Friday Night Lights
Disclaimer: I don't own/affliated with the cast, movie, music, and all that jazz.
Chapter 2 - Hop in the Car
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Hop in the car and go with me
You don't have to pack everything
Don't you wanna feel the breeze
And forget everything, baby
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259,300 seconds; 4,320 minutes; 72 hours; 3 days.
It had been three days since the initial proposal between Troy and Gabriella had been set in motion. In the course of that period of time, they hadn't talked as much as they usually did when they saw each other due to each one's anticipation of the coming night. The most conversation they had was when they were on the phone, setting up what Troy liked to call their "game plan".
Debate arose when the aforementioned night was brought to the attention of Taylor. The two girls argued as to whether or not Friday night shoud be perceived as a date. Gabriella stayed determined on her position that it as simply two friends going to hang out by themselves on a Friday night. "Well, you should just know that there are three sure-fire signs that'll say if it is or not - if he's dressed up, if he pays for the both of you, and the piece de resistance - if he kisses you," Taylor said.
Gabriella walked along the sidewalk of Central Avenue towards the town cineplex. She was wearing a long sleeve gray shirt whose neckline came just beneath her shoulders, jeans with a wide brown belt on top. Completing the outfit was a pair of black flats, which were a godsend since she was walking. Her family had three cars. Her father's car was still in the shop, so in deference to her parents' request, she gave up her's. They offered to give her a ride, but she declined. Must be all those walks Troy and I had, she concluded.
According to the plans that she and Troy had configured, they were to meet at the theater at 6:00pm to catch The Prestige. Pulling out her cell phone from her wristlet, she looked at the time - 5:52pm. "Right on track," she said out loud to herself. As she was about to put the device back into the wristlet, it let out her infamous ringtone. "I've really gotta change that," she mumbled under her breath before checking the caller ID. Incoming Call - Troy. "Hello?"
"Gabi, where are you right now?" His voice had an air of urgency to it.
"I'm a couple minutes away from the theater on Central Ave," Gabriella answered. She looked towards her destination spot, which was but fifteen yards away. "You're not there already, are you?"
"No, not yet, but listen - I was wondering if we could have a slight change in plans?"
Gabriella took a moment to remove her cell phone from her ear, giving it a strange look. Placing it upon her ear again, she inwardly hoped that he was not calling to bail on her. "Uh, sure? What kind of change are we talking about here?"
As if out of nowhere, a red car sped up past Gabriella. She jumped at the sound of the car's engine as it passed by, almost dropping her phone in the process. Quickly regaining her composure, Gabriella wiped off the debris the vehicle had left in it's wake. She watched the car in annoyance, speaking into the receiver. "I'm sorry, Troy, but some car just zoomed past me and-"
Her attention had been brought back to the red car, abruptly stopping what she was saying. Instead of continuing to speed off like she assumed it would, it began to go in reverse slowly. With the vehicle coming closer, she noted that it was actually a Jetta. Finally, the Jetta had pulled into position right next to where Gabriella was on the sidewalk. Taking look at the driver's seat, she raised an eyebrow in disbelief at who she saw. The driver returned her expression with a cool grin as he stepped out of the car.
It was none other than Troy.
"Hey, you know, Speed Racer, we have such things here called speed limits," Gabriella stated in an as-a-matter of fact tone, hand on her hip to boot. "It might be good to follow them."
A grin still plastered on his face, Troy was thoroughly enjoying her attitude. It only added to reasons of why he was enamored with her in the first place. Somehow, she managed to perfectly balance innocence with attitude. He extended his arms out to the side. "Oh, what? I thought girls were impressed by a guy with a set of good wheels?"
"Well, then I guess you're out of luck 'cause this one isn't like the rest," she retorted in a sweet voice.
No, you are most definitely not, he agreed in his head. Troy couldn't take his eyes off of her during their friendly banter. As the moment ended and silence entered, he noticed that while she was dressed in her casual style, he was dressed in...a wrinkled white t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts. It only made him realize his need for the change in plans that much quicker.
"Oh, and if you were wondering about my call for the change of plans, well..." He extended out his arms again, and turned around in a circle. When he was back to facing her, he donned a helpless look.
Gabriella gave out a laugh and shook her head at him. Somehow, he managed to still catch her eye despite his outfit at the current moment. "Yeah, a change is definitely in order."
Troy looked down momentarily, trying to hide his embarrassed smile and blushing cheeks. "Here's the thing though - I don't want to just leave you hanging here just because I look like Raggedy Andy, so I figured that maybe you could come with me to my house and just chill there for a bit until I get ready?" he pleaded.
Gabriella's expression had immediately changed from one of amusement to one of incredulity. It wasn't because he had just invited her back to his home; she had been there plenty of times, especially during the weeks before the school musical to rehearse. It was more of the possibility that she had to yet again be in the same room as his father, Jack Bolton.
Ever since the detention incident occurred back in their junior year, she never felt quite comfortable being around him. It wasn't as if he was going out of his way to be rude to her or anything, that much was true. It was just the feeling of knowing that he didn't "approve" of her being with his son.
"Troy, I don't know..." she began.
"Come on, we won't be there long," Troy said. Gabriella shot him a skeptical look. She knew better than to believe that he'd take less than ten minutes to get ready. "Okay, well, we might be there for a while," he continued. "But what are you gonna do here by yourself? Wait at the theater and stand at the food stand until I get there?"
Gabriella took a moment to consider her options - Go to his house and feel ridiculously uncomfortable by his dad, while waiting for Troy to finish primping himself or stay at the theater with no one to talk to for God knows how long 'til Troy's done primping himself? She frowned; both truly didn't hold much appeal. After two or three minutes, she finally came upon her decision. "All right, Wildcat, let's go."
"'Let's go'...go-go where?"
"To your house so you can get all nice and pretty for me," she joked while making her way to the passenger side of the car.
Troy stood there, smiling at her in appreciation for her understanding. He move towards the car and when he open his door, he heard Gabriella open hers as well. While they were situating themselves into their seats and placing their seatbelts on, he heard a snicker escape her.
"What?" he asked.
"What? she questioned back, looking at him.
"What's so funny?"
"Oh, don't worry, it's nothing."
"Aw, come on. Tell me." Putting the car into drive, Troy turned his head to see whether it was okay to pull into traffic.
"No, it's just- well, I dunno. Isn't it usually the guy waiting for the girl to get ready on a-" She caught herself immediately. 'Date' was the word she was about to finish off with, but she thought better of it, lest she wanted to embarrass herself. "Uhm, so what happened to you? What's the deal with the wardrobe, Bolton?" she said, attempting to change the subject.
Troy had been so wrapped up watching the traffic that all he hadn't heard the beginning of her explanation. He waited as a pickup truck passed by and finally drove off.
"Oh man, you wouldn't believe the morning I had."
Song Credit: "Let's Take A Ride" by Justin Timberlake
Btw - there's no real logic to the chapter titles since they're most likely gonna be song titles. It's just whatever I was listening to that might've inspired some part in the chapter.
At the rate I seem to be writing these things, an update should (hopefully) be up sometime within the next two days.
Again, "direction, suggestion, or commentary" are appreciated!