A/N I had a request (something I'm very excited for) and I hope I did well! Troyella is definitely one of my favourite ships, so most (if not all) of my HSM writings will have plenty of fluff and smut. Sorry it took me so long to post this. Happy New Year!
The ball swished through the hoop making the score 11 to 12.
"Alright!" Troy bounced up, catching the basketball, and dribbled around his dad. "That's the second time in a row. You're losing your touch, Dad."
Jack Bolton laughed and stole the ball from his son. "What can I say? Your more than ready for the game next week. You got the team fired up?"
He grinned. "You bet."
Mr Bolton lobbed the ball in Troy's direction. "Some of the directors from U of A will be there. Keep that in mind."
A light breeze fluttered through the tall trees in the yard. The singing birds would be leaving soon, as fall was nearly halfway through. But since it was Albuquerque, the summer heat remained, making the weather perfect for shooting hoops outside.
Mrs Bolton stepped out on the porch. "Will you two ever stop?" she asked, hands on her hips and a proud smile on her face.
Father and son glanced at each other. "No."
She shook her head. "Phone's for you, Jack."
Troy stayed outside, shooting a couple more hoops before flopping on his back in the grass. A smile ghosted his lips as he sighed deeply. He had the whole weekend with the gang and they had another baseball game planned, like last summer when they all had worked at Lava Springs.
His phone buzzed next to his shirt on the ground. He rolled over and picked it up, noticing a call from Chad.
He answered. "Talk to me."
Taylor answered him, sounding out of breath. "Troy, you have to get here quick."
Troy sat up. "Taylor? What's going on? Where's Chad?"
Taylor took a deep breath. "Please come to the school. Gabriella did something to her leg. She can hardly walk."
Troy jumped up, tossing his shirt over his shoulder. "I'm on my way." He paused getting into his truck. "Wait, why are you at the school? It's the weekend!"
The other end of the phone rustled and he heard faint talking: "It's gonna be okay, honey, he's coming. Chad, ask Mrs Darbus for some more." Then she turned her attention back to an anxious Troy. "Well, of course Chad had to go into the gym and get in a fight with the West High captain, so while we were dragging him, Zeke, and Ryan out of that, West Knight jerks started jostling us too, blah blah, and now Gabby can't walk."
Troy was pulling up the school's street and was searching the school yard for his friends. "You're outside?"
"Yeah, I see you."
He spotted them. "Gotcha." He pulled up and jumped out of the truck, racing up the pathway to the picnic table they were crowded around.
He skidded to a halt next to Gabriella, who was sitting on the bench, gingerly rubbing her leg. He dropped to his knees beside her as Taylor, Chad, Kelsi, Ryan, and Zeke leaned over them.
"Hey, what's going on? Taylor tells me you wrestled some West Knight jocks?" He put a hand on her back.
Gabriella tried to suppress a smile. "No, they wrestled me. We were trying to keep Chad from pouncing on them."
He glanced at Chad. "And why would you need to do that? You know we are rivals. We're gonna to beat them next week."
Chad pointed in the general direction of West High. "Hey, those guys have no right to come into our school and say what ever they want, especially about our girls. This is our turf."
Troy furrowed his brow. "And what were they saying about our girls?"
They all glanced around at each other.
"That doesn't matter, Troy." Gabriella stroked the soft hair at the base of his neck.
"Yeah," Ryan chimed in. "What matters is that Gabriella can't walk."
Taylor knelt next to Troy. "You boys have seen plenty of medics on the sidelines and what they do…"
"Oh, for sure." Zeke handed Gabriella a water. "Troy knows a lot about their work, don't you."
Troy ran a hand down Gabriella's leg. "Can you tell me where it hurts, baby?"
She shook her head. "Well, mostly around my ankle."
"Did you twist it?" He began to gently feel around her lower shin.
Gabriella shrugged.
Troy continued to feel around her ankle before she gripped the bench and sucked in a breath. He stopped.
"Did that hurt?"
She squeezed her eyes shut and nodded.
"Okay, but I have to figure out what's wrong, so can you bear with me?"
Gabriella inhaled deeply and nodded again. Taylor sat down beside her, wrapping her arms around her friend.
Troy leaned up to press his lips sweetly to her forehead before resuming his work. Tears were beginning to form in Gabriella's eyes and she stopped him.
"Please, please stop, Troy."
He gently brushed his fingers against her joint. "Here?"
"Yeah," she said tearfully.
He examined the swelling area, then shook his head as he looked up. "I think it's fractured. We have to get her to the hospital." He stood to help her up. "Can you get to the truck?"
Gabriella shook her head. "No, it's too far."
Chad slung his and Zeke's gym bags over his shoulder. "She shouldn't walk on it," he said simply.
Troy nodded and bent to scoop her up, settling her in his arms without causing discomfort. "Good?"
She nodded and rested her head on his shoulder.
Chad trotted up beside him. "Hey, can Taylor and I come? I feel like this is kind of my fault."
Gabriella peered over Troy's shoulder at him. "Don't blame yourself, Chad. I just got hurt. It's okay."
"You can come if you want." Troy settled her in the front seat.
When they arrived, Chad ran into the emergency room to get a wheelchair while Taylor checked in. They only had to wait for a little while before they were called back. X-rays were taken, which were painfully slow, and then the nurse guided them to the examination room. Troy wheeled Gabriella into the room and crouched next to her as the nurse left to get the doctor. He could tell she was fighting to keep back tears. He cupped her cheek.
"Hey," he said softly. "Look at me."
She lifted her head, a look of uncertain bravery pooling in her eyes.
He stroked her cheek with his thumb. "It's okay. I know it hurts, and you don't have to hide it, okay?"
"Troy, I'm scared," she whispered back. A tear escaped.
He swiped it away with his thumb.
She looked away from him. "They'll have to squeeze my ankle to right it and that'll hurt and put it in a boot and—"
He pressed his lips to hers, silencing her instantly. Her body melted into his hands and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Chad covered his eyes. Taylor swiftly elbowed his ribs.
Troy slowly pulled back, eyes still closed, and pressed their foreheads together. "Love you."
A knock sounded in the room and the door opened. A balding, white-coated doctor entered with a clipboard.
"Hi there, I'm Dr. Spano." He shook Troy's hand, then Gabriella's. "I'm going to get right to the point. It looks like your ankle is fractured, as I'm sure you assumed. It's not major, but some things need to be adjusted, so I'll just get right to that." He examined his notes as he sat down by Gabriella's ankle. He smiled at her. "So it says here you were wrestled by a jock? Not this one, was it?" he said, gesturing to Troy, grinning. "Or do you wait to do that wrestling?"
Gabriella glanced at Troy, wide-eyed. He just laughed and shook his head.
Dr Spano felt Gabriella's ankle. "All it will take," he continued, "is just a little pressure and I've got the boot right here." He reached down and pulled the boot onto the table next to him. "You ready?"
Troy took Gabriella's hand as she nodded. Chad and Taylor watched with great interest as Dr Spano began to gently squeeze her ankle, forming it back to its natural place.
Gabriella bit her lip and forced back tears. The pain was sharp… a knife twisting in her joint. She could almost hear her bones grinding back into place. Above her, Troy kissed her head tenderly. She closed her eyes.
It was over. The pain stopped, and she felt a boot slide over her foot and strap in place. Gabriella opened her eyes as the doctor was handing her crutches.
"You know how to use these?" he asked.
She smiled and took them. "I think so. If I need anything, I'm sure my friends will help."
Chad pulled her to her feet.
Dr Spano stuck one hand in his pocket and offered the other to Troy, who shook it. "You let me know if there is any persistent pain, alright, Miss Montez?"
The four friends said their thanks and made their way back out to the truck.
Gabriella stopped at the car door before getting in. Chad and Taylor passed her, car doors slamming as they hopped in. She turned to Troy coming up behind her.
He smiled and slid his hands around her waist, pressing their foreheads together and kissing the tip of her nose. "Let's go home," he whispered.
Okay, short, I know. I'm not too good with suggestions if they don't come to my mind on their own, but I'll do my best. Happy 2022!