Troy and smiling. "You better get inside before those three guys standing behind you drag you in," she says, indicating Chad, Zeke, and Jason who are waiting for Troy so they can start with their two on two game.
Troy nods and says, "Have a good practice. I'll see you tomorrow morning in math?"
"It's a date," she responds back with a smile as she walks away from the guys.
Troy turns around and enters the gym, running to the locker rooms to change and running back out to see the guys stretching on the floor. He quickly starts stretching out, feeling his muscles get looser. While focusing on his right leg, he hears some interesting news.
"…and believe it or not, she actually said yes!" Jason exclaims, a huge smile on his face. "Don't worry, I realize it is just a first date but man, it took so much to get to this point, I am super proud I was able to get to this point!"
"Whoa, did you actually ask Kelsi out finally?" Troy interrupts, astonished that his shy friend and teammate finally did what he's wanted to do for a while.
Jason nods his head and grins even more. "I asked her today at lunch, we took a walk on the field and I just blurted it out. Not the most sophisticated way of doing it, but she seemed to be all right with the delivery since we now have a date on Saturday!"
"Congrats man, I'm happy for you," Troy says, giving Jason a high five.
"Looks like you're going to be the single guy out on Saturday night Troy," Chad points out, getting up onto his feet. "First time in a long time, you going to be okay?"
Troy also gets up and bounces on his feet for a little bit. "I'll be fine, don't worry. Besides I have my own date," he slips out. "I asked Marlene to go to the movies and dinner that night."
"Hold up, you're actually going on a date that's not with Gabriella? Whoa, I need to wrap my brain around that one," Zeke says, picking up a basketball nearby. "Guess it's about time."
"Yeah, with her dating Hunter and all, it's only fair you start having a love life again too," Jason adds. "Hey, if they start dating, we'll have a cheerleader representative in our group of friends. How weird is that?"
Zeke laughs. "I don't know how well Sharpay is going to take that but I'm sure we'll get through it in one piece."
Troy rolls his eyes, imagining the fit Sharpay would throw if that happened. "All right, let's slow it down. It is one date, not an engagement. Let's just see how Saturday goes, shall we?"
"He's right," Chad says, stealing the ball from Zeke and making a shot from where he was. Swish! "Now, are we going to stand around and talk about girls all day or are we going to play?"
"Play!" all three respond as they divide up and start practicing their skills.