A/N: *holds hands up in a peace offering* I know it's been almost 3 months since I last updated, but I have been despising writing thanks to something crazy like 9 uni assignments due over 11 days. I didn't want to bother writing something that my heart wasn't in, and so I'm sorry for the long delay, but I've loved writing this chapter, even though it was not what I set out to write, who am I to argue with my muse though?

Another thing, and I'm sure this goes for the other authors out there as well, but sending reviews or PMs pointing out that I haven't updated in quite some time isn't really going to get you an update any quicker, because I do have this little thing called real life, and as much as I'd love to be paid to write Troyella smut and fluff, I don't and that means I need to have a job, and I have to go to university so I can have a career. But thank you a ton to those that sent me PMs checking that I hadn't fallen off the face of the earth or combusted into a pile of dust, this chapter is for you guys :)

While some of you might want to go back and read the last chapter, I've posted the end of it below, just to refresh those memories! Read, enjoy and review :)

"Mmmm," Gabriella managed to get out as Troy's tongue gently parted her lips and tentatively wrapped around her own tongue. All thoughts of the fact that they were laying out in the open for anyone to see them slipped from the teen's minds as the kiss grew in passion, their bodies pressing together tightly.

Troy's hands held Gabriella's face as he rested on his forearms, his weight resting mostly on Gabriella's body, feeling her chest heaving with her heavy breathing and her hips moving ever so slightly against his groin. Gabriella's fingers slid from their spot on Troy's neck to move down his back, resting just above the waistband of his pants.

Neither teen heard the door to the Montez motorhome open, but the angry shout of Joseph Montez made their movements still, their eyes shooting open and Gabriella's shocked browns met with Troy's anxious blues.

"Crap," Troy muttered, lifting his body away from Gabriella's as the pair turned to face Joseph.

This wasn't going to end well.

Growling with frustration Gabriella reached her hands behind her head, gathering together her curls which were falling into her face as she attempted to read. Using the hairtie that was around her wrist she pulled the unruly hair into a low ponytail before picking her book back up, knowing that it wasn't actually her dark curls that were preventing her from getting lost in one of her favourite books of all time, but more so the fact that her Dad was being stubborn and unfair.

It was 2 days since Joseph had caught Troy and Gabriella and the two families were now in Carterton, a small city just over an hour away from New Zealand's capital city, Wellington. Gabriella had stayed behind when everyone else had ventured off to explore the shopping areas after realising over the last few days that her Dad wasn't going to let up on his keeping Gabriella and Troy apart.

As Gabriella reread the same line for what seemed like the millionth time, she remembered that her Mum had slipped her cell phone to her as they were leaving, winking at her daughter and shooting her an apologetic smile as she ushered the rest of the family out of the motorhome. Hoping that Troy was near his phone, Gabriella quickly typed out a quick message to him, hitting send and then staring impatiently at the phone, waiting for a message to come back.

After less than a minute Gabriella remembered a saying her Grandmother always used to say "a watched pot never boils" and so she decided to go and use the bathroom while she waited to see if Troy was going to txt her back. Just as she got to the bottom of the ladder leading to her bedroom, her phone beeped, signalling a txt message and Gabriella scrambled back up the ladder, snatching her phone up and opening the txt, a smile spreading across her face for the first time since the night before.

Hey pretty girl.

Gabriella felt her heart leap into her throat as she read the words over several times before she started to type a reply, the smile on her face not wiping off as she had her first contact with her boyfriend in what felt like a long time.

Is my Dad around? How's shopping?

This time Gabriella slipped her phone into the pocket of her sweatshirt before she headed to the bathroom, the pressure on her bladder too pressing to be forgotten about any longer. Just as she was coming out of the tiny room and heading to the fridge to get a bottle of water her phone beeped again and Gabriella almost dropped her phone in the rush to get it out of her pocket.

He's off with my Dad, I think. I'm with the twins and Will at a park. Can I call you?

Wasting no time, Gabriella sent back a confirming txt, holding her phone in her hand like it was a lifeline. It wasn't more than a minute of waiting before her ring tone sounded and she quickly pushed the talk button before pushing her phone up to her ear so fast that she hurt herself a little.

"Troy!" Gabriella greeted after muttering 'ouch' to herself.

"Ouch? What did you do to yourself, gorgeous?" Troy smiled pushing his phone closer to his ear as if that would somehow make him closer to his girlfriend.

"Moved my phone too fast, I'm okay," Gabriella replied her voice wavering slight as she sat down on the hard floor of the motorhome and transferred her phone to her bad hand so she could wrap her good arm around her legs, bringing her knees to her chin.

"You don't sound okay," Troy argued, noticing the sadness in her voice.

"I'm just being pathetic," Gabriella mumbled. "I miss you."

"Gabriella Montez, you realise you just called your own boyfriend pathetic? Because he misses you too," Troy tried to make a joke, hating hearing her sad tone and being unable to do anything about it.

"Sorry," Gabriella whispered hoarsely, tears welling up in her eyes at Troy calling himself her boyfriend. "My Dad is such an ass."

"Don't cry, baby," Troy crooned, looking up to quickly check on his three charges before he turned his attention back to Gabriella. "And as much as I disagree with what your Dad is doing, he's just shocked his daughter is growing up."

Though she knew Troy couldn't see her, Gabriella nodded her head in agreement. "Has he said anything to you?"

"My Dad basically dragged him off for 'guy stuff' as soon as we got to the shops, I'm pretty sure Dad is going to try and talk him around, get him to see that he's overreacting," Troy explained his hopes returning.

"My Mom;s been trying that since that night," Gabriella sighed, letting her head fall back to rest against the cupboard door behind her.

"Let's hope that coming from another Dad it works," Troy replied. "It's been horribly cruel seeing you at breakfast and lunch and dinner and not being able to hug or touch you."

"My Dad gets mad at you for even looking at me," Gabriella sighed. "This sucks, Troy."

"I know it does, Gabi," Troy said sadly. "But someone is going to make him realize that he's wrong in his thinking, even if it has to be me."

"Okay, Troy. You do know that he'll break you into a million pieces if you tried to tell him that you think he should let us see each other again, right?" Gabriella giggled, picturing her boyfriend stammering at her Dad. "Though you'd be pretty cute and nervous if you were talking to him."

"I wouldn't be nervous," Troy argued. "Nor am I cute, but I would risk being broken into a million pieces for you."

"You wouldn't be much use to me if you were shattered on the ground," Gabriella responded, the heavy sadness that had plagued her lifting as she talked to Troy and he tried to make everything better.

"I completely agree with you, so no getting broken into a million pieces, but I do have to go now, baby, I have to meet our parents now, but we'll be home soon, okay?" Troy hated to end the conversation now that he'd managed to cheer both Gabriella and himself up, but he didn't want Joseph to know that he and Gabriella had been talking.

"Okay," Gabriella replied her emotions switching between sad that the conversation was ending, and happy that she would be seeing Troy soon, if her Dad would let her. "I'll see you soon?"

"I hope so baby, bye," Troy ended the conversation, calling out to his brothers and Will that they needed to start walking back to the shops now to meet their parents, the only thoughts going through his head were hopes that his Dad had managed to convince Joseph to let Troy and Gabriella be together again, but Troy wasn't going to hold his breath on it.

"Gabriella, dinner is ready, sweetheart," Maria called up to her daughter, knowing that she was going to request to eat alone in her room after the latest run in with Joseph.

"Mama, can I just eat in here, please?" Gabriella asked softly. "Besides, I'm not very hungry."

"I'll bring it up to you," Maria sighed, knowing there was no point in trying to convince the teenager to come down.

Up in her makeshift bedroom, Gabriella wiped the sleeve of her sweatshirt roughly against her eyes, making sure that the tears, both fresh and dry, were gone, though she knew that her eyes themselves were bloodshot no matter what she did.

After the Bolton and Montez families had arrived back at the camp site, Gabriella had rushed out of the motorhome, excited to see Troy, but instead she was met by her Father who had ordered Gabriella to get back inside. When his daughter had resisted, Joseph had yelled at her before Maria ushered both her daughter and husband inside, away from the watchful eyes of their vacation buddy-family. Maria had laid into her husband, scolding him like a small child who had just misbehaved at the mall, and she was so wrapped up in Joseph she hadn't noticed a tearful Gabriella fleeing up to her bedroom.

Both of Gabriella's parents assumed that Gabriella was upset purely about not getting to see Troy still, something Maria was working on, but Gabriella hated to see her parents fight, especially when she was the cause of it. She knew that her parents didn't have the perfect relationship, Joseph got too focused on his job sometimes, and Maria wasn't the most responsible with money, but Gabriella knew they didn't fight often, which made her feel even more guilty about being the subject of their new tension.

Gabriella was also upset that her Dad was still forbidding her to see Troy. She had hoped that Jack would knock some sense into his long-time friend, to tell him that the pair were just normal teenagers, and that keeping them apart was going to do more harm than good, but it seemed Jack had just made Joseph more intent on keeping the couple apart.

"She doesn't want to come down, Joe," Maria's voice came through the motorhome and Gabriella sat as still as possible, listening out for her parent's conversation.

"She can't stay up there forever," Joseph snapped, he was beyond annoyed that nobody could see that he was trying to be a good Father by protecting his little girl.

"And you can't keep her and Troy apart forever either," Maria retorted, pushing past her husband and leaving the motorhome to get her daughter a plate of food for dinner.

Joseph sighed, rubbing his large hand across the back of his neck as he moved to stand at the bottom of the ladder leading to his oldest daughter's bedroom, even though he knew she would hear him no matter where he stood in the small space.

"Gabriella?" He called out.

No response.

"Gabi?"

No response.

"Pumpkin?"

No response.

With another sigh, Joseph left the motorhome, his heart breaking as he realised just how mad his baby girl was with him, and for the first time he wondered if he was being too harsh on the young couple.

"After all," he thought. "Aren't you only young once?"