As she felt a pair of lips ghosting over her skin on her neck, Gabriella cracked open her eyes, blinking several times to adjust to the bright sunlight that filled the room, closing them again as she savored the amazing sensations Troy was causing to shoot through her body. "Mmm, Troy, that is so the way to wake up in the morning," she got out, opening her eyes again to see Troy's twinkling blue eyes that matched his chuckle. "What?"

"Nothing, you just amaze me in every way. We could make this a regular occurrence but I don't want to be charged with kidnapping Copanvy royalty when no one sees you for days," returned Troy, leaning down to slant his lips over hers, enjoying the returned pressure as she kissed him back, Gabriella being bold enough to slip her tongue into his waiting mouth. Troy shifted his weight so he wasn't crushing her before he allowed his right hand to slide down the side of her body, feeling every curve on his way, feeling her shiver as he slipped his hand under his sweatshirt she was wearing and what felt like a cotton shirt under that.

Before Troy could move upward from her stomach, before Gabriella could thread her fingers through his chestnut hair to bring him even closer, Gabriella's cell phone went off, a classical tone she knew belonged to her one and only dance partner. "Don't answer it," begged Troy, nibbling now on the other side of her neck that was exposed.

Gabriella gave it serious thought just before the ringtone ended and then started up again a few moments later. "It's Chris. He'll keep calling unless I pick up, trust me."

"Then let me," returned Troy, smirking at her before reaching over to grab the offending phone, hitting the green button. "Christopher, what an unpleasant surprise."

He heard a deep chuckle that dissolved into laughter for a few moments before Chris finally gained control. "That my man means one thing and one thing only which I do not want details on. You better be nice to me though. I was very instrumental in smuggling your woman to your place. Felt like I was in her secret service instead of Paul. Since it is almost two in the afternoon and I hadn't gotten called to pick up dear Ella, I thought I'd call to make sure you hadn't killed her or anything."

"Kill her? Never! That would be like cutting out my heart and somehow expecting me to live," returned Troy, rolling his eyes as he heard Chris chuckle more.

"Now I know what Tessa is always talking about, how mushy you two are together. I am assuming you are together," stated Chris, waiting expectantly for a confirmation but not getting any after a short wait. "Hand the phone to Ella. She'll talk to me."

Troy covered the speaker as he handed Gabriella the cell phone, keeping his finger there as he said, "Chris wants to talk to you but he also asked me if we were together. I don't know what you want people to know."

"It's Chris, we can trust him, honest," replied Gabriella, raising herself up on her elbows to place a soft kiss on Troy's lips. "We'll work this all out."

Troy just nodded as he let go of the cell phone, watching in amusement as Gabriella rolled her own eyes and blushed faintly at whatever Chris said to her right then. 'She really is so stunning, even in the morning, or afternoon as it is.'

"No, nothing like that happened Christopher," returned Gabriella, trying to be stern with a laughing Chris.

"Sure, who do you think you're talking to, your father who would readily take your word on that because he doesn't want to believe anything else?" argued Chris, not buying Gabriella's story that nothing sexual happened within the last fourteen hours.

Gabriella sighed, shaking her head. "We aren't rabbits like you and Tessa, Chris. Speaking of, how's the phone sex?"

Troy couldn't help but burst out laughing at this, grinning as Gabriella gave him a cheeky smile in return. "Tell Bolton to shut up for me Ella. I may be a dancer but I can still kick his basketball behind."

"No freaking way, I am not going to play the buffer in your little macho conversation. Chris, why did you really call?" asked Gabriella, her eyes remaining locked with Troy's.

"To see if you needed a ride back to the palace or to the homeless shelter. Figured you didn't have a car and wasn't quite sure where you were since I didn't know if you had a full out argument and never wanted to see Troy again or if you were securely hidden away in his apartment still. I'm banking on the apartment," concluded Chris, taking her silence as confirmation. "See, I knew you were up to something you little minx. So, I have to ask or Tessa will kill me. Are you and Troy back together? Did you tell him everything?"

"Wait, Tessa knows everything? Chris, you promised," got out Gabriella, freezing at the idea that Tessa found out about the arranged marriage from Tessa's boyfriend and not Gabriella herself, knowing the betrayal Tessa would feel.

"Relax, she doesn't know. I promised you didn't I?" returned Chris, chuckling as he heard her sigh of relief. "But back to the main question. Are you?"

Biting her lower lip some, Gabriella studied Troy's face that glowed with happiness. "I think we are but we have to work out some things and yes he knows everything."

"Some things? That's a bit of an understatement," teased Chris, sobering as he realized what all this meant. "Wow, you really are serious about leaving Copanvy aren't you? When you told me in the car last night that you would give everything up for Troy and your shared love with him?"

"I did but Troy isn't letting me. We'll work this out, somehow," said Gabriella, feeling more confidence in that statement as Troy pieced together what was being talked about and nodded his head in agreement.

"Well I'm here to help, ever the faithful best friend. I'm glad you got everything out in the open now, I know how much it was eating you inside. So do you want me to pick you up in say an hour? Will that give you enough time? Same place as where I dropped you off?" Chris questioned, thinking that should give Troy and Gabriella enough time to talk or do whatever.

"That'd be great, thank you so much Chris," answered Gabriella, saying a quick good-bye before ending the call. "Chris is coming to get me in about an hour."

Troy just nodded his head, taking her cell phone from her hand and placing it back on the nightstand. "So, what are we going to do about us?"

Gabriella sighed, averting her eyes to the side, landing on a framed picture of her and Troy taken from Taylor and Chad's wedding when they had posed for the professional photographer during the wedding party photo shoot. "Whatever possible to stay together?"

"A good idea but I think we need to narrow that down a bit. Do we act like we are still mad at each other? Do we pretend each other doesn't exist and sneak around like silly teenagers, like Romeo and Juliet even?" asked Troy, laying down on his back, using his left arm to flip Gabriella over onto her side so that she was snuggled into his side with her head resting on his chest, over his beating heart that beat only for her. "I'm not sure how well we'll get away with that with all the paparazzi around that follow you and me both."

"Well if you weren't such a sensational basketball player we wouldn't have this problem," joked Gabriella, giggling as Troy tickled her a little with his left hand that was resting on her hip, his hand positioned just right so that his fingertips touched her bare skin there.

"Oh yeah, it's all my fault. You being a princess has nothing to do with it," returned Troy sarcastically, chuckling a little. "Seriously Brie, what are we to do?"

"Give it time and have patience," said Gabriella, tilting her head up so she was looking at Troy's face, his eyes studying the ceiling. "I think I want to talk to my family, see what I can do there without telling them you know of course. I think they will listen to me more so than the council will, even though I already know my grandparents are going to be tough. If they don't listen then I'll think of something else."

"Always the smart cookie," remarked Troy, kissing the top of Gabriella's dark head. "So in all seriousness it is going to be the sneaky meetings, the keeping distance in public huh?"

Gabriella gave it some thought before reluctantly nodding her head. "There's no other way Troy. If they see us together, they'll rush me to make a decision for sure, a decision I don't want to give because they won't accept the truth."

"What if I go with you to talk to them? I feel helpless thinking of you doing all of this on your own," confessed Troy, running his hand through her wavy dark brown locks. "There must be something I can do."

As he spoke, Gabriella tilted her head up some to look at his face again, seeing the deep concentration there. Enjoying their position but unable to really look at Troy the way she wanted to, Gabriella reluctantly dragged herself out of his hold, sitting up and twisting so her feet were now towards the headboard, wrapping her arms around her bent knees and placing her chin on top of her knees. Troy echoed Gabriella's movement, scooting up and leaning against the headboard, keeping his legs out straight in front of him.

"The best thing I can ask of you right now is just to wait for me, flaw filled, selfish me. Talking to my grandparents will be hard but I know they will listen, they've shown to me in the last months that they are really trying to be fair with this arranged marriage bit while still remaining true to the traditions of this country. As frustrated as I get, they are still my family, my grandparents, and I understand that they just want what's best for me but are also torn by the sense of duty they feel. I know this because I feel the same way," said Gabriella, sighing a little as she thought about what big things were on the horizon. "You just may have to suffer and have me over here unexpectedly at times too depending on how this all goes."

"You say that as if it's a bad thing," remarked Troy, smirking a little as Gabriella rolled her eyes at him. "Come here. You are too far away from me."

Once Gabriella was settled with her own back against the headboard, Troy's arm wrapped around her body, she looked over at him and asked, "Better?"

"Much," he smirked, leaning in and kissing her, using his right hand to keep her there as Troy wrapped his hand loosely around the back of her head, deepening the kiss as moments passed on.

Before either of them knew it, Troy was laying on top of Gabriella, having just flung his sweatshirt onto the floor after taking it off of her, seeing the white t-shirt underneath, now bunched up right under the underside of her bra as Troy laid soft kisses around Gabriella's stomach, taking time to tenderly kiss the faint scar on her right side. She shivered as she felt Troy's tongue begin to make patterns there before he crawled back up her body, Gabriella kissing his exposed neck as he began to suck gently on her shoulder.

Just as Troy's hand began to toy with the waistband of Gabriella's sweats, he heard the distinct ringtone belonging to a teammate he wished he could strangle at the moment. He tried to capture Gabriella's lips again, ignoring the tone, but found that Gabriella was already distracted by it.

"You probably…should…get that," stated Gabriella between meeting his kisses, not letting him get further than that.

Troy just groaned as he rolled off of her, giving her one last lustful look before snatching up his own cell phone from the nightstand. "You better be on fire Tomas."

"Wow, I'm interrupting. Guess that everything worked out last night?" questioned Tomas, chuckling as he began to imagine what must have been going on moments before, stopping himself with a shake of his head as he realized how pervy that was.

"It did," answered Troy, hoping his shortness would give his friend a hint to get lost.

Tomas chuckled again, being receptive enough to understand Troy's subtle message. "All right, point taken. You just better be there in practice in two hours or the coach will have your head."

Troy's eyes darted over to his alarm clock and realized that Tomas was right, they did have an afternoon practice he had to be at in a couple of hours. "Yeah man, I'll see you there."

With that, Troy ended the call, putting his cell back on the nightstand, turning his attention back on Gabriella, who was gazing back up at him, a faint smile playing on her lips. "I'm so glad you're amused by all this Brie," Troy said dryly, making Gabriella giggle some.

"It's just funny. Besides, it sounds like we both have things to do. It is definitely more than time to get up and get going," replied Gabriella, reaching up and running a hand through Troy's hair, feeling true contentment running through her body for the first time in a long time.

A similar feeling was experienced by Troy, adding to his reluctance to let the woman now in his arms, in his bed, go. "Can I rightfully call her my girlfriend?"

"I think it's safe to say that I'm your girlfriend as I'm definitely all yours now, just like in high school," answered Gabriella, surprising Troy, making him blush.

Troy groaned. "I said that aloud didn't I?"

"Yup," replied Gabriella, giggling a little as she saw the blush on his cheeks spread. "I thought it was adorable though."

"So, girlfriend, when can I see you next?" asked Troy, settling with having at least that knowledge before letting them both get out of bed.

Gabriella thought through her next few days of commitments, frowning as she realized that she was booked with events for most of the next few evenings. "I won't be free at night until Thursday but I think you have a game that night."

Beaming at the knowledge that Gabriella knew his game schedule, Troy nodded his head. "Can we maybe meet here after? I'm flattered you know my game schedule too Brie."

"How can I not? My dad and dance partner both love the Knights," teased Gabriella, smiling as Troy leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. "Of course, it helps that I have this huge crush on the star player…"

"Mmm, that is definitely more like it," replied Troy, giving in to the draw he felt towards her, their lips fusing together, neither of them wanting the moment to end.

It was Gabriella though that pulled away minutes later, knowing she needed to get going before Chris arrived, not wanting to inconvenience him further by having him wait for her. "So I'll see you Thursday night after your game," said Gabriella, giving Troy one last kiss before scooting out from under him.

Troy watched as Gabriella got out of his bed, bending down to snatch up the discarded sweatshirt. "Can we meet sooner, say at the teen center during the day?"

As Gabriella pulled on the sweatshirt, she took it back off, tossing it at him. "We can definitely do that if you wear that for the next twenty or so minutes. Actually, do you mind if I shower, so I can look presentable should I see my grandparents first before I make it to my room?"

"Sure," returned Troy, slipping the sweatshirt on him without question, knowing Gabriella's intentions already. He got off the bed and walked down the hallway, grabbing a spare set of towels from the linen closet before handing them to her. "Want company?"

Giggles bubbled from Gabriella's mouth as she watched Troy suggestively wiggle his eyebrows, shaking her head to his disappointment. "No, I think I'm fine on my own. Thanks for the offer though."

With that, Gabriella closed the bathroom door right in front of Troy, adding the little click that meant she had locked it against him, making Troy chuckle. Instead, he returned to his bedroom, making the bed, picking up the pillow Gabriella had used and fluffing it, smelling her scent clinging to the pillowcase. 'It is only fair I wear the sweatshirt for some time to give her since I now have her scent everywhere here. A bit scary sounding but it definitely helps when we can't be together.'

Minutes later, Troy's mouth went dry as he heard a soft cough and looked over from where he was dusting real quick to see Gabriella wrapped in the towel he had given her, shyly looking at him. "Do you have a hairdryer by chance?" asked Gabriella, readjusting her hold on the edges of the towel.

Troy opened his mouth to speak but found he couldn't, his eyes still busy roaming the exposed amounts of skin, watching as a single drop of water dripped from her hair and traveled down her shoulder, down the front of her chest, disappearing under the towel. Instead, Troy just shook his head.

"Guess I'll come prepared next time. Thanks," murmured Gabriella, quickly scurrying back to the bathroom before either of them could act on instinct as hormones more than flared in that moment.

Once Gabriella was dressed again, her damp hair brushed out using Troy's comb, she exited the bathroom, smiling as Troy silently handed her his sweatshirt, seeing him dressed in a pair of shorts and a Wildcats t-shirt. "Dressed so early?"

He shrugged, kissing her on the forehead as Troy helped Gabriella slip the sweatshirt back on, both breathing in their mixed scents. "Thought I'd work out some before practice and also get a smoothie on my way since I need some type of food in my system."

Almost as if it was agreeing, Gabriella's stomach gurgled. "Guess food is a good thing. I'll beg Chris to stop at some fast food place on our way for something light since dinner will be soon. Yet another formal dinner no doubt. I wish you could be there with me Wildcat."

"So do I. One day in the future, I will be though, all right?" answered Troy, reaching down and capturing her hand in his, raising it so he could kiss the back of her hand. They stared at each other, such amazing energy and emotions running between them in that moment until Gabriella's cell phone went off, causing Gabriella to break the eye contact to look at it. "That Chris?"

"Yep," answered Gabriella, letting go of Troy's hand as she grabbed it and answered quickly to let Chris know she would be there in five minutes before hanging up. "Time to go."

They shared one quick yet tender kiss before Troy reluctantly let Gabriella go, watching her leave until she disappeared from sight, wishing he had the ability to be the one to take her back to the palace but knowing at the current time that it wasn't a possibility. 'Give it time Troy. You've just managed to uncover a lot of what has been going on, you're both working it out together now. Not much more you can ask at the moment.'

Troy reigned in all of ranging emotions, knowing his mind knew what was best, before he grabbed his keys, wallet, cell phone, and gym bag and left his apartment himself minutes later, unaware of a pair of eyes that were watching him get into his car from across the parking lot.

Gabriella woke herself up from the current daydream she was having of a time when she and Troy could openly be together as she allowed Pip to do her hair in a sleek updo an hour and a half before the formal dinner she had to be present for with her own family plus the members of the representative panel of the advisory council and their families, a way of saying good-bye to Patrick's dad, who would no longer be part of Copanvy Royal Advisory Council after tonight's private ceremony, passing off the position of being head of the council to George Hernandez.

Once Pip was finished, she stepped back to survey her work, smiling more as she looked at Gabriella's reflection, thinking of how stunning the young princess was already, with no make-up on and just dressed in her robe. "You are positively radiant Gabriella. One could almost say you were glowing from some inner light. Whatever it is, I'm glad you are in better spirits."

Gabriella looked back at her maid via the mirror and smiled back. "Thank you."

Being discreet as always, Pip allowed the subject to drop, instead going on to the next task of preparing Gabriella's lavender dress for the night. "I put the jewelry that matches your gown tonight out on your nightstand."

Smiling again at Pip's efficiency, Gabriella got up from the stool she was sitting on and began to put the jewelry on, cursing softly as she dropped a pearl earring onto the floor, seeing it roll under her bed. 'Clumsy Gabriella returns,' she chided herself as she got down on the floor, looking under the bed for the earring.

Once the bed skirt was tucked up, Gabriella put her head down close to the ground, mindful not to ruin Pip's hairdo, spying the earring not too far away. Gabriella reached with her hand for it, smiling with victory as she grabbed it. As she was pulling her arm back out though, Gabriella's attention was captured by a broken piece of the bed frame that was partially hanging down. With a frown, Gabriella set aside the earring next to her before reaching back in, toying with the broken wood, pushing it back up only to find that there was something in the way. Unable to see what it was, Gabriella let the broken slat hang as she reached up and felt around, finding a hard yet soft surface. Her fingers brushed around until she found the edge of the object, tugging at it until it came loose. Gabriella slowly brought it out, curiosity growing in her as she looked down at the leather book with faint initials, flipping it open to see writing done by hand, realizing after skimming the first few pages that it was a journal. 'But whose?'

Forgetting about the broken frame, Gabriella absently put the bed skirt back down as she sat down on the floor, flipping through the journal to see that it had been written several decades ago, thinking that it was probably around the time when her grandmother was probably a little younger than Gabriella was now. 'Is it hers?'

Determined to find out the owner, Gabriella flipped to the last entry she found before the pages were left blank, feeling herself pale as she read the contents before finally seeing a full name signed at the end. Filled with the need to know if this was true, if everything most likely in this journal was true, Gabriella closed it with shaking hands, standing up and heading to her bedroom door, surprising Pip who was steaming the dress.

Ignoring Pip's questions, Gabriella marched down the hall, ignoring the looks she was getting from servants for being dressed only in a bathrobe, heading straight for her grandmother's suite, barging into the personal lounge where Lauren was getting ready, her own head maid doing her hair.

Startled by the sudden appearance of her granddaughter, Lauren immediately saw Gabriella coming up fast behind her via the mirror of her vanity, waving off all the servants in the room before she turned to look at Gabriella. "Gabriella, what is it?"

Gabriella just stood there a few feet away from her grandmother, holding up the journal in her hands, which Lauren recognized immediately. "Were you ever going to tell me?"

"Please, Gabriella, it isn't what you are thinking," answered Lauren, swallowing as nerves appeared in her gut, for the first time in a long time.

"Then tell me," demanded Gabriella, knowing now for sure that she held the key to not only her family's history but possibly to her future.

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