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

A/N: Okay, so after this chapter there's only going to be three more to go. Which is sad. But at the same, I'm actually quite proud that I'm going to finish this off, considering that at one point there was no way I was going to actually work up any interest to finish this story. But now it's coming to a close, with only little drama left and I can focus on MTLFM now, instead of worrying about this story and when I mean worrying, I mean feeling less stressed about the chapters and how its all going to work out!

Also, this chapter is dedicated to runninequalslife because of the banner she's made and because she's been a loyal reader of this story from the very beginning. (Sorry if its not an exciting chapter!)

Enjoy!

Dangerous Fascination

CHAPTER 22

QUESTION

The moment Gabriella walked through the doors of East High. She knew something was wrong. She wasn't sure how she knew. She just knew something was wrong. She supposed it might have been the air. The air was too still. Like the students were afraid of something that she had no idea about.

Glancing behind her, she noted the way Troy's eyes immediately darkened slightly. Like he'd sensed the same thing she had and Gabriella had a feeling that whatever it was had something to the person walking behind her. The person, Gabriella thought as her lips curved, that had spent last night with her, shocking her mother into silence when he'd walked down the stairs with his hair wet earlier that morning.

She wanted to send him a small smile, something that would turn his attention away from the freshmen who hadn't yet learnt that staring at Troy made them targets for an arrow of words that left them bleeding. Before she could think of something to turn his attention away from the freshmen, Troy's eyes turned to hers and his careful mask was softened by the lighting of his eyes and the brush of his hand against hers.

"Um, I need to go to my locker." Gabriella wasn't sure why she spoke quietly, only that she didn't want someone to hear the affection she knew warmed her voice as Troy nodded.

"Okay. I'll see you in homeroom." Troy's voice was indifferent and Gabriella nodded, taking a step away from him and wondering if she should ask him if he was actually going to acknowledge her when in homeroom. She was sure that his habit of acknowledging her only when he wanted wouldn't change, despite what had happened the day before. Even as she turned to ask him, Gabriella knew that he'd vanished the moment he'd said 'see you in homeroom'.

Readjusting her grip on her bag, Gabriella chose to ignore the looks the freshmen were giving her as she walked past them, her mind drifting back to Troy, who she'd spent all of last night curled up against, first on the lounge while watching a movie she hadn't paid any attention to and second in bed sleeping comfortably for the first time in a long time. They hadn't talked. Gabriella could suppose that after what he'd told her yesterday he'd run out of things to say and she hadn't wanted to push him. Especially seeing as he'd already revealed so much to her.

Dodging a flailing arm, Gabriella felt her mood shift slightly as she thought about what Troy had told her. She had been expecting something; she just hadn't been expecting what he'd told her. What would it have been like if her father hadn't left and instead had fallen into drugs and alcohol? Would she have turned out like Troy or was his mother's addiction nothing compared to what had happened to his sister? What would it have been like, Gabriella wondered, to have someone there who loved you unconditionally, who put faith in you, who was there one day and gone the next? She shuddered at the thought, especially when the image of a smiling, blonde haired, blue eyed baby floated before her eyes and she pushed it away.

She had no right imagining what Allie looked like; she was going to have to wait until Troy felt like she needed to know. Until Troy felt it was safe enough for him to reveal something like that to her. This time, though, Gabriella wasn't going to get impatient nor was she going to demand he tell her. She was going to wait. She knew enough now to wait.

Reaching her locker, Gabriella pulled it open and pushed her bag in. As she began to search through her locker for her history textbook, she became aware of the stares that were pinned to her every move. Straightening, Gabriella turned her head and was startled when she found no-one looking at her.

Returning her attention to her locker, Gabriella gathered up a notebook and pencil case. Tucking them in the crook of her arm, she once again felt someone's eyes on her and whipped around. Her eyes widened when, instead of finding no-one, she found a group of girls watching her from across the hall. All looked away quickly, glancing back at her once or twice and snickering.

Tilting her head slightly, curious as to why they were snickering, Gabriella took a step towards them.

"Oi! Gabi!" Chad's loud voice broke through her curiosity and the girls; Gabriella noticed, pulled their bags tighter against themselves and, with one last conspicuous look, fled the scene just as Chad slung his arm around her shoulders.

"What's up, Chad?" Gabriella fought the blush on her cheeks as she remembered the last time she'd seen him. She hoped he wasn't going to bring up her sobbing on his shoulder. If he did, Gabriella thought, she might just have to kill him.

"A roof, the sky, stars. You know. All those things." Chad grinned down at the brunette, pleased when she giggled and noting that she looked less fragile than she had the day before.

"I see you've got an answer to the question all worked out." Sliding the arm that wasn't cradling her books around Chad's waist, Gabriella held on and rolled her eyes.

Chad squeezed her shoulders, sending a warning glance at two girls who raised their eyebrows at their stance. "Oh yeah. Did you get your answers yesterday?" Chad asked and was surprised with Gabriella long, low breath.

"Yes." She breathed out. "I'm still processing it, though." Gabriella admitted, having a feeling that Chad would know what she was talking about and understand.

Chad nodded. "I know. I spent weeks waking up from nightmares after what happened. He wouldn't have told you, but he saw the bodies. He didn't care about his mom's but Allie's…" Chad trailed off slightly, remembering the bloody, bruised body of the still little girl he'd thought of as a sister.

"I'm surprised it didn't destroy him." Gabriella said softly as Chad steered her around a group of boys loudly exclaiming over some magazine in the centre. It would have, Gabriella thought suddenly, the stark reality of his sisters lifeless body would have destroyed him.

"I think it did." Chad muttered. Then, for Gabriella to hear. "He left for Santa Fe. Jack, his dad, sent him off the minute the funeral was over. He was gone for six months, no contact, nothing." Except for once, Chad thought. Looking down and contemplating the petite brunette at his side, Chad wondered if he should tell her what he had just remembered.

Gabriella frowned. "Really? He didn't talk to you for six months?" She didn't know if Chad was telling the truth when he spoke. But then, she supposed, it wasn't like she could understand what Troy had gone through in the six months after his sister's death.

Deciding that he might as well tell her something Troy wouldn't, Chad spoke. "He did call once. It was like two in the morning and my phone just went off. I answered it, fully intending to yell at anyone who interrupted by sleep. It was Troy." Even remembering it now caused Chad a type of pain he didn't understand. "He was a mess. A complete and total mess. He'd always seemed older than me cause he went through all that shit with his mom and then looking after Allie, you know? I'm still not sure what triggered it, whether it the psychologist he had to see while in Santa Fe or something else but he cried. It was the first and last time I've ever heard him get that close to emotion." Gabriella looked up at Chad. He'd been twelve as well. They'd both been twelve and Troy had been going through something only few people had to ever experience.

Feeling tears well up, as well as an insistent need to wrap her arms around the solid body of Troy. Gabriella pulled away a little from Chad, willing away the tears as the approached homeroom and noting the looks she was receiving from some of the students walking past.

"He doesn't want to feel because it still hurts, doesn't it?" Gabriella mumbled, not really intending for Chad to hear and surprised when he stopped to look down at her.

"I don't think something like that will ever stop hurting." Chad admitted. "But he's better now that you're around." Gabriella blinked slightly as Chad spoke and dropped his arm from around his shoulders. She looked at him curiously and he nodded for her to turn around.

Turning, Gabriella saw Troy heading towards them, Christy beside him and two other boys trailing behind him. His eyes flicked from just ahead of him, to Gabriella and Chad standing by the door. Meeting his eyes, Gabriella offered him a tentative smile as she wrestled with the urge to slide into his arms for a moment and hold on.

"Yo, Zeke, I heard you got some girl good." Chad's shout had the two tall boys behind Troy grinning as the boy Gabriella assumed was Zeke nodded and raised his hand for a high five.

Ducking under Zeke's outstretched arm as they reached the two, Gabriella slipped over to Troy and Christy. Though she'd fought the need to slide into his arms down to a simply a need to touch, Gabriella was hesitant as Christy gestured with her hands, speaking rapidly in a low voice and Troy's eyes darkened. Then his eyes flicked to her, though they lighted slightly, Gabriella noted that they didn't linger on her long. Instead they returned to Christy and she took that as a signal to touch him.

Sliding just behind him, blocking any view of what she was doing from anyone watching them; Gabriella slid a hand down his forearm, trailing her fingers over the muscles that tensed then relaxed at her touch. Her fingers reached his hand and, intending to withdraw her hand, Troy stunned her by capturing her hand and loosely interlocking their fingers.

Standing there, immobile as the warmth of his palm seeped through her, Gabriella squeezed his hand tightly. He didn't wince, instead, not giving any indication that he'd done anything out of character at al, Troy returned her squeeze, rubbing a thumb over her knuckles as he nodded at Christy's words before shooting out a low, dangerous growl that had Christy smirking.

Not hearing his words, Gabriella jumped when he spoke. "What's wrong, Gabriella?" She looked up, frowning and amusement warmed his dark eyes. "You look like you've been hit over the head with a mallet."

"Nothing. Nothing. What were you talking to Christy about?" She asked, knowing that what Chad had told had been in confidence and that one day, hopefully, she might hear it from Troy. Looking up at him, Gabriella tensed slightly at Troy's contemplative look.

"Things." Gabriella frowned, knowing that Troy was probably being deliberately evasive. "What were you and Chad talking about?" Deciding that if he wasn't going to tell her what he and Christy had been talking about, she wouldn't tell him what she had Chad had been talking about, Gabriella grinned up at him.

"Things."

Troy chuckled. He was more relaxed around her than he'd ever thought possible. Standing with her, right now, in the hall with students milling around them, Troy doubted he would ever feel this comfortable with someone again, even when he was challenged by his own demons.

"Funny." He muttered to her and Gabriella's grin softened to a smile as the bell rang. Almost immediately, she let go of his hand and stepped away from him as students began to rush to their classrooms.

She watched as Troy considered her for a moment then gestured towards their homeroom. Folding that hand that had held his across her books, Gabriella stepped into the classroom and was met with the dark glare of Taylor.

For a moment, she stopped, startled by the daggers coming from Taylor's eyes and then she felt a presence behind her and watched as Taylor's mouth turned from a thin line to a sneer. Glancing back, Gabriella watched, interested, as Troy's mouth tilted into a knowing smirk. It was an interesting contrast, considering the last time Troy and Taylor had seen each other, Taylor had provoked Troy into showing a temper that she had only sparked further.

Feeling Troy nudge her forward, Gabriella snapped back from her thoughts and was surprised to see Taylor had gone. Glancing back at Troy, she was surprised to see him still smirking and sighed quietly as she slipped into her seat.

Ignoring the looks she was receiving from some of the people already seated, Gabriella waited patiently for Miss Darbus to start talking and didn't see Doug trying to catch her attention. Instead, she focused on Troy and was surprised when she saw him leaning over to where Christy was seated, his mouth moving rapidly as Christy nodded.

It occurred to her that she hadn't ever seen Troy talk this much and about something that was obviously important. Tilting her chair back slightly, Gabriella continued to watch as Troy's shoulders tensed and his eyes flicked to Chad, who seemed to immediately understand whatever silent command Troy had issued and extracted himself from whatever conversation he was in to head over to Troy.

Seeing Miss Darbus stand up, Gabriella shifted her attention from the curious congregation near the front of the room and up to the teacher knowing that she shouldn't let Troy's presence distract her from paying attention.

She didn't notice the way Chad's eyes kept flicking back to her nor the looks Troy shot her when Chad or Christy were talking. Instead, she concentrated on Miss Darbus as the older woman cleared her throat and the little group at the front of the class broke up.

Even Miss Darbus started to speak, Gabriella's mind started to wander, drifting to the night before. She'd ordered take-out when they'd discovered she had little food in the kitchen and then, in a move that surprised her, he'd asked to watch a movie. So they had. She still wasn't sure how they had shifted from opposite sides of the couch so she was curled up against his side nor did she remember falling asleep.

What she did remember was waking up in the middle of the night. She'd tried to roll over and had woken up, disorientated, because Troy's arm had been resolutely around her waist, holding her firmly against his body. It had taken her a moment to realize what was holding her in place, when she had she had closed her eyes and snuggled back into his body. She'd assumed that her movement had woken him up until she had felt a long, sleepy kiss on her shoulder, a senseless murmur and the tightening of his arm.

It had been endearing and warming and she had closed her eyes and known that if he would give her something like that from time to time, she would be happy.

She'd woken to that as well. The long kiss on her shoulder. Except she'd kept her eye shut as she'd felt him shift away from her, knowing that if she gave any indication that she'd felt the light touch of affection he would pull away slightly, just to give him some sort of control. Troy's need for control had made her curious before and knowing why he needed that control now, it made her wonder just what would happen when he was comfortable enough around her to not need it anymore. Would his displays of affection around her be less sporadic and initiated more by him? Would she be able to slip her hand into his without the need to block the sight with their bodies?

Would he be able to accept the fact that she was in love with him?

Jolted by the thought, Gabriella picked up a pen and began to doodle on her notebook. She had a feeling that he would. He would accept her love because he was the one that had brought up the topic first. Maybe it would take him a long time to admit more than that she mattered to him but the fact that he brought up the topic of love gave her hope.

Not paying attention to the shuffling and murmur of students, Gabriella concentrated harder on the doodle she was making; unaware that the heart she was drawing was becoming larger as she traced the curve over and over.

"GM loves TB? Really?" Gabriella jumped at the husky voice in her ear and blushed as she dropped her pen and met Troy's amused eyes. Turning in her seat, Gabriella slid her elbow over the heart and fought back the heat in her cheeks.

"Why are you here?" She blurted out and tensed slightly as Troy placed his hand on her desk, successfully caging her into her seat.

He lowered his mouth slightly. "Because I though someone better tell you the bells gone and there is no-one else here in the classroom." Gabriella jerked slightly at his words, her eyes widening as she realized that he was right.

"Damn! I need to go to my locker." She exclaimed and Troy chuckled, his breath washing over her face and Gabriella relaxed slightly, tilting her face towards him a little more, so their lips were a little closer.

"I thought you went to your locker earlier." He murmured softly, pressing a kiss to her lips that had Gabriella sighing softly.

"Uh. I did." She replied and stretched up to kiss him again. "Why are you still here?" She murmured, this time saying it because she was curious and not to cover up the fact that he knew what she'd been writing.

"Because you are." He replied and caught her in a deeper kiss, lingering over it as Gabriella settled herself into the kiss and lifted a hand to press it against his side.

Drawing in a deep breath as he drew back, Gabriella gazed up at him beneath her eyelashes. "We should get to class." She spoke softly and Troy nodded.

"Sure." He pulled away and Gabriella stood up, gathering her books. Holding it against her chest, she looked at Troy, who was standing watching her closely.

"Do I have something on my face?" She asked and had a feeling that Troy was contemplating something much the same way Chad had contemplated telling her about Troy's phone call when he was twelve.

Troy took a step toward her and raised his hand, pushing a curl behind her ear. "No. Brie, I need to tell you something." Gabriella blinked, freezing at the name that fell from his lips and wondering at it.

"Brie?" She repeated dumbly and, for a moment, she thought Troy was going to falter before he shrugged.

"Easier than saying Gabriella all the time." He pointed out, brushing it off quickly even as it filled her with a warm glow. "Don't be alone today, okay?" The question made Gabriella blink.

"What? Why?" Her brow furrowed in confusion and Troy smirked, seemingly unable to resist sliding his arms around her waist and drawing her close. Gabriella, though still confused, went willingly, tilting her face upwards towards him and smiling up at him.

"Just because." Gabriella frowned slightly at his words, knowing that there was a lot more to the request than he was telling her. Before she could open her mouth to ask him what else there was to his question, Troy kissed her again.

Relaxing slightly, Gabriella slid the hand that wasn't clutching her books up into his hair and pressed close. Troy continued drawing out the kiss parting her lips and delving into her mouth gently. She pulled away from him, her eyes closed and her hand clenched in his hair.

"You going to be alone today?" He asked, murmuring it against her lips and Gabriella sighed.

"No. Are you going to tell me why not though?" She replied, kissing him again and Troy smirked.

"In good time. Just don't be alone. You'll probably find out at by the end of today anyway." There was such assurance in his tone that Gabriella sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Fine. As long as you tell me." Gabriella pulled away from Troy as he nodded, watching her movements to the door.

Stepping out of the classroom, Gabriella turned her head away from Troy and stopped as she came face to face with a nervous and pacing Doug. Furrowing her brow, Gabriella stepped closer to the nervous boy and coughed gently.

"Are you okay, Doug?" Her voice was tentative and Gabriella was shocked when Doug jumped.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Are you okay?" Gabriella blinked at the intensity of his voice and took a step back, not sure why he was so nervous and unsure as to what he was talking about.

"I'm fine. Fine." Doug nodded and Gabriella took a step towards her classroom, wondering how to get out of this conversation. "Stay away from Taylor today, okay?" Before she could ask what was going on and why she should stay away from Taylor, Doug had taken off.

Watching him go, Gabriella threw her hands in the air. There was something going on and it involved her, most likely Troy and Taylor. Which really, Gabriella supposed, shouldn't surprise her because of what had happened at her house days before.

The problem was she was in the dark. How was she meant to know if she was okay if she didn't know what was going on? Troy obviously did and so did Doug which meant, Gabriella thought, that Christy and Chad knew what was going on.

Which, she thought, brought her to the question. What was going on?

A/N: So there's going to be drama next chapter! That I can absolutely gurantee. Then, sadly, this story will have two more chapters left and it will be the end of DF. Sad. I hope you liked the chapter, especially seeing as it hints to what sort of relationship Troy and Gabriella are going to have as they progress. I'm also liking the Chad and Gabriella friendship. Its fun to write something where the characters are simply that, friends. I hope you all enjoyed!