I'm holding on for you

Chapter Eight


Gabriella woke up at the sound of her alarm clock and groaned annoyed. She hated Mondays with all her will.

She reached over with her hand and felt around her bedside table before finding the noisy piece of junk and slamming her hand against the snooze button. She opened one eye and looked around her barely illuminated bedroom and sighed; the only good thing about today is that she was going to be able to see Troy. She hoped that she would have the chance to talk to him, maybe not about their little moment a couple of days ago –though it would be good– but more about… stuff in general.

She groaned as she pulled the covers off of her and stood up. She opened her drawers and took out the first thing she found to wear; she has never put too much thought on her outfits like other girls. She grabbed a nice green shirt with the word 'Sexy' written over it and a pair of clean light blue jeans. She grabbed her underwear and a pair of socks before placing them over the bed.

She made her way into the bathroom across the hall and turned on the shower. It was still hard for her to keep her eyes open; she didn't know how she got undressed without falling asleep.

She gasped as the hot water hit her on the shoulders, causing Goosebumps to form on her skin for the sudden change of temperature. Okay, now she's wide awake.

After Gabriella finished showering, she stepped out of the shower and quickly wrapped herself up in her fluffy towel, guarding her body from the sudden cold air. She shuddered as she wiped off the steam of the mirror and looked at her reflection. She didn't know why, but she always got a red nose after she showered; her dad thought it was cute. She didn't, of course.

Taking a white towel from the towel rack next to her, she quickly dried her hair with it, fluffing it lightly. She grabbed her red hair brush and passed it quickly over her untamed and puffy curls, flatting them out. She sighed and placed the brush back down next to the sink and buried her fingers in her hair, shaking it lightly. She would finish fixing it later.

After Gabriella got dressed into her simple outfit, she went over to her dressing table and opened her first drawer. She frowned.

"Where's my necklace?" she murmured to herself, starting to rummage between her stuff, trying to find it. "Shit, my necklace!"

Her hands danced nervously through every single spot inside her drawer and then she moved to the second one. When she didn't find it there, she moved to the third one… and then to the fourth. Her breathing started increasing its pace as she moved from her dressing table to her desk and then to her bookshelf; she couldn't find it anywhere. Where the hell was her necklace? She couldn't live without her necklace!

"DAD!" she yelled for him.


"You're pale," Troy commented, taking another spoonful of cereal as he watched Annie clean the countertop with a cloth, in front of him.

Annie looked up at him with tired eyes. "Huh?"

He frowned. "Are you feeling alright, Annie?"

"Oh," she blinked and then nodded tiredly. "Yes, yes. I just didn't sleep well last night; Mike was up all night with a fever and to top it all, I puked this morning," she said. Mike was her oldest son; she once brought him to work when Annie woke up late to take him to school. Jack was pissed. "Luke already gave him something for the flu, and he gave me something for my upset stomach; he thinks I'm just stressed since I don't have any other symptoms."

"I see," Troy said, keeping the concerned frown on his face. "Luke stayed with him, today or...?"

"No, he had a surgery this morning, so… I took Mike to my mother's," she sighed.

Troy shook his head. "You could have brought him here, you know?"

"Your father isn't very fond of Mike since he broke that… weird statue the last time he was here, so…" she shook her head.

Troy rolled his eyes. "He didn't even like that statue."

The brunette shrugged. "Well, he's still my boss, so…"

"I know," Troy nodded. "And you took Lilly to school?" he asked.

"Like it's supposed to be," she nodded.

The blue eyed boy chuckled. "Poor thing."

Annie rolled her eyes. "She likes school!"

Troy laughed. "Such a weirdo, just like you," he teased and Annie narrowed her eyes at him.

"Good morning."

The relaxed atmosphere was suddenly disturbed when Jack entered the kitchen. Annie watched how Troy's eyes immediately turned from their natural color into a dark shade of blue, and to be honest, it made her shudder.

"Good Morning, Mr. Bolton," Annie greeted him. She almost never saw Jack Bolton, but today she had arrived earlier than usual.

"Annie! What a surprise!" Jack smiled and Troy rolled his eyes; for some reason he didn't like that his father talked to Annie. "What are you doing here so early?"

Annie gave him a small smile. "I didn't take Mike to school, today. He's sick," she explained.

Jack instantly frowned. "You didn't bring him here, did you?"

Now Troy remembered why he didn't like it when Jack talked to Annie. He was such an asshole.

Annie's stomach instantly twisted as she faked a smile. "No, Mr. Bolton. I took him to my mother's," she said.

"Good," he nodded and walked over to the coffee maker; his back facing his son and Annie. "Did you prepare breakfast?"

"No, Mr. Bolton," she answered, her hands involuntarily twisting the cloth in her hand to release some of her anger. Troy stared at her warily, chewing his cereal more slowly.

"Then what are you waiting for?" he asked, still not turning around.

Before Annie could respond, Troy spoke up. "You never have breakfast here."

"So? Can't I decide to do it today?" he asked back, turning around with a mug in his hand.

"Oh no, you can," he said. "But Annie's not preparing anything; she's still not on duty."

"It's her job," he answered monotonously.

"Oh, give me a break! We both know that her contract says that-"

"I'll prepare breakfast right away Mr. Bolton," Annie cut in. She didn't want anything to go out of control; she has been judge of the Bolton men's fights before and… it wasn't something pretty to watch. She wasn't gonna let them fight over her. "I'm the cook after all," she faked a smile.

Troy narrowed his eyes at her, though her back was facing him; he hoped to drill some kind of hole in the back of her skull. Jack smiled back at her and sent a smirk at his son, causing Troy's blue eyes to turn darker.

"Thank you Annie," Jack said before going through the white swinging door that led to the dining room.

"Good luck with him," Troy grumbled while standing up. He picked up his now empty cereal bowl and placed it in the sink.

"You're not having breakfast?" she asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

"I already had breakfast."

"No. I mean like a real breakfast," she crossed her arms and stared at him. "You know… eggs bacon, sausages…"

"No, thank you."

Annie frowned. "Did you get mad at me?"

Troy rolled his eyes. "No, why would I?" he asked sarcastically, turning away from the sink and facing Annie.

"What did I do?" she questioned.

The teen walked over to his cook. "You're such a kiss up!" he hissed at her, anger and annoyance evident in his dark blue eyes.

Annie gaped at him and she felt the anger she was feeling a moment ago crawling back beneath her skin. "He's my boss!" she exclaimed.

"I know that!" he glared at her. "But I was taking care of it!"

Annie rolled her eyes. "I wasn't gonna let you fight with your dad over something as stupid as preparing breakfast! He's right! I'm the freaking cook! I should cook breakfast!"

"You weren't on duty yet!" he continued to argue.

"And your dad's been very generous about my schedule; the least I could do is follow orders!" she said.

"Like I said, you're such a kiss up! You should've let me handle it!" he said.

Annie narrowed her eyes at him and examined him for a moment. "You know what I think?" she asked.

"What?"

"That this isn't about me or if I'm a 'kiss up'," she said, making air quotes. "It's all about you; you wanting to beat your dad at everything!" she hissed. "Grow up, Troy! And start learning how to deal with your father and not try to make a drama every time he's around! I don't know what he did, but he's your dad and it's getting sickening! I have better things to do than to watch you make yourself a victim!"

As soon as she finished that sentence, she regretted it. A quick flash of pain went through his eyes, but she was able to see it.

Troy quickly gained his composure back as he narrowed his eyes at Annie. His hands turned into fists, his nails digging into his palms and his knuckles turning white. Yes, almost 10 years of working for the Boltons and she didn't know what was going on in there; but that didn't give her the right to say that Troy Bolton was making himself a victim.

"You're right," he said; taking Annie by surprise. "You don't know a shit of what my father did, so I suggest you to shut the hell up and stop giving your fucking opinions about my life. I do not play a victim; victims are cowards and I am not one."

And with that… he stormed off, leaving a very shocked Annie behind.

Ah shit, what did she do!


Tears were running down Gabriella's eyes as she sobbed silently in her father's arms. She lost it! How could she have lost something as precious and important as her heart locket?

"Gabs, stop crying," her dad muttered in her ear as he rubbed her arms tenderly "It's okay, it'll appear. I promise."

"No, it won't," she sniffled. "Dad, how could I lose it?" she questioned.

"It's probably laying around here somewhere," he said.

"We looked everywhere," she sniffled. "I hardly doubt it."

Greg Montez sighed. Yes, it was the heart locket that he had given his daughter for her 16th b-day; yes, it meant a lot… but… he didn't like that his daughter was tormenting herself for a piece of junk that he would happily replace if he had the money.

"Honey, if it doesn't appear, then I… I'll see the way to buy you a new one, okay?" he tried to comfort her. Gabriella's eyes snapped open and she pulled away a little to face her father.

"What? No! Dad, of course not!" she shook her head. "We can't afford a new necklace! You're crazy!"

Gregory rolled his eyes. "If I want to buy you a necklace, I'll buy you a necklace, Gabriella. Are we clear on that?" he said sternly.

Gabriella narrowed her puffy red eyes. "You're using your 'Father Authority' against me; that's not fair!"

He smiled lightly at her. "Life's not fair, sweetie," he joked, placing a stray hair behind her ear, unconsciously giving her a true fact that made Gabriella grimace lightly. "Now… don't worry about this, alright? I want you to go to school, focus on the things you have to do, and then later afternoon, we'll continue looking, is that okay?"

Gabriella sighed. She knew she was already late for work and Savannah –her boss– was going to murder her for skipping her morning shift. Although, she didn't work every day at the flower shop, she hated to work at mornings; but it was what paid the bills.

School was going to be deserted at 7:02 but… there wasn't anything else better to do.

"Okay," she nodded her head, letting out another sigh.

"Good," her father said and continued rubbing her back.


Troy walked up the hill with his hands in his pockets, his head hanging low and an expressionless face. He couldn't believe that Annie had told him that; he could have expected it from anyone else, but not Annie. He didn't make himself a victim. He hated his father, and probably always will, and he won't stop fighting him until the day that he's free of him.

The blue eyed teen sighed as he sat in front of his mom's grave, his elbows resting over his bent knees.

"You don't think I'm a coward, do you?" he asked her, only to be responded by the silence of the atmosphere and the sound of the wind blowing by the trees. "Annie seems to think so," he murmured. "I do not make myself a victim, mom. I swear I don't," he shook his head.

He looked down to his intertwined hands. "You know I only like to get under his skin," he chuckled bitterly, tearing a little piece of skin that was attached to the side of his thumb. "The worst thing is that I would have expected if from anyone, except her. I thought she was…" he sighed and shook his head. "Sort of my friend, but now I see that she's not."

He looked back up at his mother's grave and frowned as he noticed that her flowers were dried. "Oh shit! Mom, I'm sorry!" he apologized to her as he reached forward and grabbed the dead flowers from the vase. "I let them dry. I'm sorry, I- I'll bring you some after school, alright?" he said, sitting closer to the grave.

"I hope this time they do have tulips," he said, turning the dead bouquet between his hands. "But… you liked these, right?" he smiled lightly.

He stayed silent for a moment, his eyes examining the dried leaves that barely had any green color left in them. The wind blew softly, messing with his hair and tearing away a few leaves of the bouquet between Troy's hands.

Maybe it was the flowers that reminded him of her when they met at the flower shop, or maybe it was that she just always seems to pop into his mind when he's not busy doing something. All he knew is that he suddenly found himself thinking about Gabriella Montez.

He sighed. "Oh God, what the hell is wrong with me?" he asked himself for the thousandth time. "What do I do, mom? I-I-I mean, s-she's nosey and persistent and, and, and... She is everything that annoys me in one person! She should be hell easy to ignore and yet…" he let out an exasperated sigh. "Why is she the only one that never leaves my mind?"

The wind continued to blow as Troy looked up at his mother's grave. He frowned.

"You're kidding right?" he exclaimed to the stone. "I do not like her, mom! Yes, she's attractive, but I do not like her!" he denied. He was probably looking like a nut-job yelling at a gravestone, but he didn't mind. "How could I like someone like her? It's stupid! Yes, yes, yes! I know what you're going to say: 'You said she never leaves your mind', but I'll tell you the reason! She…she… she…"

It was like some crazy and confusing game going on in his head; admitting liking her and then denying it. Deep down he knew that the brunette had blown his mind away, but of course he couldn't accept that fact, he couldn't admit it to himself –that would be losing, that would be giving up and Troy Bolton never gives up, Troy Bolton was not a loser. He knew the reason she never left his mind was because he liked to think about her… but of course… no one's supposed to know that, not even his dead mother.

"No! I do have a reason!" he continued to argue with the stone. "I-I-I'm trying to figure out why she's s-stalks me and w-why she's so annoying, okay?" he exclaimed. He narrowed his eyes. "Yes, I'll keep telling that to myself, thank you, mom!" he shook his head and looked to his left.

His eyes softened as he watched a father and his son placing a rose on top of a gravestone; he wondered if it was the child's mother. He sighed as the little kid passed his little fist under his eye and the father passed his arm around the kid's shoulder. The kid looked up at his dad and reached his arms out for him; the father took the kid in his arms willingly and hugged him tightly. Troy scoffed; what a lucky kid. Okay, maybe not lucky because he lost his mother… but… because his father was still being his father.

"Why aren't we like that?" he murmured. "He wasn't like he is now," he looked back to his mom's gravestone. 'Lucille Joan Bolton. 1964- 2001' he read. "But of course I can't really blame him, I killed his wife," he chuckled bitterly. "And that's why I won't let myself like Gabriella, mom. After what I did to you… I don't deserve someone as good as she is; it's not fair to her to be with someone as… messed up as I am."

He stayed in silence for another moment before looking down to his watch on his left wrist. He sighed.

"Gotta go, mom," he said, standing up. "I need to talk to the janitor…"


"What was all that yelling about?" Jack asked his cook after she placed a plate of perfectly cooked eggs in front of him and a glass of juice.

Annie blinked as he stared at her boss. "What do you mean, Mr. Bolton?" she asked, trying to remain calmed.

Jack rolled his eyes as he grabbed his knife and fork. "Annie dear, I'm not stupid. I heard you and my son yelling at each other and I want to know why," he said, eating the first piece of his eggs and looking up at the honey colored eyes of the brunette.

Annie bit her lower lip nervously as she placed her hands behind her back; she was secretly praying to God to not get fired. "I-It w-was nothing important, Mr. B-Bolton."

He arched an eyebrow at her. "It must have been if you are stuttering. Tell me, Annie."

The cook stared at him for a moment before sighing. "May I take a seat?" she asked and Mr. Bolton nodded.

"Go ahead," he said.

Annie sat on the chair next to him and placed her hands on top of the table, intertwining her fingers in the process. "H-he said that he didn't like the way that you were talking to me and that I shouldn't act like, and I quote, 'A kiss up'," she said and Jack frowned. "We began arguing about it… and… I said some things that I shouldn't have said, and I apologize for it, Mr. Bolton."

Jack placed his cutlery down and pushed his eggs a little so he could place his hands on top of the table, just like Annie. "What did you say?"

"I," she bit her lower lip. "I said… that he wasn't exactly mad because I was being a kiss up, but… because he didn't like to lose to you."

Jack frowned but nodded. "See Annie, now that's why I don't like my work staff bonding with my son."

Annie nodded. "Am I fired?"

"No," Jack shook his head. "But it's the last time I want you talking to my son that way. Are we clear on that, Annie?"

"Yes, Sir," she said.

"Okay, good," he pulled his plate back to him and continued eating. "You're excused."

"Thank you, Mr. Bolton," she stood up and walked back into the kitchen.

"He's in so much trouble when I get home," Jack murmured to himself and took a sip of his glass of orange juice.

Annie sighed as she leaned over the counter and placed her head in her hands. What was she supposed to do? He heard the yelling and… she was never a good liar. She just hoped to not have gotten Troy into too much trouble.


Troy walked up to the Janitor's office at the end of the hallway.

Everything looked so lonely since it was still very early for someone to actually be there; it was the perfect moment for him to do his job of returning Gabriella's necklace without making any contact with her.

He knocked on the glass of the door that said 'Janitor' and a couple of moments later an old man opened it. Well he wasn't exactly old since he couldn't be older than 65 but he wasn't a teenager either.

The janitor looked up at Troy confused, probably because it was too early. "Well, hello there!" he greeted the teen. "May I help you?"

Troy smiled at him politely. "Mr. Harrison," he said. "Good Morning, uh… I'm Troy Bolton, sorry to disturb you this early but I-I need your help with something."

Mr. Harrison looked up at him curiously. "I see. What can I do for you, young man?" he asked.

"I-I need you to help me to open up this girl's locker," he requested, making the old man smile immediately. His cheeks went red when he heard how that sounded like.

"Say no more!" he said taking his set of keys and searching through it. "What's her locker number?" he asked.

"313," he immediately said and mentally scolded himself; why the hell did he memorize that?

Mr. Harrison nodded, taking out the key from the set and handing it over to Troy. "Just make sure to give it back before school ends."

Troy nodded, taking the key from the janitor. "Thanks a lot, Mr. Harrison."

Mr. Harrison smiled, causing small wrinkles to form at the sides of his brown eyes. "You're welcome," he said. "Good luck with your young damsel, Mr. Bolton," he winked.

"No! Wait she… she… s-she's not my-," but before he could finish, Mr. Harrison had gotten back into his office and shut the door close. "…damsel," Troy finished and rolled his eyes. He sighed and turned around, making his way down the hallway. "Whatever."

When he reached Gabriella's locker all he could do was stand in front of it and stare. He fidgeted with the key in his hand for a moment before walking forward and inserting the key in the key slot below the combination lock.

He sighed and opened the locker.

Her books were perfectly ordered at the top shelf of the locker, she had a blue sweater hanging at the side and she had a butterfly sticker glued at the back wall –she knew that she would have to scrub that off by the end of the year, right?

Troy shoved his hand into his pocket and slowly pulled out Gabriella's golden heart locket. He stared down at it and passed his thumb over the engraved 'G'.

He sighed. Well, he was able to resist opening it up… at least until now, and he was planning to keep it that way. All he had to do was reach his hand out and drop the necklace on the top shelf and then close the locker; then he would have won this battle.

So that was what he did. He reached his hand out, placing the necklace at the top shelf pulling his hand back a little.

He didn't know why, but he was hesitating.

Troy would never have her; that was a fact. He would never allow himself to have her, but maybe… just maybe he could have a little something from her to help him fight his urge towards her. It wasn't like she was going to miss her necklace, right? It was obviously of bad quality. Why would she want a piece of shit like this back?

And that was enough for him. That little, senseless thought was enough for him to take the necklace back in his hand and shut the locker close. He stared down at the necklace and sighed before shoving it back into his pocket, not giving it a further thought.

"Troy?" he heard someone say behind him and he turned around. His eyes went wide as he mentally groaned; she wasn't supposed to be here this early!

He quickly got a hold of himself and put on an expressionless face; Gabriella rolled her eyes at that. Yes, she was beginning to notice Troy's reaction towards her.

The brunette walked up to him. "What are you doing here this early?" she asked, curiously.

"I could ask you the same question, Cupcake," he replied, taking a step back; she was getting too close.

Gabriella stood a couple of feet away from him and cocked her head to one side with a slight grin. "I'll tell you my reason if you tell me yours."

Troy rolled his eyes and turned to his left to leave. "Not gonna happen, Cupcake."

The brunette bit her lower lip while watching him walk away. She stood there pondering for a moment before deciding to follow him. She readjusted her backpack over her shoulder and jogged over to him.

Just when Troy thought that he was out of Gabriella's sight…

"What were you doing at my locker?" the brunette asked next to him, making Troy jump a little. She giggled.

"Stop following me," he answered deadpan as he continued walking.

"I'm not following you, I'm just walking in the same direction as you," she said. Troy looked down at her and arched an eyebrow.

"You're a freaking stalker, you know that?" he said.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "I'm not a stalker, Cinnamon Roll. Not my fault that you think you're the center of the universe."

Troy scoffed. "You wished I was the center of your universe."

The brown eyed girl raised both her eyebrows at him. "Really? Is that what you think?"

"I'm pretty positive, Cupcake," he answered.

She came to a halt, grabbing Troy's arm forcefully to make him stop and turn to look at her.

"What was that for?" he asked annoyed.

She ignored his question. "Then why were you the one that wanted to kiss me?" she asked.

Troy felt an annoying knot form at the pit of his stomach, but he kept his serene expression on, avoiding showing any true emotions. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said and turned around.

Gabriella's stomach crumpled up with anger as she followed. She knew he would probably try to deny it, so that part didn't really bother her; what bothered her was that he acted like it wasn't something that affected him in any way.

She grabbed his arm again. "You know perfectly well of what I'm talking about, Troy!"

"No I don't, please go away," he said deadpan, wanting to turn back around and leave.

"Why are you afraid?" she asked him, jogging up in front of him to stop him.

"Afraid?" he frowned down at her, annoyed. "Afraid of what, Cupcake?"

"Of me," she answered, staring directly into his blue eyes. "Of what's going on in here," she said, motioning between them with her hand.

"I'm not afraid of you, Montez," he glared down at her with anger. "And I'm certainly not afraid of what's going on in here, because nothing is going on in here!" he yelled on her face before walking past her and bumping into her shoulder on porpoise.

"Why are you such a coward!" she yelled after him.

Troy froze in his place with wide eyes. But soon that feeling of surprise turned into anger, real and pure anger. He clenched his fists as he turned around to face her once again.

Gabriella jumped back a little after looking at Troy. His eyes had turned into a heavy shade of navy and the skin on his forehead had creased up in a deep and scary frown. The skin of his knuckles had turned white and his shoulders were square, tense. For the first time since she's met him, Gabriella felt intimidated by Troy. Maybe she had hit a soft spot.

The teenage boy marched back to Gabriella furiously, danger was written all over his face and the brunette felt the need to run away, but she stood there, not moving an inch. He grabbed her by the arm and pushed her against the lockers, making her wince a little and drop her backpack on the floor.

"Listen to me, Montez. And listen well," he hissed on her face. "I'm everything but a coward. I do not run away from my problems, I face them. You're one of my problems, one of the most annoying and exasperating problems I've ever had; you're nosey, you're persistent and you like to create little worlds in your stupid little head. So I'm telling you to leave me the fuck alone, alright? I do not like you, I'm not attracted to you and I'm certainly not afraid of you. Make us both a favor and stop making up fantasy stories of us in your little mind, because ain't gonna happen. You hear me?"

The brunette didn't answer. She was too busy staring up at the eyes of the intimidating guy to react. She was frozen right on her spot, she wasn't sure if she was still breathing.

"Are you retarded or something? I said: Do you hear me?" he repeated, aggravation evident in his voice.

Gabriella continued to stare up at him. Many would have just nodded their head and try to run off, but she just stood there with her eyes locked to his. Sure, she was a little bit scared, but she was never one to let herself be intimidated by people but her father, and that because it was her father they were talking about.

"You're hurting my arm," she said calmly a couple of seconds later.

Troy stared down at her unbelieving, his eyes drifting to where his hand was clutching her forearm before returning to Gabriella's brown orbs.

"You're sick," he accused her. "Didn't you hear anything of what I just said?"

"I heard, but I don't believe you," she said. "And yes, I'm sick and I'm fucking proud of it," she hissed at him.

"I can see that," he narrowed his eyes at her. "Why are you so sure I want anything to do with you?" he questioned her. Gabriella stayed silent for a moment as she pondered her answers.

"You want to know how I know?" she finally asked him.

"Surprise me," he challenged her.

"Okay," she nodded.

And so that was what she did. She caught him off guard when she softly placed her free hand on the back of his neck, pulling him in towards her.

Yes, it had hurt what he said, but she still had a little hope that he was lying. So she decided to test her hypothesis the only way she thought he wouldn't try to push her away.

Troy stood still for a moment when his lips collided against Gabriella's; he was too shocked to even move. He hadn't seen that one coming. He was still gripping her right arm tightly as his other hand travelled involuntarily to Gabriella's waist, landing over it, softly.

Both of their hearts started speeding up as their lips started to dance together. Troy was very aware of what was happening; he knew it shouldn't be happening, but somehow he couldn't find the will to pull away. He knew he had to, he knew he needed to, but he just couldn't; he didn't want to.

He slowly began to give in; his shoulders became less tense and the grip on Gabriella's arm loosened up till he let go of it completely, only to change the place of his hand on the other side of Gabriella's waist.

The brunette grinned into the kiss; she was right. She knew he was lying, somehow she had managed to look behind Troy's mask… or maybe she just had a hunch; whatever it was, she was right.

She moved her now free arm behind Troy's neck, bringing him closer to her. She had this feeling of victory running warmly through her veins, and she loved every single moment of it. She felt like someone had started a fire underneath her skin and the spot where Troy's hands were comfortably lying was the place where it burned the most in a non-painful way.

Troy found himself in heaven. Her hands were soft and gentle and her kiss was tender and sweet, innocent. He liked it. It wasn't like those wild rough make out sessions he's had from when he went crashing parties; no… this one was a million times better. There was something in this kiss that was addictive, something that he wanted to continue to taste until forever, something that wasn't allowing him to pull back, something that was attracting him like a magnet.

Troy leaned forward a little so he could press Gabriella's back against the lockers. She didn't seem to mind though, as she moved her hands to Troy's arms and pulled them a little, making them wrap around her waist completely. The blue eyed teen smirked; he liked what she had just done.

He pulled back for moment, opening his eyes to stare down at the brunette that seemed to fit perfectly in his arms. Gabriella also opened her eyes and she gasped a little; Troy was unaware that a small grin was plastered on his face. A real smile. She also smiled, making Troy's heart flutter with joy and he leaned back down to capture her addictive lips with his once again.

Gabriella received his kiss whole heartedly and she smiled happily. Everything felt just right; they fitted perfectly fine, like if they were two puzzle pieces that just recently found their other part.

After a while, Gabriella pulled back, feeling the need to breathe; Troy needed air too.

He stared down at Gabriella when she placed her head over his shoulder and sighed contently. Troy's mind was in blank as he pressed his nose to the top of her head and breathed in her smell. He sighed.

"What do you do to me?" he murmured against her hair. Gabriella grinned.

"The same thing you do to me," she answered softly, not wishing to ruin the moment.

"One week and you've got me going nuts for you," he continued to murmur. "That isn't right," he sighed. The brunette continued to smile. She pulled her head back so she could stare up at Troy.

"It doesn't have to be right," she told him.

Troy's blue eyes bored into her brown ones. She was so beautiful. He pressed his palm over her cheek and stroked it with his thumb. Gabriella felt her heart flutter with his gentle touch, but that warm feeling in her stomach started to disappear when she noticed that Troy's eyes began to lose their brightness.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly.

Troy sighed as reality began hitting him again. Yes, she was very beautiful, and not only on the outside, but on the inside too; she was a beautiful person. He frowned sadly as he rested his forehead on Gabriella's; he didn't want to let go.

"Everything's wrong, Gabriella," he said.

"Why do you say that?" she questioned, frowning with confusion.

He pulled back again so he could look into her brown eyes. "Because it is," he said. "This is wrong."

Gabriella shook her head. "Why?"

"This can't be, Gabriella," he said softly, not really answering her question.

"Yes, it can," she said. "We just have to try, Troy. I-It doesn't have to be anything serious, we could just hang out and get to know each other and-,"

Troy shook his head. "No, Gabriella, that's not what I mean," he cut her off. "I can't have a relationship, and much less with you," he said.

"What?"

"You're gonna end up hurt, Cupcake," he murmured. "So please… I'm begging you to stop looking for me."

"Troy-,"

"No!" he cut her off. "Leave me alone," he told her sternly. "I'm serious, Gabriella."

She frowned, frustrated. "Why do you want to cut me off?"

Troy stared at her for a moment before slowly –and sadly –uncoiling his arms from Gabriella's waist. "Stop asking so many questions," he told her deadpan. "It's annoying."

He took Gabriella's wrists and pulled her hands away from his neck.

"You're the annoying one," she bit back.

He nodded his head. "But you're the most annoying."

With that one last sentence Troy turned around and walked off with his hands in his pockets. Gabriella stared after him totally confused and annoyed and hurt; she had managed to make him admit that he was attracted to her, and she couldn't understand why he continued to fight her when everything was out in the open. It didn't make sense; at least not to her.

Troy walked with a deep and angry frown on his face; he couldn't believe he let that happen. He couldn't believe that she kissed him. Yes, he was the one who told her to surprise him, but the fact of her daring to pull him in to kiss him was one of the things he never thought of. He shook his head; it would be harder to ignore her now that she knows that he liked her. He was just as stupid as that, wasn't he? He sighed. He wished he could just give in already; to let her near, to let himself fall in love with her and have her. Sadly he knew he couldn't. Karma was playing good this time. And this time he was going to fight it with all his will, no matter what. He was going to fight Gabriella Montez no matter what.


To be continued.

Yes I know I suck for leaving it here after 2 months of not updating, but… you know I like drama ;)

Once again I'm sorry for the wait, I didn't mean to take this long to update this chapter, but I was having one of my constant cases of writer's block and school's been insane.

Well, since now I have 4 weeks of exams coming, (two weeks of monthly exams and two weeks of mid-terms. Yes, my school's a bitch like that) I hope to have next chapter up in the week we have in between to rest. If not, then you guys will have to wait till Christmas Break.

My hard work in school is turning out quite good. I Aced all my classes… except for Statistics; I got a B. ¬¬

Oh, and three weeks ago was my 18th b-day (October 24th) so I want reviews as a present! :D hahah jk.

Anyway!

Now I was hoping to get this chapter up this morning, but… apparently that didn't happen :3 so I'm updating now. If there's still someone reading this, thank you for the support, you guys are great! :D

Please Read, Enjoy and REVIEW! xD

Once again, I'm deeply sorry for the wait and I'll try to update as soon as I can.

SORRY for Grammar and Spelling mistakes.

Xoxo Mary.