THANK YOU for all the wonderful reviews guys! You guys have no idea how much you help put a fire under my ass to push through the times when I'm feeling less than inspired. :) I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter, I did too! It's one of my favorites I think.
To the person that suggested they live together: That's actually something I've been contemplating myself, and it will come eventually! :)
And I'm very much appreciate the encouraging words of everyone else!
They are apart for this whole chapter :(
-MK James
"…you end up like Dallas…and I don't mean dead, either. I mean like he was before. And that's worse than dead. Please, don't fight anymore…" the medium-height boy with brown eyes and a baby face finished. The group of students applauded politely, just had they had with the previous 10 boys' auditions. Troy sat, running through the lines in his head – he was in his second week of classes and, as the counselor promised, about to audition for the privilege to be in the Theater School. He hadn't had much time to rehearse himself, what with everything else going on in his life. Truthfully, he'd only gotten through the monologue a few times all the way without forgetting a line or messing up. His knee bounced up and down nervously as the professor got up in front of the class,
"Who would like to give positive feedback about Gale's performance?" he looked to the group of about 37 kids. Everyone looked around at one another, Gale's performance wasn't terrible, but it certainly wasn't "good" either. A girl in the front row slowly brought up her hand.
"Yes?" the teacher pointed at her.
"He…knew all his lines really well," she tried.
"Yes, he did…" the teacher seemed disappointed in the comment, but no one else was raising their hand, "Okay, one constructive criticism?" This time a few hands slowly raised into the air and the teacher called upon a lanky boy sitting behind Troy,
"Honestly…I didn't believe it. The Outsiders is about this brotherly bond, and Soda, who has already been through hell, wants nothing more than his family to be a family – he's begging for it... and I just didn't feel it." Other students nodded in agreement. Before the professor nodded his thanks, and Gale took a seat.
"Alright…next is….. Troy Bolton." He looked up from his sheet, "Troy?" Troy took a steadying breath, stood up and walked to the front of the class, PRAYING he wouldn't flub up the lines. The boys in the class had been assigned the monologue from the book The Outsiders in which Sodapop Curtis breaks down in front of his 2 brothers Darry and Ponyboy, after another one of their many many fights. Soda was the 17-year-old, middle brother to a family who lost their parents in an accident, the oldest brother Darry worked long hours to keep the brothers together on his meager pay. They lived on the wrong side of the tracks, and two of their friends just died: one right in front of their eyes was shot down. Needless to say, Troy could relate to none of it. Though he supposed that was the point, the professor had chosen it thinking most people wouldn't be able to relate and therefore he'd see what kind of real acting chops they had.
Troy stepped up to the front and cleared his throat.
"Whenever you're ready Troy," the professor told him. Troy took a deep breath, let it out and then began,
"I-I don't know. It's just…I can't stand to hear y'all fight. Sometimes…I just, I just gotta get out or…or it's like I'm the middleman in a tug o' war and I'm being split in half. Ya dig?" Troy looked down at his toes, kicking invisible dirt, "I mean, I can't take sides. It'd be a lot easier if I could, but…but I mean I see both sides! Darry yells too much and takes everything-"
Shit. That's not right...he'd missed something, but without skipping a beat Troy improvised, "everything too serious…you try too hard man." He paused both for effect and to get his bearings, "And-and Ponyboy..you you just don't think enough, you don't realize all Darry's giving up JUST to give you a chance HE missed out on. He coulda stuck you in a home somewhere and worked his way through college. And Pony…I'm telling ya the truth: I dropped out because I'm dumb. I really tried in school, but you saw my lousy grades. Look, I'm happy workin' in a gas station-you'd never be happy doin' somethin' like that! And Darry…you oughtta try to understand him more…he feels things differently than you do." Tears welled up in Troy's eyes and his voice caught as he spoke again, "Golly, you two…it's bad enough…." he took a quivering breath, "bad enough havin' to listen to it, but when y'all start tryin' to make me take sides…." A noise came from the back of Troy's throat – a noise signifying the tears that threatened to spill over, "We're all we got left. We gotta stick together against everything. If we don't have each other –" he paused, swallowing loudly, a tear falling, "we don't…we don't have anything. And if you don't have anything you end up like Dallas…and I don't mean dead either I mean like he was before and that's worse than dead. Please," Troy sniffled, wiping his arm across his face, smearing the tear away, before delivering his last line with such a heart-breaking tone, his voice breaking, "don't fight anymore."
The kids were all silent, Troy looked out at the faces, trying to decide if they were confused or…no…they seemed to be stunned, mouths agape. The professor cleared his throat and that shook everyone to their senses: everyone started clapping, loudly and with much more appreciation than any of the previous auditions. The professor stood up,
"Well…any positive feedback for Troy?" Several hands shot up immediately and the professor pointed to a boy who had auditioned 2nd, and to Troy's memory was actually quite good.
"Man…that-that blew me away. It completely took me out of this room, he sucked me into his world. The energy, the tension, everything radiating off his performance changed the whole mood – it was palpable. You completely killed it man." That last bit was the first comment someone made directly to a performer Troy realized, everyone else had talked about the performer as if he wasn't there. Troy nodded and lifted one corner of his mouth in thanks.
"He made me want to give him a big hug," a girl called out, out of turn, "Even though I knew it was fake, it seemed like he was in so much pain," she frowned. Others laughed at her comment as the professor spoke again,
"Constructive criticism?" It was like the opposite of all the other auditions, everyone looked at one another, searching for something NEGATIVE to say. The same girl who gave the positive comment about Gale raised her hand,
"Well…I guess he messed up the lines…" The professor nodded in agreement, but the girl paused for adding, "But…he improvised so well, I think he made it a positive. We only knew he flubbed because we knew the line…and you could tell he knew he flubbed because he added the line he skipped back in…but even though he knew he messed up he didn't let it faze him. I thought that was impressive."
"Impressive indeed," the professor agreed.
Gabriella sat in the study room staring at her book, but not reading it, glancing at her phone every 5 seconds. A laugh from across the room tore her attention away and she looked up to see Shor on the other side of the room, surrounded by books. When did he get here?
"Sorry," he explained chuckling again, "My brother Shane just sent a REALLY funny picture of Sawyer passed OUT on a plane."
"Oh," Gabriella replied. Before she could say anything more Shor shot first,
"So what's up with you? You don't seem very relaxed over there."
Gabriella laughed, "Well…I guess you could say that… Troy, my boyfriend remember?"
Shor nodded remembering the guy he met in the elevator.
"He is auditioning today to get into the Theater School."
"Ahhhh…yeah, auditions are kind of nerve racking," he said as if speaking from experience.
Gabriella smiled, but shook her head, "You're a pre-law student…what are you auditioning for?"
"Me? Nothing. But a few of my brothers are actors – and, especially when we were younger, they'd go to SO many auditions and I remember what it was like for them."
"Really? I didn't know that!" Gabriella said, standing up and walking across the room to join Shor at his table.
Shor sighed, "Yeaaaah…only Sawyer is working right now, but the rest of them are doing music, so they are occupied."
"So your whole family is in the entertainment industry? What happened with you?" she teased. This was the perfect distraction she needed while she waited to hear from Troy.
"Haha – well not all, just 6 of them are in the band, Spencer is in school for Athletic Training, and then me of course."
"You guys didn't want to be in the family band?"
"I was when I was younger, but when I was 14…some things changed and I decided it wasn't a path I wanted to stay on."
"What changed?"
"There was a record deal in talks, and so it was no longer just having fun playing with my brothers and sister – it was going to be my future."
"Holy crap! Do they have albums out and stuff? What's the name?"
"Yeah, they do…SPark 6…" he paused before explaining, "S because of our names and then Park because our last name is Parker and then 6 for the 6 people. It was SPark 7 before…"
"Your last name is Parker?"
He nodded. Gabriella thought for a moment, before her mouth dropped open in her realization,
"Your brother is Sawyer Parker… from that TV show, what's it called…"
"Tommy & Tilly."
"Yeah! It's kind of a teen, young-adult show right?"
"Yeah."
Gabriella had maybe seen an episode…Sawyer played one of the main characters, Tommy Dean, "You and your brother look A LOT alike." She noted.
Shor sighed and then chuckled lightly, "Yeah…we all do. When we were younger we were all these 8 blonde children running around, all S names, and our mom dressed us up alike too. People thought we were all some combination of multiples." Shor's own blonde hair was mostly covered by a beanie that flopped on his head.
"That's funny!"
"Yeah…being so close in age it was hard to tell when we were so small. But now Scott and Spencer's hair darkened to a brown so it's not as striking anymore when we're all together."
"Who looks the most alike?"
"Uhhh…now it's probably Sawyer and me…. But when we were little Sam could put on a wig and look EXACTLY like Shursh." He chuckled.
"Aw..that's cute! - Do you miss being in the band?"
He sighed as he considered this, "I miss my brothers and my sister – I mean they are my best friends…I've shared a room with Sawyer my whole life."
"Wow…that must be hard being away from them."
"Yeah…you have no idea – spending every single day with them. And now… I settle for text messages, video chats, and phone calls….and tweets! Haha.. It's weird." He frowned, thinking about it.
"So you're all a year apart, so if you're 18-"
"I'm 17."
"17?" Gabriella asked, surprised.
"Yeah…homeschooling…graduated a year early. I don't turn 18 until next July."
"Wow…so…You're 17, making Sawyer 18-"
"No, he's 17 too actually, his birthday is this weekend. We are 10 and a half months apart."
"Whoa! That's really close! Is he the sibling you're closest to?"
"Uhhhh…I guess…maybe…I dunno…it's hard to say because we are ALL so tight."
"Who is the closest in age? You two?"
"Nah, we aren't quite as close as Sean and Shane, they are almost exactly 10 months apart…they beat Sawyer and me by like 19 days. But they cheated: Sean was late and Shane was a whole month early. Everyone else is slightly over a year apart: Samuel is 25 almost 26, Saoirse (Sure-sha) is 24, Sean is 22, Shane is 21 almost 22, Scott is 20, Spencer is 19, Sawyer is almost 18, and then I'm 17."
"Your poor poor mother," Gabriella shook her head, eyes wide.
Shor laughed, "Yeah…people always think we are Amish or something…but, my mom and dad just wanted their kids to be close in age, and…I guess, wanted a lot of kids."
"I guess so! Sheesh! And you're Shor, the baaaaabyyyy!" Gabriella teased.
"Yeaaaah…but it doesn't really feel like it since we are so close in age. Though…they do refer to me as their 'Baby Brother' in interviews – so I guess they see me that way."
"I don't have any siblings…but I also don't think I'd want to have 7 brothers….that would be crazy."
Shor smiled, and then chuckled to himself, "Yeah…but Shursh grew up with us, so to her it's just normal."
Gabriella gave a doubtful look, "I guess…but I bet she doesn't appreciate 7 protective brothers when she's trying to date!"
He laughed at this, "No…I suppose not… but the only one of us that is REALLY over-protective is Sam…but he's the oldest, she's his baby sister…it's expected," he said before switching gears, "So Troy wants to be an actor?"
Gabriella took a deep breath, she had had almost 10 minutes of distraction from worrying about Troy's audition, "He doesn't know…he just loves performing and loves basketball-" she paused, she, up until this conversation, had held off on telling people Troy was on the basketball team. But, she figured since Shor was telling her about his family who was much more 'famous' than Troy it was level playing ground, "He's on the team at Berkeley."
"Wow-that's cool!
"Yeah," she sighed.
"You don't seem convinced."
"Well, between his school, the team, and my schooling we don't get to see each other much. It's hard. I know he's doing what he loves, and I'm happy for him, but…when he's not around I just feel like…"
"A part of you is missing," Shor finished.
"Exactly." That was precisely how she felt, without Troy around it was as if everything was touched with gray.
Shor nodded, "I don't have a girlfriend I'm separated from, but I do have 7 best friends…so I figured I can relate." He smiled in understanding, "You guys will figure it out – my mom always told us something when we were younger and had just started playing small shows, at birthday parties, fairs, you name it…She would tell us, 'If it's meant to be, it will be…life has a beautiful and wonderful way of working itself out.' She was talking about our success as a band, but, I think it applies here too."
Gabriella smiled, "I like that." The words comforted her, because she KNEW Troy and her were meant to be together, so…they would find a way to do so. "Your mom sounds like a smart lady."
Shor nodded, "She is. She's the best."
"So what did you play in the band?" Gabriella couldn't help herself; she was intrigued about this family band of S's.
"Well…when I first joined I was only 12…so I played percussion instruments…but when I turned 13/14 I played acoustic rhythm guitar."
"Does everyone play an instrument?"
"No, Sawyer sings, and dances a bit. He CAN play, but he's better to entertain the crowd as a lead singer."
"Sawyer is the lead singer as the youngest? AND he's on a tv show? He must be pretty talented."
"Ha! Yeah…and he knows it too! I dunno how he juggles it all to be honest…"
"I can't imagine having so many siblings, do you guys fight?"
Shor scrunched his nose and shrugged a shoulder, "Eh…not really. Every once in a while, but it's always over with quickly and we're back to crackin' jokes and chillin'. I love it…you always have someone to turn to, a whole team supporting you, people that have known you your whole life and know you better than yourself. We just gel: Samuel is the leader: responsible, understanding, super positive, but kinda dorky, Saoirse is the girl and has a heart of gold, Sean is sooo funny, Shane is a prankster and a giant goofball, Scott is kinda quiet but is hilarious, Spencer is shy and athletic, Sawyer…well…Sawyer is… on his own planet, and SUPER creative…we're all different but the same." He smiled.
Gabriella grinned as she listened to Shor speak about his family; it made her want a big family like his – with Troy. Troy would be a great dad, so fun and loving. She even though the names idea was cute.
"And you?" she asked, waiting for him to describe himself.
"Me? Well…they all say I'm the brainiac." Gabriella's phone rang then, interrupting them,
"Oh! It's Troy!" She rushed away while answering, while Shor motioned for her to 'go ahead.'
"Troy?" Gabriella answered, her voice thick with both anxiousness and excitement.
"Heeeey baby, it's nice to hear your voice."
Gabriella was impatient and wasted no time in asking the burning question, "SO?!"
"So what?"
"Troy! You know what! How did the audition go?! Did you get in?!" she spoke a million miles a minute.
"Uh…" Troy's tone wasn't very enthused and Gabriella's face dropped.
"What happened?"
"Well…I mean, I flubbed the lines - more than once-"
"Oh nooo!" Gabriella lamented.
"Yeah…no bueno," Troy's voice still down.
"And they didn't let you in for that?" Gabriella complained, he voice trying to be comforting. How could they not let him in?! Now Gabriella thought back to all the times in the past week and a half that Troy spent hours with her on the phone and he COULD have been rehearsing, and memorizing her lines. She felt terrible.
"No, I got in," Troy responded simply. His reply was unexpected and took Gabriella off guard. Did she hear him right?
"Huh?"
"Babe…I got in!" Troy exclaimed.
"WHAT?!" she screamed, jumping up and down, "THAT'S AMAZING!" Troy laughed on the other end. But then Gabriella stopped jumping, and a stern look came to her face, "TROY MICHAEL BOLTON! WHY! Did you make me think you hadn't got in!?"
Troy chuckled, "Sorry babe, but I mean…I MUST be a good actor, I had you fooled!"
Gabriella rolled her eyes and scoffed, "That wasn't very nice…" She tried to sound serious, but failed at her attempt to fool him.
"Aw…I love youuuu."
"Uh huh, " she said, still trying to 'punish' him. "Did you really mess up your lines?"
"Ooooh yeah." He paused before adding, "Buuuuut…everyone thought I recovered really well, and people seemed to think I did a great job. The professor told me my performance was 'believable, heart felt, inspired, and very moving' right before he told me I got in."
"Troy that's wonderful! Inspired huh? You must have really sold it!"
Troy shrugged, "They thought so."
"I'm so proud of you! Congratulations!" Her face beamed.
"Thanks – I was super nervous."
"Meh…You work well under pressure," she smiled into the phone.
"I guess. So how has your day been?"
"Good," she sighed as she took a seat on the floor in the hall outside the door of the study room. "Just had class, and was trying to study unsuccessfully."
"Why unsuccessfully?"
"Because I was waiting to hear from you!" she exclaimed.
"Oh, I see."
"Yeah, but then- do you remember that guy Shor you met?"
"Yeah…blondie," Troy's voice was even.
"Yeah – him. He was in the study room with me-"
"You guys were studying together?"
"No – he was just in there too, on the other side of the room. But we got to talking and guess what?"
"What?"
"His brother is Sawyer Parker."
"Who?"
"Sawyer Parker – he's an actor on tv."
"Cool…" Troy said, but with uncertainty as to why he was hearing this information.
"Isn't that awesome? I mean…if you wanted to pursue acting, he could be a person to give you pointers and stuff."
"Gabi….I don't even know him."
"But you COULD…he's Shor's older brother, and they are really close."
"Yeah…except I don't know Shor either…Babe, I hear what you're saying, but whatever I am going to do it's going to be way off in the future. I'm not thinkin' about it now."
"But…IF you decided to do acting…it's SOMETHING isn't it?"
Troy sighed, "Yeah, I guess." He said this mostly to placate her and get her off the subject.
"Oh! AND 6 of his siblings are in a band together called SPark 6!"
"SPark 6? I think maybe I've heard the name before…" Troy racked his brain as Gabriella continued to babble,
"Yeah, S because of their S names, Park for Parker, and 6 for 6 members. Shor was in the band but then dropped out when they got signed to a label so he could-"
"Did this Shor guy tell you his life story or what?" Troy questioned, he wasn't exactly amused by this Shor guy. He wouldn't say he was 'jealous' per se…but his girl around a guy, who Troy had to admit, was attractive, wasn't going to go un-checked by Troy.
"No – not his life story. Just about his siblings and how they are all best friends - they are TOO adorable."
"Or…kind of freaky."
"Troy! That's not very nice." This time the seriousness in Gabriella's tone was real. Why was he being all…jerky? "How is that freaky?"
"I dunno, 8 kids is a lot."
"So? Doesn't make it freaky. What's up with you?" she questioned him.
"Nothin'"
"Somethin'" Gabriella corrected, indicating she knew he wasn't being truthful.
Troy sighed, "I dunno babe, it's just hard knowing you're hanging out with some guy."
Gabriella's eyes widened in surprise, "Troy…it's not-"
"I know," he interrupted. He knew she would never ever cheat on him, and that their relationship was solid, but it didn't mean he wasn't envious that some other guy got to spend time with his cute, loving, sweet, wonderful girlfriend instead of him. Some other guy got to admire her silky hair, or see how she bites her lip when she's thinking or anxious, and notice as her eyes dance when she laughs - ooooh that infectious giggle of hers was to die for. "It's not THAT….but…I dunno – I just miss you."
Gabriella's face softened and she smiled a small smile, "I miss you too, Wildcat. SO much." She paused before adding, "But…Shor is just cool guy who helped to distract me while I waited anxiously for my super talented, amazingly handsome, and superbly adorable boyfriend to call and tell me how his audition went."
Troy sighed, "I just wish I was there with you."
"Me too, Troy."
"And nooooow I gotta go. Practice." Troy's voice sounded slightly frustrated.
"How's it been with Durrell?"
Troy rolled his eyes, truthfully it had been kind of a struggle. As much as Troy wanted to let it go it was hard for him, and it didn't improve the situation any that his teammates couldn't help but tell the story over and over again in the locker room, even at the protest of team captain Scott. It was particularly awkward for Troy because he is a point guard: the one running the plays and distributing the ball…he resented every time he set Durrell up for a big play and Durrell whooped and hollered – praising himself. But, he wasn't going to make Gabriella think she had caused a problem. Even though she was completely innocent he knew his girlfriend wouldn't be able to help but feel somewhat responsible – like she got in the middle of team unity.
"It's alright, we're moving past it."
"Good, that's good."
"Yeah. We'll talk later tonight?"
Gabriella bit her lip, "I've got a study group…"
"Oh."
"But we'll be done around 10pm…"
"I've got an early tutoring session tomorrow – 6am."
"Tutoring?"
"Mandatory for all athletes – help us keep up with our studies I guess."
"You still have to send me your schedule with everything."
"I don't know everything Gabriella, I've told you this," he almost sounded annoyed.
"Well send me what you DO know then, better something then nothing," she retorted flatly.
"Alright."
"Thank you."
"Sure."
"What's wrong with you? Shouldn't you be happy after your great news?" she asked.
"Nothin'…I am happy…I'm just tired and thinking about the 3 hour practice, and waking up early tomorrow, and I really miss you."
"I miss you too."
"I gotta go, I love you."
"Love you too, Wildcat. Have fun at practice."
"I'll try – good luck studying."
"Thanks, bye Troy."
"Talk to you later, babe."
It was Saturday morning and Gabriella sat at her desk, reading the email Troy had sent her at 4am. She was upset when she found out they wouldn't be able to get together this weekend – Troy had all sorts of team events and requirements to get done. His free time was on Sunday, when Gabriella had a tutoring session of her own: except SHE was the tutor. It brought her a little money, and helped her solidify information in her own head. She examined Troy's schedule:
Writing - MWTh 10:20a – 12:10p, Section Tu 11:30-12:30p
History - MW 3p-5p
Intro to Acting - Tu 10:20a – 12p, Th 2-4:20p
Intro to Stage Prod – WTh 8:30a-10:15a
For at least next week:
Practice WF 5a-7a, MWF 6:30p-9:30p,
Weight Training TuTh 6:30p-8:30p
Tutoring: TuTh 6a-7a
Then this weekend:
Morning practice followed by shooting some stuff for player graphics or something, I don't really know. Then we have a pre-season press interview in the afternoon followed by a team dinner.
And I realized the student section camp out is next weekend. We should just find a place halfway between and move there – at this rate I'll see you at Thanksgiving.
Love you sweetheart, and miss you so much,
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo Troy
Gabriella groaned, "Nooooo…." She wasn't going to see him next weekend either?! She read his message again…it seemed so sad, so resigned to the circumstances surrounding their inability to see each other. Her heart ached for him, and then wondered if he was serious about moving together. It would mean a 20-30 minute commute for both of them, but maybe he had a point: their schedules might force them to if they ever wanted to see each other. Gabriella rested her chin on her hand, frowning, she missed her boy.
Troy was early for Friday night practice, thankfully he had Fridays off from school so he could relax, do some homework, and then show up to the gym at 3pm to work on his game. Troy entered through the tunnel, passing through the door leading inside and past the security guard,
"Hey Phil," he greeted the gentleman he'd come to know and recognize.
"Troy," he nodded to him, "Getting in early again today I see?"
"Yeah….we got the Camp Out tomorrow, so I figured I'd put in some extra time today. How's your daughter?"
"She's doin fine, feeling much better."
"Good!" he smiled, "I'll see ya, have a good one."
"You too, Bolton."
Troy entered the vacant locker room and went to his locker space: now that they did the video and picture graphics last weekend there was a large stylized action shot of Troy dribbling through his legs in his uniform placed above his locker cubby space. Next to the photo read his name and number: Troy Bolton #11. As a freshmen Troy had last dibs on numbers, the older players had selected their numbers from years previous of course and Jeremy Kent was already #14. It was pure luck if any of them had their numbers from high school, just happened that they weren't claimed when they were freshmen. Troy didn't mind 11, it was adjacent to Scott Saracen's who wore 12. Troy dressed in his practice jersey, and then debated which shoes he wanted to wear: Nike supplied the team with all sorts of gear, and shoes were one of the many things in endless supply. There were about 5 different styles of shoes in their team colors, and Troy had taken a liking to 2 in particular. He reached for his newer pair, he had to break them in. He laced up, palmed the ball and trotted his way to the door, opening it right into,
"Ow!" Troy heard, and then a shuffle of a body hitting the floor, he peeked around the door – his face with a look of guilt and regret. He looked down and saw there lay a girl, holding a rather large camera to her chest.
"Oh my gosh, I am SO sorry!" he said putting the ball down and leaning over her, "Are you okay?"
The girl glanced up at him around the camera, "Not really – you just smashed my face and an expensive camera with the door you came barreling out of."
"Sorry!" he said again, offering his hand, "Here let me help you." She gripped the camera handle with her left hand and grabbed Troy's right hand with hers. He hoisted her up,
"How's your face?" Troy guiltily asked.
"You tell me…" she said turning her face upwards towards him – she couldn't be taller than 5'3'' and was such a tiny little thing with light brown hair and ice blue eyes.
"Uhhh.." Troy visually inspected her face, and then frowned when he realized she had a bloody nose, "You…your nose." She touched the skin under her nose and looked at her fingers to see blood,
"Great." She sighed and put the camera she was holding down on the ground.
"Sorry…hold on, don't go anywhere, " Troy turned back to the locker room door as she replied shortly,
"Yes, go grab a towel, boy who crashes through doors."
Troy ignored her less-than-polite comment and ran to go grab some towels. He then stopped by the ice cooler and put some in a bag, before returning and handing her the towel,
"Here."
"Thanks." She said as she placed the towel to her nose.
"I'm so sorry again…" she didn't respond so Troy tried again, "I'm on the basketball team and-"
"I know, and I don't care."
Troy was taken aback by her snarkiness, "Sorry...uh…what's your name?"
"Riker."
"Rye-ker?"
"Yeah, Riker."
"Is that like…your last name?" Troy asked slowly.
She sighed with exasperation, "No, 'Ones', it's my FIRST name – my mother is a huge Star Trek fan, I'm her only spawn, and so I got landed with a boy name."
"Wow…that's-"
"I don't want to talk about it." She pulled the towel away from her face and then dabbed it a couple times, "Still bleeding?" she turned her nose towards Troy.
"I don't think so," Troy said shaking his head, "Here, trade." His hand held out the ice to her. She eyed it, then took it, giving him the towel.
"Ice…nice thinking Ones. There's hope for you yet."
Troy looked down at his practice jersey, at the 11 on his chest – double 'ones'. "My name's Troy." He stuck out his hand to her, she regretfully shook it. "Look…Riker…I'm really sorry, it was an accident." He didn't know why she was being so…rude. I mean, he DID hit her with a door and give her a bloody nose, but it was an honest accident. Maybe she was screwing with him because he was a basketball player?
She smiled a sly smile at him, what did that mean? "Thanks for the ice…see ya around Ones." And she picked up the camera and walked off, leaving a baffled Troy looking after her. What on earth?
"Sorry!...Again…" Troy called after her, without looking she waved her hand with the ice at him as she disappeared around a corner. Well THAT was bizarre.
Gabriella glanced at the clock, it was 7pm and Troy was at practice. She sighed, closing the law book she was reading. She couldn't study any more, Kinley was out, she wasn't going to hang out with the two next door. Then her phone rang,
"Taylor!"
"Hey girl! How are you?!"
"I'm good, how are you?! How's Yale!?"
"I LOVE it! The classes are amazing, the boys are cute AND smart, but I miss you!"
"I miss you too, Tay."
"How is Stanford?"
"It's great, I love my classes – but they are keeping me busy."
"I hear that, sister. I feel like all I do is sleep, eat, go to class, study, do homework, sleep – repeat."
Gabriella giggled, "Sounds about right."
"How's Troy? Does he like it at Berkeley."
"Troy is…good, adjusting, but good. He just auditioned and got accepted into the Theater & Performing Arts School!"
"Whoo! Good for him! What about basketball?"
"That's an adjustment too…he has so many practices and commitments, it's a lot different than at East High. But, he likes it, the coach rides him pretty hard though I guess."
"Troy can take it, he's tough."
"Yeah, he just gets frustrated."
"Understandable. How are YOU doing with all of it?"
"Well, Troy doesn't complain about it TOO much to me, so it's not-"
Taylor replied, unamused, "Ha,Ha, smarty. You know what I meant."
Gabriella sighed, she did know. "Honestly Tay…It's hard. Harder than I thought it would be. We are only in our 3rd week and every thought I have is clouded with how much I miss him – we haven't seen each other since we started school."
"Do you get to see him this weekend?"
"No," Gabriella whined, "There is some student cheering section camp out thingy."
"A what?"
"It's like a Meet & Greet hang out event between the players and the students who bought Student Section tickets for the basketball season. Troy didn't tell me much more than that."
"Interesting...," she took a beat before continuing, "But, I'm sorry it's been so difficult for you guys. Maybe things will calm down?"
"That's what Troy thinks, once they get closer to the season his coach will cut back on the amount of practice so as to not wear them out."
"That makes sense. Hang in there honey."
"I'm tryin'. We are making it work the best that we can for now, but we have to figure out something better than spending a whole month apart – it's killing both of us."
"What does Troy say about all this?"
"It varies between him being a grump about it, and being positive and encouraging. Mostly the latter." Though, more and more the former, she thought.
Taylor laughed, "Typical guy."
"Troy isn't typical."
"True, but honey…he's still a boy, so he'll fall into that category at least some of the time," she said in a 'tellin it like it is' tone.
"Well, he's trying…he sent me a video message this morning that I woke up to."
"Awww…that's sweet! What did it say?"
"It was just a goofy video of him dancing and singing the 'Good Morning' song from Singing in the Rain. Then saying how much he missed me and loved me, and to have a wonderful day."
"Awwww…that boy IS something special. I'll give you that."
"Yeah, he is," Gabriella agreed, smiling wide. "It just sucks not being together."
"Oh I bet!" Taylor's tone was suggestive.
"Oh, hush." Gabriella's face turned red.
"What?! Honey, it's true and you know it!"
"Well, not as much as you think!" she retorted.
"Oh, I think it's MORE than you think on his end."
"Taylor!"
"Gabriella, he's a red-blooded 18-year-old male, his hormones are raging and I'll bet his sex drive is in over drive. You know it is."
"He's not an animal Tay! I mean, sure…I MISS him, " she couldn't say the words out loud, she wasn't comfortable talking about sex with even Taylor, "But it's fine, it's not always on my mind…and he doesn't mention it a lot or anything"
"Well, then he's definitely relieving the pressure on his own."
What was she saying? Was she implying that Troy…"Tay!"
"What!? It's true and you know it, and probably healthier than, no pun intended, letting it all build up."
"Taylor! I'm NOT going to talk to you about Troy-. About him-. It's a private matter," she insisted.
"Bolton you're too slow!"
"Bolton! He's beating you because you're not moving your feet!"
"Come on 11, be faster!"
"Troy, you HAVE to get there!"
"God damnit Bolton! Take a seat, K(alin) switch in."
Troy, sucking wind, whipped a frustrated hand through his hair, sending droplets of sweat into the air, as Kalin rotated in for him and he took a seat on one of the chairs that was "the bench." Coach Masters had been yelling various different corrections all night as the team ran a stop & go scrimmage of sorts during practice. Troy didn't know what else to do, he was already killing himself: putting himself through hours and hours of solo practice, he practically lived at the gym when he wasn't sleeping, in class, at tutoring, or doing homework. He calculated that in the first 3 week of school he'd spent maybe, on average, only 8 total hours a day in his apartment. One day he was only there to sleep, all of 4 and a half hours, and then change clothes. Troy was lucky to remember to eat everyday, if it weren't for all the calories he was burning that sent his stomach into shut down mode he'd probably forget he required fuel other than Gatorade and water. To be sure, college in its entirety was testing his stamina. He loved having all the extra time outside of class, but all his "free time" he spent practicing, rehearsing for acting class, or doing homework and he still hadn't seen his uncle and cousins, nor had he talked to Gabriella for a couple days, and he also hadn't started his essay due on Monday. And…none of his extra work seemed to be paying off, coach was still on him, Troy didn't know what else to do. Maybe he just wasn't good enough to play at this level. It's a thought that had been creeping into his mind lately, and now that it played at the forefront of his brain it seriously bummed Troy out and brought on even higher levels of stress.
"Troy?" A voice broke into his thoughts, how long had it been trying to get his attention?
"Yeah?" Troy said, rattling his head to bring himself back to reality.
"Did ya want some water?"
Troy turned his head around to see a familiar face: green eyes, light brown shaggy hair, taller than him,
"Oh thanks, Spencer." He took the water bottle from him and squirted some into his mouth, looking out onto the court at the action.
"No problem," Spencer hesitated before adding, "It's not your skills Bolton, you just need to work on your speed and quickness."
"Huh?" Troy said, once again turning his face back towards Spencer.
"You're in here all the time working on your game, but you really just need to be faster physically."
"Great…," Troy sighed, "I'm just slow." A physical limitation, like height.
"You can imp-"
"Bolton! Are you paying attention?! I didn't take you out so you could gab."
Troy's head whipped back around, turning red, he answered back, "Yes coach, sorry coach." Awesome. Now on top of everything else Coach Masters thought Troy was goofing off. Troy couldn't catch a break.
"Troy? – Troy!" Gabriella called into the computer screen, she had been skyping with Troy for the past 20 minutes and he'd almost fallen asleep twice.
"What?!" Troy crankily yelled back, jumping awake.
"Troy, I'm just going to go, that way you can get some sleep before you have to be at the camp out."
"Nooo…I'm sorry, I want to talk to you – besides I don't have time enough for a good nap before I have to be there."
Gabriella sighed, "Troy…"
"Gabriella, please, I won't fall asleep again," he insisted, his voice a little too stern for her liking. He sat up in bed instead of lying down.
"Okay…fine… Well…what do you think I should do then?"
"Huh?"
Gabriella let out a frustrated sigh, what was the point in talking to your boyfriend when he wasn't even paying attention, "Trooooy…ugh…you're not even listening! What's the point?!"
"Well, I'm listening now!" he said impatiently.
"Fine…I'll repeat myself AGAIN: should I switch into the other section for my Derivatives class? I'll be done in the early morning on Fridays if I do, but it'll mean I have really long Tuesdays and Thursdays…"
"Babe, I don't know, why do you want to switch?" Troy could barely make decisions for himself, and the thought of making them for someone else stressed him out more.
"Troy…seriously? Because if I'm out early on Fridays I can come see you earlier."
"Gabs, you KNOW I have practices on Friday anyway."
Gabriella couldn't help it, she was hurt by his comment, what in the hell had gotten into Troy? He was so grumpy, and so short with her more and more all the time…she knew it was a tough adjustment for him and he was tired, but he'd always softened with her. He'd said when he talked to her all his troubles and worries went away.
"Well, sorry, I thought since you have ALL day Friday off up until your practice it might be worth it…since we clearly never get to see each other. Sorry if I thought my boyfriend might want to weigh in on the decision."
"Gabriella, I said do what you want! You know I want to see you, but you also have to know I'm busy, so even if you're here we might not get to see each other that much. Just make a decision, I can't even think about this right now, I have so much shi-crap I have to do." Troy was growing increasingly irritable with the conversation – his lack of sleep, and stress about everything was cracking him and he hated that it was starting to come out at Gabriella. He didn't know how to stop himself, he heard the words coming out, but he couldn't shut them up before she heard them. He knew he was being a jerk, but it was as if he couldn't flip the switch that turned him back into the boyfriend he wanted to be for her. He hadn't even told her everything that had been going on – she too had a lot going on and he didn't want to burden her with his anxieties. Gabriella's face look stunned as she stared at him through the computer screen, stunned and hurt. He closed his eyes and sighed heavily at his outburst,
"Babe….I'm sor-"
"Troy…you need to get some rest." Her voice was oozing with the hurt he could see in her eyes, "You're like a completely different person, I know you're tired, I am too, but if we are going to make this work we can't keep having conversations like this one."
"I know, I-"
"And you look like crap."
Troy chuckled at this, and the tension, thankfully, broke. "Gee thanks, you really know how to compliment a guy."
"Don't even get me started. But I meant what I said Troy…what's going on with you? Are you sleeping enough?" Troy was silent then, contemplating if he should just come clean about all his worries and stress.
"Troy," she prodded.
Troy sighed, "I hear ya babe…I'll be better, I promise. I'm sorry…I shouldn't snap at you like I have been, and I shouldn't be so grumpy. Talking to you is my favorite part of the day by far, I miss you so much." He paused before continuing, "And if you want to switch your class then you KNOW I would love to have you here on Fridays…I'll make it work. For you…always."
"Really?"
"Of course."
"Okay…I'll switch it then! And it also means I'll be in Shor's section, so that will be cool to have a friend."
Troy pursed his lips, Shor…of course. He wasn't threatened by him, but he just wasn't thrilled by how close he was to his girlfriend. It reminded him of that summer at Lava Springs when Ryan and Gabriella became two peas in a pod – he felt, in a SMALL way…replaced. But, he wasn't going to launch THAT discussion again, not now after he already was a jerk,
"Yeah, that'll be nice for you," he agreed, nodding. "So…you alone?" his voice was cheesily seductive as he smiled and raised his eyebrows up and down. Gabriella giggled,
"Troy!"
"What?" he laughed, but then suddenly his door opened and Troy looked up to see Lucas poking his head in,
"Yo, we gotta leave in like 8 minutes bro."
"Oh crap…thanks for reminding me."
"Sure thing." The door closed and Troy brought his attention back down to the screen, sighing.
"Gotta go?" Gabriella frowned through the screen, her eyes showing sadness.
"Yeah…" he moved the computer from his lap to the bed, and faced it out towards his room, a moment later Gabriella saw Troy's frame reenter the screen.
"Troy what are you doing?"
"Well, I have to change, and stuff before I go – so I can either hang up with you and do that or we can continue to talk while I multi-task."
"Hm…good idea."
Troy leaned down to the screen and smiled, "So," he said standing back up and taking off his shirt, "What do you have going on this weekend?"
Gabriella smiled shyly as Troy undressed further, taking off his shorts, she wondered for a moment if he was trying to mess with her, "Well, today I am going to be studying and doing homework most of the day and working on my mid-term paper then-" she paused as she realized Troy had made his way to his dresser and promptly dropped his boxers to his ankles. His profile was to her, so she couldn't see much below his belt, but her cheeks went red anyway – she'd seen him naked plenty of times, but watching him strip through her computer screen was somehow different. Troy who had opened the top drawer and was looking for a fresh pair, turned his face back towards the computer,
"Gabriella?...I'm still listening," he said. She noticed his demeanor and tone of voice indicated he probably wasn't messing with her: he acted as if he stood there fully clothed – nothing strange going on here. Gabriella knew if she had been Troy, standing in front of the computer completely naked, she would not look as comfortable as he did.
"Uh…then…then I'll probably see what Kinley is up to, or Shor…" she said, and she couldn't help but stare right at IT as Troy found his underwear, and turned full-on towards the computer,
"Sounds like a productive day," he said, and then he bent over and fished each leg through his boxers and pulled them up.
"Yeah…" she replied and watched as Troy found a pair of jeans and slipped them on,
"What about tomorrow?" he asked.
"Huh?"
Troy assuming she couldn't hear him moved closer, "What are you up to tomorrow?" he repeated.
"Oh, um, " Gabriella bit a small amount of her bottom lip as she now had a front row seat as Troy stuck his hand down his pants and adjusted himself, "Um…well I have a tutoring session from 8:30-10 in the morning." He finished making himself comfortable, and then zipped and buttoned his jeans – sealing away his manhood from her eyes.
"Anything else?" he questioned as he grabbed a Berkeley Bears t-shirt and pulled it over his head.
"Not really."
"Nice relaxing day then."
"Bolton! 2 minutes!" a voice came from the other room. Troy was pacing around his room, picking up clothing, putting it back down, picking up a bag and looking underneath, going back to his closet and searching through the clothes there,
"Hey babe…" he said as he went to the corner and searched through the laundry basket over there.
"Yeah?"
He stood back up and ran his hand through his hair to get his bangs out of his eyes and his head scanned the room around him, "You don't know what happened to my sweatshirt do you? I haven't been able to find it and I think the last time I had it was at Scott's…" He wasn't looking at the computer screen otherwise he would see Gabriella's guilty face. "I was going to wear it tonight, it's supposed to get a little chilly and I thought I'd wear it under my team jacket," he rose his head from his search to look at the computer, "Gabs?"
Gabriella bit her lip, making a face he knew well. He sighed, "You stole it didn't you." She was always stealing his clothes to wear: his t-shirts, his beanies, his basketball shorts, his sweaters, his button downs,…
"Yeah…" she smiled, she did have his favorite hoodie. It was one of the only ones he ever wore: it was blue/gray in color, had an abstract graphic on it of a basketball on it, and was super soft and snuggly warm. It didn't have any elastic waist or wrists either, which made it more comfy to Gabriella.
"Baaaabe…" Troy complained hanging his head.
"But but but…it smells like you." Gabriella put on her "cute" voice.
"Of course it does! It's the only sweatshirt I wear!" he said with an incredulous smile. He dropped his head, shaking it, "You know, you have SO many clothes, I don't know why you feel the need to steal mine – I'm going to run out of clothes pretty soon here."
"Yours are so much more comfy! And they have your scent, and it's the next best thing to having you here."
Troy brought his face super close to the screen, "You're lucky I love you." He stood back up and reached for a hoodie on the top shelf of his closet, slipping it on. It was a Berkely Bears sweatshirt, one he got for free from the team.
"So does this mean I get to keep it?!" Gabriella said in a high-pitched and hopeful voice.
"Ha! Nice try…but I want it back – it's on LOAN," he said coming back to the computer. He DID want it back, but secretly he loved that she stole his clothes from him and loved even more to see her tiny frame swallowed in his clothing. It was adorable. He momentarily wondered if all guys had this problem of their girl's stealing their clothes, or if it was just his klepto girlfriend.
Gabriella pouted, giving him the pleading eyes she knew he was a sucker for.
"Noooo…" he covered her face on the screen with his hand, "Don' .Try it." He smiled.
"Fiiiine, I'll give it back to you…" she relented with a sigh. He took his hand away.
"TROY! Gotta go bro!" Lucas' voice interrupted, making Troy sigh.
"I love you, baby."
"I love you…have fun at the campout thing."
"It'd be much more fun with you here…" he said before his face fell and his tone was more apologetic, "I'm really sorry about earlier."
"I know…" Gabriella's face also fell, remembering how he'd spoken to her.
"I'll make it up to you…I miss you, sweetheart."
"I miss you too."
"TROY!"
"COMING!" Troy's voice bellowed back, startling Gabriella. "Gotta go babe, I love you..mmmmmuah!" He blew a kiss to the screen.
"Love you too, Wildcat."
"Okay, love you, bye," he said quickly, as he clicked, and failed to hit the hang up button. So without his knowing, Gabriella saw as he grabbed his wallet from his desk, slid it in his back pocket, tousled his hair in the mirror, and sat down to slip on his converse. She heard th door open, but couldn't see because the computer was turned at the wall perpendicular to the door.
"Dude! It's 10:25…we have 5 minutes to get there."
"I'm comin'!" Troy stood up and grabbed/pulled at the crotch of his jeans, shaking his leg, trying to make it more comfortable Gabriella assumed.
"Bro, play with yourself later, we gotta go, no time for-"
"Shut uuup," Troy said in a blasé tone, disappearing from the frame and Gabriella heard the sound of someone pushing another.
"And you better not be jackin' off tonight in our tent either!" Lucas laughed.
"Alllright, shut it, James," Troy's voice said off screen with a tone that indicated he was no longer amused, but also not upset in the slightest. Gabriella heard a door close, and they were gone. Gabriella thought for a moment after she hit the hang up button on skype: was Lucas just messing with him or did Troy really…pleasure himself as much as Lucas hinted at. This wasn't something she and Troy had talked about, truth be told, it embarrassed her. And if he wasn't joking, how could Lucas know about it? Is this something Troy talked about with them? If so was he talking to his teammates about Gabriella in that way? Right away Gabriella dismissed this thought, Troy would never. She leaned back in her chair and sighed, Troy did say he dreamed about her a lot…but she thought he probably just took cold showers. Taylor seemed to disagree though…she believed all guys did it. It was hard for Gabriella to picture Troy pleasuring himself though. She decided to try and put it out of her mind for now, picking up a book and turning to where she left off to begin reading.
Alright, hopefully that wasn't TOO bad a chapter...it's hard for me to write chapters where they are apart!
And just to ease anyone's mind that might be thinking it: I'm never intending on breaking Troy and Gabriella up...so the introduction of characters like Shor and Riker are not threats - just interesting spins to create a little drama here and there.
And to be honest, Shor just came completely out of the blue to me - he wasn't planned AT ALL. Suddenly, I was typing about an arm stopping the elevator and out came this character and before I knew it, I created this whole family who I've now fallen in love with...so, very sorry if that whole conversation with Shor about his family was boring :\ But i fear it's not the last we've heard about them...sometimes I think the story is writing itself! :) The scene with Riker on the other hand I'd had in mind for a long time - it changed a lot from my original plan, but like I said: I just go where the story takes me sometimes.
Let me know what you guys think! As always: I'm open to any type of review: questions,comments,suggestions,etc :)