Author's Note: I'm still here!!!! Wooooo!!!

This is an UBER-long chapter to make up for the pathetically short chapter last time. And this is where it all starts to kick off :D With some fluff to start with of course :D

Previously on East High Story...

"Hey, hey." Troy took her arm away from her head and pulled her towards him. "Since we don't want to go back to class and I don't think we should go home yet, why don't we just spend the rest of the day together. Get away from here. Our last chance to have fun before it gets really difficult."

Gabriella's phone vibrated again. It was another text from Natalia.

We're getting one of Dad's jets back to New Mexico as soon as possible

Gabriella's heart dropped. It was lunchtime now so if all went smoothly, Natalia and Marco will be sitting in the Montez living room by dinner time.

She looked back at Troy, who was looking back at her longingly, his eyes full of love, yet, defeat. She smiled.

"That's a great idea."

East High Story

Chapter 11

"So, do you ever want kids?" Gabriella asked as she sat on park swing, gently swaying back and forth using her feet, her fingers gripping the metal chains.

"Definitely. Three or four." Troy grinned as he sat on the other swing, not moving at all. "Also, I think I'd like to adopt on as well. So many other kids need homes, you know? But we'll see."

If it was possible, Gabriella fell for Troy just a little bit more.

After ringing Derek to tell him she wouldn't need picking up from school today, Gabriella automatically turned her phone off. As did Troy. Then they gripped hands and sprinted giddily through the empty corridors to the nearest exit, snuck through the parking lot and into Troy's car. They were sure someone must have seen them, but they didn't care. The sense of excitement at the idea of doing something bad made Gabriella giggly, and Troy smirked as her elated mood.

They headed to a McDonalds drive-thru to get some lunch and headed to the park. Nobody but mothers with pushchairs and toddlers running about the place, and they wouldn't care if they saw two teenagers eating lunch by the swings. There they had spent the last hour talking and laughing and asking question about each other.

"So does Miss Montez want kids?" Troy asked, popping some now-cold fries into his mouth.

"Of course!" Gabriella exclaimed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I got my first baby doll at 2 years old. My parents called her Sofia, "Little Gabriella's Sofia". Once they knew how much I loved the doll, they bought her everything. Cot's, pushchairs, baby toys, little baby clothes, she was the most spoiled baby doll in the world" Troy laughed.

"Unfortunately Natalia got a bit jealous and her five-year old self threw Sofia out of our top floor, New York City apartment window. We found her on the side walk, her left arm broken off. Dad assured me we could get it fixed but to me, my little Sofia had been murdered. I cried for weeks." Gabriella smirked as she reminisced.

"To make it up to me, they bought me ten more beautiful, expensive dolls" Gabriella squinted her eyes as she tried to remember the names "Arabella, Gracie, Maria, Elena, Violet... Catalina, Jessica...Eva aaaand..... Natalie! They were lovely, but none of them were quite my Sofia"

"You know, a simple 'yes I would love kids' would have sufficed" Troy stated, trying not to laugh. Gabriella gasped and smacked his arm.

"Ow, that hurt!" Troy complained, rubbing his arm. Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"No it didn't and you know it. God, you are such a Bolton. Always so dramatic" Gabriella feigned annoyance and folded her arms. Troy raised an eyebrow.

"And you are such a Montez." Troy stated, standing up off his swing suddenly, making Gabriella flinch. "Always complaining." With one swift manoeuvre, he grabbed the chains on her swing and spun the swing, spinning Gabriella with it.

"Aaah, Troy! Stop it!" She squealed, but Troy kept spinning, "Trooooy!! Stop it! I'm gonna throw up" With that, Troy gripped both chains until the swing came to a halt and looked intensely in her eyes. "Now, whose being a Bolton?"

Gabriella grinned woozily. "I could never be a Bolton."

"I dunno, you look like you've got some Bolton material in you" Troy raised his eyebrows and smiled.

Gabriella stood up off the swing but was so dizzy she almost fell back down again. She held onto Troy's shoulder for balance. "Yep, I'm pretty sure I could never be a Bolton. I'm not sly enough" She laughed, whereas Troy didn't. Just gave a small smile.

"Well, never say never"

Gabriella frowned , a bit confused. "What?"

"Nothing" Troy swiftly let go of Gabriella and started clearing up some of their rubbish. "Hey, fancy going down to the ice rink for some skating? It'll be quiet."

Gabriella nodded "Sure" She watched as he put their rubbish in a trash can and took his hand again as they started walking to his car. They were idly chatting, but her mind was somewhere else.

Was Troy hinting at... marriage??? Seriously??? I mean... I've thought about it before. Dreamed about it and such... but I'd never believe that HE would be thinking the same thing... never mind hint it out loud. I love him and all, but... how do I know we'll last that long? Something might come up. Troy might meet someone else he loves more. Should we really be thinking about marriage NOW?? We're so young... our parents are going to kill us as it is...

"Hey, you okay?" Troy's sudden concerned question interrupted Gabriella's thoughts.

"Uh..sure. Yeah, I'm fine" She nodded and plastered a smile to her face, but Troy saw right through.

"Are you worried about your family?" Amongst other things, Gabriella thought.

"Yeah... I can only guess how angry they will be." She sighed and looked at the ground as they were walking.

"Hey" He tugged in their hands to get her attention, she looked up at him. "Don't worry about it. I'll be here every step of the way. I promise"

Gabriella's heart swelled when she saw his sincere expression. "I know. Thanks"

They finally left the ice rink around half five that afternoon, four and a half hours since they abandoned the school. Both unwilling to go home yet, they went out for dinner at the diner out of town again. While there was no worry of having to hide from people since their secret was out, it reminded them of their wonderful first date.

Troy took Gabriella's arm when they got out of the car and into the diner. "May I say Miss Montez that there's still absolutely no doubt that you are be the most beautiful girl to ever grace the premises" Gabriella laughed loudly.

"You said that the last time when I was wearing my fancy dress. I'm just in my boring day clothes."

"You could be wearing your pyjamas and it wouldn't make a difference. Hell, you could be caked in mud and dragged through a bush and it wouldn't matter."

For the next hour, they happily ate their dinner and enjoyed each other's company, neither one mentioning the war that would face them back home. Sadly, the dinner ended and they had to face the music. They drove silently home, and Troy parked directly in front of Gabriella's house. Nerves were beginning to rise in the pit of Gabriella's stomach and Troy took her hand.

"If you ever need me, give me a call and I'll be here in a flash, okay? I don't wanna see you hurt." Gabriella noticed Troy's nerves in his voice; it trembled around the word "wanna". She placed the palm of her other hand on Troy's cheek.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. I love you, you know."

"Yeah, I do know" Troy rubbed the arm of the hand on his cheek, "I love you too."

After a brief but passionate kiss goodbye, Gabriella got out of the car and made the walk of shame up her long driveway. She didn't hear Troy's car drive away automatically, he was probably watching her, making sure she wasn't mugged on her own driveway or something. She kind of wished he would drive away though. The longer he sat there, the more chance her sister or cousin would see Troy. And the fact he was in the vicinity would make things so much harder.

When she got to the door, she finally heard Troy's engine drive off. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

The first thing she noticed was that no one was around. There was usually always someone near the front door, whether it was a maid or Joseph, to answer it if it rang. But there was no one. Not a soul.

She closed the door and slowly walked through the hallway, the sounds of her white Mary-Janes on the wooden floor were the only sound. The main living room door was slightly ajar. It was the same room Antonio and Isabel were in when she got up this morning.

Then it clicked. This was the exact scenario as this morning. There was no one around but two angry Montez's in the living room. Figures.

Gabriella realised she hadn't been breathing since she was outside so taking another breath, she pushed open the living room door.

And there they were. Natalia, looking slightly worse for wear, was sitting on the sofa, glaring at Gabriella, her cell phone clutched in her hand. Marco, on the other hand, was standing by the fireplace, his fist resting on it. He had the same expression as Natalia, if not angrier. And they were both staring at her.

The only thought that popped into Gabriella's head was RUN. Turn around and run away as fast as you can. In fact, it wasn't such a bad idea.

Without a word, Gabriella slowly turned back around to head out the door.

"Gabriella" Natalia snapped. She turned back round twice as quick as she had before.

"Sit" Natalia sternly pointed at the sofa opposite her. A smirk almost appeared on Gabriella's face when she realised who much Natalia reminded her of her mother. Marco didn't move or make a sound.

She did as she was told, dumped her Prada bag on the floor and sat. Back straight, knees together.

About ten seconds passed before anyone spoke.

"We've been trying to call you." Natalia started, raising her mobile.

"I've... been busy." Gabriella replied. Well it was technically true.

"The school called to tell us you had missed your last few classes."

Well there was nothing she could say to that without lying. And Gabriella didn't want to lie, she was in enough trouble as it is. She just looked at her knees nervously.

"We both received an anonymous email before lunch today." Gabriella's head snapped up and saw that next to Natalia, there was a sheet of paper. "Someone decided to send us this." Natalia picked up the paper and tossed it onto the coffee table for Gabriella to read.

She leaned forward slightly. She only needed to see the infamous heading "Texts between Troy Bolton and "Gabriella Montag" before she felt incredibly nauseas.

Her family hadn't just heard about the news from someone else, they had been sent a copy of the evidence. Someone wasn't just spreading gossip, they were deliberately trying to stir things up between their families. This was just too cruel for words.

Swallowing, she leaned back and looked at Natalia, whose expression hadn't changed.

"Marco says he got a call from a friend saying that they saw you at a diner out of town with Troy Bolton. Is it true?" Natalia was leaning forward this time, almost sneering.

Gabriella looked at her knees again, her eyes swelling. She nodded. "Yes."

"So you lied?" At this question, she saw Marco out of the corner of her eye, pound the mantelpiece with his fist and walk angrily behind Natalia, his back to them.

Gabriella nodded again. "Yes I lied" She looked up at Marco tears streaming down her face and she saw him seething with rage. "Marco...I'm sorry."

"How dare you..." Marco hissed. "How DARE you say you're sorry!" Marco spun round and glared angrily at Gabriella. "After everything we've been through, you go off and get cosy with a Bolton. Haven't you learned anything? They are scum! They are the reason I've had broken bones and many nights in police cells! How dare you say you're sorry!" Marco repeated, spitting.

"I... we..." Gabriella spluttered through her tears. "... We didn't mean it to happen. I'm sorry Marco. But... but I love him!"

"Please, that's not love. That's infatuation." Marco snipes while Natalia shakes her head at her. "And your naive little mind has been so bubble-wrapped from all of this; you've been blinded by his disgusting charm! I'll tell you what Gabriella, he doesn't love YOU!"

"He DOES love me!" Gabriella stomped her feet at she piped up. "You don't know him like I do!"

"Unfortunately Gabriella, I know EXACTLY what he's like." He sneered. "And so does your sister. But you have been manipulated, tricked by those bastards to get you one their side! I knew they were dirt but I never knew they would sink this low..."

"What makes you think you know him?" Gabriella stood up, no longer crying but in a rage herself. "Because of what Daddy told you? Maybe, the younger Bolton's only act the way they do because they've been told the EXACT same thing as you have. And you know what; you are no different from them! If they are vile, you are vile too"

"Now, hold on just a minute" Natalia stood up off her seat. "Whose side are you on here? If you've fully converted to Bolton, I'm disowning you right here, right now!"

Gabriella's eyes where stinging again but she was too angry to cry. "I'm not on ANY side. I'm not a Bolton. And right now, I am no more a Montez than I am a Bolton. I just wanna be Gabriella. I don't wanna hate someone passionately just because someone tells me to. Do you?"

Neither one answered. Natalia but her hands on her hips and Marco folded his arms. Both were raging but neither could bring themselves to answer truthfully. Gabriella was satisfied.

"I thought so. You can disown me all you want, I don't care Natalia!" She picked up her bag and started walking to the door. "But you might want to question your morals to dear Father." And with that, Gabriella slammed the door and hurried up the stairs to her room to be alone tobreak down.

Troy had been gripping the steering wheel or his car so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. Luckily, both his parents were out of town so he would just have to deal with Brett. At least, he hoped it would just be Brett and he hadn't enrolled several cousins in on the slaughtering.

He pulled into the Bolton's garage and got out. Locking his car, he nervously fidgeted with his collar as he walked into the main mansion. Before he even properly walked in he could hear Brett's angry voice. An uneasy feeling in his stomach was emerging and as he opened the door, the first thing he was Brett sitting on the stairs talking on his cell phone. When he Troy, he stood up.

"He's finally here, I'll talk to you later." Brett hung up and headed to the corner table next to the front door where a stray piece of paper was lying. "PLEASE tell me you are just banging her because you've banged everyone else and you need the action" He picked up the paper and thrust it into Troy's chest. He turned round and headed to the living room. Troy looked at the paper. Yep, it was the same humiliating piece of paper Gabriella had given him earlier. He followed Brett into the lounge.

"Look, dude, I'm not banging anyone." Troy said, dropping his arms to his sides, the paper barely grasped between his fingers.

"Well then," Brett was sitting on the couch leaning over, his arms resting on his thighs, his fingers interlinked. He was shaking. "Well what's on that paper must be absolute shit... cos you wouldn't do that Troy. Would you?"

Troy remained silent. He could be rather skilled at lying but this was one thing he couldn't possibly lie about. "Look, Brett..."

"Aww Jesus, Troy!" He stood up suddenly, facing away from him with his hands behind his head. "Don't you realise what you're doing? Don't you know WHO you're doing it with?? She is nothing, Troy, NOTHING."

"She's not nothing!" Troy opposed, angrily pointing his finger at Brett.

"She is dirt, Troy" Brett spat at him. "She is nothing but a pretty face with THAT last name. Why bother ?"

"Because she is SO much more than that!" Troy yelled, throwing the piece of paper on the floor, Brett taken aback. "She's smart and funny and kind and you know what, what she makes me feel guilty. Yes, Guilty!" Troy suddenly felt all his hidden feelings erupt.

"She makes me feel guilty for BITCHING about her family. They may throw punches but we throw them too! And I hate... that I have been so awful to the family that created her. Sweet, wonderful her. She doesn't know the old me, but she's heard about me from her folks. And you know what, she doesn't believe them! And I am so GRATEFUL for that."

"You are sick in the mind, Troy!" Brett stabbed back. "You must be because you can't possibly being saying all these things! You can't have.... fallen in love with her, can you?"

"I can and I HAVE, Brett. Gabriella means more to me than anyone will EVER mean to you! Times ten!"

Brett didn't say anything. His heavy breathing alerted Troy that he was trying to calm down enough so he didn't punch his little brother.

"Mom and Dad are on their way, Troy. They'll be here in the morning." Brett said slowly and calmly.

"Then I'll tell them the same things I told you." Then Troy turned round and headed to his room to think. And prepare for round two that would surely commence in the morning.

A/N: This was incredably diffficult to write and I THINK it's okay :S My spelling to going to pot though. Yesterday I wrote "right" instead of "write" *hangs head in shame"

Reviews are accepted with nothing but the highest love and adoration :D