A King And His Ginger Chapter 1: Part I, a high school musical fanfic

A King And His Ginger © Midnight113.

Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or have any affiliation to it.

Synopsis: (Troy) I thought she was perfect. (Gabriella) I thought he was a self-centered, rich, arrogant Golden Boy of West High. (Troy) God I wanted her. (Gabriella) God I wanted him… to leave me alone. Continuation of The Firework King and Ginger. T&G.

A King And His Ginger

Part I

"~*~"

"-"

'-'

Ginger

Mood: Extremely Pissed Off, Extremely Annoyed, Extremely Sleepy, Wants To Kill Sharpay AND Troy

Okay, keep calm Gabriella. Maybe you just… misplaced them. Right, that's it. What did Taylor always say at times like this? Oh yeah, retrace your steps. Where were you last when you had your car keys? Um… think, think, think. Troy's castle.

Troy…

Troy Bolton…

Troy Bolton The Firework King…

Troy Bolton The Firework King AKA West High Knights Golden Boy…

He stole my keys. That son of a bitch, that arrogant, self-righteous, no good God of a man actually had the balls to go into my purse when I wasn't looking and take my keys. He planned the whole thing. Basically forcing my hand into riding to school today with him so that he gets his way... again.

I'm going to kill him! I'm going to seriously do so much damage when I see him next, his grandchildren are going to be feeling the repercussions.

If that jerk thinks for one second that I'm going to allow him to believe what he did was even remotely acceptable, he's got another thing coming. His royal majesty of fireworks my ass. I don't give a damn how good that date was, or how amazingly incredible and romantic it had all been… even his… warm, mouthwatering kisses… No! Snap out of it Gabriella!

Remember, he stole your keys and tricked you into eating goose liver. Just keep repeating that thought in your head every time you think of him and you'll be just fine. Don't give him a chance to weasel his cute little way into your heart, and knowing him he'll probably snatch that from you too when you least expect it… actually, I think he already did.

"Shut up!" I shouted at myself while pacing in the entryway of my house. "Shut up, shut up, shut up… don't you dare even go there Gabi." I scolded, knowing I must have looked and sounded like a lunatic if anyone saw me. Good thing my grandmother was out.

I can't believe I almost let that bastard come into my house last night! What was I thinking? Duh, I wasn't thinking at all. It's like I allowed myself to have an out-of-body experience while staring into those eyes of his. Those beautiful eyes were evil I tell you… plain evil. He uses them to get what he wants.

Well there's no way in hell I'm letting that happen again. No sir… not happening. Not now, not ever.

And what does he mean by saying he wants our first time to be special anyway? What... Mr. Hotshot Firework King suddenly has morals and doesn't want me to just be another notch in his belt? He suddenly cares about the girls he sleeps with and whether or not it's... special? Who is he to think he'll even get another chance to be with me anyway? I mean, I'm not that easy. I was just having a weak moment... which is rare for me and will most certainly never happen again where he's involved. No way.

Not that I can blame myself, he is the hottest, richest, most popular jock in both schools combined. It's only natural that any girl would fall victim to his charm and good looks. But he uses that to get what he wants too, I know he does. I've heard the stories around East of the notorious basketball captain. I will not allow myself to be so easily manipulated by him again. I don't care if the end of the night was magical and... amazing... and the best date I've ever been on. Ugh! Damn him.

He can just go crawl in a hole and die for all I care.

Okay… maybe I sorta, kinda, just a little ounce care. Ugh! I'm gonna kill him. How could I let this happen? How could I let myself be so attracted to him. Stupid body! Stupid hormones! Stupid everything sending signals to my brain, telling me how much my body responds to him whenever he touches me... and kisses me with those, those lips... and how much I like it. Just stop right now Gabriella. You're venturing into dangerous territory thinking that way.

In the meantime, now I have to figure out how to get to school.

Pulling my cell phone out, I pressed one for speed dial and waited.

"And how are you this fine morning my beautiful, lovely best friend?"

"Oh I am so not in the mood Sharpay."

"There's the Crabby Gabi I know and surprisingly still love."

"Shar!" I shouted into the receiver. This is so not the time.

"Whoa… whoa, alright, okay… how may I assist you?"

"He stole my keys. I need you to give me a ride to school."

"Wait, reverse because I'm lost. Who stole your keys?"

"The asshole, rich douche bag."

"Who?"

"Him."

"Which one?"

"The only one who can manage to completely get on my nerves and who thinks he's the greatest thing that ever happened to man-kind."

"Okay… I'm gonna need you to narrow it down a little bit for me babe because there's a lot of people who-"

"Sharpay!"

"-get on your nerves."

"Not like him."

"OOOHHHH" She spoke as if she had just had a great epiphany. "You mean… him."

"Yes him." I seethed. "Troy Bolton, Shar, the one who I blame you for getting me involved with."

"Now, now… it can't be all that bad. You told me that date was magical last night."

"I so did not!" How dare she put words in my mouth. "I said it was alright."

"Oh no you didn't. You may have simply said 'alright', but your voice said it was, magical, romantic, and fucking incredible!" I suddenly hated her and myself for picking up the phone when she had called last night demanding to know how the date went. I mean maybe I had exaggerated just a tad when recounting the castle and the view and the fireworks… but let's not forget the goose liver incident she was coincidentally overlooking.

"I said it was alright! There was nothing special about it, it was just alright. Alright?"

She waited a moment before speaking. "What?"

"Ugh… Shar, focus!"

"I'm trying!" She cried. "But you're confusing me Gabi!"

"I'm confusing you!" Yikes, I feel the need to strangle something. "You're making it sound like… like I'm some lovesick puppy. Which is just absurd because I'm not." Definitely not.

"Alright… I won't say anything anymore."

"Good."

"You're in denial though." I sighed. Why is she my best friend again?

"Sharpay… can you give me a ride to school or not?"

"No can do." She sighed into the receiver. Wait, what does she mean by that? She better not mean what I think she means. "I'm already at school." Noooooo!

"What? Sharpay you never leave for school before seven-thirty." I seethed.

"Well I didn't want to get involved but…" My eyes widened. What is she talking about? "Troy gave me a call-"

"Why?"

"-and asked me to not give you a ride to or from school even if you begged and of course he told me to pass the message along."

"What!" Oh no he didn't. If I ever see him again… "Sharpay, quit fooling around and come pick me up."

"I'm not joking Gabi. I'm being very serious… see this is my serious voice and I'm telling you exactly what he said."

"When I get my hands on you… I swear-"

"What was that… I can't hear you… you're breaking up… kwwwah, shhhhzzzz, I can't…" Oh real smooth.

"Sharpay will you knock it off? Sharpay?"

There was silence and then, "Don't be crabby, gotta go, love ya, bye." Then the dial tone.

Oh my God… he's even managed to control and manipulate my friends from over a cell phone. What is happening to the world? What happened to the good old days when your friends were your friends and they actually listened to you and did as you asked?

Oh… right, what am I thinking? These are my friends we're talking about here. They're not normal and they hardly ever listen to me or do what I ask. Hmm… maybe I'm the one who needs help.

Well, I guess there's only one thing left to do…

The Firework King

Mood: Nervous, Excited, Anxious, Sleepy, Hungry, Mmm... Waffles.

Oh man, oh man, oh man. I've been preparing myself mentally all night for this and all morning too. It was finally time to confront her, the same girl I couldn't stop thinking about since I'd dropped her off at her place a little over seven hours ago.

Gabriella…

Gabriella Montez…

Gabriella Montez AKA Ginger…

Shit… maybe I shouldn't have taken her keys. Yeah, that was totally the wrong thing to do while trying to woo her. Hmm… it may prove to make getting her to agree to our relationship even more difficult than I had anticipated.

Oh well! Nothing we can do about that anymore. What's done is done. I could definitely go for a waffle right now though.

Pulling up alongside the front curve to her modest white cape nestled on the corner of Fern Street, I debated whether or not to get out and ring the doorbell or just wait for her to come to me.

Before coming to a conclusion on what I should do, I noticed a figure up ahead on the side of the road. It appeared to be a girl with a backpack, an angry girl. I knew this because she was kicking little rocks and pieces of gravel as if they had been doing her a great injustice by getting in her way. I winced when one particular little rock was kicked so hard, it went flying into a mailbox.

Poor mailbox. But more importantly I realized I knew this angry specimen of a woman.

It was Ginger.

My Ginger.

Heaving a loud sigh, I pressed down gently on the accelerator and followed after her. My Mustang slowly crept up alongside her until it was traveling at the same steady speed as her. I inhaled a deep breath and gave myself an little encouraging speech in my head.

You can do it Troy… she's just a girl… a hot and much too attractive for her own good girl, but a girl nonetheless. She's going to resist you, she's going to hate you… naturally of course, you are Troy Bolton. Eventually, she's going to love you though. Just keep looking at the positives and everything will turn out alright in the end. Remember, she likes kissing you which puts the game in your corner. You have control here, you can do this!

Giving myself a nod in agreement with my brain, I began rolling down the window.

Time for her to go all ape-shit on me.

"Hey!" I shouted to get her attention. Her head twisted real quick in my general direction and then she scowled at me (man did she look hot when she did that). I grinned in the most charming way I could and jerked my head. "Get in Ginger."

"Go. To. Hell."

"Ouch." I cried. Ooh, she got me right where it hurts. Look at those pretty little eyes shooting daggers at me. I frowned and pouted playfully, putting on my best sad puppy look that always worked with the ladies. "Come on baby, don't be mad."

"Fuck off."

"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" She stopped walking then. That must be a good sign right? That must mean she's gonna get in my car and let me take her to school. My ingenious plan worked!

I watched her with a smirk as she approached my passenger window, her head bent down as she placed her hands on the car, leaning against it. "Don't talk about my mom." Her voice was so different then, so… intense.

I lifted my eyebrow and just looked at her. Her whole body was shaking and I couldn't tell if it was because she was cold or because she was about to explode with every speck of anger she was trying to contain… huh, trying… yeah right.

I decided to go the safe route and not question her for fear of angering her further. So I simply nodded my head as if I were speaking to a small child and responded, "Okay… get in."

She cackled a weird crackly laugh and shook her head. "You're insane if you think I'm getting in this car with you."

"You are. I'm driving you to school and then I'm picking you up. Where we go from there is up to you, but I was thinking-"

"No." She cut me off from divulging my great plan for the afternoon. It made me sad she didn't want to hear it and I pouted once more.

"You interrupted me."

"Tough shit. I'm not going to be caught dead going anywhere with you, not school or anywhere else. Now give me my keys." She ordered, putting out her hand through the window. I stared down at it and then smirked.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She gave me one of those, 'don't start or I'll kill you' looks and I realized she wasn't in the mood for teasing. Ah man… there goes all my fun. I turned my head away from her and looked down at my dirty finger nails, studying them like they held the answers to the universe. "Maybe we could work something out if you get in the car."

"How dare you!" She folded her arms and stomped her foot on the pavement. "I will not be manipulated into getting in your car just to get my keys back. Now give them back this instant or I'll-"

"Don't make this hard Ginger… just get in the car. You know you want to."

I watched her jaw clench tightly and her back tense in aggravation. Oh fuck me, I just couldn't win with this girl.

"You know what? Fine! Keep the damn keys for all I care." She then proceeded to throw her hands up in the air and slap them down on her jean-clad thighs before turning and stomping off in the direction she had been traveling. I heard her mutter something about me making her late for school and rolled my eyes.

"Oh Ginger, Ginger, Ginger… what am I going to do with you." I placed the Mustang in park and jumped out.

Ginger Again

Mood: Irritated, Still Pissed, Irked And Ready To Kill

How dare he? How dare he? How dare he?

The nerve… to think I could be so easily duped into giving him exactly what he wants. I don't care how good looking he is, or how attractive or rich, he will not get to me so easily.

I noticed out of the corner of my eye that his stupid car wasn't following me anymore and I sighed in relief. Maybe I could get Shar to somehow manage to help me acquire my keys and- suddenly I felt a presence very close to me and froze. What the hell?

Turning around, I saw his majesty the Firework King grinning innocently at me. His head was tilted and his hair was falling in his face just a tad. Oh God! He looked so… so… delectable standing there all cute like that. Now I know what Sharpay meant when she said she wanted to just lick that Chad fellow. Boy, I knew something must have been wrong with me if I was starting to compare myself to Sharpay of all people.

"What!" I spit out, crossing my arms. "Haven't you done enough?"

He smiled at me and shrugged. "Well there is one thing…" Before I had a chance to run, he leapt forward and hugged my body to his in a tight grip. Holy crap, was this guy a wrestler in a past life or something? His muscles were insane! No normal guy had muscles like these. I just wanted to reach my hand out and squeeze… grrr, focus Gabriella!

"What the hell are you doing?" I shrieked as he locked his arms around me and lifted me up.

"Putting you in my car, what else?" Was he serious?

"Stop manhandling me."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll scream… that won't look too good will it?"

"Oh please… you wouldn't-"

"AHHH-mph" Just as I had started to shout, one of his palms quickly released me to cover my mouth. Ha ha, take that jerk.

"Are you crazy? What? Are you trying to get me arrested?" He frantically looked around and grinned sheepishly at a jogger across the street who had paused to stare at us. "She's just playing a little game of cat and mouse that's all!" He shouted over the roof of his car to the older woman. That bastard, making me out to look like I couldn't keep my hands off him. Oh just wait until he takes that hand off my mouth. Then he'll be in for it.

She shot us a look of disgust and I heard her mutter something about teenagers as she continued with her routine jog around the community.

Troy plopped me down on the hood of his Mustang and stood in-between my legs, his head tilted and eyes serious. "Now look. I told you last night I was taking you to school and that's what I plan to do because I keep my word. I like you and I would like to spend some more time with you to get to know you better. So you are going to get in this car and we are going to have a nice conversation on the way to school." I just stared at him dubiously and waited patiently for him to take his palm away.

"I'm going to take my hand away now okay?" I nodded. "You're not going to scream again are you?" I shook my head, furrowing my brow as if to say, 'Who me? Nah'. "Alright, I'm taking my hand away." What, does he think he's dealing with a two year old or something? Sheesh.

To teach him a lesson for taking so long, I stuck my tongue out and licked his palm, thinking it would gross him out and get him to finally release me.

Boy was I wrong.

He just stood there with his bluish gray eyes shining brightly in the sun's reflection and he smirked. That arrogant little shit, he actually smirked.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. It's turning me on." I rolled my eyes and sighed in frustration. Of course it would. He's such a guy. A hot, godlike guy who just so happened to have me at the end of my rope here with his… everything.

"I'm gonna take my hand away now, you're gonna cooperate right?" Do I look like a dog to you? Enough already, just do it for crying out loud!

He finally pulled his palm away from my mouth and smiled. "There we go. Let's try this again shall we? Good morning Gabriella, how did you sleep last night?"

"Mmm." I groaned in reply.

"That's good. I slept well, thank you for asking Ginger."

"Mmm." I groaned once more in disinterest.

"Are you ready to get to school then? If we leave now, you might just make it before the final bell rings." Oh no! I was going to be late. All because of him… grrr…

"I'm going to kill you Troy Bolton… after I get to school on time." I added. Damn it, I'd never make it there at this rate. It was over three miles down the road.

"You weren't really going to walk were you?" He asked me with a gleam in his eyes. "I mean, you would have dropped dead from exhaustion ten minutes in." He had a point. I was never very good with any strenuous activity. Oh crap, what's a girl to do.

"Fine, you win." I put my hands up in surrender. Gosh, it pained me to admit that. "You can be my personal chauffer and bring me to school… considering you stole my keys." I growled at him, hopping off the hood and going to get in his car.

"I prefer to look at it as investing." He spoke while walking around the front of the car to his door.

I scrunched my face as I entered the passenger side "Investing?"

"Yeah-" He leaned down and got in beside me, slamming his door and putting on his seatbelt. "Investing in us spending more quality time together in the future."

"Genius." I muttered sarcastically and his face lit up like a little boy on Christmas morning.

"I know! That's exactly what I thought." I couldn't help it, I wanted to smile at him. But I bit it back and tuned my head to focus outside the window. Don't you dare smile Gabriella.

"So anyway… coffee?" I frowned at the question and then turned my head towards him. I was met with a cup of steaming hot coffee that he was holding up to my face. How did he… how did he know? I didn't have any this morning because I was so stressed out about my keys, I completely forgot. Then when I had remembered during my short walk, it was too late and I had already accepted that I would have to go through the day dragging because of him.

Not being able to resist the freshly brewed beans that were creeping up my nostrils and making my head spin in delight, I snatched the offered cup from him.

"Whoa… easy Ginger. Don't' spill it."

I was not going to thank him for this. It was his fault that I hadn't had any that morning anyway… so why should I thank him for taking the time to get me some coffee? Exactly, I shouldn't.

Taking a sip of the deliciously hot beverage, I resisted the sudden urge to moan in ecstasy. It was perfect! The perfect cup of coffee. Just the right amount of cream and sugar… it was almost like he knew. But he couldn't have. That was silly.

It tasted so good though, I couldn't help myself when a little noise of appreciation gurgled from my throat. I blushed when he chuckled beside me. Damn it, he had heard.

"You enjoying yourself over there Ginger?"

"No thanks to you." I shot back, getting more comfortable in my seat. There was no way he was going to make me feel guilty about enjoying my coffee. And wow was I enjoying it. "How did you know how I like my coffee?" I asked.

He was quiet for a moment and then smiled. "So you like it? It's just right?" He sneaked a glance at me and smirked. "Do I get extra points for doing something good?"

"Noooo." I stuck my tongue out, even though I knew it was childish. I couldn't help it, this guy made me act so weird sometimes. "Just answer the question."

"I asked Sharpay."

"I should have known she'd have something to do with this." I shook my head and narrowed my eyes. Try to plan operation kill Sharpay and make sure it's commenced and executed this time. I don't care if I do go to jail or if she's my best friend… she's the one responsible for this mess. She's the one I blame for getting me involved with someone who is making me feel weird and different. I'm not suppose to be this happy when he's around…

"Yeah, well… I wanted to have something for you as a way to apologize for jacking your keys on you. I had to do it."

"No you didn't. You could just accept that someone like me is not suppose to ever associate with someone like you."

"What's that suppose to mean?" He was frowning as he drove. Oh don't play dumb with me blue eyes.

"Ugh, whatever… never mind. If you don't know by now then what's the point."

"The point is… I like you and I want to get to know you. Isn't that enough?"

I sighed and laughed. "I wish it were… and maybe in another universe it is, but not here and not for me."

Troy was unusually quiet after that. I was so focused on drinking my coffee that I didn't even notice we were finally at East High. "We're here." Huh… I looked out the window once his velvet tone spoke and nodded. Yes we were.

Back To The Firework King

Mood: Confused, Upset, Curious, A Little Annoyed. Still Looking Good Though.

I'm not gonna lie. It bothered me when she said that someone like me was never suppose to end up with someone like her. What does that mean anyway? We like each other right? We're attracted to each other… at least I know I am. I think she's hot, fine, gorgeous, smart and damn sexy. That should be enough right? I'm willing to do anything for her. So… why is she being so resistant to my charms? Maybe I'm trying too hard to impress her. Should I pull back a little?

Nah…

Pulling up in front of the rival school, I eyed the brick exterior disdainfully. Why does the hottest chick I've ever seen have to go to the enemy school? Why can't she go to West or any other school… how ironic. I, the captain of the West High Knights, would find myself completely head over heels infatuated with the braniac from the school across town. What are the odds?

We sat for a moment before she slapped me on the arm. "Ow, hey!" I mumbled, looking over at her. "What was that for?"

"Stop looking at my school like that."

"Sorry." I rolled my eyes. "I'm just trying to come to terms with this whole situation babe."

"Don't call me that." She lifted her hand out to me, palm up and stared.

I quirked an eyebrow at her and then looked down at her hand. "Uh… what?"

"My keys! Give me my keys."

"Oh yeah." I scoffed. "I don't have them. They're not with me, they're safe somewhere else. I'll give them to you later."

"There won't be a later for you and me."

"Ah… but that's where you're wrong. Oh so very wrong."

"Just give me my keys Troy before you make me do something I will most definitely not regret."

"Ooh, like what?" I leaned in, my eyes widening playfully.

"Like show you how much a firework can hurt if it backfires."

"Calm down, I'll give you your keys later after our second date."

"No, I'm not going on another date with you."

I laughed at the comment and then leaned over the middle of my Mustang. "Ginger, you won't get your keys back otherwise."

I could tell she was seriously debating something in her head. I could practically see the gears turning in that cute little head of hers. Man, I loved that look in her eyes. The one where she clearly wanted to kill someone… not me of course… but she knew she couldn't. I guess I just have that affect on the ladies that's all.

"You know what? I'll bite. We go on one more date, and then you give me my keys and promise to not bug me ever again-" Pssh, yeah right. Like that's gonna happen. Keep dreaming Ginger. "-and then I don't have to worry about ever seeing you again."

I nodded. "Sounds good. I'll see you later. Remember now… stay here." I wagged a finger at her and then smirked. Leaning in closer. "Do you have a kiss for me? I did drive you to school like a gentleman."

She smiled and I was just a tad suspicious, but the look was so beautifully intoxicating that I couldn't help but get sucked in. "Of course you can… you've been so good." She whispered, her sweet tasting lips hovering closer and closer to mine. Oh God, I wanted so bad to taste her cotton candy kisses again. It had been too long… a whole eight hours now.

Before her lips could touch mine, however, she reached forward and dumped the remaining drops of her coffee on my lap. I jolted in my seat, happy the liquid didn't get on my leather interior and gawked at her.

"That's for stealing my keys you cocky son of a bitch. Be glad I didn't dump it over your head. We'll see if you still want to go on another date with me after that." She grabbed her bag and jumped out of my car, and I was left staring after her completely dumbfounded. I should have been livid, I should have been pissed out of my mind. I should have been a lot of things.

But I wasn't.

I was too busy smirking and trying to calm the sudden urge I had to jump out of the car and take her right there against the hood.

There were two thoughts going through my mind as I watched her storm away, swinging her hips seductively.

Damn… she's so hot when she's angry!

And...

I can not wait for that second date.

It looks like I'm going to have to tame this Wildcat, but I'm looking forward to the challenge.

A/N: So here it is, finally... I know. The long awaited follow-up. I hope it was okay, as you can probably tell it's not a oneshot. No, I've decided these two have a story to be told that will be a little longer than originally planned. I'm thinking seven chapters but I haven't outlined the whole thing yet. That being said, I have no idea when this will get updated since I'm overwhelmed with work and other things at the moment. I also have RH to finish and other various works that get stuck in my head. Anyway, hope you enjoyed and my apologies for any grammatical errors.

P.S. I have Twitter now and a livejournal account, links in my profile.

P.S.S. Um... I'm debating adding some M-rated material in here but only if you guys want it. Let me know. It would be my first attempt but one I'm willing to make just to experiment with something different.