Hello readers :D

That was different lol…Anyway long time no update…For one obvious reason, no reviews. Well I've only been getting a few for each chapter but not enough to be motivated to update regularly…I would like to say a big thanks to Emily, Holly & Megan…Who seem to think I have some potential as a writer and put enough effort in to reviewing my story…So I would appreciate it a lot if you could review, let me know how its going and what you think…

Also on a side note…I have started a co-write with Em (SmileySophina1..Great author, check her out)..And so far only got one review (Thanks Megan…) On it so please, please I would appreciate some reviews. I put a lot of effort into the first chapter and its gone no where…Thanks

Enjoy and Review :P


Chapter 10- Meeting the Gang

"Gabi, you ready?"

Gabriella looked over at Sharpay who was standing in the doorway to her room "..I don't know Shar…What if your friends don't like me?"

"Gabs they're gunna love you.." Sharpay assured her cousin as she went and sat on the bed next to her "..You have nothing to worry about"

Gabriella smiled weakly "..Okay, if your sure"

"Yes, now come on.." Sharpay said, dragging Gabriella out of her room

"Shar, I cant go…What about Jayden?… I feel bad leaving him with your mum" Gabriella said, as they walked down the stairs

"She said she'd love to, she wants you to have fun and not worry for a little while.."

"Can I just go say bye to him then?" Gabriella asked

Sharpay smiled and nodded "..Of course you can"

"Thanks Shar, I'll be just a second…" Gabriella smiled, before walking into the lounge room

Carrie looked up when she heard someone walk into the lounge room "..Gabi dear, he'll be fine"

"I know…I just wanted to say bye" Gabriella said, walking closer to her Aunty and Son

"I guess I can allow that…" Carrie smiled, before standing up and handing Jayden to Gabriella

Gabriella smiled down at her son and kissed his forehead lightly "I love you baby…Mummy wont be gone long" She whispered

"Okay, you go and have some fun…" Carrie said, taking Jayden back off his Mother

"Thanks Aunty Carrie…"

"Don't mention it"

Gabriella hugged her Aunty and said one last goodbye before joining her cousin back out near the door

"You ready?" Sharpay asked, when she saw Gabriella

"…Yeah" Gabriella nodded, before the two girls headed out the front to Sharpay's pink convertible "…Where are we going?" Gabriella asked, once they were on the road

"No where special…Just a little place we hang out on the weekends" Sharpay explained

"Which is?"

"You'll see…You probably don't have many places like it back in New York"

"Um…Okay"

After about ten minutes of driving the girls pulled onto a little dirt road. On the other side, behind some trees was a secluded area. Gabriella noticed Troy's truck along with a couple of other cars parked off to the side near a couple of trees. She saw a couple of girls sitting on the ground, near the cars, talking and laughing

"Who's that?" Gabriella asked, pointing at the girls

Sharpay pulled up near the rest of the cars "That's Kels and Taylor…" She said, before turning the car off

Sharpay and Gabriella got out of the car, when Kelsi and Taylor saw them they jumped up and went over to them

"Hey girls…" Sharpay smiled, before hugging them

"Hey Shar…" Kelsi and Taylor said in unison

"Girls this is my cousin Gabriella…" Sharpay said, gesturing towards Gabriella

Gabriella smiled and waved slightly "..Hi" She said quietly

"Hey…I'm Kelsi" She smiled, before hugging Gabriella

Gabriella hugged her back "..Its nice to meet you" She said, pulling away

"You too…" Kelsi smiled, stepping back

Gabriella looked towards Taylor "…Taylor, right?"

Taylor smiled and nodded, before hugging Gabriella

Gabriella hugged her back "…Its lovely to meet you" Gabriella said, pulling away

"So, where are the boys?" Sharpay asked, as the girls walked over to sit back in front of the cars

"They're just riding around…" Kelsi answered, as they sat down on the blanket that was spread out on the dirt

"What are they riding around on?" Gabriella asked, before she heard what sounded like a motorbike…Or four. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw four dirt bikes come into view. Gabriella watched as the guys on the bikes headed towards her and the other girls "..Is that them?"

"Yeah…" Taylor answered

The boys pulled up a little bit away from the girls "…I kicked your ass" Said one of the guys, after he removed his helmet

Gabriella saw the guy had very curly hair and was surprised he could tie it back to fit it underneath his helmet

"Dude, you cut corners that's why you won" That voice she recognized, it was Troy's. He pulled his helmet off and Gabriella could see his hair matted to his forehead, probably from sweating

"I did not…Your just a sore loser" Said the curly haired guy as he and Troy walked over to the girls

"Yeah, whatever…Zeke, Jase you agree with me Chad cheated, right?" Troy asked the other two boys, as he got a bottle of water out the back of his truck, after he took a sip he put the bottle down and took his shirt off to wipe the sweat off his face

"Don't drag me into this…" Zeke said, sitting down near Sharpay

"Yeah I'm with Zeke…Leave me out of your fight" Jason added, sitting on a nearby rock

"Gee thanks for the support…" Troy said, sarcastically

"Thanks for saying hi…" Sharpay butted in

Zeke wrapped his arm around Sharpay's shoulders, before kissing her cheek "..Hey" he smiled

Sharpay smiled "..Hi" She said, before kissing him

"Yuck, save it for the bedroom.." Chad said, pulling a disgusted face

"Chad.." Taylor scolded, slapping his chest

"Ouch…That hurt" Chad pouted, rubbing his chest

"You deserved it…" Taylor said

"No I did not!" Chad protested

"Would you pair shut up?" Jason asked

Gabriella smiled at the interaction between the group of friends. She hoped she'd be accepted into the group as well as everyone else had been. She was brought out of her thoughts when she felt someone nudge her shoulder lightly, she looked to her left and smiled

"Hey…" Troy smiled at her

"Hi…" She smiled back

"How ya been?"

"Good…You?"

"Great, thanks for asking"

Gabriella couldn't help but let her eyes travel downwards to Troy's sweaty, tanned, chiseled torso, that was being slightly covered by his well toned arms "…Your welcome"

"Wanna go for a ride?"

Gabriella's looked back up at Troy "..On…One of those?" She asked, looking back at the bikes

"Yeah…Come on it'll be fun" He smiled, standing up, he held his hands out and helped Gabriella up "…And I promise I wont let anything happen to you"

Gabriella smiled and nodded "Okay, I trust you…"

"Okay good.." Troy smiled back, putting his shirt back on, before turning around to face his friends "…Guys we're gunna go for a ride"

"Wait, what?" Sharpay asked "..I haven't introduced Gabi to the guys yet"

"Chad, Jason and Zeke…This is Gabi" Troy said, pointing to Gabriella "…Gabi they're the guys"

"Hi…" Gabriella smiled

"…Okay, we'll be back" Troy said

"Are you really going on the bike Gabs?" Sharpay asked

"Yeah…" Gabriella nodded

"Don't worry Shar, I'll bring her back in one piece" Troy said, before grabbing Gabriella's hand and leading her over to his bike

"You better or I'll kick your ass.." Sharpay called out

Troy chuckled and handed Gabriella his helmet "Safety first.." He said, before swinging his leg over the bike

"What about you?" Gabriella asked, before putting the helmet on

"I'll use Chad's…" Troy smiled, reaching over and grabbing Chad's helmet as Gabriella got on the back of the bike

"Okay…" Gabriella said, wrapping her arms around Troy's middle, holding on tight

Troy smiled to himself and started his bike, making it come to life. He revved it a couple times so it wouldn't stall, before slowly, at first, starting to ride forward, after he turned left he rode a bit quicker and started to head back to where he and the other boys had previously came from

Gabriella looked around as they were riding, it was peaceful. The surroundings weren't anything special, just a dirt track surrounded by trees. But she didn't mind, in fact she wouldn't have it any other way, it was simple just how she wanted everything else to be

Troy stopped the bike in front of a little lake. Gabriella took the helmet off and looked around "..Why did you stop here?"

"I wanted to show you this place…" Troy explained taking his helmet and hanging it on his handle bars "…I come here sometimes to get away from everyone"

"So, why are you showing me?" Gabriella asked, getting off the bike

Troy took the helmet off, hanging it on the other handlebar and followed Gabriella's lead getting off the bike, before taking her hand and leading her closer to the lake "..I don't know, I guess I just thought you might like to see it"

Gabriella smiled "Well don't I feel special" she said, sitting down on the lake edge

Troy chuckled and sat down beside her "…Its nice here, and no one else knows about it"

"Its good when you have a place all to yourself.." Gabriella said looking out at the lake

"Yeah…Did you have a place like this back in New York?"

Gabriella shook her head "No, I wish…It would of made things a lot easier"

"Well this…" Troy started, motioning around him "…Is your secret place now"

"Oh no…I couldn't, it was yours first"

"Well now you know about it we can share it…You can come here whenever you like, and don't worry the tracks big enough to fit a car down it, you wouldn't have to ride a bike down…And there's even a little grassy area over there…" He explained, pointing behind them on left "…So you can bring your brother down here and play or whatever"

"Or I could come down by myself…" Gabriella smiled

"…That…Or someone of your own age" Troy smiled back

Gabriella giggled "…Thank you Troy, your really sweet" She said, looking over at him

"Hey don't mention it.."

"You've been really nice to me and I mean I've only been here since yesterday but you've done so much already and I cant thank you enough"

"Honestly its my pleasure.." Troy smiled "..And I'm sure you'll pay me back somehow"

"Yeah, I'll think of something…" Gabriella smiled, before looking back at Troy's bike "..Do you think we should g--" She stopped mid sentence when she felt water being splashed at her "..What the hell?" She asked, looking at Troy, who had a big grin on his face "..Your gunna get it now" She smiled, before splashing water at Troy

"Hey…" Troy laughed, splashing more water at Gabriella… Gabriella giggled and kept splashing water at Troy, she stood up and started using both her hands "…Oi!, unfair" Troy laughed, before following her lead and standing up

"Well that was fun…" Troy smiled, leaning up on his elbows

Gabriella smiled and nodded "..Yeah" They were both laying on the grass a bit further across from where they were previously , somehow in the middle of their water fight they had ended up there. Once they were both completely soaked they decided to give it a break and sit down

"Thanks again Troy…I've had a lot of fun" Gabriella smiled

"As I said it was my pleasure…Maybe we should do something like this again sometime"

"Are you asking me out Troy Bolton?"

Troy got a nervous look on his face "M-Maybe.." He stuttered "..I-If that's what you want" He said, nervously

Gabriella giggled "..Settle down Troy…I'd love to"

Troy smiled widely "Great…How does next Saturday sound?"

"Perfect…" Gabriella smiled

"Great…" Troy smiled back "…Unfortunately for now we must head back to everyone" He sighed, before standing up. He held his hands out and helped Gabriella up

"Unfortunately?"

"Well…Yeah" He nodded "..I've had fun hanging out…Just you and I, it was great"

Gabriella blushed lightly "…I had fun too" She smiled before leaning up and kissing Troy's cheek, she smiled shyly, before heading back over to his bike

Troy smiled to himself and followed Gabriella over to the bike. "…So do you think one fifty's are much different to one two fives?" Gabriella asked, looking at Troy's bike

"Yeah, heaps dif--" Troy started, before looking over at the petite brunette standing next to him "..Hold on, are you asking me about motorbikes?" He asked, shocked

"Please I may of lived in New York for some of my life, but not all of it… When we lived with my Dad him, my sister and I all had our own bikes"

"Oh yeah?…What sort?" Troy asked

"Well cause me and my sister were only little we were only allowed quads and my Dad had a…Yamaha YZF426 I think"

"Whoa…Nice bike" Troy smiled…This chick is awesome! He thought

"It was…Until he crashed it straight into a tree…He had a broken arm and he had to wear a neck brace"

"Ouch…"

"Yeah…We weren't allowed to ride after that" Gabriella sighed

"Man, that would of sucked"

"It did at first, but we got use to it…That's the reason why Shar didn't want me to get on the bike, she knows about my Dad's accident" Gabriella explained "..And cause I haven't been on a bike since.." She trailed off

"I understand, if I knew I wouldn't of made you get on"

"Oh no, I'm glad you asked…I had a lot of fun" Gabriella smiled

"Well good…" Troy grinned "..And now you got to go back on a bike" He smiled putting his helmet on and getting on the bike

"Thanks to you…" Gabriella smiled, she put her own helmet on before getting on the bike again. She held onto Troy's waist again as they headed back to the gang. They got back to where everyone was and Gabriella got off the bike, pulling her helmet off "…Thanks again" She smiled

"Your welcome…" Troy said, pulling his own helmet off "…And for the record…A chick who knows about bikes…That's hot"

Gabriella blushed "Thanks.."

"Your welcome…"

Gabriella jumped when she heard Sharpay's voice "You two were gone for a while…And your both soaking wet"

"Who's wet?" They heard Chad's voice in the background before Taylor's

"Chad, I'm gunna slap you again…"

"Okay, okay…I'm sorry"

Troy chuckled and shook his head as he got off the bike and put the helmets back, his best friend was a douche sometimes

"Sorry Shar…" Gabriella apologized "…We were just hanging out"

"I thought something might of happened" Sharpay said, crossing her arms over her chest

"I told you I wouldn't let anything happen to her, didn't I?" Troy asked

"Yeah…" Sharpay sighed "..Thanks, I guess"

"You guess?"

"I was still worried…" Sharpay said

"Fair enough…"

The three of them walked back over to sit with everyone. Sharpay sat with Zeke again and Troy and Gabriella sat down on the back of Troy's truck, which had the tray down. Gabriella sat with her legs crossed Indian style, while Troy's legs were dangling over the edge

"So, where'd you guys go?" Chad asked Troy

"Somewhere…" Troy answered simply

"You guys got it on, didn't you?" Chad smiled "..That's why your both 'wet'.." Gabriella looked down, uncomfortable. Taylor slapped Chad across the back of the head "Sorry.." He mumbled, rubbing his head

"Chad, you're a fuck head…" Troy said, leaning back on his hands "..And no we didn't 'get it on' if you must know"

"Sure, sure…" Chad rolled his eyes

"Chad, I'll come over there and hurt you" Sharpay warned

"Okay, I believe you" Chad said, hiding behind Taylor slightly. Everyone started laughing at the boy cowering behind his girlfriend

Troy looked over at Gabriella and stopped laughing, his face turning to a look of worry "Hey.." He said quietly, resting his hand lightly on her knee, but pulled his hand away when she flinched, that made him worry even more "..Are you okay?"

She just nodded "…I'll be back" She whispered, before getting up and heading over to Sharpay's car

Troy looked over at Sharpay, who was frowning, she noticed Gabriella's change in mood, they both stood up, Sharpay heading over to Troy "…What was that about?" She asked

He shrugged "…I don't know…Chad made his stupid joke an-"

"I know what happened…" Sharpay sighed, she knew how Gabriella felt

"Care to explain?" Troy asked

Sharpay shook her head "…I cant. I know you care about her Troy but some things she's not comfortable with sharing, and what Chad was talking about ties in with something that happened to her and she doesn't feel comfortable talking about it…" She explained "..So please, don't even ask…She'll just ignore it and then she'll break down, its happened before"

Troy sighed and nodded, he respected Gabriella and didn't want to make her uncomfortable "…I'll go talk to her"

Sharpay nodded "…Just steer clear of the whole…Sexual comments"

Troy nodded "Don't worry…I don't wanna make her feel uncomfortable or anything"

"Thanks Troy…" Sharpay smiled, before heading back over to Zeke

Troy headed over to Gabriella, who was leaning against Sharpay's car, phone in hand "..Gabi?" He asked quietly, so he didn't scare her

"Yeah?" She asked, just as quiet, looking up at him

"You okay?"

She nodded "…Fine"

He sighed and leant against the car next to her "Don't listen to Chad, he's a dickhead…" He said "…I'm really sorry"

"No…Don't apologize, its just a touchy subject" Gabriella shrugged

Troy nodded "Sharpay said…Don't worry she didn't tell me anything, I don't wanna invade your privacy or make you feel uncomfortable"

Gabriella smiled "…Your so sweet Troy, I wish all guys were like you"

Troy shrugged "…I'm just awesome" He joked, smiling

Gabriella giggled, before moving to stand in front of Troy "Your amazing…No joke, and don't worry about making me feel uncomfortable I doubt that's possible…I don't know if I can tell you what happened, its too hard on me…But I will tell you that your one of the only guys I can trust"

Troy smiled and grabbed her hands, squeezing them lightly "…You're the amazing one, your so gorgeous and beautiful…And hearing that little speech you just made makes me like you even more"

Gabriella blushed "…I like you too Troy…I never thought I would but I do" She nodded

"Okay, I don't know what happened to you, but I'm gunna assume it was with a guy and he was a jerk…Bad relationship?"

Gabriella nodded, technically not a lie "…Yeah…You know the saying once a cheater, always a cheater" Okay, that was a lie

Troy sighed "…Just so you know, I would never cheat on you…That's if we got together" He added quickly

Gabriella smiled "I know you wouldn't, cause your actually a considerate guy…Unlike M- My ex"

"Still want to go out Saturday?"

Gabriella smiled and nodded "…If I cant get my Aunty to look after Jayden though I might have to bring him"

"That's fine…" Troy smiled "…I mean it would be better just us two but he's a cute kid

"Thanks Troy…" Gabriella smiled "…I'm close to my little brother, so we come as a package deal…Sometimes"

Troy laughed "…Well good, cause I know how I get when I'm around my little sister too long…You need a break sometimes"

Gabriella nodded, before her phone started going off "…That might be my Mum" She said, looking at her phone "..Yeah" She sighed

"Its okay…" Troy smiled "..I'll wait back over there for you" He said, before heading back over to the others

Gabriella sat back down next to Troy, yawning "..Is your Mum okay?" Troy asked and Gabriella nodded, still yawning "..Tired?" He laughed

She smiled "…A bit" She said pulling her legs up to her chest, she rested against Troy when he wrapped his arm around her

"Wanna go home?" He whispered, close to her ear

She shook her head and giggled when he nuzzled her hair with his nose "…Don't that tickles"

Troy smiled and lifted his head up "You look tired…Maybe you should get home"

Gabriella rested her head against Troy's shoulder, closing her eyes as she yawned again "…I'm comfortable here" She mumbled

Troy smiled and let her be, if she fell asleep well then she fell asleep, he didn't mind. He knew when she was asleep, he could feel her resting against more, he smiled thinking about their conversation earlier and was happy she trusted him so much. He was brought out of his thoughts by Chad's big mouth

"You two look pretty cozy there"

"Shh…She's asleep" Troy whispered

"Maybe I should get her home then…" Sharpay said

"I can take her if you like…I was heading home soon anyway"

"You sure?"

Troy nodded "…Completely…I'll just need someone to take my bike"

"Don't worry man…" Zeke spoke up "…One of us will get it"

"Thanks.." Troy smiled. Sharpay stood up and headed over to open Troy's passenger door. Troy picked Gabriella up carefully, so she didn't wake up, setting her gently in the seat once he got there

"Thanks for taking her home…" Sharpay said quietly, closing the door gently

"Its okay…I want to" He smiled "…I'll see you later Shar" He smiled, before heading over to the drivers side

Sharpay smiled and headed back to her friends, watching Troy's truck drive off

Troy smiled over at the sleeping girl next to him, she looked so peaceful and he didn't want to disturb her. He was falling for her, anyone could tell that, they just…Connected. Troy chuckled lightly, that sounded so cliché but it was true, he could already tell he'd do anything for Gabriella, he just had to get to know her a bit better first. It didn't take him too long to pull up at Sharpay's, once he got there he turned the car off and ran up to the front door

"Troy dear…" Carrie smiled, after she opened the door "…What brings you here? All the kids are out today"

"Yeah, I know…I actually just brought Gabriella home…She fell asleep" He explained

"Oh okay…Well bring her up inside" She smiled and watched as Troy went back to his truck. Sure enough he picked Gabriella up off the passenger seat and carried her up to the door carefully "..You know where her room is right?" She asked quietly, closing the front door

Troy nodded before heading up the stairs. Once he got there he headed over to the bed, laying her down carefully, the smile wouldn't move off his face, she looked so gorgeous and peaceful, how could he not fall for her?


Okay, done…This took me a looooong time to type up, so I hope it was worth it…Again the Troyella closeness is meant to be there, it fits eventually, but for now only I will know…*Insert evil laugh*

Please, please review…Otherwise I feel like my story isn't liked and the few people I know do like it miss out : (

Anyway until next time…

Hope you enjoyed it!