A Hostile Situation
Chapter 1: Escaping
Author's Note: Disclaimer: I don't in any way own HSM. I also do not own the song "You're Still There for Me" by VAnessa Hudgens. Okay, so this is the first chapter of my first fic so don't be too hard on me. Tell me what you think. I need criticism to improve but I don't need people trashing on my story because I worked hard on this. This chapter is just kind of a set up for the rest of the story so the plot won't really start until next chapter. Read on.
"Bobby, why'd we have to get up so early?" a burly man groaned, rubbing his slightly bloodshot eyes as he followed the man named Bobby down a deserted street. Being November, the sun was barely visible at 6.00 a.m. and the man speaking was quite obviously not happy at being woken so early. His hangover was killing him. He barely even remembered the previous night and felt the need to have Bobby clarify.
"Because you dick head," the man Bobby growled, tired himself, "We have to open the stupid shop on time; we can't get in trouble today. We can't blow this, yet."
"How much longer do we need to work at this shit hole?" another man, slighter than the first asked in a slightly higher voice. He too addressed Bobby, who seemed to be the leader of the group.
"Today's the last day you morons," Bobby answered exasperatedly, inserting the tiny silver key into the glass door of Central Perk, the local coffee shop. He rubbed his temples wearily, evidently also working off a hangover, "Did any of you listen to me at all last night?"
"Yeah, I just can't remember today. I was so wasted last night I'm surprised I'm not still barfing," a different man, this one a short red head said, somewhat cheerily. He seemed able to take hangovers better than his associates and was at any length, the most awake of the bunch. "Tell me again, exactly what we're doing today."
"Today we are finally carrying out what we've been working out for the past two weeks, the reason we broke you two out of prison," he nodded at two of the more menacing looking men, "and the reason we took these fucking jobs at this fucking coffee shop.
"Where are Lou and Joe?" the first man asked, he was tall with shaggy blonde hair and had deep brown eyes. If he was fifteen years younger and wasn't still half drunk, he may have been kind of cute. Alas, he was middle aged, smelly, and in fact, still half drunk.
"They're getting the van and the truck. I guess I'll need to remind you idiots which car you'll be in. Lou is gonna drive the truck and Richie, Steve, and Hal you'll ride with him," Bobby nodded to the smaller of the convicts, the blonde man, and the high voiced man. The three looked slightly dejected, as if they would be missing out on some fun event, while the redhead and the larger convict seemed strangely happy to be car pooling in the van. Something big was about to happen. Bobby, fumbling with the keys in his huge hands, and talking all this time finally opened the door to an empty, dark room. There was a fireplace in the corner, looking cold and morose as it sat, serving no purpose this chilly November morn. Soon enough though, it was filled with warm, crackling embers and sparks as the suspicious men opened and readied the shop for the coming day.
"One more question, Bobby," the red haired man stated, flipping on the light switch in the back of the kitchen.
"Shoot," Bobby muttered, turning the thermostat up five degrees.
"How many do we want?"
"Uh," Bobby said, thinking it over. "No more than ten, but more than five." He pressed the button, activating the small machine. The vents began to emit cold air into the room, not having warmed up yet. He turned, and smiling about something that in no way could possibly be good, said, "Make sure we get girls as well as guys." And with the redhead snickering behind him, Bobby briskly walked through the blue swinging door and greeted the first bleary-eyed customer of the early morning.
---Troy---
Troy trumped slowly down the stairs, pulling his favorite green shirt over his head as he went. Still yawning, he entered his spectacularly clean kitchen to find his mother cleaning some invisible patch of filth. On the stove cooked some eggs and bacon, the aroma making Troy's mouth water. He sat down at the mahogany table and began tying the laces of his Nike tennis shoes. "Smells good," he croaked, his voice low and tired.
Troy had had a late night, roaming around with Chad, finding absolutely nothing to do besides hanging out at the old playground. They'd made each other sick on the merry-go-round, spinning each other so fast that Chad had actually fallen off. Next, they had a contest on the swings, which, Troy was able to proudly say he'd won. Smashing his face into the ground wasn't an excuse for Chad's forfeit. Anyway, Chad won the slide races, mainly because he'd pushed Troy off the top. It had been a rough night and both boys were bruised, but not permanently harmed.
"Do you have enough time to eat honey?" Lucy Bolton asked, looking up from the invisible spot she was still vigorously scrubbing, "You're father spilled orange juice all over this morning."
"Yeah, I don't have to be there for another half hour." Troy answered, grabbing the milk from the refrigerator. He paused, looking warily around, "Is dad still here?"
"Yes, he's just upstairs getting dressed." Lucy answered nonchalantly, taking the eggs and bacon off the stove and putting it on a plate for Troy. "Don't forget about you have practice today, okay sweet heart? You're father is very excited."
"Oh yeah, I completely forgot," Troy responded, while wolfing down his bacon. "Thanks, he would have killed me, not to mention Chad and Zeke."
"You're welcome honey. Now I've got to get going and I won't be able to make it to your game so I guess I'll see you later tonight. Bye," she quickly pecked him on the cheek and flew out the door, leaving Troy in the empty, silent kitchen behind her.
Troy downed his orange juice and cleaned his plate. He looked to the clack. It read 10.03. Good. He still had plenty of time to get to the coffee shop. He walked upstairs trying to remember where he had thrown his wallet. As he stretched under the bed, his finger tips barely brushing the brown leather, he thought about the upcoming day. He would go meet his friends and later go to his basketball game. He also thought of taking Gabriella out to see a movie or something. Maybe he would double with Chad and Taylor. He smiled to himself, already looking forward to the night ahead. He finally grabbed his wallet and was heading downstairs when he stopped dead in his tracks. At the bottom of the stairs was his father, smiling maniacally, daring Troy to come closer. Troy backed up slowly, refusing to take his eyes off his father, looking for some warning sign of what was to come.
"Troy," His father sneered, "You didn't put away you're gym bag like I asked you to," Crap!So this would be Jack's excuse today. This would be his justification, his way to say that Troy deserved what he was about to do to him. Troy thought of his options. He could run away and endure worse later or he could face it. He tried to take the easy way out, wishing it would work, just once. He bolted into his room and flung open the window. He heard Jack screaming and knew he had only seconds. He was in the process of climbing out when he spotted his keys on his desk. Shit! Troy stupidly decided to try to get his keys. Obviously, Jack was able to reach him before he was able to exit via window. Troy was sorry for his decision to get his keys, now realizing he could have gotten the keys later or probably caught a ride with Kelsi, who lived only two blocks away. Both of these options would have been far better, yet Troy hadn't had the time to think of these.
Troy was thrown against his bedroom wall, landing sideways on his bed. He let out an involuntary yelp as his father sent a punch to his head and instinctively put his arms up. This seemed to just anger Jack more and Troy was now thrown helplessly to the ground, where he was a prime target for Jack's foot. Troy bit his lip and closed his eyes, bracing himself. It wasn't enough. The sharp kick into his back sent him howling as loudly as he had the first time a kick similar to this had been injected into his side. Through the brimming tears in his eyes, he saw Jack's loathing glare, the black coals of eyes burning into Troy royal blue ones. The look of absolute hate hurt almost as much as the continuous kicks being sent into him from all around.
"Stop screaming Troy!" Jack screamed, "You're so weak! When will you learn? You're as stupid as you are weak!" he sent another kick, this one into Troy's head. Despite Jack's comments, Troy screamed and clutched his head, rolling into a tight ball. Jack pulled his foot back, poised to send another forceful kick. At that moment, the phone rang and Jack stopped, wondering what he should do. He made up his mind as the phone rang for the second time and exited Troy's bedroom, growling "Don't move," as he slammed the door behind him. As if Troy would listen to him. The moment the door was closed, Troy sprang up and stealthily climbed out the window, keys in pocket.
Troy ran to his car and quietly opened the door, looking into the kitchen window to see if his father was still occupied. His father was still on the phone, sending glances at the ceiling and at the next door neighbor's home. Shit. Troy guessed that his neighbors had heard him again and took no hesitation in quickly driving away from his home.
He let the tears flow freely, hoping this would be the last time today he'd have to go through this. His wishes were in vain and he knew it. He had a basketball practice later and he knew Jack would find some moment to at least punch him. Ever since the trial, six days ago, his father was worse than ever, with good reason. Chad had told the police that Jack had committed "child abuse" and it got all the way to court. Troy refused to testify against Jack so the case was eventually dropped, but not before it reached the paper. There wasn't enough news so they had posted the trial on the front page and now the entire city knew all about it. Not that many actually thought good old Coach Bolton would do something like that, most came to the conclusion that Chad had been bored or looking for trouble and that he'd made the whole thing up.
Troy couldn't fully explain why he'd let his father off the hook, when he'd been so close to freedom, but he knew he couldn't do that to his father, his flesh and blood. Yet, not a moment went by that Troy didn't wish he could just escape entirely. Escape his father. His pain. His life.
---Chad---
Chad blinked as he opened his front door, revealing the bright light of winter. It was a beautiful morning and Chad yawned loudly, stretching his shoulders over his head. He dimly recalled the previous night. He and Troy had played on the old playground. He remembered falling off the merry-go-round and looked down to his shin to see the bruise. Next, they'd had a swing contest, which Chad won because he did the best face plant. Lastly, he'd won the slide race because Troy had mysteriously fallen off. Chad laughed at the memory.
At a slight noise, Chad became suddenly tense and alert. He looked around his empty, worn down neighborhood, at the figure at the end of his street. He knew just from the outline exactly who it was and he patted his back pocket for reassurance, yet at the same time, he hoped it wouldn't come to that. The figure drew nearer and Chad thought of his options: he could run like a coward or stay and face him. He chose option number two mainly because the figure was alone and was therefore, no longer a threat. The figure stopped about 5 feet away, and for a moment, he and Chad just stared.
"Danforth," he nodded towards Chad.
"Wilhelm," Chad returned coolly, refusing to break eye contact.
"You scared?" Rob Wilhelm sneered.
"Of what?" Chad asked, genuinely confused. Rob knew Chad could easily take him and usually win. Just then, two of Rob's cronies stepped out from behind the nearby tree, where Chad would never have noticed. Three against one, Chad still wasn't nervous.
"Numbers," Rob evil smile curled back slightly on his teeth as two more cronies appeared. Chad had to admit that rob had planned the art of this meeting very well. A little more nervous, Chad decided to try his favorite tactic in this situation: egging the opponent on until they are too thoroughly disheveled and using that opportunity to make a run for it. As you can tell, Chad had been in this situation many times before.
"Numbers?" Chad asked, playing dumb, "What numbers? The only numbers I can think of were from last night's game. Those numbers did scare me. I've never seen a game like that in my life. 77 to 28. That was probably the most drastic difference of scores in the history of basketball. I am ashamed to have defeated you so brutally."
"Shut up, Danforth," Rob muttered, turning red.
"Wow. Good come back. That hurt. But I don't think it could have hurt nearly as much as the pain of defeat last night." Chad responded, seeing he was successfully getting under Rob's skin.
"I said shut up!" Rob yelled.
"Ow! It hurts! How in the world do you come up with those? They are so clever," Chad chided, noticing the band of boys discreetly advancing upon him."
"You think you're so great," Rob scoffed.
"I am," Chad said in a 'duh' tone as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.
"You'd be nothing without Bolton; he scored, like, all of your points." Rob smirked, now steadily and obviously moving in for the attack. Chad knew he had little time.
"Who may I ask gives him the ball? Who is it that stole the ball from you every time you touched it?" He would have to run soon, he could see the fire in Rob's eyes as they advanced even further.
"What do you have to be so cocky about?" Rob asked, looking as if he were about to unleash some horrible monster on Chad. "Dad gone, poor family, stupid hair…"
"Now wait," Chad interrupted, "My hair is awesome and everyone knows it. You're just jealous that you couldn't pull it off as handsomely as I do. I know I am awesomely awesome but you need to get over you're man crush on me, I'm taken."
"By that geeky slut?"
"Fuck you. Taylor's is a kazillion times better than that hooker you've got," Chad knew this was it. He would have to make a break for it now. He turned to run but slammed into the biggest of Rob's gang, who quickly grabbed him and threw him to the ground. Shit! Six against one was not good. Chad paid dearly for his jabs at Rob as he usually did. Only when Mr. Gucci threatened to call the police did Rob and his "friends" leave him alone in the middle of the street, wishing there was just some way to escape his ultra crappy life.
---Gabriella---
Gabriella woke to the sound of "You're Still There for Me" blaring from her alarm clock/radio. She quickly rose, knowing she only had about half an hour till she had to meet her friends at their favorite hangout, Central Perk coffee shop. She pulled on a light blue shirt over a white, frilly camisole. She wore a pair of blue jeans and a pair of stylish snow boots, anticipating, another chilly day.
She entered her cozy little kitchen five minutes later and sat opposite her mother who had already fixed Gabriella's breakfast and who was looking very excited. "What's up mom?"
"Eat first and then I'll tell you," Maria gestured to the food on the table.
"Okay…" Gabriella said, wondering what was going on. A few minutes of suspending silence and Gabriella finished and again asked, "So what's up?"
"Okay, Gabi, I know you're birthday isn't for another ten days but, I knew you didn't have anything to read so I couldn't wait any longer, so here!" Maria Montez pulled out a very well wrapped rectangular gift and pushed it towards Gabriella.
"Thanks Mom," Gabriella said enthusiastically. When she saw what it was, she squealed with delight, "Oh my gosh! Little Women! I've been wanting to read this!"
"I know," Maria Montez beamed at the ecstatic look on her daughter's face. "I read it when I was your age and it's still one of my favorites."
"I'm going to start it when I get home. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I love you mom! I'm so excited I can't wait." Gabriella was almost shaking with delight.
"You're going to have to," Maria pointed out, "You're going to be late."
"Oh! Whoops. I guess I should get going. Thanks for breakfast. See you later. Thanks again!" and with that, Gabriella Montez was out the door, not knowing that she wouldn't be seeing her mother for a very very long time afterwards.
---Taylor---
"Thanks for giving me a ride Taylor," Sharpay said gratefully as the two girls drove away from the Evans manor.
"No problem. Where's Ryan?" Taylor inquired. Wondering why Sharpay's twin brother couldn't drive when he was going to the same place anyway.
"He didn't want to wait for me," Sharpay replied, "I told him to give me five more minutes for my makeup. He didn't answer and I saw his car drive away like, two minutes later. I guess he wanted to be alone with Kelsi." She ended her sentence with a hint of annoyance.
"What's wrong with that?" Taylor asked, genuinely surprised at Sharpay's bitterness towards Kelsi and Ryan's relationship.
"It's just," Sharpay thought, trying to pick out the right words, "It's kind of annoying. This sort of thing keeps happening and it leaves me on the outside, having to fend for myself. He never stops talking about her and he keeps ditching me like this for her. Like I said it's just kind of annoying."
"I can see that. But you have to admit it is cute," Taylor giggled, remembering how she'd been the one to set them up in the first place, "Maybe you should just talk to him about it or something, he isn't trying to be mean, he's just crazy in love," She giggled again.
"I guess," Sharpay sighed, knowing Taylor was right as always, "I like your top."
"Thanks," Taylor automatically looked down at her red and white striped shirt, "It's yours."
"Why you little bitch!" Sharpay joked, pinching Taylor on the arm, "You stole my shirt!"
"I didn't steal it," Taylor kidded, "I just took it from your room without your permission. What was I supposed to do? Just let it sit in your closet, unworn when it would look so much better on me?"
"Give it back," Sharpay playfully tugged on the sleeve.
"Yeah, let me just take it off right now," Taylor said sarcastically, rolling her eyes, "Don't worry, I'll give it back, after a few uses."
"You bitch," was all Sharpay could say, laughing and shaking her head.
"We're here," Taylor sang, pulling into the last open spot in the lot, "There's Gabriella and Zeke. Let's go. You'll get your shirt back later."
"I'm still not finished with you shirt thief," Sharpay muttered, following Taylor out of the car and towards Zeke and Gabi.
"Shirt thief, is that the best you can come up with?"
"Yes!" Sharpay said triumphantly, as if she had won a great battle. "Hey guys." And with that, the conversation was officially over in Sharpay's book.
"Where is everyone else?" Taylor asked looking around for the four missing members of their party.
"I don't know," Gabriella answered, "Zeke gave me a ride."
"Here we are!" Ryan said, striding over to them, hand in hand with Kelsi.
"Cool, but where are Chad and Troy?" Zeke wondered aloud.
"I don't know," Ryan answered, "But they should be here soon." The six teens waited outside the coffee shop, huddling together to keep warm, wondering what was causing their two friends to be so late.
---
So what did you think? It wasn't a very exciting first chapter but I had to build up a few of the characters lives a bit. I don't think all of the chapters will be quite this long, but I don't know yet. Cookies for anyone who guesses where I got the name of the coffe shop. Review please!