Hello! We have 19 days until my return to Fanfiction, starting with "The Great Beyond"! So, I feel I should give you guys a treat so you will know what I have in store for you then. Below this passage is a short snippet of the story.
Tomorrow and the day after that, I will posting the other snippets for "Baby Steps" and "Wildcat Fever: Season Two".
I can't wait to be back with you guys! Also, keep a look on my website for news regarding book publications and my journey to New York in May for the book expo 2014. The website URL is on my profile!

Without knowing it, they had been talking for hours on end. They talked about Troy's family, finding out that he lived with his mother. He wouldn't talk much about his father, though. He was close with his mother, though. That made Gabriella smile. They both liked the same music and they both liked to spend the most time outside when it was summer. They liked the same color (blue), they liked to travel, and they both wanted to be on their own when they graduated high school. It was amazing that they had so much in common. They were strangers, but then they weren't.

Troy glanced at the clock on the mantel and chuckled before glancing at the darkness outside. "It's almost ten. Time goes by fast."

"Yeah," murmured Gabriella.

They both barely noticed that they had gotten closer to each other, their faces practically inches away from each other. Though, Troy noticed multiple times whenever Gabriella would touch his leg. It brought a shiver down his spine. He wanted her to touch him always.

"Where's your mom?" asked Troy.

Gabriella looked down. "She works a lot. I barely see her. She leaves when I am at school and she comes home when I am asleep."

Troy smiled apologetically. "I bet the loneliness sucks."

"Not too much. I'm used to it. I'm able to finish my homework in peace, I can cook my own dinner, and I can take care of myself to get ready for bed," she explained.

She paused and looked back up at him. "But, it's good to have you here."

Troy looked at her and stared into her beautiful, brown eyes. This girl was simply amazing. She had so much insight into life and she saw something in him. She knew he was a good person and he wanted to believe that himself. But, sometimes that was the hardest part.

"Gabriella, sometimes I don't know what to say to you. I know we haven't known each other long, but I really feel some kind of...connection," he started. "You have such a strong look on life. I don't. I just...don't know how you do it."

Gabriella shrugged. "Troy, I don't know how I do it either. But, I just know that life has a lot to offer than what we already have on our plate. I remember that every day."

Troy smiled at her. He glanced down at her hand and tentatively held it. She looked down at their hands, but didn't pull back. She only gripped tighter. They didn't speak for a while. They just stayed in that comfortable silence until the time finally reached eleven, starting with a frantic call by Troy's mother asking if he was dead in the street.

But, before all that, they just sat on that couch and held hands.