Hey! I'm so sorry everyone, for taking so long to update! I just got really busy and couldn't find the time… anyway, this chapter is quite long so hopefully it will make up for my absence!
Disclaimer: I do not own HSM or any of the HSM characters mentioned in this fic.
CHAPTER 10: The Party
"Wow…" whispered Troy as he and Gabriella parted slowly, he couldn't think of anything else to say… in fact he couldn't think at all.
"Yeah…" she whispered back, smiling softly… Troy felt himself smile too…
Troy moved to lean in again, but he was interrupted by the sound of people coughing and clearing their throats loudly.
He and Gabriella looked at each other in confusion, and the two turned to see the rest of the group, watching them awkwardly. "Oh man! I totally forgot they were there! Did we just do what I think we did, in front of all of them?" thought Troy, groaning inwardly.
Gabriella too, was experiencing a silent heart attack, she looked around the room at her friends gawking at her, "What were you thinking Gabriella! I can't believe you just did that! And in front of every- …Oh my god!" Gabriella's eyes widened in horror as her eyes fell upon her mother, looking at her with raised eyebrows… Gabriella felt her cheeks redden and she shut her eyes, hoping she was dreaming… when she opened them again she was not surprised to find that it was not in fact a horrible dream.
An awkward silence descended upon the room, as know one was willing to be the first to speak… Gabriella and Troy glanced at each other, swapping embarrassed smiles… Troy was the first to look away, focusing his attention on a spot on the wall and shoving his hands in his pockets. Gabriella looked down at her hands, fiddling them together in a shy manner… she looked back up at the group and gave them an embarrassed grin.
"…Hehe… He-hey guys…" Gabriella gave them a small wave and chuckled nervously, "… sooo… wha-what's happening?"
"What's happening? Uh… I don't know… I think you might be able to answer that better than me," replied Taylor, raising an eyebrow and smirking at her. The rest of the group looked at Gabriella, waiting for an answer… Troy looked over at her too, curious about how she would reply.
"Hehe… erm… I-I don't know wha-what you're talking about…" said Gabriella, trying to be dumb.
"Oh you know very well what we're talking about Gabriella… " spoke up Sharpay, staring at her pointedly, she too was grinning, "Come on… spill!"
"… Oh… erm… you mean… us…m-me and Troy?" asked Gabriella, waving her hand between herself and Troy… the rest of the group nodded at her vigorously, impatiently waiting for her to continue, "… hehe… well… erm… nothing..."
"Aww… come on Gabriella! Even I know that's a lie! We practically just saw you two try to eat each other's faces!" cried out Chad loudly, causing Gabriella and Troy to blush uncontrollably. Troy shot Chad a glare and Taylor slapped the back of his head causing Chad to cry out, "Ow! What! What did I say?"
No one responded, they just rolled their eyes at him before turning to look back at Gabriella and Troy.
"Okay… let's just cut to the chase… are you two… like together?" asked Ryan curiously before adding, "Well obviously, you're something, we did just see you two…kiss, but officially?"
Gabriella and Troy looked at each other, looking for an answer…. Gabriella was looking at him nervously, Troy saw her softly bite her lip…he could feel his heart melting, "She's sooo gorgeous…" He smiled at her softly, taking her hand in his and caressing it softly with his thumb.
"Yes… we're together… officially…" answered Troy, turning to look at them and grinning uncontrollably.
Troy laughed, as his answer was met by several shouts of applause by the boys, and squealing by the girls, he saw Ms. Montez stare at him silently, before nodding her head and smiling at him… Troy smiled back. He looked over at Gabriella, who was grinning and laughing at her friends, he squeezed her hand and she turned to him smiling.
"Well, it's about time! Some playmaker you are Troy, it took you long enough!" cried Kelsi, to a wave of laughter from everyone else.
"Would you care to explain how all this came about?" asked Taylor, much to the curiosity of everyone.
It was Gabriella's turn to answer, and she looked at all her friends one by one, scratching her head thoughtfully as if she was trying to think of an answer… she looked at them cheekily before replying…
"Um… no, not really…" she laughed as her friends cried out in disappointment, "… Haha… enough about me and Troy, let's get this party started!"
She walked over to the stereo, putting some music on and cranking up the volume. All her friends laughed and started dancing to the music… Gabriella saw her mother walk out of the room towards the kitchen and so she quickly excused herself and followed her mother out of the room.
"So you and Troy a couple now, eh?" asked her mother, raising her eyebrows at her as Gabriella walked into the kitchen and sat on a stool.
"Erm… yeah…" Gabriella looked at the bench top, she still felt awkward about the fact she'd kissed Troy in front of her mum, "Wha-what do you think about it?"
"Well… I think… my little baby girl… isn't such a baby anymore… but that's something I have to deal with… because you are growing up and there's nothing I can do about it… and as much as I wish you wouldn't date boys until you were at least 25…" Gabriella's head snapped up at this and she looked at her mother alarmed, causing her mother to chuckle softly, "I think that if you must have a boyfriend… I'm glad it's Troy…"
Gabriella's felt herself break out into a smile and she ran over to her mum, hugging her tightly.
"Oh, thank you mum! You don't know what it means to me to have you're approval!" Ms. Montez just laughed, hugging her back, "I really like him mum…"
"Yeah I know… I think he likes you too…" replied her mother, chuckling softly as she remember seeing the two of them together this morning.
"You better get back to you're party Gabi… they're waiting for you in there… I won't bother you guys too much, I'll just be in here fixing up some more food for you and you're friends and I'll check in on you all time to time."
"Thanks mum!" cried Gabriella, hugging her mum again before walking back into the loungeroom.
----
Gabriella walked back into the living room to one of the strangest sights she'd ever seen... there was Chad, lying on the ground, writhing around like a lunatic, his hands and legs were shooting out all over the place and Gabriella couldn't help but fear slightly for his safety… the feeling past quickly however as she acknowledged that he was just Chad being… well Chad. Gabriella walked over to the group, who had surrounded Chad and were laughing at him… the boys were even egging him on.
"Um… What's Chad doing?" Gabriella asked Taylor, who was standing there shaking her head and rubbing her forehead with her hand as if she had a headache.
"Oh… he's… uh… trying to break dance…" replied Taylor looking at her.
Gabriella raised her eyebrows at her disbelievingly… that certainly wasn't what it looked like to her… it looked more like he was having an epileptic fit.
"I know it doesn't look like it, but he is… well… he's trying to anyway," said Taylor, answering Gabriella's silent question, "…all he's really doing though, is embarrassing the hell out of me!"
Gabriella nodded her head slowly, before asking,
"Um… okay... so he's trying to break dance… but… why is he doing it to 'I Turn To You' by Christina Aguileria?"
Taylor just shook her head again, shrugging her shoulders, "…because he's Chad…" to which Gabriella just nodded again and said no more.
Thankfully the song ended soon after as did Chad's haphazard attempt at breaking dancing… Taylor's frustration continued full swing however.
"Chad Danforth… if you ever embarrass me like that again, I swear I'll dump you quicker than a dog's breakfast!" yelled Taylor, attempting to smack him, while Chad dodged her flailing arms.
The rest of the group looked on laughing… another song had already begun and the movements of Taylor and Chad seemed to bizarrely fit the song, making them look like they were actually dancing in rhythm.
"As far as their dancing is concerned, I think fighting is a good thing for Taylor and Chad," yelled out Jason above the sound of the music, much to the laughter of the rest of the group.
"Haha… even so… they can't beat my moves!" yelled out Zeke, pulling out some seriously sweet hip-hop dance moves that put Chad's attempt to shame.
"Oh man Zeke… those are some cool moves you got there! Where'd you learn to do that?" yelled Troy, clearly impressed.
"Dude… I'm black… it just comes naturally… it's like its genetic or something…" cried Zeke, pulling Sharpay in to dance with him.
"…But… how does that explain Chad?" asked Jason pointing at Chad, who was now on the floor, apparently trying to do the worm, but looking more like he was doing the beached whale.
The whole group laughed as the watched Chad and laughed even harder as the saw Taylor trying in vain to get him to stand up.
"…because he's Chad!" replied Zeke, causing everyone to nod in understanding, before joining in the dancing.
They danced on for a good while longer… eventually starting up a dance competition over who could dance the most embarrassingly… Chad won, hands down… while Taylor won the honorary award for the most exaggerated reaction to an embarrassing moment… (A/N: I won't go into details… just use you're imagination, lol)
Ms. Montez walked came in eventually… with an exquisite looking cake… Gabriella looked over at it and her eyes immediately opened in wonderment at the sight of it. The cake was chocolate, just like the one Troy had brought for her at the orphanage, but that's where the similarities stopped… this one was much more elaborate… it had two round tiers, with a swirling border, and a beautiful arrangement of chocolate dipped strawberries coming down one side… (A/N: I know I'm not explaining it well… if you want to see it, I've provided a link on my profile page)
"Oh my God… it's…" started Gabriella, clasping her hands to her mouth.
"…beautiful…" breathed Kelsi, Sharpay and Taylor at the same time.
"Oh… wow… did… did you make this?" asked Gabriella quietly, staring at her mother, who was smiling at the expressions on everyone's faces.
"… Heaven's no! Look at this thing! I'm flattered that you think I'm capable… but it was someone very experienced who made this…" replied Ms. Montez chuckling as she gently placed a solitary candle on the top.
The group crowded around the cake, as Ms. Montez lit the candle, Taylor and Sharpay, gently pushing Gabriella forward.
"Happy Birthday to you… happy birthday to you… happy birthday dear Gabriella… happy birthday to you…" sang the group jovially, as Gabriella blew out the candle.
Ms. Montez handed Gabriella a knife and Gabriella looked at it reluctantly… she didn't know if she could bear to pierce the cake… it was such a nice cake… She slowly placed the knife against the top of the first tier, on the side away from the strawberries and was about to gently slide the knife in but Chad spoke out…
"Don't forget… if the knife comes out dirty, you gotta kiss the nearest boy…" he cried in a sing song voice, snickering like a silly kid. Gabriella chuckled quietly, Chad reminded her of Billy from the orphanage… she looked up at Troy and smiled as she saw him blush, he seemed to remember too…
"What are you so excited about Chad! You dimwit, you're the nearest boy! Is there something you want to tell me?" Taylor looked at Chad with eyebrows raised and her hands on her hips.
"Wha- I thought Tro… God no!" yelled Chad as he looked around and realized he really was the closest boy, "Ew! She's like my sister!"
Chad almost sprinted away from Gabriella, running over to stand beside Taylor and pushing Troy towards Gabriella as he did so.
"What are you doing man! That's your zone, why aren't you protecting it!" cried Chad, unintentionally earning roars of laughter from the rest of the group, and a small chuckle from Ms. Montez.
Troy and Gabriella both felt themselves blush, they were being put on the spot again… Troy stood there awkwardly… he didn't really want to be there… sure he wanted to kiss Gabriella again, but not while their friends were gawking at them like they were now… that had been embarrassing enough the first time… then again, he also didn't want Gabriella kissing any of the other boys either. He looked over at Gabriella, only to find her staring at him… he stared back…
Gabriella gently plunged the in the knife, still staring at Troy… she pushed it through the surface of the cake, pushing down until she felt the knife tip hit the bottom, before sliding the knife edge down to slice the cake. Troy could feel his heart beating… her stare was intense, and he felt his insides burning with anticipation… he was no longer sure which outcome he would prefer.
Gabriella hesitated before pulling out the knife… her heart was beating too… she wanted to be close to Troy again, they'd subconsciously been avoiding each other ever since they'd announced their union… they hadn't liked the attention they were getting from their friends… but she also didn't want to kiss him in front of her friends… and her mum…
Gabriella slowly proceeded to pull out the knife… she wasn't even looking at it… she was still staring at Troy… subconsciously she heard gasps and murmuring coming from her friends and she dreaded the thought of looking down at the knife. Eventually, she did so slowly, and Gabriella breathed a sigh of relief when she found the knife was clean… "Oh, thank God… now I don't have to do anything!"
Troy breathed too… in fact he started to hyperventilate a little bit, as his body attempted to suck in much needed air… he hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath.
"Aww! What was that! Since when does the knife ever come out clean!" cried out Chad, outraged, "It's been rigged! I demand a re-cut!"
The group laughed at him… before quieting down awkwardly… a little disturbed by the fact that Chad was so keen for the knife to come out dirty.
"Er… Chad… why does it matter so much if the knife comes out clean?" asked Ryan, voicing everyone's thoughts…
"Yeah Chad… why are you so interested?" added Taylor, eyeing him suspiciously.
Chad just eyed them all in confusion… he didn't understand what they were getting at.
"What! I just like seeing Troy squirm… Troy the playmaker… always in control… it's funny to see him embarrassed and unsure… and Gabriella's the only one who seems to be able to do that to him."
"Gee thanks Chad. You're the best friend ever… a real wall of support… thanks a lot..." grumbled Troy sarcastically, he rubbed the back of his neck in distraction… Chad was right for once… Gabriella had a strange ability to render him completely senseless.
"Yeah… no prohlm... you kgno I ger fogr goo…" replied Chad unintelligibly… his mouth full of cake, much to the surprise of everyone, especially Ms. Montez who hadn't even given out any cake yet.
"…Chad… how did you…" started Kelsi before stopping herself… some things were better left unknown.
They all ate the cake in relative silence… Chad consuming several slices in the same time as it took the rest of the group to finish just one.
"Oh, Chad… be careful… you'll make yourself sick…" Ms. Montez looked at him worriedly… the cake was rich and filling and she wasn't sure that it was a good thing for Chad to eat so many, so fast.
"No mum... its okay… he'll be fine…" said Gabriella reassuringly before winking at her friends.
"…because he's Chad!" they all cried out together, laughing. They looked over at Chad and saw him wolfing down another piece.
After the cake, were the presents… Gabriella went through each gift… smiling happily and enjoying every one… she got a ruby bracelet from Taylor, a bottle of Pink perfume by Victoria's Secret from Ryan & Sharpay, a columbine leather journal from Kelsi, apple scented jar candles from Jason, a box of Summer Flower chocolates from Zeke, a floral art glass paperweight from her mum and from Chad…
"Um… thanks Chad… but what is it?" asked Gabriella quizzically, holding up his gift… it looked like a little electronic game device, but she wasn't sure what to do with it. (A/N: I've provided links to all the gifts on my profile if you want to check them out)
"Oh, it's awesome! It's 20 questions… you just think of something, any object or anything… and it will give you a series of yes or no questions… you have to answer yes, no, unknown, or sometimes and it will eventually guess your object… it's genius!" rambled Chad excitedly.
Gabriella looked at the gift curiously, nodding her head slowly in understanding.
"Hey… Gabriella…" Gabriella looked up from the toy at Chad, "Can I play? It's so awesome!"
"Uh… yeah… sure Chad…" replied Gabriella, eyeing him in surprise.
"You dimwit Chad! I knew I shouldn't have left you to buy Gabriella's present on your own… look what happens! You end up buying a novelty gift!" cried Taylor in frustration.
"What! You said to get something that would be an awesome gift... what's the problem?"
"I meant an awesome gift for Gabriella, not an awesome gift for you!" Taylor smacked herself in the forehead, frustratedly, "God Chad! This is almost as bad as the water bombs you bought me for my birthday!"
"What do you mean? The water bombs were totally awesome… I had sooo much fun with them…" said Chad, grinning as he remembered the water bombs.
"That's exactly what I mean Chad! You bought me the gift so you could play with it! When you buy someone a gift, it's supposed to be for their enjoyment, not yours! …Imbecile!"
"It's okay Tay… really… I think it's a very… interesting gift… thank you Chad…" spoke up Gabriella, trying to hold back her laughter.
"You see? Gabriella likes it!" cried Chad. Taylor just rolled her eyes at him, "It's not like it's the worst gift she's received… um… erm… Ooohh! I know! What about Troy? We don't know what Troy got yet… maybe it's even worse than mine!"
"I doubt it… I don't think Troy could be as hopeless as you!" sneered Taylor.
Her words caused Troy to blush a deep crimson as he remembered the gift he'd given Gabriella this morning… Gabriella looked over at him and couldn't help but laugh at his reaction.
"What? What's so funny Gabriella?" asked Sharpay, looking at her confused, as Gabriella laughed out loud… this only caused Troy to feel even more embarrassed.
"Oh… um… nothing…" replied Gabriella, stifling her giggle. The group looked at her quizzically and Gabriella felt compelled to continue, "Well it's just that… I already know what Troy got me… he… uh… gave it to me this morning…"
"Well what's so funny about that? I bet it was really sweet… what was it?" asked Kelsi curiously and everyone else leaned in to hear also. Troy felt like hurling himself at a wall.
"Um… well… you're right… it was very… uh… sweet… and thoughtful…" Gabriella glanced over at Troy, before continuing, "He... uh… he gave me a pen…"
The group stared at her, disbelievingly, eyebrows raised… meanwhile Chad started laughing uncontrollably.
"Hahaha… a pen… awesome! Hahaha… that's a good joke!" he said, wiping his eyes, "What did he really get you?"
"Hehe… um… I-I wasn't joking... it was very sweet… he put a lot of thought in it…"
"A lot of thought? How much thought goes into buying a pen?" asked Jason confused.
"Hey! It's Delta Solaris rollerball, it's refillable so Gabriella can keep it forever and… and I got her name engraved on it!" cried out Troy defensively.
"Um… okay then…" said Zeke looking around awkwardly… the rest of the group followed suit.
"Yeah guys… it's a great pen… I love it!" Gabriella said, smiling at Troy… Troy smiled back, feeling only a little bit better.
"Whatever you say Gabriella…" said Chad, before turning to Taylor and whispering audibly, "See… I told you my gift wasn't the crappiest!"
Troy put his hands up in the air in frustration, rolling his eyes at the same time…
"Okay… can we just drop it already? I have another gift as well but I'll give it to her lat-," cried out Troy without thinking… he quickly stopped himself, cursing silently.
"Wha-what? You have another gift?" asked Gabriella, surprised.
"Uh… uhm… n-no-ye-n-ye-yes…" replied Troy doggedly… he could see Gabriella was about to ask something else, so he quickly changed the subject, "…Oh man! The conversations really dragging now… isn't it? How about we put some music on, eh?"
He got up quickly and walked over to the stereo, turning it on… he turned to Chad.
"Hey Chad… come on and show us more of your moves!"
"Yeah okay man! You see? I knew you liked my moves!" cried out Chad, ignoring Taylor's outcries, and moon-walking… or attempting to moonwalk over to Troy.
"Hey Zeke, you come to! And Jason as well, and make the girls join in to!" yelled Troy, above the sound of the music.
He walked over to Gabriella, who was still eyeing him curiously.
"Hey… come and dance, I know you love it!" he said grinning at her and holding out his hand.
Gabriella grinned back… she knew it would be a waste of time to question him about the apparent gift… so she decided she'd just have to wait and see. She took his hand and allowed him to pull her over to join the others…
Okay… chapter is over… I don't know about this chapter so please tell me what you think! … Oh and I've got some bad news… next chapter will be probably be the last chapter… (sobs loudly) I've had sooo much fun writing this fic, so thank you all for reading! I do have some sequel ideas in my head but I'm not too sure just yet… what do you think of a sequel? Tell me what you think and I'll give you a bit more info about my ideas at the end of next chapter:)
