11/12/2007 10:34:00

Here ya go!!!

After leaving the dorm, Taylor and Chad began to walk around campus in silence. They had reached the edge of the school grounds which were surrounded by trees and few students before Chad said a word. Both out of fear they would be overheard by the other students walking the grounds, and of not knowing exactly how to approach the situation. They tried not to focus on the strange looks they were receiving. Word had spread fast and almost everyone on campus knew about the hot new teacher. And everyone also knew that Taylor was the smartest and assumed she was showing him around. That was their cover story.

"So. How old are you?" He asked Taylor. Taylor looked up from the grass to meet his eyes.

"You first."

"25. And you." Taylor's heart sank when she heard exactly how much older than her he was. She shook her head.

"I can't tell you. You'll hate the answer." Chad stopped walking and crossed his arms. Taylor stopped as well.

"Fine. Were you underage when I saved your life?" Taylor slowly nodded. "So you were underage at the club?" Taylor nodded again. "Did you turn 18 on your birthday?" Taylor shook her head and Chad's heart stopped. Now he truly was screwed. "How much under 18 are you exactly?" Taylor, who still refused to speak, held up one manicured finger. "One year away? So you're 17?" Chad asked. Taylor nodded again and sat down on the grass, wrapping her arm around her knees and burying her head in them. Chad sat down as well facing her, his back to the trees. "Well, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because," Taylor said without lifting her head so he wouldn't notice her tears. "You didn't exactly tell me you were 25!" Chad glared at the way she had turned it on her.

"I live on my own! You've been to my house numerous times! That should have been a dead giveaway that I was over 18!" Taylor shook her head.

"Not true! I have friends who live on their own who are under 18!" Chad arched an eyebrow.

"Who live in a mansion?" Taylor ignored the question.

"Besides, you are acting like I lied to you about my age or something! You never asked!"

"I didn't think I had to!" Chad responded. The two were silent as they both tried to sort through their thoughts. Taylor, head still in her knees, was first to speak.

"So what happens now?" She asked. Chad picked at the grass around him and sighed.

"Taylor, look at me." Taylor didn't move. "Taylor look at me, please?" He tried again. This time, Taylor lifted her head and he saw that she was crying. Taylor wiped her arms with her sleeve.

"Look Chad. If you wanna break up with me, I'll understand. I can ask the dean to switch me into a different chem class. I'll tell him that Sasha's bothering me and that if I stay the whole year, we'll kill each other. He likes me, so he'll probably let me. And we can act like this whole situation never happened." Taylor said as she finally lifted her head to look at Chad. Chad sighed. He could tell by her eyes that that was the absolute last thing she wanted to do, but that her brain was controlling her actions at the moment. If he was being honest, he didn't want to stop dating her either. She made him think and feel things he hadn't ever felt before.

"Taylor, you don't mean that. I know you don't, because I don't wanna stop seeing you either. So here's what I suggest. We take the rest of the week to decide what to do, and on Saturday's welcome back dance, we tell each other. Meet me here at eleven. Deal?" He asked her. Taylor thought it over before nodding and getting up.

"Since we're through here, I guess I'll go back to my dorm." Chad nodded and got up as well.

"I'll walk you." Taylor shook her head.

"In order to make this decision as effective and completely impartial as possible, I think it's best if we stop communicating with each other unless it has to do with class. No e-mails, no texting, no phone calls, none whatsoever. Till Saturday." Chad grimily nodded in agreement.

"Till Saturday then. Goodbye Taylor."

"Goodbye Chad." She replied. Chad looked at the ground and seemed to be going through some sort of turmoil within himself. Finally, it seems that he resolved it and stepped towards Taylor. With a second's hesitation, he kissed her on the forehead before turning to walk away. After he was a good distance away, Taylor let out an audible sigh, and glared at the trees in front of her. "You two can come out now. I know you are there." Within a few seconds, two figures moved from behind two trees and walked towards her. Sharpay and Gabriella kept walking till they were only two feet away from Taylor. Gabriella and Sharpay both looked ashamed, though Taylor was sure Gabriella was ashamed at what they had been doing, and Shar was only ashamed that they had gotten caught.

"Look at it this way." Sharpay started before Taylor could say a word. "Now, you don't have to worry about catching us up cause we heard the whole thing." Gabriella hit Sharpay on the arm.

"Slick." Taylor cracked a smile. She wasn't really mad, just exhausted at exactly how much the conversation had taken out of her. Gabriella walked over and put her arm on her shoulder. "You okay?" Taylor shook her head.

"Yes. No. Maybe so." Sharpay appeared at her other shoulder.

"I think we should discuss this over with our two favorite people." Both Gabriella and Taylor stared at her.

"And they would be?" Taylor asked as the three began walking. Sharpay grinned.

"Why Ben and Jerry, of course!"

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"Chad, you live like thirty minutes away. Why did they give you a room on campus?" Troy asked. Chad, who wasn't really listening, just shrugged and continued his sit-ups. It was the end of the day and the two were back at Chad's house in his living room. Zeke and Jason were also there, but were in the backyard messing with the grill. Chad was on the ground and Troy was lying on the sofa next to him, going through the text messages in his phone. "So you never told me how your little lunch with Taylor went. You got another lunch date with her tomorrow?" Once again, Chad didn't respond with words, but with the slight movement of his shoulders. Troy rolled his eyes. He was sick of beating around the bush. "Look are you gonna tell me what happened that was so wrong or not?" Chad finally stopped and turned to look at Troy as if he was seeing him for the first time all day.

"What makes you think something went wrong?"

"Because you passed a hundred and fifty twenty minutes ago. You never go pass that in one sitting unless there's something wrong. So are you gonna tell me or not?" Chad sighed and got up before walking towards the kitchen. After grabbing a red bull out of the fridge, he looked at Troy.

"You really wanna know what happened?" Troy nodded enthusiastically. "Fine, I'll tell you. She's underage, I still like her, I've got till Saturday to decide exactly what I'm doing, When the NBA finds out they're gonna rip up my contract, and I'm going to do five to ten. Happy now?" Jason and Zeke took that moment to walk in.

"Why is Chad going to jail?" Zeke asked a plate of ribs in his hand.

"And more importantly, are we gonna have to lie for him?" Jason asked taking a seat at the table. Troy grinned.

"Why don't you ask the cradle robber himself?" He said clearly enjoying his friend's dilemma. Chad cracked a grin of his own.

"Oh no. If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me. Guess what perky little brunette is in my third period chemistry? Gabriella Montez. You, Troy, know her as Bree." Troy instantly paled and stopped smiling. "And just like Taylor, she's got a full year before she turns eighteen." Troy's legs officially couldn't hold his weight any more and he collapsed in the chair next to Jason. Zeke was laughing along with Jason before she realized something.

"Wait. You don't have a Sharpay in one of your classes, do you?" Chad nodded.

"But chill." He said when Zeke stiffened. "She's actually legal." Zeke grinned in relief. Jason leaned back in his chair.

"You see, this is why you always check and don't tell them your real name. The girl I met was Amber, twenty-two, a pre-law student, and on vacation here before heading back to California." Jason grinned, obviously proud f himself. Chad took a sip and arched an eyebrow.

"And how do you know she wasn't lying?" Jason shrugged.

"I don't. But at least I don't keep running into her everywhere like you seem to." Zeke nodded in agreement as he took four plates out of the cabinet and passed out the ribs.

"He's got a point."

"I don't know what to do." Chad groaned. Troy shrugged and walked back to the living room, his plate in hand.

"Dude, you have a mansion, five cars, and all the money you could ever want, without having to work for it. And you got drafted for the NBA. What more could you want?" Troy said while ruffling his hair and flipping on the flat screen TV. "My advice? Forget about her and move on. At least till she's of age." Zeke, Jason, and Chad all followed suit and sat down in chairs. Chad shrugged.

"I want Taylor."

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"In my mind, Ben and Jerry are the actually geniuses. So Einstein can solve a few math problems. But can he fix a broken heart or at least soften the blow? No. Ben and Jerry can. That is true brains. No offense Gabriella." Sharpay said as she finished her second cup of ice cream. Gabriella shook her head.

"None taken. In fact at the moment, I actually agree with you." She said as she opened her third carton. Taylor giggled before standing up from her bed and stretching.

"I don't think I can eat anymore. I'm stuffed and certain that by morning, I'm gonna need a new uniform in a bigger size." It was after classes and the girls had all changed into jeans and comfortable Tees. "I'm going for a walk to burn off some of this ice cream. Ya'll coming?" She asked. Gabriella and Sharpay both shared a look before putting their cups back in the mini fridge and getting up as well. The three walked till they reached the baseball field and sat on the bleachers. Well, Gabriella and Taylor sat. Sharpay saw someone she knew, and had rushed off to start a conversation.

"So what's the latest chapter in the love story that is Taylor Mckessie's life?" Taylor sighed. She knew that they would have to come back to the situation sooner than later.

"I wish you could write it so you could tell me. What would you do in my position?" Gabriella thought for a minute before responding.

"This is one of those situations where you can't answer that question unless it's something you've been through. But if I had to, I'd listen to my heart. What is your heart telling you?"

"To be with him. But there's this little L word that keeps getting in the way." Gabriella's eyebrows rose.

"Love?" Taylor grinned and shook her head.

"No. Law. As in that thing that says due to the fact that he's both my teacher and that I'm underage, I can't be with him no matter how much I want to."

"Taylor, you keep saying you want him. Now the question is, do you want him bad enough to risk ruining his life if you two get caught. Cause he's the one in trouble if you do. Not you, him. They'll say you were seduced and didn't know what was going on and completely unaware of the situation. And then they'll send you to some therapist of rape victims for the next four years while he's on trial. And don't say I'm being harsh, cause you know that's exactly what's gonna happen." Gabriella said as they sat on the baseball bleachers. Taylor sighed in defeat.

"At least I have a whole week to decide."

"And to find a new dress. Don't forget about that." Sharpay added as she sat down behind them. Taylor turned to stare at her blonde friend who shrugged. "What? If you agree to date him you wanna look hot. And if you decide not to, you still wanna look hot for all the guys your age." Taylor giggled at her outlook on life.

"Like that guy you were talking to?" Sharpay scoffed.

"Girl, please. He's a junior. And this summer I made a promise to myself. No more younger guys. Must be same age or older. Zeke for example. Which reminds me. Taylor, if you are gonna stop seeing Chad, before you do it, will you get me his friend's number?" Taylor and Gabriella gawked openly at her. "What?"

Will Taylor and Chad be together?

Will thier secret be found out?

Will Sharpay get Zeke's number?

Find out in the next chapter of Teacher's Pet!