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 the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.
Chapter 29
If there were four girls who were less apt to be clothes shopping together, it was the four who were in the middle of the Cottonwood Mall mid Saturday morning. They had arrived with high hopes, but soon felt overwhelmed within the plethora of stores featuring varying materials, styles and price ranges. A few minutes were spent staring blankly at the store directory, in the hope of some shining beacon of light appearing over the name of the store.
"I've lived here for my whole life and I never realised there were this many fashion outlets here," Taylor said, in complete bewilderment. "However, I can lead you with my eyes closed to the book store."
"I go to the same stores and never even try to go into any of these. You see, the clothing in most of these stores are produced in twig size and twig size only."
"I hear you sister," Taylor agreed. "But since we're here for Kelsi, that means they are all perfect."
"Which of these do you think will have a cute hat?" Kelsi asked, tilting her head sideways in contemplation as she studied the store names.
Gabriella looked somewhat aghast. "You're going to wear a hat tonight? We decide to come shopping to get you a new outfit for the big date and you want to buy a new hat?"
"I like hats," Kelsi said defensively. "And… and I feel comfortable wearing a hat."
"But you can't wear a hat!"
"Why can't she? It's her style," Martha pointed out.
"Gabriella thinks that because she went clothes shopping with the head cheerleader once over summer break, that she's now the queen of fashion," Taylor said teasingly.
Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Hardly. I just think that tonight is special and that we should be trying to find you something special to wear."
"It's just dinner and a movie. It's hardly 'special'," Kelsi pointed out, raising her eyebrows and using her fingers to demonstrate the quotation marks around the word special.
"It is not just dinner and a movie!" Gabriella exclaimed indignantly. "It is a dinner and a movie which we have all been waiting to happen since… like… February. It is a dinner and a movie that will define the possible future relationship that you and Jason may have."
Kelsi blinked, her mouth gaping slightly. "No pressure on me, or anything."
"I didn't mean it like that!" Gabriella said. "I just meant… that it is a big deal. You should be excited about it."
"I am excited," Kelsi insisted. "I would just much prefer that I felt comfortable. If you know what I mean."
"Of course we do. And I'm sure we can find something that is both special and comfortable all in one," Martha the peacemaker said, trying to find a happy medium. "So… where to?"
After teaching his golf classes at Lava Springs, as he had promised Troy headed straight to Jason's house. He rang the doorbell, waiting a whole minute with no response. He rang the doorbell again, now tapping his foot as he waited impatiently on the door step. A minute later, Zeke flung the door open and poked his head into view, his body shielded by the door.
"Escape while you can!" Zeke hissed.
"Huh?" Troy asked, shaking his head in confusion. "I thought we were gonna play the new Playsta…"
"Is that Troy?" Jason's voice called from behind. Zeke winced and reluctantly pulled the door open the whole way, revealing Jason appearing from behind. "Troy, buddy, maybe you'll be more useful than these two."
Zeke sighed. Too late he mouthed to Troy.
"More useful?" Troy repeated, still confused. "What's going on?"
"I need your help. I have to organise tonight," Jason explained, stepping back to allow Troy to step in.
"Organise?" Troy echoed once again. He slid his checked Vans off and left them among a pile of shoes by the door. He then turned back to Jason, arms folding across his chest. "I thought you were taking her to dinner and a movie."
"I am."
"You've booked a table at a restaurant?"
"Yeah."
"You're borrowing your mom's wheels?"
"Yeah."
"You have enough cash in your wallet?"
"Yeah."
"Then you're organised," Troy said, throwing his hands up in the air.
"Says the guy who took Gabriella on an elaborate tour of Albuquerque for their first date," Chad muttered.
"Hey that was… that was different!" Troy said defensively.
"What, you had to make up for your lack of appeal and work harder to impress Gabriella?" Zeke asked.
"Nice one," Chad complimented with a laugh. Chad and Zeke exchanged a quick slapping punching finger wiggling hand shake.
Jason rolled his eyes, and turned away in a huff to take the stairs two at a time. Troy followed Jason to his bedroom somewhat curiously. Zeke and Chad followed but with hesitation within their step – given they had already been in and witnessed the clothing explosion.
As he entered the room, Troy's eyes widened and he let out a low whistle. "Fuck man. You've got more shirts than a chick."
Jason had emptied his closet onto the bed. Literally. "I don't own anything right for a date," he stressed.
"What's wrong with a nice polo and jeans? Or one of these button down shirts?" Troy asked. He picked up a shirt and held it up, almost as though imagining Jason wearing it.
"I don't know. None of them are right."
Troy took a moment, realising just what they were discussing. He took a step back and threw the shirt back onto the bed in disgust. "I can't believe we're discussing what you're going to wear on a date. I thought you asked us round to hang out. If you wanted advice about this shit, you should have gotten Paula or someone to come help."
"I wasn't worried about it, when I texted you and asked you to come round it really was to hang. I nearly fell over when you were actually available to come, to be honest. But then this dickhead asked me if I was nervous," Jason said, motioning to Chad.
"I didn't think you'd start freaking out," Chad said indignantly. "I was just making conversation."
"You couldn't have asked me about… about… the Lakers or something?"
"I dunno why you're freaking out man," Troy said. "Kelsi is totally into you. Trust me on that. So let's go play some ball."
"That's all well and good for you to say dude, being the guy in the super serious relationship," Jason said. "I'm the guy who hasn't been on a date in, like, forever."
"Since you got to know Kelsi?" Zeke supplied knowingly.
"Well… yeah. But this has to go well. I'm sick of being the loser without a girl. It was okay before you and Monica got your shit together but now it's just pathetic."
The other guys let out collective sighs of exasperation. Jason liked to act like he was this total loveless loser but they all knew that he was the one who had shut himself off from flirting with other girls since the championship after party the year before. The championship after party where suddenly, Jason seemed to take a shine to the petite, enthusiastic composer.
"You should thank me and Mon for getting our shit together if that's what made you finally snap and ask Kelsi out," Zeke said. "Troy's right, let's go play some ball."
Kelsi was becoming slightly frustrated. Slightly being the understatement of the century. Gabriella's enthusiasm for Kelsi to find the 'perfect special outfit' had been infectius, now with Taylor also fixated upon the idea. Kelsi had hoped that the practical Taylor would be on her side. She appreciated the sentiment but at the same time, she would much had preferred to have gone about preparing for the date in her own way. When Gabriella had suggested they hang out at the mall, Kelsi had really thought it would be to hang out at the mall. Not that it would become a search for a needle within a haystack. Kelsi had been stubborn, refusing to try on every item that the girls had suggested. Finally she relented, humouring Gabriella by taking a couple of nice dresses into the changing room. Kelsi couldn't deny that the dresses were adorable. However not only were they ridiculously out of her budget, but they were also over the top for a first date.
"Uh, I think I'd rather just get a new nice top and wear it with jeans," Kelsi said, somewhat timidly. And a hat she thought.
Martha smiled sympathetically at Kelsi. Taylor and Gabriella meant well, but Martha could see Kelsi's politness wearing thin, the frustration boiling over. Martha spotted a cute navy blue sparkly halter top.
"Try this," she suggested. "I think it would look adorable on you."
Kelsi gave her friend a grateful smile. "Oh, this is so cute!"
"That is cute," Gabriella said wistfully. "Gorgeous colour, it would look awesome on you."
"Try it," Taylor urged.
Kelsi emerged not long later.
"What do you think?" she asked. "I have dark grey skinny leg jeans that I would probably wear with it."
"Adorable, just like I said," Martha said.
"It's more than adorable, it's hot," Gabriella declared. "And… I guess you're right, maybe I was going a bit overboard with the dress thing. But if you don't buy that top, I just might buy it for myself."
"Like you need cute clothes any more," Taylor said wryly.
Gabriella raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"Don't they just get taken off?"
"Taylor!" Gabriella gasped, slapping her on the arm, blushing. "Like you can talk."
Taylor scoffed. "You and Troy are way worse than Chad and I."
"They have the months of pent up sexual frustration to let out," Martha pointed out cheekily.
"Okay stop talking about Troy and I. Today is about Kelsi."
Finally, the guys had managed to convince Jason that it was highly inappropriate to be sitting around on a Saturday afternoon discussing fashion. They'd gone out to Jason's driveway for a rigorous game of two-on-two, and then went back inside to grab drinks and sprawl out in the backyard at the outdoor dining table.
"What are you guys doing tonight?" Zeke asked Chad and Troy.
The guys glanced at one another and shrugged.
"Something with Gabriella," Troy said.
Chad answered in perfect unison, "Something with Taylor."
"Dang. Monica has some family thing on," Zeke informed them.
"Now you know how I felt when I had nothing to do on a Saturday night," Jason said smugly.
"I might give some of the new kids on our team a call," Zeke mused. "Benny is freaking hilarious, don't you think?"
"Hilarious and a hell of a player. You should have seen him the other day practicing free throws," Chad remarked.
"When was this?" Troy asked.
"I guess it was Thursday after practice. I stayed to help your dad pack up," Chad said.
"Oh," was all that Troy said.
Once upon a time, it would have been Troy staying to help pack up. Then again, he would be waiting for his dad for a lift and would be roped into assisting with the pack up process. A couple of recent times Troy had offered his assistance, only to be fobbed off.
"Go on, I know you have to work on that song thing," Jack would say, waving his hand away.
"Hi boys," Mrs Cross said, entering the backyard.
"Hi Mrs Cross," Zeke, Chad and Troy said cheerfully in unison.
"Jason, remember our deal?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Our deal?" he repeated.
"To let you borrow the car?"
"Oh, you were serious about that, were you?" Jason said meekly, wincing.
"Very."
"Damn."
"Better get cracking."
Jason sighed in exasperation as she left.
"What was the deal?" Troy asked.
"I have to wash and vacuum the car," he said, somewhat despondently. "Don't suppose you all wanna help?"
Although both Troy and Chad had taken to washing and polishing their own vehicles rather lovingly, neither were particularly inclined to help someone else with car maintenance.
"Uh… I have… to go to a rehearsal," Troy said lamely, blatantly lying.
"And I have to help my mom with the gardening," Chad said quickly.
"I won't make up an excuse, I'd just rather not help," Zeke said honestly.
Kelsi had one not very serious boyfriend at East High. At the beginning of sophomore year she had gone with a deep and contemplative violinist in the string orchestra named Lee. He was accepted to a highly exclusive music program and left East High, and she still kept in contact with him. And then there was Dane, who she had met at band camp over the summer between sophomore year and junior year. Their affair had been semi serious. If he didn't live in Washington DC, about as far away from New Mexico as you could get, then perhaps Kelsi could have really fallen for him.
She'd never really paid attention to the people outside of her immediate circle at East High. It wasn't a snobbery thing, or a clique thing. It was just that Kelsi was so passionate about her music that she never seemed to look up from her scribblings. It was to her own surprise that after forging a very different friendship group, she found herself filled with all sorts of new inspiration and motivation for her song writing.
She was feeling extremely nervous about her date with Jason. It wasn't about the date itself. She'd spent enough time hanging and chatting with Jason to know that they wouldn't end up lost for words. It was more on the pressure associated on going on a date. The expectations; expectations which were more than exacerbated by her good intentioned friends.
"So now that Kelsi has a boyfriend…" Taylor began to say, as the girls were sitting around outside the juice bar.
"Uh, this is one date, not exactly a boyfriend girlfriend cementing ritual," Kelsi reminded her, shuffling uncomfortably.
"Whatever. Close enough. It'll happen. As I was saying… so now, we just need to find Martha a boyfriend."
Martha scoffed. "Like that will ever happen. I should just become a lesbian, maybe it would make life easier."
"What are you talking about?" Gabriella demanded.
"I have accepted the fact that I am just not what the typical American male is attracted to and that…"
"You don't want the typical American male. You deserve better," Taylor declared.
"Okay so you don't like my lesbian plan. Maybe I'll just live in a mansion with a dozen cats," Martha suggested. Her tone was bitter. The girls were used to Martha's self degrading rants.
"I don't even have the energy to argue with you today," Taylor said.
"Taylor, no energy to argue?" Gabriella teased. "Chad wearing you out?"
Kelsi glanced at her watch. "I should get going soon, I have a lot of stuff I have to do this afternoon."
"Oh, and I have dance class," Martha said, realising what the time was.
"Oh, but I wanted to go check out Fanzz," Gabriella pouted. Fanzz was the sporting goods and apparel store.
Taylor stared at her. "I'm sorry, I've been hanging out with Chad a lot lately. What did you just say?"
Gabriella smiled. "You heard right. I want to go look for a present for Troy."
"I'll stay hang with you. We could get the bus back home," Taylor suggested.
"When are you buying a car? I'm used to being driven around," Gabriella asked with a slight giggle.
"The bus should be luxury compared to your boyfriends bombs," Martha remarked. "Sure you don't want a ride?"
"We're good," Taylor said.
Gabriella hugged Kelsi. "I want a phone call tomorrow with all the details. Wait, no tonight. Hang on… maybe not tonight. Tomorrow."
"Why don't I just send out periodic group text messages throughout dinner keeping you updated as the night goes on?" Kelsi suggested sarcastically.
"That could work," Gabriella said seriously.
Chad, Troy and Zeke had escaped from Jason's house, imparting words of wisdom as they had left.
"Have fun," Zeke had said cheerfully.
"Be yourself," Troy had said solemnly.
"Hook in," Chad had said slyly.
Zeke had taken off, claiming that he wanted to bake a batch of cookies to take over to Monica's the next day when they were hanging out – which Chad and Troy had of course given him endless teasing for.
"So, do you really have a rehearsal?" Chad asked Troy, as they hung between their two cars.
Troy shook his head. "No. Do you really have to help your mom with gardening?"
"Fuck no."
"Wanna hang?"
"Sure."
"Yours or mine?"
"Uh, yours," Chad said quickly. "I think Jayme has a bunch of friends over today."
"I can hardly remember the last time I was at your place," Troy remarked.
"That's coz my place is a shit hole, and you have more food in the cupboard and a better hoop."
Troy laughed. "Maybe."
Gabriella was beginning to regret ever getting into her head that she should get Troy a 'just because' present. She and Taylor had been walking around in Fanzz for over a half hour, sorting mindlessly through equipment and apparel which had little meaning to either of the girls. They were currently in the shoes and socks area which was in the back corner of the store.
"I must be crazy, thinking that I could actually get Troy something basketball related and get it right. Everything here is the same to me. Like, I know that when he works out, he uses those sweat band things for his wrists. And to me, they look all old and tatty. But how do I know when he considers his old ones to be outdated?"
"Gabriella," Taylor said.
Taylor had seen something far more interesting than any item for sale in the store. However, Gabriella was on a roll with her dilemma, not taking in the slight panic in Taylor's tone.
"And he has about fourteen basketballs which to me are all exactly the same, but he'll buy a new one which is apparently 'better' but how can it be better when there is a standard issue size and colour?"
"Gabriella!" Taylor hissed, more insistently, grabbing onto her friends arm.
She gestured toward the back wall, where the 'Staff Only' sign was on a door. Standing just outside that door was a familiar girl with a male companion.
"That's Monica, I forgot that she worked here," Gabriella remarked.
As Gabriella spoke the words, it hit her just why Taylor had a look of panic on her face. Gabriella took a step back, her eyes widening as she observed Monica's hands entwined in the boy's as they stood talking casually.
"Maybe he's a cousin or something," Gabriella said in a feigned optimism.
However there was something very uncousinly about the flirtatious giggle which echoed through the room, and the brush of her hand along his arm.
"He looks familiar," Taylor said. "Is he…"
Gabriella squinted. "A Knight?"
"I think so."
"They could just be friends?" Gabriella suggested, still clutching at straws.
Gabriella had been desperate to remain oblivious to what was becoming glaringly evident. However as the pair leaned toward one another, exchanging fluids in the process of a lingering kiss, even Gabriella wasn't able to deny what they had observed.
"If you kiss your friends like that, I'd like you to stay the hell away from Chad," Taylor said.
The girls were silent as they watched the remainder of the scene unfold. The pair parted, Monica heading in through the staff only section and the boy heading toward the shop exit. Taylor counted in her head to ten, before she grabbed onto Gabriella and pulled her from the store. Once outside and seated on a nearby bench, they allowed themselves to digest and discuss.
"Oh my God," Gabriella breathed. "This is… this is disastrous. What do we do?"
"We're gonna have to tell Zeke, that's what," Taylor said despondently.
"But… oh gosh. How? How can we do that? He's going to be devastated! After spending so long hung up on Sharpay, he finally is trying to move on and…"
"Exactly. It's better that he knows, and sooner rather than later."
"Maybe… maybe it wasn't what it looked like. A genuine mishap…"
"Gabriella, it looked like they'd been hanging out together. Then they kissed. Mutually. No… sudden kiss from him, so disgusted pushing him away from her."
"I know," Gabriella said in a small voice. "I just… I hate this. Zeke's been so happy. And not fake happy, like happy because Sharpay gave him a random look. But… maybe all this time it was fake happy because how can it be real when she… if she…"
"And you're happy and so you want everyone else to be happy like you?" Taylor queried sympathetically.
Gabriella nodded. "Isn't that how you feel?"
"I think you and Troy are in a category of happiness that exceeds anyone else," Taylor said. There was no bitterness to her tone; rather it was a factual observation.
"It hardly seems fair. Zeke's a good guy, he deserves to be happy." Gabriella exhaled. "Okay. So. How do we tell him?"
"Maybe we should ask Chad and Troy what they think. I mean… they know him better than we do," Taylor suggested.
Gabriella liked this idea. She liked the idea because a part of her brain was already thinking that maybe she could pleadingly ask Troy to do the dirty work for her. She was quick to pick up her cell and dial Troy's number. Despite her spark of hope that maybe there was a way that she and Taylor could escape from such an awful duty, she felt a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach. Not since the early, flirtatious stages of their relationship had she felt nervous about calling him.
"Hey you," Troy's soft reply came through the phone.
"Hey," Gabriella said, somewhat tentatively.
"Hi Gab!" she heard Chad's voice in the background.
"Are you okay?" Troy asked. "You sound weird."
"Is Chad at your place?" Gabriella asked, blatantly ignoring the question.
"Uh yeah, we were at Jason's and then Chad and I came back here to hang. Did you girls go shopping?"
"Uh huh. Tay and I are still at the mall. Martha and Kelsi went home. We're just about to get the bus home."
Troy was offended by this notion. "You damn well are not getting the bus. We'll come pick you girls up."
"Oh… you don't have to," Gabriella said.
"Don't be stupid, we're just bumming around. We'll be there in like fifteen minutes, okay? Cinema entrance."
Gabriella hung up. "Troy said they're going to come pick us up."
"Oh good. I really don't like the bus."
The girls ambled over to the front entrance of the cinema. It was about twenty minutes later when they spotted Troy and Chad approaching from the car park.
"Chad wants to get food, you mind if we go back in?" Troy asked.
He kissed Gabriella sweetly on the cheek.
"That's cool," Taylor said.
"Maybe we could check out Fanzz," Chad suggested.
"NO!" Taylor and Gabriella yelped simultaneously.
Chad raised his eyebrows. "I know we talk about basketball a lot but to be fair, you girls talk about math and… stuff… and…"
"That's not why we don't wanna go there," Gabriella said.
"Then why not?" Troy asked.
"Let's go to the food court," Taylor suggested grimly.
The boys were mystified, but agreed nevertheless. Both Chad and Troy, with bottomless pits within their stomachs, purchased more food than the girls would eat in a day.
"Sure you don't want anything?" Troy asked. "Not even one of your chocolate shakey things?"
Gabriella barely managed to smile. "Even if I wanted one, I couldn't drink or eat anything right now."
Finally, Troy and Chad were seated across from Gabriella and Taylor at a table.
"So, what's going on?" Chad asked expectantly.
"We need to ask your advice about something," Taylor said.
The guys glanced at each other. "Umm… is it basketball related? That's kinda the extent of our expertise," Troy pointed out.
"No, it's not about basketball," Gabriella said. "Umm… okay. If you… if you knew something about someone… a something that you shouldn't know about someone but its something that the someone shouldn't be doing and that something would affect someone… a different someone… and this something would hurt the different someone…"
Chad and Troy glanced at each other, clearly bewildered.
"Gab. You need to be more specific for us jocks," Chad advised. "Dude, do you have to decipher this sort of garble all the time?"
Taylor cleared her throat, and sat up a little straighter. "Umm… Okay. Earlier today here at the mall… you know, earlier when we were here with Kelsi and Martha… Kelsi bought a new top for tonight. And then Gabriella and I left the other two…what time was that… I guess around 1:30… and we…"
"And do you always have to put up with her not getting to the point," Troy remarked to Chad.
The girls exchanged an exasperated glance – not exasperated with the guys, but rather with themselves. If they were experiencing this much difficulty telling Troy and Chad about it; how on earth were they going to find the words to tell Zeke what they had witnessed.
Gabriella took a deep breath, summoning the courage from deep within. "We saw Monica making out with a guy. And… and not Zeke."
Silence fell upon the table momentarily. Chad almost choked on the mouthful of softdrink he had just taken. Troy dropped the few fries he had just picked up back onto his tray.
"Are you sure?" Troy asked quietly. "I mean we were with Zeke so obviously it wasn't him but… are you sure about the rest?"
"Maybe… maybe it wasn't what it looked like. Was it… when you say making out, are we talking… like a kiss like how I might kiss my aunt or…" Chad began to say.
"If you kiss your aunt like we saw her kissing this guy then we have a problem," Taylor said quietly.
"Was it someone we know?" Troy asked, his tone hushed.
"Umm… we think so, we weren't sure," Taylor answered uncertainly.
"We think he is one of the Knights…" Gabriella elaborated somewhat hesitantly.
"She used to date one of them," Chad said, somewhat venomously. "About yay high, slight Mohawk, earring at the top of his ear…"
"Uh huh," Taylor said glumly.
"Do we have to tell Zeke?" Gabriella asked timidly.
"Yes!" both Troy and Chad emphatically answered simultaneously.
The girls looked somewhat deflated.
"Umm… I don't suppose you would like to tell him for us?" Gabriella suggested, looking into Troy's eyes imploringly.
He sympathised with her situation, however Troy shook his head ardently. "No, I don't think that's the right thing to do."
"Since when do either of you back down from telling someone the truth about something?" Chad asked, raising his eyebrows at Taylor.
"But this is… it's Zeke! He's gonna be crushed," Taylor said. "And you guys would know how to tell him better than we would."
"Please?" Gabriella asked, once again looking at Troy pleadingly.
"I think he will take it better if he hears it from the actual source," Troy said tactfully.
"Let's get it over with and call him," Taylor urged Gabriella.
"Not on the phone! That's just cruel!"
"Well Monica has a family thing tonight so I'm pretty sure Zeke's just at home," Chad said, the words 'family thing' coming out in disgust.
"Do you want me to call him and ask if we can come over?" Troy asked, taking pity on the girls.
The arrangements were made. Troy had called casually asking if they could come by briefly. He made up an excuse about wanting to look at one of Zeke's PlayStation games. Zeke's response had been that he was in a baking frenzy but that Troy was welcome to come by. And so twenty minutes later, the four of them piled from Chad's car and headed up the drive way.
"I feel sick," Gabriella whispered, clutching her stomach.
Troy rubbed her back consolingly. "It'll be okay. You know we have to do this."
Chad reached out and rang the doorbell. Zeke answered the door, he was wearing an apron and clutching onto a mixing bowl. He looked slightly taken aback seeing all four of them on his door step.
"I thought it was just Bolton. Not that you're all not welcome."
"Yeah, can't get a minute to myself," Troy said with a forced laugh. "I come with groupies."
"It's all good. The more of you the better, you can test my new recipe. I just pulled the first batch out the oven," Zeke said enthusiastically. "Make sure they're not totally hideous before I give them to Monica."
Somehow, Zeke missed the simultaneous group wince at that remark. Wordlessly, they followed him into the kitchen, where he grabbed a plate of warm, freshly baked cookies, setting it down in front of them. Chad was the only one to pick up a cookie.
In the car ride over, Taylor and Gabriella had bickered over who was going to do the talking. Gabriella's argument was that Taylor should tell him because she'd known Zeke for longer and would be better at articulating the situation concisely. Taylor had rebutted the point and suggested that rather Gabriella would be able to deliver the news in a softer, more sensitive and emphatic way. Eventually, they settled upon flipping a coin to decide.
"Umm Zeke?" Gabriella's timid voice said, as she stepped forward to speak. "Taylor and I were at the mall today and we went into Fanzz…"
"Oh, did you see Monica? She was working today," Zeke said enthusiastically. He picked up a knife and proceeded to slice a peeled and cored apple for an apple dessert he was making. Chad coughed and jerked his head at the knife.
Gabriella bit her lip, and closed her eyes for a moment. There was only one factor pulling her through. If, God forbid, Troy lost his mind and decided to cheat on her – she would want to know about it. She kept telling herself that.
"We did see her."
There was something within Gabriella's tone which made Zeke thwart his slicing. She reached out, her hand coming to rest on his, and then took the knife from his hand and placed it onto the bench.
"Zeke, we saw Monica kissing another guy," Gabriella said gently. "And I don't mean kissing like you kiss a relative. It was… real kissing. And… they looked like they knew each other pretty well."
Zeke was starting at Gabriella blankly, almost in disbelief.
"Uh… did you… did you know him?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly.
Taylor took a step forward also, to answer the question. "We umm…. We think we recognised him. But we're not totally sure."
"Who?"
"Um… apparently… she used to go out with him. One of the Knights," Taylor said.
"Sammy Warren," Zeke said softly.
Gabriella swallowed, once again taking Zeke's hand in hers. "I… I hope we did the right thing telling you."
"Yes. You did," Zeke assured her, and squeezed her hand gently before dropping it.
He turned around, and proceeded to knead his fresh batch of dough in the bowl rather violently.
"Dude, do you uh… do you wanna hang with us? We could grab some food or… uh… stay here and hang… or go play some ball or…." Chad rambled.
"I'm good," Zeke said, his voice monotone and flat.
"You sure?" Chad persisted.
"I said I'm good," he reiterated, more firmly.
Troy cleared his throat. "You can call if you wanna talk or… uh… whatever. You know that, right?"
Zeke nodded. "Yeah man. Thanks. Uh… don't mean to sound rude, but I have a lot of stuff to get done so uh…"
"We'll go," Taylor said quietly.
They all turned around, heading towards the door. Gabriella turned back around.
"I'm sorry Zeke."
Kelsi had always been entirely comfortable in being herself. Sure, a part of being herself meant that she was a bit of a klutz and had a tendency to get over excited about anything she was passionate about. But she never was one to question whether she should try to change anything about herself. Hence purchasing the new beret despite Gabriella's resistance to the idea. Hence insisting that a dress was simply not appropriate.
She did somewhat cave – pulling out the make up bag which was so infrequently delved into; and even retrieving her hair straightener and leaving her hair out beneath the cute beret. Kelsi's final appearance had received Gabriella's approval. At her friends request, she'd sent picture message of herself through, receiving the response from Gabriella that she looked 'fabulous' and a message from Troy minutes later that he saw the photo and she looked hot. Kelsi would be lying if this hadn't been a squeal worthy factor. Who was she to deny that it was a good feeling being told by the captain of the basketball team that she looked hot?
However it wasn't the captain's opinion that she cared about.
The doorbell rang promptly at 6:30. Kelsi gave Jason a mental tick in her mind for punctuality.
"Kelsi, Jason's here!" her brother's voice rang up the stairs.
She picked up her handbag, casting one final glance in the mirror. She felt a little nervous but not on the scale she had anticipated. Taylor and Gabriella had spent the last four days trading stories about feeling so terrified before their first dates with Chad and Troy. Kelsi felt perfectly calm. The truth was that she'd spent a bit of one on one time with Jason lately, and didn't particularly anticipate anything to be particularly different. She bound down the stairs, to find Jason waiting in the front hallway, looking at photos on the mantelpiece.
"Is this you?" he exclaimed, holding up a baby photo.
Kelsi giggled. "Yes. Terrible, isn't it?"
"You look miserable."
"Apparently I was a crier, and that was the calmest photo they had."
"Hey, you got a new hat. It's cute," Jason complimented.
"Thank you," Kelsi said.
"Well, we should get going," Jason said, heading towards the door.
Kelsi called good bye to her parents and followed him out towards his mother's car that he had borrowed.
"Where are we going?" she asked curiously.
"Nowhere too fancy, the fancy restaurant thing isn't my thing."
"Neither is it mine."
"Do you know that Italian eatery near the Eastside Mall?"
"Oh, I really like that place, I went there with my family last month."
"Thought you would, I knew you liked pasta."
"Doesn't everyone like pasta?"
"Zeke doesn't."
"WHAT?!" Kelsi exclaimed. "No way."
"Yes way. The guy is a freak. He calls himself a food lover and he doesn't like pasta. Something about the texture between his teeth."
Taylor and Chad; and Gabriella and Troy had gone their separate ways after the reveal at Zeke's. Gabriella and Troy had gone to her house – abiding by the bedroom door open as they lounged on her bed watching a movie. The mood was understandably sullen. Gabriella was clutching to Troy, snuggling into him, diverting her eyes from the screen each time an explosion or gunfight was imminent. It was a testament to her mood that she hadn't even tried to argue when he had suggested an action film.
As the end credits began to roll, Gabriella hardly even noticed, her thoughts so far away.
"Gabriella?" Troy enquired, his hand tipping on her chin. "Don't tell me you were so far off in la la land that you missed the big romantic moment at the end."
"Huh?" Gabriella said. "Oh, is it over?"
"Yeah. They made out. He proposed."
"Oh. That's nice," she said, somewhat distractedly.
"Talk to me," Troy said.
His tone was soft but she sensed his determination.
"I promise I would never, ever, ever cheat on you," Gabriella said softly.
Troy looked at her sharply, not able to hide his shock. "I know that. And straight back at you."
"If you were ever not happy with me, with us… you would tell me, wouldn't you?"
This comment was even more worrying for Troy than the initial one.
"Have I done something to make you think I'm not happy?" Troy asked, slightly panicked. "Because if I was any more happier I think there would be like puppies and rainbows shooting out of my ass."
"That was… very creative imagery. And no no, I'm not saying that. I just… It makes me think… that she must not have been happy with Zeke, or she wouldn't have done it. But… they seemed so happy. I thought she was totally into him."
"I guess she had us all fooled. Especially him."
Jason and Kelsi were seated across from one another at the family style Italian restaurant Jason had chosen for the night. Kelsi had been in a fit of giggles almost since the moment he'd picked her up.
"And then he spewed up, right there, in front of her parents," Jason finished the story.
"That's disgusting!" Kelsi gasped, nevertheless laughing.
"Chad learnt his lesson after that. Big parties the night before a lunch with the parents – not a great idea."
"Perhaps it was an omen that it wasn't going to work with him and Kayla," Kelsi suggested.
"Maybe," Jason agreed.
Kelsi cleared her throat. "So tell me, were the guys all trying to be helpful and give you advice about tonight?"
"No. They were making me nervous though," Jason admitted. "They started telling stories about their first dates – including Troy with that complicated tour of the town thing he did for Gabriella. I was like, and here I was thinking it'll be nice to just sit and talk and hang with you and just you and not everyone else."
Kelsi ducked her head, smiling. "No, I agree. I don't need all that complicated stuff."
"Yeah but, of course you're gonna say that. You're not gonna tell me to my face, gee Jase, you coulda done something way cooler."
Kelsi giggled. "No I wouldn't but… I am telling you now that I couldn't care less what they all do on their dates. This isn't about them. It's about us and what works for us. Isn't it?"
"I think that might be the best date advice I've ever been given."
Chad and Taylor had remained fairly quiet throughout, listening patiently but mostly 'uh-huh'ing, and saying 'sure.' had been ranting and raving about what a bitch Monica was, and how dreadful it was that she could do something so terrible to such a lovely guy like Zeke. Meanwhile, had headed to the local pizza parlour to grab some food.
"What do you think about it?" Taylor asked.
Chad was on such auto pilot that he almost opened his mouth to say, uh huh before realising that he might actually need to formulate an actual response.
"I kinda want to know Monica's side," Chad confessed, not being one to hold back from the truth.
Unless the truth was something he wanted to hide from people.
"What do you mean, you wanna know her side? She was kissing her ex. There is no other side."
"Come on Tay, you're a smart person. These situations have context," he pointed out.
"The context doesn't justify it."
"Maybe not but… Monica is my friend as well. I mean, Zeke's obviously one of my best buddies but I care about her also. I feel like I should at least know her side of the story before just writing her off into the Monica is totally evil category. Sometimes people just make mistakes, they fuck up. That's life. Just because you fuck up it doesn't necessarily mean that you're a completely evil person."
Taylor pursed her lips. "Good thing Ryan isn't here."
"What does Evans have to do with this?" Chad asked, suddenly feeling a panic. Had Ryan said something?
"He'd probably use this as some classic example to prove that Taylor is indeed closed minded."
"I thought you guys talked about this and moved on," Chad said, rolling his eyes as he picked up a slice of pizza.
"Yeah. But that doesn't mean that I stopped thinking about it. Just because an issue isn't being addressed doesn't mean it isn't still there."
Chad wasn't oblivious to the multiple connotations of the remark she had made. However, he simply chose to ignore it, and changed the subject.
"There's nothing really we can do. I'll give him a call later, see if he feels like talking. Knowing Zeke, he will be stewing about it."
"I really don't mind," Kelsi insisted.
Kelsi and Jason had been standing in the foyer of the cinema discussing what film to see for ten minutes. One would tentatively suggest a film, the other would agree, then the person who suggested it would say, but what do YOU want to see. And it was a vicious cycle of politeness.
"Why don't I close my eyes and point to something," Jason said, motioning to the session times print out she held in her hand.
"Go on," Kelsi encouraged.
Jason followed his plan, closed his eyes, waving his hand around in the air madly – eliciting a giggle from Kelsi – and then plonked it down.
"Tropic Thunder," Jason declared.
"Sounds good," Kelsi said.
"Are you sure?" Jason asked.
"Yes! Now let's get tickets. It starts in ten minutes."
Gabriella had insisted upon putting in another DVD even though Troy knew very well that she wasn't particularly in a concentrating type of mood. However, he obliged her wish for a while. A half hour into the movie, Troy reached out and pressed pause on the remote.
"Tell me that guys name," Troy asked her, pointing to the main character.
She winced. "Umm… his name… is… Cameron?"
"Close but no cigar. Gabriella, if you're not in the mood to be doing this, we don't have to be."
"I'm sorry. I'm being a downer."
"I'm not asking you to sing and dance a merry song. It's a sucky night, that's a given. Let's just try to make the most of it, yeah?"
"I feel guilty," Gabriella confessed.
"Why? You know we had to tell him," Troy consoled her.
"No, I do know that. That's not what I meant. I feel guilty because… because you and I are happy."
"Hey, don't be silly. You and I, we've worked for this. It hasn't just appeared out of nowhere. Besides, you've been through enough in your life. You deserve to be happy," Troy murmured, cupping her chin.
She allowed his lips to meet hers softly, and parted her lips to deepen the kiss. Troy pulled away abruptly.
"Gabriella, your mom," he reminded softly, gesturing to the open door.
"Turn the DVD back on. We can make out. She probably won't come up here anyway. And as long as you keep your hands to yourself…"
"I don't know if I'm capable of doing that."
"Try. For me?"
He sighed, the beseeching look in her eye enough to convince Troy that he should go along with any suggestion.
"Fine. But I'll probably need a cold shower when I get home."
Jason pulled up outside Kelsi's house, and turned to her smiling brightly. He turned off the engine, but didn't even take off his seatbelt.
"Well this was fun," he said brightly.
Queue the response of, we should do it again sometime.
Kelsi smiled. "Yeah, yeah it was."
Awkward silence.
Jason cleared his throat. "Well your curfew is in a few minutes so…"
"So I should go inside," Kelsi finished. She smiled at him brightly. "Tonight was really fun, I wasn't just… agreeing for the sake of agreeing."
"That's um… that's good. Good to hear."
Kelsi opened the passenger door of the car, Jason quickly unbuckling his belt and opening his door to dash after her, walking her to the front door.
"Night Jase," Kelsi said.
Jason took a step forward, taking in a breath. Kelsi licked her lower lip subconsciously in slight anticipation of the moment she new was coming. Her eyes closed as Jason leaned down.
Problem was that Jason also had closed his eyes, and as Kelsi's head tilted slightly to the right, Jason's head tilted slightly to the left. The result – a collision of noses.
"Ow!" Kelsi squealed.
"Oh shit! Did… did I hurt you?" Jason exclaimed.
"No no I'm fine…. I tend to just say ow out of reflex."
"You sure?"
"I'm sure," she said, assuring him.
"Uh… should we try that again?" Jason asked cautiously.
"Yes!" Kelsi said, perhaps a little quicker than socially acceptable.
Jason nodded. "Okay…"
And as the gap between them became smaller and smaller, the front door creaked open.
"You're late!" a voice said accusingly.
Kelsi gritted her teeth, turning to stare at her younger brother. Hereforth to be referred to as 'the moment killer.'
"I am not! Go away!" she hissed.
"Ew, were you going to kiss?!"
"I said, go away!" Kelsi repeated, her voice rising in octaves.
Jason was now staring at his shuffling feet.
"Err…. I'd better go in," she said, a little awkwardly.
He nodded. "Right."
Kelsi leaned over, kissing him quickly on the cheek as she gave him a quick hug. "I really did have a great time. Good night."
"Good night," Jason's voice echoed
Zeke sat in his room, alone.
One minute he'd been happy, contemplating just how well life had been going.
Then all it took was a few words to bring that world crashing down.
Somehow, things had been easier when he'd been crushing on Sharpay from afar. Her words of rejection might have been repetitive, but they were expected. They were familiar. The familiar could be comforting.
He glanced over at the framed photo of himself and Monica from Homecoming, staring at it with a feeling of venom. He picked it up, trailing his finger over her face.
A moment later, the glass shattered against his wardrobe door.
