AN: Another update… I know, totally uncharacteristic of me. As always I am more than thankful for all the wonderful reviews, although it has been dwindling so if anyone finds any fault or criticism in RTSS, please do tell. Criticisms do help me to improve my writing.

Someone pointed out that last scene in the previous chapter is very TG "Can I Have This Dance" moment in the third High School Musical movie and truthfully I didn't even realize it until said person pointed it out. Just sayin', haha.

And since some of you have said that you were confused with the timing, I just wanted to clarify that the first chapter is a flash forward of sorts. Chapter 2 and onwards, unless otherwise stated, will be flashbacks in relation to Chapter 1, taking place two months before Gabriella's wedding in the first chapter.

Predator - August

Prey and onwards - June/July

Oh, and um, this was rated M for a reason.

I apologize for any grammatical errors and changes in tenses.

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"In dreams and in love, there are no impossibilities"

Passion

Insistent knocking woke Troy from his peaceful slumber. He tried to ignore it, thinking that it would eventually stop. But as seconds passed, the knocking only became frantic, more hysterical. Groaning, he got up from his comfortable bed and reached for a shirt on his way out.

The knocking continued fervently.

"I'm coming. I'm coming" He angrily shouted, incredibly annoyed at being woken up at this ungodly hour. Thank gawd that he lived in a penthouse so neighbors were not awakened by this inconsiderate ass -

"Gabriella?" he asked in inflections of utter disbelief. The woman standing before him looked like Gabriella. She even smelled like Gabriella - an intoxicating mix of jasmine and vanilla. But the woman standing before him was not the Gabriella he knew.

She looked up at him, frowning when she heard her name, one hand still up in mid-motion. "I had an accident." Before Troy could freak out and start worrying, Gabriella turned, showing him her back. And he groaned. The sides of her dress gaped so well below her waist, showing an expanse of perfect skin, the laces that used to tie her dress together damaged, as if it has been forcibly tugged. It was his turn to frown. Upsetting thoughts going along the lines of a bar tussle crossed his mind but it stopped when he heard the end of Gabriella's chatter.

"…stuck in elevator and poof, coat gone, dress loose." She was clearly intoxicated.

He turned and confirmed what she said. And there it was, her black trench coat stuck in between the doors of his private elevator. He could see the ripped laces on the floor. Troy focused back on Gabriella and started asking her questions.

"Are you in pain?","No one hurt you?", "You were fully clothed when you came up?", "Did anyone touch or talk to you inappropriately?"

All questions received a negative. She then added before he could ask some more, "I'm fine, Troy. It's just, I panicked when the doors closed and I struggled with my coat and," she sighed, "I ruined my Thread Social coat. It was my favorite too. And then this dress…"

A blabbering Gabriella was a good sign Troy decided as he guided her inside his penthouse. He left her in the living room as he searched for a more appropriate clothing. From his room, he heard her say, "You bought new furniture."

Troy nodded, then realized that she couldn't see him. He yelled out an affirmative and explained more as he headed back to her, "I was getting tired of the really dark tones in the room and besides it was ti-"

He stopped short when he saw her, leaning against his leather sofa. She was holding the front of her purple silk-gauze dress with both hands cupping her breasts. The image alone caused him to drop the clothes he brought and he didn't even notice, but she did. Gabriella moved forward to pick the clothes up when Troy did not move an inch.

With every step, the ruffled trim in her layered skirt shifted and caressed her bare flesh that was exposed. Despite being actually fully clothed, the open back made the dress so loose that it left nothing to Troy's imagination, revealing bits and pieces of her naked skin he had tried not to see from the moment he hit puberty and realized he felt more than just brotherly love for his best friend. If he thought it was hard to be around her before, the lust he was feeling at the moment was undeniably hard to repress. And as she bent down to retrieve the clothes, he suppressed another moan at the sight of the barely-there dress that provided no cover for her backside. Too engrossed with his own thoughts, he didn't see Gabriella as she slipped around him and headed to his bathroom. Moments later, she reappeared, more suitably dressed. He tried to forget the naked skin he just saw.

"I'm really sorry for waking you. I just," she paused, as if rethinking her thoughts, "… I just didn't want to be alone."

Troy hesitated before turning around to meet her gaze, completely ignoring - or at least trying to, how amazing, how much it felt so right for her to be wearing his clothes. "S'okay. Care to tell me what you were doing tonight?"

"Just went to a bar." Gabriella answered as she crossed the living room and headed into the kitchen. He trailed after her.

"It's been awhile since you actually went clubbing."

She shrugged and got a glass of water.

"Did you go by yourself?," he inquired.

Again, she shrugged her shoulders.

"Still not talking to Tay and Shar?"

This time, she bit her lip, a sure sign that she was nervous and then, shrugged her shoulders.

Rounding the dining table to stand in front of her and stare into her cinnamon brown eyes, he asked, "Are you gonna answer any of my questions or are you just gonna shrug in response everytime?"

She looked right back and answered helpfully, "Yes."

"What happened tonight, Gabriella?"

She sighed. "Nothing, I just wanted to get out, have fun."

Troy stated, "See, the Gabriella I know, her definition of fun nowadays is going to the theatre or an art gallery. She'd prefer a quiet night at home with friends than going out clubbing with random strangers."

She grimaced.

He continued, "Now, care to try to this again? What happened tonight?"

Gabriella looked so helpless, so vulnerable at that moment that Troy felt bad for pushing. But he needed answers. She scooted away from him and placed the glass on the sink. Turning, she stared right into his eyes and explained, melancholy seeping into her voice, "I was just in my office ignoring everyone's calls and I dunno, it felt like everyone's moving forward except for me. Then I got a call from Mom and Chad stopped by, and I just wanted to get out there, it was suffocating, you know. Everyone has all these expectations and," she shrugged feebly, "I just wanted to get out."

"Expectations?" Troy asked warily, unsure of what she was talking about.

Gabriella started, explaining things that Troy have no idea of. "They have always gone for what they wanted, unafraid and without a care in the world. I've always envied that of them. It's not because I'm afraid - okay, maybe I am but I just have to weigh the risks before I do something. I have too much to lose and… and… and," she suddenly stopped.

And to say that Troy was clueless as to how to proceed was an understatement. He didn't know if he should wait till she got whatever it was that was bothering her out of her system. He didn't know if he should hug her and tell her that it was going to be okay, even if he had no idea what was actually happening at the very moment. He just didn't know what to do.

Abruptly as she halted in her confession, she started babbling on again of things he couldn't understand. She lost him the moment she started talking about taking chances and risks. Gabriella watched him, oblivious and confused. Right then and there, she knew what she wanted, no, needed. She started walking in his direction and once she stood mere inches from he, she declared, "I wanna take a risk."

Again with his clueless expression, Troy answered, "Okay." But it sounded more like a question.

"I wanna take a risk, Troy." She repeated as she took a tiny step forward, enough come in contact with his chest. She brought her hands up to his chest but at that moment, Troy came to his senses and realized what risk she was truly talking about. Before she could actually rest his hands on his clothed body, he caught her hands and glared at her.

"No." He fervently declared and moved away from her. But the memory of her body touching his remained.

Her hands free, she reached for him again. But as he moved backwards to avoid her urgent touch, she lost her balance. In the end, he eventually had to put her arms around her, making sure she was upright and stable. She tugged, almost desperately, at his shirt.

"Gabriella, stop." He said as he caught her hands. With more force, he repeated, "Stop."

She whimpered but stopped undressing him. "For one night, I just want to make my own decisions."

Troy grimaced. "You're not exactly sober right now to make any sane decisions."

Like a petulant child, she stomped her stiletto-covered feet. He barely had time to step away before four inches of sharp heels crushed his feet. "I'm not drunk, you hear me. I know what I'm doing."

He just mumbled an "Of course you're not" to appease Gabriella who started struggling against him.

She drew a deep breath. With her hands still trapped in his, she stared right back at Troy. In a breathless whisper, she avowed, "I know what I'm doing. You have no idea how much I want this. Just one night."

Troy clenched his jaw. It was hard enough having her so close, her body so tender and luscious in his touch, he didn't need any more declarations like that. But before he could anticipate Gabriella's next move, her lips were on his, eager, even desperate. And at that point in time, Troy Bolton knew he was fighting a downhill battle.

~.~.~

He told himself to take his hand out of her - or his shirt. He told himself to break the kiss, to stop it before this whole thing got out of hand. He repeated that thought in his head, again and again and again. But his body just failed to comply. To be crude, as she suggestively arched her body, he was thinking with a certain male anatomy rather than his brain.

Disregarding what his mind was telling him to do, Troy explored any part of her body that he could touch. He didn't exactly know when he lost his shirt but Gabriella's caressing touch on his bare chest wrecked havoc on his already overtly-sensitive senses. He tried to break the kiss, he really did, but every time his lips moved just mere centimeters away from hers, she just drew him back again and plunged back into his mouth. So sensual and searing.

He was about to give in and just let nature ran its course when he remembered who exactly was so pliant in his arms.

This was Gabriella. His best friend. The rational side of his brain shouted.

But his heart screamed louder. The one you're also madly in love with.

It took an enormous amount of effort but he finally forced himself to break their passionate kiss. He cleared his throat and tried to breathe. And smelled jasmine and vanilla.

"We need to stop." But his eyes were intently focused on her swollen lips.

She took a deep breathe and wet her lips. Her gaze dropped to his mouth, lust swirling in her lucid brown eyes. "I don't need to stop."

But they had to, Troy reasoned. "Gabri -"

And her lips brushed against his before he could fully say her name. "Stop fighting this, Troy." It sounded like a order, a declaration but between those words, he could hear the plea in her voice. He tried to put together an argument, the very same ones he has always thought of whenever he had a sudden urge to just throw caution to the wind and essentially act on his feelings for her, but none of those arguments came to mind. She never gave him the chance because she framed his face and kissed him again. Hard. Deeply. More determined. She pressed down more firmly across his hips as they lay sprawled on his leather couch. He was aroused and when she pressed herself against him, she'd clearly felt it. And the sound she made just caused Troy forget about everything and anything else. To give in to the inevitable.

He seized her about the waist and flipped them over, rolling her onto her back. Her eyes widened at their sudden change in position but she couldn't really complain when he reached for her face, his masculine and strong fingers entangling themselves in her ebony locks and pulled her to him. His hands caressed her face, her jaw, her neck as it traveled downward to unbutton her shirt. Not once did he break the kiss and when breathing did became compulsory, he broke the kiss to breathe in precious oxygen before diving back in, devouring her with his fervent kisses. Not that Gabriella was complaining. All she cared about was the wonderful feelings he was making her feel.

Troy angled his head to trail languid kisses along her jaw to her chest before kissing his way upwards until he reached her ear, bit it before whispering, "Are you sure?"

She heard the uncertainty in his voice, the fear of a possible rejection. Her eyes opened, just enough to stare dazedly at him and knew beyond question that no matter the consequences that tomorrow will bring, she will never ever regret this night. Here, in the arms of the man she has loved since she was thirteen, she knew that she couldn't imagine being with another man again, she couldn't love another man. She held his gaze, tried to show him what she felt, not just the lust but the all-consuming love she felt for him. And ever so slowly, with a finger, she sensually touched his face, committing to memory everything that has transpired this fateful night. Deliberately, she pushed the sleeves of her shirt down her arms and with her gaze still locked with his, threw the shirt, leaving her naked. Her breast brushed his chest as she leaned up to kiss him gently. And in a breathless murmur, she asserted, "I've never been more sure in my entire life."

Troy drew a long and deep breath. He knew that it was a mistake to let their lust rule them, that it was imperative that they discuss what they actually felt for each before proceeding but her responses, her touch just drove him beyond any coherent thoughts.

Braced above her, he kissed her. But this time, it was different. More potent. More passionate. More revealing as his lips overwhelmed her senses. It was a kiss between two lovers. Moments later, an overwhelming pleasure surrounded her as he entered her. The desire built as he pushed further. She bit her lip so hard she was afraid it was going to bleed. And as he moved within her, her lips sought his, her body arching sensually against his, her hips lifting and moving in tune with his. With a groan, he pushed deeper and the sound of her breath hitching was like music to his ears. Her fingers dug into his back as she screamed the moment climax overcame her, he followed moments later.

Gabriella's quiet yet ardent whisper of "I love you" was the last lucid thought either of them had before a second wave of climax consumed them.

Truthfully, I felt incredibly uncomfortable the whole time I was writing this. A good 3000 words of sexual smut… :blushes:

Oh, finals are coming up, in three days to be exact so next update might come in a week or two. So sorry in advance. But hey, four updates in a span of 9 days is incredible to me given my past history so yay me.

Reviews are much appreciated, as always.