The Holidays Can Change Everything
by: LunarEclipse360
Disclaimer:...still on my Christmas list
A/N: okay seriously...you guys know I'm going to update it the next day. Is it really necessary to write update soon? Anywho...you guys actually get to see an interaction between Gabriella and Will. Troy's kind of emo at the end of this chapter so beware.
Not This Year
December 7; 18 more days until Christmas
The next morning, everyone decided to do their own thing. Chad and Taylor took the SUV to get some breakfast with Zeke and Sharpay. Ryan and Destiny decided to sleep in and Jason and Kelsi went to the hotel's indoor heated pool.
Troy awoke before Gabriella and went downstairs to take a shower. After coming out of the shower, Troy was surprised to find Gabriella awake, sitting on the couch, watching tv.
"Hey." he said and she looked over at him.
"Hey." she said with a smile.
"When did you get up?"
"When you went to take your shower."
"How come you didn't tell me?"
"Cause I woke up after you had started down the stairs."
"Oh. So I'm guessing I accidentally woke you up?"
"Yeah."
"Sorry about that." he said and took a seat next to her.
"It's okay." she turned back to the television and they sat in silence.
"Hey do you wanna maybe take a walk? Maybe around the lake?"
"Yeah sure."
"Okay then go take a shower and we can go walk around." she nodded and headed upstairs to get her clothes. Troy watched as she came back downstairs and smiled at him before going down to the bathroom. He smiled at her retreating form and turned back to the tv.
Once she was done, they grabbed their coats and left. They walked down the pathway until they reached the lake. Gabriella looked out over the water and took a deep breath.
"It's so beautiful out here." she said and Troy nodded.
"Yeah. I just wish it would snow."
"Why?"
"Cause I've only seen snow twice: at the lodge here and the one in Utah."
"You mean the one we met at?" he looked at her and nodded.
"Yeah. That was the first time I ever saw snow before." Gabriella nodded and the two walked in silence before coming across a bench. They stopped and Troy ran a hand through his hair. "You wanna sit?" she nodded and took a seat on the bench. He sat beside her and the silence continued. "So..."
"So..." she mocked with a giggle. He gave a short laugh before turning serious.
"H-How long have you and Will been going out?"
"How did you know about Will?"
"Taylor." she nodded and stared at her hands, folded across her lap.
"We've been going out for almost a year now."
"How did you two meet?"
"We met at school. We were both in the same Biology class. We clicked almost instantly." she told him and he nodded at every word. 'But not as fast as we did.' she thought as she glanced up at him.
"When did he actually ask you out?"
"About two months after we met. He took me to this nice restaurant and asked me to be his girlfriend." Troy laughed and Gabriella looked up at him. "What's so funny?"
"It sounded more like he was going to propose to you instead of ask you to be his girlfriend."
"I guess that is kind of funny." she said with a laugh. "So what about you? Have you been seeing anyone lately?" Troy shook his head and she cocked her head to one side. "Why not?"
"I guess it's just because I can't find the right girl."
"How can you find the right girl if you don't give any a try?"
'Because I already know who the right girl is but she's taken.' he thought to himself before answering her out loud. "I guess I can tell if a girl is right for me." he said and looked her in the eyes. "I guess my heart will tell me if a girl is right for me."
Her brown eyes stared into his, searching for something that he wasn't willing to share. She gently cupped his cheek and he leaned into her touch, closing his eyes. The warmth of his skin against hers sent a chill down her spine and she lost herself for a moment.
"Troy." she said softly and he opened his eyes. She said no more but instead leaned in closer to him. He did the same, slowly closing the gap between them.
Her lips were a few centimeters away from his but before she could close it completely, her cell phone rang. She moved away from him and took her phone out of her pocket, the front flashing Will. She looked up at Troy and smiled sadly.
"I-I should take this." he nodded and watched her walk away. He sighed and leaned back against the bench. "Hello?"
"Hey babe."
"Hey Will. What's up?"
"Just calling to see what you were doing."
"I'm spending time with my friends. I told you that before."
"I know but I miss you. Can you blame me for that?" she smiled softly and shook her head.
"No I can't blame you for that. I miss you too." she leaned against the wall of one of the houses and looked out over the lake.
"So how long are you staying in New York?"
"Until Christmas I think." she said as Troy walked towards her. She tried to get his attention but he didn't look up at her. "Can you hold on for one second?"
"Sure." she put the mouth piece against her chest and ran after Troy. "Troy where are you going?" he stopped and turned around.
"I think I'm going to go back to the hotel."
"You don't wanna continue our walk around the lake?"
"No, not really."
"Oh." she said, disappointedly. "Okay then I'll come with you."
"No you talk to your boyfriend. It's not like your going to be seeing him anytime soon." she nodded though she really did wanna walk back with Troy. "I'll see you later." he said with a fake smile on his face that faltered as he walked away. Gabriella pretended like she didn't notice when in reality she did and she wanted to know why Troy was upset all of a sudden.
"Gabriella are you there?" she heard through the ear piece and she raised her phone back up to her ear.
"Yeah I-I'm here."
"So how is everyone?"
"Everyone's fine. Look Will can I call you back later? There's something I need to do."
"Oh okay. Sure. Talk to you later. Love ya."
"Love you too." she said even though she didn't mean it. She only said it to make Will happy. She really didn't love him, she just didn't want him to get suspicious. Her heart belonged to one person and only one person. "Bye." she hung up the phone and ran back to the hotel. "Troy?" she called as she went inside. "Troy I know you're here." she said and ran upstairs. She stopped when she saw him lying on his bed asleep. She sighed and walked slowly over to him. She knelt down beside him and stared at his face. "I'm so sorry Troy." she whispered and kissed his cheek. She got up off the floor and went downstairs.
The second she was no longer in sight, Troy opened his eyes and stared at the empty space. A small smile played on his face as he remembered the feeling of her lips on his skin. After thinking about it for a few more minutes, he closed his eyes, letting himself succumb to sleep.
Troy stayed up on the landing for four hours. Everyone was worried about him but no one wanted to go check on him. Gabriella was the most worried since she was the only one who knew why he was up there in the first place. She finally got up and went upstairs, finding him still on his bed facing the wall. She sat down on his bed and touched his shoulder.
"Troy?" he didn't answer but his eyes were open. "Troy please talk to me?" he still didn't respond. She sighed and looked away before getting an idea. "Are you hungry?" she asked but he still made no move to respond. "Come on Troy. Everyone's worried about you...including me. You've got to come downstairs or at least let me know that you're not mad at me."
"I'm not mad at you." he said and turned his blue eyes towards her.
"Then why won't you talk to me?" she asked and he went back to staring at the wall. "Troy..."
"Gabriella." Chad called from downstairs and she got up, going over to the edge of the landing. "We're going to get something to eat. You coming?"
"Give me one second." she said and Chad nodded. She went back over to Troy's bed and retook her spot. "Troy you wanna go get something to eat?" she asked and all he did was close his eyes. She sighed and brushed some of his hair out of his face. "Troy I really wish you would talk to me." she said lowly, running her fingers through his hair. "I hate when you're like this."
"Gabriella you coming?" Jason called and Gabriella sighed.
"Coming." she called before placing a soft kiss on his temple. "Talk to me...please." Troy's heart broke in two as he heard the hurt and desperation in her voice. He really did want to talk to her but he couldn't, not until he felt like himself enough to be able to handle the burning fact that she would never be his. He took a deep breath before falling into a restless slumber.
