TITLE: That's Why
AUTHOR: Jessa
RATING/GENRE: K/Humor, Romance
FANDOM/PAIRING: High School Musical/Troy & Gabriella
SUMMARY: Gabriella notices the extra attention that Troy is paying to Sharpay and decides to take a page out of the diva's book. (Oneshot.)

DISCLAIMER: High School Musical and all its characters are property of Disney. I don't own nuffin'.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The first chunk of this was written last summer, just before HSM2 was released. Technically it's my first bit of HSM fanfic! I just found it on my old computer and decided to finish and finally post it. This is dedicated to Teffy's faux hawk in the HSM2 rehearsal-cam videos. Bring that sexy back for HSM3 plzzzzz! (ps -- "Teffy" is none other than Zace himself, for those of you who weren't aware.)

ps -- Charli... OMGTITLETWINS.

The New Mexico sun blazed high in the sky, heating the air to impossible temperatures. The Lava Springs Country Club was packed with rich people looking for an escape beside the pool or on the golf course. Students from East High littered the grounds as well, picking up after the members of the club and serving them drinks.

Gabriella Montez was seated comfortably at her post, keeping a watchful eye on the youngsters splashing around dangerously close to the deep end of the pool. A pair of sleek, black sunglasses sat on her nose, shielding her eyes from not only the sun but also the glare of her bright red lifeguard uniform.

Although she generally enjoyed her job, today she was finding it hard to concentrate – a must for her line of work. Her eyes kept finding their way back to her boyfriend, Troy. The lifeguard tower allowed her a clear view of him and she found that view mildly disturbing. He was employed as a golf caddy and at the moment, he was toting around a violently pink bag of clubs that shimmered in the sunlight. They were Sharpay's. Gabriella was almost positive that Sharpay had no interest in playing golf but still, day after day, she had Troy trail after her, toting her expensive clubs.

The problem Gabriella was having was that currently, even though he'd been complaining endlessly about the shallow blond all summer, Troy didn't seem to mind. In fact, he looked like he was having a pretty good time, laughing and joking with Sharpay. Gabriella drew the line at watching him teach her how to swing properly. At that point, she forced herself to look away, her stomach now overtaken with a sick, sinking feeling.

She tried telling herself that he was probably just being nice and that -- fear of getting clocked in the head with the club aside -- he belonged to her, but upon glancing back at the pair on the green, this voice of reason became weaker and weaker. Unhappily, she crossed her arms over her chest and put her focus back on the pool -- for a little while at least.

She was surprised to see, when her concentration once again slipped away, that a few minutes later they were gone. Gabriella sighed and slumped down abnormally low in her seat.

"Hey there, lifeguard," someone called from below. Gabriella peeked over the side of her chair, taking her time, for she recognized the voice instantly.

"Hey yourself," she replied, eliciting a smile from Troy. For the first time in a while, she didn't really feel like talking to him.

"Slow afternoon?" he asked, glancing around. All he got in response was a nod but it didn't seem to deter him. "I wanted to ask you something."

Gabriella's eyebrows rose slightly.

"Yes?"

Troy cleared his throat, a habit Gabriella knew appeared when he was nervous. That was probably not a good sign.

"I was wondering if you were busy tonight," he said. "Because if you're not I was thinking maybe you'd like to go out or something."

Gabriella couldn't help but smile back when he played up his request with a shy smile, his blue eyes blinking up at her innocently. Still, the thought of him messing about with Sharpay was fresh in her mind and Gabriella didn't think she could go out with him while it was hanging over her head.

"Um," she answered. "Actually I am kinda doing something tonight…"

He seemed genuinely downhearted.

"Maybe some other time?" she offered in order to appease him a little. As hurt as she may have been, there was always a soft spot in her heart for Troy. She really didn't like to see him distressed.

"Sure," he replied. "I'll see you later." He waved and then made his exit with Gabriella staring at his retreating back.

During the evenings, after everyone got off work, a lot of teens would gather around the pool, sip drinks and talk while Fulton went home for his dinner break. It was slowly becoming a tradition of sorts. Tonight, Troy and Chad lounged by a table, Chad slurping a non-alcoholic pina coloda so loudly that Troy could scarcely hear himself think.

"Would you give it a rest!?" he snapped at his friend after this had gone on for a while. Chad cast his eyes down into his glass and then back up at Troy. He began to slurp even louder. Troy glared in his direction and he stopped abruptly.

"What's up with you?" Chad asked. "You've been Mr. Outburst all night."

Troy shook his head. "It's nothing."

"Oh yeah? 'Cause it sure seems like something to me," Chad retaliated.

Exhaling, he said,"Gabriella's just been really weird lately, like she doesn't want to hang out or talk to me."

"Troy… she's a girl, okay? They get weird sometimes," Chad replied, rolling his eyes. Gabriella was a popular topic of conversation with Troy.

"Thanks, buddy. You're loads of help," Troy said dryly, wondering why he'd said anything at all. Chad was his friend -- best in fact -- but he was a bit clueless when it came to relationships. He had this mindset wherein girls were a whole other species. Troy was shocked that he'd actually managed to find a girl that would put up with him. Taylor had to have the patience of a saint.

Chad shrugged, completely unruffled by his ungratefulness, and went back to his drink. Troy's head whipped up when he heard his friend make a strangled choking noise.

"You okay?" he asked, eyeing Chad curiously as he coughed.

"Uhhh," Chad managed. His focus seemed to be fixed on a location just past Troy's head, an awed look on his face. Troy turned slowly in his seat, half afraid of what he would find behind him. His jaw dropped when he realized what had caused Chad to choke.

Gabriella was descending the decorative steps next to the waterfall -- which was not out of the ordinary -- however, she was clad in a sparkly pink bikini that showed more skin than Troy ever dared to imagine she had and a pair of equally vibrant platform shoes. He could feel his face flush, partly due to how good she looked and partly because every other guy around the pool seemed to think she looked just as good. In fact, she was surrounded by what could be deemed a sizable fan club of drooling teenage boys.

"B-but… what?" Troy stammered, totally floored.

"Yeeeah," Chad mumbled from somewhere out of eye-shot.

"She said she was busy," Troy said helplessly, his eyebrows knitting together as he watched her beaming and twirling an ebony curl around one finger. She didn't look like herself at all and it was very off-putting for Troy to watch.

"She looks pretty busy to me," Chad interjected, referring to her adoring posse with which she was now talking animatedly. Every once in a while she would giggle, her nose crinkling up in the adorable way that Troy loved, and throw in some flirty gesture.

When she leaned over to whisper intimately into the ear of a tall guy in a lifeguard uniform, Troy finally took action, rising from his chair and stalking over to his girlfriend. He actually had to nudge a couple of guys out of his way to get to her.

"Gabriella?" he said when he finally reached her. She looked lazily up from where she was sprawled on a reclining patio chair, her face not even reaching his but stopping halfway as if it wasn't worth the effort to spare him a glance.

"Oh, hey Troy," she replied in a bored tone. Even her voice had changed. It had a foreign shrillness to it that sounded nothing like her normally quiet and smooth tones.

"I thought you had plans tonight…" he said, making a sad attempt at casual conversation when he really wanted to ask her what the hell was going on.

"Yeah, I do," she said, gazing thoughtfully at her newly polished nails. Troy waited for her to elaborate further but when it became clear she wasn't going to, he was forced to pry.

"What are they?"

Gabriella finally looked at him, one eyebrow quirked up. Scoffing, she replied,"Hello, I'm in the midst of them."

Troy really didn't know what else he could do. Obviously Gabriella had issues that she wasn't going to share. Where was the girl he could tell anything to; the girl who was always there to listen? He wanted his girl back so he decided on a course of action that would, with any luck, prove more effective – talk to her best friend. If Troy understood the concept of "girl talk" correctly, he assumed Taylor would probably have at least some inkling of what was wrong.

Troy rapped loudly on Taylor's door. It was fairly late -- around ten or so -- but he was desperate. He could only hope she was at home and, more importantly, could tell him what he needed to know.

The door swung open just as he had raised his hand to knock a second time.

"Well, look who it is," Taylor said with the faintest tinge of venom. Normally they got on well so this confused Troy even further, something he hadn't thought was possible until just then.

"Hey Taylor," he tried timidly. Her glare was intense. Now Troy could see what Chad had been going on about all this time.

"What can I do for you?" she asked, leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed.

He cleared his throat and replied. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

She regarded him for a short moment before nodding curtly and stepping aside so he could enter. She shut the door with force behind him, making him jump an inch or so off the ground.

"Please," she said, leading him into her cozy living room. "Have a seat." He obliged and she took the chair directly across from his, settling down primly in her seat. "Now talk," she ordered.

"It's about Gabriella," Troy started. Taylor tapped her fingers on her knee, a knowing look on her face, giving Troy the impression she already knew exactly why he had sought her out. "She's been acting… odd."

"Odd? How so?" Taylor questioned, tilting her head to the side, a small smirk on her lips as though some part of her was enjoying the unfolding scenario.

"Well, she doesn't want to hang out or even talk to me and a little while ago when I saw her she just wasn't herself," he answered, going on to describe every painful detail of the scene by the poolside and watching Taylor closely for her reaction to this information.

Taylor leaned forward, letting out a sigh of epic proportions as she did so.

"Don't you get it?" she asked with exasperation. "Can you think of who she was acting like?"

Troy's brows furrowed in concentration as he tried to comprehend her meaning.

"She reminded me a lot of Sharpay to tell you the truth," he joked, thinking of how comparing the two was similar to a comparison between basketball and homework -- one thing amazing and the other amazingly annoying.

To his surprise, Taylor didn't find the jest so amusing; she looked quite grim which made Troy stop in mid-chuckle.

"Think about it Troy!" Taylor said. "You might be a boy, and a basketball player to boot, but I know you're not stupid."

Troy politely overlooked her slam on his sport of choice and did as she suggested. It didn't take him long to put two and two together – Gabriella was acting like Sharpay. But why?

"Why would Gabriella want to dress up like Sharpay," he asked.

Taylor's eyes rolled towards the ceiling. "Maybe because she thought that's what you wanted."

Troy's mouth hung open. He'd never understand women.

"Why the hell would she think that?" he said, utterly aghast.

"Because you might not have noticed but you have spent a lot of time around Sharpay lately and Gabs has been left up in her lifeguard tower all by her lonesome," Taylor explained. Thinking back, Troy found that he had to admit Taylor was right. All the days spent lagging after Sharpay while Gabriella watched from beside the pool suddenly became ridiculously obvious in his mind.

Shaking off this new revelation, he asked," So what do I do?"

"I'd suggest something sweet that in no way, shape or form involves anything Sharpay related," Taylor said. "Something that tells her how much you love her for who she is… and just for good measure you can break the Sharpay-free rule once or twice to slip in how ugly you think that blond hussy is."

Troy absorbed these instructions, a plan formulating almost instantaneously. He rose from his seat so fast he almost uprooted the Mckessie's coffee table.

"Thanks Taylor," Troy said, making his way to the front door without pausing for her reply.

"That's what I'm here for!" she called. "Apparently that's about the only thing I'm here for," she muttered to herself a few seconds after she heard her door slam.

Gabriella was very quickly growing tired of mimicking Sharpay. She had a headache from the unnatural sound of her own voice and the bathing suit she was wearing, although it seemed to be a hit with the boys, made her feel much too exposed. She thought longingly of her one piece lifeguard uniform, something she had never thought would happen... ever.

After her fifth free drink, she was seriously considering calling it a night. Troy wasn't even around anymore so her attempts at making him jealous were having zero effect, not to mention the fact that she now felt like a horrible human being for playing such mind games. To the disappointment of the few males still lingering around her, vying for her attention, she heaved herself up out of her chair. Smiling apologetically, she teetered on her dangerously high heels back in the direction of the staff building, imagining what a relief it would be to be back in her comfy lilac sundress.

Gabriella had to admit to herself, as she entered the locker room, that her way of dealing with Troy's waning affection for her was pretty stupid. In her opinion, someone either liked you or they didn't. You shouldn't have to change yourself for a guy. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became with herself. The last hour hadn't been fun at all -- wearing clothes that she felt ridiculous in, conversing with guys that didn't care if she had the intelligence of a parking meter. Maybe that lifestyle was for Sharpay Evans, but it sure wasn't for Gabriella and if Troy was into that, perhaps he wasn't for Gabriella either. The idea broke her heart, but she couldn't deny it any longer.

Tears pricked her eyes and she tried to blink them back as she pulled open her locker. Those tears were forgotten almost immediately when she spied a piece of purple paper on top of her belongs. It had obviously been pushed through the grate in the door. Her anticipation quickly mounting, Gabriella gingerly picked the paper up and unfolded it.

'Turn around,' it read in what was easily recognizable as Troy's hasty handwriting. Not knowing what to expect, Gabriella obeyed the note's instructions, turning slowly in place. Leaning against the wall behind her was Troy, hands in his pockets and a faint, crooked smile on his face.

"Um... what are you doing in the girls' locker room, Troy?" Gabriella inquired uncertainly after she had recovered from the initial surprise of seeing him there.

Troy pushed away from the wall without removing his hands from his pockets and took a couple of steps towards her. "Gabi... I have to tell you something important and I want you to really listen to me. Can you do that?"

Although his serious tone made Gabriella's heart sputter in her chest, she replied shakily, "Yes." The intensity of his sapphire gaze was making her nervous, causing her to wrap her arms tightly around her own body. This was it. Troy was leaving her for Sharpay.

He seemed as nervous as she felt and she watched as he took a deep breath before speaking, softly but clearly. "I wanted to do this with some kind of big romantic gesture -- because you deserve that and more -- but I didn't have the time to get it together. I needed to tell you this now..." In contrast to the urgency in his words, Troy didn't continue right away. Gabriella waited with bated breath, not daring to let the hope inside rise too high for fear that her mind was now prematurely jumping to Sharpayless conclusions.

"This will require a demonstration," Troy said, a slight edge of mischeif on his voice. "Close your eyes."

Warily, Gabriella did as she was told and shut her eyes. She could sense Troy moving and hear a quiet rustling that lasted mere seconds before Troy spoke again.

"You can open them now."

"That was fast," Gabriella quipped before, once again, succumbing to his demands. She had to laugh when, right in front of her face, a little monster finger puppet greeted her. It was one of those trinkets that sit on the counter in every convience store across America and you always pick them up and giggle at how silly they are but you never buy them. 'What was that supposed to prove?', Gabriella wondered as she continued to laugh softly.

Apparently, it proved something to Troy because he exclaimed, "See! That right there!"

"What right where?" Gabriella asked. "You're not making any sense, Troy."

"This made you laugh." He waved the finger puppet around which caused the monster's small rubber arms to shake.

Gabriella shook her head -- still amused -- and replied, "Those make everyone laugh."

"That's where you're wrong. If I got this as a present for a lot of girls, they would think I was cheap or insane," he said.

"And why do you assume I don't think you're insane?" Gabriella teased out of habit.

Troy rolled his eyes but didn't acknowledge her jibe further. Instead, he went on in his speech. "My point is -- you appreciate everything me, or anyone else, does for you, no matter how big or small. Even if it might be a little bit insane." Blushing, she peered up into his eyes and allowed herself to fall into them. "That's why... that's why I..."

For a moment, the only sound in the room was that of breathing, made heavy by the weight of words that had not yet been spoken.

"That's why I love you," Troy finally said, the confidence in his declaration undeniable. Gabriella's heart swelled with relief and bliss, glad to know that what she had been feeling since stepping onto that stage at that lame hotel party almost half a year ago was reciprocated.

"Really?" she asked, her suddenly moist brown eyes desperately scanning his expression for any sign of farce.

Troy smiled warmly and made the monster puppet bite her nose with his goofy rubber teeth. "Yup. I really love you," he responded, apparently enjoying the way the phrase rolled off his tongue. "I love the way you'd rather get a handmade card than one from a store. I love the way you're beautiful on the inside. It makes you ten times more gorgeous on the outside."

"I love you too," Gabriella sniffed.

"Please accept this hilarious finger puppet as a symbol of my undying devotion to you," Troy said cheekily, taking the puppet off of his finger and placing it in the palm of her hand, closing her fingers safely around it. He brought her fist up to his lips and brushed them across her knuckles while she giggled.

"Thank you," she said after her laughter had subsided, reaching up with her monsterless hand to tenderly push Troy's bangs out of his eyes. The affectionate moment washed over them and swept the couple away. Both of them leaned in at the same time, gearing up for a sweet kiss -- eyes fluttering shut and lips puckered -- before the moment was tragically cut short. A shrill, and impossibly loud, alarm began to blare, catching Troy and Gabriella unawares. A few seconds later, the sprinklers were activated and they were instantly soaked.

Gabriella's eyes snapped open in disbelief. Troy seemed unable to comprehend what had just happened; his neck was craned down to Gabriella's level as if he thought the kiss might still occur. The expression on his face was somewhere between annoyance and shock.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

His despair was put on hold, however, when she simply shrugged and said, "It's not like the fire's in here."

There was no time for him to reply; Gabriella gripped the back of his neck and pulled his lips down to hers, refusing to let the opportunity pass her by. It was a minute of pure heaven, even when you threw in the impromtu shower and the sound of the fire alarm. Her lips moved so smoothly over his with none of the awkwardness usually found in a first kiss. Like every other aspect of their relationship, it just felt right -- like their lips were meant to be together but by some accident had been separated.

"Whoa," Troy murmured when they finally pulled away, still wrapped up in each other's arms. Although his voice didn't carry over the din, Gabriella caught the gist and grinned up at him, obviously pleased with herself.

Tearing away from his embrace, she yanked his arm towards the exit. "Come on!" she yelled. "Let's get out of here!" To her surprise, he didn't budge. She glanced back in confusion.

"One more thing, Montez," he hollered. "If Sharpay Evans looked half as good as you do in that bikini, she'd be one lucky diva!"

Gabriella tried to be offended for her gender but couldn't keep the smirk off her face. She couldn't be Ms. Nice Girl all the time. After all, she was only human. Rolling her eyes, she leaned up to give Troy a peck on the lips for his efforts.

"Just don't let her hear you say that or you won't survive the summer."

"Fair enough," Troy replied and at long last, they left the locker room -- which was still potentially on fire -- with the little rubber monster resting comfortably between their entangled hands.

It's ova.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: For those of you who don't know what those monster finger puppets look like (I feel very sorry for you because they provide endless entertainment), here's a picture: i89(dot)photobucket(dot)com/albums/k221/fictacious-fangirl/209-459large(dot)jpg