"It's been a long year
Since we last spoke
How's your halo?
Just between you and I
You and me and the satellites
I never believed you"
- Strays Don't Sleep, "For Blue Skies"

Tuesday afternoons were usually uneventful for Gabriella but, for some reason she couldn't shake the feeling that this Tuesday would be different. It had been three weeks since that unforgettable evening in the very same bakeshop she was seated in now. She had got home that evening and had buried herself in the countless number of books and work she had to do, and till now work and books became her hide away. She tapped away on her laptop, it was her day off and her apartment was feeling more stuffy than usual and she had needed a new environment to help her start her newest research paper. Oh joy. Gabriella thought to herself, rolling her eyes at her laptop screen. Typing out a few sentences, she read them over and dejectedly deleted them. Groaning softly she let her head rest against the hardwood table and closed her eyes.

"You know... with your eyes closed like that anyone can walk away with this pretty decent laptop you've got here."

Gabriella eyes snapped open only to see the dark mahogany in front of her, panic settling into her body she knew she couldn't ignore him. She could recognize that voice anywhere. Deciding that playing dead would definitely not work, she lifted her head up and quickly brushed a hand through her hair.

"You look beautiful Gabi, quit messing with your hair." Troy spoke softly, he set his dark green coat and messenger bag on the back of a chair, then took his seat across from Gabriella.

And now that he was seated directly in front of her she couldn't bolt. Their eyes were locked, and her backside was stuck to her chair. "I... um... Hi."

Troy chuckled at her nervousness, "How've you been?"

"I...Good." Gabriella instantly wished she could curl up in a hole and die. Here he was, the man she's always been in love with and all she could come up with were one word answers.

"Gabriella... calm down. I'm not gonna hack you to death." Troy said, he was biting his lip to keep himself from laughing.

"Oh, God I'm so sorry. I just, you just... you came out of nowhere! And you just appeared, and I didn't expect you. And I haven't seen you in forever." She paused to watch his grin grow wider. "And now I can't stop talking." Gabriella began to chuckle as she pressed her palm against her forehead.

"Sorry." She breathed as she smiled at him, his bright smile causing her own to grow.

Suddenly Gabriella's hand that had been resting on the table was covered with Troy's own. "First, you gotta stop saying sorry." Retracting his hand from hers he continued, "And second, I've been trying to run into you for the past three weeks, and now that I've finally caught you... there's a meeting I've got to get to." He sighed.

"You've what?"

"After I saw you a few weeks ago I've been coming here frequently to try and bump into you. I haven't seen you in four years Gabi, I had to at least come and talk to you." He spoke sincerely, blushing slightly.

"Of course." Gabriella sighed, she kicked herself mentally. How could she possibly think that they could rehash things? He wasn't looking for her so they could start fresh!

Checking his watch, Troy paused for a moment as if thinking about what to do next. Unexpectedly he pulled a pen from his shirt pocket and began to scribble furiously on a napkin. He then folded it and slid it underneath Gabriella's hand. "I've got to go. But, there's my address and phone number. I don't live too far from here, so we should you know... have coffee sometime or something." He fumbled softly with his words. "You know as ... friends." She had almost been unable to hear the last bit, but she heard it. And it broke her heart to pieces. It's your fault Gabriella, so shut the hell up.

Gabriella nodded enthusiastically, hoping that her smile would distract him from the near tears forming in her eyes. Standing up swiftly Troy grabbed his messenger bag and swung it over his shoulder before walking over to Gabriella's side of the table and giving her a tight hug. "Don't be a stranger." He whispered into her ear, making her melt like she was a teenager all over again. Shooting her one last smile, Gabriella waved and watched him walk quickly out the door.

And for three and a half minutes straight Gabriella stared at the glass door wishing he'd come walking back in, pull her out of her seat, wrap his arms around her and kiss her passionately as if out of some cheesy romance novel. Finally shaking herself from her reverie she started to pack up her things, the silence of not having Troy to talk to making it impossible to think straight. Gabriella stood up and did a final sweep over to make sure she hadn't forgot something when she noticed the napkin on the floor. Picking it up she smiled softly and opened it. It's contents surprising her almost bringing tears to her eyes once again. Looking down at his boyish scrawl, his number and address were listed like he had said. But, underneath his address he had drawn a daisy. A simple and small daisy in blue ink. Folding the napkin she placed it into her jean pocket and sighed. Why'd he have to draw that damn daisy for? Turning quickly for the door she nearly knocked over the chair Troy had been sitting on, only to find Troy's dark green jacket.

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Troy's jacket laid on top of her coffee table as she sat on her couch staring intently at it. Should she call him? No, then he'd want to come over and pick it up. Should she just keep it? No! Then once he discovered it was missing he'd think she was some freaky ex-girlfriend who kept his stuff and kept it on display at the back of her closet. Groaning she let her face rest in her hands and glared at the jacket. "Stupid Troy." She muttered to herself. Should she just drop it off at his house? Yes, she could. She could knock on his door, Nicole would probably answer, she'd hand her the jacket and leave. If they asked her to come in she'd say she had a hot date to get to. Seeing as it was already 7:00, she figured Troy would be home from his meeting, and she found that he didn't live too far from her. Quickly, Gabriella threw on a pair of jeans, freeing her hair from its hair tie she grabbed her own coat and Troy's coat. Shoving her cell phone in her pocket she slipped on a pair of flats and was out the door.

Gabriella fiddled nervously with the keys in her jacket pocket, she had just knocked on the door and was waiting for a reply. Maybe no one was home? Maybe they were out on a romantic date filled with soft music, wine and candles? Maybe they were having sex, and hadn't heard her knocking. Shut up Gabriella! Squeezing her eyes shut Gabriella couldn't help the many questions running through her mind, and she couldn't control the speed they were going at. Then the door opened. There stood Troy in a pair of dark jeans and a white t-shirt. God, he looked wonderful.

Obviously surprised by her presence he stood back and gestured for her to come in. She had completely forgot that she had a 'hot date' to get to. Smiling up at him she walked in and let her eyes wander and take a look around the place.

"Done checking out my place?" Troy asked.

She spun around quickly and remembered why she had come in the first place. "You left this at the bakeshop." She held it out to him, and he took it from her graciously.

"Thanks..."

"Well, I guess I should go--"

"You want something to drink?"

One drink wouldn't hurt. Gabriella nodded and tried not to look too eager. She took off her jacket and let it rest on a nearby leather couch. "So where's Nicole?" Gabriella spoke as she followed him into the kitchen.

"She's on a business trip. She'll be back tomorrow at noon. But we haven't moved in together or anything, so I guess I'll be seeing her tomorrow night." Troy's eyes met hers, "Wine or coffee?"

"Wine." She would definitely need alcohol in her system if she was going to be able to talk to Troy without bursting into tears.

Smirking Troy handed her a tall glass filled with red wine. Taking his own glass he raised it up proposing a toast. "To daisies." He whispered. Clinking their glasses together Gabriella quickly began to drink her wine, watching Troy over the rim of her glass.

Two and a half hours later, halfway through a mixed CD on Troy's stereo and surprisingly no refills on the wine Gabriella and Troy laid laughing, and smiling across the same leather couch. Their legs overlapping one anothers in the middle as Troy was seated at the one end of the couch, Gabriella on the other.

"I can't believe we haven't talked for four years." Troy spoke in disbelief, he shook his bangs away from his eyes, the deep blue of them contrasting against Gabriella's brown ones.

"But, at least we're catching up." Gabriella replied hopefully. And silence encased them. The air in the room was filled with unspoken words, unresolved issues, unanswered questions and unspoken ones as well. Then the song changed. A slow, mellow song that seemed to fit the moment perfectly and Troy stood from his comfortable spot on the couch.

"Dance with me." He spoke softly.

Hesitantly she gave Troy her hand and allowed him to pull her gently off the couch. And they easily fell into a position, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, her head nestled against his chest and his chin resting on top of her head, and her hands met around his neck. There was no fussing of where hands should be, how close they should be or and there was no staring of one another's feet. They danced softly, swaying side to side, their bodies pressing against one another's softly as heat formed between them. Gabriella lifted her head to look at Troy and their eyes met softly. She watched him as he seemed to look from her eyes to her cheeks and then to all over her face. She felt as his arms began to slowly stroke up and down her lower back causing her to shiver involuntarily. He pulled them closer together, if that were possible and then something in his eyes changed. They no longer moved to look at all of her, but stayed motionless and locked with her own and she felt her breath hitch as she recognize that look. After all these years she still recognized the look on his face, the look he had when he had made a decision, a final decision he would never go back on. It was the same look she had seen the first time he'd given her a daisy. The look he had given her the first time he had confessed he loved her. And with one last look in his eyes she closed her own and gave in, and their lips met in a searing and passionate kiss.

The kiss had seemed to ignite the both of them, like a loud noise causing an avalanche. Kiss after kiss, the two began to kiss one another so fervently that Gabriella could hardly breathe. She wanted to be with him so bad, but this was wrong. He had Nicole, she was a thing of the past, or so she thought.

"Troy." She sighed as he pulled away briefly, he ignored her and allowed their lips to meet once again.

She felt him leading her down a hallway away from the living room.

"Troy." This time she pushed him lightly.

"I know." He whispered hurriedly, he kissed her again, this time one of his hands to reached up underneath her shirt.

Gabriella moaned, and tried desperately to keep her mind straight. "This will only make things har--" She was interrupted by another kiss, this time allowing Troy's tongue to brush upon her bottom lip.

"I know." He groaned, he moved down to her neck, as her hands wandered into his hair.

"We... How about Nic--"

"I know Gabi." He kissed her again, and then pulled away to meet her eyes in a hard stare. She swallowed as she looked at him, he wanted this as bad as her. And for once she didn't care, and she didn't want to run and hide in her work. She wanted something that she's wanted and needed for so long. And she was gonna take it, even though they both knew this would not end well.

"Okay." She whispered, she nodded and smiled. He smiled too, and kissed her nose lightly. He then lifted her up and let her wrap her legs around his waist, tickling her softly and covering her face in light kisses he walked them to his bedroom. God, how he'd missed her.

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It was 3 am, Troy stood in the doorway of his bedroom dressed in nothing but his boxers and a cup of coffee in one hand. He watched in silence as Gabriella laid asleep on his bed, the thin bedsheets pulled up only to her waist, her arms holding on softly to a pillow. The moonlight casted upon her skin made it seem like she was just a dream, like what had happened for hours and hours had been a dream, that if he closed his eyes she wouldn't be there, that this night never happened. Sighing he ran a hand through his hair and set his coffee cup down on his dresser and took a seat against the headboard of his bed, next to Gabriella. Smiling softly at her he pulled the bed sheets up to cover her body, then kissed her shoulder softly. "I love you." He whispered gently. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to fall asleep and before he did he felt Gabriella take one of his hands and encase it with her own.

11:54 am. His digital clock displayed to him in a haunting bright red. Sitting up he realized that he could no longer feel Gabriella sleeping soundly next to him. In a panic he stood up and searched his room, her clothes were gone. He ran to his doorway and stopped briefly as he noticed his coffee cup was no longer on his dresser. Running into the living room, her coat was no longer lying on the couch, her shoes weren't at the door. She had left. But, what had he expected? They both knew he had someone in his life now, they both knew that what they had was something of the past. And although he knew this, he couldn't help but stare emptily at the two empty wine glasses sitting on his coffee table.

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8:43 pm. Gabriella sat on her living room floor, the phone sitting in its bench blinked as it held a voice mail or two, she assumed Troy was the cause of the 8 missed calls. He must've gotten her number out of the phone book. Sighing she gave in and checked her voice mail.

"Gabriella? I... I don't exactly know how you know Troy. Umm... But this is Nicole. You were the last call on Troy's cell phone, I thought I should let you know he's in the hospital..."

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A/N: "OMG YOU KILLED TROY" No... I did not. Sorry if I ruined it, lol. Nope he's not dead. But, I'll leave it at that. Sorry about my lying, I know I said I'd update the next day... but something unexpected happened & threw me off. Waaay off... and I couldn't focus. The next & final part will be up this week... Read & Review!