More Than Meets the Eye

Disclaimer: I only own the plot and additional characters. I own nothing associated with High School musical 1,2, and 3. Everything in this story is highly fictional and anything in this story that is related to anything nonfictional is entirely a coincidence.

Now...onto the next chapter (:

Chapter 14:

Gabriella sighed softly and lifted her head up. She could hear Maria distantly yelling and scolding Arianne for earlier. All of this just wanted to make Gabriella scream and cry at the same time. She certainly didn't want Arianne to get in trouble because of her. That would be another reason for her to hate her.

Gabriella reached for the sink's edge and hoisted herself up. She stood and exited the bathroom, staggering down the steps. "Gabriella," she heard Hugh say. Then she felt firm hands grip her arms and she was helped down the steps. She smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

"Be careful," he warned her. "You can fall." Gabriella resisted the urge to roll her eyes since his voice sounded so sincere. She smiled softly and shook her head. "I'm not crippled, Hugh. But thanks for worrying." Hugh smiled. Zaria and Julian trotted down the steps. Zaria looked up at Gabriella, her eyes wide. "Will you ever see again?"

Gabriella sighed. She opened her mouth to speak, but Maria beta her to it. "Yes, she will," Maria said and Zaria looked at her. "She needs surgery, honey."

Zaria looked back at Gabriella. "How did you get blind? Did you poke your eye with a wand by accidental?"

Gabriella smiled sadly and shook her head. "No. But I did get something in my eye. When I was four, a year younger than you, my mom and dad were fighting." Gabriella shivered, having the memory come to her in a very detailed fiery blur. She could still hear her screams and the shattering of the glass and could still feel the stinging feeling the glass and metal that pushed into her skin. She could still smell and feel the oozing blood dripping from her body. God, she must have looked horrible. "Well, my dad ran a red light," Gabriella continued. "And a car crashed into us. It was a horrible accident. I got glass in my eye, tearing my cornea. That's how I got blind." Gabriella took a breath. Zaria frowned. "You were my age?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah."

"Oh." Zaria looked down. Maria pushed her hands together. "Okay, how about we all get ready for dinner. And while all of us do that, Gabriella and Arianne can talk." Gabriella heard shuffling and knew that they were all out.

Except for Arianne.

"Don't expect me to say sorry," Arianne said, her voice smug. Gabriella shrugged. "It's not like I really care, you know? I've been through the teasing for years now at school. What's wrong with having it a bit at home?" Gabriella plopped down on the couch, her shoulders slugging as a tear escaped her eye. "But, what does teasing a blind person accomplish?"

Arianne bit her lip. She uncrossed her arms and they dropped to her sides, dead. "I heard some ids are planning on doing something really bad to you." Gabriella shrugged, her bottom lip quivering. What had she done to them to deserve this kind of torture? Didn't they have a heart? She was blind, but that didn't mean she was an alien who had no feelings. Gabriella felt the couch dip and knew Arianne had came to sit next to her. "They said they were going to dump some stuff on you, stuff you in a porta potty full of shit and roll you down a hill," Arianne told her.

And that was enough to set Gabriella off.

Gabriella let the tears fall freely, not caring if she looked weak once again. Who cares? She buried her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking with sobs. Arianne stiffly wrapped an arm around Gabriella, patting her shoulder gently. "I do nothing to them," Gabriella cried. She lifted her head out of her hands and wiped at her eyes. "I did nothing to them. I...why do they hate me so much?" Gabriella turned her head so it was facing Arianne. "I'm ugly, I'm disabled, I know. But why do they hate me so much?"

"You aren't ugly," Arianne said, her eyes looking into Gabriella's dull ones. If you stared for a little while they weren't ugly, dull, cross-eyed eyes. They were nice, beautiful even.

"Don't be nice to me," Gabriella demanded quietly. She moved out of her grasp and shook her head. "Because if you're nice, you'll still pick on me outside of home." Gabriella shook her head and sighed softly. "Please...just don't."

"You were really four?" Arianne asked, scooting away from Gabriella to respect her wishes. Gabriella nodded and stopped the tears from coming. She vowed not to cry anymore. She was stronger than that. She had always been strong and right now she wasn't marking it as her breaking point.
I'm sorry," Arianne apologized. "I don't know what I would do if Zaria would become blind."

"You would treat her differently," Gabriella told her. "You wouldn't treat her like you treat me because she's your family."

Arianne dropped her eyes and sighed. She had only seen Gabriella few times after visiting East High for games. She would see her walking in the hall from tutoring and she never took the time to look at her. She and her friends would laugh and mock as they passed, but they missed one thing. They missed the broken girl walking by who looked like she would kill herself just to get away from the teasing.

Arianne felt some of her tears drop. "My mom told me why you were here. Your father died, didn't he?" Gabriella nodded mutely and dropped her hands in her lap, fiddling with them. "I'm sorry for that."

"You're not," Gabriella declined. "Because you'll still tease me, you'll still help those people and you'll still never stop." Gabriella stood before she could say more. Arianne stood also. "Gabriella, I'm really sorry, okay? I didn't know that it was this bad." Arianne reached for her, but Gabriella quickly moved away. She walked to the stairs and climbed up on her knees and hands, wanting nothing but to lock herself in her room and never come out.

Arianne grabbed Gabriella and pulled her back. "Gabriella, goddammit, I said I was freaking sorry, okay!" Gabriella gasped as Arianne let her slip. She fell to the floor and red fiery pain shot through her head. Arianne gasped and crouched down next to Gabriella, touching the small wound in the back of her head, just inches away from her stitches. "Gabriella, are you okay?" Arianne helped her up and Gabriella groaned. "I'm sorry!" Arianne shrieked. "I didn't mean to make you fall."

"I'm fine," Gabriella said Arianne wobbled them over to the couch and eased Gabriella down onto it. "Can you get Maria?" Gabriella asked quietly after a minute. Arianne nodded and quickly went to receive Maria.

"What's wrong, Gabriella?" Maria asked, entering the living room. Gabriella twisted her body. "I need to see Troy."

MTMTE

Maria pulled up at the Bolton residence. "Gabriella, are you positive you don't want me to come in?"

Gabriella shook her head. "No. Thank you, Maria." Gabriella slipped out of the car and reached out for Troy's fence. She smiled when she felt the braille printed on it and walked up to the door. She searched for the doorbell and then rung it, waiting patiently for an answer. the door was yanked open and Jack Bolton looked down at Gabriella, surprised. "Gabriella?"

"Oh, Mr. Bolton," Gabriella said, resisting the urge to frown. She had hoped Troy would come up and answer. "Hello, Gabriella," Jack said. "Troy's busy. He's doing homework."

Gabriella swallowed. "Can I still come in and see him? It's really important."

"Maybe tomorrow," Jack said before shutting the door. Gabriella's mouth opened in surprise. She shook her head and sigehd when she felt the heavy downpour of the rain. Just her luck.

Gabriella turned around and started down the walkway. "Gabriella?" Gabriella jumped, startled at the unrecognizable voice and then slipped. She hissed in a long breath as pain soared up her body and the puddles and rain drenched her with unbearable coldness. "Gabriella!" This time she recognized it. It was Troy.

She breathed a sigh of relief as he helped her stand and trailed his warm hands down her. "My god, what were you doing out here, Gabriella?"

"I want to see you," Gabriella admitted quietly. She reached her hand up and smiled when her fingers trailed over his face. She framed his face in her hands and pulled him down to a tantalizing kiss. Troy wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him. It's been about a week or so since he's last kissed Gabriella and it felt good. By God, he missed it. He missed just being able to hold her and tell her that he loves her. He missed when she opene dup instead of tucking into her little shell.

He missed his Brie.

Troy tucked loose ringlets of wet hair behind her ear and smiled down at her. "Mm, I missed you," he said softly. Gabriella smiled and nodded. "I missed you, too. Now can we go to your room?" Gabriella's body tensed as the loud booming of thunder clapping sounded through her ears. She clung her wet and cold body against him. Troy chuckled and nodded. He put his arm under her legs and lifted her up bridal style. Gabriella squealed lightly and clung onto him for her dear life. She settled her head in the crock of his neck and breathed in his masculine sent. "Don't leave me," she pleaded. "Ever."

"Never," Troy said, tilting his head and placing a kiss on top of her head. Gabriella smiled against his wet skin and pressed a kiss there.

When Troy had them crept into his room with the door closed and locked they climbed on his bed, cuddling. Troy held her close, letting her take her time at talking.

"Maria wants to adopt me," Gabriella announced after a few short moments. Troy smiled and looked down at her. "Brie, that's great."

But Gabriella shook her head. "It's not that easy, Troy," she sighed. "It means I have to leave my house. And plus, her oldest daughter doesn't like me. She goes to West High and they even know about me."

"If she gives you problems, tell em and I'll handle it," Troy said, his overprotective side easing into the conversation. Gabriella smiled timidly and reached her hand up. She gently caressed his cheek with her knuckles. And then she thought back on how Arianne had said she was sorry more than once and had actually helped her when she fell. Maybe Arianne was really sorry?

Or maybe it could be a trick. It wouldn't be the first time.

Gabriella sighed and let her muscles relax. "Maria also wants to pay for my surgery, but I..." She paused and bit her lip. "But I can't take it. She gives me so much now. I refuse to take anything else she gives me."

"No," Troy said. He sat up and brought Gabriella up with him. "No. You're going to take the money. Think of your mom and dad." Troy looked down at her, his face serious. "They want you to see again, Gabriella. They want you to explore the world with your other sense."

Gabriella sighed. "I don't know, Troy."

"Do it for them," Troy said. "Me. Maria, Amanda. Do it for all of us. Please." Troy grabbed her hands and entwined their hands together. Gabriella leaned into him and nodded. "Okay. Fine, I'll take it."

Troy smiled. "Thank you, Brie." Gabriella stayed silent. She pressed her hands to his chest and pulled her head out of his chest. She pressed her lips to his, an eagerness she's never shown before coming out in little flashes. Troy was taken aback, but kissed back right away. He gripped her waist, pushing his lips to hers with equal force. "Gabriella," he mumbled against her lips. Gabriella pulled back and licked her lips. And then what she was trying to do made it to his brain. When she tried to connect their lips again, Troy covered her mouth with his hand. "Gabriella, no."

Gabriella leaned back and confusion dripped across her face. "Huh?"

"We aren't having sex," Troy elaborated. He sighed and ran a hand through his unruly hair when he saw the hurt flash across her face. "I'm disgusting, aren't I?" Gabriella whispered, her voice cracking. Troy looked at her, shocked. "What? No! No, no, definitely not!" Troy grabbed her arm when she tried to slide off the bed. Nuh uh. She wasn't shielding him anymore. "No, it;s not that, Brie. I want our first time to be together when you can see again. Trust me, I want you so badly, Brie. But I want you to be able to see your first time as well as feel it. It just doesn't seem right when you can't."

Gabriella smiled. She kissed him tenderly on the cheek. "I love you, Troy."

Troy smiled. "I love you, too. Now why don't we just lay down and talk." Gabriella smiled and nodded. She cuddled into him and as the night went on they told each other stories and shared a few kissed here and there. Overall, Gabriella knew that Troy was the one thing that could cheer her up. Without him, she'd be no where.

Aw, happy ending? I know! More to come, people! I am going to make Gabriella be able to see again. Now, before I do that I have to look up a lot of information about the blind and about the surgery. Like how long it last, how it feels, how long is it until you can leave the hospital. Stuff like that. Now, I know you have to something to say, so maybe you should review? Eh, it's just a suggestion. But if you do I will give you all half a million dollars!...No, actually I won't. But if you liked this chapter maybe you can review?

Thanks!

~~~~Nessa Suarez