HEY GUYS! I haven't really done a good songfic oneshot so I thought that I would take a shot at it. I really hope you guys like it. It's based off one of my now favorite songs, "Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman. And for those reading "He's With Me," the next chapter will be up soon, I promise. Please review and tell me how I did!
Disclaimer: I do not own "Cinderella," "This is Love," "She's Everything," or "Because You Loved Me." Those songs all belong to those who wrote them. And I don't own High School Musical.
So I'll dance with Cinderella,
While she is here in my arms,
'Cause I know something the Prince never knew.
Oh, I'll dance with Cinderella,
I don't want to miss even one song…
"Hi Daddy," five year old Gabriella Montez climbed on the couch next to her dad.
"Hey sweetie," Thirty-five year old Dylan Montez looked up from the book he was reading and swung an arm around his daughter's shoulders. He hugged her from the side and kissed her forehead.
"Daddy, LOOK AT ME!" Gabriella said as she jumped off the couch and spun around in her ball gown costume. Her blue costume looked exactly like Cinderella's. Her hands held the blue fabric as she curtsied. "I look like a princess." Her smile was as wide as can be.
"It's because you are a princess, darling." Dylan Montez took his glasses off of his nose and motioned to Gabriella to come next to him. Gabriella obediently followed her dad's instructions. He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead again.
"Gabriella, sweetie," Maria Montez called as she came into the room. She grinned as she saw the father-daughter duo hugging. "You forgot your crown."
Gabriella looked up and ran to her mother. "Mommy, I showed Daddy my dress."
"Did you? Did he like it?" Maria asked as she placed the crown on her daughter's head.
"Yep." Gabriella ran back to her dad. "I'm going to Taylor's party, Daddy. She told me that I was invited to her ball in her castle!"
Dylan laughed as he watched his daughter's arms stretch out. He turned around and smiled at Maria. She smiled back as she left the room to print out directions to Taylor's house. He turned back to his daughter. "Baby, that's fantastic!"
Gabriella nodded. "Daddy, will you dance with me?"
Dylan sighed and looked at her, apologetically. "Honey, I would love to. But Daddy still has work to do."
"Please, Daddy." Gabriella pouted and her eyes went wide as she looked at her dad's eyes. "Pretty please, Daddy. I need to practice my dancing."
Dylan let out a breath. He could never say no to this girl. She had him wrapped around her finger. "Okay, honey. Just one dance."
Gabriella's mouth curved into a smile and ran out of the room. She came back a few seconds later with a CD player. She pressed play and "So This is Love" flooded out from the speakers.
Gabriella ran into Dylan's arms as he set down his glasses and book on the coffee table and got up from the couch. Gabriella giggled as Dylan twirled her around in his arms. At that moment, he never wanted to let her go. 'So this is love…'
"Daddy, look." Gabriella spun around in halter top red dress. "Do you like it?"
Dylan looked up and smiled. "You look beautiful, baby."
"Really?" Gabriella looked at him with pleading eyes, begging him to be honest. "Do you think Troy will like it?"
"Really. Troy would be crazy not to love it." Dylan stood up from his desk chair and walked up to her. He wrapped his daughter in a tight hug that she happily returned and he kissed her forehead.
"Thanks. Troy's incredible, Daddy .You would be impressed. He's athletic, nice, and just so amazing. You would love him." Gabriella looked up at her father.
"I hope so. And I hope he's better than some of the other jerks you've dated." Dylan Montez looked at his daughter and rubbed her back lovingly.
"He is, Daddy. He's so much more than those jerks." Gabriella pulled away from her father. She took both of his hands and intertwined his fingers with hers. "Daddy, prom is just one week away. Will you help me practice my dancing?"
Dylan looked at her, unsure. "I haven't danced in such a long time."
"Daddy, please?" She looked at him, pleading with her eyes.
"Sure. Anything for you, darling."
Gabriella squealed and ran out of her room to get her iPod. She went back and hooked her iPod to the speakers in her dad's office. She scrolled down her list of songs and chose "She's Everything."
She walked back to her dad and placed her left hand on her dad's right bicep. Dylan placed his right hand around her waist as Gabriella placed her right hand in her dad's left. They swayed to the music and Dylan knew it couldn't get better than this. His heart ached as he knew that soon his daughter's heart won't fully belong to him anymore. Gabriella was growing up and falling in love had been on her to-do list.
Dylan looked at Gabriella and he saw her eyes closed. He loved her more than anything in the world, except for Maria Montez. 'Cause she's everything I ever wanted and everything I need…'
Dylan Montez looked out the window as he waited for his daughter to come home. It was past midnight and he was growing worried. Suddenly, a black convertible pulled up on the driveway. He saw Troy get out of his car door and run to open Gabriella's and he smiled. He knew Troy would do anything to make his little girl happy.
He saw Troy walk Gabriella up to the door and waited until they gave each other a goodnight kiss. He saw Troy kiss Gabriella's cheek before he walked away to drive home. He saw how happy Gabriella was when she blew him a kiss as Troy started the car engine. He heard the door unlock and went to the living room to greet his daughter.
"Daddy!" Gabriella cried out excitedly. "Troy proposed!" She held up her left ring finger as she giggled happily.
So he finally did it. Dylan thought. He had given Troy permission to propose to his daughter about a month ago and Troy had finally gotten enough courage to propose to her earlier in the evening.
"Wow. The ring's gorgeous." He said.
"I know! Daddy, I love him so much." Dylan smiled at his daughter. She deserved him and so much more.
"Daddy?" Dylan heard his daughter's soft voice. "You'll walk me down the aisle, right?"
"Of course." Dylan went over to hug his daughter. "And congratulations. Troy's a great guy. He'll treat you right. I love you to death, honey, and I'm so happy that you've found a guy that loves you more than that."
Gabriella wiped a tear that was coming down from her eyes. "I love you, too, Daddy. Troy and I are going to have a small wedding on the beach. And Taylor will be my maid of honor and Chad will be his best man. We're going to have the wedding banquet at Troy's house. You'll be there next to me throughout it all, won't you, Daddy?"
"Oh, baby, you know I will." Dylan kissed her hair.
"And Daddy, you'll dance with me for the father daughter dance, right?" Gabriella asked her father.
"Who else would, hun?"
Gabriella smiled. "Daddy, since the wedding's six months away, will you help me practice?"
Dylan smiled. "Sure, darling." He walked over to the shelf in the living room, picked out a CD and inserted it into the CD player before pressing play.
He walked over to his daughter and put both his hands around her waist as "Because You Loved Me" filled the room. Gabriella put both her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. Dylan took in her perfume and pulled her closer to him as they danced. Time seemed to stop for the two of them as they just enjoyed being in each other's presence. 'My world is a better place because of you…'
Troy Bolton was desperately trying to get his wife of eight years to wake up. He looked around at all tubes around her as his eyes started tearing up. He hugged their six year old daughter close to his chest. He and Gabriella had adopted little Michaela five years ago. She was a cute little girl, with brown hair and brown eyes. She looked a little like Gabriella, even though she was adopted. Michaela looked over at the bed and then over to her dad.
"Daddy," she pulled on his shirt sleeve. "What's wrong with Mommy?"
"Honey, she's sleeping." Troy silently prayed that she would wake up. Gabriella was diagnosed with leukemia twelve years ago. No one, not even the doctors, could predict when she would die. They didn't even know that she would last this long.
Troy grabbed on to Gabriella's hand as the only sounds in his room where his and his daughter's breathing and the beeping of the monitor next to the love of his life. He felt something hit his chest and looked down. He knew Michaela was tired and could only guess when she would fall asleep. He got up and laid her on the couch in the hospital room.
He sat back on the chair next to Gabriella's bed. He took Gabriella's hand in his as he held back a sob and pleaded. "Gabriella, please. Wake up. I love you so much. I don't know what I'd do without you. Please, Gabi."
Troy felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Dylan Montez looking back at him. "Hey." He managed to get out.
"Troy. You look tired. Why don't you go home and take a shower? Maria took Michaela into the lobby. We'll look after her." Dylan looked at his son in law who had become like his own son.
Troy shook his head. "No. I'm not leaving her."
Dylan nodded in understanding. "We'll stay with you then."
Right then, the heart monitor stopped beeping.
"NO!" Troy cried. "SHE CAN'T DIE. SHE COULDN'T HAVE." He broke down as he squeezed Gabriella's lifeless hand lightly. Dylan let his own tear slip down his face as he looked at his daughter. She made his world happier. Why couldn't he die in her place? He looked at Troy and knew he was thinking the same thing as he gripped on to whatever he had left of Gabriella.
Suddenly a doctor came running in and studied the machine. He wrote down some things on his clipboard. He looked down and looked at the bawling Troy and the older Montez man who was gripping on to Troy's shoulder, trying to remain strong for Troy. "I'm sorry." The doctor said and looked at them with sympathy.
The doctor then left the room to give the men some privacy, leaving the clipboard at the end of Gabriella's bed on the way out.
Dylan Montez took a peek of what the doctor wrote.
Day and Time of Death: September 2, 2020, 12:00 AM
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight,
And she'll be gone.
