Chapter 4

Troy and Gabriella walked through the doors of L'Arpege, surprised at just how luxurious the restaurant they were being taken to was - not to mention extremely expensive. When they expressed their concerns to Jack however, he insisted that he had invited them both and so they shouldn't give money a second thought and order whatever they liked.

The night was lovely, filled with delicious French food, rich wine and light conversation and by the end of it their stomachs were full and the wine bottles empty.

Once they had paid, the three stepped out into the chilly Paris air each rubbing their shoulders as they made their way towards the car.

"Well tonight has been lovely, but I have a meeting early tomorrow morning with a friend so I do need get some sleep," Jack said politely.

The two nodded, and piled into the car. Soon enough, they were home, Jack had said goodnight to Gabriella and his son and he had gone up to bed, leaving them alone.

After changing into more comfortable clothes, Troy and Gabriella decided to take the car to go take a walk on The Champs Elysées. Gabriella had said it was beautiful at night and Troy couldn't wait to go and see the Arc de Triomphe.

Gabriella hadn't lied. Troy could tell that it was, of course, beautiful before they even got out of the car. So they quickly parked in another street and then walked on The Champs Elysées for what felt like hours.

Suddenly, on inspiration, Troy took Gabriella by the hand and dragged her in the Disney store rambling on about wanting to buy her a stuffed animal. Gabriella thought was he was saying was ridiculous but was surprised when they walked out of the store with not one, but two toys.

"I cannot believe I let you do that. What am I gonna do with Winnie the Pooh and Minnie? I am not a child Troy!" she sighed, half exasperated, half amused.

"Hey just like kindergarten, remember? In the sandpit with our barbie and ken doll, this time its Winnie and Minnie. It's a souvenir… you know memories of Paris," he told her softly.

Gabriella looked him in the eye and her heart melted a little, simply because he looked so serious and sweet during his little speech.

And so, she didn't say a word, instead she grabbed him by the hand and gave him a look that clearly said 'come with me.' She wanted more memories, and decided that taking pictures under the Arc de Triomphe would be a great way to make them.

She pulled him gently underneath it and then let go of his hand and ran in the opposite direction, whipping her camera out as she did. She snapped two pictures of him, before he swapped positions with her and did the same.

Troy was ready to go back to what they were doing before, when he heard Gabriella ask a woman if she would take a picture of the two of them together.

The woman agreed and took the camera out of Troy's hand, motioning for him to go stand beside his friend. When they were in position, the woman told them to stand closer together. She said it however, in French so only Gabriella understood.

Gabriella complied, scooting closer to Troy and putting her arm around his middle. She looked up at him and he turned his head under her gaze, seeing nothing but happiness in her chocolate eyes. It was something he didn't see very often.

Suddenly, the flash went off and the woman handed the camera back to Gabriella, saying goodnight to the two of them.

"Do you want to go get something to drink before we go home?" Troy asked hopefully with a hint of bashfulness in his tone, not wanting this moment to end.

"Sounds great," she replied with a small smile, which he knew meant that she was having a great time and didn't want it to end either. "Come with me, I know this great little place just over there."

She led him to a street just behind The Arc of Triomphe; they only walked for about 5 minutes before finally making it to a nice little café, La Flamme.

They took a seat outside and Troy ordered a coffee for himself and an ice tea for Gabriella.

They spent the next half hour simply talking about everything. Home, Paris, Troy's father, almost every topic was covered and the entire time he couldn't take his eyes of her. She was glowing under the moonlight and he thought that she had never looked more beautiful.

Then he made her laugh and he revelled in the sound. He thought about how close they were at that moment and smiled, but then the memory of Daniel telling him that she saw nothing more than a brother to him wiped it clear off his lips.

She quickly saw the change on his face and became intrigued and concerned.

"Are you okay Troy?" She asked tenderly but full of concern.

"Yeah, of course, but it's getting late and we should go," he responded in a cool tone of voice.

And just like that the magic was gone. He left a few bills on the table, and stood up, waiting for her to do the same.

She followed him, a little surprised at his sudden change but decided against saying anything.

They walked to the car and he drove them back to the house in an awkward silence, both aware that the other was not speaking.

They arrived home and quickly went inside, with Troy locking the door behind him. They turned towards each other simultaneously, Gabriella searching his eyes.

"Thank you Troy," she whispered.

"For what?" He asked her, a little puzzled.

She smiled at him tenderly. "For asking me to come with you. For the 'souvenirs'," she said gesturing to where Minnie and Winnie the Pooh lay with a grin. "And for just being there."

She walked over, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek once again and said goodnight before padding quietly upstairs to her bedroom.

Troy watched as she went and touched his cheek tenderly, as surprised with this kiss as he was with the rest of them. A few seconds after, he shook his head and followed her up the stairs, turning instead to go to his room.

As she lay in bed, Gabriella could not stop thinking about her night with Troy, how much fun they had and how comfortable she was with him. But, then she wondered about what had happened in the café. Why was he feeling so sad suddenly?

'I'll make him talk to me', she thought.

And with that in mind she fell asleep, still thinking about him