Author's Note: Hi. Remember me? ;) Yeah, that here is actually not the story I was talking about the last time you heard from me, it's just the poor attempt of forgetting about my upcoming exams for a little while and all that other stuff going on right now. I'm writing on that new story, I really am, I just don't have the head nor time to really get into it right now. Besides, I'm preparing for my two months stay in London, so it might actually be a few more weeks until you get to read something from me again. Until then, here's this little one-shot that popped into my head a few weeks ago and was lying unfinished on my desktop for quite a while. I have no idea if it's any good, so I leave the judgement to you guys.

By the way, I can only drive stick shift, so that's how Gabriella is learning to drive in this little story. Hope you don't mind. ;)

I'm dedicating this to all my friends…you know who you are.

Disclaimer: Except for Zac Efron I own basically nothing, but I'm quite satisfied with what I have, so yeah… :P

Love Me, Teach Me

by jewel2502

He was walking along the corridor at East High looking for nothing in particular – or pretending he wasn't looking for anything. Basketball practice had been cancelled just seconds ago, because Coach Bolton wasn't feeling very well, and the boy couldn't say he didn't enjoy the thought of having a free afternoon to do basically nothing but lie around, listen to some music and maybe dip in the pool from time to time. Troy was in a good mood today.

"The thing is, Kelsi, I just can't do it. It's like I'm incapable of driving and it seems like I'm stalling the engine more than I actually start it." The brunette boy stopped in his walk, hearing an all too familiar voice coming from the small music room Ms. Darbus had persisted on. He walked closer and could now see a curly black-haired girl talking to her hat-wearing brunette friend, who was sitting at the piano. Troy wasn't a person to eavesdrop, but nobody was around and he had to admit that he was curious what Gabriella, the girl he only met a few weeks ago in a ski-lodge, had to say.

"And the worst thing about it is," she continued, "that if I fail my driving test next week, I won't be able to visit my dad in Las Cruces." Gabriella seemed really desperate, sitting down next to Kelsi on the piano bench with a huge sigh.

Her friend slightly touched a few of the piano keys and for a second or two, loud tones were heard coming from the room, making Troy jerk. He was so concentrated on the conversation going on in there but he really didn't want to open the door more, even if it was only a slit.

"But can't you visit him another time?" Kelsi tried to take the pressure off of Gabriella. She herself hasn't made her driver's licence yet, so she couldn't really give her friend any advice on that.

Gabriella breathed out again heavily. "He'll only be in New Mexico that one weekend. It's a business trip and my only real chance to see him the next month. Mom can't go, you can't drive, Taylor has to babysit her little twin sisters…I'm screwed, Kels."

"Hey dude, what are we looking for?" Chad Danforth, Troy's best friend since pre-school, appeared out of nowhere and scared Troy out of his wits.

"Gawd, Chad!" Troy said grumpily and turned towards his friend. "Uhm, it's nothing. Kelsi is just rehearsing one of our songs with Gabriella and I was curious what her part sounds like," Troy lied, blushing lightly, snuffling his nose.

Chad came a step closer to listen. "But I don't hear any music, Troy!" He grinned. "Come on, let's go, buddy," he basically dragged Troy away from the big door, keeping him from hearing the end of Kelsi's and Gabriella's conversation.

Kelsi smiled at her new friend. "What if you ask one of the guys? They can drive and maybe they can even help you get through with this," Kelsi suggested, packing the music sheets on the piano into a folder to stuff it into her backpack.

Gabriella thought about it. "Chad Danforth is not going to teach me how to drive, Kels. Have you seen him on the street? I have no idea how he passed that exam," she railed about one of her friends.

Kelsi looked at Gabriella intensely and answered softly, "why don't you ask Troy, Gabs? I'm sure he would love to teach you," she winked and Gabriella's face went crimson within a second.

"Troy's the last person I'd want to ask. What if he laughs at me?" Gabi said with trembling lips, her eyes focused on the floor. She also took her backpack from the floor and grabbed her cardigan. She and Kelsi had rehearsed for the last hour and now everything Gabriella wanted to do was get out of this school to spend the afternoon reading her favourite book.

"He wouldn't laugh at you, Gabriella. Troy's crazy about you, he'd never risk your friendship," Kelsi stopped Gabriella by putting a hand on her friend's shoulder, but the brunette only put Kelsi off and smiled weakly at her friend.

"I guess I'll just have to deal with the fact that I won't be able to see my dad next weekend," Gabriella sighed and walked down the hallway in a hurried pace.

He coughed. "Gabriella, what about me helping you to drive?" Troy whispered winking, walking the way from his car to Gabriella's house only a few blocks away from his own. "That sounds stupid, Bolton," he cringed. He was rehearsing what to say to Gabriella once he was standing in front of her, but he couldn't really find the right words. He had no idea how she would react to his help offer. Slowly but decisively he knocked on the wooden door, staring down at his feet until the door opened.

"Oh hello. Troy was it, right?" Gabriella's pretty mother was standing in the doorframe, making Troy feel even more uncomfortable and browbeaten now.

He coughed. "Yes, Mrs. Montez, that's me. Could I-?"

"Gabi's in her room, but I'll get her," Mrs. Montez smiled widely at the handsome young boy that has shown a huge interest in her only-child over the last few weeks. Troy saw the older woman that resembled her daughter so much, going up the stairs to get Gabriella to come down. Troy had contemplated the whole way home from school with Chad, if he should help Gabriella or not. It was his chance to get closer to his friend, even though he had no idea how she felt about him. He had told Chad that he couldn't hang out with him this afternoon, because he had to help his mom with his little sister Mia, even though he had other plans in mind, which Chad really shouldn't know about.

He saw her bouncing down the stairs, wearing baby blue sweatpants and a matching cardigan. Her mother was coming downstairs after her, but slid out into the kitchen to give the teenagers some privacy.

"What's up, Troy?" Gabriella asked casually, zipping the zipper on her jacket a little higher. "Did I forget about a rehearsal?" She curiously observed her friend's face, smiling slightly.

Troy didn't expect her to react so cool towards his visit, but he swallowed the lump in his throat down and said: "No, you haven't." Troy scratched his dirty blonde hair on the back of his head, looking into Gabriella's questioning face. "I actually wanted to ask if you needed any help with your driving?" Troy's body relaxed a little when he saw Gabriella still smiling at him, lifting her arms to rearrange the bun on the back of her head.

"Why? Do you know a decent teacher?" She asked teasingly. Her heart was thumping like crazy, but she didn't want Troy to notice.

The young boy grinned madly now. "Well, there would be me and Hank," Troy suggested charmingly, gesticulating towards his dark red car.

Gabi raised one eyebrow. "Hank?"

The boy nodded. "He's the nicest car in town and he said he'd be willing to cope with you. What do you say?" Troy Bolton looked at the pretty Latina in front of him with his sparkling blue eyes.

Gabriella almost melted into those gorgeous blue eyes and noticed that Troy didn't even have an inkling about how much of an effect his eyes have on her. "One last question," she said grinning evilly now. "If Hank is so lively, will that make you Knight Rider?" She couldn't hold back a snort, covering her mouth with her hand while giggling.

Troy stood there in front of her irking. "Chad told you about my David Hasselhoff obsession, didn't he?" He bit on his lip, embarrassed to his bones.

"U-huh," Gabi still giggled.

"Can we go now?" Troy tried to change the subject, looking around to his shiny car.

Gabriella looked down on herself. "Now? Troy, I'm wearing my sweatpants!" She said surprised, but the taller boy just took her hand and dragged her out of the house towards the car.

"You look gorgeous, Ella," Troy replied, not even aware of what he had just said. Both teenagers blushed terribly, which the other one couldn't see, since they were walking behind each other now.

Troy drove Gabriella downtown Albuquerque to an empty parking place, where she could drive around and try engaging the clutch as much as she wanted to. The whole ride there Gabriella didn't say a word. She was watching Troy in the side mirror, pretending to look outside and studied the outline of his face and how concentrated he was, when he was driving. She realized how much fun it actually was for him to drive and she really wanted to feel the same. Right now, driving was just a pain in the ass for the young brunette.

When they arrived at the parking place, Troy got out of the car, walked around it and opened Gabriella's door. "It's your turn now, Gabriella," he stated softly, smiling at his friend who looked terrifyingly pale in her face and walked with her around the car again, his one hand placed on the small of her back.

Sitting inside the car, Gabriella adjusted the seat for her height, checked the rear-view and the side mirrors and breathed out deeply while looking at Troy. "I'm ready."

Troy grinned at his friend widely. "Alright. Then start the engine, Ella." He could see how her trembling fingers where turning the key in the hole until the car was started. "And don't forget to let the clutch come very slowly and only step on the gas slightly," Troy described the following process calmly, because he knew this was what she had problems with.

Gabriella listed to Troy intensely, absorbing every word he had just said. She slowly let go off the clutch and jerked when the car made a little jump and the engine went off. Gabriella's head immediately sunk down and she noticed out of the side of her eye, that Troy was beaming and had big trouble holding back his laughter.

"I knew you'd laugh at me, Bolton," she said, feeling sad and mad at the same time. She was already about to unclasp her seat belt, when Troy touched her shoulder.

"Ella, stay! This was your first try with a car you've never driven before. Please do it again," Troy soothed her, regretting his giggle a few seconds ago.

Gabriella's body stiffened even more when she felt Troy's hand on her sweater-covered shoulders. Not only was the driving part making her nervous now, but also her co-driver. She didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of Troy, that's why she never asked him herself to help him. She slightly shoved Troy's hand from her shoulder and readjusted her small body in the driver's seat. "Don't you dare giggling again," was all she replied, before she started the engine again, not once looking over at Troy, who was beaming at the tiny brunette, who he thought looked even cuter now that she was so determined and focused.

Gabriella had her foot pressed against the clutch, letting go as slowly as she could, managing to press the gas pedal slightly while doing that. The car didn't jump this time, but the engine went off again anyways. The Latina hammered her fists against the steering wheel. "What the fuck am I doing wrong?" She yelled and breathed in and out heavily. Her whole body was shaking now and her face had turned crimson.

Troy didn't dare to laugh this time, instead he was reaching for Gabriella's hand, which she forcefully shoved away, unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car. She ran away quickly, her arms folded in front of her chest. She ran as far as she could on the empty parking place, but there was no possibility for her to get out of Troy's eyesight. Tears were slowly rolling down the sad girl's face, when she sat down on a wooden bench on the other end of the place, her head in her hands.

"Practice makes perfect, you know?" Troy's soothing voice stated a few seconds later, when he had reached his friend, a worried look on his handsome face.

"Screw your proverbs, Troy and leave me alone," Gabriella replied angrily, wiping her tears away with one hand, facing the male standing in front of her. She wasn't angry at Troy. All he did was trying to help her, but he was angry at herself – for not being able to handle the clutch and for not having the guts to tell Troy how she felt about him.

Troy didn't even think about leaving her alone now. If there was one thing that made guys get all sensitive, it was a crying woman. Instead of leaving, he carefully sat down next to Gabriella, his hands neatly folded in his lap. The two teenagers didn't talk for a few minutes, Gabriella was staring into the sky and Troy was counting the small rocks in the pavement.

"I failed my driving test two times, once because I almost hit a woman with her bike and the other time, because I oversaw a stop sign," Troy began speaking softly, looking over at Gabriella.

The brunette shifted her head to look at Troy. "Why are you telling me this?" She whispered.

Troy smiled lop-sided. "Because I want you to realize that nobody is perfect, Ella. You just need to relax a little more. Driving is actually a lot of fun; once you don't have a teacher sitting next to you anymore who's making you nervous," he explained, laying his arms on the backrest of the bench. He could see how Gabriella's body was relaxing a little more, since her back rested against the bench now.

"You're making me nervous, Troy," she mumbled fastly, staring into her lap, playing with her fingers.

"What was that?" Troy turned around more towards his friend now.

Gabriella breathed in heavily. It was now or never. "I said 'you're making me nervous, Troy'!" She confessed. "Are you happy now?" She shyly looked over at her best male friend, trying to smile.

Troy's face lit up a little and he couldn't believe what Gabriella had just said. He understood her the first time she was saying it, but he couldn't quite believe his ears. He slid a little closer to Gabriella on the bench, making her jerk slightly when she realized he was moving towards her. "So what can we do against that nervousness of yours, Ella? I mean do I do anything in particular to make you nervous?" Troy asked understanding. He was kind of aware of what she wanted to tell him, but he wanted to make sure he got everything right.

Gabriella rolled her eyes and got up from the bench. "Gawd Troy, it's everything you do. Every move, every word you say, every wink, every smile, every-"

Troy had gotten up himself, capturing Gabriella's lips with his own in a soft, short kiss. He reluctantly let go of her lips, waiting for a reaction from Gabriella, who was standing in front of Troy, utterly shocked.

"I…," she was rambling, because she didn't know what to reply to Troy's action a few seconds ago. "I mean…," she touched her rosy lips, which a few seconds ago where captured by Troy Bolton's soft mouth.

Troy scratched his neck and smiled. "Yes?" He was grinning at Gabriella, whose face was slightly blushing again.

She bit her bottom lip and took a step closer to Troy. "That was nice," she answered, getting up on her tiptoes to peck Troy's cheek. "Thank you."

Only seconds later she could feel his hands on her hips, drawing her closer to him. He leaned down to her ear, whispering softly: "you're welcome," before he pressed his mouth against hers again, this time with a little more force and determination than the first time. He could feel her responding to the kiss, her slender arms tangling around Troy's muscular neck.

Forehead against forehead, feeling each other's breaths in the face, Troy and Gabriella were smiling at each other. "Ready to give it another try, Ella?" Troy asked nicely, taking Gabriella's hand into his, rubbing his thumb over her palm. He didn't want to force her to get into the car again, but he knew she was ambitious and wanted to take that exam next week.

She nodded her head, squeezing Troy's hand tightly. He was using his second hand to wipe a little smeared mascara out of her face, kissing her nose softly. "Then let's go."

Back in the car, Gabriella's face was enlightened when she turned the key in the hole and started the car. "Remember to relax, Ella. And step on the gas pedal a little more. This will help you to not stall the engine," Troy pointed her into the right direction, his left hand lying on Gabriella's right one, which was placed on the gear shift.

She nodded determined, her sight focused on the empty parking space in front of her. She let go of the clutch very slowly and suddenly the car started rolling, slowly, but it was moving. Gabriella let out a little squeak, her eyes sparkling, when she changed into the second gear, Troy's hand still lying on hers, his pride visible in his face.

"You made it, Ella," he finally said, when she stopped the car a few meters farther. He was beaming at her and squeezed Gabriella's warm hand. "I told you, you just-"

"-needed to relax…I know, I know," she chuckled and bent over to Troy to kiss his cheek. "Thanks," she beamed. She turned towards the radio and pretended to talk into it. "And thanks to you too, Hank," Gabriella giggled, earning a pout from Troy.

"Let me try it again," she now said excitedly, jumping up and down in her seat. She was actually starting to like driving, now that she knew she didn't have to be nervous anymore, not about the driving, nor about the guy sitting next to her. She knew she'd drive to her dad herself next week and if it didn't work out, she knew she had the best person possible to drive her to Las Cruces. And she knew she didn't even have to ask him to do it.

The End

A review would be nice. :) Hope to see you all soon.