A/N- I apologize for taking so long with this chapter. I had originally wrote this last month, but my beta didn't like it, so I add to add a lot. It went from three pages to six pages. So, a bunch of thanks to my beta, SiriusLuver16, she really helped a ton.

Chapter 5

"I cannot believe I ate that!" Gabriella cried as she and Troy got back to her apartment. To get rid of the aftertaste, she had eaten five mints. Still, she could taste her lunch in her mouth.

"I cannot believe you ate that!" Troy agreed, as he leaned on the metal door.

When Zeke had first opened the restaurant, he wanted something original on his menu. Troy had put together a combo in sandwich form, that he had liked. Despite that, when Zeke tried it, he didn't love it nearly as much as Troy had. Still, Troy insisted that somebody would eat it. Nobody had, except Gabriella.

"Why is that your usual?" Gabriella questioned. "It's like...like what I assume being run over by a lawnmower would taste like." She said, with not much exaggeration. She had complained, and made gagging noises the whole way back to her apartment.

"You didn't have to eat the entire thing, you know?"

"But, Zeke made it. If I didn't eat it, I might be making the wrong impression. He'd think I'm a snob. Plus, he might think that I'm screwed up or something, with having a child. I do not want one of your friends' hating me." She said as she got her key out, and unlocked her front door.

"Here you go." The waitress set down the plates in front of the Troy and Gabriella, and left the table. All of the staff stood by the counter closest to Troy, to see if the unfamiliar girl could actually keep the food down.

"Five bucks says she doesn't eat it at all."

"Make it ten. And five says she throws it up."

"Deal."

"So, this looks, um, appetizing." Gabriella claimed hesitantly, as she looked at the sandwich in front of her. It had anchovies, mustard, and olives, all sprinkled on top. Underneath, she could see a mixture of ham, turkey, lettuce, tomato, and tuna. In between the ham and turkey, was a dash of oregano, and a spoonful of guacamole. In between the turkey and bread, was a dollop of mayonnaise.

"It is." Troy grabbed his sandwich and took a huge bite. He swallowed it with eagerness. He watched her in amusement as she picked of a little piece, and threw it into her mouth. She grimaced at the taste, but didn't admit it.

"Good, right?" Troy smiled mischievously, and took another bite.

"Oh, yeah. Great." She replied sarcastically. An African American girl had started walking over to the couple. She was watching them from the side, and decided that if Troy had finally found a girl, she was going to get to know her.

"Hey Troy," She said, when she got to the table. Gabriella looked at her nervously, wondering if maybe this was Troy's secret girlfriend.

"Oh, hey, Taylor." Troy stated awkwardly. He looked over at Gabriella, who was turning red, he realized she might get the wrong idea.

"Are you going to introduce us, or just make me stand here uncomfortably, while your girl thinks that I'm your girlfriend, that just found out that you're cheating on me."

"Uh, okay. Taylor, this is Gabriella. Gabriella, this is one of my best friends, Taylor." Taylor stuck her hand out, and Gabriella politely shook it.

"Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you too." Gabriella sighed, getting rid of the lump that was forming in her throat and newly fluttering butterflies.

"Don't you have work?" Troy intervened. No doubt Taylor would shower Gabriella with questions that would be prying into her personal life. She's done that before, and has sent a few running, their sanity at their heels.

"Don't worry, I won't ruin your date. You're going to tell me about it later." Taylor turned around, and walked away, as though nothing happened.

"Don't mind her. She's just protective." Troy stated, unsure of how to explain Taylor.

"I don't mind. She seems nice."

"Yeah, that she is." Troy took another bite. Gabriella had decided to ask Troy twenty questions, to get to know him better.

"So, what's one of your hobby's besides basketball."

"Well, I golf. And, I'm kind of a video game nerd." He looked down, ashamed of playing childish games.

"Interesting." Gabriella ripped a petite piece of the sandwich off, and tossed it into her mouth. "Where in the world would you most like to visit?"

"Fez."

"You want to go to Fez? What the hell is in Fez?"

"Many things."

"Alright" Gabriella replied skeptically. "When was your last relationship and how long did it last?" She asked.

"Almost a year ago, and it lasted a few months." He answered honestly.

"And..uh...what was her name?" Gabriella asked quietly.

"Lidia." He answered without thinking.

"Huh," she practically mumbled. "So, what's the worst nightmare you've ever had?" She tilted her head, and smiled evilly.

"Okay, so, I'm standing in the middle of the gym at East High School, you know, where I work? So, I'm, standing there and all of a sudden all these basketballs start falling from the ceiling, right? So, then I start screaming, and when I start screaming, baseballs are getting thrown at me. Then, I start running, and I'm halfway down the hallway before I realize that I'm completely naked. Then, all of my students are coming out of the lockers, and they're laughing. They're not only laughing, but they're all zombie like, and coming after me.

So, then, they start getting closer, and closer, until finally, one of them gets so close that he's like, grabbed my ear. Then, he actually pulls my ear off, and I scream, like one of those girl screams from horror movies, and I hold where my ear is supposed to be. I pull my hand away after feeling sticky stuff on my hand, and when I look at it, my entire hand is covered in strawberry jelly." Troy stops to take a bite of his sandwich, and a sip of his drink.

"I mean, I absolutely hate strawberry jelly, almost as much as a vegan hates meat. It appears that zombie's are attracted to jelly, so then, they all went for my hand, and ate it off. And then I woke, screaming bloody murder. My neighbor had woken up by the loudness of my yell."

"Wow. That's some dream." She took a sip of her water.

"It was." They stared into each others' eyes, seeing the humor fade away, and a different kind of emotion invade. Passion. The questions continued , some making him smile, and some making him shift in his seat.

Gabriella was able to eat the entire meal without making a comment about the taste.

The staff that had made bets, all lost the game, for they thought Gabriella couldn't stand the meal. They were wrong. Only one was brave enough to admit it. "Oh my God! She actually ate it!" An older waiter said.

Gabriella stifled a giggle, while Troy sat there, laughing like he just saw a unicorn sit on Santa.

"One day, I'm going to get you back for that. And, it's not going to be pretty." She threatened, as they got up to leave.

" He'll be fine, I promise." He watched her open her door, and wondered what was going to happen from there.

"Why don't you come in?" She grinned lightly and opened the door. She walked in, hoping Troy would follow. He did. They saw Sharpay sitting on Gabriella's couch, reading a gossip magazine.(It was Sharpay's, no doubt) She looked up as they ascended towards her.

"Hey. How was lunch?" Sharpay asked in a teasing tone.

"It was good. How is Zac?" Gabriella mocked Sharpay's voice.

"He was good." Sharpay looked over at the couple. She looked Troy up and down, looking for flaws. Troy started to get uncomfortable on the blond's stare, and shifted his weight between his feet. Gabriella felt his uneasiness.

"So, you should probably be getting back to work now." Gabriella subtly told her friend to leave. Sharpay looked at her like she had six arms and a tail. She wanted to stay and observe her best friend's new boyfriend. It's not like she's met the guy.

"Yeah, sure, but can I talk to you for a second?" Sharpay asked as she grabbed her pink coat and opened for the door, motioning for Gabriella to follow her.

"Sure." Gabriella said as she walked out of the apartment, but not without sneaking a glance at Troy, who was still standing there awkwardly. Gabriella shut the door, and turned to Sharpay.

"Why didn't tell me you were going on a date?" Sharpay asked feeling hurt.

"I just...I knew you were going to say something that would have blown the whole thing out of proportion." Gabriella tried to explain.

"You really think I would do that?"

"You have before. You would get all excited because it could be the relationship that would help me get over Ryan. You would say that this date means a lot, not only to me, but to Zac. You would have freaked me out, and unintentionally talked me out of the date. I really like him. I didn't want to be freaked out with Troy, so I lied. I'm sorry." She rationalized.

"Okay, just be sure to tell me the details later." Sharpay said, still a little upset. She smiled her forgiving smile, and said goodbye. Gabriella went back into the apartment and found Troy sitting on the couch, with Zac next to him.

"What does Troy mean?" Zac asked.

"It's a city in Turkey." Troy answered.

"Do you like the name Troy?"

"Yes."

"Would you rather be named Joe?"

"No."

"What about Fred?"

"No."

"Nick? or Sam?" Troy shook his head playfully, and he fidgeted some more. Zac sneered seeing Troy not annoyed by his current questioning. He wanted his mom and dad get back together, and he knew(even though he was five) that Troy and his mom were dating. Zac thought he could annoy the man away.

"What's going on in here?" Gabriella interrupted before Troy could answer a clever remark.

"I'm being interrogated." Troy answered.

"Huh. Get anything out of him?" Gabriella asked while she picked up Zac and brought him to the couch.

"Nope." Zac smiled uneasily.

"Maybe I should get going. I have work." Troy stood up, and walked toward the door.

"Yeah, okay." She walked after him. "I'll call you." They quickly kissed, and he walked out of the apartment.

"So, what do you think of him?" Gabriella sat back on the couch, and rested Zac on her lap.

"I don't know."

"Well, was he nice?" Zac shrugged his little shoulders, and looked away. Zac wanted to scare Troy away, rather than tell his mom he hated the man. He did think he was nice, but too nice. There had to be something wrong with him, Zac thought to himself.

"Alright, mister, did you have lunch?" He shook his head vigorously.

"Come on. I will make you something." She lifted him off her lap, and on the ground and walked into the kitchen, Zac tailgated behind.

* * * *

Gabriella got up the next morning, but it was especially early. Her apartment was filled with the scent of bacon. She got out of bed with curiosity, and walked to the kitchen, where the source of the smell was.

When she entered the kitchen, she saw a blond who was flipping pancakes and was singing a jazzy tune.

"Get out of my house before I call that cop with the really big mole." She said referring to the ex-wrestler cop they had living in the apartment next door. The person turned around and looked at Gabriella with a big smile.

"No need to do that. I just figured you were still kind of upset at me. I found the key under the mat, and let myself in." Gabriella sighed. I better change that hiding spot, she thought to herself.

"Ryan." She surly stated. "I thought I made it clear that you wouldn't be involved in my life. I have Troy now. I told you that once you run out of this family, you won't have a chance to do it again."

"Zac doesn't like Troy." Ryan smugly stated. He wasn't sure that was true, but wanted Gabriella to have doubt.

"Please. If he doesn't like Troy, Zac would tell me." She said, getting angry at Ryan for jumping to conclusions.

"No, he wouldn't have. Zac loves you too much to tell you the truth. He'd rather you be happy with some..some...pretty boy, than you be upset that you're alone. Although, he would prefer if we were together. I do. You're making a mistake dating this guy." Ryan said, stepping closer to Gabriella. He had been trying to kiss her since he had gotten back home. He figured, that if she would kiss him, she would remember the spark.

Gabriella stepped back, almost tripping over a chair. "Get out."

"What?"

"I said, get out. You will not come into my home, and tell me I'm making a mistake. Marrying you was a mistake. I can't believe what big ego you have. You think you can just come back, expecting me to welcome you back with open arms? No, that's not how it works. I can't have you just popping in and out of my sons life whenever you decide it's best. He needs someone that can be there for him for all times." She said, as she pointed to the door. "Now, get out."

Hurt, Ryan walked out of the apartment, and frowned. That wasn't how breakfast was supposed to go. Hopefully, Zac would be willing to talk to Gabriella for him.

Zac had listened in on most of their conversation. He hadn't liked what he heard. His mom was so resistant to letting Ryan back into her life, he had to prove that Troy wasn't better than Ryan. He just needed to think of a way.

So, maybe Zac barely remembered Ryan, but he remembered the good times they had. He had remembered all the happy moments that his family has had. But, he also remembers how hard Gabriella had it after Ryan left. It was rough, having only one parent, who had to pay the bills, buy the food, and take care of Zac. She was having trouble, and didn't think that she could handle it. Zac could always hear Gabriella crying, and seemed to think that if Ryan were to come back into their life, it would fix all of her problems.

So, the little tyke walked back into his room, and quietly closed the door, so he wouldn't perturb Gabriella any more than she was already. He lied down on his bed, and pulled the covers over himself. If he was going to get rid of Troy, he needed to do it creatively, not just using the "intentions" speech with him. In the mean time, Zac was going to evaluate Troy, and try to see if there were any secrets up this mans sleeve.

A/N- please review, it would make my day!!! I also hoped you liked the chapter! Next chapter will be up as soon as possible.