Next To You, a high school musical fanfic

Gabriella Montez had come to her limit waiting for him to make his move. She was sure he felt the way she did about him. Not only her friends, but kids she didn't even know around school would come up to her speaking of how he gazes at her lovingly during English, or how cute they would look as a couple.

She would spend countless nights awake into the wee hours of the morning contemplating the strong feelings she began to develop for her best friend.

That soft deep voice that always made her swoon, that muscular body that fit perfectly against hers during one of their 'friendly embraces', his million dollar smile that could make her go weak in the knees within seconds, his shaggy light brown hair that would gently fall over his eyes... and lastly those eyes the first thing you notice when looking at him, those cerulean pools seemed to have an iredescent shine to them when hit with the sunlight and had a way of rendering Gabi speechless.

Yes. Gabriella Montez was falling fast and hard for her best friend Troy Bolton and after waiting for what seemed like too long she's decided to take matters into her own hands... By signing up for yet another school talent show.

that night at the show

"Gabi are you sure you want to do this? I mean this is a big step and there's no going back once you're out on that stage!" Taylor exclaimed as she followed Gabriella backstage in the auditorium.

"Tay i'm positive. I'm tired of waiting for him to make the first move and this seems to be the only way to grasp his attention." Gabi replied desperately trying to stop her friends constant nagging, while frantically making futile attempts at straightening out her dress.

"Well if you insist, but remember no matter what i'm here for you." She said giving Gabriella a reassuring hug. "Good-luck you're going to do awesome!"

"Thanks see you later." Gabriella watched as Taylor made her way back into the audience and waited to be called on the stage, feeling the nervous churning in her stomach as each second rolled by.

5 minutes later

"And now ladies and gentlemen let's welcome to the stage Ms. Gabriella Montez!" Mr. Matsui said excitedly ushering Gabriella out to center stage.

As the loud cheers of her fellow school mates began to die down she spoke. " Thank you Mr. Matsui, this is a song that i wrote for a special someone and all i can say is that i hope you feel the same way i do." 'Alright Gabi no turning back now.' She thought to herself as she looked out into the crowd searching intensely for the reason she was on this stage in front of hundreds of anxious students and many overexcited teachers and parents about to pour out her heart and soul to all of them just for the love of one 'Troy Bolton' and there he was plain as day dead center of the audience staring back at her with a gentle look in his eyes.

Gabi sent the stage manager a knowing look giving him the que to start the music and she began to sing, never tearing her eyes away from the blue eyed boy of her dreams. 'This is it.' She thought.

Two 'o clock and I wish that I was sleeping
You're in my head like a song on the radio
All I know is that I got to get next to you
Yeah I got to get next to you
Sitting here turning minutes into hours
To find the nerve just to call you on the telephone
You don't know that I got to get next to you

flashback

Gabriella's laying on her bed wide awake, her sheets wrapped and twisted in a tight heep over her body. It's 2 0'clock in the morning and not once has she even been able to doze off ,her head just reeling from the events of the day. They almost kissed. Troy and Gabriella where so close and she thought that it was finally going to happen for her, she would finally mean more to Troy then just his best friend.

But of course fate is never on her side so as they stood in the hallway ready to make their feelings for eachother known for the first time who comes to interrupt but the one and only Chad Danforth. Gabriella thought it was funny really she didn't blame him for his bad timing after all Chad could read people about as waell as he could read books and considering basketball and Taylor where his only real focuses in life it explained the reason he had no idea what he'd just done.

Gabriella hadn't seen much of Troy for the rest of the day, but when she did she would try to get his attention but when they made eye contact he would just seem to get slightly red in the face and then make a run in the opposite direction. Had she done something wrong? Did she misread their almost kiss as nothing more then an accident? Or did he just not feel the same way? Those questions replayed over and over again in Gabriella's head if only she knew that a certain blue eyed boy was also up that night asking himself the same questions about her.

end flashback

Maybe were friends
Maybe were more
Maybe it's just my imagination
But I see you stare just a little too long
And it makes me start to wonder
So baby call me crazy
But I think you feel it too
Maybe I, Maybe I
Just got to get next to you

I asked around and I heard that you were talking
Told my girl that you thought I was out of your league
What a fool, I got to get next to you, whoa
Yeah it's five in the morning and I can't go to sleep
'Cause I wish, yeah I wish that you knew what you mean to me
Baby let's get together and end this mystery, oh

flashback

"Troy seriously you need to just tell Gabi." Chad said in a hushed tone as the two walked down the school hallways

"Dude i can't let her know, if she finds out and doesn't feel the same way then i'll be...things are gonna... it's.. it's just going to be bad really BAD okay!?" He exclaimed ignoring the worried glances from other students in the hallway wondering why their 'Golden Boy' was yelling.

"That may be true." Taylor came up to them and Chad wrapped his arm around her waist."But keep this in mind Troy. What's gonna happen if you don't tell her? If you keep holding this off sooner or later Gabriella's going to get tired of waiting and eventually find herself in someone elses arms..." She was still talking as they stopped in the middle of the hallway at Chad's locker, and as they stood there Troy took this into consideration.

Would she really get tired of waiting for him? No, that couldn't happen. They'd promised that they would always be there for eachother. And Troy's idea of Gabi being there for him did not involve her in the arms of another guy in the process. Just the thought of her not being his made him cringe, she was pretty much all he thought about lately. Her silky dark brown hair full of glossy curls that cascaded gently down her back, her smooth tanned olive skin, that giggle that could put a smile on the most placid of faces, those bright chocolate orbs that seemed to sparkle with a-

"Troy..TROY!!" Taylor bellowed. His reverie was suddenly broken as his gaze fell back on the African American girl standing in front of him with an impatient look taking control of her facial features. "You wouldn't want that to happen would you?"

"Want what to happen?" He figured that there was no point in lying seeing as Taylor was the one to break him from his daydream, she knew he wasn't paying attention.

She sighed. "Yo don't want Gabriella to end up with some other guy right?...or do you?" She said looking at him skeptically although she already knew the answer to the question.

"NO of course not!!..it's just..i need to...i just need time to think okay?" Troy knew that 'time to think' was wearing thin as the days went by.

"Well you better get it together Bolton, and soon." And with that Taylor followed by Chad made her way down the crowded hallway to homeroom leaving Troy to his thoughts.

end flashback

Whatcha got to say? Whatcha got to do?
How ya get the one you want to want to get next to you?

Whatcha got to say? Whatcha got to do?
How ya get the one you want to want to get next to you?
Yeah, yeah, to want to get next to you

Those words caught Troy's attention immediately. He would give up the most precious of his possesions just to be next to Gabriella. Her laugh, the way she smiled, the vanilla scent she gave off he could breathe in for hours on end. Then it hit him 'now's the time' he thought. He realized at that moment if he didn't make his move then he may not get another chance. It was now or never. (A/N: hehe! had to get something in for the 3rd film! lol)

That was it. It was all over, and her heart was broken in the end. Gabriella watched in complete horror as she watched Troy's back as he exited the auditorium. She was so confused? All of the flirting, the signs, and they almost kissed!? How could she have mixed things up so badly?! 'UGH! Stupid stupid Gabi!' she thought mentally hitting herself almost forgetting she was still on stage. As the loud cheers echoed through the large building after the curtains closed all Gabriella could think to herself was 'how can i face him now?' Wrapped up in her own world she didn't take time to notice the boy standing quietly in the corner.

"Gabriella?" he whispered.

Turning arouns swiftly her cheeks began to burn bright red and her palms turned sweaty. "Uh...Tr-Troy? W-what are you doing back here?" she stammered in embarassment.

Without a second thought he roped her into his arms and kissed her with everything he had. Passion,lust,love.These were all of the things Troy let Gabriella feel as they were wrapped in this intimate embrace.

His sudden movement caught her off-guard to say the least, but she immediately made a comeback snaking her arms tightly around his neck as his tongue gently passed between her lips. 'The first and best kiss i've ever had' she thought to herself as their tongues battled one another. His lips where so soft and he was so gentle with her, he made her first kiss everything she'd hoped it would be.

When air was a necessity he broke their lip contact only to plant soft chaste kisses on her forehead while whispering to her 'baby i would die if i couldn't be next to you.' he cooed kissing her on the lips once again.