A/N: Soooo sorry for the delay but I'm in the middle of applying for my own internships! Thanks for the amazing reviewers, arrianne, dyeitrouge, Fanficfan1122, Gwynxxxx, wildcats2016, Bluebell140, pumpkinking5, Ski74, lonelystar24, londongirl123, chica13 and summer1010. I was overwhelmed by your response to the last chapter! It was hard to write and I'm glad it came out well. Here's the next chapter!

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

When Troy got to work on Tuesday morning he was more than relieved that he already had a job offer and had accepted it. In the end he had probably only gained three hours of sleep, and the vast quantity of alcohol he had consumed the previous night didn't help him one bit. His head was pounding and his vision still bleary by the time he arrived at the hospital. As he stepped into the elevator he massaged the back of his neck. An irritating kink had developed in his neck after spending the night on couch. His mouth split into a grin as he remembered waking up with his limbs intertwined with Gabriella's. She had been furiously embarrassed by her actions the previous night and had escaped the apartment at the first opportunity. She had apologised profusely before she left, and had also sent him a regretful text message on the way to work, which he found adorable. They had plans to meet for dinner the following night when they would discuss Troy's big news properly. It would give her a chance to recover from her awkwardness and give them both a chance to sleep off their big night.

Troy's grin broadened as he stepped into the radiology department. It had been a lucky break that he was now rostered to the service where he would spend most of his day in a dark room, and have more of an observational role as a student than any of his prior rotations. His headache eased slightly when he entered the darkened reporting room and he had to chuckle at the sight before him. Three of the radiologists were massaging their heads and he could see those nearest to him also had red, watery eyes.

"Morning Troy," his supervisor winked at him knowingly. "Long night?"

Troy nodded sheepishly, "Yeah, you could say that, Louis."

"First job for today, go get yourself some coffee," Louis waved him off. "It's going to be a long day and your eyes are going to go square otherwise."

Troy tried to protest, but Louis stood firm. Five minutes later, Troy sat beside Louis armed with a large steaming foam cup and a slightly sharper mind. They began flipping through x-rays and Troy was pleased that his revision on the weekend was paying off as he correctly described each picture. As they worked, the radiologists all around them mumbled into Dictaphones creating a soft rumbling in the room. They were about halfway through when a woman reluctantly popped her head through the open door.

"We have an angioplasty in ten minutes. That's you Mason." She turned on her heel immediately but not before she drew jeers from the occupants of the room.

"How was your night, Bonnie?" Louis drawled. "Mine was great."

"Thanks for keeping our trophy warm," another voice teased. "Better polish it up for us."

"Can you imagine, winning the title in April?" laughed a third.

The woman, Bonnie, pursed her lips, gave a sharp nod at the radiologist named Mason, and almost sprinted away.

"A Man City fan," Louis smirked at Troy in way of explanation.

"That was a bit harsh though," Troy commented.

Louis laughed, "Maybe. But you wouldn't have a problem with it if you were around last year. The grief she gave us for months was ridiculous. It's the nature of the beast."

"Don't dish it if you can't take it I suppose," Troy nodded.

"Exactly," Louis said as he pulled up a series of CT scans. "In this city, football is a religion and with City now competing for titles the stakes are even higher. As you walk home tonight take a look around you. Half the people you see are going to have glassy eyes and delirious smiles while the other half will have their heads down and will probably be rushing to get home as soon as possible."

It was an observation that Troy did in fact make as he left the hospital that evening. The split between Man United and Man City fans was glaringly obvious by their contrasting expressions. Also as it turned out, the other hospital departments had staff that was more evenly spread between the two camps, which only spurred the Red side on in their jokes and ribbing.

On his way home he remembered the pain that his friends had all expressed when recalling the previous season. He was beginning to understand how they had been made to feel for months, and was relieved that they could have their measure of revenge this season. When he finally reached his apartment, all thoughts bar that of his nice warm bed immediately escaped him and he collapsed on top of his soft mattress.

It had barely seemed like minutes before he was being rudely awakened by the piercing ring of his cell phone. He cursed loudly and pulled his pillow over his head in a vain attempt to block out the sound. When the ringtone finally died out he was given a moment's reprieve before the melody filled the room once more.

"What?" he growled at the persistent caller. He immediately felt guilty for his poor manners and hoped it wasn't his parents or someone from the hospital.

"Hey man!" Chad greeted excitedly, instantly sucking out any repentance Troy felt.

"Hi Chad," he ground out. "What's up."

"We're champions!" Chad crowed.

Troy winced at the volume of his friend and mustered all his self-control to not just hang up and go back to sleep.

"Yeah, it's amazing huh?" he tried to sound enthusiastic. "We should celebrate this weekend. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"No, that's why I'm calling, silly. We're celebrating tonight! We're heading over to the pub right now. Meet us there."

"The pub?" Troy asked tiredly, struggling to contain his yawn. "You guys didn't celebrate yesterday?"

"Of course we did, but we want to celebrate again!"

Troy let his head fall back on his pillow with a thud, "Right, of course you do. Um, I might give it a miss. I'll catch up with you guys later in the week. I'm dead tired."

"Come on Troy, it's only 9 o'clock!"

Troy's eyes widened and he glanced at his watch in surprise. He had been asleep for three hours?

Chad continued to plead and against his better judgement, Troy finally relented. Once he made it to his friends' table though he felt a new wind. His tiredness had vanished and he felt hyperaware. His only hope was that he could last a couple of hours and then go back home to sleep.

"So you never told us how things with Gabriella went," Kelsi prodded. "You did tell her didn't you?"

"Yes, I told her," Troy rolled his eyes and took a gulp of his lemon squash. He had decided on the way over that the best course of action was to avoid both alcohol and caffeine. "She was really excited. We have heaps to talk about of course, but yeah, she was pleased for sure."

"Was there really any doubt?" Taylor raised an eyebrow. "You thought she was going to be so mad that you didn't tell her that she'd ask you to hop on a plane to America and stay there?"

Troy shrugged, conceding her point, "No I guess not. But it was still a big deal to tell her. I think it just made it real to tell her. Everyone else would probably deal with it if I changed my mind, but with Gabi I could never do that to her. Once I told her, the decision was final."

"Having second thoughts?" Chad asked curiously, noticing his disconcerted expression.

Troy yawned, "No, not really. I guess I'm a bit nervous about everything. It is a huge change after all. I have my PLAB exams scheduled. Conveniently the only place you can do the second part is here in Manchester. That's in July so I'll be back earlier than I expected. Gotta sort out heaps of stuff before then though."

"If you need any help, let us know," Chad offered.

"Thanks," Troy yawned again. "But I really have to go crash now. Otherwise tomorrow I'll be screwed."

"You're so soft," Chad taunted.

Troy shrugged and rose, "See you guys."

"Probably Sunday," Jason called out. "I'm on nights the rest of this week and we're meeting Kelsi's mother in Liverpool on Saturday."

Troy waved in acknowledgement and left the pub. He looked back at his friends through the window. They made no signs of leaving soon despite him knowing that Kelsi, Taylor and Chad had early starts the next day too. Maybe I am soft, he mused. It was probably something that would change over the next year, if it didn't exhaust him to death first. His second wind was leaving him fast, and he barely made it over the threshold before his eyes glued shut.

"Not again," were the words that Troy woke up with. Of course he didn't just say them, he yelled them loud enough that Kelsi gave him a concerned look as he met her in the corridor on their way to work the next morning. Her concern swiftly morphed into amusement as she watched him walk with his hands pressed to his face.

"Fell asleep on the couch again?" she asked incredulously.

He merely shot her a withering glare as he tried to kink his neck back into the correct position. She giggled the rest of the way.

By that evening, the pain was gone once more, and Troy swore he would be sleeping in his nice soft bed that night. He glared at the 'demon' couch as he got ready for his date with Gabriella.

"You think you're so funny," he muttered as he crossed the living room to the door. He threw his hands up in exasperation, "Now I'm talking to furniture. God, I need some proper sleep."

It was only a short walk to the restaurant they had picked, but when he arrived Gabriella was already at a table sipping some red wine.

"Hey Gabi," he greeted her with a kiss. "Sorry I'm late."

He sat himself opposite her and picked up a dinner roll to munch on.

"I thought you might be hungry," Gabriella grinned. "I ordered already so the food should be out any minute."

"Angel," Troy winked.

As they waited for dinner, they shared the reactions to the championship at their respective workplaces. Halfway through their pizza, the topic changed to something more serious.

"So…" Gabriella looked at him meaningfully. "You're really staying."

Troy gave her a small grin, "And you're okay with it?"

Gabriella laughed, "Of course I am!"

"You told me that I should choose my parents! When I gave you that hypothetical!" Troy objected.

"Well obviously I didn't want you to turn your back on your parents, especially not for me. But if they understand, and you've already made your decision, I can't say I'm sad about it." Gabriella linked her fingers with his on the table, "So what do you need to do before you leave?"

"The main thing is find an apartment," Troy groaned, rubbing his temple with his free hand. "I don't think I realised how lucky I was this year. I know I'll get paid for working, and I won't have to pay tuition anymore, but apartment prices in the city are sky high. I don't want to go too far from the hospital, especially with the crazy hours I'll have to put in, but I don't think I'll have much of a choice."

"You're looking though?" Gabriella asked tapping her chin. "You shouldn't leave these things too late."

Troy nodded, "Yeah I know. I have started, but it's really depressing."

"What else do you have to do?"

"I've started applying for residency," Troy scratched his neck. "It's so weird to me. Even getting dual citizenship seems wrong. I guess I'm a bit too patriotic, huh?"

"It's nice that you love your country," Gabriella disagreed. "It's not a bad thing at all. And like you said, it'll be dual citizenship. You'll never have to give up being American. It's who you are."

"I do love my country, but I love you more," Troy winked, squeezing her hand.

"I love you too. And um, thanks for Monday. I'm so embarrassed." Gabriella looked down.

"Hey, don't be. I know I'm that irresistible," he teased.

She blushed deeply, "Troy."

"Kidding! Look we were both pretty smashed and I'd never take advantage of you like that."

"I'm just glad you had the ability to stop." Gabriella looked up at him through her lashes.

"It was hard," he admitted. "Oh actually I do need your help. I'm getting the full contract paperwork tomorrow. I need a lawyer to look over it to make sure I'm covering all the bases."

"Well you're lucky you have your own personal lawyer," she raised her eyebrows.

"Lucky doesn't even begin to cover it."

They split a tiramisu for dessert before they were both yawning.

"I'm sorry Troy," Gabriella said awkwardly. "It's just we barely slept on Monday and Sharpay dragged me out last night too to celebrate again. I'm exhausted."

Troy chuckled, "So it's not just me. Hanging around Chad and the others makes me feel like an old man. It's crazy to think I was drinking myself into a coma just a couple of years ago."

Gabriella's face fell, but he quickly kissed her to remove the frown.

"That was a long time ago," he reassured her, before joking, "Now I can barely handle the hangover after one night."

He left money on the table, and pulled her up gently into his side.

"Sometimes I forget you know," Gabriella said softly. "I forget about Melissa and Justin. Sometimes it seems like it's just been you and me."

"That's how it should be. I was it had always been you and me, but what I can promise is that from now on, it will only be you and me." Troy leaned against her car and pulled her closer by the hips. "I love you."

He kissed her soundly and deepened it as her hands came to link around his neck.

"Goodnight Troy," Gabriella whispered against his lips. She stepped back slowly and got into the car. "I love you, too."

"Night Gabi," he smiled.

"Where have you guys been?" Sharpay called out as Troy and Gabriella walked in. "Coverage is starting!"

"Here come the champions!" Jason whooped as the United players were shown to get off the team bus and stroll towards the dressing rooms.

"And the man of the moment," Zeke announced. Manchester United's Robin Van Persie was shown on screen as he walked through the stadium that he once called his home.

"It must be so weird for him," Taylor commented. "To come back to Arsenal as the away team after spending what, eight seasons here?"

"How fitting though," Kelsi pointed out. "He left saying he wanted to win a trophy, and on his very next trip here he comes back as a Premier League champion."

"It is funny how the fixture list played out," agreed Troy, as they watched the player greet his former colleagues. "Arsenal just had to be the match straight after we won."

"Wait, what's he doing?" Chad waved frantically at the screen. "Is he… Oh this is priceless. He just tried to go into the wrong dressing room."

They all laughed as Robin Van Persie face-palmed and walked towards the away dressing room instead of the home dressing room that he had reflexively tried to enter. The jovial mood turned to one of pride as their team walked out through a guard of honour formed by the Arsenal players.

"Alright, fanfare over. Let's play some football," Chad rubbed his hands. His mood considerably darkened within two minutes when the newly crowned champions were suddenly 1-0 behind.

"Seriously?" Sharpay growled. "We're going behind early… again? You'd think we'd be over this."

The performance didn't show any signs of improvement on the Man United players' behalf.

"I guess all that drinking screwed them up," Troy frowned.

"They earned the celebration though," Gabriella leaned her head on his shoulder.

Slowly but surely there was some improvement as Arsenal began to fall away and United gained more of a foothold on the game. There were a ton of close chances and then finally on the counter attack, United won a penalty.

"Who else? Who else?!" Jason pumped his fist as the former Arsenal player scored to level the scores. The rest of the match followed in similar vein with many chances but no goals. When it finished 1-1, there was a sense of disappointment in the air, which was quickly wiped out by the remembrance that they had already won the league.

"It's going to be like this for the next three weeks isn't it?" Kelsi asked with a wry grin. "No one cares what happens because we've already won."

"Hey, they worked hard all season, they won with four matches to spare, we can cut them some slack," Zeke pointed out.

"I still hate losing though," Sharpay grumbled, sinking her teeth into a large muffin. She swallowed and then looked at her friends, "Are you guys staying for dinner?"

Gabriella looked at Troy, "Do you still want me to look over the paperwork?"

"Oh right, the paperwork," Jason said in air quotes. "Is that all she's looking over?"

Troy sent him a scathing look then nodded to Gabriella, "Yeah could you?"

"Bye guys," she waved.

Once they were back in Troy's apartment, the paperwork was forgotten after all.

"Gabi," Troy moaned, "we have to stop."

"Your neck again?" she asked looking up from his bare chest. He coaxed her back up to a sitting position, and rebuttoned his shirt.

"Not exactly." He shifted uncomfortable and pecked her cheek. "Just need to slow it down a bit."

"I'll take a look at the contract now," Gabriella patted his hand. She picked up the sheaf of papers and leaned back against the arm of the couch. Troy gently lifted her outstretched legs and placed them in his lap so she could sit more comfortably. He intended to give her a foot rub in repayment for reading his paperwork but before he knew it he was opening his eyes, looking at Gabriella's smiling face.

"Did I fall asleep?" he asked looking around in confusion. His eyes widened, "Three hours? You should have woken me."

"Don't worry, I dozed off too. It's been a long week."

Troy nodded, "A really long week."

She grinned up at him, "A good week though."

He thought of the whirlwind seven days that had just passed. From winning the Premier League title, to telling Gabriella about staying in Manchester to the hectic few days of celebration.

"It's been a great week. I only hope that they'll all be like this."

So not that much Troyella in this chapter but it's going to be heating up again soon! Love to hear your thoughts! The next chapter won't be delayed as much!