Troy played with the ivory thin envelope in his hands, turning it over and over again getting dangerously close to ripping it. The seal was already violently torn open, and his fingers terrifyingly trembled as though if he pulled out the flimsy loose leaf paper, the hot fire that brightened the room would shoot balls out and burn his hands. Millions of pounds of pressure pushed down as his loving heart beat rapidly in his stone chest. Everything about this moment was about to define him, and it seemed that his procrastination of two days was about up.

His calloused hands turned the envelope over, reading the messy scribble on the front. "Lucille". His mother's name. Troy could almost feel sweat trickle down his face and land on his striking blue long sleeved shirt. His strong legs which were wrapped in his faded jeans bent uncomfortably on his living room floor. The thin air was silent with the exception of the embers in the glowing fire. Troy's nerves began to bubble in his chest. No way of doing this would be easy. So he had to get it done with soon.

A sudden trotting sound filled his ears before he heard a heavy panting beside him. His cyan eyes glanced up to see to meet a cloudy orb along with another cerulean that matched his own. Troy smiled lazily as he let go of the weighty letter, knotting his hand into the velvet hair of his dog. "Come here girl…" Troy's defining voice coaxed before Sadie lied down, her gentle head resting on his upper thigh. Another weak smile crossed his face before continuing to pet the one thing that gave him stability in his life.

It was shocking that his mother gave this to him Monday morning before the court hearing. She informed him she had been keeping this since the fire, for it was one of the few things that remained in a safe she had hidden beneath her bed in the rickety shack they used to live in. He didn't recognize the hand writing, and wouldn't have even had any warning unless her mother had prepared him for this moment. Ever since then he had been putting it off, but kept it locked in the back of his head. He had to do it soon, or he was pretty sure he would explode from the curiosity.

"It can't be that bad right? I mean… no matter what… he's not coming back…" Troy spoke to his companion like Sadie would talk back. She just gazed perplexed up at him, before Troy realized he was once again putting off the task he needed to accomplish.

"Maybe I shouldn't even look at it. What would it do anyways?" He questioned no one before turning the snow paper in his hand once again. It felt like it gained another fifty pounds since he last gazed upon the broken seal. No. He wanted to know. The letter that was left carelessly on the table almost thirteen years before. It was addressed to his mother, but Lucille thought it best if Troy took it from her. She confessed she was so hung up on it, she wanted it rid from her sight. But she told him that he could do what he wanted with it, whether he read it or not.

"Okay… I got this…" Finally, after taking a huge breath, Troy removed his hand from Sadie's soft fur and took out the letter that was folded messily in three places. He immediately returned it to her warm hair, knowing he would need some kind of strength as he did this.

Inhaling as much of the threadlike oxygen as he could, Troy's eyes began to skim the scrawny penmanship. It didn't take much to realize he wasn't breathing with each letter that entered his eyes…

Lucille,

There's no easy way to do this. I really don't know how, but I have to. I can't do this anymore. I can't live my life this way. Everything seemed so innocent so long ago. Now, it's different. Life isn't what I dreamed of at all. I always wanted more, and have never been satisfied with how I've been living now. I can't explain how incredibly sorry I am. And I know you'll never forgive me. Even if you do, I don't deserve it. I'm probably going to burn in hell for this. I should burn in hell when I'm done writing this. But the lies have to stop. I can't keep pretending like this is the life for me. It won't make me happy and it won't make you. But I can't keep living a lie.

My dreams haven't changed since the day we met. You knew that I would never be able to live a simple life, the life we have been living. I told you on our first date, I wanted to go pro. You laughed, and just thought I was stupid. Maybe I was at the time for acting so irresponsible. I won't lie to you Lucille, I did love you at one point. I loved you when we got married, but now everything has changed. You knew going into this that my heart was always set for luxury. I've been offered the opportunity of a lifetime. Assistant manager of the Bulls. It's everything I've ever dreamed. And right now, god I sound like an ass, but I can't live on scraps of food. I need to do this for myself. Like I said, you're never gonna forgive me. But I'm not going to live this way anymore.

It's not fair to Troy, I know. He's only five, but I told you I didn't want kids. I thought the pill would work, but clearly we were just in the 2%. I'm not gonna say we were unlucky, because we weren't. I like him, he's an amazing kid. I do care about him, but it's not fair to him if I pretend like I love him the way he should be. I need you to find someone whose gonna be there for him. I can't act like father of the year if I don't want to be. He sees it too. I can tell. What's he gonna be like when he's older if I keep this charade up? My heart was never set on kids. I'm the biggest ass in the world, but Troy and you deserve someone better.

This is hard for me to say, but I'm leaving.

I can't stay here, not anymore. I hope maybe you can understand that. My name was meant to be on headlines, not on welfare checks. I'm sorry Lucille, but you don't know how hard this is. I love you, but I'm not in love with you anymore. You know that, I can see it in your eyes when you look at me. What we had when we were young was a college fling. But we were too blind to see that marriage was never for us. I'm not your soul mate, you know that. I know you do. I want you to be happy, but lying is not going to make you. I'd be selfish to stay here and pretend like it was year before. We were young, stupid and innocent. I'm sorry I dragged you places you never deserved to go.

If I could, I would turn back time and erase everything that I did. I would let you find the person you were meant to be with, not me. I'm sorry, but I have to do this on my own. Please, find someone who makes you happy. Take care of Troy the way I never could.

Jack

By the time Troy was finished reading, he stared blankly at the already dried up crimson blood drops and salty burns to the paper. Obviously Lucille must have read this multiple times, including once when she was about to shoot up. His emotionless eyes looked distantly up, the cerulean in them shining brightly in the spark of the fire. The rough hand still holding the delicate sheets of loose leaf was vibrating so rapidly he was certain his hand would be cut off from the motion at any moment.

He turned slowly to the dog who stared sympathetically up at its master. Jack Bolton was horrific. Troy couldn't believe that he would just leave his mother just because his dream was to be in the spotlight. He said how it would be selfish to keep pretending like he loved both of them, but how could he be unselfish at his actions of leaving them alone, with no money or any indication that he would help with child support? Troy could barely believe that he shared twenty three of his chromosomes with this man. It disgusted him to no end.

Yet, for some reason, Troy felt comfortably satisfied.

"Dick." He muttered carelessly under his breath before folding up the envelope with his shaking hands and slipped it smoothly back inside the pale envelope.

If it had been a week ago, Troy probably would have broken down in anger. He probably would have asked why he was put on this earth if he wasn't wanted. But now, that his perception had been cleared of all haze, he understood that he had a purpose for being on this earth. He wasn't a worthless piece of junk. He may not be the president, but Troy still mattered to some people.

He was a best friend to someone who seemed to be so headstrong that he would never think things through before he attacked at them. A father to a puppy whom had been there from the beginning of his new life on his own, giving him someone to give him constant support even if she had four legs and a tail. He was a brother to a twenty-five year old who protected him and gave him a roof over his head, and even though they clashed, a bond was formed between them that wouldn't be replaced by anything. Troy's lazy smile crossed his face again as he patted Sadie's yawning head gently.

He was a beating heart of love for someone who suffered more that life ever meant for her to. His arms around her gave him the strength she needed to stand up to things she never would be able to before, yet she had no idea that it was nothing compared to the power she gave him. His breath whispered her name, his muscles built for her curves. They were meant to be, through whatever life chucked at them violently and expected them to pick up. Never again would they need to be alone to go through their struggles. They had a support. They had something they had pushed away for so long. They had forgotten to love. And now? He couldn't imagine how he survived without her, yet knew that she gave him the encouragement to take things in his own hands when life was a bitch.

But most importantly, far more important than any of these things, he was a son. A son to a woman who had been broken hearted over and over everyday she woke up in the morning. A woman who wasn't a bad person, but tried to replace the love of her uncaring husband by something as cruel as intoxicating drugs. She broke to her instincts, desperately finding something that would murder her pain. Heroine seemed like the answer, but for the first time, Troy had confidence that she was in this for real. It would be a day by day process, but she knew what she had to loose if she didn't keep to her poison free word. Troy saved her life on Sunday. He made her choose between life and death. Unable to loose the one thing that mattered most, she picked life. Troy was her guardian, the thing that kept her going. And it didn't matter if he didn't have a father as he once craved. He'd rather have none then the author of the letter. Just being loved by his mom was enough.

Troy grinned for no reason at Sadie before standing slowly up. Timidly, he relocated the letter to his other hand before feeling the heat in his face as he approached the scorching fireplace. His built body tenderly bent down before the engulfing flames, his cyan eyes shading to a inferno green before looking at the scribble of his father's handwriting for one last time.

In one fluid motion, Troy contently dropped the letter into the flame, a thousand pound weight released from his tight grasp. The salmon fire gobbled the paper up, black edges forming around the sides to shrink the worthless paper. A satisfied grin crossed his flawless face as it completely shriveled into nothingness and the midnight ashes floated into dust.

Satisfied, Troy backed away and turned to Sadie once again who was watching the scene with curious eyes. A throaty laugh ripped from his throat for no apparent reason before he jogged over to her, excitement dancing through his veins. "You wanna go build a snowman or something?" He chuckled like a four year old boy as Sadie barked energetically, practically leaping from her stance to follow Troy's ecstatic figure towards the door where his cozy coat lay.

The fire raged on, burning remorse, pain and anger that were left in the past where they belonged.

"So why buy Breaking Free?" Troy's powerful voice filled the cracks of the engaged music pro room before his cerulean eyes shot an electrifying glance towards Gabriella's grinning body.

Gabriella could hear her own voice sounding through the stereo as Gabriella couldn't help but giggle happily at Troy's flowing voice of marketing. His rough hands held up a simple CD case, with a shockingly beautiful black and white cover shot. She smirked at the perfection of the image with Gabriella's eyes looking intensely at the camera while Troy's guitar and overly large black sweatshirt covered her body dressed in a cami and jeans. Troy held it close to his heart as through it was a prize possession. Maybe to him it was, who knows, Gabriella couldn't stop stealing earth shattering glances from him as their presentation moved forward, Mr. Garble's excited look heightening the classes attention. Or maybe it was just because Troy was gorgeous and Gabriella was stunning.

It was a fake sale's pitch that went a long with the project, but the two seemed to be selling to the class well. "Well that's easy…" Gabriella continued, Troy's beaming smile slicing through her skin. "Passion. How many people have ever felt their heart skip a beat when a crush walked down the hall?" A hot blush flooded her cheeks at the rhetorical question as Troy snickered at her.

"How many people have felt like they've been kicked when they're down?" Troy's questioned the intrigued class, a few nods bouncing through the crowd.

"How many…" Gabriella's full body turned sideways so she was facing Troy, his eyes now shooting rounds of love into her own. "…have asked someone to be their light in the darkness?"

Troy's hard gaze through his eyebrows was enough to send Gabriella to the wall with overpowering emotion. "This CD is more that just music. It's a feeling…"

Gabriella bit her lip coyly. "It's an emotion…"

Troy's cyan eyes danced across her face. "It's a love…"

Their connection was held in silence much longer than natural, causing Mr. Garble to cough "subtly" to get them back on track. Gabriella's face flushed in crimson as Troy grunted embarrassedly. They both caught one more knowing glance before turning back to the class and opening their mouths at the same time. "It's magic."

Every jaw in the room dropped violently to the floor. Gabriella couldn't help but hold the oxygen in her lungs nervously as she looked out upon the room. Troy's heavy hold on the CD was shaking. After what felt like a million years, Garble was finally able to put his hands together once. That started a round of applause that ignited cheers. Gabriella let out her breath of air as Troy grinned cheekily. "Goddamn, if I was a teenager and you just flung that pitch at me, you'd have me buying thirty of them."

Troy's rigid body relaxed as his sparkling smile turned excitedly to Gabriella. She shot an identical one back. Phew. At least they were going to hopefully get an A for the pitch part. "Thanks Garbs." Troy let fly as Gabriella's slender finger pressed pause on the noisy stereo.

"Wow… damn Bolton are you going into advertising?" Mr. Garble questioned, causing Troy's blush to radiate through the roof. Gabriella's sweet giggle caused him to shoot ice daggers at her though his cyan eyes.

"Errmm… I never really thought about it…" Troy scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"Well, think." The smirking teacher ordered before the class began to talk excitedly again, whether it was on how well they did or on how hot Troy looked in his flaming orange polo right now, it didn't matter. What Gabriella wanted to do was jump into his arms and let him kiss her soundlessly with the gaze she was receiving, but thought that maybe wouldn't be appropriate. Garble probably would have been rooting for them, but they were never really about showing public display of affection anyways. In an essence, even though everyone clearly knew they were together, it was sometimes nice to just pretend it was like in the blossoming stages of their relationship, when it was a secret. Why put on a show for everyone else? "Awesome job guys." The music production teacher left his hand hanging for both of them to slap, Gabriella remembering how much of a weirdo the guy was. But it would be why he was her favorite teacher.

"Nice job T…" Gabriella mumbled as they struggled through the obstacle course of students who wanted to congratulate the elite on their amazing work. Finally making it back to their seats, she turned around to face his irritable smile as his eyes shot love arrows into hers.

"Not bad teamwork for someone who wouldn't talk to me." Troy smirked teasingly, making Gabriella's angry orbs narrow. Humor was laced into her glare though, for Gabriella couldn't imagine how she got on without the boy sitting in front of her now. It seemed near impossible. How strange it was that she wouldn't even speak to him three months earlier, and it was a struggle not to pounce on him in class.

"Alright… Up next is Tam…" Just as Garble was about to reveal the next victims, the sound of the bell coursed through the dim classroom. "Shit you guys are lucky. Tamera and Rebecca are next on Monday. Have a great weekend guys and don't party too hard when we smash St. Paul's asses tonight, right Bolton?" He ordered sarcastically, Gabriella knowing if he had the chance he'd be with them

Troy smirked happily in his snow and scarlet colored basketball warm up. Gabriella giggled as the rest of the class chattered excitedly about the upcoming game that evening. "Can't make any promises Garble."

The teacher with tight brunette curls clung to his head while he gave Gabriella an accusing look. "Be sure this guy behaves."

Gabriella giggled lightly. "I'll do my best."

The couple walked out the door into the hallway what could be compared to as Time Square. Neither lacing hands nor putting their arms around each other, they walked towards their lockers gracefully. The intimacy of just themselves was enough that they didn't have to flaunt anything around. Jealousy was spreading like wildfire through the Wildcat students as Troy and Gabriella apporched the small group of Kelsi, Ryan, Chad, and Taylor.

"What's up?" Chad asked while pulling Taylor's body closer to him, Gabriella smirking at how much they had changed.

"Gabi and I just aced our project." Troy bragged excitedly before smirking contently at Gabriella.

"Nice!" Ryan congratulated before Kelsi took his hand gently in hers.

"We should celebrate after we party about the game," Chad practically danced, Gabriella remembering how they were to go to his house after the game tonight, just the six of them and Zeke. "Baylor's not coming though."

"Why not?" Gabriella asked curiously.

Chad rolled his beady eyes. "Ice princess…I mean Sharpay…" he quickly corrected after Ryan's screwy figure shot grey ice towards him through his orbs. "Has that drunk fest tonight… and he didn't want to feel like a seventh wheel."

"He wouldn't have been!" Gabriella protested, Troy shaking his head slowly to silence her.

"Awe, let him have a night to fuck, he deserves it." He grinned sincerely at her.

The warning bell rang, causing the other four friends to depart. Gabriella turned to Troy, smiling flirtatiously at him. "So… if Zeke has a night to um… you know…" a mischievous twinkle was in her orbs. "I think you should have a night to do whatever too…"

His thick eyebrows rose suggestively. "I like the way you're thinking," Troy's husky voice mumbled before leaning towards her, the fumes of his intoxicating cologne washing over her body. "My house? After Chad's?"

Gabriella's honey laugh heightened her perfect features. "I think that could be arranged."

Troy's sexy crooked smile burst with light before in one fluid motion gently pecked her lips in a satisfying way. Well okay, they USUALLY didn't display their relationship. But there were obvious exceptions. Like just feeling like it. "I'll see you in Psych." His left cerulean eye closed in a faint worthy wink before he took off in the opposite direction. Gabriella's coffee orbs staring mysteriously after his enchanting figure, before another bell rang, the final bell. She was alone in the hallway, and late for her next class.

"Shit!"

A/N: I know a lot of you guys wanted an appearance from Troy's dad, but it would not be realistic if he would have magically showed up like he cared about him after thirteen years. But I didn't want to leave that part of the story untied, so I hope you liked the letter idea!

And if you want, while I was bored, I was messing around with Photoshop and made a couple... movie/story posters? I don't know, for each of my stories so if you want to check them out, they're in my profile. Remember, I'm a WRITER, not an artist, so don't make fun too bad but I do want to hear what you guys think about them, so shoot me a PM if you want. Thanks for reading and reviewing! The next chapter is the last, so hopefully you guys liked this one!