"And for your info, he's in acting business too; he told me that the paparazzi back home had backed off from my house."

The words rang through Troy's head the entire way home. Chad tried to talk to his friend but he was impossible. It looked like an inner battle was going on inside of him and Chad really didn't want to disturb, Troy knew that he could come to him if he needed help or anything else. The brotherhood that had went on between them for so long was still there for a purpose, and that was because they knew each other so well that they knew when it was time to back off and let the other come to you.

When the cab pulled up in front of Troy's house, he said a quick goodbye to Chad and Taylor before he ran up to his house and let himself in. He leaned his head against the door when he'd finally closed it behind him.

"Son of a Bitch."

He had screwed it up again. And really hard this time.

Gabriella lay in bed and smiled as she watched the landscape outside. Her body was warm and comfortably snuggling in to the covers and heat behind her. The night had been so intense, so long that she couldn't even remember how it all started. But all that didn't matter right now, because when it all came down to it, right now was where she wanted to be and nowhere else on the entire earth. She turned around slightly and looked up at the person behind her; she let her fingers run over his cheeks down to his lips tenderly. The brunette watched how his eyes fluttered slightly and his lips twitch making her smile softly.

"Hi," Troy mumbled and peered up at her through the darkness.

"Hi," she said as softly back, not wanting to ruin the moment.

Troy drew in a deep breath and stretched his muscles, moaned and turned lying on his side to stroke her cheek. "Are you okay?" The soft skin meeting his fingers made butterflies flicker through his stomach.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah, I'm just thinking." She turned once again so she was lying on her back completely staring up in to his eyes. A smile sought its way on her face and she couldn't help but let it settle there, warmth filling her body all over again.

"About what?"

~*~

"Okay, so here is the deal. I don't want to do this. Scratch that; I can't do this. I've wanted you since I first saw you, yes I realize that that sounds like a players words but I told you before that I wanted to start over and you agreed to do it. Now that there has been some kind of misunderstanding between us suddenly you don't even want to know me anymore. This was not what I planned the first night I'd seen you, I never meant to hurt you in any way and I'm really sorry if I did." He showed his hands in his pockets and looked into Gabriella's eyes.

"Troy…" She couldn't put her thoughts in to words.

"Yes, tell me your thoughts. I don't want to be the only one talking here."

She opened her mouth and then closed it again. Boy, this was going to be a long night. "Well, I'm not sure what happened back at the club. I only know what I did and that was nothing else than talking to a guy that also was in the acting business and it felt nice talking to someone like that. I danced with some random guys but so did Taylor, and she's engaged, Troy."

~*~

"Well, bet ya you've never had one night this intense before, eh?" Troy wiggled his eyebrows, earning a slap and a pretend-glare from Gabriella. "Glad to be your first." He joked again.

"Hey!"

"Kidding, kidding."

Gabriella smiled genuinely back at Troy and let her hands snake around his neck, lacing her fingers in the small hairs on his nape lovingly. Settling down again contentedly with each other, breathing evenly and deeply.

"Well, I'm really tired, but I just can't stop thinking about how happy I am right now. And…" She trailed off, her hands running over his muscled chest her eyes watching every move. "I really do want to fight to make it right this time; I hope you know that, Troy."

Troy couldn't help the smirk or the next comment. "Well if I didn't know before, I sure know now." And he wiggled his eyebrows meaning.

"You know what, fuck off, Troy, here I am trying to tell you that I want this so much my heart is soaring and you're just making fun of me. What kind of boyfriend is that, huh?" She was half serious half joking.

Troy stopped dead in his earlier actions stroking her stomach under the covers.

"What? What did I say?" Gabriella questioned, running over the words she'd just said quickly in her mind, finding nothing wrong about them.

"You said boyfriend…." He trailed off.

Gabriella raised an eyebrow. "Well… yeah. Was that wrong because I thought that now that we have seemed to get along again and due to our earlier actions and that you said-"

She was cut off by Troy moving his lips over hers. "You're right, I'm your boyfriend." He smiled down at her, his entire face glowering. He kissed her again, his lips massaging hers softly. "And you're my girlfriend."

Gabriella smiled in to the kiss. "Yeah." She said dreamily as she moved his bangs away from his face and looked deep in to his beautiful eyes.

It was a typical cliché love scene but none of them had wanted it any other way.

"Hmm, I'm so tired," Gabriella moaned in to the kiss, her tongue only half duelling with Troy's since she was too tired to actually use any energy in it. To prove her point her hands slowly slid down his neck, chest and finally landed on either side of her on the bed. Now she was really falling asleep.

"No wonders, let's sleep and we'll talk more in the morning," said Troy and slipped further down under the covers holding her tightly against his strong body. Just the way she liked it.

~*~

"You mean like you were talking about job?" Troy asked a bit worried. Boy was he going to get it now.

"Yes Troy, that's what I've been trying to tell you all along. I seriously wanted to try this friend's slash romance kind of thing but you never gave me the chance. I went looking for you tonight but couldn't find you until your friend Kadrian was so nice and pointed you out for me. And I turned around only to find you with your tongue practically down her chest. How do you think that feels, Troy? You have no idea." She wrapped her arms tightly around her to keep the warmth.

"Believe me, I do. I felt the same when I saw you with that….guy. I wanted to rip his throat off and burn him and then never speak to you again." Gabriella couldn't stop the small giggle that came from her mouth at the thought of him acting all Damon Salvatore.

"And here you are, speaking up." She tried to lighten the atmosphere. It almost worked because she could see Troy's lips twitching a tiny bit.

Troy shrugged. "Well didn't have much of a choice, did I?" Gabriella shook her head. "I really do like you Gabriella, I really do. I wish you could like put your hand on my heart and feel the power you have on it. I feel like a teenage boy again whenever I am near you, my heart beats faster and I tend to try everything in my power to get you to notice me."

Gabriella smiled at how adorable he looked right in that moment, all nervous and uncomfortable of showing his weak side.

"The truth is, I feel the same way, Troy. Though not like a teenage boy but a girl, and my body goes all jelly when I see you and all hot when I'm near you. God my heart beats like a ticking bomb right now." This made Troy smile that he could make her feel like that, it felt amazing.

"My truth is that I was going to go to the bar and get a bottle of water because I thought that if you and I were going to spend tonight together then I wanted to be sober. But when I turned around again you were talking to that guy and he stood so near you that I just jumped to conclusions and my mood was ruined." Gabriella nodded in understanding. She thought it had been something like that all along because Troy was pretty good at jumping to conclusions. And as if he'd read her mind. "I am pretty darn good at jumping to conclusions, am I not?" He rubbed the back of his neck a bit embarrassed.

"Well.... yeah." Gabriella giggled a bit and Troy suddenly took a step closer. She was shut up when he first took her hand and then kissed her cheek. It made her smile.

~*~

Troy Bolton had never been someone who was against PDA, really he didn't care if some boy and girl made out when he waited for the bus in high school, he didn't really bother to call out on the guy he saw the other night with his tongue down his girlfriend's throat. No, Troy Bolton didn't care about that, as long as they had their clothes on people could do what the fuck they wanted, because it was not his business to watch. It was a free world and there is always something else to watch if someone randomly decides to start making out in front of you on the bus.

That's why, Troy Bolton now had Gabriella Montez pressed up against the wall outside the ski lodge planting kisses down her neck.

"Trooooy," Gabriella whined while she tried to get free from Troy but he'd caged her in and she couldn't do anything. His built chest wasn't always her best friend, most of the time but not always. "Troy anyone can see us here, pleaseeee oh god…" she trailed off. She hated it when he did that, just completely took over her entire body with his innocent kisses. Though it was a hell of a turn on.

Troy kissed up her throat and smiled against her skin. It amazed him how she didn't freeze since he'd unbuttoned her jacket and shirts. "So?" he mumbled and sucked on her earlobe. "They can go fuck themselves for all I care."

"Troy!" Gabriella exclaimed and hit him on the shoulder with the one hand Troy didn't hold on to. One of his hands had caught hers while his other was completely busy holding her up against the wall. Her white clad legs were wrapped around his blue white and green squared clad waist. They had decided on wearing matching clothes today. Gabriella was wearing a blue and white striped jacket with white pants and Troy a blue white and green one with small squares here and there, also white pants. It felt good on a way, to match her through the clothes, like everybody could see that they were together, she was his, and he was hers.

And did he mention she looked pretty darn hot?

"What?" he exclaimed half serious back but finally pulled away. "I'm just doing a boyfriend's duty, you know."

Gabriella laughed at this. "A boyfriend's duty? Making out with her pressed up against the ski lodge in the middle of the slope; huh I think I missed that tiny bit when I grew up."

Troy smirked innocently. "Guess I'll have to teach you then." And he kissed her again.

Gabriella of course couldn't ignore his lips but when the need for air came up she pulled back and stared in to his eyes. "I'm serious, Troy. I don't have anything against PDA, as long as it me, but in the middle of Sunset Hill? Please find me a better place, will you."

But before Troy could come with a good reply, someone pulled up behind them making them both gasp out at the snow flying around them.

"Yo mates come on! Here? Sunset Hill? Come ooooon!"

Troy finally let Gabriella down very gently and then turned around slowly, glaring at his best friend. "Sod off, Chad." Who raised Chad teaching him how to interrupt people in just the right moment?

"Hey, be nice mate, I'm probably your last friend when Sharpay and Taylor gets their hands on you. They've been looking for Gabriella all day claiming that they'll cut your balls off after they've found her and made sure she's alive. Being the smart man I am I told the ladies that she's probably with you but the insisted on that she would never be with you for an entire night, why I have no idea." Poor Chad didn't know anything about the night before, but he sure knew his best friend would fix it and that's why he didn't have a doubt that it would be Troy pressing Gabriella up that lodge when he came down the hill.

"Well aren't you smart?" Troy said in a fake enthusiastic tone before he took hold of Gabriella's hand again and reached for their snowboards.

"Troy be nice, I thin Chad's right about him being your only friend when Sharpay and Taylor have found you. I should probably look for them and tell them I'm okay before they call the police or something," said Gabriella and sat down to buckle the snowboard to her shoes again.

"Oh no, no, no, no I can't allow that, you promised we'd spend today together remember? So no, you're not leaving." Troy hurried to sit down on her side and do the same thing with his snowboard and shoes.

"Well, I guess you'll just have to come with me then. Chad, are you coming too?"

-

"GABRIELLA!" There had never been a doubt on that Sharpay stepped in to the room. Gabriella turned around and smiled brightly at her two best friends' running through the lunch restaurant towards her and the two boys on her side. Her hand never left Troy's when she hugged the two of them and assured them that she was fine.

"God, we were so worried about you, thought that you might had went home again." Taylor exclaimed when they had gotten their menus and settled down to decide on what to eat.

"It's fine, Tay, everything is fine I was in safe hands." She took a moment and then squeezed Troy's hand that was on her knee under the table. "But thank you for your concern, I was going to call but I was just so, tired." She hurried to say.

~*~

"Nobody fucks this body except from me, you hear me?!" Troy scowled pushing roughly against her hips. Gabriella screamed in delight, it almost felt like he'd come out the other way again. She bit down on his shoulder and stopped another scream as he bucked and pushed and moved inside of her.

"Did you hear me?!" he exclaimed, pushing even harder hitting just the right places. Her walls around him drove him crazy but he wanted to make clear that she was his now, no one was ever going to touch her again. "Gabriella answer me… god dammit!" and he pumped wildly in and out of her, there was no doubt that the entire kitchen was shaking.

"Y-yesss…. god, hell YESSSSS Troy!"

~*~

When they had all finished up their meals and decided to take off again to catch some more of the hills before the night Troy and Gabriella left in a hurry to be alone again. They couldn't keep their hands off of each other; their lips no longer either.

Just as they were about to turn the corned, they were called back by the blonde beauty queen.

"Wait a minute! They are holding hands?" And everybody was now staring at her. "What is going on here?" Whoa, that moment so looked like Michelle Tanner from Full House when she was playing older than everybody else.

"Isn't it obvious, they're together?" Chad who was such a nice person explained to one of his oldest friends.

"Watch it, donkey boy." Sharpay warned when she strode towards the two in question. She would have thought that it wasn't what she'd thought it was, but when she came closer she couldn't be more right. Her almost oldest friend and best friend were holding hands with beaming faces and if she would have been Evermore Bloom she would have seen the red aura flowing around them binding them together in a love embrace.

"Uhm yeah as he said." Troy pointed at Chad and looked everywhere but in the eyes of his oldest girl friend. A squeal and a loud gasp made him finally look up and before he even had the slightest chance to stop them his girlfriend was pulled out of his reach and in to a (he was sure) bone-crushing hug.

"Omygooooooooooood this is so amazing, I'm going to be a brides maid!" Sharpay shouted, making people around them staring at them with confused faces and some with amusement who recognized the blonde drama queen and knew her act from before.

"Hold it right there Sharpay there is no wedding going on here." Troy hurried to explain dead serious making Gabriella cough from his side with laughter. He glared down at her and she quickly stopped.

"He's right, Shar. No wedding but yeah, we're together." She reached for his hand again and smiled up at him.

"Oh well, guess the world will have to move on anyway, see ya later Gabs, Troy," Sharpay shrugged and then turned to Chad. "Donkey boy."

Chad glared at the blonde hair swaying back and forth wondering how he could ever have been friends with her all these years. "How rude." He muttered.

"She doesn't mean anything, hun," Taylor said and stroke Chad's cheek before she turned to catch up with the blonde again. "I'm so happy for you two; I hope you'll work everything out." And she ran out of the restaurant to find the one everybody was so stunned by.

"How did she-"

"I have no idea," Gabriella looked with big eyes as her other best friend ran away, wondering how she could have known about her and Troy's problems. But she was her best friend, and a very smart one too, of course she would know there was some kind of problem, even though she didn't know exactly what it was.

~*~

"God you're so beautiful, Gabriella, don't ever listen to someone saying something else." Troy kissed around her breasts and squeezed her hips in the mean time. His body pressed down on hers perfectly, if heaven was perfect this felt better.

"Ohh Troooy, you make me feel so god, good…. my god…" she trailed off panting underneath him. Her body was on fire and she loved how he made her feel, it was like he knew exactly what to do to bring out the best feelings even though they'd only done this once before.

Gabriella let her hands run up his backside and she could feel how his muscles rippled underneath her fingers. Her legs tangled together with his and it felt like they couldn't get closer together… almost. "Plea-please, Troy…" she panted. "I want you, right now, skip the foreplay I'm as ready as I'll ever be." She pecked his shoulder a few times before a finger brought her face up to look at his.

"You blow my mind, Gabriella Montez." And they both sighed in content.

~*~

"Mmm, Troy this is so wonderful." Gabriella murmured and let her head rest back on his chest. The hot water surrounding them warmed her entire body making her feel completely relaxed. Troy had his arms tightly wrapped around her and he was too very relaxed.

"Just like you."

They were on Troy's balcony back yard in the hot tub that was big enough for at least five more persons, but it felt completely fine to be just the two of them. He enjoyed every second that he got to spend with Gabriella now; he'd learnt so much about her in only the last few days they'd been together for the second time and it would be a lie if he said he didn't love it. He actually couldn't believe that he'd missed out on so much being a bastard instead of spending time with the woman in his arms.

"Cheeeezey ballz." Gabriella teased and twirled around to face him; his arms slid down her waist and locked themselves around her hips automatically.

"Hey, don't insult my manly ego by saying these names, you love them and you know it." He let his hands slide up and down her sides, making her laugh because she was so ticklish.

"Troyyy please…. stop!" She managed to get out between gasping for air.

Troy laughed and stopped instead let his lips travel down her neck, nibbling at her bikini teasingly. They had decided to wear swimming clothes since they would only jump in to other actions than just relaxing and talking and having a romantic time. Though sleeping with each other was kind of relaxing and romantic and there was some 'talking' too. "You are so amazing, Brie."

"You too, Troy, you too."

A/N; Did I ever mention that my favourite number is 18? ;) Love!