The blue eyes stared at the unwrapped red paper that now sat on his comforter.
A CD. That was what Gabriella left for him. Along with the CD was a typed letter. A letter Troy still hadn't opened.
Troy was nervous. Gabriella was an awesome person for giving Christmas gifts. She always gave gifts that held so much significance. The previous year, Gabriella had spent three months searching for a rare Michael Jordan basketball card. Only 100 of the cards had been put out onto the market. The brunette spent over 200 dollars on the single gift for the basketball fan, but it meant so much to him.
The chestnut colored hair was pushed back from his blue eyes as he looked in the direction of the framed basketball card, remembering the moment he opened the gift at his aunt's house. He had never received a gift that meant so much to him.
He remembered how beautiful Gabriella looked. He could still smell the lavender that lingered on her body as he pulled her body in for a hug. The brown locks curled loosely as they reached the middle of her back. Her tiny body was clad in a pair of skinny jeans which gave her bottom a perfect look. Her upper body snug in a gray cardigan. He remembered how beautiful she looked.
Troy was falling in love with his best friend. And he knew it was a bad thing considering he was still in a relationship with a certain green eyed girl. He would spend his class periods day dreaming about the small Latina. Imagining her body under his as the shared a moment that would last forever. Their bodies clad in only a sheet, as he would kiss her neck sweetly. His hands roaming her tiny body, as she would whisper sweet words into his ear.
The image of his best friend clad in only a sports bra and spandex kept entering his mind. Over and over again. Forgetting completely about the girl he had called his girlfriend for over six months now.
The blue eyes of the basketball player darted towards the stand that sat beside his bed. A red box sat on the edge of the table. Reaching over, the large hand of the basketball player grabbed it. He bought the perfect gift.
Opening the small red box. Troy's eyes widen at the site of the necklace that was in front of him. A single charm. A T. The T he would give to the girl he had been dating for over a period of six months. Placing the necklace back down on the stand, Troy sighed.
As the blue eyes scanned the letter Gabriella had surprised him with, he followed the simple instructions she had given him. Putting the CD in the player, and pushing pause as he continued to read what she had asked him to do.
Almost an hour later, tears seemed to pour from the blue eyes of the basketball captain. He didn't know why Gabriella had shared so much with him. He didn't know she had carried so much on her heart. And lastly, he didn't know how he was going to respond to her. He couldn't text her after what his eyes had just read. He didn't know how to respond to the openness of her letter. The simple fact that Gabriella had opened up to him sent sparks through his body. He now knew what he was truly feeling.
He knew he was in love with Gabriella Montez.
"He's a fucking asshole,"
The angry voice of the small Latina girl filled large Evans' house as she vented about the certain blue eyed boy who still hadn't contacted her about the letter she gave to him only the night before.
"He didn't say anything?" The blonde questioned as the brunette paced back and forth, burning a hole in the pink carpet of the young actress' room.
"He said he would text me when he . And he didn't. Fuck him," The fuming girl said as she angrily flinched her tiny fist into a ball in her hand.
"Calm down, Gabs."
"Don't fucking tell me to clam down. I'm pissed. I poured my fucking heart out to him, told him I was in love with him and he didn't say anything to me. Nothing. Fuck him, just fuck him," The angry seemed to seep through the veins of the Latina as she shuffled her feet.
"Maybe he did text you and you didn't get it," The blonde tried hopelessly as the brunette fumed with anger in the large mansion.
"Trust me, I thought he died. I mean, who would be that big of an asshole to ignore something like that? Then I put two and two together and just realized, hmm, maybe he is just like every one says, an asshole. Yup, that seems about right," The voice of the Latina muttered as she crossed her arms, her dark eyes looking in the direction of the blonde that sat on the giant bed.
"Have you tried talking to him?" A scoff exited the mouth of the Latina. She waved her calloused hand dramatically, her brown eyes rolling as she did.
"Fuck that and him," She said rudely, flipping her brown hair over her shoulders. "He and Marissa and fucking be happy together. Fuck them both,"
"Common Gabs, aren't you being a little irrational?" The blonde questioned as the brown eyes the brunette shot a glare in the direction of the Drama Club president.
"Irrational? I'm being irrational, Sharpay? Coming from the person who actually thought they were on Punk'd. Shut the fuck up," Taken back by the comment herself, the brunette's eyes soften a bit as the blonde's matching orbs, widened. The expressions of the brunette soften, her angry lowering a bit as she apologized to her best girlfriend. "I didn't mean that, Shar,"
Plopping down on the giant pink comforter next to the blonde, Gabriella looked at her best friend, a look crossed her face, a look of sympathy.
"I know, I'm just trying to help," She reminded the brunette softly.
"I know, and I was an asshole for going off on you like that. I just… wish I knew what Troy was thinking right now," The brunette admitted, her mind wondering back to the fact that Troy still hadn't given her a response to her heart pouring letter.
"I wanna know too!" The actress exclaimed, a giggle escaping her glossed lips.
"We'll find out tomorrow when I go over to his aunt's house… if I still do, that is," She said softly, her fingers twisting around the others like a pretzel. A nervous habit she had picked up on.
"Don't worry about it, Gabs," The voice tried to sooth the brunette. But all Gabriella could do was worry. She worried how Troy felt. She worried if Troy had even opened the gift. She worried if she didn't feel the same. She worried about everything. She worried their friendship was ruined. She couldn't not worry.
"Troy, are you okay?"
The small question that escaped the brunette's lips broke the silence that had settled between the couple. The question brought Troy out of the trance he was in. His blue eyes looked in the direction of the girl who sat next to him on the gray couch that was in the middle of the Miller's living room. Marissa's green eyes connected with Troy's blue eyes.
It hadn't been twenty-four hours since Troy had read the letter Gabriella had poured her heart out in. He hadn't contacted her like he said he would. He didn't know how to respond to her. He didn't know how to tell her he loved her back. And right now, he didn't know how to tell Marissa. His heart was thumping inside of his built chest as he looked in the direction of the brunette who sat beside him.
"What? Huh, yeah I'm fine babe," Troy reassured in a small monotone voice, flipping through the book that sat on his lap. His blue eyes looked back down in the lap where his book sat, as he avoided the stare that Marissa was sending him, he scribbled down various answers to the questions the teacher had given him over the Christmas break.
"Are you sure? You've been acting a little weird lately," The girl concluded, closing the trigonometry book that sat on her tiny lap. The blue eyes closed slightly, taking a small breath in, Troy copied her actions, closing the book that sat in front of him.
"I'm fine," Troy retorted, taking a small pause, his usually sexy voice laced with a small sense of annoyance. "I've just got a lot on my mind, that's all," Gabriella. The letter. Her. His heart. He loved her. He was IN love with her.
"You can talk to me about it, Troy," She said softly, as Troy felt the small hand of the brunette cover his much larger one, a tiny spark sent through his body. He noted that her hand was smooth, unlike the one of his best friend. Gabriella's had was calloused from all the several of years of gymnastics she took before she became completely focused on track. His mind darted to the Latina that had been on his mind constantly.
He glanced at the small girl that sat next to him on the couch, noting that the girl who sat next to him wasn't Gabriella. It wasn't the girl he wanted to scoop up into his arms. The green eyes that he stared into made his insides tingle. Something didn't feel right and that was the only thing he needed. A sign.
A small smile crossed the lips of the basketball captain as his left hand connected with the side of the smooth face of the brunette's. His thumb rubbed the small cheek, watching as the green eyes flickered with happiness. The weak smile that was placed on the lips of the basketball player vanished as he leaned in to connect their lips together in a small embrace. Something still didn't feel right to Troy. His lips disconnected from Marissa's almost instantly as he felt a drop in his stomach. This was it. The sign. Now he knew what had to be done. And he had to do it now.
"Actually, I have to talk to you about something," His voice cracked as his blue eyes avoided the brunette's stare. Her green eyes searching for something as Troy's mood shifted. The nerves that were in the pit of his stomach seemed to be overcome him. The sweat that was building on his forehead giving him a more evident reason to be nervous. The smooth hand that was placed on his was pulled back, leaving the hand of the basketball player some what cold.
"I don't like the sound of that Troy," Marissa's soft voice was laced with the same nervousness that Troy's mind was holding. Her green eyes searched for the bright blue eyes that she fell in love with.
"Me either, Marissa." Those three words shook Marissa's heart and sent it down to the floor, where Troy's foot would stomp on it. Repeatedly. A lump began to form in the throat of the boy Gabriella was inlove with and the boy Marissa was falling in love with.
"Troy, what is it?" Her voice became shaky as she was hoping for an answer that wouldn't disappoint her. Her heart beating faster than a car that would be speeding down a highway.
"I need time," Troy said softly, closing his eyes to avoid the look that Marissa would be giving him. "I have so much on my mind… I just I can't,"
"What… are you saying?" She said softly, shaking her head. A small tear falling from her beautiful eyes.
"I..it's just, I.. it's different when I kiss you now," The voice that filled the air was weak, as he stumbled for the right words to say. As he struggled to say the right thing, he fought the looks that Marissa was sending to him. "It's just, there used to be a spark, and now," He said with a disappointed voice, for the first time, looking into the green eyes. The green eyes that he loved were now filled with a set of tears. The giant green orbs brimmed with water as the words left Troy's mouth. "I don't know, it's not the same," He concluded softly.
"I understand," She said copying the same tone Troy held in his voice, pushing back the shiny piece of brown hair that hung down from her bun that was on the side of her head. As Troy parted his lips to speak again, he looked in the direction of the girl that he had deiced himself to for over six months. "You should go," Her voice cracked slightly, as she pushed herself up from the current position on the gray couch. Her voice seemed to be laced with a simple coldness that he had only encountered once in their relationship when they had gotten into a fight about something so simple. Spending the night at Gabriella's house.
"Please don't be mad at me," Troy begged as he followed her reactions, quickly grabbing the books that sat on the couch, removing himself from the current position on the comfy piece of furniture. His smooth hand reached for the arm of the girl, she pulled away slightly. She turned her head, ignoring the simple touch that Troy longed for. His blue eyes filled with sadness as she walked to the near by door that led to the cool brisk December air. Her hand landed on the door knob, twisting it slightly. The brunette turned her head slightly in the direction of the beautiful boy that stood dumbfound in her living room.
"Be honest with me, Troy," Her voice seemed to be filled with tears as her green eyes turned to connect with the sad blue eyes across the room. She was going to ask a question she already knew the answer to. She knew right away what the answer was going to be. Before she even knew the boy she had dated for six months, she knew the answer. And this hurt her heart. "Is it Gabriella?"
This struck Troy. It threw him off guard. He felt the food in his stomach do a complete barrel roll as the words left the girl's mouth. It hit him like a ton of bricks. It was like a chair had been ripped out from underneath him, because the answer is yes. As Troy reminded silent, Marissa's gorgeous eyes began to overflow with a salty substance, tiny droplets falling down her cheek. The door that the tiny brunette stood at opened, a cool breeze hitting her as she did. The silence that settled between them was the answer Marissa needed to hear.
"I'll see you at school Troy, goodnight." She said quietly, motioning to the wooden door that Troy had entered only about an hour ago.
"I'm sorry," The two words that escaped Troy's lips burned a giant hole in Marissa's heart. She knew it was going to come to this. She knew that Gabriella was what Troy really wanted. She knew that Troy loved his best friend. And he did.
"Bye Troy. Merry Christmas," The voice said meekly, yet in a cold way as the basketball player walked past the tiny body, the smell that entered his nose was not that smell he was used to. The smell of lavender, the smell of his best friend.
The wooden door closed behind his body, leaving him to walk to his truck in the dark December night, which was unusual for him. In the past six months, Troy had always had company on the way to his beat up old truck. The green eyed brunette would always be smiling, as she walked her attractive boyfriend to his gray vehicle. Leaving him in his truck for a long drawn out goodbye kiss. But this night, Troy concluded. This night was different for so many reasons.
Troy no longer had the company of Marissa Miller anymore. Troy was no longer in a relationship. Troy no longer had to suppress the feelings he had for his best friend anymore.