Let It Rain

by cassidycolleen

Alternate verison of my previous story: At Last. What will happen when Troy Bolton returns to Albuquerque after being in New York for seven years? Biggest shock of Troyella's lifetime.

Okay, so my friend Victoria suggested a very long time ago that I should write an alternate version of this story. After much procrastination and working out very complicated schedules, I finally had the chance to sit down and write this. So, here it is Let It Rain.

The hum of the old blue truck came to a startling stop as twenty-five year old Troy Bolton cut the ignition as he pulled into the driveway of his old Albuquerque home. Stepping out onto the lawn, the familiar scent of freshly cut grass and exotic flowers from the garden next door filled his nose. It was mid-June and the hot sun was shining brightly over the town of Albuquerque just as it had seven years earlier, before Troy had packed up and left everything behind, so he could go to New York to play basketball for the

New York Knicks. Sighing loudly, he looked up and down the street, reminiscing on the memories of his past…all the great times that he and his best friends had shared on this exact street. He walked up the old, wooden stairs of the house that now belonged to him, and looked at the houses that all of his neighbors had once lived in. Did the Davises still live next door? Were the Peters still living in the house down the street? Had the Becks decided to stay here, or did they leave, too? So many questions filled his head, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answers to some of them; Troy sat down on the stairs, and buried his face in his hands. Maybe coming back here wasn't a good idea.

"Troy?" a voice called from down the street, "Troy, is that really you? Oh man, it is!" Troy looked up to find a man with curly, brown hair running up the pathway leading to the house. Chad Danforth: his very best friend from high school.

"Chad?" he stood up in a rush, "Dude, I haven't seen you in years! What's been goin' on?" They sat down on the banister that wrapped around the entire house, just as they always had when they were younger. Looking over at Chad, Troy laughed; he hadn't changed at all.

"Same old, same old. Although, it has been boring since the legendary Troy Bolton packed his bags and left!" Chad yelled jokingly at his best friend.

"I'm just joking. Things have been good. Taylor and I are still together…we're actually getting married next summer."

"Oh, wow, Chad! That's great!" he congratulated his old friend. They continued to ask questions back and forth about the town, their old friends, what they've been doing for the past seven years, and any other topics that crossed their minds. Laughing as if they had never been separated, they enjoyed the summer afternoon just as they had together since the time they were five years old. After sitting there for nearly two hours, a thought passed through Troy's head.

"Does...does Gabriella still live here?" He hesitated to ask the question. Looking at Chad, Troy watched the smile from his face fade as he looked down at his hands. The chirping of the birds flying overhead filled the silence. Chad slowly sighed, and reached up to run his fingers through his curly hair.

"Yes, Troy...Gabby still lives here..." Chad answered quietly, "But, Troy, look...I don't think it's a good idea that you go to see her. It took her nearly a year to get over you leaving...to this day she's still getting over you. She's finally almost back to the old Gabby. Seeing her isn't a good idea...not after what happened at graduation."

Flashback

"And today, June 18th, the Wildcats class of 2008 have finally graduated." the principal stated loudly. The senior class, sitting in rows of red and white gowns, sat in the middle of the football field on a clear summer afternoon; as these words were said, hundreds of caps were thrown into the air. At that exact time, Troy looked back several rows at his girlfriend from junior year: Gabriella Montez. Her curly, dark hair was pulled back loosely with a sparkly pin, and some dark ringlets fell in front of her chocolate brown eyes. She caught his eye, and grinned brightly; some people swore that her smile could light up an entire room, but Troy always tells her that she could light up the entire town with one of her smiles.

"Troy!" Gabby squealed excitedly as Troy came up behind her and spun her around in the air. "Troy Alexander Bolton! Put me down!" She was laughing uncontrollably at this point, and Troy was as well. Setting her down in front of him, he wrapped his arms around her waist, and hugged her gently.

"Come with me." he whispered in her ear and took her hand. They walked away from the crowd of their friends and families, and walked the short distance to one of their favorite places in the entire city: a small park filled with exotic flowers, twinkling lights, and gorgeous gazebos. Normally, Gabriella would have been enjoying her time here, but something was wrong today; placing one hand on her stomach, she looked up longingly into Troy's ocean blue eyes and sighed.

"Why'd you bring me here, Troy?" a sense of worry filled her voice as she asked. He lead her to a park bench next to a tree they had carved their initials into, and sat down, his hand still holding onto hers. Her worry soon turned to fear as a flash of pain and sadness passed through his eyes. "Troy, what's going on?"

"Gabby...I don't really know how to say this..." he ran his fingers threw his hair, and sighed, "Well, I got a call today, but it wasn't one of my colleges."

"Who was it?" she answered, slightly confused. What did this have anything to do with me? She wondered silently.

"It was the coach of the New York Knicks...he was at the championship game a week ago. He wants me to come play for them." Troy explained slowly.

Gabby looked down at her hands and thought for a moment, taking it in; she opened her mouth and closed it again. Then, finally realizing what he was saying, she looked back up at her boyfriend, her best friend, her eyes filled with fear.

"You...you're leaving?" her voice cracked as she held back tears. He nodded his head yes; she shook her head back and forth slowly, not wanting to believe it. Troy reached up to stroke her cheek; he wiped away tears as they began cascading down her face. She pushed away his hand.

"Gabriella..." he started. Looking into his blue eyes, filled with pain and regret, she shook her head violently. Then, not being able to think of anything else, she let go of his hand, and ran down the dimly lit pathway. Leaving Troy sitting on the bench on the verge of tears; leaving behind the one person that she knew she could ever truly love.

End of Flashback

Troy ran his fingers through his hair, and sighed as he remembered that night. He couldn't stand thinking about it because it hurt him so much to see the love of his life cry, and to know that he's the reason she was in pain.

"But I have to see her, Chad." he said hopelessly, "I loved her...I still love her. I always did." He jumped down off the banister, and went to sit on the swing on the other side of the porch. Chad looked over at his friend; he felt sorry for him. After a few moments of silence, he got up from the banister, and walked over to sit next to Troy on the swing; it swung back and forth slowly.

"Troy, if you want to see her, go ahead; I'm not stopping you." he looked across the street, and then back at Troy. "I'm just saying she might not want to see you."

Troy sighed and looked up at the sky.

"I'm gonna go, Troy." Chad said, "Taylor is going to be wondering where I am; we have dinner plans tonight. I'll see you later, 'kay?"

"Alright..." he said distractedly, "Tell Taylor I said hey, and that I've missed her."

"I'll be sure to do that." Chad smiled, and began walking down the path towards the sidewalk; Troy turned to the front door of the house. "Hey, Troy?"

"Yeah?" he stopped in his tracks, and turned to face Chad.

"If you want to see her, go now." he said with a strained smile, "But remember what I told you." Troy nodded, and Chad walked away to his house four doors down. He fished around in his pocket, trying to find the key to the old house; the key chain jingled as he pulled it out, and he unlocked the house. The oak door swung open to reveal the familiar foyer; a mirror on the left wall reflected the setting-sun, which shined in through the window in the other room. He walked through each room, memories from his past came flooding back. The time he and Chad broke his mother's china vase in the dinning room with a basketball. When he found an injured rabbit, and insisted he had to nurse it back to health. The night Gabriella came over in the middle of the night because she couldn't stand to be alone during a thunderstorm. His graduation party...the weekend before he graduated...the weekend before he let the love of his life walk away forever.

Walking up the stairs, the old, beige carpeting, which was slightly worn from all the years of Troy, Chad, and Troy's dog, Bailey, running up and down them with their muddy shoes. Family portraits and photos of the Bolton's many relatives hung on the walls in small, wooden frames. He stood in the middle of the hallway; four closed doors surrounded him. At the top of the stairs was the bathroom; to his left, his parents' bedroom and next to that was his father's office. He made his way toward the end of the hallway where the last door was, closed, as it had been when he left; it was his bedroom. He turned the handle slowly, and walked into the room of his childhood. Posters of his favorite basketball stars covered the walls, his bed was neatly made with a University of Albuquerque blanket was folded on the end, and on his dresser...framed pictures of him and Gabriella. She was really everywhere, wasn't she? Everywhere he looked, she was there, just like when he left. He sat down on the bed, putting burying his face in his hands, and sat like that for what seemed like an eternity. Then, without even thinking, he got up, grabbed his keys, and ran out of his bedroom, down the stairs, and out the door to his car. Hearing the old truck begin to hum once again, he pulled out of the driveway and took the familiar route to Gabby's house. Troy sighed at the familiar sight; Gabriella's house was a place he spent a lot of time at when he was in high school. The house was white with a blue trim. It had amazing, spacious windows that lit up the entire house when the sun hit it. A small balcony was front and center on the house with gorgeous French doors; around back, a much larger balcony with a swing and another set of French doors. The yard, green and bright, was surrounded by flowers of every color, and a newly added white picket fence. With the flowers, the fence, and the balconies, this was the house of Gabby's dreams. He walked up the path, and onto the front porch; the windows were opened and the curtains blew softly in the breeze. The scent of vanilla and cinnamon filled the air. He knocked on the maple door, and he heard the pitter-patter of feet on the inside as someone ran to open the door. The giant, wood door swung open revealing a small girl with dark brown curly hair and huge, bright blue eyes.

"Hi!" the small girl said excitedly, "Who are you?" Troy looked at her in disbelief. Who was she? She smiled absentmindedly at Troy, with a smile that seemed to light up the world.

"I'm Troy...," he answered hesitantly."Is your mommy or daddy home?" Was he at the wrong house? Maybe he should just leave. Seriously, though, who was this girl?

"Yes. Hold on, Mr. Troy." she responded in her little voice, and giggled as she ran to the bottom of the staircase. "MOMMY! SOMEONE IS HERE TO SEE YOU!" her voice loud for such a small girl. She remained standing at the stairs, but turned around to face Troy. He eyed her suspiciously; she grinned back at him, one of her bottom teeth was missing. A door slammed upstairs.

"Em, didn't Mommy tell you not to open the door without permission?" he heard a woman's voice say. Footsteps began coming down the stairs. "Who is it...." she stopped in the middle of the stairs, and fell silent. The girl turned around to look up at her mom; a smile still on her face.

"His name is Mr. Troy!" she squealed excitedly. Her eyes were bright and filled with delight. She jumped up and down as her mother came down the remaining stairs. "Momma, Momma! Say hi to Mr. Troy!" she pulled on her mom's shirt; the woman pushed the hand away, but her eyes never left the man standing in front of her.

"Sweetie, can you go upstairs and play in your room?" she said softly; it was more of a demand than a question. Her daughter looked at her with questioning eyes, her face innocent and young. "Now, please, Em?" A flash of sadness passed over the girl's face, but she obeyed her mother and walked up the stairs without saying another word. They waited to hear the door upstairs slam shut before making any movements.

"Gabriella?" he said the name slowly, still standing in the doorway, not knowing whether or not he was allowed to come in. A silence filled the room around them. She closed her eyes slowly and took a breath; then opened her brown eyes once again and stared at him.

"Yes, Troy." she whispered and closed her eyes again; maybe if she kept them close, he would disappear...she didn't find that likely. Opening them again, she noticed that the man standing in front of her, Troy Bolton, had not changed much at all over these past few years. How many years had it been? Five...no, six? No, no. Seven...that's right. Seven. "What are you doing here?"

"I, um...I...I wanted to see you." he answered, playing with his hands. She shook her head, and motioned for him to follow her in. He closed the door behind him; she led him into the living room.

"Why...why?" she shook her head again, and sat down on the closest couch. I am NOT going to cry. He broke my heart, remember? I am not going to cry in front of him. She shook violently from trying to hold back sudden tears of her past. Biting her lip, she spoke again. "Troy, why? Why are you here?"

"Because...I made a mistake. I needed to see you." he hated seeing her like this; tears threatening to fall down her perfectly pink cheeks. She hid behind a curtain of her dark, curly hair. "She's beautiful, by the way. How old is she?" Her head snapped up at the mention of her daughter.

"She's six." the corners of her mouth turned up slightly in a smile.

"What's her name?" he continued the conversation about her daughter, noticing this was a topic she enjoyed. The entire room was filled with pictures of her, and toys scattered around on the floor marked her existence in the house.

"Emma...Emma Claire." she said the name slowly. He looked her directly in the eye, and he knew she was thinking the exact same thing.

Flashback

They lay together in the grass, staring at the stars, in a very familiar place: their favorite park. He held her hand tightly, not wanting to ever let go. She looked from the stars and then into his pure blue eyes; she loved coming here, just to talk to him. They talked about everything here; college, dreams, and mostly, the future...their future together.

"I like the name Grace." Troy said; Gabby gave him a look that said 'are you serious?' They had been going through girl names for over an hour, completely ruling out boy names because both of them decided they wanted a baby girl.

"Hm...it's okay." she answered, still thinking of more names. Her chocolate brown eyes glittered beneath the full moon hanging low above her head. "What about Kaitlin?"

"Um...no." Troy wrinkled his nose at the name. He wanted something unique, but plain; something rarely used, but not too bizarre. At that moment, an idea hit him. "What about Emma? Emma Claire."

"I love it." Gabriella whispered, a smile on her face. With that, Troy leaned in and kissed her as a shooting star passed over their heads.

End of Flashback

"I love that name." he answered quietly, pretending as if he didn't remember that night so long ago they chose that name together. She looked at him, and smiled slightly. She knew he remembered, not that he would ever admit it aloud.

"Yes. It's my favorite." she answered, still smiling softly. They sat in silence again; Gabby reached across the table, and picked up a framed photo. She giggled softly to herself. "I swear, sometimes I don't even think she's mine. She's nothing like me..."

"That's not true. She has your dark, curly hair." Troy pointed out. Her hair was always one of the things he loved; it curled into perfect ringlets, like a child's, and he loved the way she hid behind it when she was embarrassed or when she didn't want him to see her cry.

"But that's it. Her personality is nothing like mine…she's outgoing and loves the spotlight…I was always shy when I was her age." Gabby said, still laughing to herself. She looked down at the picture in her hands, and sighed, deep in thought.

"Who's her father?" he finally asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer. The room contained no family portraits or pictures…just pictures of Emma. None of Emma, Gabriella…, and Emma's father. He looked at her, but she dared not look up. Her hair fell in front of her eyes again, and she could feel her face turning red under his stare. After a long pause, she pushed the curls behind her ears and looked into those big, blue eyes she'd been avoiding since he stepped into the house.

"Umm…" she started, and took a breath, "It's…you." She tried hard not to break their eye contact, but she couldn't handle the emotion that rushed into his eyes; she looked down at her daughter's face staring back at her in the picture, trying to forget he was in the room, but she only saw Troy looking back. Looking back up, she saw him run his fingers through his hair, and then, he closed his eyes, as a tear rolled slowly down his cheek.

"Why didn't you tell me, Gabriella?" he whispered, his eyes still closed. She blinked and shook her head again. When was I supposed to tell you? Her heart screamed. She fought back tears from long ago once again. Finally, she stopped fighting them, and the tears flowed down her cheeks. He opened his eyes, expecting an answer, to find her crying.

"I wanted to tell you!" she screamed, tears falling faster, "I was going to tell you when you took me to the park…the night of graduation, but then you told me you were leaving…going to play for the Knicks. I couldn't tell you I was pregnant with your baby! It would ruin everything for you…everything you worked for. So, I did the only thing I could do…I ran…and you didn't come back." She shook violently; wrapping her arms around herself, trying to stop the shaking, hot tears fell down her cheeks like a waterfall.

"If you would have told me, Gabby, I wouldn't have left." Troy tried to reach across to touch her hand, but she shrugged him off. She couldn't handle this; strong emotions from her past came back, and she stood up to yell again.

"I didn't want that! Don't you get it?" Gabby wiped tears from her warm, red cheeks. "I couldn't let you throw away your dreams for me!"

"So, you let me leave…without telling me you were having my daughter...and you threw away your own future." he accused. "And you raised her by yourself? At the age of eighteen?" He couldn't believe his Gabriella would do something like that. She had her entire future ahead of her; scholarships, honors colleges, doctors degrees…everything was hers, and she gave it up…for his baby.

"I didn't raise her by myself…my mom and friends helped the first month or two" she stated with that as-a-matter-of-fact attitude she used to use. "And then my mom left…"

"And you've been raising her by yourself since then?" he asked, trying to understand this entire thing. Gabby sat back down, and sighed. She reached up and began playing with the necklace that hung around her neck; it was a diamond pendant.

"No…before she left…I…I got married…" she stumbled upon the last words, "I married Ryan…" Troy stared at her, blankly, almost as if he didn't believe what he was hearing.

"Wha…what?" Troy said, and sat waiting for an answer. I should have seen this coming.

"He had helped me through everything when you left, and when he found out my mom was leaving, he proposed…and I said yes." Gabriella whispered, and looked down.

"Oh…" was all Troy could bring himself to say.

"What were you expecting? Were you expecting me to wait for you? To wait for the day that you come back to find me, and start again where we left off?" she asked, angry. He looked at her, and the look in his eyes gave her all the answers she needed. "Well, I wasn't doing that to myself, Troy! It took me years to get over you leaving…and just because you're back now…well, it doesn't mean anything! We were over years ago…you left, you didn't write or call or come back."

"Gabby…I…I'm sorry…" he started, but she wasn't hearing his apology.

"'Sorry' isn't going to make this better! 'Sorry' isn't going to give me those years back that I cried myself to sleep because you weren't here!" hot tears cascaded once again, "And 'sorry' isn't gonna make me forgive you…" she heard a door close upstairs, and the sound of tiny feet tip-toeing across the hard wood floors. Emma. Emma had heard all of this.

"Mommy?" Emma said from the top of the stairs. Her voice was shaky.

"Emma, sweetie, go back to your room, please. Mommy will be up in a minute." Gabby answered, wiping her cheeks. She turned back to Troy. "Now, I want you to leave. I want you to leave, and not come back. Because I've worked too hard to make sure my little girl is happy and has a good life…with a father I know isn't going to leave her. And I'm not letting you come back to change that. So, please, Troy, just go…"

"Gabriella…" he began again.

"Troy, no. Just go." she walked him to the front door, and opened it, waiting for him to walk out. He looked at her longingly; she hid her eyes behind the familiar curtain of hair. With that, he walked out the door…and she let him walk out of her life once again. She closed the door quietly, and then, slid to the floor, back against the front door; she pulled her knees to her chest, wrapped her arms around them, placed her face in her hands, and cried as she had that night he first left.

Flashback

Gabriella ran from the park, with tears streaming down her face. Her phone rang, and she fumbled to answer it. Against her tears, she managed to say:

"Hello?"

"Oh, Gabby, where are you?" it was Taylor. She sounded concerned…Gabriella knew that Taylor already knew what had just happened moments before with her and Troy. Troy probably called Chad, who would have called Taylor. Her hair, which was perfectly styled earlier that night, was now a mess; her sparkly bobby pin fell out of her hair, and she struggled to push it back into place. Tears blurred her vision as she ran through the familiar streets of Albuquerque.

"I…I don't know…" she stuttered. "Can I come to your house?" Troy hadn't even tried to stop her. He just stood there…he didn't even try…

"Of course, honey. Come over now." Taylor answered; she could hear Gabby crying. "I'll see you soon." They hung up, and she tripped over a rock, falling hard on the concrete. Gabriella sat there, crying. Looking up at the sky, lightning crack above her head, and rain began to fall hard upon the sidewalk. Gabby brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, rocking back and forth. Thunder roared and lightning cracked. Dripping wet, Gabby stood up, and ran the rest of the way to Taylor's house. When Taylor answered the door, Gabby fell into her arms and cried, as another strike of lightning turned the dark, summer sky white.

"Let it rain…" was the only thing she had to say.

End Flashback

Gabriella sat in that position for what seemed like an eternity; she had no will to go up to see her daughter…because she knew that when she looked at that little girl's smiling face, she would only see Troy staring back at her. Why? Why did he do this? Everything was perfect…well, as perfect as things get when you're married to someone you don't love…Why did he have to come back now? Just...why? Questions filled her head and made her cry even more. A car door slammed outside. Ryan. Gabby immediately got to her feet, and ran to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Looking in the mirror, she scowled. Her face was red and wet; makeup smeared under her eyes and on her cheeks. She reached for the nearest towel and wiped her face with cold water, removing all traces of her tears and what had just happened minutes before. The only thing she couldn't change was the look that was now held in her chocolate brown eyes; her eyes held emotions and stories that no one could ever understand, and today, they held a sense of sadness that not even the love of her life could handle.

"Gabriella? Emma?" Ryan's voice echoed in the foyer. A door closed again upstairs, and Emma came running down. Her giggles filled the empty entryway. Gabriella found herself unable to smile at this familiar sound.

"Daddy!" Emma squealed; Ryan was probably dropping his briefcase by the door, and spinning his wonderful little girl around in the air. Her big, blue eyes would be filled with delight and love as he fulfilled this daily routine. "Put me down!" This was Gabby's cue to get up, and enter the room. Dropping the wet, makeup-smeared towel, she left the bathroom and walked into the foyer.

"There you are, Gabby." Ryan said, smiling. He walked over, Emma at his side, and kissed her on the cheek. Gabriella smiled back at him. Emma looked up at the two parents she'd always known, and smiled a smile identical to her mother's. Ryan looked down, took his daughter's and Gabby's hand, and led them into the living room. "So, what did you two do today?" They sat down on the couch, Emma in Ryan's lap. Gabby looked at Emma, and gave her a look that said 'Daddy doesn't need to know about Troy.' Emma nodded, and stayed quiet.

"Oh, the usual." Gabriella answered with the fakest smile on her face; her pink cheeks still slightly stained with tears, but nobody noticed. Emma and Ryan picked up the conversation from there, talking about upcoming visits with Aunt Sharpay and other silly children stories. Gabriella stared blankly out the window, trying to block the thoughts that kept rushing back into her head. He's gone…again. And this time, there is no hope of him coming back The love of my life came back, and I let him walk away. A day that had started out as a normal, beautiful June day was turning into an awful blast from the past. The bright, yellow sun disappeared quickly behind dark storm clouds, and thunder roared. The steady drip-drop of rain soon filled Gabby's ears; lightning struck, making Emma squeal and hug Ryan tighter. Gabriella looked at her husband and her beautiful six-year-old daughter, and said:

"Let it rain."

Well, for once, I actually liked the way one of my stories turned out. I'm sorry for the lack of Troyella that my stories usually contain, but I kinda wanted something different this time…and I really liked this. So, I hope you liked it as much as I do! Lol. Please review!! And Happy Holidays!