A King And His Ginger © Midnight113.
Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or have any affiliation to it.
Synopsis: (Troy) I thought she was perfect. (Gabriella) I thought he was a self-centered, rich, arrogant Golden Boy of West High. (Troy) God I wanted her. (Gabriella) God I wanted him… to leave me alone. Continuation of The Firework King and Ginger. T&G.
A warning to all potential thieves, this work is copyright 2012 Midnight113. A King And His Ginger is completely the work and property of Midnight113, to reproduce under any other name is theft!
A King And His Ginger
Part II
"~*~"
"-"
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Ginger
Mood: Angry, Satisfied, Immensely Turned On… Shit
I can't believe I did that. What was I thinking! I dropped the rest of that delicious coffee on his lap. Damn… it was such a good cup of coffee too. That's all I could think about through all of my classes and it was pissing me off. That… and the satisfying smirk that crept up on my face whenever I thought about the genuine look of shock that he had by the action.
I was so bad… a part of me felt a little guilty for being so naughty, but he deserved it. Plus, I loved that look on his face. It was the same look he had when I pushed him into his pool. Ah, I love that memory. He's such a cocky bastard, no wonder he's gotten so far in life. No problems, no worries, his mommy and daddy always there to bail him out if his credit card was ever maxed out.
Heh… it was pathetic, really.
He probably has no sense of how someone like me lives and survives in this world on eight bucks an hour working my ass off as a freakin sales associate. Folding clothes and waiting on snotty, middle aged woman every day that always have something to complain about. He has no clue and he never will because everything is just handed to him on a silver platter. He shows it off like he's the greatest damn thing that's ever happened to the human population.
Well he's not. And the faster he learns that, the better. For everyone involved, especially me. I don't know how much more I can handle. Now I have to go on another date with the guy.
The worst part was that I was actually; kinda looking forward to seeing what else he had up his sleeve. He was trying to court me like a gentleman from the 1800's or whatever and so far it had been… a memorable experience.
Ever since that stupid carnival he had been surprising me and throwing curve balls. I never expected to find him attractive or actually have him pursue me. Sure I thought he was cute when I saw him on the bumper cars when he so obnoxiously tried to kill me. And he was pretty gorgeous when the fireworks were going off overhead by the ferris wheel. But that was before I knew who he was. That was before I knew he was the enemy. God, what have I gotten myself into? No… not me. This is Shar's fault. Just keep telling yourself that, Gabi.
Well speak of the devil…
"Hey, Crabby Gabi," a familiar voice called.
Walking through the large red doors of East High, I descended the stairs and waited until I was at the bottom before turning to my blonde friend who was waiting for me.
"What do you want?" I seethed when my eyes finally met hers. Not bothering to stop and chat, I kept going right past her.
"Wait, whoa… what are you mad at me for?" I heard Sharpay's frantic steps from her high heeled boots as she followed after me through the parking lot. "I didn't do anything."
"You didn't do anything? You didn't do anything? Sharpay, you blew me off this morning because of Troy freakin Bolton… or don't you remember that?"
"Oh, that." She waved her hand in the air as I stopped and stared at her with my mouth agape.
"Yeah that! The one time I needed you to step up as my best friend and help me and you fed me to the sharks. And not just any shark, but the worst shark of them all, " I shouted, hoping my frustration was clearly evident to her.
"Troy Bolton," Sharpay quietly supplied.
"Yes him… that arrogant asshole."
"You know, I really don't see what the problem is, he likes you-"
"Ding, ding, ding… we have a winner." I pointed at her face and then began to clap in a move that I would have considered obnoxious as hell, if she didn't totally deserve it.
I watched Sharpay place her hands on her hips and sigh. "Come on Gabs, why don't you just give him a chance?"
I scoffed. "Impossible, we're from completely different worlds. He would never be able to understand anything I've had to go through."
"People can surprise you."
"Not in a good way." It was a truthful statement, one I wholeheartedly believed. Up until recently at least, all thanks to Mr. Hotshot Firework King. Now I was starting to question whether or not I was wrong. Ugh! No, don't do that. Stay strong, Gabs, remember goose liver.
I followed her out to her convertible, sneering towards the hot pink car that had to be the ugliest thing I'd ever seen. Besides Troy Bolton's face that is… okay, bad example. Who am I kidding; his face is the equivalent of a Greek God's.
"Gabi, are you listening to me?"
I groaned. "No."
Sharpay visibly pouted at me and I rolled my eyes. "You're thinking about him aren't you?" She asked me. What the hell… I was not! His face might have crossed my mind for a second, but only a second. It's her fault anyway. It's her car I was thinking about that caused the Knight to invade my thoughts. "You are aren't you?" She exclaimed as if she had just discovered something amazing. Pssh, please…
"No I'm not."
"Oh you so are!"
"Ah, shut up Shar. If you must know I was thinking about your car and how ugly it is."
"Yeah, but I already know how you feel about my baby." Her hand slid along the sleek, shiny surface of the sports car and I sighed. Folding my arms, I addressed her with a disinterested look.
"Then you shouldn't be surprised that it made me think about… him." The word rolled off my tongue with contempt.
"Ah ha!" She snapped her fingers an inch from my face and I jerked back to avoid her five inch nails from poking my eye out. "So you were thinking about him."
Oh God… of course I was thinking about him. I hadn't been able to get him off my mind since I'd met him. The guy had that kind of effect on people. Damn him.
What annoyed me the most was that I kept replaying our last conversation over and over again in my head. The rough edge to his voice when he lowered it and the way his eyes would flicker to mine when he thought I wasn't looking. I was always watching though… I couldn't help myself. He was Troy Bolton.
"Well it looks like he was thinking about you too." Sharpay smirked, her keys jingling in her hand as she mimicked me by folding her arms. What did she mean by that? I watched her eyes dart over my shoulder as she leaned against the door to her 'baby'. Curious, I turned around.
Somehow I wasn't at all surprised to see the epitome of all things I hated in the form of a mustang speeding up through the school parking lot towards me. Slamming on the brakes, the car skidded slightly; the tires squeaking as it jerked to a sudden stop a few feet beside me.
I stared with a deadpanned expression at the tinted window as it slowly rolled down, revealing a smirking Troy Bolton. "Miss me?"
Enter The Firework King In All His Glory
Mood: Excited For The Day Ahead, Nervous And Feeling Better Than Ever
There she was; standing next to Blondie with a face of complete indifference. As if she was trying really hard to mask her excitement with my appearance. I can't say that I blame her, really. Seeing me after going so long without usually caused the ladies to freak. She was doing a good job at keeping a poker face, though. I almost bought it, but I knew better. Her eye twitched suddenly and I leaned over out my window, placing both my elbows along the edge.
A car passed by us, its speakers turned up so high I was momentarily deaf to her response. Once the car had disappeared, I asked her to repeat herself. "What did you say, Ginger?"
"How can I miss something I don't even like?" Her sultry voice made its way over the stretch of space between us and I frowned.
"Ouch. Don't let my car hear you." I mockingly gave the steering wheel a pet. "There, there baby… she doesn't know what she's saying. She's just angry because she's so attracted to me." It was so obvious that was her problem… among other things. Who would have thought I'd find myself so fucking hot for someone with such an array of issues? It was all good, though, because… well, I liked her, plain and simple.
I listened to Ginger growl at me and I smirked, studying her figure. Damn, she looked hotter than I remembered. Fantasizing about her all day did lots for my imagination and little for curing my libido. Well, it was time to do something about that.
"Come on, Ginger, get in." I leaned over and pushed the passenger door open in invitation. When I looked back over at her she had a scowl forming on her pretty little face. "Lots to do and little time, chop-chop," I snapped my fingers at her but she didn't appear at all amused. I grinned. "You want your keys back or not?"
She rolled her eyes and shared a look of utter contempt with Blondie before swinging her bag around. "Manipulative jerk," she muttered loudly enough for me to hear. I smirked and watched her sexy ass as it rounded the hood of my car. Her friend shouted a quick, 'have fun', but I noticed Gabriella didn't reply as she plopped herself down next to me. Slamming the door, she threw her bag over her shoulder, aiming it so that it smacked right into the side of my head. I glared at her for a moment until she innocently shrugged. With that, we were off.
I shoved my foot down hard on the accelerator and her body jerked back into her seat from the unexpected thrust. I looked at her out of the corner of my eye as she struggled with her seatbelt and resisted the urge to snicker. As we bolted out of the parking lot, I removed my hand from the shift and picked up and plastic cup. "This is for you." I handed the drink over and she looked at it curiously. "Don't worry, I learned my lesson. No more hot beverages near you. This one is ice coffee." I sent her a charming smile and winked.
"You're not afraid I'm gonna drop this one on your lap too?" she asked, taking the cup greedily from my outstretched hand and sipping at its contents. I heard her moan and bit back a chuckle. I guess it helped that I asked Blondie what other drinks my Ginger enjoyed. Score for me.
"Nah… if you do, then it will just prolong you getting your keys," I explained. "You wouldn't want that to happen, right?" I tilted my head innocently and stared at her for a moment. "Besides, I don't have another pair of clean pants in my trunk so…" I trialed off, feeling her eyes fall on my black track pants. I always kept a spare in my car in case anything happened. Thinking back to my little Ginger's outburst and the coffee incident, I was glad I had the extra clean pants… I knew someday they would come in handy.
Gabriella huffed and turned her focus to the view of Main Street as we sped through town. "Speaking of my keys, give them to me."
"All In good time," I replied, taking a quick turn that headed up the ramp towards the freeway to the city.
I saw her expression when she noticed the change in direction and smiled. She looked so cute when she was confused about something. Fuck, the things she did to me. "Where are we going?" She sounded so timid and quiet that I was shocked by the difference in tone. It took me a minute to answer her.
"It's a surprise. Date number two begins in about an hour. So just sit back, relax and enjoy your ice coffee that I expertly had made for you." I listened to her straw slurp up the last remains of the liquid and couldn't help myself, I burst out in laughter. "I take that back, looks like you did enjoy it." I did a sideways glance and saw the pink tint appear on her cheeks as she fumbled with the cup. "You're cute when you blush, did you know that?"
To my surprise, she placed the empty cup back in its holder and mumbled, "Shut up." I had expected her to shout, scream or even physically assault me. So you can imagine I was pleasantly shocked when all she did was mumble and settle back in her seat. That's the thing about Gabriella, though, she's always surprising me.
Ginger
Mood: Grumpy, Tired, Curious, And Shocked.
"Are you fucking serious?" I asked him while staring out the windshield with a look of pure incredulity. We had been driving for a couple hours, but I guess I hadn't been paying attention to the signs because I couldn't believe where we were.
Pulling into an empty parking space, he looked over at me and grinned. "What, something wrong?"
I motioned to the sign over our head and then to the area off in the distance. "The zoo, really, are you trying to kill me?"
"I take it you don't like zoos." He blinked and shook his head. "Well, too bad. I love them." Was he kidding? Please tell me this was a joke. My eyes widened and I watched him jump out of his car in giddy excitement. What. The. Hell. When he noticed I hadn't moved from my seat, he lowered his head and peered at me through the open door. "Let's go, Ginger. We don't have all day. They close in a couple hours."
I couldn't believe it. The king of West High had brought me to the zoo for our second date. This seemed so… not like what I expected. Definitely not what I expected because, well, there was this little fact I guess he overlooked. See, there was one other thing I hated more than carnivals. That… was the zoo. I know that must make me look like the biggest bitch ever, but I swear it's not like that. Just bad personal memories that's all. I really do love animals. Well, the subject of goose is still up in the air for me since that last date.
"Gabriella?" I looked up at him and furrowed my brow. Had he been talking to me? "Come on, I was doing some research lately and I read they have a really cool penguin exhibit this month." Then it dawned on me. That's why he'd brought me here. He remembered me telling him I loved penguins. Shit! This is by far the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. Well damn, he'd done it again. First with the firework display at his castle and now… I, I didn't know what to say. He had rendered me speechless, something that seemed to happen a lot in his presence. My mouth felt dry as I tried to rack my brain for the right words, but I drew a blank. I hadn't even heard him shut his door or come around to open mine. I did, however, feel his hand around my arm as he slowly pulled me out of my frozen state. "You all right?" he asked with concern.
"I hate zoos." That seemed to be the only logical string of words I could come up with given the circumstances.
"I kinda figured when you froze up and didn't get out of the car," his husky voice invaded my mind and I had to stop myself from throwing my arms around him and pushing him up against the side of his car. "It's not because of the ferris wheel experience is it?" I frowned and shook my head. "Okay, good. Then maybe I can change your mind. If not, well, maybe you can pick where we go on date number three." I gawked at him as he took my hand, locked his car and proceeded to steer me in the direction of the zoo's entrance.
"I told you this was the last date, Bolton. Once I have my keys back this little game of yours is over." I informed him with a clear and steady tone. Now that I was past my shock of the whole zoo thing, I was starting to focus again and that left me even more confused and pissed off.
"Whatever you say, Ginger." I scowled at his apparent disinterest in my comment. What did he think I was lying about it? I was about to say something snarky back, but I bit my lip as we walked up to an open booth. I stood to the side and watched him pull out his wallet. He must have had twenty different credit cards in there. I didn't even know you could have that many. Suddenly, I felt completely inadequate next to him and more than anything I wanted that feeling to go away. I pushed up beside him and pulled out what little cash I had left over from lunch from my pocket.
"I'll pay for myself. How much is it?" I looked up at the prices and nearly choked on my saliva. Fourteen dollars to walk around a park of animals, are you shitting me? I'd just as soon go to the local park and stare at the squirrels and ducks than spend that much at the zoo. I don't care if they do have an 'exotic' collection of wildlife… and penguins.
"No, I got it," Troy shoved his credit card at the lady before I could give her my measly five dollar bill and two pennies. I looked down at the amount in my hands and fought off the frown wanting to appear. How embarrassing.
"Here," I tried to shove the money in his wallet but he shut it so fast it nearly clipped my fingers off. "Troy," I growled and put my hand out. "Take the money."
"It's all right, you keep it. Buy yourself a snack with it later or something." I hated that he didn't even bother to grace with me with a stare, too busy signing his receipt.
"If you don't take it, I won't go in." A threat was all I had left of my dignity, but apparently it didn't have much of an effect.
"I think it's mighty sweet your boyfriend wants to pay for you. There should be more nice young men like him in the world." The older woman in the booth smiled at us. I attempted to smile, but I knew it was a grimace.
"He's not my boyfriend."
The older woman looked surprised and Troy leaned over and winked. "I am. She just doesn't know it yet." The woman laughed in delight and I rolled my eyes at the exchange. After thanking the woman, Troy handed me my ticket. "Off we go."
Before he could take another step, I stuffed my money down his pant pocket, a move which seemed to catch him off guard. When I stepped back to look at him, I realized my hand was still inside his pocket. We stood frozen as he looked down at me thoughtfully and then a smirk spread across his face. "Ww-what?" I stuttered nervously not liking my current predicament.
"If you wanted to get into my pants that bad, I could have just taken you back to the car. We are in public, you know. Unless you like that sort of thing," he shrugged and I almost gagged. "I've never had sex in public, but there's always a first time for everything I guess."
"You're sick!" I exclaimed and earned a few awkward glances from people.
"You're the one with your hand down my pants," he chuckled and I immediately pulled my hand from his pocket, making sure to drop the cash in.
"It's not down your – you know what? Whatever." I was suddenly overwhelmed with exhaustion and just wanted this outing to end so I could get home and start studying for my next decathlon match with Taylor. "Let's just get this over with."
"Excellent, after you," he motioned for me to move forward through security and I handed my ticket to the man at the stand. Once we were through, I waited for Troy to pick up a map and choose a pathway but he didn't. Instead, he just started walking down one.
"Hey," I power walked after him and frowned. "What are you doing? We need a map."
"No we don't," he smiled and I felt a flutter pass through my body. Bad, Gabriella. Focus.
I nodded, "Yes, we do. Otherwise we'll get lost."
The arrogant ass that he is, Troy laughed and shook his head at me. "We won't get lost; there are plenty of signs around." He pointed at one just to prove he knew what he was talking about. Well, sorry buddy, but I don't want to rely on some signs covered with bird shit and leaves.
"I'm getting a map," I declared and then stubbornly turned and headed towards the kiosk of maps. Troy's hand reached out and grabbed my arm before I could make it more than two steps.
"Hold on there, Ginger. You need a new lesson in life." Oh do I?
"I do, huh? What's that?"
"You need to learn how to have fun." What is it with everyone thinking I don't know how to have fun? "We'll start with no maps. Part of the fun is to explore without knowing what you're gonna find."
"Says the guy who knows about a penguin exhibit," I mumbled. Score one for me, hypocrite.
"That was strictly for beneficial purposes. I knew it was one of your favorite animals, so I used that to my advantage to plan a satisfying day together. I didn't waste time looking at maps." I scoffed, no wonder he was a basketball player. He must be lacking in the intelligence department if he thought being informed was a waste of time.
Placing a hand on my hip, I cocked my head. "Satisfying? So far the day has sucked."
"I'll change that," his hand was suddenly in mine and we were walking down one of the random pathways the led further into the zoo. I looked up quickly to see if I could catch a glimpse of a sign to see where we were heading, but I couldn't find one. Darn.
The Firework King
Mood: Excited, Happy, Turned On And Having A Good Time With Ginger.
I gripped her hand in mine tightly and felt her resist. Her feet were planted to the cement walkway and for a second I thought she was going to make me pick her up and carry her. A second passed before she sighed and caught up to me. I felt her presence beside me as we walked along down the pathway. A couple minutes later I spotted the first sign. "Look, monkeys." I dragged her to the edge of the little outlook where you could stand and try to see the monkeys on their little island habitat. "Check it out, those two must be in love." I pointed at two monkeys that were sitting on a branch.
"What makes you think that?" Gabriella leaned forward to get a better look.
"Because, she keeps hitting him on the head and he keeps letting her," I smiled. Love does make guys do stupid things I guess, even animals.
"First off, I doubt that means they're in love. Secondly, every monkey in this habitat is a female."
I rolled my eyes. "How do you know Ms. Smarty Pants?"
She looked at me with those beautiful eyes and smirked. Fuck, I love when she does that. "Because the sign says they are." Oh. Well, shit.
"Killjoy," I muttered, not wanting to show the hit to my pride. "Let's go find something else to look at." I grabbed her hand and led her down another pathway to an exhibit I knew she would like. "Here we go." I announced as we walked up to the cage.
"What? Alligators," she looked at me weirdly as I nodded.
"Yeah, one of your ancestors." She quirked and eyebrow and I grinned. "You know, because you snap, Ginger." As she processed my words, her face softened and she shoved me. I heard a giggle escape her lips and a smile appeared. Yes! I got her to smile! Finally, I thought she'd never loosen up. Just as fast as it had happened, she had caught herself and immediately stopped.
"That wasn't funny," she felt the need to clarify that her reaction had simply been to amuse me, rather than a genuine one.
I shook my head and grinned, "No, of course not."
"Are we done yet?" She asked, but I could tell she was just trying to change the subject and not let me think she was starting to enjoy herself.
"No way, we didn't even see the penguins yet." I heard her groan and decided to mess with her a little bit. Leaning over, I placed my lips right near her ear and felt her body tense. I knew it, she's all talk. There's no fighting our attraction to each other. My lips pressed against her ear slightly and I had to summon every ounce of control I had in order to not just take her right then and there. Fuck public indecency, I blame her vanilla scent for intoxicating me to the point of not caring if I got arrested right now for acting on my body's desires. I placed my hands on her hips and ran my thumb just above her belt until it collided with her warm skin. A low groan emitted from me and I closed my eyes, concentrating on my breathing. In… out…
"What are you doing?" I heard her whisper and was only a little alarmed when she leaned back, pushing herself against me. My lips brushed the sensitive spot just below her ear. That was all the invitation I needed. I started peppering light butterfly kisses along her jaw and neck. Her skin was so soft and smooth, I was addicted. I needed it to survive like the air I needed to breathe. I don't know how she did it, how she managed to affect me like this, but I didn't want it to ever end.
I placed one final kiss against her neck and saw the goosebumps appear on her skin. Pulling away I replied in a husky whisper, "Trying to regain my control so that I don't fuck you senseless right here." I could tell my blunt admission had caught her off guard when I heard her gulp and pull away from me.
"I… I think we should go this way." She gestured in some random direction and stumbled slightly as she walked away. I watched her go with a smirk, my eyes glued to her backside that was nicely accentuated in her tight jeans. I followed the curve of her ass and my eyes fell on the curve of her hips. Every dirty thought imaginable shot through my head and I resisted the urge to indulge in my fantasy. Instead, I reluctantly shook the image away and ran after her.
She surprised me by leading us to the enclosed penguin exhibit inside one of the buildings. I watched her intently as she grabbed the railing and leaned forward to get a closer glimpse through the glass tank. She looked relaxed and like she was finally enjoying herself for once. The sight made me smile, but only while she wasn't looking. The way she was staring at the penguins had me curious and so I moved to stand beside her to observe them. "So, why do you love penguins?" Gabriella looked over at me and then back to the little tuxedo wearing creatures gliding through the water.
"My dad use to bring me here. I always loved watching these guys."
I could hear a hint of emotion in her voice, but I decided to just nod and listen. "They are pretty cool little dudes." I smiled again when she laughed and nodded in agreement.
"I know right? Some species even mate for life. I didn't understand what that meant as a little kid, but now, I have a different amount of respect for them. Plus, they're really dedicated to their young. I mean, when I think about the shit they go through in the wild just to have an egg and keep it safe and care for it… I feel like–"
"There's no excuse for us to not act that way too." I had a gut feeling she was going to say it, partly because I felt the same way too. I also knew why I felt that way. It was because of my parents. That led me to an interesting thought. "Gabriella?"
"Hmm?"
"You mentioned living with your mom – so where's your dad?" I saw her body become rigid and I cursed myself. Way to go, idiot. She was just starting to open up. You just had to go and ruin it by bringing up what was obviously a sore subject. But how could I have known that? Wasn't that the point of dates, to get to know each other?
"Don't know, don't care." My head spun to stare at her and I knew I must have had a strange look on my face. What did that mean? "So let's go find some birds."
I watched her turn to walk away. She hadn't made it very far before she bumped into the back of some guy. He quickly reached a hand out to help her before she fell over, an action that allowed me to see part of his face. I saw him smile at her, a gesture she quickly returned.
I saw red and my fist clenched by my side. I could feel my teeth grinding against each other like a drill and a hammer were having a party in my mouth. I couldn't believe my luck because the guy who Gabriella was so adamantly being sweet to, the one who was flirting with her, was no other than Ethan Chambers.
The captain of East High's Wildcats and my number one enemy.
Fuck.
A/N: No I haven't forgotten about this story. Wow has it really been that long since I've updated? Sorry. :( I've just been busy and it's hard to get in the right mood to write this. I'm back now and definitely going to finish. Anyway, to those of you who are still reading, I hope you enjoyed. I already started the next chapter so expect it in the next couple weeks. Also, I'm going to be making a little jump over to Fiction Press with some of my work if anyone is interested. And lastly you can follow me on Twitter now. Link in profile. As always, my apologies for any errors.
