Chapter 5

"Thank you for the flowers, Troy," her soft voice broke through the harsh sounds of the cafeteria buzz.

He was sitting with Chad and the rest of the basketball team. For the most part, lunch had passed by in a horrible sort of haze. The conversations surrounding him were of no interest. All he could think of was the girl he was in love with. The girl he was in love with hated him. He didn't care about the Lakers, or the party this weekend, or the night Jason had had with the theatre girl. None of that really mattered when you were miserable. Troy honestly thought that nothing could bring him out of the misery, but then he heard it. The one voice that could break through the haze.

She was standing behind him. He turned around swiftly, finding the sight of a blushing Gabriella the most magnificent scene in the world. She was biting the corner of her lower lip and playing with the little ring on her pinky, daffodils in one hand.

"Gabriella? What are you doing here?" It wasn't really what he wanted to say to her. He wanted to tell her that he was sorry, and stupid, and so in love with her, but his mouth couldn't formulate all of those words.

The shy smile on her face dropped at his words. "No, no, no! That is not what I meant. I mean I'm happy to see you. You have no idea how happy I am to see you," he stood and took her shoulders into his hands. "I'm so glad you're here," he smiled, "and I'm glad you liked the flowers." He stepped a bit closer to Gabriella, dropping her shoulders in favor of running his fingers through her loose hair. "I like it when you wear it down," he mumbled.

Her breath hitched at how intimate the situation had become, "I know," her voice was stuck in the back of her throat and she couldn't think properly. "I think you told me once. A couple of years ago. You probably don't remember."

She watched as Troy's grin grew broader, making her smile as well. "I remember." Neither teen cared that they had an audience, and a rather large audience at that. Virtually the entire cafeteria had quieted, everyone straining to hear the words they were sharing. What could the basketball captain possibly have to say to this girl? Whatever it was, it was making them forget the world that was the high school status quo. They were destroying the links of the food chain; and no one was okay with that. No one except the two breaking the rules. It wasn't until Chad gave a particularly harsh cough that Troy and Gabriella were aware of the eyes upon them. Unconsciously Gabriella moved closer to Troy, using him as protection from the calamity that was sure to ensue.

"Let's go to our secret place," Troy whispered to her, and she nodded vigorously…anything to escape their malicious stares.

Our secret place. She thought of Troy's words as he laced his fingers with hers and led her to the rooftop. It had become her secret too. He was incorporating her into his world. Surely he wouldn't hurt her.

Xxx

"You have no idea how happy I am that you're talking to me, Gabriella. And I am, so, so sorry," he emphasized each word of his apology.

"Shh," she placed her flowers on the bench next to her before scooting closer to Troy, "I know you are. I don't know what you were thinking when you kissed me, but I started thinking of all these times over the past thirteen years that we've talked or interacted, and you probably don't really remember them, because they weren't really that important," she rambled adorably, "but I just started thinking that you couldn't have really wanted to hurt me."

"Gabriella," he cupped her cheek, bringing her gaze to his own. She looked vulnerable, like she was scared of what would happen. To her, he was a bomb. Any moment everything could change, and she didn't know if it would change for better or worse, "I remember every instance of you in my life. Every single one," he reiterated, "and each memory I have of you is so important to me. You have no idea how many times a thought of you has gotten me through the day. I still remember things about you from kindergarten," his fingers were drawing indistinguishable designs upon her cheek, and she couldn't help but think it was the most amazing feeling in the world.

Gabriella's heart raced as she replayed Troy's words in her mind. She had gotten him through the day. God, how she wished she had known. All these years as she had thought of him, imagined what he was thinking and doing; he had been fantasizing her just the same. She smiled up at him, but her voice shook with excitement and anticipation, "What do you remember of me from kindergarten?"

Troy grinned. She had to be the most breathtaking specimen he had ever had the privilege of laying eyes on. There were so many memories of five-year old Gabriella that he had collected in his mind. Of course, he hadn't known what it was at five, but now he could even distinguish his first memory of her, "Well," he began, "I didn't know what it was when it happened, but I remember when your mom walked you into the classroom." The memory alone made his stomach flip.

"You were sucking your thumb and you had tears in your eyes, but obediently you kissed your mom goodbye and came into the classroom. You were wearing a pink dress and striped leggings. Your hair was full of barrettes, and it was long. Just like now," he continued, running his fingers through the hair he liked so much, "I remember staring at you all day. Mrs. Gentry even noticed. She came over to me and said 'She's a pretty little girl isn't she, Troy?' I couldn't even speak. I just nodded and kept staring at you. You were painting a picture. 'You should go play with her,' Mrs. Gentry suggested, but when I did I accidentally ruined your picture," Troy looked at her remorsefully, "From that time on I just watched you from afar. I didn't want to mess anything else up." Gabriella stared at him with bright eyes. He saw her brain whirring, trying to calculate how on Earth he could think he could ruin things with her. He ignored it, though, continuing his reminiscence, "Like I said, I didn't know what was happening then, but now I think that I saw how beautiful you were even when we were just little kids. It's like it was love at first sight, but I was too young to even know what that meant."

Gabriella snuggled closer to Troy, "You remember that?" her brown eyes were sparkling. "I remember you from kindergarten too."

"Really," Troy challenged, "and what would that be?"

She giggled, "It's one of my favorite memories. It's probably silly, but I remember once when we were on the playground a girl pushed me down. She pushed me really hard," Gabriella emphasized and Troy smirked at her tone. She was so serious, "anyway, my knee was skinned and I was crying. Apparently teachers don't check on crying little girls, but very sweet little boys do." Somehow their fingers had intertwined, "You came up to me and you kissed my knee," Gabriella boldly ran her fingers through Troy's hair with her free hand, "You told me that your mommy always kissed your boo-boos and they felt better, so you wanted to make my boo-boo feel better. You were so sweet and so adorable."

Troy could feel Gabriella's breath on his face. He could see the blood rising slowly to her cheeks as she realized how close they had become. He could even see the scattered freckles that decorated the bridge of her nose. "Gabriella," Troy's voice was a husked whisper as he broke the silence, "why did you forgive me? I was a jerk."

"You're not a jerk, Troy. You've only ever been gentle and affectionate toward me. You just weren't thinking. One instance of you being an ass isn't a reason for me to hate you forever," she took his hand, "but I think I forgave you ultimately because you like me. No one's ever liked me."

Troy laughed in good nature at both the fact that sweet Gabriella had just said the word ass, and because she had no real idea how much he liked her. He told her that, "You have no idea how much I like you. I've wanted to kiss you since eighth grade. And it wasn't for a bet. Gabriella," Troy began, but he was cut off by her warm mouth against his. Her lips moved slowly, awkwardly against his, but eventually they found their own rhythm. They melded together and Troy's arms wrapped around her waist as hers found their way around his neck.

"Have dinner with me?" He breathed once their lips parted.

"Only if you walk me to class," she joked.

Troy entwined their fingers, "I'll walk you to all of your classes for the rest of the year if you want," he said earnestly, earning another kiss from Gabriella.

"I think I could fall for you, Troy Bolton." She admitted, remembering that Troy had called seeing her love at first sight. She prayed silently that he really could love her.

"I think I've already fallen for you, Gabriella Montez."

All thoughts of class were lost as timid fingers grasped and eager mouths explored. Troy gripped her waist, inadvertently bunching the hem of her shirt; and Gabriella could feel his cool fingers against the bear skin of her side. Her own hands were pressed flatly against his firm chest. He felt delicious beneath her fingers, delicious against her lips. She had never made out with someone, and she had not anticipated her meeting with Troy taking this turn. Despite the tingling that had infiltrated her entire body, Gabriella pulled away timidly. "Troy," her voice was caught in her throat as her head and heart waged war, trying to decide on the right words to say, "I like this…a lot. But it's all so new. I don't want to go too fast. Is that okay?"

Troy looked at her, almost taken aback. He had been just as overzealous as she had, but he hadn't even noticed. "Of course it's okay if we take it slow. Gabriella, you don't have to ask me that," he pushed some of her hair, tousled from their previous activity, out of her face. His blue eyes intently focused on her, Gabriella saw nothing but sincerity and affection, "If I ever do something that makes you uncomfortable, please tell me. I don't ever want to pressure you into doing something you don't want to do. You mean so much to me."

Gabriella bit her lower lip bashfully before pecking Troy's mouth once more, "Thank you. It means a lot to me that you said that."

"Hey," his lips brushed against her ear as he brought her closer. "I want everything to be at Gabriella-speed. We can take it as slowly as you want. If you're only comfortable with me holding your hand, then I'll only hold your hand."

She fell easily into his embrace, "You're something special, Troy Bolton."

He kissed her, mumbling against her lips, "I don't know if you've realized, but we're fifteen minutes late for fourth class."

A grin spread instantly across Troy's face when he saw the mortified look on her lovely face. She jumped up, grabbing both her flowers and his hand, "Oh my gosh! Troy, why are you waiting until now to tell me this? We're going to be sitting in detention this afternoon! My parents will kill me," she was dragging him towards the stairs, "then let's see if you get to take me to dinner."

Her last comment certainly put a spring in Troy's step, "Crap! I didn't think about that."