"So, you are okay with Troy and I staying here right?" Gabriella asked, waiting for Sharpays approval.
"Um, of course! As long as you're safe, you can stay in my bedroom for all I care."
"Thank you. What would I do without you?" Gabriella giggled and leaned in for a hug when she heard the door opening and pulled back, too quickly look who was there. Troy, Chad, and some man similar to Troy stepped inside and Gabriella smiled, relieved. She gently pushed herself up and ran to him, jumping up around his waist. "Thank god you're OK."
He buried his head into her hair, and took her scent in, smiling. "Is that your friend?" He let her drop her feet to the ground before making his way to Sharpay.
"I heard so much about you. It's a pleasure." She reached her hand out to shake and he took it, grinning. "You too. And I must say, you have quite a house." Troy stepped back to Gabriella, wrapping his arm around her waist and whispered into her ear. "I need to talk to you in private." Gabriella nodded at his command and glanced at Sharpay and she walked into the kitchen, with Chad and the other guy following behind.
"Who's that?" She grabbed his hand and brought him over to the couch, waiting for his reply.
"My brother Dylan. Well, not real brother. He's here to help." Gabriellas eyes widened. He looked like a blood brother, how ironic.
"Why didn't you tell me about him?"
He gently ran his thumb along her hand and looked up at her "There's some things between us..It didn't feel right to bring him up at any moment.
She nodded in understanding. "Chads alive I see..That's good."
"Barely. He was at my brothers waiting for me. Gabriella, there's some things we need to talk about."
"Like?" She asked, and he let go of her hand.
"I need you to trust me on this. I need you to tell Sharpay to stay here tonight so you aren't alone."
"What?" She almost shouted, but tried to keep her voice low. "Where are you going now? You just got back!"
"There are things I need to do tonight with Chad and Dylan."
"I know, that's obvious. Just tell me what!" She demanded, this time she couldn't keep her voice that low and she could feel Sharpay staring at her.
"I don't think you should know."
"Troy. You want me to trust you right? Well then you need to tell me everything that's going on. I don't want you to treat me like some 5 year old that doesn't have a clue whats going on."
Troy looked into her eyes, and felt himself cave in to them. She didn't even have to do that cute puppy face this time. All it took were her chocolate eyes to make him wince inside. He took a deep breath and sighed. He knew where this would lead. "There's a party tonight."
"You really think it's a good time for a party?" She interrupted, and Troy put his pointer finger over her mouth. "Let me finish." she nodded and he pulled away his hand, placing it on her thigh. "There's this party, a masquerade really. Chad got some intel on Nick. We think he might be there to make a deal with my boss. We don't know what they will wear, or when they will meet, we just know both are showing up together. I believe they are working together."
"But..I thought you said they were enemies?" Her voice was shaky, and Troy grabbed her thigh a little tighter in comfort.
"That's what I thought..And that's why we need info."
"What are you planning on doing? You think your boss will tell you anything?"
"No..I know for a fact he wont. But maybe..."
Before he finished she quickly responded "I want to be there. I want to help you get him."
"Gabriella, no. It's too risky. He knows what you look like, and there might be people around there that I can't protect you from. I'm not gonna let you go right to your death." He shook his head in disbelief.
"You almost did once before.." She mumbled quietly to herself and he gave her a confused look. "Troy, I want to be there when you knock him out and torture him. He deserves it for what he's done. I want him to regret toying with me and using me for whatever purposes. Please, Troy. If you want answers, I can help you point him out. I know his voice. Please."
"Gabriella no! I don't want you getting hurt!" He stood up away from her, and she stared at his back. "I will be fine Troy...You said it's a masquerade! I'll wear a mask, and he will never know it's me. I wont even talk. I'll be fine Troy. I know you will protect me if anything happens. I trust you, so trust me."
Troy turned to face her, his hands on top of his head. He can't believe he was going to do this. He was actually putting Gabriella in more danger. But she would never give up. She was too damn stubborn.
"You stay in my sight at all times, and if anything seems off, you come to me right away and we leave. Got it?"
Gabriella smiled. Victory.
"You sure you're gonna be okay staying with Chad and Dylan?" Gabriella turned away from the mirror and looked at her best friend. Sharpay giggled to herself and nodded. "I can handle two boys. Besides, they are pretty cute. It'll be fine. You just promise me you'll be safe."
"I'll be fine Sharpay. I have Troy." Of course Gabriella was nervous. She was never more petrified in her life. But she wanted this. She wanted to see him suffer, and she wanted to be there when they got him. If he was alive, it was pretty obvious that means he's apart of this. There's no way they would try to kill her and keep him alive. Him talking to Troys boss even made it more clear he wasn't a good guy.
"Here." Sharpay woke Gabriella from her train of thoughts and handed her a mask that was black with red edges. Gabriella grabbed it and nodded, putting it over her eyes. Gabriella let her curls loose over her shoulders, and played with her hair to make it slightly messy. Nick wouldn't notice her hair. Only a few times has she ever let her hair down in wavy curls. Most of the time it was up in a ponytail or straightened. She smiled at herself in the mirror and patted down her dress. Her dress was a silky red that stuck tightly to her curves. She played with the straps until she felt more comfortable and pulled the top of the dress down a little to show some cleavage. Her dress extended to her knees, followed by black high heels. She was pretty proud with the outcome. Nick never appreciated her dressing up in a sexy way, so she usually wore sweats or casual clothes. He told her it made her 'slutty'. God, now thinking about it..What the hell did she see in him?
"Is that for Troy?" Sharpay teased, and pointed to Gabriellas outfit.
"Mmmm, maybe." Gabriella laughed and headed to the door to go downstairs.
"Well, if I was him, i'd be down on my knees begging for you." That sounded delightful.
"Troy, if anything goes wrong..just press this button, and ill be right there." Troy nodded at Chad and grabbed the pager from him, setting it in his pocket. Troy was wearing a normal tuxedo he borrowed from Sharpay, and she swore it was her brothers. But something about it made him feel like it was from someone else, like a lover. It just felt awkward in a way. At least it fit perfectly. Troy finished his outfit with a white mask and placed it over his eyes. The front of his hair was lifted up, and he ran a comb through it one last time.
"Got i-" As he was about to finish, something, or someone, caught his eye. He stared ahead of him at Gabriella who was walking side-by-side with Sharpay. The blonde girl next to her seemed like the ugliest girl in the world compared to Gabriella. Which didn't make much sense, since Sharpay wasn't really bad looking. His eyes were glued to Gabriella as she swayed her hips down the stairs and made her way to him. Never in his life did he ever see someone as stunning as the beauty inches from him.
"You look amazing." He whispered in her ear when she came closer, and her cheeks turned a light pink.
"Not as good as you." She responded and he denied it.
"Ready beautiful?" Again she felt her cheeks turning colors, and she grabbed his hand when he reached out for hers. The touch made her all tingly inside, and she felt butterflies in her stomach. This was gonna be one hell of a night.
Alright, so heres the next one! It's gonna get really intense the next few chapters. And things will make A LOT more sense too. So be prepared for action (;