DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.

A/N: I'm back!!!!! And really happy about it too! Anyway, I want to say thanks again for all the awesome reviews, last time I checked, which was about an hour ago, I had two hundred and thirty-nine reviews and only for five chapters! So, thanks to everyone that's reviewed!!! And I know you're all really excited about this chapter, so I won't ramble!!!

Convincing You To Fall

CHAPTER 6

CONVINCED HER TO FALL

Sixteen-year old Troy took a deep breath as he began to scale the tree that grew right beside fourteen-year old Gabriella's balcony. He was worried about her. Heck, he'd been worried about her when he'd picked her up off the floor after nearly beating a guy senseless. Pulling himself up higher, Troy let out a breath as he remembered the look of absolute terror on her face when he'd knelt down to see if she was alright. He hadn't meant to lose control, he really hadn't. But all control he had over his temper had been scattered when he'd rounded a corner to find Gabriella hugging herself and crying as a guy he knew from basketball, pushed her up against a locker. He barely remembered dragging the guy away from his hysterical best friend and punching him in the jaw. Troy wasn't aware of how many times he hit the guy, if he was, he would probably have understood a little better as to why he was in so much trouble. Reaching the top of the tree, Troy swung himself over the balcony railing with the ease of someone who had done it many times before. Straightening, Troy walked over to the doors that led to Gabriella's room and opened them noiselessly. A skill that he had acquired because of a tendency for revenge, which was a result of the practical joke war they'd had a few years back. Shutting the door just as silently Troy turned to the room and froze.

He felt like he'd been hit with a ton of bricks. Gabriella was lying on her bed, facing him, her eyes closed and her bed lamp on. Light bounced of the brown curls that tumbled over her shoulder and neck, his eyes traveled up to her face and for the first time in the nine years he'd known her, Troy was struck by how beautiful she was. Her face was innocently beautiful, her ebony eyes hidden beneath closed eyelids, her mouth relaxed in a soft smile, her entire expression serene. She was breathtaking, how had he never noticed it before? How had he never noticed how stunning she was? It was like he was seeing her for the first time. The dimple in her chin, the shape of her mouth, the prominence of her cheekbones, her face was without a doubt the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Even though he found himself surrounded by attractive girls, Troy had never seen a face like Gabriella's. It was one that didn't need make-up to look good, its softness, a remnant of her youth, gave her face exactly what it needed.

Taking in a deep breath, Troy rubbed the back of his neck as he contemplated leaving her room. The decision was taken out of his hands as Gabriella's eyes fluttered open and the knowing look in her eyes told him she'd known he was coming. Offering her a weak smile, Troy kicked off his shoes and slid onto the bed with her.

"Hi." He said as the sleep cleared from her eyes. Gabriella looked at him and sighed, shifting closer to him, her head moved to rest on his chest and she closed her eyes again.

"Don't you ever lose your temper the way you did today, again." She said quietly and Troy was silent as the underlying fear in her voice told him how frightened she'd been when he'd lost control.

"Sorry." He said after a moment and Gabriella shifted again, her eyes opening to look at him with disdain.

"No you're not." She snapped at him and Troy raised his eyebrows at her, already aware that an argument was looming and wanting to avoid it.

"You're right. I'm not. Did I scare you?" Gabriella shifted away from him at the gentleness of his tone, hating the fact that he knew her so well. Sitting up, she shook her hair out of her eyes and avoided looking at him.

"Yes." She replied softly and Troy sat up as well, feeling slightly awkward as for the first time ever he realized the closeness of their bodies.

"Brie, look at me." He demanded gently and Gabriella reluctantly turned her face to him. Troy was once again struck by the beauty of her face, the light from her bedside lamp bouncing off it and promptly forgot to continue.

"What?" Gabriella asked, shifting as she wondered what he was staring at. Troy snapped out of his daze and looked at her with gentle firmness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry that I scared you. I really am. But you've got to understand that I only did it because he was hurting you. I don't like seeing you upset Brie, I hate it. I lost control of my temper because you were hurting." Troy said softly and Gabriella felt her eyes well with tears as she realized how true his words were. Troy, seeing how close she was to breaking point, pulled her against his chest, ignoring the flash of realization as he realized just how perfectly she fitted against him.

"Okay." She nodded against his chest and Troy fought the urge to kiss her hair and instead began to rock her gently. Wondering exactly why he'd only just noticed her.

Troy smiled slightly at the memory; he could remember the day after he'd beaten the guy up. Everyone at his school had realized he meant business when it came to Gabriella and no-one had touched her since. Although he had to admit that it had taken a tiny bit of persuasion to convince Jason, Chad and Zeke not to go after the guy after the three of them had found out what had happened to Gabriella. Troy glanced out the window and clenched and unclenched his fist as he saw how close they were to Gabriella's house. He was beyond nervous, by the time the limousine that himself, Zeke, Chad and Jason and their dates were sharing, had arrived at his place. He'd run up a list of over two dozen reasons as to why he shouldn't take Gabriella to the prom. Most, as Zeke had been helpful enough to point out while forcing him into the limousine, were just the same thing rewritten in a new and inventive way and that they all basically pointed to the fact that Troy was just plain scared of what was in store. The comment about him being scared, Troy resented almost as much as he knew it was true. He was scared, of what he still hadn't entirely comprehended. Glancing around the car, Troy grinned when he saw Jason whispering into his date, Amber's, ear and then watched in disturbed amusement as Chad's hand disappeared up Vanessa's skirt.

"Don't look dude, don't look." Troy glanced over at Zeke who was wearing an expression that he was sure mirrored his own as they both glanced at Chad and Vanessa again.

"Do you think we should disturb them?" He asked and Zeke shrugged.

"No, let them go. They're sitting right next to the door." Zeke replied as the limousine came to a stop in front of Gabriella's house, Troy looked at Zeke who looked slightly nervous.

"Dude, why are you nervous?" He asked and Zeke glanced at him and then shrugged.

"No idea. You ready?" He asked and Troy nodded and they both got out of the car, both bumping Chad purposely as they moved past him. Shoving one hand in his pocket, Troy walked up to Gabriella's front door, Zeke close behind him.

"Troy, why didn't you get Gabriella a corsage? It's traditional, isn't it?" Zeke asked as Troy knocked on the door. Troy looked down at the two red roses he'd gotten from the flower shop and grinned a little.

"Brie's not really a fan of the whole corsage thing." He replied as the door swung open and a breathless Taylor appeared.

"Hi Troy, come in." She said and Troy looked at the brunette and wondered exactly why she was out of breath.

"Hey Taylor, is she ready?" Troy asked as they stopped by the foot of the stairs and heard the strain of music from Gabriella's room come to a halt. Taylor looked at Troy and shrugged.

"Yeah." She replied and then ran back upstairs, leaving the two males standing at the foot of the stairs, exchanging a strange look.

"They can't be too long. We have to get their on time." Zeke muttered impatiently and then Troy watched in fascination as his friends face went blank as he caught sight of Sharpay walking down the stairs towards them.

Sharpay smiled at her boyfriend as she tossed her blonde curls over her shoulder. She knew she looked good and seeing her boyfriends face was enough confirmation that the form fitting black halter dress, with streaks of hot pink was a choice she wasn't going to regret. The contrast of the dress against the paleness of her skin and striking blonde hair was enough for people to notice how beautiful she actually was. Reaching the bottom step, she smiled at Troy who was looking at his friend, amusement written all over his face as Zeke struggled for words.

"Shar……you look amazing." Troy choked back a laugh at Zeke's fumbled attempt at a compliment and grinned even harder when Sharpay blushed as he slipped the corsage he'd bought her onto her wrist.

"Zeke, you should have seen your face dude, it was absolutely………hila……whoa." Troy's sentence trailed into a disorientated mess as he turned back to the stairs and saw Gabriella standing at the top of them. Sharpay and Zeke both looked at Troy curiously as he continued to stare wordlessly up the stairs.

She was breathtaking. That thought and a million others flashed through Troy's mind as Gabriella smiled at him nervously and began to descend the stairs. Troy's mouth went dry as he stared at her, unable to believe how beautiful she was. The strapless midnight blue gown fell to the floor and hugged her soft curves. His eyes traveled up over her body, following the curve of her shoulders, to her face and he rocked back on his heels. He'd never thought she would look more stunning then the night he'd spent rocking her, but he was proved wrong once again. Her eyes were highlighted by dark eyeliner and even darker eye shadow; her skin seemed to be glowing and the shape of her mouth was highlighted by what he knew was her regular lip-gloss. Her brown curls were pinned to one side and fell over her shoulder, the deep brown only a subtle difference from the color of her dress. But it was the nervousness in her eyes that made her all the more beautiful.

Gabriella tried to smile at Troy as she walked down the stairs but found that the butterflies in her stomach wouldn't let her. Instead, she concentrated on breathing in and out as she stared into Troy's eyes that held the look she still didn't have figured out. She reached the bottom of the stairs and for a moment they both just looked at each other. Gabriella taking in the simple black suit her wore, in the back of her mind she registered the fact that he'd listened to her when she'd told him to wear the black tie. God, how was she meant to get through the entire night with Troy when he was standing in her living room looking like that? He looked so gorgeous, the simplicity of his suit suited him more then she had ever thought it would. The shortness of his hair and the darkness, something that she'd liked, made his eyes more prominent. She bit her lip as she felt him take her hand and knew she went red as he brought it to his lips.

"Hi." She whispered, both forgetting that Sharpay and Zeke were in the room and watching the two in complete and utter interest.

"Hi." He replied and pulled her down the last step and up against him. Gabriella turned her face towards him and wanted to smile, but instead found herself once again swept up in his eyes.

Troy looked down at the girl against him and wanted nothing more then to kiss her. Instead he pressed the two roses into the hand that wasn't caught in his own and watched as her eyes flicked from his and to the two roses she was now holding. He watched as she went a deeper shade of red as she saw the two flowers.

"Thank you." Gabriella said softly, the smile she hadn't been able to find now spreading across her face as she looked at the two roses in her hand and realized he'd remembered how she didn't like corsages.

"Your welcome." Troy replied and then stepped back from her, his fingers entwining with hers as he turned to Zeke and Sharpay who smirked at him. Gabriella turned her head to look up the stairs up at Taylor who had watched the scene with a smirk on her face.

"Hi Zeke." She said turning her attention to Zeke and Sharpay, whose smirks both dropped from their faces as the brunette looked at them.

"Hi Gabs. You ready to go?" Zeke asked and she nodded.

"Yes." She replied and Zeke and Sharpay walked out the door. For a moment, Troy and Gabriella stood there and then he looked at her.

"Where are your parents?" He asked and Gabriella felt the butterflies in her stomach calm at the subject.

"Away. Dad had some conference and wanted Mom to go along with him." She replied and he nodded, Relieved that he didn't have to pose for photos when all he could think about was what it would be like to kiss her.

"Alright, come on. Oh, when we get to the car……don't look at Chad. Last time I checked his hand was up Vanessa's skirt and it was more disturbing then when our Dad's decided to be 'cool' for a day." Troy said suddenly and Gabriella laughed her hand relaxing in his as they walked out the door, the nerves that had made her stomach churn disappearing as she relaxed.

"If I do, all I can say is that I've been warned." She giggled as she shut the door and they casually walked towards the limousine. Troy relaxing as he felt himself fall into a familiar conversation. Reaching the limousine Troy suddenly remembered that Taylor had answered the door.

"Brie? What about Taylor?" He asked and Gabriella turned to look up at him and then shrugged.

"She'll eat the chocolate and then leave." She replied and Troy raised his eyebrows at her.

"She'll only eat the chocolate?" He inquired and Gabriella giggled at his inquisitive voice and nodded.

"Yes Troy only the chocolate. All the leftovers, coke and cereal will be there when we get back." She teased him and Troy grinned sheepishly as she mentioned his fetish for eating cereal in the middle of the night.

"Right." He said and Gabriella laughed again as Chad's head poked out from the window, he was scowling as the two turned to him.

"Do you two ever want to get to prom so you can confess your undying love for each other?" He demanded and suddenly both Troy and Gabriella felt the nerves that had plagued them both sprung up again and Troy coughed and Gabriella blushed.

"Coming mother." Troy muttered and let go of Gabriella's hand, allowing her to slide into the limousine first, sliding in after him, Troy glared at Chad as he settled himself next to Gabriella and the car started moving. Chad just shrugged and then returned to nuzzling Vanessa's neck.

HSM-HSM-HSM-HSM-HSM

Gabriella bit her lip as she looked around the ballroom that was holding the East High prom. The prom was in full swing and she hadn't seen Troy since they'd arrived and he'd been dragged off by his friends, the look in his eyes told her that he hadn't been very pleased about the fact that he'd been whisked off by his friends. It wasn't that she wasn't having fun, because she could see him and watch him as he grinned and laughed with his friends, his eyes flicking over to her every now and then.

"You know, you could drag him away." Gabriella jumped when she heard a voice she knew well spoke loudly in her ear.

"Oh my God! Cleo! You scared me!" Gabriella gasped as she spun in her seat and came face to face with one of Troy's longer lasting girlfriends who had made the effort to get to know Gabriella during the course of the relationship.

"Oh sorry Gabs. So, Troy finally asked you out huh?" Cleo asked settling herself in the seat next to the brunette who glanced quickly at Troy before turning her attention to the delicate redhead who was grinning from ear to ear.

"What? No, kind of, I don't know." Gabriella replied, giving Cleo the confirmation that it was definitely a date.

"So……Troy asked you to prom, didn't mention whether or not it was a date and is now being incredibly short tempered with all of his friends because he's spending time with his not date?" Cleo asked slyly and watched as Gabriella went red at her words and glanced at Troy, who grinned at her from where he was standing.

"Um, is there an answer to that question that won't result in the words 'in love with Troy'?" Gabriella asked and Cleo laughed at Gabriella's face.

"Oh Gabriella, I think those words are always going to come up in any conversation, with any person who has had the eyes to see you and Troy together. I mean Troy looks at you in a way that you don't see every day." Cleo said and Gabriella cocked her head at the girl and stared at her.

"How do you know that? For all I know, he looks at me the way he does when I've just woken up." Gabriella asked and Cleo laughed at the stubborn denial Gabriella was in and shook her head.

"Gabriella, stop for a moment, just stop and think. I know Sharpay's spoken to you about you and Troy, but I'm not going to ask you about Troy. I'm going to ask you about your feelings for Troy, Gabriella you can't tell me you don't feel something for him because you wouldn't be sitting here. You would at home sending Troy messages. Gabriella, tell me how you really feel about Troy." Cleo asked softly and Gabriella stared at her. For a moment she thought about lying and then she sighed. A long, deep sigh that had Cleo grin knowingly as Gabriella turned her attention back to Troy who was in the process of untangling himself from the hoards of people who had managed to corner him.

"I love him." She replied surprising herself with the honesty of her words, but knowing that they were as true as they had been when she'd first realized them nearly a year ago. The shock of realizing how she felt wasn't what had scared her, in fact the way she'd slipped into how she felt hadn't scared her at all.

"Why haven't you told him?" Cleo asked and Gabriella shrugged, feeling reluctant to answer.

"I don't know." She replied and then realized how true it was. She had no idea why she'd never told Troy how she felt, everything that Sharpay had told her, even Chad on the odd on the occasion, and the look in his eyes, had told her that she could tell him how she felt without any hesitation.

"Then why haven't you told him?" Cleo asked gently and Gabriella opened her mouth to reply when she felt two hands drop of her shoulder. Leaning her head back, Gabriella looked up and saw Troy, who looked down at her and grinned, moving his hand away from her shoulder and stroking away the stray curl that was in her eyes away.

"Hi." He said and Gabriella smiled up at him, her head resting on his abdomen as butterflies erupted in her stomach.

"Welcome back." She replied and Troy smiled at her and then turned his attention to his ex-girlfriend who was watching the two wearing a smirk Troy was all too familiar with. It was exactly the same smirk that Sharpay, Zeke, Jason and Chad had been wearing for the past half-hour he'd been away from Gabriella.

"Hey Cleo. What's up?" He asked and Cleo smiled, the two had maintained an easy friendship since they'd broken up a year ago.

"Just talking to Gabriella, who I can tell won't be needing me for entertainment anymore." She said standing up and grinning at the two. Troy looked at her as he unconsciously wound some of Gabriella's curls around his fingers, he watched as Cleo sent Gabriella a meaningful look that he decided he'd ask about later and then smirked at him mouthing the words 'don't screw up' before waving at them and leaving. Troy narrowed his eyes at his ex-girlfriends back before seating himself in her now vacant chair.

"So, Miss Montez what have you been doing-" Gabriella found herself cutting him off.

"For the past half-hour when you were off with your friends?" She asked and Troy winced, she said it lightly and he knew that she wasn't really bothered by it, but he still felt guilty.

"Yeah. Sorry, I didn't realize that they would do that and-" Troy broke off when Gabriella laughed at him.

"Troy, I've known your for eleven years, have met more then ten and less then twenty-five of your girlfriends, how am I not meant to know what you do when you arrive at something as big as this?" She asked and Troy blushed slightly at her words and then shrugged.

"Why is it that you have me figured out before I even have a chance to form reasons in my head?" Troy asked keeping his eyes on Gabriella who seemed to be deliberately avoiding looking at him.

"Because you do it to me all the time and claim it's an 'educated guess'." She replied and Troy burst into laughter at the look in her eyes when she said it. He knew she hated it when he knew exactly what was wrong and then told her it was all an educated guess.

"Hey, its part of my charm." He said and Gabriella shook her head at him, grinning and then looked up when the loud hip-hop and rock music came to a halt. The strains of a softer, slower song and Troy looked at Gabriella who was staring at her lap.

"Brie, would you like to dance?" He asked and her eyes snapped to meet his own, the soft look in her eyes telling him all he needed to know. Taking her hand, Troy pulled her up from her seat and lead her toward the dance floor, his back to the crowd as he kept his eyes on her. Gabriella blushed as she saw the looks the couples on the dance floor were giving her but her eyes never left Troy's. She felt, rather then saw, Troy move his hand and her body spun gracefully before being pulled into his embrace. Their fingers interlaced, his arm tight around her waist, her hand resting on his shoulder, their foreheads a whisper from touching.

"The strands in your eyes, that color them wonderful, stop me and steal my breath……" Troy had never known that he could concentrate on one person so intently. But that's what he was doing with Gabriella, he couldn't take his eyes off her and he didn't want to. She looked so beautiful in the light that shone on her, her brown eyes sparkling as their bodies moved together. He didn't see Sharpay and Zeke swirl by them and grin at the two or Jason slip past with a knowing look or even Chad stopping to watch the two. The only person he could see was Gabriella, the only thing he could feel was her body against his own, the only scent hers. Doubts, if he'd ever had them since the time in the gym, flew from his mind and were replaced with an overwhelming desire to act on what he felt instead of to ignore and push it away.

Gabriella felt every reservation she'd ever had about her feelings disappear as soon as his forehead touched hers. Her eyes closed in pure contentment and her hand shifted to bring him even closer to her. Every things else had faded away as her eyes drifted open and met his amazing blue ones, which were dark with the look she wanted desperately to understand.

"Brie, did I tell you how beautiful you looked when I saw you on the stairs at your place?" Troy asked and Gabriella smiled at him.

"No." She replied and Troy's hand slid from her waist up to her other arm. Sliding along it, Troy found her other hand and took it in his own, before pulling her off the dance floor. Gabriella followed willingly, not noticing the way many of the couples on the dance floor watched them go with curiosity and how the people milling around the dance floor parted as the Wildcat superstar led what was considered one of the most privileged girls off the dance floor and out of the ballroom. She giggled when Troy pulled her past two teachers deep in discussion and into the hotel lobby, which was next to the ballroom. He continued to pull her and before Gabriella could ask, she found herself standing by the hotel's pool, looking up at Troy curiously.

"Troy, why did you drag me out of the room?" She asked laughingly and then all laughter died as she met his eyes and the darkness of them, the storm in them had her wanting to step back. But she found she couldn't when his hand left hers and touched her face, his thumb stroking her cheek.

"Because I wanted to tell you how amazing you looked without shouting over music and I wanted to do this without anyone watching us." Troy said quietly his face inching towards her own, the light from the pool bouncing off her confused features.

"Doing what?" She asked confused and then suddenly went very still as she realized how close his lips were to her own. Troy didn't bother to reply, instead he pressed his lips to his best friends for the first time, tentatively, not sure what to expect.

Gabriella was completely immobilized as she felt Troy's lips against her own, the hand on her cheek sliding down her neck and her shoulder to her arm and then she slowly started to kiss back. Her eyes shutting firmly as her arms wound around his neck and pulled him close to her, letting a soft 'mmm' come from the back of her throat and then allowed Troy to deepen the kiss, the tentative touch of his tongue against hers feeling Gabriella with an immense feeling of love. Slowly Troy pulled away and felt Gabriella's arms drift from his neck and find his hands.

"You're beautiful, do you know that?" He asked softly and Gabriella's eyes drifted open to look at him. An indescribable shyness came over her as she looked up into Troy's eyes and she looked away, not knowing what to say to him.

"Brie? What's wrong?" Troy asked and Gabriella stepped away from him wanting to tug her hands away and fold her arms.

"I……I just……why now Troy?" She asked, her small voice instantly setting of alarm bells in Troy's head. Gabriella wasn't sure what she was asking but she instantly knew it was a defense, against what she didn't know, and the look in his eyes told her he knew exactly what it was.

"What do you mean?" He asked, his thumbs rubbing small circles on her hands, refusing to let go of her hands when she gave a gentle tug. Gabriella bit her lip and looked down at their linked hands.

"Why now? For all I know, you could have just felt like doing that. You've had years Troy! Years to act, why did you do it now?" Gabriella demanded and Troy looked at her, wanting himself to be surprised by her reaction but knowing that it had been coming.

"Because I love you." Troy said softly and Gabriella jerked back, her eyes wide with shock as the words echoed through her head. He loved her. "Because for the last two years, ever since the night I spent rocking in your bedroom, you're constantly on my mind but not as my best friend. Every time I've been with you in the past two years, all I've wanted to do is kiss you." He continued and Gabriella took a deep breath and closed her eyes. He had to say something more, to convince her to fall from the edge.

"Convince me Troy." She whispered and Troy took a deep breath. Convince her to fall, he knew what he was asking.

"I promised myself that I would never hurt you, that I would never make you cry. I never acted on what I felt because I was afraid that I would hurt you the way I've hurt all my other girlfriends. So I promised myself that I wouldn't act on my feelings, that I wouldn't hurt you the way I hurt every other girl I've been out with. You mean so much to me Gabriella, that the thought of hurting and losing you was the one reason that I promised myself I would never do it." Troy said, his blue eyes open and honest, the look she'd never been able to identify suddenly painfully obvious as love. Slowly, Gabriella felt herself relax, closing her eyes she rested her head against his chest and breathed in his scent. His hands releasing hers and wrapping around her tightly. Hers creeping around his waist. Pulling away from him Gabriella looked up at him and smiled.

"I love you." She whispered and Troy let his forehead drop to rest on hers and sighed.

"Good. Because for a moment there I thought I'd never convince you to fall." He said softly and Gabriella giggled as his lips reclaimed hers and she melted into him while he lost himself the feeling of her, knowing that he'd convinced her to fall.

A/N: Okay so I'm now really worried that I just screwed that up! Oh God, its seven to five in the morning, I'm watching the concert for Princess Diana and am absolutely positive that I just managed to ruin the most important chapter for this story!!! Oh God, this is probably going to be the first time ever I've asked for reviews but I really need your thoughts on if I royally screwed up this chapter! I'm not sure about it at all! Anyway, I hope you liked it! Oh yeah, its not the end!!