Disclaimer: I do not own HSM
A/N: I haven't written anything in a while, so I decided that writing for the ZAAngels's write-off would help me get back on track. I hope you enjoy!
Lifeguard on Duty
By AprilMayJune624
"And here's where you'll be on the job." A middle-aged man led a raven-haired beauty to the lifeguard stand. The miniature building had a canoe and floaties in front of it. A ramp led up a small structure on stands. A roof provided ideal shade for the lifeguard on duty.
"Thanks again for this job, Uncle Aaron." She replied.
"It's no problem. I'm happy to help. So you are going to work Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. You will have one other lifeguard here with you. He should be arriving to work pretty soon. You two will have the shift from 11:00-5:00. The first aid kit and binoculars are inside the building. All right?"
She nodded. "Got it." She made her way up the ramp and into the small building.
"Ah. Travis approaches." Her uncle said. "You guys will get along great!"
She looked out of the building to see a young guy about her age walking towards them. His red board shorts and white tank top accentuated the muscles on his body. His black hair contrasted his light green eyes. His skin was slightly tanned because of his job, but it wasn't the bronze tan that some lifeguards sported.
"Hey, Boss." He greeted with a handshake.
"Hey, Travis."
"I heard that Bekah wasn't going to be here this summer."
"Yeah. She's taking some summer classes at the college this year. But I've got you a new co-worker. Travis, meet my niece Gabriella Montez."
Gabriella saw Travis's eyes travel to wear she was. His eyes widened slightly. How could they not? Though the swimsuit was a one-piece, one could easily see that she had a slim waist. The red suit complemented her skin. Her dark hair cascaded down her back. Her mocha eyes were light and beautiful.
"Nice to meet you." She said. She saw her uncle was beaming at their exchange.
He nodded and walked up the ramp. "Nice to meet you too."
Cute guy plus her uncle's smile equals… Suddenly it dawned on her. "Excuse me for just a second." She walked over to her uncle. "Uncle Aaron, you did not set me up with this guy."
His smile turned into a smirk. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, Gabs."
She sighed. "You talked to my mother didn't you?"
"I might've." He replied slyly. "Come on, Gabs. Your mom told me that you've only had one boyfriend in your whole 17 years. Travis is a great kid. He's going to be attending Columbia this fall."
"I keep telling everyone that I do not need a boyfriend. I don't even have time to have a boyfriend."
"Just give him a chance, Gabs. Please? For your favorite uncle?"
Gabriella looked over at Travis. He waved, and she politely waved back. She rolled her eyes as she turned back to her uncle. "Ugh! Okay." She relented.
"Thanks, Sweetheart. I'll see you in six hours." He waved goodbye to Travis and walked down the beach.
Gabriella placed her hands on her hips and shook her head as she watched her uncle walk away.
Travis sat on a chair in the lifeguard structure while Gabriella had opted to place a towel on the ramp. She claimed that she wanted to work on her tan, though she in no way needed it.
The day had been rather slow. A few teens and adults dotted the beach, but most of the people on the beach were families. The parents kept a watchful eye on their children which took a little bit off of Travis and Gabriella's jobs.
"So where did you come from?" Travis said.
"Huh?"
"You're not from around here." He commented.
"New York City. I didn't have luck finding a job, so my uncle offered one down here in Atlantic City. I'm staying with them for the summer."
He nodded, content with her answer. A round of silence lay between them for a few minutes before Gabriella spoke.
"So what's your story?" She asked.
"My story?"
She nodded.
"Well, your uncle and aunt have been friends with my mom ever since we moved here when I was four. My dad left when I was ten."
"I'm sorry." She said with a somber tone.
"It's okay. Your uncle took me under his wing. He offered me this job last summer. And I thought, 'What the heck? The beach; girls in bikinis; it pays. Sure.'"
She laughed. "What is it with guys and bikinis?"
He chuckled. "They're hot."
"That's all you guys ever think about in the summer." She joked.
"Oh yeah? And what do girls think about?" He challenged.
She paused and thought about it. "Guys in their swim trunks."
"And what is it with girls and swim trunks?"
"Guys look hot." She said as a matter-of-fact.
"See, Montez. Girls and guys aren't that much different from each other." He said.
"I guess not." She smiled. She couldn't see Travis as her boyfriend, but he was easy to talk to. She could see him as her best friend over the summer. Besides, like she said to her uncle, she didn't need a boyfriend.
"Speaking of bikinis." Gabriella said. "That girl has been eyeing you for quite some time." She pointed to a girl in a red and white striped bikini. The bikini flattered her figure and matched the red hair on her head.
"Nah. Her eyes are too close together." He said bluntly.
"Travis!" She exclaimed.
"What? It's true!" He said.
Gabriella took another look at her and saw that what Travis said was true.
"Not every girl here is perfect." She said. She froze. She could feel his words at the tip of his tongue: You are. To her surprise, he didn't take that window of opportunity.
Travis cleared his throat. "Speaking of swimming trunks, that guy over there has glanced at you every once in a while."
Gabriella looked over to where he directed her and saw a guy in bright orange swim trunks.
"Yeah sure. Except, his swim trunks are blinding!"
"So you're saying that if he wasn't wearing those swim trunks, you would give it a go?"
"No." She said. "His feet are too big."
"You know what they say about large feet, Montez." He hinted.
She reached over and smacked him on the knee. "Ow!" He yelled.
They continued this game for hours, but each always found something wrong with a person.
Her head is bigger than the rest of her body.
His hands are bigger than his face.
Her legs are shorter than a midget's.
His neck is as long as a giraffe's.
By the time they were done joking around, they were practically rolling on the floor with laughter.
"It's true!" He said between breaths.
"She does not have a hunchback!"
"Okay, okay maybe not. But it looks like she could."
Gabriella began to fan herself with her hand as she began to breathe again.
"All right. What about…the guy in blue and green plaid shorts?"
Gabriella was about ready to make a ridiculous excuse until she saw him. The only excuse that came to mind was that his tanned abs were too gorgeous to be real. His chestnut hair, that contrasted Travis's black hair, was soaked as he brushed it out of his face. His crystal blue eyes mesmerized her.
"Gabs?" Travis said waving his hand in front of her face. "You can stop drooling now."
Gabriella snapped out of her hypnotic state and turned back to him. She was flushed.
"Ah. You need some water. I'll be back." Travis walked toward the café.
But her cheeks weren't flushed because she was dehydrated. Her heart thumped in her chest as she looked at him was more. Their eyes met, and she felt her heart skip a beat. He sent a crooked smile her way, and she sighed.
She turned her eyes away from him to keep an eye on a child that was playing a little too close to where the current was coming in. Thankfully, his mother noticed and scolded him.
Her slow day suddenly became a whirlwind.
"That guy needs help!" A girl screamed.
Gabriella looked out into the water and saw the guy with plaid shorts floating on his face. Gabriella looked around frantically for Travis, but he was still at the café. She quickly reacted. Because he was in shallow water, she easily dragged him from the water onto the sand.
Her panic attack heightened. He wasn't breathing.
Instinct took hold of her as she performed the process of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Seconds felt like years as his state didn't change.
"Come on." She said. She was not going to lose anyone this summer, and it certainly wasn't going to start now.
The crowd that had gathered around held their breaths. After Gabriella's third try, something unusual happened. She felt his lips moving against hers. Her eyes dropped down as she felt him kiss her, but she suddenly opened them and pulled away. The tingling sensation that she had felt disappeared.
"Are you all right?" She asked.
"Yeah." He said breathless. "Thanks for saving me…"
"Gabriella Montez." She filled in for him.
"Tr—"
Gabriella heard Travis's voice over the crowd. "What happened?"
The little boy that Gabriella had been watching earlier spoke up.
"That guy pretended to be dead." He accused.
Gabriella was about to protest how absurd that sounded when she saw the brief, piercing look that the teen gave the young boy that silently told him to shut it. If looks could kill, the boy would've been dead.
Gabriella pushed the guy down to the sand and looked at him with disgust. She got up quickly and walked away from him which left him to the mercy of the crowd. The reaction from the different age and gender groups was different. The teenage boys and men were clapping him on the back while the teenage girls and women had the same reaction as Gabriella.
She was fuming when she walked past Travis.
"Wait!" She heard the guy yell.
"Just leave her alone." Travis said.
Maybe this job wasn't such a great idea.
"Hey, I'm going to get going. The next guys on duty are going to be here soon." Travis told her.
"All right." She replied. She still wasn't in a good mood after what had transpired a few hours ago.
"Are you okay?" He asked concernedly.
"Fine, Travis. I'll see you tomorrow." She said.
Understanding that she was still livid from earlier, he nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow. Bye, Gabs."
Gabriella nodded and quickly waved goodbye. She got her purse and saw the next to lifeguards walking down the beach.
"Pst!" She heard someone say.
She turned to the direction of where she heard the voice. The teen in plaid stood by the structure. He was wearing his shorts and a white t-shirt.
"Oh. It's you." She said.
"Look, I know that you're really mad about this afternoon, but—"
She interrupted him. "Mad? Oh, I'm not mad; I'm furious! I cannot believe that you pulled that stunt! You are such an immature, insensitive jerk!"
"Hey, how else was I supposed to talk to you?"
She mocked a pensive look. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe you could've gone up to me and said, "Hi, I'm…" She trailed off realizing that he never told her his name.
"Troy. Bolton."
"Thank you. 'Hi, I'm Troy Bolton. I think you're hot. Would you like to go out for dinner sometime?'"
"Yeah. Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to go like that. I didn't count on that kid ratting me out."
"Then what was your plan, Genius."
He stepped closer to her. "Well, after you 'revived' me, I would've thanked you; told you my name; chatted for a little while; and then asked you out. But it didn't work out that way."
"You got that right." She said.
"Look. I feel really bad for doing that to you. I'm sorry. Please accept my apology and allow me to take you out to dinner." His eyes were sincere as he spoke.
She crossed her arms over her chest and looked out at the water. The sun was in its beginning stages of setting. When she looked back at him, she couldn't help but notice how honest he seemed, not to mention good-looking. Her walls came crumbling down around her as she stared at the hypnotic blue eyes that reminded her of the ocean.
She nodded without saying a word, and his smile grew. He looked genuinely ecstatic.
"Cool. Tomorrow at seven good?"
Gabriella nodded again.
"Awesome. I'll see you tomorrow then." He went up to her and kissed her cheek. His lips lingered long enough to give Gabriella a tingling feeling where he made contact with her skin. He pulled back and gave her one more crooked smile before he walked away. Her mind and heart ran a million hours an hour.
Maybe Gabriella didn't have time for a boyfriend, but with Troy in her mind, her emotions were running haywire. She didn't have time for a boyfriend, but she could certainly make time.