Hey there my faithful readers. This one-shot was written last year and I've been meaning to put it up for a long time.
It was something that just popped into my head and I hope you like it!
Also I wanted to add that I will be updating My Cinderella Story, but in a few weeks. I have a lot of school work and exams coming up, so they are my main priority at the moment.
Anyway, please enjoy and review to tell me what you think!
Disclaimer: I don't own the character's, just the plot =]
Definitely Him
The tears fell out of her eyes and crashed down onto her cheeks resembling a waterfall. Her face was, like a waterfall, a beautiful sight to see. But she was feeling anything but beautiful in that moment, what she was looking at made her feel like the ugliest girl alive, maybe even the ugliest girl in the history of the world. But beautiful wasn't a word that crossed her mind.
Why did he choose her most trusted friend over her?
Did he not feel the same way she felt?
Why was her most trusted friend kissing him back?
Why were both of them torturing her?
The same questions flowed through her mind like a river as she looked at her most trusted friend make out with her best boy friend and long time crush. He friend knew that she was hopelessly in love with the guy she was now kissing but she was still kissing him. She looked away for a moment, wiping the tears away with the back of her sleeve, but when she glanced at the embracing pair again, the tears came back. She turned on her heels and decided that the sight was unbearable, as if she were suffocating. She didn't want to watch them anymore, she didn't want to feel as if her whole world was coming to an end. She forced her feet to listen to her mind and not her heart. She forced herself to walk away, or at least try to. She managed to take a couple of steps before hearing a voice that made her stomach do ten thousand somersaults and her legs feel like jelly. It was his voice.
"Gabriella..." Was all he had to say and she almost turned around. She almost faced him and looked him in the eye. She almost ran back into his arms. Almost. She was too tired to be stupid. Gabriella decided that it was time she stopped listening to what her heart told her to do and start listening to her mind. She was after all a bright girl, so her mind must have been doing something right. Gabriella fought that urge, that want to run back and decided to run forward instead. Run far away from the place she wanted to be. So that's exactly what she did.
"Gabriella!" He was shouting her name now, almost desperately. She knew he cared about her, just not in the way that she wanted him to. She knew he was worried about her and she didn't want him to worry, but she couldn't run back to him and she couldn't comfort him. Kelsi's smirking face was etched in her mind as she ran. How could she? How dare she? Gabriella thought to herself. She tried to get rid of her Jason ridden thoughts but they kept on coming back to her, and she found herself thinking about the good old days where it was just her and Jason...without the added Kelsi.
Six-year-old Gabriella was seated in the playhouse, twirling her luscious, thick curls around her finger. Her mother had dropped her off at kindergarten around two hours ago, having to go off to work, Gabriella had run straight towards the playhouse. She had thought of many different games to play in the miniature house and had decided that they would keep her occupied for hours and hours, or just until her mother would come to collect her.
Now she was, to put it into plain words, bored with a capital B. She had played every game that was in her tiny head. She played with all of her dolls, the kitchen set and the shopping set. She had even combined all three in a master game, but she was still bored. Gabriella let a small sigh escape her naturally pink and pouty lips. She turned her head to look out of the small miniature window and at the other kids. They looked like they were having fun. A blonde girl was wearing a tiara and prancing around the dressing-up corner as if she owned the place. Another curly topped kid was bouncing a ball up and down, like playing squash with the floor. Gabriella's brown orbs scanned the room and landed on the only person she actually recognized.
Jason Cross.
He was her next door neighbor and sometimes his family joined hers in a special dinner. Then they would go out and play a game of soccer because Jason and his brother didn't like basketball, even though Gabriella always wanted to play that one game. Jason's older brother, Kennedy, was fairly nice to Gabriella, but Jason was sweeter. He was quite dim and wasn't exactly the brightest bulb in the batch, but Gabriella enjoyed his company and he made her laugh, that was a good enough excuse to keep him around. Gabriella smiled brightly and jumped off her tiny, plastic, red chair, so that she could run out of the playhouse and after her neighbor.
"Jason! Jason!" She called out his name in her sweet voice. Jason ran ahead of her, not really hearing her call, and Gabriella was so caught up in trying to reach him that she didn't even notice the block of wood on the floor in front of her. In a matter of seconds Gabriella was on the floor, clutching her ankle in pain. Jason stopped and turned around, wondering where the voice of the little girl had gone. His eyes widened when he spotted her on the floor, with tears in her eyes. He quickly sprinted over towards her and bent down to her level.
"You okay?" He asked, his voice laced with concern. Even when in searing pain, Gabriella couldn't help but note how sweet he was. She looked up at him with her brown orbs that were filled with water. She attempted to sniff back the tears and be strong but failed hopelessly as they began their tirade down her face.
"No...don't, don't cry!" Jason exclaimed, his concern now being replaced by panic. "Miss!" He yelled desperately at the top of his lungs. He looked down at Gabriella and then gave another yell, not being able to look at the little girl in pain. As he waited for Miss Stevens to show up, he grabbed hold of one of her hands and wiped her tears away with his free hand. Despite the fact that she was crying and was experiencing some mad pain, Gabriella smiled up at Jason for trying to make her feel better. Miss Stevens ran onto the scene and shooed all the on-lookers away.
"Oh Gabriella." She sympathized as she observed the young girl's ankle. She touched various spots until Gabriella let out a small yelp and whimper. "You've just twisted your ankle honey, you'll be fine." She reassured Gabriella and Jason. "Jason be a sweetie and help Gabriella over to the playhouse and please stay with her." Miss Stevens gave Jason some stern orders before running off to contact Gabriella's mother. Jason helped Gabriella to her feet and then supported her all the way to the playhouse. He set her down gently on the same red, plastic chair as before. Gabriella sighed and huffed.
"Great...back here again." She spoke glumly and to no one in particular but Jason decided to enter the conversation himself. He laughed at her.
"I'm right here with you, so you won't be THAT bored. Sorry about hurting you by the way. How is your ankle now?" Jason spoke apologetically but Gabriella waved it off.
"It's fine, I'm fine. It's like my mommy always says, no pain no gain." She said with a grin on her face. Jason frowned but nodded nevertheless.
"Okay...but I'm going to look after you from now on. Like as...as if I'm...as if I'm your best friend!" His face lit up and he grinned. As soon as Gabriella heard his sentence she beamed up at him.
"That would be good! Best friends!" She exclaimed as they hugged.
Gabriella stopped at the end of the hallway, she had escaped them and escaped that haunting view. But that didn't stop her from feeling upset over the fact that he didn't come after her. When they were younger he hated upsetting her and they would always make up, but that was when it was just the two of them. She sighed and took yet another detour into the girls toilets. She knew that she could get some time to herself and some time to think when she locked herself into a cubicle. She put the toilet seat down and sat herself down on it, she pulled up her knees and buried her head into them.
She began to think about that scene she had seen and the tears came back. What had she done to deserve such treatment? She was the only one to befriend Kelsi all those years ago. But now that didn't seem to be enough for the composer.
Thirteen-year old Gabriella made her way into the studio, alone. She opened the doors and walked in, alone. She was aware of the fact that all eyes were on her as she stopped and dropped down onto the floor to take a seat next to the rest of the class. It was an understatement to say that she was nervous, because nervous didn't cover the way she was feeling. Her mother was at work, as always, and Jason was at a soccer game. So she had to do this alone. The main reason why she was scared was because this was the first time she'd had to do something alone. But when she looked around the classroom, and noticed all the other nervous faces, she felt more confident and relaxed a little, if they could do it, so could she.
Just then the doors opened and everyone turned to see who it was. A young curly-haired brunette stepped into the room. She smiled as she closed the door behind her and walked gracefully into the classroom. Her body was oozing with confidence and it gave Gabriella a reality check. The pretty girl looked around with her brown, muddy eyes that were covered with thin framed spectacles. She spotted the empty space next to Gabriella and plonked herself down on the floor. She turned and smiled at Gabriella and the Latina returned it in fear of looking rude if she didn't.
"Okay class..." The teacher stepped into the room, her veil flowing behind her as she walked. "Welcome to your first lesson of the Arts! This lesson will mainly involve us just getting to know each other and each others talents. I've looked through all of your papers and am glad to see that we have a wide variety of talents in this class. We have dancers and choreographers, actors and actresses, singers and songwriters, composers and everything else in between. And you're all in this room, together, now!"The teacher spoke with too much enthusiasm. Gabriella sneaked a glance at the girl sitting next to her, both rolled their eyes and smirked when they realized that they both thought that the teacher was too 'over the top'. "I'd like you all to share a piece of your gift with us, so Kelsi Neilson, you're up first." Ms Darbus called out the name and the girl next to Gabriella jumped up and walked over to the front of the classroom. She stood facing the students with pure and utter confidence.
"Hi!" She waved at the class enthusiastically. "I'm Kelsi, as you know, and I'm a composer. I've composed songs for school plays before and many people have loved them, in fact some people just came to the show because of my music!" She exclaimed. There was some laughter in the classroom but some people were unsure on whether she was boasting or trying to make a joke. Kelsi ran over to the piano and sat down ready to play. Gabriella watched as her fingers moved delicately yet quickly on the keys. Everyone was amazed by the melody Kelsi played and it was just beautiful. Gabriella smiled and listened on until the end. When Kelsi stood up and bowed, Gabriella clapped the hardest and the loudest.
"That was great." Gabriella whispered when Kelsi sat down again.
"Thanks." Kelsi thanked Gabriella. Ms Darbus smiled at her students.
"That was just marvelous Ms Nielson! Next up is...Ms Gabriella Montez." Ms Darbus called her name. Gabriella smiled and stood up. She marched towards the front of the class with her new and inspired confidence.
"Hey everyone." Gabriella began to say. "Um I'm not certain that I can top Kelsi's amazing melody. But I'll try my best to be as good as I can be. I love to sing, it's my main passion. I also dance quite a lot and act here and there but singing is my main priority." Gabriella explained. Ms Darbus motioned for her to carry on. "Okay...ahem...I used to think, being like you was the key to having everything, every dream come true.
I used to think following the crowd was the only thing I could do, until I found out, I'm okay.
Sometimes you gotta do your own thing.
Every winter turns to Spring.
And everybody's got their own wings.
The little girl you knew, the one who never stood up to you.
Who kept her silence long, well she's gone with the wind.
Now I'm standing my ground, and who I am for that I'm proud and the girl that you knew, well she's gone with the wind..." Gabriella stopped and opened her eyes, everyone was staring at her, keeping completely quiet.
Gabriella felt embarrassed, was she that bad? Then a young lad from the back started to clap slowly and then the whole class joined in. Gabriella looked at the blue-eyed boy and smiled thankfully as Ms Darbus joined in on the clapping.
"Gabriella, that was amazing. You certainly are talented." Ms Darbus smiled at her and Gabriella blushed as she went aback to sit down next to Kelsi.
"That was...okay." Kelsi offered and turned around. Gabriella frowned, hurt by Kelsi's words but that disappeared when Kelsi turned and gave her a hug. Gabriella smile, maybe, just maybe she had made a new friend. Or a best friend who was a girl?
'Some friend', Gabriella thought bitterly as she recalled the memory when she first met Kelsi. She should've realized that Kelsi was horrible from the start, she didn't even compliment Gabriella properly! Gabriella sighed and wiped away her dry tears with her hands. She stared at the black marks covering them and sighed. Her mascara had run, so much for it being a hundred percent waterproof. Everyone and everything was so unreliable nowadays. Gabriella was just about to step out of the cubicle when she heard a familiar voice.
"The look on her scrawny little face made it even more satisfying. More than it already was!" Gabriella winced, it was Kelsi. Gabriella looked through the small slit in the toilet door and watched Kelsi reapplying her make up. "She's been crushing on Jason ever since she set eyes on him. It's so sick, it's pathetic. Anyway he doesn't even look at her in that way, he actually laughed when I told him about it. How awesome is that?" She paused so she could let put a small laugh, or cackle. Gabriella gasped a little. Jason knew? He laughed? Maybe he wasn't the saint Gabriella always thought he was.
"Then he just tops it all off by saying that he wants ME! Then he asked me out and I agreed. He is mega cute and mega popular. That means I get to be the soccer captain's girlfriend. Plus Gabriella will be heartbroken once she hears about it. That'll show her who's the most talented and wanted out of us two. The answer is ME." Kelsi finished touching up her make up and exited the toilets. Gabriella walked out of the cubicle looking and feeling worse than before. Her best friend had chosen some other girl over her. Gabriella had been there for Jason when his brother was diagnosed with cancer, when his parents split up and his Dad remarried. She had always cared for him but he chose a girl who wore jealousy like designer wear instead. It was always evident. Gabriella shook her head, wanting to get rid of all the thoughts. But he mind slowly went back to the day that caused Kelsi to blow up.
"Kelsi!" Seventeen-year old Gabriella called out for her friend of four years. They were both attending East High School and were both popular in their own sense. Gabriella was also considered as one of the hottest, 'have to bang' girls in school, but all she cared about right then was the petite brunette who was marching away from her furiously.
"What?" Kelsi turned around and asked Gabriella in a rude manner. "What do you want now?" Gabriella looked taken aback by Kelsi's tone of voice, it had never been as cold as it was now.
"I just wanted to apologize about the scholarship, I didn't know that I was going to get it. Why are you mad at me for that?' Gabriella asked. Sure both of them had wanted the scholarship to Julliard and Gabriella had nailed it. But if Kelsi had gotten it then Gabriella who have been over the moon and completely estatic for her friend. It made no sense at all that Kelsi was acting as if Gabriella stole it from her.
"You could have let me have it! You didn't have to sing for them, you knew that they would love that because everyone loves your voice! But no you had to sing AND dance for them, just to show that you're better than me. My problem is that an arrogant, talentless bitch stole MY scholarship. You're not sorry, not yet anyway." Kelsi spat at Gabriella and smirked evilly before walking away.
Gabriella was unsure on what to think, she hadn't purposefully upstaged Kelsi. She just wanted to show off what she had and Ms Darbus had encouraged her. When Kelsi exploded at her, Gabriella viewed it as bad. But it wasn't. It was actually good. Good because she finally found out what Kelsi was truly like. And Gabriella didn't like the new Kelsi, or the real Kelsi, at all. Also Gabriella wasn't even 99 percent sure that the scholarship was hers. She was only certain that she had lost her best girl friend over that one percent she was sure was hers.
Gabriella ran as fast as her tanned legs would take her. She didn't pay attention to all the people staring at her. All she was thinking about was Jason. How could he laugh at her and call her pathetic? He was supposed to be her best friend! At the end of the day, he didn't really give a rats ass about her and now Gabriella was done caring for him as well. Her love for her best friend had blinded her from seeing his true colours. Kelsi had just lifted the blindfold and helped her to see clearly. Gabriella now knew the truth about Jason.
Gabriella walked around looking for a place to hide away from Jason and Kelsi. She spotted the gym doors and rushed over to them, no one was in the gym during lunch. She opened the doors and crept into the gym. After closing the doors behind her, she walked over towards the bleachers. She was surprised to find a group of friends sitting around, chatting and eating as if the gym was one of their houses. Gabriella turned around to leave, hoping that they didn't notice the redness of her face or the puffiness of her eyes. The gang just stared at her retreating back.
"Wait...' A deep, masculine voice made Gabriella freeze. She turned around slowly, almost cautiously, and instantly felt herself being pulled into a whirlpool of cobalt blue eyes. They were just like the ones that belonged to the guy who had given her her first clap in the class that she met Kelsi. Gabriella just stood, glued to her spot, not knowing what to do or what to say. She couldn't think of any words to say to the boy with beautiful eyes. Not to mention perfect brown locks, that looked so soft and made Gabriella want to run her hands through it. His shirt was tight fitted and Gabriella could almost see his muscles bulging. "You okay?" He asked, his voice soft and laced with concern. Gabriella just broke down crying there and then. The whole gang rushed over to her. The girls trying to comfort her and the boys wondering what was going on.
TEN MINUTES LATER
Gabriella wiped her tears away with the back of her sleeve, she then looked up at all the worried faces staring back at her. She didn't even know who they were and they were being so kind to her. It seemed as if the blue-eyed, more than perfect looking boy had read her mind. He stepped forward, causing her heart to miss a beat, and some of his hair fell over his eyes. He combed it back very...sexily and Gabriella sighed. He then held out his hand for her to shake.
"I'm Troy, Troy Bolton." He introduced himself. Gabriella took his hand and felt an electric current rush through her body, one she had never felt when she touched Jason. He flashed her a million-dollar smile, accompanied with pearly white teeth and Gabriella felt like she had died and gone to heaven. "I'm uh the basketball captain I uh guess..." Gabriella's eyes widened. Bolton. Jason's enemy. They were always fighting. It was like Soccer VS Basketball. But Gabriella wasn't so concerned with Jason, not when Troy was standing a few feet away from her.
"I'm Sharpay Evans, Co-president of the Drama Club, Queen of all that is Pink, Starred in all of the school's musicals blah blah." Sharpay introduced herself. She was a platinum blonde with sharp, Bambi brown eyes and thin, pouty lips. She was covered from head to toe in pink and sparkles so Gabriella didn't find it too weird to know that this girl was the Queen of Pink. If she wasn't then Gabriella would've been surprised.
"I'm Ryan Evans. Sharpay's twin brother. Co-president of the drama club and I've also starred in the musicals. All of them." Ryan copied his sister. Gabriella didn't find it hard to think that he was Sharpay's brother. He too had blonde hair but with crystal blue eye instead. He wasn't decked out in pink, but he was definitely colorful.
"Chad Danforth, co-captain of the basketball team. Dating one of the hottest chick's ever. Plus I have the coolest hair!" Chad gripped some of his fluffy Afro in his hands. Gabriella laughed and nodded in agreement. He was wearing sneakers and had a basketball tucked underneath his arm.
"Taylor McKessie, apparently one of the hottest chick's ever and dating a total jock. I'm also the captain of the scholastic decathlon team." Taylor introduced herself. Whilst Gabriella didn't think Taylor was 'hot' she certainly thought she was pretty. Dark chocolate skin, velvety eyes, satin drapes as hair, and also the pefect body.
"Zeke Baylor, basketballer and I, uh, cook!" Zeke said, Gabriella looked up at him and noticed how tall he was, even with his skin head.
"Very well may I add." Chad said and Gabriella laughed, he seemed to be fond of food.
"He's also my boyfriend." Sharpay glared at Zeke.
"Sorry babes, forgot to mention that-" Zeke stopped when he noticed Sharpay glaring again. "I mean that I was getting to it.' He covered. Gabriella giggled at the very much in love couple.
"I'm Martha Cox, dancer extraordinaire!" Martha yelled and performed one quick dance move that impressed Gabriella. Martha had a lot of brown, tumbling curls and a smile on her face that was pretty infectious.
"I'm Gabriella Montez, singer and dancer I guess." Gabriella spoke quietly and uncertainly. The gang just smiled at her.
"We know who you are." Ryan explained. Gabriella looked confused.
"You do?" She asked, she had never spoken to them before and she wasn't THAT popular. Gabriella gulped and some new and not so wonderful thoughts entered her mind. They knew. They knew about Jason. She sighed and got ready to feel totally and utterly humiliated.
"Yeah who doesn't know you? I mean the way Troy goes on and on..." Troy quickly placed a hand over his best friend's big mouth.
"Chad has no idea what he's talking about half the time." Troy explained and Gabriella giggled. She liked Chad and liked Troy a lot more.
"It's okay, I like Afro Boy." Gabriella smiled. Chad grinned and stuck his tongue out at Troy who seemed to be phased by the sound of Gabriella's laughter. Taylor nudged him and brought him back to reality.
"So as I was saying, why were you crying?" Troy asked. Gabriella stopped laughing and looked around at the people she had just met. They all seemed to be interested and Gabriella trusted them. So she decided to tell them.
TEN MINUTES LATER
"So then I rushed in here and bumped into you lot." Gabriella sniffed a little. Sharpay, Taylor and Martha hugged the Latina whilst the guys paced around the gym. They felt sorry for the girl they knew all about and angry because of what Jasion made her go through. They had just met her but they felt as if they had known her for years and felt extremely protective of her.
"What an idiot!" Zeke vented as he sat down next to Sharpay who nodded in agreement.
"I would never choose a conniving little witch over my best friend, no matter what." Chad added.
"Yeah, Jason's a Class A twat." Ryan placed his opinion forward. Gabriella started to feel suffocated.
"He's not a twat Ryan, he's just blinded by his love for Kelsi." Gabriella spoke up and everyone looked at her in awe.
"You're defending him?" Martha said, or rather asked. Gabriella didn't know what to say because she was asking herself the same question.
"He hurt you, so forget him." Taylor spoke up.
"Yeah and if he really cared about you then he would have ran after you. I know I would have." Troy said and then marched out of the gym. Gabriella sighed and looked at her newly discovered friends. She placed a questioning look on her face.
"He's dealing with some...issues right now. I think it'd be good if you go talk to him." Sharpay advised her. Gabriella nodded and took off in the same direction as Troy.
"Let's just hope they come back holding hands and wearing dreamy first kiss looks on their faces." Taylor prayed and everyone agreed.
OUTSIDE
Troy was seated outside the gym on a bench, gazing up at the clear, blue sky. Gabriella smiled at the peaceful look on his face as she approached him.
"Hey." She said as she took a seat next to him.
"Hey.' He replied with a surprised look on his face, Gabriella was doing all she could to stop herself from lunging at him. "I was expecting Shar to come but you're good as well...in fact much better." As Troy whispered those last few words, a shiver ran down Gabriella's spine. She smiled at him and he couldn't help but smile back.
"So, what's your deal with Jason then?" She asked him, she noticed that her heart didn't miss a beat when she recited her ex-crush's name. "Troy?" Gabriella spoke, noting the fact that her heart did miss a beat this time round. But she chose to ignore it...for now.
"Normal issues really. The whole soccer and basketball thing is some of it. But he has one thing that I may never have." He admitted, his eyes locked on her. Gabriella's legs buckled underneath the intensity of his gaze, it was so soft, yet so powerful.
"What's that then?" She asked, noticing that her voice had gone up an octave. Troy smiled as he noticed it too.
"You." He stated simply and then looked away from her. Gabriella just stared at him.
"Me?" Her voice had reached squeaky.
"Yeah, you." He looked at her again and she looked back at him. Both falling deeper and deeper into each other's eyes, each other's gaze, not wanting to break the intensity of the gaze. Slowly he began to lean towards her and Gabriella felt herself doing the same. Her heart was beating uncontrollably as she felt the heat reflecting off his lips and his hot breath tickling her face. Troy watched her carefully before swooping down and capturing her lips with his own. Gabriella held back for a moment, but only a moment before deepening the kiss, placing her arms around his neck, running her hands through his hair, just like she'd imagined before. He pulled her onto his lap, his arms clasped tightly around her waist as their bodies pressed up against one another. Neither one wanted to break it off.
"Oi Bolton! Get off her!" The two broke apart unwillingly and began to shoot daggers at the person who interrupted them. It was Jason with Kelsi standing behind him looking completely shocked. Gabriella no longer felt that warmth when she looked at Jason, instead she touched her tingling lips and grinned as Troy's grip tightened around her. "Gabriella get here." Jason ordered. Gabriella looked at him and then back at Troy. She didn't even need to think twice about where she'd rather stay, in Troy's arms of course. Locked in his passionate embrace.
"Sorry, no can do." She said as she snuggled closer to Troy.
"Gabriella if you don't get off him then you won't see me around anymore. So choose now. Me or him?" Jason asked and of course Gabriella had to render the answer that came straight from her heart.
"Him." She stated blatantly. Jason stormed off with Kelsi trailing behind him. Gabriella smiled at Troy before reconnecting their lips. Yeah him, definitely him.
Soo what did you think?
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