it's been a long time, and i'm sorry. but this is a looong chapter :) i fixed their song by the way for those of you who read the first version where it was all messed up. sorry :(

just so you know later on for Troy and Gabby's song - Troy is italic, Gabby is bold italic, and both is underline italics.

Comfortable

"Can you believe we start practice for the musical in only a week?" Troy asked Gabriella as they drove home from school that afternoon. Ever since Troy got his car, he made it routine to pick Gabriella up for school and take her home in the afternoons.

"It's crazy isn't it. These past few weeks have been so incredibly crazy!" She giggled.

"Well, it's only getting crazier from here. After this project it's day and night musical. It's going to be worse than basketball." Troy said with a laugh.

"You can still back out if you want to Troy. I'm sure Ryan wouldn't mind stepping in." She said, slightly disappointed.

"Gabby, there is no way I'm backing out of this. I haven't been this excited since, well I can't remember when. Being up there on that stage, singing and acting... with you is going to one of the highlights of my life. I just know it."

"Thank you. I was hoping you would say that. I don't want to do the musical with Ryan." She said causing him to laugh.

"Well, I won't leave you with Ryan if you swear to me you won't leave me with Sharpay." He said still laughing.

Gabriella smiled over at him. "I promise."

"So what do you think of the song? I think it's really coming along." He asked changing the subject.

"Yeah, me too. I'm just really surprised we actually got them both to participate in something."

"I think it's going to go really well. Are you nervous about performing it tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I am. But I know you'll be up there with me, and that'll make my fears go away." She smiled at him.

"You're pretty amazing you know that?"

Gabriella blushed at his compliment. "No, I'm not."

"You are though. You've completely turned this school upside down. Look at Chad and Taylor. Who would have ever thought they'd end up together? But you did that."

"We did that, Troy."

"No, because if you hadn't moved here, I would have never become what I am today. You are a genuinely good person Gabriella Montez. I mean look at Tim. That guy lights up when you talk to him. You make people feel important."

"Well, that means a lot to me Troy. But I still think we both had something to do with it. I would never have sang if I hadn't of met you."

"Okay, good point." He laughed.

They fell into a comfortable silence as they continued their drive

"He scares me, Troy." Gabriella said so quietly Troy almost didn't hear it. He looked around at the houses they were passing trying to see who she was talking about.

"I don't see anybody Gabs, who are you talking about?"

"Tim. I don't know what it is, but he creeps me out." She looked over at him and Troy could see the genuine fear in her eyes. "He's just always looking at me, and he called me Gabby today. I just didn't like it."

"Well, of course he's always looking at you – you're beautiful." He stopped and blushed when he realized what he had said, but when he saw Gabriella smiling, it made everything okay. "And maybe he's just excited to actually have someone be nice to him for once."

Gabriella thought about what Troy had said. Her mind was in completely two different worlds. First, she reasoned with what Troy had said about Tim, and she knew he was right. Tim was probably just excited to actually have a friend. But the other half of her was screaming inside. Troy had called her beautiful and she was completely giddy from it.

"Yeah, you're right Troy. I guess I was just over analyzing it."

"Hey, if you get any more weird vibes you tell me, and I'll protect you. It's probably nothing but you shouldn't dismiss it completely. Just give him a chance as a friend. I'm sure you'll be proven wrong." Troy reached over and grabbed her hand giving a light squeeze. His touch sent chills up Gabriella's arm and all over her body. Now this felt right. He released her hand, but both could still feel the warmth of each other's hand linger on their own.

"Who would of thought Superstar Troy Bolton would ever be advising that." She giggled.

"I told you Brie, you changed all of us for the better."

"Now that I like!" She exclaimed.

"What?"

"Brie. No one has ever called me that before. I like it."

"Well, it can my special name for you. How about that?"

"I think I like that a lot."

"Yeah, me too."

They drove the rest of the way in that same comfortable silence they had fallen into earlier. Troy walked Gabriella to her door and then made his own way home, smiling the entire way.

The next morning Gabriella woke up with a smile. She had been up half the night on the phone with Troy and she didn't even feel tired. She quickly got up and got dressed. She wanted to look extra nice today for the project knowing that she'd be on stage in front of all of her friends and classmates. After picking out her clothes, she went into the bathroom, showered and then got dressed. She carefully styled her hair and applied light make up to her face. After about thirty minutes, she felt completely satisfied and made her way downstairs. She was surprised to see that Troy was sitting at the island with her mother in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Mom. Good morning Troy." She said smiling at the boy at the counter.

"Good morning Brie." He said making Gabriella smile at her newly earned nickname.

"What are you doing here so early, Troy?" she asked.

"I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep, so I figured I'd come see you." He smiled at her. "Me and your mom have been talking about the presentation today."

"So Gabs, you ready for it?" Her mother asked placing a plate of eggs, sausage and toast in front of each of the teenagers. She then reached over and grabbed two glasses and poured each of them a glass of orange juice.

"I think so. I'm nervous, but I know Troy will be there so it'll be okay." She said smiling.

"Well, I think you'll both do great." Isabella Montez said.

"Thank you, Ms. Montez." He stopped when he saw Isabella glance at him. "I mean, Isabella." He said and she chuckled at him. "Oh, and thanks for breakfast too."

"Yeah, thanks Mom."

The three continued to carry on light conversation as they finished their food. Gabriella and Troy gathered their things they needed for school, each giving Isabella a goodbye hug, and made their way to Troy's car.

As Troy started the car, Gabriella sat back comfortably and adjusted her seat belt. She took a deep breath as she took in the scent of Troy's car. She loved this smell. It was Troy in every way – a mixture of his cologne and his natural scent along with his shampoo and the vanilla air freshener that hung from his rear view mirror. Gabriella smiled at she realized that there weren't many other places where she felt more comfortable. But with Troy by her side, she could be comfortable almost anywhere.

Half of the school day had passed, and it was time for the class period that most of the students were both anticipating and dreading. Gabriella sat nervously in between Troy and Tim in the auditorium as they watched the other groups perform. Zane was seated all the way in the back, not want to be associated with anyone from the class.

Troy looked over at Gabriella and could tell she was nervous. He reached over and grabbed her hand, giving a light squeeze.

"Brie, you are going to do amazing. I know it." He smiled at her, hoping it would help cease her nervousness, and then returned his gaze to the stage. Currently, a group was reciting lines from a poem they all four had written. Apparently, it was about a giraffe who escaped from the zoo and became a doctor. Or something like that.

Tim looked away from the stage and glanced at Gabriella's lap. He had felt a ping of jealousy when he saw Troy grab it a few minutes ago, but that jealousy was growing every minute that Troy continued to hold on to it.

'They're just friends.' He thought to himself, trying to control his anger.

Chad, Melanie, Jason, and Kelsi walked off the stage feeling quite proud of themselves. They looked out at the crowd and could see their fellow classmates clapping and cheering for them, and that only raised their confidence higher.

The four had come up with a themed project titled "Art and Basketball" and Melanie had made a banner that now hung across the back stage that replicated the cover for the movie Love and Basketball, except the "love" was "art." Then she and Kelsi started out on the pianos while Chad and Jason did basketball drills to the music. All-in-all, it was a pretty good project.

As they made their way off the stage, Chad shook hands with Zeke and his group as they made their way to the stage. He blew Taylor a kiss as she walked by causing her grin.

The rest of the classmates sat in the auditorium for several moments while Taylor, Mark, Sharpay, and Zeke got their project set up. They could all hear loud noises from behind stage, and Sharpay yelling a couple of times.

When the noises stopped, the curtains opened to reveal long strands of what appeared to be pink, purple and red crystals, but there was no one on stage. Music started blaring throughout the auditorium, and Zeke appeared with an extremely large cake. Suddenly a percussion beat accompanied the song and Sharpay burst out of the cake causing most of the students to laugh. They stopped when Sharpay began to sing.

Give it to me

I'm so addicted

To the lovin that you're feeding to me

Can't do without it

This feeling's got me weak in the knees

Body's in withdrawal

Every time you take it away

Can't you hear me callin'

Begging you to come out and play?

Zeke pulled Sharpay out of the cake and she continued to sing and dance around him.

So baby come to me

Show me who you are

Sweet to me

Like sugar to my heart

I'm cravin' for you

I'm missin' you like candy

Sweet, sweet lovin'

Got me going to the extreme

Won't go without it

This vibe has got a hold on me

Satisfying, baby

Let me show you what I'm made of

No doubt about it boy

Got me feeling crazy

Can't get enough

Baby, baby, baby, won't you come to me

Show me who you are

Sweet to me

Like sugar to my heart

I'm cravin' for you

I'm missin' you like candy

So baby come to me

Show me who you are

Sweet to me

Like sugar to my heart

I'm cravin' for you

I'm missin' you like candy

As the interlude came on, Taylor and Mark came down the aisles from behind all the students with plates of rock candy made from their chemistry set and hard candy that Zeke had baked. After everyone had received some form of candy they ran up on stage as Sharpay ended the song, all four striking a pose.

Boy I'm cravin'

Missin' you like candy

They all bowed at the end of the song as their fellow students erupted with applause.

"Now that was interesting." Troy whispered into Gabriella's ear, causing her to burst out in laughter.

As the applause died down and the group was almost finished cleaning up the stage, Ms. Darbus called out. "Bolton, Brown, Montez, Nichols. You're on."

Gabriella looked up at Troy nervously, who smiled back at her. "You're going to blow them away Brie." The three made their way up with Zane slightly behind them. Zane and Tim went behind the stage to pull out their amps and equipment and set it up on stage. Gabriella and Troy went behind stage and emerged with two wooden stools, placing them on stage slightly in between and ahead of Zane and Tim's amps.

Looking around, Troy could see that everyone was ready and looked at Gabriella who nodded and smiled. He nodded at Zane who began to play, shortly after accompanied by Tim.

Troy looked over at Gabriella, his eyes meeting hers, and began to sing.

I wanted you to know I love the way you laugh
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away
I keep your photograph; I know it serves me well
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain

'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away

You've gone away, you don't feel me anymore

The worst is over now and we can breathe again
I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away (away)
There's so much left to learn, and no one left to fight (no one left to fight)
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain

'Cause I'm broken when I'm open
And I don't feel like I am strong enough
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away

'Cause I'm broken when I'm open
And I don't feel like I am strong enough
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away

'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone

You've gone away, you don't feel me anymore

Gabriella and Troy put their microphones down and beamed as they were met with a standing ovation. Troy took her hand and they bowed, and then held their hands out pointing at Zane and Tim. They quickly put everything away and made their way back to their seats. All four were met with "that was amazing" and "you guys are soo good" from everyone standing in the audience.

Taking her seat, Gabriella still couldn't stop smiling. Every time she sang with Troy she ended up feeling completely elated.

All the students watched as Ms. Darbus made her way up the stage.

"I believe that 'bravo' and 'brava' is indeed in order for every single one of you. I am very proud of how these projects turned out. Congratulations students. You are dismissed." She said flailing her arms about. Before she knew anything, Gabriella was being pulled out of the auditorium.

Several minutes later, she and Troy stopped in what she already recognized as the science flower garden on the roof. Troy pulled her into a hug, and just held her there for several minutes. When they pulled apart, Gabriella looked up at him confused.

"I just wanted to tell you that that was amazing. You were amazing."

Gabriella's cheeks flushed as she smiled widely at Troy. "How many times must I tell you Troy? We're amazing."

Troy laughed at this, and realized how badly he wanted to kiss Gabriella at that moment. He put his hands on her waist and began to lean in closer.

Gabriella realized what was happening and grew nervous and anxious. She closed her eyes and waited as Troy leaned in.

They were only inches apart when they heard the intercom from the hallway downstairs.

"Gabriella Montez to the office please. Gabriella Montez."

Gabriella's eyes opened and she stepped away. "I-uh- I gotta- Um, Well. I gotta go." She said grabbing her stuff and walking away.

"Hey!" Troy called after her. She turned and looked at him. "I'll see you later okay?" He said with a smile telling Gabriella that everything was okay. She smiled back at him and made her way down the stairs.

Troy sighed as he leaned against the railing.

'Damn!'

The final bell rang, dismissing the students from school for the entire weekend. Troy gathered his things from his locker and made his way to Gabriella's locker so he could take her home.

"Excuse me Miss?" He said tapping her on the shoulder. "I'm a huge fan of yours and wanted to know if I could have your autograph?" He held out a piece of paper and a pen.

Gabriella laughed at him, and playfully hit him on the arm.

"So, what did the office want?" He asked putting the paper and pen back in his bag. He noticed the smile on Gabriella's face disappear.

"They wanted to give me these." She bent over and lifted up an enormous vase of assorted flowers

"Well, why is that a bad thing?" He joked. "Who are they from? Your mom?"

"No."

Troy looked at her confused, and then pulled out the card.

Gabby,

You're simply amazing

xoxo

Troy laughed as he put the card back into it's envelope. "Looks like you have a secret admirer!"

"Troy it's not funny. Those could be from anyone. Why didn't they put their name on it?" She asked panicked.

"Well, it can't be a secret admirer if they put their name on it now can it Brie?

"So," Gabriella said with a spark in her eyes. "How do I know their not from you?"

"First off. You deserve lilies." He said causing Gabriella to laugh." Second, I call you Brie, not Gabby."

Troy noticed that he was right and her smile fell. "Don't worry, okay? I told you I would take care of you and I will. Now come on, I'm taking you to get ice cream."

He put his arm around her waist, still carrying her flowers with the other arm, and walked out to his car. Gabriella looked up and knew that Troy was right, he would take care of her.

there you have it. please review!!!

the songs were Candy by Mandy Moore and Broken by Seether featuring Amy Lee.