The two story house was packed with the Seniors of East High. Music blared from the surround sound speakers above and bodies pressed together. Troy Bolton, the leader among his fellow classmates, surveyed the crowd from beside the keg stand with Chad Danforth, his best friend.

"Hey, you want another beer?" questioned Chad as he stuck out a plastic cup.

Troy had barely heard Chad, for his eyes were locked on a particular brunette that had caught his eye. Unlike the majority of the girls that chose to wear miniskirts in December, the brunette opted for a white off the shoulder long-sleeve top over a pair of skinny jeans tucked into a pair of dangerously high stiletto boots. A carefree smile graced her face as she danced in the middle of dance floor with a couple of other girls.

"Dude!"

The blue eyed swatted the Chad's hand away from his face. "What?"

"Whatcha staring at?" Chad asked as he looked at the direction in which the taller of the two was looking.

Troy looked back to the spot where the brunette stood but found it empty. "Nothing man." He turned to his friend who was on his third beer already. "Chad, go easy on the beer. I'd really hate to have to drag your drunken ass home on the day before Christmas Eve."

"Hey! I can hold down my alcohol pretty well!"

"Sure you can! 'Cuz you were totally sober at the last party when you humped that one girls leg."

"Okay, so that wasn't one of my finer moments." Chad could feel his cheeks redden at the memory. "Beer?" He offered his cup,

"Nah, I think I'll stay sober. If I get drunk, who'll be there to cover your ass when you mess up like that time when-"

"Alicia!" Chad cut him off and pulled on the arm of a random blonde chick walking in front of them.

"It's Marissa." She snapped, but then turned sweetly to Troy. "Hey Troy!"

Troy just nodded with a fake smile.

"Whatever." Chad muttered under his breath. "Troy here, was just saying how he didn't get a chance to dance with you at the last party."

If looks could kill then Chad would have been dead by the looks of his best friend.

"Really?" Her green eyes brightened. "That could be arranged," she said as she started pulling Troy to dance floor.

"You're dead." Troy called over his shoulder.

"Love you too, man." Chad waved off his friend and smirked.

An hour later, Troy had finally escaped from Marissa and any other girl that refused to be turned away. The frigid December air at nipped at his chiseled facial features as he stepped out of the music filled house an on to the front porch. He rubbed his hands together and blew a warm breath on to them. Lying in the fallen snow was the brunette that had previously caught his eye. Her angelic face pointed up to the sky with closed eyes and her arms spread out as if she was making a snow angel.

A tinge of worry entered his mind as the thought of the unidentified person being passed out in the snow. Slowly, Troy approached the lone figure and squatted down beside her. He pressed two fingers against the exposed skin on her neck and stumbled back as the brunette's eyes shot open.

She sat up quickly and brushed of the flakes of snow that clung to her. "Is there a particular reason that you're checking my pulse?" Her chocolate brown eyes flashed with annoyance.

Troy was slightly startled by the attitude that didn't seem to match her sweet appearance. "Excuse me for wanting to making sure you weren't passed out." He shot back at her.

Her eyes softened with the realization of her mistake. "I-I'm sorry. S-sometimes I just speak and th-things just turn out bitchy."

"It's alright, " Troy replied and smiled at how cute she sounded. "I'm Tr-"

"Troy Bolton." she finished for him. "I know who you are. You've still got those amazing blue eyes."

Troy gaped at the woman in front of him. "Uhmm…Yeah, that's me." He regained his composure and sat up. " I'm sorry, but do I know you?"

"I would hope that you know me. I mean, we did have two little girls together." A giggle escaped from her lips.

"What?!?" His blue eyes grew to the size of saucers.

"Seventh Grade. Mrs. Brown's Science class."

The gears in Troy's mind finally clicked. "Gabriella? Gabriella Montez?"

"Jeez, Troy. Don't act too shocked." She said sarcastically. "Besides, I haven't changed that much."

"Sure, you didn't and I am now the King of England." He retaliated with his own sarcasm. "You may think haven't changed, but you have. What happened to that really short girl with mile long curls?"

"Hey!" She smacked him in the chest. "I wasn't that short, you were just really tall. As for the hair, it's called a haircut, something you should look into."

Troy watched as she pushed the strands of hair that had fallen into his face aside before standing up. His blue eyes watched as Gabriella took a seat on the steps of the front porch. He followed her lead and took note that even with her heels, he was a head taller than her.

He smiled. "Haha..very funny. But seriously, you look different."

"Uhmm..Thanks, I guess." She looked at him oddly as she crossed her arms.

"No! It's a good different. You look great." Troy noticed her shiver in her white top that had been slightly dampened by the snow. "Take this," he shrugged off his leather jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

Gabriella thanked him and properly slid on his jacket. Subconsciously, she took in the smell of his cologne that was embedded into his jacket. "So, what's East High's basketball star doing out here alone?" A look of surprise crossed Troy's face. "I've been filled in on what I've missed."

Troy nodded, "I just needed a breath. What are you doing here?"

"Here lying in the snow? Or here in Albuquerque?"

"Both."

"For starters, I missed the snow." She said simply. "And I'm here in Albuquerque because my dad was being an idiot and my mom asked if I wanted to move back here."

Troy remembered that Gabriella's parents were divorced and she moved all the way to Florida with her father. "So you're here for good then?" He smiled.

Behind the pair, the door busted open and drunken Chad stumbled out. "Look! Look! Look! It's a - It's a-"

Troy and Gabriella stood up and looked up at the direction of Chad's finger. "It's a missile!"

"You mean mistletoe?" Gabriella corrected him.

"Y-Yeah! That it!" he slurred then stumbled forward and into Troy's arms.

"Chad, I think it's time for you to go home. "

"NO!" Chad screeched, shaking his wild locks crazily.

"Wow. Chad's afro has really grown." Gabriella petted Chad's hair, much like she would a dog's.

"It's name is Archie." Chad pointed towards his afro.

Troy and Gabriella broke out into laughter. "Yeah, man. It's definitely time to go. Chad, start walking."

Chad followed orders, but didn't leave without pointing out the mistletoe once again.

"Chad's really…..interesting."

Troy nodded in agreement. "That he is. You know, it's Christmas tradition to kiss under a mistletoe."

"Well, we wouldn't want to mess with tradition. "

Troy grinned down and bent down. The two met in a chaste kiss, neither one not wanting to pull away. The sound of a car alarm going off made them jump apart. They turned to see Chad leaning against a car with the headlights blinking uncontrollably.

"You should probably get him home." She whispered to Troy as she shrugged off his jacket and handed it to the blue eyed boy.

"Yeah, I guess I should." Troy agreed but made no effort of moving.

"Before you go, can I borrow your phone? I think my friend has mine and I want to see where she is." Troy happily obliged and reached into his pocket to retrieve his phone. She dialed in a number and held the phone to her ear. Taylor Swift's Love Story began to play and Gabriella reached into her back pocket. "Whoops! I guess I'll have to find her the old fashion way." She snapped Troy's phone shut and handed it back to him. "I'll see you around, Troy." She leaned up and kissed Troy on the cheek before turning around.

Troy smiled as he watch her slip back into the house. He definitely liked the new Gabriella. Troy walked over to Chad and turned of the alarm on his car. "C'mon man, get in and please don't puke in my car." Troy helped his drunken friend into the car. He then made his way to the other side of the car and powered up the engine. He felt his phone vibrate and pulled it out to see he had a text message from an unknown number.

u nvr paid child support 4 our kids. =P
Merry Christmas!

A smile stretched on his face, knowing exactly who the message came from.

"Troy, I think I'm go-"

Troy turned to see Chad holding a hand to his face. "Chad! Open the damn door before you throw up!" He looked back down at the text message and suddenly he remembered the kiss. Suddenly, he was sort of happy that a drunk Chad had stumbled out when he did. He pressed the reply button and wrote:

let me make it up to you

He cranked up the volume on his radio as he waited for her to reply. "Man, you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." he wiped the corner of his mouth and closed the door. "Just drive."

His phone vibrated again and he looked down and read her reply.

oh i'm countin' on u 2

Troy chuckled, "Yes, sir. By the way, thank for being drunk."

A/N: Hehehe…cheesy? Yeah, I know. I enjoyed writing it though, confidant Gabi is fun to write. =D Anywho, it's been awhile since I've written, but I'm off for winter break and I was inspired. By what? I really don't know. Lolz. Hope you enjoyed it. Anonymous reviews are welcomed and reviews equal you for reading!

Happy Holidays!!

Lots of Love,

Kae xoxo