I'm holding on for you

Epilogue

Well, you guys may cry now. I certainly am… and I haven't even started writing yet xD

Please Read, Enjoy and Review!

Annie smiled happily as she opened the front door of her new restaurant, Annie's Place, early that morning; her 1 year old daughter, Alexandra, on her hip and her other two whinny kids by her side.

Her husband, Lucas, was at the store getting the decorations for the New Year's Eve party that would take place at the restaurant that night. Even though he was dying to get some rest, he was always happy to help his wife when she needed it; after all, after spending so many hours at the hospital, he really didn't have the time to help her at all.

Even though the party wouldn't start until 9:00 PM, she still had costumers to serve, so as soon as her kitchen staff got there, she got herself to work.

Annie had opened her restaurant a couple of weeks after Troy left for college; she wanted to surprise him when he came back home for Christmas. She had hired both Isabelle and Nicole as waitresses since both of them had a little trouble finding permanent jobs –the two friends usually got fired after a week. Annie couldn't really understand why though; they were hard working, clean, disciplined… and yes, a little clumsy and childish, but it was a little common for a pair of 24 year olds who hadn't finished college and thought that Donald Duck and Daisy were a cute couple.

Troy had been so happy for his cook when she made him drive her to the restaurant. At first he was a little confused as to why they had parked in front of the small place, but as soon as he saw the name of the restaurant, written in fancy cursive letter on the red-wine-colored awning, his eyes had gone wide with both surprise and happiness, and he had hugged Annie so tight that it had caught her off guard; after all, it was an action that was really out of character of him. She was happy that she wasn't hormone-crazed anymore or she would have surely cried with that hug.

He had been a little off that week since Gabriella had stayed behind to spend Christmas with Tom and her father –who had been released one month after Troy and Gabriella had gotten back together. Troy was happy that Greg Montez was finally out of the Psychiatric Hospital and back to his normal life, and that he would finally get to spend a normal Christmas with his children after a year and a half; but, as selfish as it sounded, that didn't make him miss Gabriella any less. After being apart for 10 months, all he wanted to do was to make up for all the time lost.

Gabriella wasn't in a much different position than , she was ecstatic that she would spend Christmas with her father, but she also wanted to spend it with Troy; so instead of just whining about it, she decided to make a deal with her boyfriend. They would each spend Christmas with their own families, seeing that her father had barely gotten out of the hospital and wanted a little normality, and they would spend New Year's together in Albuquerque –which wasn't that much of an important holiday. Gregory was fine with it; not completely, but he trusted his daughter and he knew that she was mature enough to make her own decisions. Tom was a little more hesitant about it, but seeing that his father wasn't going to oppose to the idea and that Gabriella had actually spent a couple of nights at Troy's and Chad's apartment, he had no other option but to yield. After all, he kind of trusted Troy and knew that he would take care of his little sister.

After the long trip from L.A to Albuquerque, Troy and Gabriella decided to take a nap, Troy being the one to need it the most since he took a three day trip just to pick his girlfriend up. They got to Albuquerque around 4:00PM, and after eating a small lunch, which consisted of PB&J sandwiches and orange juice, they got up to Troy's room in the attic to take their well deserved nap.

Gabriella fell in love with Troy's ingenious room, mostly because it was…well, an attic, and also because it was cozier than his old room at his old house. What she loved the most was the picture of them sitting on his bedside table. She remembered taking it with his iPhone one Friday after school in Troy's room after Gabriella finished doing her homework and they didn't know what to do; he had that usual grumpy and bitter face –clearly annoyed with Gabriella's insistence of taking a picture– while she was smiling childishly at the camera. Months later, Troy had grown to love that picture, basically because it described perfectly how they operated. He had wanted to punch himself when he forgot to pack it for L.A. Luckily he still had it in his phone –not that he would ever erase it –so all he had to do was print it out again.

To say that Gabriella was shocked when Troy told her that Jack kicked him out would be an understatement. Not in a million years Gabriella would have imagined that Jack would get the guts to kick his son out of his house. Sure, the brunette was pissed, she wanted nothing but to go back in time so she could be there and… inflict some kind of damage to the man; but at the same time… she was glad because Troy seemed happier now that he had his home with Annie and her family –his face would oddly light up when he would complain about her noisy kids running around the house while he would try to study or do his homework. He despised it, but at the same time it made him feel like he had a normal family, with annoying little siblings who he couldn't stand but somehow managed to grow on him. Again, not that he would ever admit it out loud.

And yes, Gabriella was also utterly shocked when Chad testified that Troy had actually studied and done his homework. She was… bewildered at how much Troy had changed ever since the morning they met. He was still the same ole bitter, grumpy guy that got annoyed by everyone and everything but… he was… warmer as a person; he could even be childish in certain situations. He was way more open, he spoke up his mind when he felt he needed to and he wasn't that afraid to admit his feelings to Gabriella anymore. It was amazing how he had managed to finally break free from his walls.

It was around 8:00PM when Troy and Gabriella finally woke up from their nap. They were supposed to be at Annie's by that time, so they were running a little late and Annie was surely going to be pissed at them –well, pissed at Troy since he was the one who promised that they'd be there to help her finish the last details for the party.

Troy still didn't understand why she wanted to have such a big New Year's Eve party, Annie had never been one to make a big deal about anything before; she even invited their neighbors and, well, she wasn't exactly very fond of them, and honestly, neither was Troy. What he despised the most about them was the couple of 14 year olds twin-girls that they had; they were way too giggly, whinny, conceited and they had this horrible high-pitched nasal voice that would make Troy cringe every time they said 'hi' to him. Apparently they also had some sort of childish crush on the 19 year old, so he would pretty much see them every time he exited the house to get to school or basketball practice; he had definitely not missed them on his time away at UCLA.

All he could muster out of Annie's reason for inviting the whole neighborhood was that perhaps she was doing it to advertise her restaurant, not that she didn't have any customers; she just didn't have enough. But well, she was barely starting; she needed to be patient and wait for the word to spread around.

"I'm having a weird feeling of Déjà Vu, aren't you?" Gabriella asked as she placed a flower vase with daisies on top of the table as Troy placed the silverware on top of the napkins, referring to the time where they planned the Spring Ball of their Junior year of high school.

Troy looked up at her with a tired and annoyed look on his face. Gabriella smiled at him. "How the hell are you not tired?" he questioned grumpily.

"Well, I wasn't the one who drove three days in a row," she shrugged and then giggled at Troy's narrowing eyes.

"Funny," he grumbled. "You haven't thanked me, by the way."

"Hey, you offered, Cinnamon Roll," Gabriella raised her hands up in defense. "I didn't ask you to do it. I suggested an airplane."

"Yeah and who was going to pay for the plane tickets?" he asked as he rolled his eyes, placing a fork down on top of a white napkin.

"You, of course," she smiled sweetly at him and Troy gave her a look.

"Sure," he nodded sarcastically. "Because I have the money," he retorted and then let out a small yawn.

The brunette continued to smile at him as she walked around the table. She placed a hand on his arm and slid it up underneath his sleeve, caressing his shoulder. Troy turned to look at her; he loved when she did that.

"Yeah, sometimes I forget that you're not rich anymore," she said jokingly and then giggled at Troy's narrowing eyes. "Oh, but I believe you have that big bank account with about a million dollars in there," she nodded with a smirk.

"First of all, I was never rich, Cupcake," he countered. "And second of all, that money in my bank account is for emergencies only and I don't have a million dollars in it."

"Sure you don't," she nodded sarcastically and Troy rolled his eyes, placing a hand on her hip and pulling her softly to his side.

"Stop teasing me," he asked monotonously, rubbing her hip softly with his thumb as he finished accommodating the last piece of silverware.

"Stop being so bitter," she replied with a shrug and then smiled at him when he turned to look at her with a meaningful look. "Psht! Don't give me that 'I'm-such-a-badass-you-better-do-what-I-say-uh-I'm -such-a-grump' look; when have I ever done something you've said?" she arched an eyebrow with a small chuckle.

"Funny," he mumbled with a soft smile and then leaned down to give her a loving peck on the lips. Gabriella smiled up at him. "Do you want me to make a list?" he arched an eyebrow and then chuckled at Gabriella's sudden snort.

"You wished," she smirked, running her fingers through his hair.

"Aw, how cute," Annie's teasing voice made the couple pull apart and turn to look at her. "Are you guys done with the tables?" the cook asked, accommodating Alexandra on her hip. Troy and Gabriella nodded. "Good, then everything's done. We just have to wait for everyone to get here," she smiled. "Thanks for helping out, guys."

"Always glad to help, Annie," Gabriella replied with a soft smile.

"Yeah, I'm going to the bathroom," Troy said monotonously and let out a small yawn. He leaned down and pressed a kiss on Gabriella's temple before walking off. Gabriella shook her head after him and crossed her arms, turning to look back at Annie.

"I know he liked helping too," Gabriella spoke up for her boyfriend.

Annie chuckled. "We both know that's not true."

After Troy finished doing his business, he washed his hands and splashed some water on his face, trying to get rid of some of his sleep. He dried his face with a paper towel and looked up at the boy in the mirror.

He didn't look that boring or pathetic as he used to when he was 17. He looked…different –happier. He never would have thought that that would be possible, but then again he never thought that he would ever meet someone like Gabriella.

Up until that day he still couldn't comprehend how or why she had come into his life, why she made him smile, dance, laugh, cry…and trust. He was so convinced that his future only consisted of…loneliness and…suddenly, she was there, like a lost miracle that had taken the wrong way to its original purpose.

He couldn't help but feel glad about that; that's how selfish he had become when it came to her.

Troy sighed and stepped out of the bathroom and made his way back to the tables. Gabriella, who was already sitting at one of the tables, smiled up at him as he walked over to join her. She patted the seat next to her and Troy sat down, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Everything went well?" the brunette asked with a teasing smile. "You took too long in there; I thought you might've gotten stuck in the toilet."

Troy rolled his eyes but chuckled. "I was only in there for like two minutes, Cupcake."

"No, you were in there for like five, Cinnamon Roll," she grinned. "I thought you were pooping."

Troy chuckled and shook his head, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Silly," he mumbled against her skin.

"Stupid," she replied with a smile and looked up.

Gabriella felt her cheeks go slightly red as their eyes locked and Troy grinned down at her, the beating of his heart picking up its pace slightly. He leaned down and pressed a sweet kiss to her lips.

Suddenly a flash flew off and a familiar fake camera sound was heard. Both Troy and Gabriella knew whose phone was that and exactly who had taken the picture. They pulled away and turned to look at Annie, Nicole and Isabelle, who were standing behind the bar. The two waitresses quickly ducked down to hide and Annie hid her cell phone behind her back.

"Oops?" she smiled innocently at the teens and Troy glared at her.

"You have got to stop doing that!" he growled as Gabriella looked away, blushing.

THE END.

Well, this is it, you guys.

Sorry that I took too long. (College, homework, tests and my laptop got screwed up.)

Believe me that I'm crying right now. How can I not? After spending two years writing this story, it's going to be weird not writing it anymore, I'm gonna miss it.

I struggled with it, it made me laugh, cry, get angry cuz I didn't know how to continue…

I loved it.

I believe it is a good time to finish this story; I'm closing a cycle as I start a new one now with college.

I grew with this story. I started it when my characters and I were 17 and finished it when we were 19 (totally not planned.)

It may have its flaws, but this is…I dunno, a special story for me.

I hope you have enjoyed the ride along with me. I hope you have also laughed, cried, smiled, cursed and wanted to kill me at some point. I hope that with this story you have learned that it's okay to let people in, especially the people you least expect; that even though everything seems to be going wrong, there will be always someone there to make it a little bit better; that life has a lot of ups and downs and when things go from bad to worse that we shouldn't just break down into tears, that it's okay to keep the faith and keep moving forward. If you haven't gotten your happy ending is because it's not the end yet.

I want to dedicate this story to all of you, of course, because you guys are the reason why I want to keep writing; to my parents of course, my brother who's all like "whoa! Write a book, bitch, make us rich!", my best friend Juan, who always listens to me whine about how I can't get rid of my writer's block, to my friend Beca, who makes me laugh like no other and was also a big help with my writer's block, to my fave reader xmindset, to Cory Monteith R.I.P , and of course, to the person who was the original Troy Bolton –Zac (who I'll always support no matter what, my baby.)

What will I do from now on? Concentrate on my studies and my novel. I'm gonna write a few one-shots (maybe IHOFY one-shots?) and perhaps five-shots, depending on my time (I've still got many ideas.) I'm gonna take a small break of course (from writing), and a break from long stories. But don't worry, you'll hear from me ;)

I'D LOVE IT IF YOU could o write a review telling me what you loved, liked, disliked about the story, it doesn't matter if you haven't written one at all before, I just want to know what you guys really thought about it. You think you could do that for me?

Well…

That's about it.

Sorry for Grammar and Spelling mistakes.

Thank you guys.

You can follow me on twitter to know what I'm up to: btzzmary (I follow back, just remind me to.)

I LOVE YOU.

Lots of love,

Mary.