A/N: ARGH!!! Microsoft word has died. It's not letting me save anything so I'm on notepad...the naff version. With no spellcheck so there may be loads of mistakes and I apologise. Don't own HSM
Chapter 7 – One crazy afternoon
Troy breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Gabriella enter the gym in her red t-shirt and white shorts. "Excuse me, Ladies." He said politely, pushing his way through the group of girls surrounding him. He jogged over to Gabriella and smiled. "Hey, Brie."
"Got your own fan club, now?" She joked.
Troy sighed. "Something like that. I didn't know my new appearance would have this much affect on East High."
She shrugged. "Well, at least it seems to have gotten Scarlet to back off of Chris a bit now."
"I doubt that." Troy muttered quietly.
"What?" She asked.
"If I told you, I'd have to kill you." He grinned.
She rolled her eyes. "Despite your new image, you are a total dork!" She exclaimed, hitting his arms.
"Hey, Montez!" Scarlet called, strutting over to them.
"What do you want, Addison?" Gabriella growled.
"Stay away from Troy." She ordered.
Gabriella glanced at Troy and raised her eyebrows. "Why?"
"Because he deserves better." Scarlet spat, flipping her dark hair over shoulder.
"The last I heard, you didn't even want to be friends with him." Gabriella pointed out. "And he's my best friend. That's it. You want him, you can have him."
Scarlet smiled up at Troy. "So, you can pick me up at six tonight."
"I can't and I won't." Troy said sternly.
"Why?" Scarlet asked dumbly.
"I have to baby sit Gabriella's brother tonight." He exclaimed.
"You do?" Gabriella asked.
Troy nodded. "Your mom asked me before I came to school. Its career day at Big D's school and your mom's going. She has work straight after so she asked me to baby sit."
Gabriella smiled at him. "Oh, that's okay. Chris is coming over, too."
"Well, Big D and I are washing my car this afternoon so you guys can…watch…movies." He muttered, furrowing his brow slightly.
She nodded. "Cool."
"Excuse me, I exist!" Scarlet exclaimed.
"Well, I don't want to go out with you." Troy said apologetically.
"Why not?" Scarlet demanded.
"Not just you. With any girl." Troy explained. "I mean, I've kind of got a lot going on at the moment."
"Like what? Being the new kid?" Scarlet demanded.
"No." Troy whispered. "Anyway, why are you in our classes? I though you were a senior."
"At East High, the juniors and seniors have the same gym classes together." Gabriella grumbled.
"Unfortunately. It would so much better if you had the Friday class." She shrieked.
"Miss Addison!" Coach Benson yelled. "Class, gather round." The class bustled to stand in front of the coach and Gabriella stood in front of Troy, leaning back so her back touched his chest. Coach Benson subtly winked at Troy and he blushed deeply, ducking his head. "Well, today, we will be learning how to ballroom dance. Everyone grab a partner – boy, girl!" He said sternly.
Scarlet was about to reach for Troy but he grabbed Gabriella's hand. "That's not fair!" She whined.
"I want her to be my partner." Troy said softly, intertwining their fingers together. "She's my best friend and I know she won't mind if I bruise a few of her toes."
"But, I want to be your partner." She stomped her foot angrily.
"Scarlet, I've already told you." Troy sighed. "I don't want to date you or anyone else. If you want to be with me, you'll understand that. Maybe we can be friends someday but… I need a little time with my friends." He smiled at Gabriella and led her away. They stopped and Troy rested a hand on her waist as she rested hers on his shoulder, their free hands intertwining together. "Just so you know, I have no clue what I'm doing."
"The skater dude coming back out?" She asked softly.
"More than ever." He whispered.
"It's lucky that I've been dancing for twelve years, isn't it?" She smiled up at him.
"Gentlemen, step forward with your left foot." Coach Benson ordered as the music started.
Troy stepped forward as Gabriella stepped backward. "You don't find your toes as a vital part of your body, right?"
"As it is, a doctor works with her hands, not her toes." Gabriella whispered. "Troy, you need to lead me. I shouldn't be leading you."
"But, you know what you're doing!" He cried quietly.
"And you're learning. Troy, look at me when we're dancing." She said sternly.
Troy lifted his head and his eyes locked on hers. "Why didn't you protest when I said we were partners?" He asked.
Gabriella frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I thought you'd want to be with Chris." Troy mumbled.
She shook her head. "No."
"Any reason?" He asked, lifting an eyebrow.
Gabriella sighed and glanced down at their feet just as she forgot to move her foot, causing Troy to step on her foot. "Ow." She muttered.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Troy exclaimed, stopping their dance. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. That was totally my fault." She whispered, stepping towards him. They got into the right position once again and started dancing again. "The thing with Chris is he doesn't share my liking for dancing. He finds a fault in every little thing. I've grown up dancing and singing. Well, no one knows about the singing part except you and Don." She blushed gently, avoiding his eyes.
"And…" He prodded.
"And you're a good dancer." She smiled gently.
"You didn't know." He whispered.
"But, you're my best friend. Why wouldn't I dance with you?" She asked. "And with Chris, it's like his mind is someplace else." She muttered sadly, resting her forehead on his shoulder.
"Mine isn't. It's always with you." Troy whispered in her ear, kissing her temple gently.
Troy pulled up into East Elementary school's parking lot and slid out of his car, his sunglasses over his eyes. He locked his car and jogged over to the entrance. He scanned the crowd of children and parents for Maria and Devon. He was very concerned about Gabriella. She had been quiet all afternoon and she hard barely talked to him since gym. Although, he had been surrounded by girls all afternoon…
"Troy!" A voice squealed as something collided with his legs.
"Oof!" Troy coughed out in surprise. He looked down and smiled at Devon. He picked him up and rested him on his hip. He took his sunglasses off and placed them in the pocket of his leather jacket. "What's up, Big D?"
"Miss Samuel wants to talk to you." Devon whispered guiltily, pointing to the entrance of the school.
"Does she know it's me and not your mom or dad?" Troy asked.
Devon nodded. "Mommy explained before she left about an hour ago."
Troy nodded and headed to the front of the school, Devon still in his arms, and he was greeted by a young woman with strawberry blonde hair. She looked about twenty five and Troy let his eyes wander her body as he ascended the steps. She was wearing a smart black skirt which fell just above the knees and her white blouse was hidden slightly by a black work jacket. A few strands of hair were pulled back from her face and he breathed out slightly. Whoa. Devon sure is one lucky mother fu-
"You must be Troy." She said brightly, holding out her hand. "I'm Jenna."
He shook her hand and smiled, shifting Devon slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Is something wrong?"
"No, no, no. I just want someone to see this." She said excitedly. "Come on in." She pushed the door to the school open and stepped inside with Troy following.
"See what, exactly?" Troy persisted.
Jenna sighed softly. "It's nothing bad but I really want someone to see this. And I'm glad it was you picking him up today." She said, leading him through the halls. "It's nothing bad, Devon. I know you were worried about it."
Devon sighed in relief, making Troy laugh. "You could've told me earlier."
"Watch the cheek, Big D." Troy warned, setting him on the floor.
"Maria told me how you're staying with the family now." Jenna said softly.
Troy nodded. "Yeah. I moved here from L.A." He said quietly.
She nodded slightly and smiled. "I know you probably have homework and stuff so this won't take five minutes, I promise." She entered a classroom on the right hand side.
Troy and Devon followed and Troy furrowed his brow. "Can you tell me what it is, now?"
Jenna shuffled some papers on her desk before producing one and handing it to the seventeen year old boy. "Devon did this today during art. I thought somebody should see it."
Troy felt tears well in his eyes as he looked down on the scribble of colours blended together. There were three figures, two much taller than the one between them. The one on the right was slightly shorter than the one on the left and all three were holding hands. The one on the right had long, brown lines coming from the head and brown dots for eyes. The figure on the left had short, light brown hair and bright blue spots for eyes. They all had bright smiles on their faces and what Troy found the most surprising was the yellow rings on the left hands of the two taller figures' hands. Below the figures were the words: Troy, Big D and Gavvy.
"I asked them to draw a picture of what inspires them." Jenna whispered.
Troy smiled brightly and picked Devon up, swinging him around. "Oh, Big D, you're amazing, you know that?" He whispered.
Devon giggled and clung to the older boy. "Do I get some ice cream later?"
Troy and Jenna laughed at this an Troy kissed his forehead. "I will make you the biggest sundae I can without you being sick. Gabriella would never forgive me for that."
Devon smiled brightly at the sound of his sister's name. "Do you think Gavvy will like it?"
Troy nodded. "I think she'll love it." He turned to Jenna who was watching in amusement. "Miss Samuel-"
"Please, call me Jenna." She interrupted.
"Well, Jenna, does this need to stay here or can we take it home?" Troy asked, shifting Devon so he was resting on his left hip.
Jenna shook her head softly. "No. You can totally take it home. I've marked his grade and everything. I may have to ask for it to be photocopied for his portfolio for next year but I shouldn't worry about it because we might not need it. All I'm saying is keep it somewhere safe."
Troy nodded. "And what grade did he get?"
"Well, it wasn't just about the artistic skills behind it, because of the task, I had to consider what he had chosen and why. He got an A."
Troy kissed Devon's cheek and grinned proudly. "You are the man, Big D."
Devon smiled, happily taking in Troy's praise. "Can we go and see Gavvy now?"
Troy's face fell slightly. "Well, uh, Big D, Gabriella is with Chris this afternoon." He whispered.
"Oh." Devon muttered, resting his head on Troy's shoulder.
Troy sighed and turned to Jenna. "Anyway, I better get going. This big man wants ice cream and my car needs washing." He held out the hand which wasn't grasping the picture and shook her hand. "It was a pleasure meeting you and thank you for this."
Jenna shook her head as she started leading him out of the school. "No worries. I just wanted you to see."
Troy nodded. "Well, I'll see you around." He descended the steps and placed Devon on the ground when they were at the bottom. He studied the picture closely and shook his head slightly. "Why did you pick me? I've only been around a couple of days."
Devon shrugged. "You know about Chris and you like Gavvy. You're my two favourite people in the world."
Troy smiled and placed his arm around the little boy's shoulders. "What are brothers for?"
Troy laughed as he aimed the hose at Devon. "Take that, Big D!" He yelled, running around his car and holding the hose over Devon.
Devon laughed and hugged Troy's legs tightly. "You're so much fun, Troy."
Troy chuckled and ran a hand through his wet hair. "I think we've washed ouselves more than the car."
Devon giggled and grabbed a sponge from a bucket and threw it at Troy. "You got that right."
Troy gasped in shock. "You did not just do that!" He exclaimed.
Devon giggled and ran around to the other side of the car but froze when another car pulled up in front of Troy's car on the large driveway. "Troy!" He whimpered, running back around to the older boy.
Troy hugged him protectively, the hose hanging limp in his hand as the water ran onto the concrete. "It's okay. I'm here, Devon. Nothing's going to happen." He whispered soothingly, glaring at the truck that had pulled up.
Chris and Gabriella both got out of the truck and Chris jogged around to Gabriella's side, pinning her against the vehicle. "Uh, Big D?" Troy asked. "Go on inside and get dried off. I'll finish up out here."
Devon looked up at Troy and nodded. "Okay." He whispered, slowly walking into the large house.
Troy turned back to the truck and frowned in disgust as Chris started to kiss Gabriella. He lifted the hose, aiming high and saw the water land directly on the couple, causing the two teenagers to spring apart and yell simultaneously, "Bolton!"
Troy turned the hose off, letting it drop to the ground before slowly wandering down to Chris and Gabriella who were now wringing off their clothes. "You called?"
Gabriella glared visciously at him. "Why did you do that?"
"I didn;t want my little brother seeing that." He replied coldly. "What did Maria say again? Oh yeah, not to do anything when Devon is around."
Gabriella squeezed her hair, watching the water drip to the ground. "Well, I'm sorry."
Chris sighed, running a hand through his blonde hair. "I should've totally stuck with Scarlet." He muttered quietly.
"What?" Gabriella asked, turning to face him.
"I said I should've stuck with Bartlet. My doctor. He is the best doctor and..." His voice trailed off in embarassment.
"Scarlet?" Gabriella whispered. "Scarlet Addison?"
Chris folded his arms and sighed. "So what? You were just too frigid to lead me to that place at the top of the stairs." He growled.
"Because I'm not ready!" She cried. "Well, congratulations. You officially are the biggest jerk in the world."
Chris rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh."
"Why don't you confess about Devon while you're on a role?" Troy suggested sarcastically.
"What about Devon?" Gabriella asked worriedly. She turned to Chris and frowned. "What did you do to my baby brother?" She demanded.
Chris sighed. "Get Bolton to tell you. The worhtless brat obviously blabbed." He growled. He went around to the driver's side and climbed in, slamming the door. The engine started and he rolled the window down, sticking his head out. "If it's not obvious, we are over, frigid bitch." He pulled out of the driveway and drove down the street.
Gabriella turned around and ran into the house, making Troy rush after her. "Brie, wait." He called, rushing into the kitchen to see her with a tub of chocolate chip ice cream and a spoon, tears rolling down her cheeks.
She placed them on the island and sighed. "Troy, can you please not say 'I told you so'?" She whispered.
Troy embraced her and kissed the top of her head. "I wouldn't ever. Come on, let's watch a movie."