"All I Want for Christmas" © Nattou; 30.11.10
This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. It is based upon High School Musical, copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and High School Musical 2, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks
AN: Another day, another chapter :)
December 1st
Wednesday morning found New Haven dressed in white. Sometime during the night the snow had started drizzling and by the morning hours it had coated most of the town in a thick white blanket. The normal hustle and bustle seemed to be muted by the snow and everything looked unusually clean. There were no dirty ditches or bare spots on the lawn. Everything looked soft and smooth under winter's cold spell.
In the park there were children attempting to ski and adults huddled together to keep the cold out.
It was in many ways a true winter wonderland.
A winter wonderland Gabriella was missing as she was still asleep, safely tucked under her thick duvet. As she had no classes that Wednesday she had told herself that on that particular day she would allow herself to sleep in and catch up on some much needed rest.
It was nearly eleven when she finally stirred awake, immediately closing her eyes again the minute they made contact with the bright light streaming through her window.
Groaning she buried her face in her pillow and stretched her body to its full length. Feeling her toes peak out of the duvet she shivered and pulled her knees up towards her chest. She was seriously not a fan of winter. There was just something about it that made getting out of bed in the morning a complete nightmare.
A nightmare no one could escape no matter how hard they tried.
Not even Gabriella Montez.
And it certainly didn't help matters that she really had to pee.
Another fifteen minutes passed before she gave up the internal battle she was having with her brain and bladder. She reluctantly peeled off the duvet and shivered when the cool air hit her bare arms and legs. She quickly realized that picking the cute pj's was a bad move… they provided very little heat.
"Stupid cold," she grumbled as she reached for her robe and slipped on her slippers. The soft fabric felt heavenly against her skin and slowly felt warmth spread through her veins. Whoever invented fluffy robes deserved a medal she thought as she stepped towards her door. Halfway there she passed the calendar and grinned.
December 1st
As soon as she felt a little more human shed pull that drawer open and see what her boyfriend had hidden inside.
- HSM -
Gabriella felt stupid for feeling nervous. It was a small drawer containing an item from her boyfriend; a boyfriend who seemed to know her better than she knew herself at times. That alone made her certain that each and every one of those presents would be beyond perfect; but even knowing that, her hand trembled as she reached for the first drawer and carefully pulled it open.
The first thing she laid eyes on was a small note that had been folded in such a way that it covered whatever else had been hidden inside. Biting her lower lip gently she got a hold of the not and pulled it out. Hidden beneath it were three small gingerbread cookies. Each one had been decorated with frosting and in the center of each there was a word spelled out. Picking them up she placed them in front of her until the phrase was readable.
I LOVE YOU
Gabriella smiled wide as she ran her fingers over the sweet items. How had Troy come up with all of this? That he was imaginative wasn't a secret, but that he was this creative was a surprised even to her. She shook her head slowly before opening the note she had been holding in her hand. The piece of paper had been folded over several times; surely just to spike her curiosity she thought as her fingers worked to reveal the secret message. When the letters finally appeared Gabriella felt hot tears well up in her eyes.
Because baking with your gave me the courage to kiss you.
Sixteen year old Gabriella was nervous. Beyond nervous actually. She was pretty sure that if she let herself she would probably throw up. Her whole body was on edge and it was all because of a boy. A boy she had known from the age of nine. A boy who had found her crying in the schools bathroom when she got her first period. A boy who had helped her with her homework when she broke her arm.
Just a boy, her mom constantly reminded her. But Gabriella knew better. He was far from just a boy. He was Troy Bolton, and Gabriella Montez found herself very much attracted to him; attracted in a way a best friend never should be.
She didn't know exactly when things had started to change, but she was pretty sure that it had happened sometime during that past summer. For a whole month she had worked as a tutor at a summer school in another state, and when she had finally returned to Albuquerque it felt like a lifetime had passed. Troy had been working late on the day of her homecoming, so instead of only getting a few moments together they two had decided to hang out around Gabriella's pool the following day.
That's when things had gotten interesting.
The moment Troy had laid eyes on her bikini clad body he had run over and engulfed her in a suffocating hug that had nearly landed them both in the pool. It was a hug that had also left Gabriella with a tingling skin and a racing heart. Every place their bare skin touched seemed to burn when they separated and Gabriella had felt more confused than ever when she finally managed to calm her body down. Not once during their friendship had he evoked such feeling in her and the fact that he did now had scared her.
What had been supposed to be a fun day of hanging out had turned into a couple of hours filled with awkwardness.
She had been ridiculously conscious of not only the fact that she was wearing a skimpy bikini, but of the fact that a shirtless Troy was suddenly hot in a way he hadn't been hot before.
She hadn't known it back then, but that was only the beginning of the awkward moments between them.
For a while they had gone on pretending that nothing had changed even though they both knew that it wasn't true. Things had definitely changed, but both avoided talking about it at all costs.
That had been the period where they still hung out often and tried…but that had only lasted until Troy had accidently walked in on her half naked. After that they had gotten more and more distant. Still friends, but never seeking each other out or initiating contact.
And those were the reasons behind her current nerves. It was December and it had been months since the last time she had been alone with Troy for a substantial length of time. It was something they had come to avoid shortly after that day at the pool, and now the thought alone gave her goose bumps. The fact that the hang out wasn't even voluntarily made her heart beat even faster.
The pair had been paired up for a cooking class project and had been tasked to make a gingerbread house from scratch. Gabriella knew that Troy was far from a genius in the kitchen, and seeing as they had to bake, put together and decorate that house, they had decided to use that Saturday as their project day. What they hadn't known at the time the decision was made was that Gabriella's mom would be working late that day, meaning they had the entire house to themselves. A thought that both trilled and terrified Gabriella at the same time.
She knew very well what she dreamed of happening between them, the problem was that she had no idea what he wanted. For all she knew he couldn't want nothing from her at all anymore, andthat was a thought that scared her more than any other. He had been a part of her life for so long, the mere thought of him disappearing made tears well up in her eyes.
Boyfriend of friend, she loved Troy. She loved him enough to suppress her own attraction if it meant getting to keep him.
Why did growing up have to complicate things so much, she wondered as she stood up from her bed and headed towards the hall. Things were so much easier when hormones didn't drive her mind and heart crazy.
"Stupid boys," she mumbled just as the doorbell rang, making her stop dead in her tracks.
It was now or never.
The distance from the staircase to the front door suddenly seemed to have tripled in length, and it felt like time slowed down with every step she took. The outline of his body was visible through the frosted glass and she swallowed hard before twisting the doorknob and opening the door.
The cold winter air quickly flooded the entryway, making Gabriella shiver in her thin velvet sweats. Troy, who was obviously cold stepped into the warm house without waiting for an invitation and Gabriella closed the door the second he was inside.
"Mom gave me this," he said, handing Gabriella the plastic bag he had been holding in one hand. Gabriella smiled at him before peaking inside. Lucille Bolton had, by the looks of it, raided her cupboards and shoved most of the sweets she could find into the bag.
"I don't think we'll have trouble decorating the house," Gabriella said. "Your mom even put food colors in here."
"Really?" Troy asked as he shrugged off his coat. "Last time I asked mom for that she said we didn't have any."
"What on earth would you need food color for?"
"Me and Zeke wanted to see if we could use it to highlight Chad's hair while he was sleeping."
"No way!" Gabriella exclaimed. For the time being it seemed as if the awkwardness was forgotten she planned on enjoying every second of it.
"Way. He passed out during a movie, and well… it's something we've wanted to try every since the girls at school started showing up with highlights," he explained as the two of them walked into the kitchen.
"How come I've never heard about this?"
"We never managed to do it, and well.. we haven't talked much lately," he said and gently scratched the back of his neck.
"Yeah…" she trailed off. The awkwardness was back and absolutely hated it. She hated that she didn't know how to act around him anymore. He had been one of her best friends for years and feeling estranged from his was not something she enjoyed at all.
"Should we start baking?" Troy finally said after several minutes of silence.
"Yeah," she nodded. "For all we know it could take several tries to get it right."
"Yeah….Gabriella?"
"Hmm?"
"I don't like this awkwardness either," he said and Gabriella smiled softly.
"Then we're two."
"Can we just…I don't know….pretend that whatever's happened between us didn't happen and just… be us for a while?"
Troy looked so vulnerable when their eyes met that she couldn't help but gently bite down on her lower lip.
"I'd like that," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Ok then….so have you ever baked gingerbread before?"
The sudden change of tone and topic made Gabriella giggle and she shook her head.
"Never alone, I've helped mom though."
"I've only decorated….and tasted," he admitted bashfully.
"Doesn't surprise me."
"Hey! I can cook!"
"Troy… you can make mac and cheese, and readymade pancake mix."
"That's cooking."
"Sure it is."
"What's with the tone?"
"No tone," she giggled.
"Sure, sure….just get a bowl," he pouted and Gabriella burst out laughing. For the first time in months she felt like she had her best friend back.
- HSM -
Batch number three for the gingerbread house was in the oven when Gabriella hoisted herself onto the countertop. If anyone had told her that getting the pieces for the house right would be so hard, she was pretty sure she would have refused doing it when her teacher handed out the assignment.
They had followed the recipe, step by step, but the walls had still ended up with anything but straight edges. Either they were all wobbly or what was supposed to be a square looked more like a trapeze.
"I swear if this one doesn't turn out right I'm going to the store and buy one of those readymade kits they have," she grumbled as she wiped her brow with a flour covered hand.
"Did I hear right or did my ears deceive me? Gabriella Montez is willing to cheat?"
"Shut up… I can to math and chemical experiments, but baking… that I apparently cannot do."
"I thought baking was just like chemistry?" Troy teased.
"So did I…but apparently the results are even more unstable than with chemicals," she pouted, more annoyed at herself for failing the assignment than anything else.
"You're cute when you sulk," Troy suddenly said, making Gabriella's head snap up.
"What?"
"You… I …. Never mind," he said, his hand scratching the back of his neck as a blush crept up his cheeks.
"Ok…"
She tried to suppress the smile that wanted to spread on her lips, she really did, but she just couldn't. He had said she looked cute. He had said she looked cute and then blushed. Maybe there was a chance he was a little bit attracted to her as well.
"Are you sure you set the timer?" Troy asked as he visibly smelled the air around them. Gabriella did the same and immediately picked up on the distinct smell of burned cookies that was seeping out of the oven.
"Crap!" she exclaimed and jumped off the counter. Reaching for the dishtowel she threw the oven door open and grabbed the trey. With quick movements she pulled it out, but in her haste she had forgotten to fold the dishtowel and the heat from the hot trey seeped through to burn her fingers.
She cried out in pain and let go of the hot item, sending slightly burned gingerbread flying across the tiled floor.
"Whoa, Ella!" Troy exclaimed, immediately reaching for her arm to pull her towards the sink. Flicking on the cold water he made her hold her throbbing hand still as the coolness swept over the burns.
"You ok?" he asked worried.
Her only reply was a small whimper as she tried to pull away from the cold water. Her fingers were starting to feel numb and she didn't want them there anymore.
"It hurts," she almost chocked out.
"I know, but you need to hold it there for at least ten minutes or it's no use," he said gently before wiping away a tear that had escaped her eye. Her lower lip quivered as his hand lingered on her cheek, making her skin tingle. She could feel her heart beat speed up, but just as her mind started coming up with scenarios his hand dropped, and she felt disappointment wash over her. Forcing herself to look at him she saw the tell tale signs of nervousness on his face. Whatever it was that was happening between them, she was obviously not the only one feeling it.
Several minutes ticked by and Gabriella didn't quite know what to do with herself.
"Do you have any Alovera gel or something? That's supposed to help burns," Troy finally said, but his eyes weren't focused on her like before.
"I think there's some in the bathroom. In the cupboard."
"Ok. I'll see if I can find it. Keep your hand under the water," he said before leaving her alone with her thoughts. What had been a surprisingly carefree day had suddenly turned tense and right at that moment she had no idea what to expect when he came back from the bathroom.
"Ella?"
Gabriella jumped at his voice and turned her head.
"Yeah?" her voice sounded shaky and she cursed her raging hormones for messing with her.
"I found the gel… at least I think I did. Can you come in here? The light is better."
"Ok. Give me a second," she said, reaching over to turn off the faucet. Her palm felt numb from the cold water and carefully inspected it as she headed towards the downstairs bathroom. The skin was red and sore, but so far she couldn't see any blisters.
"Is this what you meant?" Troy asked, holding up a white and green tube.
"Uhu."
"Good, now let me see."
Reluctantly she held her hand out to him and he cradled it gently before squirting some of the cool gel onto the angry skin. A hiss escaped through her clenched teeth and he surprised her when he started to rub his thumb across the top of her fingers in a soothing gesture.
"You ok?"
"Yeah."
She lifted her gaze from her hand and found herself looking straight into his piercing eyes. The two pools of blue had always been like windows to his soul. He was good at hiding his emotions, but to those who knew him his eyes always gave him away. That moment in the bathroom was no different, but what Gabriella saw both thrilled and scared her. Passion seemed to radiate from them and she was so very aware of the fact that he had yet to let go of her hand.
Standing there, eyes locked with his, she felt herself tremble. He was looking at her in a way that made her want to run or throw herself into his arms.
"You're beautiful…do you know that?" he asked quietly.
"I…"
"Well you are…and I really want to kiss you right now."
Gabriella felt her eyes grow wide. He wanted to what now?
Troy didn't give her much time to contemplate his statement thought, because suddenly she felt his breath on her face and her eyelids fluttered closed in anticipation. Never before had a boy kissed her, and she wasn't quite sure what to expect. The only thing she knew was that she was really happy Troy would be her first kiss.
"I'm going to count to three…if you don't want me to kiss you you're going to have to stop me….three."
Her brain had barely registered his words when she felt her lips being covered by his.
That had been the first of many kisses she had received from Troy Bolton that day. After that first awkward meeting of lips she had blushed and hidden her face in his neck. Troy on the other hand had chuckled nervously and wrapped his arms around her middle so he could pull her closer.
Gabriella could still remember the conversation that followed their spur of the moment actions in the bathroom. Suddenly the burned cookies had been forgotten, and both had been more interested in finding out what the hell was going on between them.
Troy had been the first one to blurt out that he had thought about kissing her for quite some time, Gabriella had responded by biting her lower lip and shooting him a wide eyed look.
Now, years later, she wasn't quite sure how their lips had met for that second time, but that time around she had responded to the best of her ability, and learned that kissing her best friend was definitely something she could get used to.
The F they had gotten at the project was soon forgotten as she realized what she gained from that night was far more important than a grade could ever be.
AN: And there you have chapter two!
XxxCarolinexxX