Chapter Five: A Carnival Kiss

Troy dashed out of the room as the first bell had barely began to ring. He ran as quickly as he could towards a locker. When he arrived there, the Literature class had just begun to file out of the room, crowding the hallway with people. It was a surprise, to say the least, to Troy that someone knew. Luckily, he had spent enough time with the gang to know their handwriting or he would've driven himself crazy trying to find the person.

Just as his friend passed in front of his blue eyes, Troy snatched their shoulders, put a hand over their mouth and dragged them to the adjoining hallway that remained empty as it was just a dead end with lockers lining the walls.

"How did you find out?" Troy asked, trapping his friend between the lockers and his strong arms.

"Shar told me everything," Ryan said, gulping a bit because of Troy's apparent hostility. He straightened himself up and cleared his throat. "I put two and two together and got an abusive parent."

"Shh! Ryan!" Troy said, looking over his shoulder nervously. "Look, you can't tell anyone."

"Troy, I don't know-."

"You don't have to know," Troy said quickly, pulling his arms away from Ryan. "You just have to keep your mouth shut."

"I really think that-."

"Don't think!" Troy said, frustrated. "I've tried really hard to keep this a secret and I would really appreciate you keeping quiet about it."

Ryan looked into Troy's deep blue eyes, so sincere, so scared. They looked to him like they'd seen things that would always haunt him horribly. Ryan nodded his acceptance of Troy's idea although it seemed very stupid to him. Troy's expression softened and relief replaced his once fearful face.

"Thanks a lot, man," Troy said truthfully. His face then fell. "I feel… awful. I mean, I-I owe you something."

"No," Ryan said, shaking his head. "You owe yourself something: Respect."

He walked down the hall, whistling a tune, leaving Troy perplexed in his wake. Troy stared at his friend who walked with an air of dignity and wisdom and wished dearly he hadn't just made the stupid mistake he just made.

And it wasn't the last one he made, either.

----

Lights blinked in a blinding wave; rides twirled with a whoosh. All the voices were indecipherable from another, smells wafted precariously under Troy's nose. Music drifted through speakers and swirled through everyone's ears, and, just to add to the incoherent noise, Gabriella Montez squealed in delight.

"How cool is this?" She asked excitedly.

The Christmas carnival had shown up in Albuquerque, quite to Gabriella's delight. She had always enjoyed the excitement and fun in carnivals but the last time she had gone was when she was eight year olds and her father took her to the Destin Carnival. Gabriella had dismally missed the carnivals, greasy food, creepy carnies, and all.

A few of the gang had decided to check it out, especially since they felt the need for the break. With the Scholastic Decathlon, the Winter Musicale, and a basketball game around the corner, all the teens were stressed, grumpy, and tense and Gabriella had assured them a carnival was just what they needed to lift their tired spirits.

"Very," Troy said with a bright smile. Gabriella's becoming naïve always amazed him. She was so complex with the way she thought and the way her feelings flowed, but even the tiniest things brought her to euphoria.

"Come on!" Chad said, bouncing impatiently. "Let's get in line for the Sizzler!"

Taylor laughed and gave Gabriella a thankful, happy smile. She let Chad bring her into the Sizzler's line that was filled with little toddlers, waiting eagerly for a ride on the blinking, spinning, metal machine. Troy laughed as Chad grabbed Taylor's hand and questioned her on just about everything to do with the carnival.

Gabriella stared at Troy's face; his expression was lined with apprehension and anxiety. She gently touched his strong arm, causing him to flinch in fear. Gabriella gave him a look and asked, "Are you okay? You seem a little jumpy."

"Yeah!" Troy assured her. When Gabriella gave him a look of pure disbelief, he added, "I just realized I forgot to tell my dad I was here though."

"Why don't you call him then?" Gabriella asked quizzically. Troy bit his lip and reached into his pocket gingerly (as not to disturb any sores) and brought out his cell. He flipped it open casually with his thumb, stared at the bright screen for a second and said, "It's dead. I forgot to charge it again. Come on! Let's go in the haunted house."

He grabbed her hand with a soft touch that made Gabriella smile and clutch his tighter. Both ran wildly to the run down shack that had become home of the haunted house. Although the toddlers were screaming and crying, Troy and Gabriella never stopped laughing. It was absolutely unbelievable, yet they couldn't help but jump at every turn.

They emerged from the house a good fifteen minutes later, wiping tears of mirth from their eyes and cheeks. Troy let out a laugh and Gabriella sighed contently. Wordlessly, they agreed to drift over to the carousel and stand in the short line. Troy turned and looked at Gabriella, his eyes soft with wisdom of pain and a straight out shot of lust.

If there was really a difference between lust and love, Troy wanted to know what it was. He wanted to know if what he was feeling, what he had been feeling for almost two years now, was love or just some meaningless emotion. Butterflies in his stomach, churning stomach, stomach doing back-flips, euphoric wave of emotion, a sense of gentleness and compassion…

That couldn't be love, huh?

"So, are you enjoying this?" Gabriella asked, sighing happily and running her hands over the cold metal of the fence that contained everyone in line. Troy stood behind her, grabbing the fence on either side of her and trapping her there; he rested his head on her shoulder and said, "How could I not?"

Don't get the girl wrong; Gabriella noticed the gesture but she honestly put no thought to it. She didn't want to get her hopes up because her obvious gestures meant nothing to Troy and he didn't like her back. She had learned to deal with that a long time ago. But this gesture made her spine tingle and made her stomach churn quickly. She was so obviously in love with him…

So why didn't he love her back?

"This has been the best Friday night I have had in a long time," Troy sighed in her ear. "Thanks."

"Thanks for coming. It wouldn't be the same without you," Gabriella answered. She then flipped around and gulped, noticing that she and Troy's faces were so close together that not even a piece of paper could've fit in between the gap between their noses. Gabriella stepped back and Troy cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Come on!" Troy said. "Let's get on!"

He took her hand in his and dragged her laughing onto the machine. Troy helped Gabriella mount a yellow pony with a crazy white mane and then mounted a gray pony with a wild expression on its plastered face. Gabriella giggled and looked at Troy.

"So," Troy said, letting his feet dangle around and "accidentally" brushing Gabriella's leg. "What are you naming yours?"

"Naming my what?" Gabriella asked, confused.

Troy patted his horse's head and said, "Your house. What are you naming it?"

Gabriella was taken back by this and pondered it for a moment. She finally spoke, slowly and clearly. "Rose."

"Why's that?" Troy asked, staring at her with caring eyes and radiating a loving demeanor. Gabriella couldn't help but indulge him in her past, something that she rarely talked of.

"When I was nine years old, my dad took me horseback riding," She began as the ride slowly started up. Her horse moved gracefully up and down and she continued her story, the obnoxious music hardly nipping her ears. "I had never gone before so, he decided to start me with an old horse; her name was Rose."

"So I bet you got on the horse and mastered riding it in say, five minutes?" Troy teased with his famous 100-watt smile. Gabriella laughed and said, "No. Actually, it took me a lot of courage to even get on this thing."

Gabriella patted her horse's head roughly but gasped in surprise when the ear spun of and skittered onto the ground. Troy burst out laughing and almost fell off his horse trying to calm himself. Gabriella couldn't help but to laugh, too; his laugh was so contagious.

"So, what'd you name yours?" Gabriella asked, once Troy gained control on himself.

"My horse?" Troy asked, looking ahead of him. "Gabriella."

Gabriella was extremely taken back and stared lovingly over at him. Troy glanced at her, smiling, and then looked ahead again. Immediately after, he regretted looking ahead and stared at her again, a huge grin plastered on his face.

"What?" Gabriella asked, tucking a strand of stray curls behind her ear.

"Nothing," Troy said. "You just look really beautiful right now."

Gabriella was again taken back and couldn't find the words to say. She looked disbelieving at Troy and he gave her a small, shy smile. He may have been the school's most popular guy, but Gabriella still made him as shy as a two year old.

Troy leaned closer to her and Gabriella leaned closer to him. They stayed like this for a few seconds until Troy reached over closer to her. He was so close that Gabriella could feel his heat on her cheeks. She closed her eyes, preparing for what she hoped would come. And suddenly…

The ride came to an abrupt stop, sending Troy to collapse to the floor and smack his head on Gabriella's horse on the way down. Gabriella jumped off her horse and crouched down next to him on the ground anxiously saying, "Oh my gosh, Troy! Are you okay?"

Troy's shoulders shook and Gabriella mistakenly took it for sobs and began to pat his back soothingly but Troy then turned over, tears of jollity running down his cheeks. Gabriella's face dropped and said angrily, "Troy Bolton! You jerk! You scared the heck out of me! You could've really been hurt!"

Troy didn't answer but continued laughing and said, "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Let's get off this damn ride!"

Gabriella laughed and helped him to his feet. He laughed again and both walked off the ride as quickly as they could. It wasn't until they were a few hundred yards away from the blinking carousel that Troy spoke.

"Now I know why you were so afraid to get on the ride!"

Both laughed. "Come on," Gabriella said. "Let's get you some ice."

----

Troy and Gabriella sat down on a green bench that's paint was beginning to slowly chip away. Gabriella brought the ice pack to the right side of Troy's face, where his forehead folded into a temple. Troy shivered and recoiled.

"That is so cold," He said as she arranged it. Troy brought a hand to his head, keeping the ice pack in place.

"Yes, ice tends to be a bit cold," Gabriella teased, looking through her pockets. She dumped a tube of chapstick, a crumpled dollar bill, two pennies, a dime, a Hello Kitty key chain complete with car keys, and a Wet Wipe out of her pocket. She ripped the Wet Wipe open with her teeth and said, "Now hold still."

Troy scooted down the bench a bit, craning his head back as far away as he could get it from Gabriella's outstretched hand. "Nuh uh! Those things sting."

"Oh come on, you big baby," Gabriella said, scooting closer to wipe his face. "It could get infected!"

"It's fine! See?" Troy said, removing the ice. Gabriella still persisted.

"Come on, Troy!" She begged. "Let me wipe it!"

She pushed herself closer so that Troy was on the edge of the bench. Gabriella raised the disinfectant up and Troy caught her wrist and then quickly grabbed the other one. He laughed as he said, "I don't want that thing on my head!"

Gabriella tried vainly to get out of his grip but she felt him tighten his grip and tug slightly at her wrist. Troy wasn't going to give up on his metallic grip. Troy pulled her closer and then…

Their lips touched.

It was just their lips brushing together but after that spark, Gabriella couldn't do anything to stop her yearning anymore; his grip on her hands loosened and she slipped her arms around his neck, kissing him on the lips. Troy silently wrapped his arms around her waist and gently kissed her back.

"Ahem!"

Troy and Gabriella stopped their brief kiss and looked over their shoulders. Chad was shifting from foot to foot, a giraffe hat perched precariously on the top of his head, and chomping down on blue cotton candy. Taylor was standing next to him, hands on her hips, her foot tapping.

"Since when have you two been going out and why wasn't I told?" Taylor asked.

----

The parking lot was empty besides a few pieces of loose paper rustling about in the December winds, popcorn that had been left carelessly on the cracked pavement, and Troy's car parked in the center. It was silent as the rides had been shut off and their lights turned down to burning specks in the Albuquerque night and then….

"I'm in love! I'm in love and I don't care who knows it!"

Troy spun in circles around the empty lot, his arms spinning around him. He spun until he buckled onto the ground, smiling and sighing blissfully. He threw himself onto his back and stared up at the twinkling stars, his arms folded behind his head. Chad walked up, his shoes crunching the few pebbles underfoot. He collapsed next to Troy and resumed his friend's same position.

"Is this how you felt when you got together with Taylor?" Troy asked, not even staring at his friend but still not letting the smile slip off his lips.

"Probably," Chad shrugged. "I mean, I wasn't in love yet but I was pretty close."

Troy sighed again. "It was amazing, Chad. She's amazing. This night is just absolutely amazing."

"You mean this morning?"

"Huh?"

"Yeah," Chad said, as his friend shot up, startled. "As of six minutes ago, it's Saturday."

Troy swore and scrambled up. Chad sensed his urgency and stood up, too, following Troy to his car. Troy opened up the passenger door swiftly and turned to his friend. "We need to go now. Sorry, Chad. Will you drive?"

"Yeah," Chad said, confused at his friend's exigency. "Yeah, I'll drive."

Troy smiled slightly and dug the keys out of his pocket. He tossed them to Chad would grabbed them and promptly got in the car and started it towards home. The road started out bumpy and suddenly smoothed out; Chad relaxed. He wasn't a very good driver and why Troy asked him to drive was way beyond him.

They pulled into Troy's driveway at 12: 17 exactly. Troy hopped out of the car as quickly as he could and turned to Chad. "Thanks, man. I owe you. But I got to get upstairs before my dad-"

"Before I what, Troy?"

Troy gave a silent, inward groan and let it show on his face. He turned around and his father's face became apparent in the shadows on his porch. The light flicked on, illuminating the man and the anger that was captured in his face.

"Dad…" Troy said with a fake, nervous laugh. "Um, I was going to call you and-"

"Get inside, Troy," Mr. Bolton said coldly. Troy lowered his head in shame and defeat and trudged into the house. Jack watched Troy with fury flaming his eyes. He turned to Chad. "Thank you, Chad. Good night."

Chad took that as an obvious cue to leave so he nodded and said, "G'night, Coach." He got in his car and sped off towards his home. Somewhere halfway between his house and Troy's, Chad slammed to a halt in the middle of the street.

He was still driving Troy's car.

Chad flipped around in the middle of the empty street and started his way back to the Bolton's house. He pulled smoothly into the driveway and yanked the keys out of the ignition. He started his way towards the door, and almost knocked on the wood. He stopped himself and decided it better not to risk waking Mr. Bolton. Silently, Chad swung open the door.

He stepped into the house and surveyed the room. It looked so different when it was only illuminated by moonlight. Troy's basketball shoes laid where the were thrown carelessly the day before, the tongues dropping and the laces loosened up; the couch's cushions lay is disarray and Chad couldn't help but notice a path of dusty shoes prints leading up the stairs.

Without thinking, Chad followed the moonlight-illuminated path. It carried him up the stairs, down the hall, and into Mr. Bolton's room. The door was only cracked open a fraction but still, Chad could see Troy's face plainly through it. He opened his mouth to speak and realized that Mr. Bolton was speaking in a low, menacing voice.

"-You left without my knowing, you were out past curfew, then, when you got home you were going to sneak in so I wouldn't know, but then you have the audacity to try to run away from me? Troy, what has gotten into you?"

Troy swallowed hard, a tear leaking out of his blue eyes and down his cheek. "I'm sick of getting hurt."

"Well, toughen up, Troy!" Mr. Bolton said, his voice jumping from a whisper to a mockingly-happy tone. "Once you do, it'll all be better."

"I don't need to toughen up, Dad!" Troy spat loudly. "You need to listen to me: I'm not a pansy, or a wimp, or pathetic, or any of the other things you say. I'm a human… I'm your son… and I'd like to be treated like it."

"What did you just say to me?" Jack asked incredulously.

Troy, who seemed so sure just moments ago, now seemed very hesitant about what he had just done. "Y-you heard me. Look. If it doesn't stop, I'm telling someone."

"How dare you threaten me!"

"Someone already knows, Dad," Troy said, now seeming a bit more confident. "And if you don't stop, they'll tell; I swear they will."

Mr. Bolton then swung out and punched Troy in the jaw and Troy let out a hoarse yell of pain before crumpling to the ground in defeat. Mr. Bolton kicked Troy hard in the side and Troy let out another yell. Chad could hear that his friend was crying. "Dad, stop!"

Then Chad Danforth drifted back in the shadows, horrified, letting the events unfold.

Author's Note: Oh! I bet you weren't expecting that! Or this quick update! A little bit of Troyella fluff, too! I was actually a tad bit proud of how this turned out but that's only in my eyes (and I'm not trying to be arrogant). I want to know what you felt about it; please refrain from writing just "Update soon!". (I'm very sorry if you feel hurt by this) I love to see that you like my story but I'd like to know what you like about it, what you would wish to see, who you wish to see more of, etc. Thanks!