Hey you guys. Long time, no see…or update, in my case. Okay, so I've been really busy and I almost gave up on my stories and my reviewers, whom I have to thank tremendously for being so amazing. I had completely forgotten about Losing Soul and Your Pulse even though I promised to update them until today. I got this review that I read from Jewel2502 and she was like, you have to update and she was trying to motivate me. So I was like, what the heck. Why not? So I got right back on track and wrote this out in an hour. Its not perfect. Far from it. But its there, right? And its for you guys. I hope you really enjoyed it. Thank you so much for all your support and motivation, its been crazy good. See what the power of one review can do?

XOXO

Sophie

Chapter 6: Your Smile is My Candle

Troy lay on his bed with the covers draped around him to keep him warm from air conditioning. Her body lay tangled with his. Her breathe soft as she inhaled and exhaled in regular motion. He watched as she slept on her front, her head facing his. He tucked a piece of her hair behind her ears, caressing one side of her cheek. He sighed and looked back up at the ceiling.

"What am I doing?" he whispered. She was so beautiful. So peaceful. As he lay with her here, nothing was wrong. There was no fight. No changes. She was still his Gabriella. He was in love with the old Gabriella. He fell in lust with the new one. Oh, the things she did to him no matter how she was.

His thoughts stopped as her eyes fluttered and her mouth curled upwards slowly. She leaned in closer to him and breathed in his scent. He wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her even closer.

"Why are you still up?" she asked quietly as she played with his fingers. He shrugged and closed his eyes for a second, keeping still.

"I don't know, couldn't sleep I guess" he sighed. Gabriella looked up at him and frowned.

"What's wrong? Is it your dad again?" she asked as she stroked his jaw with her soft fingers. He looked down at her and took her hand in his.

"I guess. He's been working me to my core, you know? I don't think I have anything left to give him and he's still saying I can improve if I just practice more. He thinks I with the guys, shooting hoops or running or something. I don't know. Its all too crazy for me right now"

Gabriella nodded and lay her head back on his chest. "Well, at least you're still getting a workout, right?" she giggled and he laughed so hard his chest rumbled beneath her, "I mean, you're exercising your arms" she said as she kissed down one arm, "and you're exercising your stomach" she continued as she moved down to kissing his stomach, "and you're even exercising your-" she was about to move further down until she heard the sounds of a door slamming outside.

"oh shit, is that your dad?" he asked and she nodded as she hopped out of bed frantically searching for Troy's clothes as well as her own.

"Here are your boxers, I cant find your jeans though!" she cried out as she head her father jogging up the steps, "god, Troy, you need to get the fuck out right now!"

Troy looked around the room after he put on his boxers, there was no sign of his pants.

"Get out! Get out!" Gabriella cried in a frantic whisper. She began to usher him out the window.

Troy's eyes widened, "Gabriella, I'm in my underwear!"

"They're shorts and so what? Run fast!" And with that, he was on the balcony. He was about to climb over until the balcony doors opened again and Gabriella reached over and pulled his lips to hers by his shirt collar.

"Goodnight Troy" she whispered as she went back inside and shut the doors of the balcony. He heard a knocking at her door and saw that her father came in. It's a good thing Troy was already out

Troy climbed up to his window, feeling very much like some kind of monkey with all the climbing he had been doing lately. He got into his room and collapsed on his bed. His phone rang suddenly and he didn't recognize the number.\

"Hello?" he asked as he answered the phone.

"Hello? Troy? This is Sharon. Remember me?" she asked and he thought back. Sharon. Some leggy blonde on the cheerleading team.

"Yah, I remember. What's up?" he asked as he rest his head on one of his pillows and switched on the television.

"Well, I think you're very sexy Troy. Very sexy" she said, almost purring, "So sexy that I get hot just thinking about you Troy"

Troy shifted uncomfortably in his place, "Uh, listen Sharon, I-"

"Shh, don't say anything. I'm just offering you to meet me next weekend at Macy's house party. We can hook up. And trust me, it'll be fun" With that, she hung up.

Troy looked at his phone as the dial tone rang through his ears. There's no way he'd meet up with Sharon. He couldn't do that to Gabriella.

"Wait a minute" he stood there for a second, "I'm not dating Gabriella. We're just friends with benefits"

Its more than that. A voice in the back of his mind seemed to ring through and say.

But is it?

He struggled with this thoughts, in the end choosing to ignore Sharon's phone call. He was with Gabriella. No matter how.

"Hey Troy" Gabriella smiled as she picked up her phone the next day and answered, "How was running back to your house naked? Fun? Cold?"

"Ha. Ha. Very funny Gabi" he replied sarcastically, "So, um, listen, are you going to Macy's party next weekend? I thought maybe we could meet up there. Get drunk and-"

"Have sex?" Gabriella finished for him. Macy's party? She wasn't even invited. And people will start talking if they see her with Troy and they'll start bullying her again, like they did last year. They'll make fun of her and then Troy will see what a fake she really is how he could do so much better. Even if its just for benefits, "I don't know Troy. I mean, come on, people will see us together. This was just supposed to be 'Friends with Benefits' remember? Its not like we're a couple or anything, right?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone and for a minute, all she could hear was her heart beating frantically in her chest.

"Yah, its just 'Friends with Benefits'" and with that, he hung up. Gabriella stared at the phone wondering if she'd done anything wrong.

Troy sighed and put a hand through his hair. His heart was screaming no, but his mind, his anger, was screaming yes.

He dialed the number and waited for the voice on the other line to finally pick up. When they didn't, he waited for the answering machine message to end and the beep to come on before he left his own message:

"Hey Sharon, listen, I'll see you at Macy's party next weekend. I'm not busy after all."

Gabriella felt a little frustrated as she sat alone in the cafeteria and nibbled on a piece of soggy cafeteria French fries. She hadn't spoken to Troy all week and he'd been avoiding her. She wanted to know what happened. Was is the sex? Did he find someone else?

Suddenly, she knew where she could find him. She got up and dumped her tray, ignoring the snickering that followed her that came from the cheerleader's table.

She made her way out to the gym, that would be empty by now. Well, empty except for one occupant.

There he was, dribbling his way to the basket. He wasn't in uniform but he did have his basketball shoes on. She, on the other hand, wore her black heeled boots, under her jeans.

"So why the cold shoulder, Superstar?" she asked as she grabbed the ball from his unsuspecting fingers.

"What cold shoulder?" he shrugged as he put his hand out for the ball.

"I've had no phone call, no texts, and no sex. There's definetly something cold going round. And I plan on figuring it out." She smiled as she threw the ball back at him.

"I've just been really busy I guess" he turned round and threw the ball into the net from the three-point line. As usual, it went it.

"Troy" her voice softened, "is something the matter?"

He turned to her, his eyes softening as well to her tone, "I don't know Gabs. Its really complicated. I don't want to talk about it."

She nodded her head and moved a step towards him. She brought her lips to his and gave him a sweet kiss, different the aggressive, sexy ones she usually does, "I'm here if you need me, Troy"

Troy nodded and pulled away, unsure of himself. She said all it was was sex. But here she was, caring and soft, making him fall for her all over again. He couldn't do that anymore. She wasn't his Gabriella. She'd change. She didn't want him. She wanted what his body had to offer. And he didn't mind that exchange. But he couldn't put his heart into it. Not again.

Gabriella sat at her desk. Since Taylor stopped talking to her after she learned what Gabriella spent the summer doing, Gabriella had nothing to do but sit her weekends out with her music. Troy was going to Macy's party and had decided not to.

Why?

Because she was afraid. Of Macy. Of Troy. Of that life. What if he didn't want her there?

"Oh god, whats going on with me? I'm turning into old Gabriella again. I'm such an idiot" Gabriella cried out to herself. It felt so strange; hearing silence after her confession, "and now I'm talking to myself. Yes, this is definetly making me crazy. You know what? I will go to that party. Fuck Macy and her blonde clones. I'm going" she smiled at herself, knowing how insane she sounded, but not caring at all.

She put on a sexy, silky, red wrap top that pumped up her boobs and shrunk her waist. She put on a pair of denim shorts and her nicest red heels. She was going to rock Troy's socks.

Troy reached the party with Sharon at his side. She was so excited that they almost didn't get to the party. She was all too ready in his car. The music was loud and the drinks were flowing. He smiled and waved to Chad and Jason who were chatting up two girls from East Side.

"Troy, I cant wait to get you in between my-"

"Sharon!" Macy yelled out pulling Sharon and Troy apart, "what are you doing here with Troy of all people?" Macy giggled and put her hand on Troy's chest, "I was going to set you up with one my guy friends. I told you not to bring a date"

Sharon rolled her eyes at Macy, "Sorry Mace, but with Troy, I couldn't resist"

Troy smirked and put his hand on Sharon's lower back, leading her towards the stairs when all of a sudden, he stopped dead in his tracks.

There she was, standing near the railing, coming downstairs. She looked amazingly stunning in red with her hair all over her shoulders and her lips so glossy and kissable. She stopped walking too. When she looked up and saw him standing with his hand almost on Sharon's ass. She nodded at him in understand, her eyes turning to stone almost.

Then she walked away.