The next morning, Gabriella walked to the bus stop. She got onto the bus and realized that there was not an empty seat. She caught sight of one by a window, but, there was a person sitting on the side of the aisle. Her eyes darkened when she saw who it was. It seemed like Troy had a gift of turning up in her face.

Gabriella sighed. At that moment, Troy turned his head slightly and smiled deviously when he saw Gabriella.

"Hey, Montez," Troy called. "Here's a seat."

Gabriella groaned to herself as she walked towards Troy. When she reached him, she stopped to see if he would stand up so that she could sit down by the window or to see if he would move over, but, Troy being Troy did neither.

"Are you going to let me in or what?" Gabriella demanded.

"You have three choices," Troy grinned. "One is that you climb over my legs and the other is…you sit on my lap…and last, but, not least…you can keep standing."

"I'll keep standing," Gabriella said.

She was about to go to the back of the bus, but, the bus lurched forward and she stumbled…onto Troy's lap.

"Sorry," Gabriella muttered.

"Looks like you chose the second option," Troy grinned.

"I did not choose it," Gabriella said, trying to get up, but, Troy kept a firm grip on her. "Let go of me!"

"Nope," Troy said. "Now, relax and I'll make sure that this bus ride is a ride that you'll never forget."

"I'll forget this as soon as I can," Gabriella said. "I'm sitting on you."

"O, fine, forget it," Troy said. "But, stop struggling and relax a bit, will you? We're going to a place where 'relax' is not heard."

Gabriella gave in and sat in between Troy's legs, leaning against Troy's strong chest. He began caressing her arm gently. Gabriella did not want to admit it, but, it was a nice feeling she got when Troy touched her. How he could be so mean and so gentle at the same time, she did not know. It was a mystery.

The bus stopped and all the students except Troy and Gabriella got out. Troy was still caressing Gabriella's arm and Gabriella was in some sort of trance. Troy chuckled.

"Is my lap too comfortable?" Troy asked, grinning.

Gabriella jerked out of her trance and got up. "As if," she rolled her eyes.

Troy got up too. Gabriella got out of the bus and he followed her. He fell into step next to Gabriella as she started walking towards the school.

"Troy, stop following me!" Gabriella demanded.

"I'm not following you," Troy protested. "We have the same homeroom, remember? And what will be wrong if I followed you? Can't we be friends?"

"No, we can't," Gabriella said, sharply.

"But, Brie," Troy began.

"Never call me that ever again!" Gabriella said, raising her voice.

"Okay," Troy said, slowly. "Care to tell me what's wrong?"

"Let's see," Gabriella began thoughtfully. She raised her voice. She could not help it. "Troy Bolton called me a nerd and is now asking me why he cannot be my friend. You hurt me, Troy."

"Brie…" Troy began again, but, Gabriella cut him off.

"I told you not to call me that," Gabriella yelled. "Stay away from me, Bolton!"

Before Troy could say another word, Gabriella had rushed into the school. He stared after.

"Excuse me?" a voice said and Troy turned. The bus driver was holding out some books. "Are these yours?"

Troy glanced at the name on the book and saw that it was Gabriella's. He took them from the driver.

"Thanks," he muttered.

Troy walked into the school and went into his homeroom class. Gabriella was already sitting at her desk. She looked a bit upset and Troy did not blame her. He had been an idiot. He walked over to her table.

"Go away, Bolton!" Gabriella said.

"You left your books on the bus," Troy explained, handing her the books.

"Thanks," Gabriella muttered.

"You're welcome," Troy said. "Um, Brie…"

"Leave me alone and do not call me that," Gabriella said.

By the tone of her voice, Troy knew that she did not want to talk to him and he left her alone.


By lunch, rumours had spread. People were saying that Gabriella and Troy had broken up after dating. Some were saying that Troy was head over heals in love with Gabriella. Troy laughed when he heard it. He was not in love with Gabriella. He did not even care about the fact that he had hurt her. After all, he was Troy Bolton – East High's playmaker – and he could have any girl he wanted. Why go after Gabriella? Troy assured himself with this thought, but, why was the great Troy Bolton getting a sinking feeling inside him?