Hey everyone! Happy Tuesday! :) A few people have said they wanted a dinner with the Boltons and oddly enough, that is what this chapter is about, so there you go! Enjoy!
Loving Love
Chapter eleven
That was Close
Troy was singing loudly in the shower, lathering the shampoo in his hair into a good white foam and as the hot water stung his back, he heard a banging on the door, an urgent need for his attention, causing him to poke his head out from behind the shower curtain while yelling "what?"
"I need to talk to you." His mother yelled from behind the door.
"Can it wait?" He asked in annoyance. "I'm in the middle of something."
"No. Get out here." He heard her say, causing him to hop out of the shower, shampoos still in his hair as he wrapped a towel around his waist.
Opening the door cautiously, Troy eyed his mom as water dripped down his forehead. She sighed, shaking her head at her son because he hadn't finished rinsing before he got out of the shower. The water could be heard still running and a puddle was forming underneath him.
"Yes?" Troy asked with a sigh.
"Invite her over." She said simply, causing Troy to become instantly confused.
"Invite who?"
"The girl who makes you sing in the shower." She said as she headed towards his bedroom door, stepping over a few piles of clothes.
"This couldn't have waited?" He asked.
"No. The girl who makes miracles happen can never wait." She told him seriously. "We're having dinner at seven. I'm setting an extra plate."
"Mom, do you really think that's a good idea?" He asked with a groan.
"Unless you're hiding her from someone, no." She said as she disappeared out of his room, leaving him cold and wet in the bathroom doorway.
"That's the problem." Troy whispered to himself. "I am."
Tears formed in Troy's eyes as he stood there, holding the towel around his waist still and as he felt a burning sensation forming in his eyes, he realized the shampoo that was still on his head was sliding into his eyes, causing him to screech and hoot as he ran for the water.
***
Gabriella was surprised when she got the phone call from Troy, asking if she wanted to have dinner with his family, and she was even more surprised when he opened his front door to his house, grabbing her quickly and pulling her inside the house so that no one would see her. She fluffed her hair quickly as she pushed it out of her face as Troy closed the door behind her and she shook her head, laughing slightly as Troy breathed deeply.
"Did you run to the door or something? I could have sworn I heard you fall down the stairs." She told him with a quiet laugh, slipping her shoes off as she did.
"You'll never know." Troy replied with a smirk, running a hand through his hair. "I just want to warn you that my family most likely will smother you. When I told them that you were the one I've been seeing, they kind of freaked out."
"Why?" Gabriella asked in surprise, hoping that this dinner wouldn't be awkward or dangerous… it could even be both. "Do they think I'm the school bully instead of you, cause you know, that would be really—?"
"No, no. And I am not the school bully. I simply…" Gabriella cut him off.
"Okay, we both know who the school bully is, but that's besides the point… why did they freak out?"
"You're the first girl that I've brought home who has a job, is passing all of her classes, and doesn't have a DUI." He said with a slight chuckle as her eyes widened.
"Are you serious?" Gabriella asked in a whisper, hearing voices now from the kitchen as if everyone was now stepping inside from being outside.
"Not about everything." He laughed as he started to walk towards the kitchen, motioning for Gabriella to follow him. "But I am serious about my family. They really will—."
"Hey, Gabriella!" They heard Troy's sister exclaim from the kitchen table where she was setting the table, waving as if she was a mile away from her and she wouldn't be noticed otherwise.
Gabriella smiled over at her, continuing to smile as Mrs. Bolton rushed over to her, exclaiming something about being glad to finally meet her and she gave her a warm hug, the mom smell that floated around her lingered as she pulled away, still happy as can be.
Dinner had been awkward at first, but after Bailey asked the embarrassing questions, ones that consisted of talking about kissing, the L word, and school rivalry among students, all questions after that were a piece of cake and easy to answer.
Troy sat shaking his head at his sister as Gabriella laughed while giving him a playful nudge as she talked to Mrs. Bolton about school. When she looked back over at him, he was giving her a this-wasn't-my-idea-I'm-sorry look and she simply smiled at him, enjoying somewhat, her dinner with his family.
"So, you two have known each other for a while, haven't you?" Mr. Bolton asked them. "What made you decide to start dating now?"
"It kind of just happened." Gabriella explained to them with a small laugh. "I guess we learned to tolerate each other."
Troy chuckled from next to her, nodding at her answer.
"But with Chad and everyone, it makes everything complicated." Troy added in with a shrug.
"I think it's just ridiculous to have to hide your relationship from your friends, Troy." Mrs. Bolton said sadly as she looked at the two in front of her. "I'm sure he would understand."
Troy and Gabriella both laughed as they shook their heads, exchanging secretive glances with each other before looking back at Mrs. Bolton.
"He wouldn't." Troy said with a sigh.
"Yeah… and I don't think I'd want to be around when he did. I mine as well start packing my bags for college early, because Chad would make sure I never came back." Gabriella said to her, feeling Troy's arm against hers as they both sat close to each other, already done with their meals as they continued the conversation.
"I thought I raised you better, Troy." Mr. Bolton said with a shake of his head. "We taught you to accept everyone as they are."
Troy cleared his throat in guilt, occupying his vision with the empty plate that was in front of him as he shrugged.
"It's the power of the situation… I guess." Troy said to his dad, feeling bad that he ever was mean to Gabriella.
"Plus, I'm tough. I could take him if I had too." Gabriella giggled, causing Mr. Bolton to laugh too as he imagined Gabriella beating up Troy.
"I'd help you." Bailey said with a smile. "He'd deserve it."
"Thanks, sis." Troy said sarcastically.
"No problem, bro." Bailey replied with a smile.
The group sitting around the table laughed, smiling at each other because they were definitely enjoying their conversation and Mr. and Mrs. Bolton were glad that Troy found a girlfriend that wasn't inappropriate or dumb. Just as Bailey was about to ask another one of her embarrassing question, the door bell rang and Mr. Bolton stood up from the table to answer it.
"OH, HEY CHAD! WHY DON'T YOU COME IN?"
The group at the table gasped as their eyes widened when they heard Mr. Bolton trying to be obviously loud and within seconds, Troy was grabbing Gabriella's extra plate and running it to the kitchen sink while Mrs. Bolton grabbed her silverware and half full glass of milk. Bailey took Gabriella by the hand quickly and they both ran out the back door, sneaking into the backyard as the commotion behind them quieted behind the patio door.
"What do we do now?" Gabriella asked Bailey as they both looked around for a hiding spot.
"We'll hide in the tree house! Hurry up!" Bailey told her, as they both made their way towards the tree house and up the ladder.
"This is amazing!" Gabriella whispered to her as she finally had her feet on the wooden floor. "How long have you had this?" She asked.
Bailey turned from the window that looked out at the house and she crouched down on the ground of the tree house as Gabriella did.
"Troy and my dad built it before I was born." Bailey answered as she peeked out the door. "Troy won't admit it, but he comes up here to think still."
"Really? So is that cape his too?" Gabriella asked with a laugh.
"Yeah. He and Chad used to pretend they were super heroes and they'll deny it of course, but they still do."
"They use the capes and everything?" Gabriella asked in surprise.
"No." Bailey laughed. "But I've heard them talking about coming to the rescue for a girl or something… they said it would be like playing super heroes, but they'd actually have a damsel in distress." She explained with a shake of her head. "Boys are just weird, you know?"
"Yeah… I know." Gabriella smiled.
The girls became instantly silent as they heard the back door open loudly, probably because Troy nearly knocked over a flower pot on purpose just to let them know that they were coming outside.
"Dude, clumsy much?" Chad asked with a laugh as he saw his friend nearly break his foot on the cement flower pot.
"I didn't see it." Troy laughed as they both walked out to the basketball court that was behind the tree house, paved perfectly into the corner of the yard. "So, what's up, man? Usually you're working out or something."
Gabriella scoffed with a shake of her head, jumping slightly when she felt Bailey put her hand over her mouth as she sent her a warning look. Gabriella nodded softly and held in a laugh as Bailey pulled her hand away.
"I wanted to talk about Zeke and his new Barbie." Chad explained with an obvious annoyance clear in his voice.
Gabriella's breathing slowed as she tried to listen to the conversation, wanting to know what Chad's problem really was. She looked over at Bailey who was also leaning forward somewhat in order to listen to the guys.
"His new girlfriend." Troy corrected as he picked the basketball up from the ground that he had just easily dunked into the basket. "Calling her a Barbie would be a compliment."
"Yeah, whatever you say." Chad said with an eye roll. "Here's the thing… we need to break them up."
"No." Gabriella whispered as she heard Chad's voice carry up to the tree house.
"Dumb ass." Bailey said with a shake of her head, getting a surprised look from Gabriella. Bailey shrugged as if her foul mouth wasn't anything new. "I'm Troy's sister… how else do you think I picked it up?" She whispered to her.
Gabriella opened her mouth to reply, but decided against it since Chad would hear them eventually if they continued to make noise. Troy jogged around the court as Chad did, both of them quiet for a minute.
"So, what do you suggest we do?" Troy asked him hesitantly, glancing up at the tree house momentarily.
"I don't know… harass her friends until she realizes that Zeke can't be any different than us… or we could always convince Zeke that Sharpay's just using him to get to the top." Chad said unsurely, not really having everything thought out yet.
"Harassing her friends isn't going to work because that's what we always do…"
"That's fine with me. We can just harass them for fun then." Chad said with a chuckle.
"Dude, aren't you tired of this?" Troy asked him as he stopped dribbling the ball.
"Tired of what?" Chad asked as he too stopped what he was doing.
"Of… bullying people. It's going to come back to haunt us, just like Zeke said." Troy said to him, wondering if this was the best time for a heart-to-heart conversation.
"No." Chad said somewhat angrily. "I hate those girls, you have no idea… I mean… they are so… so."
"Normal. They're normal… we just picked them to harass because of the sandbox incident!" Troy said with an angry laugh.
"Hell, they are not normal."
Gabriella fidgeted in her spot next to Bailey, feeling the young girl's arm link with hers as they both stayed quiet. Gabriella looked over at her, smiling softly as Bailey looked at her worriedly. Gabriella knew that this talk between the guys shouldn't be normal to her, but sadly it was and as much as it should bug her, she couldn't remember the last time it actually did.
"You've been holding a grudge with Gabriella because in third grade when I pushed Taylor in the sandbox, Gabriella told her never to like you or me… and we all know that you had a crush on Taylor… and still do!"
"I do not!" Chad said angrily. "That was so ten years ago!"
"Dude, whatever, but I don't know how much longer I can continue with this stuff." Troy admitted. "I'm not going to ruin Zeke's relationship just because we're jealous of it."
"We're not jealous… we're pissed that he has turned to the dark side!"
"I don't know how long it's going to take you to realize this, Chad, but we're the dark side." Troy said with a shrug, throwing the ball to Chad forcefully. "We're just too stubborn to stop being on that side."
"God, Troy, are we going to start holding hands around the campfire? What is this, Oprah?" Chad asked as he tossed the ball back to Troy.
"Sorry, dude, my mom made me watch Dr. Phil today. It was a joke." Troy said with a laugh that was obviously faked.
"Good. You scared me for a second." Chad said with a laugh.
Gabriella felt Bailey nudge her quickly and when Gabriella looked over at her, her eyes widened. Bailey was about to sneeze and before Gabriella could even try to stop it, Bailey let out a loud sneeze. Gabriella pulled Bailey closer to her, covering her mouth as she tried not to laugh. Bailey buried her face against Gabriella's arm as she waited to see if the boys below heard them.
"What was that?" Chad asked as he looked up at his friend's tree house. "Is someone up there?"
"Uhhh…." Troy began to panic as he looked up at the tree house, seeing it from a different angle than Chad could because from where he was standing, he could see Bailey and Gabriella clearly, both of them trying to stay hidden. "No! I didn't hear anything, Chad."
"I think someone is up there, dude. Is Bailey home?" Chad asked as he stepped closer to the tree house.
"It's probably just Bailey, yeah…" Troy said as he cleared his throat awkwardly, grabbing his friend's arm so that he wouldn't go any further. "She's having some girl issues lately, if you know what I mean… so it would be best to stay away."
"Thanks for the warning, dude. I wouldn't want to get caught up in that." Chad said with a small laugh.
"Troy!" Mrs. Bolton stuck her head out of the back door, waving quickly at the two boys in her backyard. "I just realized that you are grounded!"
"For what?" Troy asked, trying to sound as if he was surprised by her accusations.
"You didn't take the trash out when I told you. Chad, honey, you better head home. You know the rules." She said as she stepped out onto the patio with her hands on her hips.
"Aw, come on, Mrs. Bolton. Are you sure you can't let it go this once?" Chad asked with pleading eyes.
"Sorry boys." She said with a shrug, smiling softly as Chad said goodbye to Troy, tossing him the basketball before saying goodbye to her, then making his way out of the backyard through the back gate.
Everyone in the backyard held their breath as they waited a few minutes until they heard Chad's car pulling away from the house. Troy let out a sigh of relief as he let the basketball in his hands fall from them quickly. Mrs. Bolton and Troy both heard a few sneezes come from the tree house and another sigh of relief as Gabriella's feet became visible as they lengthened from their tight fold.
"Thanks, mom!" Troy said as he jogged towards the tree house ladder.
"I'm only helping this once, Troy. Next time, you're telling him." She said with a sigh as she turned to go back in the house.
Troy climbed up the ladder quickly and caught his breath as he stood in the center of his tree house, looking down at his sister and girlfriend who were both sprawled out on the floor as they breathed deeply.
"That was close!" Bailey said as she looked up at her brother.
"Thanks for helping me, Bailey." Troy said as he helped his sister up.
"I was helping Gabriella." Bailey insisted as she brushed her pants off, heading towards the ladder of the tree house when she decided that leaving the two alone would be best. She exchanged a look with Gabriella before disappearing out of their sights, leaving Troy to look down at Gabriella.
"Let me help you." Troy said as he took Gabriella's hands in his, pulling her up so that she was facing him.
Gabriella swallowed roughly as she looked into Troy's eyes that seemed to be apologizing to her. They stood there for a few seconds, hand-in-hand as they tried to think of something to say to each other.
"Chad seemed pretty upset." Gabriella said first, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, well, I'm sure he'll cool off eventually." Troy said to her, squeezing her hands in his softly.
"You don't think he's going to try to break Sharpay and Zeke up, do you?" Gabriella asked him. "Maybe we should warn them."
"He'll try, but he won't succeed." Troy replied. "Zeke likes Sharpay too much."
Gabriella smiled softly as she thought of the two.
"Good because Sharpay is definitely falling hard for Zeke."
"What do you mean?" Troy asked her with an honest wondering look on his face. "Is she in…lo…?" Troy stopped mid sentence, not wanting to say the word he hated the most.
Gabriella's eyes squinted in confusion as she looked at him, laughing softly when she realized what he meant. She let go of his hands, putting her own on his muscular arms as she looked up at him.
"Is she in love with him?" Gabriella finished for him, smiling as he cringed obviously.
"Shh." Troy said quickly, putting his index finger to her lips, trying to erase the word from the air. "The tree house has virgin ears to the word… the 'L' word." Troy nodded truthfully.
"The 'L' word? Really Troy?" Gabriella giggled as she shook her head.
"That word gets people in trouble, Gabs." Troy explained.
Gabriella's heart pounded as she heard her nickname escape from his lips and she smiled softly as she nodded in understanding.
"I won't say the 'L' word, then." Gabriella smiled. "But I do have to say goodbye." She told him.
"You can't say that word either." Troy said seriously, breaking his seriousness with a soft chuckle that caused goose bumps to appear on her arms.
"Then I'll just say see you later." Gabriella said with a playful eye roll. "I have to get up early tomorrow to work and I'll regret staying out late."
"I guess I'll see you bright and early then. I have a weekend workout with the team and it starts early, so I'll stop by for breakfast." Troy said with a smile, brushing the stray pieces of hair that fell in front of Gabriella's face out of her way.
"Just how I want to start my day." Gabriella replied jokingly.
"Haha. Very funny." Troy said with a smile.
"I'll see you tomorrow then." Gabriella said as she slowly let go of Troy.
Troy nodded, going towards the ladder first, followed by Gabriella who giggled as she rolled her eyes, hearing Troy's boyish comments about her behind. Gabriella hopped from the ladder when she got to the bottom and smiled as Troy took her hand in his, walking with her to the back gate of his house before giving her a long kiss in the shadow of the trees and tall bushes. Gabriella smiled as she pulled open the back gate, winking at Troy as he stood with a subtle grin on his face as he watched her.
"Tell your parents I said thanks for dinner." Gabriella said as she stepped out of the backyard.
"I will. See you in the morning, Gabs." He smiled as his hands snaked into his pockets while he rocked back and forth on his feet.
"Night." Gabriella called out as the gate closed behind her, blocking Troy from her vision as she slowly walked down the driveway, ready to make the quiet walk home under the stars as she thought about the guy who made her forget about the problems they were both hiding.
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Much love,
unknownbyhim22