(A.N. Thank you to everyone for your patience and reviews. I know my upload schedule has been very slow but in a couple more days, I'll be back to regular posting so thank you all for your patience and support. Here's a quick chapter and I hope you're enjoying the story, let me know what you think.)

A few weeks later, the siblings were back in their own house and everyone was slowly becoming more comfortable though Gabriella still had some trouble sleeping without Troy. It was a Saturday afternoon and Jack and Lucille sat Troy down to have a chat, the former starting. "Troy, is Gabriella planning on spending tonight here?"

Troy's eyebrows scrunched in confusion at the question. "Yeah I assume so, I'll double check with her. Is there a problem with that?"

Lucille sighed. "There's not a problem with it Bud, it's just, your dad and I have to go out of town for the night and we don't exactly feel comfortable with having two teenagers staying in the house together unsupervised."

"Mom, it's not like that with Gabriella. We're not at that point in our relationship, especially after what happened to her and even if she was comfortable with it, she's still 15 so we wouldn't be doing anything."

"Gabriella is 15?" Troy inwardly groaned, he forgot that he hadn't mentioned that detail to his mother and knew that she would not be keen on the idea. "Troy, she is underage, she -"

"I know Mom, I know, I've had this conversation with Dad already. Gabriella is 15 and a junior so she's in my grade and I'll tell you what I told Dad, that nothing is going to happen between us physically until she's ready and at least 16... Please just trust me Mom, she's a good girl and we know what we're doing."

Lucille sighed. "Ok, ok, I trust you Bud and I know that Gabriella is a good girl... Just be careful."

He nodded. "I will Mom."

"Ok, well we're going to get going now, we'll see you tomorrow."

After his parents left, he called Gabriella. "Hey Baby."

"Hey Wildcat, is everything ok?"

He smiled even though she couldn't see. "Of course not, everything's fine. My Mom and Dad came in before and told me that they had to go out of town for the night, they left a few minutes ago." When she was silent, he continued. "So I just wanted to talk to you about it to see if you were still comfortable with staying, you don't have to if that'd make you feel uncomfortable or if you'd rather stay at home with your brothers and sisters."

Her giggle interrupted his rambling. "Troy, I love you, you don't even have to ask. I don't mind if your parents aren't there, I'm always comfortable when I'm around you. If it's still alright with you and your parents, I'd still like to stay over."

"Of course you can Baby, you're always welcome to stay over, anytime you'd like." He could hear the twins calling for her in the background. "Well I guess the girls are looking for you. I'll let you go and see you when you come over tonight, I'll make us dinner. I love you Sweetheart."

"See you tonight Wildcat, I love you."

"Bye Brie."

He answered the door with a smile and immediately took his girlfriend into her arms. "Hey Baby, dinner's on the table. How was your day today?"

"It was fun, I got most of my homework done and spent some time playing with the girls. How was your day?"

"I got most of my homework done so I'd be able to spend tonight with you." He internally grinned when she connected their lips. "Now how about we go eat and then we can decide what to do after?" She nodded and they went into the dining room to eat. In the back of Troy's mind, he registered how natural it felt to be with Gabriella this way and he could see them getting married and living together in their future. Although he knew it was way too early to think about it, he smiled at the thought before continuing the meal with the love of his life.

After dinner and them both showering, they settled down on Troy's bed, the boy turning to her with the remote in his hand. "What would you like to watch?"

She shrugged. "I don't mind, why don't you just put Friends or something on in the background, we won't really be watching it anyway." He did what she asked but was confused by the last part of her statement. Gabriella began kissing him which slowly led to making out – which Troy was fine with – until she climbed into his lap. He pulled back and stilled her, making her confused.

"Hold on Baby, we have to talk about this. I don't want to push you or hurt you."

She sighed. "Troy, I'm not made of glass, it's fine."

He could hear the slight frustration in her voice but he had to stay strong about this. "That's not it, there's more we have to consider here. I know you're not made of glass but we still have to talk about some things."

"Don't you want to?" She had assumed that he wanted a physical relationship with her but judging by the way he seemed to be pushing her away, maybe she was mistaking.

The nerves were clear in her question and he connected their lips in a quick kiss in hopes to reassure her. "Of course I do Brie, I want you in every way possible but only when you're ready and 100% sure. Can you please just hear me out?" She nodded for him to continue. "Look, this isn't me pushing you away Baby, that's far from what's happening but everything in our relationship is a first for you and I want you to be sure that you're 100% ready for everything we do together because I never want you to regret anything. With that said though, I would like us to wait until you're 16 before we go too far sexually. Because regardless of anything, if something goes wrong and we end up in court, regardless of consent or anything else, everything we would've done together would have classified as rape and I could never live with myself with even the thought of hurting you Sweetheart. You're 16 in a few more weeks so if you still want to when the time comes, we can go further physically if you feel that you're ready and you want to. The only other thing is that I assured my parents that we weren't very physical in our relationship and I don't want to fully betray their trust."

She nodded and leant into him. "I understand that Troy... But we can still do some things, right?"'

He smiled slightly. "Of course we can, if you want to." They both leaned in and reconnected their lips. Gabriella wrapped her legs around his waist as his hands gripped her hips She felt Troy run his tongue over her bottom lip and immediately gave him access, taking their kiss further. She started grinding herself over his lap and felt him groan against her mouth before he stilled her hips. He broke their kiss, whispering. "Don't turn me on Baby." She had little time to question before he attached his lips to her neck moving down to her collarbone. She exhaled breathlessly and held his head in place while he left a mark on her skin. He reconnected their lips and inwardly smiled at Gabriella's confidence as she tugged at his shirt, which he broke the kiss and pulled over his head. Their eyes connected and she seemed to be asking for permission – though he was confused what for – he nodded reassuringly and watched as she trailed her kisses down to his collarbone to repeat his own actions from moments prior. He reconnected their lips once more before pulling back. "I think that's enough for tonight Baby."

"Uh huh." She said breathily and he pecked her lips.

"I'm glad that you're getting more confident Baby, you're beautiful and I know you don't see it." She smiled and kissed his cheek with a light blush on her cheeks. He noticed her look down at the mark on her chest. "I'm sorry, I should've -"

She shook her head. "I'm not mad Troy, the opposite actually. It probably sounds weird but I kinda like it, like physically showing that I'm yours."

He leant their foreheads together and pressed their lips together. "That's not weird, it's perfectly fine." He manoeuvred them so that he was laying down and Gabriella rested on his chest, brushing the hair from her face and tucking it behind her ears. She rested her head on his chest and looked at him sleepily; he caressed her cheek, smiling down at her. "My sweet girl... Are you tired?" She nodded and nuzzled his chest. "Alright then Baby, let's get some sleep. "I love you."

"I love you Wildcat. Good night." She said, giving him a chaste kiss.

"Good night Brie." He pulled the blankets over them and he held her in his arms as they both fell asleep.