December 15, 2012
Gabriella couldn't believe how big she got in just three weeks. She was twenty two weeks pregnant and feeling very energetic. She felt like she could conquer the world but she had a baby bump in the way. She was officially on winter break from school. She had taken her finals and wouldn't be back until next fall after the baby was born.
She stared at herself in the mirror. She still couldn't believe she was pregnant. She looked like she had a small ball under her shirt. Her bump was perfectly round and everybody cooed over it. And she meant everybody. Strangers came and started chatting her up about her baby in the randomest places. She was slowly getting used to it. She learned she enjoyed when people touched her belly. She loved feeling her baby move around in there.
When they came back from Albuquerque she had her routine twenty week check up. She and Troy went together. He literally begged Gabriella to find out what the gender was but she didn't budge. She still wanted it to be a surprise. She ran her fingers over outie belly button and sighed. She suddenly wanted to take a bath.
"Hey Gabsy." Troy knocked at the open door.
"Hey." She said turning to him. She pulled down her maternity tank and took a seat on the bed. "You just get home?"
"Yeah, we're leaving tomorrow to play in North Carolina." Troy said, taking a seat next to her. "I wanted to talk to you about a few things."
"Okay." She said, grabbing her pregnancy pillow, wrapping it around her.
"I've been thinking for a couple weeks about us and I want to know what you thought." Troy said slowly, looking at her.
"What about us?" She asked, rubbing her lips together. She felt a little uncomfortable talking about them other than as the parents of their baby.
Troy sighed. He noted she was rubbing her lips. He tried to hide his frown. "Like, do you want to try to be together? As in a couple… in a relationship." He reiterated to make sure she understood.
"I hadn't really thought about it. I just think of us as the parents of a baby not a couple." She said slowly. "Do you want to try?"
"I mean, if you want to then we can try." He said, looking at her. "But if you don't then we don't have to. You know, if it will be uncomfortable or weird."
"It would be a little weird." She said softly. "Honestly, I don't want us to get hurt. I think it will be best if we just try to be parents. We can focus on the baby because it's going to occupy most of our time when its born."
Troy fought back a frown and forced a smile. "Yeah, I totally get it. I- just- you're absolutely right." Troy said getting up. "It would be kinda weird so…" He trailed off. "I'm going to go pack."
"Okay." She said with a small smile. "I'm thinking about getting in the bath." She got up as well, following him out into the living room.
"Hey girl." Taylor said, watching Troy walk straight into the room, closing the door behind him.
"Hey." Gabi said with a wide smile. "How was work?"
"Boring." Taylor said, rolling her eyes. "How was your day?"
"Long." She said with a sigh. Taylor followed her into the bathroom, shutting the door. Gabriella started the bath and took a seat on the covered toilet. "I started off craving coffee. I can have a cup a day but I wanted like a big one. Like the big size from starbucks, the one bigger than the Venti size." Taylor giggled as she rolled her eyes. "I was going to make a sandwich for lunch but we didn't have any pickles… my sandwich was mediocre. Then I went to the store to buy some more and every other person talked to me about my baby and grabbed my belly. I didn't really mind that but whatever. Then I come home and looked at my belly and Troy comes in saying he wants to talk."
"What did Troy want to talk about?" Taylor piped up, suddenly interested.
"He was asking if I ever thought about me and him being in a relationship."
"Really?" Taylor said, raising her eyebrows.
"Yeah, weird right? I didn't know what to say. I told him we'd just be better off focusing on the baby. We have so much on our plates right now. I don't know how we're going to have time for a relationship, you know? Plus, how weird would it be?" Gabriella said with a small snort.
"It wouldn't be that weird." Taylor said with a small frown. Gabriella was leaning over, pouring bubble bath in the water.
Gabriella shrugged in response. "It was all so sudden, so weird. He's going to North Carolina tomorrow. Hopefully nothing happens when he's gone." She stood up. "I'm going to get in. Check on me in a half hour, make sure I didn't fall asleep."
Taylor laughed. "Okay. Have a nice bath."
"I will." She said with a wide grin. Taylor walked out and she stripped down and sunk into the filling bathtub. She turned off the water when it got full enough. She leaned her head back, relaxing.
Taylor was still frowning when she walked back to her room. Chad just got home and was laying down on their bed face down. "Hey." Taylor said sitting next to him.
"Hey baby."
"You might want to talk to Troy." She said slowly.
"How come?" Chad asked, looking over at her.
"I just talked to Gabi and she told me that Troy talked to her about being in a relationship." Chad's face lit up. "It didn't go so well."
Chad instantly frowned. "No?"
Taylor shook her head. "She thought it would be better if they were just parents to their baby."
Chad sighed. "He must be hurting, bad." Chad said, scratching the back of his head. "I'll go check on him." He leaned down giving a kiss to Taylor. He walked out the door and knocked on Troy's door, peaking his head in. "Hey brother."
Troy looked up from the duffel bag he was packing. "Hey." He murmured, stuffing a shirt in the bag.
"Why so glum?" Chad asked, jumping on Troy's bed, laying across it.
Troy shrugged. "Not really feeling this away game."
"You'll be back in like two days. Not like you'll be gone for two weeks." Chad pointed out.
"You're lucky. Your season is almost over." Troy grumbled unhappily.
Chad chuckled. "I'll go to North Carolina for you. Shit. Can we switch teams?"
Troy cracked a smile. "I think it would be a little noticeable."
"Oh well." Chad said, shrugging. "What else is going on?"
Troy licked his lips. "I talked to Gabi."
"Yeah, about what?" He asked, looking over at his best friend.
"About what we talked about at Thanksgiving. She doesn't want to be in a relationship." Troy said with a sigh.
"I'm sorry man." Chad said with a frown.
"Don't be. I should have seen it coming." He stopped packing for a moment. "I'm going to take this weekend and clear my head for the away game. When I come back I'm going to do as you said and move on."
Chad sighed. "I was rooting for you man."
"Thanks anyway." Troy said with a defeated sigh. "Only eighteen more years." Troy attempted to joke.
"It's a long time. You never know what the future will bring." Chad said climbing off of Troy's bed. "Need me to take you anywhere?"
"Sure. I was going to ask Gabriella but that might be weird now. We have to meet at the airport tomorrow morning at like seven." Troy said. "Oakland."
Chad patted his friends back. "No problem brother."
Troy watched Chad walk out. He finished his packing and pulled on his running shoes. He needed to get some fresh air. He grabbed his phone and his wallet and he walked out of his bedroom. He noticed Gabriella in the living room but didn't pay much attention. He grabbed his Ipod on the counter and watched her for a minute while he put the buds in his ears.
He watched her breathe out slowly, bending over to touch her toes. He made a face while he watched her. She sat back on her heels now, bending her knees in a slight squatting position. He just had to ask. "What the hell are you doing?"
Gabriella jumped, looking over at Troy. "Jesus, Troy."
"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. You look like you're about to shit on the hard wood." He said, his face still turned up with confusion.
Gabi rolled her eyes. "I'm doing pre-natal yoga. It'll help for when I go into labor. The positions help bring the baby down or something. I don't know. It's just supposed to help so I thought I'd try."
Troy looked at her skeptically. "Right. Well, I'm going to go for a run. I have my cell if you need me."
"Oh, I should go take a walk. They said that helps. Maybe when you get back and you feel like taking a walk, you can come with me?" Gabriella asked.
Troy shrugged. "We'll see."
"Have a nice run." She said. She frowned when he didn't say anything in return and just walked out the door. She breathed out and moved into another position, clearing her mind once again.
December 16, 2012
Troy had woken up extra early to make sure he was showered and dressed so he didn't have to rush. Him and his team were flying across the country to play the University of North Carolina. He wasn't sure how the game was going to turn out. He just wanted this season to be over already but they were on a winning streak.
He made sure he woke up Chad and that he was actually awake and walking around. Chad was not a morning person but he was very dependable. Troy double checked he had everything. He said a quick goodbye to Taylor who was half asleep still since she was on vacation.
Troy was fighting himself on if he should wake Gabi up or not. She would probably be upset with him if he didn't. He opened her door and watched her sleep for a moment. He cleared his throat before kneeling beside her bed and pushing her hair away from her face. She was tangled up with her pregnancy pillow.
"Gabsy." He said softly, trying to coax her awake. "Gabi, babe."
"Hm?" She asked, opening one eye before rolling onto her back. She groaned and rolled back to her side.
"I'm about to leave, I just wanted to tell you." He said softly.
She frowned. "Don't go."
"Trust me, I wish I didn't have to." Troy said softly, stroking her cheek. "If anything happens don't hesitate to call me, okay?"
"Mhm."
"Gabriella, I'm serious." Troy said firmly.
She opened her eyes. "Okay, I'll call you. I promise."
"Thank you." Troy said. He pushed her blankets back a little bit so he could see her slightly exposed tummy. He leaned down, pressing a kiss to it. "Daddy has to go play basketball. I'll be back as soon as I can. Be good for mommy, okay?" He stroked her belly slowly before giving it another kiss. He covered her up again.
"You're cute." Gabriella said with a sleepy smile on her face.
Troy laughed. "I try." He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Gabriella thought he was going for her lips. She ended up kissing his throat, awkwardly. "I'll see you in a couple days. Don't forget to take your vitamins." He reminded.
"I won't" She replied, still pouting.
"I love you." He said as he walked out the door.
"Love you too." She called back just before the door closed and she wiggled to get comfortable again.
Troy grabbed his bag and found Chad in the kitchen. "Ready?" Chad asked him. Troy nodded his head in reply. They went out to Troy's car. Troy sat in the passengers seat, looking out the window. He was quiet as Chad started the car, making his way to the main road. "You alright?"
"Yeah, I'm just worried about Gabi."
"Her and the baby will be fine. Taylor will probably be with her all day, Sharpay will probably be around too." Chad said, stifling a yawn. "You have nothing to worry about."
Troy nodded. "I know but I still do."
"I guess it just comes when you learn you're going to be a parent." Chad said. "Constant worrying."
"Yep, pretty much. If it's not the baby then it's Gabi, if it's not either of those it's money and if it's not that it's the future. It gets overwhelming." Troy swallowed.
"You can talk to me. I probably won't know what it's like for a couple of years but I'm a good listener." Chad said, smirking at his best friend.
"I know I can talk to you and everybody. I feel like once the baby is born we're going to be a burden on you guys. We're still young and you're a couple and it's hard to be romantic with a screaming baby in the background."
Chad laughed. "Tay and I already talked about it. We figure it's like built in birth control. A reminder to buy extra condoms."
"And to take her pill because condoms aren't completely effective. That's how Gabi got pregnant." Troy said. Chad looked at him bewildered. "I never do it without condoms. Even since Gabi is pregnant, we still used condoms."
"Jesus." Chad said shaking his head.
"Yeah." Troy said with a bitter laugh. He leaned his head against the window. "You should have heard the talk I had with my mom."
"Was it bad?"
"Oh yeah. It consisted of 'you're ruining her life' and 'you should have thought about that while you were sleeping with her." Troy said with a sigh.
Chad smirked. "She's not an excited grandma to be?'
Troy snorted. "Did you think she would be?"
Chad laughed. "No, not really. How'd your dads take it?"
"They were having a ball." He explained. "My mom did join in of the shopping though. She has to put her two cents in about everything."
"I'm sure she's just bummed out that Jack is gay and she wanted to have more kids, probably. Once the baby is born she'll probably move down here to help take care of it."
Troy shuddered. "God, I hope not."
The rest of the ride was quiet, while they sat with their thoughts. Chad pulled into the airport, stopping in front of the correct terminal. "Have a safe flight. Call one of us when you get there and kick some ass."
Troy laughed. "I'll try." He gave Chad a quick hug. "Make sure Gabi is okay. If something's wrong, call me."
"I will, get out of my car."
"This is my car." Troy reminded him.
"Whatever. You've got a plane to catch." Chad said, laughing.
"Love you brother."
'Love you brother." Chad said just before Troy closed the door. He checked his duffel bag in and met up with the rest of his teammates.
The fellow Golden Bears greeted Troy with a hand shake. They were very fond of Troy. Since he got there he had taken on a leadership role. He was responsible and worked twice as hard. It'd been installed in his brain since his father had been his coach since he could shoot a basket. Jack never pushed his too hard. He always just pushed in the right direction.
"Hey Bolton." Mason Kennedy, one of his teammates took a seat next to him. "Are you ready for the game?"
Troy nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm ready to win." He gave his teammate a half hearted smile.
"Mase!" A girl bounced over. "Give me five dollars."
Troy chuckled as Mason sighed, giving the girl five dollars. "Girlfriend?"
"Sister." Mason said with a shrug. "Big sister actually. She's two years older."
"Does she go to Berkeley?" Troy asked.
"She's in her final year. Studying psychology." Mason said. "She's coming with us to North Carolina. She's weird." Troy looked over at his phone. "How's the girl?"
"Big." He said with a small smile.
"The baby?"
"Still cooking. She still won't let me find out." Troy said with a laugh. Troy pulled out his wallet and showed Mason the recent ultrasound picture. "Twenty-two weeks."
"Aw cute baby. It's yours?" They looked over to see Masons sister sitting behind them, leaning over the chair.
Troy nodded his head. "Yeah."
"He's the one that knocked up his friend."
The girl o'ed her mouth. "Right. You were telling me about that. Is it awkward?"
Troy laughed. "Sometimes but Gabi and I have been friends forever so it's not weird at the same time."
"Interesting."
"What'd you do with my five dollars Julie?" Mason asked, looking back at his sister.
Julie shrugged her shoulders. "Don't worry about it."
Troy chuckled. "I wish I had a sister."
"No, you don't." Mason grumbled.
"Shut up." Julie said, pulling a bag of chips out of nowhere. "Don't listen to him. He doesn't know what he's talking about."
"You should get me some chips."
"Get your own." Julie said, smacking his hand away when he reached for hers.
Mason sighed. "I'll be right back."
"So." Julie said, hopping over the seat with her snacks. "Do you have a girlfriend?"
"Nah." Troy said shaking his head.
"I heard you went out with that girl Haley and fell asleep on her when she wanted to hook up." Julie said with a smirk. Troy frowned a little "I'm not judging you. I think it's hysterical."
Troy cracked a smile. "She was pretty pissed off."
Julie laughed. "That's great. Do you want to like get lunch or something when we get there? I know Me and Mase will be hungry. You can come with us."
"Sure." Troy said, nodding. "Sounds good."
"So what are you having? Boy or girl?" Julie asked, popping a chip into her mouth.
"Don't know. Gabi wants it to be a surprise."
"Any names yet?" She asked.
"God, Julie you're so nosy." Mason said, taking a seat on the other side of his sister.
"I'm just asking. Damn."
"We agreed on a name for a girl but we haven't talked about boys names yet." He said, sitting back.
"What's the name?"
"Jillian Grace Bolton." Troy said. "It's subject to change. Gabi changes her mind every minute."
"You can name her Julie." She said with a wide grin. "Or Mason."
"She's annoying, I'm sorry."
Troy chuckled. "It's fine. I was expecting this trip to be boring."
"Good thing you're sitting with us." Julie wrapping her arm around Mason and Troy's neck. "We're like the wolfpack."
"Oh god." Mason said, pushing her away.
All Troy could do was laugh. Their flight was called and they stood up, getting into line. "Where are you guys sitting?"
"Row 16 or something." Mason said. He pulled out his ticket. "Eighteen B"
"Eighteen C" Julie said, reading her ticket.
Troy snorted as he looked down at his ticket. "Eighteen A"
"It was meant to be!" Julie said, putting her arms around them again.
"Why did I agree to take you?" Mason asked, rolling his eyes.
"Because I'm your big sister and you love me."
"That's debatable." Mason said, earning a punch in the arm. "You are so lucky you're an only child."
"My best friends are kind of like my siblings. We act the same way." Troy said with a chuckle. "Well some more than others. Taylor, Sharpay, and Kelsi are like sisters to me. Chad, Zeke, and Ryan are like brothers."
"And you knocked up the other." Mason said smirking. He handed the attendant the ticket and walked in the tube. Troy and Julie followed. "I don't have any close girl friends like that so I can't even imagine."
Troy just shrugged. "Our relationship is complicated."
"Want the window?" Mason offered.
Troy shook his head. "I like aisle."
"Julie?" Julie denied. Mason took the window seat and Julie stuffed their carry-ons in the over head. Troy put his bag under his seat and took his seat, bucking his seatbelt.
"Let me do roll call." Troy's coach bellowed throughout the plane as people were still coming on. "Just raise your hands. Anybody who is not on the plane is off the team so tweet about that. Andrade. Bolton…" Coach started roll and Troy raised his hand when his name was called. He shifted in his seat and closed his eyes once he felt the plane start moving.
Just because I started school this weeks and i feel like i'm in over my head. I hope y'all are having a wonderful fall season. The weather is just right here in California. I pulled out all my hoodies because it's starting to get cold. I'm writing more. Don't know when the next one is going to be out. y'all know me, i'm full of surprises. I know i teased y'all with that contest thing a couple weeks back. I think im just going to put the first chapter up of the story. maybe since i have two stories up it'll give me motivation to write more. Love y'all don't forget to review!