Chapter 4.

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"Let's have a secret word." Troy looked to her with a smile, stroking her hand with his thumb and waiting for her to respond.

They had went to the hospital that morning to see Jamie and keep him company before he was to go into treatment today. Jamie was asleep most of the time, because of the medications he was on, dozing in and out to join in little conversation.

They were on their backs watching the clouds in the middle of some fenced off area Gabriella had found. When they were on their way back from the hospital, Gabriella pulled him to it looking around to make sure no one saw them and said secretively, "Haven't you ever wondered what was behind this fence? It could be our secret place!".

It was a peaceful day, the breeze warm and the sun bright, she and Troy were going to go to the park but as they walked by and saw the millions of little kids ice skating and on the creaking swings, they wanted to go somewhere much more reserved and quiet.

Gabriella turned from looking up at the clouds passing by to Troy's goofy smile, which she returned, "What kind of word?"

"Something silly and made up that we'd only know the meaning of. Something that will make people look at us like we're crazy. It'll mean you're my best friend and a bunch of other sweet and corny stuff."

"Okay… How silly does it have to be?" she giggled.

"Very."

"How about yaffinpooffa?" she suggested.

He shook his head animatedly, "Sounds German, it might be a word."

She threw her head away from him in a fit of choked laughter, which made Troy turn on his side to smile down at her. He pulled their hands up and kissed the back of hers romantically.

"How about shnadooflenports?" he said lowly.

She turned to him, staring at her hands, "Nope, too long."

"I-think-I-have-a-crush-on-you." he said looking at her under his dark lashes.

"That's not silly at all." she said giving him a small smile.

"But only we know what that means…" he said suggestively. "Let me take you out tomorrow night."

"All right." she looked back at their hands again, "Troy?"

"Yeah, Brie?"

"I think I have a crush on you too."

"Flappenshwartz?" he said stupidly. She giggled a bit and drew her bottom lip into her mouth. "I'm serious." she mumbled. "Were you?"

Troy nodded and pulled her hand to his chest covering it with his own. "Deadly."

"Fadoodlepoofen." she said with a smirk.

"We're getting no where fast, Brie, all the words are starting to sound the same." he said with a chuckle.

"Can I give you a nickname too?" she said batting her eyelashes.

"Yeah. T was taken by Shar, Troysie is taken by my aunt, Troy the man was taken by Jamie, there's not a lot for you to work with." he pondered.

"Curse your parents for naming you something so short and un-nicknamable."

"Is that a word?"

"It is now."

They fell into an easy laughter before she spoke up again, "I think I'm going to call you Trojan."

Troy chuckled knowingly and Gabriella blushed, "Way to make me feel perverted. I don't mean the condom I'm talking about the people that inhabit the small country of Troy…I'm changing it." she said belatedly. Troy buried his face in her hair inhaling loudly. "You smell nice."

She pushed him away removing the hand that had remained on his chest with a laugh. "What's your favorite childhood cartoon?"

"Umm, Yogi Bear?" he said unsure.

"Get out!" she screeched then giggled at Troy's confused expression, "I'm calling you Boo Boo! You look just like him!"

Troy chuckled and shook his head when she did an imitation of Yogi Bear. "You're insane." he said wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close, the grass crunching while it moved beneath them.

"Now since that's out of the way how about we go back to finding our secret word?"

"Nifenmorts?" she offered.

Troy laughed and brought his face to hers placing a slow kiss on her lips. With his eyes still closed and a slow smile spreading across his face, he pulled away and spoke, "Yooflenshnizzle."

"I love it."

Several kisses and a dreaded goodbye with Boo Boo later, Gabriella leaned against the door of her apartment and tried to keep her smile from breaking her face.

She giggled happily and finally walked deeper into her apartment falling onto her bed and staring up at the ceiling with a dazed but sated look on her face. For the first time in the long months she'd known him, she felt Troy wasn't this huge mystery that she had to solve but someone that would let her in when they were ready.

No more secrets and that was just what she wanted.

He was fun and amazing and completely silly, he made her laugh and made her want him even more. He took it slow, slower than she wished but she was having fun; she was enjoying herself. She was happy that he finally kissed her, it was the best kiss she'd ever had. It made her melt and her hands tremble with desire, after each kiss she held onto him just a little longer which would make him smile and place another peck on her lips while they walked.

She couldn't wait to tell Mr. Derby, to introduce the old man that was very much like her father to the man that made her knees weak.

When Troy told her he liked her, she had a hard time containing her glee, she really wanted to jump him and make him feel how happy he had made her. She'd been hoping for weeks that he wasn't leading her on. The way they'd dance together on Fridays and talk on the phone everyday made her believe the like was there but it wasn't until he said it that she was so sure they were going somewhere.

She'd never had a chance to experience young love, since she wasn't allowed boyfriends when she was younger. But now that she had it in her grasp she wasn't about to let it go so soon.

She wanted him to want her, she wanted him to be her 2.5 kids with a dog named Bob. She wanted him to feel like they should have a 4 story home with a white picket fence.

But most of all she wanted him to make love to her, make him ache like he made her every time they shared a kiss that day.

They were definitely moving too slow.

"When do I see you again, Taylor?" Chad said as he showed her to the door. It was the first time he'd ever said that to a woman. He didn't know why he had to but he had the urge to tell her that she was great and that he wanted to do it again.

"Look Chad, it's been great. We know the same people, we'll see each other around." Taylor adjusted her bag strap.

"What?" he said incredulously. He'd never been rejected before. Who the hell was she to turn him down? They'd been meeting at the club every Saturday but she told him last night that she wasn't going to be going there anymore. She got a new job that she was supposed to start next week. Somewhere out of the city and she was going to move out of her old apartment.

"I've got to go, I just called in at my job they're expecting me soon. I'm late as hell." she said with a huff.

"Well, tell you what, I'll see you later?" a slow and fake smile spread over his features, "Can I get your number?"

"Ask Gabriella for it or something, I don't have the time for that right now. Are you going to open the door or will I have too?" Taylor said incredulously.

Chad opened the door with a roll of his eyes and she ran out quickly with a smile on her face, she hoped she didn't play too hard to get, but he didn't fight.

Suddenly, the smile dropped from her face as she headed to the train station. Maybe he didn't want her as much as she thought.

"One drunk screw doesn't make it a fairytale, Taylor." she scolded herself. But the look in his eyes last night made her believe it could be.

"Boo Boo?" Gabriella called.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here." Troy yawned into the phone.

"How's the day working out? Did you get many patients?" Gabriella giggled as she heard papers shuffling and a child crying.

"Unfortunately so. My boss asked me to interview his daughter for the secretary position and then I have to be at the hospital to assist some kid's arm surgery. I thought Pediatrics would be a breeze but now I'm regretting how much I invested in this." Troy sighed tiredly, "Sorry about the crying." he chuckled. "I just gave him a shot, poor kid has tetnus. Sharpay is trying to cheer him up but she's not the best at that stuff."

Gabriella smiled, "Sharpay wants to be a nurse?"

"No, I just needed someone to fill in the position…Brie how many people did you recommend me to exactly?" Troy amusedly inquired.

"Well, I told everyone at the nursing home that this really good doctor that I know has just opened his own private practice for pediatrics. So tell your kids to take their kids there and support him. hen i'm afraid they may have told their kids who told their friend and other people. Your card is probably circulating all over the city as we speak." Gabriella said innocently.

"Well, that will explain why I'm booked with appointments all the way to the middle of July. Thanks, babe, you're amazing." Troy chuckled lightly in her ear.

Gabriella knew to let the nickname slide like she usually did but something about his soft tone today didn't help with her curiosity. "Troy, can I call you my boyfriend?" she blurted out.

Troy's movements stopped and a grin covered his face as he looked at his watch, his next appointment was in two minutes. "We'll talk later Brie, I got a kid to tend to. Yooflenshnizzle?"

"Yooflenshnizzle, Boo Boo." she said softly.

"Bye, Brie." he ended the call and smiled to himself. Troy turned, ready to exit his office but bumped into a smirking Sharpay, "What?"

"Yooflenshnizzle? Really?" she giggled.

"It's our secret word." Troy's smile widened. "What's up."

"You're charging fifty-five dollars for a tetnus shot, Troy? What a rip off!" she whispered. Troy tilted his head to the side. "Move, Shar." he chuckled as they both walked out of the office.

"So what were you guys talking about? What does Yooflenshnizzle mean?" Sharpay continued as she followed him into the waiting room where he told his new patient to wait five more minutes while he cleaned the room up.

"We weren't talking about anything important." Troy turned to her with a knowing smirk, "And our secret word has nothing to do with you."

"Are you guys going out or what?" she asked as she carefully placed the needles in the recycling bin that Troy would take to the hospital later to place in the proper trash.

"Don't stick yourself." he chided, evading the question carefully.

"I'll ask her myself…" she bartered.

"No, we're not, in fact she asked me that same question mere seconds ago, Sharpie." he chuckled, "She's not my girlfriend yet."

"Yet?" she wiggled her eyebrows. "T, what are you waiting for?"

"The right moment!" he threw his hands up in exasperation, "I'm taking her on a nice date tonight and then I'll ask. We've known each other all of three months I'm not trying to make the wrong impression on her." Troy said as he washed his hands and adjusted his stethoscope.

"Why do you care so much?" Sharpay shrugged, "She's Gabs!" she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Exactly, Sharpay. I really, really like her and I don't want to come on too strong." Troy said with a pleading look in his eyes, "So just don't say anything until tomorrow alright?"

"Okay, okay." Sharpay said softly with a smile. "But just for making me keep this conversation a secret, you are taking me out for dinner tomorrow." she giggled.

"What no! That's my day off!" he said with a bewildered look on his face. "Step aside and put your gloves on." he scolded. She giggled and watched him call in his next patient.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Derby." he greeted the parents. He bent down in front of the little boy who hid behind his mother's skirts.

"You must be Kyle. I'm Dr. Bolton but just because I think you'll be my favorite, you can call me Troy." he held out a hand and the little boy took it hesitantly. Troy smiled as they shook hands and he picked Kyle up in his arms to put him on the check up table.

"So what are we doing today?" he asked him.

"Mommy and Daddy said you're going to put a needle in me." Kyle said softly.

"Well, what's the needle for?" he turned to Sharpay quizzically.

"His yearly TB and Hepatitis. Then he's due for a Meningitis, for school." Sharpay said with a smile.

"Okay, I can't say it won't hurt but I promise I have a trick to make you much more comfortable." Troy rolled up his shirt sleeve.

"Can I have one of those?" Kyle reached up with his other hand and fiddled with one of the small teddy bears attached to Troy's stethoscope.

"Sure which one is your favorite? I'll just get another one." Troy smiled.

"I like the cat." he smiled. Troy took it off and put it in his hand. Sharpay smiled at the exchange and placed the needles and the sanitary pads by Kyle, whose eyes widened in fear. "Mommy?" Kyle said. Mrs. Derby smiled sullenly. "It'll be okay Kyle. Remember what Gabby told us? Troy's great, okay?"

Troy grinned at the sound of his Brie. "How about you hold onto Mommy's hand while I teach you my favorite trick when I got shots?" He looked to Kyle's mother who reached out to take her son's hand. Kyle dropped his new toy in his lap and looked up at Troy. "I'm ready, Dr. Bolton." he said with a weak smile. Troy cleaned the spot and squeezed his arm, trying to find a vein.

"So Kyle my game is pretty simple, I say a word and you tell me what ever comes to mind. If you pause I get to tell your Mom and Dad to give you a million kisses at home for the rest of your life." Troy stuck the needle in Kyle's arm whose eyes widened in distraught. "What happens if you pause?"

"You get to choose whatever candy you want from my big bucket at the front desk" Troy chuckled. Kyle hadn't even felt Troy put the needle in his arm. "And if I don't stop and you don't stop?"

Troy shrugged pulling the needle out and placing gauze over it then a band-aid. "We keep going."

"Deal." Kyle grinned.

"Orange." Troy started.

"Green."

"Bird"

"Sky."

"Blue."

"Eyes." Kyle looked up at Troy's face and Troy chuckled taking Kyle's other arm. "Face."

"Nose."

"Smell."

"Teeth."

"Smile."

"Baby."

"Kyle."

Kyle glared and stuck out his tongue, "5."

"25."

"Old."

Troy laughed heartily and held a pad over Kyle's last needle before pulling it out.

"You paused!" He exclaimed happily. "You paused, Mr. Troy."

Troy nodded with a happy smile of his own, "Indeed I did. Mr. and Mrs. Derby I'm afraid I've lost to your son. Expect him to have sugar rush this afternoon." The parents laughed and Kyle's father ruffled his son's hair. "That's my boy!"

"Your candy is that good?" Kyle looked up hopefully.

"I'd like to think so. That nice lady over there bought them for me." Kyle smiled at Sharpay sheepishly.

"Can she buy me some for my house?" he asked. Troy laughed and shook his head, "You'll have to get your own candy lady, this one's mine."

Kyle let go of his mother's hand and pulled down his sleeves, grabbing his toy and stuffing it in his pocket he extended his arms, "Can you take me down so I can get that candy now?"

Troy picked Kyle up and smiled toward the parents, "We'll be right back."

Troy carried Kyle out of the room and to the front of the office. Bending, he handed Kyle the jar of candy and the little boy took a Babe Ruth and ran back to his parents giddly. Troy followed after him and turned to the parents.

"When was his last check up? I should have asked before I carried on with the shots."

"Oh, he had one in the beginning of the year, his doctor is retiring. We were searching for pediatricians and Gabriella Montez recommended you." Mr. Derby answered him.

"Sounds good." Troy looked Kyle over. "Was he alright, anything I should look for right now?"

"No, he was alright, perfectly healthy."

"You don't mind if I do a quick check over, do you? I'll take his weight and height." Troy looked through Kyle's records and then back up at the parents. Mrs. Derby nodded and said with a smile from her son then to Troy, "That'd be great, Dr. Bolton."

"Why are you freaking out so bad?" Taylor asked as she leaned back on Gabriella's bed.

"Because I have a feeling he's going to ask me tonight." she said frantically.

"Whoa Gabs, you've known this guy for like two weeks isn't it a little soon for him to put a ring on your finger?" Taylor sat up quickly.

"No, silly. He's not going to ask me to marry me, he's gong to ask me to be his girlfriend. And we've known each other for three months, for your information." Gabriella said throwing another outfit onto her bed."

"Wow, he moves slow." Taylor said with a snicker.

"Well, his brother has been in the hospital for a while now for TB and he's running a private practice while doing internship at another hospital, he's a very busy man, Taylor."

"Then what makes you so sure he'll make time for a girlfriend." she said reluctantly.

"Because he's always made time for me, no matter what." she defended halfheartedly. What if he really didn't have time to play boyfriend after a long day at work. What if they barely saw each other and it turned into a long distance relationship when they only lived two blocks away from each other?

"How's his brother?" Taylor said changing the subject when she realized Gabriella wasn't up for that conversation.

"Jamie's on a slow road to recovery, it seems like every time they get ready to discharge him, he comes down with an infection or something. Right now they are treating him for bronchitis. But they're using a lesser dose of meds because the medication he's on for TB may interact with the stuff in it." Gabriella sighed.

"Do these jeans go with this shirt?" she bit her lip nervously, "Or should I go with the skirt…he never did tell me where we were going. So maybe I should do pants."

Gabriella held up another pair. "Dark washed or bleached?"

"Gabs, to be honest where what ever you want, Chad tells me he's so taken up with you, you're all he talks about." his name slipped out before Taylor could filter it.

"Chad? You're still in touch with Chad?" Gabriella looked at her unbelievingly. "No, no, no. Chad's horrible. You should hear the way he dumped Shar. It wasn't even a relationship, he just led her on!"

"Sharpay's a bitch." Taylor rolled her eyes.

The two girls had met and their personalities clashed instantly, Sharpay was wild and outgoing she even hugged Taylor when they were introduced, but Taylor was more subtle and reserved, only fun to those that knew her wittiness.

When Sharpay had began talking about Chad, Taylor perked up instantly asking her questions about him and if it was the same Chad they were talking about. But as the two girls dug deeper into conversation, they realized that the only thing they had in common was the way they were interested in Chad. Sexually.

Which left Gabriella to break up a brewing catfight and take them both shopping and walking Taylor home, separately. She refused to take sides even though she knew Taylor was wrong for trying to make it seem that Sharpay had done something to Chad.

"No, she is not. You guys just got off on the wrong foot and Sharpay isn't one to keep her mouth shut." Gabriella corrected as she began hanging things up in her closet.

"Well, I told Chad to ask you for my number when he saw you." Taylor said nonchalantly.

"Why couldn't you give it to him?" she said confused.

"I'm trying to play hard to get, so I told him I was late to work and we'd see each other around." she flicked her bob with a smile.

"But you don't work on the weekends." Gabriella giggled. "No dentistry office I know has been open on the weekend, does he go to the dentist on Sundays?"

"Who knows, maybe he does. But I told him about the job offer and how I was moving to be closer to the place and he seemed upset. I'm taking that as a good sign."

"Chad, doesn't do relationships, Taylor, you heard what Sharpay said. She weighed herself on false hope." Gabriella closed her closet door and sat next to her friend.

"Well, Sharpay was doing something wrong. With me he'll realize what he's missing."

"Just watch what he says, look for the signals that Sharpay started to catch up on."

"I'm not doing what that bimbo says, Gabs, she's an insignificant bug that Chad accidently ripped the wings off of." Taylor picked up the shirt and handed it to Gabriella, "Besides I don't fall that easy, I'm in lust, not in love."

"Whatever Tay, I'll be right back so you can do my hair." Gabreialla sighed. This was not going to end well.

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