Stranger Than Fiction
Summary: Troy Bolton is in talks to star in the romantic comedy "Stranger than Fiction". The plot revolves around a man who plays the field and does not believe in love at first sight.
Rating: M
Disclaimer: High School Musical and all of its characters belong to Disney. I just have them on secondmentThe lyrics used are by Edwin McCain "How do you talk to an angel" beautiful song and lyrics. The rest is my imagination.
A/N: I got the idea for this story on the bus this morning, after I glanced out of the window and straight into a car waiting on a side street and couldn't get it out of my head all day.
"Whew! I'm glad that's finished. I was getting frustrated with all the legalities and script changes." I said to Kristen, my agent.
"You've been a star today, Kristen. Thank you for holding out on that kiss scene, it wasn't necessary to the plot and I couldn't imagine kissing Sharpay, either on screen or off for that matter" I said with a grimace. Kristen laughed. She knew that although Sharpay was one of my best friends, it would feel weird being in that situation with someone I viewed as a little sister, an irritating itch a lot of the time.
"Well you are the 'IT' man at the moment, so they had to take onboard your feelings on how you think your character will play out," she replied with a smile.
"Look I have to rush off but we'll get together next week to iron out the niggles and then you can sign on the dotted line. Okay?" she continued.
"Sure, no problem," I replied and leant over to peck her on the cheek. I always wondered which way my career would have gone if it hadn't been for her. I waved to her as she got into her car and drove off.
"I've been so lucky," I thought as I climbed into my black Audi and flicked on the radio.
"God, I'm so tired. I feel like I could sleep for a week. I hope Chad hasn't got anything planned for tonight. I just need a quiet night in with a pizza and that latest game I got for the WII that I haven't had chance to look at yet."
Feeling cheered by my thoughts, I stuck the car into gear and turned left out of the car park. Traffic was manic, as I reached the intersection, waiting to connect to the mainstream road. I wasn't too bothered. Someone on the radio was prattling on about love and relationships.
"Boy, who listens to this drivel? Duh! Well I do obvious," I started chuckling at my inane thoughts. Life was good, the sun was shining and it was nearly a done deal with the new movie. Another romantic comedy but the script was amazing and I couldn't say no.
I sat in the car, waiting for a chance to move onto the main drag, tapping my fingers to the tune now playing on the radio and just gazing aimlessly around. A silver car, moving slowly in the heavy traffic drew parallel with me. A girl was sat in the back seat, her head down reading something. She had beautiful hair, so dark a brunette it could have been called black in some lights but the sun, falling through the window, picked out the lighter shades. She looked interesting. I wanted her to look up so I could see her face. At the moment all I could see was her profile and even that was half hidden by the fall of her hair.
I don't know whether she felt my stare but she suddenly looked up and glanced sideways and wow! I swear my heart stopped beating. I know my breathing ceased for a minute. She literally took my breath away.
Her skin was flawless, a creamy taupe shade. Her face was heart-shaped and her mouth full with just a dusting of lip-gloss. Her nose was delightful, slightly curved but in perfect proportion to the dimensions of her face. She had beautiful cheekbones with just a touch of colour to them, whether that was from my stare, I don't know. She had shaped eyebrows above the longest eyelashes I had ever seen. And her eyes were the warmest chocolate brown. Whoever said 'the eyes are the window to your soul' wasn't wrong. I now understood that saying. I was mesmerised and couldn't break eye contact.
Suddenly, the car started moving forward and she looked away. I couldn't stop staring until the car was gone from my view. By the time some kind soul let me out into the traffic, she was long gone but not from my thoughts. A tune came on the radio and it summed up how I felt at that moment.
I hear her voice in my mind
I know her face by heart Heaven and earth are moving in my soul I don't know where to start Tell me tell me the words to define The way I feel about someone so fine How do you talk to an angel How do you hold her close to where you are How do you talk to an angel It's like trying to catch a falling star
I drove the rest of the way home in a daze. I just couldn't shake her from my mind, or the words of that song. I really did want to talk to an angel.
"Hey Troy, How did it go today?" shouted Chad, coming in the front door and slamming it so that the frame shook. I shook my head,
"One day the door is gonna hit back. I just hope I'm home to see it." I thought to myself with a smile.
"Fine. Kristen backed me up on those changes I told you about. There's just the logistics to sort through and then it's a done deal. I should be signing on next week." I replied with a smile.
"Do you want to go to that new nightclub, La Faberge, to celebrate? I could ring the guys and make a night of it?" asked Chad, always eager to try the latest trend no matter what it was.
"Not tonight, Chad. I feel like grabbing a pizza and trying out that new game I bought for the WII last week, then going to bed. Do you want to join me?"
Chad pulled his face but agreed. "Okay, but only until 11 o'clock. I'm meeting Taylor at midnight."
"What would you have said if I'd agreed to go to this club you were on about?" I queried, with amusement, "Put Taylor on the back burner?"
"You are joking, right? She'd kill me if I passed her up. I would have taken her with us to the club. She keeps badgering me to take her so I thought I could kill two birds with one stone." He looked sheepishly at me.
I laughed, "Man, you are so whipped."
"Yeah well, just wait till you find 'the' girl, then you'll know exactly how it is. I live for the day when Troy Bolton meets his match," Chad replied with a smirk, using his fingers to emphasise his point.
I blushed, me, Troy Bolton, blushed.
"What the hell has got into me?" I thought I have never done that before. Chad was watching me closely and looked at me with wonder.
"Come on, Bolton, give. What are you blushing for? All the years I've known you I've never you seen you get a cherry like that." He ribbed me.
"Okay! Promise not to laugh or I'm not telling you. Oh and you better keep it a secret or else you'll be bunking elsewhere" I said huffily, trying to throw him off. It did no good. Chad was acting like a terrier with a new bone. Gossip was his middle name.
"Oh okay, I promise not to laugh or say anything to any one, cross my heart and hope to die," he quipped melodramatically, holding a hand behind his back and crossing his fingers.
I raised my eyebrow.
"Yeah right! And pigs might fly. It will be all over the Lakers dressing room in the morning" I thought. "Should I tell him or not?" I debated whether to tell him. It sounded so surreal now but I felt like I needed to talk about it with someone and who else am I as close to. I can't discuss this with Sharpay. Miss Flapper Mouth would have it in print before I blinked. At least Chad would only discuss it with Taylor, who was the sole of discretion or the guys on the basketball team who were also close friends of mine.
"Something weird happened today, not weird exactly but decidedly odd". I started off saying." He gave me the look. You know, the one where he's going to laugh all the way through. I glared at him, daring to him to mock me.
"Come on then, Movie Star. What amazing occurrence happened today?" He smirked.
"I was driving back from the meeting and got stuck in traffic when I saw this amazing girl. She was stunning. My heart literally stopped as I looked into her beautiful eyes," I said dreamily.
Chad gasped, not believing what he was hearing, "Are you serious? Holy shit, Bolton in love! I don't believe I'm hearing this. So what's she called?"
"Hmm, I don't know. I didn't actually speak to her. She was in a car stuck in the traffic. We just stared at each other and then her car moved off and by the time I got out of the side street, she'd gone." I said sadly, shaking my head.
Chad started laughing. "Sorry dude, but it's so funny. You see this girl, don't even speak to her and you fancy the pants off her. Now that is totally spooky. Are you getting into character for your new film already?"
"I knew you'd be like this. I wish I hadn't told you now. I can't explain it to a moron like you. Maybe I should have spoken to Taylor instead, she'd understand." I grumbled.
"I'm going for the pizza. What topping do you want, the usual?" I just had to get out of there before he said some other dumbass comment.
A week later I was in the local mall, checking out the new games in Game Stop. After buying a couple, I left the store. I caught a glimpse of the back of a girl with brunette hair. The hair on the back of my neck started tingling and my heart started fluttering.
"Holy shit! It's her." I thought, getting excited. I dodged the shoppers that seemed to appear out of thin air and raced after her. I spotted her going down the escalator but by the time I got to the bottom, she'd disappeared.
"Damn! Just my bloody luck," I moaned to myself.
"Congratulations Troy. It's a done deal." Stated Kristen, as we exited the office building. We'd just been to a meeting to finalise the filming schedule and signed off the script. Pre-production filming was due to start in two weeks so I had that time to memorise the script and get myself into character.
"Come on then. Let me take you to lunch to celebrate." I stated. "Do you mind Paty's, the food is really good and the paparazzi can't get in, which is a huge bonus." I added with feeling. They were really getting to me lately. The more popular I got, the more I got hounded. They were totally crazy, asking dumb questions about my private life, for god's sake!
We grabbed a booth at the back, well away from the windows and placed our order. We chatted about the up-coming movie and projects that were still in the pipeline. As we finished, something made me glance up and there she was. She was with an older woman, slightly smaller than her and I could tell at a glance it was a relative. The older woman was paying at the till while the girl of my dreams, stood to one side. She glanced around the restaurant until her gaze collided with mine. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't talk. I'd totally blocked out Kristen so I had no idea what she was talking about. I didn't even notice when Kristen broke off speaking and stared at me in puzzlement. I was totally in a world that belonged to just her and me. All the noise in the restaurant just faded into the background.
She was petite, maybe five foot one or thereabouts. Her clothes were casual but classy casual. I noticed that she wore braided bracelets on her arm and a very long chain with a cross dangling from it. Her nails were painted black as were her toes sticking out from some really sexy red shoes. I smiled. I couldn't help myself. I felt so happy, the zing in my heart told me that. She smiled back and my heart flipped. Her relative had settled the bill and touched the girl's sleeve, prompting her to move. She turned and started to walk towards the entrance but then she turned back to smile again.
I couldn't move. I wanted to go to her but I couldn't.
"Shit! What was wrong with me? Come on Bolton. Go to her." I screamed at myself in panic. Kristen touched my arm. That brought me out of my trance. I looked at her in a daze and had to clear my throat.
"Are you okay, Troy?" she asked worriedly.
"I'm not sure. I think I just met the girl of my dreams and I couldn't say a damned thing." I cried. I told her the story of the chance meetings.
"Look Troy, this is the third time you've seen her. It's obvious she lives locally so I am sure you will see her again." Kristen said, trying to cheer me up.
"If it's meant to be, it will be. Haven't you heard of fate or destiny? It seems to me that girl is your destiny. I saw the sparks flying from across the room and if you ask me, the feeling is mutual. The air actually crackled. People leaving, walked around her, rather than walk between you. Did you notice?" She started laughing.
"I didn't notice anyone leaving," I said, puzzled. I really hadn't noticed anyone apart from her.
"Of course you didn't, you were both caught up in the moment. It's funny though, how the 'Great Troy Bolton' couldn't utter a word. I hope you don't freeze up on camera," she said, trying to lighten my mood.
"Come on, let's get out of here. And please Kristen. Not a word of this, especially if you see Chad. He'll think I'm a dork."
I got back to the apartment around 3pm. I dropped my keys on the hall table and sent a text to Chad, telling him of the done deal. By the time I'd gone into my bedroom, he'd sent one back, telling me were definitely going to La Faberge tonight, no arguments.
"Oh yeah! And Taylor has nothing whatsoever to do with that." I thought, chuckling to myself. I could read him like a book. He'd been getting grief over not taking her obviously. I stretched out on the bed, and felt my eyelids getting heavy. Before I succumbed to slumber, I reached over and set the clock radio for 7.30pm.
The alarm woke me up. I didn't want to move. I was having a very hot dream about a certain brown-eyed brunette, whose luscious lips were doing amazing things to my body. The radio kicked in.
"No way! I don't believe it." I just lay there, dumbstruck. The record playing was that song again.At night I dream that she is there
And I can feel her in the air Tell me tell me the words to define The way I feel about someone so fine How do you talk to an angel How do you hold her close to where you are How do you talk to an angel It's like trying to catch a falling star How do you talk to an angel How do you hold her close to where you are How do you talk to an angel It's like trying to catch a falling star
"Damn! I better grab a shower to wake me up. It may help the painful ache in my dick too," I grumpily thought, scowling as I made my way to the en-suite.
Half an hour later and dressed in my favourite Armani suit, teamed with a light blue shirt that complimented the navy colour of the suit, I went to check if Chad was back from training.
He wasn't, but came in as I was making a coffee.
"Do you want one of these?" I asked, holding up a cup.
"No thanks. I'm just going to grab a shower and then we get down to partying. Can we pick up Taylor on the way?" He said cheekily.
"So who's coming tonight?" I asked, as he walked back in some thirty minutes later.
"Oh, just the usual I think. Jason and Martha, Ryan and Kelsi, Monty and his new girlfriend, Kirstie. Oh and I think Zeke's bringing Sharpay." I groaned.
"Oh great! I hope she behaves herself and doesn't go into superstar mode," I muttered. Chad laughed as we walked out the door.
La Faberge was situated on a quiet side street with only the name lit in neon lights. It wasn't at all what I expected and I was pleasantly surprised with the décor. No strobe lighting was in evidence or loud, thumping music blaring. It was a place you could come to relax and talk and not have to shout to be heard. The background music had a jazzy feel to it.
I followed Taylor and Chad to the bar, meeting up with the others who had only just ordered their drinks.
"Troy, Troy. Isn't it exciting that we'll be acting together?" Screeched Sharpay, as she sidled up to me and planted a kiss on my lips. I hugged her back but rolled my eyes at Chad, who turned away, laughing silently.
"Oh god! I hope she's not going to be on top note tonight. I hate it when she's all, 'look at me, I'm a movie star' mode." I prayed.
We got our drinks and moved away from the bar. Monty pointed to a table with a reserved sign on it, right in front of the stage.
"I've already arranged for this table for us. My cousin is singing here tonight so I wanted her to be able to see me from the stage." He commented. "She's just signed a deal with Anchor Records and is singing here as a favour to the producer, who also has a stake in this place." He added. Sharpay pulled Zeke up to dance and Ryan and Kelsi followed suit. Taylor eyed Chad, silently asking him to join them but he chose to ignore her.
"I need a couple more of these before I can do that. You know I do, Tay," he whined, pointing to his bottle of beer. I smiled and looked pointedly at him. I showed him my thumb, pointed downwards. Monty saw my action and started laughing. Monty was the power forward on the basketball team and I knew why. He was well built and not someone I would like to cross. His new girlfriend, Kirstie, looked sweet and I could tell she just adored him.
"So Monty, tell me about your cousin?" I asked. "What's she called?"
"Her name is Gabriella and she's my cousin on my dad's side of the family. She has this amazing voice that just touches the heart. I'm so glad she's moved here. I'll be able to see more of her." He gushed. "Her family just moved up from Salinas because of her record deal. She needs to be in the thick of the action now. She'll be on at 11pm." He added.
"I can't wait." I added in reply. I went to the bar to get another round of drinks, getting doubles as it was nearly 11 o'clock and it wasn't fair be going for another round while Gabriella was on stage.
"Gabriella, hmm! It had a pretty ring to it." I thought, as I weaved back through the club with the tray of drinks. Everyone was back at the table when I got there. I handed out the drinks and sat down, ready for the show.The lights dimmed and just one solitary spotlight lit the stage. Then the sweetest voice I had ever heard filled up the room. It was pitch perfect, slightly husky and so seductive. Chad tapped me on the shoulder to ask me something but I didn't even notice as she came into view. I was dreaming. I was enthralled. I was in love.
"Oh My God! It's her. My dream angel." I thought. I'm sure my mouth dropped open. That breathless sensation was back. My heart flipped as I stared at her. Her gaze found Monty and she smiled. Then she glanced around the table to see whom he was with. Her eyes fell on mine and she didn't look away. She sang solely for me or was that my imagination. She finished the song.
"Thank you." She said, as she took a bow. "This next one is for my cousin, Monty." She said, as she introduced the next song. She pointed to Monty but her eyes looked fully into mine. I gasped. I felt Chad looking at me, in total confusion, then glanced at Taylor. Taylor smiled knowingly, and patted his knee.
Too soon it was over. Gabriella left the stage and the half dimmed lights came back on. Sharpay grabbed hold of Zeke and pulled him onto the dance floor. She swayed drunkenly against him. I smiled, thinking he'll have his hands full later.
"Hey! What was that all about?" queried Chad, still puzzled by my actions, or lack of, during the cabaret. I shrugged.
"Tell him Tay. I don't think I want to spend an hour trying to make this numbskull understand." I said tiredly, rubbing the back of my neck.
Suddenly, she was there. I felt her before I saw her but I knew. I turned around and she was greeting Monty with a kiss and hugging Kirstie.
"Gabriella, let me introduce you to my friends, " Said Monty, bursting with pride at his little cousin's performance.
"This is Jason and Martha." Gabriella smiled and shook their hands.
"Here's Zeke and his girlfriend, Sharpay. She's an actress." Stated Monty.
"Ryan and Kelsi. Be nice to her, she may write you a number one hit," Monty said hopefully.
"This is Chad, the joker of the team and his lovely girlfriend, Taylor," Monty laughed as he said it.
" And last, but not least, the star in our midst, Troy Bolton," gushed Monty. I blushed because I knew it wasn't true. These guys were the stars, the ones that drew the crowds, week in, week out.
"Hi," she said huskily, blushing slightly.
"Hi," I said, at exactly the same time. I held out my hand and she placed hers in mine. A tingle shot up my arm and I glanced at her to see if she felt it. I think she did as she never broke eye contact for a second, nor tried to remove her hand. We just stood there smiling at each other and holding hands, both scared to look away and lose the moment.
Taylor smiled, turned and grabbed hold of Chad.
"Now is the time for the dance floor, buster," she ordered, dragging him away from the group. The rest followed them and we were left alone. After seemingly eons later, I plucked up the courage to say,
"I find I'm in need of a leading lady?" I asked tentatively.
"I sing. I don't act." She replied, huskily.
"I wasn't talking professionally." I said, hoping and praying that she'd take the bait.
"Oh in that case, when do I audition?" She giggled deep from inside.
"Now!" I answered beaming. I leant in and kissed my very own angel.
I really hope you like this. I'm very happy with how this turned out. All reviews gratefully received.