Thanks for the messages! For those of you that asked, I have IBS which is a condition triggered by stress so I have to rest for a bit longer.
Can I ask everyone who reviews to do me a favour? Can you tell me what your favourite story has been so far out of the ones you have read? I'd really love to know :D
Dedicated to Dan Wheldon. Thank you to cncgrad02 for your message :')
Chapter 3
"Troy Bolton?" Dex opened his mouth and stood in awe, just about to enter the hospital for the second day of visiting Gabi; spotting the racing legend heading toward the same nurse's station.
Troy turned toward the male voice that called him and smiled. "Dex Montez."
"You know me?" The dark-haired guy looked about ready to pass out.
"You know me," Troy smiled bemusedly in response.
"Yeah but dude, you are like, the reason I'm even racing at all. Well apart from my dad bein' a racer…" he murmured afterwards.
Troy blinked. "I'm not so much older than you, dude. We're not that much different."
"Oh, but you are a legend!" Dex enthused. "Where have you been, man?"
Troy sucked his lower lip, his blue eyes guarded. "Out." He answered simply.
"Out of the race?" Dex checked. "Man, we need you back…"
"Why?" Troy laughed, awkwardly flattered by Dex's show of affection.
"There's no excitement out there anymore, you know? All we got is Marlade playing devil's advocate- we need some real racin' going on and dude, you had it," Dex smiled.
"Yeah. I had it. 'Had' being the word," Troy irked his brows.
"What happened man?" Dex awed.
Troy licked his lips. "I crashed out. Indy Spring '08," Troy explained.
"Yeah, I heard you got hurt, but they all thought you was coming back man, we all thought this year for sure…"
Troy hooded his eyes. "I'm not coming back."
Dex sucked his teeth. "Well, that sucks."
"But I am thinking of putting a team together," Troy offered as consolation.
"Dude, I have got the best team," Dex grinned again, his eyes lighting excitedly.
"I know. I met them the other night when your sister got burned." Troy explained.
"You know my sister?" He awed, his mouth dropping again.
Troy swallowed. "I don't know her, know her. But I saw her that night."
"Hey dude, I'm visiting her right now, you have to come with me." Dex begged.
Troy laughed. "Really?"
"Yeah, man she is gonna love you, she loves racing more than me…"
/
"Hey, you're back!" Gabi sat forward with an excited smile at seeing her new friend.
"Gabi, oh my god, look who I found…" Dex's voice came in swiftly behind Troy and Gabi's face fell a little.
"Dex," she said simply, her face no longer painted with hope.
"Troy-frickin'-Bolton," her brother carried on regardless. "Here! In this hospital!"
"I know," she replied drily, waiting for him to stop fan-girling at Troy; who stood awkwardly between them both she noted.
"You never said that you met him after you got hurt!" Dex accused.
"I was unconscious, bro," she rolled her eyes. "Kinda couldn't tell…"
"Hey, I thought you'd be goin' crazy at meetin' this guy…" Dex stared at her, coming right up to her bed.
"I spoke to him yesterday. He came to say hi," she offered carefully, flicking her eyes to Troy over Dex's shoulder and seeing him raise his brows comically in return.
"You met him yesterday?" Dex o'd his mouth. "And you never called me?"
"Dex, he's just a gu-" She got cut off by her excitable sibling.
"Don't say it! He is not just a guy, he's a legend."
Gabi looked at her brother like he was mad, and then blinked her eyes once. "Dex, get a grip, he's right behind yo-"
"Get a grip? Oh my god…the RaceCar legend is right behind me and you want me to get a grip?" He checked theoretically.
"Yes." She nodded, giving him a wide-eyed look.
"I need a drink," Dex decided, turning swiftly and smiling at Troy. "You want anything?"
"No, thank you…but…uh, your sister might…" He suggested, putting his hand out to gesture her and Gabi smiled gratefully at him.
"Oh sure…sis? Drink?" Dex checked and she ordered a Ribena while Troy ventured closer to the bed.
"I'm sorry about…that," she wrinkled her face in shame.
"He's…" Troy searched for words.
"In love?" Gabi put forth and Troy actually laughed at her joke.
"Yeah, yeah he is kinda…uh…happy."
"I guess you're his favourite driver." She offered.
"What was he saying about you being a fan, too?" He wondered, biting into his lower lip.
Gabi blushed, thinking she had kept it perfectly unknown yesterday that she recognised him and admired his track record.
"I didn't want to just be about the race," she excused. "I always am," she added.
"But yesterday was different?" He suggested.
"If I had told you that I knew who you were, and that I was a fan, would you have taken me seriously?" She checked and he curled an apologetic smile.
"Probably not," he admitted.
"Of course I know who you are. But if you introduce yourself to me as Troy, then…you're Troy, see what I mean?"
"Not, 'Hi, I'm Troy the race guy who bombed out, ask me questions'," he teased.
She lifted her chin and frowned at his remark about bombing out, but she didn't comment on it. "Exactly."
"Well, thank you," he added shyly, clearing his throat.
"What for?" She wondered.
"Uh…for…you know…"
She tilted her head and smiled at him in puzzlement.
"Oh, dude, you're still here," Dex's hand planted on Troy's shoulder, making him jump. "Hey, are you chattin' up my sister?" he asked next, then, "…well, that's okay I guess seeing as you're you…"
"Dex!" Gabi shouted at her brother to shut him up.
"What?" He asked innocently.
"Give the guy some space," she begged, sighing.
"You wanna sit?" Dex offered Troy the chair.
"I…uh…I have to go…" Troy offered, twisting his lips as he waited for Dex to react.
"Oh, okay, dude. Well, I'll see you again, right?"
"Right." Troy assured.
"Thanks for coming," Gabi offered with a sad smile.
"I have someone else to visit, I'll come by later," he told her and Dex looked between him and his sister with raised brows, but didn't say anything.
"I'll help you with your team, bro," Dex told him before he left to which Troy just flicked his brow up.
"Oh, man," Dex sat excitedly into the chair by Gabi's bed. "If he asks you out, you say yes, okay?"
"Dex," Gabi screwed up her face.
"He is like a god to us, Gabs."
"You don't want me dating anyone, Dex. Why him?" She argued.
"He is like a god to us," he repeated mockingly.
"Oh, whatever," she sighed. "Where's Jody?"
"He's putting on a clean shirt and aftershave to come see you, you just got me right now," he smiled teasingly at her.
"Great."
"Hey, look. I'm sorry how it was yesterday. Emotions ran high. You're my baby sister and I love you. You're all I have." He explained.
"You need to let me make my own mistakes," she begged now they were back onto a familiar subject.
"Not this time," he answered softly, his brown eyes meeting hers. "This time I can't…"
"One accident,Dex," she pointed out. "In six years."
"Six?" He frowned and Gabi widened her eyes on realising her admission to starting race-related activity when she was sixteen.
"Well, I…"
"You could have been scarred for life, Gabs. You are too beautiful to wear race-scars." He murmured.
"I already have them," she murmured back, then twisted her face again. "This is all I have Dex. This is all I have left of him. Don't ask me to give it up."
"I'm not asking you to," he offered and her face relaxed out of hope for one second while she held her breath for his next words.
"I'm telling you to."
/
"Whoa…crying girl alert…" Troy ventured into Gabi's assigned bay and looked around for help.
"Oh, shit," he heard her cuss while she wiped her eyes furiously.
"I can… come back?" He checked, licking his lips nervously as his hands remained soldered to his pockets.
"No, wait…" She begged and he winced, taking one hand out to lay on her arm in comfort, but she chose that moment to turn onto her back and reveal her blood-shot eyes to him.
"Ah…sorry…okay," he blushed, retracting his hand and sticking it back in his pocket. He watched as her eyes welled again and he felt helpless to ease her tears.
"I'm sorry!" She bawled, shaking her head.
"Hey, no…it's okay…"
"You just came to be nice and say hi and stuff and you didn't expect this drivelling, miserable creature…" She blamed herself in typical crying-girl fashion and he took a deep breath, telling himself internally to calm down and think straight.
"No, you're not," he offered quickly, taking his hand from his pocket and wondering where he could lay it to comfort her without freaking her out.
"I am! I am being a total girl right now…" She wailed on and he widened his eyes, edging up to the bed and choosing her shoulder to place his hand on; patting gently.
"You are a girl," he offered gently.
"No I'm not!" She denied. "I'm a tomboy. 'One of the guys'," she added. "Guys don't cry."
"Oh, we do," he assured her, now stroking down her hair soothingly without knowing he was.
"This sucks!" She decided.
"Shh, hey," he kept stroking, deciding to talk to her in soft tones to soothe her. "It's okay…"
"Troy?" She looked up, minutes later, a question in her eyes.
"Mm?"
"Why are you stroking my hair?"
He looked down on her, realising he had almost ironed out all of the curls on one side of her head while the other side sat abundant and wild still. He blushed and took his hand away.
"I …ah…just thought…I'm sorry," he added shyly.
"No, it's not that, it's nice," she assured. "I just…it's just I hardly know you…"
"I'm freaking you out," he guessed.
"A little," she admitted confusedly, but only because the repetitive stroke of his hand now had her tingling all over and she didn't know why.
"I should go," he stepped back and jammed his hands back in his pockets.
"Already?" She frowned.
"My friend asked me to get him some grapes…" He shrugged lightly.
Gabi looked into his eyes and felt his withdrawal. "Oh. Ok."
"Do you want grapes?" He checked and she shook her head.
"No it's okay."
"Gabi, you and Dex will sort things out, you know," he assured softly then, surprising her.
She blinked a few times to stop her tears returning. "No, we won't." She smiled sadly.
"Look, do you want me to stay?" He asked, reluctant to leave her looking so sad.
"It's okay, you've done enough already. I think Jody is coming soon, anyway," she offered, letting him off the hook.
"Right. Well…uh…goodnight." He offered awkwardly.
"Good night," she offered back.
/
"Hey, are you okay? Dex told me you had another fight," Jody hugged Gabi hugely; finding her out of bed when he came in to visit.
"I wouldn't call it a fight," she mused, wrapping her arms around his neck and putting her cheek to his shoulder. "More like Dex thinking he can tell me what to do…"
"How's your arm?" Jody checked concernedly, rubbing her back.
Gabi pulled away and smiled softly at him. "It's healing real well, apparently."
"Good. Are you allowed out soon?" He checked.
She smiled with one corner of her mouth. "Maybe tomorrow. When I stop going woozy," she added.
"You're woozy?" He repeated.
"When I get up," she explained. "Shock or something."
"I miss you," Jody offered with a hopeful smile.
"I miss you, too," she smiled back, punching his arm.
"The team sent these," Jody picked up the gifts he had brought from the chair where he had dumped them to hug her.
"Flowers and chocolates?" She marvelled.
"And a card," Jody added.
"Wow, they must really miss my tool belt," she joked.
"They miss your smile, Gabi," he told her. "We all do."
"Well they're gonna miss it a lot longer because I quit the team," she lifted her chin as she bounced back on the bed.
"You quit or Dex sacked you?" He checked.
She smiled. "Dex told me he doesn't want me back on the team."
"We're gonna suck," Jody sighed.
"Joe did fine after I left," she argued.
"He's not as pretty…"
"Jody, he won't change his mind," Gabi stated honestly. "I'm going to look for a new team."
"You're a Montez, you belong with us," Jody argued.
"My heart is with you guys, you know that. But I can't give it up. It's in my blood."
"You are both stubborn as a mule," Jody shook his head.
"If it was your sister, what would you do?" She wondered.
He thought for a moment and then smiled. "Tell her not to touch a cross threaded screw again…"