Chapter 11

"Do you want to have dinner at my house this weekend?" Troy and Gabriella were sitting in the cafeteria with several other basketball players that she had previously been introduced to. It was now Wednesday, and the skeptical looks she had received on Monday when she joined them had mostly dissipated. Occasionally she would find Jason stealing glances at her, but she decided he was relatively harmless.

She finished chewing a bit of the apple she had swiped from Troy's tray before answering. She sent him a gentle smile and stared directly into his baby blues, "I would love to have dinner at your house this weekend. Just to clarify," she asked, "your parents will be there as well?"

"Yes," he laughed, swinging an arm around her shoulder. "I want you to meet them."

"Good," she beamed, "I want to meet them too. What time?"

"Six-thirty?"

"That works for me," she stood and leaned down to kiss Troy. "I have a voice lesson in five minutes. I'll see you after class."

"Bye," he pulled her closer, this time delivering his own peck to her lips. He watched as she gathered her things and walked away.

"Troy," Jason leaned across the table inquisitively, "is Gabriella your girlfriend?" The question was so serious to Jason that Troy couldn't help roll his eyes before replying.

"Yes," he hedged in a slow answer.

"Cool. She's cute," Jason declared. "She also has voice lesson with the piano girl. Think she could hook me up?"

At this Troy let out a long-winded laugh, but before he could answer, he noticed how quiet the cafeteria had suddenly become. It wasn't until Chad pointed and offered an explanation of "Dude, look." that Troy noticed Gabriella was still in the cafeteria. However, she was now covered in Sharpay's lunch.

Gabriella was standing, shaking, in front of a group of laughing girls. Troy nearly knocked Zeke out of his seat as he clambored from his own to rush towards Gabriella.

"Why are you so determined to hurt me?" Troy heard his brave girlfriend ask. Her voice was thick with unshed tears, and her eyes pleaded for an answer. "Since kindergarten, it seems the only thing that makes your life remotely interesting is being mean to me. Why? What did I do, Sharpay?"

Troy remained a few feet away, remembering Gabriella's statement about not wanting to be his damsel in distress. All he really wanted to do, however, was wrap his arms around her and take her home.

"Oh please, Gabriella. Don't start the sob story. It's nothing personal. It's how life works. Popular, beautiful people ridicule and abuse the less fortunate. It seems you drew the short straw." Sharpay smirked and folded her arms across her chest.

"Popular, beautiful people ridicule the less fortunate, huh?" Gabriella asked with a bit of disbelief. "Except Troy, right? That's what this is about, isn't it? You're angry that he didn't choose you."

Sharpay's temper flared and she took a menacing step forward, her perfectly manicured finger pointing accusingly at Gabriella, "I have been in love with Troy Bolton since I was three years old," she ground out the statement, "and then you swoop in as some poor excuse for Cinderella and have him eating out of your hands. That is not how it's supposed to be!" She screamed.

Then she laughed in a manner that both frightened Gabriella and made her feel sorry for Sharpay all at the same time, "But I can't say I'm surprised. For thirteen years I've seen the way you've looked at each other – the way Troy's stared at you when he thought no one was looking; the way you blushed when he held the door for you nearly every morning in the eight grade."

At this point Sharpay huffed angrily and swatted at her blonde hair, "You thought no one noticed? I did. It was sickening, and it pissed me off," she punctuated the sentence by shoving Gabriella to the ground.

"That's enough. Get away from her," Troy finally could take no more. His voice was vicious as he pushed through the forming crowd to find Gabriella on the cold floor – the brown stain of chocolate milk ruining her purple shirt. He knelt beside her, not hesitating to engulf her in a much needed hug. "You okay?" he whispered so that only she could hear him. He felt her nodding response as she buried her face into his chest.

Troy smiled reassuringly and helped her up, "Let's get you cleaned up. You can wear something of mine." As they stood to leave, Troy realized that the crowd had not vanished. The only one missing was Sharpay; and he knew she wasn't far away as he heard a shriek of "Fuck you!"

Xxx

"I missed my voice lesson," Gabriella sighed, "and physics class. I'm not so sad about physics, but I love my voice lesson."

Troy pulled her into his lap. She was a sight in his overly baggie gym shorts and t-shirt. He rubbed his nose against the side of her face, her damp hair tickling him, "I asked Mrs. Jones to reschedule it for you."

"What?!" she turned in his arms suddenly.

"I know, I know. You don't want to be my damsel in distress, but I wanted to do something to make you happy; and I wanted to surprise you."

"Thank you," she breathed before kissing him slowly and passionately, not worried about becoming carried away in the empty gym changing room.

She turned to straddle his lap, and he hugged her tightly as they continued kissing.

Gabriella pulled away breathlessly, "Is it crazy that we're acting like this and we've been dating two weeks?"

"No, because Sharpay was right. This is thirteen years worth of unresolved feelings towards one another." His hands dove into her hair and brought her kissable mouth back to his.

"Was it really that noticeable?" Gabriella panted, "I mean, how did she notice when we never did? Or at least I didn't notice. I would have never thought in a million years that Troy Bolton liked me."

"I more than like you," Troy confessed.

Xxx

"Hi, Mom," Gabriella dropped her bag onto the living room floor before flopping down beside her mother on the sofa. She laid her head in her mother's lap and sighed.

"Troy's not coming in today?" Mrs. Montez asked her daughter as she ran her fingers through Gabriella's hair. She remembered Gabriella doing this almost every day after school since kindergarten, and she relished the fact that her nearly adult daughter was still willing to cuddle up to her.

"Nope," Gabriella answered, "his dad wants him to meet some scouts or something in half an hour."

"Hmm," Elena Montez raised a suspicious brow, generally ignoring Gabriella's response, "speaking of Troy, have you decided that you like his clothes more than your own?"

Gabriella laughed softly, turning to stare up at her mother, "I haven't, but a mean girl decided that pouring her lunch on me would be funny." Gabriella was so calm about it that it worried Elena.

"Mi hija, what happened?" She sounded panicked. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Gabriella assured. "She's jealous that Troy is dating me. Her jealousy is vicious, but I won't let her get to me."

"That's my strong girl," Elena beamed proudly. "The world needs more of you, my Gabby." Her mother decided as she nodded her head.

Gabriella sat up and hugged her mother, "I'm sorry it took me so long to finally tell you about everything that happened at school. I didn't want to disappoint you and Daddy."

"You could never disappoint us. Anyway, I'm just glad you've told me now." She patted Gabriella's hand, "Up you go now. Change and I will wash your Troy's clothes as well as your soiled ones, mi hija."

Gabriella did as she was told, realizing just how much she loved her mother.

Xxx

"Mom, Dad, is it okay if Gabriella has dinner with us this weekend? I was thinking Saturday."

"That's fine, honey," Heather Bolton answered her son with little thought.

Just as Troy was beaming with excitement, his dad spoke, "Wait. No, she can't this weekend, son. We're having dinner at a restaurant with my buddy from the U of A sports medicine program."

"What?" Troy asked the question even though he had heard clearly. "No, I already invited her. She's really excited. I'm not cancelling on her to have dinner with Dr. Anders...again. We've had dinner with him three times in the last five months."

"Troy, it's not a discussion."

"No," he agreed. "It's not. It's turning into an argument. You didn't ask me if I wanted to have dinner with Dr. Anders. I'm having dinner with Gabriella regardless of whether or not you and mom do. I can't disappoint her."

His mother intervened, chastising them both, "Troy, you are speaking very disrespectfully to your father. He didn't know that you had asked Gabriella to have dinner with us this weekend. The same goes for you, Jack. You didn't mention to Troy that you wanted to have dinner with Mark. Now," she began the pacification, "let's come up with a compromise. Troy, would you be willing to have dinner with Mark if you were allowed to bring Gabriella along?"

"I guess."

"Jack, are you willing to have Gabriella along for the dinner?"

"Why not?"

"There. Everyone wins. We will meet Gabriella; Troy will talk to Mark; and no one has to cancel anything."

Both male Boltons rolled their eyes, continuing to silently sulk that neither had completely gotten his way."