Hey guys up loading a chapter from the local laundry mat. LoL Our stove won't turn off so we have it unplugged with the gas off. A repair man came out today he was three hours late and now my kitchen stove is in pieces at home. Apparently he will be fixing the stove or replacing it all at our landlords cost not ours so I'm alright with it. Living with my boyfriend has been fun, we've been discovering lots of things like he loves to stay up late and sleep in. Meanwhile I love to go to bed early and wake up at 6. It's working itself out, point is we're happy, and I'll be a lot happier when internet gets installed this Saturday. I'm 5 chapters in on my new story so hopefully things work out. love you, guys miss you, and love reading your comments.

Strands from her pigtails were loose as she raced across the parking lot. The school ground had cleared up and people had gone home.

"Gabriella wait," Troy's voice called out behind her and she kept walking towards her car.

Gabriella clicked the remote to open her doors and as she pulled it open Troy came up from behind and pushed the door shut.

"What!" Gabriella yelled turning around to face him.

"What the hell was that?" Troy said motioning back to school.

"You might like attention Troy but I don't and he would have had to write a report Troy, that's public record… do you know how fast that could be on the cover of some stupid magazine tomorrow." Gabriella said turning around and opening the door to the car. "Aaron's been through enough, I'm not going to destroy my reputation just to teach him a lesson."

Troy was quite as he watched her get in the car. She went to pull the door shut and Troy held it opened. "I'm sorry I didn't think about it like that?" he said looking at Gabriella "We still need to talk,"

Gabriella stuck the key in the ignition, "Look, thanks for taking care of Eddie, thanks for having the best intention back there, but you almost threw me under a bus Troy. Let's face it we're never going to get this right."

"Gabriella don't do this. We're getting somewhere don't knock us five steps back when we just got two steps forward."

Gabriella shook her head. "Must suck for you that everything is my fault," Gabriella pulled the door shut and Troy jerked back as the car went forward. He watched as she drove up to the school and picked up Eddie who was standing on the curb. Troy let breath as he watched her leave the parking lot.

"Shit." He said kicking the ground before making his way to his own car.

Eddie looked back as Troy kicked the ground. "You know at least he's trying." He said looking back at Gabriella.

"Is he?" Gabriella said making a left turn.

Eddie looked over at his sister as the wind moved her hair around and she quietly drove. Shifting in his seat he looked out his own window as the houses past by. "Troy is a great guy; great guys aren't always going to wait for you."

"What does it even matter in few months he'll be off to college and I'll be somewhere doing something that isn't Julliard." Gabriella said ending with a sigh.

"Whatever you say gabs, but we both know all your going to do is lock yourself in your room and cry about this."

Gabriella fist punched Eddie in the arm, "Gee who needs enemies with siblings like you." She said with sharp gasp.

"You're the one acting like a butthead." Eddie said rubbing his arm and smiling a little.

"Oh wonderful I'm a butthead." Gabriella shook her head and kept driving. "Guess it takes one to know one." She said with a smirk.

Gabriella looked over at her bother and she let out a laugh as they drove along.

"Did you see the black eye I gave him?" Eddie said motioning behind them.

"I also saw you hunched over in pain." Gabriella said with a raise eyebrow. "Thank you for coming to my rescue," she said in soft voice.

"It was nothing I had him, Troy just finished him off for me that's all." Eddie picked up his arms and flexed. "I'm working on my guns just give it some time I'll be like the terminator."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure you didn't need Troy's help at all."

Eddie was quite for a moment as he looked out the window. Gabriella let out a sigh and Eddie looked back at her. "He called you his girlfriend you know."

"I know," Gabriella said.

"So what are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know yet."

"Isn't this what you wanted?"

Gabriella gave a stern stare his way. "Eddie, please just stop asking me about this, and let me think."

"Just trying to help," Eddie said shrugging his shoulders.

Troy walked into his house and dropped his backpack to the floor. "Mom?"

"In here Troy," she called from the kitchen. "Making Marconi,"

"Sounds good to me," Troy rubbed his hands together and looked down at his knuckle that had a slight bruising. "Hey mom?"

"Yeah," she called back appearing in the doorway with a big wooden spoon.

"I got into another fight." He said walking towards her.

"What?" she said coming towards him and reaching out a hand to grab his face and start looking for bruises on his face.

"I won the fight mom, I hit him."

She paused and placed her hands on her hips. "Troy Alexander Bolton." She said in a stern voice.

"He hit Gabriella,"

"Oh," she said with a lifting her hand to her lips.

"Yeah I have two days detention because of it, plus she didn't even want to accept my apology." He said walking past his mother. "She's driving me nuts,"

Lucile followed her son into the kitchen and watched as he reached in the fridge for a soda. "What did you do?"

"It's complicated," Troy said opening the can. "This annoying guy threaten me with her naked photos, he said if I didn't throw the game tomorrow he'd sell them to the highest bidder."

"Oh my god Troy," his mother put the spoon down on the table and took a seat.

"Well turns out the pictures don't exist and Gabriella was mad at me for assume they did?"

"Didn't you ask her about it?"

Troy cock his head to the side. "Mom at one point in the conversation do you insert, Hey by the way have you ever taken nude photos and sent them to your ex-boyfriend."

"Good point." His mother looked down and then back up. "How did she find out?"

"I don't know, but something happened she came back to apologize and I needed time to think?"

"Think about what?" His mother asked looking at him with a open mouth.

"We're both going to different schools, she doesn't seem the type you want to keep long distance and I mean come on what was I suppose to do just say yes and ignore that she doesn't trust me, that I don't trust her, that the picture thing between us was something we weren't going to bring up again and that the whole world watching us cause I'm some basketball hero and she's a producers daughter doesn't drive us both crazy."

"Sounds like you've thought about it." She said crossing her arms.

"I have and…" Troy placed the can down and looked up at his mother. "And I really don't care about any of it if it means being with her."

His mother let out a small cry as she held her hand up to her heart. "My baby has fallen in love."

"Yeah," he said with smile. "I think I am,"

"So what happened?"

"I said something when I shouldn't of and she drove off." Troy said hitting the counter top.

"Is that what started the fight?"

Troy shook his head, no he hit Gabriella and then he hit Eddie who was trying to defend her and doing a piss poor job of it." Troy let out a sigh, "I need to teach him how to fight before I leave."

"Look at you, acting so grown up." His mother stood up. "When did my little boy turn into a man who cares about others and falls in love." She said placing a kiss on his forehead and holding him close.

"Mom?" Troy said with a chuckle.

"Dinner almost done, go wash your hands and come down to eat." She said ruffling his hair a bit.

"So much for the man part right."

"You're always my little boy." She said picking up the wooden spoon.

Gabriella walked into the kitchen and grabbed herself a glass from the cabinet. When she turned towards the refrigerator she noticed the mail on the counter top. Back tracking she reached for the mail and began sorting through it and that when she saw it. The white of the envelope gleaming in her hand, her name in printed bold ink sitting there unexpectedly winking at her. The thought slipped her mind the idea of it was beyond all common sense, what was more important to her than getting into Julliard, what changed her life so sharply she felt the whip lash in her toes. Gabriella looked up from the mail and into empty space of the kitchen. In her hands she held on to a key piece of the puzzle, something she hadn't been expecting. Gabriella had one college on her mind, however like every smart and safe decisions she made in her life she wanted to ensure she had back up plans and options. Ergo she applied to 8 different schools; Gabriella looked down at the piece of mail in her hand Columbia College on the upper right hand corner.

"What's that?" Eddie said walking into the kitchen and stealing her glass.

"Columbia College sent me back a letter," She said blankly looking up again.

"Acceptance or rejection?" he said putting the glass down and placing both hands flat on the table.

Gabriella looked at Eddie then down at the envelope. "I don't know," she said setting the other mail off to the side.

"Open it," Eddie walked around the table and yanked it from her hands. "I'll open it!"

"No," Gabriella said lurching forward to yank it from his hands.

"Why not? Don't you want to know?" he said turning around and looking at the piece of mail in her hands. "I want to know, pretty sure Troy would too."

"I shouldn't make a college decision on a boy." Gabriella said holding the letter to her chest.

"Gabs, Columbia College is a good school for art and dance. Plus you applied before you even liked him." Eddie crossed his arms. "Just open it."

"I can't," Gabriella looked down at the mail. "This is crazy, Troy won't…" Gabriella started and then stopped. "I mean who's to say he's even still interested?"

"Gabs open the letter,"

Gabriella looked down at it. "What if they said no?" she asked looking up at Eddie.

"What if they said yes?" he responded taking the letter from her again.

Gabriella watched with fear as her brother opened the letter, with a bit of shake he pulled out the document and began to read. Gabriella bit her lip and blood in her body almost came to a stop.

"What does it say?"

Eddie didn't respond he just looked up at her. "Well your right about one thing?"

"What, what is it?" Gabriella turned to look over his shoulder and Eddie pulled away.

"How much do you want to know?" Eddie said with a wiggle of his eyebrow. Gabriella reached out and latched on to his nipples giving them a hard twist and Eddie yelped as he gave it to her. "You fight dirty."

"And your annoying," she said grabbing the letter and looking down at it. After a second Gabriella took off and Eddie watched as she left the room.

"Start with Sorry!" he yelled as the front door shut.

Troy stood in the drive way looking up at the basketball hoop. "Don't be up too late," Lucile said as she pulled her sweater closed. "I know how you get before a big game, you need some rest."

"I will mom, I just want to practice a bit."

Lucile rolled her eyes. "First he wants play then he doesn't; now he wants to stay up looking at the net." Looking up she gave a small pout. "Talk to your son," she mumbled before turning around and going back inside.

Troy shook his head and he watched her go in. Troy looked at the basket and aimed his shot. Before taking it he paused. "I know what you're thinking?" in said in a low voice, he threw the ball and watched it swoosh though the net. "She's right," Troy watched as the ball bounce away. "I don't need the practice, just someone to talk it out with." Troy walked over and picked up the ball.

"This college thing is amazing, can you just imagine me getting a full ride to school that has nothing to do with basketball." He said tossing the ball from one hand to another. Troy sat down on the court. "I have no idea what to do now." Troy said placing the ball In front of him. "I want to go talk to her, but I feel like I've done enough. Not like your giving me any ideas, I mean no instructions, no books to read?" Troy shrugged his shoulders. "Just a box of your war metals."

He leaned back will he was looking up at the stars. "I hope you doing alright, for all I know you probably have your own problems?" Troy silently continued to glaze up at the stars needing some sign that things were going to be alright.

There was a rustle in the bushes and Troy quickly hopped up on his feet as he listened to the noise. "Hey I don't care about an interview or a front page, if you're a reporter you have five minutes to leave before I call the cops."

Just then Gabriella came out from hiding.

Troy unclenched his fist. "You,"

"Me," she said looking up at him with a piece of paper in her hands.

Both of them stared at each other for a long pause in time that felt like he was being choked. Troy looked at her hair still wrapped up in braids but a little looser than this morning a little more sloppy from all the chaos. "What's that?" he said motioning to the paper in her hands.

"An Acceptance letter to Columbia College in the fall," Gabriella said with a smirk.

"You applied?" he said feeling like he slipped from the edge of a cliff but still standing.

Gabriella nodded. "I'm sorry about driving off on you earlier."

"So where are we now?" Troy said looking at her as the street lights left a soft glow on her skin.

"I was wondering if you were going to the party tomorrow after the game."

"No," Troy said crossing his arms.

"Well it seems like everyone's going," Gabriella shrugged her shoulders. "They kind of expect you to win?"

"And if I don't?" Troy said taking a step forward. "If I don't win and we lose tomorrow then what?"

Gabriella looked at him and then down at the paper. "We can go out for ice cream?"

"What about this Stacy and Aaron thing?" Troy said shifting a little to the right as he watched she shrug her shoulders.

"What about them?"

"What they did doesn't bother you, doesn't make you trust me less or make you feel any different?"

"If I didn't trust you I wouldn't be standing here," Gabriella said looking up at him. "Lately besides Eddie I feel like you're the only one I can trust, you were right to stop us when things were getting to fast, my virginity is a big deal to me and I want to have sex when I'm ready and that could be whenever."

"I understand, just know that it's not because I don't care that I don't mind waiting it's because I do that I'd wait forever until you're ready."

"Thank you,"

"And what about your dad?" Troy took a step closer and she smiled a little.

"It's between me and him, we've reached our understanding." Gabriella took a step forward, "Just needs a little time."

"The reporters at tomorrow's game, the ones that will be following us around for a while?" He asked staying in place.

"You're not going to be famous much longer, once you announce your college choice, and I'm not that interesting unless my dad's around."

"So you've thought about all this?" Troy said lifting his arms to cross them.

Gabriella nodded, "Any other concerns, questions or comments."

"Just one,"

Gabriella smirked. "What's that?"

"Will you be my date to the after game party tomorrow?"

Gabriella bit her lip, "Thought you weren't going?"

"You give up too easy," Troy said coming closer to her.

Gabriella lips pulled into a smirk, "Who said I gave up?"

"You also talk too much," Troy mumbled as he pulled her close into kiss. His left hand wrapped around her cheek gently as his right arm pulled her close. His lips touched the softness of hers and he moaned in delight when her teeth nipped at his bottom lip. He brought his hand down and used both his hands to lift and spin her around.

Gabriella broke the kiss as she giggled in the evening air. Extending her arms out her spun around as she closed her eyes and felt the wind slip though her hair, through her fingers she felt her lips tugging into a smile and as he slowed down to bring her back to stand still he placed another kiss on that smile and Gabriella kissed him back.

"Best kiss ever," she said in a whisper against his lips.

"Best kiss so far," he corrected with a small chuckle.