DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.

A/N: Okay, so another one-shot from me. I liked it when I formed it in my head. I'm not sure if it'll be long or not and its AU. But I hope you all enjoy it! The two songs are 'Long Day' and 'If You're Gone' both songs by Matchbox Twenty

Moments To Live For

"I know its wrong it's the problem I'm feeling, if you're gone, maybe its time to come home……" She watched as he hunched down, the muscles in his back tightening under his tight black shirt as he suddenly shot up as the song continued. She loved to watch him like this, the last song of the concert, the fans screaming for more, him feeding of the energy from the fans. But even the energy he presented on stage, the humor, the performer in him, couldn't mask how tired he was. She could see that as the song finished and he thanked the crowd, laughing slightly as they begged for one more song. She could tell he was torn. Torn between the desire to fall into a soft bed and sleep through every single day of his break, and between the enjoyment of singing to a responsive crowd. She watched as he struggled and turned to his band to consult their opinion, glancing over to the stage exit to see if he could do one more song. The stage manager shrugged and then nodded, indicating that one more song couldn't hurt. She could see him struggled some more and then watched as he turned to the crowd and announced he would sing one more song. One of his favorites. The music started and he grinned and laughed as one of the fans shouted out how much they loved him.

"Its sitting by the overcoat, the second shelf the note she wrote that I can't bring myself to throw away……" She smiled at the song. It was one of her favorites too. Glancing briefly at the crowd, she remembered when she'd been one of the fans. Standing up on chairs to catch a brief glimpse of one of the most popular artists of all time, wondering what it would be like to meet him. She remembered meeting him too; one of her friends had won a contest to go to his concert and then meet him afterward and had begged her to be the one to come with her. She remembered they'd walked into one of the rooms backstage and her friend had been clinging to her in terror as he'd walked up to them. He'd been so relaxed, so casual. His blue eyes flicking over her friend and then locking on her.

"Oh God I shouldn't feel this way now, reach down your hand in your pocket, pull out some hope for me, it's been a long day……" She glanced up when one of the fans screamed loudly and then turned her eyes back to him. She remembered clearly that she'd been startled that he'd met her gaze so directly. She remembered that the gorgeous blue eyes had darkened slightly, when she'd bitten her lip and offered her hand, stumbling slightly over her own name and then falling silent as her friend regained control of her voice. His eyes had kept flicking over to her while he answered her friends incessant questions. She remembered that she'd kept her eyes on the floor most of the time, knowing that it was every girl's fantasy for an international superstar to notice them and for something more to develop. She could still see the look in his eyes as he'd said goodbye to them. Hugging her friend good-naturedly and laughing as she'd told him he smelt good and then him turning to her and holding out his hand. As their hands had met, their eyes had locked and for a moment, just a moment, she'd had the fleeting feeling that they were the only ones in the room full of bustling people.

"Reach down your hand in your pocket, well, reach down your hand right now; it's been a long day……" Recognizing the near ending of the song, she focused back on him and for a moment wondered why he had chosen her of all people. Their first meeting she'd been sure hadn't left any impression on him, she'd figured she'd been dismissed as another star struck fan and then she'd gotten a phone call from him, wanting her to go out to dinner with him. She could remember she'd been too stunned to think straight and she'd agreed. He'd organized it so that she'd had dinner at his place and she'd discovered that the international superstar really didn't care about big houses or fancy restaurants. The house he'd lived in was small, secluded and wonderfully welcoming and the dinner of homemade lasagna and wine had been so unexpected that she'd completely forgotten who he was and what people saw of him.

Suddenly hearing the music cease and the screaming of fans become louder, she was brought back to the present as the band members took a bow and walked off stage. All lifting their hands and waving at her in greeting, she smiled at each of them and waved back, but her attention was on him as he walked off the stage. He was immediately bombarded with directions and time limits and she watched as he laughed a little, ran a hand through the dark hair that was already disheveled and glanced up. Freezing as he saw her. She offered him a small smile as he brushed off his manager and publicist and headed straight for her. His arms wrapping tightly around her waist when he reached her, lifting her slightly as her own wrapped around his neck. She buried her face in his neck and sighed in pure contentment as he held her for the first time in months.

"Gabriella, what are you doing here?" He asked, his own face still buried in the dark brown curls that tumbled down her back.

"I missed you so much Troy." She replied and Troy laughed slightly as he set her down, his arms still tight around her waist. Gabriella tossed some hair out of her eyes and looked up at him.

"I missed you too." He replied softly and she grinned at him, her left hand sliding from the back of his neck to brush away some hair. The sapphire ring on her finger, winking as the light hit it. Troy's hand slid from her waist and he caught her hand before it could resume its position behind his neck. Kissing the palm of her hand, he turned his eyes back to hers.

"It's been a long time Brie." Troy said suddenly and she nodded.

"I'm coming with you next time." She said quietly and he rested his forehead against hers, breathing in deeply as he realized how serious she was about it.

"God, do you know how many times I seriously considered flying home just to see you?" He asked and Gabriella grinned and nodded, knowing that he'd gotten as far as the airport once before she'd convinced him that coming back was a bad idea.

"Yes. Do you know how many times I rolled over in the middle of the night to snuggle against you only to find you weren't there?" Gabriella replied and Troy sighed.

"About as many times as I did?" He guessed and Gabriella nodded, closing her eyes as Troy pulled her into another hug and pressed kisses to the side of her head. She tilted her head slightly and he lowered his lips to hers for a brief moment, knowing that his real hello kiss would be saved for the privacy of their hotel room.

"Troy! We need you in the press room now!" Troy pulled away from her as they both heard his publicist's voice right next to them. Turning his head slightly, Troy glared at him as Gabriella kissed his shoulder.

"Fine. Brie-" Gabriella cut him off.

"Go. Its fine, I'll be at the hotel." She said letting him go. Troy sent her an apologetic glance as he was swept of towards the room. Gabriella smiled at him before heading towards his dressing room. Her eyes trained on the ring. She knew she was living everyone of his fans fantasy. Knew that most of them dreamed of doing what she could on a regular basis. But God it had been hard at the start. It had been a mixture of her own insecurity, the publicity that came with him dating one of his fans and his own fierce privacy that had made it hard. She remembered how long it had taken her to get past the defenses he'd put up and how much longer it had taken him to get past her own. The insecurity and painful shyness that stemmed from high school making it hard for her to open up to him fully.

It had been a slow, reckless process that she'd begun to enjoy. They'd been careful around each other, especially in public; he had to constantly be what the world wanted him to be whenever they went out for dinner together or even when they were walking together in the park. But as soon as he was out of public eye, away from what he was meant to be. He was the man she'd fallen hopelessly in love with. The man who would cradle her in his arms when she was upset, the man that woke up early when he had the day off to make her breakfast, the man that constantly had to touch part of her or pulled her tightly against his side if they were watching television together or simply sleeping. It had been that man that she'd been careful around at first, the man that had seemed to good to be true. It had taken her weeks to relax around him, at first she'd struggled with the instant personality switch he pulled and then struggled with his temper. He'd had his moments, especially when she'd start telling him something and then stop half way, afraid that if she continued he would laugh at her, his patience had only stretched so far and she often tested him without realizing that she was doing it. She could remember the first time he'd gotten frustrated with her, angry that she wouldn't tell him something that she'd shrunk away from him. Terrified not of his tone, or his scarily impassive face, but of his eyes, the blue of them had been dark and furious as he'd looked at her and from that first time she'd been wary of his temper.

Gabriella stepped out into the warm night and began to head towards the hotel they were staying at. Ignoring or not seeing the fans reactions to her walking past, all of them knowing exactly who she was. Smiling softly, Gabriella glanced at her ring again and wondered how she'd ended up with him. They had both been so different, so totally different; their lives had been so different. He'd been the golden boy his entire life, the one that girls longed for and guys wanted to be, the one who's own stability stemmed from his family, he'd lived in the same house his entire life and had had a steady girlfriend all through high school. Whereas she had been the freak of nature at her school, the invisible one that no-one noticed unless they had too, the only constant thing in her life had been her mother and the reality of moving after only a few months of being at the new place. She'd gotten her first boyfriend in her senior year and then had promptly moved after only a month of a relationship. They were just so different from one and another, she was quiet, he was loud, she was insecure, he was sure, she was careful, and he was reckless. The list went on. But that was what made it work. The need to be needed in her, something he seemed to have seen in her after only the first few months of their relationship, was something that had strengthened their relationship and his need to have someone to come back to was one of the reasons that they worked so well.

Sighing, she walked through the doors of the hotel and headed towards the elevator. As well as their relationship worked, they still went through times where she contemplated exactly why they were together. His fame was often the major argument between them, tabloids splashing his face and hers all over the country. Because of it, she'd nearly had a break down; she'd hated how her entire life had become dictated by the media just because she was dating an international superstar. Reaching the door to their room, she swiped her card through the lock and opened it. She walked in and her jaw dropped.

The room was lit with candles, rose petals scattered around the room, glancing around she saw champagne cooling in an ice-bucket and two glasses sitting next to it. Feeling stunned pleasure at the room, Gabriella walked through it and towards the bedroom. Walking in, she felt tears prick her eyes as she saw sitting in the middle of the bed was two red roses. Seeing something glint, Gabriella walked over and her hand few to her mouth as she stared at the teardrop diamond hanging from the simple silver chain. Picking it up, examined it, feeling nothing but pleasure as she ran her finger over the diamond. Too immersed in admiring the necklace, Gabriella didn't hear anyone walk into the room.

Troy stood at the bedroom doorway and looked at his fiancée, watching as she examined the necklace he'd brought for her with stunned pleasure. Feeling a grin tug at his lips as he saw how young she looked, he ignored the pang that he always got when he bought her something and watched how young she became when she received the gift. It was one of her traits that he was overly protective of; it was one of her vulnerabilities that he was sure only he was aware of it. Deciding he'd watched her enough. Troy walked into the bedroom and slipped his arms around her waist.

"Troy, its beautiful." Gabriella breathed as he kissed the side of her head.

"I want you to wear it at the wedding." He replied softly and Gabriella turned to look at him, smiling at his words.

"Of course. You shouldn't have bought it though. You don't need-" Troy interrupted her.

"Of course I needed to Brie." He said firmly and Gabriella bit her lip and then smiled, leaning up she kissed him softly.

"I love you." She whispered, her eyes closed as his forehead rested on hers.

"Its been a long few months Brie." Troy said and Gabriella nodded.

"The days have been too long." She said and Troy began trailing kisses around her face.

"Today's been a long day, you have no idea how much I needed to see you backstage tonight." Troy said and Gabriella smiled, moving her head so it settled in the curve of his neck.

"I probably don't. I missed you so much Troy. It wasn't the same without you." Gabriella whispered, kissing his neck gently. Troy concentrated on the curls he could see falling over her shoulder as held her tighter against him.

"Next time I go on tour, you're coming with me." He said and Gabriella nodded against his neck.

"I know. Its been so long Troy." Gabriella whispered and Troy kissed her forehead.

"Too long Brie." He agreed and Gabriella sighed. These were the moments she lived for. When he wasn't Troy Bolton, one of the most successful artists of all time and she wasn't Gabriella Montez, the fan who snagged his heart. When they were just two people, tired after months of being away from each other, aching to be that much closer and too in love to care about tomorrow. To her, nothing else mattered, the love story behind them, the time restrictions placed on him, the screaming fans that followed everything he did. Because, in a quiet hotel room or the middle of their house, the moments where he held her tightly, where the moments to live for.

A/N: Hmmm, I'm not sure how much sense that made and if anyone was confused, I should probably summarize it. But at the current moment, I'm way to tired to do that. So if there where any problems understanding it, PM and I'll try and get back to you as soon as I can. I hope you all enjoyed!