Happy Endings

Summary: She was at her house, watching a movie. It was every chick flick that had the happy ending. And Gabriella had to cry for every happy ending. Why she cried was a secret all its own. TROYELLA

Disclaimer: I don't own any high school musical characters, and I don't own Disney either. I don't think I really own anything, I'm just writing this for my own consent!

Author's Note: How many of you thought I died because I haven't written something in so long? Grins. Well, to tell you the truth, I started to write a story called She Knew That for a little less than a month I think. I think I had twelve chapters down. But, I was so stupid...and I accidently deleted my whole fan fiction folder from my desktop. So I lost all the stories I wrote, and the one I was writing. It hurt me, really bad. So, I'm going to start off slow again and try a one-shot. Hope you like. Always, schoolgirl 101

And if I haven't mentioned this...I found a really great story called Lightning is A Lot Like Love by Graci93. If you can't find it, try googling it or something. I think the rating recently got changed to M, but it's a terribly great story. Check it out.

Gabriella wiped a stray tear from her face as she watched the credits roll down the television screen. She was a sucker for chick flicks, and couldn't help getting emotional. It didn't matter which romance movie it was; Gabriella always had to cry. Even if it was just a little. She loved happy endings.

"Awww, come on Gabs, please don't tell me you're crying," a male voice said as he reached forward and rested his hand on the back of her head.

"I'm not," she mumbled and looked down at the ground.

"Gabs," he said. "You know, you're not very good at lying."

"I'm not crying...I'm relaxing," she murmured.

"And I'm not your best friend," he said sarcastically. "Since fourth grade, might I add."

Her head shot up. "Fine. Maybe I did cry; just a little. But Troy, can't you have a little tears of joy? They got together in the end!"

He sighed. "It's fiction Gabriella. Pure fiction. Why cry at something so fictitious?"

"Because it feels so real! It felt like their love was real. I don't care if it was fictitious or not. And you know I'm guilty for loving chick flicks," she defended.

Troy sighed. "You didn't cry when you saw Chad and Taylor get together. And you know as well as I do that those two love each other. Their love is real. For crying out loud, they've been going out for almost a year. Chad even left the last few weeks of basketball season to be with Taylor. Why don't you tear for them?" he questioned.

Gabriella frowned. He was right. Chad and Taylor did love each other. She remembered it was about two months ago when Taylor broke her leg from a three-legged relay race she entered with Chad. Chad had felt so guilty that he tended to her every need, twenty-four seven. He had dropped out of basketball for the ending of the season so he could help her feel better. If that wasn't love, Gabriella didn't know what was.

"You're partly correct," she said quietly.

Troy looked at Gabriella and shook her head. "Partly? Not partly Gabriella, fully. What about the time when you're fish died? What was it's name...Arnold? You had Arnold for a couple of months, and when he or she...whatever, died...you flushed little Arnold down the toilet. Not a single tear falling from your eyes," he grinned triumphantly.

"Arnold was a fish Troy. I'm supposed to cry over a fish?" she countered.

"Arnold was real. This movie, it's not real. Why cry over something fake, when you could cry over something real?"

She brushed the loose curls away from her face. "Troy! It's a fish for goodness sake! Seriously, you want me to cry over a little fish that I had for such a short amount of time? But, I do care! You remember I cried over Spots when she died. She was my first pet. The cute puppy," she replied.

"I didn't say you didn't care or anything. I'm just saying that you don't need to be crying over something that isn't real. This movie is make-believe. It's made up of mediocre actors who get paid money to perform an overused plot. It's always about two characters that meet each other and fall in love. The end. A waste of time that could be have been spent doing something else. An overused happy ending," Troy claimed.

She looked stiffly at Troy. Even though they're in the midst of a "small" argument, she couldn't help but stop and look at him. It might have been the way his eyebrows furrowed gently, or how his eyes stared past her in deep thought; Gabriella had to admire.

Troy Bolton was her best friend. She stopped at the word friend. There was nothing more to her relationship with him, much to her consent. Gabriella happened to be in love with Troy. She couldn't picture herself without him. He was everything she ever wanted in a guy. He was understanding, intelligent, funny, and he truly cared about her.

And that was why she loved him. It was cliché to love your best friend, but Gabriella couldn't stop herself. He was just so addicti-

"Gabriella, are you listening to me?" his hand ran down her right arm.

She shivered. Only a tiny bit.

"Of course I am."

"Really? Then what did I just say? About ten seconds ago?" he smirked.

Gabriella stuttered. "Umm--you were talking about the movie."

Troy shook his head. "Ahh, Gabs, I didn't say anything," he laughed.

Gabriella frowned. "Tease," she muttered.

"What did you say Ms. Montez?" he questioned as he raised his eyebrows.

She shook her head and remembered once again what the two were fighting about.

"I said, how could you not cry when seeing a chick flick?" she declared. "Seriously Troy, do you have no heart?"

"Please Gabs, let's not discuss this," he groaned.

"No Troy. We will. I'm serious. I can't help it if I shed a small tear or what not. You don't have to ridicule me because of it," she scowled.

"Gabs," he said softly and looked into her brown eyes. "The last thing I intended was to hurt you."

"Well you did," she shrugged. "You can't accept the fact that my opinion differs from your own."

He made a face. "You think I don't accept your opinion?" he burst. "Is that what this is all about?"

"Yes. That is what this is all about! You can't agree that I get a little emotional sometimes. You're Troy Bolton. You're the captain of the basketball team, and the guy that everyone loves. Everyone wants to be like you. Everyone what to know you. Everyone agrees with you. Except me." Gabriella shot back.

She wasn't too sure why she was getting worked up about. She felt adrenaline pump through her body, and she liked the feeling.

"Of course I accept your opinion! We listen to each other all the time! Do you think I would have been you friend for this long if I didn't accept you?" he asked.

"I know you listen to me," she muttered. "But do you agree with what I'm saying? Do you consider my thoughts and opinions?" she grabbed the remote and shut the television off as she looked into his eyes.

"Yes! I do! What do you think I am, heartless? This is why I didn't want to talk about this. I hate it when we argue. And we're arguing about something so stupid," he bellowed and rolled his eyes.

"This isn't stupid!" she shouted.

"Gabs--"

"How can you think this is stupid?!"

"Gabs--"

"I would never want to argue about something if it was stupid. You know me!" she glared.

"Gabs," Troy sighed. "Gabriella."

She took in a rapid breath and gritted her teeth together.

"Gabs," he whispered. "You need to clam down. I can see where you're coming from, all right? You're frustrated. You think I'm not listening to you, but I am, okay? I care about your opinion. You don't see that?" he questioned gently.

He leaned over towards Gabriella and rubbed her arm.

Gabriella frowned and pulled away. "It's not about your opinion Troy." Gabriella turned away careful not to stare into his crystal blue eyes.

"But--you just said it was my opinion..." he struggled to find the right words. Troy didn't want to get into another argument with Gabriella. An argument after an argument became very stressful.

"Well, I didn't mean what I said," she shrugged and stared at the blank television.

"Gabriella," he sighed. "Why can't you just tell me what's up?" he asked quietly.

She turned around to look at him. "I thought you were my best friend Troy! You can't tell what's wrong?"

"If this is about the movie," he groaned.

"Yes Troy! It is about the movie! I can't believe you could be so naive," she muttered.

Troy frowned. "Naive? I'm trying to calm you down over something so small! What makes you think I'm naive?"

"Cause you don't understand!" she slammed her hand on the soft carpet. "I love these movies, I love chick flicks!"

"Okay. You love chick flicks. I'm fine with that," he stumbled over his words. All he wanted to do was make Gabriella happy. To him, he was doing the exact opposite.

"You don't get the big picture Troy! I love chick flicks!" she yelled.

The house was empty, and the only thing that could be heard was the two's voices. The two's very loud voices.

"I get it Gabriella! You love chick flicks," he reached towards her to intertwine their hands.

She pulled away. "No you don't understand! You don't understand how they make me feel!"

"Gabs--"

"I tell myself that I cry because the characters get together in the end. They love each other, and that's all that matters."

"Gabriella--"

"Troy! I cry because they always get a happy ending. I cry because I wish I had that happy ending! I don't cry because I'm happy Troy! I cry because it sucks that I never get what I want. I want a happy ending," she said softly. "You don't know how many movies I watched! How many happy endings I've seen! And every time," she quivered. "I wished it was me."

"Gabriella," he interrupted. "Listen to me."

She looked up at Troy and slowed down her breathing. She had finally let go.

"They make happy endings so the audience will be happy," he repeated. "Happy endings are fictional--"

"That's exactly it! Fictional! I hate fiction. I don't want to settle for something fictional, but I have to! Cause the real thing is never going to come for me Troy! I've been waiting for years! To keep myself busy, I watch all these happy endings, and I picture they were real. I want something real in my life!" she screamed.

Troy grabbed Gabriella's hands. "You have to breath Gabriella. Calm down."

"I don't want to. I want this! I want this for me Troy. I want a happ--"

She was silenced as his lips came crashing down on hers. She gasped at the sensation and shut her eyes tightly. His lips moved gently across hers in some sort of trance. Neither fought for dominance; they're both weak to each other's control.

Troy pulled away from Gabriella first. "I got caught up in the moment, how could I be so stupid? That was way out of line Gabs. I'm sorry. But I really need you to know..."

She pressed her lips against his and wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer. She was getting what she wanted, and no one would take that away from her. "I really want you," she kissed him. "To know something too," she kissed him once more. "I want you Troy Bolton," she whispered softly in his ear.

His eyes opened and blue enveloped brown. They stared at each other between kisses, a force pulled their lips together, and their lips moved in rhythm together. She opened her mouth to let his tongue through; it was then where they fought for dominance. They pulled away when the need to breathe was evident.

"Gabriella," he gasped for breath.

Her eyes drowned into his eyes.

"I need you to know," he took in another breath. "That happy endings are fictional," he stated.

Her eyes sank and her vision became cloudy. "I know that Troy. I've always known that," she said bitterly.

She stood up and was about to run to her room. She wouldn't let him see her cry, not again.

He reached out to her and pulled her down. Gabriella gasped and fell into his arms. He put a finger under her chin, and raised her head up to look at him.

"Happy endings are fictional," he sighed. "But they can be real too."

He pushed his lips against her and kissed her softly three times. He pulled away, and watched a tear fall across her face.

It wasn't a tear of sadness.

It was a tear of joy.