**I do not own HSM or any stores mentioned in this story.
"Have I mentioned lately how excited I am that Sasha's moving here?" Gabriella asked her boyfriend as they walked through the halls of East High School on Friday. They had just been dismissed from their British Literature class and were making their way to the lunchroom, where they would meet up with two-thirds of their circle of friends. All except for Sharpay, Chad, and Zeke had the same lunch period as Troy and Gabriella.
Troy laughed at his girlfriend's antics. "Not in the last-" he paused to playfully check his bare wrist, where a watch would typically sit- "twenty-five seconds," he teased.
"Stop!" she whined, smacking his chest. "I can't help that I'm excited!"
"I know, Babe," Troy said, as he pulled her closer to his side and placed a light kiss to the top of her head. "You and Sasha really are close, aren't you?" he asked.
"She's one of my best friends, next to our group here in Albuquerque. We grew up together in Amarillo. At least we did until after Dad died and Mom started working more. She had this tree house- very similar to yours, actually- and she and I would always sit up there and plan out our future. We were going to graduate high school together, go to college together, marry cousins, get pregnant the same time like our moms did so our kids would be the same age like we are, and live next door to each other so our kids could grow up together the way we did. And now, that dream is on the way to becoming a reality!"
"What's the age difference again?"
"She's older than me by 2 weeks exactly, to the day!" Gabriella told him, poking him in the chest with her finger on the last word.
"Hey, here's an idea. How 'bout keep that excitement inside this cute little package-" he moved his hand up and down beside her body "-till you're talking to Chad and not me?" he asked, rubbing his chest. "First you hit me, then you poke me. How are your legs working today?" he chuckled.
"Troy!" she chastised, before giving him an exaggerated evil glare, causing both of them to laugh as they entered the lunchroom and approached their usual table. As they were putting their backpacks down in their seats, Ryan greeted them.
"Hey, guys. Hey, Gabriella, when is your cousin getting in?"
"She and her parents- Uncle Nicolas and Aunt Sofia- are actually already in town; they got in last night. She'll start school Monday, though. She wanted to spend as much time as possible to get her room all set up and stuff."
"I saw the moving van yesterday when I got home from school," Jason informed the group, talking about the house next door to his family. He was pretty excited when Gabriella told him her cousin was moving in next door to him. "I hope she's cute" he told her. "Mom wanted me to go introduce myself and see if they needed help, but I had too much homework."
"I'm surprised you chose homework. You must not have seen Sasha, otherwise you would have chosen differently," Troy said.
"Why do you say that?" Jason asked.
"Show him the picture," Troy said to Gabriella. She turned to reach into her bag to pull out her phone and pulled up the most recent picture of her and Sasha that had been taken at Christmas.
"Ok, which one is you and which is your cousin?" Jason asked.
"Let me see," Martha said, leaning over Jason's shoulder to look at the picture.
"Oh, wow!" Ryan said. "It's the same person!" Everyone around the table laughed as the picture got passed around and everyone expressed their surprise at how identical the two cousins looked.
"How did you two-" Kelsi started, only to be interrupted by Ryan.
"-get to be almost twins?"
"If I remember the story correctly," Taylor started, "their dads are twins. And, what happened, Gabriella? Sasha's dad married your mom's sister?"
"Yeah, Uncle Nicolas and Aunt Sofia met in college, just like Mom and Dad did. The two sets of siblings went to the same two schools, Mom and Dad at one and Sasha's parents at another. Aunt Sophia's a year younger. They all knew that they were dating someone, but didn't know that they were dating their own brothers and sisters. Until Thanksgiving break, when they all went to each other's houses, Mom took Dad home and Uncle Nicolas took Aunt Sofia home. As Mom tells it, she was giving Dad the tour of the house and they went into Nonnie's sewing room- where she keeps all the family pictures. There was a picture of her and Aunt Sophia from the family vacation that summer and Dad picked it up to study- brought it closer to his face- and blurted out 'That's my brother's girlfriend!'"
"So all the parents are siblings. That is the craziest story! That's awesome!" Kelsi said.
"Now it makes sense how they look so much alike!" Martha said.
"Except for the eyes. I got Dad's brown eyes; Sasha got Aunt Sofia's green ones. She straightens her hair more often than I do, too. A lot of times when we take pictures together, she'll straighten hers, but that day," she pointed to the picture on her phone, "it was raining and we all know what my curly hair does on rainy days!"
"Jason, you're too quiet. What's going on?" Troy asked his friend and team mate. Jason's answer was simple, blunt, and to the point.
"She's hot."
After the laughter died down a little bit, Gabriella's eyes widened and she spoke up. "Wait! So um, if she and I look exactly alike and you think she's hot..." she said, allowing her voice to trail off.
Jason blushed at the insinuation. "Well, yeah," he stumbled over the words. "You're hot, too. I just know not to mess with you because Troy will kick my butt. I don't know anything about her yet, so I can call her hot until I know otherwise! Right?" He said the last word as a question, looking around the table for confirmation from his friends, only to receive napkins thrown in his face in response. "Hey!" he cried, as the table broke out into laughter once again.
HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM
After a few weeks, a majority of the group gathered at the mall. It was getting closer and closer to exam time at school and they all just needed to get away for awhile. Sasha tagged along with Gabriella. She had adjusted well to the academic life at East High, but was still struggling in the social area. Despite the fact that Gabriella had invited her to join her in various activities- basketball games, extracurricular activities, parties- Sasha had used the excuse of "still adjusting to classes and using my free time to try and familiarize myself with my teachers' expectations". Gabriella rolled her eyes at all these excuses- some of the same ones that she herself had used- and finally, literally dragged her cousin out of the house and to the mall.
"It's time I formally introduce you to my friends. They're all really excited to meet you," she had told her cousin. So reluctantly, Sasha agreed and allowed herself to be kidnapped by her best friend-cousin. On the way there, Gabriella's phone beeped with the incoming text alert.
"Hey, Sash, can you grab that for me please?" she asked, as she looked over her shoulder to change lanes. Sasha reached into her cousin's purse and found the phone, opening the text message and reading it out loud to Gabriella.
"It's from Troy. It says that 'We won't be at the mall today. Something came up. Chad says to please let Taylor know.'"
"Respond, please, and ask him what exactly came up, that Taylor won't accept that excuse and Chad knows that!"
"Chad is whipped, isn't he?" Sasha asked as she typed out Gabriella's requested response.
"He really is!" Gabriella answered as the two girls laughed. It wasn't a moment later that the response came through and Sasha opened the message and read once more.
"'Dad's on the basketball rampage. Need I say more?'" she read.
"Tell him 'no, no more needs to be said lol. I'll let Taylor know and I'll see you later. Let me know when your dad is done with you two. Love you!'." Sasha typed the message as Gabriella dictated, only to read out the 'I'll call you later and love you, too' response from Troy when it came in. Troy was the only one from the group so far that Sasha had met officially and she really liked him. She could tell that he treated her cousin right and that Gabriella was happy. To her, that's all that mattered.
The two parked and got out, walking into the mall. They quickly found the other members of their group and Gabriella made the appropriate introductions.
"Hey, guys! Sasha's been at school for two weeks. I guess it's time to finally make the formal introductions, huh?" She linked arms with Sasha as she made the introductions. "Sasha, this is Ryan, Sharpay, Zeke, Jason, Kelsi, Martha, and Taylor. Guys, this is my almost twin cousin Sasha."
Sasha however, missed the last three names as she mentally couldn't get past Jason. There was something about him that was just... striking. The two of them had a class together and she had noticed him looking at her almost every day. Not that she was complaining. She had been watching him, too. It wasn't until she heard a voice in front of her that she came out of her reverie.
"Sasha, it's so nice to finally meet you. We've heard so much about you!"
Sasha looked up and saw the only black female standing in front of her, holding her right hand out. Sasha took her hand and shook it, racking her brain to try and remember her name at the same time.
I've seen her in some of Gabriella's pictures. Oh, gosh! What is her name? Gabriella talks about her all the time. Is it Teisha? No, that's not right.
Finally, her eyes widened and she let out a sigh of relief as the name finally ran full force to the front of her mind. "You, too, Taylor. I've heard a lot about you, too. And guys, I'm so sorry. I've got so many names to remember. Please forgive me if I ask you again?"
Everyone agreed, knowing she had a point. As the rest of the group started talking amongst themselves, Jason tentatively approached the newest member.
"Hey, Sasha. I'm Jason," he said, sticking his hand out for her to shake.
"Jason, yeah... you're the one that keeps staring at me in Government class, right?"
Jason felt a slight blush at being called out on his secret, but it didn't last long as something dawned on him. "Well, yeah, but you stare at me in Calculus," he told her.
"Busted," she said with a blush of her own.
Jason shrugged it off. "Don't worry about it," he told her. "You really do look just like Gabriella." He looked up at Zeke as she smiled and turned away and mouthed the word "HOT" to him, earning himself a punch in the left shoulder from Zeke.
"Down boy," Zeke told him as he moved to stand beside Sharpay and wrapped his arms around her.
After the initial ten or so minutes of discussing what they were going to do with their time at the mall, Sasha finally spoke up.
"Well, I don't know about the rest of you guys, but it's-" she paused to check her phone- "12:30 and I'm starved. Food court first?"
"Absolutely! I'm hungry, too," Jason said.
"Jason, you're always hungry," Zeke teased.
"Well, I'm hungry, too, but I want to find Chad's birthday present before I stop and relax. That's the main reason I came here and want to cross that off my list first thing and since he and Troy aren't here..." Taylor announced.
"Ok, so we split up," Martha suggested. "Taylor, you and Gabriella go find something for the guys, and the rest of us will go get something to eat? You two can meet us there when you're done?"
"Sounds good to me," everyone agreed.
"But I don't want to leave Sasha," Gabriella pointed out.
"You go, Gabriella," Sasha told her. "Something tells me I'll be okay," she said, sharing a look with Jason that didn't go un-noticed by him, and Jason gave Sasha a flirtatious grin in response that didn't go un-noticed by Gabriella.
"Oh-kay," Gabriella said, sharing a knowing look with her cousin and raising her eyebrows encouragingly. "We'll meet up with you guys in about half an hour," she said. She and Taylor watched as the rest of the group walked off in the direction of the food court and she noticed as Sasha and Jason started walking a little closer to each other.
"Did you see that?" Taylor asked her with a smile on her face, pointing in the direction of the boy and girl who had quickly drifted to the back of the pack.
"I did!" Gabriella answered, feeling giddy.
"What do you think of that?"
"I think they'll be good for each other. Jason's a great guy."
The two started walking in the direction of American Eagle where there was a wallet that Taylor wanted to get for Chad to replace the one he had... the same on he's had since middle school. On their way, the duo passed a familiar looking woman on the other side of the walkway.
"Mrs. Bolton!" Taylor called out. The three ladies met in the middle.
"Hey, girls. How are you two doing?" Lucille greeted her son's girlfriend and her "other son's" girlfriend with hugs.
"We're good," Gabriella told her. "We're actually here with the rest of the group just hanging out, taking a break from studying for a couple of hours."
"Minus Troy and Chad," the older woman said knowingly.
"Yes, ma'am," Gabriella agreed. "Extra weekend basketball practices are pretty much the only time Taylor and I can hang out, just the two of us!" she joked, causing her boyfriend's mom to roll her eyes.
"Jack and his practices... I swear, he's going to kill the love those boys have for the game. If he hasn't already, that is. He's going to wear that game out for the two of them. They're not going to want to play in college!"
"Yeah, I don't think that'll happen for Chad," Taylor said, shaking her head.
"Or Troy," Gabriella agreed.
"Well, just the same..." Lucille told them. "Listen girls, I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got an appointment to show a house later this afternoon and I've got two or three more stops while I'm here. I'd better get going."
"Okay. Good luck with the house," Taylor told her.
"Thank you, Taylor. Gabriella, are you coming by this evening?"
"I'm not sure. It depends on how my studying is going. Plus, I know that with this practice Coach is putting Chad and Troy through, he's not getting any of his studying done today, either. I may just wait till tomorrow after church."
"Sounds good. I'll pass that message along," Lucille told her with a hug. The three parted ways- Lucille walking in the direction of Bath and Body Works and Taylor and Gabriella continuing on their way to American Eagle.
HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM
Taylor and Gabriella finished with their mission, having found the wallet from American Eagle and a jersey of Chad's favorite player from the NBA at Champs Sports, and made their way back to the food court to meet up with the rest of the group. When they approached the area of the mall where it opened up revealing the vast area of fast food restaurants, they quickly spotted their group and Gabriella instantly found Jason's arms wrapped around Sasha's waist from behind.
"Wow. That happened quickly," Gabriella remarked.
"Oh, my," Taylor said. The two friends shared an amused look as they walked up to the table.
"Hey, you two!" Sharpay greeted them. "Taylor, did you find something for Chad?"
"I sure did and now I'm starved. Who's buying my lunch today?" she joked.
"Ha ha," Zeke joked, as he popped a piece of his chicken into Sharpay's mouth.
"We'll be right back," Taylor told the group.
"Actually, I need to go to the bathroom. I'll get my food in a minute," Gabriella announced.
"Hang on, I'll come, too," Kelsi told her. The two walked away from the table, leaving Sharpay and Zeke, Martha, Ryan, Taylor, and Jason and Sasha.
The group continued with their joking antics and didn't say anything when Jason led Sasha to a table off by themselves. The group had noticed the growing connection the two seemed to share and just let them be, anxious to see where this Saturday afternoon outing would lead for the two.
Jason pulled out a chair for Sasha and sat in the seat across from hers after he pushed her chair back in. The two continued the 'get-to-know-you' conversation that they started that morning and couldn't help the attraction that grew. Little did the two new friends know that they were being watched... by the mother of one of Jason's best friends.
Lucille had made her way through Bath and Body Works, The Limited, and was heading to Vitamin World to get more protein for her two men, when the thought of a smoothie made her mouth water. Orange Julius was calling out to her from the food court so she quickly changed directions. That's where she spotted something from about twenty yards away that made her stop in her tracks.
As much as she wanted to turn her eyes and walk away, she just couldn't bring her feet to work. She stood frozen in place, watching her son's friend, Jason, and a girl who she could have sworn was her son's girlfriend interacting with each other. That was no big deal to her- she knew that Gabriella had become very well liked within her son's circle of friends, so seeing Gabriella spending time alone with one of them wasn't unusual. But these specific interactions between the two and the look of bliss on Jason's face, however, was unusual.
Troy's mother stood there watching for a few minutes; her curiosity was getting the better of her. Then, when she watched the two teenagers lean across the table and share a tentative, kiss, she was practically seething. She twisted her jaw to try and control her anger and counted to ten before she turned on her heel and stormed off in the direction of Vitamin World, her smoothie long forgotten. In her haste to leave the scene, Lucille missed seeing Gabriella and Kelsi returning to the table to join the rest of the group that had also escaped Lucille's vision.
Lucille tried to push the scene out of her mind and made her final purchase before leaving Cottonwood Mall. On her drive back home, as hard as she tried not to, she couldn't help but replay the scene over and over in her mind, making herself more and more upset at the young lady that she had come to love as if she was a member of the Bolton family.
"How dare she?" she said to the empty car. "As much as Troy adores her, she goes and does this to him? I wonder how long she's been cheating on him like that? And with Jason, none the less!"
By the time Lucille got home, the three guys had finished their intense practice session and were inside, gathered in the kitchen with ESPN on the television set in the living room.
"Do you three ever give sports a rest?" she asked, without so much as a hello to announce her presence.
Her tone didn't get past Chad. "Um, Mama B.? Are you okay?" he nervously asked.
"I'm fine, Chad. I'm fine," she snapped.
"Um, Mom? You're kinda... mean... right now," Troy gently spoke up, knowing that 'gentle' was the only tone that could be used on his mom when she was in this mood.
"I'm sorry, Honey," she said, as she walked across the island to stand in front of Troy. She reached up to wrap her arms around her son's neck and pulled him down to hold him in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry. I love you."
"Um, I love you, too, Mom, but um... I'm sorry. I'm kinda confused here." He shared a look with Chad and his father, who shrugged their shoulders in return.
"It'll be okay, alright? I'm here for you," Lucille told him as she pulled away, gently rubbing her thumb across his cheek. It was the same motion she would do when he was younger and something bothered him, and it was freaking him out slightly at that moment.
"Um, okay. Thanks. Hey, Chad, wanna help me in my room?"
"Yeah, Hoops. What are we doing?"
"I don't know, but I'm sure we can find something!" Troy told him, grabbing Chad's arm and pulling him away from the kitchen and in the direction of his room.
When the two boys were gone, Jack turned to his wife. "Okay, what was that all about?" he asked.
"Jack, if you had seen what I saw…" she told him as she shook her head and covered her mouth with her hand in near disgust.
"So..." he began, truly baffled by his wife's attitude. "Did you have a good trip to the mall?" he asked, trying to hide his confusion.
"Jack, this isn't funny!" she scolded.
"I didn't say it was!" he defended himself. "I'm just as confused as the boys, Luce! What happened?"
Lucille walked to the edge of the kitchen where she could see Troy's closed bedroom door She took a second to listen and- pleased with the loud music she heard coming from the other side of the door- then came back to stand in front of her husband and began to tell him the story of what she saw.
"...And then he leaned in and kissed her! Right there in the mall!"
"Jason? And Gabriella?" Jack asked with raised eyebrows.
"Yes! Jack, I'm telling you, it was her!" She walked to the refrigerator and took out a water, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip in hopes of softening her mood. Jack could swear he heard his wife mumble the phrase "...that little tramp..." under her breath, but he wouldn't swear to it. He just shook his head and rolled his eyes at her antics.
"Are you done?" Jack asked, amused.
"And what's worse," she continued, ignoring Jack's question, "is that I had just seen her with Taylor! Where was Taylor and why didn't she try to stop it?"
Jack looked at his wife and raised his eyebrows. He knew that she wasn't done. He was just waiting on it all to hit the fan.
"What do you think?" she asked, catching his attention once more.
"What do I think about what?"
"What do you think about Gabriella and Jason? Should I tell Troy? Should I let her know that I saw them and give her a chance to tell him? I swear, if that little... Ugh!"
Jack brought his hands up to his face and looked up to the ceiling, gave a mumbled "Oh, geez", and released a short breath of laughter, which was probably not a good idea.
"What's so funny?" Lucille snapped.
"I'm not laughing, Luce!" he defended himself, bringing his arms out to his sides. "I'm just standing here taking all this in. I've never seen you like this before!"
"Well, get used to it! Mama Bear is most certainly not going to just sit here and do nothing! I'm telling you, Jack, Gabriella and Jason were ... their lips were... If I ever see her and Troy like that in public, I just might... Why would either of them... I'm going to kill them both!"
Jack watched as his wife started pacing throughout the kitchen, waving her water bottle wildly in the air and using gestures bigger than she ever does on a normal basis. As serious as she was, he was just flat out entertained. But he also knew that letting her know that was not a good idea.
"Look, Honey, why don't you just not say anything yet? Give it a week and see what happens, okay?"
"But Jack-"
"Luce," he began, as he came to stand in front of her and place his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look at him, "this is Gabriella you're talking about... shy girl, brilliant student... so infatuated with your son that she just stares at him when we all have dinner together... We are talking about the same Gabriella, aren't we?"
"But you didn't see what I saw, Jack!" Lucille said, stomping her foot in frustration, reminding Jack of their son when he was five.
"Let it go, Sweetheart. How many times have you told me to trust Troy and Gabriella? Hmmm?" He raised an eyebrow, hoping that one motion would help drive his point home.
"That's different, Jack," she told him as she crossed her arms in front of her.
The husband and wife duo stood in the middle of their kitchen- hoping that half of the topic of their current conversation stayed tucked away in his room- in a stare off, until finally Lucille relented.
"Fine. I'll give it some time. But I'm keeping an eye on them! Teenage boys aren't the only ones with raging hormones you know! And the attention that Gabriella has gained since she got here-"
"Is not going to make her cheat on Troy," Jack said seriously, hoping that was the final argument he would have to give in this discussion.
"Whatever," Lucille mumbled under her breath with a deep, heavy sigh as she picked her water bottle up off the counter where she had set it during her rampage and walked out of the room, causing Jack to let out a quiet sigh of relief.
HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM
As much as she tried to let it go, Lucille just couldn't. Jack hoped that the small portion of their son's normal phone conversation they overheard later that evening after dinner would convince her. But as he held her in his arms as they sat cuddled on the couch in front of the television, he felt her body tense. That was a telltale sign to him that it didn't. He knew without a doubt that she was still bothered by what she saw at that mall. When she released a heavy sigh and pushed herself up from the couch announcing that she was going to bed, he decided to start making his rounds through the downstairs locking the doors. He also used th opportunity to stick his head in his son's room.
"Hey, Son. Studying hard?" he asked.
"Yeah, I am. It seems like I've got my hardest exams on Monday. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not."
"Get them out of the way first," Jack suggested.
"Yeah, but at the same time, my weekend's kinda shot," Troy pointed out.
"Oh, the troubles that teens go through..." Jack said with fake sympathy, ducking when Troy threw his stuffed Wildcat at him. "Is this the one that Gabriella gave you?" Jack asked as he leaned down to pick it up off the floor. He already knew the answer; he just needed a lead in to his next topic. He moved further into the room and sat down on Troy's bed.
"Yeah, this past summer when I made the All State team," Troy reminded him.
"That's right. I remember now." The two Bolton men sat in silence for a moment while Troy searched through his textbook looking for something, wrote a quick notation in his notebook, and then looked back up at his dad.
"Sorry. I wanted to find that before I forgot about it," he explained.
"That's okay. I'm glad to see that you're more serious about school since Gabriella's been in your life."
"Yeah, she's kind of been an influence, hasn't she?"
"For the better," Jack joked. "Hey, speaking of Gabriella... I overheard you talking to her earlier after dinner. Why didn't she come by this evening?" he asked, carefully listening for any clues that he could report back to his wife.
"She said that since Chad and I had that extra practice this afternoon," he started, emphasizing the last half of that statement, giving a pointed look to his father, "she knew that I didn't get much studying done while she was at the mall with everyone else. So she- as she put it- is 'grounding me for twenty-four hours'. She'll come by tomorrow," he explained.
"Did the gang have a good time today?" he asked, pushing for more answers.
"Apparently Jason did," Troy said with a grin.
Okay, that grin... that certainly doesn't help fill in any blanks, Jack thought.
"What does that mean?"
"I'm not sure actually. She didn't say much about that. Just that I'd have to ask Jason for details."
It's odd that she'd mention that to Troy. Especially if it involves her... Jack thought. He made a mental note to let Lucille know about this.
"Your mom ran into her this afternoon. She and Taylor were looking for Chad's birthday present."
"She told me she saw Mom." Troy picked up a cup off his desk, took a sip, and set it back down. "Anyway... Thanks for the few minutes of a break, Dad, but I should probably get back to Julius Caesar."
"I always hated that play."
"Yeah, well it's not my favorite, either. Probably why I'm having such a hard time with it."
"Do me a favor before you pass out," Jack started, as he stood from the bed and placed a hand on Troy's shoulder, giving it a squeeze, "and double check the locks, lights, and alarm, will you?"
"Sure thing. Night, Dad."
"Good night, Son."
Jack shut the bedroom door behind him and made his way upstairs. When he entered the master bedroom, he found Lucille standing in the bathroom washing her face. He walked towards her and leaned against the door frame.
"Go ahead. Admit it," Jack told her.
"Admit what?" she asked as she applied her toner to her face with a cotton ball.
"That I'm right," Jack told her with a smirk.
"I won't admit that until I absolutely have to," she told him, catching his eye in the mirror.
"It's hard to admit that I'm right, isn't it?" The sparkle in his eyes told her that he may know something he wasn't not sharing, which just frustrated her more. She shot him another look in the mirror as she rubbed her moisturizer into her skin.
"You're not right!" she told him through gritted teeth.
Her reaction caused Jack to laugh. He knew he was treading on thin ice, teasing her like this, but he just couldn't resist and gave it one more shot. "Is this what it feels like to be right? I've never been in this position before. I need a moment to soak it all in."
She glared at him and hit him in the chest as she passed by and made her way to the bed. Jack chuckled and entered the walk in closet to change his clothes and then walked to the sink so he could brush his teeth. When he climbed into the king size bed, he scooted over to the middle and wrapped his arms around his wife. He gave her a moment to get comfortable before speaking.
"I talked to Troy before coming upstairs."
"Oh, yeah?" Lucille's ears perked up as she had the feeling that she was about to get some more pieces to the puzzle. "What about?"
"Nothing really. Just a few minutes to catch up with my son."
"And see if he would give any information?"
"Maybe..." he teased.
"Oh, for goodness sake, Jack Bolton! Will you stop with the teasing and just tell me?" she exclaimed amidst Jack's laughter.
"Okay, okay. He didn't say anything too out of the ordinary. He said that apparently Jason had a good time at the mall today, but that he didn't know any details. Gabriella didn't tell him anything about Jason. Apparently she told him that he'd have to ask Jason about that."
"Of course she did..." Lucille mumbled.
"She did tell him that she saw you. Um... she told him that he's grounded for twenty-four hours since he didn't get any studying done this afternoon. All in all, it sounded pretty normal, Luce. I don't think anything's going on like you assume it is."
"Like I know it is," she corrected.
"Honey?"
"What?"
"Get some sleep. Okay?" Jack requested. "She'll be here tomorrow afternoon. We can spy on them and then deny it later like we always do."
After a few moments of silence, Lucille spoke again. "Did you set the alarm?"
"I did. I told Troy to double check everything before he goes to bed."
After another silent moment, Lucille sighed and threw back the covers, climbed out of bed, and slipped on her slippers.
"Where are you going?" Jack asked.
"To double check the locks and alarms. Troy won't do it and I'm going to be paranoid all night long." Jack watched as she walked out of the bedroom, rolled over, and quickly fell asleep.
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It was Sunday afternoon. The sun was shining outside, the birds were chirping in the sky, the air smelled of the upcoming Spring, and a certain young couple sat on the edge of the tree house in the Bolton's backyard, completely lost in each other. While they were enjoying each other's company for the first time all weekend, the motherly eye was upon them. Lucille stood in the breakfast area, watching them out the window. She watched as Troy tickled Gabriella in her sides and she giggled. She watched as Gabriella reached up and brushed Troy's hair from his eyes. She watched as Troy stood up and disappeared to the interior of the tree house, only to return seconds later with a can of Dr. Pepper in his hands. She watched as he popped the can open and took a sip, handed the can to Gabriella, and then she, too, took a sip. Lucille shook her head as the scene play out in her back yard.
"Why are they confusing me even more?" she spoke out loud. "How can she do that to him? He has no clue..." Finally, after watching them for several minutes, she saw something that she thought would clue her in to what she needed to know. "Finally!" She watched Gabriella wrap her arms around Troy's neck and lean in.
"See? Didn't I tell you?" Lucille jumped noticeably when the voice behind her startled her.
"She wouldn't be kissing Troy like that if there was some other guy - Jason or anybody. I'm tellin' you Luce, what you saw wasn't what you think you saw!" Jack said, as he leaned against the counter.
"How long have you been standing there?" she asked.
"Almost as long as you have. I've actually quite enjoyed watching you." Jack crossed the room and stopped when he was standing right in front of her. He reached out and pulled on her crossed arms until they hung by her sides. Lucille rolled her eyes and turned to look out the window again, as did Jack. As the two parents noticed the teenagers totally wrapped up in each other, Jack shook his head and turned away. He couldn't speak for Lucille, but it was always uncomfortable for him to witness the closeness of his eighteen year old son and his girlfriend.
"You know what?" Lucille announced. "I'm going out there. It's time I ask her about it."
"Lucille..." Jack tried to stop her as she reached out to grab the door knob, but was too late. He moved to stand in the spot previously occupied by his wife and watched the scene unfold before him.
Troy and Gabriella quickly pulled apart when they heard the door open. The young couple swiftly wipped their lips and Troy picked up the Dr. Pepper and took a sip as he spotted his mother out of the corner of his eyes. She was leaning over her flower bed, giving the impression that she was pulling weeds, but Troy knew better.
"Uh-oh..." he said, as he brought the can to his lips.
"What?" Gabriella asked.
"Mom's got her eyes on us already," he told her as he nodded in the direction of his mom's flowers. "I'll take the heat, don't worry."
Gabriella blushed and suddenly felt almost scared as she noticed Lucille's stiff stance. She was standing with her arms crossed and unsmiling, and was giving Gabriella an odd look.
"Hey Mama," Troy greeted her. "What's up?" Upon hearing her son's voice, Lucille shifted her vision to her son.
"Hi, Luce- Mrs. Bolton. Sorry we didn't come through the house," Gabriella told her, causing Lucille to fix her mouth in a straight line.
"We didn't get to talk much this weekend, so we just wanted to-" Troy said.
"I noticed," Lucille interrupted, trying to not be so short, but failing miserably. "No need to explain. Gabriella, can we talk for a minute?" she requested.
"Um, yes ma'am," Gabriella answered hesitantly. "I'll be right there." She gave Troy a nervous look. "What's that about?" she asked him. He shrugged his shoulders and rubbed a hand reassuringly down her back as she stood and wipped the back of her jeans. "I'll be right back... I hope."
Troy watched as Gabriella made her way down the ladder, ready to help if needed. Once she was safely on the ground, he turned his gaze to his mom. He couldn't help but notice that she hadn't changed her stance- she was still standing with her arms crossed over her chest and her mouth in a straight line. Troy had seen her like this many times. He knew from experience that wasn't a good sign and was suddenly a little bit worried for Gabriella. He watched as the two started talking in hushed tones. When his mom turned and opened the French doors behind her and walked in, Gabriella turned and looked at Troy and shrugged her shoulders before she followed Lucille inside the house. Troy reached behind him and picked up the Dr. Pepper and both of their phones and stood up, making his way down the ladder to the ground, too. When he got to the French doors, he looked through the window and found his mom and Gabriella standing in the breakfast area talking and his dad standing in the kitchen, leaning on the island. Neither of the women knew Jack was listening. If they did, their facial expressions didn't acknowledge his presence.
"Gabriella, Sweetheart," Lucille started. "There's something I want to talk to you about."
"Um, okay," Gabriella said nervously.
"Yesterday at the mall, I saw something that kind of made me a little... well, upset, I guess. And I was hoping you could help me clear it up."
Gabriella looked at her with wide eyes. She racked her brain trying to figure out what happened at the mall that Lucille could have seen.
"I'm sorry, Lu- Mrs. Bolton. I um- I don't- I'm- I'm um..."
From his position in the middle of the room, Jack rolled his eyes. "Oh, for crying out loud, Luce. Just tell the poor girl what's going on!" he said as he stood up straight and came to stand near the two ladies. Lucille looked over her shoulder at him and rolled her eyes.
"Will you go away and let me talk to Gabriella?"
"Nope. I'm staying here."
"Fine. Then keep your mouth shut!" she instructed. Jack pulled his fingers across his lips, symbolizing closing a zipper and signaled for her to continue. "Now, Gabriella, yesterday at the mall, after I left you and Taylor, I made a couple more stops then I got thirsty, so I made my way to the food court."
"Okay..." Gabriella said, still baffled but trying to follow Lucille as she told her story.
"When I got to the food court, I noticed one table in particular where I saw a young lady and young man talking and then they leaned over the table and started kissing."
Lucille paused and watched Gabriella's face carefully. The younger of the two ladies narrowed her eyes in confusion, so Lucille continued in a softer voice, knowing this next part would probably make Gabriella uncomfortable.
"Sweetheart, it was you and Jason that I saw." When Gabriella's eyes widened in shock, Lucille continued. "If you and Jason like each other, Honey, that's okay. You're young. You're entitled to change your mind and go through boyfriends. But what confuses me is how you can be dragging Troy along during this whole 'find yourself' adventure that you're on." Lucille got so involved in what she was saying that she failed to notice how Gabriella's eyes only grew wider as she spoke. She also didn't notice Gabriella fidgeting nervously in her seat.
Jack however, did.
"Gabriella, I tried to tell her she was nuts. I tried to get her to keep her mouth shut and her nose out of your business-" he started, but Gabriella interrupted him.
"Mrs. Bolton, I have a pretty good idea I know what you saw, and I can promise you that it wasn't me! I would never do anything to hurt Troy! I promise you!"
"You promise?" Lucille asked, receiving a fervent head nod from Gabriella in response. "At the risk of being blunt-"
"It's a little too late for that, don't you think, Luce?" Jack asked. Lucille ignored his question and continued.
"-at the risk of being blunt, if you know what I saw, how can I trust this promise of yours?"
"Because I love Troy. The last thing I want to do is hurt him," Gabriella told her softly, still a little timid over the thought of truly being in love, coupled with the bombshell that Lucille had just dropped on her.
Lucille sat up straight in her seat and Gabriella swore that she saw the slightest hint of a smile. The lady who sent her heart rate speeding visibly relaxed. "You're in love with Troy?" Lucille asked.
The sound of coughing caused the two ladies to look at Jack, standing a few feet away. He was holding a hand over his mouth, coughing to cover up the words "Told you to let it go...". Gabriella gave her boyfriend's dad a small grin and Lucille rolled her eyes at her husband's antics.
"Well, two things, Gabreilla," she started again.
"Yes, ma'am?" Gabriella asked, her nerves back, although not as intense as before.
"First of all, I do apologize for doubting you. If I had known that you and Troy were-" she paused and released a dreamy sigh, shaking her head. "I knew the two of you had grown closer- especially after everything that happened at Lava Springs- but if I had known it was love," she started again with a smile "I would have thought twice."
"Mrs. Bol-" Gabriella stopped when she saw Lucille hold up a hand.
"What have I told you?" Lucille said, causing Gabriella to smile.
"Lucille," she started again, causing Lucille to smile encouragingly, "I think I know what you did see."
"Well, good, because that was going to be my question number two."
Gabriella started reaching into her pocket to retrieve her phone, but found it empty. "If I can just find my phone..."
"Here it is," a fourth voice spoke up. The threesome in the kitchen turned to see Troy standing next to Gabriella, holding out her phone. "Looking for this?" he asked, as he leaned down to give her a kiss to her lips before turning to face his mom. "Did that appease you, Mom?" He gave Lucille a smirk, causing her to roll her eyes at her son.
"Oh, Troy! How much did you hear?"
"Enough to know that there's a case of mistaken identity. Gabriella needs to show you a picture off her phone."
"So Lucille? Coach? You know my cousin that I've been talking about? Sasha, the one who's exactly two weeks older than me, who just moved to Albuquerque with her parents?" she asked, as she scrolled through the pictures on her phone until she found the one she was looking for. She glanced up to see both of them nodding at her. "Well, let me show you a picture of her." She found the picture she was looking for and handed her phone to Lucille as she bit her bottom lip.
"Oh my word. Now that's just freaky," Lucille said out loud as she handed the phone to her husband.
"Which one is she?" Jack asked, causing everyone in the room to laugh.
Gabriella explained the story about the sibling parents and her twin-cousin. "The only difference is that she has green eyes and I have brown. That and the chins. She does straighten her hair a little more often than I do, but yesterday before we went to the mall," she paused to look in Lucille's direction "I kind of rushed her in getting ready, so she didn't have time. We both went curly yesterday. Hence the confusion, I guess."
"Sweetheart," Lucille began as she stood and moved to stand behind Gabriella, wrapping her arms around her in a hug "again, I'm so sorry. I should have known better than to assume that you would do something like that. I guess that old saying is true."
"What old saying, Luce?" Jack questioned.
"That things aren't always what they seem," she said, reaching a hand up to stroke Gabriella's hair. The foursome in the kitchen laughed before Jack spoke up.
"So just to be clear, Jason has a new girlfriend?"
"Seems that way," Troy answered, sharing a look with his girlfriend and giving her a wink.
He waited until his parents left them alone again, then wrapped his arms around Gabriella to pick up where they had left off in the tree house. "And, for the record," Troy smirked and brushed her hair out of her face so he could look into her brown eyes, "Jason's girlfriend and my girlfriend may look exactly alike, but my girlfriends way hotter than his!"