A Cinderella Story
The red tint on her closed eyelids were a clear sign that it was indeed no longer dark, which meant it was Saturday morning and time to get out of bed.
Gabriella's eyes fluttered open, squinting in her now lit room and taking a moment to adjust to the light. She glanced towards her balcony to note the sunny day outside the window panes and quickly knew that spending the day inside was not an option. Besides, every Saturday morning, cold or warm, rain or snow, she always made the time to stop by one place. Never had she not gone on Saturday morning, she always went.
Using her slim legs to pull the covers off of her petite body, she swung them off the side of the bed and dropped to the carpet, having to balance her still groggy self before standing up right.
"Gabriella!"
She quirked an ear towards the door as she heard her name being called.
Carly? "I'm up!" She yelled back, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror and grimacing at the messy bun on the top of her head and still droopy eyes. A small smile formed on her face as she noticed the black jacket still on her person, over her tight tank top.
She pulled the jacket close to herself and grinned.
"Gabriella!"
Walking towards her bathroom whilst tugging on her dark sweat pants which had ridden up as she tossed and turned in her sleep, she yelled back. "Yeah?"
"Come down here for a sec!"
Gabriella quickly squirted some paste on her toothbrush and stuck it in her mouth, walking out of her small white bathroom and towards the stairs that led downstairs. As Carly came into view at the bottom of the stairs she stopped brushing, foam collected in her mouth. "Wha 's et Cawly?"
Carly just turned her head towards the front door opposite the stairs and grinned brightly. "You have a visitor."
Gabriella's eyebrows knit together with confusion before she slowly descended the staircase more and the open front door slowly came into view, a basketball shorts and white-beater clad Troy Bolton standing in the doorway, a sexy smirk appearing on his face as he eyed Gabriella's appearance.
"Hey." He said with humor, his eyes lighting up as he stared at her.
Gabriella's mouth hung open with horror, foam threatening to spill from its cave. As some of the blue foam started to spill over her lip she placed her hand over her mouth and dashed back up the stairs to her bedroom, quickly finishing with her toothbrush and rinsing out her mouth. She then pulled her hair loose and watched with annoyance as it messily spread out around her shoulders. Running her fingers through her tangled knots, she gritted her teeth as she heard Carly call her name again.
Damn her for not giving some sort of warning. There should be a code word for these sort of things.
Groaning at the mess that she called her hair, she pulled it hastily into a low ponytail, doing a once over in the mirror to check for anything that she had missed.
Oh right, she still looked like a pile of just-woke-up-and-have-morning-hair shit. She ran towards the stairs and halted, taking a deep breath before walking down them. Smiling nervously at the tall basketball star standing in the frame of the front door, the sun from the outside making his slightly sweaty and gleaming skin glow, she shot Carly a questioning look.
"Troy here," Carly smiled. "Was just in the neighborhood and thought he'd stop by and say hello."
Gabriella nodded slowly, looking between her and Troy.
"I was actually just playing basketball with some of the guys at the court," Troy stared into Gabriella's eyes with hope. "I thought maybe you'd want to go out? Get some breakfast?"
A bright smile erupted onto her face before she caught a glimpse of Carly's uneasy eyes.
"Actually Troy, every Saturday morning Gabriella goes-"
"Carly!"
The elder woman put her hands up in defense. "What?"
Gabriella sighed, sending her new guardian a look that only she understood. "It's okay…Troy can come with me…"
Carly cocked an eyebrow, glancing at a confused Troy before eyeing Gabriella hesitantly. "Are you sure, Gabs?"
Gabriella switched her brown eyes to Troy, staring at his handsome confusion, smiling softly at the remembrance of all that he had told her about his past on their date yesterday. It was her turn to open up. "Yeah," She sighed contently. "I'm sure."
Carly watched Gabriella unsurely for a second before nodding. "Okay." She shot Troy a smile before turning towards the kitchen. "I'm just gonna grab my purse and head over to the diner, but you two have a good day." As she turned to leave she wiggled her eyebrows at Gabriella, her eyes gesturing over her shoulder to the god like guy still staring at the brunette with curiosity.
Gabriella's eyes widened at Carly's silent approval and suggestive stare. She rolled her eyes and smiled sweetly at Troy. "Uhm, I just need to change and what not…but, I mean if you want you can come wait upstairs in my room?"
Troy's eyes followed her own up the stairs and he smiled softly. "Sure." He let her lead the way to her bedroom and he smirked as he noted the unpacked boxes and bright walls. She had photo frames already put on her nightstand, pictures of her and Carly, the other folks that worked at the diner, a little girl being sandwiched between two adults that Troy assumed was a younger Gabriella and her parents.
"I'll just be a minute." Gabriella said, catching his attention. He nodded as she disappeared in the bathroom after picking up some clothes from a box by the closet.
He sat down on her bed and picked up the picture of the small family, the little girl with bouncy short curls and a big bright smile making his heart melt. If his own little girl looked like that one day, then it made him even more sure that Gabriella was the one he wanted to be with forever, have children with. He shook his head at the thought, his eyes drifting towards the closed bathroom door.
He had never really asked about her parents. Troy knew they weren't in the picture, and he also knew that Greg Montez had died in a tragic car accident years ago. Everyone knew, it was Albuquerque for god's sake. If anything big happened, like a death or a drug bust, then the whole town would know in a matter of minutes.
What he didn't know was what happened to Gabriella's mother. She obviously died before her father, a very, very, long time ago. Troy wanted to know everything.
He wanted to know everything there was to know about Gabriella Montez. He knew she was special, different. He knew that her life sucked before Carly took her in. He knew she was deep, insightful, saw things in a different light than everyone else, saw things that no one else would even take a second glance at. She was…unique.
After ten minutes that seemed to go by quickly, for Troy was lost in his own thoughts, the door to the bathroom opened, steam escaping around Gabriella's body as she appeared in the frame, light wash shorts and a loose navy tank top covering her freshly washed skin. As she squeezed her wet hair with a towel, she gestured towards the picture that Troy was holding. "Those are my parents." She informed softly, smiling.
He smiled back and set the frame back on the nightstand. "I figured." He replied quietly. "They look nice."
She dropped the towel on her bed and sat beside him, gazing at the picture as well. "That was taken on my fifth birthday. A year before my mom died."
Troy watched the side of her face carefully. "I'm sorry."
She turned her head towards him and smiled. "It's okay." She said softly.
"If you don't mind me asking…" He rose his hand to scratch the back of his neck. "I know what happened to your dad…but your mom…?"
Gabriella sighed. "Breast cancer."
He nodded slowly, wondering how the world could hurt such a beautiful person. Why both her parents? It wasn't right. "I'm sorry, Gabriella."
She was strong. "It's okay, really." They sat in a comfortable silence for a second, just waiting for the other to say something. Gabriella sighed and stood up, taking Troy's hand to pull him up as well. "Will you come somewhere with me? I go every Saturday."
He smiled, leaning down to surprise her with a kiss, making a blush creep its way onto her cheeks. "I'd love to."
…
She led the way down the long black path, her surroundings awfully familiar for she had been coming here since she was a little girl, the way already memorized in her mind.
Troy followed silently, watching her carefully, his eyes dark with interest and respect.
Gabriella sighed, stopping in front of two white grave stones. "Hey Mama, hi Daddy."
Troy smiled sadly, his hands in the pockets of his black basketball shorts. He looked down at the grave stones and read the inscriptions on each one.
Maria Montez. Loving Wife and Mother.
Greg Montez. Loving Husband and Father.
Troy looked up at the side of Gabriella's face, studying her gentle smile and calm demeanor. She came to the cemetery every Saturday to visit the graves of her parents, and to Troy, her genuine smile and casual stance informed him that the weekly meetings made her just the much stronger.
"I want to introduce you guys to someone…" Gabriella glanced over at him with a bashful smile, holding out her hand.
Troy took her hand and laced their fingers together, standing close beside her. "Hey Mr. and Mrs. Montez." He said politely.
Gabriella giggled at his formal tone, as if he were actually meeting them. She glanced up at his shy smile and thought of how much her parents would really love him, how much they would really be happy for her. She looked back down at the graves of her parents, the white stones right next to each other, where they should be. "This is Troy Bolton." She said softly. "The boy I met online, the one I've been telling you guys about."
He looked down at her with a bashful smirk. "I hope all good things…"
She giggled, shaking her head. "Yes, all good things." She lowered her voice. "Right, Mama? Daddy? All good things."
Troy watched her gaze distantly at the graves, her mind off in a world where her parents were really standing right in front of her. Her relentless faith made him want to hold her in his arms and protect her from reality, protect her from all the pain in the world. He wanted to hold onto her and never let go.
"Uhm," He cleared his throat. "Mr. Montez, I know you're probably wondering what my intentions are with your daughter…"
The brunette shook out of her daze and sent a humored smile up to her knight in shining bronze skin. "Oh gosh…" She giggled lightly. "Here we go."
He nudged her playfully before putting on a serious face again. "Mr. Montez, I intend to treat Gabriella the way she deserves to be treated. With respect."
She gazed up at him with adoration, biting her lip at his progressing little speech.
"Your daughter is the most…" He glanced down at her with a sheepish spark in his eyes. "The most beautiful, caring…special, sweet…smart, funny, entertaining, and most unique," He grinned. "Person I have ever met.
She giggled, crimson running up her neck to stain her cheeks.
He chuckled lightly. "I really, really like your daughter, Mr. Montez, and you too Mrs. Montez, in case you were wondering." He caressed the back of Gabriella's small hand with his thumb, not noticing how his sincerity and the way he talked to her parents made her vision blurry. "Thank you for giving her to the world so I wouldn't have to live without knowing her, without meeting her."
Gabriella blinked back her emotions and angled her body further towards him. Her voice was barely a whisper. "Thank you." And it wasn't merely a thank you for being polite, it was a thank you for understanding.
He smiled softly and simply nodded.
"Well," She smiled down to the white in the field of green. "I'll see you guys next week, lots of love."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Montez." Troy nodded in their direction before turning around with Gabriella to walk down the path back to his car.
Gabriella looked over her shoulder and blew a quick kiss to the remembrance of her parents, hoping, no, knowing, that wherever they were, heaven in her mind, that they were smiling back at her, sending just as much love.
…
She thought she would die of old age, but no, she was now sure that the cause of her death, would be watching him with no shirt on…holy sweet Jesus.
Gabriella swooned as she watched Troy do a flawless layup, the ball falling through the hoop with a swish.
After having a nice breakfast at Patty's, Troy had suggested getting some ice cream, in which Gabriella could not refuse. So as they walked through the park to the ice cream car that Troy knew always sat in the middle of it for the whole afternoon, they had run into Chad.
And he had roped Troy into one more game with the guys. Yeah, he had tried saying no, explaining to Chad that he was with Gabriella. But then Jason and Zeke ran up, and they triple teamed him. Gabriella shrugged it off, encouraging him to go for she didn't want to get on anyone's bad side.
"I'll be watching on the grass, it's no big deal." She had said, finally convincing him to play a quick game of two on two.
Chad and the guys had smiled brightly and approvingly at Gabriella, already starting to like her. So here she was, sitting on the grass, watching the shirtless guys play basketball and every now and then timidly cheering her man on. She was happy, she wasn't sitting alone at home on a Saturday, she wasn't forced to work. Everything was turning around for her.
That was until Vivian came strolling up to the court, her two minions right behind her, all of them in miniskirts and belly button tank tops, except for Jillian who of course only had a bikini top on.
As they stared the brunette down, Gabriella seemed to shrink five times smaller under their demeaning gaze.
Chad was the second to notice the arrival of Barbie's protégés, minus Sharpay who had disbanded from the group at the fair yesterday when the mean girl had outed Gabriella. "What the hell are you guys doing here?" He asked, stopping the game, the ball now still in his hands.
"We were just enjoying the nice weather!" Vivian giggled, her eyes trained on the shirtless Captain, who eyed the three girls with suspicious curiosity.
Jillian came to stand beside her leader, her hands on her bony hips as a smirk adorned her face. "We thought you guys might be here…"
Jason waved excitedly at her. "Hey Jillian!" As all the guys shook their heads at him, the mop topped oblivious boy just lifted his shoulders with a puzzled look. "What?"
Gabriella slowly stood up, catching Troy's eye. He gave her a reassuring smile and a nod of his head, causing a small smile to appear on her previously uneasy face.
It quickly faded away as she caught sight of Vivian's deathly glare.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Vivian hissed, pointing dramatically at the petite brunette.
Troy took a step towards the blonde. "She's with me."
As her eyes widened with surprise, Vivian shared shocked glances with her two followers. "Are. You. Fucking. Serious?" She burst out, shocking everyone.
Gabriella took a frightened step back at the crazed look in Vivian's features.
"You replaced me with her?" She screamed, Troy just shaking his head at her and looking at the blonde as if she were crazy. Vivian suddenly stomped up to Gabriella. "You dumb little bitch, how dare you steal him away from me!"
Troy's jaw tightened with anger as he made his way towards the girls. Just as he was about to demand that Vivian take a few steps back, another voice was heard. A voice that shocked everyone.
"Back the fuck up Vivian!"
Everyone froze. Vivian slowly turned around to stare wide eyed at the holder of the high pitched voice who had appeared out of nowhere. "Excuse me?" She asked with disbelief.
Sharpay walked up to Vivian, her eyes narrowed in slits. "I said," She growled dangerously. "Back the fuck up."
Vivian gasped, her hand cupping her mouth as she stared at the platinum blonde. "Sharpay…" She whispered incredulously. "What are you doing?"
Sharpay just placed her manicured hands on her hips. "I should've done a lot more to you then just calling you a bitch at the fair yesterday, Viv, and now's my chance. I'm standing up for my real friend and not some fake bimbo like you. I didn't get to say what I really thought about you, because well, I have a lot to get across. I'm fucking sick of your hissy fits and the way that you talk to me, like your Queen of fucking Sheba." Sharpay looked around at everyone, wanting everyone to know that she was back. "I'm Sharpay fucking Evans, people! I don't follow around anyone because you all should be freaking bowing down to me!"
She mocked pouncing on Vivian, causing the frozen blonde to jump with fear. "Now get the hell out of here before I beat your ass for all the times you've treated me like shit." She narrowed her eyes. "No one treats Sharpay Evans like anything other than royalty."
Vivian gulped with fear before slowly scampering around Sharpay, scurrying over to Jillian and Bethany who looked just as frightened. The three girls quickly walked away, glancing back as if not processing what just happened.
The guys and Gabriella continued to just stare at Sharpay with wide eyes and open mouths as the blonde just fixed her hair and smoothed down her skirt, as if composing herself. "Well," She grinned as if nothing had just happened. "Now that that's over with, who wants to get some ice cream?"
…
"Will you stop freaking looking at me like that?" Sharpay huffed, taking one more lick of her cotton candy ice cream cone.
Gabriella shook out of her stare before looking back down to her own cone, consisting of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Sharpay had supported Gabriella at the fair yesterday and apparently cut her friendship with Vivian and her minions, but the two old friends had yet to actually really talk about the drama queen's sudden change of heart.
"Sorry." She said softly from next to Sharpay as they sat on a park bench.
The blonde glanced over at the brunette and sighed. "Look, I know this is weird Gabriella. And I know it's all my fault…"
"Well," Gabriella laughed sarcastically. "You kinda did ignore me for the past couple years ever since my dad died and then suddenly show up in my room yesterday..."
"I know…" She sighed sadly. "And I'm really sorry about that."
"Why?"
"Why, what?"
She shrugged, licking her ice cream. "Why are you sorry?"
Sharpay rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry for not being there for you like my brother…I guess," She looked down with guilt. "I guess I was just scared."
Watching her with slight suspicion, Gabriella could recognize the honesty. Sharpay didn't mean to abandon her.
"I loved your dad too, he was like my second father…" She glanced at the brunette with a sad smile. "You know that."
"I know, Sharpay."
"Gabriella…"
She looked up and sighed. "Yeah?"
"I really am sorry."
Gabriella smiled softly. "I know you are, Shar, I forgive you."
The drama queen smiled brightly, placing a giddy arm around her renewed friend and squeezing her tightly. "I'm so glad we're friends again, I've missed you Gabs."
Gabriella giggled. "I've missed you too, Shar."
…
Troy and Chad watched Gabriella and Sharpay embrace from across the court with the faces of oblivious men that would never understand women.
"Do you think they're friends again?" Chad asked, the sounds of Jason and Zeke trying to jump high enough to get their heads through the hoop heard from behind them.
Troy shrugged, tilting his head to the side without a clue. "I think…I mean they're hugging…girls do that with their friends…" He looked at Chad with a perplexed face. "Right?"
Both men looked back over at the girls who were now making their way towards the court with smiles on their faces.
"Women." They both muttered in unison.
…
They sat giggling in the grass beside the court, talking about their lives during the years that they had missed because of the rift in their friendship.
"Oh my god, I'm so going to hassle him about that later." Gabriella giggled, making a mental note to torture Ryan about his Elvis Presley peanut butter accident.
"You better." Sharpay giggled. "I mention it like five times a day and I think he's so used to it coming from me that he doesn't even care. But now I have you to bring it up again." She laughed devilishly.
The brunette shook her head. "He's going to get all whiny and start stomping like a little girl."
"Oh my god, he does always do that!"
They both burst out into laughter, the giggles dying down as they saw the four guys approaching them.
"Oh yeah," Sharpay leaned over to whisper to Gabriella. "I have to ask you about that one later," She gestured to a glistening Troy. "Mrs. Bolton."
Gabriella blushed and shook her head. "I am so looking forward to your interrogation, Shar." She said sarcastically.
The blonde wiggled her waxed brows. "Can't blame a girl for wanting the details."
Just as Gabriella nudged Sharpay's arm, Troy plopped down on the grass on the other side of the petite brunette. "Hi beautiful." He greeted, kissing her cheek.
Gabriella giggled. "You're all sweaty." She observed, scrunching her face up cutely even though she really didn't mind at all. Honestly, she would much rather he have no shirt on and get all tired and perspired...alright girl pull yourself together.
Troy cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, really?" He leaned forward and rubbed his forehead on her cheek playfully, emitting a squeal of protest from Gabriella.
"Ewwww!" She squealed, reeling away. "You're getting me all gross!"
He chuckled and picked up the white beater that he was wearing earlier. Wiping her face with the shirt, he grinned cheekily. "There, all clean." He said with a smirk, both of them not realizing the matching smirks on the four others around them.
"You're unbelievable." She giggled, snatching the shirt and putting it on the ground beside her. "Now I'm gonna smell."
Troy shrugged. "Good, now all the other guys will stay away from you."
She rolled her eyes and grabbed his face. "Revenge is a bitch."
He smirked. "Getting rough, Montez? I like that."
Rolling her eyes once more she leaned over and kissed him. At the sound of an abrupt cough, she pulled back, releasing his face.
"Sorry to interrupt your little love fest…" Chad smirked, Gabriella's face going beet red as she realized that they actually weren't alone. "But we're gonna head out."
Troy smiled with amusement at Gabriella's red cheeks and timid stance as she looked down and hid her face. He nodded at his friends. "Later guys."
Zeke and Jason waved as Chad just shook his head. "See ya, Hoops." The three guys turned around to walk in the opposite direction as Sharpay just stood up and brushed her skirt off.
"I gotta go too, but I'll see you guys at school Monday."
Gabriella sent the blonde a sweet smile. "Bye, Shar."
"See ya." Troy nodded.
Sharpay strutted off but not before looking over her shoulder. "Oh and kids?" She smirked mischievously. "Don't forget to be safe, use condoms, you know, all that jazz." She giggled with satisfaction at the brunette's horrified expression before walking off.
Gabriella's eyes widened and she placed her face in her hands. "Oh my god…"
Troy just chuckled, laying back on the grass and shaking his head. "I think I'm starting to like Sharpay."
Gabriella sent him a what-the-fuck look before standing up and holding out her hands. "Come on, we're going before I find some other way to embarrass myself, since the world is out to get me."
Troy rolled his eyes playfully before taking her hands and standing up, grabbing his beater from the ground. "I thought Sharpay was the drama queen…"
Gabriella cocked an eyebrow, smacking him on the arm.
"Ow!" He frowned. "Unnecessary."
So, tell me whatcha think. This is kind of the first time I'm writing them happily together and I'm kind of iffy on how I did lol. Reviews make for a faster update, just sayingggg. XOXOXO! (:
