A/N: Hi! ) This is my first time actually writing a fanfiction. I've always read them, never tried to write them. I think I'll only be writing one-shots, I'm not very good continuing my work. Of course, this is a Troyella. I think they are the perfect couple. Oh, and by the way, this timeline is in HSM2, after Gotta Go My Own Way and the Chad argument, but before Everyday. It's my version of how Gabriella got her 'T' back before Everyday. R&R )

Disclaimer; Don't worry, it's on my Christmas list )

Gabriella sat at the edge of her bed, her eyes red and puffy. Tissues lay littered on the ground, and empty cartons of ice-cream sat on her bedside table. To say that she was upset was an understatement. She looked out her balcony wistfully, as if she waiting for someone. Gabriella bit her lip, tears threatening to fall as they have done so the past few days. Her mother was on yet another business trip. She had no one. She had no one to talk to, no one to cry on, and no one to tell her it was all going to be ok. Sure, Taylor and Kelsi had come over to comfort her, but they had Lava Springs to work. Lava Springs, Gabriella bitterly thought. What made everything worse was that she didn't have Troy.

Troy, she thought. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she remembered all the promises he had made to her. She also remembered all the promises he broke. He had changed. He wasn't the Troy she had loved. Yes, she had loved him. Although barely seventeen, Gabriella knew in her heart that she had fallen in love with Troy Bolton, Wildcat hottie super-bomb, Golden Boy of East High. She smirked at the name. But as quickly as the smile came on, it was slipped off. He didn't know how much it had hurt her to see him standing over there with Sharpay and her rich, snobby friends, whilst her and his team were here. Troy had forgotten about them, and he had forgotten himself. And that's why Gabriella broke up with him.

She couldn't stand seeing him act so cold towards his best friends, brushing them off for high-class snobs and varsity players. Gabriella let out a quiet sob. And she couldn't stand seeing him with Sharpay. The blonde-haired witch, as Taylor and Kelsi had dubbed her on Gabriella's second night of tears and binge-eating, had taken Troy away from her, showing him a life of privilege, where everything depended on what you wore and how well you kissed ass. He had promised her that this was going to be the summer she would never forget. Gabriella wanted nothing more than to say summer never happened.

She curled up into a ball onto her bed, brushing away stray wet tissues and pulling her teddy bear towards her. It was a gift from her father before he died, and Gabriella treasured nothing more. She remembered how much it had hurt when he died. Gabriella let out a bitter chuckle. It had hurt pretty much the same when Troy had turned from the sweet, honest boy she had fallen in love with, to the idiot who stood up his girlfriend for a superficial bitch called Sharpay. Gabriella didn't want to think of Sharpay like that, but for someone she thought she was at least on better terms on, there was no other word. She fingered her neck, where usually the T would be. Drops of tears ran down her face. She remembered how he asked her to stay, no, begged her. She was sorely tempted when she looked into the ocean-y pools that were his eyes, but she steeled herself, remembering all the times he was a jerk. Jerk. That word echoed in Gabrella's head. And oh, did he act like a jerk. Standing her and his friends up like that, just for the opportunity for a scholarship. But deep inside, Gabriella knew Troy wasn't like this. He would turn around, admit he was wrong, and they'd all be back to normal again. The problem was, she didn't know when. She glanced up at her ceiling, to the heavens. Closing her eyes, she quietly prayed that one day, Troy would be hers again. Gabriella opened her eyes, glassy with tears.

"I miss you Troy" she quietly whispered.

"I miss you too Brie"

Gabriella shot up from her bed. There, standing next to an open balcony door, was Troy. He cracked her a half-hearted smile. His eyes were not what Gabriella remembered them as. No, they were little more gray and a lot less blue. He stood limp, timid. Gabriella could feel the regret and pain radiating off him. And then she saw it. Dangling off his clenched hand, was a T. Not any T, but her T. Gabriella slowly climbed off her bed. Troy stood still, watching her every move, biting his lip anxiously. He didn't know what to do, how to approach her. He took in her appearance. Her deep, chocolate eyes he loved to drown in were slightly red (from crying, he presumed. Troy mentally slapped, kicked and punched himself for making Gabriella cry), her hair was tousled and at her shoulders, and she was wearing a loose tee and short shorts. To Troy, Gabriella couldn't look more beautiful. She was now one foot away from him. Her brown eyes brimmed with tears. Troy could've killed himself right there and then.

"What are you doing here?" She asked coldly.

If looks could kill, Troy was being tortured slowly to death. Her eyes glassed over. She crossed her arms, and the lips he had longed to kiss set in a hard line. He reached out to her. Gabriella drew back, glaring at him through teary eyes. Troy closed his and took a deep breath. I deserve everything that I got, he thought. His argument with Chad had hammered something into his head. And now, seeing how cold and withdrawn Gabriella acted towards him, it just cut deeper than anything Troy had been exposed too. He let out a shaky breath. He had no right to be here, standing in Gabriella's room. Damn, he didn't even have the right to stand in her heart. He had been a jerk to her all summer, standing her up, forgetting dates, and forgetting her. God, he was so, so sorry. And he had to tell her.

"Brie…" he began.

Gabriella flinched. It was the nickname Troy had given her ever since their second date, an indoor picnic in his room. She remembered how he made it up on the spot, then panicking at how she wouldn't like it, and then apologizing like crazy. Gabriella remembered how she had kissed him sweetly on the cheek, gave him a soft smile, and told him she liked it. And that only he could call her that. God, she wished she could stop remembering.

"I-I was a jerk, I know I was, I guess I just didn't realise it until it was too late. Chad, the team, they all left me. And most of all-"he glanced at her earnestly "- you left me."

Gabriella's breath got stuck, somewhere between her head and her heart. Her head told her to ignore everything Troy had said, and just walk away from him. Her heart told her it was him again. It was Troy.

"I didn't know what was important to me. I thought I wanted the scholarship so badly, that I'd do anything to get it. I didn't think I would forget about you. You were always there for me. You made me smile, laugh, and god, you're so damn beautiful" Troy ran a hand through his light brown hair. Gabriella could already feel herself melting.

"I wish I could turn back time, I would give anything, just so we could go back to those nights where we would watch sappy chick flicks and call each other Baby Brie and Troy Boy" Gabriella smiled softly at the memory. She bit her lip, trying so hard to steel herself against Troy. He was the one who made me break up with him, she thought. It was because of him.

But she looked into his clear, blue eyes, and Gabriella could feel herself drowning, losing. Oh god why did he have to be so damn adorable? He had hurt her so much, but she loved him so much more.

"I know I hurt you, god Brie, and I'm so, so, so sorry. I promised you so much, and I never lived up to any of them. I know it was like, I chose Sharpay over you, but I swear, on my heart, I never, ever, ever, felt anything towards her. I just thought-"

"You thought she could get you a scholarship"

Troy looked into Gabriella's eyes. Just when he thought he had opened them up again, they closed in an instant. A bitter glare replaced the warmth. Troy closed his eyes, despairing.

"You just left me. You just left me, Chad, all your friends, for Sharpay. Do you know how much that had hurt me? Actually, it still does." Gabriella drew a deep breath. All the pent up anger flowed out of her.

"How could you do something like that Troy? You told me this was going to be the summer I would never forget, and trust me, I never will" a bitter chuckle left her lips. Troy cringed. If only she knew how much it had hurt him as much as it had hurt her.

"What happened to him? What happened to the sweet, caring, honest Troy I knew, we all knew! Oh no, he was replaced by some idiot who wanted nothing better to do than dress in fancy Italian shoes and kiss ass to some rich guy with a place on the University board! You blew off your friends, you blew off me! You blew us off for Sharpay and her rich friends…" Gabriella trailed off, tears dripping down her face. Troy bit his lip, his eyes burning with shame. He could hear her voice quivering with hurt.

"I felt so cold. It was like you had died and someone had replaced you with a cold-hearted asshole. I trusted you, I believed in you, I…loved you" Gabriella looked away.

Troy's eyes snapped up, wide with shock. His head pounded as he watched Gabriella turn away in hurt, and in the distance, he thought he heard her heart breaking. So she had felt the same way about him like he had felt about her.

"Please go" her quiet reply slipped out of her lips, almost begging.

"Brie…" Troy grabbed her hand.

Gabriella glanced up with shock. He had no right to touch her! But then, she saw him raise the T up and place it gently in her hand. His vivid blue eyes bored into her, swimming with regret. Troy bit his lip anxiously, and Gabriella wanted nothing more than to launch herself onto him and kiss him. Gabriella let out a shaky breath.

"I'm sorry. I know I am, and no matter what you say, I know that you know as well. The Troy you saw this summer, he was jerk, he was an asshole, he had Italian shoes! But he's gone now"

Gabriella's eyes widened. Her breath hitched in her throat, and she saw how sincere he really was. Why did God have to make him so wonderful? She knew, right there and then, he was back, Troy was back, and she loved him with all her heart for that.

"The Star Dazzle talent show. Please come. I'm not performing anymore, but I want to spend the night with you. I know you can't just forgive me right now, but…I love you too. Please remember that. I loved you then, I love you now, and I'll love you till the end of time. I always have. And I'm sorry"

And with that, he left.

Gabriella was left there in sheer shock. Then, her face cracked into a wide, toothy grin. He loved her. Troy Bolton loved her. And oh, did she forgive him. Slowly, she placed the necklace back onto her neck. Where it was meant to be. Her mind whirred into gear, smiling softly. Gabriella picked up her phone. She had so much to plan if she wanted to crash Sharpay's Star Dazzle talent show. And she knew Taylor, Kelsi, Ryan and Chad would love to help her.

A/N: So, what do you guys think? This is the first time I tried writing a fanfic, so be kind! R&R! love x3addicted