DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.

A/N: Okay, so I apologize for the really long wait for this story but I had a lot on my plate and couldn't even think about writing at all! Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Cat and Mouse

CHAPTER 10

WHAT IF?

He cared. He actually cared about her. That was the only thing she could think about when he'd kissed behind her ear again, murmured goodbye and slipped away to face Miss Darbus in homeroom. It had been the only thing she could think about through out the day, every time she saw him all she could feel were his arms wrapped tightly around her waist as he brushed his lips over her hair. God, it wasn't fair! He wasn't allowed to act like that, he wasn't meant to tell her he didn't want her to hurt. He wasn't allowed to turn it on her like that. He didn't want it to hurt her and right now, she was hurting more than she'd ever imagined she could. Because she knew he cared now, she knew that there was more to this game now than falling back into bed with her; she knew that she was more than his little project and she knew that he knew how she felt and that was probably what was hurting her the most. She couldn't help but feel like he was deliberately trying to hurt her, deliberately trying to make her cry and for some reason she couldn't fault him for it and that's what added to the torrent of emotions that she was currently feeling. Because she wanted to blame him, she wanted to hate him for causing her pain; she wanted him to at least feel some small portion of what she was feeling and whenever she thought about it, it hurt that much more because she realized that she couldn't do it. She couldn't hate him for what he was doing; she couldn't hate because as she'd discovered, hating someone you loved was so much harder than hating someone you were simply lusting over.

Gabriella let her head hit the lab desk she was sitting at and felt hot tears burn her eyes. For a moment she wished that the fact that she loved him hadn't decided to force itself upon her. God, it wasn't even the high school love that her mother always told her about, the one were people were only incredibly infatuated with someone before it all wore off and Gabriella hated the fact that the feeling in her stomach told her that what she felt for Troy was a lot more than the feeling the cheerleaders had for their short term boyfriends. It was something so much more and it hurt more to realize that it was so much more because she let it become so much more. She could have stopped it at the one night stand on New Year's Eve, she could have stopped his stupid little game and she could have not found that other side of him, the side that so many people didn't see, so wonderful. But she had. She'd found his vulnerable side, the side were everything mattered to him, so amazing that she'd found herself falling for it. It was like falling for two different Troy's, one she hadn't seen much of, the emotional side, the vulnerable one, the one that preferred to lean on her than deal with it herself and she'd seen the other side. The side that was constantly amused, the side that could become as cold as ice if someone said something he didn't like and the side that had a temper many avoided at all costs and for some unknown reason, the two different parts of his personality made her love him even more.

Hearing the door to the lab open, Gabriella's head immediately snapped up and her hands went to her face to wipe away the few tears that had escaped. Sitting up straighter, Gabriella looked down at the textbook she was meant to be reading from and quickly flicked it open to a random page, picking up her pen she focused on the tiny letters and waited for the person to find her.

"Gabs! You are in here!" Hearing Taylor's relieved voice, Gabriella dropped the pen and turned to look at her as Taylor walked over and seated herself on one of the stools that sat beside Gabriella.

"Hey Tay." Gabriella sighed, turning to face her friend who was watching her carefully, as if trying to figure out what was wrong with her.

"Sweetie, what happened? You were fine this morning when I left you." Taylor asked gently, almost cautiously. Gabriella looked at her, biting her lip as she tried to think of a way to word exactly what had happened.

"I – I…Troy happened. That's what happened." Gabriella said softly biting her lip as Taylor touched her arm gently. "God Taylor, it's not fair! Why can't this stupid game be what I think it is? Why can't the purpose be what I wanted it to be? Why did I sleep with him in the first place? Why the hell did I have to fall in love with him?" Gabriella's voice rose with every question and Taylor stood from her seat and slipped an arm around Gabriella's shoulders as her friend pressed a hand to her face and took a deep breath.

"Gabriella, what happened?" Taylor asked softly and Gabriella shook her head slightly before taking in another deep breath.

"Taylor, he cares about me." The words were whispered and Gabriella felt Taylor's hand freeze half-way up her arm.

"What?" Taylor kept her voice carefully blank as Gabriella watched her, biting her bottom lip so hard that her lip was white.

"Troy, this morning, you know how I was late for homeroom? He," Gabriella took a deep breath, "he was at my locker and we were talking I guess and he said something about how I remember things I shouldn't and I got upset when he said that. Taylor he said he didn't want me to hurt. He cares about me Tay. He actually cares." Gabriella finished in a whisper and Taylor narrowed her eyes at her friend, not quite seeing why Gabriella was so upset.

"Okay, so why are you so freaked out?" She asked and Gabriella shrugged, turning her eyes back to the textbook that sat in front of her.

"Because I thought that the game was all about…falling back into bed. I didn't think that he cared about me, I didn't think I'd fall in love with him." Taylor's eyebrows drew together in a quizzical look and Gabriella once again shrugged at the expression, averting her gaze when she saw Taylor begin to mull over what she had said, trying to piece together the mystery of her friend.

"So you're hiding and mad because the guy you love cares about you? How is that a bad thing? And when did you decide that you were in love with him?" Taylor added as an afterthought, not at all worried about the fact that Gabriella was in love with him and more worried about the fact that she was going to over think how everything was happening. To Taylor, Troy was one of the best things that had happened to Gabriella, no matter what her friend thought.

"Yes, no, I don't know why I'm hiding. It's just that it so…unexpected. I mean, he never let on that he cared about me, I wanted him to care about me, hell I still want him to love me but I figured that was never going to happen, so I sort of settled for whatever he wanted from me." Gabriella replied, her eyes trained on the desk as she fiddled with the pen that she had dropped.

"And the whole love thing?" Taylor probed and Gabriella sighed, turning her eyes to Taylor and smiling sadly.

"I guess it really hit me when he left this morning. I don't know what to do Taylor. I mean, I know he cares about me but I love him. One doesn't match the other, no matter how much I want it too." Taylor sighed at Gabriella's words, seeing the logic and knowing that no matter what she said; Gabriella wouldn't be convinced to leave the lab until she'd come to some conclusion that would be blown out of the water the moment Troy made another move.

"Okay, stay here. But Gabriella, what if Troy doesn't just care about you, what if he loves you? What if you falling in love with him was the whole reason he started the game and he's been stringing you along about the sex part all along? What if you were wrong and the game wasn't what you thought it was?" Gabriella stared at Taylor as the words left her mouth, the words what if, circling through her mind as Taylor hugged her warmly before leaving Gabriella alone with her thoughts.

Staring at the page and barely flinching when the door clanged shut. Gabriella's mind went into overdrive as she wondered if Taylor was right. What if Troy didn't just care about her? What if Troy was loved her? What if the whole reason for this stupid game she still had no idea how to play, was for her to become his? What if…what if everything wasn't what she thought? Gabriella gulped slightly as a whole new world of prospects and ideas opened up to her at the simple question of what if. Instead of taking to it, dipping into to it the way she could have if it was anyone else. She fought to close it, finding herself more than an afraid when she realized that things were beginning to move to quickly and everything was slowly getting out of hand. Not that it had been in her hands anyway, but Gabriella couldn't stop the feeling in her stomach that despite everything Troy had said in the past, the game had barely started.

Swallowing slightly at her own thoughts, Gabriella snapped her textbook shut and shoved it into her bag. Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she pulled the strap over her shoulder and headed for the door. Stepping into the quiet corridor, Gabriella suddenly became grateful for the free period right after lunch. Hugging herself tightly, she began to walk down the hallway, no real destination in mind and a determination to keep herself from thinking about Troy and her feelings for him, as well as the what ifs? That her mind was struggling to turn to and examine in great deal. They're just what ifs, though, Gabriella reminded herself firmly as she turned a corner. Feeling warm sunshine on her face, Gabriella smiled a little as she saw the gym. Feeling her stomach turn at the thought that Troy might be in there, she ignored it and was about to continue walking when the door to the gym burst open and banged shut. Holding back a startled scream, Gabriella stepped forward and her eyes widened when she saw a furious Troy. Before she could even respond to the instinct that told her to go to him, the door to gym burst open again and Coach Bolton appeared, as furious as his son.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Troy? I'm trying to run a practice!" The Coach's words echoed around the school and Gabriella flattened herself against the wall beside her and wondered if she should go back the way she came from.

"Trying to run a practice? Is that what you're calling it?" Troy let out a sarcastic laugh and Gabriella bit her lip. "That's not a fucking practice Dad; a practice is where you don't treat one of your best players like crap! A practice is where everyone sharpens there skills not freaks out because they drop the fucking ball!" Gabriella swallowed at the fury in Troy's voice and wondered what had happened for him to become so angry.

"Don't you dare use language like that around me young man! I'm not only your Coach and your father." The tone of Coach Bolton's voice had Gabriella paling slightly, she'd never heard someone sound so dangerous, his words were almost like a threat and she curled her hand into a fist at Troy's snort of laughter.

"You're not a fucking coach, you're a fucking Nazi. As for being my father, you lost the right to call yourself that the moment I stepped onto that court." Gabriella knew that Troy was gesturing towards the gym just by his own furious tone. For a moment, there was silence and Gabriella wondered what had happened when she heard the gym door bang shut. Closing her eyes in relief, she let out a soft sigh before dropping her bag onto the ground and rounding the corner she'd snaked behind to find Troy.

He wasn't hard to find. He was standing were she assumed he'd been when he'd faced off with his father, his body was taut with anger and she could see a muscle in his jaw twitching as he faced away from the gym door. Seeing a red imprint on his jaw, Gabriella felt a moments panic at what Coach Bolton had done during those few moments of silence and then pushed it away, as she reached him. For a moment she stood there, unsure what she should do and then didn't have to wonder when he spoke.

"You saw all of that?" He asked, his voice was quiet and Gabriella heard the lingering fury in it, for a moment she wished he would turn around to look at her before she replied.

"I heard it. Is it always that bad?" She asked softly and was rewarded with a shrug she didn't know how to interpret. Folding her bottom lip inward, Gabriella grasped some of his practice jersey in her hand and tugged on it. Troy complied and Gabriella looked up at him with a worried curiosity.

"Sometimes it can be worse." He admitted just as quietly as before. Gabriella took in a sharp breath at his admittance and raised a hand to tug at his folded arms. They fell to his side in an almost dejected move and Gabriella found herself fighting tears at the way he was acting. Rising to her toes, she slipt her arms around his neck and pulled him down with her as she lowered herself back to the ground. He was still tense, but he didn't push her away and Gabriella found herself grateful for it as she turned her head to press her lips to the side of his neck.

"Troy, relax. Baby, relax." The words slipped out of her before she could stop them and Gabriella wished that they had at least drawn a smirk from him, though she felt some relief when his arms slipped around her waist.

He buried his face deep in her neck and Gabriella's mind flashed to Friday before returning to the now. Pulling him closer, she pressed more kisses to his neck as he pulled away, a good deal less furious and a bit more vulnerable as he looked at her.

"You're Dad didn't hit you did he Troy?" Gabriella asked, her eyes finding the imprint on his jaw again and Troy shook his head, letting out a dry chuckle at her question.

"No Brie he didn't. He wouldn't. Mom'd kill him if he did." Gabriella let out a sigh of relief at his words and leaned up to press her lips to his neck again. She could see the haze of vulnerability receding and wondered if she would see it again, instead she tilted her head back to look him in the eye and smiled slightly when she saw the vulnerability and anger shift to amusement. Leaning up, her lips found his in a brief kiss and Gabriella lingered over it, knowing it was a kiss to soothe if nothing else. Pulling back she held him close again. Before he pulled away.

She let him go; knowing that he had to get back to his practice before his father came searching for him. This time there was no mention of forgetting it, no mention of it never happening and Gabriella had to wonder what if this part of them, this part of their complicated relationship, had nothing to do with the game and everything to do with how they felt. What if the game was just an excuse?

A/N: I'm not sure about this; I don't think I did it very well or if it got the point across. Oh well, let me know if it did!