Chapter 3
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Gabriella paced back in forth in her room as she was trying to decide on what she was going to wear. Tonight was the night of the much anticipated date between her and Troy, and nothing seemed at all appealing to her. She heard a knock at her door and was relieved to open it and see Taylor on the other side.
"I came as fast as I could."
"Thanks Tay, I am freaking out. I don't have anything to wear." Gabby said as she plopped down on her bed. Taylor looked around Gabby's normally very neat and tidy room to find that there were clothes scattered everywhere. She looked in Gabby's closet and there was nothing inside. Tay assumed that all of its contents were now at her feet.
"Since when were you such a girl?" Taylor asked laughing. Gabby sat up and rolled her eyes, why did Tay think this was funny? This was a huge thing for her.
"I knew I made a mistake in calling you. I should've called Sharpay."
"Yeah, if you wanted to look like a pretty pink cupcake. And I don't think she would've answered your call anyways. Word on the street is that she and Zeke are no more."
"Are you serious?"
"Dead serious. And apparently, when she heard you and Troy finally had a real date, she wasn't too happy about that either."
"That's odd." Gabby said, but didn't pay too much attention to it. She had more important matters to deal with.
"Chad man, I am freaking out." Troy said to his best friend right as he walked into his front door.
"Dude, what's the problem?"
"What's the problem? I am taking Gabriella out on our first real date. I don't know if I can make it. I have been feeling sick all day."
"Why? You guys hang out all the time."
"Yeah we hang out all the time, but we are going out, like on a date. This is a big deal." Chad couldn't help but laugh at his friend. He hadn't seen him this nervous since the opening night of the musical. And even then, he wasn't this bad.
"Everything will work out fine, I mean you have already gone through the hard part, you know asking her out?"
That's true. But I mean what If it's a bust? How do I end the night? Do I give her a hug? Do I kiss her?"
"Do whatever feels right. You know go with the flow."
"Go with the flow?"
"Yeah go with the flow. That is what I did with Taylor."
"Yeah, and look how good things turned out there." Chad nodded in agreement as he began looking through Troy's fridge.
Gabby looked at her clock for the fifth time in the last five minutes. Troy would be there any second now and she was still a nervous wreck. She had never really felt this way about anyone, so it was an unsettling feeling. She had decided on dressing casually, nothing too over the top. Just a simple white skirt, black ballet slip ons and a nice black tank top. She kept smoothing her skirt down and crossing and uncrossing her legs. She couldn't help but feel like this feeling only happened to her. No one else could possibly feel this anxious about anything. Just as she was about to look at the clock again, she heard a knocking at her balcony window. Without giving it a second thought she got up and moved the curtain aside to find Troy standing on her balcony. As soon as she saw his smile, every single bad feeling she had seemed to wash away. She opened the door and smiled.
"What are you doing?"
"Well hello to you too. You know, I went to your door, but something felt a little off about it. So I decided to give the balcony a try. You look great." She giggled and felt herself blush a little bit.
"You do too. But I hate to break it to you; my mom is waiting downstairs for you to arrive and for me to make my grand entrance."
"Oh right, it wouldn't look too good if I just came down the stairs with you right?" Gabriella laughed and shook her head as she stepped back into her room.
"Alright, well I will see you in a bit." Troy said before making his way back down from the balcony. Gabriella shut the door behind her and ran to the mirror. She took a deep breath and smoothed her hair down a bit then heard the doorbell ring.
"Gabriella? Troy is here!" she heard her mom yell up the stairs.
"Coming mom!" she said as she grabbed her purse and headed out the door.
The date was going really well, they had gone to this outdoor mall called the Gateway for dinner and had eaten at a sushi bar. She didn't like sushi, and neither did Troy, but luckily there were other things available on the menu. She thought it was kind of funny that he took her to a place that neither one of them liked, but he was trying his best to impress her. She would've been content with any restaurant, even if it was fast food. Just as long as she was with him. They were now walking hand in hand in the mall, since it was outdoors they could walk through it, even though there wasn't anything open anymore. But in the middle of the mall there was a big open space where they had a bunch of fountains that danced along with music, and they were absolutely breathtaking at night. So Troy thought it would be a good idea to take her there before he took her out for dessert. They sat down on the benches and watched the water leap out of the ground. Up until then, the conversation had been going pretty smooth, but now they had seemed to run out of things to talk about.
"So, it's a beautiful night." Troy said trying to get the conversation going again.
"Yeah it is. Thank you so much for taking me here. It's really nice."
"Yeah, no problem. I just can't believe you haven't been here before. I mean you have lived here for awhile now."
"I know, but I'm not a big mall person."
"Oh I'm not either; it was just kind of a big thing when it opened."
"Well if I had known I would've come, it doesn't have that mall atmosphere you know?" Troy nodded in agreement even though he really had no idea what she was talking about. He didn't even know what a mall atmosphere was. Just then he realized that he was with one of the most beautiful girls that he had ever seen. He watched her as she watched the water dance. The excitement in her face. Her mere presence just lit up whatever room she walked into. At that very moment, he could feel himself falling in love with Gabriella Montez.
"Gabby?"
"Yes?" she said as she turned at met his eyes. As soon as she looked into them she realized the intensity of that moment. If he didn't feel it too, then she didn't know what she would do. It was so strong and powerful, you really would have to be dead not to feel it. Just as Troy was about to go in and kiss her, his watch beeped and he was sucked back into the reality of the moment.
"We have to go." He could see the disappointment in her face and would've have loved nothing more then to kiss her right there, but the night wasn't over yet.
"Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise, just trust me. And no peeking!" Troy had blindfolded Gabriella to take her to the next part of the date.
"Ok, stand here. Don't take it off yet." He let go of her and walked away. Gabriella couldn't help but feel a little bit nervous. She couldn't see and didn't know what as going on. But then she remembered who she was with and that all went away.
"Ok, now." She lifted her hands up to her face and removed the cloth. She couldn't help but gasp at what she saw. There was a little table set up, with candles and a bottle of apple cider sitting in a chilled bucket with ice. The table was covered in yellow rose petals which was her favorite color. On the middle of the table there was a plate with a cover on it. All around the table there were smaller candles including some that lit a small pathway for her to walk through. Troy was waiting for her at the end of it with a single red rose in his hand. She didn't even bother to look at where they were, but when she did it took her breath away. There was this place called the top of the world, it overlooked the whole city, which at night just looked like a bunch of blinking lights.
"Oh Troy. This is amazing! How did you-?"
"I had some help from some of the guys on the team."
"You really didn't have to."
"Yes I did." He said smiling as he walked out to her and handed her the rose.
"You really do look stunning." She smiled and knew that her face had to be bright red right now, but she didn't care. They stood there for a moment staring in each others eyes. Gabriella couldn't think of a more perfect evening.
"Gabby, I have wanted to do this for the longest time. I just didn't know how. And I want you to know how I feel about you. You are so amazing, the most amazing person I have ever known. I have never felt this strongly about anything in my life. I know this sounds kind of cheesy, but it's all true. And I was just wondering if……"
"Yes." He didn't even have to finish. She knew exactly what he was going to say. She had been waiting for this for a long time, and it was all finally happening. She smiled as she wrapped her arms around him. He pulled away and at last gave her the kiss that they had both been waiting for. Now Gabriella really couldn't think of a better evening.
Ok there it is. I am using references to places that are here in Utah because that is where I live and I have never been to Albuquerque. And since the movie was filmed here anyways I thought it could work out. Thanks so much for the reviews guys! I really do love em and it keeps me wanted to update as soon as I can so keep em coming!
