A/N: chapter 6 :) don't own HSM x
Chapter 6 – Promise me
Gabriella froze at the sound of his voice. His voice was so melodic, so care-free and so…Troy. His voice was so soothing and exactly how she had remembered it. So caring…and he didn't even know it was her. She wondered whether she had misjudged the Bolton's. It wasn't that she had been superficial like her brothers and assumed that they didn't deserve the time of day; she just assumed they were like everyone else.
But, it was possible for the freaky genius girl to be wrong…
"T-Troy?" She stuttered in a whisper.
"This is he." He confirmed. "Who is this?"
"I'm Gabriella." She mumbled as she fiddled with her comforter.
"Oh, hey. Could you give me one minute?" He asked.
"Sure." She replied with uncertainty.
There were muffled voices – Troy had obviously covered the mouthpiece – and then she heard his voice again. "Hey, I'm back. Sorry about that. My dad was in the room."
"Oh, do you want me to call back?" She asked suddenly. "I can totally do that."
"No, no, it's cool." He assured her. "I had, literally, just finished dinner. So, how are you doing?"
"I'm good. A little headache but nothing a little Tylenol and a good nap can't wear off." She said softly. "I wanted to thank you again." She whispered. "From what Carl tells me, I can't see many other Wildcats doing what you did."
"Don't even think about it, okay? And, you know, I didn't know it was you at the time." He joked.
A soft giggle escaped her lips. "So, I wouldn't have been saved if you'd have known?"
"I never said that." He muttered seriously. "Do you honestly believe I'm like that?"
"I don't know." She replied honestly. "I mean, you do cause some damage to my brothers…But they deserve it."
Troy chuckled. "Yeah…I bet they do. Don't you think it's ironic, though?"
"In what way?" She asked slowly.
"Well, you're the Knight but I'm the one who rescued you." He joked. "You know, my friend, Taylor, said that you're the captain of the scholastic decathlon team at West High and if you're as smart as her, I would've thought you'd figure it out." He teased.
She rolled her eyes to herself. "I nearly drowned today. Cut me some slack."
"Did your dad and brothers…" He trailed off and cleared his throat.
"Find out about you?" She guessed.
"Yeah." He whispered.
"No." She murmured. "So far, you're called 'that guy with the dog'. I still have your jacket, though." She added, eyeing the denim fabric which was folded at the side of her bed.
"I honestly don't care about a jacket." He replied, chuckling lightly.
"Right." She muttered. A silence fell upon them and Gabriella reached for his jacket. She curiously held it to her nose and sighed softly. It smelled slightly of cologne but it wasn't overpowering and it smelt refreshing, not like the stuff her brothers used. But, it didn't just smell of cologne. It smelt of dog – she couldn't complain because she usually smelt like dog, too – and of something she couldn't put her finger on. But, whatever it was, it was definitely relaxing.
"Gabriella? You okay?" Troy's voice asked suddenly.
Gabriella jumped when she realised that they had fallen into a silence – probably an awkward one on Troy's part. "Yeah, I'm fine."
She jumped when she heard her bedroom door open and she shoved Troy's jacket under her pillows. Landon rushed into her room and started looking under her bed for something. "Sorry about this, Sis."
"Landon, get out of my room." She yelled, hoping Troy would hear and not talk.
Landon shuffled back and got to his knees. "Have you stolen my basketball?"
"Why would I steal your precious basketball?" She asked in annoyance.
Landon got to his feet and shrugged. "I have no idea. But, I'm clutching at straws. I've looked everywhere!"
"Remember last year when you 'lost your basketball'?" She muttered.
"Last year?" He scratched his head thoughtfully.
"Check your damn bathroom!" She yelled. "Can't you see I'm on the phone?"
"I bet it's just Sharpay gassing about the latest shoes." He muttered.
Gabriella rolled her eyes and jumped to her feet. "Are you incapable of knocking?" She yanked her door open and pointed to the pale blue cloud with 'Gabriella' written artistically in a silver script. Sharpay had designed it after pointing out that she was one of two females in the house surrounded by six – seven including Zeke – guys. "Are you Gabriella?"
"No." Landon mumbled.
"Then either learn to knock or stay out of my room!" She exclaimed. "I don't go into yours."
"Mom doesn't go into mine." He mumbled. "She says you're both afraid."
"Of dying and never seeing the outside world again? Yeah." She muttered, the phone still clutched to her ear.
"Gabriella? You okay?" Troy whispered lowly.
"Yeah, hold on." She replied, knowing Landon didn't know who was on the other end. She turned back to her brother and sighed. "Get out." She pointed to the hallway.
"You know," He said thoughtfully as he walked to the doorway but turned to her, "you could lock the door."
"You could honour your little sister's privacy." She shot back. "I tried trusting you all, so I will start locking my door. Now out!" She shut the door and flicked the lock. She breathed out deeply and slid down until she was sitting on the floor. She let her head fall back onto her wooden door and sighed. "You still there, Troy?" She whispered.
"Yeah…" He murmured. "What's up?"
"My idiot brother!" She exclaimed angrily. "I'm sorry you had to hear that." She whispered.
Troy chuckled. "That's not half as bad as what my friends and I say to your brothers and Baylor."
Gabriella giggled softly. "Well, um…" Her voice trailed off when she realised she had no idea what to say to that. Troy had saved her life and she had thanked him countless times but what could she say to him when he mentioned the severity of the fights her brothers got into? He was a Wildcat and she was a Knight. They shouldn't be in any civilised communication whatsoever.
It was harder than she imagined when she talked to Troy Bolton.
"Your brother leaves his basketball in his bathroom?" Troy finally broke the silence with a question, speaking slowly.
Gabriella laughed breathlessly and ran a hand through her hair. "Long story."
"I can imagine." He muttered.
"Thank you." She whispered, as tears – for some unknown reason – welled up in her eyes.
"Gabriella, just knowing that you're okay is enough thanks for me." He replied strongly.
Daisy padded over to Gabriella and lay down with her head in her mistress' lap. Gabriella stroked her soft fur and sighed. "I'm fine." She promised.
"Am I ever going to see you again?" He whispered.
"I don't know." Gabriella replied quietly. "I have to go. I'm still pretty tired. Thank you, Troy Bolton." She hung up and breathed out deeply. She let her head fall back against the door again and shut her eyes.
Why was Troy Bolton so easy to talk to?
Why had he rescued her?
One final question probed Gabriella's mind: why in hell's name on earth was she feeling so sad that she had hung up?
* * *
Troy scanned the many titles of the countless books on the library's shelves. Not that he was concentrating. He was supposed to be searching for some books needed for his history report but his mind kept wandering…to the previous day. He'd rescued the most beautiful girl in the world. And she happened to be a Knight. Just what he needed.
But, she'd hung up on him.
He had come up with three possibilities as to why:
Number 1: He had misjudged her and she was exactly like her brothers and couldn't stand Wildcats and Bolton's.
Number 2: She didn't want anyone to find out she was talking to a Wildcat – although he doubted that one as Landon had been in the room at one point.
Number 3: She was simply tired and wanted some sleep.
He desperately hoped it was number three.
***
(A/N: this is HSMandChelseaFCfan)
Gabriella had decided to distract herself by doing some of her homework but realised she'd already completed it all – something she was now regretting as she needed a distraction from the one thing that kept running through her mind: Troy Bolton – but decided that she could maybe start doing some early research into an upcoming science paper she knew she had to do.
Knowing it was virtually impossible to concentrate in the house, she grabbed her bag and headed out to the one place that she knew she was safe; the library. Plus it was a welcome relief to get out of the house and away from everyone; she knew they only did it because they cared but all the fuss they were creating was driving her insane. The library always calmed her down when she needed a place to relax or escape to.
Walking up the steps, she smiled as she passed the old lady on reception who she knew very well being a frequent visitor. Heading towards the back of the library, she dropped her bag with her books in on one of the many empty tables. Before she reached the aisles for the science section, she saw a familiar blue eyed boy looking blankly at some books. Frowning, she hurried past the aisle hoping he wouldn't see her or bring any attention to herself. Dodging into the section she needed, she peeped back around the end to see if Troy had seen her and let out a sigh of relief at successfully avoiding him. The last thing she needed was seeing him when he was one of the things that had been bothering her since the phone call.
***
Troy was still staring blankly at the books in front of him when he heard a thud which sounded like something being dropped on a table. He finally realised how out of it he had been. Seconds later as he started looking at the books in front of him again, something caught his eye. A trail of brown hair seemed to hurry past the end of the section. Locating the book he needed, he took it from the shelf and headed towards the back exit of the aisle. Walking across the end of another aisle, he felt his heart beat quicken as he watched a familiar brunette enter the aisle, quickly turning back to peep around the end. He knew she had obviously seen him and was trying to avoid him. Feeling an unknown burst of confidence run through his body, he quietly tip-toed up behind her.
"Hiding from someone?" Gabriella let out a small scream and jumped away from him in shock. Troy couldn't help but chuckle seeing the stunned flabbergasted look in her eyes at being caught.
Gabriella placed her hand over her chest to try and calm her racing heart. "No." She mumbled as Troy smiled.
Troy watched as she turned away from him and skimmed over the titles of the books. "Why are you avoiding me? Don't deny it because I know you are."
Gabriella ignored him, not knowing what to do when she finally sighed in defeat and faced him. "Honestly... I don't know."
Lifting her head with his fingers gently, Troy smiled at her. "Looks like you answered my question." Gabriella gave him a confused look. "I asked you if we would ever see each other again before you hung up." He saw her shift uncomfortably and quickly spoke again. "I'm not angry at you for doing so. I was worried you were mad at me or something."
Gabriella shook her head. "I guess I just freaked out. I didn't know how to handle this and I guess I did the easiest thing I knew: shut you out quickly."
For the first time, Troy saw something he'd never seen so clearly in someone's eyes before; vulnerability. He'd never really thought that the effects of what went on in the town affected anyone else really as no one he'd ever known was like Gabriella. And Troy knew from that moment she was special. "It's okay."
Gabriella nodded at him and for the first time since she had woken up in hospital, she let a real smile cross her face knowing from just one look at Troy, - something that scared her a little - she would be okay. "Hey, do you feel like sitting with me? I could use some company."
Even though things were still awkward between the pair, Troy wasn't about to refuse. Plus it wasn't like any of his friends ever went in the library except Taylor but he knew she was busy today. "Okay."
***
The two hadn't spoken a word since they sat down, each focusing on their own work knowing it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. However, Troy had been, admittedly, studying Gabriella rather than his history report. He wanted to know every little thing about her and he had figured out that she was basically oblivious to everything else whilst she was working. He found her incredibly cute in every little thing she did. When she was concentrating, she would twist her locks of hair around her finger. When she was trying to understand something, she would bit the end of her pencil. When she relaxed slightly after working something complicated out, her fingers would moved rhythmically and gracefully on the smooth table – he assumed she played the piano.
Suddenly, Gabriella's phone vibrated in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw that Sharpay had text her telling her she was coming over.
"I have to go." She said apologetically as she began shutting her books.
Troy nodded as he heard sigh softly. "Hey, promise me something?"
Gabriella turned to him and furrowed her brow. "What?"
"Promise me this isn't the last time we'll see each other. Promise me we'll arrange to see each other again soon?" He whispered quietly.
"I don't know, Troy. I mean, what about my brothers? Or my dad. Your dad?" She whispered quizzically. "My dad would kill you if he found out it was you who saved me. And then my brothers would bring you back and kill you again."
Troy chuckled quietly. "You know this?"
"I know my brothers and my dad." She muttered.
"Please?" He whispered, taking her hand in his own. "I like this. Besides, you don't seem like one to break the rules very often. So, live on the edge for once. Take a shot. Besides, if…" His voice trailed off. "Never mind."
"What?" She asked softly.
Troy sighed. "I was going to say that if your brothers and dad really love you, they won't mind who you're friends with, but I doubt that applies to me."
She giggled and looked down at her pile of books. "Yeah. I think you're right."
"So…will you promise to see me again?" He asked softly, looking into her eyes.
Gabriella looked into his pleading eyes and knew she couldn't help but give in. "Okay. I promise."
Troy grinned and Gabriella left him with one last smile before checking her books out and heading home, feeling a whole lot better than she did earlier thanks to one person who she had a feeling would be sticking around in her life for a while because he obviously doesn't give up on anything. And that thought excited her.
