A/N: I just want to start by saying that you guys rock. I honestly didn't think that anyone would want to read this story, and your reviews and encouragement for it have been amazing. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I truly hope you guys enjoy this chapter, it will be the last one. Thanks again!

"When we kiss, if I pull away, she'll still be leaning toward me with her lips puckered and her eyes closed. It's so adorable that I have to kiss her some more."

Troy loved thunderstorms. Despite that his girlfriend loathed them, Troy simply couldn't get enough. It had a lot to do with the fact that he had always lived in portions of the country where it didn't necessarily rain often. His summers were filled with hot days and his winters were filled with cool nights, but neither ever resulted in my precipitation. So when it did, it was a huge treat for him. That and because it knocked him out. Troy could be put to sleep by a rainstorm and wake up the next morning feeling brand new. Even after months of touring, months of waking up in a different bed every morning, and months of going to sleep every night with a set plan knowing that he would be met with a completely different one by the time he woke, he would jump out of bed and be so utterly rejuvenated that his (at times annoyingly) optimistic girlfriend would ask him what was wrong. It was wonderful. And he cherished these few precious thunderstorms he got to experience by passing out and only waking when he absolutely had to. Except for right now. Right now, instead of sleeping as thunder and lightening crashed all around him, he was lying awake. Because as much as he cherished the storms…

He cherished her more.

Darkness blanketed the pair and Troy was reveling in its secrecy. Gabriella had long since fallen asleep, and once her eyes had drooped shut, Troy had taken to watching her. Gabriella hated when he did that, but Troy simply couldn't help it. The random sighs she released, the talking, how angelic she looked blanketed in the moonlight, he just couldn't resist any of it no matter how hard he tried.

Reaching up, Troy brushed a strand of her dark hair away from her face, Gabriella neither flinching nor waking at the movement. He wanted to wake her. He wanted to spend as much time as humanly possible with her before he had to leave the next day, knowing that despite anything he might've told her, the next time they would see each other for an extended period of time would be her spring break. In March, two months away. However, not only did she look extremely peaceful in her sleep, but Troy was also dreading what would inevitably come when he woke her, their talk.

He didn't want to talk about it. He didn't even want to think about it. He was already having a difficult enough time handling the fact that his job kept him away from her for 75% of the year, and now her job was doing something similar by moving her to New York. He didn't want her to do it. A very large and very vocal part of him that kept her engagement ring hidden in his toiletry bag didn't want her to go. They'd been planning this ever since Troy's career took off and Gabriella entered law school. Once she graduated, she'd move into his apartment in LA, they'd get engaged, buy a house, and spend the rest of their lives together. His realtor was already looking around for a house and he'd cleared out half of his closet and drawers. He had a reserved parking spot for her car at the apartment complex, and he'd even taken the liberty of scouting out a few lawfirms in LA. He'd banked on this plan. Through all the ups and downs of their relationship, he had clung to the light at the end of the tunnel, and now…that light was in New York.

Troy didn't deserve her. He'd know for a long time he didn't deserve her, but for some godforsaken reason, Gabriella wanted him. Maybe she was crazy, confused, or whatever, but for some reason, she wanted him, and as long as she wanted him, he'd stay. However, this time things were different. Say he let her go. Say she moved to New York and worked at this prestigious lawfirm, getting the experience she needed. There was this part of him, a part that grew larger every day, that feared that she would realize what he truly was, or more importantly, who she truly was. That she'd begin to see herself for the amazingly brilliant and beautiful woman she was, and even worse, she'd find someone who matched her in those categories. But could he really be that selfish? Could he really have her sacrifice her own future just for his own fears?

"Mmm…" Troy was drawn out of his thoughts at Gabriella's voice. Her eyebrows were furrowed together, and she looked to be having an unpleasant dream. "No…"

Troy scooted towards her, slipping his arms around her waist, "Baby?" Gabriella didn't wake but he did hear her release a sigh, "Gabi?"

"Hmm?"

It was an automatic response from her, but Troy was pretty sure she had actually heard him, whether she registered it or not. Lifting one of his hands, he placed it under her chin to point her head up towards his, "You're having a dream." He whispered against her lips, receiving a grunt in response. A small chuckle escaped his lips, and despite his worries about waking her, Troy couldn't resist pressing a kiss to her lips. It wasn't anything much, just four lips pressing up against one another, but he did feel the pressure of a slight response. He lingered for a moment before pulling back, memorizing the way her lips molded against his, wanting to savor the feeling for many months to come. Troy reopened his eyes and immediately felt a smile stretch onto his features at the look on Gabriella's face. It was as though he was still kissing her with her eyes shut and her lips puckered. It was adorable, and before he knew what he was doing, he felt himself kissing her again.

"Mmm…" Gabriella moaned against his lips, Troy feeling one of her arms curling around his neck, "I like this alarm clock."

Troy smiled against her lips, "You're too beautiful for your own good."

"Liar." Gabriella accused.

"Nuh uh."

"Yeah huh." Gabriella retorted, "Is it still raining?"

"Yep."

"What are you doing awake?"

"Thinking."

"Uh oh."

"Watch it, Montez." Troy shot back, receiving a giggle from Gabriella in response. Her eyes were cracked open slightly, but she was keeping them closed for the most part, "I've made a decision."

"A decision on what?" Gabriella asked rhetorically, "Did you name your album? My iTunes would be very appreciative."

"I want you to take the job." The words surprised Troy almost as much as they surprised Gabriella once they spilled from his lips. Gabriella's eyes shot open, and even in the darkness, Troy could tell that had not been what she had expected him to say.

"What?"

"I want you to take the job." Troy repeated, except this time he knew what he was going to say. He wanted her to take the job. Well, maybe that wasn't true, but he wanted her happy, and doing what she loved made her happy. His fears, no matter how justified or unjustified they were, would never trump that. "I'm gonna make sure I have a couple of weeks off after you graduate so that I can help you move to New York."

Gabriella shook her head, "No, Troy…"

"You wanna work for this guy, right?" Troy cut her off, "This Denny guy, he's the best, right?"

"He's good," Gabriella confirmed, "but he's not the best. There are a ton of lawyers in LA…"

"But none that have offered you jobs." Troy pointed out, "Krista's right, this is the opportunity of a lifetime."

Gabriella was getting upset, if the look on her face didn't give her away, the edge in her voice did, "Krista is an infatuated fan who would do anything to get you to notice her." she retorted, pushing up from her spot and into a sitting position, "Where is this coming from? What has changed between us?"

Troy shook his head as he sat up with her, "Nothing's changed between us, this is just a huge opport…"

"I don't care." Gabriella interjected, "I care about you, I care about us."

"I care about you too." Troy told her, "I love you, which is why I can't just let you give up your career for me."

"No one's giving up their career." Gabriella corrected, "I'll get a job in LA."

"And what if you don't?" Troy asked suddenly, "What if you move to LA thinking you'll get a job and you don't?" Gabriella opened her mouth to speak but Troy cut her off, "You won't let me buy you a necklace without jumping down my throat. What happens when I pay off your student loans?"

"That won't happen." Gabriella insisted.

"But what if it does?" Troy pushed, "I don't want you to regret anything in your life, Gabriella, and I feel that if you pass up this opportunity, you will."

"So that's it?" Gabriella asked, tears brimming the edge of her eyes, "You're just breaking up with me?"

"No!" Troy said immediately, "Baby, no! I just feel that you need to go to New York. It'll be no different than now, you'll just be in New York."

"I don't want to be in New York!" Gabriella said exasperatedly, "I want to be with you! Why can't you understand that?"

Troy shook his head, "Baby, you'll regret it if you don't go."

Gabriella blinked, feeling a few tears escaping down the length of her cheek, "I have never regretted a minute of my life spent with you. No matter what we've been through, good or bad, I have never regretted it because all of it led me to where I am now."

Troy nodded, "Yes, but in the future…"

"I still won't regret it." Gabriella finished for him, "Troy, I don't let you buy me things because I don't want people to think that I'm with you for money or fame, but I'd let you buy me everything if it meant the difference between being with you and not being with you."

"We'll still be together," Troy told her, "no distance would make me let you go, but this…"

Troy stopped suddenly when Gabriella brought her hands up to his shoulders and shoved with all of her might. Troy merely swayed, but her push was enough to throw him mentally off balance, "No!" her finger was suddenly in his face, "Okay? Got it? No! Nothing you say is going to make me change my mind. In fact, I've already turned down the job."

"No you haven't."

"Yes I have." Gabriella retorted, "And Mr. Dupree completely understood."

"No he didn't, because you haven't told him."

"Okay, I haven't." Gabriella relented, "But I will first thing tomorrow and there's nothing you can do to change it." Gabriella plopped back down onto the mattress, her back facing Troy, obviously upset with him, "I will graduate," she continued, "I will move to LA, I will move into your apartment, and I will have a job. Deal with it."

Troy studied her for a moment, taking in her words, "You're sure this is what you want?"

"Am I sure?" Gabriella asked exasperatedly, turning to send him a look, "Troy, I've been sure you were the one for me since I was seventeen. I'd rather work for the band then spend any amount of time away from you ever again."

Troy lifted his eyebrows, "You'd work for the band?"

"Troy!" Gabriella groaned, "Would you please try and act like your twenty four years old?"

"This is what you want?" Troy asked, "Truly what you want? There isn't even a part of you that wants to go work for this guy?"

"Of course there is," Gabriella told him, "Troy, I'm a lawyer, I love a challenge." Gabriella sighed before giving him a small smile, "But living with you is a far greater challenge."

Troy rolled his eyes, sending her a look, "Gabi…"

Gabriella shifted, pushing back up, wrapping her arms around Troy's neck, "Love is about being both selfless and selfish." She shook her head slightly, "You're really good at being selfless, but I really wish you'd selfish for once." Gabriella looked down, her voice thick with tears, "These past six years have been so hard…"

"Hey…" Troy started attempting to lift Gabriella chin, "Baby, please don't cry."

Gabriella pressed herself up against his chest, and Troy wrapped his arms around her, "I just want to be together," Gabriella mumbled out, "is that too much to ask?"

Troy buried his head into her hair, inhaling her scent, "No."

Gabriella sniffed, lifting her head to look at Troy, "No?"

Troy smiled slightly, "I already cleared out two drawers for you."

Gabriella smiled, releasing a small chuckle, "You have six drawers."

Troy shrugged, "So sue me, I have a lot of $400 pairs of jeans." He lifted his hand, wiping away the few tears that had managed to escape her eyes, "I love you, I'll always love you."

Gabriella nodded, "I love you too."

Gabriella's eyes fell shut when she felt Troy's lips fuse with her own, his kisses much more urgent than the previous ones. Gabriella's arms locked around his neck, and Troy easily tightened his grip around her own waist. "You have an early class tomorrow." Troy mumbled against her lips.

Troy's hands had already begun to push up the bottom of her tank top, "I'll skip." She whispered back.

Gabriella felt her back hit the mattress, "I'm a bad influence on you."

"The worst." Troy didn't at all resist as Gabriella pulled his head down to hers, his mouth hot and heavy on hers. His forehead rested against hers when they finally broke apart, both panting as the oxygen seemed to become thinner and thinner. Cracking open his eyes, Troy found Gabriella's still closed, her full lips still puckered, just like when she had woken up. And just like when she had woken up, Troy couldn't resist leaning down and kissing her again.