We Love Pretending

Chapter 10 - Charlie.

Gabriella twirled her body around in front of her mirror. The large sheet of glass showed her every move, and made Gabriella somewhat dizzy at seeing herself at the same time. Dropping her hands to her waist, her fingers played with the ruffles in her dress. The fuchsia material went down to just above her knees and was low cut at the front, accentuating her chest. A large gold pendant hung from her neck, with little crystal earrings decorating her ears. And her gold heeled sandals made her look taller, which she was pleased about.

Her dark outlined eyes opened up her face and she smiled shyly at herself in the mirror. She had always thought mirrors were something of a miracle invention. What would the female race do now, if they didn't have mirrors? We definitely wouldn't know how to look beautiful in the way we did now. Her fingers moved to her face, gently taking away excess make-up that wasn't needed. After doing so, she stepped back and took in the complete picture. She had to admit: she looked stunning.

Wandering around her room, she packed all that she would need into her small jewelled purse; her phone, make-up, some cash - the necessities. Then she grabbed her small leather jacket from her bed and headed out the room.

Troy drummed his fingers on the table top in his kitchen. His eyes stared down at the surface, each line or dot being taken in. He was going to see Charlie. He didn't want to, but was going to have to. He reached for the bottle of wine and took a big gulp. If he was going to get through this night he needed alcohol!

What would Gabriella think of him when she knew Charlie was his ex? Gabriella had told him all about Max, asked if he had anything to share, and her had just shrugged the question off. How was he to know that Charlie would waltz back into his life?

This wasn't supposed to happen. Everything was going perfectly. He was finally giving up on his feelings for Charlie, moving them on to Gabriella. And deep down he knew he had never felt this close to someone like Brie. Not even Charlie came close with that. That's why he was so worried about tonight. If Gabriella had any feelings whatsoever for him they would all be gone soon. Because, sooner or later she was going to know his past. Charlie was his past.

Troy quickly hid the bottle of wine as he heard Gabriella come down the stairs. She walked into the kitchen, her heels battering against the tiled surface. He smiled when he saw her.

"Wow! You look gorgeous."

She giggled while she blushed. "Really? Do I look okay?"

He smiled at her beauty. "Stunning."

He looked down at the table. Somehow, he had to stop the compliments. He knew they wouldn't be valued as much after tonight. It killed him to know that after the next few hours all hopes of becoming closer would vanish.

Gabriella slide over to the other side of the table, perching on a stool. Her eyes had concern all over them, and she pressed her hand over the table, grasping his. He was touched by the warmth that he hadn't felt in a long time. Sometimes the smallest touch could brighten someone's day.

"Are you okay? You've been quiet all day."

He looked up and their eyes connected. Then he looked down again. "I'm fine. Just a little nervous I guess. I mean, they all think we're a couple, and we're not." And never will be after this, he thought.

She came over to his side of the table and took his head in her hands, dragging his eyes to hers. "There's nothing to worry about. I know you don't want to fool your friends, but we've managed with the paps so far. It'll be fine."

She kissed his cheek before leaving him and heading for the door. His hand travelled to the place she'd just touched and rubbed it absentmindedly. Her touch was tantalizing. It gave him goosebumps all over.

"Come on Bolton. Let's get outta here."

He smirked at her, as he patted his pockets checking his had everything, Then he grabbed his jacket, standing beside Gabriella. He peeked out the curtains slightly, to see paparazzi once more. Sighing, he rolled his eyes, taking Gabriella's hand. She looked at him questionably.

"Yes. They're there."

She sighed, fixing her hair into place and unfolding the ruffles in her skirt. He kissed her cheek before muttering. "Relax, it'll be fine."

She smiled at him encouragingly, then they opened the door. Flashes took over them, but Gabriella had gotten used to that now. Troy had known this for a long time, so it was a daily occurrence. She smiled broadly at the cameras as Troy pulled her through the crowds to his car.

"Off to Ryan's, tonight Troy?"

"Where are you going?"

"Out on the town?"

"Gabriella, you look beautiful!"

"Gabriella, why are you not in Britain?"

"Does Max know about your affair?"

Troy helped Gabriella into the car, hoping that the unnecessary questions wouldn't hurt her. He sidestepped the crowd making his way to the other side of the car, before slipping in. By the time he was in the car she looked flustered. He could tell she wasn't used to all the questions being shot at her, Britain's media wasn't as harsh as America's.

He took her hand and kissed it, hoping it would bring some relief. She smiled at him, before mouthing 'thank you', and Troy got the car into gear. He was about to move his hand away, but Gabriella pulled it back. He smiled to himself. Holding her hand wasn't a problem.

They reached Ryan's house, and turned off the ignition. He turned to Gabriella, who had been jittery since the journey.

"Now, are you sure you want to go through with this. I can go and cancel, it's fine." Part of Troy hoped she'd nod her head and they'd go home. It would fill him with relief at knowing he would miss the encounter between Gabriella and Charlie, which no doubt would be nasty.

She shook her head. "No Troy, it's fine. We'll be fine. I'm feeling much better now. I'm not saying that it was nice to be basically called a slut in front of that big crowd, for having an affair, but I'm fine. Now, I'd really like to meet your friends. After all, I'm going to be spending quite some time with you. So let's go." Gabriella urged.

He sighed. "Ok, let's go."

She touched his hand. "Don't be nervous. I'll be the model girlfriend." She smiled and he smiled with her.

They got out the car, thankful that no paparazzi had followed them. They reached the door, and Troy rang the door bell. Gabriella clasped her hand over his, for some comfort, and Troy smiled broadly. From inside the house they could here a lot of bustling, but soon someone came to the door. It was Ryan's fiancé.

"Troy, how nice to see you." The woman, dressed in a black floaty dress hugged her partner's friend, then turned to Gabriella.

"Now then, who is this beautiful woman you've brought with you today?"

Troy placed his hand at the small of Gabriella's back, protecting his property. "Michelle, this is Gabriella Montez, my girlfriend and also actress in my new film."

Gabriella smiled at her shyly, while they shook hands. Michelle looked at her for a while, before smiling back and leading them into the house. "It's lovely to have you both here. Let me take your coats."

After collecting the coats, Gabriella said, "It was lovely for you to invite us."

Michelle smiled at her, "My pleasure. Now, go and get united with the other guests."

Just as Troy was about to leave for the other rooms with Gabriella, he was pulled aside by Michelle. She looked at him suspiciously. "I hope this isn't a 'get your own back' scheme. You know Ch--"

He interrupted her. "--Yes, I know she is here. But Gabriella is my girlfriend now. And nothing she does or says will change that."

Michelle smiled fondly at Troy. "You're really hooked on Gabriella huh?"

Troy blushed, "Yeah."

Michelle patted him on the back. "Good. I never really liked that Charlie. Why she invited herself here tonight, I don't know. Probably to have another stab at you. Oh, you poor thing. Anyways, I have another reason to hate her with now."

She turned around, leaving Troy confused. "Why?"

Michelle shouted back while leaving for the kitchen. "She put avocado in my lasagne."

Troy laughed at Michele's silliness before wandering into the spacious living room in search for Gabriella. She was talking to Ryan.

"I'm really glad you could both make it." Ryan detailed Gabriella. Troy came behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist. "We wouldn't have missed it for the world, would we?"

Gabriella giggled as he kissed her cheek. "Never."

Ryan looked fondly on at the scene of affection. "Right, let's get you introduced. Over here,' he led them over to a shy couple, of whom Troy knew, 'is Jason and Emily."

"Nice to see you again Troy."

The men shook hands and he kissed Emily's cheek. Emily smiled at Gabriella. "Hi, I'm Emily, and you are?"

Gabriella held out her hand, "Gabriella."

"It's nice to meet you. How'd you guys meet?"

Gabriella looked over at Troy, and he explained. "Well, we both signed up for the same film, and just hit it off from there."

Jason smiled fondly at the pair, before Ryan shuffled them off. "You'll have met Michelle already?"

They both nodded.

"Well, then, this is… Charlie." Ryan stuttered.

"Hello Troy, who's this?" Charlie's husky voice sounded.

Charlie had long blonde hair which hung loosely over her shoulders. Her body was very tanned and you could see some streaks of where it was fake. Her almost black eyes penetrated into Gabriella's face, sucking all her features out. She had small, but full lips and a pointed nose. On her body hung a small, almost tarty mustard yellow dress. It was low cut, but much more than Gabriella's and you could see nearly all of her thigh. Troy was disgusted to think that she had actually loved this girl once. He quickly snapped back to reality.

"This, is Gabriella. My girlfriend."

Charlie's eyes instantly deepened and her mouth twitched. Gabriella had a bad feeling about this girl, and there was obviously a reason why this girl didn't like her. At all.

"Pleased to meet you." Gabriella said, faking a smile for this vile being.

Charlie's lips curved into a smirk, before extending her hand, grasping Gabriella's and shaking it violently. "The pleasure, is all mine."

Gabriella edged closer to Troy in a hope that he would take her away from Charlie soon, but Charlie persisted with questions.

"So, how did you meet her?" Charlie's scrawny finger pointed in Gabriella's directions and Troy stood tall.

"I met, Gabriella, while in the production for my new film."

"When did that start?" Charlie shot at him. Gabriella was quite startled.

"About a month ago." Troy remained contained, no matter how much he wanted to punch Charlie.

"Lovely." Charlie retorted.

Gabriella summoned the courage to speak. "Eh, do you guys… know each other?"

Charlie gasped in fake shock. "You haven't told her about me!" An evil smirk carved onto Charlie's face as she edged closer to Gabriella. "Let me tell you. I'm Troy's--"

"She's one of my old friends, Gabriella."

Gabriella just nodded, stunned at the fact that they were being so hostile to each other. She buttoned her lips quickly, not trying to delve for any more information.

"Wine anyone?" Michelle's voice broke the silence that had started to build since their meeting. Troy thanked the heavens and quickly took Gabriella away from Charlie.

Thank you for all waiting so patiently. It's been hard right now to update often, but I hope this chapter suits you all. Thank you for all the reviews, they are amazing. Now that TOSOTR is finished, I'll be able to concentrate moer on this story and The Pregnancy Path.

Who hates Charlie? I do! :)

Please review, I do love them. And, I'll try and update as soon as possible.