"Yeah sure," Gabriella carefully removed her hands from her eyes, revealing her aberrant eyes to Troy.
She slowly followed him into the house, shutting the screen door behind her as they walked to the couches.
"Alright, I wasn't going to ask before…but well, it's kind of freaking me out…"
Gabriella swallowed the lump in her throat before reluctantly nodding. She wondered in her mind how this was going to go down, she just never imagined it happening right now.
"What's up with your eyes? I mean…they changed…again…except this time, they're white?"
"I-I…" She wanted to tell him how she felt about the situation, how this randomly started happening. But she couldn't…well, phrase it right?
"Are you sick or something, Brie?" He inquired, gradually moving his hand closer to hers. She was too overwhelmed with the sudden nickname he gave her, she couldn't think straight.
"I don't know…" She sighed, turning away from his gaze so only her profile could be viewed.
"It's just not normal…" At first, he thought they were contacts, even though he had no idea why she would ever want them, her eyes were beautiful. But after they changed pink, and then they magically turned white.
She wanted to scream at him for accusing her of not being normal, but he was right…she wasn't normal. Even if he didn't mean it like that, she still took it straight to heart; the heart that was slowly breaking.
"You don't think I know that, Troy? I'm just not an average person anymore…" Her legs straightened, her body lifted, her mouth twitched. She couldn't deal with this. Not right now.
"Gabriella…" He softly said, cautiously grasping onto her shaking hand.
She froze, her eyes immediately locking on her feet. She couldn't move them, and it wasn't because Troy was preventing her. She literally couldn't force them to go forward. It was happening again…the freaky shit was happening. And at the worst time possible.
"Troy…" She choked, using her muscles in her neck to try and twist her head around. No part of hers was functioning besides her teeth, jaw, and mouth.
"You know I didn't mean it like that," He stood up, their hands still intertwined.
"Then how did you mean it?" She was sure she would be crying if her tear ducts worked.
"Why won't you tell me what's going on with you?" Troy walked in front of her body, his ocean orbs piercing through her skin.
"Would you believe me if I told you I didn't know?" She mused, wishing she could see his reaction at the moment.
"Look at me Gabriella," He told her, using his free hand to caress the skin on her chin. He lifted it up, surprising Gabriella that he actually got her to move. He had control, yet she didn't? "I do believe you."
Gabriella sighed, opening her mouth to speak. "It scares me, Troy…I wanna know what's wrong with me..."
"Hey, hey…Why don't you go to the doctor? I'm sure there's an explanation for this."
Oh how she believed there was. Could doctors explain the dreams she had, the visions, the eyes? It didn't seem to have anything medical to do with it, just…paranormal.
"Until then…" She grinned, her eyes still locked on his. "Let's just say they're contacts, okay?"
He chuckled and nodded, removing his hands from her.
Almost instantly she felt her muscles loosen, and she slowly moved her hand forward. Why couldn't she move when he touched her? How come every time she was near him, something un-explainable happened?
"You wanna get back outside?" He pointed to screen door beside them, the voices of the basketball team being heard from inside. She wanted to spend more time with him, but she had a feeling if she didn't talk to Sharpay, she would be gutted.
"I actually have somewhere to be right now…I'll text you?" She felt satisfied saying that, actually being one of the few girls to have his number. Even though she still didn't program it into her phone…She had to do that, pronto.
"Sure…" He hesitated, awkwardly moving forward on the heel of his feet. "Bye, Brie."
He left her standing alone, smiling widely in front of her at his backside. Did she mention how much she adored his back? Well she did, a whole lot. But not more than the front view from the waist up, possibly even below... Just the view of his pecks, his tan, his abs…it all made her want to attack him with kisses; no matter how much her shyness took over. One word to explain it; hot.
Gabriella patiently waited on the edge of her bed, tapping her feet to an imaginable rhythm in her head. She texted Sharpay rather than call her, and invited her over for some girl time…without mentioning the fact that the whole basketball team was still in her backyard. Once she found that out, Gabriella would be even more screwed.
She could hear the sound of a car screeching against her driveway, the loud slam of the door bringing Gabriella's foot to a halt. Her body was tensing…her head started pounding.
"Shit." She muttered, just before her mind went blank.
"You're dead Gabriella Anne Montez! So fucking dead!" Sharpay screamed from outside the door, forcefully banging her fist against the wood. "Open the damn door before I kick it down!"
Gabriella laughed out loud, shaking her head. "Give it your best shot!" She gasped after, wondering where that came from. Just a minute ago she was scared shitless by Sharpays annoying tone.
"I'm getting your brother!"
Gabriella opened her eyes, relieved to be in the comfort of her own reality once again. These premonitions…these visions…were truly freaking her out.
Her head jerked up at the sound of footsteps pounding against her stairs, the noise getting closer by the minute.
"You got this…don't let her say the words…" She mumbled to herself, ready to stand up and unlock the door before Sharpay could state her small speech.
Just as she was about grab the doorknob, a sharp pain shot through her head.
"Fuck!" She squeaked, immediately placing her hands against either side of her head. The feeling was unbearable, worse than anything she ever felt. It was as if she was hit with a baseball bat in the head…twice.
"You're dead Gabriella Anne Montez! So fucking dead!" Sharpay screamed from outside the door, forcefully banging her fist against the wood. "Open the damn door before I kick it down!"
Gabriella desperately wanted to unlock it then, but her body fell to the ground, her forehead resting on the carpeted floor. "Sharpay!" She yelled in agony, shutting her eyes tightly.
"Gabriella? What's wrong?" Sharpay pressed her hand against the door, followed by her ear. She could hear Gabriella moaning, but it didn't sound so pleasant. "I'm getting your brother!" She told her, quickly running down the steps before Gabriella could respond.
Gabriella was in too much pain to think about Sharpay's answers, the same ones she pictured. She couldn't deny it anymore…She was seeing the future.
"Agh!" She yelped as another wave of pain shot through her head. Was her brain blowing up or something?
"Gabriella!" She heard the faint sound of her brother from outside the door, and she felt a sigh of relief. She needed someone to stop the pain…
"Alex..." She tried lifting her hand up to reach the knob, but when she removed her hand, her head began pounding against her other fingers.
"Gabriella, open the god damn door!"
"I can't…" She mumbled to herself, aware that no one would be able to hear.
"Gabriella!"
The voices were becoming fainter, to a point where she couldn't even understand them.
And that's when her eyes shut again, her hands lazily draping over her body as she lay there unconscious.
"Troy?"
"What are you doing here, Gabriella?"
"Where exactly is 'here'?"
"You're supposed to be saving me…Not wasting time."
"What are you talking about?"
"I don't have much time left…"
"What do you mean-"
Gabriella gasped, lifting her body up so she was sitting on the floor. "Did you just pour water on me?" She hissed, wiping her drenched hair away from her face.
"You fainted…" Sharpay nervously said, glancing around the room at Alex, and back to Gabriella.
"Gabs…did you have another…seizure?" He dragged out the word seizure, as if she was a little girl that didn't understand the meaning.
"No." She answered, picking herself off the ground. Did she just have a seizure?
"Are you okay?" Alex grabbed her arms, steadying her body as she nodded. "Do you need to lie down?"
Gabriella shook her head, following him as he set her on the bed, where she eventually laid down anyway.
"How'd you get in…?" She softly asked, resting her head against the pillow.
Alex slightly chuckled, his worry for Gabriella fading as she managed to keep the conversation going. He didn't know whether to call 911, drive to the hospital, or just let her rest. "Sharpay has mad skills with a bobby pin."
Gabriella giggled, closing her eyes and breathing heavily. "Thanks, Shar."
Sharpay smiled, but Gabriella couldn't see. She just felt her body lift up a little, and then sink back down into her comforter.
Alex knelt down in front of the two girls, his arms placed on the bed as he rested his chin on his hands. He smiled, watching as his sister was softly breathing. "I'm glad you're okay, Gabs…You kind of...well… scared the shit out of us."
Gabriella grinned, bringing her hand up to her forehead. "I'm just dehydrated…That's all…"
Alex looked at Sharpay, and Sharpay nodded in understanding. She jumped off the bed, walking downstairs into the kitchen.
"It didn't sound like it, Gabs. I never heard of people screaming like you did because they didn't get enough water to drink."
"Alex…please…I don't want to talk about it, understand?" She cracked one eye open, watching as he rolled his eyes.
"What's going on with you, Gabriella? You haven't been acting like yourself lately." He angrily stood up, his lips pursed.
Gabriella opened both eyes, sitting up on her bed. "Maybe that's just the effect of being 17!" She spat back, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Are you fucking serious? That's the dumbest shit I ever heard!"
"Get the hell out of my room, Alex!" She grabbed her pillow from behind her, tossing it vigorously at her brother. The impact was so hard; he nearly fell backwards from the force.
He stared at his sister in disbelief, glaring viciously at her. "I'm not fucking leaving until you tell me what's wrong with you." He told her, standing his ground.
"Fuck you!" She growled, reaching behind her back to get another pillow. A hand grabbed hers, stopping her from grasping the pillow. "Get off of me!" She squirmed, pulling her hand away from him quickly. It surprised her how strong she was to be able to overpower her brother, the muscular jock.
"Gabriella, calm down!" He demanded, extending his hand out to her again. She pushed it aside, shaking her head.
She was furious. And she didn't even know the real reason why.
"Just leave!" She sobbed, banging hard against his chest. He pulled her forward into a hug, allowing her to keep punching at him until she eventually stopped, her body feeling tired. "I'm scared Alex…I don't know what's wrong with me…" She cried out, letting the tears drip onto his shirt. This whole moment was reminding her of before with Troy, causing her to sob harder.
He soothed her, patting her back comfortingly. "It's okay, Gabs…Let it out…"
And she did.
She cried into his chest as Sharpay watched from the side, frowning at her best friend. She wished she could help. She just didn't know how to.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier…" She looked away from the t.v, pouting up at Alex seated next to her on the couch. After the incident Alex kicked out his team, even Sharpay, after she protested of course, and brought Gabriella downstairs. He decided a good movie would ease the tension, and maybe get her to talk to him. He just wanted to know what was wrong with his sister. It was worrying him seeing her like this.
"You don't have to say sorry, Gabs. Everyone has some anger they need to get out…" He grinned, gently nudging her on her side. She nodded, looking back at the movie.
"I want to tell you, Alex…I just don't want you to think I'm crazy." She said honestly, shocked that she actually said it out loud.
"Nothing can make me think you're crazy, sis. I've put up with you my whole life…" He joked, grinning again. This time Gabriella giggled a little.
She quickly stopped after she remembered what she wanted to tell him. Everything. "I'm serious Alex…You're the only person I can really count on right now…I can't deal with it if I lose you." She looked down at her hands, taking in the shakiness of them.
"Gabriella…You will never lose me." He smiled, patting her leg.
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Gabriella sighed heavily, closing her eyes for a moment. She opened them back up, feeling as ready as ever. "Ever since I turned 17…strange things have been happening…"
He raised his eyebrow, scooting closer to her. He suddenly felt more interested. "Like?"
"Like…having these weird dreams that make no sense…"
"Everyone has dreams Gabs."
"Not like these…" She sighed again, nervously playing with her fingers. "I just freeze up at any time, reliving the same dream over and over again. From your view, I guess it looks like a spaz attack…But I just see a dream…"
Alex gulped, nodding. "What's the dream, Gabriella?"
"I don't remember…that's the issue." She lied, not really wanting to tell him about Troy. That could stay personal.
"That doesn't make any sense…"
She laughed sarcastically. "You're telling me." She lifted her head up, looking at him directly in the eye.
"What color are my eyes, Alex?"
He looked closer, shaking his head in confusion. "They're brown, why?"
"They look exactly like the eyes you always see?"
He squinted, trying to see what she meant. And he did. They were sort of lighter, an amber shade. "No-"
"They change on their own…Like some damn rainbow, Alex." She blinked a few times, groaning. "I told you I used contacts, but I really don't. I've never used a contact lens in my entire life."
His eyes widened, but he couldn't speak. What the hell was he supposed to say to that?
"It's randomly changing on its own…any color it wants to. I don't know why, and I don't know how."
"So the white…the red…It's all real?"
She nodded, looking away from him. "I haven't even told you the worst part yet."
"Which is?"
This would be the one that decided her fate. Either he would send her to a mental hospital, or actually believe her. Even if it sounded fucking crazy. "I think I can see the future…"
The sudden reaction from Alex gave Gabriella her answer.