Disclaimer- I don't own HSM & I don't own Dashboard.

Chapter One: Heaven Here

Gabriella was pretty sure that if she looked up at the clock she would find that she only had ten minutes left to complete her essay on the Mexican War, and the thought alone was enough to send her into a complete panic attack. The incessant tapping of someone's pencil on their desk wasn't helping matters, and if she was a betting woman she would guess that it was her too cute for words boyfriend in the back row who was behind the noise. The tapping stopped and without lifting her eyes off the lined paper she realized Troy was done his exam and was packing up and beginning his walk towards the front of the room.

She was always very aware of Troy Bolton, rooms felt different when he was in them, and she knew the sound of his walk and the smell of his clothes. When his hand grazed her arm she looked up to meet his eyes, and in an instant she was calm and collected, and she knew that she could kill this exam. He looked towards the door, letting her know he'd be waiting outside for her, and she nodded in acknowledgment before looking back towards her exam. His quiet confidence was one of his most attractive qualities; he never doubted his own ability, or hers. It was a source of inspiration she needed in her life. She was always the shy smart girl, too scared of rejection to state her mind, but with Troy it was different. As cheesy as it was he made her believe in herself.

She concluded her essay and straightened up her papers, handing them to Mr. Killen, the history teacher, and exits the class room. She's still looking down at her notes attempting to find out how badly she screwed up the multiple choice part of the final when she hears his voice.

"Gabriella Montez" Her name on his lips gives her shivers, and she remembers cold sheets, his hands coiled through her hair, and her name spilling form his mouth in a gasp. No matter what state he's in when he says it, it's always reverent, and hearing it makes her feel beautiful. She used to spend hours laying in bed wondering if he felt the same as she did, if just one touch gave him butterflies, if her smile made his knees weak. If she was always on his mind, if grass looked greener to him, and music sounded sweeter, if food tasted better. Now there are no doubts that he's just as in love as she is, from the goofy smile that grazes his face, to the way she can make him lose control, how he touches her like she's valuable, to the way they find each other in a crowded room.

"Yes Troy Patrick?" God she loves him. He's leaning against his locker, wearing that blue button down that makes his eyes look like the color of the ocean, his head is cocked and he's grinning, with iPod headphones dangling around his neck.

She can hear the echo of music from across the hall, and he replies as he turns it down,

"Let's get lunch".

"Ok, it's like the last supper. Kels and I fly out tomorrow morning." She's teasing, but her smile doesn't quite reach her eyes, and the thought of leaving him is tearing her apart.

"We still have tonight Baby." He can't even get the words out without laughing, and their fingers intertwine as they head towards the cafeteria.

"You are so cheesy."

"Please, you love it" She does love it, she loves everything about him. The cafeteria is nearly empty but she sees Taylor, Chad, and Ryan laughing at a table in the corner and pulls him in that direction.

"Aren't we going to get food before we sit down?"

"How about you go get me lunch and I'll save us seats?" She sends him a smile, and bats her eyelashes, and she knows she has him when he sighs and turns toward the lunch line.

"Hey Brie! How'd the history final go?" Taylor asked loudly, putting a stop to the conversation that was going on at the table before she arrived. Chad and Ryan both mumbled hellos and went to work on their lunches.

"It was fine; I spent a lot of time studying calculus this weekend, so I'm hoping that one goes a little better. I really need to pull out an A in that class." Taylor looked relieved, she was taking the AP US History next, and knowing her was probably very stressed out about it "Troy studied pretty hard for history though, so he flew threw it." She finished as Troy returned to their table placing her PB&J, fruit salad and French fries in front of her.

"Thanks, but I didn't really want fries."

He looks at her quizzically as he takes the empty seat next to her, "You get fries everyday?"

Taylor begins to laugh, spitting her water onto her tray.

"What's so funny" Chad asks turning his attention from his nachos to Taylor.

"Nothing, it's just…"

"It's just nothing." Gabriella cuts her off shooting a death look across the table.

"Oh No" Troy responds "It's definitely something. One of you better explain."

"Fine," Gabriella starts. "You remember the first time you came over to the 'science table' to talk me this winter at lunch? It was the day after the call backs, and the game?"

"Yeah, I'm still missing something." His brow is furrowed and she can tell he's trying to put the pieces together.

"I had French fries, and a cheeseburger for lunch, and you came over and stole my fries, and kept coming over and stealing my fries, you still steal my fries." She finishes, pleading with him to get it, so she doesn't have to embarrass herself in front of the entire group.

"Oh you used to buy fries, because you thought that's why I would come over?"

She blushes and looks down before responding "At first and then eventually it just became a habit, and you seemed to enjoy eating my fries. I can't believe you never noticed that I would buy them, and you would eat them."

He mumbles now, because the conversation had become private, Ryan, Taylor, and Chad restarting their conversation on their summer plans, and the summer kick off party Sharpay was throwing that night. "It makes sense now I just never thought about it. I actually ate the fries the first time because I was so nervous. Later that night I spent an hour in the locker room ranting to Chad about how you probably thought I was a freak because I stole your food."

Chad looks up from across the table when here's his name and laughs when he realizes what they are talking about. "You were a fool that night Bolton. I told you she wouldn't care."

He smiles sheepishly at her, "I just wanted it to be perfect, I asked you out then."

"Yeah, I remember, and it was perfect."

"Was it really, because I remember spilling your soda all over your Math homework?"

"It was perfect Troy Patrick Bolton, because I was with you." She leans close and plants a kiss on his neck, immediately turning and looking away so her eyes don't tell him that she's scared, and terrified, because every moment with him is perfect, and how can anything ever compare to the way she feels with him. And from her short life experience she's learned that nothing this good can ever stay that way forever.

Later

The air is dry, and the weather is becoming increasingly warm as the summer months loom ahead. Her bedroom lights are on as he pulls the car into the drive way and he can imagine her getting ready in her room, standing in front of her mirror, tilting her head and wondering silently if she looks ok.

Which she always does, she always looks better than ok, but if has learned anything from his relationship with Gabriella it's that girls don't seem to believe that they are beautiful all the time. Personally he likes Gabriella best first thing in the morning, in her pajamas, no makeup with her hair all frizzy, and her eyes hazy with sleep. Her mom has gone away a few weekends over the past months giving him a chance to wake up next to her, feel her breath on his neck, and the warmth of her tiny body pressed up against his. He watched a movie once, where the man looks at the woman sleeping next to him and whispers that he could do this forever, and that first night tucked up next to Gabriella in sleep he understood that desire. He would gladly fall asleep with her and wake up with her every morning; nothing would make him happier.

He tried to explain this to his Father last Sunday when his Dad realized that his baby boy had spent the weekend with his girlfriend in her empty house, but his Father wasn't so understanding. Coach Bolton was seemingly okay with the musical thing, and even ok with him deciding not to attend basketball camp this summer, but he treated his relationship with Gabriella as something completely unimportant. Neither of his parents was able to see just how much she meant to him.

He hopped out of the car and headed towards the front door, at least Mrs. Montez was cool about them dating, and completely unaware of the whole sleep over thing.

The door opened and Mrs. Montez appeared, "Hello Troy, Gabriella will be down in a second." The door shut behind him and Mrs. Montez disappeared back in to the kitchen. He headed up the stairs to see what she was up too, for a self professed nerd sometimes it took her over an hour to get ready.

She was exiting her room as he got to the top of the stairs.

"I'm ready, I'm ready, god forbid you waited for like fifty seconds." She's breathless and he knows that she's been running around her bedroom rushing to finish.

"You look great." He kissed her softly, loving the way her hands twined around his neck, and the way her body felt pressed against hers.

"Let's go" he murmured against her lips "before we decide staying is a better option."

She laughs against his mouth, "staying is not an option, my Mom is down there freaking out, she's cooking dinner for Greg tonight."

"Oh fine, lets get out here then, Chad called me while I was driving over, apparently it's already out of control."

He grabs her hand and the two head down the stairs and out the door.

Pulling up into the driveway he can hear the music drift out of open doors and windows; looking over at Gabriella he can see the nervousness on her face.

"What's wrong?" He asks turning towards her, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"Nothing, It's just" she pauses turning towards him ", is the entire junior class here?"

"Probably, but hey you stick by me, we'll say hello, and then get out of here and spend some time alone, Okay?" He plants a kiss on her forehead and climbs out of the car.

Hand in hand they begin the walk into the party.

The music is loud and teens carrying red cups are filtered throughout the entire house, the air is hot, and hazy, and carries the distinguishable smell of pot.

"This is crazy Brie, I'm going to drop my sweatshirt off in Ryan's room and then we can make the rounds."

"Don't leave me Bunny. I'll come with."

Ryan's room is dark, and there are several sweaters and sweatshirts tossed on the bed. The light from the tiki torches out by the pool filters through the windows and he can hear Dashboard Confessional through the door Gabriella closed behind them.

We are the only ones who feel it
Tonight we drink, tonight we dance with all the last ones who can hear it
We're calling in whispers, we're tired of waiting
We'll take what we want and leave, leave what we know behind

He feels her hands wrap around his waist, and her breath tickles his neck. "The next few months are going to suck."

He turns so they are face to face, pressing their foreheads together. "We'll be fine. If we are going to go to colleges on different coasts we need to get used to the distance."

We are still dreamers in our dead sleep, naked and tangled, twisted in love
And tonight we are the only ones who feel it
So let it last all night, so let it last all night
Let the fire surround us, let it all cave in, let it all burn wild
We are leaving it all behind, we are leaving it all behind
Heaven is here

Her mouth turns into a pout, and her hips grind against his. "I don't want to be apart from you."

He place a kiss on her mouth, "Well we are together now," hsi voice is husky and low and he can see her eyes fill with desire.

The kisses grow more heated and her cold hands are under his t-shirt, palms graze his skin that is slowly beginning to flush.

His hands find her waist and slowly remove her tank top, she leads him over to the bed laughing as he falls on top of her.

"Be careful Bolton, you're not exactly a lightweight." Her voice is teasing but he arches his back pressing himself closer to her, "Troy" his name leaves her lips like a moan.

We are tangled and brave
We are leaking and saved
When heaven's not waiting, it's spilling its secrets
It's right here between us, and we've no other choice but believe
So let it last all night

Clothes are shed, and they come together in the way they've perfected over the past few months, his hands taking her over the edge with him, her nails lightly scraping patterns on his sweaty back. He chokes out her name, and it mingles with her moans in the quiet of the bedroom.

Naked and tangled and twisted in love
And tonight we are the only ones who feel it
Heaven is here
And tonight we are the only ones who feel it.

When he wakes up he can feel her looking at him, so he turns to meet her gaze, her eyes are filled with tears.

"Come here," He murmurs pulling her body close to him "What's wrong?"

She snuggles up against his chest, tucking her head underneath his neck. "I'm going to miss you so fucking much Troy Patrick."

He would usually laugh at her choice of words, but she's shaking in his arms, and her words are colored with emotion. He doesn't really have any words to comfort her because he's not sure how he's going to survive the next couple of months without her, without this.

"I love you, too." He says, pulling her closer. Tonight it's just them, and the real world is out there waiting, but for this one night she's his alone.

"Can we stay here a little while longer?" She asks, the words coming out in hot whispers on his skin.

He doesn't tell her that her that he could stay forever, if only she just asked. He doesn't tell her that she's beautiful, and wonderful and the next three months are going to be long and painful, and that he already misses her and she's not even gone yet. He just tightens his grip, pulling her tight against him, "Of course."