A/N: Alright, this is my first time writing in a while, but please, don't go easy on me. If you review (which I hope you do) please be brutally honest.
Summary: At the end of senior year Gabriella and Troy had a falling out, causing everyone to choose sides and some to just plain out say 'fuck you all'. Very few people kept in contact with each other. Now, six years later, everyone is home, but nothing is going to be the same. The past six years have left our favourite Wildcats broken and bruised. Each and every one of them try to gain some semblance of a life as they suffer disaster after disaster, heartache after heartache and learn that you can really never go home. Can they all save each other? Or are they all royally screwed?
Rating: This story is rated M, but that is mainly for safety. There will be some violent situations, and some sensitive topics/issues. As of now, there is no sex planned. And if there is any, chances are it will be a fade to black type of situation. Nothing graphic.
Pairings: Troyella, Chaylor, minor Zekepay
Note: I'm planning for this to be Gabriella-centric. However we'll see how well that works out.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Blah. Blah, blah. I think we all know how this goes.
Gabriella Montez groaned as she heaved another box onto a dolly and began wheeling it toward her new house. It rolled along smoothly, gliding over the sidewalk lip with ease. The stairs up to the front door were too big and too steep, however, so Gabi went through the garage door instead. Meanwhile Gabriella's roommate, Taylor McKessie, one of the few people she kept in contact with after senior year, came into the foyer from up the stairs. A little girl trailed behind her. She stared at the walls that surrounded her in wonder, reaching her fingers out to trail them along the off-white walls. Seeing the child, Gabriella stood the dolly up, knelt down and opened her arms welcomingly.
"Blairbear, honey, did Auntie Taylor take you up to see your new room?" The child, Blair, smiled and ran over to Gabriella. Taylor leaned against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest, watching the two interact.
"Mmmhm. You should see it, mommy. It's purple! My room is purple!" Blair shook practically shook with excitement.
"Purple? You don't say!" Gabriella wrapped her arms around her daughter and leant her head down to whisper in her ear. "Hey, Blair, how about you go take your bedspread upstairs and I'll come up and help you put it on in a minute? We can set up your stuffed animals like you like them, too." Blair nodded obediently and Gabriella stood, grabbed the bedding bag off the top of the stack of boxes on the dolly and handed it to her child. Within seconds Blair had darted up the stairs. Gabriella stared after her for a few moments before turning toward Taylor who looked at Gabi with a knowing, sympathetic look.
"What?" Gabriella asked, raising a brow.
"She looks more and more like him every day." Taylor shook her head. "You sure you can handle this, Gab? Living back in Albuquerque, working at East High. What with Blair you're unearthing a lot of unneeded memories."
"I don't know what' you're talking about." Gabi said defiantly, tipping the dolly again and wheeling it toward the kitchen.
"Gabriella." Taylor sighed, following her friend.
"Taylor." Gabi replied as she unloaded the boxes. Taylor moved her hands to her hips and pursed her lips. Gabriella sighed.
"I'll be fine, Tay. It's been six years. I'm over it." Taylor raised a brow disbelievingly. Gab amended. "Okay, so I'm not completely over it. I'll never be completely over it. But I think this is a good way to come to terms with the past. Besides, it's not as if I'll see Troy. He doesn't live here anymore. He moved away to college. Last I heard he was in L.A. about to be signed to the Lakers.
Troy Bolton sat in the middle of his new living room, staring absently at the television. Several boxes were still scattered around the room. Troy and his roommate, Chad Danforth, had moved back to Albuquerque a week ago after Troy blew his knee, preventing him from pursuing a career in basketball, but they still hadn't completely finished unpacking. Lazy boys. Chad was in the kitchen raiding the fridge.
"Troy, you want a beer?!" Chad called. Troy deliberated for a moment before answering.
"Sure, why not? But only one—maybe two—We start at East High tomorrow." After Troy had lost his chances of being a big basketball star, his father had offered him his job at East High as coach and P.E. teacher. It wasn't exactly a dream job, but it would pay the bills. Chad would be joining him as assistant coach
Chad walked into the living room, throwing a can of beer to Troy, and plopped down on a recliner.
"Why are we taking that job again?"
"Because my father figured it would be a good way to get over what happened senior year." Troy shook his head. "Honestly, I don't know what he's talking about. I'm so over what happened in senior year."
Chad scoffed. "Come on, you've never gotten over Montez. You think about her constantly. Admit it. You're whipped. Always have been, always will be."
"You're one to talk. What about Taylor? After she dumped you, you spent an entire month moping around your house and mine, eating pint after pint of Ben and Jerry's. I don't think I've ever seen someone spend so much money on ice-cream before." Troy chucked a throw pillow at Chad who didn't move fast enough and wound up getting whacked in the face.
"Hey, I was not moping! I was… grieving the, um… loss of our… youth? Yeah, that's right. I was grieving the loss of our youth. We grew up so fast." He said, feigning nostalgia.
"Whatever. Look, I'm going to go for a jog." Troy got up from the couch and made his way to the front hall. Chad watched him, concerned.
"You sure you should do that? I mean it's been barely a month."
"Yeah, Chad. My physiologist said that, so long as I stretch first, a little jogging would be good for my rehabilitation."
"Alright, see you later then."
Several minute later, Troy was jogging down the street. He wore track pants and a white wife beater. The weather was still warm, seeing as it was only just September. He took large breaths of air through his nose, letting them out through his mouth. The wind whipped his hair around, tousling it. It was a nice feeling to be out and running again. Troy relished it.
Down the street he spotted a moving van with the back wide open and boxes still inside. As he approached the house it was clear that no one was coming out anytime soon. So Troy, being the kind, thoughtful man that he was, slowed to walk and stopped in front of the pathway that lead up to the house. He bent over, resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath for a moment. Then, with one final deep breath, he walked up to the door and knocked, ready to tell whoever was just moving in that their belongings were just asking to be stolen.
Gabriella and Taylor stood in their kitchen-slash-dining room unpacking and putting away dishes, glasses, cutlery and other cooking paraphernalia. Blair sat at the end of a rectangular dining table, munching away happily on macaroni and cheese. Gabi and Taylor were just discussing who would bring Blair to her daycare before work when a ding-dong sounded, signalling someone ringing the doorbell. Gabi and Taylor glanced toward the front of the house quickly before looking at each other curiously.
"Who could that be? We don't know anyone yet." Gabriella said, stating the obvious,
"Maybe it's a neighbour, welcoming us to the neighbourhood." Taylor shrugged. "I'll go get it." Gabriella nodded and Taylor made her way to the door, still holding a glass in her hand. She opened the door, looking curiously at the man before her. She didn't recognize him at first, but his voice was unmistakeable.
"Hey, I'm sorry to bother you, you're probably in the middle of—whoa, are you all ri—Taylor?" Taylor, who had frozen on the spot, didn't realize when the glass slipped from her fingers until it shattered on the floor. It had shocked Troy at first, but once he realized who was standing before him, he understood her reaction. If Troy had been holding a glass, he would have dropped it too.
"Taylor, are you alright? Blair and I heard a something smash." Gabriella rushed toward the front hall, wondering briefly if they were being robbed, what bad luck that would be.
Taylor realized too late that Gabriella coming to the door would be a very bad idea. "No, Gabriella, don't!" She called in vain.
Gabriella came to a halting stop when the sandy-blonde haired man came into view, her stomach clenching into painful knots and her breath catching in her throat. Troy's reaction had been much the same once he'd heard her voice. They stared at each other for a long time whilst Taylor watched cautiously. It was as if time stood still.
"Troy…" Gabriella's voice was barely audible to herself. Her mouth barely moved as she spoke. And then Blair piped up and the spell between Troy and Gabi was broken.
"Mummy? What's going on? Who's at the door?" The little girl came strolling into the hall. Gabriella looked at her child, then back at Troy, then back at her child. If she thought they looked alike before, seeing them nearly side-by-side made it clear that they were directly related.
"Blair, honey, go upstairs." Gabriella spoke quietly.
"But, mummy, what's going-"
"Upstairs, Blair, now." Something about her mother's tone made Blair cooperate. She walked upstairs obediently, looking back down at the group of people periodically. When Gabriella heard her bedroom door close, she took a deep breath and turned toward Taylor.
"I'm going to go get a broom to clean up this mess. Can you please…" She gestured toward Troy, refusing to look at him. Taylor nodded in understanding: get rid of Troy. With that, she turned and began walking back toward the kitchen. For the first time in several minutes, Troy, who had been watching the entire exchange speechlessly, spoke up.
"Gabriella, wait!" He called after her as she retreated and made to follow her, but Taylor held out her arm, blocking his access. Gabriella didn't turn around, but she paused.
"No, Troy." She said, shaking her head. "I quit waiting for you a long time ago."
A/N: What did you think? I know, it's very short and a little rushed. I might come back and re-write it before I post my next chapter. Please review, I'd love some constructive criticism. Though, speaking of reviews, I think I should tell you that, unlike most authors I've read, I will never threaten you with discontinuing my stories if I don't get x amount of reviews. Personally, I think that is a rotten thing to do. Besides, I write for myself and not for anyone else. Even if everyone hated my story, I would continue because I enjoy doing this.
Alright, I think I'm done