Hey everyone! Happy New Year! Here's a tip for 2009: If you have a dog, don't go and see Marley and Me. I made the mistake of going... and I was sobbing through 1/3 of the movie... and all the way home! :) Okay, well, this chapter is kind of short, but Enjoy!

I'll Email You

Chapter thirteen

A Favor

The Montez house was quiet except for the TV that was on in the family room where Charlie sat eating his cereal while intently watching the cartoon characters chase after each other. Gabriella was asleep, peacefully lying on the left side of her bed and the morning sun shimmered against her wood floor softly. Troy, well, Troy was skipping up the Montez's staircase, ignoring the fact that he was technically breaking and entering. He opened the door to Gabriella's bedroom and sighed when he saw that she was sleeping.

"Gabriella!" He whispered as he shook her softly, smiling as she shifted in her spot. "Gabriella…"

"I'm sleeping." Gabriella whispered without opening her eyes.

"Did you get my email?" Troy asked her as he sat on the side of her bed, watching as she pulled the covers over her head.

"When did you send it?" She asked him, hoping that she was looking okay, because before she went to bed she definitely remembered dark bags under her eyes.

"A few minutes ago." Troy replied.

"Troy, I'm sleeping." Gabriella sighed.

"I know, but it's kind of important." Troy explained.

Gabriella groaned, pushing the covers away from her face as she sat up. She looked at Troy and placed her hands in her lap, hoping that this was actually important.

"What?" She asked him simply.

"Chad and Taylor are dating." Troy told her.

"WHAT!" Gabriella screeched grabbing Troy's arm tightly. "You're kidding!"

"Nope. Chad called and told me that Taylor was waiting for him after work and it just happened." Troy explained to her as he observed her tangled hair and old East High basketball T-shirt.

"What exactly do you mean?" Gabriella asked him.

"Taylor kissed Chad." Troy replied.

"Taylor kissed Chad?! I never thought I would hear that!" Gabriella said excitedly, smiling brightly as she thought about how happy Taylor probably was. "What kind of kiss was it though? Did Chad get detailed?"

"First of all," Troy started as he sent Gabriella an odd look. "Ew, Gabs, why would he go into detail? And why would you want to know?" Gabriella laughed softly as Troy answered. "She kissed him on the cheek."

Gabriella let go of Troy's arm and sent him a disappointed look.

"What's wrong?" Troy asked her.

"Troy, that doesn't mean they're going out." Gabriella said with a sigh.

"Well, with the way Chad was hyperventilating, it sounded like they were going out." Troy explained, noticing how pretty Gabriella looked even though she had just gotten up.

"They're not dating." Gabriella told him.

"But she kissed him." Troy said slowly, wanting for his assumption to be right.

"On the cheek." Gabriella stated, leaning forward and kissing Troy right on the cheek. "It doesn't mean anything."

"Well maybe to you, but to Chad it meant that they were dating." Troy answered, not noticing how Gabriella smirked as she saw the lightest blush appear on his cheeks.

"Are you going to break the news to him?" Gabriella asked, sliding off of the bed, walking towards the bathroom.

Troy sighed, getting up from the bed and walking towards the bathroom as well, leaning against the doorframe as he watched Gabriella pull her hair up into a ponytail. He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek, smiling before he turned to walk towards her bedroom door.

"Fine. I'll tell him that a kiss on the cheek means nothing, party pooper." He said before he closed the door behind him.

Gabriella's heart pounded and she smiled to herself as she looked into her reflection in the mirror.

Later, when Gabriella was sure that she was going to die of boredom, she made her way out of her house and started to walk towards Troy's house. She smiled as it came into view, laughing as Troy was spotted taking the garbage cans into the garage. She skipped towards him quietly and put her hands on his shoulders, laughing as he jumped, unaware that anyone was around.

"Sorry to scare you." She laughed as he turned around, wiping his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand.

"I didn't hear you coming up." He chuckled. "You came at the perfect time. I just finished a whole bunch of yard work."

"Well, I have done absolutely nothing since you woke me up so early this morning." Gabriella smiled, following as he made his way into his house.

"It was nine thirty. You're not one of those people who sleep in until noon, are you?" He asked with a smirk, grabbing a water bottle out of the refrigerator.

"So what if I am, Troy Bolton." Gabriella laughed, noticing that the house was spotless. "Did you clean in here too?" She asked, impressed.

"Nah, Zeke had to clean in here. He should be around here somewhere," Troy said as he led her down the hallway. "Unless he went to Sharpay's." He smiled.

"They've been spending a lot of time together." Gabriella commented as she followed Troy upstairs.

"Looks to me like they're getting serious. Zeke must have at least ten variations of Sharpay cookies." Troy explained to Gabriella looking behind him as he climbed the stairs, making sure she was still there.

"Well, that seems reasonable. Sharpay has at least ten different personalities." Gabriella smiled, seeing Zeke appear as his bedroom door opened.

"Oh, hey, Gabriella." He smiled, waving slightly.

"Hey, Zeke." Gabriella smiled back at him. "Nice job with the cleaning."

"It's my second talent." He laughed, disappearing into the hallway bathroom.

Troy chuckled and made his way into his room with Gabriella following him.

"Whoa, wildcat." She laughed in surprise as she saw his room. "It looks like Zeke skipped this room."

"It's not that bad." Troy replied as he kicked his clothes that were accumulating on the floor onto a pile. "At least the bed is fixed." He said with a shrug, picking up the clothes and tossing them into the hamper, making the room appear to be clean.

"Well, that's a start." Gabriella smirked, sitting down on his bed as he attempted to clean up a few things.

Gabriella looked around the room some more. Although the room was somewhat messy, it had tons of things that reminded her of Troy. It was definitely a basketball player's room. The shelves that were placed perfectly on the wall across from his bed held multiple basketball trophies and awards.

She smiled as she saw his organized desk with a bumper sticker sitting upwards that read: School is for those who don't have a chance in the NBA. That's why I sleep during it! She laughed quietly as Troy pulled out some clothes to change into and she continued to look around the room.

Troy disappeared into his bathroom and Gabriella looked at the dresser that Troy took clothes out of. There were a few picture frames sitting on it and she scouted off of the bed and walked towards them. The first picture was of a large group of people on a beach, most with surfboards, dressed in bathing suits. She assumed that they were Troy's Californian friends, and she smiled, looking at the other pictures. She picked up a picture that was not in a frame and she furrowed her brow as she saw it.

The picture was of her, but she was almost positive that she didn't give it to him. She remembered taking that picture though… it was at Sharpay's house at one of her Christmas parties. She shook her head, laughing at herself for not figuring it out right away.

"Nice picture." Gabriella said, holding up the picture of herself as Troy emerged from his bathroom.

Troy laughed, tossing his dirty clothes into the hamper. He walked over to Gabriella, taking the picture out of her hand and placing it carefully back on his dresser so it set up against the picture of his Californian friends.

"Sharpay gave it to me." He said as he blushed lightly, but not too embarrassed about it.

"Are these your friends from California?" She asked as she crossed her arms across her chest, leaning forward to get a better view of the picture.

"Yeah. They sent it to me when I moved. They said I'd go crazy if I couldn't see them everyday on the beach." Troy chuckled looking at the picture as Gabriella did.

"Do you think you will?" Gabriella asked seriously, noticing the somewhat sad look on his face as he thought about the past.

Troy shook his head, moving away from the dresser, picking up the basketball that was sitting on his bed, tossing it from one hand to the other.

"No." Troy said to her, walking around his room. "It's not as bad as you think, Gabriella." He told her.

"I know, but if I had to move away from all of my friends, I'd miss them, you know? I just hope you're not too sad." She explained to him, walking over to him where he was twirling the basketball on his middle finger, looking out the window.

"I'm not sad." He smiled, hugging her softly as he tossed the basketball back onto his bed. "You just worry too much."

"Yeah, well, get used to it." She smiled, ruffling his hair as she laughed quietly, grabbing the basketball off of Troy's bed after she escaped from his grasp. "I'll race you down stairs." She said, dribbling the basketball lightly on the wood floor, making her way quickly out of his room.

Gabriella smiled as she walked into her room later after playing a carefree game of basketball with Troy. She plopped down on her bed, breathing deeply as she thought. She tapped her index finger on her cell phone and picked it up, pressing speed dial number five. She blinked slowly as she kept her eyes on the ceiling and she smiled as she heard a familiar voice on the other line.

"Hey, Zeke! I need to ask you a favor…" She smiled.

What is Gabriella up to? Review!

Much love,

unknownbyhim22