Gabriella led Troy into one of the middle pews of the church. They took a seat next to an older couple who were talking to each other waiting for the sermon to start. Gabriella snuggled into Troy while he wrapped his arm around her. "We're meeting Sharpay at the Italian restaurant you took me to, the night we got drunk."
Troy chuckled. "Ah, my new favorite restaurant."
"Her husband owns it apparently. Zeke Baylor, I think his name was."
Troy smiled suddenly. "They got married? Good for them. Zeke and I played basketball together. He always had the biggest crush on Sharpay."
She smiled over at him, placing her hand on his knee. "You know I wish I grew up here. It seems like a great place to grow up and raise kids."
He nodded. "Yeah. Everybody pretty much knows each other."
Some music started and a man started speaking. Everybody rose to sing a song of rejoice. Gabriella didn't know the words but she hummed along. Once the song was over, they took a seat and the pastor welcomed them to the church with a long speech about the events that were coming up and so on and so forth.
After some bible verses, a sermon and two more songs. The preacher wanted everybody to count their blessings. Gabriella closed her eyes and bowed her head in thought. She counted all the material things she had as one blessing then the second was the man next to her. She would be stranded in the middle of god knows where if it wasn't for him and his kind heart. She owed him more than she could possibly ever give him. Tears pricked her eyes when she realized how incredibly lucky she was.
Troy's hand rubbed her back soothingly. She quickly wiped her eyes and sat up. She leaned back against Troy, who gave her a loving kiss to the forehead. "Are you okay?" He asked quietly.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She assured with a small smile.
The plates for donations were being passed around and Troy pulled out his wallet. Gabriella dug in the small purse she brought along for any kind of money she had. She had twenty dollars left to her name. She placed that twenty dollars in that plate along with Troy's forty dollars he had in his wallet.
They got up, just as everyone did and walked out into the church lobbying area. They said hello to some people the recognized from last week. They slipped out quietly after a good fifteen minutes. "Wait." Gabriella said just as they got to the car.
"What? Did you forget something?" Troy asked, patting his pockets to make sure he had everything. She cupped his face, kissing his lips gently. He grinned as she pulled away. "What was that for?"
"Just because you are impeccable." She said with a shy smile.
A wide smile formed on his face. She was just too beautiful. He brushed a strand of hair from her face before kissing her lips again. "You are so much more than words can describe."
"You're everything, Troy Bolton." She said, wrapped around him.
"You are, and so much more." He kissed her forehead. "Would it be selfish to say that I want to skip lunch and go back home to cuddle?"
Gabriella giggled, kissing his chin. "That would be very selfish. Especially since we are not paying for it." She kissed his lips one more before pulling away. "Come on."
Troy licked his lips as he followed Gabriella into the restaurant. He was a bit nervous having lunch with Sharpay. They hung out with a similar crowd back in high school but they weren't exactly friends. People always referred to her as the Ice Queen. She had always been very bossy and intimidating. He wondered if she changed much.
Brie squeezed his hand as they were lead to a private table in the back room. "Hey Sharpay!" Gabriella said excitedly.
"Gabriella!… Troy Bolton?" Sharpay asked with a frown.
"Hi Sharpay." Troy said quietly.
"Remember how I told you I was staying with a friend? Well that's Troy… Don't even ask how we met. It's a long story. Is Zeke joining us?" Gabriella asked, changing the subject.
"He will. He was just checking up on the kitchen staff." Sharpay said, eyeing Troy as he pulled out the chair for Gabriella.
Brie smiled up at him widely. "Thank you."
Troy took a seat next to her. "How have you been Sharpay?"
"I've been great. I'm an entrepreneur. I've been doing some theatre work… fashion… I designed Gabriella's dress!" Sharpay said with a wide smile.
"She told me. It's beautiful. You have a great talent. She's been wearing your creations perfectly." Troy said, smiling over at Gabriella.
Gabriella smiled. "I'm obsessed with this dress." She admitted shyly.
"Well you know I'm always looking for new models and you would be perfect." Sharpay said with a smile. "Your curves just make the dresses come to life. Those skin and bone models do nothing but flatten where the curve should be accentuated."
"Sorry to keep you waiting Sugarplum." Zeke Baylor said as he walked up to the table. "You must be Gabriella… Troy? Wow. Hoops, I haven't seen you in years. How you been?"
Troy put on a small smile. "I've been doing well. I manage the construction of the dream homes being built on the south side." Troy explained. "Gabriella and I came here for dinner a couple weeks ago… spectacular."
"Thanks hoops man. It's great to see you again. We didn't see you at the reunion. The team was supposed to meet up again."
"Yeah, I was going to go but that was the year my grandma passed. I didn't have a cell phone and I didn't really want to talk to anybody." Troy shook his head. "But I wish I would have went now."
"Maybe the next one huh?" Zeke said. "Sorry about your Grandma."
Brie put her hand on Troy's leg comfortingly. "Gabriella is wearing one of my creations." Sharpay announced. "Doesn't she look amazing honey?"
"The dress looks beautiful on you, Gabriella." Zeke said, with a grin. "You did a beautiful job Sugarplum."
Troy placed his hand on top of Brie's. He squeezed her hand. "Nobody could wear it better." Troy agreed.
Gabriella rubbed Troy's knee as they chatted over lunch. She took a sip of her wine, smiling at Troy who was talking to Zeke and Sharpay. They were reminiscing about high school and a person named Chad. He apparently had a killer afro which a person named Jason liked to throw little paper balls into.
Sharpay turned to Gabriella suddenly. "Gabriella, come to the bathroom with me?"
"An odd request but sure." Gabriella laughed, getting up. "I'll be right back." She said to Troy, running her hand across her shoulder.
Sharpay and Gabriella walked through the restaurant to the restrooms. Sharpay took out her compact as they stood in front of the sink. She powdered her nose lightly before she turned to Gabriella. "So what is the deal with you and Troy?" She asked enthusiastically.
Gabriella laughed a little. "I should have known you were going to ask that." She fixed her hair then sighed. "When I got to Albuquerque I wasn't-" She licked her lips trying to find the words. "I had a lot of problems and we happened to be at the right place at the right time. He helped me out a lot and he gave me a place to stay. It's- He is amazing and I could never begin to repay him for everything he's done for me."
Sharpay smiled at her new friend. "So have you slept together yet?"
Gabriella choked. "What?"
"You guys have been making eyes at each other all night. I'm sorry if I'm wrong…"
"We're trying to figure out what we are but we aren't sleeping together… in a sexual sense." Gabriella explained with a blush. "Let's get back to the table." She recovered quickly, heading towards the door.
"It's okay, Gabriella. You guys make a cute couple." Sharpay said as they walked out of the bathroom.
They took their seats back at the table and Troy leaned over, kissing the side of her head. She returned her hand to his thigh, smiling softly at him. "This food is amazing Zeke. Are these all your recipes?" Gabriella asked as they started eating again.
"Well mostly they're dishes I've spent years perfecting. When I went to cooking school we had to make our own menu and cook it on a whim. That really came in handy. I only use the best of the best." Zeke explained.
"Well, they are delicious." Troy agreed.
"Thank you." Zeke smiled appreciatively. "We should meet up more often, Troy. Maybe you, me, some of the guys from the team back in the day."
"That would be awesome Troy." Gabriella said, rubbing his leg.
He reached down to grasp her hand. He squeezed it gently. "That is a good idea." Troy agreed. "I'll give you my number and we can meet up."
"Great" Zeke said with a wide smile.
"Thank god, you're getting him out of this place. If he's not here bugging the employees, he's at home bugging me." Sharpay said with a laugh. "That reminds me. You have to come over. I need to show you the rest of my collection. I need your opinion." She said, turning to Gabriella.
"I'd love to come over. I'm free anytime." Gabriella said with a wide smile. She was suddenly extremely glad she stayed in Albuquerque. She didn't know where she would be if she never came here or met Troy.
Troy held Gabriella's hand as they walked out of the restaurant. They headed over to the truck and hopped in. She leaned over, kissing his lips slowly. A dopey smile formed on his face as they pulled away. "What was that for?"
She shrugged. "Just because. Did you have a good time at lunch?"
"I did. I guess this is what normal people do. They socialize and make plans with friends. I closed myself off for so long, I was afraid that I was never going to be normal again."
Gabriella laughed, rubbing his arm. "You are normal Troy. A little weird, but cute weird."
"Weird?" He asked, faking offense.
"You didn't have a computer Troy. Everybody has a computer." She stressed. "I still like you though."
Troy chuckled. "Oh, you only like me?" She shrugged with an amused smile on her face. He reached over, tickling her sides.
She squealed loudly, squirming in her seat. "No! Stop it!" She said in the midst of giggles.
Troy put his hands on either side of her legs and leaned over, kissing her lips firmly. "I love you."
She ran her fingers down the side of his head slowly. She kissed him softly before nodding. "I adore you."
"Mmm." He hummed, pressing a light kiss to her lips. "Let's go home."
"Yes, please. I'm ready for a nap." She said, sitting regularly in her seat as he pulled back. She buckled up and sat back.
Troy took the long way home, driving through the main streets of Albuquerque. By the time he actually got home, Gabriella was fast sleep in the passengers seat. He turned off the truck and watched her sleep for a minute. She was the most beautiful person he's ever laid eyes on. He got out and opened her door, reaching over her lap to unbuckle her. He slid his arms under her, lifting her from the truck. He closed the door with his foot and carried her inside his apartment.
He laid her down on the bed, covering her up with a light blanket and kissing her forehead. He locked his truck with the button and closed his front door behind him. He cleaned the place up a little bit before he laid down with Gabriella. She was still fast asleep when he wrapped his arms around her. She shifted, cuddling against him in her sleep.
He stroked her hair while she slept. Troy dozed off after a while, waking up a little every time she shifted her body to get comfortable. He woke up about an hour later. She was still sleeping, cuddled up in his arms. He didn't dare move because he didn't want to wake her up. He wanted her to rest as long as she needed. He did wake her up pretty early this morning.
The longer he laid there, the harder it was not to think about the next couple of months. They would soon have a plan made for Michael. They would be going to California to help him. He couldn't help but think of all the 'what ifs' that came along with it.
What if she doesn't want to go back to Albuquerque when it's all over? What if she wants to be with him again? What if he does something to hurt her? What if he refuses treatment? What if something goes horribly wrong? The last thing he wanted was her to get hurt. She definitely made her mind up about helping him. Troy guessed he'd do everything in his power to protect her.
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