"Gabs, are you okay?" Taylor's voice echoed through her head on Monday morning as the schools lights were right above them early morning since this was Gabriella's first day back and she had to catch a ride with her grandmother because her car was still in the shop since they would only release it if Anna picked it up and Anna's car was totaled, but Gabriella wasn't complaining as she didn't feel up to driving anymore.
Gabriella sighed as she had just told Taylor the plan for that day and she couldn't help but look away from the concern, shock, and hurt in her friend's brown eyes. She leaned against the wall for balance as she tried to block out what she was going to do, it wasn't going to be easy, but it was only fair for Troy. She didn't want to be known for dragging him along and if they were as good as a couple like people said they were then they could pick up where they left off in a month.
"…Yeah, just…tired." Gabriella admitted as she looked down at the ground remembering how her grandmother somehow convinced her to come to school that day; even though her dad thought it was still a little risky, but Gabriella would be okay.
Taylor laid a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder and Gabriella looked up at this gesture. "When are you going to do it?"
Gabriella shook her head slowly from side to side. "Is there a right time to do it?" Gabriella asked as she leaned her head back against the wall, hoping that Taylor would somehow magically find the answer.
Taylor frowned at her friend as Gabriella shut her eyes desperately. If this was the right thing to do, then why did it feel so wrong? But Gabriella pushed that thought out of her head because this was the right thing to do. Her mother was in a coma still because of her and Gabriella would do anything to make her proud again, even though Gabriella didn't know if her mom was still mad or not.
"I would do it in the morning because it's not fair on Troy if you hold out on him anymore." Taylor reasoned as Gabriella slowly opened her eyes and nodded a little. There was no good time because if she did it in the morning then they would have to go through school after their 'discussion' and then if she waited until after school then Troy had to go to basketball practice and probably wouldn't do his best and then he'd end up doing a lot more drills because his dad would be losing patience with him.
She's rather have him adjust to what she was about to say to him then have him go to basketball practice shocked and confused because of her.
"Are you sure you're okay Gabs because your dad said that if you're not feeling well he wants you to come home." Taylor pointed out as Gabriella pushed off the wall so they could continue to their lockers.
Gabriella playfully rolled her eyes as she couldn't help but only hear the motherly tone of her girl best friend. "Yes ma'am." Gabriella answered in a deadpan way as she knew Taylor just rolled her eyes too.
Just as they turned the corner Gabriella heard the warning bell go off, but that barely registered in her mind as her breath got caught in her throat. There was Troy standing next to his curly haired friend at her and Taylor's locker laughing about something.
She stopped all of a sudden as Taylor nearly fell over from turning around too fast and looking at her, before walking to where Gabriella stopped and stood with her.
He looked so good in his red t-shirt with a white shirt underneath, dark loose blue jeans and just a pair of sneakers. His hair fell right above his eyes so he had to flick it away so it didn't cloud over his vision and irritate him, his hard shoulder leaned against her locker as his chest vibrated with his chuckle that sounded so good to hear since she hadn't heard it in a while and she felt guilty for knowing that she was about to take that away.
"You okay?" Taylor asked out of the side of her mouth and Gabriella all of a sudden wished Jake was there to so she could ask him for his advice, but mentally cursed the dentist as she knew Jake was there probably getting a filling or something.
Gabriella didn't answer as Troy's head looked up and straight at her. His blue eyes shining in the light, his smile illuminating off his face as she sees out of the corner of her eyes that Chad was looking at Troy curiously. Troy however ignores his best friend and pushes off the locker to make his way over to her.
"Hey…" His strong voice said huskily in her ear as he scoops her up in his arms and hugs her tightly while pressing a kiss to his cheek.
Gabriella finds a tight smile comes onto her face as she eases her way into his arms, finding her body just molded naturally into his as her small hands rub up and down his back so he doesn't notice she was barely giving any emotion.
"How's your day so far?" Troy asked as Gabriella didn't notice how Chad kissed Taylor good morning, or how Taylor sent her an encouraging look before pulling Chad along as he tried to stay.
"You know…" Gabriella started slowly as they made their way over to her locker and she opened it. "I woke up, ate breakfast, had to come to school early with my grandma. Normal stuff." She didn't mean to sound so sarcastic.
She quickly shut her locker so nothing would fall out and Troy looked at her weirdly and she flashed him a nervous smile. "Where's your books?"
"Where's yours?" She asked back with a true smile on her face as he rolled his eyes and laced their hands together.
"Ha ha, funny Montez." Troy grinned as he stopped and all of a sudden Gabriella's feet stumbled and her back hit the wall as she bit her bottom lip, trying to anticipate what was going to happen. She knew her face probably looked shocked and freaked out, but she couldn't help but think about what she was going to be doing soon. "We both know that I just got done with basketball practice and was waiting for you." Troy's lips neared hers as his forehead rested against hers. "What's on your mind Montez?"
"I um…actually need to talk to you." Gabriella said quickly as she searched Troy's eyes and couldn't help but let the guilt soak through her, and if she stared even more at him then she was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to go through with it, which is what half of her wanted to happen in the first place.
"Now?" He asked and once he registered that she was serious, then his whole face turned to concern. "Yeah, sure. Do you want to go somewhere?" Troy asked.
Gabriella gripped his hand tighter as if she was afraid to let go and pulled him along, quickly shuffling her feet through people, while peering into the classrooms to see if one was abandoned.
"Whoa…where's the fire?" He asked with a chuckle and Gabriella felt her heart break as she knew that he wouldn't be laughing soon.
She slowed down as they turned a corner and she finally saw a classroom that had no lights on, and no teacher around. She untangled her hand from Troy's as she had her back away from him and heard the door shut behind him.
Could she do this? She could actually tell the person she loves that she needed to take some time off from their relationship because she needed to focus on dance? Her stomach turned just thinking about it and her eyes glazed over as she opened them and blinked them once again.
"Is everything okay?" He asked slowly as Gabriella turned around and saw him sitting on top of a desk with his feet almost touching the ground.
Gabriella sighed as she looked down at the ground and started pacing. She couldn't stand still as she tried to find the right words to say, but were there even right words to say in this situation?
"Have you ever felt like….you're stuck between two things and you have to pick one?" Gabriella asked, but she didn't allow time for him to answer as she continued pacing a little bit more and avoiding eye contact. "And either one you choos you could hurt someone somehow? But you have to make a choice either way and you have to do it soon or else it will be too late."
Gabriella blinked her eyes again to clear them of the tears that she knew she was going to shed as she was dreading what was coming next. All thoughts of going to homeroom were swept out of her mind as she was pretty sure she had just heard the final bell go off.
"Because right now I'm feeling exactly that as I don't think," This was it, she was going to somehow separate herself from Troy and it was breaking her heart. "…God, I just don't want to drag you along during this and you don't know how much this hurts me to say, but…" Gabriella trailed off again as she stopped her pacing and she looked up to finally look at Troy in the last two minutes.
"Gabi, you're scaring me." Troy said as he stood up and walked up to her, putting his two comforting warm hands on her small shoulders, as if she was going to run away at any minute and he was trying to get her to stop. He bent his knees a little to get to her height and look her in the eyes as one of his thumbs reached up and moved a curl off to the side. "You can tell me anything, you know that." He urged as Gabriella swallowed a lump forming in her throat.
"Not this." She mumbled as she let her eyes travel off to the side of him before trailing back to him as she told herself if she did this it would be fair on both of them. She didn't want to be the girl who was too busy for her boyfriend and just dragged him along through everything. "I can…I can't…see you anymore." Gabriella said with glossy eyes and heavy breathing.
She heard Troy suck in air as his grip on her shoulders loosened and she felt like she was losing him forever, when really it would only be for a month, but a lot could happen in a month. What if he didn't want to wait that long?
"What?" Troy asked dumbly as shock was laced within that one word.
"I'm so sorry Troy." Gabriella cried for the first time in a long time not calling him by his nickname. "It's just…I have to stay focused…for my dance competition." Gabriella knew he probably didn't know what she was talking about since the last time he heard was that she didn't have a coach now since her mom was in a coma, but she found someone to take her mother's spot…her grandmother.
Gabriella flinched at Troy's sarcastic laugh as hurt shone through in his tone. "Funny coming from the girl that didn't want to dance anymore." His hands dropped completely off of her and they both stood frozen in their spots. She was trying to find something to say as Troy just seemed completely in desperation of trying to grasp what was happening.
"I don't." Gabriella said desperately trying to find some other comforting words that would work in this situation, but her mind went blank.
"Then prove it and don't." Troy retorted harshly as he ran his hand viciously through his hair as if that would clear his mind.
"Just a break Troy. Just a small break and by the time the competition is over I'll be done with it." Gabriella tried reasoning with him.
Troy narrowed his eyes on her as Gabriella took an involuntary step back due to the ice shining in his eyes and she blinked her own glazed over eyes to make sure she was seeing it right.
Troy stepped forward and his hands clapped to the walls on either side of her head as Gabriella sunk back even more, wincing when she heard the cold slap against the wall, knowing his hands probably stung a little from hitting the wall harder than what intended.
His gaze hit her hard as he spoke close to her face and she could smell the minty toothpaste that he used that morning. "You got to tell me what was on your mind, now let me tell you what's on mine." His tone was demanding as Gabriella was not going to disobey him, as his eyes penetrated through her, his body pushed up against hers.
"Dancing is always going to be a part of you. You grew up with it. Your mother grew up with it. Your grandmother grew up with it. And I'm guessing it's pretty damn hard to walk away from, and I'm fine." His voice was strong and deliberating. "I'm okay with the fact that you don't want to give it up, but there's no way that it can be in your life and I can't."
Gabriella nodded her head dumbly as Troy leaned down and all she wanted to do was bring their lips together, but knew that it would contradict what she just told him. He nuzzled his face to the side of her head, as his nose and mouth grazed down the side of her face, just taking in her scent.
"I love you way too damn much to let you just push me away after everything you went through, after everything we shared together." Troy pushed himself off the wall as Gabriella all of a sudden felt cold and she watched him give her a small weak smile. "But I'm not gonna push you, and if you want a break, I'll give it to you only because I love you." Troy started walking towards the door and opened it.
Gabriella thought he was going to leave, but his whole body froze in the doorway as her heart beat rapidly and she used the back of her hands wipe the rest of the unshed tears from her eyes.
He turned his head slightly to the side so she could see a little of his face as his back stayed facing her. "I'll be waiting for you Gabriella Montez, and you'll realize it sooner or later that you're gonna need me, and I'll be there waiting."
Gabriella jumped in shock as the loud bell rang out and kids filed out of their homeroom classes as Troy joined the crowds swarming the hallways. What the hell just happened?
It was the third playoff game in the opponents gym. Troy knew this game was important and he was always willing to put 110 percent into every game that he played, this one shouldn't be any different. And it wasn't because things were starting to look up a little bit besides the fact that the girl who he loves still wanted to remain on a break, but he would deal. He had too.
He took a deep breath; if they lose this game then they would be knocked out of the bracket and there would be no way that they would be able to play in the championships. He heard people around him talking as his dad was outside the locker room talking to the ref.
"Hey, did you hear about Gabriella's mom?" He hears his best friend ask the guys around them and he shuts his eyes tight.
His finger rings the doorbell hesitantly as his mouth was dry with emotion. He had only seen her in their two classes that they shared the past week and it was slowly hurting him. He took a deep breath as he readjusted the box under his arm, it all made perfect sense in his mind.
He was just going to return her things that she left over at his house even though he wanted to keep them, but if this was the only way that he could see her outside of school then he was going to. He meant what he told her on Monday, he would be there waiting for her when she realized he was the one, but in the mean time that didn't' mean he couldn't come up with ways to see her.
The door swung open and he was met with a pair of deep brown eyes, her hair in it's natural curls, her small hand gripping the door so it didn't swing all the way open, and her face showing shock.
"Troy?" Her voice asked in confusion and her wide eyes blinked just to make sure that she wasn't seeing things. "What are--Don't you have--what time is--aren't you gonna be late for your game?" She finally asked, and Troy offered her a small smile.
"Here." He lifted the box a little bit more before holding it securely in his arms again. She looked at him puzzled, and he was savoring every moment of it. If this was the way things were gonna be for the next couple of weeks, he was going to take every opportunity he got to show her that she made a mistake.
"What um…what uh,…is it?" She asked trying to hide her shock.
"It's your stuff, where do you want it?" Troy asked as he walked past her and into the house as he looked around to see if anything changed in the house, but nothing did. "So…where's Ms. Darbus?" He asked as he looked around some more and he heard Gabriella shut the door quickly and scurry over to him.
"Wait…what? My stuff?" She asked.
"Yeah. I figured you'd want some things back and you didn't have the time to pick them up." He explained as he set the box down on the table. She raised her eyes brow at him as they just stared at each other.
He wanted to talk. He wanted it to be just like the other times before a game where they would lay in his truck and they would just say what was on their minds. He wanted her to open up to him and tell him what she was thinking about her mom situation seeing as she hadn't woken up yet.
"Do you…need something else?" Gabriella asked slowly as she leaned against one of the chairs she had at the dining room table.
"Now that you asked…"
"Guys, let's go!" His dad's voice echoed through the locker room again as Chad never got the chance to explain Gabriella's mom's situation.
He stood up and walked out from behind the lockers followed by Zeke and Chad as they got ready to face the crowd that would be 'booing' them and wishing they would lose. He took a deep breath as he knew Chad and Zeke were behind him, ready for his father to say they could head out.
"No man, what's up with that?" Zeke asked referring back to what Chad asked him just a minute before.
"Are you sure you left your textbook here?" Gabriella asked while standing up from looking under the bed. "Because I don't see it anywhere."
Troy pretended to look around as he was just wasting time before he actually had to drive to the away game which was only thirty minutes away and he had to leave in twenty minutes. Troy blew out a deep breath as he settled his eyes on Gabriella again.
"So…how are you doing?" His voice got serious as it would be a lie if he said he wasn't worried. He saw Gabriella freeze up with her back to him as she shut the desk drawer and turned around slowly to look at him.
"How am I doing?" She repeated as if she was confirming what he said.
He nodded, "Yeah. How are you doing?"
She let out a forced laugh. "Let's see…I was in a car accident, my mother's still in a coma, I am too afraid to drive, I have to nail my routine, and the guy who I'm taking a break from is stalling time in my room." The brunette exclaimed.
"Fine…you're right. I am here stalling time, wondering how you are. Is that a crime?" He asked as Gabriella sighed and ran a hand through her hair.
"It is when I have to focus." She admitted and he took a couple of steps towards her. "And I can't get distracted anymore. This weekend my Grandma is starting my training again and you can't just come over here and act like nothing happened."
"Why can't I? Are there rules that say I can't come over here and just talk to you?" He countered.
"Because Troy!" Gabriella exclaimed as she threw up her hands for more dramatic effect. "If I see you then that means I'll be thinking about you and that means I won't concentrate!"
"Did you ever think that could be a good thing?" His voice got louder as Gabriella rolled her eyes.
"You don't get it do you?" She shot as he knew he didn't get it. What was there to get, she made it pretty clear that she wanted a break so she could dance. "It hurts just talking to you. Just seeing you at school and knowing that I picked dance hurts me too. Not just you, but you don't see me making up time to just see you."
Just then the phone rang once, but Gabriella didn't both moving as their icy eyes stayed on each other. "Then why can't we just be together, huh? Why can't you dance and be with me at the same time? We were doing that before, weren't we?"
The phone rang a second time, but she didn't budge. "Because I'm gonna be putting all my effort into dance this time. I'm gonna win this thing and before I didn't even think that was possible since I didn't want it, but now…it's like I want it more than anything."
"Even more than me?" His voice was small as he took another step forward and their bodies were less then a foot apart. He was almost scared to hear her answer.
"Nothing could ever take your place." She whispered as his lips crashed down onto her's and at the time it seemed like time stopped itself as his hands gripped her back tightly and her small hands sped quickly to their desired spot on the back of his head.
The phone rang a third time, but both teens didn't hear it as they could only concentrate on the mind blowing effects this kiss was having.
It was raw with lust…raw with emotions, but yet…it was all they needed to reassure themselves that they both needed each other.
"Troy…I can't." Gabriella mumbled as her tone contradicted what she was letting Troy do to her neck as he sucked gently. He wanted to remember what it felt like because if she still wanted to be on a break, it would seem like forever not being able to touch her, but then again, there they were kissing each other like there was no tomorrow in her room when they were on a 'break'.
The phone rang a fourth time and this time the answering machine picked up as Troy and Gabriella could both hear Anna's voice recording telling the caller what to do if they weren't home.
"Gabriella just called Tay like twenty minutes ago saying her mom was awake!" Chad said excitedly.
"Hello, I'm calling from Albuquerque Memorial Hospital about an Anna Montez. I just got notice that she's awake and--" Troy felt Gabriella push away from him as she turned around quickly, knocking over papers to try to find the phone that was on top of her desk somewhere. Troy figured it was one of the receptionists who was calling Gabriella since he didn't remember any woman doctors up there before.
"Hello?" Gabriella's frantic uneven voice answered the phone as there was a pause and her face lit up. Troy smiled at her as Gabriella listened to the phone, occasionally nodding her perfect head even though the lady on the other side couldn't see. "Thank you so much, I'll be there soon." Gabriella shut off the phone as she frantically raced around her room, looking through her closet for something Troy had no clue about.
"Gabi, everything okay?" He asked as he just stood there dumbly. What was going on. She raced out of her closet with a black sweatshirt on now as she was going through drawers again.
"I have to call my dad and grandma." She slammed the desk drawer quickly. "Shit, where's my cell phone?" She mostly asked herself.
"Here." Troy said almost shyly as he turned and grabbed it off the bedside table that she usually put it in.
She took it as she offered him a small grateful smile. "I have to go." Gabriella said as she headed out of her room with Troy hot on her trail.
"Go?!" He asked alarmed even though he knew she was going to the hospital. But how was she going to get there? She didn't have a car yet and even if she did she wouldn't drive it.
"Yes. Go Troy, I have to go." She repeated herself. "My mom woke up after nine days, she's awake." Gabriella said excitedly.
"Then let me drive you." He offered as Gabriella froze with her hand on the door knob and hesitated.
Chad passed the ball to Troy with three seconds left in the game with the Wildcats down by one point. Troy passed it back to Chad as the basketball captain watched in slow motion how his best friend jumped in the air with perfect form as the buzzer went off and the orange ball Troy grew up with left his friend's hands and into the basket perfectly.
Only a small portion of the crowd went wild, but Troy didn't care. He was used to that when they were the enemies at another school.
"We have one more game and it's championship time!" Chad exclaimed as they did their guy handshake.
She looked up unsurely as he stared back at her, letting her know that it was okay. She looked at the time and sighed as she looked back at him again. "Okay."
Troy couldn't keep his smile off his face as now he was just hoping Gabriella and her mother were doing okay at the hospital. Things were starting to look up again, he just hopes he won't jinx it.