Author's Note: I'm back! This time with a pairing I've never tried before. My inspiration is through the roof right now but updates may be spaced out a bit thanks in no small part to Grad School. I hope you guys like the story enough to stick with me to the end. As usual, standard disclaimers apply. Believe me, if I owned HSM it would be a totally different trilogy.
Oh and before I forget…this is for my friend Jess who has given me the task of bringing her plot idea to life. I hope I can do it justice.
Bittersweet Melody
Two months had passed since he had made the journey to California. Classes were in full swing, basketball practice was intense, and he practically lived in the theater.
In fact, it might have been easier if he just stored some clothes backstage and took up residence there. Or at least that's how it felt some days.
But, for the first time in his life, Troy Bolton is lonely. Gabriella has been busy at Stanford, so immersed in her pre-law classes that even though they were exactly 32.7 miles from each other, he hadn't seen her since orientation weekend. He found himself missing home, missing the countless hours he'd spent with his friends. Missing the times when life was simple.
Even though Chad annoyed the hell out of him--and that was on a good day--he missed the one-on-one's in his backyard and the teasing banter that came with them.
Even though he still found himself wondering just how Jason had made it out of East High...gosh he missed all the laughter that always ensued when the dark-haired boy was around.
And, if he was honest, he even missed Sharpay. That's when he knew he was in trouble. He'd never tell a soul but he always found her quite amusing, funny, and even sweet when there was no drama or crisis happening.
The separation had driven the group of friends apart as they each explored their new lives. It was expected and understandable. But it still made him sad.
The only one he'd managed to stay in regular touch with was Kelsi, the tiny dynamo of a composer that, looking back, he wished he'd be-friended earlier. She was settling in fabulously at Juliard, truly in her element. She'd found Troy on Facebook and he'd readily accepted her friend request. Almost daily messages on each other's walls soon progressed into nightly IM conversations. Troy could talk to her for hours, he realized.
She didn't ask too many questions, didn't pry. She just listened. And boy did he need that at the moment.
He's feeling particularly lonely on this night, missing something he can't quite put his finger on. His stomach is in knots from the stress of class, homework, and more practices than he can keep straight in his head.
His fingers are currently flying across the keyboard engrossed in one of the nightly conversations he's come to cherish. He's venting to her about a particularly intense basketball practice he'd had earlier in the day, and as he types each response, he briefly wonders how she puts up with all his whining.
But she's never complained. Not once.
He's in the middle of typing a long message when a ' low battery' message pops up on his screen. Suddenly an idea pops into his head and it takes only a second for him to send it off in a hurried message.
wildcatchamps: Hey Kels, my laptop is about to die. You wanna call me?[
Her response comes back without a moments hesitation.
MozartLove: sure
It only takes a minute for his phone to light up with a picture of them, taken after graduation, arms flung carelessly around each other in a hug as they send their caps toward the sky. He answers on the first ring. "Hey Playmaker, what's up?" he asks cheerfully. "Hey Hoops Man." she replies, her soft voice barely breaking through the phone. "Talk to me." Her tone is soft and warm. Comforting even.
As they launch into the conversation once again, it's like they never left the halls of East High. If he tries hard enough he can practically see her; it's as if she's cross-legged onstage across from him as they share a good conversation like they'd done for so many nights during the Spring Musicale.
And, as they share a hearty laugh, Troy Bolton feels those knots in his stomach start to loosen. They're replaced by a feeling he doesn't quite recognize.
He thinks it might be relief. Or peace.
But if he's honest...it sure does feel like butterflies.
They talk late into the night. Troy learns that Kelsi has been tapped to score the Julliard Fall Musical, an honor never before given to a first-year student. The words spill out of her mouth at warp speed as she gives him details of some of the pieces she's working on.
He's embarrassed to say he got lost five minutes ago when she started talking about scales and arrangements but he can't bring himself to stop her.
He hasn't heard her this excited since she'd unveiled You Are The Music in Me as a possibility for the Lava Springs talent show.
He loved that song and hated that he'd never got a chance to give voice to the beautiful lyrics that she had written especially for he and Gabi to sing.
Gabi.
Just hearing her name in his head makes those knots in his stomach reappear faster than he can will them away. He wonders how she's doing, though he has no doubt that she's fitting in just fine amongst all the prestigious scholars and geniuses at Stanford. She probably already had most of her professors wrapped around her little finger.
He'd tried to call her several times in the last few weeks but she always turned off her phone when she was studying and, as a result, Troy could practically recite her voicemail message more accurately than some of the monologues for his theater class.
Hi, you've reached Gabi. I'm sorry I missed your call but if you leave your name and a message I'll call you back as soon as I can. Thanks!
He'd admit that sometimes he called just to hear her voice.
Deep down Troy knew that it had to be this way; Gabi was busy achieving the dream she'd held onto since childhood and, despite the protests of his heart, he knew it wasn't his place to take that away from her.
But God did he miss her.
His thoughts are broken when he hears his name being called repeatedly.
"Troy?" the quiet voice calls. "Troy?!"
Kelsi. The phone. Musicals. Crap…he'd totally forgotten she was even there.
"Sorry Kels," he apologies quickly. "I spaced out for a second."
He grins as laughter fills his ears. "A second?!" she says in mock exasperation. "Try five minutes, Troy."
He sighs, twirling the phone in his hand as he waits for her to speak again. "Sorry."
"How is she?" Kelsi inquires softly.
It had come out of nowhere, though he knows he shouldn't be shocked. She'd always been the most caring person he'd ever known.
And he forgot that she could read him like a book.
"I'm not sure, actually." he replies, a hint of sadness in his voice. "I haven't seen her in a month, she's really busy."
"You miss her don't you? It's a statement, not a question.
Troy nods furiously, momentarily forgetting that she can't see him. "I do." he says softly. "It's so hard making friends when I'm so busy, I just wish she had time to talk every once in awhile."
"She will." Kelsi reassures him. "Just give her some time to settle in…until then you have me!"
She says it tongue in cheek, an attempt to get him to smile…as if she can sense that his jaw is set in a tight frown.
He's oddly comforted by her statement but he can't help but feel undeserving of her attention. For years he had practically ignored her, instead choosing to hang out with Chad and Zeke. Sure, he had always smiled at her in the hallway but it wasn't until he'd auditioned for the musicale that they'd formally met and he'd come to know the real Kelsi; the one she couldn't hide behind the piano.
The girl with the sweet personality. The musician with talent beyond her years. The devoted friend.
In spite his best efforts to bite it back; he feels a lump forming in his throat. Troy Bolton does not cry. Unless you count that time with Chad in the gym during graduation. He'd take that secret to his grave.
But, he vows that someday he'll apologize to her for the past. He knows she'll shrug it off with a grin and a hug but he feels compelled to do it.
Because, the truth is, he can no longer imagine life without her friendship.
"Troy David Bolton!" her frustrated voice bursts down the phone. "Stop spacing out on me! I know I'm boring but this is ridiculous."
He's never heard her so frustrated and he can't stop the laugh that passes his lips.
"Sorry! My mind is all over the place tonight." he admits sheepishly. So, how's Jason?"
The question is met by silence and it momentarily unnerves him as he waits for her response.
"He ummm…" her voice breaks and Troy feels the dread settle in the pit of his stomach. "He broke up with me right before I left for New York…said he couldn't do the long distance thing."
Good lord, his friend was a moron.
"I'm so sorry, Kels." he murmurs. "I didn't know."
She forces out a laugh to cover the quake in her voice. "It's ok." she whispers. "I'll be ok…who has time for a boyfriend anyway?"
At that moment he wants nothing more than to reach through the phone and hug her.
"Hey Troy." she says quietly, desperate to break the awkward silence that followed her admission. "I have an early rehearsal so I need to sleep…same time tomorrow?"
He answers before she can even finish the question. "Bet on it." he chuckles. 'Night, Playmaker...and thanks."
"You're welcome." she murmurs through a yawn. "Sleep well."
The call disconnects and as he looks down at his phone, Troy realizes that they'd talked for three hours. It had felt like five minutes.
Perhaps that saying was true…time flies when you're having fun.
As he snuggles under the covers for a night of long-awaited sleep, Troy Bolton has a revelation.
He's not lonely anymore.