Walking around the trash can Gabriella held her tray up with both hands as she followed Taylor to the table.

"so I told him that he was wrong for even thinking that I would be into a long distance relationship."

Gabriella nodded as she listen to Taylor, her purple skirt shuffled as she made her way past the tables "it's like he thought I would be okay with being with someone and not really being with them, if you know what I mean."

Gabriella nodded as she took a seat at their normal table. "I understand that, boyfriends just aren't the same when their miles and miles away." Gabriella shook her milk and looked over to observe the rest of the chaos going on in the lunchroom.

"why is it so hard to find a good guy." Taylor said moving her peas around her plate while she looked down at them with a new curiosity.

Gabriella looked up around the room and as if on cue she saw Troy talking to red head by the lunch line and she was blushes as he smiled at her obliviously he was saying something about her appearance because her face was a bright red as she adored the attention. She couldn't say that she hated seeing him talk with other girls but she could honestly say that something about it made her jealous and feel invisible. Looking back to Taylor she thought about what troy asked her the day before. Why did he have to be such an arrogant asshole she thought as she looked down at her plate.

"I think it's just that I'm too old for the boys here." Taylor said as she let out a sigh.

"Taylor your only 17" Gabriella said placing a hand on her friends shoulder.

"not that way I meant like mind wise you know." She looked up at seen Troy talking to the red head as well. "I'll never understand what girls see in him, he is so full of it."

Gabriella followed her glaze and smiled "I think its cause he create this bubble around you and sometimes its just the bubble were looking for." She said looking back as her friend.

The two were silent as the two began to eat their meals. "so there has to be someone around here you think is cute?" Gabriella asked sitting up straighter. "Someone that if you had to date who would it be."

Taylor smiled and shyly looked across the room "if I had to date someone and it was all about eye candy it would be that man over there."

Gabriella looked over to where Taylor pointed her fork and grin when she seen Chad spinning a basketball on his finger and listening to zeke.

"really. so you like chad huh?" casually she looked around the room and then picked up her milk for a sip. She couldn't believe she was actually helping Troy.

"no I just think he good eye candy, defiantly not relationship material" Taylor said before eating a fork full of peas.

Gabriella rolled her eyes and smiled at Taylor. "have you ever talked to him." She asked looking at her friend.

"I tutored him once or twice because he needed to keep his grades up for basketball."

"and?" Gabriella asked leaning forward.

"and I noticed he had a body that's to die for but he sounded like a dumber version of Troy." She said disappointedly.

"well they are best friends." Gabriella shook her head and frowned at Troy as he made his way to Zeke and Chad holding up a piece of paper that she assumed to be the red head number.

"well I'm done talking about boys let talk about something more meaningful in our lives , like college I've yet to hear your plans."

Stunned by the sudden shift in conversation Gabriella hesitated as she tried to focus on what to tell her friends about her situation "I'm undecided still" she said hoping she wouldn't pry.

"well do you know what you want to study?." Taylor said holding up her apple. "it's the first step to narrowing down your choices."

"I'm debating against two possible majors or just one." She said "and two different schools or neither." She said with a sigh as she looked at Taylor.

"two different schools?" she asked

"Julliard and Stafford." She said in a quiet voice as she played with her food.

"hands down Stafford I mean Julliard sounds like a great place and all but Stafford will give you something to look too as a career." She said pointing her fork at her and then scooping up more peas

""so I've heard ." she said under her breath as she lifted a spoonful of mash potatoes.

After lunch the girls went their separate ways and Gabriella when to the music room where she'd been doing most of her escaping when she could. Taylor had books to read in the library so the rest of her lunch was spent here. Picking up a guitar she stood there and strummed a melody.

Slowly she began to hum and from the humming she began to sing quietly she went over the cords as she zoned out. "forget my promise that you'll never see me cry, I'm not stronger than you made me I can't do it on my own. I'll always be two steps behind the crowd, never able to live my life out loud. I'll always be with in the shadows the one that they call hope I will never be a spotlight I can't do it all alone."

When she stopped she place the guitar down and sighed. Suddenly jumping two feet when she heard clapping she turned around to see Troy walked towards her with a smile on his face.

"I always pictured you as a happy song type of girl." He said walking closer to her with a grin on his face.

"that's because you don't know the first thing about me." She said tucking her hair behind her ear.

"I know that I find you amazing and every time I come near you there is something new about you that I want to explore to no end." He said looking straight into her eyes. "but for some strange reason you deny me a chance to, however your eyes,…your eyes want me to."

"my eyes lie." She said as she looked away and walked over to her backpack.

"if you insist" Troy placed his hands in his pockets and watched as she bend down to get her things he watched and noticed her blouse came up a bit in the back and he was about to turn around and not look when he caught a glimpse of something that made him look. "whoa, little miss Montez has a tattoo." At the sound of his voice she bolted up right and turned around with a shad of pink on her cheek.

"yes I have two." She said placing her bag over her shoulder.

"where is the other one?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"that's none of your business ." she said with a small smile.

"oh don't do this to me I'll be up all night with the possibilities" he said with a pout on his lips.

"good." She was about to walk past him when he turned around and blocked her path. "what are you gonna do frisk me against my will." She said looking up at him with a device glint in her eyes.

"I have a feeling you would enjoy that, however my reasons for following you in here are due to the conversation we had yesterday." He said with a smile.

"really, because I was beginning to think you were stalking me as a hobby." She said taking a step back.

"hey at anytime I'll stop all you have to do is ask." He said with a serious face. "all joking aside if you're not interested your not interested I'm not the kind of guy who doesn't take no for an answer" he said holding both his hands in the air.

Gabriella looked into his eyes and saw that he was sincere. She didn't know if that attracted her more or if she was inclined tell me to stop. a part of her love the attention she was getting from him she like the banter she loved the way he looked at her. Another part a more wise and mature part told her to tell him to back off and stay far away from her heart.

"I don't know yet." She said watching his face for a reaction, but saw nothing.

"well then" he said lowering his hands and placing them back into his pockets he rocked on his feet and looked at her curiously. "what did Taylor say."

Gabriella leaned on one foot and looked at him with a raise brow "can you be trusted?"

"of course I am the class president you know." He said with a smile.

"my mother told me to never trust a politician" Gabriella said leaning all her weight to one foot.

"well my mother told me to never trust a beautiful woman." He said taking a step towards her.

"so where does that leave us?" she said looking up at him.

"with trust issues but I think we can overcome those issues" he said taking another step closer. "does he have a chance."

"he might." She said looking up at him.

"might?"

"she said he was eye candy. Nothing more, nothing less." Taking a step close Gabriella came up to his face, almost touching him, but not quite. "his downfall is that he acts like you."

"note taken." Troy brought a finger up to her chin to tilt her face into his reach but before he could lift her chin to meet her lips she pull away and walked around him. "I think I have a plan but I'm going to need your help."

"sorry I don't play match maker." Gabriella said as her hand touched the door knob.

"not asking you too, all I want is chance for him to get his foot in the door."

"really"

"really there is a party at my house this weekend you two girls should come." Smiling he held up a empty hand and shrugged. "worth a shot."

"I'll think about it, its not a date." She said.

"oh if I took you on a date sweetheart you would know it."

"right" Gabriella smiled as she left the room shaking her head. Her thoughts about troy were still at a tossup because while he seemed sincere there were time she knew he wasn't.