"Dad!" Gabriella called out as she entered through the door, carelessly dropping her azure backpack onto the floor, seemingly matching the shade of Troy's orbs. That's the first thing she noticed about Troy, alongside from that cocky grin fitting his features perfectly. She wasn't supposed to find any sort of attraction to the senior, yet his looks were those of a god fallen from the skies. Were there really any flaws besides that egotistical personality? The answer was a simple, no.
"Dad?" She repeated, a curious tone subtle, slowing igniting pursed lips and raised eyebrows.
That was odd – he had told her he would be home specifically before she arrived, to make sure he could get the details on how her day had went. Not that she had any good news to tell him, but she still figured he would own up to his decent promise.
If she couldn't share her day to her father, Sharpay would have to suffice.
Gabriella rolled her eyes at her father's decency to keep a promise and walked up the stairs towards her freshly painted room, with boxes that lay around the uncarpeted floor. She was far too lazy to unpack the many that boxes which now defined her plain, light purple room. And for some reason, she presumed she wouldn't be able to take the items out anytime soon.
Her mind had more important matters to attend to. It included finishing up stray homework she managed to get on the first day of school, and call her long distance best friend.
In no time the Iphone was attached tightly to her ear as she eagerly waited for the dial tone to cease. It had gone on for a good minute before Sharpay's smooth voice finally filled the silence.
"Oh, look who decided to call me." Sharpay said casually, though Gabriella was well aware the blonde was only joking with her. "Are the kids at the school hotter than me?" Was the first thing she asked.
"Hotter?" Gabriella repeated with hesitance as she pushed back into her comfortable bed, her lips parting from each other to partake in a short, muffled sentence. "More like bitchier."
"Bitchier?" On the other end of the line, Gabriella could almost make out Sharpays widened hazel eyes and agape mouth. Hey, if she was in the position her best friend was in, she'd be overly shocked as well. It was a revelation really – no one was bitchier than Sharpay, that is until Gabriella discovered East High.
"Yeah," She sighed timidly, wondering, albeit briefly, if they were rude to Gabriella for a specific reason, or if they were all just genuinely indecent. "I mean, there was this one girl who was pretty nice." She calmly stated. "But I don't think I'll be talking to her again."
"And why the hell not?" Sharpay countered. "If she's gonna be the only nice one, don't be a dumbass and avoid her."
Gabriella didn't expect Sharpay to understand. How could she?
Alessandra was the twin sister to Troy Bolton, and as long as they were related, Gabriella had a hard time believing Alessandra was actually showing kindness towards her. It just seemed almost impossible that she was beyond different from her brother.
And as the day went by, Gabriella was prompting for more information on the duo – but secretly, just Troy Bolton. She wanted to know more about him, what made him tick, how he transformed into a cold hearted teenager…or if he was born with the hatred.
So far, with only two classes linking Troy, and almost every class with Alessandra, she hadn't found out any information. Other than them both being extremely close siblings, which was clearly showed as they sat side by side in lunch. Gabriella was left sitting at a table where no one uttered a word, not like they seemed all that interested in her anyway.
But surprising to herself, Gabriella found herself glancing at Troy every so often, mesmerized by his athletic physique and oceanic eyes. He was very easy on the eyes, especially when Gabriella caught a glimpse of a smile on his face. It was only once though, and the embarrassing part? He looked straight at her amidst it, only forcing that smile to vanish as fast as it came.
"I just don't think we'll be good friends." Gabriella settled for a common lie as she closed her eyelids momentarily, basking in the relaxing atmosphere. It was short lived once Sharpay scoffed into the receiver.
"You're talking out of your ass, aren't you?" Sharpay questioned bluntly. "How the hell are you going to manage out there if you have no friends? It's like you want me to miss you more each day."
Gabriella grinned, her shiny teeth pinching her lower lip to hold in the giggles threatening to itch stupidly across her face. There were moments like these shared with her best friend which made her ache to return back to the town. Damn her father for wanting to maintain a stable job out here.
"I don't-"
Her voice faltered as soon as she heard an impetuous sound filling the air, similar to those sounds of a bang against some hard surface. It sounded much larger, and much closer to her than she would have liked.
"What the hell was that?" Sharpay broke Gabriella out of her trance by almost shouting at her through the cell phone, having heard the noise as well.
"I don't know…" Gabriella wasn't aware of the bile forming in her throat due to the nerves now racking her whole body, but she swallowed the lump and let out a shaky breath. "Stay on the phone." She demanded.
If there was one thing she could count on Sharpay for, it was listening to Gabriella with whatever she may ask, or rather tell.
Gabriella could feel a small trickle of sweat bead down her forehead, and she couldn't tell if it was from the heat steaming through the air, or if it was from the nerves gradually building up.
Either way, with the phone clutched firmly to her chest, she slowly tip-toed out of her bedroom, and towards the area where she assumed the sound had come from. But she didn't know where it started; it had been too brief for her to have a persistent place.
Finally, after what felt like ages, she was able to rekindle her voice and speak once more. It was just as equally shaky, and it was obvious how terrified she was.
"Hello?" She called out. "Anyone there?"
Gabriella was home alone, on her cell phone, and a loud bang sounded through her house…how could she not be absolutely scared for her life?
At first, she thought maybe it could be her father returning from work, but as she walked down the steps and into the living room, the door was still bolted shut – still locked.
"Hello-"
Gabriella let out a boisterous scream and dropped the cell phone from her grasp, her entire body twisting to look behind her at the voluminous window. Nothing was apparent in her view, except for the couches and television her father had previously set up.
But with squinted eyes, she soon noticed the solution to preventing the noises.
Gabriella sprinted over to the couch, reaching her entire form to the window so she could pull it back and shut it completely, before anymore bangs could erupt.
So, there hadn't been a robber or serial killer in her home.
Only a window which had been open, and which had been enough to scare the living shit out of Gabriella.
This was a story she was going to keep to herself, no matter how many times Sharpay asked what happened.
Her cheeks were burning with a pink fire, making the olive skin turn into a flushed pigment. Never in her life, had she been so embarrassed of the actions prior.
"Stupid window." She glared venomously at the window, lifting herself from the couch to return to her shattered phone. And it wasn't a sight she wanted to be met with.
"Oh, come on!" Gabriella whined as she bent down to pick it up, fumbling for a moment to keep it steady. The whole screen was cracked, with tiny shards of glass falling off in the process. Now it looked like her father would have to buy something else…even though he just spent life-savings on this house.
"Gabriella?"
She sucked in air through her nose and carefully lifted the phone to her ear, cautious not to allow it to reach the skin. "I'm gonna have to call you back." Gabriella told Sharpay, listening to the quick reply before she moved the phone away and lightly pressed the end button. At least it still worked properly, even though she could barely see anything she did on the phone.
Could her day get anymore worse?
Silent prayers, wishes, it all went unanswered when she heard the door creek open.
And the first words she heard from her father, were of those she wished she didn't have to respond to.
"What the hell happened?"
Gabriella slowly turned around to face the confused form of her father, whose eyes were locked on the broken phone in her hand.
"The window was threatening me," She started quietly, "So I threw my phone at it for protection?"
His lips curved upward into a smirk, and she noted the way his eyes gleamed with an unknown brightness. "You dropped it, didn't you?"
She settled for the simple nod, the simple…ashamed nod.
"I raised a bad-ass daughter." He retorted. "Oh, how proud I am of you."
The last thing her father expected was to be met with the visual of a cell phone being thrown at him, straight in the stomach until the force caused a half cough to escape him. The phone was already broken, what more could be done?
"Whoops, it slipped."
"You're…gonna get it now, Gabs."
The only sounds that could be heard from then on were her giggles as her father tickled the life out of her, just as he did when she was merely a little girl.
And while she was tickled, the thoughts that were soon going to enter her mind vanished completely.
When she got home, the window was closed.
"You really couldn't just take the bus?" He father complained for the tenth time as he kept his eyes on the road, glancing occasionally at the exhausted brunette in the passenger's seat.
Gabriella rolled her eyes in sync with her father's complaints, each and every time giving him the same reasoning. "Last time, I had to sit with two people." She said, looking over at him. "I'm not going through that again." At least, not until she could drive this junk of a car herself.
"Well, isn't that a way of making new friends?" He asked. "You could use a little more."
Gabriella looked at him incredulously, aiming a clean punch at his arm. "I have enough friends here, okay?" She mumbled and sunk back into the seat, arms crossing over her chest in a huff. Only, she had zero friends in this crummy town.
"Whatever you say." He wasn't buying it, and she was sure she would hear more about it later, after returning home from his 'busy' day of work, as he did yesterday. That was his excuse for being an hour late; and while she could understand that, something about the way he said it made her not believe it.
The car skidded to a stop directly in front of the school, where kids were aimlessly walking to the doors of East High, laughing and giggling with bright smiles on their faces. Was that all an act? Half of the kids barely smiled, and she knew that for a fact.
She leaned over and gave her father a quick peck on the cheek. "Thanks, dad," Once she pulled away, she jutted out her lower lip in a pout and worked her way towards the entrance, avoiding each glare and glance.
Could they make it any more obvious how much they disliked her?
Gabriella dreaded what was to come of first period, she almost thought about skipping it, even though she couldn't threaten her perfect record like that. But really…the thought was reoccurring.
"Gabriella!"
Yeah, the thought was entered again.
Gabriella let out an annoyed breath and turned to see Alessandra jogging towards her, the straight pinned hair swaying delicately with every step. Then again, it reminded her that the Bolton's weren't lacking in the appearance part.
"Hi, Allie," She feigned a smile as she started walking to class, having no intentions of waiting up for her 'friend'.
"Cute outfit." Allie commented brightly with a smile and walked side by side to Gabriella, nudging her playfully to continue the charade. When would Allie just give in and show her how she truly was? Someone mean like Troy Bolton himself?
"Thanks," Gabriella looked down at her outfit, cocking an eyebrow after she realized her outfit wasn't nearly cute at all. It was a pair of skinny jeans, completed with a pink t-shirt to match. Cute? More like simple and boring, similar to her personality at the moment.
"So you ready to deal with Mr. Browning again?" Allie exasperated a sigh. "I swear, he's the rudest teacher in this whole school."
Gabriella sternly nodded her head as she entered the classroom, her eyes roaming around to see if she could spot the figure of someone she hoped wouldn't show up. She wasn't in the mood for his deadly stares and snarky remarks to every answer she gave.
Without spotting him, she smiled approvingly and looked at the chalkboard, where she expected to see the teacher. Jeez, he couldn't even show up before the students?
The chalkboard read 'sit at a lab table', which added to things she disliked about this school. So much work, and they only just begun.
Gabriella and Alessandra departed ways, but not after Allie told her she would return to sit at the lab table with her, in which she only responded with another nod. Really? Did she have to have such sympathy for Gabriella? And make it so evident? How was she going to avoid this girl if she kept pressing to talk to her?
She tapped her fingers against the table after she settled in, and really took the time to notice the people around the classroom. Most seemed pathetically bored like herself, while others gazed longingly at the girl Bolton. Boys, girls; each were staring with admiration as she talked to her fellow peers. It was almost like they worshipped her.
"Where the hell were you this morning?"
Gabriella's eyes widened as she noticed the voice speak out to her, sounding like a low growl to her ears. Her head quickly jerked to the side to see him leaning over the lab table, his books clutched to him, and his nose practically flaring dangerously. What the hell was his problem? Besides the obvious, that is.
"What?" She replied in shock, feeling the air catch in her throat suddenly with the glare he aimed towards her.
"I said," Troy gripped his notebook harder and his knuckles dazed into a white, looking like he was about to explode any minute. He leaned forward more, his blue eyes frantically searching hers. "Where were you this morning?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Gabriella whispered, feeling intimidated by his stance and how he approached her. He just absconded into the room without a word to his friends, and casually made his way to the lab table she was at. Now he was demanding to know where she was this morning?
"The bus." He said through gritted teeth, his perfectly defined jaw clenching. "You weren't on it."
"I…" Gabriella didn't know what to say to that, nor did she have the ability to voice it out. So many questions lingered through her mind, the main one being why the hell was he so angry? And why did he assume it was his business to know? "My dad…drove-"
"Troy, what the hell are you doing?"
Something flickered in Troy's eyes which made a notion that he recognized the voice, but he made no move to look at her or tear his eyes away from Gabriellas. Being under his intense stare like this was starting to make her uncomfortable, and not in a way expected from someone who disliked this boy strongly. Her stomach felt uneasy, like butterflies were erupting often. It was almost like the feeling when his hand touched hers, and that unexplained spark ignited. She still wondered mainly about that, ever since it occurred; only she was too afraid to ask what it meant.
"I was just telling this geek to stop looking at me." He hissed as he slowly started turning his head to look at Alessandra, his blood continuously boiling with the shock still evident on Gabriella's face.
"She's not a geek." Allie said, giving him a push back towards the other lab table.
The gaze he had on her was still in full effect, she was frozen in spot even as Allie came over to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"You ok?"
As her brown eyes lifted to look at Allie, the only coherent thing she could utter was a "Huh?" It was like she was hypnotized.
And still, the only thing she could remember was the way his cobalt eyes were looking at her.
What the hell just happened?