OHMYGOSH! I forgot it was Tuesday! I'm so sorry! My mind has been elsewhere due to the fact that I had to go to a Yearbook meeting at school today to pick the pages I'm doing, so this is a few hours late! I usually like updating in the morning. Well, I guess better late than never! Enjoy!

Loving Love

Chapter twelve

Green Monster

Gabriella yawned as she looked around at the empty diner. Usually, it would be another hour or so before the early risers even got there and on any regular day she would be sitting on one of the bar stools, taking a short nap as she waited for the ringing of the bells hung up on the door to wake her up. But now, she was tapping her foot somewhat anxiously as she waited for Troy while inhaling the morning smell of the breakfast food being cooked behind her.

Finally, after the third time looking at the clock hung up by the bathrooms of the diner, she heard the familiar bells chime, causing her to look quickly towards the door in excitement. In a way she laughed at herself, because she was currently excited to see Troy since a few weeks ago she would have rolled her eyes and tried not to throw something breakable at him.

She couldn't help but feel her heart beat quicken as she saw him walking towards her in his navy blue t-shirt and white basketball shorts. His hair was damp as if he had just taken a shower and his face looked tired and fresh. She smiled at him as he did, leaning slightly over the counter so he could greet her with a morning kiss.

"Morning." He smiled at her after they kissed, sliding into his usual bar stool across from her.

"You look tired." Gabriella noted as she leaned against the back counter, crossing her arms over her chest as she felt a cool breeze from the air duct above her.

"That's because I was up all night thinking of you." He teased, folding the menu that he had just taken out from between the salt and pepper shakers back into thirds as he figured out what he was going to have on this early morning.

Gabriella rolled her eyes playfully at him before asking him what he wanted, calling to Samantha to start an eggs and bacon special for him once he finally picked between that and pancakes.

"So, what's practice going to consist of today?" Gabriella asked as she got a glass of orange juice ready for him, sliding it in front of him carefully so that it wouldn't spill over the edges of the short cup.

"Ugh, I don't even want to think about it. Since championships are just around the corner we'll be going over plays, which won't be so bad, but then we'll start to jog and weight train, which is never fun." Troy said with a shake of his head, running his hands over his tired face.

"I'm sure it'll be worth it though when you win." Gabriella said with a shrug.

"How do you know we'll win?" Troy asked with a soft smile, wondering if she had even seen a game of theirs.

"I've been going over your statistics and it's almost a given." She explained, pulling out a packet of paper that was tucked in her apron, setting it in front of him.

"You've definitely surprised me, Gabs." Troy said with an impressed look. "I never knew you cared."

"I could say the same to you." She said with a quick raise of her eyebrows, grabbing the plate of his that Samantha had just handed to her through the kitchen window.

"Thanks." Troy said with a chuckle as she set his plate in front of him, tossing him come silverware so that he could start to eat.

Gabriella nodded with a smile as she left him alone for a few minutes so that she wouldn't be staring at him as he ate his breakfast. She started to unstuck the chairs that were flipped upside down on the tables in the middle of the diner and after she had un-stacked them all, she went back behind the counter, seeing that Troy was only half way done with his meal. She set down a few more napkins for him with a smile, observing the way that when he ate, all of his food was separated perfectly, as if he didn't like it if his food was touching.

"How much longer do you have until you have to leave?" Gabriella asked him curiously.

"Why? Are you sick of me already?" Troy asked with a playful smile.

"No." Gabriella laughed. "I was just wondering."

Troy nodded, winking at her.

"About twenty minutes." He answered her.

Gabriella nodded, going over to the coffee machine to pour herself a cup of coffee and as she was pouring some cream into it, seeing the bright whiteness of the substance swirling into the blackness of the coffee, the bells on the doors chimed again, causing her to look over her shoulder to see a guy about her age in basketball clothes walking towards the counter. She exchanged a worried look with Troy, wondering if he was a Wildcat, but he gave her the impression that he didn't know him.

"Good morning." Gabriella said with a waitress-like smile.

"Morning." He nodded at her. "Can I have a cup of coffee, please?" He asked as he let out a short yawn, excusing himself after for his somewhat rude behavior.

"Do you want cream or sugar?" Gabriella asked as she poured regular coffee into a mug.

"Both are fine." He answered, thanking her when she set it in front of him.

"Do you want anything else?"

"I guess I'll just have some pancakes." He shrugged, yawning again as she turned to tell Samantha his order.

"What has gotten you up so early?" Gabriella asked him. "You don't seem like a morning person." She observed.

The guy smiled softly, feeling the warmth of the coffee cup against his palms as he held it lazily in front of him.

"I have a morning basketball practice." He answered. "I'm definitely not excited about it."

"What school do you go to?" Troy interrupted the conversation, turning his attention to the guy next to him, rather than keeping his eyes set on Gabriella's friendly smile.

"West High." He answered as he cleared his throat quietly. "We're in the championship again."

"Yeah?" Troy said as if he was excited to for the guy, causing Gabriella to laugh softly with a shake of her head. "Me too."

"Oh, really? You're a Wildcat?" He asked with an interested expression.

"Yeah, more like the Wildcat."

Gabriella rolled her eyes at him, taking his empty glass from the counter to fill it back up again with orange juice. She grinned as the guy next to her boyfriend tried to figure out who exactly he was.

"What's you name?"

"Troy Bolton, you?"

"Chase Davidson…. Dude, it's an honor to meet you. You're a legend around here."

Troy looked surprised as he nodded with an impressed smile, exchanging an egotistical look with Gabriella.

"I guess you could say that." Troy replied.

"It's funny because my friends hate you." Chase explained with a shrug.

"Mine too!" Gabriella said cheerfully as if having this one thing in common with him was something worth talking about.

"How's that?" Chase asked with a smirk, seeing Troy shifting in his seat. "You're a Wildcat too, aren't you? Gabriella Montez?"

Gabriella's excited expression changed slowly into one of wonder as she looked at the guy in front of her and at the jealous look that was consuming Troy's features. Chase looked at the both of them quickly, wondering why she wasn't answering him.

"My friends come around here a lot…" He explained with a soft smile. "They've talked to you before."

"Oh!" Gabriella nodded, smiling again, glad that he wasn't some kind of creep. "I'm sorry; I wasn't sure how you knew that." She explained.

"It's okay. I should have said so first." He nodded, noticing that his food was ready as the cook behind Gabriella handed Gabriella his plate, which she set in front of him after setting down silverware for him. "So, doesn't everyone at East High like Troy?" He asked Gabriella as if Troy wasn't right next to him, there to answer that question himself.

"Not really." Gabriella laughed. "The basketball team is what you would call… royalty?" She tried to explain. "Me and my friends aren't exactly on the same class system, if you will."

"Well, I guess West High is better at at least one thing more than East High." Chase said with a satisfied nod as he took a bite of his pancakes.

"What's that?" Troy grumbled from next to him.

Gabriella just now picked up on the fact that Troy wasn't exactly in the happy mood he used to be in when he first sat down. Now, the jealousy was becoming noticeable and in a way, he looked offended by what Gabriella was telling this complete stranger about.

"We actually get along with everyone at our school and we definitely don't pass up beautiful girls like this one over here." He said to him, pointing to Gabriella who was blushing somewhat as she began to look awkwardly uncomfortable.

Troy pulled out a five dollar bill and tossed it carelessly onto the counter next to his plate. He got up from his seat, clasping his hand tightly onto the guy's shoulder.

"Good for you." He said sarcastically. "I'll see you in the championship."

"You too, man. It was nice meeting you." Chase nodded.

Troy nodded, glancing at Gabriella before going towards the door of the diner, where he pulled it open quickly to leave. Gabriella bit her lip as she silently communicated with Samantha before turning to Chase, smiling quickly.

"Will you excuse me for a minute?" She asked him as she started to make her way around the counter.

"Yeah, sure." Chase said with a shrug, going back to his plate of food.

Gabriella picked up her pace as she kept her eyes on Troy through the large window of the diner. She sighed as the wind from outside blew forcefully against her as she turned out of the diner.

"Troy! Wait!" Gabriella exclaimed after him, putting her hands on her hips as she stood in front of the diner window, not about to chase after him as if it was her fault that the West High Knight had decided to come into the diner for breakfast.

Troy slowed a few feet away from her, taking a deep breath to calm his anger before turning to face her. He couldn't help but feel old feelings coming back for her as he saw her somewhat pissed expression, and he used all of his might to push them back where they belonged.

"Yes, dear?" He asked sarcastically, seeing her eyebrow raise in response.

"Why are you mad?" She asked simply.

Troy laughed to himself, thinking that she should know why he was. He sighed slowly, trying again to regain his composer as he walked closer to her so that they were of talking distance.

"I don't know, maybe because you just told a Knight why everyone at my school hates me." He explained to her.

"Okay, everyone doesn't hate you; I just told him that my friends did."

"I thought they didn't anymore, Gabs." Troy said to her. "And I can't believe you tell random strangers things like that."

"Come on, Troy. It's just what waitresses tend to do unintentionally. We see so many different people during the day and we know that we won't see most of them ever again, so what's the hurt in talking about things?"

"Um, maybe when you're talking about someone when that person is sitting right next to you." Troy tried, shaking his head in annoyance. "Whatever, it doesn't matter."

"Yes it does, because now you're mad at me." Gabriella said with a sigh.

"I'm not mad at you." Troy stated. "I'll just use this memory to help me beat the Knights, okay?"

Gabriella poked her cheek with her tongue as she felt a prickling feeling in her eyes. She blinked quickly a few times before nodding in agreement. Troy stepped closer to her, sighing as he gave her a soft kiss on her forehead.

"I'll see you later." He told her.

"'Kay." She nodded.

Gabriella watched as Troy turned around and started to make his way towards the diner parking lot, where he unlocked his car slowly, sliding into the driver's side as soon as he did. Gabriella went back into the diner, walking back to the counter where Chase was finishing his meal, a ten dollar bill set next to it. He handed Gabriella the money when he saw her.

"Keep the change." He said as he stood up from the bar stool.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's the least I could do since I definitely created that awkward moment between you and your boyfriend." He chuckled.

"Sorry that I didn't warn you or anything." Gabriella shrugged as she stuck the bill into the cash register.

"No problem. I just have to be careful at the championship game." Chase said with a shake of his head, laughing at himself in a way.

"Yeah… wear protective padding." Gabriella joked.

"Thanks for the warning." Chase nodded, walking towards the door of the diner to leave Gabriella with the soon-to-be empty diner.

"Don't practice too hard."

"Nice try." He smiled as he gave her a small wave, disappearing around the corner of the diner, going in the opposite direction Troy had gone when he left.

Gabriella let out a stressful sigh as she slouched against the counter, not exactly happy with the start of her day. She had thought it would have been a good thing to see Troy first thing in the morning, but apparently, he wasn't a morning person and mixing a non-morning person with a rival and her non-royal self probably wasn't the best move to make on her part.

***

Troy sprinted across the floor of East High's gym, seeing Chad and Zeke out of the corners of his eyes as he turned quickly to sprint back to the other side of the court. His lungs were burning as his legs began to slowly start to feel like jelly while he pushed himself to go faster to the other side for his last sprint. When his dad blew the whistle to signal that practice was coming to an end, Troy used the energy he had left not to fall to the ground and take a needed nap on the sweaty gym floor.

"Alright, guys, gather around." Mr. Bolton called out to the boys, gesturing with his hands for them to circle around him. Once the team was by him, all catching their breath, he began his talk. "If this practice was any indication of what next month's game is going to be like I know we're going to beat those Knights into the ground!" Mr. Bolton cheered, causing the young boys around him to cheer as they thought about their soon-to-be victory.

"But." He boomed.

The guys stopped cheering, claming down as they looked at the now serious coach before them.

"I wouldn't be proud of that win with the way you are all acting towards each other." He said seriously, exchanging a secretive look with his son who was in the front of the group next to Chad. "What's been going on, guys?" He asked in a pleading manner. "Why wasn't anyone but Troy passing the ball to Zeke today? We all know that Zeke is one of our key players for all of our plays that we've been practicing since last year!"

The guys were quiet as most of them shrugged, looking guiltily at the ground.

"It's because he's dating that Barbie." Jason spoke up.

"I'm sorry; I don't see Zeke as the type to date a plastic girl's toy." Mr. Bolton said with a raise of his eyebrows, wanting a more respectful description of the girl Zeke was dating.

"He's dating Sharpay Evans." Brian Thompson, another player on the team, elaborated. "She's a theater geek."

"I don't see the problem, boys." Mr. Bolton replied.

"Come on, Coach." Chad said as he shook his head. "Guys like us don't date girls like that."

"Guys like you don't date anyone, as far as I'm concerned." Mr. Bolton corrected him, causing a few of the guys to let a mocking 'ohhh' out. "If my daughter came home with any of you, I'd have a heart attack."

"We're not that bad." Jason laughed.

"But you are." Mr. Bolton nodded. "You have to respect each other! You have to accept the fact that Sharpay is the person Zeke wants to be with. Don't go around like a bunch of sour faced girls who just found out that their boyfriend cheated on them! Most of you have been friends since kindergarten! Don't let your selfishness ruin that."

Troy cleared his throat quietly, thinking of Gabriella as his dad looked his way, and then scanned the rest of the team in front of him.

"Did any of you hear what I even said?" Mr. Bolton asked with a shake of his head as he saw the blank faces before him. "Alright… since you're acting like a bunch of girls, I guess I'm going to have to have a long sob-story talk with you."

The guys groaned loudly as they heard their coach. None of them wanted to stick around to talk about feelings or relationships. Zeke looked over at Troy who was in some kind of trance as he looked at the ground.

"Zeke, why do you like Sharpay?" Mr. Bolton asked. "I want the guys to hear why you're the only respectable guy I see today."

"Umm…" Zeke started unsurely, looking over at his coach, and then at his team as they all looked at him in shame. "Sharpay tells you how it is…she doesn't beat around the bush or anything…" He paused as he heard a chuckle from Chad and Jason. "She's beautiful, which is obvious, and she's always happy unless you mess with her friends. She's talented… and well, she likes basketball… a lot."

Mr. Bolton nodded as he patted Zeke on the shoulder, looking out at the rest of his team.

"Yeah right. I bet she couldn't tell us what a basketball looks like." Chad said with an eye roll.

"Dude… her dad owns the Lakers!"

The team gasped as they looked at Zeke with wide eyes, all with their mouths hanging open in shock as they tried to process this unexpected realization. Troy held in a laugh as he looked over at a smirking Zeke.

"Yeah. And her dad actually offered to get us all tickets to the NBA Finals, but because you've all been so mean to her and her friends, she decided against it and is now only taking me." He laughed, feeling happier now that he told them what he had been wanting to.

"WHAT? ZEKE!" The team screamed in shock, all obviously upset with the news that Zeke was telling them, but most of them knew that they deserved it and were now regretting not passing him the ball in practice.

"Maybe you'll think twice about being mean to my girlfriend and her friends." Zeke smiled. "See you later, team. This was a great bonding experience." He said sarcastically as he walked over to his gym bag, grabbing it quickly before leaving the gym, not wanting to be around his so called friends; ones that he thought would always be there for him. No matter what.

"I hope you're all feeling pretty crappy right now." Mr. Bolton said with a nod. "Practice is over."

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Much love,

unknownbyhim22