The sun beats down onto Troy's bare tan skin as he feels his legs move at an intense rate. Left, right, left, right... He could see the bright white line that seemed to be calling to him. It was only a hundred meters left. If he could just get there. His knees lift up higher as his stride lengthens out of the strait-away. Sweat was rolling down his back as his legs start to revolt against him. It was only fifty meters left. He could do this. No, he HAD to do this. His body moves at an intense rate until he finally crosses the bright white line and slows down. His legs finally give out and he bends over and places his hands onto his knees. He feels the wind against his body as the other seven guys cross the line anywhere between 7 to 14 seconds later. He lifts his body up, feeling the sun beat down harder as he puts his hands over his head, with a smirk on his face. He just kicked ass.
"Nice job Cross. You came in at 2:06" Perez exclaims as Jason was panting with his hands on his knees. He came in four seconds after Troy. "I'm glad one of you listened when I told you to maintain the pace instead of being a damn show off."
Troy's mouth practically drops. They were doing a pyramid, which in track terms, was where you built up the distance and then did the same thing only in reverse on the way down. They were running 200, 400, 800, 1200, 1600 (or a mile), then a 1200, an 800, a 400, and last a 200 again. Perez told them to maintain a pace with the rest of the guys, and they had to hit a certain time. Well, they just ran an 800, or a half mile, and their goal time was 2:05. Troy came in at 1:59, because he couldn't handle the slower pace, but it wasn't his record because he wasn't wearing his spikes. Why should he get yelled at for being faster?
Jason looks up at Troy with the same look on his face. Troy wasn't trying to show off. Well, ok maybe a little. But that was because he was the best one here. So why not prove it? "I think you kicked ass." Jason mumbles and Troy glares at Perez.
"Thanks." Troy mumbles angrily and shakes his head. He walks over to the grass and lays down in it, suddenly thinking about the gorgeous girl that couldn't seem to get out of his mind. He couldn't stop thinking about Gabriella after the dinner. She was hot, there was this sexiness that other girls didn't have, and she also showed off this confidence that surprised him, since she didn't know anyone else there. There was defiantly something about her that made her different from other girls he had met. And he wanted to see her again. "Why the fuck does he hate me?" Troy asks randomly and Jason shrugs.
"Who knows. I've never met anyone who's liked me more then you though. I kind of feel powerful now." He says and Troy rolls his eyes.
"Don't get used to it." Troy says, trying not to have a pissed look on his face. He glares up at Perez again to see that the second group was just about to go.
"Alright. You got a 800 now." He says and holds his watch up. "Ready, go!"
Troy watches as the second round of guys go. These were the slower ones, and Troy was pretty sure that two of them were freshman. He sighs and continues to keep his eyes on them, especially one of the smaller ones who seemed to be in the middle. "So how's Kels?" Troy asks Jason while still watching the guys.
Jason shrugs. "Alright. I miss her like hell though. But she's keeping busy. I guess she's playing for some summer play thing."
Troy nods. The small guy with black spiky hair falls to the back a little. Troy couldn't help but to want him to go faster. "It must suck." He says while the freshman fights to get back into the middle of the group. They run around once, with all of the guys from the first group cheering them on. Troy remains silent though, but he continues to watch the freshman.
"Yea... but it does." Jason says and sighs. "So what about you?"
Troy finally rips his eyes away from the pack and looks at one of his best friends. "What do you mean what about me?"
Jason shrugs. "I don't know. I would have thought you tapped a local already or one of the other dance teams." He says and Troy rolls his eyes. A lot of people thought Troy was the king of sex. They had no idea how wrong they were. "Chad mentioned something about the new girl... anything going on there?"
"No." Troy says while trying not to think about Gabriela while they were talking about this. But he couldn't help but imagine her gorgeous frame under him, panting loudly. 'I wish.' He thinks to himself. That was defiantly his hormones thinking though. Why else would he think that way about someone he just met?
The rest of the guys round the curve and start their straight-away. Troy watches as each one of the guys stride out and cross the white line. The black-haired freshman finishes in the middle, and Troy smiles a little. The guy reminded him of Troy at that age. He wasn't quite as good as the older guys, but he wasn't at the bottom either.
"The pace needed to be three seconds faster." Perez says and then looks at the guys who were sitting on the ground. "Get your asses up, you guys are up for a 400." He says while most of the guys groan and stand up. Troy does and walks to the staggered line, since it was a sprint. "I wanna see a 60!" He says, referring to 60 seconds for one lap. "And maybe Bolton over here will actually be part of the team."
Troy feels his eyes narrow. He was pissed. Why shouldn't he show off what he had? If Perez was going to be an ass to him, why not be an ass back? "Prick." Troy mumbles under his breath and leans down to get into a better position. Troy had to be the best. It was something he had to do for the longest time. He had to prove to everyone that he was the best out there. It was a habit he started when he first started playing basketball. A habit that now formed into an obsession when he was nine years-old.
"On your mark." Perez's harsh voice says. "Go!"
Troy feels his legs pick up immediately. He moves his legs at such an intense rate. He had to prove a point. If Perez was going to get pissed about being the best, he was going to shove that right back up his ass. He shoots out of the first curve and sprints down the strait. His legs were pumping at an intense rate as he reaches the curve. His mind was running at a million miles an hour. He had to shove this up Perez's ass. He shoots out of the curve with grace as he was striding out. The sun started to beat down onto his back again, and his legs wanted to revolt, but that wasn't an option now. Loosing was never an option for Troy. Not with anything. He suddenly gets a flash of those gorgeous brown eyes and that beautiful face, and he suddenly gets the energy he needs.
He sprints through the line and hears a click that was the stop watch. Troy sees stars for a moment before falling to the ground from the heat. A couple of guys run to his aid. "I'm fine." He says and gets back onto his feet as the rest of the guys come in.
Troy watches as Perez turns around with an impressed look on his face at first, but then a dark shadow casts over his face as he looks at him. "Are you deaf and stupid?!" Perez yells as Troy places his hands over his head to try to get more air. "Did everyone just hear me say that we wanted to run at a pace?" He yells and everyone looks nervously around. "Didn't I?!"
"Yea." Everyone responds slowly except Troy. Perez walks over to him and leans down, with Troy still panting.
"Do you think you're better then them Bolton?" He asks in a low, but scary voice. Troy squints up and looks at him. "Do you think since you have a little bit of talent you're better then everyone here?"
'Yes.' Troy thinks to himself, but then shakes his head. "No." He says; even though he and everyone else knew that Troy was in fact better then everyone else here.
"Good. Because you're not." Perez says and stands up full way while Troy finishes catching his breath. "It takes a lot more then just talent to get you places Bolton. You're gonna learn that this summer." He says and then looks back at the rest of the guys. "And since Bolton is showing everyone that they're not running up to his expectations, you guys can prove it to him by running another four-hundred, just to make sure he's satisfied."
Every guy groans except for Troy who was glaring at Perez. Who the hell was this guy anyways? And why the hell was he trying to teach Troy a lesson? Troy didn't need to be taught a lesson. He was fine on his own. "That's bullshit!" A guy yells and Perez looks back at them and smirks.
"If that's such bullshit… should I make it a mile instead?" He asks and no one says a word. "That's what I thought."
Gabriella falls onto her bed and closes her eyes. She could feel her calves throbbing along with her arms. Day two of the camp was so much harder then day one, since she was so sore. It wasn't that she wasn't used to dancing everyday, it was that she wasn't used to dancing at that intensity. She sighs and turns over to see that Taylor was sitting on her bed with her cellphone in her hands. She had been texting Chad all day and Gabriella couldn't help but smile. Why wouldn't they just go out already?
"My legs hurt." Gabriella complains and Taylor sighs.
"My body hurts." She says and Gabriella giggles a little. "So what was with you and Troy last night?"
Gabriella's body freezes for a moment. What did that mean? Sure, she was pretty sure they were flirting, but it was just friendly… right? "What do you mean?"
Taylor shrugs and flips open her phone again, pressing buttons at a rapid rate. "I don't know. You guys seemed to get along well and you barely knew each other." She says and closes her phone. "But then again, it is Troy."
Gabriella's attention was defiantly caught now. What did that mean… it is Troy? Was there something wrong with him? Gabriella certainly didn't think so. But was she missing something? "What's that supposed to mean?" She asks, somewhat defensive and Taylor flips open her phone again.
"Nothing, sorry it wasn't supposed to mean anything. It's just… Troy's like that. Every girl loves him, it's just a fact. Hell… I liked him when I was younger. Just be careful aright?" She says and Gabriella tries not to roll her eyes. What was she, her mother? But something settles in the bottom of Gabriella's stomach that makes her uneasy. She wasn't good at trusting people. "Anyways, Chad and I are going to get smoothies... you wanna come?"
A smoothie sounded incredible right now, but Gabriella knew that she should let the two of them go on their own. "No thanks. You guys go ahead."
Taylor sits up and looks at her. "Are you sure?"
Gabriella smiles and nods. "Yea... go have fun." She says with a wink. "But not too much."
Taylor looks at her as if she's offended but then shakes her head. "I'll be back later."
She walks out the door and suddenly the room becomes unnaturally quiet. She looks around for a moment, before standing up and stretching. Her sore legs carry her over to the balcony and she looks out into the sea with the sun reflected on it. She suddenly didn't want to stay in this room. So she walks back into the room and grabs a black swimsuit top and throws it on, along with her bottoms. She then puts on a pair of red shorts and grabs her sunglasses.
After leaving the room and walking downstairs, she walks out into the pool area. There were still people there, but they were starting to leave now that the sun was going down. Her sore legs carry her over to the white fence and then walk down into the sand. She could walk to the right, towards the gray rocky mountains. Or she could walk to the left, towards the line of hotels. Her feet carry her left.
Her mind was spinning somewhat. Why would her father call last night? She hadn't talked to him in close to three years. He always called, always tried to call. To try and explain or something stupid like that. But she never answered. Her mom told her she should just talk to him, but why should she? He left them, so leaving them meant wanting nothing to do with them. It just made sense.
She walks past her hotel, and then crosses the guy's hotel also. That was the other thing that kept going through her head too. Why was she feeling so weird with Troy? They had technically only known each other for a day, but man, he was making her feel... something she hadn't felt since before prom. Her eyes drift off towards the ocean, thinking about those gray eyes that caused her so much joy, yet so much pain also. She sighs and shakes her head, trying to get the other guy out of her mind and replace the gray eyes with piercing blue ones. Did she have a crush on Troy? Of course. Taylor just confirmed that he was the type of guy every girl wanted. But did she like him? That was the question that needed to be answered. Was it even possible to like someone after knowing them for a day?
"GAB!" She hears someone yell behind her. Her heart skips a beat as she turns around and watches as a figure runs to her. A smile immediately breaks out onto her face as she could see the chestnut brown hair was spiked up a little on his head, making his piercing blue eyes stand out even more then they normally would. He wasn't wearing a shirt but she could see his boxers underneath his black basketball shorts. "Hey."
Gabriella smiles. "Hey Troy." She greets him and looks around to see that they were in front of the next hotel. He must have chased her down. "What are you doing here?"
Troy shrugs. "I saw you walking. Thought I'd come to give you someone to talk to. That is… if you want."
A smile forms on Gabriella's face again. She was happy he was that someone to talk to, especially if that someone was Troy. "Well I guess so." She says in pretend exasperation and Troy chuckles. They suddenly fall into step with each other, not saying a word. Gabriella searches her head for something to say, but nothing was coming. It really wasn't an awkward silence either though. It was comfortable. As weird as it sounded, she sort of liked it. They walk for about ten minutes before she finally turns to him, who had his head down and he was staring at the sand.
"You know..." She says and they stop in front of a part where only a couple was sitting on the ground. Gabriella looks to see that the couple was holding hands, and she suddenly feels a tingling sensation in her own hand, wanting Troy to grab it. But that was only natural right? "When I was a little girl, my mom used to drive me to the beach all the time. I'd dance on the beach and then we'd collect sand dollars." She explains. It was weird that she could talk about her childhood in front of Troy and not feel awkward. But maybe that was just Troy's personality.
A small smile plays on Troy's face. Not a cocky one that she was used to seeing, but an actual smile. "Chad and I used to go to this lake that was nearby. That was the closest thing I've ever had to a beach… well, besides this." He points to the ocean and Gabriella nods.
"So… you and Chad have known each other for a long time." Gabriella says and sits down in the sand. Troy sits down next to her and nods.
"Yea… since preschool." He says and looks at her. "He's like a brother to me."
"Do you have any actual brothers? Or sisters?" Gabriella asks, wanting to know more about him.
Troy hesitates for a moment. He looks at her with a different expression on his face. "I had… uh…" He starts but then looks out distantly into the setting sun again. "I'm an only child."
That was weird. He seemed to be debating about something. How could you not know if you were an only child or not? But Gabriella doesn't want to press the matter, since Troy now had a distant look on his face. She sighs and nods. "I know how you feel… I've never had any siblings. It got kind of lonely sometimes. But I got used to it." She says and Troy tears his eyes away from the horizon and looks at her. Gabriella feels her head tilt to the side a little. Troy seemed different. When she first saw him, he seemed unreal. When she met him in the studio yesterday, he was ungodly cocky. Last night, he seemed to tone it down a little, but it was still there. Now? Troy didn't seem to have a hint of cockiness on him. It was nice. He could pull off any way, but this… she liked this.
Troy nods and then looks down at his feet. "It must suck having to move your senior year." He says randomly and Gabriella shrugs. Sure, she hated moving, and was going to miss her old friends, but this could work too. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as she thought.
"I guess. But it's not that bad. I've got to meet some pretty great people." She says and nudges her elbow against Troy's. He smirks and then stands up.
"Yea? Who?" He asks jokingly and Gabriella shrugs.
"Well… there's my amazing roommate. One of the captains and her boyfriend. This Wildcat who is probably going to date my roommate. The other captain who seems to be bipolar and doesn't know if she likes me or not. And then there's this basketball captain who's pretty cocky…" She says and Troy rolls his eyes.
"You forgot hot." He says and Gabriella hits his leg playfully. "Sorry. And don't worry about Amber. She can be a bitch, but she can be really great too."
Gabriella feels a tinge of jealousy as Troy talks about another girl. But she shakes it off as he beams down at her. Troy holds out both of his hands and Gabriella smiles up at him. She takes them and instantly feels electrical charges shooting through her hands to her heart. He pulls her up from the sitting position and she looks up into his piercing blue eyes, finding herself getting lost in them. She could stare forever and never get bored.
After a moment, their hands drop and Gabriella looks away nervously. But a smile forms on her face as she half runs over to where the waves were crashing into the sand and watches as Troy turns to look at her. "Come here!" She exclaims while the waves rush up and send cold shivers through her feet. Troy chuckles and walks over.
"Aren't you afraid you're gonna get your hair wet or something?" He asks and Gabriella smiles and shakes her head.
"Who the fuck cares?" She asks as Troy smirks and walks to her.
"You're different then anyone I've ever met." Troy says while Gabriella looks up at him, dipping her feet in the cool salty ocean again. She could see that the sun was setting behind them and her eyes glance over to see that the couple on the beach were making out now. She couldn't help but desperately want to be in that girls shoe's, only with Troy's arms around her instead of that guy. So what if she only knew him for a day. It didn't matter. She knew she was falling for him, falling for a guy for the first time since those piercing gray eyes.
But she suddenly remembers what Taylor said before. About him being a player. "Why? Because I won't let you get into my pants after just looking at you?" She asks with a smile and Troy shakes his head. She takes a couple steps back into the water, letting it surround her calves that were still burning.
"No… You just… are." He says and smiles at her. "And I like it…" He says while taking a couple steps closer to her. Gabriella suddenly feels her stomach do a back flip. He takes another step forward to her, getting dangerously close. But fear takes over and she suddenly slips on an extremely smooth rock and falls backwards. She could feel her body hit the water as it comes up and crashes against her back. "Gab!"
As the water trails back into the ocean, Gabriella bursts out in a sudden fit of laughter. The water crashes up again against her back as she keeps laughing at how clumsy she was. Troy beings laughing too. "Hey! It's not funny!" She says while splashing water onto him.
"Then why are you laughing?" He asks in between laughs and Gabriella continues to giggle. "Here…" He says and holds out his hand again. Gabriella smirks and takes it. But instead of going into a standing position, she pulls Troy, who wasn't expecting this, down into the water. He crashes down with a splash and Gabriella suddenly lets all of her laughter escape as he comes up with a wet face and mouth and spits out sand. "Not funny!"
Gabriella continues to giggle, knowing that he didn't mean it. "That's for laughing at me." Troy stares at her, pretending to be in shock before splashing her with water. Gabriella inhales a mouthful of salt before spitting it out again. "Bastard!" She yells back and Troy splashes her again.
She giggles and stands up, beginning to run away from him with her long, but achy dance legs. But running in sand and water was hard, and she forgot to add in the factor that he was a track star, and she suddenly feels his arms wrap around her waist and pull her up off the ground. She screams a little as he throws her into the water, her eyes filling up with salt. Her body comes up to she was lying on the sand. She flips over so her stomach was up as Troy wet body finds its way next to her. She sits up, with both of their waists hitting the water each time a wave came to shore. "Damn Gab, you've gotta work on your sprints."
Gabriella looks up at him curiously. "Gab?" She asks at the nickname he had been calling her all day. Troy shrugs his shoulders.
"What… do you not want me calling you that?" He asks as Gabriella looks up at thinks for a moment.
"Well, my friends back home called me Brie, along with Taylor is now calling me that. My mom calls me Ella, along with…" She starts to say her father, but then shakes her head. "You can call me whatever you want."
Troy smirks down at her. "So 'sexy' works for you?" He asks and Gabriella blushes. Did he just call her sexy?
"How about something to do with my name." She says and Troy sighs as though he was extremely frustrated. She couldn't help but wish that he would lean over and kiss her.
Troy nods. "I'll figure something out." He says and Gabriella stares up at his crystal blue eyes praying his lips would land on hers.
Troy smiles at her and nudges his shoulder against hers. Gabriella could feel her heart flutter as she swears she sees his eyes close her touch. But almost as soon as it happened, she suddenly hears. "Mommy! Look I'm a fish!"
Gabriella looks away to see that a little girl was playing in the water. A sigh erupts from her mouth as she turns back to Troy. "Err… we should probably head back." Gabriella says, looking to see the sun was lower in the sky now. They both stand up and look at each other awkwardly.
"Yea…" Troy says and they begin to walk back to the hotels. Gabriella feels a leap in her heart as her arm brushes with Troy's. Her question was officially answered. It was very possible to like someone after knowing them for one day.