DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.
A/N: I'm sad to announce that there's only going to be two, maybe three, chapters of 'Convincing You To Fall' left and that includes the epilogue. So I'm definitely going to keep that ten chapter maximum I set myself. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Oh and I'm going away for a week. Again. I have a hockey tournament in Queensland from Monday to Friday and I won't be home until 9:30 on Friday. However, before them I'm hoping to get an update of 'Kaleidoscope of Contradiction' up and another one-shot. So look out for them!
Convincing You To Fall
CHAPTER 7
NOTHING CHANGED
"Come on Brie. I didn't hurt you that badly!" A fourteen-year old Troy whined through the door of twelve-year old Gabriella's room. All he received was sobbing and scratched his head nervously. This was not good.
"Gabriella, come on, I didn't throw the ball that hard!" Troy tried again and felt a moment of relief when he heard the sobbing stop, the relief was quickly replaced by fear as the door swung open and Gabriella, who's eyes were red and puffy, tear streaks on her tan cheeks evidence of how hard she'd been crying and a giant bruise on the side of her head that was the result of a basketball thrown at her head, appeared, her eyes blazing.
"You didn't throw the ball that hard? Troy! Look at my head! How can you say you didn't throw the ball that hard when there's a bruise that size on the side of my head!" She yelled at him and Troy shrugged, feeling more and more uncomfortable as she glared at him.
"Um, I misjudged my throwing power?" He tried weakly and Gabriella's eyes flared.
"No you didn't!! You knew exactly how hard you threw that stupid ball!" She screamed at him and if she hadn't been so upset Troy would have winced and then laughed.
"No I didn't! Besides, you could have caught it!" Troy defended himself, unsuccessfully trying not to cower under Gabriella's glare.
"You could have thrown it when I was paying attention!" Gabriella yelled at him and Troy held up his hands in surrender.
Unknown to the two facing off, standing at the top of the stairs was Troy's grandmother, Anne Bolton, who was watching the two with a mix of mild disapproval and amusement. She wondered for a brief moment if this is what their parents had to deal with every time the two were left alone for a few minutes and then dismissed the thought as she watched Troy wrap his arms around Gabriella's petite body and whisper something in her ear. Gabriella responding by wrapping her own arms around his waist and whispering something back. A perfect couple, Anne suddenly thought, when they were older of course. There was something about the two that had her believing the thought fully, it was in their presence when they were together, she decided.
"Nan…Nan you still there?" Troy asked suddenly, waving a hand in front of his grandmothers face. Anne snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her grandson who had his arm wrapped around Gabriella's shoulder and was standing right in front of her.
"Hmmm? Oh yes, you know you two are going to make a lovely couple when your older." Anne said and watched as both Troy and Gabriella stared at her in disbelief and then backed away from each other carefully. Gabriella folding her arms across her chest tightly and Troy shoving his hands in his pockets as they both made faces.
"Eww! That's just gross! He's…" Gabriella gave a dramatic shiver as she thought of something to complete her sentence. "Troy." She stated and Anne laughed.
"I agree with Brie. That's just plain wrong." Troy almost yelled and Anne laughed at the two's vehement reactions to her words.
"You know, you two, what's going to happen between you two is inevitable." She said and then turned and made her way back down the stairs. Leaving Troy and Gabriella feeling slightly sick to the stomach at the thought of the two of them being anything more then friends.
Gabriella smiled against Troy's neck as she thought of that. To this day, Anne Bolton had stuck by what she'd said on the stairs and Gabriella thought that it was funny that she'd seen it coming. Shifting slightly on Troy's lap, Gabriella repositioned her head so she could see the outline of his face in the moonlight. They were currently sitting on one of the pool chairs, Gabriella settled comfortably in Troy's lap, one of her hands entwined with Troy while his other was curled around her back. They'd been sitting like it for what seemed like hours and Gabriella was reluctant to move, she liked being this close to Troy, liked the way his fingers fit in with hers, enjoyed the way she seemed to fit perfectly against his body.
"What are you thinking about?" Troy's voice was quiet as it broke the silence the two were in; Gabriella grinned a little and shifted a little more.
"That time when your grandmother told us we'd end up together." She replied and Troy chuckled as the memory flashed through his own mind.
"Pretty perceptive, isn't she?" He said with a grin and Gabriella laughed, kissing his neck once before moving so she could look him in the eye.
"You bet." She whispered softly before bringing his mouth to hers and kissing him slowly. Troy grinned against her lips; they'd been doing this ever since he'd pulled her over to sit down on the chair hours ago. Talking and kissing, kissing and talking. He knew that they had to get back to the prom soon, but much preferred to stay sitting with Gabriella on his lap and kissing her. He still couldn't quite believe that what was happening was real. He hadn't thought to be nervous when he told her he loved her, hadn't even considered being nervous when he kissed her but he knew that somewhere he had been. Because as soon as she'd rested her head on his chest, a tightly wound, barely there, ball of nerves unwound and he'd seemed to have breathed a lot more easily then he had been at the beginning of the night.
"Brie, as much as I'd love to stay here all night. We, unfortunately, have to get back to the prom." He said when Gabriella had pulled away and resumed her position with her face buried in his neck. Gabriella made a sound of protest at his words and snuggled deeper into him, causing Troy to laugh and bury his own face in her neck.
"Don't wanna." Gabriella murmured and Troy began to place kisses on her neck, working his way along her jaw line to her mouth, Troy kissed her quickly.
"I don't want to either. But if we don't, Shar might bully the driver into leaving without us." Troy said and Gabriella giggled before sighing.
"Okay. Fine." She said and slowly slid off his lap, the hand entwined with Troy's kept firmly in place by Troy, who stood and stretched when Gabriella was off him. Standing up, Troy pulled Gabriella over to him and began to kiss her.
"I…love…you." He said between kisses as he backed her towards the door that led to the indoor pool at the hotel.
"I love you too." Gabriella sighed as Troy pulled away to open the door and escort her out. She loved having the freedom to say that too him and each time he said it to her, she became more and more elated.
Troy let go of Gabriella's hand and instead wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her tightly against his side as they headed back to the ballroom. For a brief moment he wondered how three words had changed their entire relationship and then didn't worry about it as her own arm crept around his waist and she lifted her face to his for another kiss. She'd said something earlier about catching up on two years of kisses and he hadn't protested. Pulling away from her, Troy pulled her back into the prom and both laughed when they saw they're friends sitting at their table, looking unhappy as they approached them, it was then that they both realized that they had missed all of prom.
"Where have you guys been!?" Sharpay exploded when they were close enough to hear. Gabriella giggled at her friend and shrugged as Troy rubbed the back of his neck.
"Um, not here." Gabriella replied and Sharpay raised her eyebrows at the two of them, her eyes narrowing as her eyes flicked over the two.
"Obviously. Troy, you won prom King and you weren't even here to accept the crown! I had to go up and dance with Sharpay-" Chad was cut off as both Gabriella and Troy burst into laughter at the thought of Chad dancing with Sharpay, while Chad glared at the two.
"It's not funny! I almost had my toe broken, Chad's heavier then he looks!" Sharpay snapped at them and Gabriella let out a stray giggle as both Troy and Gabriella tried to keep a straight face while looking at the two.
"Sharpay, you've known Chad since kindergarten, when has he ever displayed any dancing skills?" Troy asked and Gabriella managed to control as grin as she heard Zeke, Jason, Vanessa and Amber snort at Troy's words. Sharpay shot a glare at her boyfriend and then turned back to Troy and Gabriella. She froze as she watched Troy lean down to whisper something in Gabriella's ear and Gabriella giggle and turn her head to look at Troy, who leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to Gabriella's lips. Before turning his attention back to the group watching them.
"Are you – did you – you're-" Sharpay said, her head swiveling between the two as she gaped and tried to get a full sentence out.
"What's wrong Shar?" Gabriella asked turning her attention from Troy to Sharpay, who was staring at the two in disbelief.
"What my adorable girlfriend is trying to say, is what the heck happened while you were gone?" Zeke asked and Troy shrugged, pulling Gabriella tighter against his side as Jason, Chad and Zeke eyed them suspiciously while Sharpay continued to stare.
"Stuff happened. Listen, are we going? Everybody else seems to have left." Troy asked and Gabriella closed her eyes as she rested her head on Troy's shoulder.
"Yeah and we would have left when the prom finished, if you guys were here!" Chad said and Troy raised his eyebrows at his friend and then shrugged.
"You're just mad you're arriving at the after party late." Troy said and Chad glared at him as Troy turned his attention back to Gabriella who had opened her eyes and was paying more attention to a still speechless Sharpay then to Chad's outraged expression.
"Shar are you going to say anything any time soon? You're kind of scaring me." Gabriella said and Sharpay seemed to snap out of her daze and let loose a high-pitched squeal.
"You guys are together! Oh my God, you guys are together!" She yelled and Gabriella and Troy winced at the sound of her voice.
"Shar…don't squeal." Troy said wincing as Zeke clapped a hand over Sharpay's mouth when she drew a breath so she could continue her squealing.
"We're going to wait in the car." Troy said and Gabriella nodded, shooting Sharpay a weird look as Sharpay squealed against Zeke's hand, before allowing herself to be led out of the ballroom by Troy, who burst into laughter as soon as they were outside. Gabriella giggled at him as they continued towards the door.
"You're an idiot. You know that?" She asked and Troy stopped and looked at her with raised eyebrows, before pulling her around to his front and leaning down so his lips were a whisper from hers.
"Uh-huh. But that's why you love me." He whispered, her eyes fluttering closed as she felt his breath pass over her lips, right before his lips closed over hers. Gabriella wound her arms around his neck and melted into him.
"Ewww, dude, we don't need to see you stick your tongue down her throat!" Troy pulled away and Gabriella groaned as he glared at their friends.
"Aww, did we interrupt something Little Miss Sunshine?" Jason asked, approaching the two and grinning. Troy ignored him and let Gabriella slide into the limousine that had pulled up, he slid in next to her and Gabriella settled her head on his shoulder.
Sharpay climbed into the limousine and looked at the two, she opened her mouth to say something when she felt Zeke's warning squeeze and instead shut her mouth and settled for a self-satisfied grin instead. For a moment she wished that Troy and Gabriella could see her and blush, and then decided that she could say 'I told you so' later. Instead she settled herself against Zeke and watched the two with each other. If she hadn't been so excited that Troy and Gabriella were finally together, she'd probably find it nauseating. Gabriella's head was resting on Troy's shoulder and her eyes were closed in contentment, Troy's arm was wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her as close to him as he could, his head was turned to hers and every ten seconds he would kiss her softly, and then whisper something, which would cause her to smile and then the whole process would be repeated. To Sharpay, Amber and Vanessa, it was cute, something that wouldn't happen to them even if they asked their dates to do it. To Zeke, Chad and Jason it was as nauseating and disturbing to see Troy acting the way he was.
"Troy, are you coming to the after party?" Chad asked suddenly and Troy's eyes didn't leave Gabriella's face when he heard Chad speak.
"No. I'm going to be at Brie's place." Troy said and Sharpay raised her eyebrows at his tone. Feeling Zeke's breath on her neck, Sharpay turned her head to look at her boyfriend.
"Shar, you don't think that they're going to-" Sharpay cut him off; already knowing what he was going to ask and wondering the same thing.
"Yes, they probably are." She said quietly and Zeke look of shock had her sighing.
"But they only just got together." He said and Sharpay shrugged, looking back at the two and watching as Gabriella's hand entwined itself with the hand that was resting on her hip.
"It doesn't matter. It'll be their first and last time." Sharpay said and understanding dawned in Zeke's eyes as he felt the car come to a stop.
Gabriella's eyes opened slowly when she felt the car stop and she made a small noise of protest when she realized that she had to move her head from Troy's shoulder. She let out a small squeal when she felt Troy poke her stomach and she sat up, glaring at him as he said goodbye to Chad.
"See you Shar." Gabriella said, leaning over to hug the blonde.
"See you Gabs. Call me tomorrow and tell me what happened." Sharpay said into her ear and Gabriella giggled and nodded as she pulled away. She waved goodbye to the others as she got out of the car and slipped an arm around Troy's waist as he went to shut the door.
"Have fun Troy!" Chad called out; winking at him suggestively and Troy went red and shut the door. Gabriella looked at him as the car drove off and then leaned up and pressed her lips to his jaw. Troy looked down at her and she smiled up at him.
"Come on." She said and Troy shrugged as his arm slipped around her shoulders, his lips pressing against her head as they walked up the pathway to her front door.
Gabriella let go of him to find the spare key that was nearly always hidden somewhere on her front porch and Troy watched her. God, she was beautiful, he thought as his eyes traced over the slope of her shoulders, the smoothness of her back. Troy watched as she found the key and moved back over to him, the small smile on her lips lighting up her face. Troy didn't respond to the smile, instead as soon as he heard the lock click, he touched her arm.
"Troy-" Gabriella started turning to him, the rest of her sentence dying as she met his eyes, the intensity in them was something she'd never seen before and she felt her stomach churn as he moved closer to her. Her eyelids fluttered close as he lowered his head and his mouth found hers. The sudden presence of need in the kiss caused her knees to weaken and Gabriella clung to his shoulders as the kiss became deeper. She vaguely felt his hand leave the small of her back and then barely heard the door swing open, her mind concentrating only on the feel of Troy's lips on her skin and lips. He backed her into the house, shutting the door quietly as they stood in the entranceway. He felt her hands pushing off his jacket and pulled away as it crumpled to the floor.
Gabriella looked up at him, her eyes dazed as his hands ran up and down her back, fiddling slightly with the zipper of her dress when they ran over it. Troy already knew where this was leading, he'd known when he'd watched her move across the porch…but he wasn't sure she knew. He didn't know if she wanted it.
"I love you Troy." Gabriella said quietly and he looked at her, the storm that had appeared in his eyes clearing as he realized she knew what was happening and wanted it to happen.
"You have no idea how much I love you Brie." He said and Gabriella smiled at him, her arms encircling his neck and pulling his head back down to hers, their lips a hairs breadth apart.
"Show me." She whispered softly before his lips were back on hers, his arms tight around her waist as she felt her knees weaken again. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Gabriella knew that this was were her entire life had been leading too and that right now, in this moment. Nothing else mattered.
HSM-HSM-HSM-HSM-HSM
Troy groaned a little when he heard the shrill ringing of a telephone. Cracking one eye open he saw sunlight streaming through Gabriella's balcony doors and then closed them and buried his head in her shoulder, kissing it gently. The incessant ringing of the telephone continued and Troy groaned again, knowing that Gabriella wasn't going to wake up to answer it. With a sigh, he removed his arm from the girl sleeping beside him and shifted away from her. Getting up, Troy stretched and leaned down to find his boxers. Pulling them on, he yawned and then left Gabriella's room to answer the phone. Running down the stairs, Troy reached the phone and answered it.
"Hello?" He asked, sounding a little more than tired.
"Troy? Is that you?" He winced when Samantha's voice floated into his ear, suddenly remembering that she didn't know he was at her house.
"Yeah. Hi Sam." Troy said, scratching his head and walking into the kitchen.
"What are you doing at our place?" She asked and Troy spied the coffee and lifted it off the shelf as the kettle began to boil.
"We got back from prom and I was too tired to go home so I crashed on your lounge. I hope that's alright." Troy replied convincingly, knowing that Samantha would have trouble seeing holes in the excuse and hoping that she wouldn't question him anymore.
"Oh. Well, is Gabriella up yet?" Samantha asked and Troy grinned slightly as he thought of the sleeping girl.
"No. I'll get her to call you when she's up okay?" He asked, spooning coffee into the mug.
"Would you? Thanks Troy. How was prom? Fun?" Samantha began conversationally and Troy grinned. How was he meant to know? He'd spent nearly all of prom by a pool with Gabriella on his lap.
"Yeah. It was a lot of fun actually. Definitely not what I expected." Troy replied, settling for the truth without the detail.
"Well that's good. I've got to go, so I'll speak to you later. Remember to get Gabi to call me, will you?" Samantha asked sounding slightly suspicious of Troy's tone. It was much to happy.
"Will do. Bye Sam." Troy hung up and put the phone down on the bench as he stirred the sugar into his coffee thoughtfully. For the first time he wondered exactly what his parents and Gabriella's were going to say when they found out they were together. Troy suddenly frowned. Were they even together? Troy couldn't exactly remember making it official between them, he'd just assumed. Sipping his coffee, Troy felt two arms slip around him and grinned. He turned around and looked down at Gabriella, who smiled up at him sleepily.
"Morning." She mumbled into his bare chest and Troy chuckled at her, kissing the top of her head as she pulled away and lifted herself onto the bench.
"Morning Brie." He grinned, moving to stand between her legs, Gabriella slipped her arms around him and rested her head in the curve of his neck.
"Who was on the phone?" She asked after a moment of silence.
"Your Mom." Troy replied, absently caressing her back and sipping from his coffee. They were both silent for a moment, Troy continuing to caress Gabriella's back which was covered with the fleece of her robe and Gabriella drifting between sleep and consciousness as she kissed his neck every now and then. The naturalness of the situation, the absence of awkwardness suddenly caused Gabriella to feel uncomfortable. Shouldn't there be awkwardness? Shouldn't she feel like she had to be careful around him? Shouldn't she feel strange because she was sitting on her kitchen bench her head resting comfortably on the boy who had been her best friend since she was five shoulder, kissing his neck every so often and feeling his lips against her own head every now and then, the memories of what had happened the night before still fresh in her mind? Gabriella sat up straighter and Troy looked at her in surprise, a quizzical look quickly replacing the surprise as he looked at her serious expression.
"Why does this feel so natural?" Gabriella asked and Troy blinked at her, not sure exactly what she meant.
"Why does what feel so natural?" He replied and Gabriella sighed and shrugged uncomfortably, fingering the edge of his boxers.
"Us. Here, together, right now. Why does it feel so natural? Shouldn't it feel awkward and weird?" Gabriella asked frowning. Troy looked at her and then laughed slightly, setting his coffee down next to her, he wound some of her curls around her fingers and kissed her nose, causing Gabriella to glare at him.
"You're cute when your trying to figure something out," he said and then continued before she could respond to the comment. "And you're right. It probably should feel weird but it doesn't and it probably never was going to. We're too used to each other to each other to feel weird around the other and just because we're together now doesn't mean we have to be awkward and unsure." Troy said firmly and Gabriella sighed as her head retook the position on his shoulder.
"So…it does leave us together?" She asked very quietly after a moment, her breath tickling Troy's neck as her eyes drifted shut.
"Yes. It leaves us together. I don't want anyone else Brie, I don't think I ever will. You're mine, Brie, and nothing will ever change that." Troy said quietly, the possessiveness in his voice as prominent as the love. Gabriella felt her breathing hitch at his words and lifted her head off his shoulder to look him in the eye. The open honesty and love in his eyes made her believe every word he'd just spoken. Lacing her arms around his neck, she tried to come up with something to say and the only thing she could think of left her mouth before she realized she'd failed to think of something.
"I love you." She said softly and Troy grinned at her, leaning forward he placed his lips on her forehead.
"I love you too." He said and Gabriella giggled.
"So, I suppose this means I'm your girlfriend." She said, testing the word. It felt foreign as it left her mouth and Troy grinned as she scrunched up her nose and tested the word again.
"Uh-huh. You're my girlfriend and I'm your boyfriend." He agreed and Gabriella blushed at his words. The words 'your boyfriend' echoing in her head as she realized that she was as much his as he was hers. Leaning forward she kissed him, her eyes drifting shut as she felt him respond.
"Love you, love you, love you." Gabriella whispered in between kisses and Troy grinned against her lips, knowing that no matter how many times she said it, he would never get sick of hearing the words or the feel of her lips against his.
"Love you too." He said, opening his eyes and looking at her. Gabriella sighed and rested her forehead against his.
"Nothing changed Brie." Troy whispered and Gabriella smiled at him.
"And yet everything did." She replied and closed the gap between their lips, knowing every word spoken was as true as the last.
A/N: Hmm, that chapter could have been slightly pointless. I think next chapter will be about the parent's reaction to them together and a more in depth look at their friends. Anyway, I didn't expect it too take the turn it took half-way through. That just sort of happened. Sorry for those who didn't like it! Anyway, until next time!