It was like a ghost house.

Gabriella's body was completely numb. She stared at it as though it was haunted, like zombies were going to creep up from the ground and attack her. Soft snow fluttered from the sky in the black night. The full moon cast an eerie look onto the front porch of the cabin. Was this really it? It was hidden beneath the surrounding barren trees, giving it an abandon look. The only sign of actual life was the fact that there was a bright red sport's car sitting in the middle of the driveway beneath the looming shadow the basketball hoop.

Her car was parked across the lone street, almost like if she parked on his property, she would be cursed forever. This shouldn't scare her. Why was she scared anyways? It was just Troy's house. "Come on Gabi, you can do this…" She spoke to herself, not even noticing she used Troy's nickname for her.

It wasn't the house that scared her. It was the secrets. The secrets that fell through the cracks of the stairs. The mystery behind the light shutters. The pain the silently screamed from the glass of the windows. It was that moment that Gabriella realized the house didn't scare her at all, it was Troy's hideous, yet mysterious past that made her want to scream in terror. She wanted to know though. Oh did she need to know. It was almost turning into a desperate desire that would not be satisfied. She needed to know why he couldn't love her.

Just as she was about to reach for the icy door handle, her eyes caught a looming figure walk from the house. Was that his mother? The dark brown eyes narrowed to close in on her. She had long, midnight black hair like her own that blew gently in the wind. Though it was difficult to see in the dark, she could tell the woman was wearing what looked like leather boots, and he face looked smooth. The woman trotted to the red car, before getting it and letting the roar of the engine start. As she pulled out, the lights illuminated her body, showing Gabriella the face of a gorgeous woman who looked to be in her mid twenties. What?

The immediate reaction from Gabriella was to let deathly venom release into her blood stream that added to her furry from him standing her up. He was with another woman. An older woman in that case. She felt her thin hand clench against the dark steering wheel. Fucked up her ass. He just told her he couldn't be with her because he wanted play the field. How many other girls had be been screwing?

But then the antidote to the venom sprinkled her veins before she could act on that. That was completely stupid. He had a scar, no one had been to his house, and the flashback he had in the movie? There was no way that could have been faked. His trembles, pale face, everything was too ungodly real. And as much as she wanted to put blame onto him, she knew that the woman who just left was not one of his lovers. She was too old, and she knew Troy was not that kind of guy, even if he rubbed off that way in a first impression.

That didn't mean that she couldn't still scream at him for standing her up.

Gabriella ripped open the car door and stepped out into the brisk night. Her heels clicked against the snow covered pavement. Her anger towards him gave her the strength she needed to walk up the eerie driveway and under the luminous house. A sudden, shilling sound entered her ears, making her practically jump out of her shoes, but then she realized it was her phone.

She slowly pulled it out of her purse and looked down to see the familiar picture of the blue eyed boy staring up at her. Her own eyes narrowed in disgust as she angrily ripped open the phone. "What?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Troy's smooth, almost angelic voice apologized. Gabriella almost slipped and fell again as a bright light turned on from the depths of the black windows.

"Tell me that to my face." She hissed before stepping onto the doormat and shoving her finger onto the button of the doorbell.

"What the…" Troy mumbled before Gabriella heard a shuffling of something on the phone. She also heard something from behind the door, and the oxygen was stripped from her lungs. This was it; she was going to see his house for the first time. The door swung open and a burst of light almost blinded her. His smooth jaw suddenly dropped to the floor. Shock erupted through his skin, almost giving Gabriella the impression he was happy to see her. But that was murdered quickly, for in less than a second, an evil shadow cast over his perfect features. Anger danced in his cerulean eyes and his lip twitched. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Why the hell did you stand me up?" She shot venomously back.

"Who the fuck told you where I live?"

With that last question, Gabriella pushed through his arm and entered the house, whether she was invited or not. Troy almost stumbled back from her fury before she whipped around and felt all the anger she had throughout the entire week bubble through her olive skin. "YOU COULDN'T EVEN CALL?"

Her voice bellowed through the open entrance with the white carpeted stairs setting behind her. Troy's narrow eyes turned snake like. "I was fucking calling you before you popped up at my door."

"YEAH, A FUCKING HOUR AND A HALF LATER!"

Troy shook his head furiously. "I had some important shit to take care of. It came up unexpectedly, I'm sorry your needs were so much more important." He seethed.

Fire was shooting from her black orbs. "Stop giving me the shit Troy. What? Just tell me, have I been hurting you lately or something?" She questioned seriously, finding that this was a thought on her mind. Maybe the fear of him suddenly being in pain resurfaced, which also gave her passion to work with.

Troy slammed his eyes shut painfully before running a rough hand through his hair. "You're the only fucking thing that keeps me from slitting my wrists." He mumbled before his sparkling eyes flashed to her. She knew that he was exaggerating, that he was not suicidal, but the statement was still powerful That was how she knew that he wasn't angry. His eyes were still blue.

"Then why the hell didn't you show up?" Gabriella crossed her arms and furiously tapped her heel on the light hardwood.

Troy shook his head and let his eyes linger on the floor instead of her face. "I can't tell you."

This sent Gabriella skyrocketing to a poisonous place she would never return from. "Big fucking surprise there!"

Troy's hurt eyes darted up again. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" His anger was soaring.

"BECAUSE I'M SICK OF IT!" She screamed, causing the entire house to vibrate in her furious earthquake. Troy stood his ground though, angry snarls now painted onto his lips. "I'm sick of watching your fucking problems and having no idea what to do with them!"

"I told you no strings attached. That means you don't need to know…"

A sarcastic laugh vomited from her throat. "No strings attached Troy? No fucking strings attached? What the hell does that mean? You kiss the shit out of me when nothing's wrong. Hell, you've fingered me just because you want to!" she was brushing hysterical now. "You go to movies with me, you hold my hand, and still you want no strings attached. MAKE UP YOU'RE FUCKING MIND TROY!"

This sent Troy over the edge, and Gabriella knew it. She knew she had crossed the line a long time ago. They had agreed on this, and Gabriella promised him it would never mean more. Well now, it meant a lot more to her, she broke his promise. "I TOLD YOU I WAS MESSED UP!"

"Are you Troy? Or are you just making it up so you can lay every fucking girl out there?"

That was it. She didn't mean it, she sure did not mean any of it, but she couldn't help what slipped out. The second the shrilling voice left her mouth though, she knew it was a mistake. Troy eyes blinked once, and when the opened they were snakelike blinding white slits. "You wanna talk shit? Let's talk," His voice was hard and venomous, like something she had never seen before. It frightened her, yet in the same way, the way his passionate eyes erupted in light and the light blue bulging veins that popped out of his forearms in anger were some of the most erotic sights she had ever seen. "What do you wanna know huh? The fact that I live by my fucking self because my dad's too much of a bastard to pay child support after he bolted when I was five? Maybe you've met him, he's on Sport's Center just about every damn night."

Gabriella's back was pushed up against the hard railing behind her. Troy was taking dangerous steps towards her, as though a tornado was just going to produce behind him. Seeing Troy's anger diminished hers to a rock bottom level. "Tro…"

"He's the fucking manager of the fucking Bulls." Troy hissed before shaking his head. "Guess I'm not one to love."

At first she thought he was lying, but his white eyes showed differently. Obliviously, he was talking about the Chicago Bull's general manager, Jack Bolton. But who would ever make the connection that he was related to Troy? There had to be a million "Bolton"s out there, plus, from what Gabriella could pick up on, he didn't look like Troy. But then her mind painted a picture of the tall man with deep dark caramel brown hair that resembled black. He had a all over tan that Troy possessed, and his jawline was similar to Troy's soft one as well. Plus, there had been rumors flying around tabloids about two years ago that maybe he had a separate family, though it could not be proved. Jack had a wife and two daughters he loved to dress up like they were meant to put on a show. Completely opposite from Troy's tormented body.

"Is there anything else you want to know?" His voice cracked under the pressure, causing him to sound raspy and horse. She could tell his anger was leaking through his body, calming him down after the silence.

"I'm sorry." She wasn't sure what she was sorry about, accusing him of lying about his life or just his life in general.

"Whatever," Troy's anger was subsiding, probably because both were too tired to keep the argument going. "Chad told you, didn't he?" He questioned harshly but Gabriella could see an extremely faint glint of blue in his eyes.

"Told me what?" Gabriella asked, completely forgetting that she was still standing in his house. Everything that was so important before suddenly felt useless as she stared at his angered figure. This was Jack Bolton's son?

"The house." Troy pointed around the entrance and Gabriella snapped back from her dream. She finally took in the gorgeous wood that was draped around; making it look like someone important lived there. It looked spotless, like a maid swept through daily.

"Oh… please don't be mad at him… I made him…" Gabriella defended forcefully before Troy's strong shoulders rose to a shrug.

"Whatever. You're here now… guess there's nothing I can do about that anymore."

Gabriella bit her bottom lip before walking to him, watching the white sockets drain from his eyes and transform back to the irresistible blue. "I'm sorry… I was just angry… you didn't show up and I assumed that you didn't want…"

"If you keep saying you fucking think I don't want you or I want to fuck other girls, then I'm done," Troy hissed back, making Gabriella close her eyes painfully. She didn't want to argue with him anymore. "I'm sorry too." He mumbled quietly, before Gabriella's eyes snapped back open to see that the cyan had almost fully returned.

"Sorry for what?" She asked before he shrugged again, this time out of just not caring about anything anymore.

"For not calling or showing up. I just had to take care of some stuff and it was completely unexpected," Troy's voice almost shook probably from yelling so much, but then Gabriella finally noticed that he was dressed nicely. Much nicer than the woman she saw in the driveway, proving to her that he did indeed attempt to go. For the first time all night, a tiny smile coursed his lips. "You look beautiful by the way."

A blush flooded her cheeks as she glanced down at the heels she was wearing. "I didn't mean to accuse you…"

"I don't want to talk about it anymore ok?" Troy attempted to sound hopeful, but she could still hear the slight twinge of venom. Another thick awkward silence produced between them, before a breath slipped from Troy's throat, making her glance up at him again. "Will you do something for me?"

Gabriella's head tilted to the side curiously. All the anger she had built up before was gone now, mostly because both of them were wrong that night. "Um… sure?"

A genuine curve formed on the straight line of his mouth. "I want you to meet someone. She's really important to me…"

The first thought that ran across Gabriella's mind was Troy's mother. Didn't he just say she was always out though? Like her mom? Then another thought crossed her mind. Did he have a sister? She swore he said he was an only child, but had he been lying to her? Or worse, did he have a daughter? "Umm… yeah."

Troy's small smile stretched across his face. She could still tell he was bitter about argument, but was trying his best to hide it. His slightly trembling hand reached out to grab hers, just supporting Gabriella's statement about not making up his mind before. "Come on." He coaxed before leading Gabriella into the light kitchen.

The house was beautiful, so rich and vibrant with color. It was almost the complete opposite of her own. The black granite countertops matched perfectly with the pale wood that laced over the cupboards. Something about them just had a yellow glow, and he had a large glass door window overlooking the wooded backyard to see the snow still glittering down. "Just… don't say anything til you get to know her alright?" Troy requested with a glint of passion in his eyes. This scared Gabriella. She thought he said he usually lived alone when his mom wasn't there. Well, that was at least how she took it. "Sadie! Sadie girl come here!"

Gabriella barely registered that he would never call a human "girl" before she heard a soft "click" pitter on the hardwood. From the depths of a dark room behind the black refrigerator, Gabriella watched as a stunning Siberian husky came into view. Gabriella had never seen a dog like that before. She had an air of excellence, with her black and white coat shimmering beneath the golden lights. As soon as she turned her head towards her master, Gabriella was revealed to a sparkling blue eye, almost like Troy's, and then another cloudy cast one.

"She's gorgeous." Gabriella let out before the dog came charging towards Troy and jumped up on her two paws to rest them on his chest. A finally sincere laugh chuckled from his throat as he turned back to her proudly.

"Thanks… her name's Sadie."

Sadie turned her slender head towards the newcomer and immediately jumped down from Troy. She eagerly bounced to Gabriella, who dropped harshly to her knees and let the giggles roll from her tongue as Sadie barked happily. "Hey Sadie," She greeted before letting her tiny fingers gently run through her smooth silk. "How old is she?"

"One and a half." Troy commented happily before standing up and tenderly placing his back up against the light wall behind him.

"You are so beautiful." Gabriella praised in a normal voice, unlike some pet lovers she knew who smothered their pets in baby talk. She couldn't deny the relief that ripped through her body at the fact that Troy was neither a father nor a psycho that murdered girls and locked them up in his house. Sadie's cloudy eye gazed up at her approvingly, while her fluffy tail wagged furiously.

"Yeah… you are." Troy mumbled making Gabriella's eyes almost double in size. The chocolate brown orbs shot up to his face to meet his expression.

He had looked at her before, but this was different. Troy's eyes were the same color of the crashing waves of an ocean, so vibrant of a blue that it could have melted inside her. The radiance of tender caring dripped from the irises. His muscular back leaned up against the tan wall with the navy blue long sleeved shirt riding up a little on his side so she could see the illuminant skin with desire radiating. The strong arms were folded across his chest. And his smile. The small line on his lips curving in passion made Gabriella's heart pitter with delight. Troy stared at her like she was a gold mind, an angel, a lover. She had never seen the look before, but it made her heart soar through the window and into the swirling snow filled sky.

With that he pushed his back off the wall to catch momentum and strode to her. Her skin started to prickle with longing as he slowly bent down and rested his knees on the hardwood flooring. Never once did his twinkling blue eyes leave hers as his caring hand reached out and softly stroked down the side of his animal.

Neither one said anything when the two hand brushed against each other while attempting to pet Sadie. The heat of the room exploded in sexual tension, making evident to the three there. Sadie whimpered, obviously feeling the change of atmosphere and both teenagers dropped their hands uselessly to the floor.

She didn't understand what was going on, why they were having such a connection. Maybe it was the fact that Troy had finally revealed something to her. Maybe it was just from the frustration of not being together and Gabriella thinking that Troy was off doing other things. Or maybe it was just the fact that both of them were so heated before, that now everything was calming after the storm. Well, before the other pleasurable storm that would brew between the two.

Silence filled the bright kitchen, which heightened the sensuality. Troy delicately reached up to send fireworks through her cheek. Sadie seemed to have gotten the hint that she was no longer going to be given attention, as she sadly got up and trotted towards the living room. Gabriella felt the heart in her chest thumping loudly. They had kissed before, but something was different about Troy's actions that made her fall weak in the knees. Something was very different right now. She could feel it deep inside her heart, but yet she was far from discovering the answer to the looks and desperation draping Troy's figure.

Time came to a halt as their lips found each others. Electric passionate waves rippled through her veins where poison was less than twenty minutes ago. Things could change so rapidly, though Gabriella was the least bit complaining. Troy's dominant hands gripped at Gabriella's side and gently pulled her up onto his soft lap before she snaked her arms around his neck. Droplets of desire clung to her skin as Troy gently pulled away and placed small, tender kisses against the base of her neck.

She loved when he was hot and heavy, but she loved this passionate tender side just as much. Maybe it was because deep down she knew it was because he wanted to kiss her, and not because he was trying to murder whatever was going on in his brain. Nor did she care much. But she was still curious onto why this was feeling different. Why there was so much more need now than before, yet not in the painful need. In the, dare she say it, loving need?

Their lips smacked apart before Troy's forehead collided with hers. He wasn't angry anymore, which was the best thing that could have happened. The night started out horrendous, but now she wouldn't have traded any of it away. Funny how things can start out painful and end up beautiful.

"So… you want me to give you the tour of my room?" His husky voice requested with Gabriella unable to contain the smile stretching across her face.

"Lead the way." She whispered seductively back. Troy's strong arms transferred her into a bridal position before pulling her upwards, an unfamiliar look in his eyes that had been written there all night.

She had absolutely no idea the look was the sign of Troy finally falling in love.

A/N: Sorry for not updating as quickly, but like I said I'm REALLY busy this time of year, so this is more what it will be like. And I hope you guys liked this chapter. I know a lot of people said they wanted to see their relationship from Troy's angle, and don't worry, you will. The next chapter should have a bit more of from Troy's side of seeing things. So thanks for reading! You guys rock and your reviews make my day! Thank you! :D