More than You Know, a high school musical fanfic

Story: More than You Know

Rated: T

Summary: "But why her? Out the six billion people in this world, why did she have to die?" "I don't know, Jeremy, I don't know." TxG One-Shot

Disclaimer: If I owned High School Musical, Sharpay and Troy wouldn't have sung the song "You are the Music in Me" in the second movie. Oh, and I also don't own Hilary Duff's song, "Someone's Watching Over Me".

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He missed her. Her soft, wavy, smooth, brown hair, that reached her shoulders. Her bright blue orbs that were an exact replica of his. Her sweet, innocent smile that could light up a whole room and make everyone else turn their frowns upside-down. Her cheerful personality that could cheer him up at times like this. But she was gone. And his question was: Why? Why did she, out of the six billion people in the world, have to die? And at such a young age too. Troy let a tear roll down his cheek. He wept another one just as the first one fell onto the floor, making a tiny puddle.

---

Monday Morning

Troy pushed the big red double doors out of his way and went to his locker with bags under his eyes. He couldn't believe she died. As a result, he couldn't sleep. His mind was only occupied by one thing: her. His parents made him go to school, even though they were suffering just as much as he was. Maybe more. Doubt it, thought Troy. He was the one closest to her. Troy sighed. He wished that he could reverse time, then maybe, he could have told her he loved her, before she went. Or maybe he could have convinced God that he should have died, instead of her. But, no. She was the one who died. And he was the one who had to deal with her death.

"Hey Troy, how you holding up?" Chad asked his best friend, pain in his voice as well. Troy shook his head and walked away toward homeroom. Chad sighed. He wondered how long it would be before Troy stopped suffering. But he already knew the answer. Never. He stopped thinking about Troy and turned his attention to his girlfriend across the hall.

"Hey, Chad." Taylor smiled sadly. She leaned up to kiss Chad's cheek.

"Hey, how are you dealing with it?" Chad asked.

"I'm okay. Except she's going to be missed by everyone, you know. She was our rock. She was always happy and would be comforting us at times like this. Now she's gone." Taylor wept a silent tear. Chad smiled a sad smile and placed his hand on his girlfriend's back. He slowly rubbed his hand up and down her back.

"We should get to homeroom," Chad said.

---

Troy was playing basketball during free period. He tried his hardest to concentrate on the ball but he couldn't. Her face would often appear on the orange ball. She was the only one that could beat him at basketball. His dad and Chad didn't even come close. He was his hardest when he played with her. But she would beat him anyway. It was harder to play against her than against the West High Knights. Troy closed his eyes for a second. He took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and started dribbling his basketball again. In his office, Jack Bolton felt tears in his eyes but he blinked it back. He had to be strong, for his wife, for his son, for her.

Flashback

"TROY, you can't beat me," she said.

"Oh, let's see you try," Troy said, smirking. Troy started with the ball as he ran up the court dribbling the bright orange ball. She smirked as she stole the ball from him and dribbled the ball the other way, making a lay-up. Troy stood there wide eyed and determined to win this game against her. The game ended 12-11, an hour later. It was her win, surprisingly.

"I can't believe you won against me," Troy said.

"I'm awesome, admit it," she said. Troy stuck his tongue out at her and started chasing her all over the backyard.

End Flashback

Those were the times Jack Bolton treasured the most. He loved her so much. He often wished that it was just a nightmare that she was dead and that he'll wake up anytime now. But, this wasn't a nightmare. This was reality. Jack Bolton knew that it was time to face the music, time to face the fact that the Bolton family's worst nightmare became their reality.

---

Thursday Afternoon

Troy Bolton closed his eyes as he pulled a black T-shirt over his head. He opened his eyes and walked over to his bed where his black jeans where. He sighed as he put them on. He walked over to his closet in search for a black jacket. Today was the funeral. Today was her funeral. As he thought about her, he knew that she wouldn't want him to mourn over her. She wanted him to be happy. But he just couldn't be. She died and left him here, facing the world by himself, without her by his side comforting him and building up his confidence. He saw a black jacket hanging on a clothes hanger on the side of his closet. He smelled it to see if it was good to wear. As he did, he felt tears in his eyes. The jacket. It smelled of her, her strawberry and cream shampoo. Now, he remembered why it smelled of her. She borrowed his jacket exactly a week ago. Last Thursday, the day before her death. Troy closed his eyes again and let his mind wander back to the day she died.

Flashback

Troy Bolton hated hospitals. He hated the fact that the chairs were hard and lumpy; and that they were a shade of gray, not a happy gray, a sad gray, a dark gray, so that everyone that looked at those chairs knew that nothing good ever happened at hospitals. He hated the fact that everyone was sent here when they died. It made this place creep him out. He hated the fact that there were young couples laughing, probably because of a pregnancy or something. They were always jumping and had huge grins on their faces. He hated the fact that he couldn't get the girl he loved most as a girlfriend. He wanted Gabriella to be his and no one else's. But he doubted that she loved him back the way he loved her. He hated the fact that a hospital is a place of sadness and happiness. A place should consist of only one emotion, not two emotions that are completely different from each other.

"Bolton Family?" the doctor came out asking, pulling Troy away from his thoughts.

"Yeah, how's she doing?" Jack Bolton asked.

"Umm, I'm sorry, but she's dead," the doctor said sadly. He hated seeing families lose a loved one. On the other hand, the Bolton family felt like they've been hit with a ton of bricks.

"Dead…" Lucille Bolton sobbed out, before bursting into tears. Jack Bolton got up to comfort his wife.

"NO…she can't be…TELL ME SHE'S NOT!" Troy screamed out. Jack shook his head at his son.

"I'm sorry," Jack said before a tear rolled down his cheek. Troy widened his eyes and stared his father. No, he thought, this can't be happening. Troy ran down the hallway and out the doors of the hospital with tears cascading down his face like a waterfall, trying to get away from this nightmare.

End Flashback

As soon as Troy opened his eyes, he felt himself blinking his tears back.

"TROY!" his mother called out.

"Coming, mom!" Troy put on his jacket and ran downstairs to catch up with his parents.

---

"Do you miss her?" Gabriella asked him. Troy looked into her brown eyes that were now red from crying too much. Troy bit his lip,

"More than you know," Gabriella felt the need to hug him. She wrapped her arms around his torso and put her head on his chest.

"I understand how you feel. I lost my dad when I was 5, remember?" Troy nodded his head at her. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. He could feel tears coming back in his eyes.

"It's okay, you know, to cry out your tears." Gabriella told him.

"I know." Of course he knew. He's been crying for about a week now. But somehow, Gabriella made him feel better.

"It's just…I want to be strong for people, you know. My dad's trying to cope without her. She was a daddy's girl. He's trying to be strong for us. I feel like I have to be strong for him. My mom's a wreck. Now she'll never be able to talk to her only daughter about boys, puberty, or anything. I want to be strong for Sophie too. She would want me to be happy and not mourn over her death," Troy sighed, happy to get that all off his chest. Gabriella nodded.

"I'm sure she'll be proud of you," Troy nodded and let a tear roll down his cheek.

---

Troy Bolton looked at the engraved grave. Which read:

Sophie Victoria Bolton

June 6, 1995 – February 22, 2008

Loved friend, daughter, relative, and sister

Will be greatly missed by all

Troy looked at the engraving. He wished that his sister didn't have to be in the grave, that she was standing right beside him. But that wasn't going to happen. Troy sighed as he turned to his right. He saw Gabriella sitting on a bench talking to Sharpay. He sighed. The one he wanted to talk to the most wasn't available. He saw Chad standing with his hands in his pockets looking at the grave. Troy walked over to him.

"Hey, what's up?" Troy asked.

"Nothing. So, how you doing?" Chad asked. Troy sighed.

"Not so well. But I guess she's in a better place now. She'll be happy there," Troy let his eyes wander back to the grave again.

"Well, you know, she's watching over you. " Chad looked over at his best friend.

"I hope so, Chad, I hope so." And with that Troy Bolton smiled his first smile this week.

---

"So, how's Troy holding up?" Sharpay asked her best friend.

"Not so well. But I love him too much and it hurts to see him hurt. And on top of that, one of my closest friends just died," Gabriella sighed. It killed her to see Troy in so much pain.

"Well, that's how you feel when you're in love," Gabriella looked at her. She smiled.

"You know, for once, I think you're right," Sharpay smirked.

"I always am," The girls laughed.

"Look, I've got to go, Zeke's waiting for me. Say hi to Troy for me," Sharpay smiled one last smile and left to Zeke's car, which was waiting in the cemetery parking lot.

"Bye Shar," Gabriella waved good-bye to her. She sighed. Now she had no one to talk to. Sure, she had Taylor but being with her wasn't like being with Sharpay. Sharpay was her best friend and knew her better than anybody. Well, maybe except Troy and Sophie. Gabriella let her eyes wander around the cemetery. Her eyes landed on Sophie's grave. She let a tear fall down her cheek. She wished that she could talk to Sophie right now. But, she couldn't. Sophie was the only one who knew that Gabriella was in love with Troy Bolton, except for Sharpay. Sophie figured it out by herself and even gave Gabriella advice. Talk about a smart 12-year-old.

---

Troy Bolton sat on a bench facing the grave. He sighed. Troy had told Sophie all his secrets. He even told her that he was in love with Gabriella.

Flashback

Sophie Bolton looked peeked in her brother's room to see if he was awake. Instead of seeing him snoring, she saw Troy lying on his bed, looking at a picture of Gabriella. She decided to tease him about it.

"Hey brother! Having fun looking at Gabriella, I see," She smirked.

"Shut up, loser," Troy glared at Sophie.

"Look who's talking," Sophie said back. Troy looked back at the picture and sighed.

"Someone's a little love struck," Sophie said to him. Troy looked at her. He looked back at the picture and said,

"I think little is not the word for it. Maybe a lot," Troy looked once again at his sister.

"You love her?" Sophie asked him.

"More than you know," Troy told her.

End Flashback

Sophie had told him to go for it many times but he was too chicken. Now, he had no one to go to for advice because the one that he would usually go to was in that grave over there. She took all his secrets with her into that grave. He knew her greatest wish, though. He also knew she loved someone too. He thought that she was too young to be in love but love can happen to anyone at any age. He knew she loved a boy named Jeremy Chisholm. Jeremy was a nice guy, and he was also good at basketball. He knew Jeremy loved her back but didn't admit it. Now, she's gone. And Jeremy never got the chance to tell her. Troy looked over at Jeremy. Jeremy's shoulders were trembling from him holding back his tears. He was sitting on a blue bench with his head in his hands. Troy walked over to him.

"Hey J," He greeted. Jeremy looked at him. His eyes were blood-shot and Troy could see tear stains on his cheeks.

"Hey Troy," Jeremy said sadly.

"You know, Sophie loved you back," Troy said randomly. Jeremy found himself staring at his feet.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Troy nodded.

"I wish I could reverse time and maybe I could have stopped all this from happening. I wish I could have told her and maybe she'll be my girlfriend. But, I wish I could have died in her place," Jeremy confessed.

"Hey, you couldn't control what happened. Maybe God has a plan for you when you get older so he didn't take you instead. Sometimes, I wish I could have died too, in her place. But it's okay, you lose a loved one, you gain a guardian angel," Troy told the 12-year-old.

"But why her? Out the six billion people in this world, why did she have to die?" Jeremy asked.

"I ask myself that question a million times a day. Why? But the truth is, I don't know, Jeremy, I don't know," Troy answered, shaking his head. He saw a tear roll down Jeremy's cheek.

"I still wish I could have told her that I loved her," Jeremy looked at Troy again.

"I think she knows that, J," Jeremy nodded. Troy looked up at the sky and whispered. "I think she knows."

---

Troy Bolton sat on a white bench thinking about Jeremy. Jeremy just lost a loved one, he did too. But Jeremy's situation was different. Jeremy loved his (Troy's) sister with all his heart. He loved his sister also but Jeremy's love was the head-over-heels kind of love. The "I would go to hell and back for you" kind of love. He looked at Gabriella.If I don't tell her soon, will I lose her just like I lost my sister? Troy asked himself. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back so he was looking at the sky. What should I do? Troy heard a faint voice that he thought belonged to his sister's saying,

"Tell her Troy, what have you got to lose?" I already lost you, Troy thought. Then Troy made a decision. He was going to tell Gabriella, now his question was: How?

---

Friday Morning

Gabriella Montez was walking to her locker that morning. She was feeling sad, due to the funeral yesterday afternoon. She was glad it was the weekend. She opened her locker and a piece of paper came flying out and landed on the floor. She picked it up.

Don't, it said in big bold letters. Don't what? Who in the world sent me this message? Gabriella thought. She shrugged and put in her notebook. It may come in handy later on.

She walked to homeroom and saw Sharpay there at her seat. Gabriella showed her the note.

"It says don't," Sharpay said. Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"No… really? Thanks for stating the obvious,"

"What…gosh…So who wrote it?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"I know…" Sharpay smirked.

"Who is it? Hey you just said you didn't know," If there's something Gabriella didn't like about Sharpay, it's that Sharpay's really good at keeping secrets.

"I lied, oh and it was someone,"

"Oh, no, well duh. Gosh…"

"Geez, Gabriella you'll figure it out you're smart."

"I hate you."

"Aww, I love you too, Gabby." Gabriella rolled her eyes once more. She opened her binder and another piece of paper fell out. This time it said,

Me, What? This doesn't make sense, don't me…whoever sent this is pretty messed up.

---

Gabriella Montez arrived home just as the clock stroke 4. She walked in to the bedroom and saw another piece of paper on her pillow. This time it said,

Leave. Don't me leave, don't I leave where? I think it's, 'Don't Leave Me'. Leave who? Gabriella thought.

"Don't leave me," Gabriella was startled. That voice it wasn't hers. It belonged to Troy Bolton. She turned around and Troy looked at her in the eyes,

"Gabriella, I lost my sister. And by losing her, I lost my advice column. I didn't know what to do anymore. I found myself asking myself questions, like 'What the hell should I do?' or 'What would Sophie do?' And often I found myself asking that about you. I always went to Sophie for advice on how to get you to be my girlfriend. She often told me to go for it or follow my heart. I chickened out. When she died, I found that Jeremy was told the same thing, but he always put it off. Now she's dead and he never got the girl that he should have got all along. I decided that I wouldn't do that, that I didn't have much time. I mean, who knows, maybe you're going to die next. And now, before it's too late, I want to tell you that I love you. I always will and I always have. You might not feel the same way but I…I hope that we can still be friends," Troy had tears sliding down his face from missing his sister. He suddenly found himself finding the ground very interesting.

Gabriella also had tears on rolling down from her eyes. No one has ever said that to her before. She walked over to Troy and lifted his chin up so he could see her eyes.

"I…" Gabriella swallowed. "I love you too." Troy smiled. He put his hands on her back and leaned in. Gabriella closed the gap in between them. She put her arms around Troy's neck and pulled him closer. Both closed there eyes wishing that this moment would last forever.

Gabriella pulled back from lack of air. She pulled Troy on to the balcony, closing her bedroom door on the way, seeing as Troy followed her in to her bedroom using that door. They sat in silence on the bench with Gabriella's head on Troy's shoulder and Troy's left arm around Gabriella's waist. Troy's head was leaned back to face the sky. He could hear his sister's voice in the distance saying,

"I'm proud of you, Troy. Take care of Gabriella. And always remember, bro, I love you." Troy smiled and whispered to the sky,

"I love you too, sis, I love you too."

So I won't give up
No I won't break down
Sooner than it seems life turns around
And I will be strong
Even if it all goes wrong
When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe
Someone's watching over me

Review, please with a cherry on top.