At some point during the night, Alex had managed to kick out everyone lurking around the house. Sharpay was furious, but somehow Alex tricked her into thinking Gabriella was sick. She promised she would pay any debts toward him later, but for now she was just going to lie in bed and think about the boy that had been on her thoughts all day. After convincing him her eyes never turned blue, and he was just seeing things, he finally agreed and left her with one thing Gabriella would forever cherish. His number. She's been squealing in excitement for hours, but she couldn't bring herself to program his number into her phone. How could he not think she was a creep? Firstly, she basically had a seizure in front of him, then, she made him think he was crazy. She was the crazy one, her eyes randomly changing color, her body blacking out? Not to mention the weird scene before by the pool. It was almost as if she could see things…before they actually happened. She was just a whole bunch of crazy. When did her life become so complicated?
"Gabs?" Her brother peeked his head inside her bedroom, his eyes roaming around her room. Gabriella groaned at his voice and threw her hand up, pushing all fingers down but one.
"Go away. Let me sleep." She hissed, pushing her head further into her pillow. She didn't have a dream last night that was out of the ordinary, which made Gabriella ponder everything. Maybe she imagined everything?
"You didn't just give me the finger, did you?" His voice became closer, but Gabriella did her best to drain out all the sounds. If he got any closer, she would surely rip his head off.
"Get out of my room!" She muffled a scream, quickly lifting her lazy head up to see him.
"Holy shit, Gabs. When did you get contacts?" He squinted his eyes and tilted his head in confusion. Before he could say anything else, she sprinted off her bed and closed up on her eye.
"Oh my god." She mumbled, pulled her skin down by her eye to get a better view. They were white, completely blending in with the rest of her eye. Now, she looked possessed.
Gabriella dragged her feet down the stairs, moaning in frustration. She was so tired, she could barely keep her abnormal eyes open.
"Morning angel." He joked, sipping on his orange juice. Gabriella hissed at him and sat down on the cold metal stool by the counter. "Decided to take out the weird contacts, I see."
She wanted to tell him they changed on their own, that they barely stayed brown now. But how could she? He would think she's crazy, just like she did herself.
"They were annoying me." She stuck with lying, it was easier.
"Since when do you wear glasses?" He noticed she was acting strange lately, but he didn't take much thought into it. What would he say? Hey sis, why are you acting like a freak? No. He couldn't.
"I don't. They are nonprescription?" She said, but it came out more like a question.
"Alright." He answered, shaking his head as he laughed. "So, any plans today?"
She smiled brightly and nodded her head, but when she answered, she went back to looking bored. "Sleep."
"Yeah, you could use it grumpy." He joked, taking another sip of his drink. "But hey, I'm having the basketball team over soon, so you might want to sleep somewhere else. It could be loud."
Gabriellas face lit up. Forget sleep. "You know what? I don't think I'm tired anymore." With that, she rushed out of the kitchen to her room to fix herself up, or at least look presentable. Basketball. Troy Bolton. Do the math.
She squealed, slamming the door behind her. Her legs had a mind of their own as her body jolted forward toward her closet. "What to wear, Gabriella?" She asked herself, pushing the clothes to the side. A groan escaped her lips as she kept looking. It looked like all her clothes were in the wash. Great.
Gabriella ran past her closet, stopping momentarily to look in the mirror. She had bags under her eyes, a clear sign of how much sleep she really needed.
"Not again…" She muttered, staring back at herself. Her eyes were now a shade of red. What was happening to her?
Gabriella closed her eyes shut and counted to 10 very slowly before opening them again. Still red.
"Fuck!" She sighed, looking away from the mirror. She ran to her dresser and grabbed her sunglasses that were neatly placed on top.
It was almost Summer, the glasses wouldn't seem odd.
She finally found a pair of jean shorts and a white tank top to slip over her bikini. Maybe the chlorine in the pool would magically change her eye color back. Her hair was tied up, some loose curls falling out of the ponytail.
"Gab-"Alex opened her door, stopping when he saw Gabriella. "What are you doing?"
"Going in the pool." She smiled, pushing past him to the hallway.
"Someone else's pool, right?" He hoped, following her as she walked downstairs.
"I can't go in my own pool?" She huffed, throwing her towel over her shoulder.
"Seriously? Do you want my friends to stare?"
Gabriella giggled. Of course not. Only Troy. "Why would they stare?" She asked, twirling a curl in her finger. Oh how she loved to act dumb.
"Gabriella, go to Sharpays house."
"Hmmm, nope." She grinned, skipping happily to the backyard.
Gabriella stared outside, suddenly frozen. They were there already? Suddenly, she was feeling nervous again.
"Sis, will you at least go outside now?" Alex pushed past her, sliding the screen door open. He immediately started talking to his friends as Gabriella searched for Troy. She smiled when she saw him sitting on the diving board, conversing with his friend Chad.
"Just go make conversation, Gabriella. Be the spontaneous girl you are." Gabriella mumbled, rolling her eyes after. That didn't sound so believable.
Gabriella went to step forward, but when she tried, her foot wouldn't leave its spot. "No, no, no." She shook her head, trying to mover her body. Before she could get a hold of herself, her eyes shut.
"Gabriella? Why haven't you been answering your cell?"
"I was sleeping, Shar."
"Evidently not if you're answering your house phone!"
"Look, I gotta go, I have people over."
"Don't you dare han-
Gabriella pressed the end button, smiling to herself before she finally walked outside.
She pulled her shorts off, flinging them to the side, and then took her tank top off. She wasn't aware that Troy was staring, his mouth slightly open. If she would've known, she wouldn't of jumped in the pool like an idiot.
"Gabriella." Alex hissed, kneeling over the edge. Gabriella looked at him confused, before he pointed to the side of her.
"Nice boobs, Montez!" Gabriella gasped, placing her hands over her exposed breasts.
Gabriella came back to Earth, relieved when her body was able to move. What the hell did she just picture in her mind?
Suddenly, Gabriella heard a loud piercing noise ring through her ears. She glanced to the side, shocked to see her house phone ring. She quickly pulled her sunglasses off, setting them carefully on the counter. She couldn't bring herself to answer the phone. It was all too weird.
Letting it ring, Gabriella ran out of the kitchen, smiling when she stepped into the fresh air.
"Gabriella, what the hell, answer the phone!" Alex yelled from the other side of the pool, his hands waving in the air. Gabriella gulped, but shook her head. "Gabi! It won't stop ringing! Answer it!"
Gabriella sighed loudly, turning her body to walk back into the kitchen. Maybe it wasn't Sharpay?
"Gabriella? Why haven't you been answering your cell?" She heard from the other end of the line, and she knew exactly who it was.
If she just says something else, it won't be like what she imagined.
"I was watching a movie." Gabriella lied, answering with the first thing that popped into her mind.
"Evidently not if you're answering your house phone!"
Gabriella gulped, feeling the house phone slip through her fingers.
"Don't you dare han-" Gabriella had dropped the phone by then, not being able to hear her last words.
She slowly walked outside, a horrified expression on her face. Alex looked at her weirdly, as did his friends around him.
"It was just Sharpay." She choked out, faking a smile. Alex nodded, getting back to his conversation.
Gabriella carefully sat at the edge of the pool, hanging her feet over the water. She stared at the clear water, her head throbbing once again. God dammit, these headaches were killing her.
"Hey." A deep, raspy voice exclaimed, and Gabriella snapped back, slightly happy to see Troy walking over to her. He sat down next to her, hanging his feet over as well.
"Hi." She said, not making eye contact with him.
"You alright?"
Gabriella nodded, sighing to herself. "When there's something wrong with you, that you can't explain, does it make you a lunatic?" Gabriella asked, turning to face Troy. Troy stared intently at her eyes, shocked to see them…pink. He didn't say anything, but just shook his head. Was she talking about the sudden change of eye color?
"Good to know." She frowned.
"Wanna go in the pool?" He asked after a moment of silence. Gabriella nodded, watching as he stood up and held out his hand. Gabriella smiled, grabbing it and feeling herself lift off the ground. "Ladies first." He grinned, motioning his hand toward the pool.
"Chicken." She joked, giggling as Troy laughed and walked over to the diving board. Gabriella pulled her tank off, followed by sliding down her jean shorts. Troy's mouth slightly opened, but after Chad laughed at him, he quickly closed it.
Gabriella stared down at the pool, looking closely at her reflection. Oh god, her eyes weren't brown. She couldn't make out the color, but the pigment wasn't dark.
"You getting in?" Troy yelled from the diving board, and Gabriella's head jerked up. She nodded, walking around to the steps, and getting in slowly.
Troy jumped in from the board, grinning when he came up and saw Gabriella swimming around the deep end already. He shook his hair out of his face, running a hand through it once.
"Afraid to get your hair wet?" Troy teased, smirking.
Gabriella rolled her eyes, immediately going under water. She came back up, a smug smile on her face.
"You know…" He said, swimming closely to her. "Your brother has been staring at us for quite some time."
Gabriella looked at her brother, sighing when she saw him looking right at them. "He's just being a brother."
"I know the feeling." He smiled, swimming circles around her. Gabriella giggled.
"You have siblings?"
"Two younger sisters."
"Ah, so you're the older, protective brother?"
Troy chuckled, but nodded. "I guess I am."
"Tell me more about your family." Gabriella said politely, watching as he grinned. Gabriella was always interested in other people's families, learning about what it really meant to be one.
"What do you want to know?" He rested his body on the edge of the pool, Gabriella soon doing the same.
"About your parents."
"Well, let's see. My mom and dad divorced about a year ago, so she took my sisters and left the state. I only see them in the Summer, so right now, it's just me and my dad." He looked down as Gabriella frowned. His family seemed just as complicated as hers.
"I'm sorry." She said sympathetically, patting him gently on the shoulder.
She quickly pulled her hand away, gasping when she felt a shock travel through her veins. She looked away from him, the scenery soon changing.
When everything was back, Gabriella gulped. She had the vision of Troy being shot, again. But this time, her eyes didn't seem to shut. It was quick.
"You okay?" Troy asked, reaching his hand out to her. Gabriella somehow felt his hand getting closer, and she moved away a little.
"Sorry." She apologized, backing away slowly. She noticed a shadow above her, and glanced up to see her brother kneeling down, looking very angry.
"Gabriella." He hissed, staring down at her.
Oh god. "Nice boobs, Montez!" It was happening.
She groaned, quickly covering her exposed breasts…that were not exposed? What?
"What the hell?" She growled, looking down at her bikini top, still attached to her body.
"Got ya!" She heard one of the idiots yell, and Gabriella's blood boiled. What assholes!
"You dick!" She shouted, quickly jumping out of the pool to chase Alex. He grinned, running around the edge.
"Montez, what's up with your eyes?" She was so sick of hearing that constantly.
"What's up with them?" She growled again, gritting her teeth at the random boy in front of her.
"They're white…"
Gabriella gasped, quickly covering her eyes. "That's funny, nice one." She turned around, her eyes still covered.
"Gabriella?" She heard Troy say, but she couldn't open her eyes. They were changing so much, she was like a rainbow. What was she supposed to tell him? 'I have rainbow contacts!' Psh, no.
"Yes?" She asked softly, turning her body back around.
"Can we go talk inside, please?"