One Last Time
summary: It wasn't the fact that he left that hurt her the most. It was the fact that he broke his promise that killed her. She didn't care if he doesn't love her anymore. As long as she gets to hold him one last time. For she thought he belongs to another girl.
AN: yeee, enjoy. again.
disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot.
Chapter 10
The key was to keep your eyes on the ball. Your focus is to be untouched.
The words of Gabriella's mom which were said to her years ago repeatedly corrupted her mind during Homeroom. To say Gabriella was nervous was an understatement. Her whole body was shaking. She tries to hide the fact she's shaking by pulling the long sleeves from her favorite maroon hoodie and tapping her right foot to an imaginary beat. Taylor, who sat across her left, gave her a reassuring nod. It didn't help when Gabriella stayed up late last night talking to Troy because she couldn't sleep.
She's making this whole try-out thing a big deal. But it is a big deal. The last time she tried out for a volleyball team was 5 years ago. Then everything turned worse after that. She shook the thought off her head. If she wants to do well on try-outs, the least she could do is to get rid of any negative thoughts on her mind. Well, at least that's what Troy said to her last night.
"The month of March is fast approaching," it was still the second week of February, "and we all know what that means... your SATs are also coming."
A series of groans filled Ms. Darbus' classroom. Gabriella tried her best not to laugh out loud when she saw Chad's defeated look. Her eyes move towards Troy's slumping posture as it looks like he was to fall down to the floor. He was looking at Ms. Darbus with disbelief which made her smile a little. She looked down at her desk and shook her head then proceeded to pay attention to her homeroom teacher.
"But there is a reason why we are letting you, juniors, take your SATs this early. It might benefit some of you who wished to apply for early admission to your choice of college. We already informed all of you before your winter break to prepare for your SATs. I just hope you haven't forgotten about it."
Gabriella saw from the corner of her eye a few of her classmate's cringing. Maybe they forgot to study. Not she spent most of her time studying for it. She remembered last Saturday she spent the whole day studying. Hence, the reason why Taylor was persistent for her to go out four days ago.
"Which is why you are taking it in about 6 weeks. If you manage to not get the score you hope for, you are allowed to retake your SATs in the fall of your senior year."
Gabriella checked the time on her wristwatch. It was the first time she remembers to wear her watch before she left her house that morning. It was still 8:34 and Homeroom doesn't for another 6 minutes. It was like the clock slowed down for her. She is still shaking. Damn try-outs. Damn SATs. Damn that handsome boy in the front who just looked back and winked at her with his mesmerizing blue eyes.
"Can you believe we have to study for SATs?"
"No, Chad," Gabriella sarcastically replied as she walks alongside Taylor and Chad to Algebra.
Somehow, the school's system changed last night. Therefore all of the student's timetables were change. She and the rest of East High's students received their schedules early that morning by taking it from the administration's office. She managed to have Algebra with Taylor and Chad right after Homeroom. Yay for Taylor and a little bit boo for Chad because having more than one class with Chad for Gabriella is the worse thing if you don't plan to have detention at the end of the day.
"My whole body aches now," Chad complains whilst stretching his arms out. "With championships around the corner, Coach Bolton is biting our asses."
"Poor baby," Taylor kissed his cheek, making Gabriella faked gag. "I will literally do that same thing whenever you kiss Troy on the cheek."
"No!" Gabriella's head turned so fast, she almost had a whip flash. "Shut up. I will not, I repeat, will not kiss Troy's cheek ever."
Yeah no shit, she failed on Saturday. But they don't need to know that.
The white chuck took a step forward over the other as she walks towards the direction of their Algebra class. Gabriella was inwardly cursing why it was taking them so long to get there.
"Okay wisher," Chad snorted.
"I do not wish for it to happen," Gabriella protested.
"Okay," Chad chuckled, earning a groan from Gabriella. "You can try to lose his screws because he has been worked up for practices since yesterday."
"Oh yeah, I heard about that. He spent most of the night telling me about his dad hounding him nowadays."
Would Gabriella trade the 4 hours of Troy ranting to her about practices last night for a decent amount of sleep? No, she would not. For she also spent an additional 2 hours ranting to Troy about her try-outs. She could say last night was great. Although, not getting enough sleep is not fun.
Seriously, what is wrong with the hallway? They've been walking for the past 3 minutes and they're still not in Ms. Hayden's classroom.
"Did we take the long way to Algebra?" Gabriella moaned.
Chad looked around him and replied, "Yes."
"Fuck it," Gabriella adjusts the straps of her book bag. "I'm sprinting and your feet are so slow."
Gabriella sprinted ahead and left Chad and Taylor behind. The faster she arrives at Algebra class, the sooner she can relax and maybe sleep for a minute or two. She needed the energy for later. Out of all the days, she could've fallen asleep during class, it has to be the day of her try-outs. As her short feet carried her through the long hallway of lockers, she finally arrived in front of Ms. Hayden's classroom. She checked the time on her wrist and saw she has 2 minutes to spare.
She entered the room and saw it was almost filled with students. Some were standing in groups talking while others were sitting down on their desks looking through their math books. There was an empty seat by the far corner of the room. It was probably the only seat where Ms. Hayden can't see her fall asleep. She walked towards, trying to not bump into a group of cheerleaders along the way. When she finally arrived in her seat, she dropped her book bag on the side then sat down on her seat. Her eyes were getting droopy. She tried to blink the drowsy feeling but failed. Looking around to see that Ms. Hayden hasn't arrived yet, she laid her head down on her desk with her arms serving as her pillow.
The black-haired girl, who seems to be hiding underneath her arms, blocked the noisy background coming from the mouths of the students. She could barely hear what they're all talking about. She could've sworn she heard two muffled voices talking about skipping Algebra just to screw each other in the nearest janitor's closet. She left that thought go as she starts to doze off to her short nap. However, she didn't fully doze off because her whole body jumped at the touch of someone grabbing her sides.
Every bit of drowsiness left her body when she realized the said person who grabbed her sides scared her. She was pissed. It was one thing to scare her off-guarded but it's a totally different thing to scare her when she's asleep. Her brown chocolate eyes were fuming as she turns around to see the person she's about to seriously have a screaming match with.
All the words she was about to yell out completely left her mind when she saw the person who scared her awake.
"Do you enjoy scaring me?" Gabriella asked irately.
"Yes," Troy replied cheekily. "If me scaring you is a habit of mine then you sleeping during classes is a habit yours. Which I find very weird yet funny."
"You're the reason why I'm falling asleep," Gabriella said and faced the empty teacher's desk.
"Oh yeah."
She was sure 2 minutes have already passed by and yet the class seems to be in chaos. Troy briskly made a move of seating on the vacant desk on her left. He might've seen her confuse expression because he answered her unsaid question.
"Class doesn't start for another 3 minutes. They gave us only today 15 minutes before the start of every period. Just to adjust with the new schedule they gave us."
"Can I see yours?" Gabriella asked impulsively, didn't give a second thought to asking that question.
"Here," Troy handed her a piece of white crumpled paper which he took from one of the pockets of his book bag.
Gabriella took his schedule from his hand. She briefly touched his skin with hers. She felt her heart skipped a beat. Jesus one touch from this boy, her heart is already on its way to cardiac arrest. Knock on wood, Gabriella. Knock on wood. She scans through his timetable on one hand while her other hand was holding her own. Troy sat there staring at Gabriella as she was comparing their schedules. It wasn't long after Gabriella handed him back his schedule.
"You choose Auto mechanics as one of your electives?" Gabriella asked him.
"Yeah, with my beat-up truck-"
She nodded in understanding. The night he brought her and Taylor home his truck did manage to break down at least a couple of times. The sight of him blushing red with embarrassment was amusing to her since it's usually Gabriella who is always in embarrassing situations. The table did turn that night. Plus she thought he was cute when he realized his truck broke down.
"It seems the second period after lunch is the only time we're free of each other," Gabriella said.
"So, we have everything else together?" Troy asked.
"Yes because I took Mythology instead of Auto mechanics," Gabriella laughed, "while you'd rather spend an hour getting filthier by the minute."
"Well, they say the dirt makes me look hotter," Troy smirk.
The thought of Troy fixing his truck's engine with dirt covering his face made her feel uneasy. It didn't help that he was sitting next to her. He was facing her yet she was still facing the empty teacher's desk. Seriously, where is that woman?
"If by hot you mean you'll expand until your whole body is gonna burst then yes."
Troy threw his head back as the sound of laughter came out of his mouth. Even his laugh is beautiful.
"That was funny," Troy smiled.
"I try," her brown eyes connected with his blue ones.
If there was a monotone narrator right there at that moment, they'd be saying how Gabriella might look calm on the outside but inside of her is probably in chaos. Because staring at Troy's eyes is a whole different thing that scares her. What if he finds it creepy she's staring into his eyes? What if he's trying to indirectly tell her he knows her hidden feelings for him? What if he's initiating a staring contest and if she loses then she'll have to do everything he says?
No. She's overthinking it. That's what she gets for watching sit-coms.
She didn't know how long they were staring at each other's eyes. But the sound of the bell and Ms. Hayden's footsteps brought her back to reality. She broke off her gaze from Troy and saw Ms. Hayden setting her things down on her desk. The class began when she started to announce a pop quiz on Friday. She and the rest of the students groaned. She may be smart but pop quizzes are never fun, especially if it's Algebra.
Gabriella's eyes looked around the room out of boredom when Ms. Hayden began to discuss the last session's topic. Taylor was seated on the second row left corner of the room while Chad was on the total opposite side of Gabriella. She could see him starting to zone out when a blank expression came across his face. But looking at Chad also meant she would be looking at Troy as well. Not that he would catch her staring, he was looking down on his desk with his notebook open while his right hand is playing with his pencil.
There was one thing that surprise Gabriella when she started talking to Troy. He hides the fact that he's smart. It was a weird thing to hear that Troy mostly got an A- or a B+ in his tests. He is really good at hiding his test scores. Why he hides them? She will never know. So, seeing Troy not entirely paying attention in Algebra right now isn't a total shock for her.
In the next several minutes, Gabriella shifted her attention from Ms. Hayden to her notebook. While Ms. Hayden is currently discussing how to graph linear equations, Gabriella's focus drifted off as each word coming out of her Algebra teacher's mouth became difficult to comprehend. Then she suddenly felt someone looking at her. She slowly looks around to see if she was either true or hallucinating. Someone was indeed staring at her. It was someone she had hope for but deep down she knows it won't happen, until now.
She caught Troy looking at her. He suddenly realizes she caught him looking. He immediately covers up his embarrassment, not giving Gabriella the time to think through it. He never broke his gaze from her. She thought this was going to be another staring contest when Troy purposely widens his eyes at her. She let out a silent laugh at his funny gesture.
But Gabriella immediately stopped and checked to see if Ms. Hayden caught them not paying attention. Troy shrugged at her when she gave him a glare for pulling that move.
"Stop it," Gabriella mouthed.
Troy only shook his head sideways as if he didn't care. This made Gabriella roll her eyes at his behavior. She would've never thought she would spend most of her time in Algebra joking around or silently scolding, in Gabriella's case, at Troy. She tried paying attention to the two graphs Ms. Hayden has drawn on the board but Troy kept secretly poking her feet with his. Thank gods for her white chucks because her small feet weren't crushed by his large black vans. Even if he was kicking her gently, she finds it slightly annoying. She waited for a couple of minutes to pass by then suddenly kicked his feet so hard he let out a loud groan. Troy immediately shut his mouth when Ms. Hayden gave him a stern look.
"Is there something you'd like to say, Mr. Bolton?" Ms. Hayden questioned.
"N-no," Troy answered, trying to mask the pain shooting through his leg.
Either Ms. Hayden believed Troy or she'd rather not bother the situation anymore, she went back to her discussion.
"As I was saying..." her voice trailed along.
"That's what you get for messing with me," Gabriella whispered. Troy shot her a quick glare to which she innocently smiled at him. It may be the worse time to even think about it but Gabriella enjoyed the playful banter with Troy. Well, except for the painful part she inflected on Troy. But he was annoying. A simple glare and warning won't stop him.
"Sadist," Troy whispered back.
Gabriella didn't pay any more attention to him. She began taking down notes as Ms. Hayden was finishing up her discussion. She did all these with reluctance because she'd rather have Troy annoy her than listen to Ms. Hayden blabber more about linear equations and its coefficients. Well, at least Chad was seated on the other side of the room not disturbing the class.
"Mr. Danforth, did you understand anything that I just said?"
She spoke too soon.
The heavy gym bag that is hanging off on Gabriella's shoulder was torture. Now, she remembers why she doesn't miss Volleyball practice. The final bell rang 18 minutes ago and she received a text from Sharpay saying they'll meet her by the bleachers to watch her try-outs.
Try-outs start in about 22 minutes which gives more time for Gabriella to calm her nerves down. She hasn't seen Troy since she left for her last class which was Mythology while he went towards his Auto mechanics class. She swore she saw him limping in the corridors.
Gabriella opened the doors to the girl's bathroom near the gym hallway. She left her book bag at her locker so it was easier for her while she changes into her uniform. The light grey zipper of her small gym bag separated as she took her red plain t-shirt and black volleyball shorts out. She quickly changed into those, not wanting to be cramped in the small cubicle any longer. She removed her white chucks off. Wearing converses to practice was the worse mistake Gabriella made. It was something she'd rather not repeat. she slipped briskly into her white Nike trainers. She gathered all her things and made sure they were safely secure inside her bag neatly. Her free hand that wasn't holding the straps of her bag smooth the wrinkles on her shirt. She then left the bathroom.
The gym was surprisingly filled with quite a lot of people. Gabriella went to the bleachers and dropped her gym bag on the floor. She almost fell out of balance when a force collided with her back. Luckily, that force caught her before she could hug the ground. She pulled away from the tight embrace to see a beaming Sharpay.
"Hey Shar," Gabriella greeted.
"Hey, Gi," Sharpay's nickname for her never gets old, "Kelsi isn't sure if she's gonna make it to your try-outs but she'll try once Ms. Darbus lets her and Ryan go. Oh, he might come too. I'm not sure."
"It's okay," Gabriella chuckled. "I'm already nervous. The thought of more people looking at me is not helping. But, where's Tay?"
"Right here," Taylor's voice spoke from behind Sharpay. She was walking towards them with Chad and Troy on her side. Wait, what? Troy is here? He's walking towards them willingly? What the heavens above is he doing here? His practice with his team doesn't start 20 minutes after the end of her try-outs.
"The hell you doing here?" Gabriella blurted out.
"If you haven't noticed, Gabi," there's that damn smile- oh wait he's smirking, "I go to school here too."
If it was possible for Gabriella to bang her head on the nearest wall, she would gladly do so. But it would be the worse time to plan a concussion before her try-outs. She's on the verge of punching his pretty face that won't be pretty once her fist connects with it.
"Basketball practice doesn't start 20 minutes after this one ends," Gabriella pointed towards the net that is currently being set up by two male janitors.
"We came to support you," Chad replied for Troy, "or to watch you tripping and falling across the floor."
Taylor's hand smack the back of Chad's afro hair.
"Thanks, Chad," Gabriella tied her black curly hair into a high ponytail.
"Phone the police, Shar, because Gabriella Montez just tied her hair for the first time," Taylor exaggerated.
Gabriella looked at them with narrow eyes, knowing what Taylor is saying is true. She rarely ties her hair up. But it really is essential for her to tie her hair up. Add her clumsiness with her hair on the way of her eyesight is a perfect combination for an ankle breaker.
"You nervous?" Taylor asked, who saw her tensed posture.
"Hell yeah, there's like 15 girls trying out for that one spot even if Volleyball season is finished," she said.
"So, why are they looking to fill in for that Faith girl's position even if the Volleyball season is over?" Chad said.
"I might be wrong but there's going to be like a big event happening in the last week of April and they needed the school's sports teams to be complete," Gabriella replied. "I don't know how to explain it but it's kinda like the one in Harry Potter. Where in Hogwarts, they compete with the other houses and see who has more house points to win the house cup or trophy. So it's basically like that concept but this only revolves around sports and not academically."
"Who told you this?" Troy's eyebrow raised.
"Arianna, the Captain of the Volleyball team," she said. "I should start warming up. Bye guys."
A series of good luck filled Gabriella's ears. However, she can't help but focus more when she heard Troy saying 'Play your heart out, Gabi' softly like it was only meant for her to hear it. She smiled back at them before taking her water bottle out of her gym bag before drinking a big gulp from it.
The other 15 girls were scattered everywhere in the gym. There were a few girls gathered around near the locker rooms. Some were talking on the other sidelines near Gabriella. While the rest were stretching underneath the right side hoop. Gabriella isn't exactly close to all these girls. But she knew them well enough to have a small conversation with. She spots Bianca, a tall brunette junior, stretching her arms behind with her couple of friends. The group of three girls who were stretching stopped when they saw Gabriella approaching them.
"Hey Gabs," Bianca said. "You decided to try-out, huh?"
"Yeah," she sheepishly said. "It's not every day they have an open spot for the team. You guys are competitive, right?"
"No," the redhead girl replied. "I'm Hailey, by the way. We have Home Economics together."
"Oh yeah right," Gabriella turned to the blonde-haired girl. "Hey, I'm Gabriella."
"Sofia, I'm a sophomore," the blonde girl said.
"That's why I don't recognize you," Gabriella said. "Are you all nervous or it's just me?"
"No," Bianca shooked her head. "We all tried out for the team back in September. At this point, we just wanna see if our chances are still big."
"And not to mention the fact the house cup event happening in April," Sofia said.
"I heard that, they'll probably announce it officially next week," Gabriella said.
"You should start stretching because Coach immediately starts the try-outs with drills," Hailey said as she went back to stretching her legs. "Something to do with being independent and take initiative."
"Okay then," Gabriella started rotating her head then proceeded to cross her arms over her chest to stretch out her muscles.
"Looks like you got your own cheer squad," Gabriella looked at the direction where Bianca was looking and saw her friends eagerly waiting on the bleachers, "and a certain person to lead them at cheering."
"What?" her head snapped back at Bianca to see the three girls smirking at her. "Who are you guys talking about?"
"Hint... Troy Bolton."
"Okay that was not a hint, Sof," Gabriella nervously chucked as she bends downwards with her feet apart to touch the floor. "Also that was a lie."
"Please I'm not blind," Sofia scoffed while Gabriella stood up from her position with her face blushing red. "Their practice doesn't start for another half an hour and he's here to watch a bunch of girls try-out, dressed in short shorts and tight shirts?"
"You really want me to answer that considering the fact what you just mention is every guy's wet dream?"
The three girls laughed at Gabriella's comment because it's true. That is mostly every guy's wet dream, Gabriella thought so. She doesn't know what to say about Troy in front of these people she barely knows. A sarcastic remark seemed to be an easy approach.
"I'm just saying because it's not typical to see Troy sitting on the bleachers just to watch Volleyball try-outs," Hailey said. "Usually, he and the rest of the boys lean against the wall next to the locker rooms to watch. Now, I know you and Chad are like best friends so I understand why he's sitting there next to your friends. But Troy Bolton? A blind person can see this, Gabriella."
Gabriella stared at Hailey's amused expression. She knew Hailey since last year and she doesn't often lie about things. She's obviously trying to tell her something that is so obvious. But Gabriella lived most of her life in denial, she didn't believe her. There was no way Troy's only reason to watch her try-outs was because he simply wanted to.
28 minutes have passed but Gabriella felt like 6 hours just passed by. Sweat was dripping down her face as she and the rest of the girls stood on the sidelines as Coach Davis stood in front of them with her clipboard in her hands.
"Alright girls, the last drill and we'll see who is right for the spot. Now I know I wanna see teamwork when it comes to the court. But I also wanna how independent you are when your teammates aren't at reach. So to spice up this try-outs, I want a game between two girls on the big court with the net. Luckily, you guys are all even out."
Oh shit. Gabriella's face was already drenched in her own sweat and is blushing red from the drills they performed not so long ago. To play alone on your own side of the court with the standard height of the net is not something you can easily pull off when you're muscles are already sore. She turned around to see her friends, including Kelsi and Ryan who arrived 10 minutes ago, smiling encouragingly at her. She smiled back at them but her look lingered at Troy, who was smiling brightly at her.
'You can do it,' he mouthed at her, 'even if you suck.'
Gabriella giggled. Her head turns back to see Coach Davis already assigning two girls to play the first round of Volleyball. Coach Davis called two girls named Elaine Turner and Jenny Sanders. As the two tall slim girls approach Coach Davis to see which one will have the first serve, Gabriella glanced behind her to see her friends talking together. They were all facing each other. With Kelsi, Ryan, and Chad facing their backs to Gabriella while Jason, Zeke (which surprised Gabriella to see them there with the rest), Taylor, Sharpay, and Troy sitting on the row of bleachers higher than the other three. Taylor might've sensed someone staring at her since she looked at Gabriella then gave her a thumbs up. The rest of the gang saw her as they turn their heads to where Gabriella was standing and gave her also a thumbs up with cheeky grins. Gabriella shook her head at their behavior. However, her facial expression showed her gratitude towards them.
The sound of Coach Davis' whistle drew her head back to court. Jenny took the first serve of the game, doing a jump serve. The ball curved its way to the other side of the net but bounced back to the right side of the court as Elaine's forearms prevented the ball to touch the ground on her side. The yellow-blue striped ball bounced back and forth over the 7 feet net with the two girls trying their best to bounce the ball to their opponent's side.
This was going to be a long one.
After six pairs later, Gabriella found herself sitting on the cold gym floor with the rest of the girls.
She was leaning against Hailey's legs that were brought near to Hailey's chest. They were all currently watching Sofia playing against a short brunette with her leading 3 points. She was surprised that the gang stayed this long. Then again, the boys will have one of their last practices before championships.
Despite being too focus on the current game happening in front of them, Gabriella lost track of the time. She silently wished the short girl, Genevieve, to not receive that hard spike Sofia just did. She doesn't feel guilty about it. She just wants her turn on the court then everything will be over. she hasn't sprained herself so far, so she's doing pretty good. She's also trying to ignore Troy throughout the rest of the try-outs because she knew she can get easily distracted by his presence. By far, she's barely succeeding on that mission. However, she would glance back at them to see if they weren't entirely bored.
The ball went too far from Genevieve's reach. It wasn't long after she fell to knees for trying to reach the ball. The sound of the ball bouncing on the floor rang four times in Gabriella's ear. Sofia threw her hands up in victory with her face all red but nevertheless satisfied with the way she played. She just beat a girl two years older than her on a volleyball game. The two girls faced each other all sweaty and crimson red as they shook their hands as a sign of a fair game.
Gabriella smiled at Sofia as the tired girl sat behind her.
"Now the last pair," Coach Davis announced. "Gabriella Montez and Rachel Collins."
Rachel Collins was the first to stand up. Her dirty straight blonde hair pulled back on a tight ponytail made her look intimidating enough. Gabriella already knew this since they were in 1st grade. They weren't entirely on good terms since Rachel's more of a snob.
The two girls stood in front of Coach Davis who was narrowing her eyes at her clipboard as she writes down a few comments on the paper. The round-shaped face woman looked at the two girls in front of her. She took out a quarter from her pocket.
"I'll flip the coin then any of you call heads or tails," Coach Davis instructed.
The coin flipped upward in slow motion. Gabriella could see the heads... tails... heads... no... heads. It landed on the Coach's palm but immediately closed her hand before any of them could see the coin.
"Heads," Rachel confidently said.
"Tails I guess," Gabriella muttered.
Coach Davis slowly opened her palm. In Gabriella's point of view, it's taking too long. She has to get that first serve. It'll give her the advantage and a head start on the points. Nevermind, they could the coin already.
Tails.
"Montez, you serve."
The gym erupted in cheers and claps. Gabriella could hear her friends cheering for her. She looked at them and laughed lightly at the image of Chad and Jason imitating a cheerleader. Taylor was on the side slapping her forehead. Troy's claps were the loudest though. She could feel her heart soaring out of her chest. She can't help but smile at him. He smiled back.
"Ready girls. This is the last one."
Gabriella pounded the ball to the ground as her breath started getting deeper. This was it. All she has to do is wait for the whistled. She took three steps back while bouncing the ball on the ground. Each sound getting louder and louder as it echos throughout the quiet gym. The first one to score 15 points wins. Now or never. Then the whistle blew.
Gabriella threw the ball gracefully up, waiting for it to be on her eye level. Her feet left the ground as the ball fell slowly to the ground. Her right hand grabbing momentum from her back suddenly slammed on the ball's rubber surface, sending it towards Rachel. Then it all happened so fast. She lost track of what her surrounding was. Her only focus was on the Mikasa ball. Never let it touch the ground. Her forearms were starting to become reddish from bouncing the ball over the net to her opponent's side. But Rachel put up a fight. The girl was fast. She never missed a step as she runs towards the ball's direction. This kind of piss Gabriella off. A minute later, the ball flew further back. Gabriella's widen as she realizes the ball would fall behind her. She ran backward, trying her best to not let her clumsiness overpower her. Then time slowed. The ball floating in the air as it descends to the ground. Letting gravity pull it down. But not on Gabriella's watch. Her forearms prevented the ball to descend even further, therefore sending it over to Rachel's side. This time the ball bounced back higher and stronger. Gabriella didn't saw what happened next since she fell forward on her knees. Her knee pads securing her fall. Pain shot through the palm of her hands when it hit the floor but all of that went away as the sound of the ball bouncing on the hard floor was heard.
Gabriella got a point. Fourteen more to go. Her sore muscles are now energized for it.
It was like a maniac. The game between Rachel Collins and Gabriella Montez was more intense than the one Gabriella had with Sharpay.
It was a tie. 14-14. The last one to score wins this. Gabriella craved that win.
It was Rachel's serve. Her grey like eyes staring pointedly at her. She also wanted this. It's not going to be that easy. Gabriella's forearms are now covered in black arm sleeves. !3 minutes after the game, Coach Davis made the girls wore their arm sleeves since their forearms were starting to seriously look red.
Coach Davis blew her whistle then the ball was floating towards Gabriella's right. She managed to reach it and bounce it back to Rachel. The ball, unfortunately, bounced back to Gabriella's side. This time closer to the net. If she touches that net, the point goes to Rachel. She reaches towards the ball as it free-falls towards the floor. She squatted lower but her forearms bounced the ball up without touching the net. Gabriella stood back up as she ran a little backword, giving her a big space from the net. However, the ball was still falling near the net. Rachel jumped as her left arm spiked the ball. Gabriella bounced the ball upward. The sound of her arms and the ball colliding echoed through the silent gym. The ball was now falling on top of Gabriella. As it drew near her face, she uses the overhead pass to send it back upwards only a little away from the top of her head. The ball's direction was shooting upwards a little diagonally. Gabriella jumped from the ground then spiked it hard to Rachel. But she blocked it. Again, everything happened so fast. One minute Gabriella's feet were now on the ground, the next the ball was now flying back towards her.
She was tired. Her breathing was now deep and short. She wants to end it now. She wants to win this. All the mocking and teasing she endured back in 5th and 6th grade were now back on her head. The only reason why she stopped playing Volleyball in the first place. Those girls took over her life. That won't happen again. She can't let Rachel win this. If she does, then it'll feel like those girls won.
Rachel was too near the net which left the back of her court unprotected. Her forearms bounced the ball higher this time, making sure it would fall near the net. Gabriella's brown eyes never left the ball as it keeps falling and falling. Her feet took three large steps then leaped off the ground. The ball was near her head. She didn't hesitate to spike the ball harder than she ever did.
Rachel's eyes widen as she tries to run in the ball's direction. But it was too far since the ball was now headed towards the far corner of the side of her court. Rachel slipped. Her arm still reached out, hoping she could still pass the ball back. But it was too late. For the yellow-blue Mikasa ball landed inside of the white straight line.
Gabriella won.
"YES!" Taylor screamed as she immediately stood up in glee. "THAT'S MY BEST FRIEND!"
Gabriella tiredly laughed at Taylor. She won. Her muscles were so sore right now. But she won. At that moment, she didn't care if she doesn't get the spot. She won and that was all that mattered to her at the moment.
"Great game, girls," Coach Davis smiled. "Shake hands."
Gabriella and Rachel stood in front of each other tensely. The game between them was intense. Gabriella was the first one to pull her hand. A second later, it was shaking with Rachel's. Both silently agreeing it was a fair game.
Gabriella ran towards her gym bag but along the way, everyone was patting her back and telling her how great she was on the court. She humbly thanked them and told them they were great as well. She took her towel out of her gym when she was suddenly surrounded by beaming people.
"Gigi, that was great," Sharpay pulled her into a hug.
"Ow, I'm sore right now."
"Sorry," Sharpay sheepishly apologized after pulling away. "That was literally intense, Gigi."
"Yeah no shit," Chad agreed. "Come here you little devil spawn."
Gabriella hugged Chad carefully. The smile on her face never left her as she also hugged Taylor, Kelsi, Ryan, and Zeke. Jason decided to salute Gabriella. This sent her laughing while clutching her belly. Troy was standing still as he looks proudly at her. She felt her cheeks getting warmer by this.
"Thank you guys for watching me try-out for the team," Gabriella said gratefully. "You guys didn't have to but you did."
"You were amazing," Kelsi said.
"Plus, watching you might give us a hint on what to do in gym class," everyone laughed at Zeke's joke.
"I still appreciate it," she smiles tiredly at them. "But I have to go shower now. I stink."
"Okay, stop by T.M. if you want," Ryan said.
"Sure, bye guys," she waved at them, leaving towards the shower room with her gym bag.
Gabriella was walking in an empty hallway near the shower room when she was suddenly pulled back by her arm. Her body spins around to see the blue-eyed teenage boy standing in front of her.
"Hey," he said.
"Hi," she said.
"You did great, Gabi," Troy said, not letting go of Gabriella's arm.
"Even if you said I suck," they both laughed. "Thank you. For calming me last night. For being there earlier. For everything."
"You're welcome then," he said.
He dropped his hand from her arm. She tried to hide the disappointed feeling from her face. She wanted that warm feeling of his hand back on her skin. Even if it was sweaty.
"Good luck with your practice then. You told me your dad isn't going to take it easy on you guys."
"Don't remind me," his cerulean eyes playfully rolled around. "My whole body is starting to sore now. But it's worth it, you know?"
"Yeah," she replied, knowing how incredible it feels to win something you almost lost your breath for. "I should go now."
"Yeah, you stink," he laughed.
"Haha," she playfully wiped the towel on her hand at Troy. "Oh don't act so surprised. You knew it was coming."
"It hurts," he dramatically rubbed the spot where the towel hit him. "See you later, Gabi."
Troy's arms suddenly wrapped itself around Gabriella's small waist. She didn't expect this. Out of all the time, he could've hugged her, he had to pick the time where she's covered in her own sweat? She was frozen still for a second. He wasn't pulling away. She slowly hugged him back around his shoulders. The smell of boy cologne clogged her nostril. It was the first time she ever liked the scent.
She could've been dreaming at that point. There was no way in hell Troy Bolton was hugging her now. She might've fainted on her way to the showers or this is all just her hallucination. But that didn't loosen her grip around him. His grip around her didn't loosen as well. They stood there close to each other. They stood there embracing each other. He feels so warm. The warmth of his arms around her calmed her nerves. She couldn't wipe the smile off her face. She couldn't help but nuzzle her face on the crook of his neck, He didn't seem to mind. In fact, this only made him hugged her tighter. The butterflies on her stomach were now flying around her stomach. This boy was driving her crazy.
She didn't know why he was hugging her right now. She didn't how long they've been hugging. She didn't know if this was all real or it's just happening inside her head. But she knew one thing. If this is what it feels to be in Troy's arms, she knew that's all she ever wants to be in forever. In his arms.