You hate me…I know. It's been way TOO long, but I did finally write a new chapter. That counts for something right?
"Did I do something wrong Brie?"
"No. God no Troy. That's the problem. Everything with you is perfect. Perfectly imperfect." He looked so confused.
"I'm…sorry, I guess." I got up shaking my head and Troy got up behind me. "Brie, what's up?"
"You have nothing to apologize for Troy. I do though. I need to apologize for a lot of things and I don't know how you'll take it, but I need to get this out. You may never want to be friends with me again, but I have to say this. Before I start, I am sorry for saying this after everything with your brother. I should've waited or did it before, but I guess I cou-"
"Gabi, stop rambling and just say what's on your mind." I blushed. I tend to ramble when I'm nervous.
"No interrupting, okay?"
"Okay. My lips are sealed." Suddenly, I didn't know what to say. I had the floor and I got extremely nervous, so I said what I was thinking.
"I don't know what to say or where to start."
"Okay, uhh, who is this about?"
"It's about you Troy."
"Is it bad?"
"No…yes. Well, it depends on how you look at it I guess."
"Gabs, just blurt it out. I can ask you a million questions, but that doesn't mean we will get anywhere with these ques-." I decided to interrupt him this time.
"I like you." He laughed.
"I like you too Gabs."
"No, I mean I really like you." That made him stop laughing. "I like that you took the time to get to know me. I like that you picked that shirt just because it's yellow and you know it's my favorite color. I like that you're so close to Chad and your family."
"Gabs…"
"I like when you call me Brie. I know when you call me Gabs, you're about to say something serious and you don't know how I'll handle it. I like that I can wake up in sweats and you think I look just as cute in a dress and heels. I like how I feel comfortable with you in my own skin. I'm sorry for acting like I didn't like you. I tried to say something, but then you wanted me and Derek to work. I figured I didn't have a chance."
Troy looked away from me and I was trying to read his mind, but it wasn't working. I didn't know whether to leave or to wait, so I just kept talking.
"I know when we kissed yesterday, you said we were just friends caught up in the moment, but I wasn't. I wanted to do that for a long time. It just came at the wrong time. Chad told me to be sure, and I'm sure."
"Chad?"
"Yeah, I was talking to him today when you called. Remember?"
"Yeah."
"If you need a minute Troy, I can go to my room. We can talk when you're ready."
"I'm sorry Gabs. I'm not processing stuff well today. I promise I'm not mad. I do need a minute to think though."
"Okay, I'll see you later then." I gathered my stuff and headed back downstairs. I don't know what I expected, but I didn't expect this. I wanted him to give me a yes or no, but he gave me nothing. When I opened the door, all the girls were there watching a movie. Chad was there too with Taylor. He looked at me and I knew he could tell something was wrong.
"Troy should be texting you soon." Seconds later, his phone went off. He read the message and got up. He hugged me before he walked out the door. All the girls looked at me. I took off my shoes and sat down in between Taylor and Sharpay. Kelsi sat in front of us. I started telling them everything. I didn't tell them about Troy's brother, but I told him he had family issues. I told them I realized my feelings about Troy and the conversation we just had...well I did most of the talking. Sharpay spoke up first.
"That bastard. Gabs, I'm so sorry."
"Shar, you're being a little harsh. Like Troy said, it's a lot to process. Gabs, I think he likes you, but he needs to make sure he's not ruining a great friendship. He ignored the feelings just like you did." Kelsi always made sense. Taylor hadn't said anything though.
"What do you think?" Taylor smiled.
"I think it's about damn time one of y'all got some guts." I had to laugh at that.
"I'm not mad at him for not saying anything. I just wish he would have said something to stop my mind from racing right now. I don't want to lose him as a friend."
"Yeah, but you could possibly be gaining a boyfriend." I smiled at Taylor.
"Uh, I hate to always be the negative one, but is anybody forgetting that Gabs already has a boyfriend? Mr. Perfect? You just met his parents yesterday. Remember him?" I felt like a deer in headlights. I jumped up and started pacing.
"Crap! I mean I thought about what I would say to him, but I didn't even think about how I would tell him all of this. I mean I technically cheated on him when I kissed Troy, but should I tell him that?"
"YOU KISSED TROY?!" With Sharpay's yelling, I realized I must have left that part out. I explained really quickly how it happened and she calmed down after that.
"I messed up big time guys. What do I do?" Sharpay stood up in front of me.
"Be a woman. Put on your shoes, go break up with Derek, and come back here and wait for Troy. Don't waste anymore of Derek's time Gabi." Some might think that was a bit harsh, but I smiled. That's just Sharpay being Sharpay. She's definitely a real friend.
"Thanks Pay." I hugged her and smiled. I text Derek telling him to meet me in front of the dorm in 5 minutes and he quickly replied saying okay. I put on my shoes, thanked the girls, and headed outside. I found a bench outside and gathered my thoughts while I waited till Derek came.
Just like with Troy, I didn't know where I would start but I knew it had to be done in order to move on.
"This doesn't look good. I've never seen you that deep in thought." I looked up to see him smiling at me, and I immediately felt my heart break. I did like Troy, but that doesn't mean I didn't have any feelings for Derek. He really was an amazing guy. Just not the guy for me. I gave him a small smile and looked down. "Gabi, did my family freak you out?" He sat down next to me and I sighed.
"No. I wish they did, but they didn't. They were amazing and perfect like you."
"We definitely aren't perfect, but what's the problem?"
"You seem like it Derek and I love it, but that adds pressure to me. Then I feel like I have to be better and more perfect to match you. I thought it was normal, but when I hang with other people, I don't feel that."
"I didn't know you felt that bad about being with me."
"No, Derek, I…" I had to take a deep breath to calm myself down. "I'm saying all of this wrong. You are a great guy, but it shouldn't be pressure in this relationship. I feel like a princess with you, but is it crazy that I don't want to be a princess? I'm going to be honest with you and it might come off crazy, but you deserve to know the truth."
"Okay." I grabbed his hand and turned towards him.
"With you I feel like I'm in a different world. Like a perfect fairytale where my prince charming comes along and saves the day. You sweep me off my feet and we have everybody looking at us like the perfect couple. But, I feel different with Troy." He dropped my hand and I saw him figuring everything out. "I feel like he's my best friend and I have feelings for him that I'm just now figuring out. He makes me feel…comfortable like everything will be okay. I feel 10,000 eyes watching when I'm with you. With Troy, I feel like 10,000 eyes could be watching me and I don't even notice cause he's all I can think about. Those eyes don't matter. I don't even know if any of that makes sense, but that's how I feel."
He didn't say anything and I felt my heart break even more. What could he say though? I wouldn't be able to say anything in this situation either.
"I'm so sorry Derek. I get you have nothing to say. I understand you're pissed or upset, but I really want you to know I'm sorry. I did have feelings for you or I never would have dated you. I saw a future with you. Troy was just in the way. Never think any of it was fake because it wasn't. You really are a great guy." I got up to leave because I figured he wasn't going to talk to me tonight. He needed time and I understood that.
"Gabi." He grabbed my hand and I sat back down.
"Yeah?"
"I'm angry. I'm calm, but I'm mad right now so I can't express how I really feel. But I will say I always thought you guys had something. You knew that from the beginning. I just wanted to believe I was wrong. I guess it just took you guys longer to figure out something was there. I wish you both the best though. He's not a bad guy and you are definitely an amazing girl." I felt tears coming from my eyes and shook my head.
"I didn't deserve you. I'm so sorry I realized this after all this time."
"Things happen for a reason." He stood up and held out his hand for me to take. I grabbed it and he helped me up. He wiped away my tears and kissed my forehead. "You taught me that there are some good girls out there even when I gave up hope. I'll always remember that." He pulled me in for a hug and I gladly accepted. We hugged longer than usual, but it meant much more than we could ever say. "Let's go inside Gabs."
We walked to the dorm in silence, and as bad as I felt about hurting Derek, I knew it needed to be done. I would have hurt him more by continuing to date him when I knew it wouldn't work out. When we got inside, he squeezed my hand.
"Good night Gabriella. I'll see you around."
"Good night Derek. I'll always be here for you." He smiled and walked away to his dorm. I decided to take the stairs. Crazy thing was I wanted to tell Troy all about it, but I couldn't. I didn't even know what he wanted. I wiped my eyes one more time before walking into the dorm. I didn't want the girls to see me crying. Surprisingly, Troy was sitting on the couch though. I guess he could tell I had been crying.
"I'm so sorry Brie. I didn't mean to make you upset."
"No Troy, I understood you needed time. I just talked to Derek."
"What? He didn't hurt you, did he?" Somehow, I think Derek yelling would have been less painful than him saying he understood.
"No. I just decided to end things. He was hurt which kind of made me sad, but he understood." I noticed how quiet it was in the dorm. "Where is everybody?"
"When I came up here with Chad to talk to you, the girls said you stepped out, but you would be back. Everybody decided to get something to eat while I waited on you. We could finish the pizza if you want. I want to talk to you."
"Ok." We warmed up the pizza and I grabbed both of us some water. We ate in silence for a bit before Troy cleared his throat.
"Well, I'm kind of like you. I don't know where to start."
"Start wherever you feel comfortable Troy.
"Okay. First of all, we will always be friends so don't ever think there is something that you can say that will end our friendship Gabriella. Yes, I'm saying your whole name so you know I'm serious." I smiled at him.
"I was selfish though Brie." I frowned at that because I didn't know what he was talking about. "I had feelings for you that I couldn't figure out, and Chad gave me the same advice he gave you. I knew you were worth it, but I didn't know if our friendship was. You are so amazing Gabi that I couldn't imagine losing you as a friend. So I decided not to take the risk. I had a small feeling you liked me, but I wasn't sure, so I thought Derek would be the better guy."
I wanted to jump in and say something, but I wanted Troy to get everything out first.
"Then everything was happening with my brother and I didn't want that to cause a problem. I don't know Brie. I made up every excuse in the book to run from my feelings, but it's time to face them. I do like you Brie. I would love to see where this goes. We don't have to be in a relationship right now. We can just date and see how it turns out. Slow and steady because I don't want to rush anything." I smiled.
"Only on one condition."
"What's that?"
"No matter what, we stay friends first. I still want you to be one of my best friends Troy."
"I can agree to that Brie. Now, can I ask you something?"
"Sure. What's up?"
"Can I really kiss you this time? I would wait till our first date, but I don't think I can hold out much longer. That kiss earlier made my mind spin." I laughed, but I leaned in and kissed him. He smiled into the kiss and all I could think was this is perfect. I pulled away and smiled at him.
"I'm kind of excited I get to do that all the time now."
"Mhmm, can we do it again?" I started laughing, but I was leaning in again when the door opened.
"Uh oh, are we interrupting the love birds?" I heard Troy curse under his breath and I laughed. Of course, Chad always ruined the moment.
"We're not lovebirds Chad. We decided to date and see where it goes."
"Bout damn time!" Taylor and Chad said it at the same time. I couldn't believe how they were so alike, yet so different.
"How did Derek take it?" Of course Sharpay is the one to get the juicy details. I decided to keep it simple though.
"Not well, but he understood. Hopefully we can be friends one day." Surprisingly, Sharpay didn't ask for more details.
"As much as I love seeing you guys, we were supposed to have a girl's night, so I'm kicking you guys out." Sharpay put her hands on her hips which meant she meant business.
"Hey! We just decided we liked each other. You can't kick me out after that." I laughed because Troy was pouting. Chad was heading to the door though because he knew how crazy Shar could get if you put up a fight with her.
"I'm sure you'll be around plenty Troy." He rolled his eyes.
"I guess you're right." He turned and looked at me. "Breakfast in the morning? 9:30?"
"Yep. Sounds good to me. Just text me at 9 to make sure I'm up."
"Okay cool." He kissed my cheek and I smiled. "Night Brie."
"Night Troy."
"Night girls." Everyone said goodnight and waved. When he walked out, everybody immediately looked at me.
"Nope. We are not doing this."
"You owe us details. Are you all together?"
"I told you we decided to date and see where it goes. If it leads to a relationship, then it does. If not, we'll still be friends. We'll see though." The girls seemed to frown since there wasn't much to tell. "We did kiss again though." Everyone started smiling then.
"Was it good?"
"It was perfect Tay."
"I'm happy for you Gabs. We all are. Chad was telling us how both of you were confused, so I'm happy you guys figured it out."
"Me too." We all sat down and talked about random stuff after that. As crazy and sad as the last day and a half had been, I couldn't stop smiling. Derek was right. Everything happens for a reason. I couldn't wait to see where Troy and I ended up. I was happier because I knew we would always be friends first.
Hope you guys enjoyed! Tried not to leave you all with a cliffhanger again. I know I'll get another chapter up next week. After that, craziness starts back, but summer isn't too far away.