Lizzie, Cadence, 4GetYesterday, Bright Starlight, HisDelilah, Lucy, Chloe, Lauren- I forgot to add this in the last chapter but… BROWNIES OR LEMON SQUARES!!! I made double chocolate Ghiradelli brownies last night for my little brother's school festival last weekend and I burnt them. :) But these are warm and soft and perfect! All for you loverly (yes, with the 'r') reviewers. -love- Desireé
P.S. You people are so nice, waiting for me to update. I know, this chapter took way to long to go up, but I promise I'll work on more additions this weekend, when I'm free!!! Yay! Okay, normal mode. I'm cool.
HisDelilah- Oh, thank you! I got 'Lemmon' from one of Mary-Kate Olsen's movie characters when I was little. Childhood fondness.
Lauren- Yes, I get it. :) Now, at least.
Chapter Nine, All Good Things Come to an End
The sibling carnival was produced quickly with the help of the older siblings and a construction staff. The ferris wheel and roller coaster, the two main attractions, were assembled in the corner, towards the shade, while the house of mirrors and obstacle course were noticeable in the middle. "We've done good," Gabriella said to herself when the day of work ended. Natasha and Rory were running around somewhere, and both anticipated tomorrow. To their older sister's dismay, though, they asked if Troy would be there too. She was forced to answer, "Yes, he will be."
It was also to her dismay when he called the next morning and wanted to know if they could carpool. "I'll get lost," he attempted humorously when she made a tutting sound with her tongue. Gabriella sighed and looked at her mother, who had been watching from a distance at the kitchen table. "And you could be a great icebreaker between me and my little brother."
Charity, she remembered stiffly. This is all for charity. "Sure," Gabriella replied in a fake-happy tone. "Pick me up in an hour, I'll be ready." Letting the phone back on the cradle, she let out a groan. Theresa mimicked her with another tut and Gabriella grimaced. "Save it, Mom."
"I didn't say anything!" her mother replied indignantly.
"You were thinking it."
"Oh, Lord, Gabriella. You're so dramatic."
"This is nowhere close to dramatic." Gabriella put her hands on her hip and flipped her hair behind her shoulder. "I'll show you dramatic. Drama—"
Theresa held up a hand. "Gabi, I'd love to hear more, honey, but I've got to run. Lots of stuff going on today at the office." She stood up and nursed the rest of her banana before through the peel away in the trash.
"It's Saturday!" Gabriella pointed out.
"Ah, well, lucky you get to go to a carnival," her mother replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get dressed, as should you. Troy will be here in—fifty-eight minutes?" Checking her watch, the woman nodded and smiled as she disappeared down the hall, making her way to the master bedroom. Gabriella glared after her and turned to the crisp, half-eaten apple that sat on the counter. Suddenly, she wasn't so hungry anymore.
Troy comes to pick up Gabriella, with his newly assigned little brother in the backseat.
With brown locks and blue eyes, Gabriella thought she saw a miniature Troy in the back of the Range Rover when her ride materialized by the curb. "Good morning," she said as cheerfully as she could achieve. Turning to catch glances with the boy, she smiled. "Hello there. I'm Gabriella. What's your name?"
He grinned back, showing a gap where one front tooth would normally be. "I'm Sam," he announced proudly. "Are you friends with Troy?"
"Yes," she replied tenderly, and felt Troy's glance burn a hole in the side of her face. Gabriella waved it off by tucking a lock of hair behind her ear and turned back to face the road. "So, we'll pick up my little siblings and then the carnival! Are you excited, Sam?"
The boy nodded and she felt her lips turn up in the smile. He was cute, adorable enough to make the afternoon bearable, along with Natasha and Rory. "So, where to, m'lady?" Troy laughed slightly. He blushed, though, when Gabriella quirked an eyebrow his direction.
"South and Landon," she responded, crossing her arms over her chest and glancing out the window. "It's an apartment, so I'll have to ring them."
There was no need, though, as Rory and Natasha waited on the sidewalk in the front of the main office, looking excited when the black, glossy car pulled up. "Cool! We're riding with Troy!" Natasha squealed when she opened the back door. Her eyes zeroed in on Sam and the girl's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"
"Another little sibling," Gabriella explained, and waved her hands. "Now hurry, get in, we haven't got all afternoon." The Trace children scooted in and Rory leaned toward his big sister's seat, whispering something about being a little moody that morning. "Thanks," the black-haired girl said in a sarcastic tone. Troy half-smiled, she noted.
There were only a few people by the time they arrived and parked in the lot beside the carnival. Alma, the director for the youth center, saw them and smiled. "Ah, Gabi," she said grandly, "And I see you have a friend here. A new sibling, I hope?"
Extending a hand, Troy smiled politely. "Troy Bolton, ma'am. Pleasure to be here. It was actually Gabriella who got me interested in the program, and I'm already getting to be friends with Sam here." The director nodded and beamed at Gabriella, with a what-a-catch raise of the eyebrows.
"Oh, no, he's not my—" But before Gabriella could so courteously correct the woman, Alma was off in another direction, still under the impression she had just met 'Troyella' and not 'Troy' and 'Gabriella.' Rory tugged on her sweatshirt.
"Can we go on the roller coaster?" he asked eagerly. "I want to go in front."
The children, unlike young Sam, were old enough to care for themselves at the sibling events, finding pleasant freedom within their structure, so Gabriella didn't mind whenever they wandered off to find friends and excitement. She handed them a cluster of tickets and nodded. "Go have fun, check up with me every half hour, and don't get into trouble. It'll be my head," she warned, and the girl and boy nodded somberly before running off in the direction of the festival rides.
His lips playing a smile again, Troy looked at her. "You've got the authority thing down," he observed. She made a face and started in the direction of the drinks booth. In the quiet fairgrounds, she could hear him follow, Sam lagging behind. Crap.
"Look," Gabriella said, turning around, "I know you're trying to be nice to me and whatever—although I have no idea why and I'm not so sure I want to know—but please, just lay off, will you? I've got enough in my hair right now, and you're just another annoying knot."
His words hit her harshly. Troy winced and bit his lower lip, but that was as far as he went before coming around again. "Gabriella, I just want us to be friends again," he said earnestly, and suddenly his arm jerked sideways, as Sam impressively pulled him toward the snow cone stand. Gabriella smiled slightly as Troy helplessly stumbled away, but his eyes still begged her for some redemption.
"Meet me in line for the ferris wheel!" she yelled out. "Half an hour!" The origin of the sudden impulse was lost on her, as were many things.
Thirty minutes later, Troy convinces Natasha and Rory to watch Sam while he attends a 'meeting.'
There was no way to describe her beauty, and his stupidity. He had felt his pocket vibrate three times during the half hour he had catered to Sam's every wish, and all calls were from Sharpay. Troy ignored the last buzz, which told him he had a voicemail. All three would just be whiny messages laughing at Gabriella's misfortune. He winced just thinking about it.
"Gosh, discomfort doesn't look good on you," Gabriella said, brushing off his shoulder and stepping back to look at him. He blinked, and felt his face relax. "Ah, that's better. So, hotshot, you like heights much?"
Glancing up, he saw the ferris wheel didn't go too high. Yet there was still a somewhat nervous feeling growing inside him. "They're not my personal cup of joe," he offered dryly, and she laughed. "But I can manage if I'm up there with you."
Face flared with red, Gabriella immediately looked down at the asphalt upon which they stood. The line moved, and each took a few steps forward. "So… How are you liking the sibling program?" she asked, hoping to make conversation. There was a small part of her, though she hated to admit it, that wanted to let Troy back in, and be friends again.
"It's good. Tiring, but good," he said nervously, glimpsing at the ferris wheel one more time. Someone rocked their seat and the operator yelled up at them to stop. Troy swallowed, and felt Gabriella's hand slide around his arm.
"You'll be fine," she giggled.
"I'm sure," he replied, his blue eyes swirling with slight mirth, just exultant to be in her company.
To Troy's horror and Gabriella's amusement, their first go-around gets interrupted, with their seat on the very top.
The town was quite astonishing from up high. While Troy weakly stared at his hands, Gabriella smiled out at the view around her. Smog was a little tasteless, but she enjoyed the clear sky and blurry skyscraper shadows. "Loosen up, will you?" she chuckled, nudging the boy beside her. "You act like this will be the last time you ever see sunlight."
"I don't exactly have a great history with high places," he said airily, feigning annoyance.
"Story time?" she asked with a snicker. He leaned into her, his shoulder against hers for a moment before they both realized what was happening and quickly withdrew.
Twiddling his thumbs for a moment, Troy stared ahead and cringed. "The one thing I could never help in P.E. was the rock wall. I just hated being so high up, and I always felt like I'd get sweaty hands and I'd slip and fall down to a painful death."
"Didn't you have a harness?" Gabriella replied with a teasing smile.
"Harness or not," Troy retorted pointedly, "I was still freaked out. My teacher kept yelling at me to finish, and someone called out to not look down. I was ready to kill them, because of course, when someone tells you not to do something you do it anyway, so I looked down and—"
There was no time left for speaking as suddenly, Gabriella had her hands around his neck and her lips on his. Shit, she thought. Shit, shit, shit. You're kissing him. You can't kiss him. Stop. Now. Stop kissing. Oh, but you can't, he's too delicious. NO! Stop. Stop, stop, stop—
"Holy crap," Troy gasped when they pulled apart for air. She leaned in again and savored his taste before pulling back again. "Holy. Crap."
She bit her lower lip before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "I shouldn't have done that," she murmured feebly. "Oh, fuck, I'm sorry. I really should not have done that." Gabriella tapped her foot and looked down at the operator. "Any time now!" she shouted anxiously. It was Troy's turn to laugh, and she turned to glance at him with a slight jealously.
"I don't know why, but suddenly my vertigo's gone," he said, beaming. Gabriella resisted the urge to kiss him again; it could be illegal to have such a breathtaking flavor.
"I think we should get off soon," she mumbled, her cheeks flushing.
He seemed somewhat disheartened. "Yes," Troy responded quietly, "I guess we should."
Neither would admit the complete and total elation the kiss had given them, but the both of them seemed to scream silently. Gabriella felt her entire body drum with ecstasy, and Troy bit back a laugh. That had been their first kiss, on top of a portable ferris wheel at a neighborhood carnival. She leaned against him, her elbow nudging him slightly and he nudged back.
This one good thing could last for a while, even if all good things eventually came to an end.
