Disclaimer: If I owned Disney and HSM that would mean I wouldn't really have to be studying right? If only that was the case.
Author's Note: You guys are truly awesome. Seriously! I cannot thank you all enough! … Although, there's all these people out there with this on their alerts list that I haven't heard from. Any chance this will be the chapter you guys decide to speak up? :P LOL.
Someone left a review for one of the previous chapters saying that they got confused when there was a flashback. There's a flashback in this chapter, it's quite long, and the entire thing is in italics, so watch out for it. ;-)
Walking over to the couch Troy placed the bottles down on the table and settled down trying to get comfortable. Ever since they'd left the club Gabriella seemed intent on trying to act as if nothing was wrong, and whilst Troy knew that something had to have happened, he didn't want to push it, so he went along with it. Any other day he might have pushed her for an answer, but tonight whatever it was, seemed much bigger than anything that had happened before. So knowing that she'd tell him when she was good and ready, he just let her be.
Seeing Gabriella walk into the room, Troy let out a laugh. "I thought you were going to get changed into some of your clothes."
Gabriella looked at him unimpressed, "This is not funny," she said pouting childishly. Over the past few months since Troy had arrived, Taylor and herself, had spent a lot of time at Troy's, just hanging out, and quite often after a night out, Gabriella would find herself too tired to drive home for the night and as a result ended up staying the night at Troy's. Taylor, however, even though Troy had offered, always refused. After Gabriella had to endure sleeping in some of Troy's oversized clothes, she decided it was best to just leave a set of clothes and pyjamas at his place. However, unable to find her spare pair of pyjamas that she kept at Troy's, she found herself standing before Troy in the smallest of his shirts and tracksuit pants she could find, and even though they were the smallest ones in his closet, she still looked as if she was drowning in them.
"Oh, no, it's definitely funny," he said grinning at her. "The smallest thing you could find was my old college basketball training shirt?"
"Well my PJ's weren't there!" she said huffing as she sat on the couch beside him, and brought her feet up onto the couch and trying to get comfortable.
Troy grinned back at her sheepishly. "Um, must still be in the wash?" he said questioning Gabriella simply rolled her eyes at him. "Okay, I take it back, you look adorable."
Again she rolled her eyes at him. "You're just saying that because it's my turn to choose the DVD and you don't want me to choose a chick flick," she said as a smirk appeared on her face.
He gave her a cheeky grin, "It was worth a try?"
She laughed at him and reached for one of the bottles on the table. Taking a sip she cringed, "Beer? You're trying to get out of a chick flick and you brought out beer?"
He shrugged, "There wasn't anything else, and so I had to make do with what I had. And if I'm watching another chick flick I'd much rather do it with more alcohol in my system, thank you very much."
She grinned at him, "Okay, this one isn't that bad!" she said as she turned on the DVD. Troy simply groaned.
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Taking her eyes off the screen she glanced over at Troy, smirking as he once again burst into laughter. "Told you," she said in a sing song voice, with a self satisfied look on her face.
"What?" He replied distractedly, before snorting at what had just happened on the screen.
"You know, we haven't even seen half the movie and you've been in hysterics since the first ten minutes."
"Hey! Did you see what she just did to Kate? How could I not think that was funny?" he said quickly trying to defend himself.
She shot him a look, "You even know names now? Just say it, you like this one!" she teased, a smile playing on her lips.
"Okay, I admit, this chick flick isn't too bad." She grinned triumphantly and turned her attention back onto the screen. "And I am so glad that I was never anything like him. Payback is definitely a bitch."
"You mean to tell me that the Wildcat superstar wasn't a John Tucker," she said in mock surprise.
Going along with it, Troy dramatically clutched his heart and closed his eyes, "Gabriella that hurt." A cheeky grin appeared on his face as he opened his eyes to find Gabriella playfully rolling her eyes at him. "But really, we were nothing alike, except for the basketball thing, and the fact that we both looked like a mix between an Abercrombie model and a Greek God."
"Wow, and a modest too! Maybe you do have more in common than you thought," she joked back good naturedly before the pair broke into laughter and continued to watch the movie.
Gabriella smiled to herself in content; this was exactly what she needed; to do something normal that distracted her and helped her forget about everything that she had just found out. But with just that small thought, everything she had been trying to push into the back of her mind came tumbling back into the foreground. Mentally she groaned, and tried to get back to the movie at hand, but just at that moment the scene changed to the two main characters kissing. In her mind different visuals of what Taylor had described to her began to emerge. Involuntarily she shuddered and shook her head, trying once again to concentrate on the movie.
After a few minutes she gave up, and instead just stared at the television, with her eyes glazed over, seeing nothing but blurs of color that were supposed to represent people. Thinking to herself she knew it was a little bit childish, if not stupid, that she had tried to distract herself from the reality that her marriage had fallen apart, by watching some useless movie. Realistically she knew that nothing would ever make her completely forget about it, and that the sooner she learnt to accept it, the sooner she would be better off. Sighing, she quickly glanced over at Troy who seemed to be completely engrossed in the movie. She knew that he knew something had happened, and she was completely grateful that he had let her go on with this façade, but she knew sooner or later she would have to tell him.
"Noah was with Theresa tonight. Taylor saw them," she said suddenly, not taking her eyes off the television before her. Quickly Troy's laughter died down, and his face lost all happiness, instead replaced by a somber expression.
They were both motionless for a moment, Gabriella still fixated on the screen, and Troy stunned by what she had so suddenly dropped on him. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Troy moving his body around to face her. "Gabi," he said simply. But even with just that one word she could hear the change in his voice; a mixture of shock, sympathy and pity, all rolled into one. "Gabriella, talk to me." But still she didn't divert her attention. Stopping the DVD player and turning off the television, Troy shifted closer to her and put his hand on her arm, giving her no choice but to look at him.
Sighing she turned to look at him, but on seeing his sympathy etched all over it turned her gaze to rest on his hand that was on her arm.
"Gabi, why didn't you tell me?" he said in a low comforting voice as he rubbed his hand up and down her arm.
She bit her lip and took in a deep breath, concentrating all her strength into not breaking down. It was hard enough having to admit it to him in the first place, and now that she had, she knew that they were bound to talk about it, but knowing didn't make the act of doing it any less difficult. "I knew that if I told you, it would be real," she said mumbling quietly, still not looking him in the eye. "And that it would mean that everything between Noah and I was finally over."
Wordlessly Troy pulled her towards him and brought her into a tight hug. In that very moment his heart broke. She didn't deserve this; no one did, but especially not Gabriella. God he hated Noah so much right now. Who the fuck did he think he was doing this to her? Who the hell gave him the right to hurt Gabriella so much? Wasn't what he had already done to her enough? Anger flowed throughout Troy's body, but knowing that his anger would not be of any use right now, he took several deep breaths, and tired to concentrate on helping Gabriella. What he felt wasn't important right now, Gabriella was what was important.
He didn't say anything, he just held onto her tighter, hoping that his actions would express how much he was feeling for right now, far better than he could say through words. He kept her in a tight embrace until her breath began to become uneven, and he would have sworn she was crying; had it not been for the fact that his shirt still was still dry. "Gabi just let it all out," he said sympathetically, as he rubbed small circles on her back.
Pulling out of his grasp, she shook her head violently, "No. No, I can't."
Again his heart ached for her. How someone could hurt someone like Gabriella was just beyond him. Softly he cupped the side of her face with his hand, "Gabi, it's only me. It's okay."
For the first time she looked him in the eye, and he could clearly see how much pain he had caused her. "No, if I cry, then it means he's won."
"Oh god Gabriella," he said before bringing her back into another hug. He knew she had this tendency to hold things in and try to deal with them by herself, and it killed him that even now she was still trying to stay strong. He wanted her to know that it was okay to cry, to let it all out, especially now when breaking down might have been the thing she needed to do the most.
For a moment, he wished that he had told her all those months ago what he really thought about Noah; about her. As if maybe by him doing so she wouldn't be in this position right now. Right now, he would give anything to take her pain away.
"Why Troy?" she mumbled against his chest; the pain that he had seen in her face, now obvious in her voice. "Why?"
"I don't know Gabi," he said sadly, wishing that he had an answer for her.
Troy continued to hold onto her tightly, listening and feeling as she breathed in and out deeply. "I can't believe I ever took him back," she said quietly.
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Gabriella walked aimlessly around the park, clutching her coat tightly as a cool breeze blew past. Glancing down at her watch she noted the time; 1.15, "Crap," she muttered softly to herself, she was late. Looking around at her surroundings she tried to calculate how far away she was from their meeting point, noticing that she hadn't drifted that far she didn't bother to speed up her pace; even if she was the one who had asked him to meet her here.
Earlier that morning she had called Noah, asking him to meet her at the park near their house, saying that they needed to talk.
It had been two weeks since the two had had any real contact, but not due to a lack of trying on Noah's part. He had called her numerous times over the past two weeks, tried to stop by her office at work too, but every time she either hung up on him, didn't bother answering his call at all or her secretary stopped him from seeing her.
She stopped walking when she spotted him a few meters away sitting on a park bench overlooking the lake. She took in a deep breath, and mentally tried to calm herself. For two weeks she had tried to figure out what it was that she wanted to do. Should she leave him? Should she stay? All her friends and family told her to leave his sorry ass, and that she deserved better than him, and part of her wanted to do that. But another part still loved him and believed that he was still the man she loved, even if he had made a huge mistake.
With all the confusion she hoped that if she saw him, she'd be able to make her decision, and at that moment seeing him sitting there, she still wasn't sure what it was that she was deciding. Realizing that it was now or never, she slowly walked over towards him.
Walking around to the other end of the bench she stopped, "Hi," she said simply, making Noah aware of her presence.
He stood up when he heard her. "Hi," he responded, his eyes looking into hers, trying to figure out whether he should be overjoyed or depressed over what she was about to say, but he found that he was unable to read them as he once could.
"Sorry I'm late," she said quietly, still not moving from her spot.
Noah didn't move either, "It's not a problem."
The two stood in awkwardly in silence for a while. Noah was unsure of what to do. After all, he was the one waiting on her decision; she was the one who held the fate of their marriage in her hands. Shoving his hands into his coat pockets he stood there watching and waiting for her to make a move.
She looked up at the man that stood before her, trying to take in his whole appearance. Underneath his thick coat she could see his untucked, ruffled up shirt, hanging out from his jumper. His pants had a number of creases in it, and looked as if it had been sitting in a crumpled up heap for a while. His hair was messy and there were dark circles underneath his eyes. Even his skin looked drained and lifeless. All in all, he looked horrible. Not at all like the handsome man she saw only weeks ago. Clearly these past two weeks had taken a toll on him too, and she was glad for it. At least this meant that she wasn't the only one suffering, and that maybe he was really sorry.
A strong breeze blew, and Gabriella shivered noticeably, moving her hands up and down her arms quickly. "Oh Gabriella," Noah said as he began to take off his coat and walk towards her to put it over her shoulders. Even though she could have done with the coat she took a few steps backwards as he came towards her. Noah stopped. "Oh," he said dejectedly, interpreting that as her saying that she they were over. They continued to stand there, Gabriella shivering more and more with every passing second. Knowing he couldn't just leave her standing there in the cold he walked back towards the bench, put the coat down on one end of it, then sat down at the other end of the bench. "Gabriella, please take the coat. You'll freeze."
She waited for a moment before walking over to the bench and wrapping herself in his large coat and sitting down. Trying to warm herself up a little, she snuggled into the coat, and unknowingly breathed in his scent. Taking in another breath, she realized that she had missed it.
"I'm sorry," he said as he looked out over the lake, avoiding her gaze. He couldn't handle looking at her face knowing that she had already decided their fate. "I never meant for it to happen. I never meant to hurt you."
She heard and saw the regret in his voice, he sounded like he was truly sorry. She sighed, so far being with him wasn't helping anything. She was still just as confused now as she was before. Shifting around, she moved her arms so that her elbows rested on her knees, and leant her head down into her interlinked hands, closing her eyes.
Hearing her movement, he glanced over at her quickly; a shining object peeking slightly out from her shirt caught his eye. Taking a moment to see exactly what it was a small smile appeared on his face. "You're still wearing it," he said simply, his voice already sounding that little bit happier.
Lifting her head up, she gave him a quizzical look. "Your necklace; your ring, you still have it on."
Bringing her hand up towards her neck, she gently fingered the ring that hung off her necklace, watching as it glinted in the sunlight. Gabriella hadn't even realized she was still wearing it, in fact, she had only just realized that she had never even taken it off in the first place. The thought of doing so hadn't even come to her. Slowly she smiled; there was her answer.
She turned to him, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath before she began, "I want us to get past this," she said in a slow even voice, "I want you to come back."
A wide grin appeared on Noah's face lighting up all his features and he quickly tried to shuffle down the bench towards her, but as he did so, she stood up and backed away from the bench. His grin faltered and he looked up at her in confusion.
"I know what I said," she said answering his unasked question. "It's just going to take a little time. I can't just forgive and forget about it just like that, but, I don't want to throw us out the window either." She sighed, "Let's just take it slowly."
Noah's smile came back, "Yeah, I can do that. We'll go slow."
She gave him a small smile in reply as silence once again enveloped them. Noah coughed awkwardly, "Erm, can I, um, would it be okay if I hugged you?" he questioned, sounding like a young boy.
She considered it for a moment before giving him a small nod. She watched as he walked towards her slowly before he wrapped her in a gentle hug. Feeling his arms around her she remained motionless for a moment; trying to force the pain she had anticipated in feeling, back down again. Finally she eased comfortably into his touch, and moved her own arms around his waist. Breathing him in as she did so she realised she had missing his touch, his smell; him. They were going to get through this, she just knew it.
As she closed her eyes she heard Noah muffle a soft, "Thank you," into her hair.
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"I can't believe I was so stupid to believe that it would still work out between us," she added, still mumbling into his shirt.
Troy leaned back from their embrace, and looked at her in surprise. "Gabi, listen to me, you weren't the stupid one okay? This is not your fault," he said.
She shook her head again, not believing his words. "No, this is my fault, I was the one who took him back, I was the one who was fooled by him; this was all my doing."
"Gabriella," he said again, his voice stronger this time. "No, this was not your fault. None of it was."
Shrugging out of his grasp she got up off the chair, "No, don't you get it Troy? I let this happen!" she said angrily as she stalked about the living room, throwing her hands up into the air, "I could have ended this all before it got any worse, but I didn't! I did this to myself!"
Troy couldn't believe what he was hearing. He thought he hated Noah before, but what hatred he felt for him was merely a tiny spark of what he was feeling right now. He couldn't believe that she actually thought this was her doing. God, Noah had really screwed her up.
Getting up from the couch, he firmly put his hands on her shoulders, and looked her directly in the eyes. "Gabi, none of this is your fault okay?" She began to shake her head again, but Troy wouldn't have it. "No, Gabi, no," Troy said again, but she still wasn't listening. "God dammit Gabriella, don't blame yourself for his mistakes!" he said strongly, now getting frustrated. "He was the one who screwed up, not you. You gave him a second chance, and he blew it. He was the idiot, not you."
Her eyes were beginning to water now, but she wouldn't let them fall. Instead she looked Troy straight in the eye and asked, "Then why Troy?" Knowing he couldn't give her an answer she continued. "If none of this is my fault, why did he do it? Just tell me why I was so foolish to believe that one day it would all be okay again." She tore her gaze away from his eyes, feeling so angry at herself for letting this happen.
Troy just stared at her for a moment. Carefully he brought his hand to her face, stroking the side of her face softly, and forced her to look at him, "Because you're you," he said simply, his voice sounding much softer than it had moments ago. "Because you're trusting, and loyal and you forgive people when they might not deserve it. Gabriella, you're this amazingly beautiful woman who sees the good in everyone, even when everyone else can't see it. And none of that makes you foolish, okay? It just makes you a better person than the rest of us. Any guy who has done the things that Noah has done to you, should count himself extremely lucky to get a second chance. And you gave Noah that; do you know how many women would have thrown him out without a second thought?"
He paused, making sure she was taking it all in. "Noah was stupid enough to mess up one of the best things he had going for him, because any guy would be lucky to have someone who was even half the person you are, okay? So none of this was any of your fault, and I won't hear another word of it."
She studied his face as he spoke those words. His blue eyes no longer conveying sympathy and pity, but now glistering with determination and love. His voice sounded so sincere and so sure, that she couldn't help but believe every word that was coming out of his mouth. And just like that, all doubt she had in herself vanished. She smiled gratefully at him, and carefully wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning her head against his chest, feeling waves of comfort washing over her. "Thank you Troy," she whispered.
He smiled, thankful that she finally believed the truth in his words, and hugged her back.
Here in his arms it occurred to her that never once had Troy told her what to do with her situation with Noah. Not once in the whole three months he'd been here. "Troy?" she questioned quietly.
"Hm?"
"You were the only one you know," she said simply. He broke their embrace and looked down at her questioningly, cocking his head to the side in confusion. "You were the only one not to tell me what to do," she continued, "Why didn't you say anything?"
He sighed, a sign that he didn't particularly want to answer, so she went on. "Not once in the last three months have you ever said anything bad about Noah. You didn't even know him, and you still didn't say a word! Not even when I first told you did you say anything, you just wrapped your arms around me and told me it would be okay. I just don't understand why you wouldn't say anything? Everyone has told me what to do, my mom, Taylor, all my friends, except you. How come?"
Her eyes were staring deeply into his, looking desperately for an answer. "I didn't think it was my place to." He saw her about to object, but he interrupted her and went on. "I didn't think that you needed someone else in your life telling you how to live it. I know everyone wanted the best for you, and that they were just looking out for you, but I didn't think you needed someone else telling you everything you already knew. What good was would I have done if I told you what I thought? You didn't need that; you needed someone to be on your side, someone to just be there for you and not give judgment," he said giving a small shrug as if it didn't matter.
But it mattered to Gabriella. A small smile appeared on her face as she looked up at him, so grateful that he was back in her life again. As her dark eyes locked in with his brighter ones, she noticed that they somehow looked different, felt different. It wasn't just his eyes either; even being in his arms felt different to all the other times he had comforted her. It was if something between them had changed in that moment.
Maybe it was the fact that all the words that were coming out of his mouth were perfect. Or maybe it was the fact that even though he had only been back in her life for three small months, he still knew exactly what she needed, without her having to tell him. Or maybe it was simply the fact that in the moment, when she needed comfort the most, it was Troy who was right there giving it to her, telling her exactly what she needed to hear.
But whatever the reason for it was, right then in that moment, she wanted nothing more than to stay here in his arms, looking up into his eyes. And without a second thought she brought her hands up to his face, cupping it and bringing it down to her face, and kissed him full on the lips.
Caught off guard Troy hesitated, but only for a moment before he gave into the kiss, kissing her back just as intensely.
Blocking off her mind, she let herself get lost in the incredible feeling of his lips against hers and the familiar tingles that they caused to vibrate throughout her body. Quickly she deepened the kiss, wanting, no, needing, to feel more of those lips that she had unknowingly missed over the years, but that now seemed so familiar it was as if no time had passed at all.
Author's Note: Ooooh! And there's a bit of Troy/Gabriella action you've all been waiting for. I'm guessing half of you will be happy about that, and the other half will think I'm using it as a big cop out… Haha. But I have it all planned out you'll just have to wait and see. :P
I know a huge chunk of that chapter was a flashback, but I think it's important to find out just how and why Gabriella took him back. If the flashback feels awkward, it's meant to be. And if you think that Gabriella should have been more angry at Noah back then, well, once again you'll have to wait and trust me that I think I know what I'm doing. LOL.
As always, constructive criticism is loved! So go on, click that little button and tell me what you think! Like it, love it, hate it, any complains, or praises, hehe, let me know! I'll love you for it either way… as long as the criticism is written at least a little bit nicely. LOL.