A/N Hey, guys. Thanks for all the reviews. Here's the next chapter. R & R!!!
On Monday, Troy saw Gabriella surrounded by her friends. He was about to go over to her when his own friends came.
"Dude," Chad said. "Was I mistaken or was there a hot chick in your house the other day?"
"That's Gabriella," Troy said. "She's Chloe's sitter."
"There's something more than that, right?" Chad grinned.
"I like her," Troy said, softly.
"Sorry, I didn't catch that," Chad grinned.
"I like her!" Troy exclaimed loudly.
"You like who?" Gabriella asked. Troy had not noticed her come over to them.
"Nobody," Troy said, quickly. "What's up?"
"I accidently took your jacket home," Gabriella said holding up his jacket.
"I was wondering where it was," Troy said. "Hey, do you want to sit with me during lunch?"
"I actually sit with my friends," Gabriella said gesturing towards her friends who had walked over to her.
"They can join us, too," Troy said giving them all a smile.
Gabriella glanced back at her friends who smiled at her letting her know that it was her decision to make.
"Okay," she smiled at Troy.
"Great," Troy grinned.
"Troy!" another voice yelled, sharply. Jack was walking towards them. "Matsui's office, now!"
"Okay, dad," Troy said as jack walked towards the principal's office. Troy turned his attention back to Gabriella. "I'll see you at lunch, then."
Quickly, he kissed her cheek in front of all their friends and ran after his father before Gabriella could react.
"What's going on with you and Troy?" one of her friends, Sharpay Evans asked. She saw her brother kissing his girlfriend, Kelsi Neilson. "Ryan, go away. And, leave Kels here."
"Fine," Ryan said and walked away. Zeke and Chad left too.
"Spill it, girl," Taylor McKessie said. "What's up with you and Troy?"
"Nothing," Gabriella said. "Remember how I said that I had a babysitting job. It was for Troy's sister and well we hung out on Saturday and all and I think he was about to kiss me, but, his phone rang. And, I really like him."
"That is so awesome, Gabs," Kelsi exclaimed.
"No, it isn't," Gabriella said as they headed towards their class. "He likes someone else. He just said that before you guys came."
"That isn't possible," Sharpay said.
"It is, Shar," Gabriella sighed. "Anything's possible."
With Troy...
"Dad, what's going on?" Troy asked as he ran after his father. He was still thinking about how soft Gabriella's cheek was.
"Matsui wants a replacement before I leave," Jack said.
"Okay," Troy shrugged. "Where do I come in, then?"
"You're exactly what Matsui's looking for," Jack said. "You're going to be the coach, but, you don't get to do anything the staff does, like go to meetings and all, but, you will get my salary."
Troy thought for a moment. "Okay," he shrugged as he followed his father into the principal's office.
"Mr. Matsui," Jack said. "Troy can be my replacement."
And then, Jack told him the conditions of Troy coaching the team. Surprisingly, Mr. Matsui agreed.
During lunch...
Troy was scanning the cafeteria for Gabriella. Finally, he spotted her on the lunch line. He waved at her and she smiled back. Gabriella and her friends walked over to the table.
"Hey, Troy," she smiled. "Um, this is Ryan, Taylor, Sharpay and Kelsi."
"Hey, guys," Troy smiled. "This is Chad and that's Zeke."
There was an awkward silence. Gabriella and her friends were standing.
"Come on," Troy said. "Sit down. Unless you want to have your lunch while you're standing, because, that's fine with me."
Sharpay was the first one to sit down. She sat next to Zeke who had a bunch of cookies. He handed one to her.
"This is really good," she smiled taking a small bite and Zeke beamed.
Ryan sat next to Sharpay with Kelsi next to him. Taylor sat next to Kelsi leaving one only one seat next to Troy. Gabriella sat down next to him and he smiled at her.
"Hey," he whispered.
"Hey," she said, softly.
Neither Troy nor Gabriella could keep the smiles off their faces.
"Why's everyone staring at us?" Gabriella asked noticing that everyone in the cafeteria was staring at them.
"Probably because there are more people sitting at this table today," Chad shrugged. "It's usually just me, Zeke and Troy."
Gabriella shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She did not like people staring at her.
"Hey, it's okay," Troy said as he squeezed her hand from under the table. "They can't hurt you."
"Oh, yes, they can," Chad exclaimed. "That head cheerleader girl. She scares the hell out of me."
"You're not helping," Zeke said hitting Chad's Afro.
"Watch the hair, man," Chad exclaimed slapping Zeke's hand away quickly.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Gabriella said. "We'll go to our usual table."
"No!" Troy exclaimed. "Stay. I promise I won't let anyone of those crazy cheerleaders hurt you."
He put his arm around her shoulders comfortingly and everyone started whispering. Gabriella looked around the room and saw that every eye was on her. Most looked surprised, but, none looked comforting.
"That's it," she said getting to her feet. "I'm out of here."
With that, she ran out of the cafeteria. Troy's face fell.
"Ella," Troy called after her and the whispers got louder hearing Troy's nick name for the freaky Math girl. He got up angrily and stared at everyone in the cafeteria. His voice rose as he yelled, "Will you all just shut up?"
And, then, he ran out of the cafeteria too with his lunch bag in hand. He looked around the hallway and spotted Gabriella standing by the coolers. He walked over to her.
"Why did you run out like that?" he asked.
"I don't want people staring at me," she said, softly not looking at you.
"Hey, look at me," he touched her chin softly and lifted it so that he could see her face. "People are going to stare when we start coming to school together once you move in to our house."
"I know," she said. "I have to get used to it."
"Yeah, you should," Troy smiled. "On the other hand, I can beat up every guy who looks at you and then soon no one will look at you."
"But, then, you will probably also be suspended from the school," she reminded him with a smile.
"We can't have that, can we?" he smirked. "I mean, what would the school do without the great Troy Bolton?"
Gabriella laughed and Troy smiled. He liked her laugh. He pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.
"Come on," Troy said taking her hand and leading her towards a door.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked.
"You'll see," Troy said as he led her up the stairs.
Soon, Gabriella found herself in a beautiful garden. They were on the school roof.
"How did you find this place?" Gabriella asked as she looked around.
"Advantages of having my dad in the school staff," Troy grinned. "You can come to the school when it isn't open to everyone else and you can explore."
"This place is awesome," Gabriella exclaimed.
"And, the best part is," Troy said. "No one else knows about it. Not even Chad."
"And, you brought me here?" Gabriella asked, surprised.
"Well, yeah," Troy said.
"Why?" she asked.
"Um..." Troy's voice trailed off. He held up the brown bag in his hand. "Let's have lunch. I'm starving. We can talk later."
Gabriella stared at Troy pointedly and he looked away. He sat down on the bench and opened the bag. Gabriella sat down next to him.
"Tell me, Troy," Gabriella said when they had finished eating. "Why did you bring me up here?"
"I don't know," Troy said, awkwardly. "You're different from everyone else. And, I like different."
Gabriella blushed. Troy leaned closer to Gabriella. Their lips brushed against each other just as the bell rang making them both jump apart, blushing brightly.
"Come on," Troy said grabbing her hand and leading her downstairs. "We're late."
After school, Troy rushed out to the doors to meet Gabriella. She was waiting for him. No words were exchanged. After giving her a warm smile he led her to his car. The ride to Kevin's house was also quiet. Gabriella knew that Troy did not want to talk so she did not say anything.
"Kevin?" Troy called walking into the house.
"Troy," Kevin smiled walking over to him slowly. He spotted Gabriella. "Who is this beautiful lady?"
"This is Gabriella Montez," Troy said. "Ella, this is Kevin Scott."
"Montez?" Kevin asked. "Was your mother Maria?"
"Yes," Gabriella replied feeling a bit nervous.
"She was a great woman," Kevin said. "I was quite upset when I heard that she died. How are you holding up?"
"I'm fine," Gabriella said, quickly.
"Troy," Kevin said suddenly. "I have something for you."
Kevin disappeared into his room and came back with a small velvet box.
"This has been in my family for generations," Kevin explained. "And, my dad passed it on to me when I was a kid. He told me to give it to the right girl, when I found her. If I didn't, he told me to pass it on to my son. I have neither and you're been like a son to me, Troy. I want you to have this and when you find the right girl for you, I want you to give it to her. And, I have a feeling that Gabriella here would be the one wearing it."
Gabriella blushed as Troy opened the box. Inside was a silver locket in the shape of a heart. There was no necklace attached. It was only the locket.
"Thanks, Kevin," Troy said, softly as he accepted a hug from Kevin. "I'm going to miss you. When are you going to UK?"
"I changed the date to tonight," Kevin said. "I want to spend some time with my friends from UK, too."
Troy nodded. They stayed for a while before Kevin said that he wanted to take a nap and then Troy and Gabriella left.
Troy dropped Gabriella at her house.
"Thanks for coming with me," he said softly.
"You're welcome," she smiled.
Troy leaned over to kiss her just as a car honked from behind them. Both of them groaned silently. Troy quickly leaned over and kissed her cheek.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he smiled.
"Bye," Gabriella smiled and got out of the car.