Welcome to the last chapter, except the epilogue, of The Other Side Of The Rainbow. I've loved writing this, even if it did take me a while, ok… 3 months, to get it to piece together. But when it finally did come, all you faithful readers have made it worthwhile writing it to the very end. I realise it has been short, but that was my aim, to write a short story. Anyways… enjoy reading.

The Other Side Of The Rainbow.

Part 9 - My Pot of Gold.

Gabriella's wet, quivering hand grasped the large gold plated handle. The bright red colours blinded her mascara smudged eyes, and her usually curly hair had turned straight, with the drips of the pouring rain running through them, dripping onto her already soaked coat. Her nose twitched with the coldness making her shiver. She didn't know why she was here, but it just felt right to do so.

The bright red building in front of her had been her home when she'd moved to Albuquerque. Her mother had been transferred, and although she had loathed her mother at the time for doing it, she couldn't have imagined spending most of her teenage years in another place. This was her home, where she belonged. And now she felt almost complete.

After visiting her mother when she had first arrived, she had cut the visit slightly short, telling her mother she had someone to see. She saw that twinkle in her mother's eye, which had caused her to blush slightly. Her mother had patted her arm, before turning and muttering 'Love lasts forever, I guess'. After that she had left, deciding that if Troy really knew her, when he arrived, he'd know where to go.

And that left her standing here, in the pouring rain, in front of East High, the school she had been at, and loved, until she left for college, leaving all her friends, and Troy, behind. With her hand still clutching the handle, she debated within herself on whether to step inside. It was a tough decision, but one which she needed to take. After another couple of seconds, the door had been open and she had rushed inside, the black streaks only worsening because of the rain.

Once inside she gasped. Nothing had changed, like she supposed it had. The walls were still red and white, the school colours, and all around were memories of the one she loved, still living on through the school as East High's most loved Basketball Captain. She moved through the halls, knowing exactly where she was going. When she reached her destined spot, she stopped and stared, feeling tears of wanting spread to her eyes. Moving forward, her hand traced his, longing for his touch. It was amazing how that picture had stayed there so long. There Troy was, with his other team members behind him, on his mural, on his wall. His smiled was wide, and she began to wonder if his smile had widened, of lessened because of her leaving. If he felt anything like she'd felt these past four years, a smile was a present for the one it was presented to.

She flung her wet body at the wall, her clothes squelching as it hit the hard solid surface. She closed her eyes, hoping that one day she'd be able to touch him, not just look at pictures, longing for his body to connect, in some way, with hers.

Sighing she stepped back, looking back at the wall, and smirking shyly. Where she had been standing, there was now an imprint of her, her wet outline, covering her hands and some of his torso. She giggled, before moving on, landing at her locker, remembering those times he'd stood there waiting for her. Then she moved again, looking for that staircase they'd shared so many times escaping to.

Troy stood dripping wet outside her door, wondering whether to knock or not. So many thoughts travelled around his head. What if she was with someone else? What if the pact didn't remain? What if she was mad at him for not contacting her anymore? He sighed running a hand through his now soaked hair, turning it a dark shade of brown, almost black. He looked dishevelled, like he'd not had sleep for days. But after returning, this had been his first stop, apart from his parents of course. Now filled up with numerous cakes and drinks, courtesy of his mother, he felt ready, well almost, to greet Gabriella again.

He walked up the lane to her house, the bottoms of his jeans dragging through the puddles as he went. This voice got stuck in his throat, but he knocked gently on the door anyway. Breaking the glass on her door by knocking too hard wouldn't be a good start. Suddenly he saw the shadow of someone approaching the door, and his breath quickened, he put on his best smile and waited for the door to open.

It opened, but Ms Montez, Gabriella's mother had answered. Her brow wrinkled.

"Troy?"

He smiled at wet smile, "Ms Montez, how great to see you again. Eh, is Gabriella in?"

"Well, no. She went looking for you."

He lowered his head, cursing under his breath.

"Oh, man. Any idea where she went?"

Ms Montez's eyes twinkled and she smiled, "Troy. If you still love her, you'll know where she went. Looking for you, she always went somewhere. My guess, she's there now. Waiting."

He winked at Ms Montez as it all suddenly clicked into place. Running back to his truck he shouted 'thank you', as he slid into the drivers seat, and the engine roared off.

Gabriella's stood, speechless at the view around her. It hadn't changed. It still made her voice lose ability to speak, and even in the rain, it still looked breath-taking. The Albuquerque hills, surrounded the school, and if she looked closely she could see all the drops of rain roll down the grassy surfaces. She sighed, wondering how many people had found this, and silently wishing more people had, because up here, it was like a dream world.

Because it was right at the top of the school, on the roof, you could see in any direction you wanted. Right now, and for one reason only, she was staring at the front of the school. Even from her place on the bench, where she'd sat many times before waiting for him and with him, she could see the road up to the school and the front gates. She closed her eyes. She lost her senses to the beautiful sound of the rain battering down on the roof of their secret hiding place. She had always loved the rain, it made her feel happy, for some reason.

Suddenly, her eyes blinked open at the sound of a car coming down the road. She ran to the railings to watch as it painstakingly slowly approached the school. She sighed a smile erupting onto her face at seeing his van, pulling up at the gates.

He jumped out the truck, and as soon of his feet hit the ground the rain started to stop, the fresh warm feeling of rain mysteriously leaving surrounding them. From afar, she could see, in front of her eyes a rainbow start to form.

She watching as the colours formed, from one band, splitting into seven, all the colours seeming so vibrant up close. She watched until all the colour hit the ground, right in the centre of the playground.

And there was Troy, standing there, looking up at her.

Even thought she was wet, she still looked gorgeous to Troy.

And even though he was far away from where she was standing, she could still see the outline of a smile.

She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Collecting it, it read 'Troy', on the screen. Smiling, she flipped it open, reading the message.

"Looks like I've found My Pot Of Gold".

Awe-ness!

That's the end. Only the epilogue to go. Thanks to everyone who read, I'm really thankful :) So, look out for the epilogue, and please lets have a tidal wave of reviews, as it's the last chapter, excluding the epilogue. I'm on my hands and knees here, lol. If you've reviewed before, please review again. And if you haven't reviewed before, please review for this, the last chapter of The Other Side Of The Rainbow.

It's been a pleasure to write, and I hope to see you reading the epilogue soon :D