A/N: I really apologize for the delay! This story has been a bit neglected, and I know that. In Pieces snagged my attention, so thank you to runninequalslife for reverting my attention back to this story. :) Finals are driving me nuts! Don't count on another update soon. I'm up to my neck with studying! Thanks for all of the amazing reviews last chapter! Enjoy!
In Gym, Gretchen watched in utter horror how the girls "changed" in front of the huge stretch of mirror in the locker room.
More like stripping.
Gabriella, Leighland, Allegra, Taylor, and even Kelsi and Martha were cluttered in front of the spotless mirror, unsympathetically inspecting each others bodies as they peeled their expensive clothes off of their bodies. They coldly poked at each other's stomachs, so heartlessly criticizing the victim, who tried so hard to accept their inconsiderate comments as the truth.
Gretchen cowered fearfully at the side, clutching her own freshly washed gym clothes close to her body.
"Brie!" Taylor gasped abruptly as she got a good look of Gabriella thin body. "You're so…skinny!" Taylor harshly jabbed her index finger at one of Gabriella's visible ribs. Gabriella took an impulsive step back and consciously wrapped her arms around her middle.
Gabriella didn't get it. Last year, she was too fat. This year, too skinny. She would have laugh, but it would have hurt too much.
"Legs, what is that?!" Leighland gaped at a vicious bruise near Allegra's navel, swiping her fingers across it. It was a nauseating splotch of miserable blues and greens, and Allegra flinched at the feeling of Leigh's fingers on the spot, taking a step backwards, her back knocking against the wall.
"I have no idea," Allegra monotonously mumbled, yanking the T-shirt they were all forced to wear over her head.
The gym uniforms weren't all that bad in comparison to the regular school uniforms. Girls had the choice of wearing either a gray or white T-shirt with the school's logo and motto printed on the front, and the tiniest pair of cotton cheerleader shorts Gretchen had ever seen, dyed blood red. Guys had the same boring options for tops, while they got to wear mesh shorts of the same lively red color.
"Tay, have you been gaining weight?"
Now it was Taylor's turn, and her face was painted crimson all of a sudden.
Gabriella felt another poke at her nude side, although this one was apprehensive and gentle. Her head snapped around to see Gretchen, her nearly white hair all frizzy and matching her worried expression.
"What's up, Gretch?" Gabriella asked as nicely as she could, although tired of babying Gretchen. She was so torn. On one hand, she wanted Gretchen to adjust comfortably, and she wanted to help her. But on the other, Gretchen was a heavy burden, and Gabriella felt the urge to strangle her.
"I don't feel…I don't…." Gretchen's voice diminished to a timid squeak, and Gabriella had to ask for her to speak louder. Gretchen took a few steps backwards, and Gabriella took a few steps forward. "I don't feel comfortable changing here," Gretchen gulped and hoarsely continued, "in front of everyone like this."
"There are bathrooms right around the corner."
Gretchen smiled weakly in thanks, and turned around the bend.
It was very hard for Gabriella not to roll her eyes in annoyance.
Gym was almost like a free period. If you ran two laps around the quarter mile track, you were done. From there, you could do whatever you wanted for the rest of the period so long as it were active. Even walking counted. Many girls would clump together and chatter as they walked the track, while guys would involve themselves in an intense game of basketball.
Gabriella bounced from activity to activity with each class, sometimes going to the school gym and working out, or swimming the extra hour.
The gym teachers were usually lazy, and never unlocked the bleachers from where they were all piled up against the walls. As a result, everyone had to climb up a dangerous wall of instability that was a good seven feet tall. Gabriella always found it so stupid that they had to crawl up this wall just to take attendance at the beginning of every class, but when she had complained the previous year, she had been punished with a cruel detention she wished not to repeat.
Gabriella stood with Gretchen before the bleacher wall. Gretchen gawked up at it, her eyes traveling from where it met the floor to where many of her classmates were already seated at the very top.
"Shit."
It was the first time Gabriella had heard Gretchen curse, and she was mildly surprised.
"There are these little slip-ups that you can put your toes on," Gabriella suggested helpfully.
"So, like, how does the class go?" Gretchen asked numbly as she watched Gabriella latch onto the tall stack of bleachers, clambering up to the top in no time.
"We gather in the gym, and the teachers take attendance," Gabriella hollered down from her perch above. As more people filed into the gymnasium, the rowdy noise in the room heightened in volume. "Then we usually head outside and run two laps. But since it's cold, now we just run four inside."
"Oh," Gretchen piped in a small voice, her face paling. How the fuck was she supposed to get up there?
Gretchen clawed desperately at the vertical barrier, unsure how to make her way up. She stuck her toes in some places where a bleacher had slid back a few centimeters, hoisting herself up and reaching her arms upwards. She felt Gabriella's chilly hands clasp around her elbows once she neared the top, and they wrenched her upwards and salvaged her from her nightmare.
"Thanks," Gretchen breathed embarrassedly, her elfin face colored the only shade of white.
Gabriella's eyes instantly located Troy's sexy form the moment he strolled into the gym, and her heart jumped eagerly in her chest. Gretchen saw this, and immediately felt a sour air come to her face. She tried her best to change it, but it proved to be difficult. Especially when Gabriella leapt down from the wall, her Nikes crashing against the floor with a loud boom at the bottom, grinning that famous effervescent smile of hers as she hurried over to her athlete boyfriend. Their arms looped around each others' waists at the same time, and Gabriella kept her body close to Troy's as they talked very rapidly and quietly between each other. They were on the other side of the spacious gym, so Gretchen couldn't hear a word, and they were speaking so speedily that Gretchen couldn't decipher anything by reading lips.
Gabriella knew why she was always so thrilled and energized when she saw Troy, no matter when the last time was when she saw him. It was because she felt so uncomfortable around everyone else that when Troy popped up, she was always so eager to be around someone that she clicked with easily and could just be herself with.
"Hey, babe," Troy grinned cheerily at her, tempted to peck her luscious lips. Before Gabriella could speak, he gave in, kissing her very briefly on the lips.
Gabriella reluctantly pulled back, her eyes shimmering in an entirely different way in Troy's presence.
"Hey, you."
"Guess what I got on that Calc test."
"Tell me."
Troy paused and then grinned broadly again from ear to ear. "I got a 94."
"Oh my God!" Gabriella yelped spiritedly, her chest bloating with immense pride for her boyfriend. Her cheeks colored up, and she and Troy shared another lengthier, well-deserved kiss. "Congratulations, Wildcat," she hummed against his cheek.
"Hmm, thanks," Troy murmured a little too close to her lips for having a teacher in the same room as them.
Nearing her lips closer to his ear, she whispered in a sultry voice, "Maybe later we can celebrate?"
Troy's eyes creased as he smiled in delight, giving a very slight nod.
A whistle was blown impatiently, and Gabriella scurried to the bleacher wall with Troy, scrambling up to the top in record time with Troy's tender assistance. She and Troy squeezed into a foot-long space against the wall, and Gabriella couldn't help but slink low in Troy's protective embrace as she noticed all of the keen, prying eyes that were glued to them. Troy's thumb and forefinger enclosed soothingly around all of hers, reassuring her silently that he had her back.
After attendance was taken, all of the guys cluttered the gym floor, preparing themselves for another zealous game of basketball. The girls climbed down the bleacher wall very modestly, unconsciously forming a line as they all headed towards the door. Gabriella listened distantly as Leighland gabbled endlessly about her Costa Rican sex god Roberto, not realizing she had already said half the things she was saying.
"Oh!" Taylor interrupted abruptly, fortunately slicing Leigh off from her repetitive monologue. Gabriella internally muttered an appreciative prayer of thanks to Taylor. "We've got to study for Benson's test tomorrow."
"Holy fuck, you're right."
"Library, fifth period?"
"Yeah."
"Sounds good."
Gretchen paced very timidly beside them as they continued to stride down the hall. The way her facial features were shaped showed that she was indeed very afraid of them, and tapped Taylor's shoulder hesitantly.
"What?" Taylor snapped hotly at her.
Gretchen's face flickered with offense for just a split second, and she recoiled, feeling so small.
"What?"
"C-Could I come too?" Gretchen blurted clumsily.
Taylor sighed, about to respond when Gabriella butted in before she could.
"Yeah! That'd be great. We'd love to have you there."
Taylor didn't even bother to mask her displeasure at Gabriella's enthusiastic reply, throwing a very disgruntled look at Gabriella and exhibiting wide, stormy eyes.
"What the fuck was that for?" Taylor hissed guardedly under her breath. Gabriella pinched her elbow very discreetly, satisfied when Taylor cursed once more.
Gabriella was in the middle of the row of girls as they ran on the school's treadmills, disjointed conversation taking place in between them. There was not even one conversation that everyone was mutually interested in participating in or listening to, so it was quite dull.
"Guys, I've got to make a trip to the bathroom," Gabriella sighed, the only one bored as Kelsi recounted a gripping tale of the time she got "kidnapped." Gabriella had heard the anticlimactic story before, and though she felt guilty thinking this, hearing it again was a waste of her valuable time.
Gabriella jogged out of the fitness center, rounding the girls' bathroom when she felt lips come in contact with the back of her neck.
"Hey, princess," came the basketball star's husky tenor.
Troy's strong arms wrapped lovingly around her sweaty form, drawing her fragile back close against his body. Tingles fizzed Gabriella's body, and her eyes fluttered close as she took him in.
"Let's skip," Gabriella breathed out euphorically, unconsciously channeling Marilyn Monroe with her raspier, lower voice. Gabriella fingers curled around Troy's one finger that was distractedly running up and down her neck, suggestively nudging him in the stomach.
"You can read my mind, can't you?" Troy mumbled and chuckled at the same time, his finger absentmindedly tracing her exposed collarbone. "Just like I've always suspected…."
For one fleeting moment before they were too deep into the moment (and literally), Gabriella was concerned what people would think when they walked by Troy's dorm, hearing those loud moans and urgent exclamations.
But those frivolous thoughts were laughable ten minutes later.
"Troy…o-oh—oh fuckkkk…." Gabriella's voice dragged lazily as she remained hovered over Troy, hardly even realizing that words were slugging out of her mouth. That particular organ in between her legs was burning so badly and she was so wet. The intolerable burning was soon going to be interpreted as pain by her brain if Troy weren't inside her within the following five seconds.
Even though it was December, Troy felt so unbearably hot. Even so, he wanted his girlfriend closer to him. As close as he could get her.
Troy pressed his warm hand to the small of Gabriella's arched back, pushing her down onto him and immersing his member inside of her in the process. Gabriella let out another uncontrollable moan at the feeling of having him whole, her palms pushing down on his muscular chest as she settled into her straddle on top of him. The room was dim, but Troy could still see every inch of his vixen perfectly, his glittering eyes never once straying from her shadowed face. Gabriella smirked upon seeing that familiar famished look in Troy's anxious blue eyes, her breath hitching as Troy's hand gradually traveled up her naked thigh toward the place where their bodies were so intimately connected, running his fingers down the front of her vagina and stopping. Troy gulped as he stared fixedly up at an entrancing Gabriella, the feline manner in which she was sitting—her back curved so sexily, her pert breasts sticking out, her bottom looking so round—causing Troy to think he was in some sort of fantasy dream. But he knew he definitely wasn't from the sensations that strengthened inside him as Gabriella began to rock her hips against his, steadily as she picked up a consistent rhythm.
"God…." Troy huffed in a gravelly voice, not capable of thinking and roughly wrenching Gabriella closer by the arm. "Faster, b-babe…shit—"
"—Troy," Gabriella gasped, feeling Troy's fingers massage her left buttock. Troy's arm only twisted around Gabriella's neck, her hair falling all over his face as he tugged her face down closer to his. Their lips brushed briefly before Troy gnawed desperately at Gabriella's lips, only getting a mouthful of hair in his mouth instead of her tongue. In exasperation, he rapidly combed his fingers through her wild hair in order to toss it back, satisfied when his lips met hers once more. Gabriella quickened the pace of her gyrations, and Troy's wet lips squeezed hers in response.
"I—" Troy began to say, but all that came out of his mouth afterwards was a heavy moan.
They had ditched the remainder of third period and sacrificed fourth period, also their lunch period, to have sex. Yet, neither of the two would ever choose food over making love in that free hour they had, especially if they could get food later on. The satisfaction of tasting food and feeling comfortable once it filled their stomachs was nothing compared to the satisfaction they felt while having sex, showing just how much they loved each other. Nowhere near it.
It wasn't long before Gabriella felt herself nearing the edge, getting closer and closer to it with every movement of her hips.
Troy recognized that special look on her face that he loved so much, that pre-orgasmic face, and encouraged her to meet her climax.
Gabriella nodded dizzily, letting go and entering that moment of ecstasy. She collapsed down onto Troy, clutching his body with all her might and murmuring his name as she let the blissful sensations pass through her body and exit. Her mind was completely fogged, and she could not stop panting. In the back of her mind somewhere, it registered that Troy was orgasming, for he gripped her so tight against him that it actually hurt her, his shoulders lifting just before he dropped back down again, sighing her name.
"Wow…God…that was…" Troy mumbled against Gabriella's steamed forehead, his heart hammering hard inside him. He could feel Gabriella's own erratic pulse through her breast against his perspired chest; what a comforting beat that was to feel. He rubbed Gabriella's upper back as he slowly identified his surroundings once more, his eyes unable to resist lingering on Gabriella's gorgeous face. She lay nestled on top of him, stiff with exhaustion, her eyes near fully closed. She had that angel face that was so rare. Troy, personally, had never seen it on anyone else besides his Gabriella. That ethereally beautiful face; it made him breathless and made him realize how much he really did love her. Even though her eyes had drooped and she looked like she was sleeping, Troy knew that she wasn't. His nose rubbed against her cheek softly, his hand gingerly cupping her hipbone. "Thank you, baby. That was amazing." Gabriella sucked in a deep breath, her heart shimmering inside her. "I love you," Troy whispered tenderly, his voice inundated with such authentic love.
"I love you, baby," Gabriella murmured back, letting her head fall over into the warm, clammy crook of Troy's neck. She breathed him in deep, his signature smell intoxicating her, and she breathed out, her warm breath making Troy shudder.
Gabriella could feel Troy soft inside her, and slowly rose to a crouch above him, carefully removing himself from within her. Troy's eyes stayed implanted on hers, and Gabriella leaned down and kissed him deeply again, further heightening the passion between them with each kiss and curling her fingers around his ears on either side of his head.
Troy couldn't stop staring at her eyes. They were like marbles. So clear and beautifully unique and wondrous. Their rich chocolate color was such a real imitation of the real thing, yet still better.
Troy beckoned Gabriella to rest back down against him once more, kissing her shoulder as he thought.
"So Hawaii," Troy began. Gabriella could easily detect the excitement in his voice that anyone else would never pick up. "I was thinking—"
Suddenly Gabriella's phone began to ring. The ringtone that alerted her, "The Hamster Dance," had not been the one she'd set. Gabriella sighed as she reluctantly scooted to the edge of the bed, picking up her iPhone from her bag against the far wall.
"'The Hamster Dance'?" Troy chuckled.
"Yeah, I think Leigh set it…and by the way…I've got to say something about that…." Gabriella's eyes read the caller ID, and she answered the call swiftly, "Yeah, Leigh?"
"Where are you? You're supposed to be here in the library. Studying for Benson's test, remember?"
"Fuck damn it," Gabriella muttered, quickly striding over to the bed where some of her clothes still lay on top of the comforter. She found her panties and rapidly slid them on, holding the phone in between her ear and shoulder. Troy held out her jeans for her, which she also wriggled on. "I'll, uh, meet you there."
Troy laughed, amused how Gabriella was trying to put on her socks one-handedly.
"Who's that? Is Troy there?" Leighland asked suspiciously. "That explains your tardiness, then…."
"I'll be right there," Gabriella emphasized short-temperedly between gritted teeth. "Bye." Gabriella hung up and threw her phone onto the bed. Troy was smiling up at her, holding back more laughs. "Seriously Troy, I can't laugh right now. Taylor's going to erupt at me. Fuck, where's my bra?"
"Here." Troy tossed her the black bra, and Gabriella caught it, strapping it on quickly. She found her shirt and slipped it on, stuffing her feet into tan Uggs. Troy skipped to the door, pressing her a kiss before allowing her to leave.
"Oh, there's that divine princess," Taylor muttered in annoyance as she saw a breathless, flushed Gabriella run in on their study session. "Pull up a chair."
Gabriella dropped her bag on the floor, snatching a wooden chair and lugging it up to the round table that Taylor, Leighland, and Gretchen were sitting at.
"My, my; you look awfully sexed up," Leighland quipped dryly. Gabriella felt the urge to shoot them all an acidic glower, but instead, she properly took out her notes and a pen. "Okay. So, the basics on Japan. Um…let's go one by one. We can just narrate it out, and anyone can throw in whatever facts they know."
It was only now that Gretchen realized she didn't have Mr. Benson, and that she wasn't even on Japan in her class. She sent Gabriella a panicked look, who raised an eyebrow at her. Gabriella phone buzzed with a text message under the table moments later. It was from Gretchen.
I don't have Benson. Christophers is on something completely different.
Gabriella sighed. She knew that Gretchen didn't want to look stupid by leaving now.
Taylor began to talk, "So Japan is an extremely condensed country. Most of their terrain is mountainous, so most people are squished onto the coastal plains. To keep order in such a highly populated and packed place, conformity is how people are brought up there."
"It's not like here, how you're encouraged to be different, right?"
"Yeah, I think so…."
Review flowed very fluently from their mouths. Sometimes they had to rummage through their notes, looking for a specific piece of information if they possibly disagreed. All the while, Gretchen tried her very best to seem invisible, although the effort seemed worthless. She already was invisible, and it seemed as if they wanted to keep her that way.
"So cleanliness is valued among the Japanese. Didn't Benson say something about bathing being like a social event in Japan? And you can go with your friends, and you sit in huge tubs and just talk…."
"Well, no wonder they're so crowded in Japan, then!" Leighland remarked.
"Let's stay serious, Leigh," Taylor admonished sharply, throwing Leighland a ferocious glare. "Cleanliness was valued because of Zen, right?"
"Yeah, I think so…."
"And Zen and Buddhism kind of meshed into one…and this is ironic, because Zen is a 'joyous faith' and Buddhism is pessimistic."
Gabriella couldn't concentrate anymore. She had tried for so long, but she simply couldn't keep her thoughts straight. It was because of her excitement. She was so excited to see Mrs. Williams next period, and to see what she thought about her portfolio.
Gabriella zoomed out of there when the bell finally rang for the next period. She was even the first one to enter Mrs. Williams' bright classroom.
"Hello there, Gabriella," Mrs. Williams greeted her genially. The tiny woman seemed to float effortlessly on air as she strolled tranquilly towards her star pupil. "How are you?"
"I'm fine, thank you," Gabriella responded courteously.
Gabriella couldn't help herself; she slipped her clean manila envelope out from her bag and set it confidently on the wooden table in front of Mrs. Williams, biting her lip in apprehension yet bubbling with enthusiasm and excitement inside as she stood to the side. Mrs. Williams took a few hesitant steps over towards the profile, gently dipping her hands into the folder and extracting an impressive stack of glossy, attractive photographs. Mrs. Williams fingered through them, not exhibiting any signs of either like or dislike. Her expression was so blank that Gabriella froze, suddenly thinking the worst.
Oh, no.
Mrs. Williams detested her photos, didn't she?
Mrs. Williams finally swiveled around to meet Gabriella's worrisome eyes, opening her sweet mouth tentatively.
"Gabriella, um, hun…. These are wonderful photographs. They are. They're just…"
"…Not good enough?" Gabriella completed the sentence weakly, her fingers tensing.
"Not good enough for the competition, not personal enough. They're too forgettable. You've got to do something new and meaningful, Gabriella. Something shocking but delightful. Don't be afraid to take giant risks and experiment. I've found that those can jumpstart you do amazing places. It's worth a shot," Mrs. Williams encouraged Gabriella her best without breaking her sensitive heart.
Disheartened, Gabriella stared glassily at the tiled floor.
"Gabriella, are you okay?" Mrs. Williams couldn't help but feel pity, and wished she hadn't said some of those things.
But Gabriella needed to learn.
And she would.
You're going to do better, Gabriella whispered in her mind. You're going to win.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Gabriella pressed forcefully, her voice refreshed. The tension in her muscles loosened, and she relaxed her stiff body posture. "I'll make you proud, Mrs. Williams."
"Please do," Mrs. Williams smiled.
Gabriella couldn't stand not doing her best, or failing people. Sure, she wouldn't be failing Mrs. Williams, but she still wanted to bring as much shine to the helpful woman as possible.