Troy, breathe in, breathe out. It's just Gabriella, your best friend, your crush ever since New Years, your date for tonight. It's just her. How come you're so nervous?
Troy asked himself these questions since the past week. He asked Gabriella out a week ago to go on a romantic dinner with him. Gabriella excitedly agreed and now it was time. He was on his way to pick her up for their date.
"Hi Mrs. Montez," Troy said once the door opened to reveal Gabriella's mother in a red velvet dress. She looked like she was going out to a party too.
"Gabi! Troy's here!" Gabriella's mother yelled for upstairs. Troy could hear Gabriella's faint voice coming from upstairs.
"Hold on! I'm almost done!"
"So Troy, where are you taking my daughter tonight?" Troy smiled nervously. Mrs. Montez wasn't really the strict parent whose eyes were like a hawk; she was more open, but that didn't mean Troy wasn't nervous about what he was going to do tonight.
"A special place known just for me." Mrs. Montez smiled. Troy was a nice guy and she knew that she could give her daughter to him and not worry.
"You're going to ask her to be your girlfriend tonight, huh?" Troy's eyes widened.
"N-n-nooo… It's just a friendly dinner."
"Mmhmm… we'll see." Troy's eyes flickered to the stairs when he saw Gabriella come out of her room. She was in a BCBG navy blue silk chiffon dress with her wavy curls tied up in a messy ponytail. A/N: Imagine her hair from the Hairspray Premiere. Her pair of satin sandal heels was gold. With Gabriella in a dazing look, Troy was speechless.
"Is this good?" Gabriella mumbled. Mrs. Montez sobbed and pulled her daughter downstairs.
"Of course it is. Troy, doesn't she look beautiful?" Troy nodded quickly. He was definitely telling the truth. "Well, now off you guys go. You guys have a great time and bring her home by ten." Troy nodded. He knew all of Mrs. Montez's curfew rules since he was always the one who brought Gabriella home from his house.
"You really look beautiful today, Gabs." He stuck out his hand for her to grab and she did. Gabriella kissed her mom goodbye and they were off to Troy's Range Rover.
"I'm not overdressed, right?" Gabriella said nervously. Troy shook his head.
"No, you're perfect." Gabriella blushed furiously.
"So where are we going?" Troy put his index finger to his lips and made a shush sound. Gabriella smiled and pursed her lips. Troy grabbed her hand and looked in her eyes.
"TROY!" Troy looked in front of him. There was a speeding truck driver driving toward him. He froze right there, so Gabriella grabbed the steering wheel and turned to the left. The truck drove right into them, mostly at Gabriella's side. Both Troy and Gabriella were hit. At Troy's side, something shiny fell out of his dress shirt pocket.
Troy's eyes fluttered open. When he finally opened his eyes wide, he saw a lot of lights. A lot of lights turned into some and Troy saw he was in the hospital. His mother, Laura Bolton, was asleep holding Troy's hand. Troy squeezed his eyes and opened them again. This wasn't a dream.
Laura's body shifted and she opened her eyes. She looked up and saw Troy awake.
"Oh Troy!" She hugged him, crying against her son. Troy hugged her back awkwardly, not knowing the situation. She pulled back. "Troy, do you know who I am?" Troy nodded.
"You're my mom." She cried and hugged him again.
"You had me worried sick, Troy Bolton." She looked at Troy's face and combed his hair with her hand.
"Mom, why are we at the hospital?" She sighed.
"Don't you remember? You got in a car accident." Troy closed his eyes again to review the event.
"I'm not overdressed, right?" Gabriella said nervously. Troy shook his head.
"No, you're perfect." Gabriella blushed furiously.
"So where are we going?" Troy put his index finger to his lips and made a shush sound. Gabriella smiled and pursed her lips. Troy grabbed her hand and looked in her eyes.
"TROY!" Troy looked in front of him. There was a speeding truck driver driving toward him. He froze right there, so Gabriella grabbed the steering wheel and turned to the left.
"Mom, where's Gabi?" Laura bit her lip. This caused Troy to react too much; he pulled his blanket off of him and ran out. He ran to the desk where there was a nurse talking on the phone.
"So I was like-"
"Miss, where's Gabriella Montez?" She rolled her eyes and looked at her list.
"Room 302." Troy ran for the rooms. He saw that he was in 305, so he ran three rooms next to him. He walked in, finding Anna Montez holding Gabriella's hand. Gabriella was still asleep in her bed. Anna wiped a tear in her eyes and stood up.
"Troy, how are you feeling?" Troy saw that she was still in her red velvet dress, the same one he saw last time.
"I'm…" He saw Gabriella stirring awake. He walked to the edge of her bed, watching her waking and having no problem seeing him. Now that was the problem.
"Mija…" Anna grabbed Gabriella's hand and helped her up. Gabriella's eyes fluttered open. "Mija, you feeling anything?"
"Yeah… I feel your hand." Troy smiled, but he felt a strange vibe coming from the room.
"Mija, can you-"
"Mom, who turned out the lights?" Troy's smile faded. He saw Anna tearing up again; what was going on? "Mom? Can you turn the lights back on? I can't see you." Anna let go of Gabriella's hand and silently cried. "Mom?" Gabriella cried frustrated. She felt around her bed and tried to feel for her mother's hand. "Mom?"
Troy eyed Gabriella up and down; he also looked in her eyes. He stared into them and saw that Gabriella had no reaction. He waved his hand in front of her eyes and saw also no reaction. Oh my god…
"Mom?! Mom, where are you? I can't see you. I can't find you…" Gabriella cried. She continued feeling around her bed and yelling for her mom. Troy walked back until he got to the wall. Oh my god…
"Mom?! I can't see you! I can't see anything! And I know my eyes are open." She touched her face, feeling if she had anything on her face covering her eyes. "There's nothing on my face. Turn on the lights!!" Troy covered his mouth. He couldn't believe it; he didn't want to.
Troy ran out of Gabriella's hospital room and ran into his own. He slammed the door close and shook his head. This is all a dream and he's still dreaming. He slapped himself on the cheek and felt stinging. This isn't supposed to happen. He saw his mom silently crying to herself.
"Mom? What's going on? Why is Gabi screaming like she's blind?" Laura sniffed and motioned Troy to go over to her. She grabbed Troy's arm and squeezed it.
"Honey… the doctors said Gabriella got hit somewhere in her brain. One of her nerve is broken, causing her eyes to blank. I'm so sorry sweetie." Troy shook his head; he's not going to believe this bullshit. It's not supposed to happen to Gabriella. She wasn't the one who was driving. She didn't deserve this.
"That's not true. Tell me that's not true. Tell me Gabi is having this temporarily and she's getting her eyesight back tomorrow or something. Something good that'll get her seeing again." Laura sobbed and shook her head. Troy plopped on the hospital bed in shock. No, this wasn't supposed to happen. Yesterday was supposed to be Gabriella's best night. It was supposed to be the night that Troy confessed his love for her and asked her to be his girlfriend. No, this wasn't supposed to happen.
For a few days, doctors did several tests on Gabriella's eyes and some tests on Troy's health. He had a few broken ribs and might need to stay away from intense basketball training for a while. As for Gabriella, she had to get a stick used for blind people.
Laura insisted for Troy to pick Gabriella up from the hospital on her last day, but Troy was too scared of the thought of driving Gabriella in the same car. He didn't want to get into another car again unless he wasn't driving. Ever since the accident, Troy sat in the backseat every time he was in the car. At the end of the discussion, Laura agreed to drive while Troy sat in the back with Gabriella. Anna couldn't join them to pick up Gabriella since she had work. It had always been like that since she and Gabriella moved to Albuquerque.
Laura got out of the car to help Gabriella with her bags while Gabriella silently waited for Laura. When she heard Laura's voice, she felt the ground with her stick. Laura came and helped her into the backseat with Troy. When Troy saw Gabriella, he saw she was wearing a pair of black Gucci sunglasses.
"Troy, I know you're there. Just because you're being quiet doesn't mean I don't know you're here." Troy bit his lip. His mom started driving the car and became silent for the teenagers to talk. Troy felt Gabriella's hand snaking into his own hand. She squeezed it, but Troy pulled his hand away and pretended to daydream outside the window. Gabriella pouted, knowing that if she couldn't see her pout, Troy would. Troy indeed saw it, but ignored it. He wanted to give in and tickle Gabriella like he always did, but he was afraid that if he tickled Gabriella, she'd kick the passenger seat and his mom would lose concentration and get into another car accident. He couldn't risk it; his past haunted him.
"Shar, he's not talking to me like he used to; he's all quiet now," Gabriella complained. Anna told Sharpay and Taylor to take turns and watch Gabriella in case she couldn't find something or if she tried to do something and caused something dangerous to happen instead. It was Sharpay's turn and they were sitting on Gabriella's bed while Sharpay was painting Gabriella's toenails with beautiful designs. Even though Gabriella couldn't see it, Sharpay wanted the satisfaction of making Gabriella pretty.
"Well, maybe he's just afraid that he'll hurt you again."
"And how do you know that?" Sharpay put down the nail polish and tapped her chin.
"Dude, talk. You haven't been talking ever since the accident," Troy's best friend, Chad, said after finally getting some time alone with him after basketball practice. Everyone had gone home and Troy was stuck picking up the equipment since his dad was sick and told Troy to clean up after. Chad decided to stay after since Troy wouldn't talk during class or free period.
"I don't want to talk about it." Troy picked up a orange basketball and threw it in the black garbage bag.
"Troy," Chad grabbed both of his shoulders, "what's your problem? It's like Gabs got your tongue along with her eyes." Troy pushed him hard.
"Shut up! Her eyes are fine!" Troy grabbed another basketball and threw it into the bag, a little too hard so he missed.
"No it's not, and you know that. She's blind for god's sakes and you're taking it as everything's normal."
"You make every word seem like you've got a brain for saying it." Chad sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"Troy, talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."
"I don't want to."
"You can't keep your feelings bottled up. You told me that you were going to ask Gabi to be your girlfriend."
"I was, and then the accident appeared."
"What's stopping you? The accident?" Troy's head shot up, his eyes flowed with anger.
"What do you think?" he said nastily.
"If the accident stopped you from loving her, I've got nothing to say." Sharpay was skipping to the gym to find Troy and Chad so they can join her and the gang for another time of hangout, but she heard Troy and Chad talking and they sounded serious.
"No it hasn't." Troy wrapped the garbage bag around, trying to tie it into a knot but not succeeding. He gave up and threw it across the gym. He sat at the front row of the bleachers and combed his hair with his hands. Chad walked over and sat next to him.
"Then what is it? Dr. Phil is here in a new hairstyle." Chad patted his afro; Sharpay thought it was stupid. Troy sighed heavily.
"The accident was my entire fault. If I just saw that car coming over and turned to the right so it'd crash into me, Gabi would still see."
"But then you wouldn't be able to see."
"I'd rather be blind than her." He ran his hand through his hair again. "She doesn't deserve this. That night was supposed to be the best night of her life."
"Something unfortunate happened. You shouldn't blame yourself for it."
"You don't understand; you're not the one who got your girlfriend blind. I was the one driving that night."
"You weren't drunk. You weren't emo and not paying attention. You just got a little too excited."
"Either way, I did something wrong and someone else took the punishment."
"Troy…"
"Just save it. Unless Gabi's eyesight comes back, nothing is going to make me get out of this depression." Troy stood up and walked over to his athletic bag. He picked it up and jogged out of the gym.
"Let's just say that I overheard someone talking to him about it." Gabriella's head shot up and she touched around her bed. When she felt Sharpay's arm, she shook her.
"Tell me!" Gabriella pleaded.
"Okay, okay…" Gabriella smiled and squealed. "Troy told Chad that you didn't deserve getting your eyes blind. And that the whole thing was his fault."
"It's not though."
"That's what he thinks."
"I have to go talk to him." Gabriella stood up and grabbed her stick located near her nightstand.
"Gabi, slow down. You don't want to hurt yourself again."
"I'd rather hurt myself than not let Troy know that none of this is his fault." Sharpay sighed; she knew that Gabriella had a big crush on Troy for a long time. She also knew that Troy was going to ask Gabriella to be his girlfriend on the night of the accident, but she couldn't tell Gabriella right now after what happened during the past week.
Troy saw Taylor grabbing some stuff for Gabriella while she leaned against the locker next to her. Troy looked down, pretending he didn't see Gabriella.
"Troy!" Troy turned around and Gabriella motioned him to come over to her. He stood there not moving. "Troy, I know you're there. I can smell you." Troy cursed under his breath for wearing his Axe cologne that he wore everyday.
"What?" Gabriella stuck her hand out and shook it for Troy to take. Troy took it after a few seconds. Gabriella leaned up, kissed his cheek, and leaned in his ear. "It's not your fault." She smiled and let go of Troy's hand. "Let's go Tay." Taylor nodded and grabbed Gabriella's arm to lead her to homeroom. Gabriella poked her stick to feel her way around the hall. Troy looked back at Gabriella walking strangely with Taylor pulling her and pushing her through the students as they looked at her in disgust for now she wasn't a normal person like everyone else.
Gabriella felt around for her Braille workbook. Ever since the accident, Gabriella couldn't read the books that she loved anymore. Her mother signed her up for Braille class so whenever she got bored and didn't want to listen to music, she could read her books in Braille.
She heard her balcony doors open and a few seconds later close. Gabriella knew it was Troy because he's the only guy, and person, to ever enter her house from her room.
"Hey Troy," she said without looking at him. She felt his scent coming closer to her.
"Gabi, can we talk?" Gabriella nodded as she reached under her bed to feel if her workbook was under there. "So what's up?"
"You tell me." Gabriella brought her hand back up and she rested it on her lap with her other hand.
"I got you something."
"What is it?" Troy set his hand on top of hers and she grabbed it. He pulled her up and led her out of her room. "Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
"You know I can't see it."
"But you can feel it." Gabriella could feel Troy was smiling. "Sit." Gabriella immediately sat where she was. She felt that she was on the couch.
"Troy, I wanna feel it." Suddenly, she felt a wet slobber on her cheek. She wrapped her arms around it. "Oh my god; is it a dog?"
"Yeah." Gabriella felt the couch stumble a little so she assumed Troy was sitting on the other side. Gabriella giggled as the dog kept licking her face.
"What kind is it?"
"It's a Golden Retriever. It's a Seeing Eye dog."
"Seriously?" She giggled again as the golden retriever nuzzled his nose in her lap.
"Yup. Call it whatever you want. The company said that his old name used to be Sparkle."
"Then Sparkle it is. I don't want to change his name." She heard Troy laugh. She waved her hand in the air. "Troy, come over here." Troy did as he was told and Gabriella gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you so much." She felt something brush against her lips.
"Gabi, I want to tell you something."
"Sure." Gabriella rubbed Sparkle's neck. Sparkle barked in response.
"I was going to tell you the night of the accident." Gabriella's smile faded. He sounded serious.
"What is it?"
"I had it planned, but everything went wrong from the start. The accident and then I lost the ring…"
"What ring?" Troy's eyes widened. He wasn't supposed to say that out loud.
"The ring I-"
"Are you saying the ring from the car?"
"You have it?" Gabriella nodded and dug through her pockets. She pulled out a ring, the exact same ring that Troy bought for her the other night. Gabriella nodded and held out the ring to give back to Troy.
"My mom gave it to me. She thought it was for me." Gabriella laughed a little. To herself, it was a chuckle to give away that the laugh was a fake. To Troy, it was a chuckle to assume that everything was fine.
"It is," Troy mumbled. Gabriella's ears wiggled a little; the ring was for her? Gabriella's hearing was better than before now that she was blind. A/N: Yes, that happens to some blind people.
"It's… for me?" Gabriella stuttered. She felt a pair of warm hands grabbed hers.
"If you don't believe it, then believe that I want you to be my girlfriend."
"W-w-w-what?" Troy smiled and took the ring out of Gabriella's hands. He slipped it on her left ring finger and kissed the back of her hand.
"Do you accept?" Gabriella's eyes tore up and she gave Troy a hug. She nodded against his chest. Troy smiled; overall what hads happened the past days or weeks, nothing could break the bond that they had.
A/N: I'm sorry I'm not updating. My editor has school so it takes her a while and I'm also busy myself. It's only my tenth day at my new school and I'm already stressing out over two projects, a book that has to be finished by the end of this month, and my practice and homework for my extracurricular activities. But I'm also writing a new story and it won't be out until I finish it, so Everything I Want may have to be on hiatus if that's alright with you. If you've been a freshmen in high school, you should know how it gets harder as you get on in life and then BAM, your life has now turned into adult life where you have to work 24/7. So please give me some time to write them. Thank you and make this one shot last(: