A/N: tell me what you think :P lol. I know you're going to say I'm evil because you still haven't found out about Chris yet :P
Chapter 4 – Best friends
Troy knocked softly on the door to Gabriella's room and shuffled his feet nervously. The door swung open to reveal Gabriella with her hair in a messy pony tail. She was wearing a pale blue tracksuit and her eyes were a dull brown. "I just came to get ready for bed." He stammered.
She nodded and walked back into her room, climbing onto her bed and snuggling under the covers. She reached across for her reading book and opened it to where her bookmark was resting. "I get up at six thirty. Is that okay for you?"
Troy nodded as he set the pull out bed up. "Yeah, sure, whatever."
Gabriella turned back to her book and let her eyes wander over the page, basking in the romance of Nicholas Sparks. She strained her eyes onto the page, struggling to focus on the words. How could this happen? Why was everything that she did everyday now so much harder now Troy was in her life? He was just a boy. A boy that lost his parents. A boy that's lonely. A boy that deserved a chance. She sighed and looked up to see Troy wandering out of the attached bathroom in an old grey t-shirt and some dark blue shorts. She glanced at the clock and then down at her book, realising she had been looking at the same page for fifteen minutes.
"You alright?" Troy asked, pulling the duvet back and rearranging the pillows.
Gabriella closed her book and placed it on her bedside table before running her hands over her face. She shook her head and felt tears well in her eyes. "I don't think so."
Troy crossed the room and sat on the edge of her bed. "Hey, what's wrong?" He asked softly, concerned that Chris had now turned to Gabriella as well as Devon.
Gabriella lifted her head to look at Troy and felt her heart break at the emotion held deep within his eyes. Those sparkling sapphire eyes which had shown nothing but kindness towards her. And she threw it all up in his face. "I'm sorry." She whispered.
"What?" Troy asked quietly. "Why are you sorry?"
"Why aren't I sorry?" She muttered. "Everything, I guess. I mean, you lost your parents. You might find it hard to believe but I kind of know how you feel. I mean, your parents aren't on the end of a cell phone like mine are, but my parents are hardly here. My mom is at work all day, everyday. But, I'm okay with it because she saves lives. Like I want to do." She saw Troy smile a little at the last comment before she continued. "But, my dad… He's always away on business. He's leaving for Chicago tomorrow morning. Again. I'm waffling, aren't I?" She asked, blushing deeply.
"Kind of." He admitted with a chuckle. "But, it's okay. Keep going."
"And I'm sorry for taking you on my date this morning." She admitted, looking at her hands which were resting on her lap.
"That wasn't your fault." He protested.
"And I'm sorry for what I said." She whispered. She sat up to face him before she realised how close their faces were and she shuffled back. "I swear, I didn't mean it. I'm just…"
"You don't like change?" He said with a hint of sarcasm.
"Is it that obvious?" She whispered.
"Well, the second I arrive, you hate my guts, even though we used to be best friends." He whispered, reaching for her hand. "Don't feel bad. In fact, I hate change myself. Not just this change either. Any change. Just promise me something?" He asked hopefully.
She breathed deeply as she lifted her eyes. "What?"
"Promise me you'll tell me the truth if you know I'm going to be a misfit." He teased.
She grabbed a pillow and whacked him with it. "Bolton!"
He laughed out loud at the shock and stared at her in disbelief. "You did it, Montez! Game on!" He leapt forward and pinned her to the mattress, his hands tickling her furiously on her sides. "Are you sorry, Montez?"
"Truce! Truce!" She cried.
Troy laughed and collapsed beside her, both of them breathing heavily. He turned his head to face her and smiled. "You're forgiven." He whispered as he leaned over to kiss her cheek.
Gabriella rolled onto her side to face him and stared at him intently. "I don't deserve it, though."
"Why not?" He asked quizzically. "You apologised. That's all I need to give my forgiveness. And you were really sincere."
"But, I was such a bitch to you." She whispered.
He rolled over onto his side and sighed gently, holding her hand. "Gabriella, I don't care. What I want is for us to be friends. I mean, you're stuck with me in here until the guest room is finished being decorated and there's still a year and a half left of high school." He teased. "Trust me. I don't care about what you said. People have said much worse things. I mean, I lived L.A. and I was poor. Can you imagine that?"
She giggled slightly and shook her head. "I guess not. But, is it okay if we start over?"
Troy let go of her hand and held his hand out. "Hi, I'm Troy Bolton. I'm living with you now."
She giggled and shook his hand. "I'm Gabriella Montez and I think we used to be best friends."
Troy let go of her hand and grinned. "I think so too. You okay now?"
She nodded and sat up. "Yeah. And thank you."
He sat up and stretched. "No problem. Good night." He kissed her cheek and got up, going over to the couch.
"Oh, Troy?" Gabriella asked, making him turn around.
"Yeah?" He raised his eyebrows quizzically.
"You're my best friend." She whispered, smiling slightly.
He chuckled and nodded. "You're mine too, Brie."
* * *
Troy groaned, swatting the hand away that was gently shaking his shoulder. "Go away."
Gabriella giggled, kneeling on the bed and leaning over him. "Troy." She sang. "Come on, wake up."
He groaned and rolled over. "Five more minutes."
"You said that ten minutes ago." She pointed out. "Either it's because I'm not a teenage boy or I'm really weird that I like mornings."
"Really weird." He mumbled.
"Gee. Thanks." She muttered. "I'm serious, Troy. My mom is going to kill me because it's your first day as a Wildcat. Ms Darbus is really strict about timing."
Troy finally opened his eyes and smiled sleepily. "You're already showered and dressed."
She nodded. "I've already been downstairs and had breakfast, too."
Troy sat up and stretched, his toned stomach momentarily brushing against hers. "You're impossible."
She laughed. "Probably. Everyone says that. Think of me as a rubix cube with a chest."
He raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "It amazes me how people can be happy when the sun is barely up."
"Go on, get dressed." She ordered, pointing to the bathroom. "By the way, now you're officially awake – good morning." She kissed his cheek and slid off of the bed and walked over to her desk, placing books neatly in her bag.
Troy walked over and stood behind her. "Good morning." He whispered as he kissed her cheek. He slowly walked over to the closet and started searching through his clothes.
Gabriella slowly followed his movements, her books and bag sitting limply on her desk. Why didn't Chris greet her like that when he first saw her? It wasn't that he was aggressive or mean – quite the opposite actually – but he never whispered to her when he saw her for the first time in the hallway. And he never kissed her on the cheek anymore, it was always on the lips.
"Gabriella!" Troy yelled.
She jumped and dropped her books to the floor. "Troy, you gave me a heart attack." They both bent down to pick her books up and she used this opportunity to control the fiery red slowly spreading over her face.
"Well, you just kind of zoned out on me. Am I really that boring?" He joked as both of them stood up. He handed her the books and she continued packing her bag.
"No. I was just…thinking, I guess." She mumbled.
"About anything interesting?" He asked, walking over to her bed where he had placed his clothes.
"No." She said after a moment. "Nothing interesting."
"Cool. So, what do you think of this?" He held up a dark blue shirt with a white cross on it and some dark blue jeans.
"I think it's very you." She said sincerely, smiling slightly.
* * *
"Bye, Dad." Gabriella kissed Aidan's cheek as she rushed out of the front door with Troy. "Have fun in Chicago."
"Bye, Aidan." Troy hollered, digging in his pocket for his car keys. "Are we going in my car?"
"Well, let's review our choices: my beat up old truck that doesn't start, skateboards or a shiny black sports car that's a convertible?" She rolled her eyes, walking around to the passenger side.
Troy threw his backpack onto the back seat and unlocked the car, sliding in simultaneously with Gabriella. He laughed at Gabriella's comment and started the engine, backing out of the driveway. "That's what I don't get about you, Brie."
"What?" She asked in confusion, rolling the sleeves of her grey jacket up to her elbows.
"Your parents are filthy rich. Why don't you have a car like mine?" He asked quietly, driving freely towards East High.
"I guess I want people to know I don't take money for granted. I've always been that way. I don't take hand outs from anybody. I may ask for some help if I forgot about tax and insurance and went on a shopping spree with the girls but… I do value money." She explained softly.
"Money was always a bit scarce in my house. Which is why I worked a job after school and another one on the weekends." He muttered.
Gabriella nodded in understanding. The rest of the journey was filled with an awkward silence as they pulled up into the East High parking lot. She turned to Troy and smiled slightly. "Welcome to East High." She pushed the car door open and got out of the car. She got her bag from the back seat and shut the door, walking to the bonnet of the car. Troy joined her and she looked up at him. "Are you ready?"
He stared up at the large building with red at white banners hanging from the windows. "Well, it can't be much worse than L.A. can it?"
"I don't know? I've never really left Albuquerque other than going on vacation. So, come on. It'll be fine. And if needs be, Chad'll kick the crap out of them with me by his side." She threatened.
He chuckled as they started walking up the steps. "You are not like any girl I have ever met."
She shrugged, walking to the front office. "Good morning, Mrs Bridges." She greeted brightly. "This is Troy Bolton. He's new here."
Mrs Bridges, an elderly woman, smiled politely and shuffled through some papers before handing a folder to Troy. "Welcome to East High, Mr Bolton. Am I right in thinking Gabriella's parents are your guardians?"
Troy nodded, flicking through the folder before lifting his head. "That's right."
"Well, I think I can leave everything to Gabriella." She smiled before turning back to her work.
Troy turned to Gabriella. "Well, I guess you're my last resort."
She rolled her eyes. "Where's your schedule?" She asked as he handed her the folder. She rummaged through it as they slowly walked through the crowded hallway. She produced a piece of paper and scanned it, smiling softly. "We have all the same classes today."
"So, I stick with you like glue and I'll be okay?" He joked.
"Unless I go to the bathroom." She said in a serious tone before giggling. "And this is your locker." She exclaimed, kicking and opening the one next to the one she indicated.
"Right next to yours." He grinned, glancing at the piece of paper before spinning the combinations in. He pulled on it but it wouldn't open. "Brie, how do the lockers work?"
She looked up from placing her bag in her locker and giggled. "Oh, all the lockers in this row need to be kicked. Like this," She kicked his locker and pulled it open with ease.
Troy shrugged and shrugged his bag off, taking out some notebooks and a pen. "Good quality stuff."
"Something like that. The only reason this place is still running is because Sharpay's parents donate money every year." She explained.
"Hey Gabs!" Four voices yelled.
Gabriella turned around to see Sharpay, Ryan, Kelsi and Zeke walk up to her. She hugged each of them and smiled. "Guys, this is Troy Bolton. Troy, this is-"
"Ryan, Kelsi, Sharpay and you must be Zeke." He said proudly, slinging an arm casually around Gabriella's neck.
"Impressive." Gabriella noted.
"So, was Gabs up bright and early?" Zeke asked.
Troy groaned turning to bang his head on the lockers. "Don't get me started."