A/N – Ah, 2+ chapters to go! Read&Review, please. =]
Disclaimer: I don't own HSM or anything related to it.
Chapter 27;
And then, we reunite
"Are you sure all of this is necessary, Sharpay?" Gabriella looked at the shop bags in her friend's hands and arms and sighed, "I mean, isn't it too much?"
"Gabi" Sharpay rolled her eyes, "You're getting married. Isn't lingerie supposed to be useful?"
"I'm not getting married" she started walking to the Chinese place they were going to have lunch at. "We're just going to live together" she said calmly and turned her attention to the hostess, "Good afternoon, table for two, please"
"Just a second, miss" the girl smiled and checked the restaurant for empty tables. "Ah, follow me please"
Gabriella walked away and Sharpay quickly followed her. As soon as the two girls were left alone at the table, Sharpay raised her eyebrows and stared at Gabriella, "Gabi, you are the most intelligent friend that I have so you tell me something"
She lifted her eyes from the menu and looked at Shar, "Sure, what?"
"When two people are together 24/7" she began playing with a curl of her hair, "live in the same house, wear commitment rings and plan to be together for the rest of their lives, what does that mean?"
"Hmm" Gabriella rubbed the side of her neck thoughtful, "It sounds like marriage"
Sharpay giggled and smiled playfully at Gabriella. "What?"
"That's exactly what is happening with you and Troy" Shar grinned and Gabriella choked, "What?"
"You're getting married, Gabi" Sharpay rolled her eyes, "Geejz never thought it would be so difficult to understand"
"No, I'm not" she snapped nervously. "I mean, he didn't propose"
"Ai Gabriella" she shook her head, "Does he need to?"
Gabriella got pale and the palms of her hands immediately became sweaty. Was she really going to marry?
"A-are you sure?" she asked still not believing and Sharpay nodded. "You were the one that said Tay and Chad are married now and they just live together"
"Oh shit" she covered her mouth with her hand, "I'm getting married"
Sharpay's eyes widened. "Don't hyperventilate, Gabriella. Chill"
"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit" Gabriella murmured to herself before adding loud enough to Sharpay, "I always thought about getting married Shar – I don't want to be another girl that just lives together, I-I… oh shit, I don't know what I want"
"You know if you want Troy?"
"Of course I do" Gabriella replied sincerely, "More than anything"
"Then stop panicking, honey" their waiter arrived and Sharpay added before ordering, "You're making a big deal out of it, seriously"
'Right' Gabriella though before rolling her eyes. How come she was making a big deal? Marriage was a big deal! She sighed annoyed – why Sharpay had to do that to her? Put things on her mind when she was completely fine about it. Now she wanted to get married – church, cake and party – all the stuff a bride could have. What if Troy didn't want to marry her?
"Gabriella, Gabriella" Sharpay snapped her fingers in front of her face, "Your cell phone is ringing"
She shook out of her trance and quickly grabbed her cell phone inside her purse. As she read the name "Troy" she couldn't help but feel her heart race fast and her voice got stuck on her throat.
"Pick it up, come on"
"I will" she sighed, "I will" Gabriella replied in a low voice and pressed the button yes, "Hello?"
"Hey baby" he sounded cheerful and Gabriella bit her lip. "How's shopping?"
"Good" she replied weakly. "What's the problem Ella?"
Gabriella excused herself and stood up, walking to the ladies bathroom. "I was thinking"
"Okay" Troy waited for her to continue, but she didn't. "About?"
"Us"
"Oh, please don't tell me you're changing your mind about us"
He sounded so worried that Gabriella had to smack her forehead for worrying him for no reason. Well, for her it was a big reason anyway. "No, It's not that"
Troy sighed relieved. "Okay, so what's the problem?"
She sat on the bench inside the bathroom and sighed deeply. "Baby, what's going on?"
In a matter of seconds, for no reason at all, Gabriella started crying.
"You don't want to marry me? That's why you only asked me to move in?"
"What?" she heard him laugh quietly, "Baby, why you're saying this?"
"Because" she sobbed hard, "Sharpay told me that what we have is almost a marriage but that's not… what… I planned… when I'd marry… you"
"You pictured us getting married?" his voice seemed different and Gabriella felt more nervous. "Yes" she admitted simply and Troy went silently for a long minute. "Where are you now?"
She told him about being in the ladies bathroom crying her heart out because he didn't want to marry her. Somehow, she couldn't keep anything from him. Gabriella would always end up telling him the truth. Troy didn't say much, just hung up the phone and did what he needed to do.
; 30 minutes later
"Gabriella!" Sharpay's tone of voice seemed disturbed, "You'll have to get out of the bathroom eventually"
"Nooo" Gabriella whined. "Get out of here"
"Ugh" Sharpay let out a groan and shook her head, "Quit acting like a 5 year old, Gabriella"
Gabriella gulped. Sharpay sounded really upset so she realized opening the door and letting her friend in would be the best solution. She crawled to the door, slowly opening it, "Get in"
She turned around and walked to the sink, resting her palms against the cold material and looking down. Gabriella needed to stay calm, she need to breathe. Living together was already a big deal – Sharpay was completely right, she was acting like a child. What's the problem if Troy and her never married? They loved each other; just being together was perfectly fine.
Her attention was caught by a black square box on the sink and then two strong arms wrapping around her waist. Gabriella looked up at the mirror and gasped when Troy smiled at her.
"I was waiting the perfect time to propose" he admitted and said in a whisper, "I guess that's the time"
Gabriella flinched and her eyes widened. Was this really happening? Her head started spinning around and she felt completely dizzy. She turned around to face him and her legs felt weak as jelly.
She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands, starting to get paler than a ghost. Troy's eyes widened as well as he reached to hold her stronger by the waist as her legs threatened to fail her.
"Ah baby" he hugged her closer and sat her on the bathroom sink, "Don't go fainting on me now" he joked and Gabriella giggled quietly, resting her head against the mirror and breathing nervously.
Troy splashed cold water on her face and she slowly started to come back to normal, her cheeks were even starting to turn red again. Gabriella breathed in and out softly and he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, pressing his lips against hers delicately, "that was not the reaction I was waiting for" he chuckled, "Seriously"
Gabriella opened her eyes and smiled at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing him closer to her. Troy wrapped his arms around her waist as well and kissed her neck lightly, "are you feeling better, babe?"
She nodded and stroked his hair, "are you proposing for real? It's not because I was upset about it?"
"Of course not, Ells" he pulled away to look her in the eyes, "I had the ring for a couple of days now"
She bit her lip and Troy narrowed his eyes playfully at her. "I'm still waiting for your answer"
"I'm still waiting for you to propose properly" she joked and he laughed, "You're right"
Troy lifted her petite body from the sink and put her on the floor. "If I let you go you'll be able to stand?"
Gabriella nodded, feeling too emotional already. She rested her back on the sink and motioned with her hand for him to begin his speech. Troy smirked and stepped back.
"Ells, will you marry me?"
She felt her eyes teary but pretended it didn't affect her. "That's it?" she asked disappointed, "Marriage is just one time, Troy"
Troy rolled his eyes and grabbed the box from the sink, bending down on one knee in front of her. He grabbed one of her hands in his and kissed it gently. "Babe, I love you for a long time and I can't imagine my life without you anymore" he began and Gabriella held her breath, "I was hoping if maybe, only maybe, you could give me the opportunity to wake up on your side everyday for the rest of my life"
"Troy—"
He interrupted her. "You are my life, Gabriella. And I can't imagine being alive without you" Troy opened the box and the diamond ring blinked, "the first time I kissed you I knew I was completely head over heels in love with you"
Gabriella covered her mouth with her hand to avoid sobbing, but Troy looked down for a second, thinking and lifted his eyes to meet her gaze, "I was incomplete until I had you for the first time, babe" he stood up and stepped closer to her, "And I don't mind you took my world and flipped it upside down and inside out anymore" he sighed deeply and stroked her cheek, "It just feels better with you. Everything seems better with you – it's just… right" he smiled and pecked her on the lips, "I love you. Please marry me, Gabriella Montez"
Troy's smile faded away as Gabriella took more than a minute to reply him. Did she change her mind about marrying him? She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out of her lips. His heart began to race faster and his hands became sweaty – just like Gabriella's when she realized they were getting married.
"You are just…" she began but shook her head to hug him by the neck, "Are you even real?"
Troy seemed confused. "I guess"
Gabriella kissed his neck and hugged him tighter, "Of course I'll marry you"
"Oh shit" he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off the floor, "You just scared me to death, miss"
She giggled and cupped his face with her small hands, tunneling her fingers into his hair and resting her forehead on his, "You have no reason at all to be insecure" she assured him, pecking him on the lips, the cheek and the forehead, "Aw you just made me the happiest girl in the whole world"
Troy laughed. "I'm glad, babe" he kissed her, sucking on each of her lips more a few seconds, his hand tracing patters on her skin, "I love you so much"
"I love you more than anything" she replied sweetly, kissing the tip of his nose, "I can't believe this is actually happening"
"It is, baby" he smiled and stroked her hair, "Nobody can do anything now. It's just the two of us"
"You and me" she hugged him and hid her face on his chest, "Forever"
"And ever, and ever and ever" he chuckled and kissed her hair, "Let's go, babe. When I came in there was a line forming outside"
Gabriella giggled. "Sorry about that" she grabbed his hand on hers and they started walking to the bathroom door, "Sorry for making you come to rescue me"
"My pleasure eh" he smirked, "I'm accepting the full time superhero/husband/bodyguard/lover job"
"Ohh" she giggled loud and kissed his fingers, "You're gonna be so good at it"
They stepped out of the bathroom and Sharpay squealed, running to Gabriella's arms and hugging her friend. "Oh my Gooooood" she sang on Gabriella's ear and the girl gulped, "Shar, please, everybody is staring"
"Everybody was already staring before" she told Gabriella hugging her so tight she thought she was going to die. "I mean, there was a line here, but I made clear to everybody that we needed the space"
"We?" Gabriella lifted her eyebrows and Sharpay smiled, "We. Troy, you and I. I'm the maid of honor, right?"
"I-I… I don't know. I haven't thought about it yet"
"What?" Sharpay's mouth dropped open and Troy laughed. "Girls, can we go?"
"No. We have a situation here" she looked at Gabriella, "I'm not the maid of honor? I've been living with you for the past 2 years!"
"Baby" Troy looked around and placed one arm on Gabriella's shoulder, whispering in her ear, "Let her be the freaking maid of honor" he sighed, "people are staring at us… I'm embarrassed"
Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay. You're the maid of honor"
"Do it properly"
"Jesus Christ, Shar" she sighed and Troy laughed hard, "You stop laughing"
"Sorry" he bit his tongue to avoid laughing. "Shar, would you like to be my maid of honor?"
"Mm" Gabriella rolled her eyes again and hit her friend playfully on the arm. Troy just chuckled and kissed his fiancé's cheek. "Suuuure"
"Awesome" she exclaimed and turned back to Troy and Shar, "Can we eat now? I'm starving"
; A week later
Troy slowly stood up after ignoring for the third time the knock that came from the door. They had been out partying till 4AM with Zeke and Sharpay and got really drunk. The alarm went off and Troy knew he needed to wake up. He had a job interview – he had been learning how to take pictures back in Iraq and he was really good at it. Troy was applying for a job as a photographer and he needed to get his portfolio ready before 10AM.
He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stretched up. He tilted his head to the side to find a note on Gabriella's side of the bed,
I had class. Love you, see you at lunch!
Good luck today! XOXO
Troy smiled and stood up. There was still someone knocking on the door and he needed to answer it. He yawned, gazing at his alarm watch on the bedside table before dressing a shirt and walking to the living room. Daisy was already clawing at the door, jumping up and down excitedly, but Troy just ignored her, unlocking the door and opening it, "Ah, Sharpay"
"Hey Troy" she sounded annoyed. He gave her a half-smile, "What's up?"
"I have a special delivery for Gabriella" Sharpay sighed, slightly tapping her foot on the floor, "He woke me up"
"Ella is at school, Shar" Troy informed and yawned. "Can't you come back later? I have a job interview"
"I have to go to work too, Troy" she reminded him. "Here it is, he's all yours" she stepped aside, revealing a blond haired little boy dressed in dark jeans and a green polo. The boy looked up at Troy with huge brown puppy eyes and held his brown teddy bear closer to his body, looking suddenly afraid of him.
"Who's he?" Troy asked confused as Sharpay gave him the boy's backpack, "Shar, who's he?"
"Lucas" she replied before turning on her heels and disappearing inside the elevator. Troy stared at the little boy incredulous and he stepped back.
Troy crawled into the corridor as well, trying to understand what kind of joke was that. Why the hell Sharpay would leave Lucas in his doorway? He knew nothing about babies. Geejz, he needed Ella faster.
"Er… hi" he said as Lucas kept studying him with scared eyes, "Get inside, please"
He gently pushed the boy inside his living room and followed him, shutting the door behind him and putting his backpack on the floor.
"Okay, sit down" he told him, pointing to the sofa. The boy took slowly steps to the couch but didn't sit down. "What's the problem?"
Lucas grimaced, "Can't reach it"
Troy couldn't help but smile. He walked to the boy and placed him sitten on the couch. He immediately started to swing his legs back and forth while his eyes kept running through the living room.
"So you're Lucas, right?" he tried to make conversation, but the boy just held his bear tighter and looked down, ignoring his question. "Okay, maybe that won't help it"
Troy bent down in front of him and offered his hand, "I'm Troy"
Lucas looked at his hand and then at Troy before shaking it, "I know who you are"
"You do?"
"Yes sir" he informed politely, "Mummy told me everything about you. You are my big brother that was in the army"
Troy gulped. "In theory, I'm not. I'm uhm… Gabriella's boyfriend"
The little boy's mouth dropped open. "Gabi has a boyfriend?"
"Yeah, me" he chuckled. "But your sister is at school, so where's mo—" he rubbed his neck nervously before continuing and cleared his throat, "Where's your mummy?"
"She told me Gabi was going to take care of me because she was busy with daddy" Lucas informed and Troy nodded. "Okay the problem is, Ella has an exam today and I have a job interview"
"My dad works with cars"
"That sounds uhm…" he cleared his throat again "fun Lucas"
Troy rolled his eyes. He was so pathetic around kids – he knew nothing about them and didn't know how to act too.
"When I grow up I'm gonna be a dog's doctor"
"Sounds nice" he tried to sound convincing but Lucas shrugged off. "I have a cat named Boots"
God, Lucas was exactly like Gabriella when she was little – extremely talkative.
"Uhm… ok" Troy stood up again, "Can you wait a second, Lucas?"
"You can call me Luke" he added calmly, "Mummy, daddy and Gabi calls me Luke"
"Okay Luke" he corrected before looking around and ran his hands through his hair, "I need to make a phone call. Can you wait a second?" he pointed to Daisy, "You're gonna be a doctor, why don't you see if Daisy's okay?"
Lucas grinned. "Can I?"
"Sure, go ahead"
He nodded quietly and jumped out of the couch and sat down on Daisy's side. Troy shook his head and walked to his room quickly, looking for his cell phone inside his pants from last night. He dialed Gabriella's number as soon as he found it,
"Morning baby" she replied contently and Troy smiled, "Baby, we have a problem"
"What's wrong? Are you okay?" she asked worried and he nodded even though she couldn't see him. "I'm fine. I just woke up and you know I have a job interview today, right?"
"Sure" he could imagine her smiling. "They're going to love you. You don't need to be nervous at all"
"That's not it, babe" Troy sighed and rubbed his face, "Lucas is here"
"W-what? What is he doing there? Mom is there too?"
"No" Troy didn't want to sound disappointed. "She's not here. It's just me and Lucas"
"Oh baby. I'm sorry I forgot they were going to visit this week"
"It's not your problem, but what do I do with him? I need to go to my job interview"
"I can talk to my teacher and see if I can do the exam another day"
"No, no" Troy shook his head and sighed, "I can work this out. Focus on your exam. I'll take care of him"
"You sure?" she sounded discouraged but Troy nodded, "Yea, good luck"
"Ok. See you at lunch"
"Yeah, see ya babe"
Troy hung up the phone and sat on the edge of his bed. He hid his face in his hands and sighed deeply. "I'm so fucked" he murmured to him before shutting his eyes tight.
"Troy, Troy, Troy" Lucas came screaming inside his room and grabbed him by the hand, pulling him into the corridor and to the living room again, "Daisy, Daisy"
They ran faster to the living room and Troy bent down next to the writhing dog. He touched Daisy's head and Lucas ran to his arms, crying. "Luke, it's okay buddy" he tried to comfort him but the boy cried harder.
"She's alive little man" Troy rubbed his back slowly and he turned back to look at the dog, "Is she?" he asked with a weak voice and Troy nodded, "Daisy's fine. She does sound and act like she's dying every now and then but she's good"
"Is she old?" he looked at Troy with concerned eyes and he smiled, "Yup, pretty old"
"Oh"
Lucas sat down on Daisy's side and the dog rested her head on his lap. Troy sat down with them too, "Daisy is 11 years old already"
"I'm almost 4" Lucas said proudly showing four little fingers and Troy smirked, "I'm almost 22"
"How much is that?" he asked curious and Troy grabbed his hand, "Make two for me, please?"
The boy lifted his thumb and his index finger. "Okay" Troy rolled his eyes, "So I have your two fingers and my ten" he showed his two large hands, "That makes 12"
Lucas nodded even though he didn't understand anything. "So we add more 10 fingers" he showed his hands again, "And that makes my age"
"Oh" he furrowed, "Is it a lot?"
"It's older than Gabriella"
"Wow" he seemed shocked and Troy laughed. Lucas caressed Daisy's ear. "I though I killed her" he concluded looking at Troy again, "Why?"
"Because I gave her a candy" he replied in a whisper, "Sharpay gave it to me but she said it was a secret"
"Oh" Troy chuckled a bit but became serious again when he saw Lucas's concerned expression. "Why you gave her a candy anyway?"
"I had no medicine" he replied like it was obvious and Troy rolled his eyes, "Don't worry, Daisy's fine" he stood up and Lucas followed him with his eyes, "Listen dude, I need to go someplace, do you wanna come?"
He nodded. "Am I going to see Gabi? I miss her"
"You will" he assured the boy, "I just need to take a quick shower, can you wait?"
"Do you have SpongeBob?" he bargained and Troy nodded quietly. Lucas smiled sweetly, "I can wait"
"Okay, I'm ready" Troy stepped out of his room dressed in a black shirt, dark jeans and a pair of grey and beige Trimm Trab Adidas. His hair was once again pulled a bit up with gel. Lucas looked at him like he was someone famous, "Can I have a hair like yours?"
"Uhm" Troy seemed confused "what's the problem with your hair?"
"It's not as cool as yours" he replied simply and jumped out of the couch, "Can I?"
Troy shrugged. "Can you use gel?"
"I-I guess" he smiled at Troy with puppy eyes and even though Lucas was adopted he couldn't resemble more Gabriella. "Ah, okay, don't tell your mummy then"
"Okay" he clapped excitedly and lifted his little arms up. Troy examined the boy with narrow eyes, "What?"
"Up please" Troy rubbed his neck nervously before getting the boy in his arms, "Like this?"
Lucas nodded and rested his head on Troy's shoulder. He smiled – Troy was starting to believe he could actually handle a child, at least if he was well behaved like Lucas.
"Alright, buddy. Let's style your hair"
After fixing Luke's hair up like his hair was, Troy was finally able to leave his house. He took a cab because he was not sure it was okay for Lucas to seat in the backseat of his car without a proper chair. They arrived at the photostudio twenty minutes before Troy's appointment. He talked to the receptionist and she agreed taking a look at Lucas while he was in the interview.
"Your son is really cute" the girl told Troy flirty and Lucas lifted his eyebrows at her, "He is my sister's boyfriend, miss"
"Oh" she sounded disappointed and Troy smiled. Gabriella would be so happy to know her little brother wasn't planning on letting girls hit on her boyfriend. Lucas kept tapping his little fingers on Troy's portfolio while he hummed a song.
"Mr. Bolton?"
"It's me" he stood up and looked down at Lucas, "You behave, alright? I'll be right back and we can go get Ella"
"Okay Troy" he smiled and stood up, running to hug Troy's legs. He motioned with his hand to Troy bent to his level and as he did, Lucas kissed him on the cheek, "good luck"
Troy smiled sincerely, "thanks buddy"
Thirty minutes later, Troy stepped out of the room with a huge grin on his face and punched the air, "It's on, Luke man"
Lucas jumped up and down excitedly. "We're up for a celebration. What do you think of ice cream?"
"I love ice cream!" they walked out of the building and Lucas quickly slipped his little hand into Troy's large one. Troy looked down at their hands laced and smiled.
"You know what, Luke?'
He looked up. Troy seemed so tall when they were side by side. "What?"
Troy put on his black Ray Ban aviator sunglasses and they walked down the street, "you're actually pretty nice"
Lucas smiled proudly, "Thank you"
They stopped to buy the ice cream for Lucas and the little boy started patting his jeans pocket when Troy gave him his strawberry ice cream in a tub. "What you're doing?"
"Looking for money"
Troy seemed confused. "What for?"
"To pay the ice cream" he told in a duh tone. "If you're looking for a job it's because you don't have money, right?"
Troy laughed and grabbed the boy in his arms, "I have the money" he said like a secret "I actually have loads of money"
"You do?"
"Mm hmm" Troy replied. "I have a lawyer" he looked at Lucas as they started walking again, the boy eating his ice cream and looking at Troy with curiosity, "do you know what a lawyer is?"
He quickly shook his head. Troy smiled, "Never mind, you'll learn someday at school. So my mom gave me some good money before she died and my friend that is a lawyer invested it, so that means I have more money than ever"
"Why were you looking for a job then?" he asked before offering a spoon full of ice cream to Troy. He shook his head and continued, "Well, I like working" he said sincerely, "I like taking pictures"
"Can you take a picture of me someday?"
Troy nodded. "Sure"
"Cool" he smiled and continued eating his strawberry ice cream in silence. "We're going to Gabi's school?"
"Yea" Troy replied. "Do you want to walk?"
Lucas shook his head. "No, I like up"
He avoided laughing and nodded. "Okay"
They got a cab and after a few minutes arrived at Gabriella's campus. They sat on a bench across the front doors and waited for her. Lucas kept asking Troy about his life, what he liked to do, if he was good at sports. He had to promise he would teach him play basketball and swim when he got older.
"I used to play with my dad everyday" Troy told him, "He was my coach"
"My dad doesn't play sports" Lucas told him sadly and for a minute Troy wished he was really his little brother and he could have Jack as a father. He sighed. He missed his father so much. Troy wished things were different and he could still keep in touch with the coach. He couldn't help but think if he and Gabriella had a baby someday, their kid would grow up with only Ella and him as a family.
Troy snapped out of his thoughts as she came out of the huge building doors. Her shiny black hair was tied up in a ponytail and her tanned skin shined on the sun. He smirked when she saw him, her mind blowing smile appearing on her perfect face. It didn't matter how many times he saw her, Gabriella's beauty would always amaze him.
Lucas ran to his sister and she wrapped her arms around him, lifting him off the floor and kissing his forehead, "Did you behave?"
She sat him on the bench again, "yes Gabi" he replied sweetly and she smiled at him. "Good, cover your eyes now"
Lucas quickly covered both of his eyes with his palms and Troy chuckled quietly. He took off his sunglasses as she sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her mouth on his, "I missed you"
"I missed you too, babe" he replied before sucking on her lower lip, asking for permission to get inside her warmth. Gabriella opened her mouth and tilted her head to the side a little, letting Troy's tongue slip into her and curl with her own tongue. She held him tighter and Troy wrapped one arm around her waist, deepening the kiss. Gabriella smiled into the kiss and stroked his back hair, "I love you so much"
"Me too" he pecked her on the lips; "Very, very much" he pecked her again and kissed the tip of her nose, "How was your exam, babe?"
"Excellent" she replied contently and looked at Lucas, "It's okay, Luke"
He slowly opened his eyes again and looked at the two adults, "Were you guys kissing?"
"Yeah" Troy laughed and Gabriella hit him playfully on the chest, "Eww" Lucas wrinkled his nose and she tickled his side a little, "When you grow up you'll see there's no 'Eww' about it"
The boy giggled and Gabriella kissed Troy's cheek. "What about your job interview?"
Troy smirked, "Tell her Luke"
He stood up and copied Troy's punch in the air, "It's on babe"
Gabriella giggled, "What you been teaching him?"
"Nothing" Troy replied innocently and Gabriella studied her little brother, "Is it gel in his hair?"
Lucas flinched and looked at Troy. He grimaced before replying, "Maybe"
"Oh God" she shook her head, "Mom called me" she informed Lucas, "She's gonna pick you up after dinner"
"Nooo" he whined, "I wanna stay with Troy" Gabriella frowned and he added quickly, "and you"
"Ah" she nodded, giggling. "Better"
Troy kissed her cheek and whispered in Gabriella's ear, "Maybe it should be better if I wasn't home when mom shows up"
"No baby" she kissed his chin, "We need to tell her about the marriage"
"You're going to marry?" Lucas asked happily and Gabriella nodded, "It's a secret"
"Oh boy" he murmured, "Too many secrets – I don't know if I can keep them all, Gabi"
She giggled and stood up, "I'm hungry. Should we eat?"
"Yes" both boys said together. Troy stood up and when he was about to place his arm on Gabriella's shoulder, Lucas ran in the middle of them and held his sister's hand. She looked down at her little brother and then at Troy. He shrugged his shoulders and continued walking.
The three walked in silence down the road and at one corner, before they could turn left, Lucas grabbed Troy's hand as well and sighed satisfied.
Troy had no words to describe what he was feeling right now. He never felt that vulnerable before – maybe only when he was 17 years old and he had the best yet the worst year of his life. The best for having Gabriella with him, their intimacy, their companionship and their love that grew more everyday. The worst year because that was when he lost his family and his friends. He had to move to another state, go to another school he knew anyone. Live in a house with different rules, quit basketball. But nothing made his heart ache as bad as not being able to see Gabriella everyday, wake up next to her, kiss her…
And now, four long years later… 1460 fucking days after seeing her for the last time, Marina Montez was in front of him. Troy didn't know what to do or how to react. His head was telling him to run away, his heart flipped inside him but his body didn't seem to react. He tried to walk, talk and do something, but his legs felt like they were glued on the floor and his words stuck on his throat. Troy just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry his heart out. He was officially feeling like a 2 year old again.
As much as he tried to tell himself that she was the same old woman that helped kicking him out of his home when he was just a teenager, Troy couldn't ignore the emotion on her eyes and the paleness on her face.
"Troy" Marina said with a weak voice as he finally stepped aside to let her and a chubby man to step inside the house.
He turned around to gaze at Gabriella quickly and for the first time in their life she seemed to be stronger than him. She slipped her hand in his and whispered "you and me remember?" on his ear before earning a gentle nod from Troy.
"Mom, I'm glad you found the building" Gabriella said softly, kissing her mother on the cheek and then giving a quick hug on the man, "That's Troy, John. The one I told you about"
The man nodded and smiled sincerely. "It's very nice to meet you, Troy" he offered his hand that Troy quickly accepted, "I've heard so much about you"
"It's nice to meet you too" Troy gave him a half-smile. "Lucas's been talking about you the whole afternoon"
Marina kept staring at Troy, her mouth slightly open, making him feel really uncomfortable. John and Gabriella could swear the tension in the room was so thick one could almost cut it with a knife.
"He already ate and took a nap" Gabriella informed to her mother, "And Troy bought him a few clothes"
"What happened with his old clothes?" John asked and Marina finally managed to look at Gabriella, "Too much ice cream" the girl replied contently and John smiled, "If he keeps eating like this he'll turn out like me"
Gabriella giggled and Troy smiled. "He's a very nice boy. I was really happy to finally meet him. Ella talks about him so much"
"Thanks" John replied sweetly and Gabriella continued, "John, can you please go get him? He is in our room, it's the last one down the corridor" she cleared her throat, "Hmm we need to talk to mom in private"
"Sure" he looked at Marina and smiled at her before walking out of the huge living room. Troy and Gabriella walked hand in hand to the couch and the girl motioned to her mom to sit down as well.
"It's a nice apartment" Marina said after a few seconds in silence.
"Thanks" Troy replied without looking at her, "It was from" he stopped for a second, "my mom"
Marina nodded in understanding. "She had a good taste"
"Mom" Gabriella began and looked at Troy with the corner of her eyes. He nodded, even though he was unsure if they should talk about the marriage.
Gabriella smiled confidently at him, "You know that we're both adults now and we can do whatever we want with our lives"
"I know"
"Troy and I love each other" she said quickly. "We're gonna marry"
"We understand if you don't want to come to our wedding" Troy found his voice again, "You don't have to accept me marrying your daughter"
"Oh" Marina let out a soft gasp and her eyes became teary, "Troy, I'm…" she ran her hands through her hair and sighed, "I'm sorry about everything that happened in the past"
"It's in the past" Troy reminded her with a cold voice. "It doesn't matter anymore"
Troy couldn't lie at all. Gabriella knew him to well. As much as he tried to let it all go about their past, it still hurt him very much. Just like Gabriella, he missed his mom and his dad. Troy missed the family they had. The good times were so many more than the bad times and that would let him completely nostalgic.
"No Troy" Marina said firmly, "I was so wrong four years ago. I should have accepted both of you. You love each other, you make Gabriella happy" she concluded with a sad voice, "It hurt so much seeing my daughter suffer for being away from you. It hurt so much to be away from you"
He looked down and once again he felt as vulnerable as a baby. Gabriella quickly wiped away a tear that was threatening to fall down her face and she kissed Troy's shoulder, "It's time to let it go, baby. It's all in the past anyway"
"Troy" Marina stood up and bent down in front of him. The same way she would do to with him when she needed to explain something when he was a little child. "You were my baby" she said and corrected quickly, "You are my baby. You'll always be my son and I'm sorry for being a bad mother and not being able to understand you" she grabbed his free hand on hers and lifted Troy's chin to look her in the eyes, "I'm sorry for being a terrible mother"
Troy studied her face as tears rolled down her cheeks now. Marina's eyes were full of regret and he knew she was really meaning all the things she said. He looked at Gabriella and knew how important being in peace with their family was for her. His mind travelled to the future and to his own kids, growing up without a family. That's not what he wanted for their babies.
He let go of Gabriella's hand for a second to wipe the tears on Marina's cheek with his thumb, "It's all in the past" he reminded her again. "Let's just end this chapter, okay…ma?"
Marina smiled widely and she stood up, bringing Troy's tall and strong body to a hug. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders as well, letting a few tears get lost in his mother's hair. He heard Gabriella's sweet giggle and he pulled away from his mother, to bring the woman of his dreams to a possessively embrace too.
"You're guys are gonna be very happy together" Marina smiled and kissed their cheek.
"So, you're going?" Gabriella asked hopeful and Marina nodded, "Of course. John and I wouldn't lose it for anything in the world" she smiled proudly and caressed Troy's and Gabriella's cheeks, "It's not everyday that you marry two of your children at the same time"
Troy chuckled and Gabriella giggled. Lucas came running to the living room and jumped on the couch, "I want a hug too"
He lifted his little arms and Troy grabbed him in his arms, "Ah, the new generation"