Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical, but my sister does own a HSM2 baseball. lol Oh and I also don't own The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore.

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Well, that's not entirely true. It is Christmas Eve, but the Montez house was nowhere near quiet. Plus everyone's so busy inside that I hardly think anybody would even notice a mouse in the house. I know that last bit seems pretty irrelevant, but it actually isn't.

As I said before, tonight is Christmas Eve and tonight is also the night that I wanted to propose to my girlfriend. Gabriella Montez, my girlfriend, is perfect in every single way; beautiful, smart and kindhearted. She's my everything. Well, besides our daughter, of course. Yes, we have a three-year-old daughter together and we're not married. I know that's not the most orthodox thing in the world, but hey we we've always been going against the norms.

See, back in high school, my beautiful Ella was considered a nerd and I was a jock. It went against the unwritten rules of high school for us to even be friends. We pretty much said that we didn't give a damn about what everyone else thought and stuck by each other's side. Now eight years later, we're still as in love as ever and the only thing that would complete our love story would be us finally getting married. We've talked about what our wedding would be like since we were just teens in high school, but the timing was never right.

That whole explanation leads me back to the relevance of the bustling Montez house. Our best friends from high school, their family, my family and her family filled the house. It was impossible to get a moment alone with her. I caught her once - underneath the mistletoe, of course - and I haven't seen her since; that was about an hour ago. Which really sucks for me because all I want this Christmas is to be able to call Ella my fiance.

"Troy Alexander Bolton!" I turn around at my mother's voice. "Get you butt inside before you get sick! It's bellow 40 degrees out here and you don't even have a sweater on!"

"I'm wearing long sleeves!"

"I don't give a rat's hind end! You will get sick!"

I chuckle at my mother's colorful vocabulary and made my way towards the back door, where she stood.

"Have you asked her yet?"

My mom was the only one that knew I was planning on proposing tonight. I wouldn't of told her yet, but I wanted to ask for my grandmother's ring. Ella was practically hypnotized by it when my mom showed her it. The ring was white gold and on it's thin surface laid an intricate flower designed on both side of the band and around the one carat diamond. "Haven't had a chance to," I say as I finally reach her. "Where's my daughter?"

"Chad kidnapped Julie from me earlier and that's the last I saw of her."

"I better track them down then," I say, shutting the door behind us. The Montez house was an amazing place to be in general because the sweet smell of Mrs. Montez's brownies is infused into every grain of it. On holidays, that heavenly smell is amplified and mixed with roast turkey and Ella's apple pie and pine needles. It's probably the best smell in the world.

My mom and I parted ways as she disappeared into the kitchen where the women and Zeke were making dinner and I followed the blaring sounds of a video game. Navigating my way through the halls of the Montez house was such a mindless task that I could focus on other things. Like how I decided that I would propose to Ella at dinner. That would be perfect! I'll make a toast right after we say grace and then turn to her and just do it. My planning is interrupted when I walk into the family room and see that my daughter is pressing the buttons of the controller while my best friend's holding it.

"What in God's name do you think you're doing?" I ask as I move to turn of the television, causing Jason to protest from the couch. Julie smiles when she sees me and wiggles out of Chad's arm. She comes running to my ready arms, her brown curls bouncing with every step. Giggles spill from her mouth as I toss her in the air a bit.

"Papa Bolton, it's just a game. Relax," Chad says with an easy smile as he gets up and collapses onto a vacant couch.

"Relax? It's bad enough that you're letting her watch you guys play a violent video game. Now, you're teaching her how to play?"

"Dude, Jewels is a total natural at it too," Jason chips in, using Julie's nickname. "Turn the t.v. back on and she can show you."

I shake my head and begin to back out of the room. Not in this lifetime. Besides, Gabriella would probably murder me if she found out. "C'mon baby girl, let's go see what mommy's doing in the kitchen."

Julie squirms in my arms and looks up at me with her big brown eyes. "I want to play. Boom! Boom!" she exclaimed and shaped her tiny hands to resemble a gun.

My jaw dropped and my eyes widened. I am a dead man. "Julie Ann Bolton, please don't do that," I plead and reach for one of her hands, destroying her makeshift gun. "Chad! Look what you started!"

My so-called best friend just shrugs. "She'll be fine. My older cousins use to let me play their video games when I was little and I turned out fine."

"That's beside the point!" I exclaim at him and toss Julie in the air in attempts to distract her. "Gabriella's going to kill me."

"Why would I do that?"

I hear her sweet voice ask and turn around to face my girlfriend, who had a hand on her silk covered hip. She was dressed in a long red silk top over black skinny jeans, her hair in perfect curls over her shoulder. No matter what the day, she always looked beautiful. I give her my best smile as I walk closer to her. "It's nothing babe. Dinner ready?"

She nods and reaches for Julie. "Hey baby," she says, dropping a kiss to Julie's head. "We missed our little helper in the kitchen. Did you have fun with the boys?"

Julie nods and starts fiddling with her own hands. Oh no! Please no! "Boom! Boom!" she exclaims with a giggle.

"Jewels! What did I sat about that?" I avoid Gabriella's eyes and take apart Julie's makeshift gun. Holding her hands in mind, I kiss the back of her hands. "Please don't do that."

"You taught her that?" Gabriella accuses me, daggers shooting at me from her gorgeous brown eyes.

I'm never leaving Chad with Julie. All it does is get me in trouble. "I'm going to go gather the men for dinner. Love you, " Wanting to get back in her good graces, I kiss her quickly on the cheek and bolt out of there. I walk straight to Chad and snatched the game controller from his hands. I navigate his virtual soldier into open space, causing him to die.

Chad grabs the controller back from me, as if it would magically bring his player back to life. "What'd you do that for?"

"That was for teaching my daughter how to play this game," I say as I pick up a couch pillow and chuck it at him.

"What the Hell?!"

"That was for getting me in trouble with my daughters mother," I say with a triumphant smile, walking in the direction of the den. "Oh and dinner's ready," I call back.

I make my way quickly to the den, where our fathers are watching some action movie. There's my dad, Chad's, Zeke's and last, but not least: Ella's stepdad. His name is Jose and he's a really nice guy, but he's also really big and muscular like my dad. He thinks of Ella as his own daughter and I know that the feelings were mutual. He practically was fuming when he found out that I got Ella pregnant. Oh gosh. I'm starting to think that I should of probably gotten his and Maria's permission to marry their daughter.

"You're missing out on a great movie," Jose says, pulling me from my thoughts,

"Don't I know it," I say out of politeness. I need him to like me. "Sorry to tell you guys, but you're going to have to put this movie on pause. Dinner's ready." Before I could even get 'ready' out of my mouth, the four men stood up and walked passed me. Jose is the last to leave and he places a hand on my shoulder, guiding me out of his den.

"So, you're going to propose to Gabriella tonight," he began in a mater of fact tone, causing me to look up at him in surprise. "Jack told me."

"But I didn't tell my dad!"

"You're mother told him."

I groan in frustration. My mother does not know how to keep a secret. I swallow the lump forming in my throat and look up at Jose. He didn't look angry. Then again, Jose was very good at disguising his feelings. "You're not angry are you?"

"Mad? Why would I be mad? If anything, I'm mad that it's taken this long to happen. I've seen the way you look at her.; it's like she's the only person in the room. You two've been together since you were 16 and you still act so in love. You make her happy. Besides, you guys should get married while Julie is still young. If you wait till she's older, then she's going to start asking questions a heck of a lot of questions."

I let out a sigh of relief and smile Jose. "Thanks."

He smiles back and pats me on the back. "Now let's go get some turkey, that is if Chad and Jason haven't devoured all of it."

There were 16 of us gathered around the Montez dinning table, all of us in mismatched chairs. My dad sat at the head of table and Jose sat on the other. Zeke, who ended up becoming the best chef in New Mexico, sat in the middle and carved the turkey after we said grace. His mom and dad sat to his left and Sharpay sat on his right with Jason. I sat across from Zeke with Gabriella and her mom to my left and my mom and Jason's mom to my right. Julie sat on Gabriella's lap so that she could feed her.

Back in high school, I would be eating Christmas Eve dinner with this particular mix of people (i.e. Sharpay Evans). When we went our separate ways after graduation, Sharpay was pretty lost without her twin and Zeke still admired her. Eventually they got married and now here they sit in my girlfriend's house. Jason and Chad ended up playing for the Red Hawks and are after my dad's job. That is if he ever retires. Taylor would be here, but she loved Connecticut so much that she only comes down in the summer. Ryan and Kelsi remained just friends, but they preferred their winters in New York. As for Gabriella and I, we stayed in California while her mom moved back to Albuquerque. In some twist of faith, everything worked out perfectly.

Food began being passed around both clockwise and counterclockwise. Chatter was in full blast and food was even flung a bit. When dessert came around, I saw this as my opening to make a speech and propose to Ella. I was getting ready to do it too, but then Sharpay beat me too. The funny thing is, Sharpay use to steal Ella and I's spotlight in high school. Now, she's doing it all over again. The only difference is that she's doing it with even knowing that she was. She announces that after a year of marriage, they were finally pregnant. Which is really great, but I'd hate to propose to Gabriella after that. The special feeling that surrounds proposing in front of family and friends is kind of ruined when everyone's buzzing about baby stories.

After dessert, we all hang around the table talking about this and that.

Gabriella suddenly stands with a yawning Julie on her hip. "It's Jewels bedtime," she announces and a chorus of goodnight-s come from everyone.

"I'll help tuck her in," I say as I stand up and help part the chairs so Gabriella could get by.

"Hey Gabs," Sharpay begins timidly, "would you mind if I put her to bed? You know for practice and all."

Gabriella looks at me, as if asking me silently for permission. I nod without hesitation. This was my opening to ask her. All I needed to do now was to get her alone. She kisses Julie on the top of the head and hands her to me. "Auntie Sharpay's going to bring you up to bed. Your mom and I will be there later tonight, okay?" Julie just nods, obviously too tired to talk. "Goodnight baby girl," I mutter against her head and bring her over to Sharpay.

"Thanks Troy," she says as I put Julie into her arms.

No thank you. I think as I make my way back to Gabriella who is now clearing the table with the help of my mom. "Where'd everyone go?" I ask as I wrap my arms around her waist from behind.

"In the family room, where they're going to watch a movie." She tries to move out of my steel grip, but I just hold on tighter.

"Want to go outside and sit on the hammock?"

She gives up resisting and settles for turning around in my arms. "Are you crazy? It's freezing outside!"

"That's why they invented jackets," I deadpan manner.

"Haha," she muses as she turns back around. "Besides, I'm helping you're mom clear the table. "

I look over at my mom, who was apparently watching us. "Can I borrow Ella for minute? I haven't had a minute alone with her all day." I add the latter, hoping that she would get the hint.

Her eyes perk up and she breaks out into a smile. "Of course! Of course! In fact, I command you to put that plate done and get your jackets."

I can't help, but chuckle. My mother has a way with words. "You heard the woman," I whisper into her ear. "Now go." I giver her a playful shove in the direction of the coat closet.

As soon as she's out of earshot, my mom asks, "Are you going to do it now?"

I nod, suddenly feeling butterflies in my stomach. I realized that wasn't the most manly statement, but it was true. The fact that I was actually going to ask for her hand in marriage, was kind of just hitting me now.

"Sweetheart, are you okay?"

"Uh-huh."

"Are you sure? You look like you're going to be sick."

"I'm just nervous, is all."

"What are you nervous about?"

I wince as I hear Gabriella's voice behind me. I turn around and force a smile on my face. "Just if you'll like your gift," I lie.

She smiles that sweet smile of hers that makes me melt. "As long as it's from you, I'm sure that I'll love it."

I just smile back and put on the winter coat she hands me. We walk through the house quietly, like we're teenagers sneaking out for alone. Which essentially, that's what we were. Except, we were 25 not 15. I hold the back door open for her and we're met with the cold air. She steps out and takes careful steps towards the hammock by her old tree. I shut the door behind me and follow her steps. We get on the woven hammock and it feels like we're back in high school. She lays her head on my shoulder and I wrap my arms around her.

"Babe," I begin softly as I try to suppress my nerves.

"Hmm?"

"Do you remember how we use to play that question game when we were first getting to know each other?"

"The one where you had to answer ever question with an answer and question?" I mutter a yes against her hair. "You were terrible at that game! You always forgot to ask a question back!" A sweet giggle escapes from her lips, making me smile.

"Yeah, well. Let's play."

"Why?"

"Just because."

"Fine, I'l start. Did you like my pie?"

"Uh-huh! It was delicious. Are you happy?"

"Of course. Why would you even bother to ask?"

"I don't know. Just wanted to make sure."

"You didn't ask a question. What's your question?"

"Right. Are you still mad about what Julie picked up from Chad?"

"Not really. Just promise me that you won't let her play that game again. Do you promise?"

"I promise. Did you ever think that we would make it this far?"

"There wasn't a doubt in my mind," she says as she lifts her head to look at me. In the darkness of the night, I can still see the outline of her beautiful face. "Isn't this just a perfect Christmas?"

I shake my head and plan how I can untangle ourselves. "Not quite. You know what would make it better?"

"I can't think of a single thing. What?"

"This." I suck in a cold breath and shift from beneath her, getting off the hammock carefully. She looks up at me in confusion and does her best to straighten herself. It was now or never for me. I get down on my right knee and take her left hand in mine. "Will you marry me?"

Gabriella just stares at me with her big brown eyes, mouth agape in surprise. Suddenly, I'm regretting this and I'm pushing myself off the cold ground. I'm thinking that I completely screwed up our relationship. That we'll now have to share custody of Julie; Thanksgiving with my family and Christmas with hers. She'll probably move out and take Julie with her. Julie. She's going to-

Kiss me?

Worry is wiped off of my mind as her cold lips meet mine. Her hands slid up my chest, one cupping the back of my neck and the other hand burying itself in my hair. I'm as frozen as the ground below us, but after a few seconds I remembered how to respond. "I love you," she mutters against my lips.

I pull away reluctantly and press my forehead against hers. "I love you too, but you didn't answer my question. Oh and you also didn't ask a question. So, what's your question?"

She smirks at me and leans in to kiss me once more. "Where's my ring?"

I pick her off the ground and spin her around, causing her to laugh and squeal. I set her back on the ground. Reaching into my pocket, I pull out my grandmother's ring. She smiles when she sees it and I take her left hand in my hands. I slip it on her left ring finger. She winds her arms around me in a tight embrace and buries her head into the crook of my neck.

"Is it a perfect Christmas now?" she asks as she pulls away slightly.

I look down at her in all her glory. Cheeks flushed from the weather and a gentle smile on her lips. I tangle my hand in her hair and press my forehead to hers. "No question about it," I mutter before guiding her lips to mine. This Christmas was the best yet.

A/N: I started writing this Christmas day and planned to finish by the end of Christmas, my time. That didn't happen, but hey it's still Christmas somewhere else in the world. Thanks so much for reading and reviews would be wonderful. I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday.
Much Love,
Kae xoxo