"You don't have to drag me." I protested. "I can walk like a normal person." I said, frowning.

"Well we're not letting you get away again." Sharpay said. "We are going to have a long, long, long talk."

"Why?"

"Because we said so." Taylor said.

I sighed. "Why am I friends with you guys?"

"Because you have no other friends. Now sit." Sharpay ordered. I took a seat on a bench. "Where should we start?"

Taylor took a seat next to me. "Did he even talk to you?"

"Troy? Yeah." I said sighing.

"Really?" She asked. "What did he sound like?"

"He sounded like a boy Taylor, I don't know." I said, rolling my eyes. "Why are you grilling me? We just rode some rides and talked. We were gone for like an hour at most."

"That's an hour we had to stay with Danforth looking for you." Taylor said frowning.

I looked at her. "You didn't have to look with him."

"Oh but we did. They were arguing the whole time." Sharpay said, rolling her eyes. "Back to Troy. What's he like?" She asked, taking a seat.

I took a drink of my water and held my water between my legs. "He's nice, shy."

"That's it?" Sharpay said, frowning.

"Yes, he's just a guy."

"I don't understand why he talks to you of all people."

"Thanks Shar." I said, glaring at her.

She frowned a little bit. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Well then how did you mean it? What's so wrong with me?"

Taylor put her hand up to shut Sharpay up. "What she's trying to say is- Troy never talks to girls. He barely even talks to Chad and Zeke but then you can have a conversation with him? It's just really surprising, nothing against you."

"Whatever. Aren't we supposed to be riding rides?" I asked, looking at them.

"Yes." Sharpay said slowly.

I stood up. "Let's go then."

"We'll let you pick the rides since you're being unreasonable today."

"I'm not being unreasonable. I just don't want to die on some metal contraption." I argued. They both sighed. "What?"

"Let's just go, alright?"

"Fine." I said, annoyed.

Taylor and Sharpay hooked their arms with mine. I gave them a small smile. We got over out little fights pretty quickly. We went on another spinning ride. I locked myself in and Sharpay looked over at me. "Did you kiss him?"

"No." I said softly.

"Did you want to?"

I smiled a little to my self, hiding my face. The operator tugged on the safety equipment to make sure it was locked in. I sighed quietly. "Yeah, kind of."

They squealed quietly. "You like him?"

"I just met him."

"But you want to kiss him."

"You should totally kiss him." Sharpay added.

"We will see how the rest of the day goes." I murmured, biting my lip. "I think I'll scare him if I just do it."

"Well ask him first." Taylor reasoned.

I just shrugged and the ride lifted itself up. It started spinning slowly, gradually getting faster. I held on tight the sound of wind blowing in my ears. My adrenaline was pumping. Sharpay was screaming next to me and Taylor was laughing.

We got off the ride laughing and made our rounds at the New Mexico State Fair. As it got later, I was anticipating the arrival of Eight o clock. I dropped Sharpay and Taylor off around six. They were bored of the fair and weren't planning to stay for the fireworks anyway. I drove back to the Fair after I ate dinner and found my brother again. He looked exhausted.

"Hey." I said, tapping on the window.

Jesse opened the side door and I stepped into the air conditioned booth. I sat on the stool next to him. "How is it?"

"It's fun, I just took Shar and Taylor home." I said, resting my chin on my arm.

"You hungry?" He asked, waiting for somebody to buy tickets.

I shook my head. "I took a pit stop at home for some dinner."

"What are we having?"

"Pasta." I said with a shrug. "Has it been busy?"

"Nah, not really. I saw that Troy guy you were with a couple times. He walked by and said hi." Jesse said, looking over at me. "Did you ditch him?"

I shook my head. "No, Troy and I ditched Sharpay, Taylor and Troy's friends. They found us and I went off with the girls. We're supposed to meet up again tonight." He looked at me. "What? I haven't got his number yet."

"He better not try anything on you Gabi."

I laughed a little. "He won't. He's not like that."

"And how do you know?"

"Because he barely talks to anyone. I don't think he'll try to make a pass at me." I said, rolling my eyes. "He said maybe three words to you when we were talking."

"I'm just looking out for you." He said, putting his arm around my neck.

"Stop! You're gross." I said, giggling and pushing him away. "I'm going to walk around."

"Call me if you need me." He said. "Oh, Do you need a ride home?"

I shook my head. "I have my car, thanks though. Do you want anything to eat?"

He shook his head. "I have break in fifteen minutes."

"See you later Jess." I waved as I walked out the booth. I checked the time and it just hit eight o clock. I walked towards the big Ferris Wheel, looking for Troy. I spotted him, looking around as well. I walked over to him and I felt like my heart was pounding. "Hey." I said, standing next to him.

Troy smiled at me. "Hey, I thought you stood me up."

"It's eight o two." I said with a small smile.

"I was here since 7:45." He said shyly. I grinned at him. He was so damn cute. "They're having last call for the Ferris Wheel if you want to go on."

"Can you go with me?" I asked, biting my bottom lip.

"I'm not good with heights." He said worriedly.

I rubbed his arm. "You don't have to look down." I murmured to him. "I'll be right with you." I offered.

He looked up at the ride and scratched the back of his neck. "Okay." He said. I grinned, pulling him over to the ride. Troy looked nervous as we got on. We took a seat and the operator pulled the bar down. I wiggled a little bit closer to him. The seat rocked a little as we rose up. "Why is it doing that?" He asked nervously.

I held his hand. "It's okay Troy." I said softly. "How was the rest of the fair with the boys?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "It's was alright. You?"

"After they got over the whole ditching them thing, it was fun. They got bored and I took them home at six." I played with his fingers. "I ate dinner at home then came back here."

"I think I'm sun burned." He said, lifting up his arm. He had a farmers tan. I giggled. "It doesn't hurt though."

"That's good." I said rubbing his arm with my other hand. "Did you eat?"

He nodded his head. "I had a corn dog the size of my leg."

I laughed quietly, shaking my head. "Do you want to watch fireworks with me?"

"I'd like that." He stated, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. "I highly doubt most girls are as easy to talk to as you."

I shrugged. "It depends on the girl and how much you're willing to put up with."

He looked at me kind of surprised. "What?"

"Girls are evil." I said, laughing. "Well private school girls are… and Sharpay sometimes. Their lives are like the cat fight you watched."

He shivered slightly. "I am forever scarred for life." As we descended, I leaned against him. "What do you want to do after high school?"

"I'm going to be a lawyer. Stanford is my first choice; Harvard, my second; Yale, my third." I said, looking up at him.

"Very… ambitious." He said then he sighed. "I love basketball but I don't think I'm set out for that lifestyle. Press, no privacy, very public. I'd have to live underground, in the middle of the desert with like a moat around my house."

I laughed quietly. "What's your second choice?"

"I'd go into the Army."

I looked over at him, surprised. "The Army, really?"

"I'm good at taking orders." He said with a shrug. "I figure it'll be a confidence boost being so important. After I did my time I'd want to go into the Secret Service or the CIA or something."

"You'll be great at anything you do, I'm sure." I pressed a soft, lingering kiss against his cheek.

He didn't flinch but he looked at me, studying me. He swallowed. "That means a lot to me. Thank you."

"No problem." I replied, stroking the muscles of his forearm with my fingertips. "Troy, can-"

The ride stopped and it was time for us to get off. I frowned a little bit and we got up. I walked off first, waiting stepping down the steps. Troy met up with me and we looked at each other for a moment. "What were you going to ask me?"

I shook my head. "I'll ask later. It looks like everything is closing up."

"Yeah." He scratched the back of his neck. "The fireworks start at nine, I believe."

"I think I have a blanket in my car. We can go get it and set up camp?" I offered. He nodded his head silently. "Let's go." I said, offering my hand. He took it as we walked quietly over to my car. Troy leaned against the hood while I opened my trunk. "Do you like Doritos?" I asked, pulling out my blanket.

"Yeah." He said, looking over at me.

"Red or blue?" I asked, holding up two bags.

"I don't have a preference."

"I'll take one of each and we can share." I said, grabbing my blanket and the two bags of chips. I closed my trunk and Troy was next to me.

"Let me help." He offered taking the items from my arms.

I smiled at him as we started walking. We went over to a grass area where many other people were doing the same thing that we were. I took the blanket from him and laid it out on the grass. We were in the far corner away from the louder families. Troy put the chips on the blanket and took a seat. I sat down and sighed.

"It's been a long day."

"Tell me about it." He said resting his legs in a figure four position.

"It was fun though. That hour away from our friends, that was the best part so far."

"I agree. Also the fact that I didn't throw up and I successfully went on the Ferris Wheel and didn't have a panic attack." He added. "And that I got to talk to the prettiest girl I've ever seen."

I smirked a little. "When was this?"

He frowned a little. "I'm talking about you."

"I am definitely not the prettiest girl."

"You are, to me." He said, confidently. A slow smile crept on my face.

"I think you are much more superb then you give yourself credit for." I looked up at him. I licked my lips, leaning up towards him.

"Well shit, they were right." A voice said causing us to pull apart. "My big brother talking to a girl. So you're not gay, right on Troy."

Troy's cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Jackson."

"I'm Jackson Bolton. The cuter, younger brother." He said. "What's your name beautiful?"

I frowned at Jackson. "My name is Gabriella."

"Can you go find your friends?" Troy asked quietly.

"Make sure to give her my number Troy." Jackson said, winking at me. "Call me." He walked away and I looked over at Troy.

"Sorry." He said in almost a whisper. He cleared his throat. "I told you he was an ass."

I smiled up at him. "All brothers are ass's remember?" He nodded briefly. "You're a good brother though, I bet you put up with more than you should."

Troy just shrugged. "Sometimes."

"You don't ever blow up at him?" I asked him.

"I don't yell." Troy said as he shook his head, no. "I haven't yelled at anybody- ever."

"Wow. That takes a lot of self control." I put my hand on his knee. He shrugged. "Troy." Troy turned his direction my way. "I prefer the handsome, older brother. I hope you know that." I said softly, brushing his hair back slightly.

I watched his Adam's apple bob up and down in his throat when he swallowed. "I don't want you to take this the wrong way but I really want to kiss you right now." He licked his lips. "But I'm not going to."

I frowned a little bit, my heart pounding in anticipation. "Why not?"

"Because I've never done… this before." He paused, his eyes still on mine. "I don't want to mess up."

I gave him a soft smile, my fingers running down his face slowly. "You won't mess up." I assured him.

"I'm terrified." He whispered, touching my hand with his shaking one. He was really, really nervous. "of everything."

I rubbed his hand gently. "It's okay to be scared but you won't know what you're missing if you stand on the sidelines." I sat up straighter so my face was even with his. "I won't judge you Troy. I haven't all day. You are the nicest guy I've ever met, so I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to do."

I gave him a small, encouraging smile before I laid flat on my back. I closed my eyes briefly before looking up at the stars. He laid back with me. He sighed to himself. "It's not that I don't want to because I really, really want to."

"Troy, it's okay."

"When we first ran into each other, I wanted to re-invent myself. I wanted to be better, different. I wanted to be more confident and less awkward." He admitted quietly.

I turned on my side to face him. I frowned as he talked. "I don't want you to be anybody but yourself. I spent so much of my time with people who are fake and rude and I don't want that. I want real."

"Don't worry, this awkwardness is real." He joked, causing me to laugh. He grinned as I laughed. "You aren't just pretty Gabriella." He said after a second of staring at me. "You're beautiful."

"I don't know how you expect me not to kiss you after that." I said, smiling at him. He leaned over and covered my top lip with his. He pulled away awkwardly. I smiled at him. "Don't worry, you'll get better with practice."

"I hope so." He said quietly. "I'm completely mortified already." He laid back and I could barely see the faint blush across his cheeks. I curled up next to him. I rested my hand on his firm abdomen as he played with my hair. "I hope we can hang out more."

"Me too." I agreed. "We can hang out a lot before school starts again."

I licked my lips, looking at him watch me. I pushed on his chest pressing a soft kiss to his lips. I pulled away leaving a quick one before I got comfortable again. I laid against him as we heard the first pop of the fireworks. I turned on my back, looking up at the sky.

The flashes of colors hit my face. Blues, greens, reds and whites. It was all so magical, so destructive in a way. I thought back to Cheeto, my cat, he hated fireworks. He was probably under my bed right now seeing as I lived a good five minutes from here. The sharp whistle and burst of another explosive sounded, lighting the sky then crackling it's way down.

Today felt special. I wasn't sure if it was from meeting Troy or his awkward first kiss or the lights in the sky. It was nice. One of the best days I've had in a while. I could feel him looking at me. I had no idea what he was thinking. It was nice to have something so unexpected for once in my life. I turned my head slightly to the right. I saw a small smile cross his face.

He lifted my hand and kissed the back of my hand softly. I let out a small sigh, turning to face him. He leaned over, pressing a kiss to my lips. He released my hand, placing his palm on my hip. Troy rested against me while I placed my hands on the back of his neck. His lips moved against mine, parting slightly with every slow kiss.

I was surprised to feel a soft sweep of his tongue on my bottom lip. Then again a minute later. I wasn't eager and forceful as other boys I had kissed before. It was something different, Troy was something different. As soon as I tasted his tongue against mine, I was a goner I couldn't believe I was the first person to get a taste of him, I was a lucky girl.

I moaned slightly, pressing up against him. He bit my lip accidentally and I pulled away. Troy blushed, frowning a little bit. "Sorry, I didn't hurt you did I?"

"No." I said breathlessly. "I'm fine."

He sighed, taking a look at me. "Thank you for being so easy to talk to. I know I'm not the greatest person to have a conversation with."

"Nonsense, you're great to talk to." I assured him.

Troy gave me a half smile. "I had a really great day, one of the best in a long time. I want to take you out. You know, to say thank you."

"So it won't be a date?" I asked, teasingly.

"Depends on how you feel about it." He said, shyly.

I smiled at him, kissing his soft lips. "It's a date."

He let out a small sigh of relief. "Can we go back to kissing? It was really nice."

"Please." I said, pulling his lips back to mine.

I ran my fingers through his hair as he splayed his hand against my waist. My shirt had ridden up a little bit in midst of the kissing. He had taken advantage and stroked my soft flesh with his warm fingertips. I brushed my nose against his before I tilted my head slightly to the right.

Troy took me by surprise again by leaving a trail of kisses down my neck rather then kissing me again. I felt a soft nip on my neck, causing me to loose my breath. He pulled away slowly to kiss my lips again. I pulled his head to the side, brushing my lips against his neck. I found his pulse point instantly. I could feel the beat of his heart against my lips. I brushed my tongue against the side of his neck. Troy shivered slightly, he tensed as I sucked gently on small amount of skin on his neck.

"Gabriella." He breathed out softly. He pressed himself against me, pulling away from his neck when I felt something against my thigh. He blushed looking at me. He knew that I felt it. Before he could say anything I covered my lips with his.

I brushed my leg against it 'accidentally.' It wasn't small, that was for sure. We heard a bunch of cheers and we pulled apart suddenly. There was a bunch of booming noises and quick flashes of color against the sky. We laid back as the finale continued and slowly died down.

As everybody else got up we watched the smoke clear in the sky. I rested my hands against my stomach. "At least we saw the finale." I said, breaking the silence. Most of the people had left around us and the park was silent.

Troy chuckled quietly. "I didn't mind missing part of the firework show." He admitted quietly.

"Me either." I turned around to lay on my stomach.

"Was the kissing okay?" He asked, nervously. "It was okay for me. It was more than okay for me. I mean-"

I giggled at his rambles. "It was perfect Troy." I said, rubbing his chest softly.

"I'm sorry that you're constantly re-assuring me. I'm always worrying. If I could make it stop I would, but I can't. If I'm annoying you, just tell me, I'll leave you alone." He said rather quickly.

I covered his lips with mine. "It's okay. I don't care."

He sighed, looking up at me. "I just wish I'd met you sooner."

I gave him a small smile. "Me too."

We laid there a little longer. "I guess we should head back." He said, looking over at me. "I don't want to get you in trouble."

"You won't get me in trouble but we should head back. It's starting to get cold." I said, not moving. "Do you have a ride home?"

He nodded his head. "I have my dad's car, so we can stay here for a little while longer."

"I'd like that." I said, wrapping my arm around him. He put his arms around me and I leaned against him. He kissed my forehead gently.

"Are you doing anything tomorrow?" He asked quietly.

"I don't think so."

"Do you like lunch?"

I giggled at the question. "I like lunch."

He groaned to himself causing me to giggle more. "I'm sorry. That was a stupid question. What I meant was… Do you want to go out to lunch with me, tomorrow?"

"You are so cute." I murmured, leaning against him. "Yes, I'll go to lunch with you."

He ginned at me. "Do you want to meet up or I can pick you up?"

"You can pick me up." I said looking up at him. "That's more traditional, right?"

He shrugged. "I have no idea."

"You can pick me up." I said, laughing a little bit.

"I'll figure it out before tomorrow." He said, moving a piece of hair from my face. "We should head on out."

"Yeah." I said, rolling off him. I got up, stretching out my back. I picked up the two bags of chips and opened the cool ranch Doritos. I popped a chip in my mouth offering him the bag. He held the folded up blanket in his arms and took a chip from the bag. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

I fed him chips as we walked. We finished the small bag by the time we got to my car. I threw the empty bag in my trunk. Troy placed the blanket in the trunk and I closed it. I leaned against my trunk and he stood there, scratching the back of his neck. "Can I have your number?" He asked shyly, digging in his pocket for his phone.

"Yes! Let's switch." I said, pulling out my IPhone. I unlocked it and handed over to him. He handed me his IPhone and I put my number in his contacts with a heart and a kissy face emoticon. I giggled to myself as I saved it. I have it back to him. "Here you go."

"I put my name under Troy… well cause that's my name." He said. He paused before he closed my eyes. "Did I just say that?" He asked as he shoved his phone in his pocket. I put my phone away and giggled at him.

"You did." I said quietly, wrapping my arms around his neck. He took a step closer to me and kissed my lips slowly. "Do you want a ride to your car?" I asked, looking up at him.

He nodded his head. "Sure."

"Okay, get in." I said, giving him another kiss before I unlocked the car. Troy got in the passenger seat. I parked next to his car and we saw his brother standing there waiting for him.

"Shit." Troy cursed quietly. "I guess I have to go."

Jackson tapped on my window, I rolled it down. "I've been waiting for like a half hour, where have you been?"

"I'll be out in a minute Jackson, hold on." Troy said, looking over at him.

Jackson sighed. "Fine."

I rolled up my window and looked over at Troy. "Call me tonight when you get home?" I asked, biting my bottom lip.

He nodded his head. "I will. I had a great time today."

"Me too and I'll see you tomorrow." I said, brushing his hair back.

"Lunch, I'll pick you up." He confirmed, leaning closer to me. "Can I kiss you goodnight?"

"You better." His lips pressed up against mine. He pulled away slowly. "Goodnight." I said quietly.

Troy licked his lips. "Talk to you later." He said with a small smile.

Troy got out of the car and I rolled down the window. "Goodnight Jackson, nice meeting you." I said with a small smirk.

"Bye beautiful." He said with a wink. I looked at Troy and shook my head with a small smile. He grinned back as he past his brother. "Dude, is that a Hickey?" Jackson asked.

"Oops." I said quietly. Guess it was time to go.

I made another part, that'll be up probably next weekend. Let me know what you think. Don't forget to review.