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

A/N: Well, this is the second last chapter. I know I said that it was on hiatus but then I though there are only two more chapters to go, why not finish it? So I hope everyone enjoys this because it certainly took me long enough to write it and I hope you all love it!

Cat and Mouse

CHAPTER 14

GAME OVER

She wasn't sure how she felt. She wasn't sure if she felt nervous, irate or relaxed. She wasn't even sure she felt any of those things and she couldn't even be sure that she felt annoyed because she couldn't figure out what she felt. Hence why she was sitting in Biology, counting down the minutes until the teacher let them off so they could get to the gym early and find a seat thinking about all the things her boyfriend hadn't told her and wondering what the hell he was going to do about the stupid threat that he didn't seem the least bit worried about.

At the current moment, Gabriella hated that she trusted her boyfriend. Honestly, after all the crap he'd put her through, it was a wonder that she trusted him, she thought as she squinted at the board, attempting at least an interest in whatever they were talking about. An interest, Gabriella found, that didn't exist at all.

Glancing around the room, Gabriella found that she wasn't the only one in her AP Biology class that seemed interested. They were all shifting in their seats, sliding notes between each other, one girl, Gabriella noted with interest, was coloring her arm red and white in honor of the school. It was the very first time she'd ever seen any of her classes so disinterested in the work that should have held their rapt attention for the entire period and it wasn't that unnerving either. Gabriella wasn't sure if it wasn't unnerving because of the fact that she was waiting with baited breath for the announcement that would allow them to stumble from their classroom and to the gym or because she was too distracted trying to figure out her boyfriends plan to really let it sink in.

Either way she didn't find it odd at all and that in itself was strange.

Looking down at her opened notebook, Gabriella frowned when she saw that all she had written was something that resembled 'Mrs Gabriella Bolton'. Abruptly, she shut her book as she realized that the words were 'Mrs Gabriella Bolton' and so juvenile she knew she'd be embarrassed if anyone saw them. Looking up again, Gabriella began to fidget with her pen and glanced across at Taylor, who seemed to be doing the exact same thing.

"Will the lesson ever end?" Taylor whispered, when she saw Gabriella looking at her. Before Gabriella could reply, there was a knock on the door and the class sat up straight as the door swung open, revealing a freshman who seemed to be a little bit intimidated.

"Yes?" Gabriella wanted to glare at her teacher for their imperious tone and then froze when she saw what the freshman was carrying.

"I-I have to give this to Gabriella Montez." The boy said and Gabriella was already halfway to the door before the teacher could even call for her to come out the front. Gabriella smiled reassuringly at the boy, who went bright red as she came to a halt in front of him and offered her the bundle he was carrying.

"Thank you very much." Gabriella said sweetly as she took it and tried to hide her delight as she unraveled the bundle and discovered a note and Troy's letterman jacket.

"He said he wants you to wear it from now on." The freshman, who seemed to have gained confidence when he realized she wasn't going to mean to her, told her and Gabriella could hear the unspoken plead in the relay of words.

"Alright. Thanks." Gabriella said and he nodded and backed out of the classroom as she pulled on the jacket. She could feel her class's eyes on her as she tried not to be too obvious about breathing in Troy's scent as she snuggled into the jacket.

"Well, now that that's done, Miss Montez would you like to return to your seat and the questions?" Gabriella nodded slowly as she began to walk back towards her desk and Taylor. As soon as she'd sat down, she opened the note she held in her hand.

Make sure you come straight to the gym as soon as you're allowed.
I want to show you off.
Stop worrying.
I love you
Troy

Gabriella reread the note and frowned. Was he trying to be cryptic? Why on earth would he want to show her off? West High was going to in the gym, warming up, if she went straight to the gym. Gabriella's eyes widened in panic at the thought and she glanced at Taylor, who was reading the note over Gabriella's shoulder and grinning like cat with its mouthful of feathers.

"He's brilliant." Taylor breathed and Gabriella dropped the note and spun to look at her friend at the praise that seemed so rare from Taylor.

"What's brilliant? Why would he want me there while they're warming up? What's he doing?" Gabriella asked, feeling slightly hysterical as the more she thought about her turning up their wearing Troy's lettermen jacket, the more she saw how impossible it was to do.

"Are you kidding me? Gabriella, Troy's got this all figured out. He's going to beat West High at they're own game by provoking them into doing something stupid. It's so simple it's brilliant!" Taylor exclaimed looking at her friend like she was crazy. Gabriella shook her head at the words.

"How can provoking West High do any good? What's he thinking? That Greg'll just leave me alone?" Gabriella asked and Taylor bit her lip as she realized that Gabriella couldn't see that as long as Troy was around her, Greg Henderson wasn't going anywhere near her.

"Gabi, its okay. Just let Troy do the talking." Taylor said and Gabriella bit her lip at the words. That was easy; Gabriella had a feeling she'd be too terrified to do anymore than squeak as soon as she was in the gym. Before she could reply to Taylor, their teacher suddenly stood up.

"Alright, everyone you can go." Gabriella froze at the word, looking down at Troy's note and wondering if she should follow it.
"Go. I'll look after your books, alright?" Taylor said, making up Gabriella's mind for her. Gabriella glanced at Taylor and nodded.

Biting her lip, she stood up and joined the rush of her classmates as they exited the classroom into the sea of students. Gabriella found herself going with the crowd as she headed for the gym, praying that nothing bad would happen as she found herself swept to the doors of the gym. Pausing for a moment, Gabriella struggled to find the courage to go in and then, once again, the choice was taken out of her hands as she was pushed through the doors and entered into the gym.

The atmosphere of the gym was electric and Gabriella felt like she'd been shocked as she walked in and found West and East High warming up on the court, shooting each other furtive, menacing glances as they each practiced drills that displayed their skills. Gabriella stopped hesitantly on the baseline, watching as one of the East High players shot a three pointer with an ease that had Gabriella wondering how long it had taken him to make it look that easy. Before she could think anymore, she caught sight of Troy and felt her breath catch in her throat as she looked at him. He was watching them warm up and hardly looked out of breath, a sign that reminded Gabriella how fit he was. She knew that they'd been warming up for the past half hour, physically and mentally preparing themselves for the game. He looked so calm that Gabriella had to wonder if he was nervous at all.

She nearly started when he glanced from the team warming up, to her and met her eyes. Calm seemed to wash over her as he smiled at her reassuringly, reminding her all over again how much she loved him. She watched as he spoke to the man standing beside him and then headed over to where she was standing.

"I knew you'd look hot in my jacket." He stated when he was close enough. Gabriella blushed slightly as he reached out and pulled her close to him, Gabriella raised her arms and twined them around her neck as she looked up at him.

"Really? And it has nothing to do with the fact that West High are probably going to freak when they see what I'm wearing?" Gabriella asked and Troy smirked slightly, pulling her forward slightly so that they weren't hidden by Troy's team.

"Well, maybe." He murmured leaning down to capture her either to shut her up or because he wanted too, Gabriella wasn't sure. What she was sure of however, was the fact that her mind had stopped whirring the minute he'd kissed her and she liked it.

"Love you." Gabriella whispered when they pulled away for air, Troy smiled slightly, kissing her again before he replied.

"Love you too. Reckon everyone's watching?" He asked and Gabriella opened her eyes enough to see that they had indeed caught the attention of most of the occupants of the gym, including West High.

"I'm pretty sure they are," Gabriella said and then shrieked when Troy's hand dove into her hair, the other at her lower back and he dipped her as he kissed her so heatedly Gabriella was pretty sure that the people at the back of the bleachers were scorched. Not that she minded, she just knew that the kiss may have seemed like a one time thing but it spoke of all the things he was going to do to her later on when the game was over.

Gabriella heard someone clearing their throat and couldn't help by wonder how Troy was clearing his throat when his tongue and mouth were otherwise occupied.

"Troy, Gabriella, stop that!" At the sound of Coach Bolton's voice, Gabriella pulled away from her boyfriend, blushing furiously as Troy straightened them up and looked at his father.

"Yes Dad?" He asked neutrally and Gabriella buried her face in Troy's shoulder, unable to look at the Coach as she felt his eyes on them.

"The game starts in a few minutes; I think Miss Montez needs to find a seat." The amusement that seemed to lace Coach Bolton's voice caused Gabriella to raise her head from Troy's shoulder and try and turn to look at him as Troy nodded.

"Sure. I'll be out there in a minute." Troy said and before Gabriella could look at Coach Bolton, he'd gone leaving her to look at her boyfriend reproachfully.

"What's with that? I was expecting to get yelled at." Gabriella asked and Troy shrugged, giving Gabriella the impression that it was something he didn't really want to get into right then.

"I'll tell you later. Go sit with Taylor, just behind the player's bench, okay?" Troy said and Gabriella nodded, leaning up to kiss him one more time before she left him to go out and deal with West High.

"Okay. Good luck. I love you." She whispered, kissing him again once more before reluctantly stepping out of his arms and turning to head towards the bleachers and the seat Troy was speaking about.

"Hey babe?" Troy suddenly called out; Gabriella turned and noticed Andrew Reynolds and Greg Henderson watching them curiously. "I love you too." Gabriella blushed at his words and the way he watched her intently, seeming to forget they were being watched closely by the two players who had made a threat against her and this championship.

Troy watched Gabriella go and couldn't help the smirk that graced his face as he watched her go, his letterman jacket announcing to the world exactly who she belonged to. It was the perfect way to piss Reynolds and Henderson off. So perfect in fact, Troy couldn't wait to put the rest of his plan into action but held off on the desire long enough to watch Gabriella settle herself into the seat beside Taylor and smile at him gently. As soon as he knew she was safe, he turned and headed towards the team huddle.

Jogging over, he stopped just outside, listening to the game plan his father had gone over with him over an hour before and waited for his turn to speak. As captain, Troy knew that what he said had to be powerful enough to get the boys going and as soon as he saw the signal from his dad that it was his turn, Troy stepped into the centre of the circle.

Looking around, he caught sight of Chad, who looked so uncharacteristically serious that Troy couldn't help but wonder what was going through his head.

"This is it. This is the game that we've all been waiting for," Troy started quietly; his words calm and focused as he glanced around his team. "This is the game that we are going to win. We have an entire gym backing us. We have been training for this since the season began and you know what else?" Troy looked at them, not expecting a reply and wasn't surprised when no-one gave him.

"We have West High scared shitless." The words probably could have been more eloquent but Troy didn't care as he continued. "West High is currently standing on the other side of this court wondering what the fuck is going on. Two things are going through their heads. One is the fact that they know we're too good for them and they know it. They know they're going to lose this game." Troy said, glancing around as he watched every one of his teammates faces grow more and more serious as he spoke, not loud enough to be heard outside the huddle but loud enough to be so firm they couldn't question him.

"And the second?" Chad spoke up, watching Troy as a smirk that held seemed to epitomize Troy Bolton worked its way across Troy's face.

"They thought I was going to throw this. West High was so confident that I couldn't have this game and Gabriella Montez that they were overconfident. So, when you get out on that caught remind them of that. Remind them that their captain is the whole reason they're going to lose this game and make sure they remember that East High is something that should never, ever be threatened." Troy's eyes flew over their faces as he spoke. "Unless they want to face the consequences." Troy smirked and watched as they all glanced at each other, smirking as they realized what Troy was saying.

"What team?" Chad suddenly shouted and his shout was heard over the crowd as the East High Wildcats stamped their feet loudly.

"WILDCATS!" The shout was enough to cause the electric atmosphere to spark and Troy broke away from the huddle when they heard the whistle blow and the roar of a gymnasium full of teenagers, parents and teachers filled it.

Troy, throwing one smirk to Gabriella who blew him a kiss in a rare display of confidence, let the atmosphere wash over him as Chad came over to him and bumped their shoulders together to gain Troy's attention.

"So we reminding them exactly who they're dealing with?" Chad asked as Troy's eyes sought out Reynolds and Henderson who were approaching them.

"No. We're reminding them that no-one can play the game better than us." Troy replied with a smirk as the two other boys came to a stop in front of them. Andrew's face, distorted by an ugly sneer that concealed how nervous he was, caused Troy to smirk.

"So you're going to throw the game?" He spat at Troy and Troy let out a short, menacing laugh that made Henderson cringe.

"I never said that." Troy said and Reynolds took a step towards Troy that matched them, eye for eye.

"Then I suppose we'll have to see how the game goes." He said and this time, Troy's laugh was amused instead of menacing as he looked at the West High captain.

"Maybe you should learn the rules of the game first before you take on the pro." Troy suggested and only smirked when the referee blew his whistle again, signaling the need for them all to be in position.

Troy raised one eyebrow cockily at Reynolds before taking his place around the circle at the center of the court. He glanced around at his teammates and then smirked when he realized who his West High player was going to be. Apparently, the coach of West High thought that because Greg Henderson had been in their team before he was at West High, he'd know exactly how to block Troy from play.

"Well, well, well, Henderson. Never thought you'd want to be this close to me again." Troy said as Henderson readied himself next to Troy. Troy watched as Greg glanced at him and didn't reply. "Just before we start, I want you to know. She really does love me." Troy whispered and then waited as the ball was thrown into the air and the two centers jumped to smash it away from each other.

Troy reacted instantly as he caught the ball that had been hit to him, the defense was set up as he headed towards the key, stopping at the three-pointer line and searching for a pass. Out of the corner of his eye, Troy saw Henderson coming towards him and took a shot. The ball sailed through the air and swished through the basket and the score read 3-0 as Troy smirked at him.

"Before I forget, I spent all of last night with Gabriella and just so you know, she has the body of a goddess." Troy said as he smirked at Greg.

It was the perfect revenge, Troy thought as he sprinted back to the other end of the court. Greg Henderson had been after Gabriella for so long, provoking him wasn't too hard, especially when Troy knew he had a temper to be reckoned with.

The game became brutal after that. Troy found himself sweating profusely as the first quarter came and went in a clash of bodies, skill and minds. The second quarter was no better and as the physicality of the game increased the crowds energy did too. As the buzzer for halftime sounded, Troy found himself sliding across the floor after a collision of bodies that he'd hardly been aware of happening. He stood, wincing as the referee blew his whistle signaling halftime and the two teams jogged to the opposite ends of the court. They were leading but it didn't feel like it.

He followed his team and, grabbing his drink bottle, ignored his father as he leaned across the player's bench to hold onto Gabriella for a moment.

"Are you alright?" Gabriella whispered wrapping her arms around his shoulders as Troy breathed heavily into her shoulder, savoring the few moments away from the intensity and tension that had begun to define the game as he nodded his head.

"I'll be fine." He mumbled and pulled away to look at her properly. "Do me a favor and don't listen to anything that comes out of my mouth on the court." He said wincing slightly as her hand ran over a newly forming bruise.

Gabriella nodded and Troy kissed her quickly, before turning to his team. Raising his eyebrows at them as he felt Gabriella's hand slide to his back, Troy looked around.

"Let's finish this." He said and they all nodded. Troy reached behind him and squeezed Gabriella's hand as he gulped down more water, before throwing it to the assistant coach. Letting go of her hand, Troy took a step toward the court and was immediately stopped by his father.

"Whatever you're doing out there Troy, keep doing it. Henderson's going to foul you soon." Jack said quietly to his son, Troy looked at his father carefully and noting the approval in Jacks eyes, nodded his head.

Jogging back out onto the court, Troy waited patiently for the game to restart as the West High coach spoke rapidly to some of the players. Troy watched as Henderson was let go and jogged over to him. Troy wiped his forehead on his arm and waited patiently as Henderson came to a stop next to him.

"Hey Henderson, remember how I asked you if it sucked that I fucked Gabriella when you fucked up your chance with her? I've been meaning to ask, does it really suck to know that after the game, whether we win or lose, she's going to come with me, in more ways than one?" Troy asked cockily and watched as Greg's hands clenched into fists at his words, no doubt a warning for Troy to shut up before Greg attempted to do serious damage to him.

The whistle for the third quarter blew before Henderson could reply and Troy caught the ball that was thrown to him as West High set up around the key, it seemed to be reminiscent of the first quarter and Troy bounced the ball, watching for an opening as he kept an eye on Henderson, who appeared to be biding his time.

"Henderson, you never answered my question. Don't you care that she's going to come with me?" Troy asked tauntingly, knowing that the referee was too far away to hear what he was saying.

Troy didn't even have time to think about what Henderson would do before he hit the polished wooden floor with a thud. He heard the referee's whistle, the crowd's roar of indignation and stared at Henderson with victory coursing through his veins. Troy got up slowly, watching with satisfaction that was hard to conceal as Henderson was sent off the court. Knowing he was getting two free throws, Troy moved to the free throw line and stood there, watching as Reynolds ran on as Henderson's replacement.

Catching the ball as it bounced too him, Troy waited patiently, staring at the basket for such a long time he could see West High begin to fidget. Troy suddenly threw the ball, watching as it swished through the net. The crowd roared as the referee caught it again, signaled that it was his second shot at basket and threw the ball to him. Troy raised it and shot as soon as the referee's whistle blew, knowing that if it rebounded West High would be all over it. He watched in satisfaction as it swished through.

"You ready for the finale?" He asked, glancing at Reynolds as he ran past. Andrew didn't respond and Troy smirked, turning to go back and set up around the key with his team.

Troy hadn't been expecting Reynolds to respond but what he had expected happened. Tempers began to fray as East High began to frustrate West High even more and the clash of bodies that had happened in the first half was beginning to become even more vicious than it had been before. Troy knew that as East High breathed into West High's ears, they were doing serious damage to West Highs psychological game and it had begun to show as the fourth quarter started. The crowd, shouting themselves hoarse as they watched what was beginning to be considered a clash of the titans, had long forgotten who they were cheering for and instead, were simply shouting for the sake of it.

Reynolds was getting worse.

Troy couldn't help but breathe down his neck as they fought for dominance on the court. The whispered words of how quickly the game was slipping between his fingers were causing more mistakes for him than Troy found believable. Wiping sweat from his forehead, Troy breathed heavily as the crowd shouting grew louder as West High flew down the court towards them. Readying himself, Troy waited patiently as they went the opposite side of him, hoping that Jason got the ball. The crowd groaned as Troy blinked and swish of the basket confirmed something Troy hadn't wanted to happen. The score was now tied and he nodded at Chad, who threw the ball from the baseline to him.

Troy slowly jogged towards the West High defense, his eyes seeking out his team. Seeing Chad at the opposite side of the key, Troy threw him the ball and waited for a second as Chad bounced the ball to the corner. Sprinting into the key, Troy knew Chad had seen him and, shrugging off a defender, Troy caught the ball Chad threw, turned and shot.

His body went flying backwards as Reynolds dropped his shoulder into him as soon as he'd let go of the ball.

This time when Troy hit the ground, it didn't feel like he was going to get up. Reynolds had caught him while he was still in the air and Troy held his stomach as the pain in his chest caused his breathing to shorten to shallow gasps.

He heard the buzzer go and glanced up at the scoreboard as he watched two West High players drop down to their haunches to bury their faces in their hands. That only meant one thing. Adrenaline suddenly rushed through Troy as he realized what had happened. He'd scored. East High had won. Suddenly finding energy, Troy rose to his feet, wincing slightly when his back throbbed slightly at the movement.

"Dude! We won!" Chad's shout could just be heard over the din of the crowd as Troy unexpectedly found himself engulfed by a crowd of red and white. He laughed as he was hugged, patted on the back and even kissed on the cheek several times by people he hardly knew.

He was let go from a hug and looked up to see Gabriella standing in front of him, her eyes sparkling, as she waited for him to be let go completely before she threw herself at him, her arms tight around his neck as their lips met.

"Congratulations." She murmured against his mouth, kissing him again before he could speak.

"Thanks, I'm glad you came." Troy said and was rewarded with her giggle before a hush fell over the exuberant crowd. Troy looked from his girlfriend to the distraction and grimaced when he saw Reynolds, Smith and Henderson, all sweaty and wearing identical expressions.

"Reynolds, good game." Troy nodded, knowing that the words would provoke him more than anything else he had said on the court would.

"Good game? What the fuck Bolton? You were meant to lose!" Reynolds shout was heard by everyone and Troy watched him steadily as Henderson and Smith glanced around nervously, suddenly aware that Reynolds temper was going to get the better of him.

"I was meant to lose? Since when?" Troy asked, tightening his grip on Gabriella's waist as Reynolds took a step towards them.

"Since I fucking told you to! I told you that if you didn't throw the game Henderson here was going to hurt your darling little girlfriend! Remember? We were all here to do it? But I suppose it's a fair trade, he hurts her and then she hates you for the rest of your life." Reynolds snapped and Troy felt Gabriella bury her face in his shoulder at the mention of the threat as Troy continued to look at Reynolds steadily.

"Really? Well, there you go. You do realize you just announced that to our coaches' right?" Troy asked curiously, ending the conversation as he looked over at his father and West High's coach, both looked furious.

Not wanting to see what was going to happen to Reynolds at his admission, Troy slowly pulled Gabriella through the crowd as they all continued to stare in shock at the three West High players. Once they were outside, Troy leaned against the wall and held Gabriella to him tightly.

"So…how did you pull that off?" Gabriella asked, leaning her chin on his chest too look up at him, her eyes lit with curiosity. Troy shrugged at the question.

"Reynolds has always had a temper that gets him into trouble and I just played into that. Besides, Henderson's going to get into heaps of shit when my Dad's through with him. I told him about the threat before we ran out." Troy said and Gabriella's eyes widened, not at his admission but who he told.

"You told your dad?" She asked in shock and Troy shrugged.

"Yeah well, we might not get along at the moment but he believes me about most stuff, why not this?" Troy asked and Gabriella suddenly realized why Coach Bolton hadn't gotten mad at them at the beginning. He'd been too happy that Troy had decided to confide in him about the threat, to scold him about anything else.

"I'm glad you told someone." Gabriella said leaning up to kiss him as Troy breathed a sigh of relief.

They stood there for a moment, wrapped in each other as they both contemplated what had happened since the morning.

"We probably should head to the after party." Troy said thoughtfully and Gabriella looked up at him and rolled her eyes.

"Of course." She agreed and Troy heard the sarcasm in her voice and knew it was because she didn't think he should have stated something that obvious. Before she could pulled away, Troy leaned down and kissed her again, enjoying the fact that for the first time since they'd gotten back to school, it was game over.

A/N: Well, only one more chapter and then its all over! SFM should be up as soon as I've finished it and that should be soon! I know it was weak, but I just feel like I have to finish this.