TITLE: Six Years Today
AUTHOR: Charli (DancingSweetheart)
RATING: K
FEEDBACK: Rox my Sox!!! But constructive criticism is great too – really, tell me if it sucks!
DISCLAIMER: Sadly... I don't own High School Musical. sigh
PAIRING/CHARACTERS: Troyella
SUMMARY: It's a hard day for Gabriella. But if anyone can get her to open up and talk about her grief, Troy can.
Ok, this was an idea I have had floating around in my head for a little while and seeing as I am stuck at home with Tonsillitis AND an Ear Infection, and my Laptop as my only friend, I thought I'd write it and see where it went. It is only my second fic ever, and I'm not 100 percent sure I'm happy with it, but if I kept editing it I was going to end up deleting the whole thing SOOO...I decided to post it anyway. I hope you like it :)
Love, Charli xox
Six Years Today
A soft ripple swirled across the water as a pebble skimmed its surface, distorting the reflection of the girl who was sat at the lakeside, staring deep into the clear shallows.
A soft sigh escaped her lips and she shifted her position a little, tossing another flat stone half-heartedly across the water before raking her fingers through her long, dark curls and flopping back onto the slightly damp grass.
A few blocks away, a teenage boy with slightly shaggy dark blonde hair approached the front door of a familiar house and rang the door bell. After less than a minute the door clicked open, and the woman in the doorway smiled.
"Hello Troy."
"Hi Ms. Montez," Troy Bolton replied. "Uh...I was just wondering if Gabriella was around? We missed her at school today, and I wanted to make sure she was ok. I mean, I knew today was going to be hard for the both of you, and I was...I was worried about..."
Maria Montez nodded, giving her daughter's best friend another warm smile. "I had a feeling it would be you at the door. Gabriella is lucky to have such a great friend, Troy."
Troy looked down at his feet, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans. Sensing his embarrassment, Maria didn't attempt to press her point any further.
"She's actually not here at the moment, though. She went for a walk to try and ... clear her head I guess. She said she just wanted to be on her own."
"Oh..." Troy said quietly, a hint of dejection present in his tone. He looked up, however, as he felt Maria's hand on his shoulder.
"I think you know where to find her..."
HSMHSMHSMHSMHSM
Lying on her back with her hands linked together, resting behind her head, ignoring the cool chill on her back as the dampness of the grass at the lakeside slowly soaked into her clothes, Gabriella Montez watched the clouds floating lazily overhead.
As much as she felt she should be with her Mom right now, Gabriella had had to get out – to escape from her own thoughts and the overwhelming sadness which she had awoken to when her alarm had gone off at 6.55am that morning.
As much as she knew she could have drawn on her closest friends for support today, she had found herself unable to face them, preferring to spend the day locked in her room with a box full of photos and her most treasured memories, her deepest thoughts her only companion. Her mother had tried to talk to her, tried to get her to open up ... but Gabriella had shut herself off from the world, the same way she did on this day every year.
Troy's jog slowed to a walk and eventually to a standstill as he spotted her, lying on her back in the grass, her eyes now closed. His heart broke as he felt her sadness just by watching her. She was upset, and that made him upset. She was hurting, and so he was hurting too.
He moved slowly and quietly until he reached her, wordlessly lying down next to her, shivering slightly as he felt the cool damp grass beneath him.
Gabriella sensed that she was no longer alone. However she didn't need to open her eyes to know who was there. Without saying a word, she moved her hand and found his, feeling immediate comfort as their fingers laced together.
They lay like that for quite some time – no words needed to be exchanged. She knew he was there for her.
After a while Gabriella spoke, although her eyes remained closed.
"How'd you find me, Troy?" she asked quietly.
"Easy," Troy answered. "I know you too well, Gabby."
Satisfied enough, Gabriella fell back into a comfortable silence.
Troy was the one who broke it this time.
"You wanna talk about it?" he asked, not expecting her to reply.
She was quiet for a moment but then, to Troy's surprise, she began to talk.
"Six years," she murmured. "Six years...I can't believe it's been that long already."
Troy just gave her hand a small squeeze, encouraging her to continue.
"I still remember the day it all started – the day they first told me what was going on. Almost seems like yesterday really. I knew something was wrong – I could feel it, y'know?" she paused for a moment, turning her head to the side, her eyes meeting Troy's for the first time that afternoon. Troy nodded, showing he understood.
"I got off the school bus and walked home, but no one was there and no one had left the house keys out for me. I remember being so, so mad with both of them – Mom and Dad. I thought they had forgotten all about me. I climbed the back fence and sat in the backyard sulking, feeling totally sorry for myself," she gave a small, sad giggle before continuing.
"When it started to get dark, I started to worry. There was always someone home to be with me after school, and if something came up they would always leave the keys and a note. I went over to our neighbours' house and asked if I could use their phone. I tried to call both their cell phones ... but neither answered. I had no idea what was going on, or what I should do," Gabriella took a shaky breath, and Troy gently rubbed his thumb back and forth over her hand.
"I waited at the neighbours' and eventually I saw Mom's car pull into the driveway. I was scared to go home, because I had this terrible feeling that something was wrong and part of me just didn't want to face that. I watched from the window as mom got out of the car – she looked worn out and I could tell she had been crying. I noticed Dad was in the car too and Mom helped him out. She looked up and saw me watching them ... I ran away from the window. A few minutes later she came to get me."
Flashback
Mom had one arm wrapped around me as she escorted me across the lawn and up our front steps.
"Why weren't you here, Mommy?" I asked in a small voice, part of me wanting a good reason, part of me not wanting to know why.
Mom stopped and bent down in front of me, both of her hands gripping both of my shoulders. I suddenly felt afraid – like I was a young child again.
"I'm so, so sorry baby. We never meant for you to be left here alone. But something happened today that...how about we go inside huh? Daddy and I need to have a big talk to you... and I need you to be a brave girl, ok?"
I nodded, trying my best not to show in my eyes the deep fear I was feeling, as my mother led me into the house...
"In that moment I knew that my life was about to change forever. My dad was on the couch, looking pale and tired, and my mom had tears in her eyes. They sat me down and they... I was just... They said..." Gabriella broke off as her eyes filled with tears, several escaping and trickling down her cheeks.
Troy moved closer to her, reaching his free hand across to brush the tears from her face with his thumb.
"It's ok, Gabby – you don't have to tell me if it's too hard. It's ok."
Gabriella shook her head. "No, I want to – I ... I need to. I've kept all this inside for too long."
Troy nodded. "Ok. Well you take all the time you need. I'm not going anywhere," he said, looking her straight in the eye, and sealing the deal with a squeeze of her hand.
"Thanks Troy," she gave him a teary smile and took a deep breath.
"Mom sat down next to me and held my hand. She told me that my father had been unwell for a few weeks, but that morning she had put her foot down and taken him up to the hospital to find out once and for all what was wrong."
Flashback
"Gabby honey, the doctors gave us some bad news about Daddy today. We're going to need you to be strong for him, and to keep showing him that beautiful smile of yours – that will be the best medicine for him."
I nodded slowly, my hands shaking. I didn't want to hear what I knew was coming. It was my father's turn to speak.
"Sweetheart, the doctors at the hospital told me that I have cancer."
I felt my breath catch sharply in my throat, hot tears stinging my eyes.
"What sort?" I heard myself say, although I didn't feel my lips form the words.
"It's a rare form of Leukemia – that means it is in my blood and bone marrow."
"Can they fix it?" I asked.
The concerned glance that passed between my mother and father did not go unnoticed. I knew there was more to the story than the answer they were about to give.
My dad gave me a small smile that didn't reach his sad eyes.
"They're going to try, honey. They're going to try their best."
I was numb. I felt Mom's arm around me as she asked me to go upstairs and wash up for dinner. She told me we were having Daddy's favourite, because he would be going to hospital tomorrow for a while. She wanted to make tonight special for him.
I walked out into the hallway and began to climb the stairs, pausing as I heard my mother's voice.
"How are we going to tell her, Carlos? How are we going to tell her how serious it really is?" I could tell she was trying hard not to cry.
I heard my father sigh. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, Maria."
"Six months, they told him," Gabriella said, shifting her gaze back towards the heavens. "They didn't expect the treatment to work, and they were giving him six months to live."
Troy felt her shudder, but remained silent, allowing her to continue.
"In the end he didn't even make it to six months. He died at home in his sleep not quite four months after his diagnosis. The doctors all told Mom and I that it was peaceful, and he wasn't in any pain ... I guess it was all we could have asked for him. That was six years ago today."
Troy didn't say a word. He sat up, pulling Gabriella with him, and held her close, rocking her back and forth as she cried into his chest.
After some time she pulled back, wiping her hand over the wet patch on the front of Troy's shirt.
"I'm sorry, Troy," she laughed softly. "I made you all soggy!"
Troy smiled at her, taking her hands in his and pulling her to her feet.
"Come on – let's walk."
They brushed themselves off and Troy wrapped an arm around Gabriella's shoulders. Gabriella allowed him to lead her away from the lake, and through the park. They walked together in silence, until Troy spoke up, somewhat hesitantly.
"Thanks for opening up to me, El. I know how painful it must be for you to dredge up all those difficult memories."
Gabriella looked up at him. "I trust you, Troy," she said simply. To Troy, that meant the world.
The pair continued to walk for a little while longer before sitting down side-by-side on a bench they came across, Troy keeping his arm around Gabriella.
"There are a lot of wonderful memories too," Gabriella said suddenly. "I guess I've let the sad things overshadow the good over the last few years, though."
Troy rubbed her arm with his hand. "Remember, I'm here to listen if you want to keep talking."
Gabriella smiled, her wistful gaze extending far into the distance.
"Chocolate cake," she said with a giggle.
"Hey?" Troy looked at her, puzzled.
"Chocolate cake – that was his one weakness. Mom used to tease him about it all the time. I remember one day - I was about five or six - Mom was at work, and Dad pulled out a whole heap of ingredients and called me into the kitchen to help."
Flashback
"Ella, my Bella – come help Daddy in the kitchen," my father called from downstairs.
"Coming Daddy!" I yelled excitedly. My dad was in the kitchen, and that only meant one thing – chocolate cake! I ran down the stairs two at a time, and hurtled into the kitchen.
I squealed with delight as he lifted me up and twirled me around before setting me down on the bench top.
"Can I work the mixer daddy? Puhleeeease?" I begged as my dad laughed, passing over the controls.
"Remember, keep the beaters down in the bowl, and don't turn it up too high!" my father warned.
"Yes, daddy," I replied eagerly, flipping the switch to the highest setting.
"Ella Bella!!"
Gabriella laughed - tears rolling down her cheeks – and Troy smiled fondly.
"My mom walked in from work about thirty seconds later – Dad and I were there covered from head to toe in cake mix," she shook her head. "Mum took one look and said 'I don't think I even want to know!' She just went upstairs to take a bath!"
Troy joined in with her laughter as he pictured a much younger Gabriella, covered in cake mix, her eyes sparkling with laughter and full of admiration for her father. It didn't seem fair that she had lost him forever.
"You must have so many treasured memories, Gabby," Troy said kindly and Gabriella nodded.
"When I was little, all my friends called my dad 'the Cool Dad'," she grinned. "He was so much fun to be around – I can't ever remember a time when I didn't feel happy around him. If I had friends over, he always went out of his way to make sure that we had a good time. After he died, my mom threw herself into her work, and that's when we started moving around a lot. We were never really in one place long enough for me to get close to anyone. I didn't have a proper friend after that ... till you ..." Gabriella concluded, standing up and grabbing his hand.
"Come on, let's go back to my place – I want to show you something."
HSMHSMHSMHSMHSM
Maria Montez smiled as she spotted her daughter walking hand in hand up the front path with Troy Bolton.
"Mom, I'm home!" she called as they came through the front door. "Wait here – I have to find them," she told Troy, as she dashed up the stairs.
"Wow," Maria commented, emerging from the kitchen. "Who is that girl, and what have you done with my daughter?" she joked.
Troy shrugged. "It was nothing, really Ms Montez. She talked, I listened."
Maria smiled warmly. "Thanks Troy – for everything."
Nothing more needed to be said.
"Got them!" Gabriella called, hurrying down the stairs with her arms full of photo albums and dragging Troy into the lounge room.
They sat down on the couch and Gabriella placed the first album on Troy's lap. He opened it to the first page, and his eyes fell upon a picture of a younger Maria and a tan-skinned man smiling for the camera, nursing a newborn baby between them.
"Wow – you were so tiny!" Troy grinned at Gabriella who nodded, tears in her eyes. He wrapped a comforting arm around her as they continued to flip through page after page, album after album – reliving the first ten years of Gabriella's life, the ten years where she had both her mother AND her father by her side.
As they closed the final album, Troy felt like he had just gotten to know his best friend all over again. They moved the albums off their laps, onto the table, before sitting back on the couch.
"Thankyou so much Troy – you'll never know how much you helped me today," Gabriella said sincerely.
"Aaah it was nothing," Troy replied modestly. "Anyway, thanks for sharing all this with me," he gestured to the albums on the table in front of them. "Your Dad seems like he was a really great guy."
Gabriella leaned forward suddenly and kissed Troy quickly on the lips.
"Yeah, he was," she said, her eyes sparkling. "And I think he would have really liked you too."
Maria Montez watched from the stairs, tears glistening in her eyes as her daughter talked so enthusiastically about her father, before apparently gaining a huge dose of courage, and kissing Troy Bolton for the first time. Her lips curled into a smile.
For the first time in six years, she was seeing the old Gabriella again. In fact, her little girl had been emerging from her self-woven cocoon ever since New Years.
Ever since she had met Troy.
Maria sighed happily as, with one last look at Troy and Gabriella, she turned and continued on her way up the stairs. She knew that as long as Gabby had Troy by her side, she would continue to grow into the confident, strong, beautiful butterfly that her father would have wanted her to become.
For the first time in six years, she knew truly knew that Gabriella would be ok.
And it was all thanks to Troy.
So, there you go. Just a little idea I had that I wanted to get out of my head. What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Let me know :) Thanks for reading!!!