Here's my second fanfic… those of you who have read "Love to Gabi from Chad" probably will recognize my style.
Read and Review! I hope to get more feedback than I did for the last!
Enjoy!!
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own nothing as successful as HSM, but I hope that someday I will…
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THE REFORMATION OF ONE EVANS
Gabriella reached into her locker and pulled out the thick stack of textbooks that were waiting to be stuffed into her backpack. New school year, new subjects – and college application forms to be filled out,of which were tucked safely away into her misc. binder.
Just as she was closing the locker, two cologne-scented hands closed over her eyes. "Hola, bella," Troy said in what he appeared to think was a good Spanish accent.
She balanced her books against one hip and used her free hand to remove his hands from her face, spinning around with a grin on her face. "No wonder you failed Spanish, mister. You sound like a duck."
"Excuse me," he said in a girly voice. "That was not polite." He crossed his arms and looked away in a miffed stance.
She grinned and uncrossed his arms for him. "You can't stay mad at me for long, Troy. You like me too much."
Troy smiled at her and opened his mouth to say something, but just as he did, his eyes lost their playful gleam and the smile dropped off of his face so quickly that Gabi was alarmed. "Troy?" she asked nervously. His eyes had traveled to just above her head, presumably staring at the person behind her. She turned around and found herself face to face with the very girl who had almost stolen her boyfriend over the summer.
"Sharpay," she said in a voice that was more fearful than she'd intended. "I mean – hi."
Sharpay's expression was cold and emotionless. "Troy. Gabriella," she said in a voice that indicated pure hatred. "How was the rest of your summer leeching off of my country club?"
Troy shrugged, not wishing to bait the mountain lion. "It was okay. How was drama camp? It's a shame you left just as the fun started."
"Drama camp was excellent," she said stiffly. "Well… see you later." She strode off in a cloud of Burberry perfume, heading towards her new locker, which she had already decked out in pink construction paper, gold star stickers, and photographs of her onstage and with her Sharpettes.
The person behind her smiled apologetically at Gabi and Troy. "Sorry about her, guys," Ryan said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He looked a little nervous; he hadn't seen them since they'd put on his production for the club talent show and he clearly was afraid their good spirits towards him had died out.
Gabi quenched his notions by throwing her arms around him in a tight hug. "Hi, Ry!" she exclaimed. "It's so great to see you!"
Ryan hugged her back and then stepped away to glance nervously at Troy. "Hey, man," he said, extending a hand.
Troy slapped it. "Hey, good summer?"
"OK. At least at drama camp they weren't all as psycho as-"
"RYAN!" Sharpay shrieked from the other side of the hall intersection, glaring vindictively at the three of them. "Why are you slumming?" she stomped her boot-encased foot.
"Nice shoes!" Gabi called, giggling a little as she looked at Sharpay's rhinestone-clad pink shoes, which perfectly matched the blindingly glittery tank top.
Sharpay looked at her with the most offended expression Gabi had ever seen on her face, an occasion which was rare, because hardly anyone ever dared to offend the Great Sharpay Evans.
Ryan gave an exasperated sigh. "I'm coming, Shar!" he yelled back at her. "See you around?" he clapped Troy on the back and grinned at Gabi, before taking off and maneuvering his way through a cluster of freshmen towards Sharpay.
"So, senior year," Troy said, extending one hand to lean casually against the lockers. "Pretty exciting, eh?"
"Well, you've got a set spot at Albuquerque U," Gabi laughed. "You can call this exciting. But all the places I'm applying are nuts! They have this special requirements and interviews and alum meetings and-"
Her tirade was cut off by a piercing shriek that set everyone in the hallway – including the bypassing principal – staring.
Gabi turned around and saw the girl standing a couple feet away in sensible shoes, a raspberry jacket and shirt, and a uniformly checked skirt. "OHMYGOD!" she shouted, running towards the girl, who was holding a Wheelie backpack handle in her left hand.
"I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!" the girl screamed as Gabi threw her arms around her neck.
The principal, who had finally regained his hearing, strode over to them. "Now, Miss Montez, I understand you're excited to see old friends, but you really must keep it down. I'd expect more restraint from you!"
Gabi nodded breathlessly. "I understand, Mr. Matsui, but you see – this Leslie Eagle!"
Principal Matsui looked at the girl expressionlessly. "And…?"
Troy approached the principal and the two girls. "Hi," he said, looking at the person who Gabi was still half-choking.
He reminded her of Taylor with her clothes, but she looked shockingly like Gabi in the face. Her two pigtail braids were the exact same charcoal color as Gabi's, and her face was just as tanned and almost as beautiful – or she could've been. Besides the fact that her coke bottle glasses were tackily decorated with Sponge Bob stickers, she was wearing too much red lipstick that was poorly applied.
Mr. Matsui sniffed a little and nodded towards the three kids. "Just behave," he said, and walked away.
The hallway resumed the usual chatter, ignoring the strange screaming girls as old friends greeted each other and fresh "meat" clutched their hallway maps and moved around in tight huddles, as if expecting to be devoured by seniors any second.
"Troy, this is Leslie Eagle, my old friend from Ford Springs. Leslie, this is my good friend Troy."
Troy extended his hand dazedly and didn't even hear Leslie's babbling greeting. He wasn't sure if he'd heard Gabi right, but if he had, he was really surprised. Had she seriously introduced him as her 'good friend'? They were clearly dating – they'd kissed and held hands and their own special meeting place. Wasn't he her official boyfriend?
Taylor McKessie came up behind him. "Who's this?" she said a little coolly. Troy refrained from smiling; Gabi had taught him enough about girls to recognize that Tay was steaming jealous.
"I'm Leslie," the girl said, removing her hand from Troy's and holding it out to Taylor.
"Les is my friend from Ford Springs in New York! I cannot believe you're here," Gabi gushed. "This will be so much fun."
"Why are you here?" Taylor asked, leaving Leslie's hand alone midair.
Leslie slowly withdrew her offering and said in the same overly excited tone, "I got a full scholarship to Albuquerque U, so Mom said I should get a good feel of the place before heading off to college. So here I am to finish out my high school years with you guys!"
"I hope you're not joining the scholastic team," Taylor said stiffly.
Gabi looked shocked at what her best friend had just said to her other best friend. "Tay! Why did you just say that?"
Troy looked at Leslie, who looked highly offended. If she had blonde hair, ditched the glasses and lipstick, and put on something pink and shiny, she could have been another Sharpette.
"Sorry," Taylor said quickly, apparently realizing how rude she had just been. "I meant, I hope you haven't been hoping to join the team because, uh, we're full." She nodded matter-of-factly.
Under the pretense of a cough, Troy looked away and rolled his eyes. Taylor's story was weak. It was the first day of school; even if she was the captain of the team, she had no way of knowing if the scholastic team even had any signups yet.
"No, we're not!" Gabi said brightly, still not catching on to Taylor's envy. Troy knew too much about Gabi to think she was that stupid. She was the one who'd taught him about reading feelings; she obviously knew what was going on but was desperately trying to act like it wasn't in the hopes that it would go away.
"Of course we are!" Tay argued, glaring at Gabi and Leslie maliciously. "We're FULL. Gab, let's go to our next class." She seized Gabi's hand and dragged her away.
Troy was stuck on the spot, uncertain if he should follow the pair or if he'd be intruding on private girl talk. Sure enough, instead of heading to homeroom, Tay dragged Gabi towards an alcove by the drinking fountain and started talking animatedly.
Before he could even decide what to do, he felt a hand crawling up his arm and resting on his shoulder. "So," said Leslie's high-pitched voice as she rested her cheek against his forearm and batted her eyelashes klutzily, "How do you and Gabriella Maria know each other?"
"Uh…" he mumbled awkwardly. She was standing with her hip right up against his leg and smiling flirtatiously; not only that, he was surprised to hear her call Gabi "Gabriella Maria". He'd never heard anyone call her by both first and middle names.
"I'm kind of her boy-"
Gabi came storming back, red in the face, and shoved Leslie's hand off of Troy. Troy breathed in relief, assuming that she'd tell Leslie to keep her hands off, but instead she looked defiantly at Troy. "I don't know what's gotten into that girl." She huffed and looked at Taylor, who was sulking by the fountain.
Leslie smiled brightly. "He's cute," she whispered loudly to Gabi, jerking a thumb at Troy. "Where'd you pick him up?"
Gabi turned even redder, this time not out of fury but out of embarrassment. "Shut up, Leslie," she said impatiently. "We're seniors now. Last time I saw you I was a sophomore, but we're mature enough not to talk like this, right?"
Leslie looked surprised at the disguised scolding. "I guess so," she said.
Troy slung his arm around Gabi's shoulders, hoping to convey the message that he was dating her, since she hadn't exactly told Leslie.
Gabi gently placed her hand on the one that Troy was dangling by her neck and moved it over several inches to her collarbone. "That tickles," she said quietly as Leslie moved on, completely unaware of her surroundings as she examined the building.
Troy looked at her in surprise; she had never told him not to touch her anywhere or tried to move his hands. She gave him a forced smile and continued walking. He broke away as they reached his locker, spun the dial, grabbed his books and quickly turned around to ask her what was wrong. Gabi was already heading down the hall with Leslie, arms wrapped around each other's waists. Frowning quizzically, he headed in the opposite direction towards science.
EAGLE FORGOTTEN
Their first day as high school seniors was relatively uneventful. By the time the day was over, Troy was eager to see Gabi. Due to their new schedules, he barely saw her at all on Mondays. He didn't even attempt to hide his grin when he saw her coming towards him. He was sweaty and gross from basketball practice, but he was still glad to see her. Gabi never cared if he was wearing a tuxedo or just wearing his team jersey and a sweat towel.
"Hey, superstar," she called as she approached, her arms out waiting for a hug.
He avoided her arms and leaned in for a quick kiss. "Sorry, sweetheart," he said, tousling her hair affectionately. "You don't want to touch this superstar before he's showered and lathered up in deodorant."
She winced. "Thanks for the info. I'll wait on the bench?"
"Sure. Just give me a couple of seconds."
By the time he'd come out of the back door, his hair still dripping, Gabi was lying on the bench reading some strange, thousand-page novel. She sat up and crossed her legs when he came out. He sat down next to her, feeling nervous. They'd barely spoken since the morning, when she had a) called him just a "good friend" and b) told him not to touch her neck.
She looked at him, a devilish smile on her face. "I know what you're thinking," she said, swinging herself around so she was almost sitting on his lap.
"Yeah, what's that?" he asked, kissing the top of her head and breathing in the scent of her sweet smelling hair.
"Sorry about this afternoon. Seeing Les, I went a little crazy. And-"
"Yes?" he prompted, hoping she'd target the touching issue so he could go back to holding her with abandon.
"Leslie's really not comfortable around boys," she said. "I just didn't want her to feel, like, you know, left out."
He nodded, trying to look understanding. "Yeah, I totally get it," he said.
"Thanks," she grinned at him. "So you don't have to be tense or anything. Go ahead."
He chuckled a little. "Am I that bad at concealing my feelings?"
She reached up to pull his head down towards her, so they were nose to nose. She looked beautiful even with just one eye. "That means you're honest. It's good, so don't change."
She let his head go and rested against him peacefully.
They sat in silence for a while, and then she said thoughtfully, "Ryan certainly has changed. I'm hoping he'll have an influence on Sharpay."
"That Wildcat's never going to change her spots," Troy laughed. "Though she might soften up a little once she sees what Zeke's left on her porch."
Gabi gasped and sat up straight, looking at Troy with wide eyes. "He didn't!"
Troy nodded mischievously. "Oh, yes he did."
Gabi burst out laughing. Zeke had made a dummy of Sharpay wearing Ryan's Tiki Warrior costume, which he had pulled off the EBay market and given to the Wildcats as a gift, and completely graffitied her face, but nobody thought he'd work up the nerve to defy his ex-crush like that.
"I can't wait to see her shouting match with him tomorrow," Troy said serenely, his eyes dancing with laughter. "I hope Baker Boy comes out in less than a thousand pieces."
Gabi snorted. "We're lucky if we can find any piece of him at all!"
Troy laughed a little. "Let's go to my house and watch E.T.," he suggested.
She gave the cute little shrug that he found so enrapturing and stood up. "What are we waiting for? I never refuse free popcorn and a night with my Wildcat."
He slung his arm around her shoulders again – this time she said nothing – and they set off together.
THE ENVY OF TAYLOR
Troy arrived at school whistling and smiling brightly. He and Gabi had had a perfect night together, and he was in an extremely good mood because Tuesday mornings, they had every single class together.
Before he even reached the door, however, he was sidetracked by Taylor, who leapt out of a bush and dragged him towards the side of the building. He was surprised to find the whole gang gathered – Kelsi, Chad, Zeke, Jason, and Ryan. The only person missing was Gabi.
"What's going on?" he asked confusedly.
Chad hushed his voice and whispered, "That girl – Eagle – is seriously freaky!"
Jason jumped in with a wide-eyed, frantic nod. "Yesterday at lunch she tried to sit on my lap!!"
Ryan interjected with a, "She can spell, like, any word in the dictionary. Me and Shar tested her during free period!"
They seemed to each take turns bashing Leslie. "She raised her hand in class even when no questions were being asked, just so she could be the "first" to raise her hand and for every question, so she could shoot her smarty pants mouth off!" Taylor hissed angrily. "Mrs. McDonald had to ask her to lower her hand eighteen times! EIGHTEEN!"
"And she asked me if I was a singer, and I said I was a composer and a stage manager, and she goes, 'I can sing!' and I am SOOO surprised the windows in that classroom didn't shatter," Kelsi said earnestly.
That left only Zeke, who gave a noncommittal shrug. "I think she's kinda hot," he mumbled. Everyone groaned and turned instead to face Troy, who backed away, his hands in the air.
"Why are you all staring at me?" he asked.
"Gabi's your girlfriend, and she's the one who brought us Freakazoid 2000!" Tay hissed. "Tell her to either get that girl to change or to get rid of her completely!"
Everyone nodded so ferociously Troy had to nod too. "But wait," he said, stopping himself, "what if that hurts Gabi's feelings? Leslie is her best friend."
"Relax," Chad said. "We're all in on this. She can't just get mad at you. No worries, captain."
Troy winced a little. "I don't think I can."
Everyone scoffed. "Sissy," Kelsi grumbled.
"You guys ease up," Ryan said. "I don't like her either, but you can't ask Troy to risk his girlfriend just for us."
"Thanks," Troy said gratefully. "I'll take care of Leslie; I just won't talk to Gab about it, everyone okay with that?"
They nodded simultaneously and started trickling into the school building. Ryan hung back and looked curiously at Troy. "How do you plan on getting rid of her and her strange ways without letting Gabi know about our plot?"
Troy gave him a desperate look. "To tell you the truth, I have absolutely no idea."
The two of them headed inside together, Troy's head swirling with thoughts about Gabi and Leslie and wondering how someone who looked as sweet as Taylor could get jealous enough to have everyone gang up on a newcomer.
