Okay, so here is another story that I just wrote. It's pretty short but I figured I'd put it here anyways to see what people thought of it. Hopefully you like it. Again, I had to change some of the names around as they were other characters for school, but hopefully I've made all the correct changes. If not, I'm sorry. Thanks for giving it a chance!! :) -- Kay

He looked down at the letter for the thousandth time.

"Damn…," He whispered to himself, "Why did you leave me Gabi?"

He wondered why he still kept the letter folded up neatly in the back of his dresser drawer. He had read it so many times in the past four months that it was beginning to rip at the creases. Every time he read the letter his eyes brimmed with the tears that he never let fall as he was reminded of the first time he read it. He let his mind wander back to that day.

"Come on Brie, pick up your phone," Troy said.

He heard Gabriella's voice for the fourth time that morning as her voice mail answered for her once again. Troy wondered where she could be and why she wasn't picking up her phone. The previous day they finished their very last exam of high school and he took her out to celebrate. He drove her to their favorite beach to go for a walk together. They took off their shoes and felt the sand seep between their toes as the sun set into the blue ocean. They talked about some of the greatest high school moments they shared and prom, which was a few days away. Throughout the whole night she seemed distant and didn't seem nearly as excited about it as the rest of their friends. When he questioned her about it, she just said that she was tired from all the studying and it hadn't really kicked in that she was done. He drove her home and told her that he would call her the following day when she was feeling better and they could begin their summer together. She looked up at his eyes and nodded then gave him a kiss lingering for a moment longer than she normally would. He didn't think anything of it at the time; he just enjoyed the moment.

Finally bringing his mind back to the present he felt the salt of a single tear on his lips, the first tear he had ever let out in three years.

I was so stupid that night. Why didn't I see the signs- there were so many of them. You seemed so distant the whole night; I was an absolute idiot to believe that you were only tired, he thought to himself. He reflected back on the past three years they had been together. He remembered their first kiss, their first date, and everything down to the last night they spent together. Over the years, Gabriella had become like a daughter to Troy's parents and vice versa. The two had spent all their free time together; he had even traveled with her to her cottage one summer.

Troy hadn't seen Gabriella in four months and two days now. It was October 24, Gabi was supposed to be half way through her first semester at college, and Troy was almost failing his. He could barely get his mind off her, despite the time that had passed since she ran away. He was rarely able to sleep through one night without waking up from dreaming of her. He had also lost quite a bit of weight from a loss of appetite. His high school sweetheart, of three years, had left the day after exams, with only a note to everyone left in her bedroom. He had memorized it after reading it so many times. It read:

"To anyone and everyone that will read this and will be affected by this,

I'm probably going to end up regretting doing this, but I can't go on with anything else until I've solved this. It's something that I have to do. Don't worry, I promise that I'll be fine and I have planned out what I am doing. With that, please don't come looking for me – not that you would even know where to begin. I need to be on my own and close this chapter by myself. I'm a big girl now, no matter what happens I'll be okay. I'm sorry to be doing this to everyone; it will all make sense in the end. I'll be home soon and I'll be able to put all this behind me.

Mom – I know you'll be worried sick the moment you read this, but please, you know me and that if I go off and do something crazy like this, I know what I'm doing; I have worked it out so that I will be safe. I'll miss you mamma. Love you.

Taylor – Don't worry – I'm not running off to find a new best friend or anything stupid like that so just forget that thought right now. I'm sorry I didn't let you know about this, I just knew that you would tell me it wasn't a good idea, I need to do this. I'll be back in no time and I'll make up for all the missed slumber parties! Loves.

Troy – You're the one I'm worried about leaving the most. I assure you, I'm fine. You can't worry about me because there's nothing to worry about. I know you're going to worry anyways though. The last thing I want to do is hurt you by doing this. I just hope someday you'll understand why I had to leave. I love you babe, don't ever think that I've stopped. I'll think about you every day I'm gone. We'll be together again before you know it. Smile for me.

I'm so, so sorry to be saying goodbye like this, but there wasn't any other way. Say bye to everyone else for me please! I'm sorry. I love all you guys so much.

Gabriella. Xoxo.

That letter left everyone with so many questions. Where was she going? Why? She said that it would all make sense in the end, but when was the end? She'd been gone for over four months now, and everyone was just pretending she would be back tomorrow. She even missed her high school prom! It killed him to not know when she was coming back, where she was, if she was even still alive at this point. So many questions floated through his mind.

"Troy! Chad's on the phone!" his mom yelled, interrupting his thoughts.

Troy squeezed his eyes shut trying to make everything and everyone go away. He opened his eyes and rolled over to the other side of his bed to pick up the phone.

"Hey dude, what's up?" he asked hoping his voice wouldn't give away what he was just thinking about.

"Troy… I think you should get over here. Now," he stated bluntly.

"Chad… what's going on? Where are you?" Troy questioned sitting up.

"I'm at Tay's house. Just get your ass over here now. I'm not joking; you need to come right away."

"Okay, I'm on my way. See you in five," he hung up before Chad could get another word in.

Troy wondered what could possibly be so important that he needed to get to Taylor's right away. Couldn't Taylor deal with whatever it was Chad was freaking out about this time? Obviously not….

He got up off his bed and grabbed the keys off his bedside table next to his favorite picture. He paused for a moment looking at the picture of the two of them together before jumping back to reality, and dashing out his door. He went down the stairs, called out to his mom that he was heading out and wouldn't be home for dinner.

He walked out the front door to his truck before sliding the key into the ignition. He pulled out of his driveway and was pulling into Taylor's driveway five minutes later. Before he could even get to the front door, Chad was already opening up the door, stepping outside. He closed the door behind him and told him to sit down on one of the green chairs on the front porch. The two guys went and sat down; Chad just stared out in front of him for a few moments not saying a word. Troy had no idea what was going on but he knew not to question Chad before he was ready to talk. Finally he opened his mouth to explain himself.

"I called you over to Tay's for a reason. There's a surprise inside but it's going to be a shock to you and I needed to warn you about it first. You have to swear you'll stay calm," he said.

"Okay… can we go see whatever this is now?" Troy questioned.

"If you're ready," Chad answered, getting out of his chair.

The two guys walked through the door, Troy didn't see anything different. Tay's house still looked exactly the same. Same yellow entrance, same blue and black modern kitchen to the left, same stairs going upstairs and down in front of them, same rustic family room to the right. Chad led him down the stairs and Troy looked at all the same vibrant pictures on the wall. He wondered where this was going. They finally got to the bottom of the stair and looked around. There was nothing different or shocking as Chad had said there would be.

"Chad what's going on? Everything is still-" Troy was cut off by a female voice he knew all too well.

"Hey Tay you don't have any-" She stopped in mid sentence when she saw two new figures standing in front of her.

Troy froze in his place, praying that he wasn't hallucinating. He stood in the same spot staring at the beige leather couch in front of him, not able to turn around. He was too afraid that his mind was playing tricks on him again but it really did sound like her this time, he couldn't deny that. Slowly he turned to the right to see Chad, who looked at him and nodded. He turned all the way around and saw the figure he had been praying to see for so long. He slowly made his way over to where she stood, unable to really believe that she was real. He slowly looked up and saw tears shining in her beautiful brown eyes instantly realizing it was her. She was really back after all this time. His Gabriella had finally come home to him.

"Gabi…," he whispered barely audible.

"Oh Troy," she said just as quietly.

They both stepped forward at the same time, closing the small gap between them, as Troy engulfed her into a hug. He didn't care why she was gone or what she had left for; the only thing that mattered was that she was home in his arms again.

They stood holding each other for nearly ten minutes, when Chad and Taylor finally reminded them that they weren't alone. They broke apart, staring into each other's eyes for a few seconds before they finally walked over to the couch. Taylor started talking about what Gabriella had missed in the past four months she was gone. Troy didn't add in the conversation, he just sat paralyzed on the couch staring at his Brie. She was really back. He just couldn't believe that she was really here after all this time. He hoped this wasn't a dream that he would wake up from in a few minutes; he needed it to be real.

"Troy… hello? Anyone there?" Gabriella waved her hand in front of his face.

"Sorry, must have zoned out there. What were you saying?" he asked.

"Do you want to head out of here? Maybe we can go somewhere and talk?" she questioned.

"Yes, I know just where to go." he replied, with a small smile.

The two got up from the couch; Gabriella hugged Chad and Taylor before they headed out. They walked in silence as they made their way out to Troy's truck. Neither of them knew what to say to each other. Gabriella wondered if Troy was upset after she left the way that she did. She hoped he would be able to forgive her for hurting him. She doubted he would ever want to talk to her after this. While these thoughts ran through her head, Troy was consumed by his thoughts as well. His mind spun with questions. Where had she gone? When did she get back? What was going to happen with them now? What was he supposed to say to her after everything that she'd missed?

He walked over to the truck next to her, subconsciously opening the door for her, the way he always used to. She gave a small smile and got in quickly, while he ran to the other side. He pulled out of Taylor's driveway and a few minutes later they were pulling into a very familiar parking lot. They both jumped out of the truck and walked together to the park, at her favorite beach. They each took a seat on one of the swings and sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Do you remember when we came here last?" she ventured.

"Yes, I brought you here the night we both finished our last exam. The last night I saw you before…," he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

"Why did you bring me back here now?" she questioned.

"This is your favorite beach. I figured you hadn't been back here yet and you might want to see it again. When did you get back anyways?" he asked.

"I came in on the 12:30 bus. I called Taylor to come pick me up at the bus terminal and I was over at her house for a few hours before Chad called you," she answered

"Why didn't you call me?"

"I… Troy… I just wasn't…" Gabriella stuttered.

"It's okay. I get it Brie, I guess after the way you left and all the time you were away never calling once should have given it away," he said.

"Troy, I wanted to call I really did but I figured you would just tell me to come home and I needed to go away. I needed to find something."

"Brie, you don't understand how I felt when I read that letter. I thought I was going to die. For four months I wondered where my Gabi was and why she left me. I didn't even know if you were alive!" he cried.

"I'm sorry that I made you feel that way, I really am. I know I messed up some things but I'm back now. I'm not going away again… it was a waste of my time and effort anyways," her voice cracked at the end of the sentence.

"So what does that mean? That after all this time everything is just going to go back to normal?" he questioned.

"I thought maybe we would be able to get past this," she whispered.

"Gabi, how can you expect everything to go back to the way it was before you left? You tore me apart when you left. I felt like I had no other reason to go on when you were gone. You were my girlfriend, my best friend, my entire world for three years. You just walked away from everything we had without bothering to tell me why. I mean, you missed prom! You missed our entire summer before college; we were supposed to be together. I wasn't supposed to be wondering if you were alive every day!" he yelled.

Gabriella saw the pain in his eyes and knew how much she hurt him. She wished more than ever that she had never left.
"I'm sorry. I am so sorry," she began to break down in tears. "I hope someday you'll be able to forgive me."

She got up from her swing and began to run. Troy was so shocked by her reaction he merely sat still in his swing thinking about what just happened. He knew that his words had been too harsh; he really did want to go back to the way things were before she left. He just didn't know how they would be able to do that. She had hurt him so much when she took off without saying goodbye. He wanted to understand where she went and why. He looked down at his feet and realized for the first time since she left that maybe they would never be able to go back to the way things were before.