S O M E D A Y

PART ONE: Once Upon A Time

SUMMARY: Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

DISCLAIMER: I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make no money from it. Really. I also have no affiliation with the musical genius of Vanessa Amorosi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am uploading an entire chapter dedicated to an author's note after this so I don't think more needs to be said. Please read it, I talk about what's going to happen with the trilogy. Okay? :-)


E P I L O G U E

. . .

In my dreams you were perfect, when I woke up you were perfect… here and now, the moment's perfect.

- 'Perfect' by Vanessa Amorosi


It was 3am, early Sunday morning. Gabriella had awoken with a feeling of insane pressure from her bladder. Troy had moved over in his sleep, so fortunately she was able to ease herself off the bed without disturbing him. She felt a sudden bashfulness as she stood stark naked in the Evans' guest house. Her eyes darted around the room, glanced back at Troy to assure she hadn't interrupted his sleep, and then quietly opened the door through to the living area. She drew in a sharp breath, feeling a sudden discomfort as she moved. It wasn't an overwhelming pain, rather it reminded her of how she would feel when she studied compulsory physical education and they would start playing a new sport, hence using muscles that weren't accustomed to being utilised. A lamp was still on in the corner, providing just enough light to locate Troy's t-shirt which was sprawled haphazardly on the plush cream carpet. She snatched it up and immediately pulled it over her head, instantly feeling a whole lot more comfortable. She quietly re-entered the bedroom and continued through to the en suite bathroom.


Meanwhile in the bedroom, Troy stirred in his sleep and absentmindedly reached out with his right hand to feel the warm body of the incredible woman who lay before him. Except that there was no form in front of him, and his eyes fluttered open to see an empty bed. He immediately frowned, and let out a slight yawn as he rolled over and swung his legs to hit the floor in a slight thud. He went over to the bathroom door, knocking softly.

"Gabriella?" he called quietly.

"Just a second," her muffled reply came back through the door. A moment later he heard the toilet flush, then the lock of the door clicking as she opened the door and turned back to the sink.

"Did I wake you up?" she asked, as she turned on the tap and squirted soap to her palm.

"No, I just woke up and you weren't there," Troy said, stepping to stand behind her and wrap his arms around her waist. He yawned once more.

"I had to pee," she said with a small smile. "Is that okay?"

He leaned down, his chin resting on her shoulder as he watched her in the mirror. "I suppose," he relented teasingly.

Gabriella turned to reach for the handtowel, once again wincing as she moved in a manner her body wasn't entirely happy about. Troy observed the wince in the mirror, and pressed a soft kiss to her neck just above the edge of the neckline of his shirt.

"Are you okay?" he asked, filled with concern.

She nodded, her now clean, dry hands coming down to rest on his which were securely rested on her abdomen. "Fine," she assured him. "A little sore. I think it'll kick in more in the morning."

She remained standing in front of the mirror, making no movement back toward the bedroom. Instead she was staring at her reflection.

"Do I look different?" she mused out loud.

Troy slithered around to stand in front of her, and then placed his hands on her upper arms as he mockingly examined her.

"Well, let's see. You've got a bit of hair up here that is sticking out, but given that I was just looking at my own hair in the mirror, I wouldn't dare to criticise yours. Your eyes are the same, and your cute little nose, and your incredibly kissable lips," his voice lowered, leaning forward to sweetly press his lips to hers, lingering for a moment before pulling away. "If anything, maybe I would say that you look even more beautiful, but I don't know if that's physically possible."

She giggled slightly in response, looking a little embarrassed. "You are so corny."

"Although I must say that you lose points since you are using my clothing to cover yourself up," Troy said in a mockingly serious tone. "I am perfectly content baring my all to you."

Gabriella smiled coyly, glancing down at the bulge she had already felt pressing against her hip. "Yes, so I feel. Having a nice dream, were you?"

"Always."

"Sorry that your needs weren't satisfied earlier," she commented, unable to look at him.

"Oh my needs were more than satisfied, satisfied doesn't begin to describe it. It just… left me wanting more I guess," Troy confessed with a sly smile. "I guess I just… I wish it could have been like that for you."

"Hey! What do you mean by that?" Gabriella asked, not liking his tone.

"You didn't even… you know… during. I couldn't make you… since I didn't last long."

She sensed the dent to Troy's pride.

"Troy, to be honest, I think you could have kept going for hours and I might not have… gotten there," Gabriella said tactfully.

"What, I was that terrible?" Troy said, his tone jovial but his words reflecting his true insecurities.

"No! That's not how I meant it. It wasn't you. It was me," she insisted. "Even if that sounds cliché. I don't… I don't know how to describe to you how it felt for me."

"Do you think… how long do you think it'll be like that for you?" Troy asked somewhat tentatively. No matter how amazing it had been, it really wasn't pleasant watching what she had gone through in order for him to reach such a height of sensation.

Gabriella shrugged. "I don't know. I'd assume the worst is over."

"The worst? Gee… you're back at stroking my insecurities, babe."

"Physically it hurt Troy, it hurt like hell. But it was about more than that, so much more. Please tell me that you understand that," Gabriella said, her tone edging on frustration.

"I do understand that," Troy said, his tone softening. He reached out with his hand, stroking her cheek. "I just… I guess I had this idealistic hope that maybe we could bypass the whole first time being painful and crap thing. What I felt… oh fuck Gabriella, I can't begin to describe it to you." His starry-eyed expression was enough to explain it. "I know you felt it on that deeper level coz I so totally got that too. But on that simpler level of… of just how it felt, physically… I want you to feel that part."

"I will," Gabriella said, both earnestly and encouragingly. "All we can do is to keep trying."

"God I love you," Troy said huskily, lips crashing down to meet hers.

He was now questioning the sanity of initiating a portion of the 'morning after' conversation at 3 in the morning. Particularly when he had gone to sleep still feeling a little aroused, leading to dreams which finally were an imitation of real life rather than pure fantasy. Recalling the events of the night before was only serving to heighten the arousal.

Gabriella reciprocated the vigour of his kiss, despite the early hour of the morning she was hit by a sudden burst of energy, a burst of energy which was fuelled by a longing somewhere in her lower abdomen and below. The bulge she had already felt pressing against her hip was growing even without any direct stimulation. There in the bathroom, she allowed herself to be caught up in the intoxicating world of Troy's lips and tongue, to feel the warmth of his smooth skin beneath her fingertips, to feel the heat of his wandering hands beneath the fabric of the t-shirt she wore.

With no warning, Troy tore his lips away from hers.

"Sorry… I got carried away," he mumbled. "Let's go back to sleep."

He spoke the words almost out of obligatory politeness; trying to be the good guy, the considerate guy who didn't just assume that his arousal would equate to the activity he so desperately desired. But there was a frantic ache within the organ between his thighs which yearned to satiated; an ache which was bound to prevent any sleep from taking place.

"No," came Gabriella's breathy reply.

"No?" Troy repeated, in slight disbelief.

"Perhaps… perhaps we try again now," Gabriella suggested coyly.

Troy blinked, almost in disbelief. "What about… aren't you sore and stuff?" he asked, genuinely concerned that she was merely intent upon satisfying his needs and brushing aside her own.

The recollection of the pain she had experienced could not be further away. The slight twinge of discomfort she felt if she moved in the wrong direction was entirely irrelevant. Instead, her longing for him emerged as the overriding factor. She pressed her body close to his and kissed him with a zealous lust. Even as their bodies were flush together in absolute contact, she was filled with a swell of desperate need to bridge the gap between them.

"If at first you don't succeed…" Gabriella said, trailing off and flashing a small, assuring smile.

"Are you sure?" Troy asked. "Because I can just…"

He trailed off, suddenly being distracted. Gabriella had taken a step back, and his eyes were suddenly transfixed upon her slender fingers which were toying with the hem of his t-shirt. In one fluid motion, she pulled the fabric over her head and cast the item aside. Troy swallowed hard, feeling his already hardening member twitch a little at the sight. Gabriella never failed to feel a surge of power whenever Troy's wandering eyes would glance at her approvingly. It wasn't only a gaze of approval, but it was also pure, unadulterated lust. He had no poker face when it came to the thoughts which filled his mind upon viewing her sleek, naked form.

Troy's lips attacked Gabriella's with a lust she had never felt from him before. He'd experienced one brief taste of the ultimate culmination of their love, he'd been inside of her for those brief minutes and all he wanted was to replicate them over and over and over. Like a drug, he was now to be addicted forevermore. It was overpowering for Gabriella, feeling just how desperate he was to return to that place. It exacerbated her frantic need to be in that precise moment with him again; and hopefully this time, on all levels.

Her fingers raked through the strands of his hair as he gently guided her back out of the bathroom and toward the bed. He was careful, guiding her to sit down and then gently pushing her to lie back, nestled amongst the pillows and beneath the warmth of the comforter. He treated her almost as though she were fragile, porcelain, susceptible to breaking at any given moment. His hands were running softly over her sleek, smooth skin; gently squeezing her breasts and grazing his fingers in a tantalising circle around her nipples. His delicate treatment was only serving to tease and arouse, to create the desire for more. The exception to his treatment was his lips. His lips were leading the kiss and maintaining the fervent lust. She returned the vigour of the kiss, her own hands raking through his hair, clutching to his firm back muscles, and trailing down to lazily stroke at his increasingly hardening length.

Troy's hands had worked their way southward, he was caressing at her abdomen, upper thighs, lower back and the smooth skin which lay below; almost as though intent upon massaging out the kinks. His fingers began to intoxicatingly trail among her wet folds, causing Gabriella to moan into his kiss. Her grasp around his length became a little firmer, a little steadier – but still ensuring the pace was one to tease and arouse, not to cause an unfortunate early climax. Troy slowly pulled his lips away from hers, sucking lightly on her lower lip before moving away altogether. His breathing was laboured, skin warming.

"Gabriella… is this okay?" Troy asked softly as he delicately used his middle and index fingers to toy with her opening.

She nodded and bit her lip, feeling the swell of anticipation. His next step was to carefully insert his fingers inside of her. In many ways it was reminiscent of the first time he had touched her in that way, when left alone for the weekend so many weeks earlier. Entering his digits so carefully, being captivated by the warmth and wetness and sensation of her inner walls, and yet also being so precarious.

"And is that okay?" Troy murmured, gently thrusting his fingers within.

"Uh huh," she responded, punctuating the point with a gasp.

Troy's nimble fingers were carefully thrusting within her depths, and his thumb was lightly flicking at her clit. In the short few months since they'd embarked upon the new depths of their physical relationship, they'd learnt a lot about each other, about their bodies, about how they responded to one another. In many ways, they were back at square one, within a whole different ballpark. Troy wanted to be the perfect lover, but he didn't even fully comprehend how he could control his bodily responses; let alone how to control his own body in order to control hers.

"I'm gonna get you almost there… and then we can try. If it doesn't hurt too much, then hopefully you'll be close enough that I'll last long enough," Troy murmured breathily. "And if it hurts too much, you can tell me and we'll finish it another way. Okay?"

All Gabriella could do was nod. Troy had a way of rendering her incapable of forming coherent strings of words. He applied an additional sensation, latching his lips to the swell of her left breast. Luckily, she was aware of her task at that particular moment. Her fist was encased around his length, stroking steadily, not too fast, not too slow. Her task was to get him hard. It was blunt, it was simple – but that was about all she was capable of working with.

Her free hand was clutching to his back, if her pants and moans and writhing hips weren't enough to illustrate her arousal, her fingernails – which were thankfully short – would dig a little into his skin. It merely served to heighten his own arousal, to boost his own confidence, knowing precisely at which moments Gabriella was close to tipping over the edge. Hearing and feeling and sensing how close she was, allowed Troy to not worry about just how quickly he felt himself hardening.

"I'm so… so close… you need to stop…" Gabriella gasped.

Her breathing was ragged; skin was hot and tingling; the fire burning in her abdomen out of control. It took every ounce of her own self control to say the words; all she wanted was to tip over the edge. But even more so, she wanted to experience that climax with him. His encircling thumb stopped moving altogether and the pace of his thrusting fingers reverted. He didn't want to take away the pressure altogether, rather he wanted to maintain it.

"Can you reach the condoms?" Troy murmured, letting out a slight groan as Gabriella's strokes increased. Without thwarting the pumping movement of her fist around his length, Gabriella was able to reach over into the drawer and retrieve a square package, as well as the lubricant.

"Can I do it?" she asked.

Troy nodded, hiding a smile, fascinated by the innocent curiosity to her hopeful enquiry. As she tore the package open, he continued to languorously thrust his fingers, and brought his left hand to pump at his member in a frenzy, facilitating the final hardening of his length. Gabriella was struggling to concentrate, having been brought so close to the edge and now being toyed with so playfully. She struggled with the foil for a moment before tearing it open. She bit her tongue as she leaned over to encase his hard length, and then apply the lubricant; imitating his method from the evening before.

And then there he was, once again hovering above her. Her wide brown eyes stared up into his bright blue eyes, the gaze remaining as Troy pushed into her, taking his time. Once again he was surrounded, sheathed, encased with the warmth of her wet, warm channel; a withdrawn groan emitting from his mouth. It was almost as though the overwhelming peak of sensation he had experienced the evening before was up on this pedestal that he thought was impossible to attain ever again. He couldn't help but wonder whether his mind was playing tricks on him, creating a figment of his imagination. How could anything possibly feel as amazing as it had? But now, it came washing back and it was sublimely real.

"Ohh… Troy…" she gasped.

Gabriella knew it couldn't possibly be as painful as it had been a few hours earlier. Either way though, she was prepared for the worst, she had survived through the first time relatively unscathed. She was gazing up into Troy's comforting eyes, allowing herself to be transfixed by the mesmerising blue. As he entered inside, she once again felt herself stretching, but it wasn't the painful, ripping, tearing type of stretching she had experienced only a few hours earlier. She still felt the discomfort – some of it the result of the pre-existing soreness she had played down; some of it stemming from the fact that her body simply wasn't physically used to accommodating him. But it was a perfectly manageable discomfort, a discomfort which Gabriella was able to almost forget about completely. Because Troy was inside of her and instead of questioning his presence or simply allowing it to take place; she wanted him to be there, it felt right, it felt like this was exactly how they belonged – together, as one.

"You okay?" he murmured.

He pressed his lips to hers softly as he withdrew himself before pushing back in.

"Yes," she breathed, gasping slightly at the sensation, completely overwhelmed by it.

"Is it better?"

Gabriella nodded. "Better… good…" she let out a moan as his hips drove into her once more. "Keep going."

Troy didn't need any more encouragement. Once he had his weight balanced in the right place, it became a lot easier to fall into the rhythm. He was trying to keep his strokes fairly slow and even, however the involuntary bucking of his hips took over, more than once driving himself in a lot faster and harder than he intended, causing a slight wince from her.

"Sorry," he murmured, pressing his lips to hers softly.

The first time, once the stinging pain had passed and only the discomfort remained, Gabriella could concede that it felt nice. Now it was different. Now it felt not only nice but she could feel exactly how it was that the friction of his length sliding in and out of her was going to build into something more. She could already feel it building. The discomfort was still there, a soreness with her muscles and the raw sting from the first union. But it was pushed aside. She felt a love, an attraction, a connection to Troy that she never really fathomed she could feel. This time, she could hear his laboured breathing and grunts and occasional muttered expletives; and it was being met by her own whimpers which escalated into slight moans and pants.

"Fuck Gabi… this is… holy… so amazing…" he panted.

She nodded in agreement, a series of lazy kisses ensuing. Each was panting and moaning within the kiss. Gabriella was struggling to form any sort of coherent thought, completely overcome by the new layer to the love making. Her initial whimpers and moans had escalated to meet the constant flow of grunts and pants escaping from Troy's mouth.

"Love you… so much…" she moaned, her hands gripping harder to his back.

"Gabi baby… I'm so… so close…" Troy stammered.

Her hands tightened their grip on his back even more. "Not yet," she pleaded. "Please… I'm… I'll get there… need more…"

Troy wished that he had the capability to just pull some inner strength out from within, but he knew that he was beyond that point. Somehow, he balanced his weight above her with just the one arm and carefully took one of the hands she had gripped to him. He brought it down, a silent demonstration that she needed to massage her clit, maximise the sensations. The moment her index finger had contact with her nub, she let out a louder whimper.

"Is that good?" Troy cooed, before pressing his lips to hers softly. She responded to his kiss, tongues playing and toying.

It had built in a rise, a crescendo. She'd felt it before, the feeling of the gradual climax, knowing that any moment now, the moment was going to take place. She was writhing, her hips bucking; only causing Troy to drive even deeper inside of her. On a certain level it hurt but she was within such a place of unadulterated pleasure that the pain beared no meaning. One moment she was in the rise and the next she was at the summit and completely taken over by sensation and pleasure and love.

Troy couldn't help but stare in absolute transfix as she finally reached her peak; to stare at her contorted face; her wide eyes glazing over. He'd never heard a sound like it before; his name being chanted amongst a cross between a moan, a cry and a drawn out pant.

"Troy… oh my… Troy… Troy…."

Between the sensation of her muscles contracting around him; and then his length driving deeper into her as her writhing and hip bucking reached a point of being almost out of control – that was all it took for Troy to reach his own climax.

Gabriella lay still on the bed; she was clinging to the sheet on either side of her and staring at the ceiling with wide eyes in a state of complete sensory overload. Her brain was working in overload trying to comprehend the dozens of thoughts that were swarming around. Momentary flashes of contemplating the correlation and cause and effect between the intense emotional connection of sex and the absolutely indescribable ecstasy she had just experienced.

"That was… oh my…" Gabriella was at complete loss for words, panting the half sentences between ragged breaths.

Troy had removed the condom and collapsed beside her in a sweaty heap. "Uh huh."

"Thank you to my bladder for waking me up," Gabriella murmured in her first coherent thought.

Troy chuckled lightly and pressed a sweet kiss to her shoulder. "You're so beautiful," he said softly, his fingers tucking some strands of her hair back.

"I love you," Gabriella murmured, nestling in by his side.

"Love you too."


Gabriella awoke to the feeling that someone was watching her. It wasn't a discomforting, disconcerting feeling of being watched in a stalker-ish way. It was a comforting feeling. She rolled over to be lying on her back and allowed her eyelids to flutter open. Sunlight peeked into the room through the slight gaps in the horizontal timber blinds. Gabriella's first view of the morning – Troy propped up on his elbow, gazing down at her. It was something she could very easily become accustomed to.

"Morning," he said softly, a smile playing on his lips.

"Morning," she replied.

"How are you?"

"Perfect."

"Do you feel sore?"

"A little," Gabriella confessed. "More than last night. But it's not too bad. Manageable, anyway."

Troy leaned down, pressing his lips to hers for a short, sweet good morning kiss.

"I love you so much. And I just want to spend every waking and every sleeping moment of every single day with you."

"That might prove difficult," Gabriella whispered. "To start with, you'd have to let me play on your basketball team."

They both laughed gently, eyes sparkling as they gazed at one another. A moment of silence cast upon them, but it wasn't the uncomfortable silence that they had both had feared could have transpired. It was a secure silence, a silence where they could lie and gaze at one another, experiencing a mutual and wholly mesmerising awareness of love.

Lips met for a lazy kiss, tongues playfully entwining. Both sets of lips were a little tender and swollen, even hours after their early morning love-making. This didn't thwart the intoxicating sensation, if anything it merely heightened the anticipatory intensity, with lips barely grazing and tongues teasing in what was only a prelude.

Troy's phone began to start chirping with his text message tone within his jeans pocket on the floor. Gabriella tore her lips away from his, immediately Troy seized the opportunity to duck his head and devote his attention to her right breast.

"Was that your…" Gabriella began to say, interrupting her own train with a sharp breath taken in response to his teasing tongue against her nipple.

"Ignore it," Troy said huskily, his tone muffled as his lips were pressed up against the swell of her breast.

"What if it's important?" Gabriella asked, gasping slightly as he suckled at her nipple

"They'll call," Troy murmured.

"Troy… can you just check it… please?" Gabriella said imploringly.

Troy let out a slightly aggravated sigh, but nevertheless he propelled himself off the bed and quickly seized his jeans to retrieve his cell phone.

"It's from Ryan," Troy informed her.

"What did you tell him to get this place, anyway?" Gabriella asked curiously.

"I told him that we wanted somewhere private to talk about college plans. He seemed to see through that and think that maybe I had something else in mind. He gave me a speech which I'm sure was meant to sound threatening but from him just sounded ridiculous. But I suppose the sentiment was there. Anyway, then he gave me the key on Friday."

"What does he want? Do we have to get out by a certain time?"

Troy shook his head and scanned the message.

Morning. Hope I'm not interrupting the 'talking.' Check out the fridge and pantry. And just warning you that the crew is planning to hang here today, and Chad and Taylor were already questioning where you guys disappeared to last night. Either remain hidden all day or take off without being seen, or I think you'll face an inquisition.

Troy snorted. "That'd be right, Danforth would get all nosey."

"Huh?"

Troy read the text aloud for Gabriella.

She smiled slightly. "I really couldn't care less what they're all doing."

"You don't care that they will be speculating and wondering and insinuating what we are doing?"

"Well, they'd be on the money, wouldn't they?" Gabriella pointed out slyly. "And no, I don't care. Let them wonder."

She very purposefully took the cell phone from Troy's hand and placed it onto the bedside table. Her move had definition and direction, Troy was watching with an intrigued smile when suddenly she surprised him by initiating a vigorous kiss. He was more than willing to go with the rhythm she was instigating, more than liking where he thought it was heading.


"Okay, if someone could grab the maple syrup and bananas and whatever else you all want, and put it out at the table," Zeke instructed, calling behind him.

He was carefully watching over the pancake which was in the pan, waiting for the perfect moment when the bubbles had appeared and he could flip it over.

He didn't notice any movement behind him heading toward the fridge, and glanced back to confirm that no one had come to help.

"Guys? Do you want pancakes or not?" Zeke said impatiently. "Help me here some, I'm doing the hard work."

Chad, Taylor and Ryan weren't even in earshot of Zeke's impatient calls. The night before after Troy's desperate ranting need to find Gabriella and then the disappearance of the pair, Chad and Taylor had made the assumption that they had disappeared into a bedroom to fool around. But when they hadn't reappeared in the morning, Chad had set his mind upon 'uncovering the mystery of the missing couple' and brought Taylor in on his quest. They had been pestering Ryan randomly about what nooks and crannies existed within the giant house where they could possibly be. Chad had gone so far as to knock on each of the doors of guest rooms, with no luck in finding them. Ryan had diplomatically insisted each time Chad had returned to hound him with more questions that he didn't know and it wasn't any of his business as long as they made sure everything was spotless as it had been before they inhabited wherever they were.

Taylor had grown a bit tired with it all, knowing that they would show their faces sooner or later. But now, Chad was obsessed with the matter. He had practically abducted Ryan, pulling him out to the hallway to face an inquisition and dragging Taylor along for the process.

"What if they were kidnapped?" Chad asked wildly.

"They haven't been kidnapped," Ryan said blatantly, his frustration with Chad's tirade increasing.

"How do you know that? You can't know that. Have you seen them recently?"

"Well… no."

"So they could have been kidnapped," Chad said triumphantly.

"Okay, it is highly improbable that they have not been kidnapped," Ryan responded, rolling his eyes.

"Taylor, help me here some," Chad said desperately.

"Maybe you just need to let it go. It's obvious Ryan doesn't know anything," Taylor said, boredom seeping through

Chad didn't believe that, and changed his tact. "Bolton would kill me if I didn't let him know that there are pancakes happening," Chad said defiantly.

"You know what? I think he'll kill you more if you interrupt him so I'll take the blame if he has an issue with the pancakes," Ryan said, rolling his eyes.

Taylor's eyes widened, in Ryan's frustration his practically silent not answering anything stance had allowed one huge massively implicating statement to take place.

"You do know where they are!" Taylor said slowly. "What we keep teasing about…"

"I don't know anything!" Ryan insisted wildly.

"He does know! You know!" Chad said accusingly.

"I'm not listening to this, I am walking away!" Ryan said, and brought his fingers up to his ears. "La la la la la la I am not listening to you."

"Bolton, that dog! I wonder if Zeke knows about it?" Chad pondered.

"Why would Zeke know?" Ryan asked, raising his eyebrows.

"If he… you know… asked for advice."

"I think you are jumping to conclusions which are none of your business."

"Whatever," Chad said. "Maybe I should call him…"

"Just leave them alone!"

"You've seen them lately. It's been disgusting. I feel offended as a human being, being subjected to observing it."

Taylor possessed a lot more tact than Chad. She didn't disagree – in fact if anything, between what Ryan had said and her general knowledge of where the relationship was at, she suspected Chad was right on the mark. But she knew that if it was her in Gabriella's position, she wouldn't want people speculating about it – and she knew that Gabriella wouldn't be fuelling the gossip, or allowing people to call and interrupt.

"Come on, weren't we going into the TV room to tidy up while waiting for breakfast to be ready," Taylor said, pushing Chad through the hallway ahead of her.

Ryan shot Taylor a grateful smile. "Yes, that's right."

"Why don't you just get your maid people to do it?" Chad mused.

"I don't bother with vacuuming or stuff like that, but they shouldn't have to deal with random garbage lying around, and all the PlayStation and Wii games tossed about the place," Ryan explained.

Chad turned the handle of the TV room door, swung the door open, and…

"Dude!" Chad yelped.

A wide eyed, embarrassed Kelsi and a sheepish Jason sprung apart. If Chad's eyes were not mistaken, he'd just seen a very clear hand up Kelsi's sweater. Taylor and Ryan's view of the scene was obstructed, but as they peered over Chad's shoulder to see the embarrassed and somewhat disheveled couple, it was evident that Chad had seen the full force of a steamy make out session.

"Speaking of disgusting couples I have to observe," Chad said, wrinkling his nose.

"We're dating, what do you think we do? Sit and hold hands?" Jason shot back defensively. "It's not like I've never had to watch you parade around with your girlfriends."

"If you guys want to make out, can you go do it elsewhere? I need to tidy up," Ryan said, breezing into the room. "Preferably somewhere out of eye line. With the last few weeks of musical rehearsals, I've interrupted enough making out to last a life time of interruptions."

"I'm gonna go use the bathroom," Kelsi muttered, and fled from the room.

"Good work guys, embarrass the hell out of her," Jason groaned, his head falling into his hands.

"I'm just being stupid, you know that," Chad said jovially.

Jason stood up, folding his arms across his chest. "I know that and I can take it. But Kelsi gets shy and embarrassed. And this is going good for me and the last thing I need is you fucking it up," he said, his exasperation evident.

Chad blinked, stepping back a little. Jason was possibly the most easy going person he'd ever met, so when he got a bit annoyed, you heard him. "Sorry man. You know that's not what I'm trying to do."

"I know that, I just… yeah. Whatever," Jason held back from elaborating any further.

"Maybe you should go see if she's okay?" Taylor suggested helpfully.

"Oh yeah. That's a good idea. Thanks," Jason said, and darted out of the room.

Jason nearly crashed into Martha who had just appeared in the hallway, having come down from the upstairs bathroom. She watched back after him, feeling slightly perplexed, before heading into the room where he had left.

"Where's the fire?" Martha asked. "Jason just nearly knocked me over."

"Oh… just… we walked in on him and Kelsi making out and he got a bit narky," Ryan attempted to explain in short form.

"I always miss all the drama," Martha grumbled good-naturedly.

Taylor gave her friend a half hug. "I think you're lucky. I wish I could stay out of the drama."


After his third post coital nap in an eight hour time period, Troy had traipsed out into the kitchenette to check the cupboards and fridge as Ryan had suggested. He located fresh muffins, yoghurt, fruit and juice; and was quick to load up a tray with appropriate items to bring back to Gabriella. When he returned, he found her lying in the bed wearing his t-shirt.

"Hey, what's with the shirt?" Troy protested teasingly. "I already informed you of my not liking it last night."

"You put your boxers on to go out there," Gabriella pointed out.

"That's because you don't go wandering around the living areas of someone else's house naked. The bedroom however is an entirely different matter."

Troy set the tray down on the bedside table, immediately pulled down his blue plaid boxers and settled himself back against the pillows, making a point.

"Do you think that me sitting here naked is going to be conducive toward actually eating breakfast?" Gabriella enquired cheekily.

He paused contemplatively. "You make a good point. In fact, the leg you are showing in that might also be distracting. Let's pull the comforter up over you right now."

She giggled as he made a show out of dragging the comforter up to cover both of them. He then turned back to bring the tray over to rest on his lap.

Within the guest house, Gabriella and Troy were secluded in their own private sanctuary. They took the time to seductively feed one another, to talk and laugh and simply enjoy one another's company. They were lovers, they were soul mates – and they were friends. Friends who could speak openly and freely about anything, who could laugh and joke. Sex changes a lot of things within a relationship. But for Troy and Gabriella, it couldn't touch the mutual comfort and enjoyment of existing within the company of the other.

Once bellies were full, Troy cast aside the tray onto the bedside table. Gabriella stretched out beneath the comforter, an unmistakable wince of discomfort filling her delicate features.

"You're sore."

It wasn't a question, it was a statement. She nodded. "But it's sore in a good way, so stop worrying."

"You should have a hot shower, it might help a little," Troy suggested.

"Mmm a bath sounds heavenly now. Why don't the Evans's have a bath in this guest house? I should put in a complaint," Gabriella said jokingly. "I guess a shower will have to do."

"Do you want me to go out to my truck to get your satchel with your change of clothes?"

"No. You shouldn't have to risk facing the inquisition alone," Gabriella insisted. "I'll just change back into last nights clothes for now."


Meanwhile, Sharpay had been drawn toward the kitchen by the smell of the pancakes. She had been in the lounge room watching MTV as she painted her nails, but the intoxicating smells were too inviting to just let them go by. She assumed that Ryan had gotten the cook to prepare something for his friends who had stayed over, and was rather surprised to enter the kitchen to see a harried Zeke rushing about.

"Oh. It's you," Sharpay said, her surprise evident upon seeing him.

The pan began to sizzle and Zeke darted from the freezer where he was hunting for the ice-cream back over to the pan.

"Yes, and the ungrateful pricks have left me to do it on my own. Can't even help out by taking some stuff out of the fridge and set up. Do you know if you have any maple syrup? I can't find it anywhere."

Sharpay shrugged. "Umm… I can buzz the cook to find out," Sharpay suggested, blowing on her nails. "Actually, do you realise that you could have just gotten the cook to make these?"

"But I enjoy this. It's not that hard, just throw a few ingredients together and it's practically done."

"You look pretty stressed right now actually," Sharpay observed

"That's only because I can't watch the pan and hunt around to put items out in your dining room all at once."

Sharpay peered over into one of the bowls Zeke had going. "What's that?"

"Chocolate chip pancakes."

She nodded. "Interesting. You actually enjoy this? It seems like an awful lot of work to me. And messy. You know, there are packages of pancake mix where you just add water?"

"I do enjoy it. I love being able to try it different ways, taste it, see what works, what doesn't work, and know that at the end I have a product that people will love."

Sharpay looked at him a little blankly. "I guess..." she said dubiously.

Zeke turned to glance at her. "When you perform… okay… so someone choreographs a dance for you. Do you just do it their way, no changes at all?"

Sharpay scoffed. "No."

"Do you let other people tell you what you should wear on stage?"

"Absolutely not!" Sharpay exclaimed, staring at Zeke in contempt for making such a suggestion "There is this whole long winded process of breaking down the moves and seeing what works for me, for trying on costumes and working out not only what looks good but what is comfortable and what works best with the song or the dance or the scene."

"And so you do that because ultimately, you have to be happy with the final product, you have to be happy with your performance?"

"Well… yes. If you want to put it like that."

"That's kinda like what I do when I cook. I change it up, I see what works together. Yeah?"

"Hmm. I suppose so, that makes sense."

"Do you want to try one?" Zeke offered. "Can you look in the fridge and see if there are any lemons?"

Sharpay obediently went over to the fridge and came back with a lemon. Zeke efficiently sliced the lemon in half, and sprinkled sugar and lemon juice over one of the plain pancakes, before offering it to her on a plate.

"Try that."

"Lemon and sugar?" Sharpay said, wrinkling up her nose.

"Haven't you ever tried that?" Zeke said in surprise.

"That sounds… really weird," she declared.

"Sometimes you have to try something different to realise that you might like it," Zeke said casually.

Sharpay paused contemplatively before pulling out a knife and fork from the drawer. She set the plate down onto the bench and cut a neat triangle piece of pancake. She took a breath before popping the pancake into her mouth. She was wincing as she chewed, but her look of disgust faded away as she took in the flavours.

"Oh my God! This is incredible!" she exclaimed.

"I know. What do you normally have on your pancakes?"

"I like strawberries and ice-cream with mine."

"Strawberries and ice-cream are good."

"This is different. You're right… sometimes… sometimes different can be good. You might not expect to like it, but it can surprise you."

Sharpay suddenly realised the double entendre within the words she was speaking. Zeke was looking at her with a slight smile on his face, and she quickly tore her eyes away from him.

"Yo Zeke!" Chad came into the kitchen, the rest of the crew trailing behind him – henceforth destroying the moment.

"Danforth," Zeke said between gritted teeth.

"How long on the pancakes? I'm starving!" Chad exclaimed.


"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

A blood curling scream echoed throughout the Evans' backyard, all the way down to the guest house where Troy was in the process of tidying up.

"What the hell was that?" Troy exclaimed, terror striking through him.

The upper class area of Albuquerque, New Mexico wasn't exactly crime wave central, but Troy watched the news enough to allow his brain to go to a place of absolute terror at the sound of the scream.

While Gabriella had been in the shower, Troy had gotten dressed himself and then picked up her items of clothing and left them on the bed, laid out neatly for her. Gabriella dashed out from the bedroom where she had just finished changing into her clothes.

"Come on," she insisted, the look of fear in her own eyes mirroring the look in Troy's.

He grabbed her hand, abandoning cleaning duty and darting out of the guest house, the door left open behind them. Gabriella didn't even take the time to observe the intricate path through the garden that she had been led along blind folded the previous night.

Another blood curling scream sounded, Troy's ears pricking up. He stopped in his tracks, standing protectively in front of Gabriella and holding his arm out in front of her to prevent her from moving forward.

"Near the pool," he said in a hush. "Let's suss it out."

"Maybe we should go back. Call 911," Gabriella whispered urgently.

From their angle of approach, the pool was surrounded by palm trees preventing a clear view into the area. Troy crept forward, moving sleekly, just wanting to get close enough to hear what was going on. A loud booming laugh sounded, laughter Troy knew belonged to none other than Chad Danforth.

"That was awesome!" Jason exclaimed.

Troy felt his body relax and he moved the final few steps to be able to view the scene.

The Wildcats had finally pitched in and helped Zeke with finishing up breakfast preparations. They decided to eat outside by the pool, enjoying one of the last not completely freezing days before winter would set in. When Jason had appeared in the kitchen, Sharpay had proceeded to throw a tirade of questions at him about his movie script. The result had been her following them outside to pile up her own plate with pancakes and continue with her inquisition. She had spontaneously decided to rehearse. Her part being a young girl who is being chased by a supernatural serial killer. Hence involving a lot of terrified screaming.

"Holy fuck!" Troy exclaimed, realising just exactly what had made him and Gabriella so scared.

Gabriella had seen him relax, and strode forward so that she too could take in what he had realised.

"Thank God, everyone is okay!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"Oh look who appeared!" Chad said, looking at Troy and Gabriella suspiciously.

Troy stalked over, passed through the pool gate and went over to the group.

"Was that you screaming?" Troy demanded, his arms folded as he stared at Sharpay accusingly.

"Was I that good? You really thought something was happening?" Sharpay was clearly excited, impressed with her own performance.

"Yes!" Troy exclaimed, annoyance seeping through his tone. "You shouldn't come out into your backyard and practice screaming like that, your neighbours will think something is happening! It's like little kids yelling help while they are in the pool and stuff."

Gabriella had followed behind him, slipping in to stand beside him. Her hand absentmindedly fell to Troy's back, rubbing soothingly. She sensed that he was more annoyed that they had been disturbed and brought out of their hide out than he was actually annoyed at Sharpay.

"Oh please, old Mr Caldwell is as deaf as a post. And the Howard's are on holidays," Sharpay shot back. "I can't believe you thought that was real, I've never done horror before. This is a very worthwhile experience for an actress. I don't think it's a field that I am particularly interested in pursuing, but it's worth experimenting to tap into some different skill sets."

"Where have you guys been?" Chad asked, probing yet again.

"Around," Troy said elusively.

"Yum, you guys are having pancakes!" Gabriella exclaimed. "Oooh, is that chocolate chip?"

"Pull up a chair, there's plenty to go around," Zeke said, gesturing to the piles of pancakes on the table.

"Where did you just come from?" Chad asked, glancing back at where Troy had appeared by the palm trees.

Troy ignored Chad, and dragged over a chair for Gabriella and then one for himself, since she seemed so intent upon the pancakes.

"So you guys just rushed from wherever you were…" Chad said slowly. "Hearing Sharpay? You dropped everything you were doing – and you're all dressed and everything."

Both Troy and Gabriella found Chad's nosiness highly amusing.

"Dude, you're like a dog with a bone. Oh snap, strawberries!" Troy exclaimed. "Man, I am starving. I feel like I could just keep eating and eating."

"You should try the lemon and sugar," Sharpay suggested.

Troy wrinkled up his nose. "Gross."

"I like it," she said defiantly.

"I'm a strawberry girl myself," Gabriella said. She reached out across the table to grab a knife and fork, and involuntarily winced aloud as she sat back down in the chair.

"Are you okay?" Troy asked immediately.

"Fine," Gabriella said, rubbing his leg gently.

"What happened?" Martha asked.

"Oh… I think just all the dancing and stuff this week. My body doesn't like it. It's used to books and other… stationary activities," Gabriella explained meekly. She wasn't technically lying, what they had been doing was technically like a dance.

Taylor was sneaking little looks at her friend, trying to catch her eye and initiate some sort of silent girl talk, but eventually gave up.

"So is everyone just chilling here today?" Gabriella asked.

"It seems so," Ryan answered.

"We should do some SAT prep," Taylor suggested, her tone very serious.

"Isn't that what we're doing for the next two days?" Chad pointed out.

"And then five whole days until we have to be back at school," Jason said, his tone clearly excited.

"I don't want to think about the SATs today," Troy declared. "Tomorrow, I'll start thinking about the SATs and school and college. Today, it doesn't matter."


Three months had passed since the Wildcats had all been lounging about in the Evans' backyard. Three months ago, they had been days away from embarking upon their senior year journey. They'd sat and pored over class schedules, they'd discussed the excitement and yet terror of the year that lay before them.

Since then, three months had passed and, for better or worse, each had grown a little. Each had been through their own trials and tribulations. Some played out in the public eye, others a personal battle kept privy from their friends.

In two weeks time, they were taking the SAT exams. College applications were due over the next couple of months. Juilliard auditions, basketball playoffs – were all just around the corner.

It felt like yesterday and a million years ago when a time had existed where the future was so distant and faraway that it was an intangible concept.

That time had passed.

The future was looming and it was real. Senior year represented the most exciting period of their lives; yes a period of friendship and relationships and musicals and sporting competitions. But it was also a time filled with moments that could define the rest of their lives.

Once Upon A Time - was no more.

In the Evans' backyard, The Wildcats allowed themselves to take a few hours. and pretend that none of it mattered.

Because in that moment, they had each other. And that was all that truly counted.