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Troy helplessly watched as Gabriella expertly lost him again, for the millionth time that week, as she weaved in between other East High students and then eventually vanished from his view just as the lunch period began. He had thought to catch her through the element of surprise by waiting for her at her locker but Gabriella had spotted him before she got within reaching distance of him and turned on her heel and darted away from him, away to some unknown place she had been hiding at during the past week at lunch. 'Shit,' cursed Troy at the situation, at himself, at everything that was going on at that very moment. 'She hasn't talked to me since Monday and now it's Friday and I'm getting desperate.'
He spotted a familiar pair of girls walking his way, the darker of the two glaring at him as she realized that her best friend isn't at her locker and was probably chased away by the brown haired boy standing there now. "Why don't you leave her alone Troy?" asked Taylor as she came to a stop and placed her hands on her hips as she stared at him. "You've done enough already."
Troy shook his head. "I haven't done nearly enough Taylor, that's the point. Brie still doesn't understand how much I care for her."
Taylor scoffed at this. "I know you did not just say that you care for her. That's complete bullshit Bolton. If you cared at all for my best friend, you wouldn't have draped yourself around Sharpay on Monday, you wouldn't still be seen with her, not after declaring yourself to be all about Gabriella. You can tell you lost in that one stupid move can't you? That's why you're trying to pull desperate moves now."
"Wait, has she made a decision then? I lost?" questioned Troy, alarmed at this possibility. "But it's only been a week!"
"She doesn't need that much time to tell that you are a playa," returned Taylor before she began walking down the hall but stopped shortly after when she realized Kelsi wasn't coming with her. "Kels, are you coming?"
Kelsi looked at Taylor and then back to Troy, not knowing for once what to do. She started walking towards Taylor but stopped as she felt a gentle grasp on her right arm, turning her around and making her look up into Troy's blue eyes that were filled with a great deal of pain and sadness. Kelsi sighed and turned her face to look at Taylor, who was expectantly looking at her. "Go on without me, I'll be there in a few," called out Kelsi, seeing the roll of the eyes Taylor had before she shrugged and walked off.
"Thank you," whispered Troy, not all that surprised that his voice was soft, a true reflection of his feelings at the moment.
"I don't even know why I'm doing this Troy but I know there must be some part of the Troy that Gabriella began to fall for somewhere inside you still. I've always been a sucker for you two," confessed Kelsi, clasping her hands in front of her body as she and Troy began walking down the hall to take a seat on some steps of a nearby stairwell.
Troy let silence blanket them for a few moments before he dragged in a few deep breaths and turned his attention back Kelsi. "So Gabriella has actually made a decision?"
Kelsi shook her head slowly, not that surprised to see relief cross Troy's features at this denial. "Not by a long shot but I have to tell you, that stunt you pulled on Monday, not the smartest thing you've ever done Troy."
"I know," groaned Troy, putting his head in his hands. "I've hit myself a thousand times over about that. I honestly don't know what came over me except for the need to try to get Gabriella to realize her true feelings for me."
"By making her think you're interested in Sharpay? That's a bit too twisted Troy," returned Kelsi.
"Stupid guy?" offered Troy. "I know it was retarded, I'm not going to pretend otherwise but I definitely didn't think she would be this upset over it. I mean, it's not like we're in a relationship, I'm not cheating on her."
Kelsi was quiet for a few moments as she decided on what she should and should not say just then. "You're right Troy, you aren't in a relationship and you aren't cheating on her, now," Kelsi managed to say as she watched Troy's expression change from confusion to almost anger.
"I would never!" protested Troy, somewhat surprised that he didn't find himself even more outraged at this suggestion. "Kelsi, you know me better than that, Gabriella knows me better than that!"
"We did, I agree, but I think that Gabriella isn't so sure now," revealed Kelsi, somewhere in her mind wondering if she was telling Troy too much. "Look, I can't tell you more than I already have Troy but I want you to stop and think and figure out if Gabriella really is the young woman you want in your life, if you still deeply care for her, even love her. If you do, I suggest you take a better look at what you are doing now with Sharpay and try to fix things soon. If you don't, just walk away and stop playing with her feelings."
"You really are serious, aren't you? That she thinks I'll cheat on her?" asked Troy, maintaining eye contact with Kelsi as she got up to go back down the few steps in front of them. "That's why she's been cold shouldering me?"
Kelsi nodded her head in confirmation. "That's the impression and I'm not going to say anything more on this Troy. Just please, give what I said some thought. I adore you two as a couple but not at the expense of broken hearts. I have to go, Jason is waiting for me."
"Thank you Kels, really," called out Troy, seeing a small smile on the petite girl's face before she ducked through the doors of the stairwell. 'Gabriella has a fear of me cheating? She's been hurt and hiding from me because she is worried of me doing that if we are a couple? But she knows I'm not like that, right? Then again, do I even know her well enough as she stands today to know for sure she knows that I'd be faithful to her?'
Troy shook his head to try to clear his confused thoughts but wasn't able to lose them at all. He stood up and walked out of the stairwell himself, stopping at his locker to grab his lunch before heading into the noisy jungle they called the cafeteria to attempt to drown out the conflicting thoughts in his head.
Gabriella sat on the edge of her bed, dressed in sweats and a favorite music band t-shirt, as she stared at three picture frames on her bedside table. The newest one contained a picture of the entire gang who was there at the picnic not so long ago, with Gabriella sitting on the ground next to Taylor and Sandy both with Tristan and Troy both nearby among everyone else. On either side of that frame were picture frames that contained one picture of Gabriella with each guy who currently occupied her mind, Troy and Tristan. The picture of her and Tristan came from over the summer while they were at Universal Studios Hollywood while the one of her and Troy was taken after the triple win day, both decked out in East High colors.
She felt a sad smile tug at her lips as she continued to look at the pictures and relived the memories, felt the happy feelings she felt at that time, wishing she could turn back the clock and really relive them. "But which one Gabriella?" she wondered out loud.
Although the sun was down, it was still a hot L.A. night, which didn't surprise either Tristan or Gabriella as they walked hand in hand around the top level of Universal Studios Hollywood. They had spent most of the day riding rides, even the Revenge of the Mummy ride that Tristan had to drag Gabriella on. Now, both were content to just walk around and talk, relearning things about each other as so much had passed between last fall and this summer.
"So you like Albuquerque huh? I didn't think you'd be able to adjust after living in Los Angeles," commented Tristan as he looked over at Gabriella who had a soft smile on her face now.
"It is quite a bit different but I've made some amazing friends there, met some very special people," confessed Gabriella. "It isn't so bad."
"Special people huh? I'm sensing a guy in there, somewhere," said Tristan, knowing it would be too good to be true to know that Gabriella hadn't dated someone since they were together, like he hadn't dated.
Gabriella looked over at him and her smile changed from wistful to a bit sad. "I did meet someone Tristan but we were never in a relationship. To be honest, we were headed there, but then summer came, my internship came, and we decided to keep it casual. I meant it when I told you three weeks ago when we first met up again that I was unattached. You didn't think I'd allow myself to cheat on a guy back home do you?"
Tristan felt the pain of that remark immediately and Gabriella saw what her careless remark had done to him, his hurt easily read off his face. "God Tristan, I didn't mean anything by it, honest. I wasn't thinking."
Tristan shook his head. "No, I deserved that, reminds me of the stupidity I had in the last year. I really am sorry about that Ella, I really am. As soon as you moved, it made it that much clearer to me what a jerk I was to you, for cheating, for pressuring you. I've seriously tried to change, if not for you but for myself. I realized what a true idiot I was for messing everything up."
"It was meant to be though Tristan. If it hadn't happened the way it had, we would have been breaking up a short time after when my mom and I moved anyway," replied Gabriella. "Thank you for the apology though, that means a lot. I do see that you've changed Tristan, I can see it in your eyes and your behavior. I think you really have grown up since we were a couple."
"I'm just happy you're more mature than most girls our age, to give me this second chance to even take you out. I thought for sure you'd slap me that first time we met those weeks ago at the party Sandy took you to. I'm glad you didn't though, I have to admit that," stated Tristan.
"As tempting as it was, and maybe this is due to the time I've spent away from here, away from the history, I found that I wasn't that angry with you anymore. I wasn't about to jump on the wagon to date you again but I'm glad we became friends again," admitted Gabriella. "And as a first date of sorts today, this was a great idea. I haven't had this much thrill running through my body for some time now."
"From being with me? I'm honored," said Tristan, a cocky smirk on his face.
"Umm, the rides Tristan, the rides!" returned Gabriella with a laugh. "God, as much as you have mellowed out, you are still cocky!"
Tristan shrugged. "Part of my charm, right?"
Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say."
She felt a gentle tug on her hand and stopped, looking back at Tristan who had a smile on his face. Tristan quickly closed the distance between their bodies as he leaned down and captured Gabriella's lips with his, smiling more as he felt her return it. After a few moments, Gabriella stepped back and found her cheeks warm as Tristan stared at her, a mix of adoration and lust in his eyes. 'He still has that effect on me, that's amazing.'
Suddenly, Tristan got a mischievous look in his eyes and Gabriella knew she was in trouble. "What is it?" she dared to ask.
"Nothing," murmured Tristan before he picked Gabriella up and threw her over his shoulder, walking quickly toward the House of Horrors attraction that they were standing in front of.
Gabriella started squirming immediately, especially after she turned her head and saw that Tristan was taking them right to the entrance as there was just a small line for the attraction. "Tristan, no way! Tristan, I'm going to have nightmares!" complained Gabriella, wiggling to try to get out of his grasp which he tightened around her in response. "Please Tristan, you know I hate scary stuff!"
As they reached the doors of the attraction, after instructions from a theme park employee, Tristan reluctantly placed Gabriella back on the ground but quickly snaked his arms around her waist from behind, not allowing her to escape. "Come on Ella, it won't be so bad. I'll be here with you, the entire way, promise."
"Tristan, there's Chucky in here! You know I can't stand him!" complained Gabriella, realizing how very late she was in trying to make her last attempt to escape as the doors closed behind them. She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes tightly as Frankenstein started coming towards them from a darkly lit corner. Gabriella tightened her hold on Tristan's arms that were wrapped around her still as they continued to walk, Gabriella trusting Tristan enough to lead them safely through the attraction.
They continued their journey through the attraction that way, Tristan walking them forward while Gabriella tried to avoid looking at the scary monsters although the music and sounds were enough to make her skin crawl. When Tristan stopped their movement, Gabriella opened her eyes, thinking they were safely outside, but let out a scream as a dressed up theme park worker dressed up as Chucky stood directly in front of her, brandishing a realistic looking knife. Gabriella quickly ran out of Tristan's arms and burst through the exit, startling the employee who was standing nearby at the sheer speed she ran by him.
"Ella! Slow down, Ella, it was just a joke!" called out Tristan as he followed her out, almost running into Gabriella as she came to a complete stop near the entrance of the park. "Ella, I'm sorry, I just, I saw your eyes were closed and I had to let you see some part of the attraction after that cheat. I was wondering why you were so quiet."
Gabriella just stared at Tristan for a few moments before she let out a huff and slapped Tristan hard on his upper left arm. "NOT FUNNY TRISTAN!" screamed Gabriella, getting the attention of a few people nearby. "You know I hate Chucky especially! Now I'm really going to have horrible, terrible nightmares and it's all your fault!"
"Hey, Ella, I'm sorry, it was just a little fun," said Tristan, slowly gathering Gabriella into his arms, grateful she allowed him to do that. "I'm sorry Ella, that was stupid, I realize that now. Forgive me?"
Gabriella shook her head that was now lying against his chest. "No, you still suck."
Tristan heard no real trace of anger though in her voice and smiled at this, knowing that she had already forgiven him. "How about this? I treat you to ice cream at your favorite ice cream place and I stay by my cell phone all night so that if you do have a nightmare, you can call me and I'll talk to you. Deal?"
There were a few moments of silence before Gabriella said, "Deal, but you still suck."
Tristan chuckled at this, relieved that things were all right once again. "Agreed. Come on, let's get you that ice cream."
Gabriella shook her head to clear the memory, rediscovering why Gabriella felt so much for Tristan still, despite their past. 'He's grown and is just so sweet now, despite his immature antics that appear every so often.'
Ding dong… ding dong…
She dragged her eyes away from the picture of her and Tristan and looked at the clock. 5:33 it read, the digital numbers glowing in the dimness of her room. 'Who could that be? I wasn't expecting anyone tonight and Mom is working late.' Gabriella got up and walked down the stairs, stopping suddenly as she remembered the date she had made with Troy last weekend. 'Oh God, he couldn't be insane and think we still were going out tonight could he? Not that I don't want to see him, because strangely I do, but I don't think I can look at him and not be hurt seeing him with his lips on Sharpay's.'
Slowly, Gabriella walked towards the front door and cautiously peeked through the window of the door. She studied the silhouette of a guy standing with his back towards the door and let out a little sigh as she realized the guy had dark hair, black actually, and not brown. As he turned around to ring the doorbell again, Gabriella instantly recognized him and threw open the door, a grin on her face. "Tristan!"
He grinned back at her and scooped Gabriella into his arms, kissing her softly before he let her back down. "Hey Ella. I hope you don't mind but I couldn't stop thinking of you all week and jumped on the first flight I could to get here after school. Is this okay?"
"More than okay," replied Gabriella, a smile on her face. "You could have told me!"
Tristan chuckled and shook his head. "No way, the look on your face was so worth the secrecy! I'm not interrupting anything right now am I?" asked Tristan, suddenly looking behind Gabriella as if he was expecting someone else to be with her.
Instantly, Gabriella understood who he was looking for and shook her head. "No, he's not here Tristan, just me at home. My mom is working late even."
"Even better. Do you think she'll mind if I crash here for the weekend?" asked Tristan as he followed Gabriella inside.
"Doubtful, she's pretty cool like that but you better stay to your own bedroom mister," replied Gabriella with a small laugh as she saw his shocked face when she turned to face him, now standing outside the guest room again. "Are you hungry?"
"Starved actually," answered Tristan. "Can we go get some dinner?"
"Sure, I haven't eaten since lunch. What do you feel like?" questioned Gabriella, watching as Tristan put his duffle bag on the bed.
"Mexican?" offered Tristan. "I rented a car this time too so we can drive as long as you don't mind being navigator."
"Deal," replied Gabriella. "I'm glad you came out this weekend Tristan, I really am."
"Good, then it's all worth it," returned Tristan, a smile on his face. "Come on, let's get out of here and feed this stomach of mine and yours too."
Gabriella let out a little laugh and felt herself blush as his right hand gently grabbed hers, bringing it up to his lips so he could kiss the back before lacing their fingers together. "Come on Romeo, dinner awaits."
"Yes madam," returned Tristan cheekily as he followed Gabriella back to the entryway of the house. She left him down there by himself for a few minutes to quickly change into a pair of jeans and a red top, coming back down with her house keys and her purse, a grin on her face. "Ready now?"
"Ready," agreed Gabriella, taking his hand again as they walked out of the house. Gabriella locked the front door before sliding into Tristan's rental, blushing again as he held the door open for her and kissed her on the cheek before letting her get settled into the passenger's side seat. Tristan ran to the other side of the car and started it, slowly backing out of her driveway and into the street before throwing the car into drive and following Gabriella's directions to her favorite Mexican restaurant in Albuquerque where they spent a few hours stuffing themselves and just enjoying each other's company.