I've just posted a Jelsi oneshot called Hide Behind Me if anyone is after a short, fluffy Jelsi story, so yeah...Hope you like.

Dinner was quiet as Gabriella and her mother ate. All that could be heard was the clinking of the utensils against the plate and the clock ticking above the fireplace. There was never much conversation, since Mr Montez had never liked talking at the dinner table, so the habit had remained. As soon as Gabriella finished, she stood up from the table and walked out of the room, carrying her glass and her plate. As she washing her dishes, she heard her mother come in the door behind her. Gabriella gave her a small smile and then started drying her dishes.

"I had a, um…surprising phone call at work today," Mrs Montez began. Gabriella finished her dishes and picked them up to put them in cupboard. "It was from your father." The dishes dropped from Gabriella's hands and fell to the ground, smashing on the tiled ground. "Oh, Gabriella!" Mrs Montez said in an annoyed voice and hurried to get the broom. Gabriella took in a deep breath and licked her lips quickly. When her mother came back in the room, Gabriella was picking up the pieces of her plate and glass. "You're as clumsy as your father," she muttered as she began to sweep up the smaller bits. That was another lie which they told everyone, Gabriella noted.

"He wasn't clumsy, he was violent," Gabriella muttered and got some newspaper to wrap the glass and china up in. Mrs Montez made a small noise before sweeping the pieces into the newspaper Gabriella had put down. Gabriella wrapped up the glass and chine and then dumped it in the bin. "So what did he want?" She asked abruptly as she turned around.

"He was just saying hello and he wished you would call him," Mrs Montez replied. Gabriella snorted and rolled her eyes. "He's your father," Mrs Montez said sharply. Gabriella rolled her eyes again and looked up at her mother as she shoved her hands in her pockets.

"Wouldn't be if I had any say in it," Gabriella stated angrily. "I don't know how you could listen to him and then talk about him so naturally. He hit you. He used to shout at you. You've got bruises and scars to prove it!" Gabriella yelled. Mrs Montez grasped Gabriella's arm and pulled her closer.

"Don't speak about your father! He was wrong, and now he's paying for it! You can't expect anything more!" Mrs Montez snapped at her daughter. Gabriella wrenched her arm out of her mothers grasp and glared at her. "He didn't mean to do it," Mrs Montez said in a weak voice which proved she didn't believe what she said. Gabriella sneered.

"You don't believe that for one second and neither do I!" Gabriella left the room and stormed up to her room. She slammed her door shut and flicked the lock across. Then she climbed onto her bed and drew her knees up to her chest, resting her head in them. The tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and then they flowed freely down her cheeks.

Troy sat in his bed at home. He was almost scared of the quiet which loomed in the house. He was so used to voices of his parents echoing through the walls, the sounds of them shouting and yelling at each other. He was glad they weren't fighting, but eh quiet was something he wasn't quite used to. Plus, his little sister wasn't there anymore. It still hurt him that they had taken his sister away from him, leaving him with Sandra and his dad, who was barely even home most of the time.

Troy got out of his bed and pulled on jeans over his boxer shorts. Then he pulled on a tee-shirt and a hoodie before walking to his window and climbing out. He shimmied down the side of the house and landed quietly in a pile of leaves on the wet ground. Pushing his shaggy hair away from his eyes he walked softly away from the house, down the path and onto the street.

Mrs Montez had been banging on Gabriella's door for a while and trying to coax her out of the room with no avail. She had finally given up around eleven and gone to bed. Gabriella was still dressed and sitting on her bed. She didn't want to stay in the house for any longer, so she got up and walked over to her balcony doors, opening them. She closed them after her and climbed down the tree beside the balcony. Walking out the gate and onto the lawn, Gabriella wondered if it was really safe to be out at night with no one else. Deciding she didn't care, Gabriella kept walking up the street.
Troy sat on a swing in the park. The wind was picking up and battering at his hoodie and chilling his already cold skin. He pulled the hoodie closer around him and shivered again. He didn't notice as someone stepped out of the shadows of the tree and toward him as he swung back and forth on the swing. When someone spoke softly behind him, he turned around quickly.

"Hey," Gabriella murmured. Troy turned around in the swing and looked back at her.

"What are you doing out here?" He asked in an urgent voice, standing up and staring at her with wide eyes. "It's midnight and it's dark and this is the park and there could be anyone around. Someone could mug you or rape you or—" Gabriella let out a slight giggle and covered his mouth with her hand. Troy stopped talking and took a deep breath.

"Are you planning on doing any of the above?" She asked him. He shook his head. "Well, then, I have nothing to worry about, do I?" She took her hand away from his mouth and wandered over to the swing next to his. "I just wanted to go for a walk," she said by way of explanation. "And why should I explain myself to you anyway? You're out here at this unheard of hour as well, in case you haven't realized." Troy rolled his eyes and sat back down on his swing next to her.

"I'm a guy, and I can look after myself. You're a girl and…" Troy trailed off.

"So you think you can't look after myself?" Gabriella asked. Troy glanced at her, and in the dark he could make out the look of defiance in her face. She stood up and moved in front of him. "I bet I could take you on." Troy snorted and stood up, towering over the petite Filipino. She looked up at him and he couldn't see any fear at all in her eyes. Troy looked down at her, shaking his head.

"I'm far taller than you," he pointed out. Gabriella shrugged.

"What's that got to do with anything? It's quality that counts, not quantity," Gabriella replied. "You couldn't hurt me even if you tried." Troy looked down at her defiant eyes and thought about how much he wanted to kiss her. But the way she was looking up at him, he doubted very much that was what she was thinking.

"I can't hurt you, that just ain't right, to hit a girl," Troy confessed. Gabriella gave him a small smile and shook her head.

"It won't hurt me," she told him.

"How do you know? I'm pretty strong, you know," Troy told her, starting to feel a little indignant. Gabriella gave him another smile.

"I bet you are, but strength isn't everything," Gabriella pointed out. "Go on, try to punch me."

"I can't, not to a girl," Troy replied.

"You too scared?" She asked in a teasing voice. Troy narrowed his eyes playfully at her.

"Troy Bolton ain't scared of anything," Troy announced in a proud voice. Gabriella rolled her eyes and took a step closer to him, her chest pushed up against him and his breath caught in his throat as he looked nervously down at her. Gabriella leaned up and whispered in his ear,

"Except to hit a girl." Troy had a bit of difficulty breathing as she stepped away from him again and put her hands in front of her, palms upward. "Just go, it doesn't have to be hard." Troy finally relented and threw a light punch at her stomach. Gabriella blocked it, twisting his wrist firmly around so that Troy let out a squeak of protest. "Try again," she said as she let him go. Troy frowned and chewed slightly on his lower lip. He faked a kick to her leg and then threw a harder punch at her arm. Gabriella kicked his ankle sharply, caught his arm, and twisted it behind his back.

"Okay…okay, peace," he panted. Gabriella smiled slightly and let him go. Troy took a few steps away and held his arms, giving her a strange look. "You're a weird chick." Gabriella crossed her arms and gave him the evils. "But in the good way," he rushed on to say. "Any girl at school would be too scared of breaking a nail to even try to do that."

"Well, I guess I'm different from the girls at school," Gabriella replied as she hugged her arms around her, trying to keep warm with only her thin sweater on. "I mean, I don't really care what other people care about me…plus, my nails are already all broken," she added with a slight giggle, holding up one of her hands. Troy took it in his and examined her fingernails, and then started caressing her hand with his. Gabriella's breathing hitched as his hand rubbed against hers.

"Oh, so Ms Montez is scared now?" He said in a teasing voice. "Scared to touch a guy?" Gabriella narrowed her eyes and clamped her fingers down on top of his. "Oh, well, you just needed to ask if you really wanted to hold my hand…" he continued teasing. Her small hand loosened it's grip, but Troy held onto her hand, not wanting to let go. He stared down into her eyes and murmured, "Gabi…"

"Gabriella," she murmured back and then leaned up and kissed him quickly on the cheek. Troy was so shocked he released her hand. Gabriella gave him one last smile before turning around and walking away. Troy's fingers went to his cheek as he stared after the retreating figure. He still didn't want her to be out at night alone, but he knew that she would be annoyed if he followed her. He stayed where he was for a few more moments, before heading off in the direction of home.

The next morning, when Gabriella got on the bus, she was uncertain of where to sit. She was sure that Troy wouldn't mind if she sat in his seat again—although she would get glares from the cheerleaders and then basketball team, especially from one boy with pompom-like hair—but then she didn't know how he felt about her. She had kissed him not the other way around. She made her way to a seat near the back of the bus and sat down.

When Troy got on, there was the usual commotion and then he stood beside his seat and glanced around. A few of his mates gave him strange looks, and Chad Danforth, the one with the afro said,

"Dude, sit."

"Hold on, man," Troy murmured as he surveyed the bus. His eyes finally landed on Gabriella, who was sitting alone with her eyes trained on her hands. Troy gave his mates a slight wave before walking down the aisle of the bus and sitting in the seat next to Gabriella. There was an unusual silence as the bus started moving again, and Gabriella felt herself going red. It was the same sort of silence which had happened when Gabriella had sat in ' Troy's' seat and it made her uncomfortable and nervous.

"Just ignore them," Troy murmured in her ear. Gabriella tensed up as his breath warmed her neck. She nodded and then went back to intently studying her hands. Troy moved one of his hands so it was next of hers, and he lightly brushed her fingers. She tensed up beside him and Troy grinned, glad he was the one making her nervous this time. "So you are scared of guys, Montez?" He teased her lightly.

"Definitely not," Gabriella retorted. Troy grinned at her again and then took her hand in his. Gabriella glanced down at their hands and blushed again as a cheerleader flounced over and saw them holding hands. She flicked her long hair back and looked at Troy, pointedly ignoring Gabriella.

"So, Troy, are you coming to the party on Friday? It's gonna be, like, totally awesome!" She touched his arm and gave him a huge grin. "Jenna's parents are away for the weekend and she's gonna get her older brother to bring some beer over." The blonde cheerleader ran a finger down his arm and smiled widely at him. Troy shifted his arm away from her slightly and replied.

"Um, I dunno, I have to be in bed early…you know, I got the game the next morning," he replied, sounding sort of nervous. Gabriella felt him hold her hand slightly tighter. "I have to be ready and all…" the blonde laughed again.

" Chad and Zeke are coming, and I'm pretty sure I can persuade the rest of them," she said. Troy shrugged and gave her a nervous smile again.

"I don't know, Louise, I'll think about it," Troy told her and then turned his head in the opposite direction, dismissing her firmly and looking at Gabriella. Louise Anthony shot Gabriella a look filled with disdain and dislike and walked back to her seat in the front of the bus. Gabriella nudged Troy with her shoulder and nodded toward a bunch of Troy's basketball mates, who were all giving them curious looks.

"Your mates," she began. "They seem a bit shocked." Troy laughed slightly and entwined his fingers through hers. He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek, getting even more curious looks from his mates.

I thought the park scene was quite cute. It came out so naturally, and I didn't want to touch it, incase it lost it's originality (or however you spell it!!)

Please review!!