Okay, guys, so this is it: The second to last chapter of 'Enemies or Lovebirds'! Who's excited for the contest? *grin* Thank you all so much for the reviews I got for the last chapter; the response was incredible. I was so happy when I got e-mail after e-mail, telling me that I had got new reviews to the thirteenth chapter. Lots of you liked the fact that Troy and Gabriella had a little something going on at the end of the chapter
This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. It is based upon High School Musical, copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and High School Musical 2, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved and High School Musical 3, copyright 2008 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks.
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Recap of the last chapter:
She knew that she loved Troy, either still loved him or had gotten to love him in these past days again, she didn't really care. All that mattered was that he was here and they were kissing. But soon the known need for oxygen became noticeable, leaving no other choice than to break the kiss. Gabriella opened her eyes and starred into Troy's. The contact lasted only a second before he already crashed his lips back on hers. Taken by surprise, she let herself fall into him, bringing them both down on the bed. Neither of them cared very much, their feelings overwhelming them.
Her hands ran over his chest, letting him no other choice than to let out a low growl. Giggling a little bit, she smirked down at him, removing her lips for a short moment from his. Groaning at the loss of contact, Troy swiftly rolled them over, so that he was on top with Gabriella squirming under him. Being greeted with the sight of a topless Troy over her, she didn't even think about complaining, just pulling him down to her and attaching his lips to hers one more time.
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Chapter fourteen – The contest
Gabriella awoke with a start. Somehow she felt different than usual. Not opening her eyes in the determined persuasion that she'd be able to go back to sleep if she just convinced herself that it wasn't time to get up, she turned around slightly, cuddling up to the warm body that was lying beside her. Inhaling the familiar scent that surrounded the boy, she snuggled deeper into his side, loving the feeling of his arm entangled firmly around her. Hang on a minute. What the hell?
With one swift motion Gabriella had opened her eyes and entangled herself carefully from the grip she had liked that much. Starring down at a sleeping Troy with an open mouth, Gabriella could barely restrain herself from letting out a gasp. What the hell had she done? What had they done? Hadn't they just agreed to become friends again? And now they were lying on his bed, having done things that were definitely crossing the line between friends and … well, lovers! This had to be a bad dream.
Or a good one, depending on how you saw things. Thinking back to only a few hours ago and the events taking place after she had come up to his room, Gabriella wasn't so sure if it was that bad. His kisses for sure had been heavenly and the things he could do by only using his hands… divinely. There were no other words to describe it. And to think that she had missed out on that for so long… it nearly drove her crazy. What had she been thinking? Yeah, that's the right question. Although I wouldn't ask that because you hold out on him for that long, but because of what you did! The little voice inside her head proved once more that it was very good in ruining the mood.
And the biggest problem was that it was right. This was wrong on so many levels. But how could something that wrong feel so right? Anew she let her thoughts wander back to the earlier hours of the day. It had been at the time they had first kissed. Turning around ever so cautiously, Gabriella threw a quick look at the clock. It was four o'clock in the afternoon. Had they seriously spent the entire time kissing? And doing a few other things? Gabriella smiled softly as she remembered what they had done. Once lying on his bed, him over her, nobody of them had even thought about stopping what they were about to do. For that it had felt way too familiar… and way too good.
The way his hands had run down her sides, evoking shivers running down her spine, had had her moaning his name softly, only to find his mouth attached to hers seconds later, shutting her up. Oh yeah, that was the only thing outranging his skills with his hands… his kissing-skills. The way his tongue had massaged hers, taking over control of both their actions, had made her feel more wanted than she had felt ever before. Having pushed her body into his with a strength that implied how much she wanted him to carry on with what he was doing, he had forgotten all his earlier worries and moved from her mouth to her neck and shoulder, sucking at her soft spots, leaving his mark behind.
Which reminded her… She seemed to faintly remember that somewhere along the line she had lost some of her clothing. And she was right. Lifting the covers enough to be able to take a look at herself, she saw that her top was missing completely, her skirt she had been wearing to school appearing slightly disarranged. Things had definitely become heated. And gone out of control. What would they do now? Confused yet again Gabriella decided that she was in no condition to discuss this with Troy over again right now. And that meant that she should vanish into thin air for now. Best while he was still sleeping.
Looking over to him, she smiled again, him looking so adorable. The sandy-brown hair jumbled, one hand hid under his pillow, the other one now lying lifeless against his side after Gabriella had entwined herself from it; he looked cuter than she had ever seen him, which could be because she had never experienced something like the previous hours with him before. Not able to resist, she pressed a filmy kiss on his cheek, before attempting to get out of bed as quietly as she could, not wanting to risk waking him up.
Searching the room for her shirt, she gently adjusted her skirt, finally spotting the red top thrown carelessly over a chair at the other end of the room. How the hell had it gotten there? Not wanting to rack her brain over it, she left the thought swishing away. Tip-toeing through the room, she let her gaze once again gliding over to him, her hand already on the door handle. Seeing him in his bed, just about to turn around so he was lying on his side again, she couldn't help but grin at his exposed chest. Thinking that her fingernails had scratched over his abs only a brief amount of time ago made her feel giddy and happy at the same time.
But now wasn't the time to stay put and admire his flawless body, seeing as he seemed to be ready to wake up any moment. Quickly opening the door and closing it behind her as inaudibly as possible, she turned around and descended the stair, hoping that Troy's parents weren't home already. She was lucky. It seemed as though both of them were out and not coming back any minute, which was living up to her wishes. How embarrassing would it be to be caught sneaking out of Troy's room by the two people she hadn't seen for two years because of her falling out with their son?
*
Birds were singing. They were singing like there was no tomorrow. Disturbed in his sleep, Troy opened his eyes, only to close them again, the sunlight hitting his face with full force. Blinking a few times before fully comprehending that he was awake, Troy groaned softly, slamming his fist into the sheets next to him; too tired to remember what had happened beforehand. Only when he felt the warmth, he sat up in bed at one stroke, asking himself what was going on. Then he remembered. Gabriella. She had been here. She had looked after him after he had gotten into that stupid fight with Brandon. And they had kissed. More likely made out and well, maybe gotten carried away, but who cared?
Still, that didn't answer the question what was going on. Where was she? Throwing a look at his watch, he could tell that it was ten minutes after four. She had to have left. And that not too long ago, the side of bed where she had been lying was still warm. What lead to the question as to why she had left. Was she embarrassed because of what they had done? Or angry? Oh God, please don't let her be angry!, he pleaded, not standing the thought of going through another fight with her yet again. In his opinion he had had way too much drama in his life during the last days. And he really didn't need a repeat of that.
Paying attention to his missing shirt only now, he smirked slightly, remembering every little detail about their hot make-out session. God, how he had missed those, though he couldn't remember a single one that had been quite as steamy as this one. Well, that could be due to the fact that they had been sophomores the last time they had had one of those as they had still been in a relationship. That consideration reminded him of what he didn't have right now. A relationship. That threw a totally different light on the previous hours. He knew that Gabriella wasn't a girl to do something like that when not in a serious relationship with the involved boy. Did that mean, however, that she wanted one? A relationship? With him?
*
Gabriella was asking herself the exact same question. Why had she done that? Why hadn't she run away after he had firstly kissed her? Why had she kissed him back instead and theoretically even started to make out with him? That was so not like her. But then again, it definitely had been worth it. Calling the memories back to her mind, she relived the butterflies swarming in her stomach since the moment he had first touched her lips with his and the other feelings floating over her while feeling his touches. He was the only one who could make her feel this way, like her body had been set on fire at every place his hands came in contact with. And the rest of her body blazing with desire to be touched by him.
She swallowed. That sounded a hell of lot as if her body had already decided on whether she wanted more from him. And it wasn't exactly as though her mind was complaining very much. Just tell him! And for once Gabriella agreed. There was nothing else left to be done. She would tell him. Tomorrow. Either before dancing practice or during it, it didn't matter. The main issue was that he would know. And hopefully act on this knowledge.
*
As she was leaving the house the next morning, she was as happy as she hadn't been for a very long time. Coming to her decision had taken a lot off her mind and there was nothing that she had to worry about. Well, that was if she would be able to take her mind of the contest that would take place this afternoon. And until now they were lacking a dress rehearsal. But they still had a free period and lunch time beforehand. That should be time enough to practice the steps and perfecting them.
During the drive up to school she was humming along to the songs being played on the radio. Halfway to school, she saw a car coming up behind her. It was Troy. She smiled unintentionally and saw him grinning in her direction. Blowing her a kiss, he overtook her with ease, smirking at her old car getting on very slowly. She only rewarded him with a wry look as he lined in the traffic directly in front oh her. Seeing him simpering, she groaned playfully, already knowing what was to come. They had done this every morning while they had been going out. She would drive to school; he would overtake her, line up in front of her and continuously speed up and take the speed down again. Annoying, really!
But he didn't have very long to do so, for they arrived at school way too early for both of their likings. Giving her one last infatuating smile, he began to search for a parking spot, leaving her the one directly visibly. Beaming, Gabriella took it, jumping out of the car with the greatest of ease. Preferring to wait for Troy and best work it out here and now with him – out of ear- and eyeshot of the rest of the student body -, she sauntered slowly up to school, waiting for him to catch up with her. That, however, did not happen. Throwing a look over her shoulder, she viewed Chad running up to Troy, holding him back and gesturing wildly.
Sighing in annoyance, Gabriella made her way to the doors, feeling someone grab her shoulder before she could enter the building. Turning around she was greeted with the sight of Chris, a half-serious look in his eyes. "We need to talk, Gabriella!" She laughed at his attempt to hold up the serious façade while failing miserably. "About what, Christopher?" She emphasized his full name, hinting that it was unusual for her to hear her full name coming from him. "About you skipping school way too much to hang out with Troy!" What? She gazed unbelievingly at him. "I do not skip school to spend time with Troy!" Well, not always at least.
"And why weren't you at school yesterday?" Why hadn't she thought about the fact that her friends would be asking questions? Well, actually she had. She had just thought that she would have talked to Troy by the time she faced them. So she could just shrug her shoulders. "Do you want the short or the long version?" Chris made a face. "If the long version contains details about what exactly you did with Troy, I'd love to hear the short one. Save the long for Sharpay and Taylor." Gabriella giggled. "How do you know I did anything with Troy?" Chris looked at her, trying to pull a disgusted face. "The fact that you're not denying it says everything I need to know."
The brunette chuckled. "What do I say? You're right." Chris shrugged nonchalantly. "Damn, I just lost thirty dollars. Couldn't you have at least waited another week until you kissed him senselessly?" Gabriella gazed up at him in shock. "I did so not kiss him senselessly!" The incredulous look thrown at her made her give in. "Alright, so maybe I did. But how the hell do you loose thirty dollars because I make out with Troy?" The guilty look Chris had written all over his face told her what she wanted to know. "Oh no, you so not did bet on when Troy and I would do something like that!"
Chris bit his lip. Gabriella screamed in faked shock. "Oh, you're so in for it, Bell!" Laughing she chased him into the building, not noticing the look filled with slight jealousy that ensued her. Troy sighed. There she was, laughing at something Chris had done and chasing him around. Right now he wanted nothing more than to be in Bell's place. But instead he had to stand here, listening to Chad's pointless blabbing about how he couldn't just skip school – with Gabriella nonetheless – without informing him first. Sometimes life was really unfair.
*
Fifteen minutes later Gabriella was leaning against her locker, Taylor and Sharpay crowding her, wanting to know every little detail about her afternoon. "So, what's been going on between you two?" It was the first thing Gabriella got to hear. "What, I don't even get a 'hello'?", she whined, laughing inwardly at the eager faces her best friends pulled. "Who cares about greeting formals when there's something so much more interesting to discuss?", Taylor dismissed the complaint. "Just tell us already what happened between you two!"
"You know, a shut mouth catches no flies.", Gabriella grinned smugly, happy to get on her best friends' last nerves. Her friends groaned simultaneously. "Don't give us that crap!", Shar demanded, hands stemmed into her hips. It looked like this wasn't going to get easy to get out. "Okay, okay!" Gabriella threw her hands helplessly up in the air. "We made out and maybe, maybe we did something more, alright? And yeah, I liked it and no, I'm not giving you any details!" With that she broke free and headed straight to home room. The girls left behind squealed, exited. Whatever they had hoped to hear, this was definitely excelling their expectations. "She doesn't think she's going to get away with that plain information, does she?" Sharpay asked and Taylor shook her head. "No way!"
Heading after her, they increased their speed with every step they took, ready for a downright interrogation. But as soon as they turned the corner, they stopped dead in their tracks. Obviously someone had beaten them to speaking with Gabriella. And it wasn't the worst. It was Troy. "Perfect!", Sharpay gushed, pulling Taylor back behind the corner. "Let's give them some privacy!" She winked at Taylor, who was quick to catch what Shar was implying. Pressing their bodies to the wall as tight as they could, they stayed where they were, listening to every bit of the pair's conversation.
*
"Hey, Brie!" Gabriella nearly got a heart attack, not expecting to hear his voice. Freezing, she stayed put on the spot, awaiting him to reach her. "Hey, Troy!" Her voice shook. It was easy to make out how timid she was. Troy smiled at her as she blushed, not knowing what to say. "Can we talk for a short moment?" He wanted to talk? Please don't let him say that the thing yesterday didn't mean anything, she prayed silently, before directing her whole attention to him. "Oh, sure." Her stomach jolted as he took one of her hands into his. "Brie… yesterday…" She was holding her breath, anxious what he would say. "Did it mean anything to you?" Oh damn, a question. She decided that she hated them.
"Do you want it to mean anything?" Answering him through another question seemed like the safest way to not mess this up. He smiled a little uneasy, scratching his neck. Doing so, his shirt came up a little bit, exposing his abs once again. Not able to divert her eyes from his muscles, her head sunk down a little bit. Seeing that, Troy grinned slightly, cupping her chin and directing her face to his eyes again. "As much as I like you starring at my body, I would prefer it if you looked me in the eyes when I answer that question."
Going red, she bit her lower lip, driving Troy crazy once again. Didn't she know what it did to him seeing her biting her lip? Apparently not. "And? Are you answering it?" Gabriella didn't like to beat about the bush, but she didn't want to embarrass herself if he didn't want to get back together. "Well, I thought that answer was pretty obvious.", he laughed quietly, seeing her blush again. "God, of course! I want it to mean anything so desperately it nearly hurts, Brie! I've wanted this ever since I made that mistake by not throwing Tiara out of my house!" Not even the mentioning of Tiara's name could tarnish Gabriella's happy mood right now. Troy wanted her. And that was all that counted.
In the blink of an eye she was standing so close to him that nothing could fit between them. "Thank God!", she breathed before reaching up and pulling his face down to hers, closing the gap between their lips. Not even the slightest bit astonished, Troy didn't hesitate a second responding to her lips against his, smiling into the kiss. Releasing her again after the need for oxygen became too urgent to be ignored, he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Does that mean that you want me just as much as I want you?" Gabriella slapped his chest warily, laughing. "Yes, it does!"
"Then I'm very glad!" He pulled her into his arms, pressing a kiss on her forehead, happy that he was finally able to do that without having to fear to get his butt kicked. She snuggled into him, inhaling his scent once again. If it was for her they could stay here until forever came. Unluckily life had other plans. Such as making time go on and forcing them to finally attend lessons again. Just as Troy was about to kiss her again, the bell rang, signalling for home room to begin. Groaning annoyed while Gabriella started giggling, he took on of her hands and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
Taking that as the signal that they would get going, Gabriella on her part looped her arm around his waist, relishing the feeling of being in his arms again after a long period of fighting with him. Being buried to deep in her thoughts, she didn't even notice two girls sneaking from behind the corner, hands over their mouths to detain their content sighs from escaping. Suddenly a thought crossed her mind. "Troy?" He looked down at her. "Yeah?" He didn't like the look of incertitude on her face. "What about that contest this afternoon?"
Troy silently cursed himself. How could he have completely forgotten about that? He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. We're still doing it, right?" Gabriella thought about it. Technically there was no point anymore, seeing as Amber had been dumped by Troy and the two of them had solved their issues. But she didn't really want to step out of the contest. The least she could do after all what Amber had done these past days and years was kicking her butt. And with the choreography they had practiced there was no doubt that they actually could do that.
"Yeah!", she agreed. "I want to give Amber the low-down if you get what I mean." Troy smiled at the certainty Gabriella was implying that they would win. "Then I guess we'll do exactly that, won't we?" Gabriella nodded, just as they entered their class room. It grew completely silent. Whatever had been done and whoever had spoken… it all decreased to zero as soon as the first noticed Gabriella and Troy being practically wrapped around each other. Gabriella looked around. "What's going on here?"
She didn't get an answer, but a push in the back. Glaring behind her, she spotted Taylor and Sharpay rushing into the room, instantly stopping as they witnessed the silence. For a moment nobody moved. Then some huffing coming from the back of the room could be heard. The four standing in the door way turned their heads. It was Jason who pointed accusingly at them. "You're not asking what's going on here, are you? Because that should be the question we should be asking. What's going on with the two of you? The day before yesterday you hate each other, yesterday you,", he pointed to Troy, "get into a fight because of her,", he pointed at Gabriella, "and today you're all over each other? The world's slowly coming to its end!"
His ranting was receipt with a wave of laughter. But it slowly decreased as Troy opened his mouth, squeezing Gabriella's side self-confidently. "It's not, Jason, I can assure you. And as to your nice pointing out: Everyone can change their minds, can't they?" There were many who pulled a disappointed face, having hoped for some juicy gossip to come out. However, neither Troy nor Gabriella nor anyone else intended on giving something away. And before someone could complain, Mrs. Smith came in, instantly breaking up the crowd that had been built.
*
It was time. The bleachers of the baseball field were filled with an enormous amount of students, teachers, parents and other people, talking, laughing and discussing the first half of the baseball match that had already taken place. The final whistle had been blown only thirty seconds ago and Gabriella was nervous as hell. This was it. The moment they had been working for the last two weeks. And the moment she had dreaded ever since agreeing to this stupid contest. And the fact that Troy was standing by her side, trying to calm her down, didn't help the least bit.
Having been jumpy since the last period had ended, Gabriella hadn't been addressable ever since and slowly but surely it got on Troy's nerves. "Come on, Brie, we've already talked about this!" Well, actually they hadn't. He had talked and she had listened – at least he hoped so. But seeing that she wasn't anywhere near getting her nerves down again, he saw no other choice than to repeat his preceding speech. "We've trained so hard, Gabs. We know every single step! This isn't going to be a disappointment, trust me!" Gabriella swallowed. She was listening to him, she was really. And she wanted to trust him, but somehow her stomach had something against it.
And she wasn't the only one there, although everyone else was at least putting an effort in trying to appear composed. Becky threw the helpless Troy a warning look. "If you don't get her back to earth, this is going to be a problem. If she's that nervous up there, then I don't know how you'll be able to do those lifts with her!" Troy glared at her, having hoped for a little bit of backing-up instead of a lecture. Turning his attention back to Gabriella, he saw that she was nearly hyper-ventilating. "Oh my god, what if I mess up? What if I stumble over my own feet and fall flat on my face? What if…" The doubts seemed to be a never ending story.
And Troy had enough of it. Head-shaking he moved forwards, pushing Gabriella into the fence. Ignoring her faint protest, he leaned down, capturing her lips in an earth-shattering kiss. Melting into his body without hesitation, Gabriella kissed him back, all thoughts about the contest having vanished the instant she felt his body pushing hers. But right before things could get heated, someone interrupted them from behind. "Get a room, you two!" Disgruntled about the interruption, Troy detached his lips from Gabriella, causing her to giggle as soon as she could she his facial expression. "What, Chad?" Troy asked irritated, glaring in his direction.
Chad didn't look very good. His nose was nearly white, whereas his cheeks were flushed in a deep shade of red. It looked as if he was about to puke any moment. "Are you nervous?", Troy asked his best mate unbelieving. Chad shook his head fiercely. "What are you thinking, pal? Me and nervous? Never!" Suddenly Taylor appeared from behind him. "Don't believe a single word he says. He's nervous as hell; he just doesn't want to admit it." Chad threw her an ungracious look. "You didn't need to tell them that!" Exhilarated by the couple's bickering, Gabriella allowed herself to smile brightly, before remembering that she would have to go upon the stage very soon. A panicking look crossed her face.
Troy noticed. "You're keeping your shirt on, aren't you?", he asked her concerned. It would be really bad if she decided to freak out now. She didn't have the time to answer. "Montez!" The voice was hard and cold, but not unknown. Rolling her eyes, Gabriella turned around, the other ones already starring in the right direction. "What do you want, Amber?", she asked, faking certainty. "Shouldn't you be up on that improvised stage this specific moment to inform them about our little contest? Or at least the ones who haven't already gotten the news." Amber made a face at her. "Don't get too full of yourself, Montez. You might have Troy – for now, may I add -, but that doesn't mean you've already won!" Smiling sweetly, she turned to Troy. "And don't forget the little date we've got planned after I kick her butt!"
Troy huffed. "Leave us alone, Terrell." Appealing to Gabriella, he practically begged her: "Please, please, please, do your best up there and save me from that event. Please?" Gabriella laughed at his desperate expression. "I'll be doing my very best!" Satisfied, he wrapped his arms around her waist, letting Amber know that they wouldn't pay any attention to her. Riled up, Amber rushed away and upon stage, grabbing the microphone. "Dear teachers and students of East High, dear parents and visitors, I would like to announce you…" Her voice was drowned out of Gabriella's mind as she looked around the small area the dancing squad was occupying.
There was a woman standing only five feet away. And it wasn't just only a woman. It was her mother. "Mum!", Gabriella shouted, exited to see that she had made it to the contest. She had swiftly informed her about it. Well, she had told her mother's mailbox about it. Dashing through the teenagers standing in her way, she made her way over within seconds and flung her arms around her laughing mother. "Mary!" Gabriella squeezed her. "Oh God, don't squash me!" She released her mother. "Sorry!", she mumbled sheepishly, before beaming up at her. "You're here! I can't believe it!"
Her mother smiled. "Yeah, me too. But I couldn't let you go through this alone, could I?" Gabriella grinned inwardly. If her mother knew what she had gone through alone… "As we're speaking from going through," she glanced backwards at Troy who had come forward rather uncertainly, "I want you to meet someone." She beckoned for him to stand next to her, engulfing him in a hug. "I believe you remember him?" Her mother starred at the two in pure astonishment. "That's what I call a great surprise!" Troy smiled shyly at her. "Hey, Mrs. Montez!"
The older woman smiled at him, still confused. "So, what's the deal with you two? Are you… just friends or… you know?" Gabriella stood on tiptoes and kissed Troy on the cheek. "Well, I'd definitely say we're more than friends." Troy nodded in agreement. Mrs. Montez laughed. "I'm never going on a business trip for so long ever again. It seems as if I'm missing out on the best events in my daughter's life." Both teenagers smirked at her. Not only on the best events… For a short moment Gabriella was glad her mother had been away. She didn't want to know how much she'd have freaked if she had found out about skipping school and spending an entire day at Troy's house, alone and without parents into the bargain.
Out of the blue music started to play. Confused they turned their heads to the stage, only to see the cheerleader squad getting ready for their demonstration. Gabriella swallowed. "Heaven, did we miss her whole speech? I'd have thought she made it longer than that." Troy chuckled. "She wouldn't want to. This time it's time working against her and for us. If I was still sneaking around her and not you, her speech would be longer than the President's election speech." Gabriella swatted his chest. "Don't be mean!" She acted as if she would think for a few minutes. "You're right, though!" Troy grinned arrogantly. "I know!"
*
Five minutes later the music ended. And to Gabriella's direness they had been good. Really good. And Amber seemed to know that. Smirking snootily in her direction, she once again walked up to the microphone. Her voice could hardly be heard over the applause that had erupted. Alright, this was going to be tough. "Alright, looks like it's time to grin and bear it." Gabriella sighed and was just about to lead her squad onto the stage as she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Good luck!" It was Chris who had sneaked out of the cabins to see Gabriella. "Thanks!" She flashed Chris a genuine smile, closing her eyes and collecting herself one last time.
She felt Troy grabbing her hand and gave him a half-looped smile. "Ready?", he asked her, now his own nervousness kicking in. She nodded. They were going to make it. They were going to beat Amber. "Come on, we've got some serious butt-kicking to do!" Troy shook her head at her sudden whiff of bravery. Why couldn't his nerves work this way? He didn't know and he didn't have time to think about it. Putting on a smile, Gabriella walked confidently upon the stage, the squad following behind. They were greeted with a round of applause.
Wait. Gabriella furrowed her brow. Had they decided on who started the music? She certainly couldn't, having to stand in her start position at the very beginning. She looked over to the stereo equipment. With relief she spotted Chris, winking at her. He really thought of everything. Pondering if she should say something just like Amber had done, she decided against it. Later was going to be time enough to speak. Concentrating on the dance was what came first now. With a quiet sigh, she went into position, letting Troy pull her into his arms. "I wish you good luck, Brie!", he whispered and received a plain nod. "You, too! But I really hope we won't need any." With a sign she signalled Chris to let the music play.
The prime beats sounded through the air and Gabriella became calmer with every stroke that was emitting from the stereo. To the time they begun moving her nerves had entirely relaxed. Everything else besides Troy and the music was blanked out of her head. She let their movements float through her mind, step after step. The circling steps, her body moving together with Troy's. Somehow it was different than the last times they had done this. In some way it felt more … right to do this. Looking up and meeting Troy's gaze, she couldn't help but smile amorously. The boy had to hold himself back from leaning down and kissing her right on stage.
Instead of giving into his needs, he let her broke free and did his best to not mess up the following moves. That was already hard enough without Gabriella and his needs on his mind and it wasn't going to get easier. Letting out a low hiss as he felt her body grinding against his while dipping low, he happily swirled her around into the pirouette only seconds after, sinking down in the progress and cheering silently that he had a few moments to get his thoughts back on track. He just hoped that he would ever live it down that he had sunk to the ground in front of the entire school. Well, at least every other boy on stage had to do the same. After the first lift was over, the entire gym was heating up. Applause was breaking out before they had even gone halfway through the dance. Gabriella smiled proudly. This was exactly what she had dreamed of. That was when she hadn't pictured her worst nightmare coming true.
But right now everything was going according to plan. And it wasn't going to change. She knew it the second she looked into Troy's eyes. They would nail the second lift perfectly. There was no doubt. Backsliding first and then running up to him, she could already feel the touch of his fingers lingering on her body. With a hitch she felt herself being lifted up in the air with the feeling of being safe that she had never had before in their dancing sessions.
But as soon as she got the feeling, it was over and they were standing in the end position. Breathing softly against her neck, Troy had closed his eyes, pacified that all had gone right. "You were great!", Gabriella whispered into his ear, wrapping her arms even tighter around him. "Not as good as you!", he gave the compliment back. Smiling, she buried her face in the crock of his neck, nuzzling it with her nose. He held her to him until the applause that had broken out was dying down. Then they were crowded by everyone from the dancing team. Being hugged by every girl on the squad, Gabriella was being pulled away from Troy, throwing him an apologetic look. He just shrugged, before nearly sinking down because of the slap Chad placed on his back.
"We made it!" Sharpay was screeching into her ear and the answering squeals from the other girls weren't any less loud. Cheering and laughing, Gabriella slowly made her way up to the microphone. All eyes were directed at her, but for once Gabriella didn't mind being in the centre of the attention. They had done it. Now everything that counted was winning the votes from the audience. As she grabbed the micro, she felt someone stepping behind her and engulfing her into a hug. She didn't need to turn around to know that it was Troy. Since he was kissing her neck, she was having a very hard time concentrating on the speech she was going to give.
"Good evening!", her voice resounded through the outdoor sound system. It went completely silent. Letting her gaze glide over the amount of people, she knew she would have gotten nervous if Troy hadn't been standing behind her. "I'm glad that you are all here today to witness the baseball game in the first place. But I'm even gladder that you are here to witness the show our cheerleading and our dancing squad have showcased. Many of you may already know that there's one reason for this contest. It's the deep rivalry between the two squads that has been there ever since the dancing squad was founded. As much as I dislike it, I think that it's never going to change. But that's not the main point this evening."
At this the audience pricked up their ears. "The main point today isn't the fight. The main point is that we wanted to know who was actually better. There have been boxes set up at the different entrances while you were watching. Paper and pens are lying out. We would like you to use the remaining ten minutes of the break to vote for either the cheerleading or the dancing squad." Once again there was applause coming from the stands as the people set out to vote. With a pleased smile Gabriella turned around, wrapping her arms around Troy's neck. "I thought it was the best to not tell them about the prize for winning.", she explained as she met his inquiring gaze as to why she had foreground the question who was the better team.
"I'm not complaining!" Troy laughed. "I don't even want to imagine the teasing of my parents if they knew that you two started this contest because of me!" His horrified face made Gabriella smile. "I so didn't do that! That was Amber's idea!", she defended herself. He threw her an amused look. "But you agreed!" She bit her lip. "So what?", she shrugged nonchalantly, barely able to hide the grin spreading across her face. Troy regarded her sceptically. "So what?", he asked, raising his hands towards her ribs. "You never told me why, you know?" Gabriella eyed his hands with growing suspicion. "You're not going to…" She didn't finish her sentence, for he began tickling her all over.
"Stop it, Troy!", she squealed, trying to escape from his firm grip. "We're on a freaking stage! With I don't know how many people looking!" Troy didn't even bat an eyelash. "Tell me and I let you go." Gabriella buttoned her lips, not having in mind to ever tell him. He really didn't need to know that she had been too cowardly to turn down the contest. "That's for me to know and for you to never find out!" The tickling increased, but not for long, seeing as someone stormed up the stage and split them up. It was Sharpay. "Alright, lovebirds! So not the place for a tickle fight. Especially since Amber is looking over to you and according to her expression she's going to break someone's face any minute. And you can only hope that it's not one of yours!"
Trust Sharpay to be the mood killer. Concurrently their heads turned into the direction she was pointing. She was right. Amber seemed to be seething. If looks could kill, Gabriella would be dead before she could even say 'dancing squad'. But she actually wasn't bothered by that. "Leave her alone, she's just jealous." Troy looked at her and leaned down. "And she's got every reason to be." Their lips met in a passionate kiss, to which Shar could only pull a disgusted face. "I hate couples who don't care about the rules against public display of affection!" Gabriella and Troy just shrugged, caring on as if Sharpay didn't exist. Huffing, the blonde dashed away.
It was only minutes later that the stands were being filled again. Having broken their kiss long ago, Troy and Gabriella had fled the stage as soon as the first people made their way to sit down again. Now there wasn't left anything to do but wait until the figures were added up. In the meantime the baseball game was supposed to go on. Gabriella was just able to find Chris and wish him good luck for the next part of the game as the starting whistle was already blown. Nodding at her, Chris made his way out on the court, the audience screaming and clapping.
"They are going to win, aren't they?", Gabriella asked Troy. He shrugged. "They don't have another choice. It's West High they are playing… if they don't want to have trouble they will do everything to score as much as they can."
*
The baseball game was over and the figures added up. Gabriella and nearly every other girl on the squad were near a nervous break-down. "Oh my god, what if Amber won?" Becky's clear voice sounded in everyone's ears. Gabriella shushed her, her eyes displaying that she was having the same thoughts. Troy looked around. He couldn't believe that one could get so tensed up over something like this. Wrapping an arm around Gabriella's waist and pulling her into him, he smiled down at her. "Do I need to get you relaxed again?" Confused she nodded.
In a split second she found herself against Troy's chest, his lips pressed firmly onto hers. Melting into the kiss, she heard everyone else groaning at their sudden access of emotion. "Why do we always need to see that?" Chad was complaining once again, but Taylor didn't even have the nerve to smack his head, mainly because their principal had just set foot on the stage. The girls squealed quietly, even Gabriella who had detached her lips from Troy's just in time. "God, help!", the brunette whispered, squeezing Troy's hand that strongly it actually hurt. But before he could bring on his protest, the principal had already started speaking.
"Dear ladies and gentleman, dear students, teachers and parents! I am very pleased to be able to welcome you to East High School! As our dancing squad captain already acquainted you with the contest held tonight there's nothing left to do than to announce the voting outcome. I guess that's what you've all been waiting for, isn't it?" He smiled amicably while the audience was nodding in agreement. "Well, then I don't want to keep you in suspense!" He fetched a white envelope from behind his back and started opening it. While he was reading the paper he found it seemed as though nobody was breathing.
Then he finally spoke again. "Alright! This is the final results of the voting…", he breathed in deeply. "Damn, that guy should have become a broadcaster for TV! Why the hell doesn't he already tell us?" Sharpay's oppressed curse followed her remonstrance and caused Gabriella to giggle. But not for long. "Well, by the skin of their teeth… The winner is…" Everyone was watching with interest as he drew breath. With a bright grin the principal turned around on stage, facing both the dancing and the cheerleading squad. "The winner is … Gabriella Montez with her dancing squad!" For a moment everything was dead silent. Then deafening cheers erupted from about five-hundred throats.
Within seconds Gabriella was crowded by her fellow squad members. "We did it!" The open outcry could be heard from the most different places and Gabriella honestly was fearing for her own health. They had done in! They had won! A warm feeling floated through Gabriella's whole body and widely beaming she freed herself of the bodies hanging onto her, only to be engulfed into an affectionate hug. It was Troy. Snuggling deep into his arms, she grinned up at him, happy and carefree. "We won!" Troy nodded, still left in disbelief. They had really done it. It wasn't as if he hadn't thought they could do it, but still… it was a little wonder.
Just as the fact that he was holding Gabriella in his arms. Just two weeks, hell even only eight days, ago he would have never thought this could actually be happening. But now here he was, having her clinging onto him and he didn't mind one little bit. So to say they had won in more ways than one. Finally letting the smile tugging at his lips break out, his eyes were twinkling down at her and showed more than his happiness. Overcome by the sudden awareness that he loved her, she raised herself up to him and kissed him. "I love you.", she whispered into his ear, causing his smile to get even bigger. "I love you, too." Starring into each other's eyes, they needed nothing more.
Ripped out of their little moment as they felt themselves being pulled along, they directed their attention back to the events happening around them. Smiling faces and happy grins were all they could see, agitated chattering and felicitous squeals all they could hear. As long as they could make out, they were pulled upon stage, the audience welcoming them with warm acclamations. Being greeted with a hand-shake from the principal, someone handed Gabriella the microphone. Still absolutely stunned by the sensational result, she couldn't think of anything else than to thank them. "Oh my God, thank you all so much for voting for us. This win makes us so unbelievable happy!" The laughing team members underlined her words expressly.
In their triumph no one of them had wasted a single thought on the loser of the battle. But at least one of them didn't intend on being forgotten for the rest of the night. Turning her head slightly, Gabriella caught sight of Amber approaching them. And she didn't look as if she was coming to congratulate in the victory. It looked more as though trouble was arriving. Amber was coloured up to her ears. She couldn't believe that she had actually got beaten by them. How could that possibly have happened? It was a piece of impudence.
But she wasn't going to do them all a favour and vanish into thin air. No, if Gabriella had won the contest, then she would provide for making her triumph bitter-sweet. Eventually having reached Gabriella so she could be heard over all the noises, she attempted to get the girl's attention, only to find that Gabriella had turned her back on her. Dirty trick! She watched her enemy making eye-contact with the boy she had been longing for ever since she had set eyes on him. Or maybe since she had been informed that he was quite popular. Whatever. How dared that little slut to first take her boy away and then the victory in this contest? But she wasn't going to let her get away with it.
"You're not thinking you've won him back, do you?" Amber's voice interrupted their moment. "As soon as he gets bored with you, he'll search for someone else, you know that." She sounded satisfied; as though she would expect Gabriella to realise she was right and start crying right away. However, Gabriella was far from doing her the favour. "I know that he's been set up, Amber. And there's no use telling me otherwise… I overheard you and Sarah talking a couple of days ago." This statement was setting tongues wagging all around them. So that was the reason their golden couple had broken up in Sophomore Year? Because of some scheming from Amber and her squad? How dared they!
Amber noticed the sudden mood swing of the crowd and the listeners Gabriella had won by that statement. But that wasn't going to break her. "So what? Maybe it was planned! But Troy didn't have to kiss Tiara, did he? Or do other things with her…", she implied, achieving what she had wanted. She could practically feel Gabriella heating up because of anger building up inside of her. Unfortunately for her it wasn't directed at Troy as she had hoped but at her. "You're a snake in the grass, you know that?" Gabriella said, getting it across rather inconveniently for Amber. "You know as well as me that Troy didn't do anything with her. I heavily doubt Tiara was still in his room after he came back from running after me and trying to hold me back!"
Amber grew white. She hadn't known that Troy had made an effort to keep Gabriella from breaking up with him; Tiara hadn't mentioned a single thing about that. Troy noted her seeing her hopes dashed and smirked at her. "Are you really that dumb, Terrell? Did you really think I would let the one I love go without even trying to hold her back? Much more, did you think I would actually stay with Tiara and do any of the things you just implied? You disgust me!" Everyone starred at him in pure shock. No one had ever heard him advancing his opinion that clearly. "And you actually think I would care about that?" Amber said haughtily, not wanting to show that it had actually gotten to her.
Gabriella just shook her head. "You know what? I don't want to do this. I don't want this moment ruined by someone like you, Amber. And I would heavily advise you to do a bunk… otherwise I'll arrange for you to get it done by someone else." Amber swallowed. Seemingly she was overruled here. Backing away, she spat out: "I'll go for now, Montez! That doesn't mean you can allow yourself to be lulled into a sense of security! The opera ain't over until the fat lady sings!", she threatened, but Gabriella just laughed. "Are you trying to say that you're that fat lady?" Amber's face grew red with embarrassment while everyone else broke into a laughing fit. With one final glare, she turned around and stormed off.
Gabriella gazed after her, not feeling the slightest bit of regret. Amber had deserved everything she had got, having brought it upon herself with her constant plotting. Feeling strong arms surround her petite body from behind, she turned around smiling, looking into Troy's eyes, feeling quite content with her life. "I can't believe it's finally over!", she susurrated, letting relief wash over her body. "And I can't believe I'm holding you into my arms!", he gave back, nuzzling his nose into her neck, making her giggle. "Enemies turned lovebirds, aren't we?" Troy nodded, giving her free only to pull her to him again. Leaning down, he captured her lips in a sweet, caring kiss. The world seemed to stand still for a moment, all problems solved, a new time about to begin. And there was no mistaken. They were definitely more lovebirds than enemies.
Ohhhh… isn't it sad that there's only the epilogue left? But oh well… this story had to come to an end after some time :] And I honestly hope you liked this story, because well… it actually was my first one I've written for FFN. So it means much to me, although I've already moved onto other stories. Anyone who's interested: There are two other stories up by me: Firstly, a one-shot called 'Baby, come back'. Actually, it's a songfic to Vanessa Hudgens' song. And secondly, of course, there's 'First Bad Habit'. At the moment, there are four chapter's up and I'm struggling to get the fifth one written. However, readers are very much welcome and those who leave a review even more so :]
After I've finished this story and FBH, I'll start working on one of the ideas I have for new ones and I'll post as soon as I've got something ready. That, though, can take a while, because I finish my holidays today, so tomorrow it's back to school. Which is really depressing, considering that I'll get my Latin test back in first period. Who wants something like that when you've not even arrived properly yet?
Please, please, please tell me what you think of this chapter and of the story in general. It would be really nice to hear from you all. I don't think I can press you into reviewing this time, because I doubt many of you find the idea of an epilogue that interesting, but I'm counting on you being nice here. :]
So, until next time,
Without wax (who's read one of Dan Brown's thrillers and can tell me what this means?)
xoxo
Lena