The next afternoon, the couple gathered their families together at Gabriella's house. The parents of the couple looked at each other, obviously confused of why they were all being called together for this emergency meeting that Troy and Gabriella wanted to have.
"What's going on guys?" Jack asked the couple.
"Brie and I were talking last night and for a while actually, and we came to the decision of that we wanted to move in together. We wanted to find a place that was in between Berkeley and Stanford so we wouldn't have to travel so far to get to school. We wanted to know your thoughts" Troy explained to his parents and Gabriella's mother.
The parents looked at each other and then at the couple.
"Why do you need to move in together now?" Lucille asked the couple.
"It kills us to be away from each other Lucille. I can't speak for Troy, but I want to spend the rest of my life with Troy. I want to marry him, have kids with him, grow old with him, and love him for the rest of my life. We want to be adults about this and we wanted to come to you to get your input" Gabriella said.
Troy, who was stunned that his girlfriend told his mother her life plans, looked at his mother.
"And I want to spend the rest of my life with Gabriella. She's everything to me and I never want to let her go" Troy said.
The parents looked at each other and took in what their children had said. They looked at the couple.
"You have my blessing" Maria said.
Gabriella smiled and hugged her mother. Troy did the same. The couple then pulled away and looked at Troy's parents.
"What about school?" Lucille asked.
"We will go to all our classes and commute from our apartment" Troy said.
Lucille looked at her husband. Jack nodded.
"Okay, we approve" Lucille said.
Gabriella smiled. She hugged her boyfriend's parents.
"When we go back to school, we will start apartment hunting" Troy said.
"Okay" the parents said.
"What are you guys going to do when you are here?" Lucille asked.
"Well, I was hoping that the balcony door would be open for the week" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled.
"Troy, do you even need permission anymore? You can use the front door too, you know" Maria said smiling.
"Don't ruin my fun! It makes things more exciting" Troy joked.
Gabriella giggled.
"But, if it's not okay with you, I totally understand" Troy said.
"Troy, you know that you can stay. You are always welcome here" Maria said.
"Thank you Maria" Troy said.
The two families talked for a while and then dispersed promising each other that they would stay in touch. That night, Gabriella was lying in bed. She was looking at something on her laptop when she heard a knock on the balcony door. Gabriella smiled. She put her laptop to the side and got out of bed and went to the balcony door and opened it. Gabriella smiled when she saw Troy.
"Hi" Troy said.
"Hi, you can let yourself in babe. The door is unlocked" Gabriella said.
"I know, but this first night I wanted to knock so you didn't freak out" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled. She leaned in and kissed Troy's lips softly. Gabriella walked back to her bed and got into it. She held the covers open so Troy could get in. Troy took his shirt and pants off and climbed into bed.
"What are you doing?" Troy asked kissing Gabriella's shoulder.
"Looking at apartments by school" Gabriella said.
"See anything interesting?" Troy asked.
"A couple things, but we would have to go and look at them" Gabriella said.
"When we go back to school, we can look" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded. She shut her computer down and put it on her desk. Gabriella snuggled into Troy's chest.
"Are you excited to move in together?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded. She entwined their fingers together.
"I'll be happy when you don't need to use the balcony door to come in and visit" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled.
"But that's my trademark. You will miss it when I don't have that opportunity anymore" Troy said kissing Gabriella's temple.
"Yeah but I think I will like it more when you don't need to sneak into my room" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled.
"Yeah, that will be nice" Troy said.
Gabriella traced the outline of Troy's abs. She then started making her way down to his bellybutton. Once she hit his waistband, Troy took Gabriella's hand in his. Gabriella looked at her boyfriend.
"What?" Gabriella asked.
"I would prefer us not having sex in your mother's house while she is sleeping in the next room" Troy said.
"I just need you" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled. He hovered over Gabriella and kissed her lips softly, but passionately. Troy put his hand on the hem of Gabriella's underwear and felt her flinch. He looked up. Gabriella smiled apologetically. Troy moved Gabriella's underwear down to her knees. He looked up at her and smiled. Troy carefully spread Gabriella's legs apart. He slid a finger into Gabriella and felt her body arch.
"You okay?" Troy asked softly.
"Troy, please" Gabriella whined.
Troy kissed Gabriella's lips softly. He brought his finger out of Gabriella and then put it back in. Gabriella put her arms around Troy's neck. Troy continued until he felt Gabriella's body tighten around his finger. He brought his finger out and looked at his girlfriend. Troy leaned over and kissed Gabriella's lips softly.
"I love you" Gabriella said.
"I love you too" Troy said.
The couple fell asleep that night happily. They couldn't wait to live in their own apartment together. The week off of school went by fast for the couple. They had flown back to California and couldn't wait to start apartment hunting. Within a couple days of them being back, they had found an apartment for themselves that was in between Stanford and Berkeley. Troy had moved all of his belongings in first because Gabriella had tests that week. Once the weekend hit, Troy drove to Gabriella's dorm and parked his car. He walked to the entrance of Gabriella's building.
Baby, I'm here. Let's start moving
A couple minutes later, Gabriella walked into the lobby of her building, carrying some of her belongings. She put them down and opened the door. Troy picked up what Gabriella had brought down and the couple started loading it into Troy's truck. The couple then walked back up to Gabriella's dorm and brought the rest of her stuff down. Once that was loaded into the truck, Troy closed the truck bed and looked at Gabriella.
"You packed well. Is that everything?" Troy asked.
"Yeah, that's it. Let me go return my key and I will be back" Gabriella said.
"Okay, I'll be in the car" Troy said.
Troy got into the truck and waited for Gabriella to return. A couple minutes later, Gabriella came back to Troy's truck and opened the passenger door and got in. Troy looked at Gabriella and smiled.
"Hi" Gabriella said.
"Hi, you ready?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded. Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly. Gabriella kissed him back and smiled. Troy started driving.
"Are you nervous about living together?" Troy asked.
"Why would I be nervous?" Gabriella asked.
"We just took a big step in our relationship" Troy said.
"It doesn't make me nervous. I know that I want to be with you and there's nowhere else I would want to be" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled.
"I love you" Troy said.
"I love you too. Are you nervous?" Gabriella asked.
"I don't want to mess up" Troy said.
Gabriella looked at Troy.
"What would you mess up?" Gabriella asked.
"What if we fight and we end up breaking up?" Troy asked.
"Babe, have we ever fought so much that we were going to break up?" Gabriella asked.
"No" Troy said.
"Then you have nothing to worry about. We need to just take this whole thing day by day" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded. Fifteen minutes later, Troy pulled into the parking structure of the apartment and parked his car. The couple got out of the car and started unloading Gabriella's belongings and bringing them upstairs to their apartment. Once they finished, the couple lied down on Troy's bed, which they decided to take since he would be sleeping at Gabriella's when they would go back to Albuquerque.
"We did it. We moved" Gabriella said tiredly.
Troy smiled.
"Yeah, now we can do whatever we want to do" Troy said.
"We can have sex without being interrupted" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled and nodded. He leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly.
"We can do our work without being interrupted by our roommates" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled.
"We are officially in charge of our own lives" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded. That night, Gabriella was in the bathroom and groaned. Troy heard Gabriella and walked over to the door and knocked politely.
"Baby, are you okay?" Troy asked.
"I can't believe this" Gabriella said.
"Brie, what's wrong?" Troy asked.
"Give me a minute" Gabriella said.
A couple moments later, Gabriella opened the bathroom door and looked at her boyfriend.
"What happened?" Troy asked.
"My period" Gabriella said as her cheeks turned red.
Troy sighed. He opened his arms and Gabriella walked into them. Troy kissed Gabriella's head softly.
"I guess the sex will have to wait" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled.
"I guess so" Troy said.
"I hate my period" Gabriella said.
"Why?" Troy asked.
"Because it makes me feel gross and bloated" Gabriella said.
"But, it gives you the ability to have kids later on in life" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled.
"Yeah" Gabriella said.
The couple fell asleep that night in each other's arms. They couldn't wait to start their new adventure together. The next morning, Troy had class. He got out of bed before his alarm and walked into the bathroom and took a shower. Twenty minutes later, he saw a sight that killed him. Gabriella was hugging her legs to her chest and trying so hard to fall back asleep. He walked over to the bed and sat on the edge.
"Good morning" Troy said.
"Morning" Gabriella said.
"Cramps?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded embarrassed to be talking about her period with her boyfriend. Troy smiled and kissed Gabriella's lips softly.
"Do you want me to run you a bath? Maybe it will help soothe your muscles a little" Troy suggested.
Gabriella nodded.
"Okay" Troy said.
Gabriella got out of bed and followed Troy into the bathroom. Troy turned on the water of their Jacuzzi tub and let it fill to the top. He squeezed some of Gabriella's favorite soap into the water and then turned the running water off.
"Do you need me to do anything else baby?" Troy asked.
Gabriella shook her head.
"No, thanks though" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled and kissed Gabriella's cheek. He left the bathroom and Gabriella got into the tub. She closed her eyes and waited for the warm water to soothe her aching body. Ten minutes later, Gabriella finally felt relief and sighed happily. She got out of the tub and drained the water and changed into her clothes. Gabriella walked out of the bathroom and saw that Troy was no longer in the bedroom. She walked into the kitchen and saw him standing at the stove. Gabriella walked over to her boyfriend and wrapped her arms around his waist. Troy turned around and smiled.
"How are you feeling?" Troy asked.
"Better. The bath helped" Gabriella said.
"Good. I made you some tea" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled and leaned in and kissed Troy's cheek.
"Thank you. You didn't have to" Gabriella said.
"But, I wanted to. I have to leave for class. Do you need anything while I am out?" Troy asked handing her a cup.
"No" Gabriella asked sipping the warm liquid.
"Are you sure?" Troy asked knowing Gabriella may want something from the store.
"I have everything I need" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled.
"Okay" Troy said.
"I love you, have a good day" Gabriella said kissing Troy's lips.
"I love you too" Troy said.
Troy left the house and drove to Berkeley. A couple hours later, Troy unlocked the door of the apartment and walked in.
"Brie? I'm home" Troy said.
"In the bedroom" Gabriella said painfully.
Troy walked into the bedroom and saw Gabriella sitting in the fetal position.
"Hey, how are the cramps?" Troy asked.
"Painful" Gabriella said quietly.
Troy walked over to his side of the bed, where they had stored all of their pain relief products. He opened a drawer and took out a bottle of Midol and opened it and took out two pills. He handed Gabriella the pills and a cup of water. Gabriella swallowed the pills and drank the water.
"Thank you" Gabriella said.
"No problem sweetheart. How was class?" Troy asked.
"Good. I have a lot of homework" Gabriella said.
"Oh, I am surprised you haven't started it yet" Troy said.
"I was about to but then all the cramps came and I just couldn't move" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled.
"Are you feeling a little better?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded.
"Now that you are home" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled.
"Come on, if you don't do your homework now, then tomorrow you will be crying and asking me why you didn't do it" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded in agreement. She got out of bed. Troy wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and kissed her shoulder softly. The couple then went to the living room and started their homework. A week later, Gabriella was back to her old self. She got home from class and immediately started working on her homework. Once she finished, Gabriella went into the bedroom and started tidying it up and getting rid of the boxes that they didn't need any more. A couple hours later, Troy hadn't come home yet. He usually was home by now and it was getting late. Gabriella picked up her phone and dialed the familiar number and waited for him to answer.
"Hi honey, I know I'm late. Practice ran later than usual and I couldn't call. I'm on my way home" Troy said.
"Oh okay. I just didn't know what happened to you and I got worried" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled into the phone. She loved and cared about him so much.
"I'll be home in about fifteen minutes" Troy said.
"Okay" Gabriella said.
Fifteen minutes later, Gabriella heard the front door open. She walked into the living room and was met with a surprise that she wasn't expecting at all. Taylor walked into the apartment and looked around the entry way.
"Oh my god" Gabriella cried and sat down on the ground.
Gabi!" Taylor said happily.
Taylor ran over to her best friend and hugged her. Troy smiled as he watched the reunion.
"When did you fly in?" Gabriella asked.
"An hour ago. My flight got delayed" Taylor said.
Gabriella turned to Troy and ran into his arms and kissed his lips.
"I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled.
"I love you too. I knew that you needed Tay. You didn't need to say that you did. I could feel it. So, I called her and she happened to have this weekend free" Troy said.
"This is the best surprise ever" Gabriella said.
"Oh, well you have to hold that statement for a minute" Taylor said.
Gabriella looked at her best friend confused. Taylor walked to the front door and opened it. Chad Danforth walked into the apartment and smiled. Gabriella started crying all over again.
"Gabster" Chad said.
"Chad" Gabriella said running into her friend's arms.
Gabriella looked at Troy and smiled.
"How did you do this without me knowing?" Gabriella asked.
"Mom set it up" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled.
"So are you going to just stand there or are you going to show me your new apartment?" Taylor asked.
Gabriella smiled. The two girls walked away and left Troy and Chad by themselves.
"How's your season going?" Troy asked.
"Good. It was hard to adjust at first but I like it. It's definitely not high school ball anymore" Chad said.
Troy nodded.
"Definitely not" Troy said.
"How is living with Gabi going?" Chad asked.
"It's good. She's really easy to live with" Troy said.
"You guys haven't fought?" Chad asked.
"No" Troy said.
"I don't know how you guys do it" Chad said.
Troy smiled.
"We communicate with each other. If one person has a problem with something, they let the other person know and both of us will figure out how to solve it" Troy said.
"Is she going to have a ring on her finger soon?" Chad asked.
"Not yet. I want to wait until we graduate and have our lives together" Troy said.
"Good choice" Chad said.
The couple was so happy that Taylor and Chad came to visit them. That night, Gabriella and Troy were in their room getting ready for bed.
"Are you happy Tay is here?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded as she got into bed.
"It makes this place feel like home. Yes, this is our home, but none of our close friends are here" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded.
"I understand what you mean" Troy said.
"My period ended yesterday" Gabriella said changing the subject.
Troy raised his eyebrow and smiled slightly.
"Is that so?" Troy asked.
Gabriella giggled.
"Yes" Gabriella said.
"Well, then the question that I should be asking is if you want to have sex?" Troy asked.
"What about Tay and Chad? They are in the next room" Gabriella said.
"We will have to be extra quiet and fast. Like a ninja" Troy said.
Gabriella laughed.
"It's up to you" Troy said.
"I want to. It's been a while" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled and nodded.
"Okay" Troy said.
Troy kissed Gabriella's lips softly. Gabriella kissed him back. Troy carefully played with the bottom of Gabriella's shirt. He pulled back slowly and carefully lifted Gabriella's shirt up and over her head, throwing it to the side. Gabriella leaned in and kissed Troy's lips passionately. She started unbuttoning his shirt and pushed the sleeves of it off. Troy pulled back and Gabriella pulled down her jeans and lied down on the bed. Troy helped pull the rest of the jeans off of Gabriella. He carefully played with the top of Gabriella's underwear.
"Troy, I need you" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled. He pulled down Gabriella's underwear but froze. Troy cursed himself.
"Baby, what's wrong?" Gabriella asked.
"I need to find something" Troy said getting off the bed and looking through his drawers.
"Now?" Gabriella asked.
"Yes, now" Troy said.
Troy looked through his drawers until he found what he was looking for. He took the item and got back on the bed. Troy held up a small package and Gabriella's eyes widened.
"Thank god you stopped when you did" Gabriella said.
"Yeah, or we would have been in big trouble" Troy said putting the condom on.
Gabriella sighed. She looked at Troy and smiled. Troy looked at Gabriella.
"You okay now?" Gabriella asked.
"Yeah" Troy said.
Gabriella kissed Troy's lips. Troy pulled away and looked at Gabriella. She smiled and nodded. Troy entered her and listened to her moan.
"Troy" Gabriella said breathlessly.
"Everything okay baby?" Troy asked softly.
Gabriella nodded. Troy kissed Gabriella's lips passionately. His slow thrusts made Gabriella want more of him.
"More please Troy. Oh my god" Gabriella said trying to control her breathing.
"Easy baby. Take it nice and slow" Troy said.
Gabriella got herself together. Troy kissed Gabriella's lips softly and continued his slow thrusts. Forty-five minutes later, Gabriella had sweat dripping down her face and trying to catch her breath. Troy was lying next to her. His arm laying across Gabriella's stomach.
"I love you" Troy said.
"I love you too. Who knew that living on our own could make our sex life that much better?" Gabriella said.
Troy laughed.
"So you like what you did?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded.
"I'm so happy that we don't have to say goodbye anymore" Gabriella said.
"Me too Brie. Me too" Troy said kissing Gabriella's cheek.
The rest of the night, the couple relaxed in the comfort of their own home. They were so happy that they were opening a new chapter of their lives together.