"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: Happy December 3rd. Thanks for all your sweet reviews xxx
December 3rd
"Gabriella!"
Gabriella shot up in bed at the sound of her frantic friends voice.
"What? What's wrong, Cass?" she asked confused as she rubbed her eyes. Cassidy had moved over to the window by the time Gabriella managed to focus her eyes properly.
"I sure as hell hope you have nothing special planned for today because chances are very slim you'll be able to do it."
"What on earth are you talking about?"
"Come and have a look for yourself."
With furrowed eyebrows Gabriella reluctantly rolled out of bed and walked over to the spot Cassidy occupied.
"What's so spec….oh my god."
Gabriella's eyes widened as she took In the sight in front of her. The snow that had started falling the previous afternoon had obviously continued through the night, as it not only covered the ground, but reached almost all the way up to her windowpane.
"Wow…"
"You can say that again. The whole area is freaking out. It's literally impossible for many to get to their jobs. It's complete chaos."
"I've never seen so much snow in my life. "
"Me either….nor has anyone else around here I think. On the news they said it was almost 70 years since the last time anything like this happened."
"It doesn't look real," Gabriella said as she let her eyes roam across the snow covered area. The whole place had an almost ghost like feeling to it as there was not on single footprint to be seen.
"I know right. I sure hope there's some food here….god knows how long it will take to clear a path to the dining hall."
Gabriella froze in her spot. It was evident Cassidy had been awake quite a bit longer as her head was already starting to think of the practical issues. Such as the food situation, or well the lack of food.
"There's left over pizza from yesterday…but other than that I haven't bought much of anything lately."
"Me either…"
"Crap!" they exclaimed simultaneously before heading for the small kitchenette area where they stored their snacks and had their microwave and mini fridge.
"Popcorn?" Cassidy asked as she rummaged around.
"Better than nothing."
"Cup a'soup?"
"Save that."
"Poptarts? Two packs."
"Yes, please," Gabriella said and held out her hand. Handing over the box Cassidy reached to plug in the small toaster.
"Our survival instincts obviously suck if that's all we have," Cassidy said with slightly furrowed brows.
"Yeah…we have chocolate too… and soda, and OH! I have a bag of chips."
"Nice! At least we have water in the bathroom, so we won't die of dehydration."
"I highly doubt we'll suffer that much," Gabriella giggled. "Might get hungry though."
"I've never been snowed in," Cassidy said as she placed two poptarts in the toaster.
"Me either. I just hope the power will stay on. If it doesn't we'll get very cold."
"Man! I didn't even think of that. Should we find flashlights and candles just in case?"
"I don't know about you… but I don't own a flashlight," Gabriella said with a small laugh.
"Me neither actually…but I do have candles."
"So do I."
Just then the toaster decided their poptarts were done and nearly flung them out. The sound from the spring made both girls jump, and Gabriella's melodious giggles floated through the air as she reached for two napkins. Wrapping one of the tasty treats in the white piece of paper she handed that one to Cassidy and grabbed the other one for herself.
"I'm just going to make sure I have candles in my candlesticks and give Troy a call. He'll probably see the chaos on TV and get all worried."
"Don't doubt that. I'll go check my stuff too and then head out in the hall to do some investigation. Maybe there are some notices on the notice boards."
"Sounds like a plan," Gabriella said before heading for her room. The smell of the hot poptart teased her nostrils and she took a careful bite as she sat down on the bed and used the other arm to pull the comforter around her.
Two of her candlesticks were placed on her desk and she made a mental note to put a lighter next to them should the power go out.
Desk.
Calendar.
Glancing at her alarm clock she decided it was too early to call him. But it wasn't too early to open another drawer. So she eased out of bed with a small smile and reached for that tempting third drawer. Pulling it out completely she crept under the covers again and settled against her pillows.
Picking up the note she found a small charm for her bracelet resting on a bed of cotton wool.
A charm shaped as violin.
With careful fingers Gabriella picked it up and ran her thumb over the intricate details. Troy was the only one that truly knew about that side of her, knew how much the music meant.
Smiling to herself she reached over to her nightstand and grabbed the charm bracelet she had received several years earlier. She located a vacant spot and quickly clipped the violin onto the chain. It danced back and forth a few times before she placed it on the mattress next to her.
Time to read the note.
Because I know how much that talent show challenged you
The talent show.
Oh how she had wanted to just run of and not come back when she found her name on that list.
Gabriella stared at the list in front of her in disbelief. She had NOT written her name on that piece of paper. She did not WANT her name on it, because well…she didn't want to be in the talent show. All her friends were aware of that fact too, so who could have signed her up.
"Good luck going up against me, Montez," a shrill voice suddenly said behind her and all the pieces suddenly fell into place.
Sharpay Evans.
Of course it had been Sharpay's doing.
No one else would be that mean.
"Earth to Montez, didn't you hear me?"
"I heard you, Shar. I just chose not to acknowledge you."
"I… hmpf!" she huffed before stomping off, leaving Gabriella with clenched fists and furious eyes.
"Spoiled, inconsiderate bitch," she muttered under her breath, not aware of the fact that a pair of blue eyes were watching her intently. Talking a few shaky breaths to calm herself, she closed her eyes her eyes before turning around.
As she opened them she was not met with the sight she expected. She had been prepared to face a deserted hallway, instead she found herself face to face with a rather worried looking Troy Bolton.
"What did she do to you," he asked quietly as he reached for one of her hands.
"She signed me up."
"Signed you up for what? The musical?"
"No… the talent show."
Troy raised an eyebrow.
"But she knows you hate showing off…"
"Exactly."
"You don't think it's because…"
She didn't let him finish. "I know that's why."
"But I never even liked her! How can she go after you when she would never have gotten me?"
"Because she cant see that you didn't like her. Sharpay sees and believes what she wants to, just like she sees herself winning and me looking like a fool…" she said and averted her eyes. She hated being on display, the thought alone was enough to make nervous butterflies appear in her stomach and angry tears shimmer in eyes. Having all eyes on her just made her feel extremely vulnerable and she absolutely hated it.
"You won't look like a fool, Gabriella," Gabriella said in an attempt to make her change her view on the situation.
"Troy…" she knew what he was doing, but she also knew he was wrong. She hated performing.
"You won't, babe."
"How do you know that? You know I don't like that stage much."
"I do, but I also know of a talent very few of the others know you have. Sharpay is one of the clueless ones."
"If you're talking about singing I'll let you know right now that that won't happen. Ever."
"I'm not talking about singing. Loads of people know you sing."
"Then what are you… violin? You think I should play THAT for the show?" she asked in disbelief.
"Yes I do. It's something no one is going to expect, and you're extremely good at it."
"But…no- one's going to be impressed by that… generally classical music is viewed as dull by the majority in our age group."
His eyes softened as he let his arms wrap around her waist to pull her close.
"You've got it all wrong babe, most people will be impressed, and I know for a fact that you know pieces that people will know. Your 'Lord of the Rings' stuff is amazing."
Gabriella stiffened in surprise.
"How do you know I can play that? I never showed you that…"
Troy merely winked at her, making her roll her eyes. She really did have to think about just where in her room she changed from now on, not that he hadn't already seen her naked, but apparently his sneaking around was worse than she first thought.
"I'll think about it." She finally said as she felt Troy kiss the top of her head.
"You do that, but Ella, don't let her get you down. That's what she wants."
Gabriella closed her eyes and let her head rest against his shoulder. Sharpay did want her to fail. She wanted her to fail so badly Troy would dump her due to the shame, and proceed to run into her open arms.
"How can she be so mean, Troy? How can she just ignore people's feelings like that? I just don't understand her. I don't understand her at all."
She heard Troy sigh silently by her ear and snuggled further into his embrace.
"I don't know. I guess it's like you said. In her world she's the only one worthy paying attention to, everyone else should blindly follow her little commands…at least that's what I think she wants. Very few people actually do though, just Ryan and the Sharpettes."
"It IS kind of funny how she thinks she rules the school, but no-one really cares."
"That's just it, babe. No-one cares. No-one cares about her elaborate numbers, which is why I think you could win this whole thing. After her you'll be a breath of fresh air, plus, everyone likes you," he grinned before placing a kiss on her lips.
"If I remember how to play. Stupid rules that say you can't remove your name once it's on," she muttered.
"You'll do great."
"You sound so sure I almost believe you."
"Good. You should."
With that he let all of her go but her hand and pulled her in the direction of her entrance.
-HSM-
Gabriella's hands were shaking. The talent show was set for start in an hour and all she wanted to do was find some secluded place to hide until it was all over. Well… in all honesty that was exactly what she had done. She was currently sat on the bench on the schools roof with her knees pulled up under her chin. The wind was dancing around in her hair, but she was far too deep in thought to be bothered by it. She knew it was only a matter of time before Troy figure out where she had run off to during their free period, and would no doubt be coming up to join her.
Those participating in the show were supposed to use the time off for practicing, but her violin was still neatly tucked into its case where it had stayed since the previous night. She had picked a piece she already knew by heart, but she was still nervous. The shaking of her hands was more than enough to mess up the song and she willed them to stop.
"Should have known you would be up here."
Gabriella was far from surprised to hear his voice. She merely lifted her eyes to meet his and shrugged her shoulders.
"You really don't want to do this do you?" he asked as he sat down next to her.
"No…I would love to actually impress them all, but I just can't make myself believe that I'm capable of doing that. I'm scared ill make a fool out of myself. I didn't even like recitals when I was little."
"You do decathlons though. How are they any different, babe?"
She bit her lip. How were they different? Both involved doing something in front of people. Showing off something she had learned. During a decathlon it didn't matter if her hand shook though. That mattered greatly when playing. If her fingers slipped just a little bit she would be off key, if that happened when she wrote she'd just have a sloppy letter. The biggest difference however, was that when playing she was alone. During a decathlon she had her entire team with her.
"I'm not on my own there. If I mess up my song it's no one's fault but my own."
"Everyone makes mistakes, Ella. It's not the end of the world. One sour note won't make a difference. It's the overall impression that's important."
"But it's important to me, Troy. I want to play perfect. I don't want to mess up for me."
Troy smiled. "That's a totally different thing then."
"What?" she asked, surprise etched in her voice.
"You're more scared of your own critic than anyone else's."
Gabriella looked at him wide eyed.
"I…"
"You've always been your own worst critic. No matter how well you've done something you always find a way of faulting yourself. So I actually think it's you you're scared of. Am I right?"
"I…I don't know."
Was he really right? Maybe she wasn't scared of the crowd. She had after all always been her own person. She didn't change because who she was wasn't in. when she thought about it like that it didn't really make sense that she would be scared of what they thought of her.
"Maybe," she whispered. "But I don't understand why."
Her chin still rested on the top of her knees and her eyes were focused on a spot on the floor.
Next to her she could feel Troy's weight shift as his arm came in contact with her back.
"Because you're a perfectionist. You hate not mastering things. Whether it's a complicated math equation or some sport. You told me once that you hated not being in control of a situation. this is a situation you cannot be in control of." He stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and Gabriella looked at him with raised eyebrows.
How could he possibly know her better than she knew herself?
Troy simply smiled at her before leaning in to connect their lips. The sweet kiss made her tense body relax and she let herself be pulled closer to him.
"You'll do great," he whispered against her mouth. "And if you don't you can always blame Sharpay for signing you up in the first place, or maybe for making your violin out of tune."
Giggling slightly she looked into his twinkling eyes and pressed her lips against his.
"I'll try."
"All I'm asking."
-HSM-
Gabriella looked from the note in her hand to a framed picture of herself and Troy.
Her mom had snapped it the day of the talent show. Troy had been right about the whole thing. She had actually won that day. Something that had pissed Sharpay off so much she had stomped off the stage while huffing something incomprehensible.
Her plan had so backfired. Not only had Gabriella won, but for the next week everyone had been talking about what a sore loser Sharpay had been.
Gabriella giggled- The trophy she had received still stood proudly on a shelf in her childhood room, and the diploma had been placed inside an album. The whole ordeal seemed like forever ago now, so much had happened, so much has changed. She had no idea what Sharpay was doing, nor did she particularly care. It was strange how a person could go from influencing your life every day, to not matter at all.
Shaking her head slightly she stood up from her bed so she could pin the note next to the others. Three days, three memories… twenty one to go, but only nine days until she was scheduled to go home and see him.
That was one thing she really couldn't wait to do. She had seen him during thanksgiving a couple of weeks ago, but one weekend every couple of months was far too little for her liking.
FAR too little.
Sighing she let her fingers trace the outline of his face in the picture on the desk in front of her. She really couldn't wait to be face to face with him again.
"Gabriella!"
Cassidy's voice pulled her out of her thoughts and she walked over to her door.
"Yeah?"
"Do you have snow appropriate clothes? Some of the other girls are going outside to have a morning without studying. Want to come with us?"
The words tumbled out of the other girls mouth as she dashed around looking for something Gabriella wasn't quite sure what was.
"Uhm… no?" Gabriella practically asked while looking down at her current outfit. The purple pj pants hung low on her hips and the blue tank top had crept up her torso to reveal a small stripe of skin. She really did not feel the need to go outside and get wet. That, and she didn't really have anything appropriate for playing in the snow.
Cassidy laughed at her response.
"Suit yourself. I'm going to go have a look," she said as she slipped on thick socks and wrapped a scarf around her neck.
"You do that, I'll stay here and… study I guess." The words were barely out of her mouth when the sound of her ringing phone reached her ears.
"Or talk on the phone. Got to go get that. Don't drown out there!" she called over her shoulder as she moved swiftly back into her bedroom.
"I won't!" Cassidy replied giggling as Gabriella wrapped her hand around the singing object.
"Hello?"
"Thank god."
"What?" Gabriella asked confused. That was not how Troy usually greeted her.
"Mom dragged me up to watch the news footage from the snow chaos. They said many are without electricity and heat, and that thousands are actually snowed in."
"Yeah…it's kind of crazy. We have power though, and some of the other girls are going outside so the doors can't be completely blocked off."
"Man am I glad to hear that. I had images of you all cold in a dark room," Troy said and she knew from the sound of his voice that he was dead serious.
"You're cute when you get all worried."
"I'm not cute. I'm very manly."
"Sure you are," Gabriella giggled as she walked over to her window to see if she could spot Cassidy.
"I'm serious," Troy said in mock annoyance.
"So am I."
"Pft."
Gabriella couldn't help the laughter that escaped her.
"You're ridiculous," she choked out.
"Glad you find me amusing," he chuckled.
"Very much so. Oh my god! Emma just flung a snowball right into Cassidy's face!"
"Really?" Troy laughed. "I'd pay to see that."
"Uh huh, they're having a war it seems. Man they look so cold."
"Why aren't you outside with them?"
"Because I'm cold and don't have any proper clothing to keep my warm and dry out there. So I opted to stay inside and watch."
"Ok, when you put it like that it sounds like a wise move. I would so be out there though."
"Oh I don't doubt that. You and Chad would probably be in the middle of drowning each other by now."
Troy laughed that warm laughter she loved so much in response.
"Probably. Though I'm pretty sure his afro would keep him above the snow."
"Definitely."
"So, beautiful. Do you have any plans for the day?"
"Aside from exam studying? No. How about you?"
"Pretty much the same as you. I really can't wait for break now. I'm so tired of spending all my time on studying."
"Right there with you. I just want to have a proper lazy day and do absolutely nothing."
"We'll do that when you come home. We can order in pizza and not move all day."
"Sounds like a plan…almost boring though," she laughed and he snorted at her.
"You come up with a plan then."
"Nah, movies and pizza sounds good."
"It's….te…..en"
Gabriella frowned as Troy's voice was replaced by static.
"I can't hear you," she said as she focused her eyes on the world outside her window again. Show had started to fall in a thick blanket and from the looks of it the wind had picked up, sending white clouds of snow through the air.
"What?"
"I can't hear you," she repeated.
"You're breaking up too."
"It's probably the snow outside. It just started coming down like crazy."
"Yeah. Maybe we should end this before the connection breaks completely?" Troy suggested and Gabriella nodded to herself.
"Yeah, I'll try and call you later again."
"Ok, babe. Be careful if you decide to brave the weather."
"I will. Love you."
"Love you too, gorgeous."
"Bye."
"Bye."
With that she ended the call and scrunched up her face as the snowflakes kissed the windowpanes. She didn't have anything against snow in general. She loved to play in it with friends, and she had once been somewhat capable of skiing. She just didn't like it when it came down in such large amounts. Releasing a long sigh she padded towards her dresser to find some comfy sweats to wear. If she was going to study all day, she at least wanted to be comfortable. Comfortable and clean, she thought and grabbed her towel. Better shower while they still had lights.
-HSM-
The snow had settled for a slow drizzle by the time Gabriella's clock hit six. One of the university's handymen had worked all day on clearing footpaths between the various buildings with snow blowers, and she was now waiting patiently for her Chinese food to arrive. Cassidy was sprawled out in the recliner with a novel Gabriella hadn't caught the name of, and the radio was playing quietly in the background. Gabriella's law book lay open on her lap, but she was no longer focusing on the words that were written in it. Her eyes felt drained and watery and she closed the book with a loud thud.
In her chair Cassidy jumped up and glanced towards her friend with amusement dancing in her eyes.
"What?" she giggled.
"Sorry," Gabriella said bashfully. "I've just had it for today. If I read one more word law I think I might throw up."
Cassidy laughed.
"That makes two of us…maybe we should just stop and put on a movie or something?"
"Sounds good to me. Anything's better than studying."
"That's settled then. You pick a movie and I'll get some drinks and popcorn."
"Ok," Gabriella said and stood up from the couch. Her legs protested against the sudden weight after being folded up for so long, and her knees almost buckled beneath her.
Shaking her head slightly she waited for the strength to return before she walked over to the shelf containing their DVD's.
"Are you in the mood for anything in particular?" she asked while running her index finger over the various titles.
"Something Disney," Cassidy replied, her head still halfway into the fridge.
"Animated or real?"
"Real."
"Parent trap?"
"Nah…"
"Princess Diaries?"
"Yes! I haven't seen that one in ages."
"Got it," Gabriella said and pulled the DVD off the shelf. A night of giggles sounded very welcome, and what better way than to do it with Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway.
AN: Phew… and here I was aiming for short chapters…. This is by far my least favorite chapter so far. I'm not sure why. Please let me know what you think :)
XxxCarolinexxX
