Well I'm glad you all liked the last chapter, so here's the next one for you, enjoy!

Secrets

Everyone had their favourite place to sit, their table in the canteen or their corner of the filed outside and generally everyone knew who sat where and respected that's how it was. But today it seemed like someone had ignored that rule because someone was sat under the tree which Jessie, Jazzy, Jenna and Jemma occupied at lunch times, only today they were being joined by Jake.

"Looks like someone's taken our spot," Jenna pointed out, as they walked over to 'their' tree, located around the side of the school field, not too far from the building.

"I'm sure we can another tree or ask them to move," Jemma responded. "It's not like we own the tree." The group of friends laughed, as they continued their walk to their tree, until Jessie stopped them dead in their tracks.

"They're crying," she simply stated, confusing her friends and sister.

"Who is?" Jake asked, really confused.

"The person under our tree, a girl…hang on a minute, isn't that Gabi?" Jessie asked, turning to her twin for confirmation.

"Yeah it is…erm why don't we settle under the tree next to hers and then I'll be able to judge how bad it is, sometimes if she gets really upset only certain people can get her out of it." The friends agreed and moved to sit under the tree next to their usual one, where Jazzy was able to assess just how bad the situation was.

It wasn't hard to figure out; Gabriella was sat leaning against the tree, her knees pulled to her chest, her arms wrapped round her legs and her head resting on her knees. They could hear her crying from where they were, and that was a good few feet away, she was seriously upset about something.

"I think we should go and get Troy, I don't wanna risk going over and upsetting her more, I think he'll know how to handle it and might even know what's wrong.

"I'll go," Jake offered. "He'll be in the canteen, right?"

"Yeah I'd of thought so, we'll stay here and keep an eye on her," Jazzy responded, as Jake left his bag with the girls and took off to find Troy.

It didn't take him long; he was at his usual table with the rest of the seniors, but unlike other sophomores Jake didn't feel threatened by a table full of seniors, he knew them all to well.

"Jakey boy," Chad greeted, using his usual nickname for the boy. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"It's not really a pleasure, sorry Chad, I just came in to get Troy because Gabriella is sat under the girls usual tree and she's crying really badly, Jazzy didn't want to upset her more and said you might be able to deal with it better or maybe even know what's wrong?"

"I don't know what's wrong but I'll come and see her, lead the way," Troy said, as he gathered his belongings and followed Jake, knowing his friends would be hot on his tail.

They got to the girls quickly and they all looked a lot more worried than when Jake had left them. "She's gotten worse since we've been here Troy, she doesn't know we're here, I don't think she'd be crying so loudly if she did," Jazzy said quickly, her worry coming through in her voice.

"It's alright Jazz, don't worry, I'll talk to her, just stay here and eat some lunch okay?" Troy asked, as he placed his bag down by the tree. "Jake look after her will ya? Make sure she eats something, make sure they all do, she'll be fine girls, I'm sure of it." Troy said, as he made sure Jazzy was safely in Jake's arms before making his way over to Gabriella.

TGTGTGTG

She wanted to get rid of her cast, the last reminder of the accident, of that fatal day, but that meant doing the one thing she never wanted to do ever again, going back to the hospital.

It had hit her suddenly, on her way to the canteen with Taylor, and so she'd excused herself to go to the toilet, telling Taylor she'd meet her there. She had gone to the toilet, to try and calm herself down, but it didn't work, there were too many girls in there, gossiping, so she left and gone outside, to get some fresh air and cry, that was all she really wanted to do right now. She picked a tree that wasn't surrounded by anyone and simply sat under it and cried, hoping to let out all of her emotions before she went to meet the others, but the tears hadn't stopped and it seemed the others had found her.

"Gabi?" It was Troy and she knew, she could hear the others as well, but she didn't care about that, she just wanted Troy. She lifted her head to look him in the eye, not even attempting to smile or reassure him. She patted the ground next to her, answering Troy's next unasked question and watching silently as he plopped down next to her and then took her into his arms, rocking them both softly from side to side, her sobs becoming louder and louder, scaring Troy more and more as time went by.

"Chad," Troy called his friend over, knowing he'd need his help the most right now. "I need to get her out of here," he explained, as his friend knelt down next to him. "Somewhere where there's no one else around, I'm gonna take her to Dad in his office, but I don't wanna take her through the school, it'll make her hysteric."

"Okay, so what do you need me to do?" Chad asked, willing to do anything to help right now.

"Go to my Dad and tell him what's happening, ask him to open the side door to the gym, I'm gonna bring Gabi round that way, it's locked and he's the only one with the key. The others can go with you and wait in the gym 'cause I'm gonna take her straight through to Dad's office, where she's away from everything and it's quiet, I think it'll calm her down quicker."

Chad nodded and placed a comforting hand on Gabriella's shoulder. "Hang in there Gabs, you're gonna be okay," he said, before getting up and turning to the others, taking them all with him to give Troy some space with Gabriella.

"Hey lovely, I know you're not in the mood to talk right now, but I need you to listen to me, alright?" Gabriella nodded slightly against Troy's chest and he continued. "I'm gonna take you inside, away from everyone else, I'm gonna take you to Dad's office," Troy felt Gabriella tense at the thought of the other students seeing her like this. "It's alright honey calm down, I'm gonna take you round the side of the building and into the gym through the side door and into Dad's office that way, the only people who will see you are the gang, the girls and Jake, it's all going to be okay sweetheart, I promise you." Troy said, as he momentarily let go of Gabriella to stand up, before crouching back down and taking her into his arms bridal style. "Come on lovely; let's get you out of here."

TGTGTGTG

Twenty minutes.

It had taken him twenty minutes to figure out why she was so upset and of course the answer was obvious.

"Brie, I need to go and talk to my Dad, I won't be long, I promise, you gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, is there somewhere I can tidy up?" Gabriella asked, her tear stains dried on her aching, red face.

"Yeah, there's a toilet just outside, to the left, alright?" Gabriella nodded and let Troy place one more of many soft kisses onto her forehead before he left.

He walked into the gym to find the boys, including Jack, questioning Jake, while Jazzy was trying to stop them. "What do you think hoops?" Chad asked. "Think these two had the right to keep their relationship a secret?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah I do, I would, and you lot have proved why. I'm betting they kept it quiet to stop you lot ganging up on Jake and questioning him, right Jazz?" Jasmine simply nodded. "See? Now shut up and leave the poor boy alone, if anyone gets to question him, it's me, not even you Dad. We will talk Jake, just not in quite as harsh a way as these guys have planned," Jake smiled at this, relived Troy didn't seem to be overly bothered by him and Jazzy dating. "Anyway, Dad can I borrow you a minute?" Jack nodded and gave the basket ball back to Jake, who did have possession until the boys had started their questioning.

"What's up son?" Jack asked, once he and Troy were in the hallway that connect the gym and the locker rooms. "Is Gabi okay?"

"Yes and no, I think she's really worried about having her cast taken off because it means she's gotta go back to the hospital and being there reminds her of that night, she completely closes up, I had to do all the talking when I took her to have her arm looked at. Is there any way I can go with her and Mum?"

"I thought your Mum said you could go as well, maybe she didn't get the chance to tell you, I don't know, either way you can go with them. I'm not running practise tonight so I can be at home with the others so you're free to go, just be at home and ready to leave by four because her appointment is at half past, okay?"

"Yeah thanks Dad, I'm gonna try and reassure her, she's calmed down a lot since the others first found her."

"Good I'm glad, oh and Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"When you do speak to Jake, go easy on him, he's a good kid and Jazzy clearly likes him, they're good together."

"I know Dad, I was just gonna give him some tips on her favourite food and such and then thank him for making her so happy recently, that's all."

Jack smiled. "You're to good for your own good sometimes Troy, too good," Troy just shrugged and smiled sheepishly, before leaving his Dad and making his way back to Gabriella.

She was still sat where he'd left her, but Troy suspected she'd gone to tidy up, as she'd said, as her face wasn't as red and her tear stains seemed to have gone.

"So my lovely lady," Troy said, as he plopped down next to her on the couch in Jack's office. "I have figured out why you were so upset."

"Really?" Gabriella asked, her voice quiet.

"Really," Troy replied, his voice just as quiet, as he lifted his arm and allowed Gabriella to snuggle into his left side. "You're worried about going back to the hospital aren't you?"

"I know I shouldn't be because I've been there again since that night, but it still scares me Troy."

"I know it does lovely, I can understand that, you hardly spoke when we got your arm looked at remember? But it's gonna be okay this time, just like it was then. Dad just told me, he thinks Mum forgot because she was supposed to, that I can come with you today. We're gonna leave home at four because you're appointment is at half four and then when we get home you're gonna go have you're first shower without you're cast and get ready for our date, okay?"

"I think I can deal with that, where we going? What do I need to wear?"

"Casual stuff, stuff you feel comfortable in, as for where we're going I can't tell you, but I think you'll like it, so you're okay, just meet me in the kitchen at seven, alright? That gives you about two hours to get ready if we get home at five, maybe a little less depending on traffic."

Gabriella smiled. "Thank you Troy, I think I can get through having this thing taken off now."

"It's no problem, anytime lovely, and you know it."

TGTGTGTG

"Hey Jake," Lucille greeted the young man, who'd made quite an impression on one of her daughters. "Jazzy's still getting ready so of course you're not allowed up, but Troy's pottering about outside sorting stuff out for him and Gabi tonight, I think he could probably use a hand, if you're up for it?"

"Yeah I think I can handle that Mrs B, what's he up to out there anyway?" Jake asked, as he followed Lucille through to the kitchen.

"I have no idea, but while you go and find out, could you take these out for me?" Jake nodded and took the boxes off of the kitchen counter.

"The stuff inside the hamper is hot, Troy knows what it is and it should stay warm, it's in heat proof containers and stuff. The one on top of it is slightly cold because it has drinks and desert in it, he knows what's in there as well, just make sure he keeps them separate and you'll be fine."

"Will do Mrs B," Jake said, as he turned and headed out into the Bolton's back yard to find Troy climbing down from his tree house.

"Hey captain," Jake greeted. "Mrs B said these are for you and that you should know what they are."

"Oh hey Jake and if that's the hot and cold stuff then yeah I know what they are, couldn't give me a hand carrying them up could ya?"

"Sure thing," Jake answered, letting Troy take the bigger, hot box from him, before following him over to the tree and then up the ladder into the now beautifully decorated tree house.

"Wow Troy it looks amazing in here, Gabi must mean a lot to you," Jake said, as he gave the cold box to Troy and let him put it where he wanted it.

"You're right she does, but I just wanted to make her feel special tonight, you and me both know how tough it's been for her recently, I just want her to be able to forget and enjoy herself for a while, just like you want for Jazzy I guess."

"I really like her Troy, I didn't think keeping us a secret would cause so much trouble."

"It hasn't, not with me anyway, she's been really happy since you came that day and spoke to her Jake, the smile has hardly ever left her face and that means a lot to me, knowing how happy she is. To be honest I don't blame you for keeping it a secret, there's a lot more going on between me and Gabi than just me looking after her, but we're not gonna tell anyone, it'll just be way too much fuss for her to handle, just like it would've been for Jazzy."

"Yeah, when I asked her out she didn't answer straight away, she actually cried. I finally managed to get it out of her that she was worried what everyone would think, but didn't want to say anything because she was worried I would think she was ashamed of me. I assured her I would never think that and that if she wanted to keep things quiet for a while that would be fine with me, so that's how it's been for a couple of weeks now. Things are just simple between us Troy, I swear, we hold hands, cuddle, share the odd little kiss when we're alone, I even laid with the other week and held a my Mum's water bottle against her stomach because she had period pain," they both had to chuckle at that. "I'm serious Troy, she means a lot to me, I really like her, I would never hurt her."

"I know that Jake and Dad does as well, he only joined in today for the fun of it, he knows how happy Jazzy has been recently he isn't, daft, just don't hurt her in any way, or I will let the boys question you, very seriously."

"I won't Troy, you have my word."

"Good, now where you taking her tonight?"

"I'm not sure yet, I was gonna ask her what she fancied to eat and then go from there, you Mum is dropping us off at the retail park so we can go to the cinema afterwards, so anything there I guess, why?"

"She really likes Italian food, especially pizza and there's a really great Italian restaurant there, does great pizza, the big ones that you can share, but have different toppings are great, take her there, she will love it."

"You think?"

"Yeah I do, now come on, Jessie will want to get going to Jenna's and she's been picked up by Jemma. Jazzy should be ready by now and I'm thinking Gabi is probably playing with my siblings having been ready for ages," Jake chuckled at what Troy had to say, before following him out of the tree house and down the ladder, feeling like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders now that both Troy and Jack were happy for him and Jazzy to be dating.

TGTGTGTG

The tree house looked amazing, so much so that Gabriella was speechless when she arrived. Troy had hung fairy lights all around, giving it a really romantic feel along with the fading darkness outside.

Now, the food had been eaten, Chinese food, something Gabriella had mentioned only ever eating once and so Troy had ordered some from his favourite takeaway, giving her the chance to try it again. Desert had been an amazing slice of chocolate from Troy's favourite cake shop, a big slice which the pair had shared and enjoyed feeding to each other.

Now they were laying cuddled up together, with pillows under their heads, well if you called Troy a pillow, then yeah Gabriella had a pillow under her head, blankets under them, so they weren't laying directly on the floor and one wrapped tightly around them, especially Gabriella, who'd quickly gotten cold in her summery dress and cardigan. Troy had opened the roof and they were just laying there comfortable in the others arms, enjoying the moment and occasionally pointing out especially bright stars.

"So Miss Montez, is there anything is particular you want to do tomorrow?" Troy asked, breaking their comfortable silence.

"Not really," Gabriella answered. "I don't really know what there is to do around here anyway, I didn't used to go out much, remember?"

"Yeah I remember, but I just that you might know some places. Okay, how about we head to the beach? There's a fun fair there at the moment as well, well in a near by field, but still, sound good?"

"Definitely, I haven't been to the beach in ages, Grandpa didn't like driving that far as he got older and Grandma didn't drive so we didn't go, can we really go Troy?"

"If you want to lovely, then of course we can. But I have a question to ask." Troy said, as he rolled onto his side and waited for Gabriella to do the same, before resting his arm back over her waist and re-intertwining their legs.

"What question?" Gabriella asked, as she pulled the blanket up higher, causing Troy to pull her closer.

"Well you see, I kinda wanna take my girlfriend to the beach and fun fair with me tomorrow and seeing as I'm going with you, what do you say? Be my girlfriend Gabriella?"

"Would we have to tell anyone?"

"Not if you don't want to honey, not straight away, we can't hide it forever, I'll want the world to know you're my girlfriend one day, but for now, it can be our little secret, alright?" Troy asked, his voice soft and soothing towards Gabriella.

"Sounds perfectly alright to me, so yes Troy, I'd love to be your girlfriend." Troy smiled and leaned in to place a quick kiss on Gabriella lips, taking her by surprise and causing her to pull back.

"Hey hey hey, it's okay," Troy soothed, pulling her to him and allowing her to hide her now blushing face into the crook of his neck, as he rolled back onto his back, pulling Gabriella with him, causing her to be laying half on him, half off.

"I'm sorry Troy, I've never done this before, I have no idea what to expect…or do." Gabriella admitted from her hiding place.

"Then I guess you'll have to learn, won't you? Honestly Brie, you'll be fine, there's no rule of how it should or shouldn't be, it's just what's right for each couple and I reckon for us; cuddles, hand holding and the odd kiss sounds good for now, the rest will come in time honey, what ever is right for you will do, okay?"

Gabriella nodded and moved herself so that she and then Troy were laying back on their sides and this time, she leaned in capturing Troy's lips in a short, sweet, but very passion filled kissed, one that left them cuddled together that way for the rest of the evening, basking in the idea that they now both had someone to call their own.

TGTGTGTG

There it is guys, chapter nine for you and up quite quickly since the last one, you proud of me?

Next chapter: Troy and Gabi's day out and more :) I don't know when it'll be out because school starts up again on Tuesday and then there's exams soon, but I do have a long weekend soon, so you never know, but I'll try my hardest to get another out to you soon!:)!

As always:

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! THANK YOU!