A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews, I cannot explain to you how completely and fully they help.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story.
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Stolen
Chapter Two:
Heart
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Gabriella looked at herself in her full - length mirror. Her long dark hair fell over her shoulders much the same way as they had the previous Saturday. She had opted for a simple outfit of dark wash jeans, a black tank top, sandals, and an off - white sweater. Taylor had dared her to wear the track jacket, which resulted in Gabriella hanging up the phone and shoving the jacket into her oversized purse, which also provided to be a book bag. Gabriella decided to attempt at forgetting the ominous jacket until she returned it to Troy with as much dignity as she could summon. She shouldered her book bag, walked out of her bedroom, and hurried down the steps that would eventually lead her into the Montez house - hold kitchen. As she said good morning to her mother Gabriella stuffed a piece of toast into her mouth and muttered something about needing to get to school early so that she could give a book to a friend. This was far easier than explaining to her mother where she had been Saturday night, and why she had a boy's jacket in her possession.
Gabriella shuffled down the overly spirited red and white corridors of East High, immediately scouting out her locker, which, as per usual had Taylor standing by it, tapping her foot impatiently and wearing a look on her face that read, "No way am I ever going to let you live this down."
"Good morning Sunshine, how are you this fine Monday morning?" Taylor said, handing Gabriella the coffee she had been nursing. "Have a sip, you look like you need it." Gabriella inhaled the Coffee in three sips handing the empty cup back to Taylor and turned her attention to her locker's padlock, rushing through her combination. After retrieving the books she needed for her first few classes, Gabriella realized why she had gotten to school fifteen minutes earlier than she needed to. Taylor noticed Gabriella's slight frown and piped up, "You know, I could go give him back the jacket for you…" Taylor's statement was unenthusiastic at best, but Gabriella still smiled at the offer.
"No, I need to do this on my own Tay. Troy probably forgot about the entire thing, and I'll bet that he isn't even at his locker. In which case I'll just set it by the locker, which, well, honestly, would be preferable." Gabriella giggled softly and started to make her way down the hallway, still facing backwards at Taylor. "I'll see you in homeroom, alright?" Taylor's slight nod was all Gabriella needed, and she flipped around rapidly, immediately colliding with a warm chest. A strong arm wrapped around her body, making it impossible for her to fall, or to get out of his grip.
"Whoa there, are you ok?" Came an all too familiar voice. Shivers ran down Gabriella's spine as she looked up, meeting the now paler blue orbs mounted on Troy's face.
Troy recognized her immediately, "Gabriella Montez. What a surprise…" Troy's arm was still wrapped securely around her waist, and he made no move to shift it into a different position, less couple - like, position.
"I, um. I have your jacket…" Gabriella said softly, reaching into her book bag and fishing out the elusive white track jacket.
"Thank you so much, I have a test in Statistics today and I need it." Troy said, grabbing the jacket and letting go of Gabriella momentarily before slipping it on. "Maybe we should get out of the center of the hallway…" Troy suggested, before taking Gabriella's hand and pulling her into an empty classroom.
"I should really be going… Homeroom and all…" Said Gabriella, not exactly whole - heartedly, but, to tell the truth, this was exactly what she needed to do.
Troy pushed Gabriella up against the teacher's desk in the front of the classroom. The breath hitched in Gabriella's throat as he moved them rapidly, his face stopping short of three inches from Gabriella's.
"So, is it like your good luck charm or something?" Gabriella added, trying to make any small conversation to keep her from kissing him. He smelled the same, well, minus the slight smell of alcohol that lingered on him the previous Saturday. One of his soft hands braced most of his body weight on the desk behind Gabriella; the other was placed on the small of her back, rubbing slight circles that made Gabriella's back tingle.
"What?" A confused Troy asked, taking in Gabriella's dark, lust filled eyes. Gabriella was so close; he could barely concentrate on the conversation at hand. Only the previous day was he reminiscing their last heated encounter and wishing he made more out of it. But now it was like they knew and lusted for, no loved each other their entire lives. His mind was focused solely on her eyes and her hands, which were tangling themselves in his hair. Ever so often one of her fingernails grazed his scalp, sending delightful shivers down his spine.
"Your jacket…" Breathed Gabriella, who was slowly gaining perspective on the situation; she needed to get out now. The warning bell rang, alerting the school that they had one minute to get to homeroom, Gabriella squirmed, but Troy's grip was still strong and persistent.
"Wait… Don't go," Troy beseeched, still gazing in Gabriella's eyes, "I want, no, need, to talk to you." Gabriella sighed; she was going to miss homeroom, which meant she was going to get detention. Troy went on, "Do you remember what happened at all last Saturday?"
"Uh, not really. I must have been drunk, stupid me. I'm a lightweight you see, one drink and…" Gabriella's rambling stopped when Troy's stroking gained a new ferocity, her breathing stopped and her voice came out as a mere gasp.
"I was drunk too, but I don't know. To tell the truth, I kind of liked what happened." Troy hinted, loosening his grip slightly on Gabriella so that could speak again.
"What do you mean? The dancing? Cause there's a party next week and I'm sure you'll be able to find someone to dance with you then." Gabriella said, obviously not getting what Troy was hinting at.
"You're a smart girl, I'll give you that. I liked the dancing, but I mainly liked the dancing because I was dancing with you." Gabriella blushed and glanced down, noticing there was no space what so ever between her and Troy. "I'm fully aware of who you are…now; you're Gabriella Montez, East High's brain. Every one of your solid classes are Advanced Placement, you sit behind me in AP World History. I borrowed a pencil from you a few weeks ago; sorry I didn't get it back… And I'm sure you're fully aware of who I am. I've seen you at basketball games, pep rallies, dances, and most recently at Jason Cross' house party." Troy didn't break his gaze his entire speech, Gabriella had tried to avert her eyes, but they kept coming back to his. Every time she looked into them, she lost herself, and that scared the shit out of her.
"I do know exactly who you are, Troy Bolton, number fourteen, starting Point Guard and Captain of the East High Wildcats' basketball team. Your dad is your coach, and you are known to hum Jack Johnson songs in the locker room showers. Don't ask how I know that, I have an 'in' on your basketball team. But I also know your reputation, Two Week Troy. I have to go to homeroom before I get detention into the next century, good bye." With that, Gabriella slid out of Troy's grip, which had loosened sufficiently once she had uttered his nickname. She pushed the door into the classroom open and ran down the hallways, racing into Ms. Darbus' classroom only to meet the teacher's disappointed and harsh glare.
"Ms. Montez, feel free to come to detention this afternoon in the auditorium, I happen to know you are a fabulous seamstress." Said the flamboyant teacher, as she motioned to an empty seat in the back of the classroom. Gabriella kept her eyes down as she passed Taylor, who had a smirk on her face as she whispered, "Oh you will so never hear the end of this…"
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The rest of the day for Troy went in one big blur; first he got detention, then he somewhat blanked on his Statistics test. Lunch went by slowly, because he was constantly looking for Gabriella, who was nowhere to be found, and last period free period was full of workouts, since he was going to miss practice due to his detention. Chad constantly rode him all day, asking him to point out Gabriella. Troy paid no attention to this what so ever; he had no desire to tell Chad about how he, for the first time in years, couldn't get the girl.
He pushed the doors open to the auditorium, where detention, "Darbus Style" was usually held. A giant moon hung down from the catwalk, and a few people were painting it a strange periwinkle tone. His eyes shifted from the moon to a small table in the corner, where a familiar brunette sat sewing an overly beaded orange dress. Her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, tediously aligning the five - eights line with the fabric she was sewing so that it was immaculate. Gabriella obviously had not noticed Troy yet, or had chosen not to dignify him with any look at all. Troy frowned as he tried to find Ms. Darbus, who was roaming the stage periodically, making sure that people were not talking, and definitely were not using a cell phone.
"Ah, Mr. Bolton, you've decided to show up, please, help Ms. Montez with her sewing, she needs to finish that costume within the hour so that she does not have detention again this week." Ms. Darbus said with a flourish, motioning to Gabriella and her sewing machine. Gabriella's head whipped up the moment she heard his name mentioned. Her heart started beating faster, and she didn't pay any attention to her sewing, her straight line had now turned into a curvy mess of thread. "What ever, Sharpay will most likely have her parents custom make her this dress," She thought as Troy came up to her.
"Long time no see," he muttered kneeling down to match her height. She rolled her eyes and replied,
"Look Troy, I'm not going to apologize, let's just get through this detention, and forget it ever happened, ok?" Gabriella said, forcing herself not to get caught up in his disheveled appearance. It was apparent that he did not take what she said earlier well. He was slightly pale and his expressive blue eyes were a dim shade of grey.
"What ever…" He sighed, this time not even trying to explain himself to her. She obviously did not want to hear any of it, and if she wanted to be persistent, he would just need to try a different approach to her. Gabriella was definitely not like other girls, that was a fact he was sure of.
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