A/N: Hope you like it! Sorry for the wait. Again, this was co-written. :D

What was Taylor going to do? Was Chad really not worth her time? Maybe it was really so, as sad as she felt to think about it.

She sighed resignedly as she strode along the perfect, picturesque beach, her cluttering thoughts evading with the gentle tides that washed upon the fine sand, wiping away her consuming worries. She could feel the soft grains threading in between her toes, her bare feet soaked with brackish water as the waves crashed against her flesh up to her ankles. The summer atmosphere was stuffy and humid, the blistering hot air smug against her flushed bronze skin. Yet, a playful whirl of wind gusted past her nose, plucking cheerily at a coil of her midnight hair, riding along lightheartedly with the occasional balmy breeze. The intoxicating aroma of salt from the ocean seemed to invigorate her senses, dominating some superiority in her body and suddenly supplying her with this mysterious energy of longing. The driving type of vigor that just catapulted her into urgent want, in need, to do something significant and drastic.

And so there she was, her thoughts, no matter how much she had tried blocking them to, rocketing back to her so-called boyfriend. Did he really deserve the title to begin with? When they went to parties, Chad never hesitated to introduce Taylor as his girlfriend. Honestly, Taylor admired the fact that he was open about her to the public, that he didn't care about her social status. But it was more than just that. It was more complicated. It had to be. Right?

Or maybe not. Maybe it didn't have to be as complex as it was made out to be. Maybe it was, in truth, simple. And maybe the more she thought about it, the more intricate and problematic it seemed. But how was that going to help her? Maybe she had to look at the whole troubling dilemma from a higher view, a bigger picture. Maybe that would help? Maybe it call came down to the deciding question: Did she want him or not? Yes, right? Right? It scared her that she didn't have a definite, defiant answer. Maybe that was a real signal that she should leave him. If she were unsure, it would be best to have space from him, as to avoid new problems to arise. Was she saying she was going to break up with him? Maybe. Maybe not.

And maybe she should just stop saying maybe.

She would ask Gabriella for some input, word, advice. Gabriella always had a good comment or two to support her with that extra push forward and that additional step closer to conclusion.

The yellow sun beat down on her back harshly, heating her skin as intensely as if she were in an oven. The temperature seemed to abandon its steady climb, abruptly shooting up to what felt like two hundred degrees. Taylor unconfined a haggard breath of relief, peeling off her tank top and jean cutoffs and flinging them casually to the dry sand, not wasting a moment as she waded fearlessly to the deeper layers of the dark waters. The cool sea splashed across her in a refreshing manner, causing the heat coursing through her to vanish almost immediately. She wallowed below the top thin surface smoothly, blending in between the thick sheets of water effortlessly. It felt so good to be cooled down like this, and how lucky she felt to be there at that moment, no matter if Chad was giving her a confusing time.

Chad. Chad, Chad, Chad. Her blithe thoughts disappeared just as quickly as new worrying thoughts of Chad zoomed unexpectedly into her mind. Chad, Chad, Chad. Why couldn't she stop thinking about him? It didn't matter how hard she tried. His cheerful image always just seemed to pop into her brain at the most unpredicted of moments, though it never bothered her. Until now. She wasn't bothered…more paranoid, really. The more she thought, the more thoughts that lead to Chad, which meant that provoked more thoughts of Chad. Which guided her straight to more agonizing and stressing about him. It was a repeating cycle, and it was bugging her to no end. She just wanted to repair that little crack in their relationship. Because it was just a crack? Right? Nothing more? She surely hoped so.

Taylor flickered open her large chocolate eyes wide in the sapphire expansion, noting a tiny, tangerine-colored fish race past her, its little fin flapping. She nodded appreciatively at the little creature, wondering how lucky it was not to have to deal with stupid issues like boyfriends, college, and money.

"Boo!" shouted a voice behind her suddenly. Heart pounding madly, Taylor swiveled around in shock to see Chad himself treading in the water in front of her.

"Chad, what are you doing here?" she ordered tersely, her tone coming across as more demanding than she meant. She automatically regretted her slightly angry manner with him.

"I just came down to surprise you," he answered sweetly, a silly, satisfied grin slopped onto his face. It made him look like an idiot clown, Taylor decided. And she loved him for it.

"Are you trying to be more like Troy?" she inquired fishily, one eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"Maybe…"

"But Chad!" She fumed suddenly, without even planning to. Chad's expression changed from giddy to confused in one mere second, and he took a few scoops of water back, giving his girlfriend the few feet of water they needed between their bodies. Taylor felt like she might cry. Her forehead crinkled as she rubbed her face in futile attempts to calm her fury. "You can't just…copy Troy, and then expect everything to be okay! For me to forgive you! For me to actually think, that maybe this was a thoughtful idea of yours! Something that came straight from your heart." She paused, boiling tears making her hoarse throat choke terribly. "Something original. Something that shows me that you actually care about me."

Chad looked absolutely heart broken, and it wrenched at Taylor to see him so emotionally ripped. "But I do care! That's why I'm trying to make this better! That's why I'm doing this!"

Taylor seemed to find some sort of reasoning in his desperate answer, yet she couldn't help but feel like that didn't suffice. "Well, I'm sorry, Chad." She took a few skilled strokes nearer to the shore. "If you want me, you need to show me truthfully. I can't just hang around and wait forever for you to become mature. It's now or never, and it has to be that way. I'm sorry, but I had to do it sooner or later. And well…I chose sooner. So step it up," Taylor replied crisply, swiftly swimming back to the shore, snatching her clothes, and sprinting back towards the hotel.

"Who've you been talking to?" Chad hollered after her hollowly, though knowing she'd never respond even if she heard him. "Gabriella?" Chad felt his spirits sink, as well as his ruptured heart. He muttered gruffly under his breath, "I knew that Scholastic Decathlon champion was a bad influence on you."

--

Troy's mouth hung ajar at the stunning sight of his girlfriend, showcasing the loveliest little sundress, the cutest color combination of tart lemon yellow and deep turquoise-green splattered on the thin material. Her natural, midnight curls tumbled down her back freely, her angelic face sparked with just the smallest touch of light makeup. Gabriella's magnificent dark eyes seemed to glimmer especially that enchanting July night, the unique color of them a mysterious shade lighter, as if symbolizing that she was secretly especially contented to be in his company. There was just that addicting glow about her, something that drew Troy in and made him want her, badly. And he never wanted that to go away.

"Wow," he breathed out entrancedly, his absorbed eyes lingering on her bashful form. She smiled shyly in response, her own curious orbs trailing up and down his chiseled athletic figure. Troy grinned at her gleefully, that familiar spangle twinkling in his cobalt eye, as if recalling a secret to her that only they knew. The basketball captain reached up a rigid hand to delicately touch her gorgeous hair, placing a straying ringlet behind her ear. "You look beautiful," he whispered tenderly against her face. He felt Gabriella smile timidly against his skin, like she usually did, a little trickle of giggle emitting from her mouth. "Come on," Troy began affectionately after pecking her a kiss. "Let's get going."

"Ooh, what does the Wildcat star have in store for me?" Gabriella joked as they made their way down the exquisite lobby of the grand hotel. "What date has he spent eons stressing over for, making sure every little detail was completely perfect? What strings as he pulled this time? How many hours overtime has he had to work to earn enough money for it?" Troy felt himself blushing, and he good-naturedly pulled his girlfriend closer by the waist. Gabriella, on the sly, felt bad that he "wasted" all of his well-earned money on her. Even though she knew it was his personal choice, she couldn't help but feel bad. And also scared that Coach Bolton would hunt Troy down for spending the money on her instead of college savings.

"Come on," Troy continued with a knowing smirk as he led his girlfriend through the hotel exit door. "We can't be late."

"Late?" Gabriella asked excitedly, her elegant features brightening radiantly at the little clue. "You mean, we're going somewhere where we can actually be late? When you meant by dinner, I wasn't sure what to expect…I-I mean you always do some extravaganza, but I totally understand if it's just an ordinary—I mean, just a simple…or, um, just a dinner," Gabriella covered quickly, internally smacking herself for the careless error. Gabriella bit her lip as the stupid blurt repeated over and over again in her head. Troy suppressed a laugh at her preoccupied ramble. He always did more than he had to when it came to her. Or, really, anything. But either way, she didn't care what they did as long as she was with him.

"It's not a complete, full-blast extraordinaire this time," Troy apologized regretfully, automatically wishing he had prepared something much more elaborate, even though he knew that he didn't need to impress Gabriella. It's not that he had to. It's that he wanted to. He wanted to show her how much he truly cared for her. Of course, showering her with gifts and spoiling her with over-the-top dates was not exactly an honest heart-originated way to show her, but it was a start. Troy was nervous and tentative with his deep feelings and sharing them. Of course he was. Wasn't everyone? He knew he needed to trust Gabriella with those things. He knew that it would be easier to love her when he did finally open up to her. But that could wait for the moment. Right? "I'm sorry, Gabi," he whispered as he pressed a kiss to her ear, the first spot his lips had found.

"Oh no!" Gabriella interjected hopefully. "Th-That's not what I—what I mean…I just…God, you've spoiled me rotten, Troy Alexander Bolton. I don't know what I was expecting. But for a change, a calm and quiet picnic or something of the sort would suit perfectly." Her voice volume declined considerably as she persisted with a further reflection. "That's what I wanted…what I was hoping for, actually."

"Well, you're a lucky one," Troy chuckled charmingly. "Because that's what I prepared for us."

It was like someone had just told Gabriella she'd won the lottery. "What?! Really?" Her striking face was scintillating with happiness. "God Troy, you really do know me." She leaned her body against his and buried her face in his hot neck, his strong arms coming to wrap around her in a loving hug. "So…picnic. Where?" She was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet as the couple continued to promenade down the mostly closed and empty boardwalk, eager to reach their destination point. The anxious waves rolling against the vacant shore was effortlessly heard above all, filling the silence between them, which unsurprisingly, was comfortable for the both of them. Her velvety voice had softened tremendously when she spoke hesitantly again, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be!" Troy answered almost immediately. "Please, Gabriella. It's my fault that I spoil you like I do." He slithered a muscular arm around her skinny shoulder and smushed her petite body against his, placing a warm kiss to the top of her head in the way that just felt biologically right. "Come on now, we can't miss the limo. The guy told me that he wouldn't wait more than a quarter after the time I called him for."

Gabriella grinned gaily, running a hand down his chest as she added, "So Mr. Hopeless Romantic really can't go without doing one overdone act, aye?" Troy was gleaming brilliantly down at her, his tantalizing cyan eyes transfixed on her and her graceful beauty.

"Come on," Troy joked laughingly as he tugged at the thin fingers of her tiny hand. Gabriella erupted in adorable giggles as she followed her enthusiastic boyfriend to the awaiting limo at the end of the extensive boardwalk, their fingers casually intertwined.

"Oh my goodness…candles? And…a-and all this? Troy, you really can't…" Gabriella was in immediate awe at the sight of their picnic laid out across the lush grass once they'd exited the limo, which had gone to park a couple blocks away. "You shouldn't have…" Troy glimpsed a look at Gabriella's shocked, exasperated appearance, noticing a few heartfelt tears pooled in her vivid eyes. He felt his heart jerk at the image, his arms reflexively enveloping around her. The pair sat down on the silky blanket, Gabriella comfortable in her boyfriend's roomy lap. "You know what?" Gabriella started seriously, a hint of tears evolving in her strained voice.

Troy anxiously pressed her warm form closer to his. "What, baby?" Gabriella chewed the inside of her cheeks so hard that she felt that recognizable coppery taste of blood on her tongue.

"You are too good for me," Gabriella whimpered without intending to. "I don't deserve you. You deserve someone ten times as better."

"What?" Troy couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. "That's…complete nonsense, Gabriella. You know I love you more than anything." Gabriella's jaw dropped automatically, and Troy's eyes widened as he realized.

He hadn't meant to blurt it out like that.