Reluctant Hostility © Midnight113.

Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or have any affiliation to it.

Synopsis: It's been three months since Gabriella left school so she could take care of her mom, three months since she had lied to Troy and three months since she'd last seen him… until now. Sequel to BH. T&G

A warning to all potential thieves, this work is copyright 2011 Midnight113. Reluctant Hostility is completely the work and property of Midnight113, to reproduce under any other name is theft!


Chapter Three

Forced Interaction

"~*~"

"-"

'-'

Shoving a forkful of left over pasta into his mouth, Chad Danforth stared mystified at the television screen as the basketball game commenced. He was seated comfortably on the big, hot pink couch that his girlfriend had picked out for their apartment, against his liking of course. Chad had wanted the manly, black couch for their space but in the end the blonde had won out, tempting him with a promise of great things if he agreed to her wishes. Chad being, well… Chad, had caved and complied with her outrageous sense of decorating style.

In fact, the entire penthouse was done in pink. Chad couldn't let Sharpay not get what she wanted after all, as long as he got one room to himself that he was able to decorate he would be a happy man. It killed him to sleep in a pink bedroom every night, with pink satin sheets and pink curtains but he was in love so he dealt with it. Instead, Chad had taken over one of the spare rooms, making it his own personal man cave. Only problem was, Sharpay wouldn't let him have a television in the room.

She had argued that he would be in the spare room all the time and she'd never see him. So as a compromise, he would watch television in the living room and Sharpay would let him alternate between the pink satin sheets and the manly black and orange ones that he so loved. In the end, it all worked out perfectly.

As Chad shoveled pasta into his mouth from the plastic container situated on his lap, the doorbell rang, disturbing his present mindset and taking his attention away from the screen. He listened to his girlfriend's high pitched voice echoing through the large apartment, "Babe, can you get that?"

Furrowing his brow, Chad focused on chewing his food before replying with his mouth full. "I'm… busy!" He garbled out through his chewing.

"Chad…" He knew that voice. It was her subtle 'I'll kick your butt if you don't comply' tone that he had grown to love and hate all at once.

Letting out a quiet sigh, he dropped his head back and swallowed before whining, "Why can't you get it?"

"Because, I'm helping Gabs." She yelled back. "Now get off that cute ass of yours and answer the door."

Looking down at the delicious food that was still steaming, he pouted and placed it on the coffee table before jumping up but just as he got a few steps away, he turned back around and grabbed the pasta proceeding to shove it in his mouth not wanting it to get cold in his absence.

He ran to the door, flinging it open in haste hoping to hurry along whoever was on the other side so he could get back to the game on television. All thoughts of the game and his food disappeared, however, as his jaw dropped open, showcasing his pasta half hanging out of his mouth. "Fuck me." He muttered once he got control of himself.

"Uh… no, I don't think so." Troy gave him a disgusted look. "I'll leave that to Sharpay." Troy looked him over before shaking his head. "Dude, why are you my best friend again?"

Chad shut his mouth and swallowed its contents. "Because, we have similar interests, we relate to each other and we have respect for one another."

Troy rolled his eyes. "You sound like a girl."

"Shut up." Chad's mind suddenly remembered his current predicament as he stuttered. "Sooo, uh… what are you doing here right now, at this very moment in time this evening?" He coughed.

Troy sent him a strange look. "What the hell do you mean, 'what am I doing here'? We're going to 'Cascades' remember? Man's night out and all that, any of this ringing a bell?"

Chad's eyes widened, remembering that he had plans with Troy that night. "Shit, fuck man I forgot."

Troy shook his head again and shoved past Chad who was trying desperately to block him from entering the apartment. His efforts were futile though since he was holding a container of pasta in his hands and Troy was stronger than him anyway. "Whatever, get ready cuz we're going out anyway." Troy commented before moving further into the living room and plopping down on the pink couch with a disgusted look. "I thought you were going to burn this thing?" Troy scrunched up his face eyeing the sofa.

Ignoring his comment, Chad shut the door quietly before following after him quickly. "Uh, I can't Troy. I kinda already made plans with Shar tonight." He had to get Troy out of the apartment. "So uh, maybe another time? Alright, see ya later." Chad spoke before walking back to the door and going to open it. He turned around and his frown deepened when he noticed Troy had not moved from his spot on the couch. Instead, he was sending Chad a knowing look, trying to read through him.

"What's up?" Troy asked, leaning forward to grab the remote and turn the television down.

"Nothing's up." Chad ushered out causing Troy to lift an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Uh huh…" Troy tailed off looking around the living room. "What, is Sharpay naked somewhere or something?"

Chad scoffed, rubbing the back of his neck. "If I said yes, would you leave?" He asked in all seriousness.

"Nope." Troy smirked. "I'm not even talking to her anymore so what would I give a shit if she was or not." It's true, ever since the incident with Gabriella leaving, Troy hadn't felt a need to talk to Sharpay or acknowledge her at all. He was pissed she had lied to him about Gabriella leaving, he knew she had been sworn to secrecy but that didn't make it hurt any less.

"Look man, I really think you should leave." Chad tried again.

Tilting his head to the side, Troy's curiosity skyrocketed. "Why?"

"Because I don't feel like cleaning red blood out of the pink carpet alright?"

"What?" Troy asked, shaking his head completely and utterly confused.

Just as Chad was about to reply, Sharpay came bolting into the room. "Hey, who was at the… oh fuck." Sharpay's eyes met Troy's from the entryway and then her eyes quickly darted to behind her as Gabriella walked into the room, unaware of their visitor.

Troy's eyebrows shot up at the unexpected sight of his ex. The room was filled with an awkward silence as Gabriella and Troy's eyes met from across the room.

A whole minute passed before Troy finally rose to his feet. "What the fuck is she doing here?" He directed his question at Chad who sunk back a little and instead of answering his now upset and angry best friend, he shoved another forkful of pasta into his mouth.

Sharpay placed her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side. "She's my guest, you got a problem with that Troy boy?"

Troy shot her a glare over his shoulder before clenching his teeth. "Nobody asked you Blondie."

Chad swallowed with a loud gulp before attempting to ease the tension in the room. "Now can't we all just get along?"

"No." Sharpay and Troy barked out at the same time, their eyes shooting daggers at each other before Troy's met Gabriella for a second time that night and quickly avoided her sad gaze.

Clearing his throat, Chad nodded. "Okay."

"Why didn't you tell me she was here?" Troy demanded, fisting his hands together at his side, trying to calm down.

"I uh… forgot?" Chad meekly stated. "Besides, she's only been here a couple days. I was going to mention it eventually." Chad shrugged.

"Oh you were going to mention it eventually? Well that just makes everything so much better now doesn't it?" Troy threw his hands up in the air.

"It's not that big of a deal." Chad replied weakly.

"Not that big of a deal? My ex-girlfriend is standing in your living room in her pajamas!"

"Bolton will you shut up, you're over exaggerating and you're giving me a migraine." Sharpay piped up, rubbing her temples soothingly.

"Do I look like I give a shit?" Troy nearly shouted at her.

"Troy…" Gabriella squeaked out quietly. "Calm down."

His eyes flickered to hers for a moment and Gabriella swore she saw his face soften for a second before he full out scowled at her. "Why should I? I think I have a right to be pissed since my so called best friend couldn't even bother to tell me that my ex-girlfriend was staying at his shared apartment with his girlfriend. A little heads up would have been nice you know, since I don't exactly ever want to see her again." Troy shouted at them. "You're suppose to have my back man." Troy shook his head with a sigh.

Chad's eyes widened at that. "Dude, I do."

"Yeah? Doesn't look like it." Troy mumbled, making sure to keep his eyes away from Gabriella's. "Whatever, I didn't come here for this. I thought we were going out?" Troy looked up at Chad with a intense expression. "So I'm going to get a drink, you coming or not?" Troy challenged him.

Looking over at his girlfriend for consent, Sharpay merely sighed, nodding her head at him. Chad finally looked back over at Troy and nodded. "Yeah man, just give me a minute."

Tory shook his head. "I'll be in the truck."

Gabriella watched Troy as he flung open the door and walked out it, slamming it shut behind him. She winced a little at the loud noise and let out a sigh. "This is all my fault."

"Damn right it is, you see the position you've put me in - OW!" Chad rubbed his arm where Sharpay had just smacked him.

"You're not helping." Sharpay scolded quietly. Looking over at her friend, Sharpay's face lit up. "You know it's going to take a minute for the elevator to show up… why don't you go see if you can catch him."

Gabriella's eyes flashed to the door before she grabbed her jacket and headed towards it. Stepping out into the hallway, she spotted Troy at the end of the corridor pressing the button to call for the elevator. "Troy, wait!"

His head shot around at the sound of her voice and then immediately slumped forward as he let out a loud sigh. "Not now, I'm not in the mood to argue with you."

Coming up to his side, she studied his face silently before crossing her arms and leaning against the wall. "I was going to tell you I was staying with them." She began.

"Yeah right." Troy scoffed.

"I was, if you had just stayed and talked yesterday at the café you could have avoided this entire situation instead of just running away like a scared little-"

"Oh I'm the one running away huh?" Troy huffed, his eyes growing wide as he rolled on the heel of his shoes looking anxiously at the elevator door.

Quirking an eyebrow, she narrowed her eyes at him. "What? What's that mean?"

"You're so smart, you figure it out."

"Why are you acting like this? Can't we just talk?" Gabriella pushed off the wall and moved closer to him, trying to read is face and get his attention.

"We are talking." He muttered, shoving his hands deep in his pockets and tipping his head back to look up at the floor count above the elevator door. "Why the fuck do they have to live at the top of the building?" He growled out.

Gabriella ignored his last comment, "You know what I mean Troy, talk as in an intelligent conversation full of complete sentences not just Neanderthal grunts." She explained.

Rolling his eyes, Troy spared a glance in her direction. "I'll let you know when I feel like having a conversation with you." Just as the elevator dinged, he let out a sigh of relief and quickly boarded it. "Just so you know, you'll probably be waiting awhile." He hummed.

Gabriella sent him a sweet smile before blocking the elevator doors from shutting. "That's all right, I'm not leaving until I get what I came for."

Troy leaned back against the back wall and gave her an ambiguous look. "What's that? Five minutes of further explaining why you left so you can feel better about yourself?" Troy's sarcasm bit through as Gabriella stepped back from the metal doors.

"No…" Gabriella shook her head, her black waves of hair that were tied in a bun bounced back and forth. Looking down at the floor quickly, she slowly raised her head again while whispered softly, "You."

They locked eyes for a moment, caught in a trance and examining each others expressions before the doors finally shut between them, cutting off the intense connection. Gabriella ran and hand over her forehead, letting a breath of air escape past her lips before she turned and headed back down the hallway to the penthouse entryway.

Sharpay opened the door and gave Gabriella a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry Gabs, I've got a plan."

Gabriella sighed once again and moved past her friend, "Oh no."

"Oh yes." Sharpay nodded, following Gabriella as she plopped down on the sofa in complete and utter exhaustion.

"Sharpay..." She began, looking up at the white ceiling before exhaling a whoosh of air loudly through her mouth. "I really don't think-"

"Do you want Troy to talk to you or not?" Sharpay interrupted, sitting down next to her on the arm of the couch.

Gabriella shut her eyes and flung her arm over them to block out the light before responding with a muffled, "Yes."

"Then come on, get dressed." Gabriella moved her arm and sent Sharpay a quizzical look. "We're going to 'Cascades' so get up"

"First off, yes I would like Troy to talk to me… willingly not forcibly." Sharpay waved her off. "Secondly, I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Of course it is." Gabriella moaned from her spot on the couch and grabbed a pillow to put over her face. "You want to fix this mess between you and Troy?" Gabriella nodded quietly. "Then being in his face as much as possible is the only way. It won't be so bad Gabs, you might even have some fun while you're there."

Mulling this over, Gabriella considered her options before she finally replied solemnly, "I don't have a dress."

Sharpay sent her one of her infamous sly grins before she hopped up and began walking to the bedroom. "Leave that to me."


"Shar I still don't think this is a good idea." Gabriella whispered in her ear as they moved through the club.

"You said that already." Sharpay pointed out, nodding her head while enjoying the loud bass of music floating around them. "I love this song!" She exclaimed loudly over the noise.

Gabriella groaned in annoyance. "Hey, focus will ya? I'm freaking out here." Gabriella pulled on Sharpay's arm to get her attention. The blonde stopped walking and regarded her friend with a small smile.

"Relax, we're just here to have a little fun." She consoled patting Gabriella's shoulder. "And maybe make the guys a little jealous if we could just find them."

Gabriella's eyes widened at that, "No Shar, I really don't want to make Troy jealous…"

Sharpay's eyes scanned the crowded club and once she spotted that afro, she smiled. "Found them." Grabbing her hand, Sharpay pulled them through a mob of couples grinding on the dance floor.

Gabriella dug her heels into the floor, her eyes widening further in fear. "Where are you going? The bar is that way." Gabriella pointed with her thumb even though her friend wasn't paying attention, her mind set on one thing.

"We're going to dance first, come on."

"No Sharpay… I'm going to kill you for getting me to agree to this. It's just going to make him angrier." Gabriella noted while Sharpay pulled them right out onto the floor, noticing Chad talking to Troy with a beer in hand off to the side. Smirking, she turned to Gabriella and winked.

Before Gabriella could protest further, Sharpay was tapping on some strange man's shoulder and asking him to dance with her friend. Gabriella blushed, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the forced interaction, especially knowing Troy was only a few feet away.

"Hey Gabs, I found someone willing to dance with you for a little bit." Sharpay nudged her in the side, leaning in to whisper, "Hang here while I go announce our presence to the boys." She winked, sauntering off quickly before Gabriella could get a word in edgewise.

Looking back to where Sharpay had just been standing, a tall, dark haired man smiled encouragingly at her before moving forward and extending his hand. "I'm Todd."

Gabriella bit her lip, returning his smile with shy one of her own. "Gabriella. I'm so sorry about my friend, she can be a little…"

"Spontaneous?" He supplied with a quirk of his eyebrow.

Gabriella giggled, nodding her head. "Yeah, something like that."

Todd smiled, looking over his shoulder before he returned his gaze to hers. "So you wanna dance? Seeing as we're apparently suppose to be doing that anyway." He chuckled.

Gabriella shook her head. "I'm sorry, she's trying to make someone jealous."

"By using you? Shouldn't it be the other way around?" He asked confused but Gabriella quickly set him straight.

"Actually, it is for me… my ex is here tonight and she thinks if he sees me dancing with someone else he'll get upset and want me back." Gabriella rolled her eyes. "It's a lot more complicated than that though."

Todd nodded in understanding. "I see… so I'm basically the chosen one who will ultimately get the pulp beaten out of him once the crazy ex does notice you dancing with someone."

Gabriella blushed at the blunt truth in his words. "That's Sharpay for you."

"That would be the pink mini dress lady who is currently making both of those guys over there glare in my direction."

Gabriella turned to see what he was talking about and sure enough, Troy's eyes were narrowed and set directly on her. "Great…" She mumbled under her breath, watching Sharpay and Chad flirt mercilessly with each other.

Todd followed her gaze and frowned. "That the ex?" He asked, motioning with his head towards the side of the floor. Gabriella nodded in confirmation. "Want to make him jealous now?"

"Not particularly." Gabriella admitted with a frown.

"Great." Todd grinned. "How about a drink then?" He asked, happy when Gabriella furiously nodded in agreement. Placing his hand on her lower back, he let her lead the way to the bar across the room. Gabriella inhaled a deep breath, knowing Troy's eyes were on her, sizzling a hole through her body.

Pulling an empty stool out, Todd motioned for her to take a seat and grinned when she thanked him quietly. "What's your poison?" He asked, settling in at the bar.

"Coke would be wonderful." Gabriella sighed, leaning against the counter with her elbows on top.

"Are you twenty-one yet?" He asked curiously while placing their orders.

"Not yet, nineteen. You?"

"Twenty two." He revealed. "So what are you doing in a club if you're not even of age to enjoy the alcohol?"

Gabriella sighed. "Well actually… that pink bundle of spontaneity that asked you to dance with me is my best friend and her family happens to own part of this club." Todd's eyes widened. "Plus, I just don't feel like alcohol right now. I don't need any liquor clouding my judgment at the moment, I've already had enough problems in that department."

Todd raised an eyebrow at that as their drinks were placed in front of them. Pulling the bottle close to his mouth he commented, "That doesn't sound good." Then took a long sip of his beer.

"Yeah." Gabriella shook her head. "Let's just say the past couple months have sucked."

Todd swallowed, looking over his shoulder. "I'm guessing it all started with Mr. Ex over there." He grinned with a sparkle in his eye.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Is he still glaring at you?" She asked, afraid to look.

"Yup… don't worry, I'm use to it." He shrugged.

"Really, you hang out with girls who have exes often?"

"Oh of course, twice a week if I can." He joked, sipping his beer. "Seriously though, that dude looks pretty mad." He gestured with his head behind him.

Gabriella sipped her coke, tracing the rim of her glass with her fingertip. "He has every right to look that way."

"Why, what happened?" Todd asked conversationally.

Shrugging, she sighed and folded the corner of the napkin her glass was resting on. "I lied and I shouldn't have and now he hates me and I'm trying to tell him the truth but he won't talk to me." She blurted out in one quick breath before heaving a puff of air at the end. "And it sucks."

Todd laughed. "Well don't just sit here sulking, you gotta keep getting him to talk to you, otherwise you'll both be miserable until one of you moves on and then the other will be even more miserable. It's a vicious cycle."

"Sounds like you've had some experience." She stated, turning her head to eye him.

"A little bit, except she cheated on me and we never talked again."

Gabriella bit her lip. "Sorry." She mumbled.

Todd shrugged his shoulder. "It's in the past and there was nothing that could be done to fix it… you don't just throw a relationship away like that if you really care about the person." Leaning forward on the stool, Todd moved his face closer to hers and continued. "By the looks of things, you and your ex still have some ground to cover and who knows, maybe you can save whatever you two had." Pulling back he smirked. "I'd hurry up though, life doesn't wait for you Gabriella and I don't think you're someone who likes to waste their time."

Gabriella listened intently to his words, processing their meaning as she watched him get up from the stool. "You leaving?"

"Yeah… I think I need to take my own advice. There's a girl over there I've been watching all night, I think I'll go say hi to her before I head out." Placing the money on the counter he smiled at her. "It was nice meeting you Gabriella, I wish you luck with Mr. Ex. I wouldn't worry about him hating you though."

Gabriella furrowed her brow, "What makes you say that?"

"He's coming over here." Todd smirked. "Obviously he's aware of what a rare find you must be, otherwise he wouldn't bother." Grabbing his beer off the counter he turned to walk away and then stopped, turning back to her. "Oh, one more thing. He's an idiot if he lets you get away… I know I'd snatch you up fast."

Gabriella blushed, looking down at her glass before meeting his eyes. "Thanks Todd."

"See ya around Gabriella." With one final nod and wink, he turned and disappeared into the mass of club goers.

Staring blankly down at the ice cubes floating in her glass of brown liquid, Gabriella sighed again before feeling that familiar presence beside her. Shutting her eyes, she took a deep breath and watched out of the corner of her eye as Troy sat down a few stools away to her left.

He was blatantly ignoring her now, she knew. Placing his order, he kept his eyes on the bartender not once looking over her way. He was waiting for her start talking, he probably figured she would start begging him for her five minutes again. Well if that's what he's waiting for he was in for a surprise.

"I'm not going to ask you to talk to me again." She informed him, tilting her head to see if he was listening. "Not tonight, I'm too tired and I have an awful headache." She admitted, watching as his jaw clenched. "But I'm not giving up Troy, I care too much about us to just let it simmer away and die."

Getting to her feet, she took one last sip of her coke and thanked the bartender. "I'll be around…" She spoke quietly, not sure if he heard her or not. "Until you feel like listening to me."

Taking a few steps away from her stool, she stopped next to him, watching his body tense as she whispered, "If it's any consolation, I really missed you Wildcat." She kept her focus on his side profile, the way his eyes were trained on the wooden counter in front of him. Her words had no reaction on him, none that was visible to her in the dull lighting of the bar at least.

Feeling a sense of despair crash down upon her, she walked away into the crowd in search of Sharpay and Chad. She found them a few minutes later, dancing and completely engrossed in each other. "Hey Shar, I'm gonna head out."

Sharpay pulled away from Chad for a moment with a frown, "What? But the night is still young and what about the plan?"

Gabriella shook her head, "It failed, plus I'm not feeling that well so I'll see you guys back at the apartment."

Sharpay nodded, "Take the limo, I'll drive home with Chad."

"Thanks Sharpay." Gabriella offered her friend a small smile before she began her trek to the exit of 'Cascades', picking up her coat that was checked before leaving. Once outside, she pulled out her cell phone and informed Pierre of her whereabouts.

Leaning against the outside wall, she flapped her leather coat around while waiting for the limo, her thoughts consumed by those dull gray eyes she had been seeing a lot of lately. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a figure approaching her. Turning her head slightly, she gasped at the sudden close proximity Troy was to her face.

"Why did you come back?" He shouted at her, only a foot from her body. "Why couldn't you just stay in New Mexico? I was just starting to finally bury you in the back of my head and now here you are again at the forefront. So tell me, why the fuck did you really come back here?" Troy's anger and confusion seeping though his facial features. "To torment me... is this some kind of joke to you?

Gabriella gulped slowly, trying to regain her breath and steady her palpitating heart. Giving her head a vigorous shake, she met his eyes that were now sparking with brightness as the headlights from the passing cars lit up his face. "No, it's not. I lied to you and I-"

"You're damn right you lied to me." He seethed, inching closer to her. "You were not suppose to come back here Gabriella."

"Why?" She asked, her voice trembling on the verge of tears. She swallowed again, trying to control her emotions as his head moved closer to her face.

"Because no one ever comes back after they leave!" He shouted, completely frustrated.

"Troy…" Gabriella began, her voice shaky and laced with the hoarse feeling of holding back the sob that was trying so desperately to escape. She noticed him lean forward slightly, tilting his head in the process until they were well beyond invading each other's personal space. Instinctively, she felt her eyes shut at his nearness and the fluttering, tightening feeling in her stomach escalated. She could feel his warm breath tickling her eyelashes and his silence egged her on. Lifting her hand, she hesitated a moment before bringing her fingers up to his face and tracing a line across his jaw. She listened as he sucked in a deep breath at the unexpected contact, the first time she had really touched him physically in over three months.

The thought made her eyes shoot open and she was blown away by the intense cobalt blue that was staring directly back at her. What shocked her the most though, wasn't how close they suddenly were but instead was how softly he was gazing at her. She was so use to his cold, cruel stare but now? Now he was showcasing a completely different look with her, one filled with... warmth. That realization alone made her heart pound against her ribcage even more viciously than it had been.

Suddenly feeling brave with Troy's frozen stance, Gabriella tilted her own head up until her nose brushed against his. Pulling back, she took pleasure in watching his eyes slowly shutter as they closed. Releasing a soft breath, he opened them back up but instead of focusing his gaze back on her face, his eyes were now locked on her chest. His brow furrowed slightly as he raised his large palm up from where it had hung loosely beside him. Furrowing his brow, Gabriella looked down at what had caught his attention and noticed the long chain hanging from her neck, half-hidden beneath the neckline of her dress. Gripping the silver necklace, Troy gently pulled up until the sapphire jewel was visible to his eyes. She watched him closely as he shifted the blue stone in his palm, admiring how the light reflected off of it as it sparkled from the streetlights around them. She found herself admiring the look that adorned his face then and without caring, lifted her hand up to lay over his which was still encompassing the gem.

"Troy?" Her whisper caused him to slowly trail his eyes back up along her neck until they fell on her deep brown orbs that were shining with an inconceivable amount of emotion. They were locked once again in a strong hold, neither of them even bothering to blink. Gabriella nearly forgot how to breath, they were so captivated with one another; lost in their own world. It wasn't until she shifted on her feet and moved forward towards his face again, that he finally was pulled from his stupor.

"No!" Dropping her necklace abruptly, Troy took a large step back away from her. "You can't just come back into my life, tell me you miss me, call me Wildcat and then suddenly everything's just peachy again. The real world doesn't work that way Gabriella, I don't work that way." He shouted as she moved closer to him, reaching out to touch his arm but he pulled away before she could. "Don't touch me, I can't deal with this right now. Not on top of everything else." With that, he turned around and began his long strides back towards the club entrance, his black coat flipping in the wind.

Gabriella opened her mouth and then closed it, stopping herself from calling out to him. Shutting her eyes tightly, she turned away and looked up at the black sky, the stars hidden from view due to the pollution and city lights of Boston. Turning her head to the side, she watched as the bright pink limo honked while pulling up alongside the curb.

Sucking in a deep and ragged breath, she made her way quickly to the limo, feeling she'd never been happier to see the pink eyesore more in her entire life.

Getting in, she shut the door and asked Pierre to take her back to the penthouse, her mind whirling every which way with the unexpected encounter she had just had with Troy. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head against the cold window and sighed, feeling that her chances of fixing things with Troy had just gotten a lot more difficult.


A/N: Anyone feeling the sexual tension yet? Don't worry about Todd either, he's not going to make any more appearances (I don't think). I just wanted to show Gabriella down and out concerning Troy's stubborn ways and having a stranger encourage her to keep going was just an extra push she needed. Thank you all for the reviews and feedback, your support for this story continues to amaze me.

Also, I won't be able to update for a couple weeks because I'm going out to LA for the Sucker Punch premiere and to help my brother move into his new place but I will update the minute I return. So until then, I hope you enjoyed. ;) Let me know what you thought of this chapter and as always, my apologies for any grammatical errors.