Chapter 6
Saturdays were without a doubt Chad's favorite day of the week. From sleeping in, to the all you can eat brunch at the cafeteria, to there being no classes, to the parties…Saturdays were hands down the days he looked forward to the most. Very few things could bring down his spirits on a Saturday. But as he stopped outside of his room early on Saturday night, with a bag of the best Mexican food in town in one hand and his drink in his other, the yelling from inside the room instantly tipped Chad off that his favorite day was about to lose some of its excitement.
Still though, Chad took his keys out of his pocket, unlocking the door and closing his eyes with a quick prayer that at the very least, his roommate's anger would not be taken out on him, before pushing open the door.
"NO! DAD YOU LISTEN!"
Chad quickly shoved the door closed, hoping no one else heard Troy's outburst as he yelled through the phone at his father. Taking quiet steps across the room, Chad made his way over to his desk, briefly wondering if maybe he should leave the room. Looking up at Troy and getting his attention, Chad pointed at himself before motioning to the door, silently asking Troy if he needed to leave, but took a seat when Troy waved him off and shook his head.
"Dad, like I said at the gym earlier, they won fairly. They didn't cheat. She made that shot and we both know it. It's just a game Da-,"
Chad winced as he heard Troy's dad's voice carry loudly over the phone as he yelled at Troy who was now holding the phone a few inches away from his head. Chad sent his roommate a small grin out of sympathy, sitting down at his desk and flipping open his laptop while he tried to refrain from eavesdropping too much.
"No Dad, I wasn't trying to make you look like an idiot-," Troy groaned as he was interrupted, flopping back on his bed. "Dad I'm sorry okay? But you were making an idiot out of yourself without my help."
Chad raised his eyebrows, wincing again as Jack's yelling could be heard loudly even though Troy was on the other side of the room.
It wasn't tough to tell that although Troy's impatience was growing; his Dad was not happy at all about Troy's last comment. "Yes I respect you, but I'm not going to just let you ream into me when I didn't do anything. You were making a fool out of yourself and our family! The holiday tournament is something I love to be a part of, but I don't want to be a part of it if that's the impression people are going to get of us. Look Dad, I don't want to talk about it anymore-," Troy sighed, being interrupted again. "Dad, I'm not going to listen to this. I'll see you Saturday."
Troy groaned, turning of his phone and slamming it down on the bed.
Chad slowly shut his laptop, debating whether or not to talk to Troy, before finally deciding he should say something, opting to just state the obvious. "That your dad?"
"Yeah, that was him." Troy pushed himself up off of his back, sitting on the edge of his bed. "Called just to let me know how disappointed he is with me."
"Why's he disappointed?"
"We lost the game today." Troy brought his hand up to rub his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "And, more importantly, I stepped between my Dad and Gabi's dad, which majorly pissed him off."
"Why'd you step between them?"
"He started saying crap about Gabi, and not only that, but he was making a fool of himself and our family in front of a lot of people." Troy stopped short of continuing as he saw a small smirk tug at Chad's lips. "What?"
"Stepping in to defend your girl huh?"
Troy quickly blinked his eyes. Chad was right, but he sure wasn't going to admit it. "What?"
"Oh don't act all innocent with me man. We both know you want her to be your girl."
The moment the words left Chad's mouth, a small grin seeped through his hardened exterior onto his face. He may still be pissed at his dad, but just the thought of things possibly going further with Gabriella almost completely wiped away his bad mood. Almost. "Yeah, maybe," Troy admitted with a soft chuckle. "Listen man, I'm going to go get some fresh air and cool off for awhile. I'll be back at some point later tonight."
"You want some food before you go?" Chad asked, pulling taco after taco out of his bag like it was some long lost bag belonging to Mary Poppins.
"You are going to share your food?" Troy's jaw dropped slightly while he raised his eyebrows curiously.
Chad quickly shook his head. "Oh, no no no. I just meant that we could go grab you something from the café. This right here is mine." Chad sent him a serious look, making sure to gather up his tacos and place them all within secure reach.
"That's what I thought." Troy just rolled his eyes at his friend who was already chowing down on a taco as Troy grabbed his keys and his sweatshirt as he took off for some much needed peace and quiet.
With her arms wrapped around her midsection to keep herself warm, Gabriella walked down the sidewalk of the quad from the library on her way back to her dorm. Her arms were filled with goosebumps and Gabriella found herself wishing she would have grabbed a sweatshirt before she'd left. Nearing the opposite end of the quad, her eyes focused on a figure laying flat on a bench. As she got closer, Gabriella felt her heart pick up once she recognized who was laying there.
An internal debate began to take place in her mind, one side of her very hesitant to go see him and the other side of her desperately wanting to go sit next to him. She hadn't seen Troy since they had played earlier that day, and due to all the commotion after the game between their families, she wasn't sure if Troy actually wanted to talk to her. Who knows what kind of arguments he had with his dad and brother after the game? He could be upset at her. But then again, Troy didn't seem like the type to get too upset at her over something trivial like losing a basketball game. Plus, he did defend her at the game.
Movement from the bench caught Gabriella's eye, and she watched as Troy placed his hands over his face and a grimace made its way onto his features. Her heart tugged, knowing something was bothering him. She couldn't just let him sit there. The part of her that desperately wanted to go talk to him was winning out.
With a nervousness in the pit of her stomach and a deep sigh, Gabriella pushed herself forwards, making her way towards the bench across the way. It wasn't until she was about ten feet away that Troy stirred as he heard the footsteps approaching, removing one hand off his face so he could see who was there.
"Hey." Troy quickly maneuvered himself so he was sitting up, his eyes looking up at Gabriella who was standing nervously in front of him wringing her fingers.
"Hi, do you mind if I sit down?"
"Not at all!" Troy said, quickly scooting over and picking up his sweatshirt that he'd been resting his head on.
"Thanks," Gabriella replied, taking a seat next to him and following his gaze out across the barely lit quad.
"You played great today," Troy spoke after a few moments of silence. "I don't know if I had a chance to tell you that earlier."
Gabriella blushed, grateful that it was dark and that her blush wasn't that noticeable. "Thank you Troy, so did you."
"Thanks." He said the words to express gratitude, but his voice lacked any type of positive emotion. Gabriella felt that he was distant at the moment, his mind probably plagued with thoughts of what happened earlier in the day. Just as she began to debate if maybe she should just politely excuse herself and leave him alone, Troy surprised her with a question. "So what brings you out to the quad on a Saturday night?"
"I was on my way back to the dorm from the library."
A small chuckle escaped as Troy grinned at her words. "The library huh? On a Saturday night?
"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" Gabriella asked, playfully narrowing her eyes.
"Montez, you are such a nerd sometimes."
"Hey!" Gabriella swatted his arm with her hand, her jaw hanging open in a shocked, but amused way. "I am not a nerd! Excuse me for staying on top of my assignments and studying."
"Yeah, but you were at the library on a SATURDAY night…kind of a nerd move," Troy laughed, before trying to duck away as Gabriella repeatedly smacked his arm and tried to reach up to smack his head, persistently telling him she was not a nerd. "Okay, okay, I surrender!" Troy raised his hands in the air, still laughing.
Gabriella relented, and pulled her hand back, her eyebrows raised skeptically. "You take it back?"
"Yes, yes, I take it back," Troy said through his laughter. "Forgive me?" Gabriella couldn't help but grin a little bit. Not only was she enjoying their teasing back and forth, but she was feeling relieved that Troy had opened up a bit and wasn't as deep in thought as before. She wasn't sure why she had grown so attached to Troy so quickly, but she had. She couldn't deny that their budding friendship meant a lot to her.
Deciding to tease him a bit more, Gabriella continued, "I don't know if I believe you. Say 'Gabriella is not a nerd and is the coolest person I know', and then I'll consider it."
Troy's eyes rolled in amusement, before he gave a dramatic sigh. "Gabriella is not a nerd," Troy repeated, struggling to keep a straight face.
"And?" Gabriella pushed.
His head shook amusedly as he continued, "And you are the coolest person I know."
"And my basketball skills are way better than yours."
"That wasn't in the original agreement!" Troy laughed in protest.
"What original agreement, Bolton? I said I'd consider forgiving you if you said that. You called me a nerd, and now you have to make up for it. I make the rules."
"Getting bossy there Montez?"
"Just say it!" Gabriella ordered, struggling to control her own laughter and keep a straight face. "I'm not getting any younger Bolton. Say my basketball skills are way better than yours."
"Okay," Troy said slowly with a sly grin, "My basketball skills are way better than yours."
"Ugh." Gabriella groaned, he had gotten her there. She wouldn't let him know, but she knew she'd opened herself right up for that. "Ha ha, funny. But that's not going to earn you my forgiveness anytime soon."
"Alright, alright. But only because you played one heck of a game today, and I don't want to be in your bad books for the next few days," Troy sighed with a small grin, admitting defeat. "Gabriella, your basketball skills are way better than mine."
"Why thank you Troy."
"Sometimes." Troy added, before ducking out of the way as her arm came over to smack him once more.
"You're hopeless," Gabriella pushed his shoulder, a wide smile spreading across her face while her eyes connected with his. A shiver ran through her, partly due to the cold weather, but mostly due to the way he was smiling at her.
Troy, being ever chivalrous, noticed and quickly picked up his sweatshirt. "Montez, what are you doing out here without a sweatshirt? Why didn't you tell me you were cold?"
"It wasn't this cold when I went to the library earlier today," Gabriella admitted.
Troy smirked, "I'll refrain from another nerd comment and instead just tell you to put this on before you get sick, alright?" Before she could protest, Troy took his hoodie and pulled it over her head, satisfied when she placed her arms in and pulled it on completely.
"Thanks," she said with a coy smile before she turned a bit more serious. "So what brings you out here on a Saturday night?"
Gabriella winced a bit seeing Troy's demeanor suddenly change, his expression turning once again very burdened and contemplative. She watched as Troy tried to force a small grin, but noticed the lack of sincerity in it. She really was curious now as to what was on his mind, and she wanted to help him if possible. But, she also didn't want to push him. Sure they were friends, but she didn't know if he was comfortable enough in their friendship to share what was really going on. After all they'd only been friends for a short time after a long history of being essentially enemies.
"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it," Gabriella added quickly, deciding she wanted to let him know he didn't have to tell her.
"No, no, it's fine," Troy breathed out, running his hand over his face and turning to face her a little more. "After the game today, my dad was pretty pissed, as you probably knew already from what you saw at the game."
"Yeah Troy, I'm sorry about that-," Gabriella interrupted, only to stop when Troy placed his hand on her arm.
"Gabi, don't apologize. It wasn't your fault one bit. My dad was being a complete idiot and made our whole family look like fools. I still can't believe he yelled and said what he did about you, and that he scared Ethan. And I told him all of that. I let him know how stupid he was being, and pretty much all day he's been calling to yell at me and let me know just how much he's disappointed in me defending you today. He's being a complete jerk, and really, I'm the one who should be apologizing, for my family, how they acted today. I'm sorry my dad said that stuff about you and your family," Troy confessed, ducking his head when he finished, not being able to look her in the eye.
Not only had his conversations with his dad been wearing on him the past few hours since the game ended, but he was also worried about what it all meant for his friendship with Gabriella. He knew he didn't want to lose her from his life, especially now when they were just starting to get close. But he also understood that with all the tension between their families that had played out that day, she may just want to stop before things got worse.
Gabriella felt a pang in her chest at his words and at the reaction he had after. Sometimes she wondered how he was so different than his dad and brother. In her mind, he had no reason to apologize either.
"Troy." He looked up as he felt her soft hand run down his forearm and rest on top of his hand. "You don't have to apologize either. What happened today…well, to be honest, I'm embarrassed about my family too. We knew it was going to happen though, and we both know that we can try all we want, but our families are stubborn. But listen," Gabriella paused as Troy looked up at her, taking a deep breath as she willed herself to finish what she was thinking, "I don't want all of this to cause a problem with your relationship with your family. So if you want to stop hanging out and just go back to how things were before, I understand."
Gabriella looked away when she uttered the last sentence, not being able to look into his blue eyes that were staring right back at her with such attention, cursing herself as her voice cracked when she had finished. Her breath caught in her throat though when she felt his hand grip hers and the fingers from his other hand tentatively grace her cheek and tilt her head back to face him.
Gabriella's heart began to race as Troy took a deep breath, his hand still placed on her cheek. "Now you listen Montez," Troy cracked a playful grin, "don't you worry about me and my family. I won't let my dad and brother ruin our friendship. Getting to know you this year has been great, and I often find myself regretting all the time wasted that we could have been friends. So you're not getting rid of me that easily. I'm just out here to clear my head and try to keep my dad from ruining my night. The thought of ending our friendship never crossed my mind, although I worried you might want to after today."
"Now you're the one being crazy Bolton," Gabriella teased, nudging his elbow with hers, both of them catching each other's eyes, their smiles widening.
"So how is Ethan? Is he okay after today?"
"He's fine. He just got a little scared with all the yelling, but after a few hugs and an afternoon of watching The Incredibles, he was just fine."
"The Incredibles, huh?" Troy couldn't help but chuckle.
"It's his favorite," Gabriella told him, feeling her heart race as an idea popped into her head. She wanted to spend more time with Troy, and she could tell that he was obviously drained from all the conversations he'd had that day with his dad. She paused and took a deep breath before continuing. "So did you have any plans for the rest of the night?"
"Besides sitting here and wallowing in my sorrow? Nope," Troy joked, earning a small laugh from her. "You?"
"No not really, I was just going to spend the evening watching TV or something."
"Sounds like we're both in for an exciting evening," a small grin tugged at Troy's lips at his own sarcastic comment.
With a slight shakiness in her voice, Gabriella asked what she'd been trying to build up the courage to ask for the past few moments. "Would you want to hang out maybe?"
Troy brought his fingers up to stroke his chin in a dramatic pause. "Hmm, hang out with a Montez, especially on an evening after they beat us in basketball? My dad would be furious."
"Oh," Gabriella closed her eyes and dropped her head, wishing she could just disappear for suggesting something so stupid.
"I'd love to." Troy grinned, watching her eyes flutter open.
"Um," Gabriella paused, her eyes connecting with his amused ones, still trying to figure out if she'd heard him correctly, "what did you say?"
Troy's smile just grew. He found her so adorable with her face all scrunched up. "I said I'd love to."
"Really?"
Troy nodded, unable to stop smiling when he saw her expression turn overjoyed. "Yeah, of course. What did you want to do?"
Willing her heart to stop racing, Gabriella quickly formulated what she wanted to say. "I have this place I go to when I want to get away and clear my head of whatever crap is going on in my life. And since you have had a pretty crappy day with your dad, I thought maybe you'd like to get away from school and everything for a few hours? If you don't want to, it's fine. We can do something else."
"No, that sounds perfect actually," Troy said honestly, grinning as he saw her look away to most likely hide her infamous blush. "Where is this place though?"
"Now that I cannot tell you until we get there. So, are you game?"
With a boost of confidence Troy stood up from the bench, reaching out his hand towards Gabriella and immediately interlacing their fingers the second she softly placed her hand in his, "Let's go."
Gabriella knew her cheeks were bright red as the two walked towards the dorm room to pick up her keys before heading to her car. It didn't matter though. His fingers were tightly wound through hers and that was all she could think about in that moment.
"Troy, come on!"
"No way! You didn't tell me this was where we were going!"
"Troy, stop being a wimp. You knew from the beginning that it was a surprise. Now come on, it won't be that bad."
"It won't be that bad! How do you know? They're going to kill me!"
"They won't kill you," Gabriella giggled. He was being stubborn, yet she found it adorable.
"Oh they will! I am a Bolton. This is not a good idea."
"Troy that doesn't matter-,"
"Yes it does! They are your dad's parents."
"Exactly! My dad's parents. They are not my dad," Gabriella sighed, walking over to where Troy was stubbornly standing by the locked car, unwilling to take any steps towards the house in front of him. "Troy, my grandparents think my dad is stupid for this rivalry. They always have. They aren't going to eat you alive or anything. I swear, you'll love them. Now stop being a wimp and come on!"
Gabriella raised her eyebrows and nodded towards the door, rolling her eyes as Troy seemed to still be a bit reluctant. Deciding she'd had enough, Gabriella stepped closer and gripped his wrist in hers, pulling a dragging Troy behind her towards the door. "I promise I'll stand in front of you if they try to kill you, okay?"
"That's reassuring," Troy muttered, still dragging his feet a bit.
"Stop being a baby," Gabriella giggled, letting her hand slide down to loosely grip his as the doorbell rang.
A sharp intake of breath could be heard from Troy as his eyes fixed on the window by the front door where someone had pulled back the curtains before disappearing again. His hand gripped hers a little more tightly when the door swung open to reveal a man a little taller than Troy with thin grey hair and glasses that had found a resting place on the tip of his nose.
"Gabriella!" The man cried out, immediately reaching out to wrap his arms around her, while she returned his hug with one arm as her other was still being held by Troy. "How's my favorite granddaughter?"
"I'm good Papa, how are you?" Gabriella asked, pulling back after kissing his cheek.
"Oh, same old, same old. Your grandma and I were just fixing dinner," he said, his eyes then shifting to the obviously nervous boy standing next to his granddaughter. His eyes trailed down to where their hands were joined and he did his best to hide a knowing smirk. "Gabi, would you like to tell me why you brought a Bolton to this house?"
If it wasn't for Gabriella's tightened grip on his hand, Troy would have booked it out of there. He thought she'd said that her grandparents didn't care about the rivalry, but he wasn't getting that vibe. "Papa, this is Troy."
"Mmhmm," the older man said a bit under his breath, still eyeing Troy. "Does your father know?"
"Nope."
"Good, come on in!" Gabriella giggled as her grandpa stepped aside, motioning for them to enter, and with a little tug, she dragged a still reluctant Troy into the house.
"You kids go on in and distract Grandma while I go check the score of the game."
"Alright Papa, but don't be too long. She'll get suspicious you know," Gabriella laughed, watching as he waved her off before escaping to the family room. After he rounded the corner, Gabriella turned her head to glance up at Troy only to find him giving her a pointed look. "What?"
"Gabi, you said it wouldn't be that bad!"
"It wasn't!"
"Did you see the look he gave me? Are you sure he's not in there calling your dad right now to come beat the crap out of me?"
"Oh please, he was just joking around to scare you. Obviously it worked. Now, let's go distract my Grandma, unless you're scared of seventy year old women too."
"Shut up Montez," Troy said, cracking his first smile since they had arrived at her grandparents' house, not releasing her hand as he followed her towards the kitchen.
"Grandma?" Gabriella called out, peeking her head around the corner.
"Gabi!" Troy smiled as the grey-haired woman with a floral-patterned apron set a plate on the counter and ran over to Gabriella, engulfing her in a huge hug and kissing her on the forehead, while Troy stood somewhat awkwardly behind them, releasing Gabriella's hand so she could properly hug her grandma. "I was wondering if you'd stop by tonight. Grandpa and I saw your game today…that was quite impressive. We are so proud of you!"
"Thanks Grandma," Gabriella replied, burying her face in her Grandma's shoulder to hide her slight blush while she accepted another hug.
The two pulled apart, and Gabriella smiled at Troy as her Grandma's eyes fixed on him. "Gabi, is this Troy Bolton?"
"Yes Grandma, I saw him at school and invited him to come up here with me. I hope you don't mind us crashing your dinner."
"Nonsense sweetie, although I'm sure your dad wouldn't feel the same."
"Which is why he doesn't know," Gabriella informed her with a sheepish grin and a little wink.
"Ah, gotcha. Well, that man is stubborn anyways and I'm sure that if you like Troy here enough to hang out with him, then he is nothing like how your dad depicts when he complains about his family," she explained before turning to Troy. "It's nice to meet you Troy."
"You too Mrs. Montez," Troy replied respectfully, holding out his hand to shake hers.
"Nonsense boy," she said, pushing his hand down and stepping forward to wrap him in a hug, "handshakes are for strangers, and you are not a stranger here."
"Thank you, Mrs. Montez."
"Of course hun. So, did you two eat yet?"
Gabriella looked at Troy who shook his head, before turning back to her grandma. "We haven't."
"Excellent! I'll set the table for two more then."
"Can we help you do anything Grandma?" Gabriella asked as the woman busied herself in the cupboards and drawers, grabbing more place settings.
"Oh no sweetie, I'm almost done here…which is the only reason your grandpa is getting away with sneaking out of helping me to go watch his game," she said, her voice raising to almost a yell with the latter part of her sentence, trying to get her husband's attention, but only being rewarded with the sound of the TV growing louder. Gabriella and Troy looked at each other and laughed at the two.
"Would it be okay then if we went outside for a bit then until dinner was ready?"
"Certainly dear! You kids go enjoy yourselves. I'll come get you when we're ready to eat."
Gabriella smiled gratefully before leading the way towards the back door, pausing as her grandma placed her hand on her forearm, watching as Troy continued towards the door.
"I like him Gabi. He's polite, and cute too!" the woman said quietly under her breath.
"Grandma!" Gabriella whispered with her cheeks reddening. "We're just friends!"
"Whatever you say, dear," the woman said unconvincingly, kissing the side of her granddaughter's head and watching while the two made their way outside, unable to hide her knowing grin.
"So, this is your spot, huh?" Troy said, breaking the silence. The two were seated on a swing set that was near the edge of her grandparents' backyard, overlooking the city lights below, the stars and moon above along with the lights from the house being the only things illuminating the backyard.
"Yep, this is it."
"It's great," Troy admitted, watching as Gabriella swayed slightly back and forth in her swing, in time with him. "You come here a lot?"
"I try to stop by whenever I can, usually one night on the weekend. This place is so peaceful, and plus I get to spend time with my grandparents. Grandma's cooking is the best!" Gabriella gushed.
"I bet it is, grandmas always make the best food."
"They do," Gabriella laughed.
"Your grandparents are really great," Troy said after a few quiet moments passed between them.
"Even my grandpa?"
"Aside from him finding amusement in scaring the crap out of me…yes, even your grandpa," Troy laughed, smiling as Gabriella joined in. "Thanks for inviting me and bringing me up here Gabriella," Troy spoke, his voice heavy with gratitude. "It's made my night so much better, and definitely helped to clear my head. It means a lot to me that you'd invite me and want to hang out with me after I was in such a down mood before."
Gabriella couldn't help but smile as Troy shared his thoughts with her, realizing just how thankful she was to have a friendship with Troy that was growing every day. "You're welcome Troy. And don't worry about earlier. I'd be in a down mood too, probably worse than you were. But Troy," Gabriella paused, debating whether or not she wanted to say what was on her mind. She decided to just throw caution to the wind and go for it though when his eyes connected with hers and encouraged her to go on. "I just want you to know that I'm here for you as a friend, whenever you need it. You can call me anytime, and we can just talk, or come up here and see my crazy grandparents." The two laughed at that, before the moment grew serious again. "Whatever and whenever, know I'm here, alright?"
Troy smiled, feeling like he was on Cloud Nine as he realized that their friendship meant so much to her, just like it did for him. Deciding that actions speak louder than words, Troy responded by removing one hand from his swing and reaching over to grab Gabriella's, immediately weaving his fingers tightly through hers and giving her hand a tight squeeze while the two continued to sway back and forth. His mind was finally clear from everything that happened earlier that day, the thoughts exchanged for ones of the girl sitting next to him, and the possibility of something more than friendship developing between them. And those thoughts brought a smile of contentment to his face.
AN: I am so so so sorry. Honestly, these last two quarters of school were tougher than I thought, and I just haven't had the time to write. I had this written for awhile but didn't want to post until I had gotten another chapter done and got going with this story again. I can't promise frequent updates, I have a lot going on right now. But, it is summer, so hopefully I will get this story going again. Thanks to all who are still reading and to everyone who gave me a nudge to update. Your support means a lot.