Chapter 25: Together But Apart at the Same Time
"So, What's up with you tonight?" Troy asked after a long while of them both silently walking. They were in Chad's backyard, getting some 'air'. So far nothing much had really happened. Gabriella had been lost in thought since dinner.
"Nothing." Gabby shook her head, watching her feet hit the grass in front of her. "I'm just thinking." She told him. Leaning into him while they walked.
"Why does that scare me?" Troy looked down at her.
"Me thinking scares you?" Gabriella smiled up at him. "Why would that scare you?"
He shrugged. "I don't know," he said. He was silent for a moment. "Seriously, you've been quiet all night, is something wrong?" he sounded concerned.
"I don't know…" she sighed, wanting to tell him what was on her mind. She wasn't sure how he would react.
"What is it?" Troy asked. He rubbed her arm comfortingly with the hand that was around her.
Gabriella bit her lip nervously. "Troy, do you think that…we spend too much time together? She asked, finally getting it out.
"Too much time together?" Troy repeated. "I don't think so." He replied. "Why would you say that?"
Gabby sighed, hating how perfectly comfortable and happy he sounded. "I don't know," she said. "Don't you just think that maybe we're starting to become one of those couples who only hang out with each other and end up losing all of their friends, because they all get sick of how annoying and cute they are?" she said quickly, realizing what she was saying, and how bad things really were.
"Whoa, why are you freaking out about this?" Troy stopped and looked at her carefully.
"I don't know!" she said quickly. She stopped and took a deep breath. "I just really don't want to end up like that." She said much more calmly.
"Well neither to I." Troy told her. He was suddenly freaked out too.
"Okay what do we do?" she asked him desperately.
"Um, I don't know." Troy replied. "How about we just calm down first okay?" he put his hands on her shoulders. "It's going to be okay." He told her with a smile.
"No it's not." Gabby shook her head wildly. "Everyone knows it Troy! Even I do, though I wish I could just ignore it." She sighed.
"Why is this such a big deal?" he asked her gently, noticing that she was calming down a bit.
Gabby shrugged. "I don't know." she shook her head to herself. "I just don't want everyone to think that…." She trailed off. "I don't even know." she was confused.
"Gabby what's really going on here?" Troy looked at her. "You've never cared what anyone thought before. Not in all of the time that I've known you." He told her. "Why now?"
Gabriella grabbed both of his hands and held them down at their waists. "Look I know that you don't think I mean this, but I do." She told him seriously. "I've seen it before with my sister. Her and guy number whatever are always happy and apparently in love, but then they get sick of each other." She shook her head again. "I just don't want that to happen."
"Well I really don't think that we are like your sister and 'guy number whatever'. At all." Troy told her.
"Okay, that was an exaggeration." Gabriella sighed. "But that doesn't mean it can't happen." She added.
"Alright… I don't know who put these thoughts into your head and freaked you out…." He said. "But what is it that you want to do about this?"
Gabriella couldn't help but give a small smile at how trusting he was of her. "This is going to sound weird, but I think maybe, we should try to spend some time apart." She told him, still holding both of his hands. "You know, being together but apart at the same time?" she added.
"Are you serious?" Troy asked, openly shocked.
"Troy, we spend every single night together, don't you think we can cut that down…just a little?" Gabby asked.
"I guess…" Troy was finding this kind of hard to get his head around.
Gabriella lifted one of her hands to his cheek and smiled. "Just so you know, this is in no way me breaking up with you in any way at all." She moved in close and gave him a soft kiss. "I love you." She told him.
Troy shook his head. "Why do I have the feeling that this isn't going to last long?" he joked.
"Are you suggesting that I can't stay away from you?" Gabby laughed.
"I don't know." He shrugged. "Maybe." He told her. "But maybe I don't think I can stay away form you." He pulled her in all the way, by the waist.
Gabriella pushed away. "Well that's too bad, because as of now…we are taking some space." She said with a smirk.
"Whatever you say." Troy shrugged, smirking back.
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On Monday, Chad, Troy and Jason sat together at one end off the staff table. Every kid enrolled in basketball camp was currently eating lunch. This was the only time of the day when they three guys could hang out.
"So Chad, tonight we're still on right?" Jason asked his friend before biting into his sandwich.
"Yeah man." Chad nodded happily.
"What's going on? Troy asked. "And why am I not invited?" he added. He got a strange look from both of his friends. "What?" he asked carefully.
"Sorry…" Chad let out a laugh. "We didn't really think to bother asking you to tell you the truth." He sipped his iced tea. "You're always with Gabriella."
"Yeah." Jason agreed. "Don't even bother to argue that.
Troy couldn't help but laugh at them. "Not tonight." He told them.
"What?" Chad and Jason both said at the same time.
"Tonight." Troy repeated himself. "I'm not hanging out with Gabby."
"But why not?" Chad asked quickly. "Did you guys break up?" he seemed panicked.
"No." Troy answered quickly. "Not at all. We're just taking a little space from each other." He shrugged.
"Why?" Jason asked for both himself and Chad, who had a confused look on his face.
"Gabby is scared that we're going to get sick of each other, resulting in us hating each other and breaking up." Troy informed them.
"And you agree with that?" Chad asked, raising his eyebrows.
"I don't know." Troy really wasn't sure about any of this. He shrugged. "I don't think it's going to last very long anyways…"
"Because you can't stay away from each other?" Chad asked jokingly, causing Jason to burst into laughter.
"Yeah." Troy nodded.
"Well what if she's just trying to push you away or something?" Jason asked.
"What do you mean?" Troy was confused.
Jason shrugged. "I don't know, you're just very trusting of her, that's all." He said.
"What reason do I have to not trust her?" he asked both of them.
"Gabriella is a beautiful girl Troy, she's bound to get…distracted. If you know what I mean." Chad informed him. "Just don't give her too much space okay?"
The two of them had gotten Troy not so happy about what was going on right now. What if Gabriella really was pushing him away? What if he was letting her, and she ended up going off with some other guy. The whole thing sounded nothing like her at all, but for some reason it made Troy nervous. Until he thought about how she had specifically told him that she was not breaking up with him. She loved him.
"Yeah I know." Troy nodded to his friend.
"Good." Jason said happily. "So if you're really cool with that, then tonight we're devoting ourselves to doing everything without the girls." He started.
"Every time we try to have a guys night, we somehow end up bumping into them, or one of them getting bored and dragging all of them over." Chad went on. "But tonight that is not going to happen." He said proudly.
"Sounds good." Troy smiled. He could use a night with the guys
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"So Gabs, how's the whole space thing going?" Taylor asked the next day while they rolled cutlery and shined glasses, getting ready for the afternoon.
"Well it only started last night, so I'm not really sure." Gabriella smiled.
"Hm…" Taylor was thoughtful. "I don't think this whole thing is going to last long at all." She shook her head to herself.
"That is exactly what Troy said." Gabby pointed her glass at her best friend. "Why do you both have such little faith in this one tiny thing?" she asked.
"Because Gabby, the fact is that you and Troy simply can't stay away from each other." Taylor informed her. "Even when you hated him after Chad and my plan to split you up. You guys weren't speaking for what, two days tops?" she laughed lightly as she finished.
"Maybe," Gabriella nodded along with that. It was perfectly true. "But we weren't really trying those other times. So I think we can do it." She smiled.
"Alright, whatever you say." Taylor shrugged.
Tristan came over before Gabby could say more. "Want to load me up, I'm setting tables." He told them, waiting for one of them to hand him some cutlery.
"Um, we're not really finished, but that's what we have done." Taylor pointed to the bin off to one side of Gabriella, filled with the cutlery they had already put into the white linen napkins.
"Perfect." Tristan smiled. "Maybe you guys should stop talking and you'll get things done a whole lot faster." He added before waltzing over to the bin. Taylor glared after him and Gabriella couldn't help but wince. Taylor and Tristan hadn't exactly hit it off so far. Taylor didn't like the strange sense of humor he had, the one that Gabby was still trying to get used to.
"Here I'll help you." Gabriella told him, knowing that she and Taylor had already rolled more than enough sets of cutlery for the tables. Now they all had to be set and that would get done a whole lot faster if she helped Tristan. She could feel Taylor roll her eyes at that. Taylor didn't understand how Gabby could stand being around Tristan.
"I don't think I really need much help." He told her.
Gabriella raised her eyebrows. "Well that depends on how long you want to be setting the tables." She replied.
"Okay, if you insist." Tristan said oddly, picking up some cutlery and walking off.
Gabby watched him leave before grabbing a bunch of the rolls herself. She went to the opposite side of the restaurant, moving towards the middle. Tristan was doing the same thing. They both ended up at a large table in the middle, sharing the job of placing the cutlery, glasses and plates.
"Okay what is with you today?" Tristan asked after a while.
"What are you talking about?" Gabriella looked at him challengingly.
He gave her a weird look. "I feel like you're following me."
"That's only because you keep running away." Gabby replied smoothly, crossing her arms in the process.
"Let me rephrase my question then." Tristan shot back just as smoothly. "What do you want?" he asked. "I know there's something.
Gabriella couldn't help but smile at that. She knew she was annoying him and she was sort of having fun doing it. "Are you still wanting to hear my side of 'the story'?" she asked, looking at him for a reply.
Tristan simply shrugged. "Sure." He said easily. "Though I'm pretty sure that it's never going to happen since after work you're either going to meet your boyfriend or he'll come here to meet you." He added.
Gabby shook her head. She knew he'd say something like that. "Not tonight." She told him, going back to placing plates on the table.
"Why not?" Tristan asked. He was completely interested in what she had just said.
Gabriella gave him a look as if to mind his own business. "I'm giving you what you wanted." She told him. "So take it or leave it." She added.
"Well then I guess I can't refuse can I?" Tristan said with a smirk.
"I wouldn't advise it." Gabriella replied.
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"I'm starving." Chad groaned that afternoon.
"I'm tired." Jason added.
"Let's go then." Troy laughed at them both. Neither of them argued with him. The three of them got into their separate cars since that was the way they had come that morning. Chad's house wasn't far. Soon they were in the cool air-conditioned house, lounging on the couches in the living room.
"Hello boys." Chad's mom smiled at the three of them when she walked through the living room. "You're looking bored."
"Not bored, relaxed." Chad corrected his mother.
"Oh, I see." She raised her eyebrows and shook her head lightly. "No girls tonight?" she asked. She had gotten used to seeing the whole group of them around here.
"Nope." Chad told her. "We're having a girl free night. Taylor and Sharpay are shopping or something, who knows. Kelsi has apparently locked herself into her room until she finishes the first act of her play, and Troy and Gabriella are giving each other some space." He explained.
"Alright." His mother nodded calmly, not asking him to explain any of that further. "Well your father and I are having guests for dinner, so if you wouldn't mind moving your girl free selves down to the basement…" she laughed lightly at her comment before heading towards the doorway.
"Sure mom." Chad called to her as she left. "So what do you guys want to do?" he asked his friends when she was fully gone. Both of them looked thoughtful.
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"So Gabs, Sharpay and I are going shopping, want to come along. I mean since you don't have anything planned tonight?" Taylor asked her just as they finished their shifts at the restaurant that day. They were both in the back, getting rid of the restaurant shirts for the day.
"Actually, I do have plans now." Gabriella told her.
"I knew the whole space thing wouldn't last long." Taylor rolled her eyes, smiling at how right she was.
Gabby shook her head. "No, not with Troy." She told her best friend.
Taylor looked shocked. "Well who with then?" she wasn't sure who else Gabby would be hanging out with.
"Um…" Gabriella started. The door opened and Tristan came in, causing her to immediately stop. Taylor noticed this right away.
"Are you good to go?" he asked, turning his eyes to Gabriella.
"Uh…yeah." Gabby picked up her purse. "Just give me a minute." She told him.
"Sure." Tristan shrugged. "I'll be out front." He went back out the door he had come from.
Taylor immediately turned to Gabby, who was apparently avoiding looking at her friend, knowing exactly what reaction she would have. "Tristan?" she asked to make sure. "Gabby you're hanging out with Tristan?" she asked, a bit of disgust in her voice.
"Not exactly…" Gabriella attempted to explain herself. All she got was a look from Taylor. "Look, apparently he's a good friend of Ben's and he's been away for a while." She shrugged. "He just wants to know what's been going on while he was gone." She told Taylor.
"So why doesn't he ask Ben then if they're such good friends?" Taylor asked with her arms crossed.
"I think he already did…I don't know." Gabby shrugged again. "Okay, can you please stop looking at me like that?" she said.
"Fine." Taylor stopped. "Can I just remind you though, that you have a boyfriend?" she added.
"Yes, I know that okay?" Gabby was getting frustrated with her. "This is nowhere near being a date, at all." She assured her friend. "I don't even like Tristan." She finished.
"Okay, just stick to that then." Taylor decided to drop it. "But if you finish your little story time early, call me okay? We haven't hung out in a while." She smiled at Gabby.
"Definitely." Gabby smiled back at her friend. "I'll see you later okay." She gave her a hug.
"Bye." Taylor watched her go, wondering what trouble this was going to cause.
Gabriella went out the same doors that Tristan had gone through. She didn't see him anywhere in the restaurant so she figured he was outside. The heat and sun hit her as soon as she went outside. "Hey." She greeted him when she saw him leaning against the wall. "Ready." She said.
"Where do you want to go?" Tristan asked her, squinting slightly from the sun.
"I don't know." Gabby replied. "Somewhere outside, I feel like some fresh air." She told him.
"I think I know a good place then." Tristan said with a smile.
The two of them went to Gabriella's car. She wasn't sure where he wanted to go, so she let him give her directions. She followed them carefully, and ended up in the parking lot of a large park. There was a playground off to one side, with a bunch of kids playing on it. Gabriella could see pathways, where people were jogging and walking dogs.
"How have I never seen this?" she asked while she got out.
Tristan shrugged. "I don't know. Look good to you?" he asked her. "I was thinking we could just go sit on a bench somewhere."
"Sounds good to me." She replied. The two of them set off on one of the pathways. Gabby could feel the sun on her back and the fresh air making its way into her lungs. It was a perfect afternoon. Not far down the path they found a nice place to sit. The bench was partially shady.
"So…" Tristan began. He looked over at her.
"Oh right, my story." Gabriella nodded. "Well, what do you want to know?" she asked him.
"I don't know." Tristan shrugged. "Tell me what happened with Ben and Troy." He said, waiting for her to start.
Gabriella looked at him before she started. This wasn't the same Tristan she saw at work every day. Normally, she could only tolerate him for a small amount of time. He was hard to talk to, with his odd jokes and comments that tended to partially offend her. But right now he was calm, quiet and ready to listen. Apparently she was seeing his soft side. It caused her to tell him everything that happened from the time she had met Ben, up until she had finally chosen Troy. He didn't say a word the whole time, but listened carefully while she talked.
Gabriella sighed when she was done. "Not exactly the greatest memories." She said to finish.
"Yeah I guess." Tristan spoke his first words in a while. "Well you guys definitely aren't exaggerating when you say that it's a long story." He tried cheering her up a bit.
Gabriella smiled. "I was expecting you to ask why I did what I did." She said, wondering why he wasn't.
"I guess I'm still trying to figure some things out." He confessed, giving a shrug. He saw her lean back against the seat of the bench, staring ahead. "Thanks for telling me." He told her after a moment.
"No problem." Gabriella told him. She found herself wondering what had made her tell someone that she barely knew, one of the things she had decided to never talk about.
Tristan seemed to sense her sudden discomfort. "Look, I know this is probably the last thing you want to do right now." he told her. "But I'm supposed to be meeting Ben for coffee." He went on. "Feel like tagging along?" he asked.
Gabby's mind briefly flicked back to the warning Taylor had given her before she had left the restaurant with him. She knew Troy probably wouldn't like this. But then she realized how a while ago, she had decided that she wasn't to stay friends with Ben. So far, she hadn't seen much of him. "Sure." She decided there was nothing wrong with this.
"Alright." Tristan got up from the bench. "Let's go then."
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"This might sound pathetic, but I don't know how much longer I can stay awake." Chad yawned. He leaned his head against the back of the couch.
"Yeah, I'm feeling the exhaustion too." Troy said tiredly.
"Come on guys, the night is young." Jason said, immediately laughing at himself. "Let's go get some fresh air or coffee or something." He suggested.
"Coffee sounds perfect." Troy spoke up immediately.
"I agree." Chad yawned again. "Let's get going."
The three of them dragged themselves upstairs and out the front door. Chad called to his parents, telling them the three of them would be out for a bit. The older couple barely noticed, since they were busy entertaining their guests. They walked happily to the coffee shop, feeling more awake just by getting out of Chad's basement. They had been staring at videogames and movies for hours.
"So Troy, you still good with the whole space thing?" Chad asked as they walked through the doors of the coffee shop.
"Sure. It's not too bad." Troy shrugged, still smiling.
"That's good." Chad was happy that Troy was okay with everything. It was so much easier this way.
Jason, who was walking ahead of them, suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. "Uh, Troy…" he started, looking back at his friend.
"What?" Troy asked quickly, seeing the look on Jason's face.
"I have a feeling you suddenly aren't going to like this space thing anymore." Jason told him, shaking his head slightly.
"Why not?" Troy was more confused now then ever.
Jason didn't say a word, he just pointed to the other side of the room, where, at one of the tables sat Ben, Tristan and Gabriella. The smile vanished off of Troy's face in an instant.
Yeah, any shred of liking toward Gabby's whole space idea was completely gone now.