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]

Panic spiked as soon as she spoke, but it dissipated as she clarified further and he tilted his head a little. After being in a relationship with someone for so long and after spending so much time with someone, you learn to read their expressions. He didn't like the hesitancy of the situation despite loving the words he was hearing.

"...you know you don't have to try to be perfect for me." He remembered what else Kelsi had said. "I don't want you to feel like you have to change everything to fit what I think is perfect. You know that, right?"

[singlevoice]

"I know that. I know that now." She might be holding his hand a little too tight, though in the end of the day her hands probably really weren't even physically capable of hurting him just by holding. Which was good to know right now, very good. He was here, he was solid, he was strong and he didn't make her feel pressured anymore.

"I missed you so much."

[hoopsandharmonies]

He didn't even feel it, honestly. He didn't think she was holding too tight but he was conscious of not physically hurting her. The nice thing about how old the truck was was the fact that it was a bench seat, making it easier to slide closer to her. There were still a lot of things to discuss and a lot of things he was afraid of and even more things he didn't understand, but none of that mattered at the moment. Instead he just shifted to pull her closer, drawing her into his side so he could hug her properly and hold her for the time being.

It wasn't surprising how much he'd missed this, how much he had missed her. Even after two months apart every day felt like a new struggle to wake up and move on with his life. He knew it wasn't healthy at all but he didn't care. What mattered was the fact that Gabriella was here with him now and they could try to fix things.

"I missed you, too." He tilted his head down to kiss the top of her head, refusing to let go for the moment. "I--you flew here." That was still just as baffling, too.

[singlevoice]

"You have no room to talk, you drove all the way! In this thing!" But she wasn't actually exasperated, although she played at it, too happy and relieved and still nervous, because her nerves hadn't quite caught up with what was happening, not quite realized that maybe it was really all alright now. She closed her eyes at his kiss, leaning against him and deciding then and there that this had been a good choice, possibly the best choice she had made in weeks.

"I really didn't like being without you."

[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?"