Just A Click Away

What Could've Been

The days passed at an unusually slow pace for Gabriella as her brain worked in overdrive. Her calendar's days – marked off in auspicious red – finally began closing in on the blank space marked Saturday. Not quick enough for Gabriella, though.

Her reading for History, English, and double Biology were finished at an astounding rate. Despite her busy schedule, Gabriella actually found herself anxious. Her and Taylor had steered through an awkward few days, with only a few sentences and a nod here and there. Taylor seemed to be taking more and more overtime, and Gabriella was spending increasing amounts of time in her room or walking through campus alone. During this newfound free time, Gabriella took the time to worry about their friendship.

Was this normal? They'd never really gone through something like this. Of course they'd had fights, but this amount of time in awkward conversations were just... strange. She hadn't acted surprised in the least when Gabriella had mentioned she was going to meet Baskethead. It was strange to not be able to confide to Taylor after a long day.

As Gabriella readied herself for her Saturday with Troy (that had finally arrived), she tried her best to reassure herself that the entire thing would blow over and their routine would get back to normal. She was running a bit late since she had tried to make an effort with doing her hair.

She blinked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was not going to cooperate, so with a futile sigh, Gabriella pulled the dark curls back into a ponytail. She was never very thrilled with the way she looked when she was going out, especially without commentary from her best friend. Still, she sighed and continued on with her touch-ups.

"Anyone home?" A familiar voice followed by a knock at her dorm room door caused Gabriella to jump. The eyeliner she had just put on smeared across the right side of her face.

"Coming!" She hurried to the door, using her arm to try to wipe off the line under her right temple.

She flung the door open, sending Troy a glare that could kill. Instantly, he saw the eyeliner that Gabriella was trying to wipe off and cracked a wide grin before he began laughing. He was completely clueless on why there was a dark line pulling away from her right eye; he just thought that the sight of it was funny.

"It's your fault," Gabriella muttered when she pulled Troy into her room before anyone could see her and the smeared make-up.

"How is it my fault?" Troy put up his hands in innocence. "I didn't do anything accept come to ask why you didn't meet up with me ten minutes ago!"

"You were supposed to meet me outside! You never surprise a girl when she's putting on makeup!" She tried to send another glare his way, but the boyish grin plastered across his face only sent her into a fit of giggles.

"I forgot how much concentration it takes to draw a straight line across your eyelid," Troy replied sarcastically, waiting for Gabriella's laughter to subside.

"You've obviously never tried," Gabriella wiggled thee eyeliner stick in front of his smug face and walked back into the bathroom to finish wiping off the smear.

"Is that a bad thing?" Troy asked with raised eyebrows, sitting down on the couch.

"I guess not, actually."

Troy laughed once more, waiting patiently for Gabriella. Once she was finished, they picked up on their conversation as they walked into the clear April day.

"So..." Troy looked around, his blue eyes glittering with ideas. "Movies, ice cream, or lunch?"

"You decide," Gabriella replied. She honestly didn't care.