ALL OF THE ABOVE CHAPTER TWELVE!!
Gabriella hated alcohol. It turned perfectly reasonable people into slobbering idiots. She hated the taste, the smell and that dizzy sense of detachment it provided. Where most people enjoyed that ability to completely let loose, feeling as if she was completely out of control wasn't Gabriella's idea of a good time, especially in a house full of older people she barely knew.
As she'd suspected, Mitch's 'little get together' was a full blown, all-night bash with throbbing music and misdemeanors occurring around every corner. Upon arriving, hoards of partiers greeted Mitch enthusiastically and she was introduced to them as his new girlfriend. Instead of a sense of pride filling her at this new title, his assumption made Gabriella feel somewhat uncomfortable. They hadn't even talked about their relationship progressing beyond dating yet, let alone having him ask her out properly.
The two of them made their way slowly to the back of the large suburban house currently being trashed, where there was a sizable and -- probably, under normal circumstances -- very nice kitchen. Several kegs had been set on the counter top with people crowding eagerly around them as they waited for refills.
"I'll get us drinks, just sit tight," Mitch said above the noise of the party. After a light kiss on the cheek, he headed off towards the beer without waiting for her response, the sea of people parting for him like he was the young, hot version of Moses.
A lump formed in Gabriella's throat as she contemplated her surroundings. How was she going to refuse the drink Mitch was bringing her in a diplomatic fashion? All around her, teenagers were sucking back beer like it was water, seemingly having the time of their lives. It hit her then that she had no desire to join them. The stupid grin on the face of the girl next to her as she pressed up against a seedy looking guy that she likely wouldn't remember in the morning made Gabriella sick to her stomach.
Was this what she had given up all her friends for? The right to party all night, making a total fool of yourself in the process, and wake up the next morning with vague memories of the night before? She'd wanted this whole lifestyle so badly and now she just wanted to run in the other direction -- away from Mitch and his lame idea of a good time.
To Gabriella, a good time included writing silly songs with Mandy and Claire or expressing herself onstage, not because you'd drank too much to realize what you were saying. She had fun gossiping -- and at times having a bitchfest about whatever was bothering them -- with Taylor or engaging in pointless yet irresistible banter with Troy while she forced Biology notes down his throat.
Maybe to Mitch and his friends, all that would seem immature -- not at all fit for a true rockstar -- but it suited Gabriella just fine. If she wanted to write music and stay home watching movies with her mom on a Saturday night, who the hell had made a rule saying she couldn't?
By the time Mitch returned to her side, Gabriella was properly disgusted with the entire situation -- with herself, with him and just people's warped perception of coolness in general. She saw now that Troy had been so very right in his comment to her about the status quo.
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"Get your sorry ass out of bed, Sport!"
Troy shot up from where he'd been sprawled on his mattress since grudgingly finishing dinner two hours earlier.
"Nat?" he questioned warily, baffled as to how the lovably obnoxious girl would have gotten a hold of the number to his cell phone which he held to his ear.
"No, its Santa Claus," her sarcastic voice responded. "Of course its me!"
"Um, how'd you get my number?" he asked as he rubbed his face in tired disbelief.
"There's not very many Boltons in the Albuquerque phone book, you know," she immediately informed him.
Troy frowned. "Cell numbers aren't listed in the phone book..."
"Yeah, you might want to speak to your mother about handing out your number to random crazies."
"Fantastic," he muttered, more out of general grumpiness then actual annoyance. He was sort of happy to have someone to talk to. "What can I do for you?"
"Its more about what I can do for you and your wallowing self," she said.
"I'm not wallowing!"
"Let me guess -- you've been lying in your bed all afternoon, staring at the ceiling and listening to the Backstreet Boys: Greatest Hits CD. That's wallowing, buddy."
"B-backstreet what?" Troy sputtered. Besides the CD part, he was sad to say that she'd hit the nail on the head.
"Okay, Nickleback. Whatever. It's still pathetic." One could almost hear her eyes rolling.
"What do you suggest?"
"A party?" she replied hopefully.
"It's Monday night," he reminded her.
"And your point?"
Troy flopped back down, already able to tell that this argument would lead no where. "I"m going to this stupid party, aren't I?" he asked, resignation heavy in his tone.
"Yup."
"Just let me think of something to tell my parents," he sighed, finally leaving the comfort of his bed.
Nat gave a little squeal before responding. "Awesome! You've got a car, right?"
Even after steadily attending weekend shows at the Bronze, Troy still didn't overly enjoy the party scene but if nothing else was working as a distraction -- not even his father's rigorous basketball training schedule -- it might be just what he needed.
"Just tell me your address."
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Bored was something of an understatement for Gabriella current situation. Sitting in a corner on an uncomfortable kitchen chair, pretending to sip on a beer -- that, to be honest, smelled disgusting to her -- while Mitch became steadily drunker and talked the ears off everyone in a ten foot radius, Gabriella was practically falling asleep. No one seemed to notice her lack of interest or enthusiasm; they were all too far gone to care. She appeared to be the only sober person in the entire house.
"Kurt Cobain's lyrics just spoke to me, you know?" Mitch slurred to some guy who looked way too old to be at the party, both of them talking animatedly as one could when so inebriated about one of Mitch's self-proclaimed influences.
"Excuse me a sec," Gabriella mumbled, barely warranting a passing glance from her escort as she left her seat with the intention of finding the bathroom and -- more importantly -- a little piece and quiet.
There was a line outside the bathroom door when she finally located it but Gabriella didn't mind waiting in the slightest. At least, when she was standing there alone, she didn't have to pretend to care about a guy who had only known power chords and wrote most of his nonsensical songs whilst high on drugs. Once she'd actually gotten her turn in the bathroom, she spent far longer then necessary inside, considering she was simply sitting leaning against the marble counter and imagining numerous other ways she could be spending her evening.
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Nat's incessant chattering -- hindered only when she was required to give Troy directions -- was soothing in the small space of his truck's cab. The only problem was that his mind kept wandering back to Gabriella; she used to sit in the exact same place and speak with the same sort of giddiness, usually bouncing in her seat with the excitement of a pending performance. The similarities tugged painfully at his heart.
Luckily he couldn't dwell on it for long as they rounded a corner of a Sunnydale street and arrived at a large house where festivities were blatantly going down. People were scattered all over the lawn and even from inside the truck, music could be heard, pumping from some source inside.
"You don't expect me to get drunk, do you?" Troy asked nervously. "Because we both have school tomorrow."
"Please. I come here solely because it's entertaining to watch other people get drunk off their asses. You think I want some creep putting the moves on my sexy intoxicated self? Not." With that, Nat jumped down from the cab and launched herself towards the door, pausing long enough to roll her eyes at Troy's hesitance. "Come on, Sport! We're burning moonlight here!"
Chuckling ever so slightly, Troy followed slowly, intimidated by all the strange faces around him. Just like his first few times in the Bronze, eyes lined with black liner appraised him with distaste and confusion. He suddenly regretted wearing his Wildcats hoodie.
"I know he's smokin' hot people, but it's fucking rude to stare!" Nat bellowed, poking a random guy at least twice her height in the shoulder as she passed. Immediately everyone seemed to be looking the other way.
Rocking up into the entryway, people greeted Nat warmly. It was evident that she was a regular attendee of such events.
"Hey kiddo!" one guy called out, going out of his way to give her a kiss on the cheek.
"You're quite the popular one," Troy observed and instinctively shuffled closer to her as if the friendly aura around her was contagious.
Nat shrugged. "When Mitch Heron is your big brother, people tend to suck up to you," she replied and Troy thought he caught a hint of bitterness buried in there somewhere as his jaw flexed involuntarily at the name of the guy who'd helped make his life what it currently was -- miserable.
"Troy?"
The voice was colored with astonishment and hard to pick out above the insanely loud rock music and even louder party-goers but it was still unmistakable.
Please, merciful Buddha, please let it be a mirage...
But, sadly, Buddha was blind to Troy Bolton's plight for when he turned to investigate, Gabriella was emerging from a small hallway crammed with people.
"Oh crap," he heard Nat grumble from somewhere around his left shoulder. "Did my brother bring you here?" she asked, the question was spoken louder so it could carry over to the brunette. This time she made no effort to conceal the bitterness she felt.
Gabriella nodded mutely, her eyes refusing to leave Troy -- who, in contrast, couldn't bring himself to look directly at her.
"Can we go, Nat?" he managed. He really didn't think he could stand witnessing Gabriella and Mitch all over each other.
Nat's whole demeanor had shifted in seconds from constant kidding to protective and concerned.
"Absolutely," she replied with uncharacteristic softness, placing a hand on Troy's elbow to remind him that he wasn't alone.
"Troy... wait," Gabriella pleaded, unleashing the full force of her big brown eyes on him.
Neither Troy nor Nat had time to say anything -- though is was obvious from her expression that the latter had a snarky comment on the tip of her tongue -- as they were interrupted by a drunken demand.
"What the fuck are you doing with my sister, Stalker Jock?"
Rather then looking the least bit worried, as some people in her position might have done, Nat only appeared to get more pissed off at the entrance of her brother, her rate of eye rolls reaching an all time high.
"Oh joy. The idiot's drunk," she said wryly.
Gabriella's eyes darted between the two boys; it was clear that she wanted nothing more then to have the world end right that second. Much to her dismay, Mitch stomped ungracefully closer to her favorite basketball captain.
"I asked you a question," he hissed, somehow managing to sound venomous despite his condition.
Gabriella ventured forth, discretely placing herself between him and Troy.
"Leave him alone, Mitch."
"He's a big boy, CJ. I'm sure he can stick up for himself," Mitch ground out through clenched teeth before returning his attention back to his previous target. "What? Were you mad that your not-a-girlfriend liked me better so you decided to get even by making time with my little sister?"
Nat scoffed indignantly. "What are you, still in junior high? This may come as a shock to you, Mitchell, but for once something in life is not about you."
"Shut up, Nat. I'll get to you later. I'm sure Mom would love to hear about this."
His sister was silent but the raven-haired rocker still wasn't rattled; no sign of real concern showed in her face. She merely looked exasperated, like someone who'd been in the same situation more then once.
"Don't talk to her like that," Troy warned, his loyal side flaring up. "You have no idea what you're talking about. I didn't even know you'd be here."
Mitch was less then convinced.
"Your constant presence in my world is beginning to bother me," he said, words flowing slightly together. "You're like a cockroach that refuses to die. I thought CJ made it clear the other night that you make her uncomfortable."
By this point, Troy was absolutely livid. He could barely hear the bile that Mitch was spewing off because his pulse was thudding so damn loudly in his ears. He'd never been prone to violence, though many guys at school had attempted to start something with him and make a name for themselves. No, Troy had always managed to rise above their provocation. That night was a different story because he was sure that if he had that self-centered jerk in his sights for another second, something within him would snap and both of them would be going home bruised. As if she could sense his internal struggle, Nat subtly nudged him in the direction of the front door.
"I can catch a ride home with someone else, Troy," she told him before he could argue.
"Yeah, get out of here," Mitch said. "And don't let me see you around my little sister again."
Nat's eyes -- usually light blue -- darkened considerably, anger clouding their luminance. "Would you stop being so fucking stupid for five seconds?" she spat at him.
Not wanting the situation to escalate any further then it already had, Troy took off for the exit. He was slightly miffed that Gabriella had only made one very feeble attempt to keep her drunken boyfriend -- Troy shuddered internally at the term -- at bay. If she cared as much as she claimed to about their friendship, it might have been beneficial to be a tad more aggressive since Mr. Emo Bang was way out of line. It only stoked the fire his rage was feeding inside him as he quickly hopped into his truck. He fleetingly worried that Nat wouldn't get home safely but fury replaced it almost immediately when he realized that her wonderful big brother would absolutely make certain she'd arrive home in one piece.
Whilst speeding down the highway back towards home, Troy seriously considered cutting off all contact with the outside world. By and large, in his current opinion, people were jerks.
In the aftermath of Troy's hasty departure, Nat soon made herself scarce, muttering death threats against her brother as he swayed back and forth on the spot. Gabriella stood a foot or so away from him, unable to process exactly what had just unfolded before her eyes. The shock of seeing Troy there had been one thing but then to have such a tense confrontation occur; her mind was now spinning. One thing had just become very clear to her, however -- whatever sort of relationship she had with Mitch needed to come to a screeching halt.
She felt horrendously guilty as most of Mitch's misconceptions about Troy and his intentions had been formulated by false information she'd given him. But what he'd done with that information made him out to be quite an idiot. And she didn't want to waste her time with idiots. She wanted to be associated with good, sensible guys like Troy.
"Can you believe that guy!?" Mitch cried after a moment, his hand movements severely exaggerated as a result of the alcohol he'd consumed.
Gabriella coughed lightly and replied, "Actually... I can."
The switch in Mitch's facial expression was mildly amusing. His mouth fell open with the surprise of having someone disagree with the word of the Rock God.
"W-what?"
"You're wrong about Troy," she said with conviction. "Which -- to be fair -- is mostly my fault, but he's an amazing guy and I don't give a damn if he's a jock. He's ten times the guy you are."
Mitch couldn't even string together a coherent sentence, not that Gabriella gave him much of a chance. It felt like such a relief to finally tell him exactly what she was thinking instead of fretting over whether she was acting mature or mysterious enough to suit his liking.
"Okay, Mitch... my name's not CJ, it's Gabriella Montez. I just came up with that stupid alias to get over my stage fright. I love school and, not to brag, but I have an IQ of 123. I'm actually co-captain of East High's Scholastic Decathlon team. You know what else? I tell my mom everything. We're super close," she reeled off. Once she'd begun, she couldn't stop. "And Troy's not a stalker. He's one of the best friends I've ever had so I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't speak so rudely to him."
"CJ... w-what?"
In his drunken stupor, nothing seemed to be making very much sense to Mitch.
"I know you think you're awesome because you're so hardcore and everything and the idea of someone breaking up with you is probably laughable for most people but, even though you didn't officially ask me out, I don't think we should see each other anymore. I can't be myself around you and... that's not right."
As soon as the words left her mouth, there was no doubt in Gabriella's mind that it was the right thing to do. She almost couldn't comprehend how she'd deluded herself this long and how she ruined her relationship with Troy for the guy standing in front of her -- a guy who could barely tell that he'd just been owned and dumped.
Mitch blinked stupidly before stammering, "Yeah, well... you'll regret this tomorrow."
"You think so?" Gabriella asked with a hollow laugh. "Because I'm thinking that you'll be the one with the regrets... and the hangover."
He didn't appear to have anything to say to her after that, and she was glad because she didn't want to have to stick around the noisy party for very much longer. Feeling wickedly empowered, Gabriella decided then to leave Mitch's self-centered personage behind her. As she was walking away, there was only one more thing she felt the need to get out in the open.
"By the way -- Kurt Cobain was a mediocre songwriter and an even worse musician! He only knew three chords for crying out loud!"
AN: There's a farewell party for Mitch in my profile and you're all invited! Not really because that's not physically possible but yeah. I've been working at this chapter for a few weeks, trying to get it exactly right. Hope I didn't disappoint! You should all go write me a nice big review to tell me what you think. Pleeeease?
Snaps to Kylz and my big bro Crssy for looking this over for me when I was too lazy to edit this. Love you guys!
Also, I've made a Neon Gems wallpaper if you'd like to have a look: i89(dot)photobucket(dot)com/albums/k221/fictacious-fangirl/fanfic/neongemswall3(dot)jpg
ps -- The next chapter of "My Best Friend's Hot!" -- mine and Kylz's cowrite -- will be posted eventually. You'll have to bear with us because a lot of crazy life stuff has been going down lately! If you haven't read the story yet, you should so go check it out in her profile (CJ.xox.Dancerella)!
