Everyday felt like it was in slow motion after Lucille died. Troy hadn't been to school for the rest of the week. His mom brother, his aunt and his cousin Eddie were in town. He was trying to avoid and accommodate them at the same time. He didn't talk much these days. We'd hang out at night sometimes, just laying in my bed. He stayed with me until I fell asleep and he'd be gone in the morning. I don't blame him. I wouldn't want to talk either, but I missed him.

Lucy's service was on Sunday. It was going to be small, just family mainly. Jack invited mom and I because he thought we were practically family. I put on a black dress with lace sleeves. I put a black bow in my hair. It was about two inches long. It started to flop over. I slipped on some heels and walked down stairs. My mom was putting on some pearl earrings, looking at me.

"Ready?" She asked. I just nodded my head. "Cameron." She called out.

Chris, CJ, and Cameron all ran over. My mom smiled lightly. "Yeah, baby?" Big Cameron asked.

"We're going to leave, can you go to the store for me?" She asked, looking at him.

"Sure. The list on the fridge?" He asked, looking toward the kitchen.

"Yeah." She gave him a quick kiss. "See you later." She gave Chris and CJ both a kiss on the forehead. "Love you guys, see you later."

"Bye." I said, before heading out the door. We got into moms car and I looked out the window.

"You alright baby?" She asked me.

"Yeah." I said, distractedly.

I don't know what today was going to be like. I wanted everything to run smoothly. I knew either Troy was going to be a wreak or show no emotion at all. I licked my lips as we pulled up to the cemetery. There was a small group of about twenty or so people, standing around. We parked and I got out of the car, waiting for mom.

I linked my arm with hers and we walked over to the crowd. I spotted Jack first, he was talking to an older couple. I saw Troy's aunt Kat, standing with a guy about my age I assumed was Eddie. My eyes found Troy, he was standing next to his uncle, his moms brother. He was looking at the ground, kicking the rocks on that were stray on the asphalt. His uncle, Lenny was his name, was talking to him. Troy nodded his head and whatever he was saying.

Troy suddenly looked up and his eyes met mine. He nodded again at his uncle and made his way over to me. I realized that my mom had already walked away, mingling in the group. He stood in front of me. "Hey." I said quietly.

He gave me a small smile and kissed my forehead. He wrapped his arms around me, I let out a breath and rest my head against his chest. "Hey." He finally said. He kissed the top of my head. "You look pretty."

"Thanks babe." I said, looking up at him. He kissed my lips gently.

"Troy!" Somebody called. We pulled away to see the older lady Jack was talking to walking over to us. "Introduce your Nana to this beautiful girl you're holding."

Troy smiled at the woman. "Of course. Nana, this is my girlfriend Gabriella. Gabi, this is my Nana Shelley."

His Nana grinned widely. "This is the famous Gabriella my grandson and son in law always talk about."

I smiled at her. "Nice to meet you Nana."

Nana smiled even brighter. "I didn't even have to force her to call me that. She's a keeper Troy-boy." She winked at him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I have to find your pop-pop now. He's probably trying to find a vending machine or something. That man is always hungry."

Troy let out a slight chuckle. "Alright Nana, go find him." He rubbed her back before she walked away. "That's nana."

I smiled. "She's awesome."

Troy nodded. "She's amazing." He said, wrapping his arms around me. He sighed. "Are you ready to meet the rest of the family?"

"Not really." I said, looking at him nervously.

"Why?" He asked, rubbing my back slowly.

"They won't like me."

"Nonsense." He kissed my forehead. "If I love you, they'll love you."

I licked my lips. "I'm sure I'm not the perfect Barbie type they expect you to be with."

He dropped his hand from my waist. He took my hand, squeezing it. "That's the thing about expectations most of the time they don't happen the way you played out in your head." He started dragging me along, meeting family member after family member. I could barely remember any of their names.

Today was going by so much quicker than the last couple of days. My head was literally spinning. Troy left my side when we went inside. I found my mom and took a seat next to her. I crossed my legs and fiddled with my fingers in my lap. They carried the casket in the room and everybody was silent. They set her down at the front of the room. They pulled down a screen and the pastor came up in front of the microphone.

"Welcome all to the celebration of Lucille Grace Harrison-Bolton's life. Her parents Ronald and Shelley Harrison met in Oklahoma in 1965. Ron worked at a gas station and Shelley was a waitress. They shared a love of the Beatles and Soda pop. They got married a year later. Their first son Lennon Ronald Harrison was born in late January. They moved out west with their infant son making it to Texas when they found out they were expecting again another boy Jude Johnathan Harrison. In 1969, a mere 9 months after Jude, Lucille Grace Harrison was born. She was an active baby, always playing with her brothers. She was the instigator, causing trouble. Her fiery personality matched her auburn hair." The pastor cleared his throat. "When she was six, Her brother and best friend Jude had his life taken from Leukemia. A misunderstood diagnosis that would hurt the heart forever. Lucy dedicated her childhood to living for her brother who couldn't. When she hit adolescence, Her family had moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. She spent her last years of high school participating in athletic programs. She met the love of her life in the wings of East High school. Two years after graduation Lucy and Jack Bolton got married in a small church just outside of town. At the crisp age of twenty-two she gave birth to her first and only son, Troy Bolton. A couple years later she was diagnosed with Cervical cancer. She had a hysterectomy and her cancer seemed to be in remission. She enjoyed watching her son grow and play basketball. She was a part of PTA fundraisers and was adored by all her fellow PTA Parents. She started becoming ill again in November of last year. It didn't seem serious at the time she went to the doctor. They found a small lump in her breast which they removed three months later. She was on chemo and radiation therapy but the cancer had already spread. She spent the last days with her husband and her son by her side, passing peacefully in her sleep."

There was a couple of sobs starting up in the crowd. I looked above people, trying to see Troy. He was in a couple pews ahead of us. "Lucille's sister in law Katerina Harrison would like to say a few words first." The pastor acknowledged.

Troy's Aunt Kat came up to the podium. She was one of the sobbing one. She took a moment to calm herself down. "I'm not going to say much, except that Lucy was the best sister in law a girl could have. Nana and pop-pop Harrison, Len, Jack, Troy and I made this to show you all a bit of the Lucy that will live within all of us." She walked off the stage.

Lucy's name appeared on the screen. It faded out and pictures popped up slowly. There were mostly when she was a girl. 'Lucy in the sky with diamonds' played in the background as we watched the pictures change. They documented her life as she got older. Her retro outfits and a picture of Jack and Lucille at Prom put a smile on my face. I watched as pictures of pregnant Lucy and her and baby Troy flashed through the slide show. He was such an adorable baby.

The song changed into a slow country song I didn't recognize. That was when everybody started crying again. I took a deep breath. The slide show was coming to an end because Troy was getting older. The last picture was the one of her, Troy and I. We were smiling widely, our bald heads were white and shiny. I smiled at the picture. I found Troy with my eyes and he was looking at me. I gave him a soft smile. I could see he was tearing up.

Jack went up to the podium. The picture of the three of us stayed on the screen behind him. "I want to thank you all for coming and supporting our family though this hard time in our lives. Nobody expect to lose their wife, mother, daughter or friend so early in their life. It going to be a long hard road to feeling okay again. We don't know if we ever will be okay again. Lucy was the love of my life. When I first saw her, I knew she was the reason that I was on this earth. She blessed me with the most amazing son I could ever ask for and she stood by my side even when she knew I was wrong or crazy. I'll always remember the impact she made on me and my family. I thank God everyday that He put her in my life, even if he did cut it short." He nodded his head and walked back to his seat. We all clapped for him.

Len stood up. "Lucy was my baby sister. Even though Jude and her were only nine months apart we always played the protective big brother role. Lulu took it hardest when Jude got sick, she didn't quite understand what was going on but she knew it was something bad. I remember her coming into my room a couple of days after he passed. She told me that she was glad that Juju, that was her nickname for him, was with God. Even though we were only kids we knew he was in a better place. I know Lulu and JuJu are sitting up there watching over us." We clapped for Len and Troy stood up.

I sucked in a breath and he stood at the podium. He searched around the room until his eyes found mine. It looked like he let out his breath the same time I did. I nodded my head. He took another deep breath. "My mom was a million different things. She was smart, beautiful, kind, funny, feisty, embarrassing, nosy… the list goes on. She never gave up on me, even though I was spoiled with all of her attention being the only child. I don't know what it'd be like to have brothers and sisters. I always wished I had them though because she wanted them. I remember each hospital visit with the first tumor she had. I hated seeing her in pain but I wanted to be there for her just like she was for me every time I scraped my knee and fell out of my tree house." He bit him bottom lip and his eyes found mine. "I don't really know how God works or anything but I know that he and Uncle Jude concocted a plan, not to necessarily take her away from me. But to give me somebody that will care for me. Nobody can ever take the place of my mom but she left me in the capable hands of my dad, my family, and my best friend. It's not everyday you find someone who will shave their head for your mom after knowing them for a month."

I laughed a little bit along with the rest of the room, wiping my eyes. I smiled up at him. 'love you' I mouthed to him.

"Thank you to you all for supporting us, like dad said. Thank you God, Uncle Jude, Mom, and whoever else is up there." He peeled his eyes away from me, walking back to his seat. People started lining up to say their goodbyes.

I took a deep breath and looked over at my mom. She was getting up. "You going to get in line?" I asked her.

"Yeah. Are you coming?"

"I'll be there in a minute." I said, lifting up my legs so she could pass me. I hugged my knees as people started to move forward. I saw Troy looking at me. He waved me over but I shook my head. He was doing his family thing and I wasn't a part of that. I waited for a couple of minutes until the line started dying down and people were clearing out. I got up and stood at the back of the line. I played with the lace sleeves.

"That's amazing, what you did." Somebody behind me said. I turned around. "I'm Brit, Troy's second cousin, or something. I don't know how all that works."

"I'm Gabi." I said, giving her a soft smile. She had Auburn hair, like Lucy's but her eyes were blue.

"Troy's girlfriend. I know. You're like the talk of the family." I winced. She smiled. "Don't worry it's all been good."

I let out a breath. "Good, I'm glad."

"How long have you and Troy been together?" She asked me.

"Almost four and a half months." I said, rubbing my hands together.

She grinned. "How'd you guys meet?"

"We literally ran into each other. I pushed him out of the way. Chad and I were assigned to share a locker and I yelled at him. Troy tried to mediate the situation, I just yelled at him more. It definitely wasn't love at first sight. I was kind of hard to get along with." I said, laughing nervously.

"Troy's usually smooth with the ladies." She said laughing.

I shrugged. "I didn't want any part of it but he got me." I said rolling my eyes. We laughed quietly and I turned around. It was my turn. "It was nice to meet you Brit."

"You too Gabi." She said with a smile.

I let out a breath and walked up to the casket. I looked at her face, her eyes were closed. I kissed my hand and placed it on her forehead. "Thank you Lucy for your wonderful boy. I hope I don't let him down." I whispered to her. "I love you." I took one last look at her and walked over towards Jack and Troy.

Jack wrapped me up tightly. "Thank you for coming Gabi and for the cookies."

I smiled. "No problem. I'll make some more soon."

"You better." He gave me a soft smile and released me.

I scooted over to Troy and he wrapped his arms around me tightly. I laid my head against his chest. "How'd I do?" He asked, kissing my forehead.

I pulled back from him to look at his face. "You made everybody cry so pretty good." I rubbed his arms.

He gave me a half grin. "I'm glad I don't have to make any more speeches." He hugged me close to him. "Hey Brit."

"Sorry for hogging him." I kissed his lips quickly. "I'll see find you later."

"Oh no! it's-" Brit said.

I gave her a soft smile, pulling away from Troy. "It's fine." I waved to them and walked out.

"Gabi!" I heard my name being called as I walked by a group of people. I saw Nana Shelley wave me over. I made my way over there. "Honey, this was Troy's girlfriend I was telling you about. Gabi this is Ron, or Pop-pop."

"Hi Pop-Pop. Great to meet you." I said, giving him a hug.

"I like you." He said, lifting his glasses up. "I like her Hon."

"Me too." She smiled at me. "I want to know. What was your favorite memory of out Lucy?"

I thought for a moment. "Well the day Troy and I got together, I was having some family issues. I came home from Vegas early and I was waiting for Troy to come. Lucy wasn't feeling well so I went over to keep her company as well as wait. I made us cookies and tea and we talked about things. It wasn't really anything special but it meant a lot to me." I nodded my head.

She smiled. "That's great dear. What are you going to do after Graduation?"

"I got accepted into Stanford so I'm moving to California. I'll probably go pre-med." I explained to them.

"Beautiful and smart. Look at that Hon. Troy-boy got himself a keeper." Pop-pop said, smiling crookedly, it reminded me of Troy's.

"That's what I said." She put her arm around her husband. "You and Troy-boy have to come visit us sometimes."

I nodded. "Of course we will." I smiled at them. I felt two arms wrapped around me.

"Hey Nana, pop-pop" Troy said, resting his chin against my shoulder.

"Hey Troy-Boy." I said, grinning at him.

"Oh no, you've been hanging around with Nana too long." Troy said, making a face.

Nana rolled her eyes. "Hush Troy-Boy. You can never spend too much time with Nana, huh Gabi?"

"Right." I agreed, smiling.

"I just came by to say your mom was looking for you." He said, kissing the side of my head.

"Alright. It was so nice to meet you Nana and Pop-Pop." I gave them each a hug. "I'll definitely stop by with Troy."

"Bye Gabi" They called as Troy and I walked away.

We walked over to his truck. "I thought we were going to see my mom?" I asked confused.

Troy put the tailgate down and he lifted me up to put me on it. "I lied." He said, leaning against my legs. "I just wanted to get away from everybody for a minute." He said sighing.

"How are you doing?" I asked, running my fingers through his hair.

"I'm really tired." He said, resting his head against my forehead. "I'm exhausted actually." He rubbed my knees gently.

"If you slept at night you wouldn't be tired." I said, lacing my fingers in between his.

He sighed. "I know. I will tonight, I promise."

"Troy." I said, kissing his lips gently.

"Yeah?" He asked, pulling away from me.

"Thank you."

"For what?" He asked, looking down at me.

"For what you said about me. It really meant a lot to me. I love you so much." I squeezed his hand gently.

He kissed my forehead then my lips. "I love you so much more baby."

"Troy!" Somebody called.

I gave him a small smile. "Duty calls." I gave him another kiss before I pushed him away. "I'm going to find my mom."

"Are you going to stay for the lowering?" He asked, helping me off the truck.

"If you want me to."

"Of course I do." He closed the tail gate. "I'll find you later." I nodded, watching him walk away.

He did indeed find me. Most of the group went over to the burial. Some people had to leave but that was understandable. I made conversation with some of Troy's family, telling the same stories of how we met, what I thought of Lucy, plans for college. The usual. People were all huddled around the plot, holding roses of different colors. Troy was handing them out. He gave me a bright red rose to bury with her.

"Thank you." I said, holding the delicate flower. "These roses are gorgeous."

"They were donated by Mr. and Mrs. Evans when they heard about mom. Mrs. Evans called them wish roses. You make a wish and throw it in. I don't know. I think she was making it up but yeah. It was a nice gesture." Troy explained.

He slid his fingers in between mine. "Don't you have somewhere more important to stand than in the back with me?" I asked him.

Troy kissed the side of my head. "No. I don't want to stand up there. I want to be at home already."

I rubbed his hand gently. "I'm sure this wont take long Troy-boy." I said, grinning at him.

He sighed at me. "Nana and her loose lips." He gave me a small grin.

"I thought you liked nicknames. You called me every dessert you can think of for like a week." I said, leaning my head against him.

"A Sugar booger is not a dessert." He defended.

I rolled my eyes. "Sugar is affiliated with desserts. It's like the same thing."

"But nobody would eat a booger coated in sugar." He argued.

"Oh my god Troy. That's disgusting." He opened his mouth to say something but the pastor started to speak again. "Shush." I hushed him.

He narrowed his eyes at me for a second. The pastor gave kind words and asked Jack and Troy to come up and throw their flowers in first. Troy started walking but didn't let go of my hand. He dragged me up there and I watched him throw his flower in first then Jack.

"Goodbye Lu." I whispered with my lips against the soft petal. I tossed mine in and Troy wrapped his arms around me.

The mood has been a rollercoaster. It was gloomy then content now it was glum again. I closed my eyes as I rested my head against his chest. He stroked the back of my head slowly. He watched the rest of the people toss in their roses. Saying a final goodbye to Lucille Bolton.

These chapters have both been super heavy. I was trying to get this out before dinner but somebody decided to turn the WIFI off so i'm doing it now. Thank you guys for all the reviews. Seriously, i worked so hard on this story. It's weird. Every single time i name an OC i have like a list running through my head of names. I try not to use the same ones twice. And I ALWAYS seem to have themed names. Like White liar i named the sisters twins Luke and Jason after Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean haha. And in Texas Was You, i had the president theme. and now i have the Beetles theme. I'm weird, i know. I was very italics happy today. I don't know why. Okay. i'm going to stop. Last two chapters of Fame and Love are going up tomorrow! Bittersweet i know :(

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