Chapter 18

Departures and Arrivals

Two days passed, and Gabriella, Ryan, Sharpay, and Troy spent a lot of time hanging out in the city and going to the beach. The four of them even went to one of Troy's grandpa's bingo nights at his church, which ended up being a ton of fun.

Now the four of them were sitting at a café on the patio, enjoying lunch near Long Beach, where they had spent the morning.

Ryan spoke up. "Gabriella and I have been talking, and while we are having a nice time here, we think it might be about time for us to go back home."

Gabriella nodded in agreement.

Sharpay felt her eyes get slightly misty as she realized that soon Nowhere would be moving on without her.

Ryan noticed the look on Sharpay's face.

"Sharpay, you are welcome to come back with us if you choose," he added.

Sharpay took a breath. "Thanks for the offer, but I really think I should stay. I just got a job offer from a restaurant near Troy's grandpa's house, and I've been applying to colleges around here. I'm sure I'll do fine."

Ryan nodded. Sharpay could see a glimmer of disappointment in his eyes, but she also knew that he would be able to accept her decision.

"Well, I'm glad the two of you got to stop by and experience life in Los Angeles for a few days. It's been a pleasure hanging out with you guys, honestly," Troy said.

"When are you leaving?" Sharpay asked.

"First thing tomorrow morning," Ryan replied. "We want to get in as many miles as possible before sunset."

Troy nodded, and Sharpay studied the stitching pattern on her napkin. It wasn't going to be easy to say goodbye to her beloved brother.

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The next morning came faster than Sharpay wanted, but at promptly six that morning, she gave Gabriella and her brother teary hugs goodbye.

She waved at Ryan's car until it was out of sight.

Troy pulled her in for a hug, and a couple of tears escaped down her cheeks. But they didn't last because today was her first day working at Granata's Italian Villa, an Italian restaurant about two miles away from Troy's grandfather's house. It was a rather fancy restaurant, and Sharpay was grateful because it meant that she would hopefully make enough off of her tips to be able to afford college in a few months.

Troy and Sharpay spent the morning trying to figure out the bus route so Sharpay wouldn't have to walk when Troy couldn't give her a ride.

Sharpay was also very relieved when Troy offered to teach Sharpay how to drive. She was certain that it would be an imperative skill, especially once Troy was gone and she was on her own.

Sharpay caught herself and realized that the reality of her and Troy ending up together wasn't going to be as simple as she had hoped. She wondered if she was already moving on, or if she would end up following Troy wherever he went.

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Troy carefully studied the cards he held in his hands. His grandfather looked at him expectantly.

"Come on, boy. I don't have all day here. You better just get over with your turn so I can whoop you again."

Troy laughed, except that he was pretty sure his grandpa wasn't joking because Troy hadn't won a game yet, and they had been playing since lunch, three hours ago.

Troy picked up a card from the stack and then laid down another one.

He looked up at his grandpa, waiting to see what the old man had up his sleeve.

His grandpa picked up the card that Troy had just lay down and then with a triumphant smile, laid down the cards in his hand and said, "Ha! I win again."

He got up and did a short victory dance before sitting in his chair again, winded.

Troy could tell that his grandpa was getting steadily worse. He could almost swear that his grandfather looked older than he had a few days ago when Troy arrived.

He hadn't gone on his usual morning walk since Troy had accompanied him, and his daily post-dinner nap yesterday evening had ended up lasting until the next morning.

Troy frowned when his grandpa didn't start picking up the cards to shuffle so he could whip Troy again.

Instead, his grandpa said, "I called your mom today to tell her that you were okay."

Troy frowned and looked at the cards lying on the card table. As much as he knew that he would have to face them again, he just didn't feel ready to get back to the reality that he did, indeed, have a pair of very worried parents in Albuquerque, wondering where he was.

"Troy, your mother has been worried sick about you. Now, I gave you a few days here to deal with everything, but you're gonna have to face them sooner or later, and they needed to be put out of their misery."

"They're coming, aren't they?" Troy asked, still not looking at his grandpa.

"Sorry, kid. They're on their way right now. They said they plan on arriving after dinner sometime, but don't worry. I told them that I already have two guests staying here, so they're gonna stay at the Embassy Suites down the road."

"Thanks for the warning," Troy muttered, standing up and walking towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" Troy's grandpa called after him.

"On a walk. I have some thinking I need to do before they get here."

Troy put his shoes on and walked out into the sunlight, blinking while his eyes adjusted to the brightness.

Troy didn't think very much. He just started walking, slouched over with his hands in his pockets.

He was scared about facing his parents. It was going to take every single ounce of energy within him to be able to honestly forgive them.

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Sharpay felt very stressed out. Her dream about spilling a tray full of water had almost become reality several times already.

It was her first day on the job, and she was already having second thoughts about choosing to stay in Los Angeles.

Everything was so much slower in Nowhere.

Sharpay had really enjoyed the wide variety of people she had come across, yhough. It was a huge difference from the predominately white middle class town that she had grown up in.

Sharpay's boss also seemed really neat. He was an Italian, through and through. He was loud and boisterous, but also very kind.

His name was Alex, and he was in his late forties. He was very proud of the fact that he had been married to the same woman for 27 years. They had four kids, ranging from the age of 18 to 25.

"I have a son your age. He's going to be going to the University of Southern California here in LA in the fall," he told her. "He's very cute," he added, winking at Sharpay.

She hadn't been sure what to make of that comment, so she just smiled at him. In the back of her mind, though, she wondered if their paths would ever cross. Sharpay had applied to USC in LA, but she was still waiting to hear back from them.

She survived the lunch shift and helped prepare for dinner. Her shift ended at five, about an hour before the dinner rush.

Sharpay had been assigned to shadow a woman name Clara. Clara was 20 and very nice. She had answered all of Sharpay's questions and showed her the ropes of waitressing.

"I've been doing this since I was 16. It's really tough for the first month or so, but you'll get the hang of it," she told her in the midst of the lunch rush.

Sharpay had trouble believing that waitressing was something anybody could ever get the hang of, but she nodded, agreeing with Clara anyways.

Despite the stress of the job, Sharpay was happy with the place she had been employed.

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Gabriella looked out the window as Ryan's car passed downtown Los Angeles for the last time. Once she couldn't see it out of Ryan's window anymore, she sighed and tried to get comfortable for the long trip ahead of them.

About 110 miles out of Los Angeles, Ryan pulled off the highway into a deserted dusty parking lot.

"What are we doing?" Gabriella asked.

"Well, I saw a sign that said this is a scenic stop. I thought that maybe we could check it out."

Gabriella smiled. A break from sitting in the car was always welcomed.

The couple followed a short trail up the side of a brown and dusty slope, covered with sand and cacti.

The trail ended at a small wooden platform area with a railing.

Gabriella took in a sharp breath. She was looking down a canyon. Hundreds of feet below them was a river carving its way through the canyon in the desert. It was beautiful.

"Where are we?" Gabriella asked Ryan.

"Well, the sign said that this was the Colorado River. What do you think?"

Gabriella took the scene in for a moment longer before she gave Ryan her full attention.

"It's beautiful," she breathed.

Ryan looked Gabriella in her eyes and took both of her hands. "Nothing, not even this compares to the beauty I see in you everyday of my life. I don't even have to look at you in order to have my breath taken away. I know that I'm probably sounding really cheesy and cliché right now, but I can honestly say, without a doubt, that the day I marry you will be the happiest day of my life."

Gabriella could feel herself getting choked up. Everything about the moment just felt so right. Ryan was professing his love for her, and she was standing next to an unbelievable scene of nature.

Gabriella thought that if Ryan sealed that moment with a kiss, a real kiss, then she would feel like she were in a movie.

Ryan took a step closer to her. Gabriella could feel herself holding her breath.

He cleared his throat. "Gabriella, can I kiss you?" he asked. "Like, really kiss you?"

Gabriella smiled. She was speechless, but managed a small nod.

Ryan took another step forward and leaned in. They both adjusted their heads, so they wouldn't hit noses. At first, when Ryan's lips touched Gabriella's and lingered there, it felt almost awkward. But as the kiss deepened and Gabriella got lost in the kiss, she could feel their two worlds melting apart and then mixing together.

Gabriella and Ryan were going to be one, and this kiss totally confirmed that for Gabriella.

After a few moments, Ryan pulled away.

Gabriella felt somewhat shy. It felt like her first kiss with Ryan. In fact, in many ways, it really was their first real kiss.

Gabriella glanced at Ryan, whose cheeks looked somewhat pink. He was blushing! Something about that made Gabriella want to kiss him again, so she put her arms around Ryan's neck and found his lips with her own.

Gabriella could sense that Ryan was surprised by her initiative, but he certainly wasn't objecting.

After they pulled away for the second time, Ryan put his arm around Gabriella's waist, and she put her head on his shoulder.

They looked over the many miles of vast desert landscape and at the river, flowing in the canyon hundreds of feet below them.

Gabriella soaked in the moment, feeling readier than ever to make Ryan her husband, and just like the river, gushing below them, Gabriella knew that her relationship with Ryan would be flowing steadily at times, while at other times it would find a few rocks that they would have to figure out how to weave through so they could continue their journey together.

A/♫ (get it?! I'm a dork!): Thanks for reading! I was slightly disappointed that I only got two reviews for the last chapter, but I promised to post daily, so I'm not going to let you down. Just please do you're best to review. I wouldn't post my stories on here if you all didn't review. It would be pointless, so review! And have a great day :-) ☼