Chapter 2

Troy Bolton, East High's heart throb, had purposefully avoided being alone with anyone of the female persuasion for nearly a month leading up to prom. That was a hard task. He had never realized how much random girls fawned over him. Just the other day, one of the girls that frequented his lunch table actually sat down in his lap. The audacity of the act floored him. Looking back, girls had done it before, but over the last month or so, he saw the way girls treated him. It wasn't just girls he knew either, girls in his social circle. Freshmen blushed when he passed them, and gaggles of girls giggled in his presence, high pitched "hi, Troy's filling the air.

Successfully, however, he had made it. He was dateless. He grinned at himself in the mirror, the accomplishment settling into his mind. His plan was going smoothly already. Phase one…SUCCESS.

As he stared at his reflection in the mirror, he had to admit, he didn't look half bad. His mother had found an excellent tux. She had been a bit disappointed when she realized that there was to be no pretty girl standing beside her handsome son for pre-prom pictures. She had even pouted a bit, begging Troy to find a date last minute. Troy felt kind of bad for his mom. After all, she seemed to live for these moments. She loved snapping pictures of him. She loved it when he brought girls over to meet her, but this was bigger than his mother. This night was the night. It was the night everything was going to change. At least, that's what he was hoping for. In a little over two hours he would know. It would either be an ultimate success or epic failure. He didn't see how it could fail, though. It was perfect.

His plan wasn't that crazy. Was it? All he had to do was woo Gabriella Montez, and as disappointed as his mother was, he couldn't very well be successful at wooing her if he was toting around another girl. Well, he might still be successful, he thought. But that wouldn't be very nice to his date. Besides, he ultimately decided, Gabriella probably wouldn't go for that. She didn't seem like a "boyfriend stealer" even if he wasn't technically this imaginary date's boyfriend.

He was thinking too much about possibilities. He needed to stay focused on the task at hand. He had to win Gabriella's heart (or at least her lips. Her heart could come later). He didn't even know if he wanted her heart. He didn't really know her enough to know if he liked her, but, God did he want to kiss her. He had been sitting a few seats behind her in homeroom last week, just staring at those lips as she smiled at something her friend was saying. Troy had loved trying to explain to Chad why he was ogling "the most unpopular and unappealing girl" in school. Troy couldn't believe Chad even knew what the word unappealing meant, much less use it appropriately in a sentence. Nonetheless, his statement had pissed Troy off. He might not know if he liked her, but he knew she was anything but unappealing.

Xxx

Gabriella smiled as a girl beside her spoke. Troy didn't know what they were saying. He was too busy pretending to listen to his own friends, but every now and again he would glance over at Gabriella. Her sweet happiness made him feel something he'd never felt before. It was weird. Just seeing her look so happy made him happy. It was just a simple smile, but seeing it made everything else in the world seem unimportant. Her face emitted the innocence of a child, while still possessing the appeal of a woman.

Troy's eyes lingered on her mouth. She was licking her inferior lip oblivious to his eyes. The fact that she was licking her lip so carelessly made the artless act all the more sexy. Then, she began to chew on her pretty pink lip. God, she was cute.

Over the past four years he had wished for moments like this. Moments where he could just marvel at her, and every time his wishes were granted, he would file the special moment away in his memory, bringing it forward on quiet nights when he needed something to think about. He'd found himself with thoughts of Gabriella filling his mind more frequently. Especially after dinner with his parents. It seemed like the only thing that passed as conversation now was Troy's imminent future. Basketball his only option. He missed the days when he was asked how his day went, and he would share silly anecdotes involving Chad and Mrs. Darbus.

Now dinners usually ended in harsh feelings and slammed doors. Troy would enter his room frustrated, thoughts of Gabriella instantly calming him. He would think of the time he'd seen her at the store. She was in the shampoo aisle, actually reading the ingredients on different bottles. He had smiled at her, staring for a few more seconds before walking away. He thought of her at school in the library. Several times he had caught her sitting by herself, the cap of a highlighter held between her teeth as she marked in a book. And he thought of her at the park with a little girl, playing pat-a-cake and making a daisy chain that matched the one that adorned the little girl's red head.

All of these moments were so uncomplicated. Her elegance effortless, just like now, smiling and scrunching up her nose.

"Dude," Chad shoved him, "what are you looking at?" His question instantly ripped Troy from his reverie.

"Uh," Troy scratched the back of his neck, feeling his face begin to burn, "nothing. Why?"

Chad laughed, "Because you definitely weren't staring at nothing. You were staring at the most unpopular and unappealing girl in East High. Dude, what's wrong with you?"

"Shut up," Troy said simply. "I wasn't staring at any girl."

Xxx

Troy hadn't really lied. Gabriella was not simply "any girl." She was something special. It didn't matter, though. Troy didn't care what Chad said about Gabriella. He was going to kiss her tonight. Hopefully, that would end this whole "Gabriella Montez" thing. He needed her out of his mind. For four years he had thought of her. He was sure that as soon as he kissed her everything would be fine.

He would get to be the first guy to kiss her; she would get to say her first kiss was with the most popular guy in school (that would be a story she could tell her grandchildren); he would be Troy, and she would be Gabriella. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Xxx

East High didn't really take prom seriously. They didn't rent a fancy venue, there wasn't a giant chocolate fountain. Honestly, most of the money the school made from all fundraisers was spent on after school clubs and sports. It was either spend a fortune on one evening, or keep supplies in the art room and equipment in the gym. It was a pretty obvious decision.

Prom was just the gym, slightly revamped. All the sports equipment was put up and the whole junior class spent the weekend cleaning and decorating. It was the deal they had made. Juniors could attend prom with the seniors as long as the seniors didn't have to do anything but show up. They always did a good job of decorating too. This year the gym looked especially nice. There were sparkling lights all over the place and floating candles as centerpieces. Troy was impressed by their creativity. There had never been a better looking prom, but Troy couldn't decide if that was because of all the hard work that was exuded or if it was because Gabriella Montez was there.

Before Troy had arrived at prom, for a split second he had panicked. He had forgotten to take into consideration that Gabriella didn't have to show up. What if she didn't show up? He didn't know if she had a group of girls to go with, and he was almost one hundred percent sure that she did not have a date. There was a large possibility, in fact, that Gabriella wouldn't be there. From what he knew about girls, they didn't like going places alone…not even the bathroom. Every girl he had ever know was surrounded by some sort of posse, and if one of them had to pee, well they all had to pee. If girls couldn't even pee alone, what were the chances that they would come to a prom alone?

Troy had freaked out about this until he entered the building, and there she was. She was smiling sweetly at the teacher who took her ticket and told her to have a good time. Gabriella had nodded and disappeared into the crowd. With both the senior and junior classes in the vicinity, it had taken Troy more time than he had wanted to relocate Gabriella, but when he finally did, the search proved worthwhile. He could see her from where he was right now. She was sitting alone at a table. He should have known. Gabriella had never been like other girls. She didn't travel in a group, so it shouldn't have surprised him to see her arrive by herself.

She looked so pretty. Her hair was intricately pinned and twisted, except for a few pieces that fell in her face. She kept swatting at them comically, making Troy laugh quietly. Her dress was flowing and white with lace-y cap sleeves and an open back. The dress had a white flower situated on her hip to create the illusion that several layers of fabric had been swirled around the skirt of her dress and pinned in place. The dress wouldn't have looked beautiful on anyone else, at most, it would be overwhelming, but on her it was magnificent. She looked like something out of a fairytale.

Troy approached her, and stuck his hand out casually, waiting for her to take it. She never did, though. Troy looked down at her, and saw that she hadn't noticed his hand. He could not understand how she missed the fact that he was standing in front of her. He was sort of hard to miss. She must be lost in thought.

"Gabriella," he said softly. Despite the softness of his voice, she was startled. He watched her cheeks turn a deep shade of red, causing him to smile at her, "Want to dance with me?" His heart skipped a beat when he became aware of the fact that she was actually debating the question. It took her a few seconds to respond, but timidly she took his hand and nodded. Troy led her to the dance floor, several people (Chad included) sending the new couple odd glares. Troy didn't care, though. There was a slow song playing, and he was about to hold Gabriella Montez in his arms.

"Your friends are staring, Troy." He sensed that she was reluctant to dance with him now.

"So?" She had let go of his hand, wrapping her arms self-consciously about herself. She would not look Troy in the face.

"So I don't think they are very happy that you're dancing with me," she cocked her head to the side, "I mean, look at Chad's face. They think I'm a leper, Troy. Maybe we shouldn't dance. I can go sit back down. I don't mind."

Troy caught her before she could walk away. Slowly, he took her hands from their secure position and placed them about his neck, one of his own hands slowly sliding down the bareness of her upper back before resting lightly on her waist. She might not mind to forgo this chance, but he sure as hell did.

He tried to reassure her "It's fine, Gabriella. I promise. I want to dance with you. I don't care what other people think about us being together out here."

"I do," she whispered.

Troy brought her a bit closer, "How come?" He caressed her cheek, genuinely interested in what her response would be. She was trembling, and he could feel it. "It's not a crime for us to dance together, you know."

"I know, but," she seemed to be having trouble formulating her words. She looked up at him with curious, almost scared eyes. Those brown eyes of hers could make any guy weak at the knees, Troy decided, as they did just that to him. She seemed to finally find her words, "why would you want to dance with me anyway? I mean, I'm not that special, or any sort of beautiful, Troy," he loved when she said his name, "Every girl in here would kill to have the chance to dance with you." She was still looking into his blue eyes, "Why me when there are so many beautiful girls here?"

What Gabriella said nearly floored Troy. It wasn't the fact that she had said all the girls at prom would want to dance with him. Honestly, he could have guessed that. It surprised him that she thought so lowly of herself.

"Gabriella," his lips brushed against the tip of her ear as he spoke to her, "you are so beautiful. Don't you know that? You're not just beautiful, though. You're amazing. There's something different about you." He twirled her out and pulled her back against his chest, grinning at her, "I asked you to dance because I wanted to. I like you." Troy was holding her hand now, their fingers tangled together. Gabriella was blushing softly, in fact, Troy didn't think she had stopped blushing since he'd asked her to dance. "What's so wrong with me wanting to dance with you? Can't I choose which girl I want to spend my time with?"

She nodded in his arms. No one had ever told her that she was beautiful, besides her parents, and certainly no one had ever said she was amazing and that they liked her. She didn't know how to respond. From what she could tell, Troy had never seemed very interested in her before, and for a split second, she thought his words might be some joke. He was just waiting for the right moment to humiliate her. That's what jocks did. They picked the most defenseless person they could find and broke them. She could not fathom it. Why was it so funny to see another human being hurt so badly?

That's why everyone was staring at her. They were all waiting in anticipation. Her heart began to break at the thought, but she pushed it away as best she could. She wouldn't think about it, because right now, in this moment, she had never felt more wanted. In Troy Bolton's embrace, she felt truly beautiful. After all, hadn't he said just that? He had called her beautiful, and she was going to choose to believe it until the fateful moment it was proven untrue.

"Brie," she was brought out of her thoughts by the new nickname and the feeling of his breath on her cheek, "I want to show you something."

"What?" she asked, her voice shaking.

He smiled and broke their embrace, but kept his fingers entwined with her own, "Come with me." He pulled her out of the doors of the gym and down the hallways of the high school.

Everyone had been observing the intimacy Troy and Gabriella shared on the dance floor. They had watched the way Troy brushed his nose against this mystery girl's face; they had watched the way she had clung so tightly to him as the music played; and they watched the way they held hands. Everyone knew that Troy Bolton didn't show any sort of public affection. He never had. Many girls would call that his only fault, but with this girl that nobody knew, Troy wasn't holding back what his feelings were. Everyone saw what was happening as soon as the pair left the gym.

Xxx

"Troy, where are we going? We aren't supposed to be in the school building," she heard him laugh at her apprehensive words.

He turned to look at her, still pulling her swiftly down the hall, "Live a little, Gabriella. What's the worst that could happen?"

The worst that could happen was too horrible to think about. What was she thinking? She knew nothing about Troy. Besides tonight, she had only ever had one other conversation with him, and that was two years ago. Prior to that, she only had vague memories of him, another face in her class.

"I…I don't know, but something could happen." She responded. The truth was, she was afraid to be alone with him. If this was some cruel prank she could only imagine what would happen. Images of Chad with a video camera and hundreds of laughing students filled her mind. She didn't want to go with him anymore.

Gabriella jerked her hand away from Troy's grasp and stopped in the middle of an empty hall.

"What's the matter?" Troy rose an eyebrow skeptically. "We're almost there. Am I walking too fast? Are your shoes pinching?" He knew that sometimes girls wore stupid shoes, especially to stuff like prom. Maybe her shoes were bothering her. "You can take them off. I'll carry them."

Gabriella simply shook her head, standing there staring at the tile. The moon was shining through the windows, casting their shadows on the floor. From his shadow, she could see him scratching the back of his neck.

"What is it, then?"

"I don't want to go with you," she said simply, shyly. "I'm going back to the gym. Please, don't follow me, Troy. Leave me alone."

Troy didn't understand. He just wanted to show her the rooftop garden. It wasn't that big of a deal. "Why not? Did I do something wrong?"

"I don't know."

"Gabriella, that doesn't make any sense. We're almost there. Won't you just c'mon."

"No," she shook her head and looked at him sadly, finally meeting his gaze, "I don't want to. I don't…I don't trust you," she admitted.

Troy stared at her dumbstruck. It was as if she had just announced that she was the Anti-Christ. This made no sense. He just wanted to show her the garden. He knew she would like it. He had never shown it to anyone, but he wanted to show it to her. How could she not trust him? He was trusting her with the knowledge of his secret getaway.

"Brie," he used the nickname again, which caused her to flinch, "how can you not trust me? You barely know me."

"That's why." She trembled under the intense gaze of his blue eyes.

"Gabriella, please just give me a chance. It's nothing bad. I promise. Please, just trust me for like two more minutes." He walked slowly over to her. She didn't move, and her gaze had fallen back to the floor.

With nervous hands, Troy touched her cheek, "Please, Gabriella. I want to show you something I've never shown anyone else. It's something really great and I know you'll love it just as much as I do."

His hand was warm on her face, and she was trying hard to resist him. She didn't trust him. At all. But he was being so sweet to her. No one had ever been so sweet. Never had anyone treated her the way he was. He wanted to show her something special. He called her beautiful. He made her feel something she couldn't describe. Her heart was willing to go with him. Her heart was so, so willing, but her head knew better.

"Trust me for two more minutes," he whispered, kissing her temple.

Her head knew better, but her heart won out, "Okay." Gabriella conceded and she had never seen anyone smile as widely as Troy was at the very moment. His arms encompassed her waist and he spun her around, eliciting the most wonderful little giggles he had ever had the pleasure of hearing.

He kissed her cheek before pulling her a bit farther down the hall, "You, Miss Montez, have just made me the happiest guy in the world," he told her over his shoulder.

They stopped at a stairway leading to the roof, "It's just up here. I promise it's worth it."

Troy heard her inhale before following him up the stairway. He was so happy she had changed her mind. He really wanted her to see this.

"Surprise," he shouted, as they emerged.

Xxx

Gabriella's heart sank when she heard his exclamation. She had been right. It was all a joke. Chad stood with his camera, recording and a large chunk of the senior class stood, staring and laughing at her. Tears filled her eyes. She had believed everything Troy said. How could he do something so mean to her?

Then, she realized that no one was there. The people in front of her seemed to dissipate. It was nothingness. Troy had yelled surprise for a completely different reason. He wasn't playing a joke on her. He was showing her something extraordinary. She took in the scene around her. It was breathtaking. Troy was right. It was worth it. Completely worth it.

"Troy Bolton!" She laughed in pure delight. "How did you get an entire garden on the roof?"

"I have my connections," he winked.

"Well, it's beautiful," she spun around to take in the entire scene. Troy watched her and couldn't help but think that there was only one thing that was beautiful right now.

"I love it, Troy," she faced him and felt herself begin to blush. She couldn't help it. It was the way he looked at her, like she was the most magnificent thing on Earth. He tilted his head to the side and continued to look at her, a smile spreading across his face.

"I'm glad you like it."

"Why me?" Gabriella slowly made her way towards Troy.

He shrugged, "You were the right person."

She nodded, then a comfortable silence settled between the two. Gabriella twisted her hips back and forth, watching the skirt of her dress try to keep up with the movements. She didn't know what to say to Troy. But when she looked back up at him, he looked so fascinated.

"Why are you staring at me?" She asked in good nature.

It was like every nerve ending in his body was acutely aware of this amazing creature in front of him. He saw the way her hair was falling from its pins and curling in the humidity, and he saw the pretty blush of her cheeks.

Troy couldn't help himself. Before he knew what was happening, he was pressing his mouth against her yielding lips. The kiss lasted no more than a second, because as soon as he felt her mouth it was gone. He wasn't even sure if their lips had touched.

Gabriella jumped away, bringing her shaking fingers to her mouth, a look of horror painting her face. She began to cry. She backed away while tears spilled down her cheeks, "Why did you do that?" She looked like a defenseless animal that had been kicked by its owner, "Why did you kiss me?"

She was angry now, Troy could tell, "I…I didn't think it was that big a deal," Troy lied. It was a huge deal. All he had wanted to do for years was kiss Gabriella Montez, and now she was freaking out.

"Not that big a deal? Troy Bolton, you ruined everything." Gabriella sobbed, burying her face into her hands.

"What did I do wrong?" Troy was becoming just as frantic.

She looked up, Troy was met by her flushed, wet face. She looked absolutely crushed. She had bits of hair sticking to her cheeks, and her lower lip quivered slightly. "You were not supposed to kiss me," she whispered. It was so quiet that Troy wasn't sure, at first, if he had heard her or just imagined it, but she continued and he knew he had heard correctly, "Why did you do that?"

"But…" Troy ran his hands through his sandy hair, "I thought you didn't have a boyfriend. I thought you had never kissed anyone before." He had screwed up royally. He had just kissed another guy's girlfriend. Albeit, a crappy guy. What guy let his girlfriend go to her senior prom alone, and what guy didn't make his girlfriend feel special and beautiful? If he couldn't make Gabriella feel as wonderful as she was, he certainly was not doing his job. Gabriella was amazingly amazing. She was funny and smart and kind and everything good, at least, that's what Troy thought, and he didn't care what anyone else's opinion on the matter was. As far as he was concerned, everyone who thought differently was stupid. Gabriella's boyfriend was stupid.

"Gabriella, I'm really sorry," he began sincerely, "I didn't know you had a boyfriend, but he can't be that great. What kind of jerk wouldn't come to prom with you and tell you every day how beautiful and special you are?" Troy was rambling now, "Gabriella, how can you date a guy that doesn't realize how amazing you are?" he was defending himself, but she continued to cry.

Gabriella shook her head, "That isn't it, Troy. I don't have a boyfriend, but you were not supposed to kiss me."

"Gabriella, I'm so confused. If you don't have a boyfriend, what's the matter?" It was just a kiss. An innocent kiss.

She sniffed and rubbed her nose, staring at Troy. For the briefest second, the thought of what she looked like to him flitted through her mind, but it passed as quickly as it had come. Finally, she spoke, "It wasn't innocent. You don't care about me, Troy," her tears were subsiding, but her voice was still broken, "You just wanted to kiss me because no one else has. My first kiss was supposed to be with someone who loved me, not for someone on an idiotic conquest." A single tear rolled down her cheek.

She had seen through him, at least partially. Everything she said was true. It was a conquest. The fact that she had never kissed anyone was appealing to him. He didn't know what to say. He had worked so hard at securing a time to kiss Gabriella that he hadn't taken her feelings into consideration. He had tricked himself into thinking any girl would want to kiss him (he knew Gabriella wasn't any girl-why had he thought she would want to kiss him?). He had let this façade run rampant, and he had stupidly thought she would go along with it, especially since she was so inexperienced.

He was wrong. Of course Gabriella could have kissed someone by now if she had wanted. Who wouldn't jump at the chance of sharing an intimate moment with her? She was perfection. Troy sighed and walked over to her. She had turned her back to him.

"I'm so sorry, Brie," his voice was laced with sincerity, "You were right. I was stupid and I didn't consider your feelings."

She turned to look at him, "I always imagined my first kiss with my husband. Just like my mom had her first kiss with my dad," tears spilled down her cheeks slowly, and it was painfully hard for Troy to watch. "I know it sounds stupid, but I wanted it to be with someone who really loved me. My husband would have loved me, Troy. I can never get my first kiss back."

Troy brought her closer to himself and she didn't protest. He rubbed her back soothingly. She just cried into his chest. Troy didn't know how to make it better. Tentatively, he kissed her forehead, murmuring that he was sorry every so often. The tears didn't stop however, so he said the only thing he could think of that might make her stop crying, "I guess we'll have to get married, then."