"Chad, I just don't feel right doing this!" Gabriella said, pulling away from Chad's sweet kiss.

"Gabi, I promise I'm gonna break up with her today. I just chickened out last night, it was a one time thing, I promise. Today!" Chad replied, pulling her back into him.

It must have been ten minutes before both of them realized that there was a drama practice that was going to be going on in that very auditorium next period. Which meant that Gabriella had to endure another period of a combination of guilt and disgust at Troy. She couldn't believe she had EVER preferred him to Chad, his gorgeous best friend. The only problem with Chad was a rather large one – he was going out with Gabriella's best friend, Taylor.

"Gabriella, I was looking for you all through lunch! You told me you would meet me on the roof, remember?" Troy said, winking, as they were working out costumes backstage.

"Oh. Sorry. I was busy… you know, uh, in the library."

"Really? I looked there… must have missed you. Anyway, honey, I was thinking that you, me, Chad, and Taylor could go on a double date tonight. Its been ages since we had one of those!"

Gabriella gulped. She had been avoiding double dates for the past month, ever since she started cheating on Troy with Chad. But she had told Troy she was free for a date today, simply because of that feeling of guilt. She really hated it!

"Alright. Can we just see a movie though?" She thought that there wasn't much chance of her being too attracted to Chad during a movie with a few seats and boyfriends/girlfriends between them. Besides, if Chad didn't lie, he would be breaking up with Taylor tonight anyway. So it would be the last night of endless torture for Gabi before she was truly happy with her Chad.

"Sure, baby, listen, I gotta run. Dad's gonna kill me if I miss practice again!" Troy grinned, backing away as the bell rang. Then he yelled over his shoulder as he ran off, "I love you!"

Gabi watched as Troy ran off into the distance, his ruffled brown hair flowing behind him. How she hated it now, the way it reminded her of the times she was such an idiot and had kissed him, running her fingers through that very hair. "I don't love you," she mumbled, turning around and entering Chad's number, which she had memorized, into her cellphone. It went through to the answering machine, but that was fine with her. It soothed her just to hear his voice. She hung up.

As Gabi looked at herself in front of the mirror, she smiled. She hadn't felt this good in ages. Despite the confusion and guilt of earlier that day, after a long time primping and trying on every outfit anyone had every said looked good on her, she had managed to find one that she was convinced Chad would love. She didn't even care about Troy anymore. All she wanted was Chad.

"Mami, I'm going out for a movie with the regulars! I'll be back before 11!" She told her mother as she picked up her purse and ran out the door. Troy was waiting there, as he always was before a date. She wondered if he ever got tired of doing that, considering she was almost always 10-20 minutes late coming outside. Oh well, she thought, after tonight there won't be any more of him waiting around before dates.

"Hey, baby, I'm really sorry, but the movie you wanted to see is completely full. Checked on Would it be okay if we just went out for dinner then to the old arcade?"

Oh no! That meant that there wouldn't be any dates or seats to separate Chad and Gabriella. And she might be tempted to… no. She wouldn't. Not with Troy and Taylor around. Definitely not! She wouldn't. "That's fine. But can we go? I'm freezing here."

The drive to the restaurant was short. They ate their pizza and Chad and Gabriella had almost no contact. Unless you count endless staring at eachother from across the table, twining their ankles together underneath the table, and even touching hands under the table as contact. I hope it doesn't get any bet-, I mean, worse, at the arcade, she thought to herself, sighing. She was about to find out.

After walking a few blocks up the street to the beat up old arcade, Troy and Taylor ran straight off to the same games they always played. They looked at Gabriella and Chad a bit strangely when Gabi didn't go to PacWoman and Chad didn't go to Astroships, but they got over it. And as soon as the secret couple were sure that their dates weren't watching, they went and crouched behind the games at the back of the room by the faded blue couch. Without words, they started passionately kissing, Gabriella running her fingers through Chad's messy dark brown afro, Chad holding her close to him. Little did they know that there was a camera stationed right behind them, and Troy was visiting a friend of his who was on security duty that night. Therefore they had no idea that he was there, watching his girlfriend and best friend since kindergarten kissing in the very arcade where he and Chad had been meeting for 12 years. They were also so wrapped up in eachother that they didn't know that Taylor, on her way to the women's bathroom, had also witnessed this interaction. Her eyes filled up with tears as she yelled, "Chad! Ella! How… what… how could you??" before she sprinted to the women's bathroom. Gabriella felt a tear rolling down her face, and before Chad had the chance to wipe it away, she ran off, wondering what was going to happen next.