Ok it's coming it's coming I promise.

And some of you may think this sounds familiar because I posted it by accident before lol. Now it will make sense.

Ang

CHAPTER 3

Gabi lay on Danny's bed as they kissed, feeling his hands wandering, pulling away when he tried to go further, feeling his arousal against her thigh as they lay entwined.

"What's up?" he asked, kissing her neck and she moaned gently "You want to, don't you?" he asked, his hands going over her breasts.

"Danny…" she stopped his hands gently

"What? We've been doing this for three weeks" he sighed and she got angry

"We'll be doing it for three years if you keep on like that" she snapped

"You're thinking about him aren't you?" he said gently as she moved from his body and sat up, fiddling with the edges of his Spiderman comic that she'd lain on.

"Who?" she asked blindly, even though her mind shot up images of Troy, mostly naked.

He cocked his head to look at her, taking her wrist from her lap and she shrunk a little at the contact "That guy you were seeing. The famous one. What's his name now?" he joked, pretending to think of his name and Gabi couldn't help but smile.

Why did he have to be so understanding? So nice?

"Oh that's it! Troy Bolton I think. No I'm sure it's Troy Bolton"

It always made Gabi laugh how people used his full name because he was famous. Like they couldn't call him Troy because they didn't know him.

"He's back from his tour" she said then "I'm sorry, it's not fair on you" she admitted

"Hey, I didn't mean to pressure you. Whenever you're ready" he assured her, trying to hug her.

Gabi gave into it, but knew his hugs didn't come anywhere near the ones she were used to with Troy.

"I know you miss him. And it's going to take time for your heart to mend. But I want to be the one to mend it." He said and Gabi cried softly in his arms, her hurt and pain ebbing away as he rubbed her back.

---

Troy got up, hung-over, aching, tired, but on time for Greg to collect him at 8am.

God Greg would think so badly of him. And the magasine crew. But for one night, for those few hours he was out, the alcohol had made him feel better. Well, made him feel nothing at all which had to be an improvement on the pain he felt without Gabi.

He opened the door and Greg took one look at him

"Oh, Troy" he sighed, knowing from Linda that he was hurting from his relationship break-up and heeding her advice that he was going to have a rough patch before he got better.

"I know, I know, I'm old enough to know better, it's unprofessional and I've let myself down as well as you and my fans and the magazine…" he sighed, giving himself a ticking off before Greg could speak

Greg smiled kindly "I was just gonna say do you want an aspirin, and by the sound of it, you don't need my judgement, you're giving yourself plenty already" he mused

"I'm sorry; it was a last minute thing. Blame the bear" he said mystically as he collected his jacket, ready to leave.

'Joe's Diner' was the scene of the shoot and Troy had to lift an ironic eyebrow as he walked in, surrounded by magazine entourage. It seemed like everyone and their friend was on this shoot.

They'd managed to make him look half decent, dressing him in drain pipe turn-ups and a t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up over his biceps.

He'd looked for Bea behind the counter but it seemed like she wasn't working today as he carried on posing, and the diners who did visit for their daily snacks, were quite fascinated by the singing star in their midst.

---

Gabi smiled to herself as she left 'Jazzercise' and headed toward the diner. She'd just had the over 50's class and they were always the best, it was like having a roomful of grandmother's looking after her, bringing her cakes and treats, and on occasion, a whole casserole or shepherd's pie to take home, saying she needed to eat 'proper food' because she was looking too thin.

She was going to meet Danny and she had some good news. She'd applied for a job at the local dance studio as a private instructor there, quite a privileged position, and she'd just got news she was being given a three month trial. She could understand their hesitancy to take her on without a trial. She hardly had a great resume. But they had seen her dancercise classes and they were impressed with her work ethic.

Danny was sat at the counter as she ran over and not seeing his grave look or the commotion in the diner, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips.

"Guess what!? I got a trial for the job!"

--

Troy watched as Gabi ran into the diner and threw her arms around some guy's neck, then felt his body go cold as she kissed him. In more than a friendly type way.

His heart pounded heavily in his chest as he watched her, taking in the changes which seemed so many, yet it was her, that was clear.

Her hair was straight now, not curly; it was also shorter, at her shoulders instead of down her back. Her make up was scant, but her face looked a little gaunt, still beautiful, but like she needed a few of the cheeseburgers they served here.

She didn't seem to have noticed all the people crowded into the small space and his eyes were practically burning into her back until slowly, slowly, she turned toward him and their eyes met.

For what seemed like forever they just stared at each other and Troy got up and moved- trance like toward her as she stared at him and he didn't miss the guy's arms possessively around her waist

"Troy!" the shoot photographer called and he put a finger up as if to say 'one minute'

Gabi stared at him like he was a dream. The first thing that popped into her head were those arms of his, so muscled and strong and so defined in that top he had on. How she longed to have those arms wrapped around her, how she missed those arms around her.

Then she looked into those deep pools of blue which were churning with emotions and she felt sick. Sick with fear, sick with longing.

Troy was so close to her he could have called out but she moved without warning and pulled her male friend up, tugging him out of the diner by the hand as she left swiftly, leaving Troy open mouthed, a whoosh of air going out of his mouth at the action.

He'd been so close! Why had she done that?

"Troy!" the photographer shouted again and he hung his head momentarily, turning back to the shoot

"Shoot's over" he announced

"Troy…" Greg said slowly, coming up to him "Just take five, buddy." He suggested

"No, it's over. I can't do this" he said and walked out of the front of the diner, blinded by paparazzi and cursed inside his head that they had followed him here, along with a bunch of fans it would seem as some of them pushed forward for an autograph. He posed for pictures for the fans briefly and got in the car with Greg, wondering if Gabi had been caught in the spotlight or if they had given her reprieve.

--

Gabi left the diner and covered her face quickly as she was blinded by flashes

"Gabriella! Gabriella!" "Who's your friend?" "Why are you meeting Troy?"

The calls were normal for her now but Danny looked shocked.

"Hey, what was all that about?" he asked as they cleared the melee

"Just paparazzi." She shrugged

"Just? Is that was it was like before?" he asked, stroking her hair and she brushed his hand away without thinking.

"Yeah. Its no big deal." She sighed, thinking, what is a big deal is the fact I have just been face to face with Troy, the man I loved. Still love, she amended, realizing it very acutely.

"Gabi, I think we are both kidding ourselves if we think there's something between us" he said gently, framing her face with his hand

"You want to dump me because of the paps?" she asked angrily

"No…well maybe that's part of it, seeing this whole other 'you' that I don't know about" he shrugged "But, we both know your heart isn't with me"

"I want it to be" she sobbed

"I know you do. And thank you for choosing me. I truly hope you find happiness" he said

"I'll still be around…to see Bea and Dylan and the baby" she said quickly "If that's not weird for you"

"No, it'll be nice to see a familiar face." He smiled and kissed Gabi's hand, going back to the garage as Gabi stood in the street, feeling lost.

---

Troy found his third shot of whisky was doing the trick nicely. Slumped on his floor, glass in hand, pressed against his forehead.

Well it was doing the trick until she popped into his head again. He'd seen her for a total of 30 seconds and she was imprinted into his brain. Her wide dark bitter chocolate eyes, her high but soft cheekbones, her luscious mouth. He wanted to run his hands through her hair, see how it felt now it was shorter and straight.

How could she just walk out on him like that? Again.

And it looked like she had moved onto the next guy quick enough. He wondered if she loved that guy. Like she had loved him.

He could have sworn he saw it in her eyes one second before she turned to go, that same thing he saw when they were together. Destiny.

What was she afraid of?

So many questions, so little whisky, he mused, trying to get up to get more but couldn't quite make it, so crawled onto his knees and reached up to the kitchen counter for the bottle, then crawled over to his sofa, laughing at his own stupid antics whilst drunk, eventually his laughter becoming racking sobs as the pain finally hit him.

How could she kiss another guy like that? Share herself with him? He'd been her first and it shocked him that he'd wanted to be her last, too.

He lay out on sofa and dangled his hand off the edge of the cushion, eventually dropping his glass, empty, to the carpet as he fell asleep.