A/N: Okay, a long chapter to say goodbye properly! It was really fun to write this one, there are lots of revelations here; I'm crossing my fingers that you'll like it as well. My notebook and charger are already packed, so hopefully it will work and I'll be able to update the story. A month and a half without reading your reviews is too much haha! =]
I hope you guys will come back for the rest of the story! Merry Christmas & Happy New Year, everybody!
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Enjoy the chapter!
Feel It
Chapter 6:
She had been begging for an entire day now, but nothing seemed to work. Gabriella even considered sink low, but her puppy eyes wouldn't affect Troy at all because he couldn't see her black lashes fluttering as swiftly as butterflies' wings. She tried the sickly sweet voice and that almost worked, but Troy only smirked at her attempts and told her she needed to do something really hard to get him to go with her.
Gabriella sighed. "Please, Troy. It's my parent's anniversary today" she held securely his hand between hers, "I need to be there and I don't want to leave you alone" she sat closer, her voice pleading, "Come with me, please"
"I won't be alone Gabi" he smirked again, "Payton is coming home"
"No, no, no" she shook her head slightly, "She'll arrive pretty late, she called me" Gabriella wrapped her arms around his waist, "Please, come with me"
"Gabi…" Troy tried to hold his breath because he was starting to feel affected by her sweet perfume. He closed his eyes and smelled her hair lightly.
"Please Todd" she begged one last time.
And Troy found difficult to think clearly with her soft voice begging him, her small hands wrapped around his waist, her perfume lingering his nose, her hot breath against his chest, "Ok"
"Ahh, that's great" Gabriella let go of him and clapped her hands excitedly, "Thank you so much"
"Second time huh?" he rolled his eyes.
She giggled, "Yeah, you're getting good at it"
"Well, thank you" he laughed flirtatious, "What time do I need to be ready?"
"Hmm… can you manage to look gorgeous in 30 minutes?"
"Of course" he grinned. "Can you?"
"I'm always looking gorgeous" she teased. "If you could see you'll be drooling over me all the time"
"I heard that before" he smirked and stood up. "Can you do me a favor, Gabi?"
"Yeah, Troysie" she said sweetly.
Troy chuckled, he loved the sound of Troysie coming from her lips. "Can you help me pick up the clothes at least? I want to look good" he lifted his eyebrows, "After all you are drop death gorgeous, right"
Gabriella blushed badly. "That's what your friend says" she joked.
He hugged her, "That's what I think so too"
Troy placed a kiss on her forehead before turning on his heel and going upstairs. And once again, Gabriella found herself smirking like a fool.
"Are you ready?" he asked, stopping on her doorway.
Gabriella studied Troy from head to toes, her mouth watering as he looked so beautiful. Troy was using a pair of dark jeans, a baby blue collared shirt with a black blazer. When Gabriella picked up his clothes, she had no idea he would look so gorgeous like he was. And his eyes that used to dazzle her all the time were bluer than ever tonight, making her legs weak.
"Whoa, fucking gorgeous" she whispered more to herself but Troy chuckled quietly as his ears registered her words.
"You shouldn't curse, princess" he said playfully and he reached for her, finding Gabriella in front of him with no difficulty. "Are you ready?"
She nodded quickly, yet too embarrassed he heard her. "What you're dressing? Can you describe for me?"
"Hmm" Gabriella bit her lip and nodded as she felt his fingers playing with hers, "Just a dress"
Troy smirked. "What kind?"
"Troy…"
"Please, Gabi" he begged with a soft voice and she closed her eyes, "This isn't fair"
"What?" he seemed amused.
"Begging, I can't say no when you do that"
"That's the whole point of begging"
"It's an open back mini dress" she replied quietly, blushing hard.
"Hmm" he wrapped one arm around her body to touch her bare back. "That sounds good"
Gabriella shrugged her shoulders, feeling her body shivering. "What color is it?"
"Ivory and black"
Troy grinned. "Ivory is one of my favourite colors, Graziella"
She smiled a bit. "Oh"
"And the hair?" he lifted his hand and touched the side of her face, caressing her skin and moving his hand up to touch her hair, "Ah, no curls today"
"Yeah"
He came closer, "And you're taller"
"Heels" Gabriella said simply.
"Heels, of course" he agreed and kissed her hair, "and you smell very good"
"Thanks, you too"
Troy smirked, slipping his hand into hers, lacing their fingers, "Should we go?"
xTGxTGxTGxTGxTGx
They arrived at Gabriella's house an hour after the beginning of the party, and even though Troy seemed to be secure the whole way there, as they stepped outside of the vehicle, he flinched like the first time he went to the mall.
"Troy, come on, it's the second time you go out now"
He gulped. "I'm worried people will mock me"
"I won't let anybody mock you" she promised.
"I don't know Gabi" he said in a low voice, "I feel embarrassed again"
Gabriella sighed. "We made so much progress, Troy. Don't go back now" she squeezed his hand, "Please. We already talked about being embarrassed before"
"I know I just—"
"Do you trust me?" she asked firmly and he nodded quickly, "Then you should know I would never put you in a bad situation, right?"
Troy licked his lower lip, "Right"
"Okay, so we're going inside, agreed?"
He nodded quietly.
"Okay" she held his hand in hers tightly, "If you feel uncomfortable, just tell me and we go away"
Troy nodded again. "Fine" he stepped forward, sighing deeply. "I don't think I can, Gabi"
She squeezed his hand again, "I dare you to move"
Troy looked at her, "You dare?"
"Yeah" she nodded with her head, her lips firm.
"I don't like when people dare me" he looked down and then smirked, "Let's go Graziella"
As Troy laced their fingers, Gabriella felt the most powerful woman in the whole world.
They climbed the porch steps slowly and she rang the doorbell. "So your parents know I'd come?"
"Sure" Gabriella lied. Was it pretty terrible to lie to him just because she wanted his company?
A woman a bit smaller than Gabriella, with chubby cheeks and a gentle smile opened up the door and as she realized her daughter was standing in front of her, she grinned, "Gabby!"
"Hey mommy" she gave her a quick hug, "Happy anniversary"
"Thanks, hija" she stared at Troy with curiosity. "Good night, I'm Gabriella's mother, Janelle"
"Hi Mrs. Montez" he said charmingly and added, "I'm Troy Bolton"
Janelle looked down at their fingers interlaced and winked to Gabriella, "Ah. I heard so much about you" she smiled widely, "I was asking Papi the other day when Gabriella was going to bring you home"
"You heard about me?" he sounded curious.
'What the heck?' Gabriella thought to herself, 100 percent sure her mother was crazy now because she never mentioned Troy. Actually, she hasn't talked with her mother since she started working with him so it was impossible for her to know anything about Troy.
"Come on in Troy, my house is your house" her mother pulled Troy by the hand inside and Gabriella shook her head.
When Troy was already in, her mother nudged her with the elbow and whispered, "The boyfriend you told me about huh"
Gabriella really tried to tell Janelle the truth, but the party was crowded, her cousins were there, her nephews, brother, uncles, aunties and apparently the whole neighborhood as well.
"Mom, leave Troy alone" she pulled his hand to hers as soon she could and "saved him" from meeting her aunties.
"Gabby, I just want to introduce him to the family" she said sweetly, her cute Spanish accent making Troy smile.
"What you're smiling at?" Gabriella asked as she pulled Troy to the opposite side of the room, far away from her mother and aunties.
"Your family is funny" he said with a smirk.
"I know, they are loud and in large quantity" she sounded so annoyed that Troy laughed harder, wrapping his arms around her small waist and hugging her, "Don't worry, I'm actually enjoying myself"
"I bet" she said sarcastically.
"Really, your mother said she was going to show me some of your pictures" Troy said casually, "I don't think she realized I can't see"
"Of course not" Gabriella sighed in frustration, "She's extra excited tonight"
He chuckled. "I don't understand what she was trying to tell your aunties though" he leaned against the wall, Gabriella still safely wrapped in his arms, "Something with nobio or novio, what does that mean?"
"Oh no" she closed her eyes and hid her face in Troy's chest. "Shit, shit, shit"
"Princess, what I told you about cursing?" he teased in her ear and Gabriella rolled her eyes, "She thinks you're my boyfriend, Troy"
His eyes widened and his mouth curled up in a grin, "You've been telling her I'm your boyfriend?"
"No" Gabriella snapped quickly, blushing. "I guess she's not linking the name to the person"
Troy stopped laughing, "What you mean?"
"I mean…" she sighed and pulled away from him, "My ex boyfriend's name was Ty" she said in a whisper, "My mom is really oblivious"
"She can't even remember your ex boyfriend's name?"
"Exactly" she admitted in a low voice.
Troy smirked. "That sounds exactly like my mom"
Gabriella giggled, "Really?"
"Mm hmm" he rubbed her back gently. "I don't think we should contradict your mom tonight, it's her anniversary after all" he smiled playfully.
She blushed so bad that she flinched a bit and he laughed. "You seem so embarrassed" he cupped her cheek delicately, "and you feel very warm, actually" he stroked her cheek with his thumb, "Are you blushing?"
"Maybe" she grimaced.
"Ah, I'd like to have my eyes working just to see you blushing"
"Sugar!" someone wrapped his arms around Gabriella and pulled her away from Troy.
Never in all these months he couldn't see, Troy felt such a strong agony like now. He could only hear Gabriella's giggles and a manly voice and by now, his heart was flipping madly inside his chest. He didn't know why, but maybe he was jealous her attention was no longer his, maybe he was feeling insecure to be "left alone" for a few seconds or maybe – what Troy was almost sure was happening to him – he was feeling very protective of Gabriella.
"Troy" he felt his heart rate slow as her hand slipped into his again. "This is my brother Charlie" she added with a teasing tone "remember I told you about him?"
"Ah, you're the famous Troy?"
Troy nodded, relieved. "That's me" he offered his hand and waited for Charlie to shake it, "I heard so much about you"
"I read so much about you too"
He frowned, "Read?"
"I sent him texts" Gabriella told him and then added calmly, "When you were acting like a rebellious teen"
"It was for just 30 minutes, Gabi" Troy shook his head, "I'm sorry, Charlie. I imagine you heard lots of bad things about me"
"Not at all" he assured Troy and looked at Gabriella, "Dad is looking for you"
"Oh"
"I'll keep him company" her brother smiled, "Don't worry"
"Is it okay?" she asked Troy and he nodded, smiling. "Don't worry"
Gabriella nodded as well, "I'll be right back"
As soon as she left the boys alone, Charlie grabbed Troy's arm and led him to a chair, "Sit down, Troy or my mom might try to introduce you to the whole family"
"She already did" Troy grinned, "She thinks I'm Gabi's boyfriend… Er, ex boyfriend"
"Ty?"
"I guess"
Charlie laughed. "Don't worry. Mom called my wife Janet till my first child was born"
He laughed. "My mom is just like yours"
"So" Charlie began, "You and Gabriella are getting along well?"
Troy smiled, "Yes, she's a great girl"
"I'm glad. She's looking really happy"
"Is she?"
"Yes" he assured Troy. "I don't see my sister so happy like this since—"
"Since?" Troy tried to encourage him but Charlie shook his head, "Did she tell you about Ty?"
"No, she just said it was a long story"
Charlie rolled his eyes. "Yeah it is, that son of—" he let out a low roar, "Sorry Troy, but just thinking about what he did makes me so mad"
"Was it that bad?"
"Yes" he agreed sadly. "She's been through a lot because of him"
"Did she like him very much?"
Charlie nodded and Troy gave him a tiny smile after a few minutes in silence, "If you're replying with your head, I will need to ask you to speak, I can't see you"
He laughed, "Sorry. I forgot you couldn't see"
"Gabriella always tell me I don't look blind"
"I guess not" Charlie agreed and then sighed. "Gabriella was crazy about Ty"
A pang of jealousy churned inside of Troy. "She still cares about him?"
"Hopefully not" he said in a whisper, "Ah, I need to go save my sister from Richard, he's always hitting on her"
Troy nodded quietly as he heard Charlie moving and then the noises of his footsteps.
"So, you're Gabriella's boyfriend?" a feminine voice asked and Troy bit the side of his lower lip, not sure of what to reply.
He looked up, following the woman's voice, "Yes, you are?"
"Jasmine, your girlfriend's cousin" he felt her sitting on his side, "I don't get how she always dates hot guys" she sniffed, a clear case of resentment.
Troy's eyes slightly widened as he realized Jasmine's tone of voice. It was obvious she was jealous of what Gabriella could have and according to her disappointment, she couldn't.
"She's just perfect" he replied with a sickly sweet tone of voice, "I'm very lucky to have her"
"Are you blind or what?" she asked rudely, not really believing the gorgeous guy next to her was "in love" with her ordinary cousin.
"Actually—"
"Troy, let's go" he was interrupted by Gabriella's voice and her hand patting him on the shoulder.
"Are you afraid he falls in love with me in the end of the night, Gabriella?" she teased.
"No, Jasmine" Gabriella tried to sound sweet, but as Troy held her hand he could feel she was really tense, "I just don't want you near him" she smiled at her cousin, "I like him too much to let him go through cruel torture"
She pulled him away quickly, Troy bumping into lots of people as they made their way to the backyard.
"Damn it, I hate her so much" Gabriella murmured loud enough for Troy to hear when they were alone in the garden.
"What's up, Gabi?" he stood in the same place, afraid he could fall because he didn't know her parents house at all.
Gabriella sat down on the garden bench, the angry tears rolling down her cheeks. She gazed up to see Troy looking completely lost and confused, "Come here, 3 large steps forward and I'll get you"
Troy did what she said and found her hand quickly. He sat beside her and touched her face, "You're crying?"
"I thought she wasn't coming" she admitted, "but daddy called me to tell that she just arrived"
"Who, Gabi?" he asked in a whisper.
"Jasmine"
"I can feel you don't like her"
"She screwed up my life, Troy" she let him wrap his arm around her waist and bring her close, "My daddy said he didn't invite her, she just showed up. She's always doing this"
"Hey, calm down" he stroked her tears away with his thumb, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"You remember when I told you about the long story?"
Troy nodded quietly. "She was involved"
"Okay" he waited for her to continue, but she didn't. "I can keep up with it, go ahead sweetheart"
Gabriella gulped, her bad day coming back to her memory like it was happening in front of her eyes all over again, "She was my best friend, Troy. Jasmine and I grew up together. She's my cousin for God's sake"
"Remember I told you I live on campus?" he nodded and she continued. "I was dating Ty for four months and it was two weeks before Thanksgiving" she took a long pause to control herself, "I was planning to introduce him to my parents for the first time"
"Mm"
"But Jasmine decided to show up, visit me on campus" she leaned her head on Troy's shoulder as he stroked her hair, "I was happy to see her, I missed her so much. And I wanted her to meet Ty. I've been talking good things about him for her for 3 whole months"
Troy kissed her forehead gently, "I understand if you don't want to continue"
"No, it's ok" she assured him with a weak voice, "To sum it all up, I found them having sex in my own dorm, in my own bed"
He closed his eyes to avoid the rage he was feeling. How could someone hurt Gabriella? How could her cousin use her friendship to get to her boyfriend?
"I thought he was the one, Troy" she admitted in a whisper, "We were even talking about marriage"
"Shh" he pecked her forehead several times, rubbing her arm up and down in comfort as she cried hard against his chest, "you'll find someone better for you, I promise"
"I didn't tell my mom… because she likes Jasmine so much…" she said in between sobs, "But my daddy knows, he doesn't… talk… with her… anymore. Nor Charlie"
"This is so wrong, Gabi" he told her, his voice husky, "I have no idea why he would ruin his relationship with you because of someone like Jasmine"
Gabriella looked up at him, his chin was still rested against her hair and Troy was rocking her back and forth slowly, "You are so amazing, and she is—" he sighed, "She's just ugly on the inside"
She nodded quietly, calming down as his soft voice filled her ears, "would you like to go away? I don't think I can stay here any longer" she almost begged.
"Yeah, let's go home" he stroked her face, "I'm gonna take care of you"
"Thanks" Gabriella said in a whisper.
Troy smiled. "My pleasure"
Payton searched for her home keys inside her backpack and hummed a song, while the hunt for the keys seemed to be longer than she was planning too. She patted her back pocket and found her cell phone. She tried the left pocket and bingo – the key was there.
The girl smirked – in a very familiar way, all the Boltons smiled the same – and climbed the porch steps, beginning her humming all over again, her house keys jingling in her hand.
She unlocked the door, pushing it open to step inside, feeling relived to be home already. Payton loved being in school, loved living on campus, but the truth was, she was completely worried about Troy.
Payton found it really difficult to believe Troy when she spook with him on the phone, all the time he was doing something fun, playing ball, or visiting the mall or helping Gabriella out with something. It was just… weird. He was so different a few weeks ago and she knew it was almost impossible to bring the humor back to Troy's life.
Not that she didn't believe Troy or Gabriella. Or she didn't have faith on her brother's recovery or Gabriella's skill as a friend and a physiologist, one part of her wanted everything to be true, but the other part – and she didn't know how dominant that part was – felt jealous she was not the one Troy decided to open up, or begged for help. They have been best friends since their dad died, it was the least she could do.
Only God knew how much she tried to help Troy during her vacation, but he didn't let her get near him. What Gabriella had that she could help him and his own sister couldn't?
Payton shrugged off her never-ending thoughts as she walked through the living room of the house, looking for someone still awake. All she wanted to do was take a hot shower to warm her body and go straight to bed.
She was almost walking upstairs when she heard a noise coming from the kitchen, probably Gabriella looking for something. Payton knew she wasn't in a very patient mood right now, but she knew as well it would be extremely impolite not to greet her, so she turned around and headed to the kitchen.
"Hi Gab—" she stopped as she seemed to lost her words. Her eyes studied the figure in front of her. Was Troy really there, in the middle of the kitchen, making himself a sandwich or was she awake and dreaming again?
"Hi Pay" he said contently.
"T-Troy" she said in a whisper, feeling too emotional to see her brother looking so normal now. "Oh my God" she squealed as she ran to him, wrapping her arms around his neck to hug him tight, "I'm so happy my little brother is back"
Troy laughed against her shoulder, his arms quickly wrapping around his sister's waist. "It's nice to see you too, sis"
She pulled away and kissed him on the cheek, "You look so great"
"Thanks, Pay" He smirked, "You sound good too"
"Oh my God" she covered her mouth with her hand in shock, "You're even making jokes"
He rolled his eyes, sitting down at a chair and taking a bite of his sandwich, "Why shouldn't I?" he lifted one of his eyebrows, "It's not the end of the world I can't see"
Payton sat in front of him, still pretty much shocked, but she realized the jealousy she was feeling a few minutes before had gone. She just wanted to thank Gabriella so much for everything she helped Troy with.
"You're not a pain anymore?"
"Only on Mondays" he teased.
She grinned, "I missed you so much Troy Richard Bolton" she stood up noisily, heading out of the kitchen.
"Payton" Troy half-yelled after her, "Where you're going?"
"To thank Gabriella personally" she explained calmly.
"No" he stood up, walking to where he knew would be the kitchen door and where he could hear his sister's heavy breaths coming from.
"She's sleeping" he informed her, slipping his hand into hers and pulling her out of the kitchen, taking her back to the living room. "Gabi had a tough night"
"Why?" Payton asked in a whisper as he moved his index finger to his mouth, asking for silence.
"Family issues" Troy replied, letting go of his sister, touching with his hand the edge of the couch and crouching in front of it. "She sounds so relaxed now, don't you think?"
"I guess" Payton shrugged and sat on the stairs steps, "Why she's sleeping on the couch?"
"We were talking and she fell asleep" he whispered back, his hand tracing the couch… searching.
"Talking about?"
"Things" he replied simply, smiling slightly as he found her small hand, starting to caress it with his thumb.
"You guys are getting along well?" Payton asked and Troy nodded, quietly. "You're gonna wake her up, Troy"
He smirked, turning his head to face his sister, "Gabi is a heavy sleeper"
"Hmm" Payton was curious. She just wanted to understand how Gabriella helped Troy, "How she did it?"
"Did what?"
"Change you"
Troy caressed Gabriella's hand for a long time in silence, like he was examining his sister's question, trying to find the best answer for it.
"She just helped me seeing things in another way"
"Which way?"
He shrugged. "It's hard to explain with words, you need to feel"
"Feel?" Payton sounded curious and Troy nodded, "Feel what?"
Troy kissed Gabriella's hand quickly, immediately regretting his actions. If he was lucky enough Payton was not watching them. He knew how his sister could be annoying when he was around other girls.
"Feel things" he rubbed his neck. "I work with my heart most of the time now"
"You're trying to tell me she taught you to see with your heart?" Payton teased.
"Basically" he replied casually.
She laughed quietly, "That's weird, Troy"
He smiled at her, "But it worked well, don't you think?"
"Definitely" she agreed.
Payton stood up, "I'm gonna head to my room now" she lied.
She felt curious to know how Troy acted around when she was not home. Obviously it was mean taking advantage of his damaged eyes, but it was for a good reason.
"'Kay" he turned his attention back to Gabriella, "Goodnight Payton"
"Night Troy"
She took a few steps, moving away from the staircase and walking back to the kitchen, "I'm gonna just grab a bottle of water"
He nodded, "I'm gonna wake Gabi up"
"Yeah" Payton nodded too, "That will be good"
Payton held her breath, staying as still as she could, trying not to be noisy at all. She peeked from the kitchen door and as she watched him wake her up – his soft voice calling her name, his smooth hand stroking her hair and cheeks, the intensity in his eyes as she moved and moaned into her sleep to end up awake a few seconds later – she figured out her brother cared about Gabriella very much.
She leaned against the living room wall, not worried they could see her… they seemed to be in their own little world and Gabriella was more asleep than awake anyway. Troy led her to the stairs like a professional, like he could see every bit of the house, her hand safely into his while she yawned and rubbed her tired eyes with her free hand. Payton's eyebrows lifted slightly as he whispered something into Gabi's ear, earning a gentle nod and a smile from her. Smile that he couldn't see, but probably could feel, like he explained her before.
And then, realization hit Payton and she knew why Gabriella could help her brother, why Troy opened up for her and only her. Why he had a grin on his face and his eyes blinked everytime he talked about her or touched her.
She knew – even though she was pretty sure the feeling was not there in the beginning – what they had… what they were feeling. Gabriella had taught him to feel her, to go deep inside, to capture her essence. Troy had learned to see with his heart, and somehow, Payton sighed in relief and a grin appeared on her face.
Troy wasfinally over Molly, but did he figure it out yet?
