Hey, sorry its taken so long, but this chapter took FOREVER. Not only did I have to fill it with satisfying drama, but I also had to make it long enough.
Okay, so most of you guessed why Taylor was sad, and you were half right. But there is a HUGE surprise coming your way at the end of this chapter...
Disclaimer: I do not own HSM. Oh, but if I did, the things I'd do with HSM 3!
Chapter 2
You're That Girl!
Primping.
It is an odd word, there's no doubt. And some point in their life every girl stops and wonders where in the world it came from. But the peculiarity of the word is not the important part. It's what it means. "To dress or groom oneself with meticulous or excessive attention to detail" are the words chosen by the dictionary. But to a girl it means much more.
To a girl it means you are preparing yourself for something important. It means spending hours trying to find a look that says "I didn't even try that hard, and I still look gorgeous." When in fact you tried so hard, it could make it into the World Records books.
When Gabriella was primping for her date with Troy, she came to the haunting fact that she did not know anything about him. Usually she had some sort of idea of what type of girl a guy was in to, but she had never met Troy.
She thought over what she knew. She had met his brother, Kyle. And since her brother offered to set him up on a date, Troy and his brother must be close. And since they were close, they must have similar tastes. Kyle seemed like he liked girls who were more down to earth, so Troy must share some similar interest.
But they were going to a fancy restaurant, so she had to look…elegantly down to earth? She decided on a knee length silky blue dress. She slipped on her white heels. She then made her make up look more natural, and then pulled her hair into a side ponytail. Perfect.
At that, as bizarre as the word is, is the art of primping.
Troy checked his watch, it was 11:50. Gabriella should show up soon. He hoped his white button up shirt under a black suit without a tie was suitable for Gabriella. (haha, his suit is suitable!) He really wished that she had picked a more comfortable place.
After a few agonizing minutes, he heard a woman's voice say to a waiter, "I'm with Troy Bolton."
Troy slowly turned his head to see what his date looked like. When he finally spotted her, he was amazed. She had gorgeous long, silky dark hair and perfect curves. But most surprisingly, she was also the woman he had run into at his apartment.
The waiter led her to the table and she turned to thank him before turning to Troy. When she saw him, her face looked momentarily shocked, but then she shook it off and sat down.
"You're that girl! The one I met outside of my apartment!" Troy cried excitedly.
"Yes, I am. And you're the guy that hit me in the face with his door." Gabriella laughed.
This is good. Thought Gabriella. They had a nice conversation starter.
"So, how did you meet my brother?" Troy asked, that question had been bugging him.
"I, um, ran into him at the park. We talked for a little, then he told me about you. Strange, huh?" Gabriella giggled, forcing her nerves down into her stomach.
"Yeah. Well, what do you recommend to eat here?" Troy asked.
"I don't know, I've never been here." Gabriella giggled again.
"Well, no offense, but I usually prefer more casual spots." Troy admitted. Gabriella smiled, the same was for her. She loved dressing up, but was more comfortable when she didn't have to.
"Yeah, same here. But this was the first place that came to my head." Gabriella laughed. They continued talking until their food arrived, and still they kept their conversations going.
"So then I took the monkey out of his room and washed the pink hair dye off of it. And he hasn't gone fishing since!" Troy laughed. Gabriella clutched her side, for she was laughing so hard that her sides were beginning to hurt.
"Okay, now tell your most hilarious moment." Troy demanded.
"Alright, when I was in college me and my friends would have these things called 'Prank Nights' and they were once a month. We would all play pranks on other people, and then whoever did the best one would win a day at this really expensive spa." Gabriella explained. Troy nodded his head to show that he understood.
"So I decided to call up those people on the infomercials. Well, these people were selling this cleaning product and I called in. They asked me what my question was, and I said 'Well, I want to know if your product will give me the ability to fly when I drink it.' They asked me what I was talking about and I said, 'Well, I've bought 13 different types of cleaning products and drank them all. But the only superpowers they gave me were the ability to walk through walls and super strength. But I want to fly.'."
Troy was laughing so hard that people were starting to stare, and Gabriella was trying to not laugh so she could finish the story.
"Okay, so then they told me that cleaning products were toxic and if I drank them I would be seriously ill. I was like 'Are you calling me mentally deranged? I know I drank those cleaning products and I know what my superpowers are. Now all I want to know is that if I drink your product will I be able to fly.'." Gabriella paused so she could laugh a little.
"The people said 'Well, I don't know. We don't test for that stuff.' And I acted as if I was appalled. I said 'Why would you not test for it? I bet that your product will do something stupid like make me invisible, so you're telling me that you don't know so that I'll buy it just to test it out. Well guess what? I'm not going to buy it, you superpower phonies!'. Then I hung up. On the TV the woman's face was pale." Gabriella laughed hysterically.
"Well, did you win?" Troy asked.
"No. My one friend, Taylor, convinced this guy that the next day was go to class nude day, and he actually showed up to class without a single article of clothing on his body!" Gabriella giggled.
"Wait, did you say that your friend's name is Taylor?" Troy inquired, immediately becoming serious.
"Yeah. Why?" Gabriella said, drawing out the word "yeah".
"No reason, I just…didn't know if I heard you correctly. So, do you have a job?" Troy asked, quickly changing the subject.
"Um, actually no. I'd love to teach high school Chemistry someday, but not for a while. In the mean time, my friend, Sharpay, pays for everything. Her dad's extremely wealthy." Gabriella explained.
"That's funny." Troy laughed.
"What's funny?"
"Well, I just so happen to teach 9th grade English. We're learning about Shakespeare." Troy laughed.
"But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief. That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she." Gabriella recited.
"O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name. So you're a fan?" Troy asked.
"Yes, I'm sort of a fan. So, were you surprised when your brother told you he had set you up?" Gabriella giggled.
"Not really. Kyle's always trying to set me up. He's married to this girl named Claire, and he's totally in love with her. Now he wants me to get married. So he sets me up on countless blind dates. Some of the women were a little…eccentric." Troy laughed.
"Okay, well do you mean strange interests eccentric or walk on their hands eccentric?" Gabriella asked.
"Walk on their hands eccentric."
Gabriella laughed, Troy was very funny. And also very handsome.
After hours of laughing, Troy and Gabriella left. Gabriella sighed to herself as she climbed into her car, he was amazing. Gabriella quickly drove home, silently deciding not to tell her friends about how well they had clicked.
Robert was in a good mood. His granddaughter was to be married soon, and he could not wait. The lobby doors opened, and he prepared himself to great a guest. He saw that it was just Miss Montez, looking strangely overjoyed.
"Hello, Miss Montez." Robert greeted her. The brunette turned to look at him, and he saw that she had a genuine smile stretched across her face.
"Good evening, Robert. Beautiful night, isn't it? I just had a date with this guy named Troy." Gabriella gushed. Robert smiled, same old Gabriella. But something seemed a little different.
"Miss Montez, do not mind me saying that you are a lot, how do I put it, sunnier than you usually are after a date. Must have been a great guy." He chuckled. Gabriella immediately scowled, and Robert regretted his choice of words.
"Robert I do mind you making such comments, and I believe I told you to stop. The only reason I am 'sunnier' is because this man is interested in me, not the other way around. Now, you should probably go to bed, you're an old man that needs his sleep." Gabriella insisted, even putting air quotes around "sunnier". Gabriella always took offense to his comments, but she never stayed angry for more than a minute.
As the large elevator took her to her room, Gabriella scolded herself. She actually thought she liked this guy, which was unacceptable.
You're a part of the Heartbreak Club, so start acting like it! This guy is just like the rest. You will take joy in ripping his heart to shreds. Just imagine his face when you break up with him. He'll be devastated. It makes you feel alive. Gabriella told herself.
After thinking that, Gabriella was motivated. Troy didn't deserve her, no man did. And she was going to make him pay for even thinking that he had the right to be with her.
Troy is a loser. Troy is a loser. Troy is a loser.
Gabriella kept repeating that in her head until finally, she felt the hate boiling inside of her. She hated Troy Bolton and was going to make his life hell. She didn't even know what she saw in him. She finally came to one simple conclusion.
Troy Bolton deserved to perish.
Troy paced the floor of his bedroom. "Come on Troy, there's probably fifty girls living in New York whose name is Taylor." Troy assured himself.
But what if it was her. Troy shook his head, it was highly unlikely. He was taken out of his thoughts, though, by his ringing phone. For some reason the ringing sounded urgent, even though it was the same ring as always.
"Hello, Troy Bolton speaking." Troy answered.
"Troy, come over here right now!" Zeke screamed into the phone.
"Dude, where are you?" Troy asked.
"Chad's place. Dude, hurry!" Zeke yelled. Troy didn't even say goodbye. He just hung up the phone and sprinted downstairs. He hailed a cab as fast as he could.
"Where to, sir?" The driver asked him.
"123 Mayboyer Avenue. I'll pay you an extra fifty bucks if you can get me there in under ten minutes!" Troy yelled. The driver immediately drove away at full speed. (I made up that address.)
When Troy arrived at Chad's apartment flat, he saw nothing out of the ordinary. But he remembered the panic in Zeke's voice and pressed his finger on the buzzer repeatedly. The doors clicked open and Troy sprinted up the stairs.
"Zeke, open up!" Troy yelled. The door flung open, revealing a panic-stricken Zeke.
"Troy, oh thank god. We have a problem." Zeke yelled.
Gabriella walked into her apartment. She heard the TV blaring, so she walked over to the room it was in. Taylor, Kelsi, and Sharpay were all watching a horror movie. Sharpay and Kelsi's eyes were glued to the screen, while Taylor's were downcast.
"Taylor, can I—"
"AHHHH!" Both Sharpay and Kelsi screamed.
"GABRIELLA! When people are watching perhaps the scariest scary movie in the history of scary movies, it is not a good idea to sneak up behind them!" Sharpay hissed.
"Oh, sorry. But I wanted to know if I could talk to Taylor in private." Gabriella asked. Taylor looked at Gabriella, and silently got up from the couch. She followed Gabriella into her bedroom.
Once the door was closed, Gabriella looked at Taylor. "Taylor, I know something is wrong. So can you please tell me?" Gabriella begged.
"Look, Gabriella. Everything is fine, alright? You keep asking if I'm okay, when I am perfectly fine! So just drop it, alright?" Taylor yelled. She turned around and exited the room. Gabriella sighed. She was going to find out somehow.
She chased Taylor out of the room. "But Taylor, we're best friends. You can't hide this from me forever!"
"Oh no no no. This CANNOT of happened!" Troy screamed, staring at what was before him.
"Look, I don't know where he is." Zeke yelled. Chad's apartment was completely trashed, from head to toe. There wasn't a single spot in the area that wasn't covered with something.
Notebook pages were strewn across the floor, along with clothing, broken dishes, and many other things. The walls were cover with food, their broken containers lying in pieces on the ground. Tables were turned over, the TV was smashed, and his couch was covered in holes, allowing the stuffing to escape.
"Do you think he was robbed?" Troy asked. Zeke shook his head and handed him a slip of crumpled paper. Troy read through it.
Dear anyone who finds this,
My life seems inadequate. I hate this apartment with all of my heart. Everything in it reminds me of her.
"You know what, Gabriella? I'm tired of this! I'm leaving!" Taylor yelled, grabbing her purse and leaving the apartment. When she got down to the sidewalk, she wondered where to go. She decided that a simple walk would be fine.
Taylor wondered why she wasn't telling Gabriella. Gabriella would understand, there was no doubt. Was she embarrassed? Not really.
Maybe it was that Gabriella was the guru of breaking hearts, maybe she'd break those of her friends too. But that also couldn't be it. Gabriella and Taylor had immediately clicked in college. They both had the same terrible high school experience, unlike the other girls, though Taylor's was on a higher scale.
Taylor knew why. She wasn't ready to tell anyone, not that they wouldn't eventually find out. And she was afraid that they would be ashamed and kick her out of the Heartbreak Club. And she had no money, Sharpay paid for everything. She would have nowhere to go, no money to spend.
It was then that Taylor realized that she was crying. She had made a huge mistake, and regretted it with her whole life. Realizing that made her cry even harder, so hard that she had to sit down on a bench because the tears were blurring her vision.
People passing by must be staring. They had to, it was the nature of them. They would stare, then wonder why she was crying, then pity her. That was their nature, stare, wonder, pity.
It was their pity that hurt her the most. Everyone always pities, but never helps. Once she got to college, Taylor had promised herself that she would never let herself be pitied again, but that she would be envied. But here she was, crying so hard that every passerby pitied her.
But Taylor didn't want to be pitied. She wanted someone who was just as sad as she was, whatever the reason, to come and be miserable with her. She didn't want happy people to comfort her, for they were joyous and couldn't relate.
"Taylor?"
Taylor slowly lifted up her head, but her vision was so blurred that all she could see was that someone was standing in front of her, someone who evidently knew her name. Taylor tried to speak, but all that came out was a sob.
"Taylor, why are you crying?"
Taylor didn't think that she could cry any harder, but apparently, she could. She no longer cared about the pitying people passing by. (haha, pitying people passing) She now knew who was standing in front of her, and it was the last person she needed.
"If anything I should be crying, heck I was crying. But not you."
She wished she could explain, but her endless sobs didn't offer room for words. She would just have to wait until her crying died down. But with him standing in front of her, that was near impossible.
"Taylor, you ruined my life. You're the most heartless person I've ever met! You deserve to cry. You deserve to cry for the rest of your life. Oh, wait, are you crying even harder? Well, I'm going to stay here making you more miserable by the second."
Taylor wished he would go away. He just made her feel even worse. And he wasn't going to stop. Maybe Gabriella was looking for her, and would tell him to go away? But even if Gabriella was looking for her, by the time she found her she'd be crying for weeks. He was the worst ex anyone could ask for.
"Come on, Taylor. What's wrong? Some guy break your heart? Oh, wait. You don't have a heart. But if you're crying then you must. So, did you finally fall in love with a guy, then have him break your heart? Well, he's better off now. Probably found someone new. Someone prettier, nicer, and smarter than you. But that's not too hard to find, now is it?"
She was going to have to say something sometime. She needed him to stop, or else she would never stop crying.
"J-John. Please hic s-stop hic it!" She begged. (I bet you all thought it was Chad!) He just laughed. He was enjoying this.
"Come on, Taylor. Let's go. We're gotta get out of the public eye, its too embarrassing to be seen with someone as repulsive as you." He laughed.
When she didn't get up, she felt his hand grab her. His grip was crushing her arm, but she best not complain. He pulled her off of the bench and began to drag her down the sidewalk.
"Hey, what are you doing to her?!"
Taylor's insides warmed a little. She knew that voice. John stopped moving and Taylor could see a man running towards them. But the fact that he was coming made her tears pour out faster.
"Look, don't bother. No one should care about this ugly little bitch. I'm taking her to a place where no one can be disgusted by her hideous face." John laughed. The man grabbed John's hand and removed it from her arm. Taylor fell to the ground, but she quickly stood up.
"Fine. You want her so bad take her, no one else will." John laughed. Taylor walked back to the bench and began to take deep breaths. She needed to stop crying.
Taylor felt him sit down beside her. He placed a hand on her back, which didn't do anything but increase her sadness. She told herself in her mind that she would have to say something.
"I'm hic so hic sorhicry, Chad!" Taylor cried. That was all she could force herself to say. He removed his hand from her back and handed her a tissue. Taylor wiped her eyes repeatedly, trying to wipe away her tears.
"Um, Taylor. Can I ask why you're crying?" He asked. Taylor nodded her head, and resumed her deep breaths. When she got to a point where she could talk, she did.
"My life is terrible. I'm a good person, I really am. I never wanted to do it." Taylor cried.
"Do what?"
"Well, me and my friends do what I did to you…for fun." Taylor explained, ashamed.
"But, why?" He desperately inquired.
"Well, I guess they get a thrill out of it. But all I get is remorse." Taylor knew that her friends would be mad at her for revealing the secrets of the Heartbreak Club to a man, but she needed someone to talk to.
"Do you feel remorse about what you did to…me?" Chad nervously asked.
"A little more than I should." Taylor huffed.
"Taylor, I really need to know. That one night, you remember. Did you mean what you said, about wanting to get married and have a family with me?" Chad asked, staring at the ground. Tears started to fall from Taylor's eyes once again.
"With all my heart." Taylor whispered, so softly that Chad almost didn't hear her.
"Then, why'd you break up with me?" He pleaded.
"Because if I didn't I'd be kicked out of the Heartbreak Club, and they're the only family I have." Taylor whispered once again.
"But, what about your own family? You always told me that they lived in California." Chad asked, confused.
"Don't take this too personally but I don't usually open up to guys because I know that I'm going to have to break up with them eventually. I really did want to tell you, though. My parents and sister died in a car accident when I was 15 years old. They went out to dinner, I stayed home because I was feeling sick. Then I got a call from the police saying…" But Taylor couldn't finish, for she was crying. Chad took her into his arms.
"But, where did you go?" He asked.
"Well, both of my parents were only children, and my grandparents had passed away when I was little. So they sent me to an orphanage. But when I turned 18, I had to leave because I was officially an adult. My birthday is in September, so I turned 18 at the start of the school year. I had to live with one of my friends, but her mom made me pay rent. So I had to juggle school, a job, and working for a scholarship all at once. Because a scholarship was the only way I was going to get into college." Taylor began to cry again, and Chad rubbed her back as if to show that he was there for her.
"Okay, we can stop talking about that for now. You said that you meant that you wanted to get married and have a family with me with all you heart, so…you still love me?" Chad asked hopefully. Taylor wiped her eyes.
"Yes." She said, staring at the pavement.
"Well, then why can't we get back together?" He queried.
"Because of my friends. They'd know if we got back together." Taylor sighed.
"But couldn't we date in secret?"
"No, because they expect me to get a new boyfriend." Taylor moaned. Chad thought for a second, then spoke up.
"I wouldn't care if you were dating someone else, as long as I knew that it was only so you could stay in the Heartbreak Club." He said quietly.
Gabriella reentered her apartment. She'd been searching for Taylor for a half hour, and there was still no sign of her. She decided that she should tell Sharpay and Kelsi. She walked into the TV room, where they were still watching their movie.
"Hey, guys I—"
"AAAAHHHH!" Sharpay and Kelsi screamed, grabbing onto each other for dear life.
"GABRIELLA MARIA MONTEZ! We already briefed you on what not to do when two people are watching the scariest—"
"Movie in the history of scary movies, I know." Gabriella interrupted Sharpay's speech.
"Well, it's not a smart thing to surprise them." Sharpay insisted. Gabriella rolled her eyes.
"Look, guys. Taylor's gone. I can't find her." Gabriella said worriedly.
"Don't worry, she'll turn up by the end of this movie. Speaking of which, we are trying to watch!" Kelsi snapped. She then softened her gaze and patted the space on the couch next to her. Gabriella smiled nervously and sat down.
"It's not worth it, Chad. I'm going to get kicked out of the Heartbreak Club anyways. There are some things you cannot hide." Taylor sighed.
"What are you talking about?" Chad asked.
"Well, that thing about getting married and starting a family." Taylor said shyly.
"Yeah, what about it?" He inquired.
"It's kind of already been started."
OMG! Taylor's pregnant! But most of you got the part about Taylor still loving Chad, so congrats. Anyway, I don't know when I'll update next, but sorry if its not soon. This story is really hard to write.
If you have any ideas you want put into the story, put them into your review. If you hated it, say "Purple socks". Please review. I really love reviews, even if they're small.
