Disclaimer: Don't own
Idea: Currently obsessed with this song, Kiss Me by Sixpence None Richer. I was listening to it when an idea about Jason and Kelsi struck up in my head and I had to write it. I think this is the most romantic song and I find it so easy to revolve a plot around it. I am going to pull random lyrics and base four different stories around it using our favorite HSM pairings. Pure fluff. I hope it puts a smile on your face. :)
Status: 2/4
Title: 'Strike up the band'
Parings: Troy and Gabriella; hinted at Chad/Taylor, Zeke/Sharpay, Jason/Kelsi
Setting/Timeline: Set somewhere after HMS1. Mostly during the weeks before the play. It's in the East High auditorium and the music room. The flashbacks are mostly rehearsals in the music room. Hope that makes sense.
Random: I think Twinkle Town as like a less violent Bonnie and Clyde. Don't really know why. I attempted to write some lines of what I think Twinkle Town would be. Sorry if they are either horrible or super cheesy.
Gabriella Montez sat at her vanity found in the backstage of the East High's auditorium. In her fifties inspired dress, she looked and felt like Minnie. It was the dress rehearsal for Twinkle Town and Gabriella felt sick to her stomach.
"Almost ready, Minnie," Kelsi's soft voice said from behind her. The petite composer's curly hair was pinned into a low bun and found under her loose black beret.
"Not really," Gabriella told her with a nervous breath. She stood up to make sure her dress wouldn't get wrinkled.
"Oh," Kelsi said catching on. "Is this about the kiss," she asked softly with a sad smile.
Gabriella nodded, happy she didn't have to reveal her insecurities. She and Kelsi had become close over the course of Twinkle Town. They joked but were able to practice for an ample amount of time so Gabriella wouldn't blow it on opening night. As a result of these late night practices, the two girls often discussed the issues of boys. Gabriella's infatuation in Troy Bolton and the composer's not so secret crush on Jason Cross. Those discussions took up the majority of time spent at rehearsals.
Gabriella's main issue tonight wasn't so much the fact she would be singing and acting in front of those who attended the eight o'clock dress rehearsal. No, it was more in a scene she and Troy had. Act 10 scene 15 lines 76-84 to be exact. Better known as the final. Which included a very passionate lip-lock that had to be inappropriate for two high school students. And one of those students being Troy and the other being herself. Yes, that was the main reason Gabriella was freaking out.
"Gabriella," a voice exclaimed into the small backstage. A dark-skinned girl came rushing up to embrace the brunette. "Oh my God! You look gorgeous. Nice job on setting the play in the 1950s, Kelsi," Taylor commented to the petite girl while giving her a small squeeze.
"Students! Students," Mrs. Darbus came rushing into the crowded backstage while clapping her hands to get everyone's attention. "Show's in ten minutes! Places, places," she franticly told them all while she herself bustled around to make sure all the preparations are ready.
Kelsi rolled her eyes with a small smile on her face, "Where's Troy? I haven't seen him since the costume changes," she directed her questions more to Gabriella than Taylor.
"Oh," Taylor said pointing over to the backstage door. "Chad and the guys are over there talking with Troy," she stated.
"Thanks," Kelsi said before walking over.
"Butterflies in your stomach," Taylor asked her friend. Her white long-sleeve top was found under her rose-colored blazer and paired them with cream-colored cords. Her long, wavy, black hair was pulled into a studious low ponytail.
"More like monster-sized moths," Gabriella asked back with her hands touching her stomach lightly.
Taylor giggled while putting a reassuring arm around her friend, "Come on. Let's go talk with the boys," she said while walking over to where Chad, Zeke, and Jason stood. A newly joined Kelsi was already in a disagreement with Troy.
"Troy! Please wash it off," her exasperated voice exclaimed.
"Kels! I can't remember all these lines," Troy tried to reason with the over stressed composer. He tried to keep his palm open so the small handwritten words wouldn't smudge.
"I said I'd mouth them to you if you spaced," Kelsi stated while holding up thickly bonded scrip.
"I can't read mouths," Troy said with a shrug.
An exasperated moan came from the petite girl as she buried her hand into the scrip.
"Alright," Chad chuckled at the light banter. He swung his arm around Taylor, "We have to go get our seats," he said to them while leading her to the audience.
"Yeah cause this one wants a good look at those cardboard trees he made during detention," Taylor rolled her eyes at the boy while looking back. "Apparently his are better than mine," she taunted him.
"That's because they are," Chad exclaimed back as yet another argument came about the two. It was still a miracle they hadn't gotten together yet since they spend so much time together, most likely in a pointless argument.
"Let's go," Jason stated to the two before giving Kelsi a small yellow daisy. "Good luck," he told her softly before pushing the two disputing friends out the door.
"Aw," Gabriella teased the blushing brunette. She giggled at the wide-eye look at her friend.
"Okay," Kelsi stuck the item behind her ear. She grabbed her blue colored tote overflowing with various music sheets, "I have to go get settled. I'll see on stage," she gave Gabriella one more reassuring hug and a pat on the shoulder for Troy. She quickly disappeared into the chatting audience.
"Hey Sharpay," Zeke exclaimed to the blonde found in a pink-colored dress. He strolled over to the girl while holding out a small pink-wrapped bag of sugar cookies with bright pink frosting. "Here. I made you cookies."
"Are they low-fat," Sharpay asked with a hopeful look on her face.
Zeke nodded, "Yeah, Though you don't need to lose a pound," he stated with a small smile on his face.
"I know," Sharpay stated happily before snatching the package from the boy. She gave him a light pat on the cheek before rushing off and beginning her lung exercises.
Troy rolled his eyes at his already exited dark-skinned friend. "Sharpay," he shuddered to himself before turning his attention to the brunette. "Do I really look like a 1950s stock broker," he asked self-consciously while snapping his black spenders.
Gabriella giggled, "Who told you that?"
"Chad," he grumbled to her while fixing his outfit. A crisp white button up was found under a pair of loose fitting black slacks and matching black spenders.
Gabriella smiled as she heard Mrs. Darbus' voice introduce the play. "Good luck," she gave him a small hug.
Troy happily recuperated the embrace, "You too! And, uh, Gabriella," he said to her.
"Yes," Gabriella replied.
"About the, uh, never mind," Troy mumbled when he heard the opening song's melody waft through the room.
"Okay," Gabriella said puzzled to the boy. She quickly followed him so they didn't miss their mark.
It was the final scene. The lights were dimmed and two center spot lights were found on the stage. Troy on the one side while Gabriella stood on the other.
"Look, Minnie, we only got one chance to break for it," Troy spoke over to Gabriella already wrapped into his character.
"Arnold," Gabriella exclaimed while rushing over to him. "I can't live my life as a fugitive! Always looking over my shoulder, scared I'll be locked up. We have to turn ourselves in," she pleaded with the boy.
"I'm not going down like that," Troy spoke back. He slammed his hand on the one of the coffee tables on set, "I've come too far to just give it all up. I got two train tickets to Mexico. You coming," he asked her.
Gabriella pretended to look in deep thought as she gave Kelsi a subtle hand motion to ask for her next line.
Kelsi quickly flipped through the scrip before franticly reading over the line. "It's over, Arnold. I'm turning myself in. Don't be a fool! Come with me," she mouthed quickly.
Gabriella nodded thankful before reciting the line to Troy.
"Can't baby," Troy told her back while attempting to read the smudged words on his hand in a not obvious way. "I'm leaving tonight. Alone," he told her with his character's passion.
"And I'm turning myself in tonight. Alone," Gabriella spoke to him softly before walking away. "It's been a nice run. Goodbye Arnold," she told him over her shoulder.
Troy grabbed Gabriella's arm and pulled her towards him.
--
Gabriella stood in the center of East High's auditorium with scrip in hand. It was one of their many rehearsals for the final scene.
"It's been a nice run," Gabriella read to Troy. She read her characters actions before walking away. "Goodbye Arnold."
Troy grabbed Gabriella's arm, pulling her quickly to him. Gabriella, not reading beyond the next line, rammed into the boy causing a small collision to happen with the piano that Troy was leaning on. Troy's sudden jerk into the piano caused Kelsi to jump out of her seat and into the piano keys to cause an unpleasant crash of keys.
"Bolton," Mrs. Darbus' voice exclaimed to him while behind her desk. "This isn't a football area! Don't grab Miss Montez like she's one of those pucks you boys are always carrying around," she exclaimed to him in an annoyed tone.
"It's a basketball, Mrs. Darbus," Troy told her with an equally worn-out tone. He steadied the brunette in front of him, "Sorry."
"It's okay," Gabriella responded back in a slightly upset tone. Yet another mistake made in the final scene.
--
"It's been a nice run," Gabriella stated to Troy as they practiced in the rehearsal room with Kelsi. "Goodbye Arnold," she told him before walking away.
Troy grabbed Gabriella's arm and pulled her towards him in a gentler manner. He dipped the girl in his arms and loomed his head over her, "It's never goodbye, baby," he spoke to her before leaning closer.
Gabriella inwardly squealed in happiness. They had been practicing the scene for six weeks now and this was their last week of rehearsals. They had yet to practice the kiss. Something had always managed to go wrong.
At two weeks, Chad burst into the doors of the auditorium right when Troy was about to touch his lips with Gabriella's. The bushy haired boy proceeded to complain to Troy about how much of a smartass Taylor was. It took him the whole two hours of rehearsal time to vent to Troy. Two hours.
Another time, at the thrid-week mark, Sharpay came shrieking over to Kelsi in clear distress over the fact that a line of hers got written out of the scene. The interruption caused Troy to drop Gabriella from her position in his arms. She still had the bruise to prove it.
Another example of the kiss going wrong was at the fourth week of rehearsals. Everything was going smoothly. Troy and Gabriella both managed to get their lines correctly without the assistance of Kelsi. All left was that one kiss. Gabriella was ready. She had been ready for weeks. All she needed was five minutes of peace to make sure their lip lock had run smoothly. But no. Taylor decided to rush into the music room in panic over the fact they had SATs tomorrow. Gabriella took the time to reassure her friend that she was as prepared as possible for the test. By the time the issue was resolved, the bell rang, indicating the end of free period.
Gabriella was about to scream in frustration if she didn't get this goddamn kiss. She had been prepping herself for weeks. Spending a little extra time in the bathroom, making sure her hair was frizz-free. She always retouched her makeup before, adding a bit of blush to give her a little more color. Before departing for the music room, she would reapplied her strawberry flavored lip balm and popped in three breath mints. She also locked the door in case someone decided to give them an unwanted visit.
Now, there she was. Centimeters apart from Troy when…
"And then we kiss," Troy stated while pulling Gabriella up. He rubbed the back of his head as pretended to read over his lines.
Gabriella stood in a state of shock. She was so close!
--
Gabriella was in the position she always was when something horrible went wrong. She waited for something to happen. A prop to fall over, a random character to come running onto stage, the lights to flick on. Hell, at this point, Gabriella wouldn't be surprised if the freaking curtain to come crashing down on top of them.
"It's never goodbye, baby," Troy spoke to her before inches his mouth down on her mouth.
She felt him lightly brush against her mouth as she breathed in a sigh of relief. 'Finally,' she thought to herself as she heard Kelsi begin playing the final musical number. Mixed within the tune was the familiar creaking of rope as the sliver and blue moon began to rise onto stage.
Troy wrapped his arm around Gabriella's waist as he slowly moved his mouth against hers. He cupped the back of her head as the kiss became more passionate than what everyone expected.
Gabriella held onto Troy's arms as she forgot that the kiss was only suppose to be at least a minute long. She ignored the various catcalls and hoots coming for the rowdy audiences as she was sure she heard Sharpay huff behind stage at the brunette's fortunate situation. Gabriella was completely enwrapped with the boy in front of her as she responded the kiss with equal passion. She felt herself smile as their lips moved together in rhythm.
"And scene," Mrs. Darbus' horrified voice came over to them. "Bolton! Montez! This isn't a swing party! It's a play! I said scene," she whisper shouted over to the pair as they completely ignored the woman. "Oh for God's sake! Tim pull down the damn curtain," she growled at the set designer.
Gabriella remained complete entwined with Troy as she continued to hear the romantic melody Kelsi was playing.
Gabriella didn't care that Mrs. Darbus will have their head tomorrow over their surprised make-out session. She didn't even think about the teasing and taunting the fellow students will make to her this coming week. She pushed the thought of having to face her mother tonight, who was sitting comfortably in the first row. No, Gabriella only cared about the sandy-brown haired boy she was in a lip lock with. And she knew he wasn't Arnold and she wasn't Minnie anymore. It was just Troy and Gabriella.
--
Lift your open hand
Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance
Silver moon's sparkling
So kiss me
--
I'm glad you guys like this mini-series. I was blown away the fact that five people review. I was hoping for two but five! Ah, thank you! Anyway, hope this one is good.A little iffy about it. Leave a little review if you like it. Next is Chad and Taylor. :)