A/N: I don't own RENT or High School Musical, I just was listening to the song 'Tango Maureen' and also thinking about High School Musical, and this one shot was born! I hope you all like it :) Don't forget to leave a lovely review for me!
The Tango: Gabi
"It's hard to let things go, but sometimes it can't be helped."
The theater hall was dark with only the lights on the stage illuminating the wooden surface, the blonde that was bent over a sound board and her face scrunched in confusion and her bottom lip almost bleeding with the amount of force she put on it with her teeth that seemed to big for her mouth. "Oh this is frustrating..." she moaned, digging through her pocket and pulling out a pink cellphone covered in sequins, she hit the speed dial '3' and it rang three times.
"Hey Gabs..." she said, biting her nail. The Filipina on the other end yawned, "what is it babe?"
"I-I...I can't get this to work, the stuff at the theater hall-" there was a groan on the other line and the blond could picture her rolling her chocolate brown eyes. "Your a theater girl, Nina." She rolled her eyes, groaning and throwing her head back in agitation.
"Exactly!" she yelled into the phone, walking to the end of the stage and sitting down, "I'm a theater girl Gabs, I'm not a techy nerd."
There was a sigh. "I'll call someone."
Nina almost sounded thankful. "Thank you," keyword: Almost. Gabi smiled into the phone on the other line, "Does this mean I get something when you get home?" Nina smirked, rolling her eyes as she wrapped a blond tendril around her perfectly, blue manicured finger.
"We'll see, get to calling and we'll see." Gabi chuckled, blowing a kiss and hanging up the phone. Nina sighed, hanging up the phone and sliding it in her pocket again as she stood up and walked back over to the sound board. It looked like an alien species! How the hell was she supposed to figure this out, get it to work, and ...and, "ugh! I'm useless at this!" she mumbled loudly to herself, bending over it once again and trying to figure out.
\.
The sound of a basketball hitting the concrete of the drive way was music to his ears. He loved the feel over the rubber beneath his fingers. He bounced it once on the court, bent his legs at his knees and aimed perfectly at the net. He scrunched one eye shut, his tongue out of habit sticking out over his bottom lip as he jumped and shot the orange rock into the net and he watched it go swiftly inside. He smiled, the lazy punks he called friends sitting on the side lines-the grass-clapping loudly and cheering.
"Whoo! Troy!"
"That was awesome!"
"You will totally make the Lakers!"
He rolled his eyes at that last comment, sure, he believed he had skill to get on the Lakers, but he just liked playing the game. Walking to the grass where there was a green cooler full of root beer, water, Gatorade, and beer. He chose the water.
As he wiped the sweat off his forehead with his towel, his cellphone rang; he picked it up to check the ID screen, he rolled his eyes when a picture of his ex-girlfriend showed up at him. "Hey man, who is it?" Troy rolled his eyes again, "no one Chad...just-Hey!"
Chad, in all his puffy haired, brown eyed, beer gutted glory, swiped the phone away from his sweaty friend. His lips curled up in a smirk. "Oooh...girlfriend alert."
The sweaty, blue eyed, brown haired man reached to grab his phone, but Chad kept it away from him. "Gonna call her back?" Troy groaned,
"I don't know...I don't think I should." he reached for the phone, Chad tossed it to his boyfriend; who caught it effortlessly. "Hey..it's still vibrating-"
"Answer it! Answer it, babe!" Chad yelled, Troy turned, "come on! Give me my phone!"
Chad's boyfriend, Zeb Carter-Williams, smiled flirtingly and flipped open the phone and put it to his ear. "Hello, this is Troy Bolton's phone." Troy narrowed his eyes, walking up to Zeb and grabbing his prehistoric phone out of the effeminate male's hand. "Hey...Brie..what's up?"
"..."
"Uh-huh..."
"..."
"Brie I don't think I sh-"
"..."
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "All right, I'll"-he ran a hand through his hair and down his face, puffing out his cheeks and blowing out a puff of air-"I'll be there in a short few minutes just...give me a few minutes to clean up and...change out of my basketball clothes."
"..."
"Your welcome, uh...bye." he flipped his phone shut, turning to glare at his two friends, shaking his head at their smirking faces. "I can't believe her-" Chad raised his brows; having thought that nothing could break up the happy pair.
"What?" Troy sighs, picking up his towel and walking into the house. "First...Gabriella dumps me and no-"
"Whoa!" Chad yelled out in shock, "Gabster dumped you?" Troy bit his lip, turning around slowly, "Yes Chad...she dumped me..for a theater teacher named 'Nina'." Chad chuckled, Zeb came up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist; murmuring French in his ear.
"And now she wants me to go help her fix her sound equipment!"
"You could've said no." Chad said
"yeah but...well.." Chad smiled,
"Oh that's cute," he murmured, taking a pull from his beer that he hadn't sat down since he got it out of the cooler fifteen minutes ago. "You still love her."
Troy opened his mouth to retort, but Zeb cut him off my speaking his mumbo jumbo French wording nonsense, "Gentillesse, totalement mignonne. (Cuteness, totally cute)." Troy rolled his eyes, running a hand through his hair.
"Well I already promised, so I have to go...so...sorry to cut the visit short." Chad shook his head, "hey man, no big deal...I want to spend time with Zeb anyway..." Zeb giggled, running his fingers through Chad's hair and playing with the ends. Troy rolled his eyes.
He hated irony. Really...he did.
\.
She was short of pulling her hair out of her head and roasting it over an open fire; her bottom lip was near to bleeding the more she bit it in frustration. Honestly, she felt like kicking the damn soundboard cause she couldn't get the damn thing to work! She growled, about to knock it over when a throat cleared. She looked up to see a attractive blue eyed male, he spoke "Hi..." he said, shifting uncomfortably.
"Hi...?"
He cleared his throat, walking forward, "Gabriella called me"-her eyes widened and her ears perked up-"to come and fix the sound equpiment..." his voice trailed off into awkward silence, Nina narrowed her eyes.
"Your Troy?" she asked incredulously, crossing her arms over her chest. The realization hit him. "Nina?"
She sighed, bending her head and pinching her nose; "I just got off the phone with her-I told her not to call you..." Troy bit his lip, "oh...well, is there-can I help since I'm here anyway?"
She looked at him, a smug smile on her lips. "I've hired an engineer..." Troy nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "Okay...tehn...see you thern." he turned to walk out, Nina, looked at the soundboard; tapping her foot, "WAIT!" he stopped, turning 180 degrees. Nina let out a sigh, "he's three hours late."
Troy smirked, walking up to the stage to the sound board, Nina sighed, "the sample won't delay but the cable-" he held up his hands, "there's another way"-he jutted his chin toward the mike-"say something, anything." she nodded, walking to the mic and putting her lips to it,
"test one, two, three..." Troy looked up, his lips curled. "Anything but that." she looked back at him, turning back to the mic. "This is weird.."
"It's weird." Troy agreed, not looking up.
"Very weird."
"Fucking weird."
Nina bit her lip, walking down the stairs of the stage. "I'm so mad that I don't know what to do-fighting with microphones, freezing down to my bones and to top it all it off I'm with you!" she pointed a manicured finger at Troy, who looked up from his work, moving away.
"Feel like going insane?" he moved closer to the stairs. "Got a fire in your brain? And you're thinking of drinking Gasoline?" She crossed her arms over her chest.
"As a matter of fact-" he walked briskly up to her, "Blondie I know this act-it's called the Tango: Gabi."
It was quiet for a second, until Troy grabbed her shoulders. "The Tango: Gabi! It's dark dizzy merry-go-round!" Nina looked at him as if he was crazy. "As she keeps you dangling-"
"Your wrong."
"your heart she is mangling-"
"It's different with me!" Nina tried to walk away, but Troy followed. "And you toss and you turn, cause her cold eyes can burn yet you yearn and you churn and REBOUND!" she stopped dead in her tracks.
"I think I know what you mean..." She Troy sang together, "the Tango: Gabi."
"Has she ever pouted her lips and called her 'pookie'?" Nina rolled her eyes, scoffing. "Never." Starting walking again, but Troy still followed.
"Have you ever doubted a kiss or two?" she stopped again, her voice sounding shaken. "This is...spooky." she turned to him with wide eyes, her hands and lips shaking.
"Did you swoon when she walked through the door?" he nodded, "everytime so be...cautious." he waved his hands a little bit in a 'kind of' motion. She turned fully to him, "did she moon over other boys?"
"More than moon..." she walked passed him, grabbing on to her stomach, "I'm getting... nautious." They stopped next to each other, turning their heads with narrowed eyes full of questions, Troy took off his black hoodie that said 'Sexyback' on the back with the number '14' underneath it, and tossed it over some where where it landed in a row of theater chairs. She sighed, taking off her small courderoy jacket and swiftly tossing it to her left and behind her.
They both turned on their heels and grabbed each other's hands, starting to tango. Their feet in complicated patterns and steps; Troy looked at her then at her feet. "Where'd you learn to tango?"
"With the French Ambassador's daughter in her dorm room at Miss Porter's"-she looked at him with a smug smirk, but amazed he knew this dance-"and you?" he breathed in a breath, and let it out at the same time he spoke.
"With Sharpay Evans, the Rabbi's daughter at the Albuquerque Jewish Community Center." She nodded slowly, mouthing a 'uh huh' as she did some fancy foot work, and then spun Troy around and then grabbed his hands again. He was watching his feet.
He chuckled uncomfortably, "Hey uh...it's hard to do this backwards-" she let out a small howl of a laugh, "you should try it...in heels!" They pulled tight together, staring into each other's eyes for a split second, and for awhile, it was like he was going to kiss her, but then she pulled away; spinning out then spinning back in.
"She cheated!"
"She cheated!"
"Gabi Cheated!"
"Fucking cheated!"
Troy grabbed her waist, dipping her low as she sang, "I'm defeated I should give up right now-"
"Got to look bright side with all of your might..." Troy crooned, dancing her toward the stage again.
She made a swooning face, "I'd fall for her still anyhow.." He sighed, spinning her slightly then dancing her up the stairs, and they were tango'ing on the stage. Their voices pitched together, "when your dancing her dance, you don't stand a chance"-he dipped her and swooped her in a slow circle as he brought her up-"her grip of romance makes you fall!"
"So you think 'might as well'" Troy said, shrugging as he danced, she spun out and then back in with her back side facing his crotch.
"'dance a tango to hell' at least I'll have tango'd at all." she finished; him joining her after she sang 'hell', he couldn't hide the chuckle that escaped his lips when they were back in the starter position, they turned their heads to the auditorium of the theater where all the seats were, imagining a certain brunette on the arm of a tuxedo clad, well chiseled and proportioned male, and on the other arm a scantily clad woman in a blue dress with a plunging neck line. They looked at each other, "The Tango: Gabi!" Troy spun them in a circle again and another and another as they sang, "got to dance till your diva is through-"
"you pretend to believe her!" Nina sang loudly,
"cause in the end you can't leave her!" Troy sang after her, then he sang, "but the end it will come-"
"Still you have to play dumb." Nina sang, swirling ou; kicking her feet up and then spinning back in and leaving their cheeks one millimeter apart from touching as she whispered in his ear. "Why do we love when she's mean?"
"And she can be so obscene.." he whispered back, pulling back and going to the soundboard, "Try the mic." she nodded, walking up to it and putting her lips to it. "My Gabi."
"The Tango: Gabi..." Troy smiled, twisting one knob on the soundboard and walking up to the mic as Nina walked to the table that was by the table where a water bottle full of Vodka sat, and her green leather purse next to it.
"And we're patched" 'patched' echoed several times over the mic, but it worked. He turned to Nina, she smiled a genuine smile, taking a sip of her Vodka, "heh...thanks." he nodded.
"No problem." Breaking the quiet, 'Man In The Mirror' blared from Nina's pocket; setting down her water bottle, she answered her phone, smiling at the ID screen. "Hey...honey-" her eyes widened, "Pookie?" she looked at Troy who wore a mocking and knowing smile, looking down at his feet. "y-yo-you never call me pook"-she cleared her throat, shaking her heard-"You know what? We're patched." she hung up her phone, sliding it back in her pocket.
Troy, in a mockingly high voice and rocking his head left to right, "Pookie..." she looked at him with an irritated expression.
"Shut up."