theplaymaker | Troy not alone in New York

He saw where they were headed and chose not to speak until they were settled on their bench. He pulled his knees up to his chest, sitting sideways to face her and balance the plate of food in his lap as he pondered that.

"I don't know about that. I think I've made more than enough adjustments to earn me a lifetime of questions." The answer was a little more bitter than he would have liked, but he didn't acknowledge it as bitter. It was fact. He'd made choices, Coach and Chad initially hadn't liked those choices. Chad had gotten over them. Coach…not so much. "I don't really think the adjustments I want to make are gonna fly."

He just stared at her for a moment, expression blank as his mind wrapped around that concept. "But you think he's fine for Chad?" Chad and Kelsi were two totally different people and it was obvious that he was a little more defensive of him than her. He loved them both dearly, of course, but Chad was his brother and Ryan had still fucked up. A lot. "I'm not even sure how it happened…one day Chad was dating Taylor and everything seemed normal and the next I get an email that Ryan had dumped him. Okay there were a few months in between but it was still the fact that he apparently started having an interest in guys, got a boyfriend, and got dumped by that boyfriend before I even found out." He stabbed at another bite of waffle, mostly letting the frozen yogurt melt to make a syrupy, sugary mess. "He also lied to me which was weird. I mean I get why now but when I was talking to him a couple of weeks before that he straight-up lied to me about Ryan so…" He shrugged.

"…if you don't want Ryan as a boyfriend, what would you want?" Maybe Kelsi's answer would help him figure out Gabriella's whole thing.

"They just have to fly with you, Troy. Everyone else is going to have to learn how to deal." Kelsi laughed and shook her head. "Ryan is different when he's with Chad. That's why Chad freaked out so much when Ryan freaked out on him before, because he doesn't usually do that around him, with him, not like that. I don't know what happens with Ryan when they're together, but they have a way of talking to each other that works. And Ryan finally figured out that that's not a terrifying thing, so I think they can make it work." She nodded. "I know. You know he told Ryan he lied to you, because he didn't feel good about it. But you know how long that lasted. He'd have told you soon, anyway. He didn't want to lie to you, he just didn't want things between you to change."

She was silent at his next question, focusing on eating her food as she tried to think of how to answer it. Ah, well. "I want Jason. I don't know why."

"I'm pretty sure my dad's not going to fly with what I want to do, Kelsi." He looked amused, but the answer was point-blank and serious. That's a lot of what everything came down to. "And I guess Gabriella didn't want to learn to deal either."

Hastily shoving some yogurt in his mouth he just raised an eyebrow. Ryan was…Ryan. Ryan was like Sharpay and the twins as a whole were a little too crazy for Troy to handle but…then again. While Chad had grown closer to Ryan, Troy and Sharpay had formed a really weird alliance that allowed him to sort of get a grasp on what was going through the blonde's head. It still didn't make a ton of sense.

"I hope so. For whatever reason Chad's really happy with him. Well, as happy as they can be when they're several states apart…I'm not dumb. I can see it on his face when he's emailing him." A beat. "He told me that Ryan was his Gabriella. That's pretty serious even if I don't get how that's possible when they're so different. Maybe they're not that different, I don't know. I just don't get why he lied to me when he knew I wasn't going to care that much. I mean whatever, he's gay. Fine. But I'm just…what if I could have done something before they broke up? They made out on my bed, Kelsi, I wasn't that surprised to hear it a few weeks later. I don't want things to change but everything changed anyway when I wasn't looking and now I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

And now that he was talking, it was clear there was no sign of Troy stopping just yet.

"Everybody's changed around me and suddenly it's like I don't fit into their lives anymore. Chad has Ryan and New York and he gave up playing for the Red Hawks and he's telling me about classes and social work and this whole new life that doesn't even fit with what I thought but it makes sense, and it scares me that it makes sense. And then Taylor's being amazing at Yale and kicking all sorts of political science butt but she's dating this guy who's apparently like fifty million times smarter than Chad and she talks to Gabi in this whole other language I can't even understand about politics and world issues and feminism and if I have to have a dictionary next to me next time I write her an email I'm going to scream.

Sharpay changed, too. I think we're actually friends now? I think she finally lost interest in me because we're talking and we compare notes and she's not that bad, she's just lost and she's actually kind of unhappy? She won't say it, but she's not as bitchy as usual which has to mean she's not too satisfied. Zeke's the same but even he's growing and changing and he's getting a lot more confident and he knows exactly where he's going with his career.

Even you kind of have a sense of what you want to do with your life. Write. Music. Create. That's you, Kelsi, and you're doing it and you don't have anything stopping you and it's great, it's actually great.

…and Gabriella…" He finally ran out of steam, idly picking at his food as he looked away. How to describe what Gabriella said to him?

"…I'm not smart enough to keep up with her. I know that. I know she's practically a genius and she's suddenly this…weirdly sophisticated and poised person around her friends and when she's with me it's like we're back at East but ever since this year started she's become less of that and more…kinda more like Taylor, actually. Using all of these big words and talking all of this legal jargon I can't even pretend to understand and telling me about these people she's met and the things that happen at Stanford and…I don't fit. I don't fit there because she's throwing herself in academically and I'm focused on theatre and sports and my own school work and she told me that high school was great because we were always together but now we're not and we don't have a lot in common anymore. Something changed. She changed, I didn't, and now I don't fit. I don't fit anywhere and that's why I'm not the Captain."

He finally stopped talking, just letting the words hang awkwardly in the air because that was not exactly what he meant to derail into. But like any good basketball player, he attempted to recover.

"…Jason, huh? Does anybody know why anybody wants someone else?"

Being a girl really was great. It meant Kelsi could just reach over after Troy was finally done with letting it all out and wrap her arms around him without feeling awkward about it. She held on for a while, keeping away from the big topics and replying to the last question for the moment

"I don't know, I usually do know such things. Just not with myself, I guess." She reached up to pet Troy's hair, because for one thing it was hard to pass up the opportunity to touch Troy Bolton's hair and for another he seemed to be needing any comfort he could get.

"There's more than one way of being smart, Troy. You're very smart. And Gabriella is trying to keep up with the new people she met, you realize that, right? She wants to fit in, too. And maybe that's why she needs to figure things out. That doesn't mean that you can't be together again."

He had moved his plate enough to allow for the extra space Kelsi suddenly took up. It wasn't too terribly surprising that he was receiving attention from both her and Chad but at the same time he wasn't sure this is what he needed. Wanted, yes, absolutely, but he needed to get his head back in the game. He could already hear his dad drilling pep talks in his head about his future and it was kind of harder to ignore now that his future was changing again.

So instead of trying to pull away he just sort of stayed where he was in Kelsi's arms, allowing a hand to pet his hair and coddle him as he allowed his thoughts to drift in and out.

"…pianos and puppies. I think I get it now." It was sweet in a weird way. But that was also Jason to a T. Sweet in a weird way. Troy had seen what Jason was capable of in terms of self-awareness (because hey, he didn't know the stuff about dolphins), and he knew that they were friends…and he knew that Jason would have taken Kelsi to the prom if Ryan hadn't beaten him to the punch. Somehow Troy had become a secret-keeper for a lot of the Wildcats. "You and me are similar that way, huh? We know how to fix everything for everybody but ourselves."

As soon as she started talking about Gabriella though he went stiff in her arms, clearly still a little unnerved by the conversation. Gabriella was such a sensitive subject.

"I know. I know she is but why couldn't she…" He didn't have a very valid argument. "I could fit in if she let me. I know Gabriella's always wanted to fit in and I know that was her thing at East but…" He was having a hard time really explaining everything, and he knew that there was a lot he should be telling Chad, not Kelsi, but Chad had his own stuff to figure out and Troy was mostly at a loss.

"I love California, but it's not New Mexico. I'm kind of out of my league, too." Troy knew he was a big fish in a small pond back home, but at UCB he was just a little fish in a goddamn ocean and it was mildly terrifying. "I just wish she'd talk to me about it instead of making decisions by herself."

And then suddenly things started falling into place in his head. Whether they were correct or not, he didn't have a clue, but they were scary possibilities. There was a sharp inhale through his nose and his grip on Kelsi tightened a bit so she couldn't pull back to look at his face.

"…maybe she met somebody else that helped her fit in better."

It didn't surprise Kelsi that the possibility hadn't occurred to Troy before. It seemed so obvious, but it would be beyond painful for him to even consider. It was beyond painful for him right now.

Kelsi kindly told the voice in her head that was starting to compose a song to shut up and stop being insensitive because she was trying to be a good friend here. Sometimes being who she was really wasn't all that easy.

"I don't know if she has, Troy. But it's possible. But even if she hasn't and things will be back to normal soon, at the very least this helped you realize some things you might not have otherwise. You can't just live for her, Troy. It's not good for you and not fair to her, either. Do you know what I mean?"

Painful barely began to cover it, honestly. Now that the possibility was there there was the whole plethora of emotions and insecurities that crept up to the surface much like they had a few years ago when he had tough decisions to make. Indecision never really was Troy's best friend and right now it clung to him like a second skin.

Gabriella would have said something, wouldn't she? Why would she even be looking at other guys? He was so good about not looking at other girls (though the helpful part of his brain supplied it was because he was so happy with her that there was no need to.) Did that mean she wasn't happy with him? He could fix that. He could fix that if she told him what was going on but she was hiding things from him and that's what was driving him crazy and it didn't even occur to him how brutal this was when his entire life was shaped around Gabriella and why couldn't she see that this was not the answer when all they really had to do was just--

Ow. There was a deep, painful stab in his chest suddenly as he remained stuck on that thought.

"…I'm not just living for her but we talked about this, Kels…we planned our future together. Why's that so bad?"

"That's not bad at all, Troy. But if you're sure about the future and she isn't yet, then to her... It's as if you depend on her to be exactly the way you need her to be. You know what I mean." He had to get that, she couldn't really put it any plainer. She didn't want to say any of it at all, because hurting Troy was like kicking a puppy. No wonder she was still hugging him.

There was a shaky sigh in response but he didn't say anything. Kelsi was right, that wasn't a question. He just didn't want to hear it on top of everything else. Chad wasn't the only one who had a problem with change; while Chad outright refused it, Troy usually knew how to adapt. When he didn't though, it was hard to even fathom how to cope.

"…I'm mostly sure about the future. I have to talk to my dad first." Which was a whole other problem he wasn't even aware he had. But he knew he couldn't get away with really mapping a future without telling Coach. "But I don't need her to change anything about herself. She's perfect the way she is."

"But you do know that your father doesn't have all the answers either, right? Just making sure." Kelsi slowly pulled back, still looking at Troy but no longer hugging him tightly the way she had. At least he seemed to be calming down a bit after the initial outburst.

"Being perfect to someone isn't easy, I imagine. It means you can't fail them, doesn't it?"

Despite the fact that she pulled back, he was doing his best not to look her in the eye even though he was acting pretty calm now. "I know he doesn't." No, he actually didn't know that. But that seemed to be what Kelsi wanted to hear so that's what he'd say. He'd figure out the rest later, really.

"…I know. She doesn't have to be perfect because her flaws are perfect to me, too." It was then that he realized (or he thought he realized) what Kelsi was doing. "…okay wait a minute. That's not fair, Kelsi. That's putting the word perfect to be literal. I think she's perfect but that doesn't mean she has to struggle to be exactly perfect. Get it?"

"I don't think that's fair, either, Troy. So you have to ask yourself whether she gets it. It's not me who needs to." She hesitated, then put a hand on Troy's cheek and tried to get him to look at her. "Get it?"

Why people kept coming to her with things like this she'd never know. She didn't really want to hurt Troy, no one could ever want to hurt Troy, but someone had to point such things out to him. Might as well be her.

He knew she was purposefully being gentle and while he appreciated it, he still wasn't pleased with the news. He resisted the movement of his head a bit, frown etched into his features.

"No." Again, point-blank. He actually didn't understand what she was asking him, it wasn't a refusal to the question. "What am I supposed to do, Kelsi?"

"What you're saying is that you'll love her no matter how she is, even while she figures herself out. What she is seeing is probably that she has to be exactly who you love." She was going to start bringing diagrams with her, maybe that would make these things easier.

He finally pulled back enough to scrub his hands over his face, keeping his eyes covered for a moment as he tried to come up with a good answer.

"…so what you're saying is that I have to leave her alone until she figures out I'll love her no matter what."

If it had been Ryan, Kelsi would have broken out into a certain My Fair Lady song right about now, but she highly doubted that Troy would entirely get that and she didn't want to undo the progress they were making.

"Exactly. I think that is what you have to do."

It was a good thing she didn't because he definitely would have missed the point. He didn't uncover his face just yet, massaging his eyes and his temples before dropping his hands in his lap.

Troy Bolton was, for a word, completely defeated.

"…Chad said I should try to make her jealous because that's what worked for Ryan. But I can't hurt her like that. Tell me that's a bad idea."

"That's a terrible idea!" She was surrounded by people with terrible ideas, apparently. "That can maybe work for people like Ryan and Chad, because let's face it, they both secretly love being overly dramatic, but it's never a good idea and promise me you won't ever take Chad's love advice without checking with me first."

"Yeah, I noticed. I already told him it was a bad idea!" He held up his hands in a defensive position, but there was a funny little grin on his face. He's still not amused and really more than anything he wants to just start screaming at the world not being fair, but it was probably a good idea not to.

"…fine. I'll just have to wait." He worried at his lower lip, looking away from her again. "…everything still really, really hurts. That's okay too, right?"

"That's okay, Troy. That's normal. That sucks, but that's normal." Kelsi put a hand on Troy's shoulder and gave it a squeeze, wishing there was anything else she could do and drawing a blank. But at least, maybe, she had gotten through to him. Made it worse for the moment, perhaps, but at least it might fix things in the long run.

"I'm glad you're here, you know. Even under the circumstances."

Normal. Usually he really liked that word, but currently he was a little unsettled. He gave her a slightly helpless grin as he nodded in response.

Time heals all wounds, etcetera etcetera. This was just going to take a long, long time.

"Yeah, me too." He couldn't help but laugh a bit though. "Somehow any time Chad and I break up with people we tend to find each other, and I think I'm just now noticing that's weird." He finally looked back, meeting her eyes. "But I wanted to see you, too. So…I'm glad the three of us are together. It'll be a good break."

"That's not weird, that's because you're best friends. I call Ryan when I can't find a pen just to let him know I'm upset, so I think you're all good." Kelsi nodded and smiled as he finally looked at her. Maybe this could work out after all.

"You guys can go play basketball today. Show his kids how it's done. Then we can meet up, if you want, and you could sing some songs for me."

"You guys can go play basketball today. Show his kids how it's done. Then we can meet up, if you want, and you could sing some songs for me."

That got a genuine laugh out of him at least. "I'll never understand you artist types." Never mind the fact that he was technically an artist, too.

"He mentioned he wanted to show the kids how it's done. I'm totally okay with kicking his butt on the court." But he looked a little more excited about the idea of singing a little. "I think that sounds like the best plan I've heard all week."

"I think you understand us perfectly. One of us now, remember?" Kelsi laughed, because she could see that Troy was looking forward to singing and that made her job so much easier and more inspiring. She was definitely looking forward to it as well.

"That doesn't surprise me, seeing as your other plan this week was to drive all the way to New York with your truck."

"I understand to a point," he corrected her, knowing he still couldn't bullshit her. He got up from the bench then to throw away his trash, wiping his hands on his jeans (well, Chad's jeans) before sitting again.

"I had bigger plans but those plans changed." He shrugged. "…speaking of, you don't know a good mechanic do you?"

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