Storm
Snow was blowing wildly around outside. Troy and the wildcats were sitting in homeroom listening to Mrs Darbus drone on about the theatre. Taylor noticed that everyone was getting slightly worried about the storm outside. A knocked on the classroom door snapped everyone out of their reverie.
"Yes?" Mrs Darbus asked.
"Sorry Mrs Darbus but Mr Matsui wants everyone to listen to the radio" a young student said.
"Very well" Mrs Darbus nodded. "Thank you" The young student nodded and closed the door as Mrs Darbus walked over to the radio.
"Do you think anything's wrong?" Gabriella asked Troy quietly. Troy looked over at Gabriella.
"I don't know" Troy answered as Mrs Darbus turned on the radio.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like Albuquerque is going to be hit with one heck of a storm. Already the power has been cut to more than half the state and the storm is steadily getting worse. I advise everyone not to venture outside as temperatures are dropping quickly. There have already been numerous reports of people-" no-one was able to hear the rest of the report as the power was suddenly cut. Some of the girls screamed. After a few minutes a torch lit up the room.
"Alright everyone calm down. Please everyone buddy up and I shall go and see what's going on. Please no-one leave the classroom." Mrs Darbus said as she placed another torch on the desk. As soon as Mrs Darbus had left the room Taylor, Chad, Sharpay, Zeke, Ryan, Martha, Jason and Kelsi walked over to where Troy and Gabriella were sitting on the ground.
"It can't be that bad out there can it?" Sharpay asked as she snuggled up to Zeke. Gabriella looked at how Sharpay and Zeke were sitting with each other and wished she could be like that with Troy.
"It's starting to get cold in here" Kelsi said rubbing her arms. At that moment Mrs Darbus arrived back in the classroom. Everyone looked at her expectedly. Even Chad.
"The power and the heating have all been shut down. All we can do is ride this storm out but there are warnings it's going to get a lot worse. I've brought blankets for all of you but there aren't that many so you will have to share with someone." Mrs Darbus said as she began handing out blankets. Gabriella stood up and walked over to the window. Taylor watched Gabriella and noticed that she had a distant look in her eyes.
"Troy" she called out. Troy looked up from getting a blanket. He caught Taylor's eyes and she pointed over to Gabriella. He looked over and saw her wrap her arms around herself. As he started to walk over to her he smiled inwardly at the thought of one day being able to just hold Gabriella.
Gabriella stood looking out the window at the snow whirling past. She was scared because she knew that her mother was home sick. She suddenly felt something warm drape over her shoulders. She turned around and saw Troy wrapping half the blanket over her.
"Hey" Gabriella said quietly.
"You alright?" Troy asked while wrapping the blanket tighter around them. Gabriella unconsciously leaned backwards into Troy.
"Yea I'm just thinking."
"What about" Troy asked while watching the snow fly violently around outside. Gabriella sighed before answering.
"My mum has been sick for the last two weeks. She's been getting worse Troy" Gabriella said as a tear slid down her cheek. Troy saw this and he hugged her tighter and placed a kiss on top of her head.
"She'll be okay" Troy whispered in her ear.
"I don't know anymore Troy. I really don't know anymore" Gabriella whispered as she turned around and tightly hugged Troy.
"Come on. Let's go and sit with the others." Troy said. Gabriella nodded and followed Troy to where the others were sitting.
Two hours the storm had not eased up. In fact it had been getting worse. Taylor woke up from her nap and looked around at all her friends. Kelsi had a piece of music in front of her and it looked like she was trying to teach Jason how to read music. Ryan was sleeping next to Sharpay and Zeke who were talking quietly with each other. Chad was asleep leaning against the bookcase snoring loudly. A soft laugh coming from Gabriella caused Taylor to look in her direction. Troy and Gabriella were having thumb wars.
"You are so going to lose Montez" Troy said. Gabriella laughed and shook her head. Gabriella used her other hand to motion Troy to lean in closer. Her heart beat faster as Troy came within inches of her face.
"I'll tell you a secret. In case you haven't noticed I've already beaten you 8 times" Gabriella said grinning.
"That's only because I let you win."
"Troy why don't you just accept the fact that I beat you"
"Because I'm not going down without a fight" troy said. What neither of them noticed was that they were still holding each other's hand.
"Let's make a bet" Troy suddenly said.
"I'm listening"
"Last game. If you win..."
"If I win... you have to give me your red jumper" Gabriella said excitedly. Troy laughed. Whenever Gabriella came over to his house she would always wear his red east high jumper.
"Deal. And if I win..." Taylor watching from the background suddenly had an idea.
"If Troy wins he has to kiss you" Taylor said. Both Gabriella and Troy quickly turned their heads to face Taylor. Both mouths were open.
"Wh...what?" Gabriella asked.
"The bet. If you win you get his jumper. If Troy wins he has to kiss you."
"Why?" Gabriella asked still dazed by the whole thing.
"Oh my gosh. Are you two really that bind to each other's feelings? Just trust me that you will both win if Troy wins." Taylor said smirking. Gabriella noticed that Taylor had been looking at her when she was talking and blushed deeply.
"Deal" Troy said. Gabriella looked at Troy.
"Deal?" Gabriella asked weakly. Troy noticed that her voice sounded scared and unsure.
"Deal Montez" Gabriella sighed before talking.
"Deal" The thumb wars started up again. Taylor could see that Gabriella was debating on whether or not to let Troy win so she decided to distract her.
"Hey Gabs?"
"Yea?" Gabriella asked while not looking up.
"Did I tell you that my sister is coming to visit tomorrow?"
"What?! Sally's coming home?" Gabriella asked excitedly while momentarily losing concentration in the game. Troy quickly took the opportunity and made his move to win the game.
"I win" Troy said while Taylor sat back smirking. Gabriella quickly looked down at their hands and saw that Troy's thumb was pinning hers down. She looked up and met Troy's eyes. Troy could tell she was scared that he had won the bet.
"You win" she shakily said.
"Troy, you won the bet. Shouldn't you be claiming your part of the prize?" Taylor said. Troy looked up at Taylor and saw her smiling at the two. He looked back at Gabriella and moved his hand so that he was holding hers. Gabriella looked down at their hands and then up to meet Troy's eyes. Troy let a small smile play on his lips before he started to lean in slowly. Gabriella started to
lean in as well. Just as their lips were about to touch the door burst open and Coach Bolton walked in. Troy and Gabriella quickly jumped apart. Taylor inwardly groaned when she saw that they had been so close.
"Dad what's going on?" Troy asked. Jack Bolton quickly looked at his son before addressing Mrs Darbus.
"We need everyone in the gym immediately" Jack said before walking out to the next classroom. Mrs Darbus quickly stood up and started ushering students out the door towards the gym. Troy stood up and grabbed Gabriella's hand to help her up. The rest of the wildcats followed suit.
"Do you think anything is wrong?" Kelsi asked
"There's only one way to find out" Troy said as he began to lead everyone to the gym. Gabriella quickly walked up to Troy.
"Troy I'm scared. What if it's really bad out there?" Troy stopped walking and turned around to face Gabriella. He looked into her eyes and saw that her usual sparkle was no longer there but replaced with a mixture of fear and insecurity. Troy smiled softly before drawing Gabriella in for a hug. Gabriella wrapped her arms around his torso and held on tightly.
"Don't worry. We'll be okay" Troy whispered in Gabriella's ear. Troy's breath on her ear made her shiver slightly before she pulled back a little. \
"How can you be so sure?"
"I'm not" Gabriella laughed.
"Then why did you say that?"
"To make you feel better" Troy said while smiling. Gabriella laughed softly before leaning up and kissing Troy on the cheek. When Gabriella pulled back and saw Troy grinning she bushed.
"Thank you" she said quietly.
"You know Brie; you still haven't given me my prize from our bet." Troy said smirking. Gabriella looked down at her feet. The blush on her face intensifying. Gabriella suddenly felt two fingers under her chin lifting her face up. She
looked up to meet Troy's eyes. Troy started to lean in but a loud crash coming from the classroom caused Troy to jump and Gabriella to scream. The wind started blowing in the hallway.
"What's happening?" Gabriella screamed to be heard over the wind.
"I don't know!" Troy replied. Chad suddenly appeared in the hallway.
"Troy! Gabby! Quickly come to the gym!" Troy looked at Gabriella before grabbing her hand and running towards Chad. When they arrived at the gym they saw every student was in there huddled in groups.
"What's going on?" Troy asked everyone once they reached where they were sitting.
"It's too dangerous to be next to the windows. Several of them have already busted" Zeke explained to them.
"So that's what the loud crash was" Gabriella said as she rested her head on Troy's lap.
"So Troy did you like your prize?" Taylor asked suddenly. Everyone's heads turned towards her. Troy and Gabriella blushed slightly.
"What prize?" Chad asked. Gabriella sat up and tried to tell Taylor to drop the subject. Taylor purposefully ignored her.
"Troy and Gabby made a bet before. If Gabriella won she would get Troy's jumper and if he won he would have to kiss Gabriella."
"So are you two finally together now? Because personally I have had enough of you tw—"
"CHAD!" Troy yelled at him.
"What?" Chad innocently asked. Taylor rolled her eyes.
"So have you kissed her yet?" Troy and Gabriella looked at each other before blushing and looking away.
"No" Gabriella said quietly.
"So kiss now" Sharpay said.
"You can't just force them to kiss. It should happen in its own time" Kelsi said.
"But if they don't do it now they may never." Sharpay argued. Troy and Gabriella just sat back and listened to everyone arguing about their relationship.
"Why do I get the feeling like they have forgotten that we're actually here?" Gabriella asked while she giggled softly at her friends.
"Maybe because they are too busy arguing about a kiss." Gabriella stopped giggling and looked at Troy.
"You know with all the arguing those guys are doing about nothing really, do you want to give them something to talk about?" Troy asked.
"Like what?" Gabriella asked softly. Troy leaned in closer before whispering in her ear.
"Like this" he said before he softly captured her lips with his in a sweet kiss. The kiss only lasted a few seconds but it was enough to make everyone stop arguing and look at them.
Troy pulled away from Gabriella and looked into her eyes. He saw that her normal sparkle was back and she had a smile playing her lips. Sharpay suddenly squealed and caused the attention of the entire gym to look in their direction.
"Nothing to see here" Taylor said as Sharpay blushed. Everyone returned to what they were doing. The gang all turned to look at Gabriella and Troy who were both blushing.
"Took you two long enough" Chad said before Taylor hit him upside the head.
"Chad you owe me 20 bucks" Zeke said.
"You guys bet on us?" Troy asked.
"Yea. I bet that you two would get together before the storm let up and Chad bet that you wouldn't be able to get together without some help" Zeke answered.
"Well technically the kiss wouldn't have happened tonight if Taylor hadn't made it part of the bet" Gabriella said. Chad smiled triumphantly while Zeke
dropped his smile and dug out his wallet. He pulled out a 20 dollar bill and handed it to Chad.
"You guys are unbelievable" Gabriella said while she snuggled up against Troy. Suddenly Mrs Darbus appeared carrying more blankets.
"Does anyone need a blanket?"
"We do" Troy said. He reached up and grabbed a blanket from Mrs Darbus and draped it over himself and Gabriella. Mrs Darbus walked away from the group handing more blankets out.
"Alright everyone lights out in 10 minutes." Coach Bolton announced across the gym. As everyone was getting comfortable Taylor looked over at everyone. Zeke and Sharpay were both leaning against the wall with the blanket talking with each other. Kelsi was leaning against Jason and her eyes were slowly closing. Jason was already asleep. She looked up at Chad who had his eyes closed but was slowly running his fingers through her hair. She looked over at Troy and Gabriella. Gabriella was sitting in front of Troy and was leaning against him with her eyes closed. Taylor watched as Troy was running his hands through her hair while occasionally placing kisses on her head. Taylor smiled before leaning closer into Chad and closing her eyes.
"I guess there was something that was good about this storm" Taylor thought to herself before she fell asleep.