a/n: HEy guys! Thanks for being patient while I went through that lame hiatus thing. School is getting ridiculous and i need to focus on passing my classes so I can graduate haha! Anyway, thanks for your reviews last chapter. I wasn't really expecting many since it was such a transition chapter. And sorry about the lame lyric, I looked forever but there are no adequate song lyrics about really good friends ranting to each other. It just doesn't get written about. So I went in context with it. So thank you, please enjoy, and please review!

-Nora

there's something about you now
I can't quite figure out
everything she does is beautiful
everything she does is right

you and me and all of the people
with nothing to do
nothing to lose
and it's you and me and all of the people
and I don't know why
I can't keep my eyes off of you

Chad was sitting on his bed, needing concentration for his anatomy test. This class was all about the tests and the labs and he was determined to get an A. It was funny how his grades had turned around once he figured out what he had wanted to do. He had barely graduated high school and now, here he was, determined to maintain his 4.0. He knew the stuff by heart, backwards and forwards, but he didn't want to chance it. He was shuffling his notes from one hand to the other, trying to check his answer for a question when, as luck would have it, Troy came strutting in, complete with seven month old hyper border collie, Lil Jonathon. Troy plopped down on the huge bean bag chair and Lil Jonathon jumped into his lap like he was a lap dog, his bright blue eyes that made Troy's look like nothing special stared at Chad. He had never had a dog that just stared, and loved to be stared back at. Sometimes it was a little unnerving.

The dog had been bought by Troy and Chad together. It was smart, fast, and they both loved it, but they couldn't decide on a name. Chad had wanted something "thug" and attempted to name it G-Money, Lil Wayne, and Snoop Dog. Troy however had put his foot down on the gangster names. They had fought for hours:

"Troy we are not naming our dog REGIS! THAT IS A HUMANS NAME!"

"I refuse to walk around with a dog named SNOOP DOG, YOU ARE NOT A GANGSTER CHAD, YOU LIVED IN ALBEQUERQUE, IN THE WHITEST NEIGHBOORHOOD…YOU HAD A MANSION BASICALLY."

"Regis, though, really? That dog will get his lunch money stolen!"

"Not true, Regis is a respectable name, for a respectable dog."

The fight had been gone for a week before their roommate Anthony stepped in after basketballs had been popped and pudding had been sabotaged. He brought up the fact that they could each name half of the dog. It had ended a bitter fight that had lasted weeks. So they threw in their prospects and glared at each other as they drew it out of a hat. The end result: Lil Jonathon.

"What's up, Troy?" Chad asked, lifting his eyes only slightly to acknowledge Troy's presence.

"We are going to the movies." He said matter of factly, rhythmically stroking Lil Jonathon's fur.

"I can't," Chad said, not looking up from his papers this time, "I have to study."

"What is it?" Troy asked, craning his neck to see the notes. This caused Jonathon to put a paw in his face for not paying attention to him. "Oomph," Troy helped and pushed the paw off of him, putting the dog in a head lock.

"Anatomy," Chad answered, still determined to not be distracted. He couldn't help but look up when Troy laughed at him. "What?" he asked impatiently.

"I could help you study if you would like," Troy said with a coy smile, winking.

"Shut the fuck up," Chad said laughing as he threw a book at Troy, which he swatted away.

"Oh sorry, I know you would much rather have Taylor help you study. OOHHHHH" He said, putting Jonathon in between him and Chad so something else didn't get thrown.

Chad glared, "You can leave now!"

"No, no, she would be totally up for it." Troy exclaimed, changing his voice into a girly one, "Oh Chad, of course I would love to help you study. Is it getting hot in here? I think I'd be more comfortable with my shirt off," Troy starting to sensually lift his shirt off, Lil Jon crawled out of his lap in time for Chad to throw another book, hitting him right in the gut."

"Ahhrggg!" Troy yelped, clutching his stomach.

"You're an ass hole," Chad said, laughing.

"Fuck you, man," Troy said, putting his shirt back down and rubbing his stomach, "So will you come to the movies?"

"Troy, I told you I have a huge test tomorrow morning at 8."

"Come on, man," Troy seemed to be begging, Chad looked up, suspicious.

"Why?"

"Because…I just want to go to the movies!"

Chad set down his papers, he stared intently at Troy. He was hiding something, and he knew it. He had been with this guy since they were both in diapers, he could read him like a book.

"Troy, we have not just 'gone to the movies' in four years. By ourselves anyway. Why the sudden change of heart?" he had abandoned all study tactics and was studying Troy's face.

"Can't I just want to spend some time with my bro?" Troy asked innocently.

"You are not allowed to call me bro after you named our dog Jonathon." Chad said shortly.

"It's a classy name!" Troy exclaimed.

"You are a faggot." Chad said simply.

Troy sighed, "K then, will you be my gay date to the movies?"

"NO!" Chad yelled, "Bring Gabriella!"

Troy looked down, playing with the button on his shirt. Chad couldn't tell if he had given up, or if he was thinking. He sat there waiting.

"Look, man,' Troy said, his head staying down, "Gabriella and I got in a little fight, so she isn't coming to our game today and I just wanted a distraction for after."

Chad stared his friend down; he still wasn't looking at him. He wondered why, and gathered that he just must be upset. But he found it odd that he and Gabriella fought, they had never in the history of their relationship so much as disagreed. It was almost unnatural.

"Why did you guys fight?" Chad asked, not that he really cared, but he was now curious.

Troy paused, opened his mouth, and closed it again.

"I don't want to talk about it man." Troy said dramatically, flinging his arms helplessly into the air.

Chad stared at Troy. This look had always made Troy uncomfortable. Chad always had an intense stare. He fought the urge to squirm.

"Ok fine, I'll go to the movies with you after the game."

"Thanks man!" sounding a little too happy for someone who just admitted that his girlfriend and him were fighting. Chad was suspicious, Troy and Gabriella did not fight.

"Come on, T," Gabriella begged, "Just come to the movies with me!"

"Gabriella, I don't think you understand me," Taylor answered, speaking slowly, "I have my first meet today!"

"That isn't going to go that late, it starts at one, come on!"

"No, I'm going to be tired after, and I am going to breakfast with Cody in the morning and helping him study for his calc exam." That wasn't as hard as she was making it out to be. He had gotten into Stanford after all, he was not an idiot.

"Taylor, come on, we never do anything together." Gabriella exclaimed pathetically, taking Taylors hand.

"G…we live together." Taylor pushed her hand away and started rummaging through their fridge. They seriously needed to go shopping.

"Yes but that is not the same, we just bump into each other throughout the day, we don't hang out. You're always busy with gymnastics," she explained, holding her hands up defensively as soon as that came out of her mouth, "Not that I don't understand how busy you are and that they practically own you but this is the start of your season, and tomorrow is your first morning off since a week before school started. Celebrate! Let's have a girl's night, just the two of us. Troy has a late game tonight and I wanted to take the chance to just…I don't know, have some girl time! Is that really so bad?" she said loudly to draw Taylors attention away from the fridge

Taylor sighed, she had a point. It was her first morning off tomorrow, and she should celebrate. The fall season sucked, and she deserved to raise a glass…or a ticket stub, to the fact that she didn't have to wake up that early until next fall.

"Fine," Taylor said exasperated, "I'll go with you to the movies."

Gabriella lept out of the stool she had been sitting on and enveloped Taylor in a hug, "Oh, thank you, T!" she said, grinning from ear to ear. Taylor looked at her like she was insane. It was just a movie, no need to get all worked up. Maybe they hadn't hung out in way too long.

Gabriella coughed awkwardly, "Anyway, I'll be watching at your match today! Good luck!" And as quickly as the conversation had started, it ended with Gabriella walking out the door to go to her class.

Taylor walked quickly through the rain with Gabriella towards the theatre. It was chilly and she had forgotten her good coat by the door, so she only had a light jacket on.

"I'm freezing," Taylor whined as she avoided a puddle.

"You should have thought of that before letting your chest hang out tonight and then not wearing a proper jacket," Gabriella retorted.

Taylor stared at her opened mouthed, in disbelief, "You practically shoved this shirt over my head! I didn't even want to wear it! And I forgot my jacket because you were shoving me out the door mumbling madness about how I was going to make us late!" she said, struggling to keep up with Gabriella's speed walk. Her legs were sore from her meet today. It didn't help that she was in heels.

Gabriella shrugged as they finally got under the cover of the front of the theatre, "A technicality," she answered as she stood under the cover, looking out into the parking lot. Taylor stared at her for a few seconds before finally saying, "Well? Aren't we going to buy tickets?"

"Shhh," Gabriella said, not meeting Taylor's eyes, "I love the sound of rain hitting asphalt."

Chad walked quickly through the rain with Troy towards the theatre.

"Dude, slow down, my legs are sore from having to jump for all your missed shots tonight!"

Troy shot him a look that said, don't even start. Chad chuckled. Everyone has an off night. Troy's was tonight. They had won either way, no big deal.

"I just don't want to be late for the movie," Troy said, walking a little faster, glancing at his phone to check the time.

"Dude, the movie doesn't start for ten minutes, we are fine."

"I want to get good seats," He explained.

"The movie has been out for a month, it's not exactly going to be sold out," Chad answered as he finally got his head under the cover at the theatre. He shook his head, his curls releasing the water they had managed to hold, which was a lot. He didn't realize that Troy had stopped walking, and he found himself colliding with something small, short was more like it. He thought he might have run into a parking meter when he remembered he was under the cover of the theatre…and what he ran into stumbled back. He instinctively reached out, grabbing whatever it was around what turned out to be a waist.

He glanced up, and his breathe caught in his chest; it was Taylor.

She looked even more beautiful than he remembered, and her hair seemed to glisten due to the small droplets of rain that were clinging to her long, loose curls. She also seemed a little taller. He assumed that meant her ankle was better, and she was probably wearing some pretty high heels. He also realized that her skin radiated the cold through her too thin clothing that she was wearing; he could practically feel the goose bumps through her sweater. He had the urge to pull her in, to hold her in his arms. He had to shake himself out of that image; he lost control too easily around her. Caught up in his thoughts, it took him a moment longer to realize, she was not supposed to be here. And as he looked to his left and saw Troy and Gabriella staring at the two of them with guilty expressions, he assumed she was thinking the same thing about him.

"Troy," Gabriella said, a fake tone of surprise dripping from her lips, "what are you doing here!?" Gabriella had no future as an actress. Her corny, fake, surprise dripped off her face like the raindrops

Taylor looked at her lame friend, "Is this real?" she said in a monotone, slightly annoyed.

"This is a coincidence!" Gabriella exclaimed, flinging out her hands in an attempt to seem more realistic.

Taylor turned to Chad, who was watching her; she noted his hands were still around her waist. He realized this at the same time and pulled them away awkwardly.

"Did you have any idea about this?" Taylor said, looking up at Chad.

He held his hands up defensively, "No clue."

She believed him; he looked sincere…and really cute. She shot him a shy smile before glaring at Gabriella and Troy, "You guys planned this?" she asked, looking at Troy. He crossed his arms and his face took on a pouting look.

"Seemed like a good idea at the time," Troy said shortly. He was obviously annoyed with something. She looked from Gabriella to Chad. Gabriella looked just as confused as hers but Chad was smirking slightly.

"Troy is a little upset. Bad game," he said smiling at her.

Taylor laughed, "Get over it, Troy."

"I hate you."

Everyone laughed, and Gabriella uncrossed Troy's arms before they all got into the ticket line. The boys were in front of them and told the teller that they needed four tickets. They turned around, handing Taylor and Gabriella the stubs.

"Oh," Taylor said, looking down at hers, "I was going to pay."

"No big deal," Chad said, giving her a smile, "You owe me."

They walked into the theatre; Taylor noticed Troy and Gabriella keeping their distance. She wondered if that was because they wanted time alone or they wanted Chad and her to have time alone. She looked up at the very tall guy walking beside her. He really was attractive. She could smell his body wash or cologne or whatever. She loved how guys smelt when they tried. It was one of their best qualities. She rubbed her burning hands on her hips as she walked with him.

He seemed to sense her stare and looked down at her. She couldn't just sit there, caught in the act, so she reached out for a topic, "Game tonight?"

"Yeah, why didn't Gabriella come? She is usually at ours."

Taylor smiled, "Because she knows how to prioritize."

His scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, "I don't understand."

Taylor laughed at his adorable expression and her own little joke, "I had a meet today, and she went to watch me. It was our first home one." Gabriella had been the most obnoxious fan there. She had even made a huge sign and coerced other people into helping her hold it.

"Oh! Really?" Chad asked genuine interest spreading all over his face. She couldn't help, again, comparing him to Cody, who had not even so much as texted her to ask her how it went. He had texted her twice in the last hour demanding to know where she was. He was always like that, always had to know what she was doing. It was kind of weird. Out of spite she had started lying to him. He thought she was out with the gymnastics girls tonight. She didn't get it; he had been so nice a couple nights ago on their date. Now he was back to being a jerk again. She shook herself out of it; she seemed to be whining about that a lot lately. Maybe she was asking too much.

She smiled up at Chad, "Ya, Our first one, it went well. We won so our coach was happy."

"Ya it really doesn't take much to make coaches happy you know?" He said as they walked into the line at the concessions stand. Troy and Gabriella walked right on past into the movies. Taylor looked on toward her best friend.

"Uh…I hope they don't forget we are here," she said, eyeing them.

"Ya, I thought this was supposed to be about us together!" Chad said, feigning hurt feelings, clearly joking as he grinned down at her. She laughed and shook her head, "When Gabriella gets an idea, she doesn't stop until she makes it happen."

He shrugged, "There are worse qualities in a person."

"Ya, it looks like she managed to pull Troy into it too."

"Well," Chad said, glancing in Troy and Gabriella's direction as they walked through the shadowed doors of the theatre, "I'm pretty sure she could get him to do anything. He is insane when it comes to her."

"I think it's cute," Taylor said smiling.

"Well…I mean, cute isn't the word I would use, but I guess I could agree.

"Would your word start with a W and end with an IPPED?"

He smiled as he told the concession teller he wanted a popcorn and a soda, "Ya, it sounds something like that. What kind of soda do you want."

"You chose, I don't really drink it anyway."

"Ok," he turned to the guy and got a sierra mist, "Want anything else?"

"No, I'm okay, thanks."

Chad paid and handed Taylor the popcorn as they walked towards the theatre.

"I hope they at least remembered to get seats for us too," Chad said as they walked side by side through the wide double doors into the dark theatre. Taylor searched through the darkness, finding Gabriella waving at her from one of the top rows. They quickly joined them as Chad sat next to Taylor, who sat next to Gabriella and then Troy on the end.

Chad sat there, stealing glances at Taylor every once in a while. It had been a little while since they had last seen each other. They had, however, been texting a lot. He didn't know what that meant. Was she into him? Because he had heard from Troy she was still with the one guy, what was his name? Charlie? Casey? Stacy? Motherfuckingbitch? Yep, that one. Anyway, she was just confusing. And it didn't help that every time he was with her he was just nervous, and sometimes out of breath, and she intimidated him a little bit. I mean, people just don't get into Stanford. Things like that don't happen every day. He wanted to know how she did it. Was it self motivation? Or were her parents the type that accepted nothing but A's. Or was she just that student who never had to try and still was top of the class. He found himself insanely curious about that, about her life back…where ever she had come from. He found it odd that he didn't know. He should know this stuff.

"Where are you from?" he whispered before he could stop himself.

"What?" she asked, tearing her eyes away from the screen where previews were playing and leaning towards Chad to hear better, their shoulders brushing each others.

"Where are you from? I never asked you," he said looking straight into her eyes. She had never seen someone who seemed to be such a devoted listener. It was like his eyes were piercing into her, sorting through her own thoughts.

"I'm from Florida," she answered, trying to stare like him.

"You went from one ocean to the other?" he asked, finding it slightly amusing. She could have gone towards Yale or Princeton, where she would experience a totally different atmosphere.

"I went from too much humidity to perfect weather. I love it here. I hate humidity. You feel wet all the time."

"That's what she said," Troy said, leaning over into their conversation. Taylor reached over and smacked him as he recoiled back to Gabriella.

"Shhh!" the suggestion came from the row in front where a middle aged woman was watching the movie by herself.

"Excuse me?" Taylor said, attitude dripping from her lips.

"I said shh," the woman said, slightly turning.

"Oh please, it's the previews. Sorry I interrupted you perving over Zac Efron, he's a little too young for you."

The woman turned back to the screen with a huff and Gabriella added a, "YA BITCH" before all order was restored. Chad had to muffle some laughter but managed to bring the conversation back.

"Is it hard being so far away from home?" Chad asked, the last of his smile fading slowly from his face.

"Nah, I was the youngest of three. But my older siblings are both in their late twenties. So they were out of the house long before me. It gave my parents an excuse to keep a watchful eye on me. I needed the freedom. Plus, I'm not that close to my parents. And they aren't that close to me."

That was a foreign concept to Chad. He was the third of seven kids in his family. He had about one hundred and twenty cousins, 27 aunts and uncles, both sets of grandparents were still alive, and they were all extremely close. It was weird for him to be in a different state. But the drive home to Phoenix was not too bad. And they made a point of all coming up for a couple games a year. It made the already packed stadium sell out.

"You're not close to your parents?" it came out more shocked sounding than he had meant. And she noticed. She smiled at him, "They work all the time. My dad is a lawyer and my mom is a neurologist. So I never really saw them, and when I did they were just making sure my grades were good and that I was not doing anything that could jeopardize my college dreams. They were basically there to discipline and send me on my way." She shrugged, "I mean…I don't resent them for it or anything, but I that is not how I would raise a family."

"So what do you want to be?" Chad asked.

"A psychologist," she answered, chewing and swallowing some popcorn before she continued, "I have always wanted to know why people do what they do, why they act a certain way. It's fascinating. Either that, or I would love to own a small café," she finished, smiling at Chad again. He seemed to notice she was always quick to flash a grin. She seemed to be an all around good spirited woman?

"Shh," came from the front again and Chad had to hold Taylor back to keep her from going off again. He didn't realize that just his touch was enough to distract Taylor from anything. She relaxed into his touch and reeled herself back into their conversation.

"So you like to analyze people?" he asked.

"Yes I do, people watching is a serious hobby of mine."

"Noticed anything about me in particular?"

"Nothing worth sharing with you yet, but when I gather enough I'll let you know," she said, grinning playfully at him. He laughed and turned back towards the screen. She did the same as she reached over and took a long sip out of his soda. The scene was dark and a deep organ was playing in the background. Uh oh. Taylor didn't do well with scary movies. They were a serious weakness of hers. She didn't want Chad to know, it was slightly embarrassing, and she silently thanked God that the sight of blood on screen didn't bother her.

The pendulum was swinging dangerously close to the man's chest. It was making her so nervous. Her hand tensed and she slowly snaked her fingers around Chad's forearm. She felt his arm jump as hers came into his, but it didn't register that he was watching her, slightly amused, she was too involved in what was happening on screen. The music was gone, making it that much more eerie. She cringed with each swing. Suddenly, it pierced the man's skin and the scream he let out was disgusting and animalistic and it made Taylor yelp and, out of reflex, tuck her head into Chad's chest.

She felt his chest vibrate with laughter as he leaned down, his lips brushing her hair, "Not a fan of scary movies?" She felt his breathe in her ear and suddenly she wasn't disoriented by the disgusting scene playing on the screen, but by him. Dammit, it was so wrong that that was all it took.

"They're ok," she said breathlessly, and he laughed again, taking her lack of air as her being scarred. She pulled away from him, pushing herself gently from his chest. She moved her hair self consciously behind her ear.

"Sorry," she said quietly, turning back to the screen.

"Don't be," he said quietly, her whole body shivered as she fought the urge to just kiss him right there. The sexual tension between them was a little too intense for her at the moment.

For the next half hour Taylor forced her eyes on a grueling movie. She had never seen so much blood and intestines in her life. She grabbed onto Chad's wrist and arm at least two dozen times. A few times she ever heard him whisper under his breath, "Ow." In those cases she apologized immediately and let go.

She was closing her eyes, trying not to listen to the sound of the poor girl's eyes being gouged. She decided to focus on other sounds around her instead. It didn't take long for her to locate some soft moans. It sounded like someone around her, or on the screen was having a naughty good time. She peeled her hands off her face, thinking it was coming from the movie. Maybe they had taken a break from the violence for a dirty sex scene. Instead the noise came again from next to her. She looked to her left to see Troy and Gabriella. Gabriella was almost straddling Troy, showing no shame in the fact that they were in a public place. The soft moans had been coming from both Gabriella and Troy, they both seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely. Taylor saw Troy slip his hand under Gabriella's shirt, then she looked away really fast and leaned towards Chad, whispering to him, "Is this seriously happening right now."

"I know right?" he answered without looking away from the screen, "The plot is totally twisted."

She hit his arm lightly with the back of her hand to get his attention, "No, I'm talking about them!" she whispered hoarsely, motioning toward the other two, who were seriously enjoying themselves.

He glanced over Taylors head in Troy and Gabriella's direction. "Are they serious?" he asked, his getting wide as he started laughing, the lady in front of them hoarsely shhhh'ed Chad and Taylor glared at the woman.

"Ya, I'm pretty sure they are serious. And I'm going to kill her. DO YOU HEAR THAT? I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Chad reached over, took some popcorn out of the bag, and tossed it at them. It landed perfectly in Gabriella's hair, but it didn't even faze them. They just kept going. Taylor giggled, getting another harsh shhh. She took some popcorn and tossed it herself, it landed right by Chad's. She laughed again and they high fived. They continued tossing until Gabriella's head was almost full of popcorn. It was amazing that she hadn't noticed. Troy must have been working some magic. Taylor and Chad were trying hard to contain their laughter. The woman in front of them turned around and said, "Seriously, this isn't a funny movie, shut the fuck up," and turned around again. This just made them laugh even harder. Chad almost lost it when Taylor dumped half the bag on the woman in front of them and she got up and moved across the theatre. A few moments later, Troy had finally taken his hands out of Gabriella's shirt and went to run them through her hair. Naturally that didn't work to well. He broke apart from Gabriella and looked in her hair.

"Brie," he said quietly, "why do you have popcorn all through your hair?"

"What?" she said, surprised as she flipped her hair in front of her shoulder, causing popcorn to fly all over her and Troy, Chad and Taylor, and the lady in front of them. Taylor could barely contain herself and leaned into Chad for the second time, that night, her back in his chest as she watched Troy pick all the kernels out of Gabriella's hair like a monkey. Chad's big hands naturally slid around her waist. It just seemed right between the two of them.

Troy shot a glare at the two of them together, "Really guys? Be mature."

This just made the two of them laugh even harder. It was obnoxious now and a half a dozen people were turning around and staring at them. Taylor had tears streaming down her face and she was shaking due to how hard Chad was laughing while holding her. The woman that had moved stood up from across the theatre, "I'm not kidding," she said, he voice rising into a scream, "SHUT THE FUCK UP" the whole theatre erupted into applause at the woman. Chad and Taylor had been oblivious that they were being that loud. Even so, Taylor chest pumped towards the woman's back, making threatening gestures. Chad laughed, tucking his head in her neck to trying to keep from being loud.

"Ya guys," Troy said, glaring again, "shut up."

Chad laughed again, a deep throaty laugh as his arms tightened around Taylor's waist. He laughed had naturally faded into a frequented giggle and a smile. She then realized what position she was in. Chad's hands were around her waist, she was backed up into him, if he moved his mouth an eighth of an inch he could plant a kiss on the side of her neck. She had felt him laugh through his chest, and his hot breathe caressed her neck, making her shiver.

He seemed to notice how they were sitting at that point too. Her body was pressed to his, and when he breathed in, all he could smell was her shampoo. He closed his eyes, enjoying it one more second before she pulled away again. But she didn't pull away, and when he realized this, he wanted to see how far she would take it. He tightened his grip on her waist, spinning her slowly around to face him. Those big eyes staring at him intensely were enough to make his heart start pounding in his chest. A rush of cold nerves seemed to travel from his chest down his arms and to his fingertips. He couldn't help himself then. His hands went up her arms, her shoulders, her neck. He cupped her face in his hands, bringing her lips close to his. His lips were burning to touch hers, his whole body was drawing him towards her. His fingers ran through her hair as he brought her beautiful full lipped mouth towards his own. Their bodies pressed together first, making him start to sweat. He wondered if she could feel his heart beating out of his chest. His lips went down, he could feel her breathe caressing his lips as they closed the gap. Taylor's body then pressed into him harder, so much that he was pushed back. His head and his body didn't comprehend this movement at first, he searched for an answer.

The answer? Troy and Gabriella. They had migrated closer to them, and Troy had been trying to lay Gabriella down on the seats, not realizing where they were anymore, he backed Gabriella up into Taylor, flinging Taylor into Chad with an , "Oomph."
"Sorry," Gabriella mumbled hurriedly as she pushed Troy the other way, not missing a beat as they layed down in the other direction.

Taylor's mouth hung open in shock of the two things that just occurred.

"Did that just…" she asked, pointing her thumb in Troy Gabriella's direction.

Chad let out a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair, "Ya, pretty sure that just happened."

She wished she could read him better. She found herself wondering if he was disappointed that they didn't kiss, or that they almost did. Why did they keep getting themselves into this situation? Why did she totally lose perspective of her whole existence when he was within a ten foot radius of her? She took a deep steadying breathe as the credits started to roll and the lights in the theatre came on. The brighter lights seemed to sober up Troy and Gabriella slightly. Enough for them to pause their own show and stand up before they scarred too many people's lives. They adjusted their wrinkled clothing and looked over and Taylor and Chad.

"Good movie, right?" Troy said, trying to play off the fact that he hadn't just made out with Gabriella for two hours straight.

"Ya," Chad replied, "What was your favorite part?" he asked with a smirk that made Taylor's heart beat faster.

Troy ignored him as he took Gabriella's hand and they all walked out together. The fresh air helped clear Taylors head. She was glad that she would get some time on the ride home with Gabriella to sort things out. At this point she figured she had two guys in her life. One that she called her boyfriend, and one that she was so utterly drawn to it was impossible to stay away any longer. She seemed confused when Troy started walking to Gabriella's car with her. She started that way too until she felt someone grab her elbow lightly, "I'm pretty sure they are leaving us," Chad whispered in Taylor's ear. Did he realize what just his voice did to her? She felt her knees shake as she focused hard as staying on her feet and turning towards him, "Guess it's just you and me then?"

Chad looked over her head towards Troy and Gabriella, "Looks that way. Come on, I'll give you a ride."

Taylor took a deep breath, gathering her self control as she followed Chad through the still wet parking lot towards his car. "Which one is yours?" Taylor asked, glancing from car to car in the lot.

"This one," Chad answered, unlocking a huge, red Toyota truck. It was bad enough, Taylor thought, that he was so much taller than her, but it seemed she could use his truck as a house. However, it made him seem that much sexier when he stood by it, opening her door.

"Thanks," She said, looking into his deep brown eyes as she got in. Tonight had been really…nice. That was the only way she could describe it. Every time she was with him she enjoyed herself. He was incredibly genuine, funny, and the way he looked at her made her go weak. It seemed like he was trying to figure her out, to crack the code that would release all of the secrets of Taylor McKessie. And she didn't understand why he would want to know, no one had ever cared enough. But he did. And as he stared back, meeting her gaze, she could no longer deny what was going on between them.

He seemed to sense it too as he shut her door, and walked slowly around to his side. As she watched his face, he seemed to be deep in thought. His eyebrows furrowed and his bottom lip puckered slightly. She wondered if she would ever be able to tell him how much he took her breath away just by doing that.

He slid into his seat and turned the car on in silence. She watched him. She watched how he seemed to be concentrating on backing out the huge car, but his eyes also seemed lost, like he was still concentrating on something. She wondered if he would ever say it, or if she would be stuck staring at him, trying to crack the code like he always seemed to be doing with her. As he drove through the parking lot and into the street, she couldn't take it anymore.

"Could you please let me in on what you are thinking so hard about?" she begged, "You're driving me crazy over here."

A small smile crept onto his face and he shot a small glance her way before his eyes went back on the road, "Funny, I usually feel like saying that to you."

"You're being very cryptic right now," she said matter of factly.

"I'm just…" he trailed off, frustrated, weighing his words carefully. She felt the urge to reach out, to comfort him. To help him with whatever was going through his head. She had never just wanted to be in the presence of someone so much before. She couldn't help it, she reached out and bushed his forearm.
"Chad, tell me."

He let out a deep sigh, "What are we, Taylor?"

She couldn't help the shocked look that crossed her face, though she tried to muffle it. She didn't want him to get the wrong idea about her reaction. She had been thinking the same thing all night. She saw him panic slightly.

"I mean, " he said hurriedly as he stopped at a red light, "You have to feel it too, there is no way you don't. When I'm with you, I'm just drawn to you. I want to be closer to you. I care about what you are thinking, how you are feeling. I want to know where you came from, what made you who you are today. I just imagine what it would be like to kiss you and seeing you tonight…you make me crazy sometimes," he ran his hand through his hair, she could see how frustrated he was with himself for saying this much, "And I'm sorry if me saying this freaks you out or turns you off. Because I know you have a boyfriend but," he paused, the frustration with the situation growing, "God, Taylor, I know I could be better for you than him. I know it."
Taylor's mouth hung open slightly. He breathe had been caught in her chest for the past ten seconds. Her limbs were starting to tingle due to the lack of oxygen being carried to them. It didn't help that he heart was about to break through her ribs from beating so hard. If he hadn't been driving, she would have reached over and kissed him right there. And as he self consciously looked away and began to drive again, it just made the urge stronger. She had never had a man who admitted to caring so much for her. She had had boyfriends, she had had really good guy friends. She had even gone through the friends with benefits stage. She had never felt this way for any guy, and she knew it. She knew in her heart that staying away from him was impossible. Cody was nothing compared to Chad. He didn't care about her, he didn't like being around her. He was just obsessed about keeping tabs on her. And when she really thought about it, she didn't like him either. Why was she doing this to herself? The guy she needed to be with was sitting there, pouring his heart out a foot beside her and she was stuck in a relationship with a douche bag who didn't deserve her.

Gabriella had been right, everything she said had been right. Chad was right there, why hadn't she done anything about it? Why was she still with Cody? She had this all wrong. She had to rub her burning hands together. God, why did they burn whenever she was around him.

"Look," he said, breaking the silence Taylor hadn't realized was there, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said all that."

Taylor turned to him, smiling slightly, "Tell me, do you always apologize for things you shouldn't?"

He glanced over at her then and saw her face, it seemed to calm him. A small smile grew on his face as he pulled into a spot in her parking complex, got around and opened her door. He reached out, and for the first time, she took his hand. She realized his hands were burning, just like hers did. But then, they stopped. And she finally realized, as he walked her up to her door. Her hands had finally stopped burning because, they were where they belonged, interlocked with his.

They held hands the whole way up to her door, an unspoken peace between them. She knew what she was going to do. It seemed so obvious now. She was seeing Cody tomorrow anyway. She didn't think she could go one more day without kissing Chad. She unlocked her door and opened it. She looked up at Chad, "I'll talk to you tomorrow ok?"

He smiled down at her, "I'll be waiting."

She reached up on her tippy toes, even though she was already in heels, and kissed his cheek. Her lips lingered there for a few seconds, then she pulled away, looking into his eyes and squeezing his hand. His hand reached up the caress the spot where her lips had been and he smiled down at her, "Goodnight, Taylor."

And for the second time, he left with a wink.