We Love Pretending

Chapter 25 - Windows To Her Life.

"See, that wasn't that bad, was it?" Gabriella joked as she walked with Troy, hand in hand down the path to get to the car. He glanced sideways at her, and nearly gasped at the beauty he saw before him. The wind blowing delightfully through her hair, making it flow like the ribbons of a kite in the air. The smile settled permanently on her face, grinning wildly and making Troy smile with her. And those chocolate pools in which you could drown in, get lost in her gorgeous features and forget what had just been said.

Like right now.

"Do I have something on my face?" Gabriella's anxious voice sent him out of his reverie, and saw Gabriella patting her face, trying to find a mark that wasn't there.

He smiled, bringing her hand from her face and kissing the palm lightly. "No, darling. Just those beautiful features of yours."

He watched that delicious blush of hers appear immediately on her cheeks. It rested there for a moment, before fading, leaving her with a tiny pink glow. She looked breathtaking.

They settled into the car, buckling up, with the driver leading them home. During the journey, Gabriella asked her question again. "So, how did you find it?"

It was plainly obvious to Troy that she wanted him to enjoy himself, to feel like part of their family and be welcomed. One look into her large eyes and you could see that. It was adorable. And Troy wasn't going to lie, he'd not felt that much at home in a long time. He smiled to Gabriella, watching her eyes light up. "It was awesome. A great night, don't you think?"

He watched her smile enlarge. "It was a great night, I agree. We should do it again sometime?" She stated, but asked more like a question.

He nodded, taking her hand in his and squeezing it to confirm. "I'd love that. It felt… homely, you know. Fantastic."

She looked down, and then he felt their fingers become entwined. He smiled; he liked it this way. "Catherine was nice."

She looked up at him once more, still smiling. "Oh yes, I've not seen her in the longest time. It was nice to meet up again, a lovely surprise. It's a wonder she's even here at all." She added quietly to herself, although Troy heard it as well.

His eyebrow arched. "How come?"

She looked to gaze out of the window. The London shops and sights flew past, each making there map on Troy's eyes and brain. He loved this city, it's boldness and culture. It was, to him, beautiful, even with all the noise and busyness. But Gabriella looked past all this, a look of deep concentration on her face, and then decided to tell him.

"It was a long time ago,' She started, her gaze still outside, 'she had just came out of a bad relationship. She was broken, deeply. And we tried to help her. I'd just started in this business, on tour all the time, soaking up the enthusiasm of my small fan base which just kept getting bigger and bigger. I never really understood the size of her problems when everything around me was growing larger by the second. And then… she started…to self harm."

Troy suddenly felt the air turn grey and the car seem to become silent. She looked to him, pain shooting through her eyes. "I've always felt responsible. I should have been there to help her, but I was too caught up in everything. Too selfobessed. So, when I found out, I ran to her, straight away. But it was nearly too late. She'd been rushed to hospital, ended up getting stitches in the… marks she'd made, and her stomach pumped to get rid of the overdose of alcohol. It was one of the most terrible nights of my life, and ever since then, I've tried to stay really close to her, never looked at a razor the same way again, and only in company I am sure of I drink. I don't want to take any chances, and neither does she."

The story was clearly finished, and by the look in Gabriella's eyes he could tell she'd found it hard to tell him. In her back of his mind he was still trying to figure out how that could have happened to the sweet, caring girl he'd met just hours ago. It didn't make any sense. He looked back at Gabriella, noticing suddenly how she'd seemed to grow much more tired in the last few minutes. But soon she smiled and all worries vanished. She, his Gabriella, was back.

He held his hand the rest of the journey, letting her head drop to his shoulder and rest there, him occasionally kissing her head in comfort. The car came to a stand still and the driver came out, walked around and pulled open the door. They stepped out, the wind whipping around them. He looked at her, feeling that she was stronger than she had ever been in her life, and she turned to smile at him. Still as beautiful.

He was dragged in the direction of the house quickly. Their hands stayed connected like they were glued together, but neither minded. Then Gabriella stopped, her feet seeming to stick to the ground.

"What's wrong?" Concern laced his tone.

He followed her gaze, into the twilight, and over to the other side of the garden, behind Gabriella's little cottage, where he had never seen or been before. It seemed like it was just grass, but Gabriella's glint in her eyes suggested it was much more.

"What's over there?" He asked.

She looked up at him, smirking. "You want to see?"

He nodded, and was dragged in that direction, him following behind. Her feet seemed to dance on air while he dragged behind, like a dog who really didn't want to walk. Once they got to that side, Gabriella's eyes wandered to one of the large windows in the other mansion-like building. Sure enough, an elderly lady was sitting in a small chair, a book on her lap, watching intently.

Gabriella leant into him. "Pretend you haven't seen her."

He nodded, and Gabriella placed him on a spot on the grass. She smiled, "Okay, you are to stand right here. Don't you dare move, or you won't know what's hit you, and I really mean that." The glint in her eye told him that what she said was true, so he didn't dare move. He just watched her skip across the grass, to a flower bed on the other side of the garden. She bent down, her hand outstretched, and suddenly without any warning, water was shooting everywhere around him.

He laughed, for where he was standing he couldn't get wet. He was standing completely in the centre of a circle of tiny water fountains that were planted in the grass below his feet. He saw through the watery haze Gabriella's perfect form coming closer, laughing in amazement at his reaction. He outstretched his hand, the water droplets leaking onto his fingertips as he beckoned her forward. He watched her eye the water anxiously, then shake her head and leapt forward, right into his arms, laughing her angelic laugh all the way. He spun her around, letting the water splash both their bodies, then lowered her to the ground. Looking up, he saw the old lady smile admiringly at them both, no doubt reminiscing about the old times. Gabriella waved to her, before running about in the water once more.

She had never looked more beautiful in his eyes. The way the water soaked her every skin cell, making her dress cling to her curves, astounded him. He was left speechless, looking at her glorious form, and watching her smile as she ran in and out of the little fountains getting more and more wet. Now, she was his water angel.

She caught his eye, walking forward, until there noses touched. She sighed, inhaling his scent, and running her hands sensually all over his soaking hair, alighting a moan from his mouth.

And then they kissed.

.-- :) --.

When Gabriella awoke the next morning, wrapped up securely in a fluffy white towelled dressing gown, she remembered what had happened last night with all the water. Giggling, she stretched out, and came tumbling off the sofa she was stretched out on. She groaned, her hands and arms tangled against the rest of her body, unable to move. She then felt two strong and loving arms creep under her body, the person laughing at her clumsiness as he lifted her back into the sofa. And right onto his lap.

She buried her face into the crook of his neck. "How did I end up here?"

He laughed, kissing her strawberry smelling hair. "Well, that is a question. After the whole water incident, I carried you in here, where you insisted on having a shower. Then you came down, all in the towel, cuddled up to me and started snoring."

She blushed. "Sorry." She muttered.

He smiled, bringing her face up to his, their noses touching. "You know, It was so enjoyable, you don't even have to apologize.

She smacked his arm, leaving a stinging sensation in her tiny palm. "Shut up!"

He chuckled, then kissed her straight on the mouth, something that she definitely hadn't expected. It took her a little bit of time to adjust; he'd never been that straight forward before, but she soon escaped into his mouth, his arms taking her weight on his lap.

Then the phone rang.

They both groaned, unlatching their mouths, smiling shyly at one another. Stretching over Troy's body, trying her best to make sure she was securely covered with her dressing gown - she didn't think there was anything underneath - and grabbed the phone, pressing it to her ear.

"'Ello?" She said, groggily.

A sweet laugh sounded from the other end. "Well, don't you sound cheery." Kelsi said enthusiastically.

"You sure have great timing, you know that?" Gabriella mentally glared at Kelsi through the phone.

Kelsi laughed once more. "Oh, sorry. Was I interrupting a make out session?"

Gabriella got off of Troy's lap, much to his dismay, and made her way through to the kitchen, opening the fridge and finding some juice. "What's up, Kelsi?"

Kelsi paused. "Well, we have a deadline."

Gabriella stood still. Crap, crap, crap. She knew things were heating up, needing to get an album out soon. But not this soon. It was all too fast. She heard Kelsi start to explain. "…and I know we haven't been in the studio yet, but I need to there tomorrow, first thing, all day. We need to get all your tracks down, and quickly, but in a good way. We don't want your fans to think this was rushed, even though I'm sure it was,' Kelsi laughed ironically. 'So, basically, use today well, get another couple of songs done, work through the night if you have too! I'll see you tomorrow, in the studio at eight. You better have been working Montez!"

And then the line went dead.

She must have stood still for about five minutes, not moving at all. The phone hung dead inher hand until she felt Troy's fingers take it off her, put it on the table behind her and wrap his arms securely around her.

"What's wrong?" He asked with a worried expression.

She blinked her eyes furiously. "Deadline." was all she muttered.

Without thinking she struggled from his arms shouting behind her that she was going for a shower, and ran up the stairs, locking herself in the bathroom. After quickly showering, she wrapped herself up again, running to her bedroom. Throwing open her wardrobe doors, she pulled out some old sweats and a stringy tee. After dragging them onto her still wet body, not worrying about the wet patches she will have, she opened the door again, only to find Troy standing in front of it. She tried to push past him, but he grabbed her arms, stopping her.

He gaze was firm, and she locked eyes with him, listening to him talk. "Gabriella, you need to breath. Breath honey, or you won't get any work done. I'm willing to help you, that's what friends do right? But you have to trust me. Believe me, I know where you're gonna go. Into that room that you lock yourself away in. Now, I don't know what you hide in there, but because I'm going to help, you've got to let me in there. Calm down, and let me help and support you."

She released a breath she never knew she was holding and relaxed into his firm arms. Taking his hand, she walked along the hall, glancing up at him suspiciously, not knowing whether this would work or not. She sighed, there wasn't any other way. She needed to get more songs and her head wasn't in the right place. She didn't have any more ideas. She needed him to help her.

They reached the door, and Gabriella paused before getting the key. She turned it in the lock and the familiar click sounded. Before opening she spun around to look at Troy.

"Okay. You have to know that I've never, ever let anyone else in here. It's sort of… sacred, I guess. I don't want this area tainted. This is my writing area, I can't really write anywhere else. It's very… precious to me, so if I tell you not to touch something, you don't okay?"

He smiled down at her, and nodded.

Then she opened the door.

He gasped, unable to really think. It was definitely bright. Stepping inside, and closing the door, Gabriella stood at his side while he gaped at her room. The ceiling was a bright yellow, the sunlight shining through the room making it even more vivid. One wall was a bright turquoise, almost the same colour as he eyes, he knew. Then, the other three walls in this large square room her covered with pictures. Lots of pictures of her family; friends; her mother; her grandfather, he supposed; and even some of other people he never knew personally but had seen in the papers or television - the people she admired. He walked forward, careful not to fall into any of the colourful beanbags that rested on the floor. He walked around the room a few times, with Gabriella standing in the middle watching him intently.

Then he turned to her, seeing her with a pen and paper in her hand. "This is… amazing." was all he could manage.

He watched her smile shyly in reply. "It's special because these people, some I know well, some I've only met once and some I don't know at all, these people are my inspiration, people I love and admire."

She walked over to him. "See this picture,' She pointed to one of the pictures on the wall. In the middle was Gabriella, standing beside a bed in which lay an old man, smiling up at the camera weakly, like those were his last hours of life. She explained the picture. 'That was the grandfather I was telling you about. He was amazing, a real man. He showed me I could have the world if I knew how to grab it, you know. He helped me to where I am today, and this picture I always look at if I doubt myself." A tear went down her cheek as she spoke, it was clear he meant a lot to her. He walked on in silence, with her following behind.

"And this one,' She pointed to another. He recognised that face well. 'Even though I hate him now, he was still a part of my life. A tiny fragment, and I'm sure I'll have more men to come, well, hopefully. But Max, he was there for a little time in my life, and I know that some of the success I've had was because of his support and encouragement. So I keep him here too, even though looking at that picture hurts."

The moved again, coming nearer the end of the wall. She laughed, pointing at another one. "This is something I'll never forget.' It was a picture of her performing at a concert somewhere in America. 'This girl was there, she was the sweetest kid I've ever known. I met her back stage, and when I saw her, she was just… wow. She had some condition, I'm not sure what it was. But she was so close to dying, and I felt so sorry for her. And you know what she said to me? "You've made my day, and I'll never forget it, even when I'm in heaven. And even though you sang a couple notes out of tune." She was hilarious. And she was still smiling after I left her. It just shows, no matter what, you have to keep going right?"

He nodded. "Right."

After a few more minutes, they settled down together, nestling into the beanbags. Troy took one more look at the walls before getting down to work. He sighed, so many people graced those walls, even some that she didn't like now. He was glad she'd let him in here, because now he felt like he'd learned a little more about the real Gabriella; not just the Gabriella that everyone else saw. These pictures were like little windows to her life. And he was glad that she'd decided to share that with him.

But someday, somehow, he'd make his way onto those walls.

As someone she loved.

A/N; I loved writing this chapter. I think it was really sweet, with many cute moments. I thought of the picture room idea in a dream, and thought I'd put that in there. If I was a singer/songwriter, I'd totally have one of those rooms! And I got the idea of the water fountain troyella moment from the pictures of scenes from HSM3.

Anyways, please review! It really means the world.

(: