Chapter 9
Recap
"Why do you keep talking about her?" Troy finally asked.
"Because I'm scared that you changed your mind about Mia. I'm scared that you like her now!" Gabriella admitted as Troy stopped on his tracks. He watched as Gabriella continued to walk. He then grabbed Gabriella's hand gently as she turned around to face him. He pulled her into a tight hug, closing his eyes.
"I was more scared that Andrew's past will take you away from me." Troy whispered as Gabriella hugged him back. She was a little taken aback of what Troy said but she just smiled.
"I promise you that I won't let him take me away." Gabriella giggled. Troy chuckled and they continued walking with their hands intertwined.
End of Recap
"OK guy! As you all know, our next game is tomorrow and I want all of you to be focus!" Jack Bolton informed the Wildcats. Chad, Troy and Jason were all listening intently and nodding their heads in understanding.
"Ok practice is over." Jack finally said and all the guys quickly raced to the change room.
"Dude, what's with the hurry?" Chad said staring at Troy who was changing so fast.
"Gabriella's waiting for me in the mall with Taylor, Kelsi and Sharpay." Troy said, grabbing his bag quickly.
"Alright. See you guys!" Troy said waving and running quickly.
"Holy crap! Gabi's gonna kill me!" Troy said, speeding up. He quickly jumped on his car and drove off. Finally he arrived at the mall. It wasn't that big so it wasn't that hard to look for the girls.
"Ah! There they are!" Troy said with a smile as he watched the girls picked out some clothes in a girl shop. He was about to go in when suddenly, he heard three guys talking.
"I think that Troy's sister and some of his friends. We should get them and tell Troy to skip the game tomorrow." The guy said excitedly. Troy recognised them and he was sure that they were from West High. They looked pretty tough and big.
"Hey!" Troy called out, stopping the three boys.
"Oh look who it is. Mr Bolton." One of the guys said.
"We were just about to talk to your friends over there." Another guy spoke, pointing at the girls who still didn't notice them.
"They had nothing to do with you. Its all on me so don't take it out on them." Troy said angrily.
"Fine! Let's take this outside!" The guy challenged and of course, Troy didn't back out.
The next thing they knew, Troy and the guys, James, Conner and Luke were all in the parking lot ready to attack each other.
"You should've stayed inside Bolton." James chuckled. Troy didn't realised that they were right in front of James' car. Conner grabbed baseball bats from James car and gave them to James and Luke.
"You guys are such cowards. Don't have the guts to fight on your own!" Troy chuckled dangerously.
"Whatever Bolton!" Conner said. Luke suddenly ran to Troy and tried to hit him with the bats but luckily, Troy was quick. He dodged the bat and punched Luke right on the stomach causing him to spit blood and land on the ground. The next one who attacked was James. Troy grabbed the bat before James could lift it. Troy took it from him and chucked it over to James' car.
"You're gonna pay for my car Troy!" James said, punching Troy in the stomach. Troy regained his balance and served James a nice, heavy punch on the cheek. James fell backwards and wiped his bloody mouth. The boys then ran to the car while Troy just walked away, chuckling a little bit.
"Its three of them against me and they were still scared. Stupid idiots!" Troy thought, continuing to walk away. Suddenly, a car light flashed on his back. He turned around and saw that James' car was heading right towards him.
"Crap!" Troy thought. He tried to run to the side but the car still hit his ribs causing him to roll down the ground.
"Ahh!" Troy groaned in pain. Luckily, James, Conner and Luke didn't turn back to finish him off. He quickly touched his ribs and saw blood on his hand.
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Gabriella checked her watch, searching around for Troy.
"Where is he?" Gabriella thought. She was really getting worried because Troy usually call her if he's not gonna come.
"Gabi what's up?" Sharpay asked her friend.
"Oh nothing. Its just that Troy's not here yet." Gabriella said.
"Why don't you call him then." Taylor shrugged.
"Yeah I think I should. Excuse me for a sec." Gabriella said walking to an empty corner. She quickly dialled Troy's number and waited for someone to pick up.
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Troy was in the hospital, sitting in one of the small hospital room. The nurse was putting bandage around his stomach while he just sat there feeling bored.
"Mr Bolton, you are not allowed to do any physical activities and please be careful next time. You're ribs are not in a very good condition and it might get worse if you do a lot of physical activities." The doctor said while Troy just sat there, not making eye contact with anyone.
"Please fill out this form and don't forget to put your parent's phone number." The doctor said as the nurse went out of the room.
"Doctor Brame, there's an emergency!" A nurse called out. Doctor Brame quickly head out of the room.
"I'll be right back!" He called out before going out of sight.
Troy's phone suddenly rang. He looked at the screen and saw Gabriella's face flashing.
"Hey Gabi!" Troy said, trying not to sound like he was in pain.
"Hey Troy! Where are you right now?" Gabriella asked worriedly. Troy smiled a little knowing that Gabriella really cared about him.
"I'm in the.. Umm.. I'm on my way home. I'm really tired 'cause dad really gave as a tough practice today since the game is tomorrow." Troy lied. He used to always lie and it never bothered him but with Gabriella, it was just difficult.
"Oh ok. I'm just gonna tell Taylor to drop me off." Gabriella said.
"Ok." Troy suddenly let out a groan of pain.
"Troy are you ok?" Gabriella immediately asked.
"Yeah I'm fine. I'm just tired that's all." Troy lied again.
"Oh ok. Well, I'll see you later. Bye!" Gabriella said.
"See you!" Troy said.
Troy sighed and looked at the bandage that was wrapped around him.
"I can't stay in this hospital. I got a game tomorrow and I don't want to let my team down, especially Gabriella." Troy thought, grabbing his coat and heading out of the hospital. He just left the empty form that the doctor gave him on the bed.
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The next day finally came and everyone was in the gym waiting for the basketball game to start.
"Troy! You're ready?" Chad said, giving Troy a pat on the back. Troy stopped him self from moaning in pain.
"Yup." Troy answered shortly.
The whole Wildcat team was now in the court, practising some shooting. Troy spotted Gabriella and slowly walked over to her.
"Hey Gabs." Troy smiled weakly.
"Hey! Good luck!" Gabriella said. She was about to hug him when Sharpay suddenly pulled her down.
"What?" Gabriella asked confusedly.
"Hello?? Troy's dad and your mom are right over there! If they see you hugging and kissing, its not gonna be pretty!" Sharpay said with a 'duh' tone.
"Oh right." Gabriella said nodding.
"Do your best!" Gabriella said, flashing Troy her perfect smile. Troy couldn't help but smile back, despite pain that he was really feeling. Physically.
"I wish I could." Troy thought.
"I'll try." Troy said, walking away.
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The game finally started and Troy was already sweating like crazy. He did manage to run back and forth though but he was starting to slow up. Really slow up.
"Something's wrong with Troy!" Gabriella said in her mind. She watched as Troy frown and jog to the other side of the court.
Finally it was half time and Troy quickly sat on a chair, breathing heavily.
"You alright man?" Chad asked his best friend.
"Yeah I'm fine." Troy said, smiling weakly. Gabriella suddenly came up to him.
"Troy are ok?" Gabriella said, kneeling in front of him.
"I'm fine Gabs." Troy said, moving forward so they were face to face.
"It looked like something was wrong with you back there." Gabriella insisted.
"I'm fine Gabi I just need to be re-energized." Troy said with a smile.
"Oh ok. What do you need? Water? Sports drink?" Gabriella listed while Troy just chuckled slightly.
"What I need is…. A kiss." Troy said while Gabriella froze and gave a nervous smile.
"Troy, you know I can't. We can't get caught." Gabriella whispered as she looked around the place. Everyone seemed to be too busy with their own stuff. Most of them went for a toilet break too.
"Fine. Then I won't play the second half." Troy said, sitting back down cockily. Gabriella sighed and frowned at him.
"You know that the team needs you Troy." Gabriella said.
"I told you I need to be re-energized!" Troy said. Gabriella quickly looked around and when it was safe, she quickly gave him a peck on the lips.
"Thank you." Troy said as Gabriella blushed and walk away since the referee blew the whistle. The pain immediately crawled through Troy's stomach. He gripped his side and stood up, not willing to give up on the game.
Troy was playing again. Their opponent was playing harsh now since they were loosing, badly.
"Troy over here!" Jason yelled out. Troy quickly passed it to him.
Its ten minutes before the time and Troy has the ball. He was about to shoot when suddenly, the other player intentionally elbowed him right on his injured ribs.
"OOWW!" Troy exclaimed as he fell right on the ground, hitting his whole body. He gripped on his ribs painfully and coughed blood.
"TROY!" Everyone exclaimed in horror. They quickly ran to him with Chad, Mr Bolton and Gabriella right in front of everyoneelse.
"Get me the hell out of here Chad! Somebody drive me to the freakin hospital!!" Troy exclaimed in obvious pain. Chad and the other players quickly helped him up.
They all head to Mr Bolton's car with Gabriella and Mrs Montez right on their heels.
"Finally!" Troy said sitting down at the passenger's seat.
"Chad you better win this game or you're dead!" Troy said, narrowing his eyes on a gulping Chad.
"Ok." Chad answered.
They were all waiting in the waiting room and Gabriella was worrying about Troy the entire time. She knew that Troy was not a type of guy that will groan in pain when he gets pushed.
"What is wrong with him?" Gabriella thought as the whole family waited in the waiting room.
"He's gonna be fine Gabriella." Carla told her daughter.
"Troy Bolton?" Doctor Brame called out.
"That's us. How's Troy?" Jack quickly asked.
"One of his rib is broken so he should stay in the hospital for a few days. Nothing too serious. I was actually worried about him yesterday." Doctor Brame said.
"Yesterday?" Gabriella asked confusedly.
"Yes. He was here yesterday." Doctor Brame informed, also getting confused.
"Why was he here yesterday?" Carla asked.
"He had a large bruise on his stomach and his side was bleeding. He told me that he got into a fight but he wouldn't say anything else. He was supposed to stay here in the hospital and not do physical activities but he disobeyed." Doctor Brame said.
"Can we see him now?" Gabriella asked.
"Sure but I think he's asleep right now. He looked worn-out. " The doctor nodded.
The whole family was now in Troy room and was watching him as he slept.
"I got to go back to the school." Mr Bolton said.
"I'll come with you. How about you Gabi?" Carla asked.
"I'll just stay here in case he wakes up." Gabriella said as the two adults nodded.
"Ok we'll see you guys later." Mr Bolton said.
"Alright. See you uncle. See you mom!" Gabriella said.
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Mr Bolton and Ms Montez finally left. Gabriella was all alone in the room with Troy.
"Troy what did you do?" Gabriella asked taking Troy's hand in his.
"I played the second half." Troy answered with a smile.
"Troy you're awake!" Gabriella exclaimed happily.
"Isn't it obvious?" Troy chuckled, trying to sit up.
"Here let me help you." Gabriella offered. She helped Troy sat up and she sat on the bed right next to him.
"What happened Troy?" Gabriella asked, looking at Troy straight in the eye.
"Nothing happened." Troy shrugged, squeezing her hand a little bit.
"I'm not stupid Troy." Gabriella said seriously.
"I got into a fight." Troy said simply.
"And?" She said.
"I umm… I got hit by a car." He informed her softly.
"What??!" Gabriella exclaimed, fully shocked.
"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked, her voice rising a little bit.
"Its nothing serious." He tried to argue.
"Troy getting hit by a car is damn straight serious. What if it killed you?? You were hurt yesterday and you still played basketball today. Are you an idiot?" She exclaimed. She doesn't know why she was blowing up. Maybe because she was so worried about him.
"I'm sorry." He apologised.
"Please don't do it again!" Gabriella said, calming her self down.
"Gabi I don't know." Troy started.
"For me?" She asked.
"Fine, fine. I'll never lie to you again and I won't do anything stupid." He said softly.
Gabriella smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"So, how are you feeling?" Gabriella asked.
"Ok, except that my side sting a bit." Troy said honestly.
"I'm sure." Gabriella giggled. Suddenly, her phone rang.
"Hello?" Gabriella said.
"WE WON, WE WON!!! EAST HIGH WON AGAINST WEST HIGH!!" Sharpay yelled over the phone.
"Oh my gosh!!!!! We won!!" Gabriella also screamed.
"Alright. Thanks for telling me Sharpay. I'll see you later." Gabriella said happily.
"Troy guess what?" Gabriella said, oblivious to the fact that Troy was listening the entire time.
"Don't answer that. We won!! Can you believe it!! We won!" Gabriella started jumping around the room enthusiastically.
"Gabi you do know that Sharpay's voice is louder than a hundred people yelling at once which means that its impossible for me not to hear what Sharpay said over the phone." Troy chuckled but Gabriella just ignored him.
"Whatever Troy. By the way, Mia's coming over to check on you." Gabriella joked but Troy didn't seem to know.
"No way! Gabi take me home!! Please take me home!" Troy begged, trying to stand up but fell back down because of the pain.
"Oh my gosh are you ok?" Gabriella said, rushing over to him. Troy smiled evilly and pulled her closer. He kissed her softly while Gabriella just stayed still, trying to comprehend what just happened. She smiled and finally kissed back.
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