A/N: Here's the next chapter! Thank you for all the feedback; I really appreciate it!
Disclaimer: I don't own and/or am affiliated with any of the characters, the movie, music, etc.
July 10th, 2010 2:00 pm
The date had been set for several days now. The ten friends were going to sit down and have a discussion about what went horribly wrong with their friendships. Gabi and Troy were beyond nervous and were to the point of pure worry.
"Gabriella let's go. We're going to be late."
Troy stood down in the foyer tapping his foot waiting for his wife to make her appearance. They were meeting at the Danforth household due to the cautious that yelling may take place which wouldn't be very appropriate for a public setting.
Hearing her footsteps on the stairs, Troy looked up and smiled brightly at his wife. Wearing one of her summer dresses, Gabriella grinned confidently back at her husband.
"So how do I look?"
"Absolutely stunning. Perfect." He kissed her softly before opening the door.
"You be good Duke!" Gabi called before leaving the house. Troy shook his head before following her out.
"You know he can't understand you, right?"
"Of course but I still tell him." Gabi smirked as her husband shook his head.
The drive around the block took a lot less time than Gabi had hoped. She watched Troy maneuver the SUV around the cars all ready parked in the driveway.
Sighing, Troy looked at his worried wife. "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be; let's get this done and over with."
The two got out of the car before linking hands and walking up the sidewalk together. Troy squeezed her hand before ringing the doorbell.
Step one you say we need to talk
He walks you say sit down it's just a talk
He smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
You begin to wonder why you came
Footsteps were heard before the door was thrown open. Chad had a smile on his face as he welcomed the couple into the house. "Hey guys . . . come on in."
The two were shown the way to the living room before being offered seats. Gabi looked around and saw not only their friends, but their family as well. Tess, Aaron, Drew, Abby, Joe, and both sets of parents were in attendance.
The silence was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. Gabi swallowed hard before squeezing Troy's hand.
"Ok this is obviously awkwardly but we wanted a chance to sit down and talk with both of you and figure out what went so horribly wrong." Lauren started looking at her two good friends.
"Can we say something first?" Troy spoke up before looking at Gabi. "Gabi and I never meant to hurt any of you. When I flew over to Paris, I never intended to get married there. I was just going over there to see my fiancée but when I surprised her in the lobby of the hotel, I just got excited and the first thing I thought of was to make her dream come true."
Gabi cleared her throat before starting. "The crazy thing was, is that Troy knows me better than I know myself. He knew it was a dream of mine to get married in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Yes we got married in Paris; at the base of the Eiffel Tower just as the sun was setting."
"But why not invites all of your friends and family to attend? If you would have said the word, we would have made an effort to come over to see you two." Jack Bolton asked the question that was on so many of their minds.
Sighing, Troy looked at Gabi before smiling slightly. "You guys would have never made it. We got married on March 3rd, 2009. By the time you guys would have made it, we would have all ready been married and I would have been on my way back to the States. Trust us, we wanted you guys there but simply put, there was no way it could have happened."
"Why keep it a secret from us?" Taylor asked the harsh question as Troy gripped Gabi's hand.
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
"Simply put, we knew the lecture that would follow that announcement. When we got married, we were 20 years old. Adults; no parent consent was needed to get married in Paris. I have loved Gabi since the first time I saw her and knew instantly that I wanted to spend my life with her. If we would have waited, we would be still waiting to spend our lives together. We were going to tell you but after the accident, we just slipped away from you guys." Sighing, Troy shook his head. "We were actually going to tell you the July after Gabi got back from Paris but things got push out of the way and we kinda forgot to tell you."
"Ok the marriage was a quick done deal in Paris . . . is that what you're saying?" Jason asked as Gabi and Troy looked at one another.
"No! We were in love and didn't want to wait two years to start living our lives together. We wanted to start our marriage right then and there . . . and for once in our lives, we did something without consulting anyone."
Silence followed by silent tears running down Gabi's eyes. Shaking her head, she gripped Troy's hand.
"I know how man, upset, disappointed you guys are at us. But have you stopped and realized the pain Troy and I have been through in the last two months. We lost our son; yes we were pregnant. And yes we didn't tell you but I had barely told Troy I was pregnant when the accident occurred."
Hastily wiping her tears away, Gabi hung her head before continuing. "We so wanted to tell you guys but we wanted to keep it to ourselves and celebrate it just the two of us. I told Troy in April and less than three weeks later, our little peanut was taken from us. Our son, Ethan Daniel Bolton, was gone before we could even enjoy one day with him."
"Can't you see? The time we needed our friends and family the most, we had no one to turn to. And what more can we do? We've apologized for our wrong doings. Now is it time for us to beg and plead with you to let us be friends again?" Troy spoke the heartfelt words before looking at his friends and family around him.
Let him know that you know best
Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past his defense
Without granting innocence
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you've told him all along
And pray to God he hears you
And pray to God he hears you
Tess smiled and looked at her husband before leaving the room silently. Returning a few minutes later, she had in her arms a bundle wrapped in a blue blanket.
"Troy, Gabi, this is your nephew, Nolan Troy Johnson. Nolan, this is your uncle Troy and aunt Gabi." Tess whispered to the sleeping newborn as she passed her son to Gabi's awaiting arms.
"He's precious Tess. Congratulations." Gabi grinned as Troy hugged his sister.
"Why did you use my name?" Troy asked his sister as she grinned.
Tess looked at her son before looking at her younger brother. "Because you've always been there for me. And our son is going to know what a great uncle he has in his uncle Troy. Besides Andrew didn't quite go with Nolan as nicely."
Holding her nephew, Gabi missed the feeling of holding a baby and tears fell down her face. She would have been six months along by that time and Ethan would have been growing stronger everyday. But now she would have to make memories with her nephew.
"What's wrong now?" Troy asked coming up behind her.
"I'm just being sentimental." Shaking her head she continued to stare at the little boy sleeping soundly in her arms.
Hesitating, their friends watched the interaction between the two before speaking up. "Troy, Gabi we're sorry for turning our backs on you. Please forgive us for leaving you alone in a time we should have been there."
Locking eyes, the two smiled before nodding their heads slowly. "We know we have a lot of time to make up for but that's going to be done slowly."
And with that hugs were exchanged all around. Gabi hugged everyone while managing to keep the baby sleeping. Taylor stopped short of where Gabi was talking to Abby and Tess. Clearing her throat, Taylor caught Gabi's attention.
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
"Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Handing Nolan back to his mom, Gabi watched them interact before turning her attention to Taylor. "What's up?"
Hanging her head, Taylor looked at the ground before looking up into her friend's eyes. "I just wanted to say how sorry I am for how brutal I've been to you and Troy. You two had enough going on and I just added to it. I'm sorry."
Gabi smiled before nodding. "You're well forgiven Taylor. Best friends?"
"Best friends." And the two hugged each other before laughing.
The night ended with the friends and family alike catching up on the past few weeks knowing from here on out, it could only be smooth sailing and getting the friendships they once had back.
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
How to save a life
The song is "How to Save a Life" by The Fray. Feedback would be wonderful. Ideas and suggestions would be lovely. Thank you to all my readers and reviewers for all the feedback! It is much appreciated!