A/N: I just finished watching HSM2 a few hours ago. And I asked myself the question... what if Gabriella didn't come back to sing the duet with Troy? What would have become of our most adorable pairing? This is my humble attempt at answering the question...
A little trivia—like Now You're Here, this title is also from a song—the line, "Here I am, the one that you love, asking for another day..." Lea Salonga sings it very well. And I happen to think it is very, very fitting.
Disclaimer: I don't claim to own any characters, actors, etc. Basically—I'm a fan. Don't sue me. Kaythanks. (:
The song was over. Troy felt stupid, drained, and heartbroken. Sharpay was as happy as ever—after all, they were "meant to sing together." During his performances, Troy had managed to maintain his composure and pretend that everything was fine—he had his friends back by pulling a few strings with Sharpay and getting them into the show.
But his best friend was still gone.
No, not Chad. He was still somewhere, probably chatting it up with Taylor.
Troy reached into his pocket and pulled out the simple necklace with a single red T charm. "T as in Troy." It had been his promise. A promise that she ended up not wanting. Or not trusting him to be able to keep. Which was worse?
He sighed and leaned against his truck—the one he had spent probably days altogether working on with his dad. He had promised to take her to a movie sometime ago. He couldn't even remember.
I promised.
Troy lifted his head towards the dark, starry night sky and could only think of one person he would rather be with than anyone else in the world... and she didn't want him anymore.
The best thing that ever happened to you... that ever could happen to you. And you blew it, Bolton.
If only she had seen how much he had really changed—he was still the Troy she loved. Still the Troy that loved her more than he could ever possibly let her know. The Troy that made her feel like "a girl." The Troy that thought she was the most beautiful, amazing, talented, and intelligent girl he had ever known. The Troy that thought maybe... maybe he would be lucky enough to keep her long enough to maybe... maybe spend the rest of his life with her.
Troy closed his eyes in pain, reliving every moment that had passed between the two of them that past week. It was supposed to be a summer worth remembering. The first week of that summer had probably been the worst week of his life.
And, maybe he was crazy, but he didn't really think that climbing up the side of her house and singing to her was going to work this time. She'd been serious. She walked away. He ran after her. She still left.
Troy had been so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't notice when Chad came and sat next to him.
"Hey."
"Oh... hey." Troy didn't look at his friend. He just stared on into the never-ending parking lot, hoping that if he stared long enough, Gabriella might appear and tell him how she loved him and missed him.
"That show was... good. But you seemed a little out of it." Deciding not to beat around the bush anymore, Chad cut straight to the chase: "Have you talked to Gabriella lately?"
Troy half-snorted, half-sighed. "I don't know if she'd even want to talk to me."
Chad eyed Troy carefully. "You'll never find out if you never make that call."
"Look, I was a jerk. You wouldn't talk to me. Gabbi was dancing with Ryan, eating her mom's brownies. Sharpay wouldn't leave me alone... and all of you suffered for it. I was forgetting about her... blowing everyone important to me off for people who Sharpay probably paid to even talk to me. I missed dates... at least three in a row. I'm surprised she left me as late as she did."
"You love her. Don't even deny it. You've never said it. You've never so much as really even kissed her. But you know it, and I know it, and everyone else does. Since Gabriella's the other party in this relationship..."
"... ex-relationship..."
"... then it's about time you clue her in." After some silence, he added, "Remember when we were kids, and all we could do was watch basketball, and we really sucked at playing?"
Troy nodded.
"Remember how you got so much better so much faster than I could even shoot decently, and I was so upset that I was just going to give up? Remember what you said?"
The ends of his lips curved slightly as Troy said, "If you really love something, you'll be willing to do whatever it takes... wait however long it takes."
"And I think I'd be right if I said that Gabriella is just a little more important to you than basketball."
"... thanks, man."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Gabriella stood in the kitchen, doing the dinner dishes. She was currently scrubbing the brownie pan, and felt a twinge of pain at remembering how Troy used to love them, and how he snapped at Ryan when her new friend was telling him about how he loved them, too. With this, she looked out the small window in the general direction of Lava Springs. They were probably just cleaning up after the big Midsummer Night's Talent Show. Troy and Sharpay probably won. Maybe Sharpay had given him a "victory kiss." At that thought, she threw down the brownie pan then jumped at the sound. It seemed so unfair. Why did the girls who played dirty seem to always win their twisted little games?
Only this "game" wasn't little. And by forfeiting, she had lost the one person in the entire world who had ever really understood her. The person whose voice in her head lulled her to sleep at night. The person who had the best shoulder to cry on, and the best arms to be hugged with. The person who... wasn't that person anymore.
It didn't change anything, she knew. She loved him. She knew she did, and probably always would. Her eyes watered as she thought about how he, obviously, didn't think of her as highly.
Sure, he gave her that sweet necklace. He took her on a picnic and an against-the-rules after-work swim. Those two dates had gotten her two steps closer to being fired, but they were two of the best parts of her summer so far. Mostly because nothing improved beyond that point.
But once Sharpay offered him things Gabriella, nor anyone else, could... Troy began to drift away. Slowly but surely, he changed into an Italian-golf-shoe-wearing, friend-ignoring, date-forgetting... jerk.
A jerk that she still loved.
But it was obvious that Sharpay knew no limits when it came to Troy Bolton.
If she wants him that badly, Gabriella thought, she can have him. Until someone better comes along.
Sharpay didn't love Troy. Nobody did but Gabriella. It sounded weird and off, but it was true. Nobody had the ability to love Troy Bolton like Gabriella could. They had shared experiences that had allowed them to love each other with the purest love that anyone had seen in the longest time. And they hadn't even really kissed. Each attempt had been interrupted and foiled by their beloved Wildcat friends.
Well, she put the last of the dishes back on the rack to dry, I guess I'll just never be kissed, then. And that one time when she was five and a four-year-old boy unexpectedly gave her a big wet one on the mouth didn't count.
That was one of her deepest secrets. She had simply moved too many times in her life to make steady friends, much less boyfriends. But, from listening, Gabriella learned that not being kissed by the age of fifteen was considered a felony in East High. And, while she didn't plan on lying about it, she didn't feel like advertising the fact, either. But she knew that when she did get her (late) first kiss, she wanted it to be from Troy. And maybe she'd get lucky, and she'd be his first real kiss, too. Although, knowing Troy's social status, that was unlikely—but a girl could dream.
What are you doing? Daydreaming about kissing your ex-boyfriend... who you dumped? I think not...
... but I really wish we were still friends, at least...
Gabriella was interrupted by her cell phone blasting You Are the Music In Me. His voice alone sent shivers of excitement up and down her spine. Not bothering to check the caller ID, she answered. "Hello?"
"Hi... Gabriella? Can I... talk to you?"
It was him.
"I... don't know." Stop lying, you idiot. Of course you can. You miss him. You want him back. You love him... no! He's changed. He isn't the same person you fell for. You can't. You won't...
"Please? I know I don't deserve any of your time... but I have a lot of things I need to say."
"Okay... you know what? My mom's not home right now. You could come over... I have brownies." She couldn't help but remember how he'd come over after school all the time to do homework together... even though she was in all advanced classes and he was only in some, they managed to make sure that their "homework" took as long as possible. Mrs. Montez always made brownies.
"Great. I'll be there in... fifteen minutes."
And, even though she didn't want him back, she found herself rushing to do her hair, primp, and try on multiple outfits that she was positive he had never seen before. Not that she was still worried about looking good for him or anything like that.
A/N: I might be a little slow in updating, since sometimes doesn't let me upload .odt files (I'm using Open Office), even though it says it should.
