Something Called Home

Chapter 21 – Strong, Hard

I'm doing a recap for this chapter so that you don't get confused. Also, like next week, I have semester exams so I might not update as quickly. So for those who read She Could Be, don't hate me. :)

Oh! The chapter is titled after the words I believe I repeated about a hundred times. Sorry about that, I couldn't find any other words that would give the right meaning I wanted.

Recap:

Two days had passed and Gabriella still felt the same way. This had been going on for nearly a week and Anna became worried.

"I can't believe we're moving tomorrow…" Gabriella said sadly as she looked through the window.

Anna gave a sad smile, "Me neither."

"But I'm glad we found home." Gabriella said, turning around so that she faced her mom.

Anna nodded, "Yeah. I'm glad too."

End Recap

Meanwhile, Troy was at home lost in thought. He was clearly thinking about Gabriella and the move that was about to happen. Troy knew that he had to be strong for her but it was hard enough to be strong for himself.

I can't let her go, I
can't let her go
Cause I need the love
she gives to me

Troy was rocking back and forth in the computer chair. He was staring at the photos of him and Gabriella. Troy thought hard. He didn't want her to leave. He struggled with the idea of her moving. He needs her…

I can't let her go, I
can't let her go
And she knows that we
were meant to be

Troy grabbed his soft, pillow ball and tossed it in the air. He wondered if there was any way she could stay. Maybe we could elope and have children! At least we're leaving together. Troy shook his head at the ridiculous thought.

The way you make me feel
Is like no other feeling
I ever had before

Troy caught the pillow,that's it! Together… She can stay with us! Or I can go with her! Troy sighed knowing his parents wouldn't allow such a thing. Besides, he couldn't just invite himself.

You give me the kind of lovin'
Make a brother wanna come for more
She's the one I adore

All the frustration got to Troy and a single tear slid down the side of his face. He angrily threw the pillow at the door. Much to his surprise, someone caught it. Jack gave an assuring smile and passed it back. "Why don't you go visit her?"

Troy's face lit up and he hopped off the chair. He ran as quickly as he could to his car. "See you guys later!" He called out to his parents and drove off.

Troy was knocking furiously on the door, anxious to see Gabriella. A sudden rush of energy came over him. "Hi Auntie!" He hugged her tightly and she laughed.

"Hello Troy, she just went up stairs."

Troy waved at her and ran up the stairs. He smiled at the view in front of him. Gabriella looked beautiful in his eyes. She was playing with the fabric on the toy he had gotten her. From the looks of it, Gabriella's eyes were watery. Gabriella must have felt his gaze because she turned around and smiled at him. The smile won him over and the energy came rising again. He couldn't control himself for some reason.

"Gabs!" He screamed as he rushed to her. He picked her up and she twirled in the air. Gabriella let out a giggle. He grinned, "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, Troy." She giggled into his chest. Troy held her close to him, not letting her go.

Gabriella looked up at him, "As much as I love being in this position, you're kind of squishing me."

Troy shook his head, "No way, I am not letting you go. If I let you go, then I might not see you again!"

He let her loose and they sat together on her bed. She gave him a soft smile. "We'll see each other, okay? If we're meant to be, we will."

Troy nodded. "It's just I was thinking about this. It's hard," He nodded once more, "I-I can't just say goodbye to what we had."

"I know." She told him softly.

He shook his head, "No." He paused and she let him continue. "You don't. The only thing I'll have are memories. Sure we'll have this and tomorrow, but that's it. I've never felt like this before. And I just can't let you-"

"Troy," She swallowed as the previous tears she had were forming once again, "Ido. Don't you see how hard I tried to stay? To make you see that I loved you from the start?" She shook her head sadly.

"I don't want us to end like this." She told him.

Troy shook his head disappointedly. "End…" he mumbled to himself.

"You know what I mean. Stop thinking of this as a goodbye. It's more of a see ya later." She told him, forcing herself to believe what she told him. They walked out to the balcony and took the fresh air in.

Troy looked at the clouds and furrowed his eye brows. He bit the inside of his lip, knowing that the frustration didn't fully leave. "It's just that, I love you too much. I don't know if I can live with out you here."

She smiled, "I love you too Troy. That's why we have to be strong, we have to have faith. If we don't, then what good is there for us to go on?"

Troy nodded and realized how selfish he was. Thinking only of himself, but he now knew that he had to be strong for Gabriella and of course himself. Troy hugged her and kissed her on her temple. "I'm sorry…" She nodded.

He whispered to her during their loving embrace, "I feel it."

"Troy I will always feel it." She whispered back as tears ran slowly down her cheeks. She knew that she would miss him. All the tears she had been holding in had suddenly decided to come out. "I'm going to miss you. I hope you will too."

"Do you really think I'm not going to miss you?" A tear rolled over her smile, "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be who I am right now. I have people, other than my mom, who truly care for me now. I played the sport that I thought I'd never be able to play again."

She adjusted the purple hair tie on Troy's wrist. "Because of you, I finally found something to call home."

He smiled back and held her in his arms once more. "I'm ready now."

Gabriella tilted her head. "I'm ready to say…" He stopped himself from saying 'goodbye' and chose the right words. "…To say see you later."

"I think I am too." He engulfed her into the most fervent kiss they have ever shared. Both knew how much the other would miss them. They knew how much they loved each other. Gabriella wrapped her arms around his neck and Troy slipped his around her waist. Tears were drying on Gabriella's face. When they pulled apart Gabriella and Troy had a smile on their face, yet the look in their eyes expressed sadness.

They stood in silence on her balcony. Both Troy and Gabriella enjoyed the peaceful breeze sway around them. Troy broke the silence, "When we see each other again, I don't want it to be awkward. I want us to just say that we love each other and be together again." He had this calm, gentle tone to his voice as he spoke.

"Yeah," She said matching his tone. "I want that too…"

Gabriella sadly put her bags in the trunk. She took one last look at the house and inhaled deeply and shakily let her breath out. She hugged the toy and walked to the passenger's seat.

Anna fixed Gabriella's necklaces so that it was showing. "Ready?"

She nodded and they drove to Troy's house. The rest of them were to go to his house so they could all say goodbye together. The car ride was a silent one. Both women were thinking about the move. When they reached the house, Gabriella unbuckled her seatbelt. She put 'Troy' on her seat and walked to the front door. She pulled her sleeves down and held them from inside as she waited for them to answer.

"Gabriella!" Lucille greeted her with tearful eyes. "Anna!" They all hugged as Anna's eyes were brimmed with tears. Gabriella smiled softly, "Hi Auntie." Lucille sniffed and hugged her once more. She kissed her, "You are always welcome here and you know that."

Gabriella nodded and excused herself to the others, leaving the mothers. On her way to the gang, she was stopped half way by Jack. His face looked as if he too were affected by the move. He hugged her and kissed the top of her head, showing his fatherly figure towards her.

"I'll miss you very Gabriella. You will always be like a daughter to me." He smiled and she returned it.

"Thank you, Uncle. And you will always be like a father to me. Even if I can't remember most of the times we were together." She joked with a light laugh. He chuckled and he and Gabriella parted their ways.

She took a deep breath, knowing that this wouldn't be easy. "Gabi!" Sharpay exclaimed as she hugged her. She had just come out of the bathroom. Gabriella furrowed her eyebrows at a wet spot that had formed on her top. "Oh, Gabi, I'm going to miss you so much."

Sharpay smiled as tears quickly formed in her eyes, "I still can't believe you're actually going. We got really close even though we sort of just met. And because of that, I hope you don't forget me… or the others."

Gabriella giggled softly in surprise. Sharpay just saw her and started crying. "Honestly? I could never imagine forgetting you. I just hope you don't forget me. We'll-"

"Shar, what in the world are you screaming about now? We told you it's not a stain." She heard a voice and recognized it.

"Gabi!" Kelsi screamed, imitating Sharpay and hugged her. Sharpay smirked at her loudness. "Is there any way you can stay? Or at least let me come with you? How about we be pen pals or something?" Kelsi made Gabriella laugh at her. The questions and suggestions were quickly thrown at her in surprise.

"Kelsi," A voice called in a sing-song voice, "I've come to get you since you can't even get Shar-"

"Gabriella!" Jason called and hugged her. She was still laughing at the repetition. "I wonder who's coming next." Gabriella said and they laughed.

A shadow quickly revealed who the next person was, "Why's everyone leaving? Zeke's almost finished."

"Gabster!" He ran to her and she hugged him back. "Hey Chad, I sure am going to miss you."

Zeke came with an apron on, "Seriously, where'd everyone go?"

"Gabriella," He smiled. He was the quietest greeting yet. Gabriella hugged him and smiled, "Hey Zeke."

"I'm going to miss you, but you said we'll be able to visit. You can visit here, too. Don't forget." He pointed the cooking utensil at her and she nodded.

Taylor came in already knowing she was hear, "I knew it!" She smiled at Gabriella and hugged her. "I'll miss you Tay."

"You too Gabi, but remember the plan?" She said with a grin and Gabriella nodded. They all continued to talk in the hall way. A few minutes had passed and they all had said what they wanted. A few tears here and there but over all it was the way it should be. Except for one thing.

The last person wasn't there. He was the one she wanted to see most. It was a bit odd to not see him because this was his house. "Okay, so I leave for a minute and you guys ditch me to party? Thanks!" He called and his foot steps were heard.

Gabriella giggled and hid behind the group of friends. "What are you guys doing?" He asked them with wrinkled eye brows. They were just standing cluttered in one section.

"Nothing." Sharpay answered but he gave them a look saying he didn't buy it.

Chad flopped his arms down, "Okay." He said in a defeated tone. "We're doing everything."

Troy rolled his eyes and then Gabriella appeared to him. She walked to him with a smile and he returned it. They shared a quick, sweet kiss. When they ended, Troy wrapped his arms around her and they stayed in the hug. Gabriella opened her mouth but Troy beat her to it. "Always."

She smiled, he knew what she was going to say. I feel it.

They all walked to the living room and sat there. Gabriella broke the silence and spoke to them, for what might be the last time. "I know we all say that we'll miss each other, but that's only a little piece of what I feel."

She held on to Troy's hand as she spoke. "Of course, I'll never forget you guys. I learned a lot here, I gained a lot here. You know, if I think about, I did a lot here. And when I say that you guys helped me find something to call home, I truly mean it."

Kelsi smiled and nodded, "Yeah, you kind of did do a lot here."

"Yeah, you even got sick." Chad said and they laughed.

"Oh hey are you still sick?" Jason asked her and she shrugged.

Gabriella answered him, "Well I don't think I'm sick. Um, I think it was just stress overcoming me you know?"

They continued to talk more until Anna came. "It's time to go." She said softly.

Gabriella stood up and they did the same. One by one she hugged them. She whispered a little message to each as they hugged. The girls were a little teary eyed. She told all of them that she didn't want anyone to cry because it was hard enough for her to fight the tears. She needed them to be strong for her as well.

Kelsi was the first to be hugged. She smiled at her and Gabriella whispered into their hug, "Keep doing your music thing." She sniffed, "I'm sure you'll help all the other couples out there. Because you sure helped us."

She walked to Chad who had a goofy smile on. She giggled, "Chadster."

"Gabster," He whispered back.

They hugged and Gabriella let go. "Besides your crazy antics, you are too nice. You always know how to make someone smile." She then pointed her finger at him, "You better stay with Tay."

She moved to Taylor and hugged her, "Don't forget our plan. Because if you aren't there right next to me, I don't know if I can get through my problems." She smiled, "And you better watch him." She nodded her head at Chad who raised his eye brows.

She kept doing the same until she reached the next to last person, Zeke. "You are the sweetest of all. When you and Sharpay decide to finally get famous, look me up and I can be your number one food tester."

She didn't have to say a word to Troy. She just hugged him. He rubbed her back slowly and she kissed his chest.

Listen, baby
Ain't no mountain high
Ain't no valley low
Ain't no river wide enough, baby

The six others watched with sympathetic smiles for the couple. Gabriella looked up and Troy looked down at her. They continued to hold each other in silence. The parents came and watched their children silently. Troy pushed a stray hair out of her face and Gabriella just smiled.

Troy and Gabriella shared another ardent kiss. All their emotions had been put into it, but they stopped when Gabriella pulled away. She didn't want to cry; she couldn't do that to herself. "I love you," Troy said and everyone, but Gabriella was surprised. They weren't shocked to hear him say that he loved her, but to see tears slide down the side of his cheek. Gabriella shook her head and wiped them away.

"I love you too. But if I have to stay strong, you do, too." Troy bowed his head in shame, "It's hard…"

If you need me, call me
No matter where you are
No matter how far
Just call my name
I'll be there in a hurry
You don't have to worry

Gabriella cupped his face and kissed his forehead, "For me." She didn't ask him, she told him. Troy lifted his head and nodded. "You can do it, you have the good luck." She told him with a soft laugh.

He smiled and looked down at the bright purple hair tie he had been wearing on his wrist for quite a while now. "Always."

She nodded, "This won't be the last time we'll feel it."

Gabriella whispered, "See you later."

'Cause baby,
There ain't no mountain high enough
Ain't no valley low enough
Ain't no river wide enough
To keep me from getting to you

He nodded and let go of her hand, "See you later…"

Once Gabriella said goodbye to Jack and Lucille, they went on their way. Troy and the others were quiet as sadness filled the room them. Troy on the other hand felt a pang of emptiness. They all would exchange glances expressing sympathy for Troy. Chad couldn't tolerate the depressed look that stayed on Troy's face.

Chad broke the silence as the chair he was sitting in squeaked. He stood up and pulled Troy up with him. Chad gave him not a manly hug, but an understanding hug. Chad patted his back and Troy suppressed tears. They smiled at the two friends. Shortly after, the rest of them joined and they were now all in a hug.

Even when I can't be there for you
Oh you're always there for me yeah

A/N: Hopefully this was okay. :) The songs were: I Can't Let Her Go – Boyz II Men & Ain't No Mountain High Enough – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell.

I'm planning on doing a sequel! Keep your eyes pealed k? Review if I should or not though. Because if you don't want it, then what the heck am I doing it for? xD Anyways, Yeah, I love you!