Disclaimer: I do not own anything.
I've been going back and re-reading some of my older stories. I'm going to be rewriting a few of them that had several errors or that I had new ideas for. This one didn't change much, but I found a few small things I wanted to change about it.
A Reason to Stay
She had felt it since the day they had met. She had always known there was something between them, but nothing had ever gone beyond friendship for them, and at this point Gabriella was wishing it had.
They had met a year ago in their junior year of college. A mutual friend had introduced them when they decided to go hang out as a group. She had gotten to know him as the night progressed, most of their conversations staying between them. His name was Troy Bolton and she honestly didn't think she would ever see him again when they parted ways that night.
How wrong she was…
As the next few months went by, she began seeing him at least once a week when their group would get together. After about three months of hanging out with the group, the two decided to start hanging out with his roommate Chad and Chad's girlfriend, also Gabriella's best friend, Taylor. But after a few weeks, Troy and Gabriella found they would rather hang out just the two of them. Their friendship progressed, and they found they enjoyed begin together very much. Gabriella, however, found herself wanting more than their friendship.
Troy, on the other hand, had different plans. He began dating a girl, leaving Gabriella heartbroken. They still talked but never saw each other. She eventually got over him and moved on.
When his girlfriend broke up with him, Troy came crawling back to Gabriella. She still cared for him as a friend, so she wanted to be there for him. It started off awkward for both of them since they hadn't seen each other in so long; but the longer they were together, the more they realized how right it felt to be hanging out again.
Troy and Gabriella began seeing each other a couple times a week, usually getting together with a group of friends. If they didn't see each other, they were on the phone talking.
Two months before Troy and Gabriella were to graduate college, they were discussing job prospects. Troy had already accepted a position in Albuquerque and was trying to persuade Gabriella to consider opportunities there as well. She agreed she would.
Within the week following, however, Gabriella really began to weigh her options, looking at several opportunities in the area. But prospects were looking more promising elsewhere. Now to break the news to Troy…
On Friday night, the group of friends went bowling. Troy and Gabriella were sitting across from each other at the table talking while they waited for their turns. Troy was asking her how the job search was coming, and she mentioned she had an interview for a job a few hours away in Santa Fe coming up at the beginning of the week.
"Santa Fe? But you can't drive back and forth every day at that distance," Troy said.
Gabriella laughed. "No, silly! I would move there."
Troy grew quiet, looking everywhere but at her. Finally he spoke up, "What about staying around here?"
Gabriella shrugged. "What about it? I mean, yeah, it would be great. But there's no guarantee I'm going to get a job here. Plus…why not there? It's not like anything is keeping me here."
Troy had a hurt expression on his face. "What do you mean nothing is keeping you here?"
"I mean…I'm not tied down here. It would be great to be close to family and friends. But I'm not rooted to one spot. I don't have a relationship or anything to worry about. I can go anywhere."
Troy was quiet the rest of the night, barely speaking to his friends as they all left. When they left the bowling alley, they decided to go watch a movie at Ryan's place, but Troy refused to go, saying he was tired and had to work the next day.
A week and many text messages sent later, Gabriella was starting to worry about Troy. He seemed to be upset when he left the bowling alley and now he wasn't responding to any of her texts or answering her phone calls.
She decided to try calling one last time, but when he again didn't answer, she figured she would just give up. She wasn't sure why he refused to talk to her. She couldn't remember doing or saying anything that would have been offensive. It hurt her to know that he was ignoring her, but she tried her best not to let it bother her.
Later that night, Gabriella was sitting at home considering two different potential jobs she had been offered. One was the job she told Troy about in Santa Fe. The other was a job in Albuquerque that she had landed an interview for that week as well. The more she considered both of them, the more confused she became. They both had good and bad qualities about them.
If she left Albuquerque, she would have an excellent job with lots of benefits, but it would mean leaving all of her family and friends. However, if she stayed in Albuquerque, she would be near those people. But that would also mean being close to Troy, who she had begun to develop feelings for again. She knew she couldn't stand going through all that again, seeing Troy dating again. She wasn't sure she would be able to get over him again, unless she moved away and didn't see him. Although, it was looking as if maybe she wouldn't have to worry about that anyway if he continued to refuse talking to her.
As she sat there thinking about the decision she had to make, tears came to her eyes. Why did this decision have to be so hard?
Gabriella heard a knock on her door and couldn't figure out who it would be. She wiped the tears from her face as she went to answer the door. When she opened it, there was Troy, looking down at the ground. Gabriella cleared her throat to get his attention and he finally looked up.
"What are you doing here?" she asked quietly.
"Why are you crying?" Troy asked, concern in his voice. He stepped forward and gently wiped her stray tears away.
"I asked you first."
Troy chuckled softly. "Well, it seems I've been a jerk and I've come to apologize."
Gabriella shrugged and turned from the door. "It doesn't matter anymore," she said quietly as she went to sit on the couch. Troy followed her, sitting next to her.
Troy frowned. "Of course it matters. I have a lot to apologize for. I shouldn't have been a jerk this past week…first with my attitude the other night at the bowling alley, then for ignoring you." Troy paused, looking at his lap, and then looking at Gabriella for the first time since sitting down. "I'm sorry. I should have been more supportive of what you decide to do with your life. Whatever you decide, I'll be there to support you all the way."
Gabriella smiled. "Thanks, Troy. That means a lot to me."
"Now about my question…why were you crying?"
Gabriella giggled. "It was stupid really. I'm trying to figure out where to work. I've been offered two different jobs, one here in Albuquerque and one in Santa Fe. I didn't realize this decision was going to be so hard."
"Really? That's amazing! I'm so proud of you. When did this job in Albuquerque come up?"
"This week," Gabriella responded quietly.
"Oh," Troy said just as quietly, realizing he'd missed out on something exciting in her life, all because of his selfish pride. "So which job are you leaning towards?" he asked, nervous of the answer.
"Honestly, neither one yet…" Gabriella let out a sigh. "They both have so many good and bad aspects."
"Do you want to talk about them?"
Gabriella shrugged. "I don't know…what do you think?"
"Well as much as I want you to stay in Albuquerque, I can't ask you to do that. But like I said, I am here to support you."
"You want me to stay here?" Gabriella asked softly.
"Of course. Did you actually think I wanted you to leave?"
Gabriella giggled. "Well no…not really. I've just been so confused by everything these past several days. I just don't know what to do anymore."
"Well, I'm here now…maybe I can help," Troy said.
"I don't think you can help," Gabriella replied. "I think the only way you could is if you told me which job to accept."
"You know I can't do that, Gabriella. I would give anything to do that because there are so many things I don't like about you going to Santa Fe." Troy sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Like what?" Gabriella asked quietly.
Troy stood up slowly and began to pace as he thought about his words. But before he could analyze them too much and really think about what he was saying, he was pouring his feelings out to her. "Like how if you move there I'll never see you. Or how I have this fear that you'll be too busy and we'll never talk. Or how you'll move there and some guy will come along and sweep you off your feet…" Gabriella interrupted him with her laughter and he turned abruptly to look at her. "What?"
Gabriella's laughter subsided enough for her to speak. "What's so bad about some guy sweeping me off my feet?"
Troy didn't respond immediately as he walked slowly over to the window and stared outside.
Gabriella sat there for a moment studying him, waiting for him to respond. He had a faraway expression on his face. She got up and walked over to where he stood, standing behind him and placing a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. "Troy…what's wrong?"
Troy let out a sigh, letting Gabriella know something was definitely bothering him. "The bad thing would be that it wouldn't be me," he said quietly.
Gabriella stood there shocked. She hadn't expected that answer. When she didn't respond to what he had said, Troy turned and began to head towards the door, thinking he'd messed everything up between them. However, Gabriella grabbed his hand as he walked past her, preventing him from going any further. "I didn't know…" she finally said.
Troy refused to look her in the eye. "Yeah…well now you do." He tried to pull away but Gabriella wouldn't let him. She kept a firm grip on his hand.
When he realized she wasn't going to let go, Troy finally chanced a look at her. Tears were forming in her eyes.
She was having trouble forming her words, but she finally managed to whisper. "Give me a reason to stay."
Troy looked at her questioningly, wondering if he had heard her correctly. "I can't do that; you know I can't."
"Why not, Troy? You basically just told me how you feel."
Troy nodded. "You're right. But it wouldn't be right of me to do that to you. If the job in Santa Fe is your dream, I can't steal you away from that. I would hate myself if you stayed here and weren't happy. I don't want you to end up resenting me for your unhappiness later on. I want you to make this decision for yourself."
"And what if staying here is my dream…with certain circumstances? What if there was something that I knew was here that could bring me more happiness than anything else?" Troy didn't respond. Gabriella took a step closer so she was standing directly in front of him. She looked into his eyes, pleading with him. "Please…give me a reason to stay," she whispered.
Troy grabbed Gabriella and hugged her. She leaned into his chest, tears slowly slipping from her eyes. Troy leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Please stay with me."
Gabriella leaned back, looking up at him, seeing the tears in his eyes as well. He reached his hand up and put it on the side of her face. "I need you to stay here. Albuquerque wouldn't be the same without you. I wouldn't be the same without you. I can't wait any longer to say this. Gabriella, I've fallen in love with you and I can't handle the thought of you not being here anymore. And I definitely can't handle imagining you meeting someone or being with someone who isn't me. I don't know when these feelings began, but I've kept them bottled up and I've let them almost ruin the best thing that has ever happened to me. I don't want to lose you, Gabriella."
Gabriella looked up at Troy, eyes shining with tears. She took a deep breath to calm her emotions. "I've fallen in love with you, too, Troy. And even if I did move, there's no one who could come close to you, no one who could compare."
Troy smiled down at her. "So does that mean you'll stay?"
Gabriella nodded. "That means I'll stay. I'll call the law firm here in Albuquerque first thing tomorrow and let them know I'll accept the job. Albuquerque has a new lawyer."
Troy grabbed Gabriella and picked her up, swinging her around. The two of them laughed from their newfound excitement before Troy sat her down gently. He leaned down and placed his lips gently against hers in a soft, slow kiss. When Troy pulled back, he leaned down next to her ear and whispered. "Will you be my girlfriend?"
Gabriella finally opened her eyes and smiled up at Troy. "Yes, Troy, I will be your girlfriend." Gabriella pulled Troy back down to her for another kiss, this one more passionate than the first, showing all the love each had bottled up for so long.
When the two pulled away from one another, Troy looked down at Gabriella, suddenly growing serious. He reached to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. "Promise you won't resent me?"
Gabriella reached up and placed her hand to the side of his face. "I could never resent you. I love you too much. Being with you is more of a dream come true than any job ever could be."