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Title: And I Do Wanna Try
Author:
Category: High School Musical
Pairing: Troy Bolton/Gabriella Montez
Summary: "Troy?" she asked confusion etching across her face. His blue eyes met her brown ones as he took a breath, "I want to try, Brie…" he whispered.
Disclaimer:I don't own anything. The song's by Hedley.
A/N: A really really really really belated birthday gift to one of my friends. LMFAO. ILY HAZEL! Bwahaha. Btw, the song really doesn't follow the whole plot of this story. Only like… a little bit. Okay:) Reviews are a fanfic writer's best friend ;)
So I can and I will and you'll see your hero come running
Over and over tonight
And I do wanna love you
If you see me running back
And I do wanna try
Because if falling for you girl is crazy
Then I'm going out of my mind
So hold back your tears this time
-'For The Nights I Can't Remember' Hedley
She was the only one that got him. She was the only one that could get through the exterior of his outer façade and break into it revealing a guy that was totally the opposite of what he pulled off at school. To her, he wasn't the cocky arrogant basketball playing asshole that picked on freshmen or made out with a crap load of girls. To her, he was just Troy Bolton.
Running a hand through his shaggy brown hair, he stared up at his ceiling as he collapsed on his bed. She wasn't supposed to be in his life. She wasn't supposed to move in the house beside him. Her mother wasn't supposed to be an old friend of the family and last but certainly not least; he wasn't supposed to be feeling the way he was about her.
She was a quietly shy person when her and her mother first came into his house for a mini-reunion with his parents. He remembered staring at her for quite sometime before his older sister Lauren elbowed him in the stomach muttering something about how it was rude to stare. A tint of red had risen to his cheeks before he walked back upstairs to his room after greeting her mother.
He avoided her as much as he could. He didn't know why he did, it wasn't because she wasn't beautiful, she was and to be honest, she was absolutely gorgeous. Her brown hair that curled all the way down her back, her brown eyes that would make any guy swoon- she was gorgeous. He just avoided her ever since she walked into his house.
She attended East High as well and every time he passed by her, she greeted him with a soft secretive smile that no one but him would catch and for some reason it made his heart soar.
Soon enough, they had started talking when she had walked out of the house to do some errands for her mother and he was out on the basketball court in his backyard and ever since then they were close.
It took a while to get them to where they were right now. She had built a wall around herself to shield herself from getting hurt and it was up to Troy to break down those walls. She was hurt in the past by ex-boyfriends and most importantly, her father. Her father had left her and her mother without any consent. Her father never cared about them. Troy wanted to make sure that she could trust him so he told her everything there was to know about him. Like at school he was the cocky arrogant basketball player that got into fights, but when he was around her, the barricade that surrounded him broke down disclosing a guy that just wanted to be normal and didn't want to be East High's "God".
Ever since then she had opened up and told him everything about herself as well. Like how she loved science and math, how she really loved to sing but was really, really shy to sing in front of people, how she was in a controlling relationship once, and how her father left her and her mother. He broke down her outer walls- just like she did with him.
He knew the real her. She knew the real him.
She had always interrogated him about settling down with a girl but he always told her he loved to play the field. People like him never settled down.
'Does she know what she's doing to me?'he wondered running a hand over his face holding back a frustrated sigh.
Shutting his eyes he could remember that look in her eyes few weeks ago. When she got her heartbroken by Nathaniel Calder, the star quarterback of the East High Wildcat football team. She was hurt again, she was broken again, she was crying again.
And Troy Bolton hated it when Gabriella Montez cried.
He had just finished practice when Taylor McKessie, one of her friends, ran up to him.
"Troy!" she exclaimed her voice giving off some kind of derailment.
"What's up Taylor?" Troy asked confused wondering where Gabriella was. The two were joined at the hip. The best of friends. Two peas in a pod.
"Chad's still in the locker room if you're wondering." He caught Taylor of guard with that statement and a tint of red had risen to her cheeks.
"I'm not here to talk to you about Chad. It's about Gabriella-"
Once she said that name Troy's head immediately snapped up, "Gabriella? Taylor, what happened?" he asked.
"Nathan happened." Taylor replied quietly. That name sent draggers into Troy's once warm, but now ice cold, blue eyes. He never liked Nathan and Nathan never liked him back.
"What did Nathan do, Taylor?" Troy questioned angrily, his hand curling into a ball.
"He cheated on her," she said, "and now Ella's somewhere in the school. I can't find her and even if I did she won't talk to me!"
"He cheated on her?" he asked, anger and furry building up inside of him. When if came to hurting Gabriella the worse side of Troy came out and everyone knew that. Taylor nodded, "You're the only one that can talk to her."
"Where's Nathan?"
"Troy…"
"Taylor, where's Nathan?" his nose flared as his face became more redder by the second.
"He's by the vending machines outside the cafeteria making out with Rebecca Martinez." Taylor said quickly, "But Troy-" she stopped when he walked passed her heading toward the vending machines. Nathan Calder was a dead man.
Troy smirked as he remembered punching Nathan square on the jaw and then in the eye. Sure he had gotten suspended for a day, but it was totally worth it.
"I can't believe you were freaking suspended!" Gabriella had barged into his room the next day after school- the day after he had punched Nathan in the face.
"So what if I got suspended? Brie, I punched him for hurting you. I should be getting a 'thank you'." Troy said casually as he sat up in bed. He watched as the angry brunette pace in his room. To be honest, she looked hot when she was mad.
"You didn't even bother to tell me!" Gabriella exclaimed heatedly.
"What would I say to you, Gabs? 'Hey Brie, I know you're hurting and all after Nathan. He's not worth your tears he's a fucking asshole that doesn't deserve any of your time. You'll find someone better than him because you deserve someone who won't hurt you at all and love you for you. Oh by the way, I got suspended for punching the daylights out of him'?" Troy asked sarcastically.
"Some form of verification that you wouldn't be in school today would've been appreciated." She glared at him before walking over towards him and hit him on the arm, "I can't believe you didn't tell me!"
"Can you stop whining?" Troy asked grasping his arm where she had hit him, "He hurt you. I punched him. He can't just cheat on you without getting some sort of goodbye present so I gave him a punch to the face. He hurt you didn't he?"
"Yeah…"
"Then I don't see what the problem is," he said smirking as he shifted over on the bed motioning her to sit beside him, "Brie, I'm looking out for you. If someone hurts you then it's in my nature to kick that person's ass."
Gabriella sat down letting him wrap his arms around her shoulders before resting her head on his chest. She could never stay mad at him. "But what if you got expelled, Troy? Have you ever thought of that consequence? Do you know what that would do to your basketball-playing future?"
"But I didn't get expelled," Troy said smartly running a hand through her brown locks, "Brie I honestly don't care if I got suspended or expelled for punching a guy who hurt you. Hell, I wouldn't even care if I went to jail if I murdered the guy-" he was interrupted when she slapped him across his chest causing him to flinch in pain.
"Don't kid like that, Troy," Gabriella said sternly.
"Kid how, Gabriella?" Troy asked rubbing the spot she had hit him, "I'm only stating the truth. I wouldn't care if I got suspended, expelled, or thrown into jail. All I care about is you, making sure you're alright, and to make sure nobody hurts you."
"All you care about is me?" she asked softly looking up at him. Troy smiled softly, "You… basketball… my PS2… smoking hot girls… yeah that's about it." he teased causing her to giggle.
"You're an amazing best friend, Troy Alexander Bolton. You really and truly are." she smiled. "I can't believe you got suspended for punching a guy who hurt me."
"Oh, so now you're okay with me getting suspended." Troy rolled his eyes smirking as he did so.
"I'm not okay with it but I really appreciate what you did for me. Who knew the cocky asshole, Troy Bolton, actually cares about someone?"
"Everyone knows I care about you, Gabriella Anne Montez." Troy grinned kissing her head gently, "And besides, I'm still a cocky asshole, everyone still knows that."
"Right, that's true," she smirked, "everyone still knows Troy the basketball boy is an asshole."
"You know it." He winked at her before holding her closer.
"Oh and Troy?" Gabriella asked looking up at him, her tiny hand gripping the fabric of his shirt. "Hmm?" he asked lazily playing with the strand of hair that cascaded down her back.
"Thanks for caring," she whispered before kissing his cheek and rested her head once again on his chest. Troy felt a blush rise to his face and a tingling sensation against his cheek once her lips touched his skin.
Sighing in contentment, he kissed her head once again, "No problem, Brie."
Groaning, Troy sat up in his bed. She had this sort of effect on him and she didn't even know it. It scared him- it scared him to death.
About a week ago, he was going to tell her how he felt about her and how much it scared him to feel this way. When he was about to that very same day, Gabriella came up to him and told him she didn't want to get hurt from any other guys so she had decided to stay away from boyfriends for a long time and to Troy… it was like a slap to the face.
He waited by her locker that Friday afternoon, secretly holding a rose that he had taken from the rooftop garden and held it behind his back. He had gotten weird looks by students as they passed by wondering why Troy was holding a rose behind his back while waiting at Gabriella Montez' locker. Troy Bolton did not give roses to girls, not even to his own mother.
Troy smiled at them back as they passed by earning him a double-look. Now that was new to them as well. Troy Bolton did not smile at people who weren't worth his time or so says the Student Body of East High.
Looking at his watch, Troy let out a nervous sigh. If he remembered correctly, Gabriella's last class, AP Chemistry, would be done in five minutes so it only gave him five minutes to rehearse everything he wanted to say to her.
He took the rose from behind his back and looked at it intently. On the stem held a little note of some sort that had the words 'Will you be my girlfriend?' on it. He was so nervous and he never got nervous.
"Hey captain."
Troy turned around and spotted Chad who was trying not to smirk at the sight of Troy Bolton holding a red rose.
"What's up, Chad?" Troy asked.
"Dude… a rose?" Chad chuckled shaking his head. Troy looked at him, "They're her favourite flower!" he protested.
"You're so whipped. I have never seen you like this before and we've been best friends since preschool- oh hey Gabriella."
Troy immediately turned around looking for the brunette only to find no one behind him. He glared at Chad who was doubled over in laughter, "Dude, not funny."
"Yes it was! You should've seen your face!" he laughed, "You really love Gabriella, don't you?"
"Yeah I do and I'm going to tell her. Unlike you, when are you going to tell Taylor you like her?" Troy asked raising an eyebrow.
"I don't like Taylor!" Chad objected turning as red as the rose Troy was holding in his hands. "Hey Gabs."
"Sure and I think Sharpay's hot." Troy rolled his eyes, "And I'm not falling for that again."
"You think Sharpay's hot?" a voice asked from behind Troy, causing him to jump and turn around.
"Brie, hey. You're out of class… " Troy he quickly put the rose behind his back and looked at his watch, "two minutes early." He hoped and prayed that she didn't see the huge blush he felt rising in his cheeks. He could hear Chad behind him, trying not to laugh.
"Yeah and you didn't answer my question," she raised an eyebrow at him, "you think Sharpay's hot?" Taylor was right behind her smirking at a stuttering Troy Bolton.
"I uh- are you busy tonight?" he asked changing the subject holding the rose as delicately between his fingers.
"Yeah I am actually," Gabriella nodded raising an eyebrow at Troy before shaking her head, "I'm going over to Taylor's and we're discussing some things."
"Like what?"
"Girl stuff," the brunette rolled her eyes. "It's not any of your business, Bolton."
"What your business is my business," he said cockily giving her a smirk.
"If you really must know we're going to discuss how I don't want a relationship right now." Gabriella sighed not noticing the distraught look in Troy's confused eyes.
"What?"
"She says she doesn't want a relationship right now," Taylor repeated. She looked at Chad who's eyes widened as he glanced at Troy who tightened his grip on the rose, not caring that the thorns pricked him in the skin. Chad knew Troy's heart was breaking. He went through all of this just to make things perfect and Gabriella saying she didn't want a relationship just made everything crash into pieces.
"You don't want a relationship?" Troy asked again. Gabriella looked at him confused, "Is something wrong, Troy?" she asked.
Troy shook his head sadly, "It's nothing, Brie. Nothing's wrong."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. Absolutely positive."
"Okay, well I have to go see Darbus for a quick second because I'll be late Monday morning and I forgot to tell her. I'll see you tonight, Troy. Remember, you, Lauren, and your parents are coming over tonight for dinner." Gabriella said as she left, not before giving Troy a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Dude…" Chad started looking sympathetically at Troy who watched Gabriella walk away, "I'm sorry, man."
Shaking his head, Troy turned on his heel giving Chad the rose as he walked away. Heartbroken. Taylor looked on confused until she noticed the rose in Chad hand.
'Oh no…'
Troy hadn't ignored Gabriella because he couldn't. He could never ignore her. But ever since then he was really frustrated with his feelings and he tried to push them away, but like all boomerangs, it just kept coming back to him.
His mind drifted off to earlier that day when he couldn't take it anymore. He confronted her in front of the whole school, not caring who heard them.
"Gabriella!" he called out as she was walking towards the science lab. He knew he couldn't hold this in any longer and if he did he was sure to go insane. She had to know how he felt. She had to know that he wanted to be with her. No matter what she said about not wanting a relationship.
She turned around and looked at him confused, "Hey Troy, I thought you had free period practice?" she said confused.
"Yeah, but I really need to talk to you-"
"Now?" she asked, "Troy I have to meet Tay at the-"
"Yes now Brie. This is important, to me at least." he said. Gabriella looked at him waiting for him to continue. Troy sighed knowing this could either change their friendship drastically.
"Okay," he started, "Remember last week when you said you wanted nothing to do with relationships?" she nodded and he continued, "Well I want you to change that…"
"What are you talking about, Troy?"
"I want to be with you Gabriella," he stated. He saw her eyes widened in shock and he kept on going, "Look, I know this is going to confuse you or scare you or whatever, but Brie ever since I broke through your shell and you through mine I have felt something I have never felt in my life before. It scares me because I don't know what I'm feeling but I do know that it's-"
"Troy, don't say it please," Gabriella begged tears springing into her eyes.
"Why not?"
"Because I'm not ready for a relationship!" she exclaimed, "I don't want one and I'm sorry Troy but I don't want one with you!"
Troy felt his heart break bit by bit but he knew she was lying, "You're lying," he said.
"What?"
"I know you're scared Brie-"
"I am not scared!" she yelled, "Look Troy, I'm sorry but just…" she stopped before shaking her head, "I have to go."
"Gabriella!"
They hadn't talked since and it bothered him. A lot. Getting up, Troy knew he had to do one thing and that was to confront her. Grabbing his jacket he ran out his bedroom door, down the stairs, grabbed his shoes in the foyer, ran out the front doors, and headed next door.
He knew her mother was working late that day and he knew she wouldn't be opening the door to him after what happened that day. So he did the one thing that annoyed her and scared her to death because she thought he might fall and hurt himself.
Climb up to her balcony.
x-x-x-x-x
Gabriella heard a light knock on the balcony door, which had disrupted her from her book. She looked up and saw Troy. Putting her book down, the petite brunette book marked her page before opening the door.
"Troy?" she asked confusion etching across her face. His blue eyes met her brown ones as he took a breath, "I want to try, Brie…" he whispered. Tears started to form in her eyes, "No…" she shook her head.
"Why not?" Troy asked, "Brie-"
"Troy I told you-"
"You didn't give me a reason why!"
"Because we can't!" she yelled tears starting to form in her eyes, "Troy, we can't have us. We can never be us. We're better off being friends, that's just the way we're supposed to be!"
"But I don't want to be friends, Gabriella! I said it earlier and I'll say it again, I want to be with you! I know this is going to confuse you or scare you or whatever, but Brie ever since I broke through your shell and you through mine I have felt something I have never felt in my life before. It scares me because I don't know what I'm feeling but I do know that it's undeniable and that these are really strong feelings. Brie, I know your past. I know why you're scared but you need to trust me…" he whispered tears starting to form in his eyes. He was scared too, she wasn't the only one.
Pulling her into a hug, Gabriella fell into his embrace. She felt as if she belonged there, it felt right. But she couldn't do this. They couldn't do this.
"Troy we can't do this…" she whispered pushing him away. Troy couldn't believe his ears, "Yes we can, Brie. You know we can." He saw the fear in her eyes, she was scared he was going to be like Nathan, like all the guys she had in her life.
"Brie, I am never going to be like Nathan. I am never going to be like those other guys. I will never, ever hurt you Gabriella. Do you know how much it scares me to hurt you?"
"What if you're lying to me-"
"I would never lie to you, Brie. You know I wouldn't-"
"I don't want to be like those girls I've seen you with, Troy…"
"You won't be," he whispered. "Gabs, I know you're scared especially after your past relationships, Nathan, and your dad… You have no idea how much it scares me to feel this way. Not once have I ever felt this way about anyone. Ever. I'm falling for you Gabriella."
"That's crazy, Troy. You can't fall for me, no guy's ever fallen for me-"
"But I have," Troy interrupted. "If you think me falling for you is crazy then I'm going out of my mind. I want you to let me love you. I want to try this whole relationship thing because I've never had a real relationship. I want you to trust me and I want you to trust yourself. And as much as it scares me to say this, I love you so, so much."
Gabriella had tears forming in her eyes as she looked at him. Here they were, two people that were completely scared to try. While she was scared of having real relationship, he was scared of feeling this way (because of his history with girls and relationships). He was scared to hurt her and she definitely didn't want to hurt him and the only way she wouldn't hurt him and break him was if she tried…
She gave him a watery smile, "Okay." she whispered, placing her hands on his cheeks to wipe away the tears that were about to fall from his face.
"What?" Troy asked not believing what he heard.
"I said okay, Troy," she repeated sniffling as he let his forehead press against hers, "Let's try."
Smiling widely, Troy tightened his grip around her waist, "You have no idea how happy I am for you to say that, Brie. No idea."
Smiling back, Gabriella wrapped her arms around his neck before pulling his head down towards her, "I think I do…" she whispered and he pressed his lips onto hers. She pulled back and brown met blue as he looked at her quizzically.
"And for the record, Troy…" she started, holding him closely, "I love you too." Troy smiled yet again before kissing her once more.
