I know, I've updated quickly, huh, but I've had a bit of extra time on my ahdns adn have managed to get some more written, so that's good! If guys haven't already seen it, go onto YouTube and check out the new song from High School Musical 2 called You Are The Music In Me. It's so adorable between Troy and Gabi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also, I love the song by Zac Efron (Drew Seeley?) called Bet On It!! It's great!

In Maths class, Gabriella was introduced to another girl named Taylor McKessie. She was pretty smart and solved all of the equations, along with Gabriella. When they were walking out of the class, Taylor said,

"So, were you in any teams at your old school?" Gabriella shrugged and replied,

"Not really. I was in the Science Decathlon Team for a bit at one school, but then I had to drop out. Things are really busy for me and my ma, and we're always moving around a lot because of my dad." Taylor smiled at Gabriella and squeezed her arm as they walked into the cafeteria. "And I was also in the Maths Decathlon Team for a few months at my last school." Taylor looked extremely excited.

"I'm in the Decathlon Team here, and we could really use your help!" Taylor told her as they made their way threw the hordes of students. Gabriella winced and answered,

"I don't know. I can probably get to the meetings, but I don't want to make any commitments, just in case we move again," Gabriella told Taylor. Taylor raised her eyebrows as she got a tray from a pile and lined up at the place for hot food. "I mean, I've moved to so many new schools in the past few years, it's kind of difficult to get settled in, if we're just gonna move again." Taylor nodded and picked up a plate of lasagna and put it on her tray and then got out a coke from the miniature fridge and lined up to pay. Gabriella had only got a coke and a MoroGold bar which she paid for after Taylor. As they were walking toward on of the only empty seats in the cafeteria, Taylor began,

"You said you move around a lot because of your dad, what does he do?" Gabriella opened her mouth to reply, trying to think quickly, but was saved when a certain blonde-haired, blue-eyed person appeared at her side. " Troy," Taylor said with a slight smile. "You've met Gabriella?"

"Yeah, uh…yeah," Gabriella smiled slightly at Troy. He smiled back, and then turned around as someone called out his name. Chad ran over with Zeke Baylor and Jason Cross. Taylor's face immediately clouded as Chad bounded to Troy's side and looked at the two girls.

"Danforth," Taylor snapped.

"McKessie," Chad replied in a snipped tone. Gabriella raised an eyebrow as her new best-friend and Troy's best-friend both had a stare-down. Well, it was more like a glare-down. Troy seemed used to it, as he just turned to the other two and said,

"Guys, this is Gabriella. Gabriella, this is Zeke and Jason." Gabriella smiled at the two of them. Zeke shook her hand, and Jason gave her a wary smile. "Um, do you wanna go for a walk?" Troy asked, turning to Gabriella. She glanced at Taylor, who was still frowning at Chad. "Don't worry about those two, they've been like that since primary school." Gabriella licked her lips nervously, and the nodded. Zeke and Jason made to follow them, but Troy shot them a glare and they stayed with the glaring couple.

Troy led her through the main building and then up a stairway. They got to the second floor and he pulled her through another door and they went up a stairway which was a bit less used than the other stairways. Gabriella was about to say something when Troy pushed open a door and fresh air rushed into the slightly stuffy corridor. Troy pulled her up stairs and she looked around where he had taken her as he released her arm.

"Where are we?" She asked him, going over to the railing and looking around.

"On top of the school…away from everyone," Troy told her. "The Science Club, Taylor and her mates, do all these. And since the Science Club created this place, none of my mates know it's here…especially Chad," Troy laughed slightly. "It's kinda funny, he says he'll go anywhere to avoid Taylor, but he always manages to end up next to her in an argument." Gabriella raised an eyebrow and looked at him.

"Well…he likes her," she said matter-a-factly. Troy let out a short laugh and turned to face her with a duh look on his face.

"You don't say," he told her. Gabriella smiled slightly and sat down on the seat beside the railing. Troy was unsure of whether to sit down next o her or not, so he just sat on the wooden armrest on the other side of the seat. "They've both been crushing on each other for years, and it drives tot rest of us insane. We try to push them together, but...they never seen to listen to us." Gabriella pushed a strand of hair away from her hair and Troy tried not to stare as she looked around and then back at him.

"So, what about you? You have a girlfriend?" Gabriella asked idly. She wanted to know, but she tried not to show on her face that she was eager to hear. Troy glanced at her, trying to read the expression on her face, but she kept it skillfully blank. He shook his head and shrugged.

"Nah, I've never had a girlfriend," he replied. At this point, Gabriella's mouth dropped. Troy started laughing at this. It was the same reaction he got from most people—girls, in particular—when he told them this. He knew his own friends were still surprised he had never had a girlfriend yet. He had hooked up with plenty of girls at parties, but he had never actually gone steady with one girl at a time. "That's right; never had a girlfriend." Gabriella started laughing and then blinked slightly as she realized that he was serious. She narrowed her eyes and pushed a strand of hair away from her eyes and blinked again.

"Are you serious? You've never had a girlfriend?" She asked unbelievingly. Troy nodded. "But you have kissed someone, right?" Troy nodded again.

"Yeah, course!" Gabriella laughed again, but this time it sounded slightly forced. Troy noticed, but didn't say anything about it. "So, tell me something. You live with your parents?" Gabriella stopped laughing.

"Just my ma. My dad…my dad stayed back where we used to live," Gabriella told him. She didn't like lying to him, but she was basically telling the truth. "I don't have any brothers and sisters, and my cousins live in either Australia or Canada." Troy nodded. "What about you? I know you have a dad, but your ma wasn't there. She live with you?" Troy shifted his gaze else-place as he answered her question.

"My parents just…separated. My mum took my little sister," Troy answered. Which is probably a good thing, he thought, knowing my dad. "I still get to see her on Tuesday's and Friday's, though, so that's cool." Something rang in the back of Gabriella's mind, but she shrugged it off. "My dads name is Jack and my mums name is Diane. She works as a secretary in an office." Gabriella grinned at him and told him,

"So does my ma!" Troy grinned back. "My ma's great. She works really hard but when she isn't working hard, she makes the best dinners ever." Troy laughed at her dramatic face. "Hey, when you try one of her meals, you'll know what I'm talking about!" Troy paused for a moment, a twinkle in his eyes as he recapped on her words. "What?" Gabriella asked in confusion.

"Did you just invite me on a date?" Troy asked coyly. Gabriella blinked in confusion and then realized what she had said. She blushed bright red and shook her head quickly.

"No, no, of course!" Gabriella cried.

"You mean, you don't want to go on a date with me?" Troy asked. Gabriella registered what he was saying and quickly shook her head again.

"No, I didn't say that!"

"So what day suits?" He asked her. Gabriella closed and eyes and breathed out. She quickly registered what was happening and then let out a confused,

"Uh………" Troy laughed at her confused expression. "How about…Friday night?" Troy thought for a moment, before replying,

"Yeah, sure."

The bell then rang, and both of them ran down the stairs.

Since it was Thursday, Gabriella was baby-sitting again. Jeanette seemed a bit upset about something, but Gabriella didn't push it. They changed into their togs and then went downstairs to the indoor pool. Jeanette had a one-piece, but Gabriella was in a brown bikini with wooden beads around the ties. Jeanette smiled at Gabriella as she sat down on the side of the pool and put her feet in the water.

"I wish my brother would date someone like you," she said. Gabriella raised her eyebrows quizzically and laughed slightly. "No, seriously. I don't know if he has ever actually had a girlfriend, even though I know plenty of girls who like him." Once again, alarm bells went in Gabriella's head, but she ignored them and smiled at Jeanette.

"Hey, dad? Is it all right if I go over to a friends house for dinner?" Troy asked through the bed-room door. There was no reply, and so Troy walked in. "Dad?...Dad!" Troy let out a frustrated shout as he crossed the room to where his father was slumped in a chair. "Dad, you gotta stop doing this!" He grasped the Vodka bottle from his hands and put it on the dresser and then walked into the adjoining bathroom and wet a cloth. Then he came back and handed it to his father. Mr Bolton groaned in his seat and pressed the cloth to his forehead. Troy clenched his teeth together, stopping himself from yelling out in frustration. "I'll get you some water," Troy muttered as he stomped out of the room. Mr Bolton moaned slightly but Troy didn't care.

He was glad that Sandra wasn't here. She still hadn't found out about Mr Bolton's weakness, although it wouldn't be long now.

Troy filled a glass with cold water and then walked back upstairs, silently handing it to his father. Mr Bolton took it and took a long swig, drinking almost all of it. Troy sat down on the bed and waited until his father looked slightly better than before. Then he took the glass of water away and handed back the damp cloth. Finally, Mr Bolton squinted up at Troy and said slowly,

"Were you asking me something?"

"Yeah, um…a mate invited me over to dinner on Friday. Can I go?" Troy asked again. Mr Bolton nodded. "Cool," Troy got up and purposefully picked up the vodka bottle on his way out. He walked downstairs and tipped the remainder of the vodka down the sink, watching the liquid trail away. Obviously Mr Bolton hadn't had too much, or he would be in his angry-violent stage which he often reached, but he would be slight tipsy for the next few hours. It was a good with his sister wasn't coming over today."

"Hey, ma? I, uh," Gabriella wondered how to word it to her mother. "I invited a boy from school over for dinner on Friday, and I promised him you'd make one of your famous meals." Mrs Montez turned around and gave Gabriella a wide smile which she knew a little too well. "No, ma, no! He's just a friend. I barely know him. I just said something and he mistook it and thought I had asked him out, and…well, he somehow got himself invited over for dinner." Gabriella winced inwardly with how pathetic it sounded. Mrs Montez laughed and shook her head.

"Yeah, that's fine, Gabi," Mrs Montez said. Gabriella looked at her mother sharply. "Absolutely fine." Gabriella rolled her eyes and walked out of the room, her mother still chuckling in the lounge.

The next day on the bus, Troy once again surprised everyone by taking the seat next to Gabriella. This time, she managed a small smile at him. He gave her a wide smile back as he put his folder on his lap and held out a scrap of paper, folded over a few times. She took in and gave him a curious look.

"My cell number and e-mail," he told her. Gabriella nodded. "And my dad said that I could come."

"Oh, yeah, right, so did my ma……can I borrow some paper?" She asked. Troy nodded and handed her a slip. Gabriella quickly wrote her e-mail and number. Troy grinned when he saw her e-mail address: SW33T!3-P!3. She blushed when she saw him grinning. "I made it when I was nine, so don't diss it!" She tried to sound annoyed, but didn't succeed. Troy laughed lightly.

"Sweetie Pie. It's original. No worries, it's cute," he told her. They both froze and then looked in opposite directions as they realized what he had said. A few cheerleaders had overheard as well, and they sent more death glares in Gabriella's direction. She nudged him and nodded in their direction, and Troy sent a smile at the cheerleaders, whose facial expressions immediately changed from devils to angels. When Troy turned back to Gabriella, she noted that once again, they had a major face change. "When I said 'it's cute', I, uh, I did mean the e-mail address." She nodded quickly.

"Of course, what else could you have meant?" She quickly said. And he nodded along with her.

Please review!