Troy gazed around the room, his beautiful blue eyes shifting from one table to the next secretly picking out which people he knew he should dodge all evening, and which people he could talk to without wanting to strangle their necks from being annoyed. Troy had been to several parties like this in the past, a banquet set up by the school dedicated to the basketball players and their families as a type of congratulations for a great season. Troy had the whole night nailed to a T, after all he had been attending these little festive's since he started playing basketball in the eighth grade. Every year was always the same. His parents and close relatives would get dressed up and be at the local hotel ballroom at seven o'clock sharp. The banquet would begin with a long and grueling speech from the school's principal about how proud he was of what East High had achieved during the year, then Coach Bolton (better known as Troy's father) would get up and praise the team as well. After an hour of long speeches, everyone would disperse for food. Troy's parents would sit and chat with various adults about Troy's future, his best friend Chad would ramble about how wonderful the food was before going back for seconds or thirds, and Troy would sit and occupy the same seat all evening, picking at his food and tugging at his tie just wishing for the night to be over. Every once in a while he would have some random person he didn't know try to strike up a conversation with him about what his plans were for the future, what he wanted to do in life, and if he had plans to pursue his basketball career at college. Then of course there would always be those brave few girls that would try to get him to dance, and like every other time before they would fail miserably. Troy Bolton was just not a dancer, well at least not in public and certainly not with some bimbo cheerleader who knew nothing about him and only cared about him because of his social status.

As his dad continued his speech from the front podium, Troy shifted in his seat as he began tugging at the tie around his neck, wishing that things would speed up so he could get the night over with and change into a pair of comfy jeans and a t-shirt. With as many formal events Troy had been to in the past, one would think he would be used to having to dress up and wear ties, but to Troy no matter how many times he was put through something like this, he just couldn't get used to wearing any type tie. It was like a rope squeezing his neck and suffocating him to the point he would become so antsy that he would begin to squirm and shift around in various ways so he could get comfortable. Once he had pried the tie loose with his fingertips and then gained a comfortable sitting position, Troy's eyes began to wander around the room once more. He quickly looked up at his father every couple of seconds just to make sure it looked like he was paying attention. Lucky for Troy, it was his senior year and this would be the last time he had to attend any of these boring basketball banquets. His eyes ran from the table to the left of him, to the right of him, and then to the table way in front of him. As his eyes scanned the premises they landed on two people in particular, his best friend Zeke and his ever so charming date for the night Sharpay Evans. At the sight of seeing Sharpay sitting so close to one of his best friends, Troy let out a soft laugh. It wasn't that he had anything personal against Sharpay, it was just that he never pictured someone as sweet and caring as Zeke to end with someone like her. Sharpay may have been blonde, beautiful, and president of the Drama Club, but when it came down to the cold hard truth she could be a real bitch. It was the little things about Sharpay that annoyed Troy the most. Back in junior high she had the biggest crush on him and for weeks would follow him around school leaving him secret love notes in his locker on pink scented paper. The obsession soon died however when the British foreign exchange student came to town and Sharpay found British accents and sipping tea far more entertaining than Troy.

Troy let a small grin form on his lips before he tore his gaze away from Zeke and Sharpay and returned it to the people sitting at his own table. Across from him sat his best friend Chad with his mom and dad. Chad and Troy had been best buds since kindergarten. They were like two peas in a pod. When one wanted to join the basketball team, it was for certain the other one would follow. In a way it had always been like that. Whatever the boys did they did together, they were more like brothers than best friends. On Troy's right sat his mother and then an empty seat for where his father was sitting before he got up to make his speech. Troy was an only child, and he adored his parents, he really did. It was just that sometimes he felt they would try to push him too hard. He liked basketball, it was a part of him, but there were some moments Troy wished his parents weren't so pushy on him practicing so much or keeping up with his grades. He was after all only human, and being a kid he really only wanted to kick back and hang with his friends sometimes.

His eyes continued their quest around his table until they landed on the one person who could make his heart skip a beat every time. Her tumbling brown curls fell down her back and shoulders in ringlets around her face. The black dress she wore clung to her body, hugged her every curve, and accented her soft delicate tan skin. Looking at her, Troy lost all focus of everyone in the room. For a minute, he didn't care where he was or how bored he might have been, all he cared about was the beautiful girl with chocolate brown eyes sitting right beside him. Gabriella Montez was his fire, the one that kept him going. Without her encouragement and endless love, Troy knew he would have gone insane a long time ago. She had this way with him, to sooth his every nerve and make him happy even when he was having one of the worst days in the world. She had first moved to East High during sophomore year, but Troy hadn't actually talked to her until junior year when they were paired up together in English class to work on a project. In a few short weeks, Troy had gone from knowing absolutely nothing about this beautiful brunette, to becoming absolutely infatuated with her. Every time he was around her he found himself memorizing the way she smelled, how she walked across the room, what new clothes she wore everyday, and how just one curl would always fall in her face and she would have to tuck it behind her ear once more. So many times he found himself longing to touch her skin, run his fingers in her long hair, feel her body pressed against his, and taste her sweet innocent mouth. And then one day he finally worked up enough courage to ask her to the Winter ball before Christmas break. She accepted and Troy took a bold step that night in kissing her under the mistletoe just outside of the gymnasium doors.

Without warning Troy was pulled out of his day dream as his father finished his speech and everyone began clapping. Gabriella turned around once more to face him and gave him a quick smile before standing up and taking his hand to lead him over to the buffet.

"Are you ok Troy? When I turned around you seemed a bit out of it, like you were zoning out or something." she said while filling her plate with various fruits.

Troy cracked a wide grin at his girlfriend as he began to fill his own plate. "I'm fine! Come on Gabs you know I hate these stupid things. I was just a little out of it because I was trying extremely hard not to fall asleep during the usual 'I'm so proud of my team' speech."

Gabriella giggled and nudged him in the side with her elbow. "Oh come on it's not that bad! I think your dad's speech was lovely. Plus it's your last year, you're suppose to be enjoying yourself tonight not falling asleep."

"He's been giving the same speech for five years now, I think I know almost every word of it by now. There are only so many times I can stand listening to the same thing over and over again before my head collapses on the table and I begin to snore. Just wait until we get home. Then I'll get the 'Son you have a great future in front of you so we need to get practicing for college' speech. I can hear it coming." Troy picked up the last of his food, grabbed a napkin and then began walking back to seat with Gabriela at his side. "Oh and trust me, I'll have far more fun when we are finally home all snuggled up in front of the t.v. waiting for mom and dad to go to bed so we can begin our make out session on the couch."

Gabriella stopped in her tracks, balancing her plate of food in one hand and raising her other hand to swat Troy on the shoulder, but was stopped by his hand coming in contact with hers as he gently gripped her wrist.

"Don't even think about it Montez! You know you like walking on the dark side every once in a while to tongue it on the couch." Troy winked at her and continued walking. Once he reached the table het set down his plate and then pulled out Gabriella's chair for her to sit down. Once she sat down, Troy pushed her and then leaned his head down so his lips caressed her ear. "Not to mention the couch misses us and it has just as many needs as I do." he whispered before settling down in his seat. Gabriella felt a shiver run down her back at his soft touch and the words that had just come out of his mouth. She couldn't lie, Troy Bolton had her wrapped around his little finger. He was a fantastic kisser and his touches drove her insane. Girls who had dated Troy in the past always said he had magic in his fingertips, and boy Gabriella couldn't argue with that. The smallest touch was like an electric shock that had her craving more. Many times, she would find herself coming up with stupid excuses just so she could touch him.

As everyone at the table began to eat and talk, Troy found himself completely lost in the girl sitting beside him. His eyes began to trace her features once more. From her flawless face all the way down her slender body to her feet. She was perfect. There was simply no other way to describe her and he would do anything for her. Troy was sure that if Gabriella had commanded him to jump, he would ask how high. He licked his lips as his eyes bore straight into her neck, having the sudden urge to pull her to him so he could place gentle kisses around her face and neck. When he finally tore his eyes away from her, he found himself inching closer to her side, his hand running down to rest on her knee cap.

Gabriella stopped chewing when she felt the contact of something brush against her skin. She glanced down and saw Troy's hand resting right on her knee. Oh how she wished he wouldn't have done that. His touch was so intoxicating to her. It was going to take all the concentration she had just to chew the rest of her food. No matter what was going down at the time, Gabriella had lost all concentration or interest in an event when Troy touched her. Giving him a small smirk, Gabriella began to run her right foot against his leg. Up and down she moved her foot while watching the soft blue of his eyes turn dark.

Troy's gentle stare turned from a look of pure puppy love to a look of passion, lust, and want. Gabriella was pushing him over the edge. The simple feeling of her foot rubbing against his leg drove him insane. She knew she was taunting him, knew how to play game, and that was turning him on even more.

Troy smirked back at her as her foot stopped and dropped back to the floor. She smiled in triumph at teasing her boyfriend and then began to shove more food into her mouth. Knowing that no one else was paying any attention to the heated couple, Troy began to slowly move his hand up her leg, displacing the material of her dress as he went. He stopped halfway up her thigh and began to caress her leg before giving her a gentle squeeze.

Gabriella, who was not expecting him to retaliate back or become so touchy feely with her in public, emitted a gasp and yelped as her other leg sprung up and hit her knee off of the table, causing the table to move and the glass of water in front of her to spill all over the front of her delicate black cocktail dress. Hearing her very loud yelp, everyone at the table became silent and turned their attention to Gabriella.

"Gabriella dear are you alright? What happened?" Troy's mother asked with a very concerned look upon her face.

"I'm ummmm fine." Gabriella turned and glared at Troy, who removed his hand from her leg and began to laugh hysterically. "I went to get up and hit my leg off the table that's all."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

Gabriella got up from her seat and began to wipe the front of dress off with the napkin that had been sitting on her lap. "Yes I'm fine. I'm awfully sorry, I didn't mean for that happen. Will please excuse me?" Sitting her napkin back on the seat, she headed straight for the ladies room.

Troy's smile began to widen as he took a sip of his water. She was so adorable when she became embarrassed. Her cheeks flushed a rosy red and she would chew on her bottom lip. He knew that right now in the girls bathroom she was probably wiping her dress, her cheeks beginning to flush. Troy stood up and headed around the corner to the bathrooms. He stood by the entrance to the ladies room and waited for her to emerge, but unfortunately after five minutes he still hadn't seen her. He began to get worried that maybe she was too embarrassed to come back out. Five minutes later the door flew opened and out came an older lady.

"Excuse me. I hate to ask, but would there by chance be anyone else in their right now? A beautiful young girl with brown curls by chance?" Troy sighed as he waited for a reply. The little old woman standing in front of him smiled and nodded her head before speaking.

"Oh you mean that young girl named Gabriella? Yes I was just talking to her, what a lovely girl. I was helping her clean up her dress dear. She should be out in a few minutes." The old lady patted his shoulder and disappeared back into the ballroom.

Troy looked around and down the hall. It seemed as if the place was deserted. He took a deep breath and opened the door to the girls bathroom, hoping that Gabriella was the only occupying it. He quietly shut the door and spun around to find Gabriella wiping at her dress. The light above her reflected the mirror, making her dress twinkle. Troy felt his breath hitch in his throat and his heart began to speed up. Even when she looked distraught, she was still so beautiful. Gabriella had failed to hear anyone come in, either that or she just didn't care that anyone else had come in because even after the door had closed she never looked up to see who had entered.

Troy turned around once more to the door, but this time he wasn't going to walk through it. Instead he twisted the knob around and locked it shut so that no one else could enter. Once it was securely locked, he tip toed over to where she was standing and placed his hands on her hips while he leaned his head down and placed his lips on her bare shoulder.

Gabriella looked up from her dress and into the mirror to find Troy right behind her. She smiled in spite of herself, even though she was angry at him for causing her to spill the water down her brand new dress. "Troy..." she whispered. "What are you doing? You're not suppose to be in here."

Troy listened to what she said, but didn't bother to answer back. Instead he began to place butterfly kisses around her shoulder while he stroked her sides with his hands, his fingertips pressing ever so softly on her breasts. Her right hand dropped the paper towel she had been holding and moved behind to encase in his neck and pull him closer. He smiled into her skin when he heard her gasp, and he moved his head to the side of her face, nipping at her earlobe before whispering in her ear.

"I don't have the patience to wait until we get home to the couch, especially when you're dressed like that."

Gabriella moved her arm from around his neck and shifted herself around to face him. She looked him straight in the eye for a brief second before wrapping her arms around his shoulders and reaching up to encase his mouth with her own.

She moaned into mouth as his tongue found it's way into her mouth, desperately trying to seek out her own. She felt her knees go weak at the sudden shock wave of pleasure he began was making her feel from his powerful kisses. Troy felt her slide through his arms and he placed his hands on her waste, lifting her up off the ground to sit her on the sink counter, never once breaking the kiss in the process. He stood in between her legs as his mouth tore from hers and he began to explore her neck. She cocked her head backward for him to have better access and he planted open mouth kisses from the base of her throat down to her collar bone. Once he had succeeded in his destination, his mouth moved down her chest into the neckline of her dress. His lips brushed against breasts and she moaned into his neck as she dug her fingers into the back of his head, her legs moving around his waste to pull him as close to her as he could get. Troy tore his mouth away from her once more and moved back up to her mouth, his tongue reentering her mouth as his right hand skillfully moved back up into her dress the whole way up her thigh and his left hand moved to lower the spaghetti strap of her dress down her shoulder.

Gabriella tore her mouth away from his while her fingers moved to tug at his suite jacket. She was almost breathless when she spoke.

"Troy we can't...we can't do this here. What if someone walks in?" She pulled the jacket down from his shoulders and down his arms, not really wanting to stop.

He felt his jacket drop to the ground, but found he really didn't care when his mouth began to place more kisses on her shoulder.

"No one's coming in, I locked the door." he mumbled in between kisses.

Her arms wound themselves around his neck once more, fully enjoying every kiss he placed on her. "Yeah, but we're not suppose to be in here. You're suppose to be out there celebrating." she yelped again for the second time that night when his teeth sunk into the skin at the side of her neck. She clutched him closer when his face came up from her neck and he looked her in the eyes.

"Montez in case you haven't noticed I'm quite content with staying right here and doing you in the girls bathroom. It's as simple as that." His arms wrapped around her waist and he pulled her so that her hips hit his. He groaned at the contact and buried his head deep in her neck as she began to grind her hips into his and he moved the other strap on her right shoulder down her arm. The heated make out session continued until there was a knock at the door. Gabriella moved her head up from Troy to stare at the door.

"Oh shit! What do we do now?" she began to panic as she pushed him from her pulled the straps of her dress back up her shoulders.

Troy stumbled backward and picked up his own jacket, trying to button his shirt back up and fix his shuffled hair. He had just finished tucking his shirt in when an idea flashed into his mind. Reaching into his back pocket he pulled out a single key and held up to his girlfriend.

Gabriella's eyebrows rose when she saw the key. Had he been planning this the whole time or was this really a caught in the moment type thing. Either way she didn't really care. Her eyes scanned him up and down and she couldn't help but notice how incredibly sexy he looked all flustered and confused. The hair he had tried to pat down didn't stay put for very long because a few select strands were still sticking up. An innocent smile played on her lips as she looked him up and down. "And just where did you get that."

A huge grin broke out across Troy's face when he watched her, he knew she had been looking at him. "Well I'll tell you as soon you stop checking me out."

Gabriella's mouth dropped open. "I was not checking you out!"

"Yes you were, don't lie! I saw you!" His smiled grew bigger as his eyes ran down the length of her body. "And for what it's worth as good as I look to you right now, you look just as good to me."

She smirked and placed a hand on her hip. "Oh really? Fine Troy I was checking you out. Are you happy? Now where did you get the key?"

"Yes I am thank you." he paused when he heard the knocking once more, then quickly blurted out what he wanted to say. "It's a hotel Gabby all the rooms have keys. But just because you're so curious I'll explain. Dad rented a room tonight in case this stupid banquet lasts a while and he doesn't feel like driving home. It just so happens that he gave to the key to me for safe keeping."

The smirk on Gabriella's face never left as she realized where he was getting at. "What time is it?"

Troy glanced at his watch, the smile on his face getting bigger every second. "Still early enough for us to make some use out of that poor empty little room upstairs."

Gabriella placed a finger on her mouth, tapped her foot, and looked up at the ceiling pretending to be deep in thought. She had been looking up for so long she didn't even notice Troy getting closer and closer to her until his hands found her hips. Looking back down and then into his eyes, it didn't take Gabriella very long to make up her mind.

"Enough time huh? I don't know Bolton, do you think it would be worth my while to go the whole way up there with just you?"

"Well Montez, I think you'll get everything you want out of it and more." he said in a very seductive tone.

Gabriella smiled before grabbing his hand and pulling him over to the exit. Within seconds the couple had unlocked the door and flew out so fast that the person waiting on the other end almost got knocked over. The couple giggled as Troy lead her to the lobby and into the elevator. After pressing the button to the eighth floor and making sure no one else was occupying the elevator with them, Troy swooped down and kissed his girlfriend, for once happy that these little basketball banquets occurred.