Hey everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the holidays! This chapter is one of my favorites so I hope you like it as well. :) Enjoy!

I'll Email You

Chapter ten

Can I Have This Dance?

Gabriella raced down the stairs, running towards the laundry room in a hurry. She had been searching the house for her dress that she was wearing to Sharpay's house for a Friday night out for the past twenty minutes. Cascading curls of hair ran down her back as she slid down the hallway and flung herself into the laundry room. Spotting the dress on the dryer, Gabriella quickly discarded her shirt and pants and grabbed the soft dress quickly, stepping into it and pulling it over her body. She screeched as she came out of the laundry room, frantically trying to zip the dress from the back when she saw the basketball team walking in from the front door.

"Damn it!" She whispered as she stepped back into the laundry room, practically exposed from the behind.

Gabriella picked up her jeans from the floor and patted her jean pockets, finding her cell phone in the back pocket. She dialed a number quickly and breathed heavily as she listened to the dialing tone.

"Hey." She heard Troy say on the other line.

"I need you. I'm in the laundry room." She said quickly, hanging up the phone as she ended her demand.

About a minute later there was a knock on the door and it opened slowly. Gabriella grabbed Troy by the arm and yanked him into the laundry room, closing the door behind him.

"The basketball team comes at the worst times!" She whisper-yelled.

"Um… sorry." Troy said slowly as he furrowed his brow.

"Can you zip me? I'm running so late, it's not even funny!" She panicked as she turned around quickly, not caring that her underwear was now visible to Troy.

"No problem." Troy said as he carefully pulled the zipper up and closed, trying not to stare at Gabriella's tan, toned back.

Gabriella turned around and looked at Troy who was now extremely close to her since he never took a step away from her when he had finished. Noticing this, Troy took a step away and smiled softly at Gabriella.

"Thank you!" Gabriella huffed as she fluffed her hair and rolled her shoulders back. "Do I look okay? Is there anything in my teeth?" She asked as she smiled brightly, showing him her teeth.

"You look great." Troy nodded.

"Thanks, okay, well, I'm going to Sharpay's and I may not return alive since she hates when people are late!" Gabriella explained as she opened the laundry room door and power walked down the hall.

"Gabriella…" Troy called after her, stepping out of the laundry room.

Gabriella stopped by the front door and turned to see Troy. She was now trying to squeeze into high heels and she stumbled over, catching herself before she could hit the ground.

"What?" She asked in a hurry.

"You have a price tag on." He told her.

"Jesus!" Gabriella screeched impatiently as she pulled at the impossible plastic tag.

Troy laughed as he made his way over to her and she looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"Let me help you." He laughed.

Troy bent down slightly and took the price tag at the bottom of her dress in his hands, squeezing it tightly and pulling the tag off of the dress with force. Gabriella was still trying to get her shoes on and she leaned against Troy, using his back as a support as she pulled her shoe on with the opposite hand.

"Are you sure I look okay?" She asked once they were both standing upright.

"You look priceless." Troy smiled as he held up the price tag in his hand.

"Thank you." Gabriella said with a laugh as she opened the front door, grabbing her purse off of the foyer table.

"Have fun." Troy smiled.

"I will! Thanks for helping me!" She said quickly, closing the door behind her.

Troy turned to go back to go into the kitchen and he smirked as he thought of Gabriella. Seconds later though, Gabriella was running back into the kitchen, her high heel slamming against the wood floor as she came to a screeching halt at the counter. She grabbed her keys and the team looked at her oddly.

"Sharpay is going to delete me from her contacts!" She said in an out of breath voice as she ran towards the front door once again.

About two hours later when the sky was sparkling with stars, Gabriella came back home, her shoes dangling from her right hand and a frown on her face. She walked slowly into the kitchen, seeing Chad, Charlie, Zeke and Troy sitting around the kitchen table. They stopped talking when Gabriella came in and she kept frowning as she slumped into the chair next to Troy.

"What are you doing home so early?" Charlie asked his sister.

"Our plans were cancelled. Ryan has the flu and Sharpay didn't want us to catch it just incase she was coming down with it and Taylor was stressed out because her parents got into another argument over dish towels." Gabriella explained in a monotone.

"It's been two hours since you left." Charlie pointed out.

"I drove around town for a while." Gabriella replied. "This summer sucks." She added as she stood up, walking out of the kitchen.

Gabriella robotically made her way up the stairs and she stopped when she heard Troy call after her. She smiled softly as she looked at him from the top of the stairs.

"Do you want to go on a walk with me? It might make you feel better." Troy asked her with a smile as he looked up at her.

"What about the guys?" She asked quietly.

"They won't miss me." Troy smirked as he gestured towards the door. "Come on."

Gabriella smiled at him and made her way back down the stairs, taking his hand as they stepped out onto the front porch. Tossing her shoes on the porch, Gabriella smiled up at Troy and he squeezed her hand as they made their way down the driveway.

"I'm sorry that your night out got cancelled." Troy said to her after they were quiet for a while, enjoying their surroundings and each other's company.

"It's okay. I'm sure we'll have another one planned by the end of the week." Gabriella told him with a shrug.

Troy smiled as he looked over at her. The path in front of them was dark as the moon was blocked by a tree and they were quiet as they listened to the night time sounds and felt the cool air against their skin. The town was quiet as they made their way out of the neighborhood and towards the stores and public.

"It's weird how peaceful it is out here." Gabriella said as they walked down the street, passing a few people and stores.

"I guess no one went out today." Troy smiled as he nodded in agreement.

Gabriella laughed quietly and noticed that they were still holding hands as they walked together. She thought about pulling her hand away, but the warmth of Troy's hand made her never want to remove her hand from his. As they made their way further into town, the number of people they saw decreased. Gabriella stopped abruptly when she saw a familiar building and Troy stopped with her, feeling her pull at his hand.

"What?" He asked her as he looked through the large windows in front of them.

"I used to dance here." Gabriella told him as she smiled softly.

"I didn't know you danced." Troy said as he looked at her.

"Really? I thought I told you." Gabriella said as she kept her eyes on the building.

Troy shook his head.

"I've been avoiding this place for years." Gabriella smiled with a small laugh.

"Why?" Troy asked.

"I was so mad when Sharpay was picked instead of me to dance with Danny Simmons. Every girl in my class had a crush on him and one lucky girl got to dance with him at our recital. I wanted to be picked so badly! It still makes me mad thinking about it." She laughed as she shook her head.

"He must have been a good dancer." Troy replied with a small laugh.

"He was." Gabriella laughed. "That was so long ago."

Troy nodded and smiled to himself as he watched Gabriella. Her hair blew in the wind and her nose was the lightest shade of pink, due to the decreasing temperature of the air.

"Troy Bolton…" Gabriella started in a quiet voice.

"Gabriella Montez?" Troy asked with a smile.

"Will you dance with me?" She asked almost shyly.

"No, no, no. I'm no Danny Simmons." Troy said with a shake of his head.

"Please!" Gabriella begged as she moved in front of him, placing her hands on his arms.

"No." Troy said sternly.

"Please." Gabriella pouted, giving him a sad look.

"I don't know how to dance, Gabriella." He said with a shake of his head.

"It's easy!" Gabriella told him with a nod.

Troy looked into her hopeful eyes and felt himself slowly give in. He sighed softly and gave Gabriella a you-owe-me look.

"There's no music." He told her.

"So." Gabriella smiled. "We'll dance without it."

Troy opened his mouth to protest once more, but Gabriella placed her index finger over his lips, shushing him with a shake of her head. She took his hand and smiled at him as she inched her way closer to him, setting her head against his chest. Troy stood there for a few seconds, wondering how he could get out of the current situation, but then he wrapped his free hand around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Eventually, they were moving together, as if dancing to the same song and Troy found himself enjoying it as they rocked back and forth together in front of the dance studio. Gabriella hummed softly and Troy closed his eyes as the music reached his ears.

Gabriella could feel Troy's heart beating against her cheek as she kept her eyes closed and experienced the moment that she wanted to experience years ago, only now it was with someone much more important than the dancing Danny Simmons. In this moment, she was dancing with Troy, her best friend, the boy who was a part of her dreams before she even met him.

"Gabriella," She heard him whisper softly to her, resting his hand on her shoulder blade as she took her hand out of his and wrapped it around his back, hugging him.

"Mmhh." She hummed softly, taking in his scent.

"It's getting late." He told her softly as he hugged her back.

"What time is it?" She asked him as she stayed close to him without looking up.

"Eleven." He replied.

"Really?" Gabriella asked in surprise. "I'm sorry I made you dance with me for over a half hour." Gabriella said as she removed her head from his chest, looking up at him.

Troy looked down at her, smiling softly as the soft air brushed up against them. Their lips were dangerously close and they looked into each other's eyes as they stood there. Gabriella held her breath, counting to herself.

One…two…best…three…friends…four…five…don't…you…six…dare…seven…think…about…eight…nine…it…Gabriella…ten.

"It's okay." Troy told her quietly as he let a small laugh escape from his lips as he watched Gabriella concentrate intensely.

"Thank you." Gabriella said quietly as she let go of Troy and took a step back, listening to her warning thoughts running through her mind. "I'm glad I finally got to dance like that." She told him.

"It was nice." Troy stated, nodding slowly as they started to walk back towards Gabriella's house, hand in hand.

"Does this make you my official dance partner?" Gabriella smirked as she looked over at Troy, smiling as they reached the corner of her street.

"We'll see. I'm not promising any public dancing." He smiled as they got closer to Gabriella's house.

"I'll take what I can get." She smiled at him, stepping up on her front porch and moving towards the door. "Are you coming in or are you heading home?" She asked.

"I should probably get home. We have an early practice tomorrow." He explained to her, watching as she twisted the door knob on the front door, pushing it open, but staying on the porch, facing him.

"Well, I'm glad you were here to rescue me today." Gabriella told him. "Thank you."

Troy smiled and shrugged.

"It's part of my job description." He chuckled as she laughed quietly.

"Goodnight, Troy Bolton." She smiled as she picked up her shoes that she had dropped on the porch before she went on a walk with Troy.

"Night, Gabriella Montez." He said as she stepped into her house, sending him a smile before she closed the door, leaving him with her traditional goodbye- "I'll email you."

Troy turned around and faced the front yard, sticking his hands in his pockets as he thought silently. Why won't my heart stop pounding?

"Whoa." He whispered to himself.

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Much love,

unknownbyhim22