S O M E D A Y
PART ONE: Once Upon A Time
SUMMARY: Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions.
DISCLAIMER: I do not claim to be responsible for this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Many thanks to the effort that both Ayen (zvkg-ai) and Martin (emptrajan) put into previewing my work. Additionally, I would like to identify that there are Z RATED elements contained within this chapter. There are scenes incorporating mouth watering (pardon the pun… you'll get why…) images of our young Mr Bolton as depicted by the Zefron himself. Exceeded dosage of Z Ratedness may lead to heart palpitations, excessive drooling and hot flushes. I take no responsibility for any side affects. Proceed with caution. (The rating of 'Z' Copyright Nel/Dani 2008)
Chapter 28
Troy entered the school grounds on Thursday morning with his left arm slung over his girlfriend's shoulders. His right hand was busy exchanging manly handshakes and waves, greeting people as he passed.
"Awesome game last night, Troy," one of the footballers said, coming up to shake Troy's hand. "Nice last minute three pointer there to seal the deal."
Troy flashed back a genuine smile. "Thanks man, I thought it went well."
"Can't wait for Friday's game – on home soil, too! Good luck!"
"Thanks man, see you round!"
"You really are like a celebrity," Gabriella remarked as they continued in the walk of fame. "And I'm your trophy girlfriend."
Troy snorted. "Uh yeah, decathlon winning, class vice president, musical star… totally a trophy girlfriend."
They reached the rest of the group who were hanging out by the fountain. Quite a few randoms had dropped by, chatting with Zeke, Jason and Chad. It always seemed like the days after a big win would attract a crowd of 'friends' who any other day of the week barely said hello.
Sometimes all it took was an amazing night to take him to that place were he felt like he was on top of the world; to remind him of why it was that he lived his crazy, hectic lifestyle.
"Excellent game last night," a pompous voice said from behind.
And sometimes, all it took was one not-so-favourite person to bring the euphoric high crashing down.
Troy turned around, tight lipped. "Hey Theodore, didn't know you were at the game."
"Well I wasn't, I had other engagements, but I heard you played splendidly."
"Who are you?" Chad said bluntly, even though he knew very well who the kid was.
Taylor poked Chad in the side, a silent reprimand for his somewhat rudeness.
"Theodore Gallagher. I am the stage manager for the upcoming fall musicale. Ryan and Kelsi, just confirming our meeting at 4:30 this afternoon?"
"That's right. At Lava Springs," Ryan confirmed.
"And my Nina, will you be present?" Theodore asked, turning to Gabriella.
She cleared her throat. "Uh… you know very well that the cast isn't required tonight."
"Pity. You could come along anyway?" he suggested. "I'm sure you'll have some innovative ideas as to how we can adapt the script to fit in the new venue?"
"Umm… I… am busy. I have…"
She couldn't say she had social plans with Troy, because the boys had basketball practice at the Redhawks gym. She couldn't say she had student council because Ryan was obviously at the musical meeting at Lava Springs.
"… to wash my hair?" was the final meek response, which came across sounding more like a question than as a statement.
"A shame. Oh well. I'll see you all later."
Thedore walked away, head held high, theatrically waving to some people as he passed.
"Gabriella. What I am about to say is going to sound really harsh but… just tell the kid you aren't interested!" Ryan exclaimed. "This is stupid! Yes he's an annoying twit and he's going to be around for all of the next month and a half and you acting like that around him all the time is going to make things run rather inefficiently."
Gabriella stared at Ryan. "I'm sorry that I'm not accustomed to boys… flocking around me like I'm… like I'm…"
"Hi Troy!" two of the junior cheerleaders chirped as they sauntered past.
"… like I'm the female version of Troy," Gabriella finally finished her sentence.
"I kinda feel bad for him," Troy mused. "I took his part and… okay… I already had you so it's not like I could take you from him."
"You HAD me?" Gabriella enquired with a cheeky smile. "Like… like I'm a possession to own?"
Troy grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in close to him. "That's right… you're mine," he said softly, and leaned down to kiss her.
"Okay then," Gabriella murmured, just before allowing his lips to meet hers. Troy had been about to let go of the kiss when her hands resting on the back of his neck pulled him in closer, deepening the connection.
"Righto, get a room," Zeke said, coughing loudly.
"Hey you!" an excited voice said from behind.
Zeke spun around to see Monica approaching, looking glamorous and perfect as ever. "Why hello," Zeke said, softening.
And suddenly he was a hypocrite, melting into the arms of his girlfriend.
"Anyone who is interested in not making out in front of the fountain and wants to go to homeroom, follow me," Taylor announced.
"I hear that," Ryan said, making the move to walk in step with her.
Taylor glanced behind her, noting that both of the couples were reluctantly pulling apart. However Chad had remained rooted, with his arms folded across his chest.
"What if I want to make out in front of the fountain?"
Taylor smirked. "You're a big basketball star, I'm sure you can find someone compliant."
"One day I'll take you seriously when you suggest I do something like that," Chad warned her.
Senior students had been inundated with hand outs about college applications, resitting the ACTs, upcoming careers fairs. Taylor had read every sentence of every page and was already in the process of completing some applications. Gabriella had read them and had avoided thinking about them. Troy had avoided reading anything. However the conversation agreeing to not have a conversation on Tuesday had been a wake up call; stressing that perhaps he should be putting more thought into it all.
Over the next month, East High were running a few information evenings in the lead up to this critical period within their lives. As students arrived in homeroom on Thursday morning, elaborate bold writing on the blackboard provided a reminder of the first of these. SAT Information Evening: Monday: 7 – 9pm.
"Why do they want to torture us and make us take more exams than necessary," Chad grumbled.
"Because this great nation of ours is stupid and doesn't have one consistent application process for all tertiary education institutions," Taylor supplied.
"I know they'll tell us about it on Monday and that I probably should have just read the information they've given us, but why did they put so much emphasis upon the ACTs last year if they're now saying we should also take these SATs?" Jason asked.
"Basically different colleges have preference toward either of them. The mass generalisation is that the central states consider the ACTs as being perfectly acceptable as a score upon which to base entry. But if you're looking at going to a college anywhere else, so on either coast, or if you're just not sure about where you might be applying, you'd best take the SATs also," Taylor explained.
"I guess it's also a way to improve on your score, if you weren't happy with your ACT result," Martha added.
Troy glanced toward the front of the classroom where Gabriella was out of earshot, engaged in a conversation with Miss Darbus.
"I think I should take them. Or at least go along to the info night to find out more," Troy said.
"Wasn't the whole point of your summer events to try to lock in that U of A scholarship?" Zeke asked.
Troy cleared his throat. "Well… I might not necessarily decide I want to stay in Albuquerque. I might… have reasons to leave."
"Uh huh," Taylor said quietly.
Troy glanced at Taylor sharply. Taylor gave him a small smile.
Ryan and Chad were sitting next to one another in their fourth period history class. Being a Thursday, it was the final period before seniors were dismissed to go home. The bell rang, both springing out of their chairs in equally speedy fashion.
"So do you have anything on between now and that meeting thing at Lava Springs?" Chad asked.
Ryan shook his head. "Nah, I was gonna just go home and chill. Why?"
"Don't suppose you wanna come hang with me at the mall for a bit?"
Ryan studied Chad. "What, everyone else busy?"
"Well, as a matter of fact they are, but I was gonna ask you anyway."
Ryan shrugged. "Okay. Sure. Why not?"
"Sweet. Since I have to take off for basketball after and you'll have to go to your thing, I'll meet you there?"
"Sounds good. Umm… meet you outside the music shop?"
Meanwhile, Troy and Gabriella were in his truck, headed for her house. There had been no discussion of where they were going or what they were doing. It seemed that discussion was no longer necessary.
"I made an appointment with my GP for next Monday after school," Gabriella said out of the blue, as conversation hit a slight lull.
"Oh? Something wrong?" Troy said, his concern evident.
"No," Gabriella assured him. She bit her lip, trying to make the next comment sound as casual as possible. "I uh... want to... I thought I'd find out more about contraceptive pills."
Gabriella had always been a practical girl, the kind that carried tissues and band aids in her handbag 'just in case.' She knew that it was going to happen sooner or later. So it truly was a case of being prepared – not a case of, okay, now I'm protected so let's do it.
"That's... that's good. If that's what you want to do," Troy said carefully.
He understood that her hesitation was largely because she didn't want to make him assume that she was ready.
"I don't know if I do. That's why I thought I'd ask about them now. So that... I know about them... for when... I need to know."
"When you need to know... not... if you need to know?" Troy couldn't resist but tease her for her wording.
She smiled slyly. "I think we both know that it has escalated from an if to a when."
Mental imagery flew through Troy's mind. He swallowed.
"Maybe we shouldn't be talking about our impending sex life whilst I'm driving and trying to keep us both alive."
Chad and Ryan were ambling throughout the mall with no particular purpose in mind. Ryan couldn't help but contemplate that, with the exception of assisting Troy with his preparation for the musical callback - this was the first time in years that he had hung out with a straight guy, just Ryan and a companion and no one else. And expanding the sentence above from 'straight guy' to just guy – there had only been a handful of times at the beginning of junior year when Ryan had hung out with a guy from his dance class, fooling around a little. For the most part, up until summer, it had been Ryan, Sharpay and her country club 'friends'. 'Friends' was even a stretch of how he could describe Sharpay's groupies. Group assignments aside, there were only two people from school he'd spent one on one time with. Firstly Kelsi, who he'd spent a lot of time with over the years in the context of drama club productions. And then of course there was Gabriella.
For Chad, hanging out with Ryan was somewhat refreshing, a relief from the stress of his normal life. Conversation was revolving around subjects other than basketball and his girlfriend. When he and Ryan discussed impending college applications, it wasn't in Taylor's lecturing - you'd better get moving - tone. Nor was it in Troy's - without a scholarship I'm nothing – tone. Chad wanted to go to college; and he was well prepared for the idea that he may not receive any kind of scholarship at all. Financial aid was a strong possibility however he didn't anticipate receiving enough aid to support the entire situation. A combination of part time jobs and student loans were seen as a viable option for most people, why Troy couldn't see that as being an option only served to frustrate Chad.
"I'm actually really excited about basketball this year. I feel like I'm fitter than ever. I've been training early this year, going for runs and stuff. Troy seems to think he's the only one capable of getting up early to train."
Ryan nodded in understanding. "I wake up early to practice dance."
Chad raised an eyebrow. "Really? What, for the musical?"
"No, my classes outside of school."
"How do you fit it all in?" Chad asked incredulously. "You're doing the musical like every second of the day, plus this class president gig, oh and yeah there's school."
"Yeah the school part isn't so much of a priority," Ryan admitted. "You know that Chem II quiz we had last week? The one that was meant to be a really important indicator for the big exam in a few weeks?"
"Yeah?"
"I failed that."
"Ouch. Does uh... does Gabriella know?"
"Hell no! She wouldn't shut up if she heard I'd let my school work slide. Doesn't matter if she's suddenly the theatre starring sex slave of the basketball captain, there's still that school nerd at heart. She can't change that even if she wants to."
Despite having driven directly to Gabriella's house with very little sexual innuendo taking place, Troy still felt a need to maintain the study façade. His reasons were twofold, with neither of them having anything to do with appearing as though he cared about his school work. Firstly, he didn't want to be presumptuous. Intrinsically, he knew that Gabriella wanted it as much as he did, but it felt inappropriate to simply assume this when she hadn't explicitly said anything. So consequently, the second reason was that he was in awe of the 'super vixen' side of Gabriella. He loved it when she had to take control, when she came out of her shell and demanded just how much she wanted him.
Therefore, once they'd reached her room and closed the door, he went through the motion of pulling out his physics textbook.
"So, this reading seems…"
It only took those four words, the very beginning of a sentence, for the girl he wanted to emerge to surface. Gabriella stepped forward, took the book straight out of his hands, and tossed it haphazardly onto her desk.
"Shut up."
Troy smiled coyly, the look of lust in her eye mirrored by the look of lust in his own.
"Make me."
And that she did.
Gabriella's arms snaked around the back of Troy's neck as she stood on tip toe and pulled him down for their lips to meet. Her fingers danced with the hair at the nape of his neck; as her tongue conducted a playful duel with his. His hands clasped her waist and pulled her closer, before moving them south and gently squeezing her ass. One of Gabriella's hands left his neck, running a smooth line down the centre of his spine, resting momentarily upon his hip before continuing the journey south and grazing tantalisingly against his already semi hard member. Troy groaned slightly into her kiss, pulled her even closer and proceeded to kiss with greater vigor. His hands fell to the hem of her t-shirt. He lightly suckled on her bottom lip before releasing the kiss for long enough to pull the article of clothing over her head and discard it onto the carpet. His lips crashed back down to meet hers once again, controlling the kiss, stroking his tongue against hers zealously. Gabriella melted under his control, and whimpered into his kiss as his hands ran up her sides and grasped onto her breasts, squeezing firmly. Her hands latched onto his belt, undoing the buckle and removing it from the constrictive loops to cast the item aside. She was toying with the hem of his shirt, and yanked away from him to allow her to pull it up and away.
They each took a moment to regain composure, ragged breaths being taken as the couple gazed adoringly into one another's eyes. Troy leaned forward and placed a soft tender kiss on her cheek, then again closer to her ear.
"You never did tell me whether last night's game had the same affect upon you as it did last Friday," Troy murmured softly, his breath tickling against Gabriella's ear.
He proceeded to nibble and suck at the sweet spot of her neck. Gabriella was clutching onto his upper arms, her head thrown back as she revelled in the sensation of his nuzzling. Troy was becoming increasingly experienced in the art of multitasking, with his hands now focused on the task of unhooking her bra without desisting from using his lips, teeth and tongue to tease her neck. Her fingers deftly unbuttoned and pulled down the fly of his jeans, pushing the item away to reveal his increasingly straining erection contained by a pair of green checkered cotton boxers. Troy compliantly stepped out of them, kicking the item away.
"Well?" Troy murmured questioningly.
He punctuating the point by simultaneously flicking his right index finger against her now bare nipple; and reattaching his lips to her neck and sharply sucking. She moaned, ragged breaths impeding upon her ability to answer the question.
"Let's put it this way. Between the singing and guitar strumming… in the leather jacket; the basketball; and you just being you…" Gabriella's hands were running over his chest as he suckled on her neck, little gasps and whimpers escaping from her mouth. She ran her hand down his chest, a finger circled his belly button and then trailed down his snail trail and fell upon the thin cotton of his boxers. "It's been… a hard… week."
The hard in her sentence was punctuated with a sly squeeze of what was also a rather hard object.
Troy smirked. "Aww poor Gabriella, being subjected to the smoldering good looks of her boyfriend. However have you survived?"
His hand was now on her thigh, scrunching up the material of her skirt to allow his hand to sneak beneath. Fingers danced teasingly up her inner thigh.
"By waiting very patiently in anticipation for these few hours of Thursday bliss."
"No… intermittent… tension release?" Troy asked coyly.
As if to illustrate his meaning, his fingers began to dance over her pantie covered mound.
"I prefer the real thing."
Jason was wandering through the school grounds. He'd just spent his lunch break in the film editing studio, working on a piece for a school assignment. As much as he enjoyed working on the films they had to make for class, he was desperate to move on with his own independent piece. Casting was the next big step – but the problem was that every person who would be interested in participating was wrapped up in the school musical. And Jason didn't want to put pressure on anyone to help him – after all, he wasn't offering any compensation, just the feeling of goodwill, knowing they'd helped him out in creating his first masterpiece.
He was contemplating whether to go to home before basketball practice or just bum around at school. He would only have to come back to school if he went home, because the closest bus stop for the route with the University of Albuquerque was across the road from school.
Without even consciously doing so, Jason found himself wandering through the general studies wing which had been adopted for music and the performing arts. The school had lost a lot of music equipment in the fire, however a piano had quickly been acquired and placed in what was the new music room. The piano which now was being played, a beautiful melody echoing through the empty corridor. Jason snuck past, glancing into the room. And there she was, eyes closed, allowing the music to just play itself naturally.
When the piece ended, Jason decided to take the bull by the horns and knocked on the door before opening it slightly. Kelsi smiled brightly at him.
"Hey!" she exclaimed.
"What were you just playing?" he asked.
"Uh… nothing really. Just…. was playing."
"Doing more composing?"
"I'm always composing. Even when it looks like I'm in math class and doing math – in my head, it's all music notes."
Jason grinned. "Yeah. I get that."
She motioned to the camcorder case Jason was clutching a hold of. "For film class or your movie?"
"Class. When do I ever get the chance to work on my own stuff?"
"You're the one who keeps making excuses why you can't start filming."
"I need a cast first Kelsi, and it just so happens that everyone dramatically inclined in this school is involved in YOUR show."
"That's over in a month. Get the word out there now, create a rough filming schedule."
"I guess."
"What time is basketball?"
"4. The bus leaves across the road at 3:30. I was just contemplating whether to go home or bum around. What are you doing here?"
"I was running through a duet with two of the juniors during lunch period, and then after school I am going to orchestra practice to see how they are coming along with the score. And then I have a meeting at 4:30 at Lava Springs with the A Team, as Theodore has decided to start calling us."
"A Team?"
"Yeah, I don't get it. He says it's from some movie or TV show that is obviously before our time."
Jason glanced at his watch. "So uh, were you going to spend the next hour and a half playing or…"
"There's a class in here final period so unfortunately I can't. I should be going to the library to study but somehow I don't think that's going to happen."
"Wanna go for a walk up to the shops?" Jason asked.
"Sure!"
After wandering around the mall for a couple of hours, Chad and Ryan found themselves in the food court. Chad didn't bat an eye when Ryan went and bought a fresh salad sandwich; however Ryan raised an eyebrow when Chad returned with an extra large Burger King meal.
"Aren't you an athlete?" Ryan asked, glancing down pointedly.
"Yes. Your point?" Chad asked.
"I figured they'd have you on strict diet regimes or something."
Chad shrugged. "Not at high school level. Besides, I don't eat like this ALL the time."
"I was thinking about trying protein shakes. I'm meant to be trying to build up my muscles so I can be better at ballroom style lifts," Ryan said.
"I went on them for a while, they're not bad," Chad said.
When Ryan had first revealed his sexuality to Gabriella, it had been a big deal for him. Something he had contemplated whether he should let go, whether it was time to start talking about it. However in the food court of the mall, in that moment in time, Ryan made a split second spontaneous, impulsive decision that it was time to tell someone else. It wasn't because he wanted Chad to know. It was because it didn't matter. Because he had been able to talk openly about his dance regime and desire to perform in a Broadway show, without a moment of negative judgment being passed.
"Chad?"
Chad could sense the slight hesitation in Ryan's voice. He responded coolly. "Evans."
"What would you say if I told you that I was gay?"
Chad didn't flinch. "Whatever dude. Don't hit on me and don't make me watch it and I'm good." Chad took a bite from his burger, waiting expectantly for Ryan's response.
Ryan was somewhat flabbergasted. At least Gabriella had been a little surprised by it. Chad was so casual, he almost wondered if he had heard him properly.
"Oh," was the only word that Ryan could muster in response.
Chad was amused by Ryan being so taken aback. "Is this a hypothetical, or you telling me?"
Chad knew it was Ryan telling him. Ryan's response was unnecessary.
"Me telling you."
"Like I said. Whatever. To be honest, I already pretty much was certain of it, hey," Chad said.
"Why, because I dance and do musical theatre and wear pink?" Ryan asked, almost bitterly.
He wasn't naïve to the comments that went on behind his back as a result of his choice of extra curricular activity. It insulted him that people thought that all there was to his sexual preferences was an inclination towards participating in stereotypically gay activities.
"No. Because you spent the first half of summer hanging with your sisters super hot friends without hardly looking at them. And since then you've been buddy buddy with Gab and – regardless of Bolton's opinion on the matter – you very obviously don't look at her in that way. And the fact is that a straight single guy could be THAT close to a girl without, at a minimum, checking her out."
"Interesting analysis."
Ryan was still somewhat blown away. He'd told Chad knowing that it wouldn't matter to him either way. But he'd spent years holding back from being honest about who he was, and he'd built himself to believe that telling people would equate to all sorts of bad. The first reveal to Gabriella had gone well, better than well. And now with Chad, it was just as promising.
"I assume Gab knows?" Chad asked.
"Yes. So if you feel the need to gossip about it with someone…"
"I don't."
"Good. That's good."
"Wow, Bolton's gonna feel like an idiot whenever he finds out."
Ryan exhaled noisily. "Does he still have a problem with me?"
"To be honest man, I wouldn't know. Haven't talked to him much lately about anything other than ball," Chad said. "But I get the feeling he's moved beyond it."
Now with only underwear remaining, between Troy's lightly teasing fingers, his skillful tongue and his powerful kisses, Gabriella was struggling to stand upright. She took control of the situation, turning Troy around and guiding him to the bed where they collapsed in a frantically kissing mess. When she pulled away to take a moment to breath, Troy once again regained control, flipping her over and reversing the position, with his weight now on top of hers. His kisses lazily trailed back down to her neck, while Gabriella's hand was teasing his bulge. She was contemplating the removal of his boxers, his erection literally pushing against the material. However his kisses now trailed further down from her neck, his body snaking down the bed as he took a few minutes to concentrate his attention onto his breasts. Gabriella allowed the attention to continue, whimpering and gasping as his teeth toyed with her nipples and his hands cupped and caressed the warm flesh.
His hands remained upon her breasts, kneading and caressing and teasing. However his tongue traced a line away from her nipples, and instead of trailing back up as they typically would, instead his tongue was now trailing upon her taut stomach. He licked a circle around her navel, eliciting a giggle from Gabriella. His pattern was deliciously erratic and unpredictable, with his lips leaving soft kisses, a tingling feeling remaining in their wake.
Suddenly it became apparent to her that she was now completely out of reach of him, and she pouted somewhat. Between ragged breaths, she managed to say, "You do know that I cannot reach you anymore?"
Troy merely hushed her. He knew he had to take his window of opportunity. If he waited; if he let her have her way and attend to his needs first; she would then inevitably make an excuse about a lack of time being available. And Troy was tired of her excuses. He continued to shift down the bed, now on all fours hovering over her. He held his weight up long enough to hook his thumbs onto her panties and discard them, and then proceeded with planting kisses along her lower abdomen.
As far as Troy was concerned, any straight man who denied having looked at porn was either a liar, a saint, or extremely sad and sheltered. Thanks to Jason's older cousin – who also served as an integral provider of alcoholic beverage s- Troy had a few Playboys in the back corner of his closet. Additionally, he had done a more than a few random internet searches in his time.
Since Gabriella, he'd found mental imagery to be far more stimulating.
However, in preparation for this encounter, Troy had found himself doing a very specific series of Google searches. How to, tips, guides, diagrams, tongue technique, even a video or two. It wasn't for purposes of self pleasure. It was study, homework. Homework which was far more interesting and yet far more complex than trigonometry.
He had maneuvered himself further and further down the bed and now, here he was, hovering over her most private of regions. He could sense her apprehension, could feel the tension in her body.
"You can say no... and I'll stop," he said quietly. He gazed up at her imploringly. "But... but I don't want you to say no."
Fortunately for him, he'd worked her into a state where the word 'no' could not be further away from the vernacular of Gabriella Montez.
"Yes," came Gabriella's raspy response. She emphatically said it again, "Yes."
Troy's immediate response was to continue kissing along her lower abdomen, all the while very slowly, very gently, inserting his index and middle fingers inside of her; pumping slightly. He retracted his fingers, and looked up at her.
"Can you wriggle down?" Troy asked.
Wordlessly, Gabriella obeyed his instruction, allowing him to guide her to be lying half way down the bed, her legs dangling with her feet almost touching the floor. Her heart was pounding. Half of the adrenaline was a welcome anticipation. The other half was hesitant anticipation. Troy grabbed a pillow, nestled it behind her head, and then moved himself off the bed to kneel on the ground at the foot of the bed. She had closed her legs, purely as reflex.
"And now, this might help," he said softly. Gently, Troy placed his hands upon her thighs and pried her legs apart.
"It's... it's instinctive for a lady to keep her legs together," Gabriella replied.
"You're not a lady," Troy murmured between soft kisses along her right upper thigh. "You're a hot, sexy, sensual woman."
It was a visual feast. Gabriella hadn't tried to hide the first time she'd taken a good, close look at his manhood; and there was no way that Troy would be capable of suppressing his urge to stare long and hard at every inch, every morsel of her womanly centre. Her eyes were closed, however she could feel his eyes upon her, she knew exactly just how intently he was staring at her. A part of him was taking his time with the visual inspection to allow himself a moment of last minute preparation. He could feel his heart beating at an increased rate. He had been so focused for so long on the notion of WANTING to do this, on preparing for it both physically and mentally – that he had blocked out the fear that he may very well be unable to perform. Suddenly, that pressure was niggling at him.
"Disclaimer… Troy has no idea what he's doing," Troy murmured, his breath tickling against her bare skin.
Gabriella could hear the slight trepidation is his tone. Suddenly, she felt rather self involved. She'd been so focused upon her own hesitations to allow him to perform such a selfless act that she hadn't allowed herself to contemplate his own fears.
"I have one rule and that is no biting," she quipped, reiterating the rule he had set down when she was first giving him a blow job.
Troy cracked a smile and took a breath. The moment that his hands pried her folds apart and his tongue ran tentatively up her slit, a gasp escaped from Gabriella's mouth. He was starting slow, attempting to get his bearings. He began by trailing his tongue along her inner labia; then was teasing at her opening. Her ragged breaths and pants told him that he was doing something right.
Gabriella's eyes were wide open, staring at the ceiling, but the ceiling itself was fuzzy. When he fingered her, the lead up period was always nice but it wasn't wow. Every moment here was a wow moment. From the first connection of his tongue to her most private of regions, it was a wow moment. It was more than physical. There was some intangible element, the eroticism of the act itself. Her eyes darted around, finally allowing herself to look down at the man with his face nestled between her thighs. Troy allowed his line of vision to drift up, yet not causing a break within his rhythm. It was at the very moment when their gazes met, the moment when he looked up and saw her blown away expression, when his teasing tongue found the spot she so desired him to find. One languorous lick, finally hitting her clit, was all it took to educe an undulated, guttural moan of ecstasy.
As a female, for Gabriella's whole life she had been conditioned to cover up and sit with her legs together - preferably crossed. And here she was, naked, a deliciously stunning man's hands firmly upon her thighs holding her legs spread apart, his lips and tongue working magic to pleasure her - and it was the most incredibly, exhilarating, pleasurable experience of her life thus far.
"Oh... oh... oh my God..." Gabriella gasped.
"I do believe my name is Troy, not God," Troy murmured, lifting his head momentarily, before continuing the tongue flicking motion.
"Right now you are God."
"Told you this would be good," Troy said cockily.
"Stop talking," she commanded, her hands falling onto the back of his head, raking her fingers through his hair as she guided him back down.
Troy was more than willing to oblige.
"This has been cool," Chad said.
Chad held out his hand to Ryan, in a farewell hand shake offer. The guys were standing in the parking lot next to Chad's rusty old car. Ryan's was parked further back in the lot - a lesson taught by his father, that when you have a nice car, park it in the back corner so its less likely to be hit in the side by someone's door opening. Ryan accepted the outstretched hand.
"Yeah it has," Ryan agreed. "If I said, we should do it again sometime, would you take that as me hitting on you?"
Chad laughed. "No. Coz we should. Sometimes it's cool to talk about something other than basketball."
"So we talked about baseball instead?"
Chad shrugged. "Well, don't tell Troy, but I think I prefer baseball. Only just slightly."
"Why, coz you're the hot shot on the team?"
Ryan's tone was sarcastic, however they both knew that there was an element of truth to the statement.
"Anyway... so I have basketball practice and have to go by my house first so better take off."
"I'll see you tomorrow."
Chad jumped into his car, and Ryan proceeded to head to the back corner of the lot where he had left his car. As he was walking, he listened to the sound of Chad's engine revving but not turning over. Ryan turned around, and headed back.
"Fuck!" Chad cused.
He pulled the lever to pop the bonnet and the trunk, and got out of the car. He went around to the back, retrieving his mini emergency auto tool kit, and headed around to open the bonnet.
"Need a hand?" Ryan called.
"You good at auto mechanics?"
"My version of auto mechanics is to call road service."
"Then could you hold this torch over here so I can see?"
"Sure."
Ryan was impressed, Chad certainly seemed to know his way around an engine. He poked and prodded his way around what, to Ryan, was simply a bunch of metal thingy-whatsits.
"Hang on… shine that here will you?"
Ryan complied.
"Fuck. Fucking spark plugs. I knew I had to change them but I've been putting it off."
"The… the what?" Ryan said.
"The spark plugs. They are… is there any point in explaining?"
"Not really," Ryan admitted. "Is it a big deal?"
"Not really. I have spares at home and I'm capable of doing it myself. It's just a pain in the ass is all."
"I'm available til 4:30, I can drive you home to get this sparkly whatsit and back here," Ryan offered.
Chad hesitated. "Uh... don't wanna put you out, man, it's okay."
"It's fine!" Ryan insisted. "All I would do is go to Lava Springs early and muck around in the music room and avoid doing my homework... shit... don't tell Gabriella I said that."
Chad cracked a smile, and then nodded, somewhat tentatively. "Okay. All right then. Let's do it."
Gabriella's climax was one of the most incredibly surreal experiences of Troy's life thus far. Her left hand was grasping onto his shoulder, with fingernails were leaving slight indentations. Her right hand morphed from slightly raking through his hair to clenching at his hair. However, Troy felt no pain. Her pelvis was involuntarily bucking, he could feel the slight pulses of her clitoris under his tongue. His eyes drifted up to watch her. To watch the relaxed, blissful expression become contorted with overwhelming pleasure and shock. Her whimpers and gasps had suddenly escalated into a full blown moan of undulated ecstasy.
Between their encounters thus far and his research, Troy knew that maintaining his action, despite the hair clenching and spasming pelvis, was essential to ensuring the experience was prolonged. So he firmly held her down, hands capturing her hips, to continue with a light flicking of the tongue until her strangled cries and moans subsided to being whimpers and contented breathing. With one final languid lick, Troy removed himself from her centre. He trailed kisses up her taut stomach, and snaked his way up until he was lying beside her, propped up by his elbow and allowing himself to gaze lovingly and observe her after shock.
Gabriella was struggling to breathe. She was in a place she didn't know existed. Suddenly, the last thing she was thinking about was her retarded position on the bed or feeling self conscious.
"Oh my God," she gasped, chocolate eyes meeting blue. "Oh… I can't… I don't… oh…"
"Not bad for my first go, huh?" Troy said softly, somewhat cockily.
"I didn't realise that it was humanely possible to feel THAT good," Gabriella said, her flushed skin and starry faraway expression evidence of the aftershock. Her breathing was still erratic, however she kissed him softly, tasting the slightly sweet taste of herself.
"Nothing gross about that, is there?" Troy teased, recalling her reaction when he had been so brazen to kiss her when the situation had been flipped.
Gabriella didn't respond, just smiled coyly and kissed him again, this time with her hand snaking down south in the midst of her zealous kiss. She had an overwhelming desire to be touching him, tasting him – all of him. Her hand enclosed over his bulge, which was constrained by his boxers.
"Shouldn't that have gone away? Without being… teased… for so long?" Gabriella enquired with a slight blush.
"Hmm.. except that I happen to find every inch of you to be insatiably arousing."
"Can I attempt to… satiate you?"
Troy glanced at the digital clock on the bedside table. "You'll be on a timeline."
"I like a challenge as much as you."
Ryan pulled up outside Chad's house in record time. He knew Chad was getting antsy, having glanced at his watch multiple times throughout the drive. He assumed it was just a matter of Chad being worried about getting to basketball on time.
"All right. I'll just run in and grab it," Chad said swiftly. "Won't be long."
"You mind if I came in and used your bathroom?" Ryan asked.
Chad swallowed. What could he do, say NO you may NOT use our bathroom. Because what Ryan didn't realise was that his discomfort was about more than being late to practice.
"Err... okay. I guess."
Ryan raised an eyebrow at Chad's response. "Uh... if that's a problem..."
"No no, don't be silly," Chad insisted in a hurry, attempting to sound normal. "Uh... the house is a bit of a mess is all."
Ryan shrugged. "You haven't seen my room, have you?"
"You strike me as an 'everything in its perfect place' type of person."
"Everywhere but in my room. That's my little safe haven of chaos, to the housekeepers disgust."
Ryan followed Chad up to the house, as Chad unlocked the front door.
"Jayme?" Chad called out.
It was only just after school time, but he knew his sister should just barely be home. Her bus left the elementary school promptly five minutes after the final bell, and it was less than ten minutes up the road.
"In the living room," she called back.
Chad pointed up the corridor for Ryan. "Up there, third door on the left."
Chad watched as Ryan disappeared up the hallway, and then quickly went into the living room.
"You doing your homework?" he asked sharply, seeing his sister's eyes glued to MTV.
"Wasn't given any."
How Chad longed for the days of elementary school and no homework.
"Next year that'll be different," Chad said knowingly. "Did ma call?"
"Yup, message on the machine. She's working again," Jayme said scornfully.
He wandered into the kitchen, seeing dishes everywhere. To say that the house was a bit of a mess was an understatement.
"I thought I asked you to run the dishwasher when you got home," Chad called in exasperation.
"I was going to but we've run out of powder."
"Oh."
Chad flung open the door of the fridge. And it seemed they'd also run out of juice and milk and butter and anything edible.
"Pizza again it looks like," Chad said out loud.
"I put the mail on the counter," Jayme called.
"Thanks," Chad called back.
Chad began to sort through the mail. Overdue bill. Overdue bill. Final notice. Final notice. He flung them down.
"What's all that?" Ryan's voice came from the doorway.
Chad spun around. "Oh. Thought you were in the bathroom."
"How long do you think it takes me to pee?"
"True." Chad laughed nervously, seeing Ryan glancing at the bills. He shuffled them into a pile and shoved them underneath a newspaper which was lying haphazardly on the counter. "Must be some kind of mix up... I think mom's been having problems with her bank transfers or... something."
"Oh," Ryan said quietly.
"Chad, what time are you gonna be home?" Jayme called.
"Why?"
"Mom said in the message that she wants me to go next door if you're not home by 7."
Chad went into the living room again. "I'll be home by then. Looks like we might have to go out and do some grocery shopping."
"With what money?" Jayme asked pointedly.
"Uh... ma gave me money. It's cool," Chad said.
"Doesn't your mother's boyfriend normally do this stuff?" Ryan asked quietly, somewhat hesitantly.
Chad was surprised. Evidently the grapevine at East High wasn't working at its full capacity. Or perhaps that both Taylor and Troy had the respect to keep their mouths closed.
"Umm… he used to," Chad said tactfully.
"The fuckwit took off," Jayme said darkly.
"Jayme Louise!" Chad exclaimed, mortified at the language he had just heard come out of his baby sisters mouth. "Watch your mouth."
"You and Troy say it all the time."
Chad could almost have laughed out loud. When was the last time that Troy had been around?
"Hey, I'm Chad's buddy Ryan," Ryan said cheerfully.
"I'm Chad's annoying little sister Jayme," she said cheerfully. "At least, that's probably how he would describe me."
"Okay, so Ryan and I are going back to the mall to fix my car..."
"I thought David said your car was supposed to be really good?"
"Yeah, David said a lot of things didn't he?" Chad said a little darkly. "Anyway. Yeah. Then I have basketball practice and then I'll come straight home so we can go out and get food so we don't starve. Deal?"
"It's all good."
"So you know the drill, if the phone..."
"If the phone rings, mom is in the shower and leave the door locked and no friends over and call you if ANYTHING goes wrong and if I can't reach you call Troy's mom," Jayme finished. "Tell Troy I said hi, by the way."
Chad rolled his eyes. "Will do."
Chad went upstairs to quickly grab his basketball gear and then to the garage to acquire the necessary supplies. Ryan remained in the living area making small talk with Chad's sister about the music clip that was on the television. Once Chad reappeared, the boys headed in silence back to Ryan's car. The silence was unbearable for Ryan.
"So, Jayme seems like a bright kid."
Chad nodded. "She's one of the smartest in her class. Not sure where she got these genes from. They obviously skipped me."
They fell silent again. Ryan couldn't bear it.
"Are you gonna explain about… everything?"
Chad sighed. "You weren't meant to see that."
"Well now that's obvious. And it makes sense why you were weird about me driving you here and then about me using your bathroom. So I'm back at, explain."
"It's not a big deal."
"Chad," Ryan said firmly.
"Well. David left to start with. Did you really not hear about that?"
Ryan shook his head. "No."
"Yeah. Well, he left at the worst possible time, just before rent was due, and right at the bills time of month, leaving us with bills that he normally pays half of. As it was it was kind of a, making ends meet situation. It just sorta snowballed. So my mom has taken on a second job temporarily and is hardly here… hence… the chaos."
"And you haven't told anyone about any of this?"
"Taylor and Bolton know about David leaving but… not the rest."
"You should talk to people about it," Ryan said firmly.
"Tell you what Ryan, the day that you start telling people all about your little secrets, maybe I will," Chad retorted.
"I didn't suggest you put a broadcast out there, I suggested that you should talk to people you can trust."
Chad's laugh was almost hollow. "About now I'm thinking that's pretty much only you."
"You and Troy have been best friends for years, as if you can't trust him! And, I know things were weird with you and Tay for a while but I thought it was all cool now?"
"Bolton… I don't know what the fuck is going on with him. But Troy lives in this little fantasy land in the giant house with the white picket fence. He doesn't want to hear about all this shit. And as for Taylor, okay, so her situation isn't perfect and I guess it is cool now. But… I just don't want to talk to her about it. Taylor… she would want to come and try and fix it, to fix me. I don't need her to come fix me. I can look after it myself, I want to prove that I can do this."
"Prove to who?"
"To everyone," Chad said firmly, before adding as an after thought. "And to myself."
Troy was bustling about Gabriella's room, getting changed into his basketball uniform – which he had preemptively brought along – and proceeded to pick up the items of his discarded clothing to shove them in his bag. He was almost experiencing a sense of déjà vu, with Gabriella was lounging about in her bed wearing his shirt.
"You know, I'm not gonna have any clothes left soon if you steal all my shirts," Troy remarked.
"Okay, I KNOW that I have a pair of panties missing so you are not one to criticise me for taking your shirts. I at least wear your shirts to bed. I would hope you aren't secretly wearing my panties."
Troy smirked. "Dammit… I picked a pair from your drawer that I knew didn't specifically match a bra and hoped you wouldn't realise."
Troy was saved by the bell – or rather, his ringing phone. He glanced at the screen.
"Chad, sup man?"
"Can you tell coach I'm running late? My car broke down."
"Uh… okay… but I'm kinda running late also. But I'm about to leave."
"At Gabriella's?"
"Yeah."
"Nice. Well, I'm still sorting out the car situation so I'm pretty sure you'll get there before me."
"Do you need me to pick you up?"
"Nah man it's sweet."
"You sure?"
"I'm good. I'll see you soon."
Troy hung up, glancing at his cell slightly mystified. "I swear that guy is acting weirder than ever," he muttered.
"Hmm?" Gabriella asked.
"Nothing," Troy said. He picked up his gym bag, and turned to where she was loafing in her bed. "Do you know how difficult it is leaving here to go to practice every week? And then like, actually concentrate?"
"Why, when because you're a boy all you want is to have a nap after you orgasm?"
"How do you know about that stuff?"
Gabriella smiled. "You should know by now that I am a fountain of wisdom in areas far beyond math and science."
"That you are."
Troy sat on the edge of the bed, leaning over to kiss her softly. "I'm glad you… enjoyed that."
"Enjoyed is a slight understatement."
"I'll call you later on, okay?" Troy murmured.
Gabriella watched after him as he left the room. There was the moment in time where Troy was in the doorway, looking back at her longingly, when Gabriella felt like jumping off her bed and running after him. Then a moment later, the space in the door way was empty – and it hurt. She stared into the blankness.
And then – he reappeared, rushing back into the room, slightly breathless.
"One more kiss."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Just a quick thank you to everyone who has been so lovely and supportive of my work lately. I've been really busy with this family reunion thing that's been going in the real world and so I may not have been as responsive to your reviews/PMs/etc lately but truly know how touched I have been by all of your feedback. Just about all of the spare energy I have is channelled into this fandom and into my writing so even if you don't hear from me directly, know that your words are most definitely appreciated and provide a fountain of motivation to write :-)
-Dani xo
