Chapter Seven

Clarity

Troy had always hated sitting in traffic, and this time was no exception. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, humming under his breath.

Gabriella was right. The second she told him he would have been jumping on the next flight home. Who could blame him, really?

Her words came rushing back to him, and he could detect a note of regret in them.

"That's what I told your father, but he didn't believe me…I thought he might force me to abort the baby…I think he hates me…"

His insides clenched angrily. Did his father not understand what was happening? Couldn't he see that his son wanted more from life than just basketball?

Without even realizing it, he pulled up at the old Bolton residence. His finger had barely grazed the doorbell before his mother, sobbing, threw open the door and enveloped him in a bear hug. He towered over her now.

Once Mrs. Bolton had composed herself and closed the door behind them, they went to sit down in the living room. His mother was looking at him as if she knew him from somewhere but couldn't put her finger on it.

"How are you?" she asked quietly.

He couldn't honestly answer 'Fine'; he merely shrugged.

She tried again. "How's Gabriella?"

"She seems fine."

"Did you talk to her?"

He swallowed. "Yeah. She explained…everything."

Mrs. Bolton spoke bracingly. "You…"

"Everyone knew except me. How am I supposed to deal with it, Mom?"

"Honey, this isn't your fault. Gabriella was trying to do what was best. She was the one who suffered the most, you know."

"Did she tell you…?"

"Right away. Sweetie--all I want is for you to be happy. And if you're happy…"

"But, Mom…" He leaned back in his chair. "I just feel so selfish leaving her alone. I mean, this is all because of me."

Before his mother could answer, Mr. Bolton walked into the room, apparently unaware of his son's presence, and everybody froze. Then, Mrs. Bolton stood up hastily and bustled away, saying something about making dinner.

Troy remained stiff as his father sat down across from him. Neither spoke for a while.

"So," his father said finally.

Troy didn't respond, looking determinedly away.

"You talked with…her?"

Anger flared up at his father's tone and Troy snapped out an answer. "Dad, her name is Gabriella."

"Troy, this is something we need to discuss--"

"Yeah, okay. We'll discuss it. But first, Dad, can you tell me what the hell you were doing?"

He looked taken aback. "What--"

"Gabriella told me," Troy said, feeling hot tears well up, "that when she told you, you were actually mad at her. Somehow she got the impression that you wanted her to abort the baby."

"Troy, this is about being a leader. And this sort of behavior…"

"Dad, look, I made a mistake, all right? I did. But you're still trying to run my life. Tell me, how would you react if I decided to just drop basketball, right now, and never do it again?"

Mr. Bolton remained silent.

"Have you even bothered to try and see your granddaughter? Was it more important to you that I win?"

Apparently Mr. Bolton hadn't really considered this. "Well, I haven't really had a--"

"I wasn't there when my daughter was born," said Troy, voice shaking. "I'm going to spend as much time as I can with her. And if that means making sacrifices--" here Troy indicated the framed photo of himself carrying the game ball at East High's championship seven years ago "--I'll make them. And you know something else? I don't really care anymore what you want me to do."

Jack looked down. "I suppose I could have done more…"

"I don't know if it ever occurred to you that Gabriella could become a part of our family someday," Troy said, softening his tone a little. "I told you that once, if you can remember."

The atmosphere around the players during the post-game party was that of jubilance, but Troy didn't feel like celebrating. He left the ballroom quickly and proceeded up to his hotel room alone.

Apparently, however, Mr. Bolton had noted his absence, because minutes later there was a knock on the door and his father entered.

"Why aren't you celebrating with the team?" he asked.

Troy looked up. "I don't want to."

"Come on. You're the star--"

"I said, I don't want to," repeated Troy, more forcefully than he'd intended. He sat down on the edge of his bed.

"Why not?"

Troy didn't really want to say anything, because he knew his father wouldn't understand, but maybe that was the only way to get some peace. "I miss Gabriella," he choked out.

"Well, just thinking about her won't do any good." Jack shifted, looking furtive for some reason.

"Dad, is it my fault that I want to think about her?" snapped Troy. "Did you ever think about that?"

"Troy…"

"I love Gabriella and you can't change that." He felt himself flush. "And…you do know that one day she could be your daughter-in-law…?"

Troy decided not to press the subject, because his father didn't know…everything about Troy and Gabriella's relationship, and maybe it was better that way.

"Troy, you're going to be gone for a long time. And maybe, by the time you get back, she'll have moved on."

The younger man was instantly on guard. "D…don't say that," he stuttered. "She loves me, too."

"Maybe now she does, but long-distance relationships never last. It would be easy for her to forget about you."

"Forget about me?" His voice rose dangerously. "Are you suggesting she's some sort of…that she'll run off with…Gabriella's not like that. She doesn't keep secrets from me."

"Are you sure?"

Troy stopped dead. "Oh, and you know something I don't, then?"

"All I'm saying is, you shouldn't let her take your mind off of basketball--it's what you're here for, anyway."

Troy could remember the rest of that night faintly; telling his father to leave him alone, yelling at him until his lungs gave out, then--when he was finally alone--crying himself to sleep, only finding solace in thoughts of Gabriella.

It now occurred to him that when he had mentioned secrets, Jack's surreptitious attitude had been due to the fact that he'd known about Evangeline.

They sat for some time, stewing in angry silence. Then Jack spoke again.

"I was trying to protect you. We needed you to focus."

"Shutting me away from the real world wasn't the way to make me focus. Yeah, I wanted to win, too…but I wasn't willing to give up everything else in my life for it. Losing's a part of life too, isn't it?"

Jack closed his eyes, not giving up. "I wanted us to win. I wanted us to win the championship game back in high school too. But then she waltzes in and…suddenly you're missing practice, spending hours daydreaming, talking about her all the time… From the minute I walked in on you two in the gym, I knew there was something different about that girl. You thought she was special."

"She is!" roared Troy. "Don't you even know what love feels like?"

In the Bolton's kitchen, Mrs. Bolton stiffened, the hair at the back of her neck rising. She'd always been willing to make sacrifices for Jack, and she knew he did love her, but sometimes…

Before Jack could answer, Troy's cell ringtone trilled out again, and he opened it without hesitation, very glad to escape the conversation.

"Hello?"

"Troy? Is that you?"

Something wasn't right, and he knew it. Gabriella's voice was urgent, and pierced with racking sobs. He sat up straight and gripped the arm of the chair.

"Gabi? What's the matter?"

"It's Evie…she fell off the bench…I'm in Sharpay's car now, we're going to the hospital…"

He was shaking with fear now. "All right. I'll meet you there as soon as I can, okay? Just concentrate on getting Evie there safely. I'm coming right over."

And he stood without a second thought. Jack rose with him.

"Where're you going?"

"Evangeline's hurt. I'm meeting Gabi at the hospital." He bounded to the door, wrenched it open and was nearly out before turning around and looking at Jack and Lorna, the latter of which had joined her husband in the hallway.

"It was nice seeing you again," he said shortly, before sprinting to his car, unlocking it, throwing himself inside and jamming the key in the lock. It twisted with a flick of his wrist, the engine sputtered to life, and he shoved his foot down on the pedal, the only clear thought in his mind being that of Evangeline.

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A/N: Thanks for the amazing reviews, everyone. Love you all to bits!

You probably hate me for this chapter. Originally, I didn't have Evangeline's little subplot in Chapter Six, and I'd already planned it out so carefully. That's why you won't get much more information on that until Chapter Eight.

Oh, and it turns out many people wanted Jack-bashing after all. Hee. I didn't let it distract from the storyline, though. In the movie, Troy only actually got mad at his father once ("Did you ever think that maybe I could be both?"), and that was fully not enough for me. Besides, Jack deserves it.