Troy paced slowly back and forth through the lobby waiting for his friends to come down. He began to become impatient since his nerves were jumping wildly within his body, probably because he was dying to see a specific brunette. Troy pulled out his cell phone and was about to press the redial number to rush Chad when he suddenly heard the 'ding' of the elevator about twenty feet away. His head snapped up towards that direction as his eyes narrowed, hoping it was them. To his satisfaction, it was. He watched as Taylor, Gabriella, and Chad all laughed as they got out while Gabriella smacked Chad's arm. Troy felt a small smile form on his face watching the interaction, looking forward to the day of fun ahead. His bottom lip began to quiver as his mouth went dry from staring at Gabriella. His eyes wandered to her exposed legs, enjoying the view since he always admired her legs. 'She must've remembered…either that or she's just trying to be a tease,' he thought. Taylor enlaced her arm with Gabriella's and leaned close to her ear, as if to tell her a secret while Chad's eyes opened wide with alert to scan the lobby for Troy. Once Chad spotted him, he smiled at his former teammate and led the girls to Troy's direction.

"Danforth…McKessie…Montez. Good afternoon to you all." Troy said cheerfully, embracing each one within a hug leaving Gabriella for last. They held each other a few seconds longer than Troy did with the others. The both of them hoped that no one noticed although they knew that they most likely did.

"Good afternoon to you too, Troy." Gabriella said once they pulled back. Troy took that brief moment and stared into Gabriella's eyes, traveling them down her perfect curves all the way to her tiny toes. She blushed, realizing that he was checking her out.

'God, she's just so sexy and beautiful. What more could a guy ask for? I'm such an idiot!' Troy mentally kicked himself, thinking about how that could've been his. "You look nice, Brie."

"Thanks, Wildcat. Right back at you." She said with a wink and a smile. She admired his black and white converse, fitted blue jeans, and black vintage t-shirt that graced a funky design on the front. Chad and Taylor stood aside grinning silently at the exchange, amused at their shy flirtation.

"Thanks. By the way, you look nice too Taylor." Troy realized that he didn't show much acknowledgement towards the dark skinned beauty and acted quick to do so before they became more suspicious of his feelings…besides the fact that they would probably tease him about it later.

"Well thank you, Troy…it was nice to finally receive a compliment about my appearance." Taylor replied, looking in Chad's direction, who wasn't even paying her any mind. She smacked his arm making him jerk his head towards her with surprise and confusion.

"What'd I do now?" Chad asked. He glanced back at Gabriella and Troy to see if they were just as lost as he was. They looked away with a giggle, confirming that they knew what was going on.

"Nothing, Chad. You should take some lessons from Troy on how to flatter a girl sometime. You know, be a gentleman, perhaps?" Taylor said slightly annoyed.

"Leave it to Troy to make all the other guys look bad…" Chad joked, shaking his head with a smirk. Troy smiled at his statement, amusement glittering in his eyes.

"Can't blame me for that, you got to blame mom and dad. They raised me to be quite the charmer." Troy replied, purposely looking at Gabriella while saying the second part.

"And to be pretty cocky too, huh?" Gabriella retorted.

"And you enjoyed every minute of it." He said back, grinning when she didn't have a comeback. Gabriella couldn't help but to smile and blush from his comment, trying her best to hide her face from his view but she was too late, he had already seen it. "Blushing are we, Ms. Montez?"

"No…It's just, uh…erm…too hot in here. This heat makes me turn all red." She lied, knowing that no one bought it since she was a terrible liar. Chad and Taylor laughed at her attempt to hide her blush.

"Whatever you say, Gabs…" Troy suddenly felt butterflies in the bit of his gut when she looked back at him, no longer avoiding his gaze. He saw a certain intensity in her eyes, yet it was also playful, as if she were longing for something.

"So Bolton, what do you have planned for us?" Chad asked, interrupting their brief moment of silence and gazing, both Troy and Gabriella groaning inwardly with annoyance.

"Uh, one of the places I want to take you guys too is the huge 'Toys R Us' in Times Square. It might be a toy store but it's just that awesome! You guys are going to love it!" Troy spoke with enthusiasm, sounding like a little kid at the candy store, his eyes filled with such excitement.

"Well then lets get going, shall we?" Taylor walked next to Troy, looking at him with an expectant expression. Troy led the group out of the hotel and onto the busy sidewalk of the city. In the back of his mind, he wanted nothing more but to grasp Gabriella's hand and whisper sweet nothings into her ear or just pin her against a wall and ravish those plumped lips that she adorned, but he knew that would be far too much to ask for since his guilty conscience wouldn't allow him to…or at least not yet. Who knew when he would crack, right?

Taylor and Gabriella stood behind the guys during their walk, caught up in their own conversation. Chad glanced back at them and saw how into their conversation they were, so he took the opportunity to start one up with Troy.

"So Troy, my main man…what have you been up to since Albuquerque?" he questioned, looking over to his side where Troy stood beside him walking.

"You know me, just been chilling and hanging in there I guess…The career is going good, I'm still alive…what else is there?" Troy answered, putting his hands in his pocket and looked down at his shuffling foot, keeping a steady pace for the girls to keep up with.

"Well for starters, how's the love life treating you?" Chad didn't feel the need to beat around the bush any longer, trying to seek information about his best friend's life. He knew that Troy must've had some kind of action of some sort going on because it was Troy Bolton. He knew that girl's swooned at his appearance and that they wanted him, so he must've been dating or at least getting some, right? That was all Chad could assume since he hadn't seen Troy as what he would define as forever.

"Um…" Troy was at lost for words. He wondered if Gabriella mentioned Pam at any point after he left yesterday. Troy wasn't sure if he could be able to lie to Chad. They grew up together and Chad knew Troy like the back of his hand. Should he just come clean and admit to his marriage? He was so unsure of how to even answer the question that he just said the first thing that came to mind, "It's complicated."

Chad furrowed his eyebrows with confusion from the response; he definitely wasn't expecting that. "Complicated? What do you mean? How so?"

Troy glanced at his friend's face, unsure of how to explain. "Where do I begin?" He rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding the questioning eyes of his caramel toned friend. "I'm just involved with someone right now…" He let out a breath that he didn't even know he was holding in. His heart began to speed up wandering if Chad was going to take the answer for what it was or probe further with questions. Luck wasn't in Troy's corner since he got what he didn't want.

"Involved? With who?" Chad grinned at this, amused that Troy seemed nervous to talk about a girl to him…or was he nervous because of the girl that was about a foot behind him.

"Her name is Pamela." Troy didn't want to go any further into details, praying to the heavens above that Chad would just quit.

"Where's she from?" Nope, Chad wasn't giving up.

"Here…New York." Troy answered, halting at the end of one of the sidewalks. Cars were passing by at a quick enough speed for someone to get killed if they weren't paying attention and walked into the traffic. The guys stood quiet for a minute, cautious to not risk having the girls overhear their conversation. Moment later the light turned red, signaling for everyone on the sidewalk to continue his or her journeys.

"Does Gabriella know about her?" Chad just wasn't going to let it go.

"Yeah, actually she does. I mentioned her yesterday to Ella." Troy looked directly at Chad to prove that his answer was honest. He did tell her that he honestly had someone in his life right now; he just forgot to mention that it was permanent.

"How did she take it?" Chad was curious to know. He knew how Gabriella felt about Troy and couldn't help but wonder if she was crushed by the news, considering that she did travel this far for him.

"Alright, I guess. I honestly don't know…like she did tell me she was happy for me and whatnot but I could've sworn before that she looked a little disappointed. I could've been imagining it but I seriously think I saw a small glint of upset in her eyes. You know how Brie could be sometimes though, she'll lead you to believe whatever she wants if she hides it well…"

"Yeah I know what you mean. This morning she fed me some bullshit about 'the women's network'! Speaking of that, we need to have a guy's network moment. Let's just get down to the point, alright?" Chad stopped speaking for a moment to look over at Troy, noting that he nodded his head for the curly afro man to continue, "What's going on between you and Gabriella?"

"What do mean? There's not much to tell." Deep down, Troy knew exactly what Chad wanted to know and he would tell him, but he wasn't going to give it out so easily. If Chad really wanted to get Troy's insight, he would have to dig and dig deep, like how he tried to when asking about Pam, which Troy was more than happy about the change of subject.

"Don't try feeding me that bullshit too. I know you, Troy. We go way back and beyond so you cant pull a fast one on me like that, especially if its visible for everyone to notice so don't try denying it either." Chad pointed a finger at Troy to prove his point. The ocean blue of Troy's eyes twinkled with amusement from his friend's accusations…which were true. He knew he couldn't deny anything because he knew that Chad was right…but he didn't think it was that noticeable for the world to see.

"Fine…you win." Troy raised his hands as if to surrender before he continued. "I guess I cant really deny feeling something for her again," he looked back to check on the girls, seeing that they were still involved in their own world he elaborated his emotions out to Chad. "Ever since last night, seeing her again for the first time in a long time has just been so impacting on me. Before you guys even came, I had been thinking about her nonstop – ask Kelsi if you don't believe me. Anyway, it was like all my thoughts about her as been a sign that she was coming, that she was going to be right here in the flesh right before my very own eyes. It feels like fate is trying to give me another chance at what I was stupid enough to let go of before but I'm not sure if fate had good timing." Troy confessed, confusion written all over his face.

"Does fate's timing have anything to do with Pam?" Chad curiously asked. He glanced at Troy's face, question marks glittering in his eyes.

"Something like that." Troy kept his answer simple. He didn't want to give more information than what was necessary.

"If you don't mind me asking, how do you feel about Pam?"

Troy stood quiet as he contemplated his answer. He knew deep down that he loved his wife but lately he would question just how strong it was, especially last night more than ever because all it took was one look at Gabriella to make him weak in the knees, to feel his heart race, to make his lips go dry, and for the air around him to feel sucked out leaving him without a breath. If she had that much of an intense impact on him, how could his wife stand a chance? But that was the thing, she was his wife…he had no way to get out that bond that they shared, that they promised. Troy didn't remember the last time he felt the way he did for Gabriella for Pamela. He felt so lost about the situation, but how could he be? Gabriella had only been there for about a day and a half – and he had only seen her last night and for the little bit of today. Could he really be that infatuated? To everyone else, it was obvious that he was…but to Troy, he knew he shouldn't have even felt that way because for him it was like cheating although he had done nothing wrong. He really did love Pam, but was Gabriella's force strong enough to make him think otherwise?

"Pam? Honestly dude, I don't know. Like I really do have feelings for her and we've been 'involved' for a long time now so I really care about her, you know? She's always been there for me and she supports what I do, even if it means that I'm not around often. I mean, I live with her and so far it's been great – don't mention that I live with her to Gabriella. She even gave me a dog, Mugsy. But like, seeing Brie has got me asking myself 'What if? What could've been if I didn't leave?' It's like Brie's an addiction or my special dose of ecstasy; I'm hooked. Not one day has gone by that she didn't casually pop into my head…not one day. It's just weird that lately she's being popping up a lot and like I said before, it felt like a sign. Truth be told, I don't think I was ever able of actually letting her go. Maybe I locked her away into the back of my mind but seeing her here as opened that up again and there she is…taking control of my head." When Troy finished letting out his thoughts, he looked over at Chad. He nervously chuckled from the bewildered expression on the tan man.

"Dude, you need to tell her." Chad advised.

"There's a lot of things that I have to tell her…" Troy mumbled, thinking about his love life situation that Gabriella deserved to know most, that one detail that he left out for both her and Chad – marriage. Before Chad could even ask what Troy meant by that, he stopped his steps along with the ocean blue eyed man who turned around and faced the females behind him.

"Alright people, we made it."

"Finally! I thought that you guys were so into your conversation that you weren't paying attention to whether we passed it or not." Gabriella joked, chuckling at the nervous look that the boys gave each other. "What? Did Tay and me miss something?"

"No!" Chad quickly answered. "Lets go inside."

Taylor gave him a quizzical look as Gabriella shrugged her shoulders.

'Gabriella might have let that one slide but I'm on to those guys…they're hiding something.' Taylor thought to herself.

Everyone, minus Troy, faces lit up with excitement when they entered the enormous Toys 'R' Us. They had never seen anything like it for it was just too big to be a toy store. Troy stood back at they walked a few steps ahead of him, giggling at their reactions.

"This place is amazing! How many stories high is this?" Taylor asked, looking back at Troy. He walked over to them before he answered.

"Its three stories high and it has a lower level, so it has four floors."

"Four floors of toys?" Chad asked with such an amusement in his voice that everyone had to grin at this. "Oh…my…god! There's a Ferris wheel inside here too? Dude, that's insane!" The group followed Chad to the railing around the edge of the level, admiring the Ferris wheel in front of them. He looked over the edge and towards the bottom level, seeing that that was where all the video games were. "Come on Bolton, you and me are heading towards the games."

Gabriella and Taylor rolled their eyes at his statement. Something's were never going to change for the boys. "Boy's will be boy's." Taylor said, crossing her arms and shaking her head.

"Tell me about it. You guys could head down to the games…Tay and I will walk around here for a bit and see what else is here. We'll meet you guy's down there though when we're done, okay?" Gabriella reasoned. She honestly didn't have much of a thing for video games unless it was out of competition so considering that this wasn't one of those times, she saved herself and Taylor from boredom.

"Sure thing. Call us if anything." Troy said, giving both a warm smile before following Chad to the escalator to the lower level.

"What do you think the guys were talking about before?" Taylor asked her bestfriend while walking to the escalator that led to the upper level.

"I don't know…and I don't think I want to." Gabriella said, chuckling from the memory of their nervous faces. They stood in silence as they went up, each having a smile spread across their face when they made it.

"Is that a huge Barbie House I see over there?" Gabriella asked, not being able to believe her eyes. They were on the third level. It was an enormous floor that contained the Barbie's and action figures all over. Each department had an elaborate design for the section it represented. The Barbie section had a Barbie house and everything was pink. The Lego section had tables of Lego's for kids to play with and displays of things made from the Lego's. The Jurassic Park area had a creepy electronic dinosaur about twenty to forty feet tall.

"My goodness, it is! What are we waiting for, let's go!" Taylor said back, wrapping her arm within Gabriella's as they jogged towards the Huge life sized house that was filled with dolls inside and out. They giggled at each other, reliving years that they could never get back. Each one felt like a little girl again, embracing the feeling of what it must've been like to be in kindergarten again.

"I love it here! It's so…amazing. I don't even feel like an adult right now." Gabriella admitted, walking along the aisle and staring at the wall of dolls, feeling the urge to open one of the boxes and play with the doll that it held inside. Instead, she reached inside her purse and pulled out her camera, signaling Taylor over to take pictures with her.

"I know what you mean. I feel the same way right now actually." The dark skinned girl said back. Remembering the childhood times also reminded Taylor of her teen years, which brought up Gabriella and Troy into her mind. She smirked before she turned to Gabriella and asked, "So Ms. Montez, what was with that hug that was a little too long before?"

"Tay, it's nothing, really. Troy and I might have feelings for one another or at least I'm assuming that he feels the same, but anyway it's not like anything could be done, right?" Gabriella's insecurities were getting the best of her.

"Why can't anything be done?" Taylor didn't completely understand her friend's meaning behind her statement. She was unsure of just what the Latin beauty was getting at.

"Troy's 'involved' right now to some chick named Pam. He told me about her last night when we were walking to the restaurant…and I don't know. At first I was hurt by it but then I thought it wasn't a big deal to at least flirt with him anyway because it cant be that serious if he used the word involved. But then I thought about it again and I realized that I'm just going to leave in about two days from now…where could that possibly lead to? Me just leaving this time and disappearing. No matter how badly I just want to hold his hand or kiss those lips of his, I know it wouldn't be right because all the signs are pointing to another direction. I don't want to lead him on if I can't full deliver." Gabriella expressed her thoughts out and felt the weight of the world being lifted from her tiny frame. She let out a sigh of defeat, her mind seeming to win the mental battle she had going on.

Taylor nodded her head understanding what her friend was saying. She didn't want to push her any further by saying something else because she knew that what Gabriella said was the right thing. Maybe it was best for her to not try to be too friendly with Troy because that would lead to future drama and trouble. "We'd better go find the guys, or at least Chad before he wastes his money on a game that he doesn't even need."

"You're right. He could use the cash for gas or food or the hotel. Lets get going, McKessie." Gabriella grabbed onto Taylor's arm and pushed through the crowd towards the escalators, riding it two stories down to find the guys. Once they finally reached the bottom level, their eyes scanned frantically. Spotting a super curly afro in the distance, Taylor walked ahead with Gabriella following closely behind.

"There you guys are! We've been looking all over for you!" Chad exclaimed, earning a chuckle from Troy.

"I'm sure you have…" Taylor replied, not breaking a smile at his sarcasm.

"So you guys done with the games?" Gabriella asked with a hint of hopeful glitter in her eyes. Troy noticed and nodded his head while Chad pouted with disappointment. Montez won that war easily.

"Good because I want to go on the Ferris wheel!" She happily squealed with such excitement that the other three couldn't help but giggle at her child like ways. Grabbing Taylor's arm once again, she dragged her over towards the center of the bottom level where the surprisingly short line was. The guys followed behind.

"Uh…before people start to question Troy's and mine's sexuality, do you girls mind breaking it up for the ride? You know…one chick with one guy and the other chick with the other guy?" Chad bashfully asked, Taylor blushing the whole time thinking about how he glanced at her while asking.

"Yeah…sure. Fine by me." Gabriella said slowly, taking a step away from Taylor and stood next to Troy. She smirked the entire time as her skin began to heat up, anticipating being alone with Troy on a Ferris wheel…the romance of it all. But that thought quickly erased when she thought about what she told Taylor. 'You're not supposed to feel that way!' she scolded herself. The line quickly began to move, leaving Taylor and Chad before Gabriella and Troy.

Finally, the ebony woman and the caramel man were able to pay their ride and got into their carriage that was designed with animated characters. The two rode up, smiling as the wheel began to slowly spin.

"How many will it be?" The ride's conductor asked to charge the ride.

"Two please." Troy answered, signaling two fingers towards the man, who accepted the money and opened the gate for them to pass and enter their carriage.

"You know, you didn't have to do that." Gabriella said referring to him paying for her. He reached his hand out to help her onto the ride.

"I wanted to." Troy replied, entering behind her. Once they sat, Troy's eyes wandered over her legs up to her torso and stopped up on cleavage. His eyes gazed desirably upon her but quickly snapped out of his dirty personal thoughts before she could catch him staring. 'What are you doing, Bolton?! Control your hormones.' The Ferris wheel began to move again.

This was going to be one fun ride.

"What else do you have planned for us today? You know, after this?" Gabriella asked, her hands motioning to the surroundings as she spoke.

"I was thinking about taking the subway to another part of the city…or maybe outside the city somewhere…" Troy thought of where to take them but wasn't quite sure yet.

"Sounds good to me. I'm down for whatever you want to do." She didn't think about the other meaning behind those words when they slipped her mouth. The handsome actor looked over at her and caught the blush that rose among her cheeks. The twinkle in her eye causing him to silently gasp, taken aback from her all too familiar beauty.

'If only you knew the things I were down for right now…keep your mind out of the gutter, Troy! Ugh! Is that too hard? Seriously? Apparently it is…' Troy needed to control himself. Flirting wasn't going to hurt much though. "Was that a blush I saw? Are you embarrassed about something, again?" he was referring to how he caught her blush earlier at the lobby of the hotel.

Gabriella blushed again from his teasing. "Me? Blush from embarrassment? Wherever did you get that idea?" She was going to play along. 'If flirtatious teasing is what he wants and craves then that's what he'll get. Screw the involvement for now…' The seductress was about to break free from Gabriella's normal state of mind.

"Oh, I don't know…probably from the way your cheeks flushed with a pink color…kind of life your lips…" He slowly moved his index finger towards her cheek and caressed the smooth skin on her face, his eyes watched closely as hers fluttered closed from the sensation.

'Two could play this game.' She was going to get to him before he could get to her, or at least that was the plan. She opened her eyes and gazed back at him with a lustful glare. His breath hitched high in his throat. She pouted her full lips and gently glided her tongue along the slight opening of her bottom lip. His eyes narrowed at the sight. Gabriella felt such satisfaction when Troy couldn't rip his eyes off of her even if he tried. She took advantage of his dumbfounded state and seductively crossed her legs in his direction, lowering her eyes towards her limbs so that Troy's eyes would follow her lead.

'Damn those legs! Why? Why do they have to be so…perfect and incredibly sexy?' Realizing that Gabriella was trying to torture him into losing the battle, Troy decided to step up his game by turning up the volume a few notches.

He inched closer to her side, causing Gabriella to snap her head up in surprise. Once he caught her eyes again, he didn't let go of her gaze. He admired how they were filled with such passion and erotic ecstasy, glazing over her vision and making her see nothing but a blur of heat. Troy took the look as his signal to continue with whatever he had up his sleeve. So he did. He reached his hand out and ran up along her leg from her ankle all the way to where the hem of her dress ended.

'Bolton, what are you doing? You're playing with fire and you know it. But how could I resist? She's just there and so fucking beautiful. She's like everything that I could still want…all of that is still within her. I know it is.' Troy pushed the voice of reasoning out of his head and off the Ferris wheel once they reached the top. He anticipated her next move since it was her turn. Suddenly the wheel stopped. Both were breathless from their game of teasing, their actions coming to a halt. Troy removed his hand from the top of her bare thigh, embarrassed. He looked away and over the edge of the carriage towards the ground below.

"How cliché is this? Stopping at the top of the Ferris wheel…" Gabriella thought aloud. She grinned and blushed from her surroundings, wondering if anyone from upper or middle levels had watched their public display.

"Well, it would actually be cliché if we were…a young horny couple or something along those lines." Troy tried to reason but failing miserably as it dawned on him that they looked and acted like a young horny couple just now. "Which we kind of looked like…"

"So you're referring to us as an overly stimulated couple?" Gabriella giggled, not noticing that they were using the word couple. Troy smiled at her, enjoying her soft and sweet laugh that echoed through his ears.

"I might've." Not even thinking about the wife he had, Troy got into the moment and stared into Gabriella's eyes again. He saw a longing look behind them and knew that his mirrored the same. "I missed you, Brie."

She was taken aback from his words. She frantically moved her eyes over his own to search for the emotions that she needed to see. She found sincerity, compassion, trust, but most of all an old love and that scared her. She wanted this but could she handle it? Mustering up her courage, she smiled tenderly at him. "I missed you too, Wildcat."

Troy truly felt content to know she felt the same at the moment…that she missed him too. He opened his arms and with his finger, he cooed her to move close to him. She felt the corner of her lips curve upwards as the blush rose among her cheeks once again. Finally in his arms again, she snuggled her head into his chest as he wrapped his warm muscled arms around her tiny frame. They both sighed from the enjoyment of the moment. The Ferris wheel began to move again.

"You smell so good…" Troy murmured into her hair as he deeply took in the scent of her.

Gabriella slightly picked her head up and leaned it towards his collarbone to take in his aroma as well. "You smell good too."

He chuckled from how innocent she seemed at the moment, a complete opposite from the seductive vixen she was only minutes ago. Neither wanted to let the other go but knew that it was only destined to happen since they were getting closer to the bottom.

Untangling herself from Troy's embrace, Gabriella sexily smirked at him. "I would've won that battle if the wheel didn't stop, by the way."

Today was definitely going to be interesting.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

And there you have it! The tension of Troyella is starting to bubble...oh snap!

This is the longest chapter that I've written so far and it took me awhile to write this so I hope everyone is satisfied. I didn't read over it much so if I have any typing errors then please excuse them. Just as a heads up to everyone, my updates aren't going to be as quick as before because college is killing me right now. I got tons of things to worry about first but I promise that I will make time for this story because I have lots of ideas for it so far that I want to put into action.

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed! Don't forget to hit the button at the bottom...you know, the green one! lol