Here is the next one! Song! I will not put the actual lyrics in the story, except for maybe an excerpt here or there… I've already been warned twice by fanfiction not to use lyrics, and if I have another offense, I'll be kicked off, so just imagine the lyrics are here. The song it was done to is "Then I Did" by Rascal Flatts. In all honesty, I worked the lyrics into the actual story, so if you are familiar with the song, you will be able to follow along no problem.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

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Troy looked out the window in his seat. He was riding first class on a commercial airline. He was heading home to visit everyone from his mom and dad to Zeke, to Sharpay, to Chad. But not her.

As he exited the air craft, he thought about calling her. It happens to him every time he sees the skyline of Albuquerque.

He shouldn't miss her this much. He was just being crazy. It was really his fault. He was the one who took the position. Even though it was clear across the country. Troy had taken the job to play for the champions. The Detroit Pistons.

Nah, He convinced himself. She's probably changed all her numbers anyway. It's been a year.

At least. If he added it up completely, it had been one year, two months, three days, two hours and seven minutes since he called her to tell her. Not that he was counting.

He shouldn't miss her this much. It was really his fault. He was the one who took the position. Even though it was clear across the country. Troy had taken the job to play for the champions. The Detroit Pistons.

Now, Michigan and New Mexico are quite a ways from each other. At least two and a half hours, on a plane, with the wind.

He had told her that he had gotten the job, and that he needed to take it. It was his big break. It was his once in a lifetime chance. He had to catch his dreams, he had told her. And that's what he had done.

It's a gorgeous day, Troy thought, as he drove through his old neighborhood in a rented car. It was funny. The car the company had given him was a convertible. Just like the old blue one he had had when they had been together.

As he passed by her mom's house, he thought of how they used to play hooky from class during their college years on days that were this beautiful. They would cut every now and then, and put the top down in that old convertible. They'd blast the music as loud as it would go, no matter what was playing.

They cut a lot of school back then. And with Gabriella as his tutor, it was never a problem.

She always pushed him as far as she knew he could go. She wanted him to be his best. She made him his best. He had graduated early, and was a straight A student.

She never let him use the word never when it came to his dreams. She never let him put himself down. She was always there for him. But not now. And it was all his fault.

Why had he left? Why had they broken up? Why hadn't he tried to contact her after?

He remembered their conversation perfectly. He had called her up to tell her he had gotten it. She hadn't even known that the Pistons were interested in him! But even so, she was completely focused on him. She worried about him, and not herself. Not their relationship.

She was excited for him, even. She said he had to go. It was his dream. He needed to catch it. She had agreed with him. She had said it was his big break. He couldn't let it slip away.

It had been the last time they had spoken. The last thing she had said to him. The last time he had listened to her.

Looking back though, they had both been wrong though. He shouldn't have been so focused on his career. He shouldn't have let the love of his life slip away from him.

What were dreams anyway? How had he been supposed to know what he really wanted anyway? He was only 21 for goodness sake!

And now she was gone.

Maybe I should call her, He thought again. He knew he couldn't though. He couldn't go back to the past. The same issues would still be there. Especially the distance. And how do you mend something that has been broken for so long? Was it even possible to do so?

It was the weather that did this to him, he tried to convince himself.

Not wanting to be alone with his thoughts, Troy flicked on the radio. Playing was a song Troy vaguely remembered from his high school years. It was an old Rascal Flatts song. If memory served, it was called Then I Did.

Funny, Troy thought as he listened to it. This song was basically written for me.

He listened as it neared the end. "Love was what I wanted all along."

Troy couldn't bring himself to turn off the radio. It was a completely perfect song. At least, it was perfect for describing his mood.

"You've been waiting all your life..."

He had. He had waited his whole life for that once in a lifetime love. And when he had finally found it, even at the young age he had, he should have known how precious it was. But after college… he threw it away like it was worthless.

I've been waiting all my life…

He should have stuck with love. He should have played for the Spurs. They had offered him a great position. But no. He had had to play for the Champions.

And he would pay the price for the rest of his life, probably.

Love was all he had wanted after all.

And now you're gone….

Even if he figured it out too late.

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I just really, really wanted to do a fic where they DIDN'T end up together. I just really wanted to. I don't know why. So consider this a dramatic Troyella.

So did you like it? Have you heard of the song before? Did you listen to the song while reading?

Hope you review, and look out for the next one- Death. So I'm guessing that the next one won't be super happy either. Sorry about that. Didn't realize the next theme!

Love,
Monica