Feel It

Chapter 12:

Gabriella grabbed her suitcases from the car and put it back on the floor. She had just rented a new apartment near school and was finally able to move in after six months away in Florida. Being away was essential for her sanity and now that she was clearly better, she saw things very well. She had gone to a point she thought she would never be happy again in Albuquerque, but after a few months, she was back home, a sincere smile on her face and lots of adventures on her backpack.

Sharpay had tried to convince her to stay with her in Florida forever, but Gabriella missed home, the desert and her friends that she left when she moved. On Monday she'd be back to school to finish her last year at university, she'd finally be a psychologist; Gabriella couldn't wait to help people.

As she put her suitcases inside the elevator and observed the heavy doors closing, Gabriella tilted her head back, resting it against the elevator's walls and sighing deeply. It felt good to be home. Everything in New Mexico would put a smile on her face; the air, the sun, the people.

And the people! The one that said internet helped while being away from someone you loved had no feelings at all. It was not the same chat by messenger, or e-mail or even live on cam. She had been in contact with Chad and Payton, they were actually dating, what Gabriella still found pretty hard to believe considering Chad and Payton never seemed interested in the other.

Apparently, Gabriella was still known as "The Wonder Woman" there, Chad used to tell her that Zeke, Ryan and Jason always said she was the best girl in the world. The boys were dating a few girls too, but nothing too serious. Molly and Troy she knew nothing about. The only thing Gabriella asked about Troy was if his surgery had worked, and yes, Payton had said Troy could watch again, even though he developed the mania of tracing the walls whenever he wanted to get to a place, even though he could see things with his eyes now.

Gabriella walked down the corridor of her condo and stopped in front of her new apartment's door. She unlocked it and pushed the door open. As she stepped inside, her eyes running around the room, she smiled. Gabriella could feel she was going to be really happy there.

Her phone started ringing and she smiled widely when she read who it was, "Chad!" she greeted him contently, "Yeah, I'm glad to be home, too"


"I'm taking the bandages off now, Troy" Doctor Jones informed him, "Keep your eyes shut, you don't see the light for a very long time" he reminded Troy and he nodded quietly, keeping his eyes hard shut while he prayed silently he could see again.

The doctor continued his procedure of letting his eyes free from the bandages, always talking and joking while he did it; not that Troy was paying attention at all. All he could feel was his mom's hand grabbing his tightly and Payton's fingertips on his feet on the edge of the bed.

Troy raised his hand to rub against his eye, they were so swollen and sensitive that he couldn't help but let out a low groan.

"Let me do it, you're gonna hurt yourself" the doctor rubbed his thumbs against his eyes, slowly and delicately, massaging the skin for distress.

"Can I open my eyes now?" Troy asked softly and the doctor nodded, "Sure, but slowly"

Cassidy, Payton, Chad and Molly, the ones that were there with him in the hospital, waiting impatiently to know if he got his sight back or not shared a look, very quickly before turning their attentions to Troy again.

Troy opened his eyes, slowly like the doctor advised, blinking too many times to adjust to the light. He bit the top of his lip gently and his eyes got teary as the figure of his sister started to form in front of his eyes, clearly this time, not only her contour or her shadow. Troy could see Payton's long blond hair, her big blue eyes, the way her mouth was twisted as she avoided the need of biting her nails, like she always did when she was nervous.

He moved his gaze from Payton to his mother, her short hair and blue eyes studying him intently; Chad's afro was bigger than before, his eyes narrowed suspiciously as his eyes kept following Troy's gaze around the room. He saw the doctor and then Molly. Somehow, he couldn't help but think his eyes played tricks on him while he was in love with her. He saw Molly before his operation like a superwoman, her long legs, blond hair and green eyes seemed like the best combination for him, but that was before Gabriella. It was just the superficial. Troy never captured her essence.

All Troy could think about when he looked at Molly, was his Gabriella, the one that he didn't need eyes to see. Something about her expression confirmed to him he was not in love with her anymore. He no longer felt the stomach tied up in knots, he no longer felt the butterflies. She was not Gabriella.

"Troy?" Doctor Jones called him again, and he moved his face quickly to stare at the doctor in time to see him placing his glasses on his eyes and show two fingers, "How many fingers I have here?"

A grin formed slowly on his face, "Two…"

And then, the squealing began.


Troy sighed as his mind took him back from the day he realized he was healed, he could see again. He looked up from his school project to his wall, to find the drawing he had done of Gabriella still there, like it was a trophy. Everytime he needed inspiration, he would stare at the picture, the only thing he had left from Gabriella – and somehow, she helped him.

Knock, knock.

"Yeah?" his voice sounded annoyed and Payton rolled her eyes, pushing the door open, "Can I come in?"

Troy looked back from his project to his sister that was standing in his doorway, "Sure, what's up Pay?"

"We're going to a party tonight" she said cheerfully, sitting on the floor of Troy's studio and resting her back against the black couch. He had tried to live alone, Molly even helped him buying sheets and new pillows for his place a few months ago, but he ended up moving back home; Troy felt really lonely in an apartment – it made him think of her, of his Gabriella. He sighed again, deeply this time, he didn't like thinking about her too much; it hurt.

"We as in…?" he moved his attention back to his project; he had so much to catch up with at school.

"We… Chad and I… The boys… maybe you"

"I'm not going, Payton. I have a few things to do here"

Payton sighed. "You need to stop studying a bit, you know? That's not healthy"

"Right" he chuckled, drawing a perfect sketch of a house. Troy held the pencil between his teeth, observing his project, "Do you like it?"

She stood up and moved next to him, resting both of his hands on Troy's shoulder, "It's beautiful, you're really inspired"

He looked up at her, "Thanks…" he smiled sweetly, "This one is personal"

"You know she'll probably come to the party too"

"Who? Molly?"

"No!" Payton snapped rudely, rolling her eyes, "Gabriella's back"

The pencil fell from Troy's lips and his hand shook a bit; the sound of her name made her a real person again. Troy never, ever pronounced her name out loud, he only thought of it. And after months that felt like decades, hearing that she was back to Albuquerque, she was, well… alive changed everything. Gabriella was still important to him, he still felt the same way for her, and his heart was showing him it.

"Troy? You're okay?" Payton patted him on the shoulder, "Troy?"

"I---I'm fine" he shook his head, rubbing his hand on his face, "I don't wanna talk about Gabriella, Payton"

"I don't understand what happened" Payton exploded. She tended to respect his wishes and not talk about Gabriella, but she had enough. "You were the one that screwed everything up with her. You should have told her you never had anything with Molly the time you still could!"

"I tried" Troy cried out, standing up from his chair and throwing himself on the couch; he covered his face with his hands and let out a groan.

"When?!" he felt Payton sit on the edge of the couch and raised his head to look at her, "When she came to the hospital" he sighed, "I told her everything, that I loved her, that I wanted to be with her… but she didn't say anything back"

"At the hospital?" she raised one eyebrow while she rubbed her hair, thinking about what Troy had just said to her, "When you operated?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah Payton" he rolled his eyes, annoyed again.

"You didn't talk to her, Troy"

"I did"

"No, you didn't" Payton looked at him like he was some kind of freak, "I remember she was there, but she talked with me and Chad outside the hospital, and then she went home and never came back"

In a matter of seconds, so quickly that Payton almost missed his movement, Troy was half-sitten, popped up on his right arm, "What?!"

"It wasn't her, Troy. It was somebody else in the room"

"Oh god" he murmured to himself, sitting straight and then burying his head in his hands, "She probably thinks I'm with Molly then"

"That's bad, Troy"

"Yeah" he nodded slowly, his eyes still shut hard, "Damn it"

"You could always come to the party tonight and talk to her in person"

"I---I don't know" he said insecurely, "I mean, what if she's with somebody else already?"

"Well, you'll have to go and see for yourself" Payton patted his arm, "Don't give up, if you love her it's time to prove it"

"You're right" he replied hopeful, "I need to see her, I've been dying to see her face… to see the face of my angel"

Payton giggled, "Aww that's… so… sweet"

"Payton" he sighed, "Can you please leave me alone? I need to think of something to get my girl back"

"You love her that much?"

"More than anything" he replied sincerely.

"Then just tell her the truth… Gabriella will forgive you if she still feels the same way"

Troy nodded, suddenly his project that took all his time this week seeming like nothing important for him. There could be a World War III outside, but Troy would still go after Gabriella, he wanted his happiness again, and she was his happiness.

Later that night, he took a shower, still finding pretty funny how his eyes would adjust to things in front of him. Everyday he would get surprised how things would impress him. Colors, shapes, textures, everything was so different and so fascinating. Troy had learned the time he was blind, how to really see things, to notice and get to the soul of things. And now, that he had his sight back, he still worked with his heart, all the time. He saw things differently, he paid attention. And all of that, thanks to Gabriella.

Troy sighed, drying his hair with his towel and walking to his closet, grabbing a beige shirt and dressing it. Another thing Troy developed was using light colors, because his eyes sometimes still complained with the 'amount of information'.

He hummed as he dressed into his dark jeans and shoes, and went back to his bathroom, to put cologne and work on his hair – Troy wanted to look good for Gabriella tonight, he had been waiting so much to see her for the first time, he'd like to make a good impression after all that time they've been without each other.

He looked at his reflex on the mirror and sighed; Flicking his hair out of his eyes, Troy couldn't help but think what he was going to tell her, to make her believe he never been with Molly and that she was the love of his life. He planned to tell her how hard it was to be without her these six months; that he felt like she took a part of him when she went away… He would tell her all the truth, and hope she would believe it.

The doorbell rang and he checked himself on the mirror one more time before walking out of his room and running down the stairs. As he opened the door, he couldn't help but take a step back to let his eyes adjust to the colorful figure in front of him.

"Hey Chad" he stepped aside, letting his best friend get inside the house, "What's up?"

Chad studied Troy from upside down, "You're going with us, then?"

"Gabriella is coming, right?"

He nodded, jumping sitten on the couch, "Is she okay?" Troy asked, shyly.

"She's fine, dude. Better than ever"

Troy smiled, sitting beside Chad on the couch, "Good… that's awesome"

"You're looking pretty fancy tonight" he complimented casually, "What's up with the classy shoes?"

"I'm just trying to look nice for her" Troy shrugged and sighed, "I mean, she haven't seen me for six months… it's a long time"

Chad smirked, "You're gonna fall on your knees when you see her, she's hot, dude"

"I don't really mind if she's hot or not, I just love her for who she is Chad"

He rolled his eyes, "That's gay, dude" he smirked, "You're gay"

"Whatever"

They heard Payton's footsteps and Chad quickly stood up, straightening up to look like a complete gentleman. Her blond long hair was falling on her shoulders and Payton was using a red dress that hugged her figure very well. Chad gasped and when she saw him she smiled widely, making her big blue eyes blink madly.

"Hey Chad"

He smiled, "Hey Pay"

Troy rolled his eyes as they stood inches from the other, in a complete awkward silence. He stood up too, and putting his hands behind their heads brought their faces together, "There" he said as their lips touched slightly, making both of them blush.

"Can we go now?" he asked impatiently. Payton slapped him on the chest, "I'll remember doing that when you see Gabriella"

His stomach tied up in knots at the sound of her name, but he kept it cool, "Can we please go?"

Chad timidly grabbed Payton's hand and looked at Troy, with a proud smirk, "Let's go hoops"

"Yeah, let's go" he walked faster than Payton and Chad, disappearing through the front door before they could manage to give their first step.

"Wow… someone's eager"

Payton nodded, giggling, "Yeah"

As they hopped in Troy's car and he drove down the road, he rolled down the window and let the breeze refresh his thoughts. He always had a stupid smile on his face everytime he decided to drive, but today he was feeling too nervous to even enjoy the ride. He began tapping his fingertips noisily against the steering wheel, murmuring something to himself, like he was practicing what he was going to tell Gabi.

"Troy, calm down. You are starting to scare me" Payton whispered, locking eyes with her brother as he stared at her, "Please, calm down"

Troy took two deep breaths, "I'm trying"

Chad's pocket beeped and he dug into his jeans pocket to collect his mobile, "Ah, it's a text from Gabs"

He stopped on the red light, and looked back.

"She's gonna be late" he smiled at Troy sympathetically, "Relax dude, she's still going at least"

As they arrived at the ballroom that was going to be used for the party, at one of the biggest hotels in Albuquerque, Payton couldn't stop bragging about how lucky she was for having great contacts, because the party was going to be huge and the tickets were already sold out. Troy rolled his eyes at how superficial his sister could be sometimes.

"How's Gabriella going to find us?" Troy asked, following Payton and Chad as they walked inside the ballroom.

"Have you heard about cell phones?" Payton teased.

"Are you sure you gonna hear it…or feel it?" he asked sarcastically, watching as Chad's hand rested on top of his sister butt, where her phone was securely shoved into her small purse that Chad was carrying happily around.

Payton blushed, slapping Chad's hand from her butt, "She'll find us, don't worry Troy"

He shrugged and let his eyes run around the room; it had been decorated with massive golden balls all over the ceiling and it was, absolutely packed. The atmosphere was simply electric showing this would be certainly a mind-blowing party, even though Troy was not the party type of boy anymore.

As expected, the room looked like a jungle, the music so loud people could go deaf, but at the same time, the energy coming from the dancing bodies that were visibly having the best time of their lives was contagious.

There were two DJ's, one on the big dance floor, that was mostly filled with alternative people and some part of geeks, and the small dance floor, like Payton was trying to explain, was for the VIP people.

"That include us" she said happily, pointing to the pink glittery curtain that led them to the small dancefloor. As the three of them arrived, they found the DJ creating a funky atmosphere to greet the people and get them moving on the dance floor. Even though it was already open, there weren't too many people there, just around the bar, what was a shame in Payton's opinion, because the DJ's choice of tunes was really excellent.

Payton quickly pulled Chad to the dancefloor, to shake their souls out of their bodies, not really bothering people were staring at them. Troy leaned against the bar and waited, with a beer on his hand, for any sign of Gabriella, her voice, maybe some girl looking like the picture he drew.

He took a sip of his beer, noticing it didn't take long till Payton and Chad – that was dancing some kind of the 80's choreography – were joined by the audience. Troy took another sip of his beer, his eyes intently on the curtain that would led to the small dance floor; he couldn't help but wonder if Payton had thought about telling Gabriella there were two dance floors inside the ballroom.

Troy sighed, grabbing another beer, decided he would go to the other part of the room to look for Gabriella or any of the boys. Zeke, Ryan and Jason could help him find her. After a while, the social groups disappeared and pushing through the main dance floor the crowd thinned out a little, but only as much as it made dancing enjoyable, giving the more energetic folks the change to throw some shapes without bruising others.

It didn't matter now if you were VIP, or a geek or even alternative, everybody was dancing together, mingled on the dance floor, sweaty bodies dancing illuminated by the colorful lights; the VIP dancing with the geeks, the alternatives sweaty bodies clung to the punk writhing ones. The DJ's music was euphoric, chosen to make the crowd go wild and for the whole night, Troy found it difficult to express how weird he felt being there, his head spinning fast, his wet shirt hugging his body and the loud music making his ears ache. Every individual there were connected on what seemed to be a massive orgy of enjoyment of the atmosphere and the music.

Troy took two deep breaths, and then took another sip of his beer. He wasn't feeling very well, it was his first party in six months; the first time he was in contact with too many people, too many colors and too many sounds. He walked out of the dance floor, and leaned his back against the cold ballroom's wall. Troy closed his eyes and tilted his head back. He licked his lower lip trying to ignore all the dizziness he was feeling and the fact his legs were threatening to stop working.

"Troy? Man, you're alright?" he recognized Zeke's voice and nodded slowly, biting on his top lip before opening his eyes. And then, his heart stopped. Standing behind Zeke was a curious face, staring at him with worried eyes. Troy knew it was her, because his hands became sweaty for no reason. Gabriella started walking closer to Troy, her black curls dancing around as she walked. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She didn't smile; she just kept observing him with worried eyes, eyes that cared. He could feel she still cared about him.

"Are you okay Troy?" she asked softly, raising a hand to touch his forehead, "You look really pale"

It was her. He recognized her voice too. His heart didn't fail to show him who the girl of his dreams was. He could feel her shaky hands against his skin, her warm eyes. Gabriella was nervous too, he could sense it. Troy stared into her eyes, fascinated. Her eyes seemed to be exactly like he imagined – windows to her soul. The eyes that didn't seem possible to lie or hide anything from.

He gulped, he had seen her. Troy was able to see for the first time the girl that captured his soul, the girl he fell in love on the inside at first. Now he was in love with her outside too.

Gabriella stepped closer, and the smell of her perfume lingered Troy's nose. His gaze was locked on her, how she looked perfect in her black dress, her long hair falling down her shoulders. Her red lips that Troy wanted to taste so badly.

"I think he's in shock" she told Zeke, waving her hand in front of Troy's face, biting her lip, "Call 911, Zeke"

"N-no" Troy managed to chock out, "I'm … just speechless" he said slowly as he touched Gabriella's cheek gently, his eyes still widened a bit, "You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, Gabi"

He pulled her tightly to his body, forgetting everybody that was staring at them like they were from another planet. He hugged her so strong he could break her bones, but Gabriella didn't complain. She just melted into his touch and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him back, crying silently on his shoulder.

They became just one person. Two hearts… Beating in synchrony. Like they were created for each other, soul mates connected again.


A/N--- Well, he finally sees her, but I haven't finished the next chapter, so I don't know if they will be together as a couple or just as friends haha... Anyways, the story is almost over.. 2+ chapters and that's it. I'm working on another story, but I only have a few chapters written, so I'm not sure I'm going to post it or not, I'm gonna make my boyfriend read it, if he likes it, I'll put on lol I'm feeling insecure haha ;P

So, please please please - review and tell me your opinion? And if you want another story from me or you think it's better to retire, hahaha

xoxo May