We're All In This Together (A High School Musical Fanfiction)

Episode 9: Martha and Jason

As much as Gabriella had tried to conceal the confrontational poster from Taylor, the next day at school dozens more were posted around the school. Principal Matsui was not pleased. In the morning announcements over the intercom he had demanded that the one responsible for the posters come forward immediately, but by lunchtime no one had.

Animosity toward Taylor was growing; when she walked down the halls, other kids started whispering with their friends or openly glaring at her. When she was late for lunch once again, Gabriella checked the nearest ladies' room. Bingo--Taylor's lunch sack was sitting on the counter by the sinks. Gabriella ducked down to check for feet in the stalls. There were none.

"Taylor," she said, her voice echoing off the tile walls. "I know you're in here. Will you please come out?"

Inside the third stall from the wall, Taylor sat on the closed toilet lid with her knees drawn up to her chest. She didn't respond to Gabriella's plea. For a moment silence reigned; then Taylor heard Gabriella moving around. A second later, her best friend's head popped up over the stall next door.

"Hi, there," Gabriella giggled. "Is it weird that I know which stall is your favorite?"

Taylor wasn't in the mood for humor. She swiped at the tears on her cheeks. "Please leave me alone, Gabriella."

"We both know that's not going to happen." Gabriella's head disappeared, and a moment later she was crawling under the wall of the stall to get to her best friend. She made a disgusted face as she stood up inside the cramped cubby. "You know I'm serious if I just crawled on the bathroom floor to get to you. Now, what's wrong?"

"What's right?" Taylor replied bitterly.

"Lots of things," Gabriella said. "I'm your best friend, Chad's your boyfriend, and, despite what Jeremy Blockhead is trying to tell you, you're still student body president." Gabriella noticed a slip of paper clenched in Taylor's fist. "What's that?"

Taylor handed it to Gabriella. It was a note crudely scrawled on a corner of a sheet of notebook paper. It read: We're onto you.

"Creepy much?" Gabriella wrinkled her nose at the threatening note.

"Maybe I should just confess," Taylor sighed.

"Did you do it?"

"No."

"Then why would you confess?"

"To get Jeremy off my back, to get my life back, to focus on more important things like who I'm staying with this weekend." Taylor's voice broke on the last word, and two fresh tears leaked out of her eyes.

"Let me put your mind at ease on that one," Gabriella said gently. "You can stay with me this weekend. All weekend, if you like. That way we can figure out a game plan."

Taylor looked more hopeless than Gabriella had ever seen her before. "Gabriella, don't. Jeremy wants a fight, and th--"

"That's what we're going to give him," Gabriella decided on a whim. "We're going to fight this, we're going to prove him wrong, and we're going to get your reputation back."

"Don't you need my consent to do these things?" Taylor asked sarcastically.

Gabriella stuck out her lower lip. "Please?"

After a long moment of silent, internal debate, Taylor's eyes narrowed, and she pressed her lips together. Gabriella recognized this as her game face. However, she concealed her delight in case Taylor spooked.

"Okay," Taylor conceded. "We'll fight. And I'll accept that invitation to sleep over this weekend, if it's still open."

"Always," Gabriella replied just as someone entered the bathroom.