Chapter 21: Forever

They didn't speak for the entire ride, although Gabriella had an unnaturally upbeat attitude about her, which sent Troy into another torrent of perplexity. Their date was ruined. How could she be so serene and untroubled about the fact that it would be very unlikely that they would get another chance to go out again until the musical was over?

As houses and trees became multi-colored blurs, Troy shifted in his seat and narrowed his eyes, staring out at the window. He knew this place…

"We're almost there…" Gabriella said cheerily, turning round a corner.

With a harsh pang of realization, Troy felt his stomach clench and sunk down so that his knees practically touched the dashboard. "Yeah… I know." He said heavily.

Not two minutes later, Gabriella made one last turn and pulled up into an asphalt driveway which was completely empty… except for a basketball net.

Gabriella pulled the keys out of the ignition and lightly tossed them to Troy, turning to smile at him.

"Well, say something." She said. It wasn't a demand.

Troy leaned his head against the back of his seat and moaned. "Gabriella…"

"What?"

Troy gave her a sarcastic look. "We're at my house."

"Your point?"

"Gabriella, we're at my house."

"I know." Gabriella responded in the same tone. She looked at him in an almost amused way, as if she found his unpleasant stance rather funny. She opened her door and got out, peering through the window at him. "Are you coming?"

Troy sighed and fought the urge to kick the nearest object in his frustration as he slammed the door behind him and followed Gabriella, who was already halfway to the front door by the time he got out of the car.

Gabriella glanced at the driveway and then laughed, half-way turning her head. "Troy, are your parents ever home?" She asked jocularly, shaking her head with a chuckle. It was hard to believe that she'd been terrified the last time she'd found out that the Boltens' would be out, unknowingly leaving her and Troy completely alone… now 'alone' was the only thing they wished they could have. Oh, the irony… Gabriella thought to herself.

Troy didn't answer. He was in no mood for jokes. He plunged his house key into the keyhole and thrust the door open, striding inside and making a beeline for the kitchen before Gabriella could say anything else. He hastily picked up a yellow piece of paper on the countertop with a note scribbled on it by his mother, telling Troy that her and his father would be out late due to a last-minute invitation. He also found a little side-note in his father's handwriting, wishing him good luck on his date and adding a little 'wink, wink' in parenthesis. Crumbling it up and tossing it back onto the counter, Troy opened the refrigerator, scanning the shelves for something to take his mind off of the horrible evening.

He heard the TV turn on in the next room and an opening of drawers, followed by the soft clicking of a remote control. Troy closed his eyes and then let the door shut, feeling like something was trying to burrow in his stomach, taking away his appetite. He wandered into the living room where he found Gabriella settled comfortably on the couch with the DVD remote in her hand. She looked up as he entered and smiled, hitting the 'pause' button.

"Hey! Come on, sit down. Oh, wait, not yet - where's your phonebook?" Gabriella said in a rush, jumping from the couch and looking at him expectantly.

Troy wordlessly gestured to one of the side-tables. As Gabriella walked past, she gave him a little shove with her left hand. Troy was completely caught off-guard by this action and lost his balance, falling into the couch very ungracefully. Gabriella took no notice, but instead began flipping through the phonebook until she found what she was looking for. Picking up the phone, she dialed a number and held the receiver up to her ear as she waited for someone to pick up.

"Gabriella - " Troy began.

"Shh -" Gabriella whispered, putting one finger to her mouth. "Yes, hello, I'd like to order one large pepperoni pizza and a side of breadsticks for delivery… no… no, just the… ok, hold on - Troy, do you want to get a medium for free if we get two orders of breadsticks?" Gabriella asked, putting the phone to her shoulder.

"Whatever…" Troy muttered. Pizza. His perfect dinner was being reduced to delivered pizza.

Gabriella nodded and turned her attention back to the phone, ignoring Troy's obvious unhappiness. "Ok, we'll take the free medium." She gave the pizza place Troy's address and phone number, and then clicked the 'end call' button with satisfaction.

"It'll be here in half an hour." Gabriella said as she seated herself next to Troy. He didn't answer. Gabriella ignored him once again and picked up the remote from the coffee table. "I hope you don't mind, but I already started the movie…" As she hit 'play' and the once-black screen came to life again, Troy felt a hard lump form in his throat. She had chosen the first "Pirates of the Caribbean.".

"Do you want me to get us some drinks while we wait for the food?" Gabriella asked without taking her eyes off the screen, watching the young Will Turner being hauled out of the dead-looking sea and a young Elizabeth watching the commotion of the crew from the side.

Troy still didn't answer.

Gabriella sighed almost inaudibly and clicked 'pause' again, turning to face her miserable boyfriend. "Troy, what's wrong?" She asked, as if she'd just noticed that something was troubling him.

"You know perfectly well what's wrong." Troy said coldly, his eyes flickering to the floor.

"I'm not sure that I do." Gabriella said, leaning her head to the side to try to catch his glance.

"Oh, you don't?" He asked mockingly. "Are you really that naïve?"

The words slightly stung Gabriella, but she refused to let it show. "Troy, I know that things didn't go exactly according to plan - "

"Damn right they didn't…" Troy said under his breath.

"But do you really have to be so upset about it? I mean, ok, dinner at Scalo's would've been nice, and the movie very thoughtful, and I was looking forward to the demo - "

"Exactly!" Troy exclaimed, standing up and facing her. He felt his anger leaking out of him like a helium balloon, losing more control over his words by the second as they scattered into the open. "You were looking forward to it! All of it! The whole package, and I couldn't even get you a fraction!" He ran both hands through his hair and made an angry noise.

"You were so excited… I was excited, because I was going to go out with my girlfriend like normal guys do! Guys that aren't 'playmakers' or, 'the basketball guys.' Have you even looked at the calendar Darbus has given us for musical practices? We won't get to spend any time together next month! This was our first night to be together, just the two of us, and I ruined it! We're not supposed to be here, in my house, waiting for pizza and watching DVD's… it was all supposed to be perfect. This night was supposed to be perfect…" He finished, slightly out of breath from his ramble and placed his hands on his waist, looking down at the ground as an uncomfortable silence unfolded between them.

He didn't see Gabriella get up from the couch, nor did he see her feet grow closer and closer to his own until they were directly in front of him. His head jerked upward and his heart skipped a beat as he found himself face to face with Gabriella, who was neither crying nor smiling. In fact, her face was quite expressionless as she took Troy's hands and held them between their bodies, pleasurable heat creeping down Troy's arms in the process.

Their eyes connected. "Take a look around, Troy." Gabriella said softly, glancing around the room for a moment before her gaze came back to Troy's. "No one's here except us. We're alone… and we're together… What could be more perfect than that?"

Her words made such an impact on Troy that all of his previously negative feelings evaporated right into thin air. Gabriella was right, and everything suddenly made sense. A twinge of guilt twisted it's way into the pit of Troy's stomach as he recalled how rude he'd been to her, and how she'd taken all of it without a single retaliatory word in response.

He felt horrible, but now for different reasons. "I'm so sorry, Gabby…" Troy said softly, holding her hands a bit tighter, not wanting to let her go. "I was being stupid. I shouldn't have said those things before - I was disappointed, that's all - "

"Troy - "

"You're not naïve. You're the smartest person I've ever met - "

"Troy - "

"I shouldn't have gone off the handle like that - "

"Troy!" Gabriella said loudly, breaking Troy's second ramble. She smiled apologetically. "Just kiss me." This time, it was not a request.

Troy gave her a little grin in return and put his hands around her waist, drawing her closer. She happily obliged, tilting her head upward as the space between them gradually lessened, until there was no gap left. A heavy, irresistible wave of longing broke over Troy at that moment and hard shivers shot down his back, filling him with an exhilarating and almost unrealistic pleasure. He could not believe how amazing Gabriella was… the things she did to him…

He leaned forward and kissed her, savoring the sweet seconds that passed before lack of oxygen deprived them of any further ecstasy. Troy's head was spinning by the time they pulled away from the other, and found it hard to focus on any one thing. He could, however, make out a very large smirk on Gabriella's face before she took his hand and led him over to the couch, a little blush coloring her face.

"I really hope the pizza gets here soon…" Gabriella said, seating herself next to him once Troy had sat down. "All this running around Albuquerque is making me hungry." She lifted her feet off the floor and onto the couch, tucked over one another so that her legs slanted to her right. Once she had herself situated to her liking, she reached out and tugged one of Troy's sleeves, motioning him to move closer to her. He did so, and Gabriella smiled as he put one warm arm around her shoulders. She leaned her head against the part of his neck where it connected with his shoulder and sighed softly, clicking the 'play' button on the DVD remote before entwining her other hand with Troy's.

Troy gazed down at her, still feeling a small, tiny pang of disappointment at not getting to make the demo of their callback song with her. No matter how happy Gabriella insisted she was with just being with him, he still wished that he could've been able to at least give her that one piece of unmatchable joy.

"Gabriella?" He whispered.

"Yeah?" She replied, now watching Elizabeth curiously leaning over the unconscious Will Turner.

"I really am sorry…"

Gabriella shifted her head so that she was looking up at him with her big chocolate-brown eyes, and gave a tiny smile. "For what? " She said. It was a question that wasn't meant to be answered, and Troy felt his heart leap out for her. They held gazes for what felt like hours, and then Gabriella lifted her head as high as it would go and kissed the bottom of Troy's chin. She turned back around to face the TV screen and closed her eyes with nothing short of content as she felt the shape of Troy's lips place themselves on the top of her head.

Troy leaned his head on top of Gabriella's and breathed in her compelling scent - a scent so unique, so beyond compare, that there was no other word for it except 'Gabriella.' Their bodies began to grow comfortably warm as they held each other, and it made Gabriella almost sleepy with its intoxicating glow that seemed to penetrate into her entire inner self. She'd never been so relaxed in her entire life… never had she felt so safe than when she was in his arms. It was a security unlike any other, like a physical display of Troy's promise… he'd never let anyone or anything hurt her, no matter what. Gabriella felt no worries or concerns or fears when with him, for what could she possibly fear? She had Troy, always there to protect her…

With that last satisfying thought, Gabriella smiled and giggled under her breath as Jack Sparrow made his entrance, completely unaware that Troy was fondly watching her every move, as if afraid of missing one single second.

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"What are you doing? You've burned all the food! The shade! The rum!

"Yes, the rum is gone."

"Why is the rum gone?"

"One, because it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels. Two, that signal is over a thousand feet high. The entire Royal Navy is out looking for me. Do you think there is even the slightest chance they won't see it?"

"…But why is the rum gone?"

Troy laughed as he watched Jack Sparrow's distraught face as he realized that all his precious rum had been turned into ash and smoke. No matter how many times Troy watched this scene, it always made him laugh. Plus, now that his mood had lifted, he and Gabriella were having more fun than he imagined, had their previous plans worked out. Half a pizza and a few uneaten breadsticks lay on the coffee table, along with two almost-empty cans of Pepsi. Gabriella had really tried not to eat a lot - but once the pizza had made its way into the living room, she just couldn't help herself and ended up eating almost four pieces. Troy had laughed at this and playfully teased her while Gabriella stuck out her tongue as a reply.

Thinking of this particular moment, Troy glanced down at Gabriella, who was now lying completely flat on the couch, curled up in a little ball. His eyes rested on her for a millisecond, and then he did a double-take. Making a small noise of utter disbelief, he chuckled. Gabriella was fast asleep.

Well, doesn't this bring back memories… Troy thought to himself as he tried to suppress another laugh. Standing, he walked over to the TV and turned it off, not really wanting to watch the movie by himself anymore, and also so as to not wake Gabriella. He went back to the couch and reached behind it, pulling out a soft baby blue blanket, which he carefully draped over Gabriella's sleeping silhouette. After doing so, Troy sat down on the floor and watched her body gently rise and fall, captivated by these barely noticeable movements.

He'd lighted a fire in the fireplace a little while ago, and the wood beneath the flickering flames was slowly beginning to incinerate, filling the room with an appreciative warmth. Stars glittered in the black velvet sky overhead, like a million diamond that had been carelessly strewn across the never-ending void, completing the image of a truly perfect night. Gabriella's frame was bathed with the soft glow of firelight, and when it mixed with the silvery moonbeams that shone through the cold glass windows, they merged to create a pale-ish yellow hue that danced on her very skin and clothing.

Troy watched her for what felt like hours… rise… fall… rise… fall… something as simple as watching her breathe while she slept was, to Troy, the most peaceful thing he could possibly imagine. He was absolutely amazed at how one person could affect him like this.

The fused luminosity trembled, and one particular flare of light thrust itself onto Gabriella's face, casting such a sharp and defined image that Troy almost felt his mouth fall open at the sight. And then, just as quickly, it was gone - although not an inch of her resplendent debonair went with it.

Suddenly, his hands seemed to have minds of their own and were reaching out to touch Gabriella's long lustrous hair. He couldn't help himself… he needed to feel her wonderfully dark locks between his fingers, just as he'd needed to feel them on the night she'd first come home with him and had fallen asleep on this very couch. It seemed so long ago… and yet, he could recall every detail like it was just yesterday.

"You are so beautiful…" Troy said softly. He held a small ringlet of her hair between his first two fingers and ran them through until he reached the bottom of the strands. "I can't even begin to find the words to tell you…" He felt his heart ache as the light of the fire rested on her hair for a fraction of a second, and then he continued to speak.

"I always thought you were beautiful, even on the first night when we met." Troy said, taking another section of hair and caressing it in the same manner. "I remember being so nervous up on that stage, with everyone watching us. I was so close to running off, but when I heard you sing for the very first time… you had me."

The words were now beginning to flow freely from Troy's heart straight out of his mouth, and each one came more naturally than anything he'd ever said. He didn't need to think… every word felt right and fit into place.

A memory found its way to the front of Troy's mind and he gave a small laugh. "You know, Chad gave me the hardest time about you. He went on and on, saying that I'd never gone crazy over a girl before you came to East High. He told me I'd been running away from my feelings… He told me I'd changed…" He suddenly grew very serious and paused, letting Gabriella's dark hair fall through his fingers and back into place. He looked down at her closed eyes, seeing nothing else but her as more memories flooded into his head.

"You told me, right after the championship game, that when you meet the person that's right for you, you feel something different from anything you've ever felt before." Troy said softly. "And that a new part of you would be set free in that first moment of meeting them… that's what I felt with you, up on that stage. I-I didn't even know your name, and yet I knew there was something between us - something bigger than just a happy coincidence. And I felt that new part of me, Gabriella… I felt it in my entire body, even though I didn't really know what it was yet."

Troy stopped again, sighing faintly as he drew his hand away from her hair, pushing back one last lock away from her face. "I don't know if you can say that that particular moment was the moment I fell in love with you, no matter how powerful that new feeling was. It was… I can't even describe what it was - like a… a sort of, knowing - like I somehow knew that that was the last night I'd ever be, 'Troy Bolton, star playmaker of East High,' and the first night I felt like… just, 'Troy Bolton.'"

He paused again, and scooted as close as he could to the couch, crossing his legs and smiling as he watched her rise and fall for a few more seconds. Then, he spoke again in the quietest tone he'd ever used - barely louder than a whisper.

"You did that for me, Gabriella. You made me feel like a regular guy, not seeing anything less than plain, 'Troy.' Not even my own family saw me like you did…" A powerful, painful sensation twisted in Troy's stomach at that moment, and a rock-hard lump rose in his throat so that his next words came out sounding strangled and emotional.

"You have no idea how much you mean to me." Troy choked out, trying not to let his tears threaten to show. "You really don't. I wish… I wish I could tell you how much I care about you, but the words just seem too small. There have been so many times where I look at you… I look at you, and - and I feel like everything inside of me is about to explode. I look at you, and I want to tell you all the things I wish I could put into words so that you'll truly understand what I feel every time you're with me. I look at you… and…"

Troy stopped for a second, trying to force down the growing mass in his throat and not having much success. He looked down, and missed the smallest shift in Gabriella's position.

"I wonder how I got so lucky, to be with someone so amazing and so…" Troy tried to find the word… the one word that would sum up everything that was Gabriella. And then he found it, realizing it was the very word he'd been using all evening.

"So… incredibly… perfect…" Troy said, keeping his head down. "I don't deserve you, and you could do so much better than me… but I need you to know…" He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Gabriella Montez… you are without a doubt the best thing that's ever happened to me, and… I love you… so much…" He finished in a voice that could barely be heard. He remained silent as he tightly squeezed his eyes shut, a thin line of moisture collecting on the bottom lids. He shook his head slightly, breathing out long and slow. After a moment, when he was sure that he'd regained composure, he lifted his head… and froze.

Gabriella was awake.

Troy's eyes grew wide with horror, wondering how much she'd heard. He didn't remember seeing any sign that suggested that Gabriella had woken up sometime during his little speech - she'd remained completely motionless the entire time…

But one look at Gabriella's now soft, shimmering brown eyes, and Troy knew that she'd never been asleep to begin with.

Hot, sick embarrassment took over Troy and made him turn the deepest shade of carmine red. His hands turned to ice and his back felt like it was on fire. He couldn't believe he'd said all of that in front of her. To her…

They both remained completely silent, Gabriella still lying horizontal on the couch, and Troy sitting cross-legged on the floor, biting the inside of his bottom lip with his eyes closed, each second feeling like an hour to him. He didn't know what to do, or what to say, but soon realized that he couldn't avoid Gabriella for much longer. Almost frightened of seeing the look on her face, Troy slowly raised his head, feeling like his face was about to melt into a puddle of mortification. As his eyes met hers, his entire world was unexpectedly brought to a standstill for the second time that night.

Gabriella's eyes were staring into his so intently that Troy felt like she could see straight into his very soul. They were intense, but warm as well. Firelight swam in her unshed tears - tears Gabriella knew to be more overjoyed than she'd ever had a chance to experience, for that was exactly what she was feeling… happiness beyond compare. The mere strength of it was almost painful, but it was a pain that left her craving more. It was better than any drug, any high, any fix… better than anything she'd ever felt.

Rising in one slow, fluid motion, Gabriella lifted herself up and became vertical once more. Her eyes never left Troy's, nor did the small smile lifting her lips fade from her iridescent countenance. As they bore into Troy's blue orbs, the back of his neck tingled and quickly heightened as the trembling glow cast it's dim light onto Gabriella's face. As he saw her affectionate, tiny, unreadable smile directed straight at him, he suddenly felt his stomach lurch even more violently than before.

Gabriella silently took Troy's hands in hers, pulling him off the floor as she rose from the couch. Her hands held his so that they were the only things keeping their two bodies apart, and they held gazes for what felt like an eternity. Gabriella couldn't speak. Troy's words had touched her so deeply and held so much passion and truth that she was at a loss for anything that could come even remotely close to what she longed for Troy to know… the things she wanted to tell him too.

For now, however, words were not needed. As tears brimmed in the corners of her eyes, Gabriella reached out and gently cupped Troy's face in her palms, pleasant shivers shooting down her sides as she felt his hands lightly take hold of her waist. As she leaned in, her vision became cloudy and blurred, causing everything around her to turn into unclear shapes and colors that fused together as one. Gabriella neither noticed, nor cared.

She met his lips very softly, trying to channel all the love she felt for him in that single, sweet kiss. Her hands drifted to Troy's shoulders and she shivered again at his satisfying warmth. She couldn't possibly imagine herself loving him more than she was right now.

After a moment, they pulled back and held gazes again. Troy's heart pulsed much quicker now, but his embarrassment was gone. He gave Gabriella a tiny grin, and she returned it, moving closer to him. Without a word, she wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her head against his chest. She closed her eyes and sighed, her grin growing slightly as Troy embraced her as well.

Troy gently rested his head on top of Gabriella's and breathed in deeply, losing himself in her captivating scent. He wanted nothing more than to hold her forever - to just stay like this, holding the girl he cared about more than anything in the entire world, forever.

But as this passed through his mind, Troy smiled.

"Forever," Troy thought, "Just doesn't seem long enough…"

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I'm soooooo sorry about not updating in a while. I don't really have a good excuse, except that I went to volleyball camp all last week and it drained me of my energy, so I didn't feel like writing too much. Just a warning, the next chapter probably won't show it's face for a while too. I haven't even written a rough draft yet. But I'll try to write more soon! Hope everyone liked the chapter, I worked especially hard on this one, so don't forget to review!