Hey everyone! Thanks so much for all the reviews, I'm so surprised at the response to my fic, it's fantastic! You guys are great, I've honestly got a smile on my face that I can't get rid of lol! So anyway here's the next chapter, you get to find out what's in the box!
Disclaimer: I do not own HSM or any of the characters mentioned in this fic. I only own the plot.
CHAPTER 2: Breakfast and that Infamous Box!
Gabriella's heart was absolutely racing, 'Omg, what could be in this box?' she felt both nervous and excited at the same time. She couldn't deny that the shape of the box caused her brain to jump to outlandish conclusions about its contents… she also couldn't deny that the very thought of these conclusions caused her heart to thump around a thousands beats per minute, 'This is it…" thought Gabriella excitedly as she opened the box, biting her lower lip, '… finally! Troy's making a mov…. What the…!'
The expression on Gabriella's face quickly changed from a sort of anxious excitement, to a look of utter confusion. Troy who was watching her carefully, noticed this and grinned quietly to himself, 'Here we go…'
"Oh… Troy… I… I love it," said Gabriella uncertainly, pulling out her gift, "… a pen… just what I needed… thank you."
"It's a not just any pen, it's a Delta Solaris Rollerball," said Troy smiling, "I just figured that because of school and whatnot, you'll always need a pen, and its refillable so you can keep it forever… and now every time you use that pen, you'll think of me."
Gabriella smiled slightly at this, bending her head to look down closely at the pen. "'…every time you use that pen, you'll think of me', awe that's sweet… but a pen! I was expecting a… or even a… but a… but a pen! This is certainly a surprise…' thought Gabriella. In any case it was a pretty good pen, it looked quite reliable, and the design was nice. It was one of those click-top rollerball pens that usually come in those rectangular boxes. It was black with red rings, three around the centre and one more on the click-top, and it had silver coloured accents. (A/N: okay, I'm sorry that I'm not explaining it very well… if you want to actually see what it looks like, click the link on my homepage) Gabriella turned it around in her hands and was surprised to find her name, engraved in red on the side 'Gabriella Montez…' Gabriella smiled to herself, 'It is a pretty sweet gift, even if it's not what I expected…'
She looked up into Troy's eyes, smiling, "It's beautiful Troy, thank you," she said softly.
"You're welcome, but I can tell you're not overly pleased. Were you expecting something else?" Troy asked, raising his eyebrows. Gabriella blushed shaking her head.
"No… of course not, why, what should I have been expecting?" she asked, embarrassed at how ungrateful she must seem.
"I don't know, but it doesn't seem like you got it… I wouldn't worry though," said Troy smiling as Gabriella looked away, 'She's so wonderful… I can tell she's a little disappointed but she pretends to love it anyway!'
"I… I wasn't… wait, why is that?" she asked curiously.
Troy walked past her out the door, saying mysteriously as he did so, "… because the day's not over yet…"
Gabriella furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at his words, 'What is that supposed to mean?' she was about to ask but then she realised he'd already retreated down the stairs… sighing she followed him down.
Gabriella walked down the stairs and into the living room to find, Troy chatting with her mother. The two turned to look at her, when she walked into the room.
"Happy Birthday Gabi! Sixteen today! Oh, my baby girl is growing up so fast," gushed Ms. Montez, hugging Gabriella in a warm embrace.
"Thanks mum! And mum… didn't we talk about you using the B-word while there are people present?" whispered Gabriella into her mother's ear, hoping desperately that Troy didn't hear… He did though, and he laughed, causing Gabriella to blush and Ms. Montez to smile broadly.
"Oh Gabi, let it go, just this once… Troy doesn't seem to mind, and plus you'll always be my baby," replied Ms. Montez, kissing her on the forehead, "Now you two better be off, it's getting late in the morning, and from what Troy tells me, you to are in for a big day."
"From what Troy tells you…? Wait, Troy told you what we were doing, but he won't tell me!" cried Gabriella, looking from her mother to Troy, and back to her mother, pouting all the while, "How is that fair!"
"It's fair because, it's not your mother's birthday, it's yours, and it's supposed to be a surprise! Now c'mon we've wasted enough time already," answered Troy, taking Gabriella's hand and pulling her out the door, "Goodbye Ms. Montez, we'll leave you to do whatever you want now."
"Grrr! Fine then! See you later mum! Have a good day!" said Gabriella, blowing her mum a kiss as Troy dragged her out the door.
"Okay sweetie, see you later! Oh, and Troy?" called out Ms. Montez, Troy stopped to look at her, "Be sure not to keep her out too late, I wouldn't want her to be late for… dinner."
Ms. Montez gave Troy a meaningful look as she said this, and Troy understood what she meant, "Don't worry Ms. Montez, I won't," replied Troy, "7 o'clock!" he waved as he lead Gabriella down the street, not letting go of her hand.
The two walked on down the street, Gabriella followed Troy, still unsure of where they were going, Troy wouldn't even tell her where they were having breakfast. Neither spoke for awhile, both caught up in their thoughts of the other, but both very aware that they were still holding hands and again both not wanting to initiate the let go.
"Troy what did mum mean back there, Be sure not to keep her out too late?" asked Gabriella, suspicious of the way her mother had looked at Troy.
"Nothing," replied Troy said a little too quickly, "she just didn't want you to be late for dinner. Don't forget I'm stealing you away for most of the day; she probably just wants to make sure she gets to spend at least a little time with her daughter on her daughter's birthday."
"Oh okay… I guess that's fair enough," they walked on, not realising that the fingers on their fused hands had, by now, intertwined.
They walked on in content silence, neither wanting to ruin the moment until Troy realised they were almost at their destination and had no choice but to break the mood. He looked down, hesitant, and noticed their intertwined hands… he blushed, thinking that they looked so right together, Gabriella's hand intertwined with his. Gabriella looked down to, curious about what he was looking at and blushed the same as Troy at what she saw, embarrassed she let go of his hand quickly, looking away. Troy blushed again, before saying,
"We're almost there, do you mind shutting your eyes for the rest of the way?" asked Troy nervously, 'Is she going to like this?'
Gabriella looked around confused, they seemed to just be in a normal neighbourhood, there was a park just down the street and houses but no store where they could get breakfast, "… what's going on?" she asked confused.
"You just have to trust me, okay?" replied Troy looking at her, Gabriella nodded and closed her eyes. Troy put one arm around her shoulder and the other on her arm, securing her so he could lead them to their destination.
He lead her down the street towards the park and as the walked onto the grass, Chad and Taylor appeared behind a tree, sitting beside the picnic that Troy had organised before he went to Gabriella's house. He mouthed a "thank you" to the two of them for guarding the spread as they got up to leave quietly, Taylor mouthing a residing "Aww…" at how adorable the two of them looked together as Chad led her away.
When they'd gone, Troy motioned for Gabriella to stand still and whispered in her ear, "You can open you're eyes now." Gabriella did as she was told and as she did so, her eyes widened in shock at what lay in front of her. 'Omg, it's beautiful!' she looked over at Troy, who was smiling at her, 'You're so full of surprises today Troy… you're so sweet and you look so adorable,' thought Gabriella to herself, looking back at the spread. There was a large picnic blanket spread on the grass, with a picnic basket sitting on top to keep it down, as well as an array of plates of different foods; muffins, pancakes, bread, fruit… spread out on the blanket.
"Oh Troy… It's wonderful, I don't know how you did all this… it must have taken you ages," said Gabriella softly, her voice resonating her awe.
"Yeah… but I didn't do it all on my own, I mean my mother helped me with the pancakes and the muffins, and that bakery guy sure knows how to bake bread… and where would we be without the farmer to grow the fruit and… and I'm rambling again, aren't I?" Gabriella nodded, smiling, though Troy stilled seemed unsure, "But it is okay, isn't it? I mean you like it, because you don't have to eat it we can just leave it and go out to some café or something instea…"
"Troy stop, its fine! Stop worrying, it's fantastic!" said Gabriella interrupting Troy's ramblings and stopping his lips with her finger. She smiled and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek, causing Troy to blush considerably, "Thank you so much, it's wonderful… no actually, it's perfect."
Troy grinned, clearly pleased, "Well let's eat! Shall we madam?" he asked holding his hand out towards the food in a gentleman-like gesture that Gabriella understood to mean, 'ladies first'. Gabriella giggled, walking over to sit down and Troy followed smiling broadly.
So what did you think? Is it what you were expecting? What does have Troy planned for Gabriella next? I know! But I'm not telling you yet, lol! You'll just have to wait and see! Review please, I love getting feedback!
