A/N: Hi everybody. So I was bored, and this came as a result. Let me know what you think? Reviews are greatly appreciated.
Troy Bolton was not one for Chinese food. All of the spices and sauces wasn't his thing, but when his friends suggested they all go get Chinese food, he wasn't going to refuse. He had figured he could get something more on the plain side, without some tangy sauce. And surprisingly, tonight it wasn't the food that was sickening him.
It was Gabriella.
More specifically, Gabriella and Jay, her new neighbor. Troy took a bite of his chicken, rolling his eyes as he did, regretting his choice to even come. As soon as he heard Jay was coming, he should have refused. But no, jealousy prevailed, and he was sitting across the table from the one guy he hated the most.
"You are just too cute," Gabriella said, a sugary cooing in her voice. Jay had his arm around her waist and she was practically in his lap.
"No, it's you that is too cute," Jay answered, leaning over to kiss her nose. She responded by kissing him lightly on the lips and mumbling some more cutesy phrases that Troy chose to ignore. His stomach was literally churning.
Troy watched in amazement as Gabriella and Jay continued to argue over who was cuter, ending each sentence with some form of a kiss. Troy glanced over at the rest of his friends to see if the rest were as disgusted as him. Chad and Taylor were having some heated discussion, completely oblivious to the couple next to them. Jason, Sharpay and Zeke were talking amongst themselves, but next to Troy, Kelsi was also staring at Jay and Gabriella.
She looked up at Troy with raised her eyebrows, and Troy knew immediately she agreed with him. "Why does nobody else notice this?" he asked as Gabriella began feeding pieces of chicken into Jay's mouth.
"I really don't know," Kelsi answered, grinning as the couple continued to feed each other, still kissing at every chance they got. They were completely unaware that anybody else was still around them. "But maybe it's just because you're the only one madly in love with her."
Troy's head shot up at her words, and thankfully he realized Gabriella hadn't heard Kelsi's accusation. "I am not," he responded, not taking his view off of Jay, who's eyes had slid a little low for Troy's liking.
"Right."
"I'm really not," Troy said, "I just don't like this. This isn't like Gabriella, ignoring the rest of her friends for one guy."
"Oh, and jealous too, I see," Kelsi said, laughing as Troy glared at her. He knew she was right, he just wasn't going to admit it.
"You're not annoyed by this?" Troy asked Kelsi, who grinned and shrugged.
"Not really, but I'm not in love with her."
This earned her another glare as Troy focused his attention back on the pair in front of him. Things had been just fine until Jay moved to Albuquerque. Troy and Gabriella hadn't been a couple, but everybody in school knew not to go near her. She was Bolton's girl, or at least she would be if he could work up the nerve. He had strong feelings for her, and nearly everybody knew, apparently everybody except Gabriella.
Then Jay Saunders moved in right next door to Gabriella, and he didn't know about the unwritten rule. He set his eyes on Gabriella immediately, and unfortunately, Gabriella noticed him too. It started out slow. He'd show up at her locker in between classes just to say hi, he'd ask for help with his homework during free period, he'd sit in on musical rehearsals, and he'd walk her home after school.
While Gabriella loved it, it seriously ticked Troy off. These were all things he had previously done for Gabriella, until Jay came along. His friends warned him to do something about it before it was too late. Everybody was positive she felt the same way as Troy did to her. But he just couldn't work up the nerve. It was something about Gabriella, the way she looked at him, that scared him to death. Troy usually wasn't one to be shy around girls, but with Gabriella, he just couldn't ask her out.
By the time Gabriella ran up to him one day in the hallway with a bright smile on her face, Troy had come to a harsh realization. He had been replaced.
"You'll never guess what happened today,"Gabriella had said, and she was absolutely right. He would have never guessed. He would have never guessed that somebody would ask her out before he would and he would have never guessed that she would have said yes.
Gabriella's soft laughter broke into Troy's thoughts, but he rolled his eyes as he realized Jay was tickling her.
"So, Gabriella," Troy stated, louder than normal to get her attention, "Can you believe the musical is next week?"
Gabriella looked away from Jay for a second, smiled at Troy and nodded. "I know, it seems like we've been rehearsing forever."
"I know," Troy said, "I wouldn't be surprised if Darbus passes out from excitement. Yesterday when I swung by her office to pick up a paper, she kept me there for forty minutes talking about how great it's going to be, I am pretty excited though..." Troy trailed off as he realized Gabriella was no longer listening, she was focusing all her attention on Jay once again.
Troy was suddenly filled with a deep feeling that started in his stomach and rose. He wanted her so bad, and it was impossible. He knew if he sat around the two of them anymore, he was going to start something. And he didn't want to do that.
"You know what," he said, much louder than intended, "I'm so sick of this." He flung his fork across the table, finally grabbing Gabriella's attention, and with one long glare, left the restaurant in a hurried frenzy.
He pushed through the doors, and cursed as he realized it was pouring and he had a long walk back to his house. Chad had picked him up on the way, but there was no way he was going back now. He would just have to deal with the rain.
As he walked so fast he was almost running, Troy began to regret his little fit. Now Gabriella would be upset, and he hated making her upset. That was what made him so angry about her being with Jay. He hated the fact that they were together more than anything in the world, but he also just wanted her to be happy. And of course she was happy with Jay.
Thunder clapped overhead, and Troy quickened his pace. The roads were pretty much deserted, not even a car was around. That's why he was shocked when he heard somebody call his name. Then he realized it was Gabriella.
He turned around, and saw her running to catch up with him. Her makeup was smeared and running down her face in big, black splotches. Her shirt was soaked and he could see her shivering slightly.
"Gabriella? What are you doing here?" He asked, purely shocked. He had realized he got their attention, but he didn't think anybody would have braved the rain to follow him.
"Coming after you!" she yelled, although Troy could barely hear her through the sound of the rain hitting hard against the concrete. "What the hell was that? In the restaurant?"
He stared at her, the rain only enhancing her beauty, and didn't know what to say. He was again filled with jealousy and anger, and he could feel it building up.
"What do you even see in him?" Troy heard himself asking, unsure of where it came from. He was going to start a fight, he knew it, but at the moment he couldn't help it.
Gabriella's face was hard to see through the downpour, but Troy was able to notice the flash of anger across it. "I followed you through torrential rain so you could criticize my boyfriend?"
"He's a jerk!" Troy said, his voice slowly escalating, "Why can't you see that?"
"He is not!" she yelled back, "Where is this coming from? You never cared about him before!"
Troy rolled his eyes and shook his head, wondering if Gabriella could even notice. All the anger he had bottled up from the minute Gabriella met Jay was coming out, and it was pretty unstoppable. "Well you wouldn't have noticed anyway," he yelled, "You never talk to me anymore. All you do is spend time with your new best friend! Don't you realize what he wants with you?"
"That's not true," Gabriella yelled, "I try to talk to you, you freeze me out! And Jay cares about me, don't you see that?"
The rain was making Troy thoroughly cold now, especially because they were no longer moving. They were just standing on the sidewalk, but Troy wasn't willing to give up. He was mad and jealous to begin with, but now that she was defending Jay, it was getting even worse.
"Cares?" Troy asked, "Of course. He'll care about you in bed!"
"Troy!" Gabriella yelled, stepping significantly closer to him. His heart pounded at her being so close to him. She was right there, close enough for him to touch, for him to kiss. "Why are you doing this?" she asked.
Troy looked at Gabriella, her long hair soaked and heavy, but framing her gorgeous face nonetheless. Her eyes were filled with anger, yet still pleading. He wasn't even sure how it happened, but suddenly he grabbed her arm and closed any remaining space between them by joining their lips.
At first it was slow, as Gabriella took in what was happening, but gradually the kiss deepened, filled with the anger and passion they were both feeling. Gabriella snaked her hands around Troy's neck as he ran his fingers through her wet hair. It was wrong, they both knew, but it felt right. It was something that happened in romance novels, in movies and on television, but not something that they had ever expected.
They pulled away reluctantly, out of breath, and stood staring at one another. "Gabriella, God, Gabriella. I'm sorry." Troy said, completely shocked at what he had done, "You have a boyfriend, and I was jealous your right, but I shouldn't have kissed you. I'm so sorry."
"Don't be," she said, leaning up to kiss him again, shocking both herself and Troy. She didn't realize how much she had wanted this until it happened, and she continued even though she knew it was wrong.
She pulled away again, slowly, and looked up at Troy. "Troy," she said softly, her face glistening with rain, "I liked you so much, I didn't think you felt the same way, that's why I said yes when Jay asked me out."
Troy felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of him. He leaned down to her, once again capturing her lips. This was insane, too good to be true, and wrong. But for now? For now it would be their little secret.