Summary: Gabriella and Troy used to be high school sweethearts until she left him, claiming she had to move. Now, 4 years later, she has returned to Albuquerque. And, with a child.

Disclaimer: All characters, places, and references are purely affiliated to the High School Musical series. Everything you read is solely set for fictional and entertainment purposes.


Baby Steps

Chapter Two

"Gabriella."

The way he said her name for the first time in four years, to her own ears, made her heart skip a beat. She looked him up and down, admiring the way he looked in his outfit. Over the years, he had definitely filled out more with his muscles. His hair was different, too. Instead of the floppy style, he had a fauxhawk. Most of all, his blue eyes looked even brighter.

Troy knew she was checking him out and honestly, it made him feel good. It made shivers run down his spine and it made his heartbeat pick up. But, he tried his best to ignore it. Why? He didn't even know. She was his high school sweetheart, but she had broken his heart.

Yet, she looked absolutely incredible.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her.

Gabriella glanced down at her toes and sighed softly, wringing her fingers together. "Well, it's kind of a long story." She paused for a moment and looked back at him. "I..."

"Mommy, mommy!"

Troy looked down to see a little girl with long, black hair and a ruffled, pink dress on with kid-friendly heels. He couldn't help but smile at her. She was the cutest looking child he had ever seen. What intrigued him the most was how she clutched on to Gabriella's leg once she noticed the man in front of her.

Gabriella smiled down at the girl. "Marlena, can you say hello to Troy?"

Marlena looked up at Troy shyly, but smiled. "Hi, Troy."

Troy chuckled lightly. "Hi, Marlena. That's such a pretty name."

"Thank you. My mommy gave me the name," said Marlena, suddenly grinning. "Doesn't my mommy look pretty today?"

Gabriella blushed and butted in before Troy could have a chance to respond. "Marlena, mommy needs to talk to Troy for a while. Why don't you go find Taylor?"

"Okay, Mommy. Bye, Troy!" smiled Marlena, running off to where Taylor was with Chad.

Troy smiled and then looked back at Gabriella, rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh, you want a drink?"

"Sure," nodded Gabriella. "Champagne?"

Troy got Gabriella a glass of champagne while he stuck with bourbon and whiskey. They slowly walked towards the balcony outside, not touching and not speaking. Once they got outside, they leaned against the railing. Their arms were barely touching, but they could feel their presence so clearly.

Gabriella looked up at the stars in the sky and sighed softly. "It's so nice out tonight. I almost forgot why I missed this town."

Troy glanced down at his drink. "You should have never left."

She chewed on her bottom lip nervously. She didn't want to get into any arguments with Troy, especially tonight. It was a special night for Taylor and Chad, and they didn't deserve an argument from the once upon a time couple.

Troy cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "So, where did Marlena come from?"

Gabriella's heart began to race, so she started out slow. She smirked. "Well, when a boy and a girl..."

Troy suddenly laughed and shook his head, turning around to lean against the railing. "Okay, Gabriella. Very funny. You and I both know how it works."

They both blushed at the comment. Gabriella continued. "I was pretty...young when she came along. But, she has been a blessing. She's really the light of my life. It's just been me and her for a while."

"Where's the father?" asked Troy curiously.

Gabriella stared at him for a few moments before responding quietly, not meeting his eyes. "He hasn't been around for her life."

"So, did you raise her by yourself?" asked Troy. On the inside, he was a little pissed off that Marlena's father hadn't been around for her whole life. Who wouldn't want to be around that little girl?

"No. My mom helped me raise her." Gabriella paused again, trying to keep her tears at bay. "She passed away not too long ago from cancer."

Troy gave her a somber look. He had gotten close to Maria when he and Gabriella dated. She had been like a second mother to him. To know that she was gone, it was pretty surreal. It wasn't just Gabriella that had missed out on things. He had missed out on some things, too.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"It's okay. I'm still coping, but we've been doing okay." Gabriella shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'm glad," he murmured, looking away and down at his drink. He hadn't taken one single sip. It was strange, since he was so dependent on alcohol.

There was an awkward silence as they stood there together. Troy began thinking back to when they were alone for the last time. It wasn't too long before they would graduate and he was intending on doing the one thing no normal teenager should do during high school.

He was going to propose to her.

He had the ring in his pocket the entire week and he was even contemplating giving it to her that day on the roof. But, when she had broken his heart, it had taken him aback. He felt like his heart had literally been ripped into two pieces.

Now, here they were. And, he was feeling some things that he shouldn't even feel. He was feeling something familiar resurface, trying to fight through the wall that he had built all these years since she left. But, it wasn't really working. The wall seemed to be crumbling.

He smiled sadly. "I really loved you, Gabriella."

Gabriella looked at him in surprise. "I know. Me too."

He looked at her suddenly and turned his body to face her. "Then why did you break my heart four years ago? Do you know how that felt? We were together all through high school. We were in love. Damn, you were my first and I was yours."

Gabriella averted from his gaze and shook her head. She deserved this, but she definitely didn't expect it at this very moment. "Troy, you have to understand..."

"Understand what? How you ditched me? How you left me in the dust? How you made me hate you so much after that?" asked Troy, gritting his teeth with anger.

She choked back a sob, her voice breaking. "You...hate me?"

Troy sighed and rubbed his face, trying to calm down. "No. That's a lie. I could never hate you, Gabriella."

Gabriella needed to say it now. Either way, once she admitted the truth, he was definitely going to hate her. She could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks before she even had a second thought. She let out a sob as she dropped her champagne glass, letting it crash to the ground with her despair.

Troy stood in front of her, his shoes cracking on the glass. He held her hands and could feel them as they trembled. "Gabriella, what's wrong?" Without thinking, he wiped at her tears.

She exhaled a shaky sigh. "Troy, I need to tell you something important."

Troy nodded, still holding her hands. "Okay. I'm all ears."

Gabriella laughed silently. "You'd always say that when I needed to tell you something."

He smiled a crooked grin. "Just tell me."

"Here goes," she whispered, looking down at their hands. "Troy, I lied to you four years ago back on the rooftop."

Troy furrowed his brows, his heart picking up again. "You did?"

"I didn't mean to, but I was only trying to protect you. You were going to have such a bright future and I didn't want this to ruin it all for you. You have to believe that," she pleaded.

He didn't say anything. But, he could feel his heart rate picking up. He didn't know if it was a good thing or not.

This was it. "Troy, Marlena is four years old. She was born November fifth in 2008. She just had her birthday a week ago, of course."

"That's great. She looked about four or five," smiled Troy. He suddenly frowned curiously with furrowed brows. "Can you please just tell me? You're making me go nuts here."

Gabriella sighed and looked up at him, tears slowly going down her cheeks. "Troy, I found out I was pregnant with Marlena back in March of 2008, but I kept it a secret for about a month and a half. I even kept it a secret from the father." She paused and then whispered, "Until now."

Troy looked at her, wondering if he was dreaming. "What?"

"Troy, I didn't break up with you because I was leaving. In fact, I never wanted to break up with you. I was just scared. I wasn't leaving, either." She chewed on her bottom lip. "Troy, you're the father. Marlena is your daughter."

He let go of her hands and backed away, running his fingers through his hair in exasperation and shock. He didn't know if he should be happy or just cry. He wanted to do both. He wanted to be both happy and sad. He wanted to take Gabriella in his arms and spin her around happily, overjoyed with the fact that he was a father. Then, they would go home together with Marlena and spend each and every waking day happy.

But, he couldn't do that.

She lied to him for four years and had left him without knowing that he had a responsibility to a beautiful, little girl. She had left him in the dark for so long and he didn't like that. He couldn't accept that. Especially from Gabriella.

Gabriella, thinking that he didn't believe her, began to speak again. "She has your eyes, Troy. She looks so much like you that it's pretty overwhelming. And..."

"I can't believe you," murmured Troy.

"Excuse me?"

Troy chuckled dryly and shook his head. He wasn't faking his anger now. It was real. His wall stayed built inside. "I can't believe you did this to me. To us! Gabriella, how in the hell could you lie to me like that? What? Did you think that I wouldn't want to be a part of her life?!"

"That's not it!" she shouted back, glaring at him incredulously. "You had a bright future ahead of you in basketball and I was not going to let anything stop you from reaching that future."

"To hell with my future in basketball. You were my future!" exclaimed Troy, shaking his head. "Did you know that I wanted to propose to you at graduation?"

"P...propose?" stammered Gabriella, exhaling heavily.

"I was going to do it during graduation, but I didn't want to wait that long. So, I was going to do it there. But then, you threw that shit in my face about you moving. And, you broke my heart!" he screamed, getting closer to her.

Gabriella began to shrink back, trying her hardest not to cry. "How was I supposed to know you were going to do that, Troy?!"

"Because I was in love with you!" shouted Troy, getting an inch away from her body. "I could care less about that now. You completely ruined my life and my future. Now, you can get out of my life for good. I don't want you here. And, I don't want Marlena here."

"Mommy!" Marlena ran to Gabriella, who was completely in tears at Troy's outburst.

Gabriella picked up Marlena and smiled sadly through her tears. She was holding Troy's daughter, who he didn't want. "Hey, baby."

Marlena glared at Troy. "I heard you yelling at my mommy. You're a bad man and I hate you!"

Troy was honestly taken aback by this four year old's outburst. It hurt even more than when Gabriella left him. This was his daughter and, now that he took a good look at her, she looked exactly like him. She had his eyes and the only thing she had of Gabriella's was her hair and skin. He didn't even mean what he said. He wanted Marlena here and he wanted Gabriella here. But, he was just so angry and he didn't know what to think anymore. Here was his high school sweetheart and his daughter at the same time in one night.

Now, his daughter hated him and so did Gabriella. More than likely, of course.

Gabriella shook her head at Troy and rushed out of the atmosphere with Marlena. He watched her leave, seeing Chad come towards him confused and surprised. He kept watching Gabriella's fading footsteps even when Chad stood in front him.

"What the hell just happened?" asked Chad.

"Have you met Marlena yet?" asked Troy, finally looking at him.

Chad smiled and laughed lightly. "Yeah. She's cute. Why?"

Troy sighed with furrowed brows. "She's my daughter."

Chad's smile dropped as he stared at Troy in shock, though he looked away. "No shit?"

"Yeah. That's why Gabriella broke up with me." Troy shrugged. "Well, she said she didn't want to break up with me. But, she was over a month pregnant when she and I broke up. She kept it a secret and left me. Chad, I've been absent from my child's life for four years and I just found out five minutes ago that she was my child."

"Damn. I'm sorry, man. But, she's here now. Why not take the opportunity to be with her again?" suggested Chad.

Troy chuckled dryly and darkly. "Oh, yeah. It's just that easy."

Chad sighed softly. "Troy, I need to tell you something. When Gabriella came to our place earlier, she told us that Marlena is your daughter."

He looked at his friend in a new light and grimaced. "You knew and you didn't tell me? What the hell, Chad?!"

"Look, don't get angry at me or Gabriella. She's wanted to tell you for quite some time, but she didn't know how to." Chad shook his head. "You can't shut her out."

"Oh yeah?" Troy finally gulped down his drink and inwardly growled as the fire went down his throat. "Watch me."

Chad watched as he went back inside and out the exit. He shook his head and sighed heavily, looking up at the sky. "Nice night."


I apologize for the late update! Last night, my entire power went out and before that, I was busy with epic spring cleaning. Now, I can actually relax! I'll see you guys next week!