A/N: Thanks for the awesome reviews from Bluebell140, wildcats2016, hsm, NinjaTurtleX, londongirl123, pumpkinking5, iWizdom7 and the guest reviewers. I really appreciate all your feedback :D

Here is my longest chapter. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own HSM or any of its characters


Persistence was something that had often paid off for Troy. However, he was beginning to lose faith in it. He had been calling Gabriella all week, but she hadn't picked up her phone.

"You're turning into a stalker," Kelsi pointed out as the two walked back to their apartment building after their shifts on Friday night.

"I am not..." Troy protested before sighing, "Yeah I guess I am. So what? I should give her space? What if I never see her again?"

"Look, Troy, Manchester isn't huge and you're here for what, another six months? Chances are you'll see her again. Especially since you have a season ticket next to her."

"What if she doesn't go again? She didn't make it last week."

"That could have been for any reason. It may have nothing to do with you. You're being irrational!" Kelsi rolled her eyes.

"Look I know that. It's not even about going out with her anymore. I just want to say sorry for making a move on her. I just want to be her friend. I think she could use more friends to talk to. Most of all, I don't want her to feel awkward or uncomfortable in the place she's been going with her dad since she was little. It wouldn't be fair."

Kelsi gave him a sympathetic smile. "I know you just want to make things right, but these things tend to play themselves out. I think you should forget about it for now. I'm sure you'll get your chance to make amends."

Troy shrugged but didn't argue the point further. Kelsi probably didn't understand just how bad he felt about the situation. He of all people knew the feelings of tension and being unwelcome in places he used to frequent. After the break up with Melissa he could barely bring himself to go to their favourite restaurants, or their park or even the library because of the chance of running into her. Even when he made the effort to catch up with his friends he could feel just how unwanted he was purely because of the inevitable drama. The last thing he wanted was to create a similar situation for poor Gabriella.

"Anyway, do you need any help for tomorrow? I could pick up some snacks or something," Kelsi changed the subject.

Troy grinned, "Kelsi I said I'll take care of it! You don't trust me?"

"Hey, I was just trying to help. I thought you may have been preoccupied, you know?" Kelsi put her hands up in mock surrender.

"I agreed to host the next away match, and I don't break my promises. I've already got most of the snacks, and I'll get a bit more before tomorrow afternoon. I saw how much Chad eats, so I'll definitely be prepared."

Kelsi giggled poking him in the arm. "If I remember correctly, you and Jason were shovelling in the food by the end too."

"Two words- growing boys." Troy winked at her before coming to a stop outside his apartment door. "See you tomorrow, Kels."

She waved at him before letting herself into her apartment.

Troy let out a breath and entered his own place. Another exhausting week had come to an end. One more week and he would be off the obstetrics and gynaecology service. It was good experience, but really draining. Starving, Troy grabbed a box of leftover pasta from his fridge and chucked it into the microwave. He pulled out a can of Coke from the stockpile he had prepared for the next day's match, and took a long swig from it. Bringing the heated pasta, and the cool drink to his coffee table, he opened his laptop and waited for it to load. He massaged the back of his neck, and got ready to plaster on a smile.

Minutes after the computer loaded, a blinking light alerted him to the fact that his parents were online on Skype. He dialled them up, and began eating his pasta.

"Hi Troy!" his mother's cheery face came up on screen. "How are you sweetie?"

"Hey Mom," Troy gave her a genuine smile. No matter how tired he was, or upset, just seeing his mother would make him relax. "Where's Dad?"

"He's out watching the Wildcats of course." Troy's mother rolled her eyes. "That man doesn't understand the concept of retirement."

"Hey at least he's out of your hair," Troy laughed.

"That is very true. Oh Troy, are you just eating dinner? It must be late over there. Are you taking care of yourself?" Instantly she was in overprotective mother mode.

"Yes Mom, I'm looking after myself. See? At least I'm eating." He lifted the box in front of the webcam. "Pasta. I made it myself."

His mother nodded approvingly. "Good boy. So... have you met anyone yet?"

"Mom..." Troy averted his eyes.

"Honey, I know it's hard, but you've got to get back out there."

Troy cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck.

"You're a wonderful young man. Any girl would be lucky to have you," his mother continued to push.

Troy exhaled noisily. He may as well tell her the truth.

"Yeah Mom, I did meet someone." He held up a hand halting the excitement he saw build up in her eyes. "Hang on, Mom. Yeah I met a girl, but she doesn't like me back like that. She's been through a lot. Her father passed away this year."

"Oh dear. That's awful!" His mother shook her head with a pitying look. "I hope you're..."

Before his mother could finish her sentence the doorbell rang.

"I'm sorry Troy, I'll just go get that."

From the angle of the computer, Troy could just make out the front door. He watched as his mother opened the door, and he could swear that he saw her tense up. He felt an inkling of worry, and began to run through his options in case of trouble. He edged his phone out of his pocket, not quite sure who he was going to call.

His mother's shoulders slumped as she stepped back, allowing the visitor into their home. This allowed Troy to relax until he saw exactly who it was.

A blonde woman carrying a bassinet walked into view. His mother tried to usher her past the living room, where the computer was set up, but it was too late.

"What the..." breathed Troy.

The sound caught the blonde's attention, and for a second she froze. Then, as if in slow motion, her head turned towards the computer. Her green eyes widened, as they pierced his icy blue. Suddenly the thousands of miles between them disappeared, and Troy felt like he actually was just a few feet from her. His breath caught, as did hers.

"Troy?" she asked uncertainly.

"Troy! Honey I can explain," his mother called to him from the background.

Finally recovering from his shock, he did the only thing his mind would allow. He slammed down the laptop screen, and pushed it as far away from him as possible. To him it was worse than poison. He looked down at his hands that were still trembling. He wasn't proud of his reaction, but he just wasn't ready to be the bigger person. There was no room for Melissa in his life, let alone in his living room. His only regret was how he left things with his mother. He knew she was probably upset, maybe as much as he was, because he had allowed her to see the hurt in his eyes.

A vibration on his lap startled him. He scanned the caller ID and sighed. He wasn't surprised at all. After all this had been the routine for over twenty five years. Deciding he may as well get this over with, he begrudgingly picked up the phone.

"Hey Dad. Did Mom call?"


A loud knock at the door, accompanied by some yelling, roused Troy the next day. He rubbed his eyes groggily, and checked the clock on his side table. It read 3:30. Troy groaned, and turned over, ready to go back to sleep, cursing whoever was making that racket in the middle of the night. The yelling didn't subside though, and the knocking continued. As the sleep began to fade, Troy started making out the words that were being shouted.

"Bolton, open up! It's us!"

It was then that Troy looked out the window. There was no sun out, but the sky did look too light for it to be 3 am.

"Shit," he cursed aloud. He must have slept all morning. Groaning, he rolled out of bed, and pulled some sweatpants over his boxers.

"I'm coming," he yelled. He grabbed a red T-shirt from the pile of clothes at the foot of his bed, and hastily pulled it over his head. He popped a piece of gum from the packet on his side table, and raked his fingers through his hair.

By the time he reached the front door he hoped he looked at least semi-presentable. He opened the door, revealing Chad, Jason, Kelsi and Taylor.

"You look like crap," Chad said bluntly. Taylor elbowed him, but she and Kelsi were struggling to control their giggles. Troy, still trying to wake up, stepped back allowing them all in. As he shut the door, he took notice of his reflection in the small mirror beside the door. His hair was sticking up in all angles, and he really did look terrible.

"Sorry guys," he slumped against the door. "I had a rough night. Couldn't sleep for ages."

"Do you want us to go?" Kelsi asked in concern.

"No! No, it's fine." Troy gestured to the couches, "Please, sit down. I'll grab the food and drinks."

"Can we help?" Taylor asked, moving towards the kitchen.

"No really, Taylor. Sit down and relax. You're always hosting these things. Let me do the honours."

Troy walked into the kitchen and began pulling out the food. He chucked some sausage rolls into the oven, and began emptying packets of chips and dip into bowls. He was running on autopilot, his mind still processing the information he had gleaned from his father.

He couldn't believe it. His parents babysitting for Melissa. It was some weird twilight zone. His father had tried to explain. Melissa had to work, and so did that husband of hers, David. Her parents were out of town, and someone had to watch her daughter. Seeing no other option, she had come to the two people she was almost as close to as with her own parents. How could his parents refuse? It was the safety of the child that was at question, and no amount of dislike for her mother would make his parents turn their back on this little girl.

Troy hadn't bought a word of it, horrified that they were still on talking terms with that woman. Didn't they understand that the little girl they were taking care of should have been their granddaughter? He felt sick and betrayed, and then remembered that at least he had parents who could betray him, unlike Gabriella. He ended the call with his father tersely, but promising to talk to him later, ending with an 'I love you' despite everything he was feeling. Thoughts of Gabriella and her father, and Melissa and her daughter plagued him all night, amounting to his insomnia, until his sheer exhaustion had sent him into sleep around 6 am.

Troy brought out the food and drinks he had prepared and laid them out on the coffee table in the living room. Jason had already turned the TV on, flipping to the channel where the pre-match analysis was occurring. Troy settled into the empty armchair and tried to concentrate on what the football pundits were saying. His mind was wandering though, and apparently everyone noticed. A carrot came flying at him, and hit his cheek before he could react.

"What the hell?" he asked in confusion.

"Come on Troy, the match has started," Chad frowned. "You totally spaced on us."

"Sorry." Troy shook his head, as if he could make his thoughts just fly out of his head. "I'm watching. Looks like a good line up."

Jason nodded, "Yeah, well it'll need to be. Evans is injured. As if we needed more defenders out."

"Better not go behind again," Chad said darkly. "We've conceded first so many times now I've lost count. I can barely remember when we've taken the lead. I'd much rather us keep it tight and score a late goal for 1-0."

Chad's wish was almost granted as the first half would down with good chances for Man United but no goals from either side.

"Okay, not bad," Kelsi commented as the 45 minutes of regulation time in the first half finished, with only one minute of injury time to play. "At least no early goals conceded."

Her companions were about to proclaim their agreement when their eyes were drawn to the screen by an Aston Villa player running through the left side of the park on a counter attack. He shoulders the United defender away and lays off to a teammate in the penalty box, to the horror of the onlookers. A second later, the players in maroon and blue were celebrating while the United players looked on forlornly.

"What the hell?" Taylor yelled in frustration. "Why does this happen every time?"

Chad and Jason were shouting a string of profanities, citing almost all the Man United players as the ones to blame for the goal.

Always the voice of reason, Kelsi tried to calm her friends down. "Look it's annoying, it's ridiculous, I know. But, at least we have a whole half to rescue this. We've done it in less."

Troy chipped in, "Yeah, we know we can come back from a goal down. The manager's not going to let them come out sloppy in the second half."

"I absolutely don't believe what the hell is going on," Kelsi buried her head in her hands.

"So much for not being sloppy," Troy glared at the television. "2-0? Really?"

"They better get the hell up now," Jason's eyes narrowed. "There's what 40 minutes for three goals? They better get on their bikes."

"Time for the scarf yet honey?" Taylor asked Chad quietly.

"Not yet," Chad shook his head. "Look this is turning into trouble, but it's not a disaster yet. One goal. All we need is that first goal, and they'll come back."

They weren't waiting for long, as a brilliant pass from the midfielder, Scholes, met the substituted striker Hernandez.

"Woo! What a goal!" Troy cheered. "Come on you Reds!"

Five minutes later the friends were cheering again.

"I knew it!" crowed Chad. "I knew that it only took that one goal."

"Yeah," Jason agreed. "We're utter rubbish at the back, but man we can attack when we want."

"Game changer Hernandez," beamed Troy. "Definitely man of the match."

"Don't get cocky, boys," Taylor warned. "Still need the winner. A draw is not good enough."

"Surely they'll score the winner soon," Troy grinned. He watched as United kept attacking. The whole game was now parked in their attacking half.

"Oooh," the group shouted in unison as a shot cracked off the crossbar.

"Aaah," they echoed as the ball bounced off almost the identical spot less than a minute later.

The five friends were breathless as they watched the action. It was non-stop, and no one could speak as they were each drawn into the game. The match was rife with goal-scoring chances, however, as the time ticked away there was still no goal. 70 minutes, 75 minutes, 80 minutes, and yet no winning goal.

After the 85th minute, Chad quietly rummaged in the bag beside him, and pulled out his scarf. The other four exchanged glances as Chad wrapped the red woollen material around his neck. Taylor's hands were clasped tightly, and Kelsi was biting her lip so hard she was beginning to draw blood. Troy was gripping the arms of his chair. Come on, just one more goal.

It may have been their collective prayers, it may even have been Chad's emergency scarf. Something was in their favour as United won a free kick. The new star Robin Van Persie sent it towards the goal, and who else but the man of the hour, the super-sub Hernandez, headed it into the bottom corner.

The players erupted, the small collection of Manchester United fans at the ground erupted, and the five friends in Troy's apartment erupted. Hugs were shared and backs were clapped. The excitement and even greater, the relief, was palpable. Troy was quickly learning that there really was no room for error in this league. When his beloved Lakers lost a basketball game, it was disappointing but ultimately not damaging in their overall chances. The games were so frequent that individual games did not have the same impact that each one of their 38 league matches had for Manchester United.

After the match ended, Kelsi and Jason had darted off to make their dinner reservations. Chad and Taylor had hung around and chatted with Troy as the three polished off the last of the snacks. Eventually, they too headed off, leaving Troy alone.

The game had become sufficient enough distraction from his tough week, but now that he was alone, the discomfort came back. It seemed that every time she was out of his head, Melissa would ram herself back in. She had always loved being the centre of attention.

Still feeling the effects of last night's poor sleep, Troy decided to go to bed early. It was only 9 pm, but he was dead on his feet. He dragged himself to his bedroom, and stripped back down to his boxers. He allowed himself to fall back onto his bed, and was almost asleep immediately when a buzzing caused his eyes to flutter open.

Great, now he couldn't even go to bed without interruptions. He reached over for his phone and read the text message, jolting awake at the words.

Good game :)

-Gabriella

Troy rubbed his eyes twice, and even pinched his arm hard to ensure he wasn't dreaming. Suppressing the temptation to call her straight away, Troy instead texted her back, before closing his eyes with a bright smile on his face.

Great game :D

-Troy


So what do you guys think? Let me know! By the way, sorry for the lack of Gabriella in this chapter. Will definitely make up for it in the next chapter ;) Can't wait for you guys to read that one!