Author's Note: I got inspiration in this chapter guys. Don't know where I got it from. Is my writing flair back? Yes...or no? And...when I thought about all the faithful reviewers, I got an idea. Long chapter. Well...longer than most of them. Enjoy. Oh yeah…writer's block…GONE! :D Always, schoolgirl 101

Chapter 25- That Special

Gabriella frowned as she turned the corner. It was getting harder to find Troy. She checked the main hallway, out front near the East High lawn, the rooftop, the cafeteria, the auditorium, and even...yes she looked there. The science and math classrooms.

She wondered where Troy was...badly. She made a mistake. And she wasn't planning on making another one.

But, she couldn't find Troy to tell him. She looked everywhere, every single place she could think of. And the gym? Several times. Seven times to be exact. Seven times Gabriella checked the gym. Most people knew Troy spent almost all of his free time at school in the gym. And, Gabriella couldn't find him in there.

Troy even made out in the gym for god's sake! Why wasn't he in there?

Aggravated, Gabriella slumped down and leaned against a nearby locker. She had just given up hope of finding Troy.

Life.

If anyone told you it life was perfect, they were wrong. Very wrong. Or, they were just being sarcastic. Gabriella knew one thing. Life was far from perfect.

"Gabriella," a voice said interrupting her from her thoughts.

"Troy?" Gabriella asked as she looked up quickly.

Gabriella immediately blushed when she looked up at the figure.

It was Chad. Chad Danforth.

"What are you doing on the floor?" Chad asked staring at Gabriella cautiously.

"Um," Gabriella said biting her lip. "I don't know," she whispered softly.

Gabriella was confused. Here was Chad. Chad Danforth. Best friend of Troy Bolton. Talking to Gabriella. Talking to Gabriella normally. There was no threatening voice or harsh words; the words were polite, maybe even civil.

Gabriella also knew that Chad would never call her Gabriella. But...he just did.

Gabriella looked at Chad anxiously wondering what he was going to say next. But he didn't say anything. Chad stood hovered over Gabriella, gazing attentively.

"Oh...is this your locker?" Gabriella blurted as she immediately got up, feeling the color on her cheeks flush.

"Actually...it isn't."

Gabriella nodded and looked down. She felt self-conscious of herself as she looked at Chad. His face was unreadable, except for his brown eyes. They seemed to look uneasy, troubled, and disturbed.

"Are you all right Chad?" Gabriella asked concerned. Even though she was troubled about finding Troy, she always had room to help a friend...well, a classmate.

Chad didn't seem to answer, as his forehead furrowed, and Chad wrinkled his nose. "Okay, um look." Chad said in an undertone.

Gabriella stared at Chad and nodded.

"See, Troy, I've known him all of my life." Chad said as he stared at Gabriella intently, almost as if it were a glare.

Gabriella seemed petrified, and managed to nod her head.

"And for the past days, well since, I don't know. Troy, he started to act strange. Like he'd be mad one day, happy another, a crackpot one day...you get the point." Chad said as he gawked at Gabriella, his face coming closer towards hers.

Gabriella seemed alarmed, and backed into a locker and looked at Chad, afraid to even breathe.

"And Gabriella. Most people, they take me as stupid. But the thing is...I'm not as stupid as everyone thinks. I'm not really stupid at all." Chad exclaimed as he frowned at Gabriella.

"Um...I know you're not stupid Chad," Gabriella said her voice shivered quietly.

"Yeah well, I put two and two together. And I know why Troy's been acting strange lately." Chad said blankly.

Gabriella looked at Chad her eyes widening, "Why?" she whispered as she bit her lip.

"Well, because his dog died and he doesn't want anyone to know about it." Chad said exasperated.

Gabriella looked at Chad and breathed a small sigh of relief quietly.

"I'm not stupid." Chad said taking a step closer to Gabriella, almost as if Chad was going to hit her.

Maybe Gabriella would receive her raincheck now.

"I know he's ticked off because of you." Chad said slowly. Gabriella could swear she saw Chad scowl at her threateningly. "You...Gabriella Montez. And if I knew your middle name, I'd say that too."

"Anne." Gabriella's voice trembled. "My middle name is Anne."

"Well, Gabriella Anne Montez," Chad said as he took his hands and put it on Gabriella's shoulders.

Chad pushed his hands forward, and Gabriella's shoulders hit the locker with a soft thump.

Gabriella closed her eyes and bit her lip. "I didn't mean anything Chad, I'm sorry." she whispered quietly.

"Well sorry isn't going to make anything better." Chad frowned staring at the scared Gabriella.

Chad leaned closer to Gabriella his mouth coming into close contact with her ear.

Gabriella trembled.

"Locker room." Chad said in a low voice.

Gabriella opened her eyes and looked at Chad. "What?" she looked at Chad puzzled.

"I said locker room." Chad repeated staring into Gabriella's chocolate brown eyes. "Sorry isn't going to make anything better. You better fix it." Chad said. "Locker room." Chad said.

Gabriella blinked. She was confused at Chad's words, and when she opened her eyes again, Chad was gone.

Gabriella shook her head.

"I guess I'm going to the locker room," she whispered terror-stricken.

Gabriella could feel her heart beating as she stared at the red door in white lettering: Men's Locker Room.

From what Chad said, Gabriella was sure Troy was in there. She had to fix the problem, but she wasn't going to be going in there on her life.

"Maybe I'll just wait for him outside here." Gabriella thought cautiously. "Out of all the places I look, and need to find him...he has to be in here." Gabriella said softly.

Gabriella glanced at the door with dislike. She wasn't going to go in there...she just wasn't.

Gabriella cried out almost in a plea for the door to open. She had been waiting for about ten minutes, and still no sign of Troy. She was almost losing hope of him coming out.

"Well sorry isn't going to make anything better."

You better fix it."

"Locker room."

Gabriella groaned in response. She knew if she was going to fix it, she had to go in there.

Gabriella could feel her face go pale as she looked at the words Locker Room on the door. She just couldn't bring herself to go in there.

It was against every kind of law Gabriella set up for herself. (1) Never make yourself do something you don't want to do, (2) Confidence, (3) Boy territory...is a big fat NO, and (4) Trust your feminine instinct...it's usually the smarter one.

"Is Troy really worth it?" Gabriella asked herself as she bit her lip again. Gabriella closed her eyes and pushed the door open.

She couldn't here any noises when she walked in, and found herself crashing into a mirror as she walked forward.

Gabriella rubbed her head. She couldn't close her eyes the whole time, she just needed to find Troy, talk to him, apologize to him, make up with him, make sure everything was all right between them, and then leave as fast as she could.

Gabriella had no idea how long that would take; it was a lot of things she had to cover before she could leave.

Gabriella decided to squint her eyes as she turned a corner.

"Oh god, the showers..." Gabriella whispered as she tried to tighten her eyes shut, with a little a view left so she wouldn't crash into anything again.

Gabriella was glad that no one was in the showers, or else that would have been so embarrassing. Gabriella could feel herself blush at the thought.

She turned another corner, and came face to face with the men's lockers.

"God!" a voice yelled at the sight of the brunette.

"Sorry! I'm so sorry!" Gabriella squeaked as she closed her eyes tightly. She attempted to turn around, but crashed into a wall, and tripped onto the floor. Gabriella whimpered in pain.

"Gabriella...are you all right?" a voice said as he grabbed hold onto her small hands and pulled her up softly.

Gabriella nodded her face not a shade of pink anymore, but a deep shade of red. "I better go...I'm so sorry," she mumbled turning around, but crashing into the same wall again.

She tripped, and instead of feeling the hard concrete floor, she fell into a pair of soft arms. Gabriella closed her eyes shut hoping to get out of the locker room. That was the worst idea she ever had. She should have trusted her feminine instincts and waited outside.

"You can open your eyes now," the voice said.

Gabriella opened her eyes cautiously and found, that she was staring into a pair of baby blue eyes. "Troy," she breathed.

Troy laughed quietly. "Did you take the wrong turn Gabriella? Many wrong turns?"

Gabriella hung her head low in shame. "Maybe," she whispered.

Gabriella focused her eyes back on Troy, as her eyes seemed to widen. Troy was wet, he seemed to just come out of the shower, and a towel was wrapped around his waist. Gabriella could see drops of water on his chest, and blushed deeply.

She looked away, and stared carefully at the red and white wall she seemed to crash into...twice.

Troy seemed to sense Gabriella's tensed body, and chuckled to himself. "Well Ms. Montez, I caught you out of the shower before, and now, I'm just returning the favor." Troy grinned.

If it meant saying something stupid to Gabriella, he'd say anything. Just to be with her, just to talk to her.

Gabriella turned red, if that was even possible anymore and switched her eyes to stare into Troy's. She was silent as she stared quietly at him.

"You okay Gabriella?" Troy asked as he grabbed her hand gently and pulled her over to sit next to him on a nearby bench.

"Troy," she said as she inhaled a gulp of hair.

"Yeah?" Troy asked as he tucked back a lone strand of hair in her face.

"I need to talk to you..." she said quietly.

"Well, I'm guessing you need to. You came all this way." Troy joked.

"I need to tell you..." she breathed.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Troy's eyes turned a different shade of blue as he stared at Gabriella. "What about everything you said before?" Troy said coldly. "About us not meant to be with each other?"

"I know. I know." she said softly. "I said all those things because, well I was afraid Troy."

"When does Gabriella Montez get afraid?" Troy said boldly.

"She's always afraid." Gabriella said. "This, this isn't some kind of decathlon competition, where I'm confident Troy. This isn't some kind of homework assignment where I know the answer. Where there's only one answer that can solve the problem."

"Then what is this Gabriella?" Troy snapped. "This is real life, and I'm hurt. Troy Bolton never gets hurt. Troy Bolton never shows his emotions. And he did. I never thought I would see the day when something this important, when you, mean so much to me," he said faintly.

Troy couldn't look at Gabriella and turned her head.

"I was...afraid of loving you Troy." she said quietly.

Troy snapped his head back towards Gabriella.

"And, so I said all of those things. I'm just afraid. I'm still afraid." she said quietly.

Troy looked at Gabriella gently, reached up, and brushed his hand against her cheek.

Gabriella quivered.

"But lately, I've been talking with the girls," she said.

"I just realized something though." Gabriella said softly.

Troy moved his hand away from Gabriela and watched her intently. "And what's that?" he said softly.

"That if I like you, and you like me, then it doesn't matter what anyone says." Gabriella managed to say.

"And..." she whispered.

"Yeah?" Troy asked.

"If I want something badly, I need to, I need to take the risk." Gabriella said hopefully.

Troy looked at Gabriella wanting to make sure he was getting the right idea. He couldn't help feeling the slightest bit angry, but it was Gabriella. And Gabriella, she made his world go round.

"And, I really want this badly Troy." Gabriella said certain. Her brown eyes seemed to sparkle just a little as she looked at Troy for his reaction.

Troy's mouth curled up into a smile, as his face broke into a grin. "You don't know how happy you make me." Troy grinned as he looked at Gabriella.

He couldn't help himself. How could he stay angry at her? God, he loved her.

Gabriella smiled brightly. "How happy?" she blushed.

"Like a child who just got a puppy for Christmas." Troy grinned. "This happy." he said spreading his arms wide open.

"Wow." Gabriella giggled softly.

"I know." Troy winked at Gabriella.

Gabriella looked down and blushed.

"I forgive you." Troy smiled as he brought her face up to look at him.

"Thank you." Gabriella whispered.

"I'd forgive you if you broke my heart." Troy whispered looking at Gabriella. "I'd forgive you for anything Gabriella. I care about you that much," he said sincerely.

Gabriella felt her eyes get teary. "I'm really sorry Troy, please remember that."

"Forget about it Gabriella." Troy said. "That's all in the past, we're in the present now. And we're moving onto the future."

Gabriella looked at Troy and smiled. She leaned close to him and hugged him, pulling back after a few seconds.

Her smile was sincere looking into Troy Bolton's. She loved him, a lot.

"I wanted to ask you something though..." Troy said.

"Anything." Gabriella smiled warmly.

"Well," Troy said scratching the back of his neck. "I want to do this now, or maybe I won't ever get the chance to do so. Will you, will you be my girlfriend?"

Gabriella looked at Troy and blushed her eyes twinkling. "More than anything Troy."

They both broke out into smiles as their lips softly touched together. Troy seemed to be floating as he kissed the one girl his heart truly desired. He pulled away when he felt that Gabriella had started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Troy asked looking at a pink-faced Gabriella.

"You're my first boyfriend." Gabriella seemed to say without blushing too much.

"And why is that funny?" Troy looked at Gabriella with a smile on his face.

"Because...I never thought a guy would like me. Much less ask me out. But it happened." Gabriella smiled brightly. "Thank you Troy."

"Anything for you Ms. Montez." Troy smiled as his lips brushed Gabriella's once again.

"And..." she replied genuinely. "I'll always remember this special moment. The first guy I really liked, who liked me back, asked me out...in a locker room." Gabriella grinned.

Troy looked at Gabriella and laughed.

"You're that special."