Searching For a Story - Chapter Two
Title: Searching For a Story
Fandom: High School Musical
Pairing/Character(s): Troy/Gabriella
Rated: Teen
Spoiler(s): AU
Summary: Gabriella Montez is a struggling writer for her school’s newspaper. When she’s sent to cover a story about one of hottest ticket in school, Gabriella just may end up writing about the greatest love story of her time, in the process finding who she really is.
Chapter Two - Dirty Little Secrets
Monday came rolling around and as always, Gabriella reported to the newspaper room to get her new assignment. Knowing Stan, it was probably going to be even lower that lunch specials. Gabriella didn’t blame him either it he did this. She was the one that insulted him in front of his entire staff. She deserved whatever weird, strange, or down right creepy assignment he gives her this week. Gabriella probably wouldn’t have said all of this to herself if she had learned her actual assignment before hand.
“You want me to do what?”, Gabriella shouted after Stan informed her on what her assignment was. It wasn’t lunch specials but it was way wore.
“I want you to interview Troy Bolton for this months ‘Student to know’ column”, Stan explained calmly, although the girl in front of him was freaking out.
Gabriella shook her head in protest. “See, Stan, you don’t understand-”.
“No, you don’t understand. This is your assignment and it’s either take it or leave it”, Stan informed her, waiting for her to answer.
Gabriella was just about to tell Stan that she wasn’t going to take the assignment, but was beat to the punch by Amber. “Gabby, maybe, this could be you only opportunity”.
As much as Gabriella hated Amber and her southern bell voice, she did have a valid point. Maybe this was Stan’s way of giving her a second chance. Maybe this was her only opportunity to stop reporting the lunch specials and something their readers actually cared about. So what this Troy guy was obnoxious. She’d dealt with plenty of guys like him before.
Gabriella smiled, taking the tape recorder from her carrier-bag. “I’ll take it, but I can make no promises that Troy will come out of this thing alive”. With that, she was off to find the basketball star.
After Gabriella was gone, Stan smiled happily to himself. Troy Bolton was the biggest ego he'd ever met, and there was no way in hell that Gabriella was going to last three seconds with him. She'd be running back to him, begging for another assignment. Stan really liked it when his staff members begged, especially Gabriella. He'd sent her right back to the pleasantry of lunch specials and missing chalk erasers, which is where she belonged.
Gabriella rushed to find her two friends after being given her newest assignment. Like Amber, Taylor and Sharpay said that she should take the interview because it just might be her only chance. This sucked for Gabriella because she really wanted her friends to be against her interviewing Troy.
“Gabriella, remember to breath in and out”, Taylor explained, as she demonstrated the procedure. “Control that temper”.
“Try to smile more”, Sharpay added. The three girls were walking in the student parking lot. “Or show a little skin”.
Gabriella sent the sparkling blond a deathly stare. “All I’m going to do is tell him that I’m from the paper and we want to interview him”.
“What if he turns you down?”, Sharpay asked. The three girls were now standing on the sidewalk just above where Troy usually parked-according to Stan.
“Hopefully he does”, Gabriella said, even though she knew he wouldn’t. the paper always calls the people they want to interview ahead of time to make sure it was ok.
“Troy is actually kind of cute. He has a nice body”, Sharpay complemented. “You should see him at the country club”.
“Well, how about you do this interview then”, Gabriella snapped. “Because I sure as hell don’t want to”.
“Ewe, writing. I could so break a nail”, Sharpay scrunched her face up in disgust.
“Oh, that right. I almost forgot. You pay people to do your homework for you”, Gabriella said rolling her eyes.
“And those people are us”, Taylor added. “But you do pay good money”.
Gabriella was starting to get mad. Troy was late, and her friends were driving her crazy. “Are you sure this is where he parks?”, Gabriella asked her two friends. They too said Troy always parked here.
“We’re sure”, both Taylor and Sharpay said together, pointing up at the side above the space.
Gabriella walked out, so that she was facing the sign. On the sign was a picture of Troy holding a basketball. The sign read: “Reserved for Troy Bolton. He’s # 1”.
“He has his own parking space”, Gabriella said in disbelief. “You have got to be kidding me. He has his own parking space. With a picture”.
Just then, a black Escalade came speeding around the corner heading straight for the parking space in which Gabriella was standing in. Luckily she moved back onto the sidewalk before the car could hit her. There was loud music playing from the car, which was packed with a lot of people.
“What’s with you and my parking spaces?”, Troy asked with a smirk as he and his posse exited the car.
“What’s with you a pissing people off?”, Gabriella asked, wanting to slap the smirk off his face. “Because you’re starting to piss me off”.
“Are you on your period or something, because I really don't have time for this.”, Troy said, only making Gabriella more mad. He motioned for his friends and they all started walking back towards the school.
“Gabriella, remember your temper”, Taylor said, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder.
“Smile, Ella. People like it when you smile”, Sharpay leaned forward and whispered in Gabriella's ear.
“Breath in and out...breath in and out”, Taylor repeated. She demonstrated the same way she did earlier before.
“Un loosen one of those buttons”, Sharpay suggested. When Gabriella made no effort, she reach forward and tried to unbutton her friends shirt.
“Stop that!”. Gabriella slapped her hand away. “Hey, wait”, Gabriella called after Troy. He stopped and she ran to catch up with him.
“If you’re here about the offer I gave you Friday, it still stands but you have to get in the back of the line. I have a hottie that already signed-up for this weekend”, Troy stated.
Gabriella laughed. “I’m not here because I’m interested in you or being one of your hoes. I’m from the school’s newspaper”, Gabriella explained.
“Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. The ‘student to know’ column”, Troy smiled, his pearly white teeth gleaming in the sun.
“Yeah, that. Somehow my editor though it would be great to interview you. If you don’t want to do it that’s totally fine”, Gabriella tried to get Troy not to do the interview.
“Oh, no. I’d love to do the interview”. Troy started moving closer to Gabriella. “Especially if it’s with you”, he whispered into her ear.
“Where do you want to do the interview?”, Gabriella asked, trying to sound annoyed but couldn’t.
“My bed”, Troy smirked as he folded his arms across the front of his shirt. “Or yours”.
“I’m serious”, Gabriella said, rolling her eyes. “Can you get serious for one minute, please?”.
“Anything for you, baby”, he smiled again. “After school in the gym”.
Gabriella nodded, repeating his words. “In the gym”.
As they both agreed, Gabriella and Troy met in the school's gym. When Gabriella arrived, Troy was in his basketball practice uniform throwing the basketball in the hoop. Stan was surprised when Gabriella told him that she was going to interview Troy. Stan was disappointed because he was sure that his plan would work. She stood there for a while, watching Troy throw the ball with such grace. Watch as he floated across the hardwood floor towards the rim high above him.
When Troy spotted her, he smiled and walked over to her. “Right on time”.
Gabriella nodded, taking her eyes off of his sweat gleaming body. She dug into her bag, pulling out a portable tape recorder and notepad. “Where do you want to do this?”.
Troy smirked, stepping in closer to Gabriella. “My bed”. Gabriella sucked her teeth, pushing him out of her personal space. “Or your bed, either one is fine by me. Hell, I'll take you right here in this gym”.
Gabriella could feel her body heating up at his words. She didn't know she was feeling like this, but every time he was around, standing so close to her, the temperature in her body seemed to rise. Of course she would never admit this out loud.
“Let's just get the interview over with. I don't have all day”, Gabriella spat. She turned the recorder on and held it between them. “What's the best part of playing basketball for you?”.
Troy thought to himself, then smirked. “The girls that want to ride your dick...it come with the territory”.
“Why do you have to be so nasty?”, Gabriella asked, although she could care les about his answer. Grabbing her bag, Gabriella stormed out of the gym.
Troy ran after her, stopping her in the hall near the boys locker room. “Gabriella, look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you”.
Gabriella folded her arms across her chest, leaning against the wall. “Troy, this is a really big deal for me. If I don't do this interview, I may never get a chance do it again”.
“But, I thought you said you worked for the school's paper”, Troy said, his arm resting on the wall next to Gabriella’s head.
“Yeah, but I'm just the girl that does the lunch specials that no one reads”, Gabriella confessed, pushing back the fallen hair behind her ear. “You can go a head and laugh at me now”.
Troy shook his head. “I'm not going to laugh at you”. His voice was so warm and it made Gabriella feel as if what he was saying was genuine and true.
He took the recorder she held in her hand, turning it back on. “Ask me the question again”.
“What's the best part of playing basketball for you?”, Gabriella asked her earlier question. Her voice was a little shaky.
“The crowd”, Troy answered. “I love getting out there and hearing the crowd cheer my name. I love the intensity of the game. When it's down to the wire and no one knows who is going to win. I love making that last shot that settles it all”.
Gabriella smiled at his answer. “You just described how I felt about journalism”.
Troy's eyes met Gabriella, the two of them staring into the other's eyes. For the first time, Gabriella realized that Troy was actually cute. Of course that was when he wasn't being an ass or saying sexual comments that offended her. Troy began to move in close to Gabriella, his lips whispering over hers. He was about to lean in further, but was stopped at the sound of his father's voice.
“Troy!”, Jake Bolton, Troy's father and basketball coach called. He was standing behind the couple in the doorway for his office.
Troy turned to look at his father, who was smirking at the couple. Turning back to Gabriella, Troy smiled. “Wait for me here ok?”. All Gabriella could do was nod her head. She watched as troy walked away and into hs father's office.
“Close the door behind you”, Jack Bolton instructed, as he sat in the chair behind his desk.
Doing as his father instructed, Troy closed the door behind him, before sitting down in the armchair in the opposite side of the desk. “What’s up?”, Troy asked, placing the tape recorder down on the desk between them.
Jack smirked. “You tell me. I admit she’s not the type you usually go for, but she’s pretty”.
Troy glanced over his shoulder at Gabriella who was pacing and talking to herself. “It’s not even like that, dad. She’s a reporter for the school paper”.
“And you were just making her feel comfortable”, Jack stated raising an eyebrow at his son. Troy laughed, knowing where his father was taking the conversation next. “My son the lady’s man”.
While father and son talked inside the office, outside in the hallway, Gabriella paced back and forth. She was literally freaking out. She was yelling to herself silently, for allowing Troy to get so close to her. It was only physical and it wasn’t like he kissed her, but still. Never in all of her life had Gabriella let a guy get that close to her. She usually pushed them away or kneed them in the balls. But there was something about Troy that made her want to do neither. Throwing her hands up n the air, Gabriella debated on weather or not she should stay or go. Taking another look at Troy, Gabriella decided to leave.
“I’ll see you at home”, Troy told his father, as he exited the office. Looking around, he saw that Gabriella was no where to be found.
“Where did she go?”, Jack asked, coming to stand behind Troy. “You left this”, he said handing Troy the silver tape recorder.
Taking the recorder from his father, Troy shook his head. “It’s not mine. It’s Gabriella’s”.
After leaving his father’s office, tape recorder in hand, Troy went into the boys locker room to change. Most of the players on the team were already inside changing out of their practice uniforms. Troy sat down on the bench, laying Gabriella’s tape recorder beside him. He opened his locker, taking out his change of clothes.
“What’s up, dog”, Chad Danforth, Troy’s best friend and teammate greeted as he and a bunch of the other players rushed over to their lockers near Troy.
“Nothing”, Troy answered, pulling his shirt over his head. “What’s on the menu tonight?”.
“I don’t know about ya’ll, but I’ll be serving Jessica Sanders up a little piece of this tonight”, Jason Cross bragged.
“Had her”, Troy smirked, remembering the time he and the former cheer captain hooked up at a party one night.
“Everyone has had Jessica Sanders. The girl practically gives it away”, Chad piped in, throwing his T-shirt into his locker.
“Have you had her, Chad?”, Troy smiled at his best friend.
“No comment”, Chad laughed and so did the rest of the boys.
The boys continued to laugh and talk about what a slut Jessica was and how she always open for service. Zeke then went into detail of how little miss virginity saver, Kassie Steel went down on his last week at a party. He explained how she was totally hammered and didn’t know what she was doing. As the boys went on, talking about their latest conquest and scandalous details of the East High student body, the small red light on Gabriella’s tape recorder blinked rapidly, the tape in side spinning, silently recording every word they said.
Chapter One