Disclaimer: I have no affiliation to anything, anybody, or anyplace in the High School Musical series. This is purely for fictional and entertainment purposes.

Summary: Troy Bolton is the captain of the Los Angeles Lakers. When he suddenly sets his eyes on a cheerleader from a rival team, he is unprepared for the love and rejection he receives throughout his relationship.

For The Love of Rivalry

Chapter Ten

Gabriella woke up the next morning, feeling funny but good. The bed was a lot softer and the pillow seemed to be a bit hard. With her eyes still closed, she felt with her fingers. It was smooth and...hairy? She furrowed her brows and opened her eyes, staring straight at one muscular bicep that was curved and touching her body. She looked more at her surroundings and finally realized where she was.

She was in Troy's arms. Naked. Peaceful. Blissful.

She suddenly remembered everything. Their argument, the flight, the paparazzi, and the love. It had been one crazy night. She had crazy men around her, begging for her attention and asking her every question in the book that could ruin or be entirely creepy in a person's life. But afterward, Troy had made her feel better. He had touched her like never before. They had missed each other, even if it was a short time apart. They had kissed like there was no tomorrow. They never wanted to let go of each other.

Except for right now.

Gabriella quietly moved out of Troy's arms, replacing her body with a pillow. She giggled as Troy snuggled, turning over with the pillow. She put on her underwear and one of Troy's shirts, heading out into the hallway towards the bathroom.

After doing her duties, she looked around the apartment. Troy kept things nice and clean. It surprised her. Most guys didn't. But, his dishes were clean. His counters were sparkly clean. His carpet was clean and so were his linoleum floors. His couch didn't have a hair on it, either.

Neat freak.

She giggled at the thought and walked into the living room, suddenly stopping. There were quite a few pictures on the mantel above the fireplace. There were some of his family, his friends, and one in particular that was curious. The backdrop was of a playground. There was a petite girl wearing a pink sundress and she had a brunette bob. She was very pretty with brown, doe eyes.

Troy was behind her and had his arms over her chest casually, yet closely.

She couldn't help but wonder. Who was this girl? She did look awfully friendly with Troy. Now, she wasn't one to be an overly jealous girlfriend about a photo or a comment. Not all the time, at least. But, she just couldn't stop looking at the picture. She took it from the mantel and just stared, her heart pounding.

"Her name was Lana," said Troy, coming up behind Gabriella.

Gabriella jumped and turned around, blushing and feeling guilty. She quickly put the picture back, putting her tendrils behind her ears. "I'm sorry, Troy. I didn't mean to touch your things or whatever. I mean..."

Troy chuckled and smiled, putting his arm around Gabriella's shoulder. He kissed the top of her head. "It's okay."

Gabriella looked back at the picture. "Lana? She's pretty."

Troy caught her tone and shook his head. "It wasn't like that. Far from it actually." He paused. "She was my sister."

"Was?" asked Gabriella.

He nodded and sighed, looking at the picture. "That picture was taken one week before she died. Gabriella, she had breast cancer."

"She's so young," said Gabriella.

"She got stage four when she was only twenty-six. She had four months. She lasted six months though," said Troy. "But, she didn't look forward to dying. She didn't wait for it. She lived her life."

Gabriella was shocked. This beautiful man had a tragedy behind closed doors. And, he was letting her in. He was giving her the privilege to enter his private life. "Troy, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Lana always wanted me to have a good life." He looked at his girlfriend, smiling. "I have you in my life. How could it get any better?"

Gabriella smiled and hugged him tightly, reveling in his warm skin and his scent. "Thank you, Troy. Thank you for trusting me."

"I always trust you," said Troy.

She paused, looking down. She walked over to the couch and sat down. "I trust you, too. So, I want to let you into my world."

Troy furrowed his brows and sat down next to her, rubbing her knee. "Go ahead."

She sighed. "The day it came out that we were together in Boston, my parents saw the news about it. I didn't get a chance to tell you because you were too frustrated."

"I'm sorry about that again," said Troy.

Gabriella smiled and nodded. "Anyway, they came over and confronted me. Especially my father. He made it a disgrace that I was with you because you are captain of the Lakers. He wanted me to break up with you. But, I said no. I said no to my father."

"You didn't have to do that for me, Gabriella." Troy shook his head. "I'm not worth it."

"You're worth everything, Troy." She sighed. "I told my father to leave and when he did, he said that if I don't leave you that he will no longer consider me as a daughter."

Troy shook his head. "Gabriella, I won't allow that. I won't have you losing your family. Not over me."

Gabriella chuckled dryly, suddenly having tears in her eyes. "Troy, my father was never around. He's a stupid drunk, okay? He has never cared about my career, my life, my friends. He wasn't even at my graduation for high school and college. And my mother is too scared to leave him. She's afraid to be alone." She paused. "I guess like me."

"Like you?" asked Troy, flabbergasted. "You're afraid to be alone?"

Gabriella nodded, fighting back her tears. "I have Sharpay, I know that. But, my heart has never been more alone than the way it was for most of my teenage life. It has never felt more alive than when I am with you. You make me whole, Troy. And I love you."

Troy smiled and nodded, bringing her into his lap. He stroked her hair and kissed it gently, letting her tears flow on his shoulder. "I love you too. I always will. I know it's been a short time, but it feels like years to me. I've never been happier than when I am with you or thinking about you."

Gabriella nodded and smiled, wiping away her tears. "I'm glad you let me in your heart."

"Same here," said Troy. He sighed heavily and grinned. "So, do you want to go into my heart a bit more?"

"I look stupid." Gabriella frowned at herself in the mirror nearly an hour and a half later after deciding to put on a light blue, casual dress that fell to her knees. She had her hair down straight today, cascading down her back.

Troy revealed himself in the mirror wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a high school t-shirt from way back when. He smiled at Gabriella's reflection, rubbing his hands up and down her arms. "You look beautiful."

"Troy, meeting your family? I just got to Los Angeles," said Gabriella, shaking her head.

"They are dying to meet you," smiled Troy. "Ever since that news report, they have been bugging me about you."

"What if they don't like me?" she murmured.

Troy turned her around and smiled, cupping her cheeks. "They will love you. I do. Right?"

Gabriella pursed her lips teasingly. "Well..."

They laughed and kissed each other, their hands roaming to the places they have come to know and love. Troy slipped her dress straps down until she stepped out of it, allowing her to take off his shirt and shorts. They fell on the bed together, completely enraptured in each other and their world.

At least for the next hour.

She had to admit. Troy's family was normal. Instead of a huge mansion, they had a simple two story house that looked completely suburban and human. Minus the photographers that were hiding in bushes or parked outside. And, it was all because of Troy and Gabriella.

Gabriella could hear the clicks of the cameras as they walked up to the house. "Annoying."

Troy smiled, holding her hand. "I know. You'll get used to it. I have."

He opened the door, letting Gabriella in first. He watched as she removed her jacket and placed it on the coat rack. She was being cautious on the carpet, looking around at the marble counters and the leather furniture. She awed at the gorgeous wood finishing, the portraits that were hand painted, and the sweet smell of flowers.

It was all beautiful.

Gabriella suddenly heard a squeal and jumped, watching as a short woman came rushing through the room and hugging Troy like she hadn't seen him in a long time. She smiled shyly, believing this was Troy's mother. She had red hair and she had to be at least a foot shorter than Troy.

"Finally! What took you so long?" she asked, smiling brightly.

Troy chuckled. "Hey, mom." He looked at Gabriella and smiled. "This is her."

She turned around and smiled at Gabriella. "This is the girl. Gabriella."

"Yeah. Gabriella, this is my mom Lucille."

Lucille walked over to Gabriella and hugged her tightly, whispering in her ear. "Thank you for making my son happy."

Gabriella smiled. "It's nice to meet you."

Lucille grabbed Gabriella's hand, walking with her towards the backyard. "So, how does it feel with those photographers outside?"

Troy followed behind them slowly, smirking as he listened. Already his girlfriend and his mother were bonding. It must be a girl thing, he thought. He looked around, noticing that nothing had changed much since the last time he had been here.

They reached the backyard and Troy noticed the grill was open and there were a few tables set up nicely on the patio. "Ma, what's all this?"

"We're having a BBQ since you finally decide to visit the house with your girlfriend," said Lucille.

"Who all is coming?" asked Troy, looking in the cooler and getting out a beer.

"I invited some of the guys from the team...and your father," said Lucille.

Troy sighed and took a sip of his beer. "Whatever."

Gabriella furrowed her brows. "Uh...what's that all about?"

Before anybody could say anything, a pair of footsteps came out into the backyard. He had a coiffed hairstyle with a smirk on his face. He looked pretty young for his age, too. Gabriella furrowed her brows.

Jack noticed her and began to walk over to her with his hand held outward. "You must be the famous Gabriella."

Gabriella held out her hand to shake it, smiling. Instead, Troy came up to her and stood between the two people. He was still holding his beer. "Yeah, she's my girlfriend. Gabriella, this is my ass of a father."

Gabriella was confused, considering Troy had told her that he should be thanking his father for getting him where he was today. "Uh..."

Jack was still smirking. "Well, well. I see you have a beer there, son. Don't you think that's a bad idea?"

Troy looked down at the beer and sighed. "Are you really going to be like this in front of company?"

"Are you really planning on becoming a booze in front of your girlfriend?" fired Jack. His smirk grew.

Troy rolled his eyes and walked away, storming off to the kitchen. He stopped at the kitchen and looked at his beer bottle. He shook his head and hesitated before pouring it out down the drain. It slowly went down until there was one last drop in the bottle. He looked at that last drop.

"Troy?"

He turned around, seeing Gabriella looking at him with concern. "Hey."

Gabriella walked over to him with her arms crossed over her chest. "Troy, did you lie to me?"

Troy furrowed his brows. "What?"

"You told me that you should thank your father for getting you where you are." She shook her head. "You don't have a relationship with your father."

Troy sighed. "It's not like that. I should thank him. He pushed me hard to get here. I just can't stand him."

"Well...why?" asked Gabriella.

"He isn't a good person, babe. He can be manipulative and...you saw him back there. The way he treated me," said Troy.

"Speaking of," started Gabriella. "What was he talking about with the beer and stuff?"

Troy wasn't that vulnerable to talk about certain things with people. But, he couldn't lie to Gabriella. He was better than that. She deserved better than that. "Gabriella, there is more you don't know. When I turned twenty-one, my friends took me to the bar and I got drunk for the first time. But, I took it farther than most of age people."

"Troy..." murmured Gabriella.

"Gabriella, I'm an alcoholic. Recovering. I had treated alcohol like my own personal heroin for nearly three years until my family and teammates urged me to go into rehab. It wasn't in the news, though. I managed to keep it all a secret," explained Troy.

"Oh, Troy." Gabriella was speechless. But, he was still perfect to her. "Troy, that makes you strong. You overcame so much. You prevailed."

Troy shook his head. His eyes were filling with tears. "Gabriella, don't forgive me. I don't deserve it. I kept it from you. I wasn't ready to tell you."

Gabriella cupped his face and soothed his emotions. "Troy, I'll always forgive you. I love you. That's never going to change, okay?"

"You're my rock," whispered Troy, putting his hands on her waist. "Don't go away. Ever."

Gabriella nodded. "I promise."