"Wait, you want us to do what?"
November had come and gone and the Wildcats now found themselves in the first of December. The air was bone chilling and sunlight was only evident from 8 AM to 4 PM, other than that the school was completely covered in blackness. Though with the holidays in less than a month away, people's mood seemed to be cheering up. Well, people's moods who had families to go to or if their parents were around for them. For the two that didn't, December was looking grim, just like the rest of the twelve months.
Gabriella's body was frozen as she attempted to control her now twitching legs that were itching to take quick steps outside. Indoor track would start right after the holiday break, and she needed to be out there. Her body craved running, since it was after school and she should be braving the blistering cold right now instead of standing in front of her best friend with one of her other best friends. The dark girl looked eager, which scared Gabriella.
"Please?" Taylor begged energetically as Gabriella bit her bottom lip nervously and glanced towards the petite girl whose eyes were the size of moons beneath her glasses. "It's one night, and he really wants to get to know my friends. So please? I promise it will be fun!"
Gabriella and Kelsi both swiveled their head to look at each other and decide if this was dangerous of not. The slender fingers nervously played with the small black gloves in her hand. She adjusted the second skin vibrant red spandex on her legs, feeling the longing crave that had been stuck in her legs all day. "So let me get this straight. He wants to go on a triple date with two of your friends, so he won't know their dates, but he wants to impress us when he could be screwing you in his dorm?"
Taylor's hot face flushed in the color of Gabriella's tights. "We would not be screwing in his dorm, but essentially yes. See? Isn't he a good guy?" Taylor nodded her head eagerly, reminding Gabriella strangely of a dog that wanted a bone.
Kelsi let out a small sigh. "I guess we'll find out for sure on Saturday." She responded in a small voice as Taylor almost toppled her over in a hug.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she chanted happily before squeezing Kelsi's body to a choking level. Her face tinted blue before Taylor let go. "What about you Gabs? Please?" Taylor begged, almost dropping to her knees.
Gabriella's shoulder collided lazily with the locker next to hers. "Kelsi, who are you taking with you?" A sly eyebrow rose in amusement. Ever since the weekend of the Evans party three weeks ago, Gabriella couldn't help but notice the little hints Kelsi dropped that she liked Ryan. Plus, now she was stalling the answer she didn't want to.
Fear coursed the small girl's features before she shook her head. "Um… I don't know, I'll just ask someone in choir or something. Or maybe I'll just ask a girl, so it won't be as date-y."
"Mmm… or you COULD make it a date and ask a certain ex of mine. You seem to be, interested in him lately." Gabriella wiggled her eyebrows tauntingly before Kelsi's eyes grew to the size of California.
"What? Me? Like Ryan?" Kelsi's pale skin almost collected beads of sweat just below her shining brown hair. "No, I don't like him."
Gabriella loosely shrugs her shoulders. "You grill me all the time about him, and I'm not stupid. I see the way you look at him."
Kelsi bit her thin bottom lip. "Please don't be mad." She whispered fearfully.
A laugh escaped the depths of Gabriella's throat. "Mad? Of course I'm not mad!" she announced before throwing her arms up in the air dramatically. "Ryan and I are over. Completely. One hundred percent. I don't like him, but you should go for it."
A shy smile crossed her lips as she shook her head in a disagreement. "No… no I'll just ask another girl…"
"No!" Taylor protested angrily. "This is a date Kelsi! You're asking someone with a dick and that's final."
Gabriella let another laugh loose. "Or I'll just ask him for you if you're too scared."
Kelsi let the thought sink into her skin before she timidly stared down. "I'll think about it."
"You better be coming!" Taylor exclaimed while the spotlight was now put on Gabriella. Her stomach somersaulted, knowing that was the exact opposite of what she wanted to do. How could she go anywhere when one of her best friends would be hurting? But Taylor WAS her best friend, not Chad. So she had to come first, whether Gabriella was kicking and screaming during it or not.
"Um… I might have plans." She lied innocently through her bright teeth.
"Well, you're dropping them," Taylor ordered forcefully before her hard face softened ever so slightly. "Please Gabriella? I need my best friend to approve of him, or I can't date him!"
Gabriella bit her soft bottom lip before her dark brown orbs shut painfully. She couldn't be a bad friend. Taylor had been there for her too much to be a bad friend. Granted, she didn't know about Gabriella's horrid past, but then again no one knew about that. "When are we going?"
A smile worthy of Miss America beamed across Taylor's face as she bounded into Gabriella's thin covered arms. "Thank you!" She screamed through the empty hallway. "You won't regret it, he's so great!"
A sad giggle produced from Gabriella's lips as Taylor let go. "Whatever makes you happy."
"I heard Bobby is single now. You should invite him." Kelsi pointed out before Gabriella's body froze.
The two hadn't told anyone else what Gabriella and Troy had been up to. It wasn't as though they were trying to keep it a secret or anything; it just probably wouldn't be smart to go around telling other people they were making out to kill each other's pain. Both had the faintest idea that Chad thought there was something going on, but other than that, everyone else was completely oblivious and just thought they both liked each other.
"Swim Captain Bobby?" Gabriella spit out like it was a vulgar word.
"Swimmers do have stamina." Taylor pointed out as Gabriella couldn't help the sheepish smile crossing her lips.
So do point guards. "Taylor!" The innocence of Kelsi scolded before Gabriella couldn't help but let giggles force from her throat.
"I'll figure something out. But I gotta run." She informed before finally pointing towards the stairway leading to the bone chilling cold. "Literally!" Gabriella giggled before suddenly feeling her stomach crash to the floor.
Troy was not going to be happy.
"No."
His definite strong voice echoed through out the cracks of the store as his sparkling blue eyes focused on the dismantled toe clip resting on the table next to the burnt orange snowboard. Troy didn't even have to look up to her to answer, or be able to tell that she was probably pouting right now. Too bad.
"You didn't even let me finish." Her sweet angelic voice complained before Troy shook his head forcefully again and reached down to grab a shining silver screwdriver.
He knew from the moment she stepped in his work fifteen minutes ago, something was up. At first, a small yet guilty excitement bubbled that maybe something was wrong and she needed him. It made him feel awful inside, since he got pleasure from her pain, but she did the same for him right? But did she enjoy his pain? Or did she feel she was only doing him a favor?
"You don't need to." Troy rebutted distantly as his tight face cringed annoyingly as he realized he needed a flat screw driver instead of a Philip's. "Al, I need a flat one."
"Get it yourself," Alex responded before Troy's sharp piercing blue eyes shot up from where he was attempting to fix the broken snowboard in the dim lighting of the store. "Fine… fine."
"Why not?" Gabriella questioned as she leaned forward on the hard desk. Her back pea coat was opened slightly so Troy could get a glimpse of her soft, inviting skin beneath her burgundy beater that dipped down into her cleavage to Troy's liking. Her normally silk black hair was drenched, proving to Troy that she had just gotten out of the shower after running. But Troy's shining blue eyes would not be removed from her chest.
They hadn't done anything past making out besides Troy's hands were beginning to roam when there was an issue. Two days ago, he gave her a ride home after she ran and he had practice, which led to a forty-five minute session of Troy's tongue down her throat. It was then that his hands had begun to twitch with anticipation and might have "accidentally" brushed her bra underneath her shirt. They had made out while he was shirtless as well, but for Troy, they were taking things at a slow pace, because both were slightly afraid if they went anywhere else, they'd begin to get attached. At least, that's what Troy was afraid would happen to Gabriella. He didn't have to worry about getting attached to her. Or so he thought.
"Because he's my fucking best friend and I'm not gonna go to a movie with someone that wants to screw the girl he's obsessed with." Troy heaved before flipping the sun burnt board over, letting his eyes drop from the petite girl.
"I already called Chad!" Gabriella protested as she ran to the other side of the large counter and stared into his hard face. It was completely dead, like normal, with only Alex and Troy in the store. Well, Gabriella was here now too. "He said he wanted you to go so that you can like 'sabotage' or whatever!"
"Oh yeah!" Alex chimed in as he gently set the new screwdriver down, flipping his blonde hair out of his eyes. "Didn't you date Taylor? You could tell him she's a bad kisser or something!"
Troy felt a small smirk plaster on his face as he swore a streak of jealousy ran across Gabriella's face. "I only dated her for a month, and you couldn't even say we made out." He confessed before a sigh of relief trickled from Gabriella's throat. It made him feel powerful.
"It doesn't matter. Troy, please?" She begged desperately before slipping her thin fingers onto his bare bicep. Troy's eyes closed in a ripple of pleasure from the touch as he bit his thin bottom lip to contain the groan he wished to produce. "I need you to go!"
"Just ask someone else." He mumbled before turning to her and letting their two shining eyes lock together.
"But you're the only one who will get me through this!" She pleaded tugging at this bare skin again, traveling her fingers up on his arm so they gently grazed the sleeve of the ocean blue shirt he was wearing. "Kelsi is probably going to take Ryan. Troy, I need you!"
He wanted to be with her, but he didn't want to watch his best friend's pain like that. Chad had given Troy the support he needed when he was depressed, and while this wasn't even close, Troy still would feel dirty if he went on this. But Troy couldn't deny that her pleads and begs with his name spilling out was slightly turning him on.
"Come on man, it's only for like two hours. You can deal." Alex exclaimed as Gabriella's face lit up with excitement.
"Thank you! Listen to Alex!" She pointed towards the West High basketball captain that seemed to be beaming.
"Yeah dude, listen to me!"
"Ok, one, hell no." Troy pointed to the rival captain before Alex's face slumped in a pretend depression. He then turned back to the desperate vixen. "And two, what if I have something else planned?"
"Yeah? What else are you doing?" Gabriella crossed her arms and scrunched her nose irritated.
"What if I had a hot date or something?" Troy joked but suddenly discovered that it was a bad idea to say. Gabriella's eyes darkened to the black angry depths and her face clouded over evilly. Though she wasn't allowed to get jealous, because they weren't official, Troy suddenly realized that she had just gotten angry because he told her he couldn't be with anyone.
"Fine." She hissed before spinning on her heels and marching towards the door. "I hear Bobby's looking for a lay."
A sudden sense of protectiveness jumped into Troy's turning stomach as the sharp blue grew four sizes. Alex's jaw dropped to the floor with a thud as Troy chucked the screwdriver down forcefully and chased her desperately. The rational side to him knew that she wouldn't do it, that she was only trying to make him jealous. Well, it was working. He flung his body in front of the door before her small hand could reach for it. An amused smile plastered on her face as Troy scowled from knowing she won. "Why the fuck would you want to screw Bobby?" He hissed with a disturbing image of the long swimmer's torso drenched in sweat and hovering Gabriella's nude slender body.
Gabriella leaned forward and placed a hand on his built chest. "You said you have a hot date." She gently pushed him into the door, making his back collide with the condensation. "What's it to you anyways?"
Troy snarled angrily as his course hand shoved into his silk locks. "So when are you planning on meeting the bastard?" Troy seethed out, hating loosing more than anything. Gabriella was taking it all in happily.
Hope danced in Gabriella's eyes, before Troy glanced back to see that Alex's mouth still hung open and was entranced as though he was watching a porn video. "I'd pick you up at like seven thirty." She suggested, optimism laced into her voice.
Whoa, hold up. Rewind. Pick him up? No, that was not an option. He suddenly realized where this was going. "No… no way… you wouldn't come by."
The hope was smashed into tiny flakes as her bright face slid off. There was no way she would come to his house. Never. "We've been hanging out by ourselves for a month and I haven't been to your house once!" Gabriella proclaimed vexed.
"Don't feel bad. I've known him since middle school and I still haven't been to his house." Alex lazily complained before plopping down in a swiveling chair behind the oak counter.
"Shut up Gregory." Troy attempted to damper the situation. His striking eyes locked back on Gabriella's slightly annoyed ones. "It's just like yours alright? No different."
"But Troy…" she whined before closing her eyes miserably, since Troy's hard face proved her rebut was useless. "Whatever I tried, I'll just see you tomorrow then."
Disappointment trickled across her features as Troy agitatedly shut his eyes and leaned his head up against the cold glass. She was obviously upset about not being able to go to Troy's house, and he didn't want her to be angry with him. So that left him to do what he didn't want to. "Fine. I'll go on three conditions."
A sudden happy light sparked in her black eyes and her smooth head looked up to meet him. "You… you will?" she questioned gaining energy. "What are they?"
A disgruntled sigh whispered through his lips as he ran another hand through his hair. How was he this weak for her? "One, I pick you up."
Gabriella's tempting bottom lip connected with her tiny teeth in a bite. "Ok…" She responded disappointingly, but there was no arguing that matter anymore.
"Two, if the guy gets cockier than me, I'm out." Troy held up two slender fingers for a visual before Alex snorted in the corner.
"No one's cockier than you." She commented amusingly before Troy's hand pointed to him forcefully, though his eyes never left the coffee brown.
"Shut the fuck up! You're not helping." Gabriella giggled and her smile began to grow to a tempting one as she gazed up at him slightly seductively. The telephone filled the thick air and Troy happily noticed as Alex groaned and then walked to the back room to answer.
"And the third?" Gabriella's gentle voiced curiously asked before Troy let a desirable smirk stretch across his face.
"We don't go to a chick flick." He requested softly, suddenly feeling like Alex had just cranked the heat up in the store, but knew that it was really the steamy hormones that were bouncing off the two of them.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Her thin arms crushed the back of his neck as Gabriella leapt into Troy's brawn arms, sending eclectic waves to pulsate through his blood stream. She practically pulled him towards the floor before squeezing him thankfully. "You just saved my life."
Neither one had any idea how powerful the words that just slipped out really were.
Troy clung to her like he was holding his life in his clutches. The aroma of her drying shampooed vanilla hair lingered in his nostrils as he gripped her thin sides tighter, as if trying to savor her inside of him. He felt a tiny thump produce from her left breast against his rock chest that was unfamiliar to him. It was a beating heart, and Troy found that it calmed him like a sweet lullaby. "You owe me." He whispered tenderly in her ear, discovering a softer side deep within his rough surface that he never really knew.
Gabriella nodded sweetly as she finally pulled away from his clutch, but let her smooth hands remain stationed on the back of his neck, tickling the tiny hairs. Troy prayed that Alex would stay in the back room talking on the phone, for he selfishly wanted as much time alone with Gabriella as humanly possible.
"We'll work something out." Gabriella's tongue rolled bewitchingly before she gently licked her lips in an enticing way. Troy groaned just from the visual turn ons as he could feel the softness in his jeans twitch with desire.
Troy amorously fluttered his eyes shut and leaned his head towards her. Both foreheads collided and an atomic bomb exploded beneath both sets of closed eyelids. Troy attempted to suck her in, breathe was she was exhaling. His lips parted hungrily as they were inches apart from hers. The sexual ecstasy was surging through both bodies, desiring a kiss, a touch, a thrust.
If he was her boyfriend, he would have passionately let his lips crash onto hers. But Troy had to remind herself the three little words, "no strings attached". He couldn't kiss her unless something was wrong with either one of them. He couldn't let her fall for him if he couldn't fall back. Troy wasn't going to let her hit rock bottom.
So he reluctantly pulled away, also stripping all of the sexuality that gave Gabriella a high a moment ago. Her alluring glossed lips hung in a longing in mid air as she took a breath, but must have noticed that Troy's musky scent wasn't there to meet hers. He gently dropped his hands from her waist and her light eyelids tightened her unsatisfied eyes painfully. The black eyelashes fluttered open and she gazed achingly up at him. "Um… well thank you." She turned her head away disappointedly before Troy sidestepped from her pathway out.
"I'll see you tomorrow ok?" He questioned before she gave a weak smile and opened the large door into the pitch black icy night.
Why was being a good person so fucking hard?
A/N: Thank you to everyone who left reviews last chapter! I would give you guys hugs if I could. Thanks for reading and sticking by me. You guys are the best! :D