Disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue.
A/N: Wow, it's been a very long time…my computer crashed and I couldn't get internet access. We finally found the problem and ordered the part, and my dad got us a wireless router. So now I can update my fic from the comfort of my own room…lol…I hope you guys can forgive me and are still up to reading this story!
WARNING: This chapter contains heavy alcohol abuse.
Enjoy!
P.S.-I couldn't use the break button thingy so I just typed BREAK when there's supposed to be one.
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Gabriella sat at the desk in her room, tears sliding down her cheeks as she flipped through the previous year's yearbook. She paused at a picture of her and Troy together at the junior prom, the smiles on their faces a stark reminder of the happiness they had once shared.
The crumpled letter from Stanford lay next to her yearbook, some of the words blurred by tear stains. Ryan had brought her home soon after their talk, and she had spent the last few hours thinking about what he had said.
"You should let him help you," Troy's voice came from the vicinity of her bed, startling her. She turned quickly, only mildly surprised to find Troy sitting on her mattress, holding her favorite teddy bear in his hands.
"Why are you doing this to me, Troy?" Gabriella asked, wiping away tears as she crossed over to sit next to him.
"You're doing this to yourself, Gabi. You keep bringing me back because you haven't let me go."
"I can't, Troy," Gabriella whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I can't let you go. You're everything to me."
"Gabi, I'm not here. You need to move on. You need to continue with your life."
"Troy, I don't want to move on. I want to be with you."
Troy sighed, tipping Gabriella's face toward his and brushing away her tears.
"Gabriella, I want you to move on. I want you to go to Stanford, to live your dreams."
"It's so hard, Troy," Gabriella said quietly, burying her face into his shirt as she pulled him into a hug. "It's so, so hard."
"I know, Gabi," he soothed, rubbing her back. "I know it's hard. But you're not alone."
"Why do I feel like it, though, Troy? Why do I feel so completely alone?"
"You're shutting everyone out," Troy said gently, pulling away from her slightly. "There are people trying to help you, and you keep turning them away."
"You mean Ryan," Gabriella stated, looking into Troy's eyes. He nodded, smiling slightly.
"He wants to help you, Gabi. Let him in. Let him help you."
"It's too soon, Troy."
"It's not too soon, Gabi. You need to let me go." He leaned in closer, pulling Gabriella into a small kiss.
"I'll try, Troy. That's all I can promise you," Gabriella whispered, leaning her forehead against his. "I'll try."
"That's all I'm asking," Troy replied, kissing her gently before standing slowly.
"I love you, Troy."
"I love you too, Gabi," Troy replied, turning away and starting towards the door.
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Jason stood in the East High gym, holding a basketball in his hands. School had just let out for the weekend, and he wanted to spend a minute alone before meeting Kelsi for their Friday night date. The gym, ironically, happened to be the only place in the school that was deserted at that time of day.
Sighing, Jason threw the ball over his shoulder, walking toward the locker room. Basketball didn't hold the same appeal for him anymore. Even though he and Troy hadn't been the closest of friends, they had grown up together. He, Troy, Chad, and Zeke had been on the same team for years, suffering the same defeats and celebrating the same wins. Since Troy's death, the relationship between the remaining three had become strained at best.
To Jason's surprise, he found Zeke sitting by his locker, holding his game jersey in his hands.
"Hey," Zeke nodded in greeting, smiling slightly at his friend.
"Hey. Cleaning out your locker?"
"Yeah, you?"
"I wanted to find a quiet place to think about some stuff, you know?"
"Yeah, I know the feeling."
There was a moment of silence as Jason walked to his locker and pulled it open, taking out his own jersey and throwing it into his bag.
"Are you putting anything into that yearbook thing?" Jason asked, pulling out a pair of basketball shorts and adding them to the shirt.
"You mean the special page about Troy?"
"Yeah."
Zeke shrugged.
"I've got a few pictures from basketball and stuff."
"Me too."
"It just feels weird, though, doesn't it?"
Jason nodded.
"I know what you mean."
The two sat in silence for a moment, lost in their own thoughts. Sighing, Jason threw the last few things from his locker into his bag and shut the door, looking solemnly at it.
"You know, I just realized this is the last time I'll ever use this locker," he said quietly, looking over at Zeke. "I guess I just kind of forgot about all of that senior stuff with-"
"Me too," Zeke said, shaking his head. "I guess we just always figured we'd be doing this together. The four of us."
"I can't believe it's almost over," Jason said quietly, reaching up to finger his nameplate for a moment.
"I'm sure Troy felt the same way," Zeke replied bitterly, closing his own locker and ripping his name off the front. Jason nodded and pulled down his own name, falling into step beside Zeke as the two walked into Coach Bolton's old office. They threw the nameplates onto the empty desk, the small strips of white metal gleaming on the polished wood. "It just ended too soon for him."
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Chad sat on the steps outside the school, his face buried in his history text book. He was waiting to meet Taylor so they could drive home together, but she was running late. Chad was using the book to avoid meeting anyone's gaze, trying to avoid contact with any of the other students.
"Hey!" Taylor's cheerful voice broke into his concentration, forcing him to look up.
"Hey," he replied, closing the book and standing up, leaning over to kiss her.
"How was your day?" Taylor asked, wrapping her arm around Chad's shoulders.
"Alright. Yours?"
"It was amazing, Chad. I have the best news!"
"Really?" Chad asked, his voice giving the impression that he could care less.
"I got into Northwestern! Can you believe it?"
"Northwestern?" Chad asked weakly, stopping and turning to face his girlfriend.
"Yes, Northwestern! Chad, aren't you happy for me?"
"Northwestern is in Chicago, right?"
"Just outside, why?"
"Chicago's far away," Chad stated plainly, throwing her arm off his shoulders.
"Chad, what are you talking about? I thought we agreed that we'd go to college apart. We agreed that we could make it work."
"Yeah, well, that was before."
"Before?"
"Before Troy died, Taylor! Before my best friend had his life viciously ripped from him in the span of a few seconds. Before my entire life changed."
"Chad, what's gotten into you? Why are you doing this?"
"Taylor, what if you go to Chicago and something happens to you? What if-what if I never see you again?"
Taylor gasped, comprehension dawning on her face.
"What if I lose you?" Chad asked, turning away so she wouldn't see the tears gathering in his eyes.
"Oh, Chad, that's not going to happen," she whispered, stepping forward and pulling him into a hug. "It's not going to happen."
Chad couldn't reply, his voice choked by sobs. He pulled Taylor closer to him and the two stood like that for several minutes, crying softly together.
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Two weeks after their talk in the music room, Ryan and Gabriella met again in the same place, to discuss an idea for a tribute to Troy at graduation.
"Have you thought about Stanford?" Ryan asked, sitting next to Gabriella at the piano. Gabriella closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.
"I've thought about it," she replied, placing her fingers on the keys and starting to play.
"And?"
"I'm not sure," Gabriella replied, pausing for a minute. She looked over Ryan's shoulder, startled by something she thought she saw in the corner of her eye.
"Gabriella? What's wrong?" Ryan asked, turning to look at the same spot.
"Huh? Oh, nothing. I just-nevermind," she replied, shaking her head and turning back to the piano. A second later, though, the same thing distracted her for a second time. Troy was sitting by the door, smiling at her.
"Let him in," he mouthed, nodding at her.
"Gabriella?" Ryan asked, touching her shoulder gently.
"Ryan?" Gabriella asked, turning away from Troy, slightly confused as she looked at Ryan.
"Gabi, are you alright? What's going on?"
"Nothing. Ryan, I just-I wanted to thank you for everything you've done. I know it's been hard for you, too, but you've stuck by me."
"You needed a friend, Gabriella."
"No, Ryan, you were more than that. These past few weeks, it's been hard. It still is. I don't know if it's ever going to get easier. But you still stuck by me. Thank you."
"Gabi, it's always going to be with you. I know that."
Gabriella nodded, her eyes darting over to Troy again. He nodded, as if giving her permission to continue.
"Ryan?"
"Hm?"
"Would you do me a favor?"
Ryan looked at Gabriella, slightly confused.
"Kiss me?"
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Kellie lay on the living room couch, several empty bottles of beer surrounding her. Another bottle rested in her hand, from which she would periodically take a swig. Jack had been away for the past two weeks, visiting family and trying to get over the death of his son. For the whole two weeks she had done the same thing, downing several bottles of beer in one sitting, laying around the house and trying to drown her sorrows.
"Why did you have to take him away, God?" she slurred, turning her eyes toward heaven. "Why'd you take away my baby?"
Tears slipped from beneath her eyelids as she pleaded with God, taking another sip of the alcohol. Crying out in frustration and anger, she let the bottle fall to the ground, her hand laying limply out to her side. The sound of Jack's car pulling into the driveway didn't even faze her.
"Kellie?" Jack's voice called from the front step, as his key turned in the lock.
Kellie sat up half-way, panicking as she tried to hide the beer bottles. She wasn't quick enough, though, as Jack opened the door and stepped into the house.
"Kellie?" he asked in awe, staring at his wife sprawled on the couch.
"Jack?" she slurred, trying to stand up but falling back pathetically.
"Kellie? What are you doing?" Jack asked, stepping into the living room and picking up a few of the bottles. "Have you been drinking?"
"Just a little," Kellie said, waving her hand dismissively.
"Kellie, are you drunk? How long has this been going on?"
"Coupla' days."
Anger flashed across Jack's face as he crossed the room to her, picking her up from the couch and shaking her slightly.
"A couple of days? Kellie, what are you doing to yourself?" he yelled at her, anger coloring his voice.
"Nothin', Jack," Kellie slurred, struggling to free herself from his grip. "Leave me alone."
"Kellie, you're killing yourself," Jack shouted, tears falling down his face as he looked at his wife. "Troy wouldn't want this."
"Troy's dead, Jack! Or didn't you hear?"
"Kellie, this isn't you. This isn't the woman I married."
"She died when Troy died."
"You don't mean that," Jack said quietly, more tears falling down his face. "You don't mean that."
He stopped for a minute, looking sadly at her.
"I'm getting you help."
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A/N: Well, that was chapter 12. I made it a little bit longer to compensate for the wait. I had some major, major difficulties writing it. I didn't know what to do, I wrote the beginning three or four times, and I just didn't know what to do with it. I hope it came out okay.
Reviews greatly appreciated, as always!
Coming in Chapter 13: Kellie goes to a rehab center…Ryan and Gabriella try to start something new…prep for graduation starts!