If you haven't figured it out by now, I don't own HSM, and I have no idea why I'm still telling you guys that! Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 9

A Sudden Decision

Gabriella was floored. Troy asking her to leave with him was way beyond anything she expected. Sure, it wasn't exactly considered running away. She was 18, but it just seemed so wrong in her circumstances. In so many ways she still felt like a child. She still lived at home, her mother still made all of her meals for her, and she didn't even have to buy her own shampoo yet.

Gabriella snapped out of her thoughts for a moment to see Troy still standing there, waiting for her reply.

"Just here me out," Troy said, sounding rather unsure of himself. "I feel like we can't stay away from each other. There's this electricity that I feel whenever I'm around you, whenever I touch you, and whenever I kiss you. Gabriella, I know that I hardly know you, but I also know that you don't want to be a cashier at the grocery store, and you really haven't convinced me that you're in love with Ryan. What do you have to lose?"

Gabriella looked at Troy again with a pained expression on her face. "You're wrong," she said quietly. "You're right that I never want to have to be a cashier at the grocery store, but you're wrong about Ryan and me. After what we did this morning, I talked to my mother about being in love. She told me that sometimes she would feel like she wasn't in love with my dad for a week, or even a month at a time, but that it's temporary and normal. And she also told me that love is more than a feeling. When she didn't feel like she was in love, she really just didn't like him much at the time, but deep down, she still loved him. Being in love isn't about the one percent of a couples' life that feels like fireworks and sunsets. Being in love is about commitment and the 99 percent of the time we spend doing the small things that don't seem to matter in the short run. There is nothing that seems more romantic to me right now than being able to look at my husband 20, 30, or even 50 years down the road and know that he is still by my side. Troy, let's face it. I've known you for a week. I've known Ryan since we were in diapers. Sure he isn't the most sensitive guy or the best listener, but I know without a doubt that he will be right by my side 50 years down the road. Troy, I have trouble imagining where we would be in a week."

Troy looked hurt. "Yeah, what if the two of us does work out? Don't you feel like you're settling for someone who wasn't equipped to meet all of your needs? Gabriella, you know that I listen to you, and I can promise you that I am more sensitive. What about the risk you took last night when you stepped out of Nowhere? Don't you want to be free like that?"

Gabriella so badly wanted to believe what Troy was telling her, but she just couldn't convince herself that it was the right thing to do. "Look, I have a family here. I have made my life here. Last night was amazing, but it was only one night. I can't let one night change my entire course of life. That is entirely too impulsive."

"Maybe you should consider it as spontaneous, rather than compulsive."

Gabriella put her hand on Troy's shoulder. "Troy, I hope you can understand my decision. I have already screwed up my relationship with Ryan enough. Despite everything, I don't regret your coming, but I can't just throw my life away. I'm sorry Troy. I truly am, but I think that it would be best for me to stay here and pick up the pieces of my life."

Troy sighed. "I'm sorry too. I'll really miss you."

Gabriella could feel tears prickling her eyes. She took in a shaky breath. "I think you coming here was the best and worst thing that has ever happened to me."

"Probably." Troy paused for a moment before carefully speaking up again. "I know that I am totally out of line here, but can I at least kiss you goodbye?"

It was Gabriella's turn to be silent. "One small one," she finally said.

Troy leaned in, and Gabriella accepted his lips on hers. Why did kissing Troy have to feel so…good? After a second or two Gabriella pulled back. It was the most chaste and yet meaningful kiss she had ever felt. She put her fingers on her lips.

"I'll miss you," she whispered.

"I'll miss you too," Troy said, standing up. "I'll never forget you," he said as he turned around and walked down Gabriella's driveway.

Gabriella couldn't take it any longer. She got up and ran inside, straight to her room, where she broke down in gut-wrenching sobs, soaking her sheets and her pillow. Why did Troy have to be so right and so wrong?

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Sharpay was shocked at what she heard. Gabriella had cheated on her brother, and the man who she wanted so badly to run away with liked her brother's fiancée. Things could not get any worse.

She stayed hidden as Troy sulked back to her house. His posture was hunched over, and she saw him brush his eyes with the back of his hand. Was he crying?

Sharpay could feel her heart breaking. She was 18 and had no prospects for husbands. Before Troy had come along, she was sure that she would be stuck in the grocery store for the rest of her life.

Never had Sharpay felt so connected to a guy. Even though he wasn't like any other guy in Nowhere, he just seemed so normal. Sharpay couldn't let him go. She just couldn't!

She picked up her pace as she walked home, still a good distance behind Troy.

She was so angry, but so desperate to leave at the same time. The trick was convincing Troy to take her instead of Gabriella. But what to do?

Sharpay still didn't have a plan as she lightly knocked on Troy's door.

"Come in," said his muffled voice.

She quietly turned the handle and let herself in, closing the door behind her.

"Are you okay?" she asked, eying his sullen face. It couldn't hurt to play clueless.

"Uh, ye-yeah," Troy said. He didn't sound convincing at all, though.

"Are you sure?" Sharpay asked, hoping that he would say something about what had just happened first.

"I'll be fine," he said.

"Well, you don't seem fine."

"Right, but I will be fine soon enough."

"Care to tell me what's going on?"

"Sharpay, I'm flattered that you are so concerned, but I think that I really just need some time to myself right now."

Sharpay was so frustrated. She couldn't take this any longer. "Never mind. I know why you're upset, anyways," she said.

Troy looked up. Panic was quite evident in his eyes.

"I didn't mean to. I really just wanted to talk to you about…something. But then I saw that you were busy, so I followed you instead. Then you were at Gabriella's, so I hid behind a rock, and then you told her that you were leaving and you wanted her to come too," Sharpay rambled.

Troy looked very alert, suddenly. "How much did you here, exactly?"

Sharpay sighed and looked down. "Everything," she mumbled.

Troy looked like he was going to explode. "What happened between me and Gabriella is none of your business," he said through gritted teeth.

Sharpay looked up, a wave of confidence sweeping through her. "None of my business? You freaking encouraged Gabriella to cheat on my brother with you. You tried to convince her to leave him for a stupid one week fling she had with you. And you know what? You broke my heart, too." Sharpay's eyes got really big when she realized that she had just admitted her feelings to Troy. That was certainly not going to give her the upper hand in this argument.

"Sharpay, I was an idiot. It just took me getting rejected by Gabriella to realize that. I should have never kissed her. It might take two people to make a kiss happen, and I might not exactly fit into the male role around here, but I should have been man enough to stand up to a kiss. I was so wrong, and now that you know, I've probably ruined Gabriella forever."

Now that was not the response Sharpay was expecting. After a moment of speechlessness, she said, "Take me with you instead."

"What?" Troy asked, looking at her like he surely hadn't heard her right.

"Take me instead. Troy, I am so angry at you right now, but the truth is, I can't stay here. I have no perspectives, and I've heard my parents talking about how they should look into what kind of jobs I can get in town. Please, Troy. I don't want to rot away checking out groceries for all of the happy little housewives."

"Shouldn't you hate me right now?"

"I do, but I also realize what I would loose if I didn't get to go with you. I have never met a guy like you before, but yet you seem so normal. It doesn't make any sense. I need out. Troy, I want to see the ocean."

"I don't know," he said slowly.

"You can't let me stay here. Please. I'm begging you. I've wanted things all my life, and I've gotten them. Now, I want something more than life itself, and I can't have it. Please. Take me with you," Sharpay said in one last desperate attempt.

Troy searched Sharpay's face for a few moments. Sharpay wanted to look away, but she had to hold her ground. "I don't know what the heck I'm saying, but fine."

Sharpay's heart jumped in her rib cage. He had just said yes! She squealed and grabbed Troy, hugging him with all of her might.

"Oh my gosh. I need to go pack!" she said, jumping back.

"Listen, we'll leave at one this morning. I'll put the car in neutral and we'll silently back it down the driveway so we don't wake anybody up. In fact, it's down hill all the way to the edge of town, so I won't even have to start the car until we are way out of ear shot."

As Troy spoke of his plans for their escape, Sharpay could sense the excitement growing in his voice. The ocean was no longer going to have to be a childhood fantasy, but even better was that Sharpay was going to be free!

A/N: Okay, so I feel like I need to explain myself, since I've gotten a lot of feedback for Troyella. The main reason I had Gabriella turn Troy down was because she always struck me as a character who wasn't very impulsive. Sharpay, on the other hand, seems like a very impulsive person, so her wanting to run away just made sense to me. Is my logic totally off? I would really love to know because it wouldn't be the first time I was only making sense to myself :-)
Anyways, please give me your feedback. I must confess that I actually have up to chapter 17 written, but it can easily be revised, and this really is my first shot at HSM. Two very important parts of writing a sucessful piece of fan fiction, in my opinion, is that you have to be true to what you think works, but you have to do it in such a way that will please the readers. Because if you guys aren't happy in the end, then I didn't do a good job. Okay, and now that I'm done rambling, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW :-)