Excitement
When they arrived at Central Park, Ryan went off with a group of other kids to a stage being set up, saying to them to meet him back at the park at 3:00.
Troy looked around the park and saw vendors selling food and drinks, people running or just relaxing.
Sharpay put her phone away, and looked around for her friend until she spotted her, sitting on a bench, reading Gossip girl. "Gabi!" She said, running up to her and giving her a big hug.
Troy stood there and was stunned by Gabriella. He has always been stun by her presence, like a spell. But he couldn't blame being stun by her, since she was the most gorgeously stunningly beautiful girl he has ever seen.
She was beautiful like a model or a goddess with her long silky, wavy/curly, nearly black darkened hair; her beautifully angelic face, baby-soft flawless skin, her chocolate-like big brown eyes, incredible dazzlingly bright smile, amazingly slim legs, and perfect curves.
She looked pretty in a dark denim cropped vest, matching boot-cut jeans, black cashmere turtle-neck, and black lace-up boots.
When she pulled away from Sharpay, she put her book in her black leather tote-bag, turned to Troy and gave him her dazzlingly smile. "Hi Troy. It's been long since I've seen you." She said, giving him a big hug.
Troy could feel his heart pumping in his ears. He stood still, shock, for a few moments and slowly wrapping his arms around her and hugged her back. Suddenly he was glad that Sharpay and Ryan dragged him out of the house. Gabriella felt so warm, and her hair felt as sleek as he brushed it with his fingers. He hugged her a bit longer, enjoying the feeling he was feeling as he was holding her. Maybe when the time is right, I'll finally tell you about how I really feel about you, he thought.
"Um…Troy," Gabriella said, facing him "You can let go now."
Troy's face flushed, realizing that he pulled her so close that their faces were only two inches away. He was close to her and she was close to him. Troy badly wanted to lean in, grab her face, and kiss her over and over again.
But he fought the urge, letting her go.
"Come on guys, let's go. I got $900.00, 20 of my credit cards, and tons of coupons that are waiting to be spent. Let's go to Fifth Avenue first. I want to go to Sears first." Gabriella said, linking her arms into his and Sharpay, hailing a cab, and getting into it.
"Okay, but then after that and when we're done with SoHo, we need to go to Madison. Not only do I want to shop like crazy, but I want to find the perfect outfit for the party." Sharpay said.
"What party?" Troy asked, confused.
"Our friend Claire is hosting this instantly cool party tomorrow night at this cool club at downtown Manhattan. Everyone we know is going to be there. Here…" Gabriella said to Troy, reaching into her purse and handing him an extra invitation.
Troy glanced at the invitation and thought that the designs in it were pretty cool.
"You like the designs?" She asked him.
"Yeah. Whoever did them is pretty artistic." He said. Gabriella surprised him by giggling.
He turned to her, confused, until the answer hit him. "You did them?!" He asked, amazed.
Gabriella smiled at him as she nodded.
Whoa! He thought.
"What do you think?" Gabriella asked them, stepping out of the dressing room in Sears, trying on a lavender silk oversize wavy tank top with a retro black and white belt, loose black leather open vest, black liquid leather legging pants, and sliver vintage-looking high-tops sneakers. (A/N: The same outfit Vanessa wore at one of her concerts)
It hurt Troy's eyes, taking his gaze off her. But he couldn't help it. Gabriella looked irresistibly hot in that outfit, showing off her perfect curves. "You look hot!" Troy blurted out, wishing he hadn't.
Gabriella smiled at him, while brushing her hair away from her eyes, but Troy saw Sharpay, smirking, obviously enjoying seeing him embarrassed.
"Hon, you look sizzling hot," Sharpay said to Gabriella, while pulling out a pink digital camera from her purse. "Smile!"
Troy watched Gabriella as she posed for some pictures. She was like a model, but only…better.
The girls bought a few stuff from Sears, but Sharpay bought the most despite the fact that she still hasn't found the perfect outfit for the party. They went to every store in and near Fifth Avenue, trying on some clothes and buying them, with Troy trailing behind them, getting some things for himself. They got into another cab that took them to SoHo, and then Madison.
Sharpay dragged Troy and Gabriella with her into Barneys, picked every dress in her size off the rack, and tried the all in the dressing room.
Since Sharpay took over 25 dresses with her into the dressing room and was going to take her nearly-forever, deciding which one she really did want to try on, Gabriella decided to do a little shopping on her own around Barneys. When she returned back to the dressing rooms, with 10 more bags, she saw Troy, groaning in a chair near the changing room, and Sharpay still in the dressing room, undecided.
"Gabi, you went shopping without me?" Sharpay asked, inside the dressing room.
"Yeah sorry, but I decided to do a little shopping of my own. I got some really awesome clothes and shoes." Gabriella replied.
"That's okay. Oh hey can you sleepover tonight and for the rest of the weekend?" Sharpay asked.
"Okay. I'll call Missy to set my night bag. Give me a second." Gabriella said, taking out her phone, and calling her house.
Troy watched her walk to a corner, and listened to her conversation.
"Hi Missy…I'm fine…Listen I'm staying over at Sharpay's for tonight and the rest of the weekend, so can you pack me a night bag…Thank you…Can you pack my favorite clothes?.....Yes those….Thank you… And also can you pack my laptop...Thank you, Missy…Love you, and tell Dad, Jason, Mark, and Tia that I love them, too….Ok bye." She said, and hanged up her phone.
"Who are Jason and Mark?" Troy asked her, feeling a bit jealous.
Gabriella giggled as she put her phone in her bag and "They're my older brothers. Tia is my older sister. Why do you ask? Are you jealous?"
"No," He said; with his face flushing and blushing. "I was just curious."
Gabriella still giggled as she took a seat next to him.
"So do they go to St. Peters, too?" Troy said, recovering from his blush.
Gabriella shook her head as she took out a pack of gum, chewed a piece and offered another to Troy, while saying "Nope, they go to Yale University. Jason and Mark are sophomores while Tia's a freshman. They're visiting for thanksgiving break, and staying here till Thursday. Do you have any siblings?"
Troy chewed the gum she given him, saying "Yeah, I do. I have an older sister, Jackie, who goes to Harvard, but was here for the holidays. She kind of like Sharpay, but amazingly even more annoying than her, and Sharpay is usually a big pain in the ass."
"Hey I heard that." Sharpay said, finally coming out of the dressing room, wearing a triple layer black silk lace-trim cami mini dress and a pair of black patent platform heel-sandals.
"Shar, you look amazing!" Gabriella said, looking at her friend in the awesome dress, already taking a few pictures of her with the pink digital camera.
"Who really think so?!" She said, beaming, twirling around in the dress.
"Totally! You so have to wear that for the party. It's too cute." Gabriella told her, giving her back her camera.
"Are you kidding me? Sharpay, you look like a stripper!!! For God's sake, would you please put on some clothes?" Troy said, feeling like he was about to throw up, seeing her in the dress. If it was on Gabriella, it would have been too hot, but on Sharpay, it was too wrong, after all she was his cousin.
"Shut up Troy!" Sharpay snapped at him, and then turned to Gabriella "But you're totally right, Gabi, this dress is too perfect! I'm so buying it! But you should totally wear that hot outfit, you tried on at Sears. It was way too hot. Plus it will be perfect for the party."
"Can you please change? Shar, please I'm begging you!" Troy pleaded.
Sharpay and Gabriella looked at each other, and rolled their eyes, mouthing 'boys'.
They still went to every store in and near Madison, and eventually finally finished shopping.
When they got back to Central Park, they saw Ryan, in a crowd, applauding for the play that ended. Ryan turned around and spotted them.
"Hey guys, how was the shopping?" He asked them, walking toward them.
"Fabulous! We got tons of stuff, and I even got a few things for you. Gabi and I are going to look so hot at the party." Sharpay told him.
Troy smiled, picturing Gabriella in the outfit she was planning to the party, but soon frowned, imagining Sharpay in that dress.
"Troy even got some things for himself, too. He was actually enjoying himself." Sharpay said, smirking toward Troy.
"Shut up!!!" Troy said, feeling pissed, hoping to drop the subject.
Ryan chuckled as well, saying "Troy's becoming one of the girls."
Then his cousins both howled in laughter and it fueled his anger.
Troy clenched his fists and teeth, feeling his anger coming over him. "WILL YOU TWO JUST SHUT THE FUCKING DAMN HELL UP?!!!!!!!!" Troy yelled, in raging anger.
Everyone stopped and stare. His cousins stopped, and nearly feared him, backing away from him, slowly.
Troy breathed in anger, looking around, seeing people, scared. He turned to Gabriella, who was stun by his anger. You idiot!!!! He thought about himself. He promised that he wouldn't lose it, but he did. And now not only are Sharpay and Ryan afraid of him and everyone else who were looking at him, but Gabriella is, too.
"FUCKING SHIT!!!" He yelled, running away. He ran to the fountain, leaned against it, and pounded his fist hard on it. He then laid his head on the fountain. "Damn." He said, banging his fist on the fountain stone, hurting his hand. He suddenly felt a warm, soft hand on his.
"Are you alright?" A voice asked.
Troy slowly looked up, and saw Gabriella, slowly smiling warmly at him, standing near him.
"Are you alright?" She repeated.
Troy looked into her eyes, and was amazed. Instead of seeing fear like he normally did in people's eyes when his anger explodes, he saw concern in her chocolate warm eyes, great concern for him.
He stared into her brown eyes as she stared into his ocean blue eyes, seeing amazement in them. She knew Troy expected her to be afraid of him, but she wasn't. She wanted to help him. She wanted to comfort him.
After a long moment, Troy nodded his head, but pounded his fist once more.
"Stop that!!! You're going to hurt your hand badly if you keep doing that." Gabriella cried, grabbing his hand.
Troy looked up at her, and couldn't understand why she cared. "Why do you care?" He asked her.
Gabriella kneeled down to him, and wrapped his hand in her black hair wrap. "Because you're my friend, and I do care." She answered, giving him a comforting smile.
Friend? Troy thought. He was hoping for a bit more, but it was a start. "I'm sorry." He whispered.
"It's okay." She said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
Troy's face blush and he only hoped that she didn't notice it. He pulled himself and Gabriella up, and sat on the fountain, looking down.
"I have a really bad anger problem, Gabriella," Troy whispered, looking down at his shoes. "I have that anger ever since I could remember. It increased even more ever since my dad died when I was 12. He was the only one who understood me. The only one who got me. My mom took me to all kinds of therapies, but they keep saying that my anger is like no other. That my anger could be a very dangerous one. And most of the time it just explodes, and I can't control it. Like when at my old school, my anger would be the reason why I got into over a hundred fights. I once nearly punched a kid to death when he said something that got me mad. I once beat up my sister so badly, that it took both of my parents to get me off her. Today before we met you, I even lose my temper with Sharpay, so I squeezed her wrist so hard that it nearly turned blue. I promised myself that I wouldn't lose my temper, but I did."
Gabriella laid his head on her shoulder, and gently rubbed his back. Troy began to calm down. He closed his eyes, enjoying the sweet scent Gabriella had. He was amazed that she was able to calm him down. "You're the first person, besides my dad, who wasn't afraid of me when I'm angry." Troy whispered, opening his eyes, and looked up at Gabriella, who was smiling warmly, stroking his dark hair.
"Because underneath all that anger, there is the sweetest guy I've ever met. You're a cool, sweet guy, Troy. And if you ever need someone to talk to, I'll always be there for you." She said, smiling warmly.
Troy was beginning to finally relax. He sat up and looked at Gabriella's eyes, seeing warmness in them. Before he could even think about it, he leaned in and kissed Gabriella on the cheek. Did I just kiss her, he thought, blushing, realizing what he did.
He looked at Gabriella, who brushed her hair back, and smiled at him. She lean in and kissed him on the nose. Troy's blush got redder, but he smiled back at her. They both shared a chuckle.
"So where are Ryan and Sharpay?" Troy asked.
"They went back to their house to drop off all of out shopping bags. They said they're going to rent some DVDs from blockbuster and getting Chinese food." Gabriella said.
Well," Troy said, checking his watch "It's 3:35, and it's a little too early to go home yet, so do you want to take a walk?"
"I would love to." Gabriella said, grabbing his hand, and standing up.
As they walked around Central Park, they played twenty questions and really talked. Troy was telling Gabriella all about LA, and she was telling him all about the awesome things in New York. It was just like when Troy last came to New York, and they talked practically all night at that café. They lay on the grass as they continued to talk. They talked until it was starting to get late.
"What time is it?" Gabriella asked.
Troy checked his watch and replied "6:35. We should probably get going." He pulled Gabriella up.
They walked back to Sharpay's house, and talked the entire way there. As Troy was about to unlock the door, Sharpay opened the door for them, wearing her pink silk nightwear gown with fuzzy slippers.
"Love the Pjs', Shar." Gabriella said, giving her friend a hug.
"Thanks. Got them today at Barneys. Missy came and drop off yours night bag. Your stuff is in the guestroom, the one next to my room. Go get change." Sharpay said.
"Okay." Gabriella said, and then went to the room. Troy watched her go, and signed dreamily.
Sharpay turned to him with a smirk and said "So how was your afternoon?"
"Shut up!" He snapped.
Sharpay rolled her eyes and sign. "Well you go change into your Pjs', too. You're joining us and Ryan for our movie marathon." She said.
Ryan's joining you?" Troy asked, raising his eyebrow.
"Alright Shar, I got the movies. And Greta making the snacks." Ryan said, carrying a few DVDs, wearing Ninja Turtles pajamas.
"Oh Ryan." Toy said, shaking his head.
"Come on, Troy. Go get change." Gabriella said, coming back into the living room, wearing an over-size back t-shirt and red plaid boxer shorts.
"Alright fine. Be back in 2 minutes." Troy said, rolling his eyes, going to his bedroom.
I can't believe I let them taught me into this, he thought, changing into his dark blue t-shirt and red flannel pants pajamas. He went back to the living room to see Sharpay popping DVD into the DVD player, and saw cases of soda, Chinese take-out, cupcakes and candy on the coffee table.
"So what movie are we watching?" Troy asked, grabbing a plate of Chinese food and a can of soda, taking a seat next to Gabriella on the couch.
"Britney Spears: Live from Las Vegas." She told him, stuffing some candy into her mouth.
As Britney performed Anticipating, Sharpay got up and grabbed Gabriella, and they sang and dance along with Britney. Ryan and Troy even danced along with them.
As much as Troy couldn't believe it, he was actually having fun.
Soon as they were watching other movies, they played Truth or Dare. And it was Troy's turn. "Oh no." He groaned.
Sharpay and Ryan looked at each other and smirked. They knew exactly what his dare was going to be.
"Okay Troy. Truth or Dare? And remember you already use truth." Sharpay said.
"Fine, fine, fine. Dare." Troy said.
A huge smirk grew on Sharpay's face as she said "I dare you to kiss Gabriella on the lips. For 20 whole seconds."
"What?!" They exclaimed.
"You heard me." Sharpay said.