A/N: So, it's like midnight right now. And I'm not the least bit tired considering a.) I took a nap when I got home from school (then, I was exhausted) and b.) I got a venti caramel iced latte at like, ten when I was in the center with my friends (I did not think Starbucks stayed open that late but hell, they probably get amazing business from us high schoolers at all hours of the day) so now I'm all hyped up on sugar, caffeine and surplus energy which never happens. And since I've been totally lacking in inspiration for my other story, I thought I'd get something done. And I'm kind of in love with this song right now. It's been on repeat for like, the last two days. So enjoy the fruits of my insomnia!

Disclaimer: Don't own characters, song, anything. Except for the plot. That is mine.

Just Another
by mini princess93

You and I,

We're two of a kind,

I hate to say it but you'll never relate,

What makes you tick?

It makes me smile.

"Gabriella! Gabriella! Over here, look at us!"

Gabriella kept her head down, her dark curls acting as a curtain as she forged her way through the mob of photographers hovering around her. It seemed they traveled in packs wherever she went for the sole purpose of bugging the hell out of her.

"Gabriella, over here. Just one smile, please?"

Oh please, like they were really going to settle for one smile.

"What's your response to claims that you're dating Troy Bolton for your rep?"

That was a new rumor.

From Troy's unique perspective, he saw the corners of Gabriella's thin lips turn down into a small frown at the accusation. All he wanted to do was kiss it away but considering their current environment, he preferred to not give the vultures the satisfaction of catching an intimate moment for their own profit. Instead, he gave the hand held between his fingers a gentle squeeze as a miniscule show of support and smiled slightly when she squeezed back. However insignificant the gesture was, he couldn't help but appreciate every moment they shared.

Finally, the pair reached the salvation in the form of a tinted SUV. As they buckled themselves in the backseat of the leather interior, Gabriella let her heavy head drop onto Troy's broad shoulder and her eyelids drooped shut. It had been a late night of filming and all she wanted to was relax. But the multitudes of flashing bulbs less then two feet away were making that increasingly difficult.

You said that I should get away from it all,

And bury my head in the sand if I want to,

I think you…

Should thank me now.

God, when had her life become so complicated? She loved her job but all the strings attached sometimes made her wonder why she'd chosen this life for herself. And now, it wasn't just about her but she dragged Troy into it too.

He didn't deserve this. No one did but him especially.

She brought it up one night as they cuddled in her king-sized bed, discarded clothing littering the hardwood floor around them. Their heartbeats had long ago settled and the sweat cooled. Now they were simply resting in the comfortable silence with their legs were tangled under the comforter, their arms wrapped around each other and her cheek resting on his bare chest, feeling it expand and contract with every slow, even breath. His hand drifted up and down the length of her upper arm with the pads of his fingertips in an absentminded show of affection and comfort. Internally, her brain was telling her a million and ten reasons why this was wrong, why he was going to leave her and why this relationship was never going to work. And try as she might, she just couldn't get it to shut up.

"I don't know why you do it." She said softly.

"Do what?" He asked gently, his mind clearly preoccupied with the ever-elusive sleep.

"Put up with me." She sighed. "And all the shit that follows me. It's my life, I can't do anything about it but you can. All you have to do is walk away and you're free." For purely selfish reasons, she wanted to stay by his side forever and then some but that would be unfair to ask that of him. Troy never asked for this but she unwillingly forced it upon him. But Gabriella's heart would break if she forced him to eventually resent her for it.

She had to think about someone else for a change.

"Like I need a reason besides the incredible sex?" The vibrations of his chest indicated a gravelly, amused chuckle but they stopped immediately when he saw her eyes cast downwards, dejected. She wasn't laughing.

You were lying wide awake in the garden,

Trying to get over your stardom,

And I could never see you depart us

And you're my baby,

You're just another girl.

"Gabriella," He said slowly, wondering how on Earth she had even come up with that. He craned his neck back to get a good look at her face but her cinnamon colored eyes were trained on the delicate finger drawing lazy, invisible designs on his washboard abs. Actually, she had been tracing Gabriella Bolton in cursive upon his skin but he didn't have to know that. It wasn't like it was ever going to happen.

He latched onto her wrist, primarily to get her to stop and pay attention to him but then he intertwined their fingers because he wanted to have as much physical contact as possible when he told her this. "Brie," his voice was soft but commanding. Troy waited for her eyes to raise and meet his. "I love you." It wasn't his first time saying it, not by a long shot, but her skin always erupted in goosebumps when she heard it leave his mouth.

"I love you too." She responded, feeling his grip on her waist tighten and a gentle kiss planted into her hair. Still, she dreaded whatever was coming next.

"I know. And nothing is ever going to stop me from loving you. No assholes they call reporters, no hordes of crazy fans. A relationship with some other girl probably wouldn't have any of that but God knows I wouldn't be half as happy with her as I am with you." Troy told her earnestly.

"But think about how much simpler life would be." She pressed because dammit, she was going to give him every out possible now so he wouldn't have to feel guilty when he discovered days, weeks, months, years from now, how much he missed having a normal life.

"Are you saying you don't care about my happiness?" He asked in mock-indignation.

"No! Of course not." Gabriella protested vehemently but she relaxed slightly when she saw the smirk curving his features. She rolled her eyes and settled her head more comfortably on Troy's torso.

"Well, life's boring without a little challenge." Troy decided. "Who wants that?"

"I'm just thinking of what's best for you." She pressed her lips together and tried to calm her reeling mind. She'd always had the tendency to psychoanalyze and frankly, it was exhausting.

"And I think a little Gabriella lovin'," he began huskily, his voice deepened by lust, "is just what the doctor ordered." And he sealed the deal by swooping down and kissing Gabriella soundly on the lips.

"You're so corny." She giggled.

"You so love it." He countered, nipping at the curve of her neck.

Her fingers raked through his chestnut strands. "Can't argue there." It was all about living in the moment.

I never mind the way I had to see you,

My working on a day show never explains why I see you

And I feel your pain.

I love to wear my work inside of my head,

I can't complain but you should never react the way you did,

I feel your time.

If he was going to be honest, they were never supposed to fall in love. Hell, they weren't even supposed to socialize outside of work. Gabriella was the burgeoning starlet of the newest hit TV drama as the filthy rich daughter of a high-end department store CEO with a Harvard Law degree to set her apart from all the other spoiled socialites. The show's unexpected heart and dark humor coupled with Gabriella's effortless talent catapulted her straight into stardom.

And he was just a writer. Not even the head writer or anything fancy like that but just one of the many who occasionally came to set for last minute rewrites of the script. On one of these visits, he managed to catch Gabriella in a rare moment of vulnerability.

*Flashback*

"Miss Montez?" Troy knocked on the door of the dressing room that belonged to one Gabriella Montez. He'd only met her a handful of times but he doubted she even remembered his name.

"Come in."

He twisted the silver handle and pushed the wooden door open. "Sorry to barge in like this but I just wanted to talk to you ab-" He looked up from the thick white script bundled in his hands and stopped short when be met with an unexpected sight. Gabriella was sitting cross-legged on her black futon couch dressed in Juicy sweats, her face devoid of any and all makeup, a colorful throw pillow sitting in her lap and her tiny BlackBerry clutched in tense fingers. God, she was stunning. But what surprised him the most were her glassy eyes, brimming with unshed tears.

He took a half-step back, debating on what his next move should be. It was probably best if he just let her be. "My apologies, is this a bad time?"

"No, it's alright Troy." His eyes widened fractionally at the usage of his name. Maybe she deserved more credit then he was giving her. "I'm just having one of those days." She swiped her thumb under her left eye to wipe away the salty water threatening to overflow.

"May I ask what's wrong Miss Montez?" He ventured hesitantly.

"Please, it's Gabriella." She gave him a weak, watery smile then sighed. "My best friend in Albuquerque just gave birth to a healthy, beautiful baby boy." She revealed, tossing her phone beside her.

"Oh, congratulations to her. Are you crying because...you're happy?"

She shook her head, stopped and reconsidered. "I'm so thrilled that she's finally a mother. She's been taking care of me for as long as I can remember and no one deserves it more then her. But it's just that," A shaky breath expelled from her throat and her eyes squeezed shut, letting a few tears roll down her cheeks. "I wasn't there. I should have been there."

"Gabriella," Troy said slowly, testing out the waters. "I'm sure she doesn't blame you. You're a busy person."

"I know she doesn't blame me, she's too good of a person to ever blame me but I blame me. I should have been there. I should have been holding her hand and telling her that every ounce of pain was worth it in the end. But I didn't. I couldn't." She brought her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around them.

With great trepidation, Troy took a seat next to her, careful not to sit too close. Feeling his presence besides her, Gabriella began to explain. "Taylor and I have been best friends since we were ten. She's amazing. Every time someone broke my heart, she'd pick up the pieces or when I had too much to drink at a party, she'd hold my hair back and make sure I got home alright so no guys could take advantage of me. And the one time I can even try to return the favor, I'm hundreds of miles away. It's just not fair." She choked out a sob as the tears came faster and faster.

Gingerly, Troy put an arm around her shoulders and when she didn't recoil or slap him but rather leaned in closer and used him as a support, he tightened his grip more securely and let her cry as he murmured comforting words soothingly to her.

*End Flashback*

After that, they began saying 'hi' to each other when they saw each other around the set. And acquaintances slowly changed to friends, as Gabriella would strike up lengthy conversations with him in between takes. And it only deepened when they exchanged phone numbers and arranged to see each other outside of work. It was a slow process and of course, it was Gabriella who instigated all these shifts in their relationship since Troy was sure every step of the way that one day, Gabriella would forget all about him.

In fact, she was even the one who asked him out on their first date.

*Flashback*

"Hey Troy," Gabriella said brightly, walking up to him during a break as they reset the props from her last scene.

"Oh, hey Brie." Troy replied using a nicknamed he'd coined near the beginning of their friendship. "How's your day?"

"Ugh, awful." She rolled her eyes. "I swear, I've cried enough today to last me a lifetime and a half." Today, she was shooting the scene where her longtime boyfriend proposed to her. Of course, she was going to leave him at the altar but no one knew that yet. Gabriella's character was supposed to burst into emotional tears when he popped the question and she had done so successfully, several times. But Derek, the actor playing her boyfriend/ fiance, kept screwing up or forgetting his lines. They had now done the scene eight times and she was getting sick of it. Troy secretly thought that Derek just wanted an excuse to kiss her as many times as he could manage. Not that he blamed him.

"Sorry about that."

She waved her hand dismissively and shrugged. "Eh, not your fault. So," She said in lieu of a segue, "what are you doing on Saturday?"

He thought about it for a second. "Nothing, I don't think. Why?"

"I think it's about time you and I finally go on a date." She commented airily, her casual tone implying that this was something they discussed every day.

"What?" Troy's crystal clear blue eyes widened. They had been flirting lightly for the last few weeks but he never expected that it would progress any further.

"Unless, you don't want to..." Gabriella trailed off unsurely looking, for the first time in Troy's recent memory, insecure.

"No, no, no!" He said quickly. "I'd just-never mind. Saturday sounds great. Pick you up at seven?"

"Perfect." She beamed at him. "I've got to go back to hair and makeup now so I'll see you later." After giving him a light kiss on the cheek, she walked away feeling far more cheerful then she had before. Now, she was looking forward to her scene. Pretending that she was so happy she could cry because she'd just snagged the guy of her dreams was going to be a piece of cake.

*End Flashback*

Their first date had gone spectacularly and so did the second and third and every date after that.

Then, by the time that they'd established that they were a full-blown, committed couple, the public caught hold of Gabriella Montez's new relationship and spun stories in every which way about them.

And you were lying wide awake in the garden,

Trying to get over your stardom,

And I could never see you depart us

And you're my baby,

You're just another girl,

Just another girl

Every week, there would be a new blurb or article about them in no less then three tabloids. She would be witnessed flirting with a co-star or he would reportedly be using her for his own fifteen minutes of fame. It was always difficult to walk into a drug store and see their 'break-up' story splashed across the magazine stands. Not a word of it was true and the 'so-called' inside sources were nothing more then vindictive reporters but still, the rumors wore at their relationship. There were times when Troy wasn't sure if they'd make it through.

But they would. Their communication was invaluable. It was still hard sometimes, relationships always were. But then there would be these moments, these priceless moments like during long weekends where they because hermitic homebodies and stay in bed all day watching Friends marathons. Moments that they wouldn't give up for the world. That's what made the arguments, the spiteful media and crazy schedules all worth it.

To Troy, he wasn't dating Gabriella Montez, the celebrity. She was Gabriella, the girl he loved. And he loved her for how normal she was. She was still the girl who hated waking up before nine in the morning on any given day, the girl who liked to dance and sing along to the radio when doing any sort of domestic chore, the girl who refused to upgrade her tiny piece-of-crap yellow Mini Cooper that she'd kept since college regardless of the money she was making.

She was the girl, he thought as he fingered the velvet box sitting like a weight in the pocket of his trousers, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

And here she was, this beautiful, radiant woman sitting across from him with the warmest eyes, so full of love that he thought his heart would explode.

"Brie, I've got something that I want, no, that I need to ask you..."

A/N: Yay, it's done. It's extremely short, but it's done.
But basically, I wrote this in a span of a few hours so my apologies if you think it's completely terrible. But it's not a very long song. For the first time, I actually don't hate the ending although the middle-ish part is a little iffy to me (too cheesy?) but I'm glad I accomplished this.

And you may think it's cruel of me to end it there but let me just make it easy for you- she says yes. Oh, and in case anybody was wondering, the song is 'Just Another' by Pete Yorn. It's a really cool acoustic-y song that I just adore right now. I put the download in my profile page if anyone wants.

So in conclusion, reviews are lovely and very much appreciated. Thanks for reading!