A/N: Okay, tell me what you think ;)
Chapter 6 – Similarities
"Wait!" Gabriella interrupted. "I want to show you something!" She exclaimed excitedly.
Troy sighed. "Brie, I really need to tell you this."
"Well, it'll only take a few minutes, a few seconds, come on, Troy!" She whined, pouting once again.
Troy rolled his hands and sighed. "Fine!"
She grinned. "Yes! Come on, this way." She released one of his hands and pulled him along with the other. "I promise you'll like it."
"I better." He muttered.
She giggled and walked into the cafeteria. She waved slightly at her friends before continuing to pull him up the stairs. She led him to a yellow door and glanced around before slipping inside with Troy. There was a flight of stairs and she giggled slightly as she pulled him along. She reached the top and finally released his hand. "What do you think?"
Troy smiled as he looked at all of the flowers and plants. "How did you find this?"
"I'm part of the science club." She shrugged but her smile fell slightly and she sighed. "And I was sick and tired of people being my friend because of my dad! It hurt so much. So, I may have skipped a few classes when I was a freshman." She whispered, walking over to sit on the wooden bench, "I didn't know what to do. So, I found this place. I come here all the time. For anything. It's…peaceful."
Troy sat next to her and intertwined their fingers together. "So you can think?"
She nodded. "Something like that."
Troy was silent for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "Why did you bring me here?"
Gabriella turned to face him and smiled. "You're my best friend. Why not share this place with you?" She asked.
"No one knows?" Troy quizzed.
"Well, sure they do. Well, the science club in any case. But, they all know it's kind of my thing." She explained.
He nodded and lifted his head, looking her in the eyes. "Please don't interrupt me." He whispered.
She nodded worriedly, turning her upper body to face him. "Okay."
"Well, I told you I made the team but I didn't tell you what I saw when I left the locker room." He started quietly.
"Troy, where are you going with this?" Gabriella asked.
"I said not to interrupt." He said sternly, though it came out rather pitiful. "I saw Chris kissing Scarlet and heard them saying how they've been together for two months."
Gabriella stared at Troy in disbelief in silence, barely noticing Troy's thumb rubbing her knuckles.
"I'm sorry." Troy whispered as he stood up, knowing she wanted to be alone. He slowly walked down the stairs and stepped through the door. He made his way to his friends and sat down in between Chad and Zeke. "Hey, guys."
Kelsi noticed his look and frowned. "Troy, what's wrong?"
"I, uh, I saw Chris kissing – Ow!" He exclaimed as he was hit around the head. He turned around to see Gabriella glaring at him furiously. "What the hell was that for?" He yelled, standing up.
"For saying that! How could you?" She asked quietly, tears running down her cheeks.
"I thought you'd have a right to know." He said quietly.
"Know what? That my best friend lies to me?" She exclaimed angrily.
"Hey, I didn't lie." He defended.
"Really?" She asked quietly. "Then why did you say that?"
"What?" Troy asked in confusion. "We're going around in circles!" He yelled, knowing that the entire cafeteria was watching them.
"I thought you were my best friend." She whispered.
"I am. That's why I'm trying to help you." He said desperately, stepping forward to grip her upper arms. He tried to look her in the eyes but she turned her head to the side.
"With what?" She whispered, breaking from his arms and running out of the cafeteria.
* * *
Gabriella slammed the front door open and stormed inside. "I'm not talking to you."
"I wouldn't want you to if you don't believe anything I say." Troy retorted, his anger at Chris slowly being directed to Gabriella. He slammed the front door behind him and watched as Gabriella ran upstairs to her room. He kicked the wall in frustration and grunted in pain.
Maria rushed into the hallway with Devon to see him leaning against the wall, his head in his hands. "Troy?" She asked quietly.
He lifted his head and sighed. "Don't ask." He muttered, pushing past them and walking into the kitchen.
Maria glanced down at Devon before they followed. "Well, tough! I'm asking."
Troy shrugged his bag off and dropped it carelessly to the ground before opening the fridge to get some water. "Well, I'm not telling. You want information, ask your daughter." He snapped.
"Troy Alexander Bolton, you may not be my son but as long as you live under this roof, you will answer any questions asked of you. Now tell me what happened!" She ordered. She looked down at Devon and tapped his back. "Honey, go and play in the lounge, please?"
Devon rolled his eyes, knowing not to argue with his mother and slowly walked into the lounge. "Okay…"
Maria giggled slightly at her son before turning back to Troy. "Now, what's up?"
Troy took a swig of his water before sitting at the island. He sighed and slowly ripped the label off of the plastic, his jaw clenched tightly. Maria sat next to him and his fingers slowly ripped the label up into small pieces, letting them fall onto the counter. "Did you ever feel like you enter one person's life and everything falls apart?" He asked quietly after a moment.
Maria was silent, thinking over his question. "I…One time." She whispered.
Troy lifted his head to look at her. "Yeah?"
She nodded, sniffing slightly. "Yep. I was in high school and I was partnered up with this guy for a science project. We weren't friends, heck, I'd never said hello to him. But, we became friends. But, that's when things started to go wrong. We got close. Real close. Before he got the chance to ask me out, we got into this huge argument over coffee. How stupid is that?" She asked rhetorically. "And so I ran away. He tried to find me and by doing so, he was speeding and was in a car accident. He died on impact." She whispered.
Troy stared at her intently. "Who knows about this?"
"You. And Gabby." She replied honestly. "Aidan doesn't know because I didn't meet him until college." She explained. "Are you going to tell me what this is about?"
Troy started rearranging the pieces of paper until it spelt out Gabriella's name. "That's what this is about. I've always wondered how Gabriella was." He whispered. "Ever since I moved. Even though we were just six, I remembered everything about her."
She smiled softly. "So did Gabby. For a year after you moved, she would constantly ask when you were coming back. We didn't think you would because of Lucy's job."
Troy felt his eyes water at his mother's name. "Yeah. So, um, anyway, since I came back, I've caused nothing but trouble. She hated me the first day I was here. I still haven't, really, figured out why. Then we become friends and when I try to stop her getting hurt, she hates me again."
"Why would she get hurt?" Maria asked worriedly.
Troy turned back to the pieces of paper and spelt out Chris' name. "That's why." He whispered. "That bastard was kissing Scarlet Addison. They've been dating for months but Brie won't listen and I don't want her to get hurt." He cried.
"What else is on your mind?" Maria asked knowingly.
He lifted his head and raised an eyebrow. "How did you know?"
"I'm a doctor." She smiled. "People talk to me about everything. Literally."
He chuckled slightly and sighed. "It's the way I look. People are – not bullying, exactly, but – annoying me. And because Brie and I are – were – close, they're annoying her, too. I don't know what to do."
"Troy, in life there are decisions that are hard to make. You don't know what will happen and it might be scary. But, you need to think of other people. In this case, it's Gabriella. Are you willing to change for her?" She asked smartly.
* * *
Gabriella sat at her vanity, curling her hair and sighed softly. Ever since the night before, all she could think about was Troy. Why? She needed to figure that out. But, why would he say that if it wasn't true? But, Chris wouldn't do that? They'd been together for two months for crying out loud! He wouldn't do that.
She looked into the mirror as her bathroom door opened and Troy stepped out, a towel wrapped around his waist. He was drying his hair with a towel and he looked into the mirror to look her in the eyes. "Good morning." She whispered.
He smiled slightly at her. "Good morning. I'm sorry about this." He pointed to his towel. "I forgot to grab some clothes. I mean, this is how I did it when I was in L.A." He rambled, rubbing the back of his neck.
She smiled slightly at how cute he looked when he was nervous. "Its okay, Troy. I think we'll just have to go on like we did before everything happened."
Troy nodded, folding the towel he had been using for his hair and sighed. "Brie, can we at least talk?"
Gabriella turned her curlers off and placed them on the heat proof mat, standing up from the stool. "Later. I'm not ready to talk to you about that."
He nodded, walking over to the closet, throwing the towel in his hands onto the couch. "I get that." He mumbled. He turned to her and breathed out, watching her stuff some books into her backpack. "I'm sorry. About everything."
She looked up and smiled slightly, walking over to him. She kissed his cheek and nodded. "I know. But, I still don't believe you. I can't."
He bit his lip slightly and reluctantly nodded. "Okay. But, can we still be friends?"
She nodded. "I'd like that but let's keep Chris out of it. What happens between Chris and I has nothing to do with you."
"Can you promise me something, though?" He asked quietly, looking into her eyes.
She nodded. "Of course."
"Promise me that if anything happens - whether it's Chris, your parents or even Ms Darbus – promise me I'm the first one you come to." He said sternly.
She was about to wrap her arms around his neck but realised he was still wet so she settle on holding his hand. "I wouldn't go to anyone else. Anyway, I'm going to head out. I want to go to the music room before school starts." She dropped his hand and went back to her bed, zipping her bag back up.
"Writing music in an empty school?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Good bye, Troy." She called, leaving her bedroom.
* * *
Troy jumped down the last step and glanced in the hallway mirror, smiling slightly, before walking into the kitchen, seeing Maria and Devon eating some pancakes. "Good morning."
Maria smiled at Troy's appearance. "Does Gabby know you're arriving at school like that?"
"No." Troy shrugged. "Well, she's still mad at me but I think we're friends again." He swiped a pancake off of Devon's plate and kissed him on the head. "What's up, Big D?"
Devon grinned up at Troy. "It's career day at school and Mommy's coming in to talk about being a doctor."
Troy looked at Maria who smiled. "Hey, I love my job and I love my son."
"Cool. Hey, do you want me to pick you guys up after school?" He asked.
Maria nodded. "That would be amazing. I've got work straight after so thank you." She said sincerely.
"Well, I still need to wash my car but I'm sure Big D can help, right?" He ruffled Devon's hair before taking a bite of his pancake.
"I'd like that." Devon said, shooting him a toothy grin.
"Well, change your clothes before you start." She said sternly.
"I'll make sure he does." Troy assured her. "Anyway, I better get going. I'll see you later." He kissed Devon's head again before grabbing his jacket and backpack. "See you guys later." He called over his shoulder before hurrying out of the door.
* * *
"So, are you and Troy cool now?" Ryan asked carefully, watching as she threw her backpack angrily into the back of her locker.
She sighed. "Kind of. We're friends but I still can't believe he'd say that."
"Well, think about it: why would Troy lie?" Ryan asked smartly.
"I agree." Sharpay piped in, stepping beside Ryan.
Ryan frowned at his sister before turning back to his friend. "Troy really doesn't seem like the lying type."
Gabriella sighed. "I really don't have the energy to argue. Can we just change the subject?" She asked, turning back to her locker.
"Okay, well, uh…" Sharpay looked to Ryan for help.
"Wow. Sharpay Evans is speechless!" Ryan gasped, earning a slap over his head. "Ow!"
"Well!" She exclaimed.
Gabriella giggled and pulled out her notebooks needed for her lessons up until break. "You guys always make me laugh. If you weren't such talented singers and dancers, I'd totally suggest a comedy act."
"That's Chad's job." Sharpay replied.
"What's my job?" Chad asked, standing beside Gabriella as she shut her locker.
"Being a comedian." Ryan replied.
Chad frowned. "I don't want to be a comedian."
"We're saying you ac stupid." Ryan explained.
"Well, this is Chad and he's…" Sharpay's voice trailed off and she stepped to the side to look around Chad.
"Shar? What's up?" Gabriella turned around and gasped slightly.
Troy gave a basketball team member a high five as he walked past; smiling smugly at the attention he was receiving. His hair had been cut and straightened, not being hidden by a hat, and his plain white v-neck shirt showed his defined muscles through the fabric. His toned biceps were hidden under a dark brown leather jacket. His black jeans were resting on his hips and Gabriella knew that if he reached up, the top of his boxers would be visible. His sparkling blue eyes were hidden behind a pair of large, black sunglasses, adding to his new look.
She released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding and leaned against her locker for support. A small smile graced her lips as she sighed dreamily. "Wow."
"I think this new Troy Bolton has an affect on our friend." Chad murmured.
Gabriella didn't head them, concentrating on acting as if it were a regular day. "Hi Troy." She said brightly when he was close enough.
He smiled at her, pulling his locker open. "Hey, Brie. What's up?"
"Oh, nothing except the fact that you're not a skater dude anymore. What's with the leather and the shades?" She asked, mentally kicking herself for blurting everything out.
Troy smiled slightly in amusement. "Oh, well, with yesterday and everyone bugging me, and you too, I didn't think I could stay a skater."
"You still a skater on the inside?" She asked quietly.
He placed his backpack inside of his locker and turned back to her, drawing her in for a hug. "Of course I am."
"Still obnoxious?" She mumbled into his chest.
He pulled back and frowned. "I'm not obnoxious!"
She raised her eyebrows.
"Okay, I can be sometimes." He exclaimed.
She giggled. "So, you changed for me?" She asked quietly, a small smile pulling at her lips.
He peered across at her and winked. "Don't spread it around."
"Or what?" She challenged.
He leaned down to her ear. "I might kiss you."
She bit her lip and cringed when she felt herself shiver, which didn't go unnoticed by Troy. "You wouldn't."
He pulled back to his full height and gazed down at her. "You're right. I wouldn't." He turned to his locker, pulling out his schedule.
Gabriella hadn't been prepared for the feeling of disappointment that started as the words left his mouth. "You have Spanish and English before break." She muttered.
"How do you know?" He asked.
She sighed. "I have a photographic memory. Uh, I've got to go. See you later, Troy." She quickly left Troy standing there by his locker. She ran into the music room and threw her books onto the chair next to the piano stool, her hands immediately finding the keys. She didn't want to sing, but to hear music.
Why had she felt disappointed that Troy said he wouldn't kiss her? And why, on Earth, had she started to doubt her feelings for Chris? Well, Troy did like Devon…but so did Chris. Chris was captain of the football team…but Troy was captain material. Chris was funny…Troy made her laugh.
Suddenly, as she slammed the keys down, the most important question came to mind: why did she find so many similarities?