Summary: Troy Bolton is the captain of the Los Angeles Lakers. When he suddenly sets his eyes on a cheerleader from a rival team, he is unprepared for the love and rejection he receives throughout his relationship.

For The Love of Rivalry

Chapter Four

Troy's body collided against hers, causing them both to collapse on the bed together in a fit of kisses and touching. His lips traveled across her skin as he skillfully slipped off her dress. He sat up and admired the way she looked in her skimpy lingerie. He looked at her with a heated stare, his blue eyes dark.

"You look so amazing," he whispered huskily.

"Gabriella?"

She smiled and brought him back down, maneuvering through his clothes as his pants, jacket, and shirt came off. She ran her fingernails and hands over his chest and back muscles, enjoying the way that he moaned with satisfaction at her touch. She arched her back as his lips traveled to the top of her plump bosom, sending fire through her body.

Fingers began to snap. "Hello?"

Troy was breathing heavily, matching her breaths as they stared at each other in the moonlight that illuminated his bedroom. She touched his cheek and shook her head, completely lost. "I..."

"I know," he murmured, grinning shyly. "I'm loving this, but I don't want to take it too far. Not yet."

"Exactly," she breathed out, trailing his jawline. So strong.

Troy pulled the covers over their bodies, then laced their hands together as he hovered over her. "Don't leave."

She shook her head. "I won't. I want to stay here forever in your arms."

Gabriella glared at Sharpay when she felt her hand slap her cheek. "Ow! What the hell, Shar?"

Sharpay scoffed, looking at her from her airplane seat. They were currently on their way back to Boston. Surely though, they wouldn't hit home until late. Gabriella had been stuck in her daydream from the early morning the entire time, so far. It was driving her best friend nuts.

"What in the world has you off in la la land?" she asked.

Gabriella shrugged, looking out at the clouds from the window. "Nothing."

"Bullshit," said a blunt Sharpay. "You never came back to the hotel room last night. And, when you did come back today, you looked like you had sex." She lowered her voice. "Was it Troy?"

At the name, Gabriella smiled. She shook her head and kept her voice low. "We didn't have sex. We had drinks at this club downtown, he took me back to his place, and we just made out. I slept over, but that's it."

Sharpay grinned happily. "That's it?! Girl, that is monumental! Did you just tip him and leave?"

"Of course not," she said. She paused and squirmed a bit. "He wants to be with me for the long run."

To Sharpay, it was like fireworks had exploded on the plane. Her hands went in the air as she laughed happily and exclaimed loudly. "Oh my gosh! Gabriella has got a boyfriend!"

"Shhh!" Gabriella covered Sharpay's mouth. She peered over her seat and spotted a few cheerleaders and a basketball player looking at them weirdly. She grinned and slouched lower in her seat. "Sharpay, you can't tell anybody."

"Why not?" asked Sharpay, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Are you crazy, Shar? Troy plays for the Lakers! He is our number one rival and if anybody on the team found out, I'd be an outcast for life!" she exclaimed in a whisper.

Sharpay furrowed her brows together. Her best friend wasn't acting like herself. Gabriella wasn't one to worry this much about her reputation. "Gabriella, are you crazy? Troy obviously has a thing for you."

"He told me he loves me," she murmured.

Sharpay covered her mouth to prevent her screams of excitement. Sometimes, she was such a girl. "You're kidding? What did you say?!"

"I don't know how I feel about him, okay? Come on. He told me that he loves me," she said, shaking her head. "How am I supposed to take that?"

Another voice broke into their conversation. "What are you guys yapping about over here? I am trying to get some sleep!"

Sharpay looked up at the redhead and sneered. Her name was Katherine and she was the co-captain of the squad. You would expect her to be a role model for younger girls that watched her on the television. However, she had to be the snobbiest and egotistical cheerleader in the universe. It bothered the girls to no end, but it never bothered Katherine.

"Mind your business, Katherine. Just because you are trying to sleep doesn't mean we have to stay quiet for your benefit," said Sharpay.

"If you want to stay on this team, you do." She sneered at the girls.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Please. It's not up to you, Katherine. It's up to coach and she loves us, regardless of what you have to say. She hates you."

Katherine suddenly smirked at Gabriella. "I overheard who loves you." She paused for dramatic effect. "Troy Bolton?"

She had to think quickly, at least for Gabriella's sake. She could see how wide her eyes were getting as her mind went blank. She was her friend. She'd stick by her through whatever. Sharpay looked at Katherine and began chuckling. "We're talking about what we heard in the media. You know, that Troy guy is professing is love for some girl. We really believe it's his mother."

Katherine rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Gabriella watched her disappear and sighed heavily, looking over at Sharpay. This was her best friend. They had talked about boys, family, and the people they didn't really like that much. They had been through thick and thin. And, for Sharpay to stick through her when she was conflicted about Troy, that was more than enough. "Thanks."

Sharpay squeezed Gabriella's fingers reassuringly. "I'll always be here."

When Troy had arrived to practice, he had gotten a pretty stern warning from the coach about being late and setting a bad example. He was aware that little kids looked up to him when he was on television. He wanted to be a good role model. He was always clean when it came to partying or being in Hollywood in general. He loved the look on a little boy's face when he met them or signed their photo. It wasn't a lot, but it was something big to them that they got to meet their hero.

Nearly an hour into practice, things were going pretty smoothly. They were practicing their plays for the playoffs and for other upcoming games. They finally had a break a little bit after that, leaving them to discuss their plans for the night or to discuss what they wanted to do for the playoffs.

Chad and Troy were sitting on the bleachers, discussing their recent practice. The thought of Gabriella suddenly appeared in the conversation straight from Troy's mind.

"I told Gabriella that I love her," he said, twisting his water bottle around in his hands.

Chad furrowed his brows at his best friend. "Am I hallucinating?"

Troy chuckled lightly. "No. I know you may think I am crazy, but I just feel this connection with her. I mean, we had such an amazing time last night. We talked and talked and talked." He paused and grinned. "Then, we kissed and kissed and kissed."

"No shit. Did you sleep with her?" laughed Chad.

Troy shook his head. "No. I didn't want to go that far yet. But, I told her that I want to be with her and she is just being hesitant. I mean, I understand why. We are from totally different sides of the sports world."

"Yeah. It'd ruin your reputation in Hollywood," said Chad.

"That's the thing, though. I don't care if it ruins my reputation. As long as I have her, I'll be fine." Troy smiled at the thought.

Chad looked at him. Really looked at him. This girl he had just met made him so happy for one single night. Imagine how he would feel after one month or one year. He wanted his friend to be happy. What friend wouldn't want that? Even if it was risky, he'd do whatever it took to make sure that Troy stayed happy.

"Are you going to tell anybody?" asked Chad. "Like, anyone on the team?"

"I think you loud mouths have already done that," said Matthew, walking up to them with a sneer. "Seriously, Bolton? You have a thing for a Celtics cheerleader?"

Troy wasn't afraid to admit his feelings for Gabriella. If he lied to somebody about it, then he felt he would be lying to Gabriella. "Yes, I do."

Matthew chuckled dryly. "Wow. That has to be a low point for you, man. Celtics trash? Really?"

Troy stood up, feeling defensive on Gabriella's name. He got in Matthew's face and glared at him. "Hey! She is not trash. If you talk about her that way again, you'll regret it."

"Oh yeah?" Matthew matched his glare. "What are you going to do? Hit me? Good luck being a role model to those kids once the media gets word of it."

"Guys! Quit dancing and get back on the court!" shouted the coach, pointing his glare at Troy and Matthew.

Matthew pushed Troy before walking back to the court. Troy watched him and shook his head. "Dick."

Chad chuckled. "You guys are ridiculous."

"You don't think I am being crazy with Gabriella?" asked Troy.

Chad shook his head. "No. It might be crazy to other people, but you're following your heart. That's what matters."

Troy smiled. He was lucky to have a best friend like Chad.

"Hey," smiled Troy, answering Gabriella's Skype call later that night. "What time is it over there?"

Gabriella looked away and looked back at the screen. "It's a little over midnight. We had to make a stop in the middle of the flight."

Troy nodded. "Aren't you tired? I mean, you haven't gotten much sleep. Considering..." He chuckled and smirked at her.

Gabriella blushed and smiled, nodding. "I know. But, I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to tell you some things."

"Like what?" he asked curiously.

She sighed. "I told Sharpay."

Troy nodded. "Oh. How did she take it?"

Gabriella giggled. It made Troy smile. "Yeah. Well, she is determined to make sure that I am happy. She was completely giddy."

"Is she always like that?" asked Troy, chuckling.

"I hate to say it, but yes." Gabriella smiled. "You can trust her, though. We've been best friends forever, you know. She even stuck up for me when one of the cheerleaders overheard our conversation."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Katherine is the co-captain on the squad and she overheard what we were talking about. She is one of the worse you will ever hear of. She is a complete, for lack of a better word, bitch. But, Sharpay made sure Katherine wasn't aware of anything."

Troy nodded and looked down, messing with his fingers absentmindedly. "I told Chad and he is the same way. I mean, he is my best friend. He'd do anything for me. But, one of the guys overheard."

"Who?" asked Gabriella.

"Matthew. I guess he is the equivalent of Katherine." He paused and looked at her. "But, I felt that if I lied to him, I would be lying to you. So, I told him."

"Is he going to tell anybody?" asked Gabriella.

"If he does, I wouldn't deny anything. But, if he did, then I would be getting calls by now. So, it's strange." Troy cocked his head to the side. "Gabriella, don't get me wrong, but what is there to tell? I mean, what are we?"

"Well, that's the other thing I wanted to talk to you about." Gabriella sighed. "I've been thinking a lot today about what you told me this morning. You know, that you love me."

"Yeah?" Troy urged her to continue.

"I know it's soon, but I think I could love you. It's possible because you are such a great guy and I feel like there is a connection between us. I don't feel like I can say it now, but I will say that I can love you. And, I want to be with you." She paused and smiled. "If you will still have me."

Troy laughed and nodded. "Of course! I'll always want you, Gabriella. If I could kiss you right now, I would."

She laughed at his comment and nodded. "I know what you mean. Speaking of, when can I see you again?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Soon, I hope. Playoffs don't start for a while." He glanced at the clock and sighed sadly. "I have to get some sleep. We have an early practice tomorrow."

"Oh, okay." Gabriella knew their schedules would come into play if they had a relationship. They would just have to learn to deal. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, I suppose."

"Of course," smiled Troy. He looked at her and smiled. "I wish you were here with me."

"Me too," smiled Gabriella. She blew him a kiss. "Goodnight, Troy."

"Goodnight, Gabriella."

And, as Troy closed his laptop for the night and got into bed, his dreams immediately filled with the visions of the girl he loved.

Author's Note: I am aware that some of you may feel that Troy's profession of his love to Gabriella is way too soon or you may think it is crazy. I will make two points. The first and obvious point is that this is my story and I choose what I write, but I always want to impact my readers in a good way. I know what I am writing. I proofread it before I post it to make sure it makes sense. Second, this is purely fiction. And Troy's profession might not be realistic, but he basically fell in love at the first sight of Gabriella. And, that CAN be realistic. Love is not something that happens at a specific date and time. It happens when it happens. And, when we feel it, we don't want to hide it. We take that risk because it is what our heart tells us and Troy was following his heart.