Chapter 12

Gabriella eyed all the different fabrics on the shelves in front of her, wondering exactly how she had gotten herself into being in the middle of a fabric superstore. It had already been forty minutes but it looked as if Taylor nor Sharpay were close to being done picking out various yards of fabric and other items. To make good use of the time, Gabriella began running through terminology in her head in an attempt at making herself feel better for being here instead of studying back in her room, where she would have been if Sharpay and Taylor hadn't abducted her an hour or so ago.

Sharpay brought a sparkly pink fabric she found for herself over to the cart Gabriella was manning and saw the weary look on the brunette's face. "Come on Gabi! It's not like we are sending you to have a root canal tonight. It's just a Halloween party at the house but yet not just any ordinary Halloween party."

"Cause a toga party is just simply fabulous," Gabriella sarcastically replied. "I could easily just slip out before the party starts and hang out with Ryan and Kelsi. I know for sure they won't be at the drinking binge disguised as a toga party."

"But what about we talked about last weekend Gabriella? You clearly like Troy and I can guarantee that he'll be there tonight," stated Taylor, dropping another few yards of fabric, this time light blue, into the cart.

"At the very least we know you both are attracted to each other. You can't deny that," Sharpay added, giving Gabriella a look, daring her to argue. "But, if we are going to cement that and turn it into anything substantial, we need to implement a plan of attack starting with tonight. Bolton won't know what hit him after we are done with you!"

Gabriella groaned before protesting. "Sharpay, come on! Troy will be so busy with his usual harem made of sorority eye candy including our beloved president that he won't even notice if I'm there or not let alone have any interest in chatting with me."

"Perhaps but just trust me in this. With my vision of your outfit we will not only grab his attention but keep it all night long if you catch what I mean," promised Sharpay with a wink, a certain glint in her eyes that made Gabriella nervous.

As Sharpay quickly left to dart down another aisle, Gabriella gave Taylor a worried look which Taylor answered with a comforting smile. "Sharpay has the best of intentions, honest Gabi. Don't worry about it."

"Easy for you to say Taylor, you aren't being subjected to Sharpay's designs which no doubt will show more skin than I want. I don't even want to go to the party Tay," complained Gabriella.

"But you are starting to like Troy right? He will be there and so will Zeke. You also have me and Pay too," answered Taylor, patting Gabriella's right hand that was resting on the cart. "Troy likes you too you know. Chad blabbed that to me the other night."

An overwhelming feeling of being a junior high school girl with a huge crush on an older boy came over Gabriella, rendering her speechless as Taylor observed her. Before she knew it, Sharpay came back and draped yards of violet fabric over Gabriella's shoulder, her smile widening as she saw that the fabric she had picked was just the right shade for her close friend.

"Perfect, we're done! Now we just need to fix these up to have them ready for tonight," Sharpay announced, leading the other two to the cashier where they brought their materials before grabbing lunch and heading back to the sorority house.

Chad, Zeke, and Troy burst into laughter as Jason walked into the living room where they all were sitting on couches, each guy catching a beer that Jason tossed them. "What?" Jason asked a bit defensively.

Chad drank down some of the beer, eyeing Jason's Superman print toga that sat around Jason's waist and covered the entire length of his legs leaving his chest bare just like Chad's. "Dude, seriously? Superman print?"

Jason shrugged. "It's Halloween too so I wanted something fun instead of your boring white sheets. I mean, Chad, you look like you are just wearing a bathroom towel around your hips. Give you props though for going bare from the waist up like me though. Zeke and Troy you clearly wimped out!"

Zeke and Troy exchanged a look before Troy spoke up for both of them. "Zeke and I just wanted more traditional togas is all. There are all sorts of different styles J. At least both of us are just in white even if our upper bodies are covered including one shoulder. We don't feel the need to make all the girls swoon at the mere sight of us."

"We'll see who gets more girls then won't we?" challenged Jason.

"Excluding Chad of course," threw in Zeke, chuckling as Chad rolled his eyes.

"Please, I may have a girlfriend now but girls coming to ME still counts in this," replied Chad, liking the silent water being made between the friends. "Usual twenty bucks boys?"

Before Zeke agreed, knowing he would most likely lose as he wasn't big on wagering on female interactions, preferring to be more on sports, Zeke clarified the terms. "Restricted to just flirting right? Anything more to wager on would be too much."

"Of course, just flirting but the girls have to come to you. I don't think any of us are low enough to be betting on sex with a girl although we all know Bolton has the upper hand in any case," Jason stated, signaling his agreement to the wager.

Chad and Zeke both followed suit in agreeing. When Troy didn't say anything immediately, Zeke looked over at him and saw a strange expression on Troy's face accompanied by uncharacteristic paleness. "Troy, you okay?"

Troy snapped to it from the trap his thoughts and emotions had him in. "Yeah, sure, I'm in."

"All right, now we're talking!" exclaimed Chad. "Let's rock and roll boys! The evening is young and we all have to get busy."

At Chad's prompting, all four guys finished their beers and stood up from the couches, primed to have some fun at the Kappa Phi Sigma hosted toga party.

Immediately, once they were all inside the sorority house, Troy caught himself scanning the rooms for any trace of a particular brunette being present, feeling his hopes crash down instead as he saw many girls checking him out but no sign of Gabriella. 'Duh, you knew it was likely she wouldn't come. You know she hates these things.'

After grabbing a pink jelly shot and downing it, Troy snagged a red cup full of beer before making his rounds, the wager now on his mind as he did his best to give every female in the room his most charming smile. Keeping count in his head and also feeling Chad's and Jason's watchful eyes on him as he flirted his way through the room with only those that approached him, Troy didn't see Nicole making her way towards him until he felt a sharp nip at his bare shoulder followed by a hand possessively grabbing his.

"I've been looking for you everywhere hot stuff! Let's go dance!" she exclaimed, pulling a willing Troy behind her. He smirked as he passed his three best friends and flashed a double digit number to them using his free hand that left them all speechless.

"Damn, he moves fast," muttered Chad. "Thought we would have had him handicapped with his new fascination with Gabriella."

"Apparently he's not as into her as we thought," Zeke remarked, his eyes narrowing on Troy and Nicole who were currently grinding together out on the dance floor, her lips attached to Troy's neck and shoulder. "Where is Gabs anyway?"

Chad piped up again. "She's probably in Shar's room getting ready still. Taylor called me to let me know she'd be late cause of some costume disaster or something with two of their togas. Why they didn't just toss on sheets I'll never know."

"Cause they are girls?" offered Jason. "Does this mean that Gabriella is fair game again?"

Zeke was quick to smack Jason on the arm for this. "Don't even J! She's probably trying to sneak away from this party anyway knowing her."

Jason sighed, rubbing his arm a bit. "Fine but it sucks that Bolton always gets all the fun. Why are you letting him mack on Gabriella anyway?"

Zeke kept check of his growing irritation at Jason but mostly at the situation as he said, "I'm not letting him, Gabriella is. If I had my say this new little thing between them would be squashed. I love Troy like a brother but she deserves better."

Chad was curious now about what Zeke perceived as going on. "Define 'better' and what exactly is going on here."

Watching Nicole now lead Zeta Theta Mu's president up the stairs, Zeke shook his head in disgust. "Troy and Gabriella seem to be getting closer and more physically affectionate but he's setting her up. Gabriella deserves someone who genuinely likes her and only her."

"Setting her up? You don't think Troy is planning to hurt her somehow do you? He has no reason to and knows you'll kick his ass from here to Maine if he did," stated Chad, a bit defensive.

Zeke just shook his head, hating the gnawing feeling that had been quietly chewing away at him whenever Zeke thought of his best friend from high school making moves on his best friend here at college. "I just mean that knowingly or not, Troy is setting Gabriella to get hurt because someone like Gabriella will fall in love deeply and for a lifetime while Troy hasn't settled for any single girl since high school practically. You have to admit Chad that Troy as he is now is not boyfriend material."

The silence dragged on between the three friends as both Chad and Jason recognized the truth Zeke spoke. "All right, I admit that Troy is a bit more of a player than any of us but he's also been through something none of us have either. It's not an excuse but maybe that should buy him some slack, right?"

Zeke unknowingly clenched his jaw as he thought about the possibility of Gabriella really getting torn up over something Troy did to her. "He's had slack for the last four years. I'm sorry but best friend or not, if he hurts Gabs, this Wildcat brotherhood may be jeopardy."

"So Gabriella is definitely off the table for me then," concluded Jason, drawing both Chad's and Zeke's attention onto him before they both chuckled, their laughter dying in their throats as Chad, then Zeke, and then Jason spied Taylor, Sharpay, and Gabriella making their way down the stairs in the most elaborate togas in the entire sorority house.

Instead of just throwing sheets over themselves with haphazard rope, as most of the fraternity brothers had done and even some of the sorority sisters, Sharpay, Gabriella, and Taylor had taken extra effort in sewing, pinning, and tying the fabric that had been purchased earlier that day into three different designs. Sharpay's toga was pink with white fringe with a skirt that ended just above her knees with a tunic that ended an inch above where her skirt started. The light blue toga Taylor wore was like a strapless dress with a few yards of the light blue fabric thrown over her right shoulder, leaving her left shoulder bare with a silver rope acting as belt. Gabriella's toga was violet in color and was most like a sleeveless dress with three fake white flowers lining the top of the shoulders of the toga with a white and dark purple rope pulling the fabric in around her waist, two slits going up both sides of the toga to expose skin from mid-thigh down to the tops of her knees where the fabric ended. All three girls wore their long hair down, cascading down their backs in curls while there was a wreath of fake green leaves around the tops of all of their heads.

Chad's mouth went dry while Jason let out a long whistle, Zeke feeling almost as dumbfounded as them as Sharpay's light brown eyes found his in the crowd, giving him a seductive smile as she led Taylor and Gabriella their way. Zeke was enchanted by the vision all three of the girls made together but not enough to guise the sudden attention all three were receiving from the other people at the party, especially Gabriella.

He glanced around and shook his head, clearly frustrated with all the attention he knew would only be trouble that Sharpay, Gabriella, and Taylor were getting. When Sharpay and Gabriella finally made it to his side, Taylor already captured into a big hug and deep kiss by her boyfriend, Zeke made sure to wrap a protective arm around both girls, kissing Gabriella's temple before kissing Sharpay's cheek. "Happy Halloween Gabs, Sharpay. You both look stunning."

"Why thank you and Happy Halloween to you too. Gabriella over here was fussing so much but I told her she'd look fabulous," stated Sharpay, smirking at Gabriella who blushed, remaining comfortably in Zeke's half embrace.

"You all do look beautiful. There's no question as to who the goddesses of Kappa Phi Sigma are," Jason added, licking his lips as he looked both girls up and down before getting a hint and leaving after Zeke glared at him, deciding it was time to work on the friendly wager again now that Zeke, Chad, and Troy were all otherwise occupied.

Gabriella saw the look exchanged and looked at Zeke with questions in her eyes. "What was that all about?"

Zeke shrugged, seeing Taylor and Chad quickly moving towards the dance floor in the living room out of the corner of his eye. "Just a guy thing, don't worry about it Gabs. So, does this mean that I get to have you two lovely ladies all to myself for a few dances?"

Sharpay beamed up at Zeke, enjoying the feel of his hand on her hip, his fingers making invisible patterns on her naked flesh at her side. "Could be. I know I'm all yours for at least a few dances."

Zeke grinned down at the blonde, feeling ridiculously happy with this news. His grin turned into a frown though as he looked at Gabriella to see her anxiously looking around the room. "Troy isn't down here Gabs."

Gabriella's head snapped back towards Zeke, seeing in his eyes where Troy currently was. "Oh," she muttered, her hopes crashing down, the silent berating of herself starting again for thinking that the Troy who was present at these types of parties would really want to spend time with her when there were so many other candidates.

"Hey, let's go get some drinks and just enjoy ourselves okay? The night is still young and it's not like Sharpay and I are chopped liver or anything," joked Zeke, desperately wanting to banish the frown lines he saw on Gabriella's face in that moment, reading her disappointment wafting off her like cheap perfume. "Come on Gabriella, you know what he's like, what you and I have talked about before. You deserve someone better than the player upstairs."

"Tell that to my naïve heart," murmured Gabriella, just low enough for neither Zeke or Sharpay to hear.

Knowing that Gabriella was in some real pain and self pity, Sharpay decided it was time to get her best friend's spirits up. Sharpay grabbed Gabriella's hand and dragged her towards the dance floor while shouting to Zeke to get them each a drink and a pink jelly shot. Once on the dance floor, Sharpay quickly found Chad and Taylor and pushed through the crush to stand next to them before starting to get Gabriella dancing with her. Seeing the unsmiling face of Gabriella's, Taylor shot Sharpay a concerned look who only mouthed 'Troy' which was enough for Taylor to piece together that Troy was with another girl somewhere.

Taylor separated herself from Chad's body to move closer to her girlfriends, relieved when Gabriella started to loosen up, going as far as actually taking the pink jelly shot Zeke handed her before drinking from the water bottle. 'He really knows me so well. I'm lucky to have Zeke as a best friend.'

Chad wrapped his arm around his girlfriend's waist as the five continued to dance together, Chad accepting that Sharpay and Taylor were more concerned about Gabriella in that moment than anything else and understanding especially as Zeke kept looking at Gabriella in a worried manner whenever he thought Gabriella wasn't looking.

When Chad came back to the group with the third or fourth beer of the night for himself and Zeke with another water bottle for Gabriella, Chad spotted Troy enter the room, his blue eyes catching Chad's after a few sweeps. Chad glanced over at Gabriella who was currently dancing between Sharpay and Taylor and then back at Troy, wondering what would happen in the next few moments.

Troy flirted with a few girls that crossed his path and begged for dances but let them down easily, instead focusing on making his way down the stairs of the sorority house successfully, a bit relieved to be out of Nicole's room. Passing a drink table, Troy grabbed a beer and sipped on it as he began looking around for his best friends. Troy found Jason easily, the other guy in the midst of talking to a blonde with almost zero space in between them. Jason caught Troy's gaze and gave him a discreet thumbs up causing Troy to smirk.

Next Troy walked into the large living room and began sweeping the room in search of Zeke and Chad while drinking from his red cup again. Just as he was about to give up, Troy caught sight of Chad's big hair and smiled before starting to make his way through the crowd. Troy nearly spilt his beer though as he was merely a few yards away from Chad as he spied a grinning Gabriella spinning out of Zeke's arms and then back in them, Sharpay and Taylor laughing nearby, a sight that froze Troy in his tracks before getting nearly run over by another dancing couple. Quick to move out of the way, Troy took the last few steps towards the group of friends as his heart sped up, seeing Gabriella look like a true Greek goddess in her violet toga that was conservative compared to the others but more sexy than Troy could have ever imagined.

Chad bumped fists with Troy before watching Troy turn towards Gabriella and Zeke who were busy laughing together, seeing Taylor and Sharpay instantly spot Troy to openly glare at him. 'Oh God, heaven help me if I have to tear those two girls off of Troy.'

When Zeke finally let go of Gabriella without seeing Troy nearby, Troy took the opportunity and moved up behind Gabriella, wrapping his muscled arms around her waist, feeling Gabriella stiffen only to relax as he whispered, "Happy Halloween angel. I'm glad you decided to attend as the goddess you truly are."

Gabriella's eyes fluttered closed as his husky voice echoed in her right ear, feeling his warm breath on her neck which caused shivers to race down her spine. "Happy Halloween," she weakly returned, making every effort to swallow.

Troy found himself chuckling, unaware of the glares being thrown his way as Taylor, Sharpay, and Zeke stopped their dancing to watch the scene unfold. Zeke was about to step forward to break it up but felt a soft but firm hand on his arm stopping him, looking over at Sharpay who shook her head, wanting to see what would happen next. 'After all, this is Gabriella's choice and Troy hasn't done anything technically wrong since they aren't even dating.'

"Thought you were going to stand me up tonight," Troy said, unwrapping his arms from her waist to turn Gabriella's body around with his hands, wrapping his arms again around her tiny waist.

Gabriella remained still, her dark brown eyes trying to find something that would reassure her that this Troy was the Troy she was starting to fall for and not the player who usually reigned over these parties. Her gaze happened to fall on a dark spot on Troy's neck, evidence of exactly what he was doing probably moments before. Narrowing her eyes, she met Troy's gaze and shook her head. "Clearly you took my absence earlier tonight as standing you up and moved onto the next girl. It's nice to know who I'm dealing with tonight."

With a swift move, Gabriella broke Troy's hold on her and took a few steps back. "Brie? What's wrong?"

A sarcastic laugh escaped Gabriella's lips as she heard his genuine confusion. "I honestly keep forgetting you have this other side Troy, the side that could care less if I got lost in the crowd so long as you have at least one female body in your arms. You know, it's a pity. I really was starting to like you but now I realize that it's the daytime Troy that I've been falling for, the Troy who isn't all about his reputation, about how many notches he can gain in a single night."

Without another word, Gabriella fought her way through the crowd with Zeke and Sharpay hot on her heels. Troy stood there for a few moment utterly shocked, unsure of what just happened.

Chad ignored Taylor's pull at his hand as he broke away from her hold to approach Troy. "Dude, you've got a huge ass hickey on your neck man."

Troy's eyes widened as he slapped a hand over his neck, cursing Nicole and her tendencies to love marking him as her property when she knew he wasn't exclusively hers. "Fuck!"

Leaving Chad and Taylor behind, Troy hurried in the direction he saw Gabriella take off in, relieved when he saw her again but finding his blood begin to boil as he saw a pledge trying to make a physical advance on her, sending Gabriella to cower against the wall right behind her. Troy looked around and cursed again as he didn't see Zeke. 'So much for him protecting her. Where the hell did he go?'

Without another second passing by, Troy maneuvered his way through the crowd until he was right behind the whelp, recognizing him instantly as the pledge that had been a problem child for the past few weeks.

"Come on baby, you know you want it," Tyler slurred, leaning forward to press his lips against Gabriella's neck only to meet the wall as Troy quickly grabbed Gabriella's wrist and tugged her away, putting her body behind his own as Tyler whirled around. "Oh hey Prez! I was just getting to know our sisters a bit better."

"Whitland I strongly advise that if you value your pending membership not to mention your life that you get your ass out of my sight now," murmured Troy quietly, his steel filled voice enough to scare the lower classman even if he was drunk. "Get lost!"

"Dude, sorry! I was just, she was just, never mind," started Tyler before scurrying off, Troy watching him leave his sight until he was completely gone, turning around only then to see Gabriella tremble.

"Brie, are you okay?" asked Troy, his voice softening immediately.

Gabriella raised her eyes to meet his gaze, letting Troy see that she really wasn't. "I'm fine. I think I'll just go to Kelsi's for the night. I clearly can't stay here."

Troy immediately shook his head, daring to let go of Gabriella's hand to place a hand on each side of her face, his blue eyes lightening as they stared down at her. "Then come stay with me. It doesn't have to be anything other than you having a safe, comfortable place to sleep. I know you are probably disgusted with me right now and I don't blame you but I can't let you walk across campus right now at this hour. Please, let me take care of you. I'll sleep on the floor or even in Chad's room if it makes you feel better."

Tears filled Gabriella's eyes at how sweet Troy was being to her, wanting to take care of her again when moments before Gabriella was so mad at Troy being the single guy he was, no matter how irrational it was. Gabriella had brushed both Zeke and Sharpay off moments before Gabriella suddenly realized that Troy really was allowed to see and kiss and dance with other girls if he wanted to as she had no claim but having this Troy right then, her favorite Troy, was too much for Gabriella in that moment.

Seeing Gabriella waver, Troy placed a soft kiss on her forehead, wishing he hadn't been so stupid earlier with her. "Please Brie?"

Swallowing, Gabriella nodded, pulling away slightly so she could see the genuine care in his eyes, committing that moment to memory. "If you are serious…"

"I am, truly. Do you have your key to your room? Is it locked?" questioned Troy, remembering Gabriella's tendency to lock her door whenever she left it.

"Yup," answered Gabriella. "Are you sure you are okay with me staying though at your place?"

"I wouldn't have offered if I minded and trust me, if it was anyone else, they wouldn't be getting this offer. I'll even change the sheets for you," promised Troy, recalling also Gabriella's aversion to having possibly slept in sheets other girls had before her.

Gabriella smiled, giving into the impulse to hug Troy, snuggling into his embrace as he wrapped his arms around her in return, kissing the top of her head before the pair made their way out of the Kappa Phi Sigma house to go to the empty Zeta Theta Mu house where Troy did in fact change the sheets for Gabriella, letting her lay between the clean sheets in the gym shorts and cami she had on under the toga. Troy disappeared from the room to take a shower, locking the door behind him and bringing his key, only to return to find Gabriella practically asleep.

He grinned as he pulled the sheet and comforter more over Gabriella's body, snagging a pillow and dropping it on the ground in preparation for sleeping on the floor.

"No Troy, don't," Gabriella protested quietly, her eyes opening slightly to look at him.

"Did you want me to sleep in Chad's room then?" questioned Troy, picking the pillow back up.

"Course not, this is your room. There's room enough for both of us, I don't mind," murmured Gabriella, letting out a small yawn.

Troy just smiled at her, thinking of how sweet she really was, hating himself for hurting her earlier even if it was unintentionally. He checked to make sure he door was locked before sliding into the bed next to her, pulling the covers over his own body before settling his head on his pillow, laying on his side as he studied Gabriella's peaceful face.

"I really am sorry Brie, I didn't mean to hurt you in anyway tonight," apologized Troy, knowing he would have to make it up to her in some way.

Gabriella shook her head a little, cracking open her eyes for a few moments before she whispered, "It's not your fault, you didn't mean it. Thank you for protecting me and caring for me Troy. I really do appreciate you."

"Likewise," returned Troy, realizing just a second before his lips brushed against hers tentatively that his head had dipped that far, grateful when she returned the pressure, smiling as he pulled away. "Good night angel."

"Good night," she returned, snuggling into his hold as Troy laid an arm across her waist and curled it around her body, really feeling as if he was sleeping with an angel.