High School Meltdown
Summary: When Troy's parents get divorced, his father dates Gabriella's mother. Can recently broken up Troy and Gabriella stand living under one roof?
A/N: Yes, I'm here again. Thought I just had to get the one out of my system, then I came up with this and couldn't help myself. Stupid inspiration, why must you curse me?
Okay I'm done. Enjoy the story.
Prologue
Am I sure I want to do this?
Letting out a deep sigh, Gabriella Montez sat on the front steps to East High School, wrapping a strand of her curly dark hair around her right index finger. The grounds were quiet, as it was close to five in the afternoon on a Saturday. She wanted to talk to Troy about their current romantic relationship, and the only way he would be able to chat for longer than five seconds was if she met him right after practice.
Practice ended several minutes ago, but she honestly didn't mind the extra time to think. Really she was only doing this because it was the best option, what was convenient for both parties at that point in time. At least, that's how Taylor explained it to her, and she agreed. Though this was her original idea, Taylor latched on to it and convinced her.
"This," as much as Gabriella wanted to put it off, was breaking up with Troy.
Never having done anything like this before – after all, Troy was her first serious boyfriend – she wasn't sure yet how to even begin the conversation. How could she do this without breaking his heart?
It wasn't a question of whether his heart would be broken or not. They'd been going out since shortly after trying out for last year's Spring musical, and it was now early November of their Junior year. The phrase "I love you" was even exchanged one magical date night.
But she had to do it. Somehow.
"Hey Gabby! What are you doing here?"
Standing up and turning around, Gabriella gave Troy a weak smile. He showed all the signs of a workout – sweat dampened his hair, he was in a white undershirt and his uniform shorts, and his gym bag was under his arm.
"Oh, hey," she greeted, wincing when he gave her a kiss on her cheek. "My, um, science club meeting got out a while ago and I figured I'd wait around. I've missed you."
Troy grinned, kissing her on her other cheek. "I've missed you too. I'm so sorry I couldn't make dinner this week. Practice ran late, and you know how my dad gets."
"Yeah, I know," Gabriella said, letting out another sigh. Here we go, she thought. "He's been making you practice late a lot. We haven't been on a date on a Friday night in forever."
Leaning on the stair banister, Troy frowned. "I'm sorry, babe, but we've gotta get ready for the playoffs. You understand, don't you?"
"I do. And it's not just you. I've been so busy with the science team I've barely had a free moment for anything," Gabriella answered, sitting down next to him.
Seeming to sense the tone of her voice, Troy put a hand on her shoulder. "Gabby, what's wrong?"
"I think we should break up!"
She hadn't meant to blurt it out like that, but she had. And instantly regretted it. The most crestfallen look she'd ever seen on anyone crossed Troy's face for a brief second. Then he gave a vain attempt to put on a macho façade. "W-what?"
"I'm sorry Troy, and if you want to hate me, it's okay," Gabriella went on, tears welling in her eyes. "I love you, I really do. And maybe next Summer, if we're both single and willing, we can get back together. But it's so hard now. We're on completely different schedules, never see each other at all…and the SAT's a lot of other tests are coming up at the end of the year. When you put together our studies, our extracurricular activities, commitments to our families…"
Nodding, Troy managed to make eye contact with her. "I know. We have to break up. Honestly, I wanted to talk about our situation and figure out what to do, but…you're right. This isn't working. It's better it ends now than six months down the line, when we're both frustrated and angry with each other."
"Oh, you do understand!" Gabriella cried as she him around his neck.
Troy returned the hug, then said with a resigned note to his voice, "I guess. I still love you, Gabby. I'll miss you."
"I'll love you and miss you too," Gabriella assured him. "But we can still be friends, right? We'll just hang out with Chad, Taylor, and everyone as a group."
Giving her a halfhearted grin, Troy replied, "Of course. And you'll still come to my games? With everyone, I mean."
"Right. It'll be like nothing changed," Gabriella said, not believing the lie herself the minute it came out of her mouth.
Then he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. When they broke apart, Troy joked, "Are you sure you don't want to change your mind?"
"I'm sure," Gabriella breathed.
"If you say so," Troy sighed, getting up from the banister and slinging his bag over his shoulder. "Um, look, I reek. I'm gonna…I'm gonna go home and take a good shower. See you around."
Wiping tears from her eyes, Gabriella stood and watched as Troy walked towards the parking lot, where his father's car was waiting. Though she knew he couldn't hear him, she whispered, "See you."