a/n – I was SO bad about updating this sooner. Oh my goodness. Dahhh, trying to find time to write is getting harder, but I'm never going to abandon this story, I swear. Thank you to everyone who reviewed—it really keeps me going. :D
Onto chapter ten!
\/\/\/\/\/
Near the end of October, East High was slowly returning to its normal ways. The closer it was to the start of basketball season, the more the school was buzzing. Posters counting down the days had been taped to every bare wall, and the school spirit was climbing back to being abnormally high.
"Gabriella!" Kelsi said excitedly, running over to the lunch table. She held onto her hat in one hand, and the other was waving sheets of paper, all the while trying to keep her backpack slung over her shoulder. "I got it! I finished!"
Gabriella looked up with a smile, though her eyes were wide and she cleared her throat, motioning discreetly to stop talking. Ryan looked suspicious for a brief moment, and then smirked. Kelsi stopped in her tracks when she reached the table, holding onto the papers close to her chest. Sharpay looked between the composer and her girlfriend.
"Finished what?" Sharpay inquired, noticing Kelsi's cheeks were tinted red. Kelsi obviously hadn't realized the blonde was sitting right there.
Gabriella reached over to Kelsi and grabbed the sheets of paper, folding them so Sharpay couldn't see what was written. "Our… chemistry homework!" She gave an innocent broad smile to Sharpay and kissed her on the cheek.
Sharpay raised her eyebrow and brought a chip to her mouth and crunched it loudly.
"Hold on, I got to talk to Kelsi for a second," Gabriella giggled, standing up from the table.
Once they were down the stairs and out of earshot of any eavesdroppers, Kelsi gushed, "I'm really sorry. I didn't see her there. I hope I didn't spoil the surprise. But more than that, I hope you like what I have so far. It's only a rough draft… And you said to make it as romantic as possible, but it's hard to write a love song when I've never been in love like you are, but I tried—"
"Kelsi," Gabriella laughed, looking up from the sheet music, "I love it so far, which means Sharpay's gonna love it, too. I just hope I can do it justice." She hummed a few bars to herself and cocked her head. "Though, I'd love it if it was transposed a key or two higher. The lyrics are amazing, but I'm pretty sure it's too low for my range."
Kelsi looked at Gabriella amusingly. "Wow. You really are Sharpay's girlfriend."
Gabriella laughed and handed the papers back to Kelsi, touching her arm as a goodbye. She walked back up the stairs to rejoin Sharpay and Ryan.
"Homework?" Ryan asked, arms crossed on the table. He smiled, knowing Gabriella wouldn't say.
"Something like that," Gabriella said as she sat down.
"Why can't you tell me," Sharpay pouted.
"Because," Gabriella grinned, signaling that was the end of the conversation. She looked around the packed room and listened to the roar of kids laughing and talking, but then frowned. "Troy's by himself again," she commented sadly. She craned her neck up to get a better look at him down on the lower level of the cafeteria. "Basketball starts in a couple weeks, and Chad said he still hasn't played at all."
Sharpay turned in her seat and raised her eyebrow slightly, glancing down briefly at the brunette before turning back to her lunch. Ryan waved to someone in the distance and stood up, a slight blush on his face.
"I'll see you two later," he said quickly.
Gabriella whipped her head around and saw who Ryan was looking at. "Jared?" she gawked, putting two-and-two together. Her jaw dropped in a shocked and amused manner. "No way."
All Ryan could do was blush harder as he walked away to meet his friend.
Sharpay was picking at her lunch, but Gabriella insisted on carrying on the previous conversation.
"You really hate him, don't you," Gabriella said quietly.
"Who, Jared?" she asked, nonchalantly.
"Sharpay…" Gabriella said with a sigh, knowing full out that Sharpay was avoiding her question.
Sharpay looked down at Troy again. "I just hate what he did to you," she said, turning her head to look into Gabriella's eyes.
"No kidding. If looks could kill, Troy would have fallen backwards off his seat a couple seconds ago." She put her hands on her neck and rolled her eyes back, lolling her tongue out jokingly. Sharpay chuckled and looked at her lap. Gabriella put her elbow on the table and held her head, turning sideways to look at her girlfriend. "I'm sick of Chad annoying me about talking to Troy. So I think I'm going to do it today after school."
"Are you sure?" Sharpay asked, concerned.
Gabriella gave a slow nod, turning her head slightly to look at Troy. "Will you come with me?" Noticing the strange look on Sharpay's face, Gabriella added, "Well, not with, but at least be around waiting? I don't want… to be alone."
Sighing, Sharpay looked into the brown eyes she adored. "I'd do anything for you," she said softly. Gabriella's heart lurched at her words. Laughing at herself, Sharpay leaned forward and kissed Gabriella's goofy smile. "And people say I'm a bitch," she said, face inches from Gabriella's.
"Oh, you are," Gabriella grinned. The lunch bell rang, and Sharpay laughed and couldn't resist slamming her lips onto Gabriella's aggressively, slipping her tongue into her mouth. Gabriella moaned and reluctantly pulled away, eyes closed, savoring the sensation. "The school is accepting us, but I don't think they're ready for a full make-out session quite yet," she said, opening her eyes.
"Alright," Sharpay said exasperatedly. "Their loss. I'll meet you at your locker after school," Sharpay said, offering her hand to help Gabriella stand. "See you later," she said softly, kissing her on the cheek and she exited the cafeteria with a wave.
Gabriella put her fingers lightly on the place where Sharpay's lips touched her skin and smiled, feeling the tingles shiver all the way down to her toes.
\/\/\/\/\/
As the majority of kids shuffled out the doors into the sunny afternoon later that day, Sharpay and Gabriella lingered at their lockers, waiting for any sign of Troy to pass by. Chad spotted them looking and he silently pointed with his head towards the opposite direction of where all the kids were heading. Taking the hint, the girls rounded the corner and walked hesitantly to the only destination Chad could have meant: the gymnasium.
One door to the gym was propped open, and Sharpay stood behind it, urging Gabriella inside.
"I'll be here," Sharpay whispered, taking a quick peek inside before gently pushing the back of Gabriella's hips to make her start walking.
Gabriella took one last look back but then walked forward, getting closer to the lone figure standing over a stray basketball in the middle of the court. She made sure her feet didn't make too much of a sound with each step, but she had to make her presence known soon.
"You shouldn't… stop playing basketball," Gabriella said, voice echoing and splitting the silence. Troy flinched but didn't turn around. Gabriella tilted her head, eyes narrowed in concern. Troy looked like he hadn't eaten or slept in weeks. The red and white shirt that he was wearing now hung limp over his arms; a shirt he used to fill out quite nicely. His jeans were held securely from an old belt that had new notches poked through to keep his pants from slipping off his slender waist. When Gabriella came within ten or so feet of him, she walked in a careful circle, keeping the same radius until she was looking at his somber face.
Gabriella was once scared that this long-awaited meeting would end up in Troy throwing a chair across the room in some crazed behavior. But she never expected this.
"I can't do this." His voice was weak. Strained. Cold.
"Can't do what," Gabriella insisted gently, inwardly horrified at his helpless tone. Her eyes threatened tears. She took a step forward in hopes of consolidating him, but he stepped backwards just as quickly, as if he'd been burned. She didn't dare say a word. He was calm. And that's what was scaring her.
"I can't…" It seemed to take all the physical strength in his fragile body to finish his sentence. "…see you with her. It… It doesn't make sense."
Gabriella stepped toward Troy and reached for the basketball at his feet, trying her hardest not to notice how tense he'd become as she approached. "And that's the reason why you haven't been playing basketball? Because you're confused?" She handed him the ball, and he held onto it loosely for a moment before it slipped through his fingers and fell to the floor. The sound of it bouncing over and over again reverberated throughout the gym, and Gabriella watched it until it rolled to a stop.
"I don't know who I am without you. I need you," Troy said, plead visible in his bizarrely dull gray eyes. The color was striking to Gabriella, because that's not the color she remembered seeing. His eyes always were the color of the sky: a deep azure blue. But his tear-stricken face and mind made his eyes the color of his soul. Empty.
Shaking her head softly, Gabriella's throat tightened. "Troy…"
"I'm sorry. Whatever I did, I'm sorry."
"You hurt me," Gabriella said, voice a strained whisper.
Troy noticeably swallowed, confusion in his features. "I'm—"
"Stop apologizing." Gabriella hugged her arms to her chest and looked into Troy's lifeless eyes. "There's no point in trying to win me back. I've found someone else."
Troy's mouth opened in an angry protest. "Yeah, but that someone's a girl." Though he tried sounding mad, he was still weak, almost defeated.
"It shouldn't matter who it is," Gabriella spat. "Boy, girl—it doesn't have to do with anything. We're in love."
"You're not in love with her," Troy said, shaking his head, gaining strength. "And she doesn't love you like I love you. I love you, Gabi. I always have. I don't know what I did to hurt you, but whatever it was—"
"Troy," Gabriella said, shaking her head. "If you don't believe you did anything wrong these past few months, then I really did make the right decision of breaking up with you." A tear slipped down her cheek. "I'm talking to you now to give you closure. That's all. Everyone's been worried about you. I bet that was the first time you touched a basketball in months," she said, pointing to the ball that lay some feet away from them. "And I forced it in your hands."
Troy's eyes glistened. "Don't do this to me."
"Do what?" Gabriella asked incredulously. "What am I doing?"
"You don't get it!" he exclaimed.
"What's there to get?" she asked, exasperated.
Troy snapped. He closed his eyes and grabbed onto his hair, looking as if he wanted to rip it out. "I have been humiliated, Gabriella." He let go of his hair, which made parts of it stick up, making Troy look like a madman. "Completely humiliated! I had come back to school and explain to people that I lost my girlfriend to another girl?"
"You don't have to say it like that—"
"—And not just any girl, but Sharpay fucking Evans."
A fire ignited in Gabriella's eyes and she took a step towards Troy. "Don't say her name like that," she snarled.
Troy's gray eyes flashed an evil glint. "Why? You don't like the word fuck? Why's that? You already fucked her? Is that it?"
Gabriella clenched her jaw and stared at Troy. He laughed wildly.
"You have! Oh, that's great. How're your fingers holding up?" he asked, wiggling his hands at Gabriella's face. "Now tell me, are you the fucker, or the fuckee?" Gabriella slapped his hands away from her face. Troy snickered and quickly held onto Gabriella's right hand tightly. "Want to try that again?" he jeered, leaning his head in.
Gabriella took her other hand and slapped him hard on the cheek. Troy stumbled back, both teenagers surprised at the outburst. He grit his teeth and clenched his fists, looking straight at Gabriella. She'd never had the guts to stand up for herself before. She was scared. Standing in the middle of an open basketball court, she'd never felt so backed up into a corner.
Troy grabbed Gabriella's shoulders roughly, making Gabriella stop breathing. Her vision flashed back, seeing the same wicked look in Troy's eyes as he did right before he had his way with her. "You want to be with her, then fine," Troy spat in her face, gripping her shoulders tighter.
Gabriella looked to the side and closed her eyes. "Sharpay!" she cried out.
"You have just made the worst decision of your life," he said, holding onto her shoulders so firmly, Gabriella was sure to have a bruise.
"Sharpay!" Gabriella cried louder, more desperately.
"Get your hands off her," Sharpay shouted, striding into the gym, heels clicking on the wooden floor.
Troy abruptly let go of Gabriella. Sharpay crossed the gym and went straight up to Gabriella, wiping her silent tears. Not knowing what to do next, Troy spun around and quickly walked away, though he turned around once more. He was positively fuming. This was the reaction that Gabriella had been expecting.
"You want me to play basketball, fine, I'll play basketball. I'll become the best player this state has ever seen. But know this," he said, taking a step toward the girls, pointing his finger at Gabriella. "Know what big of a mistake you made losing me. Because you'll never have me back." With that, he left the gym.
The second he went out of view, Gabriella held onto Sharpay and started shaking, and after a few seconds, Sharpay realized it was hysteric laughter through her tears. "He… he finally got his closure. He turned this all on me, like he was the one breaking up with me." Gabriella calmed herself down, with the help of Sharpay rubbing her back. "I was so scared," she admitted. "I couldn't handle him anymore, that's why I called for you…"
"Bri, I'll be your knight in shining armor any day. And to think I actually felt sorry for him," Sharpay said, shaking her head.
Gabriella sniffed. "Sharpay?" Sharpay pulled away from the hug and held onto Gabriella's shaking hands, waiting for her to continue with her question. "Why don't you ever cry?"
Blinking a few times, Sharpay tried wrapping her head around Gabriella's question. "I… I don't…" Sharpay shook her head. They started walking hand-in-hand out of the gym. What kind of a question was that? Gabriella just came out of this soap-opera situation with her ex-boyfriend, and all she could think about was Sharpay's inability to shed tears freely?
"I'm not kidding, Ray. When was the last time you really cried?" Gabriella had been wondering about this for quite some time, and right now, she was in need of a distraction from what just happened, so this seemed the opportune time to ask.
Realizing the seriousness in Gabriella's voice, Sharpay walked slower to think about what her girlfriend was asking. Her mind quickly pinpointed to her answer.
"Remember… the night we were looking at the stars? And I carried you up the stairs into my room?" Sharpay asked softly as they reached their lockers again.
Gabriella grabbed her jacket and backpack and gave a little smile, latching her hand to Sharpay's. "Yeah."
Sharpay reached for her purse, put it around her shoulder, and started walking with Gabriella towards the front doors of the school. Gabriella could tell what Sharpay wanted to say was hard for her, so she didn't push.
"When I opened my eyes that next morning and found you cuddled up against me…." Sharpay opened up the doors and stepped into the warm fall air. "I couldn't handle it. It was like my dreams came true, except we weren't a couple, and I was crushed. That was one of the last times I really cried."
Gabriella's eyebrows rose, and her forehead crinkled. "You cried about me?"
Sharpay put her arm around Gabriella's waist. "The only times I ever cry are about you."
"There were other times?" Gabriella asked, worried.
Sharpay started to list off the different times. "When you told me about what Troy did to you, the morning before school started, a week after school started when some jerk taped a picture inside my locker of two naked girls making-out…"
Gabriella gasped. "Someone did what?" she exclaimed into the almost empty parking lot they were crossing to get to Sharpay's car.
"Initially, I was mortified," Sharpay said. She gave a tiny smirk. "But I still have the picture," she confessed, making Gabriella burst out laughing.
They reached Sharpay's car, though neither of them moved to get in it yet. "I'm really not as strong as you think," Sharpay said, threading her fingers through the side of Gabriella's hair.
"Yes, you are," Gabriella whispered, leaning in to kiss Sharpay softly. Gabriella went to pull away, but Sharpay hooked her fingers around the front of Gabriella's belt loops, tugging her closer into a passionate kiss.
When they broke apart, Sharpay stayed close. "So the situation with Troy, it's done?"
Gabriella took an uneasy look toward the school. "Done."
Sharpay sensed that she was lying, but for now, she thought it was better to forget about the fiasco that happened in the gym. "Good. Because we've got more important things to be concerned about. Ryan's been telling me about the winter musical situation. They're starting it early this year, and the auditions are coming up soon. Mrs. Darbus has a play in mind, but Kelsi's been working on an original play, and she's basically rigging the parts for us, though Darbus doesn't know."
Gabriella smirked. "So we have to try and convince Darbus to do Kelsi's play?"
Sharpay nodded. "I think we can be pretty convincing, don't you?"
"We'll make it work," Gabriella smiled.
\/\/\/\/\/
Every morning, Sharpay drove to Gabriella's house to pick her up to go to school. On the first of November, this wasn't any different. Sharpay parked her car in the Montez's driveway at 7:00am and walked on inside without knocking.
"Hello, Sharpay," Laura smiled as she tinkered around the kitchen, making her husband and Gabriella's lunches for the day. "You hungry?"
Sharpay set down her purse on the island counter and sat on one of the swivel bar chairs. "A little. I didn't get to eat this morning."
"A growing girl such as yourself can't go without eating something for breakfast," Laura said with her hands on her hips, voice stern but kind.
Reaching for a peach that was sitting in a basket on the counter, Sharpay bit into it with a smile.
"That's better," Laura chuckled.
Sharpay loved waking up early to casually chat with Gabriella's mom. Occasionally she'd go upstairs and help Gabriella get ready, but she enjoyed talking with Laura and being in such a loving environment just the same.
After some time, Sharpay looked at her pink, studded watch. "Where is that girl? It's 7:20."
Laura zipped a sandwich up in a plastic bag. "Gabi's been a little more concerned about the way she looks this year."
Sharpay was spinning around in the chair, and she used her feet to stop her. "Why? She's fine just the way she is."
"I think she's trying to impress someone," Laura said in a loud whisper.
Trying not to laugh, Sharpay nodded and turned one palm to the ceiling, shrugging her shoulder. "Could be."
Putting down Gabriella's packed lunch box, Laura sighed and put both her hands down onto the counter. "Sharpay, I've hated beating around the bush for so long. I want to tell you that I know about you and Gabriella."
Sharpay almost fell backwards off the stool. She had not been expecting that to come out of her mouth. "Y-You do?"
"Don't look so scared, honey. I've known for a while. When you dropped off Gabriella after you came back from your stay at your condo, I went to go outside to greet you two… and saw more than I bargained for," Laura chuckled.
Sharpay looked around the kitchen at anywhere but Laura, trying to think of something reasonable to say. She didn't know whether to be embarrassed, relieved, or scared... Laura reached over the counter and touched Sharpay's hand to steady her mind.
"I'm perfectly okay with it. Granted, I was a little startled at first, but I've never seen my little Gabi so happy in so long. You're really something special to her. As a friend, and as a girlfriend."
Scratching her eyebrow, Sharpay shook her head. "You're not mad? How in the world are you not mad?"
"Would you like me to be?" Laura offered, which made Sharpay laugh.
"No, no. None of that. I'm going to get enough of that from my own parents."
Laura gave a sympathetic smile. "You're free to talk to me about anything, and you're welcome to stay over here whenever you'd like, you know, if things don't work out between your parents."
"You're so nice," Sharpay said, eyes watering. "Now I know where Gabriella get it from."
Right then, Gabriella came bouncing down the stairs and greeted her mother and Sharpay.
"'Bout time," Sharpay said, popping up from her chair. "C'mon, Bri, grab that plate of toast and eat it on the way. We're gonna be late," she said, pecking Gabriella on the cheek and opening the front door.
Gabriella was stunned, and she stammered and pointed at Sharpay as Laura handed her the plate of toast with a smile. Sharpay giggled, knowing she'd get a reaction like that.
"She knows, and she's cool. C'mon," Sharpay said, tugging Gabriella out the door.
Gabriella smiled and the panic started wearing off. "Bye, mommy," she said nervously as she walked backwards out the door.
"Bye, baby," Laura said with a wave, watching as the two girls blew off nervous steam with laughter on their way to Sharpay's car. She heard a faint, "Oh my God!", a squeal and more laughter as the car doors closed. Laura smiled and laughed to herself, closing the front door behind her.
\/\/\/\/\/
a/n – One set of parents down, one to go. And the winter music-aal is soon! That's exciting. I'm still not sure what's going to happen next, I'm seriously making this up as I go. (though, I did plan the steamy sex scene to happen in chapter 7, because of the whole 'seven' thing, kudos for anyone who caught that). And I know that we haven't seen a whole lot of Taylor or Ryan in these past few chapters, and there is a reason for that.
Review, review, reviewwww. It's those messages I get that keep me going, and I always love to hear what you guys think of my writing.
And again, I'm wicked sorry about not updating as fast as I used to. I'm trying really hard. Don't hate me. :(
-love, alyssa.