"I've missed you," Troy grabs my face and kisses me ever so gently, "kind of a lot."

"Well, good," I chuckle and walk away from him to the kitchen where I just was, "because I've kind of missed you a lot, too."

He laughed and took off his jacket and hung it on one of the chairs around the counter before taking a seat, "what are you baking? It smells really good in here."

I went to the sink and washed my hands and then looked back at him, "pumpkin bread. I wanted to surprise you, but I didn't think you were coming for another hour or so, so that's out the window now."

"I'm still surprised," he tries to make it better, "I didn't end up going with my aunt so I was bored. I'm sorry."

"NO," I say a little too loudly, which earns a laugh from him, "I mean, no, it's fine. I'm happy you're here. It's totally fine."

I go over to my counter and take out the vanilla extract and baking powder that the recipe calls for and then to one of the drawers and take out my little measuring spoons. I should have gotten everything ready so I don't have to scramble all around the kitchen, but whatever. I put everything into a bowl and then took out my mixer and mixed everything together.

Troy watched as I mixed everything, but we couldn't really talk because the mixer was so loud, nothing would be heard.

"How was Chicago?" I asked him after I poured the batter into two different pans.

"Really good," he smiles, leaning forward a bit and sticking his finger in the bowl, tasting the batter, "yeah, it was weird. It was the last time I was ever going to be in that house so it was bittersweet. Everyone was ready to leave. And now we're all here."

"How do you guys like your new place?"

Troy shrugged, "I was only in it for, like, five minutes because we were all hungry so we went to eat and after that, I came here."

Well, I'm dying to see his new place. I LOVE looking at places. I think about getting into real estate all the time, but eh, I don't know if it's my true calling. But that's beside the point right now. I don't even know what the point is, actually.

Oh. Troy. His family here. Sweet, adorable little Sienna. "Do you think Sienna would be interested in ice skating?"

"What?" he smiles, "you want to take her ice skating?"

"Well, yeah," I grab the pumpkin bread and put both pans in the oven and put the timer on, "it's so much fun. I go every winter a couple of times and I don't know, thought she'd have fun. You, too."

Troy nods and takes out his phone from his pocket and sets it on the counter, "I think she would love that. My mom has actually wanted to take her, but I think she was a little too young last winter. Well, not young, per say, but not really coordinated."

Oh. His mom wants to take her. "Oh, then um, she can take her if she's been planning on it. I don't want to step in and just..."

"No," he laughs, "I mean, yeah, she's been wanting to take her, but because she wants her to try it. I don't think it holds much importance to her or anything."

"Maybe she can come too, then," I suggest, not wanting to come off too strong. I shouldn't just inject myself into their family and hang out with them without them asking, but I don't know. I want to be friendly with them. "If you want. It doesn't matter."

He smiles, like he's actually completely on board with that idea, "yeah, yeah, I'm sure my mom would love that."

I looked over at him and I just had to stop and take him in for a second. I couldn't believe it.

"What?" he asks with a weird look on his face.

Nothing. I'm just admiring him. His beautiful cheekbones, his bright blue eyes, his smile, his messy hair, everything that just makes him so beautiful. And his equally beautiful soul. And thinking about he way he makes me smile and laugh. The way he holds a door open for me no matter where we are. The way he looks into my eyes when he's about to kiss me. The way he moves my hair out of my face. How he texts me every night to tell me goodnight. How he holds my hand as if he never wants to let it go.

But most importantly, thinking about the way he makes me feel.

How did I get so lucky?

"Nothing," I tell him, "I just... I missed you more than I thought I would." It's not a lie at all, but it's not what I was thinking about just now. I just didn't want to potentially scare him away. I think my feelings are way stronger for him than his are for me.

He got up out of his seat, came over to me, looked down into my eyes and gave me a kiss. "I missed you, too."

I'm falling for Troy Bolton and I'm falling kinda fast.

And that scares the shit out of me.

"How was school, kids?" Andrea asks us as we take a seat around the counter in her kitchen.

School sucked. For some reason, today felt extra long. And I felt like my hand was going to fall off from taking so many notes in math. "It was okay. I've had better days, for sure."

Troy seemed to agree with me. We did have the same math class after all. "Yeah, felt long, but I'm happy now."

Me too! Andrea was making lasagna and Troy's been raving about it alll day. Well, not all day. In English class, he invited me to come have some and then during lunch he said he couldn't wait because it was so good, and then on the way over here, he said his mouth was watering just thinking about it. So uh, he's talking it up. I mean, I love lasagna so much so I'm sure it'll be good but at the same time, I love lasagna so much so I'll probably judge it pretty hard.

But whatever. I'm happy they invited me over. I love having dinner here. It reminds me of my family and it's just so... normal.

"Pretty soon we're going to have to get you your own personalized place mat," Andrea laughs as she throws some avocado into the salad she's making.

The Bolton's each have a place mat with their name on it and it's the cutest thing, ever. Troy thinks it's cheesy and kind of lame, but his mom had them made for them about three years ago and they've used it ever since. It's actually really cool. I love it.

But no way. Troy and I have not even said, "I love you" yet, there's no way I'm part of the family.

I know she was joking, though, so I just laughed along with her and changed the subject. "This all smells so good. Thanks for inviting me. My parents were going to some dinner tonight."

"Oh, speaking of your parents," Andrea goes over to the sink and rinses her hands real quick, "when are they available for dinner?"

Oh, right. She's been wanting to have my parents over. FOR THE FIRST TIME. Umm. Nerve wracking. I mean, my parents are super nice and whatever, but sometimes you just don't get along with someone. You have nothing in common, conversation doesn't flow and you guys are just in different worlds or whatever. And if my boyfriend's parents don't like my parents or vice versa... well, that kind of changes everything. It probably will change everything if it were to happen. And I'm terrified about it.

I don't think it'll change my feelings for Troy, because I'm in too deep, but gah. I'm nervous. I don't want them to meet.

But I know they have to eventually. "Oh, um, this weekend, I think."

"Great!" she goes over to a drawer, takes out a knife and comes back to the counter to cut a lime in half to drizzle it over the salad because it's healthier than ranch, she says. "Are they allergic to anything? Maybe I can make some lamb or some ribs. Is there anything they don't eat?"

She was SO nice, I don't know how my parents wouldn't like her. But you never know. "They eat everything so just make whatever you want. And they're not allergic to anything, I don't think."

She smiled, looking happy about the whole thing. She mentioned it last week when I was here for dinner and then yesterday again when I came over to do homework. And now this. So I think she really wanted them over. And that's totally fine. I'm sure she wants to meet the people who Troy's around with when he's at my house, ya know? Troy knows my parents better than I know his so I'm hoping he's said nothing but good things about them because to be honest, I don't even know if Troy likes my parents.

I think he does. I mean, he's stayed for dinner a bunch of times now. He's watched a couple football games with my dad... just the two of them. And he helped my mother assemble a small nightstand a week ago, so... I think he does.

"I just like meeting the parents, you know?" she smiles up at me, "it'll be fun. Light and fun conversation, nothing serious."

Troy looks over at me and smiles, "I'm sure they'll get along just fine."

God, I hope so. "No, yeah, definitely," I agree, hoping it doesn't show on my face that I'm nervous about it because I don't want to give the impression that my mom doesn't like meeting new people because she does. It's just I'm nervous. It's normal to be nervous. Ugh it's because I really like Troy. "I think Friday or Saturday should work, whenever you want."

"Let's do Saturday," Andrea says, putting on her oven mitt because the oven just beeped, "maybe around 6, 6:30?"

"Sure, I'll let them know."

Troy then gets up and extends his hand for me to grab it, "we're gonna go finish some math homework before dinner," he tells her since we haven't been home at all. We went to a rugby game after school and now we're here. "We'll be down in twenty minutes."

I followed Troy upstairs. He was allowed to have girls in his room, I think he just had to keep the door open, which was cute.

"Sorry she's so persistent on them coming over," he chuckled as he grabbed his textbook from his desk, "she mentioned it to me this morning to invite them over for lasagna but too soon of notice, I'm sure."

"Yeah, maybe," I smile at him as I take out math homework, "but Saturday's fine. I'm sure they're not busy."

"And to ease your worries, my mom can totally fake it. Like really fake it," he chuckles, "you know, if things don't go well, but I'm sure they will. Your mom's nice, my mom's nice. I don't think you have anything to worry about. And I know our dads will get along."

Ugh. It's been exactly three months of being official and he already knows exactly what I'm thinking. I hate it. And love it all at once.

I know he's probably right, but you just never know what can happen. "No, yeah, yeah, I'm sure they will. It's just... I'm kinda at the point where if things don't go well, I'll be crushed."

Troy immediately smiled at me, picking up exactly what I was saying. "Well, me too."

"Well, good," I smile at him. I really like this guy and I just want all of us to get along. "but you're right, I'm just being weird."

"I like you just the way you are," he tells me, coming over to his bed and sitting down next to me, turning his body a bit towards me, "but regardless of everything, my feelings aren't going to change... you know, any time soon."

Swoon. I know he's into me, I know he likes me, but just hearing it out loud from time to time means everything.

And my feelings are definitely not going to change any time soon, either.