The moment the school bell rang, I was out of my seat and straight into my car. As per usual, I gave Taylor a lift home, and it seemed unusually awkward between us.
"What are you doing tonight then?" Taylor asked, glancing out of the window at two young mothers, pushing prams and laughing with each other.
"Think I'm gonna take it easy." I replied, giving her a small smile. "My little outburst at the Boltons earlier showed me just how tired I really am." She nodded, and we lapsed into another silence. "What are you doing?" I asked, and she shrugged.
"Shar's going shopping, so I was considering going with her." She told me.
I sighed as I nodded. We never had silence in our group, no matter how many arguments we had, and now Taylor was being awkward with me. What the hell was going on?!
"Tay, what's wrong? You're really quiet." I glanced at her and she let out a bitter laugh.
"You never spend time with me or Shar. A couple of months ago we were all inseparable, and now you disappear every lunch time and break, and you're always busy after school."
"Tay, it's just with the baby and everything-"
"Yeah, I get it."
I pulled up outside of her house and she grabbed her bag. "I'll see you tomorrow?" I asked, and she rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, sure. Thanks for the lift, I'll see you tomorrow for shopping."
I watched as she slammed the car door and stormed into her house, and sighed. I had to keep telling myself that there wasn't anything I could do as I drove home.
When Troy called me he was walking to the mall and it was about 9pm. I had reapplied my make up, organised my wavy black hair, and got changed into a pair of dark purple skinny jeans and a black vest top under a translucent black top that had a slight collar and gold studs for buttons. I placed a pair of black pumps on my feet and grabbed a leather jacket as I ran downstairs.
"I'm going to a party!" I called out whilst grabbing my bag, making sure I had my purse, car keys and phone.
"Whose party?" My mom called, and I grinned.
"West High." I yelled back, trying not to give away too much information.
"Kay, don't be back too late."
Grinning like a cheshire cat, I ran from the house and drove to my Romeo.
"You're late." I heard his joking voice as he stepped into the car and pulled the door shut. I glanced at his appearance and grinned. He was wearing a long sleeved pale blue shirt with the sleeves rolled back and a white wife beater underneath. He also had dark skinny jeans on that he knew I loved with his favourite black converse. His hair was wet from the shower he'd obviously just taken after basketball practice, and the damp strands stuck to his forehead like they were sweaty. He showed me his watch, teasing, and I almost made a face at the fact it was 7.15pm and he was right.
"Hello Troy, my day was shit, thanks, how was yours?" I joked back, watching as he clipped in his belt and shot me a cheeky grin before leaning over and connecting our lips.
"Hello Gabriella, you look beautiful, how was your day?" He murmured, reaching his hand around my head and pulling the back of my head gently towards him, crushing our lips together.
"It just got a lot better." I sighed happily, leaning in for another kiss. He grinned at me as our lips connected again, and I could feel smugness with a hint of cocky radiating off him. When he went to steal another kiss, I pulled back. "If you don't stop, we won't even make it to the party." I warned, and he shrugged.
"I wouldn't mind." He winked, and I hit his shoulder gently, leaning back into my seat and starting up my car, pulling out into the road.
"Asshole." I muttered in an endearing tone.
"Love you too." He replied, running a hand through his damp hair and pulling down the mirror by his seat. I rolled my eyes as he pulled out hair gel and started gelling his hair, and he let out a laugh when he noticed my expression. "I can't go out looking like a sweatball when you look as stunning as you do." He told me, and I rolled my eyes again before turning a corner on the way to West High.
"You're not sweaty, you're clean." I pointed out, and he shrugged. "And I like you when you're sweaty. It's weirdly attractive." At my words, he turned his head to me and grinned.
"I know you like me when I'm sweaty." He smiled his toothy grin, and I let out a small laugh.
We pulled up to Brad's house after twenty miles of driving, and Troy jumped out immediately when I'd parked, racing around to help me out of the car. He got there when I'd gathered my bag and jacket, and opened the door. Smiling at me, he stood in front of me and I gave him my hands, laughing as he pulled me from the car and pressed me against the back doors, slamming the driver's door shut before placing his hands on the car on both sides of me. He connected our lips quickly, and I wrapped both arms around him, tangling the hand that wasn't holding my jacket around his head, and pulling him towards me. I felt his tongue trace my lips, asking for permission, and I granted it to him, moaning softly when our tongues made contact. After a minute of this, we pulled away, our foreheads resting together and our breathing slightly heavy.
"That was a proper hello kiss." Troy told me, kissing my forehead and grabbing my free hand. "Now lets go see our friends."
When we entered Brad's house, we were hit immediately by the loud music. We could see a couple making their way upstairs, a couple pressed up against the stairs, and some cringy noises coming from the under the stairs cupboard. One glance into the living room showed that everyone was dancing, with the majority of West High girls grinding against some poor West High blokes. We walked straight through into the kitchen, and saw Brad straight away. He was talking to Elliott in the corner of the kitchen over a beer. Quickly, I turned to Troy.
"Will you drink a beer bottle and fill it with water for me?" I asked, and he nodded, squeezing my hand. "Just make sure you don't get seen." I grinned, and he pulled me towards the kitchen in reply.
"Brad, Elliott, my men!" His voice came above the music, and I grinned. The two guys turned to us and smiles filled their faces immediately.
"Troy, Gabs!" They both called, and I giggled as Brad swept Troy up in a man hug, and Elliott pulled me in for a hug.
"Where are Hannah and Kaycee?" I asked, and Elliott shrugged.
"Last I saw Kaycee she was in the back yard."
"What about Hannah?" I asked, confused, and he reached up to scratch the back of his neck.
"We're fighting." He looked down, and I groaned, annoyed.
"Why do you guys fight? You've been together for four years, you know you're perfect together."
Elliott's facial expression turned defensive as he glared at me. "And you and Troy have been together how long and haven't told pretty much anyone?"
I stepped back, hurt. "You know that's different, Ell. You know why we can't say anything!" Troy and Brad turned to the sound of my raised voice and cut in quickly.
"What's going on?" Troy asked, moving between us and raising an eyebrow at me.
"Nothing." Elliott mumbled, and he looked up to stare into my eyes. "I'm sorry Gabs, it's purely stress."
"It's fine." I mumbled, moving forward and hugging him tightly. He bent down to my level and I turned to face his ear. "You'll be okay, Ell." I whispered before releasing him. He nodded, and I kissed Troy on the cheek, hugging Brad before walking out of the kitchen, pulling my jacket on. I walked into the back yard, listening to the music become dull and glancing around the seemingly deserted garden. With a second glance, I noticed two figures on a bench at the bottom of the garden. I walked towards the girls I recognised, and as I drew closer I heard sobbing. "Kaycee? Hannah?" I asked, and they turned, Kaycee shooting me a sad smile and Hannah grinning a watery one. "What's wrong with my girls?" I asked quickly, and Kaycee glanced over to Hannah as she shrugged.
"It's complicated." Hannah told me, glancing down. I walked over to the bench and sat on her other side, watching her face as she found the 'tell me' I didn't need to say. "Me and Elliott are in a rough patch." She began, fresh tears appearing in her eyes. "He's not around me as much, doesn't make an effort to come see me, and is generally distant." She told me, and I frowned, confused and not understanding.
"I'm sure it's a phase." I assured her, and she shook her head.
"I think I don't love him anymore." She whispered, and I sighed.
"Oh, Han." I pulled her and Kaycee into a hug, holding the crying girl and my best friend at West High. We stayed that was for a few minutes, listening to the pulsing yet diluted music, and feeling the cool Alberquque air hit our skin.
Hannah pulled away after a few minutes, wiping her tears away and turning to me. "So what's new with you?" She asked, and I hesitated, not sure whether to mention the baby in my stomach.
"Yeah." Kaycee grinned. "We haven't seen you in forever. How are you doing? And Troy? And how are the famous Tay and Shar?"
I rolled my eyes at Kaycee and she giggled alongside Hannah. "I'm okay, still fed up of the fucking family fight. It's ridiculous!" The girls nodded in agreement, and I chose my next words carefully. "Troy's fine… He's been really pushed into basketball lately, so he's glad to be here tonight, and Tay and Shar…" I sighed, wishing I was as good a best friend as they were to me. "They're mad at me."
A silence came over the group. "Why?" Kaycee asked. "It's not cause of us, is it?" Hannah's eyes widened, and she glanced at me.
"No!" I reassured them, and they still looked doubtful. "They feel that they haven't seen me recently, and they don't think we're close anymore, which is horrible. I'm seeing them tomorrow at the mall, but I've really kept horrible secrets from them, and it's affecting us."
"It'll be okay." Kaycee smiled. "You're strong enough to get through this."
"I damn hope so." I muttered, looking up at the brightly lit house.
About an hour later, we returned to the house. I split from Kaycee and Hannah when they went to get a drink, and when I glanced around the house, noticing the clock and sighing when I realised it was only 10.30pm. I was about to go and grab a seat somewhere when I noticed my Troy dancing to the heavy dance music with a beer bottle in his hand. I shook my head, beginning to grin when I saw him dancing with Brad and Elliott, and I made my way over to him.
When I reached him I tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned, grinning once he saw me and leaning down to my level, pulling me into a kiss and wrapping one hand around my waist, the other in my hair. I grinned when I tasted the beer in his mouth, and matched his actions, moaning lightly into his mouth and feeling him grinning at the light vibrations on his lips. He pulled away for a minute and leant over to Brad and Elliott, shouting something before pulling me from the mass of sweaty bodies in the living room. He pulled me into the kitchen and placed his beer bottle on the side before pressing me against the kitchen side. He didn't kiss me, but one glance in his stormy blue eyes had me pulling him to me. Our lips connected viciously, and he grabbed my hips, pushing me against the side and letting me reach my arms around his neck, pulling him flush against my body. He pressed his hips against me, and I felt his arousal, grinning when I realised it.
"You're way too sexual nowadays." I murmured against his lips and he smirked.
"Says the one who usually starts it." He smirked back at me. I shrugged, letting him pull away and rest our foreheads together. "I love you." His voice suddenly changed, and became strong and passionate. I could also swear he choked, his voice breaking.
"I love you too." I told him, closing my eyes and pressing my face into the crook of his neck.
"Shall we go upstairs?" Troy whispered. "I want to hold you, and Brad said we're welcome to stay in the locked guest room, and he gave me the key."
I nodded. "Lets go wildcat."