Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters. I do however own this story, I wrote it and I do NOT give permission for anyone to post it anywhere else. If you want to share it post a link.

-o0o-

"Hey, Mama!" Troy said coming into the kitchen where she was working and kissing her cheek.

"Hi" Lucille responded happy to see her boy smiling for a change.

"Wow!" Lucille exclaimed almost in tears with pride as Troy held the tux he'd just picked up for Prom up in front. Her baby boy had grown up too fast.

Gorgeous!" Lucille gushed proudly, hugging him.

"I'd like to take credit, but Gabriella picked it out" Troy said smiling.

"I ordered that corsage you showed me. It's going to be perfect" Lucille told him rubbing his cheek

"Thanks, Mom" Troy said kissing her cheek. She loved how affectionate he was when he was happy.

"You did good" Lucille said to Chad pinching his cheek.

"Thank you" Chad grinned his mouth full of the ingredients Lucille had been preparing for dinner.

"It's Gabriella" Troy told his mother quite unnecessarily. Lucille had known who it was the moment Troy's face lit up at seeing the caller's name.

"Hey! I just showed my mom the tux" Troy told Gabriella happily.

Lucille watched worried as Troy's face fell and he hurried out of the room. She could no longer hear what he was saying but his voice sounded anxious. She looks at Chad and he offered to go see what's up.

"Wait a moment for them to finish their conversation. It might have just been a small thing. You know how much he worries about her" Lucille said holding him back.

"Ya got that right" Chad replied helping himself to juice from the fridge. Lucille smiled affectionately at the boy who was almost her second son for the last fourteen years.

Lucille heard the sound of something being thrown and gave Chad a significant look. He hurried into Troy's room and shut the door. Lucille resisted the urge to eavesdrop and kept working trying to keep calm until she found out what was going on. 'It still might be nothing serious' she told herself anxiously.

"Are you staying for dinner?" Lucille asked as she saw Chad coming back out of Troy's room.

"No! I don't think Troy's going to want any dinner" Chad replied. "Gabriella told him she's never coming back."

Lucille closed her eyes in fear. Her son had tied his happiness up so tightly with this girl that he was miserable with her being away for a few weeks. She was afraid of how he would react to the news she wasn't coming back to him. "Did he say anything else?" she asked.

"I dunno! He didn't tell me" Chad replied. "I'll see ya around Mrs B."

"See you Chad" Lucille answered automatically.

She went into Troy's room after knocking and getting no answer and found him lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. She sat down beside him.

"Dinner's almost ready" she said, unsure of what else to say. It would be idiotic to ask if he were okay when she could so clearly see that he wasn't and she didn't want to pry.

"I don't think I can eat anything" Troy said quietly.

"Do you feel like talking about it?" Lucille asked gently.

"No" Troy replied.

Lucille waited.

"She said she doesn't want to come back and then leave again. That she can't do it" Troy said miserably.

Lucille understood but she didn't know how to convey that understanding to her heartbroken son. "She thinks making a clean break will hurt less" she said gently.

"But I don't want to say goodbye at all. I want us to be together forever Mom" Troy said blinking tears away.

"I know dear but Gabriella has a lot more experience at leaving than you have and I expect she's probably heard that before" Lucille suggested.

"She doesn't believe I mean it? You don't believe I mean it?" Troy asked affronted.

"I know you mean it and I think Gabriella does too" Lucille tried to calm him down, "I just don't know how well you'll manage to keep finding time once you start college and basketball and have so many new commitments. Gabriella's already at Stanford and you know how busy she is with classes and homework. Maybe she's afraid she's not going to be able to maintain a long-term relationship and figures it's going to hurt you both less in the long run not to try."

"You think she's just afraid" Troy said sadly.

'I think she might be being more realistic than you' Lucille thought but didn't say. "I have to go rescue dinner" she said instead, making her escape before she let slip the fact she didn't think Troy could fix this and believed that Troy may never see Gabriella again.

-o0o-

"So are you still going to go to Prom with Chad?" Lucille asked worrying whether this was a good idea. All of his friends already had dates to Prom and while she knew they would try to make Troy feel included they also wanted the night to be special for them and their dates. And prom was such a romantic night she was worried it would just depress him to see everyone else with their dates while he was alone.

"No I'm going to Prom with Gabriella. If she won't come back to East High for Prom then I'm going to Stanford to spend Prom with her there" Troy said determinedly.

"Troy are you sure that's a good idea? What did she tell you about not being able to come home? It wasn't just because she had too much work was it?" Lucille guessed.

"She said she couldn't say goodbye again" Troy said hurt. "I need to show her that she doesn't need to say goodbye, that I can be there when she needs me."

Lucille sighed but she could see that Troy's mind was made up. He would go no matter what she tried to say or do to dissuade him. "Will your truck even get you all the way to California?" she asked dubiously.

"It should, it's been running really well lately" Troy said defensively.

Lucille sighed again and dug her credit card out of her bag. "If your truck breaks down I want to be sure you can afford to catch the bus and aren't out there trying to hitchhike in the middle of the night" she said. "It's for emergencies only and spend sparingly because it will come out of your college fund."

"Thanks Mama" Troy said kissing her cheek.

"Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes. Don't even think you're leaving before eating it" Lucille said firmly. "I'll pack up some food for you to eat on the road and I expect you to tell your father where you're going, and to call me every couple of hours until you stop for the night."

-o0o-

Jack had tried to get Troy to change his mind, and got angry when he failed. Lucille stepped in and sent Troy upstairs to pack before he could alienate Troy and he turned on her once Troy was out of earshot. "How can you be supporting this ridiculous trip? Can't you see he's only making it harder for both of them?"

Lucille sighed. "I know but he isn't going to change his mind about this. He's going to go even if he has to sneak out after we go to sleep tonight. Would you rather he goes with our support, with snacks to help him stay awake and calls us every couple of hours, or sneaks off and refuses to answer our calls and we won't know what's going on with him until he comes back? If you're right and seeing Gabriella hurts him further don't you want him to feel like he can turn to us for support?" she demanded.

Jack collapsed on the couch and ran his hands through his hair. "You're right" he admitted in a defeated tone.

Lucille watched his truck drive off with tears in her eyes. She prayed that his truck would make the trip and he would arrive back safely. Most of all she prayed that Gabriella would be happy to see him. Lucille knew that this wasn't the reaction Gabriella had expected when she rang and told Troy she wasn't coming back for Prom or Graduation and she hoped and prayed that the girl hadn't rung to cancel coming to prom because she'd realised that her feelings for Troy were superficial, or worse she'd met someone else. She attempted to settle into the paperwork she'd brought home but couldn't concentrate, tried to have a bath but couldn't relax and ended up downstairs tidying the linen closet, the repetitive movements of refolding everything finally starting to calm her jitters.

"Lucille, honey. What's the matter? Troy rang less than twenty minutes ago, he's feeling fine and his truck's running well. He's fine" Jack said wrapping his arms around her from behind.

"I'm worried about what's going to happen when he gets there. What if Gabriella isn't happy to see him?" Lucille asked anxiously.

"Why wouldn't she be?" Jack asked confused.

"Why didn't she want to come home for prom?" Lucille asked.

"She said she couldn't face saying goodbye to everyone again?" Jack said questioningly.

"What if she meant she didn't want to say goodbye to Troy again? What if him going to see her hurts her and she lashes out? What if she was lying and just didn't want to come? What if she's met someone else? What if she hurts our boy?"

"Luce, you're borrowing trouble" Jack protested. "There's no reason to expect Gabriella won't be thrilled to see Troy. If I were you I'd worry about them doing something insane like driving home through Las Vegas and getting hitched."

Unsurprisingly, the joke fell flat and Lucille hit him with the quilt cover she'd just finished folding. Jack was tempted to grab something and hit gently back, hoping a tussle would distract her from her worries but the phone rang.

"Hello Troy" Lucille picked it up anxiously and Jack leaned in so he could hear Troy's half of the conversation as well.

"Hey Mama, just checking in, everything's fine, I've found a good place to stop and get some sleep" Troy said.

"Goodnight Troy, I love you. Lock the doors and stay safe" Lucille said.

"I will Mama, I love you" Troy replied. "Tell Dad I'm fine."

"Night Troy" Jack said.

"Night Dad. Love you" Troy said disconnecting just as his father said "Love you too."

"Come to be Luce, Troy's going to sleep so he won't call again tonight, staying up all night worrying isn't going to achieve anything" Jack encouraged leading her up the stairs.

-o0o-

Maria took a couple of hours off the afternoon of the East High prom wanting to be home to support her daughter. She'd been worried about how Gabriella would cope with this day since she decided not to go home for prom. Maria was proud of her daughter for having the courage to tell Troy she didn't want to come home for prom and graduation. She actually agreed with her that it would be better to make a clean break. High school romances no matter how serious or intense rarely survived the first semester of college and Gabriella would find it easier to settle in and make friends if she wasn't spending half her free time on skype with Troy trying to keep a failing romance alive. Still she knew it had been extremely difficult for her daughter to do and that if left alone she'd spend the night second guessing herself and probably talk herself into going back to Albuquerque for the graduation ceremony.

She had just put a tray of brownies in the oven when she heard the front door open.

"Hi Mom, you're home early" Gabriella called out cheerfully.

"Hi Mija, I'm in the kitchen" Maria called back, relieved at the tone of voice until they came through into the kitchen and she saw Troy with her.

"Hello Troy, what are you doing here?" Maria asked.

"I decided I wanted to see Gabriella more than anything. Tonight is our prom night, it's supposed to be special and there's nowhere else I'd rather be than here with Gabriella tonight" Troy replied.

Gabriella smiled at him.

Maria sighed, clearly Gabriella was happy to see him. Her determination to cut all ties and move forward seemed to have been forgotten the moment she first laid eyes on Troy.

"So do you have plans to take Gabriella out somewhere tonight?" she asked.

"I'd like to take her somewhere we can dance" Troy replied. "Do you know anywhere appropriate?"

"I can't say I do" Maria replied, "Other than private functions the only places to dance are the dance clubs. There might be one that caters for underaged students" she added dubiously.

"We could take a picnic somewhere and dance on the beach" Gabriella suggested.

"I don't think Troy's dressed for the beach, is that a hired tuxedo Troy?" Maria asked.

"It is but I have normal clothes in my truck if my lady would like to go to the beach then we shall" Tory said smiling at Gabriella.

Make sure you wear your swim suit and take a dry change of clothes if you do" Maria said. She didn't want them to decide to do anything stupid. She began searching the cupboards for food she could give them for a picnic on the beach, at least she hoped they planned to go to the beach.
"Troy where are you staying?" she asked suspiciously.

"In my truck, same as last night" Troy replied.

"We have a guest room" Gabriella offered.

"Gabriella, I'm not sure I'm comfortable having Troy stay the night" Maria hissed.

"That's okay Ms Montez. I'm comfortable sleeping in my truck" Troy replied.

"Don't be silly Troy, you need a good night sleep before you try to drive 1,000 miles home tomorrow" Gabriella said glaring at her mother.

"Very well, if you and Troy both promise to spend the night in your own rooms then Troy is welcome to stay the night" Maria capitulated.

"Thanks Mom" Gabriella said grinning. "I promise."

"I promise too" Troy said earnestly.

"I'm going to get changed" Gabriella said heading to her room.

"Why'd you come Troy?" Maria asked quietly, once Gabriella had closed her door.

"I needed to, I needed to show Gabriella that I'm willing to make the effort to keep in contact. That I'll always be there for her" Troy replied.

"Come September you'll be at U of A, meeting new people, making new friends, you'll be busy with classes and basketball training. Busier than you can imagine at the moment. I like you Troy, you've been good for Gabriella but spending every spare minute on Skype or waiting for you to call her will not be good for her, or you. You need to let her go" Maria said.

"I got offers for UC Berkeley, Loyola Marymount University and California State University Fresno" Troy replied.

"Not Stanford" Maria pointed out.

"Well no but I won't be 1,053 miles away" Troy replied.

"Which one have you chosen?" Maria asked.

"Berkeley, I haven't told Gabriella or my Mom and Dad yet so please don't say anything. Gabriella is the best thing that ever happened to me Ms Montez and if I ever think Gabriella will be better off without me then I'll tell her that and get out of her life but I think we both deserve to give our relationship a chance" Troy said firmly.

Maria's eyes softened, she couldn't help believing the determination in Troy's speech. She didn't know if he could make his relationship with Gabriella work long term but she knew he was determined to try and she'd seen a determined Troy achieve the seemingly impossible before. Maybe he was right that they deserved a chance.

Gabriella came back in the dress she'd brought for prom.

"That's a bit fancy for the beach" Maria protested, meaning it's too expensive to destroy on a picnic.

Troy turned around. "You look amazing" he breathed.

Gabriella smiled.

"Gabriella your dress will be ruined" Maria warned.

"Maybe it isn't the best choice for the beach but this is our prom Mom" Gabriella replied.

"Do you have a picnic blanket we could use to protect her dress? We could go to the park" Troy suggested.

Maria fetched the blanket, and Troy laid it across the picnic basket. "Thanks Ms Montez" he said.

"Bye Mom" Gabriella said.

"Bye Gabriella, be home by one am" Maria said. She stood at the window and watched them drive off.

-o0o-

She sat in the dark in her room looking out the window when Troy's truck pulled up outside at ten to one. She watched as Gabriella climbed out of the truck wearing Troy's basketball shorts and letterman jacket. Her dress was peeking out the top of the picnic basket with Troy's suit. Troy was wearing basketball singlet and shorts. They were laughing as they walked hand in hand up to the door and Gabriella let them in.

"Goodnight Troy" Gabriella said quietly.

"Night Gabriella I love you" Troy said.

"I love you Troy. Thanks for not giving up on me" Gabriella said kissing him. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Are you sure?" Troy asked.

Maria frowned 'sure about what?'

"Yes I'm sure. Mom gets up at six thirty, I'll tell her and then we can go" Gabriella said. "I better let you get some sleep."

Maria waited until Troy and Gabriella went to their rooms and then went and knocked on Gabriella's door.

"Come in Mom" Gabriella called.

"How did you know I wasn't Troy?" Maria asked.

"He promised to stay in his room" Gabriella replied as if there was no other possibility.

"You're wearing his clothes" Maria commented.

"I got changed before we went to the beach" Gabriella said casually.

"What did you need to tell me tomorrow morning?" Maria asked.

"I'm going back to Albuquerque with Troy for graduation" Gabriella said.

Maria sighed "I'm not going to be able to change your mind, am I?"

"No Mom" Gabriella said firmly.

"We could fly back for graduation, I'll book the tickets in the morning" Maria offered.

"I'd love you to come to my graduation but I need to drive back with Troy and help keep him awake" Gabriella said. "I'll ring Taylor and Kelsi and ask if I can stay with one of them."

"I'll ring you when I know what time I'll arrive. I want you to text me every hour while you're on the road and let me know where you are and that you're okay" Maria said.

"Okay Mom I will" Gabriella promised hugging her mother.

"Try to get some sleep" Maria said kissing Gabriella's cheek. "Goodnight."

"Night Mom."

-o0o-

"Hey, Mommy and Daddy, how was Africa? No, I mean India" Sharpay corrected herself. Really she didn't really care where her father's business had taken them so long as they brought her back something good. She continued dreaming of receiving the Juilliard scholarship while her parents answered.

"It was very successful" Brock replied.

"Hot and dry, I need an extensive facial. Join me tomorrow?" Darby offered.

"Oh, fabulous" she replied automatically before reminding them. "The show is starting soon."

"Don't worry Princess, we're here" Brock replied.

"You're in the lobby?" Sharpay asked.

"Of course darling. We're looking forward to seeing the show" Darby replied.

"OK. Toodles. And I love the roses!" Sharpay cooed.

-o0o-

"Even when we're miles apart" Sharpay sang

Lucille smiled, this was the duet that Troy had been complaining about having to sing with the vain manipulative blonde, any minute now her son would be on stage and she'd see whether he was really okay. He'd sounded upbeat on the phone when he'd called to check in during the drive home but she was anxious to see him in person.

"Even if we're miles apart" Sharpay sang again looking around a little anxiously.

"Even if we're miles and miles and miles apart" she almost yelled more than sang hoping Troy would finally hear his cue.

Lucille started to panic, she'd read statistics about people having fatal accidents in the last few miles of a long journey, relaxing too soon as they were nearly home. 'Where was Troy?'

A moment later a young boy, ridiculously dressed appeared on stage and started singing Troy's role. Lucille pulled out her phone, ignoring how bad manners it was and tried to ring her son.

"Hey Mama we just pulled up at the back of the school now" he said as he and Gabriella ran towards the auditorium.

"Oh thank heavens" Lucille whispered. "I'll see you soon."

"He's here" she whispered to Jack, seeing him visibly relax at the news and then start to laugh at the performance on the stage.

-o0o-

Alonzo and Benedetta Zara couldn't help but laugh as their son arrived on stage. They hadn't known he was going to perform tonight and had only come because her Giacomo had begged them. She knew he had been worried about being the understudy having no desire to perform. He'd only got involved in the theatre production because his idol Troy Bolton was the lead. They watched chuckling as he over acted his way through the song, hiding his nervousness in tomfoolery and clearly annoying the girl in the green dress. They hoped it wasn't one of the girls he told them about though it probably was. He had a bit of a crush on a girl named Tiara and more recently a girl called Sharpay but from what he'd said about them as he rambled about his days both girls sounded rather unfriendly. Still neither crush sounded serious, if anything his bro crush on the basketball captain left him too occupied for romantic thoughts. The girl ran off and Jimmie stayed on stage showing off.

Benedetta hoped that they wouldn't have to have someone come on stage and drag Giacomo off, surely they could just bring the curtains down or something.

-o0o-

Darby frowned in confusion when a bling girl appeared on the stage on what looked like Sharpay's blue costume. She and Brock checked the program and found an added slip of paper announcing that Sharpay Evans had taken the lead female role because the original lead Gabriella Montez was unavailable and that a Tiara Gold was playing the role originally allocated to Sharpay Evans.

Sharpay had made it sound like she was playing both roles. Darby had to admit that the girl was doing well enough though she was sure Sharpay would have sung the song better.

Brock on the other hand appreciated that the sexy performer was not his daughter. He knew she was growing up but he wasn't prepared for his little girl to actively flirt with so many drooling boys. Her flirtation with Troy over the summer was bad enough and he'd at least had the comfort of knowing Troy was well aware his future depended on him not going too far and losing Sharpay's father's support. Not to mention he was well aware Troy wasn't actually romantically attracted to his little girl. He was just smiling about the change in casting when Sharpay was lowered onto the stage.

Brock laughed along with the audience at the almost cat fight between the girls as they competed for the dominant role. He wondered if it had been rehearsed like that or if Sharpay had thrown a wobbly about losing the song and decided to try to upstage her understudy. He was glad to see Sharpay ignore the boys on the stage as she focussed on the other girl.

Darby beamed proudly. She was right Sharpay had more stage presence than the other girl, though she did well enough in a backup role. She clapped enthusiastically as the girls were lowered into the stage floor.

-o0o-

Tiara's mother, Tiffany, smiled when her daughter came on stage and waited for her little darling to blow the audience away and show the rest of the cast up as rank amateurs. She still regretted not being able to stay in London or at least send her daughter to a performing art school but with her husband insisting they move as a family when he'd accepted the promotion to head up the new US expansion of the company too late for Tiara to audition at a reputable performing arts school, she'd had no choice but to send her to the public high school.

Tiara had taken it well enough, though she'd spent a lot of time ranting over the hold her new rival Sharpay Evans had on the drama department. Tiffany had encouraged her to honestly befriend the girl but though Tiara had seemed to try the friendship remained superficial.

Tiffany saw the annoyance cross Tiara's face as the other girl arrived on the stage. How dare that little wanna be ruin her daughter's performance. She was a lot louder than Tiara but her voice seemed strained, surely the Juilliard judges would see that and take note of Tiara's potential. Tiffany hadn't been able to believe it when she'd heard that Juilliard was going to come to this insignificant high school concert, and was apparently considering offering a scholarship to one of the seniors. After hearing her daughter maybe they'd decide to wait and offer her the scholarship next year.

Tiffany was proud of the way Tiara seemed to hold on to her temper and continue to give a professional performance, she was sure that nobody who didn't know her daughter would realise how furious she was. The Sharpay girl should be glad she was going to graduate tomorrow and get out of her daughter's way.

-o0o-

Darby lost interest as Troy came out and sang the song Sharpay had sung earlier. She had to admit the boy had a definite appeal and he and the girl that joined him had a lot of chemistry between them. She was a little angry that Sharpay was paired up with that clown boy making a mockery of the song instead of with Troy the way she should have been.

Lucille gasped when Gabriella appeared on stage.

"Did you know she was coming back with him?" Jack asked.

"No he never said a word" Lucille said watching the two of them expressing their feelings in song. It was clear to her that Troy meant every word he was singing, being with Gabriella was more important to him and his happiness than any of them had planned for. She only hoped that Gabriella meant it too.

Maria worriedly watched her daughter sing with Troy. The level of emotion that both of them were expressing concerned her. They were soon going to be at college and even though they weren't going to be 1,000 miles apart the chances of their relationship surviving them being on two separate colleges were slim. and it didn't seem like either of them were willing to accept that. She was fairly sure that Troy didn't have the marks to get into Stanford and she didn't think that he'd applied their either so to be together it would be Gabriella who had to compromise her education. She had hoped that the three weeks early orientation would have made Gabriella more enthusiastic about attending Stanford next year, instead though she'd enjoyed the professors and the challenge of the classes and even begun to make new friends she'd been miserable missing Troy and East High and Maria could guarantee that she wouldn't choose to come back and go to U of A if Troy asked her to.

-o0o-

"Ladies and gentlemen! Our seniors!" Estelle Darbus introduced the group

"Kelsi Nielsen, the Juilliard School Scholarship Recipient. Music" Estelle announced proudly.

Caroline Neilsen gasped in delighted surprise. Kelsi had not only got into the school of her dreams, she'd got a scholarship. They could afford to send her without sacrificing their retirement fund. She smiled to see Kelsi's friend's genuine joy at her success.

"Jason Cross. You did it! You graduated!" Estelle said dramatically.

"Whoo hoo hoo!" Jason cheered jumping around crazily. Jason's father laughed, while his mother Annie sighed in relief. She had worked so hard trying to help him pass his classes then laughed as he jumped on Zeke.

"Taylor McKessie, Yale University, with honours, Political Science" Darbus announced. Vivienne smiled proudly as he daughter smirked at the audience.

"And I am pleased to announce that due to the excellence displayed here this evening, the Juilliard School has made an extraordinary decision. Another senior is being offered a Juilliard scholarship. Congratulations, Mr. Ryan Evans, Choreography" Ryan smiled amazed. Darby smiled slightly confused and clapped proud of her son, but Brock was watching his daughter. She didn't look pleased and Brock winced at the thought of the tantrum she would throw tonight.

"And congratulations, Miss Sharpay Evans. University of Albuquerque, Performing Arts. Miss Evans has agreed to return to East High next fall to assist me in running the Drama Department" Ms Darbus added. 'There'd be no assisting about it. The teacher would be assisting Sharpay' Brock thought snidely. Darby beamed hoping that Sharpay would be pacified by this.

Tiffany frowned, it looked like she would be trying to find her daughter a new high school next year after all. She couldn't see Tiara accepting Sharpay being in a position of authority over her.

"And now a senior who I believe has a decision to make. Mr. Troy Bolton. Troy" Lucille waited holding her breath as Ms Darbus called him forward.

"I've chosen basketball" Troy began.

Jack was on his feet cheering in an instant. Lucille clapped politely a little surprised. She knew Troy said he loved basketball but he seemed so much more alive on stage. She just hoped he wouldn't regret this decision in the future.

"But I've also chosen theatre. The University of California, Berkeley, offers me both. That's where I'm going to be attending next fall" Troy continued.

Lucille smiled and applauded enthusiastically. She elbowed Jack. "Support your son" she hissed. "He's not giving up basketball."

"But most of all, I choose the person who inspires my heart. Which is why I picked a school that's exactly 32.7... ...miles from you" he finished.

Lucille rolled her eyes as the audience all went 'aww' when Troy told them he was choosing to be near Gabriella because she inspired his heart. Troy put it very romantically but 'none of them would be happy if it was their son or daughter choosing to follow a boy or girl halfway across the country' she thought cynically. She was glad to hear though, that Troy had compromised between following Gabriella to Stanford and choosing a college nearby that offered him both basketball and theatre. She just hoped they were also offering him a scholarship. Berkeley was three times the price of U of A.

"Miss Gabriella Montez, Stanford University, Pre-Law" Troy announced proudly.

Maria couldn't help but smile slightly at the young man she'd grown quite fond of over the last sixteen months. Deep down though she really wasn't sure that this gesture of following Gabriella to California would be in either of their best interests. She knew that only 2% of high school relationships lasted and she suspected that 32.7 miles was going to be a much greater distance than Troy or Gabriella expected it would be. She hoped that Gabriella wouldn't spend so much time travelling back and forth to visit Troy that she neglected to make her own friends.

"Next, Mr. Chad Danforth. University of Albuquerque, Basketball Scholarship!" Estelle announced.

Charlie and Charlene leapt to their feet cheering before they noticed the empty place where he'd been standing. They'd been paying so much attention to their 'almost a son' that they hadn't considered how much Troy choosing not to go to U of A with Chad would hurt their real son.

Charlene Danforth frowned as she saw her son was missing from his position. She wanted to go after him but she'd been seated in the middle of the row and it would draw too much attention to push past everyone to get out.

She waited anxiously as Troy ran off to find him and smiled tremulously as it was announced that he had won a place on the Redhawks. This should have been a moment of pride and celebration, instead her son was hurting because his brother-in-everything-but-blood announced that they wouldn't be together next year after all. She would miss the sandy haired boy who used to spend all his spare time with her son, but nowhere near as much as Chad would. She worried about him going off to college without Troy by his side to talk him out of his more madcap schemes.

-o0o-

"East High is a place where teachers encouraged us to break the status quo. And define ourselves as we choose. Where a jock can cook up a mean crème brûlée. And the brainiac can break down on the dance floor.

It's a place where one person...if it's the right person...

...changes us all.

East High is having friends that we'll keep for the rest of our lives. And I guess that means we really are all in this together. Because once a Wildcat...

...always a Wildcat" Troy finished his speech.

Lucille cheered enthusiastically when Troy looked at her at the end of his speech. She was proud that he'd been voted by the senior class the person they'd wanted to speak for them. She wiped away a tear from the corner of his eye. She couldn't believe that her baby had finished High School. Even harder to accept was the fact he'd be leaving in a couple of months and while he would be home for holidays it would never be the same. He looked so happy today, surrounded by his friends pledging that they'd always remain in touch.

She saw Maria sitting there alone and walked over to talk to her. Maria had become a good friend as they faced the challenges of accepting their children were growing up. Now she would be living closer to Troy than Jack and Lucille could be and it was important that Troy remain in her positive graces so he'd have some support close-by if he needed it.

A/N: thank you to Guest, pumpkinking5, Simone (Guest), everyturn (Guest), Guest, inlovewithHP, Alexandrea Elizabeth Cullen and vballr217 for your support.

Guest – you could mean "The Trials of Life" by mattnme04.