A Little Awkward
"We're going on." Sharpay said, taking another step closer in line.
"You guys can go. I'm not going." I said firmly, ducking down to go under the railing.
"Hey no cutting!" A bushy haired guy said.
"We're in front of you. Suck an Egg Danforth!" Taylor yelled at him.
"Fuck you McKessie." He said.
I laughed as I slipped under the rail. I stood up, running into somebody. "Ugh, sorry." I groaned. "I didn't… hit you, did I?" I asked, blushing, looking up at him.
The guy blushed, laughing awkwardly. "No. You didn't." He said softly. "Trying to escape?" He asked.
I nodded. I looked over at Taylor and the bushy haired guy named Danforth argue. "I am not going on this metal death trap." I said.
"It doesn't look too safe." He said, looking up at it. "Chad and Zeke were pressuring me to go on." The guy said jerking his thumb over at his friends.
"Wanna split a funnel cake?" I asked, glancing over again. "While they're not paying attention?"
He looked up at the Doom Drop. "Yes. Please." He said, giving me a small grin. "Hurry up let's go." He took my hand and we ducked under the ropes.
"Bolton! Get back here!"
"Gabriella!" I heard Taylor call me.
"Keep going." I urged as we made it to the back and took off running. We stopped running once we got to the food area. We looked at each other, catching our breaths. We burst out laughing and looked around awkwardly. "So Funnel cake?"
"Yes." He agreed. "You get the funnel cake, I'll get drinks?"
"Sounds fair." I reasoned. "What do you want on it?"
"Whatever you want, I'm not picky." He said, looking at me. "Drinks?"
"Waters fine." I said. "Meet me back here?"
He nodded and we went our separate ways. I stepped up to the window and ordered my funnel cake. I glanced back to see him already standing there with a water and a bottle of orange Gatorade. He stared at the ground, kicking the dirt around with his foot. His head shot up and he looked at me. I turned around quickly, cursing myself for letting him catch me looking at him.
"Twenty?" The lady in the window called my number. I grabbed two forks and lots of napkins before I grabbed the plate with the funnel cake.
"Let's find a seat." He said, as I walked up to him. "I think I see a table over there." I followed him over to the table and we sat down together. We looked at each other awkwardly as we realized we knew nothing about each other. "Here's your water." He said, putting the huge bottle in front of me. "I would've gotten a smaller size but everything is jumbo here."
I laughed quietly. "It's okay, thank you." I handed him a fork.
"I love funnel cake." He said, sticking the plastic fork into the sugarcoated pastry. "Sucks you can only get it one time a year."
I nodded in agreement. I stuck my fork in as well. "My brother tried to make one once… it didn't work out very well."
"Oh, how olds your brother?"
"23. We have a seven year age difference. We were both… surprises." I said, laughing slightly.
"I have a brother too. He's fourteen." He said, nodding. "He's kind of an ass."
I snorted. "Aren't all brothers."
We both struggled to get pieces off. "Are you weird about eating with your hands?" He asked me.
"Nope."
"Good, these plastic forks are a piece of shit." He said, dropping the fork and ripping off a piece.
I giggled to myself as I ripped off a piece. I popped it in my mouth. "It tastes like heaven." I said slightly moaning. I chewed before ripping another piece off.
He chuckled at me. "What's your name?"
"Gabi… well Gabriella but I every nickname under the sun." I reached over to pick up my huge, cold water bottle. "What's yours?" I asked him.
"Troy." He said quietly. He watched me take a sip of my water before grabbing another piece of funnel cake. "Do you go to West High?" He asked me.
I shook my head. "I go to private school. South Rock Prep Academy."
He nodded. "I see. I go to East High, with Sharpay, Taylor, Chad and Zeke."
"Taylor and Sharpay always rant about the boys but I never really listen." I laughed awkwardly. "I'm socially awkward, I'm sorry."
He smiled warmly. "You're not the only one. I only talk to Chad and Zeke. I have social anxiety. Look at my hand." He lifted up his hand and it was shaking. I frowned. "But I can't stop talking to you." He said, laughing quietly.
"Wow." I said quietly. "I never would have guessed." I looked up at him. He was far from ugly, I would figure he would have been extremely popular. "So you don't talk to new people, like ever?"
"I haven't said a word to Taylor or Sharpay… ever." He said, looking up at me. He flushed automatically, turning his head down. "Sorry, I bet you don't care."
"I do." I said softly. "I feel honored you're talking to me."
He gave me a small smile. "So what do you prefer? Gabi or Gabriella?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "Whatever is easier for you."
"Gabriella is a beautiful name." He said, picking up another piece of cake.
"Thank you. It was my great grandmothers name. She was born in Italy. My Dad's Grandma. They were really close. His name is Gabriel. I'm Gabriella. My brother, thankfully, isn't Gabriel either. His name is Jesse- my mom's dad's name." I explained. "We like to repeat names."
"My brother is named Jackson, kind of after my Dad. I don't really know where they got mine from." He said, quietly before he continued chewing. "So you're Italian?"
"My great grandparent's were both Italian. My grandma is Italian and my grandpa is from Spain. So a little Italian and a little Spanish from my dad. My mom is like a mix of everything. Her dad, my papa Jesse, is Puerto Rican and Native American. My grandma is like a mixture of everything white. So I'm definitely a mutt."
He chuckled. "Wow, my family is everything European. My dad's side in mainly English and French I believe. My mom's is German and Irish… a little Swiss."
"It's hard to find a pure breed of anything anymore." I said. "But diversity is good."
"Yeah." He agreed quietly.
We sat there quietly, finishing off the rest of our funnel cake. I took a look around and I saw an angry Sharpay and Taylor heading right for us. "Uh oh." I said quietly.
"What?" Troy asked, confused.
"Gabriella Fucking Montez." Sharpay said, taking a seat next to me. "We've been looking all over for you for like the last fifteen minutes! You've been right here the whole fucking time."
"Yeah-"
"You ditched us for Bolton?" Taylor asked, sitting next to Troy. "He doesn't even talk! What could you have possibly talked about?" Taylor looked over at him. "No offense of course but aren't you like mute or something?"
"Taylor!" I scolded.
"What?"
"You guys are assholes. Troy and I didn't want to go on the ride so we decided to hang out together. We had plenty to talk about. Not that it's any of your damn business. Apologize to him."
"But-"
"Taylor Helen McKessie. Apologize." I said firmly.
Troy looked at me kind of surprised. "Sorry." She mumbled. Troy just kind of nodded. He looked extremely uncomfortable next to Taylor.
"Troy! Why did you ditch us man? That ride was totally sweet." The bushy haired guy said, walking over to the table as well.
"Who's your new friend Troy? " The other guy said. "Hi I'm Zeke." He introduced himself to me. "What's your name pretty lady?" He asked, kissing the top of my hand.
I crinkled my nose at him. "Gabi."
"We should get going." Taylor said. "It's getting a little crowded over here."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean McKessie?"
"You know exactly what it means Danforth. You and your little crew have been following us all day." Taylor started.
I just sighed and looked up at Troy. He gave me a small smile and nodded his head away. I nodded mine, agreeing we should make a get away. Once they brought Sharpay into the mix, I stood up. I grabbed my water, taking a drink, walking around the other guy. I walked backwards watching Troy slip away unnoticed. He caught up to me and we walked away quickly.
"Why do I have a feeling we're going to be doing that a lot today?" I asked him.
"Because our friends kind of hate each other." He said, giving me a small smile.
"People really think you're mute?" I asked him.
He just shrugged. "I guess. I don't really talk… a lot." He said, slowly. "It's hard sometimes. I'm constantly worrying."
"You'll be okay." I assured him. I put my hand in his shaking one. "Let's go in one of those fun house things… Do you like those?"
He gave me a small smile before he nodded. "We have to get tickets."
"Come on." I said, leading him over to one of the ticket booths. There was a guy eating his lunch in one of the air conditioned booths. He was looking down, probably playing some stupid baseball game on his phone. "Jesse!"
"Jesus, Gabi." He said after jumping up and dropping his phone on the desk. "What? I'm on my lunch."
"You promised me tickets." I said, grinning at him.
"I don't know if I can." He said, looking over at Troy, who was standing next to me. "Who the hell are you?"
Troy jumped a little bit. "That's Troy. We need tickets…. Please Jesse." I begged.
"I can just pay for them." Troy said quietly.
"No." I said, turning back to my brother. "You promised."
He was still eyeing Troy. "Are you going to feel my little sister up?"
Troy looked alarmed. "We just met."
"Jesse, knock it off. He's not like that." I said, frowning at my brother.
"You look so familiar." Jesse said, still looking at Troy. "I'm trying to think of where I saw you from."
Troy just shrugged a little bit. "I... don't know."
"Jesse, come on."
"Basketball. Do you play basketball?" He asked. Troy nodded. "You go to East, right?" Troy nodded again. "Oh god! You're Troy Bolton! You were on Sports Center! The NBA is looking into you and you're still sixteen. Oh man! I'm so sorry dude."
Troy facial expression didn't change. "It's okay."
"Let me get you wrist bands." Jesse said, digging around in his booth.
"Wow, you do it for him but not for your sister. Thanks Jess. Great." I said sarcastically.
"Listen Gab. Just stick with this guy. When he goes pro, he'll be making millions. Give me your wrist." I put my wrist up there and he stuck it on. He did the same to Troy. "Nice to meet you. Don't touch my sister."
"Um, you too?" Troy said, looking away awkwardly.
"I'm so sorry." I said as we walked away. "He's an idiot. I mean he's twenty three and he works at the fair. He's living the dream." Troy cracked a smile as we walked towards the rides. "Does this one look good?" I asked Troy, pointing to the Fun House.
"Yeah." He murmured walking up to the entrance with me.
I showed the man my wrist band and he slipped me through. Troy followed me as we walked up the stairs. "I'm sorry about my brother." I repeated again.
"It's fine."
"So you're that good at basketball huh?" I asked, looking back at him.
He just shrugged his shoulders. "They said I'm expected to grow at least a half a foot by the send of senior year. My dad wants me to play basketball."
"What do you want to do?" I asked, almost loosing my balance on the wheels that roll on the ground. He caught my waist and held on as we rolled across them.
"I don't know." He said. "I don't know if I'll know even when we graduate."
"You haven't thought about it?"
He shook his head, stopping as we got to the mirrors. "I thought I was never going to be able to be like I am right now. My anxiety was worse when I was little. I didn't talk till I was seven. I was put into a special school, I made so much progress since then. I would have fainted talking to a girl in eighth grade." He said, reaching down for my hand again.
I closed it around his as he lead us through the mirrors. He jumped when a spray of air suddenly burst out of the ground. I squeezed his hand a little tighter. "That must have been hard."
"Learning was the easy part. I wasn't behind I just didn't talk." He said. "I haven't been much of a talker."
"Not to anybody?" I asked him.
He shook his head. "I talk to my parents and my brother when they talk to me and stuff but I never really talked about feelings or dreams or anything." He said shyly. "I talk to Chad and Zeke about Basketball and I listen to them talk about girls."
I smiled a little bit. "You don't talk to girls?" He shook his head. "Why not?"
"They're terrifying." He said, laughing a little bit. "I saw one catfight on YouTube when I was twelve and I haven't talked to a girl since."
I giggled. "You think I'm a boy then?"
He frowned, blushing shaking his head. "No-"
"I was joking." I said softly.
"Right." He said, looking at the ground.
"It's nice to talk to people sometimes." I said, looking over at him. "You can talk to me. I'll probably end up talking more because that's all I do is talk and talk and talk." I said, waving my hand.
Troy smiled at me. "You're such an eloquent speaker."
"Thank you. I'm head of the debate team. I can win an argument against anybody." I said, proudly.
"You're very confident." He noticed.
I gave him a small smile. "When I'm not socially awkward."
"You are the least socially awkward person I know." He stepped though the spinning circle before me.
"I always wanted to go around on one of these, but I'm too small." I said, trying to plant my feet and my hands. I made my way out of the tube after an unsuccessful circle. "What do you want to go on now?"
"I would say Ferris Wheel but I'm scared shitless of heights." Troy said, helping me down the steps. "I would love not to piss my pants in front of a girl today."
I laughed quietly, shaking my head at him. "You'd be fine. However, I won't let you go through that torture so we can go on a spinning ride?"
"I might throw up." He warned. "But if you want to go, I'll accompany you."
"I might throw up too. Do you want to chance it?" I asked him.
He looked down at my small hand tucked underneath his. "I'll take the chance." He murmured, looking up at me. His eyes found mine and he smiled at me.
I took a step closer to him. "Then let's go." I said softly. Troy nodded once as we walked slowly towards a spinning ride. It was a giant strawberry, probably meant for kids. We showed our wrist bands and sat in the private little strawberry. Troy closed the gate.
"At least we won't fall out."
I smiled. "Right?"
"So…" Troy stopped talking and looking away.
"What?" I asked him.
"Do you have a boyfriend?"
"Me? Boyfriend? Yeah right." I said with a small laugh.
"Why do you say it like that?" He asked curiously.
"I talk too much at inappropriate times. I don't talk enough when I'm supposed to. I say the stupidest things. My brother is intimidating. The one guy that got my brother's stamp of approval got scared off by my dad." I sighed. "I was at a place where I needed to have a boyfriend after boyfriend but I got over that and I'm happy to let whatever happen."
He nodded his head. "I haven't had a girlfriend… well ever. My friends think I'm gay."
"Are you?" I asked, looking up at him.
"I have no problem with gay people, but I like girls." He said. "Well… admire from afar."
I smiled at him. "That's not creepy."
He frowned a little bit. "It kind of is." He said before he chuckled. "I concluded I'm never going to get married."
"What? Why? You're cute. You're nice. You just have to find someone who-" the strawberry started moving, startling me for a moment. I grabbed the middle and started spinning us.
Troy gave me a wide grin and started spinning with me. "Just don't look out the little window."
"I have to remember that." I said, feeling the strawberry spin a little faster. Troy stopped and I let it spin its self. "Troy?"
"Yeah?" He asked, looking over at me.
"Any girl would be lucky to be your girlfriend." I said, touching his hand.
He blushed lightly, giving me a small smile. "Thank you." I scooted over to him, leaning against him. He put his arm around my shoulder awkwardly. I laughed quietly, fixing his arm to a more comfortable position. "My hands are sweaty." He said when I placed my fingers in between his.
"So are mine." I said, giving him a small smile. "You can relax, you know."
He nodded. "I know… it's hard."
I gave him a small smile. "It's okay." I rested my head against him. "What's public school really like?" I asked. "I mean, Taylor and Sharpay tell but they don't say much."
"Well East has a lot of… spirit. There's a lot of red. Our football team sucks. Basketball is good, Baseball is good as well." He thought for a minute. "Drama teacher is crazy. My dad is the head of athletics. We have a lot of clubs. We mostly have… white students with the exception of maybe fifteen."
I raised my eyebrows. "Really?" He just shrugged. "What about the curriculum?"
"Depends on the teacher. Some don't care, some stick by it religiously." Troy said. "What's your school like?"
"Small. There's about five other people in my grade. It's very prestigious. We have to pass a lot of tests to get in. I'm sure you heard rumors… We're a bunch of annoyingly smart kids." I said, swallowing. "I am initially a child prodigy. I can do difficult mathematical equations in my head within a matter of seconds. On top of that school we have to take a certain number of college classes as well."
"Wow." He said frowning.
"I was pulled out of the sixth grade because they didn't want me to jump too many grades." I said quietly. "I got made fun of a lot too… I am the freaky math girl."
"Hey, at least your not the mute." He said, shrugging.
I gave him a small smile. "We weirdly understand each other."
He cracked a smile. "We do." The buzzer sounded as the ride stopped. He removed his arm from me and we climbed out of the strawberry. "Neither of us are throwing up." He said, optimistically.
"Can we go on the train?" I asked, trying to get out of the funky mood talking about my past left me in.
"Sure."
I took a sip of my water while we walked over to the train. We stopped in line and he took a drink of the last of his Gatorade. I didn't even see him drink any of it. He put the bottle in the recycle before he stood by me again. I looked up at his face. His eyes were so blue, with a hint of innocence. I just wanted to kiss the life out of him. I bit back the urge when we had to move up in line.
We got seated in one of the last cars and I leaned against him as we did before. "You're pretty honest right?" I asked him while we waited for the train to start.
"I don't lie, if that's what you mean." He said, putting his arm around me again.
"If you can change anything about high school, what would it be?" I asked him.
He thought for a minute, swallowing. "Well, I would change the fact that my dad worked there."
"How come?"
Troy shrugged. "He checks up on me and it's embarrassing sometimes." Troy frowned to himself. "Actually no, I like having my dad there. Nobody really messes with me anymore since my dad's there. If I forget to take my medication he can bring it to me."
"Have you ever forgotten them?" I asked.
Troy nodded. "I did once in the seventh grade. I had a really, really bad anxiety attack." He murmured. "I stopped breathing for five minutes and my body shut down. That's when the bullying started."
I frowned. "It sounds terrifying."
"It was… pretty bad. I was in the hospital for 3 days. I had have a psychiatric evaluation. I hate doctors." He said with a small shrug.
I sighed. "I'm sorry, it must be hard."
"Sometimes it is, but I'm getting better. Just talking to you for this long is groundbreaking." He joked. The train jerked to life and started running it's course.
"Do you think I'm pretty?"
He looked at me surprised. "You're joking, right?"
"No." I said slowly.
"You are beyond pretty." He said softly. "I'm sure you already know that."
"People can tell you you're pretty, you don't always know if they mean it." I countered. I crossed my legs, leaning against him. "I'm gullible." I said, looking up at him. "Really, really gullible."
"I don't believe that."
"I'm so serious. My friends can't prank me any more." I murmured. "They got me really good last year. I cried for an six hours."
"What happened?"
"They told me my cat died, on April fools day. My cat, Cheeto, decided to hide in my closet all day so I really thought that it happened. It was just… terrible." I said, sighing.
He smiled at me. "Cheeto?"
"I was twelve when I got him." I said with a shrug.
"It's cute. Animals love me." He said. "My mom says it's because I don't bother them. I just pet if they're near."
I smiled at him. "Cheeto loves everybody. He's cat with a dog-like personality." Troy chuckled. "You know what I mean?"
He nodded. "I do."
"Our friends are probably super pissed at us now."
"I'm surprised they haven't found us yet." He said softly.
"Me too." I wiggled my foot. "How long are you staying?"
"Until after the fireworks."
"Good, me too." I said, leaning against him. "Hey, if you want, if we get split up, meet me by the Ferris wheel at eight."
"I'll be there." He said, looking up as it got dark. We were in the tunnel. "This was a short ride." He said as we stopped at the station.
"I think we're busted." I said, pointing over at Taylor, Sharpay, and Troy's friends. They were waiting with their arms crossed. We got out. "I don't think we can ditch them again."
"I don't think so either." He said quietly as we got out of the train car.
"Eight at the Ferris Wheel?" I asked him.
"Eight at the Ferris Wheel." He agreed.
We walked out the exit. "You are not getting away from us again, Gabriella Montez." Sharpay said, grabbing my arm. I smacked her hand away.
"I'll see you later Troy." I said with a small smile. He nodded with a small smile, walking away with his friends.
"Well we're going to pretend that you didn't ditch us."
"Twice." Sharpay added.
"Yes, twice." Taylor repeated. "Now we're going to have fun, alright?"
"Alright." I said with a small sigh. I looked back to the direction the boys were walking down and they were gone.
New Story. Two Shot. Probably my favorite Troy i've ever written. Don't forget to review.
