No response came, so another attempt was made, this time her amazement shone through more succinctly.
"Are you…real?"
Gabriella's words seemed to echo around the room, bouncing of the cream walls before being absorbed into the night's darkness.
The wind had ceased and now only the reality remained: she was talking to a complete stranger who was sitting at the end of her bed as if it were completely normal to feel so unafraid.
Still, there was no reply which done nothing for her fiery temper, one which she had inherited from her father. She remembered him putting it into action all too vividly and so emulated his ways subconsciously. He was always on her mind, hiding somewhere in the back of her thoughts.
The figure in front of her was still gazing at her, finally reacting to her interrogation. His mouth seemed to form a knowing smirk and his sky blue eyes mirrored the action, alight with wisdom yet still portraying that certain sadness. A look that only added to his mystique and his charismatic aura.
"I suppose it depends on what you class as real?" he offered, completely aware of the fact that his words were laced with ambiguity and enjoying watching her try to discover their meaning.
Gabriella stopped her train of though immediately on hearing his voice. The deepness of it caught her of guard a little as did the velvety texture of his words and she remained in awe until she realised his intention to confuse her.
He wasn't going to reveal all immediately and so continued in much the same vein.
"I mean, yeah, I believe that I am really here…" he stopped to check out his surroundings, almost mockingly, before speaking again, an amused quality oozing from him.
"But am I here in the same sense as…" he never got the time to continue before she cut him short with her acid tongued reply;
"Fuck sake, just answer me god damn it!"
She was almost shouting at her maximum capacity before realising that 12.30 am was not an appropriate time to be doing so and subsequently flushed a pale pink colour, thankful that the darkness allowed her anonymity.
With a slight bite in his voice he gave her as close to a straight answer as she was going to get.
"As I've said, I am really here, right now, in your room."
His retort remained as cool and collected as hers was fiery; in fact his whole persona was the exact opposite of hers. Everything she hated in a man. Usually.
An almost unbearable tension followed, each looking the other directly in the eye, searching long and hard for that thing that would unlock the gates blocking proper communication. It would be evident to anyone that neither was a beginner at such a game and that both were used to being crowned victors.
Fire met ice as brown met blue, each a perfect compliment yet an antagonist to the other.
And then, for the first time in as long as she could remember, it was Gabriella who backed down first. Defeat did not sit well with her and it certainly did nothing to hide the deficiencies in her appearance. Her dried lips scowled further and her eyes narrowed causing all of her features to collapse inwards.
Gabriella Montez was most definitely not amused.
Never the less, somewhere, entrenched deeper in her than her anger, she couldn't help but place him in a godly light, there was just something about him that she couldn't quite express and even through his arrogance she could still see the enchanted glow around his muscular frame. She tried to shake the thought to remain true to her self. Once Gabriella disliked a person she placed a black mark against their name, not to be removed for all eternity. Usually.
It never occurred to her that perhaps he was exactly what she needed, someone who could be the exception.
Of course, he knew all of her character traits already. He had been watching her for a long time, carefully observing every little detail, studying every flaw, protecting her from danger. He knew her like no one else. Perhaps this was why he found it so amusing that she didn't have the slightest clue who, or for that matter what he was.
Raising an eyebrow to signify his knowledge of her surrender, he waited with amicable patience for a vocal confirmation and a waving of the white flag.
"Who are you?" Her voice was now softer and displayed and inquisitive tone more than anything else.
"Do you have a name?" she continued, pressing further.
"How did you get here?"
On hearing her own words her eyes widened at the thought and her voice noticeably went up a few octaves for her next question as she retreated back under her duvet, seeking security.
"Are you stalking me?" her voice was hurried and nervous and she struggled for breath. "Because if you are, my mums in the next room and I…I…"
He silenced her with and amused chuckle which lit up his perfect features in such a way that he looked almost angelic.
"Yes, I do have a name."
"Well what is it then?" she snapped back, frustrated at his unwillingness to divulge.
"Well you never asked what it was" he noted, almost playing with her, although on receiving her death glares attempted to keep a straight face.
"Troy. Troy Bolton."
He paused to think, raising a finger to his lips on her urge to continue and then mused on.
"How did I get here?…I was sent. Am I a stalker? Well, I guess you could say that, you know…if you wanted to be blunt about it."
Feeling slightly guilty on observing her eyes widen in fear once more he attempted to correct himself, producing a woefully lame sentence which was supposed to ease her anxieties.
"But eh…not the bad kind?"
"What other kind of stalkers do you get Troy? I mean…I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I have yet to encounter a friendly stalker!" Her voice was once again noticeably louder as she contemplated what he had just revealed while rolling his name over her tongue, somewhat liking the sound of it.
"Please, tell me…do you have many friendly stalker friends who also like to break into peoples houses?…maybe you all get together and have big friendly stalker parties where you discuss all of your friendly stalkerishness?…I would really love to know Troy, so please, continue!"
Gasping for air as she finished her rant Gabriella once again realised the volume of her voice and also noted that she was physically shaking, perhaps from fear or perhaps from withdrawals, chances being that it was a bit of both.
Daring to look him in the eye once more she was drawn in, the omnipotence of the blue colour possessed a quality last observed on sea sirens as they lured sailors towards the rocks.
Yet she was quickly awakened from her thought as another chuckle erupted from his mouth, exposing his pearly white teeth to her gaze.
"What!" she exclaimed as more of a statement than a question.
"Am I supposed to welcome you into my room with open arms? Is that how we treat stalkers now?…because I never got that memo Troy! Last time I checked stalkers were evil men who spy on you and try to kidnap you and…"
Her scoffing was abruptly stopped by the playful calmness of his voice. "I'm not some kind of evil stalker though".
"Well what the hell are you then?". Gabriella was at this point completely exasperated.
"A…friendly stalker?" He offered, trying to no avail to remain straight faced, deciding it was far more fun to be the all knowing party in such a situation.
Staring down at the petite and fragile looking girl in front of him he couldn't help but see the pain in her eyes, a pain he had witnessed develop from its seedling origin. He felt her pain too, it was an unspoken connection they had always shared but one which she had yet to discover.
She felt like screaming at the top of her voice but then realised that she was pretty much doing that already.
Suddenly the door to her bedroom swung open and the light blinded her momentarily as compared to the darkness she was currently resided in before her corneas evened out the intensity of the light. Stood in the narrow door way was Maria Montez, fresh from the domicile of her bed with light pink curlers still precisely and symmetrically pinned in her hair . Her lack of makeup only highlighted her scarred face and the bags which sat snugly under her sleepy brown eyes.
"What is going on in here?" came her mother's automatic, shrill tone.
Gabriella was half thankful for her arrival for obvious reasons yet partly disappointed. In fact she felt a certain resentment for the consequences that Maria's intervention would bring. This was not just for the reason that she wanted answers but more for the fact that she didn't really want to see the back of her stalker, friendly or otherwise.
"I'm waiting Gabriella Montez, what could possible merit such a ruckus at this time in the morning?" She scolded, attempting to assert her authority in the best way that she could, emphasizing every syllable.
Gabriella sat there, slightly taken a back by the fact that, in her haste to resolve whatever issue she thought was going on, her mother had failed to notice Troy sitting on the end of the bed. How could she not notice? Even if she didn't immediately see the aforementioned figure, his presence alone was a strong enough indication that he was there, his musty smell, the sound of his breathing occupying the silence, the certain glow that surrounded him.
"What is it?" She continued to probe, looking around the room for a trace of whatever was causing the problem.
Meanwhile, Troy continued to look in Gabriella's direction, not even flinching at Maria's intrusion, somewhat caught up in the girl before him, her appearance was far from pristine but she had an unmistakeable quality that attracted him to her.
Nodding to the spot where Troy sat Gabriella watched as her mothers face followed her line of vision and stared in disbelief at the sight before her.
It seemed as though Maria didn't know what to say as a heavy silence weighed down on the air pressure.
"I…I…Gabby?" She seemed completely shaken and unsure as she spoke before she sighed agonisingly, pain evident on her face.
"Gabriella…for gods sake when will you wake up from this life you've been leading little girl?" she cried, desperation dripping from every word, like her heart had been torn to shreds. What was left of it anyway.
"Mom? Don't you see…" Gabriella asked, confused, searching her mothers face for an answer or explanation.
"No, don't you see Gabby!" tears openly flooding down her face.
"Fuck! We only have one life, its gods gift to us and yet you don't even want to know?…I can't be with you now…can't you see none of us can go through this again Gabriella…We cant watch it!" She was now the one screaming.
Completely broken down and steadying her weight on her daughters dressing table Maria, taking a definitive gulp of air, wiping her face of all remains of her anguish and standing up straight regained her control and composure, if only until she was out of sight.
"You're killing me here." And with that final pleading look she exited before returning to her own room to cry.
Sitting there, Gabriella Montez shivered from isolation rather than the temperature. Turning to face Troy once again she looked straight at him and he looked straight back at her.
"Why can't she see you?" she pleaded, her fire was now no more than smouldering ashes.
"Why can't she see you Troy?"
"WHY CAN'T SHE SEE YOU!" Her scratched voice escalated to dangerous levels, etched with frustration as she clutched the edges of the duvet cover, shaking violently. Something within her told her she already knew the answer.
He looked at her, and deciding it was time for her to know the truth nodded to confirm her suspicions.
The coolness of the air filled the dark room where they both sat, neither daring to speak first because to break the tension would surely only cause more.
Troy Bolton remained rooted to his spot by the end of the bed, aware of the struggles that they would face as he stole glances of the Latina girl before him, her dark hair shading her eyes from the world before her. He was the only one who fully understood, her only hope of salvation.
Gabriella Montez remained rooted to her spot, hidden under the mass of fabric covers and for once her sole attention was not focused on her addiction.
Ghosts? Spirits? Supernatural beings? She was never one to even dream of such things let alone champion their existence.
Usually.
AN: I would just like to thank everyone again for reading and reviewing! I hope you are all enjoying it so far! so this chapter should clear things up a bit, hopefully it shows where i want to go with this and i hope you will all continue to read :) To summarise it is basically going to be about two people who forge a relationship under impossible circumstances, where everything seems to be against them.
You may have also noticed but i do have a passion for adjectives so trying dialogue was a new thing for me, i hope it wasn't too bad :)
Let me know what you think of this one, like it? hate it? confused? lol Thanks xxxx