Author's Note: Thank you, Dani. Forever.
- Nel xo
Bittersweet Love
THREE—Chemistry
…
"Started out so simple and innocent, chemistry like apple and cinnamon"
Utada
…
Gabriella closed her eyes and took a deep breath, silently counting to ten. She hated Gabriel with the passion of a thousand suns on normal days but at this moment, she hated him and his friends and everyone else at West High with the same intensity multiplied by infinity.
It was Friday night, and Gabriella was up in her room, trying to concentrate on a new book she had purchased. Unfortunately, she could not enjoy her it when about 90 drunk, high, and obnoxious students screaming and laughing in the first floor of her house. Gabriel had taken advantage of the fact that Antonio and Marisa had left the previous day on business and thrown a huge party.
This was probably one of the few reasons why Gabriella hated the fact that her parents were rich. Their West Albuquerque mansion was huge and could fit twice the amount of people than the average party, something Gabriel most definitely took advantage of. But one thing she was thankful for was the lock on her door and the announcement Gabriel had made about her room being off limits. At least he was considerate. Or maybe he just was taking precautions so she didn't rat him out to Antonio and Marisa.
Gabriella sighed and slipped her bookmark into the book and placed it on her nightstand. Grabbing her cell phone, she stood up from her bed and walked out on to her balcony. She was thankful for the cool January weather that kept Gabriel's guests inside and away from her view. The music was also a little quieter outside since the doors were closed.
Her phone suddenly buzzed in her hands. She looked down to see that she had a text message.
'Hey :) –Troy'
She smiled to herself before she replied.
'Hi you, :) Aren't you supposed to be at some party? –Gabriella xx'
He had mentioned that his friends were dragging him to a party that he really didn't want to go to.
'I am. Not having too much fun though. They dragged me over here with the intention to crash it because the host is our school's 'rival' but they got distracted with the girls… as per usual :P The owners have a nice place though. But whatever, what are you up to?'
Gabriella breathed and thought for a moment. What if he was at the party that was happening at her very home? She thought of West High's rivals – being East High and South High. This could narrow down the possibilities of what school her mystery friend attended. But then again, it could've been some other school. There were ten schools in the district and any one of them could be holding the party that he was crashing.
'Hanging out. Trying to get away from the noise, LOL. My brother thought it'd be smart to throw a party since the 'heads of the household' are away for the weekend.'
Gabriella turned around and walked over to the lime green dish chair on her balcony and plopped down as she awaited his reply. Her phone buzzed again and she looked down to reply.
'Party at your place? Hmm, can I come? :P And why don't you just leave? I mean he probably won't notice.'
'I would but I kinda don't feel like it. Plus, I have nowhere to go. I'm on my balcony now and it like blocks out the noise. And I can talk to you and that's a million times better (:'
It was a million times better because he was a million times better.
'Right back at'cha Gab ;D Anywho I think I'm gonna bounce. I'm not in the mood to be here. Plus, everyone's being obnoxious. My friends are screwed because I was designated driver. Oh well :P'
Gabriella giggled as she typed back.
'Troy that's horrible! You should wait for them.'
'Nah. They can hate me tomorrow :P'
'But you don't want them to hate you. So wait.'
'But Gaaaaaab! I don't wanna!'
'Fine. *rolls eyes* You can go. But don't say I didn't warn you! Lol.'
''kay ;D Lol.'
Gabriella looked up at the sky as she thought about this 'mystery boy.' She wondered what it was that kept Troy talking to her. The majority of her classmates at West High didn't seem to find her to be of interest, and she didn't understand what Troy saw that was different. She wished she could know more about him as well and she wished that they could finally meet. But she was scared to ask. She sighed and looked up at the moon. It was a full moon and it was enormous. It was slightly yellow in color and it looked gorgeous.
'Are you outside yet? If you are, look up at the moon. It's so gorgeous.'
She glanced down to the grass, thinking that she had heard ruffling. She saw a figure that was wearing a red and white letterman jacket that said 'Bolton' across the back. It was obviously male because the person was tall and had mop-like hair. He was looking down at his phone as he walked on the grass and toward the fence. She was about to turn away but then he stopped and looked up at the sky.
Gabriella's eyes went wide like plates. Could that be? She was about to squeal but brought her hands to her mouth, stopping herself. It wasn't Troy. It couldn't be her Troy. He couldn't be THAT close. 'False alarm, Gab,' she thought to herself. 'But then again…'
Her thoughts were interrupted by the buzzing of her phone.
'It's beautiful. I like the moon. It's always gives me this burst of inspiration… Hey Gabi… when do you think we'll meet?'
Gabriella shivered slightly as she glanced back at the boy that had been standing on her lawn and was now walking away. Maybe she could find him. She had a school now. East High. They were the only school that wore red and white. If this was really him, she could narrow it down even further because she knew he was on the basketball team and most likely this was his letterman jacket which meant she had a last name. Bolton. She was going to find him. It was her latest goal and she ALWAYS did everything to reach her goals.
'Soon (:'
Throughout the whole night, Troy had been thinking about Gabriella's text message from the previous night. Sure they had texted some more until the wee hours of the morning when she claimed that she was tired but that she promised that they would talk tomorrow. But that one text had his mind turning.
'Soon (:'
She sounded confident, as if she knew something he didn't. As if she knew where he was and where to find him. It was something Troy should be excited over but for some reason, it just made his stomach into knots. What if he wasn't what she expected? What if for some reason things didn't turn out the way he had imagined them and that their chemistry in person wasn't as great as when they talked through text message.
Troy felt his phone vibrate in his hands. Thinking it was Gabriella, he smiled and quickly looked down to read it. When he read the text message, his smile faltered.
'Hey, hey superstar! What are you up to? -Sharpay xo'
Sharpay. Soon meant he had to do something about Sharpay. He couldn't just break up with her. That wouldn't be fair. Despite her sparkly, 'Me, Me, Me' personality, she cared about him. A lot. And he knew that breaking up with her out of the blue would break her heart. He had to do something though because he was most definitely falling for Gabriella. He just didn't know what yet.
"Troy?" a little voice brought him out of his thoughts. Troy turned around to see his six year old sister, Allison, standing at his doorway.
"Morning Allie," Troy smiled at the small girl. "What are you doing up so early?"
"I'm not sleepy anymore," Allie answered. "Mimi's awake too," she added, referring to their nine-month old little sister Mischa.
"Is mama up?" he asked.
"She's in the shower," she answered. "Daddy's still sleeping."
"Well, since dad's not up yet and I don't have to practice yet, how about some Saturday morning cartoons?" he asked with a mischievous grin. "We'll get Mimi and we'll eat ice cream and OREOs until we puke while watching SpongeBob."
"Really?!" Allie's eyes brightened up.
"Yup!" Troy smiled. "Come on, let's go." Troy got up from his bed, grabbing his phone, just in case Gabriella texted him. He saw that Sharpay's text was still open and decided to reply because it'd be rude to just not.
'Morning Shar, :) I have to look after my little sisters or else I'll get grounded. I'll text you later, promise. -Troy'
That should suffice, for now anyway.
He walked out of his room; and as he walked up the stairs, to the right and into his sisters' room, he saw his youngest sister sitting up in her crib with a baby pink onesie and a pair of orange shorts, holding on to the bars. She smiled at the sight of Troy and started clapping and giggling excitedly, flashing a grin, showing off her two tiny bottom teeth. "Hey cutie," Troy greeted as he walked over to Mimi. She lifted her arms, signaling that she wanted to be picked up and he, of course, obliged. "Do you know if mama changed her?" he asked Allie.
"Nope."
Troy nodded and walked over to the changing table to check Mimi's diaper. When he saw that it was wet, he grabbed a baby wipe and wiped her bottom and put a clean diaper on. Picking her up again, the three Bolton kids had exited the girls' room and headed into the kitchen to find their mother making breakfast.
"Aww," Allie pouted, as did Troy.
"What's wrong, honey?" Lucille asked.
"We wanted to watch Saturday morning cartoons and pig out on OREOs and ice cream," Troy said with a cheeky smile on his face.
"Oh, no you don't! You two are having a normal breakfast. You can watch cartoons if you want but no ice cream or cookies."
"But mama!" both Troy and Allie whined. Mimi just looked at her older siblings, giggling at their whining.
"But nothing. Now, go watch your cartoons. Breakfast will be done in a minute."
"Fine." They all turned to leave, both Troy and Allie with pouts on their faces.
"Oh and Troy," Lucille started again.
"Yes?" Troy asked as he turned back around.
"Put Mimi in her playpen and come back in here."
"'kay," he said and did as he was told. When he returned to the kitchen, "What's up mama?"
"This came in the mail for you yesterday," Lucille said handing him a large manila envelope.
"What's this?" he asked looking down at it. But the question was pointless when he read the name and address on the top left hand corner of the envelope.
Stanford University
450 Serra Mall
Stanford, California 94305
His breath hitched in his throat as he read it. He looked up at his mother, unsure of what to say or how to explain this to her. He had applied behind his parents' back.
"Well, aren't you going to open it?" Lucille asked.
"Why aren't you freaking out over where I applied?" Troy asked.
"Honey, you're my baby. I'm not going to be upset if applying to Stanford makes you happy. I'm a little bothered that you didn't talk to me about it first but that doesn't matter," Lucille explained stroking his sandy hair. She kissed the top of his head. "Now open it."
Troy smiled at his mother. She had always understood him better than his father ever had and that was always why he treasured his mother so much. Allie and Mimi both adored their mother but they were always a bit closer to their father. Troy on the other hand was always closer to his mother. His 'mama' as he still called her.
"Thank you, mama," he said. He proceeded to open the large envelope. He pulled out a red folder labeled 'Stanford University' and a smaller white envelope. He opened the white envelope and pulled out a letter. He started to read the first few lines aloud,
"Mr. Troy Alexander Bolton,
Due to your excellent academic résumé, it is with great pleasure that we congratulate you on your early acceptance to the Stanford University. Additionally, we are pleased to inform you that we have selected you and 29 other students for our Freshman Honors Program this May of 2009…"
Troy couldn't even finish reading the letter because his heart started racing and he could barely keep the huge smile off his face. He looked up at his mother who had a huge smile on her face as well. "MAMA, I GOT IN!!!"
Lucille wrapped her arms around her son and hugged him tightly, "Congratulations baby! I'm so proud of you!!" She kissed the top of his head.
"This is so awesome!" he said, still smiling. He continued to read the letter but his mother interrupted.
"Honey, why didn't you tell me or your father or me that you applied?" she asked.
Troy sighed. He had to tell her. "I was going to tell you before this got here. Today actually at some point, but dad…" And before he could finish, the reason why he couldn't tell them stepped into the kitchen.
"What's with all the ruckus?" Jack Bolton asked as he walked into the kitchen.
And before Troy could signal his mother, in her excitement, she blurted out, "Troy got accepted to Stanford and their Freshman Honors Program!"
"What?" Jack asked genuinely confused. "That's crazy Luce. Troy only applied to U of A, UNM, UCLA, USC, Duke, and UConn."
Troy looked at his mother with an urging expression as if to say 'please don't say anything else.' But he couldn't seem to grab her attention. And so, she continued to speak, with an animated and proud expression on her features.
"He applied to Stanford for early acceptance and he got accepted. And they were so impressed with his transcripts that they selected him for their Freshman Honors Program this May."
"Is this true?" Jack asked.
Troy looked at him and could tell he was holding back from yelling. But this was one of those times where Troy could read his father like a book and could tell that his anger was bubbling. "Yes, this is true," he said, an aura of confidence washing over him.
"What the hell, Troy?" the older Bolton finally burst, keeping his voice down when he heard his daughters' giggles coming from the living room. "When we sat down and discussed college for you, we agreed on basketball. We agreed that you would keep your game up for a basketball scholarship and you would dedicate yourself to basketball for the next four years."
"Jack, let it go," Lucille urged her husband. "We can discuss this later."
Completely dismissing what his wife had just said, Jack spoke again. "What is this crap about Stanford and an honors program?"
"Jack," Lucille spoke again but Troy cut her off.
"Let him talk, mom," Troy said.
"If this is about you wanting to go to California, you already applied to UCLA and USC. Stanford isn't for you, Troy."
"How would you know?" Troy's voice rose. "When we 'sat down and discussed college'," he started, using air quotes, "You did all the talking. I tried to bring up Stanford then but all you did was talk about how I'd dedicate myself to basketball and chose all these schools for me so I just did it behind your back. I applied to all those other schools just to humor you."
Jack Bolton's anger was bubbling. He looked just about ready to explode.
"And who signed your application? You're not eighteen yet and I sure as hell didn't!" Jack asked angrily his voice rising.
"Ah, the magic of forging," Troy answered smugly.
"Well, you're not going! I'm going to call Stanford Monday morning and I'm rejecting that acceptance! You like to do things behind my back? Well, think again!" the older Bolton fumed.
"You can't do that!" Troy immediately argued. "This is my future! Not yours! You can't live your dream through me! It's not my fault you couldn't make it!" he hopped of the barstool where he was sitting and pushed passed his father, taking his Stanford papers with him, and stormed out of the kitchen. He walked into his room, which was across from the kitchen and slammed the door.
Troy hopped onto his bed, as he heard his mother and father argue in the kitchen. They weren't the arguing type of parents and Troy wasn't one to argue with his father like that. The two had a close relationship, but that was mostly because of their mutual love for basketball.
As Troy heard his father yelling at his mother for backing him up, he had to glue himself to the bed or else he'd do something drastic.
Deciding to distract himself, he grabbed the control for his iPod deck and pressed play on the 'Loud' playlist. He put the volume of all the way and then pulled his Blackberry from the pocket of his sweatpants, sending a text message to, of course, Gabriella.
'Gabi, I got in. Stanford accepted me and they selected me for their Freshman Honors Program -Troy'
'Are you serious? Oh my gosh!!! That's fantastic! Congratulations!!!!!!! –Gabriella xx'
Troy smiled at her excitement. Just one text from her and he could feel the anger slowly leave his body.
'Thank you. My mom just showed me my acceptance letter.'
'You don't seem too happy, though. Then again emotions are very unclear in text message conversations, lol.'
He chuckled at her words and then wondered if she was actually laughing. He imagined her laugh as being… light, melodious. She had a bubbly personality, he could deduce from when they talked, so he assumed that her laugh was just as bubbly. He looked back down at the phone and texted her back.
'Lol, they are. But yes, I am happy. Ecstatic actually. It's just that my dad got pissed as hell and doesn't want me to go. I just argued with my dad about it and he and my mom are arguing right now. I blasted my iPod but I can hear kinda hear them over the music. I'm so pissed at him. Not only because he won't let me go but because he's yelling at my mom. I'd go stop him but I'd rather not punch him in the face.'
'This isn't funny at all but I kinda laughed at that last part. Sorry :\ But anyway, that really, really sucks. At least you have your mom's support. You two are close right?'
'I love my mama. I've always been closer to her and she's always been so much better to handle than my dad. She adores my sisters and me equally but out of the three of us, but she and I have like this special bond.'
And it was true. Troy and his mother had always been close and a lot of times, no matter how upset she got at him, she couldn't stay mad.
'That's really sweet.'
Gabriella read Troy's words about his and his mother's relationship and couldn't help but feel a little jealous. They had the relationship that she could only dream of having with her own mother.
'Don't tell anyone I told you that. Only my best friend Chad knows that. I will be mocked for the rest of my days if anyone finds out, lol.'
Gabriella giggled at this. She easily could tell that he really didn't care if anyone found out.
'I'll take it with me to my grave, lol.'
'Good :P So, how about you? Are you already packed for Stanford? Lol.'
'Yeah… I'm kinda screwed in that department…'
'What do you mean you're screwed?'
'Nothing.'
'It's gotta be something, Gabi. Is it your parents?'
She wanted to tell him. She really did. But sometimes, saying things over text message were just so hard. Text message was just as concrete as paper and it made a lot of things seem so much more real and hurtful than they really were.
'I just wish I could tell you in person. Text message is just so much harder to tell you things…'
'I wish we could talk in person too…'
And then, Gabriella thought about the piece of information she had acquired the previous night. It could've been him. And she was going to confirm it sooner or later, but on her own terms. She wasn't going to ask him just yet.
'Remember what I said. Soon.'
'You're right, :) Soon.'
The weekend and it was already Monday. Thanks to her otherwise useless brother, Gabriella had found out that East High had a game against North High. This was the perfect opportunity to find Troy and possibly talk to him for the first time. At first she felt like a stalker, but then she realized that she wanted this. She wanted to find Troy. She needed to put a face to the name of this extraordinary person that consumed her thoughts the majority of the time.
So as she slipped into the big and bright East High School gymnasium, her stomach started doing flips. What if this was it? What if this was the day she would finally meet Troy? She sighed quietly before walking to the steps of the bleachers. She tried to be discreet as she made her way to an empty spot near the middle. Taking her seat, she looked up at the score board and saw that East High was leading by a landslide and that the game was almost over. Turning her head toward the court, Gabriella kept her eye on each of East High's players, trying to decide which one could be this Bolton character. And then she saw him. There, in the middle of the court, controlling the ball as though it was a puppet and completing each play with ease. It all seemed to be falling into place – not only had she found this Bolton guy who she'd seen from her balcony, but his basketball jersey had number '14' on the back which was further evidence that maybe, just maybe, this was really him. Her Troy's AIM screen name did have a fourteen at the end.
Gabriella smiled slightly as she looked at him. She barely noticed her head tilting to the right as she checked him out. He was kind of… no not kind of, more like really gorgeous. She had seen several good looking boys walk the halls of West High and she did have eyes. But really, none of them compared to who she was looking at. 'Bolton,' who had just stopped right in front of where she was sitting to talk to one of the coaches, had brown hair that fell over his eyes. She couldn't really see his eyes from the distance but she could tell that they weren't really brown. As her eyes traveled down word, she noticed his broad shoulders and well built arms.
And when he ran back to the court, she realized she had been checking him out and felt herself blush.
As the final buzzer rang, the entire Wildcat side of the gym jumped up from their seats with huge grins of their faces. They all cheered loudly and proudly as they ran down to congratulate the team. Gabriella stayed in her seat and watched with a small smile on her face. She continued to keep her eye on Bolton, who was currently being carried by his teammates on their shoulders.
"YO BOLTON! YOU'RE COMING TO MY PARTY RIGHT??" an unknown voice hollered at Bolton. Gabriella looked in the direction and saw that it was a boy with straight brown hair and light skin. He had jersey that said 'Cross' on the back.
"OF COURSE!" Bolton hollered back.
"WE'RE GONNA GET SO SMASHED!" another voice hollered. Gabriella saw that it came from another boy with darker skin and a curly afro.
"OH HELL YES!" Bolton agreed.
At this, Gabriella cocked her eyebrow. She knew Troy went to parties but from everything they'd shared he didn't seem like the type to get completely smashed.
"AND BOLTON'S GONNA GET LAID TONIGHT!" Cross hollered, high-fiving the boy with the afro.
Right before 'Bolton' could answer, a blonde cheerleader kissed him heatedly. "You don't know how right they are," the blonde said before winking and walking away as Troy winked back.
"Okay, eww," Gabriella mumbled to herself before getting up and walking away. She was completely turned off by the way the basketball team and Bolton were acting and was positive that neither of them were her Troy. 'Either didn't play or he probably goes to South,' she thought as she exited the gymnasium. This Bolton guy had been at her house but it wasn't her Troy and she pouted slightly as she realized she was back at square one.
Gabriella sighed as she got on the path to return to her house. She couldn't help but think that it would be easier to just ask him – in theory anyway. But at the same time, what if that just screwed things up? What if she ruined everything and drove him away. She couldn't lose Troy…
But then again, he did ask when they would meet. 'This is so complicated,' she thought to herself.
The following day, Gabriella woke up a little earlier than usual. She got dressed, wearing blue jeans and a comfy black shirt and her favorite black Converses. She combed her long curls in a low side ponytail with random strands falling in her face. Comfortable. Just how she liked it. She grabbed a sweater for the morning chill and the rest of her things and stepped out of her room. On the way down the stairs, she sent Troy a text message of 'Good morning, sunshine. –Gabriella xx' and smiled to herself.
Once she was on the first floor, Gabriella headed to the foyer and placed her stuff there, slipped her phone into her pocket and grabbed a packet of paper in a red folder labeled 'Stanford University.'
Gabriella was going to talk to her father about Stanford, hence her waking up early. Bottom line, she was his daughter, and Gabriella could only cling to the hope that her father would maybe understand, that he could see just how much she wanted this.
Walking over to her father's study, the door was slightly ajar and she could see that he was working on his desk.
'Drowning himself in his work, as per usual' she thought with a roll of her eyes. She took a deep breath before knocking lightly on the door.
"Come in," Antonio called and Gabriella stepped inside.
"Good morning," she greeted.
"Morning," he said, looking back down at his work. Gabriella shifted uncomfortably, looking down at the folder in her hands.
"Ant…" she caught herself as she almost called him by his first name. "Dad, I need to talk to you about college."
"What is there to talk about? You're going to U of A with your brother."
"Um… dad, I," she paused. He was barely listening. She wanted to chuck the folder at him so badly and just scream 'LISTEN TO ME!' But she didn't and willed herself to continue. "I got an early acceptance into Stanford and they selected me for their Freshman Honors Program and I really want to go."
"Who said you could apply?" he looked at her with a cocked eyebrow.
"I… I sorta just took a chance," she said, feeling slightly nervous. "I wasn't sure if I'd get in or anything but I thought I'd try…"
"Who signed your application?" he asked. "The only application your mother and I signed was the one for U of A, like we agreed on."
"I uh… I forged yours and mom's signatures…" she answered.
"Oh really? You do know forging is illegal, right?" Gabriella nodded silently. "If you do, how come you did it?"
"I really want to go here," she said. "And they're offering me a free ride because my grades are so high so you don't even have to pay or anything."
Gabriella noticed that his face changed, going from skeptical to something unreadable. He stayed silent for a few moments before speaking once more.
"You're not going."
Gabriella's eyes went wide. "Wh…what? Why? Dad, they're accepting me to go for free!"
"I don't care. You're not going. You went behind mine and your mother's backs. You're going to U of A with Gabriel and that's final. Now go, I have a lot of work to do."
And at that moment, Gabriella wanted to cry. There were several things she couldn't understand about her parents, the biggest one being why they ignored her half the time. But right now, she couldn't understand why he didn't want her to go. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Stanford, Freshman Honors Programs, and free rides didn't come along for everyone. Not even Troy got a free ride and his grades were quite impressive, from what he had told her.
Gabriella took a step back before turning on her heel and walking out of the study. When she heard the door close behind her, she hugged the red folder to her chest and the tears immediately fell from her eyes.
Gabriella found herself sitting in the library during her free period on Wednesday morning. She was in the midst of finishing It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini since she had put it off for a really long time as well as texting Troy. She had been trying to clear her head from the morning situation with her father. As she turned the page, her phone vibrated.
'I wrote a new song/poem yesterday.'
'You did? Can you send me the lyrics? I'm sure it's just as amazing as your last song.'
'This one has a special meaning behind it…'
And then the bell rang. Fuck. She really wanted to continue talking to him.
'Shit, I have to go to class.'
'I do too. I have to find the path that's farthest from the gym and my dad. I kinda cut free period workout today… '
'TROY! He's already pissed at you because of Stanford! With this he'll freaking burn the packet!'
'I don't really feel like seeing his face today so I've just steered clear. And with the packet, everything's online. I'm on their records. I'm just that cool :D'
'Oh, sure you are :P'
'You know I am ;D'
'Mhmm. Anyway I really have to go! If I'm late I'll die :P'
'No you won't :P Have a great rest of the day, Gabi :)'
'You too (: Email me your song later!! DON'T FORGET! Lol. And thanks for always making my days brighter.'
"Can we go home now?" Gabriella asked her brother in an annoyed tone.
School had let out nearly two hours earlier and she had waited for Gabriel to finish basketball practice. She was really tired and just wanted to go home. She had been waiting for him outside at the moment but he was still inside, in a heated lip lock with his girlfriend, Missy.
"Shut up and wait," Gabriel said pulling away from Missy for a slight nanosecond before returning to his previous actions.
Gabriella rolled her eyes in annoyance, hating that she had to wait for him. She turned on her heel, refusing to watch more of this…'spectacle' and murmured a quick, "I'll be outside," and walked way. On the way out, her phone rang in her pocket. She cocked an eyebrow wondering who could be calling her.
Pulling out her iPhone, she looked at the screen and froze when she saw the name.
Troy.