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The Cherubs
Chapter Four: Orange Soda
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Sharpay was, for a lack of a better term, bored. The weird human boy she was living with, Troy, had departed for a place called 'school' rather begrudgingly two hours earlier, and so had the pretty human girl, Gabriella. Though Troy had bemoaned that they really shouldn't leave Sharpay alone, Gabriella had sat in front of her and told her very specific instructions.
Number one, she was not, under any circumstances to leave the house. She was not to go exploring, she was not to poke her nose in anything and she was not to answer the phone. Sharpay had nodded in agreement, the only form of communication she had learned so far, yet the pair in front of her exchanged wary glances anyway.
Which explained why she was sitting in the living room, watching Twilight and tied to a chair.
Her head lolled to the side and she let out a groan. She could only look at this human boy's face for so long before it got ugly! Besides, did they really think that tying her to a chair was going to do anything? She was angel, it was like she had super powers! She closed her eyes and concentrated very hard and slowly, the ties around her wrists undid themselves. She smiled happily as she rubbed the tender skin before standing up.
What she needed was a mission. What she needed was a purpose. Angels didn't have day jobs; they normally hung around on clouds and played harps, this was a honest to goodness true fact. If they were sent to earth, however, it was because they were needed. They had a mission.
But what was her mission? She knew she had been given one before she fell off her cloud unexpectedly halfway through take off, but she couldn't for the life of her, remember what it was. Crashing through the treehouse and banging her head had certainly caused her to lose her memory.
She spread her wings and took off, searching the house high and low. What did she know about the place she was staying? It belonged to a human boy named Troy, who seemed to live alone, and occasionally, the human girl, Gabriella would come to visit. Human boy and human girl were best friends and human girl was in love with human boy.
That was it! she thought, that must have been her mission! Get human boy and human girl to fall in love! It was so very apparent that the boy was thick as a brick, so this was going to be difficult, but she was up for the challenge.
She arrived in Troy's room and began pilfering through his belongings. He had all of the typical items that one would suspect a teenage boy to have and after spending nearly half an hour flicking through comic books, she was beginning to give up. That was until she spotted a shoe box on the top shelf of his closet.
She pulled the box down from the shelf and ran her hand over the letters. B-R-I-E, it read, though she didn't know this. She merely shrugged and removed the lid, settling herself on Troy's bed happily. She clapped her hands excitedly when she saw that it was filled to the brim and began shuffling through the contents.
Inside the box were dozens of photographs, each and everyone depicting Troy and Gabriella at nearly every stage of their life. In some of the photos, there was a curly haired boy she was certain she had seen before, but shrugged it off. She smiled at the sight of them in silly costumes and laughed at the ones of them holding green, speckled frogs. Tilting her head to the side, she examined one of them at a particularly young age where a small version of Troy was pecking an even smaller version of Gabriella on the cheek. She grinned and pocketed this one, deciding she would need it for later.
She did have a mission, after all.
She continued flipping through the contents. Inside were crumpled notes that the two had passed back and forth during school classes, handmade birthday cards and mix CDs Gabriella had made him. There were several other odds and ends, seashells and pebbles, an old blue stuffed dog and some ticket stubs.
Sharpay sighed heavily, wondering what it could all mean. The humans were so confusing, she was positively stumped. All she could tell was that it meant something and she would figure it out!
There was a reason she had earned her wings, after all.
---
"We shouldn't have left her at home," Troy said in a panic as the final bell rang and he and Gabriella made their way to her locker. "Seriously, this was a bad idea. We're going to get home to discover that the National Guard is there, along with a SWAT Team, Ryan Seacrest, Larry King and President Obama! This was a really, really bad idea."
"Troy," Gabriella said diplomatically as she laced her arm through his so they did not become disconnected as they weaved through the bustling halls. "I'm pretty sure we tied her to a chair and then put Twilight on. There's no chance she'll even move from that spot, I can guarantee it."
Troy shook his head quickly. "I wouldn't be so sure! She's an angel, Gabriella, she must have some kind of crazy powers that allow her to be able to like...vaporize that shit! I'm telling you, she probably got out!"
He had been beside himself with worry all morning and afternoon, convinced that he should have just stayed home with Sharpay in order to ensure that she did not make herself known and get them on the front page of every newspaper worldwide. Gabriella, however, had insisted that he go to school. There was no point, she said, in staying home especially considering they really had no idea how long she was going to be there. What was Troy going to do, drop out of school?
Though he had readily agreed to this idea, Gabriella smacked him over the head and said that she was positive that if she were to just explain the rules to Sharpay, that she would comply. She wasn't a demon, after all, she was an angel. There was a difference.
Still, they were a little skeptical, so they tied to her to the chair. They both felt ridiculously guilty, worried that Sharpay would cry but she merely rolled her eyes at them and watched the movie. All seemed to be fine.
This of course, didn't stop Troy from worrying.
"You are really losing your mind," Gabriella said to Troy with a smile, as they stopped at her locker. She spun the dial and popped open her lock. "I think you should calm down."
"Yeah, Troy," a voice said and Troy instantly stiffened. "Listen to Gabriella."
"Hey, Josh!" Gabriella said brightly to the boy that approached them slowly. Troy rolled his eyes. "How are you?"
The boy smiled, his light blue eyes sparkling against his light complexion and dark black hair. "I'm great, Gabi. How about you?"
"I'm good, I'm good!" she said happily.
Troy rolled his eyes. "I'm doing great, too, Josh," he said snidely, "thanks for asking."
"Oh, Troy!" Josh said with a grin. "Didn't see you there!"
Troy cocked an eyebrow. "Uh, pretty sure you started the conversation with—"
Josh waved his hand. "It doesn't matter." He turned his attention back to Gabriella. "So, Gabi, you got a date for the dance yet?"
Troy had always hated Joshua Taylor, since the first day of Spanish class junior year. He had hated almost everyone that year, except for Gabriella, which was a side affect of the accident. However, he had warmed up to most, but he still loathed the very sight of Josh Taylor.
And seeing the blush spread across Gabriella's cheeks at his question, he decided that he hated him more than anyone he had ever had the misfortune of encountering before.
Gabriella giggled slightly. "Um, no, I don't, I—"
"Brie doesn't do dances," Troy said quickly, "so, sorry Taylor, but you're fresh out of luck."
"Hey!" Gabriella bristled and Troy wished she didn't look so angry. "It's you who doesn't do dances! I'm free game!"
Josh looked between the two, confused. "Well, if you don't do dances, that's okay," he said quickly, "but maybe you'd like to go out sometime anyway?"
Okay, what was this guy's deal? Asking Gabriella out? And in front of him, too? Who did that?
(Well, technically speaking, there was nothing wrong with what Josh was doing, though it was a little awkward to ask someone out in front of their best friend, but what the fuck ever, who does that anyways?)
Troy scoffed inwardly. Like Gabriella was even going to say yes, like she was even going to give this guy the time of day.
"Um, maybe," Gabriella said softly, "I um, have your number from when we worked on that chemistry project, so I'll give you a call and let you know. About the dance and the...the other thing."
"Sounds good! I'll see you later, Gabriella," Josh said, smiling slightly. He tucked a curl behind her ear and she flushed prettily.
"Bye, Josh," she said sweetly and beside her, Troy clenched his fists. Josh nodded politely in his direction.
"Later, man!" he said just as cheerfully and Troy gritted his teeth in response, turning to Gabriella, who was fumbling with the strap of her bag, embarrassed and awkward.
He stared at her. Why was she blushing like that? Over that...that tool! That complete and utter tool! She wasn't seriously going to go out with him, was she?
"You're not seriously going to go out with him, are you?" Troy asked as she pulled out the books she needed from her locker and checked her appearance in the small mirror on the door.
She shrugged, almost absentmindedly and flushed a little brighter. Troy clenched his fists tighter, feeling something tug in his stomach at the sight of her so undone at the words of a boy. Of another boy. "I don't know," she answered honestly, "Maybe. Probably. Why not?"
Why not? Why not? Troy could list the reasons up and down why she should not be going out with this boy, starting with the fact that she was Gabriella and she didn't date boys and finishing with the fact that this boy in particular was a tool.
"Uh, maybe because he a complete and utter douche," Troy spat, looking down at the ground nonchalantly. Gabriella's jaw dropped open slightly and she turned to him, shock written across her face.
"What?" she clutched her locker door so tightly her knuckles turned white. "What are you even talking about?"
Folding his arms over his chest, he sneered at her. "Uh, I am talking about the fact that Joshua Taylor is a complete and utter tool. All he does is talk about himself and play laser tag on the weekends. He has a scoreboard for it."
Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Oh, so what? Like that even means anything."
"Gabriella, he wears only black because it brings out his eyes," Troy stressed. Why was she not seeing the blatant lameness of this guy? "What kind of guy even thinks about stuff like that?"
"Self-aware ones!" she said quickly, closing her locker door and starting down the hall. Troy hopped to catch up with her. "Ones who care about their appearances!"
Troy laughed out loud. "You're kidding, right?" she opened her mouth to respond and he cut her off. "Gabriella, he writes for a fucking frisbee magazine. You cannot justify that!"
She stopped abruptly and Troy slammed into her back, wincing slightly. She whirled around and looked at him angrily.
"Troy, I have not been asked out in almost a year!" she said fiercely, "almost a year! You get asked out weekly, despite the fact that you only ever really talk to me!"
Troy frowned. "That's not true."
Scoffing, she turned around and continued walking, Troy hot on her trail. Throwing the doors to the school open, she huffed; "Honestly, you're an idiot! You got asked out at lunch time by some girl in the ninth grade who asked if your teeth were real. If your teeth were real!"
"Okay," Troy's eyes grew slightly wide, "that was really weird."
"Yes, it was!" Gabriella agreed, "but this is the first time I've been asked out in ages. Since before...you know."
Something snapped between them and things grew quietly. They were a few feet away from Troy's truck and he looked down at his feet, feeling very small. He could practically hear Chad's laughter, practically echo the words he would say as he overheard their fight, forever the third party. His heart clenched painfully at the thought and he felt his knees grow slightly weak as images of that night flickered over his eyelids.
He glanced up at Gabriella, who was staring at him with wide, hurt, tired eyes. She sighed heavily. "This is a really big deal to me, Troy," she said quietly, "and I don't understand why you can't see that. Why you don't understand and want me to be happy. Don't you want me to be happy?"
Troy felt his throat close and his heart pound. How could she think that? "Gabriella, of course I want you to be happy!"
"Then why?" she asked, and he was startled to see tears gleam in her eyes as she looked at him. "Why are you so adamant that I don't accept Josh's offer?" she swallowed, "just tell me why Troy. If you really think he's bad news, or even if there's some other reason why you don't want me to go on this date...tell me."
Walking past her to his truck, Troy tried to compose himself. If Gabriella went out with Josh, suddenly he wouldn't be her number one anymore. She wouldn't call him if there was a storm, she would call Josh. She wouldn't come over for movies at all anymore, there would be no rare occasions. She'd be busy with Josh. He'd call her and there would be a chance she wouldn't answer, wishing not to be disturbed.
She'd love someone more than him. She'd love someone in a different way than she loved him. She'd love someone, really love someone.
And Troy would be alone.
It was selfish, really, but most of Troy's actions the past year had been nothing but selfish. If Gabriella were to fall into a romance with Josh, or any boy for that matter, where would that leave Troy? He had already lost Chad. He couldn't lose her, too.
He couldn't.
Yet as he slid the key into his truck door and looked over his shoulder at her, something in his stomach clenched painfully again. She looked so tiny, so fragile; the same girl that he had played Power Rangers with and who loved Gummie Bears more than anything in the world. The same girl who he had kissed in his treehouse, the same girl who bandaged his knee when he fell off his bike. The same girl who he had gotten drunk with for the first time.
The same girl whose hand he had gripped so tightly as they watched their best friend be lowered into the ground after a closed casket funeral.
She stood before him, wringing her hands and a few lone tears slipped out of her eyes and he felt himself tremble, wondering what was causing her so much pain, what he could do to fix it. Why couldn't he fix anything between them anymore?
So instead of telling her no, she shouldn't go out with Josh because he, Troy, needed her, he smiled. "You should go out with him, Brie," he said, his voice deeper than usual, "have a good time, too. You deserve it."
She sniffled quietly and nodded, wiping her tears away. "Okay," she said shakily, "I will."
"Good," Troy said softly, his heart dropping. It didn't seem like a good thing at all. "Now let's go home."
He slid into the driver's seat of the car and Gabriella opened the door on the other side and climbed in. As she sat down, she took in her surroundings and for a moment, she felt Chad sitting there, felt his presence lodged in between them and laughing, excited about the prospects the final party of the summer held.
Closing in on herself, overwhelmed by the past few days events and Troy's never-ending insensitivity and cluelessness, she buried her hands in her face and began to cry.
Troy closed his eyes slowly as he heard her sob. Unsure of what do to, he merely turned the key in the ignition and pulled out of the school's parking lot. Gabriella continued to cry beside him.
Sometimes, Gabriella thought, it was like they were strangers. She wanted so much more from him, wanted their relationship to be so many more things, and he wanted things to go back to the way they were. Back to when they understood each other and the other had cooties.
He wanted his best friend back. She wanted a lover. They were doomed.
After several minutes, Gabriella's tears still had not stopped and Troy pulled into a gas station, mumbling something about filling up the tank. She nodded, leaning her head against the window pane and crying freely as she watched him in the rearview mirror, as he leaned against the pump and ran his hands through his hair. When the tank was full, he shuffled over to the small store to pay and she closed her eyes, wishing that the pain would go away.
It was always difficult riding in Troy's truck. Troy had considered getting rid of it time and time again, but it was a family heirloom and more than anything, held too much for him to let go of it. But everytime they stepped into it, a chill would run down their spines. Today, after feeling so emotionally ripped apart from her dream the night before and the utter chaos that was her relationship with Troy, being in the truck where Chad's presence was so overwhelming was harder than ever before.
Finally Troy returned and she noticed he had a plastic bag with him. He offered her a weak smile and handed it to her.
She peered inside and felt her heart stop at the sight of the contents. She looked up at him, and he shrugged, bashful.
"I don't know how to make things better; easier," he admitted, "this is the best I could do."
Pulling the bottle of orange soda and the giant, mega size bag of Gummie Bears out, she felt threw her arms around him and hugged him to her tightly. As his own arms wound around her and pulled her closer, she let out another sob, knowing that in this moment, being held was all she was going to get.
For that moment, it was more than enough.
---
They walked in the door fifteen minutes later slightly more composed, but still very quiet. They were both pleased to see Sharpay still sitting the chair, still watching Twilight on loop. Immediately, Gabriella raced over to her and undid the ties around her wrists and hugged her tightly.
"I am so, so sorry!" she all but squealed, "I promise that we will never tie you up again, okay? As long as you promise, promise, promise never to leave the house, okay?"
Sharpay nodded and Troy rolled his eyes, dropping his bag and keys down and heading for the kitchen. He glanced at the phone and noticed that it was blinking quickly, the red flash signally that a message was waiting.
Pressing the speaker button, he clicked the prompts as he walked over to the fridge in search for something to eat. Maybe to cheer up Gabriella and make up for trying up Sharpay, he would try to cook something special. Unfortunately, it appeared that the contents of his fridge were rather low.
"Troy, it's your mother!" the singsong voice on the machine filtered through the air and he froze. He could hear Gabriella and Sharpay pause in the other room and he closed the refrigerator door, listening closely.
"How have you been, baby?" she asked sweetly, "you better had be eating well! We miss you lots! Dad's been really busy, but he promises to call later in the week. Speaking of, sorry to call while you're at school, but the scheduling has been so hectic here even I can't keep up!"
He felt so tired and lonely in that moment, hearing the distant echo of his mother's voice. How many times was he going to come home to an empty house and have to only listen to her on a recording? Why couldn't she ever get her act together and call when she knew he was home? What had he done?
She continued to rattle on about things and he felt himself wishing that if he closed his eyes and tried hard enough, that she would appear. "How's Gabriella, honey? I hope she's doing well, that you two are looking out for each other! I spoke to Maria a few days ago and she said that Gabriella said you've been cooking for her. You had better be, I don't want either of you going hungry!"
Then why aren't you here? Troy thought. Why wasn't Maria here? Why was he alone? Why was Gabriella alone?
"Anyways, the point of this phone call is..." she sighed and Troy felt his heart sink further. He knew that whatever she was going to say wasn't going to put him in any better of a mood. "I know we said we'd be home at the end of the month, but it looks like...I know the season's almost over, but your father has some last minute meetings and some proceedings for next season, so that could take us well into next month. I'm so sorry baby, I know that—"
The message cut off then and the woman on the answering machine asked if he wanted to save or delete it. He deleted it before walking solemnly into the other room.
Gabriella and Sharpay would watching him with wide eyes, both unsure of what to do. Gabriella stood first and came over to him, setting a gentle hand on his arm.
"Troy..." she began and he shook her hand off. Hurt flicked over her face, but it went unnoticed by him.
"Don't, Gabriella," he said, running a hand through his hair, "just don't."
She bit her lip. "Troy, I just...I know how it feels. You don't have to—"
"I don't have to act like this," Troy said, "for God sake, I'm almost eighteen, I shouldn't be relying or needing my parents here anymore! This is ridiculous!"
"But Troy," Gabriella said, trying to get through to him. How many nights had she spent without her mother in the past few years? How many times had she eaten dinner alone? Why didn't he see that she understood, that she wanted to help? "I know that you were looking forward to them coming home, you always do, I—"
"But I wasn't, Gabriella," he said sternly, looking her in the eye. "It's no big deal it's just...ugh, they do this every fucking time! Every time!"
"Troy!" Gabriella urged, tucking at his arm, "just calm down, let's talk about this!" She looked over at Sharpay who was looking at them with wide eyes. "I...I—"
Suddenly, Sharpay spread her wings and took flight over to the television. Slamming her palm over the buttons on the DVD player in an attempt at opening it, she waited almost anxiously for the disc to dispense. Troy and Gabriella watched on curiously, wondering what she was doing. She flew back over to them and held up the Twilight DVD in his face. He frowned.
"Yeah, Twilight, so what?" he asked, "I don't want to watch it, Sharpay."
The angel blew her bangs out of her eyes and then held the disc in both hands before cracking it in half. She held it up and grinned brightly.
What happened next was like a chain reaction. Gabriella gasped in horror and Troy burst out laughing. In response, Sharpay clapped her hands excitedly before dropping the disc to the ground and stomping on it animatedly.
"Oh, wow!" Troy said, clutching his stomach and Gabriella couldn't help but fail to see the humor in the situation. "That was hilarious! That was exactly what I needed, just a quick pick me up! Oh, wow, thank you, Sharpay!"
He patted her on the head and she chirped happily in response. Sighing, the tension left his shoulders and he suddenly didn't feel so bad about his parents. It couldn't possibly be so bad when he had Sharpay here.
"I'm going to take a quick shower," Troy said, suddenly brighter. He grinned at Sharpay who smiled back ecstatically. "You guys stay here. Watch some sappy romance and put the volume on full blast for all I care!"
As he left, Sharpay jumped up and down and flew over to the television, pointing to it excitedly. She grabbed another DVD case, this one reading Titanic, and waved in it the air, trying to gesture for Gabriella to put it on. The dark haired girl, however, merely looked up at her sadly.
"You knew how to make him feel better," she said softly, "you knew. How did you know? You've known him three days and you knew. I've known him sixteen years and I didn't know. You knew he needed to laugh. I tried to make him talk. Why didn't I think to make him laugh? Could I eve make him laugh?"
Her chest felt tight and her heart felt heavy. Sharpay looked up at her innocently, confused as to why she was so sad. She fluttered over to her and placed a hand on her arm and Gabriella felt her eyes fill with tears when she noticed that Sharpay had somehow figured out how to apply the little flower stickers onto her nails.
"I don't know him anymore," Gabriella said, feeling her heart break, "I'm in love with him and I don't know him."
Sharpay looked alarmed and patted her shoulder awkwardly. Gabriella couldn't even appreciate her efforts, couldn't even crack a smile at how hard she was trying to comprehend human emotions.
"It's time to give up, isn't it?" Gabriella asked and Sharpay quickly shook her head. She may not know too much about humans, but she knew enough to know that Gabriella shouldn't give up on Troy, especially after the box she had found that morning.
Wait, did Gabriella know about the box? Sharpay rubbed her hand over Gabriella's back in an attempt to soothe her. Maybe she should show her the box.
"I've spent all of this time just...waiting," Gabriella said sadly, "just waiting for him to look around and see me. And maybe...maybe it's never going to happen."
She swallowed harshly and willed the tears to go away. Smiling sadly at Sharpay, she turned to leave. "When Troy gets out, tell him I went home."
Sharpay sighed and let the box drop to the ground. How she wished she spoke English.
---
Gabriella pulled her coat tighter around her shoulders, the cool fall air prickling against her skin. It was late, nearly eleven at night, and had her mother been home, she wouldn't have been able to venture outside. Hell, even if she told Troy, he would have demanded she go back home.
Well, at least, she hoped he would.
Either way, the streets were eerily quiet as she walked the five blocks from her house to the cemetery. The crisp leaves crunched beneath her feet and for a brief moment, she felt like she was fifteen and sneaking out of her house to walk the six streets to Chad's house in the middle of the night. Troy would walk along side her, carrying a backpack filled with water bottles of his parents liquor and they would giggle at the prospects of getting thought.
But looking around, seeing how still and quiet things were, how there was no Troy walking along side her and even if she were to go that extra block, there would be no Chad waiting for her at his house. Things were so different now.
Carefully, she pulled open the squeaky gate to the cemetery, walking along the patches of grass hesitantly until she came to a stop at a familiar plot. She stopped at it, kneeling down in front of the headstone and pressing a kiss to the cold stone in greeting.
"Hey, Chad," she said softly, smiling as best as she could. She placed a penny on the grass beside it, digging until she found the one she had left there previously. As kids, she and Chad were completely fascinated by the concept of 'take a penny, leave a penny' and had made a point to exchange them as often as they could. She felt the need to keep this tradition going strong, even if one half could no longer participate.
She settled back on her haunches and surveyed the space. Several bouquets of flowers still rested there, along with a few frame pictures of Chad with his family, Chad with Troy and Gabriella. A newspaper article sat behind them, lamented and Gabriella picked it up, glancing over it briefly. The past week's results for the LA Lakers bounced off the page in front of her and she set it back down. It was a sign that Troy had been there.
Basketball had been he and Chad's thing. They played together their entire lives and it was the one thing that Gabriella didn't share with them. Sure, she'd go to every game and cheer for the both of them as loud as she could, but it wasn't the same thing and she was fine with that. Following the Lakers had been their favourite thing to do, designating game days to watch in each other's living rooms and pouring over the score and plays the next day over lunch. Since the funeral, Troy had taken to clipping out the scores from the newspaper and leaving them on Chad's grave. It kept him up to date.
He and Gabriella never visited Chad together and she never said anything about the newspaper clippings. Likewise, Troy never said anything about the pennies, but they both held the mutual understanding that the other knew. It was just something they did, something they didn't question, something they didn't discuss.
They didn't discuss a lot of things these days.
"I'm sorry I haven't been around lately," Gabriella said, feeling the wind pick up and blow her hair around her face. "Things have been kind of crazy. Troy hasn't been here lately, though, so I guess you wouldn't know."
She sighed heavily, letting the information of the past few days register once more in her mind. "An actual angel fell into the treehouse, Chad," she laughed, "an actual living, breathing angel. In the treehouse. She's gorgeous, gosh, if you were here you would love her. Troy loves her. She's amazing, too, her name is Sharpay and she's a really good listener. I guess most angels have to be."
Pulling at the strands of grass, she felt tears prickle at her eyes. "You know what the weirdest part of it is, though, Chad?" she looked down at the grave and saw his name in a bold script and felt her heart sink. "The weirdest part is that out of all of the things that have happened in the last three days, the thing that upsets me the most is that the treehouse is gone. Troy says we should rebuild it, but only so Sharpay can live there. And even then, it's never going to feel the same. That was our place, Chad. I could go there and it was like...it was like you were there with me, you know?"
"Of course you know," she laughed to herself, "how could you not? Anyways, whatever, let's talk about something else, how have you been?" she paused, realizing it was futile talking to no one. Even if he was listening, he couldn't respond. "Good, good, I hope you've been good. School's been okay, too. Hard, there's...well, I'd say a lot of pressure put on me, but there isn't. Mom's still not around. I remember how you'd always say that one day things would just click and change and suddenly she'd be there. She isn't."
"As selfish as it is, after...after the accident, I kind of thought she'd be around more," she admitted, feeling a tear slide down her cheek, "and for a while she was. But it's like...something in her snapped and she realized that losing me too, was a very real possibility, and she didn't want to deal with it? I don't even know. She's not around, though."
Brushing away her tears, she shook her head, trying to clear her mind. "Oh whatever, I'm getting off topic again. Right, school. There's a dance coming up! I'm kind of excited, a boy named Josh asked me, but I haven't given him an answer yet. He's really sweet, he transfered to East last year. I think you would have liked him, but then again, you liked everyone."
She grew quiet then, swallowing. Shifting on the ground, she reached into her purse and pulled out the bottle of orange soda Troy had bought her earlier in the afternoon. She took a sip, the bubbles burning her tongue. "I asked Troy if he was going, in the vain hopes of maybe getting the courage to ask him to come with me...but he shot it down instantly. You know how he is."
The thing was, Chad did know how Troy was, probably better than anyone. He would have been able to steer Gabriella in the right direction, he would have been able to tell her whether she needed to hold on or let go. With Chad around, maybe Troy wouldn't have been so oblivious. Especially with the way Chad had been hinting at there being mutual feelings between the two the night of the accident.
It was what made Gabriella hold on. The words he had said to her as they waited in the gas station parking lot. Since Chad knew Troy so well, there was always the notion that maybe he knew something that she didn't. Something that told her she should hold on to the bitter end.
But the end seemed nearer than she had expected and the truth was, she was tired. She was tired of waiting, she was tired of wishing and she was tired of crying.
God, she missed Chad. He would have made everything better.
"Why did you have to go?" Gabriella asked, the tears falling down her face. "Why did you have to leave? Everything's so fucked up without you here, Chad."
She scrubbed her cheeks, brushing away the tears until her face was raw. "Troy and I...we can't function without you. You were our mediator, you were the glue. Troy and I...we don't know each other anymore. Sure he knows my favourite flavor of pop, but he doesn't know how his words affect me. He doesn't know what he means to me."
Sniffling, she pulled her knees up to her chest. "Why did you have to tell me that he felt the same, Chad?" she asked, feeling the night settle in around her. "Why did you have to tell me that? It's so clear that he doesn't feel the same way and now those words have messed with me more than you could ever imagine."
"I've been waiting for so long, Chad," she said, clutching the half empty bottle of orange soda in her hands. "I've been longing for him to see me. Why doesn't he see me? What's wrong with me?"
She thought back to the outfits she had worn, the make up she had applied; all in some silly attempt to get his attention. She had, but not in the way she had wanted. God, she had been so stupid. She was trying so hard and in the process, she had behaved so foolishly. Her cheeks flushed brightly at the memory.
She needed to let go of the feelings she had for Troy. She needed to accept that he wanted to be friends and that was all she was going to get. She could no longer let this boy control her and she would continue to love him and help him with Sharpay, but she would attempt to covet his kisses no longer.
"I think it's time to let go, Chad," she whispered, pulling her fingers back from the tombstone. "I think it's time to pack up my things and let go of Troy. I'll always love him, I can't help it. But I don't think I can do this anymore."
With that, she leaned forward and pecked the marble quickly, shuddering at how cold it was beneath her lips. Sitting up, she rearranged the flowers decorating his grave once more before tucking herself back into a ball. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed a familiar number.
The line rang once, then twice, then three times before a warm voice picked up on the other end. "Hey, Josh!" she said, pretending to be cheerful, "it's Gabriella! What's up?"
She paused as she listened to the response on the other end and forced a laugh. "Oh, no, nothing's wrong, I'm just tired!" she lied, "so anyways, when you suggested that we go out, what did you have in mind?"
He responded excitedly and she felt her attention drift away slowly as her heart pounded in her chest. Standing up, she ran the tips of her fingers over the tombstone one last time before making her way out of the cemetery. Uncapping the bottle of soda, she poured out the remaining contents, watching as it streamed down the street.
It was time to say goodbye.
---
Nnnngghhhh. At least this story doesn't cause me to want to drink heavily like Stroke did. That's all I can say.
Pick up this chapter's tracckkkk. Peace.
