ET Chapter 16: At the Ballet
Troy didn't understand the concept of cowardliness.
Truth be told, he didn't understand what he did or said that was so wrong. But the realization did come soon enough.
Not the second those words that once again sounded so better in his head came out.
Not the second Gabriella walked away from him in disgust, calling him a number of things in Spanish.
Or waking up the next morning, getting very little sleep.
Or when he told Chad and Sharpay what happened, ignoring their pointed looks and shaken heads.
As far as he was concerned, he did the right thing. He had so much riding on him already and there was only so much is body could handle before it finally decided to die on him. He needed to focus all his attention on school and basketball, the only two keys he had to get far away from Albuquerque as possible.
Then free period happened. Coach Bolton announced they'd have practice. Troy has been avoiding his dad since the disastrous dinner party, having no idea what to expect.
Practice was hard and intense, the way it usually was. Coach yelled at every player who made the slightest slip, stopped the team if he wasn't satisfy, and made them go through it again just to spite them. But there was nothing any of them could do about it.
Though most of Troy's attention was now on the game, making sure he didn't do anything to get a taste of Jack's infamous wrath, he couldn't help but peek over at the bleachers. How he went there after Jack let him have it during their last private practice, how Gabriella calmly came to him and sat with him. How quiet she been, smoking a cigarette, while he wiped his face, not questioning his bruises or even hinting she wanted an explanation.
"What the fuck are you doing, jackass!?" Jack roared. It took Troy a second to realize his dad was talking to him, and it took him even longer to realize his mistake. Chad passed him the ball, and he was supposed to make a shot. Except he was standing in the middle of the court, staring blankly ahead while his thoughts remained on that afternoon.
"What you saw back there was…nothing," It was the only thing he could say at the moment that was true. Compared to his dad's infamous trauma moments, this one was somewhat tamed. "My dad's just stressed out. Really stressed out. He can lose it a lot most of the time, but it's because he's under a lot pressure-"
"Story of my life." She repeated the exact words he said to her dance at Vicznor's. It was the first four words he heard from her the whole day, for almost two week actually. When she turned to her, there was something in her eyes. Something that was like sympathy, but deeper and entirely different.
Almost like understanding.
He didn't know her whole story, the way she pretty much knew his. He didn't know what exactly happened in her house, didn't know what exactly it was that made her move here. But he did know she was the first person he was able to connect him. The first person who understood him perfectly. The first person to get him to open up without prying and shared some of not so pleasant details of her own home.
And he let her go. All for a man who was yelling at him, telling to get his lazy ass moving, to get making before he got really angry.
Good God, he was such an idiot.
"Jesus Christ," Troy slapped the heel of his hands against his forehead, falling backward onto his bed.
Chad and Taylor, who quickly figured out the tension between him and the newcomer loner, exchanged looks over his fallen form. Sharpay, getting her comfortable in his lazy boy chair, looked up from her OK magazine to smirk at him.
"Congratulations, Troy. You finally took the first step: admitting that, yes, you do have a problem. You suffer from extreme stupidity," She smiled innocently at all three glares aimed at her. She sniffled a bit and fanned herself, as if trying to rid herself of tears. "I'm so proud." she said in a choked voice.
Troy lay back on his bed. Taylor threw a pillow at her head. Chad rolled his eyes and said "Don't expect an Oscar to be coming your way anytime soon, Shar."
Gasping, an offended Sharpay used the pillow Taylor threw at her to throw at Chad's smug face. "Asshole."
Taylor chose to ignore the commotion going on between her best friend and boyfriend. She focused her attention on Troy. "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself."
Remembrance of his dad's hatred and anger made him sink lower into his bed, wishing the thing could come alive and swallow him whole. He then pressed the pillow against his forehead as an image of Gabriella's sincere smile turning into a disgusted scowl filled him with shame. He wished he had gone after her, try to explain himself better. Or, better yet, erase the whole thing from happening in the first place.
He realized, while wallowing in his stupidity, Taylor was still talking.
"Besides, it's honestly for the best." Stunned, he removed the pillow from his face and watched his friend as she continued "Gabriella Montez is bad news."
Troy's brows wrinkled in confusion. Not at the statement itself, since there were thousands of rumors still centering on her. It was the way Taylor looked, eyes hard and mouth pinched as she had bitten into a bad lemon.
Sharpay was thinking the same thing, rolling her eyes. "Tay, you can't believe everything you hear."
Taylor scowled at her, offended somewhat. "Looks who's talking!"
Sharpay immediately took offense, sitting up straight and narrowing her eyes. "I make sure to have actual facts, Miss Smarty Pants."
Ignoring her, Taylor turned back to Troy. "She's different. What I heard is true."
"Like what?" Troy asked a bit surprised. Taylor hated rumors and gossip more than he did. She was more likely to streak through East High than believe a single word of it.
"That she's a teen mom. I can tell for you for a fact its true," She met all three of their shocked eyes with a steady one of her own. "Last week, I was at Starbucks, where she works. I was waiting for my sister to meet me. Then this guy walked in. But what really tipped me off was the baby he was holding. Hispanic, really adorable with dark hair. The guy walked right up to Gabriella, and handed him to her. The kid's arms were already around her neck before she could settle him in his arms. The way the baby clung to her was the exact same way a baby clung to their mother."
"What he look like? The guy who dropped the baby off?" Troy tried to keep his voice steady, like it was any other question. Issue was his mind wouldn't stop thinking about the two guys he had seen her with. The biker who dropped her off at school that got a kiss and hug from her. The coworker she danced with and kissed in front of everyone.
At first he thought they were the same person. Now he wasn't so sure. Either one could be the baby's father. It could be the biker while the other guy was her boyfriend. Or it could be the co-worker's kid, and the two were still on "friendly" terms while the biker was along for the ride. Or neither one of them was the father, and Gabriella was screwing with both of them.
And to think how close you were being her third screw toy, the obedient side whispered like an evil devil.
Shut up! Despite his wishes, he couldn't stop thinking about it. In his head he could see it so clearly. Gabriella and a faceless guy barging into a room, eagerly ripping off each other clothes while their lips were practically infused to each other. His mind then went one step further. A fully naked Gabriella lying back in bed, moaning as she received kisses all over her body, calling out the guy's name as he entered her-
Taylor shrugged and Troy had to snap himself out of it so he could hear her words. "Tall, about five or six inches taller than you. Broad-shouldered, well fit. And had dragon tattoos entwined on both arms. But I couldn't see his face. He had a hood on, and kept his back to me till he left, using the back way. Miss Snooty bounced the kid in her arms, blowing him a kiss behind his back, saying she'll see him later."
Deep within him, Troy felt his body becoming sick by those words. He kept his face cool, though, because he felt Chad and Sharpay's eyes watching his reaction. And because he remained himself that he had no right to feel hurt or betrayed, which he still didn't understand, for two reasons. Firstly because he was the one who ended things, whatever they were, between them. Secondly, most importantly, he had no claim on her.
Or so he told himself.
"Tay." Sharpay said. "What's the hate?"
Taylor frowned, and Chad immediately jumped in right before she could say anything. "She is right, Tay," He almost flinched by the dark glare she gave him, but to his credit he remained firm and continued to talk. "Ever since she got here, you seem to have a thing against her. Like she's not to be trusted."
Even Troy couldn't disagree with their claims. He remembered that first day in the cafeteria the girls were watching their new wildcat and feeling bad for her. Well, Kelsi felt bad for her, Sharpay thought she was a badass, and Tay thought she was a bitch.
"She seems stuck-up to me." she had said.
"I ain't hating." Taylor said "I'm just saying I know them when I see them."
"And what do you mean by 'them'" Troy hadn't realized his words that were meant to be a thought were actually said out loud.
"Smart mouths, troublemakers, cocky bad-asses who go around thinking they're all that. She's no different. She thinks she so pretty, cool, and smart. I have a cousin in New York who went to school with her, and according to him she has quite a reputation. She was a trouble-marker that broke every rule in the book and then some. A pure heart-breaker every boy wanted, and who left a trail of broken hearts behind. And…"
Taking note of the odd look in her eyes as her voice trailed off, Troy and the others looked at one another. Troy asked "And…what?"
Taylor took in a deep breath she let out slowly. She sat on the bed, rubbed her hands together, and looked to be deep in thought. "My uncle works in the New York police force. When I mentioned Gabriella's name, he told me about an event that took place three months ago, in September."
Something in Taylor's body language revealed that it wasn't just a bad accident. It was a bad, bad kind of accident.
A frighteningly terror grew in Troy's gut at the thought of something happening to Gabriella, the possibilities running through his head. "What happened in September?"
"I don't know the exact details. My uncle is very strict and cautious about getting away information, even if he's sharing it with family. But he gave me enough details to paint a picture or two in my head," Taylor took in another deep breath. "On September 8, a neighbor called in the police to report something. A very, very horrible confrontation gone wrong. Gunshots were fired, there was fighting, and she could hear a woman screaming."
Sharpay and Chad looked at each other, stunned. The feeling in Troy's gut worsened, the knots tightening so.
"Persons involved were a street drug dealer and his thugs, an infamous pimp with his own backup, a woman suffering badly from chronic arrest, and another woman, a younger one, who was….assaulted."
Sharpay's gasp was barely heard over the thunderous roaring of the blood rushing to Troy's head.
His mind hadn't been able to forget about the new Gabriella revelation Taylor uncovered for them. In some ways, very little ways, it explained why Gabriella was so guarded around people. Yet in others, it added even more questions he had about her that had yet to be answered. What exactly happened that night? How did Gabriella get involved with scum like those?
He thought long and hard about that long after his friends left. A week later, the day they were scheduled to fly into New York, his mother returned in a swirl of poised elegance, Dior perfume, and thousands of shopping bags being carried in by the workers.
"I'm back!" she called out, dressed in her signature Dior, form-fitting pantsuits, classic black stilettos, and Chanel sunglasses that masked her face.
"Hi mom." Troy slowly made his way over to her, taking his time getting down the stairs. Lucille beamed at him and rewarded him with a tight pinch to his cheek. She still kept her distance, keeping him at arm length, and Troy made no move to come closer to her. Lucille hated anything that smudged her makeup.
When Jack entered the room, his clothes rumpled and eyes glassy and practically bright red, indicating that he was beyond hangover, his mom hardly batted an eye. She barely ever did. She was too dazzled by the brilliance of her husband's smile.
"So I trust things were okay while I was gone." Lucille more so stated than questioned.
Define okay, Troy thought. Absentmindedly, Jack wrapped his arms around his wife's slender waist.
"Everything was fine. Just as it was when you always leave." Jack had said before Troy could get a word to come out. He brushed her hair over to the left side and nuzzled against her skin, making her giggle. "Right Troy." He pulled away a bit to give him a glare, warning present in his malicious eyes.
Troy almost considered telling his mom what really happened. How Jack's drinking increased immensely after Thanksgiving. How easily his temper went off nowadays. How he nearly beaten him to death all because he was rehearsing with his partner for their project.
The words were right at the tip of his tongue. He was so close, mouth open and words ready. Until he saw the way his mother's attention shifted from him to her husband. She giggled as Jack peppered her neck with soft kisses, leaning into his embrace. She was so close to his face, she had to have smelt the liquor. Troy, himself, could smell it, two feet away. But if Lucille noticed-or smelt it-she didn't say a peek about it. She pressed her body closer against him, allowing her neck to be peppered with his kisses, laughing at the words he whispered in her ear. Most likely dirty things.
Defeated, Troy shut his mouth. It didn't really matter what he said. His mom would either pretend not to hear or try to move onto a different topic. The evidence of that theory was playing out right in front of him, Jack's heavily alcoholic breath blowing into her face and his mom just laughing off.
"Yea. Just fine. Exactly the way things are when you leave." he said, his voice flat and monotone. Neither parent turned, either completely oblivious or didn't care at all since they were in the privacy of their large, dead house. Where no one would notice the cracks hidden underneath the perfect family image his parents have been projecting to everyone.
Troy honestly didn't have a clue what was to be expected at the theater house.
His mom had taken him to plenty of plays and shows whenever someone in her social circle had an extra ticket. He never gave much thought to them because his mind was always far away, lost in the train of thought.
However, the Nativity Story was different. He couldn't put his finger on it, but knew there was something about it that seemed more than the others.
And he found out he was right. From the moment the curtains went up, he didn't lose himself in a daze of his thoughts. He didn't doze off. He kept wide-awake, watching every second of the show, and loving every second it. It was different from the other shows he seen before. Everything seemed more in both a sublet but speculator. The music, the costumes, the musical numbers and the dancers.
In some ways, the Cultural Blend was a like a crossover between a dance troupe and a version of Cirque de Soleil. The dancers performed incredible routines other than ballet that had the audience standing and applauding, but there was also incredible acrobatics that was breathtaking. The special effects were unbelievable.
Lucille seemed to be enchanted by it. As enchanted as a person can be while checking their Blackberries every ten seconds. She was at least awake. Jack, on the other hand, checked out within ten seconds into the show, the two dozen bourbon shots he had taken on the plane finally taking effect on him.
But this was one time Troy wasn't paying much attention to his parents, finding himself in the fantastic blend of dance and music Cultural Blend was putting on for the audience.
And he was only watching. He watched the dancers twisting and turning in their costumes, performing complex moves that would have him twisted into a pretzel. His mind thought back to Gabriella, and how much she loved dancing. He wondered if, when she was onstage dancing, she lost herself.
Onstage, three lean dancers dressed in fine robes and shining crown, the three wise men, took a bow after their performance. Two of them wandered over to the left side of the stage, talking in murmurs. The third one, the tallest with sandy blonde hair, looked up at the sky, as if he was searching for an answer. Suddenly his eyes widened, and a bright smile spread across his face.
"The star!" he cried, excited.
Instantly the other two kinds were by his side, looking up. Within two seconds, smiles were plastered onto their faces. "The star!" they cried in unison.
A bright white light exploded in the room, the color so bright it was blinding. Slowly, bit by bit, it settled down to a brightness that was tolerable for eyesight. By the time, Troy was able to open his eyes, the three kings were gone, a bright white beam flooded the stage, and through it, Troy could see someone lying on the floor. Legs criss-crossed, head duck down, arms out in front of her.
Slowly, she raised her movements deliberate as if she was moving for the fast time in her life. First, she stood on her feet, standing on the tip of her toes before relaxing her feet. Her arms stretched out, moving along in sync with the flow of her head, revealing her very pretty and very familiar face.
Troy's heart did a double beat and paused for a brief moment.
The girl opened her big, dark mocha eyes that were sly despite the slow, soft smile spreading across her face.
Holy crap! Troy thought. It was Gabriella. Lone Wolf, hot'n'cold, unattainable but completely irresistible Gabriella. The one who left him alone at Burger King, making him feel like a complete ass for what he said. The one who had a hold on him, a powerful hold on him that he couldn't fight. The one he wanted more than anything to kiss.
Looks like the show just go a whole lot better, his evil said whispered tauntingly. Troy paid little attention to it, though, focusing on snapping endless pictures that captured every second of the incredible performance he was seeing.
She looked absolutely radiant, like a star. Her small, curvy body was dressed in a silk dress in the purest shade of white with thin straps and a tulle skirt, the bodice featuring silver sparkles, the skirt having drops of silver at the hem. Her hair was set in a high ponytail, with streaks of angelic white and pink streamers attached to the barrette pinned to her hair.
Watching her dance onstage was quite a sight. He had seen her dance when she was showing him more some moves for their project, and watched her on his DVD with Sharpay. But onstage, in personal, was different. Clearer almost, because you could see up close the passion she had for dancing that radiated in every leap, every spin, and twirl she did on stage. He could easily see why she was known as a great dancer at LaGuardia. The discipline and control of ballet were still interpreted, but along side it was her own personal blend of raw energy and fierceness that went in sync with it with the controlled discipline. It made the performance more mesmerizing, more spellbinding.
And he wasn't the one who was riveted by her performance. The audience couldn't get enough of the dance. Of her. The applause was thunderous as hands clapped eagerly. Voices practically shouted out their cheers. Flashes of cameras went off like rapid fire.
After one last leap that ended with a graceful twirl, she smiled big for the audition. She rushed toward the edge of the stage, as if she was about to dive into the crowd, simply expecting them to catch her. Troy's breath was caught in his throat. She was gonna fall, she was gonna fall, she was gonna-
She was suddenly up. Taking a big leap and rising. Rising and rising until she was high, flying around their heads. She was glowing bright white as a star in the suddenly darkened theater, where she literally shone like a glorious diamond in the sky. She beamed at the audience's astonished reaction and continued her dance, which involved her mostly flying around and performing amazing acrobatic-like tricks.
The audience went wild, applauding and cheering and recording. An uncontrollable, big smile, once his heart went back to beating at a normal pace, spread across Troy's face as he watched her. She was radiant. She looked so lovely and alive in her element that it was hard to believe she was actually real.
Gabriella flew over the audience as if she were Peter Pan, dropping around glitter that was her stardust that excited the children. For her finale, she flew to the center of the room, smiled down at them, and spun. Spun around and around so fast she became a blue of blinding white light that released an explosion of silver glitter that showered them.
Flashing one last smile, she flew "North', an upper balcony where she disappeared into, leaving behind an uprooting, and thundering applause in her wake.
His mom wanted to go to the Christmas Extravaganza Cultural Blend was throwing for their generous donators and friends. Claimed it was because she wished to have a word with the geniuses behind the production she named perfection. In reality, she was trying to be their new makeup sponsor for their summer trip. She recently added a new costume makeup to her collection, and thought they would be the best source of advertisement.
Jack, unsurprisingly, declined. Troy, to their great surprise as well as his own, decided to go along with her. He said he wanted to make sure his mom had an escort with her. It was New York City after all. It wasn't exactly known for being the safest place to be in, especially after dark. When actually it was all for a certain beautiful Hispanic girl he needed to see again.
He needed to apologize to Gabriella. To explain things to her again. To make everything right-
"Straighten up, Troy." His mom whispered. He realized he was slouching, and quickly fixed that, adding in a pleasant smile. Just in time, too, as the cameras started going off.
Close to fifty or so photographers were plastered around the doors to the ballroom at the Plaza Hotel, taking in over dozens of shot of every guest that went in. The second they spotted the fabulous Lucille Bolton and her darling son entering, they took close to hundreds.
Everything in the ballroom was grand from the decorations, featuring delicate snowflakes gently falling from the ceiling, to the food (with two huge chocolate fountains the kids couldn't stop trying out) to the music, featuring an actual orchestra playing familiar Christmas tunes on their instruments.
"Stuffed crab for the sir and lady." An elderly employee dressed in the red and black uniform presented the appetizer.
"No thank you." Troy politely declined. He never cared too much about shellfish.
Lucille also declined, for the sake of her expensive Prada dress and figure, but did accept another glass of champagne.
Troy's eyes scanned over the large crowd for Gabriella. He kept his eyes out for black hair likely to be down and a small figure. So far his search was turning up empty.
Maybe she didn't come. As far as he knew, though it was a big event, it wasn't written in stone that every member of Cultural Blend had to attend the party. Looking around the crowd, he knew Gabriella wasn't the fancy party girl type. She was more of a club-party-girl, and she was most likely at those retro clubs somehow in Manhattan. Drinking herself into memory loss, licking body shots off guys, and allowing them to do the same to her.
The thought of a guy using his tongue on Gabriella didn't set well in his stomach. In fact, Troy was nearly a second away from showing everyone what he had for breakfast. He had to get himself together. Lucille may not be nearly as impossible as his dad, but she wouldn't hesitate to commit murder one if he did anything to jeopardized the Bolton perfect façade.
"There's Debbie Allen." His mother excitedly whispered, pointing over to his left. The former Fame star and famous dancing figure, dressed in a gold and black pantsuit, was having a chat with Bruno looking very festive in burgundy and another woman, dark-haired and in purple, who had her back to Troy. "And Bruno."
His mother practically ran them over there, butting into their conversation she didn't notice they having. Or caring that she interrupted.
"Wonderful production!" she cried excitedly. "Just glorious."
Debbie smiled politely, showing no signs of irritation for the interruption. "Thank you. And you are…"
"Lucille Bolton," Troy's mother proudly announced, as if her name should be common knowledge. It took her a good twelve seconds to remember that her son was standing right to her. "Oh. And my son. Troy."
Thanks for the enduring introduction, mom, thought Troy, still wearing his pleasant smile for the people, as he shook their hands.
"As I was saying, that performance definitely was a wonder. It was like the Bible had come to life." his mom continued.
Despite her compliment sounding strange, the directors still smiled and said their thanks.
"Well, we really cannot take all the credit. The show would not be such a success if it wasn't for our crew people, the costume people, the music people, and, of course, our dance people," Bruno said, wrapping his arm around the dark-haired woman's shoulders. "Isn't that right, my little twinkle star."
He heard her voice before he saw her face. Gabriella turned around, smacked Bruno's shoulder, and said "Hot tamala, twinkle star. It's like you're begging me to smack you."
Debbie shared a laugh with him. "Not sure about the tamala part, but the star one seems just right. You definitely were a star tonight, Ella." She placed a gentle hand on Gabriella's shoulder and smiled at her, pleased. "I never heard an audience clap so loudly before in my life."
It took Lucille a full ten seconds to put the pieces. Recognition soon shined in her eyes as she eyed Gabriella, along with interest. "The Northern Star! I thought I recognized you. You, my dear, as Rihanna once sang, 'shine bright like a diamond.'"
Debbie looked at Lucille a bit oddly. Bruno held onto a chuckle as he took a sip of his wine. Gabriella kept herself perfectly composed with a small, half smile on her lips. A small smile that was more of a smirk with its' taunting bite.
"That's very kind of you to say." she said.
"You were positively radiant. Your dancing brought me back to my days as East High head cheerleader and dance captain." Lucille brightly smiled, as her eyes went away, thinking back to the successful days of her youth.
Oh brother. Troy tried hard not to roll his eyes as his mom started talking about her success as a teenager. How she was the popular captain of both teams. How she managed to turn a team of weak, pig-thigh sissies into reigning champions. Five time reigning champions, thank you very much.
Once Lucille was finally done talking about herself, a good ten minutes later, she studied Gabriella a bit closer. She took in the girl's deep black hair, her very appealing exotic face, and her beautiful olive skin she knew was impossible to achieve with tanning alone. A smile quickly worked its way across her smile. "You are a very attractive young lady, Miss Montez. Nice hair, good physique, and your skin is practically flawless."
Gabriella thanked her again. Lucille continued on, saying "Spanish, right?"
Dear God! If Troy wasn't in a public place at the moment, he's smack himself hard in the head. So hard, he would fall into a coma. Instead he settled for cursing up a storm inside his head.
Both Debbie and Bruno looked bewildered. And Gabriella…Troy was scared to see her reaction.
The girl, to his amazement, still stood tall. Only now her smile was full and sharpened like a razor. "Hispanic mostly." She corrected.
Lucille waved a dismissive hand, which brought on displeased frowns from troupe directors. "Potato, potat-o. Still part of the Living La Vida Loco tree. Am I right?" She laughed at her own joke, which didn't set well for rest of her company.
"Oh, believe me, Mrs. Bolton. I'm definitely looking at something loco alright. Now if you would excuse me?"
Gabriella walked over the left side of the buffet, putting a lot of distance between her and Lucille Bolton. She pulled out her phone when she heard the alert and read the text message that alerted it. Within a second of reading it, a smile made its way across her face.
And it only took a second, along with the presence of a certain pup, to dissolve it like acid. "Enjoying the rear view, Bolton?"
Troy took a quick step back, unsure whether a foot or a hand would take a shot at him. He may not have had much experience with girls, but knew enough from others' experiences. Including the fact that they didn't take getting offended well, and have the tendency to lash out at the offender.
Gabriella proved she was a different matter to that theory. She didn't slap, punch, or kick him. She simply stared at him, left brow slightly arched, face un-amused, and cool eyes only a degree away from below zero.
Her cool actions caught Troy off balance. In his mind he had the whole scene played out. He'd tap her shoulder gently, try to block (if he can) whatever painful reaction she'll have from seeing his face, and then apologize.
Since she wasn't doing the painful reaction part, he was left standing and staring at her. And as improper as it was to be staring, he couldn't really help it. It was hard to look away from her.
She was a vision in a purple, a very intoxicating, tempting vision. The short dress was five inches above her knees, but still slyly appropriate, showing off a very generous amount of leg. The purple shade was so deep, it was nearly black. The material soft velvet, sporting satin-silk lavender thin straps and a matching belt tied around her waist. The lavender strappy heels she had on gave her some height and made her legs look longer.
It was simple yet hot. Classy yet sexy.
And she's wearing her hair down, he thought, taking note of the loose raven waves. It made her look even more irresistible. It took all of his will power not to drool.
"Bolton!" Gabriella snapped her fingers a few times to get his attention. "If you're done ogling." Troy cleared his throat as he looked away sheepishly, rubbing his neck. Ignoring his embarrassment, Gabriella continued "I'll like to get this conversation over and done before the year 3013. So whatever you want to say spit it out."
Now or never, Bolton. Troy took in a deep breath and said in a rush "I'm so sorry for what I said. I was a idiot. A big idiot. The biggest idiot in the world. Times ten."
Sweet Jesus, that last one sounded so much better in his head than out loud. And given the look, or arched brow in Gabriella's case, it was one that deserved the top spot for the most idiotic things ever said.
"Point is," he said quickly. "I'm really, really, really sorry and hope you can forgive me."
Gabriella stared at him. And stared and stared, up to the point Troy was starting to feel uncomfortable. She miraculously broke gaze a few seconds later, grabbing a chocolate covered strawberry. He couldn't help noticing how very sensual the motion of her lips was. Very seductive as they sucked the chocolate before taking nibbling of the strawberry. Down below, he felt an ache that was a combination of need and pain rolled up into one.
Dear sweet Jesus, this was not the time for that. Call him crazy, but he had a strong feeling his mom wouldn't be too happy if he was sporting a hard-on at a very important suit-and-tie event. Especially since they were people with camera around to capture the awkward moment.
Finishing off her snack, Gabriella's tongue came out from its cave and licked the corners of her mouth, as if it there was some chocolate left over. The famous tongue said to be quite a wonder in East High's men's locker-room. A wonder that was like a touch of heaven and could turn a man's system upside down. All with one flick.
The ache in his pants grew. Troy balled his fists tightly, using the pain as a distraction from his mind that decided to be dirty.
"So, how do you plan to live your life?" Gabriella said.
Troy was ready to hear her say that she forgave him, and that the two can move on. Then he heard her words and became confused. Unless society created a new way of doing and accepting apologizes and he didn't get the memo, those didn't sound like words of forgiveness. "I'm sorry. What?"
"How do you plan to live your life?' she repeated again.
Live his life? How the hell did this conversation went from him asking her for forgiveness to her wondering about his life choices? The feeling in his gut warned him to use caution with his words. "Um…well…I plan to live a good life. Get good grades, graduate East High, and get a full ride to college."
Her eyes narrowed, which was not a good sign. "What about your pictures? Do you plan to go into photography?"
What in the name of God? He stared at Gabriella, bewildered, like she lost her head. Maybe she had. Majoring in photography? He wasn't going to lie. It was a dream of his to get into photography, but it was a dream he knew would never happen. "UCLA doesn't offer that as a major. Besides, I already have to worry about basketball. I need to give a hundred and ten percent if I'm going to make pro."
Her eyes were narrowed and ice-cold. A scowl of disgust darkened her face as she eyed him. "So in other words you don't plan on letting Cock-sucker just control your high school life, you're letting him dominate your college life and the great beyond."
"Yes. I mean no. I mean..." How in the friggering name of hell did this conversation completely go off the track he laid out for it? "I-this is something I need to do. It's a family tradition and you can't go against-"
"Bullshit!" she exclaimed, very loudly. Several people turned their heads over to them. None that Gabriella cared. She was already leaving. And just like last time, Troy wasn't going to let her go without saying a few words of his own.
Quickly catching up to her, he grabbed her arm, a bit more roughly than he would have liked. And spun her around, so she would meet the pissed-off expression on his face. "Can you please just forget about my future for a second and accept my damn apology so we can move on?"
She scoffed, taking her arm back. "Apology, my ass. You didn't mean one damn thing," She cut him off before he could reply. "You're not sorry about what you said, Bolton. You're only sorry about the way you said it, which pissed me off. But you still meant it, didn't you."
Troy hesitated, unsure what to say. "Didn't you?!" she repeated, louder.
She already knew the answer by looking into his eyes. So there was it. He was going to be a little coward. He was going to do whatever Cock-sucker said. Including excluding her from his company because she was the "bad influence." A flaw to Bolton's master plan of living his charmed little life.
An ache throbbed painfully inside her as she thought about her exclusion, being removed because she wasn't some Susie cookie-cutter material. She hated the way it made a bruise inside her. Hated the way it made her feel. Most of all, she hated herself for feeling this way. Before she never gave a damn of how others saw her. They had their own opinions about how horrible she was. Great. They could stick up their asses. She never cared about that, and she'll be damned if she started letting some cowardly, shitty little pup to start changing that.
Feeling anger rushing to her head, Gabriella grabbed stuffed crabs off a tray and stuffed them down pup's throat, nearly choking him to death. "Fuck you!"
As he was trying to cough out and keep down the shellfish that was causing very big upsets in his stomach, he had the great honor of watching Gabriella walk away from him and the party.
Well, his obedient side said, picking the worst of times to come. That went well.
"Shut the fuck up." Troy murmured threateningly to it, not in the mood for sarcasm.
How the hell did this go wrong? He planned how he was going to make it up to Gabriella for what he said, right down to the last detail. Yet somehow something he planned for days manage to completely blow up in his face in only a few minutes.
It could only mean one thing.
He was the biggest idiot of all time.
Hi. I want to say I'm so sorry about taking forever to update. I had to do community service, finales, and recently graduated. Since I'm now officially done with high school and summer began, I should be able to update more. Hopefully. Thanks for being patient, and reading and reviewing. U guys rock