Chapter 13: The Party

By seven o'clock Sharpay, Taylor and Kelsi had all finished getting ready. They were now at the task at perfecting Gabriella's hair and makeup. Once done they ushered Gabriella into her adjoining bathroom with the outfit Sharpay had picked out for her. When she finally came out five minutes later her friends were very impressed with their work. Gabriella stood at her bathroom door in a denim mini with a red halter that dipped a little in the back. A modest amount of cleavage was shown and the outfit showed off her voluptuous curves. The attire was finished out with a pair of black strapped heals. She gave off an exotic vibe with her hair being extra wavy and left down, and her makeup was, as always, light.

After making sure they all looked great they piled into Gabriella's car and followed the directions Troy had given the previous night. As they neared the house they could already hear the music and Gabriella wondered whether or not this was disturbing the neighbors. She parked across the street and they all made their way towards the door. Once again she felt every eye on her as she entered with her friends at her side. Ignoring the leering looks they were receiving from the guys the four made their way into the party looking for another group of four. It didn't take long to find the guys; they were situated in a corner in the living room in a heated discussion. Basketball was Gabriella's first guess as were the other three's.

Troy felt a presence behind him and turned around. His jaw dropped once he took in the sight of none other than Gabriella Montez. She keeps looking more and more beautiful every time I see her. If only she knew how badly I want to be with her. To have the title of Gabriella Montez's boyfriend would be one of the most honorable things in the world.

Chad saw that Troy had stopped talking and turned his attention to what had preoccupied his captain's thoughts. He followed his gaze and knew that Troy was looking at Gabriella but his attention was on the brunette next to her: Taylor McKessie. Zeke and Jason had also adverted their eyes and were staring at Sharpay and Kelsi respectively. The boys weren't able to speak for what seemed like ages, all four jaws slacked.

Sharpay smirked at a job well done and lead the way to the boys. Once there she, as well as Taylor, Gabriella and Kelsi, was amused that the boys were still looking at them longingly.

When Troy finally came out of his trance he found Gabriella standing right in front of him. "Um, hey Brie. You look great," he said sincerely.

"You too Taylor, just great."

"You look beautiful Sharpay."

"Amazing Kelsi, just purely amazing."

After the casual greetings the other three couples went to the dance floor to dance as Gabriella and Troy remained back talking. "Do you want to dance Brie?" Troy asked after talking for what seemed like hours when in reality it was only half an hour. Receiving a nod Troy led Gabriella to the dance floor and the two began moving to the beat. Troy couldn't believe how well Gabriella's body moved to the rhythm of the music, she was flawless. Nervously Troy placed his hands on her hips hoping she wouldn't object and was relieved when she didn't. he couldn't explain the feeling he felt when his hands connected with her body, it was electrifying.

Gabriella was dancing with Troy when she felt his hands on her hips sending shocks up and down her spine. She looked up at him and smiled, she wasn't planning on removing his hands any time soon, it felt right. They danced to a couple more songs until a slow song came along. Troy moved back confusing Gabriella with his actions. "Um, maybe we should go sit down or something. You must be tired by now."

Smiling at his concern and nerves Gabriella shook her head and stepped toward the blue-eyed boy. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close to her. It took Troy a minute to register what had happened and happily snaked his own arms around Gabriella's slender waist. They moved as one to the music; Gabriella placing her head into the crook of Troy's neck as he tightened his hold onto the petite girl in front of him. They were lost in their own world so they didn't realize when the song had ended until Chad came bounding towards them with a smile on his face.

"Dude, get over here!" Ugh! Chad has the worst timing! Troy thought as he once again became aware of his surroundings. He reluctantly released his hold on Gabriella and immediately felt empty without her touch, as did Gabriella with his. They turned toward their bushy haired friend and followed him to the backyard were the other five were waiting for them. They chatted for some time until Gabriella excused herself to use the bathroom.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Troy asked, worried about leaving her alone.

"No, I'll be fine. Be back in a few." With that Gabriella made her way back inside and down a hall in search for a bathroom. She quickly found one and was glad to find no line. When making her way back down the hall she found that her path was blocked. Looking up she found Blake Simons, a very drunk Blake Simons.

"Hey babe. Wanna have some fun?" Blake somehow managed to slur out. Purely disgusted Gabriella said no and attempted to make her way around the bulky boy by found that he wasn't going to move any time soon.

"Um, can you move? I need to be somewhere," Gabriella said, getting irritated with the idiot jock.

"Come on babe, why you gotta be so cold? We could have lots of fun. I'm a really nice guy, once you get to know me," Blake said grasping both of Gabriella's arms and pushing her against the wall. Before she had time to react Blake had covered her lips with his own, muffling her protests. No matter how much she tried pushing him away Blake was too strong for her. Tears started to form as she felt the boy's hands begin to creep up her shirt. Before he could reach breasts Gabriella felt his weight being pulled off of her. Gasping for air, Gabriella saw Troy punch the living day lights out of the drunken jock.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Troy demanded as he landed another punch against Blake's jaw. Retaliating Blake managed to land a punch of his own. "Mind your own business Bolton. This is between me and her."

"Whatever concerns Brie, concerns me!" Troy shouted as anger began to rise attracting much attention from the party goers. As Troy continued to punch Blake Sharpay, Kelsi and Taylor had come inside with the other boys to see what was happening. Seeing a disheveled Gabriella the girls made their way to her side as Zeke, Chad and Jason tried to pry Troy off of Blake before he killed him. Gabriella knew that Troy wasn't going to give up any time soon and it seemed like he was about to kill Blake so Gabriella managed to say, "Troy, please stop."

It came out barely audible but Troy had heard her and he stopped landing punches on the other boy's face. When he had controlled his breathing Troy made his way over to Gabriella and opened his arms out to her. With a sob Gabriella lunged into Troy's arm, tightening her own around his waist. Holding her close he finally spoke out, "I'm sorry Brie, I'm so sorry. I should've been able to protect you. If I had only come with you this wouldn't have happened."

Shaking her head and tightening her grip Gabriella said, "No, is was my fault. I told you I would be okay but I wasn't, I wasn't okay."

"Shh Brie, it'll be alright. I'm not letting anything happen to you again. I promise, I'll always be there to protect you." Gabriella nodded her head, grateful for Troy's presence.

"Hey, Troy man. I think we should get the girls home," Chad said.

"Yeah, okay," Troy said turning to Gabriella he asked. "Brie did you drive your car here?" She nodded her head once again indicating that the answer was yes. "Okay, I'm going to drive Brie's car to her house and you guys follow behind us."

The other three boys piled into Zeke's car as Troy and the girls went into Gabriella's. They drove in silence until they got to Gabriella's house. Troy opened the door and carried Gabriella out as she seemed to have fallen asleep. Taylor retrieved Gabriella's key from her bag and opened the door. The seven teenagers walked into the house with Gabriella in Troy's arms. He walked up to her room and gently placed her on her bed.

"She should change her clothes, she won't be able to sleep comfortably in those," Troy said to no one in particular.

"We'll change her Troy," Taylor said as Sharpay led him out of the room. Once the door was shut behind him Troy made his way downstairs and found Zeke, Jason and Chad waiting in the living room.

"How is she?" Chad asked worried about Gabriella as well as his best friend.

"Good, she's asleep right now and the girls are changing her. I don't know what I'd do if I hadn't gotten there in time. What if I didn't? What if he raped her?!"

"Troy, it's okay. You got there in time, you saved her. She's okay now and it's all thanks to you," Zeke said trying to calm Troy down.

"I would've killed him if she hadn't stopped me."

"We know man, we know."

"You guys can go home if you want," Troy said. "I think I'm going to stay the night here."

"No, I'm staying with you. We're all worried about Gabi. Just let me call my mom and tell her I'm not coming home tonight," Chad said.

"Me too," Jason and Zeke said. By the time they all made their necessary calls, reassuring their parents that they were all okay but wouldn't be coming home because a friend wasn't feeling well, the girls had come down.

"She's still asleep but you guys should go home it's getting late," Sharpay said,

"No, we're all staying here," Troy said. "I'm not leaving Gabi tonight." Sharpay nodded understandingly and asked Taylor if she could get out some pillows and blankets for the seven of them. Once they all settled in the living room Troy said that he would be going to check on Gabriella.

He walked upstairs and quietly opened the door to Gabriella's room. Peering inside Troy saw Gabriella peacefully sleeping in her bed. He walked to her bedside and placed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I promise Brie, nothing's going to happen to you while I'm here," Troy whispered. As he made his way to the door he heard a small voice.

"Troy?"

"Yeah, Brie?" Troy asked.

"Stay with me tonight? Please?" Agreeing Troy went and shut the door before going back to her bed. Taking off his jeans Troy grabbed a pillow. He was about to settle on the floor when Gabriella's voice stopped him once again. "No, Troy. Can you hold me?"

Silently Troy made his way into her bed and laid down next to her. Adjusting the comforter around the two Troy securely wrapped his arms around Gabriella and pulled her close. Snuggling into Troy's chest Gabriella whispered a thank you before falling back into slumber. "Anything for you Brie, anything for you," Troy said before he too fell into slumber.

Wondering what was taking so long with Troy Taylor made her way upstairs. When she opened the door and looked into Gabriella's room she found the couple fast asleep in each other's arms. They're so cute together. Taylor thought as she quietly closed the door and made her way back downstairs.

"Where's Troy?" Chad asked still worried about his best friend.

"He's asleep." Taylor replied. Before anyone could say anything she added, "And we should follow suit, it's late and I'm sure we're all tired."