Fickle
Old Fiat
Currently Listening: "Defying Gravity" by Idina Menzel from her single, Defying Gravity. It's not the same as the version in Wicked. The lyrics and arrangement have been changed a little and it's a studio version.
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Chapter 13: For the Better
I knew I wouldn't be able to face anyone at school for a while, so I stayed at home on the day after, pretending to be sick and preparing to continue the act on Monday. Chad was the only one to visit me on Sunday (the day after the dance). We basically hung out and avoided mentioning Ryan or Gabriella. Which, you know, is always enjoyable.
"So, do you want me to bring your copy of the script from Darbus?" he asked as he got up to leave, still wearing his church clothes.
"Yeah that'd be great," I said, my stomach flipping at the thought of Ryan or Gabriella coming over.
I did the whole act on Monday morning for my mom—getting dressed and telling her I was really too sick to go to school. I actually did feel sort of sick, but I always feel that way after lying. She fell for it though and I got to stay in bed.
I was lying in my room listening to my iPod most of the day. I avoided the songs I'd downloaded from The Phantom of the Opera to listen to in preparation for the musical and just listening to my bizarre mélange of show tunes, pop and rock. I was listening to "'Till There Was You" from The Music Man and was nearly asleep when the doorbell rang.
Dazedly, I tripped down the stairs and saw a small silhouette through the warped glass. I unlocked the door and opened it. Once I saw who was outside, I tried to slam the door but she held it open and walked in.
"Gabriella, leave," I said, sounding a lot harsher than I meant to.
She just sighed softly and looked up into my eyes. "No," she said defiantly.
"Leave right now!" I screamed. I really, absolutely, could not speak to Gabriella at that point. When I looked at her I felt a horrible mixture of loathing, guilt and pounding anger.
"No!" she shouted right back. "I have to talk to you."
"Why? So you can tell me the details of how you became a slut because, believe me, I do not want to hear it!"
I'd gone too far.
"I'm sorry," I said, trying to dodge her gaze.
"Don't," she said so softly I could barely hear her. "Don't apologize unless you really mean it, Troy."
"Gabriella—" I started, but she held up her hand to stop me.
"You aren't sorry," she said simply. "I know you aren't sorry because you just don't get it. You're too bloody self-centered to get anything that isn't totally about you!"
"I'm self-centered?" I shouted. "I'm self-centered! What do you think you are, Gabriella? Some kind of freakin' angel?"
"Of course, not," she said contemptuously. "But at least I'm better than you."
"How are you better than me?" I asked, waving my hands to try and express my anger.
"Because I at least tried to make you happy!" she yelled, her cheeks flushed. "I tried to ask out Ryan for you, I tried to get Chad to make up with you sooner, I even tried to get him to take back what he said to the school, but it all comes to nothing because I never get a single thing in return for everything I do for you!" Her eyes were filling with tears as she shouted. "Don't you realize how humiliated and… hurt I was by you breaking up with me?"
"So you start snogging Ryan to get over it? Wow, Gabs! I never knew this side of you!"
"Shut up, Troy!" she said, tears spilling over her cheeks. "Is it a crime for me to want to be happy? I told you when we broke up that I wanted you to be happy! Why can't you do the same for me?"
"I dunno, Gabi…" I said, pretending to think carefully. "Maybe because it's with the person I fell for?"
"Troy," she shook her head. "You're seeing this the wrong way—"
"How am I supposed to—"
"Let me finish!" she screamed and I instantly shut my mouth. "When you broke up with me, you had the chance to go out with Ryan. I didn't have any chance for anything because I was till in love with you!"
Neither of us spoke for several minutes. Gabriella breathed heavily, trying to calm down, and I just stood there, unsure of what to say or do.
"Troy, I…" she
paused. "Me and Ryan—"
She was cut off as I pulled her into
a tight embrace.
"Gabriella," I said, pushed her head against my chest. "You're my best friend in the whole world—you can be with whoever you want."
"You too, Troy," she pulled her head away and looked at me, a smile on her lips. "I would never want to deny you a single happiness. Me and Ryan… We aren't really together, but if we do… you know…"
"We're still friends," I promised, holding out my pinkie. "Forever."
"And ever," she said jokingly, linking her finger around mine.
And for some reason, I felt happier than I'd felt when Ryan kissed me.
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Ryan and I reconciled at school the next day.
It was during the first rehearsal of The Phantom of the Opera. Mrs. Darbus didn't really want us to practice songs yet or anything. But we did have to take our measurements and give them to a girl named Annette—embarrassing, to say the least—and begin work painting some of the sets. So, I guess it wasn't really a rehearsal but more a sort of… preparation? Anyway, Ryan and I were putting together the boat for the scene where the Phantom and Christine go down in the basement and stuff when he paused in his painting and looked up at me.
"Troy… About me and Gabriella…" he began, but I waved it off.
"It's fine," I said with a grin. "We're cool."
His face broke into a relieved smile. "Thank God… I hate being in fights with people. It just feels… bad, you know?"
I nodded and laughed.
Finally, my life was taking a change for the better.
-----THE END-----
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Woot! It's done! Well, there's gonna be an epilogue, but I'll probably work on that… later.
Anyway, please don't kill me for not putting Troy and Ryan together like… yeah, together. Remember, the epilogue is coming…
Special mention and kudos to anyone who can pick out what this is based on:
"We're still friends," I promised, holding out my pinkie. "Forever."
"And ever," she said jokingly, linking her finger around mine.
HINT: It's from a film released in the fall of 2007.
The epilogue coming soon! Please tell me what you think!
-OFsI