DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical or any related characters.
A/N: I'm so incredibly sorry for the long wait!! My mind's hasn't been into writing this at all lately, anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and hopefully 'Cat and Mouse' will be up soon too!
Dangerous Fascination
CHAPTER 5
ASSUME
Gabriella Montez was turning out to be more than the simple brainiac he'd pinned her for and for once, something like this happening was a pleasant surprise instead of an annoyance. Troy wasn't sure what it was about her that surprised him instead of annoyed him and he wasn't in a hurry to find out. If Gabriella Montez still had his attention two weeks after she'd told him about her experience in New York than there was something about the girl that had him interested and for once it wasn't even about what she could do for him. That was what was part of the puzzle, he'd never wasted his time, or been interested in, a girl that literally couldn't do anything for him beside provide interesting conversation and even that, he suspected, hadn't ever really been enough for him and yet, he'd found his mind wandering to her every time it wasn't engaged by their conversations, which, more often than not, was when he was around his friends. He'd kept where his thoughts and attention, had been wandering to himself, knowing that if his friends found out about what he was thinking it wouldn't sit well with any of them. Casting his gaze around the classroom, Troy's eyes settled on the object of his thoughts and he was unaware of the smirk that formed on his face when she looked up and her eyes flicked over to his. The blush that spread across her cheeks caused his smirk to widen and he watched as her eyes lowered to her notebook again. Even though her eyes were on the notebook in front of her, Troy continued to study her, his eyes tracing the ebony curls which had escaped the hastily fastened bun she'd restrained them in. Just looked at her, Troy knew it would be a lie if he ignored how attractive she was, and an even bigger lie if he said he wasn't attracted to her. Which was just another piece of the puzzle, he mused.
Hearing the bell ring, Troy tore his eyes away from Gabriella and stood up. Throwing the notebook he had taken out for show in his bag. Troy swung it over his shoulder and filed out of the classroom with the rest of his class. Shoving his hands in his pockets, Troy began to move toward his locker.
"Yo Troy! Are you going to the park after school?" Chad appeared out of nowhere as Troy reached his locker and pulled it open. He sent his friend a cool look to which Chad responded with raised eyebrows.
"I haven't decided yet." He replied and Chad snorted in disbelief as Troy shut his locker door and turned to face his friend.
"Dude, come on, its basketball, you've never had to decided when it comes to basketball." Chad said loudly and Troy looked at Chad, the coolness in his eyes not betraying the annoyance he felt.
"Chad, drop the subject before you end up in that locker." Troy's tone was light in comparison to the look in his eyes and Chad knew that if he pushed the subject anymore than he already had, which had been all day, the lightly said threat would come true.
"Alright, alright, sorry," Chad asked raising a hand in surrender as Troy rolled his eyes at his friend. His attention turned to the hallway and Chad looked at his friend with curiosity. To someone else, it would seem that Troy was just examining the throngs of laughing, talking students. To him, he was well aware that Troy was looking for someone, he watched as his friends unemotional blue eyes flicked over the students and settled on the person he was looking for. The flash that went through Troy's eyes didn't change the cool mask of his face. Seeing it, Chad turned his attention to the hallway in a hope of finding out exactly who his friend was looking at and finding nothing but a loud group of cheerleaders.
"Dude, who are you looking at?" Chad asked and Troy turned his attention from a laughing Gabriella to his best friend.
"No-one," Troy replied and watched as Chad's eyes turned back to the hallways in a vain attempt to see what his friend was looking at. Troy knew that Chad wouldn't take any notice of Gabriella and wouldn't believe that Troy was looking at her anyway, so he considered it safe enough to look for her in a crowd.
"Uh-huh." Chad said and looked at Troy in the hope that his face would betray something, even though he knew that Troy never betrayed any emotion unless it suited him too. It was one of the things that Chad resented in his friend almost as much as he admired.
"Chad, are you going to the park this afternoon?" Troy inquired lazily and Chad shrugged. Knowing he would sound like a hypocrite if he said no and had been at his friend all day to go.
"Yep, all the guys are going, it'll be like a warm up for the season." Chad said casually and Troy nodded his head as Zeke approached.
"So you guys going to the park after school?" Zeke asked and Chad glanced at Troy who didn't seem to respond to the question before Chad spoke.
"Yep. Is everyone else going?" He asked spinning the ever present basketball on his finger and waiting for Zeke's reply.
"Dude, you just said everyone else was going. Why do you need to ask a question that you already know the answer too?" Troy questioned and Chad's mouth opened and closed as Troy sent him the look everyone knew meant 'shut-up'.
"Well guys," Troy pushed off his locker and turned his attention to his two friends. "I'm out; I'll see you at the park." Troy began to walk down the hallway as Chad registered what his friend had said.
"No way dude!" Was all Troy heard as he headed down the hallway, it surprised him that Chad had registered what he had said so quickly as he walked down the hallway. Glancing around, Troy could see most of his grade chattering, most making use of the free period before the end of school. Rolling his eyes when he brushed past a couple of squealing girls, Troy headed towards the gym, knowing for a fact that no-one was in there. Reaching the gym doors, Troy yanked them open and walked in, letting the silence of it wash over him. Walking in a bit further, Troy's eyes flicked up to the bleachers and widened in surprise when he saw who was sitting halfway up the bleachers, her books spread out in front of her. Staring at her for another minute, Troy wondered exactly what she was doing there before he spoke.
"You know, last time I checked, this wasn't the library." Gabriella's head shot up in stunned surprise when she heard his voice. Whipping it around, the curls that hadn't been tamed by her new attempt at a bun swung wildly as her eyes connected with Troy's. Feeling herself blush, Gabriella tried to calm her scrambling pulse as Troy looked up at her, amusement evident in his eyes.
"Um, I know," she said quietly and Troy rolled his eyes at her response. Throwing his bag down on the bleacher closest to him, he slowly began to climb up towards her.
"So if you know, why are you here?" He asked and Gabriella winced slightly at his tone, it sounded so…territorial.
"I'm sorry; I didn't know I wasn't allowed to be in here. I'll go." She said quickly, reaching down and beginning to pack up her books as Troy settled himself down next to her. He watched her for a moment, before chuckling.
"I never said you weren't allowed to be in here, you just assumed. Do you do that a lot Gabriella?" He asked and Gabriella looked at him in surprise.
"Do what a lot?" She asked, still holding the books she had gathered in a hurry to her chest and eyeing Troy warily.
"Assume that what people say, always means that you have the worst end of the comment?" He asked and Gabriella shrugged, not allowing herself to relax but placing her books on her lap and angling her body towards him.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She said softly, her eyes searching his face for any other emotion bar amusement. She jumped slightly when Troy chuckled again and shook his head.
"Sure you do. You just did it then, you assumed that because I asked why you were here, I was asking you to leave." Troy pointed out and watched in interest as a flash of something very close to anger went through her eyes before she had control of it.
"I didn't assume that you wanted me out of here, I just-" Troy cut her off with a lazily knowing smirk that had her staring.
"Assumed that I didn't want you here. Don't argue, as soon as the question left my mouth you were packing up." He said and Gabriella glared at him even as his eyes held her gaze with a coolness that she was sure no-one else could achieve.
"But that doesn't mean that I assume every thing someone says means that I get the worst end of it." Gabriella said and Troy raised his eyebrows.
"Don't you? Wouldn't the fact that you just assumed I meant get out of here, suggest you do that with nearly every comment or question that's made to you?" Troy asked and Gabriella's hands tightened in her lap as he examined her.
"No. Why would you assume that?" She shot back and Troy's grin was quick and Gabriella had to blink as the blue eyes that had been watching her with such coolness before flashed to a much warmer blue before the grin disappeared.
"I'm stating a fact and you know I am," he said and Gabriella bit her lip and looked away from him. Hating the fact that he was right, and fighting the curiosity to find out how he knew she did that.
"How do you know I do that?" She asked and Troy shrugged, not surprised that she had taken the bait and annoyed slightly that she wouldn't look at him when she asked it.
"You've done it a couple of times in our conversations, its hard not to notice." He said carelessly and continued before Gabriella could respond. "Do you always do that?" He repeated and looked at her coolly as she turned her attention from her hands to him.
"Yes." She replied quietly and his face didn't change.
"Why?" He asked and Gabriella shrugged, turning her head away from him to study the basketball hoop at the other end of the gym.
"Because that way you don't get let down if what you assumed doesn't come true." She replied quietly. Troy looked at her more intently as he heard the faintest break in her voice.
"What made you think that?" He asked quietly after a moment and Gabriella turned to look at him, frustrated with herself at her answer to his question and even more frustrated with the fact he'd heard the break in her voice.
"Nothing, I just figured it was easier to figure that, than get let down." She said hastily and Troy rolled his eyes at the look in her eyes.
"Uh-huh, why do you think that?" He asked again and Gabriella moved her shoulders as his icy blue eyes connected with her warm brown ones and she knew he would see through any lie she told him.
"Because you always assume your parents are going to be together forever," she whispered and watched a flicker of realization passed through his eyes. "Or at least until you've left the home and are too worried about a family of your own." She said with a slightly bitter laugh and Troy nodded his head.
"Your Dad left?" He asked quietly and Gabriella shrugged again.
"I prefer to think of it as he went on a business trip that's gone on for seven years." She replied and Troy nodded as Gabriella suddenly realized what she'd told him. Her eyes dropped from his as she mentally kicked herself for telling him something that nobody else knew. God, what was it about him that had her spilling two of her most important secrets? Glancing at him, Gabriella blushed when she realized he had been watching her.
"A business trip lasting seven years, nice." Troy commented and ignored the way Gabriella stiffened at his tone. He knew that she was kicking herself for telling him that and he leaned towards her.
"How is that nice?" She asked, her voice holding a hint of anger that Troy enjoyed before leaning close to her. His lips came within an inch of hers and Gabriella had to force herself not to tremble as his eyes caught hers and held them.
"Now see, you just assumed I actually meant nice." Troy whispered, watching as her eyes darkened when his breath passed across her lips. His eyes flicked down as her lips parted slightly and for a brief moment, Troy felt the uncontrollable urge to push his lips up against hers and do things to her that he was sure she'd never even dreamed of. Before he could act on his urge or even pull away in annoyance at something so out of his control a loud voice spoke.
"Troy, what are you doing?" Almost instantly, the two teenagers jumped apart from each other and Gabriella's face went bright red as they turned to face the person that had spoken. Troy looked at his father as Gabriella avoided looking at him.
"Nothing, what's up Dad?" Troy asked casually as Gabriella stood up and clutched her books to her chest.
"Uh, see you Troy." She said quietly as she began to make her way down the bleachers. When she reached the final step, Coach Jack Bolton offered her his hand, which Gabriella took gratefully as she stepped down.
"Thank you sir," she said quietly as Troy watched her. Forcing a smile for Troy's father, she quickly headed out of the gym as Jack turned to his son.
"Okay, now are you going to tell me what you were doing?" He asked as Troy got up and lazily made his way down the bleachers to his father. Jumping the last two, Troy straightened from the crouch he'd landed in and looked at Jack.
"I told you, nothing." He said and then frowned as Jack raised his eyebrows at his only son and chuckled.
"Sure, nothing was going on up there between you two, when your lips were just about to close over hers." Jack said and Troy glared at his father as Jack laughed at him. Rolling his eyes, Troy relaxed enough to laugh with him and then shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Seriously Dad, nothing was going on up there. I just lost control." Troy said and Jack shook his head at his son.
"I'm sure. Just go into denial and pretend this never happened, right?" Jack guessed and Troy glared at his father again as Jack laughed again.
"Whatever. Listen, I'm going to the park with the team after school. I don't know what time I'll be home," Troy said and Jack nodded at his sons words.
"I won't start cooking till you give me a time." He said and Troy grinned at his Dad, before Jack slapped him on the shoulder. "I've got to go, I'll see you when you get home than, alright?" Jack said and Troy nodded as he watched his Dad walk out of the gym. Still grinning, Troy turned around to face an incredulous Gabriella.
"What?" He asked as she continued to stare at him.
"Do you and your Dad always get along so well?" She asked quietly and Troy shrugged, before heading for the entrance that she was standing in front of. Pausing beside her, Troy looked at her as she turned her head to look at him.
"Why don't you just assume that too?" He asked and Gabriella's eyes widened as he walked out, leaving her with no idea why she had reentered the gym in the first place.
A/N: Okay, I hope that wasn't too horrible. As I said at the beginning, my mind just hasn't been in it to write this at all, neither has it been in it to write 'Cat and Mouse'. Anyway, we have officially met Troy's Dad and seen that Troy has a softer side. Sort of. Anyway, hopefully I'll update sooner than last time!