AN: Thanks for the reviews guys:) Appreciate it! Chapter Two! Enjoy :)

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Gabriella entered the cafeteria for lunch. She surveyed the chattering crowd for Troy. She found him sitting with Chad and Taylor.They were all laughing hysterically at something and Gabriella immediately thought that it must be one of Chad's ridiculous jokes. Taylor saw her and waved her over. Gabriella took a deep breath before walking towards them.

Upon reaching, she was welcomed with 'Hey's and 'What's Up's before taking a seat beside Troy.

"Hey, what's up girl?" Taylor asked her, munching on her chilli fries.

"I went to the library during free period to study," she began as she started to pick on her own food.

"So that's where you were!" Troy exclaimed. "I was looking all over for you!" Gabriella nodded before continuing. "First few minutes were a flop, because I was too tired from last night to function."

"Last night?" Chad and Taylor asked in unison.

"Troy and I watched DVDs last night. He practically begged me to come over because his parents are out of town and he was so bored." Gabriella chuckled, keeping her eyes on Troy.

He chuckled with her. "What a blast though right?"

"Yes and we should definitely do it again." She smiled. Their friends grinned at their interaction. Were Troy and Gabriella the only ones who haven't realized that they were meant for each other?

"Go on...you were studying..." Taylor said.

"Right...I finally got to study for a few minutes and...well...Tyler showed up."

"What?" Chad snapped up. "Tyler came up to you..."

"Yeah, he..."

"Did he touch you...or hurt you?" Troy asked frantically as his hands traveled over her face and down her neck, searching for any marks he might have left on her.

"No Troy, he didn't hurt me," she said softly as she grabbed his wrists to stop him. "He may be an ass, but he's not violent."

Troy grabbed her hands and squeezed it as he looked at her.

"Now, he's not...You thought that about Parker and...and, you found out you were wrong in the worst way..." Taylor said softly as Chad nodded.

Gabriella gave a small smile and informed her, "That was a long time ago, Taylor. Thanks to you, Chad and Troy, he can't touch me anymore."

Troy closed his eyes as he shook his head. "I never want to see another bruise on you ever again."

"You won't...as long as your around I know I can't get hurt," she told him firmly, hoping it would calm him down. "Tyler doesn't want to hurt me...he may want to try and get me in bed, but..."

"He touches you and he dies...if I ever see him lay a finger on you, he dies." Taylor said menacingly.

She smiled softly and couldn't help but laugh. "You guys are like my personal bodyguards."

"We're your personal best friends...someone hurts you, we take it personal." Troy sighed as he tried to calm down and then rubbed her arms with his hand, urging her to continue. "Go on, Gabi...what he do?"

"He just cornered me, that's all and...he asked me to the Senior Prom."

"What did you say?" Taylor asked.

"I lied...told him I was going with someone else already," she said as she tried to avert her eyes away from Troy's.

Troy noticed this and was worried. He knew she was nervous about something. "Aaaand?"

"Umm… Troy? Can I speak with you privately over there?" Gabriella said softly, while pointing at a deserted corner of the cafeteria.

Taylor and Chad watched as Gabriella dragged Troy along with her.

"So, you were saying?" Troy asked her.

"He um...asked if uh...I was going with you."

He studied her guilty face. "Gabi...you told him no right?"

She looked down and bit her lip and only looked at him when he lifted her chin up with his finger to force her. "Ummm..."

"Gabi...please tell me you didn't..."

She winced. "I'm sorry!" she finally said with an exasperated breath. "I didn't know what to say!"

"How bout no, someone else?!" he yelled, causing the whole cafeteria to stare at them.

"Dammit, Gabi you KNOW I was gonna ask Cecilia..." Troy whispered harshly to her as the students started to get back to their own business. Taylor and Chad looked on, puzzled, but couldn't make out what they were saying.

She sighed at the mention of his recent crush on the new transfer student, Cecilia Watson.

"I know but..."

"I was going to ask her today!" he groaned as he paced around the small corner, making Chad and Taylor even more confused on what the hell was going on. "What am I suppose to do now?"

"I...I'm sorry, I...I panicked! I knew he wasn't going to leave me alone if I didn't say something! He hates you! He's jealous of you, that's why I said yes."

"I don't care two shits about him, Gabi...I'm your best friend yes and I'll help you in any way...but this! I really want to ask Cecilia!"

Her heart fell to the pit of her stomach. A small part of her was hoping he'd agree to pretend...just pretend they were going out for a few days. "You're right," she finally said. "I got myself into this mess by telling him we were dating and..."

"Dating?" he asked suddenly. "Didn't you just tell him we were just going to the prom?" Gabirella swallowed her tongue and looked at him shyly.

"Gabi!" Troy whined.

She winced. "I KNOW! I'm horrible!" she yelled, causing the cafeteria to stare at them once more. Gabriella looked at Troy's sullen face and walked briskly to an empty hallway, Troy following behind her. Chad looked at Taylor and shrugged.

When Gabriella was sure that they were alone, she continued. "I'm sorry, I really am...I don't know why I said it. Look, just forget I said anything about it, I'll just..." She let out a sigh and leaned against one of the lockers. "I'll just go talk to him and tell him the truth and..."

"NO. You're not even gonna stand in the same ROOM with that guy let alone talk to him," he refused angrily as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Ugh...okay...fine...you win. I'll...pretend we're dating...BUT...we break up at the prom. I, at least, want a dance with Cecilia."

Gabriella saw him pouting in the middle of the empty hallway and she couldn't help but smile. She ran up to him and flew his arms around him. "Thank you! Thank you!"

Troy stumbled backwards a little as he lifted his arms away. He finally gave in and wrapped them around her. "I'm still pissed at you ya know," he said even though there was a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"I know, I don't blame you," she sighed and then looked up at him. "It'll be a piece of cake, I mean the worse we have to do is hold hands when he's around...we can handle that right?"

"Yeah, we can handle that," he told her with a grin and then hugged her again when she laid her cheek back against his chest. "We'll have to tell Chad and Taylor about this, or they'll flip if they think that we're actually dating."

"Yeah, but only Chad and Taylor. You MUST tell Chad not to spread it around. You know that he has a big mouth." Gabriella said as he nodded in agreement. "We need to make it realistic and hopefully it'll get Tyler off my back for awhile."

"Or for GOOD," he muttered and then kissed the top of her head.

"You're right," she said as she pushed his head playfully loving the feel of his warm laughter traveling over her. "I'll see you later."

"Later Baby!"

Gabriella raised her eyebrows. Troy grinned. "Might as well practice right?"

"Bye babe!" she teased as she blew him a kiss before finally leaving him alone.

Troy chuckled. Maybe this won't be a bad thing after all.

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AN: Did you guys like it? Sorry if I didn't make sense at some parts. LOL. Anyways, R&R! Update coming up soon!