AN: This idea came to me when reading about the movie My Girl. I've never seen the movie but know what happens and hope to see it some day – after I become less emotional.

So I guess in other words, this is loosely based on that movie.

If you don't want to read another pointless, fluffy, corny one-shot of mine then don't continue reading. :-)

Title: To Love Again
Rating: K+
Author: MadiWillow
Summary: Troy asks out Gabriella but she rejects him, claiming she likes him but can't go out with him. Moments later she's sobbing, sharing a secret of her past that no one knows of... OneShot.
Genre: Tragedy/Romance
Chapter: OneShot

Troy was nervous as hell. Tightly gripping a bouquet of red and pink roses, he slowly knocked on the front door facing him with free hand. His eyes had glazed over, staring straight at the door, as he tried to take steadying breaths. He'd never been this anxious before in his life.

The sound of the door opening reached his ears before he saw it. He heard the lock click, the door knob turn, and before he had time to run away, he saw Gabriella Montez standing in the doorway, her curly, dark brown hair cascading over her shoulders. She blinked at him for a moment after opening the door, waiting for Troy to speak. He couldn't, however. He just gaped at her like a fish out of water.

"Troy? Do you need something?" she asked slowly, as if talking to a dim-witted child.

"Willyoubemygirlfriend?" Troy asked just as he found his voice, leaving no time to organize his thoughts before they came tumbling out of his mouth.

He pursed his lips as Gabriella stared at him. She asked, "Um, sorry? I didn't catch that." She laughed lightly.

Troy couldn't say it again, he just couldn't. What if she said 'no'? He clenched his jaw shut, staring at anything but Gabriella.

Her voice brought his mind back to where they were. "Uh, would you like to come in?" she asked awkwardly, no doubt perturbed by his behavior.

He slowly stepped past her, nearly sighing in pleasure at the scent of her Warm Vanilla Sugar perfume. He gulped and spun around in time to see her closing the door. "Gabriella, will you go out with me?" he asked again, slower this time, before he lost his courage

Gabriella froze, her hand on the door. Troy breathed in deeply, trying to calm his never-ending nerves. When she kept her back facing him, he started to chew on the inside of his mouth. Great. I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. Why did I listen to Sharpay?

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity but was probably only twenty seconds, Gabriella slowly pivoted on the spot, turning to face him. Her face showed hurt, sadness, and sympathy. She gave him an uncomfortable half-smile before saying, "I'm sorry, Troy."

Troy swallowed, his throat turning to sand. "S-sorry?" he asked hoarsely.

"I mean, I like you Troy," she said quickly. "And not just as a friend. I really do like you. I just can't go out with you."

Suddenly all of Troy's despair vanished, to be replaced with confusion. He looked down at the flowers he was holding – Gabriella's favorite – and back to said girl, watching him in concern. "Wait. Why?"

"Why what?" she asked quickly.

He narrowed his eyes suspicously . "Why can't you go out with me? You like me, I like you, so-"

"I just can't, okay!" she nearly yelled, her voice cracking. Troy took a step back at her sudden mood change.

"Gabriella, we're best friends. We can tell each other anything," he soothed her. "Something's wrong. What is it?"

Tears were starting to form in Gabriella's eyes. She bit her lip – something she did only when she was nervous or uncomfortable – and answered him. "I just can't."

Troy tossed the flowers, now unimportant, on the couch next to him. He put his hands on her shoulders and said, "Gabriella, please tell me."

Her lips pursed, she shook her head. Tears were starting to stream out of her eyes and Troy could no longer contain himself. He bent his head down slowly and just as his lips brushed hers, she pushed him away.

"Troy, stop!" she cried, the tears coming faster than ever. "I can't go out with you because if I do, then I'll have to acknowledge the fact that I love you, but I can't love you!"

He stared at her as she stumbled to the stairs, positively sobbing. She collapsed onto the bottom stair, he head in her arms, and wept. Slowly, Troy strode over to the stairs and sat down next to her. He rubbed her back soothingly and brushed her hair away from her face. After a few moments she looked up at him, her face blotchy and soaked from tears.

"I'm sorry," said Troy quietly. "I just wish you could tell me what's wrong."

She sniffled and looked away from him, her eyes slowly becoming unfocused. After a moment she started to speak, her voice monotonous, no longer care-free and happy. "When I was twelve, I lost my best friend."

Troy gasped, suddenly horrified for his actions. "Oh, I'm sorry Gabriella, you don't have to – I had no idea – I-"

However, Gabriella continued to talk as if Troy had never interrupted her. "His name was Owen, and he wasn't just my best friend – he was my only friend." She hiccuped loudly and Troy pulled her closer. "He was there for me when my father died and when my mom started to withdraw from me. He always listened to me. And then one day... he was gone."

"It's okay, Gabriella," repeated Troy quickly. "You don't have to-"

"No, I do," Gabriella said quietly. "I've never told anyone this and I feel like I'm going to explode if I don't." Troy remained silent and a moment later, Gabriella continued. "I didn't realize it until he was gone, but I loved him. We may have only been twelve... but I did." She gulped. "He was my first love." She pursed her lips together and screwed up her face to stop the tears from dripping down, but to no avail. Bending her head down to try and shield her tears from Troy, she choked out a sob. Troy leaned over and draped an arm around her shoulder, holding her tightly.

Gabriella took a deep, shaking voice and her head reemerged. She continued, pretending no interruption had taken place. "He came over one day. It was summer time and I wanted to swim in our pool. He told me he didn't want to but I pushed him in the deep end anyway. I remember he was splashing around in the pool and I thought it was to make me laugh. I... I was laughing... I didn't notice when he went down and didn't come back up..." She started shaking. "He never told me he couldn't swim..." Tears fell from her eyes like water falls. "I got my mom but it was too late. He-he was gone."

She buried her face in her arms again and slid off the stair onto the ground, leaning onto the bannister as she started to sob again. Troy swallowed, his throat tight, and sat next to her, hugging her tightly and rubbing her arms to comfort her. She continued to cry, not caring that Troy was next to her.

Troy rested his head in the crook of her neck and whispered, "It's not your fault."

Gabriella stopped crying. She lifted her head up and glanced at Troy, her eyes blood shot and tear marks coating her face. "H-how can you say that?" she asked, her voice shaking with inflection. "I pushed him in. If it w-weren't for me, he'd still be here. I-I killed him," she stammered through hiccups.

Troy shook his head roughly. He grabbed by the hand and helped her stand up, leading her over to the couch. He sat them down and held her hands in his. "You had no way of knowing."

Her eyes flashed angrily. "So-so you're saying that it's h-his fault? Th-that he deserved it b-because-"

"No!" said Troy quickly. "Gabriella, I didn't say that." He reached up and brushed away a fresh tear with his thumb. "It was an accident."

"An accident is something that is preventable!" Gabriella cried. "This could have been prevented – I could have-"

Troy held up a hand. "Gabriella, stop. You didn't know he couldn't swim, so you had no way of knowing what would happen if you pushed him in. He didn't know that a situation like that would ever come up so he didn't know what harm would come from not telling you." He squeezed her hands. "It's not your fault."

Gabriella gulped, sniffling. She looked away from Troy and said, trying to sound casual, "Well, that's why I can't go out with you, Troy."

"Because you never got over Owen?" he asked quietly.

She didn't respond, but the fresh wave of tears were answer enough.

Troy nodded slowly. He cleared his throat and said, "I'm so sorry that you had to go through that, Gabriella. And I completely understand why you might not want to date anybody else because of it. But I want you to know that I'm sure Owen doesn't blame you." Gabriella turned her head sharply to face Troy, watching him as he spoke. "If you loved Owen, he must've been a great guy and a great guy like that wouldn't have been angry at you. I'll bet he's watching over you now, trying to get you to move on and open your heart again." Troy gave a tiny smile. "But again... I can understand why you might not want to."

Troy couldn't help but feel his heart sinking as he got up and strode toward the door. After getting over the shock of Gabriella's past, it finally sunk in that she didn't want to go out with him. He bit the inside of his cheek and swallowed, feeling as if all of his internal organs had disappeared, leaving him feeling empty inside. His heart was deflated and his breathing became shorter.

"Troy, wait-" came Gabriella's urgent voice from behind him.

He spun around, expecting to have Gabriella give him a friendly hug for helping console her, but instead found her lips pressed upon his in a passionate kiss.

Troy's eyes widened in surprise as Gabriella kissed him and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. It didn't take long for his desire to overtake his surprise, and he quickly kissed her back, encircling his arms around her waist. He lifted her slightly off the ground as they kissed.

After a moment, Gabriella pulled her lips away from Troy's and breathed into his ear, "Thank you."

Troy turned his head and whispered, "For what?"

Gabriella gave him a small smile. "For helping me love again."

Troy blinked. "You-you love me?"

She nodded and said quietly, "I love you, Troy Bolton."

"I love you too, Gabriella Montez," said Troy, beaming.

Gabriella smiled back down at him and leaned in for another kiss.