Summary: Ideally, boy would meet girl. Just Like That and happily ever after. But nothing is ever that simple. Instead, boy scares the crap out of the girl with a boyfriend and opens her eyes to just the kind of guy that she deserves. TxG

In fairness, I was an easy sell
Though I'm embarrassed
To admit it to myself
And the worst part is
You know it all too well
So don't take advantage
Of my transparent shell

I am awake, it's getting late
I'm in no state to be alone now
Yeah I'm alone now
Come light the fire in my room
I think I'm losing all control now
I don't even know how
But I'm in your rip tide
And now I'm inside out
-Kate Voegele

"Inside Out"
By mini princess93

She couldn't stop.

Well, strictly speaking, that was a lie. But she definitely did not want to stop. What good would it do? If anything, it would be more harmful than helpful. She was so frustrated and annoyed that anybody who crossed her path was likely to get burned. Especially him. The source of her current emotional instability.

Him being Dylan Foster. Sometimes he was just so…Dylan. Which could potentially encompass a myriad of adjectives at any given time but at the moment, he was inconsiderate, pretentious, insensitive and all together insufferable.

He'd made fun of her. Not directly her but he insulted her beloved Scholastic Decathlon. He knew how much the competition meant to her. There's no way he couldn't have known. But when she was in the library earlier, her boyfriend's characteristic deep voice filtered through the stacks of books about 'what a joke the Nerd Olympics were' to her very own ears. Granted, he hadn't thought she'd hear him but she did. So she ran. She passed his aisle which is when he caught sight of her and taken after her. Yelling her name at the top of his lungs.

How obnoxious.

Gabriella couldn't be more thankful that she was on the cross country team and had chosen to wear her sensible flat black Converse sneakers. About two minutes ago, she'd left him in the dust but he wasn't giving up. He was persistent, she had to give him that.

"Gabriella, just…stop! Please!" He yelled. As if that was really going to get him anywhere. She turned the corner and was faced with a long hallway. If she was lucky, it would take him forever to check all the classrooms that she could potentially hide out in. But she wasn't going to be in any of them.

"Baby!" She winced, she hated pet names but moreover, he sounded a lot closer. Oh damn. With a final burst of speed as the dully painted lockers and vacant doors blurred in her vision, she burst into a deserted gymnasium. It was a good idea in theory. But as she looked around, Gabriella realized, that there weren't a lot of legit hiding spots she could camp out in until Dylan gave up.

Looking left, then right, she was struck by a brilliant idea and ducked underneath the wooden bleachers. Her flexible limbs maneuvered under and over the structural black metal bars hoping she wouldn't run into any adventurous couples. But luckily, it was just as empty. Finally, after a considerable distance, she wedged herself into the smallest crevice she could fit herself into. Wrapping her slender arms around her legs, she rested her cheek on her kneecaps and closed her eyes. For the first time in what seemed like forever, she allowed herself to just think.

It wasn't the first time he'd 'hurt her feelings' but using that as a motive for a break up seemed rather childish. And considering Dylan's proud demeanor, any split from him would be messy. Plus, he was always quick to apologize and had this uncanny ability to get to her. To make her rethink any hostile opinions towards him. Anybody who knew her that well had to have some significance she figured.

But it had been happening more and more frequently recently. They spent more time not talking than anything else.

Quite frankly, she was just…tired. Exhausted really.

Suddenly, Gabriella was ripped from her thoughts as she heard someone push their way through the heavy double doors. She braced herself for Dylan to say something but there was nothing. Only rubber soles squeaking across the gym floor as a constant bouncing object sounded in a steady thump-thump-thump. Craning her neck, Gabriella caught a glimpse through a crack between the wooden planks of the wooden bleachers.

It was Troy Bolton, captain of the mighty East High Wildcat's basketball team. Practicing, you guess it, basketball. They had one class together but she could honestly say that she had never spoken to him before.

She watched in fascination as he moved across the floor with an effortless grace, his ball hitting its target each and every time. It was hypnotizing to see him in action. Then of course, both of them were rudely interrupted by a loud banging noise. Dylan had pushed his way and was now striding towards with Troy with purposeful heavy steps.

"Hey," He called. "Is my girlfriend here?" Gabriella rolled her eyes, she DID have a name you know.

Troy stuck his ball in between his arm and his torso and blinked incredulously at Dylan. "Do you see anyone else?"

There was a moment of silence while Dylan presumably looked for the first time. "I guess not." He said quietly. There was nothing he hated more than being proved wrong. "Well," He continued just as boisterous as before. "If you see her, tell her I'm looking for her." For all he knew, Troy had no idea who Dylan's girlfriend was.

"Will do." Troy replied although Gabriella wasn't sure if Dylan caught the dripping sarcasm as he turned around and left again. Gabriella let out a sigh of relief that she hadn't known she'd been holding in as silently as she could.

Now she was faced with a bigger problem: getting out. She preferred to leave undetected since explaining to Troy Bolton why she'd rather huddle under the dusty bleachers rather than talk to her boyfriend was not a situation she wanted to put herself in. And getting in there had been quite the noisy affair so she couldn't imagine getting out as being any less disruptive. So unless she mastered the art of teleportation pretty damn fast, she was stuck there until Troy decided to leave. Maybe hiding here wasn't the most brilliant idea…

Okay so, technically students weren't really allowed to be here but technically Gabriella couldn't care less. That cliché "rules were meant to be broken" had to have been coined for a reason. And of all the rules she could have broken, this seemed like a pretty tame.

In case you were wondering, this was pretty much the extent of Gabriella's 'rebellious streak'. She wasn't some crazy, uncontrollable teenager. After she finished her homework, she preferred to spend her nights relaxing in her overstuffed white suede armchair next to her fireplace with a good book, Audrey her cat curled in her lap and her worn blue pillow positioned in such a way that it was hitting that perfect spot on her back. And moreover, she had a legitimate trust relationship with her parents. They never gave her a curfew and if she told them that she was studying in the library until one in the morning, they would believe her.

She sighed, resting her head against the hard wood behind her and wishing she'd brought her iPod or something to help her pass the time but she'd left all her belongings in the library when she fled. Hopefully no one stole anything.

From behind her, Troy let out a small grunt. Gabriella jumped up slightly and turned her body slightly to peered out to the only other occupant in the room. Something was different. He was still able to dribble the basketball with the perfected technique of a seasoned professional but this aim was off. Every time, instead of the basketball sinking through the hoop, it would bounce off the backboard or slide off the rim.

After three or four of his failed attempts, he flung the basketball with all his might away from him with a loud, frustrated groan. Said groan however did nothing to mask the high pitched squeal that emitted from her throat as the ball slammed onto the crack between the boards where she was observing through, literally less than an inch from her eye. Realizing what had just happened, Gabriella covered her open mouth with her palms as she tried to regulate her heartbeat. It was as loud as a gunshot. She wished by some miracle that he hadn't heard her but her hopes weren't high.

"Hello?" He called out.

She didn't make a noise, hoping he'd just let it go.

No such luck.

"Marco?" There was a moment or two of suspicious clanging and suddenly, Gabriella found herself face to face with Troy Bolton. "Hey Polo. I'm guessing you're the elusive girlfriend?"

She nodded, unwilling to say anything.

"Mind if I sit?" He asked, gesturing to the empty space in front of her.

She shrugged then shook her head. She didn't particularly feel like the company but the last thing she wanted was for Troy to run off and find Dylan.

"I'm Troy Bolton," He offered only to be met with silence. "Are you going to say anything? I know you're not mute, I heard you scream. Really really loud." He reminded her.

"Maybe I just don't have anything to say." Gabriella finally spoke, albeit very quietly.

"How about…" He paused and pretended to think. "the reason that you're hiding from your boyfriend."

She gave a short humorless laugh. "You don't care."

He frowned. "Say who?"

"Says me," She replied simply.

His frown deepened. "Well I'm telling you that I do care."

Gabriella have him a long hard look, like she was trying to determine his honesty. But he was unreadable. "I'm mad at him."

He rolled his impossibly blue eyes. "Oh," He gave a largely over exaggerated nod like he had just been clued in on the meaning of life. 'I thought you were under here to express how much you love him. Silly me, thanks for clearing that up." He quipped sarcastically.

She glared at him for a second. "It's really not important."

"Come on Gabriella," He nudged her calf with his foot. "Just spill it."

"You know wha-" She stopped short and her irritated expression dropped in favor of another: confusion. "Wait, you know my name?" No one knew her, especially the most popular guy in her school.

Troy froze as his eyes widened. "Um. Foster said it…earlier…when he was here…looking for you…Gabriella." He stammered, having difficulty stringing two words together in an obviously transparent lie.

She blinked at him. "No he didn't." She said slowly. Gabriella was almost one hundred percent positive. "As far as Dylan is concerned, my name is girlfriend."

"Forget it."

"Just spill it." She mimicked him, pitching her voice into a higher tone.

"First of all, I don't sound like that." He teasingly narrowed his eyes accusingly at her. "And secondly, if you're not going to tell me anything then I don't have to tell you anything." It was a reasonable argument but Gabriella still found herself annoyed. It never occurred to her that he might of felt the same about her lack of willingness to share.

"Fine" She pouted, crossing her arms and turning while holding her head up high. "Actually, I don't even have to be here. Dylan's probably long gone and I definitely don't have to worry about disturbing you anymore so I'm just going to get the hell ou-" She rambled, reaching for the thick black metal bar suspended over her head to help her up.

"No," Troy blurted out. Gabriella was so surprised that she relinquished her grip and dropped back down to her seat. "You're in my Intro to Law class. That's how I know your name. Happy?"

She considered it for a moment. "Fair enough."

Fifteen minutes later, Gabriella instigated a game of Truth. Ever since she's read about Macy and Wes playing it in The Truth About Forever, she'd wanted to play it too. Dylan probably would have thought it was stupid. With her own generosity, Gabriella allowed Troy the first question.

"So, why are you hiding from Dylan?"

She sighed, she should have seen that coming. "He made fun of me." She said quietly. Saying that she was mad because he made fun of the Scholastic Decathlon sounded just a little too pathetic for her liking and really, it was as bad as if he made fun of her. So it wasn't really a lie.

"So then why ar-" He began to ask.

"Nuh-uh. It's my turn!" Gabriella cut him off, protesting.

"Fine. Go ahead."

There was silence as Gabriella racked her brains for something to say. "What's something that you would change about yourself?" Gabriella asked curiously.

He stopped to think. "Well, I'm…" He stopped and hesitated, mentally searching for the right word while resting his forearms on his bent knees. "A pushover. I never do anything for me anymore. Basketball is for my dad, for the team, for the school. It's taken the fun out of it, you know?" He stared ahead for a second before stealing a sideways glance at Gabriella as she nodded her head slightly. "And let's face it, what else do I do?" A short, bitter bark of laughter followed shortly after.

Gabriella looked sympathetically at him, unsure of how to respond. "I'm sure that's not true." Her voice was quiet and timid. "I-I don't know..." Her sentence trailed off without completing her thought.

"Yeah, me neither." Troy shrugged, still looking thoroughly depressed. They stayed in silence for a second before he decided to speak up again. "So, by my calculations, it's my turn."

"That it is."

"Okay, so like I was trying to say before, why are you dating Dylan?"

That wasn't what she was expecting, preface and all. "Well, because…" She couldn't think of a way to put it into words so she turned to Troy. The intensity of his blue eyes focused on her startled her and Gabriella struggled to find her train of thought. "It's me and Dylan. We've been through everything together. He loves me."

"Has he told you that?" Troy asked softly. They seemed to have forgotten that they were playing Truth.

She didn't say anything immediately. "...No. But, it's not always about what's said. It's more nonverbal with him." She explained, feeling like she wasn't doing it justice. "And, he just gets me. All the time, he knows me better than anyone really. He's kind of perfect for me."

"He doesn't seem to be your type."

"But then again, you don't really know me." She reminded him, raising her eyebrows. Troy nodded in submission.

When Gabriella began this game, she did not expect it to become this serious but here she was, discussing her less than perfect relationship with Troy Bolton. The game...right!

"So, my question." Gabriella resumed as naturally as she could muster. "Um, what is your biggest regret?"

Troy didn't say anything for a while with a thoughtful frown turning the corners of his thin lips down. "Can I say something that hasn't happened yet?"

She furrowed her brows, creasing her forehead. "Troy, that doesn't make any sense."

"Well, what if I told you that my biggest regret would be if you left here and I didn't tell you the truth."

"Can you please stop with the cryptic comments?" Gabriella sighed exasperatedly.

"I lied to you earlier. I know your name because I've been…watching you. And yes, that does make me sound like a borderline-stalker but really, I mean that in the least creepy way possible. But don't ever think that I don't know you. I know that you're on the Scholastic Decathlon but you also play piano. You do both equally well. And your favorite book is Nineteen Minutes since I see you reading it at least once a month. And you clearly want to be a lawyer considering how much I see you care about the only class we happen to have together."

"Troy…" Gabriella began to say something but faltered and trailed off.

"You're one of a kind and Dylan isn't perfect for you. Someone who is perfect for you appreciates everything about you and can't find any imperfections because they only see exactly what makes you amazing."

There was an awkward silence following his declaration. "Um," She swallowed hard. "I have to go. It's getting kind of late, I'll see you…around Troy." She scrambled out of the gym, pulling her phone from her jeans pocket, dialing and she speed walked to her car in the parking lot. "Dylan? Can we meet?"

Troy bashed his head against the wooden pseudo wall behind him.

"I need you to know that what you said…hurt." Gabriella told him. "As stupid as it is, it hurt my feelings. And you, as my boyfriend, really should care about my feelings."

"I know," he said soothingly, snaking his arms around her waist. "And I'm so unbelievably sorry. I don't even know what I was saying. And I certainly didn't mean it." He kissed both of her cheeks, her forehead and then pressed a light peck upon her lips. "I love you." He murmured in her ear like it was secret.

Gabriella looked at him in shock but then she smiled shyly at him. "Okay," she whispered. "I accept your apology."

"That's great!" He exclaimed, hugging her close. "Now we can get right back to where we left off."

"Yeah but are you sure it's what you want?"

"Of course. It's you and me babe. Forever. While you're off doing your doctor thing, I'll be-" He coaxed, his deep voice tantalizingly smooth.

But Gabriella pulled away with a distraught expression, interrupting his sales pitch. 'Doctor?' She thought disbelievingly. She'd told him about going to law school several times, even showing him a few of the college pamphlets they handed out on career day. "Dylan," she said slowly. "What is my favorite book?"

Dylan looked positively dumbfounded. "I don't know, Harry Potter?" He guessed.

"I was wrong." Gabriella said softly, more to herself than to the confused guy standing before her. "You don't know me at all." And with that, she turned on her heel and walked away from the guy she thought she loved. And she didn't regret leaving him behind one bit. Now she just had to take care of something else.

Troy felt like an absolute idiot. The first time he'd ever had a conversation with Gabriella Montez and he managed to freak her out to the point that she felt the need to run away. God, he should have waited until maybe…their second encounter. At least.

What was wrong with him. He flopped backwards onto his bed and pressed the back of his hands over his eyes.

Knock-knock

He sat up startled when a crisp rap sounded against the glass doors of his sliding doors leading to the backyard. He pushed aside the curtains to reveal none other than Gabriella herself. He could have passed out from shock but he was beyond grateful that he didn't. As hurriedly as he could manage, he slid the doors open and stared at her.

She stood still, wringing her hands looking nervous as hell.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, mystified as she stared at the concrete below her.

"Um, since you borderline stalked me, I figured it would be a good time to return the favor." A weak smile tilted her lips at her feeble joke as she raised her eyes hesitantly to meet his but Troy's confused and somber expression made her rethink that. She started with the honest approach, carefully choosing her words. "I think I really like you. And I'm not going to pretend that I realized it before twenty minutes ago because honestly, twenty minutes ago I was," Emphasis on the 'was'. "Dating another guy but I'm not anymore and I-I just had to tell you this." Deep breath and she looked away, unable to face his reaction. Watching his face was like staring into the sun. "So listen, I don't know what your favorite book is or what you want to be when you grow up but here's what I do know Troy Bolton. I really really want to find out all these things because I want to appreciate every single piece of the guy that, by your definition, is perfect for me."

She looked up again to find Troy a hell of a lot closer than he was before she started her rant. His head was tilted downwards towards her, chestnut brown hair sweeping across his forehead covering his striking eyes. And before she had a chance to comment, he covered her lips with his, gathering her in his arms; one wrapping around her shoulders and the other finding her waist.

Perfect.

I tried to hide it, I can't deny it
Now I'm inside out
Say you love me, it's all or nothing
Now I'm inside out

The End

A/N: Y'all should thank my computer. It seems that every time I've put on my music since I've begun writing this, the song Inside Out has come out on my iTunes shuffle within the first like ten minutes. I'm pretty sure that it is subliminally trying to beat my ass into shape.

Review please!

PEACEEE
Alice