DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.
A/N: Okay, so I have to be honest with you all, I kind of had a giggle when you all went 'What!? Your Australian!?' it was very funny reading your reactions to it and as for me knowing the American spelling and school system and things, I figured if I was going to write stories based in America, I at least needed a general knowledge of how things worked over there. As for the story, I'm so glad that you've all liked the story so far. Also, I think I'm going to start every chapter with a flashback, instead of trying to work them in. So here's the next chapter!
Convincing You To Fall
CHAPTER 2
FOOD OF THE GODS
Seventeen-year old Troy watched a fifteen-year old Gabriella, as she hurried around her room, gathering up her lip-gloss, mascara, phone and i-pod; Troy did a double take as she stuffed it into her bag and then let his eye slide to her face. She was concentrating, she always frowned when she was concentrating, and right now she was frowning like the world had hidden the best kept secret from her and she was still trying to figure it out.
"What's the i-pod for?" He inquired lazily, stretching as she lifted up a pile of paper, as if searching for something. Gabriella glanced at him and then turned back to her desk, resuming her search.
"What do you think it's for?" She asked him and Troy shrugged, his eyes tracing the stray curls that had fallen out of the bun she'd restrained them in. His eyes drifted down and followed the smooth curve of her shoulder, made visible by the strapless dress she wore, and down her arms, wondering briefly what it would be like to run his hands over the softness of her skin.
"Ignoring your cousins?" Troy guessed, leaning against her bed post and continuing to watch her.
"Very perceptive. Did I forget to mention that it's not only going to be my cousins, but they're 'respective' partners as well?" She asked spying the book she'd been reading the other night and picking it up, stuffing it into her purse, Gabriella turned to Troy who was watching her, a casual smile on his face.
"How can your cousins have respective partners? Isn't the youngest all of thirteen?" Troy questioned, his eyes drifting over her and taking in all of her. She looked amazing, the red strapless dress she'd refused to let him see when she bought it, fell to the floor and hugged her soft curves, her hair was pulled back from her face, a few loose strands were allowed to fall down her face and swayed when she spoke. Her make-up was simple and the dress emphasized her slender shoulders and neck. Not for the first time, Troy wondered how she didn't have a boyfriend and then let it go as she opened her mouth to speak.
"Finished checking me out?" Gabriella asked jokingly, knowing that he would glare at her for the comment. When he did, Gabriella shrugged and pushed down the feeling of disappointment that accompanied the glare, telling her that she didn't want her best friend checking her out. "And to answer your question yes, the youngest is thirteen and the oldest is nineteen and apparently they all have boyfriends or girlfriends that are just dying to meet the family." Gabriella said the words lightly, but Troy could tell she wasn't pleased about the new additions to the family function she was being forced to attend.
"So why wasn't I invited?" Troy joked and grimaced slightly when he saw the look he still hadn't got figured, flash through her eyes.
"Because I knew that when you saw the way my cousins speak to me, you'd knock one or maybe all of them out. Remember what happened with Jeremy?" Gabriella replied to the joke seriously and Troy shrugged uncomfortably. So he hadn't been impressed with her cousins when he'd met them over the Christmas break and yes he'd gotten into a fight with one of them because they'd spoken to her like she was beneath them, that didn't mean he would have done it at the function.
"Alright, I didn't really like them anyway." He sighed and Gabriella sent him a cheeky grin.
"I know you didn't, you never bother to actually break the guy's nose if you get into a fight with someone you don't like." She replied and Troy chuckled a bit as he remembered how much trouble he'd gotten in when his parents, Gabriella's and her cousins parents, had discovered he'd broken the guys nose.
"True. But look," Gabriella looked at him curiously as his tone changed. "If you want to get out of there, give me a call and I'll come and pick you up alright? I don't want to have to deal with you waking me up at midnight because they said something that you've analyzed way too much." Troy said and Gabriella smiled at him as her mother yelled for her to hurry up.
"Okay. Thanks Troy." Gabriella said and gave him one last smile, before she ran out of her room and down the stairs. Troy watched her go and hoped that she'd taken him seriously, he was serious, he couldn't deal with her ringing him up because she'd spent the entire night thinking about a passing comment one of her cousins made. He needed his sleep. That and he hated to see her so upset.
Forty-five minutes later, Troy was roused from the serious contemplation of opening his book and doing his homework, by his phone ringing. Glancing at the screen he saw it was Gabriella and sighed in relief, she'd taken him seriously.
"Brie?" He answered it gently, hoping that she'd calmed herself down when she'd called him.
"Hey. Can you come and pick me up?" Gabriella asked quietly, pulling the shawl she'd taken with her tighter around her shoulders.
"Yep. I'll be there in ten." Troy replied and Gabriella nodded and then realized he couldn't see her and sighed.
"Okay. See you then." She whispered and hung up. Knowing that he would be there in less then ten minutes.
True to his word, Troy pulled up outside her father's restaurant ten minutes later and got out of the car. Gabriella gave him a watery smile as he walked over to her. Without any hesitation, Troy pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back as her arms crept around his waist and held tight. They remained in that position for a moment, Gabriella drawing comfort from him and Troy watching the entrance to her father's restaurant with narrowed eyes, waiting for one of her family to come out and get her.
"Come on, let's go and get some ice-cream." Troy said softly as Gabriella drew back from him, a grin spread across her face as he mentioned her favorite food.
"Mmmm, food of the Gods." She said and Troy laughed and swung an arm around her shoulder.
"Sure, whatever you say Brie." He said and Gabriella pinched his side and then laughed, already forgetting what had made her call him in the first place. He grinned down at her for a moment and she smiled back at him.
"It's the food of the Gods and don't you ever doubt that!" Gabriella said and Troy just continued to grin. Already knowing that he would never doubt, or forget, that to her ice-cream was the food of the Gods.
Troy chuckled slightly as he pulled up in front of Gabriella's house. He could remember how indignant she'd been that night, when she'd thought that he doubted her description of ice-cream and he could remember quite clearly that while they were sitting in the ice-cream parlor she'd launched into an explanation of why ice-cream was so good and why it was so important to pick two flavors that agreed with each other, something that she'd told him he had no expertise in. Shutting the door of his car, Troy made his way up to her door and knocked on the door. When no-one answered, he frowned and wondered if she was home. Shrugging, Troy tested the doorknob and found that it was open. Walking through the front door, Troy winced.
"I walk a lonely road, the only one that I will ever know, don't know where it goes…" Reaching the living room, Troy found the remote for the stereo and turned the volume down. When it was down to a bearable level, Troy's ears were assaulted with the sound of steel being slammed down onto a marble bench.
"And the winner of drummer of the year is Gabriella Montez!" Troy announced loudly when he walked into the kitchen and watched as she slammed a pot down onto the bench again. Looking up, she glared at him before slamming the pot down onto the stove and lighting the gas burner.
"Wonderful." She muttered and began stirring the liquid in the pot. Troy raised his eyebrows at her and wondered exactly what had happened in the few hours since he'd seen her at lunch.
Gabriella noticed his expression and ignored it as she continued to stir the liquid. She wasn't in the mood to take smart comments from Troy anymore then she was in the mood to bake the cake that her mother had told her to make when they'd last spoken on the phone. Seeing the mixture she was stirring thicken, Gabriella turned off the stove and turned to look at Troy, who was sitting at the bench eating an apple and watching her curiously.
"What's up?" He asked and Gabriella shot him a look that told him she didn't appreciate the careless tone he'd said it in.
"Hmmm, let's see, the sky?" She replied sarcastically and ignored the grin that flitted across Troy's face.
"Interesting answer. Let's try another one, what's up with you?" Troy said leaning back in his seat and watching as Gabriella's hands stuck themselves on her hips and she glared at him.
"What's up with me? I don't know, why don't you ask Dad? Or maybe you should ask my teachers or maybe even some of my friends or maybe you could have answered your phone when I tried to call you this afternoon!" Gabriella snapped; her voice rising with every word as Troy watched her calmly.
"See, I could ask them but then I wouldn't get the right story that put you in this mood." Troy replied evenly and Gabriella glared at him, her eyes remaining furious and cold as Troy met her glare with a cool gaze of his own. He knew how this worked; she'd glare at him for a few moments, while he'd make an educated as to why she was in the mood she as in, before crumbling and telling him what had put her in the mood and confirming his guess.
"Dad's started badgering me about college, don't ask me why, I have this strange feeling that all my teachers have forgotten that it's almost summer and everyone's been on my back about……" Gabriella trailed off not knowing how to finish the rest of her sentence. Troy just nodded; feeling satisfied that his guess of life in general had been about right.
"So, it's basically just your life that's put you into this mood?" He said and Gabriella gave him a hard stare before, sighing and nodding.
"Pretty much. Why does the life of a teenager have to be confusing?" Gabriella asked, leaning against the bench and looking at Troy pleadingly.
"Beats me. I came to the conclusion a long time ago that teenage guys have less drama in their lives, while teenage girls have more, simply because girls create drama." Troy said and Gabriella stared at him and then burst out laughing. Troy grinned and wondered briefly why she was laughing.
"You have really got to stop listening to your Dad." Gabriella said and Troy shrugged.
"He makes sense when he talks besides, girls do overcomplicate everything." Troy said and Gabriella rolled her eyes.
"And let me guess, because we complicate our lives, when we go out with someone we complicate their lives as well." Gabriella said dryly and Troy shook his head.
"Nah. Girls just complicate guy's lives full stop. Doesn't matter if they complicate their own lives or not." Troy said sounding sure of himself, he watched in amusement as she rolled her eyes.
"I'm not even going to bother pointing out that you just contradicted yourself." Gabriella sighed and Troy chuckled as they fell into a comfortable silence, Troy watching Gabriella as she determinedly avoided his gaze, knowing that if she looked at him she would tell him the whole problem and she wasn't ready to discuss the whole problem with him.
"Come on, Brie." Troy said after a moment and Gabriella looked up in surprise.
"Huh?" She asked and Troy stood up and stretched.
"Come on. You're coming with me." He said sounding firm and Gabriella shook her head wildly.
"I can't Troy. I've got homework to do and I've got to make this cake and I've got to go through Dad's letters to make sure he wrote them properly, you know how he is when he's writing things, he can't seem to remember that spell check only exists on the computer and-" Gabriella rambled.
"Brie, you need a break and you're coming with me. As your best friend, I'm not going to tolerate any arguments." Troy cut her off firmly and Gabriella blinked at him, not really surprised that he'd said that.
"Alright. Where are we going?" She asked as she followed him out of the kitchen and out the front door. Troy shrugged as he watched her lock the door and then grinned when she shot him a look that told him she didn't need to be patronized.
"We're going to go and get ice-cream. No, you don't need your wallet, just get in the car or I'll force you in there." Troy said and Gabriella placed her hands on her hips, glared at him playfully and pursed her lips.
"And just how do you think your going to force me into that car?" She demanded and Troy narrowed his eyes at her jokingly, before leaning down and grabbing her legs. Throwing her over his shoulder, Troy laughed as Gabriella screamed and collapsed into giggles.
"Nice Troy, but you do realize that I don't need a baby seat and can't be strapped in right?" Gabriella asked through her giggles as Troy walked towards his car.
"Yep. You reckon your neighbors are going to call the cops?" Troy asked, seeing the little boy that Gabriella lived next to, run inside with a frightened look on his face.
"No. Why would you think that?" Gabriella asked, picking the lint off the back of Troy's black t-shirt, her hand running over his rippling back muscles in admiration.
"Because that kid you live next to, you know the one you baby-sit, just ran inside looking terrified." He replied as he reached the drivers door. Digging into his pocket, Troy found his keys and unlocked the door. Opening it, he shifted Gabriella so that she was face to face with him, Gabriella frowned at him and let go of his neck to brush the dark hair out of his eyes.
"Jeremy? He's frightened of everything. Now, what on earth are you doing?" She asked and Troy grinned at her before sliding into the passenger seat with Gabriella settled on his lap.
"See? I forced you into the car without a baby seat and I don't have to strap you in." Troy smirked and Gabriella stared at him as he shut the door.
"You're to smart for your own good, do you know that?" She asked after several seconds of staring at him wordlessly.
"Yep, you remind me often enough. Now, can you get into the passengers seat? I can't drive with you on my lap." Troy asked and Gabriella mock-glared at him, before climbing into the passenger seat of his car.
"And here I thought you could do anything." Gabriella commented and Troy shrugged as he started the car and took off. Gabriella, too used to his maniac like driving to be bothered by it, relaxed in her seat as the scenery flew by in a blur.
"Mmm-hmm. You know I can do anything Brie; I just didn't want to risk getting caught out by the cops. You know Dad would have a fit if they drove me home." Troy said and Gabriella burst into giggles.
"You mean like the time Jason's father gave you a ride home and escorted you to the door in full uniform, just so you could see your dad's reaction?" She asked and Troy laughed as he remembered his father had gone white as a sheet when he'd opened the door, to discover his son standing beside a very stern looking policeman.
"Exactly. You've got to admit though, that practical joke was one of brilliance." Troy said and Gabriella laughed again.
"Just hearing your description of your Dad's face was enough. Though I wasn't too impressed when I found out that you were grounded for the next two weeks." Gabriella said and Troy just shrugged.
"Neither was I. But hey, to me it was worth it and he did relent and let me see you for your birthday." Troy said as he turned into the parking lot of Albuquerque's only ice-cream parlor.
"I know. But it sucked that you had to go, I know you were just dying to meet all my – why are we at the ice-cream parlor?" Gabriella interrupted herself to turn her gaze to Troy as he pulled into a parking space. She hadn't thought he was serious when he'd said they were going to get ice-cream. Troy looked at her and grinned.
"I figured you needed some food of the Gods." He said, grabbing his wallet and getting out of the car. Gabriella sighed and followed suit, shutting the door, she watched Troy lock the car and then stroll casually towards the entrance.
"Not impressed Troy. I have homework to do." Gabriella said as she caught up with him. Troy threw her a smile that worked on every other girl he'd ever directed it at and Gabriella glared at him.
"Brie, seriously, relax, you're too stressed and don't say you aren't because I know very well that you'd be lying." Troy said turning to face her right before the doors and Gabriella folded her arms and glared at him. Troy met her glare with an amused gaze of his own and Gabriella's glare hardened when she saw that he was seeing right through her.
"Brieeeee……" Troy sang and Gabriella's folded arms tensed.
"Brieeeee……" He continued and Gabriella finally relented, the tone of his voice, not his voice, was annoying her.
"Fine. But I'm serious when I say I've got homework to do." She snapped at him and Troy shrugged.
"Sure, sure, come on. I'm hungry." Troy said and Gabriella followed him into the shop. She came to a stop next to him and looked down at the array of different colours and frowned.
"What are you getting?" Troy asked as he examined the menu.
"Ummm……don't know. What are you getting?" Gabriella replied glancing at him and Troy shrugged.
"Hmmm, bubblegum, chocolate, banana and rainbow." Troy replied and Gabriella wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"You still seriously have no idea how to pick your flavors do you and isn't that one of your exes?" Gabriella asked seeing a pretty blonde girl approach them from behind the counter, Troy glanced at her, grimaced and then leaned down to her ear.
"That was the one that thought people from Norway spoke Norwegianese." He whispered and Gabriella burst into laughter, as the girl smiled at Troy and sent Gabriella a cool look. Turning away from her Gabriella felt Troy chuckle and then order his combination.
"What are you having?" Troy asked Gabriella, nudging her in the ribs and Gabriella managed to turn around before laughing again when she saw the girl.
"You order it." Gabriella choked out and Troy just laughed and nodded.
"She'll have chocolate and vanilla. Can we get a Coca-Cola as well?" Troy asked as Gabriella wiped away her tears.
"Um, I'm going to go and find us a seat." Gabriella said and managed to walk away without bursting into laughter again. Troy watched her go and shook his head as he turned back to pay for the ice-cream.
Gabriella slid into a booth and watched as Troy managed to detach himself from the girl at the counter and make his way over to her, a disgusted look on his face. As soon as he slid into the booth opposite her, Gabriella burst into fresh giggles.
"You know, I think that's the first really dumb girl you've gone out with." Gabriella commented when he sat down, Troy groaned and let his head fall onto the table as Gabriella laughed.
"You don't need to tell me that. I forgot to tell you about the date didn't I?" Troy asked and Gabriella shook her head as their ice-cream was served. Both ignoring the girl who'd served them.
"I got a running commentary remember? You kept sending me messages." She replied as she dug her spoon into his bubblegum scoop and stuck it in her mouth. Before Troy could reply, both were bombarded with loud greetings and shouts as they were forced to the middle of their booth while people that they both knew joined them at their table.
"Yo Troy my man, where have you been hiding?" Gabriella winced as one of Troy's closest friends, Chad Danforth, slid into the booth and dragged a pretty dark haired girl with him.
"Yeah dude! We've been looking everywhere for you!" Jason Cross exclaimed, sliding into the seat next to the girl and squishing her between him and Chad.
"You can't have looked everywhere; if you had you would have found him before now." Gabriella said and Troy chuckled beside her as the two boys she'd known nearly as long as Troy turned their attention to her.
"Hey Little Miss Sunshine, didn't see you there all wrapped up in Troy's arms!" Jason said with a grin and Gabriella glared at him as Troy narrowed his eyes. Troy knowing exactly what Jason was referring to and now thoroughly regretting the game of truth and dare he'd had to play with him to during a particularly boring party they'd both attended.
"Oh Jason shut up, your just jealous because Troy doesn't need to explain everything he says to her!" Sharpay Evans snapped as she slid into the seat next to Gabriella and was immediately followed by her boyfriend Zeke Baylor.
"Thanks Shar." Gabriella said rolling her eyes as she hugged the older girl and then settled back to eat some more of Troy's bubblegum ice-cream. Troy himself had already begun working on her vanilla scoop and watching as the booth only he and Gabriella had occupied a minute ago, fill with people who had apparently been looking for him.
"Your welcome Gabs." Sharpay grinned and then settled back into her boyfriend as she watched Gabriella absent-mindedly pick off a piece of lint on Troy's t-shirt and then return to eating Troy's ice-cream.
"Hey dude." Troy leaned over Gabriella to slap hands with Zeke, and then leaned back and laughed when he saw Gabriella frowning at him. "What?" He asked and Gabriella rolled her eyes and handed him a napkin.
"I know I didn't get anything on my shirt Brie." Troy said and Gabriella raised her eyebrows at him and then her eyes flicked to his arm and Troy looked at the smearing on his arm.
"Not your shirt was it?" Gabriella asked smugly and then shrieked as he wiped his arm over her face and grinned as she glared at him.
"Hey Brie, you've got something on your face." Troy said innocently and Gabriella glared at him.
"Hey guys!" Chad shouted and Gabriella and Troy turned their attention from each other to him, while Sharpay, Zeke and Jason turned their attention from Troy and Gabriella to Chad.
"We're waiting Chad." Sharpay said, her voice dripping with impatience as Chad whispered something into the girl he'd brought ear.
"Sorry, okay, guys this is Jamie, Jamie you've already met Jason. That's Sharpay; she'd the blonde ice queen, that's her boyfriend Zeke, he follows Sharpay. That's Troy and his wife-to-be Gabriella." Chad said pointing at each one and ignoring how both Sharpay and Zeke bristled. Both Troy and Gabriella's heads whipped around to glare at Chad when the words left his mouth, Gabriella throwing the napkin that she'd been using to clean Troy's arm down while Troy finished wiping off the smear of ice-cream on Gabriella's face.
"Really? What's it like being engaged to Troy Bolton?" Jamie asked Gabriella curiously and Gabriella narrowed her eyes at Chad, ignoring the question and waiting for an explanation from Chad.
"Dude Chad, that's not even remotely funny." Troy snapped at him and Chad just shrugged.
"Okay, so you're not engaged." Chad said and Troy continued to glare at him as Gabriella shifted uncomfortably when she realized that Troy's arm was wrapped around her tightly and made the connection with Jason's comment.
"But you make a cute couple. How old are you Gabriella?" Jamie said and Gabriella went red when she said that and avoided looking at Troy. Not wanting to see his reaction to the comment.
"I'm sixteen." She replied softly and chose to ignore the surprised then catty look that flew across Jamie's face.
"Yes Jamie, she's sixteen and she's known Troy since he was seven and the rest of us since we were nine, so any nasty comment you make about her will have consequences." Sharpay suddenly spoke up, wanting to divert the attention from Troy and Gabriella and allow them to regain their composure. She could see Gabriella trying to dislodge Troy's arm from around her shoulders and calm the redness in her cheeks, while Troy tightened the arm around her and calmed the anger and embarrassment in his eyes.
Sharpay sighed quietly as she looked at the two; she loved Gabriella like a little sister and knew exactly how deep her feelings for Troy ran. So she'd gently been pushing Gabriella to give Troy some signal, some inkling as to how she was really feeling, ever since she'd managed to pry it from her after they'd both accidentally walked in on Troy making out with another girl, one and half years ago. Turning her attention from the petite brunette to the tall blue-eyed boy next to her, Sharpay silently wished she had the power to bend will. Troy was a different matter all together when it came to his feelings for Gabriella. He knew he had them, even showed it in the gentleness he had when he hugged her, or the looks that they sometimes shared that unnerved everyone because they seemed to be speaking without words. But from what Troy called her 'sisterly intuition', Sharpay was well aware Troy wasn't going to act on his feelings because he was afraid that he would hurt Gabriella the way he'd hurt some of his other girlfriends.
"Shar, are you okay? You've been staring at us for a while." Gabriella asked suddenly and Sharpay snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Gabriella who was in the middle of raising the bottle of Coca-Cola to her lips.
"I'm fine, sorry, I just zoned out for a second." Sharpay replied and Gabriella nodded as Troy took the bottle from her and gulped down some of it before turning his attention to Gabriella.
"Gabs, would you mind coming with me to order some ice-cream?" Sharpay asked suddenly and Gabriella shrugged and nodded. Pushing Troy's arm off her shoulders, Gabriella slid out of the booth and followed Sharpay too the counter, having a slight idea why Sharpay had asked her to come with her.
"So, what are you getting?" Gabriella asked casually and Sharpay sighed.
"Gabriella, you really have to tell him soon." Sharpay said and Gabriella shot the older girl a confused look, having already decided to be difficult.
"Tell who what? I think you should mango." Gabriella asked and Sharpay rolled her eyes.
"Gabriella, if Chad, the most ignorant person in the world, can see that you're in love with Troy and that Troy's in love with you then something has to be done." Sharpay said gently and Gabriella sighed and turned to look at the blonde girl.
"Shar, there's nothing to be done. Whatever I feel for Troy and don't say love because we both know that's not true, is going to stay hidden because I know that he doesn't feel the same way." Gabriella sighed and Sharpay studied the girl intently.
"Gabriella……he won't wait for your signal forever." She said and Gabriella tilted her head and looked at the blonde girl, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Troy approaching and decided to end the conversation.
"Who said he's waiting for something?" She asked and then looked at Troy as he stopped beside her; he gave her a questioning look which Gabriella just replied to with a shrug.
"You ready to go? Dad wants me home for some reason." Troy asked and Gabriella nodded.
"Yep, you already sick of Jamie?" She replied and Troy grinned sheepishly as Gabriella saw right through his excuse.
"Pretty much, come on or your parents'll panic because you're not waiting at home for them. See ya Shar." Troy said and Gabriella shook her head at him.
"Enjoy your food of the Gods Sharpay." She said waving as Troy pulled her out the door, leaving Sharpay feeling frustrated with both of them.
A/N: Okay, so that's nine pages long, sorry if it dragged but I needed to introduce Sharpay, who is not evil in this story as you've all probably guessed, and introduce the fact that most of their friends are well aware of their feelings for each other, even Chad. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!