Hurt
Reading Opens the Mind
She was sick of it.
She was sick of those goddamn girls.
It was those girls who kept her up all night.
It was those girls who had her looking behind her back every few seconds.
It was those girls who made her sweat cold sweat.
It was true, she mostly ignored the comments they made.
"Hey, Montez," they would call, "what happened to your face?" She would look away and then they'd laugh and say, "Look, the little girl's scared!" Then they'd laugh some more.
The other day she dropped her books. One of them happened to drop by and kick most of them to the other end of the hallway.
He kind of stared at her at first, his mind slowly processing why she was on the floor picking up her things. Then the strong smell of heavy make-up filled his nose as a tall, stringy girl passed by and it sort of clicked. He almost dove to the floor to help her pick up her things. People passing by wondered, "Why is Troy Bolton on the floor?"
Of course, Troy Bolton was on the floor because he was picking an odd colored notebook and an AP European History text book. "Here you go," he said, handed her the books. Brown locked with blue as sparks flew inside of him. He gave a wary smile. "Actually, let me take those for you." She nervously handed him the books.
He took all of her AP text books with ease as he stole quick looks at her. She was beautiful. "So where's your next class?" he asked.
She weakly looked at him. So this was what he looked like up close. "Mrs. Barns," she said quietly.
"Alright, cool. I'm on my way there." He gave off a shining smile as they walked together to the Advanced English class. Well, he walked. She sort of followed behind, looking at her feet.
"What's your name?" he asked her. She kept her eyes focused on something else.
"Gabriella."
"I'm-"
"I know," she quickly interrupted. "You're Troy Bolton. Your face is on the North Wall."
"Oh," he blushed. "Right."
They arrived quietly at the classroom where Gabriella took her books back and Troy awkwardly said goodbye. She thanked him graciously then numbly walked into the waiting classroom.
She spent most of the next period ignoring the fact that even the teacher called her, "Montez" except for when taking role. Some girls snickered behind her as she put on her reading glasses to get ready to take notes on Shakespeare's Hamlet. She was quiet and reserved; there was no doubt about it. She rarely spoke to anyone. There were those few people that would acknowledge her existence and say hi but nothing else. At lunch she would sit alone and read.
It seemed like reading was something she did a lot. In fact, it was. Books were her friends as superficial as that sounds.
Page after page, word after word, she would go on, taking in the fantasies that the characters were experiencing. It was so surreal to her life.
Oh, for today… Troy Bolton actually talked to her. Was she reading again?
She was actually zoning out during English, gazing at the bleak, white paper almost forcefully. "Ms. Montez?" Mrs. Barns called. Gabriella's head shot up, locking eyes with the middle-aged scrawny teacher. "Is there a problem?" A few students did a poor job hiding their laughs in the back.
"No," Gabriella whispered and then continued to write.
More of those girls' voices came from the room. Gabriella heard it and was surprised that Mrs. Barns seemed immune to their voices.
"She's such a geek," they said. "Oh god, did you see that sweater she wore yesterday? Talk about low class." She subconsciously pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and started to concentrate on ways she could get out of this nightmare.
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Troy Bolton liked the girl he met today.
In fact, he liked her so much, that he was going to find her at lunch.
Ditching his fellow basketball drones wasn't that hard. He could've thrown the ball across a football field, yelled "Catch!", and then escape to the cafeteria.
At first, he couldn't find her. She was wearing a light pink blouse today with a flowery dress bottom to match it… Oh, god what was he talking about? It was a girl.
It was a girl with the most beautiful eyes that he'd every seen. Her name even seemed like it belonged to her. Her hair looked so smooth and shiny. To him, she was the reflection of perfectness.
His eyes kind of drifted to her. She was sitting outside, near the fountain reading a pretty big book. He immediately smiled and walked over to her.
It was a damp day. Gray was the color of the sky and gray was the color of the grass. Not only that, it was a cold February day in New Mexico. Her face seemed to lighten it up though.
"Hey," he said softly. Her eyes shot up at him, first surprised. He sat down next to her and she kind of relaxed.
"Hi," she said, matching the volume of his voice.
He then realized he hadn't figured out the rest of the plan yet. He had gotten to "Hey" which was as far as he planned on going but now…
"What's that you're reading?" he asked, trying to start up small talk. She delicately flipped the book so that he could read the cover. "A Midsummer Night's Dream... by Shakespeare."
His lips evolved into a smile and for a second, she thought he was going to laugh at her. Oh no, not him too, she thought. "That's awesome," he sighed. "I know I could never read something like that."
"I'm sure you could, Troy," she returned the smile. It was one of the first times she smiled at school.
"No… I'm failing English, you know." Colors dance in her eyes. A giggle escapes from her lips.
He froze for a second. Hearing that melody, that beautifully composed sound made his breath hitch. He felt like he had heard it before. Maybe it was when at church, maybe it was in his faraway dreams. It was an angel's calling; he knew that.
"I bet you're a lot smarter than you think you are," she said, still recovering from the light laugh. She was smiling widely now, enjoying the first time anyone, coincidentally a boy, talked to her for more than "hi" then "hi" then "bye".
"Maybe you can teach me sometime," he sighed. Did he just offer that? Of course he did. This girl's got him nuts.
"Maybe I can," she sighed, still looking him in the eye.
"Maybe you can come over after school today. I hear we have a lot of English."
"That we do. Maybe I will come."
He nervously stood up, running a hand through his hair. "Then maybe I'll see you later?"
"Maybe." She watched him go back into the cafeteria, with a huge smile on his face. Then she returned to her book, back into the land of fiction. Then thinking about it some more, she wondered if she was dreaming the entire time. Reading these old romance novels did these things to her. Just as she opened her book, a group of girls walked by.
"Loser," they muttered. Then she knew she was in reality.
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Maybe she got a hold of his address. Maybe she showed up at his front door at precisely four o'clock in the afternoon. Maybe he was expecting her.
"Gabriella," he said, in one long exhale. He couldn't believe she was at his house. Actually, he could believe it; he would feel pretty stupid if he had taken an extra long shower, put on his cleanest clothes, and tidied up his room all for nothing. Looking at the girl before him though, he knew that she wasn't at all what he had expected. He had seen her maybe once or twice around campus, hiding behind her books. He got a good look at her, her elegant features and flawless face just about killed him. Then her eyes and that luscious hair dragged off his body and buried it.
"Troy," she breathed back.
"Come in, come in," he beckoned. She weakly stepped into the house, still clutching the straps of her backpack.
"Thanks for inviting me."
"Thanks for coming." He quickly turned to the stairs. "I need help with interpreting Hamlet,,,"
"I'm here to help." She followed him up the stairs. The house was like the rest in Albuquerque. It was a plain, two-story house with all the bells and whistles.
When they got in his room, she marveled at the neatness. Truth be told, she had never actually been into a guy's room before. He motioned her to sit on the chair by the desk as he took a seat on the bed.
Her shy, reserved personality took over as her legs almost refused to sit down on that chair. His wonderful blue eyes, however, weakened her knees significantly and knocked her down to the chair anyway. "What now?" she said, her voice more quiet than ever.
He noticed this and gave a sympathetic smile. "My parents are out for the week. You don't need to whisper," he assured her. He pulled out a thick burgundy book and placed it on his lap. "Now to some studying."
Gabriella was surprised, really. She didn't expect them to actually study or do homework. Troy Bolton didn't seem like the "do homework" type. She opened her worn book and quietly took out a pen. "So what exactly do you need help on?" she asked.
He squinted at his book, knowing that he was just trying to buy time. He hadn't really figured the rest out. He picked a random literature question from the book. "Why does Prince Hamlet always wear dark clothes?"
"It reflects his inner depression," she immediately answered. She sunk more into her chair and clutched the book to her chest.
Troy took note of this; it was quiet noticeable that Gabriella was somewhat intimidated by him. Thoughts were always coursing through his mind. Why?
He carefully set the book down and leaned forward, elbows on his knees.
She took this as a sign of relief. She imitated his actions, placing the book firmly on her lap and breathing slowly.
"What do they do to you, Gabriella?" he asked with the most solemn voice anyone could have. There was no way that could've been faked.
Her eyes went wide, repeating his question in her mind.
His eyes bore a hole straight through her.
She opened her mouth but nothing came out.
He leaned back, not wanting to push her. "It's okay, you don't have to answer. I mean, I'm just ashamed I don't know." He closed his blue eyes allowing her to finally revert her eyes away from his.
She kept on staring at him as if he were one of the many masterpieces of literature she was always reading. His finely toned features were like Michelangelo's sculptures. His eyes were impenetrable. One day, she would be the one to share them with the world and write about how they shone in the dimly lit room or how beautiful they looked when he was talking softly. The wonders of Troy Bolton mesmerized her.
"I'm sorry, Gabriella," he finally said, his eyes still closed. He sighed and rubbed his temples. "I don't know what I'm doing."
"It's okay," she whispered. "I don't either." His eyes opened and she was caught in his trap again. He patted the spot on the bed next to him.
"Come on, I want to show you something," he said. Her body moved itself as she consciously took a seat. He reached under the bed and pulled out a brown, old book. He blew some of the dust off of it and opened it.
"'It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden'…" he read from the book. His eyes remained on the page as her eyes swept his face. "Do you know what this book is, Gabriella?"
"It's Romeo and Juliet," she whispered.
"I'm not failing English," he confessed, turning his head but then quickly regretted it as her eyes met his. He admired her beauty once again and he wondered if she noticed that he was breathing harder.
"I know," she whispered again.
In the blink of an eye, his lips were on hers. Without hesitation, she kissed back savoring his taste. So this was what a kiss felt like, she thought. Her hands traveled to the back of his neck, her thumb slowly running over his ear. It was just like another romance novel. It was just like fantasy.
He wanted the kiss so badly for the last couple of hours. A couple of hours. That was how long he knew her. He was in so deep. He felt her hand on his neck and he almost shivered at her touch. He leaned into it, placing one arm across her body to balance himself on the bed. When he pulled away, their faces were still so close.
She had her eyes closed and her lips were trembling. What had she done? Had she so quickly fallen under the spell of Troy Bolton?
When she opened them, she read his eyes. Like with a book, she inferred. She saw utter compassion. She saw something beyond this world.
She saw knowledge.
I'll stand by you, they said. I wont let them hurt you.
AN:// Another five-shot probably.
Big thanks for people who reviewed for Her Power. That was unbelievable.
If you can tell me what I did wrong or how I could improve, please do so. If you thought that was "so cute" tell me why. Thanks.