A/N: Wow, after your reviews from the last chapter, just, THANK YOU! As an author, that chapter was something extremely close to my heart and I'm so happy you guys enjoyed it. All of your support does not go unseen, so thank you!!! I really don't know what else I can say besides that I have the best readers ever. Again, THANK YOU! :)
And as a lot of you have already guessed, this story is coming to a close. There are two more chapters after this one, so hopefully you guys like this chapter. Thank you again for everything!
"I hate tomatoes."
Troy felt her slender body vibrate beneath him as she giggled profusely. His now scarred bare back was lying motionless on the cozy bed, unable to move in case that he would strain his already aching muscles. The sweat that had dried quickly on his body a few hours before made him freezing, but the body heat beside him was slowly keeping him toasty. Troy inhaled her intoxicating scent before letting the happiness wash over him like a title wave. How he could ever think he was burning in hell while he had this goddess was impossible to him now. She was just so indescribable that Troy couldn't imagine loving anyone more than her.
Gabriella's taunting finger stroked down his naked chest, outlining the crevices of his pectorals. God she was so unbelievable. He couldn't explain what it had been like to be inside her just a few hours ago. It was like… magic. Yeah, corny, he knew, but that was just the way it was. For so long she had been there to remove his pain, but now? He didn't need it. He just needed her, just to be happy. Funny, that word seemed so fluid now. Happiness. So sweet he couldn't even describe in words what it meant to be happy. Whatever it was, he loved it.
"Taylor and I used to be obsessed with Brad Pitt," Her honey laugh filled the blinding black room. Sometime while they were sleeping, the fire was extinguished. Now, he could barely make out the silhouette on her flawless visage, which caused him to squeeze her breakable figure to his nude self to make sure he wasn't dreaming. It seemed to please Gabriella as well. "We had a wall in her room covered with his picture. I even sent a fan letter in… but he never wrote back."
Even though he was well aware she wouldn't be able to see him, Troy's eyebrows rose suggestively. "Should I be jealous?" His steady voice questioned before Gabriella's velvet lips peppered kisses to his hard jaw line until she found the destination and squeezed his lower lip. Troy moaned blissfully into the kiss as his rough hands knotted once again in her sea of locks.
They must have been up for an hour, and the glowing alarm clock read that it was four thirty in the morning. At first, both were well aware that the other was awake, but neither wanted to spoil the moment of silence. For someone who had a lot of sex before Gabriella, that was without a doubt the most earth shattering feeling in the world. All the other girls were worthless compared to the beauty in his arms. There had been pain up until orgasm during his other times. But what just happened? Yeah, that was pure two hundred percent pleasure. "I'll let you decide." Gabriella whispered sexily in his ear before nipping gently at his ear. Another erotic groan was produced from the depths of his chest.
Now that all the cards were on the table, secrets were flaming out from their mouths like wild fire. He explained to her why he wasn't in school yesterday, how they had to attend court and grant his mother a restraining order against Charlie. It seemed that she only wanted Troy to be happy, and even though alienating her ex was the last thing she wanted, Troy was more important to her. Gabriella also explained about her father, how she was the victim of child abuse for so long until a car crash that almost killed her. Troy's heart smashed when tiny tears welded in her eyes, and he was fearful that she would fall back to where she was previously, tortured. But in his arms it seemed that she was protected from harm. Just like he wanted her to be.
Now their amusing secrets just seemed something so innocent compared to the magnitude of their experiences. Troy felt like a little kid, just like kindergarten. But both wanted to know everything about the other. Even dumb embarrassing things like hating tomatoes for no reason.
"Sadie's blind in one eye." He confessed, pitying his dog for probably hearing a thumping bed from above while they were so caught up in themselves. Or, she was probably sprawled out over the living room floor lazily. Probably the latter.
"What...? No! How?" Gabriella stiffened and jumped as though it were her own child. That caused Troy's already inflamed heart to pulsate.
"She had an infection when she was a puppy. It was before I got her…" His voice was solemn, not wanting to relive the experience when her first held her and noticed the hazy cloud in her eye. It broke his nonexistent heart at the time. "She's ok though…" Troy's gentle thumb stroked the edges of Gabriella's silky cheek.
It was silent for a moment of mourning before Troy began to feel uncomfortable. He wanted the light airy feeling to continue, shooing the pain out of the room. "Tell me another one." He commanded before rubbing his nose into the top of her black hair.
He could feel the seductress's lotion filled legs gingerly rubbing against his aching calf beneath the burning sheets. "Um…" Gabriella thought, probably picking up on Troy's desire to stay happy. "Okay, don't be freaked or anything."
His dark eyebrows narrowed mysteriously even if she couldn't see him. The brisk wind outside caressed the edges of the house, making a whispered howling. "Umm… okay…" His shaking voice was uneven in hesitation.
She took a giant breath, her pegged nipples tickling the edges of his cool skin. Troy desperately bit his bottom lip to conceal another moan attempting to break free. "Junior year… I… uh… okay you're going to be so creeped out…" She muttered nervously. "I sort of um… well it was after track one day… and you guys just got done with basketball and left. Ryan was waiting to pick me up and you sorta left um… this gray shirt on the bleachers… and I knew it was yours… so I took it and uh… I swear I was gonna give it back but… you know we didn't talk so…"
Troy chuckled amused, vividly remembering loosing one of his favorite smoky shirts after a basketball practice and yelled at the guys for jacking his clothes the next day when he couldn't locate it. "You stole my shirt!" He accused lightly, but could imagine her mocha eyes enlarging to enormous sizes.
"I was going to give it back I swear! I just… err… was too scared…" She coyly rebutted, Troy's lips were unable to control themselves as he searched for her lips again. Electric waves coursed through his body as they moved together as one.
"Don't worry about it," he responded breathlessly after they pulled apart, Gabriella breathing easier again. "It's not as bad as sophomore year."
Gabriella's black eyebrows furrowed in the night. "What happened sophomore year?"
A sudden uneasy pressure filled his lungs. The back of his neck felt sticky as the nerves began to jitter in his turning stomach. She would think he was a creeper, he knew it. But was there any backing out now? No. He had to let this out. She revealed about the t-shirt, he had to do this. "Okay… I'm not a stalker okay? But err… it was like two weeks after I got my licenses, and uhh… God this sounds so disgusting…" He murmured harshly, Gabriella shaking his chest pleasingly again with her sweet laughter. "… but uh… you're mom picked you up… and I was just… I wanted to know where you lived… I was totally just curious… so I uh… followed you home…"
Gabriella's sprits of giggles mutated into full on laughter as her hand unintentionally dropped on his chest and grazed his soft member, causing it to jolt in surprise. "Oh! Sorry…" She mumbled as Troy's ceruleans blissfully found the back of his head.
"Don't be…" His voice was husky as his the memory of just a few hours ago flooded his brain again, causing the points where their skin was connected right then to burn with explicit sensations.
"Do you… need to be punished?" Her seductive voice breathed hot breath against his neck. Obviously she wanted to kill him by acting like this. The last thing he was doing was complaining though.
"Please," he breathed, the ecstasy building in his chest again. He both expected and fanaticized Gabriella to climb on top of him, but was disappointed to find a cool rush of air replace the gorgeous body he held moments before. Reluctantly, Troy's heavy eyelids fluttered open to see that Gabriella was now hunched over the side of the bed, staring at the clock that read 5:54 AM. "Gabi…"
"Sorry T…" she teasingly turned to him, Troy almost being blown backwards by the seduction of her nude frame. "We have to get dressed."
Troy cursed whoever decided today was Tuesday. "Fuck school…" He muttered before gripping her warm side desperately to pull her in for a kiss.
Gabriella smiled knowingly, grasping a handful of his chestnut hair, causing the hairs of Troy's back to stand on end wantingly. "I know… I wished this would never end …"
Troy could hear the desire in her silky voice, but knew that they couldn't stay like that forever. "You okay?" He whispered carefully, his warm face nuzzling into the crevice of her neck to feel the unforgettable heat that radiated off her body. He wanted to make sure this wasn't a one night thing where she would go back to being distraught over her father tomorrow.
Troy knew she couldn't contain herself as her thin arms snaked their way around his neck and pulled her inviting body to him. His hormones began to act up at how close she was and still not dressed, but he did the best he could to try to calm himself before his "little friend" got overly comfortable again. "I'm fine Troy," she sighed before letting her lips tingle against the curve of his neck. "More than fine. Amazing." She gripped him harder, causing friction against his groin and he swore blood was going to come out as he violently bit his tongue to kill the response.
But it wasn't enough. Gabriella's giggle filled his ear as she pulled away from him. As her body curved in the lighting room, he couldn't help but find himself the luckiest guy in the world. Just unfortunate that he was growing hard at an immense rate. "I'm thinking it's time for a shower…"
Images of Gabriella's kneeling figure in front of him while water rained down on them in the bathtub flashed before him. As messed up as it sounded, it felt good to feel like a normal horny teenage boy instead of the older man he was when so many problems clouded him. "Together?"
The coffee eyes rolled before she slipped gracefully from the bed and was able to pull the snow colored t-shirt he wore to the track meet yesterday before he took a shower and migrated downstairs shirtless to meet his girlfriend before they had hot sex over her nude body. Troy's eager face frowned at her now clothed self, even if she did look beautiful in his shirt. It was funny how completely comfortable he was with his exposed body as he continued to sit on the bed.
"We'll never get to school!" Gabriella exclaimed sarcastically.
"That's the plan." He responded excitedly, the center of his legs beginning to pulsate at the idea of staying in bed with Gabriella all day.
"I'll go firs…" she began to say before mass eruption of giggles rounded again. Troy glanced down, his erection fully built, causing a rush of apple colored blush to his face. "Err… maybe you should go first. A cold shower will do you good."
Troy nodded profusely before slipping to the ground and grasping his back sweats, shoving them on before he could be embarrassed anymore. "You read my mind…" Troy mumbled before dashing to the bathroom to get rid of his "problem".
Ironic how forty-eight hours can change your biggest problem of you mother possibly getting hooked on heroine again to having to take an icy shower or you'd have a boner going to school.
It felt so damn good to be a horny teenage boy.
The house was quiet.
Gabriella stepped into the walls, feeling as though they were echoing some sort of shadow that she couldn't possibly destroy. It was quiet, too quiet, for she was waiting for Ari to come running to her and question where she was the previous night. The lie was all plastered out in her head. Taylor's. She went to Taylor's after the meet to work on some homework and fell asleep in her room. No one had to know she was with Troy last night. Neither Montez's needed to know that she and Troy had sex for the first time.
Her anxious eyes darted to a mirror that hung tightly on one of the colorless walls. Did she look any different? Gabriella took two steps forward to examine the raw teeth marks scattered across the olive skin erratically beneath the hood of her tight navy blue sweatshirt. It was lucky that she had accidentally left some clothing over at Troy's previously, or it would look extremely suspicious if she walked into school with a pair of his sweats on with bite marks scattered across her neck. Her hair, which spun in tight curls since she didn't have access to a curling iron this morning, did well in hiding the love nips. The only indication that she had gotten just a few hours of sleep would be the violet shadows beneath her mocha eyes.
After finding herself satisfied that Ari wouldn't question the wounds, she walked blissfully towards the kitchen with a spring in her large step. It was said that after sex a girl practically glowed with light. Well, that was an understatement. She wasn't glowing, not at all. She was dazzling. How could she not be? It seemed that she had finally accepted her father's abuse and death, not happy about it, but accepted it. Plus, she had by far the best night of her life, ever. Nothing would ever compare to the passion, the eruption of love that spilled between the two. It was something she wanted to treasure forever and would have turned the clocks back again in a heartbeat just to feel Troy's bare skin against hers.
School had been long and agonizing. She couldn't stop thinking about him, especially in music pro when the two couldn't even focus in the sound booth to get one track done. Unfortunately for them, they were presenting their project on Friday. Troy couldn't contain his urge to tickle her, hold her, and kiss her anytime he got the chance. Obviously the cold shower this morning did nothing to him. But she didn't care. He had been so down, so depressed for so long that just seeing the twinkle in his cyan eyes brought an inerasable smile to her lazy face.
Reaching for the silver refrigerator, she pulled out a shiny plump apple, and shut the door only to find her heart stop. Surprise surged through her veins as she jumped back in shock, almost dropping her apple. "Oh my God!"
Maria Montez sighed sadly before staring down into the empty navy coffee mug she was holding. Gabriella's breath returned to her, for she did not expect to see her mother sitting at the table. Especially dressed as that. Her black hair was completely down, instead of in flawless waves, it just hung loosely in front of her. Her Pilates toned body lay limply covered in a tight t-shirt and jeans, very uncommon for she was usually dressed in her business suit and skirt. It took a moment for Gabriella to regain composure before remembering she was furious with her mother. "I didn't mean to scare you."
Her voice sounded twisted and disgusting compared to her normal velvet tone. It was almost like looking in a mirror twenty-four hours ago, and how pained she was. Like the two had switched roles between happy and tormented. But somehow Gabriella couldn't find sympathy with her. "I didn't see you." The daughter mumbled unfocusedly. She was trying to find an exit to this awkward situation, plus the tension in the room was growing astronomically. It was getting harder to breathe in the heavy air. The silence for the two minutes was that of they just stood, examining each other.
"You didn't come home last night." Gabriella's black eyebrows scrunched at the same time as her stomach burst into a panic. Taylor's. She was not with Troy. She was with Taylor. But wait, how would Maria know? She was with Jonathon last night. She wouldn't have been able to tell. Gabriella could have died for all she knew.
"Uhhh… yeah after the meet I slept over at Tr…Taylor's." Gabriella stumbled, kicking herself violently for the slip up. Damn it!
And Maria noticed. Her black eyebrows rose questionably against her pale face. Oh no. Now she was going to get grilled about her night last night. That was the last time she would ever sleep at Troy's, probably ever be allowed to go to Troy's. But Maria's face fell into a sad frown, not mad. More like… pained. "Oh… Taylors…" she murmured, Gabriella knowing that she knew full well where her daughter was, but wasn't going to press it. It would have been hypocritical "How are you feeling?"
Did she look sick? That was an odd question to ask of someone who was sparkling with joy. And why was she talking to her anyways? Didn't she have someone else to screw? "Fine." Gabriella shot back at her with an irritated tone, her dark eyes on the door which she was trying to maneuver to.
"That's the first time you've passed out… right?"
Gabriella's beating heart skidded to a halt. How did she know she passed out? Maria's milky colored eyes bored into Gabriella's, confusion evident over Gabriella's shining face. That was impossible. "Umm… did someone call or something…" Her mind was circling like a cyclone. Did someone call the house to check on her while she was out last night? How did she know?!
The mother's face mimicked her daughter's confusion. "What are you talking about?"
For a moment she forgot how furious she was to find answers. "How did you know I passed out?"
"I was there."
Time stood still as Gabriella's mouth smashed to the floor. Her face became ghostly white as the older woman stared as though she did something wrong. WHAT? "No… no you went with…"
"I canceled," Maria sighed depressed before rising from the chair she was stationed in. Her sloppiness almost caused Gabriella to jump back. But she didn't see her, did she? Though it probably wouldn't have been something to see when she passed out, then the boyfriend whom just murdered his demons and was reborn showed up to give her strength. Unless looking for something, she probably wouldn't have found anything unless it tripped her. "I didn't want to crowd you and err… wasn't sure how you'd take me being there."
That was true also. If Maria had showed up yesterday trying to be mother of the year, Gabriella probably would have slapped her in the face. "Um… thanks I guess." Gabriella mumbled before her mother gave a solemn nod.
"Look, Gabriella…" She took a step forward, but Gabriella also responded by taking a step back. She wasn't ready to have this woman in her personal space right now. It seemed to pain the mom as this happened. The no make up on her face reminded Gabriella of once upon a time before her father died and they were best friends. "I'm sorry… for not being there like I should be."
Gabriella's mouth was tightly wound closed. She couldn't look at her mom, not now. So her dark chocolate eyes were trained on the grey toned linoleum. It was much easier to gaze at. Her thin throat welded with a grapefruit, speech was unable to come out of her throat. For so long she had waited for her mom to be there for once. Now it felt so surreal. Like she was living in a dream. Maybe she was. "Mmmhhmmm." Was the only noise that could be produced.
"Ella… I just… it was hard," Gabriella knew her mother's business voice was shaking. She took a defining step forward, this time the daughter remaining motionless. "What your father did to me… to you… it was unforgivable. I just… I didn't want to think about it anymore. I couldn't think about anything that related to him…"
"Uh huh." She still couldn't find her voice. Hot tears built in her eyes at the speech that was coming out.
"And… and what hurt the most was…" Maria sounded repulsive towards herself. "The worst was that… even through everything he did. I still… I…" She didn't need to finish her sentence. Even after every hit, Maria still loved him. Gabriella finally lifted her heavy eyes to see that the whites of her mother's eyes had turned a cloudy rose colored with water seeping from the orbs. "I just… I don't think you would under…" But then the shaking voice paused as her mother's wet eyes shifted to Gabriella's hickey covered neck. "Or maybe you would."
Gabriella paused. What if she had been in that position? What if Troy…? But her body shuttered at the thought and refused to even finish. He would never intentionally hurt her, and she knew that. He wasn't like her dad. So she tried to relate it in a different way. What about this weekend? The last thing she wanted to do was think of anything that reminded her of Troy. So it was similar. "Uh huh."
Maria shook her head. "I just… with the other guys… I wanted to take away the pain."
That she could relate to.
It finally hit Gabriella like a ton of bricks. Maria was no different than herself, except in age. She first was with Troy to take away the memory of her father, the pain of her mother being there. Maria was with other guys try to forget her father even existed. She had sex with people so she wouldn't even remember…
Wait… she was similar to Gabriella. But there was another person she mirrored more. Identically.
Maria was the older version of Troy Bolton.
He had sex before Gabriella to rid the pain. With anyone he could get his hands on. So did Maria. Neither one wanted to remember who they were, so they were searching for the one person that would make them forget. Well, Troy found that person in Gabriella. And Maria? She hadn't found it yet. It didn't excuse her behavior, but Gabriella now understood it.
"I can't… Mom you were never there." Gabriella's tears streaming like acid down her soft face.
"I'm sorry." Maria whispered gently.
Gabriella nodded. They would never be like who they were, the two that were there for each other. She would never find a best friend in her mother again, not even a friend. But it seemed now, maybe Maria would try. Whether it would work or not, she would try to be there for her daughter. Gabriella knew this. "I can't forgive you… but I can't hate you. You meant too much to me before…"
That seemed to be enough to satisfy her mom, but didn't make her happy that her daughter couldn't be like who she was. There was nothing either could do though. The strain was pulled too hard, it was impossible to forget what happened in the past three years. But maybe they could at least live with themselves if they were enough to get along. "I understand."
Light eyes met dark. The bond between them thickened even the tiniest thread. Gabriella's light head gave a gentle nod, before her mouth twitching into a thin smile. An understanding. With that, she carefully walked around her mother to the dark hallway, before picking up her heavy feet to go lie down.
At least she knew Maria would try. That was enough to put a small grin on her face as she walked to her bedroom to catch up on the sleep she was deprived of the previous night.