Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.
A/N: Hey everyone! I am so sorry it has been a while since I updated. This chapter took so long to write and is really long. Also I have a lot of school work. So I've been typing as much as I can each night and now I'm posting it. I'd like to give a big thank you to everyone who voted for which show Troy should go on. And then winner is…drum roll please……………TYRA! Let me tell you it was really close, it only won by one vote, of course this is the current standing at the time I am writing this, so if you didn't vote by the time I am typing this, I'm sorry. If you really don't like her, pretend she's someone else. Anyway enjoy…
Last Time…
The questions came so fast and they were so ridiculous. Troy couldn't speak. The world had no idea what happened. Some thought Gabriella was dead and that he had hired an assassin to kill her. Some thought Gabriella only married him because he was famous. He could let the world think this. Something had to be done. It was right then and there Troy decided something: he would do one and only one interview to explain what was happening.
Chapter Seven
The Tyra Show
3 days later, Troy stood backstage at The Tyra ShowTyra had offered him tons of money for appearing on her show, but he had no interest in money. All Troy was concerned about was finding Gabriella and getting her and the baby home safely. It was at the point where Troy was practically a nervous wreck, yesterday was the due date of the baby. He prayed and prayed that this baby would come late. He took a deep breath as the show began.
"Welcome everyone! It's so great to have all of you here today. Now, I know every single one of you in here has heard of Troy Bolton…right?" Tyra began as the audience let out a loud cheer.
"And how many of you heard that there were police cars outside his and his wife's apartment?" All of the audience raised their hands. "So you've heard the rumors and probably spread some yourselves. But today we are here to discover the real truth and reveal some things about their past I bet none of you would ever have guessed. Watch this." Tyra said pointing at the monitors.
"At East High in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez were always together."
Pictures Troy and Gabriella flash on the screen as she narrates.
"When it came time for their senior trip, they were thrilled to be going to Hawaii. Until tragedy struck."
Newspaper clippings of the tsunami flash on the screen.
"When the tsunami hit, Gabriella thought she lost the person, who she loved the most. However little did she know he was stranded on an island, but he wasn't alone. Among the group of 12 people on the island there was a man by the name of David Montez. And David Montez happened to be Gabriella's father, whom she and her mother thought had died in a hurricane so many years before."
"After weeks of grieving for Troy, Gabriella came to terms with her lost. She attended Princeton University. 2 ½ years later while she was home visiting her mother Gabriella collapsed."
Pictures of hospitals and ambulances flash on the screen.
"Gabriella was diagnosed with Leukemia. She dealt with it quite well and began treatment. 2 years after that, her father returned from the island, with news that Troy was still alive, but still on the island. Gabriella couldn't have been happier. A few months later Troy returned and was reunited with Gabriella. However just a few days before they were reunited Gabriella stopped responding to treatment."
"She fought and fought hard for many months. But in early fall she collapsed at a basketball game. Although the incident had nothing to do with Leukemia, she still found herself in a life or death situation. Troy however was unwilling to give up and donated one of his kidney's to save Gabriella's life. Gabriella made a full recovery, but as the months progressed she became weaker and weaker. Finally Gabriella slipped into unconsciousness as the Leukemia look over. Once again Troy refused to give up hope, he discovered that the doctors had not tried something, which could save Gabriella's life."
"If a match was found then a bone marrow transplant could save her life. Before, no match could be found, but luckily Troy Bolton was a perfect match."
"Days later Gabriella woke up and made a full recovery."
"That January Troy proposed and of course Gabriella said yes. Then a few months later Troy and Gabriella got married and now they are expecting their first child together."
Pictures of Troy and Gabriella's wedding day flash on the screen.
"However, just 2 weeks ago police cars were seen outside of their apartment. Rumors of why they were there spread faster that light."
Pictures of magazine covers filled with rumor speculation flash on the screen.
"Either in the very early morning of January 4th or the late night of January 3rd Gabriella Bolton was abducted from her home at 8 ½ months pregnant"
The audience let out a loud gasp.
"Today, we are here to talk to Troy about Gabriella and what happened, and also about some of the other rumors we have all heard. But first we have with us Troy's sister, Kayla, and Gabriella's parents, David and Christine Montez her with us to tell their prospective." The video finished and the focused on Tyra who was sitting on a large sofa next to Kayla, David and Christine.
"David, let's start with you. You met your daughter's boyfriend on an island you were stranded on. How did you react to that?" Tyra asked.
"Well, at first I was just glad to know that she and her mother were alive and they were happy. Then I think the fatherly protective juices kicked in. But I soon realized that Troy was very much in love with my daughter. He always spoke of her very highly and his face lit up while he talked about her." David explained.
"How did you know he wasn't lying and that he really was her boyfriend?"
"I guess he could have just been some crazy stalker who was in love with my daughter or something, but there was something about him that led me to believe him. He knew everything there is to know about Gabriella. And I mean everything. Ask him anything about her and he'll know the answer."
"Ok, I'll ask him, when he comes out. But something I was wondering was, how did you get off the island several months before Troy did?"
"Ahh, well, there were 12 of us on the island and when the rescue helicopter came for us, they could only take 8. Troy being himself came up with the only fair way to decide who would go – the 8 people who had been on the island the longest would go. Now at this point I was sick, I mean a couple more days and I would have been dead. I tried to convince him that he should go instead of me but he insisted that I go. He kept telling me that Gabriella would be so thrilled to see me. That's what also made me trust him; he put her happiness before his own. He knew it would make her happy to see me, so he was willing to sacrifice himself. He put not only Gabriella's happiness first but also mine and Christine's" David finished.
"Wow, but then once you got back, how was it telling Gabriella, Troy was alive?" Tyra asked.
"Well at first I wanted to surprise her, by not telling her. However one evening I was talking to Christine and I let it slip. She convinced me to tell her. I remember, when I first told her she didn't believe me. Then I told her sternly that I was not kidding. She had tears streaming down her face once she found out he was alive, she was so happy."
"And Christine, how did Gabriella take Troy's quote on quote 'death'?"
"At first, she was completely devastated. She barely spoke and rarely smiled or laughed. It was as if someone had taken Gabriella and replaced her with someone else. Then, a few weeks later, on her birthday, her friend Kelsi, gave her a CD Troy was going to give to Gabriella for her birthday and had just given to Kelsi for safe keeping. The CD had Troy singing love songs on it. Gabriella listened to that CD every morning and every night before she went to bed. Although I never saw the same sparkle she had around Troy, when he was gone she was happier. Without it, I doubt I ever would have seen her smile again."
"And when she found out she had Leukemia, how did she react to that?"
"I think she was in shock, but I don't think she let it affect her. She pursued her career. However I do think, in many ways she could have given the recovery part of it so much more." Christine explained.
"What do you mean by given it more?" Tyra asked confused by her explanation.
"Troy gave her strength. The strength I knew she had. He brought that out in her. He gave her the confidence to do anything she put her mind to. After Troy 'died' that all went away. I never saw the drive again until the day he returned." Christine said.
"Oh wow. So in pursuing her career, many of you may not know that Gabriella was a teacher. In fact she taught Kayla. So Kayla what was it like having Gabriella as your teacher?"
"I loved it! I had her in 9th, 10th, and part of 11th grade. On my first day in her class I hadn't seen in her in about 4 years. It was so great to see her again because she's like my sister." Kayla said.
"Did you like her as a teacher?"
"I looked forward to going to her class every day. She is an amazing teacher and is so good at making any topic understandable. I swear, she was meant to be a teacher. You can tell that she loves teaching."
"How can you tell?" Tyra asked.
"She came to school just to teach us even when she shouldn't have come. She was still teaching at 8 ½ months pregnant, and let me tell you a lot of days she should not have been in school. It was way to tiring for her. Don't tell Troy this, cause he'll freak, but there were a few days where we would have class in the nurses office so that she could lie down for a bit." Kayla said.
"She did that!" Christine, David and Tyra all exclaimed.
"Yeah. She did." Kayla confirmed.
"So what do you mean Troy would freak?"
"Troy is very protective over Gabriella. He is always concerned whether she is ok or not. You see Gabriella always puts others before herself, so Troy makes it his job to make sure that she doesn't over do it. He is always there to put her first. That's why this is so hard for him, he knows that someone took Gabriella against her will and he is afraid of what they're doing to him. But when he does find whoever took Gabriella, that person is in for it." Kayla explained as David and Christine nodded in agreement. Tyra gave them a quizzical look.
"Let me explain further. When Troy and Gabriella were in high school there was this guy Josh. He provoked Gabriella one day after school and he ended up punching her. The next day Gabriella came in with a bruise on her face and Troy flipped out. He found Josh and exploded on him. Troy can get angry quite easily, but he usually cools off pretty quick. But the day he came home after the inn No one lays a finger on Gabriella." Kayla explained.
"Would Troy ever physically harm Gabriella?" Tyra asked.
"Troy!? No! Never! He would never ever hurt Gabriella or any other girl for that matter. He is a strong believer in the statement you should never hit a woman." Kayla explained.
"That's good, we need more men like Troy in the world. So can you tell us a little about their relationship?"
"Oh where do I start? First of all they love each other so, so much. They would do anything for each other. They know absolutely everything about each other. And I mean everything. They can finish each other's sentences and order food for each other at restaurants we've never been to." Kayla said.
"Can't a lot of people order food for each other?" Tyra questioned.
"Oh not like this, they always get each other's orders spot on. Let me tell you a story…
Flashback
Kayla, Gabriella, Mrs. Bolton and Mrs. Montez were waiting for Troy and Mr. Bolton at the restaurant.
"Where are they?" 9 year old Kayla complained.
"I'm sure they'll be here soon." Mrs. Bolton said.
"Yeah Kayla, I bet they just got hung up in playing basketball." Gabriella said smiling at Kayla.
After half an hour Kayla was starting to get really hungry and the boys still weren't there.
"Why don't we just order for them? I know what Jack will have and I'm sure you can figure out what Troy would have. Right Gabriella?" Mrs. Bolton said.
"OoOo can we play a game? Let's see if Gabriella can guess what Troy wants. Can we ask him what he would have order without telling him what Gabi, ordered for him?" Kayla asked excitedly.
"Sure why not" Gabriella answered. She looked down at the menu and decided what to order. A few minutes later the waiter came and took the order.
"I'll have the chicken salad and water please." Mrs. Montez said.
"I'll have the pasta salad please and for my husband a beef burger. And to drink I'll have water as well and my husband he'll have water also." Mrs. Bolton ordered.
"I'll have chicken fingers with apple juice please." Kayla said.
"I'll have a Caesar salad please. And my boyfriend will have a double beef burger with bacon but no lettuce and tomatoes and if you have curly fries, he'll have those, but if there's no choice then he'll have to suck it up. Anyway I'll have a diet coke and he'll want a dr. pepper. Thank you." Gabriella said handing the waiter her menu and the waiter walked away.
"Wow that was specific." Mrs. Montez observed.
"Yeah, well he hates lettuce and tomatoes on burgers, he says it's a bad combo to have lettuce and tomatoes in your burger as he would say, 'it ruins the manliness of the burger, destroying the beefyness.' The words are his creation by the way. Yeah and as for the curly fries, he just prefers them he would say they're cooler." Gabriella laughed.
"Once again wow." Mrs. Montez said. The 4 girls chatted away until about 20 minutes later Troy and Mr. Bolton came running into the restaurant out of breath.
"So…sorry…we are…late…practice…ran…late and….traffic…was bad. They panted.
"It's ok, it's not like it's never happened before." Mrs. Bolton said as the girls laughed. Troy walked around the table and kissed Gabriella on lightly on the cheek and whispered,
"I'm sorry baby, I really am."
"It's ok, I understand." She replied sweetly.
"So… Troy what are you going to order?" Kayla piped up.
"Uh" Troy said looking at the menu, which Kayla had purposely kept behind for him to look at. "hmmm I think I'll have a burger, not wait a double burger, yeah I'm hungry with bacon, but definitely no lettuce or tomato, it ruins the manliness of the burger, destroying the beefyness of the burger. Oo and if they are curly fries I'll have them, cause they are so much cooler than regular fries. And to drink…hmm..what do I want dr. pepper or a coke hmm, I'll have a dr. pepper, yup." Troy finished as he looked up Gabriella was grinning and everyone expect Mr. Bolton had their mouths wide open.
"What?" Troy asked. He looked at Gabriella who was still grinning widely. "What? I just ordered, is there a problem with that?"
"Wow, Gabi you are good." Kayla, Mrs. Bolton and Mrs. Montez all said at the same time. Gabriella smiled proudly.
"Thank you, it was easy really" she said.
"What was easy?" Troy asked obviously very confused. Just as he was about to say something else the food arrived. In front of him was placed exactly what he order, this took his confusion to a whole new level. Once the waiter had gone he stammered.
"Hhooww did..he…I ..never…order…what?"
"You're welcome Troy." Gabriella said kissing him on the cheek. It took him a moment to realize what she meant.
"Ahhh, I should have known, thank you." Troy said.
"I'm still confused" Mr. Bolton confessed.
"You guys were taking so long so I ordered for you and Gabriella order for Troy. She got his order completely right, almost word for word, it is amazing." Mrs. Bolton explained.
"Even the beefyness part?" Mr. Bolton asked stunned.
"Yup." Mrs. Bolton said.
"Wow and you didn't even remember that I hate pickles, and we've been married for almost 20 years. Troy and Gabriella have only known each other for a year. That is insane." He said looking over at Troy and Gabriella who were smiling at each other.
"Wait but how did you know he would want a dr. pepper? He was debating between that and a coke." Kayla asked, still completely stunned.
"I don't know, it's hard to explain, I just knew." Gabriella said looking at Troy. Troy leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
End Flashback
"You're kidding! I bet you've been to that restaurant before or something." Tyra exclaimed.
"Nope, that was the very first time. They do that type of stuff all the time, sometimes it weirds me out."
"Oh wow, that is truly love. Thank you for coming here today, it was so nice to meet you all." Tyra said looking at Kayla, Christine and David. "After the break we'll talk to Troy."
"Welcome back everyone. Today, we're talking about Gabriella Montez with her family. Right now we have here with us Troy Bolton." Tyra introduced as Troy walked onto the stage. He smiled weakly and waved his hand, walking slowly over to the sofas. He gave Tyra a hug and sat down.
"How are you?" Tyra asked. Troy let out a sigh.
"I'm…" he paused thinking of the words that would best describe his emotions. "…worried, scared, anxious, angry, stressed, and annoyed."
"Wow, it must be hard, tell me about the day she was taken."
"Well, it was her first back staying home for maternity leave and I knew she didn't want to be home. So I decided to surprise her, by bringing our friends to visit. Anyway I walked into the kitchen after work and she was sitting at the table with dozens of baked things all around the kitchen, there were cupcakes, cookies and brownies. When I asked what happened to a nice relaxing day, she replied that she just got bored. Then I covered her eyes and called in our friends. When I uncovered her eyes she was ecstatic. The six of us talked until about 11:30, all the while I watched Gabriella get more and more tired, although she didn't let it show, I can see right through her. Finally when it came time for them to leave Gabriella offered to come also. However she just looked so tired, and I knew it would be at least 1 before I got home, so I convinced her to stay." He paused and sighed again. "Then when I got back a window was shattered, a lamp was broken, there was blood on the floor and Gabriella was gone. It's my fault I should have let her come, why didn't I let her? If I had she would have been here with me right now."
"Troy you really shouldn't blame yourself; it's not your fault. What first attracted you to her?"
"Well, I met her while singing karaoke. I remember singing my part and then almost walking off the stage, but then I heard her sing, and she had the most beautiful voice I have ever heard. I turned around and although she looked absolutely terrified, she still looked like an angel." Troy said.
"So now, you've known her for a long time, what do you like most about her?" Tyra asked.
"What do I like most about Gabriella? God, the list could go on and on. She is so kind, she always thinks of others before herself, she has this way of making any situation seem good, she always has a smile on her face and she has the most beautiful smiles." Troy answered.
"Smiles?"
"Yes, Gabriella has 5 smiles; her fake smile, her nervous smile, her happy smile, her mischievous and her I love you smile."
"And you can distinguish them?"
"Of course, that's easy." Troy answered quickly.
"So maybe you do really know everything about her, like David says. Can I test you?"
"Go ahead."
"Ok which does she like better; Chocolate, vanilla or strawberry ice cream?"
"Strawberry" Troy said without thinking.
"Dogs or cats?"
"Dogs."
"Sunrise or sunset?"
"Sunset?"
"What is her favorite color?" Tyra asked.
"Blue." Troy said quickly.
"Food?"
"Spaghetti."
"Dessert?"
"Brownies."
"Movie?"
"A Walk to Remember."
"School subject?"
"Science."
"Ok obviously this is too easy for you. Let's make this harder. What does she do when she is nervous?"
"She rocks back and forth."
"What about when she gets scared?"
"Her face will pale and then she'll either back up slowly if someone is approaching her or hug herself or someone close."
"When she's happy?"
"She smiles and her whole face lights up."
"Ok, ok you do know a lot about her. Why don't we clear up some rumors that have been going around? Is it true you hired someone to kill her for you?"
"God no! I couldn't live knowing she's dead."
"Are you on steroids?"
"No I am not."
"Has the baby been born yet?"
"I don't know. The due date was yesterday, I pray every day that the baby is late." Troy sighed.
"Was the baby a girl or a boy?"
"I don't know. Gabriella and I decided we wanted a surprise."
"Are you filing for a divorce from your wife?"
"No!" Troy exclaimed.
"Did Gabriella leave you?"
"No! Or at least I hope not, if she did I would be a complete wreck."
"Did she only marry you because you are famous?"
"No, she hates the paparazzi more than anything and besides she knew me way before I was famous. I knew I wanted to marry her our senior year, I just wanted to wait for the right time."
"Aww really? So did she know she wanted to marry you senior year also?" Tyra asked.
"I don't know, you'd have to ask her, but we always talked about our future and it always included each other."
"Ok so now we've cleared those up. What happened when the tsunami hit?"
"Well, we were on our senior class trip in Hawaii and Gabi, Taylor, Chad and I, were all sitting together eating ice cream. Suddenly we heard this alarm going off and we ran for higher ground. Soon it became clear that we needed to get higher, so we climbed a tree; Gabi and me on one branch and Taylor and Chad on another. Then the branch Gabi and I were on started to crack, Gabriella started panicking and I told her to get on another branch. The first words out of her mouth were, "what about you?" I told her she was more important, which she is, and finally she listened and climbed up the branch, but when I started climbing up the tree the branch supporting me broke and I fell into the water." Troy explained.
"So you saved her life?" Tyra asked.
"No, well, yes, but I had to, I couldn't let her fall, I need her, she means everything to me." Troy said.
"Is that why when everyone including Gabriella had given up on her survival you didn't?" Tyra asked.
"I couldn't give up. She didn't give up on me."
"Huh?"
"I know this is going to sound cliché, but she changed me. Before I met her I was just the basketball, playmaker dude, but for once in my life she saw me a Troy. And that means more to than anything. I need her, I haven't slept since see has been gone, I can't. I can't stop thinking about her, stop worrying about her and the baby. If they are ok or not. I need to find them." Troy said from the bottom of his heart.
"Troy, we put Gabriella and the baby in our prayers. Thank you so much for coming on today. I really appreciate you coming." Tyra said looking at Troy. Then she focused back to the camera, "And thank you to all of you for tuning in. See ya!" The camera shut off the director said,
"That's a wrap. Great job everyone"
Tyra turned back to Troy and said,
"Thank you again for coming on. I am so happy that I got to meet you. You know you don't really seem like the type who would get angry easily, like Kayla said."
"It's no problem; I really enjoyed meeting you as well. I really only get angry when someone does something to hurt the ones I love. Like when that ass hole Josh-" Troy's eyes widen and he ran as fast as he could to the door leaving a shocked and confused Tyra standing there.
A/N: OK that is THE longest chapter I have ever written it is over 4,000 words and 14 pages in Microsoft Word, I can't believe it. It was really hard to write and I hope you enjoyed it and didn't think it was a waste of a chapter. I would really really appreciate your feedback on how you think it was. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! BTW tomorrow England is playing the USA in women's soccer and I am so excited, this is the first time England have made it this far, for women's soccer. I am totally rooting for them! GO ENGLAND!!!
