Okay i really like this story, like a lot. And i hope you guys do. I won't be uploading as often as i have been anymore, i'm not getting as many reviews anymore. Those are my motivation, so review if you want more. And with Christmas coming up i'll be busy but i'll still be writing stories. So if you want them, review! I hope you like this one, let me know what you think.
Little boy in the blue sweater.
A five year old Gabriella Montez sat in the blue swing at the park, going back and forth as she hummed the barney theme song in her head. Her pink summer dress flew in the wind just like her brown curls that were pulled back with a matching bow. This was her last day here, the last time she thought she'd ever be in Albuquerque. Or so she thought.
This was the place she had lived for the first five years of her life and she hated that she had to move. She loved it there, especially the park. Hearing a little boy being picked on Gabriella immediately shot her head up, seeing a boy with bright blue, teary eyes.
"My grandma made me this sweater." He said to the two older boys who had made fun of it. He was currently wearing a navy blue knitted sweater with a white snowman stitched in the middle front. It was his favorite sweater, he even though it was summer he still wore it no matter how much his mom tried protesting to it.
"Look at him Tommy, what a loser." The taller boy with dark brown hair said with a low, deep chuckle with caused the little boy to get even more scared.
And being the bold, brave little girl Gabriella was she stood up and put her hands on her hips as she looked at them. "Leave him alone." She said as she gave them the meanest look any five year old girl could, the anger and attitude obvious in her voice.
All three boys heads immediately shot towards her, the two older ones laughing at her as the one she assumed was 'Tommy' hit the other guys chest. "Look at this," He said as he continued to laugh, shaking his head. "We got a little 'hero.'"
Gabriella walked over to them, her hands balling into little fists as she put them up. "Come on," She said as she continued trying to be tough, the boys just shaking their heads with smiles. "Leave him alone."
"Oh I'm so scared!" The one that she still didn't know his name said in a fake, girly voice causing the other one to laugh.
"You ought to be." She said as she started hitting the one boy with her little fists, not causing him any true pain.
The boys just backed up and laughed, "Okay, okay we're leaving." He spoke up once more before turning back to his friend, Tommy. "What a little tomboy." He said as he shook his head and the two walked off.
Gabriella glared at them one last time before turning back to the little boy they had been picking on. "Thanks for helping me." He mumbled as he looked down at the ground, playing with his little hands.
Gabriella just smiled boldly and nodded. "If it helps at all, I like your sweater." She said as she noticed him looking up with a quick smile.
"You do?" He asked hopefully, obviously excited about what she just said.
She smiled and nodded, "Yeah, my grandma passed away so she can't make me any sweaters. You're really lucky." She said as she looked at him. He nodded with a smile.
"Well I should go, I'm going to California." She said with a sad smile after a few silent seconds. He furrowed his eyebrows and cocked his head to the side.
"You're leaving already?" He asked as he sighed. He was always more of the shy boy, not many friends only his one neighbor. He hardly talked in pre-school, he thought he had finally found a new friend.
Gabriella nodded, "My papi just passed, my mom wants to go live closer to her brother." She said with a sad smile.
"Oh," He said simply. Gabriella smiled before leaning forward and kissing his cheek.
"Goodbye." She said softly before walking off towards her mom who was sitting on a bench nearby, under one of the trees in the park.
"Let's go mami." She said once she arrived to her, her mom smiling at her after watching how she helped the young boy.
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It has been 13 years, well according to Gabriella 13 dreadfully long years that she hated in California. And well what was so special about today? She was back in her hometown, where she was born and belonged. She was officially moving back.
She grinned as her and her mom pulled onto the new street she would now be living on, counting the numbers on the houses. "237, 239, 241, 243!" She squealed with excitement as her moms van came to a stop and without even saying a word to her mom, Gabriella opened the door quickly and ran out of the van and up to the door. She pushed it open since the realtor was there, smiling at her when she walked in.
"Ah Gabriella, I see you're still excited." The lady she knew as, Linda, said with a smile and she laughed a little. Gabriella nodded her head with a grin.
"Of course, I've been waiting for this day for 13 years." She said with a long breathe coming out, "I'm finally home." She whispered as she looked around the house that was already furnished from the few weeks they had come up to get it done. "For good." She added quickly just before her mom walked into the house, with some unfamiliar people walking in behind her.
"Gabriella," She said softly with a smile as she looked at her. "These are our new neighbors, Lucille and Jack Bolton." She said as she gestured to the happy looking couple next to her. "And this," She said as she gestured to the young man with them that looked her age, "is there son, Troy." She said as she smiled at Gabriella.
Gabriella smiled and nodded, "It's nice to meet you." She said softly, as her eyes ran over the new people in front of her. Taking them all in. Her eyes stopped when they went to the boy, Troy, her breathe stopping when she saw those eyes. "Blue sweater." She mumbled softly, loud enough for the rest to hear.
Troy looked at her oddly, his eyebrows rising as he did. Gabriella shook her head quickly and looked to her mom quickly, "Um I mean, mom do you know where my blue sweater is?" She asked quickly.
Her mom looked at her quizzically, "What blue swea-" She stopped when she saw the look Gabriella was giving her, "Oh, that one. No I don't." She said as she shook her head.
Gabriella nodded quickly, "I'll look for it later." Gabriella's mom smiled and laughed awkwardly, turning back to the Bolton family.
"We'd be happy to have you two over for dinner tonight," The older woman said with a bright smile, trying to change the subject."
"Yea, Lucille is making her famous spaghetti. It's delicious, right Troy?" Her husband spoke up as he shot his son a smile.
"Yea." The boy said simply with a small nod. Gabriella smiled, he was still the shy little boy she had met at the park that one day 13 years ago.
Maria Montez smiled and nodded, "That would be great, we were just gonna order in but that sounds even better." She said with a bright smile.
"Great, you can come on over around 6." Lucille said softly as she turned to her boys, "Well let's leave the two ladies alone. I'm sure their busy." The five walked the short distance to the door, saying their goodbyes before the Bolton had left.
Just a few short hours later Gabriella and her mom were standing on the Bolton's porch, waiting for the door to open. Gabriella was dressed in her Hollister skinny jeans, tucked into her ugg boots. She was snug warm in her white hoodie, the navy blue Hollister seagull right in the middle.
Maria smiled instantly when she saw Troy opening the door, "Hi, Troy." She said cheerfully as he let the two in, Troy just offering her a small smile. The three made their way to the kitchen where his parents had been preparing the foor.
"Oh Maria, Gabriella you're here!" Lucille said happily, "The food will be ready shortly, Troy why don't you show Gabriella the living room." She said nodding her head in the direction of the room. "We'll get you when we're ready.
Troy nodded his head, mumbling a quiet follow me as he stalked off towards the Bolton's cozy living room. He gestured to the couch, that looked more than comfy in Gabriella's opinion. "You can have a seat if you would like." He said and offered her a small smile.
"Thank you." She said softly as she sat down, followed by Troy who sat only a few inches away from her.
"What school are you going to go to?" He asked after a moment of silence.
"East High, I wouldn't dream of going anywhere else." She said as she shook her head, seeing his confused smile.
"Why's that?" He asked as he laughed a little.
"Well you see I lived here, until I was five and my dad loved basketball. He took me to so many games, including the Wildcats games. I loved it and I couldn't wait to come back here." She said as she smiled big and let out a long breathe before looking back over at him. "I probably sound so stupid." She said as she laughed nervously.
Troy shook his head and smiled. "It just so happens that you're talking to the captain of the Wildcats basketball team." He said with a big grin.
"Oh, so here I am talking to mister big shot, huh?" She asked as she nudged his side softly and laughed a little.
He smiled, rubbing the back of his neck as he shook his head. "Ah, I don't know. Everyone's always trying to be my friend, but I'm more of a private person. Quiet, you know?" He said as he looked over at her, seeing her mouth in the shape of an 'o' as she nodded.
"Troy, Gabriella. Food is ready." Jack said as he appeared around the corner, shooting both of them a smile. They both stood up and Gabriella followed Troy towards the dining room where the food had been set out and ready for the two families to eat.
Just about an hour and a half later Gabriella and her mom walked back into their own house after the parents decided on having some coffee.
Gabriella smiled to herself as she headed up the stairs, thinking about Troy. She couldn't believe she had found him, it was like a miracle. Well except for the fact that he didn't remember her, yet. She would change that though.
Gabriella stopped walking up the stairs all of a sudden, turning around and looking at her mom. "Do you mind if I take a walk mom? I want to see the park again."
Maria smiled and nodded, "Of course not, I know how much you missed that place." Gabriella smiled and walked back down the stairs, heading towards the door before quickly making her exit.
She walked to the park and was there in less then five minutes, happy to be there once again. She instantly walked over to the swings, sitting down on her favorite blue one as she started to swing back and forth slowly. She looked around and thought of the memories, smiling when she thought about the time she helped that little boy out, well now her new neighbor.
"Hey." She heard a familiar voice speak up which caused her to look up. She smiled when she saw the boy standing in front of her.
"Hey yourself." She said as she smiled softly. "What are you doing here?" She asked as she cocked her head to the side.
"Me? Oh I come here every night, it's my favorite place."
"Mine too, I missed it." She said softly as she looked back down at the ground.
"What do you mean? I thought you were from California." He spoke up after a few seconds.
"Ah you haven't been listening Bolton." She said with a little laugh which caused him to grin. "I lived here until I was five, but we had to move after that."
Troy raised his eyebrows and looked out in front of him, now that he to was on a swing. "That's strange." He mumbled softly.
"What is?" She asked as she looked over at him.
"Oh nothing," Troy said softly. "It's just that I met this girl here once, when I was five and she was moving to California too." He said as he looked over at her, seeing the smile on Gabriella's face.
"Blue sweater, with the white snowman." Gabriella spoke up softly as she turned her head away quickly, not really sure how Troy would react.
"You saved me?" She heard the quiet whisper coming out so quietly, feeling his eye bore into the back of her head.
She nodded softly and turned to look at him. "I didn't think you remembered." She said softly.
Troy nodded, silence filling the air for a few moments before a smile spread across his face. "So there really was no blue sweater you were looking for today, was there?" He asked as he laughed softly, shaking his head a little bit. "I knew that sounded strange when I heard it."
Gabriella smiled and nodded, "I know, I saw the look on your face so I thought I'd try to cover it up. I guess there really was no point in that now though.
Troy smiled and looked over at her, "Just don't tell anybody about that, I'm the big tough guy now. No body needs to know I was saved by a girl."
Gabriella laughed as she looked at him, shaking her head at what he had just said. "Of course, I would never hurt your ego."
Troy smiled and stood up, reaching his hand out towards her. "Come on, it's getting late. I'll walk you home." Gabriella nodded softly, taking his hand and standing up. Oh this was going to be the start of a great friendship, or maybe even more.
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Troy grinned as he sat down next to his best friend, pulling out a square box that was wrapped with a bow on top from behind his back. He handed it to her and she smiled. "Open it, you'll love it." He said as he pointed towards the box, still holding something else behind his back with his other hand.
Gabriella nodded her head and laughed at how excited he seemed about it. She started tearing the wrapping paper off and set it down on the ground, lifting the top of the box up and setting it next to her. She instantly grinned after she removed the tissue paper and saw the pink sweater inside that had a white snowman in the middle.
She laughed softly as she pulled it out and held it up so she could look at it just as Troy pulled a newly sown sweater like his old one from his back. "Now we have matching sweaters." He said as he grinned, letting out a low chuckle.
"You're such a dork Troy." Gabriella said with a smile and shook her head.
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Gabriella smiled at the memory as she looked at the picture of her and Troy in their sweaters, closing her photo album up quickly when she heard the front door open.
"Brie, we're home." She heard that familiar voice call out, before seeing her husband walking into the kitchen with their little daughter, Isabella. He walked over to her, holding the little 3 year old in his arms and kissed her sweetly.
Gabriella smiled, "Hi there," She said softly before kissing her little daughters nose. "Hi Ella, how was the park?" She asked as she grabbed the little girl out of his arms and taking her over to the sink so he could wash her face off. "You're dad always gets you so messy." She mumbled as she shook her head, hearing a 'hey!' coming from her husband who had retreated to the living room.
"It was gweat mommy." She heard her daughter saw with a little laugh. "Me make a new fwiend." She said as she sat on the counter, swinging her legs back and forth.
"Really? What's her name?" Gabriella asked with a small smile.
"Mikwey." She said as she grinned. "Daddy said I can't see him till I'm older."
Gabriella laughed and shook her head at her husband, it was just like him wanting his daughter to not have any friends that were boys until she was older.
"I'll have to talk to daddy about that won't I?" Gabriella asked as she laughed a little more. Ella smiled and nodded quickly.
Gabriella picked her up and set her on the floor, smiling as she watched her little girl running off towards the living room wearing that same blue sweater her husband did years ago. She looked down at her hand, grinning at the ring.
All because of a little boy with a blue sweater.
"I love you." She heard from behind her as a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, instantly causing Gabriella to grin.
"I love you too, Mr. Bolton." She said as she let her body mold to his, her hand moving to his cheek as she patted it softly.