The Ticking of a Clock

Prologue

Disclaimer: I do now own any of the characters associated with High School Musical. The rest are of my imagination.

There is no better measure of the passage of time than the ticking of a clock. It is an action that is often long forgotten, especially in this new digital age. Unlike many people around the world, the ticking of the clock on the wall reverberates in the bathroom that Gabriella finds herself in.

Waiting. How can anyone ever say that waiting for an outcome is a good idea. It's the anxiety that comes along with the waiting and watching that is enough to drive Gabriella insane. It reminds her of when she was younger and she and Sharpay would wait for hours to catch a glimpse of their teen idols; however, this anxiety is filled with dread instead of excitement.

How could she have been so stupid to find herself in this position. Waiting and wondering what the rest of her life would be like would be determined by one small object. This object with a small screen that would somehow seal her fate. While sitting in the bathroom lost in her own world and thinking about how her life would inevitably have to change, Gabriella is pulled back to reality.

"Two more minutes," are the first words that Gabriella hears from Sharpay and knows they are from the real world. If she has said anything else during their trip into the bathroom she is unsure, but Gabriella is eternally grateful to have her in her life at this moment.

Oddly enough it is not Gabriella that realizes that she is late for her period, but Sharpay. As two friends growing up they managed to do everything together and due to their brief stint as roommates from high school to Sharpay's wedding their cycles were in sync. Sharpay knew something was up when Gabriella's normal complaints about cravings and cramps never appeared this month. Gabriella tried to play it off as stress due to the new foundation and her stint at Sharpay's maid of honor, but Sharpay was unwilling to budge in her pursuit to have Gabriella take a pregnancy test. This made her feel guilty because Gabriella still had not told Sharpay about the details of how she possibly got herself into this situation. Sure she had been bugging her for information about her disappearance with a certain important man at her wedding, but Gabriella had yet to tell her the details of who she slept with.

Tick … Tock … Tick … Tock. She couldn't get that sound out of her head.

In looking towards the future Gabriella's first worry is her newly developed foundation, Concrete Angels. This was really was her baby and she can't help but worry about what would happen to it if she did find out that she were pregnant. Inevitably she would have to give up the numerous sleepless nights that she had grown accustomed to because the welfare of her child would trump all else. On the other hand, she can't imagine the pain that she would feel in having to watch this newly developed business idea seem to be pushed to the side by other business ventures with more dedicated partners. She had spent her whole life coming up with the business idea and it would crush her to not see it reach its true potential in bringing awareness to those special angels that deserved a better life.

Beyond Gabriella's own feelings about her possible situation she couldn't help but worry about the repercussions that would affect her family and those close to her. Surely her father would not be impressed with her becoming pregnant by a man she was not married to or in a relationship with. While religion did not run deeply within the family, Gabriella would always be seen as his baby girl who he needed to take on the world to protect. In contrast, Gabriella can't help but believe that her mother would be extremely happy for a grandchild to spoil. She had been bothering both Gabriella and her older brother Carlos to get married and have children for ages. She was finally able to focus some of her attention on Sharpay's recent nuptials which had seemingly gotten her into this mess, but it was only a matter of time before the insistent nudging began again. In addition, Carlos' relationship with his two best friends would be forever tainted by the possible pregnancy. Lastly, the newly wedded Sharpay Bolton could not be pleased to have her thunder stolen. While she loved Sharpay, she knew how much she and her new husband were looking forward to starting a family and she can't help but feel that she would have resentment and anger towards her.

All of these thoughts seemed to float through Gabriella's mind that she must have missed the buzzing of the timer because it was Sharpay's hand that pulled her out of her thoughts.

"It's time to look" Sharpay stated in a calm tone. For once in her life her usually happy demeanor seemed to betray the anxiety that she felt about the situation. "Everything will be alright. You will see nothing will change," Sharpay tried to comfort her lifelong friend.

While those words may be true for Sharpay, Gabriella's entire world would change based upon the results of the test. She could unknowingly be carrying this perfect child in her that would depend on her for everything. A wonderfully innocent child.

Tick … Tock … Tick … Tock

Gabriella slowly turned over the small plastic stick which held the fate of her future. She quietly told herself that she would be able to do this, she could handle whatever life would bring. A gasp filled the air of the small room that Sharpay and Gabriella found themselves in, but she wasn't the one that released it. From her spot on the edge of the bath tub Gabriella looked at Sharpay with fear in her eyes. Pregnant. No longer was she just a singular person, but she was carrying a child. What terrified her more is that she was carrying a Bolton.

Author's Note:

I have decided to finish this story, so during this process I have removed the previous chapters that I have written. I believe my maturity and writing style has changed significantly since I started the original story almost 10 years ago when I was 14.

You can look for slower updates during this rewrite, most likely once a week on Fridays because I have a full time job.

Please let me know what you think and of any suggestions that you have. I do have a complete outline of the story but I am willing to accomodate other ideas.