DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL
A/N: thanks so much you guys for the awesome reviews! it really helps me write more!
I took the letter out of the envelope. I stared at it, still closed and folded into thirds. The moment I open this letter, I might fall for him again or end up hurt. I felt the crease marks made by the folds. I could tell that Troy folded it over and over again because they were worn out. I was still debating whether I could open it or not.
"Gabriella?" Taylor narrowed her eyebrows.
"Oh, sorry." I started to unfold it when Brylee, Gena, and Sydney walked through the front door. (A/N: the three other roommates.) They were all carrying shopping bags.
"Hey, guys," called Gena as she walked towards us. Her blonde hair was pulled into a messy side ponytail. Her blue eyes were filled with that I-just-bought-a-gazillion-clothes-today gleam. "How was the basketball game?"
"Oh, we lost," I answered. I sat down on the chair with the unopened letter still in my hands.
"Bummer," said Sydney as she stood beside Gena. She placed her arm upon Gena's shoulder. "I am so tired." She held up seven bags in her other hand. "Gabriella, I saw this amazing top that I thought would suit you best." She put down all of her bags and began searching through them. She pulled out a long brown shirt with mint green and baby blue hearts everywhere. "Thought you could wear it with some jeans and a belt over it for one of those casual days." She handed the shirt to me, snatched it back, pulled out the tag, and rehanded it to me.
"Oh, thanks Syd."
"No prob." Sydney and Gena both smiled and turned to go to their rooms. I let out a deep sigh and continued to stare at the letter. I could hear Sydney and Gena in their rooms trying on their new clothes. I sank back into my chair.
"Gabi?" Kelsi hadn't said anything up until now. She looked at me, then the letter, then back at me. I raised my eyebrows and looked in the direction of the kitchen to indicate Brylee. We heard the opening and closing of cabinets, which meant that Brylee was going to cook dinner. In that case, she would be too busy to eavesdrop. It's not that I don't want to tell Syd, Bry, and Gena about the letter. It's just that I haven't even told them about Troy Bolton, and I didn't want to start now and have to explain my whole situation all over. It was tiring to even think about it. We heard the blast from the stereo in Gena's and Syd's room and figured that it was safe to talk aloud about the letter.
I turned back to face Taylor and Kelsi. I couldn't help but laugh. They were holding each other again.
I opened each fold slowly, revealing that slanted handwriting I recognized. I closed my eyes, took in a deep breathe, and began to read the letter out loud.
"Dear Gabriella. You would never believe how many times I started this letter and ended up ripping it to shreds." I smiled. "I don't really know where to begin. Actually, I do." I shifted in my seat. I wet my lips and continued. "I'm sorry. For everything. For not trying to call you these past few years, for not writing you, for not letting me explain everything. For waiting this long to get the nerve to write this. I just couldn't bring myself to do it after we broke up. I didn't want to end our relationship the way it did. In fact, I really didn't want to end our relationship at all." My eyes welled up with tears. He wasn't going to break up with me.
I cleared my throat and continued. "I just thought that you should know the other half of what I was going to say when we were at the promenade, but then I thought if you could just meet me again, I'd explain that in person. I don't want you to feel obligated to see me because of this, Gabi. I just really want to clear that air. Give me a chance to redeem myself. Become friends again." At this point I felt warm tears roll down my eyes. Friends? I guess that's where he wants to go. I smelled fried chicken and heard Kelly Clarkson in the other room. It was still safe to go on.
"I'll be in town for the UCLA vs. UC Berkeley basketball game on Saturday. (Today). I've got the rest of the weekend to catch up with you, if you'll let me. If you do decide to see me, ask Taylor for the next letter labeled 'ONE'." I looked over at Tay. She had a beaming smile on her face. "I'll see you later, I hope. Troy."
When I was finished, I felt exhausted. I was filled with so many emotions. I laughed as I realized that more tears were emerging from my puffy eyes. I quickly wiped them away. I looked over at the two. Kelsi was wiping away her tears while Taylor still had that smile on her face. Then I realized something.
"You've been in contact with Troy this whole time!" I threw a throw pillow at her. 'Throw' pillows is a good name for it. She chuckled and ran to our room. I grabbed Kelsi and followed. We shut the door. Taylor was rummaging through her desk drawers, 'grr'ing in frustration. I knew what she was looking for. The next letter. She handed me a big white envelope with 'ONE' in big letters.
"Hey, Tay. How did Troy give these to you?"
"Well, before I came yesterday, I got a call from him. I wasn't going to answer it, but he calling and left me SEVERAL voicemails telling me to call him back. He told me what he was going to do, and I automatically caved. He sounded really sincere. So I met him up before I went home. He's staying in the Pearson Apartments with the rest of his team. I knew he mailed that letter, and I was expecting you to have read it yesterday, but we didn't get our mail until this morning."
"That's why you rushed me to read it?" She nodded. "Did you know what it was going to say?"
"Nope. Troy didn't tell me the details. He just told me that he wanted to make things ok between you two. Then he handed me the envelopes—"
"Envelopes. That must mean there's more," said Kelsi.
"Yep, but we'll handle with this one for now. Open it, Gabriella!"
I ripped it open to find a 5 x 7 photograph. It was a picture of Crustaceans, a seafood restaurant by Marina del Rey. (A/N: There is actually a restaurant called Crustaceans, but I'm not sure if it's in Marina del Rey.) On the back was a small note:
Thanks for meeting me later.
This is where we're going.
I'll come by around 7.
Troy
I handed the photo to Taylor and Kelsi. They let out a long "AWWW!"
"That is so sweet. And hey, Crustaceans is sooo good! Jason took me there for our anniversary. There was an oyster bar and a shrimp buffet! (A/N: again, I don't know if there is, I just made it up.) You'll love it there. It's right by the beach, too! When the sun goes down, there is this amazing…well, you'll see!" exclaimed Kelsi.
I glanced over at the clock. I was 5:30 exactly. It gives me enough time to get ready. But what was I going to wear? As I ran to my closet, I yelled in Kelsi's direction, "Kels. Is it a really fancy restaurant? How should I dress?" I was panicking. Clothes were everywhere. I heard her yell back, "Semi-formal, kinda casual." That's all I needed to know. I pulled out my best jeans and a low-cut satin halter top. I threw them at Taylor as I ran in the bathroom. She nodded and walked out the room to iron them. "Thanks so much Tay!" I yelled behind the closed door.
"No problem!" I heard her yell back.
Tonight, I'm meeting up with Troy Bolton.
A/N: soo what do you guys think? do you think that troy just wants to be friends or will he try to rekindle things with gabi:D
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