Chapter 3: Enigma

Troy carried himself painfully to his room, his back raw and blistered. He stumbled into his bedroom and collapsed heavily onto the bed, moaning as his muscles strained against his weight and his tender bruises were pressed on by a hard lump in the bed. Slowly, he pulled the hard lump from under his back and stared at it. It was his cell phone; he wondered vaguely how in the world it had gotten into his bed.

Suddenly, it began to ring very loudly. Troy, startled, let out a yelp and dropped it to the floor. He swore as its vibration sent it skittering across the hardwood floor and under his desk. He scrambled off his unmade bed and onto his hands and knees, answering the phone just in time.

"'Lo?" He asked quizzically.

"Troy?" A voice said. "It's Gabi. Are you okay? Zeke told me what happened."

"Yeah," Troy answered. "Yeah, I'm fine." He tried to get to his feet but only succeeded in slamming his head on the underside of his oak wood desk, causing him to swear under his breath. He could almost feel Gabriella tense up.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm fine," Troy said quickly. "I just hit my head on the bottom of the desk."

"What were you doing under- …No. I don't want to know," Gabriella decided. "You need me to bring you something?"

"Umm…" Jack had left the house to go out… well… somewhere with someone but if you would really like to know, Troy could care less where he was as long as he wasn't at home. "Sure. Hey, could you grab some Advil?"

"Sure. Need some coffee? I know you guys ran out," Gabriella offered as she scrambled around for her coat, car keys, and her wallet. Troy heard the slam of the front door as Gabriella made her way to her car.

"Um… no, thanks," Troy said, scratching the back of his head and searching dismally for a new shirt, one preferably that didn't have any belt slashes in the back. He picked up a black tee shirt and sniffed it, immediately wrinkling his nose and throwing it in the hamper in the corner of the room as he waited for a reply.

"Okay. I'll be over in like twenty minutes," Gabriella said.

"I'll be here. Bye, thanks!"

It wasn't even thirty seconds later when his cell phone awoke again with his loud, echoing ringtone. Troy answered it after the first ring, "Hello?"

"I forget," Gabriella's voice said. "Do you like Irish Cream or Colombian Dark?"

Troy couldn't help but to smile. "Gabi, it's fine. You don't need to get me coffee."

"I know, but I don't really care, so uhh-," Gabriella said absentmindedly. "So what kind?"

"Surprise me."

"'Kay!"

She hung up.

----

Gabriella showed up at the Bolton's house exactly seven minutes after she hung up with Troy, running three stop signs and going sixteen miles over the speed limit. She rushed into the house without knocking noticing that only Troy's car (which Mr. Bolton wasn't letting him drive at the current time) was in the driveway so she would meet no angry parents in the house.

She found it extremely difficult to juggle car keys, Advil, and a steaming cup of Irish Cream coffee as she made her way into the kitchen. Gabriella laid the stuff on the counter and called out, "Troy! I'm here!"

"Hey, Gabi!" Troy called, jogging down the stairs to meet her. He turned the corner into the kitchen and greeted Gabriella with a thankful hug. He breathed in her flowery shampoo and sighed, "Thanks a ton, Gabriella."

She tightly hugged him back, letting his Drakkar Noir cologne waft up her nose. She closed her eyes and let herself breath in what was Troy Bolton. She finally looked up at him, "I got Irish Cream."

He smiled brightly. "My favorite."

Troy took the take-out cup and clutched it in his cold hands. He took a long sip and smiled letting the steamy liquid warm his body from his feet to his head and almost instantly, the caffeine kick begun to wear down his headache.

"Ahh," Troy sighed, bringing a hand to the slowly fading throbs in his temples. "That's better. Thanks, Gabriella."

"Don't mention it!" Gabriella said dismissively. Then she looked down at the small bottle of Advil in her hands. "What'd you need the Advil for?"

"Oh," Troy said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just… sore from… practice and stuff."

Gabriella nodded, still staring at the bottle. She looked up at him as she went to grab a glass of water, "I heard about the suicides! Your dad is so harsh!"

"Nah," Troy said, following her. "Just being a coach."

Gabriella shook her head but didn't argue her point as she swung open the cabinet door. Her small hand reached out and grabbed a small glass cup; she pulled it down slowly, listening to the grating noise it made against the wood of the cabinet. Gabriella finally turned around and looked over at sink. Next the stainless steel basin was a half-filled coffee pot.

"What's this?" She asked, lifting the glass pot out of its case. Troy turned around and looked at the pot with wide eyes. He reached up and scratched the back of his neck. How could he have forgotten to dump it? Whenever he didn't, he got in trouble and by trouble I mean… do you need an explanation?

"Umm… I don't know," Troy trying to come up with an excuse no matter how bad it was. "Maybe my dad came back at his free period and made some for me for tonight?"

Gabriella nodded, staring at the swirling brown liquid. She gently placed it back in the container. She turned to the sink and let freezing water pour into the cup she had gotten. Gabriella handed it to Troy and fished one Advil out of the bottle.

"Gabi?" Troy asked, staring at the medicine. "I take a little more than one now."

"Oh, yeah," Gabriella said. "You know, at times you're so immature that I can't tell if you're seventeen or seven."

Troy poked his tongue out at her and she laughed, handing over two more pills. Troy gulped them down and gave her thanks. They sat in an awkward silence for a few moments when Troy said, "So, how's the Scholastic team going?"

"Great!" Gabriella said, ecstatic that someone was willing to talk about her team. "Today, Martha and Miranda got the equation in 23.72 seconds! That's a record for our team!"

"And I bet you have the top one with like… 12.39 seconds?" Troy teased, leading the two to sit at the small, square table in the kitchen. Gabriella laughed and followed.

"14.67 if you must know!" Gabriella said.

"Wow… You're too smart for me," Troy said, mocking a dumbfounded tone.

Gabriella laughed and swatted him lightly on the shoulder. Troy cringed and brought his hand quickly up to his shoulder. Gabriella gave him a quizzical look. He shrugged and said, "So… do you like Chinese food? We have some leftovers in the fridge."

"I do but I'm not hungry, thanks," Gabriella said. Troy shrugged and asked, "Well, do you mind if I eat? I haven't eaten anything since lunch and I had a long practice."

"Go ahead," Gabriella said, touched that he cared enough to ask her. He previous guy-friends just pigged out right in front of her, often never inviting her to eat with them. Of course, she had only had a few guy-friends before considering her previous status of the "Freaky Genius Girl". None of the guys really looked twice at her… before Troy.

Troy scooped some rice and a small bit of meat onto his plate and stuffed it into the microwave carelessly. He pressed the correct buttons and let the microwave come to life, moaning and spinning at its own accord. Troy turned around and asked Gabriella, "So, how's your mom?"

"She's doing great," Gabriella said. "She's thinking of trying to go out with a few guys soon."

"Really? That's great!" Troy said with a smile. Ms. Montez was one of the few parents that he had really gotten to know and enjoy being with. He knew that after the death of her beloved husband it had been really hard for her to get back onto her feet and begin with the then fifteen year old Gabriella. "You know, I think she and Mr. Baylor would really hit it off. You know, after the divorce and all, he's been looking for someone."

"Yeah," Gabriella said, giving a smile. "You know, I never thought of that before. I'll be sure to tell her. Thanks, Troy!"

Troy nodded and the microwave dinged. He pulled out his steaming plate and made his way to the small table, smiling brightly. Being with Gabriella always cheered him up, even if he was having the worst day of his life… and believe it or not, this day had been fairly good compared to others he had. He began to slowly eat his food, taking special care to avoid the meat.

"Why'd you put the meat on your plate if you aren't going to eat it?" Gabriella asked, noticing the rice flecked meat pushed onto the edge of the blue plate. Troy swallowed a bite of rice and said, "My dad likes me to eat it for training but I don't like meat very much so I put it on my plate and leave it there so it looks like I got full."

"Why don't you like meat?" Gabriella asked, astounded. She thought that all boys were destined to become carnivores in the near future. That's one reason she really liked Troy: He was so unpredictable. He could prove just about any theory wrong. "The taste?"

"I don't like the… conjecture of meat," Troy said after a moment of hard thinking. "Stripping meat off of a once living animal and eating it… Doesn't the idea just kind of sicken you a bit?"

Gabriella thought about it. "I guess so. But… it is the circle of life and I guess we should respect it."

"That's why I am silently protesting meat," Troy declared before stuffing another forkful of rice in his mouth. Gabriella nodded with a secretive smile. Troy could get her thinking… and never let her stop. Such an enigma he was, and yet, she was determined to crack the mind that lay underneath that mass of sandy locks of hair.

Just as Troy threw his plate in the sink, Gabriella heard the door crack open and Mr. Bolton's thundering voice rumbling through the halls, "Troy! Troy, where are you?"

"I'm in here, Dad!" Troy called nervously which made Gabriella wonder. Nervous and Troy Bolton don't mix… It was as simple as that. Again, an enigma she was determined to crack. "Gabriella and I are just eating some dinner."

Mr. Bolton stopped dead in the doorway on hearing Gabriella's name and also seeing her sitting across from his son. He nodded his hello and turned immediately to Troy, "I have some news for you."

"News?" Troy half-groaned. "News is never good."

Jack sighed dramatically (again, his unknown acting skills were doing him great things) and leaned heavily against the wooden cabinets. There was a long pause before he spoke again, choking on his "tears".

"I was downtown with my lawyer. You're mother has filed for a divorce."

Gabriella froze, the whole moment seeming unreal to her. Mr. and Mrs. Bolton always seemed so… fond of each other. She was currently in California, that Gabriella knew but what made her change her mind on her marriage was absolutely baffling.

"She what?" Troy asked loudly and incredulously. "But why?"

Gabriella reached over the table and grabbed Troy's shaking hand. He looked over at her, his blue eyes clouded with weariness, sorrow, and an inkling of fear. She noticed how badly Troy's hand was shaking and let out a soothing whisper, "It's okay, Troy."

"At this point, she hasn't made it known," Jack began. "All we know is that it had something to do with you, Troy."

"M-me?" Troy stammered fretfully. Shoot. Now he was in trouble.

"But she gave me a speck of good news."

"Which is?" Troy asked with a tinge of sarcasm lining his words.

"Your mother has decided to let me keep full custody of you as she has decided to reside in California," Jack explained.

Gabriella noticed something of a smile curl on his lips, on that sent shivers reverberating down her spine. It wasn't one of warmth or tenderness; it seemed cold and malevolent. Troy seemed to notice the smile, too, and his quivering hand clenched Gabriella's tighter; not enough to hurt her but enough for him to feel secure.

"She didn't want you away from the family and friends you grew up with," Jack added. He turned and stared at Gabriella, his eyes, traveling down to her small hands clasped with Troy's, widened in anger. Gabriella took this as her time to leave so she slowly slipped her hand out from Troy's and noticed dismally that the second she let go, his hands began to shake again.

"I'll just leave you two alone," Gabriella said, standing up. "Call me if you need anything."

Before Troy could offer to help her to the door, Gabriella scampered off and got into her car. As she put her keys in the ignition and let the car roar to life, she looked back miserably at the Bolton house. She could hear a distant yell as Mr. Bolton began his rant and she heard a loud, shaking thud! emit from the bowels of the house.

Gabriella shook her head, not wanting to know what was going on and vaguely wondering why she ever thought that she wanted to crack the enigma that was Troy Bolton.

Author's Note: Well, it wasn't my strongest but it was a quicker update! Please review!