Wow guys! I love the feedback! You're all unbelievably supportive, and I love it! I love getting reviews. They make my day :)
Disclaimer: I don't own it, don't pretend to. Meaning, you can't sue.
Dedication: For Lee, who is so great and wonderful, and the best friend anyone could have.
So here is the epilogue I promised!
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I was standing in the rain, tears threatening to spill, and Troy just stood there for a second, not saying anything.
Why did you leave? Was the silent question he was asking me. His eyes looked so sad, and I felt helpless to change that.
Finally he spoke. "I need you too."
He wrapped the blanket around me, though I realized later, it probably didn't make a difference, since the blanket was being soaked in the rain as well.
We walked over to his porch, and sat on the porch swing.
We sat in silence for a few minutes, simply listening to the rain.
"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked finally.
"I was going to…" I said.
"When? Once you were half way across the country?" His voice didn't sound bitter or angry, just incredibly wounded. "That day you told me…" He trailed off, but then found his voice again. "That day, did you know you were leaving? Is that why you said it? You knew you didn't have to back it up with anything, so you could say whatever you wanted with no consequences?"
My heart sank, as I realized what he was trying to say. He thought I hadn't meant it when I said I loved him.
"Troy, you don't understand…"
"Gabriella, don't tell me I don't understand. I had to hear it from Darbus, okay? I didn't even hear it from your own mouth that you were leaving. It could have been over the phone, online. A letter even, I don't care! But you just left without a word."
My head hung low, and I felt my body was just about to shut down.
"Troy, this was a mistake. I shouldn't have come here."
I got up from the swing, and walked back out into the rain.
I felt a hand on my arm. "Gabriella, wait."
"No," I said, my voice heavy. "You're right. I'm awful, and heartless, and—."
"No, Gabi, you aren't," He said.
I felt all the tears that I had been afraid to cry since I left well up, and my entire body felt heavy. I sunk to the ground, onto the wet pavement.
Troy didn't let me stay there though. He pulled me up, and he kissed me. It was salty and wet, a mix of my tears and the rain. When we finally pulled away, he put his forehead to mine.
"I missed that."
I suddenly realized just exactly what we had done. I kissed my ex-boyfriend, who I was still in love with, and who had a new girlfriend.
"Troy,
this isn't right,"
Troy pulled away suddenly. "Why not?" He asked. "You've got someone in New York then?"
"No, Troy, I don't."
"Then what is it? You really were lying when you said… You know what? It doesn't even matter now." He turned, beginning to walk away.
"No, Troy, wait!"
He stopped walking but didn't turn around, so I spoke to his back.
"Troy, you have a girlfriend. This isn't right, and you know it."
Troy turned slowly. "Is that all? Gabi, Elena and I broke up today. We weren't ever a couple. Not really. We never even kissed."
I swallowed hard, hoping for him to continue.
"Because I still love you. So when I saw you today, when I was about to run to you, she grabbed my arm and told me that if I went after you, things were over." I heard a small smile in his voice. "And do you know what I did? I ran off without a second thought, never looking back."
I smiled through my tears, which had been continuing to fall.
"Troy…" I said quietly.
He turned around fully now, and wrapped his arms around me. I don't know how long we stood there, but eventually, I fell asleep.
That night was three months ago. I woke up in Troy's room, though I didn't know it was his room at the time, since I had never been in there. Troy, I guess, had explained everything to his mother, who had called my mother and explained everything.
We left two days later. Troy and I separated on shaky terms.
"So, what does this mean now?" He asked quietly. We were in his backyard, and hour before my mom and I needed to leave to the airport.
"I… I don't know."
"Well… Where did you apply to?"
"I don't… I…"
"Gabriella, your mother says she couldn't reach you on your cell phone. She says its time for you to head back to the hotel," Mrs. Bolton called from inside.
"Troy, I—"
"Gabriella, this is just some big joke to you, isn't it?"
"Troy, no—"
"Gabriella, forget it. Go back to New York. I guess we're done here."
"Troy, I—"
"Go, or you'll miss your flight."
His eyes looked so harsh, but beneath the harshness, it was apparent that he was hurt.
I turned, and felt the tears well up in my eyes. So I ran. Out the back gate, and all the way back to the hotel.
So I got on my plane that day, and one thought ran through my head the whole time. What if I died? What if the plane crashed, and Troy thought I didn't want to be with him?
But when my plane landed, I convinced myself that he didn't want to be with me anymore, and that was the end of the story.
But it wasn't the end of the story. And I knew that. I just didn't want to admit it.
I stayed in touch with most of them now. Taylor, Kelsi, Sharpay and Ryan too. Jason and I occasionally spoke, if he was with Kelsi, and the same went for Chad but with Taylor.
The truth is, I hadn't told Troy where I applied to because I didn't know myself. Its funny isn't it? I, Gabriella Montez, "the brain," had absolutely no idea where I wanted to go to college. But when I got a full ride to Columbia… Well, I knew I had to take it. And it wasn't far from where Mamí lived.
I had told Kelsi and Taylor about Columbia a few days ago. And I got a call from an unknown number a day later.
"Hello?" I said.
"Gabriella?"
My heart sank and soared at the same time.
"Troy? Where are you calling from?"
'My new cell, the old one got smashed at practice last week."
"Oh," I said. "Well, thanks for your new number."
"Well, that's not the only reason I called," Troy said honestly.
"Yeah?" I said quietly.
"I heard you got into Columbia?" Troy asked. He was unsure, though I didn't know why.
"Yes, that's right," I said.
"And, uh, are you going?" Troy asked.
"Uh, yes, I am."
And that's when it happened. I could hear the smile in Troy's voice. And if I'm any judge, it was a rather large smile. "Gabi, I got into NYU."
I smiled, but I didn't get my hopes up. "And you are…?"
"Going."
That one word, just one word, meant more to me in that moment then most words meant in a lifetime.
And it made everything okay.
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And that's it. I'm happy with it, because it left things kind of open-ended. At first I wasn't sure. I mean, should I leave things with the dramatic ending I had planned, or go on and write this, to wrap it up. Obviously, I chose the latter.
Hope everyone liked it! And Lee, I hope you especially liked it!
Look for a new one-shot from me very soon.
Love,
Monica
