When Gabriella wakes the next morning, three thoughts enter her head at once.
The first thought is that there's a dull ache in between her legs. The second is that she has never felt more relaxed in her life. The third and final one is that she's in an unfamiliar room, with a very familiar arm draped around her waist.
With a rush, the events from last night come back to her. Every touch, every caress, every look, every thrill of pleasure and passion.
It should freak her out, given their history and given her tendency to overanalyse the situation and run away when things get complicated, but somehow, she's completely at peace with what happened and thus the only thing she can do is lazily stretch out and yawn.
During the night, Troy has somehow ended up spooning her, the front of his body against her back, and he groans in her ear as she accidentally pushes her butt into his pelvis mid-stretch.
She giggles in response and turns around in his arms, watching as he slowly wakes from his own slumber, his eyes fluttering open and shut as he adjusts to the light streaming into the room.
"Good morning," he says groggily, his lips curled into a lazy smirk as he pulls at her waist an attempt to bring her closer to him.
Her hand moves up and brushes through his unruly hair – god, she's always loved how soft and fluffy it is, especially in the early morning when it's sticking up – and she smiles tenderly as she softly replies, "Morning."
He blinks at her in astonishment, as if he didn't realize she was actually here until she spoke up, before his smirk grows into a sweet grin.
His smile makes her feel like she's a moth being drawn to a flame – she just can't help herself as she leans in and presses a soft peck to his mouth. As she draws back, he quickly dives in for more, and within seconds, his tongue is in her mouth and the throb in her core is starting again.
However, this time, common sense seems to win the fight with her desire, and she quickly draws back as she asks him, "What is this?"
Troy's smile slowly morphs into a concerned frown as his hand moves up from her waist to her shoulder and he softly runs his hand down her arm. Whether this is supposed to be comforting or seductive, she doesn't know, but it works on both counts.
"What do you want it to be?"
That's the million dollar question.
Suddenly, all her doubts and fears return to her. Their turbulent history, her guilt that still eats away at her until this day, the painful distance between them.
She bites her lip as she contemplates all this. She loves him so much that it scares her, so much that it makes her uncertain of what to do. Should she throw caution to the wind and give it a try, be courageous and let down her walls for him? Or should she avoid the risk of having her heart broken again, keep her guard up?
In the end, she settles on an honest, "I don't know."
Troy's eyes are darkening and she feels his body tense slightly against hers. After a moment, he nods in acceptance, though. "How about we try to figure it out over breakfast?"
The hope in his voice makes her heart ache with guilt – she's pretty sure they won't reach a definitive conclusion, not when her mind is taking over again – but she still likes the idea of breakfast with him. It fills her with a giddy feeling that is more appropriate for a schoolgirl than for a 28-year-old.
So, she nods and smiles at him, running her fingers through his locks once more. "I'd love to."
Breakfast is nice, but something has shifted again. While it feels comfortable to be in his kitchen, eating his food and wearing his T-shirt while his dog is sitting at her feet, there's a tension building between them and not of the sexual kind.
She is still completely unsure of how to move forward and Troy doesn't push her, obviously aware that this is a delicate situation and putting pressure on her will only cause her to move further away from him.
However, she can sense that he's desperate for clarity. She can practically hear the wheels in his brain turning and she can practically feel that there's something on the tip of his tongue while they eat in silence and keep sneaking glances at each other.
She wonders what his answer would have been. He has effectively avoided giving his own view on the matter by putting the ball in her court. She knows he has a tendency to become really anxious about big, life-altering decisions, so she gets it, but she feels a bit dreary when she wonders what has brought on his insecurities.
She's still not sure whether he thinks they just got caught up in the moment or if he really wants to give this a shot.
She's still not sure which one of these options is better. Hence, she never asks and he never tells.
They never actually figure it out.
Her mother, of course, isn't happy when Gabriella finally returns home. In all the passion of the night and the awkwardness of the morning, she completely forgot to let her mother know what was going on and why she wasn't coming home. Of course, she had left a note to say where she was going before she went to find Troy, but she still feels like a teenager when she comes face-to-face with her concerned mother.
Gabriella's excuse is that they fell asleep during the movie, but she can sense in her mother's narrowed eyes that she doesn't believe the words she says for a single moment. Maria knows and that thought is more embarrassing and feels more like a punishment than any consequence she could conjure up. Fortunately, though, she doesn't address it. Instead, after some reprimanding words, they hug tightly and Maria urges Gabriella not to make her worry like that ever again.
Then, a twinkle in her eye, she asks, "So, how was it to be reunited with Troy?"
Gabriella rolls her eyes as she pulls back from the hug. "We're not going to get back together, mom."
If not only because she's too much of a coward to let herself open up her heart to him again.
"Why not? You like each other so much."
Gabriella shrugs and crosses her arms over her chest. "I don't know if he likes me, mom, not after everything that has happened between us."
Although he did like her enough to make love to her last night, a traitorous voice at the back of her head reminds her.
Maria offers a small, pitiful smile, before grabbing her daughter's hands and leading them to the sofa in the living room. They sit down and Maria still keeps Gabriella's hands tight in her own as she says, "Honey, I've been around Troy often enough to know that he definitely likes you. He talks about you constantly and when he does, he gets this look on his face that you only see on people who are completely, hopelessly in love."
Gabriella laughs nervously. Troy, in love with her. The idea makes her heart flutter with joy and her stomach drop with anxiety simultaneously.
She wants to believe it's true, of course she does, and deep down, she knows it is. It was written all over his face last night, and many nights before that, but is it enough for them to actually work this time? She's still not sure.
"You know, you and Troy have really gotten close," she comments to her mother in an effort to change the subject slightly, but she ends up shrinking back as her mother just shakes her head at her.
Her mother appears in thought for a moment, as if she's considering her next words, before she squeezes Gabriella's hands, and softly says, "You didn't deny that you like him."
Gabriella's initial urge is to deny it, but as she's staring into her mother's encouraging and comforting eyes, she knows she'd be fighting a battle she wouldn't win. Her mother knows her better than she knows herself.
Hence, with a sigh, she averts her gaze, and admits, "I think I might have fallen in love with him again."
She doesn't know exactly how her mother is going to respond to this admission, but she doesn't anticipate the words that end up coming out of her mother's mouth. "Hija… I think you never fell out of love."
Gabriella's eyes widen as she looks back to her mom, who still has that encouraging look in her eyes, and she gulps as she recalls the last ten years.
She recalls how shattered she was after the break up and how she thought of him every day when they were apart, about what he was doing, even when she was in a long-term relationship with someone else. She recalls how she never really got closure, how tense their reconnection was initially, but how the attraction between them had never wavered. She recalls how it felt like they started right where they left off and fell back into a rhythm and a relationship, whether platonic or romantic, so easily as if nothing had happened and as if they were still those sickeningly sweet high school kids. She recalls how her heart skips a beat every time she's around him. She recalls how perfect their night together was and how much she had wanted it to happen. She recalls that one thought that was always on the back of her mind while he worshiped her body, the one about him being the love of her life.
Her mother is right. Even though she pushed them down out of self-protection, her feelings have never wavered. They've always been there, lying dormant, and now that they are awoken, they are more intense than ever, so intense they make her entire body ache with longing.
Her mother watches her carefully as she comes to terms with this realization and they share a smile in acknowledgement of the truth that Maria is right – Gabriella has indeed never stopped loving Troy.
Squeezing Gabriella's hands on more time, Maria asks, "What are you going to do?"
Gabriella bites her lip. This moment of clarity should change everything, she supposes, but it doesn't. Instead, it just makes things more difficult. Her longing for him has reached catastrophic proportions, and as badly as she wants to be with him, the fear of everything between them crashing and burning again is unbearable.
Hence, she shrugs, tears welling in her eyes. "I don't know."
Maria smiles at her, her eyebrows furrowed in concern, before she lets go of Gabriella's hands and softly runs a hand through her daughter's hair. Then, she pulls her in for a hug.
"You'll figure out. You always do."
Gabriella hopes her mother is right.
Of course, her mother is right. It takes days of mentally going through every interaction they've had since they met again at the reunion, reliving their shared past, daydreaming about what could be – in both a positive and a negative sense –, and weighing all the pros and cons instead her head for her to reach a definitive conclusion.
Her conclusion? She's falling back into a bad habit that she really wishes she could let go of. She's letting her worries overtake her and she's pushing him away in fear of how it may all crash and burn, and in the meantime, not allowing herself to be happy.
She remembers how happy she was the night that they spent together. Even just hearing from his parents that she makes him happy or sitting on the couch with him while playing a silly game with popcorn, she was the happiest she's been in a long time. And she's letting her fear get the best of her again.
Her mother told her that Troy makes her want to be brave. Then why doesn't she show him?
Her mind and her heart finally settled in the same place, she doesn't hesitate for a moment, still wary of the slight chance that she'll change her mind after all.
Ripping out a piece of paper from a notebook, she quickly writes a message for him, sealing it with a lipstick kiss like she always used to do when they were still together.
Now determined, she puts the note in an envelope, speeds across town and leaves it in his mailbox.
And then she waits anxiously for his reply.
It doesn't come until the next day, when a bouquet of daisies arrives on her mother's doorstep. Ignoring her mother's elated and slightly teasing look, she revels in the butterflies in her stomach and she smiles when she reads the note attached to the flowers.
Meet me on the rooftop tomorrow at 3pm. I'll leave the door open.
- Troy
When Gabriella is getting ready for… well, whatever this is going to be, she can't help but think back to all those months ago when she was in this exact same spot, getting ready for the reunion.
A lot has changed since then, she thinks as she stares at herself in the mirror and recalls the dullness in her eyes back then.
Back then, she was putting up a façade, she was pretending to be okay and trying to keep herself from falling into pieces. Now, she actually is okay. More than okay, even.
It's strange to think about, how she barely thinks about Henry anymore. While his betrayal seemed like the end of the world for her at the time, his entire presence in her life seems like a distant memory now.
Part of her will always feel hurt and angry about what he did to her and what agony he put her through, but she can say with utmost confidence that she has recovered from her heartbreak and that she is truly over him. She won't deny the significant impact he has made on her life, but she doesn't cherish the memories she has made with him. They're a part of her, but it's all in her past and she's looking to move forward.
How different things were with Troy before they reconnected. How much she has secretly still yearned for him, how she still cherished every memory they've made together, how the pain of leaving him never eased.
Henry was never right for her – she can see that now. And what she can see now too, is that while he was never fully committed to her, she was also always with one foot out the door.
Always wishing for Troy Bolton. Always hoping for that happy ending they got denied by the poor choices they made.
Gabriella's heart stops as she feels a body bump into hers and a thrill runs down her spine at the impact. She knows exactly who it is, and she curses herself for not keeping an eye on him, for being unable to avoid him.
So far, she had been doing a pretty damn good job, especially considering they're both in the wedding party, but she knows she can't avoid the inevitable forever and she will have to face him eventually. And eventually is right now.
"I'm so sorry!" Troy exclaims as he grabs her arms to help steady her, and Gabriella feels her stomach drop while his eyes widen in panic as he realizes whom he just bumped into.
He quickly pulls back his arms to his side and puts one of his hands in his pocket, while the other scratches his neck. "Hi."
"Hi," she mutters back, as she averts her gaze and stares at the ground. She hears him nervously chuckle too as neither of them dares to move or to say anything.
"So…"
"So…"
"How have you been?" Troy asks politely, and Gabriella looks back up at him, ignoring the butterflies fluttering away in her stomach as their eyes lock.
Before she can open her mouth to give him an answer, she suddenly feels two arms wrap around her from behind. They don't ignite the same jumpy feeling that Troy's touch does, but she still smiles as she turns around and reaches up to peck Henry's cheek.
"Hey, gorgeous," he says, dropping a kiss to her forehead, before turning to Troy and eyeing him curiously.
Gabriella turns back to him too, and feels a lump grow in her throat at the sad frown on Troy's face as he looks back and forth between Gabriella and Henry.
Unwrapping his arms from Gabriella, who shivers in the process, Henry moves to stand next to her. "Hey, I'm Henry, Gabriella's boyfriend. You're one of the groomsmen, right?"
Troy's stormy eyes flicker to Gabriella for a millisecond, before he musters a smile at Henry, one that doesn't quite reach his eyes, before nodding and stretching out his hand. "I'm Troy."
"Nice to meet you," Henry says with a nod. "So, are you Ryan or Ben's friend?"
"Ryan's."
Henry raises his eyebrows curiously. "So, I take it you and Gabriella know each other?"
Troy and Gabriella's eyes meet again for a second and Gabriella can see the same pain and discomfort that she feels reflected in his eyes.
They do know each other. Well, they used to know each other. They used to know each other quite well, in fact.
Turning back to Henry, Troy starts to speak. "Yes, I was Gabriella's high school–"
"Singing partner," Gabriella supplies quickly before Troy can reveal the true nature of their relationship and cause this conversation to become even more awkward than it already is. Two pairs of blue eyes turn to stare at her, waiting for further explanation, and Gabriella fakes a smile as she turns to her boyfriend. "You know I told you I used to do school musicals right? Troy and I always got paired up."
She can Troy flinch from the corner of her eye and she feels slightly guilty at downplaying their relationship like that. If only he knew how much it still means to her, even if she won't talk about him to Henry. She has good reasons for that – those reasons being fear that talking about him will unlock an old part of her that she desperately wants to hide away. Fear that Henry will get the wrong idea, that he might think he's a second choice to Troy.
He isn't – she's confident of that. Henry is her present and Troy is her past. She's just not sure if her present and her past can be reconciled so easily.
"Ah, cool!" Henry breaks Gabriella out of her thoughts with a brilliant grin, seemingly oblivious to the awkwardness between Troy and Gabriella.
Gabriella attempts to send Troy an apologetic look, but he's suddenly staring at something in the distance and his eyes lighten up with relief as he nods at someone behind her.
"I think Chad needs my attention," he says, and both Gabriella and Henry turn around with raised eyebrow to see Chad dancing rather awfully in the middle of the dance floor, obviously not in dire need of Troy's help.
Normally, this would amuse Gabriella, but she also knows it's a distraction, and even though she knows Troy doesn't owe her anything and she wants to avoid him just as much, it still hurts.
Their eyes meet one more time as he says softly, "It was nice to see you, Gabriella."
He offers her a small smile, a real one this time, tender and sweet like she remembers. Her heart skips a beat and then starts pounding loudly and rapidly in her chest at the sight, and she returns it.
"You too," she mutters and she watches as he turns to Henry and nods politely, before walking off to the dance floor, both Gabriella and Henry watching him go.
"Nice guy," Henry comments, slinging his arm over her shoulder casually and raising his eyebrows as Gabriella lets out a sound of surprise. "What?"
"Nothing."
It's not nothing, though. The warm, fuzzy feeling that she usually gets around Henry is suddenly gone and all she can think about is that smile.
And as she feels his eyes watching her and Henry's every move for the remainder of the evening, all she can't think about is how she wants him to smile at her like that again and again and again.
While that moment had caused her a lot of inner turmoil at the time, it now makes her smile. How stupid she was to believe that her feelings for Henry could ever come close to the love she feels for Troy. They never did. Troy was always her first choice and he always will be. He will always have her heart, fully and completely.
And now she might actually get a chance to get it right. The thought fills her with excited but nervous butterflies.
After she checks herself out in the mirror one more time and smooths out her yellow summer dress, she smiles at her reflection.
She's ready for whatever may come her way today. She's ready to be brave.
There's something eerie about being at a deserted East High and wandering the corridors when there's no one around. It only serves to fill her with more anticipation as she roams the hallways, on her way to that hidden door that she's been through so many times.
When she is in front of the door, she takes one last deep breath before she pushes it open and climbs the steps.
Her breath stops for a second as she sees him standing at the top. It has started raining in the time that she was wandering inside the school – of course it is – and rain droplets are trailing down his face as he stares off into the distance, appearing deep in thought.
Hesitantly, she takes a few steps further to end up next to him, not caring that her dress will get soaked and that her make-up will be ruined. Telling him she loves him is more important than looking good for him.
He turns to the side and looks at her, his eyes stormy and his smile meek. Her heart skips a beat as she realizes he's nervous.
"Hi," he murmurs and she smiles softly at him.
"Hi."
A silence befalls them, only the sound of the rain being heard, and she tries to keep her breathing regulated as the tension settles between them, so strong that it could be cut with a knife.
"Thank you for the flowers, they were beautiful," she offers, and his smile grows a bit, his eyes lighting up as he notices the few daisies she has put in her hair – just the way he told her he has always liked.
"I'm glad you enjoyed them," he says sincerely, and they fall silent again for a moment. Then, he sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "I guess we should talk."
There's something in his voice that Gabriella doesn't like the sound of, and her smile falls instantly as she gulps. "We should."
Troy looks down contemplatively, and tentatively takes her hand in his. She feels a spark shoot up her arm and she suppresses a content sigh, instead intertwining their fingers as he leads her to the bench where they fell in love.
As they sit down, Troy chuckles nervously and rubs his neck. "Do you remember when we went out for coffee after the reunion?"
Raising her eyebrow, Gabriella nods slowly. She remembers it all too well, all the horrible memories that were dug up and all the grievances that were aired. Whenever she thinks back to the anguish in his eyes that day, she still feels guilt overcome her, but in hindsight, she's also glad that it happened. It was the beginning of the mending of their friendship and the healing of her broken heart.
"I told you I should have fought for you," Troy continues, and Gabriella nods again, feeling that unsettling feeling in her stomach again. "I realized that I haven't been fighting now either."
As Gabriella blinks in confusion, he stares into her eyes intently and smiles. "I was so intent on not wanting to scare you off that I haven't made exactly clear how I feel about you."
Gabriella's breathing speeds up and she thinks it might be a miracle that her voice remains steady as she asks, "And how do you feel?"
His gaze remains on hers, and she feels suddenly light-headed as she sees the absolute adoration in his irises, the intensity of the moment heightened by their mutual complete disregard of the rain surrounding them. She's pretty sure he can hear her heart thumping out of her chest as he reaches up and twirls a wet curl around his finger, playing with it for a moment, before cupping her cheek tenderly. It's all she can do not to swoon.
"I never fell out of love with you," he tells her softly. "I've tried dating, Chad practically forced me to, but no one stuck because they never compared to you. I know that sounds pathetic, but it's the truth. There hasn't been a single day that I haven't thought of or dreamed about you. And I know you're probably scared and that you do not like the long distance, because that's one of the reasons we broke up, but I can't help but feel that we can do it right this time and I don't want that opportunity to go to waste. And I… I hope you feel the same way. Do you?"
Inside her chest, Gabriella's heart is doing delighted somersaults, but on the outside, she's keeping as calm as she can as she realizes what he's asking her. He's not only asking her to give them a chance, he's also asking her how he feels about her. He's laying his heart on the line, and he's asking her to do the same.
Biting her lip, she shoots him a small, nervous grin. "Have you read my note?"
The intensity in Troy's eyes falters for a moment, replaced by anxiety due to her lack of answer to his question, but he removes his hand from her face and retrieves her neatly folded note from his jeans pocket. Briefly, she wonders how it's still legible due to his soaked jeans, but she continues to grin as she unfolds the note and reads it to her. "Let's talk about this. Like kindergarten. Love, Gabriella."
Grabbing both his hands, she takes a deep breath and says, "I never fell out of love either, Troy. Even when I was with Henry, you never left my mind. It's always been you and while I'm terrified… I'm done running. I don't want to let you go again."
Troy closes his eyes for a second, squeezing her hands as he takes a deep breath, as if he's checking whether he's dreaming or not. As he opens his eyes again, they're light and they're sparkling with joy and relief. They lean in simultaneously and when their lips meet, her entire body comes alive, every nerve-ending setting off fireworks.
They clasp each other's faces passionately, savouring the taste and feel of one another, and when Gabriella pulls away to gasp for air, Troy's face immediately follows hers and he recaptures his lips. They keep kissing for a while, before Troy pulls away and whispers against her lips, "I love you."
Her heart skips and butterflies flutter in her stomach, and she feels a tear of joy join the rain droplets on her face as she repeats, "I love you."
After a few more kisses, they pull away and Troy sighs contently as he asks, "Remember the last time we were up there?"
Gabriella nods, her entire body filled with that warm and fuzzy feeling she never wants to get rid of. "So awkward."
"Kelsi really laid into me afterwards," Troy laughs. "She told me that I needed to make a move or get over you."
"Really?" Gabriella asks in amusement as she pulls further away from him, recalling the heated conversation she'd seen between Troy and Kelsi that night. "She knew that you were still into me?"
"Everyone knew," Troy says, before giving her a pointed look. "I wasn't exactly hiding it and neither were you."
Recalling her own conversation with Sharpay that same night, Gabriella shrugs with embarrassment. "Hey, at least we ended up here, right?"
A joyful gleam in his eyes, Troy nods happily, before leaning closer to her. "I'm pretty sure Kelsi wanted me to fight for you instead of letting go anyway. She always really liked us together."
Gabriella laughs, nodding in agreement. Kelsi was always really excited when seeing them together. She's surprised that Kelsi never mentioned anything about Troy to her, when she thinks about it, but she chalks it up to her friend knowing her boundaries, aware that she did not want to talk about Troy.
"How did you know that you wanted to fight for me? That it wasn't time to give up?" she then asks curiously, watching as Troy's grin turns slightly bashful.
"I mean, I've been pining for you for years. It's not like I was trying to push away my feelings," he says, and Gabriella smiles as her heart flutters in her chest at his words. Then, he rubs his neck as he says, "And that night in your room when we became friends again, I found a picture of us kissing in your hammock and I just… knew."
That picture that fell from her box of memories. The one that made her come to the exact same realization. She's getting it framed, she decides as she is overcome with emotion again.
She feels like her grin is so big it might break her face as she reaches up to run her hand through the locks of wet hair that are sticking to his forehead and leans him to kiss him again. Their kisses are slower now, more delicate, but they still make her insides burst all the same.
After another few minutes, Troy stops the kiss again and smirks at her mischievously yet nervously as he reaches into his pocket again. "I have something for you."
He opens his hand to her and her eyes widen as her lips curl up at the item. It's the T necklace.
"No way!" she exclaims and as she looks back up at him, there's nerves in his eyes. "You kept it all this time?"
He just blushes and shrugs, before shyly asking her, "Would you wear it again?"
She leans forward to kiss his cheek. "I'd love to."
Gently, he pulls her hair away from her face and reaches behind her neck to place the necklace on her and fasten it.
When he pulls his hands back, he brushes his hand through her hair once more, and they can't help but smile. She feels a happiness spread through her, as if the final puzzle piece is in place.
They're officially back where they belong. Together.
"So, what now?" Troy asks, and she bites her lip as she can see his eyes cloud with worry. She gets it. Some of the very same factors in their break up are still in place. There's still the distance, there's still their separate lives, there's still their mutual fondness of becoming anxious messes when things get rough.
However, when she looks into his eyes, she sees late night phone calls and heartfelt reunions, she sees mornings where she wakes up next to him and evenings where she comes home to his dinners, she sees white dresses and aisles surrounded with flowers, she sees children running around with her curls and his eyes.
She sees a future. She sees a happy ending.
"We'll make it work," she says and she seals her promise by pressing her lips against his.
She has no doubt that they will.
A/N: And they lived happily ever after!
Thanks for reading, it means the world to me!