Title: Tell Me You Love Me
Author: xx shadowdreamer
A/N: Hey guys! As you can see, I changed my name, but no worries. I'm still the same author. Hehe. I got the name from both Z&V's dogs, and they sound cool together! lol. I hope you guys like this. This was only written to clear my mind from writer's block. I'll post the chapters for my other stories soon! Enjoy!
Troy Bolton entered East High, searching for a familiar brown-haired beauty. He pushed through the crowd, slowly moving toward her locker. Once he spotted her, he went across the hallway, and leaned on the locker, watching her every move. He watched her as she got out her books and replaced them with other ones. He watched her swift movement, and the way her hair fell rested slightly on her shoulders.
"Hey Troy!" Chad said, as he came up to him with a basketball in his hands. He looked at Troy's eyes, and quickly looked at what he was staring at. He let out a small grin, and tapped Gabriella's shoulder.
"Hey Gabriella, how about we tease Troy a bit. Laugh, okay?" he said in Gabriella's ear. Gabriella did as she was told, and she watched Troy as his eyes narrowed at Chad. He knew they were joking, but he couldn't help but get so mad at Chad when he 'pretend' flirted with Gabriella, his girlfriend.
"Tell him I love him. Okay?" Gabriella said in Chad's ear, and Chad headed toward Troy, with a disgusted face on.
"She says that she… loves you." Chad said as he drew a heart when he said 'love'. Troy rolled his eyes, and smiled back at her, signaling that he meant the same. Gabriella walked off with Taylor to their next class as Troy and Chad just leaned on the locker.
"I don't get why you don't just go public with your relationship," Chad began. Troy looked at him annoyed, seeing as the have been over this conversation so many times.
"I told you already, my dad would freak if he found out, and so would the whole entire school, and then cheerleaders would hit her and who knows what would happen!" Troy reasoned. Chad rolled his eyes, sometimes he thought that his friend cared too much about Gabriella, but he had to let Troy handle it in his own way, or who knows what would happen either.
-----
Gabriella sat down in homeroom, listening to Ms. Darbus rant about 'thespians' and acting. Sighing, Gabriella looked at Troy who at the moment was fiddling with a pencil in his hand. Gabriella smiled, remembering their latest date. Remembering how Troy had taken her to the park, and how they tumbled down the hill together, with her landing on top of him.
Gabriella kept staring intently at her boyfriend, wanting so much for him to just hold her. "Oh look, Gabriella has a crush on Troy Bolton."
Gabriella turned her head, and looked at the cheerleaders who snickered quietly at Gabriella, the head cheerleader smiling at her own 'burn'. Choosing to ignore them, Gabriella looked down at her notebook, and started doodling, not allowing to give herself into the harsh comments.
"FYI, Miss Gabriella, Troy would never be interested in you. He doesn't go for the 'geeky' types of girls." The head cheerleader, Sam, continued, still not satisfied with how Gabriella reacted. Gabriella, slightly hurt by the comment, vowed not to let it get to her head. She knew Troy loved her, he had said so himself. She knew Troy was keeping their relationship a secret only for her good, but it hurt so much that she couldn't hold his hand from class to class. It hurt so much that she couldn't kiss him whenever he would pass by her locker with a wink, but she knew what would happen if the whole school knew, everything would be worse than what it already was. Gabriella looked over at Sam with narrow eyes.
"Oh, so are you saying he goes for stuck-up cheerleaders that drool over him constantly?" Gabriella retorted, still keeping her usual sweet tone in the comment. Sam shook her head.
"If I can recall, you were the one staring." Sam replied back. Gabriella laughed dryly.
"If I can recall, you were the one drooling. By the way, you've got some on the corner of your mouth. Would you like me to get a tissue?" Gabriella replied back, with the same amount of sarcasm dripped in her previous one. The cheerleader gasped, and Gabriella smiled to herself in satisfaction, returning back to her notebook, doodling some more.
She glanced up to look at Troy once more, and saw him staring back at her with a questioning look. She rolled her eyes over at Sam, who was still trying to wipe her mouth with a tissue, trying not to smear her lipstick. Troy chuckled quietly, and Gabriella smiled, as he turned back around, still fiddling with the pencil.
The bell finally rung after long minutes of waiting, and Gabriella collected her things. She placed her books in her book bag and headed for the door. She saw Troy try to push away the cheerleaders that had him surrounded, and it was no surprise Sam was one of them. Trying not to feel hurt, Gabriella headed towards the library to do her homework.
She set her bag on the floor and opened her English book reading the passage her teacher had assigned. She sighed, placing her head in her hand.
It wasn't long before Troy rushed into the library. He spotted Gabriella sitting with her book, just like always. Casually walking past the table she was using, he dropped a note on the table, causing her to immediately look up. He gave her a wink, and he watched as she grinned sheepishly.
Gabriella opened the note he had dropped, and smiled to herself.
Hey there beautiful, don't let those cheerleaders get you down. I'll always be yours, and only yours.
Love,
Your prince charming, Troy
Gabriella giggled to herself at the note, not even noticing Taylor had sat down across the table.
"Is it from Troy again?" Taylor asked, breaking Gabriella from her trance. Biting her bottom lip, Gabriella nodded as she blushed. She looked behind her, and saw him leaning on the far wall of the library watching her.
She mouthed an 'I love you' to him, and he grinned mouthing the same back.
"Wow, you guys are so cute. I still do not get why you guys are keeping it a secret." Taylor gushed, as Gabriella rolled her eyes, not furthering the conversation since they had been over that fact a billion times.
Sam entered the library, finding exactly what she was looking for. She saw Troy in the back, staring at something intently, or rather, someone. She followed his gaze to Gabriella who was reading a note in her hand. A smirk appeared on Sam's face, and she walked over to Gabriella.
"Oh look, Gabriella has a note." She said, and both Gabriella and Taylor's head snapped up. Sam attempted to grab the note, but only halfway succeeding. She ripped the note in half, only taking the part that said,
Hey there beautiful, don't let the cheerleaders get you down. I always be yours an
Sam laughed at it. "Oh, so she has a crush on Troy Bolton, and happens to be going out with some else. What a slut."
Sam crumpled the note up and threw it at Gabriella's English book. Gabriella stood up, almost ready to punch Sam in the face. Troy stepped closer to Gabriella and Sam, intervening between the two.
"Hey Sam, why don't we leave these two alone?" Troy said stepping closer to her face. He glanced back at Gabriella, whose face had turned pale at the sight. He took a deep breath, knowing what he was about to do would hurt his girlfriend, but it was the only way Sam would leave them for the period.
"Hey Troy," Sam said flirtatiously. "We should totally ditch these geeks."
Troy tried not to punch Sam in the face for insulting Gabriella, but he couldn't, at least, not then.
"Yeah, let's go somewhere else away from these," he started. He winced at his last word, "geeks."
From the corner of his eye, he saw Gabriella close her eyes, and bite her lip, trying so hard not to cry. He felt a pang of guilt through his veins as Sam took his hand in her own and placed his arm around her waist
"Oh god Gabriella," Taylor said as she gave her friend a hug. "He loves you, that's why he tried getting Sam away."
Gabriella nodded softly as Taylor broke the hug. Gabriella understood that what he did was purely out of love.
"I know Tay, I know." Gabriella said as she sat back down in the seat. "It just hurts sometimes, you know? It just hurts so much when he can't hold me and make me feel better."
Taylor nodded softly, trying to understand, but she knew she couldn't. She had never been in that predicament, and she really hoped she wouldn't be. She stared at her friend sympathetically, hoping that Troy would just try to understand what Gabriella was going through.
"Taylor, I'm going go ok? I just need to think." Gabriella suddenly said as she closed her book. Taylor nodded with a smile, and Gabriella left the library, going up to the roof spot.
As she walked through the cafeteria to get to her destination, she spotted Troy with Sam. She saw Troy try to push Sam away, rage evident in his eyes, but he could never hurt a girl. Once Sam gave up, she saw in the corner of her eye, Gabriella stand behind the stairs of the cafeteria, watching them. Troy's back was toward Sam, and Sam gripped his shoulders with s smirk, turning him around, she kissed him hard on the lips. Gabriella winced at the sight, tears urging to come out. She saw him push Sam away, yelling, "Get away from me!"
Gabriella watched Sam gasp, and turn around, storming out of the cafeteria. Gabriella raced up the stairs, not letting her tears fall until she got to the garden roof.
She opened the big doors, and stumbled into the garden falling to her knees at an instant. Her bag fell off her shoulder, as her shoulders shook from her uncontrollable sobbing, as her heart shattered into a million pieces. She felt daggers stab into every piece of her it, as the scene between the two replayed in her head.
Gabriella struggled to get on the bench, and once she did she pulled her knees close to her chest still sobbing. Gabriella tried to stop tears from forming in her eyes, but se had no such luck with it. It wasn't long before she heard the doors open, revealing Troy who only stared at Gabriella with wide eyes.
"Gabriella? Are you okay?" he asked softly, taking a seat next to her. Gabriella scooted closer to Troy, as he wrapped his arms around her small figure. Gabriella sobbed quietly into her hands.
"Troy, I don't think I can handle this anymore." Gabriella said softly after calming down. Troy looked over at her, and he felt her break away from him.
"What?" he asked confused at the words he just heard escape from her mouth. Gabriella tried to hold in the tears that she knew was going to escape.
"Troy, I'm sorry," she whispered softly, as another tea cascaded down her cheek.
"No," he said in disbelief. He strode over to where Gabriella was wrapping his arms around her body.
"Troy, please, don't make this harder for me," Gabriella said, pushing Troy away from her.
"You? Do you know how much you are hurting me right now?" Troy asked as he clutched his heart in pain. Gabriella looked up, and saw his face. His blue eyes no longer shined like they used to, and were dark shade of blue. Gabriella couldn't stand it.
"Troy, you've got every girl in this school head-over-heels for you…" Gabriella started. She bit her bottom lip, and continued. "Maybe it would be best if you found some one else that is better for you."
"Gabriella! You know you're the only one for me!" Troy yelled walking towards her, grabbing her hands in his. He guided her hand with his own, and placed it on his chest. "My heart beats for you."
Gabriella shook her head, stepping back. "You can't Troy! Okay? You just can't!"
"Why not?" he asked softly. Gabriella looked into his empty eyes, and hugged him one last time.
"Tell me you love me," Gabriella pleaded softly into his chest.
"I love you Gabriella." Troy responded. She broke away from him softly, tears now pouring down her eyes like rain.
"Then, you should understand the pain I feel when I see you with other girls. The pain I felt when I saw you with Sam," Gabriella said quietly, and saw Troy's face in shock.
"You saw that?" Troy asked her, and she replied with a nod.
"Yeah, but it doesn't matter right? We were never together as far as they're concerned." Gabriella said with a watery smile, trying to mask the pain in her heart.
"Well, at least now, we can finally tell them that we're not dating anyone." She said, grabbing her bag from the ground. Without one last look at Troy, Gabriella said, "Goodbye Troy. I love you. I love you so much, it hurts."
And with that, Gabriella exited the rooftop, and went down the stairs, making her way toward the bathroom.
-----
Troy hadn't seen Gabriella for two days, though he knew she was at school since Chad talked about Taylor constantly, and most of the time Gabriella had been involved. He figured she'd been clinging to her best-friend just like he had lately, well, ever since their nasty break-up anyway.
"Dude, you've been miserable these past 2 days. Why don't you just get back together with her already?" Chad asked his best-friend. Troy hadn't had any sleep for the past two days, his hair was a mess, and he wore only jeans and a jacket. Chad looked at his friend sympathetically.
"You need to make this better. Okay, tell me, honestly, do you love Gabriella?" Chad asked, sympathy and firmness embedded his voice. Troy hadn't heard Chad talk like this in a while. Chad had always been the goofy kind of guy, throwing jokes wherever he went.
Troy raised his eyebrows at his friend, and crossed his arms. "You've really have been hanging out with Taylor huh?"
Chad punched him on the arm, and threw a glare at Troy. "Yeah, but just answer the question!"
Troy knew he wouldn't be able to get out of this one. "Yeah, I do."
Chad chuckled dryly, and patted Troy's shoulder. "Then, choose. Either it's your rep, or her."
Troy sighed, and nodded. Troy looked at the book that lay dejectedly on his computer desk and he scanned over the pages, attempting to be able to think as Chad spun the orange ball on his finger.
"How long were you guys dating anyway?" Chad asked suddenly catching Troy's attention.
Troy dropped the pencil on his notebook, and replied, not really answering Chad's question, but more like informing himself of an idea.
"Almost 1 year. It's our anniversary… tomorrow."
-----
Gabriella doodled inside her notebook that lay down on her desk. She couldn't pay attention to her teacher, and she hadn't been for already three days, not since that break-up, which hadn't happened according to the school. She sighed as she tried to pay attention to the equations listed on the board in front of her, but she knew she couldn't. It was too hard.
The bell had finally rung, and she quickly grabbed her bags rushing to her locker. She opened it hurriedly, and the first thing she saw was a pink note that fell to her feet. She picked it opened it with confusion evident in her thoughts.
Happy Anniversary.
A smile appeared on her face, but it wasn't long before it disappeared again. She let her forehead bang onto the door of her locker, and groaned.
"Ugh." She said, noticing Taylor had appeared at her side.
"What happened now?" Taylor asked with a tone she had learned to take on when Gabriella had cried all night the day before, the tone she like to call 'annoyed'.
Gabriella kept her head on the locker, not looking up to see Taylor, but only handed her the note she had found. Taylor smiled at the paper, but it wasn't too big that Gabriella could've seen. She wiped it off right when Gabriella looked up with a frustrated face.
"Tay, we broke up! And he has the nerve to put that note in my locker?" Gabriella complained pointing towards the note that was still in Taylor's hand. "He's making it so much harder for me!"
Taylor sighed and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Then make it easier by getting back together with him."
"Oh my gosh! We've been over this Taylor. We can't be together. We just can't!" Gabriella proclaimed. Taylor shook her head.
"Whatever you say Gabriella, whatever you say."
-----
Troy dashed out of his chemistry class into the crowded halls of East High, searching for his brown, bushy haired friend.
"Hey Chad!" he called out when he saw him with his favorite ball by the water fountain.
Chad looked up, and saw Troy racing towards him. "Whoa. Slow down, dude."
"I can't. Tell Taylor to get Gabriella in the cafeteria now. Please." Troy begged, still panting from his previous run. He saw Chad nodded his head, and then ran off in the opposite way.
-----
"Taylor, I need to study." Gabriella pleaded as Taylor dragged her into the cafeteria.
"Oh, c'mon Gabs, you need to take a break! Even I do!" Taylor reasoned, as she pushed the doors open, and walked into the East High Cafeteria. Gabriella rolled her eyes, as Taylor approached their usual table, passing by Troy's usual table. She looked at it, and recognized everyone, except there was someone missing; Troy.
Gabriella wanted to know where he was, but she rejected the idea to ask Taylor because all she would get was an argument.
Gabriella plopped herself down on the seat next to Taylor, and sighed inwardly. It was going to be a long day for her. She heard the doors of the cafeteria open, and in walked Troy Bolton, looking as if he were searching for someone. His gazes looked around the cafeteria, and then his eyes landed on non other than Gabriella herself. Gabriella gulped when their eyes connected, and then quickly looking away.
"Hey guys!" Troy yelled, as he stood in the middle of the cafeteria, standing on his usual lunch tables.
"I have an announcement!" he exclaimed, catching the attention of the whole cafeteria. "I'd like to give a gift to someone very dear to me."
Gabriella looked up at an instant, hoping this was something for her, but quickly shook the idea off in her head, she thought it was probably for some cheerleader, considerably Sam.
She glanced over to Sam, whose grin couldn't have been wider. She glanced back to Troy who was looking at Sam, with an amused face.
"No, this is not for a cheerleader." He stated, and at that instant, Sam's face turned into a shocked one.
"This is for Gabriella Montez." He declared. He looked directly at her, their eyes locked. "Happy Anniversary."
He slowly walked over to her, and enveloped her in a hug before she could protest, but she did anyway. She shook her head, with tears in her eyes.
"No Troy. You can't do this." She whispered softly, attempting to run to the cafeteria exit, but Troy had caught her hand, pulling it wit enough force so that she turned, and her body landed on his.
"I love you Gabriella." He said in her ear. He cupped her cheek gently, and leaned in, kissing her passionately, and she responded within a second, not giving up the moment to show she loved him back. Gabriella, at that moment, swore she heard the cheerleaders screaming on top of the applause that followed the kiss, but she didn't care.
"I love you too." She whispered back when the broke apart. He lifted her hand up, and slid a golden ring onto it.
"Happy Anniversary." He said, before they leaned in and kissed once more, making up for the three days apart.