And it's brought us here because you are the music in me

[hoopsandharmonies]

It would have been a massive understatement to say that he was scared out of his mind, not to mention confused.

Gabriella hadn't spoken to him in almost two months since their break-up, but now here she was in New York. She had flown across the country to New York, and he wasn't even sure who told her he was here but then again it wouldn't have been hard for her to figure it out. They knew each other too well. She would have eventually found him with Chad.

She wanted to talk. He didn't know why. All he knew was that he was excited and nervous and terrified and hopeful all at once and that if his truck broke down before he got to La Guardia he was going to throw a fit.

The 15 minute drive felt much, much shorter and it wasn't long before the truck pulled up to the curb of passenger loading. As he let it idle, he adjusted the hood of his UCB sweatshirt so that it covered his hair, peering out from under it to see if he could spot Gabriella.

This...he wasn't ready for this at all.

Comments

[hoopsandharmonies]

Despite the fact that he should have been rushing to his truck's defense, he laughed anyway and it sounded a little strange and hollow to his ears. It was an echoey sort of noise he wasn't used to hearing after a few months of genuinely being unhappy, but he did his best to calm his racing heart and just be the protector for both of them.

"Yeah, well, Neveda just seemed too close," he said casually as he leaned back into the seat and kept her close. He allowed his fingers to run through her hair as they sat in silence for a minute. He had a lot of things to talk about, to ask about, but he wasn't sure what to start with.

That statement. That was a good way to start.

"…I hated it." He usually didn't use the word hate, but there wasn't any other way to describe it. "I mean it, I was miserable without you. What were we thinking?" We. Not "you", because Troy had already accepted that this was a shared fault despite the fact that Gabriella had initially made the decision on her own. "I don't know if I could ever do this again, Gabi."

[singlevoice]

"I don't ever want to do this again," Gabriella said right away, before, slower, repeating, "Never. I'm sorry, Troy. I think I needed to do it, but not because you did anything wrong, just because I... I was all messed up." She pulled away at that so she could watch his face away, frowning as she reached up to try and push his hood back if he'd let her. "I love you."

[hoopsandharmonies]

He didn't resist, letting the hood give way and fall back onto his shoulder blades as he continued to watch her. He really needed a haircut and he looked like someone who'd been sleeping on the floor of his best friend's dorm for almost two months but it didn't matter. Gabriella was supposed to see him in his best and his worst moments and though she'd pulled away, he didn't follow immediately.

"You weren't messed up," he said firmly. "Things were just...really confusing, right? That's all it was. I just wish you'd talked to me." That was the crux of it, really. She'd made the decision without him and that was the part that stung. He moved forward again to press his lips to her forehead, lingering briefly.

"...I love you. Do you have any idea how much I love you?"