"Are you sure that you have your license?" Troy asked as he hopped out of his own truck feeling his stomach turn at the speed Gabriella was driving. He heard Gabriella laugh as she too shut her door after she hopped out without even a trace of being in a moving object going 80 miles per hour to be led to some house that was on a beach he hasn't even heard of that was thirty minutes out of their town.
Troy felt Gabriella's body come up to his as her thin arm wrapped itself around his waist and he took in the surroundings even more. This house was an average size house, two stories and it was on the beach as there was no grass but sand and he was guessing this was another man made lake since there was no oceans around. There were other houses that looked slightly identical to this one a little farther apart than what most houses are as there was no sign of life nearby except for a chirping of a bird or a rustle in the tree by a squirrel.
"Where are we?" Troy asked as Gabriella's arm slipped out from around his waist and interlaced with his hand.
She started walking as Troy had no choice but to walk too. "A couple of weeks ago my dad bought this house to rent out to some clients, but they're not gonna be here until a couple of days so we're all good." Gabriella reassured him as they made it to the back where they had a perfect view across the lake to the other side to see other houses.
Troy sighed as he was still kind of tired from last night. "Are you okay?" Gabriella asked softly as Troy turned to look at her and the way her hair was blowing softly in the breeze, the way her eyes glittered with the slightly risen sun, and how she just always knows what to say.
"You were kind of worrying me back at school." Troy hears Gabriella admit as she looks down at the ground as if ashamed or shy that she was saying this.
Troy was silent as he asked himself if he was okay. He knew that he wasn't physically hurt, but emotionally…he was straining as he wasn't used to not being able not to do anything. Sure he had lost a basketball game before, but not on the Varsity team as their Captain. But he had to just keep reminding himself that everything would go back to normal when he had his team back together and they win their next game.
Troy looked out into the calm murky gray water and wondered for a second what would happen if he just jumped in without a care in the world? He figured the water was near freezing as it was December, and he probably would get sick, but he at least would be able to say that he did something different for once.
He was sick of just being the person someone could rely on. He wanted to just do something different for once and say that he did it without a string attached.
"Wildcat?" Gabriella asked softly as her hands were on his waist and he looked down at her again.
"Sorry…" He murmured. Maybe he was relying on his friends for too much? Or maybe it wasn't so much relying, but he was just noticing now how much he needed them in his life to play one good night of basketball to shift the school's happy tone to a very sad one like someone died.
"You want to go inside or…stay out here?" Gabriella suggested as the cool breeze blew across her skin and she took her arms back from Troy and hugged them closer to her body for the heat from Troy's sweatshirt he gave her hung off her small arms.
"I'm kind of liking it out here." Troy said as he turned to look out at the water. He didn't know why, but for some strange reason just looking out into the cool water calmed him.
Gabriella nodded her head, "Well then…I think I have something for you." Gabriella leaned up on her tip toes and pressed a wet kiss to Troy's cheek as he let a small smile onto his face. "I'll be right back."
Troy watched Gabriella retreat from him as she walked up the stairs that lead to a deck and a door that lead to inside. She looked over her shoulder and flashed him a smile as he smiled back and then turned around. She bent over and took something out of the flower pot and put the key in the lock.
He didn't know how he got so lucky as he remembered the previous years and how the two would just share stares and smirked at each other as if communicating through the eyes. They would silently make fun of teachers, complain to each other through tired eyes, and would even share happy moments as the two of them would look at each other and their eyes would shine before their friends would come up to them and pull them away.
"So, you thirsty?" Gabriella's voice fluttered through the air as he turned to look at her and saw that she was back in her original place except she was holding a bottle of vodka and a blue blanket.
"I'm long over due." Troy said as Gabriella still had that amazing smile on her face and she spread out the blanket so they could sit on that instead of the sand.
"So if I didn't come with you today, where would you have gone?" Gabriella asked as she sat down on the blanket and Troy followed suit as the bottle of alcohol was just calling out to him. He just needed one good taste from the bottle to forget about the stares he was getting at school and then he and Gabriella could start their Christmas Break for two weeks.
Troy felt his shoulders go up and down and he leaned back on his hands, "I probably would've just drove til I was out of gas or something." He answered honestly as he found himself doing that whenever he needed to calm down.
There was a silence as Troy felt Gabriella's eyes on him and he slowly turned his head to stare at her and the way she was leaning back on her hands also and the way the wind would gently swing her curls around in the back of her head.
"The kids are wrong at school." Gabriella stated in a strong voice.
"What?" Troy asked slightly surprised that Gabriella would say this.
"I'm not blind or deaf. I saw the looks everyone was giving you and I heard some of the dramatic stories the cheerleaders were spreading." Gabriella said as she picked up the bottle of alcohol and handed it to Troy who gladly accepted it as he unscrewed the cap and took a swig. Feeling the liquid burn it's way down his throat as he never really understood why people drank. He didn't even know why he drank at parties, but this right now, told him everything. It felt good.
It wasn't like he was gonna become an alcoholic though, it just felt good knowing that he was underage and it technically was bad for his health in the long haul, but he didn't care.
Troy tried to conceal his distaste for the liquor as his throat still slightly burned, and found once it settled it didn't taste half bad. Troy held the open bottle out to Gabriella who took it and put it up to her lips and threw her head back as she took a bigger sip than Troy did.
Troy felt a chuckle erupt from his throat quietly as Gabriella didn't bother hiding the feeling the vodka did to her as her face scrunched up and she let out a little 'blah' sound and wiped her lips off with the back of her hand before handing the bottle over to Troy.
Troy just held the bottle in his hand as he sighed. "Whatever happened to basketball just being fun? Or just sports in general?" Troy scoffed as his foot kicked slightly at the sand
"Do you love basketball?" Gabriella asked as her voice was very intense,
"Yeah." Troy didn't miss a beat as Gabriella's hand rested on his knee and he took another gulp of the mocking alcohol in front of him. It burned as his eyes had water come to them as he wiped them away with the back of his other hand before handing Gabriella the bottle.
"Then don't lose that love. Do whatever you have to do to hold onto that love and don't let go and forget." Gabriella said before taking a drink of the clear liquid.
"Is that how it is for dancing?" Troy asked as he was finding that he had never heard Gabriella refer to dancing as love.
Gabriella bit her bottom lip as he then knew his answer. She let out a breath of air, "It used to be…and then…I moved on." Gabriella passed him the half drunken bottle as Troy stared down at it in his hands.
"But you do it so well and what about the competition coming up with the scouts?" Troy asked as he felt his brow furrow in confusion.
Gabriella shrugged, "A while ago I would never stop dancing, and then…" Troy saw Gabriella pick up a twig that was by them and play with it in her hands.
Her features seemed relaxed as her eyes scanned the water, the chill air was making her face a little red as he was sure that was exactly what he looked like too, and his sweatshirt hung off her body loosely as he was proud to see his last name on her back along with his number. She was his girlfriend, and he was hers. No one could question that anymore as she was the first one to absolutely capture his heart, she just didn't know it yet.
Gabriella snapped the twig in her hands. "People just put too much pressure on me and I just lost interest. It's almost like my job now to make my mom happy by dancing." Gabriella said.
Troy nodded, "I sometimes feel like that when it comes to basketball and my dad." Troy took another swallow of alcohol as the taste wasn't burning his mouth so much and he was becoming numb.
"Why can't we just do something for ourselves without feeling like others depend on us?" Gabriella asked more out loud for an unspoken answer than wanting to hear Troy make up something.
Troy offered Gabriella a gentle smile to try to ease her thoughts as he knew he didn't have the answers to her questions. He held the bottle out to her as she eyed it up and then took it. In one quick movement Gabriella took another big gulp.
Gabriella let out a giggle as she offered Troy the lasts of the bottle and he finished it up even though it was almost double the amount compared to his other sips. He laid the bottle down besides him as he just realized that they drank a whole bottle of straight up vodka in ten minutes and he was starting to feel a little tipsy.
"Maybe you should…talk to your mom…about dancing?" Troy asked slowly as he tried to control his mind from only thinking about his sexy girlfriend who was sitting by him and they were the only two around and tried to concentrate on their problems, but he found the first thought a lot more interesting.
Gabriella lifted her shoulders in a shrug, "She just wants what's best for me. If it keeps her happy then why not do it?"
"Because you're not gonna be happy when you get accepted into Julliard and you'll have a whole bunch of other problems ahead of you." Troy pointed out smartly.
There was a silence as Troy felt the alcohol working it's way into his body even more.
"You know…" Gabriella said quietly in a tone that wasn't her usual happy self. Troy had only heard this tone a couple of times and it was when they were drinking. "I don't love it anymore, but…I still want to dance…If that makes any sense?" Gabriella turned her head with a confused face on as Troy turned his body to look at her more.
"I think…" Troy really did try to keep his mind on basketball and dancing issues, and then there was the fact that in two weeks he would barely get to see his girlfriend anymore, but it was hard as he looked at Gabriella full on and saw her shiver slightly and hug herself even more to make sure that the sweatshirt she was wearing did her job to keep her warm. "I think…you should talk to your mom."
"Or maybe…" Gabriella's tone picked up and smile took her over her face. Gabriella blinked her eyes and winced a little as Troy could tell that the alcohol was working it's way through her body also when Gabriella's words slurred. "Maybe…I can have my own dance studio." Gabriella thought about it for a minute as Troy's ears perked up. This meant she wouldn't technically have to go to Julliard and they could go to the same college next year. "I could teach anything I wanted." Gabriella declared. "And I like kids…sometimes." Gabriella added as an after thought and Troy chuckled drunkenly at this.
Gabriella smirked as she hoisted her body over Troy's and straddled him as he was still leaning back on his hands slightly. Gabriella smirked down at Troy who seemed to stop laughing now and had excitement in his eyes.
"What are you laughing at?" Gabriella whispered as her face neared his, but didn't touch him.
Troy leaned up slightly only to have Gabriella back up the same distance and Troy groaned quietly. "Gabi…" Troy whined as Gabriella smirked.
"Were you laughing at me?" She asked in his ear as she nipped at it harshly as Troy felt a tightening in his pants.
Troy's hands reached up to settle on her hips, but before they could even touch her, Gabriella's reflexes were quicker than he estimated as she pinned him down and his back landed on the blue blanket with an 'oomph' sound emitting from his mouth.
Troy looked up and saw Gabriella smiling down at him innocently as her two hands were holding his wrists above his head and her curls fell down the sides of her face and just barely touched his cheeks making a tingling feeling shoot through his body.
"Didn't your mother ever teach you it's not polite to stare?" Gabriella asked seductively near Troy's ear again as her tongue dipped down and left a sleek trail down the side of Troy's face making Troy think back to him doing that to Gabriella a couple of days ago in his room.
"Didn't your mother ever tell you that there was an exception to that rule?" Troy retorted back after a moment of thinking.
Gabriella pressed a kiss under Troy's ear and down his jaw bone to the side of his mouth. "And…what would that be?"
"If you were staring at a sexy girl." Troy said as he easily freed his hands from Gabriella's grip and took her firmly by the waist and rolled over so that he was on top making Gabriella squeal.
"Wildcat…" Gabriella whined as Troy's nose nuzzled hers and all thoughts of basketball and dance flew out of his mind and Gabriella took over. "I want to be in ch-charge." Gabriella hiccupped.
"You can…" Troy said as he pecked her on the lips and lifted her back up to wrap around her lower back. Gabriella wrapped her legs around Troy's waist tightly as he stood up shakily. "Second round."
"W-wait…wait…w-wait." Gabriella said with a giggle as they were already half way to the stairs to go inside. "There's more vodka in the kitchen." Gabriella said as Troy nodded to make a stop in the kitchen and then the bedroom.
Gabriella walked into her house holding her head as she had stopped drinking ten hours ago as it was now 9 at night. Gabriella shut her front door quietly so she didn't disturb her head ache even more and she was now thankful that her mom was doing something with Eric that night before Christmas came around and Eric would be busy with his family and Gabriella and her mom would be busy with Darbus and Gabriella would be busy with her dad and Troy too.
Gabriella walked up the stairs as she held her head a little and tried to blink back the head ache even though she was pretty sure that was probably making it worst. Her body was tired even though Troy and her spent pretty much the whole afternoon together in bed except when they were washing the sheets and cleaning up the empty alcohol bottles. Gabriella just felt bad because she started off strong, but Troy was a lot worst and she left him at his house after he got done puking.
Gabriella started walking down the hallway as she thought about the drunken response she got from Troy this morning about where his parents were. He told her that his dad had to go straight to the airport with his mother after school and pick up his grandparents in California because that flight was cheaper by a could hundred dollars and it was one of the few that had open flights that weren't packed.
Gabriella pushed open her door to her room and jumped as her hand that was at her head clutched her chest as she saw Jake sitting on her bed with a tense jaw and narrow eyes concentrating on a book.
As soon as he heard Gabriella's gasp of surprise though, he snapped his eyes up and nearly threw her book down harshly on her bedspread. Gabriella looked at him curiously. Maybe something happened with Haley and him? Or maybe he just had a bad day at school?
"Hey." Gabriella said softly so that she did her best to tame her head ache.
"…" Jake missed a beat. "Hey." He sat up straighter as Gabriella plopped down lazily on the bed near him and Jake tensed up even more as Gabriella sensed this.
"What's up?" Gabriella asked as she looked at him.
Jake couldn't hold it in any longer, "Not your English grade." He replied as Gabriella winced at his harsh tone.
Gabriella's eyes went wide in shock, terror, and nerves as the AP English test came into her mind. She totally forgot about it this morning as she could only think about helping Troy with the loss of the basketball game.
"Jake…I…I totally-" Gabriella stammered.
"Failed!" Jake filled in a little too loudly for her liking as she brought her hand up again to her temple and rubbed gently. Jake studied her over as neither one of them said something and Gabriella grew even more anxious as Jake still didn't say anything, but then stood up. "Were you drinking?!"
Gabriella sunk back lower into the wall as she brought up both of her hands and rubbed her eyes clear.
"You were with Troy too!" It wasn't a question as Gabriella heard the anger in Jake's voice and looked up in his normally sparkling eyes that were slowly turning darker. "He wasn't at school either. I can't believe that you would skip one of your biggest tests this year for him!" Jake exclaimed.
Gabriella shut her eyes as it was no use to try to stop the sick feeling she was getting in her stomach, but it wasn't from drinking. It was from the beginning of a long fight with her best friend.
"Jake--" Gabriella said softly as Jake's harsh voice cut her off again.
"This test counted for half of your grade and you just threw it down the drain!" Jake yelled as his eyes narrowed in on his best friend. "And it was all for him!" He bellowed as Gabriella felt her own anger well up in the bottom of her stomach, on top of the sick feeling that was forming quickly.
Gabriella stood up from her bed as she looked into Jake's now blackened eyes. "I'll figure something out." Gabriella countered. "There's more to life than just tests and school work."
Jake huffed, "There's more to life than boy toys too."
Gabriella narrowed her eyes anymore. She was far past angry at Jake. How dare she say that Troy was just a boy toy to her?! Who gave him the right to label her boyfriend like that?! Sure she had never really had a serious relationship before, but Troy was different and deep down Gabriella knew that Jake knew that too as the anger just built up in the both of them.
"Don't you dare say that!" Gabriella yelled. "So what if I was with him today?!"
"You were drinking…in the day! Since when do you do that!?" Jake shouted at her furiously as he paced a bit and then stopped and looked at her. "What the hell were you thinking this morning?! Cutting school to get drunk with a guy?! Were you even in a safe environment?"
Gabriella rolled her eyes with attitude. "Of course. Troy wouldn't let anything bad happen to me."
Jake rolled his eyes to this as the two best friends glared at each other. "I don't even know who you are anymore." Jake said with disappointment.
Gabriella felt her blood boil as this hurt her more than what both of them realized. How can her best friend say that to her? If anyone knew her the most it would be Jake.
"That is not fair." Gabriella said as her tone dropped a couple of notches and they continued to have an intense stare that no longer consisted of glaring eyes, but disappointment, saddened ones that they let things get like this. "I don't spend any more time with Troy than you do with Haley and your friends." Gabriella said with a shake of her head.
"Even so, you don't see me skipping school and getting drunk. Oh god,…you didn't drive home drunk? Did you?" Jake asked as anger started to fill him again just thinking about it. If it was one thing, that was the one thing he would not tolerate as Gabriella knew that about him.
Her mind flashes to how Jake's grandpa died a year and a half ago and how he was killed by a drunk driver.
"Of course not. We wouldn't do that!" Gabriella snapped more harshly than what she intended, but he wasn't giving her enough credit even though she wasn't giving him any reasons to, but Gabriella was mad and she wasn't thinking about what Jake thought. "How can you even ask that?!" Gabriella's voice hitches.
"How can I not?!" Jake shouts back and anger flashes through his eyes again and he slams his fist down on her dresser that he was standing by. "Dammit Gabriella!" Jake shouts. "How can you be so irresponsible?! There are no retakes with this test!"
Gabriella's face dropped. She didn't realize this. But then again she had to admit that she wasn't concentrating as much at school like she was before, but she wasn't about to admit to that.
"Get out!" Gabriella demands as Jake looks up. Not once had Gabriella ever told him to leave, but then again they had only fought one other time and that was at school.
Jake narrows his eyes even more finding a new hate towards Troy Bolton for the problems he's created. Jake found it a lot easier to blame Troy for all of this and corrupting his best friend, even though that was a bit of a stretch.
"It's all because of Bolton, and you know it Gabriella!" Jake yelled at her.
Gabriella was breathing heavily as her fists close and turn white. "Get out! You know nothing about us!" Gabriella knew she sounded like some brat saying that, but she wasn't about to have a civil conversation with Jake to defend her and Troy's relationship right now.
"I can't believe that you're choosing him over me. Pretty soon he won't be there for you. Don't come to me for help because I'll say I told you so." Jake didn't yell that as he spoke darkly and Gabriella froze in her spot. Jake knew that was a shitty comment, but how could she just defend Bolton for taking her out of school, getting her drunk, doing god only knows what, and then come home and act like nothing was wrong with that. It wouldn't be that bad if he knew that she wasn't going to fail her class now and her mom wouldn't be happy with that either.
"I said GET OUT AND DON'T EVER TALK TO ME AGAIN!" Gabriella screamed with tears in her eyes. "I DON'T NEED YOU SO GET OUT!" Gabriella screamed as she picked up a pillow and chucked it at him as he caught it and threw it harshly down to the ground and walked over to the door.
He threw open her door and turned around to look at her with ice in his eyes, "FINE, BUT THE SAME GOES FOR ME! STAY THAT HELL AWAY!"
Gabriella threw another pillow at Jake as he quickly ducked and held the doorknob tightly as his knuckles turned white, "I HATE YOU!" Gabriella screamed with tears running down her cheek.
"RIGHT BACK AT YOU!" Jake slammed the door shut as he quickly made his way out of her house as Gabriella sunk down to the floor and cried as she pulled her knees up to her chest. She had just told her best friend she hates him.
Author's note--So what do you think? So I hope that this doesn't change your opinions about Jake that much. He was just being a friend, and he's just the type of friend that gets angry too if something is happening to his best friend that he thinks isn't the best for her. He was just trying to care for her, but...well you saw how it went down. Review please and thank you.