DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical or any related characters.

A/N: Okay, so if you haven't noticed I've restarted 'Out Of My Element', which basically means that I'm going to have three stories going at once and pray I don't collapse under the strain of those stories!

Dangerous Fascination

CHAPTER 6

DARK

He had been so close, so close to kissing her. She'd seen it in his eyes, those eyes that always held amusement; she'd seen his control slip and she'd even seen the annoyance that had flashed through his eyes, at what she didn't know. And the fact that he'd been that close, scared her. What scared her even more was that she wanted him to do it; she wanted him to kiss her. Bringing a hand to her head, Gabriella massaged her forehead in an attempt to get rid of the headache she felt coming on. The headache was becoming familiar; she only ever got it whenever she thought about what had happened in the gym. But what confused her even more was the personality switch she had witnessed when she'd walked back into the gym. He'd seemed so different, so much more approachable and then when he'd seen her standing there in the gym, watching the scene, he'd almost seemed angry with her when she'd asked if he and his dad had always gotten along well. It confused her. One moment he was laughing and the next almost mad and before that. Her eyes closed as once again she remembered how close he had been to kissing her and she leaned against her front door. What if he had kissed her? What would it have been like? Gabriella shook her head; it wasn't like she hadn't been kissed before. But that wasn't even a comforting thought when she realized that whatever experience she had, wouldn't help. Even if Troy decided to do anything with her, nothing would stop him from taking what he wanted from her or anyone else.

"Uh, sweetie, the door usually opens if you use your hand and push it open." Gabriella's head snapped away from the door as soon as she heard her mother's voice. Looking around wildly, she came face to face with Alexandra Montez, who was watching her only child in amusement.

"Oh. Uh, hi Mom." Gabriella said, feeling flustered even as Alexandra walked up the stairs and pressed a warm kiss to her forehead, before reaching behind her daughter and opening the front door.

"Hi honey, after you," Gabriella grinned at her mother and walked in the door. Automatically, she headed towards the kitchen. Knowing her mother would want coffee as Gabriella told her about her day. Hearing her mother pad along after, Gabriella turned on the coffee machine that had been their latest splurge and got out two mugs. Concentrating on making the coffee, Gabriella absently accepted the cookie her mother had offered her and placed it in her mouth as she set aside the first cup of coffee, making the next one, she had to bite the cookie when it almost fell out of her lips.

Adding sugar to her own coffee, Gabriella turned back to face her mother and handed her, her own cup of coffee. Alexandra accepted it and rested her hip on the side of the bench, studying her eighteen year old daughter who was absently stirring her coffee and looking out the window. Sipping the coffee, Alexandra waited patiently while Gabriella tried to think of how to phrase her next words.

"Mom?" Gabriella looked at her mother as Alexandra continued sipping her coffee, taking it as a signal to continue Gabriella took a deep breath. "Did you ever meet someone you couldn't figure out?" She asked and Alexandra raised her eyebrows at the concentrated look on Gabriella's face.

"No. You know how I am sweetie, I figure everyone out within three minutes of knowing them," Alexandra said, her smile exactly the same as her daughters as Gabriella narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah, sure, you wouldn't have Troy figured out." Gabriella muttered and winced when Alexandra's eyes widened in delight at the sound of a boys name leaving her daughters lips. It was rare that Gabriella ever mentioned anyone from school, even rarer when it was a boy.

"Who's Troy?" She asked and Gabriella shrugged uncomfortably, not sure what to tell her mother about Troy.

"A guy at school," she muttered sipping her coffee as Alexandra waited for something more.

"A guy from school who…" She prompted and Gabriella rolled her eyes at her mother's eagerness.

"Who is just a guy from school," Alexandra sent her daughter a disbelieving look and Gabriella crumbled. "Fine, he's a guy I met on my first day, who's…" She trailed off not entirely sure how to end her sentence, while her mother watched her curiously.

"Is he cute? Or hot, or whatever you call boys these days?" Alexandra asked and ignored the look of disgust on Gabriella's face. "Well?" She said impatiently and Gabriella's mind drifted to Troy. Yes he was hot, with those beautiful blue eyes, the strong, defined features of his face, the dark hair that always looked like he had just gotten out of bed and the strong body that you had to be blind not to see.

"He is." She admitted quietly and Alexandra raised her eyebrows at the look on her daughters face.

"And he's taken an interest in you?" She probed a bit more and Gabriella shrugged, not entirely sure how to answer the question.

"If you call it an interest, he's so hard to read Mom; he's always in complete control. I've known him for two weeks and I've never seen him lose control of anything. You don't know what he's thinking, he's got these eyes and they never let in on what he's thinking or his emotions, unless he wants you to see them. And he's got this, I don't know, quality that draws things out of people, things they've never told anyone before." Gabriella said the last part quietly and Alexandra arched an eyebrow at the words.

"And what have you told this Troy?" She asked and Gabriella looked at her coffee, before sipping it.

"Um, I told him about New York and Dad." She said and Alexandra very deliberately placed her coffee down on the bench, studying her daughter who refused to look at her with a mixture of plain disbelief and intense curiosity.

"You told a complete stranger about New York? And your father? Gabriella, you never talk about those things." Alexandra said and Gabriella shifted uncomfortably, not sure how to respond to her mother's question.

"He's not a complete stranger Mom, I just don't know him." Gabriella frowned at her words as her mother raised her eyebrows at them, almost as if saying 'exactly my point' and Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"Uh-huh and you don't know him, yet you've told him about the two things you never talk about." Alexandra said and Gabriella moved her shoulders at the words, not sure how to respond to her mothers statement. Setting down her coffee, Gabriella rubbed a hand over her face and bit her lip.

"I'm going for a walk Mom," Gabriella said and Alexandra smiled gently at her daughter.

"Sweetie, if this boy has you talking about your father and New York, then maybe you shouldn't analyze it and enjoy it," Alexandra said, kissing her forehead softly. "Now, go for your walk, I have some work to do." Gabriella stared at her mother as she walked out of the kitchen.

"You don't know Troy," Gabriella muttered quietly as she watched her mother disappear from the kitchen.

Rolling her eyes, Gabriella walked out the kitchen door and headed towards the park, closing her eyes Gabriella turned her face towards the late autumn sunshine, enjoying its warmth which countered the cool breeze that brought the promise of winter. Coming to the park, she turned into it and smiled at some of the children that were running around the playground. She could clearly remember when she'd been that young. She could remember that every Sunday her dad would take her to the park and watch as she made instant friends with everyone there. She could even remember the picnics that they shared after she'd gotten tired, the sandwiches her mother had made for the two of them and the way he always bought her an ice-cream after they'd finished. She barely realized her fist was curled into a ball as she watched one of the little girls, she had to be no more than five, run towards a man she presumed was her father and throw her arms around his legs. Grinning up at him as he leaned down and picked her up. She could remember that too, the way he'd picked her up and the piggyback rides he always gave her as they walked home, the remnants of her ice-cream on her face.

"You know, if your fist gets any tighter, you're going to break your fingers." Troy's amused voice broke through her thoughts and Gabriella turned her head to look at him, uncurling her fist as she did.

"Did you just assume that?" She asked, blinking away tears that she hadn't realized had been threatening as he looked at her.

"No, I was guessing," he replied with a smirk. Gabriella averted her eyes and Troy raised his eyebrows.

"Have you been playing basketball?" She asked and Troy shrugged as he studied her face. She looked upset and he glanced around the playground, his eyes landing on what she was staring at and a wave of understanding washed over him.

"Yeah, how long have you been watching the kids?" He asked and Gabriella turned her eyes away from the father and daughter she'd been watching, to him and shrugged.

"I don't know. A couple of minutes," she said and he nodded. "You don't have to pretend you don't know what I was watching Troy." She said and his eyes flashed in amusement at her words.

"I know, I just figured that you wouldn't want me to make you anymore uncomfortable than you are." He said and Gabriella's lips curved into a smile that Troy narrowed his eyes at.

"Troy," she said and stopped as she realized what she had been going to say was pointless.

"Yes?" He asked and smirked when she shook her head.

"Nothing," she said and he rolled his eyes as she began to walk away. Falling into step beside her Troy ignored the curious look she shot him.

"So, do you always stand by a playground and watch people?" He asked and Gabriella shrugged.

"No." She replied, looking down at the ground as she walked.

"What were you remembering?" He asked and she shot him a look that told him the question wasn't a welcome one.

"How do you know I was remembering something?" She asked and he shrugged, stopping as she did and turning to face her fully. Gabriella looked up at him, annoyed that she hadn't noticed how tall he was before.

"You were staring at the man and girl with a glazed expression; most people do that when they're remembering something or exhausted. In your case, I'm guessing you were remembering something about your Dad otherwise you wouldn't have been looking at the girl with so much jealousy." He said and watched in pure fascination as Gabriella's face twisted with sudden anger at his words and then watched as she tried to get a grip on her emotions.

"Why do you do that?" She demanded and Troy looked at her, nothing shown on his face but bland amusement.

"Do what?" He asked and Gabriella rolled her eyes at his question.

"Tell me what I'm doing even though I don't want anyone to know!" She exclaimed and Troy chuckled at the look on her face.

"It's not my fault your so easy to read. Besides, it was kind of obvious, especially after what you told me today." He said and Gabriella closed her eyes at his words.

"I knew I shouldn't have told you that!" She said furiously and began to walk away. Before she could get far, Troy had grabbed her hand and spun her around to look at him, ignoring the way she yanked at her hand; he looked at her, his face impassive, his eyes a shade darker.

"Then why did you tell me?" He asked quietly and Gabriella just stared, her stomach clenching at the unfamiliar colour of his eyes.

"I don't know," she whispered and he arched an eyebrow at her words, ignoring the way she yanked at her hand again. Instead, his grip on her hand increased and Gabriella bit her lip.

"Yes you do. You know why you told me, so why are you so upset?" He asked, pulling her closer to him. Gabriella stared up at him, unable to stop herself from turning her hand over in his and so their palms were pressed together. The feeling of his large hand against her smaller one caused a warm feeling to seep through.

"I'm not used to people knowing things about me that I nearly always keep to myself." She replied quietly and Troy nodded. He could understand that, more than he let on. Pulling her closer to him, Troy fought for some control over the same urge that had taken over him in the gym. Raising the hand that wasn't encasing her, Troy touched her face, his palm resting against her cheek as his fingers plunged into the hair behind her ear. Gabriella tensed at the contact of his hand and she looked in his eyes and saw the same look he'd had in the gym. Except this time he didn't look annoyed. Without thought, Gabriella stretched up to his lips as his lowered to hers.

Troy wasn't exactly sure of what was happening as Gabriella pressed herself close to him, her hand tentatively touching his side as his lips slid over hers. The hand holding hers tightened at her touch, and then he pulled away. Gabriella looked up at him, her eyes shining with sudden fear at the sudden ferocity in his eyes.

Troy looked at her unseeingly, letting go of the hand that he had caught in his and stepping away from her. The urge to kiss her again strengthening as he watched her trace her lips with her tongue before biting her bottom lip.

"Troy?" She asked, her voice trembling at how dark his eyes were. "Troy, why did you do that?" She said and he shook his head.

"Get out of here Gabriella before I do it again." His tone would have scared her if she hadn't been so terrified of his eyes. Gabriella turned around and walked as quickly as she could, the darkness of his eyes etched into her memory.

A/N: Ooooh, they kissed!! I hope that wasn't too rushed, but I needed to have them kiss to get the story moving and I'll go more into depth about Troy's feelings about the kiss next chapter! I hope you enjoyed! If you thought it was too rushed, say so!!