They had met at a wedding, ironically. She was seated at a table with her be-speckled best friend, Kelsi and she had been the link that had brought them together, knowing them from college. He was seated with his own good friends, the man with the crazy afro and the arrogant one with the blue eyes and sandy brown hair. They had conversed about basketball animatedly with one another, and when her companion left to go dance with one of the groomsmen, she was stuck with nothing to say to three strangers who seemed to have little interest in her.

She had tried making conversation, she really had. The man with the afro had been kind enough, but he was working up the courage to hit on one of the servers, so she let him be. The man with the blue eyes had immediately turned her off; she had said something to which he responded with a sarcastic remark, and from that moment she had decided that conversing with him was not on the agenda for the night.

He, however, was different; with his dark black hair and brown eyes. He smiled at her softly and joked with her; ignoring his two best friends and asking Kelsi to switch seats with him so that he could sit beside her so they could talk. Then the music swelled and the man with the afro departed in search of finding the server, damn everything, and asking her to take two minutes to dance with him. Shyly, she had looked through her eyelashes and smiled at him.

"Do you dance?" she asked and he shook his head. "Oh, come on!" she prodded, grabbing his hand and dragging him up. "Everyone dances!"

It turned out he was quite the graceful dancer, having taken ballroom lessons as a kid. He never stepped on her feet and he twirled her in a perfect motion. As she giggled to herself and felt her heart thump in her chest, she looked over his shoulder and found the blue eyed man staring at her, watching them waltz. She narrowed her eyes slightly before shrugging it off, turning away.

He asked her to dinner later that night, and the rest you could say, was history. Many more dates were had and a commitment was made. Eventually, a promise of forever was requested and the snowball began rolling.

Things had been set in motion for nearly six months. The church had been booked, the reception hall decorated. Linens and flower arrangements had been selected and they had chosen the band weeks ago. The menu had been decided upon and together, they had sampled over a dozen cake flavors. Her dress had been a creation of lace and ivory; it was simple, yet complicated and so elegant that looking at it for too long brought tears to her eyes. She was in love with the idea of marriage and so in love with him and everything was going to be so perfect.

And then a month before the wedding, he died.

---

Mamihlapinatapei

Yaghan, noun: a look shared between two people with each wishing the other will initiate something that which both desire, but neither wants to start.

---

"Everyone mourns differently," her mother said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Everyone goes about it in their own way and I completely understand and respect that. This is a difficult time for you and you need to do everything you can to heal and move on." She paused, surveying the large piece of machinery located on her daughter's lawn. "This, however, is not one of the ways I think is healthy."

"Mother," her daughter replied. She pulled the safety goggles over her eyes and took a deep breath. "I think this is the best possible way to go about it." She handed her mother a pair of her own goggles along with a set of headphones. "Put these on."

Her mother pressed a hand to her temples. "Gabriella, really, I do not think this a good idea."

Twenty-six year old Gabriella Montez flicked her gaze over to her mother and smiled slightly. Lifting her hands, she tightened her ponytail, making sure her dark black curls were out of her eyes. "Mom, as much as I appreciate the concern, I've given a lot of thought to this. I really think this is the most cleansing way to go about it. I've been in mourning for three months and now I need to start healing. So, either stand here and watch or go inside." She snapped on her pair of headphones over her ears and grabbed the first box, one of the many that lined the porch. As she descended the stairs, she turned to look at her mother over her shoulder. "You have thirty seconds before I turn it on."

Her mother's shoulders dropped in disappointment. "Don't destroy your past, Gabriella!" she shouted. "You'll never heal this way!"

Rolling her eyes, Gabriella booted up the wood chipper and into it, threw a large box of Edward's belongings. She let out a deep breath as she watched them turn into confetti. "It's my decision, mom!" she called back at the woman still standing on the porch of her large house, her hands covering her eyes.

"Oh, Gabriella," Maria Montez said with a sigh as she turned around to enter her daughter and her late fiancee's house. Where she had gotten this stupid idea, she would never be certain. One thing was for sure, it was a bad one and if she couldn't put a stop to it, she'd have to enlist someone who could.

Back on the front lawn, Gabriella was slowly removing button up shirts and throwing them into the wood chipper one by one. She had thought it would probably be better if she didn't put the cardboard boxes along with them into the wood chipper, just in case it jammed. She hadn't asked the men whom she rented the machine from if this was actually a purpose it could fulfill, but she just needed his things out of their house once and for all.

She closed her heavy eyelids and took a deep breath. It was so much harder to breathe without Edward there with her. Every time she did, she was met with the crushing reality that he was gone. He had left her. He had died. Everything had been going exactly to plan; they had been dating for three years, had been engaged for six months and had a beautiful home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They had good friends and great careers and most importantly, they were in love.

Gabriella loved Edward, or Eddie, as she called him, with all of her being. She had never been so happy as she was in the days she spent with him. He was kind and caring, handsome and good and he loved her. He had promised her forever and he broke that promise. As awful as that was, she couldn't help but be a little bit angry with him for that. He had been the only person she had known who could pick up the pieces and now he had broken her. How was she to repair herself? She let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding and it hit her all over again.

He was gone.

She remembered the day she got the news more vividly than anything in her entire life. It was approximately one month before they were set to walk down the aisle and it was a Tuesday. He had woken before her, as usual, kissed her cheek and told her he loved her before showering and getting ready for work. She had gone downstairs and made coffee, reading the news paper and lounging before she departed later in the morning. He had joined her in the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water, kissed her goodbye and left.

That morning had been what might have been the tenth fitting for her bridesmaids. Her maid of honor, and best friend, Taylor Mckessie, was making sure than things were meticulous. But just as Kelsi came out of the fitting room in the light peach gown, her cell phone had rang. Seeing it was an unknown number, she furrowed her brow curiously and answered.

The speaker on the other line had been a hospital worker. Eddie had been in a car accident, a head on collision with a teenage driver, whom had left with only a few cuts and bruises.

Eddie, however, had died on impact.

That had been three months ago and only now was she finally able to pry herself out of her bed. Everything had gotten so heavy after that, everything so hard. She was all alone in their giant bed now and she clung to his scent, the only thing she had left. She took a leave of absence at her job as a columnist for a newspaper, and stopped answering the phone. Taylor still came by weekly, cleaning and making sure Gabriella ate at least something; the amount of weight she had lost was drastic.

Finally, one day, she realized that she wasn't going to wake up and realize that everything was all a dream. It was reality. Edward wasn't coming back, she was never going to marry him and she had to start all over. So she threw her legs over the bed and dragged herself to the shower. Then she ate a small breakfast and began to go through his things; the boxes that had been lining the hall since the week after his funeral. Taylor had taken the liberty of packing them in boxes, leaving Gabriella to decide how she wanted to go about dealing with them. Opening them she discovered, however, that his scent still clung to his clothes, his books, his paperwork, and while she had thought it to be comforting weeks earlier...it wasn't. She had decided that she couldn't live with them, with the memories and the smell and the life they once held. So she put the most important things in storage and then she rented the wood chipper.

It was an oddly satisfying feeling, chucking box after box of clothes, books, photographs and momentums into the machine and seeing them fly out in pieces in front of her. The neighbors peered out their windows and 'casually' walked by, giving her weird looks. They shrugged it off and moved on. That Gabriella Montez, they'd say sadly, she just hasn't been the same since Eddie died.

Damn right she hadn't been the same.

An hour later, she was on the twenty-seventh box—this one filled with wedding invitations that were going to be sent the next week—when a car pulled up. She flicked off the switch on the wood chipper and felt her body stiffen as she saw two figures step out of the car.

"Gabi!" a tall man with dark skin and curly brown hair said. He smiled, removing his aviators and brushing off his leather jacket. "What are you up to?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes slightly and smiled back. "Just doing some cleaning, Chad. Mourning. Moving on. Trying to heal." She repeated the words her shrink had fed to her in the weeks since Edward's death. She pulled her goggles over her eyes and rested them on her forehead, glancing at her visitors. "What brings you here?"

Chad Danforth had been friends with Eddie since childhood. He was a young, successful business man who had no girlfriend and at times claimed he was irrevocably lonely, but his strong friendships had gotten him through the days. He shared a small house across town with three of Eddie's other good friends, including the man he was with. The five of them had been a group so tightly knit that even Gabriella couldn't claim she was closer with Eddie than they were. She was never bitter about this fact, however. She had loved that her fiancee was so close with his friends; it proved how much of a loving person he truly was.

Since Eddie's death, Chad had assumed the role of Gabriella's caretaker. He did the 'manly jobs' around the house. Gabriella never called him, but her mother had put him on speed dial the week after the accident. He and Taylor often worked together, preparing her meals and trying to coax her into leaving the house. After several failed attempts, however, they had given up. It was no surprise to Gabriella that her mother had decided he needed to intervene in this situation. Even though it wasn't really a situation, but her mother clearly did not see that.

Chad opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut off. "Your mother called us," a voice from behind him said cooly and Gabriella felt herself bristle. She peered behind Chad and glared childishly.

"I believe I was asking Chad, whom I'm sure was the one she called and asked for," she said icily. "Not you, Bolton. "

Twenty-eight year old Troy Bolton shrugged, folding his arms over his shoulders. He was wearing a fitted black t-shirt and dark black jeans. He didn't respond, instead rolled his eyes to the heavens before staring at the ground. Gabriella bit her lip hard, almost drawing blood. Out of all the people in the world, he was last one she wanted to see, right at that moment or ever.

She hated Troy, had since she first met he, Chad and Edward at the wedding three years ago. He was a pompous asshole, in her opinion, cocky and arrogant. During the first year of she and Edward's relationship, he had never failed to make snide, sarcastic remarks to pretty much every single comment she made, and she had done the same for him in return. She and Troy just didn't 'click', they just didn't see eye to eye. Edward had lamented on about it endlessly, completely upset that she and one of his closest friends couldn't seem to find peace. Since she loved him, she had tried to make amends, tried making small talk and getting to know him. Things didn't seem to change, though, and one afternoon about a year and a half into their relationship and two weeks after Troy and Edward had returned from a business trip in Los Angeles, she had overhead Troy and Chad talking in the kitchen of the house they shared.

"Why don't you just give her a chance, man?" Chad had asked, popping the cap off his beer and taking a long drink. "Ed's serious about her and you can't even try and be civil."

Troy had shrugged. "Easier said than done; I'm not her kind of person. It's impossible to have a relationship of any sort with someone if they hate you," he admitted and Chad cocked an eyebrow.

"You're everyone's kind of person," he said, confused and Troy took a sip of his own beer.

"Yeah, well," Troy scoffed, peeling the label off his bottle. "Montez certainly isn't everyone."

At that, Gabriella had chosen to interrupt, stepping in the kitchen and inquiring what he meant by that. He smirked and rolled his eyes before pronouncing that she was a snooty bitch who thought she was better than everyone else. He gulped down the rest of his beer, slammed the bottle on the counter and left through the backdoor. She had stared at the spot he was standing in before throwing her hands up in frustration. That evening she and Edward had the worst fight they had ever had and she found out later that so had he and Troy. While she and Eddie reconciled the next day, he and Troy didn't speak for nearly a month.

Feeling guilty, Gabriella had called up Chad and asked what was going on between them, to which Chad sighed and said it was more complicated than Troy was willing to admit. He had left it at that and every single time she met with Troy after that, they had clashed. Spared. Exchanged words. Things between herself, Eddie and Troy hadn't been the same since and Eddie fought with the two of them (separately, but on occasion, together) about it constantly. Troy had been the one flaw in their perfect world. Now, he was standing before her, saying nothing, his eyes vacant and she wanted to smack him. Now that Eddie was gone, Troy should be gone. The lack of his presence would be the only positive from Eddie's death.

Chad sighed, but didn't address the situation. He was used to it by now. "So, what exactly does your mourning entail?" he asked, his brow furrowed. He looked at the wood chipper and the stacks upon stacks of boxes lining the porch. "Your mom said you were being destructive."

"I'm not being destructive!" Gabriella said slowly, seriously. "In order to repair these wounds, I need to eliminate anything in my life that could remind me of them. And that includes everything of Edward's lying around here as well as anything associated with the wedding."

Chad looked pained. "You're chopping up all of his stuff? But, Gabi...you can't erase him permanently."

"I'm not!" She said again, frantically running a hand through her hair. "I put some stuff in storage; I just can't deal with all of this stuff everywhere." She looked up at him with watery eyes. "He's everywhere, Chad, everywhere. I can't get rid of him and I need to. I need to."

She had remained composed the entire day and she was going to go through with this. She glared at Chad as hot tears pricked her eyes. Damn him for making her break.

Chad didn't say anything for a moment, his gaze fixed on Gabriella. He broke away before sighing heavily again. "You can't move on by destroying his stuff."

"You might as well just break apart the house piece by piece and throw it in there, too," Troy said casually and Gabriella glared. "He bought it for you, didn't he?"

"Shut the fuck up, Bolton, no one asked you!" She said, the blood in her veins pumping. She clenched her fists, feeling half moons curve into her palms from her nails.

"Don't start you, two," Chad scolded. "Seriously, this has been going on for three years. How many fights did the two of you have with Eddie over this bullshit. Just get along for like, two minutes, okay? 'Cause I really don't want to deal with it today."

He cast a tired hand over his face. "I'm going to go talk to Maria," Chad said, crossing the lawn to the front door. "Try not to kill each other while I'm gone."

Chad left, leaving Troy and Gabriella to their own devices. Troy shifted uncomfortably.

"So, how you holding up?" he asked and she was surprised by the question. Glancing at his face, she dismissed it; there was no way he was being genuine.

"Like you care, Bolton," she scoffed, walking back over to the piles of boxes stacked on her porch.

He stiffened, his mouth turning into a thin line. "Maybe I am a little concerned about how my dead best friend's fiancee is doing, okay? I'm not made of stone, you know."

She let out a laugh. "Oh, that's rich!" she practically shouted. "You and I both know we hate each others guts, don't even deny it, Bolton. Now that Edward's gone, you have absolutely no need to pretend to tolerate me. You didn't do it while he was here, so don't insult him by doing it now that he's gone."

He glared at her. "I know perfectly well where I stand with you, Montez."

"Exactly," she continued, ripping open a large white box and yanking a garment out of it. Troy's eyes doubled in size when he saw what it was.

"What are you doing?" he asked, anxiously. She was moving down the steps of the porch now. "You're not going to throw that in there, too, are you?"

"What the fuck does it matter?" she shouted. "I never got to wear it, I will never get to wear it and I can't stand to look at it!"

"Gabriella!" Troy said, letting her name slip from his lips. "Don't throw your wedding dress in there! You'll regret it!"

She was walking over to the wood chipper quickly now, attempting to dodge him, holding the beautiful gown to her chest. His heart clenched almost painfully as he saw the train of it drag in the dirt. He came to stand in front of her, grasping the dress with his fingertips, desperate to hold onto it. He couldn't let her do this, even if he couldn't stand the very sight of her, of it.

"Let me do what I need to do, Bolton!" she screamed. "Stop pretending to care!"

"I'm not pretending!" he yelled back and for a moment, he thought he saw something pass over her eyes. Something that told him that she finally understood. But like everything with he and Gabriella, the moment passed and fury replaced the look.

"I hate you," she said, her words like venom and he involuntarily flinched. "You know that, and we've been over this time and time again. I loathe you."

"Then why do you think it bears repeating?" he demanded. "Why are you telling me now?"

"Because you're in my way! You don't seem to understand that I don't want you, of all people, to try and stop me. I've always hated you, Troy," she spat and he found himself a little stunned by her use of his first name. It sounded so vile when slipping off of her tongue. "From the moment I met you at that wedding three years ago, I've hated you. I have no idea why Eddie was friends with you, why he continued to think of you so highly because you've shown me that you're nothing like he perceived you to be. I see you for what you really are, and it repulses me."

"Yeah?" Troy asked, stepping closer to her, clutching the dress and tugging. "And what's that, Montez? What do you see?"

She pulled on the dress and moved forward even more, the space between them almost completely diminished. He could feel her breath on his face and he swallowed, waiting for her answer. "You are nothing but a miserable coward. You've taken no chances in your life, doing exactly what your parents have expected of you and because of that, you haven't really lived." She said slowly and thickly, waiting for the words to seep into his skin. When she was certain they had, she continued. "You're jealous of all of the opportunities your friends have been granted, all the things they've been blessed with and given and because of that, it makes you hard and vulnerable and you hate it.

So in turn, you're an asshole. The only reason we've even interacted, the only reason I ever even began to tolerate you was Eddie." She swallowed roughly, her eyes brimming with tears. "And now that Eddie is gone, there is nothing I want more than to never see you again."

He didn't say anything, his jaw clenched. He dropped the part of the wedding dress he was holding, lifted his hands in surrender and stepped back. "Fine then, Gabriella," he hissed. "You do whatever the fuck you want and see if I give a shit."

Stomping away, she moved past Troy on the porch and brought the machine back to life before feeding the dress into the blades. Scraps of tulle, lace and satin flew through the air.

It looked like it was snowing.

As the debris fluttered to the ground and the last of what her life with Edward would have been like was destroyed, Troy spoke.

"For what it's worth, Gabriella," he said lowly, "I never knew what Ed saw in you anyways."

With that remark, he turned and entered the house.

---

Later that night, Gabriella was seated around the kitchen table, Chad, her mother and much to her dismay, Troy, sitting across from her. She rested her head in her hands, feeling dizzy and tired.

After entering the house, Troy told Maria and Chad what had just transpired and suggested that one of them go outside and retrieve her. Chad had been the one to do so, peeling a crying Gabriella off the porch where she was seated beside the remaining boxes; lifting her in his arms and depositing her into her bed. When he was certain she was asleep, he went downstairs to talk to Maria, having come up with an idea. After they thoroughly discussed it, he decided to do some cleaning while Maria prepared dinner. Troy had huddled himself up in Edward's old office, making business calls and writing e-mails using the old iMac. When Chad had asked him why he hadn't left, he shrugged and said that Chad was his ride home. Ignoring his friend's odd look, he explained the idea he had proposed to Maria and stated that he didn't really care if Troy approved or not, but that it would have been nice. Troy shrugged, his eyes blank and went back to tapping away at the keyboard.

Two hours later, they had requested Gabriella's presence, Chad dragging her out of bed, saying they had discussed some things and come to a rightful solution to her 'situation'. She had scoffed, saying that unless they had bartered with God and Edward was coming home, nothing could fix it. Chad had dragged her downstairs anyways.

"So, are any of you planning to tell me your brilliant plan?" she said rudely. "Or can I go to bed now?" She wanted nothing more than to curl herself back up in her warm sheets and pretend that everything was just a dream.

"Gabriella," her mother said, frowning. "Stop being disrespectful. Chad came up with an idea and I think you should hear him out."

"Gabi," Chad began slowly, surveying his friend. She looked so frail sitting in the large chair. "You're not moving on. You're not healing and you're need closure. So I'm going to present it to you."

She cocked an eyebrow, curiously. "Oh yeah?"

"You need to get out of this house," Troy interjected and she glared at him. He raised his hands defensively. "Whether you admit it or not, it's true and everyone present attest that."

"So?" Gabriella asked. "Where am I supposed to go? I'm stuck here, pinned beneath Edward's haunting spirit."

Chad rolled his eyes at Gabriella's dramatics. "Come stay with us," he proposed and Gabriella gave a sharp intake of breath. "We all loved and knew Edward better than anyone and we can all work on this healing thing together. You can stay in his old room, the one he stayed in before he moved in with you."

Since college, Edward had lived in a house across town with Troy, Chad and their two other childhood friends. It had been their own brotherhood, chock filled with all the good male things; video games, porn, junk food. As they grew, the house had matured with them. A room they had originally used for storage became Troy's studio, as he was a budding photographer. Another had been converted to Chad and Edward's office. A year ago, however, Edward and Gabriella had moved into the house they were currently in and the fabulous five had shifted. They had kept Edward's room, however, just because it wouldn't be the same if anything but his belongings and his body occupied the room.

She swallowed. "Do I have a choice in the matter?" She looked at her mother, whose eyes were filled with tears. She shook her head.

"No, darling," Maria said. "I think it's for the best if you stay there for at least a little while. Just go experience a side of Eddie you don't really know; the one his friend's saw. You all can reminisce and mourn together. I think it's a great idea."

Gabriella didn't say anything for a moment, wringing her hands together. "I need to get this place ready to sell, though," she said quietly. "I can't afford it on my own..."

Her mother placed a hand over her daughter's and squeezed. "Let me take care of that, sweetheart. You just work on being yourself again."

Biting her lip, Gabriella considered this. She couldn't stand to hold onto Edward's old belongings—how was she going to manage to stay in his room for so long? But she was curious and more than anything, she needed to get out of this house. Maybe this would bring the closure she needed, but allowed her to stay close to Eddie at the same time. Letting out a determined sigh, she looked up.

"Okay, I'll do it."

Chad broke into a huge grin and high fived Maria. "Fantastic!" he announced, standing up. "Okay, there's a lot to do and a little time to get it done. Maria, come with me, we need to discuss a few more things. Gabs, all you have to do is pack, okay?" She nodded slowly. "Okay then!"

Chad left the room excitedly, Maria on his heels, once again leaving Gabriella alone with Troy. What was he thinking about this? He had voiced his opinion on her need for closure, but nothing else. Chances were, he was just going along with it because he felt he owed Eddie. Gabriella glanced at him nervously. He stood slowly, and cracked his knuckles.

"I'll be going," he said, nodding at her. "I'm going to walk. It's a nice night."

She shook her head, feeling slightly bad for the words she had thrown at him earlier. "Let me call you a cab."

"No, it's fine, really." They were standing in the foyer now and he opened the screen door carefully before stepping out. Half way down the porch, he paused.

"I'll stay out of your way," he said quietly, his back to her. "You need to heal and despite the hate between us, I can respect that. I won't bother you and you can spend your time with the people who you feel truly loved and knew Edward."

"Troy," she began, but he cut her off.

"No, Gabriella," he said, hopping off the top step. He chuckled humorously, turning to face her. "You and I...we've never seen eye to eye and you know that, you've admitted as much. You don't need to pretend and act all sorry for something that's fact, especially since you're not really sorry for it."

She bristled. "That's not true, I–"

"Gabriella," Troy said, exasperated. "I'd enter a room and you'd turn and walk out the other way. You never signed the Christmas cards that Ed would send, even though a picture of you was on the front. There was always at least two people between us at dinners or gatherings and you'd hug and kiss everyone in greeting, yet skip me." His eyes glanced up to meet hers then and she inwardly shuddered, taken aback by the emotions pooling in them.

"I'm not foolish, I'm not blind and I'm not stupid. I've long ago accepted the relationship we have and I'm fine with it. You need to learn to heal and move on and if the only way you can do that is by staying with us, then so be it. You can come, chill with Chad and Jase and pretend I'm not there. After the next couple of weeks, you'll leave and I'll be out of your life for good. Just like you wanted."

With that, he nodded at her briskly and turned to walk away. Gabriella watched his retreating back, her stomach clenching painfully as her cheeks flushed in shame.

---

Hi, hi, hi! I know, I know, I know. I've been all over the place, why the hell haven't I been updating or posting anything? I've been busy and having a lot of stupid personal issues, all of which have slowly been resolved. School's almost out and I now have time to dedicate to writing, which is lovely. :)

This little project of mine is based on the movie 'Catch and Release'. Like with TDBU, it will have similarities to the original, but ultimately will have it's own voice. I'm very, very excited about this one and am currently finishing up the chapter plans. SO, THIS WILL BE FUN.

There's probably too many errors in this chapter; don't worry, I'll go back to correct them. I'm just anxious to get this one out there! You may have noticed; 'Our Sweet Decline' is gone. :( I'm just not in the mind set to write it just now, but it may come back in the future.

Fun fact: head over to my Livejournal and you'll find a track download for the song I listened to while writing this chapter. I'll be doing this for every chapter, compiling the story's mix as I go along.

Thanks for reading!!