A/N Hey guys, sorry for the late update. Happy New Year=)
"Troy!" Amanda called knocking on Troy's bedroom door. She poked her head in. "It's nearly nine. Wake up. Your dad and I are going out with Chloe. Chad left and he said thank you."
"Okay," Troy said, not opening his eyes.
"Did you sleep in your clothes last night?" Amanda asked.
"What?" Troy opened his eyes. "Yeah, I guess I did. I was working on something pretty late and I fell asleep."
"Oh, well, get up," Amanda said before she closed the door.
Troy heard the front door shut and he fell asleep again. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. Groaning, he got up and went downstairs, rubbing his eyes.
"Gabriella?" he asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"You told me to come over to make cookies," Gabriella reminded him. "Did I wake you up?"
"Yeah," he said. "No. I mean, my mom woke me up a couple of minutes ago."
"Are you going to let me in?" she asked.
"Yeah," Troy stepped aside. "Come on in."
They went into the kitchen.
"Listen, I'll just go and take a shower," Troy said.
"I'll get started on the cookies, then," Gabriella said.
Troy nodded and went upstairs. A few minutes later, he came downstairs wearing only his shorts. He was drying his hair with a towel. Gabriella froze with the cup of flour in midair. She stared at Troy's six-pack. Troy noticed and grinned slowly.
"Am I too hot for you?" he smirked and Gabriella snapped out of her trance.
"Jerk!" she said, blushing as she continued making brownies.
Troy sat down to watch her.
"Are you planning on helping me at all?" she asked.
"I wasn't thinking about it," he grinned. "What should I do?"
"What you're doing is just fine," she smirked. "What did your parents want to talk to you about?"
"My mom got this big opportunity for her business," he replied. "And, they're moving. I have to go with them, unless I can find someone who would stay here with me. My parents want someone responsible. 'Someone responsible, you know. Not like Chad. Someone more like Gabriella.' those were my dad's exact words."
"Me?" she asked in surprise.
"I'm not asking you to move in with me or anything," Troy said, quickly. "But, just out of curiosity, if I did ask, what would you say?"
"I'd probably say yes," she smiled.
"Why?" he asked.
"Well, my mom died a couple of months ago," she explained. "I've been staying with my aunt who doesn't want to have me here. And, well, she has always wanted to go to Australia to be with her boyfriend. I turned eighteen last month and she said that I'm an adult and she left. She sold the house and everything. I have two weeks to get out of that house."
"The one I drove you to last night?" Troy asked and she nodded. "What about your dad?"
"Well, after my mom died, my aunt contacted my dad," she said. "You see, my parents were never married. I was sort of a mistake to my dad as my mom told and well, he didn't want anything to do with me, so, my aunt was stuck with me."
"Ella, you've been through a lot," Troy said, softly. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Gabriella said, quickly. "I mean, I miss my mom but, I never knew my dad."
"So, wait a second," Troy said. "You need a place to stay?"
"Yeah," Gabriella said.
"Do you want to move in with me?" he asked.
"I was starting to think that you'd never ask," Gabriella laughed.
"That's a yes, right?" Troy said. "I need to know for sure before I start celebrating."
"It's a yes, Troy," she smiled.
"Yes!" Troy cheered jumping up from the stool and doing a dance around the kitchen.
Gabriella watched in amusement. Troy walked over to her, humming a song and hugged her.
"What are you celebrating?" she asked. "Me moving in with you?"
"Nope," Troy replied eating a piece of cookie dough. "I'm celebrating the fact that I get to stay here in Albuquerque, not that it isn't going to be nice having you around. You can make cookies for me. This tastes good."
"Thanks," she smiled. "Um, you got some flour on your arm."
Troy brushed it off and pulled on the shirt he had brought downstairs just as the front door opened. Gabriella put the cookies into the oven.
"Troy!" Amanda called.
"Hey, mom," Troy said walking out to the hallway.
"Are you baking?" Jack asked sniffing.
"Gabriella is," Troy replied. "I told Chloe I'd make cookies and since I'm not much of a baker, Gabriella decided to help out."
"Cookies!" Chloe exclaimed clapping her hands together.
"Yeah, kiddo," Troy smiled lifting her up and throwing her into the air. "Cookies."
"Listen, we're going out to lunch with your grandparents," Amanda said. "Watch Chloe for us, will you? And, you'll be okay with getting lunch for yourself, right?"
"Yeah, sure, mom," Troy said. "And, Gabriella said that she'd move in with me. She has actually been looking for a place to stay since her aunt moved to Australia."
"Okay," Amanda said, hurriedly. "We'll talk about it when we get back, alright? We just came to drop Chloe off."
"Okay," Troy said. "Bye, mom."
When Amanda left, Troy went back to the kitchen with Chloe.
"Gabi!" Chloe squealed in delight when she saw Gabriella.
"Hey, Chloe," Gabriella smiled as she lifted the little girl from Troy's arms.
"My parents went out to lunch," Troy said. "You want to stay for lunch? I can make sandwiches."
"Sure," Gabriella smiled.
"Troy," Chloe said holding her hands up for her brother. "Chloe want sandwiches."
"Oh, are you hungry?" Troy asked as he hugged his sister. "What kind of sandwiches?"
"PBJs!" Chloe said, happily, clapping her hands together.
"Okay," Troy smiled. "Peanut butter and jelly it is!"
Troy made the sandwiches and Gabriella took them outside to the backyard along with the cookies. Troy went upstairs and got Gabriella's notebook and his notebook. He put them into his pocket and grabbed his guitar and went outside.
"Are you going to play a song for me?" Gabriella asked eyeing his guitar.
"Maybe," he smirked as he sat down next to her and Chloe. He grabbed a sandwich and took a big bite. "So, did you miss something from your bag last night?"
"Huh?" Gabriella looked at him confusedly as she fed Chloe a sandwich. "I don't know. I didn't check. Why?"
"Because I took something out of it," he replied, casually swallowing the other half of his sandwich.
"What did you take?" Gabriella asked.
"This," Troy said pulling out her notebook from his pocket and tossing it to her.
"Did you read it?" she asked.
"Duh!" Troy rolled his eyes. "And, they're really good."
"You think so?" she asked.
"Yeah," Troy said. "I even wrote some music to the one I liked best."
"Which one is it?" Gabriella asked.
"'I'm not a girl, not yet a woman'," he answered.
"Will you play it for me?" she asked.
"Will you sing it for me?" he asked, smirking slightly.
"No," she replied.
"Then, no," Troy said. "I won't play it for you."
"Fine, I'll sing," Gabriella said. "But, you play it once, alright? And, I'll sing it the second time."
"Deal," Troy said taking his guitar. "This is the chorus, okay?"
He started to play and Gabriella watched him. When he started playing for the second time, she began to sing.
"I'm not a girl,
Not yet a woman,
All I need is time,
A moment that is mine,
While I'm in between,
I'm not a girl."
"Whoa!" Troy exclaimed. "You've got an amazing voice."
"Thanks," Gabriella said, shyly.
"Gabi sing!" Chloe cheered.
"You like it?" Troy asked his sister, tickling her stomach and she giggled.
After a while, the three went swimming. Gabriella had gone home and got her swimming suit. About half an hour later, Troy decided that it was time to get Chloe dried off. They went into the house and Gabriella took a quick shower while Troy gave Chloe a bath. Then, after taking a quick shower himself, he went into his room. He pulled on some pants just as he heard a knock on the door. It had also started to rain heavily.
"Come in," he called as he placed Chloe on his bed with his basketball to play with.
"Troy," Gabriella said, walking into the room, only wearing a towel. Troy's eyes widened when he saw what she was wearing and she blushed. "I left my shirt outside. And, well, it's bound to be wet, now, so I was wondering whether you could lend me something to wear?"
"Sure," Troy shrugged. He went to his closet and pulled out his jersey. No one ever wore it except him. "Here you go."
"Thanks," Gabriella smiled.
Gabriella went back to the bathroom and pulled the jersey on. She breathed in deeply. It smelled of Troy and she liked it. It was quite big and covered half her thighs. She walked out of the bathroom and went back to Troy's room. Troy was not there. Neither was Chloe. She went downstairs and saw them in the living room. Troy was staring out of the window as Chloe played with her toys. She walked over to him.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked.
"Everything's going to change, now," Troy said. "My dad won't be nagging me about basketball and my mom won't be bugging me to do my homework and all. I'll miss that a lot and I'll miss Chloe, too. I've never been apart from my family for a long time. Sometimes when I crash at Chad's place, but, that's just it."
"Do you want to go with them?" Gabriella asked.
"No," he replied. "I want to stay here and graduate from East High. There's only three months left. But, I'll miss my parents."
Gabriella was silent. She was trying not to cry. Troy glanced at her and saw this.
"Oh, Ella," he said as he wrapped his arm around her. "I'm so stupid. I wasn't thinking when I said all those things."
"It's okay," Gabriella said, quickly. "I just miss my mom a lot. I thought she was going to be with me through everything. I didn't expect her to die."
Troy did not know what to say. He rubbed Gabriella's back comfortingly as she wiped her tears away.
All of a sudden they heard a loud crash of thunder. Chloe started crying and Troy let go of Gabriella and hurried over to his sister.
"It's okay, Chloe," he said comfortingly as he carried her to the couch. "It's just a thunderstorm."
Troy hugged Chloe close to him till she calmed down. Gabriella went and sat down next to them.
"Troy, hug Gabi," Chloe told Troy. "She will be scared."
"I think she'll be okay," Troy said feeling Gabriella shift awkwardly next to him.
"Troy!" Chloe said, pouting.
"Okay, okay," Troy said giving in.
He put an arm around Gabriella. Troy could sense that Gabriella was feeling uncomfortable, so he pulled her closer to him.
"Come on," he said. "Don't be so uncomfortable. You're going to be living here, you know."
Gabriella laughed as she snuggled closer to Troy. The three soon fell asleep.
Troy woke up with a jump when he felt someone lift Chloe up from his arms. His mother stood beside him holding Chloe.
"Your father and I want to talk to you and Gabriella about this move," Amanda said, softly, not wanting to wake Chloe up. "I'll go and put Chloe to bed. Your father's in the kitchen."
Troy nodded as Amanda walked out of the living room. He rubbed his eyes and glanced over at Gabriella. He smiled to see how comfortable she had gotten. She had one arm wrapped around his chest as she slept. He did not want to wake her up.
"Ella," he whispered softly.
Gabriella, being a light sleeper like Troy woke. When she realized the position she was in she quickly sat up. Troy suddenly felt cold when Gabriella moved away. He frowned and pulled her back to him. She looked at him with confused eyes.
"I felt cold when you suddenly moved," he shrugged. "My parents want to talk to us about you moving in."
"We shouldn't keep them waiting," Gabriella said as she stood up.
Troy faked a groan as Gabriella held out her hands for him. He took them and got up. He placed his hands on her shoulders as she walked out of the living room and led him into the kitchen." Gabriella said as she stood up.
Troy faked a groan as Gabriella held out her hands for him. He took them and got up. He placed his hands on her shoulders as she walked out of the living room and led him into the kitchen.
"Okay, first things first," Jack said. "Is there something going on between you two?"
"No!" Troy exclaimed his eyes wide open while Gabriella turned red.
"Will there be something going on between you two in the near future?" Jack asked.
"Jack," Amanda said walking into the kitchen with a baby monitor. "Stop embarrassing them."
"It's so funny to watch them when they're all embarrassed," Jack chuckled.
"I'm sorry, Gabriella," Amanda smiled. "My husband loves to harass Troy and his friends."
"It's okay, Mrs. Bolton," Gabriella said, quickly.
"It's Amanda, dear," Amanda said and Gabriella smiled uncomfortably.
"Okay, now here's the deal," Jack said. "We will send you a certain amount of money each month and if you need any more, you can let us know. And, we want you to call at least once every two days."
"Okay, dad," Troy said.
"And, there's one more thing for you, Troy," Amanda said and Troy looked at her expectantly. "Take good care of Gabriella."
"Don't worry, mom," Troy grinned putting an arm loosely around Gabriella's shoulders. "I'll look after her."
"You better," Jack said. "I have a feeling she's going to be my daughter-in-law someday."
"Dad!" Troy groaned dropping his hand.
"Troy," Jack said, suddenly looking serious. "We ran into Kevin Scott today. Remember him?"
"Yeah, of course," Troy replied. "He gave me my first job and helped me with my car. Why wouldn't I remember him? How's he doing?"
"Not so well, actually," Jack replied.
"What do you mean?" Troy asked frowning slightly.
"His mother is dying because of leukemia," Jack explained. "And, he's moving back to England." (Say Kevin's British)
"When?" Troy asked.
"I don't know," Jack said. "Really soon, I suppose…where are you going?"
Troy had already walked out of the kitchen.
"To see him!" Troy yelled back.
Gabriella glanced at Jack and Amanda before going after Troy.
"Troy," Gabriella called right before he got into his car.
"What?" Troy snapped.
"Are you okay?" Gabriella asked, placing her hand on top of his.
"I don't know," Troy admitted. "I never thought he'd move, you know. Come on. I'll drop you at your house before I go."
Gabriella was startled to hear the doorbell ring at her house that evening. She went downstairs to open the door and was surprised to see Troy standing outside her door.
"Troy, what are you doing here?" she asked.
Troy did not say anything.
"Troy," Gabriella said taking his hand and pulling him into the house. "Are you okay? You're starting to scare me."
Troy still did not say anything.
"Okay," Gabriella said. "When you decide to speak, come and find me, okay?"
Gabriella walked back towards the stairs.
"Ella," Troy whispered his voice barely audible.
Gabriella turned around to see Troy striding towards her. He pulled her into a tight hug.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm sorry," Troy said pulling away and backing towards the door. "I shouldn't have come."
"Troy," Gabriella said, running after him as he went to his car. "Wait!"
Gabriella got into the car next to Troy.
"Troy, you can't do that!" she exclaimed. "You can't just walk into my house and hug me and then leave without telling me what's wrong."
"I'm sorry," Troy said. "I'm just not ready to talk yet. I just needed a hug."
"Fine," Gabriella said. "But, if you want someone to talk to, I'm here. Now, where are you taking me to?"
"You'll see," Troy smiled a small smile.
Troy stopped the car near the beach. He got out and Gabriella followed suit. He walked to the beach with her hand in his. He pointed to the sky and Gabriella saw the sky scattered with stars and a full moon in the middle.
"It's beautiful," she whispered.
"He lied to my parents," Troy said, softly. "His mother isn't dying. He is. Kevin's dying, Ella."
"I'm sorry, Troy," Gabriella said. "I know what it's like to lose someone and it's not a nice feeling. I'm really sorry."
"He told me to come over on Monday after school," Troy said. "I can't go. He's so weak. It scares me to see him like that. Will you come with me?"
Gabriella was surprised, but, she nodded. They stayed in a comfortable silence.
Gabriella looked around and suddenly she realized where she was. Her eyes filled with tears as memories came back to her. She pulled away from Troy, not wanting to let him see her cry, and walked towards the rocks.
Troy was surprised when Gabriella walked away. He did not follow her at first thinking that she wanted to be left alone, but, when she nearly slipped and fell as she tried to climb up the rocks, he ran after her. He followed her onto the rocks.
"Ella, are you okay?" he asked as she sat down on a rock.
He noticed that she was crying and hugged her. Seeing how cold she was, he took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.
"My mom had a heart attack on this rock," Gabriella sobbed. "And, then, she was gone. I miss my mom, Troy."
"It's okay," Troy said hugging her.
A few minutes later, Gabriella stopped crying. She had not cried when her mother died and all the emotions she had bottled up inside her had been let out. She looked up at Troy and he wiped away her tears with his thumb.
Troy found himself leaning towards Gabriella and she was not pulling away. Their lips were inches away when Troy's phone beeped. They quickly pulled away blushing as Troy checked his phone. He had a message from his father telling him to come home.
Troy drove Gabriella home. The ride was quiet. Neither one of them realized that Gabriella was wearing his jacket as she walked into her house. Troy was busy thinking about what had almost happened between them. He was definitely feeling something towards Gabriella. Something he had never felt with any other girl before. He just did not know what it was. Feeling confused, he drove home. What the hell was wrong with him? Why was Gabriella the only thing in his head all the time?
A/N Like it? Hate it? Let me know with a review:)