I don't own anything.
A/N: Alright it's time for another update but first off I want to thank my reviewers; chaylorXtraylorlover, PerfectLover, and ilovefic. Thank you guys so much and I hope everyone enjoys this new update and please remember to Review.
Baby S
Chapter Eighteen
"You know you should really tell me what the surprise is?" Troy said as he sat down beside Taylor later on that day during lunch. Taylor just smiled as he moved closer to her and rested his head on her shoulder. Sharpay looked over at them from across the table and smiled at the couple.
"Oh a surprise!" she wiggled her eyebrows as she looked at Taylor who bowed her head and silently thanked God for her dark skin so no one would be able to see her blushing. "And what surprise would this be?"
"I'll tell you later when big head isn't here." Taylor said as she looked over at Troy who simply pouted and placed a hand to his head.
"I'm not big headed." he murmured, Taylor turned to him then and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
"Whatever you say, sweetie." Troy just glared at her as she pulled away and gave Sharpay a high-five. Chad Danforth and Zeke Baylor walked over as Sharpay and Taylor just laughed at the look of disapproval on Troy's face.
"What are you doing now?" Zeke asked as he placed a kiss on Sharpay's head and settled down in the seat beside her while Chad took his usual spot next to Troy. The only person missing from their little gang of friends was Gabrielle who had stayed behind to go over some things with Kelsi and Ryan back in the music room.
"Yeah what's all the laughter about?" Chad asked.
"Well, Taylor told me this morning that she had a surprise for me but she won't even give me a hint." he said as he looked back over at his girlfriend and pouted. Taylor rolled her eyes as did Sharpay who just shook her head at his antics.
"If she told you what it was then it wouldn't be a surprise, Troy."
"Just a hint? I wouldn't figure it out from a hint." Sharpay raised an eyebrow at that and looked back over at Taylor.
"I guess you can tell, I always thought Troy wasn't too bright."
"Hey! My man is smart." Taylor said as she leaned over and placed a quick kiss on Troy's cheek while he shot Sharpay a cocky look. Taylor pulled back from him and patted the cheek she had just kissed. "But no baby I will not be giving you a hint. You're just gonna have to wait till tonight." Chad coughed and leaned out over the table and nudged Troy.
"I bet the surprise hinging on if we win."
"No, Chad that doesn't make a different." Taylor said with a shake of her head as she looked at her boyfriend's friend. "He's gonna see it before the game."
"Don't distract him too much now. We're gonna need his head in the game." Chad said with a laugh while ducking Troy's hand.
"You are really not funny Chad." Troy said as he tried to smack him again. Ducking down and away, Chad quickly stood up and moved around the table towards Zeke. Once he sat down, he stuck his tongue out a Troy who merely rolled his eyes.
"Zeke can you help me out." Before Chad do anything, Zeke reached out and gave him a light smack on the head. "Thanks." Troy said as he turned his attention back to Taylor and gave her a quick look over.
"So Tay, baby my surprise is going to before the game huh?"
"That's the only hint you're gonna get." Taylor said with a small smile as she felt Troy's arm circle her waist.
"Not even another one?"
"Nope none. . .now you better stop asking before I decide to push it back and quite frankly I don't think that will work at all." she said with a small smile as she gave him a look. Troy nodded his head then and sighed.
"Fine I'll drop it cause I want my surprise." For the rest of the lunch period Taylor listened as Chad and Zeke talked with Troy about their season opener. Taylor could tell that tonight's game was going to be against a region rival and that they were some pretty hard characters.
"So have you beat them before?" she asked cutting into their conversation, Troy looked over at her and nodded his head.
"Yeah, we beat them before and they hated it."
"That's because you were playing and you killed. . .and I mean killed their shooting guard on both ends of the court. I bet Howard wants to redeem himself after last year's game." Chad said with a smirk as he looked at Troy who nodded his head.
"Well he can try to redeem himself but I've been training pretty hard and I don't think he's ready for me, is he baby." he asked looking back over at Taylor who smiled at his statement and nodded her head. Once lunch ended, Taylor and Sharpay ended off to their next class while the boys headed off to gym.
"So do you mind telling me what the surprise is?" Sharpay asked as they stopped at Taylor's locker.
"I don't know if I can trust you." Taylor said playfully, her answer only made Sharpay roll her eyes.
"I can't believe you just said that to me of course you can trust me," Sharpay said with a shake of her head before pausing, Taylor looked over at her in surprise for a moment before asking her friend what was wrong. "Nothing. . .I think I just realized just how deep you and Troy's relationship has gotten." Taylor furrowed her brow at that statement and looked
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't think I didn't see who drove you to school today." Sharpay said with a small smile. "You trust him and I think it's sweet, especially if he can help you get over your fear." Sharpay admitted seriously. Taylor stood there trying to figure out what she was going to say, after a few minutes she sighed and nodded her head.
"He's helping me Shar. . .he got me to ride in the first seat. I mean I was still nervous but having him there with me telling me that everything was going to be okay. It really helped me." she whispered as she remembered how he held her hand at every stop light just to give her some comfort because he could tell she was on edge.
"That's good. . .I know I pick on the guy but I really think he's good for you and you're good for him too. . .so tell me what is this little surprise all about cause I'm literally dying to know." Taylor raised an eyebrow at her statement while Sharpay just smiled and gave her a look. "What I am. . .you know I can't take my best friend having secrets."
"You're just nosey." Taylor said with a smile before shrugging her shoulders. "Alright I'll tell you but you have to promise me that you won't say a word."
"I promise girl now come on over here and tell me."
It was nearly an hour till the game and Troy found that he was on edge, in fact he wasn't even going out for the shoot around, inside he decided to stay in the locker and think over a few things. This would the first time he would be putting on a Wildcat uniform without his father on the sidelines in his business suit ready to lead them to victory. "Troy?" he looked up and saw Coach Woodson standing near the door looking in on him.
"Hey Coach what's up." Troy said as he stood up from the bench he was currently sitting on, Coach Woodson walked further into the locker room and looked him over before motioning for him to sit down. Once Troy was seated again, Coach Woodson settled down on the bench directly across from him and sighed.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm good. . .just trying to get mentally prepared for the game." Coach Woodson nodded his head at that and gave him a small smile.
"You're ready for the game, Troy. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind about that. I know you're slightly upset that your father isn't going to be here to see you play," he cautiously said as he looked up at him. Troy's mouth dropped open and closed several times before he shook his head at what Coach Woodson said.
"I don't know about-."
"It's fine you know. . .understandable, all I ask is that you play your heart out," Coach Woodson said cutting him off. "Your father may not be here," he said pointing down at the ground. "But he's with you in your heart where it counts and I know he's proud of you." Troy looked up at him then as Coach Woodson pushed himself up from the bench. "Stay in here as long as you need, get yourself together but just know that your father watching. I know Jack wouldn't miss a game." With that said, Coach Woodson walked out of the locker room leaving Troy to his thoughts.
Taylor sat in the bleachers with Gabrielle and Sharpay watching the players warm-up for the game, Gabrielle looked her outfit over and gave a small coy smile. "I think Troy's gonna like this outfit Tay."
"I hope so. . .this is the surprise."
"And it's a good one. I'm thinking about getting one for Zeke." Sharpay said, her eyes glued to her boyfriend as he performed a lay-up on the other side of the court.
"Thanks guys I just wonder where he is. . .I mean everyone else is out here."
"Maybe Coach Woodson is talking to him, you know giving him a pep-talk or something," Gabrielle said with a small smile as she looked back at Taylor. "Don't worry, he'll come out eventually. . .so is his mother coming."
"Yeah, she has a jersey as well. It's one where she did a mash-up of an old Wildcat jersey one his father used to wear and one of Troy's jersey. We have one for both the home and away games." she said with a smile. "It's really nice."
"Okay now I'm definitely gonna have to get me one." Sharpay said as she looked over at Taylor. "Maybe I can make mine into a jersey dress."
"Oh I don't know about that, Shar. You know the school doesn't like those especially after you nearly killed all the boys in the school last time." Gabrielle said. "Besides I don't think Zeke would be able to pay attention ever again in this life on or off the basketball court."
"You're right. . .I don't want to make my baby lose all his senses." Gabrielle and Taylor laughed out loud at that statement and leaned on each other for support as they tried to calm down. Neither of them noticed Mrs. Bolton making her way into the gym with several other parents that were there. "Hey Mrs. Bolton."
"Why hello ladies." Mrs. Bolton said as she tugged at her jersey for a moment before bending down to give Sharpay a hug before moving on to Gabrielle and then finally Taylor who she kissed on the cheek. "How do I look?"
"Fantastic Mrs. Bolton. . .did you bring the sign."
"Of course I did." she said with a small smile as she settled down beside the young girl she was secretly calling her daughter-in-law. Taylor smiled as she took the poster board from Mrs. Bolton and looked it over.
"This is nice."
"So where is he. . .has he seen you yet?"
"No. . .he's still in the locker room, oh look there he is." Taylor exclaimed as she looked out towards the court and saw Troy emerging from the locker room. She stood up and did a little cheer which immediately caught his attention. She saw his eyes going over her form rapidly as he slowly started to grin. She knew immediately that he liked what he saw, she quickly reached down and pulled up his mother who waved at her son from the stands. Troy graced them both with a large smile and waved back before jogging off towards the rest of his team.
"I guess we'll see how he really feels after the game huh." Taylor said with a smile as she watched Troy jog over to Zeke and Chad who were standing at the back of the lay-up line. Mrs. Bolton nodded her head and sat back down.
"Yes, and don't take it too hard sweetie. He just needs to focus on the game at hand but I can tell my son likes the surprise."
Troy walked over to the rest of the team with a smile on his face, so that was the surprise. Taylor was wearing his jersey. . .his home jersey and damn if she didn't look good in it. Zeke turned as he came up behind them. "Hey man glad you came out to the join us."
"Just needed to get my mind right." Troy said as he thought back over what Coach Woodson had told him in the locker room.
"Good, glad to hear that you're on board man. So did you see what your mom and Tay are rocking?" Zeke asked with a small grin on his face as he looked at his friend. Troy glanced back at the bleachers his eyes lingering on Taylor who was now talking to Sharpay and Gabrielle.
"Yeah, I saw. . .the number 14 looks good on her." he said with a smirk.
"I thought you'd say something like that." Zeke said as he patted him on the shoulder. "Come on let's win this game and start this season off right."
The season opening game ended with the Wildcats winning by a landslide, Troy had exploded out of the gate and ended the game with a triple double. Taylor could tell that he had single handedly dismantle the opposing team, they just couldn't find an answer for him. "He played so well." Lillian gushed from her side
"Yeah he really did." Taylor said as she saw Troy coming out of the locker room. She watched as he waved some of the players off and then walked over to them with a large smile on his face. He immediately wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close and sighed.
"You know I think this is a pretty good luck charm." he said as he fingered the jersey that was draped over her shoulder. Taylor just smile as he kissed her cheek and then looked over at his mother.
"You two need to stop surprising me cause I'm gonna get spoiled." he said as he hugged his mother tightly. "I think Dad would have loved this." he whispered in her ear softly. Lillian smiled at the words and nodded her head.
"I know sweetie." Troy just nodded and stepped back towards Taylor and circled an arm around her waist and pulled her close to his side. Taylor rested her head on his shoulder and sighed as they started walking out of the gym.
Later on the night, Troy made his way to Taylor's room and saw her sitting at her desk going over some last minute homework. He knocked on her door and waited till she looked up at him before stepping into the room. "Hey Troy." she said as a wide grin slowly went across her face. He gave her a small smile and walked over to her bed and sat down. "Baby what's wrong?" she asked as she noticed the look currently on his face. Troy just shook his head for a moment as he rubbed his hands over his jean covered thighs.
"Nothing. . .I'm just glad I did good tonight." Troy said softly as he looked over at her. "You have no idea how nervous I was out there. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to do my father proud and that. . .that terrified me."
"You'd make him proud even if you decided to never play basketball again." she admitted truthfully. "You're his son and you're a great person. Your father is proud of you and I'm certain that will never change, Troy." she said as she walked over to him. Troy reached out and pulled her down into his lap and held onto her tightly. Taylor rubbed her hands through his hair and sighed before leaning down and placing a kiss on his forehead. She felt Troy's arms tighten around her and she sighed. "I love you, Troy."
"I love you too Taylor."