Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! Sorry this is über late, midterms start on Thursday and I'm kinda sorta freaking out a lot. Enjoy…
Last Time…
Love and trust: the two hardest words for Gabriella to say, but also the two most important to Gabriella. She'd already told Troy she trusted him and now she was ready to tell him the other the three words.
"I love you" Gabriella whispered, before she sealed her proclamation with gentle kiss. She couldn't help but smile into the kiss. Those three words felt incredible to say. She felt her heart flutter as Troy pulled her closer to him, showing her just how much the words meant to him as well.
Chapter Sixteen – Terrified
Was Gabriella Montez terrified?
Yes.
She had just given her whole heart to Troy Bolton. Even though she knew he would guard it with his life and love it with his whole heart she had this constant feeling of falling, like she was falling down a never ending hole. A love like this was something she'd never experienced, she'd never known, so she had no idea what was coming. What if she screwed things up because she didn't do things right? Gabriella wasn't sure how she was supposed to act or what she was supposed to do or how she was supposed to feel and that scared her.
People were beginning to stare as she walked down the main hallway. Why were they staring? Her hand flew up to her face; did she have something on her face? No. She looked at her feet; was she trailing something embarrassing? No. She looked down at her shirt; was her shirt on backwards? No. She looked around at the other people walking beside her; had she forgotten it was some sort of spirit day? No.
People were beginning to whisper. What on earth were they whispering about? Not her – she hoped, but unfortunately that was not the case. It was obvious they were whispering and staring at her, but why?
Oh god, they didn't figure out her secret did they? Gabriella's thoughts raced. No, no she refused to let herself believe that, but she couldn't help herself. Visions of the police showing up at her door flashed through her mind. Her hand flew up to her chest and landed on the metal ring looped through a simple silver chain.
Then it hit her, they had seen the ring. Relief washed over her and she smiled slightly. However the smile quickly disappeared, did they disapprove? She tried to scan the hall to get some sort of reading. It was mixed; some girls seemed to be happily giggling to their friends while others were giving her the evil eye. It didn't really make sense though; they all knew she was dating Troy. Why the sudden fascination with the pair? It must have something to do with Troy's class ring. Did it mean something to her classmates that it didn't to her? She'd have to ask someone.
Even though she knew (or at least she thought she did) the reason behind the staring and the whispering she couldn't help but feel self-conscious.
When Gabriella rounded the corner she could already see Kelsi, Sharpay and Taylor chatting by her locker. She made her way to her locker and greeted her friends with a good morning.
"Good morning to you too" Kelsi greeted warmly.
"How are you guys this morning?" Gabriella asked.
"Urg, stressed. I have an English presentation today and a history test. Then I need to get the holiday toy drive up and running" Taylor exasperated.
"Tay, history is a breeze for you and presentations, I think you have that down" Gabriella reminded her. Taylor sighed,
"I hope"
"Well if you think you're under stress, I have to start planning my Christmas party" Sharpay explained.
"Shar how hard is it to plan a party for 10 people?" Kelsi questioned.
"You'd be surprised. There's theme, decorations – OH MY GOD!" Sharpay squealed, "OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!"
"What's the big disaster this time? Did you forget your lip-gloss?" Taylor said sarcastically.
"No. But just so you know that would be considered a disaster, but that's never going to happen because I have extras in my locker." Sharpay said seriously. The three other girls rolled their eyes.
"So what's with the 'oh my gods'" Kelsi asked.
"Look!" she pointed to Gabriella's neck.
A grinned spread across Kelsi face while Taylor fired a series questions at Gabriella,
"When did you get that? How did he give it to you? Where were you? How did you react? How did he react? Tell us everything"
Gabriella smiled sheepishly as she fiddled with the ring. She told them the story from last night, omitting some of the details about her dream and when she finished she waited for her friends' reactions.
"Awwww" came simultaneously from the three girls' mouths.
"That's so sweet" Kelsi sighed.
"It is." Taylor agreed.
"I'm glad Troy finally found a girl to give his ring to" Sharpay said.
"I know! He was the only one on the team who had yet to give his out" Taylor reminded them.
Gabriella fingered the ring that hung from her neck intrigued with the news she was hearing.
"I think he was just waiting for the right girl. I bet he didn't want to give to a girl he didn't really care about like some of the guys on the team" Kelsi pointed out.
What Kelsi said made her happy, she hoped it meant Troy really cared about her. If so, then the ring was important. If Troy had never given it out before that made Gabriella feel really special and she gained a new appreciation for the ring.
Suddenly she felt a pair of warm, strong arms wrap around her from behind. She could feel hot breath in her ear and on her neck as Troy whispered good morning. He kissed her hair and Gabriella couldn't help but relax into his embrace because with Troy's strong arms wrapped around her she felt happier than ever.
--
"Is Gabriella Montez doing her math homework in Chemistry" Taylor gasped sarcastically as she walked up to the lab station she shared with Gabriella.
Gabriella looked up from the paper she was scribbling numbers down on and laughed slightly,
"No, I'm um…doing other stuff" Gabriella mumbled.
Taylor looked over Gabriella's shoulder,
"What are you doing?" she asked curiously. "It looks like AP financing work, but you don't take that class."
Gabriella sighed, "No, but it might as well be. I'm trying to figure out how much money I can budget for Christmas"
It took Taylor a few moments to process what Gabriella meant. She watched in slight horror as Gabriella divided numbers by ten. Ten: the gang plus the twins.
"Woah, Gabi, you do not have to get us all stuff" Taylor tried to reason with her.
"No don't be silly. I just have to take a few extra shifts. It'll be fine" Gabriella protested.
"Gabi-" Taylor began but she was cut off by Mr. Whitman beginning the class.
Gabriella folded her calculations and put them in her bag. She sighed quietly; she was going to have to take more than just a few extra shifts. But it didn't matter she was determined not to let her lifestyle affect Christmas, especially for the twins. Lucas and Lily deserved a great Christmas.
--
"Can you just put this box of books away before you leave?" Marsha, Gabriella's boss, asked her, holding out a box of children's books.
"Of course" Gabriella smiled taking the box from her boss. She walked to the children section and began to put the new copies of Nancy Drew on the shelves. She couldn't help but smile slightly at the slight of the familiar yellow binding. Gabriella had gone though a stage where she read nothing but the mystery novels.
She couldn't help but smile as picked up her favorite book in the series. She opened the new book and started rereading a random section. Gabriella was quickly consumed by the words and didn't notice the teenage boy walking towards her so she jumped slightly when he tapped her on the shoulder. She quickly shut the book at looked up at the tall boy, slightly embarrassed.
"Can I help you?" Gabriella asked politely.
"You can actually." The teenager smiled, "I'm looking for a book for my brother. He's 11 and he said he wanted a book for her birthday" he explained.
"Um…well, The Hardy Boys are always good, but if he's not into mysteries you could try pretty much anything by Andrew Clements or Roald Dahl." Gabriella explained.
"Roald Dahl…hmmm that sounds familiar. I'll take that book" the boy decided. Gabriella tried to stop her eyebrow from rising. Did he just refer to Roald Dahl as a book?
"Um which book? Roald Dahl is the author"
"Oh, I knew that, I just figured you had one picked out" he stuttered "Um, which one do you think an 11 year old boy would like the best?"
Gabriella thought for second, "Well I would go with the BFG. I know I loved it and my brother loves it as well" She held out the classic novel.
"Thanks" he muttered. "So you have a brother?"
The boy seemed more interested in that than the book. Gabriella nodded, cautiously.
"What's his name?" he asked.
"Lucas" Gabriella replied reluctantly, she wasn't sure how to make him go away.
"And is he 10 like my brother?" the teenager asked. Gabriella furrowed her eyebrows, hadn't he said his brother was 11?
She nodded slowly, "Yeah. Can I ring you up at the cash register?" she asked. She'd come back to the book shelving once this guy was gone.
The boy looked confused for a second and then seemed to remember the book in his hand,
"Yeah that'd be great" he said. Gabriella led him to the cash register.
"So, tell me about your brother." He probed. Gabriella raised her eyebrows as she turned around to go around to the back of the counter. What was going on? Were people usually this nosey?
"Um…he likes basketball" Gabriella offered. She figured it was a pretty general statement, maybe he wouldn't dig any further.
"Really? Does he get that from your dad?"
"Um…" Gabriella pondered for a while, while she punched codes in on the cash register. She was mostly trying to stall so she wouldn't have to answer the question.
"I'll take that as a no. That's ok, is he one of those geeky types who sits at home at the computer all day?" The boy continued, "Your dad I mean" he clarified.
Gabriella shook her head, "No, he's...in the office most of the day. That'll be $9.43 please"
The boy seemed slightly disgruntled as he handed over ten dollars. Gabriella quickly handed him his change and the bag with a book in it.
"Have a nice evening" she smiled politely.
"Thanks, do you work here often?" he asked.
"Um twice a week"
"Ok, I'll have to remember to come here on Wednesdays and…" he seemed to motion for Gabriella to continue.
"Sundays" Gabriella answered reluctantly; she got an uncomfortable vibe from this guy. His questioning made her uncomfortable, but she wasn't sure if it was just because she was the type of person who kept her personal life private or if he really was probing too much.
"Well thanks for all the help" he said before turning to exit the store. Gabriella watched as the tall teenager left the store and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. She made her way back to the children's section and finished shelving books.
Meanwhile, as Troy pulled into the parking lot at Borders he noticed a teenager walk out of the store, flip his cell phone open and start talking angrily into it. Troy watched as the teenager pulled a book out of its bag, glanced at it and then simply threw both the book and plastic bag into a nearby garbage can.
Troy frowned, why would anyone buy a book and then throw it out seconds after leaving the store? As the teenager crossed the parking lot directly in front of him he recognized the face. He couldn't quite remember the name of that particular player, but he was certain it was one of them - a West High Knight.
As Troy backed his car into a parking spot thoughts – mostly angry – raced through his mind. Why this book store? There were plenty on the west side of Albuquerque. Why would he travel all the way across town for a book and then simply toss it out afterwards? And who was he arguing with over the phone?
When he shut off the engine it all clicked in Troy's brain.
Gabriella.
James Scott was probing and since she already recognized James himself he had to start sending other team players. Troy clenched his hands around the steering wheel. They were trying to get to Troy through Gabriella.
"Damn it" Troy muttered. He was frustrated with himself for putting Gabriella in this position. He couldn't let anything happen to her, he wouldn't. But, he didn't want to worry her by telling her to watch out for West High players. He knew that would scare her and he didn't want that. He'd have to talk to the team about it and just keep a sharp eye out.
--
The radio blasted Christmas music in the kitchen while Gabriella cooked dinner. She was listening to one of those stations that constantly streamed Christmas music from Thanksgiving though Boxing day. She wasn't complaining though, she loved Christmas music.
"And that was Brenda Lee's Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" the radio announcer said enthusiastically after the song finished, "Up next we have one of my favorites. It might not be a holiday song but it certainly brings alive the spirit of Christmas joy. Here is Nat King Cole with L-O-V-E on Magic 98.3"
Gabriella smiled as she heard the familiar music begin to play through the speakers in the corner of the kitchen. Ever since she'd heard the song in the opening of 'The Parent Trap' she'd fallen in love with not only the melody but also the lyrics.
Turning up the volume on the radio, Gabriella began to sway to the opening lyrics of the song.
L is for the way you look at me
O is for the only one I see
V is very, very extraordinary
E is even more than anyone that you adore can
She sang along to the radio as she swirled the pasta into the boiling water. Gabriella was so caught up in the music that she didn't hear the doorbell ring.
Love is all that I can give to you
Love is more than just a game for two
Two in love can make it
Take my heart and please don't break it
Love was made for me and you
Luckily however, Lily did and so she rushed to the door to see who was there. Lily stood on her very tippy toes to peep through the small hole to see who was as the door. She grinned upon seeing their visitor. She quickly opened the door and was greeted by Troy,
"Hey Lily" he said a little too loudly for Lily's liking.
"Shhh!" she exclaimed holding her finger to her lips. Troy furrowed his eyebrows and shut the door behind him.
"You have to see this" Lily spoke softly.
"See what?" Troy asked his at normal tone.
"Shh!" she scolded. "If you want to see this come now and stay quiet!"By the time Troy and Lily made their way into the kitchen the trumpet solo was blasting loudly through the speakers. Troy smiled when his eyes landed on Gabriella. She was dancing smoothly to the music. Her hips swayed rhythmically to the suave melody.
Troy was about to make his presence known, but Lilly pulled him back,
"It gets better" she whispered.
Sure enough when Nat King Cole's jazzy voice started singing again so did Gabriella's sweet voice.
L is for the way you look at me
O is for the only one I see
V is very, very extraordinary
E is even more than anyone that you adore can
She moved away from the counter and opened a drawer. Pulling out knives and forks, she used a fork as a microphone and she continued to sing and dance in the kitchen. She walked to the small table and placed the utensils in the appropriate spots. Of course this table setting procedure didn't stop her from moving to the music. By this time she was so into the music that she was belting out the lyrics.
Love is all that I can give to you
Love is more than just a game for two
Two in love can make it
Take my heart and please don't break it
For the last few lines of the songs Gabriella pointed to herself and then out to 'you' as she shimmied to the beat of the music.
Love was made for me and you
Love was made for me and you
The last line of the song was Gabriella's favorite; she threw her head back dramatically to belt out the lyrics.
Love was made for me and you
She spun around while the trumpet held the last note of the song until she noticed Troy leaning nonchalantly against the edge of the wall with an amused look on his face. Her cheeks immediately flushed red. Her hand quickly found the radio and shut it off.
"I was um…" Gabriella cleared her throat, trying to stall while she came up with an excuse, "cooking...and well, I just, you know" Troy smirked and raised an eyebrow, extremely amused with his girlfriend.
"What are you doing here" Gabriella sighed, giving up on the excuses. Troy chuckled as he walked over to Gabriella. He embraced her and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
"Well, I was on my way home when I realized you never gave me my essay back" he reminded her, "So, I came to retrieve it. I wasn't expecting a performance though. Do I get one every time I come now?" he asked, his lips curving into a grin.
"And you couldn't have called first?" Gabriella suggested.
"I tried that, but you didn't pick up." He countered. Gabriella furrowed her eyebrows and reached into her pocket to retrieve her phone. Opening it she saw she had one missed call. She frowned and looked back up at Troy,
"It was on silent for school" she groaned.
"Ahh learn the beauty of vibrate my love. It will make your life much easier" Troy grinned. Gabriella made a face and pushed her phone back into her pocket.
"So my essay" Troy reminded her.
"Right. I'll be right back, it's in my bag" She turned to walk out of the kitchen. "Watch that the pasta doesn't boil over please"
Troy nodded, scratching the back of his neck nervously. He prayed the pasta didn't boil over because truthfully he had no idea what to do if it did.
Luckily Gabriella was back in a flash with his essay in hand.
"Here you go"
"Thanks"
Troy glanced down at the paper; it was quite possible that there was more red writing than black ink.
"Jeez, Brie" he muttered tearing his eyes away from the red ink.
"Sorry" Gabriella said sheepishly, "I tend to go a bit overboard with editing. You should see what I do to my own paper. I hope it isn't too much"
"No, no it's good. Thanks" Troy assured her.
"So are you staying for dinner?" Gabriella asked as she pulled the steaming tomato sauce from the microwave.
"If you want me to"
"I'll take that as a yes" she smiled. She pulled another bowl from the cupboard and placed some freshly drained pasta in it as she had with the other three bowls. As she scooped sauce over the pasta she called,
"LUCAS! LILY! DINNER!"
Lucas and Lily quickly appeared in the kitchen to take their bowls from Gabriella.
"Troy!" Lucas greeted happily, "You're staying for dinner?"
"I am"
Lucas grinned.
"So aren't you glad you stayed quiet?" Lily asked, taking a bite of her pasta.
Troy laughed as Gabriella sent a glare to her sister,
"Lily!" she exclaimed.
"What?" Lily asked innocently, "I just thought he deserved to hear you sing so joyfully."
"I thought it was fantastic Brie" Troy smiled, "I really did"
"It was so embarrassing though, I didn't think anyone was watching" Gabriella groaned.
"You were happy Gabriella, really happy, Troy deserved to see it" Lucas pointed out. Lily nodded, agreeing completely with her brother. It was true, Gabriella had been elated lately and Lucas and Lily were so happy for her. She of all people deserved the love and happiness Troy brought her.
"How about this, next time I'll join in with you" Troy suggested. "I think we'd do a great duet"
"Who says there will be a next time" She pointed out.
"Oh there will be a next time" Troy said determinedly.
Gabriella couldn't help but giggle. The giggle wasn't only expressed because of the playful seriousness in Troy's eyes, but also as a way to release the embarrassment. She'd been so worried about all the uncertainty she was facing and the thoughts that ran through Troy's mind. However Troy's acceptance of her at her silliest of moments seemed to ease her uneasiness. She now fully understood that Troy loved her for her. So it didn't matter that she didn't know what was coming or how she was supposed to go about loving Troy, all that mattered was that Troy was standing at the bottom of the hole, ready to catch her. In fact, he had her safely in his arms.
So did it matter that she was terrified?
No.
She was simply and happily in love.
A/N: And there you have it. I hope you all enjoyed it! I'm really sorry again for the wait!
Good luck to anyone who has to take midterms!
Please review!