Troy's Walls-- Chapter Four.
By bomchickawahwahx3
Author's Note: Thanks so much for the reviews, everyone! They really mean a lot to me.
Anyways, on with the story!
I couldn't believe my eyes.
There was an entire section of one of Troy's walls completely filled with sketches of me. Normally, I'd be flattered, but the pictures aren't exactly flattering. They're like comic-book strips, and I'm this gladiator woman poised to fight. In some pictures I am attacking, with a big sword and shield. I'm beating up guys in suits. I think it's pretty weird.
I furrow my brow. It hurts that he thinks of me like this. Why does he think I'm so mean?
I'm so involved in gaping at the pictures, I didn't even notice that Troy had came back home until Annabelle shouts, "We've been having so much fun! Oh, and she also has a Playstation 2, just like you do, Troy!"
Troy suddenly comes into the room and stands beside me. He starts to say something, but I interrupt him.
"What's up with these pictures? Is this what you think of me?" I ask, gesturing at the wall. "That I attack guys? No wonder you can't stand having me around."
I try to storm out of his room, but Troy blocks the doorway. "That's not it at all," he says. "Not even close."
Troy glances at Annabelle, who's unsurprisingly engrossed in a video game and ignoring us, then looks at me soberly. "I want to show you something."
He leads me over to the other side of the room. These pictures aren't done like comic-book strips. They're normal sketches. A large portion of a wall on this side is devoted to me as well. But there pictures aren't like the others. These are flattering- very flattering. My stomach does a little cartwheel.
"You drew these in class?" I ask him.
"Yeah," he smiles. "A lot of them."
There are some he must have drawn at the shack. In some of them I'm crying. How many times had he been there without my knowing?
"This is weird," I tell him.
He laughs nervously. "Yeah. Sorry. I'm not a stalker or anything. It's just that I draw everything."
"But you act like you know me! The truth is, you don't even know anything about me."
He stares at me a moment, looking amazed. "I don't know anything about you? I know everything about you."
"What are you talking about? We've never even had a conversation that's lasted more than five minutes."
He smiles. "I hear you through the walls," he says. "I hear you talk on the phone, when you jump on your bed. You sneeze I hear it." He raises his eyebrows. "Believe me, Gabriella, I know you."
Suddenly I feel sick. This past year I would ache sometimes listening to him. But I never thought about it the other way around. If I could hear everything he did… The realization makes me shudder. All this time he could hear me.
Looking at these drawings, I feel like maybe he does understand me. Especially how emotional I am. In some of these pictures I'm smiling. Some I look worried, some thoughtful, some sad. But the gladiator thing…
"You can't take everything I draw too literally," he says. "Like the sword-that's your guitar. Sometimes when you play, it's like you're angry. Like in your mind, you're ripping someone else to shreds."
"Oh." I look down, kind of embarrassed.
"But it's not always like that," he says. "Actually, a lot of times you sound really peaceful and happy. You're just passionate. It comes out in your music."
"Did Sara play the guitar?" I ask him, whispering the question very quietly.
"What?" He looked at me with a confused expression written all over his face.
"Is that why you can't stand to be around me? Why it hurts you? Because I remind you of her?"
He widens his eyes. "You don't remind me of Sara. But I did have very strong feelings for you right from the start, when I first met you. But it was too soon. It was confusing, and it didn't seem fair to Sara."
"But now…" I bite my lip.
"Yeah." He's thoughtful. "At first that was because of Sara, but now it's more than that. I mean, you've got that guy."
"Chase? Forget that excuse. We're not together anymore."
He smiles. "It wasn't an excuse, but is it really over?"
I nod, challenging him. "Definitely."
"OK," he says. "Then how about I make you dinner tonight?"
Totally surprised, I smile. "That would be great," I tell him.
He walks me to the door, and as I'm leaving, he says, "Be sure to tell Sharpay and Taylor that you're coming over tonight."
Confused, I look up at him.
"So they'll call you tonight," he says grinning. "I want to go to sleep hearing about our first date. You know, like how great it was, how we're going to be spending a lot of time together…how it's just the beginning."
A/N: A lot of you guessed correctly about what Gabby saw on Troy's walls :D
I'll be posting the next chapter up once I get enough reviews. Thanks! :)