A/N My muse was practically on life support while I wrote this chapter, so I apologize now if it seems half-assed. Hope you guys still in joy, thanks for all your reviews, keep 'em coming!!
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Rated M for language and sexual scenes
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Somewhere in the course of the evening - the memory too far away in Gabriella's mind to precisely say when - Gabriella had gone from being sat next to Troy, to now - due to Troy swiftly, and without her notice, shifting her - being on his lap, her arms coiled, like the body of a Cobra, around his neck.
A moan eluded from Troy as he suckled Gabriella's bottom lip into his mouth, the sweetness from the chocolate she'd recently devoured treating his tongue. Gabriella's fingers raked through his hair as his hands slipped under the hem of her midnight blue tank top, his finger nails gently scraped over her soft, warm flesh. Again, Troy moaned, but this time, as Gabriella's mouth pulled away from his, it was a moan of displeasure, his lips, and once probing tongue, feeling displaced and lonely. But it was soon aver lapped with a throaty groan as her lips pressed into the hot skin of his neck, kissing various spots, before flicking her tongue quickly over a single protruding vain.
"Hmm…" Troy moaned breathlessly, his hands inching further up her top, until, sneakily, he brushed against the clasp of her bra. "Gabi," he breathed.
Softly, timidly, her teeth grazed over his Adam's apple, her tongue slivering over the indentation of her teeth to soothe it. She pulled away slowly, lifting her head to return her lips to his, but as she bought her mouth closer to his, Troy's head recoiled.
"You always stop," Troy panted in a murmur. Gabriella's eyebrows knitted, so Troy continued. "What you were doing before," he bent his head and quickly kissed her neck so she understood his meaning. "You always stop before you give me a hickey."
Gabriella blushed slightly, and loosened her arms so she could get a better view of Troy - the close proximity of Troy's face blurring her vision. "I…I have longer hair, so I can cover mine." She explained. "I just thought…" she chewed her lip, feeling shy about the topic and her current position, now that her haze was lifting.
"I wouldn't mind," Troy shrugged. He then dropped his voice and bought his face closer to hers, their lips brushing as he spoke, his sentence slow and drawn out. "Actually…I'd think it was kinda hot." He winked at her, eliciting a titter, as he joined their swollen lips once more.
******
"Nice shirt," Gabriella commented as she slipped into Troy's truck, her heart thumping at the sight of Troy's white t-shirt clinging to his chest, beneath a short-sleeved checked shirt that he favoured. Having to meet with Taylor to discuss decathlon plans, Gabriella had made her way to school early without Troy, but as they had finished earlier than expected, she had decided to find Troy before school officially started.
"Why, thank you," he leaned towards her, his fingers gently holding her chin, and kissed her glossed lips tenderly. "I thought maybe you'd appreciate the gesture." He teased.
In the moment, Gabriella had lost all self-consciousness about the hickey, feeling a sense of pride when she'd left her mark, and when he'd moaned at the feel of her supple lips. But, as her hormones had begun to settle, Troy had noticed her sparing the odd glance at it, and he knew she was feeling slightly embarrassed, so as a good will gesture, had worn a shirt in attempt to conceal the mark.
Rolling her eyes, Gabriella said sarcastically, "How sweet."
"Yeah, I though so, too." He quipped. "Brie? You know last night? You know that you didn't have to, right? I know I said I'd like it and all, but if you didn't want to…"
"It's not that." Gabriella replied. "I did want to - I wanted to see what it was like and how you reacted -" her cheeks dusted in a faint pink. "But…I just felt kind of weird about people seeing it, you know? Once they see it, they immediately know what we were doing and then they start assuming we're…you know… and I don't get why, because, just because we're dating and of a particular age, doesn't mean we're sleeping together." She rolled her eyes, and shook her head, slumping into the aged leather seat. "I just wanted to avoid all that speculation."
Understanding her reservations - he, too, had had to deny a fair lot a questions from the guys on his team regarding that subject - Troy nodded. "I just…you never have to do anything you don't want to with me, you know that, don't you? No pressure." He reached over, and took her hand, following carefully the visible veins in her hand with his thumb and forefinger.
"I trust you." Gabriella whispered, with an endearing smile forming, as she leaned her body towards the curve of Troy's.
A loud thud, like the sound of an immense tree crashing to the ground, sounded close by, and Gabriella jumped and then hit her palm forcefully against the window when she saw Chad and Zeke's faces pressed against the glass, guffawing loudly, slapping each other's hands as they doubled-over with laughter, Zeke doing his best impression of Gabriella in her frightened state.
"Jesus, Chad!" Gabriella yelled, taking deep breaths to tame the wild roar of her heart. "Hey!" She lightly smacked Troy on his arm, glaring at him. "You're not 'sposed to laugh with them."
Losing the battle to withhold his sniggers, Troy let the laughter rip through him, and he too, before long, was holding his stomach tightly. "Your face was priceless!" He howled, pointing a shaking hand at Gabriella, who rolled her eyes at the simple sense of humour possessed by the guys of her age.
"It's pitiful - it really is." She sighed as she climbed out of the truck and, with one elbow resting on the hood, supporting her weight, leant against the front of Troy's car.
"Don't be mad, Gabi, we're guys, it's in our blood - we are exempt from all blame." Chad chuckled, throwing an arm around Gabriella's shoulder in a friendly hug.
"Besides," Zeke interjected. "You and Troy were about to get all smoochy - don't deny it, we saw you guys leaning in for one -" Zeke said as Gabriella and Troy both opened their mouths to protest. "So, we figured if we were going to catch you, we'd better be quick."
"Catch us for what?" Troy, who was now standing next to Gabriella, with an arm around her shoulder, pulling her against his chest, asked.
"My parents are out Saturday, said I could have friends over, you in?" Chad scoffed, disgusted, when he saw Troy look over at Gabriella before offering a response. "Jeez, you guys are like a married couple! Are you seriously asking her permission, Hoops?"
"Was not!" Troy protested. "If you must know, Chad, I was asking Gabi if she wanted to go. We had a date planned, but if she'd rather hang with you guys, then it's cool."
"All that from one look?" Chad replied.
"You wouldn't get it." Troy, Gabriella and Zeke said in unison, each earning a narrow-eyed glare from Chad.
******
"So, are you and Gabi in?" Chad asked, as he stuffed the remainder of his taco into his mouth, before dabbing the corners of his lips delicately with a napkin.
"I don't know. We might drop by later on it the night." Troy replied, picking at the tomatoes on his plate, his face contorted with revulsion. "I hate this crap." He muttered, as he lay a slice of tomato on the very edge of his plate, trying to minimise it's contact with his food.
"I can't believe you guys are blowing off hanging at my place," Chad scoffed. "It's not like you'll never be able to have a date. Besides, Taylor's going to be there, I need as many people between the two of us as possible."
"Firstly, you're wrong, we can't ever have this date again, because, as I've mentioned about ten times in this last month, it's our six month anniversary - it has to be special. Secondly, weren't you the one that invited Taylor?"
"I could hardly not invite her - it's what we do; we hang, we argue, we hate, we hang." Chad shrugged as though it were a reasonable definition of a friendship, though Troy detected something more in his extending an invite to Taylor. "I can't believe you guys with all your anniversaries. What happened to the days when only married people," he stressed the term, making sure to impress the fact to Troy that he was not married, though acted very much like he was."Marked out the day they met and all that crap?"
"It isn't the day you meet you celebrate," Troy corrected, annoyance hinting at his voice as he fixed his eyes on Chad, who remained looking clueless. "It's the day you became official - so, for me and Gabs, the day of the dance. You just don't get it cuz you're not with anybody," he dismissed. "it's important to celebrate - one day, my friend," he leaned across the circular table and patted Chad's shoulder mockingly, "you'll understand."
******
"Ryan!" Gabriella trotted after Ryan, seeking out his pink trilby in the crowds. "Ryan, wait up!" she called. Having finally caught up with him, she handed him a single sheet of paper, with musical notes on it. "Here, you left this." She smiled.
"Oh, thank you!" He exclaimed, kissing the sheet of paper and then lunging forward and hugging Gabriella tightly. "Kels, would've killed me had I lost this, she spent forever on it and it's her only copy."
Still flustered by Ryan's sudden show of emotion, Gabriella stuttered, and then said, "Wow, I think that's the most I've ever heard you say. You don't talk much, do you?"
Ryan seemed to recline, his personality going back with him. "You know," he shrugged. "Sharpay tends to do enough talking for the two of us."
"But what Sharpay thinks, can't always be what you think, can it?" Gabriella asked curiously, watching his reaction as he gradually opened up again.
"What she thinks, is enough, to her. There's never any need for anybody else's opinion."
"Why do you let her talk to you like she does?" it was only then that Gabriella realised that they had begun walking towards the cafeteria, but as she was heading there anyway, she showed no objection, following Ryan as he weaved through the halls, checking the drama club sign up sheets as he went.
"I know people think she's a bitch, but, she's my sister. I get her in a way nobody else does. It sounds weird, I know, but Sharpay, she doesn't mean to act like she does." Gabriella quirked an unbelieving eyebrow at him, and he clapped his hands together triumphantly at the response one of the sheets before replying. "You see, our Dad, his family didn't have much money growing up, so he always said to me and Shar, that we'd never want for anything - all we had to do was ask, and we got it. The thing is, it made Sharpay think that that's how the entire world works, she was so used to getting her own way, that side of her just…fixed." He shrugged, almost pitying his sister. "Gabriella," Ryan said earnestly, pausing at the door of the cafeteria. "my sister's a good person," desperate not to offend, Gabriella forced her eyebrows, with iron will, not to jump at this statement. "You just have to get to know her and look deep - really deep sometimes."
"Hey, Chad's having a bunch of people hangout at his place Saturday night, you should come," she tapped him lightly on his blue shirt, laughing as some of the glittered shed onto her palm.
"Chad?…uhh, thanks but I'm going to give that a miss,"
"You don't like Chad? Why?" through the glass window on the door behind Ryan, Gabriella held in a chuckle as she saw Troy and Chad shooting spit balls at each other, Chad shaking the white napkin flecks from his hair.
"Not Chad specifically," Ryan said, shaking his head to correct Gabriella's assumption. "I just do my best to stay away from Jocks in large numbers."
"Why? They're not all jerks, you know,"
"Oh, I forgot you date Troy - I really wouldn't have put you down as the type that'd go with a Jock."
Offended by this stereotype, Gabriella, after pushing her hair out of her face, said defensively, "This isn't about Troy. It's about the fact that you've dismissed a whole bunch of really great guys just because they're Jocks. They're just regular people that happen to play ball - that doesn't mean they're all bullying, ignorant jerks. Example: just because you dress a little different from other guys, and love theatre, doesn't mean that you're gay." She stated, shifting her weight to her right foot and crossing her arms whilst raising the perfect arch of her brown brows. She then glanced at his pale pink Chinos and his bedazzled shirt, embellished with rhinestoned flowers, and quickly, to make sure her point could still stand, said, "Are you gay?" her head bending towards Ryan.
"What? No!" Ryan replied emphatically, making sure that those who had heard Gabriella's question also heard his flat denial.
"Exactly." She said, confident once more. "So you shouldn't judge them."
"Ouch, watch out Bolton," Chad, who had just spied Gabriella and Ryan an the cafeteria entrance said. "Looks like you've got some competition." He tipped his head over to the main entrance, and Troy's eyebrows knitted.
"What?" Troy scoffed, his eyes fixed on the two as Jason asked him a question in the background, of which, all Troy could hear, seemed to be muffled mutters. "Ella doesn't like him - he's too weedy. She likes…real men." He said cockily, obviously in reference to himself.
"They look pretty close to me. Besides, Gabs may not like him, but does he know that?"
The seed of suspicion planted deep in Troy's brain, began to rapidly sprout, little voices lurking in his mind telling him to watch his back, be careful of Ryan, protect Gabriella from male hormones other than his own. Survival mechanisms going off in his head, his chest puffed, his calm blue eyes fixing into the glare of an Alpha as his fist clenched under the table, ready to defend. Immediately, in a possessive tone, marking out his territory, Troy sought to make himself, and his status in Gabriella's life, known and blurted out, across the sea of feasting heads, stilling the lively hubbub, "Babe!" he waved his arms as Gabriella noticed him and smiled, shyly, giving him a small wave.
Eventually, when the peering eyes returned to their own lives, and the focus shifted from Troy and Gabriella, Ryan said, "I think someone wants you," in a sarcastic tone. Being a guy, he had heard Troy's tone and, though he'd never had to opportunity to use it himself, had immediately recognised it. "You better go." He said, as Troy waved Gabriella over again.
"Why don't you come sit with us?" She proposed, lifting a red lunch tray off of the counter, holding on it a can of soda, and a large burger, dripping with tomato sauce. "If you don't completely hate us, then come on Saturday. Deal?" she smiled at Ryan as he contemplated it, sipping at his milk to aid his choice. "Hey," she said, already walking off towards the table, confident he would follow. "You can even bring Kelsi," she teased.
"What? What do you mean?" Ryan asked in a hushed voice, trotting after her.
Approaching Troy, who was still beaming at her, doing his best to erase Ryan from the equation, and show him that his presence was not required, Gabriella dropped her voice, and said, just before the others were in earshot to pick up the end of the conversation, "I see how you look at her." With that, Ryan lingering behind, she set her tray down, placing her bag down on the floor by the numerous pairs of feet and smiled over at Troy. "What was that before?" she asked, trying to play down her embarrassment
"I just wanted you to come over," he said, practically pushing a protesting Jason off of the chair beside and offering it to Gabriella so she wasn't seated beside Ryan, who was awkwardly introducing himself to Chad, Jason and Zeke, who he already had a good relationship with, having seen him at his house with Sharpay on more than one occasion. "I missed you." Troy mumbled, his lips brushing Gabriella's ear as he wound his arm around her waist, pulling her as close as possible, nipping at her neck while she proceeded to tuck into her burger, manoeuvring around his tight grasp and teasing lips for the remainder of lunch, Troy resisting each of Gabriella attempts to desist his actions.
******
The shrill call, like the scraping of nails against a blackboard, echoed around the gym as Jack, with his cheeks puffed out and red, blew a deep breath into his whistle, calling the team to attention.
"Wildcats! Line up!" His large hands clapped together, colliding repeatedly until the team had followed his orders, naturally falling into the correct positions - lining up either side of Troy and, unofficial co-captain, Chad. "Okay, we're going to run last weeks play again," Jack began, pacing the length of the line to look each team member square in the eye. "Bolton!" he said, once at the end of the line, pausing before making his way, gradually, back up to where Troy stood, shoulders braced for the criticism. "You should be getting in that fourth shot by now,"
"Yes, Coach." Troy replied, looking up to his dad as he towered over him, his dark green polo shirt that had been tightly tucked into his trousers, showing his heaving chest.
"Keep your game tight, you hear me?"
"Yes, Coach." He said, with vivacity, trying to prove to his dad that he was going to try his best.
"Cross!" He then moved along to Jason. "You're slacking. We've been at this for two weeks now, Baylor and Danforth should not still be getting past you. You know how important this is, don't you?" Jason nodded. "You guys all know, right?"
"Yes, Coach!" They all chorused, the ones who hadn't been picked out thankful for the mercy.
"Okay, head in the game, boys! Everyone left of Bolton, Bolton included, Skins. Everybody else, Shirts! Come on, people!" he cried exasperatedly, as they each trudged to their respective sides, the ones instructed, pulling off their thick sweatshirts, sighing in relief when the air, even though with the accumulated body heat, it wasn't quite cool, hit their sweating chests. "I'm going to the equipment cupboard, I want you all ready, warmed up and in position when I get back."
"Trust us, Coach," Zeke laughed quietly as Jack turned his back on the team and made his way to the door, rolling his eyes at the crowd of girls that had gathered by the entrance, giggling at the shirtless players. "We're warn already."
As Troy stripped off his red sweatshirt, stretching slowly to relieve the ache in his already sore muscles, wolf whistles began to glide towards him, penetrating both his ears. He was certain that they had nothing to do with him, but was then convinced otherwise when his and Gabriella's name began to mingle with the whistles and cheers.
"Gentleman," Chad called seriously. "Bolton…" his hand clapped on Troy's bare shoulder, the impact showing as Troy's skin turned a lurid red, stinging. "Has finally been branded. Way to go, man!" Chad cheered, as the other broke out in applause.
"What?" Troy said, confused as the cheers surrounded him. "Dude--" he tried to say before Zeke cut in, it finally dawning on him what the fuss was about.
"I have to say, I didn't think Gabriella had it in her - it's a big one, too."
Troy scrunched his eyes closed, his head falling into the palm of his hand as the guys milled around to inspect and congratulate him on his hickey.
"It's always the quiet ones," a voice said. "Dude, you think you've got a little sex kitten in Gabriella? That'd be so hot! Innocent school girl by day--"
"Kinky hot chick at night!" Zeke concluded, slapping hands with fellow player, Joe. "It'd be like dating a Catholic school girl!"
"Don't talk about Gabriella that way," Troy demanded, feeling as though he'd let Gabriella down. "Back off of her, alright? Gabriella's not like that - she's not slutty."
Knowing that Troy was serious, the each stayed off Gabriella, though continued to make little jibes at Troy throughout the duration of practice: "Troy, that shot sucked!" "Nah, Troy doesn't do the sucking, remember?"
******
"Dude," Chad said quietly as the two of them walked out of the locker rooms, neither taking the time to fully dry their hair so occasionally having to wipe stray water droplets from their cheeks, where they most commonly fell. "Be honest, it feels good, right?"
He didn't need to ask Chad what he was referencing, he automatically knew. Since the age of fourteen, they'd both speculated what a hickey would feel like - whether it'd hurt or turn them on. To Troy's irritation, Chad had beat him to it, prancing boldly over to his house one Saturday morning a year before to show off is bruised neck. "Hell yeah," Troy admitted smugly, lifting his hand to graze over the spot where his girlfriends supple lips had marked him, shown the world he was taken. "It feels damn good. Dude…it was so…" he gesticulated exasperatedly, trying to find the word to befit the experience.
"Hot?" Chad supplied.
"Man, that doesn't even cover it," Troy said, shaking his head with a dazed expression.
******
"Hey, baby," Troy whispered as he snuck up on Gabriella, wrapping his arms around her tiny waist and gently pressing her against her locker, moving his lips closer to hers at a torturously slow pace. His warm pink lips started pressing kisses to her flushed cheek, slowly moving to the left, her arms groping his, trying to spur him on, until, at last, his lips skimmed over hers, that puckered immediately at the craved stimulation, her actions so different from the girl three months prior who didn't want people to see them kissing in the halls.
"Yo, Gabi." Chad sniggered, as he passed, interrupting their moment, flanked by three team mates who all chuckled with him, exchanging knowing glances.
"What was that?" She enquired when Chad and co. had walked on.
"Nothing," Tory replied shortly, leaning his head forward again and sighing when, for the second time, Gabriella pulled away, denying his desires. "It's no big deal, they saw the hickey, that's all."
"What? That's all? Oh my God, now they think I'm a total slut!" She groaned, suddenly imagining copious pairs of eyes glaring at her in judgement.
"Chill, Gabs, no body thinks you're a slut," he said softly, placing his hands on her shoulders so her gaze would lift and meet his eyes. "It's no big, 'kay? All the guys thought it was super hot - they were all congratulating me." Using his discretion, he decided that it wasn't wholly necessary to divulge all the details to Gabriella, protecting her from her own sense of humiliation, and safe-guarding, quite selfishly, his own physical needs.
"Your Dad see it?" She asked, begging that he would say no.
"Well…I'm pretty sure he did, it was hardly hidden, but he didn't mention it, if that helps." Gabriella shook her head wildly and buried it into Troy's chest, whimpering. "I'm sorry, I didn't know he'd choose to day to put me on Skins, I'm almost always a Shirt."
"Stop calling it a hickey," she mumbled. "At least say love-bite - that doesn't sound as bad." Troy tried to comfort her again, but it failed to work. "Like you really care," she muttered. "You probably thought it was cool that everyone saw it - another way to pee on your territory. Yeah," she said before he could ask anything or voice any kind of denial. "I'm not completely clueless. All that at lunch, earlier? I knew exactly what it was about."
******
Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the faint lighting, the restaurant seemingly in complete darkness save for the twinkling fairy lights that had been strung across the ceiling, providing each table with a small glow, only there, Gabriella had figured, to enable the diners to see the menu without the assistance of flashlights. The space seemed so quiet and serene - like a haven after a week of high school. Surrounding them were groups of friends, engaged in a low dialect; couples, whispering sweet nothings to each other (just as Troy and Gabriella, no doubt, would be doing later in the night); and waiters and waitresses hovering over the tables, each of them secluded, built into small coves, advising those who required their assistance on the best dishes, giving their own opinions.
"This place is really nice, Troy," Gabriella said softly, thanking him with a smile as she ran her fingers over the leather-bound menus, embellished with old Chinese proverbs.
Troy shrugged, smiling back at her, her blushing cheeks and glimmering eyes detectable even in the low visibility. "Our three month anniversary was meant to be a big deal, y'know? But, seeing as I was totally broke, you settled for watching some movies in my room and a card, so, I really wanted to make this special, make up for it. And," Troy rose his hand to cut off her speech. "I know that you said you didn't mind, and I believed you. That's what's so cool about you: you're not about material stuff. That's an even bigger reason why I wanted to do…this." He gestured to the restaurant; the table, the lighting. "You deserve it for being such an awesome girlfriend." He reached over, shifting their chairs closer together in the process, and reached for her hand, the blue of his eyes boring into her soft brown orbs.
"You're not too bad yourself." She said, returning the compliment and quickly pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek.
"When I'm not being an over-protective idiot, you mean?"
Chuckling at his blunt self-assessment, Gabriella sighed and said, "Something like that."
"Ella, that stuff in the lunch room the other day, I'm sorry. I know I acted stupid. It's just that…a part of me…I feel like I'm programmed to protect you. There's still this thing inside me where I'm…where I still see us as those two little kids who were told to hold hands when we crossed the street, the first time we were allowed to go to the shop on our own, y'know? You remember?"
Giggling, and then pausing to give the waiter her drink order of a non-alcoholic cocktail of passion fruit and mango, Gabriella resumed the conversation, "'Course. We'd each saved five dollars and were so proud of it. Then you spent all of yours on the first trip so when I wanted to go back you kept asking me to buy you stuff." She rolled her eyes endearingly, remembering him, as a short ten year old, with his hands clasped together, pleading profusely with her.
"Hey, ten year old boys aren't known for their money sense or knowledge of the term 'budget', okay? Anyway," he said, pulling himself back on track. "With you, something just…kicks in and--"
"Troy," Gabriella, with her head tilted to the side, her butterfly clip catching the light and sparkling, stopped Troy in the middle of his explanation. "I get it, okay? And, yeah, I love the fact you want to protect me - that's what a boyfriend's meant to want - but, at the same time, we aren't those ten, eleven, twelve year olds who have to watch each others back. We aren't those little kids anymore, Troy, and you can't always jump in like you used to just cuz some guy's talking to me - especially not when it's as innocent as me and Ryan talking was - FYI, he likes Kelsi." Upon revealing that piece of information, Gabriella saw Troy's eyes drop from her, and instead focus, sheepishly, on their adjoined hands. "I can handle myself. And that doesn't mean that I don't want you to get involve sometimes, cuz I do, you just have to pick your moments."
"So, no rude or sharp interruptions, basically,"
"Right. And no using me to prove a point." She said finally, her tone more harsh than it had been previously.
******
"Ummm…" Ryan stuttered, as the door to Chad's house swung open and Chad, shocked by his appearance as Gabriella had forgotten to mention the invite she'd extended to Ryan and Kelsi, greeted him. "Hi," he said, trying to accomplish the basics of the task first. "Uhh…Gabriella invited us," he said, gesturing towards Kelsi who was standing meekly behind him, her hat pulled so far down over her face that Chad struggled to recognise her.
"Oh…piano chick, right?" he said, peering closer as he opened the door wider for them, his handful of popcorn proving too large and tumbling out of his palm onto the wooden floor of the entrance hall. "Hate to break it to ya," he said, turning back to Ryan as he walked them through to the open plan living room and kitchen, where most, the ones who hadn't gone out to the garden, were. "But, Gabi isn't here, her and Troy are on this major date, so, they won't be 'round till later - Jason!" He then yelled, turning his attention from his guest. "What the hell!? Put that down!" he demanded as Jason casually sat on the arm of his navy couch, tossing his mother's favourite - and freakin' expensive, Chad had stressed - glass vase. "Sorry," He said, facing them again. "There's soda over there and stuff if you want it, and…if you'll excuse me," he said, his body swivelling slowly as his eye line followed the swaying hips of a brown haired cheerleader. "I have some business to take care of." He said slyly.
Clicking his tongue on the roof of his mouth to pass the time - a sound that Kelsi's teeth began to grit at - Ryan stood with his hands wedged into his pockets, until he finally, after taking a deep preparatory breath, and deciding to make the most of the night, said, "So, you want a so--oh my God!"
Kelsi flinched, shocked by his outburst, and almost everybody with in ear shot that wasn't engrossed in their own conversation turned their eyes towards him. But Ryan was completely oblivious to everyone outside his frame of vision, too outraged by the sight of his sister on Zeke's lap, his hands roaming underneath her sparkled blouse, while her hands gripped the back of his neck, making sure their lips were fully joined. "Sharpay!" Ryan cried, unsure of whether to look away from, what he felt was, a skin-crawling sight, or stay long enough to grab her attention. "Shar!" he called again, but neither of them took any notice, apparently the only ones in the room to not do so, their lips locking more fervently, Sharpay's kisses trailing down to Zeke's neck and back again. A shortness of breath and a series of incomprehensible whimpers, prohibited Ryan's further protest when he saw Sharpay's tongue trust forcefully into Zeke's mouth, and soon after, fearing he would pass out from the scene, Kelsi ushered him into the garden giving him an ice-cold soda while he gathered himself.
"My…sister…" Was the first thing he muttered when he came to.
******
With anticipation, Gabriella flipped open the lid of the dark blue rectangular box that Troy had subtlety placed on the table when she'd left with the bathroom. Having just finished a shared desert of lime sorbet, Gabriella pushed the ice cream dish aside so it didn't block the light, and she was able to view the gift clearly. A silver glint shot out of the box as it was revealed, a simple silver chain with a bold 'T' hanging from it, the pendant embossed with a ruby; the school colour.
"'T' as in Troy?" She asked coyly, lifting in delicately between her fingers and then handing it to Troy, shifting in her seat so he was able to place it tenderly around her neck.
"'T' as in Troy." He confirmed, his lips, moist from his habit of liking them, pressing onto her neck three times. "I wanted everyone to know that you're mine." He said softly, when she turned back around, fingering the pendant. When he spoke, she knew immediately that it wasn't a possessive gift, a gift to warn other guys off, but instead, a gift that showed his pride in the fact that he was able to call her, the gorgeous, intelligent, witty, Gabriella Montez, his girl.
"I'd be honoured for everyone to know." She replied, with a smile that never failed to stop the beating of his heart. "'Kay," she said a while after, after both had simply enjoyed the presence of one another, not needing words to fill the time. "Mine doesn't have a pretty box or anything but…" from her bag, she produced a small black pouch, the action making Troy chuckle, reminding him somewhat of a magic show, and handed it over to him.
Thanking her as he received it, Troy kept glancing up at her as he undid the drawstring, watching her face as she released a fall nervous anticipatory giggles. Tipping the bag upside down, a small key-ring fell into his palms, a sphere on the end of it that, when he examined it more closely, he realised was a solid, miniature basketball engraved with a large '14' - his number - and on the back, calligraphic writing with the inscription 'play for me' . He was silent for a while, his smile speaking for him.
"You like it?" she asked nervously, "Cuz the guy was real friendly, he said that if you wanted something else on it or…whatever, he'd change it - free of charge."
"I love it," he said, reaching into the pocket of his jacket and clipping it onto his keys. "I'm going to put it in my pocket every game." He said, further enforcing his statement that he like and appreciated it. "Thank you." He said stretching his hand forward to cup her left cheek, and slowly leaning forward. Both their eyes fluttered closed, their breath growing more shallow as they got closer, their noses brushing together.
"Hi," the cheery waiter, cut it.
Gritting his teeth as he and Gabriella reluctantly parted, Troy turned his head to face the culprit, flashing him an insincere smile as he calmed himself. As the man made mindless small talk, Troy was shocked at his level of oblivion, completely unaware, as he brushed his hands through his short hair, dusted down his black shirt, freeing it from lint, that he'd completely trampled over their romantic moment.
"So," he said finally, his sigh upbeat. "Can I get you anything else?" he took out his pad, clicking the pen to get the nib out and flipped over onto a fresh sheet of paper, ready to note their request.
"No," Troy replied hastily, "just the cheque." Sneaking his hand underneath the table and squeezing Gabriella's thigh.
******
Raising her brows as she casually flipped her hair over her right shoulder, Taylor suddenly sniggered, amidst Gabriella's retelling of the date. "I see Troy's been living up to that Wildcat nickname of his." Rolling her eyes as Gabriella stared back at her, not needing to explain that she was confused as her vacant expression communicated that fact perfectly, Taylor raised her hand, the slender forefinger of her right hand tapping a spot on her neck.
"Oh my God!" Gabriella whispered, shocked as her hand flew up to that mirroring spot on her own neck. "You can see it?"
"Gabriella," Taylor said matter of factly, sipping at the drink she'd left by her feet in Chad's living room where the two were talking. "You've got a hickey the size of a small African country on your neck, of course I can see it."
"Bathroom, now!" Gabriella replied, yanking Taylor from her comfortable position on Chad's arm chair, pulling her out of the living room, weaving the two of them through the hall and up the stairs towards the bathroom.
"Please," Taylor began as she and Gabriella located, and pulled out her hair pins, Gabriella's perfectly neat ballerina bun gradually falling until finally her hair lay in a mass about her shoulders and down her back. "Don't tell me that this," she pointed to the patch of red skin lay. "Happened in the restaurant, cuz that's just…tacky." She said scornfully.
"No! …we were making out in the car afterwards." She mumbled the last statement shyly as she pulled her hair over to the left side of her neck, doing her best to fix it in place - and memorize it's position, realising that she'd be wearing her hair the same way for the next few days until it faded into the point of being unnoticeable.
"Is there ever a time where you guys aren't?"
"Yes!" She replied in the same indignant, insulted tone as before. "Well," she began to consider the honest answer. "Yeah…sometimes…occasionally." She diverted her eyes from Taylor, looking instead up at the patterned ceiling while Taylor rolled her eyes, but laughed all the same. "Tay? Do you think it's strange? …Us always making out all the time, I mean."
"Gabriella," Taylor chuckled. "We're sophomores! All around us - literally actually -" she said, referencing the couples they had left in the main rooms of Chad's house. "Couples are making out. It's hardly a new phenomenon. Though…I never thought you'd be that sucking face twenty four seven girl."
"Neither did I!" Gabriella exclaimed in response, content with her hair and finally relaxed. "When I used to see couples making out in the halls and stuff - even a few months ago - I'd be like 'get a room', but now…" she paused, suddenly perplexed and walked over to the bath tub, perching herself on the edge of it, taking her weight off of her feet. "I'm one of them." She concluded softly, more out loud than to Taylor.
"Do you think it's strange?" Taylor asked, walking over to her and leaning her shoulder against the cool grey tiling.
She thought about it for a moment, trying to process and arrange all of her emotions into an understandable answer. Taking the large peach frill that across the top of her floaty blouse, she answered, shaking her head. "No. I think…me and Troy, we've always been so close," Taylor nodded. "there isn't a single thing - a childhood memory, a personality quirk - that Troy could tell me about himself, cuz…I know it all. I've been there through everything, so it doesn't feel like we've rushed into the physical stuff, y'know?" Taylor's lips turned down at the corners, her eyebrows rose, thinking that Gabriella had made a good point. "Though," Gabriella added as an after-thought. "I'm not sure if making out technically counts as 'physical stuff' cuz that usually refers to sex, doesn't it?"
"I guess so, but making out is still a physical activity…just not…that one." The both giggled.
"Troy's my first boyfriend--"
"Except," Taylor contradicted, raising her hand. "Joe Waters."
"Taylor," Gabriella rolled her hazelnut eyes and shook her head - holding her hair obsessively as she did so. "We were in fourth grade and it lasted…what? The whole of recess! That so does not count!"
"Correct me if I'm wrong," she teased. "But the two of you had planned to marry at lunch, right?" Gabriella's eyes rolled again, but more dramatically that the first time. "That, to me, speaks of a committed relationship."
"And then that skank Cassie got in the way. Remember how she would always offer to kiss the guy? I wonder where she is now."
"Probably…on some guy's bed." Taylor sneered, chuckling.
"Ooh, Taylor Mckessie, I always knew there was another side to you." After sharing a laugh, Gabriella returned her to subject. "As I said," she began, this time Taylor being the one to roll her eyes and display her boredom, sitting carefully on the sink - the minimalist style of it, completely made out of glass and almost flat, heeding her in her attempts to relax. "This is still new to me…but…I…I like it."
A smile pulled at her lips, as her fingers ran over the letter her neck now bore - her favourite letter. After only six months, Troy was making her feel things she'd never expected. She had a need for him - yes, both emotionally and physically - one she couldn't control. Her thoughts during the day were filled with his scent, his arms around her body, his warm gaze meeting hers, her dreams filled with the same. Their didn't seem to be that many differences between their friendship and relationship - still being able to talk with one another in a way they could do with no one else - but the difference between them, though Gabriella couldn't precisely say what it was (excluding the physical element, of course), she liked it - she loved it. It was as if, even in their closeness as best friends, their had been a wall in between them, keeping them apart in some way. And that night after the dance, when they finally let their truths out, it silently crumbled, leaving only Troy, Gabriella and their unimpeded emotions for each other.
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I hope it wasn't too horrific lol. Review! Luv ya! *kiss*