(Sorry for the shortness!)
Down The Aisle.
Wedding.
Troy ran down the aisle, quickening his step to get closer to Gabriella and the intruder. How dare someone hijack their wedding. As he got closer he finally recognised the man, and his fury was only heightened. It was Max. A man he wanted out of their life forever.
Gabriella turned to face him, silently begging both to not make a scene, and to get Max away. He placed himself in front of Gabriella to make sure she didn't get in harms way. The murmurs of anxiousness were heard from the pews where people sat, but he blocked that out, only focussing on trying to get this situation in hand.
"What are you doing here?" He hissed in annoyance.
He watched as Max's eyes became darker, drowning of any 'love' he felt for Gabriella, and trying into hate. Max's eyes narrowed. "What am I doing here? Claiming my property of course. She's mine, and you know it."
From behind Troy's body Gabriella gave a small groan of annoyance. She hated how she was being used as a toy. She didn't belong to anyone, least of all Max. If she wanted to be owned by anyone, it would be Troy - and she was already willing to be joined to him in matrimony.
Troy heard Gabriella groan behind him, the sound giving him a little boost of confidence. He knew she didn't want to be his. She never did. The hard part was convincing this man of the truth.
Troy shook his head. "She isn't owned by anyone. Not you, and not me. She is her own person. And anyway, she doesn't want to be with you. You are wasting your time, Max."
Max's annoyance seemed to increase, and his stance seemed to tighten. From the corner of Troy's eye, he saw the security begin to form in a circle around the scene, and that made Troy a little more comfortable. At least he knew that they were at hand now. It still made him angry they weren't here in the first place.
Max took a step forward, and the security stepped with him, in snyc. Max didn't seem to notice; he was too busy holding Troy's intense glare. Max smirked. "Of course she want's to be with me, why wouldn't she? She's mine. She was mine before you, wasn't she?' At this, Troy couldn't contradict. 'Exactly. She you see, she needs to come back to where she belongs. You've had your time with her; you've had a few years with the girl. So now, she comes back to me. I own her."
Troy felt his anger burn . He felt his fuse being used up, but was determined to not blow. Suddenly, a warm hand he knew so well touched his shoulder, and Gabriella's tactfully stepped in front of Troy. For a moment, both guys thought she was going to Max, but she stayed where she remained.
She shook her head. "Max, what has happened to you? What happened to the partially sweet man I used to know?"
Max's eyes fell to the floor, embarrassment flushing in his cheeks. "Gabriella, the man you used to know is still here. I'm still me. But I've changed, because I no longer have you. Let me assure you, if you came back to me, we could rekindle what we had. It'd be easy. The love we had would come alight again. I just need you back in my life, Gabs."
She hugged her hands around her arms, protecting her body. Seeing him again - the man she thought she'd got rid of - just hurt her. She had wanted to permanently put the past behind her, but this particular piece always seemed to crop up again and again. "That's not true, and you know it, Max. It's untrue on so many levels. Firstly, we could never go back to the way things were, and I wouldn't want to. What he had… was nothing. It was foolish to believe we loved each other. You never even said you loved me, Max. It's taken me years to find someone I can love, and who loves me,' She looked tenderly at Troy, 'and I'm not going to give that up just to try out some game with you. I'm tired of playing games, and losing. With Troy, I'm winning.' She stood stronger now, and looked directly into Max's eyes. 'You're right, Max. We've changed, you most of all. And I'm not the same person I was, I'm a better person. I don't fit right with you. I don't… love you, like I once did. I love Troy, and you have to accept that.' She spread her hands, feeling her body drain from energy. 'Max, please listen to me, because I'm tired of having to repeat myself. You need to move on, like I am. I don't need you anymore. So pleas, just leave me alone. It's the best way."
She sighed as she finished, turning back around and being comforted by Sharpay, who quickly signalled for security to take Max away; it was only distressing everyone. Troy felt his heart beat a million times faster. He'd never felt more proud of Gabriella. She'd shown him, and hopefully now he'd see the light and leave them alone, so they could have their lives together properly.
Max's face turned to Troy as the security surrounded him. "You see what you've done Bolton. You've changed her. She was never this… headstrong before. She sued to love me; this broken man that I am. Do you not feel sorry for me a little bit?' Troy didn't reply, even though he felt sorry for him a little. 'It's your fault that I'm no-one now. Because I'm no-one without her. You'd better treat her right."
Troy nodded. "I will, if it's the last thing I do."
Max nodded dejectedly, before being led off my security. Troy watched him turn and be escorted out, feeling like a little piece of their past was finally locking itself away, hopefully never to be seen again. They didn't need any more drama in their lives.
Troy turned back to his bride, watching as she dried her eyes and fluffed out her dress, realising that she'd have to walk down the aisle for real now. He watched as her mother fixed her slightly out of place hair, and her bridesmaids gathered around her giving her support. Yes, her eyes were red and stained with runny make-up. Yes, her dress was slightly crinkled. And yes, she looked slightly worse for wear, but right now, to him, she couldn't look more beautiful.
She tried to smile up at him, but it came out weak. He reached forward and brought her into his arms, holding her tightly against his chest and smothering kisses all over her face. She needed comfort. She whimpered slowly, as if remembering why she had been crying, and after a few minutes it eventually came to a halt. She peered up at him with smudged eyes. "Thank you, Troy."
He kissed her again, soundly on her mouth. "You're welcome. Listen, if you'd rather put itoff for a few hours, or even rearrange another day, I'll be fine with it. She shouldn't have had to go through that, not on your wedding day. We can wait until you feel a bit better--"
She shook her head indignantly. "NO! No way. We are not postponing our wedding. I'm going to marry you, and I don't care if I look like a tramp while I do it. I need to marry you Troy. I love you, and it's all I want."
He smiled down at her. "I have no problem with that."
She giggled, before shooing him away, nudging him towards the entrance and the aisle he had ran down minutes before. "Now come on! I wanna get us hitched!"
He held his hands up in mock surrender. "Jeez Gabriella! Are you going to be with demanding when we're married?" A with another cheeky smile sent her way, he ventured back up the aisle, quietening down the curious guests as he went. She watched him with a smile; he was perfect.
Once he reached the top of the aisle, he signalled to the priest, who organised the band. Ryan tapped his shoulder, giving him a questioning look, but Troy just shook his head. He didn't want to answer questions right now. The only thing he wanted to do was get a ring of Gabriella's finger; for her truly to be his and him hers.
The music started, and the doors opened. Everyone in the pews stood up, their curious faces disappearing as they saw the first bridesmaid, looking pretty, dance up the aisle. Bridesmaid after bridesmaid descended, before Gabriella and her mother stepped out. Any murmurs of the watchers stopped and people gasped at her beauty. Troy even heard Ryan whisper "Gosh she looks gorgeous" and he couldn't agree more. She meant the world to him, and as she walked, hand in hand with her mother - who meant so much to her - he fell a bit more in love.
After a few minutes, which lasted much longer to Troy, Gabriella finally reached the top of the aisle. Her mother had tears streaming down her cheeks as she handed Gabriella to Troy, who gave her a look telling her he would do everything in his power to make sure she was the happiest woman alive. She nodded silently, before kissing Gabriella's cheek one last time, and sitting down in the front pew.
Together Troy and Gabriella walked up to the priest finally becoming one.
But before the priest let out any words, Gabriella turned to Troy and whispered in his ear,
"For you information, I will be more demanding when we're married. But don't you dare back out on me now."
Troy smirked. He never would.
----
Hours after they had finally got married, they were dancing together, holding each other tightly on the dance floor, enjoying their first dance as husband and wife. Troy's hand rested on the small f her back, holding her protectively, and her hand was slipped into his, where he fingered her wedding ring with all the contentment in the world. Her head had rested itself on his chest, and they danced in silence.
Gabriella gradually removed her head. "I love you Mr Bolton."
He smiled, kissing her nose affectionately. "And I love you Mrs Bolton."
She smiled wider at the name, before bonding their lips together, sealing themselves to one another. Her hands managed to stay put from wondering into his hair - something that loved to do (Troy didn't mind at all) - and they stayed connected to his as they twirled around. The people dancing around them watched, thinking love-filled thoughts, and realised how perfect a couple they were together. But they didn't realise. They were too busy caught up in each other.
After Gabriella broke away, still smiling, Troy thanked the heavens that she had forgotten all about the fiasco before the wedding. Max was away from their minds in that moment, and that was all that counted.
Gabriella awed slightly. "Look."
He followed her eye line and came across Catherine and Thomas, holding each other just as tightly as they were. They looked a very cute couple, and to everyone who knew about Catherine's past, it was a joyful sight. Gabriella turned to Troy. "Do you think they will get married, just like us?"
He nodded after thinking. "I don't see why not. I'm sure they'll be just as happy in a few years time, and they may get married."
Gabriella nodded in agreement. "I hope they do; it'd mean so much to Catherine."
Troy nodded, before Gabriella resumed her head position on his chest.
It was at that moment, as soon as she had closed her eyes and succumbed to the slow movements they were doing, that Troy started to get his plan into action. He quickly nodded over to Ryan, who signalled to Zeke and together the two men started to herd people out of the hall, very slowly, just in case Gabriella noticed. Ryan quickly switched the band music for a CD as soon as the song changed, and by the time Gabriella's eyes opened, everyone was gone.
They were dancing in a room, all on their own.
She looked mystified. "Why has everyone left?"
Troy chuckled, kissing her cheek. "Because… I have a surprise for you."
She started to brighten. "A surprise?"
He nodded. "Will you come with me?"
"Anywhere."
And that was all the encouragement he needed, to sweep her off her feet and take her in the direction of something he hoped she'd enjoy.
A/N; FanFiction was deciding to be horrible and not let me sign in for five days! Then, I realised I had deleted the original chapter I had written, which meant I had to write this again. So I'm sorry if it's not up to standard. I tried really hard to get this up for you, in a reasonable amount of time. If FF had been nicer, and I hadn't been so stupid, this chapter could've been so much better. However, it does the necessary things, and leads you to the LAST CHAPTER, I repeat, LAST CHAPTER which is what it was supposed to do. I promise you, the next & LAST chapter will be so much better.
But for all my trouble, please review and make my day!