A/N: And she's back again. Ha, just messing with you all. I'm hoping you don't dread my ignorant author notes. This is like when I get bored and rant on about things nobody cares about. They need to make like a College Musical a few years from now and all the HSM members need to reunite. Aha. My idiotic ideas. Let's get back to The Tramp Next Door. Love, Whitney.

"And you know very well that I can't keep my hands to myself."

-TAKING BACK SUNDAY

Troy's Mind-

I'm not really sure what had taken me over. I guess it was the good guy in me that had apologized to Gabriella. I mean, normally, I wasn't a jerk to girls. Well, normally, I didn't talk to girls in general. I mean, yeah, sometimes Sharpay attempted to talk to me, but she rarely got a reply.

Sure, Gabriella's first response to my apologizing wasn't exactly nice. She basically said the same type of things to me that I said about her the day before. I mean, that kind of bothered me. But at the same time, it made me realize how much my words really tore her apart. Well, I think they tore her apart. I was still wondering if the girl had any heart at all, but I was starting to believe she might have.

I headed to lunch to sit with the guys. We always sat together at this large table – us popular basketball players if that's what you wanna say. I mean, no girls sat by us usually. It was all just us guys – mostly just Zeke, Chad, and I, and a few other guys on the team. But as I walked towards the table, I couldn't help but notice someone who was breaking the rules – Gabriella.

I couldn't help but frown by just the fact that she was sitting in my seat. I was totally cool with her and I promised myself that I wouldn't act so erratic around her anymore. I knew that she freaked me out – just by the way she presented herself, just because she was so ridiculously bold about her every movement. She sat there like she owned the chair, like she was made to be sitting there, with a bunch of guys. She acted like this was routine. But it definitely wasn't.

She was toying with all of them, laughing like everything was funny. It was a typical thing for her to be doing, but I didn't know how to approach her. Personally, I just wanted my seat back, and I wanted her to leave our table. She didn't belong here – she was supposed to be sitting by Sharpay, or flirting with Ryan Evans or something. Instead, she was sweet-talking my best friends, giving them that risqué lip curve, confirming she wanted to charm them efficiently.

"You're in my seat." I muttered, lowly, as I made my way over towards her, now standing right behind her.

My friends just raised their eyebrows at me, like I was being difficult, like I shouldn't have even said anything, like I should have just pulled up a seat and shut my mouth. But of course, I was a very habitual person, and I couldn't let some girl take my seat, now could I?

It took her awhile to even realize I was behind her. She just looked at me like I was an idiot, "Pull a seat up, jackass." She sounded half-joking, and her smirk proved she was, but I couldn't surrender – there were no vacant seats.

"There's none."

"Then what the hell, Troy? If it's such a big deal, sit on my lap." She suggested, obviously not really caring that I was making such a simple situation into a huge dramatic episode. My friends just scoffed and rolled their eyes, "Unless Chad would like to offer me his lap." Her big chocolate-brown eyes flickered over to Chad, who looked like he had frozen.

"U-uh, well I wouldn't mind." He gushed, turning red like a madman. I couldn't help but roll my eyes, while Zeke just looked envious in every single way.

Before I knew it, Gabriella had gotten up, allowing me to sit down, and had scotched herself over to Chad, taking a nice leap into his lap. He just looked slightly nervous, but extremely delighted at the same time. He wouldn't stop beaming. It was kind of annoying. But I had my seat back, and that's all that mattered.

"So, Miss Legs," Zeke began, smirking approvingly at Gabriella, who was wearing a miniskirt that surely emphasized her thin, perfectly proportioned legs. But who was watching anyways, right? "When are we gonna chill again?"

Gabriella didn't even seem phased by his flirting, "When you stop talking like a jackass, I'd guess." She just chuckled to herself – amused by her own wits.

Chad looked uncomfortable with her on his lap, but he never complained. I knew I'd have to listen to him brag later.

"Well, as much as I'd like to sit here and starve, I'm going to get some food." Gabriella announced, pouncing off of Chad's lap. He looked a bit disappointed, losing the pressure of her on top of him. All right, forget I even said that.

I couldn't help but join their eager eyes, watching her sway towards the lunch line. I knew it'd be ignorant to say that she wasn't attractive, because she was. You'd have to be blind or repressed to disagree. Unfortunately, my friends never fought their urges to express their opinions.

"Damn – she's got some tight ass buns." I had to stop myself from cringing as Zeke murmured this, and I could easily tell by the way he was smirking that he was imagining what it'd be like to get her in bed.

Sometimes I wish that he would think about other things.

"God, she's gorgeous – isn't she?" Chad looked intrigued by her, mesmerized if anything. He just watched her, this dreamy look smacked across his face. To be honest, I've never seen him watch someone so intently before. Even Taylor had never gotten that much attention from him. It wasn't good.

"Don't you try denying that, T-dawg." Zeke gave me a stern look. "You know damn well that she's a fine piece of ass." I simply ignored him and took a bite into the peanut butter and jelly sandwich I had packed away in a bag. Yes, I know, it was corny, but whatever. I was organized.

"Troy, you don't think she's beautiful?" Chad seemed shocked, as if he had just realized that I never said anything about Gabriella, ever. I didn't understand why they obsessed over my opinion about her, or why they obsessed over my opinion about girls in general. I was just into basketball and school. I didn't have time to being infatuated with someone who enjoyed trifling with four different guys.

"It doesn't matter." I didn't bother looking at either of them, as they continued watching the girl with captivated glances. Why did they even waste their time? They were practically oblivious to her intentions. It was moronic.

"Man, just say it, Troy. Just admit you think she's fine, do it." Zeke persisted – obviously assuming that I must have been mindless, acting like she wasn't.

"Dude, lay off. She may be attractive, but that doesn't matter." I cursed at myself for even confessing that I thought she was decent looking. Zeke and Chad's expressions changed drastically, well, more-so Zeke's.

He was provoked now, "Aw, shit, homo boy says Gabriella's attractive! Damn, Troy, so maybe you really aren't hanging with Aiken behind closed doors."

"I'm not a gay, man. You can stop any time now. I just don't voice my opinions out like you guys do." I rolled my eyes, irritated by his constant ranting.

"Well, I understand, dawg, you think Gab's hot. Chad's gonna get with that shit, I can already tell. She was eying him all over, dude. You better tap that with gratitude, man. That's like a fuck of a lifetime." Zeke lectured Chad, who looked even more anxious about Gabriella now.

"You think so? God . . . that'd be great." Chad muttered, overwrought by his own thoughts apparently. "What do you think, Troy?" He asked – the usual best friend questionnaire.

"It's all you, man." I didn't want to get into depth with this conversation so I just tried my hardest to avoid it.

"No personal input?" Chad was pushing it, just as much as Zeke had been. I didn't understand why my own conjecture meant so much to either of them.

Knowing they weren't going to let me go until I said something, I decided to respond, "Well, I mean, she's hot – you should go for it. That thing she does with her lip, it drives me crazy." I most-likely said one two many things at once. That wasn't like me, at all. I mean, I figured it would satisfy them for a few days, maybe they'd lay off the subject of me possibly being uninterested in girls. That wasn't the case – I just wasn't shallow. I knew what Gabriella wanted.

"Her lip? What does she do? And welcome back, man." Zeke extended a hand in pursuit to high-five me. He looked confused – did he not notice that thing that she does with her lip? My eyes flashed to Chad, who wore the same look of bewilderment. Maybe I paid attention too much.

"I'm not sure – she does this thing where her lip kind of curves to the side in a more provocative type of way." She always did that. I wondered if they were blind.

"Oh, that. Shit, that's enough to make a guy bust outta his pants for sure. But hey, looks like Bolton really does notice the sexiness behind the opposite sex." Zeke enjoyed rubbing this in, thoroughly.

I rolled my eyes, "Like I said earlier – I just don't audibly voice my opinions out loud." It was humorous how one guy can get accepted just by talking about how engaging one female could be. It makes you realize how easygoing the male species really is. I couldn't complain – we weren't the one's to make the drama.

Gabriella made her way back to us with a tray of junk food. Zeke looked anxious just to speak with her, or well, swing at her, if you will. He was grinning from ear to ear, and Chad just looked overwhelmed, obviously ecstatic about her sitting on his lap again. I wondered how my friends became so ridiculously whipped by one girl in just the matter of a few days.

I followed their eyes, inspecting her myself. I didn't get it, actually. She was beautiful, in a very exposed way. It was obvious to any guy that she wasn't hard to get with, that she wasn't hard to swoon. She just didn't care. She wasn't here to impress anyone or make a statement. She was just having a good time. I guess that was alluring. Honestly, I didn't know how to perceive the girl. Sure, when she did do that smirk, it kind of froze me. But I was still a guy, I still had hormones. I just didn't find it necessary to explore them like my friends wanted to.

She plopped right back down on Chad, making him uneasy again. I could notice the genuine grin on his face though behind her. He was savoring this that was for sure.

"So, I hope you guys didn't miss me too much." Her eyes were more prominently on Chad than anyone else.

In his nervousness, he managed to choke out a few words, "It was hard." He was definitely trying to charm her, but he was never smooth with talking. He wasn't that type of a guy. Sure, Taylor thought he was a romantic, but usually the girl had to do all the talking. I felt sorry for him for a second – he looked dubious. I began to believe that Gabriella made every guy feel shaky though.

"Mm, you're so sweet, Chadskee." She cooed, smiling at him in a more saccharine type of way. Zeke and I just fidgeted, and I began to wish she really wouldn't have sat here. This was going to be pretty boring.

"Did you know, you tend to have your own smirk; the side of your mouth kind of curves. It's so sexy." Zeke added in, and I looked at him, skeptically. I'm not sure why, but I felt a bit annoyed by him stealing my own thoughts. I was the one who noticed that – he didn't. I felt selfish for a second.

God, I must have been losing my mind. First I apologize to her, now I'm getting upset because Zeke stole my words? I seriously was about to turn into a lunatic.

I needed to regain my sanity. I exhaled sharply, "You know, I have to talk to Jason about basketball; I'll see you guys later or something."

Of course, Zeke didn't buy this. "Jason? Shit, bro, you never talk to Jason."

"Yeah, it's about Rocket Man, we were thinking about teaching him some smooth moves for the next game."

He raised an eyebrow, "You said yourself that kid blows at b-ball."

Now they were all eying me, atypically, "Well, yeah, but I mean, the kid's not that bad once you get him going. Jason and I have been training him." I was lying out of my ass, but I wasn't really concerned about them conceiving that.

"Um, okay. Well, see you later, man." Zeke finally bought in, as did Chad. They still gave me quaint stares as I made my way away from the table. I could feel the weight of Gabriella's eyes also on my back. I didn't understand why I was so furious about Zeke just putting my words out to Gabriella. It's not like I was going to personally say that to her.

I tried to keep to myself for the rest of the day. My strange behavior agitated not only everybody else (or so I thought), but it also got to me. I didn't get why I was suddenly being so nice to her, why I suddenly actually had concern for her feelings. Oh my God, I just seriously thought that I'm concerned about her feelings. Was I? I kept wondering.

At the end of the day, I headed towards my locker to get my things in a hurry. I just wanted to get to practice and shoot some hoops, let off some steam. Whenever I needed to think about something, basketball always got my mind off of it. It was the one thing in life that could make me feel at ease. I honestly believed I could get by with my life by just playing basketball and doing nothing else. That's how colorless my life really was.

"What was up with that whole episode you had today at lunch?" I kind of figured it was her; the attitude in her voice was pretty distinct.

"Didn't you know I tend to get randomly angry for no reason? I have multiple personalities – also known as a bipolar disorder." I wasn't even the least bit serious. I just didn't want to talk about the real reason I stormed off like an imbecile. I turned to face her, expressionlessly.

"Really?" Her brown eyes only seemed to glisten – they didn't even react.

"No. I really just had to talk to Jason." I bit my bottom lip, folding my arms as I met her eyes.

She finally responded by smirking – the side of her lip curving seductively, paralyzing me for a mere second. "Well, damn, you sounded so convincing. I almost believed you." Now she was folding her arms, also, her books in her grasp, tight. "I think I may make an appearance to your guys' practice tonight."

"I'm sure Chad would like that." I didn't mean for that to come out in such a frustrated way; I was actually attempting to be civil. That wasn't working very well though. God, I didn't even understand myself.

"What about the rest of you?" She continued grinning. "It's a surprise though – don't tell anyone." She winked at me.

"You know, he's crazy about you." I told her, informatively, not sure on where I was taking this subject.

Her grin never faltered, "Oh, really? That's a shame – I can't say my eyes aren't ever wandering elsewhere." I felt my breathing rate decrease tremendously as she inched closer to me. "You know, now that we're cool and everything and you're not acting like a petrified adolescent, I think it'd be cool if we hung out sometime . . . no strings attached." I could tell by the way she was titling her head and playing with her hair that she had no intention of being just friends.

And I was just having some kind of aneurism.

"Uh . . . well. . ." I was lost on words. She was so close to me, it seemed impossible for me to even move. I tried to think about Chad and all the other guys she was saying the same exact things to, yet at the moment, I was unable to feel any amount of anger. I was too speechless and far too stuck. I couldn't deny hanging out as friends, there was no harm in that. Surely I knew she meant more, but I couldn't put that out there either, or else I'd sound like a conceited jerk. "Alright." I agreed.

"Tonight? My place after practice?" I blinked in realization that she was dead-serious about all of this. It'd be pretty ballsy for me to say yes, but it'd be extremely insolent to say no. I knew that Chad would become completely envious if he found out, but my feet wouldn't move from the floor, and Gabriella was still doing that smirk. I began to realize how easy it was for her to manipulate people.

"As friends." I managed to comment, breaking my gaze away from her. "Just friends." I could hear myself mumble, not sure if I was convincing either of us. Did she even have guys as friends? I knew her and Zeke were just friends, despite how attracted he was to her, but it seemed unfeasible – her not flirting with some guy. Naturally, she just did it without noticing. "We'll meet behind the school, after practice." I didn't dare explain why we had to do that – I knew well enough that if Chad seen us hanging out or even talking, he would raise an eyebrow.

"Of course. Sounds good." I watched as she licked her upper lip in a way that gave me a sudden aching inside that I wasn't familiar with. "I'll see you later, Troy." My name rolled off of her tongue in such a racy manner as her finger touched my shirt lightly before she strolled away from me, her hips swaying in beautiful motion.

I detested the fact that I was beginning to become vulnerable to her just because she was attractive. I mean, I understood, I was a guy, and guys are attracted to girls. But this was different – this was like driving me crazy. Suddenly, I realized the desire that the rest of the guys were craving. And it wasn't like me to even care. I mean maybe it wasn't even that. I think it was more physical than anything.

But God, I was getting myself into something I really shouldn't.

END OF CHAPTER

Sorry for this crappy update, aha. There wasn't much drama in this chapter. Troy's just beginning to fall for Gabriella's sexy schemes if you understand. He is a guy though and guys do get turned on, of course. He had it coming. Will he handle it? And what will occur when they hang out as 'just friends'? You knew she couldn't handle not flirting with him. He's just too cute, of course. Review for an update. Love, Whitney.