Disclaimer I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.
A/N: Thank you for all the reviews!! Enjoy…
Last Time…
As he watched Gabriella disappear into the masses of people, Troy felt helpless as he called out her name softly, knowing she wouldn't hear him. Troy let himself fall back against the locker, supporting his body. Frustrated, Troy let his head bang against the cool metal of locker, releasing some of the frustration. He closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair as he let out a groan.
Maybe if he gave her some space she would come around. Or at least he hoped so.
Chapter Seven –Sweet Dreams
It had been a week. One long week since Troy had decided to give Gabriella some space. And things hadn't gotten any better. During the few times Gabriella spoke to any one of the gang members, her voice was timid and the conversation only lasted a few minutes.
It hadn't just been a long week for the gang but it had been a long week for Gabriella. Having limited sleep was taking its toll on Gabriella, although she tried not to show it.
It was Friday morning and Gabriella was pouring some orange juice for Lucas and Lily, who were chatting happily together. As she poured the juice, a great yawn escaped her lips due to her extreme tiredness.
Gabriella lost focus on her pouring as her mind slipped into trying to remember how many quizzes she had today. My English paper is due, and I have that history quiz. Ok I studied for that and edited my essay. Oh crap vocab! Wait think Gabi, acrimonious, ok it's an adjective, and it means strong, no no it doesn't…it means…think Gabi, think.
"Gabi!" Lily screeched, pulling Gabriella out of her thoughts. Gabriella looked down at the juice she was pouring and for the first time she noticed that she was pouring way too much orange juice and it had completely over flowed the glass and was forming a puddle on the table. Gabriella gasped and immediately pulled the carton upright, stopping the flow.
"Oh god, sorry!" Gabriella exclaimed reaching for the paper towels to begin to mop up the spilt orange juice.
Gabriella pushed down on the paper towel to soak up the juice and then put her hand under the paper towel to stop the juice from dripping on to the floor as she brought the wet towel to the garbage.
Lucas and Lily watched their older sister mutter to herself as she cleaned up the mess. They both knew of her sisters limited sleeping habits. Looking between each other the decided it was time to say something.
"Gabs are you sure you're getting enough sleep?" Lily asked softly.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine" Gabriella said quickly.
"You sure? It's not like you to spill orange juice like that" Lucas pointed out.
"I was just being clumsy." She explained. "Now eat up, we have to get going soon"
Taking a big gulp of her coffee, which these days was her only source of energy Gabriella let the hot liquid run down her throat as she closed her eyes in an effort of conserve some energy.
Lily and Lucas exchanged skeptical glances. Their sister was definitely sleep deprived, they would have to make sure to get her to bed early tonight.
--
Once Gabriella saw that the twins were safely inside the school she released a long yawn, craving a nice bed to lie down in. Ignoring the dizziness that had come upon her she continued walking down the sidewalk until she came to the entrance of the school.
As she opened the doors, she felt blackness creep around her eyes, closing in on her. Just as it was about to gain control Gabriella shook her head to rid her eyes of the black enclosure.
Once again ignoring her body's blatant signs that she need to sleep Gabriella made her way to her locker. She turned the lock slowly, trying to rack her mind for the combination.
Troy watched Gabriella carefully as he stood with Taylor and Chad at Taylor's locker. He watched her struggle to remember the combination for the fourth time this week. He sighed, wishing he could help her somehow. She looked completely and utterly drained of any source of energy.
Taylor looked up and noticed Troy starring at Gabriella,
"Maybe it's time we try talking to her again" Taylor suggested.
Troy looked down at Taylor and sighed, "I just have no idea what to say to her" he confessed. "Every time I try to talk to her, either she avoids me completely or she puts up this wall in the first few moments. So basically our conversations that never last more than five minutes are restricted to how school or basketball is going."
"I know" Taylor nodded, "I have Chem with her and she won't go any further than what the Chem homework was or what's going on in the class."
"And it's killing me, because there is something clearly wrong and she won't say a thing" Troy said, clearly frustrated. "I guess it's time for today's attempt"
Taylor nodded slowly, "Good luck" she said hopefully. Troy strode towards Gabriella trying to remain calm, cool and collected. Gabriella saw as Troy approached her.
"Good morning" he said coolly,
"Morning. How are you?" Gabriella asked.
"I'm good. You?" Troy asked.
"Fine" Gabriella answered simply.
"You look a little tired" Troy observed carefully.
"You know…it's Friday. I guess everyone's tired" Gabriella answered.
Troy nodded, slowly, "I know, but are you sure you're alright?" he asked carefully.
"I'm fine Troy" Gabriella responded quickly. Troy watched as she almost struggled to hold the books in her arms as if she was so weak that a 10 lb book and a notebook were too much for her fragile body. "I should go anyway. Um, I have um, to get to class." Gabriella lied, hoping to avoid the probing of Troy.
"Ok. Bye" Troy said softly, as he was watched Gabriella turn and walk slowly down the crowded hallway.
"Damnit" Troy muttered angrily, banging his fist against the metal locker.
Chad and Taylor watched the conversation unfold in front of their eyes. Taylor winced as she saw Troy bang his fist against the locker. Chad just shook his head,
"I've never seen him like this" he whispered.
"He's fallen hard for her. Imagine what you would do if I pushed you away every time you tried to talk to me" Taylor said.
"I would go insane, so don't you dare" Chad muttered, pulling Taylor close, her back pressing against his front.
Taylor grinned and relaxed into the embrace.
--
During free period Gabriella tried to focus on the book she was reading for English. As her eyes read word after word, the letters began to blend together to form a gray and blurry mass on the page. Blinking twice she refocused her eyes and continued reading, however the same problem arose very quickly. Once again Gabriella blinked profusely, trying to rid herself of the sensation.
Frustrated, Gabriella set the book down and rubbed her tired, heavy eyes. All of a sudden a terrible tiredness came over her. Her head began to feel heavy and it became a struggle to keep her eyes open. Soon, she began to feel dizzy and her eyes drooped even more. Suddenly blackness began to creep in around her eyes. It was as if her brain was shutting down and she had no control over it. Before she knew it her head felt too heavy for her neck to support. She felt her head fall down on the table and everything went black.
Upon hearing the thump of Gabriella's head against the wooden table Troy glanced towards Gabriella. Jumping up from his chair Troy raced towards her. Placing a hand on her back Troy looked around to see if anyone else had noticed. He saw Kelsi coming towards them and was thankfully because he knew Kelsi knew more about medical issues than he did.
"Kels! What do we do? Is she going to be ok? Should we call for help?" Troy asked frantically. Kelsi held up one finger silently. She leaned down and listened closely to Gabriella. She found a heartbeat and light breathing.
"I think she fainted. Let's see if we can get her awake." Kelsi explained.
"Gabriella" Kelsi spoke softly, yet clearly. "Gabriella, can you hear me?"
After a few moments a soft murmur escaped Gabriella's lips. Troy let out a breath, Thank God.
"Brie" Troy whispered gently. Slowly Gabriella lifted her head up, her eyes still drooping.
"Gabriella, how do you feel?" Kelsi asked.
"Tired" Gabriella murmured.
"Does your head hurt?" Kelsi asked.
"No" Gabriella answered softly. Kelsi nodded,
"I think you fainted Gabriella, probably because you're so exhausted. Why don't we take you to the nurse?" Kelsi offered.
"No let's take her home. She'll be able to sleep there" Troy said.
"Troy, you can't just up and leave school. She can sleep in the nurse's office" Kelsi responded.
"She won't get any sleep in the nurse's office, you know that. I'll just sneak out a door under one of the stairwells and be back before next period starts. No one will know I left." Troy answered.
"Fine" Kelsi agreed.
"Brie" Troy said gently, terrified that she would build up her wall before Troy could get her home. "I'm going take you home. Is that alright?" he asked.
Gabriella nodded, obviously still not thinking as clearly as usual. She began to stand up slowly, still weak from fainting. Troy grabbed her bag and walked next to her, his arm was placed lightly on the small of her back for support and guidance.
Soon, the pair made it outside to Troy's car, undisturbed. Troy pulled his car keys, opened the passenger seat door and once he saw that Gabriella was seated, he closed it. Hopping into the driver's side Troy quickly glanced over at Gabriella, who looked like she was about to fall asleep.
"Where do you live Brie?" Troy asked, just then remembering that he needed to know before she fell asleep.
"3B in Yorkshire Meadow Apartments" she answered quietly without thinking. She was just so tired that all she could think about was falling asleep. The thoughts of her complicated life were no longer present in her mind.
Troy nodded, turned the engine on and pulled out his parking spot.
It didn't take long for Troy to hear Gabriella's breathing change. He glanced over and saw that she had fallen asleep. His lips curved into a smile as he took a moment to appreciate just how beautiful she was. Despite the obvious signs of fatigue on her face, she still managed to look beautiful.
Soon Troy pulled into the apartment complex. He found a parking spot and quietly got out of the car. Before picking Gabriella up, he found her keys in her bag. Gently, so not to wake her, Troy lifted her out of the car and carried her towards the building bridal style. Climbing two flights of stairs Troy reached 3B. Still managing keep hold of Gabriella, he put the key into the lock and turned it. Pushing the door open he walked into the apartment and gently kicked the door shut.
Troy stood in living room of Gabriella's apartment and could see into the kitchen on his left. He moved past the sofa that sat in the middle of the room towards a short hallway near the back of the room. He walked down the short hallway peering into the two rooms, to decide which one was Gabriella's. The first room he came to had one twin bed in the middle of the room. He peered in a little more and could see a history textbook he recognized to be Gabriella's.
Assuming that it was Gabriella's room, he pushed aside the quilt and gently lay Gabriella down. After pulling off her shoes, Troy pulled the covers over her. Gabriella shifted slightly as she relaxed onto the bed. Troy leaned over and placed a soft kiss on her forehead,
"Sweet dream Brie"
A/N: There you have it! I hope you enjoyed that chapter! In the next chapter we'll find out what happens when Gabriella wakes up from her sleep and a lot of other things. Thank you so much for reading, please review!
I just have one tiny favor to ask of my lovely readers. I'm trying to find this story and I can't remember the title or author and it's bothering me so much! So if you have even the faintest idea that would be so helpful! All I can remember is that it's a collection of oneshots and I know in the scheme of things Gabriella is on the swim/diving team because in one of them she is sick but has to participate in the meet anyway, which of course pisses Troy off. She ends up hitting her head and from there you can guess what happens but if you know the title or the author or anything that would be SO helpful!! OH btw it's Troyella if you hadn't guessed! Thanks!!