"It's gone, gone, baby it's all gone,

There's no one on the corner and there's no one at home."

Troy Bolton has to blink twice to let the image in front of his eyes sink. He doesn't give a fuck he could hear his friends mocking him or feel them slapping him on the arm to get his attention back. He pushes someone's hand out of his face; they were fucking blocking the gorgeous girl in front of his eyes.

He leans back against the bar, his mouth curling up in a smirk as he notices she is slowly walking towards him, her hips swaying seductively, knowing everyone in the night club would be staring at her. Girls like that perfect brunette know they are good looking, they even use their looks as an advantage to get what and where they want.

Her gray mini dress clings to her body like a second skin, hugging her curves in a way that makes Troy's heart flip inside his chest. He can't keep his mind away of the thought that if she looks that mind-blowing with clothes on, he couldn't wait to see her out of the dress. It seems to him like an unnecessary piece of material right now.

Troy bites his upper lip, allowing his gaze to travel down to check her long legs. She is getting closer to him and she moves like a supermodel, so confident, so focused on her target. He's mouthwatering watching as her earrings caress her cheeks the way his fingertips wanted to. Her silver bracelets brush gently against her wrist and with every step she takes, he feels dizzy. Is she even real?

"Look at that gorgeous girl" one of his friends point to her and he changes his gaze quickly, his piercing blue eyes so cold the guy flinches.

"She's mine" he says between clenched teeth, already feeling possessive of her.

Ever so faintly she passes by him and he catches the distant aroma of an exotic perfume. Troy growls quietly hearing her sweet voice ordering a drink. The brunette looks down as she waits for what she ordered; her black hair falls in her eyes, working as a curtain to hide her precious face. She looks so mysterious and even rebel, like she had some kind of dirty secret. The thought of it lets Troy intrigued, craving to discover that something extra he is positive sure she has.

Before he can say anything, a guy slips in the middle of them, breaking the eye contact Troy had of his target.

"Hey" the blond haired guy says. Troy observes how she tucks her lock of hair that was in her eyes behind her ear, turning her head slowly to his direction, where the guy was standing beside him.

Boy she is a knockout, Troy thinks to himself, grinning slightly as her intense gaze locks on his. Her practically sculptured face is better than he could imagine. Gorgeous tiny nose, full red lips that he wants to taste so badly. Eyes that dazzled - he has never seen a mix of brown and green like hers eyes are.

The colorful lights from the dance floor are moving fast, making her skin glow like she is someone from another planet. Her eyes get lighter and seem endless. Breathtaking is the only word to descrive the girl staring at him now. The brunette smiles – showing her perfect white teeth – sending a sparkle to her eyes that could match out any star.

"Hello"

Troy finds himself impressed, fascinated… hypnotized by the girl, even more when she doesn't seem impressed by the guy that had just approached her. The blond leaves upset, murmuring something, letting the way free for Troy.

He offers his hand, feeling goosebumps when she accepts. The girl slides her small and delicate hand in his large one, frowning slightly before quickly collecting her hand back to the safety of her hips.

"Can I pay you a drink?" Troy offers politely and she shakes her head, showing him the glass of martini the bartender was serving her, "You're not from here, right?"

She giggles, "No"

"I knew it"

He smirks; unable to believe the gorgeous girl is really talking to him. He feels lucky and in ecstasy as her full lips part slightly and she keeps talking, "From New Mexico, actually"

"I'm always there… working" he says cheerfully, "Good state"

The girl smiles big, visibly proud of her hometown.

"I'm Ella" she introduces herself.

Before he can say his name, he hears someone calling him and lets out a low frustrated groan. The girl looks behind him and smiles. The manly voice calls him again, obliging him to turn around.

Troy's body paralyzes as he sees the figure in front of him. He can't help but wander what his father was doing there, still dressed in his navy suit, like he just arrived from work. He wears the same victorious smile Troy has on his face and that makes the boy frown deeply.

Jack Bolton wraps one arm around the brunette's waist, Troy's girl, his target, the girl he was immensely attracted to and pulls her closer to his body. His mouth falls open as he sees the girl grin and pat him on the stomach gently. His father kisses the side of her head tenderly, "I see you already met Gabriella, my girlfriend"

"NO!"

Troy opened his tiredly looking eyes, searching for the beeping object that saved him from his nightmare. He found the phone on his bedside table, vibrating and ringing the tune that indicated Chad had just texted him. He yawned, rubbing the back of his hands on his eyes, stimulating his eyes to rouse.

He sat down, massaging his neck with one hand, while the other collected his phone on the bedside table. Troy routinely flipped the mobile open, pressing the new text button.

"Wanna go for a run?" he read to himself, groaning when he saw the PS, "How's Jack's new girl?"

Troy shoved the phone away, far from his eyes, rubbing a large hand on his face, shaking his head slightly. How on earth his father, a 42 year old man got himself that gorgeous girl? He couldn't understand, it was too much for his mind.

He had met the girl yesterday, during an introductory dinner his father had called him to participate. Troy came expecting to meet the new woman Jack was talking so well for months. He knew she would probably be younger than him; his father simply didn't recognize he was getting older and should date someone his age. He loved young girls, and they loved him……… for his money.

Okay, he had to admit his father was still in pretty good shape. He went to the gym everyday and when Troy came home on weekends while he was still at university, they'd play basketball for a few hours and Jack never complained about it. But Gabriella - and from now on he had to ignore the chills he felt everytime he thought or pronounced her name – was what? Probably Troy's age… she was a girl, not a woman! She could be Jack's daughter, but not his girlfriend.

Troy leaned against the pillows and folded his hands behind his head; the image of her walking into the living room of the house, hand clasped with her father was shocking and disgusting, but her looks… that he had fresh on his mind. He had been with millions of girls, he was good looking too and probably had the same or more charm than Jack, but Troy had never seen someone like Gabriella. She was utterly, heartbreakingly beautiful.

But she was not with his.

"Shit" he grimaced, he couldn't think about this. Gabriella was his father's girlfriend. He never really cared who Jack dated or not… till now.

His mom Carlie got pregnant when she was still in high school and Jack proposed to her. They found out, only three years later, that they didn't have a lot in common though, so they split up when Troy was only 2 years, keeping in contact because of him, so Troy stayed with her on the week days and with him, on the weekend.

Troy liked it best, he was a good company to his mother – she never married again, and they had fun together. Jack was well… Jack. He was persistent, annoying most of the time during his adolescence, even worse when he kept saying Troy needed to be the best in everything: grades, sports and with girls. So he graduated with honors, was the captain of the basketball team, and finished university a year ago. Now he worked with Jack on his company three times a week. The rest of his days, Troy was starting his own company.

He walked to his huge bathroom, taking off his boxers and letting the cold water calm his mind. Troy naturally didn't sleep in his father's house. He was a grown up now, he had his own apartment, but yesterday was so confusing that he found himself saying yes to Jack's offer to sleep over. He had no idea though, if it was because he was knocked out with Gabriella's charm or because he knew she was staying over in the guest's room.

Before he realized he already said yes.

But that was going to end right there. As soon as he finished his shower, he'd go home. Far from Gabriella… far from temptation itself.

Troy went back to his room, only a towel wrapped around his waist to begin the next step on the process of sleeping at his dad's house. He had absolutely no clothes there – only two boxers, a cargo short and a white flip-flop. No shirts, no pants, no socks. His personal assistant and best friend, Chad, made sure he took all the clothes from both of his parents' house as soon as he moved alone.

He chose – between dressing the cargo short and going home in boxers – to put the golden khaki short on. He held to his working blue shirt he wore yesterday, putting it back while he stepped in the flip-flops.

Great, now he could go home. All he had to do now was find his father, give him Garrison's account papers to sign he had brought yesterday and he'd be free to go. Troy left his suit, tie, socks and pants over his bed, the maid would collected them later, clean it and send it back to his place. He tended to let his father's people clean and iron his suits – it was too hard for him, he had to admit.

Jack Bolton was sitting alone behind the breakfast table, a newspaper on one hand, a cup of coffee on the other. He held to the papers tightly, closing the gap between the two and patting his father on the back, "Morning"

"Oh, Troy" he moved his gaze from the newspaper to his son; putting the cup of coffee gently on the table, "Going to the beach, aren't we?" he laughed lightly, patting Troy's stomach.

"I'm going home" Troy corrected and gave him the papers, "Can you sign it now? I'm kind of late for something" he lied.

"Uhh yeah" Jack laughed, raising his eyebrows, "New girlfriend, yeah?" he stood up. "Let me tell you something, son. You have to date as many girls you can" he laid his arm on Troy's shoulder, leading him to the backyard "I know you're probably thinking about marriage now that you're 23, but hear my advice: don't wed"

Troy opened his mouth to protest, "I know, I know, but believe me, why bother with marriage and problems if you can have this" he pointed slightly with his chin to the figure getting out of the pool and Troy, found himself mouth opened.

He could see his dream all over him again. Gabriella moved like a goddess, in slow motion, one perfect foot hitting the floor before the other like everybody would do, but Troy found her way of walking sexier than anything he had seen before. Gabriella stopped for a second, putting her long hair into a messy bun, giving Troy the opportunity to check how gorgeous she looked in her green bikini. He bit his lip as she began drying her nice shaped curves with a white towel, for Troy it looked more like she was caressing herself with the towel.

Gabriella sat on the sunlounger, sipping on her orange juice before placing her sunglasses back on her face.

"Why would you want to marry if you can have this?" His father's voice sounded distant. Troy wanted to move his gaze from the girl but it was impossible. She was attracting him in a way he had no strength to pull out. He was, a hundred percent sure, jealous of the sun, the water, but mostly, jealous of his father that was allowed to touch and do whatever he wanted with her.

Troy never, ever experienced a feeling like this. Gabriella was the girl of his dreams and she was supposed to be with him, not his father. Damn it, he was old! What could she probably want from him? Money? Power? Troy could offer the same things to her if she wanted.

"She's beautiful, huh?" Jack's laugh was confident and proud and Troy felt disgusted. He straightened up; trying to control his body and mind or else he would punch his father on the face.

"Can't you sign the damn papers?" Troy hissed.

"Why you're such in a bad mood?" his father asked calmly, patting him on the back, "Have breakfast first, then come to the pool with me and Gabriella"

"Aren't you too old to be dating a girl her age?"

"Old?" Jack laughed in disbelief, "I'm only 42!"

"And she's like what?" Troy asked ironically, "19?"

"Gabriella likes more mature guys" Jack smirked.

"Whatever, dad"

"So, are you joining us for lunch?"

"No" he shook his head, managing to move his gaze off Gabriella, "I'm having lunch with mom today" he lied fervently.

"Uhh" he grabbed the papers from Troy's hand, resting it on top of the pool table, signing it quickly. Jack shoved the papers inside the envelope again. "All right then, tell Carlie I said hi"

"Gabriella, Troy is going home already" Jack informed casually, "Say bye to him, sweetheart"

Troy rolled his eyes, clenching his fists when she smiled at him, the most provocative and gorgeous smile he had ever seen, and waved with her hand.

"Bye Gabriella" he waved back, fighting with the urge to grab her in his arms and take her away with him.

"I'll see you on Wednesday" he patted Jack's arm and, arguing against his heart that was sending red and noisy signs that leaving was the worst thing to do, he left the house.

"Ha, ha, ha!" Chad laughed, not really believing what his best friend was saying, "You got hard thinking of your father's new girlfriend?"

They were sprawled across the couches in Troy's huge living room, watching a basketball game on TV, still sweaty from their work out. Troy had told everything about Gabriella to his best friend, even the dream he had with her.

"Chad, man" Troy shook his head, "She's something from another world. Ella is fucking perfect"

"Ella?" he raised one eyebrow, grinning. "Dude, you're not the boyfriend, keep that in mind"

"Damn it" Troy let out a loud groan, standing up, "Fuck, Chad. I need to do something about this. She's my father's girlfriend for Goodness' sake!"

"Yeah" Chad agreed, finding everything really entertaining, "That sucks"

"That sucks pretty bad" Troy corrected, "I'll have to find excuses not to see my father. You know how he acts when he has a new girlfriend"

"Forces everybody to coexist"

"Exactly"

"Just keep cool dude, you only see your dad at work anyways" Chad comforted him, smiling slightly.

"Yeah"

His cell phone started vibrating on the coffee table, dancing around the wooden material. Chad looked at the mobile and then at Troy with curious eyes. He sat down again, hypnotized by his phone.

"Aren't you gonna answer it?"

"What if it's Jack?"

He rolled his eyes, grabbing the phone and tossing it to its owner after checking the caller ID. "It's not Jack, dude"

Troy grabbed the phone and pressed the button yes, feeling a bit relieved.

"Hello?" he stood up in a jump, "Uhm… yeah, of course I remember you" he nodded his head, passing through the couches, heading to the balcony, "Mm hmm I know" he grimaced and continued, "Sure. Yeah, do you want me to pick you up?" he looked down, running his hand through his hair, "Alright, on my lunch break then. See ya later"

Troy sat down on his armchair still in awe and leaned back, lacing his hands across the back of his head. A mix of fear and excitement could be read in his expressions as he moved his gaze away from his phone that was resting on his lap to his best friend.

"It was Gabriella"

Chad jumped up; his mouth opened the same way his eyes were. His dark skin was slightly pale and he ran one of his hands through his short hair.

"What did she want?"

Troy frowned, "She needs help to buy my dad a birthday gift"

"And you said you could help?!" Troy nodded slowly and Chad moaned in disbelief, "Why dude?"

"How could I say no?" he rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands, still in shock. His heart was accelerated and his hands trembling, but he didn't mind, her voice was the sound of an angel.

"Man" Chad shook his head, scrambling for the right words, "You're… fucked"

Troy sighed deeply, "I know"

"Well, it was cool, cool, it was just all cool,

Now it's over for me and it's over for you."

So, okay, this is my new Project. It's gonna be a fun story, I believe and hope haha. Most of it will be from Troy's point of view, but there are chapters that are Gabriella's POV and both of them, too.

Please, tell me what you think of it so far! I'm really nervous with this story, it's not something I'm used to write and like I informed a few people that asked about the new project through PMs, the plot is getting really, really difficult to develop. But I think I'll manage it if you guys like the first chapter, obviously. So, hopefully you enjoy it... uh, don't forget to share your thoughts with me!

BTW--- I don't own HSM nor Matchbox Twenty ;]

Take care!

May! xoxo