DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical or any related characters.

A/N: Okay, the last chapter of Dangerous Fascination is here! Wow, this is sad. I can't believe it, I started this in 2007, I can't believe that not only have I reached the end of this story, I've actually gone over twenty chapters, which is a feat for me and I'm so proud of this story and myself for actually working around to finish it.

Please enjoy the last chapter of Dangerous Fascination!

(My bad. I've changed computers and renamed all my documents, so I accidentally fell into the old habit of choosing Dangerous Fascination to upload instead of DF working. I didn't actually mean to do that and I suppose it didn't help that I needed to get my brothers into hockey. Sorry and thank you for making me aware of it!)

Dangerous Fascination

CHAPTER 25

FASCINATION

Troy stood, leaning against a locker near the entrance to East High. His stance was casual, his arms folded loosely across his chest, his expression blank. One jean clad leg was crossed over another and the black shirt he wore emphasized the powerful lines of his body. His hair, a little too long now, was hidden beneath a gray beanie and only peaked out beneath the gray material.

He looked, Gabriella thought as she approached him, sexy, slightly dangerous and more than a little annoyed. It made a little thrill race up and down her spine as she dodged some students and continued to approach her boyfriend.

As she walked, Gabriella caught bits and pieces of the conversations going on around her and smiled. Summer was only days away and the students of East High were preparing for the times of their lives. She caught mentions of trips to various parts of Europe, a three month stay in New York and a tour of the pyramids of Egypt. Even as she processed them, Gabriella continued to smile. Personally, she was looking forward to moving out to California, preparing for her first year at Stanford and organizing the apartment that Troy had found for himself.

Even as she dodged a flailing hand, the thought of organizing Troy's apartment when he was already so disdainful of the fact that she thought he had things to organize made her grin.

It had been, Gabriella thought, nice to discover that one of the most meticulous people she'd ever known was one of the most disorganized. Not that he would have ever let her find out if he hadn't been inclined too. She'd discovered at Christmas when she'd stormed into his room because he was running late only to find him searching for her Christmas present amongst the mess on his desk.

The scene she had walked in on had been so astonishing she'd stopped dead and had simply stared at him as he'd sworn loudly before turning to face her. He hadn't bothered to hide the fact that he was disorganized nor had he made up an excuse, one thing she'd learnt very quickly when she and Troy had begun to settle more fully into their relationship was that if Troy wasn't hiding something nor making up an excuse for something, then it simply didn't exist to him.

The fact that he acted like that when it was in relation to something as unimportant as how organized he was, still made Gabriella giggle. Not that she ever let him know outright that she laughed at his tendencies, she always got the feeling Troy knew exactly what she was giggling about when he misplaced his keys.

Instead, she approached him half-expecting some sort of appraisal for being late. When he gave no sign that she was standing next to him, Gabriella rolled her eyes and reached up, grasping onto his beanie and tugging it off his head.

Troy's eyes snapped to her and Gabriella smiled at him as she pulled the beanie over her curls and wagged her fingers at him.

"You're late." He pointed out as Gabriella adjusted the beanie before taking in her boyfriend's hair.

"And you haven't washed your hair in, like, a week." Gabriella raised a hand to touch what looked like his greasy hair when Troy shook his head and she felt specks of water fly from his dark hair.

"Or maybe I washed it this morning and your just assuming things like you always do." He muttered and Gabriella rolled her eyes at his words. "You know if I'd known you were going to be this late I would have picked you up." Gabriella snorted slightly and dodged his grab at the beanie on her head.

"No you wouldn't. You and I both know that meeting my family is not at the top of your to-do list and if you'd picked me up this morning, you would have had to come in and met all of them." Gabriella shot back and Troy rolled his eyes. "Besides, you told me you were getting up early this morning for a specific reason and I would have just intruded." Gabriella pushed at the beanie as it began to fall into her eyes even as Troy shrugged.

She knew she was right. Troy had mentioned to her the night before that around this time of year he visited Allie. What he did there and why he did it, Gabriella hadn't asked. Instead, she'd nodded her head slowly and murmured that she would drive herself to school. It meant something to her that he'd mentioned it to her and, even if he had offered to pick her up, Gabriella knew she would have declined.

To her, Troy's visit to Allie was an intensely personal thing that Gabriella didn't dare intrude upon. Especially considering that he only had a few more months before they officially moved away from Albuquerque.

"You seriously cannot have that many relatives. Why are you so worried about me meeting them?" Troy cocked his head to the side slightly and Gabriella raised an eyebrow at his question, noting that he'd deliberately overlooked her last comment and knowing that if he wanted to talk about it, he would.

"I'm not worried about you meeting them. I'm worried about them meeting you. You've only just managed to convince mom you're not a cold-hearted jerk who likes to tug innocent, naïve girls around for amusement." Gabriella snapped at him and a shadow of a smile touched Troy's lips before he reached up and tugged at one of her curls, gently tilting her face up towards his.

"Uh-huh. But you weren't an innocent, naïve girl that blushed because Chad informed you that you have awesome legs, were you?" It was a sore point for her and Gabriella knew that Troy knew that. So he was either deliberately trying to provoke her or working towards an innuendo that would make her blush. Either way, Gabriella knew she was going to fall into the trap.

"They're not that good." She muttered her eyes downcast even as Troy chuckled slightly.

"Brie, you're legs are amazing." He leaned a little closer. "Whether they're covered by those old sweats you wear or wrapped around me while I –" Troy was cut off by a loud greeting and Gabriella was grateful for it.

She was bright red and Troy was taking pleasure in it as she glanced up before being caught in a bone crushing hug.

"There she is!" Gabriella burst out laughing at Chad's dramatic proclamation and wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing him tightly as he mimed choking.

"There he is!" She repeated cheekily before Chad set her back onto her feet and turned to greet Troy.

It was nice, Gabriella thought, having a friend like Chad. He'd been there for Troy through so much and he'd been there for her too, Gabriella mused as she watched Troy fall into what looked like a serious conversation with Chad.

Chad had, Gabriella knew, been witness to some of the most explosive episodes in her and Troy's relationship yet. He'd been there when she'd stormed into Troy's house, hurt and angry at his apparent lack of concern when telling her where he was going for a week. That fight, Gabriella remembered, had lasted the week Troy had been away. He'd gone off to his uncle's place in Santa Fe without so much as mentioning it to her in passing. Then there'd been the fight they'd had over his apparent lack of concern about college. The fury in that fight had been a mixture of exhaustion, insecurity and Gabriella's own frightening realization that she didn't want to leave high school and Troy behind all in one go.

Troy had solved that problem by shouting at her, as she'd thrown DVD cases at him, that he'd applied to schools in California as well and she was overreacting. He'd then promptly frozen her out and Gabriella had met with an ice wall when she'd calmed down enough to apologize. Not that the ice wall had lasted all that long, Troy had a baffling ability of forgiving her without her ever realizing she'd been forgiven.

And through out all those fights had been Chad. He'd never taken a side and he'd always been the one that had calmed her down and convinced Troy to use his rational side after one or both of them had stormed out in frustration.

"You know Gabi, that shade of gray so does not suit you." Gabriella blinked slightly at Chad's teasing tone, wondering what on earth he was talking about before remembering she was still wearing Troy's beanie.

She shrugged. "Well, it feels good." Troy smirked slightly at her reply and Gabriella rolled her eyes at him.

"Does it really Brie? Or were you too busy with your own thoughts to come up with a better answer?" Gabriella narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend as she realized that he thought she was thinking about what he had said to her before Chad had interrupted them.

"Actually, I was thinking about what a good friend Chad is." Gabriella shot back, deliberately answering what Troy had implied and not caring that Chad shot her an odd look as she folded her arms.

"Hmm, now isn't that an interesting image?" Troy taunted her, his lips curling in amusement even as Gabriella's jaw dropped and she had to fight the urge to slap him. Chad glanced back and forth between them curiously, knowing that he was missing something and happy to simply observe their interaction.

Oh how she hated that Troy had a dirty mind when it suited him, Gabriella thought sourly. The first time he'd ever made a sexual innuendo, with a grin tugging at his lips, had been in front of her mother and it had stunned her so much that she hadn't been able to reply. He'd kept on doing it too, whispering things in her ear or mentioning it in front of their friends, like he was doing now until Gabriella had learnt to trade innuendo with innuendo. But then there were moments like this, when Troy said something and she hadn't been quick enough to catch on.

The grin he sent her was triumphant and appealing and Gabriella shook her head at him as Chad cleared his throat.

"Troy, are you going to come to park with us this afternoon?" Chad asked and Gabriella leaned against the locker next to her boyfriend and watched him answer.

She didn't need to look down to know that the hand that was touching hers was Troy's nor did she give any indication that she let him link their fingers loosely. Instead, she began to rub her thumb over his knuckles while thinking about how far they'd come in such a short time.

After the Taylor incident and with their arguments being the only real problem in their relationship, Gabriella had found herself slowly beginning to know Troy so much better than she ever thought she would. She'd discovered that when he was asleep, Troy liked to keep her close and that when he was only just waking up he liked to bury his face in her neck until he was fully awake. She'd found that his sense of humor was dry and sarcastic and he hated watching movies silently. She'd been surprised when he'd revealed a softer side, one that had had him replacing a necklace she'd lost because it had meant something to her. Not that he was ever going to admit that he had been the one to replace her necklace.

Even as her hand rose to touch the silver heart that she never took off, Gabriella squeezed Troy's hand gently. There had turned out to be so much more to Troy than she'd first assumed. Aside from the innuendo and his disorganization, his ice and temper, Troy had somehow become so much more human now that she was so much closer to him than ever before. She'd fallen in love with his ice, the way he always seemed constantly amused and the rare temper that only flared when it was warranted. She'd found herself even more in love with him when she'd discovered that his sense of humor matched her own, when she found herself listening when he told her a funny story about Allie or when his face darkened and he'd spat something out about his mother.

She'd found herself in love with him when Troy became more than ice and rare temper, when he became human to her and allowed her all the way in.

Now they were heading off to California together and, despite not knowing where it was all going to lead too and how they were going to get there, Gabriella knew that, one way or another, Troy was always going to be a part of her life for a very long time.

"Hey, Brie, you still in there?" Gabriella jerked slightly when Troy's voice broke through her thoughts and she yanked herself out of her thoughts to see him watching her with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah. Yes, sorry." Gabriella stared up at him and tried not to glare as Troy smirked.

"Thinking about something special?" He mocked her slightly, giving Gabriella the impression he knew exactly what she was thinking about. Reaching up with her other hand Gabriella tapped his cheek.

"No. Not really." She replied cheekily and Troy's eyebrows rose a little more. He tugged her closer and Gabriella glanced around nervously. She and Troy were not big on displays of affections and it had taken him more than a little while to hold her hand the way he was doing now.

"Really? Hmm, why don't I believe that?" He murmured gently and Gabriella rolled her eyes slightly.

"Because you and I both know what I was thinking about." She said and sighed. "Do we have to go to homeroom?" She asked, knowing that it was a bad idea to mention it to him because she knew they would end up anywhere but homeroom.

"Nah. Come on." Gabriella tried not to laugh at how quickly Troy jumped at the chance to not go and argue with Miss Darbus. He threw a quick 'see you later' over his shoulder to Chad before tugging her towards Their Spot.

Gabriella followed Troy, smiling slightly as they both slipped through the door that led to the leafy jungle where he'd first began the process of letting her into his life. Gabriella let go of Troy's hand when they reached the top and rested her hip against the railing as he wandered over to the ancient wooden bench that was surrounded by the plants.

Watching him as he settled himself comfortably on the chair, Gabriella wondered how it was he'd ended up with her. She wondered what it was about her that had caught his attention from the very first moment that she'd bumped into him in their homeroom. She wondered why he'd suddenly decided to pursue her, to not cut her off when she got to close

"Why was it me?" She asked suddenly, watching as he closed his eyes for a moment before they snapped open to look at her.

"Hmm?" He stretched slightly and Gabriella sighed.

"Why was it me?" She repeated and then sighed when she realized that she needed to elaborate. "I mean, why'd you suddenly decide to…pay attention to me? There are heaps of other girls falling over themselves to be your…friend." Oh God, she wished she could be more tactful, Gabriella thought remorsefully as she watched Troy's eyes darken in thought before they flickered in amusement at her question.

"Gabriella, when have I ever once given you the impression that those other girls interested me in the slightest?" He asked, deliberately avoiding answering her question and causing Gabriella to stiffen.

"You haven't." She replied quietly, choosing to turn her gaze away from him and concentrate on the mountains on the horizon. She didn't know why she'd expected him to answer, nor did she know why she'd bothered to ask the question when she'd known he was going to avoid answering it.

She didn't hear his sigh, nor did she hear his rustle of clothing as he stood from where he'd been sitting and stepped over to her. She felt his arms slip around her waist and Gabriella closed her eyes, feeling the familiar press of his body and trying not to relax to noticeably against him. She felt his lips against her head and wondered why he always seemed to do that when they were alone.

She felt his breath on her ear before he spoke. "You really want to know?" He asked and Gabriella nodded. "I think that I was fascinated by you, Just Chemistry. Actually, I know I was fascinated by you from the start." He murmured it against her ear and Gabriella shivered slightly.

"But why were you fascinated? And don't use that cliché about me being different." She warned before he could reply to her question.

He chuckled and Gabriella felt the vibrations of his chest. "Alright, I won't use it. You weren't that afraid of me, that's probably one of the easiest things to realize." Gabriella stiffened slightly.

"What?" She asked incredulously. "You were fascinated by me because I wasn't afraid of you?" She repeated and Troy laughed again.

"Don't sound so surprised Brie. It's true. You were more afraid of Lions, Smith and Hall than you were of me and that's something that's never happened to me before. Instead, I'm always stuck trying to have a conversation with someone who's convinced that I'll plant drugs in their locker if they say the wrong thing." Gabriella felt his lips press behind her ear for a second. "You weren't. In fact, I'm pretty sure that you were the first person, besides Chad and Christy, that actually took anything I said seriously and without fear. It was fascinating to be confronted with that." Gabriella nodded slowly, trying to understand what he meant and grasping some sort of understanding at his words.

"And then? You could have dumped me when you discovered that I wasn't afraid of you." Though, Gabriella thought, that hadn't been the truth. She'd been terrified of Troy but for a totally different reason to the people around her. It had been terrifying feeling what she'd felt for him so early on.

He laughed again. "Ah, but by then you were under my skin and while it pissed me off considerably, it was still fascinating how you'd somehow managed to get under my skin and stay there." Troy dipped his head to skim his lips across her neck. "So, Brie, while you pissed me off, made me feel in a new way and made me so furious with you all at the same time, there was always some degree of fascination because you've been the only one so far who's got anything like that out of me." Gabriella frowned slightly.

Though she knew that a few months ago she wouldn't have even gotten that much out of him by simply asking, she wasn't sure whether or not being fascinating to him was a compliment or otherwise.

"So…I was fascinating? That's why?" She asked tentatively, hoping he wouldn't make a dismissive sound. His lips moved back up to behind her ear before he spoke.

"Among other things. What about you? Why'd you choose me?" Gabriella could hear the irony in his voice and elbowed his stomach before turning around so she could look up into his eyes.

"Technically, you chose me. But, since you asked, I'll answer." Gabriella reached up and draped her arms around his neck. "You were fascinating too." She replied cheekily, despite knowing how true her words were.

"Really? I was fascinating?" Troy asked and the humor in his voice wasn't lost on her as she nodded.

"Yep. You were dangerous and that was fascinating to me. Then I started to feel something and you became this dangerous fascinating on a whole other level." Gabriella replied and Troy smirked.

"Am I still you're dangerous fascination?" Troy asked, leaning down to kiss her slowly before she answered. Gabriella returned his kiss just as slowly, enjoying the simmering hint just beneath it before she pulled away to answer.

"Uh-huh. You, Troy Bolton, are always going to be my dangerous fascination."

Even as he leaned down to kiss her again, Gabriella knew how true those words were. Troy was, no matter how different he became when they were just alone or with people, no matter how many sexual jokes escaped his mouth or angry truths delivered in a brutal tone, always going to be her dangerous fascination.

The End

A/N: So, maybe not the greatest last chapter ever by I figured it would nice to see Troy and Gabriella without the drama that's surrounded their relationship from day one. I honestly cannot believe I've finished this story.

I need to thank everyone who reviewed this story. You guys are all awesome, especially all those that stuck with this story despite my hiatus from it for a while. Thank you for all your kind, lovely reviews. All of you are the reason I sat down and cranked out twenty-five chapters, even if it was over two years. So thank you to all of you, there are so many that if I could I would thank you all individually. Thank you all so much. All of you are so wonderful and supportive, it's a privilage for me that you take the time to read my stories and comment on them. Thank you!!