Rating: T
Author: Freeing Alys
Disclaimer: I don't own HSM or any of the charectors that we already know. Anything that you don't regonize, I own.
Summary: Kelsi was always the quiet and distant one. The only thing she has going for her is her composurers. And maybe the guy she always wanted. Kelsi centric. Trelsi?
Author's Note: Sorry if this chapter sucks a bit. I was having some major writer's block. So the last half might not be so good. It's just a mild warning on the behalf of my plotting and writing of this chappie. Anyway, enjoy! Oh, and I thought it'd be helpful to you, the readers, if I did a section of this chapter in Troy's POV. It probably won't be that way again(but then again don't quote me), I just wanted to make it a little more apparent and clear of the way that Troy starts to fall for Kelsi and drifts away from Gabbi. But like I said horrible writer's block, so it might not be the best. But oh well, I just needed to update for you guys. Alright, I'm shutting up now. Wow, this is like the world's longest AN. Sorry aboot that. Okay, here you go.
CHAPTER FOUR
After Gabbi had finished her shift at the food court in the mall she called Kelsi and told her to come over. Setting the phone down on her desk, Kelsi slipped on her baggy jacket and slipped out of her room. Finding her Mom in the kitchen she peeped inside the spacious room. "Hey Mom, I'm going over to Gabbi's." She informed and watched her Mom look over at her with a smile on her face.
"Wow, it's been a bit since you've been over there. You're not fighting anymore?" Mrs. Neilson asked and Kelsi nodded her head smling.
"Yeah, so forgave me. So I'll be back in a couple of hours." Kelsi said and walked out of the house. Sighing to herself Kelsi shoved her hands in the pockets of her jacket and walked down the street. Gabbi lived only a block away, so there wasn't all that much needed alone time for Kelsi.
Later that night her Dad would be comign over to give Kelsi a proper good-bye. And it wasn't something that Kelsi was looking forward too. She loved her Dad, and she'd miss him. The dinners, movie watching, fun times would all be gone. And it wasn't a reality that Kelsi wanted in her life. Sighing again Kelsi picked up her step to move faster along. As much as she wanted to be alone, she wanted to escape her thoughts even more. Being half a block from Gabbi's Kelsi sped up even faster.
Keeping her head low as the thoughts rushed through her head Kelsi knew nothing in her life would be quite right again. Her family was falling apart, and it could never be fixed again. Feeling the weight of the problems resting on her shoulders Kelsi closed her eyes as she reached Gabbi's street. Pausing at the tip of it she kept her eyes shut and tried to calm her thoughts. Her Dad was gone, but couldn't be the end of the world. It couldn't. Taking a deep breath Kelsi reopened her eyes and pushed the thoughts away from her. Regaining her self control she walked quickly down the street to Gabbi's house and knocked on the door. Kelsi waited a few minutes until Mrs. Montez opened the door. "Hello Kesli." She greeted the teen and Kelsi smiled up at her nicely.
"Hi Mrs. Montez. I guess Gabbi told you I was coming over?" Kelsi asked walking into the house and pausing by the door.
Mrs. Montez nodded her head at Kelsi and smiled. "Yes, she did. You can go upstairs. She's waiting." Mrs. Montez informed Kelsi and after flashing Mrs. Montez a smile Kelsi quickly made it up the stairs and into Gabbi's bedroom.
"Hey!" Gabbi greeted her best friend by throwing her arms around her and pulling her into a hug.
"Hi Gabs." Kelsi said after Gabbi let her go. "What's up?" She asked sitting with Gabbi on her bed.
Shaking her head Gabbi flashed Kelsi a sly look. "Nothing. Just hanging out with Troy, the usual." She answered and Kelsi stomach dropped at the mention of Troy. Troy was a complicated subject for Kelsi and she didn't want to have to think about him, especially now that Gabbi had let her back into her life.
Swallowing down her thoughts Kelsi nodded her head at Gabbi. "Troy huh? How's that going?" She asked and halfway regretted what she was really asking. Troy and Gabbi had been on and off since they started dating last year, Kelsi figured it wouldn't be long before one or the other got sick of it. And Kelsi regretted that feeling, Gabbi was supposed to be her best friend. She shouldn't be curious about her boyfriend.
Gabbi quickly shrugged her shoulders at Kelsi. "It's going great. We just got back together after a fight, so it's a little better now. I think we'll be fine." Gabbi retorted and Kelsi nodded her head slowly. We'll be fine. The sentenced echoed around Kelsi's mind and she grew regretful again. She was wanting Gabbi to loose her relationship with Troy and be miserable. That's not what a best friend should do, but Kelsi couldn't help the fact that she really liked Troy and wanted to be the one he picked the phone up for. "Kels?" Gabbi asked and Kelsi looked up from her folded hands.
"Yeah? Sorry Gabbi, I just have a lot on my mind." She confused to her best friend and watched as Gabbi's face grew worried. She's worried about me. I'm daydreaming about her boyfriend, and she's worried about me. Kelsi thought to herself while taking in Gabbi's face.
"What happened?" Gabbi asked scooting closer to Kesli and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Kelsi confided in her best friend about her parent's divorce and her Dad leaving. Lightly crying as Gabbi listened closely to Kelsi, Kelsi let it all out. "It's just so wrong. I can't believe this is happening to my family." Kelsi choked out as she heard Gabbi's door open.
"Oh, sorry." Kelsi hear Troy mumble and the door shut again.
"I should go." Kelsi annouced standing up off Gabbi's bed and heading for the door.
"Bye!" Gabbi called to Kelsi as she left the room and shut the door behind her.
Keeping her head low, so that Troy wouldn't see her exposed tears Kelsi walked quickly pass him, but was stopped when he took her arm in his hand. "You okay?" Troy asked her and she turned aroudn to look at him, no longer caring what she looked like.
"Not really." She admitted and wrapped her arms around her thin frame. "Just family stuff." Kelsi added hating the silence that was engulfing her and Troy.
Troy smiled faintly at her and nodded his head, Kelsi took in every inch of his face and fell in love with it even more. Her songs, everything was about Troy, and she really liked him. "I'm sorry. I'm here if you need me." Troy told Kelsi and she turned her head away from him, not being able to take being around him much longer.
She looked back over at him and felt herself want to say something that she knew she shouldn't, but being in the state she was in, she wanted him to know. "Troy…" She started and stopped herself, it was too much to be able to spit out, but she wanted to.
"What?" Troy asked stepping closer to Kelsi and she knew she had to say what she wanted. She didn't care about anything else any longer, she just wanted to say it. Her family was shot and she couldn't fix that. But she could easily tell Troy the one thing she wanted to tell him since the year before.
"Breaking Free, my song, it's about you. I wrote it about you." She quickly said and dropped her head feeling embarrassed.
"Kelsi…" Troy mumbled out and Kelsi looked up at him to see him wearing a confused and daised face.
Knowing right away that she made a huge mistake she spun around and jolted down the hallway, down the stairs and out the door. Being safely away from Troy and Gabbi Kelsi took a deep breath and started to walk back home. She made a huge mistake, he wasn't supposed to know that she had always liked him. But she couldn't hold it back anymore.
Kelsi sighed and made it safely pass Gabbi's street and on the way to her own house.
-xxx-
Troy walked back into the room with his girlfriend, Gabbi, and felt as she hugged him tightly. But he could hardly feel it, his mind was now fixed upon Kelsi and what she told him. Breaking Free, she wrote it about him. Letting Gabbi out of the hug Troy went and sat on her bed and tried to listen to her go on about work and new clothes for school. But Kelsi was the main train of thought running through his head. She wrote that song for him, or in thoughts of him or something. But either way, he didn't even know who she was when she wrote that song. He didn't even know she was alive, but she knew him well enough to write a song about him and have it featured in the school musical.
"Troy, did you hear me?" Gabbi asked curiously and Troy turned his head to face his girlfriend.
"Sorry Gabs." He apologized while flashing Gabbi a smile.
"Good." She smiled back at him and lightly kissed him on his lips, he licked his lips thoughtfully when Gabbi pulled back and once again his mind was set on Kelsi. She was really upset when she left, more upset then he'd ever seen her.
"What was wrong with Kelsi?" Troy asked Gabbi interupting her new train of thought of the movie of the week.
Gabbi sighed and looked at Troy with a sad face. "Her parents are splitting up. Her Dad was supposed to go to her house later tonight to say bye, then he's gone." She explained to him and Troy felt his heart drop. Kelsi was going through all of that, no wonder she wanted to stay the night at him house. "She'll be fine. I'm sure she'll get through it. I mean, I made it through when my Dad died, she'll be okay Troy." Gabbi told him quickly, but Troy couldn't let it go. Kelsi was going through a huge thing, and he couldn't leave her to go through it alone.
"Don't you think we should be there with her when her Dad leaves?" He asked Gabbi knowing Gabbi was the closest thing to a friend that Kelsi ever had. And that would make him the second closest thing. They had to do something for her.
Gabbi shook her head lightly and held up her hand in an airy motion. "She'll be okay. Trust me." Gabbi told Troy and kissed him again on the lips, this time not releasing him for a good thirty seconds.
"We should be there." Troy repeated after Gabbi leaned back from him with a smile on her face, that disapeared once he mentioned Kelsi again.
"It's not our place." Gabbi persisted. "She'll get through it fine." But Troy was hardly listening to what she was saying.
"I'm going. She'll need someone." Troy told Gabbi and walked over to her bedroom door. "Coming?" He asked her staring into her dark eyes, hoping she'd say yes. Gabbi was his girlfriend and he hoped she was the person that she seemed to him.
Shaking her head Gabbi leaned against the wall next to her twin sized bed. "Sorry Troy, I have tons of homework." She told Troy and flashed him a look of anger.
"Fine." Troy stated and walked out of Gabbi's room slamming the door behind him. Shaking his head Troy walked out of Gabbi's house and started down the street for Kelsi's house.
Shoving his hands into his pockets Troy let out a sigh and shook his head again. He couldn't believe that's how Gabbi turned out, and he hated a part of her for it. The Gabbi he thought he knew would be walking with him to Kelsi's house right now. But obviously, Gabbi wasn't who Troy thought she was. Keeping his head low Troy took his mind of his girlfriend and zoomed in once again on Kelsi. She was going through all of that, and she never told anyone about it. Mentally shaking his head Troy hated the fact that Kelsi thought she couldn't tell him. He thought that maybe since the play last year they were friends, at least a little bit. But nothing had changed since the play last year, except that her knew she was alive this year.
Reaching Kelsi's street Troy started to run down it until he reached her house. Thankfully he had stopped by Kelsi's house earlier in the year with Gabbi to get her purse from Kelsi's room. Otherwise Troy wouldn't know where she lived. Walking up to the front door Troy rang the doorbell.
-xxx-
Sighing to herself Kelsi walked away from the scene with her parents to answer the door. Her Dad had showed up not to long after she left Gabbi's. And it had been nothing but her parents' lightly fighting as she tried to talk to the both of them. Feeling grateful that the doorbell rang Kelsi went to answer it as soon as her Mom told her to do so. Reaching the door Kelsi gripped the door handle and pulled it open. She found back the urge to widely open her mouth at the sight of Troy Bolton standing on her door step. "Hey." He said to her when she didn't say anything after awhile.
"Hi." She finally managed to mumble at him. Looking from the ground to Troy she felt her heart beat rapidly as she wondered what on earth he was doing on her doorstep inside of with his girlfriend.
"I thought you might need support with your parents' and everything." Troy stated and Kelsi nodded her head at him. He was right about that, the last thing Kelsi really wanted was to face her parents alone. But at the same time she didn't want to be around Troy, the scene from moments before was too embarrassing for Kelsi to be able to manage. But it was Troy, and she couldn't say no, even if she really wanted to.
"Yeah, I really do." She spat out and stepped aside to let Troy walk into her house.
"Great." He said standing besides her as Kelsi reached over to shut the door.
"Just brace yourself." Kelsi quickly warned him with a slight smile as they walked into the kitchen where her parents were waiting.
"I'll remember that." Troy joked as they entered the kitchen and both Mr. and Mrs. Nielson smiled at him.
Taking in the moment Kelsi couldn't have been more happy with the events of the evening.