Chapter Eight - Finding Feelings
Gabriella's Point of View
Lucille had picked me up and I was seated in the front seat of her car. Troy sat in the back with his sister while we drove around the corner and up the street to the shelter. Lucille dropped Troy and myself off then had to go and take Violet to her babysitters. My mother had called me before I was picked up. She was just waiting for her car to be toed away then she was able to come back home.
Right now, I stood next to Troy and listened to the radio while putting the mail away. Troy had defiantly cleaned up nicely. His hair wasn't standing tall and the black from under his eyes had disappeared. He was wearing a blue shirt, which made his eyes stand out beautifully, and long beige shorts with light brown flip flops. An outfit that suited him perfectly.
He was humming along to the radio. I recognized the song. It was called Disturbia, but I couldn't remember who sung it. I knew it wasn't Mariah Carey or Brittany Spears. It was on the tip of my tongue. It was sung by .. Rhianna! That's who it was from.
"Disturbia!" Troy sang under his breath. I pressed my lips together and tried not to laugh. "Distubia!" He sang again. He turned to get another pile of envelopes from the small table. I sat on the table and watched him, holding my breath to keep from laughing. He caught me looking at him and stared at me with a questioning look. "What?" He asked.
I couldn't hold it in anymore. My lips parted and I nearly fell off the table. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and crouched over. My stomach was in pain from me laughing so hard. I couldn't even breathe. I looked back up at Troy with tears in my eyes. He started to chuckle, watching me roll onto my back. I tried to stop laughing but Troy's singing kept coming back into my mind.
"Are you alright?" Troy asked, laughing himself. I tried nodding but I rolled over. Then the table disappeared from under me. My feet touched the ground and I reached my hands out to the ground, but I never hit it.
Something tight was wrapped around my waist and I was being pulled to my feet. I could feel the warmth of the arms around me and the large muscles being put to work. Troy placed my straight up and stared into my eyes. They were large and he looked terrified. His grip loosened but his hands stayed on my waist. My hands were on his arms and his face was inches from mine.
His warm breath filled my mind and everything started spinning. Troy's eyes focused on me and I felt my heart melt. What was it about this guy? His built body was part of it and his protective grasp was too. Although I could live without the singing. Troy's singing was .. hilarious. The image and sound of his voice made me start laughing all over again.
Troy kept looking down at me. I couldn't even breathe anymore. My head flew backwards as I let out another bouncing laugh. I looked back to Troy to see him still staring at me, a smile on his face. My laughing slowed as his smile grew larger. My body wasn't responding to me anymore. I started falling forward, but Troy's hands pushed my back up. He helped me back onto the table and stood in front of me.
"You okay?" He asked. His smile faded into worry. I nodded, smiling to myself.
"Yeah," I said. "I'm finished now." Troy nodded and crossed his arms.
"So?" He said, staring at me. I returned his gaze and shrugged my shoulders. "What was so funny anyways?" I smiled and chuckled to myself.
Troy's Point of View
Gabriella's laugh was .. spectacular. It was like nothing I had ever heard in my life. It sounded like bells chiming, but still Gabriella. She seemed to just let go of herself, like there was a huge wall she had built up and in that second, she just tore it down. She had tears staining her eyes and her lips were stretched out. Something I had never witnessed from her. It was the first time I had seen her look .. happy.
I was practically dying to touch her again. Her waist, her arms, her cheeks .. her lips. I bet her lips would be just as soft as her skin. I shook my head quickly. I couldn't think about this. Gabriella was so gentle and sweet and caring .. almost like she could never be mine. I could care less though, I like Gabriella and I would be hurt if there was another person in the picture that wasn't me.
"You weren't lying when you said you could sing." Gabriella said, interrupting my thoughts.
"Are you making fun of me?" I asked, taking a step closer to the table. Gabriella's eyes widened and she looked shocked.
"Me?" She said, almost insulted. "Me making fun of you?" Gabriella's lips formed a smile.
She threw her legs over to the other side and slide onto her feet. She looked back to me and turned up the radio.
"Disturbia!" She said in a manly voice. She started laughing. So she was mocking me. I felt the corners of my lips tug into a smile.
"Oh that's it, your dead." I said, jumping over the table to Gabriella. Her smile widened and she ran to the other side of the table. I chased after her. She went to the other side of the chair, holding out her hand towards me.
"Troy, stop." She said seriously. "We need to finish this." I nodded slowly and looked to the table.
Gabriella came around the chair and went to walk behind me. Then, I jumped as her hands flew to my waist and started tickling me. She laughed as she ran to the door. I threw the envelopes down and ran after her. My arms went around her waist with ease, lifting her off her feet and turning her away from the door. She started laughing again.
I set her on her feet, leaving on arm around her waist. She struggled to get free, still laughing. I tickled her stomach with my free hand. She started kicking her legs and threw her head back onto my shoulder.
"Say your sorry!" I teased and she kept laughing.
"No!" She laughing, kicking me lightly.
"Say sorry!" I laughed. My fingers continued to tickle her stomach as Gabriella struggled in my arms.
"Sorry!" She screamed, trying to break lose of my grip. I started laughing and kept tickling her.
"Say I'm the best and hottest guy in the world!" I said, having a little fun.
"Your the best and .. " Gabriella kept laughing. "Hottest guy in the wor-"
"What are you two doing?" Said an alarming voice behind us.
I stopped tickling Gabriella and let go of her waist. She stopped laughing and we turned to see who had walked in on us. I looked to the door and saw a young lady with her arms crossed. I saw Gabriella turn towards the back wall. Nicole shook her head and smiled to me. I shrugged my shoulders and watched Nicole walk into the room. She held out and envelope, I took it.
"That needs to go into Dytoma." Nicole said, leaving the room. She stopped at the doorway and turned to face me. "And keep it down."
Nicole left the room while Gabriella took the envelope from my hands. I looked at her while a smile played on her lips. I took the envelope back and lifted my hand in the air. Gabriella stood in front of me and went to reach for it, but she was too short.
"Troy, we really should get this done." Gabriella said. "I would like to eat my lunch."
I laughed under my breath and held it out for her. Gabriella smiled in satisfaction and went to reach for it. Right before her hand touched the envelope I pulled it away. Gabriella raised her eyebrows to me then went to reach for it again. I pulled it away right before she touched it. Gabriella put her hands on her hips and stared at me. I sighed and held the envelope out to her.
"Here." I said.
Gabriella reached out to grab, but I pulled it away. She grunted under her breath and turned away from me. I coughed to cover a laugh. I walked up behind Gabriella and held it up to her.
"Look, I'm sorry." I said. "Here." Gabriella stared at me and then to the envelope.
I waited, holding out the envelope. Then, Gabriella's face lit up and she jumped at the envelope. I pulled it away and put my arm in the air. Gabriella jumped at it, but she still couldn't get it. She tried jumping again, this time she got it. I stood where I was a little shocked.
Gabriella's Point of View
I started laughing. Something about this day was making me laugh and be more opened. Troy made me laugh every time I was with him. He made me smile and made me nervous. It was something about Troy that made me .. me. The shy girl behind the wall.
I put the envelope into the proper mail box and rubbed my hands together. Troy stared at me with his arms crossed and two dimples on either side of his smile.
"So, now you think your all that?" Troy joked. I just smiled and shrugged my shoulders.
"You just weren't fast enough." I said, walking toward the door. Troy jumped in front of me, blocking my exit.
"Still not fast enough?" He asked, his dimples still flashing. A slight smile played on my lips. I raised my eyebrows and walked around him.
I walked down the hallway to the front desk. Nicole was writing something down on a sheet of paper. I went to the front of the desk and leaned forward. Nicole was writing a list of food. She glanced up at me and smirked.
"So," She said. "You and Troy seemed to be hitting it off." All I could do was smile. Troy. Everything seemed to come down to Troy. He was everything. He was funny, smart, handsome, and knew how to have fun. I had never met a guy like him. I don't think I had ever seen a guy like him.
"Troy and I are .. " I said, trying to think of what Troy and I really were. We aren't together but we aren't really friends either. Well I guess you could call us friends, but what does Troy call us? Does he even consider me as a friend?
"Troy and you are .. dating? Together? Friends?" Nicole said. I shook my head.
"I'm not sure." I said truthfully. "Troy just .. he gets me. He makes me break out of my shell and tear down the wall I've spent years building."
"Sounds to me that little Gabriella has a crush." Nicole teased. She got up from her desk and went over to a filing cabinet. I followed her.
"Excuse me?" I said. There was no way I like Troy. I hardly even knew him. All I knew is that he liked ice cream and is going to East High and is close to his sister and he played basketball and he .. I knew more than I thought.
"Whatever makes you happy." Nicole said, walking back to her desk. I followed her and watched her answer the phone. "Albuquerque's Animal and Medical shelter, Nicole speaking." I shook my head as Nicole started writing down a message.
I started back down the hallway and into the spare office. So I knew things about Troy, but that didn't mean I liked him and it didn't mean he liked me. What if he did like me though? He'd tell me and ask me out, right? What if he did like me but he wasn't sure about what I would say or do? Why would that bother me so much? I don't like Troy and he doesn't like me. For all I know he has a girl friend. Why would that bother me even more?
I tried shaking the thoughts from my mind, but they kept coming back. I couldn't imagine Troy walking down the beach holding some blond girls hand and telling her how beautiful and how lovely and perfect she was. That just made me want to throw up.
I opened the office door and went behind the desk to get my bag. I picked it up and went back down the hallway. I decided to go out the back door, not wanting to encounter Nicole again. I opened the back door and started to the side of the building. I found the picnic table I had sat at my first day. I put my bag next to me on the ground and pulled out my book and sandwich.
Troy's Point of View
"So," Nick said, sitting on the counter top. "You missed James last night because you fell asleep? You didn't even fall asleep with her?" I leaned on the island across from Nick. He quickly raised his hands in front of him. "Sorry man, but really? You probably missed an awesome fight just to sleep across from a girl." I shook my head.
"Do you really think that there would have been a fight?" I asked. "All that douche bag would have done is continue to make my life a living hell!"
I jumped off the island and put my hands on my head. Why did my life have to be so messed up? Not only does my best friend hate me, so does my dad and James is walking behind my back and messing my life up even more. I heard Nick jump off the counter and walk behind me.
"Come on, Troy." He said. "The only way your going to get him off you back is by facing him and I didn't mean anything bad about Gabriella."
"Gabriella isn't, in anyway, related to what is happening in my life. I don't care about sleeping with her and I sure as hell don't care enough about her to even care about her!" I yelled to Nick. He took a step back and looked at me, wide eyed.
"Okay, that made no sense." Nick laughed. I glared at him. His face went serious again. "Sorry." He said again, holding out his hand. I closed my eyes for a second and glanced back to Nick's hand. I nodded and took his hand. We did our handshake that we had made up years ago. "We cool?" Nick asked. I nodded.
"Sorry dude." I said. Nick nodded and started for the door.
"Well my break is over, later." Nick left out the door and was probably going over to feed the birds.
I leaned back on the counter and closed my eyes. Why was life so complicated? And why couldn't I stop thinking about Gabriella? Didn't I have better things to think about? It didn't make any sense, well it did, she was pretty and smart. She had that smile and the brains. Gabriella didn't seem to be that girl, the one who wore short skirts walking down the hallway. Gabriella was just her and that was the most beautiful person I had ever seen.
I wanted to be the one who held her hand down the beach. I want to be the one she can cry to. I want to be the one she can tell anything to. I want to be the one that she gives her heart to. I want to be the one who tells hers how amazing she is. I want to be the last one to talk to her before she goes to bed. I want to be the one she calls her boyfriend.
...
PLEASE READ !
I am so, so, so, so sorry about the very late update! On my vacation there was an accident and my sister went into the hospital. Everything is alright now, but I had to stay there and her waddle on her crutches. Which also meant that I wasn't able to post or write. I have this chapter and I am working on the next one. I am not sure when it will be finished, but for sure by next Thursday. So it might be a little crazy and the updates may not come as quickly. There will be one at least each week. I'll try for two, but it's going to be a little rough. When school starts I should be back on track. I will be trying as hard as I can, so please just be patient for now.
Well, I hope you liked the chapter! I thought I'd add a little more romance. I didn't want to over due anything, so hopefully I didn't. Also, thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed this story. It really does mean a lot to me when I check my email and there is 15 new messages, all from fanfiction. I truely have the best readers and thanks so much.
So, tell me what you think and I'll have the next chapter up by next Thursday. And a very random question .. does anyone watch Degrassi? And is anyone watching the finale tonight? Well, I know that I'm dying to watch it. I really hope that Fitz doesn't kill Eli or anything like that, so let me know what you think .. and after the episode tell me what you thought of it!
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