Title: Heartbreak Melodies
Summary: No matter how hard she tried to forget him, no matter the logical reasons behind her leaving, Gabriella couldn't forget the way Troy made her feel. The way she would light up when he smiled. The way she would melt at the sound of his laugh. And the thing that made it the hardest? Troy refused to let her move on without a fight.
Rating: T for occasional strong language.
Disclaimer: All ideas written below are original and are not examples of plagiarism
A/N Another chapter already! You guys' reviews really encourage me to write faster lol. Thank you so much for all of your reviews! I didn't have time to do personal responses but know that they all meant a lot to me. Especially, those of you who said that I'd made you feel better or that this is becoming one of your favourite fics - I'm really flattered XD. Before you read this chapter, you may want to read the last one over again, because I realised that FF didn't save certain edits I made in the second half of the chapter so there were quite a few mistakes that I had to correct. Also, a little mistake in the first chapter that I have to clarify: Troy and Gabriella are both 25 not 24.
LetsJustSing you asked, if this would be the last chapter, as I had originally said this would only be about three of four chapters. In answer to your question, no, there will be more chapters after this one. Because of the responses I've been getting - and because I'm having so much fun writing this - I've decided to extend it. I'm not sure how many more chapters there will be after this, because I'm not really good at just writing general, everyday-life fics, but there will be at least two...and...possibly a sequel set a few years down the line :D
Finally - you can start reading in a moment - turns out The Script have loads of heartbreak/break up songs, but I can't find a single 'we've gotten back together and I'm so happy' song. In fact, hardly any artist seems to have written one of those lol, so this chapter's song may not fit perfectly but where it does relate to this chapter, you can imagine it is Troy trying to convince Gabriella of his love and also see it as a throwback to the trouble they first encountered through being in different social circles when they first met.
Enjoy! Review! xoxo
(When I first saw you, I saw love.
And the first time you touched me, I felt love.
And after all this time, you're still the one I love.)
(You're still the one)
You're still the one I run to
The one that I belong to
You're the one I want for life
(You're still the one)
You're still the one that I love
The only one I dream of
You're still the one I kiss good night
You're Still the One - Shania Twain
A peaceful silence wrapped Troy and Gabriella as they shyly gazed at one another; both hesitant to speak for the fear it would ruin the moment. Troy was the first to break the silence as his lips had twitched eagerly, wanting to get some sort of confirmation for the situation they were in.
"So," the both began simultaneously, giggling at the mishap.
"You go," Gabriella offered.
"No, you."
"Troy..." she countered.
"I insist, speak. Go on, before I change my mind."
Gabriella blushed. Not because she was shy or even embarrassed at his comment, but because his insistance reminded her of the days when they would tease each other and engage in playful banter until the early hours of the morning.
"Fine, I'll speak," she conceded, rolling her eyes and shifting her her legs into a cross-legged position that allowed her to face him fully without straining her neck awkwardly. "Umm..." her eyes flickered between her hands and his expectant, excited sapphire eyes. "What...what now?" She posed.
"What now?" Troy repeated with a smirk and Gabriella nodded. "Well... I'm hopelessly in love with you, you know that much, and you're in love with me also so...I say we be in love together and forget this whole ridiculous idea of a break up. The first step, I think, should be for you to come home," he suggested in a low voice as he shifted closer towards her and took her hands. "Get back to your own bed," he whispered, kissing her forehead. "Your own kitchen." Another kiss, this time to her left cheek. "And bath," he continued, his lips now against her right cheek, which was flushed a sexy shade of pink. "And shower," he whispered. The lewd connotations were more than conveyed by the mischievous twinkle of his eyes, but further enforced when his lips latched onto hers in a brief but passionate kiss, in which his tongue quickly and suggestively traced the line of Gabriella's lips. "If I recall correctly," he continued when he pulled back. "We had some memorable times in each of those places." He wiggled his brows.
"We did," Gabriella confirmed, smirking. "But...I can't come back."
It took a while for Troy to process her words, and while he was doing so, he was certain he spent at least one minute too long wearing the expression of an imbecile.
"Umm...I know that I'm a little obtuse, at times, but I'm certain that I haven't just wildly misread what happend since I got here, so uh..yeah..."
His sentence didn't need completing, because his meaning was more that understandable, so Gabriella then smiled sadly and explained, "When I moved out, I signed a six month lease for this place."
"Six months!" She nodded at Troy's exclamation. "You would do that for what reason?"
"Well I wasn't going to just stay in a hotel and pay day-by-day, what else was I going to do?"
"I don't know," Troy huffed. "Like, stay with Shar, or something."
"She offered," Gabriella shrugged. "And was so insistent that she grew more offended the more I refused her offer, but...after leaving, I just felt I needed to be on my own for a little, and...just kind of figure out where I was...what was next."
Troy nodded solemnly in understanding. "So...you mean it'll be another three months before we're living together again?"
"Well...two and a half, if that makes it any better," Gabriella teased. "Maybe it'll be good, though, we can...ease back into it, rather than going in too fast."
"I suppose it can't hurt, but," he paused briefly, pensive. "I've missed you so much, I was kind of looking forward to speed," he confessed, sheepishly. "But," he continued, with a lighter, more positive tone, "we're together, and that's all that matters." With these words, he smoothly shifted the position of his body and, causing Gabriella zero disruption, managed to reorder their bodies so he was lying flat against the sofa's seat, with Gabriella on top of him; her head on his chest, with his shirt she was wearing, riding up and exposing the curve of her bottom that was covered only in a small pair of shorts.
"That's right," she whispered in reply, stretching, to kiss his Adam's apple...
()()()
It was two weeks since Troy had turned up at Gabriella's flat and begged, without pride or hesitation, for her to take him back and breathe life back into the pathetic misery he and his life had become since she had said goodbye. Although they had said they would take it slowly, they found themselves being ruled by their emotions, and swiftly they found themselves back into a familiar routine.
The first few days were spent merely basking in the joy of once again being united; they would flirt shyly, and tease one another as though testing the waters just as they had when they first got together. But when they were once again fully comfortable in one another and felt secure enough to make themselves, once again vulnerable, they allowed their hormones and their unsatisfied urges to be...well, satisfied. In the bedroom, living room, bathroom and kitchen and whenever the moment took them; whether that be after hours of soft kisses and temptations, or when Troy randomly thought how sexy Gabriella looked while putting some dirty dishes into the sink.
"We have guest, due like any minute," Gabriella reprimanded, as Troy wrapped his arms around her waist and proceeded to softly attack her neck.
He didn't desist in his kisses and suckles even when Gabriella warned him against continuing. Instead, he buried his left hand in her newly-fixed locks, while the hand still around her waist, slipped beneath the hem of her fitted black tank and toyed with her navel piercing. "I don't know why you're attaching fancy labels to them, babe. Guest? They're just our friends."
Gabriella softly whacked him for his comment, all the while bringing her hand down to join his beneath her top. "I've had Chad walk in on us once before and I do not want to repeat that."
Troy chuckled. The incident Gabriella referred to had taken place during their freshman year in college, one weekend when Gabriella had come down from Stanford to visit Troy at Berkeley. After the incident had occurred, it became apparent that the red sock that Troy had tied around the doorknob of their dorm as a symbol of him requiring privacy, had been removed by another student as a joke. Hence, when Chad had raced to the room to grab his wallet, he burst through the door without any hesitation, finding Troy and Gabriella in a very mortifying, very naked, and very, very intimate position.
Needless to say, Chad stumbled back out, as fast as someone can with closed eyes. And Gabriella was very, very grateful of the fact that, her schedule over the coming months meant that she was unable to make trips to see Troy down at Berkeley, and that instead, he would be coming to her.
"Eh," Troy shrugged. "I'm pretty sure Chad's over that, baby, it was ages ago."
"Chad may be over it, but I'm definitely not. I'm serious!" She slapped his hand away from where he was subtly undoing the button on her skinny jeans. He pulled his hand away, pouting like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar before dinner. "Besides, Chad's bringing over his new girlfriend, and for the first time I meet her, I don't want to look all..."
"Sexed?" Troy supplied mischievously.
"For want of a better word, yes," Gabriella rolled her eyes, and finally put some distance between her and Troy as she went to find her lip gloss.
Troy, shrugged. "Fine, fine," he conceded, going to retrieve his t-shirt from the floor, where it had been carelessly thrown my Gabriella a little while before. "She isn't his girlfriend, yet," Troy corrected. "But he really likes her, and he wants to make it official, but don't make it obvious today, alright?"
Gabriella nodded and smoothed down her hair.
"She's nice, though, you guys would definitely get on."
"Yeah, Chad's always singing her praises. Said she went to Harvard?"
"Yeah, she's from New York and just moved out here about a year ago, I think, to work for a law firm. I kind of made an idiot out of myself when we met, though," Troy confessed, almost ashamed when he recalled his immature behaviour. "It was just after you left and I was a mess."
"Ohh," Gabriella pouted, walking over to him and hugging him reassuringly. "I'm sure she'll understand," she said kissing him quickly.
A little while later, most of the gang had arrived; with Sharpay turning up first, followed shortly by Jason, Zeke and also Ryan. Neither Gabriella or Troy wanted the hassle of cooking and much preferred spending time with their friends, as they had not done that for many months, and they had decided that, once Chad turned up, they would all contribute and splurge on pizza.
Finally the door knocked, and was opened to reveal Chad who was keen to proudly introduce to his friends, the young woman that had captivated him. "Babe," he said, grinning, "you remember Troy." The girl on his arm smiled enthusiastically and nodded as Troy greeted her.
"Hey, umm...I'd just like to apologise for my behaviour when we first met," Troy said instantly, wanting to make a fresh start
"It's okay, Chad told me that you were going through a rough time, so..." she shrugged her shoulders, communicating that it was okay.
"Yeah, but that's over now," Troy proudly replied. "Because," he wrapped his arm around Gabriella's waist and pulled her closer, "this amazing, beautiful, spectacular woman is back in my life and I couldn't be happier."
Gabriella giggled nervously at being put on the spot and also at the fact that Chad's date was also giggling at Troy's gloating.
"Umm...Taylor, this is Gabriella, Troy's girlfriend, and pretty much his whole life, and also one of my best friends, and Gabi," Chad continued in his introduction, "this... is Taylor," he smiled.
Both women exchanged a genuine greeting, both saying that they had heard a lot about the other from Chad and that they looked forward to getting to know each other.
The whole group had a blast hanging out. It seemed like forever since they were all together, and spending time together doing nothing but eating, drinking and laughing at the silliest things, reminded them just how much they had missed it. Also, it was somewhat monumental. When Gabriella had left Troy, she had gone to great extents to ensure they didn't end up in the same environment where awkwardness would ensue. And so, them, not only being all together, but being all together and hosted in the place that - despite Gabriella no longer living there, due to the terms of her lease - they all still considered her and Troy's apartment, was a symbol that everything was back to normal.
Everything was perfect.
()()()
It was almost 2am when Sharpay, Chad and Taylor - the last to leave - bid goodbye. Gabriella being practical, made quick work of disposing the empty pizza boxes, and saving the few remaining slices, putting them in the fridge for the next day. Following, her cue, Troy began clearing the glasses away and other empty packets and boxes that had contained crisps, nuts and other such snacks.
Gabriella shuffled around the kitchen, telling Troy how much she had enjoyed the evening, and retelling particular anecdotes of the night that had made her laugh. All of a sudden, she found the glass she was holding, whisked out of her hand, and placed on the counter, and then her body was wrapped securely in Troy's arms.
He stared at her intently. Pensive. "Stay here tonight," he eventually requested in a low, husky voice.
"Is that a question or a statement?" Gabriella teased with a quirked brow, gripping his t-shirt.
"Statement." They stared at one another, attempting to read the other's unvoiced thoughts.
"Please?" He said softly, nudging her nose with his. "I miss waking up with you beside me in the mornings. It just isn't the same."
"It isn't, is it?" She conceeded. Troy grinned goofily and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards "their" room.
His joy made his movements large and untempered, as he yanked open a draw and proudly displayed it. "Look. You left behind quite a bit, and I sorted through it all. Your pyjamas and the stuff of mine you used to sleep in - they're all in here."
Gabriella went to prepare for bed, having a quick shower and making sure all of her make up was off. Just as she was about to shut the water off, she got a visitor, causing her to groan and reaffirm her resentful feelings towards nature. She pulled back the shower curtain to call Troy and being the dilligent, attentive boyfriend that he was, he appeared within seconds.
"Yeah?" Troy queried when he saw his girlfriend, head poking out from the shower curtain that concealed her nude body. "Ahh...you want company, don't you?" He smiled, reaching for the hem of his shirt. "Say no more, beautiful," he said cockily, already having stripped himself of his t-shirt and had begun fiddling with the button on his jeans.
"Slow down, buddy," Gabriella chuckled, waving her hand and shaking her head to halt his actions. "That isn't why I called." Troy looked dubious. "Really," she deadpanned. "Listen," having not made this request for months, she felt a little awkward, but knew she had to nonetheless. "I need you to, umm...go to the store for me," she said timidly, not really wanting to expand.
"The store?"
She sighed. "Yes, Troy the store. I need," she took a deep breath and rolled her eyes at her own awkwardness. "...I need-"
"You need to look under the sink when you get out of the shower," Troy interrupted with a sly smirk at her apparent hesitation.
"Huh?"
"I wasn't just saying it for effect, Ella," Troy said with a serious tone and expression as he lent back against the door frame. "Other than me putting most of your sleeping clothes together, I haven't touched anything of yours. I left absolutely everything else where you left it...waiting for you to come back."
Then he shrugged, and before he slipped back out of the room, said he would be in bed waiting for her. When Gabriella climbed out of the shower, and dried herself off, she went over to the bathroom sink and noticed, for the first time, that her red toothbrush was just where she had left it three months before, in the holder next to Troy's. Then she bent down to further investigate his statement. Sure enough, right beside the replacement bar soap and shower gel, was a half-empty box of tampons...just were she had left them.
()()()
"Gabi," Troy whispered into Gabriella's ear the next morning, as she breathed gently, peacefully, asleep on his chest. "Gabi!" He repeated, this time hissing. Still, his girlfriend did not stir, but to tighten her hold on his body. Then he began to shake her while simultaneously tapping her with his left hand and calling her name: "Gabi...Gabi!"
"Huh, what?" She grumbled, when she finally woke, obviously not appreciative of the fact that her sleep had been broken.
Seeing the tiredness in her pink eyes and hearing it in her voice, Troy suddenly felt guilty and decided to feign ignorance. "Oh," he said lamely, with raised eyebrows, "you're awake."
"No kidding," Gabriella grumbled as she attempted to focus her eyes so her boyfriend's image would no longer blur. "What is it, Troy?" She asked tersely.
He sighed and gave up the pretence. "I think we should talk."
"Uhh, that's great but could it not wait?"
Troy was adamant in the way he shook his head and pressed his lips together in a firm line. "You see, I screwed things up between us before because I wasn't communicating and I don't want that to happen again."
"Okay, what's up?"
Troy shuffled down the bed, until he and Gabriella were now face to face. With the hand that wasn't wrapped around her waist, he stroked her hair, while he closed the two inches that separated them, and kissed her softly. "When we sorted everything out last week," he begun before pausing hesitantly. Gabriella nudged their noses together and gave him a peck on the lips as an indication that he should continue. "I was serious when I said we'd get married," he stated in a hushed voice, as though guarding their secrets from the walls. Gabriella was now fully alert and paying pedantic attention to each one of Troy's words with wide eyes. "It wasn't just something I said to win you over, you know that, don't you? Let's get married and afterwards - not right away, but soon, I guess - we can maybe start trying for a baby. Would that make you happy?"
"Would that make you happy?" Gabriella repeated swiftly, posing his own question back to him, while furrowing her brows. "I know you, Troy, like the back of my hand. If this was something you wanted - really wanted - that isn't how you'd ask me. You'd do some crazy, grand proposal," she chuckled, "not wake me up early in the morning and ask me outright like that." Troy was silent, making no attempt to deny her statement. "So? Is this really what you want?"
Despite her reassurances the previous week, Troy still had to overcome his own insecurities before becoming completely comfortable with the idea of marriage and he knew this in his heart, but still when asked he answered, with the slightest quake in his voice, "Yeah."
"Troy..."
"What I want is to make you happy," he said, rephrasing his response.
"Even if it means forsaking your own?" Gabriella questioned, touched but a little bemused.
"It would never be a case of me forsaking my own happiness," Troy replied firmly, seeming a little offended at the insinuation that she still did not fully comprehend the depth of his feelings for her. "You're the only thing I need to be happy. All the other stuff - as long as your with me - can be worked around," he said, with a moving his shoulders to shrug but finding it hard considering how tightly bound he was to Gabriella.
"You would honestly marry me - just to make me happy?"
"What is love about if not compromise?" He simply questioned.
Silence fell between them as Gabriella gazed an him pensively, watching the shadows cast by the early morning sun fall over his face, dancing across his nose and soft lips. She could have everything she had ever wanted with one simple, mono-syllabic word, and yet...she couldn't. Not really. She was a perfectionist; always had been and always would be, and she knew that uttering that crucial word would be kissing goodbye her hopes of perfection.
"You're an amazing man, Troy Bolton," she whispered, finally. "But I don't want to marry you."
In that moment, Troy gave up completely his life-long efforts to understand the female mind. "B-b..." he stuttered wildly in his effort to voice his confusions.
Gabriella chuckled and rolled her eyes, placing her slender index finger over his lips and silencing him. He looked at her, waiting for her words as though she held the answer to the meaning of life. "What is love about if not compromise?" She repeated cheekily. Troy was stumped: he could hardly argue against his own argument, now, could he? "That you love me enough to offer me everything I want, even when it isn't something you completely desire, is enough for me. I don't need you to marry me to prove how much you love me, because that alone already does." Troy smiled a little, though still looking a bit perplexed. "When you're ready," Gabriella said matter-of-factly with a satisfied smirk, "I have faith that you'll ask me again, and when you do...I'll say yes," she smiled.
"And until then?" Troy finally spoke, Gabriella having removed her finger from his lips.
"Until then, we stay in love...and we sleep," she said mischievously, with a casual tone as though the matter required no more said. With that, she pressed a chaste kiss against Troy's lips, snuggled further into his body and buried her head into the crook of his neck, and allowed her eyes to drift closed. "I love you."
Troy held Gabriella tightly in his arms as her soft breaths tickled his neck and spread down to his chest as he studied her serene face. If he was honest, he wasn't sure what had just happened but he knew how he felt. He felt...safe. He felt like everything was going to be okay because she understood him, and him, her. Their relationship had never followed conventions so he supposed he shouldn't be surprised that she would always keep him on his toes, and yet he couldn't help but chuckle at exchange that had just taken place between them. He'd had his first ever marriage proposal turned down and it was a bizarre feeling, but it didn't bother him, really. Because she was right - as usual - he wouldn't let it go. He would work on himself, and do what he had to. And he had every intention of asking again; maybe not in two weeks, or even two months, but he already felt closer to that day than he had ever done previously. Because, whether he was perfect or not, she loved him and he loved her with his entire being.
"I love you too," he whispered, pressing his lips against her warm forehead. Then, he adjusted his pillow, smiled to himself, closed her eyes, and joined her in her sleep.
Not completely satisfied with the ending, but still: hope you enjoyed! Review! xoxo
When I was checking to see how this song would work with this chapter (it's one of my fave song, btw) I came across the sweetest ZV video on Youtube... [youtube] .com/watch?v=gq5JqZ0Tvp4