A/N: So I've had a weekend without internet which has given me a great deal of time to write this chapter, but not really any information for the places visited, so I've had to try to use my brain the best that I can and hope that I can describe these locations correctly. I was going to make this chapter longer, but I couldn't concentrate on my assignment knowing this was unfinished, so I'm going to leave it here before I fail my assignment. Don't forget to tell me what you thought in a lovely review :)
The next morning was more than chaotic in both of the motorhomes with everybody used to having a lot more space to get ready in the mornings mixed with the onset of major jetlag making tempers flare in a bad start to their vacation.
Troy smiled as he saw Gabriella be the first to exit her family's motorhome, her hair was messily pulled back and she was tugging a oversized dark grey hoody down her petite frame as she walked over towards him, sighing as she sat down on the chair next to Troy.
"Bad morning?" Troy asked with a sympathetic smile, he'd been woken up at the crack of dawn by his brothers, had to endure a 3 minute, barely warm shower and was feeling much less happy about the vacation than he had been the night before.
"My Dad is trying to convince me that I should go shopping with our Mom's," Gabriella grumbled. "Apparently he thinks we looked too "cosy" last night and he doesn't think it's wise for us to be alone together today."
"Are you serious?" Troy yelped, knowing the only thing that stopped him from curling back up in bed after his already horrific morning was the fact that he was spending time alone with the beauty sitting next to him.
"As a heart attack," Gabriella muttered. "My Mom is inside now trying to convince him that we're just friends and all that stuff."
"Shit," Troy mumbled. "I hope she can convince him."
The pair exchanged a quick look that confirmed to the other that they were hoping to become more than just friends and were well on the way to achieving that.
"Me too," Gabriella said, reaching up to brush some loose curls off her face. "You look like you didn't sleep much."
Troy shrugged as he took in Gabriella's also tired expression, "my brothers were up before the sun."
"So was Charlie. Actually I think she was up every hour of the night, it reminds me why I sleep with the radio on at night back home."
"Gabriella? Can we talk to you in here for a few minutes?" Maria's voice interrupted the pair and Gabriella groaned loudly.
"I swear I'm not talking to my Dad if he doesn't let me go with you today," Gabriella threatened as she adjusted her low slung black jeans.
Troy shot Gabriella a hopeful look as she headed back inside, his eyes wandering down her body as he realised that even though Gabriella had so far always been dressed in the most simple outfits, she looked far better than any other girl Troy had ever laid eyes on.
Inside the Montez motorhome, Joseph was looking like a little child who hadn't gotten his own way and Gabriella felt her heart begin to beat faster as she realised that she wasn't having her day with Troy ruined.
"I talked to your Daddy, and you're still spending the day with Troy," Maria's smile grew as her oldest daughter's eyes lit up at the news, confirming Maria's suspicions that Troy and Gabriella were developing a more than plutonic relationship with each other.
"Thank you Mama," Gabriella squealed, giving Maria a quick hug as she flashed Joseph a smile that was victorious yet sympathetic, knowing that her Dad was as stubborn as she herself was and that he wouldn't be happy about Maria trying to convince him that he was wrong.
"Lucile was making the picnic lunch if you want to go over and give her a hand," Maria suggested, looking around the small space for Will who was lying bored on his bed. "You could take Will over and see if the twins wanted to play with him while your Dad and Jack finish getting ready."
Gabriella nodded excitedly, signalling to her younger brother to move off the bed faster. Maria called out to Will telling him to behave himself or there'd be no fishing trip later that morning and Gabriella rolled her eyes at the threat, knowing that her brother was able to get away with anything if he just let loose the tears.
"I take by that smile that your Dad agreed to keep today's plans?" Troy asked happily as Gabriella stepped inside the Bolton motorhome with Will close on her heels.
"He did!" Gabriella beamed, blushing as she quickly realised that Lucile and Jack were eying the pair with knowing glances. "Do you need any help with the picnic lunch, Lucile?" Gabriella quickly added, tearing her eyes from Troy's bright blues.
"No thanks dear, it's just about done, why don't the two of you go and find a blanket to take to sit on the beach," Lucile answered, nodding towards Troy's "room" which was in the same place as Gabriella's in the Montez motorhome.
Troy didn't need to be told twice and neither did Gabriella, the pair hurrying up the small ladder leading up to the space that was Troy's, the curtain closing behind them, giving them the tiniest amount of privacy.
Settling himself down with his back against one of the walls Troy gestured to Gabriella to join him, pulling her down onto his lap when she crawled close enough to him.
"Hi," he whispered, draping his arm across Gabriella's legs as she lay her head down on his shoulder, inhaling his intoxicating scene.
"Hey," she whispered back. "Your Mom is so setting us up."
Troy smiled at Gabriella's blush, pushing some hair off her face as he spoke quietly, trying to eliminate his parents from being able to hear their conversation.
"She is. It would be embarrassing if I wasn't getting to spend time with the most gorgeous girl," Troy kissing the top of Gabriella's hair gently as she blushed even more, burying her face in Troy's neck a little bit further.
"Shhh," Gabriella scolded. "Find us a blanket."
"If you haven't noticed, we're sitting on my bed, which is a large variety of blankets," Troy teased. "I didn't bring you up here to look for a blanket anyways."
Gabriella faked a gasp, "you mean you had an ulterior motive when you brought me up to your bedroom, Troy Bolton?"
"Oh no, I always bring pretty girls to my bedroom to look for blankets," Troy whispered, reaching out to cup Gabriella's cheek in his hand, his thumb caressing her flushed red skin as she bit down nervously on her bottom lip.
"Charmer," Gabriella whispered, her stomach doing somersaults as Troy's lips drew nearer to her own. She could feel his hot breath against her face when a voice broke into their little bubble, snapping the pair apart quickly.
"Are you two just about ready to go? You're riding in here because the twins want to ride with Will, is that okay?" Lucy's voice called up.
"Okay Mom," Troy croaked out, letting his head drop back and hit into the side of the motorhome in frustration.
---
It was no wonder that the tiny yet perfect beach that Troy and Gabriella were sitting on was deserted, it was barely 45 degrees out and the dark clouds looming suggested the rain wasn't far off, but neither teen's mind was on the weather for their were more pressing matters at hand.
Like the fact that they had two hours until they had to meet their Dads and brothers, two precious, uninterrupted hours.
"I can't believe my Dad was trying to make us take the boys," Gabriella groaned, wrapping her arms tighter around her body, trying to keep herself warm.
"He doesn't trust me," Troy pouted. "He thinks I'm going to ravish you completely."
Gabriella looked over at Troy as he said this, a smile playing on her lips.
"You definitely can't ravish me from all the way over there," she giggled, surprised at her own confidence around Troy, wondering how things could just feel so natural and right when she was with him.
Troy looked at the distance between them, knowing he didn't want to seem like he was pressuring Gabriella into anything he had purposely sat on the other side of the blanket to her, making it far easier to suppress his urges to kiss her if she wasn't in such close proximity.
"Anyone would think you want me to ravish you," Troy teased, shuffling himself across the blanket until he was sitting right next to Gabriella "Are you cold?"
Gabriella nodded, shivering not only at the cold wind that was whipping around the enclosed beach, but at the feel of Troy's breath tickling her face.
"Show me those track skills you have then," Troy suggested, knowing a quick run around in the sand would warm them both up but also knowing that he found an athletic woman a huge attraction.
A huge smile spread across Gabriella's face as she jumped up from her spot, grinning down at Troy. "See if you can keep up, wildcat."
With that Gabriella sprinted off across the sand, her body moving flawlessly even with the heavy layers of clothing covering it. After sitting, watching for a few seconds Troy leap to his feet taking off after Gabriella, gaining on her as she slowed down for a second or two to let him almost catch up.
As Troy spurred forward with the intent to grab Gabriella when he was close enough, Gabriella sensed his plan, darting under his arm as he reached for her and taking off to the other end of the beach, loving the stretch of her muscles as she worked them harder than she had in the past few weeks.
The game of chase continued for quite some time, both Troy and Gabriella determined to show off their stamina, but soon Gabriella became too hot too continue running, instead collapsing down onto the blanket, smiling up at Troy who sat himself next to her, his body half hovering over her own.
"Impressive," he grinned, flipping his sweaty, light brown hair out of his eyes.
"Could say the same for you," Gabriella grinned back, reaching her hand up to push the last strands off Troy's forehead, her hand stilling in his hair as the air around them grew thick.
Gabriella watched as Troy's gaze move quickly from her eyes to her lips and back again, his body leaning closer to hers as his tongue darted out to wet his lips. Gabriella's heart was racing as Troy seemed to be taking forever to reach her, impatiently she tangled her fingers in his hair, tugging him gently down closer to her until barely any space remained between their lips.
"Brie," Troy whispered breathily as he closed the gap, kissing Gabriella softly, instantly loving the way her lips returned the pressure and the way her fingers moved against his scalp in a perfect imitation of their lips dancing together.
Troy rested all his body weight on one arm as he reached out for Gabriella's hip, drawing her closer to him, his fingers burning her skin even though the denim of her jeans separated their skin as he moved his body over hers slightly more.
All too soon oxygen became a problem and Troy reluctantly broke the kiss, nuzzling into Gabriella's neck as he tried to catch his breath, his lips gently kissing her racing pulse. Troy raised his head a few seconds later ready to continue kissing Gabriella some more and he found her eyes still closed in bliss.
Unable to resist Troy pressed his lips back against Gabriella's, spurred on by a quiet moan deep in Gabriella's throat at the unexpected second kiss, sliding his tongue out he gently swept it across Gabriella's bottom lip, feeling her mouth open in response to his question. Instead of plunging his tongue in like Troy knew she was expecting him to, he sucked her bottom lip softly into his mouth, nibbling ever so slightly eliciting a quiet mew from Gabriella.
Desperate to feel Troy's tongue dancing with her own Gabriella snaked her tongue out, licking against Troy's top lip and making him immediately release her bottom lip, curling his tongue around her own in a passion filled kiss.
The morning carried on in a similar way, with Troy and Gabriella sharing heated kisses between short conversations about their lives. With Gabriella snuggled peacefully in his lap Troy looked down at his watch, realising they had 15 minutes until they had to start the walk back to meet their families.
"Can I go and get my camera out of my bag?" Gabriella asked just as Troy was about to tell her about the short amount of time they had left together. "We need to start heading back soon right?"
Troy released her from his grip, letting her stretch her tiny limbs before she walked across the blanket to her back.
"Yeah we have like 15 minutes left," Troy responded, watching Gabriella lift the camera strap up and over her head, leaving the camera dangling around her neck as she peered out to the waves in thought.
It was fascinating to him how she looked so deep in thought as she peered around at their surroundings, and it made Troy look closer at the things that surrounded them, things he hadn't paid attention to as he was too wrapped up in the dark haired beauty he had with him.
The sand wasn't the soft, flawless golden grains of the beaches he had been to as a child, it was more rough, and pale in colour except where it was still damp from the rain the night before, that sand was dirt coloured, and had an unusual looking texture to it. The water was much more green than blue, thanks to the unpleasant weather, and the waves were rough, but small, hammering into the shoreline repeatedly, stubborn and angry.
The scenery of the back of the area was green, more shades of green than Troy had ever seen in his life, leaves of all shapes and sizes made up the bushes and trees in the area, and over the wind and waves Troy could hear birds singing, and insects buzzing lightly, the untouched land a serene place, beautiful despite it's simplicity.
Gabriella couldn't help but snap a picture of Troy fully observing the area around them, he looked so peaceful and calm, and Gabriella quickly set her camera to black and white before she took another few shots, smiling at Troy as he noticed the camera flash.
"Taking advantage of my good looks, are you, Montez?" Troy teased as he took the few steps towards Gabriella, looping his arms around her waist as she turned away from him and back to the ocean.
"You were merely in the picture, I was snapping the beautiful nature around you," Gabriella said through a giggle as she took some photos of the ocean, including one of a seagull dipping down to catch something from the water.
"As cute as you are looking so intellectual and stuff, we need to head back before your Dad freaks that I've stolen his little girl," Troy said sadly, not wanting the time with Gabriella to draw to an end.
Surprising herself and most definitely surprising Troy, Gabriella twisted herself in his arms, standing slightly on tip toes to place a kiss on Troy's lips, her hands cupping his face gently as she asked for permission to enter his mouth, something Troy was only too happy to give her.
As Gabriella's tongue darted into his mouth Troy wrapped his arms tighter around Gabriella's waist, drawing their bodies flush against one another, the camera crushing between their bodies painfully, ending the kiss.
"Sorry," Troy said sincerely as he took a step back from Gabriella, "you alright?"
Gabriella nodded, rubbing her ribcage through her sweatshirt as she smiled sadly, "I guess we need to walk back now?"
"Sadly, but I can hold your hand for the walk back," Troy bent down and gave Gabriella a kiss on the nose, making her giggle in response. "Just let me pack up this blanket and we'll get going."
A few minutes later and the pair were walking back down the easily defined bush track, their topic of conversation had turned to trying to name famous people that lived in New Zealand.
"The Crocodile Hunter?" Troy guessed, slipping his hand into Gabriella's, lacing their fingers together as she turned to look at him with a quizzical expression on her face.
"Troy, he was Australian," Gabriella replied, unsure if Troy was being serious or not.
"Oh right, well he was from this area of the world," Troy reasoned.
"The game was people who live or were born in New Zealand," Gabriella argued. "Like the actress who played Xena."
"Lucy Lawless!" Troy exclaimed. "I know her."
"Of course you do," Gabriella muttered. "The guy who climbed Mount Everest."
"Don't know him," Troy replied, watching as Gabriella's expression turned thoughtful as she racked her mind for the name of the famous man.
"Hillary…" Gabriella thought out loud. "Edward? No Edmund. Edmund Hillary."
"Geek," Troy muttered, shooting Gabriella a smile as she playfully glared at him. "My turn, okay, Heath Ledger!"
"Australian," Gabriella groaned. "The guy who played Andy on One Tree Hill, he was from here. This city, Auckland, actually."
"How do you know these things?" Troy asked in amusement. "You're like one of those 'random fact' emails that people send me."
"Speaking of random facts, New Zealand has a One Tree Hill, except there's no tree there now… so I guess now it's No Tree Hill…" Gabriella supplied, missing the smirk that Troy shot her.
"Alright Miss Encyclopaedia," Troy teased. "That guy who directed Lord of the Rings, he was from here wasn't he?"
"Peter Jackson, yeah he was," Gabriella replied. "You finally got one!"
"For someone so cute, you're awfully mean," Troy pouted.
"I'm going to take that as a compliment. And Ernest Rutherford, the man who split the atom, he was a New Zealander."
"The man who split the atom? Come on Brie, use that brain of yours to think of some interesting people!"
Gabriella didn't bother to tell Troy what was so interesting about splitting the atom, she merely laughed. "When you use your brain to tell me about some people from New Zealand, not just listing Australians."
"Michael Campbell, golfer," Troy shot back. "See I can play this game as well!"
Gabriella had grown bored of the game, realising she was fast running out of people to name and instead of replying to Troy she unlaced their fingers and dropped his hand, smiling proudly at him before she took off at a fast pace, running off down the track with Troy quickly following her, soon running next to her on the thin path.
Just as the pair came off the track and started to slow down, Gabriella slipped on a wet rock, falling down and landing on her wrist awkwardly.
Troy stopped in his tracks as he heard her hiss of pain and he spun around to face her, seeing he cradling her wrist in her uninjured hand.
"Brie, are you alright?" Troy asked shakily, kneeling next to her, seeing her eyes filled with tears.
Gabriella only shook her head no, biting her lip harshly as she started to cry. Carefully, Troy scooped Gabriella up in his arms, carrying her bridal style the short distance to where they were meeting their families who weren't in sight.
Troy placed Gabriella down on the wooden bench, kneeling between her knees as he gently took her wrist in his hands seeing that it was already swollen and was sitting at a weird angle.
"Brie, I think your wrist might be broken," Troy said gently. "I'm gunna use my hoody to make a sling alright?"
Gabriella nodded tearfully as Troy took off his hoody, using it to make a makeshift sling for Gabriella's arm like he his Dad had done once when Troy had injured his arm on a camping trip once.
Just as Troy was tying the sleeves together around Gabriella's neck, Jack, Joseph and the boys arrived back.
"Gabi!" Joseph cried. "What happened to you?"
"I slipped over," Gabriella said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I think her wrist is broken," Troy spoke up, looking at his Dad, knowing that with 3 sports mad sons, Jack had plenty of experience with broken bones.
"Gabriella, honey, can I just have a quick look before we get on the boat?" Jack asked sweetly, kneeling down next to Troy.
Gabriella nodded, letting Jack take her wrist from the makeshift sling and pressing down gently on it, making Gabriella cry out.
"I'm not a doctor, but I'd say that it's most likely your wrist is broken," Jack said sadly, placing Gabriella's wrist back in the sling.
"Don't worry, Gabi, I'll call your Mama and let her know," Joseph kissed his daughter on the cheek before he walked away, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket to call Maria.
"Troy?" Gabriella asked shakily, at that moment not caring who was around, just wanting to be comforted by the one she knew could calm her the best. "Can I have a hug?"