Chapter 7: Unpredictable Circumstances

Gabriella woke up at the sound of her alarm going off. Reluctantly she got out of bed and headed to her bathroom. As she stood under the shower head, letting the warm water cascade down her body she wished that the day had ended. She wanted nothing more than to see Troy walking back out her door signaling that she would not have to see him again until Monday. If only he wasn't such an egotistic jerk.

After her shower Gabriella dried up, got dressed and went downstairs to get some breakfast. When she reached the kitchen she found a note on the counter.

Gabi,

I'll be home late today, don't wait up. There's some money in the jar if you want to order out.

Love,

Mom

At 12:06 Gabriella heard the doorbell ring. She went downstairs and opened the door to find a nervous Troy on the other side. Why is he nervous?

"Hi," Gabriella said in order to break the obvious tension.

"Um, hi," Troy replied giving her his heart-melting smile. "Sorry I'm late."

Gabriella had to laugh at his last statement. "It's only six minutes after; you have nothing to apologize for." Oh god, what am I doing? I hate this guy. Jerk, remember he's a jerk. "Um, come on in so we can get started."

Troy entered the house and followed Gabriella into the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and offered him something to drink. After grabbing water for both of them Gabriella led the way to her bedroom. Once inside Troy examined the lavender room, there was an air of innocence in the room something he had not expected. This girl's confidence had been what attracted him to her and this innocence only added to it.

"We should start," Gabriella spoke out breaking Troy from his thoughts.

"Okay."

For the next hour and a half they read out the scenes for the beginning of the play. They were about to start the carpet ride scene when Troy's stomach began to growl. Laughing at Troy's embarrassed face Gabriella questioned, "Hungry?"

"A little," Troy answered sheepishly, getting redder by the second.

"Then let's get something to eat so we can continue with the play." With that Gabriella walked out of her bedroom heading to the kitchen with Troy following close behind. Once in the kitchen Gabriella started getting out things to make a sandwich while Troy took a seat on a stool next to the island in the middle of the room. "Is turkey okay?"

"Yes." Gabriella started making them sandwiches. When cutting a tomato her hand slipped and she cut her finger. "Shit," she cursed under her breath. Seeing that she was bleeding Troy immediately got up and went around the island toward her. He gently took her hand in his and sucked on her bleeding finger to get it to stop. Surprised by his actions Gabriella stood there watching him suck on her wound. Wow, his lips are really soft. When it dawned on her that Troy Bolton still had his lips on her finger Gabriella quickly pulled her hand back, staring at Troy with wide eyes.

"Sorry," Troy said.

"Why'd you do it?" Gabriella asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

"Whenever I got a cut my mom would suck on it to make the bleeding slow down. She always made things better. Maybe we should but a band-aid on that cut. Do you have a first aid kit?"

"Yeah, it's in the downstairs bathroom, in the cupboard." With that Troy walked out of the room. When he returned he had the first aid kit in his hand. He motioned for Gabriella to take a seat on the stool, which she obediently did. Troy took out a tube of Neosporin and began to massage it over the cut, then he covered the wound with a band-aid. When he was done Troy discarded the wrapper into the trash and washed his hands. Silently he began to finish cutting the tomato and assembling the sandwiches. During all of this Gabriella sat on the stool watching him intently.

Feeling a pair of eyes on him Troy looked up. Chocolate brown orbs made contact with his light blue ones. It seemed like ages when Troy finally made the first move. He walked around the island, turning Gabriella around to face him he stepped in between her legs. Raising his right hand he caressed her cheek before gently planting a soft kiss on her forehead, right cheek and finally meeting her smooth, luscious lips with his. Gabriella quickly responded to the kiss, intensifying it by wrapping her arms around Troy to bring him closer to her body as he wrapped his around her waist.

Troy slid his tongue across Gabriella's bottom lip asking for entrance, without hesitation Gabriella parted her lips. As his tongue caressed hers Gabriella let out a moan from the back of her throat. When air became a necessity the two broke apart. Not wanting the moment to end Troy began to kiss Gabriella's jaw line down to her neck. Hearing Gabriella take a sharp breath Troy knew he had found her sensitive spot. Smiling to himself he began to suck and lick the spot hoping to leave his mark. His smile widened when he heard Gabriella moan with pleasure and run her hands through his hair.

Seeing that he had indeed left a mark Troy kissed the spot once more before continuing his journey back up to face along her jaw line. As he was about to reattach his lips to hers the phone rang. The loud ringing broke the pair out of their trance. Gabriella instantly pulled back and ran to pick up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey Gabi, it's Shar!"

"Oh, hey Shar. What's up?"

"The girls and I are planning on going to the mall, do you want to come?"

"Sorry, I have a lot of homework to do," Gabriella lied. "Can I take a rain check?"

"Okay, don't overwork yourself. Bye Gabi."

"See you on Monday Shar. Tell the girls I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. See ya." With that Gabriella hung up the phone. She stood there for a minute, hand on the receiver dreading what would happen if she turned around. I kissed Troy Bolton. I should be feeling disgusted or ashamed but I'm not. That kiss felt so right, like it was suppose to happen.

"Gabi? Are you okay?"

Without turning around she spoke. "I think it's time you left. I have other things to do," she lied.

"But -"

"Please, just go."

Gabriella didn't dare turn around until she heard the front door close. She walked up to her room and closed the door behind her. Crawling into bed she hugged her knees to her chest and began to cry. She had promised never to let a guy in, not after what had happened.

Flashback

Gabriella walked up the driveway to her boyfriend's house. She and Chris had been going out for over a year and she couldn't be happier. Noticing that his parents weren't home she knocked on the door and waited for him to answer. When no one had opened the door she decided to knock again. After waiting for another two minutes she tried the handle and found that it wasn't locked.

She silently walked into the house figuring that Chris was still asleep seeing as it was only nine o'clock. Gabriella made her way up the stairs to his room. When Gabriella opened the door she was shocked to see Chris in bed with another girl, not just any girl: her best friend.

Choking back a sob she ran out of the house a quickly as she can. When she got home she ran up to her room, ignoring her mother's worried cries. Locking the door Gabriella fell to the floor and allowed her tears to flow down freely. Never had she felt so betrayed, what made it worse was that it was from the two people she had trusted the most.

She refused to leave her room the entire day, rejecting any food her mother offered. Before she fell asleep that night Gabriella vowed to herself that she would let anyone make her cry like that again. Never would she allow a guy to break her heart.

End Flashback

After remembering what had happened the last time she let a boy into her heart she promised that she wouldn't let Troy Bolton break down her walls. She eventually cried herself to sleep hoping she would be able to avoid him on Monday.