Antique Love

By wacystrings123

Chapter 2

Gabriella Montez hated Troy Bolton ever since the first time she had ever laid eyes on him. There was nothing about him that was "hate-able" in fact he was one of the nicest and shyest guys in her kindergarten class; so what was there to hate?

She didn't know.

For some reason she felt that tripping him on their first day of school when the teacher wasn't looking was the right thing to do. She had never believed in "cooties" but there was something about Troy that made her feel disgust whenever he was near. Her mom thought it was a phase which would pass quickly. Only it didn't it went on all through to elementary school where her hate only intensified and they had graduated from tripping and pouring food on each other to throwing insults and other objects. Their parents were regulars at the principal's office, sometimes visiting up to three times in a week and rapidly formed a close bond and that did not help Troy and Gabriella's predicament at all since their parents were constantly at the others house, dragging along their unwilling children.

Then Maria got a job in New York and her, Gabriella and her father packed up and left. Gabriella could still remember being furious at her mother for weeks, ignoring her as best as she could and isolating herself and moping. She convinced herself and her mother that it wasn't because she missed Troy but all of her friends. Then when she started school that all changed. She had gone back to being her bubbly and outgoing self making numerous friends, even guys which of course did not go too well with her father.

Mr. Montez wasn't exactly the perfect father but he wasn't all too bad either. He was rarely ever home. Gabriella could go for a whole week without once seeing her father and she hated him but Maria loved him more than anything and wasn't ready to let him go even during their many arguments. Then one day, just a few days after her sixteenth birthday, she came home to from a trip to the mall with her friends, to find her mother sobbing her heart out in the kitchen. It had taken a while before Maria had stopped crying and was able to explain to her only child that her father had left them, abandoned them for his twenty-something year old secretary. Somehow Gabriella had not felt any kind of pain upon hearing this; somehow she had known this would happen, sooner or later and it finally did. All she had felt at that moment was raw and pure hatred towards the man she called "dad" for leaving her mother like this.

No sooner had this event happened that Maria decided that it was time to go home; back to Albuquerque.

…

She had managed to not come face to face with Troy after their little encounter at Lucille's antique shop, even when her mother had called. Eventually Troy had to leave and Gabriella could finally come out of her hiding spot to face her mother. She had sweetly lied that she had been busy admiring the ornaments in the back and had not heard her mother's calls. Both women seemed to believe that. So after leaving Lucille's shop, Maria finally decided that it was time to finally see their new home. This was a little odd to Gabriella. Most normal people would first go to their new houses, relax a little before going exploring but with her mother it was the exact opposite.

So now she was stuck helping her mom haul their belongings out of the car or at least she was trying to sneak out of it. She had snuck into her new "home" unseen when her mother had been too busy screaming at the movers to be gentle with the boxes.

The house was fairly modest with three bedrooms, four bathrooms, a large kitchen, a porch, a living room, dining room and a huge backyard. It was extremely different from their apartment back in New York but she had a feeling she would be able to cope. Hitching her backpack further up her slim shoulders Gabriella trekked up the stairs, slowly, taking in every minor detail of her new home. At the very top step she was met with a long narrow hall, just like in the picture her mother had shown her. She walked carefully, peering into every room, trying to find the one that suited her best until she came to the penultimate door at the very end of the hallway.

It was the second largest bedroom she had seen in the whole house. The white-washed walls were completely bare, without a speck of dirt on them. Old furniture was stacked in one corner of the room, worn and falling apart. The room had its own en-suite bathroom which Gabriella very much appreciated; but what caught her eye were the glass French doors leading out to what she figured was a balcony. She had always wanted one as a little girl. She had imagined scenarios where she would be leaning against the rail in a silk gown, her dark waves swaying in the wind when her knight would ride up on a bright pink pony and ride away with her in his arms, to the end of the rainbow where they would make friends with the leprechauns and they would give her all their gold. Gabriella nearly burst out into peals of laughter as she recalled her wild fantasies.

Disney really did know how to corrupt my brain. She thought, smiling softly.

The balcony was quite spacious with a large looming tree hovering over it, sheathing it thoroughly from the sun's harsh glare. Gabriella leaned against the rail thoughtfully. She had imagined New Mexico to be quite different, just yards and yards of sand and rocks, no trees or plants, just plain and boring. Somewhere in the back of her mind she had a feeling that she would grow to like the small and quiet little town.

And what about Troy?

She wondered with a sigh. Considering their messed up relationship when they were younger, she had no idea how things would be now. Would they be just the same as they were when they were kids, or would they grow accustomed to each other? What bothered her most was how handsome Troy had grown up to be. She still remembered him with the huge gap between his two front teeth, the insanely long brown hair which he had bleached blonde the summer before their second year in elementary school, and his chubbiness. Now all of that was gone, now he was perfect.

This didn't sit well with her at all.

The rhythmic bouncing of a ball against pavement and the distinct barking of a dog brought her out of her thoughts. Leaning slightly over the rail of the balcony to peer into the neighbors' garden.

The first thing she saw was a pair of bronzed shoulders, sweat droplets winking silently at her as they rolled down the persons' bare back. She couldn't help but stare, entranced as the male's defined muscles rippled and clenched whenever he moved. He moved lithely, controlling the orange sphere with little effort as he dodged the paws of the excited dog. The dog's brown coat shimmered beneath the bright sunlight, making its look a brilliant gold. Gabriella was fascinated by the interaction between the two; man and dog. That was until the boy turned around and Gabriella was met with the familiar aquamarine blue orbs.

Troy's eyes fell on hers and he squinted slightly, as though he was trying to conjure up a memory. Suddenly, his eyes widened and Gabriella's heart stopped in her chest. He recognized her she thought bitterly. The he smiled brightly and waved in what seemed like…a friendly manner? She was astounded by this and hesitated a while before returning an almost half wave. Beside Troy, the dog stopped and stared quizzically at Gabriella, its glistening black eyes scrutinizing the startled brunette. Troy cupped his hands over his mouth and called out playfully,

"Hey neighbor!"

Gabriella blushed and waved mutely, startled by his cheery attitude. This was nothing like the Troy she remembered.

"Are you mute or something?"

She shook her head in response without thinking and this only fueled his teasing. He had left the basketball court and was leaning against the fence, with his arms folded, causing his muscles to bulge.

"Come on," he encouraged, beaming brightly, ignoring the sweat droplets rolling down his body. "A pretty girl like you has got to have a pretty voice?"

Gabriella scoffed at this. She stood up straight and folded her arms, her face neutral. "You are so original." Her voice dripped with sarcasm but this didn't alter or discourage Troy. In fact he only smirked.

"Sarcastic, smart and beautiful? A fascinating combination… I'll take it."

Gabriella rolled her eyes in mock annoyance, "good luck with that."

"Blech; luck is for losers." He said confidently, tossing her a sly wink. He set his intense blue pools on her own mocha ones, igniting a burst of pure heat to erupt inside both of them. Some magnetic force drew their eyes together, leaving them unaware of their surroundings and focused solely upon one another.

"Bella!"

The powerful spell broke and Gabriella reluctantly drew her stare away from his to look down at the wooden bar beneath her hands.

"I have to go."

Troy grinned, seemingly unaffected by their unexplainable moment. He raked his fingers through his damp hair and said, "See you around, neighbor." before she stumbled back into the room, obscured from his view. She exhaled a burdened sigh through her lips. She was so damn confused at that moment.

…

He couldn't get her out of his head.

He was convinced that she was some sort of devil or mythological creature, perfectly designed and sculpted to his own satisfaction. She was unique; not from Earth or from anywhere along the milky-way. Nobody, absolutely no-one was comparable. He found himself conjuring unlikely scenarios in his head, like waking up every morning to find her asleep in bed, right next to him with her dark curls splayed across his pillow, her thick, long lashes fanning her soft cheeks and supple lips stretched into a comfortable smile, or feeling her soft lips against his skin whenever he pleased or hearing her say things like "hey babe" or "I love you".

Every time he heard her voice whisper the last sentence in his head, he would curse and slap himself and repeatedly call himself "a gay pussy" for thinking that as well as other, more graphic names.

After she had disappeared into the house he had stood there staring after her, ignoring the soft and heavy paws of the excited animal jumping around him.

"Troy, get your ass inside. Mom's calling."

Pencil straight, dark blonde, blue-eyes, tanned skin and prominent curves; at the tender age of fifteen Hayley Bolton was already the most popular female figure in East Middle School and part of East High School as well. Also being the only sibling of The Troy Bolton played a great deal in her popularity status. But of course, unlike how most expected, Hayley treated her brother the farthest from "godly".

"Fuck off Hayley" Troy snapped, annoyed at being so rudely interrupted.

Hayley smirked as she tried to shove away the excited dog, "make me."

"G*d you're so effin' annoying!"

"Love you too bro."

"No fighting please." Lucille interrupted sternly, sliding between the arguing siblings, whilst balancing a large pot, which she place on the stove before properly addressing the two.

"I've invited the Montez's for dinner tonight so please behave." She said, looking directly at Troy as she said the last part.

"Mom, it's been like what ten years? We're both grown up." Troy said in a mocking voice as he knelt to ruffle the dog's silky fur. "Plus, I doubt she's a bitch anymore."

"Language Troy!" Lucille snapped sternly.

"Or, she could be an even bigger one."

Lucille intervened before Troy could respond. "Either way just try and play nice. Please?"

Troy scowled and nodded. It wasn't as if he had much of a choice. Once his mother had her mind set on something, there was no way to alter her course. So in a deliberately slow and reluctant manner Troy nodded.

"Besides," Lucille continued cheerily, resuming her cooking once more, "I've met Gabriella and she's so sweet." She turned to look at Troy and he caught a glance at a mischievous gleam dancing around in those blue-green eyes and he felt his heart sink down into his stomach.

Great! He thought, annoyed, she set me up with a bitch.

"And, she's beautiful."

At that, Hayley let out a whoop of exaggerated laughter, startling the resting dog beside her and causing it to slink out of the kitchen. Troy glared at both women, "No thank you, mother." He voiced in what he hoped was a stressed and serious tone.

"Okay fine…just consider it."

Troy scoffed and left the kitchen hastily, trying to block out any added comments from the two women. Where was his father when he needed him?

…

A/N: I know it's EXTREMELY late and you're all probably annoyed but I'm sooo sorry! And I apologize for the shortness I actually have my exams right now so yeah. And I have been so busy lately! HOMEWORK! I hate school. Then I had to do a speech for graduation, write a report on NHSMUN, practice for a debate, go to billions of confirmations (I have many more to go this weekend…again) and add billions of tests, revision and classes to that. My But I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I promise to try and update soon. Also I'm working on next chapters for A Passionate Affair and Welcome to My Life.

Summer's in about three weeks! Unfortunately there's no such thing as summer for my grade though :( But I'll try and make frequent updates for all my stories, no promises though.

Thank you SOOOOO MUCH for the reviews…WOW. You guys are amazing and make me smile. I hope this chapter made you guys smile. Thanks again! (cyber hugs!) :P