"Brie, no!'
"I'm sorry, Troy. It's not you, Troy. It's him. I've been fooling myself into thinking I wasn't in love with him, but the truth is, I love Jake more than I love you."
"Gabriella, please!" his voice broke.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered, stroking her hand down his face. "Goodbye, Troy."
Troy shot up in his bed, his hair matted to his sweaty head, his breath coming fast.
"Just a dream…" he sighed in relief. He took a sip of the water bottle on his bedside table and took a look at the clock. 2:14 AM.
He sighed, running his hands up his face and through his hair. He was starting to drive himself insane. In the past two weeks that Gabriella's childhood friend had showed up, he had had at least three other nightmares like this one.
Troy settled himself back into his bed, pulling the sheet back around his body. At this point he knew he wasn't going to fall back asleep, so he laid back and thought.
From what he'd overheard himself, and from what others had told him they'd heard, Jacob was up to absolutely nothing good with all things concerning himself and Gabriella. While going over the many things he had learned about Jacob in the past half a month, Troy's eyes began to droop again until he fell back asleep.
"Troy, wake up!" Gabriella scolded quietly.
"Huh?" Troy's eyes snapped open and he turned to Gabriella.
He blinked a few times before registering that he was in his biology class and was supposed to be paying attention to the lecture on organic compounds.
"What is wrong with you? Have you not been sleeping or something?"
"Nah, I've been sleeping really badly actually…" Troy yawned.
Gabriella rolled her eyes, continuing to take notes.
"I hope you know, I'm going to have to copy those…" Troy grinned mischievously.
Gabriella shook her head at her boyfriend. "You are out of your mind, wildcat."
"Wildcat…" Troy trailed approvingly. "That is one hell of a nickname."
"I did have to come up with a nickname for one hell of a boy."
"Mrs. Bedewing? I'm sorry," Jake said loudly. "Could you repeat what you just said, it's kind of hard to hear from where I'm sitting."
Troy's eyes narrowed as they zeroed in on the back of Jacob's head.
"How upset with me would you be if you suddenly and inexplicably lost your best friend?" Troy asked, his mouth barely moving.
"Extremely."
"And for how long?"
"Long enough for you to realize that what you would have done is wrong. In other words, a very long time."
"Alright, class," Mrs. Bedewing said from the front of the room. "I'll let you guys go a few minutes early because it's Friday. Have a great weekend, and check your conference for homework!"
Gabriella began packing up her stuff while Troy stood next to her.
"Elle!''
Gabriella looked up from her bag at Jake. "Hi Jake. What's up?"
"Do you have plans for this weekend?"
"Uh… This weekend… Actually-"
"Yes, yes she does," Troy cut in.
"I do?" she asked, turning to Troy skeptically.
"Yeah, you do. Remember?"
"No…"
"Maybe Chad hasn't told you yet, but you guys are supposed to be coming out this weekend."
"Ooh, yeah, now I remember. Chad was telling me and Tay, and we were supposed to tell Shar…"
"Yup."
"Sorry, Jake, I have plans for this weekend. Maybe some other time?"
"Yeah…yeah sure." He grabbed his stuff in a rush and left the classroom.
"Troy, was that completely necessary?"
"What did I do?" he asked, taking her bag from her. "He was encroaching on my girlfriend!"
"Encroaching?" She shook her head again. "Remember how we talked about you trying not to be so jealous?"
"I'm. Not. Jealous." Troy seethed.
Gabriella's eyes widened. "Okay, okay. Don't bite my head off or anything…"
Troy rolled his eyes and took her hand, walking out of the classroom.
"Troy?"
"Hmm?"
"I know this may be asking a lot of you…"
"Oh, no," Troy groaned, turning towards his girlfriend. She had her head slightly cocked to the side, her lips set in a small pout. In other words, she was definitely out to get him. "What is it?"
"For me, can you please just try to get along with Jacob?"
"Gabs, that's-"
"Please?" she begged, sticking her bottom lip out mercilessly.
"Alright, jeez! Just stop making that face!" he groaned, squeezing her cheeks together with his hand.
She smiled hugely, kissing him excitedly.
"You mean it?"
He nodded.
"So then you're okay if I invite him to come this weekend?"
"WHAT?"
"Troy…" she started again, while preparing to push her lip out again.
"Don't you dare,' Troy said, putting a finger on her lip. "If he must, then he can come."
Gabriella wrapped her arms around Troy's neck. "See, I knew there was a reason that you're my boyfriend… Somewhere deep, deep, deep inside, there is the ability to be the bigger man. But only after I've dragged it out…" she giggled.
"Ha, ha," Troy laughed sarcastically, leaning down to kiss her again.
"Bolton! Take your hands off of my sister!"
Gabriella froze, as her lips were about to meet Troy's.
"Chad, honestly?" Troy groaned, turning towards him. "Do you know what your sister just did?"
"No... What did she do?"
Gabriella rolled her eyes. "It's not that big of a deal, Troy."
"She invited stupid Jacob to our shindig this weekend."
Gabriella snorted. "Did you just call it a shindig?"
Chad snorted along with her. "Yeah, dude, did you just call it a shindig?"
Troy rolled his eyes. "Can we get back to the important part? That Jacob has been invited to our thing this weekend?"
"Troy, it's not that big of a deal…" Gabriella sighed.
"Yeah, seriously, man, I think you're overreacting."
"Why don't you get it?" Troy groaned frustrated.
"Cause there's nothing to get!" Gabriella countered. She turned towards him again, her eyebrow cocked. "Unless, of course, you're jealous…"
"I'm. Not. Jealous." Troy growled.
Chad snorted.
"Chad, shut up."
"I'm sorry, but you saying you're not jealous? What a joke, man."
"Chad, can you just back off for a sec? We'll meet you in the caf, okay?"
"Fine," he sighed finally, turning away towards the door.
'Troy-"
"This is not up for discussion anymore, Gabriella."
"Yes is it! There is nothing wrong if my friend comes over with us to the barbeque! I've already told you that I don't like him the way I love you. What do I need to do to show you?"
"Honestly, I'm not jealous! Gabs, I know that you love me, I just…" he sighed. "I get a bad vibe from that guy."
Gabriella's eyes narrowed. "Watch it, Bolton."
Troy took a deep breath. "I'm sorry…"
Gabriella sighed. "Me, too."
"I'm being a huge dick right now…" Troy looked down, then back into Gabriella's eyes. "He can come."
"What?"
Troy sighed again. "He can come… If you really want him to be there, Jacob can come. And I won't start anything."
"You promise?"
"Promise."
Gabriella broke out into a smile, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thank you!"
He smiled back, putting his forehead against hers. "I love you."
"I love you, too," she giggled, kissing him quickly.
"You know," Troy said, slinging his arm around her shoulder, her arm automatically wrapping around his waist. "You're lucking you're so damn cute."
Gabriella giggled, pulling on his belt loop. "You know, if it wasn't for my damned cuteness, you'd probably be failing Bio…"
Troy grinned, kissing the side of her head. "And that sense of humor."
She smiled, opening the door to the cafeteria, where they were spending their last period of the day – break. "Whoa, what's this?" Gabriella stopped at a piece of paper hanging from a pillar at the front of the room, pulling Troy to a stop with her.
"Musical sign-up she- No. No way. Not. A. Freaking. Chance."
"What?"
"You're not going to sign up?"
"You should listen to your boyfriend, Montez. He knows what he's talking about." Sharpay pushed past Gabriella and Troy, pulling a magenta Sharpie from the depths of her sequined pink bag. She signed her name down the length of the paper, leaving practically no space.
"Tootles!" she said, wiggling her fingers and strutted off.
"Tootles." Gabriella mocked, rolling her eyes and digging through her own bag. "Screw her. I'm signing up."
"Oh no you're not," Troy said, taking her forearm and slipping the pen out of her hand.
"Troy, give me back the pen. Now."
"We're going to at least talk about it."
"Talk about what?"
"You signing onto the musical."
Gabriella groaned, storming off towards the table. "I don't understand what the big idea is… I'm just going to try out, it's not like I'm guaranteed to get a part."
"Not now, Gabriella."
"Don't you take that tone with me, Troy Bolton!" Gabriella sat down at the table in a tizzy.
"Gabs-"
"Save it."
"Trouble in paradise?" Jason asked, turning to Gabriella, who had sat between him and Chad.
"Please, Jason? It's not exactly the best time…"
"Oh…there really is trouble in paradise."
Troy rolled his eyes, dropping his lunch heavily on the table. "There is nothing going on."
"Chad, how are you getting home?" Gabriella asked.
"Uh… I'm driving. Why?"
"Do you mind if I catch a ride with you?"
"Uhm…sure?"
"Gabriella, come-"
"So I'll meet you by your car, okay?" Gabriella sighed, cutting Troy off and getting up. "I've got something to take care of really quickly. I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"Brie, I-" but she walked out before he could finish. "Ugh!"
"Dude, what did you do?" Zeke asked.
"I don't even know! We've been fighting so much lately, I wish I knew why, but it's sort of killing me."
"I've never seen her like this…" Chad shrugged.
Troy sighed, finishing his lunch in silence.
"So, what's up with you and Troy?" Chad asked while driving home.
Gabriella sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "I dunno…we've been fighting a ton recently, right?"
Chad shrugged, making the turn onto their street
"He's just so damn defensive, especially since Jacob got here. It just makes me so annoyed!"
"Well," Chad said, pulling into the garage. "You should try to understand his state of mind."
"What do you mean?" she asked, getting out of the car after Chad.
"Well, before you came here, Troy was really to himself – had only ever had one girlfriend who broke his heart…"
Gabriella looked down, taking her house keys out of her bag. "So?"
"I haven't seen Troy look at anyone the way he looks at you, Gabriella, and I mean that. Even with Kay…"
"But what does that have anything to do with getting all upset about signing up and with Jake-"
"He loves you," Chad said, as if it was the obvious answer. He rolled his eyes when Gabriella gave him a confused look. He opened the door and sighed. "As much as he'll deny it, he's getting pissed about Jake because he's jealous. Point blank, no other reason. And the play because of Sharpay."
"Sharpay?"
"She's the co-head of the drama club, with her twin Ryan. He's actually trying to help you – he doesn't want Sharpay to do anything…Sharpay-like."
Gabriella sighed, closing and locking the door behind them.
"Gabriella, sweetheart?"
"Yeah, mom?"
"You've got a visitor waiting for you in the backyard."
"Uh…okay," she said surprised, putting her bag on the ground next to the kitchen. "I'll be back in a few." She opened the door to the yard, and closed it behind her, wrapping her arms around herself in the cold. She turned down the corner of the yard to the patio and instantly stopped in her tracks. "Troy."
He turned around, shaking his hair out of his face and looking at her. "Before you yell and scream and tell me to leave I just want to say one thing."
Gabriella crossed her arms.
"Brie, I'm sorry I've been such a douche these last few days."
Gabriella snorted. "Douche? What an understatement."
He sighed, looking down then back up at her. "Okay, a huge douche… But I think we should talk about this stuff. Will you sit with me?"
Gabriella sighed, then nodded and followed him to the hammock he and Chad had put up that summer. "I still don't understand what there is to talk about."
"Well, I have a lot to say, so can you just listen?" he asked, settling into the hammock. Gabriella rubbed her hands up and down her arms to keep some of her body heat in. "Here," Troy said, taking off his zip-up.
"Troy, keep it, just get on with-"
He ignored her, slipping the jacket around her. "Before I met you, I'd only had one girlfriend in my lifetime – Kay. She was the first girl I'd ever really had a crush on… But the thing with Kay was, I liked her much more than she liked me. And I fell hard for her."
Gabriella looked out into the trees across the yard.
"So, I'm sorry, if I act all weird and insecure and stuff now that Jacob's showed up permanently, but I can't live through another heartbreak, Brie."
She looked up at him when she heard her special nickname.
"I just can't. I…" he was starting to get sort of choked up. "I love you too much. If you were to decide that you did like Jacob at some point, I don't know what I would do with myself."
Gabriella smiled softly, resting her hand on his slightly pink from the cold cheek. "I love you so much, Troy Bolton. Nothing, and no one – not even my best friend – can change that." She ran her hand down his face to rest on his chest. "If you felt this way, you should have just told me from the beginning, Troy. I know what it feels like to lose someone who means the world to you."
She looked down at her hands, her voice becoming wobbly with emotion. "To feel like you've been betrayed and left alone with no one who cares."
Troy took her hand, lacing it with his and kissing it.
"You don't have to go on, Brie." He closed his eyes, pressing his forehead against hers.
Gabriella took a breath, leaning back. "Now that you've explained your jealousy issue, what's the big deal with the play?"
He took another deep breath, turning himself on the hammock. "I don't want you to do the play for more…" he leaned in, nuzzling his nose into her temple, "selfish…reasons."
"Troy," she giggled, "be serious."
"I am being serious. I don't want you prancing around on the stage. I want you to prance around for me."
Gabriella giggled again, snuggling into his side. "That sounds like a façade, Troy. Stop fronting and tell me the real reason? Did Kay used to act to, or something?"
Troy's eyes narrowed. "No. It doesn't have anything to do with Kay."
"Then what is it? I refuse to believe that the only reason is that you want to keep me to yourself."
He took another deep breath, looking at his love. "Honestly, because I know what Sharpay is capable of, and the last thing I want is for her to say or do something to you because of me."
"Because of you?"
"Yeah, because I chose you over her."
Gabriella smiled, taking his face in her hands gingerly. "That's very…valiant… of you, Wildcat, but I can handle it."
"But, Brie-"
"Let's not talk about this anymore. I don't really want to get into another fight."
"Fair enough," Troy sighed, getting off the hammock and offering his hands to help Gabriella up. He pulled her off the hammock and against his chest, wrapping his arms around her waist. "By the way, I'm sorry I was so obnoxious earlier."
Gabriella smiled, leaning up and kissing him.
"So I assume that means I'm forgiven?" Troy grinned, resting his forehead against hers.
Gabriella nodded, pecking his lips again before pulling away and walking towards the kitchen door.
"Are you two done fighting yet?" Chad asked, pulling a grape out of the bowl.
Troy rolled his eyes and Gabriella sat down next to her brother.
"Yes, Chad."
"Finally."
"Chad," his mother scolded, stirring the pot on the stove.
"Seriously, though, mom! When they fight, it's worse than Taylor and I."
"Chad, we've only had one fight…" Gabriella trailed.
"Well, within that one fight, you've had multiple arguments."
Gabriella rolled her eyes, grabbing a grape from his bowl. "You're lucky I haven't seen you and Taylor fight…"
"Yet," Troy snorted under his breath, making both Gabriella and her mother laugh.
"Mom!" Chad said, rubbing his face uncomfortably.
"What? You and Taylor are always fighting. You fight like a married couple!" his mother laughed. "And when you and Taylor get into fights, you fight for multiple days on end."
Gabriella giggled, getting up to grab a cup of water. When she turned back to sit down, Troy had plopped himself into her chair. She rolled her eyes, grabbing the stool by the window and pulling it to her boyfriend's side.
"Troy, sweetheart, did you plan on staying for dinner?"
Troy looked at the clock above the sink. "Oh, is it that late? I wish I could, but I have to get home. Mom has relatives coming in tonight, and we're having dinner at our house."
"Oh, who's in town?" Mrs. Danforth asked, turning back to her stove.
"My grandmother and my aunt's family."
"Cheryl?"
"Yup. And her husband and her two kids."
"Where on earth is your mom putting them?" Chad asked.
Troy sighed. "My grandmother is taking the upstairs guest room, my aunt and uncle are taking the basement, and I have to share my room with the two kids."
Gabriella smiled, shaking her head. Chad snorted, earning a death glare from both Troy and Gabriella.
"Well, I hope you don't go crazy, dear. Tell your mother I say hello."
"I will. Bye Mrs. D. I'll see you later, Chad." He turned to Gabriella.
"I'll walk you out," she said, standing up and walking out of the kitchen and into the foyer. She grabbed her sweater before opening the front door. "So I'll see you tomorrow morning?"
He nodded, running a hand through his hair. "I wish this week would just end."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm just ready to be done and have this barbeque and relax!"
Gabriella giggled. "How long are your mom's relatives in town for?"
"Until Friday afternoon."
"So you only have two days, Troy. I'm sure you'll live."
"I doubt it. My mom told me that tomorrow and the next day I'm stuck babysitting my cousins."
"Like I said, I'm sure you'll be fine."
"You've never met my cousins." Troy contradicted.
Gabriella giggled. "But you've known them since they were babies, how can you not know how to take care of them? When I was younger, all of my cousins knew exactly what do to do keep my quiet and occupied for hours on end." She smiled, looking down as she remembered.
"Yeah, but I do possess the Montez smart gene, therefore I have no idea how to take care of children. I can barely take care of myself."
Gabriella laughed, twisting her hair around her finger. "How about I make you a deal?"
"What kind of deal?" he asked, grabbing her hips.
"I'll do something for you if you do something for me."
"Keep talking…"
"I'll come over tomorrow and Thursday to help you babysit-"
"Yes, already yes!" Troy interrupted, making Gabriella smile.
"Really? You don't even want to hear my side?"
"No, I'll do what ever it is."
"You pinky-promise?"
"Yep!" He grabbed her pinky with his, locking it in a promise.
"Now that you've agreed…" Gabriella unlatched herself from him. "I'll help you babysit tomorrow and Thursday and you'll personally invite Jacob to the barbeque this weekend."
"I'll do what?" Troy grin dropped and his face became serious.
Gabriella kept her face hard. "You're the one who agreed without hearing both sides. Now that you pinky-promised, you have to do it!"
"Are you out to get me?" Troy asked pathetically.
Gabriella giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. "No, I'm just teaching you a lesson…"
"Oh, yeah? And what would that lesson be, Montez?" he asked, pulling her closer to him.
"Obviously, Bolton, I've taught you not to pinky-promise without hearing both sides of the deal," she giggled, kissing him sweetly.
Troy sighed, breaking away from their kiss and looking at his watch. "I really do need to go. My mom will kill me if I'm late for dinner…"
"So, I'll see you tomorrow morning then?"
"Yeah," he nodded, kissing her once more. "I'll pick you up at quarter-to-seven, alright?"
"Sounds good. I love you," she said, rubbing her nose against his gingerly.
"I love you, too."
He stepped off the porch, climbing into his car and starting the engine. "Later!" he shouted out the passenger window as he drove off.
Gabriella waved once, turning around and going back inside of her house for dinner.
