When Troy and Gabriella arrived at her home, Troy instructed her to sit and relax as he made his way to the freezer to grab an ice pack for her bruised torso. He did as he said he would in carrying her home. He found it pleasurable, not a burden as she thought it would be for him. He enjoyed touching her and holding her in his arms.

"Here, just hold this to your stomach, it should help," he suggested, handing her the ice pack, which he wrapped a kitchen towel around so it wasn't too cold for her skin.

"Thanks, Troy," she said, placing the ice pack under her shirt.

"No problem," he replied, smiling in the way that always made Gabriella want to melt.

"Thanks for everything you did today," she continued, her deep brown eyes full of sincerity. "I don't know what he would've done to me if you hadn't have shown up."

"Hey, that's what friends are for, right?" he replied with a wink, causing her stomach to fill with butterflies.

"Um, do you want to watch TV?" she asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Nah, unless you want to. I'd rather just sit here with you," he answered, blushing when he realized what he had said, but he smiled slightly upon noticing her blushing as well.

The pair sat in an awkward silence for what seemed like an eternity but was only a few minutes when Gabriella began to dig inside her book bag.

"So, now you're going to do homework with me here? Do I bore you that much?" he questioned in mock offense.

Laughing, Gabriella replied, "Maybe…."

"Oh, now that hurts," he stated, placing his hand over his 'broken' heart.

This made her laugh harder. "I'm sorry, Troy," she said once she was through laughing at his drama Queen-like mood.

"Say it like you mean it," he ordered.

She rolled her eyes. "You are such a drama Queen."

Troy gasped in mock horror. "Now that's cruel!"

"Well, you are," she replied shamelessly.

"I'm hurt, Gabriella." He crossed his arms and huffed, looking to the opposite side.

Giggling, she wrapped her arms around Troy's torso. "I'm sorry, Troy."

"So am I," he replied, looking back at her with a playful smirk.

"For what?" she asked, confused.

"For what I'm about to do," he said, snaking his arms around her waist so she couldn't get away.

Before Gabriella could say anything, he began tickling her, sending her into a fit of giggles. She loved the feel of his fingers, and she silently wished that his hand would somehow make contact with her bare stomach...No! She mentally scolded herself for thinking such things. She was a good girl, always had been. It wasn't until she met Troy that these long-buried desires emerged. Suddenly, she winced from the sharp pain shooting through her stomach. She cried out in agony, forcing him to stop immediately.

"Gabi, are you okay?" he asked her, putting the ice pack back under her shirt since it had fallen out, his hand intentionally brushing against her bare stomach in the process. Like Gabriella, he too was having difficulties in controlling his desires.

Gabriella nodded, gently placing her hand over the bruise. "I'm fine, it just hurts a little."

"I'm sorry," he told her apologetically, remorse filling his eyes.

"Don't worry," she assured him. "It's fine."

"I shouldn't have been tickling you," he argued.

Gabriella wanted to say that she loved him tickling her, but, instead, she said, "it's okay. It's not like you intentionally hurt me."

"I guess, but--" Troy was cut off by Gabriella who pressed her lips to his in a gentle, reassuring kiss. He was too shocked to respond to the kiss, and, as soon as she realized what she had done, she pulled back, much to his dismay.

Wide-eyed, she began to panic, "Oh God, oh God, I can't believe I did that!"

"Gabriella, don-"

"Troy, please, just forget that! It never happened, got it?" she stated. "I was so stupid! I was caught up in the moment!"

Troy sighed. "Fine," he reluctantly agreed. Of course he didn't want to forget the kiss. Even though he was the guy that every girl wanted, he never had his first kiss until just moments before. He was waiting for the right girl to come along and that's when he planned to have his first kiss. Most guys he knew would kiss more girls than he could count before finding the right girl, but he didn't want that. He just wanted to wait for the right one to come into his life and that girl finally came, even though she thought the kiss was a mistake and apparently didn't have feeling for him like he did for her.

Sinking back on the couch, Gabriella sighed. She felt stupid for ever believing that he liked her the way she liked him. She felt even dumber for kissing him, but she figured that she could say she knew what it was like to kiss Troy Bolton, even though she would never know what it felt like to feel Troy Bolton kiss her back.

"You okay?" he asked her, sensing her distress.

"Yeah, why?" she queried.

"Just making sure," he said. "You're more quiet than usual."

'Hello, I just kissed my best friend! What do you expect me to do, talk about the weather at a time like this?' she thought bitterly. "Troy, I'm fine. Everything is great," she lied. "Anyway, I'd hate to cut this short, but I have a ton of stuff to do before my mom gets home and I'm sure your parents are worried about where you are, so you should probably go."

"Gabriella, are you sure? I mean, what if-"

"Troy, I'll be fine. I'm seventeen; I think I know how to take care of myself," she interrupted. "I don't mean to shut you out like this but I'd rather be alone right now."

"Um, okay then. I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow," he said, feeling slightly awkward as he left.

"Yeah, bye, Troy." Once he was gone, Gabriella breathed a sigh of relief, glad to save them from anymore awkward moments. The tears she had been holding back were finally released as she buried her head in her hands. She was a fool for believing Troy would ever like her the way she liked him. Then again, he was the one who charmed his way into her heart and made her feel safe. As much as she hated to admit it, he seemed like a player. He played with her emotions as if it were all a game, only to leave her heartbroken when she started to reveal her feelings for him. But, maybe it was unintentional. She wanted to believe that maybe it was unintentional and that she was getting the signs wrong.

Hastily grabbing her cell phone, Gabriella dialed a few numbers and anxiously awaited an answer.

"Hey, Gabriella. What's up?"

"Taylor, I need your help!" Gabriella cried. "I-I accidentally kissed him!"

"Whoa, who did you kiss?" Taylor asked, intrigued.

"Troy!" Gabriella yelled. "But, he didn't kiss me back! I knew he didn't like me like that! I was so stupid!"

"You kissed him?!" Taylor was astonished. She knew Gabriella liked Troy but she never thought Gabriella would try to make a move on him when they weren't together, especially not while dating someone else. Besides, she thought Troy and Gabriella were at odds.

"Yes, but it was an accident!" Gabriella defended.

"But, the disagreement...the separation...what have you been hiding from me?"

"Tay, I don't want to talk about this right now. I'll fill you in tomorrow, I promise. I just really need your help."

"Fine," Taylor gave in. "Here's what you'll do, or, shall I say, what Chad will do. Troy tells Chad almost everything. Chad can get Troy to admit his feelings for you, in front of you, whether he knows you're there or not."

"B-but how?" Gabriella asked.

"Trust me, we'll come up with something," Taylor assured her friend.

"But, what if he really doesn't like me like that?" Gabriella questioned.

"Gabi, of course he does or else he wouldn't act the way he does around you. Trust me, I know these things."

Gabriella sighed. "I hope you're right."