A/N: OMG! So, Zac was recently seen holding an HSM 3 script! Isn't that amazing?!?!? Lol. Well, it amazes me. Anyways, heres the chapter.
"I'm sorry, daddy." Whispered a 13 year-old Gabriella, tears evident in her large, chocolate-colored eyes.
Mr. Montez towered over her, his fist opening and closing as he stood over his trembling daughter, as though contemplating to hit her. Gabriella flicked her gaze back and forth between his face and his fist, beginning to dread what he might do next. She could see a fire blazing behind his eyes. And yet, a sadness lingered behind those dark brown orbs. As though all traces of happiness had faded, all signs of the joy that those eyes once held, gone. Slipped away.
Gabriella unsuccessfully attempted to stifle a sob, her tears now flowing freely as Mr. Montez advanced on his daughter. "Daddy! Please don't, I didn't mean to!" Her plea must have had an effect on her father, as an emotion quickly flashed through his eyes; regret.
But then it was gone. It was only a glimpse, only a flash, of what her father might be feeling. He did, however, back up a few steps and collapse onto the sofa, holding his head in his hands. "I'm sorry, Ella." Mr. Montez whispered almost inaudibly.
He lifted his head and turned to watch her, a distant look on his face. The usually soft brown eyes, hard and calculating. Although he obviously wasn't going to hit her at this point, this mood and expression of her father's scared her more. The way his eyes held no emotion, and yet could make her feel like it was all her fault anyways.
Gabriella had never seen her father like this. Ever. She was shaking just thinking about that blazing look in his eyes, and the way his fist had curled and uncurled. The way he was just twitching to her hurt her. His only daughter.
The whole fight had started with a phone call; just one phone call. One phone call that, although she didn't know it now, would change their relationship forever. Just one phone call, that was all it took to make home a living hell for one girl. But of course, she didn't know that yet. But oh, how she would find out.
Gabriella returned her father's stare with a pleading, apologetic one of her own, until footsteps down the stairs awoke them both from their reverie. Ms. Montez appeared in the doorway, a curious expression gracing the flawless features Gabriella had inherited.
"I heard yelling…" She said slowly, looking back and forth between her husband and daughter. Wordlessly, Mr. Montez stood and strode over to the phone. He beckoned Ms. Montez, and pressed the blinking message button.
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Montez. This is Fred Jones, your temporary lawyer. I have called to, unfortunately, inform you that Juan Montez, Olivia Montez, John Larson, and Sarah Larson have filed a civil court case to severe ties with you. They have issued a statement that is the following. 'We are horrified and disgraced by their actions, and believe that our son and daughter have made a terrible choice. We do not wish to include them or their daughter in our lives.' I'm sincerely sorry about your loss. Have a good evening." Ms. Montez stood there staring at the phone in disbelief, before collapsing into her husband's arms, sobbing.
Gabriella felt her own tears rise to her eyes; it was her fault that her grandparents had disowned them. It was her fault that her mother was crying in her father's arms. How she wanted to go to her bedroom and hide from her mother's tears, but her feet just wouldn't move. She was rooted to the spot.
Ms. Montez gently released herself from her husband's arms, before whirling on her daughter. "What did you do? Why did you look for them?" Gabriella shrunk back from her harsh tone, lip quivering.
"I didn't." Said Gabriella. "I had no reason to." Her voice was soft, and Ms. Montez had to lean in to hear it.
"Well how else would they find out about you?!" Ms. Montez continued without waiting for an answer. "My parents disowned me. I hope your happy." Gabriella looked down at her shoes, eyes swimming with tears. Her mother had never spoken to her like that before, and it was definitely hurting the young child.
A streak of boldness plummeted into Gabriella's heart, and she looked up at her mother defiantly. "Mom, you are being insane. I had absolutely no reason to try and find them, so blaming me isn't going to make the problem go away. I. Didn't. Do. Anything." Ms. Montez then did something extremely unexpected; She reached out and slapped her only daughter.
Bursting into tears, Ms. Montez jerked her hand away and clapped it over her mouth. "I'm so sorry, Gabi." She whispered, before running into her bedroom and slamming the door behind her.
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In your eyes,
I'm the bitchy girl,
Who gives you headaches,
Gives you problems.
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Gabriella raised her hand to her cheek, imitating her actions seconds after her mother had actually slapped her. Tears rose to her eyes as she remembered the incident. It hadn't been her fault whatsoever, and it killed her inside. The distressed teenager leaned against the cool wood of the front door, savoring the silence of the foyer.
An impatient knock on the door brought her out of her reverie with a yelp. She jumped back from the door, realizing she had completely forgotten her friends. Gabriella slowly opened the door, bracing herself for what might happen in the house.
Upon opening the door, the gang almost trampled Gabriella in their rush into the foyer. After the entire gang had "filed" into the room, Gabriella took a deep breath and lead the way up to her room.
"Oh my gosh, Gabi, your room is so CUTE!" Squealed Sharpay as she clicked her way to the room in 7-inch stilettos. Gabriella just grinned at her and motioned for everyone to make themselves comfortable.
Chad flopped down on her computer chair and began to check his email, while the rest plopped down on the floor and bed. Gabriella herself was sprawled out on the floor, making herself comfortable against Troy's legs. The gang just held in their smiles as the pair began to animatedly to each other.
"I have an idea!" Sharpay said suddenly, interrupting Gabi and Troy's conversation. "Let's play truth or dare." Taylor's eyes widened; the last time she had played truth or dare with Sharpay had ended in her giving Chad a lap dance. Not to mention the fact Chad actually enjoyed it.
Gabriella gave Sharpay a what-are-you-doing look, while Sharpay just smiled back innocently. "So, I'm going to go first. Hmm… Jason!" Jason, who had been falling asleep at the moment, jerked into consciousness at the sound of his name. Groaning, he turned towards Sharpay and nodded wearily.
"Well?"
"Well what?" Jason moaned burying his head in Gabriella's pillow. The whole group rolled their eyes and sweet, innocent Kelsi even pinched him for being an idiot.
"Truth or dare, oh intelligent one." Sharpay told him in an annoyed voice.
"Oh. Um, dare?"
Although Sharpay was sure to make the game interesting, Gabriella was most definitely lost in another world. She was thinking about what her mom had said during their earlier bout. Could it be true? Could her friends really be druggies? She definitely doubted it as she looked around the group of friends, everyone smiling and laughing. But then again, she'd been wrong before, hadn't she?
Janet had warned her about the popular group, and yet Gabriella had still gone with what she wanted to believe and had gotten high. Which, unbeknownst to Gabriella, had just set her and her parent's relationship back further. She didn't want to relive the experience of walking into the "party" just to find her best friends getting high. Gabriella, at this point, just wanted to hide from the possibility of these new friends to be druggies. They had taken her under their wing, and they almost seemed too good to be true. Troy included.
Troy, noticing the faraway expression on Gabriella's face, reached down and gently tapped her on the shoulder. "What are you thinking about?" He whispered, carefully scooting his legs out from behind her and sliding down the bed to sit beside her. Gabriella offered him a small smile and leaned back against the wooden frame of her bed.
"Just… Stuff. Life I guess." She replied tiredly, briefly closing her eyes and enjoying the closeness of his body.
Realizing she didn't want him to press the subject, Troy nudged her pointed to something behind her. "Wow, Sharpay really has no mercy."
Gabi opened her eyes and squealed at the sight in front of her. Jason and Kelsi broke apart at the sound, blushing heavily and looking anywhere but their previous kissing buddy. Sharpay playfully glared at Gabriella.
"Look what you did!" She scolded. Gabriella rolled her eyes playfully.
"Whatever. So, who's turn is it?"
"TROY'S!" Cried Sharpay excitedly. Troy gave Sharpay a look that Gabriella couldn't quite decipher, but she shrugged it off. "Oh, come off it Troy. Truth or dare?" Sharpay asked. Troy was slowly turning a fire-engine red, and Sharpay's grin was widening. Even Chad, who had been sucked into Youtube for the last ten minutes, was watching intently.
"Truth." Said Troy instantly, which was met with cries of, "Be a man!" or, "Geez Troy is such a wussy." Groaning, Troy finally looked Sharpay in the face and said, "Fine. I pick dare."
Sharpay smiled. "Fine. I dare you to strip down to your boxers right in front of Gabriella." Gabriella turned beet-red and shook her head furiously, all the while shooting Sharpay death looks. Troy opened and closed his mouth like a fish, before succumbing to his friends and standing up. Zeke even started blasting Avril Lavigne from Gabriella's iHome.
He stood in front of a furiously blushing Gabriella and began to slowly lift his shirt to the cheers and cries of their friends. Gabriella couldn't help but stare in awe at what was underneath. Man, he was RIPPED! Giggling nervously, she glanced at Sharpay and Taylor pleadingly.
Next, an embarrassed Troy began sliding down his basketball shorts. Gabriella refused to look. Troy was just slipping out of his shorts before the door slammed over, getting a scream out of the girls.
"What the fuck is going on in here?!" Screamed Ms. Montez, storming into the room and unplugging the iHome. "I said nothing loud! And why the HELL is he in his underwear?" She screeched, pointing at Troy who was scrambling to get his clothes back on. Surprisingly, Gabriella stayed completely calm.
"We were playing truth or dare. Sorry for being loud." Said Gabriella dully, hoping she was coming off as uninterested as she played with her nails.
Ms. Montez pressed her lips together while slowly turning a crimson red. However, instead of bursting out in screams, she seemed to realize the friends were there. In a much calmer voice she said, "That's okay honey. Just make sure you guys keep your clothes on in the future." She gave an obviously (to Gabriella) forced laugh and exited the room.
"Your mom was actually pretty cool about it. My mom would have slit my throat." Taylor commented, turning to look at her friend. Gabriella shrugged.
"She's a pretty cool mom." She lied. Chad, who seemed to have lost interest in the situation, had returned to the computer. The room sat in silence for a few minutes before Chad spoke up.
"So… I have one. Gabriella, truth or dare." He said, still staring at the computer screen.
"Truth." Gabriella answered as Troy slipped on his shirt and returned to his seat beside her.
"What the hell is this?"
Dreading what she might find on the computer screen, Gabriella followed the others to the desk. She gulped as she recognized the piece of writing. "Oh that… it's nothing."
" 'In your eyes, I'm not the perfect child. I'm the failure. I'm the rebel.' How is that nothing?! Gabriella, care to tell me what is going on?" Chad said, almost angrily, as he twirled the seat to face a scared Gabriella. Eyes wide, she shook her head nervously and scoured her brain for an excuse.
"My cousin is having trouble with her parents, and she sent me that poem. That's all it is, I swear." Gabriella lied nervously. Chad watched her for a moment, obviously unconvinced, before sighing and nodding.
"If you say so…" He trailed off uncertainly. The entire gang, save Troy and Chad, nodded understandingly.
"Poor girl."
"That's too bad."
Gabriella nodded in agreement and decided in her mind to avoid Troy and Chad for the rest of the night. Troy looked at her questioningly, and she shrugged before strutting back into the center of the room, the girls in tow. "Who wants to play more truth or dare?"
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Gabi's POV
The cold night air whipped around me as I leaned on the balcony railing, my eyes closed. The stars were starting to come out and I had decided to come out and enjoy them while my friends played truth or dare inside. I shivered as another gust of cold wind hit me.
Suddenly, warmness washed over me as I felt a jacket come over my shoulders. Already knowing who it was, I kept my eyes closed and smiled up at the sky, as if in a silent thank you. I heard the creak of the bench as Troy sat down, and I decided to join him.
A comfortable silence settled over the both of us, and we just sat back, soaking in each others company and looking up at the stars.
"Was that poem really about your cousin's parents?" Asked Troy quietly after a few minutes. I bit my lip and leaned back on the bench, letting my back graze the olden wood. I contemplated whether or not to answer before finally answering.
"No." I whispered back.
I had never wanted the sympathy or pity of anyone, so I had never confided. But now, I was starting to realize that what I really needed, was someone to confide in. Just that fact alone was actually beginning to break down those walls I built so many years ago.
Troy looked at me, unsurprised. "Why?"
And as he said that, just that single word, I felt my walls crumble completely. I felt like a child again, scared and alone, just wanting to be embraced until my tears stopped.
"I don't know." I whimpered, my lip quivering, tears threatening to fall. I felt him wrap his arms around me and I quietly sobbed into his chest. My tears just kept coming, and there was nothing I could do to stop them. Thought swirled about in my head, thoughts of my mother and father. How nothing I did was right. How the fact they didn't have parents that loved them was my fault. Just that thought made me start to sob harder, and Troy held me tighter.
Maybe I had once felt like my world was crashing down around me, but now that I was in Troy's arms, maybe it would all be alright.
A/N: Hurray! Another chapter done! 10 reviews gets the next chapter. you know what to do.
