Hey guys. Sorry it took me so long to get this out, but I had a bunch of finals last week and then I was all sad about leaving all my friends in middle school. (im going 2 9th grade) and a bunch of my friends are going elsewhere. Just 2 let you know, I started on this during the past week and am just now posting because of previous said reasons. Happy beginning of summer vacation! Peace.

XOXOXO^_^

August 26

Thursday

9:45am

Gabriella searched the room as she walked in and realized Bridget wasn't there once again and decided t was high time for her to get to know other people. She sat in the back corner next to Kirsten Brown. "Hi."

Kirsten turned slowly and looked at Gabriella skeptically. "Hi." Kirsten was a mix between African-American and Caucasian. She had shoulder-length, flat ironed, dark brown hair. She wore a purple and gold sundress with gold sandals to match. She had her hair out with a purple headband on her head to keep her hair out of her face also. She turned back to the front of the room.

"So what do you think of Troy?" Gabriella asked, trying to start conversation.

Kirsten smiled and bit her lip. "I think he's a yummy piece of eye candy."

Gabriella smiled also. "Me too."

"So, you're new. Where'd you come from?" Kirsten said while turning toward Gabriella in her seat.

"New York."

"Hm. How are your first days going?"

"Good, I guess. I've been threatened, hit on, and insulted in less than 72 hours, but it's all good."

Kirsten giggled softly.

"How long have you been here?"

"For a couple of years, it hasn't been bad." Kirsten said with a shrug.

"So have you…uh…been…with Troy?" Gabriella asked hesitantly.

Kirsten shot Gabriella a weird look and sighed. "That's a long story. I'll tell you when I know you better."

"Ok, but—," Gabriella said before the bell rang for first period.

Kirsten stood up and grabbed her stuff. "See you around." She waved and walked away.

"Bye." Gabriella said while grabbing her stuff. She left also and headed in the opposite direction with a sigh. She decided it best to stay clear of Bridget if she came to school at all today.

August 26

Thursday

6:30 pm

"Bitch!" Gabriella yelled in frustration as she pressed 'End' on her cell phone again. She was still standing in front of the school with her backpack and purse on the ground beside her. She's called her mom, dad, and sister. She's called every one of them at least twenty times in the past two hours and has left every one of them half as many messages. She groaned once more in frustration and kicked a rock with extra, unnecessary force. She muttered curses under her breath as she thought of how likely her mother planned all this. Her dad was so clueless; all her mother would have to do is say she stayed after school for some activity so he'd turn his phone off. And her mom would just take away Tiara's phone, saying she was getting it upgraded early the next morning.

"Need a ride?" Gabriella resisted the urge to groan once more as she heard the voice of Troy Bolton. She turned around with the intention to retort, but stopped and gasped at the sight of him.

He was wearing nothing but athletic shorts as he tried to dry his sweat with his wife beater. He was glistening and she loved the way his rippling muscles glowed in the moonlight. At the moment, all she could do was analyze and observe every muscle and bead of sweat on his body. God, why won't he put a fucking shirt on? She kept repeating that over and over as she continued to stare at him with a stunned expression on her face.

Troy chuckled as he tucked his wife beater in his back pocket and ran his hand through his hair. "Um," he chuckled again. "I said do you need a ride?" He repeated once more as he tried to resist bursting out laughing.

"Huh?" Gabriella said while averting her eyes to his face. She came out of her daze when she saw his amused facial expression and her face became a blush of bright pink. "Oh, I-uh, I-I'm sorry." She stuttered in embarrassment. It then turned to anger as she turned away with her arms crossed, turning red. "Will you put a fucking shirt on?"

"Alright, but I'm giving you a ride home." He grabbed her bags and dragged her by the elbow in one swift movement.

"But-, my mom will be here in-,"

"Yea, yea. I'm still taking you home. You're a horrible liar." He said while throwing her bags in the back of his pickup truck and opening the passenger door for her.

Gabriella crossed her arms and tried to keep her eyes focused on his face. "I'm not getting inside your truck. You could rape me or something!" She turned her back to him with a 'humph.' "I refuse!"

"I'm not going to rape you…or something. I couldn't get away with it anyway." He said with a smile.

Gabriella rolled her eyes and scowled.

"Come on, I don't want to leave you out here in the dark. Just give me your address and I'll put it in my GPS. How else are you going to get home?"

"I don't want you to know where I live." She said just above a whisper.

"Then I'll delete the history before you get out the car." He said, trying to control his voice.

"How do I know you won't memorize it?" She said, irritated with his persistence.

"Damn it, Gabriella, get in the god forsaken truck!" Troy yelled finally in frustration.

Gabriella turned around and was taken aback at his determined expression.

Troy sighed and lowered his voice. "Please, Gabriella. Let me do something nice for you."

Gabriella looked into his eyes and gave in. "Fine. I'll get in the damn truck," she said in an irritant tone.

Troy shut the door behind her, with just enough force that it didn't slam and got in on the driver's side. He started the car and looked at Gabriella, who still had her arms crossed and was avoiding his gaze. He looked in the backseat to make sure his backpack and gym bag was still there and checked his mirrors. "I was so close to ditching you," he said with half-seriousness and half-playfulness.

"Whatever," Gabriella muttered. She still avoided looking at him. She wasn't really upset with him; she was just concentrating on controlling her hormones and getting rid of the sexual images in her head of Troy and her together.

"You can look at me, you know? I'm not Medusa." Troy said as he touched his GPS so Gabriella could put in her address. "Go ahead and put in your address."

Avoiding him again she leaned over and entered her address. Troy pressed 'enter' and pulled out of his parking space and the school's parking lot.

There was a very awkward silence after the route guidance began speaking. Troy occasionally took glances at Gabriella who looked like she was having a panic attack.

Gabriella was really nervous, but that didn't mean she was blind. She noticed his glances out of her peripheral vision and finally had the nerve to confront him about it. "Would you stop looking at me?"

"Sorry." Troy said softly as he turned back to the road. However, a few seconds later he took another look at her. She still had her arms crossed and a freak expression on her face. "So," he started off. He wanted to at least try to make her feel comfortable. "Where are you from?"

Gabriella glanced at him through her peripheral vision curiously and chose to ignore his question.

Troy noticed the look and reached over to tap her shoulder. At the touch of him she jumped and tried to move as far away as she could.

"Don't touch me." She said while looking out the window.

"Answer my question please."

"I'm from New York." She said irritant.

"That's really cool. I've been there once for vacation. I wouldn't imagine you in 'the city that never sleeps'." Troy said thoughtfully.

"Well, it doesn't matter. I'm stuck here now." She said with emotion and with a surprising lack of nervousness.

"It's not that bad down here. It's warmer than New York." He said with a small smile.

"No shit, Sherlock."

"Oh, I see have a new nickname now." He said with little amusement in his voice.

"Ha, ha, ha," Gabriella laughed sarcastically, causing a grin to spread across Troy's face. "Well, wise guy, let's hear your story." Gabriella turned to face him, unaware that they were now in front of her house and he just parked.

"In case you didn't notice, we're at your house." Troy pointed behind her and ran his hand through his hair.

Gabriella looked back at her house then turned around. "Okay. But, I want to hear your story first."

"I don't have a story." Troy laid his head against the headrest and looked at Gabriella.

"Oh, come on. There's no way a guy like you was born and raised in South Carolina." Gabriella made eye contact with him and raised an eyebrow as if to challenge him. "You don't even have an accent."

Troy smirked and chuckled. He ran his hand over his face and sighed. "I'm from California."

"Wow. That's pretty far." Gabriella said with a smile. After finally reaching home, she finally calmed and realized she could somewhat trust this attractive jock. She wasn't ready to face her family, so she decided she might buy some time and get to know this guy. "Why'd you move here?"

"Why'd you move here?" Troy retorted.

"I asked first."

"I asked second."

Gabriella eyed him. "My dad's job transferred him here. Your turn."

"I never agreed to that." Troy said with a smirk.

Gabriella pouted. "Please?"

Troy smiled. "I got into some trouble around sixth grade. Gangs were trying to recruit me and my mom found out, so here I am."

Gabriella nodded and smiled. "Thanks for sharing with me. Maybe we can become friends. I sort of trust you now. I got home in one piece and you aren't too much of a closed book."

Troy smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow. Run along now." He shooed her with his hand.

Gabriella scowled and rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Troy."

"No problem." He smiled to let her know he was kidding and waved.

Gabriella smiled and kissed his cheek. "Bye." She opened the door and hopped out.

"Bye… Oh wait! I'll get your bags." He got out and jogged to the back of his pickup.

Gabriella shut the door and waited for him to grab her bags. "Thanks." She took her bags and started walking towards her front door.

"Wait, Gabriella!" Troy ran up behind her as she turned around. "Since we're almost friends now, can I have your number?" He asked confidently and looked her in the eye.

Gabriella pretended to think about it through dramatization and smiled. "Sure."

They exchanged phones and took pictures of each other.

"Bye, Troy." Gabriella waved and walked away after Troy responded with a smile and wave.

August 26

Thursday

8:30 pm

Gabriella looked at Troy's picture continuously as he drove off. He had a sheepish look on his face as he smiled and he had his right arm flexed as he held the back of his neck. He was still—of course—shirtless and looked incredibly sexy in the picture she took. As she walked to the front door with her keys out, she noticed no lights were on and frowned. She opened the door and walked in quietly. "Hello? I'm home!" Gabriella yelled loud enough as she saw the basement door open with a blue, luminous light reflecting off the walls from the TV, which was playing Alice in Wonderland. She walked downstairs and saw her entire family curled together on the couch, asleep. Gabriella stood in front of her family and noticed how peaceful they looked and turned off the TV.

Tiara was lying across the laps of her parents, who were cuddled together with her mom's head resting on her dad's shoulder, nuzzled in his neck.

Gabriella envied the scene, but made no action to disturb them. She went upstairs and got ready for bed.

August 27

Friday

4:30 pm

Gabriella was opening her locker when she felt someone grab her ass. She turned around expecting to see Troy so she could give him a piece of her mind, but instead she found Jason smirking down at her.

"Hey, sweet cheeks." He leaned against Troy's locker and checked Gabriella out.

Gabriella rolled her eyes and smiled as she fumbled with her books. "Hi, Jason."

"What's been up with you? You've been spending a lot of time with Kirsten, you won't sit with us and quite frankly I'd say you're avoiding us."

"No, not avoiding…staying clear of."

Jason rolled his eyes. "However you put, I don't like it, and I want you to sit with us at lunch tomorrow."

"In case you haven't noticed Jason, Bridget isn't very fond of me." Gabriella shut her locker and leaned against it so she was facing Jason.

"What are you talking about, she loves you!"

"No, she doesn't. She doesn't like it when we talk to each other and I don't want to cause any trouble so leave." Gabriella nudged his shoulder softly.

Jason opened his mouth to say something when Troy pushed him slightly forward while trying to get into his locker. "Excuse me, Jason, but I'd appreciate it if you moved."

Jason turned around and smiled nervously at Troy's threatening expression. "Sure." He turned back around and waved to Gabriella as he walked off. "See you later, Gabby."

"Bye." Gabriella smiled slightly and looked at Troy. "Well, that was nice of you," she said sarcastically.

"Yea, yea. Are you coming to my party or not?" Troy asked bluntly as he shut his locker after a quick exchange and faced her with his backpack over his right shoulder.

Gabriella rolled her eyes and started walking towards the parking lot and when she noticed Troy alongside her she answered him. "Depends. What are the deets?"

"My place. Six o'clock. On Saturday."

"And you're just telling me now?"

"I just found out my parents are going out of town."

"Ah. Well I'll think about it."

After arriving to Troy's truck Gabriella turned towards him. "You mind giving me a ride?"

"Isn't that what the walk here was implying?" He asked while throwing his backpack in the backseat.

"Okay. But, can you drop me home every day?"

Troy took her book bag and placed it in his backseat also and raised an eyebrow.

Gabriella noticed and pressed on. "My mom's busy so I told my dad I'd find a ride after school," she lied.

"Why didn't you tell your mom that?" Troy opened the door for her and she got in. He walked around to the driver's seat and got inside also.

"Like I said, she's busy," she half-lied. She's busy wishing Tiara was an only child, Gabriella thought.

Troy started the car and put Gabriella's address in.

"Hey! You said you'd delete the history!" Gabriella yelled in anger.

"Calm down. Do you want to put in your address every time I take you home?"

Gabriella sighed. "No."

"That's what I thought." He pulled out his parking space and began following the route guidance once more.

Gabriella ran her fingers through her hair and sighed once more. "Whatever. Are you going to drive me home every day?"

"If it fits into my schedule, sure." Troy smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "How generous," she said with sarcasm.

Troy chose to ignore her comment and focus on driving.

After a few minutes Troy's phone rang. "Can you get that?"

"It's for you, not me. Besides, I don't even know where it is."

Troy took his phone out his pocket and tossed it into Gabriella's lap.

"What the—," Gabriella groaned and answered the cell phone. "Hello?"

"Who the hell are you?" a shrill female voice yelled.

Gabriella moved the phone away from her ear for a moment as the female screamed. "Troy, take your damn phone." Gabriella tossed it into his lap.

"Hello?" Troy answered without looking at the caller ID.

"What the hell, Troy? Who just answered your phone?"

"Why are you calling me, Georgia?" Troy asked with and irritated expression on his face.

"I wanted to know if you were visiting me tonight. My parents are out so we can use their bed." She giggled.

Troy smiled. "Tell you what. I'll call you when I'm on my way," Troy said in the seductive voice he usually used on Georgia. It wasn't uncommon for him to give her vague answers and hollow promises. However, he said things in a way that caused Georgia to blame herself for looking too deep into what he says. Such as now, he didn't say he would come that night, but Georgia believes he is and is now putting on sexy lingerie. It was unhealthy of Troy to experience any sense of joy from knowing that he had that kind of effect on her.

"Ok! Come between seven and ten. My parents usually call me when they're about to come home so—." Georgia began hoping on one foot as she struggled with her panties while her phone was between her ear and shoulder. "Shit!" She fell but kept a hold of her phone.

"Look, I'll get there when I get there, okay," he said in an authoritive tone.

Gabriella looked at Troy with a weird expression on her face and turned away with a disgusted one.

"Ok. I'll see you—."

Troy hung up and put his phone back in his pocket.

Hope you liked it! R&R's are greatly appreciated! Bye bye ^_^