Good news, everyone. It's been an incredibly long journey, but I have finally finished writing this story! That means that the updates will start coming more often. In the meantime, here's the next chapter in the Troy and Gabriella saga. Enjoy!
Chapter 17: Trust Issues
The next few days passed quickly for the two, with Troy finishing and turning in his paper and working a few shifts at the restaurant while Gabriella spent a majority of her days in the library preparing for the rapidly approaching LSATs that she was scheduled to take in two weeks. Classes were back in session for both seniors and that meant graduation was just around the corner. On this particular day, however, neither of them was focused on that.
Gabriella was once again in the library, meeting with her study group... Davis included. As they were concluding and all going their separate ways, Davis called out to her.
"Gabi! Do you have a minute?"
"Um," she started, pausing to look at her watch. "Yeah, I guess I do. I was actually going to stop by my mom's on the way home, but I've got a minute or two. What can I do for you?"
"Well, I was just wondering how you were doing lately?"
"I'm doing fine," she spoke, as she rummaged through her purse for her keys. "Why?"
"Well, I heard from Andy that you and Troy had-"
"We're fine," Gabriella interrupted in a rush, giving Davis a pointed look, silently letting him know that she didn't want to talk about it. "We're just taking some time to slow down and concentrate on finishing school."
"Uh-huh," Davis said with a slow nod, not believing the excuse she was giving him. "Anyway, I was wondering if you..." He allowed his voice to trail off while reaching up to rub the back of his neck, letting his nerves get the better of him.
Gabriella pushed the obvious similarity between Davis and Troy from her mind as she raised her eyebrows and gave him a small encouraging smile. "If I what?"
"...wanted to go out with me again sometime," he finally got out in a rush.
"Oh." She allowed her smile to falter just a little bit, knowing that when it was all said and done, he was ultimately one of the reasons why this whole mess with Troy started to begin with. "Well, um... You know what, Davis? I'd like that. And I would stay and talk about this more right now, but I've got to go. My mom's expecting me. Why don't you give me a call and we'll work everything out?" Once he agreed, she left the library and made her way to her mom's townhouse.
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Troy Bolton had accomplished the near impossible. He couldn't believe it. He'd worked all semester for this. This particular professor was known for being a hard-ass on all her students and if you got an A on any of her assignments, that was practically the equivalent to winning valedictorian of your high school graduating class. He had done it and he couldn't believe it.
When he got home after work that evening, he spotted her car in the parking lot and couldn't wait to get inside and share his news with Gabriella. Troy let himself in the apartment and called out her name.
"Gabriella?"
"In my room," he heard in response.
Troy practically ran down the hall and into her room. As soon as he tore through the door and spotted her standing from her desk chair and stretching- which he was not surprised to see was littered with notebooks, textbooks, her computer, and various pens and highlighters- and turning to face him, he threw his paper and backpack down on the bed and rushed across the room to stand in front of her. He wrapped his arms around her, picking her up and twirling her around in the process. Gabriella shrieked and was completely startled at first, but wasn't surprised when she found comfort in his arms and started laughing.
"Troy, put me down!" she said in between her fits of giggles and pushed on his chest to try and loosen the hold he had on her so she could stand on her own two feet. "What are you doing? What has you so excited?"
He finally put her down and picked up his paper as they both struggled to catch their breaths. "I got an A on it!"
"I'm not following you, Hon. On what?" she asked, with a shake of her head.
Troy turned the paper so she could see it more clearly. "The biggest project of the year and I got an A on it!" he told her, hitting the front of the document protector.
Gabriella's jaw dropped and eyes widened as she spotted the red letter. "Troy, that's amazing!" She grinned as she threw her arms around his neck with all the intent to just give him a big, friendly hug.
However, all intentions flew out the window when Troy pulled back and looked into her eyes. Gabriella noticed the change in color- from the overly excited and childlike cornflower blue to the serious cerulean blue. She had seen all the different shades of Troy's blue eyes, and these were two of her favorites for different reasons.
"I couldn't have done it without you. You know that, don't you?" Troy looked even deeper into her eyes and reached up to gently brush a lone curl that had fallen from her messy ponytail back behind her ear. "I always do better when you help me. Having your support...it means the world to me, Gabriella. I love you." Troy leaned down and gently- almost tentatively even- kissed her.
Her heart and her body... they were both telling her that this kiss was right. Gabriella didn't fight it like her mind was telling her. Instead she responded. She got lost in the feeling of his arms wrapped around her and his lips on hers again. If she were honest with herself, she missed his kisses. That's why she instinctively reached a hand up to clutch to the back of his neck, holding him closer, and ran her fingers through his hair.
Troy noticed the positive response and fought hard to take things slowly. After a moment, however, when he felt her angle her head to the side and run her tongue along his lower lip to allow the kiss to deepen, his hormones got the better of him and he felt himself get more eager. He opened his mouth to let his tongue come out and brush against hers as he took it upon himself to push further. He reached down to grasp the hem of her top and started to pull it up slowly, savoring even the slightest touch of his fingers against her skin... but mentally kicked himself when her voice brought him back to the present.
"Troy," she started in a breathless, near whisper, "we can't...I can't."
"Yes, you can, Brie." He rested his forehead against hers, his eyelids heavy under the weight of simply having her in his arms again. He refused to give up the burning sensation of holding her body under the material of her thin top. "You can celebrate with me, the way we're supposed to." Gabriella started shaking her head, but felt Troy's hands move from her sides up to her cheeks, forcing her to look at him as he gently held her face steady. He swallowed deeply to force himself to hold his emotions in and not let her see his vulnerability. "Yes, you can. Let me make love to you. I miss you so much. It's killing me, not sleeping with you at night. I love you, you love me. You know you do. Stop this craziness, Brie. Stop going out with these other guys. I'm right here." Troy pulled back slightly and held his arms out wide. "I'm the one you want to be with and you know it."
Gabriella started pushing on his chest firmly, trying to put more physical distance between them. Her tears started to slowly fall during his speech, but now they were falling harder and she was having a hard time making them stop.
"It's not craziness, Troy. I have a lot to think about regarding my future..."
She pushed her way fully out of his arms and sat back down in her chair, leaving him standing there watching her bring her hands up to cover her eyes as her body was wracked with sobs. While his heart was breaking watching her like this, he was silently fuming over the fact that she was still playing this game.
"Damn it, Brie!" he started, fighting to keep his voice even and not let his anger get the better of him. "It's not just your future at stake here! It's mine too! What about our future, Gabriella? What about us?"
She didn't answer; she couldn't. Troy just looked at her, shook his head, and slowly backed away from her. He picked up his paper and crumpled it, tossing it in the trash can by her desk on his way out the door, and slammed it shut behind him, causing Gabriella to jump in her seat at the noise.
He walked into the living room and over to the bookcase where where he picked up the New Year's Eve picture that Isaac had noticed before his date with Gabriella two days prior. Before he could grasp it, the slick wood slipped out of his hand and crashed to the floor, breaking the glass in the process. He let out a loud, frustrated groan- along with a few of his hidden tears- as he bent down to clean it up, only to have one of the pieces of the glass cut into his hand, causing blood to appear on his left palm.
"Damnit!" he barked with a strained voice as he placed the glass back on top of the picture frame and left the mess sitting on the floor.
Gabriella stood from her spot in her bedroom when she heard the crash and outburst from the other room. In the middle of her own confusion she didn't quite recognize her ex-boyfriend's tone or attitude. Quietly, tentatively, she made her way to the living room.
"Troy?" she called out through her cracking voice. "Where are you?"
"In here."
Her ears perked up at the sound of the scratchy, monotone voice as she spotted him standing at the kitchen counter with the medicine cabinet open in front of him and the Band Aid box and Neosporin sitting on the counter.
"What happened?" she asked him.
"Cut my hand." The fact that he had yet to look at her wasn't lost on her. Gabriella lowered her eyes to look at her feet and cringed when she heard the cabinet door slam shut. When she lifted her eyes, Troy wasn't standing in front of her anymore. She turned to find him bent over and digging through the closet by the door.
"Where are you going?" she asked as her voice shook under the weight of a new batch of tears. She could do little more than wrap her arms around herself when he stood, closed the closet door, and opened the door to their apartment.
He paused in the threshold and turned his steely gaze at her. "Gym," he told her as he walked out the door. Gabriella had never seen his eyes hold so much ice- especially not directed at her- and flinched when the door slammed shut behind him.
Unable to stay in the empty living room, Gabriella turned and walked back into her room and sat back down in her desk chair. As she looked around her room, her eyes landed on the trash can and the crumbled up paper that Troy had been so proud of. He had worked hard to earn this grade and she knew he would want to keep it. She pulled it out and spread it out on her desk top, carefully pressing her hands across it to attempt to remove all the tiny wrinkles. A few tears dripped from her eyes and down her cheeks while she worked. She looked at the title page and saw the big "A" written in red across the middle. She smiled to herself and started reading the comments that the professor had written across the bottom portion of the page:
Troy, this was a wonderful take on this topic. To be honest with you, when you first approached me about making this paper "real"- as you put it- I was hesitant. However, I gave you the go-ahead on doing so because I was curious as to how you would handle it and which direction you would take it. It was very interesting the way you brought all of your points together using this one person. I really enjoyed reading this paper. Good luck to you in your future endeavors with graduate school. The psychology department at the University of New Mexico will be very lucky to have you!
"Graduate school?" she blinked and re-read the last sentence, shaking her head in confusion. "UNM? I knew he had been thinking about it, but has he been accepted? Has he decided? Why hasn't he told me this?"
Gabriella thought back to the kiss they shared just moments before and realized that maybe Troy had wanted to share other celebratory news with her. Was his graduate school decision another kiss they would have – should have - shared? Would she ever celebrate that way with someone else…with a Davis, or an Isaac? Then she thought of something else. Those few moments with Troy had ignited her body and heart. And she had to admit, she hadn't felt that... that spark with any other guy.
But do I want to? she asked herself, furrowing her eyebrows in deep thought.
She knew that she was hurting Troy. She had spent all this time trying to figure out her future but she'd never really thought about how it would affect his. They had always talked about attending graduate school as close together as possible; had he made that decision already? Had he made his decision without her... in spite of her... because of her selfish reasons for the breakup? And to New Mexico? Where did that leave her? UNM wasn't on her list of considerations for law school and he knew that. Had he decided to go back home without her after he graduated? And why hadn't he talked to her about this? Had he made the decision after their breakup? Was this Troy's way of telling her that he accepted her offer to really separate for a while?
Surely he wouldn't give up that easily. The way he just kissed me… What about his so-called plan for our future? she wondered.
He always said to trust him whenever they discussed marriage. Did he really have a plan? If so, what did all of this mean for said plan? And what did this mean for their future together? Did they still have a future together? But wait... did she still want a future with Troy?
All of these unanswered questions were only accomplishing one thing: getting her more upset the more she thought about it. Just as she felt a fresh batch of tears fill her eyes, her phone rang. Gabriella quickly sniffled and reached into her bag that was sitting on the floor beside her desk and pulled her phone out, answering without looking at the name and number that showed up on the screen.
"Hello?" she said, her voice still scratchy from her emotions and the earlier confrontation with Troy.
"Gabi? It's Davis."
"Davis, hi!" Gabriella paused to clear her throat.
"Are you okay? You sound upset about something. Was I interrupting anything?"
"What? Oh, no! No. You're fine. I was um... I was doing some studying and hadn't talked since I left the library," she lied. "You know how it is when you don't talk for awhile- your throat gets all dry," she told him with a forced laugh. "Actually, I do need some water."
"Right." Davis wasn't too sure if he believed her or not, but decided to not push the issue. "Well, I was actually calling to set up our date that we talked about at the library earlier. Are you available tonight, or would tomorrow be better for you?"
"Well, actually-" Gabriella started, but stopped herself. What do I have to lose if I go tonight? If I don't go, I'll never know. It's not like Troy and I will be doing anything... "-tonight would be perfect."
"Great! Why don't I pick you up at six and we can head downtown into San Francisco and just let the evening happen as it does? We can start at Fisherman's Wharf and get something to eat, ride the cable cars to North Beach for dessert, to go Telegraph Hill and take in the view from Coit Tower..."
Listening to Davis speak about the plans for their date reminded Gabriella of an evening she and Troy spent out on the town the summer before their freshman year. He and his parents made the trip for Troy's Freshman Orientation and made the two day journey into a week-long vacation with Maria insisting that they stay with her and Gabriella for the week. When Troy's required overnight stay in the dorms was completed and he returned to the Montez house, he and Gabriella escaped from the house and traveled the thirty-five minutes to downtown San Francisco.
The events that Davis was suggesting to Gabriella were almost the exact same as what she and Troy did on that evening. She tried to push that memory aside, however, and focus on what Davis was saying.
"...and then of course take a walk across the Golden Gate before I bring you home. What do you say?"
"That sounds..." she paused to swallow, trying to not let her memories make themselves known. "That sounds great. Six o'clock, you said?"
"Yeah. Is that okay with you?"
"Perfect. I'll see you then."
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Troy was fuming during the drive to the gym. He was actually glad- deep down- as an angry work out was usually his best kind of work out. As he reached a red light, he heard his phone ringing and picked it up, glancing at the name on the screen before he answered.
"I was wondering how long it would take you to call me and give me the third degree," he answered.
"What the hell is going on?" was the response he heard in his ear.
"I don't know what you're talking about..." Troy teased his friend, attempting to keep his tone light.
"Don't pull that crap on me, Hoops. You know good and well what I'm talking about."
Troy sighed, contemplating his answer. "What's the latest that you know?"
"Well, I haven't talked to The Gabster lately, but the last I heard, she was seriously thinking about stuff."
"Let's just say that her thinking has lead to a lot of nights alone for me and a lot of nights out for her," Troy told Chad.
"Aw, man! Are you serious?" Chad asked, flabbergasted.
"No, I was just jerking your chain," Troy said, rolling his eyes at his friends naivete. "Dude, she broke up with me when I got back from Georgia."
"Wow," Chad breathed. "Man, I'm sorry. I wish I knew what to say."
"Yeah, me, too." Troy turned his truck into the parking lot of the gym and pulled into a space, leaving the vehicle running while he and Chad continued their conversation. "The best part..." he started sarcastically, but stopped, finding himself unable to say the words.
"Yeah?" Chad prompted him.
"The best part of this whole situation is that she said she doesn't want to move out." Troy leaned his head back against the head rest, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. "I still have to see her every day."
"That sucks, man. I thought it was hard when Taylor and I broke up and we're all the way on opposite sides of the country; I can only just imagine what you're going through." Chad heard Troy's frustrated sigh from the other end of the phone. "How are you doing? And be honest. Don't give me any of that macho crap you're always handing out to everyone."
Troy hesitated, wondering if he should tell all to Chad. Then it occurred to him: this was Chad he was talking to. The same Chad that he played superheros with then they were five; the same Chad that he played pranks with on Old Mr. Sanchez when they were nine; the same Chad that he went through the 'awkward middle school stage' with when they were twelve. It was the same Chad that he went through basketball tryouts with when they were fourteen their freshman year of high school and Troy made varsity while Chad didn't. This was also the same Chad that he graduated high school with and had to face not being able to see each other every day for the first time ever in their lives. There was no reason to hold back from telling his best friend and brother his true feelings.
"I feel like I've been punched in the gut. I feel like my heart has been ripped from me. I don't know how I've lasted this past week and a half, seeing her every day, watching her get ready for dates and leave with other guys. It's killing me, Chad. It's truly killing me."
"So that big project you had for your class that you were stressing over... You told me you were thinking about doing it on your relationship with Gabriella. How did that work for you?"
Troy let out a soft breath through his nose. "I got an A on it. But that's not the best part. Do you remember Ms. Ward from ninth grade English?"
"You mean the lady that if you got a C in her class, you may as well have graduated with top honors?" Chad asked, making sure he was remembering the same teacher.
"Yeah, her. Well, this professor may be Ms. Ward's twin or something. The grading for her class is even worse than Ms. Ward's. To get an A from this teacher is just... just freaking incredible! Better than getting an C from Ms. Ward."
"Dude, that's awesome! Congratulations!"
"Thanks," Troy nodded his agreement.
"But why do I get the impression that there's more to this story?"
"Well, first, she wrote remarks across the bottom and said that the "...psychology department of the University of New Mexico would be very lucky to have me..." when I start graduate school. When I got back to the apartment-"
"Wait, UNM? You mean you've decided?" Chad asked him, careful to not get too excited just yet. He had a feeling that there was more to the story.
"Not yet," Troy told him. "But I asked her for a letter of recommendation for UNM. Anyway..." he said, trying to get back on topic "...when I got home, I was so pumped over the paper. I went to share my good news with Gabriella and... well... I don't know, man. We started making out and I asked her to make love with me."
Chad released a low whistle. "Whoa."
"I don't know what happened. I mean, I was just standing there looking at her and... I don't know. I snapped."
"Do you want me to come out there for a few days?" Chad asked with seriousness after a brief pause.
"No," Troy told him. "Would it make me sound gay if I said that yeah, I miss you and want to see you?"
"Yeah, a little," Chad joked.
"Just four more weeks, right?"
"I'm planning on coming with Coach and Lucille. I wouldn't miss this day for anything," Chad said, referencing Troy and Gabriella's quickly approaching graduations. "Besides, maybe I'll be able to slap some sense in Gabriella while I'm out there."
"And then I'll be home for yours next semester," Troy reminded him. "You had to go and accept that internship with ESPN, didn't you?" Troy of course was referring to Chad's internship with the cable sports news network. When he discovered a passion for sports broadcasting and declared his major as mass communications- with an emphasis on the mass media side- he worked hard to be chosen for his dream internship. Of course, said internship meant spending an extra semester after his senior year at their offices located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and pushing his graduation date back to the following semester.
"Hey, man. I'm making connections here, alright? Networking," Chad said with a smile.
"Have I told you- first of all- congratulations on that, but more importantly, that I'm jealous as hell over that opportunity for you?"
"Good times, Hoops. Good times," Chad said with a smile. "But seriously, Troy, I really wish I knew what to tell you. I know it's rough, man. I mean, it's you and Gabriella, you know?"
"Yeah, I know."
"Everything will work out. Just hang in there and she'll come around."
"You promise?" Chad gave a tight lipped smiled when he heard the vulnerability in Troy's voice.
"As soon as I get a hold of her, yeah. I promise."
The two life long friends said their good byes and Troy entered the gym, preparing himself for a good, long workout to free his system of all frustrations.
TGFTGFTGFTGFTGFTGFTGFTGF
When Troy returned from his workout two and a half hours later, he was met by an eerie silence in the apartment. He assumed Gabriella was home; he had parked next to her car in the parking lot.
"Gabriella?" Despite the earlier events of the afternoon, he was worried when he didn't receive a response. It wasn't like her to go out and not let him know; it was an unspoken agreement between the two- they always told each other when they were going out and to where so they wouldn't worry about each other.
"Gabriella!" he tried again. And again, he didn't get a response.
Troy made his way through the apartment, searching each room for any clue as to her whereabouts. Unable to spot her in the living room, kitchen, or out on the balcony, he made his way to the back part of the apartment. He peeked into her bedroom and didn't see her in there, either. Troy sighed and made his way into his own bedroom. It was there that he spotted something that caught his eye. Laying on his pillow was a purple sheet of paper sitting on top of the research paper that he had thrown away in Gabriella's trash can just hours before.
Troy walked over to his bed and picked both up. While holding the single sheet in his left hand, he started to read the familiar, loopy, scrawl.
I'm sorry, Wildcat. I do love you. I know you love me. I just need time. Please, just give me time. I wish I knew what I could say to make the situation easier for you.
I'm going out tonight. I'm not sure when I'll be back. Please try and get some rest.
Love,
Gabriella
PS... Good luck in graduate school. I'm sure you'll do amazing things.
Troy was confused by her last line. Never the less, he crumbled the note and threw it across the room and sat down on his bed. He looked at his research paper and re-read the note that his professor had written. "...The psychology department at the University of New Mexico will be very lucky to have you!"
Suddenly the post script in Gabriella's note made sense. She obviously read the note from his professor and she assumed he would be attending the University of New Mexico. Troy sighed, knowing that he hadn't shared the latest developments in the Great Graduate School Decision of 2012 with Gabriella.
He had gotten several acceptances within the past few weeks, but with the excitement of the tournament in Georgia and everything that had been going on with Gabriella lately, he hadn't shared them with her. He had applied to universities all across the country. His choices weren't the same schools that Gabriella was applying to, but he had wanted to make sure they could at least be in the same area of the country.
She would be accepted no matter where she applied. Troy smiled at that thought. She was beautiful and brilliant. So far, he had gotten acceptances from New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and South Carolina. He only hoped they would be blessed with the choices they were given and an opportunity to stay together.
Now all he had to do was decide which one he wanted to attend. Or rather, he had to try and figure out how to fix things with Gabriella and then make his decision according to where she would go for law school.
He thought again about the ring Maria had given him. He thought about the plan he had been devising since the two of them made the trek to colleges in California. Most of all he thought about the dark-haired young woman who was trying her best to slip through his fingers.
Troy was a patient young man. He was trying to keep that in mind as he pictured their potential graduate school locations, a proposal that he was still planning and had yet to give up on, and a future with Gabriella that lasted far beyond college degrees.
He grabbed the note from the trash can and flattened it against his project. He found a pen and wrote out a quick note in response to hers. She would find it on her pillow whenever she got home- hopefully she would take it to heart.
Trust me, Gabriella, please? I'll give you time, but you've gotta give me that time too. You'll see I'm the man for you. Please, just trust me. I love you with all my heart. -Troy