Disclaimer: I own nothing affiliated to High School Musical. All that is written is purely fictitious.
Summary: Troy and Gabriella are labeled as the king and queen of East High, yet they hate each other with a passion. What happens when one incident brings them together?
-11 months later-
Troy slammed Jason into the brick wall, clutching his shirt collar with both of his hands. His knuckles were pure white as he channeled all his anger, energy, and strength on the one man that he wanted to kill at that very moment. He was shooting his icy, blue eyes at his calm pupils and all he was thinking about was Gabriella.
He had been walking to the local diner to have his usual cheeseburger and Coke, like he always did every Wednesday evening. When he had gotten towards the entrance, he had spotted Gabriella's new boyfriend, Jason, talking with a redhead.
He and Gabriella were best friends, but he wasn't exactly crazy about her new boyfriend. He had always heard that he had the worst reputation. He was a cheater and, allegedly, an abuser. But if Gabriella was happy, then so be it.
But, this didn't look right.
Jason seemed to be KISSING this girl and groping her body, though it was apparent she wasn't enjoying it that much. When she was finally able to walk away, Troy rushed over to Jason and glared at him angrily.
"What the hell was that?" asked Troy.
Jason chuckled, wiping his mouth. "Getting some action. What's it to you?"
"You're dating Gabriella and she is my best friend. You're cheating on her," growled Troy. His anger was rising.
"It wouldn't be the first time," said Jason.
Troy furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"
"Gabriella's hot, but she's not worth anything long term." Jason shook his head like what he had done was hilarious.
"Not worth anything? Gabriella's worth the world. How can you even think that about her?" Troy knew he may have been revealing too much, but he didn't care.
Jason smirked and crossed his arms. "Sounds to me like you're jealous of what we have."
"Jealous?" Troy chuckled. "Fat chance on that, pal. You don't treat her right at all. And, I have proof right now."
"She won't believe you. She's in love with me. She's in too deep already. I have complete control."
"You don't love her," said Troy.
"Oh, and you do?"
Troy paused and nodded. "I do. I've loved her for a long time and you don't deserve her."
"Why would you love somebody like her, somebody that is so easy to take advantage of?"
And here he was, holding Jason against the wall of the diner with pure anger. He was tired of Jason pushing Gabriella around and it needed to stop. Before he could get one punch in, he heard a sound.
"Troy?"
Gabriella looked at Troy with shock, anger, and hurt. Had he really just said what he just said? It couldn't be true. Could it?
"Gabby…" Troy looked at her, breathing heavily out of exasperation and diminishing anger. Every time he was angry or out of control, just one look at her would calm him down.
But, Gabriella ran away. She couldn't handle this right now. Not after what she just witnessed from beginning to end.
The last thing Troy saw before he ran after her was the drop of a tear to the ground.
Later that evening, Gabriella was sitting in her bed, contemplating over everything that had just happened earlier. Why did Troy say that? Was it true? Why was he beating up Jason?
She sighed and shook her head, placing her forehead on her knees. She sat up when she heard a noise outside. She gasped when she turned her head and spotted Troy on her balcony.
Why was he here?
She got up and opened the balcony door, not saying a word. She simply stared at Troy, not sure what to say at the moment. She had just heard the biggest confession, one that she didn't have a clue about.
She walked over to her bed and sat down, suddenly not wanting to be near him. She was scared. She didn't know if she liked his confession or not. It would ruin everything. But, it was something that she had dreamed about before, hearing him say those words.
"Gabriella, look at me." He was breathing hard.
"Troy, what are you doing here?" asked Gabriella, standing up from her bed. She wasn't in the mood to talk to him after what she had seen.
Troy quickly walked over to her without a single breath or hesitation and kissed her. He was expecting her to pull back, but to his surprise she did the exact opposite.
She became frisky, even. She tugged at his shirt, making the edges wrinkly. He knew she wanted him.
And he wanted her, too.
It was nuts. Emotions kept changing from confusion, anger, regret, and passion. But at that moment, all those emotions ran out.
She looked up at him and tore off her t-shirt to reveal her black bra that barely held her breasts. She wanted to drive him crazy. She had wanted him for so long; ever since she fell for him. She never had this opportunity because of Jason.
Troy looked at her and rubbed the pad of his thumb under her bra, reaching to her peaked nipple. She bit her lip and tossed her head back, gripping her fingers at his jeans.
They wanted each other so much that they couldn't stand it.
Through the night, they made love. Several rounds existed through their love-making and they were soon worn out, under the covers of her bed. He was holding her as she stroked his chest with her finger.
What had just happened?
Gabriella cheated on Jason with Troy. Her best friend.
But did she really care? Did she regret it?
She had no idea. Her mind was too jumbled with thoughts and emotions. She didn't know what to do. But, she needed answers.
"Troy, why did you say that?"
"Say what?" asked Troy, stroking her hair gently.
"You know what I'm talking about," said Gabriella, looking up at Troy.
Troy sighed and got up, leaving Gabriella in bed as he began putting on his clothes. He wasn't ready to talk about this with her.
But she was. "Troy, stop. You can't run away from this. I know what you said and I want to know why." She got up and began putting on her clothes, never taking her eyes off of him.
Once he had his clothes on, he looked at her. "Gabriella, you know why I said it. It's obvious how I feel about you."
Gabriella stood up and crossed her arms over her chest, looking anywhere but at Troy. "But, why did you tell Jason that big secret? Why didn't you tell me?"
"You have a boyfriend, Gabriella. And, not a very good one."
She looked at him, furrowing her eyebrows. "Excuse me?"
"Come on, Gabriella. You should know how he acts. You deserve better."
"What makes you think you can say that about Jason? He loves me and I love him," said Gabriella, walking over to him.
"Bullshit. You know what I saw when I was walking over there? I saw him making out with a redhead and groping her."
Gabriella was speechless that Troy was beginning to think that she would either cry on his shoulder or start denying. Unfortunately, she did the one thing he didn't want her to do.
"Get out," growled Gabriella.
Troy went wide-eyed. "Gabby…"
"Don't call me that!" Gabriella pushed him backwards, angry at him as she started breathing heavily. She ran her hands through her hair roughly.
"Gabriella, come on! You should believe me! I'm your best friend." He watched as she headed towards the balcony doors. "Gabby!"
"Troy, just leave me alone." said an exasperated Gabriella.
Troy tried to catch up with her, grabbing her elbow. "Gabriella, listen to me!"
"No!" Gabriella turned around with tears in her eyes, though they weren't heavy. "Troy…I don't need you in my life. Just go away."
He looked at her, stunned. Why was this happening? "You don't mean that."
"Yes I do, Troy." She looked at him. "I never want to see you, talk you, or even have you in this house again." She opened the balcony doors. "Leave me alone. Forever."
Troy had no choice but to leave, leaving behind Gabriella and the love he had for her.
Gabriella felt a nudge next to her and turned her head, looking at Troy. He was sitting next to her as part of the honor graduates of East High. There weren't that many in the senior class, but Troy and Gabriella were the lucky few.
"They're calling you up for your valedictorian speech," whispered Troy. He squeezed her graduation gown-clad knee for support, smiling.
She nodded and smiled, getting up from her seat and walking up to the podium in her red and white gown. Her graduation cap fit on her long curls as her tassel swung lightly with her movement.
Troy watched her and smiled, wondering what she had been so deep in thought about. She was lucky she didn't miss going up for her speech.
Everybody was finally graduating today. It only seemed like yesterday that they had started their senior year. It had been one crazy summer, that's for sure.
After the incident with Jason, he was never seen by the gang again. That next day, Troy and Gabriella had met up with everybody to tell them what had been going on for the past couple of weeks and what had happened to cause Troy and Gabriella to break up their friendship. The gang was shocked, but happy that things were better with everybody.
Obviously, the two were still together. They had gotten through senior year with their friends, took their senior pictures, gone to prom, and passed their exams with flying colors. Now here they were, sitting outside on the football field at their graduation.
Troy watched as Gabriella began her speech, smiling at the crowd before her. He hoped she wouldn't get too nervous. She had a slight fear of talking in front of crowds.
"Fellow graduates, faculty, and parents. You've had your time at your graduation; walking up to the podium to share your speech and/or getting your diploma. You had those butterflies in your stomach, both from excitement and fear. You were entering the real world and you were about to be on your own. Well, you've entered the real world as our parents and our teachers. You were there to teach us the life lessons that you had learned. Now, it's our turn to pass down what you gave us. It's time for us to enter the real world."
She giggled a bit, taking a breath. "We would be lying if we said we were scared out of our minds. We don't know what's going to happen in the real world. Are we going to go into the army? Will we get married at a young age? Will we have a family in a few years? Will be the president? These are questions that we have been asking ourselves since we entered the doors of East High four years ago. It's unbelievable that it's finally time to have those answers right now. But, if I had to speak for the class of 2008 right now, I'm sure the answer would still not be in our minds just yet."
"We've had a lot of surprises during our time here. Some that we never thought could happen to us. Some of us may have met new people or fell in love." She looked at Troy and winked at him, causing him to smile at her. She looked back at the crowd. "Of course, most of us are scared to lose friends after high school. But, we might be surprised. That's what our journey has pretty much been about. We've had surprises; some good and some bad. But, they've brought us to this moment right here. Everything happens for a reason so we should take it in stride."
She paused. "The only advice I can give you is to keep taking those surprises as they come. You never know where they might lead you. Thank you."
The class and crowd behind her cheered as she giggled and walked off the steps and back into her seat. She blushed as the cheering continued, smiling as Troy kissed her cheek and held her hand.
Nearly 45 minutes later, the last senior was called. After all the diplomas had been given out and every senior was in their seats, it was time for the closing statement.
Principal Matsui stood at the podium proudly. "By the city of Albuquerque and the state of New Mexico, I proudly recognize you seniors as the graduating class of 2008!"
The seniors cheered out loud, throwing their hats into the air as their parents congratulated them from the stands. They were finally graduates of East High. Friends hugged each other and began weaving through the crowd to find other friends and take pictures.
Troy picked up Gabriella and spun her around, kissing her sweetly on the lips. He laughed and hugged her tightly as others began bumping into them. He looked at her, keeping his smile.
"I'm so proud of you. Your speech was amazing."
Gabriella giggled. "Thanks, baby."
"By the way, what were you so deep in thought about?" asked Troy, picking up their diplomas and hats.
She looked down. "I was thinking about the time when we ended our friendship. I was just amazed at how far we had come since then."
Troy smiled and held her close. "It's always going to be you and me. Well, at least for the summer."
"Actually, it will be you and me." She smiled. "I've decided to go to U of A."
He looked at her, confused. "I thought you were going to Stanford."
"I can get the same pre-law education at U of A. I get a once in a lifetime chance to be with you, though. I can have both."
Troy smiled and kissed her again, chuckling as their friends nearly ran them over.
Chad hugged Gabriella then looked at Troy as Taylor and Sharpay began talking animatedly with Gabriella.
"Hoops tomorrow?" asked Chad.
"Definitely. Maybe we can all go for a bite to eat at the mall or something?"
Sharpay grinned. "I have a better idea. Why don't we all go to my parents' lake house this summer? I have the use of the key."
"Sharpay, are you sure?" asked Taylor.
"We need one last adventure together before we go off to college. We haven't had an adventure since spring break." Sharpay smiled. "What do you say? Meet tomorrow to discuss details?"
"Hell yeah!" yelled Zeke, kissing Sharpay's forehead.
Troy looked at Gabriella and smiled. "Ready for the summer?"
"I'm ready for anything with you," said Gabriella, smiling up at him.
He looked at her, holding her close. "I love you."
"I love you too," said Gabriella, kissing him on the lips as the field began slowly departing.
Things were finally in place for them and they were definitely ready to take the world on, standing next to each other the entire time.
The End