Chapter 21

"Hey, Troy."

Troy looked up. Charlene was standing before him, wearing her flowing blue Viennese dress.

"Hey, Charlene," he said. "You better hurry up. I think the Viennese Waltz is up next."

Charlene gave a sad smile. "The Viennese just finished. Devon and I made the finals."

Troy nodded. "Oh."

Charlene frowned. Normally, Troy would've been excited about news like this. She knelt until she was eye-level with Troy.

"Look, Troy," she sighed. "I'm so sorry."

Troy forced a smile. "It's okay, Charlene. There's always next year."

"But you waited so long for this," Charlene reminded him. "And you practice harder than anyone else. It seems so unfair and-"

"Charlene," Troy cut in. "It's okay."

Charlene knew it was pointless to say anymore. It would just make him feel worse.

Troy was grateful when Charlene walked away to join Devon. The number one thing he couldn't stand was pity, especially towards him.

Julie Johnson stared at her nephew with concerned eyes. She knew what a great disappointment this was to Troy. Yes, there was always next year but...

Suddenly, she became aware of a presence. She turned to her left to find Sharpay staring at her with determined eyes.

"Yes, Sharpay?" she asked almost wearily, wondering what the girl was up to this time.

Sharpay smile. "Miss Johnson. I know someone who can dance with Troy."

Julie sighed. "That's very kind of you, Sharpay, but you know the rules. You cannot dance for more than one-"

"I'm not talking about me."

That made Julie stop. What was this? There was someone else who could replace Tiffany?

"Who?"

The questioned was answered by a quiet voice saying, "Me."

This time, everyone noticed a petite brunette head over to their dance teacher. Her hair was in a half-updo, her hair curled and stylishly messy. Her face held a hint of makeup and she was wearing a beautiful blue dress with sequins...just perfect for the cha-cha.

Charlene gasped as she recognized the girl. "Gabriella!"

The other students heard her and began to whisper.

"Gabriella!"

"Gabriella Montez?"

"She's back!"

"It's Gabriella!"

Gabriella ignored these whisperings. She was used to them. Besides, she had her eyes on only one person.

"Gabriella."

Gabriella's heart gave a slight drop as she heard the pained formal tone in Troy's voice. Then she remembered that he didn't call her by her nickname anymore.

"Hi, Troy," she said softly.

To her surprise, Troy's eyes narrowed to two thin slits. The intense blue in his eyes seemed to penetrate her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Gabriella forced the tears back. "I'm here to dance."

Troy crossed his arms. "I don't need you, Montez."

Montez? So they were back to that, huh?

"I'm not doing this for you, Bolton," Gabriella spat out. "I'm doing this for Sharpay and Charlene and Devon and everyone else who wanted to see you dance."

Troy's eyes immediately widened in surprise.

"But if you wanna selfish," Gabriella continued, "then forget it." She turned to leave.

Suddenly, impulse moved Troy's hand forward and grabbed her arm.

"No," he said.

That was all Julie needed to hear.

"Sharpay," she said. "Go tell the judges that there have been a last minute replacement in our team."

Sharpay was already moving, her green dress flying behind her.

"You two should get on the dance floor," Julie said, pushing Gabriella and Troy just slightly.

Before Troy knew it, he and Gabriella were on their designated spots on the dance floor, their numbers pinned to their backs. As Gabriella turned slightly to search the stands for her friends, Troy noticed her earrings.

They were blue.

Sapphire blue.

Gabriella was wearing the earrings. His earrings. The one he had given her.

This gave Troy's heart a lift. He barely heard the commentator announce the start of the cha-cha portion.

The music started. Troy's body memory started to kick in and to his surprise and relief, Gabriella had no trouble following. It seemed as though she remembered every step, so well that Troy wondered if she had been secretly practicing. Nevertheless, Troy thought she looked like a goddess, with her blue dress flowing around her.

Troy knew to keep his eyes off the judges, but he could sense their approval as he and Gabriella spun past them.

He kept his eyes on the beauty in front of him, swatched in sequined blue material. She became slightly harder to see as the lights began to dim.

Wait...the lights were dimming?

The music suddenly stopped and the dancers froze as people began to realize this fact. Crowds looked up, wondering if something was wrong with the lighting.

Troy, without even thinking, grabbed Gabriella and held her close.

Just then the lights went out.