A/N: I forgot to mention in the last chapter, thank you so much to Raye for editing!! You rock!!
Disclaimer: Nothing......
"Gabriella. Stop freaking out. Tonight is going to be amazing, you and Troy are finally a couple, and he likes you. Relax. You're going to have the time of your life."
Even as Taylor said this, her friend still wouldn't budge from her spot on the bed.
"Why are you being so difficult? You're worrying over nothing. I mean, this is Troy we're talking about. Troy. Your boyfriend. The guy that helped you transform East High. You trust him. So what's wrong?"
The brunette sighed, hugging a pillow to her chest. "I don't know. I'm nervous, that's all."
"Well, you'd better pull yourself together. Troy's going to be here soon, and you're still in your sweats."
A glance at the clock did the trick. Gabriella jumped up, suddenly realizing how far from being ready she was.
"Tay...could you do my hair?"
A few blocks away, Troy Bolton was going through the same issue. He looked up from buttoning up his tux, trying to find support from his best friend.
"Chad...what if she dosen't like it? What if it's moving too fast? We haven't even been together for a week, and this is only our first date. What if Gabriella..."
"Troy." Chad held up his hand to quiet his friend. "You seemed to know more about this than I did at the jewelry store."
Sighing, Troy picked up the glittering necklace. "I don't know. Maybe I should save it until our second date....or for next year."
"No. She's going to love it. And you know how I can tell? Dude, I may not know much about romance, but I know that Gabriella adores you."
"Thanks man. But listen. Don't do anything stupid tonight, like call my cell phone. If you need anything, try calling Zeke or Jason first, okay?"
Chad nodded. "Yeah, sure. Good luck tonight."
Troy took a deep breath before stepping outside. "I'll need it."
The Montez Home
Taylor was putting the finishing touches of the curls piled upon Gabriella's head, as the doorbell rang.
Gabriella jumped up; the nerves that Taylor had worked so hard to soothe had suddenly came back to her.
"Taylor, I'm not sure if I can do this. I don't think I'm ready. I've never been on a date before, and..."
"Neither has Troy," Taylor reminded her. "Gabriella, I promise you that if you'll quit worrying, you'll be fine. Now let's go. He's here."
Taking a deep breath, Gabriella stood up and started to head downstairs.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you something?"
Gabriella turned; her eyes starting to light up again.
"Good luck."
Downstairs, Troy was finishing a somewhat awkward conversation with Gabriella's mother, and was eager for a glimpse of his date for the evening.
"Gabriella? Are you ready yet?"
"I'm coming!"
Finally she appeared. Gabriella moved slowly down the stairs, almost as if she was unsure of herself. Her brown eyes lit up instantly as she caught sight of Troy looking handsome in his tux.
Troy's breath caught as he gazed at the brown haired beauty in front of him. How did he get so lucky...
He cleared his throat as Gabriella took her place alongside him, and her mother looked expectantly at him.
"I'll have her home at ten."
The car ride to the resteraunt was a little awkward, as first dates always are. Both sat, Gabriella gazing out the window, too nervous to make conversations with each other. Neither could deny the butterflies dancing in their bellies. There were a few snippets of talking, here and there, but nothing big.
Needless to say, the couple was relieved when they reached their destination.
Gabriella's eyes widened as she viewed the resteraunt. "Troy...this place...you didn't have to do this...."
Troy slowly reached for her hand, and grasped it in his own. "I wanted to make up Valentine's Day for you. I've always wanted to take a girl here."
Gabriella smiled up at him. "Thank you for choosing me."
The waitress arrived at their table. "So what can I get for you?"
"I'll have a steak, and my girlfriend will have a bowl of pasta."
As Troy spoke those words, Gabriella couldn't help but feel a small tingle of excitement. Girlfriend. She had never before been called that before, and especially not have someone say that happily. It was amazing how much her life had changed in a small amount of time.
The rest of the evening went smoothly, considering the two knew each other quite well by then. They talked about random things, the play, and more importantly, themselves.
By the time that subject had come up, they were halfway done with their dinner, and feeling at ease with themselves.
The conversation had reached a lull, and for some reason Gabriella found herself asking the question that had been haunting her since New Year's Eve.
"Why me Troy? You could have any girl in the school, and you chose me. Why?"
Troy looked up, his eyes suddenly meeting hers, staring into hers. "You were the first to see the real me. Not the basketball guy. Not the 'popular hottie guy.' Gabriella, you saw me for me. No one has ever done that before. But you did."
He reached for her hand across the table, and took in a small breath.
"Can you come here? I kind of have something I want to give you..."
Gabriella obeyed his wishes, and Troy pushed back her hair. "Close your eyes..."
Once again, Gabriella obeyed, jumping as she felt the cold metal against her skin.
"You can open them now."
The brunette looked down to find a tiny 'T' shaped necklace hanging around her neck. She was breathless. No guy had ever done anything like this for her before. No guy but Troy would give her that sweet of a gift.
"Really," she asked, her voice rising a notch higher than normal. "T for Troy?"
"Well....yeah." Troy looked down, embarrassed. "I figured since we're going out now, you could wear that. Since my heart belongs to you and all..."
Gabriella touched the necklace, smiling at the way it looked on her.
"I love it Wildcat. Thank you."
She looked up, ready to kiss him in return for the beautiful gift. But before their lips could meet, the ringing of a phone interrupted them.
"Hello? Chad? What?! You locked yourself out of your house? Again?! Wait....my house! Why were you at my house....oh. Waiting for me to come home. Yeah, I'll be there in fifteen minutes."
He hung up the phone, shaking his head in disbelief. "I cannot believe that. Chad just locked himself out of the house. My house."
Gabriella was puzzled. "And why would he do that?"
"Apparently he was waiting for me to come home. Anyway, I'm sorry, but we're going to have to cut this short. So...I'll see you on Monday?"
Gabriella nodded. "Monday."
Okay, that was somewhat cheesy. But I liked it. I loved the 'T' necklace in the HSM movies, and I wanted to incorporate that into my story somehow. So I hope you liked it! And by the way, (I'm not trying to be mean, and if I am, I'm sincerely sorry) but the last chapter only got 5 reviews, and I know you guys can do better than that. If everyone with this story on alert reviewed, there would be at least 35 reviews for this chapter. Maybe for some, that's not a lot, but for me it would be amazing. I love you guys, and I'm not trying to be mean.
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