Chapter 2:

Troy met Gabriella by her locker after school, but didn't dare mention her actions during lunch. Together, they walked hand-in-hand out of the building, and down the street towards Gabriella's house.

"Hey, Gabi, can I talk to you about something?" Troy asked when they were about halfway home. Gabriella looked at him.

"Sure. What is it?" Troy reached into his jeans pocket, and pulled something out. Gabriella looked at his hand, slightly confused.

"Do you know how much I love you?" Gabriella nodded. "Okay, good, I have this for you." Troy opened his hand, and revealed a pink sapphire cut into the shape of a heart with two deep blue sapphires on either side in a sterling silver setting. Gabriella gasped.

"Oh Troy, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed.

"This is a promise ring. I promise to always be with you, no matter what. Once we're old enough, I'll eventually get you a new ring." Silent tears slid down Gabriella's face as her boyfriend slid the ring onto her ring finger. "I talked to your Mom about this the other day, and she's cool with it, so you don't have to worry about her flipping out. My parents are cool with this too." Gabriella was relieved. She was afraid that both their parents would think that they were too young. They were juniors in high school though, so it wasn't like they were really young. They had been dating for almost two years! Gabriella kissed Troy tenderly on the lips.

"Come on, let's get home. I want to get some homework done before I go to your house."

"I'll race you then if you're in such a rush! Loser has to buy dinner next time we go out!" Gabriella rolled her eyes, but gave in to the absurd suggestion. Both stood next to each other on the sidewalk. "Ready?" She nodded. "On your mark, get set, GO!" Both teenagers took off running down the sidewalk at top speed. They rounded the corner to Gabriella's block at the same time. Neither one of them noticed the white car parked across the street until Gabriella spun around once she had reached the door. She was about to do a victory dance when the car caught her eye. "What's wrong?"
"That car," she said slowly. "That car was there when I left for school this morning."

"Maybe it's the neighbor's." Gabriella shook her head.

"No, it's not the neighbor's. They're out of town visiting their daughter in New England or something. We're bringing in their mail and everything." Troy wrapped a protective arm around her shoulder.

"Come on, let's go inside. Oh, I guess I owe you dinner next time we go out."

"See, that's not fair, because you pay for dinner anyway, so it doesn't count. I want something else." Gabriella pouted as the couple entered her house. Troy chuckled.

"Something else? Like what? What could Miss Gabriella Montez, the girl who has the brains, the looks, and the perfect boyfriend possibly want?" She shrugged.

"As soon as I figure it out, I'll let you know." Troy sighed, women.

Gabriella pulled two cans of soda out of the refrigerator and a bag of chips out of the pantry as Troy made himself comfortable on the couch.

"So your Mom left you home alone all weekend?" he asked. Gabriella set the snacks down on the coffee table, and sat down next to him.

"Until Sunday evening. Yeah, why?" A boyish grin spread across Troy's face.

"Do you know what that means?"

"I think I may have an idea."

"It means I can do this-" Troy kissed her gently on the lips. "Without being interrupted by anyone if we stay at your house." Gabriella smiled.

"Just that?" She pulled Troy close to her, and her lips came crashing down on his. Troy deepened the kiss as Gabriella pulled him on top of her. After a few minutes, she pulled away. "When's the last time we kissed for that long without any interruptions?"

"Well, between my Mom, my Dad, your Mom, Chad, Taylor, Kelsi, Jason, Sharpay, Ryan, Zeke, and Bri, not to mention Darbus, I'd have to say about three weeks." Gabriella giggled again. Troy was about to lean in for another kiss when his cell phone began to ring. Sighing, he dug the intruder out of his pant pocket, and looked at the Caller I.D. "Speaking of my Mom." He answered the phone, told his Mom that he was at Gabi's for a little while, and what kind of pizza to order for that night. When he was done, he turned off his phone, and slid it across the coffee table. "Now, where were we?" he asked Gabriella. She took his face in her hands.

"I do believe that we were right about here." She pulled his lips against hers in a passionate kiss. In only a few seconds, Troy was on top of Gabriella, completely oblivious to the world around him.

After several long, glorious minutes of making out, both Troy and Gabriella stopped, gasping for air. Gabriella rolled over, so she was on top of Troy, and rested her head on his chest. Troy gently ran his fingers through her dark hair.

"Do you want to tell me about why you flipped out earlier during lunch?" he asked her.

"Not really. I promise I'll tell you, just not right now." Troy accepted her answer. He knew that she'd tell him when she was ready. Troy and Gabriella stayed on the couch until 6:00 when Mrs. Bolton called Gabriella's house asking that her son come home for at least a little while before the get-together. Troy groaned as he rolled off the couch.

"Why don't you come with me now? Do you have the popcorn or do you need to run to the store?"

"The popcorn should be in the pantry. Could you grab the box while I go upstairs to change?"
"Why do you need to change? You look beautiful as you are right now."

"You're just saying that because you're my boyfriend!" Gabriella called from her room upstairs.

"So?" Troy replied as he dug around the pantry. He heard Gabriella groan loudly from her room as she changed her clothing.

"You, Mr. Bolton are so clueless at times!" she exclaimed as she bound down the steps in jean, a solid red tank top, and was trying to tie her hair back in a matching red ribbon.

"But you still love me. Here, come here, let me do that for you." Gabriella stood in front of Troy as he tied the ribbon in her hair. She spun around, and gave Troy a hug.

"Thanks," she said before breaking away from Troy's grip. "Now come on, we have to get to your house before your Mom gets mad at us." Troy grabbed his backpack, the box of popcorn, and Gabriella's hand, and walked down to his house. They were too busy to notice that the white car had simply moved down to the other end of the block, and the driver was still watching them. Or rather, the driver was still watching Gabriella.