Playing With Fire
Summary: One night drastically alters the course of senior year. Now, graduation is the last thing on their minds as the gang are faced with problems that none of them could imagine, putting their relationships, their futures and even their lives at risk.
Pairings: Chaylor, Troyella.
Warnings: Possible mild language, violence, mentions of adult themes.
5. Arguments and Agony
"I dunno, guys…" Troy sighed distractedly. "This just isn't like him." He turned his fork over in his hand before returning it to the tray in front of him and casting a wary glance at his surroundings.
Gabriella drew her attention away from her salad quite reluctantly, having heard Troy say something similar mere minutes before. She raised a questioning eyebrow and directed it at her seemingly agitated boyfriend. "What, you mean Chad?" She asked, though quite indifferent. When Troy nodded absent-mindedly, she added as if it were obvious; "He's late every day."
"Yeah, but never this late." Troy responded.
It was lunchtime, Tuesday, and no-one had seen or heard from Chad since the day before. It wasn't unusual for him to arrive long after school had begun but it was strange for him to miss his favourite part of the day; lunch. His absence seemed not to faze Gabriella or Taylor, but Troy couldn't shake this feeling of dread. The worry he felt must have been obvious because Taylor caught one look at him and rolled her eyes.
"Ugh, stop being so dramatic." She scoffed unsympathetically. "He probably got lost on his way to school or something." She joked half-heartedly then muttered. "I wouldn't be surprised." Her mouth showed a smile but her tone was bitter. She couldn't help it. She could either detest her ex-boyfriend or pine after him every second of every day. Hating him was just so much easier.
But her subtle resentment didn't go unnoticed. Gabriella looked at her best-friend, almost seeing a different person. The usual bright, chirpiness and witty sarcasm that Taylor brought to any situation was gone. In its place was a down-trodden and sullen temperament. With that and Taylor's behaviour yesterday, Gabriella knew something was going on. And she had a possible- but utterly ridiculous- idea of what it might be.
"Is everything alright Taylor?" She asked suddenly, unable to stop herself. It wasn't just curiosity. In fact, it was mostly concern. And, in a way, she felt hurt. Because her best-friend clearly didn't trust her enough to confide in her. Taylor even looked shocked by the harmless question and Gabriella was forced to continue. "It's just, you haven't touched your lunch."
Relaxing slightly, Taylor shrugged. "I'm not hungry." She said bluntly.
Gabriella felt another pang of betrayal. There was obviously something wrong. And Taylor must have known that Gabriella was on to her. So why did she feel the need to lie about it?
"And yesterday—?" Gabriella decided to press the matter but an increasingly frustrated Taylor was having none of it.
"It's fine." She said. She raised her hands as if in surrender. "I'm fine."
But she wasn't. Her heart was racing. Gabriella couldn't know. Could she?
Gabriella did not plan on letting the subject go without a fight. If she could just get Taylor to admit it… "But--."
"I said I'm fine!" Taylor snapped. She realised that her raised voice had attracted the attention of the nearby students and bowed her head with embarrassment. "Just drop it." She muttered in a low voice, her gaze fixed on her lap.
It seemed Gabriella had more to say but she did not get the chance. Taylor got to her feet and, without looking at either of her friends, headed for the cafeteria doors. Troy and Gabriella watched her leave.
"What was that about?" Troy asked once Taylor was gone. He'd stayed out of the girls' heated discussion for no other reason than his fear of getting his head bitten off by either one of them. Now that Taylor was gone, Gabriella still seemed quite annoyed, but the multitude of unanswered questions that surrounded what had just happened were stimulating enough for Troy to take the risk.
That risk almost paid-off too. Gabriella's shoulders loosened a bit and she opened her mouth to answer. But before she could get a word out, her cell-phone began to vibrate in her pocket.
"Hold on." She told Troy, pulling the device out and holding it up to answer. She almost accepted the call, but then she caught a glimpse of the caller ID and her heart sank. There on the screen, flashing in bold letters, was one name. Asher. She should have known.
Gabriella's thumb relocated to the red button at the base of her phone and she pressed it hard to reject the call. But no sooner had she done so than it started to vibrate again. She faced facts that the easiest way to deal with this situation was to face it, not to try to avoid it. So she turned back to Troy, gave him a quick peck on the cheek and stood up from the table.
"I've gotta go." She said, leaving him no time to ask questions before she hurried out into the corridor. With a feeling of dread, she pressed the green button to accept the call and brought her phone to her ear. "I told you to stop calling me." Was her frank greeting. No time for pleasantries. She'd lost patience a long time ago.
It had started last night. A couple of seconds after she'd sent that text to Asher, she realised that he now had her phone number. It was too late for regrets. Within that minute, he'd texted back. Out of politeness, she'd continued the messaging conversation with him, sending short texts back and forth, but eventually she'd had enough. It just didn't feel right. An hour after his last message, when Gabriella failed to reply, Asher started to call. Gabriella was gentle with him but made it clear that she did not want to talk. He didn't seem to understand. In the end she had to turn her phone off altogether. She'd hoped that he would have gotten the hint by now.
Apparently not.
Asher's stunned silence gave way to his somewhat cocky voice. "I know," He said, sounding relaxed. "But I thought you could sleep on it."
"No, Asher." Usually passive Gabriella felt like slamming her fist into one of the lockers she currently leaned on. It was like talking to a brick wall. "That's it. I'm sorry." She said harshly. "I don't know how else I can say this…." And she had to pause to think of the gentlest way of putting it. "I've tried to be nice but I just don't want to talk to you."
"So then why did you text me?" Came Asher's instant reply. He sounded agitated and Gabriella could imagine his disapproving frown. "Why do you keep changing your mind? You're playing with me." He bit accusingly.
The unpleasantness in his voice frightened Gabriella. "I'm not." She defended herself, though her voice sounded smaller than usual. She cleared her throat and straightened her back and told herself to pull herself together. "I'm saying this loud and clear." She told him. "I don't want you. Leave me alone."
That should have been it. It should have ended there and then. But Asher had more to say.
"You liar!" He shouted so loud that Gabriella had to hold the phone away from her ear. "You want me. You told me you wanted me." His voice was breathy now. Disgusting and slimy. Though it didn't compare to the resentment that followed. "You kissed me." He snarled. "You lying whore!"
Gabriella couldn't take any more. She didn't think twice before ending the call. But, though he was gone, Asher's voice still echoed in her head. And, with it, lingered a feeling of trepidation and fear.
Meanwhile, Taylor had sought solace in a solitary walk around the school. She wandered the buzzing corridors, numb to her surroundings as if she was in a bubble. Nothing touched her. No-one bothered her. She was left alone with her thoughts.
There was a lot to think about. She'd spurned Gabriella so harshly, and though it was only a matter of minutes ago, she already regretted it. But she would do anything to protect her secret, even if that meant pushing away the people closest to her. At the same time, she yearned for someone she could talk to. If she could only sit down with someone and explain her feelings, maybe she'd be able to get a better grip on the situation. Maybe…
But telling the truth wasn't an option.
Pain. Sudden but extreme. A stabbing pain in her stomach. Taylor had to stop walking, just to stop herself from collapsing altogether from shock. It knocked the breath right out of her. And it didn't stop. She clutched her stomach with both arms, her knees shuddering beneath her. A searing agony pierced through her core.
Fear. Confusion and dismay. What was happening? Why was she in so much—pain!
Another jolt of it. And her legs almost buckled completely. She reached out weakly with both hands for a wall, a locker, anything to hold onto. She could feel herself falling.
But then, hands. Warm, firm, familiar. They held her at the waist. They kept her upright. Their touch spread through her like water, extinguishing the fire or agony that had torn through her. It was gradual, but eventually, she found she could breathe again. At last, her body no longer ached.
Her head had hung loosely to face the ground, but now she summoned the strength to look up and meet his worried eyes. Dark, loving eyes, full or alarm and question. He held her gaze- just as he held her waist- with a strength that was both commanding and gentle at the same time.
Chad. Her Chad.
A non-stop torrent of students swirled past them, oblivious to the deathly still couple. Chad and Taylor simply stared at each other for what felt like hours. Neither of them wanted to part. They'd been separate for just over three days. It already felt like an excruciating lifetime.
It was obvious- and they both knew- that they wanted to be together. But things were complicated. For starters, they were both too stubborn. Plus, Taylor didn't want to drag Chad into all the baby drama. She didn't even know what she was going to do yet and he was too immature to deal with such huge news. Chad would give anything to be back with the only girl he'd ever loved, but then he'd remember that all those problems that they'd broken up for would still be there. They'd always be there. And after the initial bliss of back-togetherness, all those woes would resurface.
They could never be what they were.
"Are you okay?" Chad finally disrupted their silence. His question was sincere but he allowed his hands to fall from Taylor's waist and return to his sides.
Devastated that the tender moment was over, for a while Taylor could only nod. "Yeah, I-…" She spoke at last, but had to stop herself at the risk of saying too much. She nodded politely. "Thanks."
Chad returned the nod. His eyes were screaming with unspoken words and it seemed almost as if it tortured him to turn away, but he ultimately brought himself to do it. He walked slowly in the direction he'd come but cast a final look over his shoulder. Taylor wasn't looking at him. She seemed to be trying to recompose herself. Chad started to wonder why she'd been so frail in the first place…
… His ponderings continued throughout the rest of the day and Chad found that he just couldn't get Taylor off his mind. It didn't help matters that, having arrived at the end of lunch, he'd missed his only chance to see Troy before basketball practice at the end of the day as they were in different classes. The lack of his best-friend made it even more difficult to find a distraction and Chad was more relieved than ever when the final bell rang and school ended.
Troy was already in the changing rooms, already in his kit, lacing up his shoes when Chad arrived. He looked up from his sneakers and greeted his friend with a pleased smile.
"Dude," He said, getting to his feet and slamming his locker shut. "Where've you been?"
Chad grinned devilishly. He was already appreciating the benefits of Troy's company. "I had a late night." He said vaguely.
As expected, Troy was intrigued. "What, homework?" He asked with a disbelieving frown.
"When have I ever done homework?" Chad joked as he finished putting on his basketball uniform. He led the way to the gym and Troy followed, continuing to guess from behind him.
"You're not still trying to get to level 39 on 'Mutant Zombie Space Invaders', are you?" He asked. The tone of scoffing certainty in his voice made it obvious that he thought this was the correct answer. Chad could imagine his smug and superior smirk.
"I swear that game is impossible!" He replied as they reached centre-court. Most of their team mates were already there and they instinctively started their usual warm-up. "But, no," Chad continued. He tossed a ball to Troy. "That's not why I was up all night."
Troy caught the ball and sent it back with more force behind it than was necessary. "Come on, dude!" He pleaded impatiently. "Are you gonna tell me or…?" The suspense Chad was building was becoming annoyingly unbearable. Troy had never been an overly-curious person but it was so rare for Chad to be keeping something from him that he almost felt as if he'd been ignored by his best-friend or forgotten.
"Okay," Chad sighed with a playful grin. "You remember that guy, Damon?"
The basketball hit Troy in the chest as he failed to catch it. Chad's divulgence had sent his thoughts elsewhere. "Tell me you didn't…" He responded, hoping this was some kind of joke.
When Chad nodded, Troy's heart sank with disappointment. He didn't like this. He didn't like it at all. It seemed dangerous and so… not-Chad. But things were changing. He could feel it. Things were not how they were supposed to be. And he felt powerless to stop it all.
"Chad," He said firmly. "I'm not sure if it's such a great idea to hang out with him."
But Chad just shrugged and his care-free smile remained. "Calm down, man." He said dismissively. "It was a one time thing." His statement wasn't one bit reassuring. And what followed only added further concern. "But, I've gotta say, that's the most fun I've had in a long time."
Their discussion continued throughout basketball practice as Chad described his night in detail and Troy tried to reason with him. Eventually they agreed to disagree but Chad reluctantly promised to never go out with Damon again. As their training session ended, a triumphant but still doubtful Troy wanted to continue his dissuasion but instead was greeted by the less-than-impressed, bellowing voice of his father. He knew at once that they were in trouble.
"Bolton! Danforth!" They both turned from where they stood to find Coach Bolton standing on the far end of the court with his hands on his hips. "Quit your chit-chat. I've had it with you two slacking." Troy and Chad looked at each other, then back at Bolton. "I want you both running laps."
Chad's mouth fell so far open that his jaw almost hit the ground. "What?" He gasped sharply. There were a few amused chuckles from their surrounding team-mates.
"But coach," Troy said. "Practice is over."
They were worn-out, drenched in their own sweat after one of their most strenuous training sessions yet. There was no way they could handle any more exercise. The rest of the team was almost finished trailing out of the gym when a passing Zeke gave Troy a sympathetic but amused pat on the shoulder.
"I said laps!" Coach snapped. "Now!" There was a commanding fury in his eyes that made his ridiculous demand seem a lot more do-able. Troy and Chad realised that they had no choice and, ignoring their aching bodies, began to jog lightly around the court.
"Unbelievable…" Troy muttered, shaking his head. His comment was quiet, but not quite inaudible, and his father's sharp ears picked up on it.
"What was that?" Called Jack from the centre of the gym. He looked severely unimpressed and Troy just knew that he'd gotten himself into more trouble.
He couldn't say it bothered him though. Recently, he was starting to enjoy annoying his dad. It wasn't as if the man didn't deserve it. Troy's loss of respect was completely called-for. "I said that this is unbelievable." He repeated defiantly.
Chad, jogging beside him, gave Troy a fleeting look of surprise. Coach Bolton's reaction was a little more extreme. His entire face went an unnatural shade of red and sweat could be seen breaking out on his brow. His eyes were frighteningly dark. He looked as though he would explode at any moment.
But then he stopped. Gulped. And through gritted teeth, spoke in the most controlled voice he could muster. "Right," He said bluntly. "Danforth, you can go."
The look on Chad's face made it clear that he wasn't keen on leaving his best friend. The look on Bolton's face made it clear that there was no choice in the matter. With one last remorseful glance at Troy, Chad hastened his jog to a sprint and headed out the door.
"What about me?" Troy could now barely get his words out between heaving breaths. His chest was burning and his legs felt like jelly. There was a coppery taste at the back of his mouth and his lungs wheezed and shuddered with each gasping inhale.
"You keep running."
His feet were going on auto-pilot but that didn't block out the throbbing pain that each step caused. "But I can't." He admitted with desperation.
Jack simply watched. "You will," He said, putting his hands on his hips. "Or I'm taking away your role as captain."
"But dad-." Troy begged.
The calm façade that Jack had maintained for only a moment disappeared. "Do it!" He yelled.
So he did. He ran. Around and around. Until he could run no more. Until every joint in his body creaked and every fibre of instinct within him screamed at him to stop. At long last, his body just gave up on him. First, the room started to spin. Then, he was distantly aware of the fact that his feet were stumbling over each other. Then, suddenly, all he could see was the ceiling.
At least it was rest, he thought.
His father's face came into view, leaning over him and peering down with a look of pure hatred. "If you keep giving me attitude," He growled, his voice sounding far away and swimming in and out of Troy's ears. "And if you say anything to your mother…" He paused to look around the gym, then turned his attention back to his winded son. "This will continue."
A/N: Well as you can guess from the time it's taken me to update, the metaphorical fire I've been playing with has not been sorted out. It's only gotten worse. I'm really sorry once again for the delay.
Lil' bit of Chaylor in there 'cos you know I can't handle keeping those two apart, Troy's dad is the biggest douche and Asher's been put in his place but will he stay there? Please fill me in on what you think and all reviewers will be named next chapter! Also apologies if there are any mistakes but I uploaded this in a hurry and didn't stop to check it...
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