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

A/N: Okay, so I'm updating sooner rather then later hopefully none of you have gone insane waiting for this chapter. I got that vibe a lot from some of the reviews. So I hope this means the standard that I feel I've been set.

Out Of My Element

CHAPTER 5

OUT OF MY ELEMENT

Troy stared at his girlfriend as he watched her run up to the stage behind the girl. He could not believe that she had actually done that. She knew that he couldn't sing. He'd always been hopeless at it. With a heavy sigh, Troy followed them knowing that he was too tired to argue with Gabriella and too tired to actually care about what he was doing. When he reached them he stood beside Gabriella and leaned on the piano. The girl had set out a piece of music and Troy looked at it. He ignored his girlfriend who was standing next to him, looking faintly excited. Troy was jolted out of his tired state when the girl began to play the piano. She played for a moment and then shot him a look, telling him to start.

"It's hard to believe that I couldn't see, you were always there beside me…" Gabriella looked at Troy in complete shock, unable to believe that something that amazing could come out of his mouth. She suddenly realized that it was her turn to sing when he gave her a look.

"Thought I was alone with no-one to hold, but you where always right beside me…" Troy gazed at Gabriella in surprise, he'd heard her sing before, but it was usually when she was singing along to her stereo and he'd never paid that much attention to her when she did that. He'd never heard her sing like this, he'd never just heard her voice.

Troy barely realized that he was singing again as her brown eyes captured his blue ones. Unknowingly he smiled at her, he loved the sparkle in her eyes, it somehow enhanced all her features, making her more beautiful then ever.

"I've never had someone that knows me like you do, the way you do……" Troy smiled at the words, for some reason they rang so true. Troy knew he'd never had someone know him the way Gabriella did, there was just something about her that chose to know the other side of him and know that other side inside out.

"And I've never had someone as good for me as you, no-one like you……" Gabriella's smile grew wider at the words. No, she'd never had someone as good as for her as Troy. He was the only one who could stand up to her and get away with it, he was the only one that could rile her up to breaking point and then kiss her in such an entrancing way and make her completely forget why she was furious with him. She'd never had anyone like him.

"So lonely before, I've finally found what I've been looking for……" Troy's hand wandered over to Gabriella and without thinking he found her hand and entwined their fingers, as they both ended the note Troy raised her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. Reenacting a similar move that made Gabriella just as weak at the knees as it had nearly fifteen minutes before.

"Ooooohhh……" Gabriella ended the song a soft smile gracing her lips that was directed at her boyfriend. Out of all the things they'd ever done together this had felt the most real to her, what ever had just happened between them was more real then their arguments, more real then when she played basketball with him and he let her win, more real then anything. Gabriella still wasn't quite sure what had just happened between them, but just looking into his sparkling blue eyes she knew that something had happened.

"Wow." Troy whispered, knowing just by looking at her that she was thinking the same thing as he was, that she'd felt something happen just as he had.

"Bolton, Montez, you have a callback! Kelsi, give them the duet from the second act. Work on it with them!" All three of them jumped when they heard Miss Darbus' voice echo through the silent theatre. They all spun to look at her, she nodded at them and then disappeared.

Troy watched as Gabriella's entire face lit up again at Miss Darbus' words. He let her pull her hand away from his and take the sheets that the girl at the piano handed her. Without thinking Troy accepted the sheets that the girl thrust into his hands and slowly walked away from her and Gabriella, who were conversing rapidly about practices. Troy stared down at the music sheet he'd been handed and it suddenly clicked with him what had just happened. He could not have a callback. That wasn't right. Nothing about this scene was right. First of all, he wasn't even meant to be where he was. Secondly, he wasn't meant to sing at all. Thirdly, Gabriella was not meant to be so excited, last time he checked she hated singing in front of people and that's what callbacks were. Singing in front of people. Troy turned back to his girlfriend to tell her that there was no way he was going to do callbacks and stumbled back almost immediately when Gabriella threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his torso and burying her face in his chest. Troy wrapped his arms around her, unsure why she hugging her.

"I'll see you at rehearsal Troy." Troy looked up at the auburn-haired girl who had been playing the piano. He suddenly realized that this was Kelsi and nodded.

"Thanks Kelsi, I'll see you then." He smiled and Kelsi smiled back hesitantly and walked down the stairs that led off the stage. Troy buried his face in Gabriella's dark hair and breathed in, letting her smell wash over him.

They stood there for a moment longer. Gabriella wrapped around Troy, her eyes closed in pure contentment and Troy holding her tight, breathing in her smell and wondering why in the world she was clinging to him the way she was. Finally, Troy pulled back and looked down at her wonderingly.

"Not that I don't enjoy the moments when you throw yourself at me, but what was that for?" he asked and Gabriella giggled and leaned up and kissed him quickly.

"That was for singing with me. I can't believe that you actually sang." She replied and Troy laughed and raised a hand to run it through his hair, bemused.

"Neither can I. You do that to me, Montez." Troy said and Gabriella looked at him strangely, that was not something she'd ever expected him to say.

"What do I do to you Troy?" Gabriella asked quietly and Troy went red, he was never very good when it came to explaining himself to Gabriella. Especially when it came to her effect on him and everything he did.

Gabriella looked up at him expectantly. Her brown eyes curious and slightly impatient. Troy knew that he wasn't going to get out of explaining to her what he meant and sighed, replacing his hand around her Troy pulled her closer then before and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"You make me do things that I can't quite explain, you make my heart beat faster when ever you walk into a room, you make my breathing hitch when you stand right in front of me and are furious, you make me feel out of my element when you melt into me and forget everything around and you make me fall even more in love with you every day when you walk into a room and are nothing but yourself." Troy whispered in her ear, softly, lovingly even seductively. Gabriella felt her eyes fill with tears at his words.

This was the reason she was with him. This was the reason that she loved him so completely, this was the reason she was always out of her element. Because no matter how mad she got at him, no matter how much she swore she hated him sometimes and no matter how indecisive their relationship was sometimes. He would make it up to her by saying something that would make her fall even more in love with him. This was the side of their relationship that nobody knew existed, this was the side that Gabriella treasured. Every time this side presented itself to her every other aspect of their relationship seemed so unimportant. Looking up into Troy's brilliant blue eyes that were looking down at her so softly, so lovingly, Gabriella smiled at him feeling stupid for allowing a tear to slide down her face. Those blue eyes darkened considerably when they saw the tear and Gabriella knew he thought he'd said the wrong thing as he wiped it away with his thumb.

"God I love you." She whispered and Troy's eyes smiled at her, Gabriella raised her head towards his, begging him to kiss her. Troy responded instantly and he crashed their lips together, letting everything he felt for her flow into the kiss. The passion, the love, even the fury that he sometimes felt for her and he felt her respond to him just as devotedly. She matched him every step of the way, as Troy pulled her even closer to himself making sure there was absolutely no space between them.

Finally the need for oxygen became apparent and Gabriella pulled back, her eyes still closed as she felt Troy trace kisses around her face, before finally letting his lips wander back to hers in a softer, gentler kiss.

"Mmmm, I love you." Gabriella whispered when Troy rested his forehead on hers and she was sure that she could talk.

"I love you too Montez." Troy replied just as quietly. At the back of his mind Troy remember where they were and why they were there, but pushed it aside. He was not going to ruin this amazing, fragile moment between the two of them just because he didn't really want to sing.

"You make me feel out of my element Bolton." Gabriella sighed and Troy grinned slightly at her use of words.

"You make me feel out of my element too Montez." Troy replied and Gabriella just smiled, before threading her fingers through his hair and pulling his head down to kiss him again. 'Out of my element, perfect way to describe it' Troy thought dazedly as his own hand wound through her dark curls.

A/N: Okay, that was deep and serious and I know your all wondering when the blonde comes in, don't worry she's coming in soon. But for the moment I think that's enough. Don't worry, talking about the callbacks comes in next chapter. And this chapter will tie in later with the rest of the story! I think it will anyway. I hope you enjoyed and that it reached the standard!