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.

"I wasn't planning on that," he said dryly crashing his lips against hers before slowing the pace taking his own sweet time, revisiting every inch of her body, tasting, touching, licking and sucking, teasing her to the very edge, glorying in her sweet cries of surrender as he took her to heaven.

Misbehaving

Morning came round all too soon but she'd put on a brave face determined not to cry in front of Troy and make it harder for either of them to say goodbye. It was only in the car behind the smoked glass when she had allowed the tears to fall as she turned and watched his apartment grow smaller and smaller until they turned the corner and it disappeared from sight. Caroline had remained stoic, patting her knee consolingly and passing her a tissue to mop up the tears. Then it had been all business as they passed through the wall of waiting paparazzi, who pounced on her as soon as they spotted her, throwing questions left and right as they tried to get a confirmation from her regarding Troy, the cameras flashing as they snapped away, blinding her; thankfully Caroline and Marcus were a match for them as they hustled Gabriella through them and into the relative safety of the VIP lounge.

It had been a bitter-sweet return to Miami on Saturday on the first leg of her tour, especially with her staying in the same hotel as before. Fond memories flooded back and she wished they could be repeated but it was not to be; work consumed her for the majority of the time with two pre-arranged radio interviews slotted in, one on Saturday evening with the other the following morning before the concert on Sunday evening. She spent a large portion of her time in the concert hall, rehearsing with her entourage and dancers while lighting and sound checks were carried out allowing any little niggles to be ironed out before her inaugural performance then it was back to the hotel for a well deserved soak before her stylist descended on her, arranging her hair and make-up prior to them leaving for the venue where she changed into one of her tour costumes. The concert had been a huge success as the fans flocked into the hall in their droves, giving her a rousing welcome and ensuring an uplifting atmosphere. Gabriella couldn't have wished for a better reception and delivered a faultless performance in return.

They flew to Augusta, Georgia, Monday morning in preparation for the concert the following night then on to Atlanta where she performed on Wednesday before going on to Richmond, Virginia. The schedule was punishing but the warm reception she had received at each venue more than made up for it. She found herself back in Washington DC on Saturday where two more radio interviews had been organised before her Sunday evening concert.

She lived for her nightly conversations with Troy as they racked up the phone bill, neither one wanting to end their chats as they discussed their day before talking sweet nothings to each other until one or the other fell asleep. It was starting to become a challenge between them as to who would cave in first. The Lakers, it seemed, would play their first game of the conference semi finals against Utah Jazz on the same night as her concert in Philadelphia on Tuesday and she asked Caroline to check with the hotel to see if they supplied TIVO in their suites. Caroline laughed and promised to get on it. Gabriella grinned at her friend and manager.

"And of course you're not interested too," she teased, smirking when Caroline flipped her the bird. "Not very ladylike, Caroline," she admonished.

"Never pretended to be one," came the smart reply, reminding Gabriella so much of Taylor that it made her smile.

She was bushed. The roller-coaster just kept on rolling but her professionalism did not falter, delivering another perfect performance in Philly before she escaped back to their hotel, passing on Caroline's suggestion of dinner in a restaurant for room service so she could see the game and watch Troy do what he did best. Surprisingly Caroline did not argue much to Gabriella's amusement. Caroline teased her mercilessly as she shouted at the screen, willing her man to make the basket, groaning when he missed, then screaming in delight when Chad picked up the rebound.

"You're really getting into this aren't you?" teased Caroline at a commercial break.

"Uh-huh, I didn't think I would but I like the fast paced action and the control needed to score," Gabriella admitted. Caroline burst out laughing.

"Are you still talking about basketball?" Caroline retorted dryly.

"Yeah, what else would I be talking about?" Gabriella asked with a puzzled frown.

"Cos I don't really need to know about Troy's sexual prowess unless you want to share," giggled Caroline kinking an eyebrow suggestively at her. Gabriella blushed to the roots of her hair.

"What! Oh...No...Fuck Caroline, you're worse than Taylor and Sharpay combined," groaned Gabriella, throwing a cushion at her manager and friend. "Shut up now, it's coming back on."

"Hi Darling, you played really well tonight," she congratulated him as soon as he picked up the phone.

"Hey sweetheart, did you watch it?" he asked excitedly.

"Yeah, we've just watched it. It was a good game," she confirmed leaning back against the pillow on the bed.

"It was okay, I guess," he said with a sigh, "I wasn't on my game though, missed a couple of easy shots," he grumbled. "That could have something to do with all the sexual tension I have built up, which unfortunately I can't release because my beautiful girlfriend is at the other side of the country," he added teasingly.

"Troy!" gasped Gabriella then she groaned, "Don't" as a mental image formed in her mind.

"I'm only stating a fact, you know how well I play when you're there."

"Aw! Poor baby, has Handy Andy gone on strike?" she teased.

"It's not the same, you know it's not," he whined.

"I think someone has been spoiled and is getting lazy in his old age," she shot back with a giggle.

"Oi! Less of the old," he grumbled.

"I notice you didn't argue the lazy point."

"Just you wait, I'll show you lazy, Lady," he threatened.

"Promises, promises," she taunted.

"I've got a lot of stored up energy so I hope you're ready for a sexathon when I see you."

"Troy, you know I'm always ready when you're around," she giggled when he groaned with need.

"These showers are turning me into a prune," he whined.

"Just as well I like prunes then, isn't it," she reassured him with a giggle.

"How did the concert go?" he asked changing the subject and his position on the sofa.

"There was another big crowd which should keep the promoters happy and I think the audience liked it."

"What's not to like, you shouldn't sell yourself short, you know," he reprimanded her.

"I still can't believe that so many people want to see me."

"Believe it, Gabi. You're sensational," he praised her. "So it's the Big Apple next?"

"Yes and I get to sleep in the same bed for more than two nights. It's a pity you can't be there," she said wistfully.

"You know I would if I could, Sweetheart," he said regretfully.

"I know," she said softly stifling a yawn.

"Just know I love you."

"I love you too and miss you terribly," she said tearfully.

"Don't Babe. You know I'll be with you as soon as I can."

"I know you will."

New York welcomed her back with open arms with both GMA and TRL inviting her on their shows to talk about her new single and the tour. On Thursday morning, Gabriella found herself being interviewed again by Diane Sawyer before going over to Radio City Music Hall for a rehearsal. The first concert wasn't until the following day but she wanted to be prepared, a couple of the dance numbers were slightly off in Philly and she wanted to make sure everything for perfect. Two hours later she called a break, satisfied with the work put in by the dancers, letting them go for the day. She turned to come off the stage and squealed in delight for standing in the wings were Ryan and Kelsi with Caroline. She ran over and hugged them, a bright smile pasted on her face.

"What are you guys doing here?"she asked excitedly, happy to see her friends.

"Just checking up on you," grinned Ryan.

"So what did the Maestro think?" she asked referring to the rehearsal.

"Not bad, you need to practise the jazz square in that last number, your right leg wasn't straight enough at the start," he advised with a sparkle in his eye. Gabriella huffed and thumped him on the arm.

"I blame the teacher," she retorted rolling her eyes at Kelsi, "you can't get the staff these days." Kelsi and Caroline burst out laughing at Ryan's put out expression.

"She's got you there," Kelsi giggled linking arms with Ryan and planting a kiss on his cheek. Gabriella reached for her bottle of water and linked his other arm leading them towards her dressing room.

"It's really great to see you both. I've missed you."

"We missed you too so as soon as Kelsi broke up for summer we hopped on a plane and here we are," explained Ryan.

"Pity you couldn't have kidnapped Troy and brought him with you," Gabriella said wistfully.

"What! And get lynched by all Lakers fans. Come on, Gabs, I love you and all that but there is a limit," yelped Ryan.

"I know but I can dream, can't I," she mumbled.

"Talking of dreams, we do have some news," exclaimed Kelsi excitedly, shutting up sharply when Ryan frowned and shook his head at her. Gabriella looked suspiciously at the pair.

"Okay guys, what's going on?" she demanded standing stock still in the wings with her hands on her hips. "You're not getting hitched?" Kelsi and Ryan burst out laughing.

"Hardly, watching the extravaganza that Sharpay is arranging is enough to make us elope if we ever decide to tie the knot and anyway it's you and Troy before us surely," giggled Kelsi.

"You can say that again," agreed Ryan with feeling.

"So what is it then?" asked Gabriella determined not to be diverted with talk of her and Troy getting married however wonderful that thought was.

"Get changed first then we'll go and get some lunch," suggested Ryan with a smirk, his eyes teasing her.

"Damn you, Ryan, you can be so annoying at times," she snapped storming off to her dressing room.

She got changed as quickly as possible, running the brush quickly through her hair then piling it up in a messy bun before smearing on some lip gloss and slipping into a pair of Uggs. Her curiosity was piqued, she needed to know what they were talking about. Grabbing her jacket and purse, she hurried out of the door to find Ryan leaning nonchalantly against the wall outside.

"You're not really mad are you?" he asked worriedly. Gabriella glared at him then smirked, linking arms with him and pulling him towards Kelsi and Caroline, who, Gabriella noted, had a knowing grin on her face. Gabriella scowled at her. "it wasn't fair," she thought.

"It better be good is all I'm saying cos it seems everyone knows apart from me," she warned him. He grinned mischievously.

"Oh it is," he promised, opening the stage door for them to exit before him. He steered them down the road, round a corner into a side street and in the door of Babbo, an Italian restaurant of note. Gabriella looked suspiciously at him.

"This smacks of forward planning seeing as this place has to be booked well in advance," she muttered as he gave his name and was lead straight away to a secluded table at the back of the restaurant. As soon as they were seated a waiter appeared with a bottle of champagne on ice. Gabriella's eyes widened in surprise but she kept her impatience in check until the waiter had poured each of them a glass and left.

"Not if you know the chef," said Ryan smugly winking knowingly at her.

"Are you ever going to tell me what the hell is going on?" she finally asked. They all smiled at her as Ryan picked up his glass.

"Congratulations, Gabi, you've made it to the top of the billboard charts with "Sunshine"," he told her, clinking his glass against hers. Gabriella looked stunned as she stared at him, then Caroline and finally Kelsi.

"No way! Really?" she couldn't take it in. A smile started to spread across her face as she looked at Kelsi. "Oh my god! Kelsi, we did it. Didn't I say that song was just perfect the first time you played it for me? Congratulations, Kels," she said reaching over the table to hug her friend, paying homage where homage was due; the composer. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"Sure you could," refuted Kelsi.

"At least we proved to the record company that they were right to run with this track," Ryan said with a satisfied smile on his face.

"We sure did. Oh my god, I still can't take it in," gasped Gabriella. "Hey, is that why you guys flew over?"

"No," replied Ryan. Gabriella gave him a disbelieving look, "No, seriously, Gabs, we'd already planned to come. Kelsi has never been and I wanted to show her the sights, take in a show or two maybe and I suggested we should come while you were here and spend some time with you too. How could I have known, they only announced them this morning and I only got the call after we landed telling us the good news and I told them I wanted to pass it on to you as I would be seeing you today. I rang Caroline to find out where you were then arranged this."

"Well I'm glad you did. It's a double surprise cos just seeing you guys is a bonus," Gabriella said with a bright smile. "Shall we eat, I'm famished now and the smells emitting from the back are making my stomach rumble."

After spending a couple of hours over the delicious offerings served up and catching up on news from both sides, Gabriella and Caroline caught a cab back to the hotel leaving Ryan to show Kelsi around some of New York's landmarks. Upon entering their hotel room, Gabriella couldn't resist ringing Troy immediately to tell him the good news.

"I knew you could do it, congratulations, Babe. I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks, Troy. I keep pinching myself to make sure I'm not dreaming," she said excitedly.

"Well stop it. I don't want a battered and bruised girlfriend, except for maybe the odd love bite," Troy chuckled, "You've worked hard for it, Darling, so enjoy it. I just wish I was there with you then we could really celebrate."

"I wish you were here too but we'll just have to put it on ice until I see you," she promised huskily.

"That's a promise I intend to collect, Ms Montez," he said throatily. She could hear someone shout him and he huffed. "Look, I have to go, Coach wants to go over game plans," he said regretfully.

"Okay, I'll speak to you later tonight."

"That's a date. Love you, Gabi."

"Love you more," she said then hung up with a sigh. It didn't get any easier.

She was up bright and early the next morning to keep the date with TRL where she performed 'Sunshine' live. Congratulations were offered on her single reaching number one to a rousing applause from the studio audience but when a reference was made to her love life she firmly stated that she liked to keep her personal life private and refused to be drawn any further much to the dismay of the interviewer. Breathing a sigh of relief when the show ended, she joined Caroline and they spent a couple of hours in retail heaven then grabbed a quick lunch before going back to the hotel to prepare for the show. A knock at the door of her hotel suite was answered by Caroline and she returned with a stunning bouquet of 25 long stemmed heavenly scented red roses in a water filled glass bowl. Gabriella gasped at their perfection before opening the small card to read the message and tears filled her eyes.

"They're from Troy," she told Caroline unnecessarily.

"I should hope so," Caroline responded dryly. Gabriella smiled and sniffed, stroking the card lovingly before placing it beside the roses.

To my own nightingale

Let the voice of an angel

reach the heavens tonight

all my love

Troy xx

Caroline, standing in the wings with Ryan and Kelsi, didn't think it was possible for Gabriella to deliver a better performance than she had over the past two weeks but she did that night and she knew she was singing for one person and one person only who was thousands of miles away and couldn't witness it. Gabriella made two encores to the appreciative crowd before finally leaving the stage on a high. After giving hugs to the three of them she disappeared into her dressing room to change and take off her stage make-up before reapplying her usual minimal amount, a dusting of powder, a flick of mascara and a coating of lip gloss and she was ready. She felt good, knowing she had given the performance of her life tonight, her thoughts had been never far away from a certain basketball player.

Caroline and Kelsi were in a deep discussion as they left the theatre, walking some way ahead of Gabriella with Ryan bringing up the rear, his hand on the small of Gabriella's back guiding her out of the door when light bulbs flashed in their faces signalling a swarm of paparazzi.

Congratulations on heading the charts, Gabriella.

Is it true you have another show in New York?

Are you back with Ryan?

Where's Troy? Why isn't he here with you?

Have you broken up with Troy Bolton?

Does he know Ryan is here with you?

"Great! Just what I needed," thought Gabriella, putting her arm across her face to hide as Ryan shielded her through the pack as best he could, even shoving one photog out of the way as they tried to reach the cab that Caroline had secured. Sliding into the back beside Caroline, Gabriella breathed a sigh of relief when the door shut blocking out the intrusive media. Ryan's face was thunderous, his hands clenched into fists as he bit out the name of the restaurant to the waiting driver.

"Shit! I thought we'd escaped the freakin' circus when we left LA but it looks like they've followed us," he moaned looking apologetically at the women. Kelsi put out her hand and rubbed his arm comfortingly.

"It's not your fault, Ry, we know that and so do you. It's what they do," she said softly with a shrug a look of resignation on her face. "We just can't let it get to us or they've won, okay."

"Kelsi's right, Ryan. Come on, forget about those dumb ass's. Let's go and celebrate a successful day," added Gabriella backing up her friend. "Don't let the bastards get us down as Taylor would say," she said grinning at him.

Gabriella treated herself to a well deserved lie in the following morning, waking at 9.30 and taking a leisurely soak in the generous tub before joining Caroline who was sat at the table reading the New York Post and sipping coffee, a used plate lying on the table in front of her.

"Morning, Caroline. I hope you've saved me some," greeted Gabriella with a smirk.

"About time you made an appearance," teased Caroline. "The aroma was getting to me and I couldn't wait any longer," she admitted with a guilty grin. Gabriella sat down, poured a glass of orange from the jug and took a croissant from the basket.

"Hmm, I needed that," said Gabriella as she drained the glass. "Anything good in the paper?"

"Yes, you got a wonderful review from last nights performance, the critic is even going so far as to suggest you're the next Celine Dion."

"Ha-ha! I don't think so," giggled Gabriella brushing it off as she poured a cup of coffee.

"Oh!" gasped Caroline as she turned a page, her eyes flicking to Gabriella then back to the article.

"What?" questioned Gabriella, not liking the look she'd just witnessed and not waiting for Caroline to furnish her with a reply she moved her chair so she could see the paper then gasped at the picture of her with Ryan. The angle of the picture made it look like they were guilty of something clandestine and the write up didn't help.

Gabriella Montez - torn between two lovers?

For those getting excited at a romance between

the stunning songstress and the golden guy of basketball

it may be over before it's even begun.

A reliable source spotted the gorgeous brunette in the arms of

her old love, Ryan Evans, last night.

It appears the music mogul cannot keep away

and followed her across country.

As in the words of her song, Falling

it looks like Ms Montez is indeed misbehaving.