Campbell's Soup With A Side Of Troy Bolton

As fast as my legs could carry me, I sprinted into that hospital. My heart was racing a million times a second. Not from running, but from fear. I was terrified. Terrified that my fiancé was going to die, unless he was already dead. I love him. I love him so much that if he was dead, life would seem almost pointless. He has to be o.k. He just has to.

As I reached the front desk, I slammed my hands on the counter. The receptionist jumped a little, having not seen me. "Ma'am are you o.k.?" She sounded sincere, and like she actually cared if I was ok or not.

I wanted to not go into hysterics. I wanted to calm down, to tell my heart that he was fine, just fine, but as I started to say his name and ask where he was the tears came. That was it. I cried, hard. I put my head down shook it. Why did I keep thinking that he wasn't o.k.? He's my fiancé for god's sake. He's been beat by a complete stranger for "looking at his girl" and was still able to take me home after our movie. He's fallen down two flights of stairs with barely even any damage. He's invincible. Nothing can hurt him, not even this accident.

"Gabriella."

His voice was soft, soothing even. He always did have this way of calming me down even when I didn't want to. I remember this time when Chad and I had gotten into it good. I had caught him making out with the head cheerleader at the party following a big rivalry game. He had claimed that he didn't do anything, but I had seen him with my own eyes. Her body pressed up against his own. Troy was there to chase after me when I had walked into that room and slapped, punched and just beat him. He chased me down the street and held me when I had collapsed on the sidewalk because I had been crying so hard. He was able to make me laugh somehow when all I wanted to do was crawl into a corner and die there. He's been there for me through everything, and now, he's here for me when my fiancé and his best friend is fighting for his life.

I turned to him. His face, he had been crying and still was, sort of. The tears weren't coming down, but I could still make out the lingering tears hiding behind his beautiful blue orbs. If he was crying than Chad had to be dead. He was gone, he was gone. I threw my arms around Troy and sobbed into his chest. I felt him wrap his arms around me and hold me tight. I felt my knees buckle underneath me. I would have fallen to the ground if Troy hadn't been holding me so tightly.

He took in a shaky breath. "Gabriella. E-everything is g-going t-to be o.k."

I shook my head while still pressed against his body. "How? He's gone! I know he is." I sobbed harder.

He pulled me away grabbing my upper arm and forced me to look right into his eyes. "Look at me." I looked up at him. He was struggling to hold himself together. "Don't ever say that! He's fine. Do you hear me? He's fine!" His eyes started to water more as a tear started to roll down his cheek.

I took a couple of shaky breaths myself and nodded. He threw me back into his arms. I could feel and hear him cry the moment I was back in his arms. I couldn't imagine how hard this had to be for him. He was there when it happened. He was in the bus when…when…

I pulled away and looked him right in the eyes for what felt like the millionth time. "What happened?"

DING DONG!!!

Gabriella jerked awake and rubbed her eyes. She hated it when she had those flashbacks. Flashbacks of the night she found out she was going to lose her fiancé. That was the first time, though, that her flashbacks included Troy. She always remembered getting the phone call, or the funeral, but this time she remembered seeing Troy fall apart alongside her, and yet was still able to comfort her.

She sat up and groaned. Her head felt heavy with her sinuses. She had developed a cold the other day, one she only gets about every other year. Getting sick, to her, felt like the end of the world. She pressed her hands up against the sides of her head in an attempt to squash the terrible pounding in her head.

Suddenly a thought occurred to her. Troy had never called her back last night. She figured it was because he had been at physical therapy all day and was probably exhausted, but still. With everything that had happened the other day, the kiss and him telling her that he liked her, well she just thought he would call back. Maybe, she thought, she was reading too much into it. She only figured out she had feelings for him, again, yesterday.

DING DONG!!!

Gabriella groaned and jumped out of bed. Who in the world could possibly be bugging her at…

She glanced over at her clock.

"7:30!! UGH!"

She grabbed a robe off the floor and headed towards the front door. To say she was annoyed would be an understatement. When she reached the door, she flung it open. "WHAT!!"

To her surprise, Troy was standing just outside the door, holding a single rose.

"Oh hey"

WAIT!! He was standing!!??

"TROY! You're standing!" She cheered. She was about to throw herself at him when he quickly threw up one of his arms.

"NO!! no, don't!" He said. There was pain in his voice.

"Oh my god, are you o.k.?" She asked a little worried now.

He slowly nodded his head and handed her the rose. "Th—this is f-for you." He was defiantly in a lot of pain, buts she did't want to be too rude. He was in pain for her. That's sort of sweet.

"Oh. Thank you T-t-t …" She quickly tried to take a few breaths to stop from sneezing. It worked for now. "Troy."

He nodded quickly with a pained smile and gasped. "O.k. please put me down now."

"Huh?"

"You should have said something earlier." A voice came from behind him.

Someone else came from around the corner and pulled Troy's wheelchair up to him. One of Gabriella's neighbors was behind him holding him up. "No kidding. Are you sure you're o.k.?" The man asked concerned.

"Ye…yeah, I'm fine. Thank you so much though." Troy managed to squeak out through his clenched teeth.

"Anything for Troy Bolton!" The man slapped him in the back. Troy cringed. "Oh, sorry man." The man looked up at Gabriella and smiled. "Good man you got here. Lots of money." Gabriella giggled while Troy shook his head side to side in embarrassment. "And when I say money, I mean LOTS of money. He's like rich with cars…"

"PLEASE!!" Troy cleared his throat. "Please, stop. Thank you so much for your help, but I think I can take it from here."

The man nodded and smiled. "Oh, right, right. Good luck man. Try and score that tonight!" With that the man walked back into his apartment which was a few doors down.

Gabriella busted out laughing, not only from what the gentleman had said, but at Troy's expression. His face was stuck in an 'O' shape, with surprise and horror written all over it. When the man shut the door, Troy slowly grabbed the wheels of his chair and started to wheel away.

"Hey..where are you going?" He couldn't just leave could he?

He continued to roll away. "To dig a hole and burry myself in it. Very deep. Maybe I'll reach the core and I can the burn to death. Yeah, that should do it."

Gabriella giggled and ran after him. "Oh come on, he wasn't that bad. He was just trying to help." She reached him and jumped out in front of him. "It was really nice of you to stop by too. You didn't have to." Yes he did, she thought.

He stopped and looked down at his lap. "That was probably the most embarrassing moment of my entire life. The whole incident was supposed to be just a little more, well, nicer than that."

Gabriella giggled again. "It was nice, hilarious, but also nice."

He chuckled. "Well, you are smiling so that's a plus." He flashed her his amazing crooked smile.

She suddenly remembered something. "Yeah, but now I'm not!"

He was worried. "Huh?"

"Troy, it's 7:30 in the morning. You couldn't have waited till like 8 to make me laugh at you?" She couldn't help but smile.

"Oh. Ha ha. Laugh at the cripple." He smiled.

"Yes, I will. Ha. Ha. Ha." She giggled. He laughed. "Alright Wildcat, let's get back to my apartment."

He smiled. "You called me Wildcat."

She nodded in confusion. "Yeah, I always used to."

He shrugged with the smile still on his face. "I know, but, you haven't said it in like a month or so." He shrugged again and started to wheel over to the door. "It's no big deal, it's just nice."

"Nice?"

"Yeah. It's like you've forgiven me for everything." She followed him into the apartment and into her living room. He rolled to the center of the room and turned around. "Nice place."

"Hey now. It may not be a pent house and all, but it's still mine."

He shook his head as if he was sorry. "I didn't mean it like that…."

She giggled. "It's o.k. Troy. I know you didn't mean it that way."

He smiled at her. She smiled back and walked up to him. He started to chuckle. "What?"

He lightly coughed and pointed at her. "You um…"

"What?" She looked down at her shirt and realized she was still in her pajamas. "Oh…" He started to chuckle. "Hey, I do recall a time when you couldn't even dress yourself!" She quickly reminded him. Immediately, he shut up. She busted out laughing.

"Yeah well…" He stopped. His facial expression showed he was really trying to come up with a comeback, but in the end, he didn't have one. "Yeah, I got nothing."

She giggled. "But really, what do I have to forgive you for?"

He shrugged and looked at the floor. "I can't imagine how much I hurt you when you left. I mean, you did show me when I saw you at the grave yard, but still. I wasn't there for you like I had promised. I'm so sorry."

She was starting to feel bad. After she blew up at him a the grave yard, a new feeling of understanding washed over her. She finally realized why, exactly, he had run from her and everybody. He had no one, but her. Even his best friend was gone, and his father. The only person left was the person who didn't love him the way he loved her. He needed to get away from everything. Everything that reminded him of his past. She was part of that past. She needed to show him that it was o.k. That it was o.k. that he ran when all she wanted to do was run.

"Troy…" She walked over to him and kneeled down beside him, grabbing his hand. She noted how his head shot up to meet her eyes the moment she touched his skin. "I forgave you long ago. Plus, there was nothing to forgive for. Your way of grieving was leaving, I just never realized it till then."

He nodded his head and looked back at the floor. This was it. This was her chance to show him she really cared, again. To kiss him again, plus, it had been on the back of her mind since it happened. IN a slow movement, she leaned over and met his lips with hers. This kiss was even better than the kiss before, if that was even possible. There's no denying she has feelings for him. She can't keep denying herself what has always been there.

Almost immediately, he responded to the kiss. Being lost in the world of Troy Bolton was, to her, the best feeling life could offer. She never knew that someone could feel like this while kissing another human being. She never knew that kissing someone you've always loved could have these effects. He could be hers, at last.

As if on cue, she pulled away and jumped to her feet, taking a few steps back. "Wha-what's wrong?" He asked a little breathless from their kiss.

"No, no…no, nO, NO!" She started to pace back and forth.

"Gabriella? What's wrong?" He was starting to get extremely nervous.

"You, and her, and you, and ME!"

"What? Gabriella? You're not making any sense."

"Sharpay!" She practically screamed at him, well, shouted at him. To her it was screaming, but in reality it was more of a quiet shout.

Troy shook his head. "What about Sharpay?"

"You guys are dating." How could she have kissed a taken man, again. She told herself not to mess with this type of situation and here she is, messing with it.

Troy continued to shake his head. "No."

Gabriella made a dead stop and turned to him. "No?"

Troy was still shaking his head. "No." He looked almost pained by this as well.

"But…"

"No." He interrupted her. His 'no' was also a cue to stop asking what was going on.

She simply nodded her head. "No."

"She…broke up with me….two months ago."

Gabriella could tell he was leaving something out. People don't just brake up after dating for 5 years. They just don't. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"NO! um, no. That's o.k." He shook his head and continued to stare at the floor.

SO far, this trying to make her feel better by having a good day was just not working out so well. She could tell that he was trying, but of course, she just had to open her big mouth and ask that stupid question. She was enjoying an amazing kiss with Troy but no, she had to go and ruin it. Why must their lives be filled with so much drama?!

She walked back over to him and placed her hand back on his. "I'm here you know."

He smiled up at her. "And that makes me feel better all at once."

She giggled and kept the stare. His blue eyes were just so fascinating to stare into. If you didn't get lost in those eyes, well than you're just not human.

"I'm sorry. This was supposed to be a good day, not a depressing day." He kept his stare on the floor.

She could easily tell that the mention of Sharpay threw him for a loop. He looked depressed and just, well, She didn't quite know. In fact, he sort of looked like he was fighting another internal battle. She wished he would just tell her.

She shook her head. "Trust me. I've laughed enough in the past 10 minutes to last me a life time." She giggled again.

He chuckled. "Yeah, maybe I should just embarrass myself. That gets you to smile all the time."

"You're right. You should." They laughed. "Well ,what's on the agenda Mr. Bolton." She imitated the police men from the other day. "Taking me on a date?"

He smiled big at her. "Well, I do have this thing for you."

"Huh?" Was he going to tell her what she wanted to hear. Wait, no, she didn't want to hear it, right?

He laughed and reached over behind him. She never noticed before how he had a back pack back there. It seemed to be pretty handy for him too. That way he wouldn't have to carry things while he was steering himself. Speaking of steering himself, how in the world did he get here? There's at least a mile or two between the two homes.

"Ah HA!" He swung his arm back around and handed her a can. "It's a delicious bowl of Campbell's Soup!"

She giggled. "You're too much Troy."

"Well…" He started to wheel himself into the kitchen. "You took care of me when I needed it, so I'm going to take care of you when you need it!"

She giggled. "We'll see about that." She started to follow him into the kitchen.

He set the can down on the stove and turned to see her heading right towards him. "No, no, no, no, no!" He wheeled to meet her in the middle and motioned with his hands for her to turn around. "No, go back in there." He pointed to the living room.

"Troy…" She didn't want to leave her kitchen in his command. Who knew if he could really cook.

"No! Now go!"

She giggled and turned, heading back into the living room. "You're impossible Bolton!"

He chuckled. "You know it!"

She walked to the middle of the room and smiled at him. "So what now?"

He playfully rolled his eyes. "Sit please." She smiled at him. "ON! The couch."

She busted out giggling. "You know me too well."

He laughed. "I should have known you were going to be difficult.

"Yes. Yes you should have." She continued to giggle as she reached the couch and sat down. Thankfully there was already a blanket there that she could cover up with. He grabbed the blanket and attempted to cover her with it. "Thank you Troy. Really."

He winked at her. "'Tis my pleasure ma'am." She giggled. This was definitely going to be interesting. "Now…" He pointed at her and smiled. "You stay here while I make a delicious bowl of Campbell's Soup."

She giggled again and nodded. "Yes Sr.!"

He chuckled and headed into the kitchen. When he wasn't looking, Gabriella touched her lips, still being able to feel the kiss. She craved to kiss him again.

BANG!!!

She giggled. "Do you need some help in there?"

"NO!! No, It's all good." It sounded like he was dropping things. "AH! Shit!"

She giggled again. "If you burnt yourself on the stove, you should know that it gets hot when you turn it on!"

"Ha Ha Ha…" She heard him place the pot on the stove and murmer something barely audible like… "I should make note of that."

"Wow." She giggled.

"Shut up, no one likes you." He chuckled. She laughed. He dropped something again. "Ah HA!! I got it!"

"Are you sure?" She giggled.

He rolled back into the living room and parked himself right in front of her. "I'm pretty sure. But just in case, do you have a fire extinguisher?"

"TROY!"

He laughed. "Kidding, haha, but seriously."

She laughed and shook her head. "You're crazy Wildcat."

"Crazy enough to do this?" He started to lean in closer to her. He was going to kiss her again.

She pulled. "Troy, I'll get you sick."

He smiled at her and placed a hand on her cheek. "It's worth it if it means I get to kiss you."

It was happening all over again, but this time, there would be no interruptions. Nothing, and that means nothing, could stop her now from taking in all of Troy Bolton and his glory. He leaned over and pressed his lips back against hers. He was leaning over pretty far. To make thing easier, and plus she really wanted to, she scooted farther forward and placed a hand behind his head and grabbed at the hairs there. She was satisfied when she heard him moan into her mouth. This was exactly what she wanted.

When she completely opened her mouth to let him take entrance, his hot breath took over every one of her senses. How is it possible that he is able to do this to her? To make her weak at the knees? To make her crave more?

A sudden loud sizzling noise came from the kitchen followed by the smoke detector alarm. Quickly, she pulled back.

"Shit!" Gabriella laughed as he quickly wheeled back into the kitchen to turn down the heat.

"Hurry!" She laughed after him. Part of her wanted him to hurry because she didn't want the smoke detector to go off, but another wanted him to hurry because she wasn't done kissing him just yet. She had just found out that he was single. Well, hopefully not for long. If he's kissing her already, well, hopefully she gets something out of it. If she's so happy that he's single, than why does she feel like she's betraying Chad?

"Phew! That could have been bad." He chuckled and made his way back over. She simply smiled at him. He smiled back and rolled even closer than before. "Can you help me onto the couch?" He asked.

Gabriella nodded and stood up, positioning herself behind him. Like last time, she would grip his armpits and help him lift himself up while he used his hands to grab the couch and turn himself around. He was heavy, sort of, but that wasn't exactly why she was having a hard time lifting him up. She was still in a daze from their kiss and now she was touching his body. Not just touching his body, but she could feel all the muscles. She was getting dizzy just from helping him onto the couch.

He plopped down and turned himself. "I think I could feel a little bit more in my legs?" He said excitedly.

Gabriella sat down beside him and smiled. "You could be walking in no time!"

"Actually, that's what the doctor said. He told me I could be using a cane in a matter of weeks." His face was lighting up like a kids on Christmas morning.

"That's great Troy! I wonder how wobbly you'll be at first. It could be your first steps all over again!" She teased him.

"You really like to tease me don't you?" He chuckled.

She giggled. "It's just so easy to do. Even in high school it was easy to do."

He smiled big at her. Gabriella couldn't help but notice how his eyes seemed to change. As if he was looking right at her, but not at her at all. She didn't feel it was a bad thing, but it was sort of weird. "Troy?" No answer. He was definitely in another world. "Troy!"

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry. Where were we?" He asked a little confused.

"I don't know? Where were we?" She teased.

"Stop teasing me?" He pretended to whine. She giggled again.

"I'm sorry." She giggled.

"No you're not." He stuck out his lower lip. He really has his moments.

"Sorry enough to do this?" This time, Gabriella leaned over and kissed him. He was sort of surprised, but it didn't take very long for him to respond to the kiss. He placed a soft hand to her cheek and slowly moved forward so his body was even closer to hers. Her heart was racing a billion times a second. It's as if none of this was real. She was, again, in the arms of Troy Bolton and couldn't get enough of it. Could this be a dream?

BEEP! BEEP!! BEEP!! BEEP!! BEEP!!

The smoke alarm started to go off again. Troy wasn't kidding when he said she might need to know where the fire extinguisher was. She didn't want to move. Hell, the house could be burning down and she still wouldn't want to move. So why was she moving away right now?

"Just leave it." He breathed and attempted to kiss her again. Gabriella was surprised that she was able to pull away.

"Troy, it's going to burn and set the sprinklers off."

"So what?" He leaned in again.

She placed her hand on his chest to keep him away. "Troy…"

He groaned and rolled his eyes. "Ok, fine. Stay here."

Gabriella smiled after him as he rolled back into the kitchen. "Thanks again Troy, for the soup and coming over to check on me."

She heard him sigh. "It was my pleasure. But, I think the soup might be out of the question." She heard him curse. She stood up and started to head into the kitchen. Who ruins soup? "NO! You shouldn't be up and moving. Go away!" He tried to get her to go back into the living room.

She giggled. "I can't have you burning this place down. Plus, after your visit, I'm starting to feel a lot better."

He smiled big. "Oh, so you feel better now?"

She smiled. "Immensely."

He rolled over to her and grabbed her hand. "I'm glad."

She was, once again, finding herself locked in a gaze with him. It seems to be happening a lot. She could feel his thumb against the back of her hand, sending shockwaves across her body. It still amazes her that he has this effect on her. Never does she want him to let go of her. Never, does she want him to leave her side. Never does she want to give this up like she had before.

No matter what anybody says…

Gabriella Montez is in love with Troy Bolton.

Alright, Chapter 9!! What did you think? IS Gabriella's feelings moving too fast? I would love to know what you think? I'm sort of at a loss of what should happen next, and I would LOVE it if you guys could give me some ideas? ANYTHING!!! So yeah! Thanks again SOOOOO much for sticking with me through this story. I know I've been really bad about updating and all and I apologize. It means allot that I still have readers. Thanks again!! SuzzieD! : - )