Chapter 4
Later that night, Gabriella, Sharpay, and several of their closest girlfriends gathered around pizza boxes and bottles of champagne. It was a tradition for the girls of Albuquerque University, to have a pre-partying session.
"So where are we going tonight?" Kelsi Nielsen, a petite brunette, asked. She was decked out in her clubbing outfit and was giddy to get the party started.
"I was thinking we go some place new?" Sharpay suggested.
"Yes, please," Gabriella immediately agreed. Anything to stay away from Troy Bolton, she thought. She was afraid that if she crossed paths with him again, there was a big chance she'd transform into a giggly sixth grader. He had been on her mind all day long, ever since their encounter at the park.
"What about Le Blanc?" Taylor McKessie put forward. She took a long sip of her champagne and shuddered. "I heard it was supposed to be good,"
"Le Blanc it is, then," Kelsi nodded excitedly.
Martha Cox, Taylor, Kelsi, Sharpay, and Gabriella strutted into Club Le Blanc, an all-white, darkened building. There were white sofas pushed up against the walls, with curtains that were easy to close for privacy. The dance floor was already raging with clubbers, dancing to the smooth beats of hip hop. The girls settled into an empty alcove and quickly ordered drinks, even though they were already buzzed from the champagne they had.
"I'm going to do a quick scan," Sharpay announced and grabbed Gabriella's hand to follow her. The two ladies quickly made their rounds, stopping at several tables their classmates had occupied.
"I thought you said no one we knew was going to be here," Gabriella said nervously, as her and Sharpay lingered around the bar.
"I said we'd try some place new. Chill out, Montez. You look like you're about to have a coronary," Sharpay laughed and took another sip of her whiskey and Coke.
"Shut up. Look, Troy Bolton is just…not someone I exactly want to run into again, alright? He's got this weird effect on me,"
"So drink some more and maybe that effect will be a good one," Sharpay joked and pushed Gabriella's drink closer to her.
"Whatever," Gabriella took a long sip of her vodka lime.
"Look. We did the rounds and saw no sign of Troy, alright? What's the big deal anyway? He's not that good-looking," Sharpay shrugged her shoulders. Gabriella stared at her, slack-jawed.
"Not good-looking?!" she cried. "Sharpay, he's a god. When was the last time you saw him?"
"Back in elementary school, like I told you," she replied simply.
"Shar, he's different. I can bet you anything. He grew up and he did it damn well," she said, sticking a finger in her new drink and tasting it, a signature move that she regularly did at clubs.
"Whatever. Oh, phone's ringing. I'll be back!" Sharpay pulled out her tiny pink cell phone, flipped it open, and walked away. Gabriella sighed. It was a typical night, her standing alone at the bar while her best friend flirted with every available guy in the club. Gabriella could never understand how Sharpay did it, managed to hook up with someone new every time they went out. She's ruthless, Gabriella thought. She took another sip of her drink and scanned the club again, looking for anybody she could possibly connect with, anybody to take her mind off of Troy Bolton. Her eyes fell on someone familiar, though she could only see their back. She sucked in her breath as he turned around. His eyes landed on hers and for a split second, Gabriella had trouble breathing. Her hands started to shake as he walked over to her and looked down at her. She looked up into his ocean eyes and gulped. The back of his hand lightly grazed her cheek as he bent down and whispered a small, "Hi," in her ear, before turning and walking away. Gabriella gripped the edge of the bar to steady herself. Fuck.
A/N: Okay, what do you think?! =) I realize that my chapters are really short, the reason for this is because I write these out in Microsoft Word first, then transfer them to FF. They always seem much longer on Word documents. =P Anyway, I think the next chapter should have some serious Troy and Gabriella action, but I kinda wanted to establish the fact that Troy's really getting under Gabriella's skin. Read and review, please and thanks! =)