A/N: I'm not exactly happy with this chapter, but hopefully you guys like it. There's not a lot to say, but it's leading up to the next two which are going to be huge. So thanks of course for reading as always! You guys keep this story alive with your reviews!
"Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it."
-Cady Heron, Mean Girls
Gabriella had never felt so exposed in her life.
"This one, and this one too…" The Barbie was a maniac. Insane. There were no possible words to describe her. She was on a rampage in her three inch turquoise heels. Gabriella was certain this was the first time she had ever seen the blonde sweat. Her light eyes had a shade of scarlet tint to them, a red of blood thirst. She was hungry, on destruction path that made Gabriella just want to cower in a corner and hide. It was like putting a dormant cougar that has been eating nothing but grass for ten years and setting a deer in its path. She was dangerous.
Note to self, never go shopping with Sharpay Evans again.
"Sharpay… I cannot wear this in public," she forcefully pushed the string back into Sharpay's arms and took a careful step backwards, only to feel her body smack against a manikin wearing a sparkling green Tinkerbell outfit. The impact spot on her head began to pulsate as her tiny hand reached up to rub the march profusely on her scalp. "Damn it!" Her moan echoed.
"Let her off easy." Taylor attempted to save the brunette as she sifted through the less threatening costumes in the middle of the scarlet and jet black store. Gabriella's distressed eyes darted back and forth to survey the scene more. There was a dense mash of fake fog that ran through her legs and covered the off white colored linoleum. The ceiling was high and reminded her much of an evil warehouse with beams that loomed above her. Pretend coffins, severed body parts with bogus blood splattering from them surrounded her. The petrified screams and horrifying chuckles of death filled her ears.
It was like she walked into Hell.
Which would probably be why the Halloween store was called, Hell's Torture.
"I'm surprised Gabriella hasn't gone to LA because of you Shar," Kelsi chimed before lifting up a Little Red Ridinghood costume that seemed to cause her supple skin to glow and didn't revel every inch of her body. It was very… Kelsi. "You like this one?"
Taylor and Gabriella nodded excitedly. "Looks great Kels."
"Ugh… you guys are so stupid. Am I the only one who cares about Gabriella right now?" Sharpay asked before her sparkling eyes lit up as soon as she recovered a pair of pink fluffy bunny ears that were stationed next to a rack to match her Playboy Bunny outfit.
Gabriella knew that one was supposed to dress up a little… risqué on Halloween. Every girl had seen Mean Girls, and it was almost the law that skin was to be shone. But the mice, hooker, and stripper costumes Sharpay was shoving up Gabriella's nose were scaring her more that the picture of a deranged lunatic that wouldn't leave his eyes from her.
"What the hell do you mean?" Taylor snapped back.
"You're scaring her to death right now!" Kelsi defended before Taylor wrapped a comforting arm around Gabriella's thin shoulder.
"Guys, I'm not four…" Gabriella pushed Taylor's arm away from her, only to jump back into her arms when a mutated mechanical clown sprung from around the corner. His eyes bulged and caused Gabriella to practically jump out of the slim jeans she was wearing. "HOLY FUCK!" She screamed only to receive angry glares from other shoppers. Screw them.
"Clearly." Taylor rolled her beady eyes before Sharpay snapped her elongated fingers to gain their attention again.
"Focus okay?" Sharpay's long hair that pulled at the edges of her flawless skin into a high ponytail swung obnoxiously. "Do you not realize how important this party is?"
The three of them looked at each other like stupid deer in headlights before shaking their heads and turning back to the blonde. "No." All three sung in harmony at the same time.
Sharpay's spheres rolled obnoxiously. "Saturday is the last night Troy Bolton will be in Crescent City for what… six days?" Sharpay pretended to count on her long fingers before shaking her head to clear all thoughts. Gabriella's toothpick stomach lurched at the words. Six days. That seemed more like six lives to her. In some instance, it felt like he was never coming back. She didn't want him to leave. "Saturday is his remembrance of her. It will be how he'll think of her while his ass is in fucking Mexico, probably shitfaced from not doing anything."
"Remembrance?" Gabriella mouthed appalled. The word sounded more like of someone who had passed away and died. Or, in her case, maybe, possibly very unlikely a feeling that he held right now. The gloomy store suddenly fuzzed in a dizzy haze. If Troy had any feelings for her, it seemed inevitable now that he would chuck them into the turquoise ocean. It was her death sentence.
"She's not gonna die while he's gone Shar." Taylor sarcastically replied, though Gabriella's heavy head was now swimming of thoughts and images of Troy returning with no desire to have anything to do with her. A cool breeze soughed over her ecru cheek, almost reminding her how painful it would be to not feel it anymore. Could she handle that?
"No… Shar's right." Gabriella agreed in a shaky voice as her undivided attention suddenly shot to the hanging of what looked like string instead of costumes.
Taylor's eyes enlarged to take over her horrified face. Kelsi's jaw smashed violently to the floor. "Wha… what? You can't be serious…"
Sharpay's evil smile curved on her peach lips. "Now that's what I want to hear."
Then Gabriella seemed to turn into her clone. Sorting, throwing, anxious to find the perfect outfit. "I am. She's right. Troy's going to be gone for six days. That's enough to make him forget about our… friendship." She caught herself before speaking the dangerous word that might jinx everything.
"Friendship my ass." Taylor mumbled evenly before Sharpay clapped delightedly at Gabriella's change of… well… whatever she decided to change.
"Gabs, trust me. I've talked to the boy…" Gabriella's throat began to weld a thump of spit as her vibrant eyes shot to Sharpay's model body to see that she had an amused smile on her face. Gabriella hated when the blonde knew more than she did, but she couldn't blame her, since she and Troy were extremely close.
"It doesn't mean anything." Gabriella practically whispered as her hands rapidly flew through the black hangers. Did Troy like police? Probably not. The handcuffs maybe… What the hell was she thinking? This town was beginning to taint her innocent mind.
Maybe that wasn't a bad thing.
"Umm, are you serious? It means everything." Sharpay's tone was almost insulted by Gabriella's lack of faith. She was almost taken aback by the heaviness of her voice. It seemed as thought Gabriella would need to write all these things down. Okay, note to self…
One, never go shopping with Sharpay.
Two, don't question her friendship with Troy.
"Sorry… I didn't mean…" Gabriella coyly apologized, suddenly feeling immensely guilty for questioning how good of friends Troy and Sharpay were. There was something strange about that relationship. It didn't unnerve her in the jealous kind of way, but there was something different. He was close to Kelsi and Taylor… but with Sharpay it was like night and day difference. It was another kind of bond that Gabriella couldn't grasp on.
"Whatever," Sharpay huffed before digging around again. "What about this?"
Her hand swiftly lifted something that just walked out of the depths of hell. It the black skirt would have barely covered her butt. It had a red lining inside and would have exposed her chest to the point that would be almost as scary to look at as some of the decorations in the shop. "Vampire?"
Kelsi burst into hysterical laughter. "Gabriella would not be a vampire."
"Well… Troy would love it if you… tasted some of his… fluids…" Sharpay's blonde eyebrows suggestively rose, showing Gabriella she did not mean Troy's blood. This caused her own blood vessels in her face to flush a vivid red before remaining silent.
She didn't even know how to give a blow job. And would most certainly be bad at it. Troy would probably chop her tongue off. "Shar… really? In a Halloween store?" Taylor scolded for the scandalous comment.
"Why not? It's like draped in 'go out and have sex' wear." Her slender fingers gingerly traced the bunny ears she was holding. Gabriella couldn't deny that fact, it was basically promoting sex on Halloween. Her coffee eyes lingered on the risqué outfit, before shaking her loose curls rapidly.
"Umm… Kelsi's right. I wouldn't be a good vampire." She sighed before running a hand through her luscious waves. What was she going to do? The party was in four days. If she couldn't find a costume, then she wouldn't be able to go. And if she wouldn't be able to go, she wouldn't be able to see Troy for the last time. "Ugh! This is so stupid! I should just go as like… a bride or something. I'll find an old dress…"
"NO!" The screeching voice practically screamed, sending Gabriella jumping back and crashing into the bones of a skeleton. Now there was the evil look in her perfectly proportional face. "We WILL find you a costume. You WILL look sexy. And Troy WILL have a boner the whole night! You do not have a decision in this anymore."
"Sharpay, just calm down." Taylor attempted to soothe.
"No! You two are fucking useless." Her long arm shot out furiously and pointed towards the dressing rooms. "Go turn into Prude Ridinghood and a gyno!" She made the references to Kelsi's costume and Taylor's nurse disguise. Not wanting to cross the rich woman's path, they both sent rounds of apologize at Gabriella before scurrying off in a hurry. "Now… Gabi… close your eyes okay?"
The sound of her voice was almost too sweet as she turned to her. "Um… what the hell are you doing?"
Sharpay sighed annoyingly. "Do you trust me?"
Gabriella's jaw hung open stupidly as though Sharpay had just spoken Chinese. "No." Her plain voice confessed, causing Sharpay to laugh maliciously.
"I guess I don't blame you. But too bad." She hesitated before twirling Gabriella around and bracing her shoulders. An uneasy feeling twisted in the board flat stomach as she glanced nervously back at the blonde.
"Wha… what are you…" But before Gabriella could finish, a hushed noise came from behind her.
"Shhh… just close your eyes and relax," the normally overly excited voice became soothing, and Gabriella obeyed to her wishes. She closed her heavy lids and the noises around her sudden amplified. The sounds of the wheezing clown, the creaking attic, or the ghouls babbling filled her until Sharpay's voice came into the clear again. "I want you to see Troy, okay?"
That wasn't hard to bring up. She saw him alright, his built chest and glistening eyes amongst the blackness. Her round nose inhaled deeply, as though she would have been able to engulf herself into the musky scent of his cologne. "Okay…" Her voice seemed distant as she saw his muscles roll in her mind. His powerful smirk over coming her to the point that she almost fell backwards.
"Where are you?" Sharpay questioned, letting go of Gabriella's shoulders and stepping away slowly.
That question was simple to answer. The same place she had been almost every night this week. The lake. Wearing her creamy dress with Troy's eyes twinkling from above. The image wasn't as vivid as her dreams, but it seemed as though she was slipping away from reality. Falling into the fantasy she had escaped to so many times. But did she want Sharpay to know this? It was personal, and she just wanted it to be just her. She didn't want anyone else to know.
"Outside," she mumbled the half truth, getting lost in her own daydream. "It's night."
"Really?" Sharpay sounded bemused by the movie playing in her head. "What is he wearing?"
Gabriella's face transformed into the color of a tomato in under a second. There was no way she was spilling now. That was way to embarrassing and Sharpay would probably just tell Troy she was thinking about him in a fairytale. He'd laugh in her face. "Um… a tux."
"Prom?" The mysterious blonde once again gripped her shoulders and carefully, though Gabriella's foot caught on the floor, guided her to a spot. She then felt her body stop, though the image of Troy still surrounded her in a blissful stage.
"I'm not really sure…" She lied. It was not prom. It was Romeo and Juliet.
"Hmm… well… prom's kinda like… a ball right?" She questioned, though Gabriella wasn't sure. Last year, she attempted to go to prom with a boy she sort of talked to. It was an awkward night that ended early with Gabriella getting food poisoning and being sent home early. Apparently her date had sex with one of the slender gymnastics girls while she was gone. Great night there.
"I guess you could call it that…" The timid brunette let out nervously.
"Well… I think I found something for you…"
Gabriella was too afraid to open her eyes. One, she didn't want Troy's million dollar smile to leave her view. Couldn't she just keep her eyes closed and fall into him forever? Wouldn't that be okay too? But she once heard that pretend was never quite as good as the real thing. But there was a catch to that. A tiny little detail that Gabriella was not confident about at all.
Troy had to be falling for her back. That was like betting on nothing.
"Open them."
Gabriella's long lashes fluttered open and her mocha colored eyes grew wide in surprise.
Sharpay had just found her the perfect costume.
"Dad? I'm home!" Gabriella called through the noiseless house as she kicked off her beaten up clogs and shuffled around the large white staircase. With a mustard orange bag in her hand, she scurried to the family room not to be surprised with the gigantic plasma screen TV playing and the jet black hair of her father's head jutting from the couch.
After the four girls had bought their costumes, they had decided to go out to dinner and Gabriella had just arrived in the cloudy night back into her house, insanely satisfied with how the day had gone.
Gabriella found herself almost giddy after Sharpay had discovered her Halloween costume just a few hours before. It was flawless, and after she had tired it on, it was plainly obvious that this was the only item of clothing she could wear. It had been as though it was made for her body form. And the idea itself? Something that would most definitely make her imagine her dreams were coming true.
If only that were the case though. She knew Troy didn't like her that way.
Even if he had kissed her forehead.
"Ella!" Jose turned his cheery head towards his daughter, eyeing the shopping bag slowly. He knew she was going to a Halloween party. What he didn't know was that half the school would be there and Lizzie's parents would not be home. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him she figured. "Did you find a costume?"
"Erm…" Gabriella hesitated before reaching to sift through the bag. The material covered her body well, but showing Jose? It was a bit too scandalous for that.
"Ah… you don't have to show me." His overly large hand lifted to prevent Gabriella from taking it out. Obviously, he was much less oblivious than Gabriella gave him credit for.
A sudden rapid vibration jiggled in her back pants pocket. Gabriella's brow narrowed before pulling out her sleek sliding phone and looking to see that she had received a new text. Scanning through it with a small smile on her face, it seemed to catch Jose's divided attention from the lucent TV. "Who is it?"
"Eric." Gabriella answered, reading how he questioned if she had survived the date with "Barbie". Why couldn't the two of them just get along? They were both her friends, and they both meant the world to her.
"You two seem to be getting along pretty well…" He randomly commented, Gabriella's mocha eyes that matched his shot up curiously. Why was this coming out now? It seemed random.
Gabriella slid her phone shut after scolding her best friend from being mean.
"I guess," her boney shoulders shrugged as the round of cheers interrupted the stare the father and daughter were having. Of course they were, it just seemed strange that all of the sudden Jose seemed to have noticed. But she had so many other things on her mind that she couldn't linger on that thought much longer. "But I'm gonna take this upstairs and call Mom." She motioned, towards her room with her slender finger.
The slim mustached man nodded curtly before Gabriella skedaddled out of the room and began to make her climb up the steps, careful not to drop the material in the bag that seemed so vital to leaving Troy with the perfect memory of her. She would have only one chance. One chance in four days to leave him the perfect memory. The weekend would be focused on Saturday night. It would be perfect, it had to be…
But fate had a different idea.
Her back pocket exploded again. After making her way into the dark room, Gabriella whipped out the phone again and threw the bag into a forgotten corner. Expecting to open it and find Eric's name on the screen, her black eyebrows furrowed in confusion before her sweaty palm lost grip from the shock of the words on the screen. The phone crashed to the floor.
Her stomach imploded into panic, completely wiping the idea of her weekend into oblivion. Plans changed, completely. Saturday was not what she would be looking towards. Suddenly, Saturday was lost from her mind. Years away.
The text message from Sharpay Evans laid face up on the floor.
Friday. My house. Bring your suit… Troy will love to see you in the hot tub. ;)
Troy Bolton. Hot tub…
Oh crap.
