Brief Encounter

Summary: Can anything good come from a mix-up?

Disclaimer: High School Musical and all of its characters belong to Disney. I just have them on secondment.

A/N: I'm so glad you are enjoying this story. Thanks to all of you that have either reviewed it or added it as an alert or favourite.

"Oh yeah! G. Montez and there's an address too." He shouted thankfully

"Problem solved, maybe?"

Wow!

"Ugh! What?" Gabriella slurred sleepily. Taylor shook her shoulder again.

"Gabs wake up. I've had an idea."

"What time is it?" Gabriella asked opening one eye to stare at her friend.

"Hmm 7.30."

"Taylor! You're joking right. It's way too early." Gabriella groaned, trying to pull the cover back over her head.

"Look, I'm sorry okay but I have to go to work soon and I needed to tell you to look if there was a luggage label on the travel bag." Taylor said apologetically. She looked excited, proud of her brainwave. Gabriella struggled to sit up, suddenly wide-awake as she remembered her dilemma.

"Jeez Tay! Why didn't I think of that?" Gabriella asked slapping her head with her hand. She bounded from the bed dragging half of the cover onto the floor in her haste. She stood looking at the bag trying to locate the label.

"Found it," she said triumphantly. "God! This guy's writing sucks. I bet he's a doctor cos his writing is nearly illegible." Gabriella moaned.

"Tray Bottom, I think it says. What kind of name is that? Taylor come and see if you can read it? You're used to reading scrawls." Gabriella added with a laugh. Taylor grinned at her friend's frustration as she went over to help out. She screwed up her brow as she tried to decipher the words. Her eyes grew large with surprise and she let out a gasp.

"What? What's the matter?" Gabriella asked worriedly. Taylor smirked at her friend, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Come on Tay. Who's is it? Do you know him?" Taylor nodded.

"Well, not know him exactly, know of him more like. It's Troy Bolton," she answered. Gabriella looked at her blankly.

"Who?"

"Golden Balls," replied Taylor, looking at Gabriella for recognition. Gabriella still looked at her blankly and shook her head.

"Come on Gabs, you must know Troy Bolton, point guard for the Lakers?" Taylor supplied, trying to jog her memory. Gabriella shook her head again.

"Never heard of him." Gabriella answered. "Is he a footballer?" Taylor looked shocked and gasped.

"Gabs! He's a famous basketball player."

"Well how am I supposed to know that? You know I'm not into sports. It's like watching grass grow." Gabriella whined, blushing a little at her lack of knowledge. Taylor just stared in amazement.

"So…Golden Balls?" Gabriella questioned raising an eyebrow. Taylor laughed.

"It's his nickname. The press gave it to him and it caught on with his fans too; well mostly his girl fans." Taylor answered with a giggle. "It was first given to David Beckham, the soccer guy, by the British press and the US press adopted it and gave it to Troy." Taylor explained to Gabriella. Gabriella's eyes lit up.

"Oh well I've heard of him. He's married to Victoria isn't he? I like her fashion style." Gabriella replied happily, glad that she understood a little. Taylor laughed at her friend's logic. Gabriella turned back to the label, scrunching her face trying to decipher the address.

"Hey! I think he lives near here too." Taylor peered over her shoulder.

"Ooh! I know where that is. It's only at the other side of the park." She said jumping up and down in excitement. Gabriella stared at her friend in bemusement.

"Hmm! Tay, work?" Gabriella reminded her pointedly, glancing at the clock on her bedside table.

"Oops! Got to run. See you later, Gabs." Gabriella laughed as Taylor rushed from the room. A minute later the front door slammed shut.

After a shower and breakfast, Gabriella left for a meeting with her manager to discuss the video shoot and what her itinerary looked like for the following week. As it got nearer to lunchtime, they moved the meeting to a local restaurant by mutual agreement. Gabriella told Caroline about the mixed up luggage and all Caroline did was laugh.

"Hey! It's not funny." Gabriella pouted, giving her manager 'the look'.

"I still have to find this guy, Troy Bolton, and give him his stuff back. I'm just hoping he has mine." Caroline stopped laughing and looked at Gabriella in shock.

"What! You have Troy Bolton's bag?" Caroline queried, making sure she'd heard right.

"Hmm yeah." Gabriella confirmed with a nod.

"Wow! He's hot," commented Caroline, a dreamy look appearing in her eyes.

"Is he? I wouldn't know," Gabriella replied staring in puzzlement at her manager. Caroline looked gob-smacked.

"Hey! Earth calling Gabriella, come out of your bubble girl. You need to get out more." Caroline gently scolded her. Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"With you as a slave driver. You're joking right?" Gabriella teased before adding,

"Well I guess I'll find out soon enough. I'm taking it over there this afternoon." Gabriella informed her with a grin.

"Sure you don't want me to do it for you?" Offered Caroline.

"I'm sure," laughed Gabriella.

Troy looked at the clock wondering if now was a good time to try to give the bag back to the Montez woman. He sighed, picking up his car keys and carrying the travel bag down to his car. He switched on the Navigator and punched in the address before driving out of the garage.

He pulled up outside a cream building, three storeys high. It had well-manicured lawns with a small brick wall surrounding them.

"Nice." He thought to himself. He got out of the car, leaving the luggage in his trunk until he knew he had the right place. He walked up the path, stopping to check the names on the intercom panel. He started smiling.

"Apartment 14. Must be an omen." He thought as he pressed the button and waited and waited.

"Damn! She's not in." Troy muttered to himself. He gazed around wondering how to play it. He noted a button for the superintendent and rang it hoping and praying he'd get a response. The door buzzed open and he entered the building cautiously. An older guy of average height stood outside an open door.

"Yes? Can I help you?" The guy asked.

"I hope so, I'm looking for Ms. Montez?" Troy replied.

"If she hasn't answered her buzzer, she isn't home," replied the man unhelpfully.

"I was wondering if I could leave a message for her?" Troy asked hesitantly.

"Sure you can. Erm! Are you Troy Bolton?" The superintendent asked. Troy nodded with a smile; the man's whole demeanour changed as if by magic.

"Man, I've just watched a rerun of your game against the Knicks. It was awesome watching you kick their butts. Can I have an autograph for my grandson?" The Superintendent gushed before asking. Troy nodded with a smile, following him into his apartment. The superintendent handed him a notepad and a pen. Troy asked him what his grandson was called so he could write a personal message to him. Troy then requested a piece of the pad so he could pen his note to Ms. Montez. He handed the note to the superintendent.

"Can you make sure she gets this? It is important." He said as he handed him the note.

"Sure, I'll go and push it through Gabriella's door right now." He said with a smile. Troy thanked him and walked out into the sunshine.

"Gabriella. Pretty name, Gabriella" Troy rolled the name over his tongue.

Meanwhile, Gabriella had driven from her meeting to her neighbourhood, looking for Troy Bolton's residence. She'd not been to this side of the park before so she was unfamiliar with the street names.

"Come on Gabi, think. What was the road name, I know it began with a H. Huffington? Hassleton? Yay! I think that's it, Heffron Street." She thought trying to recall to her mind the label as she spotted the street. She pulled up outside a red brick building that appeared to be a four-storey apartment block. After parking, she exited the car, locking it with her fob before hitching her bag onto her shoulder and striding up to the door. It opened to her touch and led into an impressive foyer with a reception desk.

"Hi, I wonder if you could help? I'm looking for Troy Bolton's apartment?" She asked the man behind the desk. He looked at her suspiciously.

"Now what makes you think he lives here?" The man asked her cautiously. Gabriella looked at him, unsure how to proceed.

"Hmm! Well I, I mean" She started stammering, blushing with embarrassment.

"Oh god! He thinks I'm a groupie or stalker," She thought.

A guy with bushy hair walked through the doors. The man at reception looked over her shoulder at the guy and raised his brows.

"Mr Danforth? This lady wants to see Mr Bolton."

Mr Danforth stopped mid-step and looked over at them, a frown above his eyes. He let his eyes run over Gabriella from head to toe and then back again before shrugging. He walked up to them.

"I'm sorry, Troy isn't here. Can I help you?"

"Well you see, it is rather personal so I would prefer to speak to Mr Bolton myself." Gabriella said hesitantly. His eyebrows rose.

"What the hell has Bolton got himself into now? She doesn't look like a crazy person but then hey! What do I know? They come in all shapes and sizes although this one is kinda cute. Wonder how she got this address?" He thought pondering the situation.

"Look! I'm really sorry about this. I wonder if I could leave him a note." Gabriella said desperately. She just needed to get out of here. This was too weird for her. Chad glanced at the man on reception and nodded slightly. The receptionist handed her a notepad and pen and Gabriella moved to the side slightly to write a brief message before tearing off the page and folding it before handing it back to the receptionist.

"Thank you," Gabriella said breathlessly before turning and almost running out of the door.

Chad looked at the guy. "Now that was weird. She didn't strike me as a fan, Tom. She didn't even know me." He said indignantly. Tom laughed at his expression before passing the note to him. Chad opened it up and his mouth dropped open.

"Shit!" He said before running out the door. Two minutes later he came back in. "Damn! I couldn't find her." He muttered. Tom looked puzzled.

"You don't want to know. Believe me you don't." Chad uttered before walking further into the building.

Troy walked jauntily through reception, nodding to Tom as he passed through to the security doors further in the building. Riding up the elevator, he was thinking of his wasted morning, chasing around trying to get his luggage back was not an ideal way to spend his free time. He opened his door, threw his keys on the hall table and went straight to the kitchen to get a cool beer before going into the lounge.

"Hey Chad. Good run this morning?" Troy questioned his friend with a smirk remembering the blonde Chad had been working. Chad glanced up from the sports channel he was watching.

"Not bad Troy. It was hard work," whined Chad in response. Troy laughed.

"So you got a knock back?" Chad blushed.

"Something like that. More fish, more sea," Chad said philosophically. "By the way Troy, there's a note for you over there from that Montez woman." Chad added nodding his head in the direction of the sideboard. Troy looked at him in amazement before going to check out the message.

Mr Bolton,

It seems I have your luggage in error. I am also hoping that you have mine, as I really need it back today. Please call me on 555 – 78989 as a matter of urgency to arrange a convenient time to deliver your property to you.

Gabriella Montez

"Hmm! Nice penmanship." Troy thought after reading it through twice. Chad meanwhile had been talking but Troy had zoned out whilst reading the note.

"So I chased after her but I wasn't quick enough. She just seemed to disappear into thin air." He heard Chad say.

"What? You've seen her?" Troy demanded turning to glare at Chad, "and you let her go?"

"Look dude, she didn't say who she was. I just thought she was another crazy groupie that had found our address." Chad said trying to explain.

"Well did she look like a groupie?" Troy queried. Chad glanced at him not sure what his mood was like before shaking his head.

"Erm, no, not really. She looked kinda cute. Small but well rounded, if you know what I mean?" Chad answered. Troy threw up his hands and rolled his eyes in disbelief.

"I do know she knows nothing about basketball though" Chad commented with disgust.

"How so?" Troy asked.

"She didn't recognise me." Chad said with disgust. Troy laughed.

Gabriella entered her apartment and noticed a note pushed under the door. She picked it up, a puzzled frown forming on her face.

"Weird. Wonder where that came from?" She thought. She put down her bag and keys on the table and opened the note.

Ms Montez,

I have your luggage. Call me on 555 – 14144 to discuss convenient time for me to call by.

T Bolton

"Damn! I missed him and I really need my stuff back today." Gabriella cried biting her bottom lip in worry

"At least he printed it or I would have had to wait for Taylor." She thought a smile playing around her lips.

"Come on Gabi, bite the bullet and call him." She said to herself trying to psyche herself up. She walked into the lounge with the note and picked up the phone, punching in the numbers. It rang three times and she was just about to hang up when it was picked up.

"Yo! Talk to me." The disembodied voice said.

"Hi, can I speak to Mr Bolton? This is Gabriella Montez." She announced huskily.

"This is Troy Bolton. I'm glad you called. Are you at home now?" The voice said pleasantly.

"Yes, I've just got in." Gabriella replied.

"Right, good. I'll be round in five." The phone went dead. Gabriella stood staring at it listening to the dial tone.

"Hmm! Pleasant voice but abrupt. I wonder what he looks like? I guess I'll found out soon enough. " She thought as she replaced the receiver and went into the kitchen to switch the coffee machine on.

"Bolton!" Troy groaned, "way too abrupt. What will she think? Sexy voice, husky and soft, I can't wait to put a face to that voice." He thought as he went out his door, his car keys dangling from his hand.

Gabriella had just poured a cappuccino and was carrying it through to the lounge when the doorbell rang. She walked into the hallway, placing her cup on the table before opening the door.

Gabriella stared into the most incredibly startling blue eyes she had ever seen. She was dumbstruck. This man was simply gorgeous.

"Wow!" Her heart flipped over.

Troy heard the lock turn and the door swung open to reveal the warmest, deepest brown eyes he had ever encountered in his life. His heart missed a beat. His eyes swept over her slowly taking in the heart-shaped face, the full sensual lips, the long brown tresses that fell passed her shoulder and the loose curls that framed her features before returning to gaze into her eyes.

"Wow!" He thought. Somehow his voice had dried up and he couldn't utter a word.