The Beginning of Forever

Of Sunsets and Trusty White Pick-up Trucks

Summary – They were happy, in love and fate destined them to be together forever no matter what life threw at them. Forever has to begin somewhere, right? TG

Author's Note – This is a prequel series to my story All The King's Horses. Do not worry if you haven't read it – these are basically going to be one-shots that deal with their life post High School. There are going to be four or five parts to this and for the most part I intend for it to be pretty light and happy. The idea is that if you've read All The King's Horses you can see how they got to the point they ended up in that story, and if you didn't then you just get to see hopefully the progression of their relationship whilst choosing which point you want to have their ending.

The italic intro to the story comes from the section of All The King's Horses that inspired the one-shot – but again you don't have to read that fic to hopefully understand these ones as it is set a few years in the future so has no bearing one what is happening in these oneshots. I hope you guys like – I know it is a massive risk to do this considering my normal style tends to lend itself towards heavier fic but the arc got stuck in my head and I have to write them for my own sanity. I hope you all enjoy anyway.

Disclaimer – I own nothing.

Did you know that I fell in love with you when you climbed my balcony and sang to me to apologise? It had broken my heart when I heard you say I meant nothing to you and I didn't understand why because we had only really known each other for a few days, but that night when you came and put me back together again, I realised why it had hurt so bad and suddenly, with you beside me I felt like I could do anything.


The sun was setting in the horizon casting an orange glow over the whole town making it look like everything shimmered. It was still hot despite the late hour and Gabriella Montez found herself tilting her head back, trying to encourage the faint breeze to cool her skin. She knew she shouldn't be here but she couldn't help herself – it would be the last time she could do this after all and it seemed necessary to have one last night, one last moment here on this balcony, in this town where so much of her life had changed for the better.

She ran her hand across the railing and sighed, ignoring the ache in her heart at the knowledge that this was the last time she would be here. In a day she would be a thousand miles away because Gabriella Montez would no longer be a citizen of Albuquerque – instead she would just be another California girl living in a large city, starting in a new college where she didn't know anyone as she tried to keep her head above water whilst attempting to be an adult. It was a terrifying prospect and she yearned for it to have been a year earlier so she could go back and relive her senior year fully and savour every moment that she hadn't fully enjoyed first time around.

Her life had changed so much in such a small space of time that she just wished it would stop so she could enjoy it. So she could enjoy fitting in, and having friends, and being settled – but her life wasn't meant to go that way. It was meant to go somewhere else that wasn't here, but at least it was meant to go somewhere else with someone else.

She smiled as she leant against the white railing, her back to the tree and her eyes looking at the slightly grubby closed balcony doors that she had walked through more times that she would ever be able to count in the last year and a half. If there was one good thing with this being her last night in Albuquerque it was that she wouldn't be leaving on her own – in the seat next to her would be the love of her life.

Troy Bolton – the best thing about the town she had grown to love was leaving to go to California with her. In fact, he was the one driving her to their new home. Deep down she couldn't believe that she had agreed to let him drive her in his hunk of junk truck, but she didn't have the heart to tell him that she had decided to leave three days earlier because of the number of break-downs she knew would occur on their thousand mile journey. That didn't matter though – she just wanted to spend the time with him and if half that time was spent at the side of the road waiting for the breakdown truck then so be it. He was worth it.

He was more than worth it.

She couldn't help the smile come to her face as she thought about her boyfriend – how many times had he climbed this balcony? She could remember the very first time with perfect clarity – they had a misunderstanding and she had been hurt and refused to see him and he had called her up, scaled her tree and sang to her to apologise. She had been a goner from the second she had opened the doors to look at him that night and the strange thing was that he never even realised that he had the affect on her. That had been the start of his balcony escapades and he pretty much made the journey every other night from then on in. Occasionally he would come with a picnic, sometimes it was in the middle of the night so they could lay together, other times it was merely because he needed an escape and she happily provided him with it. There was one point at the start of senior year when he was getting swamped by basketball pressure from everyone while she could only watch as she saw a ten different people trying to pull him in ten different directions and him slowly letting it eat away at him. She couldn't let that happen so she had taken him to the rooftop garden at East High and handed him a copy of her balcony door key and an open invitation to use it whenever he needed to – just to escape, no questions asked. She wouldn't make him talk to her about why he needed to get away, but she would always listen if he wanted to tell her but she just wanted him to know that if he needed somewhere to go with no pressure, no expectation then he could go to her anytime.

She hadn't understood how badly he had needed that refuge at the time, but the following day she had come home from studying with Taylor and Kelsi to find him crashed out on her bed and it had continued from there. When he needed to escape he would escape to her. There was one night where she had woke up and found him sleeping awkwardly in the chair at the other end of her room. He had woken up that morning, having fled from yet another recruitment speech from his father about his future and another multiple hour practice that was to be followed by another early morning workout on a Saturday, to find her curled in his lap, her head against his chest and her hand running through his hair comfortingly. He had been embarrassed at being caught, but she didn't care – she had told him to come whenever he had to and she trusted him and she knew he would look after her and wouldn't try and take advantage, which is why she banned him from sleeping in the chair from then on in. They weren't sleeping together in the sexual context at that point, but they had literally slept together every few nights pretty much since then – him sneaking out and leaving early before his parents or anyone else would find out. It hadn't even been a conscious arrangement either – more a mutually shared thought that told them that, actually, nothing prepared them for the day better than falling asleep with the other one beside them, or waking up with the other's arms around them. Pressure, stress, expectation...they disappeared because they were the only people who didn't have expectations about the other. It was just them.

She sighed as she walked over to the balcony doors and rested her head against them, silently wishing the clock back to when it was just them again. Here there was nothing between them – the distance was negligible and they knew exactly what and who they were. He was the Wildcat superstar and she was the school braniac who had somehow captured his attention and rewrote the High School script. They knew who they were in Albuquerque because the other was right there beside them. In a few days though, the other would be miles and miles away and she was scared that with all that craziness around them, that maybe they wouldn't be the same people any more.

32.7 miles would be the distance between them now – 40 minutes instead of 10 and although she was beyond grateful that he was so close, she still yearned for them to be closer still. Late night visits would be a rarer thing now, and combined with a whole new group of pressures, including new friends, new...prospects, it made her nervous. Scared.

She bit down on her lip and softly began to hum a song very familiar to this balcony, hoping that it held true. "This could be the start of something new..." she whispered, barely audible over the gentle breeze. "Please, please let it work out that way."

"You know, I figured I would find you here."

She jumped slightly at the sound of the warm voice from behind her and immediately spun around to find Troy Bolton sitting in the tree beside her balcony. She knew she should have yelled at him for startling her, or for spying on her, or for climbing a tree but she couldn't stop from smiling as she looked at him grinning at her, his sunglasses failing to disguise his amusement. "House breaking, Ms Montez? You're supposed to rebel in High School, not once you're in college."

She rolled her eyes as she walked over to the railing beside him and leant on it with a smirk. "You know, technically, I'm just trespassing as the balcony isn't locked, Wildcat."

"Technically I guess that means I'm a trespasser right alongside you then," he laughed as he leant over and kissed her lips softly. "Hey beautiful, whatcha doing up here on your own?"

"Just...thinking, I guess," she smiled as she held her hand out for him, encouraging him to jump over to her side. "Want to join me in a life of crime, Troy Bolton?"

"Damn, you graduate and go on a crime spree. Gabi – this does not bode well for when we get to California," he joked as he jumped over the railing, before he leant down and kissed her cheek in greeting. "It's kinda hot to have a bad girl as a girlfriend though."

She rolled her eyes and slapped him lightly on the chest. "Maybe I should go and buy a leather jacket and get a tattoo then...keep you interested."

"Maybe..." he murmured as he kissed her hair. "I could sell my truck and get a motorcycle – the pair of us could turn all badass."

Gabriella giggled then as she looked up at him as he grinned down at her. "You have a rebellion fantasy, huh?"

"Years of being the Golden boy will do that to a guy," he smirked. "We should work on that at one point. We'll go get piercings, and matching tattoos and I'll die my hair black and you can get blue streaks or something in yours and we'll terrorise the campuses at Stanford and Berkley with our badass ways before retreating home to have wild sex that keeps the neighbours up all night."

Normally she would have blushed, but the teasing way her spoke and the way his eyes glistened with suppressed laughter prevented her from getting embarrassed. The two of them were, for the lack of a better phrase, late bloomers in High School terms in regards to their sexual progression especially considering the depth of their relationship in comparison to the one night or one week norms around them, and a few short months ago that sort of joke would not have been possible without one, or more likely both of them turning bright red and stammering a response. His trip to California had progressed their relationship on a number of levels though and although neither had spoke about what had happened with anyone else, when they were together they could talk and indeed laugh and play about with that side of their relationship without fear of awkwardness.

"Sounds good. I guess I'll start wearing leather pants and torn vests to lectures, scarring the law students for life..."

"I really don't think that will scar anyone," he teased as he nudged her. "But in all seriousness, if you want to buy a pair of leather pants you should definitely do that...although you should do it at a time when you have a spare couple of days because I doubt we will be leaving the apartment much afterwards."

She leant her head against his chest, smiling the whole time as he instinctively wrapped his arms around her, his warm skin causing her to tingle. "I guess now I know what I should dress up as at Halloween, huh?"

"And that is why you're the best girlfriend in the world although, again, probably wouldn't be seeing a whole lot beyond my apartment if you did that so I give you adequate warning." She could do nothing but laugh at his expression and he winked at her, causing her heart to flutter in her chest. "Hey come on, we should totally go crash your old room befo..." he had kissed her head again before he let go and went over to the balcony doors, trying to open them. "Why did you lock the doors after you?"

"I didn't?" she said in a questioning tone, confused as to why he would be trying to get in the doors. It wasn't her house anymore so she clearly wouldn't have the keys after all.

"How did you get in th... oh no. Please tell me you did not climb this tree on your own?" Troy pleaded as he looked at the locked doors in frustration. "Ugh, Gabriella – what if you had fallen?"

"How did you really think I got up here? It's not our house anymore, Troy. I can't go out via my bedroom door now."

"I just kinda figured that your mom still had a key or something," he muttered as he looked down at the ground then at her and shook his head. "You could have killed yourself. You could have broken your leg, or your neck and no one would have known and you could be dead right now and...God, I don't even want to think about what I would do then..."

He trailed off, biting down on his lip with a shake of his head, clearly not enjoying the scenarios his mind was running with at that moment.

"Troy, I didn't fall – and I didn't break anything."

She was trying to reassure him, she was but all it seemed to do was make it worse. "This time. Babe, no offence, but...you're kinda small and I know I'm not the tallest guy on the planet but I am a guy and slightly sturdier than you so if I fall, it will hurt like hell but I'll be okay. If you fall then bones will break and one of them could be your neck and I'd rather that didn't happen so you need to keep yourself safe, ok? Yeah, I know I'm a pain in the ass and over-protective and all that, but...I need you to be safe..."

"You climb it all the time," she defended herself before she sunk down on the ground beside the doors, pulling him down with her. "It's not as easy as you make it look though."

"No shit," he said as he looked down to see her scraped up knee. "How about you leave the tree climbing to me? Or at least wait until I'm with you from now on? Please?"

"Okay," she conceded as she leant her head on his shoulder, taking a deep breath and enjoying the comfort just being in that sort of proximity to him caused. She wasn't sure what it was about him, but she had to imagine that no drug could compare to the way he could make her feel. "I'm sorry but I just had to come here one last time."

"You okay?" he asked as he stroked her hair, twirling a curl round his finger causing her to smile. He seemed to have acquired a fascination with her hair since she grew it out again and 90% of the time she was sure that he didn't even notice he did it. It may have been one of the reasons that she wore her hair down so often now... "You've been a bit...withdrawn the last couple of days. Nervous?"

She sighed and nodded as she played with his fingers. How to answer that without being stupid and admitting all her irrational thinking? She couldn't think of a good way to honestly answer the question, so she settled on deflection and hoped he would buy it. "Just...I'm going to miss being here. I loved this house and I'm going to miss this balcony. Being able to sit with you on it like this...so many good things happened here."

"We'll find somewhere else to hang," he promised as he kissed her head.

She nodded her head and smiled. She had no doubt that they would – Troy was nothing if not resourceful and romantic and she knew that they would be fine in regards to having alone time, or a place that was just theirs.

"Can you believe that we're leaving tomorrow? I thought...I thought I would be used to the idea of leaving a place, but...I don't know, it feels so different this time. So...permanent."

"You already left," he said as he caressed her hand. "It's not any different, except I'll be with you this time."

She couldn't help but smile at that knowledge as she kissed his shoulder. She knew that, but she couldn't help the way she felt and she didn't really know how to explain it either as it barely made sense to her. "You know when we first saw the house here in the brochure I told my mom that I wanted the room with the balcony. I had this Romeo and Juliet thing going through my head and in my head I kept thinking 'the new school is going to be different and I'm going to be cool, and popular and no one is going to think I'm a freaky math girl, and I can use it to sneak out to see my friends and stuff'. When I actually moved in though, all thougts of this great new version of me went away and I knew that it was just going to be the exact same as every other place I'd been to." She giggled slightly as she leant her head closer to him, the memories of a whole other lifetime flitting through her head. How could it have only been two years ago? "All I could think that night was that I had finally met someone who I could be myself with and he was somewhere in Colorado while I was in a new place in Albuquerque where, invariably I would just be the freaky new girl and the whole thing kinda lost its appeal. It just seemed so typical of me. And then I go to school and find out that the boy from Colorado was actually from Albuquerque and for the first time in forever things made sense and the imaginary life I dreamt about actually came true. Because of you."

Her eyes closed for a moment and he brought her hand to his lips. "You know, when you disappeared that night at the ski-lodge, all I could think about was that I had to see you again. That whole night I looked at my phone and thought about calling you but I chickened out because I wanted you to think I was cool because, according to Chad, 'chicks dig guys who aren't desperate' so I made myself wait until I saw you in the morning. Only, I didn't see you in the morning because we left and all I could think was that I was an idiot because it became kinda apparent that there had always been something missing after I met you. And then you showed up and it was like...like it all fit. Everything that was so simple before was suddenly messy, but it felt good. I didn't even have an idea about who I really was until you showed up – I was like the perfect prototype of who everyone thought I should be, and then I took a chance and it was like...wow! You have no idea. You were the first, the only person who ever looked past the smoke and mirrors and wanted to know the real me and didn't expect anything from me."

"Who wouldn't want to know the real you? The real you is amazing," she said as she stroked his chest. "You never give yourself enough credit."

"And you always give me too much credit," he pressed another kiss to her hair. "Thank you though."

She nuzzled his chest in response as he squeezed her fingers. "Tell me what's really bothering you, Gabi. Let me help."

She allowed the gentle thud of his heart to calm her. "This is the only place I've ever felt home," she admitted quietly. "And that's because of you. I'm...scared that we'll go out there and you'll realise that I'm not really worth the effort and I'll be drifting again."

"You're worried that I'm going to leave you once we get out there?"

She nodded her head, but didn't lift her gaze to look at him, instead concentrated on playing with his fingers. "Chad said that guys don't take the girl with them, and Taylor said no one ends up with the person they were with in High School, and that there are a lot of good looking girls out there and I should 'prepare' myself because college is different and everyone wants things that are exciting and new and I'm...neither..."

He took a deep breath and pulled her a little closer to him. "There's an increasingly apparent reason why those two split up," he muttered as he shook his head. "Gabriella – we're going to California together. If I didn't want to take the girl with me, I would have stayed in Albuquerque and we both could have written this off as a High School infatuation. I didn't make the decision to leave lightly – trust me, I sat down and I thought about it. I thought about what the chances were that we would grow apart once we were out there and you were surrounded by people as smart as you are and I was surrounded by other people and you know what? I realised that I'm not worried about it. This...what we have, it's different. I don't even know how to explain it properly, but it's just different. It's like...I met you for a reason. You're supposed to be mine and I'm supposed to be yours – nothing works for me when you're not there."

"Nothing works for me either," she lifted her head and looked at him through her teary eyes as she stroked his face. "I felt like I was torn apart when we weren't together – that's why I was scared about coming back and doing it again. I was scared I wouldn't be able to get back together again if I had to leave you again."

"I know," he kissed her forehead and sighed. "We don't need to worry about that anymore though. Just you and me...and 32.7 miles between us."

"32.7 miles," she smiled as she stroked his face. "Is it just me or does that still seem too far?"

"It is way too far, but it's temporary," Troy whispered before he leant down and kissed her lips. "We have time. We have forever. Plus, I'm kinda hoping that you are going to become a semi-permanent fixture at my apartment and you know you're not going to be able to get rid of me out of yours."

She smiled and leant back down against his chest. They sat in silence for a little while just enjoying being able to be with each other like this.

"You excited?" she asked as he leant his head against hers, and she felt him shrug. "Nervous?"

"I'm ready," he said finally. "I'm ready to do this – I know I made the right decision, but I'm scared about paying bills, and cooking, and doing my own laundry...I know I'm going to dye multiple articles of clothing before I get the hang of it and I'm worried I'll end up training in a bright pink shirt and give off completely the wrong impression to my new team-mates, although the drama kids might like it I suppose."

"Just be careful you don't shrink them by putting them in too hot a wash. Then they will be pink and skin-tight and a whole different group of kids would really, really like it," she giggled as she glanced up at his horrified face. She could see the scenarios running through his head and somehow she knew he wouldn't be finding them as amusing as she did. "You know, I may consider being a really cool girlfriend and help you with your laundry until you get the hang of it, thus keeping shrunk and dyed clothes to a minimum."

"You're too kind," he responded with a roll of his eyes as he pulled her around slightly so he could look at her easier. "It's going to be so weird not having the guys show up for a bounce game, or have my mom making lasagne on a Tuesday night, or sneaking into your room to hide from everything. It's going to take a while to get used to the whole idea that we're really going to be out there on our own. My mom's going to be in Albuquerque and your mom is going to be all over and it's really just going to be us out there making our own decisions, our own mistakes."

"I know – it's like, one minute we're us and then we're going to be grown-ups with responsibilities that extend beyond solving a mathematic equation in thirty seconds, or netting a basket. It's...surreal I guess but I'll be there the whole time, I promise. We'll help each other keep the mistakes to a minimum and we'll learn how to be adults together – we'll be fine."

She tried to sound confident and sure of herself but she couldn't help but thing her last statement sounded more like a question.

"I know we'll be fine," he responded with a smile. As much as it shouldn't have, just the knowledge that he was worried about the same things that she was worried about calmed her down because she suddenly realised that she wasn't over reacting. Maybe these were normal fears after all. "So what are you scared off – apart from the ridiculous thought that I'm going to run off with some other girl as soon as we get out there?"

"Smartass," she murmured as she swatted his chest. "Just so you know, in your first theatre group you step up and sing and dance with this beautiful blonde and want to ditch me for her, I will be reminding you of this conversation."

He groaned as he buried his head in her neck. "Let's not even talk about potential leading ladies, please. The whole theatre thing sounded so much better before I had to think about that whole side of it. I couldn't even dance with Sharpay when you were gone never mind anything else."

She felt bad about teasing him now as the last thing she wanted was for him to feel awkward or uncomfortable about his new course. She knew he could be amazing if he embraced it, but a part of her understood his wariness as she knew from her perspective that she only felt comfortable and confident on the stage when he was with her and it just didn't feel right doing it when it was with someone else. He had sung with other people before, in particular Sharpay but he had felt so wrong afterwards that he had almost decided against doing it again. She didn't want that for him though – she wanted him to be happy and if there was a chance that theatre could make him happy, she was going to try and help him embrace it in whatever way she could. "Troy, it's only acting. I know it's nothing for me to worry about..." she paused as she bit down on her lip. "Hopefully, anyway."

"Definitely," he corrected quickly, still nuzzled into her neck. "I just...I don't know, the whole thought of it doesn't even excite me anymore. Singing with you, acting with you, kissing you...that's what makes me love it. It's all about you."

"I'll still be there for every show. I'll just be in the front row instead of on the stage with you," she promised. "You will have your very first fan girl before you've even performed."

"Will you wear an 'I love Troy Bolton' t-shirt? Because that could be kinda hot..."

She rolled her eyes and leant back. "I've to wear your name on my back when I watch you play basketball, to wear it on my front when I watch you on stage – why don't I just tattoo it on me and I will wear it all the time?"

He paused as though he was considering it. "That would definitely not be something I would complain about..."

She giggled and slapped him again before leaning further back in his embrace. "Be careful what you wish for, Wildcat – at this rate you'll never be able to get rid of me."

"My plan is working then," he breathed into her ear, causing her to giggle some more and grab his arms tighter around her. "I just...it won't be the same now. You know, not working with you, or singing Kelsi's songs, or learning Ryan's choreography, or laughing at Jason trying not to fall over while doing Ryan's choreography, or wondering how the hell Chad ended up dressed as a clown in a show about senior year..."

"Apparently it was because he had upset Taylor and she made him dress up like that to atone so she could shoot it for Yearbook."

"Really? And he had the audacity to call me whipped," Troy muttered before shaking his head, trying to refocus. "I just don't think it will be the same without all that. I mean I've tried the whole 'let's do it with other people thing' and it doesn't work for me. In fact the whole 'let's do it with other people thing' actually kinda sucks."

"I know, but you never know - it might be better. I mean you will be working with people who won't have a nervous breakdown before every performance for example," she joked, immediately thinking of the Twinkle Towne opening night where she had been so nervous she had accidentally locked herself in her dressing room and had to breathe through a bag to stop from hyperventilating whilst Troy and Ryan tried to get the door loose as Ms Darbus lectured about amateurs and Sharpay fired countless sarcastic comments to her. "You'll be great, Troy and if you hate it then at least you know that maybe it's not right for you. But you have to go in with an open mind."

"Kinda like you're doing with the pre-law plan?" he asked softly. Troy was the only person who knew about her concerns about going on the pre-determined law course that she and her mother had plotted when she was eleven years old. Unfortunately, eleven year old Gabriella had no loftier ambition than to make her mom and dad proud in life while eighteen year old Gabriella had other things she wanted as well that didn't fit into the plan. When Gabriella looked in the mirror she couldn't see any glimpse of a lawyer in there – the whole idea did not mesh with her personality and she had been willing to give it up to stay in Albuquerque with the man who was holding her just now, but his decision to move to California meant she would give it a try and attempt to be the person her mother thought she already was. "Your mom will understand, you know."

"Eventually she might. I just don't want to disappoint her too much without at least trying it. I'm gonna try – maybe it will switch on once I'm out there or something."

"Maybe," he admitted. "I can't believe we are both going out there with such big question marks hanging over us. We must be insane."

She giggled as she nodded her head. "Definitely. I used to be so sensible before I met you, you know. We'll be fine though - our first semester is just about finding our feet and making sure we're happy out there."

"If I can resist the temptation of a new girl two weeks after arriving in LA, right?" he teased, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Oh shush. Just wait until you're all insecure and I start teasing you about it."

"Hey - you tease me about my truck all the time."

She giggled and looked up at him, feigning innocence. "No I don't."

"You do – that's why you are making us leave three days early because you think we're going to break down twenty times on the way to California."

She gasped – how the hell did he know that? "Maybe I just wanted to spend quality time alone with you..."

He rolled his eyes and shook his head as he leant close to her lips and whispered softly. "Liar." His eyes sparkled with mirth as he looked at her, his whispered accusation causing her stomach to flip like it always did when he spoke to her with that teasing, sensual voice that he only ever used with her. "Kelsi blabbed before she left when she begged me not to get you killed in my 'hunk of junk truck'."

She couldn't disguise her grin then as she fully started to laugh, causing him to chuckle in reply. "I can never lie to you. It's true – your truck is a hunk of junk, but it has character and it managed to take you to California so I will always have a soft spot for it until you replace it, which is hopefully soon."

"I'm keeping that truck until I die – our grandkids will be making fun of that truck if I have my way so anymore comments like that and I'll dump you at the airport and drive cross country myself," he pouted, pulling her closer even as he said it. "Okay – enough teasing, tell me what you're thinking about being in California without Taylor and Chad's insanity being a factor."

"I'm...I don't know, it's just overwhelming. I just...I feel like the last year has went by too quickly and I kinda want to go back and relive it, without all the worrying about us getting separated. I don't know...I'm just really, really going to miss this place."

He didn't say anything as he tightened his grip on her and let her sit for a moment before he spoke softly. "You know that I'll be bringing you back here as often as I can, right? I may even know this hotshot who might consider letting you crash at his house when you come back."

"I'm pretty sure the hotshot's parents might have a thing or two to say about that," she giggled at his faux cockiness. Troy Bolton was a lot of things, but calling himself a hotshot in anything other than jest was not something that she was ever going to have to worry about.

"They'll get over it," he muttered as he kissed her neck. "They're just trying to get their head around the whole thousand mile thing. Once they do they'll love you again."

She didn't say anything in reply. There wasn't really much she could say – she figured things would get better between herself and Troy's parents again, but it was still awkward. She didn't blame them for being upset with her, but there wasn't much she could do about it apart from prove to them that she was worth what Troy was giving up for her, and she intended to prove that so she didn't mind that she was playing a long game here.

"You know, I'm going to miss climbing up here at night – just being able to spend the night with you, with nothing else mattering but the two of us. I know we're not going to be able to do that as often now because we're a bit further apart, but it's temporary."

"I know," she whispered. "We're going to be okay, aren't we?"

"We're going to be fine," he replied softly. "Better than fine."

She smiled as she rubbed her ear against his chest, believing what he was telling her. He had a way of doing that – making her feel better; it was one of his many skills. She watched as the sun completely disappeared and couldn't help but feel the excitement and trepidation actually increase. "I guess we better go – your parents will be annoyed if I kidnap you early."

He shook his head and managed to pull her even closer, so that she was all but sitting on his lap so he could trail her fingers up and down her leg. "Not just now. Let's just stay for a little while longer since we won't be able to do this again. At least not here. I always kinda loved this balcony..."

She smiled against his chest as they lay, the sound of their breathing the only sound around them.

"You know I realised I was in love with you on this balcony," she whispered softly, not knowing why but feeling like she had to tell him. "I mean, I kinda loved you beforehand but it was when I came out here that I realised that what I was feeling was love."

She heard him sigh as he pulled her closer. "You told me you loved me for the first time when you were in Stanford."

She nodded and closed her eyes, the memory of the phone-call still in her mind. "I knew it a long time before that though, but I was scared to say it..."

"When?"

"Does it matter?" she asked, feeling her face flush slightly. It wasn't that she was worried he would make fun of her or anything, but she couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed that she had come to the conclusion so quickly in their relationship – or friendship as the case had been at the time.

"I'd like to know," he whispered softly as he lifted her head up, his eyes pleading with her. Damn his eyes – he knew he could get her to do anything when he looked at her like that. "Please?"

"The night you came to apologise and ask me to do the call-backs. I could never work out why it had hurt me so much considering we had only been friends for a couple of weeks, and when I saw you standing there even after I had given you an out about being my friend, singing to me, apologising and it just...it clicked into place and it was like a light went on. It took me more than a year to tell you though because I thought, well...guys freak out and it was really, really quick but I couldn't really help the way I felt. There was just something about...I don't even know how to explain it because I know it doesn't make any sense but it was like there was this part of me that hadn't even been alive before I met you. Like...I woke up and I felt like me. Like the me I always wanted to be. I know it doesn't make any sense..."

She risked a look up to see that he was watching her intently, a smile toying at his lips as he leant forward and kissed her softly.

"Who says it doesn't make sense?" he asked as he nudged her forehead. "I don't know the exact moment I realised I was in love with you. It just...I met you and something was there. You started singing on that stage and I thought 'whoa' and while we were talking on that balcony, I couldn't shut up because, in case you haven't noticed, I'm a bit of a nervous babbler and I had never been so nervous in my life! It was like here's this unbelievable girl and I had no idea what the hell to do about it because it had never hit me like that before. You were and are the only girl I have ever seen like that and before I had grasped what the hell was going on with that, you had kinda floored me. There is a reason that the worst moments in my life involve you leaving me," he whispered as he closed his eyes. "That's why you can't ever leave me again, Gabriella. Please."

She wrapped her arms tightly around him, her eyes closed over to prevent her tears from falling. She knew she had hurt him, and although it wasn't intentional and she had hurt as well, she never wanted to cause him any sort of pain. Doing that was the absolute last thing she ever wanted. "I promise, Troy. Never again."

He pulled back and pressed his forehead to hers, their eyes both closed but their faces so close they could feel the other breathe. "So...I'm not leaving you for some blonde theatre girl, and you're not leaving me for some over-sized brained law major...why are we sitting here reminiscing like we're never going to see each other again?"

She giggled and shrugged her shoulders as he opened his eyes, his own wide grin mirroring hers. "Every girl dreams about a handsome prince riding up on his white charger, climbing her balcony and whisking her off into the sunset to a new life so reminiscing about our old life seemed right. And well...you did climb my balcony..."

"I did – joining you in a life of crime as I did so incidentally."

"And you are very, very handsome," she whispered as she leant in and pressed a kiss to both his cheeks and then his lips in between words.

"Thank you..."

"And you're taking me away..."

"Far far away," he added as he trailed his fingers through her hair until he could place his hands on the bare skin of her neck.

"You're taking me far, far away," she agreed with a smirk. "In your sometimes trusty, white hu..."

"Pick-up truck," he cut in before she could continue, seemingly sensing the upcoming insult she was about to direct towards his car. "Baby, don't call it a hunk of junk when you're being all romantic..."

She grinned and nodded. "It's like a modern fairytale."

"Once upon a time, Princess Gabi was up on her balcony waiting on her prince to come and take her to a land far, far away. The prince, being a handsome and dashing sort soon found his beautiful princess and climbed to find her before taking her away with him forever and ever..."

As he finished his story he leant forward and kissed her, his hands gripping her hair, his lips moving so sensually that she could barely think straight never mind wonder what it would have been like if they had been standing. As he pulled back, letting her bottom lip go as he did so, he leant his forehead against hers and smiled. "And they both lived happily ever after."

"I like that ending," she murmured as she lay her head on his shoulder, knowing that he was right. Her insecurities, his fear, all of it didn't really change anything. They didn't follow anyone else's rules so their friends telling them how they should split now instead of delaying the inevitable, or their parent's insistence that it was 'puppy love' that they would soon grow out of and the odds that were stacked against them lasting outside of High School – none of that applied to them. At that moment she had perfect clarity about where their future was heading and all she cared about was that their future was together. When he was with her, she knew she could do anything and she was never going to let that go without a fight.

He kissed her hair again before he made to stand up. As he got to his feet he stretched his hand out for her which she gladly took as he pulled her close to his body. He gave her this strange look which caused her to blink in confusion before he smirked and leant down to her ear, whispering softly against it. "This could be the start, of something new. It feels so right to be here with you..."

She giggled and pulled away so she could see his face, which had a massive grin on it as she reached up to stroke his cheek. "And now looking in your eyes, I feel in my heart...the start of something new."

"You fell in love with me that night," he whispered, as though it was a secret.

"Yes." Her admission was said softly, but firmly, which only caused his smile to widen. It was amazing the affect his smile had on her. She thought she would be immune to it by now, but if anything the acceleration in her chest actually increased over time and she couldn't help but wonder if in a few years her heart might actually stop because he made it race so much by simply looking at her like that.

"You want to know a secret?" she nodded her head in a silent reply to his question as he leant close, his voice never rising above a whisper and if he hadn't been standing so close she would never have heard him. "I'm actually terrified about everything out there, apart from you."

"You'll be amazing, Wildcat," she murmured before pulling back, her face scrunching in displeasure as she thought of something.

"What?"

"I just realised that I'm not supposed to call you Wildcat anymore," she bit down on her lip in frustration at the fact she was losing her favourite nickname for him. "That's going to take some getting used to...hmmm..."

Her muttering meant she missed the adamant shake of his head, and the furrowing of his brow as he looked at her. "Whoa – what do you mean that you're not supposed to call me Wildcat anymore?"

"Well, Chad and Jason said that Arizona is the Wildcats and since we're in college and you guys play them...I mean I can't exactly call you by your rivals nickname..."

"Okay – I'm making a new rule. Neither of us listens to anything any of our friends ever say. They are...there are no words about how bad the advice they give out is." Troy shook his head in sheer frustration. "You still call me Wildcat. I don't care that I've graduated, or that I'm going to Berkley, or that there are a hundred teams with that as their nickname..."

"Yeah but..."

"But nothing." His voice left no room for disagreement. "I like when you call me that. In fact, I love when you call me that," he grinned as he stepped them backwards until she was leaning against the balcony, trapped by his body. "It makes me feel special, and kinda turns me on. I would hate it if you stopped. It's our thing. Screw Arizona."

She couldn't help but giggle within the cage he had trapped her in. "Turns you on? We were having a romantic night and you have to go and lower the tone."

His grin didn't waver as he pressed even closer to her before he ghosted his lips over her jaw towards her ear, causing her to shiver involuntarily. The things that boy could do to her...

"It's entirely your fault. You do things to me, Gabriella Montez."

"Good things?"

"The best things."

She was trying to remember what it was they were talking about as his lips caressed the skin beside her ear and she could only faintly nod. "Whatever you say, Wildcat."

He sighed as he pulled back. "Wanna know another secret? As scared as I am about this move, there is a bigger part of me that wishes we had done this a week ago because I cannot wait until it's just you and me out there with no interference, and no negativity from everyone around us because I know this is going to work out for us."

She looked at him, his expression so earnest and serious that if she hadn't been leaning against the balcony she might have fallen. "I can't wait either."

He took a deep breath and stepped back, grabbing her hand and kissing it before he gave her a warm smile. "So what do you say to getting this show on the road then? We'll head back and get ready for the start of the rest of our lives."

"Okay," she smiled, genuinely excited for the first time. "Let's do this."

He grinned then as he swung over the edge of the balcony onto the tree, holding his hand out for her as she cautiously climbed towards him, silently cursing herself for not stealing the keys. "I'm not going to let you fall," he promised as he held onto her as she gained her balance on the branch. "I'll keep you safe."

She raised an eyebrow as he sat down on the branch, pulling her down with him so she was straddling the branch. He grinned as he nodded his head towards the branch, causing her to look down.

"You carved our initials into my tree?"

"Ummm...no?" He cringed before shooting her a bashful smile. "Okay, you see, what it was is that I was bored and extremely confused at what I wanted with college when you were in Stanford and as I think better in trees I may have ended up here once or ten times to try and work out what I was thinking. I mean you try talking to my dad or Chad about stuff that they don't understand and see how good the advice is and you weren't here and I... You should be pleased – that was before I broke into the school, trashed the basketball decorations and the gym."

She giggled, knowing he wasn't joking while he blushed furiously. "You know it really doesn't count as trashing them when you then went around and tidied up after yourself." She leant over and kissed him before running her fingers over their initials, unable to stop the grin about how they would always be there now. It was imprinted for as long as the tree stood – which could technically be for hundreds of years. "I kinda love that our initials are there forever."

"Even before you called to tell me you weren't coming back, a part of me, a small part, felt like I was losing you and this...this was my way of keeping you forever."

She gave him a small smile before reaching over to caress his cheek. "You always had me forever."

He grinned as he placed a kiss against her palm and nodded. "I know that now but...well, at the time...the tree seemed the best bet. Not anymore though – forever starts here. It's just us."

"Just us," she agreed as she closed her eyes and looked up at the sky and smiled. Suddenly the future, the thing she had been scared of for what seemed like forever, didn't seem so bad. Him and her, together forever – she could live with that.