Hey guys, I'm back again. Here's the next chapter. I only got four reviews for the last chapter. Is my story too boring? I would be really happy if you guys would review more, it means a lot to me. Even if it's just one word. Please, please, please review. Your ideas and suggestions will make my story better too so please review. I promise you that this story will start getting better. I was able to collect all my ideas for the next few chapters so my updates should start being more often! Ok enjoy!

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own Zac Efron or anything associated with High School Musical. *sigh*

Chapter 5-First Date

"Oh mi gosh, Scott. I love this restaurant!" Gabriella squealed as Scott politely opened the door for her. She smiled at him, feeling her heart flutter when she saw him smile back at her. They were greeted by one of the waitresses.

"Hello. How many?"

"I made a reservation for two. It should be under Turner." Scott said, glancing over at Gabriella and flashing a brief smile.

"Ok right this way," The waitress led them to the back of the restaurant and to a private booth. "Ok here's your table. I'll send someone to be with you in a moment. Can I get you two something to drink?"

"Uh yeah, I'll have Coke." Scott replied.

"Raspberry iced tea for me." Gabriella smiled politely.

"Ok." Scott smiled as the waitress walked away. He looked at Gabriella who was quietly sitting there.

"So Gabriella, you look amazing." He complimented with a wink.

Gabriella blushed. "Thank you. This is really sweet of you, Scott. How'd you know Olive Garden was my favorite restaurant?"

"I have my ways." He teased.

Gabriella giggled. "So how's your schedule and everything?"

"It's great. I'm still holding up on basketball. I think it's my last year though." Scott explained.

"Really? How come?" Gabriella asked curiously. The waitress came with their drinks.

"Well it's not really my thing. My dad insisted that I play basketball since he had played basketball his entire high school year. So I did what made him proud."

Gabriella looked at him intently. "What do you really want to do?"

"I don't know. All I know is that I don't want to waste my life doing something I don't enjoy," He lifted his gaze up to her. "What about you?"

"I want to go to Stanford University to be a lawyer. That's always been my dream."

"Impressive. You know, you'd be a hot lawyer, that's for sure." Gabriella giggled. She could be a lawyer at Stanford if she really wanted too. But she had different dreams now. She wanted to stay close to Troy, even if that meant giving up her only life-long dream.

A few minutes later, their waitress came to take their order. After another 15 minutes, their food arrived and they started to eat.

As soon as Scott and Gabriella finished eating, Scott paid for the check and they left. Scott drove down to the ice cream shop and bought her ice cream. They then drove down to the park where they sat looking at the stars and the moon.

"Wow, I never realized how amazing the sky looked at night." Gabriella confessed.

"Yeah. My brother and I used to have a race to see who could find the most constellations. My brother always won."

Gabriella's eyebrows narrowed in confusion. "You have a brother?"

Scott sighed. "Used too. He died when he was 18. Motorcycle accident."

"Scott, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize –"

"It's okay. You didn't know."

Gabriella looked down. "I lost my dad when I was four. He died of cancer. It runs in the family. My grandma died from breast cancer last year."

"I'm really sorry Gabriella. That must have been hard for you."

"Yeah it was. It still is. I loved my dad and my grandma so much. I used to be such a daddy's girl. It's hard to believe I'll be graduating in a few years."

"Yeah," There was an awkward silence. "So you and Troy have been friends for a long time."

"Yeah. We've known as other since we were three. We were both babysat by the same person. I used to think Troy was one of those kids that didn't get along in the sandbox. But then one of the kids pushed me and believe it or not, Troy was the one who came running. The kid left the daycare with a black eye and I left with a best friend's hand to hold. Now Troy knows me more than anyone."

"More than me?"

"You know a lot about me too," Gabriella looked up at him and saw that that wasn't the answer she wanted to hear. "Look, Scott, I know you don't like Troy. He just cares about me a lot. Isn't that what friends do?"

Scott shrugged reluctantly. "I guess," He gently grabbed her hand. "I just don't want him to get in the way of us. You can be with other people."

"But Troy –"

"I really like you Gabriella. I know we've only know each other for a few months but I really do like you. You're smart, funny, beautiful, and probably the nicest girl I've ever met. All those people that say I'm trouble don't know anything. I'd never hurt you." He tucked a stray curl behind her ear. Gabriella could feel her heart fluttered as he leaned in to kiss her. She slowly closed her eyes and did the same thing. She expected it to be short, but not too short that she'd forget about the kiss. It was simple, yet sweet. She could feel his warm hand on her warm cheek. He smelt like a cool, morning breeze. She'd never forget her first kiss. After a few more seconds, Scott pulled back and looked at her, making her blush.

"That was, uh…nice." She fumbled for the right words.

"It was. We should probably get going though. Come on." Scott grabbed her hand and helped her up. Once she was on her feet, he gently slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close.

Troy as outside shooting hoops because he had nothing better to do. Chad was at home, too tired to shot hoops with him, Gabriella was too busy with her new 'friend' to care, and his dad was being, well, his dad. Troy hated it when no one was around to hang out with him.

He dribbled the ball a few times before running up to the basketball and shooting his signature move, a right-handed lay-up. He missed. He gave up and went to go sit down on the grass so he could catch his breath. His mind wandered to Gabriella and he soon felt a pang in his heart. As much as Troy loved her, he couldn't see her get hurt. He knew Scott. He was playing her. Ever since Gabriella had told him about the incident over the summer, he knew that that was just the start. It was the same thing that happened to Chelsea Miller. She was a sophomore last year when she met Scott. They spent the whole summer together up until school started and they became the school's "it" couple. Like Gabriella, Chelsea was innocent and vulnerable. She didn't know what she was getting herself into. She just knew that had fallen head-over-heels with the hottest guy in school. Scott took her on romantic dates, parties, and games. He drove her to school every morning and walked her home every afternoon. Soon, their relationship became more intense. They started leaving parties early, spending more time at each other's houses, and being alone with each other more often. By the time their 6-month anniversary rolled around, Scott took Chelsea to the biggest party of the year, purposely got her drunk, and slept with her. He broke up with her that week because she "didn't satisfy his needs". It made Troy sick. He would not let him do that to Gabriella. If that meant crashing her love life, then so be it.

Troy was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of laughter. Laughter that used to be caused by him. He looked up and saw Gabriella holding Scott's hand as they walked across the street. As they got closer, he could hear them talking. He watched intently as Gabriella turned to Scott and smiled. He heard her say "Thank you" in a hushed voice. Troy's hands curled into fists as he saw Scott kiss Gabriella for what seemed like eternity. He was watching his own best friend fall in love with some jerk that didn't even care about her at all. It would've taken Troy only three seconds to walk over and give him a black eye before telling him to go to hell. He didn't though. He wasn't about to snap right in front of the girl that had a heart so fragile. Troy took a deep breath and watched as Gabriella gave Scott one last kiss before walking up the steps and going inside. Scott stood there for another second before walking back to his car and pulling away.

"I can't believe you two kissed! Three times! Is he a good kisser?" Taylor asked the next day as she walked with Gabriella to the lunch area. After finding their spot at the lunch tables, Gabriella sat down and smiled over at Taylor.

"Scott's an excellent kisser," Gabriella gushed. "He took me to my favorite restaurant too."

"Wow. I don't know how he does it. Just be careful, okay? He might not be who you think he is."

"He's changed…and I'm going to trust him." Taylor was about to reply but then she saw Troy making his way over to the table with his hands in his pockets. It was a sign that he was worried about something.

"Hey Troy, how are you?"

"I'm good. How was your date?"

"It was amazing."

"That's good," There was an awkward silence and then Troy spoke up again. "Can I talk to you for second?"

"Sure," Gabriella got up and walked over to the hallway. "What's up?"

Troy shoved his hands in his pockets again. "I'm worried about you and Scott. I know that you're in love with him but trust me on this that things might not turn out too well between you two. Will you promise me to just make sure you're watching the things he's doing? I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Troy," Gabriella pleaded.

"Please, Gabriella, I need you to promise me."

Before Gabriella could reply, Troy heard someone familiar voice from behind them.

"Hey Gabriella," Troy turned to see Scott smiling as he walked up to Gabriella. "I thought I'd find you here. Can we talk?" He flashed Troy a dark look.

"Uh sure," She turned back to Troy who stood there awkwardly. "Troy, I don't know. I can't do this right now. I'm sorry. I'll talk to you later or something." She turned and walked with Scott. Troy stood there, dumbfounded, that Gabriella couldn't say yes just this once.

"Where are you taking me?" Gabriella giggled as she followed Scott up a stairwell. When they reached the top, Gabriella's smile faded when she realized that she'd been here before. It was her and Troy's secret hideout. Troy only wanted her to know about it. She wasn't about to run the moment though.

Scott sat down on the bench and gestured for her to join him. Gabriella sat down and smiled. "Last night was great. You're such an amazing girl and I want to have a shot at this. So I'm just going to say it," Gabriella held her breath, waiting for Scott to say the words that she's been wanting to hear. They were the words that would change the rest of her life with one answer. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

What did you guys think? My first cliff hanger! Yay! I know you all hate cliff hangers but it's to keep the whole effect going for the story. I'll have the next chapter up soon. I have more time to work on my story now (thank goodness!) so I'll start updating more. Remember to review! Ideas are welcomed and encouraged! Ly!

-Alyssa