Hooolllaaa! It's me again, back with more! Thanks once again for the amazing reviews, and it was nice to see even more new readers and reviewers on board once again this chapter. Kudos to you all for sticking it our through so many chapters to read from the start!
Loved all your guesses at who the gang would define as a hero. You'll have to read on to see if you were right hehe.
Have to send a shoutout to Em, because as she correctly pointed out to me just now, my story would be utter shiiitee without her ;) And also to Jess – you can stop refreshing the page now hehe.
Hope you all enjoy this chapter. It has a bit of everything really! Especially Troyella fluff, which makes up for the last chapter. I was going to have Troy at th funeral but then I decided if he wasn't there it gave me the opportunity to write some really touching Maria/Gabi stuff so that's where I took it.
Anyway. I give you...Chapter 29!
Charli xox
Chapter 29
"Why does my Mom not buy snack food this good for me?" Troy wondered aloud as he munched on some leftovers from Maria, Gabi and Lucille's 'girls-day-in' during the week that he had found in the cupboard.
"Because she loves me more," Gabriella replied as quick as a flash and with a completely serious face, which she managed to hold for approximately 2.3 seconds before dissolving into giggles.
"Hey," Troy protested. "As long as you remember I love you the most!"
"Always, Wildcat. Always."
Troy laughed and kissed her softly on the side of her head as she snuggled into his side. After a moment or so he spoke again, his tone more serious.
"I really wish I could have been there for you today..."
Gabriella arched her back, stretching out before curling back into Troy. "I know, but it was the most important training session of the year, Troy. The championships are in a week."
"Gabi, you are more important to me than anything in the world – you were on my mind the whole time I was training today. I would have skipped training in a wink."
"I know, Wildcat. But I'm not going to have you sacrificing everything you enjoy for me. You have given up SO much of the past 5 or so months to be by my side and I am so, so grateful. But I'm not going to watch you throw away the championships and know it is because of me..."
"But..."
Gabriella silenced him with her finger on his lips. "I know how much you love me, Troy – I can see it every time you look at me. I love you too – so, so much. And as soon as I'm back on my feet 100 percent, I'm going to start paying you back for all the time you've given up to be with me."
Troy nuzzled her nose with his. "You know, just being able to be here with you makes up for anything I might be missing out on at home or with the guys. You pulling through this thing and getting better would be reward enough for me."
Gabriella smiled and kissed him before settling her head on his shoulder once again. Suddenly they heard the front door open and close, and Lucille Bolton came into the Montez's lounge room carrying armfuls of grocery bags.
"Uuuh- no way mister, get your hand away from the chocolate RIGHT NOW – that's Gabriella's."
"But Mo-om...!"
"Don't 'but Mom' me, Troy Bolton."
"Why do you buy Gabriella nice stuff to eat and not me?"
"Because I love her more. Now hand the chocolate over, Bucko," Lucille glared at her son before turning to Gabriella – who was desperately trying to suppress her giggles – with a smile. "Gabi, honey – your Mom just called my cell. Apparently there is some accident or something in town and she's stuck in traffic on the way home from the pharmacy, so I'm going to start dinner for her. She won't be too long. Jack shouldn't be too far off either."
Maria had decided to take both hers and Gabriella's minds off funerals and sadness by having the Bolton's over for dinner that evening. Troy had come directly from practice, Jack staying behind to pack away and go home to change. Maria had left Troy to 'look after' Gabi while she ducked into town to pick up Gabriella's prescriptions but was now stuck in traffic.
"Wow. Why does the world hate me?" Troy asked incredulously as Lucille snatched the chocolate and gummy bears up with a wink at Gabriella, who placed her hands on his face and patted his cheeks.
"Awwww, diddums," she teased. "Did big bad mommy take away your num-nums?"
Troy stuck out his bottom lip. "Yes."
Gabriella giggled and ran her hand up his chest, causing Troy to shiver. "It's probably just as well," she sighed as her fingers continued to trail over his front. "We can't have evil chocolate tainting these perfect abs..."
Troy gritted his teeth as another shiver ran through him at Gabriella's feather soft touch. Not helping matters was the fact he knew she was blissfully unaware of the effects she was having on him at that moment.
"Ok Gab," he laughed shakily, lightly pushing her hand away. "You'd better stop that."
Gabriella's eyebrows knitted together before her face split into a grin. "Why, Wildcat? Does it tiiiickle? Can't hack a little tickle anymore?" Far from stopping, Gabriella's fingers widened their trail, ghosting over his arms as well as up and down his chest.
Troy closed his eyes and tried his hardest to think of cold, cold showers and icy buckets of water as he shook his head at his girlfriend. Her complete and utter innocence just made him love her even more. He was by no means...experienced but Gabriella...he knew she would be mortified when she realised what her touch was doing to him.
"Gab...Gabi...stop...really – Gabriella!" he knew he had her attention now. "I kinda really, really need you to stop that or you're gonna get me into a lot of...trouble," he gulped, looking down.
As Gabriella followed his gaze she suddenly realised what he was talking about and sprang back, a blush rapidly spreading across her cheeks.
"I...I...oh god, your mom is coming!" Gabriella gasped in horror at the approaching footsteps and quickly threw a cushion at Troy who clutched it in his lap.
"Troy, could you come and help me in the kitchen for a moment please?" Lucille asked, poking her head into the lounge room.
Troy gulped again. "Uh...sure Mom, just give me...just give me a sec. Or two..."
"Ok," Lucille nodded. "Just don't be too long, I need the table set."
"Yeah Mom – I'll be right in," Lucille headed back into the kitchen and Troy sighed with relief before looking over at Gabriella who was still beet-red – her expression a cross between embarrassment and amusement.
"That...that was a close call..." she said meekly.
Troy whacked her gently with the cushion. "Close?! You have to idea...My mom...and...God, Gabi!"
The pair looked at each other before bursting out laughing.
Laughter.
It felt good.
HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM
An hour and a half later, Maria, Gabriella and the Bolton's were clearing up after dinner.
"Well, that was officially delicious," Jack complimented, patting his stomach.
"I agree," Troy chipped in with a nod of his head.
"See, aren't you glad you left room for dinner, instead of pigging out earlier?" Lucille teased.
"Mom," Troy sighed with a dramatic roll of his eyes, and Lucille smirked, mimicking the speech she knew was coming. "I'm a growing boy. I need all the nou..."
"Nourishment you can get, yeah yeah yeah," Lucille patted him on the back before looking at Maria and Gabriella. "Because he is so underfed, usually. We just starve him."
Maria laughed. "So I had better make sure you get an extra brownie with dessert then?"
Troy opened his mouth to reply but suddenly spotted the time. "Actually – as tempting as that sounds – I've got to run."
"Before dessert?" Jack asked incredulously. "Are you feeling ok, son?"
"Yeah haha," Troy rolled his eyes at his dad. "I have to go to Chad's – we have this presentation due Monday for Mrs Adamson's class and this is the last chance we will have to finish off and run over it. I'd better get going – Taylor will kill me if I'm late."
"Taylor is going too?" Gabriella asked "Maybe I could come and help you guys? "
"Uh...well...I don't th..." Troy stammered, trying to think up a good excuse for her not to come with him. Luckily, he was saved by Maria.
"It's getting a little late for you to be going out honey – you need your rest. Besides, you have to take your medication in a minute and there are a whole heap of new pills Dr Zamitt has added that we need to sit down and sort out. Maybe next time, huh?" Maria compromised, dropping a kiss atop Gabriella's head.
"I guess," Gabriella replied softly, resting her chin on her hand.
Troy pushed his chair back and stood up, grabbing his gym bag and school bag. "Thanks again for dinner, Maria - it was awesome."
"Don't thank me, thank your mother," Maria smiled. "She did most of the hard work while I was stuck in traffic! Maybe I should send Gabriella over to your house to eat Luc's cooking every night – she actually ate a little bit!"
Troy grinned and bent down to kiss Gabriella on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow, babe. Love you."
"I love you too," Gabriella sighed, wishing she could go with him. "Say hi to everyone from me."
"I will," Troy promised as he kissed her cheek one last time before bidding everyone farewell and heading out to his truck and over to meet the gang at Chad's.
It was time for Operation: Hero to be finalised.
HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM
"Have a great day, sweetie. Don't push yours..."
"Myself too hard – I know Mom," Gabriella told her with a smile.
"I know you know," Maria replied with a sigh. "I'm a Mom – worrying is what I do."
Gabriella leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "And I love you for worrying. I'll see you this afternoon."
"Bye Gabi," Maria waved her daughter out of sight.
The bell for the start of second period rang as Gabriella hurried up the hall towards Mrs Adamson's class. She had had a doctor's appointment before school which had run late, so she had only just made it in now.
In the classroom, Troy was pacing. The Wildcat's were up first to present, but they were stalling as much as they could – they didn't want to start without Gabriella there.
"Dude, are you sure she was in class today, not on home school?" Chad asked.
"Yes I'm sure," Troy replied. "She had a doctor's appointment before school, it probably ran late. She should here any minute...I hope..."
"Mr Bolton, we need to get started," Mrs Adamson prompted, nodding towards the clock.
"I know," Troy nodded. "We just..."
"Sorry I'm late," Gabriella apologised quietly to the teacher as she entered the classroom, a faint pink flush apparent on her pale cheeks. She smiled at Troy before taking her seat.
"You're more than excused, dear," the teacher smiled. "Now, you get to relax this lesson – we've been working on group assignments which the groups will be presenting today on what is the true definition of a hero. So hopefully they have come up with some exciting presentations for us! Now, what were you saying Mr Bolton?"
Troy grinned. "We are just...ready to get started!"
Jason pulled down the projector screen at the front of the room and the groups PowerPoint presentation beamed onto the white background. The title screen was yellow and read 'Defining a Hero, by Sharpay, Chad, Troy, Taylor, Kelsi, Ryan, Zeke and Jason'.
Chad stepped forward and shuffled his notes nervously as the class fell silent, all eyes towards the front of the room. "Hero. One word, so many opinions. Who is a hero? A life saver? A research scientist? A muscular figure wearing tights with their undies on the outside?"
The class laughed as Chad shrugged and Taylor stepped forward to take her turn. "When considering our definition of a hero, we thought it was important to come up with a list of qualities common to the heroes we have studied in class. As a group, we came up with the following list."
Jason hit a button on the laptop and the list from their group brainstorm appeared on the PowerPoint.
Courage
Bravery
Strength
Sacrifice
Determination
Focus
Perseverance
Fortitude
Taylor stepped back to join the rest of the gang as Sharpay moved forward. The list faded from the screen, the question points 'WHO? WHAT?' replacing it.
"Once our list of important qualities was complete, we thought long and hard about who or what we could talk about in our presentation that encompassed all the traits we had listed. That was my suggestion, I..." Sharpay felt a sharp tug on her jacket and stumbled backwards next to Ryan as Troy took his place in front of the class.
"It didn't take long for us to come up with our definition of a hero once we thought about all these qualities. In fact, I think we knew the definition before we even came up with the list – it just helped us to realise what was right in front of us all along. Our definition of a hero only has two words. But those two words have more meaning than any long-winded description we could have come up with. Our definition shows us strength, gives us hope and epitomises courage. Our definition grasps life by the reins and lives it to the full, no matter what challenges life throws at them. Our definition is sitting right in front of us today," the words on the PowerPoint screen faded as a photograph appeared. Tears filled Gabriella's eyes as she covered her mouth with her hand. Troy looked her in the eye, his face filled with warmth and love as he concluded. "Our definition of a hero: Gabriella Montez."
Ryan was up next, as Jason hit a few more keys and dot points of information appeared over the picture of Gabriella. Troy had picked the photo – it was one of his favourites. He had it in a frame next to his bed and felt it captured the essence of everything Gabriella – her sweet innocence and shy but vibrant personality shining through her beautiful smile and eyes which sparkled with happiness.
"Gabriella has achieved so much in her life thus far – more than most would ever hope to in a lifetime. These achievements spanned a wide range of areas – from academia to her home life. In her first week at East High she had a hand in altering the make-up of the East High student body!" he exclaimed with a smile. "Although a few of us may not have liked that at the time," he glanced at his sister who coughed loudly, causing the class to laugh again, "we knew deep down that this was one special girl. An amazing young woman who held the power to affect change. This was a fact which was only further confirmed by a shock turn of events late last year."
Kelsi cleared her throat nervously as she took her turn to speak. "As you all know, just a few weeks into the school year, Gabriella was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Cancer. We were all shattered when we heard the news – scared and upset for Gabriella, and for ourselves. How would we cope? But Gabriella was our strength. She took her diagnosis with the attitude of a true hero: she ensured everyone that it would be ok, and readied herself for the fight."
"When we looked back on the list of qualities we decided a hero should hold, we realised that every single one of them can be seen in our best friend, 'little sister', our 'freaky math girl'...our Gabriella. She shows us the true meaning of every single one of those words each day as she battles cancer with more dignity than most could muster, and more...more guts than anyone I've ever met. She is determined not to let her illness beat her, and we have no doubt that she will come out of this ordeal triumphant," as Zeke finished his section of the speech, he took over control of the PowerPoint, allowing Jason to speak.
"Our Gabs is one in a million. The fact that she is actually sitting here in front of us today is nothing short of a miracle. She's a champion, a legend, and our best friend. She doesn't need to wear a fancy spandex costume or a cape to prove that she is a super hero. We can already see that she is. She's our hero and we love her. Some of us more than others..." he added with a glance and a smirk at Troy.
Troy scratched his neck embarrassedly before moving back to the front of the group to wrap up the presentation. "In conclusion, the definition of a hero can be as broad or as narrow as one deems necessary, but in our group there is one thing we all agree on. Our hero is our biggest inspiration. She brings laughter, happiness, and that little extra bit of sunshine to our days. Our hero is one of the most important people in our lives, and we are so proud of her. She helps others just by being herself, and we have no doubt she will carry on changing people's outlook on life for years to come, as her amazing story continues to be written. We love you Gabriella...you really are our hero."
There was barely a dry eye in the classroom as Troy concluded the group's speech. Before Mrs Adamson could get herself together and comment on the presentation, the entire class was on their feet applauding, and Gabriella had got up out of her seat and hurried to the front of the classroom - flinging herself at Troy, hugging him tight before hugging all of her friends one by one, whispering her thanks to them.
As the applause died down and their classmates sat themselves back in their seats, Mrs Adamson finally dried her tears enough to talk. Gabriella remained attached to Troy's side as the teacher addressed the group.
"Never...never - in my eighteen years as a teacher at East High school – have I witnessed such an inspiring, motivating...such a beautiful presentation. You are right – Gabriella is a hero and you guys are very special young men and women. The way that you have all dealt with the shock and upset of Gabriella's diagnosis and allowed it to bring you all even closer together...it's just admirable, and - to be totally honest - in my book, you are ALL heroes and that's a fact."
And there you go. Another chapter done and dusted. Another chapter closer to the ... gulp... end of this story! Don't worry, there is still a bit to go yet hehe.
Next up: Remembering Mackenzie, and an unscheduled admission.
I love hearing from you all – don't forget to leave me a review and tell me what you thought of this chapter, or what you think of the story in general!!
Charli xox
