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Protecting Miss Montez

Chapter eleven

The Ball

It had been a stressful week getting ready for the ball for "Princesses of America", an organization that Gabriella held close to her heart, along with coincidentally, Sharpay Evans. This event raised money for girls who were underprivileged and didn't have the money to go to prom or have a day feeling like a princess and this event made sure that as many of those girls could get their day in the sun.

Since the first lady Mrs. Montez was a big contributor to the donations; the event was being held in the White House ballroom and was only open to the most famous, richest, and important women, along with their chosen dates. But if you were Gabriella Montez, you didn't have a date, and if you were Taylor Mckessie, you were invited anyways because not only were you friends with Sharpay Evans, but you knew the President's daughter.

Gabriella rushed down the White House hallway as she held up her long dark purple dress, one that if she went outside would wave in the wind, not stick next to her body like a normal, Cinderella ball gown. This one showed most of her tan back, falling in a V at the small of her back and the front was beaded with clear, sparkling beads that occasionally picked up the light. Her silver shoes could be seen appear from underneath the light dress each time she took a step and as she looked at the clock, she knew she would be late if she didn't pick up her pace.

So that is why she started to run, feeling small pieces of her hair fall from her up do, but when she passed a mirror in the hallway, she noticed that it added more of a fun, relaxed look to her attire, rather than make her seem uptight and uncomfortable.

She could hear the music playing through the ballroom doors and she panicked shortly, knowing that she'd walk in by herself and all attention would fall on her if she came in loudly, or tripped when she walked in, but as she was about to forget the ball all together, the door opened and Troy appeared, talking to Charles about parking and using security code.

Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the more formal suit that he was wearing and when he stopped mid-sentence when he saw her, she felt her knees go weak, her pounding heart numbing the rest of her body as she tried to think of something to say.

"Hi."

She rolled her eyes inwardly at herself, only coming up with a word with one syllable that meant nothing but the opposite of goodbye. His lips formed into a smile slowly and Charles took that moment to walk away, talking to a different member of the secret service as he left them alone. She couldn't say anything else as he stepped closer to her, his hands in his pockets.

"You look amazing." He said to her after staring at her a little bit longer.

"Thanks." Again, one syllable and she knew if she didn't start adding some true content to her responses she would regret it later. "Is it crowded in there?" That might work.

"Yeah. Tons of important famous people." He nodded, smiling as he must have seen her cringe. "But you're the most beautiful person I've seen tonight." She smiled at his answer and blushed as she looked down at her purple dress.

"I wish you could be my date." Gabriella said honestly, smiling at another passing White House employee.

"Me too." He nodded as he memorized the way her face looked framed by her dark hair and he noticed now that her eye makeup was much darker than it usually was, bringing out her eye color. "But your dad might kill me if he sees me with you." He chuckled softly and Gabriella's nerves slowly disappeared at the sound of it.

"I should…"

"Yeah. Go." Troy said quickly, smiling at her as he put his hand on the door knob of the door, ready to open it for her so she could make her entrance. "Gabriella…" Troy started, putting his hand on her arm to stop her before he opened the door. "If there are any surprises tonight… just go with it. Don't let the little things ruin your night."

"Wait, what do you mean—" She was stopped as he opened the door for her, causing the people inside to draw their attention to her. She felt her stomach flip, realizing that it didn't take tripping to get noticed at a place like this. Be the only one in purple and dark makeup and you'd be a show stopper.

"Good luck." Troy whisper behind her as he shut the door, observing her almost bare back that was appropriate, yet risky for her and as the door blocked her from his view, he was left feeling disappointed that he wasn't there to watch her for the rest of the night.

The first person Gabriella saw as she tried to control her breathing as everyone smiled at her was Sharpay. She was in a light pink, completely sparkly dress and as Gabriella stepped further through the crowd, hoping people would start looking away, Sharpay waved at her, and then Gabriella noticed Taylor in a shorter olive green dress that was obviously one of Sharpay's. She smiled at them, happy to have a group to escape to now that she had them as friends.

"Girl, I hope Troy saw you in that." Taylor smiled, causing Sharpay to laugh with a nod, looking at her flawless friend.

"Yeah…" Gabriella blushed, glancing around the room to see who was there. "He did."

More giggling came from Taylor and Sharpay as they replaced squeals with smiles, knowing that jumping around like they were at a girls-only sleepover wouldn't be appropriate to do at a ball.

"So, Gabriella, who's your lucky date?" Sharpay asked her after another moment of laughing about Troy with Taylor.

"I don't have one." Gabriella nodded, turning back to her friends after looking around the crystal white room. "If I can't go with… you know than I didn't want to take anyone."

"The weather is nice today, isn't it?" Taylor nodded seriously and as Gabriella looked at her in confusion, Sharpay shot her a warning look and that's when Gabriella felt a thin hand on her arm, turning to see her mom and dad.

"You look beautiful, sweetheart." President Montez said with a smile. "No one can take their eyes off of you."

Gabriella glanced around the room again, smiling as she shrugged at her dad's words.

"I don't know whether to be disturbed or flattered." She said with a small smile, one that gave away that she was somewhat bored already of this place, which surprised her parents, but they didn't say anything about it.

"Have fun, girls. We'll be around." Mrs. Montez said, squeezing her daughter's arm gently before walking away with her husband, going over to the Vice President and his wife, where they instantly began to laugh, as if they had been in a conversation earlier with each other.

"So." Gabriella turned back to her friends, not sure what to say in these circumstances. "It looks like it's going to be a long night."

"Well, at least you can look at your man candy." Sharpay giggled with a wink, seeing the surprised look on Gabriella's face as she said it.

Gabriella had been looking around the room for Troy to see if he had come in since she did and now as her friend said he was inside, she looked behind her, noticing now that Troy was walking in front of the DJ with Charles, both of them talking still as they came to a stop by the back door.

"He's looking particularly down tonight, don't you think?" Taylor asked them, looking at Troy from their spot by one of the round dinner tables, worrying of course as Sharpay observed him for a moment, nodding after.

"He looks down?" Gabriella asked her, not seeing a different in his appearance compared to how he looked on a regular day.

"Do you see the way his hands are in his pockets?" Sharpay asked quietly as the President and the First Lady walked by them to talk to more guests.

"Yeah… I guess I noticed that before." Gabriella nodded.

"That means he's uncomfortable or awkward… and those bags under his eyes indicated that he was clearly up thinking all night. These are all clear signs that he's not in his best state of mind." Sharpay explained particularly.

"Remind me again why you wasted your time with fashion? You could have been some kind of interrogator for the NYPD with the knowledge you have on body language." Taylor snorted, shaking her head at Sharpay's knowledge.

"Fashion is my calling. Reading body language is my… motherly instinct." Sharpay nodded, knowing that this was true. Her whole life she could read the people closest to her like a book, but fashion was her dream, and she went after it immediately.

"Motherly instinct my butt." Taylor groaned, looking around the room again. "I need something to eat."

As Gabriella and Sharpay watched her walk away from them, they laughed softly, realizing that no matter where Taylor was, she'd say what was on her mind, appropriate or not. When Taylor came back, her eyes were wide and she had no food with her, only a cup of punch that she set on the table closets to her.

"I just offered Oprah Winfrey a cucumber sandwich… and she took it!" She exclaimed, fanning her face as she squatted into the chair next to her, pulling her friends down with her so they were sitting in the chairs next to her.

"Aw, I should say hello to her." Sharpay smiled, sitting up quickly as she walked in the direction her friend came from.

"How are you two so calm when it comes to celebrities? I nearly peed my pants and Sharpay goes to say hello!" Taylor slumped against the back of her chair, sighing as Gabriella only giggled in response, too busy watching Troy to look around for any more celebrities.

"Holy crap." Sharpay was walking quickly back to her seat, sitting down instantly as she put her hand over her perfectly glossed lips, squealing into it as she tried not to have some kind of screaming girl fit. "Brad Pitt was by the Punch Bowl!" She told them.

"Oh, come on." Taylor said with an eye roll. "I was in the presence of a very inspirational woman and you met the man who's poster hung on your ceiling above your bed for your entire life and you call that a freak-worthy moment?" Taylor asked her, laughing when Sharpay nodded, speechless for the first time in her life.

"His wife was wearing one of my dresses, can you believe that?" She asked in a whisper, noticing the people staring at her who were seated at the table next to them.

"I think I need something to drink." Gabriella said to them with a laugh, feeling her dry throat ache as she looked around the room and the few dancing guests and the bright lights.

"Oh, if Brad's there, tell him those shoes of his are so yesterday!" Sharpay told her with a smile.

"I'm not telling him that!"

"Well, if you see Oprah tell her if she needs a personal assistant that I'll—"

Gabriella walked away quickly, laughing as she went across the room to get some punch from the crystal fountain on the long table. She wondered why they needed a fountain for the punch as she got some, knowing that no matter how the punch came out, it'd still taste the same.

As she was finishing her drink, debating if she wanted a piece of cheese with a bored expression on her face, she felt a warm hand on her back, making her smile softly.

"Looks like someone is bored without me in their life." Her smile dropped instantly at the sound of his voice, along with her stomach as she picked up a piece of cheese, ready to use it as ammo.

"What the hell," She started too loudly and she knew that as another celebrity glanced her way quickly, going back to talking to a dark skinned man, one who was waving his hands excitedly as he explained something to him. "Are you doing here?" She whispered the last part, pushing his hand away from her as he laughed.

"I'm your date, Babe." Drew's confident smirk made her want to gag as she shook her head, raising her eyebrows defensively.

"You are not." She hissed. "How'd you get in here anyways?" She looked around for security, but Troy and Charles were still talking to each other, Charles confused as Troy shrugged.

"How'd Drew Boy get in here?" Charles asked Troy as he was about to call Code Red, knowing that once he was a security threat once, he would be considered one, until otherwise proven wrong or if he was signed off as allowed to come back. This could only be done by the security. Not even the President could allow a threat back in the house without consent from one of the many men in charge of protecting him and his family.

"The First Lady wanted him to be here for the ball, apparently. Miss Montez didn't have a date." Troy explained simply, as if Gabriella was just another boss of his, no one important, no one he was involved with.

"That's because her date is standing next to me." Charles whispered to him. "Who signed him back in?" He asked quickly.

Troy's hands dug deeper into his pockets as he saw the worried expression on Gabriella's face get madder and then, as Drew said something, she threw a small object at him and as it bounced on the ground after it hit him, he noticed that it was a piece of cheese. And he would have smiled. If he didn't have to answer.

"I did."

The loud sigh from Charles indicated that he didn't understand young guys like him anymore and he ran a hand over his tired eyes, looking at the male who was being pelted with dairy products.

"This is why I never got married and continued to work here. I don't understand relationships." Charles said in a low voice, shaking his head as Troy shrugged, still looking uncomfortable as he watched Gabriella and Drew from a distance, feeling anger rise in him slowly as Drew grabbed Gabriella by the arm, pulling her against him as he seemed to be done with being a human target.

"I suggest you stop throwing cheese at me and start dancing with me. Maybe then will I leave." He whispered to her, feeling how tense she was in his arms. She quickly ripped herself away from him, glaring so evilly at him that he raised his eyebrows.

"I hate you." She told him harshly as he grabbed her hand, pulling her onto the dance floor where they could clearly be seen together among the few couples dancing.

As bystanders smiled at the two, Gabriella looked around the room, seeing Taylor and Sharpay looking at her in confusion, wondering who the new guy was and each time she looked over at Troy, he looked away, pretending as if he had other people to watch and protect, but in all honesty she was the only one he needed to be concerned about.

"Why are you doing this to me?" She asked him after a minute, looking at him seriously as they simply bopped to the song, not up for dancing to the upbeat music.

"I'm not doing anything to you, Babe. I'm simply here to get back what is rightfully mine." His smirk grew and she continued to hate him.

"You didn't own me." Gabriella spat back, hearing how he made her seem like some kind of object, rather than a person. "I'm glad I got ride of you."

The annoying song that had been playing slowly came to an end, changing to a slow song, one that made Gabriella feel the one piece of cheese she ate coming back up. Drew grabbed her hand, pulling her closely again, his hand on her bare back.

"Looks like fate wants us back together. This is our song."

"Well, luckily I'm up to ignoring fate." She said, pulling away from him roughly, looking around the room again, now seeing Sharpay and Taylor by the punch bowl, watching her from their spot, ignoring, oddly Brad Pitt and Oprah Winfrey who were right next to them.

"Here's the thing," Drew started, pulling her back to him, and causing her to groan in annoyance as he roughly grabbed her arm. "I know about you and your body guard."

Gabriella's heart raced as she glared at him again, seeing that he was serious as she looked into his eyes. He ran a hand over her bare arm, causing goose bumps to appear as she kept her breathing even.

"What do you want in order to keep the secret?" She asked, glancing away from him when he smirk, embarrassed that she was willing to sink this low.

"I want you," He started, dragging her face closer to his with his finger, seeing her eyes darken as she shoved his hand away from under her chin. "To kiss me. Right here. Right now… in front of your new friends. And your boyfriend, who hasn't stopped staring at you all night, by the way."

Gabriella could feel a puddle of tears form in the corners of her eyes as she shook her head, thinking about how cruel that would be.

"No. I'm not doing that." She said to him, feeling his arms leave her waist as he smirked still.

"Fine." She felt her stomach flip again as he took a step away from her. "I'll be happy to tell your father what you've been up to."

As he began to turn, leaving her in the middle of their song, on the dance floor, she panicked, feeling a panic attack approaching as she grabbed him by the arm, pulling him towards her as she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him as he wrapped his arms around her. For a second, only a second, maybe even a half of a second, she felt something as he picked her up like he always did when he kissed her, but as the kiss got deeper and he set her down, pulling away from her, she felt anger bubbling inside of her like a pot of water ready to boil over.

As he wiped the lipstick left on his lips off of him, he smiled, brushing a piece of her loose hair away from her lips, where it got stuck in her lip gloss during the kiss. He could tell that she was breathing deeply, her chest rising and falling quickly as she looked around the room.

Gabriella felt her tears continue to pile up as she saw Troy watching her, a hurt look on his face as Charles shook his head, disappointed. She felt her hands shaking as she saw the distance between herself and Drew and without thinking, while sick of looking at his smug smile, she pulled her arm back and punched him, right there in the middle of the dance floor, in front of Oprah Winfrey and a whole bunch of other talk show hosts like Ellen, who would be talking about this in the morning, witnessing the whole thing:

Drew whipping his bloody lip with a pissed expression, the guests gasping and dispersing around the room, and Gabriella running for the door in her perfectly purple dress as the security took care of everything else… along with the scum hunched over on the dance floor.

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unknownbyhim22