Disclaimer: It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.
Written July 15, 2006
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Chapter 15 – The Honest Things, They Last
And then I was walking down the aisle in a beautiful white dress, Troy waiting with a smile at the end. And his eyes were shining as he watched me reach him, as if he could hardly believe his luck. And as I neared, I turned to the left, taking my place next to the maid of honor. And then our eyes turned back to watch the bride approach, the wedding march echoing softly throughout the church.
And under her veil, I could see Sharpay was crying as she walked to meet Zeke. But his smile made her tears fade, and they seemed stronger together than they had been apart. They'd made it through the prenup discussion intact: Zeke had signed, finally seeing it as a sign of realistic trust instead of failure. And the kids and last name issues had been resolved soon after, though I didn't quite know the result—Troy wasn't getting involved anymore, as requested.
As the ceremony started, I winked at Troy and he grinned back at me happily. It was lucky we'd been roped into being bridesmaid and groomsman together, or the whole thing would have been hard to handle. Sharpay was a lovely but demanding bride, and it was good to have someone to laugh with as we went through numerous parties, showers, and rehearsals.
And much to Sharpay's pleasure, the whole day seemed to be going off without a hitch. As the ceremony wound down, she gave Zeke's hand a little squeeze of triumph as they marched back down the aisle, the guests rising to their feet to applaud. I put my arm through Troy's as we followed them out, and he leaned over to whisper in my ear.
"Hey," he said, urgently. "I hear it's easy to get with you bridesmaids at weddings."
"Oh, shut up," I said, elbowing him, and he laughed.
"Ahh, I knew I should have gone for the maid of honor instead," he said, grinning. "She's a former Miss New Mexico, you know."
"She's a former Albuquerque Junior Miss, and that was fourteen years ago," I said.
"Well, she's still got it," he said seriously, and then laughed as I hit him again. "Okay, okay, so do you, of course," he said, kissing the top of my head. "You look gorgeous, Gabi. You know it."
I pretended to swoon, and he laughed, squeezing me close to his side as Zeke and Sharpay stopped in front of us. They looked so in love as they stood on top of the church steps, the guests cheering and throwing confetti to congratulate them. Then after a few moments, Sharpay turned to nod at us. And then we were following them again, as always, to the cars waiting to whisk us away.
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We dropped onto the plush green grass near the Palace of Fine Arts. It was a gorgeous open-air Roman-style stone building near a shining lake—the perfect setting for elegant wedding photos. After a million group shots of the bridal party, Sharpay and Zeke were posing for their couple-only photos nearby, giving us a chance to finally rest our smiles. And Marek and Lily, the best man and maid of honor, had gone back to the car to get Lily's inhaler, finally leaving us with a moment alone.
I smiled at Troy, sitting next to me with his jacket off and his legs stretched out. Careful not to get grass stains on my white dress, I moved to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Hey," I said, smiling. "I forgot to tell you earlier, but—"
But suddenly a voice cut in. "Hey, guys."
We looked behind us to see Ryan approaching, holding Sharpay's youngest son Matthew. The little boy lifted his head off Ryan's shoulder and his eyes widened as he saw us.
"Hey, Ryan," Troy said, grinning. "Glad you could make it."
Ryan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I just missed the ceremony, thanks to fog or something on the runway in New York." He shrugged. "But I'm here now. And of course, lucky uncle Ryan is put straight to work. I'm babysitting Matthew and Dylan, the little terrors." He patted Matthew's back softly and laughed.
I smiled up at him. "So where's Dylan?"
"What?"
Ryan's expression turned to pure shock as he started to frantically scan the area around him. "Oh no. You've got to be kidding me. Where did that kid go?"
And looking around, we all saw him at the same time. In the distance, a little blond boy was chasing the ducks near the edge of the lake. Ryan's face turned slightly red.
"I told him to stay right behind me," he said. "Man, is he going to get it." He looked down at Troy. "Hold onto this one for a minute."
And he dropped Matthew into Troy's arms, rocketing off to chase after his nephew. I laughed, watching Dylan turn and run as he saw his uncle flying toward him. And when I turned back, ready to share the laugh with Troy, I suddenly felt my heart twist. Troy held Matthew in his arms, both of them looking out at a bird which had suddenly waddled up behind them. I saw Matthew giggle as Troy whispered softly in his ear, huge smiles on both their faces.
I couldn't help but grin to match them, thinking about how wonderful Troy was. And suddenly, I remembered my news… but for the moment, I kept it to myself.
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And then I was taking my heels off as the reception wound down, dangling them in my hands as I padded around the ballroom. Troy had disappeared a while back to talk with some of people he knew, but I couldn't see him in any of the small groups milling about.
The band started into a raucous country song as I went to pick at the pieces of wedding cake spread out on the buffet table. Sitting in a nearby chair, Ryan caught my eye and made a vomiting gesture at the changed music. He could hardly do more: Matthew lay sleeping against his chest, his arms curled softly around his uncle's neck, and Ryan kept a sharp eye on Dylan as he chased a little girl around the room. Lifting my plate of cake, I nodded to him, smiling before I turned away.
I wandered around the room, chatting lightly with some of the guests and keeping an eye out for Troy. But somehow, I stopped looking for him as my last conversation drifted away. A wave of fatigue overtook me, and I felt my legs aching from all the walking today. But looking around, the chairs suddenly seemed wholly unwelcoming. Instead, I chose an open spot along one wall behind the tables, sliding down to sit on the carpeted floor. Hidden by the tables, I relaxed and finished off the remains of my cake, my tired legs stretched out comfortably in front of me. Then suddenly, I heard someone whisper.
"Psst. Room enough for two down there?"
And looking up, there stood Troy, grinning at me like always.
I nodded, smiling, and he bent down to sit next to me, his legs stretched out in front too. I moved so I leaned against his chest, and he wrapped an arm loosely around my waist, kissing the top of my head.
"I don't know about you, but I'm so tired," he said, sighing. "I saw Zeke and Sharpay on the dance floor still cutting up a rug. They must be on speed or something."
I laughed. "Hey, I couldn't find you earlier," I said. "Where'd you go for so long?"
He let out a wry laugh. "The bathroom," he said. "I was just going to pee… but then one of Sharpay's kid cousins came in totally smashed. I had to prop the poor guy up over the toilet so he could let it all out." He shook his head. "And just when you think he's out of vomit… he really knows how to surprise you."
"Well… the Evans family was always multitalented," I said, and he laughed, hugging me a little. "No doubt about that," he said.
Then suddenly, there was a warm silence between us. I felt him rest his cheek against my head, and his hand spread out over my stomach as he held me. Nestled close to him, I remembered then what I had to say.
"Hey," I said, smiling as I looked up at him. "I was going to tell you something earlier. Kind of big news."
"Big, huh?" he said.
"Well… big for me, anyway," I said, putting my hand over his. "They're keeping me on permanently as associate editor at Poptech. The issue I coordinated did really well. Isn't that great?"
But I realized he wasn't saying anything. Tentatively, I looked up and spoke again. "Yeah, everyone got nicer the longer I stayed there. And Camille even left to go to 4WD, that tech & sport magazine down the block. But… it is great, right?"
"Oh… yeah." He let out a breath. "Sorry. I just thought…"
"Thought what?"
And suddenly I felt the warm vibration of his laughter through my back. "I just had this feeling that you were going to say you were…. pregnant."
"Pregnant." I laughed gently, pulling his arm tighter around me. "Of course. You've been trying to knock me up, haven't you?"
"Well… I needed a hobby." He let out a burst of guilty laughter as he said the next part. "And... you know I was always good with my hands."
I elbowed him, but it only made him laugh harder. "God forbid you should ever have children," I said, smiling. "They're going to be nightmares."
And as his laughter subsided, he wrapped both arms around my waist and kissed me on the shoulder. "Well, it's all right," he said. "I really can't complain about the way things are right now." He leaned me backwards gently, and kissed me on the mouth. "You're a lot of fun all on your own."
"Ahhh… you're not so bad yourself."
And smiling happily, I kissed him again, feeling his hand lift into my hair to hold the back of my head. "Hey," he said, squeezing my side as we broke apart. "I always knew you bridesmaids were easy."
"Oh, shut up," I said, laughing.
And as he laughed and held me close again, I felt a warmth spread within me as I relaxed into him. It was as easy between us as it had always been, since we had first met at that ski lodge back in high school. I felt a strange sense of delight, that the person I loved now was the first I had ever loved, all those years ago. And I thought about walking down the aisle this morning towards him, and how right it had all somehow seemed.
And as he whispered into my ear, it seemed as though he was thinking the same. "You know, we get to do all this next summer."
"I know," I whispered back. "We planned it that way, remember?"
"Clever of us," he said. "But you know… I can't wait."
I felt him kiss the back of my head softly, and smiled. "Neither can I," I said.
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Author's Note: Ahhh, endings are hard. I twisted and turned over where this one would go for the longest time. And Once and Again set the bar so high for me---but I couldn't exactly have Troy propose twice. Instead, I thought I'd just let them have a good time, a little banter, and tie up the stuff about Gabi's job and Sharpay and Zeke. A warm kiss on the cheek before we sent them off into that good night. (If you're interested, the song I was listening to here was By Heart by Sylvie Lewis, which is a lovely, lovely song.)
Agh---and that means this story is finally over! So much love to all you readers out there---you all meant so much. It's still amazing to me that you guys all liked something I've written, and when you did review, it really did keep me so excited to continue. Special, special thanks to aussiegirl1989, keepermarch, Efron'sGirl, TroyandGabriellafanFOREVER, lizzie2917, mylifeismine, peachie1st, lylmzduckie , kagomeguen, SPOTTY, StarInHeaven1014, Mrs.Maricelle123456789, shoppinfreak, virzag, Butterflycutie88, balingy, carito06, soaringinlove, SOARING-FLYING, Mrs. Radcliffe-Efron, loveRHINO, ZacNessa4Ever, xoxo some lover (or KAPOW), Egyptian-Fire, popkornchicken, Fic-Chic, ChaylorLover4Ever, TheFlash017, nadia2008, lipshake, candyangel1791, Hsmluver29, sophthewiseone, Oliverwoodschic, StrengthToBelieve, sweet blossom89, luv24+Alias, SugarCoatedStrawberry08, dolcebabi, and especially to moonlightdream4, xochrissy, wendy04, and the mysterious M from the Breaking Free boards. As with the last time, I hope I got everyone there… but if I didn't, you know I think everyone who submitted a review was wonderful, and you should all definitely know that!
So… since we're at the very end, I'd love for you to send me a review, if you have anything to say about the story at all. I guess it's kind of a last chance for me to hear from you while it's all fresh in your minds (and mine). Awww… I'm going to miss writing this story so much, but their story just had to end here for now! There will possibly (probably?) be a third installment, because you know I love them so, but at the moment, I think they're good as they are.
But as always, this won't be the end for me with fanfics. I hope you'll join me as I go back to the HSM Romance Challenge for now (link available under my profile), and wherever else I might go with HSM stories in the future. Thank you all so much again… it's been such a good time! Lots and lots and lots of love!
Added Note (11/19/2006): Hi everyone! There's now a sequel to ATRM called Slips & Tangles. Go and check it out under my profile!