A/N: Just wanna say thanks to Ladyrenact, who reviewed and made me realize that Gabriella hadn't told Taylor about the rings..heh heh…that would be a problem wouldn't it? Thanks! Read on…so you can review, of course!

Chapter 21: Swoosh

Gabriella smiled graciously at the man who left, carrying two brownies and cookies that her and her mom had baked together. She stood behind her red and green stand, pushing a piece of artificial tinsel from her face. She glanced at her watch and sighed. She still had half an hour left in her shift selling baked goods at East High's Christmas fair. A warm sensation engulfed her body as two strong arms hugged her from behind. She twisted around to face him, and he kissed her lightly. She beamed up at him, and he couldn't help but doing the same.

"So," Troy began, wrapping his arms around her waist, "you never thanked me for the rings." He looked at her, his electric blue eyes sparkling with passion.

"You're right, I didn't" She slid her hands down, allowing them to rest on his chest. She kissed his jaw, and he smiled.

"I have an idea how you can repay me." His grip tightened and she cocked an eyebrow at him curiously. He slid one hand into his jean pocket, pulling out two orange and white tickets. She grinned, taking them from him to read them.

"Tomorrow night, Los Angeles Lakers versus Cleveland Cavaliers, 7:30pm, fourth row." She rolled her eyes, "Are you sure you want to take me? Why not Chad or Zeke, or even Ryan?" He smirked, taking the tickets and using them to flick the end of her nose.

"Nuh-uh. You owe me." She leaned on her tip-toes, kissing him briefly. "It's a date." She mumbled against his lips. He closed the gap again, and took her head in his hands.

"GABRIELLA MONTEZ!" Troy pulled away instinctively, and Gabriella turned hesitantly towards the origin of the voice. She smiled at the sight of her best friend, but it faded as she saw her expression. "How dare you not tell me Troy bought you rings!" Gabriella gasped in realization, clapping a hand over her mouth. She grabbed Troy's arm, pulling him forwards slightly. She removed the hand from her mother, displaying it next to Troy's for Taylor to see. She awed. Troy wrapped an arm around her stomach from behind. Taylor smiled, "You guys are too cute." She paused, "So, I was thinking, you want to do the double movie date tomorrow night? Chad won't be too happy, I know there's a game on tomorrow night, but he can tape it." Gabriella and Troy exchanged glances and Gabriella widened her eyes in attempt to look innocent.

"Um, Tay?" Gabriella pouted, "You know that game?" Taylor nodded slowly, "Well, Troy and I are kind of planning on going." Taylor rolled her eyes, sighing deeply. "Well, I guess Chad will be able to watch the game after all."

"TROY!" They all jumped, startled by her piercing voice and the sound of her hands slamming atop the wood of the stand. "I've kissed, like, a million pairs of lips and not one of them was yours!" She pouted, batting her eyelashes.

"You know what Sharpay –" Gabriella was annoyed with all of this – all of her. The only thing stopping her from blowing up in Sharpay's face was her hand, pushing Gabriella away. She stood in astonishment as Sharpay loaned over the counter of the stand, towards Troy, who backed away uncomfortably.

"C'mon, Bolton, gimme a fresh one." She puckered her lips, but breathed out in frustration as something was thrown in her face.

"Take a candy cane." He smirked, walking towards Gabriella. "Fresh."

He took her hand and they walked away, leaving Sharpay standing, by herself, mouth hanging open.

TGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGT

Troy ran his hands through his hair, pushing it up with the gel to form his infamous faux hawk. He gave himself one last one-over before grabbing his wallet. His heart suddenly jumped, and an uncontrollable, nervous grin appeared on his face. As he raced from his bedroom, through his house to his car, his mind and his heart raced with excitement. He backed out of the driveway, not wanting to wait another minute to spend time watching his favorite sport while being by the side of his favorite girl.

TGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGT

Gabriella sighed as she looked into the full-length mirror on the back of her door. She loved spending time with Troy, but she wasn't too fond of basketball, especially when it distracted him from her. Her thoughts were interrupted by the familiar ring of her cell phone.

"Hello?" She saw the headlights gleam through her window as Troy pulled into the driveway.

"OK, I know you're busy tonight but I was thinking that maybe next weekend you and me could do a little shopping then you could come over after and sleepov–"

"Tay, I would love to chat, but Troy just got here and we're gonna be late for the game. I'll call you tomorrow OK? Bye." Gabriella flipped her phone shut, grabbing her purse while running out the door. She turned around, locking it behind her before hopping into Troy's truck. She flashed her pearly whites, and he chuckled, looking at her up and down.

"Well, aren't you just….adorable!" He raised his eyebrows at her.

"I like to think of it as team spirit." Gabriella had dressed to impress, with the perfect purple tunic and yellow accessories, to match the team colors of the Lakers. She also wore her hair in pigtails, with yellow elastics and purple eye make-up. He took her hand, glad that she wasn't going to mope the whole time. He also couldn't help but notice the yellow nail polish.

Troy and Gabriella linked hands and pushed their way through the crowd lined up to buy basketball paraphernalia. Gabriella giggled as Troy forcefully pushed aside the guy who had been inching in front of them to open his soda, blocking their passage. He stopped where the hallway led into the stadium and checked their ticket stubs to check.

"D12…this way, follow me." They only had to walk a few steps to find the right entrance to their section of the court. He led her to the right aisle, squishing past a few people and finally found their seats. He took off his jacket and sat on it, Gabriella doing the same. He kissed her cheek unexpectedly and she glanced at him from the side.

"What was the for?"

"Nothing. Just in a good mood I guess." Gabriella sat forward to get a better look. 'Good mood' was an understatement. He was glowing; his eyes gleamed, scanning the shiny basketball court, the jumbotron, the people sitting in the jam-packed stands, the announcers – everything. Suddenly, the lights dimmed and people began cheering, as did Troy. Gabriella began clapping, not sure what they were getting excited about – there weren't even any players on the court. Troy laughed, and placed a hand on Gabriella's thigh. She looked at him, and he began explaining.

"The team's coming! They warm up, then the game starts!" He glanced quickly back to the court, and the announcers voice echoed loudly through the stadium. Smoke crept up around the lower left hand side of the court, and the opposing team began running from their door onto the court as the announcer called each one by name and number. The crowd even booed. Then the announcer's voice boomed – even louder than before – to introduce the Las Angeles Lakers. The whole stadium cheered, and Gabriella was amazed at the enthusiasm of the atmosphere, it was so crazy that even she, the farthest thing from a basketball fan, began to get excited. As each players emerged from the darkness into the spotlights, the smoke began to disappear and the lights slowly returned to normal.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the singing of the national anthem." The whole stadium stood and began singing along with the man who led the crowd. After everyone took a seat, the players each grabbed a ball and began taking shots, running drills and stretching. Gabriella glanced over at Troy.

"You want a drink?" Gabriella reached down to grab her purse.

"Um, sure. Here, we'll go together."

"No, you stay here and enjoy the warm up. I'll get us something."

"OK, thanks babe. I'll have a large Coke."

"Got it."

Troy smiled admiringly at his girlfriend. He had only asked a couple of girls to come to games – college basketball games, hockey games, that type thing – and all of them refused, saying it lacked romance. But Gabriella didn't care; he knew that she'd do anything, as long as it was with him. Troy's eyes turned back to the court, watching as the players dribbled up the court with ease, passing the ball back and forth, taking three-pointer shots and making them. His attention was drawn from the players when he heard the familiar ring tone of Gabriella's phone coming from her jacket. He reached into the pocket, pulling it out to see Taylor's name and picture on the screen.

"Hey, Tay."

"Troy? Why do you have Brie's phone?" Troy could vaguely hear Chad's voice say 'say hi to Gabster for me' in the background.

"She's gone to get us drinks."

"Ah. Well can you tell her to call me when she gets the chance?" Taylor asked, with an edge in her usually smooth voice.

"Yeah, sure. Everything OK?"

"She hung up on me before."

"Oh, why?"

"You."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure she didn't mean for it to upset you." Troy wondered why girls got so worked up over the smallest things.

"No, I know, but it's just pissing me off. We haven't hung out, just us two since the dance, and that was to get ready. We haven't had any real alone time in a while."

"That sucks. Listen, I gotta go, the game is starting. I'll tell Gabs to call you tomorrow, OK?"

"Thanks, Troy! Bye!"

"Later."

Gabriella scooted next to Troy and gave him a questioning glance.

"Why were you on my phone?"

"It rang, I answered. It was Tay, she wants to hang out with you."

"Yeah, I know, I've just been busy."

"With me."

"Is that a bad thing?" But before Troy could answer, the players began lining up at center court for the jump. Troy ignored the question, his attention instantly snagged by the beginning of the game.

The buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the quarter and the beginning of half time. The announcer's voice boomed from the speakers once again.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, hurry back to your seats soon with your tickets, because in a couple of minutes we'll be announcing the lucky winner of our draw! The person with the selected ticket will get to play a quick one on one with Kobe Bryant from the Las Angeles Lakers!" Troy shoved his hand into his pocket, pulling out his ticket.

"Oh my gosh, Gabs, wouldn't it be cool if I got to play with the Kobe Bryant!" Gabriella giggled at his excitement.

"Yeah, I dream come true!"

Gabriella and Troy chatted a bit before they were interrupted by the announcer.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, take out those tickets! We are now going to draw the ticket number of our lucky winner!" A woman walked into center court with a large ball; in it were piles of paper. Another woman reached her hand into the ball, swirling her hands around a bit before pulling out a piece of paper. She handed it to the announcer.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner! Our lucky person is in the red section…" Troy smiled, "…row D…" Troy's eyes widened "Oh my God, Brie!" The announcer continued. "…seat 11! Congratulations! Who's our lucky winner?" Gabriella squealed.

"TROY! Troy it's me! It's my ticket. Go Troy, take my ticket!"

"No, Gabs, you go! This will be a great way for you to remember this. Go!" He had pushed Gabriella so she was standing, and the cameras found her, her face now on the jumbotron with the announcer calling her down.

"Troy, are you kidding? This is your dream!"

"No, it's not. My dream is to play in the NBA and be with you. Now go." Gabriella blinked, before making her way down to the court. She became nervous; after all, she was standing in front of thousands of people.

"Hey there, young lady. What's your name?"

"Gabriella." She smiled widely at the announcer, shaking his hand and that of Kobe Bryant. She couldn't believe Troy had let her

"Alrighty, Gabriella, here's your game ball. Good luck!" She took the orange, stubbly ball from the announcer and looked up at Kobe Bryant, who smiled down at her.

"Ever play basketball before?"

"Nope." She giggled.

"Alright, I'll take it easy." She smiled at him.

"Thanks." Then she began dribbling the ball, the crowd cheering her on. She stopped, and aimed, realizing that Kobe wasn't actually defending her. She shot, and, to her surprise, sunk it in with a swoosh. She beamed to Kobe, who began clapping and then turned her head in the direction of her boyfriend, who was standing, cheering her on loudly. The announcer made his way onto the court, a large commercial smile planted on his face.

"Well done! As a further prize for winning the draw, here's a Lakers jersey signed by all the players of the team! Thanks for playing, Ms. Gabriella!"

She smiled, and ran off the court to see Troy.

"Gabi! That was awesome! C'mere!" He pulled her into a huge bear hug, wrinkling the jersey she clutched to in her hands.

"Thanks. And this is for you." She held out the jersey for him.

"Gabs, it's your prize, not mine."

"Well, I'm giving it to you. Not only are you the best guy I've ever been with, but this means a lot more to you than it ever will to me. You should have been up there with Kobe Bryant, not me. This is the very least I can do."

"I love you, Gabi."

"I love you, too." He kisser her softly, and they sat down again, watching the rest of the game in a complete euphoric state. Oh, and the Lakers won. Of course.

A/N: So there ya go, I am sooooooooo sorry I haven't been updating. But I will, I promise. And I also realized that I missed Homecoming, and I am sorry for that too. Any requests for anything at all? Let me know what you think! a.k.a…REVIEW. Going for 200! But not in one chapter, of course, heh heh. Love you guys!