Author's Note: aren't you proud of me[; i updated! and i finished this chapter in about two-three days! haha, props to me, loll. anyways, with good time management, i'm able to squeeze in some time to update for you all! haha. thanks for the reviews[:
"And then he tries to kiss you?" Clarisse said, her eyes widened in amazement, awe, and curiosity. Her small mouth hung open for a second and she blinked a few times. She turned her head to see Victoria's response, who was simply speechless. Clarisse turned back to Gabriella, still surprised. "A-And what did you do?"
"I pushed him away." Gabriella shrugged, as if the fact was simple. "I had to, I mean…he hurt me so bad, I couldn't have just been like, 'Hey, I love you, let's make out'." Gabriella said, with her eyes widened as she had the 'duh' tone on.
"Um, hello?" Victoria said. "It's Troy Bolton, I would have said that." She said, as if it were obvious.
Gabriella cracked a smile and Clarisse laughed. The three girls shared a moment of laughter during their fifty minute lunch break. Victoria gave them an obvious shrug before she sipped her lemon-lime vitamin water.
"Yeah, but I made a commitment," Gabriella said, with a soft sad tone. She tucked her curls behind her ear and shrugged once again.
Clarisse rolled her eyes. "To be married, not a commitment to be together forever. So, you know if you guys kissed…again…who knows!" Clarisse said, with a smile.
"I know…then I'd just hurt myself all over again. I had a total breakdown after that, in front of Belle." Gabriella said. "Besides, Troy has a girlfriend…"
Victoria nodded. "Yeah, Allie…Davidson, that's her. She's some model,"
Gabriella frowned and threw her hands over her cheeks. "Mm, I'm not surprised if she's at home with him right now…oh, gosh, and I let Troy babysit Belle."
Clarisse laughed and stuck her tongue out at Gabriella. "Oh, well, then it just means that Belle will get the third person view on the action." She said, with a cutesy wink, which made them all crack up.
"Oh, dear Lord." Gabriella laughed.
"Hey, um, what about…?" Victoria looked around the cafeteria, making sure it was safe. She leaned close to her friends and whispered, "Josh," She sat back to see Gabriella's reaction.
Gabriella fluttered her eyes lazily. She didn't really have the energy to deal with Josh right now or anything at all. She shrugged tiredly and sat back in her seat. "I don't know, he doesn't know any of these, actually…" Gabriella let out a heavy sigh. "I don't plan on telling him until he asks. It's only being fair,"
Clarisse cocked her head toward her right shoulder. "Being…fair?" Clarisse and Victoria looked at each other, with a puzzled look on their faces. "It only be fair if you told him yourself, not keeping it away from him."
"Yeah, Gabs," Victoria said, nodding her head in agreement with her blonde-haired friend. "Didn't you make 'commitment'?" she rose one of eyebrows, with smug look, the caused Gabriella to rose her eyes. Victoria crossed her arms and smirked, smugly. "You like him, don't you?"
Gabriella knit her eyebrows in confusion. "W-What are you talking about, Tor? I-I don't what we had, it's over and it's going to stay that way…" Gabriella said, with nod, so she'd reassure her friends. "Let's just end this subject without any personal opinions." Gabriella said with a smirk.
"Mama!" Isabelle cried, as she threw her arms in the air and ran toward her mother. Gabriella swooped down to pick up her little girl. "I missed you. Me and U-Uncle Troy had t-tons of fun today! W-We played basketball and then we watched a movie a-and then went around town! You shoulda came, mama."
Gabriella crouched down to her daughter's size. "Aw, I would have loved to come. I'm so glad you had fun, I missed you too, baby." Gabriella gently kissed her daughter's nose and the little girl giggled.
"Can we still go out today? C-Can we play?" Isabelle asked, pouting and fluttering her eyelids. "I haven't seen you all day!"
Gabriella frowned and her daughter. "I don't think so…maybe we could so something else…" she held her daughter's hand caringly. Gabriella checked her wrist watch, it was 5:23 PM.
Troy limped into the room with his crutches under his arm. He was dressed in Wildcat sweatpants and a Graphic Tee. He flashed Gabriella a warm smile, but she could only give him a small grin. Troy limped closer to the mother and daughter. Gabriella stood up straight and put her arm on Isabelle's shoulder.
"Uncle Troy, mama won't go out anymore!" Isabelle pouted to Troy.
Troy smiled at the little girl. "Mm, how about we all go out for ice cream? There's a small little shop downtown." Troy said, with his bright smile. He shrugged happily.
"Troy, you can't even walk properly." Gabriella said.
Troy shrugged. "Don't worry," he said. "I have a wheelchair in the garage and besides, it's just a walking distance." He said.
Isabelle pouted and wrapped her tiny arms around her mom. "Please!" she said, silently begging with her big blue eyes.
"Okay," Gabriella said, with an eye roll as Isabelle cheered.
"Yay! Thank you, Mama." She said, hugging her mother.
About fifteen minutes later the three of them where on the streets of L.A. Troy was in his wheelchair, with little Isabelle on his lap. Gabriella, dressed in her gray and red Wildcat sweatshirt with her skinny jeans and simple black flats. Her short curly hair was tucked behind her ears with a few strands over her face. Isabelle was in her favorite outfit, a light purple dress with a white turtleneck. Gabriella was pushing Troy's wheelchair down the sidewalk.
"I can't believe you still have that sweater," Troy said, with a smirk.
Gabriella laughed. "Look who's talking," Gabriella said, referring to Troy's wildcat sweatpants.
For a November day, the weather wasn't that bad. A slight breeze would fill the town just a couple of times. The sun was still out, showering its rays over them gracefully. After the little incident that night, Troy and Gabriella haven't made much physical contact, but they did make some small talk every once in a while. Isabelle didn't take much notice to it because she was occupied by everything else going around her, other than her parent's awkward relationship.
The three of them arrived at the local ice cream shop, the door made the special ring when they entered. The cashier, squealed with glee when she recognized Troy's face. She grabbed her coworker, whispered into her ear and they both returned to see Troy.
"Oh my gosh! It's Troy Bolton!" one of the girls squealed. "Oh my gosh, welcome to Darlene's!" she squealed. "Can you sign this?" she asked, handing him an ice cream cup.
Troy smiled and looked back at Gabriella awkwardly. "Um, sure, I'd be glad too." He said. He accepted the cup gratefully and made his quick signature on the cup and returned it to the girls. "Uh, do you think we can order?" Troy asked.
"Oh, can we take a picture with you!" the dark-haired girl asked, walking around the counter. She held out the camera towards Gabriella. "Hi, are you his girlfriend?"
Gabriella blushed and looked away. "Um, no, just an old friend." She smiled, she could feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment and awkwardness.
"Oh," the girl said, a little embarrassed as well. Her pale cheeks were filled with a bright red when she blushed. "You look cute together anyways," she whispered to Gabriella.
Isabelle, who was sitting on Troy's lap, looked around curiously. She was surprised by the girls' reaction toward Troy, but she managed not to say anything about it. She looked at her mother and her mother just smiled at her daughter.
"Aw, is this your daughter?" the blonde-haired girl asked, her eyes lighting up. "She's so cute! She looks just like you!"
Gabriella's eyes widened and felt her stomach turn, she looked at Troy, but he kept a smile on for the girls. She felt the room get hot, her biggest fear coming true. Gabriella nervously bit her lip. She took a deep breath, trying to relax. Troy finding about his daughter was the last thing Gabriella wanted right now.
"Oh, no, she's not mine. She's my friend, Gabriella's, daughter. Her name is Isabelle." Troy said with a smile.
Gabriella's stomach twisted even tighter. Her throat began to feel dry and tight. She felt as if someone punched her right in the stomach. Her eyes began to fill with tears, but she bit her lip to stop from crying. It felt as if a cold wind rushed over her heart, like a frost overcoming her happiness. She wish he didn't deny her, but he didn't know. Gabriella let out a sigh. It upsetted her more that Troy denied her, then Troy finding out. Either way, it's a lose-lose situation in her mind.
"Oh, she's so cute!" the dark-haired girl said, turning toward Gabriella. "Can you take a picture of us, please?"
Gabriella nodded and took the camera from her hand. The girls lined up next to Troy, crouching down to the height of his wheelchair. They smiled, including Isabelle, as Gabriella snapped the picture for the delighted fans.
"Thanks so much!"
They ordered their ice cream. Isabelle choose chocolate and vanilla swirl with rainbow sprinkles, Troy had chocolate mint, and Gabriella had her favorite banana ice cream. Troy paid for the ice cream, after Gabriella's numerous attempts to pay, put the cashier insisted it was free. The family continued their stroll down the sidewalks of L.A.
"Well, that girl was definitely a fan of the basketball star, huh?" Gabriella said, with a smile as she put the spoonful of ice cream in her mouth.
Troy laughed awkwardly scratched his neck. "Yeah, I guess."
"Why were they all over y-you?" Isabelle asked, comfortably sitting on Troy's lap. "Are they your friends, U-Uncle Troy? They must have been bery g-glad to see you!"
"Oh no, they're fans, sweetie." Troy said, sweetly to Isabelle.
Gabriella couldn't help but smile at the cute little father-daughter moment that they had. Troy looked up at Gabriella and smiled, and she smiled back. They passed by a toy store and immediately Isabelle jumped from Troy's lap and walked toward the glass screen to see all the toys.
Gabriella walked to the side of Troy's wheelchair and smiled. She purposely yet slowly slipped her hand in his, which caught Troy by surprised. He felt the warm slip through his palm and he smiled. Troy looked up at her and smiled happily. Gabriella smiled back.
"Thanks, Troy." Gabriella smiled.
"For what?" Troy asked puzzled, but with a smile on his face.
Gabriella shrugged. "For babysitting, for watching her, for…"
"Being kind of like her father-figure for the past few days?" he said. He said the exact words Gabriella was thinking of.
Gabriella smiled and nodded. "Exactly."
"I don't want to replace him,"
Gabriella smiled. "Don't worry, you're not." Gabriella said, this time she wasn't lying.
Isabelle ran back to Troy and jumped on his lap, they slowly released their grip and continued their stroll, unaware they were in the public eye.
Early Saturday morning, Gabriella heard the doorbell continuously ring. She tiredly rolled out of bed, careful not to awake her daughter. She was dressed in striped pajamas and her hair was in a messy bun. She wiped her tired eyes and walked down the stairs as the bell continuously rung. Gabriella wanted to shout at the person ringing the doorbell at eight in the morning but she believed it wasn't necessary. Gabriella walked to the door unlocked it and opened it up.
A beautiful blonde girl with bright green eyes and a surprised look on her face was at the door. She couldn't have been more than twenty-two. There was thin pink headband in her blonde hair and she was dressed in skinny jeans, a white shirt, and a black jacket. Her large purse was hanging from her shoulder and she had a magazine rolled up in her palm.
"Hi, can I help you?" Gabriella asked, with an awkward smile.
The girl examined Gabriella's face carefully then her eyes lit up. "Hi, I'm Allie Davidson," she said, with a sweet smile as she stuck out her hand.
Gabriella's eyes lit up and smiled. She took her hand and shook it. "H-Hi, I'm Gabriella Montez…" she said, with an awkward smile. "Are you looking for Troy?"
Allie clenched her jaw but managed a smile. "Yes, where is he?"
"Um, in his bedroom, I guess." Gabriella said with a shrug.
Allie gave Gabriella a fake smile, where the anger was seen right through it. "Thank you, Gabriella." She said. "May I come in?" she said, walking inside the house. She placed her purse on table along with the magazine. "I'm Troy's…well, I don't even know where I stand at this point." She said, with a hurtful smile. "You are…?"
Gabriella blushed slightly, hoping it wasn't noticeable. "Oh, I'm just an old friend of Troy's. We went to High School together…a long time ago."
Allie smiled, more politely this time. "Oh, that's nice. Are you here on a visit or something?" Allie asked, with a sweet smile yet her confused eyes gave it away. She nodded her head, understandingly.
"No, I'm interning as a doctor here in L.A. My apartment's plumbing wasn't so good, so Troy offered that I stay here with my daughter." Gabriella said, as Allie continued to nod her head. "Yeah, what about you?"
Allie made a small shrug. "I'm a model, yeah, but I do part time as a receptionist for an agency downtown." She said, with an awkward nod. "S-So you met Troy in High School, I recall?"
Gabriella nodded, awkwardly looking around the room. "Well actually we met a Ski Resort, but we met up again in high school. Just a coincidence. We also went to college together. Um, how'd you and Troy meet?"
"Oh, hm." Allie said, with a polite smile and small shrug. "At a charity event about a year ago...for lung cancer." Allie said.
Awkward silence floated around them. Then a bustling and rustling noise came from upstairs. Both girls looked up, puzzled by the sudden sound.
Allie's eyebrows rose and she smiled. "I'll just be a second…" she said, as she went up the stairs.
"A-Alright…" Gabriella mumbled.
She walked over to the table where Allie left her stuff. Gabriella took the magazine and put it in her hands. She let out a gasp. On the cover of US Weekly, Gabriella, Troy, and Isabelle were walking around the streets of L.A. To top it all off, the photographer caught them right when Gabriella and Troy where holding hands. Gabriella's throat went dry, but her stomach got butterflies. "Troy Bolton's first outing with a New Girl and her daughter?!" underneath the bold print: "Troy makes his first appearance with 'friend' Gabriella and her daughter. Where's Allie Davidson at?" How could it feel so right, yet so wrong at the same time?
"Oh Gosh, Josh is gonna kill me."
oh, the paparazzi [; hahaha. they're so annoying, don't you think [;
- xlovelyloserface
