Author's Note:

So, this is my first story. It's based off of a true story. Sorry for the suckiness. The only time I've ever really wrote anything is for school essay's/assignments.

Twenty-five year old Gabriella Montez woke up late on a Monday morning and began her usual morning routine. This routine however, was very precise and she was convinced that if one tiny detail went wrong, her day would be ruined. It just so happened this was one of those days.

After waking up late she rushed herself. She picked out her clothes for the day, showered, put her make up on, ate breakfast, got in her car, and left her apartment. What went wrong you ask? She forgot to brush her teeth.

The day seemed to continually get worse after she realized she forgot to brush her teeth. First of all, it was snowing. Gabriella had lived in the southern part of the country majority of her life, never having to worry about severely cold weather or snow pretty much her whole life. When contemplating the decision to move to Colorado after she'd been offered a job at a law firm located near the city of Denver, she didn't consider the snow to be all that big of a deal. It was just white fluff, right? Well she should've thought harder and thought about how much she hated the cold weather.

After arriving at work, Gabriella meet up with a new client. After listening to the young woman, she quickly decided that there was no way she could prove her client innocence. Trying to think positively Gabriella thought about warm, tropical places. Before getting too lost in her thoughts of paradise, she quickly shook herself out of her daydream. Looking down at her desk she had fully intended on starting her work until she saw his picture. Well, the picture wasn't just of him, but of her as well. It was taken on her seventeenth birthday, she had received a necklace from him and when they arrived back from their date, in the midst of their goodnight kiss, Gabriella's mother had snapped the picture of them.

"Gabriella! Wait up! Hold o-," Gabriella could hear someone shout from down the hall. She stopped and turned around, recognizing the voice. After turning around she saw him, sprawled on the floor with a streak of water behind him, multiple people staring at him, some trying to hide their amusement, others not so much.

Smiling and giggling at her boyfriend's embarrassment, she headed toward him, holding her hand out to assist him in getting up he groaned in pain and made now sign of moving. Finally he spoke, respectively saying "Oh, shit."

Once again giggling at her boyfriend she jokingly said "Come on Wildcat, stand up you're embarrassing me."

"Glad to know you're sympathetic to my pain. You know, I could have hit my head, cracked it open, gotten a concussion, and been out the rest of the basketball season and all you care about is your embarrassment? Wow, I really thought you cared about me."

Rolling her eyes at his dramatic claims, he grasped her hand and finally stood up. After taking his time to pick up his belongings he put his arm around her shoulder and asked, "So how was your day? Anything significant happen? Any distinctive seventeen year old things happen today?"

"Considering you've been attached at my hip almost all day, you should know that nothing significant has happened, except that little stunt you just pulled."

"If you would have just waited by your locker like always I wouldn't have had to run down the hallways therefore it is technically your fault that I fell. You are so damn impatient sometimes." He smirked down at her, he knew she knew he was teasing her when he saw the slight smile on her face and could feel her lean into him.

As she leant into him, she thought about how she loved it when he swore. Gabriella seemed very innocent, and to a certain degree she was. She would never swear in public or wear seemingly risqué clothing. She respected herself and wasn't going to receive a bad reputation so early in her life because of the way she spoke or the clothes she wore. Of course, she was not oblivious to her surroundings and had done not very innocent things with her boyfriend behind closed doors and for some strange reason, she just loves the way he would let a not so nice word slip.

"So, you'll pick me up at eight o'clock?" She questioned, changing the subject to the birthday surprise her boyfriend was inevitably planning, "You better be on time."

"Who knows? Since it's your birthday, I might even be five minutes early," He looked down at her. He was never late, he always left his house way to early before their dates because he was always anxious to see her.

Reaching her car, a small used Toyota Camry, he opened her door for her and let her get in the driver's seat, but not before quickly pecking her lips. "Eight o'clock, be ready."

"Of course," She replied before giving one more kiss and said, "Love you," before sliding into her seat.

"Love you too," He said with a smile before shutting the door for her and heading back to his own truck. Both started their cars with smiles on their faces knowing that after knowing each other for twelve years, they could maintain a relationship as well as the friendship they'd had ever since they meet on the big yellow school bus at the ages of five and six.

That night, Troy had given her a simple silver necklace with a small ruby on it. Red was her favorite color and she immediately adored it. It was perfect. They had lain on a blanket together, looking at the stars and eating a variety of different types of candy in the park that they had played at when they were kids when he gave her the necklace. Thinking of that day she felt her heart ache a little. It had been almost eighteen months. Eighteen months since their last kiss, their last night together in their small but cozy apartment, eighteen months since he left. She had thought about him a lot in the past few days. It was the eighteenth of December and with her second Christmas without him safe, at home in their apartment quickly approaching it seemed like all she could think about was him. She didn't want anything to do with the holiday this year. She put off buying presents for her friends and family and had no interest of getting a tree, especially without him there to carry it through their door. She let her head drop in her hands.

It was going to be a long day. Why didn't she brush her damn teeth?