Chapter Thirteen

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Sophie rung the doorbell of the Bolton household later that day. Mrs. Bolton paused what she was doing and answered the door.

"Hey, sweetheart. Troy is out back with his dad," Mrs. Bolton directed once she realized Sophie was their guest.

"Basketball?" Sophie questions.

"As always," Mrs. Bolton chuckles.

Sophie said goodbye as she made her way through the house and to the backyard.

"Soph!" Troy exclaims when he sees his girlfriend on his patio. "Is it six already?"

Flipping her phone open, Sophie focuses on the clock and declares, "6:06." Glancing up she adds, "But don't let me stop you, babe. Hey, Mr. Bolton," as she waves.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you," Mr. Bolton grinned, happy that he can continue playing basketball.

"It's no problem. I'll just sit here and wait," Sophie laughed, enjoying the look on her boyfriends face. She can tell that he didn't want to practice anymore. She justifies her amusement of the situation by blaming Troy. It is his fault that he decided to use his phone to talk to Gabriella rather than wave to her from the front of the room. And then he caused that whole domino effect of detention, and then missed practice. 'It's so his fault,' Sophie thought to herself as she got settled on the porch stairs.

"I still don't understand this whole detention thing," Mr. Bolton asks again, knowing he would get an answer from either his son or his son's girlfriend.

"It was my fault. Sorry, Dad." Troy admits through his labored breathing.

When Mr. Bolton looks to Sophie she nods along with Troy.

"You know Darbus will take any opportunity to bust my chops. That includes yours too," warns Mr. Bolton. They continue to play basketball before Troy asks another question.

"Hey, dad? Did you ever think about trying something new, but were afraid of what your friends might think?"

"You mean like, going left? You're doing fine. Come on."

Sophie signs as she rests her head on her palm. This conversation was not going in the right direction. She hates that Troy is so conflicted over whether or not it is socially acceptable to be in the school musical. It isn't even that big of a deal.

"Well, no. I mean, what if you wanna try something really new and it's a total disaster and all of your friends laugh at you." Troy asks.

"Well then, maybe they're not really your friends," Mr. Bolton concludes. Before he can continue, Sophie lets out a quick 'Amen' in response.

Chuckling, Mr. Bolton adds, "And that was my whole point about team today. You guys gotta look out for each other, and you're the leader."

'Okay, it came back to basketball. Not good,' Sophie thought.

Through Troy's weak protests, Mr. Bolton started to ramble about college scouts and scholarships. They get back to practicing with Troy feeling defeated.

After 20 minutes of practice the boys were done and Sophie and Troy headed up to his room. Troy flopped on his bed face down while Sophie took a seat on the desk chair.

"Troy," Sophie started. He hummed into his pillow.

"Do you honestly want to do the musical?"

Troy flipped around on his back and sat up so quickly she was surprised that he didn't get whiplash.

"Why would you think that," he sputtered.

"Babe, I know you. It's been written on your face all day," Sophie reveals. She moved to sit beside him on the bed.

"Could other people tell?" He mumbled as he took her hands in his.

"No, but you need to stop worrying about what other people think. Look at me," She ordered softly. When his eyes remained focused on their intertwined hands, she gently pulled one hand away to tilt his head until their eyes met.

"I'm looking," Troy muttered, a small smile beginning to form on his face.

"You are the kindest, most loyal, and most loving person I know. If someone can't be all of those things to you, then there's no real point in being friends, is there?" she mused.

Troy thought the words over before saying, "I love you, so much."

As he leaned in to kiss her she mumbled, "I know."

Troy let out a loud laugh before he tackled her backwards onto his bed and smothered her face in kisses. Through their laughter they heard Mrs. Bolton yell something along the lines of 'No funny business,' which only made them laugh harder.

Once their laughter subsided, Sophie found herself under Troy who hovered above her.

"I love you, too," Sophie beamed. Troy gently ran his thumb along the curve of her cheek.

"I know."  

Sweetest Devotion ||Troy Bolton||Where stories live. Discover now