Chapter 10:

"Escaped?" repeated Gabriella. "What do you mean 'escaped'? this has to be some sort of joke. It's a joke, right Mamí." Gabriella began to cry. Troy got up, and wrapped his arms around his upset girlfriend.

"That was Officer Smith. She said that it isn't that safe for you to be here, Ian knows where you live, and could come back at any moment. You have two options, and I'm going to let you decide. You can either, one, stay here, and an officer will go to school with you, and such, or two, leave until Ian's captured."

"Leave? Where would I go?"

"You can come stay with me," Adam said firmly. "Cybelle won't mind. That is, if that's what you want to do." Gabriella looked reluctant to take either option.

"I don't know. Just to pack up and leave, leaving all my friends behind. And what about you Mamí; what if Ian comes after you?"

"You won't go alone Gabi, I'll come with you," Troy said.

"Troy," Jack said warningly.

"No Dad, I'm not letting Gabi do this alone. I'll keep up with my school work, I promise. Please, if Gabi goes, I go." Troy turned to Adam. "If that's okay with you."

"It's fine with me if you both come to my house, it's your parent's decision now," the actor replied.

Anne suggested, "Why don't you both go inside, and let us talk? We'll let you know when we make our decision." Gabriella took Lennon, and the three went inside while the parents talked.

Forty-five minutes later, Troy found himself throwing clothes and such in a suitcase. He and Gabriella were basically fleeing to Adam's house in New York until Ian was caught. They were flying out with Lennon and Adam, and staying for God only knows how long. Troy and Gabriella decided not to tell their friends so they wouldn't worry, but they knew that they'd start to worry when they stopped coming to school. Jack was going to talk to all their teachers, and they would either do their schoolwork via email, or fax some of their stuff to the teachers. It was going to be difficult not being in school, but Troy and Gabriella were some of the top students in their class. Troy finished packing, said goodbye to his parents (Anne was crying softly), and climbed into Adam's car. Gabriella was sitting in the front seat. She stared out the window the whole time, in a complete daze. Lennon was fast asleep in his car seat next to Troy. Nobody said anything the entire time. Adam had called the airport, and gotten Troy and Gabriella tickets for the same flight he and Lennon were on; it left around 1 AM. He got such a late flight so everyone on the flight would be so out of it that no one would recognize him. He returned the car, and the three walked to the airport; Adam was carrying Lennon. The rest passed as a blur. The next thing Troy actually remembered was Gabriella curling up next to him the on the plane, and the both of them falling asleep.

"Troy, Gabriella, wake up. We're in New York," Adam said softly as he shook the couple awake. Troy tried to sit up, but he was pinned between the window and Gabriella.

"Gabi, come on, get up," he mumbled. Gabriella sat up, still half asleep. She grabbed her backpack from at her feet, and stood up. Troy put one hand on her back, and guided her down the aisle, and off the plane. Adam had the still asleep Lennon draped over his shoulder, and his carryon bag on the other shoulder. They walked down to the baggage claim, grabbed their bags, and climbed into Adam's jeep in the parking lot.

Cybelle and Monty were asleep when everyone got to the Pascal's house. Adam dumped his bags in the family room, and led Troy and Gabriella to their rooms.

"Here's your room Troy," he said, stopping outside one of the guestrooms. "Gabi, yours is right here. This door in the middle leads to the bathroom you both will have to share. You both should get some sleep, and call your parents to tell them we got here safely in the morning. Night you two." Gabriella gave Adam a hug.

"Thanks for letting us stay here for a little while."

"No problem. Now, get some sleep."

Gabriella had just climbed into bed when the bathroom door opened. She saw the outline of Troy walk across the room, and sit next to her on the bed.

"Night honey," he said quietly before kissing her quickly on the lips. "I love you." Gabriella smiled. She liked having Troy with her to say goodnight. He would call every night back home to say goodnight, but this was much better.

"Night, I love you too." Gabriella pecked Troy on the lips before snuggling down under the covers. Troy watched her for a few minutes before returning to his own room. He was glad he had come with her; he knew that she was going to need someone to talk to whether or not she would admit it.

A/N: Do you know how completely sorry I am for not updating for two weeks. The good news is, I updated, the bad news, I leave tomorrow for a week and a half in Boston and Scranton PA (must be my lucky day sarcastically), and this story is being written on my computer not in a journal, so I won't be able to work on it. If you're reading Off-Set, I'll be working on that religiously the entire time, and I got a great idea for a MoJo fic (for all the psycho Rent-heads like me!). Peace!

Tina101