Should've Said No
So here is a one-shot beginning story loosely based on the song by Taylor Swift. There is a sequel to this story so go and read it after reading this.
My name is Gabriella Montez I am 18 years old and a senior at East High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This day started out like any other but the ending would change my relationship and not for the better. I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me take you back to the beginning of that fateful Friday where everything changed.
Gabriella's day started out like any other with her mother yelling from the bottom of the stairs for her to get up and Gabriella yelling back about how school sucks. After getting out of bed, Gabriella made her way into her conjoining bathroom to shower and get ready for the day ahead of her. Luckily it was Friday and she could just hang out with her friends and relax all weekend. Senior year was coming to a close soon and she was looking forward to spending the time with all her friends including her boyfriend up until they all had to part ways for college in the fall. Gabriella had found out a few days ago that she got accepted into the Freshmen Honors Program at Stanford University and if she decided to go she would need to be in Silicon Valley, California in 2 weeks. This information scared her, she didn't know how she would break the news to her boyfriend and she also didn't know how he would take the news. Gabriella decided that she would tell him today after school and his reaction would give her the answer.
She dressed in a purple V-neck t-shirt, black jeans, and black combat boots. Upon exiting her bathroom her cell phone started to play "Love Story' by Taylor Swift and a smile crept onto her lips, she didn't need to look at the phone to know it was her boyfriend calling. She walked over to her bedside table and picked up the phone.
"Hello." Gabriella sang into the phone as she walked to her closet to grab her gray zip up jacket.
"Hey beautiful." The voice said causing a blush to creep onto her features
"Troy you can't say that if you haven't even seen what I look like." Gabriella replies with a smile
"You always look beautiful, and I am looking at you right now." Troy says as he stands on her balcony peering into her room at her through the windowed doors.
Gabriella looks to her open bedroom door to find no one there then realizes what he means and turns around to see her boyfriend standing on her balcony with a smile. Gabriella hangs up her phone and puts it in her back pocket as she walks over to open the door for her boyfriend.
"Good morning." Troy says with a smile as he bends down to kiss her.
"Morning." She replies with a smile
The pair head downstairs hand in hand to grab a quick breakfast before they head to school.
"Good morning Troy." Maria Montez says with a knowing smile. Fully aware that her daughter's boyfriend came in through the balcony again. "You do know we have a front door that you are welcome to use at any time."
"I know but it's easier to use the balcony because all I have to do is walk through my backyard and into yours then climb up a tree. If I used the door I would have to get into my car drive out of my neighborhood and into yours then I'd have to park my car, get out, knock on the door and wait for someone to answer. My way is so much easier." Troy replies with a smile as he grabs a piece of bacon and pops it into his mouth.
"Your explanation is idiotic but I get it." Maria says and they all laugh. After the teens have eaten they bid their goodbyes to Maria before heading to Troy's house to get to his truck.
Once at school they meet up with the gang which consists of Taylor McKessie, Chad Danforth, Sharpay and Ryan Evans, Jason Cross, Kelsi Neilson, Zeke Baylor, and Martha Cox.
"Sup hoops." Chad says as he tosses his basketball at Troy who catches it with ease.
Hey Chad." Troy says and throws the ball back to his best friend. As the guys gather around each other talking about whatever sports game was recently on t.v, Gabriella greets her girlfriends.
"Hey Gab" Taylor greets her friend
"Morning Gabi" Sharpay chimes in as Gabriella makes her way to them
"Hey guys." Gabriella says with a smile as she hugs her two best friends first before greeting the others
"So have you told him yet?" Taylor asks curious to know if her best friend will be staying for the summer or leaving early to start college.
"Told who what?" Sharpay asks confused as to what her friends are talking about. Gabriella glances nervously in Troy's direction trying to gauge whether or not he can hear their conversation.
"Gabriella got accepted into Stanford's Freshman Honors Program and if she decides to go she'll have to be in Silicon Valley in 2 weeks." Taylor informs Sharpay in a hushed voice.
"What? But if you go you'll miss prom, and graduation." Sharpay says with a level of hurt in her voice.
"I haven't made any decision yet. I want to talk things through with Troy and see how he feels about it before I make a decision." Gabriella says trying to assuage her slightly distraught friend.
"Hey ladies, what's going on over here?" Troy asks as he drapes his arm around Gabriella noticing the sadden look on Sharpay's face. "Everything alright Pay?" He asks
"What? Oh, yeah I just remembered that I forgot to print out the flyers for the spring musical. Mrs. D will have my ass if I don't get that done." Sharpay says using her best acting skills to fool her best friend's boyfriend. "I better go get on that, oh and Gab, don't wait too long." She says with a smile before making her way into the school
"Wait too long for what?" Troy asks frowning slightly as he looks down at her
"To answer her whether or not I'm coming to her party tonight. I told her I'd talk to you to see if that's something you'd want to do." Gabriella says with a smile up at him as Taylor shakes her head at her best friend
The bell rings and the teens make their way into the building and head towards homeroom with Mrs. Darbus the drama teacher.
After homeroom, the gang parts ways to get stuff from their respective lockers Troy and Chad are lucky enough to have lockers right next to each other while the others a spread out a little. Taylor, Gabriella and Sharpay all have their lockers in the same area so they head to theirs together. As Gabriella and Sharpay talk animatedly about the party tonight, Taylor can't help but overhear a little conversation happening between Troy and Chad as the girls pass them on their way to their lockers.
"I don't know man, I think Gabriella's hiding something from me. She's been off these last couple of days. It's like she doesn't want me to find out about something or worse… someone" Troy says grimly
"Troy, Gabriella loves you too much to ever even think about cheating on you. Just be patient. She'll tell you whatever it is she need to tell you when she's ready. We all know that she can't keep secrets from you." Chad replies reassuring his worried friend.
As the girls reach their lockers, Taylor stops to talk to Gabriella and Sharpay proceeds to gather her books for her next class.
"Gab, you have to tell him soon. He's very suspicious of you. I overheard him talking to Chad on the way here and he thinks you might be cheating on him." Taylor says hurriedly to her friend.
"I know Tay, I'm gonna tell him tonight before the party. That way if he doesn't react too kindly he can drink away his anger and hurt." Gabriella says having already thought through her plan.
Later that night, Troy makes his way over to Gabriella's house to pick her up so they can ride to Sharpay's party together. This time around he decides to use the front door and Maria answers.
"Hello Troy, it's nice to know that you actually can use the front door." Maria says with a smile as she steps aside to let the teenage boy inside.
"Of course. Hi Maria. I wasn't aware of the state of Gabriella's readiness so I figured front door was the best option." Troy says as he stops to plant a kiss on her cheek on his way in the Montez house.
"Last I knew she was in the shower. You can head on up and make yourself at home. She should be about ready now." Maria says and Troy heads upstairs to his girlfriend's bedroom.
Upon entering, Troy notes that Gabriella is still in the bathroom probably getting dressed so he decides to make himself at home and goes to lay on her bed. On his way he spots a letter sticking out of a note book that has the Stanford University logo on it. He curiously picks it up and reads it. Just then Gabriella emerges from the bathroom.
"Shit Troy you scared me." Gabriella says with a laugh before she notices the grim look on his face. "Hey, what's up?" She asks suddenly nervous of his answer.
"I don't know Gabriella, you tell me." Troy says not hiding the hurt in his face and voice as he holds up the paper for her to see. Before she even sees the paper, Gabriella knows it's not something good because Troy never uses her full name unless he has something important to say.
She grabs the paper to look at it more closely and frowns.
"When were you going to tell me that you're leaving for Stanford?" Troy asks angry and hurt that she would keep something this important from him.
"The letter just came in the mail a few days ago and I was trying to find the right time to tell you. I haven't even decided if I'm gonna go or not yet. I planned on telling you tonight." Gabriella says guilt suddenly washing over her. "Why are you getting so worked up? It's not like I was deliberately hiding anything from you and just leaving without even saying goodbye. I wanted to talk to you before making a decision." The anger rising in Gabriella as she speaks.
"You know what Gab, I think you should go. Yeah, I think a break would do us some good. You obviously don't think that I am important enough to tell me big news the moment you find out so maybe you should accept this invitation." Troy says angrily before he storms out of her room and down the stairs. Gabriella immediately runs after him.
"Troy! Wait up! Stop! Troy!" Gabriella yells as she runs after him frantically. "Please let's just talk about this." Troy stops in his tracks and turns to face her anger burning in his eyes.
"What is there to talk about? This is too good of an opportunity for you to pass up and I'm not going to stand in your way, so have fun in Silicon Valley." Troy says as a flash of hurt crosses his features and with that he stalks away leaving Gabriella sad and speechless standing in her backyard watching him walk away. She realizes that maybe he needs a little time to cool off and decides its best to just meet him at Sharpay's house.
With that, she bounds back into her house to call Taylor to get a ride to the party.
"Hey, mija, is everything all right with you and Troy?" Maria asks her daughter having heard the screaming match that just occurred throughout her house as Gabriella walks back into the kitchen.
"I'm not sure. Troy found the letter from Stanford and freaked out then left, He was mad but also hurt." Gabriella replies
"He probably just needs time to process and cool off." Maria reassures her daughter
"That's what I was thinking so I'm gonna see if Taylor can take me to Shar's party." Gabriella says
"Alright, if you need a ride let me know and if not then have fun." Maria says and gives her daughter a kiss on the head then walks out of the kitchen.
Gabriella heads back up to her room to gather her phone to call Taylor. As the phone rings she steps out on her balcony and stares across her backyard to Troy's house.
"Hello" Taylor says into the phone.
"Hey Tay. Would you be able to pick me up for Shar's party?" She asks her best friend
"I'm kind of already here. I thought you were riding with Troy." Taylor replies with confusion laced in her voice.
"It's a bit of a long story but Troy found the Stanford letter and freaked out then left. If you can't get me I'll have my mom drop me off." Gabriella says waving the air like it's no big deal even though Taylor can't see her.
"That won't be necessary, we'll be right there." Sharpay says through the phone.
"Shar it's your party. You can't leave it." Gabriella protests.
"You're right, it is my party which means that I can do what I want. Plus Ryan and some of the gang is here. I can slip out for a few minutes to help out my best friend." Sharpay says matter-of-factly.
"If you insist. I'll see you guys soon then." Gabriella says.
"Be there in 10." Sharpay says before hanging up the phone and handing it back to Taylor.
Sure enough 10 minutes later, Sharpay and Taylor make their way into Gabriella's house and up to her room. After they greet each other, Gabriella relays her earlier interaction with Troy to her best friends.
"Well, I hope you're not planning on wearing that to the party." Sharpay says and the girls all laugh.
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Gabriella asks looking down at her light blue tank top and black skinny jeans.
"After what you just told me, you should dress up a little to show Troy what he's missing by leaving you to find your own way to the party." Sharpay says as she looks through Gabriela's closet for her friend's new outfit and comes across a dress that would be perfect.
Sharpay pulls out a black V-neck skater dress that has purple and pink flowers and green leaves on it.
"Put this on, it's perfect." Sharpay says as she hands the dress to Gabriella. Normally she would put up a fight about wearing a dress to a party but tonight she just doesn't have the energy to argue with Sharpay because she knows that she'll lose anyway. "Wow not even going to put up a fight. You must really be bummed about Troy." Sharpay says
"I know I'm going to lose the fight so why even go through with it." Gabriella says with a shrug as she heads into her bathroom to change. Sharpay and Taylor share a concerned look and just then Taylor's phone rings.
"Hey, Chad." She says with a smile when she picks up the phone.
"Hey, babe where are you?" Chad asks
"Shar and I went to pick up Gabriella. Something happened between her and Troy." Taylor fills her boyfriend in on the situation
"Well that makes sense because Troy is drinking like a horse." Chad says with concern for his friend. "Hurry back. Gabriella is probably the only person who can fix this."
They finish their conversation and Gabriella emerges from the bathroom. She puts her black vans on and grabs her purse before heading out to Sharpay's pink convertible. When they get back to Sharpay's house the party is in full swing and the girls go in search of the guys. Sharpay walks in front of the others on the lookout for a drunken Troy. When she doesn't spot him right away she decides to lead her friends into the kitchen to get some drinks. After each girl has a drink in hand, Sharpay goes in search of Troy again and finds him standing in the corner of the living room with a red solo cup in one hand and some random girl hanging all up on him. Sharpay can clearly see that he's trying to get rid of her. Before she has time to react the girl pulls Troy in for a kiss and right then Gabriella walks up behind Sharpay and finds Troy pushing a random girl away and detaching their lips.
"Shit." Troy curses to himself as he looks up and sees Gabriella standing in the room staring at him. He pushes Laura or whatever her name is out of the way to chase after the girl he loves.
"Don't." is all Sharpay says as she puts a hand to his chest to stop him. "I got this one." She says before running after Gabriella knowing exactly where to find her best friend.
Sharpay lightly knocks on the door of the library before slowly entering to find Gabriella sitting on the bay window staring out at the party in the backyard down below her.
"I'm so sorry Gab." Sharpay says as she puts her cup down on the desk and sits next to her best friend.
"Why didn't you do something to stop it? You just stood there watching happen. Letting him kiss her." Gabriella asks as hurt flashes in her eyes.
"Gab it all happened so fast. It's like I was frozen in my spot. I swear I never meant to hurt you." Sharpay replies sadly
"You may not have done it intentionally but you still stood there and let it happen. I think I'm gonna go." Gabriella says as she leaves Sharpay sitting on the bay window in stunned silence.
"Gabriella! I swear I didn't kiss her back. As soon as I realized what was happening I pushed her away. You saw that part." Troy says as he stops Gabriella on her way out.
"Save it Troy. I don't want to talk about it and I really don't want to talk to you. If we weren't broken up before, we sure as shit are now." Gabriella replies harshly as she pushes past him and starts walking home from Sharpay's house.
When she gets home she goes right up to her room and turns her laptop on. When it's all booted up she goes online and books a flight to Silicon Valley for two weeks later, then goes on the Stanford website and accepts her position in the Honors program. Not wanting to think twice or change her mind she does it while she still thinks that there's nothing keeping her in Albuquerque. After shutting down her computer she crawls into bed and listens to music to help her fall asleep so she doesn't have to think about Troy or Sharpay and the actions that led them here.
In the morning, Gabriella wakes up to 5 drunken voicemails from Troy which she promptly deletes without listening to. 3 texts from Sharpay expressing how sorry she is and 4 from Taylor wondering where she is and then expressing her sorrow for the situation. After using the bathroom, Gabriella heads back to bed and replies to Taylor saying she'll be fine and then texting Sharpay saying she just needs some space.
Monday at school is tense because Gabriella and Troy aren't talking despite his efforts to get her to talk to him and she won't talk to Sharpay either. The group is divided despite everyone's efforts to not take sides.
"Tay, do you want to go to the mall after school?" Sharpay asks as she stands beside Taylor's locker.
"I can't today Shar. I promised to help Gab pack for California." Taylor says to her best friend who looks saddened by the answer
"It's fine. I get it. She needs time and I don't want to make her hate me more." Sharpay says waving it off acting like she's not hurt by what her friend has just said.
"Shar, she doesn't hate you. Gabriella could never hate anyone. I promise she'll forgive you soon." Taylor says as she pulls her best friend in for a much needed hug.
"I'm trusting you Tay." Sharpay says with a sad smile as she wipes her eyes and gathers her books for her first class before heading off.
The next two weeks fly by quicker than Gabriella thought they would. The night before her flight Gabriella and Taylor are deciding what to do one last time before she leaves and they decide on the open mic night at the coffee shop downtown.
They enter the coffee shop and Gabriella heads to the stage to put her name down for the open mic night having just written a song about Troy that she would like to get out before she leaves. Secretly hoping that Troy would show up to hear it and know how she's really feeling. Little does she know, Taylor has already arranged to have Troy show up hoping that maybe they can start to mend things before Gabriella goes to Stanford.
Just as Troy, Chad, Sharpay, and Ryan walk into the coffee shop Gabriella's name is called to perform next and she heads up to the stage with her guitar.
"Hey, everyone. I'm Gabi and I'm going to sing a song that I wrote not too long ago." Gabriella says as she adjusts the strap on her guitar and begins to strum. Before the words come her eyes meet Troy's who is standing toward the back or the room looking sad.
"It's strange to think the songs we used to sing
The smiles, the flowers, everything is gone
Yesterday I found out about you
Even now just looking at you feels wrong
You say that you'd take it all back, given one chance
It was a moment of weakness and you said, "Yes"
You should've said "No", you should've gone home
You should've thought twice 'fore you let it all go
You should've known that word 'bout what you did with her,
Would get back to me (get back to me),
And I should've been there in the back of your mind
I shouldn't be asking myself, "Why?"
You shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet….
You should've said "No", baby, and you might still have me
(Music)
You can see that I've been crying
Baby, you know all the right things to say
But do you honestly expect me to believe
We could ever be the same?
You say that the past is the past, you need one chance
It was a moment of weakness and you said "Yes"
You should've said "No", you should've gone home
You should've thought twice 'fore you let it all go
You should've known that word 'bout what you did with her,
Would get back to me (get back to me),
And I should've been there in the back of your mind
I shouldn't be asking myself, "Why?"
You shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet….
You should've said "No", baby, and you might still have me
Oh, oh, oh, oh
I can't resist
Before you go, tell me this:
Was it worth it?
Was she worth this?
No…. no, no, no, no… no
You should've said "No", you should've gone home
You should've thought twice 'fore you let it all go
You should've known that word 'bout what you did with her,
Would get back to me (get back to me),
And I should've been there in the back of your mind
I shouldn't be asking myself, "Why?"
You shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet….
You should've said "No", baby, and you might still have me"
When the song ends Gabriella steps off the stage and is immediately scooped up in a hug by her best friend.
"OMG. Gab. That song was great." Taylor says praising her friend.
"Gabi, I just wanted to say that I loved the song and also to apologize again. I know you need time to forgive me. Have a safe flight tomorrow." Sharpay says with a sad smile before turning to leave.
"Thanks Shar. For understanding." Gabriella says with a sad smile and Sharpay nods her head before leaving the coffee shop.
Gabriella looks around for Troy and when she doesn't see him she decides it's time to go home. Right then the MC comes on stage to introduce the last singer of the night. To Gabriella's surprise it just so happens to be the boy that broke her heart.
"This song is dedicated to a very special girl." Troy says looking directly into Gabriella eyes as he begins playing the song on a guitar he borrowed.
"Broken hearts and last goodbyes
Restless nights but lullabies
Helps to make this pain go away
I realize I let you down
Told you that I'd be around
Buildin' up the strength just to say
I'm sorry
For breaking all the promises that I wasn't around to keep
It's all me
This time is the last time I will ever beg you to stay
But you're already on your way
(Music)
Filled with sorrow, filled with pain
Knowing that I am to blame
For leavin' your heart out in the rain
And I know you're gonna walk away
Leave me with the price to pay
Before you go I wanted to say
Yeah
That I'm sorry
For breakin' all the promises that I wasn't around to keep
And it's all me
This time is the last time I will ever beg you to stay
But you're already on your way
I can't make it alive on my own
But if you have to go, then please girl
Just leave me alone
'Cause I don't want to see you and me going our separate ways
Begging you to stay
If it isn't too late
I'm sorry
For breakin' all the promises that I wasn't around to keep
It's all me
This time is the last time I will ever beg you to stay
But you're already on your way
But you're already on your way"
After Troy finishes the song he heads down to where Gabriella is frozen in her spot.
"I'm so sorry Gabriella." Troy says when he's standing right in front of her.
"I. I can't do this right now." Gabriella says before running out of the coffee shop and getting in her car and driving home.
When she arrives back home Gabriella just sits in the car taking deep breaths to calm herself down. Suddenly there's a tap on the window and when she looks up it's the one person she wants to see but also the same person who hurt her.
"We need to talk." Troy says knowing that Gabriella can hear him through the window and she reluctantly gets out of the car to face him.
"Brie, I love you so much and I know I reacted the wrong way about Stanford I just didn't want to lose you." Troy says
"I think we both know that you already lost me and it's not because of Stanford." Gabriella says bitterly looking at the ground
"I know. Can you ever forgive me for that?" Troy asks hopefully
"I don't know. Maybe someday. But that day isn't today. I'm sorry Troy but it's hard to look at you and not feel hurt by what you did whether it be intentional or not. I can't do this anymore." Gabriella says fighting to keep her tears at bay. "I think you should go."
"Yeah. Okay. Just so you know, I won't give up." Troy says as he sullenly walks through her backyard heading to his own house. Leaving Gabriella standing in her driveway while the tears fall silently.
The next day, Gabriella's friends minus Troy and Sharpay gather at her house to say their goodbyes before she leaves.
"I'm going to miss you all so much." Gabriella says as she hugs all her friends
"We're going to miss you too Gab." Zeke says
"Yeah the end of senior year won't be the same without you." Kelsi says with a sad smile as she pulls her friend in for another hug.
"Gab, are you sure you don't want to call Troy over to say goodbye?" Chad asks
"Yeah. It will be too hard to leave if I see him again. Don't say anything to him until I'm gone. I don't want him chasing me through the airport and convincing me to stay." Gabriella says sadly
After another round of goodbyes all the friends except for Taylor leave and she accompanies Gabriella and Maria to the airport.
"I can't believe you're really leaving, I'm going to miss you so much!" Taylor says pulling her best friend in for a tight hug with tears in her eyes.
"I know, I'm going to miss you too. But I will call you whenever I can, and we'll Facetime, and text all the time I promise." Gabriella replies with tears in her eyes as she returns the hug.
"Flight 209 to Silicon Valley now boarding." The voice on the loud speaker announced.
"That's you mija, I love you so much and call me when you land so I know you got there safely." Maria says a tear falling from her eye as she sends off her baby girl.
"I will mama I promise and I'm going to miss you and Tay and everyone so much, I love you both." Gabi says through her tears. "Well I better get going." Gabi hugs her mother and Taylor one last time before walking through the gate and onto her plane.
Well that was the story. I rewrote it because I didn't like the original. I felt like this oneshot didn't really go with the sequel I wrote and am still writing. I will go back into the sequel chapters and rewrite them so everything flows and makes more sense. I originally wrote this story in like 2012 and it showed. Upon developing the sequel and finding m writing voice I decided that what I originally wrote was stupid and didn't really make sense so I changed pretty much the whole thing. The songs in here were "Should've Said No" by Taylor Swift and "Sorry" by the Jonas Brothers. Thanks for reading please review.
Xoxo - Christina