Gabriella. Somewhere. Now.

I was still in darkness.

But the rain would come and go. Something that confused me to no end.

I'm always cold, which makes my thought slow and lethargic.

But that's not the point. I can think in this impenetrable darkness. There's a voice in my head, I can't recognize who it is, but it's telling me to remember.

Remember what?

Gabriella. Destiny Beach. Then.

I was caught in between so many things at the moment. It was the middle of summer, and I was graduating in eight months. It seemed like such a long period of time, but I secretly knew it wasn't. It would come swift and fast, the end always did.

All good things had to come to an end. The time span just varied.

The best four years of my life had whizzed by in a flash. All the years blurred together into one memory to when I looked back on them, I never witnessed the same one twice. Years flashed by in an instant. Relationships lasted a lifetime, whether we wanted them to or not.

Troy shifted on the hot sand next to me, draping a hand over his eyes in his sleep. The action made him look childish and I couldn't help but laugh. He groaned, squinting his eyes to look at me.

"How long was I out?" He stretched his hands out, finally resting them behind his neck.

"I don't know." I shrugged, glancing to the almost setting sun. "I just woke up a couple of minutes ago."

"Another good day." He smiled, wrapping an arm around my stomach.

"How do you know?" I flashed him a teasing smile. "You were asleep for half of it."

"I was with you." He said simply. "Therein, good day."

I couldn't help the blush that grew across my cheeks. I still couldn't believe that Troy Bolton, the captain of the East High Wildcats, was actually mine. Not only that, but I was his. And the funny thing was, I didn't care.

"You're blushing," his smile was teasing. The corners of his mouth pulled to his ears, and his teeth were just visible behind his lips. If my heart had the capability of stopping every time he threw me that smile, I would have been dead a long time ago. As it was, my heart rate just sped up, the thumps sounding in my head.

"Am not." He saw through my denial and his smile widened. "I was hoping the sunset would hide it." I grumbled.

"Don't hide it," he kissed my forehead and I had to concentrate on breathing. He pulled me closer to him, his arms going around my shoulders and I rested the side of my face against his bare chest.

There were other kids on the beach, some playing in the waves, other embracing their inner child with sandcastles. Taylor and Chad were in the waves, ducking under each one as they crashed towards the beach. A group of West High kids were farther down the beach, staying well away from the area that Troy and I were in.

It was the one week during the summer when all the upcoming seniors went to the beach. A preparation for senior beach week, the one most anticipated week of the summer. Hanging out with the same group of kids that would be with you in the beach houses you rented. It was all for fun, considering the real thing was coming closer and closer.

There it was again. The concept of time and the fact that it was running out. Fast.

Troy's arms tightened around me, the action making me look up. His jaw was clenched, his glare focused on the group of West high teens farther down the beach.

"What's wrong?" I knew the answer, but decided to ask anyway. I had recognized the tall blond boy Troy was glaring at the first time I looked up. Dillon Chase, West High point guard and A-class asshole.

"That Dillon kid keeps looking over here at you." I could tell he was trying to keep his voice level; he really didn't like the kid.

"Troy Bolton," I tried to drag him out of the anger, "are you jealous?"

He turned his head towards me, his eyes slightly horrified. "No."

I laughed, putting my hand on his cheek. "Good, because you have no reason to be." And then I kissed him. I hadn't meant it to turn into anything, but as always, it did. It was fire every time we touched, the blood in both our veins burning with passion and ecstasy. I was on his chest, my arms wrapping around his neck. He pushed against my back, but I couldn't move into him any further. We broke apart, took a breath and then continued.

"Excuse me." A hand tapped my shoulder. I ignored it. "Come on now—Gabriella I know you have to breathe sometime—Would you cut it out!" Taylor's hand dragged me away from Troy.

"What?" I asked jokingly, smiling up at her.

"Oh, don't give me that Gabriella Montez." Her eyes were patronizing but her voice was playful. "I'm your best friend, the least you can do is spare me on the make out sessions."

I looked over and saw Chad give Troy a playful punch in the shoulder, Troy swiping at his legs. Chad bounded away, Troy following to tackle him to the sand.

"What did you want?" I asked, watching the sun turn a purple–red.

"Chad wants ice cream." She replied in a board voice. "We thought we could go back to the houses, clean up, get the ice cream, and then go to the cliffs to finish watching the sunset."

I nodded my head. "Sounds like a plan."

Chad jogged over, Troy trailing behind him. "Did I hear ice cream?" He was panting, his tongue hanging out like a dog.

"Yup." I smiled and looked to Troy. "I'm going to go home and clean up."

"I'll get your ice cream so you can save our spot up on the cliffs." His eyes brightened. "The usual?"

I grinned at him. "Of course."

--XxX--

The sunset was halfway done when I got to the cliffs that overlooked the beach. The last three times we had come to the beach, we had watched either the sunset or sunrise. It was tradition and the best part was, no one else knew about the spot.

Troy and I had found it the summer of sophomore year, and it had been ours forever since. It had originally been only ours, but we had later told Chad and Taylor about it, and then eventually even Sharpay and Ryan.

I stood a couple feet from the edge; the breeze from the waves crashing against the rocks felt goods in the summer heat. The day had been humid, almost unbearable. But now that the sun was setting, it had tapered off a bit, making it the perfect atmosphere to watch the stars.

A twig snapped behind me and I froze. My legs were locked, even though my mind was flashing the "run now!" through my head. But my only movement was to turn, facing the new body that inhabited the secrecy of my secret place. I couldn't help but drop my guard a bit; something I would regret later.

"How did you know I was up here?" I said bluntly, crossing my arms over my chest.

Dillon Chase gave a grin. "Would you believe I'm psychic?"

I let out a tight laugh, almost mocking. "Psychotic is more like it."

His eyes hardened and I knew I had made a mistake. Fueling his anger was stupid, and Troy was nowhere to be seen. I was completely alone.

He started circling me, eyes analyzing every small movement I made to counteract his. "Let's get down to business." He stopped circling and took a step towards me. "I need you to give Troy a message for me."

I narrowed my eyes skeptically. "…A message…?" I repeated. "Why did you follow me for that?"

"It had to be you." He shrugged, reaching his hands behind his neck. "You're very amusing when you don't know what's going on."

"Why me?" I whispered. I was beginning to like the situation less and less. "Why do you need me to send your message?"

He flashed me an impish grin, his white teeth glowing in the sunset. My stomach dropped for some reason, I didn't like the smile at all. "Gabriella," he said evenly, making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, "you are the message."

Author's Notes: Uhh, the only thing I can say is that I graduate tomorrow…and that I hope you got the format now. When I say NOW, the content is happening in the present. When I say THEN, it's basically like a flashback, but I didn't want to write "flashback" all the time.