THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT
AN:
Here's another chapter guys (finally, yeah yeah, I know...) hope you enjoy :) Please let me know your thoughts.... pretty crucial chapter here...
If you're not already, check out my other little mini-series that I'm writing, it's called The Simple Need and I kinda f'love it :D
Thanks Audrey for your fab beta work/poking me with a stick/honest opinions. Mwah!
Chapter 38
I could stay awake just to hear you breathing
Watch you smile while you are sleeping
While you're far away and dreaming
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender
I could stay lost in this moment forever
When every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure
Don't wanna close my eyes
Don't wanna fall asleep
Coz I'll miss you babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing
Aerosmith 'Don't Wanna Miss A Thing'
It was only exam number one that was complete, but Troy nonetheless felt a wave of relief. Drama was his only subject that he actually felt confident with the material; and was the only subject where he was striving not to maintain his GPA but to actually improve it. And so it was an incredible relief walking out of exam number one on Monday morning, feeling as though he'd actually done not only okay, not only good, but actually really great.
East High had a fairly strict policy overseeing all of its block exams that took place during mid terms and finals. Classes were cancelled for a week and in place exams were scheduled for various points throughout the week, students only having to attend when they had exams. There was a zero tolerance, rigid behavioural policy. Students were required to be quiet and courteous in the corridors to respect students who were taking exams.
As they emerged from their drama theory exam, Troy's arms engulfed around Gabriella from behind and he began to walk along with her without breaking the pose, shuffling along as he was attached behind her.
"I don't think I've ever walked out of an exam happy before. This can't be a good sign," Troy murmured quietly into her ear.
Gabriella giggled quietly, her hands enclosing over where his rested on her abdomen, squeezing lightly. "I'm sure it's a great sign," she said quietly.
He removed a hand just for long enough to sweep her ebony tresses to the left of her head, leaving the right side of her neck exposed and consequently allowing him to lean down and press sweet, soft, sporadic kisses against her warm flesh.
Gabriella wasn't quite paying attention, instead her line of vision was directed toward where Taylor and Chad were walking arm in arm slightly ahead. She couldn't deny the slightly bitter pang that had become ingrained within her reaction to Taylor being within proximity, like some sort of defence mechanism, her brain automatically thinking negative thoughts. But she also couldn't deny the pang of longing. The impulse was to call after her, to ask how her exam was, to talk about their weekend. The defence mechanism then kicked in and the negative thoughts brought the reality of the situation back.
Troy was oblivious to Gabriella's thoughts, instead still pressing the occasional kiss onto her neck as the majority of their class was headed toward the open aired quad where they were free to speak freely about the exam without fear of recrimination from teachers due to hallway decorum during exam block.
The moment that they hit the open air, in one fluid series of movements, Troy released his girlfriend from the embrace from behind position, his hands falling upon her waist, turning her round to face him, and he picked her up and spun her around, Gabriella shrieking as she clutched onto his arms.
"One exam down!" he declared excitedly.
"And how many to go?" she reminded him.
"I'm being optimistic," he reprimanded her.
She smiled in return, but Troy finally noted her faraway gaze, following her line of vision toward where Taylor and Chad were talking with Zeke and Jason not so far away.
"Hey," he said softly, his fingers gently tilting her chin up, and her gaze soon returned back to his sympathetic eyes. "You know... you could talk to her."
"I want to," Gabriella admitted. "I do..."
"But?" he prompted.
"I can't," she whispered. "I just... I just can't."
"Okay, that's fine," he said simply.
Troy had faith that Taylor and Gabriella weren't going to fight forever, and that they had to resolve things in their own time. He wasn't going to push his girlfriend, understanding that no amount of other people pushing was going to help; rather it had to be an internal decision.
"You think I'm being stupid and girly and making more out of this than what it is, don't you?" her soft voice enquired.
He didn't want to lie, but he also didn't want to offend her, choosing upon responding with a balance of honesty and delicacy. "I don't know about the stupid and girly. But as for the other, I think that's what everyone does when a fight with someone gets personal, you know?"
"I guess," Gabriella said dubiously.
The whole experience of the argument with Taylor was very foreign for Gabriella. She wasn't accustomed to having friends that she was close enough with that getting into a disagreement would cause such a personal fight. The emotions she was experiencing were removed from her realm of expertise. And as the argument and stalemate portion was foreign to her, the 'making up' portion was equally foreign.
"Hey, it's all gonna be fine, I promise," Troy said quietly, earnestly, and pressed his lips to hers in a chaste kiss of comfort.
"Hey guys," Ryan said cheerfully.
Gabriella quickly pulled back from Troy, blushing a little. Ryan didn't even appear phased that he'd interrupted them, but Kelsi who had come along with him was averting her eyes. She'd tugged on Ryan's arm and insisted that Troy and Gabriella appeared to be having a private moment but Ryan had equally insisted that they wouldn't care.
"Sup," Troy greeted them, his arm slipping around Gabriella's waist.
"How did your exam go?" Ryan asked.
"I was really stoked with mine, I think I did well," Troy declared. "Which is probably a bad thing."
Gabriella rolled her eyes, having already reprimanded him for making that assumption. "Some of the thematic questions were fairly subjective," she said diplomatically. Gabriella didn't like to give away when she felt confident leaving an exam – because truthfully, she very rarely felt unconfident and if she let people see that then she was concerned it may come across as arrogant.
Kelsi nodded in agreement. "But I think Ms. Darbus is open to different interpretations, as long as they are justified."
"It's pretty much my only exam that I've done a lot of study for," Ryan confessed. "So fingers crossed I did okay."
"I told you I'd help you get through your exams and I will," Gabriella said, nodding firmly and squeezing Ryan's arm.
"And when Gabriella says she'll do something, you know she will," Troy said, pressing a kiss to Gabriella's cheek.
Gabriella blushed slightly. "No pressure on me or anything."
The foursome continued to chat for a little while, discussing some of the intricacies of the exam and also upcoming tests throughout the week.
"What's that about?" Troy remarked, glancing across the quad to where Sharpay and Zeke were now talking. The dynamics of conversation groups had shifted; Zeke, Jason and Martha had been in a conversation and Sharpay had pulled Zeke slightly away from the other two.
"They're friends," Ryan said loosely.
Gabriella and Kelsi exchanged a knowing glance which wasn't lost on Ryan, but which Troy remained oblivious to.
"He should just give up," Troy said, rolling his eyes.
Ryan, Kelsi and Gabriella chose to ignore Troy's comment, being saved by Jason and Martha making their way over to the rest of the group.
"Hey, who's up for heading to the mall to grab lunch and then coming back here for a group study thing?" Martha asked. "Chad and Taylor have taken off, but Zeke said he's up for it, and Jason already volunteered you Kelsi."
Jason grinned impishly at his girlfriend, who merely smiled back at him.
"I'm actually going home with Sharpay this afternoon and we're studying together," Ryan told the group. "Well, she doesn't know we're studying yet. She thinks we're going to start working on her call back audition for Juilliard."
Troy snorted slightly. "I thought that wasn't gonna be until like, March?"
"That's right," Ryan said calmly. He'd expected Sharpay to become excited about her call back. She'd already allowed her focus upon the school detract her from studying throughout the first half of senior year, and getting a call back was merely exacerbating her Juilliard tunnel vision.
"You guys wanna come?" Jason asked, glancing from Gabriella to Troy.
Gabriella glanced at Troy, who cleared his throat and said, "I think I may need some individualised study help for physics. We might catch up with you guys later on though, if you're still around."
"Fair enough."
They said their farewells and the couple headed hand in hand to cut through the quad toward Troy's locker.
"Okay, so individual physics tuition. Do you want to get your books and then we can head to the library?" Gabriella suggested.
Troy smirked, pausing before they re-entered the corridors He pulled her close toward him and then leaned forward, pressed a soft kiss to her lips, and murmured by her ear.
"I do need tuition but I kinda just wanted to ditch them because I was thinking that maybe before we study, we should uh... celebrate."
They were standing close together with both hands adjoined.
"Celebrate what?"Gabriella asked, already suspecting exactly what he was inferring.
"That we finished an exam," Troy said. "And that we're back together after being separated for a whole weekend."
Gabriella couldn't help but giggle at his persistence as he pulled her toward him and pressed a soft kiss to her neck, right at the point that caused her knees to wobble a little.
"We also have a bunch of exams to go," Gabriella reminded him.
"Yeah, so? We can study later. Right now, we have two empty houses, babe. We should be taking advantage of that. I'm very stressed about my exams, you know, and I think I need to destress. Which is something that you can definitely help me with."
Gabriella glanced at the slim silver watch which adorned her wrist. "Troy, it's 11am."
"So?"
She cleared her throat. "Well... all of our parents are at work all day."
"Exactly," Troy said, not understanding her point.
"How do I say this delicately..." she pondered out loud, before glancing around to make sure no one was within earshot. She finally responded tentatively. "We do need to study. And... since the parents are at work all day, and the houses are going to remain empty for the whole afternoon... how about we study for a couple of hours, and then take a break and then we can go home to... celebrate? It's not like we're going to need all day."
Troy narrowed his eyes. "You're insulting my stamina!"
"No, I'm not," Gabriella insisted. "I knew you'd take it that way though."
"Well how am I supposed to take it?"
"Just as a statement of fact. It doesn't take hours and hours, no matter how great your stamina is! So we should go study and then you can think of it as a reward or something," she said, attempting to negotiate with him.
"Oh it will be a reward, believe me," Troy said confidently. "But not for me. For you. It will be a reward for your incredible tutoring. Because you know, I've been working really hard on this issue and I won't have you mocking me."
"You've been working hard on it?" Gabriella repeated, her face clouding with confusion.
"Yes. There's exercises and things. And techniques..."
"Oh." Gabriella was touched that Troy was concerned about the issue, but also worried that she may have been the cause of his concern in the first place. She glanced around again, feeling a little peculiar conducting the conversation at all, let alone on the edge of the quad where students were spread out all around them. "Troy... I wasn't insulting your stamina. You're seventeen! I don't expect stamina. I couldn't have imagined a more thoughtful and caring person to... you know... share myself with. Just the fact that you care about... the outcome... for me – that's all that matters."
"Thoughtful and caring, such lovely words. How about, sexy and absolutely mind blowing?"
"Does it occur to you that maybe I consider thoughtful and caring to be sexy and mind blowing attributes?" Gabriella asked, rolling her eyes.
"Whatever."
She couldn't tell if he was actually feeling dented or if he was playing, perhaps procrastinating from studying. She narrowed her eyes, attempting to read his expression. A hand came up to cup the side of his face, before she stood up on tip toe and pressed her lips to his, coaxing his lips apart, initiating a steamy kiss.
"Troy? Remember Thursday afternoon?"
A grin filled Troy's features at the memory of the amazing afternoon they'd shared. "Yeah..."
"Did I sound like I thought you were anything less than sexy and mind blowing?"
"Well no. But maybe you were faking."
"I would never fake!" she exclaimed indignantly, slapping him on the arm lightly.
"Look, this is seriously bothering me. I think we need to go back to your place right now so I can prove myself," Troy said firmly.
Gabriella narrowed her eyes once more, and then let out a small gasp. "Troy! You're not even upset about this, are you? You just wanted me to agree to blowing off studying to go have sex!"
"Did it work?" he asked cheekily.
"No it did not," Gabriella said firmly. "If anything I'm now more determined to make sure you study."
"Not even with my promise to totally blow your mind?" Troy asked, once again pressing a kiss to her neck and momentarily suckling at her skin.
He heard the slight intake of breath that Gabriella took, smirking slightly at her involuntary reaction.
"Study first... then... maybe, and I mean maybe... we can do something," Gabriella conceded.
Troy sighed, but nodded in concession. "Okay."
"To the library?" she said.
"To my locker, then... can we go up to the roof?" he asked, giving her an imploring look. "I don't feel like being cooped up."
Taylor glanced around cautiously as she swung open the door that read 'roof access.' She felt a little like she was encroaching upon someone's private space, although Troy and Gabriella weren't the only students who accessed the roof. The Garden Club met up there once a week, various members would visit to give the plants a daily check. And given the lack of security, it wouldn't surprise Taylor if one day she heard of students being busted smoking up there.
But on Monday afternoon, she knew it was Troy and Gabriella who were up there. Well, she knew from their friends that they'd said they were at school studying, Troy's truck was still in the parking lot and she hadn't found them in the library, out the front of the school or in the quad. She wasn't sure exactly what they spent their time up there doing. Gabriella had insisted to her in the past that it wasn't anything kinky, that they'd never been beyond kissing and heavy petting while in their rooftop sanctuary. Most of the time it was just talking, relaxing and spending time in each other's presence. Nonetheless Taylor found this hard to believe and almost wanted to cover her eyes as she warily walked along the darkened corridor and then up the stairs.
If Troy and Gabriella had been within the confines of the roofed area at the top of the staircase then they would have heard Taylor's footsteps earlier. However as she emerged into the light and glanced around, she spotted them sitting over on one of the garden beds in the middle of the open area, having found the spot where maximum sunlight was providing warmth. Troy was sitting and Gabriella was lying along the ledge, her head resting upon Troy's thigh and her ankles crossed. She was clutching onto a textbook. His fingers were lightly running through the loose curls of her half up half down hairstyle.
"Stop cheating!" Gabriella said. "You so didn't know that, you had to have looked at the book!"
"I would never cheat!" Troy retorted indignantly.
"Then tell me how you quoted that word for word?"
"I have a good memory."
Taylor couldn't help but smile to herself, and a part of her was contemplating turning around and leaving them in peace. But she knew that the hardest part about this process had been deciding to approach her. If she turned around now, she may not do it again. And it wasn't exactly the first time that a Wildcat had interrupted Troy and Gabriella – and it wasn't as though she was barging into Troy's bedroom.
And so she stood looking out at them and cleared her throat.
Both members of the couple looked up, Gabriella having to tilt her head backwards as she was lying facing away from Taylor.
"Um... hi," Troy said awkwardly.
"I'm... sorry to interrupt," Taylor said, equally awkwardly. "Especially... up here."
Gabriella immediately sat up, and then rose to her feet. She was staring at the ground, not quite sure what she should say – what she could say.
"Um, that's okay. We were just studying. Gabriella was quizzing me," Troy explained, gesturing to the book which Gabriella had placed onto the ledge.
Taylor nodded and tentatively moved forward, down the few steps and toward the couple. "Do you um... do you mind if I talk to you?" Her eyes looked straight at Gabriella, no doubt as to who the 'you' was referring to.
There was an instinctual response which bubbled at Gabriella's lips to retort somewhat bitterly, 'I suppose I can make some time' or 'Only if it is convenient for you.' However she noted the look on Taylor's face – obviously this wasn't easy. And ultimately, Gabriella wanted to talk. And so the instinctive response was quashed and instead, she said quietly, "Um... yeah. Sure."
Gabriella hesitated; she picked up her purse and was about to suggest that she and Taylor go find somewhere quiet.
Troy cleared his throat and rose to his feet. He picked up his textbook, propping it beneath his arm. "Um, you know what, I'm gonna go to the library. You guys talk up here."
"Are you sure?" Gabriella asked, her voice soft and questioning. Even though Troy had emphasised to her that she could view his hide out as being as much hers as his own, she didn't want him to feel as though she was intruding upon his space.
"It's fine. I uh... wanted to get that book out anyway," he assured her, referencing a book all three of them knew was non-existent.
Troy leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to his girlfriends cheek, squeezed her arm, and then did an about face. He gave Taylor a small smile and then made his exit down the stairs, leaving the two girls alone. They were facing one another, still a safe distance between them. It was Gabriella who took a few steps forward.
"So... this is the rooftop," she said with a tiny smile.
"Um... yeah. I've been up here before," Taylor said, glancing around. "Not for a while though. I can see why Troy wants to claim it as his own. I can see why you come up here with him all the time."
"It's prettier in spring. In a few months it'll be gorgeous," Gabriella commented. "All the flowers will be out."
"Yeah," Taylor said.
Silence fell between them for another moment, before Gabriella gestured toward the covered area. "Let's sit."
Taylor nodded and wordlessly followed Gabriella, walking up the few steps, and then sat down as far away from each other as possible on the wooden bench by the top of the stairs.
"I just... okay. I'm... I'm still upset with you. I'm still... I'm hurt about things that you said... that I said... that we said," Taylor said, speaking slowly, meticulously, trying to express her thoughts accurately. "But, I don't want things to be like this. I want to fix them."
Gabriella nodded. She immediately felt this swell of relief. It was exactly how she was feeling – exactly the thoughts of being a bit upset but wanting to fix things. "I agree. And... thank you for... you know. Starting things off. I kept thinking that I should but... I'm not good at this. I've never had a fight with a friend, not since I was little and fighting over Barbie dolls or... whatever we fought about." Taylor cracked a smile. "If you weren't my best friend, I wouldn't have gotten angry about the things that I got angry about. It's only because you're so important to me that it upset me, you know?"
Taylor nodded, understanding completely. "I do understand."
The girls sat in silence for a moment, not looking directly at each other, both staring at the ground and sneaking glances at the other.
"What now?" Gabriella asked, her voice small. She hated the lack of control, the lack of knowledge, the lack of a formula to apply to the scenario. There was no prescribed set of rules to follow, a dummies guide on 'how to mend a broken friendship.'
"I'm not mad at you because of the decathlon. I overreacted to that... piece of information. I'm disappointed and I kinda think you're making the wrong decision to not participate. But that's... the decathlon is whatever. I overreacted last Monday because I was upset at you about other things," Taylor said quietly.
"Because I've been a sucky friend in general," Gabriella supplied, hanging her head. "I know that, Tay, I know I have. I'm not good with the.... balancing parts of my life thing. I've never had to do it before. And that's totally not an excuse but it's the only way that I can explain it. I don't intentionally do it. I just get... wrapped up in particular parts of my life and I sorta... I hope that the rest is okay. I know that things have been good with you and Chad, and you've been busy doing lots of things with Martha and so it was like my brain knew that you were okay... or... something."
"Gabriella? I always need you," Taylor said. "I know that we haven't really known each other for that long but... you get me more than anyone I've ever been friends with. And I know that you've got Kelsi and Ryan and..."
"Stop right there," Gabriella interrupted. She shifted over along the bench, her hand gently resting on Taylor's leg. "Kelsi is not you. Ryan is most definitely not you. I always need you too. I've never had a best friend before, and I didn't even know until I came here that I'd been missing anything by not having that kind of friendship. I know I've been spending lots of time with both of them lately but that's because for starters, Ryan lives with me! And I have been working on lots of things for student council and the drama club. And if you say that you're okay with me not doing the decathlon... then you have to understand that that's not going to change. But that doesn't mean that I don't need you. I just... every time that you wanted to do something with me, it was always because you wanted to study or work on the yearbook or whatever."
Taylor let out a sigh. "And has it occurred to you why I was always suggesting those things?"
"Because you're a very focused person, which I love about you, but sometimes..."
"No, that's..." Taylor paused, and took a breath. "Do you know why I'm disappointed that you don't want to do the decathlon?"
"Because you don't have any confidence in your own abilities?" Gabriella guessed.
Taylor rolled her eyes. "No, Gabriella. It's because... it's because the decathlon is our thing!" Gabriella blinked, not reacting immediately. "You have the drama stuff with Kelsi and Ryan, you have student council stuff with Ryan. And now, everyone but me is doing this talent showcase thing. Even Chad is doing it. And... and I could deal with that because I don't care about having a thing with everyone else – but I like having something that is ours. I know that Martha is in the team properly this year but I still feel like... I feel like the decathlon is ours, you know?"
As Taylor had explained, Gabriella's mouth had opened slightly – suddenly things made a whole lot more sense.
"Taylor, I..." Gabriella was a little speechless.
"It's okay, Gabriella. You don't have to like... change your mind or whatever. It's cool."
"I wasn't planning to change my mind," Gabriella said truthfully. "Taylor... I don't feel like you and I need a 'thing' you know? We didn't become friends because we are both smart and like doing extra-curriculars. We just clicked. Decathlon or not, you're my best friend and nothing can change that. I feel like... I feel like you and I are actually going to be friends... forever. It doesn't matter where we wind up next year, I could go to Alaska and you to Australia and I think we'd still be friends."
"This last month aside... I've felt like that too," Taylor confessed. "Some other people... I don't know. Everyone leaves high school and promises to stay in touch but... like, my older sister hardly talks to anyone that she went to school with."
"I've never stayed in touch with people from my old schools," Gabriella pointed out, a tint of sadness permeating her tone. "I Facebook a few people but that's it. But I couldn't bear it if you and I ever lost touch. This last week... even though I was upset with you, I still really missed you."
"I really missed you too."
The girls were glancing at each other somewhat tentatively; Gabriella made a move but then held back and asked carefully, "Can we hug now?"
"Yes, we can hug, we need to hug before this gets any sappier," Taylor said with a slight laugh, leaning over and embracing Gabriella in a tight hug.
"I promise I'll stop being a bad friend," Gabriella said earnestly, arms wrapped around her friend, clinging to her a little.
"You're not a bad friend. And... I was a bitch. And I'm sorry for that."
The girls pulled away from each other, one set of slightly teary eyes meeting the other.
"Crap, I'm wearing mascara today too," Gabriella said, carefully wiping beneath her eyelid and sniffing the tears back. "Do I have any smudged?"
Taylor examined her face. "You're fine."
Troy had contemplated going to the library but instead found himself moving back toward the quad where he found Zeke, Jason, Martha, Kelsi and Chad all sitting around together, various books scattered among them.
"Hoops," Chad called out.
"Hey man," Troy greeted him.
"So I guess Taylor found you guys?"
Troy nodded. "Yeah., we were up at the roof. I left them up there talking."
"And they didn't kill each other first?" Zeke asked with a smirk.
"Nah," Troy said, rolling his eyes. "I think they're both ready. It was just a matter of who made the first move. Kudos to Taylor because I don't know when Gabriella would have done it."
"So everything can go back to normal?" Jason said, sounding relieved.
"Hopefully," Chad said. "I don't think I could have handled much more of it. "
The girls had pulled apart from their hug. Things weren't perfect; time would be required to heal the wounds from their encounter. But it was a start, and a start was the most important thing.
Gabriella swallowed and then asked tentatively, "Taylor?"
"Yeah?"
She bit her lip. She didn't want to rock the boat but she also didn't want to leave issues unresolved. While they were being open and honest, it seemed like the best time to deal with things.
"Umm... okay. I just... I have to ask."
Gabriella paused and Taylor glanced at her warily. "Go on..."
"Are you... do you... have an issue with Troy?" Gabriella bit her lip, waiting for Taylor's response. Her expression was unreadable.
"No," Taylor answered truthfully. "I don't have an issue with Troy. He's a great guy. I'm glad I've gotten to know him. But I won't lie – you spending all your time with him is a part of all this... stuff. You get so wrapped up in him and that's when you sorta... tend to forget other people exist."
Gabriella sighed. "I love him, Taylor. And I don't know if you understand that. I sometimes see you looking at me like I'm crazy, being seventeen and thinking about Troy in this way. But I love him."
"I get it," Taylor said softly, knowingly.
"You do?" Gabriella asked, inflection rising. It wasn't Taylor saying that she sympathised - Gabriella could hear the pure understanding in Taylor's tone.
Taylor nodded. "I do."
"Have you told Chad?" Once again Taylor nodded. "And he told you?" The small smile that crept onto Taylor's face was indicative of her affirmative confirmation. "It's wonderful, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is," Taylor confessed.
"When did this happen?"
"Um, last weekend." Taylor hesitated. The Monday before, she'd felt this desperate urge to tell Gabriella about the events of the weekend. She was once again bursting to reveal, but a certain part of her wanted to keep it to herself, on some level wary of whether she really considered Gabriella as someone to be privy to her most intimate thoughts. In the spirit of moving on and striving for normalcy, Taylor made the split second decision to quash thoughts of keeping it private and indulge the gushing girl within. She took a deep breath, continuing quietly. "Right before we... um... made love."
Gabriella's eyes widened, double taking. "You... You and Chad..."
Taylor nodded. "Last Saturday night. My mom was away and... we did it."
"Well?!" Gabriella pressed, still a little shocked and not sure what to say. She wasn't surprised that Taylor and Chad had taken the step, it was more so that it had happened more than a week ago and that she'd had no idea.
"It was wonderful," Taylor said simply. "It's been wonderful since then. I... I'm not telling you because I want us to sit here and have a girly gush about it all; we can do that another time. The point is that... I do get it, Gabriella. I know that you were wrapped up in him before and I know that you're even more wrapped in him now. And even after a week, I can imagine how it is that you're continuing to get more wrapped up in him. I get it completely. And it is just all really ironic that a part of the reason why I overreacted last Monday was because I really wanted to share with you about Chad but I felt like you were too busy with your life to even allow me five minutes to talk about him. And yet the last week, I've spent so much time with him... and I've gradually gained perspective of how easily you could have gone to that place."
"I never thought I'd be the seventeen year old girl gushing about her brilliant boyfriend and how much she loves him but... I've become that girl. That doesn't take away from you and I, not at all. But... I'm not used to this Tay. I've never had a best friend to balance with life. I've never had a boyfriend to balance with friends. All I can do is promise to try harder, a lot harder. Just because you get it, it doesn't make it right. This last week... I've learnt from this. I truly have."
Taylor nodded. "That's all that matters really."
"But in return... I need you to understand something."
"Okay..."
"When we were fighting... what really got to me of all the things that you said was when you said that I put Troy first all the time. Like... you couldn't conceive any scenario where I put anyone else, myself included, first. And that... it really upset me."
"But you do, Gabriella, and I'm not saying that is always a bad thing but that maybe sometimes instead of it being Troy, Troy, Troy then other things; the other things should come second – and sometimes they should come first."
Gabriella closed her eyes, took a deep breath in and then exhaled. "You're not listening to me. The fact is that I don't always put Troy first. And... the fact that you of all people don't understand what I am saying... that is what hurt me. Because I'm making the most important decision of my life and I'm making it for me."
"What? College?" Taylor said, eyebrows raised.
"Yes. And in terms of my relationship with Troy... that decision is crucial. Taylor... I've told you before that I'm making that decision for me."
"You say that but... are you seriously telling me that the concept of Troy getting a scholarship to Berkeley isn't influencing your decision to go to Stanford?" Taylor asked.
Confusion clouded Gabriella's face. "Huh?"
"Well Chad told me Troy had mentioned that things may work out perfectly, since Berkeley is a great school and Troy always had hoped for a west coast school to want him; and that you are just waiting on a Stanford acceptance which, cut the bashfulness, we know it's coming."
"Troy said this?" Gabriella said, somewhat baffled.
"Well... I sorta got a short version via Chad, but yeah."
"Taylor... I... Stanford is in my top choices and I actually want to go out there and look at it again just to make sure that I'm making the right decision, because I haven't been out there recently, not since early junior year. But..." Gabriella paused, and took a breath. "At the moment... I'm leaning toward MIT."
Taylor's mouth gaped open. "MIT?"
"Yes." Gabriella's reply was firm.
"In... Massachusetts." Taylor was dumbfounded, which was evident from her tone.
"Yes," Gabriella said, her tone a little wary.
"What if Berkeley works out? I know he hasn't even been there yet but... Troy would struggle to get into a school that great on the basis of his grades. Presuming the basketball side is fine, he'd be crazy to go anywhere else."
"I know." Gabriella had thought this herself. Troy had maintained to her that he wanted a school that could be about more than just basketball. As far as she could see, of all the opportunities lying before him, Berkeley was looking like the shining star of the lot.
"So..."
"I don't know Taylor! I don't know yet," Gabriella exclaimed, a little exasperated. "I... I haven't made any decisions but at the moment, even knowing that Berkeley is a strong possibility, I'm thinking that MIT is where I want to be. I just feel... I can't explain it. It feels right."
"And does Troy have any offers on the east coast?"
"He's going to UConn next weekend. I know he was trying to contact both Boston and NYU. Boston College was interested in him but he didn't have any interest in them at all."
"And you'd actually go to MIT when you could go to Stanford, which is probably an hour away from Berkeley?" Taylor said incredulously.
"Like I said... I'm making this decision for me. That's... that's the only way that I know how to do this. If I make this decision for anyone but myself then I'll regret it, I know I will."
"But you guys are supposed to have the white picket fence and the dog! You're... you're meant to be the ones who come back to our ten year reunion with the perfect lives."
"You make it sound like I'm breaking up with him or something," Gabriella said uneasily.
"You honestly think you can make a relationship work from opposite sides of the country during college?" Taylor asked doubtfully. "Like... seriously?"
Gabriella swallowed, her delicate hands gripping to the wooden bench on either side of her. That was the question of the hour, the question that she and Troy had avoided like the plague. The underlying assumption was there that regardless of what happened, it wasn't going to impact upon their love or their commitment. But it was a valid question, more than valid.
"I don't know," she whispered. "Thinking about it scares me. And that's why... I think on a certain level... If I have to make a decision between spending time with different people... sometimes I allow myself to get wrapped up in the moment with Troy. Because on a certain level... I know that the future is so uncertain. And he's like... my world, you know? And it's like I want to savour each and every available moment with him. I would never, ever want to look back and regret not spending time with him, regret not experiencing something with him."
"Gabriella... you need to talk to him about this," Taylor implored.
"I will!"
"When? In August when your bags are packed and you're saying goodbye at the airport?" Taylor asked.
"No. Soon. I... I want to wait until after he's been to Berkeley, after I've gone to visit Stanford again. There's no point in dredging all this stuff up until I know for sure what is going to happen."
"And meanwhile, he's telling Chad that everything is going to work out, thinking that you would choose Stanford if he was to be at Berkeley?"
"And I might! I don't know for certain that I wouldn't!"
Taylor shook her head. "Gabriella... you're so wrapped up in him that you're not even seeing the reality of the situation here."
Gabriella swallowed. "I see the reality I just... I'm not ready to accept it."
After a long, somewhat teary hug up at the rooftop, Taylor and Gabriella agreed that they both needed to tend to the studying needs of their jock boyfriends. Both seemed to have entered the senioritis mind frame of having priorities muddled up as a result of the clouded vision that came with basketball scholarships. They made plans to meet up the following morning to study for physics, and then for calculus after their physics exam. They also made tentative plans for a double date with the boys on Friday night, which they were both relatively certain Chad and Troy would be more than amiable to.
They'd approached their friends at the quad hand in hand, tear stained cheeks and red eyes the tell tale signs of the emotion of their make-up. Their friends hadn't blatantly commented but the smiles were enough to demonstrate their happiness. Gabriella had murmured in Troy's ear a request for him to drive her home; and she'd never seen him stand up and gather his things so quickly. Taylor then asked Chad if he would mind going with her to get food, and he easily agreed, the foursome walking out toward the parking lot in sync.
The hug between Taylor and Gabriella as the couples parted ways was monumental. A part of Troy wanted to yank Gabriella away – and had it been any other day he may have allowed his hormones to control his actions and interfere. However ultimately, it was a wonderful sight, and it literally felt as though a dark cloud had been lifted from the atmosphere.
To Ryan's utmost surprise, it hadn't taken much to convince Sharpay to put down her scripts and instead to open a textbook. As much as he was grateful for the hospitality of the Montezes and as much as he was enjoying becoming even closer with Gabriella – it was comforting being back in his family home, sitting on Sharpay's bed as they quizzed each other and attempted to unravel mathematical mysteries. Many people would rather sit a math test than sing and dance on stage for all of their peers to see. The Evans' twins had always been an anomaly.
"Hey Ryan?" Sharpay's tentative question came, not even glancing up from her book.
"Yeah?"
She hesitated. Ryan sensed her hesitation, and he had no doubt that the question which came out of her mouth was not the question she'd originally been intending to ask. "How are things with Chase?"
"They're fine. You were there when I spent half the weekend texting him," he pointed out with a sly grin. "He's trying to organise to get this weekend off so he can come up for the party on the weekend."
"Oh okay. So Jason is pretty much letting anyone come?"
"Pretty much, as long as he clears it. You're coming, aren't you? I know you're not really into parties but you said you were going to come for a little while?"
Sharpay nodded. "Yeah I um... I think I'll come."
Ryan grinned broadly. "Awesome. I know if Chase comes he'll love having someone else to hang with."
"What does Zeke act like at parties?" Sharpay asked.
His brows furrowed. "Act like?" he repeated.
"Yes. Act like."
"Well I haven't been to that many. You were hanging out with him at Paula's party when you... you know..." Ryan trailed off.
"Got drunk?" Sharpay supplied, rolling her eyes.
"Yes."
"And then he slept with his ex-girlfriend," Sharpay recalled darkly.
"Um... yes. And you were the one hanging out with him at our after party. And weren't you also hanging out with him at Marcus's party?" She didn't respond, staring down at her bedspread. Ryan was careful with the tone of his next sentence, keeping his voice soft. "Shar... if you like Zeke..."
"I never said that!" she interrupted defensively, eyes widening.
"Sharpay, this is me," Ryan said patiently. "You don't have to pretend. I know you like him, and I know that you really like him or you wouldn't be like this. You'd be just going after it – kind of like how you did with Troy."
Sharpay's eyes shot up from the bed, glaring at Ryan slightly. "I did really like Troy."
"Then what's stopping you from just going after Zeke?" Ryan prompted. "You weren't afraid to go after Troy."
"Exactly," she admitted quietly. "I went after Troy. Look how well that turned out. Obviously direct doesn't work."
This made perfect sense to Ryan – he understood Sharpay better than anyone and yet he suddenly felt like he understood her even more. "Shar, the reason that things didn't happen with Troy is because he's in love with Gabriella," Ryan said softly, but directly. "But Zeke is crazy about you! It's totally different!"
"Has he said so?" she asked.
"Not directly, but... come on Shar, it's obvious! He's been crazy about you for like, a year."
"Except that blip where he went out with that cheerleader skank," Sharpay said, miffed.
"Yeah, to try to get over you, and then it didn't work out," he pointed out.
"If he likes me, then why isn't he making a move!" Sharpay said, slightly exasperated. "It's not like he hasn't had the opportunity. I talk to him all the time. We've hung out. Even outside of school. And I pretty much told him that I like him. So why isn't he making a move?"
Ryan wasn't sure how to respond. The truth was that although he'd suspected for a long while that things had been developing between the pair, Zeke had been fairly tight lipped about the entire scenario, and Ryan didn't know how to advise her.
"Maybe he's just... scared like you. It's not easy taking that step – especially not when you have turned him down before."
"But I wouldn't turn him down this time," she admitted, voice quiet. Her face lit up slightly, being struck with an idea. "You can talk to him for me!"
Ryan winced. "I don't know Shar... I think you should just maybe be a bit more forward. Hint some more, if you want him to have to ask you out."
Her bottom lip stuck out, pouting. "But Ry! You're my twin. And I don't ask a lot of you but I would really really really love you forever and ever if you would do this for me."
"You should love me forever and ever just because I'm your twin, not because I do you some favour," Ryan pointed out.
She rolled her eyes and clapped her hands excitedly. "Whatever. You're talking to him for me, okay? Fabulous." Her disposition was suddenly a lot brighter once she had the solution to the problem.
"I can... try... I suppose," Ryan said, rolling his eyes. He wasn't a particularly strong proponent of her idea, but he knew his sister and he knew that she was not going to relent.
"Try to wait until the end of the week, but before the party," Sharpay mused. "I'd like to spend time with him at the party, but I don't want it to be awkward during the week."
Ryan gave her a look. "I'll be doing it whenever I get the chance, if I get the chance."
Sharpay's expression softened and she reached out, her hand clasping over her brothers. "Ryan? I really like him. So... I appreciate this."
The more experience they had with one another's bodies, the more pleasurable the experiences were becoming. It had been about two months since Troy and Gabriella had first officially consummated their relationship, and those two months had proved to be filled with many experienced becoming attuned to the intricacies of one another. Their phone encounter on Saturday night had brought temporary relief, but in the long run merely heightened sexual tension. This combined with a Troy who was determined to remain true to a promise, was a formula certain to result in copious amounts of ecstasy.
Troy wasn't even completely undressed when Gabriella's bedroom was first filled with the mewls, pants and ragged gasps that were synonymous with her climax. They almost fell into rhythm with Gabriella discarding his red and black cotton boxers to return the favour; having come to the general conclusion that the downfall of Troy's excited teenage composition – a lack of longevity – could be improved with an early arrival and then taking advantage of the upside of that same composition – quick recovery.
They had both developed a healthy curiosity and will to experiment with the ways in which they could derive pleasure from the union of their bodies. Troy had taken the lead, feeling a little cautious about what he had wanted to initiate but nonetheless eager. To him it was a stepping stone toward something else he wanted to initiate one day which he was even more wary about – wary about the reaction she might have.
She'd felt a little apprehensive as he'd settled himself lying on his side and guided her to lie on her side facing away from him. She wanted to be looking at him, not out at her balcony. It was almost silly but for Gabriella, one of her favourite parts about their intimate encounters was just looking at him; gazing adoringly into his eyes as he looked back at her with an equally loving expression. Her eyelids would flutter closed as they kissed but she was aware that all she had to do was open her eyes to see him. And so Troy settling himself behind her was a little unnerving, like something was missing from the equation. But then she felt his warm, tantalising hands make contact with her skin. His left arm snaked beneath her to reach out in search of her hand, their fingers lacing together for a moment. He nuzzled into the crook of her neck.
"I love you," he murmured by her ear and pressed a kiss to her left shoulder.
"Love you too," her automatic reply came, right hand reaching behind her to find the back of his head, needing to feel him, to connect with him.
His right hand ghosted over the curves and crevasses of her skin, squeezing her right breast, running down her side and over her hip. Her beauty never failed to amaze him, never failed to attract him. She was soft and yet firm, sweet and yet sexy.
"You're so beautiful," he murmured throatily. "Fuck..."
His touch and the sound of his voice were soothing agents, washing away the apprehension and allowing Gabriella to relax. His hands removed themselves from her skin and she mourned their loss for a moment. She could still feel him though; she could feel his presence, feel the way that his eyes were drinking in her body. He shifted a little and she could feel his erect length make contact with her upper thigh. There was a slight rustle as he tore open a condom wrapper and discarded of the packaging. A soft kiss pressed to her shoulder once again as he pulled back a little further to roll the rubber onto his length.
It took a bit of wiggling and experimenting, eventually Troy found himself propping himself up with his left elbow and lifting her right leg on top and support her thigh to allow him to find the angle of penetration. He'd shifted his body a little further down the bed, allowing him to slide his hardness into her from behind and below; hips thrusting in an upward propulsion. It was a little awkward at first, Gabriella biting her lip as she adjusted herself to the sensation, to being held in such a manner, to feeling fairly exposed due to physically being held open. Troy was experimenting with trying to find some sort of rhythm, he'd thrust up and then slipped out a couple of times. She heard a light curse emit from his lips and she shushed him lightly.
"It's okay," she murmured, reaching behind her to graze her hand in a swoop over his side.
He persevered, his hips finally listening to his brain and falling into a rhythm. The awkwardness drifted away and Gabriella found herself being drawn into the throes of ecstasy yet again, thanks to the hands and lips and body of the incredible man she was united with. His thrusts were fairly slow, allowing her body the time to respond and allowing his body to not race ahead as it tended to do. Her hand reached behind her, fingers toying with the hair at the nape of his neck. His lips pressed delicate, teasing kisses to the skin of her shoulders and neck, which she found to be surprisingly sensual. He thrust into her as steadily as he could, Gabriella clutching to him and gasping as he found the angle which was most directly stimulating, indicating to him to continue in that same manner. She shifted a little, leaning back a little toward him. She tilted her head back and searched for his lips which quickly came down to meet for a soft kiss.
Pleas to higher beings and rapturous utterances of the others name cut through among the increasingly ragged breathing.
He drew his right knee up, foot flat against the bed, and carefully set down her leg and coaxed her to part her legs, her right knee bent and drawn a little toward her chest. He slipped out momentarily and he carefully found his way to continue with his rhythm. A throaty groan emitted from his lips, this position making her feel tighter around him.
"Oh fuck Gabi... that's... oh my God..." Troy groaned.
His strokes were now slower, more languorous. Now with his top hand free, he was able to reach over and lightly apply a teasing pressure to the bundle of nerves that lay among her sex. A throaty gasp emitted from her throat as she felt the pressure being applied. The slow, steady strokes of his member were driving deep within her core, at the very beginning and end of each stroke, feeling the sensation of his length rubbing against her most sensitive inner wall. The addition of his fingers against her clit was intoxicating.
"Troy... oh my God Troy..." she panted.
Her eyes rolling back into her head and once again turning her head back in search the feel of his lips pressing lovingly to hers. Her left arm had bent backwards, her head resting against the flesh of her upper arm and her hand was gripping to the comforter beneath. Her right hand reached behind her, finding the hard, warm flesh of his backside, fingers kneading at the flesh of his ass cheek.
He was becoming increasingly overwhelmed by the sensations, thrusting into her tight, warm depths; feeling her hand clutching at his skin; hearing her voice as she panted and mewled and murmured and cried his name; the sensation of thrusting up against her ass. He was biting his lip, knowing that his orgasm was approaching but also hearing within the gasps of his lover that she wasn't too far.
"Gabi..." he gasped warningly, stating without directly stating that he needed an indicating of how long.
An incomprehensible moan escaped her lips before she managed to utter pleadingly, "Harder... need you... harder..."
The only way that he could deliver was to release the pressure from her clit so he could hold her leg again, opening her up to him. He murmured throatily by her ear, "Touch yourself for me, baby."
She more than willingly obliged, the switch from his rougher fingers to her own slim digits taking place. He took a moment to enjoy her body, to run his hands over her thigh and over her side and to caress her breasts, worshipping the skin of this Goddess who fused so perfectly within his body. He then once again used his right hand to lift and support her leg, allowing the room to move and to increase the pace and force of his thrusts.
"There... right there..." she gasped as he connected perfectly with her sensitive inner wall, before breathing a series of short sharp breaths which rolled over into a desperate moan.
Ragged breaths, ecstasy ridden cries, the slight creak of the bed and the soft thwacking of skin meeting skin filled the space.
His fingers applied more direct pressure to her bud, flicking steadily, quickly, in time with his thrusts. She'd been hanging on the edge and finally she was sent over, her climax arriving. There was no sound better in the world to Troy, noting he liked to hear more than her ecstasy ridden moans, no feeling better than her clamping around his hardened length. That was all it took, and moments later, Troy reached his own peak, the pair simultaneously existing in a rapturous place.
Her room was silent with the exception of a bird chirping outside and the sounds of ragged post orgasmic breathing. Gabriella shuffled until she was lying on her back, allowing more direct access for their mouths to meet in a slow, lustful kiss. His eyes were closed, his hands roaming lightly over her abdomen and up the sides of her slim frame.
"Can you pass me my cell?" Gabriella asked softly, pressing a lazy kiss to his chest.
Troy obliged, sleepily rolling away from her so he could reach behind him to grab her cell that was resting upon the bedside table. Those few moments where his body moved away from hers, she craved him, missing the warmth and comfort that came from being in his immediate proximity. When her cell phone dangled in front of her, she turned back onto his side, allowing her to nestled back into the warmth of his body, his arm tucking securely around her waist and drawing her even closer. She tapped away at the keys.
"Whatcha doing?" he murmured, his tone sleepy, Gabriella sensing the post orgasmic slumber was close to overcoming his body.
"Setting an alarm," she murmured. "A short sleep is allowed, and then we really do have to study. I'm sure you didn't study at all while I was talking to Taylor."
"Not true. Martha was trying to teach me. I wasn't learning, but we were trying." Troy's voice was fading, the light strokes of his hands along the sides of her arms stilling.
They fell quiet for a moment, Troy's lips pressing a light kiss to the back of her neck as he nestled himself into her pillow.
"I don't know how I could ever go without feeling like this for longer than like a week... it was too long between Thursday and now," Gabriella murmured.
"You don't have to," his faint, mumbled reply came. "Not ever."