A/N: So, as you can probably tell at this point, as much as I love Gabriella, I am really eager to start writing Troy, especially as a bad boy. And I promise the chapters will regularly be over 2,000 once Troy comes back for good. So until then, read on and review!
"What the hell was that?!" Lena cried, throwing her hands in the air and pacing the living room area of her apartment half an hour later. After Gabriella had frozen up onstage and dragged them out with her, they had stopped by the beach house to grab the two out of town girls a change a clothes more comfortable and had converged at Lena's place. And now the questioning was coming. Gabriella sighed as she adjusted the waistband of her sky blue, distressed sweatpants that said "Okay? Okay" on them. She really didn't want to tell them why she had bolted out of the restaurant, and she knew they wouldn't buy stage fright. What other choice did she have?
"Would you guys mind if I went for a run?" she asked, something she always did when she needed to escape or clear her head. Maybe Martha would get the hint and let her leave.
"No, Ella, not until you tell us what happened back there," Martha said the first sentence she had since dinner and Gabriella shook her head slightly. Wishful thinking, Brie she told herself, smiling small to herself at her favorite nickname even though no one knew about it or called her it. She took a deep breath as she tried to figure out the easiest way to say this without them freaking out. And she wouldn't blame them if they did. She knew if she were in their shoes, she wouldn't take kindly to some mob boss following her around either.
"Troy," she said simply, hoping she wouldn't have to elaborate, and if Lena still didn't get it, that maybe Martha would fill her in.
"What are you talking about- no!" Martha's thoughts finally clicked into place a few seconds later and she stared at her friend with wide, fearful eyes, glancing at the window warily. Lena, on the other hand, was the same girl they had known before she moved and was oblivious to everything as she tried to put the Troy hint together.
"Troy…as in Helen and Troy? Like the city? Or something in Greek mythology? Or is that some Italian word for a bad ex-boyfriend? Oh, or are you trying to tell me that the talent agent who discovered Troy Diamond was in the audience?! Gabriella, are you going to be a star?" Lena squealed, yelling out every option that came to her mind.
"Lena!" Gabriella yelled, trying to stop her blond friend's rant.
"What?" Lena said in a calm voice that gave no hint of the rant seconds earlier.
"Le, she means Troy as in…Troy Bolton," Martha gulped after she finished the sentence and again glanced at the window, as if Troy would pop up any second. Gabriella noticed and tried to catch her eye, but her efforts were to no avail as Martha watched Lena's expression change from calm to confusion, to realization, and finally to fear. Pure and utter fear.
"Silver Stallion Troy Bolton?" the blond finally whispered out, glancing back and forth between her friends before staring at the window as Martha had. That was it for Gabriella.
"Will you guys chill?!" she snapped. "I get it, you're freaked, I am too, but it's not like he's stupid enough to break into an apartment through a window on the third floor in the middle of the Food Chain!" She relaxed her breathing enough to see the look of shock on her friends' faces and immediately regretted her outburst. Geez, Brie, can you blame them for being so afraid? Honestly, I don't know how you're not more worked up about this. Before Gabriella had a chance to apologize, her friends spoke up.
"We get it, Gabs, at least, I do, so don't apologize like I know you're about to," Martha blew a strand of curled hair out of her face after she finished talking.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, Ella. I get it, too. I'm just on edge. I've been dealing with news about…them since I moved down here and some of the stories are just downright terrifying," Lena explained, pausing before brushing by the gang's actual name. "And he is not someone you want to cross paths, no matter how damn good-looking he is. Troy Bolton may be nineteen, but you would think he's been running this town for fifty years by the way everyone shies away. Kind of like I just did. Everyone is always looking over their shoulders anymore. Miami isn't the exact same way you guys left it a few years ago. Truth be told, the cops are even afraid sometimes. I've heard rumors that they're going to be bringing some FBI and CIA agents down here to stake out the territory. About time, considering they're already in the top five," she muttered the last part under her breath, seemingly annoyed at her town for being behind on the only solution.
Gabriella glanced at Martha, the only thing on her mind being the fact that her dreams had never pegged Troy as unanimously dangerous. Only unsure. But the brunette seemed to read her best friend's mind as she reached over and slapped Gabriella lightly in the back of the head.
"Don't even go there. I know you and your fantasies, especially after the dreams, but this guy is dangerous, Gabi. Hold on," Martha said, looking down momentarily to type quickly on her phone, her long, glittery nails making a repeated tapping sound that echoed through the quiet room. "I could tell you all the stories that the woman in Banana Republic told me, but how about I let you just take a look instead. And these are just in the past six months." She handed over her phone to Gabriella, who took it with a slightly skeptic look on her face, and wrapped her arm Lena's shaking figure. The two girls continued to cast worried glances at the window despite Gabriella's previous outburst.
Momentarily oblivious to her surroundings, Gabriella quickly scrolled through story after story on the webpage. The more stories she completed, the more afraid she became, drawing the line when she felt herself shaking from the fear. She locked the phone and handed it back to Martha, not wanting to look either of her friends in the eyes at this point as she, too, glanced towards the window then back. Mine. Mine. Mine. The word rang through her head like an alarm without a snooze button and she grasped both sides of her head and squeezed her eyes shut in an effort to make it stop, to quiet her racing thoughts.
"I need to go for a run!" she cried out when she realized her thoughts were not in the state to comply with her request of peace.
"Alone?" Lena asked in shock, wringing her hands together nervously and this time glancing at the frozen picture of the handsome boy on the television. For once, the phrase "looks could kill" seemed to be ringing true because the blond had to tear her gaze away from his gorgeous eyes.
"Lena, my head is everywhere. I need to get his voice out of my freaking head or I'm going to lose it. Instead of worrying about when Troy Bolton is going to grab me, I'll be worrying about when I'm going to get out of the strait jacket," Gabriella said as she started pace, one hand still clutching the side of her head as she tried to drown out his voice. His deep, husky, sexy voice. Stop it, Gabriella! Whether he's attractive or not, you know you would be scared to death if he EVER laid a hand on you, now stop! "Great, now I'm talking to myself!" Gabriella sighed before falling back onto a bean bag chair and sinking down into it.
"Lena, you know runs help her calm down. Our way of dealing with this is freaking out to get it out of our system. It's not her way. She runs," Martha spoke up, knowing from the way Gabriella's eyes looked at the moment that she was going for a run, whether her friends obliged or not.
"But he's out there! Right now! And he's looking for her, he wants her! And you've read what happens to girls that he gets!" Lena yelled, her voice going up an octave with every sentence.
"I understand that, Le, but he's already scared her enough for tonight, he'll probably leave her alone, especially since he knows we think he's still watching right now. I may not know much about gang life or bad boys, but they do like the element of surprise. And snatching her up, right now from under our noses if she's out jogging? She, we would all be ready for that, and you know it. I know nineteen year old boys are stupid when it comes to a lot of things, but he's not," Martha replied, glancing at Gabriella when she made her "stupid" comment in case it triggered any memories about her ex-boyfriend. But her dark-haired friend was tying the laces on her blue Nike sneakers, hardly paying attention to her or Lena.
"Gabriella, just promise me you'll be super-careful and that you will turn around at the first sign of trouble," Lena finally gave in, running a hand through her hair in defeat before locking her eyes on her younger friend.
"Guys, I promise. I'll be just fine. I love you both. Group hug!" She threw her arms, waiting for them to approach her as they muttered "love yous" back to her.
EOJEOJEOJEOJEOJ
"Mine. He always gets what he wants, huh? Well, so do I. And this time, I don't want him to get what he wants. I want him to pay."
"So…where does that leave us, boss?" the three figures around the speaker looked up in question.
"You should know where she is, you know what he knows. So get there first. Go!"
EOJEOJEOJEOJEOJ
"Guys, you have to let me go in order for me to actually run," Gabriella laughed as she tried to shake her left leg free of Martha's grip. Not only did she fail in doing that, but Lena's grip on her right leg grew tighter. After a last-ditch effort to free herself, Gabriella sighed and reached up to let her hair back down. "Alright, looks like I'm staying with you. But I get to make the first s'more!" With that, she broke free and ran to the kitchen amidst cries of joy and dismay from her friends.
Honey, you'll be thanking those s'mores later.
A/N: Please please please review guys? If even half of you who viewed this left a REVIEW, I would be thrilled. I can't really get better without feedback, can I? See you soon with the next chapter!