Hey peeps! I hope everyone is well! I can't reply to everyone, every time, however sometimes I see a comment that inspires a reply or a new name or something and I reply back. Like I say over and over, I appreciate every single one of you who bothers to hit 'review' and type a word or two or a hundred (batzmary lol)

TheEternalCrow- yes you do lol x

Mydeamsinwords- I do update quick, I hate waiting months for updates lol.

.de- thank you!

Kaybaby- you know me too well! ;)

Turkish turquoise- the reference to him kissing her on the cheek was in relation to the last time he had walked her home and tried to kiss her. I can see why that didn't make sense though :)

Xmindset- she just gets mad lol. It's just how it is. And she believes that she's unloveable because of it but then there's Troy…hehe ;)

Chapter 11

Gabi was being dragged along the corridor by her upper arm, a grumpy and annoyed look on her face as she practically burned Ryan with her gaze.

Honestly, she didn't think it was a good idea to tell Troy the truth for two reasons. One, he still needed her help- or Terri's help to be precise- and she didn't know what the truth might do to him and two, she needed to keep her anonymity. She couldn't trust him not to freak out big time and spill the beans and then her little business would be kaput.

When the small, blonde boy brought her up beside Troy and his friends, she cringed and almost died.

"Hi," Ryan greeted with a smile, ignoring the jocks around Troy.

"Hey, man," Troy greeted and looked to Gabi with a cool stare. "What's up?"

"Gabi has something to say to you…"

The jocks crowed and Gabi rolled her eyes, wrangling her arm in Ryan's grip.

"Get off me," she whispered.

"Hey, we'll catch you later, man," Jason led the jocks away from Troy's locker and they sniggered as they looked back.

Gabi looked to Ryan. "You can let go now."

"Promise me you won't bail?"

"I can't now can I?" She fumed. "You made that pretty darn obvious…"

"Okay. My work is done," Ryan smiled again and marched off, leaving Gabi to look up under her frames to the indifferent Troy.

"Ok, yesterday…" She began.

"Do I have to remember that?" He inserted.

"Look, I…" She swallowed. "I wasn't mad at you for the reason you think…"

His brows lifted. "No? You seemed pretty mad to me…"

"I'm always mad!" She defended. "And I'm sorry I didn't tell you why…there's something you should know…there's lots you should know," she conceded, choosing to tell him the truth that existed before the penny had dropped.

"I'm listening," he folded his arms and leaned back on the locker and she frowned, pulling his arms down and stepping closer, but not touching him, only just an inch away looking right up into his eyes.

He adjusted his position to slouch a little and decrease his height.

"I was jealous, okay? I admit it," her cheeks flushed as she looked up.

"You could have just told me that instead of flipping out…" He remarked gently.

She sucked her lower lip and nodded shamefully. "And I thought that maybe you liked her…not me…" She added, then smirked. "Not that you would like me, but-"

His smile was soft and his finger paused her lips. "That's what I was trying to tell you…"

"What?" She looked at him, dumbfounded.

"Yesterday, when you went crazy...if you had listened, I was telling you that you were special to me, not the other girl. And that it was you I liked…And yeah, she's not you, okay? I was trying to say that she's not you…"

Gabi licked her lips and her breaths became short and tight. He lifted his hand and traced her cheek with his fingertips, bending his head to kiss her.

"Troy," she pressed her hands to his chest to stop him but nothing could stop the inevitable as their lips met; hers more tentatively than his; leaning up against the locker for everyone to see; but somehow, she didn't care.

When his hand cupped her neck and his thumb brushed her earring, she only wanted to tilt her head to deepen that kiss, not cast it off as she should be. In the hallway of all places, she tutted internally at her own behaviour.

But his kisses were amazing and she blinked drowsily as they surfaced, still stood there together, still surrounded by noisy students and not one of them caring what they had been doing seconds before.

"Am I forgiven?" He asked with a twinkle, knowing full well he wasn't even in the wrong.

She smiled shyly and blushed, pulling away. "The question is, am I?"

"FINALLY!" A familiar voiced sliced into their moment and Gabi rolled her eyes as Kelsey ascended upon them. "Finally you kissed…" She added to explain her excitement.

Troy smirked. "That's not the first time we-"

"Ah-" Gabi stopped him. "She doesn't need to know that…"

He smiled warmly at her and bent to whisper in her ear. "See you in lab..." He winked before he jogged off, back to his waiting friends down the hall who all jeered him.

"Great, they saw," Gabi sighed.

"Everyone saw," Kelsey confirmed her fears. "Why didn't you tell me?" She added with a shriek.

"Because it's really not a big deal…" Gabi rolled her eyes.

"Not a big deal? Gabi Montez- boyfriendless since time began, suddenly kissing the most popular guy in school- and the sexiest may I add- and it's not a big deal?"

"Thanks," Gabi muttered. "When you put it that way…"

"I'm so happy for you!" Kelsey hugged her.

"Well, it was just one kiss. Who knows what will happen…"

They began walking to class.

"Would you…you know?" Kelsey elbowed her.

Gabi made a face. "Right now I have a few more things to worry about that how far I'm going to go with Troy…" She sighed.

"Well let me worry about that part, then," Kelsey smiled eagerly and Gabi groaned at her excitement. "See you later!"

Her friend waved as she dived off.

If I'm still alive, Gabi mused. All this secret-keeping was going to kill her.

/

"Stop looking at me like that."

Lab was harder than she had thought it might be. Facing Troy was always going to be difficult- without the extra complication of him actually forgiving her. If he'd gone back to being angry she could have coped, but no, that kiss seemed to have shot every angry bone out of his body because he would not stop grinning.

"Like what?"

"Like you think I'm…"

"You're..?" He prompted.

"I don't know- whatever you're thinking," she spat.

"We should talk about this more," he conceded. "But later."

"So you're just going to keep grinning at me like that?" She arched a brow.

"Don't you feel like grinning?" He asked, only then feeling a little perturbed that she wasn't as happy as he was.

"Nothing's changed," she pointed out.

"Gabi, everything has changed," he argued. "Everyone knows about us now."

"There's an us?" She looked up, all lab goggles.

"Ouch," he winced in mock pain.

"Two kisses makes an us?" She feared.

"You don't want there to be an us?" His smile faded.

"I…" She frowned. "I guess…I just…I…"

"Wow, don't hold back on that affection," he sarked. "I guess this morning wasn't what I thought it was…"

She sighed, laying down her measuring cup and sliding up her goggles to meet his eyes.

"You know about my dad," she whispered. "That's a lot for me to deal with…I like what we have, don't get me wrong…but to suddenly go from being friends to being an 'us'?" she swallowed. "I don't know if I can…if I can deal with that…"

"If you think I'm just about sex you're wrong," he stated as he looked down on her, hurt by her words. He just wanted to wrap her in his arms and forget about everything else and she was still trying to deny him.

Her vulnerable look told him that that was what she had been worried about in having a title for their relationship.

"Gabi…" He beseeched.

"Good work," Mr. Miller interrupted their chat. "Any problems?"

"No, sir," Gabi said, still looking right at Troy.

"Good, on you go, then," he gently reprimanded.

Gabi licked her lips. "Do you want to come over, after school?" She asked.

Troy squinted. "For homework?"

"For 'us' time," she amended, swallowing nervously.

His smile was slow. "I'd love to."

/

Troy laid out on Gabi's bed with his hands folded behind his head and a knowing smile painted across his lips as he watched her nervously flit about the room, finding 'chores' that needed to be done.

He really didn't know why she was so nervous in his company now, but he could see why she didn't want to put a label on their friendship because now she was all kinds of flipping out and he wasn't sure what to do about it.

So he waited patiently for her list of 'chores' to run out and when she turned to look at him, he smiled innocently.

"Hey," he greeted teasingly as though he had just sat on her bed and not been lain there for the past half hour.

"Hey." She swallowed.

"I don't bite you know…" He twinkled and she sighed.

"I know…" She trailed over and sat on the opposite side of her bed, falling back so her head rested on his tummy. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"You wanted to make out and I…I turn into Mary Poppins," she described.

"Hey, Mary Poppins is hot…"

She gave him a look.

"No? Then you as Mary Poppins is definitely hot," he amended; still lounged on her bed only he dared to reach one hand down to touch her hair.

She sighed and curled her legs up onto the bed, facing away from him but he could stroke her hair better that way, he realized.

"I just like talking to you, Gabi," he offered to placate her.

"Why did everything have to change?" She bemoaned hiding her face in his belly.

"Because you jumped my bones in the hallway," he quipped jokily.

"I did not!" She defended but she knew he was joking.

"So, we should talk about your dad…" He broached of the conversation they were having before his mention of Terri caused chaos the last time they spoke of Gabi's father.

"Should we?" She replied, emotion blocking her throat at the mention of her father.

"Yeah…I mean…if you want to..?"

"Do you want to talk about your dad?" She arched to distract him, disturbed by the fact he had sensed her freak out was related to her dad-issues. The little he knew of them.

"No, but my dad's not the one who's estranged…"

"Troy," Gabi sat up and looked at him. "It's really sweet that you want to help but none of my friends know about my dad for a reason. Because I don't want to talk about it. Period."

Troy pursed his lips and sat up, too, crossing his legs. "Alright, I get it."

"We should say goodnight and just…" She got up. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

Troy got up off the bed and padded around to meet Gabi at her door where she was holding it open for him to leave.

He ignored that and cupped her face. "You can't avoid me forever," he told her and kissed her lips; and then he slipped through the door and down her stairs just like she had asked him to.

Then why did her lips want more of his, she wondered?

/

"Are you still pretending you don't know me?"

Troy leaned into the locker next to hers and Gabi couldn't help but smile half-heartedly at him.

"No…"

"No? I was sure I was good for another two weeks at least…"

"Well the ball is Friday so…"

"You can't pretend anymore?" He finished her sentence.

"I'm not pretending."

"Oh here's the new power-couple of East High…" Chad's voice called out loudly, bringing a sigh from Gabi's lips. "Troy Bolton and Swotty Montez…Mr. Popular and Miss. Geeky…"

Gabi pressed her lips together and folded her arms, shutting her locker to face the loud boy in the hallway.

Today she had a sexy-secretary look going on with her hair piled high in grips, her glasses on her nose, red taint to her lips and a pencil skirt in grey with a tight yellow blouse tucked in to match.

"At least I'm not a moron;" she pointed out, to a few snickers on her side.

She lifted her chin as Chad eyed her. "You'll wait," he said under his breath and she squinted at his threat.

"What does that mean?" She looked to Troy.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," he turned to follow his friend down the hall, but a small hand grasping his jacket stopped him.

"See you later?" She checked and he smiled, leaning down to kiss her.

"Miss you already," he proclaimed.

"Ah, love's young dream…" Kelsey sighed and pitched beside Gabi.

"Don't you start," Gabi warned.

"That's twice I've caught you kissing in the hallway, anybody'd think you were a couple," her friend teased.

Gabi shrugged. "So what if we are?"

"After all those lies you told me about not liking him and being friends…" Kelsey accused.

"I didn't lie," Gabi conceded. "But…I guess something happened…"

Kelsey arched her brow.

"No, not that," Gabi pressed her lips together impatiently.

"Okay, so what's the plan for Friday?" Kelsey quickly moved on.

"I found a black velvet cat suit in the charity shop and I sewed on a tail and I have the ears and a little mask for the nose…" Gabi described her costume.

"Shoes?" Kelsey checked.

"Your knee high boots," Gabi nodded and Kelsey smiled.

"Good girl."

"Anything else?"

"Red lipstick, black eyeliner…and attitude." Her friend suggested.

"Right okay…"

"Gabi, you're gonna do great," Kelsey hugged her.

"I doubt it, but we'll see…"

"Is everything okay with you? You seem kinda sad lately?" Kelsey asked.

"Everything is fine," Gabi smiled faintly. "I just have a lot on my mind…"

"Well, you will date the sexiest guy in school," Kelsey teased. "No wonder you have a lot on your mind…"

/

Math was…boring.

And Geography. Even Art sucked a little.

Everything sucked, Troy realized, unless Gabi was there.

God he had it bad.

Chad had assured him he wouldn't go after Gabi the way he threatened to and Troy trusted him for now, but he didn't like the way his best friend had turned on him since he'd quit the team.

No-one knew about his home-life- about how his mom and dad couldn't be in the same room without fighting.

No-one but Gabi.

He had finally coaxed her into being with him and he felt good about that, apart from the fact she was still super-paranoid about who saw them.

Especially when he wanted to take her out somewhere for dinner that evening, after school.

"Hacienda, then," he listed the fourth restaurant they could go to.

Gabi shook her head. "Amelle goes there."

"So what?" He threw his hands up and laughed. "That doesn't mean she'll be in there tonight…"

Gabi looked to him and sucked her lower lip. They were on the high street, holding hands and they could go to any one of these restaurants if she didn't have a hang up about being seen. They'd already been seen kissing, right? Everyone knew about the hallway PDA by now…so what difference did it actually make that they saw them out? Together.

"So, look, if people see us out and dating then you know…there's certain things they think we'll be doing…" She swallowed.

"Like?" He questioned, flummoxed.

"Like going home, making out…"

"Really?" He grinned . "Cool…"

Gabi gave him a look. "Sleeping together..."

"It doesn't matter that we're not," he creased his face at her absurd deduction.

"What if they rib you about it…what if they call me names?" She panicked.

"Well, you won't be Swotty Montez anymore," he lifted his brows and knew he wasn't helping when she sighed.

"You worry too much," he kissed her nose. "Just relax and have fun. Who cares what we do and don't do?"

I do, she answered internally. She wanted Friday night to be like anyone else's Ball night- making out, going all the way. But the thing that was missing always ruined everything. And the missing thing was there now- she could feel it. Especially when Troy's hand curled around hers and squeezed or when they kissed, but she still knew Friday was too soon to be trying for anything other than the odd grope.

How romantic, she winced at her thoughts. Her first school ball with a date and the best she could hope for was the odd grope. Perfect.