Hey wonderful readers! I love you guys so much. In less than 24 hours after I posted the last chapter, my inbox was filled with reviews and alerts telling me I was added onto someone's favorite author or story list. Thank you! You are the reason I'm writing these! Okay, after a long time of waiting, the new chapter is here! Hope you enjoy this chapter of A Troyella Story. A/N: please be aware that in this chapter, they begin calling Sydney, "Syd", which is a nickname for Sydney. It is pronounced "Sid".
Gabby's POV
I pulled the blankets off me, and stepped out of my bed. My plaid pajama pants covering my feet and Troy's wildcat T-shirt fell loosely around me. I hugged myself, as I walked over to my balcony door, and reached out to draw back the lilac curtains. It was almost five in the morning on Friday, the sun had not yet risen, and dew covered the green grass and the bright yellow daffodils that sat in window boxes on my balcony. I went to turn the door knob to step outside, and realized then how badly I was shaking. I had been dreading this day all week. Hugging myself tighter, I went outside. The crisp April air surrounding me; a light breeze blowing my dark curls in all directions. On the white bench on my balcony, sat a pink gift bag, with a small bouquet of red roses and pink lilies next to it, which contained a card. I picked up the bouquet and pressed the flowers to my nose, inhaling the sweet aroma of my two favorite flowers. Setting the flowers down, I pull out the card.
Dear Gabriella,
Happy 17th Birthday, baby. Please don't worry about the
Sharpay situation. Everything is going to be fine. You are
my everything, and I would never let anything happen to you.
Today is your day. Don't let her ruin it. Chad, the rest of the gang,
and I are going to take care of everything. You have nothing to
worry about. Have fun with Taylor & Kelsi, and just focus on you.
I'll pick you up at seven to drive you to school. I love you
more than anything, Gabriella. Don't ever forget that.
Love,
Troy
I blinked, feeling the tears that had begun to form in my eyes fall down my cheeks one by one. He must have left these for me last night after I had fallen asleep and he left for the night. Wiping my tears away, I set the card down, and reached for the gift bag. I took out the tissue paper, and looked in at the gifts he had bought. First, I pulled out a teddy bear with a red ribbon around his neck; he was soft to the touch. It was exactly like the one I had told Troy about that I had when I was younger. I had lost my old one at a park when I was six a few days before I had to move to a new city. I was heartbroken when I had to leave without it. I had lost the teddy bear, who was my best friend, and my dad the same year. I hugged the new bear tightly, as more tears cascaded down my cheeks. Next, I pulled out a small box; inside the box was a silver charm bracelet with six different charms and a note. I'll explain what each charm means when I see you in the morning. Wear it to school. –Troy. Smiling, I put the bracelet around my wrist, listening to the jingle of the silver charms. Lastly, I pulled out a framed picture. The picture, I realized, was a picture of Troy and I after one of the Twinkle Towne rehearsals. We were sitting on the edge of the stage, looking into each others eyes, unaware that anyone was around taking our picture. Grabbing each gift, the flowers, and the card, I stood up to walk back into my room. The sun was beginning to rise, and I had to take a shower.
Around 6:45 am, I walked over to my floor-length mirror. I stared at myself in the mirror. The outfit I chose was simple; jeans and a green baby doll top from Hollister. My dark hair in loose curls, falling gently over my shoulders and framing my face. Sighing, I sit down on my bed, reaching for the teddy bear. I close my eyes and hug the bear tightly, trying hard not to cry now that I had make-up on. I sat in that position for what seemed like an eternity before opening my eyes and looking up at the mirror in front of me. My chocolate brown eyes said it all: I was scared; not just scared, I was terrified. I smiled at myself, a fake smile, trying to act happy. This act wouldn't fool Troy or Taylor for a second, but it would probably fool everyone else. Putting the teddy bear into my flowered tote, I opened my bedroom door, and walked down the stairs, my charm bracelet jingling the entire way down.
Troy was already there when I got downstairs. He smiled when he saw me; I sighed and smiled back, so happy to see him. I walked over to him, and he wrapped his arms around me, holding me just like I had held the teddy bear. I buried my face in his chest, taking in the smell of his shirt.
"Happy Birthday, Gabby." he whispered as he kissed the top of my head. We pulled apart, and I looked into his big blue eyes…big mistake. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing… it's nothing." I answered as I quickly looked away. He cupped my face in his hands, forcing me to look up.
"I know you better than that, Gabriella." he said, as I smiled slightly. "What's the matter? Tell me, please."
"I'm just worried about today, that's all." I sighed, and he hugged me again.
"Julie and Sydney are handling Sharpay; she needs them in order for this plan to work, and they are refusing to help her. Chad and I are going to be watching her every move, in case she decides to go ahead with the plan without Julie and Syd. Taylor and Kelsi are going to be by your side the entire day. And we have a million backup plans. Sharpay is not getting anywhere near you, Gabby. You have nothing to worry about." I felt a little better once he explained all of this. I exhaled, suddenly able to breathe without worrying. "Now c'mon. We're going to be late, and I still have to tell you what each of those charms mean." After yelling good-bye to my mom, we walked out to his car. As we drove to the school, I asked:
"So, what do each of these charms mean?" I question curiously, holding up my wrist. He laughs to himself and opens his mouth to explain.
"Well, this one…" he starts, reaching over to touch the silver music note charm, "represents your beautiful voice and your love for music. The rose, represents all the roses I've bought for you; the camera stands for your love of photography. The teddy bear charm is to represent the child that's still in you. The 'T' charm stands for Troy…because I love you. And lastly, the two hearts on one charm represents me and you, and our love for each other." I look into his eyes and smile.
"I love you." I whispered, and leaned into kiss him. We sat in the school parking lot, just kissing. He pulled away after what seemed like a lifetime.
"I love you too, Gabby." he opened the car door, and stepped outside, walking around to open mine and help me out. Slinging my bad over my shoulder, and taking Troy's hand, we walked into the school. I stayed close to Troy the entire way to my locker, holding his hand tighter than ever before. Taylor was waiting for me at my locker, for when Troy dropped me off. Once we reached my locker, he turned to me, "Okay, Gabby. Please don't worry about Sharpay; we have everything under control. It's your birthday, don't let her ruin it." he kissed me lightly, reassuring me everything would be fine. After he left, I turned to open my locker, Taylor still by my side. As I opened my bag, the teddy bear popped up. Taylor eyed the bear, looking from me back to the bear.
"What's that?" she asked, her voice unsure whether she wanted to know or not.
"A teddy bear; Troy gave it to me for my birthday." I said defensively.
"Okay…oh! Here's my gift for you." she began to rummage through her bag.
"You didn't have to get me anything, Tay." I said, but she had already pulled out the gift, and handed it to me. Sighing, I began opening it. It was a scrapbook; a scrapbook of me, Taylor, and all of my friends …since my life began here. Each page and picture was labeled and dated, and decorated just enough. "I love it, Taylor. Thank you." I reached over and hugged my best friend, and across the hall, watching me, was Sharpay. I quickly looked away, scared. I occupied myself by looking through my locker for my math homework, even though I didn't have math until ninth period.
Sharpay's POV
I watched her, disgusted. She had no idea what was coming. I laugh to myself; I was almost evil, so evil that I scared myself at times. I pulled out my cell phone, checking the time. 7:23, it read. Looking over at her one last time, I began to walk down the hall, going to meet Julie and Sydney.
I found Sydney and Julie in front of Syd's locker; Julie was playing with her cell phone, a silver verizon EnV, and Syd was looking at a magazine, Seventeen to be precise. My Marc Jacob heels clicked loudly as I walked towards them. I stood in front of them, impatiently waiting for them to notice my presence; when they didn't noticed, I reached out and grabbed the magazine, its glossy pages nearly ripping as I pulled it out of her hands. Sydney opened her mouth, ready to yell, but then she realized who it was; she closed her mouth quickly. Julie had shut her phone, and slipped it into her Coach purse.
"You two ready for today's big plan?" I asked, looking the two blondes directly in the eyes; Julie's emerald green eyes filled with innocence and fear, and Sydney's bright ocean blue eyes, matching Troy's almost perfectly, hiding all emotion. They looked at each other, and Sydney sighed; they turned back to me, the two of the showing different emotion than before.
"Sharpay…" Syd began, "You can count us out of this one." I looked back and forth between the two of them…are they serious? Are they freaking kidding me?! When I didn't respond, Sydney turned around, closed her locker, put the magazine in her Gucci bag, and walked away, with Julie following. Dumbfounded, I watched the two walk away, leaving me standing in front of Sydney's locker as the bell rang loudly.
Gabby's POV:
I sit in the cafeteria at the center table with Troy's arm around me. Almost the entire day had passed, and Sharpay had done nothing. I looked around at the smiling faces of my friend….the people who cared. Taylor and Kelsi were laughing at something. Chad and Jason were arguing about how many pieces of pizza they could eat. Zeke had baked me a cake for my 17th birthday, and he even used my favorite icing…butter crème. I reached over, and stuck my finger into the light pick icing, putting some in my mouth. Troy kissed my cheek lightly. Just as he did this, Alexa Davis, one of the most popular girls in the school, walked over, holding a folder.
"Hey Gabby! Happy Birthday!" she squealed excitedly, "Hey Troy, Chad, Taylor, Kesli, Zeke, and Jason."
"Hey Alexa. What's up?" I asked.
"Nothing. I just came over to invite you and Troy to my annual April Party tonight." she answered, pulling out two invitations from her folder, handing them to Troy and I. I read the invitation and smiled. "So, can you two come?" I looked at Troy, my eyes begging; he nodded.
"We wouldn't miss it." I said. Alexa squealed again.
"Alright then! I'll see you tonight!" She said, gathering up her folder and invitations. "Oh, and it's kinda a dressy event. You know a cute short dress maybe. Shouldn't be too hard to find an outfit." I nodded, and she walked away, off to deliver more invitations.
Sharpay's POV:
I watched Gabby and Troy sit at the center table together with all their friends. Zeke had even baked Gabby a cake. They were laughing and having fun, when Alexa Davis walked over, and handed them invitations to her annual April Party. I let out an exasperated sigh. That stupid party…stupid Alexa…ugh…damn Gabriella…then, something happened.
"Hey Sharpay!" Alexa was standing right in front of me; her straight, light brown hair falling gracefully around her face. "I just came over to invite you to my party tonight."
"Really?" I asked. Her green eyes were sparkling from the sunlight that spilled through the window to the left of me.
"Of course! It wouldn't be a party without Sharpay Evans!" she pulled out an invitation, and handed it to me. "You know the dress code for my parties, shouldn't be too hard to find something. You look fabulous in everything you wear. Well, see you tonight!" And with a flip of her hair, she walked away.
I usually hated her parties. But with Troy and Gabby going…and now I had an invite. I drummed my fingers against the lunch table, thinking. This party was going to be fun…
I'm so evil! mwahahaha! you just have to wait one more chapter for her plan. I promise! Hope you liked this chapter, and while you wait for the next one…reviews make me happy!!