AN: Hello, all. I am back with the follow-up for "Forget Yesterday." If you have not read the aforementioned story, YOU HAVE TO READ IT FIRST. Sorry, does that sound harsh? Nonetheless, it is a necessity, otherwise nothing in here will make sense. And, you know, it might be a good read... perhaps... something. Try it in one go. It's been done. I've been told it takes five hours, so...
So SOMEHOW two people guessed this title. I was quite sad. I figured no one would ever think to guess the name of a 1988 Rod Stewart song. But clearly I was incorrect in that assumption.
Now, even as writing this, I was a bit hesitant to do a follow-up. However, I decided to go with it. You see, I wrote "FY" sort of like a TV show. And this story would be the reunion show that a lot of successful (and, perhaps, not-so-successful) TV shows have. That's my justification. Also, while I don't particularly enjoy writing for HSM, I feel as though, if I ever was to write for it again, it would have to be a continuation of "FY" in some way. I love what I've done with the characters and I almost feel as how I wrote them has become canon for me. I don't think I could go back and write another HSM story without referring back to their history in "FY."
... did you get that?
Fun fact: Did anyone ever notice Lila's age in "FY"? SIXTY-NINE? El-oh-el. Sorry, I make the lamest jabs sometimes.
The chapter title (for all three parts) comes from the musical Merrily We Roll Along.
Title: Forever Young
Rating: T
Author: MadiWillow
Summary: One wedding, one breakup, one reunion. Our favorite eight friends reunite for the first time in years. Sequel to Forget Yesterday.
Genre: Humor/Drama
Chapter: Old Friends, Part I
Gabriella Montez was sleeping peacefully. So peacefully, in fact, that her mind screamed at the sunlight pleading for her eyes to open. She flipped over onto her stomach, refusing to let the light get the better of her. Gabriella was exhausted and no Goddamn sunlight was going to get her up.
"RISE AND SHIII-IINE!"
However, a giant two-hundred pound object dropping itself heavily onto her bed, which in turn caused a catapult effect that left her sprawling on the ground, would.
She stood up, thanking the Lord for the day she forced her would-be-husband to order carpet instead of wood for their bedroom floor. "Troy," she said through gritted teeth. "We've talked about this. No throwing me off the bed!" She rubbed her hip, which was throbbing quite painfully. Gabriella was rather skinny, genetically, and part of her genetics caused her hip bones to protrude. Hence, injuring them was not a hard feat to accomplish.
"Sorry. Can I have your hand?" he asked eagerly.
She sighed and rolled her eyes, sticking out her left hand. He grabbed it and grinned. "Soon there will be two rings on that finger!" he said giddily.
Gabriella frowned. "I can't believe you're more excited about seeing an engagement ring on my finger than I am. You do realize I've been wearing this for over five years, right? Look." She adjusted the ring a bit. "I have a massive tan line."
Troy folded his arms across his chest defiantly. "That is not my fault."
"I know. But still!"
"Well soon, the patch of skin on your finger will get even whiter when we add the wedding ring." He grinned and hopped off the bed, encircling his arms around his fiance's waist.
She smirked back. "Yeah. And you'll finally get your own horrible finger tan line."
He nodded. "That's actually the only reason I asked you to marry me, you know."
With a slight eye roll, she giggled. Pulling away from him and walking into their attached bathroom, she asked, "Why'd you get me up?"
Troy followed her. "Um... well, it's, like, eleven."
"Is it?" she asked mildly, turning on the faucet to brush her teeth. "Well, school just got out so I need to catch up on my sleep."
He leaned his back up against the sink next to her, his arms crossed. "I still can't believe you decided to go back to school."
"Well," she said, with a mouth full of toothpaste. "That's not exactly true."
Shrugging, he said, "It kinda is. Sure, you don't get homework, but sometimes you're up all night planning those stupid labs."
She spat the toothpaste into the sink and took a swig of water. After spitting that out as well, she said hotly, "I like chemistry labs, okay? It doesn't feel like homework to me because I enjoy it."
"Fuh-reak," sang Troy, and she mock-glared at him.
"Troy Bolton, we are getting married in five days. Do not piss me off," she said with attitude. She pulled her hair back into a bun and began washing her face. "Well, I can't see how you do your job. Every night, you go on TV. I could never do that."
Troy scoffed. "I go on TV to talk about sports. I'm sure you wouldn't mind going on TV to talk about chemistry," he teased.
"Ha, ha," she said dryly. "Actually, I would mind."
He shrugged. "It's really nothing to brag about. It's only the local news."
"Irregardless." She walked across the tile floor toward the shower and turned the water on. "Now get out, I'm showering."
"Hey, I could use a shower, too," he whined.
"Troy, no, I --" she started, but stopped when she turned around and saw him standing there, his shirt already off. She bit her lip and grinned. "Well, okay."
A half an hour later, Troy was getting dressed while Gabriella, in a bathrobe, blow-dried her hair. They were both flushed and beaming, and Troy kissed her on the cheek as he said, "I'll go make some breakfast."
"Make some breakfast?" she repeated.
He nodded. "A.K.A. – get out the cereal and milk."
"That's what I thought."
He jogged into the hallway, his long sweats dusting the floor as he went. It was finally happening – their wedding. Troy and Gabriella had been dating on-and-off, though mostly on, for the last seven years, and they were finally getting married. The very thought made him glow, even though most of his male friends didn't understand why. A couple even thought he shouldn't get married at all. Your relationship is perfect, they say, no need to mess it up with marriage. But marriage was what he and Gabriella had always been heading for. After only two months at Stanford University, Gabriella had shown up at his dorm room, dripping wet in the middle of an unexpected rain storm, confessing that she couldn't live without him with her. Even though her mother had been disappointed, she'd transferred to U of A with him after one semester.
Troy remembered feeling guilty, like he'd forced Gabriella to give up her future, but she assured him that wasn't the case. She'd always dreamed of going to Stanford, but she'd never imagined she would find a boy she loved more. At least, that was what she told him. And after Gabriella dedicated four years of college to him, Troy wanted to dedicate something to her, too. On Valentine's Day, he proposed to her, and she accepted. They knew they weren't going to get hitched any time soon, but they also knew that marriage was in their horizon.
Troy was pulled out of his reverie as he was pouring Cinnamon Toast Crunch into two bowls by his front door opening and closing. Chad Danforth, his best friend, appeared in the kitchen. Troy didn't blink or even think twice at his friend walking in without invitation.
"Hey, man," Chad greeted. "Finally got Gabriella up?"
Troy snorted gracefully. "Yeah, finally." He gave Chad a mischievous look. "And then we took a shower."
Chad nodded. "Aah, shower sex," he said dreamily, grabbing himself a bowl from the cupboard. He glanced at the box and then looked up at Troy dubiously. "Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Troy?" he repeated. "You're a grown man, getting married soon, and this is what you choose for breakfast?"
Troy blinked. "But it's cinnamon swirls in every bite!" He held up his owl bowl and smiled innocently.
"Are you auditioning for a commercial?" grimaced Chad. Nevertheless, he poured some of the cereal and milk into his bowl.
Gabriella walked into the kitchen a few moments later, her hair dry and straightened. She grabbed the bowl Troy poured for her and sat herself down next to him. Through a mouthful of food, Chad asked, "What wedding stuff are you guys doing today?"
She looked at him in disgust. "Twenty-four but still talking with food in your mouth." Chad made a face and swallowed.
"Today we have some out-of --" began Troy, but Gabriella coughed loudly and kicked Troy in the leg under the table. "OW!" he yelped, rubbing his shin furiously. "What was that for?"
Chad glanced back and forth between the two of them, puzzled. "Uhh... did you just kick him?" he clarified.
"On accident," said Gabriella quickly. "Today we're going to visit the party planner and go over all the reception details."
Troy gave her a look but didn't say anything. Chad, however, shrugged and continued to eat.
A few minutes later, Chad excused himself to use the bathroom, and Troy immediately turned on Gabriella. "Why the hell did you kick me? And, um, we're not going to see the party planner today. That's tomorrow."
"I know."
Troy paused. "Then why did you say it?" he asked slowly, as if conversing with a small, inept child.
"Hello, Troy! If you mention anything about out-of-towners, Chad will freak."
He was nonplussed. "I don't get it."
"Come on. You know how he gets whenever someone mentions Sharpay, or even alludes to her," Gabriella reminded him. "Like when I said I wanted to go to New York."
Troy groaned loudly. "Are you kidding me? Gabriella, they broke up a thousand years ago."
She smiled slightly. "Well, actually, only four."
"Only four," he repeated sarcastically. "Wow, four whole years. Why would anyone expect them to get over it by now?" He shook his head grumpily. "How long did it take you and me? Like, less than a month?"
She shrugged. "Clearly they're different than us."
"I think immature is the word you're looking for," he supplied, looking annoyed.
Gabriella was hesitant as well, but she said. "Look, they'll come around when they want to."
Troy wasn't convinced, and he knew Gabriella wasn't either, but he didn't press the matter any further.
"Gabriella," began Becca, trying incredibly hard to keep her words casual and light, "are you sure you don't want pigs-in-a-blanket served as hors d'oeuvres?"
Gabriella blinked at Becca, looking at her blankly. "No, Becca, I'm quite sure – very sure, in fact – that I do not want anything that resembles pigs, or any other animal, for that matter, in blankets at my wedding," she said dryly.
Becca pursed her lips but did not pursue the subject. Gabriella narrowed her eyes at Troy. Becca was a great future mother-in-law, but she had a completely different view from Gabriella's about what she wanted the wedding to look like. It all started when she wanted to send out orange invitations with a pink trim on them – an idea that a horrified Gabriella had stomped all over. Later, Becca suggested having orchids at the wedding and Gabriella, knowing nothing about flowers, followed her and the party planner out to the flower shop. Needless to say, after seeing the orchids that the saleswoman called "Orchids of the Osa Peninsula" for about half a second, Gabriella refused to get them. Not only that, but she also squashed Becca's color scheme of purple and blue as well.
After that incident, Gabriella told Troy he couldn't let his mother help with the wedding anymore, and he broke it to her gently, saying that Gabriella really wanted to do it alone. Becca said she didn't mind, but, every chance she got, she attempted to throw out ideas.
"Okay, well, about the seating chart --" she said, pointing. "Are you sure you want all of your little high school friends at the head table with you?"
Gabriella nodded. "Yes."
"I think Jack and I should --"
Smiling tightly, Gabriella interrupted, "You and Jack are sitting with my mother and Benjamin and other close relatives."
"Yes, but --"
"Becca," Jack sighed, and the other woman stopped talking to scowl.
There was a small, awkward silence between the four of them as Becca and Gabriella both looked irritated with each other. After a moment, Becca said, in an attempt to be pleasant, "So... people are flying in today, right?"
Gabriella nodded. "Well, some of them. My bridesmaids have to come and get their dresses fitted, and the groomsmen need to get their tuxes measured."
"So, basically, your friends from school are coming today?"
"Basically."
More silence.
"Hey, Gabriella, let's... go over here," said Troy lamely, grabbing her hand and leading her down the hall.
Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Wow, Troy, that wasn't obvious at all." The two of them entered the den, and she smiled. "Wow."
"Haven't been in here in a while, have we?" he said knowingly.
She shook her head. "Nope." The room still looked exactly the same as it had six years earlier, when they were just ending their senior year. "How have we come over so often and not gone in here?" she asked rhetorically.
Troy shrugged, plopping himself down on the worn couch. "Being an adult is hard," he pouted. Gabriella sat down, too, and snuggled up next to him. "So, Mrs. Bolton," he began, grinning down at her.
She looked up and raised an eyebrow at him. "Mrs. Bolton?" she repeated. "Why Mrs. Bolton?"
"Well, you don't think I'm gonna be Mr. Montez, do you?" He laughed, but slowly stopped when he noticed her less-than-amused face. "That's a joke, Gabriella."
"What if I don't wanna change my last name?" she challenged, sitting up sightly.
He blinked. "Well... I just always thought..."
"See in there?" Gabriella pointed toward the general direction of where the kitchen was. "That's Mrs. Bolton."
Troy frowned. "Okay, yeah, that's gonna be weird."
Gabriella suddenly smirked insidiously. "Wait, I kinda like it now. Call me Mrs. Bolton."
Troy stared her down. "No."
"Mrs. Bolton's feeling dirty," she teased, running her finger down his chest.
"Gabriella, no!" cried Troy frantically, scooting away from her.
"Why don't you give Mrs. Bolton a big, wet kiss!" she giggled, climbing on top of him.
He writhed and squirmed. "No, Gabriella!"
"Mrs. Bolton wants to do it, Troy!"
"Oh, God, no, Gabriella!"
She finally got off and allowed him to scramble away from him, looking very frightened indeed. She grinned triumphantly at him. "Now I know what to say to turn you off when I don't wanna do it."
He grumbled something incoherently.
The back door opened and the engaged couple looked up curiously.
"Anyone here?" asked a familiar, sing-song voice. The door opened up further and Taylor and Ryan stepped inside.
Gabriella was frozen for a few seconds, and then she jumped up and screamed loudly. Taylor joined in, and the two boys put their hands over their ears.
"OH, MY GOD!" shrieked Gabriella, running at Taylor and throwing her arms around her neck.
"IT'S BEEN SO LONG!" Taylor shouted. The two girls jumped up and down as they hugged.
"OH, MY GOD, I KNOW!"
Ryan approached Troy, and the latter stood up. They grabbed each other's right hands and leaned in, clapping each other on the back in a guy-hug.
"IT'S SO GREAT TO SEE YOU!"
"Okay, okay." Ryan walked up to the two girls and gently pulled Taylor off of Gabriella. "You're gonna make our ears bleed."
The girls let go of each other, both smiling ten miles wide. Gabriella hugged Ryan tightly in greeting as well, and Taylor embraced Troy.
"You guys are here already?" exclaimed Gabriella, pulling away from Ryan. "I thought your flight got in at three?"
Taylor shrugged. "We were able to get an earlier flight out."
"What the hell is all this noise?" came an irritated voice, and Jack threw the door open. He saw the four twenty-something's in the den and sighed deeply. "Oh, crap. Don't you two have your own house?" He pointed at Troy and Gabriella. "Take your friends there and let them drink your beer." He turned and stomped back out.
Troy smiled pleasantly at the newly arrived. "Don't mind him. He's just cranky. Old age, you know."
Gabriella grabbed Taylor's hands and the two sat down on the couch, like excited five-year-old school girls. "It's been sooooo long," Gabriella echoed Taylor's previous words.
"Don't you talk on the phone, like, every week?" Troy reminded her.
She glared. "Yes, but we haven't seen each other in, like, two years." She gasped. "Oh, my gosh. It has been almost two years! Because you visited the summer after graduation during your guys's move to L.A.!"
Taylor nodded solemnly. "I know. We kept wanting to come earlier but I'm still in school and Ryan's always working --"
"YOU'RE still in school, too?" cried Troy.
Gabriella gave him a look. "I told you. I'm not technically in school. And she's getting her Ph.D in history."
"But... why in history!?" sputtered Troy.
Taylor rolled her eyes. "I'm gonna be a historian, Troy. Remember?"
"... no." Taylor scowled, and he added quickly, "But, to be fair, I don't remember what anyone's job is." He glanced at Ryan's. "What's yours again?"
Ryan chuckled. "I'm a choreographer."
Troy wrinkled his nose. "So, you, like, teach little kids dancing?"
Ryan paused. "No. That would make me a dance teacher. I choreograph music videos."
"Ha!" barked Troy. "Like Z-list singers?
"You know that new Beyonce video?" piped up Taylor smugly.
Troy took a deep breath to answer, but then exhaled and said, "Nope. But I do know who Beyonce is, so, I guess that's good."
"Wow, thanks for the approval," said Ryan sardonically.
Troy grinned and put his arm around Ryan's shoulders. "This is just like old times. Except..." He glanced around. "There's only half of us here."
"Speaking of, where's everyone else?" Ryan asked.
"Chad's working," explained Gabriella. "And Zeke, Jason, and Sharpay should be in sometime today. We have to go pick Sharpay up at two-thirty-ish."
"And Zeke and Jason?"
"They're renting cars and are gonna go check in to the hotel first," Gabriella said.
Taylor nodded. "So, you're taking Sharpay to her hotel?" She laughed. "I'll bet she wants to be chauffeured, right?"
Gabriella smiled lightly. "Yeah. Well, actually, Sharpay's staying with us. She's not, uh, exactly... her financial status isn't... so great, and because your guys' parents moved to Washington..."
Taylor blinked in surprise. "Wait, she's broke?" She looked up at Ryan, who seemed equally bewildered. "Don't you talk to her all the time?"
He nodded. "Yeah. She's never mentioned anything to me about money issues."
"I just found out a couple days ago," Gabriella admitted. "She's been living in the city, which isn't cheap, trying to make it on Broadway, but the best she's ever gotten was a supporting role in an off-Broadway production, and it only ran for four weeks."
Taylor frowned. "Wow. You know, she shouldn't live right in the city. It's too expensive."
"I know, right?" cried Gabriella, waving her arms. She sighed and shook her head. "But, you know, she's totally stubborn and she's convinced she's going to star on Broadway one day. I'm going to take advantage of her visit and try to convince her to move back here."
Snorting, Taylor said, "You know that's not gonna happen."
"Look, you never --" began Gabriella, but Taylor cut in.
"Come on, Gabriella. You really think Sharpay would move back here while Chad is here? I have never before witnessed such a nasty parting."
Gabriella bit her lip. "I-I know. I just..." She sighed. "I don't know. I'm worried about her, that's all."
"Well, if Sharpay doesn't want help, you won't do any helping," laughed Taylor, and Gabriella smiled weakly back.
"So, what is it that Chad does again?" Ryan questioned.
"And you berate me for not knowing jobs..." Troy mumbled.
"He's a DJ," said Gabriella, ignoring Troy. "DJ MomJeans, actually."
"Mom jeans!?" repeated Taylor, erupting into a fit of giggles. "Where the hell did he come up with that?"
Rolling her eyes, Gabriella said, "I have absolutely no idea whatsoever." She stood up and glanced around the dingy room. "Well, as fun as it's been to be back in here... why don't we show you guys our own home?"
"Your home," said Taylor, a faraway look in her eyes. "God, we are so freakin' old."
Sharpay Evans hated flying. No matter how old she got, she would never understand the physics of a ten-million pound piece of metal flying through the air. Even the wings were metal, for Chrissake. She couldn't see how in the world it managed to stay up. Hence, whenever she was in a plane, she always expected it to fall out of the air. Watching "Lost" didn't help either. She hated flying over oceans even more than land, because at least if the plane fell out of the sky over land, she would be on modernized civilization.
Needless to say, she let out a breath she'd felt like she'd been holding for the last four or so hours as the plane skidded into its landing at the Albuquerque International Sunport. However, when the name Albuquerque floated across her mind, she frowned again. She hadn't been in town in two years, ever since she graduated. Literally the day after graduation, she hopped on a plane to New York City and tried her best not to look back. Sometimes she wished she could go back to the way it was in her senior year of school, when the worst thing that ever happened to them was missing Prom.
Well, and her being cheated on.
With a sigh, she stood up as the plane finally pulled up to the gate and took her single suitcase out of the luggage rack above her seat. She waited rather impatiently, tapping her foot noisily. One of the worst things about being poor – no, she quickly corrected herself, about being average – was the inability to ride in first class. She clenched her jaw as the passengers moved seemingly as slowly as they possibly could without actually stopping.
"God, could you walk at a more snail-like pace?" she spat under her breath, and the business man who she'd sat next to on the flight gave her a dirty look. She leered back until he looked away, and she rolled her eyes.
Five minutes later, she finally managed to squeeze out of her row. Ignoring the woman behind her who was balancing crying twin toddlers, she pushed her way into the aisle and tried to walk off the plane as fast as she could. A boy near her age winked at her from the aisle parallel, and she glared at him menacingly.
It was true, Sharpay hadn't dated much since her last relationship. She'd gone on dates, had a couple one night stands, the norm for those living in New York City. But Sharpay only went out to clubs to get laid when she was feeling considerably depressed or alone.
Feeling quite claustrophobic, Sharpay nearly bowled over the passengers in front of her. She gave a simple curt nod to the friendly flight attendant at the door of the plane and power-walked out of the gate. The further away she was from the plane, the better.
Sharpay, her carry-on bag slung over her shoulder, strode purposefully through the airport whilst glancing around. She was afraid she would get lost in there; after all, it'd been two years since she'd been at it. She kept her eyes peeled for a familiar face as she took an escalator down to the luggage retrieval near the front of the airport.
She split half of her attention to the luggage conveyer belt and the other half to scanning the large crowd. Unfortunately for her, it was packed.
"Jesus, did a hundred fucking planes land at the same time?" she grumbled to herself. Among the many faces, she did not spy anyone she recognized.
She found her Louis Vuitton suitcase and heaved it off the conveyer belt. Yes, her Louis Vuitton suitcase. She may be simply average, financially, but her mother had given her the suitcase as a going away present when she moved to New York. It was the perfect camouflage for pretending she was rich.
Wheeling said suitcase behind her, Sharpay pushed her way through the horde of people, growing slightly antsy as she went. Where the hell were they? It felt like she had circled the airport lobby twenty times.
Suddenly, she stopped in the middle of the room, causing a few people to bump into her and then shoot her annoyed glances. She ignored them and pulled out her phone, grinding her teeth together. "When I get a hold of --" she began, but she was distracted when she looked up and finally – finally! – she found the couple she'd been looking for.
Gabriella and Troy stood, hand in hand, near the front doors of the airport. Gabriella was standing on her tiptoes and had her left hand situated like a visor over her eyes as she searched for Sharpay. Said blonde found herself grinning as she shoved her way towards them.
"Gabriella!" she called, when she was in earshot. Gabriella didn't seem to hear her, so she yelled her name again.
The girl looked around for the source of the noise and beamed when she saw Sharpay. Sharpay beamed back, walking faster towards the two. Sharpay hadn't realized before how much she missed Gabriella. The two had always been such great friends, through their senior year and during college. She hadn't noticed how much she'd vied for Gabriella's presence in her life until she was put in front of her.
"Sharpay!" the other girl squealed, throwing out her arms and embracing Sharpay in a hug as soon as the latter dropped her luggage.
"Hey, Gabriella," giggled Sharpay, hugging the former back.
"It's been so long," said Gabriella, pulling back.
Troy, from behind her, rolled his eyes. "You said that with Taylor. 'It's been soooo loooong,'" he mocked in a high voice. "Are you gonna say it for Zeke and Jason too?"
Gabriella narrowed her eyes. "Yes." She turned back to Sharpay and smiled. "But it really has been so long. I mean, we talk and stuff, but it's different."
"Said that also," piped up Troy.
"Will you shut up?" snapped Gabriella.
Troy shrugged innocently.
"Anyway." She smiled brightly. "I'm so glad you're here. I love your hair!" She reached out and touched Sharpay's darker locks.
"Yeah, I like the dirty blonde look better," said Sharpay in a matter-of-fact tone. She flipped the hair over her shoulder. "Everyone in New York is so over blonde."
Gabriella smirked. "Yeah, okay."
"So, I need to see your house," Sharpay said eagerly, holding our her bags to Troy. He stared at them for a moment, a blank expression on his face, and then turned to Gabriella. She nodded furiously. He sighed and took them begrudgingly, following the two women out of the airport. "Troy makes good money, doesn't he? He better. You wouldn't marry a guy that makes nothing, would you?" She laughed at the apparent obscurity of her words. "And since teachers make next to nothing, it's even more crucial that Troy brings you home a big, fat paycheck."
Gabriella sighed quietly, and Troy scoffed from behind them. "Gee, Sharpay, how I've missed you," he said drawled.
"This is where you'll be staying."
Sharpay glanced around the small bedroom, her nose wrinkled distaste. "This is tiny, Gabriella."
Gabriella clenched her jaw. Sharpay had made somewhere around ten million comments about Troy and Gabriella's finances during the car ride to their house alone. It was beginning to agitate Gabriella, and reminded her of why they hadn't been friends the first time they met. "Sorry, Sharpay. You could use your own money to buy yourself a nice, big room at Embassy Suites, if you like."
"You know," said Sharpay quickly, "this isn't so bad." She paused, and added as an afterthought, "After all, I'll only be here for a few days."
Gabriella did not let her groan of frustration go unnoticed as she turned and stomped out. She marched across the hall toward the kitchen, where Troy was getting out a couple of beers. "Need a drink?" he smirked.
She made a face at the beer and instead brushed past him, reaching for a bottle of vodka. She poured herself some in an iced glass and took a sip. "I don't get what the hell is wrong with her."
"Aww. Sharpay's charming personality has changed?" he asked sardonically.
"Of course she was never sweet," she snapped. "You know what I mean. It's like... moving to New York changed her back into her sixteen-year-old self." She glanced wearily at Troy. "Hopefully she won't try to trick you into singing with her the night before the wedding to steal you away from me."
Troy laughed. "Oh, trust me, Gabriella," he said, an arm draped around her shoulders. "It would take much more than that to get me to leave you for her."
"Ha. Wow, Troy, you're hilarious."
"I know." He took a drink from his beer and exhaled. "Where'd Taylor and Ryan go?"
"They wanted to unpack a bit." Gabriella checked her watch. "They'll probably be back soon."
As if summoned, a knock sounded on the front door.
"Oh, that should be them now." Gabriella slipped out from under Troy's arm and set her glass down on the counter as she walked out of the kitchen and down the hall to the front door. She opened the door and was faced with, instead, two familiar looking men.
"GABRIELLA!"
Gabriella was nearly tackled to the ground as Jason and Zeke pounced on her, hugging her tightly. She giggled and tried to push them off, but her strength from senior year had not grown. They felt her struggles and stood up straighter, beaming at her. "It's good to see you!" cried Zeke, his hands on her shoulders.
"I know! When's the last time you came? Christmas, two and a half years ago?" She turned to Jason. "And you... summer, three years ago?"
They nodded, and she slapped them both on their arms. "Hey!"
"How come you guys didn't come back!? We've missed you!"
They gave her a look. "Come on, Gabriella, you know why," said Zeke.
She frowned. "No, I know. Hey, so, how'd you know to come here? You've never been to our house."
"Well, we went to Troy's parent's house," Zeke explained. "But Jack gave us your address and threw us out. Something about not drinking his beer?" He shrugged noncommittally.
"Yeah, Jack's scarred from our senior year." Her face brightened. "Didn't you guys bring dates? Mikayla and Brandon, right? Where are they?"
"They're unpacking," Jason answered. "Wanted to get settled, or... whatever. They're such girls."
Gabriella nodded in interest. "Riveting." She turned her head and shouted, "Troy, get your ass in here!"
"You act like a married couple already," smirked Jason.
Troy ambled towards them, mumbling, "Jesus, Gabriella, I already saw Taylor and --" He came to an abrupt stop upon the view of Jason and Zeke in the threshold.
Troy blinked.
They blinked.
Then they man-hugged.
"Nice to see you, man."
"Yeah, it's been a while."
Gabriella stared at them incredulously. "This is how you greet each other after three years?"
"What do you want us to?" Troy asked her, quirking an eyebrow. "Kiss?"
She made a face. "Uhhh. No. But still!" The men stared blankly at her, and she sighed in defeat. "Okay, whatever."
Two heads popped up behind Jason and Zeke's shoulders. "What's the hold-up?"
Taylor enthusiastically greeted Jason and Zeke, very similarly to Gabriella, and Ryan greeted them in the same fashion as Troy. Taylor had the same reaction.
"That's how you greet the guys who were once your best friends?"
"Taylor," said Gabriella, tugging her inside. "Sharpay's here."
A loud scream sounded down the hallway, and the blonde came scrambling toward the group. Taylor screamed too, and the girls lunged at each other.
"OH, MY GOD!"
Troy and Ryan exchanged irritated glances, as the Taylor-and-Sharpay-exchange was starting out the exact same the Gabriella-and-Taylor exchange had. "Let's go." They led the other two men into the kitchen, leaving the three girls behind.
"Oh, my gosh, Taylor," gushed Sharpay. "I have the perfect skirt for you. It's too big for me."
Taylor frowned. "Oh, so I'm bigger than you?"
Sharpay stared. "Yes." She grabbed Taylor's hand and dragged her down the hallway, Gabriella rolling her eyes in their wake.
As soon as Sharpay turned the corner, the front door opened again and Chad barged in. "I see a few rental cars out front!"
Gabriella's heart rate jumped. "Uh, oh..." she whispered. Luckily, Chad didn't hear her, as he'd already started to the kitchen.
She followed, and when they entered the kitchen and the four men glanced up at Chad, Gabriella waved her arms frantically. She beckoned for Troy and he approached her as she led him out of the kitchen, leaving Chad to greet the others.
"What?" asked Troy exasperatedly.
"What?" she repeated in disbelief. "What!? Are you seriously asking that question?"
"Um. Yes."
She growled. "Chad and Sharpay are both here. In this house. At the same time!"
Troy smirked. "This'll be interesting. Ouch!" he yelped as his fiance's palm came in quick contact with his arm.
"It will so not be interesting. On the contrary, it will be a disaster."
"Look," said Troy, his patience over the situation clearly diminishing quickly. "They broke up a long time ago, remember?"
"Yes, I do. However, I also remember them refusing to see each other afterwards and making everyone choose sides later that summer."
"I remember too."
"And you remember graduation, when they were trying to make us choose whose party to go to?"
"Yes."
"Why does this information not make you realize how huge of a deal this is?!"
"Because they need to get over it," he said shortly, turning to leave.
"Yeah, well, they can get over it while we're on our honeymoon!" she called after him. "That way I won't have to witness their deaths."
He waved his arm to show he was listening, but didn't respond as he reentered the kitchen.
She scowled at his back and then jumped at the sound of footsteps. She whipped around and saw Taylor and Sharpay returning from Sharpay's room, Taylor holding a huge skirt that had to at least be a size ten, and looking quite pissed off. Sharpay was talking animatedly about something that Gabriella didn't even comprehend as she mouthed, "CHAD'S HERE!"
Taylor's eyes widened and she bit her lip.
"Hey, guys, let's go in the living room and watch the game!" came Troy's loud voice from the kitchen, and Gabriella made a mental note to kick him later. More footsteps sounded as the men approached.
"Sharpay," interrupted Gabriella. "Can you show us, uh..."
"Pictures of your performance in that play?" cut in Taylor.
Sharpay beamed. "Yeah!"
Gabriella and Taylor grabbed an arm each and ran as fast as they could down the hall. Fortunately, they heard no explosion, meaning Chad did not notice the familiar blonde as the men walked into the living room
Troy frowned at Gabriella's retreating back. Even though she knew Sharpay and Chad had to face each other at one point or another – after all, she was the matron of honor and he was the best man – but, for whatever reason, she was trying to stall that reunion. He sighed.
After Sharpay and Chad broke up, everything shot to hell. Sharpay and Chad broke up very suddenly, and Sharpay had to move in with Troy and Gabriella until she got her own apartment. The two found themselves having to split their time between Chad and Sharpay, as both refused to see each other. For the first month or so, they went along with it, knowing they needed space. But once the summer came and their attitudes had not changed, they grew annoyed.
When Zeke, Jason, Ryan, and Taylor returned for summer break, Sharpay and Chad forced them to choose sides. The tension caused the group's friendship to sever, and soon the four had cut their summer vacations short and returned to their various homes. Gabriella had cried and screamed that night; she blamed Sharpay and Chad for "breaking up the entire group." However, she never mentioned it to their faces, and went along with the two never seeing each other for the next year. Troy knew, though, that she still carried around that bit of anger.
The next time Sharpay and Chad saw each other after the breakup was graduation (how they managed to avoid each other so well baffled Troy, even years later). They didn't speak to each other or even look at each other. The next morning, Sharpay flew off to New York, returning only today.
Troy couldn't blame Gabriella for how she felt; a lot of times, he felt it too. When he would reminisce on high school and their promises to always stay in touch – he knew that had Chad and Sharpay been a little less stubborn, they would all see each other so much more. But those who didn't live in Albuquerque just did not want to be a part of the drama. Troy couldn't blame them, either. Sometimes he contemplated taking Gabriella and moving to China.
But he had a feeling she might be mad.
"I'm gonna get us some beers," Chad announced, standing up. Troy raised his bottle to show he already had one.
Chad walked merrily into the kitchen, a spring in his step, and opened the refrigerator in search of four beet bottles. He was feeling great. His best friends were getting married, he was finally seeing his old friends from high school again, work was going splendidly. He wasn't sure exactly what could ruin his mood.
"I'm gonna get us some beers!"
Chad froze, as an all too familiar voice floated to his ears. He knew that voice. He knew that voice very well.
A blonde that he thought he'd never see again – that he hoped, prayed, wished he would never see again – appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. She'd been looking over her shoulder as she entered, smiling widely, but stopped dead at the sight of him, standing at the fridge and juggling four beer bottles.
Her heart pounded up in her throat, and she wasn't sure how long the two stood there for. She hadn't seen him in two years, and talked to him in four. She'd had a feeling that he would be at the wedding but she also planned to prepare herself for their meeting. She was definitely not prepared for this.
"Hi," he said finally.
"Get outta my way," she snapped.
He clenched his jaw, not moving. "Well, you haven't changed," he spat. "Still the same demanding, bitchy girl you were four years ago."
"You bet your ass." She shoved him, and he stumbled.
"What the fuck?"
"You're in my way!"
Both Gabriella and Zeke popped up in the doorway, eyes widening at the view. Gabriella looked worried, but Zeke's face broke into a gleeful smile. "Hey, they found each other!" he yelled. "Come see the explosion!" It sounded like an earthquake as four adults ran as fast as they could to watch the scene unfold.
"What the hell are you doing here, anyway?" ordered Sharpay, holding three beers.
"I live here," he retorted.
She laughed maliciously. "You live here? With Troy and Gabriella?" she sneered, even though she knew her words were false. "Wow, that sucks. That poor, huh?"
"Fuck you. I live in Albuqerque. What are you doing here?" he shot back.
"I'm in town for the wedding. Weren't you invited?"
He rolled his eyes. "I'm the best man."
"Well, I'm the maid of honor."
"Oooh, hooray for you."
"What the fuck, Chad? Why the hell are you always so damn sarcastic?"
"Me?!"
"Yes, you!"
Gabriella put her head in her hands. "Oh, God..."
"Jesus, it's like you never left!" he yelled, his voice rising considerably. "This is just like when we broke up."
"Oh, and I guess that's all my fault?" she screeched. "Like you hold none of the blame?"
"I hold about one percent of the blame."
"Like hell you do!"
Throwing his arms up in the air, he grumbled, "Fuck this. I'm outta here."
"Where are you going?" asked Gabriella desperately.
"Away!"
"Oh, come on!" Troy called after him. "You knew she was coming to the wedding!"
"I didn't wanna see her this soon," he growled viciously. "And besides, I figured she'd outgrown her fucking immaturity. Guess not."
"You're not so mature yourself!" she shrieked, but he'd already slammed the door loudly behind him. She brushed past the other six, stomping to her room and also shutting the door very loudly.
There was a few seconds silence as the fight sunk in, and none of them were smiling any longer.
"Oh... my... God," said Taylor finally. She glanced over at Gabriella, who had tears in her eyes. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly.
Gabriella's arms were shaking. "I can't believe this," she said in a low voice. "I can't believe they're doing this to me, on my wedding! My wedding! I only get one, you know!"
"Well, that's not necessarily --" began Jason with a smirk, but both Taylor's and Troy's glares silenced him.
"I just... God, I've been so good with all the wedding stuff up until now... messing up the food or the flowers doesn't mean much to me, but... this!" she cried. "This, I can't take! I am just, so..." She ran a hand through her hair, messing up her ponytail. "Fuck them."
She stomped down the hall and slammed the door to her bedroom shut.
AN: YAY or NAY? Live up to your expectations? Disappoint you?
No "UP NEXT"'s as there's only three parts.