Wishing You Well

by hotsodagirl

Summary: If you make a wish before throwing a coin in a wishing well, that wish will come true as long as you're patient. But sometimes it takes a while before fate intervenes, and you have to wait for just the right moment...

Rating: K+

Genre: Romance

Sodagirl Says: Hey everyone, what's up? This is my latest one-shot, Wishing You Well. I got this idea a while back, and it just worked out well. I really like this story. It's actually a four-shot, so make sure you stick around for all four parts, 'kay? Please review at the end!

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Gabriella's POV

I sigh as I walk into the school building, dismayed as I realize what day it is. It's a Monday, but it's not just any Monday. It happens to be the last Monday of the school year, my senior year, and I know that life as I know it is quickly coming to an end. After this Thursday, school will be over. I will never be able to walk through these halls again. I won't be able to look forward to Zeke's latest cookie recipe or Troy and Chad's basketball games. I will never again spend my afternoons studying in the chem. lab with Taylor or pass the time in English by texting Sharpay about the latest gossip. I'm going to miss all of it, but most of all I'm going to miss him...

"Hey Gabi!" I hear his voice ring out behind me. I feel his arms around my waist and I squeal as he lifts me effortlessly into the air and spins me around the hall.

"Ryan, put me down!" I scream, giggling. He obeys, but twirls me around to face him the instant my feet touch the floor. He is grinning from ear to ear, and only now do I notice the large volume in his hand. I gasp.

"Oh my gosh! Our yearbooks are in?!" I exclaim. He nods and grabs my wrist with his free hand. Together we run down the hallways, making our way around the school until we get to the cafeteria, where the yearbooks are being distributed. I get mine from the table underneath a sign that reads LAST NAMES K-P and immediately begin flipping through it, smiling at all the memories that come to mind. There's a picture of Sharpay as this year's lead in the musical, a position I happily handed over to her after last year's controversy. Next comes a photo of Troy, making the game-winning basket of the second championship game in a row. Then there was one of Chad in a pink, frilly dress - but we're all trying to forget about that one.

"That is so not Chad's shade!" I hear Sharpay call out over the roar of students' voices. I look up from my yearbook to see her looking mortified into her own book and I laugh as I cross the cafeteria to meet her. Her brother has taken his place at her side since we arrived minutes earlier and he flashes me a smile as I approach. I try not to blush; he only thinks of me as a friend and I don't want him to know I've had a crush on him almost the entire time I've lived in Albuquerque.

"Hey Sharpay!" I say, waving. She looks up and waves back excitedly.

"Gabi! I was just about to come looking for you!"

"Oh yeah? What's up?"

"I was wondering if you had seen Troy..." Her face turns pink just by speaking his name. We all know she's head over heels in love with him, but she will never admit it.

"Sorry, I haven't-" Just as I am beginning to tell her I haven't seen him, I look to the side and see him standing on the other side of the cafeteria. I point. "Oh wait, there he is! Why were you looking for him?"

"I... kind of wanted him to be the first to sign my yearbook. If you don't mind, that is." She adds the second sentence as a quick afterthought, but I smile and shake my head.

"Sharpay, we only dated for one month in our junior year! We decided we're better off as friends. However, I know you want to be more than just friends with him, so go for it!" I give her an encouraging push in his direction, and it's all she needs. Seconds later she is at his side, smiling up at him as she talks animatedly and hold out her yearbook. He nods, takes it, and begins signing. She glances over at me and I give her a thumbs-up sign.

"Aren't they cute together?" I ask. Ryan shrugs.

"I guess so."

"You guess so? She is completely in love with him, and you only guess they look cute together? Don't you want your sister to be happy?" I shout in a lecturing voice, smiling to let him know I'm joking.

"Well, yeah, I want her to be happy, but... he's just... she's not... um... Sign my yearbook?" he asks, changing the subject. I roll my eyes good-naturedly and we exchange books. We both sit down at the nearest table and I pull out a pen, chewing on the tip as I contemplate about what to write.

'Let's see... "Ryan, I've had a crush on you ever since I moved here..." No, I can't say that! Hmm... Maybe, "Ryan, we've had some good times as friends, but maybe we should be more..." No, that's even worse! "Ryan, you're way hotter than Troy will ever hope to be!"' I start laughing at my last thought, making Ryan give me a weird look.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing!" I feel my face flush as I look back down at his yearbook.

'Seriously now Gabriella! Concentrate! Okay, what can I say that sounds nice, sweet, and honest without being completely honest? I can't just tell him how I really feel; that's practically suicide!'

"Are you almost done?" Ryan asks.

"Almost. Give me one minute." I put the pen to the paper and begin writing.

Ryan,

Wow, these past two years have flown by. It seems like just yesterday we were talking for the first time at the Twinkle Towne cast party. I remember every detail. I came as Troy's date, but he left once to get some punch and never came back. It was those crazed fan girls of his, but I guess when you put the captain of the basketball team in the musical, you're going to end up with stalkers. So there I was, alone, and you came up to me, also alone after your sister ran off somewhere (probably following Troy, lol!). We started talking, and before the night was over we were like best friends. Okay, we were best friends! And we still are.

You are one of the sweetest guys I know, not to mention the biggest triple threat! You're an amazing actor, you have a fabulous voice, and you can shake your hips better than anyone I've ever seen. I swear, you will be an actor on Broadway in no time! But when it happens, I'm really going to miss you. That's the saddest thing about our graduating. As a group, we've all grown so close, and now we're going to all get separated. When you are a big time actor, don't forget me, okay? And don't even try to say you're not going to be a big time actor, because you will be.

Love, Gabriella Montez

May 2007

Go Wildcats!

"Okay, I'm done!" I announce, and not a moment too soon, for I hear the bell ring immediately after my voice. We hand our yearbooks back to each other and manage to find our rather large group of friends through the commotion of bodies moving to homeroom for one of the last times of the year. We all walk into Ms. Darbus' room and take our seats; all eight of us sitting in a group of desks close together. On the row furthest to the right, there's Chad and Taylor. On the row next to them sits Troy, Jason and Zeke. Finally, sitting on the third row from the right are Sharpay, Ryan, and me. As our crazy teacher - I mean, our passionate teacher- calls the class to attention and begins to give the morning's announcements, I flip open my yearbook and read over the single message.

Miss Valedictorian, a.k.a. GABI,

Can you believe we're graduating Thursday? On the bright side, we won't have to see psycho Ms. Darbus anymore, or listen to her crazy rants about the "evil of cell phones." But on the downside, you're probably going to Yale or somewhere big like that, right? I'll probably never see you again after this week is over, so I'm giving you advice to last you through the rest of your life. It's good advice, too. Why? Because it came from me and I'm Ryan!

Here's my advice to you: Don't ever change. You're perfect the way you are and you should never let anyone change you to be anything but yourself. Follow your dreams; they'll lead you where you're supposed to go. I know I sound like a cliché book, so I'm going to finish off my advice by saying don't talk to strangers, don't judge a book by its cover, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and oh yeah, eat your vegetables:D I'm going to miss you like crazy for the rest of my life. You're the best friend I've ever had and the best one I'll ever have.

Always Yours,

Ryan Evans

By this point I am no longer listening to Ms. Darbus - not that I had been listening in the first place. Instead, I read and reread the things Ryan wrote, and I feel tears start to form behind my eyes. 'He really is the sweetest guy I know. Oh, why do we have to graduate? I would give anything to be able to stay with him throughout our entire lives.'

The bell rings, signaling the end of homeroom, and we all get up and head for the door. For a split second, I think, 'Why shouldn't I tell him how I really feel? After all, this is our last week together. What harm could it do?'

"Ryan!" I yell to get his attention. He looks over, sees it's me calling, and comes to stand by me. I look into his soft blue eyes, and suddenly I can't say anything.

"Did you want something?" he asks. I shake my head.

"Never mind. It can wait."

"If you say so." We exit the classroom together, and I mentally kick myself. 'Why didn't you tell him? What are you so afraid of?'

'I'm afraid he'll reject me,' I answer myself internally. 'And I could never take rejection from the one guy I've ever truly loved.'

Sodagirl Says: Okay, there's part one! I hoped you liked it for now. Leave me good reviews:P