Author's Note: You guys are just the most wonderful group of people ever. I love how supportive you are even though the last chapter wasn't good. You could have just said it was confusing and not my best. Laughs. This story is dragging and dragging on for me. It's hard for me write now, and I'm sorry for the really long update. I'm glad you guys have been sticking with me; I reached 1,000 reviews...woot woot. This chapter is very...different from the last? I had my other friends help me out on this one. Stupid stupid boy. Ha ha. Always, schoolgirl 101

Chapter 33: Laugh

"Troy," she called out. "You can come out now."

There was a muffling sound coming from her closet and it took a while before a tall figure appeared and stepped onto her carpet.

"I waited for you," he said and looked into her eyes.

"I know," she replied.

She wasn't sure how to respond to him as she looked at him standing before her. Their eyes met each other in a strong magnetic force and she dragged her eyes forcefully to pull away from him. She took a seat at her desk and tapped her fingers rhythmically on the wooden piece of furniture.

"Hi," he said quietly.

"Hi," she replied back. She looked at him and blinked. She squirmed in the chair she was sitting in.

"I was listening to you talk to them," Troy said as he ran a hand through his hair. "Did you forget I was in your closet?" he questioned.

'How could I forget?' she pended.

A knock on her door sounded and before Gabriella could look up from her desk, Troy Bolton appeared in all his glory. She heard a honking sound from outside of her house and her mouth dropped open as she looked out the window. Taylor and Sharpay were here. At her house. And Troy. Was here. At her house.

She stared at Troy and her mouth dropped open. Why was he here? She hadn't talked to him all week. She had ignored him, and all he wanted to know was get back to her.

"I wanted to talk to y---" he started before she ran over to him and pushed herself against him as she clasped onto his mouth. She couldn't allow Sharpay and Taylor to hear him. She would be questioned for the rest of her life.

He gasped at the sudden pressure and muffled into her mouth.

"Shh---Troy," she hissed. "Sharpay and Taylor are coming up here. They're going to know you're here."

"Mmmppphh--" he struggled. "Mmmmppphh---"

"Quiet!" she hissed as she stared out her window. Damn. Sharpay and Taylor were no longer visible. She figured they were using the spare key located on her front porch. That only left her with a couple of minutes to find out what to do with Troy.

She felt something moist fall on her hand and she pulled back immediately. "Eww! Troy! Did you just lick me!?!" She wiped her hand with the hem of her shirt rapidly.

"You wouldn't let me speak," he countered. "I've been trying to talk to you this whole week."

"Err---" Gabriella muttered as she looked from Troy to her door. She only had a matter of seconds---minutes if she was lucky, until Sharpay and Taylor came upstairs.

Her eyes scanned her closet door and a light bulb glowed in her mind. She jumped on Troy, and he ended up crashing to the floor.

"OWW----mmmppph!" Troy moaned as he landed on the floor with Gabriella on top of him. Gabriella's eyes widened. Okay. She was supposed to shove Troy into the closet. Not jump him.

"Gabs!" two distinct voices sounded from the bottom of the home's staircase. "Are you okay?!"

Gabriella clenched her fists together and she pushed Troy towards the closet. "Go!" she hissed.

Troy rubbed his back before quickly crawling over to the closet.

Gabriella gasped and pushed him in as quickly as she could; she closed the closet door shut tightly. Her eyes flickered open, and she watched her two best friends enter the room in a mad panic. "Gabs! Are you hurt?"

"Are you okay?!?!?"

"Why are you on the floor?!"

"Did you have a really bad cramp attack?!" Sharpay burst before clamping her mouth shut at the glare she got from Gabriella.

Gabriella shook her head. She swore she heard a muffled laugh. It must have been Troy. Stupid stupid boy. Troy was going to get it. Damn right he was.

She gripped onto the desk tightly as she turned to look at him. She stared at him intently as if to question if he was being serious or not. "I knew you were in the closet. I was the one who shoved you inside."

He smiled cheekily at her. Was he happy that she shoved him into the closet? "I was in there for quite some time," he commented. "I mean---couldn't you have thrown me in the bathroom or something? Damn Gabs. You're closet is small."

She rolled her eyes. "Shut up," she laughed. Her brown eyes twinkled happily.

She had laughed for the first time that day. Maybe even for the first time that week. It was a huge release to her.

And he was the one who made her laugh.

She smiled at him.

He grinned back at her. "Like I said, your closet is small," he grinned. "How much stuff can you even fit in there?" he questioned.

Gabriella shrugged, her small dimples showing on her cheeks. "I don't know," she stated. "Not all of the things in there are mine you know," she said suggestively.

Troy shook his head and placed his hand on the back of his neck. "There's so much stuff in there," Troy commented. "When you pushed me in, I think I landed on your bra. Damn Gabs. I didn't know you were a size 34---"

Before he could finish his sentence, she grabbed the unused math textbook on her desk and forcefully threw it in his direction and blushed. "Stupid stupid boy," she muttered.

He was stunned as the object hit his arm, but quickly recovered. "You know---" he continued. "That was actually sore," he said and rubbed his arm soothingly.

She bit her lip to contain her smile. "That was my intention," she cheekily grinned before blinking and looking at him more seriously. "I thought I was supposed to be mad at you," she stared at him, her lips curled upward. "I can't not be mad at you anymore. Things are not supposed to be like that."

He smiled and shook his head. He took a step closer to her. "Why can't you be happy?" he asked. "It doesn't follow your plot?" His eyes bore into her and she blinked.

She frowned at him and looked down before sighing. She turned around and looked back at her closet. "You could have at least cleaned up a little in there," she commented. "I mean most of that stuff in the closet is yours," she said as she picked up a discarded shirt on the floor and grabbed a clothes hanger.

Troy shook his head and grinned and walked over to Gabriella to help her. He reached down and grabbed the closest object to him. "Is this mine?" he laughed as he picked up the top half of Gabriella's black bikini.

She snatched her bikini from his grasp. "Shut up," she muttered before shoving his basketball jersey in his hand. "This is yours," she stated.

Troy looked down at the shirt in his hand and chuckled. "Damn. I haven't seen this in forever," he commented. "I thought I lost it."

Gabriella looked at Troy, and her tan skin appeared a soft pink.

"You stole it from me, didn't you?" he snickered as he brought the shirt to his face and took a whiff. "It smells like you," he said softly.

"And what do I smell like?" she asked, her lips pressed into a pouty grin, as she took a step closer to him.

"Perfection," he whispered.

She giggled. "Troy, how can I smell like that? That isn't even a word to describe smell. You're crazy wildc---"

He leaned closer to her and pressed his lips lightly against her. She tensed up but didn't pull away from him. His fingers trailed against her cheeks and softly caressed her. He was trying to pull her back. He was trying to pull her back into the hurt, the madness, the cheating.

She trembled and pulled away. "Troy---" she said softly. "We---we can't. It's not right."

"Why not?" he questioned and rubbed her face with his thumb. "I'm sorry. Please. I want you so badly. I need you so badly."

"This is too soon Troy," she said quietly. "I just---I want you---but I think right now, it's best if we stay friends."

"Oh," he nodded and pulled away from her. He exhaled loudly and stood up. "I understand Gabs," he uttered. "It's kind of hard for me to control myself when I'm with you."

She watched as he wiped his hands on his jeans nervously and she watched as he grabbed hold of the door as if to leave. "I think I'll be going," he disclosed. "We can talk on the phone or something," he nodded.

Her heart sped up as he took a step out of her closet. She didn't want him to leave. She wanted him to stay. With her.

"Don't leave me," she stood up and grabbed him forcefully. He lost his balance and pulled Gabriella to the floor.

She fell on top of him in a loud crash and blushed. "Sorry," she bit her lip. "I just. I want us to be friends. For now. Until I'm ready for something more," she stated. Her hand was pressed on his chest and she patted his chest softly. "I can't live without you Troy," she expressed.

His blue eyes flickered at her and his lips curled into a large smile. "I'm not going anywhere," he declared and engulfed her in a hug.

"Good," she said quietly and pressed her lips against his cheek.

His cheek got warm and he gripped her tightly against him. This is how he was supposed to feel. Content. Happy. Euphoric.

"Troy?" she questioned.

"Yeah?" he asked as he lay down on the carpet and looked up at her in the semi-darkness.

"Can you get your hand off of my ass?" she giggled.

He pulled back.

"Sorry."

And then she laughed.