A/N – Ah, you guys are fucking incredible! This is just, wow freaking insane! 100 reviews for last chapter?! This is crazy and Ugh, I'm sooo happy! Thanks so much for your support and all the nice reviews!
I didn't want to make you all sad and worried!! I'm soooorry!! I'm not always that mean and to prove you that --- The story continues! YEH! Let's see if we find a 'happily ever after' for them! I'm in such a good humor today lalala even though we know sometimes it's hard huh? I mean, would you wait your entire life for someone? Tell me! I really wanna know it lol ... Anyway, don't forget to review! Please, please. It's really important.
Disclaimer: I don't own HSM or anything related to it. I own the story though and it's purely fictional, nothing happened in the real life and Gabriella and Troy were never and will never be siblings in the movie. ENJOY your reading!!! ;0)
PS: All you TG shippers, REUNITE!!
Chapter 25;
Lost
~ I could use a fresh beginning too
All of my regrets are nothing new
So this is a way that I say I need you
This is a way that I'm learning to breathe
I'm learning to crawl
I'm finding that you and you alone
Can break my fall ~
Gabriella ignored the constant knock on her door, hiding her face under her pillow and letting out a moan. She was back in US for just a week and Sharpay – that was now her roommate - was already bothering her that much. Seven days and she wished she was back in Spain and far, far away from Shar, even though she loved her friend that much.
"Gabriellaa!" Sharpay's high voice could be heard in the whole apartment and that obliged Gabriella to roll her eyes. "I asked you not to lock the door today"
"UGH" she kicked the blankets off her body and stood up, crawling to the door and unlocking it, "Gosh Shar, you're impossible"
"Gooood morning" she squealed and ran to Gabriella, making her fall back on her bed, "Happy birthday"
"Shar, calm down" she pushed Sharpay away by the shoulders, "you're going to kill me someday, seriously"
Sharpay pouted. "Don't be mean, Gabi. I'm still missing you"
Gabriella giggled. "I'm home for a week now and you still miss me?"
"Obviously" she rolled her eyes and sat on Gabriella's bed, playing with a lock of hair, "So, birthday girl, ready for your party?"
She shrugged, "I don't know if I want one, Shar. I mean, I got back from Spain a week ago, I'm still pretty tired"
"But you're 20 today!" Sharpay replied in a duh tone, "We need to celebrate"
"But—"
"No buts, I already called the gang and they're gonna be there"
"Everybody?" she sounded hopeful and Sharpay smiled at her sympathetically, "It's gonna be just the 5 of us"
"Ah, I knew it" Gabriella fake smiled and sat down on her bed again, "Tay is coming to the city?"
"Obviously" Shar nodded, "Chad is coming too and Pumpkin said he'll bake you a cake"
"Aw, that's sweet" she laughed, "remember me to thank Pumpkin later"
"Okay" Sharpay stood up, "I bought you a super sexy dress for tonight. It's my birthday gift"
Gabriella lifted her thumb up and smirked "Thanks, you're the best"
"Take a shower" Sharpay told with a mom tone, "Breakfast will be ready in 10"
She shook her head and walked slowly to her bathroom, still stretching up. Gabriella heard her friend singing loud from the kitchen and laughed – gosh, things had changed so much in a year. A week ago when she arrived in New York again, Zeke told her how he decided to teach his girlfriend how to cook because he was afraid she would go bankrupt eating everyday out while Gabriella was away. Now, one year later, Gabriella was back and Sharpay was almost a professional chef – she knew how to cook eggs, pasta, chicken and even crème brûlée, Zeke's speciality. He had a nice restaurant at 5th avenue and Sharpay quit acting and decided to help him with it.
Taylor and Chad had been living together for six months now, she moved to California to be with him because he was still playing ball for UCLA. Tay was a part time English teacher, and the rest of her day, she was enjoying the benefits of being a housekeeper, her own words to style the hard work she had with Chad acting like a 5 year old.
And Troy… she hadn't see him in person for four long years now, but they kept in contact by email and phone calls at least once a month. As soon as Troy finished high school in Texas, he joined the army and since then he was in Iraq. He told Gabriella he would come back to see her at least twice a year, but every year he had a different excuse for not being there. Gabriella shook her head again and sighed, at least next year Troy would be back to US for good.
She couldn't help but think about the last time she saw him, she was only 16 and Troy 17. Now they were 20 and 21 respectively and she wondered how he looked like now. Mae used to send her pictures of him while he lived with her, but as soon as he went to Iraq she had less contact with him than Gabriella. And now, it's been four long months without any phone calls or emails from him. Jesus, how she missed him!
Gabriella shrugged off her never-ending thoughts as she undressed her shorts and shirt, heading to the shower to let the hot water warm her body and wake her mind. Every year on her birthday she would miss her family very much. Actually, she would miss more Jack than her own mother since Gabi never got in touch with Jack – she knew nothing about him now. Her mother married someone else and was pretty happy with him. Well, at least it was what it seemed. She didn't have a good relationship with her mother in the beginning, but when Marina and John adopted Lucas, her heart just melted. Her baby brother was now 3 years old and he was the love of Gabriella's life. Even though he was just a baby at the time, Lucas inspired Gabriella to snap into action towards reconciliation with her mother.
Marina never talked about Troy, but Gabriella knew her mother missed him like a mother missed a son. When Lucas arrived in the family, she overheard Marina telling him all about his big brother that was in the army. Now that she was a woman, she couldn't help but feel guilty that her relationship with Troy destroyed their family, but despite all things that happened in the past, her heart would always belong to Troy and she knew that.
Gabriella stepped out of the shower as she heard her phone ringing. She dried herself as fast as she could and wrapped a towel around her petite body. She ran back to her room and jumped on the bed, searching for her cell phone inside her purse.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Gabii! You know who it is?"
She smiled when she heard her little brother's voice. "Hmm it must be my cute little brother"
The boy giggled and she could imagine him grinning. "Yeah, it's me" he said excitedly, "Mom told me today is your birthday"
Gabriella giggled as well. "Yup, she's right"
"How old are you now?"
"I'm 20, Luke"
"Eww" he said, "You're old, Gabi"
She fake hurt, "That's not a very nice thing to say, Mr. Lucas"
Lucas giggled, "Sorry Gabi. But you're still my favorite sis in the whole world"
She smirked – he was just too cute. "I'm your only sister"
"Oh, you're right" he sounded disappointed but shrugged off quickly, "Oh, mummy said she loves you and daddy said he loves you too"
"Alright, I'll remember that"
"Gabriellaa" Sharpay yelled from the kitchen and Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Hey Luke, I gotta go. Can I call you later?"
"Okay, we're gonna see each other next week anyway" he replied, "I'm gonna watch SpongeBob now but mummy and I bought you a present"
"That's good" she laughed, "What's it?"
"It's a dress" he replied contently but she heard him gasp, "What's the problem, Luke?"
"It was a surprise" her brother replied sadly. "Don't tell mummy I told you about it"
Oh my God. She missed Lucas so much. "Alright" she giggled. "I won't tell her, but I need to go. Bye"
"Bye Gabi, happy birthday"
Gabriella hung up and placed her cell phone on her bedside table. She quickly changed into jeans shorts and a t-shirt. She walked out of her room, already sniffing the coffee in the air. Once in the kitchen, Sharpay was already sitten by the table and raised one hand in the air, motioning with her finger to Gabriella to join her.
"What took you so long?"
Gabriella sat down. "Lucas called to wish me happy birthday"
"Oh, okay then" Sharpay tilted her head to the side, "Troy called already?"
She shook her head decided not to show she was disappointed, "Nope"
"Weird, he's always the first one to call on your birthday" Sharpay shrugged and shook her head, "Eat. I'm taking you to the beauty shop. We need to do something different with your hair"
Gabriella wrinkled her nose and looked at her friend curious. "What's wrong with my hair?"
"I don't know, it's too long"
"I'm not cutting it" she took a bite of her croissant, "I like it long"
"But you have long hair for ages now, Gabriella" Sharpay sighed, "You're 20 now, it's time to change"
She sighed as well. "Okay Sharpay, okay"
Sharpay clapped her hands excitedly, "Okay" she smiled, "Now eat"
An hour later, Gabriella was ready to go but Sharpay was still getting dressed. She bit her nail annoyed as her friend tried another dress for the third time.
"Shar, come on"
"Wait up" she yelled from her bedroom and Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Gosh"
She heard a knock on the door and without even looking to see who it was, she simply threw the front door open. "Hey pumpkin" she joked as Zeke kissed her cheek and stepped in, talking with someone on the phone.
Zeke covered the phone with his hand. "Happy birthday princess" he lifted his eyebrows, "you're ready to go?"
"You're going with us?"
He nodded, "yeah. I need to buy a few things for the restaurant" he rubbed his forehead a bit, "Oh, I almost forgot" he handed her the cell phone, "It's Jason"
Gabriella smiled and became jumpy, "Hey!"
"Birthday girl! How you're feeling?"
She giggled, "very well. I thought you were going to forget my birthday"
"Ha!" he chuckled lightly, "That would not be possible, right?"
"Mm hmm" she smiled, "You're planning to visit me anytime soon?"
"Of course, maybe in the end of the month"
"That's awesome, Jase. And how's Julie?"
"Great. Everything's okay there?"
Gabriella nodded. "Yup, everything's fine"
"Sweet. I gotta go Gabs. I'll talk to you later. Happy bday"
"Thanks again for calling. Bye Jase"
"So princess" Zeke started, "20 years, huh" he wrapped his arms around Gabriella and hugged her tight, "You're looking older today, Miss. Montez"
She giggled loud, "Uh, thanks Z"
Sharpay walked into the living room and pecked Zeke on the lips, "Hiya Pumpkin"
"Hey sweetheart" he rested his arm on her shoulders, "You girls ready?"
"Yes" they said together and Zeke grinned, "alright, let's shop them"
New York seemed to be experiencing a record-breaking heat wave that week and Gabriella couldn't help but wish she was back in the beaches of Spain. Their driver explained that the air conditioner wasn't working very well so they would have to roll their windows down and enjoy the breeze, but they were sure there was none. After complaining for five long minutes that seemed like ages for Zeke and Gabriella, Sharpay calmed down.
"Relax Shar, you're hair can handle a bit of sweat" Gabriella waved her hand in front of her face, "I'm so glad you convinced me to put water proof make up"
"God, I feel like I'm in Phoenix" Sharpay shook her head and unbuttoned a few buttons of Zeke's shirt, "Pumpkin, you're gonna fry inside your shirt"
Zeke nodded, "I think today is hotter than 100 degrees" he grinned at Gabriella's and Sharpay's shocked face, "Just kidding, girls"
"Oh" Sharpay exclaimed and searched for her mirror inside her purse, "At least we're going to an air conditioned party"
The cab stopped in front of "Ritmo Loco", the Mexican nightclub they decided to go to celebrate Gabriella's 20th birthday. As Zeke, Sharpay and Gabriella stepped out of the cab in dark New York City, loud music blared from the night club and lights were rapidly seen changing colors showing them the party inside had already begun. They walked to the front doors and Sharpay told the body guard who they were. He looked down at a list in his hand and nodded his head, stepping aside to let them pass through him.
Zeke wrapped an arm around Sharpay and grabbed Gabriella's hand in his as they entered the club. The music was even louder inside, but they had to admit the place was actually pretty cozy. It wasn't a huge club and the walls were painted in red and green, with sombreros and suns drew all over it – that made the club look smaller than ever – but the crowd danced excitedly as the bartenders kept making drinks and a few waiters distributed them to the people dancing.
Gabriella smiled as soon as they entered the VIP lounge and saw Chad and Taylor already there. The dark skinned girl squealed and ran to her, wrapping her arms around her neck, "Oh my God"
They shared a hug for a long minute and then Chad pulled Taylor away from Gabriella, "Hey, it's my turn" he smirked and hugged Gabriella, lifting her off the floor, "You look great"
"Thanks" she bit her lip feeling too emotional, "Aw you guys, I missed you so much"
"We missed you too" Taylor smiled and hugged Gabriella again, "Oh, you need to tell me everything about Spain"
"I will" she assured them, "We have the whole night"
Two hours later they were already dancing their souls out on the dance floor. Gabriella told the gang she would get a drink and walked to the bar alone. Her hair was wet with sweat, making impossible to see her new stylish and shorter hair that passed just a bit of her shoulders now. Even though Gabriella's hair cut was always the same – long, with curls and just a palm before getting to her waist – tonight she was enjoying having short and straightened hair. As she walked, bumping in to the crowd her hair clung to her neck and her black dress hugged her body more.
"Hey honey, what can I get you?" the bartender asked with a flirty tone and Gabriella smiled at him.
"Rum and Coke" she replied simply.
He grinned and added with a funny accent, "Cuba Libre"
Gabriella giggled, "Yeah just arrived from Spain. I'm kinda addicted to it"
"Good choice" he winked at her before turning back to start making her drink. Gabriella turned around as well, resting her back against the bar. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked back at the bartender, "Here beautiful"
She smiled and grabbed her drink from his hand, "thanks" she stood in the same position, back rested against the bar, her eyes staring at the mass of writhing bodies dancing illuminated by the colorful lights. Gabriella took a sip of her drink and tilted her head to the side, examining a tall brown haired guy that was just entering the club with a blond guy. He looked around a bit, whispering something in his friend's ear. The blond guy laughed and the brown haired man smirked, he looked around again and his eyes met Gabriella's gaze, making her heart race fast.
Gabriella looked away from the intensity of his eyes, suddenly embarrassed. She took another sip and as she lifted her head to stare at the guy again, he was no longer there.
"Where the heck is he?" she murmured to herself but shook her head. Gabriella finished her drink but she was still feeling too hot. She didn't know if the air conditioner was broken or they were trying to copy the weather from Mexico, but it was getting really hot there. She just felt it was hot enough to cook her brain into mush, seriously. Gabriella turned around and asked another drink.
"You sure?" the bartender lifted his eyebrows, "aren't you drinking too fast?"
She shook her head. "It's too hot in here"
The bartender looked Gabriella upside down and smirked, "I wonder why"
She rolled her eyes and heard a male voice clearing his throat behind her, "Wanna dance?"
She slowly turned back and grinned at the brown haired guy in front of her. "Sure"
"Sweet" he smirked and grabbed her hand in his. They tried to walk, but a few guys kept holding Gabriella's free hand trying to sweet talk her. She let out a groan and he turned back, looking puzzled at her. "What's up?"
"They… don't… let me... walk" she protested and he looked back at the two guys that were eating her body with their eyes. He couldn't blame the guys for feeling attracted to her – her black dress clung to her curves perfectly, making it more noticeable and her legs longer. Her wet black hair was falling down her shoulders, but she placed her hair over her right shoulder in an attempt to maybe feel a bit covered.
He pulled her in front of him and wrapped one of his arms around her waist. Gabriella rested her back against his muscular chest and let out a softly moan as he bent down to her ear and informed his next move to her in a husky and sexy voice, "I'll drive you, babe"
"Okay" she said in a whisper and he smirked as he could feel her body shivering. They started walking to the dance floor, passing through Zeke and then Sharpay that looked at them with curiosity in her eyes.
As soon as they stopped in the middle of the dance floor, Gabriella turned around and faced her partner's piercing blue eyes. She knew he was studying her expression, her body, everything. She had no choice but to watch him watch her – his eyes almost undressed her and she bit her lip to avoid letting out another moan at the intensity of his eyes. She looked him upside down too, his short hair was slightly untidy – probably growing after being shaved, but somehow he managed to fix it with gel and he looked extremely hot. His blue eyes darkened with lust as he stepped closer to her, his large hands resting on her hips. He licked his lower lip as Gabriella wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing her body closer to his.
People around them were lost in their own movements, moans, bodies brushing against the other, the smell of alcohol, everything was intoxicating. Gabriella gulped and she felt her heart flip inside her as she started moving her hips, her sweaty body already clung to his navy shirt too. She bit the corner of her bottom lip as his fingertips pushed into her hips as he held her, pressing her body against her, moving with her at the same lazy speed, sexy, gentle… very erotic.
Their hips were crashing together as they frantically clung onto each other more and more. Gabriella closed her eyes, tilting her head back as he held her securely by the hips. He buried his head on her neck, breathing against her sweaty skin, making Gabriella's stomach tie up in knots.
"You're so hot" he whispered in her ear, gently kissing her earlobe. He traced her cheek and jaw line with his lips, savoring her salty taste on his mouth and inhaling her scent. Gabriella gasped, feeling his fingertips move from her hips to her back, tracing up and down her spine.
She ran her hands through his hair, smelling his perfume, feeling her legs as weak as jelly. He crashed his lips on hers, his teeth capturing her bottom lip just a second before sucking it, begging for entrance. Gabriella quickly opened her mouth and let his tongue do all the work, moaning into the kiss as his hands held her so tight she could barely move. Their tongues battled inside their mouths as their bodies moved on the dance floor. Their hearts raced fast, everything seemed to be in the same rhythm now.
He pulled away for air, his lips still rested against hers, his arms still securely and possessively around her making impossible to break free. Gabriella gulped and looked him in the eyes before stroking his cheek, "I thought you wouldn't find the way back"
He smirked and sucked on her neck hard, trying to leave a mark, "It took me a while to read your email" he chuckled quietly against her skin and brushed her hair out of her eyes, "but I'm finally here"
Gabriella couldn't help but smile, "Yea"
"You look precious tonight" he said huskily in her ear and then ran his mouth down her throat, "Happy birthday Ella"
She closed her eyes and melted into his touch, "Thanks Boo"
~ I'm living again, awake and alive
I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies
This is a way that I say I need you
This is a way that I say I love you
This is a way that I say I'm yours ~