A/N: First off, thank you to all those who reviewed the previous chapter -hugs-. Well I got distracted from doing my homework and the result of that is this chapter. Enjoy :)

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FOUR: THE BEGINNING

Troy fluttered his eyes open and felt a body snuggle into his body. He felt their cool breath against his naked chest and their annoyingly high pitched giggle, he pushed the body away. He fluttered his eyes open and jumped out of bed. He searched for their articles of clothing before thrusting it into their hands. "You need to leave..."

"Jane," she replied offended. Troy nodded his head, not in the slightest bit interested. Jane glared at Troy as she clothed herself. She had a wonderful night with him and she thought he did too. Sending him a death glare, she walked out of his room. He sighed as the door shut loudly behind her. He wracked his brain trying to fit pieces together when he heard a knock at his door. They entered despite his protest of leaving him alone.

"Sup Troy," Chad's loud voice boomed into his ear. Troy held his head in his hands, suddenly feeling the aftermath of his uncontrollable drinking. He wonder how he could have let himself drink so much. A few seconds later, a very brightly dressed Ryan walked in hand in hand his girlfriend Kelsi. The love birds took a seat on the couch in the furthest corner, while Chad jumped onto Troy's bed. "I can't believe you actually brought that girl back to your place. Incredible."

"I can't believe it either. I don't even remember anything. Not even when we were..." Troy replied not finishing his sentence as he was aware that his friends got the gist of what he was trying to say. He heard Kelsi chuckle and chose to ignore it. Raising his head to face his friends, he eyed them questioningly. "If you stupids didn't change our plans, maybe none of this would have happened." He paused massaging his temples, trying to rid the pounding headache. "Anyway, what are you guys doing here?"

"We wanted to see if you wanted to go shoot some hoops down at the park," Ryan said, bringing Kelsi closer to him. He kissed the top of her head lovingly before speaking up again. The three pairs of eyes waited for an answer. "Well?"

"Like I have a choice," came Troy's answer and he rushed into the bathroom to make himself presentable. After an hour, the young adults found themselves under the hot sun in a heated match. Ryan and Kelsi against Chad and Troy. The latter a head by three points. Sweat streamed down their faces, the sun becoming more brutal at every passing moment. In the end, Ryan and Kelsi miraculously out scored them by two points. "I can't believe Nielsen and Evans beat us."

"I can," Kelsi gloated her smile reaching her eyes. Troy couldn't help but chuckle at her facial expression. Kelsi was the youngest and he saw her as the little sister he never had. He protected her just the same. When they cooled off and their breaths were back to normal, they headed off in different directions. The couple headed to the mall where they would later meet Sharpay and Taylor. Troy and Chad stayed at the park, chatting about the night's event.

In a heated discussion, Chad got his way. They would skip out on the club and instead have a bonfire on the beach. There was no law restricting them in doing so. They would invite a few friends, outside of their circle. Troy, jokingly, suggested that they have a cook out there later in the afternoon and just camp. Chad liked the idea. "It's settled then. We have a afternoon cook out and then start the bonfire and who ever wants to stay can camp out. Brilliant idea, Bolton."

Troy ran his fingers through his hair, dumbfounded. Chad could be so oblivious to things. He hadn't sense the sarcasm in Troy's voice. It was too late for words now, once Chad decides on something it was hard to change his mind, what little sanity was left of it. The two sat calling their friends and told them about their plans, to which everyone agreed. Troy suddenly had a question. "What beach are you cooking out on?"

"The one by the lighthouse," Chad replied not even giving it a second thought. Troy suddenly wasn't hesitant about the idea. Being at the beach meant the chances of running into that nameless girl was likely. He smiled to himself, ignoring the glances Chad was giving him. The rest of the day was spent picking up the things they needed.

The friends later found themselves at the beach, cooking out on their portable grill. It was a beautiful day, Troy had to admit. Every so now and then, Troy would glance over his shoulders at the house that stood facing the ocean. The curtains were shut, not fully, leaving it looking unoccupied. "What are you looking at?"

Troy glanced up horrified, it was Jane. She rolled her eyes. "Sharpay invited me, hope you don't mind."

Troy remained quiet and adverted his eyes away from her. He scowled at Sharpay who mouthed an apology before looking back over his shoulders, praying that Jane got the hint and left him alone. She stood there for a few more minutes trying to get his attention before stomping off. Troy smiled and relaxed in his beach chair. He closed his eyes, suddenly feeling tired.

When he opened them, it was night and the fire had already been started. His friends were gathered around it laughing uncontrollably. Getting up, he walked over to Ryan who was stood by the drinks. Ryan offered him a cup, which Troy took happily.

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Gabriella found herself hugging her family goodbye; again. She sighed before turning on her heels, something sparking her interest. Out on the beach, she saw a fire. Curious as to what was going on, she walked over and surprised to see a group of friends sitting around it. She cocked her head back wondering why they weren't scared or when they weren't in agony. She shuddered remembering a incident not to long ago. And just like the other night, the lighthouse put the spot light on her.

She remembered she hadn't finished her exploration of the cliffs or the lighthouse and came to the conclusion that tonight would be the night. She gracefully, in quick speed, found herself in the same spot. The waves crashing loudly below her. She casted her gaze up at the blinding light, surprised that it wasn't affecting her as it should. Suddenly, she smelled and sensed someone behind her. Being alert, she spun around. It was him, again. "You know if you stare at for too long, you'll get blind."

Getting blind was the least of her worries. Gabriella looked down at his hands. He was holding a cup of red substance. Seeing the color red, her sensibility flew out the window. She smirked up him, taking a step closer. "You're one of us"

He took a step back confused at that the she had said. Dismissing it, he looked her up and down. She was beautiful. No, he thought. Beautiful wasn't even the right word to describe her, she was more than that. Even in the dimly lit area, he could see her dark flowing hair. Her face was flawless. Her high cheekbones and her big brown chocolate eyes made him weak in the knees. Even her pale complexion, strangely, appealed to him. Clash of ebony and ivory. She was breathtaking and he found himself not being able to look away. Her eyes were alluring. "What clan are you from?"

"Huh," came his answer, finally snapping out of the trance she had put him under. She smiled up at him, revealing her white bright teeth. He noticed that two of her teeth, which he guessed to have been her canines, were sharper than normal. Nevertheless, it only added more to her beauty; if it were even possible to get any more beautiful than she already was. The lighthouse shone on them, her eyes seemed to be filled with hunger, excitement, and struggle.

"I'm Gabriella, from the Montez clan. What clan are you from?"

He scratched the back of his neck, even more confused than ever. Gabriella waited, still like a statue, for an answer. Time seemed to have slow down and he was certain he could hear a clock ticking in the far off distance. "I'm Troy, from the" He paused to think. "Bolton clan?"

She nodded her head in response as she took a step closer to him to bring him in for a hug. Troy took a step back and offered her his hand, instead. He would have loved to feel her up against him, but something in the back of his mind told him NO. There was something about her that separated her from all the girls he's ever spoken to. Not used to this type of greeting, Gabriella shook his hand and gasped. "You're warm."

"You're cold," came Troy's answer as he took his jacket off of his back. He offered it to her only to have her refuse it. Seconds later Gabriella found her finger tips gracing every part of his face, Troy shuddered at the coldness. She titled her head to the side, he was warm up there too. She stepped back, finding reasons of his warmness. It hit her like a lightening bolt, he was different just as she was. Convinced that was what the reason, Gabriella smiled once again. "So..."

"Tell me about yourself," Gabriella interrupted as she got onto the ground and crossed her legs. She patted the space in front of her. Slowly Troy got down and sat directly in her line of vision. He looked at her curiously debating whether he should let her into his world or not. "Please"

And that was all it took for Troy to spill his history. He found himself telling her all of his childhood memories, his secrets and some of his friends. Strangely enough, he was so comfortable with her. It was like he had known her all of his life, something that's never happened to him before. Gabriella was shocked at the new found information. He surely was different from the people of their kind that she and her family ever ran into. "What about you? Tell me about yourself"

Gabriella, much more hesitant than Troy, she wanted to give him details about her childhood but she couldn't remember. In result, she only told him about all the traveling she and her family had done for the past three years. She didn't want to bore him with years of events that had taken in her long life span. He wasn't phased by the little information she was giving him, which pleased Gabriella.

Hearing her brother's voice again, she reluctantly got up. "It was nice to meet you, Troy. I need to go."

"Can I see you again?" he asked looking up from his shoe that he, moments ago, suddenly found interesting. A gasp escaped his lips, his red alcoholic beverage dropping. Not once did it cross her mind that he was human. She was gone.

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... No, Troy's not that kind of guy. Well, only when he drinks a lot (and I mean a lot). So how was it? Hopefully not too terrible, yeah? I apologize if there's any errors that I over looked. Anyway, if you want, please review.