"This time I want it all, this time I want it all.
I'm showing you all the cards, giving you all my heart.
This time I'll take the chance, this time I'll be your man,
I can be all you need, this time is all of me.
Last time I wasn't sure, this time I will give you more,
I'm more mature, I'll show you
Last time I didn't know, I messed up and let you go
I need you, don't say no."
- John Legend; This Time
"Again Bolton," The blonde said with force, her manicured hand pounding on the black baby grand in front of the pair.
"Sharpay, again? Are you kidding me right now?" The stressed basketball player said, his large hand running over his face. Three hours the two friends had gone over the song Troy had decided to sing to Gabriella, three long hours, alone with Sharpay Evans.
"Hmmm, does it look like I'm kidding?" She said with a small evil grin, pointing to the sheet music in front of them. "Again," Her voice was demanding. A groan escaped the lips of the captain, before his hands began to play the melody that had been engraved into his brain.
Three agonizing hours Troy Bolton had been blessed with the wonderfully talented Sharpay Evans in her giant home, practicing to win back the heart of the girl he loved the most. Three hours Troy Bolton had sung his heart out. Three hours he had played the song over and over. Three hours and he couldn't feel the tips of his fingers anymore.
Playing the last chorus as his voice seemed to sail beautifully. His hands, his words. Everything seemed to fit perfectly for him, he was happy. He was ready to sing to the love of his life. A month of practice. A month of three-hour long practices alone with the blonde who he called one of his best friends. Three hours and all he wanted to do was profess the one thing the love of his life already knew. This time, he was ready.
"What are your plans for Friday? Say 4:24 after school? Meet me in the library and we'll go from there," Troy said hopeful as he stood next to Gabriella's open locker. He sounded confident but inside? He was shaking. Inside? His thoughts were thrown together. Inside, he didn't' know what he was saying or doing. Anything at all. He didn't know how the next thirty seconds of his life were going to turn out. He didn't know what he answer was going to be, but this time, he was hopeful. And that's all he needed to be. Hopeful.
The brunette sent the basketball player a look. A look of curiosity. Her dark eyes narrowing, what was Troy planning? And why was she intrigued? Silence. Nothing left her lips, she just looked the athlete. She looked at his chestnut colored hair, the way the fell perfectly over his eyes. Still uncut.
"So, Friday, the library?" Troy questioned again, his smiling slowly falling. Nodding, Gabriella smiled lightly, causing Troy to smile as well. The smile the brunette loved more than anything in whole world. The smile that brought her world crashing down upon her at her saddest times. The smile that made her saddest times begin to shine again.
"The library, 4:24." Closing the locker door with a small smile, she laughed. Bringing her books up her chest, she began to walk towards the doors of East High. School was over for the day and all she wanted to do was go home, put on some sweat pants and watch endless hours of Netflix. And she planned to do just that.
Just as she began to take one step in front of the other, she felt an arm reach out in front of her, taking the books she was hugging to her chest, right out of her grasp. Troy Bolton, taking her books. Troy Bolton, carrying her books for her. Again. She smiled to herself. She missed this side of Troy. Her Troy. The Troy she loved.
"And tonight, any plans for tonight?" He questioned again, slowly gaining all the courage he had in his body to wrap his right arm around her tiny shoulders. Sparks shot through both of their bodies. An electric shock coursing through one end of Troy's tall muscular body, to the other end of Gabriella's small petite figure.
Not wanting to remove the touch that had been so confidently placed over her shoulder, she sighed. Her brown eyes drifting over to her left. Brown bore into blue. The blue she loved. The blue she could swim in. The blue that were as deep as the ocean. She didn't want this moment to end, but she didn't want that feeling of being left again to course through her.
"I have a date," She said softly, her lips turning into a grin before her eyes shifted away from the blue. Her eyes shifted from the blue to the giant student body staring at them as they walked down the hallway.
Choking on his words, his hand gripped the shoulder of the tiny brunette. The smile that had been playing on the lips of the basketball player, dropped. Along with his heart. "A date?"
"With some ice cream, my sweatpants, and Netflix," Shooting the boy who stood above her a playful grin. The hand that gripped onto her shoulder, easing a little as a sigh escaped his lips.
"With Netflix," He said with a small relief. A huge relief. Relief that he still had his Gabriella. That no one else had his Gabriella. That no other man was going to swoop in and sing the song he had spent three hours a day, two times a week for over a month practicing. He still had the Gabriella he let slip through his fingers. He still had his Brie.
Snuggling into the side of the basketball player, the brunette wanted to stay in the arms of the boy she loved more than anything in that moment. She just wanted Troy Bolton. Her Troy.
A nervous sigh escaped Troy's mouth as he looked at the clock nailed onto the white wall in his last period class, English. School would be over in less than fifteen minutes. For the weekend. Some kids at East High took this as a last bell to start their weekend of partying. Some kids took that bell as a sign of freedom. Each member of East High's giant student body spent their weekend in a different way. But for the basketball player, he took as his final chance. As soon as that bell rang, he would have less than an hour and a half to get everything together to prove to Gabriella that he was ready this time.
The clock ticked down and every second Troy grew more nervous. Was he ready this time? Was everything he had setting his mind to be enough for the brunette? Was his plead for her to finally let her back in going to his last? These questions ran through his brain. These questions were the questions that caused him not to catch a single wink of sleep. These questions were haunting him. Gabriella Montez, was haunting him.
Running his hand through his shaggy locks, he sighed again, irritated that the final bell hadn't rung yet. He was growing impatient. Earning a few glances from his fellow peers. It needed to be three o'clock. Seven more minutes, he thought to himself.
Gabriella glanced at the clock that stationed on her wrist. Six more minutes until East High student body would be a mad house. Six more minutes until the final bell would ring and the entire school would go crazy. It was the weekend. It was time for them to let loose and have fun. But all the Latina seemed to be worried about was the plans that were made for her. The plans Troy had presented her with that Tuesday at her locker.
What were his plans? Was he going to confront her about the letter she still hadn't spoken to him about? The letter she still hadn't made her decision about? Her nerves were running wild and all she wanted to do was crawl into the arms of the boy she was so confused about.
Jumping up as the loud ring echoed through the classroom of the athlete, he needed out. He needed to get going. He needed to get everything ready to make sure this moment, was perfect. Not only for him, but for Gabriella.
Literally running out of the door of his English class, he sprinted to his locker. Spinning his combination at lightning speed, he opened his locker and threw his books in, not taking a single book out, not running through his class list of what homework he had or if he needed to study for any upcoming tests. He needed to get ready.
Grabbing his keys he had hung up on the tiny hook inside of his locker, he was off. Off to run a few errands. Off to prepare for what may be one of the biggest days of his life.
It wasn't weird for the brunette to be in the school library after hours. It wasn't unusual for her to be there on a Friday either. But what was weird for the brunette? Feeling nervous because, to her knowledge she wasn't in the library to study, or tutor. She was meeting the boy who broke her heart. She was meeting him for whatever tricks he had planned for her.
Opening the giant door to the library, she entered with caution. Her dark eyes scanning the room she spent so much time in. Her eyes drifted to see a sign, a sign she knew was for her. A sign that read, 'This way Brie.' with an arrow pointing to the back of the library, the most quiet part. She grew more nervous.
Following the sign, she began to walk towards the back of the room she loved. Each footstep she took making her more nervous. Her dark eyes were shocked when they saw Troy Bolton, standing there. Flowers in hand, hair neatly cut. He cut his hair. It was shorter, it made him look older. It made him, to her, more handsome than ever.
"Troy," She said softly, approaching him at the table he stood behind. Her eyes growing with some sort of shock. She didn't know what to say, or do.
His muscular hand went up to silence the beautiful girl, shaking his head. His blue eyes filled with the same nervousness Gabriella had. He cut her off not letting her finish what she was going to say. He needed to speak first. He needed to get what he needed out before he lost control. Before all he had worked up to would just crumble beneath him.
"Don't say a word, okay? Not a single word until I say so," He said stepping towards the brunette, offering the flowers he had held in his arms to the confused brunette. She took them, still confused. She nodded, their eyes in a stare. A stare that hadn't been broken since the moment she laid on eyes on him. "This is where we officially met, right here. At this table." Troy motioned to the table he had been stationed at. "It was my first day of tutoring," He said his voice cracking as he took a step towards the Latina, nervously. Never once breaking the stare the blue had on the dark brown."September 7th, it was the day my life changed, forever. I introduced myself to you, like I hadn't gone to school with you my whole life. I was an idiot to think you didn't know who I was. We had classes together since junior high. And here I was, in front of the most beautiful girl I had ever met, introducing myself like I was at a job interview,"
Troy's right hand reached up to touch Gabriella's smooth cheek. She leaned into the touch, fully accepting his affection. "I knew who you were, I always knew who you were. Gabriella Montez, the smartest girl at East High. The most beautiful, perfect girl I had ever laid eyes on. I remember looking at you, and thinking, 'If I even talked to you, my life would change,"
Gabriella's mouth went to open, she wanted to speak. Words wanted to explode from her mouth, but all she felt were tears, brimming on her dark eyes. Interrupted, Troy spoke again. "Not a word," He voice was soft as hand that laid softly on her cheek began to rub in a pattern.
"I wanted to bring you here to remind you that meeting you was the best day of my life. I had known you, for some time. But actually knowing you, changed my life, Gabriella," Running the hand that was placed on her cheek, down her tan neck, he reached for her hand. Sparks being sent through their bodies. The simple touch that was coursing through them at that moment, was perfect.
Lacing his fingers with her tiny ones, he let their eyes just bore into one another for a brief second before pulling her in the direction she had just come from. He was taking her somewhere else. 'Meet me in the library and we'll go from there.' The sentence kept running through her brain as she let the boy drag her in every direction.
Pushing open the library doors, his blue eyes noted the school was basically empty. Just the two souls that were one, standing in the hallway together. Leading her to the next spot he had planned for the two, he grew more nervous. Silence settled between them, a silence they were used to. A silence that made them grow fonder of one another.
Walking down the hallway, fingers laced, Troy squeezed the tiny hand that was placed in his. A warm hand. The hand that seemed to fit perfectly within his larger one.
Knowing exactly where the pair were headed by the twists and turns they began to make within the giant hallways they had both shared so many memories in. They were headed for Gabriella's sanctuary. The auditorium.
It was dark. And silent. Something that the pair had been used to. Something Gabriella loved about that room. Her dark eyes looked down at the pair of hands that were still intertwined. Butterflies fluttering in her stomach. They began to walk down the aisle towards the stage. The stage that held many memories, recent ones even.
Pulling out the bench to the giant baby grand piano, Troy motioned for her to sit. The brown orbs, still filled with nervousness and confusion, silently listened to his command. Taking a seat on the cold bench, she felt him slide onto the bench next to him. Warmth surrounded her. It was fit for two perfectly. Their bodies were practically made for that bench.
Clearing his throat, Troy began to speak. He had prepared this speech a thousand and one times, and he was having trouble now. "Right here, at this piano. In this room, I fell in love with you," He said softly, his fingers tapping on the keys that were in front of him. "It was the first time you played for me. The first time I had ever heard you sing," Closing his beautiful eyes, he remembered the day exactly. What she was wearing. How she smelt. How beautiful she looked. "In that moment, I knew exactly what you meant to me. I knew exactly where your heart belonged, Brie. It belonged in my hands. And mine in yours. And you willingly gave me all of you. You let me see parts of you I knew no one had ever seen. Parts of you I still hold onto, even now. You let me have all of you, and in return, I destroyed you," His voice was cracking as tears filled his blue eyes.
"I made a mistake roughly one year ago. The biggest mistake I had ever made in my entire life. Because not only did I destroy you, I destroyed me too. I destroyed the one thing that was given to me. The one thing I valued more than anything in the world. The only heart that meant more to me than my own. You are my heart. I let go the one thing I should've held close to me. The one thing I needed in my life. And that was you. I need you,"
Clearing his horse throat, he looked at the brunette, his eyes dripping with a salty substance. "I, um, have practiced this whole song on piano for a while now, because when you sang to me, I fell in love with you. And this is gonna sound... crazy, but I thought, if I sing to you, you'd fall in love with me again,"
His hands were placed perfectly on the piano in front of them, slowly, he started playing the melody to one of his favorite songs, This Time by John Legend. Gabriella had never heard him sing before. But it was beautiful.
His voice sounded perfect as the words fell from his lips, tears seemed to flow from both of their beautiful eyes. She could tell he was nervous by the way he missed a few keys and the way his voice trembled. She could tell he put time and effort into what he was doing. What he was doing for her.
Gabriella had never felt so in love before. In that moment, she felt like she was right where she was supposed to be. On that Friday afternoon, she felt like Troy Bolton was the most perfect human being. And she wanted nothing more than to be in his arms. Forever.
As he finished the song, his gorgeous eyes closed, tears slipping down his cheeks. His hands still trembling from his nerves. His voice shaking as he sang the final note. Silence settled between the two again, a different silence. A new silence. Taking a deep breath, Troy finally spoke, with all his might.
"I thought I was doing the right thing last year, destroying the one thing that meant the most to me, Brie. I thought I was doing what was best for you. For us. But it was the worst choice I have ever made. But if you give me just one more chance, to prove to you, that the only second chance I'll ever need will be the only second chance you need to give me. If you're in New Mexico, California, Russia, damn it, Gabriella, I won't give up on you. Or us. If you place your heart in my hands, I won't destroy it. This time, I'm going to give you all of me. This time, I'll be the man you need. I promise, Gabriella. I just need you let me love you, please," His voice was pleading, begging for her to let him back in. To let him be her everything.
Gabriella's cold hand fell over Troy's hand that was still placed on the piano causing his eyes to open. Her dark eyes were filled with tears, the make up she had on that day completely down her face. She was a sobbing mess in the arms of the boy she loved.
"Can I talk yet?" She asked softly, her voice cracking as she gave the hand that was in hers a squeeze. Her brown eyes connecting with the blue that were pouring tears as well. Troy smiled a bit before gave her a tiny nod. "I love you Troy Alexander Bolton,"
She was trembling, she was nervous. She never knew Troy had something like that in him, she never knew she meant that much to him. She never knew that all those feelings Troy had for her were there. She never wanted to live with out him. And if she needed an answer to what school she was going to, this was it. It was Troy. It was always Troy.
"I can't live without you, Wildcat. And this past year of my life, without you, I wasn't living. I was just... surviving. Even then, a huge part of my heart was missing. I was missing you," She sniffled, the hand that was resting on the basketball players running through his newly cut hair, a haircut that made her heart jump with glee. "I'm so afraid that if you leave me again, I'll feel like that again," Running her hand over his stubble, she leaned into press her lips against his unshaven cheek. "And I don't ever want to feel like that again. Please don't ever make me feel like that again." She pleaded with him, her lips connecting with his. A kiss that was needed. So desperate. A kiss that they both had waited for. A kiss that meant more to them then just being a whole again.
Fireworks, it was like there were fireworks going off in that auditorium. Their lips were doing all the talking that needed to be done. Their kiss. Their desperate kiss. Their love for one another. Gabriella's hand intertwined in Troy's freshly cut chestnut hair, pulling his body closer to hers in an attempt to make up for lost time.
So much time. They had so much time to make up for and they were both determined that this time, it was going to be better than the first. This time, it was going to be all they needed.