New Story! Sucky summary, but I promise when you read the intro, you'll love it more than when reading the summary. The inspiration for the story comes from a song by Ne-Yo off his album Year Of The Gentleman, the story is named after it so Fade Into the Background is the song. So honestly, I would recommend looking it up and listening to it while you read the introduction because well, that's how I pretty much wrote it. I also don't own Ne-Yo or the song although if I did, I'd be making serious bank.

Oh and question, how would you guys feel about me posting 2 stories at once? Would it be too much to follow? I've got 2 stories I want to post cuz I'm almost done with both and I enjoy writing them, so I wouldn't mind as long as you guys are down for it. Review and let me know (: Sorry in advance for any errors, I'm terrible at proof reading.

A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.

-George Bernard Shaw

Fade Into the Background

Introduction

Troy bit his lip as he pulled his car into a parking space in the church's parking lot. He put the car in park and turned to watch the people gathered, walking in the church together. They were all here for one reason and one reason only. All of these people were here to watch a happy couple be united in matrimony. And Troy wasn't sure what the hell he was doing here.

He took his keys from the ignition, opening the door and stepping out with a sigh. He glanced around at all the people, a few looking his way momentarily, trying to place him. He hesitantly locked his car before jamming the keys down into the pocket of his suit jacket, before strolling towards the church door.

At the door, he was met with a smiling man in a white suit. It took him a few seconds to realize exactly who it was, but even after, he wasn't too concerned with the usher but more with the main two people this gathering was about.

"Troy," the usher sighed, running a hand over his face. "What are you doing here man?"

Troy shrugged, looking into the church with his hands swiftly tucked into his pocket. "She invited me."

The usher with the big bushy hair eyed him carefully. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Troy quickly scanned the church and turned back to his friend. "I'm fine. I should at least make sure she's happy.

Chad Danforth nodded, jerking his head to the left side of the church. "Anywhere on the bride's side man."

"Thanks."

As Troy made his way down the aisle covered in a sparkly white cloth, he had to control his breathing, seeing all the faces of the family of the woman he'd grown to know so well. A few looked at him as he found his way to his seat, some giving him looks of sympathy as he went, but he wasn't worried about what anyone was saying about him at this point.

He took his seat behind the young woman that had a striking resemblance to the bride that would be coming down that aisle soon enough. The woman turned around quietly and gave him a polite smile.

"Hi, Troy."

He nodded curtly at her, too overwhelmed to really say anything. Now he was really wondering why he had come here.

"She'll be glad that you came, you know."

He nodded again, his eyes drifting to the altar at the man that was standing in his tux next to the priest, a huge smile on his face. A smile that should have been his.

But it wasn't him standing at that altar. It wasn't him with the huge smile on his face. He wasn't the one that had something to look forward to. He wasn't going home with someone else at the end of this day. He wouldn't have anyone bearing his last name. His family wasn't sitting opposite hers on the other side. This wasn't his day, but it was hers. She was moving on without him.

But that's what he wanted her to do right? He had to expect that eventually she would. She wasn't going to sit around and wait for him to come around forever. Part of him had wanted her too, but the other part of him knew he was being selfish. He should be happy for her. He was trying to be happy for her. But trying was nowhere near definitely.

The church got awfully quiet in the next few minutes. Everyone had taken their seats and all heads had already turned to face the back of the church as the traditional music had started up from the guy playing the organ at the right.

Taking a deep breath, Troy turned his head to join everyone else's, both regretful and breathtaking by his view.

She looked so good standing at the far end in her flowing white dress. The veil covering her face and the man he'd been so scared of from the start holding on to her arm. He could just make out the tears that stained her cheeks as she moved down the aisle. It seemed as if time was going in slow motion when her eyes looked over to connect with his momentarily and she sent him a shy smile.

Troy sat frozen. He couldn't do this. He shouldn't be here. As soon as she reached the top of the aisle and stood by the man she was soon to be married to, Troy slid his way past the others in the aisle and stepped out of the church. He definitely needed some time to breathe before he went back in there; if he went back in there.

*FIB* *FIB*

Shortly after Troy's breather, the wedding party made its way out of the church, all gathering outside to take pictures and then head off to the reception area.

Troy stood off to the side as he watched her walk through the crowd, her new husband on her arm as they greeted their guests together. He tried to make himself shrink away as she got closer, but he didn't have the balls to, so instead he was just standing there looking at the ground as she reached him and realized who she was standing in front of.

She gently touched his hand, bringing his head up to look at her. He felt his heart stop beating as gave him a soft smile and mouthed a quiet thank you to him to which he nodded in understanding. He looked over at her soul mate and he noticed the guy watching their interaction before he gave Troy a nod and a polite smile.

He tried to keep himself together as they quickly moved away to another couple standing near him. He pushed his way away from the crowd and toward his car, getting ready to follow the rest of the party to the reception hall.

When he got there, he quietly took his seat, not really acknowledging or making an effort to talk anyone around him. He glanced around, nodding slightly at everyone that looked his way or smiled at him.

He sat and watched the activities that took place, with a stone in his chest. He knew that if he hadn't screwed up, that would have been him. He looked down at the alcohol in his glass, swishing it around slightly before glancing back over at the bride and groom, happily taking pictures with their family. Troy then drank the rest of what was in his glass in gulp and then picked up the bottle off the table, heading out the reception hall, ignoring the looks he was getting from the people that had just stared after him.

There was however, one person who took note of Troy's leaving and decided to follow behind him, excusing herself from the people around her and running after him despite the protests she received. She grabbed the hem of her dress to make sure she didn't trip over it as she stepped outside into the brisk evening air, looking frantically around for the head of chestnut brown hair she'd grown so used to.

She spotted him a few yards away, standing in the sand that made up the beach that was surrounding the reception hall. He was holding the bottle he'd grabbed off the table, holding it upside down as he swiftly chugged it without a second thought. The woman's shoes were soon shed on the concrete as she stepped into the sand barefoot and still holding her dress up to keep it away from the sand. She slowly crept up behind him, pretty confident that he already knew she was there. As she got closer, he turned his head sideways and she caught a glimpse of his eyes that the moon reflected itself off of, showing the glassy look that settled in them.

"Troy," she spoke softly to him for the first time in over a year. The last time they'd been together alone, he'd admitted to not wanting to disappoint her anymore and she fought back tears at the prospect of understanding what he was really saying to her. "I….I'm glad you came."

He sighed, feeling a little bit of a buzz from the alcohol and a rush of emotions. "Why? So you could flaunt your new life in my face."

Gabriella Montez-Adams stared at the back of her former lovers head as he didn't turn to face her. "Don't be like this," she pleaded.

"Be like what Gabriella?" He snapped turning around to face her and letting her see just how red his face was. "Be jealous? Hurt? Angry? I can't help it! The woman I love just got married to another man; I can't exactly be the fucking happiest person on that planet right now."

She shook her head. "You make it seem like it's my fault. I wasn't the one who said they didn't want to be together anymore. I wasn't the one that barely came home every night. I wasn't the one that questioned the love for his girlfriend. You were. You brought this on yourself, when you could have simply avoided it."

"Well it's too late now isn't it," he questioned, looking up into the night sky as he took another drink from the bottle.

She bit her lip as the tears spilled down her face. "Troy I loved you, and to be completely honestly I still do. I don't think I'll ever stop but I couldn't…I couldn't cry myself to sleep over you every night anymore. I had to move on…"

"And I'm happy you did," he interrupted. "You don't need me."

"I love you!" She screamed at him. "I'm never going to get over that, don't you get it!? Even married to Kevin, I can't stop the feelings I have for you. Even though you couldn't commit, it doesn't affect how I feel for you."

Troy swallowed, a moment of silence. "You should go back inside. It's pretty cold out here and you're not covered up properly."

She shook her head, the tears still spilling down her face at a rapid pace, making her happy that her mother had suggested waterproof makeup. "Do you see what I mean? We're standing here, me newly married, and you not having me and the only thing you're worried about is me being cold. These are the reasons I fell in love with you Troy."

He looked over at her, taking in her tear stained cheeks. "Now you love Kevin."

"I do, but there's still you."

"But you don't have me Gabriella. And mostly importantly I don't have you! That's what hurts me the most, knowing I had you and I let you slip through my fingers and I think about it every day. I swear if I could just go back, I would have never doubted myself, never doubted us. But I didn't want to hurt you so I tried to save you from myself and I hurt you anyway. I didn't want to hurt you later, so I hurt you sooner."

She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling the chill of the night. "Why were you so scared of hurting me? You loved me and that was all that mattered."

He shook his head, looking into her eyes. "I wasn't used to it. I wasn't used to having one woman in my life and loving her so much like I did you. I was afraid I was going to be unfaithful to you and hurt you like I've hurt so many, so I tried to spare you."

Gabriella choked on her sobs as she listened to Troy.

"I figured if I stopped us before we got too attached, I wouldn't have the time to hurt you too bad."

"But you were wrong. We'd already gotten attached. We'd already said I love you. How did you figure I wouldn't be hurt after that?"

"I don't know," he cried. "I just know I was scared. I've never told a woman I loved her before and meant it and saying it to you….I scared myself and I had to stop before I fell too deep."

Her small fingers wiped the tears that were falling rapidly. "And what about now?"

"Obviously I screwed up. I miss you and I want you to be mine, but I can't have that."

She took in his figure as he looked back at her. "You came to make sure I was happy. You want closure," she stated, already knowing and feeling that she herself would have done the same. "I love you Troy Bolton and that's never going to change. I'm married and we can't be together but…I want one last night with you."

Troy looked down at her, not believing the words that had come from her mouth.

"No," he protested. "As much as I want to, I'm not going to let you cheat on Kevin."

"Troy please. One last time. I need this and I know you do too, please?"

Without hesitation this time, Troy's hands found Gabriella hips covered in the white material, grabbing onto them and pulling her flush again his body and pressing their lips together. Gabriella kissed back furiously, her hands moving to his suit jacket as she pushed it off his shoulders ripping the tie off after and then went to work on his dress shirt, un-tucking it and staring to unbutton it from the bottom up. Once she finished on his upper half, she went to unbuckle the belt on his pants and he pulled away to gaze at her. He took in her beauty, the plumpness of her lips, the lust in her eyes, and the longing in her face and he decided that this was what he wanted. If he could never have her again, he was at least going to have her one last time. As she worked on getting his pants off, he swiftly moved his hand behind her to unzip the wedding gown and free her of it. Before long, both of their clothes were thrown in the sand as they had their one last moment of love in that same sand, not caring about anything else but the other. Forgetting that they no longer belonged to the other and that Gabriella now had another man that was to love her, they made love to each other, never wanting the moment to end as they were joined as lovers once again in the air of the night.