A/N: HERE IT IS! The prequel to An Ocean Between You and Me! No, you don't have to read the actual story to read this one but I would appreciate it if you did!
The objective of this story isn't only to show how Gabriella and Troy fell in love but also to show how easy it is for a person to fall victim to an eating disorder and how hard it is to detect that you/someone else has an eating disorder. It all seems harmless at the beginning but it's a quick downfall.
People seem to disreguard people with eating disorders as crazy and I am attempting to prove that they're normal people and it can happen to anyone. I know from experience. This story is going to expose everyone to not just the physical affects, but the anxiety and the depression. It's going to show how quickly everything happens and how hard it is to come to the realization that you have an eating disorder.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Gabriella Montez sat in her seventh period Honors Biology class when she felt her cell phone vibrate. It wasn't all that uncommon but she didn't reply to texts in Bio because she sat in the front row and her old male teacher had surprising good eyes for his age. She figured it was probably Troy that had texted her because that was who generally texted her during the school day.
She looked up at the clock on the wall, 2:27, she only had three minutes left until the school day was over and she could enjoy her weekend. It had been an overwhelming day to say the least. Her recent ex-boyfriend had 'hooked up' with some senior and they were now sauntering down the hallways together. It seemed as though their physical relationship had developed further in less than twenty-four hours than hers after more than five months, further lowering her self-esteem.
She slunk down in her chair at the thought of him. His name was Jon and as previously mentioned, they had been together for five months. That was, until he dumped her on Tuesday. He had pushed her, well attempted to push her, into having sex. She, not being ready, had resisted and he had retorted about her weight. "You know, I could always find someone without love handles." or, her personal favorite, "Maybe if you had a thinner waist you would be better in bed." She had laughed at that one, he was the one who wanted sex not her. As if his insults made her want to have sex with him.
She hadn't told anyone the real reason as to why her and Jon broke up. "Things just weren't working out," had been her excuse. She wasn't going to lie though, his words hurt. Today she had covered up her body in a sweatshirt and jeans, even though it was late May and the weather was warm. She blamed that her lack of interest in her appearance had been because she was upset over the breakup.
She collected her books as she stood up. The school didn't have a bell because it was unreliable. It was always four or five minutes off and all it did was confuse people. So the school had simply gotten rid of it.
As she turned around the corner to her locker, she slid her phone out of her pocket. She stared down at it, it wasn't Troy who had texted her, it was his mom Lucille.
Gabi! Do you think you could babysit tonight? Troy, Matt, and Jack have practice but my sister went into labor! I want to get to the hospital -Lucille
Gabriella was always amused at Lucille's text messages. She wrote in complete sentences and always signed her name at the bottom. Maybe she didn't know all cell phones now had caller I.D.
Gabriella didn't have any plans and maybe babysitting her best friend's little brothers would keep her mind off the week she had. She responded with a positive answer to Lucille's text. She would walk over to their house, they lived close to the school.
As she was walking down the sidewalk, she folded her arms across her chest. She found herself doing similar actions unconsciously.
She let herself into the Bolton's house, as she always did. She had only knocked on their front door three of the nine years she had known Troy. "Lucille, I'm here!"
"Gabi! That was fast, thank you so much for coming. You don't know how much this means to me." Lucille hurried down the hallway and hugged her. "Liam will be dropped off from one of his friend's mom any minute now and Mason should get off the school bus at about 3:20."
"Okay, you go. I'll stay as long as you need me. I wish your sister good luck." She replied as Lucille slid her shoes on and went to grab her purse.
"She'll need it. She's got zero pain tolerance. I don't know when I'll be back but the rest of the boys should be home after practice," she added with an after thought, "hopefully. I'm really sorry if I ruined your night honey."
"Don't worry about it, I probably would have ended up over here anyway. Now go." She motioned with her hands for Lucille to leave.
Liam had arrived shortly after Lucille left the house and Mason had arrived about ten minutes after Liam. Mason was finishing up first grade and Liam was enrolled at a 'pre-kindergarten' class at a day care center in the afternoon.
Since they had arrived they had eaten a snack and gone to the playground at the end of their street. The two young boys were a piece of work but Gabriella considered them as her younger brothers. She spent a good majority of her time at Troy's house during her childhood. They had taken her under their wing after her father had been arrested.
"Gabi, can we play a game? PUH-LEASE?" Mason asked overexaggerated.
"I guess that's fine if you both want to." She was slightly exhausted from chasing after them at the park. Her energy was low but she assumed it was because she hadn't ate anything at lunch.
"I want to play choots and ladders." Liam stumbled in his young voice.
"You mean chutes?" Gabriella asked.
"I don't wanna play chutes and ladders Gabi. That is a game for little kids. Let's play Uno!" Mason declared.
"I don't wanna play Uno though Gabi, I don't understand it." Oh boy, she didn't want them to start arguing.
"Well how about you and me play on the same team, Liam?" She tried to make a deal with him before the argument continued.
"Okay." Liam wasn't hard to please, he was only four. As long as he got his sleep and food he was happy.
Gabriella sat down on the floor and crossed her legs. Without asking, Liam plopped his butt down right in the center of her lap and leaned back against her. "Are we going to win Gabi?"
"I don't know Liam, but you know games aren't about winning. Games are about having fun." She had forgotten the testosterone in the house left a competitive atmosphere with almost everything the boys did together.
"But good team work guarantees a win!" Oh god, Liam was so Troy's brother.
"Not everything is about winning, no matter what your daddy or brothers say Liam."
The three had quickly learned the game of Uno! didn't work very well with only two teams. The reverse cards had no purpose anymore. Mason had laid a blue 'five' card and Gabriella didn't have any cards that she could play. As she was drawing cards she heard a voice boom through the house, "Ma! I'm home. Dad and Matt went to check out some comp-" Troy stopped as he saw his brother sitting on his best friends lap.
"Sorry Ella, I tho- Where's my mom?" Troy questioned. It wasn't everyday he walked in his house to see his best friend home without him.
"She's at the hospital, your aunt went into labor and she asked me to babysit." She replied.
"Oh, who's winning?" Troy questioned referring to the game in front of them. He would admit it was one of his favorite games.
"It isn't about winning Troy, it's about having fun. Isn't it boys?" She said with a tone in her voice.
"Oh." Troy caught on, "Can I join in?"
"Yes please, this isn't working very well with two teams." Gabriella attempted to move over a little but was unsuccessful due to the dead weight on her lap.
She didn't have to worry about space on the floor though because when Troy sat down he lightly shoved his younger brother over.
"Troy, be nice," Gabriella lectured.
Troy stuck his tongue out at her in response.
"Oh, real mature Troy. Next year I think you should start kindergarten with Liam again instead of starting eleventh grade. Looks like someone still needs to learn their manners," was Gabriella's hot retort.
They were currently sophomores but school would be out in a week and they would be juniors the next year. She couldn't deny that she loved the fact that majority of the time Troy acted like a little kid.
"Well if you're so smart, what are you doing hanging out with me?" Troy teased.
"Babysitting," she had picked up a few tricks in her years, mostly from Troy.
"Okay, okay. You win," Troy gave up.
Their game had continued and Troy had won, not that it mattered. He continued to pick on his little brothers though. His father had arrived home and was watching the younger boys now. Gabriella and him were in his bedroom and she collapsed onto the bed spread out.
"Long day?" Troy questioned as he moved toward his dresser drawers. Opening the second drawer, he pulled out a shirt. He wanted to change out of the polo he had worn to school that day. He had showered after practice so he didn't smell when he arrived home.
"You have no clue." Gabriella spoke quietly. She rested her head on Troy's extra long striped pillow.
"I wanted to punch that Jon guy so much today Ella. Can you believe him? He's already marching around with some bimbo. I knew he wasn't a good guy." Troy had always had a bad feeling about Jon. He assumed Gabriella was going through her 'bad boy' stage but their relationship had lasted about four months longer than he anticipated it.
"Can we not talk about him right now Troy? I am more than well aware of his new fling." The sad thing was, it was totally believable Jon had moved on already.
"I'm sorry, he's just such a dick I can't believe it." He spoke as he slipped off his polo and slid his t-shirt on. Gabriella had seen him shirtless many times and he assumed she wouldn't care.
Troy had felt a growing attachment to Gabriella in the past few months. He wanted to be with her all the time it seemed. He had become particularly over protective of her since she began dating Jon. He'd never liked him.
Troy turned around to look at her. He could tell she was having a hard time dealing with the breakup. The thing was, she didn't seem sad about him in particular. The wasn't complaining about the breakup or crying. It almost seemed as if there was something else going on.
He sighed and sat down on the edge of his bed and lifted his legs so that he was leaning against the foot board. The hard part of having a female best friend was that they were so emotional. Troy knew her well enough to know when she was upset and when she just needed a hug.
"You know, he didn't deserve you Gabriella. Sometimes independent women scare us teenage boys because they're afraid that they won't be in control," Troy offered his advice as he rubbed her back gently.
"I'll get over him Troy." She commented hesitantly, it wasn't him she was afraid of getting over. It was his abuse she was afraid of getting over.
"I know you will Ella. You are too strong to let a guy bring you down."
She sighed, of course he would say that. It did comfort her that she had someone who cared about her feelings.
"Is your mom home?" He questioned. Maria had been traveling for work a lot lately. She had taken a promotion at her job a few months ago. It was difficult being a single parent and she hoped that she would be able to pay for Gabriella's college. That was why she had taken the job, even though it would mean spending less time at home.
"No, she comes home on Sunday," Gabriella didn't like staying home alone. She had actually spent quite a few nights at the Bolton household while her mother was gone. She knew she had a collection of clean clothes in Troy's dresser.
"Stay here tonight Ella. You'll feel a lot better here than you will at home." Troy offered.
"I don't want to intrude," she argued and Troy laughed.
"Ella, you are most definitely not intruding. You are practically part of the family you spend so much time here." Gabriella sat up as he was speaking.
"Okay then. As long as it's fine with your parents." Gabriella felt like she slept over at Troy's house more now than she had when they were little kids. The guest bedroom might as well have 'Gabriella' written on the front.
"Ella, they won't care. You know that. You are always welcomed here." Gabriella felt assured that she always had somewhere to go where she would be welcomed with open arms. "Are you hungry?"
She was hungry but the thought of food made her sick. She couldn't describe the feeling, even though she hadn't eaten since this morning there seemed to be a knot in her throat that if it were to be untangled, the acid in her stomach would quickly rise up her throat. "No, I had a pretty big snack with your brothers."
"Okay, I'm going to have Dad order a pizza now." It wasn't often Troy referred to his father as 'dad.' His brother and him were constantly surrounded by their team mates who referred to their dad as coach and the nickname had stuck around the house. "You have some clothes in my dresser if you want to change while I'm out."
"Okay." Gabriella walked to Troy's dresser. There were two in the room, one was Matt's. Troy and Matt shared a room and Liam and Mason shared another. Neither thought it was that big of a deal that they shared the room. If one was occupying it with friends, the other would resort to the basement. It was one of the many unwritten rules of the Bolton household.
She yanked open the drawer and shuffled some clothes around. Blushing, she noticed something she would rather Troy not have in his dresser. Pulling it out, she recognized her black bra and suddenly hoped that Troy didn't do his own laundry or look too deeply through the clothing his mother placed in his drawers. She would have to figure out a way to sneak the bra out of Troy's house. She didn't remember leaving it at his house but she probably had left it in the hamper in a rush before she left for school.
Gabriella pulled out a pair of athletic shorts and one of Troy's wildcat sweatshirts. She had her own collection of shirts and sweatshirts at her own house. However it was a lot smaller than Troy's collection of her own clothes. Most of his clothing articles at her house were from winter when she had barrowed a sweatshirt to stay warm in the cool air. Crossing to the door, she clicked the lock. You never knew who would walk in on you changing.
When Troy returned she unlocked the door for him to enter. "Do you want to go downstairs and watch some TV?"
"Sure," was her simple reply. Troy and Matt weren't allowed to have a television in their room. They had begged for one growing up but their parent's reply was always the same, 'There's something seriously wrong with your life when you resort to entertaining yourself by watching TV in your bedroom.' It wasn't until a few years ago they had understood the hidden meaning.
The next morning Gabriella woke up buried under soft covers. What she last remembered from last night was lounging on the couch watching Friends with Troy. As much as he denied it, he loved the show. It no longer took that much of a fight before Troy caved into her. He always was the first to cave. Troy must have carried her upstairs after she fell asleep on the couch. It was no longer Jack's job to transport her sleeping figure, it was Troy's.
She stretched as she climbed out of bed. There was a body length mirror in the corner of the room that she walked over to, fully intending to simply see if her makeup was smeared.
Her mascara was fine but the full length mirror brought attention to her legs. Looking over her petite figure, she couldn't help but notice the looseness in her thighs. The only sport she played was soccer yet she was good at the sport. She worked hard and ran a lot, which in the off season resulted in 'soccer thighs.' The developed muscle had gotten weaker without the consistent training and she was left with loose thighs. In her mind it was becoming less and less attractive as the days went on.
Lifting up the bottom of her sweatshirt, she examined the width of her hips. She wasn't fat but she couldn't ignore the slight muffin top the peaked over the waistband of her panties that were exposed at the top where her shorts had ridden down.
Maybe it wouldn't hurt to loose a few pounds. She had never been insecure about her body but she was just going to eat healthier and work out more to improve her health. That's all it was. Improving her health.
She could smell something down the hall. It was around eleven o'clock, prime meal time. It was the distinct smell of hot pancakes, probably chocolate chip. She was greeted by three shirtless men, Troy, Matt and little Liam who had spilled on his shirt. Matt and Troy however always walked around shirtless in the morning.
"Morning sleepy head." Troy spoke when he saw her walk into the kitchen.
"What are you two doing up so early?" If she remembered correctly Matt had gone to a party last night while Troy and her stayed in.
"You should know them better by now Gabi. The food woke up the bottomless pits." Jack replied for his sons as he himself stuffed a fork full of food in his mouth.
Troy stood up from the long center island and hugged her. She rested her forehead against his naked chest and couldn't help but feel the way her heart began to beat faster. She couldn't deny- her best friend was hot. Not just hot, he was hawt, hott, hotttt, or whatever other way people described the hotness of someone on line.
He was built, every part of his body was toned with muscle. From his calves, to his abs, to his biceps, every single part of his body screamed hotness.
"Do you want a pancake Gabriella?" Lucille questioned her.
She let go of Troy, who knew she hadn't ate the night before. She hesitated, Troy knew she hadn't ate since last night and would no doubt call her out if she didn't eat a pancake.
"Sure. Thanks Lucille." She sat down next to Troy and Matt at the counter. She rationed in her brain that the pancakes would have twice as many calories if she added syrup. If she ate a pancake this morning then she wouldn't have to eat lunch because it was so close to the afternoon. Then she could have a snack, maybe some grapes or watermelon, largely water concentrated fruit. That would have to suffice for the day.
Soon enough her soccer thighs and her muffin top would be gone. It wasn't going to be that hard, was it?