Troy needed a way to distract himself. It had been a normal day except there was no practice for basketball. So instead to distract his mind away from the game, he decided to do some of the chores his mom had been nagging him about.
He truly intended to start mowing the front yard, but in order to do that he had to go to the garage where he kept all his basketballs and other sport equipment. And once he saw the basketball, he momentarily forgot his mom's instructions and decided to play for a little while. Soon, the little while turned into forty minutes before Troy started working up a sweat and decided to actually start on the lawn.
He was shirtless as he had one earphone in with the volume turned all the way up on his ipod. He was just getting done with the front yard, and was going to take a very quick shower before heading over to the game, but two people caught his eye.
He turned off the mower after he pushed it faster than normal to finish the last patch of grass. He let his curiosity take over him and took out his ipod. He slung his t-shirt that was hanging around his neck and brought it in front of him as he was getting ready to put it back on.
He was so close to his mom and Mrs. Montez that he could hear the conversation.
"So we meet every other week on Wednesdays for about two hours. And usually we pick out decent books to read." His mom was explaining her annual book club that Troy never fully understood as reading the books that they picked out bored him.
"That sounds so nice. But I wouldn't want to intrude." Anna said in a tone that showed just how caring and nice she was.
"Nonsense. You know half the girls already. Why not join, plus you already read this book. Haven't you?"
"I'll think about it. If only I could get Ella to read also." Anna dismissed as Troy's mom nodded.
He walked up to them fully. "Looks like someone is finally doing their chores." Lucille teased as Troy rolled his eyes.
"Hello to you too mom. Mrs. Montez." Troy greeted with a charming smile.
"Call me Anna, Troy."
"Will do Mrs.--Anna." He corrected himself. "So are you going to the game?"
"I'm hoping to make it to the last half of the game. One of my clients scheduled an appointment which I can't ignore." Anna smiled at the boy who was slowly making his way into her daughter's life. "Shouldn't you be getting ready? I know the Coach doesn't like it if his players are late."
"Right." Troy blinked as he looked down at his wrist and saw the time. "I actually have to start getting ready. See you around Mrs--Anna!" Troy back pedaled to the house before turning around and looking at the two older women. "You too mom!"
The two women laughed as Troy ran into the house. Both women were both thinking the same thing as they had never seen their two kids looking so happy; apart from being with their other friends, but even then, their smiles were different.
Anna had cornered Gabriella in her room the previous night as she was busy taking off her make up and Anna wanted the dish on their date. Gabriella had filled her in on every little detail, except one, as Anna didn't press her for information on the kiss since she knew that she was lucky enough to get the other information in the first place.
She could tell Gabriella had a wonderful time without even having to ask her. Her smile reached her eyes as the brown orbs twinkled. Anna had never seen her daughter looking so happy unless with Jason, and no matter who their dad was, there must be something different about Troy and Jason apart from Andrew to make everyone they meet fall for them.
"I'm glad he remembers his mom before he slams the door shut." Lucille mused.
"At least he does that. With Ella, it's go-go-go. She's hardly home, and if she is, then she's with friends. Not that we mind though. At least we know she's safe." Anna added as an afterthought.
"I've only met Gabriella a couple of times, but she seems like a bright girl. Sure is doing wonders to Troy's math grade." Lucille complimented.
"According to her, it's Troy doing all the work as she's just there to supervise. He doesn't seem so bad himself."
"He's not bad at all. He's really not." When you have a kid at such an early age and spend almost waking moment with him up until he turns a certain age where he doesn't need you around anymore, you learn things. You adjust to things. You become a mother with good instinct, and Lucille knew that Gabriella was the right girl for Troy the moment she saw him actually crack open a math book when no one was around, and actually do his homework without getting frustrated.
She was changing his life, and neither one had noticed it yet.
Troy was warming up with the team as half of them were shooting and the five starting players were stretching on the ground near the halfway mark on the gym floor. Troy was leaning forward as he was reaching as far as he could go before he heard his name being called. He picked up his head as Chad looked around also to see where the voice was coming from.
"What does Mr. Olsen want? It's not class time." Chad whispered to Troy as Troy observed the elderly man who was their trigonometry teacher.
"I don't know. But whatever it is, it can't be good." Troy said once before he got up and headed over to the older man who was waiting patiently for Troy.
"Can I talk to you for a moment Mr. Bolton?" Mr. Olsen asked as he was a man who had white hair already, and was starting to bald. He was medium height, and was probably one of the only people at that age that could still probably run a marathon at East High.
Troy glanced back at the clock and saw that he had about five minutes before Coach Montez would pull the team together for one last pep talk.
"Sure. What's up? Because if there's something wrong with the paper I turned in today, then in my defense I did it when I was very tired last night considering I had basketball really late." It wasn't a complete lie as Troy did have basketball, but the only other reason why he was out later than usual was because he took Gabriella out.
Mr. Olsen chuckled at Troy's rambling. "Calm down Troy. Your paper was actually quite impressive compared to your previous work. You're showing quite an improvement."
Troy was shocked right away. He had only taken one test with Gabriella being his tutor and he still barely me the requirement, but with homework every night, he was actually starting to understand. But Troy sensed something else. It wasn't usual where a teacher would come down to a sports game and pull aside one of the starting players.
"But?" Troy asked warily.
Mr. Olsen sighed. He had seen Troy's improvements, and smiled. He was very proud of Troy's accomplishments as some kids understood math, and some needed help. The ones who need help usual don't ask for it, and Troy was one of the few who did.
"But we have another test this Friday." Mr. Olsen explained for the second time to Troy as he told the whole class that day also. "And even though you're managing to get B's on almost everything now, if you get lower than a B+ on this test, then it will effect your grade a lot more than homework assignments do."
"Right." Troy nodded his head as he knew tests were a lot more important than homework.
"And if that happens and you get anything lower than a B+, then your grade will be to the point where you'll have to get continuous A's on everything to be able to play basketball." Mr. Olsen saw the horror wash across Troy's face.
"So basically I'm screwed?" Troy asked in a bitter tone.
"Not necessarily. If you study all the chapters that I will give to you tomorrow, and you keep tutoring with Miss Montez, then you'll find that the test will be easier than expected. You know this stuff Troy, alls it takes is a little reminder in your head."
Troy nodded his head. "Thank you sir."
"No problem." Mr. Olsen smiled as he patted Troy on the back. "Now get out there and play. I hear that you're quite some ball player."
Troy flashed him a smile. "I'm surprised myself." He started to run off towards his team that was now starting to congregate around Coach Montez, but then turned around once more. "And Mr. Olsen?"
"Hmm?"
"Thank you. Not a lot of teachers would take their time to hunt down students about tests that haven't even happened yet."
"You're a bright kid Troy. You just have to apply yourself."
"Honey, you did so well tonight. You coached them well." Gabriella watched her mother greet her father on the sidelines as various kids were running around congratulating every person they saw as everyone was still hyped up from another Wildcat victory.
"You made it!" Carlos exclaimed brightly as he lightly kissed Anna on the lips.
"Of course I did. I couldn't miss two games in a row, now could I? You and Ella would never forgive me." Anna teased.
"So did you eat dinner yet?" Carlos asked.
"No. Why?" Anna sensed something in Carlos' tone.
"Let's just say that I am saving anyone on my team and the cheerleaders a free meal, and possibly from getting caught at an underage party by inviting the two teams over to our house for pizza." Carlos explained sheepishly as he had done this several times in the past before, and Anna didn't seem to mind as it got their kid away from the party scene that they were so 'naïve' about, and it saved almost twenty four kids hangovers in the morning.
"And what if I had plans?" Anna asked.
"You do. It's helping me keep an eye on these teenagers." Carlos put his arm around his wife's waist and pulled her in as Anna grinned.
Their lips barely touched each others as Anna whispered, "Not exactly what I had in mind." Their lips drew nearer until they touched teasingly.
"Maybe we should call off pizza tonight then?" Carlos suggested before they were interrupted by a couple of his players.
"Pizza in twenty Coach?" Kyle shouted as the three guys laughed goodheartedly as their Coach pulled away from his wife.
"Yeah, yeah. Pizza in twenty minutes. It's on it's way." Carlos turned back to a grinning Anna. "I guess we should go."
"I guess we should."
Jason proved something to himself that night. He had overcome one of his unspoken fears as it was a satisfying moment of realization for him. He had gone over to the Montez household for pizza with his team; mostly because he was the team captain and it wouldn't look good if he wasn't there, and yet the co-captain was, so Jason reserved any feelings towards Troy and Gabriella and put them away in a storage box inside of his head. He wasn't going to try to talk to Gabriella, he wasn't going to egg Troy on that night, he was simply going to see what would happen without any of his instigations.
But the moment he stepped into their entry way with Zeke and Chad, he walked right into the living room where tapes of NBA games were playing from Mr. Montez's collection. No one was in the living room however as the pizza had arrived only a minute before Jason, Zeke, and Chad did. He could hear everyone's laughter coming from the kitchen as they all collected their drinks and food. He happened to know that Mrs. Montez was probably pulling out a cake from their downstairs freezer to thaw out, as she always had back up cakes just incase the team came over without her knowing about it a head of time.
As he looked around he saw at least three pictures of himself and Gabriella ranging from twelve years old to last years homecoming dance on the mantle of the fireplace. And that's when it hit him.
They weren't on speaking terms like they used to be. Things were still weird between them, and he managed to still play the game he loved. He managed to play one of the most important games of his life due to the UCLA scouts being there, and although he didn't make as many points as usual, he liked to believe that was because this was a harder team than usual, but he did it.
And that was when he realized he overcame his fear. He managed to do something good without his best friend there holding his hand along every step of the way.
"Hey Cross?!" Chad's voice called out to him as Jason turned around with a small smile on his face. He took in the afro clad boy who was holding onto a plate with two pieces of pizza on it.
"Hmm?"
"You coming in? The pizza's gonna be gone before the Captain even gets a piece." Chad joked.
"Give me a second."
Chad looked at him puzzled before nodding his head and going back into the kitchen.
Jason turned back around and looked at the pictures again. All of a sudden he didn't feel like the freshmen boy who needed to escape. He felt like a senior ready to face the choices coming whether he liked it or not.
He felt like an adult.
Gabriella hadn't been avoiding Sharpay; much more like not talking to her as Sharpay had been doing the same. Both girls were stubborn as they would have fall outs with each other every once in a while. They would eventually get over it as both would take turns in apologizing.
This time it was Sharpay's turn to make the first move.
She slowly walked over to Gabriella who was busy talking to Taylor. "Gabriella, can I um…talk to you?" The blonde's threatening, demanding voice became meek and shy.
Gabriella nodded her head to Taylor; indicating that she would meet up with her later to finish their discussion on Taylor's latest boy problem. Gabriella looked at Sharpay after Taylor left quickly. "What's up?"
Sharpay was the worst one out of the two when it came to apologizing. "You danced well tonight."
"I was following the captain."
Sharpay cracked a smile as that was their little joke between the two of them. Gabriella couldn't hold back her own smile as she wasn't talking with Jason, she couldn't not talk to Sharpay also.
"So we're friends G?" Sharpay asked with a hopeful tone.
Gabriella rolled her eyes. "If you stop calling me G. It's not like I call you S."
"You know you love me when I call you that." Sharpay stuck her tongue out and it was in that little gesture that Gabriella realized just how much of little kids they were acting. It was time to move on. She was almost 18, and it was time to start acting like it.
"I have to find Jase."
Sharpay's face scrunched up. "Eww. That was random."
"Do you know where he is?" Gabriella's mind wasn't sidetracked as it just all of a sudden clicked. She and Jason were best friends, and that would not change. Her and Troy were starting a relationship. And instead of worrying about how the two boys would react around each other and trying to force them to like each other, Gabriella should just let fate take part, and see what could happen. It's not her job to baby sit the boys, and it would be like it was before Gabriella was dating Troy. She wouldn't get involved unless anything physical would start up.
"Last I saw him he was in the living room with the team watching some video of basketball. Why?" Her distaste in the situation showing as she had just made up with one of her friends, and now Gabriella wanted to basically run off with Jason already?
"Because I made a mistake…and it's time to fix it."
Sharpay watched Gabriella run off on her, and before her face could show that she was frustrated with the situation, she looked around the kitchen where basically all the cheer squad was along with Mrs. Montez, and soon found Taylor to join in conversation with.
Troy had been surprised that Jason didn't do anything or say anything to him that night. The only thing that did happen is that Jason tried his hardest not to give him the ball that night. But even that backfired as he was double teamed almost the whole night, so he had no choice but to make the right decision and pass the ball. And even though Jason wouldn't pass it directly to Troy; it seemed that whoever he did pass it too, they always passed it to him. And Troy counted that as an indirect pass from Jason, and that was a start to the right direction of an upcoming friendship.
When Gabriella entered the living room Troy literally felt his heart speed up. He took in her hair that was pulled back into a high pony tail, her petit frame that was still in the cheerleading outfit; Troy almost felt a possessive growl emit from his mouth as he knew that the guys around him weren't looking at the TV anymore, but at the brunette beauty on the other side of the room. He couldn't believe some of them as her dad was right in the living room, but it seemed as if he was too occupied with the game on TV to notice.
He knew from the distance that something was on her mind as she slowly crouched down next to Jason who was near the entry way of the living room; sitting in the recliner chair. If only Troy knew that she wasn't just nervous, but terrified as it seemed that she wasn't the only one growing up that night. Troy's half brother was too, and that just proves how in sync the two best friends were; even when they weren't talking to each other.
"Jase?" Gabriella whispered.
Jason knew that she was at his side. He knew that she was kneeling down to be just a head shorter than him; even when he was sitting. He just didn't want to believe that she was there to talk to him. That would get his hopes up, and he couldn't do that as he was already excited and nervous at the same time now as he had known all night what he would say to Gabriella when she was talking to him.
"Hmm?" He turned to look at her. Her big brown eyes shining with the TV glow reflecting off the walls.
"Can we…uh…can we talk?" Gabriella whispered once again as a bunch of the guys let out cheers around them.
Jason nodded silently as he motioned with his head to the staircase behind him. Gabriella nodded back as that was her way of telling him that she'd meet him upstairs. She offered him a small smile as he returned it. Neither one of them saw the smile on Troy's face; the same one that matched Jason's. Something they both got from their dad.
Jason walked into the familiar bedroom that held various pictures, a queen size bed, a dresser, closet, and balcony doors. He shut the door behind himself quietly and turned around to be met with his best friend's big brown eyes.
In that second, he knew what he had to say.
They both opened their mouths to say something, but stopped as their faces broke out in small smiles.
"You first." Gabriella said in her soft voice.
And the reality of him actually saying what he needed to say seemed to slip away as his throat became just the little bit dryer.
"…I was upset last week, and I took it out on you. Things didn't go my way, and I felt…I just felt…" He couldn't finish as his voice died down and he cast his eyes to the ground.
"You felt what Jase?" Gabriella encouraged as she kept the wonder of what he was going to say out of her voice as she didn't want to seem too excited to hear what he had to say.
"I felt…" He couldn't finish the sentence as he looked around her room once again before coming up with something else to say. "It doesn't matter right not what I felt, but what does is that you were happy. ARE happy. And that means that I should be happy too."
"Maybe, but…you know I got into a little fight with Shar yesterday?"
He found the question completely off category, but nonetheless he still responded. "What did SHE do this time?" It was always Sharpay starting drama. Some people never change.
"It doesn't matter what she did or didn't do, but what does matter is that Taylor was still talking to her when I wasn't." Gabriella explained. "I guess in ways us three girls could represent the situation Troy, you, and me are in also. Just because I talk to Troy, doesn't mean that you have too."
In ways, what the two of them just said, was their own way of apologizing for over reacting and acting on their first instinct.
"…I should have realized that." Gabriella mumbled.
Jason smiled as he spread his arms as wide as they would go. "Come here Montez!"
Gabriella looked up from the ground and smiled a real smile that touched her eyes. She happily bound into his arms as they crashed back against the door. The two shared a hug that only happened between best friends. Both sharing and overcoming what had happened between them in the last five days.
As their arms were still around each other, Jason spoke, "One thing did come out of this. I realized that I don't need you at the games to play good. I don't even have to be on talking terms with you."
"Jase!" Gabriella squealed. She pulled away as she hit his arm lightly. "Way to ruin the moment!"
Jason grinned cheekily at her. "I don't need you at the games, but I WANT you there. And wanting something means being a lot more selfish than needing something on my list. And if it counts, I think being wanted by someone is better than being needed as people hate things that they need. But people always love the things they want."
Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Real nice Jase. Did you read that on a cereal box?"
Jason mimicked her eye roll. "Humor me Montez and just go with it."
"Fine," she huffed. "I don't need you either. I just want you." She paused and looked at him strangely. "It sounds a lot more sexual than intended."
He shared the same look as it dawned upon him also. "Yeah. Scratch that--let's just leave it at I need my best friend?"
Gabriella nodded her head. "Much better."
As Jason and Gabriella were descending down the stairs, Jason ruffled her hair. Gabriella mocked anger as she pushed his hand off of her head and ran her fingers through her hair before anyone else could see.
Jason laughed quietly as it sounded still that the game was going on. "Oh yeah, Zeke said that the beach house trip is put off a week now since his parents are having it refurnished."
Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Were you going to tell me this after I packed my bags, or when I was waiting for you to pick me up at six in the morning that day?"
"Just be glad I told you. I think Zeke thought me telling you would be a way to get us to start talking again."
"So instead of telling me and talking, you opted to waiting for us to make up? What if we didn't do that for another week?" Gabriella asked.
"Then I guess you would've been even madder when you were waiting for a car that was never going to come." Jason teased good heartedly as they walked into the living room and the person Gabriella automatically searched for wasn't there.
It was a sight to see as Troy had gone into the kitchen to bring in his empty plate and glass as he didn't want Mrs. Montez thinking he was just going to go over to her house and trash it by leaving his garbage around--much like some of the other players. And when he turned around from washing his hands from the grease the pizza left on them, he saw that Zeke had followed him into the kitchen to get another glass of soda.
"For some reason whenever I'm over at Coach's house, they always have the good soda." Zeke mused. "I wonder if they do that on purpose?"
Troy cracked a smile on his normally somber looking face.
"There's a smile." Zeke pointed out without even looking up to see if Troy was actually smiling or not; which just made Troy give another unsure smile.
"Excuse me?"
The darker skinned boy looked up and took a sip of his favorite soda. "Sometimes you're too serious Bolton. You need to lighten up."
Troy shrugged as Chad had told him multiple times the same thing.
"So I've been told."
Neither boy knew what to say. They had heard good and bad things about each other. They came from two different pictures as Zeke's parents were rarely around as they were always traveling, while Troy grew up with a single parent. The only thing that was similar between them now is that they're starting to share the same friends; thus bringing them that much closer in the cycle of high school.
"So I heard your date went well last night." Zeke commented as Troy looked puzzled for a second. "With Gabs?"
"Oh. Right. I guess." It did go very well, and Troy would relive it any day. "How did--"
"Taylor. She has a bigger mouth compared to Shar sometimes."
And from there, the conversation took off.
It was a site to see as the two boys didn't just represent two teammates talking, but two people who came from different sides of a war actually getting along. They were talking, laughing, and debating between two things that Gabriella had no interest in at all, but apparently the boy who she was fixated on did as he talked to Zeke about it.
"Dude, it's all about Xbox now." Troy said seriously.
Zeke shook his head as both were now sitting on top of the counters across from each other, another plate with pizza on it, and a glass of soda next to them. "No way! I still prefer my PlayStation, it's a classic."
Troy snorted. "A classic?! No, I think you're confused with the Mario games for Nintendo." He smiled as he reminisced all the times he and Chad spent in front of the electronics. "Now that's a classic."
Gabriella and Jason stood in the entrance of the kitchen stunned. For once Jason didn't know what to say at all. He was put into a shockwave as he soon followed Gabriella to the kitchen after he saw that Zeke wasn't in the living room either. They had walked in and he knew Gabriella had this goofy smile on her face as she was thrilled Zeke was getting on well with Troy, but you could say that about anyone because Zeke almost got along with whoever he met. Troy wouldn't be different as Zeke was always a happy go lucky kind of guy.
"What the fuck?" Jason said just loud enough for the two guys to be torn from their debate and look at the two best friends.
Troy didn't notice his half brother standing there at first as his eyes landed on the brunette who was smiling like there was no tomorrow. Their eyes connected and it spoke volumes as they had moments in school where they could talk, but both were rather busy that day as they were each preparing for the basketball game and cheer.
The smile Troy sent her represented, 'I'm glad to see you.'
Gabriella gave her head the slightest nod, 'Me too.'
Zeke jumped down from the counter top and Troy followed. "Cross, you know this just as much as I do. Tell Bolton here how much better PlayStation is compared to Xbox."
It was a small debate that meant nothing in the means of his life. He couldn't care less who really won, and by that time tomorrow both Troy and Zeke will have forgot this little debate and would be on a new topic.
But Jason did have an opinion, one in which he didn't feel comfortable in sharing. For if he did, the three other people in the kitchen would be surprised.
"Come on," Zeke persisted.
Jason sighed while shaking his head. "Zeke, it's all about the Xbox."
"Whatever." He grumbled. "I'm heading back in to watch the game." He turned his head and spoke to Troy. "So you'll think about the beach house thing, yeah?"
Troy nodded his head. "Yeah. Sounds like fun."
"Hell yeah." Zeke exclaimed before leaving the three together.
Jason didn't miss the smile shared between the two as this was the ultimate test for him. He could stay and keep a short leash around Gabriella, or he could just let her go and trust her to make the right and safest decisions.
"I'm gonna head out Gabi. Call me later, 'kay?" He asked quietly as his eyes avoided Troy's who's bright blue orbs were narrowing in suspicion.
Gabriella wrapped her arms around Jason in a goodbye hug. "Of course. Bye."
And then there were two.
"So I take it you two are talking again?" Troy asked.
"Yeah. We um…we both realized something tonight." She said as she flashed him a smile.
"And what's that?" Troy asked as he walked closer to Gabriella; making her heart pick up in it's pace.
"It doesn't matter. What matters is that I can take it that Zeke invited you to the beach house in two weeks?"
Gabriella took in the way his rough facial expressions changed. She watched as his deep blue eyes penetrated her own. How his mouth was a straight line almost all the time unless he was actually talking to someone who could bring out the perfect smile she was falling for. She knew from his reputation at school that he had this whole brooding thing and was very thoughtful of others. And now seeing his face with the same brooding face as every single day, there was something about it that just seemed different. It seemed a whole lot dangerous, and Gabriella liked it.
But then again, maybe it was always there, and Gabriella was just noticing it now?
His hard, muscular shoulders went up in a shrug as he gave her a small closed mouth grin. "I guess. But then again he also invited Chad, so maybe he just felt obligated."
"He's not like that." Gabriella said as she leaned against the wall. "And from what it looked like from my point of view, you two were actually having a nice conversation."
He took another step towards her as he towered over her with a height advantage. "Oh yeah? From your point of view?" He teased.
Gabriella bit her lip at realizing how close they actually were. It was like the first date all over again on her porch steps. Except the only difference is that there were more butterflies in her stomach and Troy wasn't nervous at all.
He didn't care about the perfect timing as that would come or it wouldn't. He didn't care that her best friend had basically just fought an internal battle about whether or not he should just leave the two alone. He didn't care that her father and mother were just around the corner and down the hall in the living room.
All he did care about was the girl before him. The beautiful girl who held her hand out to him when no one else did when he joined the basketball team.
"I've been wanting to talk to you since I saw you at the game." He murmured as his voice dropped it's volume to a mere whisper.
Gabriella couldn't force herself to smile as her mouth matched his in all seriousness. "Oh yeah. Right after I threw on this outfit that is borderline on almost too revealing?" Gabriella whispered back with an unknown huskiness to her voice.
Troy smirked. "No, that part I hate. Almost every guy there was drooling for you."
Gabriella smacked his arm that was leaning against the wall near her head. His body was half leaning into hers as if you were watching from a distance it would look natural for the two of them to be doing that.
"So not true, and you know it." Gabriella rejected as her cheeks blushed.
He leaned down and whispered in her ear gruffly, "So true. I was nearly ready to knock Lyle outside the head."
Gabriella scrunched up her nose as she recalled Lyle the football quarterback. He was the school's biggest flirt as he was worse than Jason when it came to girls. "Lucky for you I don't have a thing for football players."
"That's good because I just happened to clear my schedule for this Saturday to take this one girl anywhere she wants to go." Troy fingered one of Gabriella's loose curls before gently placing it back behind her ear.
"I don't know. I mean Lyle promised me that he would take me to the mall to shop, but--" She saw the dark look overcome his face and she giggled. "Just kidding."
Troy rolled his eyes. "Humor me Montez."
"Okay. I would love to go out with you again Troy." She thought their conversation was over with.
"Hold up." He lightly grabbed her arm and pulled her against the wall again. He might not care about the perfect moment for a kiss, but it ended up being perfect enough for the both of them. "There's also something I couldn't stop thinking about all day."
"What's that?" She didn't catch on to the glint in his eye that told her he was planning on doing something that their mothers and her father shouldn't see yet.
"This." He whispered breathily against her lips before connecting them.
Her reaction was stronger now as they weren't so blatantly on her front porch where anyone could see them from their house, or her mother and father couldn't be peeking through the curtains. They were in her kitchen where the situation was more real where someone from school could walk in on them.
Her hands reached up and entwined themselves around his neck. Their lips moved slowly against one another's as there was a clearing of the throat.
They both froze, but kept their mouths stationed on one another's as their eyes opened.
"You two are lucky that it was me who interrupted and not Coach Montez." Chad's jovial voice floated through the kitchen.
Gabriella and Troy both slowly pulled apart and avoided eye contact with each other and Chad. Their cheeks were burning a bright read; more so Gabriella's than Troy's.
Gabriella looked between the two best friends. "So um Troy, tomorrow we're back to studying for the test on Friday." She glanced at Chad briefly who had a wide grin on his face. "Bye Chad."
"Way to fuck up the moment Chad." Troy scoffed when Gabriella was out of earshot and they were sure to be the only two in the kitchen.
Chad let out a couple of chuckles. "Sorry to break it to you, but Coach Montez isn't oblivious. He knew that you two were the only ones in here for quite some time. And since we didn't hear talking, he sent some back up in here to separate you two." Chad let out another chuckle as he saw that Troy's cheeks flashed another red. "Dude, you should have seen your face."
"I don't care about my face. What I care about is that I don't have a good reputations with fathers. Remember Lilly? Yeah, well her father hated me so much that they moved across the country." Troy declared dramatically.
Chad rolled his eyes. "Coach Montez doesn't hate you. He just doesn't want you to have sex with his ONLY daughter on his kitchen counters." Chad laughed at the horror written across Troy's face. "Dude, only kidding."
"You really suck Danforth."
"Whatever. Now come on before Coach Montez thinks that we're doing it on his counter tops."
Troy smacked his hand against the side of Chad's head while passing him to head back into the living room.
"I'm so glad we're best friends." Chad grumbled good heartedly.
Author's Note--A thousand thank yous are directed to anyone who reviewed for last chapter. I wasn't really feeling okay with it as if you read my last author's note, then you would know that I wasn't really okay with the Jason and Zeke conversation, but I am now as a lot of you guys reassured me that it was indeed good, if not great. So thank you.
Please let me know what you think of this one. Things could really heat up with Gabriella and Troy later on in chapters then.