A/N: I think this doesn't make sense but…I'm feeling better now that I have it out of my chest :D

I know I have two stories going on, but I wanted to test my one-shot abilities; I think they suck, by the way, but hey, the judges here are you. If you like it, please, press that cute purple button and let me know, if not, do it anyway: constructive criticism is always welcomed and it makes me write better, soooooo…go ahead ;)

Thanks, like always, for read what I write; you rock! :hug:

Enjoy! :)

SEVEN WORDS

'I can't be your friend anymore'

If someone would have told Gabriella Montez that her best friend – and secret love - Troy Bolton would be the first boy breaking her heart in the harshest possible way she would have laughed in his or her face.

But he did.

And it hurts.

The seven horrible words that he spoken slowly and deliberately were echoing inside her mind over and over again; that didn't help her broken heart but she couldn't help it. To know that Troy, the guy for who she felt the deepest feeling known to men – real love – and the one for who she would have accepted a bullet, had been the guy that had ignored her for, once she faced him about it, tell her he couldn't be her friend anymore, was the most heartbreaking experience she'd lived in her 25 years of life.

He promised her that he would be always by her side; he promised her eternal friendship and eternal comfort, but his words had lost their value with what he'd done. She'd never thought Troy was the kind of person that talked one thing only to do the opposite; on the contrary, he was a courageous man that always went with the truth in front of him, not only speaking his mind but acting in consequence with which his thoughts were.

And that was the reason because of she couldn't understand anything.

Since she'd arrived at her apartment three hours ago, the only thing she'd done had been to sit in the sofa, not even turning on the lights, with her knees hugged to her chest and let her eyes cry all the rage, all the frustration, all the hurt…every emotion she was feeling.

Her head was hurting so bad because of the huge amount of tears that her eyes had shed, but she didn't feel strong enough to go to the kitchen and take some painkillers; she had barely able to run away from him, arrive at her sanctuary and at the sofa because her knees were giving her away. Even when she was running the distance from the park where they'd met her knees had been pure jelly, making her fall to the ground uncountable times; but which were her options when he'd let the bomb go?

Where they met the first day of school, more than 20 years ago, they clicked instantly; he'd been her first friend and, during her life, the only real friend she'd had. Of course she had more friends, the gang was large, but their relationship was different; Troy had the ability to read whatever emotion she was feeling only looking into her eyes, and the same with her. The friendship they had, the bond they shared was beyond human knowledge…but still he'd managed to hurt her this bad.

Ten years ago, being 15, Troy broke her tender heart for the very first time, though totally unconsciously at that time; this time, however, he'd broken her heart on purpose, because to end a strong friendship like theirs was without a reason or without a long talk about the problem was just and plainly cruel.

When he went to her house all excited because Sharon Bright accepted to be his girlfriend, Gabriella's word scattered around her; she didn't understand at that moment why her heart was hurting so much or why her lungs weren't able to gain the air they needed or why her body became numb irremediably or simply why she felt alone for the very first time…but in the end she understood. After a lot of crying, after avoiding Troy for over a month, after not even looking at him – the trips to the school in the Bolton's car were awkward to say the least – and also after missing him like crazy, Gabriella realized that she was hurting because she was in love with him.

Thinking about it, probably she fell in love with him long time ago but she never realized about it; for her, Troy had been, always, her best friend, almost her brother…but at some point that changed. If before the dramatic episode she only saw Troy whenever she looked at him, after his confession she began to see a guy.

It was ironic how she'd been hearing all her life how lucky she was because her best friend was the hottest guy…but still she only realized about it when she thought she had lost him. She'd never seen a guy in Troy; of course Gabriella knew Troy was a guy, but she had never looked past that – she was her best friend, period.

But "thanks to Sharon", Gabriella realized that, in fact, Troy was not only hot but also handsome, good guy, caring, lovely, sweet…and, much to her dismay, taken.

Sharon and Troy's relationship only lasted one month, but that month was the worst time for Gabriella. She had to see them making out in the corridors of school, she had to hear how excited he explained to their friends the last date he'd had with Sharon, she had to hear how one of three words that left Troy's mouth was "Sharon" for sure.

And still that wasn't the worst; the worst part was the fact that Gabriella and Troy weren't talking at all.

She began to ignore him – he didn't look for her.

He was too absorbed in his new relationship that he forgot everything about Gabriella; maybe she was the one to blame because she was the one ignoring him, but still he, as her best friend, shouldn't have been more interested in what was wrong? Shouldn't have he asked her what the fuck her problem was?

Yes he should have.

No he didn't.

Things changed when he realized that he couldn't talk with Sharon, or with anyone for that matter, in the same deep way he talked with Gabriella; there were no secrets with Gabriella, because she knew him better than himself. With Gabriella he could talk about whatever he wanted or needed to talk about because she always listened to him; it wasn't an effort for her though, she was more than pleased to be the shoulder where he could cry on, the owner of the arms that could envelope him making him feel better in no time, the one that always knew what to say for him to feel okay again.

And even though she always thought the feeling was reciprocated, she realized then that nothing was what it seemed.

She could remember with a perfect clarity the night he arrived at her doorstep after the horrible month where they hadn't had any contact at all.

The thunderstorm was getting more violent with each minute and Gabriella didn't know where to hide; she had been always afraid of thunderstorms – the worst were the ones at night - and, since she was little, Troy had been the one giving her the comfort she needed to "survive" them, either because he would call her and they would talk until she fell asleep or because she was allowed to sleepover at his house or he as hers.

The point was to feel him protecting her.

And what was worse that night, apart from the fact that her personal lifesaver and her weren't acknowledging each other, was that her parents were away for the weekend; her grandmother had fallen and so her parents had taken the car just after work on Friday to drive the three hours that separated them from the old lady and so be able to be with her for the weekend, leaving Gabriella alone by herself.

Friday's night had been covered because of Sharpay and Taylor's presences; they had had an only-girls sleepover where they had gossiped about her classmates, where they had done each other their nails, where they had experimented with make up for the very first time and also where they had confessed, for the first time, their crushes.

But neither Taylor nor Sharpay had been able to come to her house for Saturday's night; Taylor had some family get-together and Sharpay had gone away for the weekend.

So she was alone.

Even though she had her phone grabbed tightly with her hand, until the point her knuckles were white, ready to call him, that was the last thing she wanted to do; not only because she knew she had to be strong and brave but because her pride was at stake. After the month they had been separated, where he hadn't behaved like a real friend should have done, Gabriella didn't want to call him asking for help, for comfort, because it would have been fake from her part to do so; she'd been ignoring him and now she couldn't back out as if nothing, only because she needed the comfort only Troy could give her.

That would have been selfish and Gabriella was all but selfish.

Ironically, she thought, Troy was living in the same city, was hearing and seeing the same thunderstorm she was hearing and seeing, knew about her major fear of thunderstorms…and still hadn't called her, another proof that the one selfish of them was him.

A sudden and loud knock at the door startled Gabriella, who screamed afraid and pulled the blanket over her face, trying to muffle the sounds that were coming from outside.

"Gabriella!"

"Troy," Gabriella whispered recognizing the voice feeling how the first tears were beginning to run under her cheeks.

Another loud clap of thunder sounded and Gabriella screamed again.

"Gabriella, open up, damn it!"

Standing up from the sofa, Gabriella rushed to the door and opened it wildly, not missing a beat, only to be pulled into a strong (and wet) chest tightly for, at the minimal contact, begin to sob uncontrollably. "Are you okay?" His voice sounded desperate and Gabriella nodded into his chest, inhaling the musky scent of Troy, accentuated by the rain.

Troy entered in the house, closed the door and locked it still with Gabriella's shivering body in his arms; moving his hand up and down her arm, trying to create a friction that produced some heat for her, Troy pulled her to the sofa, where he covered her body with the blanket. "Are you cold?"

"No," Gabriella whispered pressing herself more into him.

"Are you afraid?" Troy asked softly knowing Gabriella was not only afraid but terrified. Gabriella shook her head wordlessly, but another clap of thunder sounded and she screamed again. "Come here," Troy urged softly patting his lap.

Gabriella didn't need to be told twice; crawling until she sat in her lap, Gabriella buried her head in the crock of his neck, feeling relief and comfort ran through her, easing her sore muscles.

"I'm sorry," he whispered wrapping his arms around he when he noticed her tears touching his already wet skin.

"I'm sorry too," Gabriella's muffled voice came from his neck.

"Why did you begin ignoring me?" Troy asked after some minutes in silence; he'd been drawing big circles along her back, kissing her temple randomly until her body stopped the shivering. Gabriella pulled away her head from his neck, though avoided to look at him; Troy lifted her chin with his fingers and locked his eyes with hers, knowing that there was the place where the truth lived. "Please, Gabi…"

"Why didn't you come for me?" Gabriella asked as well, still speaking into his eyes, with a tight voice.

Troy remained silent thinking about what she'd asked him; of course she was right, he should have pursued her until she gave him an answer, but what could he do? He was so ecstatic because of his new relationship that he never thought he was pushing Gabriella away; however, he realized about his mistake – he'd taken Gabriella for granted, believing that she would be there for him always, not really caring in which situation she was in.

However, he knew both of them were to blame; he was ready to claim himself as guilty for her to forgive him, but he knew Gabriella also acted badly ignoring him blatantly without a motive. "I apologize Gabi, I've been selfish and egocentric, but I think I deserve some kind of explanation from you too…"

Gabriella knew she couldn't tell him the truth; she couldn't confess how heartbroken she'd been because of his new relationship because she was madly in love with him.

That only would have made things more awkward.

"I don't know, Troy," Gabriella murmured lowering her eyes again. "I guess it was a shock…"

"I should have asked you what was happening," Troy said in a throaty voice crushing her body into his again. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be," Gabriella sighed. "I shouldn't have done that…"

Silence imposed its presence again, until Troy cleared his throat. "You know…I've missed you…so much…"

Gabriella snapped her eyes to his. "What?"

"To not have my best friend with me, I mean," Troy said hesitantly. "I…I…wanted to talk to you and…I don't know…no one understands me the same way you do…and…what I have with you won't go away, ever…you're like…my sister, you know?"

"Your sister," Gabriella swallowed loudly, feeling how her throat was closing.

"Yeah well," Troy said playing with the lowest part of her hair. "We're best friends, right?"

"Best friends," Gabriella gave him a sad smile. "Yeah…"

"Are we okay?" Troy asked

"Yeah," Gabriella sighed hugging him again, sliming softly when his arms wrapped around her, tighter than ever.

Maybe she was in love with him and he didn't love her, but at least they were best friends.

And that had been how Gabriella had accepted that her love wouldn't be, ever, returned in the same way she felt it; but, in the end, she had two options: accept what Troy wanted to give her – friendship – and try to enjoy it, or nothing.

And she chose the friendship.

All these years, both Troy and Gabriella had had brief relationships; no one had lasted more than three or four months, but they had been there.

However, they learned something from the month of no talking – not a boyfriend or a girlfriend could put himself or herself in the middle of them. Their friendship was way more important; if someone dated one of them had to accept, from the minute 0, that the other was in the pack. It was not that the couples weren't alone but the fact that all the girls and boys that dated them had to accept who the best friend was; neither Troy nor Gabriella wanted to be away from each other again, and so they always tried that their partners got along with the best friend.

Sometimes the person didn't accept this conditions and both Troy and Gabriella had stopped the relationship, even before it started. It was a law no written, and more than one probably would think they were crazy, but it was their law; they weren't ready to separate from one another, and so both thought that no boy, no girl was worthy enough if he or she meant to break their friendship.

Gabriella never stopped her crush on Troy; on the contrary, not only because with the years he became a very handsome and hot man, but because to see him so dedicated in their friendship, to see him so caring with the strong friendship they had was a sight that brought a feeling of pure peace to Gabriella's heart.

She never said anything, of course; she tried to be with other boys, meet other boys, but it was useless. Not one of them could compare with Troy; it was not as if she was looking for another Troy but the fact that none of them were as caring as he was, as handsome as he was, as hot as he was, as sweet as he was, as tender as he was…and the list had no end.

So Gabriella looked for someone who could make her heart feel complete the same way Troy could make it feel dating a lot of boys, briefly, of course, because it was unfair for them to be in a relationship giving everything they had only to not receive half of it from her; she tried, she wanted to give them her everything over and over again, trying to make feel the other loved, though in the end it was impossible.

Her heart had already an owner – Troy Bolton – and that wouldn't change anytime soon.

Troy, on the other hand, dated an uncountable number of girls; all of them were the opposite Gabriella was: blonde, not very intelligent, tall, blue eyes, short and straight hair, voluptuous body and pale skin; that helped her to realize she wasn't his type at all because she was a brunette, was a very intelligent girl, was short, big brown eyes, dark and curly brown locks, proportioned body and olive skin.

Not one of them lasted too much; Troy never entered in details about why he was breaking up with them, and Gabriella didn't force the topic seeing him so stressed about it. Because, even though the relationships always were short, the truth was that when Troy would announce her the break up, his face was a mask of pain – what brought Gabriella to wonder why was he breaking up with them if he felt so bad about it?

But it was a question without answer; not once Troy explained to her the reality behind his actions, and she, in the end, learnt to respect that, knowing that when Troy was ready, he would share with her the secret truth.

However, the moment never came.

And now it wouldn't come, ever, because he'd ended their friendship.

When those words had abandoned his mouth, Gabriella hadn't want to hear anything more; she had run as fast as her legs, and the wet pavement, had let her until she'd arrived to the sanctuary her apartment was. She'd heard him shouting her name in the distance but which was the point? The harm was already done, her heart was already broken.

Pulling the blanket tightly around her, Gabriella remembered his face when he'd spoken those seven words that had crashed her world; he didn't seem happy saying them, he seemed to be suffering a lot, but then…why had he spoken them?

Nothing made sense, and Gabriella was fed up trying to keep up with Troy.

Ten years of pure frustration, result of ten years of loving him in silence, had finally won; she didn't have the strength to fight and she didn't want to do so. Maybe it was time for her to move on; to look for someone who loved her, for someone who cared for her the same way she cared for him, for someone who believed she was his world the same way he was hers.

A clap of thunder broke her train of thoughts.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck…" Gabriella muttered covering her face with the blanket.

Yeah, her terror of thunderstorms was still there, more powerful than ever after the ugly thunderstorm that trapped her and her friends, Taylor and Sharpay, in the cottage the Evans' had in the mountains. Their phones had gone out of signal due to the storm, the same way the phone of the house had done, and the cottage was totally isolated.

They had gone there searching some peace after their last exams; they needed peace, a quiet environment…they even had refused for the boys to go with them. They simply wanted to be alone; a friendship excursion trying to get ready for the new life – the life of adults – that they were about to start. Being in their last year of college, they realized that life would separate them somehow, and they had wanted to have something to keep in their memories forever.

However, when they had seen themselves trapped in the middle of nowhere, with no light, no phones, no heat, and they'd tried to return to the car and drove to the city, only had took them one minute to realize that their plans were suicidal: you couldn't see anything in front of you, the sky was completely dark, and though they were good drivers, to driver in the middle of a storm with a wet and slippery pavement wasn't a good idea.

Only then they'd realized that maybe they should have accepted the boys' offer.

But it was late; they were, probably, at one of their apartments', playing videogames or doing whatever the fuck they were doing, while the girls were in danger.

Gabriella remembered clearly how a bang on the door had startled them; they were curled together on the sofa, praying for the storm to stop, and all of a sudden the bang has echoed inside the house.

To say they had been scared would be an understatement.

However, a faint voice coming from outside brought peace inside one of the girl's heart; the déjà vu Gabriella felt when Troy's voice calling for her arrived at her ears had been immense, but this time they were friends, they were talking…and so she stood up from the sofa, opening the door and launching at him, who wrapped his strong arms around her.

The boys had gone to look for them and the thunderstorm wasn't scary anymore.

----------

'Knock, knock'

Okay, what the fuck?

Her heart quickly became invaded with the hope of being Troy the one behind the door, but her mind told her it was impossible; why should he? He'd ended their friendship and he had no reason to be there.

'Knock, knock'

Realizing that she probably had to go and open the door to whoever it was, Gabriella took a deep breath stood up from the sofa, still not turning on the lights; her eyes were already adjusted to the darkness, letting her see her way to the door, and she didn't see the point.

"Coming," she said wrapping the blanket around her.

Opening the door, she had no time to understand anything because all of a sudden a pair of lips was covering hers, passionately, deeply, and two strong arms wrapped around her petite waist, tightly, crushing her into a wet, but also warm, chest.

The spark that floated through her body when the stranger's lips touched hers, when the stranger's tongue invaded her mouth and intertwined with hers, when the stranger's arms trapped her was the best feeling she'd ever felt.

And she returned the kiss as passionately as she could.

Because the stranger wasn't a stranger anymore.

Only one person was able to make her feel this good – Troy Bolton.

When the need of air became too much, they pulled away, but Troy didn't let her go; moving his hands from her back to her tights, Troy lifted her and Gabriella only had to wrap her legs around his waist so their torsos were still in completely touch, as well as their foreheads, with their eyes locked in a lustful way.

He moved past the living room and into the bedroom where he lowered her body until it touched the mattress, hovering her body with hers afterwards, needing to feel her, needing to keep as much as contact as they could; it was only a matter of seconds until their lips looked for each other's, with their tongues moving sensually together, with their arms roaming along each other's body discovering every soft spot.

No words were spoken, but it wasn't necessary.

Their eyes did the talk; their hearts connected in the deepest possible level and their souls and bodies became one.

It wasn't about words, it was about feelings, emotions…about love.

----------

Lying curled into each other, with their limbs tangled together, with their heartbeats perfectly in sync, with each inch of their skins touching each other's, with their even breath, Gabriella and Troy were recovering from their orgasms.

Her head was leaning on his chest; her arm was over his stomach, drawing random circles in his skin, giggling softly when he would contract his muscles or shiver because of the tingling sensation she made him feel. His arm was wrapped tightly around her shoulders, pushing her body as closer to his as possible.

"Why?"

He didn't need anything more to know what she was asking in reality.

"You didn't let me finish at the park," Troy shrugged his shoulders.

Gabriella pulled her head away from his chest so she was able to look at him. "What?"

Troy chuckled freely and Gabriella wriggled to get away from him, though he tightened his hold on her. "Tell me why you've spoken those seven words, Troy?" She asked seriously.

"Seven words?" Troy asked semi sleepy.

"You've told me you couldn't be my friend anymore," Gabriella sighed sadly looking at her hand instead of at his face. "Seven words."

"Oh," Troy took a deep breath and lifted her chin with his fingers. "The original sentence was fourteen words, then…

Gabriella looked at him confusedly. "What do you mean?"

Pulling her body up so she was lying right on him, Troy grabbed her face and locked his eyes with hers; passion, love and lust emanated from each pair of eyes, and Troy couldn't help but lean up, pushing her head down, and kiss her luscious lips again.

"What I wanted to say at the park," Troy whispered passionately burning her soul with his eyes, "was that I couldn't be your friend anymore because I'm in love with you." He smiled to her softly. "Fourteen words."

"You what?" Gabriella said softly feeling how tears were watering her eyes.

"I love you, Gabriella," Troy kissed her again. "I've been ten years being your friend and seeing how you lived your life freely, but I can't do that anymore; I've been with girls as different as you as possible because that way it didn't hurt too much, but I can't continue like that. I love you and I need to be with you…"

Giving him a watery smile, Gabriella kissed him with all her might. "We're even because I love you too…"