A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks to everyone that reviewed! I really appreciate it! Read, Review, and Enjoy!
Disclaimer: We all know that I don't own any of the characters, except my OC's. I do, however, own the plot of this fanfic!
Second Disclaimer: There is one line in here (it is bolded) that I am borrowing from Stephenie Meyer's Twilight. This line can be found on page 391. So, unfortunately, I do not own these brilliant words.
Chapter
Eleven
Troy POV:
When I got home from school that afternoon, I dumped my backpack on my bed and went out to the backyard.
The trees hung low in the late fall air, but the bright sky didn't show any signs of the changing season. The only thing that hinted at the coming of winter was the colder air that surrounded Albuquerque.
One of my basketballs was sitting restlessly on the black pavement near the chain-link fence that separated our property from our neighbor's. I walked over to it, and picked it up. The basketball felt smooth as I rolled it over my hands. I watched myself bounce it from my hand to the ground and back again. I watched the ball bounce between my legs effortlessly, and then I felt myself do a layup and I heard the ball fall to the ground.
But I knew that I wasn't in charge of the motions. I was acting automatically, as if I was following a manual inside my head.
I knew better though. I knew that my brain was far off in the distance, trying to make a decision about tonight.
Should I go over to her house? Won't that make things harder between the two of us? I don't want it to be awkward- maybe I shouldn't go…
My thoughts rambled as I shot at the hoop. The ball bounced off the rim, and I ran to get it.
But if I do go, maybe we can work things out. I don't want to lose her. She was my best friend- my soul mate- or so I thought. I loved her…
I dribbled the ball back to the white free throw line. I squared my shoulders, raised my hands above my head, and balanced the ball in my palm. My knees bent involuntarily as I jumped for the shot. Once again, it missed. The ball hit the backboard and bounced back to me. It was like that bounce gave me a new perspective- a new view on my life.
I love her…
I shook my head at my thoughts. I couldn't believe what I was hearing myself say- something that I didn't think I would ever hear myself say again- not about Gabriella.
Maybe I'm just jealous of her and Derek… I reasoned as I took another shot at the basketball hoop. This time, the ball circled the rim, but then fell to the ground. I can't be in love with her- I love Sharpay.
It's fate, I thought thinking about what Sharpay had told me on our first date. "It's just makes sense," I said, turning around as I heard a car pull into the driveway. I waved to my mom as she got out of the car and called to me.
"Come help me with the groceries!" She called, kicking the driver's door closed with her foot as she carried two bags in her hands.
I dropped the basketball and ran over to the car. When all of the groceries were put away, I leaned against the counter, drinking a glass of water.
"Mom…"
"Yes Troy?" She asked, taking her attention away from the mail that she was sorting.
"I don't think I'm going to be home for dinner…"
"Oh. Okay. Do you and Sharpay have plans?" She asked as she tore open one of the envelopes.
I didn't know how to respond to that. "Um… Not exactly. Gabriella and I have a big test in Latin tomorrow, and she wants to get together and study."
I could tell that my mom was trying to hold back a smile when she turned to look at me. I could just hear her saying "how ironic" or "isn't that cute? The two of you studying together…" But instead, she just nodded and went back to reading whatever she had just opened.
"So, I'll be home late…" I said, heading out the door. When I got out to my car, I started it up and drove on autopilot to Gabi's house.
When I pulled up to the curb in front of her house, I cut the engine and sat there for a couple minutes. I can't believe I'm actually here… I can't believe how good it feels to be here… When I finally felt rational enough, I walked up the front walk and rang the doorbell.
She opened the door in one swift motion, and motioned for me to come inside. She was on the phone, with whom, I could only guess. Derek, Taylor, her mom…
I stepped inside and looked around the large living room. The burgundy sofa had been moved to the opposite wall, and a white coffee table, that wasn't there before, was in front of it. The bay window now had a soft, white cushion and a few throw pillows that matched the sofa on the sill in front of it.
I couldn't believe all the changes that one room had made in the few months that I had been gone. It felt like I had stepped into a whole new house- a whole new life.
"So? Do you want something to eat or drink?" Gabriella asked coming back into the living room.
I shook my head. "I can't believe it… It looks so different."
Gabriella nodded. "Yeah. Mom and I decided that we needed to spice up the house a little bit. Give it a new look." She looked around the room, probably trying to figure out what I was most intrigued with. "Um. Did you want to study in here, or…?"
"Yeah," I agreed, "this works."
"Okay, let me just run upstairs real quick and I can grab my Latin stuff, and we can get to work. Sound good?"
I nodded and watched her climb the stairs, taking them two at a time. Her long hair bounced up and down as she ascended.
Gabriella POV:
When I came back downstairs, Troy was looking at all the pictures on top of the mantel. My favorite picture, which happened to be the one he was looking at, is one of my mom and me at the beach one day. The waves are coming in behind us, crashing on our ankles, and the sun is starting to set beyond the horizon, making the two of us look more like silhouettes than ourselves.
"That was the summer before we moved here," I explained coming up behind Troy. "It was the last summer we went to New York."
He turned to face me, and when he caught my eye, he looked out the window.
"What's up with you lately?" I asked as we sat down on the sofa.
"What do you mean?"
"It's like you can't stand to be near me anymore. You don't talk to me in Latin, you ignore me when I say 'hi' in the halls. It's like I don't exist anymore. Has she really brainwashed you that much?" I asked, looking at him. At his blond hair, his blue eyes, his muscular chest…
"I don't mean to…" Troy started to say. "It's just that… that I'm afraid that I'll say something stupid, and then you'll hate me forever."
I looked at him, and smiled. "I couldn't ever hate you," I replied, opening my textbook.
"I don't believe that," he refuted, looking down. "What if I told you that Sharpay and I…"
"Troy!" I interrupted. "I could care less what you and Sharpay do, or don't do. It's none of my business. If you want to have sex, do it. I can't stop you."
He shook his head. "We didn't have sex."
"I don't care Troy. I don't care what you do." I turned away from him, and started going over the events of the Trojan War.
"Gabi…What if I…?"
"What if you what Troy?" I asked.
He leaned toward me and placed a soft kiss on my lips. "What if I did that?"
I turned away from him. What was that? Did my ex seriously just kiss me? What does that mean? Does it mean what I think it means?
"I love you Gabriella. I always have."
"Troy…"
"Gabi, listen to me for a second. I know that I hurt you- probably more than I wanted to. But I realized that I don't want to live without you. You are the air that I breathe, the water that I drink. You are the beat of my heart, my soul, and my presence. I don't want to live without you Gabriella, so please. Don't make me say it again."
I was silent. I didn't know what to say. The guy that I was madly in love with was confessing his love to me- again. What was I supposed to do?
"I love you. I will always love you, no matter what happens now."
I looked at him. Why did I have to be the one stuck in a love triangle? Why me? What did I do to deserve this? "I'm sorry Troy…" I said slowly, looking down to my hands that were folded in my lap. "I'm sorry. You had your chance. Now it's his turn."
Troy nodded, as if he understood. "Okay."
We sat in silence for a couple minutes, both thinking about our own thoughts and feelings.
"You can't keep running back to me every time something goes wrong Troy. You have your own life now- away from me- with Sharpay. I can't be your safe haven, your protection anymore. It's time you started taking responsibility for your actions…"
"I'm not running," Troy protested. "I love you Gabriella. I love you."
I nodded. "Yeah, you keep saying that. But I don't love you."
"You don't mean that."
"I love Derek. I can't just walk away from that. I'm sorry." I looked up to him and found him looking out the bay window again. "I'm sorry," I repeated.
He shrugged. "It's how you feel. There's nothing I can do to change that. So, I guess I will be going. Say hi to your mom for me."
"I will. And Troy. Don't do anything stupid. Think this through before you do anything irrational. Okay?"
He agreed, and walked out the front door.
"So much for studying…" I said as I watched him pull away from the curb and drive down the road until he was out of sight, out of mind, and out of heart.
(A/N: Well, I finally got this chapter up. Tell me what you thought about it, as well as any other ideas that you want to see in this fanfic. I will try to get chapter 12 up around Feb. 23, so you shouldn't have to wait as long… And, more good news: since our state meet (for gymnastics) is Saturday, that means that I will have more time to write- so hopefully I will be updating more! I know that will make many of you happy! Also, check out my website (there's a link on my profile page to it) to see what other things I have written…. Okay, before I keep babbling, I am going to put this up, and I hope to see more reviews coming in- many of you are reading, but not reviewing, which doesn't tell me if you liked it, hated it, or felt somewhere between the two.)
