Dreams or Desire
"Troy! Gabriella!" Lucy Bolton exclaimed, opening the door to the Bolton home.
"Hey mom," Troy replied with a weak smile, before hugging his mom. As he did, Lucy looked over her son's shoulder at Gabriella, who nodded sadly. Once the mother and son pulled away from the hug, Lucy greeted Gabriella with a hug as well. Lucy and Gabriella had become very close when the family came to L.A. for Christmas. She had even bonded with Maria, and although she was too embarrassed to say it out loud, Gabriella was convinced that the two mothers were already planning the wedding. Just as the two hugged, Jack walked into the room.
"Troy! Gabriella! You are here!" He exclaimed, walking towards them. He clapped hands with his son and they gave each other a man hug. "It's not your fault son, you played great."
"Thanks Dad," he mumbled and Gabriella sighed at the mention of the Laker's loss in the Western Conference Finals, but quickly put on a fake smile as she and Jack exchanged pleasantries.
"Troy!!!!!" They all turned to see the youngest Bolton running into the room with a massive smile on his face. Gabriella's smile turned into a genuine one as Troy's eyes lit up for the first time in a week. It had warmed her heart the first time she saw the two brothers together, and it did once again, seeing them reunite. It was so sweet to see how much Michael looked up to Troy, and how much Troy cared for his little brother.
"Hey big guy!" Troy scooped him up into his arms and Michael threw his arms around Troy's neck, hugging him tightly.
"I miss you Troy!!!" Troy smiled and bounced the 4 year old on his hip.
"I missed you too buddy."
"Can we pway basketball?" Michael then asked with hope in his eyes.
"Of course! But first I think you have to say hi to someone." He turned Michael so he could see Gabriella, and his eyes lit up.
"Gabi!!!"
"Hey sweetie. Excited to play basketball with your brother?" she asked playfully and Michael nodded his head enthusiastically.
"Ok, why don't you go put your shoes on while I put my stuff upstairs."
"Otay!" Troy put him down and they all chuckled as Michael sprinted up the stairs.
About ten minutes later, Gabriella found herself in the kitchen watching Troy and Michael play basketball. She couldn't help but smile as Troy lifted Michael up so he could dunk the ball, even though she knew that Troy was still upset.
"So, how's he holding up?" Gabriella whipped her head around to see that Lucy had walked into the kitchen.
"He's ok," she sighed. "At this point it's not as much about the fact that they lost, but about the fact that the season is over. He misses it. Being here will be good for him, he'll be able to get his mind off of it." Lucy just nodded.
"What about you?"
"I'm fine. Being a Laker Girl isn't my life, so it hasn't been that bad."
"That's good, have you decided what you are going to do about next year?"
"No, I've thought a lot about it, but I need to talk to Troy before I make a decision, and right now anything related to the Lakers is a touchy subject."
"Well I'm sure you'll make the right decision," Lucy replied in an encouraging tone and Gabriella smiled. "Anyway, how has everything else been? Glad the school year is over?"
"You have no idea," she replied and Lucy chuckled. "Between playoffs, and finals, and Taylor…" Lucy cut off Gabriella by looking at her confused.
"Taylor? Your friend I met at the Christmas Party? The one that is dating Chad?"
"Yeah," Gabriella sighed. "We're not really on speaking terms, and we have some classes together, so it really sucked."
"What happened? You two seemed so close."
"We were. Then she implied that I'm only with Troy because it means I get to stay in a Beverly Hills mansion, and drive a luxury car, and that I cook because he will get mad if I don't and kick me out. Oh, and she pretty much added that Troy keeps me around because I'm like a maid, except for the fact that he can sleep with me," Gabriella replied in a bitter tone.
"Wow. Why would she say something like that?"
"I have no idea! I mean it is bad enough that she thinks our relationship isn't based on feelings, but then the fact that she actually thinks I'm the kind of person to be with a guy just because he is the NBA…it really hurts."
"Oh, I'm so sorry sweetie. Has she tried to apologize?" Gabriella shook her head.
"No, and she won't. She's too stubborn. I wouldn't be surprised if she still thought of me like that."
"Well if she does, she doesn't know you as well as a best friend should," Lucy replied in the tone that all mothers speak in when giving advice.
"I know, it just sucks because we've been friends for so long. I know that no matter what happens nothing will ever be the same as it was before. And in some ways, I don't really care. I have other people who I can tell anything too. I mean this one girl Sharpay, she was a Laker Girl too, and even though I've known her for less than a year, I feel like I can tell her things I can't tell Taylor. I just think it would be awful if such a long friendship ended on such a bad note."
"I understand what you are saying, and I'm sure everything will work out one way or another."
"I hope so," she mumbled, and before Lucy could reply they heard a voice coming from the foyer.
"I'm home!!!!"
"The girl always needs to make a grand entrance." Gabriella just giggled. A few seconds later the middle Bolton walked into the kitchen.
"Gabi!!!" Gabriella laughed as she went to hug her boyfriend's younger sister.
"Hey hun, how are you?"
"Great, except for the fact that finals are next week, but at least that means that I only have a week until summer," Chloe replied and Gabriella laughed at the way the 16 year-old spoke in a quick and gossipy manner.
"Well if it isn't my wonderful sister." They both looked to see Troy standing there.
"Hey loser." Troy just narrowed his eyes at his sister, who gave him a sarcastic smile.
"Where'd Michael go?" Lucy asked.
"Upstairs, he wants to show me his new Batman costume." The three couldn't help but laugh.
"Ok. Anyway, where have you been? School ended an hour ago," Lucy all of a sudden asked confused.
"Ooohh someone's in trouble," Troy teased. Lucy and Chloe glared at him as Gabriella just shook her head at her boyfriend's immaturity.
"I was studying in the library for my math final," she replied a little too quickly, turning back to her mother. Before Lucy could reply they heard Troy scoff. Lucy looked at him confused and Chloe narrowed her eyes.
"Some advice sis, next time you come home an hour late because you were making out with a football player in the back of the library, say you were working on a group project. Much more believable," Troy said amused. Lucy gasped, Chloe froze in place as Troy smirked and Gabriella shook her head.
"I knew it!" Lucy exclaimed, her eyes narrowing at Troy, who just laughed. She then turned to her daughter. "And you…well lie to me again and you are in serious trouble." Chloe just nodded, before Lucy smiled. "So who's this boy?" Chloe turned to her brother and glared at him, and he smirked.
"I hate you. You know that?"
"Yes, in fact, I do."
--
"This is pretty much where I learned how to play basketball," Troy informed is girlfriend as they walked through the park, which was the last stop of Gabriella's Albuquerque tour.
"Then I'm guessing you spent a lot of time here."
"That's for sure. I think it was here when I first decided that I wanted to play in the NBA," he replied while sitting down on the bench, and she did so as well. He immediately placed an arm around her and pulled her close. "Speaking of dreams, have you decided what you want to do yet?"
"No, I wanted to talk to you first. I mean I'm going to be cheering for you no matter what," she replied and he couldn't help but smile. "It just depends where you want me to do it from, the baseline or the stands."
"That's not my decision, as long as your cheering for me, I'm happy." Gabriella nodded. "It's really about making our relationship public."
"Truthfully, I like the way things are. I know there are times when we want to go out and do something but we can't, but I'm perfectly happy just spending time with you at home. At home we can have a romantic dinner without people staring at us. Plus, I feel that everyone we care about already knows, so why do we need to tell anyone else."
"So baseline it is?" She smiled and nodded, before he kissed her lightly. "I was hoping you'd choose the baseline." She just giggled. "So I guess we have to make the most of not being in LA, except after 3 weeks, we'll probably be pretty bored." She looked at him confused.
"Are you suggesting we go somewhere else?" He smiled and nodded. "Where?"
"Europe would be fun." Her eyes widened.
"Europe! We can't just jet off to Europe!"
"Why not? It will be romantic, it will get my mind off everything, and you will be in shopping heaven."
"You really are serious about this, aren't you?"
"Well how could I possibly say no to a romantic European vacation?" He smiled widely.
"So where do you wanna go?" She couldn't help but squeal, excited.
"God there are so many choices! How about you surprise me?"
"Ok, but can you narrow it down to a country?" She pondered for a second before her eyes lit up.
"Italy!"
"Ok," he chuckled.
"Yay! Oh my god you are the best boyfriend ever!"
"I try."
Please Review!!! I hope you liked it! And you know what is super cool? I'm on an airplane right now! Virgin America has Wi-Fi on the plane! I'm so excited. Sorry, I'm such a loser. Anyway, considering I have 3 more hours sitting here with nothing to do, I am going to start on the next chapter. So it will most likely be up tonight or tomorrow.