A/N: I'm going to keep this short but I just want to apologise for taking so long to update! Life kinda got in the way :D but thank you to all of you who emailed/pm'd with your encoragement.

This chapter is dedicated to Peebey - my muse :D

By Friday afternoon, Troy found it hard to believe that he'd actually just gotten back from vacation. Between basketball practice, school, homework and various social commitments, it had been a draining week.

Troy slammed his locker door shut after last period Friday. He got a certain amount of satisfaction from the resounding clang that echoed with finality through the hall, signalling the end of classes for two days. Picking up his red sports bag, he turned to walk away and almost collided with a blinding mass of glitter, sparkly pink fabric and blonde curls.

"Hi Troy!" Sharpay exclaimed.

Troy cringed inwardly. "Hey Sharpay," he said easily, instantly manufacturing a friendly smile and pasting it to his face. It wasn't so much that he didn't like the girl; it was just that she was so damn aggressive about everything. Even the way she expressed her obvious feelings for him was aggressive.

As if to illustrate the point even as it crossed Troy's mind, Sharpay leaned closer to him and allowed the pink nail of her slender index finger to slowly trace its way along his sternum. Troy glanced down at her finger, before looking her in the eyes disbelievingly. Was she for real?

Clearing his throat, Troy took a step back. "So what's up, Sharpay?" His tone was a shade less friendly than it had been a moment beforehand. He really disliked the shallow fawning that so many people – okay, girls – seemed to think came with his role as high profile captain of the basketball team.

Oblivious to Troy's tone, Sharpay clasped her hands in front of her hips and gazed up at him, her brown eyes wide. Her tone dripped with syrupy innocence. "I just wanted to say hi, Troy. And maybe see..." She dropped her eyes, gazing up at him through her lowered lashes.

Troy sighed, holding onto his patience with difficulty. With effort, his voice remained normal. "See what?" Even to himself, his words sounded sharp, and he forced a grin to soften them a little.

"I just wondered what you were doing tonight. You know, I was wondering if you were going to the party."

Troy rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand. "Uh, yeah. I guess I'm going. I don't really know yet."

"We could go together," Sharpay suggested. Her tone implied that any refusal on his part, apart from being unacceptable, was totally inconceivable.

"Um, I think I have this thing already organised...you know, with the guys. We were going to meet up before and go from there. Uh, I gotta go."

Without giving Sharpay a chance to respond, Troy tossed her a quick, casual wave and took off down the hallway.

"Okay, well, call me!" Sharpay cooed after him, ignorant or uncaring of the brush-off she'd just received. Her smile faded as Troy rounded the corner. Dipping into her purse, she withdrew her small compact and opened it to examine herself in its mirror. A cursory inspection confirmed what she already knew. She looked fabulous. And she would get what she wanted.

Sharpay Evans always did.

Friday afternoon found Gabriella sitting on Taylor's bed, ostensibly studying the text that lay open on her lap. In reality she was staring out the window, thinking about Troy.

Suddenly Taylor's hand waving in front of her face jolted her from her reverie. "Huh?" she asked, confused.

"What's with you? I just asked you the same question twice and you were obviously somewhere else completely." Taylor's tone was curious. She had already learned that Gabriella was normally supremely focused when she studied and this was therefore an interesting anomaly.

Gabriella smiled guiltily. "Sorry. What did you say?"

"I asked you what your plans were for this evening," Taylor said, still looking thoughtfully at Gabriella. She had a reasonable hypothesis regarding what might have drawn her friend's thoughts from her book.

"Oh! Nothing much, I guess. I was going to get started on the physics assignment if I had enough time tonight, after I've done the reading for English Lit."

Taylor gave an exasperated sigh. "Gabriella, it may have escaped your attention, but you are sixteen! Not twenty five and studying for a doctorate."

Gabriella raised her eyebrows. "What's wrong with a little dedication?"

Taylor smiled. "A little – nothing. But you've elevated dedication to new heights. One might even begin to toy with the word...obsession...?" She let her sentence trail off playfully.

The ribbing was good natured, and Gabriella knew it. "Oh, like you're any better, McKessie."

"My point exactly. Which is why I'm proposing a little entertainment tonight," Taylor proclaimed grandly.

"Hmm. Sounds interesting," Gabriella teased. "I just really can't make it, I have to get my physics at least started-"

Taylor sat up straight. "Tell me you're not serious. We were only given that assignment this afternoon! You have almost a month to get it done, and we both know you'll ace it anyway!"

Gabriella grinned. "Relax. I'm kidding! What did you have in –"

A gentle knock at Taylor's door interrupted them.

"Come in," Taylor called. A moment later, her mother stuck her head around the door.

"Hi, girls. How's the study coming?"

Seeing Mrs McKessie was like looking into the future. Looking at her, one could get a pretty good idea of what Taylor would look like in thirty years' time. The two women shared the same defined features, high brow, and intelligent expression.

"We're going well," Taylor said, answering her mother's question. "We're almost done with this-"she held up her text "-and then we were thinking about heading out for a while."

"Glad to hear it," Mrs McKessie smiled. She was unfailingly proud of her daughter's academic achievements but could not help worrying a little that her single-minded focus might be depriving her of the enjoyment of normal teenage activities. "Taylor honey, I was wondering if you might be able to come downstairs for a moment." She smiled apologetically at Gabriella before turning back to her daughter. "I have to leave for work soon and I want to show you what I've arranged for dinner."

"Of course," Taylor said, hopping off the bed. "I'll be right back," she said over her shoulder, as she left the room.

"And I'll see you again soon, Gabriella," Mrs McKessie said.

"Have a nice evening, Mrs McKessie," Gabriella smiled. She heard the light tread on the stairs as the two women descended, and turned back to her notebook.

The song that had been playing softly on Taylor's iPod ended, the tunes fading slowly, and there was a moment's silence before the opening music to the next song caught Gabriella's attention. It was one of her current favourite songs.

I remember the day I first met you

I was ready for nothing

Didn't know I was looking for rescue

I wasn't thinking that hard

Now and then I was there in the moment

I was ready for nothing

Doesn't mean that I really don't love you

While I'm breaking your heart

Totally unbidden, an image of Troy sprang to mind. In so many ways this song reminded her of him – the way she had felt about him, and the way her past experience with Rory was affecting her feelings for him now. Almost without noticing, she began to sing along softly, staring dreamily out the window.

Don't ask why

Before we get too close just let me

Say goodbye

It's easier this way

Don't ask why

Before you ask the question and I

Die inside

Just let me walk away

She wished it were that easy. If only she could walk away from it all – from Troy, from her feelings for him. Her voice became stronger, swelling with emotion as she sang the next words.

I know I want this more than ever

I wish there was another way

You see my words can only hurt you

'Til his shadow fades away

Taylor looked at her friend admiringly. "I didn't know you could sing," she said.

Gabriella jumped. She had been so absorbed in her thoughts, in the song, that she hadn't heard Taylor come back. Immediately Gabriella became embarrassed. "I don't. Sorry. I just like this song and I didn't mean-"

"Gabriella. Relax. You're really good. Why are you so embarrassed?"

Gabriella ducked her head, her cheeks pink. "I used to sing church choir but ... it's really hard for me to sing in front of people."

Taylor noticed her blush. "Hey, I really liked the way you sang. Don't be shy. You have a wonderful talent; it's not something to be embarrassed about."

Gabriella shrugged off her praise. "I just love this song and I kinda forgot where I was." She desperately hoped that Taylor would not guess that her embarrassment had more to do with the feelings within herself that the song had provoked – and specifically, thoughts of Troy. The girls had briefly discussed the events of New Years Eve, but a combination of Taylor's distaste for the school's sportsmen in general and Gabriella's reluctance to delve into her whirlwind of feelings regarding the whole situation had prevented any prolonged discussion. Gabriella smiled and smoothly changed the subject. "And I love this singer. She's awesome."

Taylor grinned. "She's alright. I personally prefer that boy of hers. He's, well – to revert to cheerleader speak - hot!"

"He is that," Gabriella conceded.

A thoughtful look crossed Taylor's features. "Hey, you know what? I never really thought about it before but he really bears a strong resemblance to-"

Gabriella cut her off. "He does not! Don't even say it."

Taylor held up her hands. "Okay, whatever you say. But ... you know he does!"

"Shh!!" Gabriella insisted. "Did I not ban you from talking about Troy?"

Taylor chuckled. "Yeah, you did. Too bad you haven't managed to ban yourself from thinking about him."

Gabriella's mouth dropped open. Apparently Taylor had guessed what had caused the emotion behind her song. "How do you know what I think about?" A guilty flush spread across her cheeks.

Taylor patted her arm with playful condescension. She shook her head slowly. "Gabriella. Sweet, innocent Gabriella. A blind man would know what you're thinking when you space out. Your eyes kinda glaze over and you start to smile a little – "

Gabriella was mortified. "What? I do not!"

"And the way you're denying it now," Taylor continued. "So cute. So high school."

Gabriella tossed the nearest pillow at Taylor's head. "Stop!" she demanded, giggling.

"And I'm not going to blame you. You can't control your hormones. I'm sure there's some kind of in-depth physical response to his pheromones that's responsible for this." Taylor mused, only half-teasing now.

"Whatever," Gabriella said, deciding that an immediate change of subject was called for. "So going back to what you were saying before – what did you have in mind for tonight?"

Taylor sat back down on the bed. "Well...it's nothing big but Kelly – have you met Kelly yet? She's in my homeroom and she takes the same English Lit class as us."

Gabriella frowned, trying to remember. "She's the blonde in the back row, isn't she? The one who has totally inaccurate ideas about the basis of Jane Austen's early attempts at Pride and Prejudice. When she made that comment yesterday I really wanted to correct her but-"

Taylor grinned. "Of course you remember her for that. Anyway. She's having a small gathering tonight and she asked me if I wanted to come along. I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you came too."

Gabriella looked at her doubtfully. "What kind of gathering?"

Taylor waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, you know. The usual. Just a few of us getting together for nachos and DVDs."

"That sounds okay," Gabriella said cautiously. Although she wouldn't admit it to Taylor, she was deliberately avoiding any social event where there was a risk of her running into Troy. Not until she'd figured out what was going on in her own head. Between the dreams, the residual hurt from Rory, and the undeniable attraction she'd felt for him since the moment they'd met, and her still-present shock at finding herself at his school, she'd been in constant turmoil.

"And maybe some SingStar," Taylor added innocently.

Gabriella kept her features neutral, refusing to be goaded. "Or not. Okay. I guess if it's just going to be a quiet night, just a small group of people, it sounds okay."

Taylor nodded. "Great. So do you want to stay for dinner? And we can go over together later."

"Sure," Gabriella agreed. "Just let me call my mom."

After dinner on Friday, Troy walked quickly over to Chad's house, where the boys had agreed to meet. Troy wasn't sure himself exactly where they were going; he had more or less agreed to go merely as a way to keep himself occupied and avoid any time for introspection regarding Gabriella. He tried not to think about the fact that she hadn't responded to his message yet; it had only been two days, not really long enough to consider himself rejected. Arriving at Chad's door he rapped on it lightly and firmly put Gabriella out of his mind.

The door opened, revealing Chad's mother standing in the pool of light spilling from behind her. "Hi Troy," she greeted him.

Troy grinned. "Hi, Mrs Danforth."

Chad's mother stepped to one side, gesturing for Troy to come on in. "And what mischief would you two happen to have planned for this evening?" she teased, with the ease of a relationship long established.

Troy put on his best fake innocent expression. "None at all, Mrs D," he responded.

"Right," she chuckled. "You'll find Chad upstairs. You know the way."

"Sure do," Troy said, heading swiftly upstairs. Taking the stairs two at a time he was shortly standing outside Chad's room; Chad, however, was nowhere to be seen. Unperturbed, Troy took a seat at the foot of his bed and, leaning over, flicked on his PS2 and made himself at home.

Only a few minutes passed before Chad appeared at the door, rubbing his wiry hair with a towel, obviously fresh from the shower. He was clad in only a pair of black jeans, his feet bare.

"Sup, dude," he greeted Troy casually. Troy looked up.

"Hey man," he said. He paused his game and pushed the control away, turning to face Chad. Or to be precise, Chad's back. Chad's face was at that moment buried in the second drawer of a tall walnut dresser as he rummaged around for a particular shirt.

"So what's actually going on tonight?" Troy asked curiously. Chad didn't turn around, still busily searching for his shirt. Or any shirt, really, that wasn't too crumpled or completely unsuitable.

"A party, man," he answered, as if it were obvious.

"I know that," Troy said impatiently. "Whose party? I asked Zeke earlier and he didn't really seem to know."

"Uh," Chad said, before suddenly plucking a green t-shirt from the drawer. "Some girl. Not really sure."

"What?" Troy said, surprised. "How do we get invited to a party thrown by someone we don't even know?" He watched Chad for a moment, noting how his friend deliberately avoided meeting his gaze. Which was all he needed to confirm his suspicions.

"Chad! We were actually invited, right?"

"Not as such," Chad said delicately. "It's more of an...impromptu party."

"Chad," Troy said patiently, "You can't plan an impromptu party. And this was obviously planned 'cause Baylor knew about it Wednesday."

Chad's voice was muffled as he spoke while pulling the shirt over his head. "Dude, we do know her. She's that chick from homeroom who sits next to Cross." His head popped free, causing his curls to bounce a little. "The blonde chick."

"Okay," said Troy, playing along. "So this impromptu party that we're not invited to but still permitted to attend, hosted by a girl whose name you don't even know...what's it for?"

"Who knows?" Chad shrugged.

"Chad. Does she know we're coming?" Troy asked bluntly.

Chad grinned. "Don't know. All I know is there's a party and everyone's invited. Her parents are out of town for the weekend so..."

Troy nodded. "Gotcha." As much as he wasn't the party-crashing type, he felt an intense need to just let go tonight, find something to focus on besides Gabriella. A party crowded with Wildcats in no doubt various stages of sobriety sounded perfect.

Slipping into a pair of sneakers, Chad picked his keys and cell up from the nightstand, stuffing them in his pocket.

"So you ready to go, Bolton?' he asked.

"Let's do it," Troy responded briefly, hitting the light switch as they left the room.

The deep thud of the music baseline could be clearly heard from half a block away. The nucleus of the Wildcats varsity basketball team – Chad, Troy, Zeke and Jason – loped along at a fast pace, walking two abreast on the semi-lit sidewalk. Zeke and Chad were in front, arguing loudly about the pros and cons of the Knights defence, while Troy and Jason were several feet behind. They had been chatting randomly until a few minutes ago, but Jason had seemed distracted so Troy had left him to his thoughts. Which left Troy to his own.

His mind began to drift, thinking back to the message he had sent to Gabriella. He still wasn't sure that he'd done the right thing. Of course he wanted to contact her but...something about it just didn't seem right.

Suddenly realising they had arrived at the party, Troy collected himself. The whole point of the evening was to enjoy himself, and forget about her. That was it. Nothing more, nothing less.

The four boys walked into the front yard of the house hosting the party – her name was Kelly, Troy remembered now – and within moments became surrounded by the crowd of people offering greetings and complicated handshakes.

Finally Troy managed to push his way inside, standing at the door for a moment to get his bearings. It appeared that the drinks were being dispensed in the far corner of the living room, with a keg and coolers set up. Someone had set up a massive sound system on the opposite side of the room, near the doorway leading to the entryway. The entire house was packed with young people, mostly East High sophomores and juniors.

Stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans, Troy drifted through the house, making his customary circuit of the party to establish what was going on where. He had just passed through the kitchen when he stopped dead, spotting a familiar blonde figure just in front of him. Mercifully she appeared to be engrossed in examining her nails and pretending boredom at the fawning of several football players who were gathered around her.

Keeping his eyes averted so as not to accidentally make eye contact, Troy took several steps sideways and made to slide around the corner into the dining room. He almost made it when he heard a familiar shrill voice cut through the noise of the party.

"Troy!"

Troy cursed under his breath before he reluctantly turned to face Sharpay.

"Hey Sharpay," Troy said. He forced himself to tug the corners of his mouth upwards in some semblance of a smile. He knew he should really give her a chance. After all, she was just being herself. They had known each other since they were kids. He owed her his friendship at the very least.

Dismissing her posse of admirers with a flick of her wrist, Sharpay sashayed over to Troy. She kept coming towards him until she was uncomfortably close. Troy took a few steps backwards, until he bumped into the wall behind him.

"Did you miss me?" Sharpay asked, keeping her voice intimate and breathy.

And there it was. The reason why Troy had taken to avoiding her.

"Uh," Troy stalled, looking around, hoping to see someone who would help him extract him from this without offending her. "I just saw you this afternoon," he tried.

Sharpay pouted. "For like a minute. We just don't see enough of each other, Troy." She fixed her gaze on him, trying to force him to look at her.

Troy looked back at her, panicking a little at the determination and infatuation he saw in her large brown eyes. Out of desperation, he grabbed her upper arms and half lifted, half pushed her to one side.

"Sharpay-"

The expression in Sharpay's eyes went from seductive to injured in one quick, practiced move. "What's wrong, Troy? Can't a girl try to get to know you a little better?"

Troy raked his hand through his hair, desperately uncomfortable with the whole situation. "It's not that, Sharpay, it's...uh – "

Fortunately he was spared the awkwardness of trying to find the right words by the sudden appearance of Ryan.

"Sharpay!" her twin exclaimed. "I've been looking for you all over!"

"I'm a little busy, Ryan!" Sharpay hissed, taking her eyes off Troy for a moment to reprimand her brother.

Troy broke into a grin, the first sign of genuine pleasure he'd showed since he'd spotted Sharpay.

"It's all good, Sharpay. I've actually gotta go...over there..." Troy's sentence trailed off and he made a quick escape, sending a silent apology to Ryan for leaving him stranded in what was obviously the opening stage of a temper tantrum. Troy slipped out the back door to avoid being drawn into it.

For the second time that evening, he stopped suddenly, this time almost literally shocked senseless.

For a moment he didn't believe his own eyes. He willed her to turn around so that he could be sure, knowing even as he formed the thought that he was already positive.

It was her. Gabriella!

Troy's head spun. He was totally unable to put a coherent thought together. What was she doing here? And why? How?

After a moment his heart began to beat again, albeit erratically. How was it possible that the focus of almost every one of his waking moments was here, in Albuquerque, at a Wildcats party?

****************

Gabriella winced as she heard the sound of a glass smashing in the house behind her. Putting it out of her mind, she turned to the petite blonde girl who was crouched on the grass in front of her, apparently in the midst of a panic attack.

"What the hell am I going to tell my parents? I don't even know most of these people!" Kelly half whispered. Her voice was already hoarse from the hysterics she'd gone into earlier when a horde of East High students had arrived with kegs of beer and a sound system. The 'quiet gathering' had snowballed from there.

Taylor was kneeling on the grass beside her, her arms around Kelly's shoulders.

"It's gonna be okay, Kelly," she soothed, shooting a look at Gabriella. The look clearly expressed her bewilderment at the unexpected turn of events. Gabriella understood her feelings perfectly. None of them had been able to figure out how word had gotten out that Kelly's parents were out of town, nor who had been responsible for suggesting that there was an 'open' party being held.

"Gabriella," Taylor said in a low voice, over the top of Kelly's head. "Could you get us a glass of water? I think it would help."

"Sure," Gabriella said, grateful to have to opportunity to do something constructive. "I'll be right back."

She spun on the ball of her foot, turning back to the house –

- and abruptly found herself face to face with the one person she had sought to avoid for the past week.

************************

As Troy stood at the open door to the back patio, staring at Gabriella's back, she turned to come inside and caught sight of him. Her reaction was an almost exact mirror of his a few moments ago; she suddenly froze and appeared to stop breathing. Her eyes widened with shock and he knew what she was experiencing; he was still dealing with the sensation himself.

As if drawn together by a powerful unseen force, Gabriella and Troy walked towards each other, meeting in the soft pool of light just outside the kitchen door. Troy could not recall later how he had managed to put one foot in front of the other; his legs were rubbery from the shock. To go from missing her, wanting her, dreaming about her – to having her right here. It was too much for him to comprehend.

Gabriella's heart literally stopped beating when she caught sight of Troy. She had known it was inevitable that they would meet at some point; even so, she was totally unprepared for the tidal wave of feelings that slammed into her when turned around and saw him looking at her.

Without thinking, she responded to the invisible pull drawing her towards him. At that moment she felt as though she could no more walk away from him than cut off her right hand.

They stopped when they were barely two feet apart. Then, at that moment, as they stood staring at each other in stunned silence, a passing horde of teenage boys knocked Gabriella into Troy's arms and closed the distance between them entirely.

Gabriella's breath caught as she half stood, enveloped in his strong arms. They were yet to say anything, yet their eyes said it all. She had thought that she needed space from him to find some answers; only now did she realise that the answers she sought were here with him.

Gabriella struggled to collect her thoughts and realised it was a pointless endeavour while she remained so close to Troy that she could literally feel the heat of his body. She gently pushed him away and regained her feet, straightening her top as she did so.

"Gabriella...how...?" Troy struggled to speak, the emotion clear on his face.

"Shh....not here." Gabriella said quietly. They had so much to say to each other. "Let's find somewhere to talk."

Wordlessly, Troy took her hand and led her back through the house, stopping only to grab their jackets, and out into the night.