Thanks for the lovely review for the last chapter guys, but seriously only four, I'm starting to lose faith here guys, why should I carry on when only a few people bother reviewing? It doesn't take that long, it would just make me very happy.
But, now that I'm done ranting, here's chapter six, enjoy!
Meeting Jasmine
"Thank you again for coming Mrs Montez and if there's anything either of you are worried about please don't hesitate to contact me."
"It was my pleasure Mrs Bearn, at least now I know how Gabi is feeling and hopefully now that my husband has completely moved out we can get ourselves back to some sort of normality, right Gabi?"
"I hope so Mum, I really miss the relationship we used to have, I just want it back."
"Me too, but I promise you sweetie, we'll get there. Thank you again Mrs Bearn, for this meeting and for looking after Gabi recently it seems she keeps things bottled up inside more than I first realised."
"I'm only doing my job Mrs Montez, but thank you all the same." Mrs Bearn and Mrs Montez shook hands before Gabriella led her Mum back out to the front of the school to her car.
"So, you coming back tonight?" Maria asked, as she unlocked her car and put her bag inside.
"Could I maybe come back tomorrow? The guys have got a game tonight and Troy is going to bring Jasmine and introduce her to the others, I think he kinda wants me to be there, is that okay with you?"
"I don't see why it isn't, it gives me a chance to tidy the place up a bit, get things ready for your return, it's been really quiet without you around, I've missed you Gabi and I'm sorry I didn't see how much all of this was affecting you."
"It's okay Mum, you know now and that's what matters most, could we maybe have your special Spaghetti Bolognese tomorrow night for tea? I really miss your cooking."
"I think I could arrange that, why don't you invite over Troy and Jasmine as well? They've been kind enough to have you live at theirs, I think the least we could do is give them dinner for the evening, what do you think?"
"That's a great idea Mum; I'll have to check with Troy first though he might have to work."
"Well I think you could do that now, I see an unknown person walking in our direction." Maria said, as she pointed to a boy behind Gabriella.
Gabriella turned round to indeed see Troy walking in their direction. "Hey, I thought you were with the others, I told you I'd meet you in class."
"I was, but then they started talking about tonight, so I decided to come and see if you were finished yet and as I turned the corner you were coming out here, so here I am." Troy stated like a child who had just accomplished something big.
Gabriella laughed at how proud Troy was of himself for finding her. "Okay, fair enough, anyway, Mum, this is my new friend Troy, Troy, this is my Mum Maria."
"It's nice to meet you Maria."
"Likewise Troy." Maria responded, as she and Troy shook hands.
"Oh, Troy I have a question for you, Mum and I would like to know if you and Jasmine would like to come over for dinner tomorrow night? Mum's cooking her special Spaghetti Bolognese."
"I'm not working, so that would be lovely, thank you Maria."
"It's not a problem Troy, you and Jasmine have been looking after Gabi for me recently, the least I can do is cook you dinner, I'll see you tomorrow at say six?"
"Yeah, that sounds great to me, thank you so much Maria."
"It really isn't a problem Troy, anyway guys I need to get back to work, I'll see you tomorrow, I love you Gabi."
"I love you too Mum." Gabriella said, as she and Maria hugged before Maria got in her car and drove off.
"You not going home 'til tomorrow then?" Troy asked, as they started to make their way inside.
"No, I kinda though you wanted me with you after tonight's game, if you don't its fine, I can always go home early."
"Brie its fine, I do want you there tonight, I'm kinda used to you being there."
"Yeah well if you hadn't made me stay off school on Wednesday you wouldn't be used to it, would you?"
"Brie, will you stop moaning about that? You could barely stand up without falling over because you were so tired, there was no way you'd be able to survive the day at school, we had work, it's not like we missed anything. Besides, if you'd of come in you'd of been alone because I would've kept Jasmine at home whether you were there or not."
Troy had woken up on Wednesday morning to his daughter's cries and upon entering her room had found her nose a little runny and a tired look in her eyes. By the time he'd quietened her down and given her some medicine they were running late anyway and Gabriella hadn't even woken up yet, so Troy made the decision that they'd all stay at home and catch up on sleep.
"Yeah I guess you're right, at least she's better now, I'm not gonna stop moaning though, all we did that day was stay in bed, we even did our work in bed, I've never stayed in bed all day, come to think of it, I've never been allowed."
"Just shush will you? You and I both know that Wednesday did us all the world of good, so shut it Montez!"
"You should not have said that Bolton! You so should not have said that." Gabriella responded, as Troy took off running knowing she'd get him back somehow or another.
TGTGTGTG
"Gabwi!" Jasmine shouted, as she ran through to the living room where Gabriella was packing the last of her things to take home tomorrow.
"Hey Jazzy, how ya doin'?" She asked the young girl, as she picked her up and sat her on her lap.
"Me good, you do my hair? Daddy getting changed."
"I think I can do that, how would you like it done? How about I do two little plaits for you?"
"Yes pwease."
"Okay then you go and get you brush and hair bands and then come back here okay?"
"Okay Gabwi." Jasmine said, as she slipped off Gabriella's lap and ran towards her bedroom.
Ten minutes later Jasmine's hair was plaited and she and Gabriella were ready to go, they were just waiting on Troy.
"Gabwi I'm bored."
"I know sweetie, I'm sure your Dad will be done pretty soon."
"Up pwease." Jasmine requested, as she turned to Gabriella and held her arms up in the air.
"Okay, come here little one." Gabriella picked Jasmine up and rested her on her right hip, allowing Jasmine to bury her head in the crook of Gabriella's neck.
"You aren't tired already are you Jazzy? We haven't even got there yet." Troy's voice was what caused Gabriella to look up from the little girl in her arms.
She smiled. "She's not tired just bored 'cause you were taking so long. What have you been doing?"
"Sorry Jazzy," Troy apologised, as he ran a hand up and down his daughter's back. "Daddy didn't mean to take so long he was just thinking about his friends meeting you, he's not sure they'll like you as much as Gabi does."
Jasmine simply turned round and held her arms out for Troy to take her from Gabriella, completely missing the underlying worry in her father's voice, something Gabriella had picked up on.
"Troy, you need to stop worrying, I'm sure the gang will love Jasmine just as much as I do and won't think of you any differently either. But if they do, we leave, come back here and forget about it because if they can't accept that you're the best Dad Jasmine could ever ask for no matter what your age, then they really aren't great friends in the first place."
Troy shot Gabriella a thankful smile, placed a soft kiss on her forehead, took hold of her hand and led her and his daughter out of the flat to see how Jasmine would be accepted.
TGTGTGTG
The Wildcats had won, something they pretty much always did and now the gym had erupted into cheers, with a sea of red and white covering the floor.
"Daddy, I need a wee." Jasmine's small voice brought Troy back from his daydream of his days of being out on the court.
"Okay sweetie, Brie do you mind taking her? I was going to go and congratulate the guys."
"No it's fine, come on Jazzy." Troy watched, as Gabriella picked Jasmine up and then left the gym in the direction of the toilets, holding Jasmine close to her, as the small girl seemed to be scared of the growing crowd around her. Troy smile as he watched Gabriella's protectiveness over his daughter, he would deny this to anyone who asked, but he really liked Gabriella.
Troy made his way down the bleachers towards the gang, who were now some of the last people left in the gym, and joined the girls and Ryan in congratulating Zeke and Chad in their win.
"Congratulations guys! That was a great game!"
"Troy! Dude, I didn't even know you were here, thanks for coming man!"
"Chad, it's you first game since I started here, I wasn't gonna miss it now was I?"
"No I guess not, where did you and Gabi disappear to? The girls saw you come in, but you didn't go and sit with them like Gabi normally does, what happened?"
"We got here kinda late and just took the first seats we came across, sorry girls."
"It's okay Troy; we saw you arrive and just wondered where you'd disappeared to, where is she now for that matter? And who was that little girl that was with you? She looks a lot like you."
"Yeah, that's something I need to talk to you all about. You see I lied to you about why I came here, it was for a fresh start and I have fallen out with my parents, but I only fell out with them because my girlfriend was pregnant. Long story short, the little girl who was with us is my daughter Jasmine, her Mum died giving birth to her and now I'm all she's got, we moved here for a fresh start, away from everything that would remind us of Jess. I'm sorry guys."
The whole group was silent, they hadn't expected to hear that, the thought hadn't even crossed their minds, now with the truth laid out in front of them; no one knew what to say.
Luckily for everyone Jasmine and Gabriella arrived back from the toilet and Jasmine was eager to tell Troy what she'd just seen.
"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"
"Hey pretty girl, what's up?" Troy picked Jasmine up and swung her round in his arms, happy for the distraction from the awkward moment.
"We saw a big cat, he gave me hug!"
"Really wow, that's great!" Troy exclaimed, as he looked over at Gabriella for an explanation.
"It was just the mascot, he was in the corridor and Jasmine liked the look of him so we went to get a closer look and he gave her hug, it was funny to see how small she is against him. How's it going?"
"It's not, none of them have said anything since I told them, I don't think they know what to say."
"It looks like they do now." Gabriella said, as she gestured towards the others who had all turned in their direction, looking as if they had something to say.
"Troy we're so sorry about her Mum, no one should ever have to go through that, especially someone of you age, we're so sorry." Taylor spoke on behalf of all the group, well most of them.
"Thanks guys, it means a lot, Jasmine means the world to me and means a lot to know you guys except her and me as a dad, so thank you."
"It's kinda hard to not except her, she's very cute, I just wish I could speak for all of us, I'm sorry Troy, Chad won't come over."
"I'm gonna go talk to him, Jazzy can you go to Gabi for a minute and speak to Daddy's other friends, is that okay?"
Jasmine nodded shyly and held her arms out towards Gabriella so that she could take her from Troy. Troy kissed Jasmine on the head, before turning round and walking over to Chad to see if he could find out what about his two year old daughter was bothering his new friend so much.
TGTGTGTG
Gabriella was glad she was staying that extra night at Troy's, his conversation with Chad hadn't gone well, but no one knew why.
Taylor and Gabriella stood with a tired Jasmine and watched as the two boys seemed to have a serious conversation. They had watched as things had started to get heated between the two and before they knew it, the boys were walking off in different directions, both looking very angry.
They had shared confused looks before each following their respective guys, Taylor followed Chad to the changing rooms and Gabriella and a now asleep Jasmine followed Troy out of the gym completely.
The drive home had been completely silent and it was Gabriella who had put Jasmine to bed when they'd arrived because Troy had walked straight through to his bedroom and hadn't come out since.
She'd phoned Taylor and asked her if Chad had told her what had happened, but apparently he hadn't said anything either, not about the argument anyway. She'd told Gabriella how Chad hadn't said a word to her until they arrived back to his, at which point he'd shyly asked Taylor to just hold him. Taylor explained how she'd never seen this side of Chad before and done exactly how he'd asked in fear of upsetting him more than he already seemed to be.
Gabriella tried to help Taylor understand, what about tonight would've upset Chad so much, but she couldn't come up with anything. She'd told Gabriella that if Chad was this upset, she suspected Troy would be to. Chad wasn't the type of guy to get upset over anything and she had a feeling Troy wasn't either, which is why she felt that he would be upset as well.
Taylor told Gabriella that if she tried to talk to Troy, she'd do her best with Chad, but she suspected neither of them would talk. She told Gabriella to just let it pass for a little while and sooner or later the guys would sort it out of their own accord.
So now, Gabriella stood outside Troy's closed bedroom door and took a deep breath before going in. She wasn't sure she'd be able to get him to talk so the best thing she could do was just be there for him, the exact same thing Taylor was doing for Chad, and the exact same thing Troy had been doing for her.
As she stepped inside she saw Troy sat on the edge of his bed, his elbows leaning on his legs and his head in his hands. He was facing away from her so Gabriella walked round to that side of the bed and knelt down in front of him in an attempt to get his attention.
"Troy, what happened back there? I spoke to Taylor, and Chad won't tell her anything either, he just went really quiet and asked her for a hug. She has no idea what's happening, but suspects it isn't good, we just have no idea what. I'm not gonna try and get you to talk to me Troy, I can tell this has really upset you, but if you wanna talk, I'm here, just like Taylor is for Chad. I'm gonna go back and sleep on the couch tonight, if you want me you know where I am." Gabriella gave Troy's knee's a slight squeeze, before getting up and making her way towards the door.
"Wait!" Troy stopped Gabriella just as she made it to the door. "Don't go, please stay in here, I don't wanna be by myself tonight. I can't tell you what happened in the gym, I'm still trying to take it all in, it was really scary, he just blew off at me and walked off. If I'm by myself tonight I'll just lay awake and think, please Gabriella stay with me."
Gabriella turned round and made her way back over to Troy, where she once again knelt down in front of him. He sounded so shy, like Taylor said Chad had and Gabriella knew that whatever had happened between the two boys, it had really got them both thinking.
"Troy, look at me please. Troy, just lift your head and look me in the eye, please." Gabriella's voice was calm and soft and she gently took hold of Troy's hands, as she waited for him to look at her.
When he did, the shyness and vulnerability that was in his voice were also present in his eyes. "This has really got you thinking, hasn't it?" Gabriella asked, as she gave Troy's hands a tight squeeze.
Troy nodded. "I'm so confused right now Brie, what Chad said, it didn't make much sense, but it really got me thinking."
"What did he say that got you thinking? Was there anything in specific?" Gabriella was careful to keep things simple, knowing Troy had a lot running through his mind to answer complicated questions.
"He said something about it not being fair, something about Jasmine still being alive and yet they don't wanna see her, he just kept going on saying how it wasn't fair. When I asked him what wasn't fair, he flipped and left, I'm so confused Brie."
"I know you are honey, but I really have no idea what to tell you, other than to forget about it for now, sleep on it, let it lie for a bit and that way you and Chad have both had a chance to think things through. Why don't you jump in the shower? You can stand under the hot water, wash everything away and just relax for a bit. I'm gonna get changed, tidy round the flat, lock up, then I'll meet you back here and we can watch some telly and relax together before bed, sound good?"
Troy nodded and placed a kiss on Gabriella's forehead, before helping her up and then making his way towards his bathroom.
TGTGTGTG
She was cuddled against him and he was still asleep, she could feel his even breathing lifting her head up and down as it lay comfortably on his chest. So then why, if he was still asleep, was there movement behind her on the bed?
She rolled slightly to her right, careful not to wake Troy and found Jasmine trying to climb onto the bed.
"Jazzy sweetheart, what are you doing here?" Gabriella whispered, as she moved further across the bed and helped Jasmine up.
"Sceawy dweam, Daddy was shouting, like at the big school."
"Aw sweetie, Daddy wasn't shouting at you, him and Chad were both very upset over something, but it's okay now. Did they scare you earlier?"
Jasmine nodded, as she snuggled herself closer to Gabriella. "Sweetie, you know your Daddy would never shout at you like that, him and Chad were just upset, Chad never normally shouts like that either, okay? They would never scare you on purpose."
"Is Daddy okay?"
"He's fine, he's asleep now, like we should be, so you wanna stay here or go back to your own bed?"
"Stay here pwease."
"Okay honey, but you need to stay really quiet in the morning and cuddle with me if you want to cuddle, not Daddy, I think it's best if he rests, okay?"
"Okay Gabwi." Jasmine's answer was followed by a yawn and pretty soon afterwards she was sound asleep like Troy.
Gabriella laid awake for a while after that, her left hand gently running through Troy's hair and her right gently running up and down Jasmine's back. She really had no idea what had happened between Troy and Chad in the gym, but what she did know was that she was growing incredibly fond of the small family that had come into her life only a short time ago.
TGTGTGTG
"Gabwi? Is your Mummy nice?"
"Of course she is sweetie, just like your Daddy." Gabriella did her best to stop Jasmine's fears, as she undid her seat belt and lifted her out of Troy's truck.
"Jazzy I told you earlier, Gabi's Mummy is lovely just like Gabi is herself, so you have no need to be scared, okay?"
"Okay Daddy." Jasmine still wasn't sure about meeting a new person and wanted to be in her Daddy's arms as she did, so she held her arms out to Troy and waited for him to take her from Gabriella's arms into his own.
Gabriella took her bag from Troy and led them up her driveway and onto her front porch where she stopped and turned round to look at them.
"You ready?" She asked, as she dug her hand into her bag to find her keys.
Troy adjusted Jasmine on his left hip as his right hand raised up and cupped Gabriella's face. "Brie, I've met your Mum, she's lovely and I really want to get to know her because I really want to get to know you, and I have a funny feeling you two are gonna start becoming a package again before long, so if I wanna get to know one of you, I have to get to know the other. Why are you even worried? We're the ones who have been invited over, shouldn't we be worried?"
"Yeah you're right, you should, but you're not, and I'm just being stupid." Gabriella said, as she turned round to unlock the door, but was stopped as Troy grabbed her free hand.
"You, Gabriella Montez could never be stupid, you hear me?" Gabriella ducked her head, as a crimson coloured blush ran onto her face, giving Troy the opportunity to plant a not so subtle kiss onto her head.
The flirting was obvious and they both knew it.
TGTGTGTG
"Maria that was lovely, thank you so much."
"It's my pleasure Troy, like I said yesterday, you and Jasmine have been taking care of Gabi recently, this was the least I could do in return."
"I wasn't about to let Gabi carry on the way she was, things could've been a lot worse if I did."
"Will you two stop talking about me as if I'm not here, and maybe pay more attention to the fact your daughter has spaghetti and spaghetti sauce everywhere Troy."
Troy looked over to Jasmine to find that she had spaghetti sauce all over her face and spaghetti itself all over the table and floor.
"Jazzy, what are you doing? Look at the mess you've made, I think you should say sorry to Maria for making the mess."
"Sorry Mawia."
"It's okay honey, how about you come with me and we'll get you cleaned up and find some ice cream, while your Daddy and Gabi tidy up?"
Jasmine nodded her head furiously and looked at Troy for the go ahead, something Maria was looking for as well.
"That is okay with you Troy?"
"Yeah it's fine, Jazzy can you say thank you to Maria please?"
"Thank wou Mawia."
"That's okay sweetie, come on, let's go see what I've got." Maria lifted Jasmine out of her chair and took her through to the kitchen for a wash and some ice cream.
"Remind again why you were so worried Montez?" Troy asked, as they tidied up.
Gabriella laughed. "It's so crazy, Jasmine is such a quiet little girl and yet she excepted me and Mum just like that, we could have been anyone for all she knew."
"Yeah, but you weren't, you're Maria and Gabriella Montez, an amazing business woman and an incredibly, beautiful and talented young lady, one I really want to get to know better."
Gabriella once again ducked her head, as the same crimson blush made its way onto her face.
"Stop doing that," Troy said, as he gently hocked a finger under her chin and made her look up at him. "You are all of those things, and I really would like to get to know you better, so stop blushing and get used to it, there's a lot more where that came from."
Gabriella felt her cheeks getting hotter, but managed to keep eye contact with Troy. "I'm sorry, but no one has ever complimented me like that before, especially not someone my own age."
"Yeah, well start getting used to it, because I mean it Gabriella, I want to get to know you so much more than I already do, okay?"
Gabriella nodded her head and allowed Troy to gently lean forward and press a soft kiss to her lips. It wasn't anything big, just a simple peck, but to them, it meant the world.
To Gabriella it meant she was taking that first step to growing in confidence and stepping out of her boundaries.
And to Troy, to Troy it meant that he was finally able to let go of the fact that Jessica was gone, but most importantly he'd found someone who not only loved him for being him, but loved Jasmine as well, and that, that meant the world.
TGTGTGTG
There it is guys, chapter six, out in super quick time, are you proud of me?
I'll TRY and update before Christmas, but if I don't, I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and enjoy the holidays :)
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! THANK YOU!