le maniera l'amo
Chapter Six
Disclaimer: All characters affiliated with the High School Musical franchise are not mine. Original character and plots are.I'm
So the delay was NOT as long this time!! Yes, the chapter is a bit short but I'm actually quite proud of the final scene-you'll see. I think my writing stayed in character, but I'm not the judge here. Let me know!!!!
Chapter Six
Julie shifted, the phone pressed between her shoulder and ear, as she attempted to find a comfortable position on her bed, the phone cord tangling around the bedside rail. The phone reminded Julie of something out of the 50's or 60's; white, with a long cord, plastic. Its position on her bedside table, adjacent to her bed, made it hard to lay back and talk without risking strangulation.
"Um, hey Gab," Julie greeted tentatively, biting her lip. She looked up into the camera angled at her bed and stuck out her tongue, resisting the urge to flash another, more inappropriate gesture. "Are you back at Troy's dorm yet?"
"Yeah, why?" came the reply. Gabriella sounded pleasantly surprised to hear her asking for her brother. "We were going to call after dinner, like we usually do, since I know no one is visiting tonight."
"You were here earlier; it's not a big deal," Julie said dismissively. "But I can wait, if you guys are heading out to the cafeteria or something…"
"No, no, it's fine! I'm just surprised to hear from you, that's all," Gabriella explained.
"Yeah, I'm surprised I even made the call," Julie admitted. "Shocking all around, then."
"Well, Troy just got out of the shower. He's right here if you want him."
Julie was grateful Gabriella was giving her a choice; talking to her brother without 'supervision' tended to result in a wildfire of verbal abuse. She knew it would be easy to just say goodbye and wait for their call later, avoiding the vocal encounter all together, but something that had been on her mind ever since Gabriella had departed and she needed to address it with her brother.
"Um, can you put him on?" Julie asked, taking a deep breath as she heard the phone being passed from Gabriella to her brother.
"Julie?" She knew from his tone that he was flat-out in awe that she had willingly requested to talk to him, and then was an edge to his voice that sent a warning of a guard being put up; his experience from therapy sessions was serving him well.
"Hey, Troy," she said softly. "I, uh, guess you heard Gab came up to see my earlier?"
"I did, yeah. She said you were feeling better," Troy replied, keeping the conversation civil.
"I finally slept through the night," Julie shared. "The night sweats are awful, though. It scares me a bit, I won't lie."
Standing in the center of his dorm room, Troy nearly dropped his towel, his eyes opening wide in shock. Gabriella dropped her book and stood up quickly from her spot on the bed, coming to Troy's side.
"What?" she mouthed, Troy shaking his head, indicating to the phone that he would tell her after.
"Um, I guess they'll go away," Troy offered lamely, unsure of how to answer. This was the most Julie had ever shared with him alone, no telling Gabriella and just having him listen in, or Kristen, prodding her to share. Not only had she told him something occurring in the ward, she had even expressed her fear, something Julie had worked to hide, it seemed.
"I hope. " Julie's voice sounded small and faint; the conversation clearly wasn't easy for her. "And Mom and Dad aren't coming this weekend, so they can't request to have my anxiety medicine dose made higher."
"Is that something I could ask?" Troy wondered. "If it'll make you more comfortable, I'll talk to Kristen when I'm up there again."
"You're not my legal medical proxy,' Julie informed him somberly. "Even if you are over eighteen."
"I'll talk to Mom and Dad and have them call up, okay?" Troy promised. "If you really feel that crappy, they should give you something. Aren't you suppose to be able to talk to your doctor if you feel like you need a higher dose of something?"
"I had that privilege revoked," Julie explained. "I was being too stubborn or something, so Mom and Dad have control now."
"I'll give them a call," Troy repeated. "You don't mind them not coming?"
"I didn't want to see them anyway," Julie said. "Meetings with Kristen are pain in the ass enough with them there."
"Still pissed at them, then?"
Julie snorted. "Hell, yes."
"Jimmy's coming up," Troy added, "so group should be pretty full."
"Kristen's going to literally orgasm over that," Julie moaned. "And you people are all going to gang up on me again."
"We didn't gang up on you," Troy said flatly. "We were pointing out that your sick and totally screwed psychologically. Not my problem if you don't believe me."
"Because I'm not 'screwed," Julie retorted. "And I hate it when Kristen acts like I'm a basket case, because I'm not. Our family's messed up; so what? A lot of people's are and they're not in therapy!"
"I'm not doing this now. I'll see you Saturday." Troy handed the phone back to Gabriella and ran a hand through his wet hair, a nervous habit. He dressed as Gabriella finished off the call to Julie, feeling her arms circle his waist, seeing the phone placed back on his nightstand.
"Are you okay?" she asked softly as Troy turned and pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on the crown of her head, Gabriella's face pressed into his chest.
"Fine," Troy sighed. "I'm guessing she gave you the thirty second summary."
Gabriella nodded and looked up at him.
"Two steps forward, one step back," she quoted, rubbing his shoulder. He sighed, frustrated, and ran a hand through his wet hair.
"I wish stepping back weren't even an option," Troy complained. Gabriella ran her own hand through his hair and laced her fingers through his. Troy closed his eyes, shuddering at her touch.
"I know we said no emotional sex," Gabriella murmured, coming closer, pressing herself up against his bare chest. Her hands slid down his still slick chest, coming to rest at his waistline, toying with the frayed cotton edge of the towel wrapped around his waist. "But if you really want to make an exception, I'm willing..."
Troy had already pulled her onto the bed.
xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
Scenery flashed by in blurs of color and shape as Sharpay drove her ostentatious pink Mustang through state after state, en route to California. CDs were listened through numerous times, Jimmy changing them after the forth cycle around. The dashboard clocked changed hour after hour, the outside changing color in accordance, going from the bright yellow of late afternoon, fading to twilight, deepening to inky black as the night took hold.
Sharpay kept her eyes on the road, subconsciously pressing the volume button loudly, giving little thought to the sleeping boy next to her as the CD of show tunes growing in sound, her mind focusing on the familiar words that were permanently ingrained into her memory, numbing her mind from drifting to think other thoughts she didn't want to focus on.
Jimmy stirred as her arm brushed his when she reached down for her coffee cup, brushing aside two empty cardboard containers as she did so, taking a sip of the now lukewarm liquid, wincing as the bitter taste slid down her throat.
"Cheap gas station crap," she mumbled, setting it back down in the cup holder, gripping the steering wheel tightly as yet another sign pointed the way toward Los Angeles, indicating the amount of miles yet to go.
Jimmy stirred again and emitted a groan as he awake, yawning loudly, causing Sharpay to glance down at him, rolling her eyes. Typical teenage boy.
"What time is it?" Jimmy asked, his voice raspy from sleep, glancing out the window, unable to see anything due to the dark of night.
"2:36," Sharpay told him with a glance at the dashboard. "We're somewhere in Arizona, probably crossing over into California within the hour."
"And from there how long?"
Sharpay shrugged.
"Six hours, tops," she replied. "Or that's what I'm hoping for. Lord knows with the screwy directions Troy sent me."
"I could drive if you get tired," Jimmy offered.
Sharpay snorted.
"The day I let you drive my 1K car is the day Tiara Gold wins the Oscar," she snipped.
"There's the bitchy Sharpay I know and love," Jimmy teased, punching her lightly in the shoulder. "And did you say 1K?"
"My father does own a country club," Sharpay reminded. "But that's not the point. What do you mean I'm 'back to the bitch you know and love?'"
"You were being all weird and sweet the other day," Jimmy explained. Sharpay turned to look at him and even in the dim light, Jimmy could see her skeptical look.
"Okay, so 'sweet' isn't the word," he amended. "But the way you acted with Dion and me was so not you. I mean, five months ago you literally ran away from me."
"People change," was all Sharpay offered in way of response. "Sometimes there is more to life than theatre, Jimmy."
"Whoa, what Kool-Aid are you drinking?" Jimmy asked. "Something's more important than the glitter and leotards?"
"Why is it that all you lunkheads automatically associate theatre with leotards?" Sharpay questioned, thinking of the time someone had told her Troy was worried he'd have to wear a leotard in Twinkle Towne, per Chad Danforth's word; she had tried her hardest to make it a reality. "Something in your Kool-Aid?"
"Okay, cut it with the drink jokes," Jimmy said, holding up a hand. "I have to pee and I know you're not going to stop."
"You're damn right about that," Sharpay said. "If I stop, I'll crash and you will not touch the wheel."
"Wasn't going to," Jimmy assured. "I don't want to reach California; I'll just turn the car around and head back home."
The mood of the conversation shifted from playful and teasing to serious as Sharpay asked in a quiet voice, "Why are you so scared about seeing Julie? You've been up here before."
"Yeah, and every time I do she just looks worse, acts bitchier, and I don't know what to do!" Jimmy voice rose in volume as his statement progressed. "I'm doing what I can, but she won't work, won't try. It's killing me!"
Sharpay tightened her grip on the wheel before replying, "I know it's hard right now and everything seems completely screwed, almost to a point of being unfixable. But you need to be patient and supportive-if this is hard for you, it's nearly ten times as hard a fight for Julie. These things take time and, since Julie's relationship with her family isn't where it should be, you have to step in and be there for her."
Jimmy nodded slowly, letting Sharpay's words slowly take on meaning, not daring to retort with a witty comment about "how brunette she sounded," for her words did make sense and sounded as if they were coming from experience, for Jimmy was sure that the finer points of learning to cope with having a someone close deal with an eating disorder didn't come from a book and if it did, Sharpay probably hadn't read it.
"These things take time," Sharpay repeated quietly again to herself, biting her lip, a habit she resorted to only in times of extreme stress.
"It's like what my mom told me, after my dad died," Jimmy said after a few moments of silence.
"What would that be?" Sharpay asked, hiding the surprise upon hearing Jimmy was living with a single parent.
"She told me, "Time heals all wounds Jimmy" and maybe it'll be true in Jules' case," he mused. "I hope so."
"'Time heals all wounds,'" Sharpay parroted. "I certainly hope so, for your sake and mine."
"Why your sake?"
"Let's just say that I will not be the Bolton's favorite person for quite some time after this little rendezvous," Sharpay said, turning up the radio. "God help the outcasts."
If anyone can tell me what the final line is a reference to, you'll be quite the amazing person if I do say so myself.
The trailer for the new Vanessa Hudgens movie 'Bandslam,' is out, and I totally recomend checking it out!! Along with the trailer, visit for the latest Z and V scoop. I love that site and it is my dream to have this voted as the Fan Fic of the Week on there!! This, or Thank the Star, but probably this, as it is heavier and I love the character writing I have been doing.
Hearts to you all!!! Happy St. Paddy's Day if I don't post before then!
-youMEANeveything14
P.S. Check out my new avatar. It's a combo of all three of my fave couples here on fanfic!! So proud of it.