A/N: So…it's been what, a year? Well, it would be a year of non-updates in January, and that's unacceptable! I give you my intense apologies, and could write a very long note with an excuse, but you'd be bored. All I can give you is this: if the characters seem a little off – I'm sorry. A lot changes in a year, as I'm sure you all know, and I tried hard to keep it in the same flow, but I'm sure its radically different no matter what. I hope you all like it. Huge thanks goes out to all those reviewers who asked for more – even as recent as last month – and never losing faith! I'm here, I promise. I hope you like this update…I think it's a little longer than my other chapters, and I worked hard on it all day, but in my rush to post it, there might be errors. All apologies, and enough ado! Read the chapter, and tell me your thoughts!
Disclaimer; Don't own it!
To say Gabi's Christmas was the best she had experienced in the past few years would to be putting it mildly. The two days she spent with the Boltons were like something out of her dreams. She had been enveloped in their sense of family and fun, and even though the majority of it was spent doing menial things – board games, Christmas carols, watching movies, just talking, cooking, and baking together – it was all perfect.
The days passed by much too quickly for Gabi's liking and as she stood next to Troy in her driveway she was forced back into reality. Harshly.
"Is that what I think it is?" Gabi whispered to Troy, who was just as shocked next to her.
"I…I think so."
Gabi let out a frustrated groan and flopped her head onto Troy's shoulder.
"You should probably go look at the card."
"Can it still be Christmas Day with a normal family?" Gabi asked hopefully.
"Don't think so, babygirl," Troy said with a laugh.
"Fine," she huffed, walking up to the monstrosity in her driveway.
Well, maybe monstrosity wasn't the right word for it. But it was definitely unwelcome. It was Gabi's Christmas present from Maria, complete with a huge bow adorning it.
A brand new black Ford Focus.
There was a red envelope on the windshield, held in place by a wiper, and had Gabi's name hastily scrawled on it in Maria's familiar handwriting.
Gabi took the card somewhat hesitantly before seemingly shrugging and tearing into it. A set of keys slipped into her hand and she read the generic Christmas card, the epitome of all things she hates.
Darling, Maria wrote after the cliché lines within the card, I hope this present is all you wanted and more. See you after Christmas! Love, Mom.
Gabi scoffed at the impersonal card and closed it before looking up at Troy. He was staring back at her with an unreadable expression on his face. He was torn between being excited for her – after all, she just got a brand new freakin' car – but also between giving in to the immense amount of pity he felt bubbling within him. He knew that Gabi wanted nothing more in her life than a family to hold close, and not material things. It just didn't seem fair that someone like Gabi got the short straw on almost everything, and then there were people like Sharpay that got their world handed to them on a silver platter.
"She gave me a car," Gabi stated in case Troy had missed that.
"I noticed," he said with a smile.
"A car."
"Yeah."
"What am I going to do with a car?"
"You know, you have your license Montez, you could always drive it."
"I guess," Gabi bit her lip before turning to Troy again. "Is it bad to drive it? I didn't want a car. I don't know if I want to enjoy this gift."
"Gabi," Troy finally pulled her close to him into a hug, "it's okay to want to drive it. Heck, if it helps, I want to drive it!"
Gabi hit him playfully but relaxed in his arms. She was so grateful they had experienced the past few days, to give her the confidence to be able to just…be.
"I'm not sure I want to deal with that at this moment in time," she admitted softly.
"You don't have to," Troy reassured. "Why don't you go shower and take that nap you've been dying take?"
Gabi smirked at this, because she had never said anything aloud about being tired, but the truth was, hanging out with a family as boisterous as the Boltons was exhausting. She was grateful to get a night to herself (not that the 3AM Monopoly fest wasn't fun! It just took it's toll on Gabriella).
"If you insist," Gabriella yawned.
"Go!"
"Okay, okay."
Gabriella leaned up and placed a chaste kiss on Troy's lips before smiling at him peacefully. He gave her a little shove, which she mock pouted to, before turning on her heel and flouncing into the house with drama Troy didn't even know she possessed.
Troy stood for a moment, alternating between looking at the door his girl disappeared into and the shiny new car in her driveway. Shaking his head to himself, he climbed back into his truck and made his way back to his house, which was decidedly less appealing without a certain brown eyed brunette there waiting.
"I love it!" Taylor exclaimed to Gabi, who did a little twirl for her with a grin.
It was now December 31st, the night of the big East High party. Gabi had cajoled Lucille into going shopping with her for the perfect outfit, and was currently modeling the number one pick for her as the pair finished getting ready.
Gabi was wearing a tight pair of black jeans with a loose silk tank top, large black and white polka dots adorning it, with thick black straps and a slightly plunging neckline. Her ears draped shiny black discs and a black beaded necklace completed the look Lucille had insisted Gabi go for.
"You do? I don't look too made up, do I?" Gabi asked nervously.
"Oh no, trust me. You haven't seen anything 'til you've seen Sharpay. I'm halfway convinced she thinks this is the prom."
Gabi giggled at the idea of Sharpay in an evening gown for a silly high school party, but sobered instantly, holding out her hands to Taylor, a different shoe in each.
"Pick please!'
Taylor perused the two and opted for the slightly higher black cork heels.
"Thanks," Gabi said as she sat down to put on the selected shoes. "And you know, you sort of defeat the purpose of 'getting ready together' if you come already gotten ready!"
"'Gotten ready?'" Taylor questioned.
"Shut up," Gabi replied good naturedly.
"And just for the record, my mother insisted on me getting ready at my house so she could take pictures before I left."
"Oh, was Chad there?"
"No."
Gabi laughed loudly at this, but continued tightening her heels.
"So what's June up to tonight, anyway?"
"Going out with Mr. Baylor," Taylor replied lightly.
"You don't sound too upset anymore," Gabi noticed as she stood up to see the finished product in the mirror.
"Nah, I mean, not really. He really is a nice guy, and my mom likes him. And, well…"
"And…?"
"And she pretty much told me to butt out!"
"Smart woman," Gabi teased.
"Oh, hush."
Taylor stood next to Gabi, as they both examined themselves in the full length mirror in Gabi's bathroom.
"You look fantastic," Gabi commented. Taylor was wearing wide legged jeans with a black shirt that was rouched around the waist, but with flowing sleeves.
"I don't look like I have wings?" Taylor asked self-consciously, holding her arms out to her sides, observing the fabric connecting her sleeves to the bottom of the shirt. Gabriella just laughed at her friend, as she was used to being the one that was usually insecure. It was nice being able to reassure someone else for a change.
"You're beautiful," Gabi reaffirmed. "Chad's gonna flip."
"He better," Taylor muttered as she slipped on black stilettos, hating wearing heels.
"Okay, we ready?"
"I think so," Taylor still sounded worried, but she wasn't about to change at that point.
"Let's go!"
They were meeting the boys at the school as Chad and Troy insisted they had too much to fit in Gabi's Focus, and Troy's truck only had two seats. Taylor didn't have a car and Chad's SUV was getting detailed as a Christmas gift, so the four succumbed to wasting gas and taking two separate cars.
"Mmm, it still smells like new car," Taylor said as she sat in the front seat of Gabi's car.
Gabi had gotten over her reluctance to drive the terrible excuse for a gift that her mother had left her fairly quickly. Troy had just told her to think of it as one extra way for her to escape the house when she needed to, and Gabi conceded instantly, thinking of how much easier it'd be to just leave whenever she felt like it, instead of waiting for someone to pick her up, or for her mom to just take the car before she could.
"It's pretty nice, isn't it?" Gabi said a little abashedly.
"Sharpay is going to freak."
"Didn't Sharpay like, get her own island this Christmas?"
"I think they're saving that for Easter," Taylor joked. "But seriously, Sharpay gets jealous of anyone who has gifts that rival hers."
"It's not like I have anything else that rivals hers!"
"I'm sure she'll realize that soon enough, but that's probably after she picks you apart in order to make herself feel better."
"I love high school, I really do," Gabi said, rolling her eyes and pulling out of the driveway.
"What are you doing?" Taylor asked as Gabi and her made their way over to Troy and Chad in the cafeteria.
The two aforementioned males were, from the looks of it, trying to set up the mother of all tents. It could easily sleep 12 and had two dividers in it to separate the tent into three sections. The boys had actually managed to get most of the tent upright and somewhat sturdy, but were currently fighting with a particularly stubborn pole, which refused to bend into the socket it was supposed to, despite Chad and Troy practically sitting on it.
"What do you think, babe? Pretty good, right?" Chad asked Taylor as beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. "Get in there!" He yelled at the pole.
"It doesn't like to be yelled at, dude!" Troy admonished Chad as he blew his shaggy hair out of his eyes, never removing the tight grip he had on the pole.
"Um, guys, why don't you try moving the piece it's supposed to go into instead of the pole?" Gabi asked curiously.
The two guys shared a confused look.
"Hold that pole tight," Gabi warned as she stepped closer, putting down her backpack and sleeping bag by her feet. She stepped closer and bent down, moving the plastic piece that was designed to hold the pole about two inches closer to the pole that was wavering dangerously in the air.
She stood back up and held the piece in place with her foot, motioning for the guys to try the placement now. The pole went in effortlessly.
"Wow," Chad said standing up, wiping his brow and breathing slightly erratically. "Girl Scout Gabi to the rescue!"
"I do what I can," Gabi kidded, brushing her shoulders off.
"Well, thank you," Troy said, coming up beside her, buttoning up his black shirt that he had discarded in the tent making process.
"Not a problem, Mr. Bolton," Gabi said, leaning up to kiss him before pulling back. Troy gave her a very confused look, but she just pointed behind him.
"What is that?"
"That is Sharpay's tent," Chad informed her, wrapping an arm around Taylor.
The 'tent,' if it could even be called that, looked more solid than a lot of houses Gabi had seen. It was hot pink, almost to the ceiling, had feather-lined windows, complete with what she hoped were rhinestones adorning the surface sporadically. And to top it off, a butler standing at the zippered entrance.
"She has a butler." Gabi stated unbelievingly.
"That she does." Troy nodded.
"A butler."
"Yup."
"That is ridiculous, right? I'm not just being crazy?"
"Oh, if you think that's crazy, you should see the inside," Ryan spoke as he walked up to the group from behind, Kelsi and him holding hands. "It looks like Barbie's dream house on steroids."
"Hey guys," Taylor greeted the pair, the others echoing her sentiments.
"You guys ready for fun?" Kelsi asked unenthusiastically.
"Whoa, don't sound too excited, Kels," Troy implored.
"You're right," Kelsi sighed. "It shouldn't be bad, actually. And Ryan even said he'd help Zeke drag Sharpay off the karaoke stage after her fourth song."
"Don't envy you, bro," Chad laughed.
"Don't remind me," Ryan muttered.
"So you guys gonna crash with us?" Troy offered, gesturing to the now-set-up tent.
"If you don't mind," Ryan said with palpable relief. He clearly didn't want to go back to the bubblegum-colored tent anytime soon.
"Not at all, we got plenty of room."
"This is a huge tent!" Kelsi exclaimed, poking her head in and seeing the large space.
"I put it up single-handedly," Gabi joked, drawing a laugh out of everyone, especially Troy. His eyes softened as they landed on her, and he was instantly taken back to that first day in September when they met, and she had barely wanted to say more than three words to him, let alone spend time with him. Words couldn't describe how happy he was at her progress – at their progress.
"So," Chad said, clapping his hands together, "Who's up for some food? Anyone? Anyone at all?"
"Let's go," Taylor sighed, taking the arm he offered as he escorted her to the cafeteria line, where catered food was taking the place of their usual cardboard-esque meals.
"Care to show me around?" Gabriella asked Troy with a sweet smile gracing her face. Troy bowed low, shooting her a wink.
"After you, m'lady."
"How do they do that?" Gabi asked in awe as Troy led her out of another classroom where kids were playing Dance Dance Revolution projected onto the overhead screen. "They're so fast!"
"Yeah," Troy agreed, "you should see Chad. He's really good for the first minute or so, but as soon as it starts getting too fast, all hope is lost and he's just stomping around." He paused before smiling wide. "It's really quite priceless, and I hope he does that later on."
"What's in here?" Gabriella asked curiously, pausing at the open doors to the auditorium. Music was blaring and a couple of kids were goofing off onstage, dancing and pretending to sing.
"Karaoke," Troy said in a low voice in her ear, causing a shiver to race down Gabi's spine. "It doesn't really get started 'til later in the night, and even then, I heard it's just Sharpay and sometimes Ryan."
"So I won't get to see you up there?" Gabi turned around, noticing the close proximity of their bodies, but not really caring.
"Not this century," he said with a laugh. "Basketball is one thing, but consciously making a fool out of myself in front of all my peers? That's something totally different. Now if you were to get up there, I think I might have a renewed interest…"
Gabi scoffed and continued down the hall. As if that will ever happen, she thought mirthfully.
They met up with the others back in the cafeteria, where Gabi happened to notice just how starved she actually was.
"Do you mind?" She asked Troy, gesturing to the growing line for food.
"Not at all…I would kill for some chicken wings."
"The bird's already dead, Troy," she teased light heartedly. "I don't think it'd appreciate any more blood being spilt on it's account."
"What a noble bird, if I do say so." He grinned at her, and Gabi could tell this night would end up great. "Did I ever tell you the story of when Sharpay went all animal-rights-activist on us for a few days? Let me tell you, I think everyone was glad when she went back to being an omnivore."
They joked and Troy regaled her with stories of their fellow East High students before making their way back to the tent.
Not wanting to make a mess inside, the others were sitting in a semi circle outside the tent on a spread out sleeping bag, eating various snacks.
"Whoa, Gabi," Chad said as he noted her plate of food. "Hungry much?"
"As a matter of fact," she replied with a cheeky grin, "I am-"
"A cow?" A voice cut her off from behind her back. Gabi slowly turned to face the offending voice.
Mallory Dutton and two other cheerleaders were standing behind her, glowering. One of the girls did shoot Gabi a small smile – they were in Sociology together, and she had always been nice to Gabi.
"Actually," Gabi said slowly, "in this case, a female cow would be referred to as a heifer."
She did not understand where her sudden brazen-ness was coming from, but she couldn't say that she didn't appreciate it. Mallory Dutton was one of the girls that she was fairly sure Troy didn't talk to still, all because of her having a problem with Gabi.
"Whatever," Mallory blew her off. "You think just because you're so smart you're better than us."
"I do?"
"Oh please, it's so obvious. You think that because you're so mysterious and creepy smart that you're above us."
"Have you checked your class rank?" Chad muttered to himself, eliciting a smile for the nicer cheerleader – Candice, Gabi thought.
"Can it, Chuckles," Mallory shot towards Chad.
"Listen, Mallory, I don't know what-" Gabi started.
"You think I want to listen to you more than I want to listen to Danforth? Trust me, I don't." She clicked her perfectly manicured nails together as if she were an evil villain. "I just want to let you know that I know who you are, Gabriella Montez. You think you're so special, being the new girl? Well that got old fast. I know that you're nothing, so I think you should know that too. And your mother, what's her name – Maria? My mother works with her. Says she slept her way to the top…like mother like daughter, huh?" Gabriella was too furious to form words. "Guess that's why she couldn't keep your dad around."
Gabi put a hand on Troy's shoulder as he went to go stand up and say something; she didn't want him to fight her own fights for her, and she definitely didn't want him to do anything that could jeopardize his basketball career.
"Ugh, all that talking made me parched," Mallory noted as she turned to leave.
"Take mine," Gabriella said in a dark voice as she thrust a can of Diet Coke into Mallory's hand and stormed off, followed closely by Troy.
She had only made it to around the corner of Sharpay's tent when Troy caught up to her.
"Gabi, I-"
"Shh!" She put a finger to his lips and pointed to Mallory as she walked away from Troy's tent.
Mallory tapped an acrylic nail on the top of the can and pulled the tab. With one ominous hiss! , the entire can of Diet Coke exploded on her, coating her face and top, and causing the entire cafeteria to erupt in laughter. Gabriella had to slap a hand over her mouth to prevent her from being the loudest.
She only laughed harder at Troy's expression: he looked utterly bewildered. Like he was torn between laughing hysterically or being amazed at the trick Gabi had managed to pull.
"C'mon," Gabi said, pulling Troy behind her as they made their way back to the tent. Gabi plopped back down, graceful as ever, even in three inch heels, and rubbed her hands together. "I am hungry."
Five awestruck eyes met hers as she delicately nibbled a chicken wing.
Finally, Troy broke the silence.
"What was that?"
"Was the soda thing too much?" Gabi asked, eyes wide. "I wasn't even sure if it would work, she just made me so mad and I'm really not good at talking back to people, and trust me, the words I wanted to say weren't really that great either, and I wasn't really thinking-"
"Gabi, Gabi!" Chad interrupted her, a huge grin across his face. "That…was amazing. I couldn't have done it better myself." He held out his hand for a high five, which Gabi did tentatively.
"Girl, how did you even think of that?" Taylor asked incredulously.
Gabi just shrugged. "They do it in the movies a lot."
"And you're not even upset?" Troy asked worriedly.
"I…" Gabi's face fell as she tried to put her feelings into words. "I'd be upset if any of you had said that." She concluded. "But girls like Mallory Dutton are at every school. And all she managed in doing was make me convinced that I made the right choice in my friends."
"You amaze me," Troy said as he leaned in and kissed her forehead as she continued to dig in to her food.
The words still stung Gabriella – to her very core, if she had to be honest about it – but she had to admit, she was always afraid that something like that would be said to her by someone she considered a friend. It was part of her hesitance to form friendships to begin with. But she realized now that even though she had no right to say the things she said to Gabriella, Mallory Dutton's words didn't really matter, because people knew the real her. And that was all that did matter.
The rest of the night progressed without any drama. No other jealous cheerleaders, not even a Darbus sighting, and everyone was grateful for that. The group was having a great time, and Gabriella's presence was the cause of it. She encouraged Chad to try DDR on the highest speed, to everyone's amusement; she told Sharpay that she really did want to hear "My Heart Will Go On," even though she knew it was the one song Sharpay hated – but would never turn down a personal request. She even got Kelsi to play a song on the baby piano in the auditorium and have Taylor tap dance to it – something she had sworn not to do since the fifth grade.
"So, Gabriella," Troy began as he twirled her out and brought her back in as they danced in the aisles of the auditorium. The room had long since cleared out after Sharpay's rendition of Celine Dion, and the gang was having a fine time by themselves, with the occasional chaperone poking in and making sure everything was PG.
"Mmm?" Gabriella giggled as he dipped her low to the ground.
"You have gotten everyone else here to do something that they may or may not regret tomorrow morning."
"I plead the fifth," she laughed, twirling by herself now.
"Well, what do you say to you and me embarrassing ourselves a little bit?"
"I already got called a cow tonight, Troy," she said matter-of-factly. "It's gonna be hard to top that embarrassment."
Troy's face darkened with the mention of Mallory, but he was proud that Gabriella didn't take it lying down, but was able to poke fun at herself later. Again, he was soaked in a feeling of nostalgia at how far she had really come.
"Sing with me," Troy said with a smile. Gabriella paused mid-twirl.
"What?"
"Sing. With me." He repeated.
"I don't know…" Gabriella bit her lip, mulling it over.
"C'mon. It's not like you're doing it alone, and there's not even anyone in here. At least anyone who matters."
"Hey!" Chad protested from his position on the stage – a handstand, for reasons unknown.
"You know what I mean," Troy called back, his eyes still trained on Gabriella. "What do you say?"
"I say…" She was silent for a few more moments, before letting a smile take over her face. "What the hell!"
Troy wasn't sure if it was the Christmas break, or the time spent with his family, or what, but he was certain that this was the most carefree he had ever seen Gabi, and he loved it.
"But I get to pick the song!" She called out as she raced up to the stage, pouring over the song options with Taylor and Kelsi.
After five agonizing minutes of Chad questioning Troy's ability to sing ("She wouldn't do it without me, man!" was Troy's constant protest), Gabi finally selected a song with conviction. Troy walked to the stage slowly, as if he were going for his execution. Gabi just rolled her eyes at him and tossed him a microphone.
"You're in luck, Wildcat. It's a duet!"
The music rang out through the speakers slightly tinny, as it wasn't that great of a sound system anyway, and karaoke recordings were never the best, but Troy still grinned unrepentantly as he brought the mic to his mouth in an overdramatic way. Expecting him to joke off with it, Gabriella was pleasantly surprised when his smooth voice came over the speakers – he was taking it seriously, for her.
"Living in my own world – didn't understand that anything can happen when you take a chance."
Gabi took a deep breath, trying desperately to quell the butterflies that she knew were unnecessary anyways. She was just in front of a few of her friends, joking around. They didn't expect anything from her.
"I never believed in what I couldn't see. I never opened my heart to all the possibilities," Troy's smile widened – if that was possible – and he got closer to Gabi, singing with her.
"I know that something has changed, never felt this way, and right here tonight…this could be the start of something new, it feels so right to be here with you. And now, looking in your eyes, I feel in my heart – the start of something new."
Troy seemed to loosen up after the chorus and he moonwalked away from Gabriella, drawing a giggle from her as he continued.
"Now who would of ever thought that we'd both be here tonight?" He shook his head to convey how even he was surprised as to where they had both were versus where they are now.
"And the world looks some much brighter with you by my side," Gabriella sang back, putting more effort into her voice.
"I know that something has changed never felt this way, and right here tonight…this could be the start of something new, it feels so right to be here with you. And now, looking in your eyes, I feel in my heart – the start of something new."
Troy suddenly slid across the stage floor on his knees, singing emphatically into the mic he held, causing Gabi to snort but hold back her laughter.
"I never knew that it could happen 'til it happened to me – oh, yeah."
Gabi couldn't let him look silly all by himself, so she took it upon herself to be just as emphatic, if not more so.
"I didn't know it before, but now it's easy to see," she watched with a smug look as Troy's eyes widened as she hit a particularly high note, something she had only tried in the comfort of her own shower before.
"This could be the start of something new, it feels so right to be here with you, oh. And now, looking in your eyes, I feel in my heart…that it's the start of something new, it feels so right to be here with you. And now, looking in your eyes, I feel in my heart," Troy pulled Gabi flush against him as he smiled into the mic.
"The start of something new," he sang lower, until she joined in. "The start of something new."
Gabriella leaned in to give him a soft, chaste kiss on his lips when the sound of applause broke her from her reverie. She looked around and saw not only her friends, but a few people that had heard the song from down the hall, and even some teachers.
She thunked her head against Troy's chest, getting a laugh out of him.
"This is totally worse than being called a cow," she moaned.
"No, really, you guys should sing at the talent show!" Taylor said for what had to be the thousandth time since the auditorium had cleared out and left the original group to their own devices. They were sitting on the stage – Kelsi lying across the top of the piano with Ryan sitting on the bench playing with her hair, Troy sitting with his back against a speaker and Gabriella in between his legs, Zeke adoringly watching Sharpay as she sat at a vanity that she had him drag out onto the stage as she tried out different makeup styles, and Chad and Taylor lounging on a huge pillow that had to have been a prop for a prior musical.
"Guys, like I've been saying, we were just goofing off. We weren't even trying," Gabi tried to convince them.
"Then imagine how good you'll be if you actually try," Kelsi urged.
"Troy, a little help," Gabi said with an elbow to his stomach. He let a piece of Gabi's hair fall through his fingers before clearing his throat.
"Sharpay would be mad," he supplied half-heartedly.
"Are you kidding?" Sharpay shrieked from her position at the vanity, pulling herself away from her reflection. "The talent show already has half the student body in it now. It's not like it can get any worse."
"Gee, thanks Sharpay," Troy shot back sarcastically.
"As long as you're not in the spring musicale. You hear me? No. Spring. Musicale."
"We. Hear. You." Gabi deadpanned, drawing a laugh out of everyone except Sharpay, who just looked confused.
"Then whatever," she said, holding her mouth open for Zeke to feed her a cookie.
Conversations deteriorated at about that point, the couples discussing their own things – namely Troy and Gabriella, except for Sharpay and Zeke, of course.
"C'mon," Troy said softly, tugging Gabriella's hand to stand up.
"Where are we going?" She asked curiously, casting a glance around the auditorium, only to find everyone else was otherwise engaged.
"To talk where we won't be accosted," Troy said with a laugh.
They made their way up to the rooftop garden, and Gabriela had to laugh when she saw the lanterns lit and some pillows and a sleeping bag on the ground. For a brief moment she wondered if Troy was expecting… more, but she quickly brushed it off. After all, as much as she wasn't like other girls – Troy Bolton was not like other guys.
They made themselves comfortable, Gabriella grinning as she noticed the box of caramel popcorn.
"Thanks for tonight," she said as she caught some popcorn in the air. Troy gave her a peculiar look. "What?"
"It's just that you thanked me for tonight. I should be thanking you, Gabi."
"Huh? Why?" She was genuinely confused.
"I just…before you came into my life, I always felt like the third wheel. Between Taylor and Chad's relationship, Kelsi and Ryan's non-relationship, and Zeke and Sharpay's constant love-fest, it was just…it got old, that's all. I'm just not sure you realize how much fun you brought into my life." Troy blushed and ducked his head quickly, obviously uncomfortable with being so open. Gabriella tentatively reached up and cupped his cheek in her hand.
"You have no idea what you brought to my life, Troy Bolton. I'm always going to be grateful for you."
Gabi rested her forehead against Troy's for a moment, listening to their rhythmic breathing before make a decision she wasn't sure she'd ever make.
She took a deep breath and leaned back, focusing on the blanket beneath her.
"Things with my mom have always been the same since my dad died," she began in a quiet voice. Although Troy knew her father wasn't with them, he had never assumed he had passed away, but rather left. "It sucks. A lot. But with you…I feel like everything's more bearable."
Gabi looked up at Troy through lowered lashes, and decided that there was no doing this halfway. She was going to just tell him.
"I've never had friends, Troy. Not in a long, long time. My mom told me I wasn't allowed to talk about what happened. She said that no one wanted to hear about it. And for a long time, I thought she was right. Kids are the same everywhere, and I didn't want to be judged. So I kept to myself, not wanting to get involved, not wanting to have to not talk about it. It was so hard, in the beginning. But then it just became the norm for me. It was normal to spend all my time alone, and it was normal for us to move every few months." She took a deep breath and plunged. "My dad killed himself, Troy. And not one person who has known me has known that."
She waited. She waited and hoped that she hadn't scared him off – that she hadn't scared the one good thing in her life away. She was sure that he wasn't going to say anything when-
"Don't cry," Troy said softly, wiping her cheeks with his thumbs. She hadn't even realized she was crying.
"Did I ruin everything?" She asked through the tears, frantic. "Is this too much? Are you-"
He cut her off with his lips on hers.
"You didn't ruin anything," he said after pulling away. "I'm so glad you told me Gabi, really." She just sniffled in response. "When did it happen?" He prodded softly.
"When I was 10…about 7 years ago."
"I'm so sorry," he murmured, pulling her into a tight hug. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, okay? Just know that I will listen and I won't tell a soul."
"I want to," she said in a barely audible voice. "If that's okay? I mean, I understand if you don't want to listen…"
"I want to hear everything that comes out of your mouth."
After a few minutes of sitting together in silence, her back to his front, Gabi felt comfortable enough to continue.
"He was a really great guy," she started, her voice soft. "I don't remember as much as I wish I did, but from what I do remember…he was amazing. He really loved my mom and me. My mom…she told me he was sick. That he was depressed, and he couldn't really control it. I don't blame him. I'm sad that he's not with me, but I don't blame him.
"He lost his job, one day. I think that was the straw that broke the camel's back. I came home, and he was there…only not. His car was in the drive, and his pink slip was on the table, and he…he was in the garage. I-I found him," she choked out. She had never told anyone this story before, besides Lucille, and even then, it was more of the Cliff Notes version than the entire story.
"I'm so sorry," Troy repeated, over and over into her hair as more tears streamed down Gabi's face. He didn't have words to convey his true feelings – that he was irrevocably sorry for everything she had endured, and yet also, amazed and proud by the girl she was today, and he suddenly felt as if he understood her twenty times better than he ever had. A small part of him felt guilt, as well – after all, he had been pushing her in the beginning, when she moved here – God, had it only been four months ago? – and maybe it just wasn't what she needed then. But there was nothing he could do about the past, but he was definitely going to have a lot to do with the future.
And so they spent the night, in that position, sharing hushed words and tears and small laughs. Gabriella confessed (although that didn't seem like the right word, it sounded as if she had done something wrong) everything that she had ever wanted to tell Troy. She told him about the gruesome way her father died, the pain that accompanied it, the fractured relationship with her mother because of it, and even the pills that were now a part of her daily routine.
Troy shared some of his secrets, too. He told her about the pain of losing a little sister that he never got to know, and the fact that he always tried to hide the pain, not wanting to put more on his parents. He told her of the expectations he was forced to live with, the pressure that came with it, even his brief foray into thinking smoking pot was a good idea.
As the sun rose in the sky, Gabi couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of contentment wash over her. She felt free, as if a huge weigh off her shoulders was lifted. It was by far the best feeling she had ever experienced in her life.
"We should probably head downstairs," Troy suggested as the sky turned a fiery orange with the sun hanging high in the sky.
Gabriella nodded her assent and began to gather the blanket when a loud thunk! Rang out and the sound of feet on the stairs up to the rooftop garden happened.
A panting Chad appeared on the stairs, hair bouncing and chest heaving.
"Get downstairs, quick!"