Hello everybody, I know that it has been years since I last updated this story, but I finally had some inspiration and time again to write. I wanted to finish this story for you all, because you have given me so much reviews and you have all helped me very much! But I don't know if there is still an interest in the rest of this story, so I thought I'd give you an update and see what you guys think of it. If you want me to continue then I will finish this story (and not wait so long before I update again of course ;) ).

So I hope you all like this chapter. It took me a long time to write it and I hope it's good.

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or any of the characters of the movies.

Sharpay looked at Gabriella sadly, 'You'll never guess.'

Gabby shook her head, 'Oh my god, please don't tell me it was him?'

'David, it was David Hasselhof...'

- PG -

Taylor gasped, 'Oh my god!' she looked at Chad and saw that he looked shocked as well.

Gabriella didn't say anything, she didn't respond at all. She felt that somebody had put his arms around her, but she couldn't say anything. She just couldn't respond. She didn't feel anything and she felt so guilty for not feeling anything. David has liked me for so long and yet I can't even shred a tear when he's in the hospital… what the hell is wrong with me? She thought.

Troy looked at Gabriella, worried for how she would react. He had put his arms around her to make sure she was okay, but she still hadn't respond and he was wondering if she even wanted him around at the moment.

'Gabs..?' she heard suddenly, but she still couldn't respond. What the hell is going on? Everybody is worried and I can't even react to them! Why can't I feel at least a bit sad about David? Like I expected… like everyone is expecting.

Sharpay looked at Gabby, worried about her reaction. She had thought that Gabby would be broken about it, but she didn't know what to think about this reaction. Neither did the others, saw Sharpay.

Troy was even more worried as Sharpay. Why isn't she responding to me? I expected her to be upset, but not that she would ignore me and everybody else, so what am I supposed to do now?

The silence, that was already in the room for several minutes, stayed in the room. Nobody seemed capable of responding to the news Sharpay had told them. Or at the way Gabriella was responding to it. Until suddenly one of the children started to cry and they had to do something.

'Why don't you and I go check on the children?' Taylor asked to Chad.

He looked at her, then followed her gaze to Troy and Gabriella who still hadn't moved from their position and he quickly said: 'Yeah, sure..'

Soon there were only Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay and Zeke. Gabriella still hadn't responded and Troy didn't ask for a response. All he did was look at her, obviously trying to see what her real reaction was, but Gabriella just sat there.

'Gabs…?' Sharpay asked again, 'Come on, say something?'

But Gabriella didn't respond at all.

Suddenly Troy moved. I have to figure out what she's feeling and thinking right now. He softly brushed some hair that was hanging before her eyes behind her ears and softly he said: 'Gabby…hunny…please say something?'

Come on Gabby, pull yourself together! Look how worried he sounds and you're not even responding. Gabby thought to herself. Still she couldn't find the strength to respond to anybody. Finally she looked up and said, 'Sorry guys, but I'm going to bed.'

They all nodded and Troy let go of her, watching her walk away. 'What do I do now?'

'You let her be and let her react the way that's right for her.' Sharpay responded.

'So I just let her walk away?' Troy asked, sounding broken.

'Yes.'

- PG -

Soon everybody had left and Troy put Rose in bed. 'Is Gabby okay?' she asked.

Troy nodded, 'Yeah, she's just tired. She'll be fine tomorrow.' After making sure she was tucked in well he walked into the bedroom to find Gabriella sitting on the bed, wide awake. 'Hey, I thought you were going to bed?'

She didn't respond immediately, but she looked up. 'I think I'm going to sleep on the couch tonight.'

Troy looked hurt, 'Why? Don't you want to sleep in one bed with me?'

Gabriella felt her heart break with the words she then spoke, but she couldn't stop herself from saying them. 'No and I honestly don't know how I managed to do it for the last few nights!'

'What are you talking about?' Troy responded quietly, 'I thought you enjoyed sleeping next to me. Most people do when they get to sleep next to the person they love.'

'Yeah, well I don't what got into me saying that I love you, because I don't! I hate you Troy! I always have and I always will.'

'But this afternoon…didn't it mean anything to you?'

'No,' she responded, trying to stop the tears from coming and trying to stop herself, but she just couldn't, 'I changed my mind by the way.'

He looked up hopeful, 'You'll sleep next to me?'

She shook her head, 'I'll go sleep at Taylor's.' And with that she turned around and walked out of the bedroom.

Troy followed her, 'Gabby please! Just stay in here, I'll even sleep on the couch if that's what you want, but please just stay here?'

She turned around angry, 'Don't call me Gabby. Only friends get to call me that!'

He looked shocked, 'I thought I was more than just a friend.'

'Well you thought wrong, because you're not a friend nor are you more!' And at that moment she walked out the door and left him standing there in the room.

He didn't know what to do, so he did the only thing he could think of: he called Zeke. 'Mate? Can you come over please?'

- PG -

At the same time Gabriella was knocking on the door at Taylor's and when she saw Chad instead of Taylor she just burst into tears. He immediately stepped aside and let her enter, while yelling, 'Taylor, Gabby needs you!'

Taylor came running in and when she saw a crying Gabriella she quickly took her in her arms and let her to the bedroom to have some privacy. 'Chad, could you look after Tyler for a moment? Gabby and I need to talk alone.'

'Yeah of course, let me know if you need anything.'

Taylor closed the door and saw that Gabriella had already taken a seat on the bed. 'Now that we're alone: what's wrong?'

Gabriella sniffed, 'I don't know! I'm pushing Troy away, while he is so sweet to me and only wants to help me!'

'What?' Taylor asked, she sat down next to her and put her arms around her again, 'Gabby, I'm not following you. Why would you push Troy away?'

'That's just it! I don't know why I would do that! I mean: what's wrong with me, I'm such a bitch!'

'Now come on Gabby, you know that's not true! Let's just start at the beginning: tell me what happened when Chad and I left your apartment.'

'I said I was going to bed, but I couldn't bring myself to do anything Taylor! I just felt so guilty. Everybody was expecting me to be upset, I know you guys did and to be honest: so did I, but I wasn't!'

Taylor wanted to respond, wanted to ask her why she wasn't upset. It was true that she had expected Gabby to be upset and she thought the lack of responsiveness earlier had been a way of dealing with the pain she expected Gabriella to feel. She kept quiet however, knowing this was something Gabriella needed to figure out for herself and that the only thing she needed right now was a listener and not someone to judge her.

'I felt so incredibly guilty because I didn't feel what I was supposed to feel!' Gabriella continued to tell, tears slowly falling down her cheeks, 'Sure, I felt horrible for him as I would have for anybody who would have ended up in that storm, but I didn't feel anything else. He has liked me for so long, he tried so hard, but I can't even bring it up to be more upset than others when he gets hurt!'

Taylor had had enough of this. 'Now you listen to me Gabriella! You have nothing, I repeat NOTHING to feel guilty about! These things happen and it's normal for everyone to feel the way we all feel: which is bad! But do you see me crying?'

Gabriella shook her head, 'But it's not the same for you.'

'How is it not the same for me?' Taylor asked, looking at Gabriella, who couldn't bring herself to look back. 'Gabriella please look at me,' she said softly.

Gabby looked up, tears shining in her eyes. 'You're not the one he likes. You don't understand Taylor, I have been horrible to him. It was obvious that he likes me and I have never even tried to be extra nice to him. Now he's been in an accident and the only thing I could think of was that I was glad that it wasn't Troy!' she yelled at the end. Immediately her eyes widened while she clasped her hands over her mouth. 'Oh my god, I can't believe I actually said that!' she whispered.

Taylor in turn was glad that they were finally getting to the real problem. 'Gabby, do you honestly think that that thought hasn't crossed my mind about Chad?'

She looked at her, obviously not even considering the possibility, 'It's fine Taylor, you don't have to make me feel better. I already know I'm a horrible person..'

'You're not a horrible person, I'm not just saying this to make you feel better. Honestly Gabriella, you know me better than that. Of course I'm glad it wasn't Chad and it's quite normal to feel that way about someone you love.'

Gabriella suddenly looked up, 'But you didn't hurt him after wards did you? Oh god.. I pushed Troy away when he was only trying to help me.'

Taylor felt like they were getting nowhere, 'Honestly Gabriella you should stop this! Stop feeling as if you're a horrible person. You're not and you never will be. Troy knows that and I'm sure he'll agree with what I'm going to say to you right now: it's normal to feel the way you feel right now and it's okay to be glad your loved ones are okay. I can tell you right now that you're not the first person to push somebody they love away in a moment of despair or pain. It doesn't mean that the other person won't forgive you for it, because what matters is what you do afterwards and how you learn from this situation.'

'I should go and apologize to Troy shouldn't I?' Gabriella asked.

Taylor nodded, 'I think you should, but I also think that you should explain to him how you feel Gabby. Not only the way you feel right now and about the situation with David, but also how you feel about Troy. It's not fair to say to him that you care about him, maybe even love him and then take it back the next day. I know it's difficult for you to open up and say how you feel, but I really do think Troy deserves to know the truth.'

'You're right,' Gabriella said, 'I'm just so scared that it all seems amazing right now and that he'll be sure now that he cares about me, but that it'll all go away as soon as this assignment is over.'

'I don't think he will to be honest,' Taylor answered, 'I've seen the way he is around you and so have you. He doesn't seem like someone who isn't sure about himself and the way he feels.'

'Yes, that's true. He has opened up to me in a way that I never would've expected from him and I have to admit that it felt good to finally let someone else in again after so long. Maybe I should just trust my feelings on this one and go with it.'

'Exactly!' Taylor said, glad that at least Gabriella wasn't feeling so down anymore. 'You'll see where this goes eventually. Nothing and nobody can give you guarantees on this sort of things Gabriella, it's a risk everybody takes eventually. Sometimes it doesn't work out, but I can give you the guarantee that you will be missing out on a lot if you can't take that risk every once and then.'

Gabriella smiled, 'When did you become such an expert on love huh?'

Taylor giggled, 'Oh well.. I'm not an expert, but let's just say that Chad has shown me some of the good sides of a relationship even though he drives me completely crazy sometimes.'

'Hey!' They suddenly heard a voice from just outside the door. Taylor stood up quickly and walked up the door. She pulled it open only to see Chad standing there on the other side looking a bit sheepishly. 'Hi hunny, I was just looking for Tyler. He's not in there is he?' He said, while trying to keep an innocent expression on his face.

Gabriella giggled in the background while Taylor slowly shook her head, 'No Chad, as you know Tyler has his own room where he probably is playing. Honestly! Did you have to eavesdrop on our private conversation!'

'I didn't mean to!' Chad defended himself immediately. 'I was really on my way to see Tyler, but then I heard Gabriella cry and I just wanted to see if she was okay. You know how much I care about Gabriella, right Taylor?'

Taylor's expression softened, 'Yeah I do. I understand that you wanted to see if she was okay, I just don't get why you would have to eavesdrop on the entire conversation!'

Chad looked down at his shoes, 'Well, like I said at first it was to see if Gabriella was okay, but then I heard you talking about Troy and I was curious to see what you guys had to say about him.'

Taylor looked ready to explode after hearing that, 'ARE YOU SAYING THAT MERE CURIOSITY CAUSED YOU TO BREAK OUR PRIVACY!'

Fortunately for Chad, Gabriella chose this moment to get up and walk over to Taylor to put a calming hand on her shoulder, 'Well no harm done Taylor, I honestly don't mind that Chad heard the conversation given the fact that I decided to tell Troy all this himself anyway. Plus it's kind of nice to see that he gives so much about his friend. I'm sure Chad meant no harm,' she said the last looking at Chad, who quickly shook his head while saying, 'No exactly! I didn't mean no harm!'

Taylor smiled a little, 'Yeah I guess now you're right for once Gabby. It turned out okay this time, but can you please promise to let us have our private conversations next time?

Chad nodded quickly, 'Yes of course! Now if you ladies will excuse me, I have a little six-year-old who needs a playmate.' He walked on towards Tyler's room, while yelling, 'Tyler, here I come!'

Taylor laughed and shook her head, 'I honestly don't know what I have gotten myself into sometimes.'

Gabriella laughed as well, 'I have to be honest with you Taylor: so do I!' They both laughed as they watched Tyler run out the room, Chad not for behind looking like a little kid himself. 'Though I got to admit, he does seem to be great around kids.'

Taylor smiled, 'Yeah, he is!'

- PG -

In the meantime Troy had arrived at Zeke and Sharpay's room with Rose. Sharpay opened the door and didn't seem all that surprised to see Troy standing there. 'Hey, come in.' She said and when they had walked through the door she closed and turned around to look at Rose, 'Hey Rose, what do you say about finding Mary and then we can go play together, just us girls.'

Rose immediately smiled, 'Yes! Can I Troy, can I?' She quickly asked,

Troy chuckled, 'Yes, of course you can,' he answered, while looking gratefully to Sharpay, 'Thanks!'

'No problem,' she responded, 'He's in the kitchen. Take all the time you need. I don't have to anywhere to be so I can watch the kids.'

He nodded and walked through to the kitchen. He saw Zeke pouring a glass of coca cola for himself and nodded when Zeke held up the bottle to ask if Troy wanted some as well. He sat down on a stool at the kitchen isle as Zeke put his glass in front of him. 'Thanks,' he said, while slowly taking a sip, not really knowing how to begin.

'So,' Zeke said instead beginning where Troy couldn't, 'Gabby still not talking to you?'

'Oh she talked to me alright,' Troy answered, 'I'm just still figuring out whether I liked the silence more.'

Zeke winced, 'that bad huh?'

Troy nodded, 'I just don't know what to do anymore! I have tried everything to make her see that I really truly care about her and all she's done so far is give me false hope and stomp over my heart. I know I haven't been the best to her in recent years and even in the last few weeks, but I've really tried to make her feel better whenever I can.'

'I know Troy, everybody knows,' Zeke answered, smiling at him, 'I think it's safe to say that everyone has seen the change in you and I'm sure Gabriella has seen this as well. You have to realize though that it must be difficult to let you in. You were the one that started with telling her how you feel, not her.'

'Exactly! Shouldn't that be enough to show that I care? I took a great risk, because I knew that there was a real risk that she would turn me down as she has done in the beginning, but I didn't give up! I didn't give up even though she said horrible things to me, when she kept saying that she was sure that my feelings weren't real!'

'Yes, you did take a risk,' Zeke answered, looking at Troy, who looked quite miserable sipping at his drink obviously not knowing what Zeke was really saying, 'But to her it may just as well be a joke. You could just be playing with her feelings.' He quickly continued, seeing Troy open his mouth to react, 'We all know that you're not, but she hasn't heard our conversations. She only has what she already knows of you from past years and what you told her recently. Now I think you agree with me that your reputation from before isn't exactly helping you now is it.'

Troy looked shocked for a moment and then banged his head on the kitchen isle and groaned, 'Oh god, I'm never going to get this one girl for whom I would actually go through some trouble!'

Suddenly he heard a quiet voice next to him, 'Ehm Troy?'

He quickly looked up and saw Gabriella standing in the door opening, looking quite shy. She obviously felt uncomfortable about standing there having heard his last line, 'Gabby.. I mean Gabriella, I didn't knew you were standing there,' he looked at Zeke and saw that he was surprised as well about the new addition to their conversation.

'That's alright, ehm.. Sharpay let me. I hope it's okay that I walked straight through to the kitchen,' she answered looking briefly at Zeke who nodded, 'Could I talk to you for a moment? I believe I have some things to explain to you and most of all I think I owe you an apology.'

Troy nodded, his eyes not leaving hers once. Zeke slowly cleared his throat, 'Right, well I'll just go see how Sharpay's doing. You can take all the time you need.'

Gabriella smiled at him, 'Thank you, but I think it would be best to have this conversation at our own apartment. Could we leave Rose here for a while though?' She asked.

Zeke nodded, 'Yes of course, why don't we take her for the night? It'll please Mary who's always asking about having someone over for the night,' Zeke smiled, 'Plus you look like you could use a night alone.'

Gabriella thanked him, 'Thanks Zeke that really means a lot to me,' she then saw that Troy still hadn't taking his eyes of her and suddenly felt quite nervous, 'I mean.. at least if that's okay with you,' looking at Troy she hoped he would give a reaction, but he didn't look like he was going to respond. 'Ehm,, you know going back to our apartment and talking, is that okay with you? Troy?'

The mention of his name seemed to snap him out of his daze, 'What? Oh I'm sorry yes it's fine. Thank you Zeke and be sure to thank Sharpay as well.'

Zeke nodded and smiled as he saw them walk away. He was sure that they could use this night for themselves and when he saw Sharpay walk in the kitchen smiling at him he knew he had done the right thing, 'We're keeping Rose for the night. They're finally going to talk this thing out.'

Sharpay smiled again, 'Yeah I figured, it's fine. I'm glad they're finally going to talk and I really hope that they can finally figure this thing out. They both deserve to be happy and I think that they're really good for each other.'

Zeke nodded, 'Yeah, but I really do hope that Gabriella finally figures out what she wants. I don't think Troy can handle another turndown.'

'She won't turn him down.' Sharpay looked sure of herself. 'She looked like someone who knows what she wants and I don't think that it'll be to leave him. I know her. She just has some difficulties letting someone in and to start with that again with someone like Troy, who she has hated for so long is a real risk.'

Zeke nodded again, smiling as Rose and Mary came running in the kitchen screaming and laughing, 'Hey girls, do you want to hear something fun?' he asked, laughing as they both stopped instantly and turned around both telling they wanted to hear it, 'Rose is staying here for the night, so you girls can have that sleepover you wanted for so long.'

The girls both cheered and Mary immediately asked if they could sleep in the same room. 'Of course you can,' Sharpay answered, 'But you will go to bed the normal time!' she added a bit more strictly. The girls looked very serious as they nodded furiously, knowing that as long they agreed to that they could do a lot, 'Now, who wants ice cream?' Everybody, including Zeke cheered again and they all sat down to eat ice cream, some a bit more neatly than others.

- PG -

The walk back to their room was quiet, both not really knowing what to say. Troy kept looking at Gabriella like he was scared that she would start yelling at him every second or something, while Gabriella didn't dare to look at him. Scared that she would chicken out and run. She didn't want to run, but she was also scared to open up to him. It would be the first time in years that she would to another man and she didn't know how he would react.

They reached their room and Troy opened the door, holding it open so that Gabriella could walk in first. She entered and walked straight through to the kitchen. She sat down on the couch as Troy walked in and after he sat down as well they sat opposite to each other looking the other in they, but now saying anything. They stayed like that for several minutes until Troy cleared his throat, 'So.. you wanted to talk to me?'

She nodded, 'Yes, I'm sorry I'm not really sure how to start.' She still looked quite shy, but seemed to straighten herself up before she continued, sounding a bit more confident, 'I think it's safe to say I owe you an apology. I'm so sorry about what I said to you before Troy! I had no right to talk to you like that and I honestly don't know what had gotten into me.'

Troy answered, 'You don't have to apologize Gabby- eh I mean Gabriella. I know that it must be very difficult for you now that David is in the hospital. I shouldn't have bothered you. I'm sure he means a lot to you.. I mean we all know how much you mean to him.' He looked down at his feet, looking quite depressed.

'No!' Gabriella responded immediately, 'I should apologize, even if it would have bothered me that David is in the hospital that gives me no right to talk to you like that and it's certainly not an excuse I should use! You were very sweet Troy to try to help me, I was just having some difficulty accepting the help and comfort you were offering.'

Troy looked up, 'It doesn't bother you that David is in the hospital?' he asked surprised.

'Well,' Gabriella looked thoughtful for a moment, trying to decide how to explain it to him, 'of course it bothers me that he's in the hospital, but not the way everybody expected or even the way I expected.' She was quiet for a moment, thinking about the next thing to say.

'I don't understand,' Troy said, 'You didn't expect that you'd be upset? Because you seemed an awfully lot upset to me a few hours ago.' He almost sounded angry.

'No that's exactly what I had expected. I thought I would be inconsolable, because how could I not be upset when the boy who has been in love with me for years ends up in the hospital?'

Troy looked down again. He was sure this was the moment where she would tell him that she felt more for David than she had originally thought.

'But I wasn't! I was upset like everyone was, just because someone who is in our class ended up in the hospital. I wasn't upset, because the only thing I could think of was how I was so relieved that it wasn't you who was hurt!' There… I said it, Gabriella thought.

It took him a moment to understand what she was saying, than he looked up surprised, 'Me? You were glad it wasn't me?'

'Yes,' Gabriella answered, smiling softly at him, 'When I heard someone got hurt in the storm I was so glad that you were with me, safe and well. I love you Troy, I really do! I know what I said earlier and I know that I haven't always been completely honest with you or opened up to you like I should have, but I care so much about you!' She got up from her end of the couch and sat down next to him. She took his hands in hers and looked him in the eye, 'I want to be able to open up to you like you have done with me, but it'll take me some time. I'm not used to it and it's very difficult for me. Would you be willing to stick it out with me and let me try?'

He slowly slid his hands out of hers, so she looked up to him scared for the rejection that was her worst fear, but then she saw him smiling at her and he put a hand on her cheek, 'God Gabby, you know you don't even have to ask!' He pulled her face to him and kissed her.

She kissed him back and when he pulled back she grabbed his head and kissed him again. They stayed like that for some time and after that they smiled at each other. 'I'm so glad you're giving me another chance!' Gabriella said, 'I really hope we can make this work.`

Troy smiled as well, 'We'll make this work. No matter what happens, we'll make this – us – work together.'

'So… we have the entire evening together.' Gabriella smiled slyly at Troy, 'Any ideas about what we could do with all that time alone?'

Troy pulled her close and sighed, 'Ah.. well I don't know. I mean.. what could the two of us possibly do for an entire evening?' He slowly started kissing her neck. 'I have all night without any chance of being disturbed in the company of a beautiful woman, but what could we possibly do tonight?' He continued kissing her neck and put his hand slowly on her knee, rubbing her leg.

Gabriella sighed in pleasure, turning her head a bit to grant him better access to her neck. She giggled softly as he kissed a particular ticklish spot, 'I have an idea and you seem to read my mind, because you already started.' She moaned softly as he started sucking her neck softly.

'Is that so?' Troy asked, continuing to kiss her, 'And what would that idea be? Because I sure as hell would like to suggest to forgo sleep tonight as I would like to ravish you until you can't take anymore.' His hand slowly creptup her leg and it went higher and higher. Gabriella moaned softly, 'No I wouldn't mind that at all.'

'No?' Troy asked just to make sure. When she shook her head he didn't hesitate to lift her up bridal style and take her to the bedroom.

- PG -

The next morning Gabriella woke up feeling warm, with Troy's arm around her waist as he lay closely against her, and also a bit sore. She smiled as she remembered the night before and the tenderness that Troy had given her. She truly felt happy and it felt weird to her to feel so utterly content, but it felt nice. She suddenly felt the need to go to the toilet, so she tried to get up slowly and softly to not wake Troy, but she felt strong arms holding her back.

'Where do you think you're going?' Troy murmured, 'It's too early to get up.'

She giggled softly, 'I doubt that Troy, given the time that we went to bed, but I really have to go to the bathroom.' He sighed, but loosened his hold on her, 'Alright, but get back here afterwards, because I intend to spend the morning in bed with my beautiful girlfriend and there is nothing or no one who is going to stop that.'

Gabriella got up and giggled again. She turned her head as she walked to the bathroom, 'Alright, alright, I'll get back immediately after, but at some point we're going to have to wake up and pick up Rose.'

Troy groaned, 'No… we can leave her for a little longer with Zeke and Sharpay. They'll be fine. I really don't want to share you with anybody just yet.' He heard her laugh again as she closed the door. He sighed and then smiled as he thought about the fact that things finally seemed to turn in his favor. He had the girl he wanted and that he had dreamed about for the last few weeks and this time it seemed as though she was really serious about trying it together.

He had almost drifted back to sleep when he felt the door open again softly. He didn't need to open his eyes to see that it was Gabby getting back to bed, so just lifted up the covers to one side and he felt her slide in bed next to him. He put the blanket good around her and then put his arms around her as well. 'God.. you're cold!' Troy exclaimed as he felt her body next to his. 'I know,' Gabriella answered, shivering softly, 'It's really cold out there when I have been lying next to you an entire night.'

Troy hugged her close, 'I could find a way to warm you up,' he whispered in her ear as he kissed her shoulder.

'Hmm.. could you now?' Gabriella asked, 'Well I'm sure I'd like the way you're thinking about right now.'

Troy nodded against her, 'Yes I think you would.' They kissed softly and it started to heat up a little when they suddenly heard loud banging on the door.

Troy groaned again, 'Not now!' He yelled, 'We're busy!' he kissed Gabriella again and she giggled as she grabbed his face and pulled him close.

- PG -

Sometime later there was another knock on the door. Troy woke up, but he wasn't ready to get out of bed yet, so he closed his eyes again, pulling Gabriella close. He was falling back asleep when the knocking got louder. He tried to ignore it again, but the knocking persisted and soon there was the loud voice of Sharpay yelling, 'TROY AND GABRIELLA! YOU TWO GET OUT OF THIS ROOM RIGHT NOW!'

Gabriella stirred again against him and to avoid waking her up, Troy slowly got out of bed, putting the covers back around her. She sighed softly and hugged the pillow on the side where Troy had lain moments before close. He smiled and kissed her forehead before walking to the door where the knocking still hadn't stopped. He opened the door, saying, 'Alright alright! Calm down!'

Sharpay stood in front of him looking everything but pleased with him, 'What on earth is wrong with you Troy?!'

He looked at her surprised, 'What? We were sleeping! You and Zeke said you could take Rose for the night so Gabby and I took the opportunity to sleep in for once and to be quite honest: if it was up to me I wouldn't get up for some time longer. What on earth are you thinking knocking on our door so early?'

She laughed, 'So early? God Troy, you must have had some good night with Gabriella if you think I'm here early. You've been in there already for the better part of the day!' She smiled softly at him, 'I assume things went well with Gabby?'

Troy nodded and smiled as well, 'Yes, it seems as though things are finally looking up for us.' He paused for a moment, 'Although I have to admit that I'm afraid to say that. I really don't know how long our happiness will last this time, but I'm just enjoying everything for the moment and I'm trying not to think about everything too much.' He thought about it for a moment and immediately felt a worry about whether Gabriella would have changed her mind when she woke up. He didn't want to think about it, but he also didn't want to get his hopes up to soon given the fact that he had been disappointed before. He shook his head. He shouldn't think about it. Gabriella had obviously meant everything she said to him last night and she certainly wasn't the type to randomly sleep with some guy unless she was serious about them. He knew that they probably wouldn't have it easy, but he was sure that this time everything would work out just fine. He smiled at Sharpay again and then suddenly realized something, 'Wait a minute.. you said we have been in this room for the better part of the day. What time is it?'

'Well that's why I'm here,' Sharpay answered immediately, 'It's 7 pm.' She saw a flash of surprise across face, but she couldn't waste any time. She had come here for a reason and even though she really wanted Troy and Gabriella to have their time together she knew this couldn't wait. 'Troy, you need to come with me, Rose isn't well, she doesn't understand why you haven't come to see her yet and she's starting to get scared that you have both left her and won't come back. I didn't know what to say to her anymore Troy, I'm sorry, but she's so upset that I really didn't know what else to do except come pick one of you up.'

Troy immediately followed her outside, 'Of course! You don't have to apologize for something like that Sharpay, you know that.' He closed the door and hoped that Gabriella would stay asleep until he came back with Rose. He knew she would get scared if she woke up to find him gone, but if Rose was as upset as Sharpay said then she needed him right now and he couldn't waste any time waking up Gabriella. They had probably already wasted long enough.

He walked quickly through the corridor and into the elevator, with Sharpay behind him only just keeping up with him. Maybe he should've asked Sharpay to stay at his room in case Gabriella woke up, but it was too late for that now and he really wanted to get to Rose. How could they have been so stupid as to forget about Rose! They should've paid more attention to time instead of only thinking about each other, but he had to admit that spending some time alone with Gabriella had felt good. They reached the room of Zeke and Sharpay and he was about to knock on the door when he heard Sharpay behind him, 'It's open, you can go in straightaway.' He quickly opened the door and as soon as he stepped foot in the room a small figure ran up to him and jumped into his arms.

'Troy!' Rose exclaimed, tears streaming down her face, 'Why didn't you come to see me sooner? I thought you wouldn't come back ever again! I was so scared.' As she thought about it more tears streamed down her face.

Troy immediately picked her up and hugged her. He walked over to the couch and sat down with Rose on his lap. 'I'm so sorry Rose! We certainly didn't forget about you! It's just that..' he hesitated for a moment, not really sure what to say to her. He couldn't tell Rose why Gabby and him hadn't come and pick her up until now and he wasn't sure if Gabriella wanted Rose to know about them just yet. This entire project gave a very difficult situation for this children and although they wanted to give her the happy family she deserves, at least for as long as they could, but given the fact that the situation between him and Gabby was still very difficult he thought it might be better to wait a bit until they told Rose. He thought about it for a moment and then continued, 'Well, Gabriella and I were both very tired and we were sleeping.'

'All day?' Rose asked with her mouth open, 'I'm never allowed to sleep a whole day.' She pouted, 'But why didn't you pick me up this morning, I could have slept with you and Gabby.'

Troy laughed, 'You're right and next time I'll try to think about that ,but to be honest we didn't think of that. What do you say you come home with me now and you can stay with Gabriella in bed until she wakes up.' He saw her face light up with excitement as she quickly nodded and climbed of his lap. 'I'm gonna go and say bye to Mary.' She said and she quickly ran to Mary's bedroom. 'Be sure to thank Sharpay and Zeke as well!' Troy yelled after her. He stood up and walked over to the kitchen where Zeke and Sharpay both stood talking. 'Thank you very much for having Rose over for the night and I'm sorry it took us so long to pick her up.'

Zeke smiled, 'It's fine, it was very fun. She didn't give us any trouble. You two on the other hand were far more difficult. You must have had a fun night if you spent the entire day in bed.' He winked at him. Troy laughed, 'Yes, well.. what can I say. It was great to have a night alone with Gabriella.'

Sharpay smiled as well. 'I'm so happy for you two. You are so great together! Almost as good as Zeke and I,' she added, winking at Troy and laughing. They all laughed and afterwards Sharpay said softly, 'I mean it though. I really hope things will work out for you and Gabriella. You both deserve to have a happy life and a happy love.'

Troy smiled as well. 'Thank you,' he answered. He felt an immense surge of gratitude for them, knowing how much they had actually helped them, 'Thank you for everything. You guys helped me so much.'

Zeke smiled as well, 'That's what friends are for are they not? I just hope that you two will have it a bit easier from now on.'

Troy remained quiet for a moment, not really sure what to say. He heard Rose coming in with Mary, both talking excitedly and he felt truly happy. He was sure that this must be the beginning of a happy life for him and for Gabriella and for the time they had with her, for Rose as well. 'I hope so too, I really do.'

So, what do you think? Is it good? Do you want me to continue?

Please let me know and review. If I get enough reviews I'll continue the story and finish it :)

xoxo

Miss True Love