Chapter Two: Troy, This Is…

Two weeks had gone by, and I had managed to avoid Troy. I didn't want to see him. He had lied to me. My mother wanted me to get out of the house, though, so I took Aydrieah out for a walk. We walked to the nearby playground, where she played for awhile before I remembered the little ice cream parlor across the street. I gathered her up and guided her across.

Once inside the parlor, I read over their menu, finally deciding on a single-scoop butter pecan waffle cone for myself and a kiddy size cup of Playdough for Aydrieah. When I stepped up to order, a familiar voice said, "Welcome to the Banana Boat. How may I help you?"

My head snapped up from Aydrieah, only to find myself looking into those blue eyes again. "Um," I began, not knowing what to do. I felt his eyes on me, so I quickly put in our order and stood silently while the African-American girl working with him got our ice cream. I laid the money on the counter and moved quickly over to a table.

After a few minutes, I felt the presence of someone sitting across from me. I looked up and saw Troy sitting at my table. "Gabriella," he began. I stared back down at the table, glad that Aydrieah had fallen asleep and was covered with her blanket in the seat next to me, out of sight. "I'm sorry about Sharpay…"

"How could you, Troy?" I whispered so quietly that I could barely hear myself. He didn't say anything, so I repeated it a little louder. "How could you, Troy?"

"Huh?" he asked, obviously confused. "What do you mean?"

"How could you break our promise? Remember our promise?" I said, a little louder than I had intended.

He nodded. "I didn't know it meant so much to you," he mumbled.

"What do you mean you didn't know how much it meant to me? Troy, I gave you everything! And now you just, what? Go out and find a new girlfriend? Have you slept with her, too?"

He nodded miserably. Tears filled my eyes. "I didn't think you'd answer that," I whispered, letting them fall. A tear dripped onto Aydrieah's head, and I held in my breath. The last thing I needed was to have to tell him that he was the father of this little girl. She stirred, but was soon still again.

"Gabriella…"

"Don't," I said.

"Don't what?"

"Don't apologize again. I've had enough of your crap!" I announced, not even caring who heard me. I stood up, banging my knee against the table. Apparently it startled Aydrieah, because she began to cry as she sat up. When she saw me, she held her arms out for me to pick her up. Horrified, I said, "No, Aydrieah, I'm sorry…go back to sleep, baby girl."

She persisted, and I sighed as I gently took her in my arms and comforted her. Troy's eyes were still on me, and I heard him say, "Who's this?"

Angrily, I said, "You know what, Troy? You don't need to know my business!"

"Geez, Gabriella, all I did was ask who she was. You don't have to go all protective over it!"

"You really wanna know who she is? This is your daughter! There! Are you happy now, Troy?" I couldn't stop my tears, so I let them continue to fall. "That promise? This is what meant so much! I was pregnant, Troy! Pregnant with your daughter at fourteen! And you had the nerve to ask why it meant so much."

By this time, I was crying so hard that I sunk back down into my seat, with Aydrieah in my arms and put my head in my hands. I couldn't speak, so I put Aydrieah down and laid my arms on the table, letting my tears soak into my hair.

It was silent for a minute as he comprehended what had just happened. I felt his hand on my shoulder, but pulled away. "Don't touch me!" I screamed. "Don't ever touch me again! I hate you, Troy Bolton! I hate you!"

"Mommy, don't cry," Aydrieah babbled, patting my arm with her tiny hand. "It's okay. I love you." I looked down at her, tears still falling down my cheeks. She wrapped her little arms around my legs and held on tight. She slowly began to sing her favorite song, and I began to calm down.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine,

You make me happy, when skies are gray,

You'll never know dear, how much I love you,

Please don't take my sunshine away."

(A/N: I baby-sit a two-year-old every day named Autumn who sings that song and talks like that, so I based Aydrieah off of her. Also, Troy and Gabriella did sing in Twinkle Towne, but not the way it happened in the movie, and Sharpay has never met Gabriella.)

I tried to smile at her, but all I could do was remember the first time that Troy and I sang in our school's musical. More tears fell down my cheeks, and I heard Troy's voice begin softly, "She sounds like you, Gabriella."

I glared at him, trying to forget the whole incident. "Yeah, well, she is my daughter."

"She's my daughter, too," Troy said gently, reaching out his hand.

This time, I didn't object. His hand rested on my arm, and I added, "You wouldn't be able to guess. She loves basketball."

A glint formed in his eye, and he said, "She does?"

I nodded. "Did you see her shoes? They have sparkly basketball charms in the laces."

Troy looked down at her shoes and smiled. He looked back up at me, and our eyes met. I smiled, and Aydrieah clapped. Troy held his arms out, and Aydrieah leapt for the chance to be picked up.

She looked at him for a moment before looking at me and stretching her hand out. She grabbed my cell phone and opened it, looking carefully at the picture I had set as my wallpaper two weeks before. She thought for a moment before confidently looking back up at Troy and saying, "Daddy."

I watched in amazement as Troy's eyes filled with tears. I had never seen him cry before, not even when I moved to New York. "Daddy," he repeated before realizing that Aydrieah's arms had wrapped around him.

Her tiny voice added, "I love you, Daddy."

Tears flowed down his cheeks as he said, "I love you, too…uh…"

"Aydrieah," I assisted. I had completely forgotten to tell him her name. I was starting to think that maybe I had done the right thing by telling him about her.

"Aydrieah," he repeated. To me, he said, "That's a pretty name. Where'd you come up with it?"

I told him how I had gotten her name, and soon we were deep into our conversation. Before I knew it, the girl that had been working at the counter with him came over and told us that she was closing up the shop in about ten minutes.

"Okay, Taylor…hey, Tay, this is my girlfriend, Gabriella Montez and our daughter Aydrieah. Gabi, this is Taylor McKessie. She goes to East High."

"Hey, nice to meet you," Taylor told me, and then looking back at Troy, she said, "Girlfriend? What about Sharpay?"

"Sharpay didn't give me a beautiful daughter like Gabriella did. I'm done with her and her act. Tonight, when I go home, I'm calling her and breaking up with her."

"Nice. Could you set me up with Chad while you're at it?"

"Sure!" Troy exclaimed, smiling devilishly. "Since we all know you have the hots for him."

Taylor blushed and turned back to the counter. Troy and I stood up and I gathered Aydrieah and her things for the walk back home.

"Care for some company on your walk?" Troy asked, grinning. I grinned back and let him carry Aydrieah.

I wasn't sure how well things were gonna turn out between us, but I knew one thing for sure: Aydrieah now had two parents who loved her instead of one. And that…that's a good thing. Maybe Troy and I would start dating again. Only time will tell.

Thanks for checking out chapter two! I need reviews to continue, so you should press the little purple button and at least tell me hello! Sharayah