The Real After-Party
By Jeune Ecrivain
Rating: K+
Summary: After their triple-victory (basketball/callback/decathlon), Troy and Gabriela celebrate the day's events in their own special way. Troy/Gabriela (Troyela?)
A/N: For a hopeless romantic like me, it was a great let-down that Troy and Gabriela never actually kissed. This is my own attempt to rectify that.
Gabriela Montez was never really a partygoer. She enjoyed the laid-back, fun-oriented
atmosphere of parties as much as the next girl, but she was rarely one to express her enjoyment with loud, high-pitched cries or elaborate, wild dancing. She was more the type to sit at a table with either a cup of punch or a good book and take in the fun that was going on around her. Occasionally, she would engage in lively conversation with a passing partygoer who momentarily decided to take a break from the more physically demanding activities of the celebration.
This is essentially what she was doing inside the East High gymnasium at the after-party that followed a triple-victory for her two friends and the acquaintances with whom the former had brought her into casual contact. She had just helped her team of academically-endowed students beat East High's latest opponent in the Scholastic Decathlon. Then, the closest of her new friends, Troy Bolton, had led the East High Wildcats to victory on the basketball court. Finally, she and Troy had scored the lead roles in the upcoming school musical after an audition that earned them a standing ovation from their impromptu audience. She reflected on how thrilling it was to sing and dance onstage, to let out a part of her she never knew existed. The title and theme of their song of choice, "Breaking Free," was truly appropriate. She smiled as she thought of Troy. She owed her musical self-discovery to him. Something about him made her feel free to truly be herself whenever she was in his presence, and it was a feeling she didn't ever want to lose.
Lost in her thoughts, she almost didn't notice the second-closest of her new friends, a petite girl with reddish-brown hair named Kelsi, sit down next to her. "I am so stupid," she said bluntly.
Gabriela furrowed her brow slightly. "Why would you say that?"
"You remember Troy calling me the 'playmaker' and all?" said Kelsi.
Gabriela nodded.
"Well, he's right. I not only wrote the music, but I also wrote the script. I wrote the whole play. You know what that means?"
Gabriela shook her head, amusedly puzzled.
"I could've saved us a whole lot of trouble just by making a small change to the script, as I have the artistic right to do."
"Okay…" Gabriela replied, still not sure where she was going with this.
"Ryan and Sharpay are brother and sister," Kelsi explained. "All I had to do was write it into the script that Arnold kisses Minnie, and those two would've run away from the stage like their tails were on fire!"
Gabriela giggled heartily. "I never would've suspected you'd have a devious side."
Kelsi responded, quite surprisingly, with a clever grin that made Gabriela wonder just how deep that devious side ran. "Although, an Arnold-Minnie kiss might still be a good idea!"
"Why's that?" Gabriela asked, inwardly realizing all of a sudden what it would mean for her and Troy if such an addendum was indeed made to the script.
"It would save you and Troy a lot of trouble beating around the bush. I'm seriously considering taking bets on how long it takes for you to realize how you really feel about each other."
Gabriela blushed scarlet. "Kelsi…" she protested, "…c'mon! We're just friends."
"How long will that last?" Kelsi said doubtfully. "Seriously, I wish you could've seen the way you two looked at each other when you sang the duet and convinced Ms. Darvis to give you a callback. You'd have to be blind, deaf, and dumb to think there's nothing romantic going on there."
Gabriela opened her mouth to respond, but the retort that was on her tongue was cut short when she spotted Troy approaching her. "Hey," he greeted, smiling gently at her.
"Hey," she replied, slightly nervous now because of Kelsi's words. She caught Kelsi's eye, who winked subtly at her before effortlessly excusing herself and walking away. She turned back to Troy, who was gazing at her with something that looked like admiration in his eyes. She smiled shyly under such a gaze.
"You were terrific!" he said plainly.
She chuckled sheepishly and looked up at him. "If it weren't for you, I would've walked off the stage."
"Hey, I just gave you a nudge of encouragement. That songbird inside you would've come out sooner or later, no matter what," he told her matter-of-factly.
She giggled softly and rose to look him in the eye. "So I'm a songbird now?" she challenged with a good-natured smirk.
He regarded her with playfulness in his smile and warmth in his eyes, a look that she abruptly found herself getting lost in. "Do you want to get out of here?" he asked, offering her his hand. "I think we need to celebrate what happened today in our own way for a while."
Almost without conscious thought, she took his hand as a warm smile spread across her face. He grinned back at her with mock-cockiness and led her out of the gymnasium.
---HSMHSMHSMHSM---
Gabriela soon found herself back in the Science Club's makeshift greenhouse above the cafeteria that Troy had shown her earlier. He led her to the bench, and the two took a seat. As a gentle breeze caused her red dress to dance in the air, Troy remarked inwardly at how beautiful she looked. "I never got to thank you," he said.
She furrowed her brow for the second time that evening. "For what?"
"For helping me become something besides the basketball guy," he answered. "There have always been times when I wondered what it would be like to be just a guy. But with my friends and my dad around, I never would've had the courage to try anything new. Then you came along and gave me the impetus I needed." He swallowed, hoping he wasn't sounding too wishy-washy. "I never gave the performing arts a second thought, but now I can't wait to pursue them further, especially with you singing and dancing right alongside me."
A slight blush crept into Gabriela's cheeks. "You did the same for me," she reminded him. "I was really scared when that karaoke guy pulled me up onstage, and you looked a little nervous yourself. But then you started singing, and…" she trailed off, somewhat in awe of what had transpired that fateful New Year's Eve. "I figured, if you could do it, I could at least give it a try."
"A try!" he interrupted. "Gabriela, have you heard yourself? The way you were hugging yourself and looking all around nervously, I was about ready to step off the stage after that first verse just so that you would feel a little freer to step down. Then you started singing, and…" It was his turn to trail off. "I wondered how someone who acted so shy when she was put in front of a microphone could be so GOOD!"
"Flattery will get you nowhere," she teased. "But thanks," she added genuinely. "I really do owe the revival of my solo career to you."
Troy chuckled. "And I owe the beginning of mine to you," he replied. "Honestly, I don't know what it is. I can really be myself when I'm with you. You said that singing with me made you feel like just a girl instead of Math-Girl. Well, singing with you makes me feel like just a guy."
"You even look like one too," she quipped, turning his own previous crack against him.
Troy laughed out loud. "Oh, I just cannot let that pass, missy," he said, slipping an arm around her waist and tickling her sides.
Gabriela let out a high pitched yelp and started giggling. "Stop…it!" she managed to utter in between giggles as she tried to stop his swift hands with her own. Her defensive moves soon turned his tickling into a sort of wrestling match, and before either one knew it, they lost their balance on the bench and tumbled onto the floor with a surprised yelp from Gabriela.
They were both began giggling helplessly, but it quickly faded as they both realized their position. She had landed squarely on top if him, and his arms had instinctively encircled her waist. Their noses were a millimeter from touching, and neither on could tear his/her gaze from the other's eyes. Their proximity gave them both a rush, and yet it was comforting at the same time. Hardly realizing what she was doing, Gabriela lowered her lips onto his and kissed him softly. She barely broke away at all before Troy recaptured her lips and initiated a deeper kiss. As the kiss grew more passionate, Gabriela inwardly realized just how right Kelsi had been…and how glad she was of it.