Just Ask: HSM Two-Shot; Gabriella's POV

"Jealousy isn't a very good look on you, G," Taylor says, frowning as she looks at me in concern, "What's up? It can't be possible for you to have feeling for him already- please tell me you're not jealous."

"I'm not jealous," I reply, tearing my gaze away from Troy and What's-her-face, "I just feel bad for him, honestly. She hasn't stopped talking to him ever since lunch began and- look, do you see that smile? That's totally his fake smile. If anything, he's-"

"And suddenly you two are so close that you know what his fake smile looks like?" Taylor asks.

I groan, "Tay, we weren't exactly the best of friends before I started tutoring him. I used to be the receiver of those fake smiles- it's just afterwards. Now that I know him, well, now that I think I know him, I can say, with conviction, that that's totally a fake smile."

"I guess," Taylor mumbles, shrugging, "But all I know is that I am one of your best friends, and that- your look right there? Definitely jealousy."

"Huh," The word comes out involuntarily, almost like a reflex, and it came at such a weird time that it almost sounds like a hiccup. I bite my lip, shaking my head as I finally looked away from the two, "I don't think so."

"Why are you even this jealous anyway? Didn't you know this would happen? You passed over tutoring Troy to Juliet because-"

"Because I hate him."

"G,"

"Because I strongly dislike him."

"Gabriella."

"Fine," I sigh, shrugging, "I don't not like him anymore, okay? I don't strongly dislike him anymore and I gave the tutorship over to Juliet because I thought she was my friend and that she knew how I felt about him because my crush has gotten so bad that I legit became such a klutz around him and-" I sneak a peek at Juliet and Troy, sighing as my stomach drops, "Never mind, it's stupid."

"Manners of the heart are never stupid," Taylor replies kindly, "And truth be told, I love having these heart-to-hearts with you but I think that next time, we shouldn't talk somewhere where someone else might hear. Or actually, anywhere but the cafeteria," She looks around, "Where is Sharpay anyway?"

"She said that she would be late today- she and Ryan are auditioning for the spring musical and," I look at my watch, "Singles auditions should be over by now. Do you wanna go? We could watch them perform and-"

"Gabriella."

And, true to my awkward nature, I strike the most unnatural pose ever as I turn around to face Troy.

"Actually, uh, sorry," I grab my tray and stand, almost causing my unopened milk carton to tip over and spill, "Can't talk right now- I, uh, have to go to the auditorium to, uh, support Sharpay and, uh, can I get a raincheck on this conversation-"

"Juliet came up to me today," He starts.

Yes, Troy, I know she did.

"And," He continues, "She says the weirdest thing. Granted, it was her last sentence- that girl does not shut up ever, and she kind of ran away after and, you're not tutoring me anymore?"

"I really have to go now, Troy," I protest, not wanting to delve deep into the subject, "Sharpay-"

"Can wait," Troy cuts me off, "I mean, uh, what's going on here? I thought we were getting along fine and I'm sure that Juliet will be a great tutor but," He trails off, letting the sentence hang limply in the air, creating this awkward tension that somehow oddly made me think of a pregnant llama standing in an upright position.

"But?" I ask, setting my tray back down.

"But I want you," He replies quietly, cheeks turning a light shade of pink as he says the words.

I bite my lip, because no, heart, I command you to stop beating wildly and oh-my-gosh, cheeks, don't you dare... And I'm blushing. Wonderful.

"I-" I exhale, "Sharpay's waiting and-"

He steps back, nodding in defeat, "Right. I guess I'll, uh, see you later?"

"Later," I nod, "Yeah. Definitely. See you later, Troy."

"So please tell me that Taylor was just joking when she told me that you stopped tutoring Troy Bolton," Sharpay says, giving me a look.

Ryan looks up from his stack of papers, "Troy? Gabriella, didn't you like him? I thought you liked him- no, I specifically heard you talking with Shar and Tay that one night and you said that his eyes were the bluest-"

"Dude!" I shriek, throwing a wad of paper right to his chest, "I thought you said you didn't hear anything?"

Sharpay rolls her eyes, giving me a look that almost made it seem as if she were scolding me, "But seriously, what's up, G?" Sharpay asks, "Why'd you do it?"

"Because I can't," I shrug, "If I keep tutoring him, I'll get even more of these stupid feelings and then what happens afterwards? He can't possibly like me, of all people. So I decided to stop all kinds of interaction. Figured that if I stopped these feelings prematurely, then they'll go away completely."

"No offense, Gabriella, but that's really stupid," Sharpay replies, shaking her head, "And it really sucks that you ended things 'prematurely' because you two were great together."

I shake my head, "Good, maybe," I shrug, "Not great. I don't think so."

Sharpay rolls her eyes, "I really can't believe you right now."

"I think you should talk to him," Kelsi pipes up, "You said he tried talking to you- maybe he wants to work things out? Maybe you're not the only one who developed feelings? You did come to school that one time wearing his jacket."

My eyes widen, and this time, I throw another crumpled up paper in Kelsi's direction. She laughs through my embarrassment.

"That doesn't mean anything," I shrug, "Guys give girls their jackets all the time. It doesn't mean that something's changed in the feelings department."

"What about that one time you two were hanging out and then he introduced you to his friends?"

"As his tutor," I say, "And then we spent the rest of the day learning about factoring polynomials and synthetic division. Not exactly the most romantic-"

"But he introduced you to his friends- Ry, help me out here. Doesn't that mean something in the male mind?" Kelsi taps Ryan's shoulder.

"His friends knew me before-"

"No, no," Ryan shakes his head, "I think Kelsi's onto something. I'd never introduce someone new to this group unless they were important."

"Really?" I deadpan, "Last week you came up to us with this random guy, yelled 'HE PLAYS A GIANT VIOLIN!' and then we never saw him again."

"He's my lab partner and for your information, he has a name."

I raise an eyebrow.

Ryan looks away, "That I can't believe I forgot."

I laugh, "See, Kels? It doesn't matter. He just did it because they happened to be in the same place at the same we were there. Complete coincidence."

"Speaking of coincidences..." Sharpay coughs discreetly.

"Can I take that raincheck now?" Troy asks.

I turn around, standing to face him, my posture unnaturally stiff. I turn around to glare at Ryan when he snickers.

I smile, "What's up, Troy?"

"Can we talk?"

"We are talking, silly." Oh my gosh. Can I get any stupider?

Troy's eyebrows furrow in confusion, "I, uh, meant. Can we talk alone?"

"Oh, uh," I bite my lip, nodding eventually, "Sure. Have you got a homework question? I can have Juliet- oh look, there she is now. JULIET!" Juliet walks over to Troy and I, "She can answer your question."

And then I run away as fast as I possibly can, grabbing all of my papers from atop the table and stuffing them in my backpack before waving goodbye to Ryan, Sharpay, and Kelsi.

Sharpay sighs, placing a hand on her forehead as she shakes her head, Kelsi waves goodbye back sadly, and Ryan is hitting his head on the table repeatedly.

I roll my eyes. Gosh, my friends are weird.

I barely make it inside the building when Troy pulls me back by grabbing my arm and slings me over his shoulder like it's no big deal.

I grasp, hitting his back, "Oi! You jerk! I am wearing a dress and probably flashing everyone right now. Let me go!"

"No," He replies, and his voice vibrates throughout his body, "You won't talk to me any other way."

"And you think kidnapping me is the way to go?" I ask, "Clearly you need some tutoring in life skills as well because- oh my gosh, you just went through a restricted section! Troy, where are we going?"

"Somewhere," He shoots back, "Now can you please stop squirming? You're making it hard to carry you."

"Troy, just please set me down. The hallways may be unnaturally empty now, but in a couple of minutes-"

"Why are you avoiding me?" He asks, finally setting me down.

I smooth the wrinkles out of my dress and look at him as if he'd grown a second head, "Uh, what are you talking about? I haven't been avoiding you."

"You bailed when I tried talking to you at lunch and you just bailed on me now by calling Juliet," He says, "So what's up?"

"Troy, you can't base a hypothesis on only two variables. You should just wait and see if I avoid you again and then if that happens, you can talk to me. But I know myself, Troy," I say, "I don't think I was avoiding you."

"Gabriella, it's been a week since I tried talking to you in the cafeteria and it's been three days since Juliet started tutoring me."

"Okay, good for her. I don't really understand why you're telling me-"

"No," He sighs, "What I'm trying to say is that I asked to switch tutors again, but there was nobody else available but you, so you're tutoring me again now."

I groan, "Troy, what did you do to Juliet?"

"Me?" His voice goes up like an octave higher and he shakes his head vigorously, "I didn't do anything to her! See, last night, I went over to the cafe where we-"

"Wait, why is she tutoring you at the cafe?" I ask, "You told me to come over to your house on the first day I started tutoring-"

"That's because I trust you-"

"And you don't trust Juliet?" I ask, "Are you judging a book by its cover? Because, I'm just saying," I cough, "Life Skills."

"Gabriella," He says, looking me in the eyes, "Would you please just let me talk?"

I sigh, "Fine. But hurry, everyone might be coming soon."

"Okay, so I went over to the cafe last night with all of my things and she was there already except she looked... Different? I don't know. So I went in and asked her about a math problem and she didn't even answer, so I just, you know, I felt awkward and tried solving it myself," He takes a deep breath, "And then, out of nowhere, she just comes onto me and gosh, I've never felt so violated in my whole-"

"You're lying," I cut him off.

He shakes his head, "I really wish I were. But I'm not. You can even ask Zeke if you want to- he was in the booth right next to Juliet and I-"

"No," I shake my head, "You're lying because-"

"Gabriella, look," He holds up his arm, and there's a tiny bruise right on the middle of his arm- somewhere between his hands and his elbow, "I hit the edge of the table with my arm because I was so surprised and-"

"No, you're lying because Juliet is my friend and she would never do that because she knows why I gave the tutorship over to her, she knows how I feel about you and that's not what a-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Troy says, "How do you feel about me?"

"What?" I ask, shaking out of my rant.

"You said that Juliet never would've come onto me because she knew how you felt about me," He's grinning now, practically radiating sunshine and rainbows, "How do you feel about me, Gabriella?"

I freeze, blinking as I struggled to find the words to say. And then I sigh, deciding to go to the defensive, "What are you talking about, Troy? I never said such words before in my life and I can't believe you have the audacity-"

"Oh my gosh!" He laughs, "You're speaking posh! You only ever do that when you're in an awkward situation or when you're hiding something-"

"Shut up, Troy!" I hit his shoulder, "Please shut up."

"You like me," He sings, grinning as he says so.

I roll my eyes, "Shut up."

"You like me!" He grins.

I slap my forehead, "Oh my gosh, Troy. Louder, please. I don't think China heard."

He smiles.

"Well, I've got to get going now, so if you don't mind, you can just text me when you're available for tutoring and-"

"Tonight, my house. Is six good for you?"

"What about the cafe?" I ask, knowing that I won't be able to maintain my sanity if I stayed in an enclosed space with nobody else but him, "Aren't you worried that, I don't know, that I'll come onto you or something?"

The stupid grin never leaves his face, "I know you well enough to know that you would never do that. Besides," He leans in closer as if he's about to tell me a secret, "If you want to kiss me, all you have to do is ask."

I take a step backwards, pushing him away, "Shut up, Troy. I'll see you at six. At least have some of your homework done, okay?"

"Okay," He nods, saluting me, "See you later, Gabriella."

"Hey, G? Why aren't you at Troy's? Aren't you supposed to be tutoring him?" Sharpay asks, "It's like 6:15."

"Oh, yeah," I say, looking up from the stack of homework on my desk, "I decided that I'm not going."

"What?! Why?"

"Because I am a huge fan of ignoring the problem until it eventually goes away," I shrug, "Because Troy thinks I like him and he keeps teasing me about it?"

"How does he- why does he think you like him?"

"Because it kind of slipped out when I was ranting- you know how I get when I start ranting," I shrug, "I sort of forgot where I was and I got verbal diarrhea and it was just gross. Bits of word poop just slipping out."

"That's the most disgusting analogy ever, G," Sharpay shakes her head, "But seriously- you've got to talk to him. Or, at least, tell him you won't be able to make it. I'm pretty sure he's waiting for you."

"Ugh, fine," I grab my things and place them inside my backpack, standing up as I dusted off my sweats, "I'll go."

"Wait, Gabriella," Sharpay holds a hand up, "You're going in that?"

I look at my appearance in the mirror. I'm wearing a red Wildcats shirt and grey sweat-pants. I look at Sharpay, "It's not like I'm going to the red carpet or anything."

"But-" She sighs, "Ugh, fine. Whatever. Do you need a ride?"

I shake my head, "Nah, I can walk. Besides, I need to think of what I'll say when I get there."

She nods, "You'll be fine, G. When the time comes, you'll know what to say."

"Thanks."

"Hey," I say stepping inside his room awkwardly, "Hard at work, I see. What problem are you on?"

He jumps up from his position on the chair and sits up straight, diverting his attention from his homework, "Oh, is it six already? How long have you been standing out there?"

I shake my head, "Uh, no. I just got here now. Sorry I'm late."

"It's fine, I didn't even notice," He says. Then he looks around and pats the seat next to his, "Here, I got a chair for you so we don't have to work on the floor again." He grins.

I smile, sitting down on the chair, "Thanks." Then I look over his work, "Dude, you're overthinking the question." I grab a blank sheet of paper from my bag and draw a unit circle, "This is Quadrant One. If this is the y-axis, and this is the x-axis, then that must mean-"

"That both x and y are positive," He finishes.

"Right," I nod, smiling as I looked down at my work, "Sometimes it's easier to work things out visually."

He looks at me intently, a playful sparkle in his eyes, "So about these feelings-"

"And question two is the same," I deliberately ignore him, choosing to pay an even closer attention to his homework- unknowingly shortening the distance between the two of us, "What are the values of x and y in Quadrant Three?"

"Gabriella."

"Wrong," I reply, biting my lip as I looked at him- only to find that he wasn't even looking at the homework. He was looking at me. I sigh, "Honestly, Troy, you've got to actually pay attention to learn something-"

"How long have you had these feelings?"

"What, my nonexistent ones?" I ask.

He squints, leaning in close to me, "I don't believe you."

I roll my eyes, the sarcastic words spilling out of my mouth before I could even have a chance to think, "Wow, Troy, if I didn't know better, I might think that these feelings are reciprocated." I tease, poking his arm, "If you wanna kiss me all you have to do is ask."

He turns my chair so that our knees our touching, and he twirls a strand of my hair around his finger, "Alright then," He looks at me intently, "Can I kiss you?"

I freeze, replaying the words over and over in my head because there is no way that Troy Bolton said those specific string of words to me. I frown, shaking my head, "No."

And then he smiles and nods, turning so he's facing his homework once again. He speaks, "In Quadrant Three, both x and y are negative."

Wait, that's it?

"Yup," He nods, giving me a smile, "That's the answer."

Did I just say that out loud?

"Yup," Troy nods again. Then he nudges me with his shoulder, "Hey, Gabriella, are you okay? If I didn't know better, I'd think you were dazed."

"What?" I go into the defensive, my voice going up, "No! I'm not dazed. You're dazed!"

He laughs, "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Oh, shut up," I elbow him, "Gosh, Troy. I'm trying to do my homework here."

"Alright, alright," He holds his hands up in surrender, laughing, "Fine, I'll stop. For now."

I groan, writing the next math formula down with a little more pressure, resisting the urge to smack Troy when he lets out a laugh.

"So you're telling me," Sharpay paces, fingers massaging her temples as she walks back and forth, "That Troy Bolton- Troy Bolton, star basketball player- asks to kiss you and you say no?"

"Yeah," I shrug, leaning back on my chair, slumping down, "That's exactly what I'm telling you."

"Why?" She turns to me, shaking her head as she gives me a look that makes it seem like she just gave up on everything, "Why would you do that? Why would you say no?"

"Because it's weird? Because he probably doesn't feel the same way? Because maybe it was all just a joke in the end and I didn't want to be humiliated?" I reply.

"No offense, G," Taylor says, "But I agree with Sharpay. You should've kissed him."

"Oh my gosh-" I groan, "Why?"

"Because he feels the same way, you dolt!" Sharpay looks around for something, smiles when she sees a pool noodle, and then proceeds to whack me with it, "Why can't you see that?"

I wince, giving her a look, "This friendship is so painful."

"I thought you liked him," She says.

"I do," I shrug.

"So why aren't you doing anything about it?"

"Because..." I bite my lip, "Because I don't want to be hurt."

Taylor stands in front of me, "Okay, Gabriella. Look me in the eye and say with conviction that you think Troy Bolton will ever do anything to hurt you... Knowingly."

I bite my lip. Then I sigh, "Ugh, fine," I stand up, "I'll tell him."

"Wait. Right now?" Sharpay asks.

I nod, "No time like the present, yeah? He should be in... What time is it?" I grab my phone from my pocket, "Ah, basketball practice should end in a couple of minutes. Do you guys want to come with?"

Sharpay and Taylor stayed in the front while I went inside to look for Troy. Unfortunately, after my second time running up and down the many stairs at East High, my fast pace transforms into something somewhat reminiscent of a snail's speed.

Chad is the first person I see as I'm heaving up the stairs.

"Oh, God, Gabriella," He groans, staring at me in shock, "Don't do that! I thought there was an intruder here or something! What are you doing going up these stairs? You look like you just ran a marathon!"

"Troy," I say, out of breath, "Do you know where he is?"

"At the showers," Chad replies, "Practice ran late and- wait, why are you looking for him?"

"I need to tell him something."

Chad gives me a look, "And it can't wait till tomorrow?"

"I'd prefer to say it today, thanks," I shrug, "Feel like if I waited until tomorrow then I won't have nearly as much courage as I do now."

"Oh," He looks at me, impressed, "You're gonna tell him you like him?"

"Did you say anything to him? Wait, how do you even know?!"

"Taylor said," Chad shrugs, "Don't worry, though. I didn't tell."

"Thanks," I say gratefully, "And, uh, remind me to kill Taylor later!"

I don't even wait for a reply because I'm too busy running up the stairs. When I arrive at Troy's locker, I'm there just in time to see him about to turn the corner- one that was way too far.

"TROY!" I yell. There is no way in hell that I am going to run any more steps for him, "TROY BOLTON!"

He freezes and turns around slowly, holding his hands up in the air, looking genuinely frightened. Then, when he notices that it was me, his face breaks out into a smile, "What's up, Gabriella?"

I walk up to him and put my hand up, "Uh, hold up," I say as I place a hand on my hip, trying to calm my breathing.

He looks amused, "So, not to be rude or anything, but, uh, what are you doing here?"

"I need to tell you something," I wheeze, "But can you wait for a second? I gotta just calm my breathing."

"Nope, yeah," He nods, smiling, "Just take your time."

I bite my lip and look up at him, frowning as I tried to think of a way for the words to come out. "Uh, remember those feelings I supposedly have for you?"

"Your nonexistent ones?" He jokes, smiling, "Yeah, I remember."

"Well the thing is," I purse my lips, unsure of how to word it, "I don't dislike you anymore."

"And I don't dislike you anymore as well," He replies, smiling, "Listen, are you free tonight?"

"You want me to tutor you on a Friday night?" I ask, giving him a look, "Don't you have anything better to do? A basketball team get-together or something?"

"Or something," He shrugs, "And no, I'm not asking for you to tutor me."

"Well clearly we need to work on some English," I reply, nudging his shoulder, "But hold on- I have to tell you something, remember?"

"Something about the nonexistent feelings, right," He nods, "So what about them?"

I bite my lip, "So, how would you feel if I, hypothetically speaking of course, uh… How would you feel if those nonexistent feelings became existent? Or… er, still speaking hypothetically, how would you react if I started having feelings?"

"Well I'd be happy," He replies, "It means you're not a robot. Robots are incapable of feelings, you know."

"No, that's not what I meant- what I meant is that, uh," I sigh, looking up at him awkwardly, "Wow, this is really awkward and hard to say. I don't even know what to do anymore and you're just standing there and what I'm trying to say is that I-"

I freeze, biting my lip. Troy looks at me with a small smile, urging me to go on.

"Yes, Gabriella?"

"That I, uh," I groan, "Ah, whatever. Actions speak louder than words, right?" And so I go up on my tiptoes, wrap my arms around his neck, and kiss him. Troy responds immediately, dropping the books in his hands and placing his hands on my waist. He backs us up so my back is against the wall, and his hands are massaging these wonderful circles on my waist and my hands getting lost in his hair and we're doing this in the middle of the school hallway and it's so scandalous that it makes me pull him even closer to me.

When we break apart, our foreheads are touching and we're both out of breath. "I'm sorry," I mumble, unable to stop smiling, "I didn't ask."

He grins, "I don't mind." And he leans down to kiss me again.