"I ain't complain', but I'm tired so I'm just saying what I think. And if we're being honest, then honestly I think I need a drink." -Martina McBride.

When that clock strikes seven, one thing on Gabriella Montez's mind is having a drink. Scrambling around her office gathering her papers, the brunette furiously ran around her desk, searching for her keys. The sounds of her heels running around the office were noisy and disrupting to some workers.

"You know," Carter started out. "You should just take the shoes off." He said to her as her brown eyes met his. She stopped and smiled. Granted she loved Carter, but he was engaged, unfortunately. She bent down, took them off and continued to scramble around her already messy desk. Her phone ringing on the side, she picked it up and saw many missed calls with a picture of the blonde. She groaned noticing how late it was. She stop and relaxed, spotting the bridal folder in the corner of her eye.

"AHA!" She shouted before grabbing everything carefully, then proceeding to run out the door. She smirked and ran full speed down the halls in the building.

"Now time to see Anthony." She smiled as the elevator closed.

"And I'm saying that she's the worst maid of honor ever." The blonde finished looking up to the bartender. Troy smirked trying to process this one in. His turquoise eyes met her brown angry ones as he gave her a look of, 'Come on.'

"What?" She asked annoyed.

"I think you're asking the wrong guy on this, but you stole her man away from her." He cleaned out a cup, and delicately dried it with a towel. He looked back to her. "I mean she's your best friend right?" She nodded. "Well you took her man and-" She whimpered and he stopped talking as she just got his attention

"In my defense, she's ugly and they were kind of rocky." She checked her phone and saw the brunette's face on the caller id. Sharpay thanked the bartender, paid him, and walked over to the front door seeing her best friend.

"You are so lucky that I love you." She said kissing the brunette's cheek. She smiled back at her staring at her best friend. "You look pretty today" Sharpay said walking them over to a table. "You could ditch the black color once in a while." Gabby rolled her eyes patting down her tight black pencil skirt.

"I actually work for a living." She said pulling out the wedding folder and flagging down a waitress for a beer. "Can I have a Heineken please?" She said softly as she turned to Sharpay. "I've already got a couple ideas for what to give the guests for coming." She said being serious to her friend. But on Sharpay's mind was the handsome man that was walking her way. The man she calls, 'Fiancé'.

"Sorry babe." Sharpay quickly stood up, running to her man that she will spend the rest of her life with. Gabby looked at the scene feeling her heart tear into two. She took a drink of her beer wondering why she let's this get to her.

"Gabriella!" He said happily hugging her as she sat there taking this all in. Her ex-boyfriend was now her best friend's fiancé. Although it killed her inside that he moved onto her, she still was somewhat accepting to it all. Even planning most of their wedding activities. The two engaged shared a kiss and Gabriella found her beer empty. She groaned not finding any waitresses.

"Excuse me for a second." She said getting up from the perky couple and walking up to the bar.

He was finishing cleaning out his last shot glass as he saw a beautiful flustered brunette storm up to his bar. Her long hair was curly and thick complementing the strong work look to her. She was rather tall and slender, being perfectly in between. Looking like she just came from work, he knew this would be a long night of ranting issues. She sat down and looked right into his eyes. Her brown ones stared right into him as a smile crept on his face.

"Hello." He said looking into her eyes still. She smiled at him politely, looking at what to have.

"Hi," She said shyly but when it came to the drink, "Can I get tequila shot straight up?" She said looking and sounding desperate. She tried to hide it, but she failed miserably.

"Rough day at work?" He asked grabbing the bottle of liquor and the last shot glass that he cleaned. It was his favorite one. After a drunk person broke a couple, he bought this one and it brought him great luck. From heavy tips to meeting famous people, it was his lucky charm.

"You could say that," She started shooting her shot back that surprised him. Pushing the glass away from her, she began playing with her fingers. "Or you could say that my best friend, who stole my boyfriend, is getting married." She said looking up into his shocked expression. She smirked. "You've heard this one before haven't you?" He chuckled.

"No but does your friend happen to be blonde and talk too much?" She raised an eyebrow and looked at him shocked as well.

"Yes…" She said hesitant. "Why? You know her?" He chuckled looking over to her.

"Actually she was just complaining about you." Gabby this time took the laugh but sarcastically. Troy knew that her best friend and her fiancé hurt her terribly.

"Why am I not surprised. Can I get another tequila straight up?" She said politely but demanding at the same time. He couldn't believe that the blonde described her 'ugly' friend this way. He's starring at a beautiful woman that looks like she's straight from heaven. He poured her shot glass and she shot it down once again.

"I take it you don't have a good relationship?" He asked wanting to keep the conversation alive as she sat there distraught. The memories crept up in her mind making her feel worse.

"We do. It's...alright. It's just when we were born on the same day, we were both bald and looked the same," He chuckled interrupting her as she looked up, giggling with him slightly before continuing. "And the hospital mixed us up. After an hour of noticing that one family had a Latina baby and one having a white baby, they switched us back and our parents got to know each other." They laughed and then she sighed. "Ever since then, my parents loved her and everything I did wasn't good enough for them. Can I have a beer now?" She asked before continuing. He handed her a beer and smiled at her.

"So when she took your ex, your parents said...?" Gabby looked up at his lingering question and smiled, rolling her eyes as she took a swig of her drink before laughing.

"They said, 'Sorry honey, but they were a better couple.' After that, I was sick of them, so I moved from New Mexico to New York. Guess who followed." She said taking another drink of her beer. His eyes narrowed down to the blonde who was laughing with a bunch of happy people.

And only after meeting Gabriella in the past five minutes, he felt sympathy for her. He had no idea why he felt this way, and when a customer would tell their sob story, he acted interested, but never cared. This time he did.

"The blonde." He answered looking around the bar seeing no one, feeling relieved that he was not busy tonight. She looked back at him nodding. As if on cue, she walked up to her smiling.

"Hey baby." She smiled at Gabby; Gabby quickly mustered up a fake smile.

"Hey," She started. "Uh, you need something?" She asked. Troy walked over to get a chair so he could continue to talk to her.

"Yeah, come with me!" She whined. Gabby rolled her eyes.

"I'm busy." She said annoyed. Her brown eyes looked into Troy's as he gave back a sympathetic look making her feel more comfortable. Sharpay told her that she was mad and walked away. Gabby looked down clenching her jaw then looking up to Troy.

"Through all this drama, I never caught your name." She said politely sticking her hand out. "Gabriella Montez." He took it.

"Troy Bolton." She smiled looking deep into his eyes.

"So how can I really tell if you are listening to me like a boyfriend, or like a bartender? Don't you get this all the time?" She asked a couple of hours after they met. The whole time they were flirting, laughing, and having deep conversations.

"For sure boyfriend." He said looking into her eyes. At this point, it was closing time, and they were both 3/4's drunk.

"Oh really?" She joked. "If you're so called boyfriend material, then why didn't you ask me for my number?" She said leaning into him. He could smell the beer on her breath, but he didn't mind. He was probably in the same situation as her.

"After this kiss I will give it to you." He leaned in and kissed the brunette's soft lips. She kissed back with a little flare. He couldn't resist pulling away, but after her phone went off, she pulled back.

"He-Hello?" She asked trying to be serious, but she couldn't keep her drunken tone to a hush.

"Gabby. Your car is sitting outside still. I'm giving you a ride home. Get your ass outside now." Sharpay shouted. Gabby smiled and hung up looking over to Troy. He smiled back kissing her real quick. As he pulled away, he felt her lips crash back onto his. Taking the kiss a little longer, he finally pulled away. Their foreheads touched, and their eyes remained locked on each other.

"We have to do this more often." He said and she broke the lock laughing and stepping off the stool. She pulled her skirt down, ending it from riding up her rear and pulled a napkin and pen from her purse. She gave him her number and he wrote down his. They kissed one more time before she left his view. A smirk washed over his face as he shut down his bar, leaving the cleanup crew.

Her alarm clock was blaring through her empty apartment. Grabbing a pillow, she forcefully threw it against her nightstand with one free hand. Her head was buried under extra pillows and also throbbing. Sitting up and checking her phone, the time almost gave her a heart attack. She was an hour late for work. Groaning and dialing her boss, she sighed impatiently as he answered.

"Yes?" He said knowing it was Gabriella.

"Hey Anderson, straight up, I'm hung-over from last night and since I'm an hour late, I'm going to be one more hour late so...I was just making sure I still have my job." She said stretching and getting out of bed. He chuckled silently as she opened her blinds.

"I don't mind. Slow business today. See you soon." She smiled and hung up looking around her normally clean room. She walked over to her nightstand and opened the drawer, looking for Advil to kill this post drinking headache. She picked up her water bottle drinking it down when she saw a phone number next to her clock on the floor. Spitting out her water, she runs over and reads it.

"Troy Bolton...?" She looked around her room for her phone, found it and frantically dialed Sharpay. Bouncing around, she checked the time and had to get ready.

"Hello?" Sharpay said perky into the phone. Gabby rolled her eyes.

"Um, Was I with someone last night?" Gabby asked nervously as she picked out her outfit for today, proceeding to the bathroom.

"Oh my god yeah you did! He was extremely hot! Did you get his number?" Gabby smiled knowing that she was with a hot guy, but she doesn't remember him at all.

"Yeah actually...But I don't remember getting it at all..." Sharpay laughed and Gabby rolled her eyes again. "I have to go. I'll call you tonight." She hung up, turned on her shower and got ready for work.

"This is going to be a long as hell day."

Walking down the street in the late morning of a nice July summer day, finding a new job, life wasn't easy for Troy Bolton. Working at a bookstore during the day, bartending at night, he needed to make some more money. Of course his family was rich, but he didn't need that lifestyle. His family lived in New Mexico- Gabriella... That woman that he kissed last night popped into his head immediately on the thought of his family. He smiled thinking about what she was up to right now. Walking into the bookstore giving up on his new job expedition, he opened the store and waited for the customers to file in.

Just when he thought his life couldn't get any weirder, the same blonde from the bar last night walked up to his door, opened it and stood there shocked looking at him.

"Please don't tell me you're a creep." She said looking dumb. Troy just smiles.

"You know bartending can't pay all the bills." She sighed.

"Do you have any bridal books on sale?" He nodded walking from behind the desk, her closely following. "How old are you?" She asked like a child.

"Twenty-five." He responded grabbing one book then walking down the next aisle.

"Hmm," She thought about her twenty four year old best friend. "Are you or have you ever been married or have children?" He chuckled grabbing two more books handing the both over to her.

"Engaged before, she broke it off. No marriages or children. I'm clean." He said smirking finding the last book for Sharpay. He walked back to the register and she stared deep into him.

"So, have you ever been a drug addict?" She asked pulling out her money to pay for the books. He sighed shaking his head.

"I've never tried drugs; I used to be a major high school basketball player. I was in the top ten percent in my class. I went to college to major in culinary but I never exceeded anywhere in life. Now I'm just trying to live by on my short money and bills. I have a sister with a two-year-old daughter and both my parents are together. Anymore questions?" Sharpay smiled and looked at him.

"You have permission to marry my best friend." She paid for the books and left. Troy pictured Gabriella say, "You never had my permission to marry my boyfriend." Looking at the slow business today, he picked up his cell phone and dug in his pocket for her number. Feeling his heart beat increase, he reached her voicemail.

"This is Gabriella Montez! I'm currently away, but if you give another ring, I should pick up. Otherwise leave your name and message. Adios." He loved listening to her calming voice speak. Shaking his head, he called a temp and got him to take over his shift so he could clear his mind.

"Here!" She shouted running into the office with her high heels making yet another annoying appearance. Pinning some of her hair from the side back, her bouncy curls were flying as she ran to her desk. Today she decided on a white mid-sleeved blouse, with another black pencil skirt and black high heels with bows near the toes. Carter on the phone looks up and raises his dark eyebrow at her as she runs to her desk, and turning everything on. She sighs and looks at him tired.

"Hung-over?" She nodded. He chuckled shaking his head. She shot him a glare and he still laughed. "You don't scare me." He said looking down to write something. "Oh and put the girls away please?" She rolled her eyes making her breasts stick out more.

"What would you do if you found someone's phone number on a napkin and a little story about what you did last night, but were too drunk to remember?" She asked biting her lip and staring at him seriously. He dropped his pen and smirked.

"I would call him, set up a get together and talk about what happened and arrange a date." A smile grew on Gabriella's face. "You thought the same?" He asked.

"Indeed I did." She smiled logging onto the computer to begin her work. Her phone rang startling her just a bit. Her fingers dug into her purse, finding an unknown number in the caller id. Her heart rate sped up just a bit as she answered it.

"Hello?" She asked smiling as he heard his voice.

"Hey, Gabriella? This is Troy." Both their stomachs fluttered.

"Hey Troy. Um, I'm kind of busy at work, but we could catch up after. I'll meet you at the bar?" She asked hopefully. He breathed and she smiled.

"Yeah no problem. I'll see you same time?" He asked.

"Same time. Bye." She bit her lip hanging up. Carter threw a piece of paper at her. She threw it back smiling.

"You're not busy at all." He said getting back to work shaking his head. Playing rough to get was certainly one of her best traits.

"I know." She said smirking evilly.

Walking up to the bar, she pulled her hair out of the bobby pins, running her fingers through them making her hair look superior and sexy. Deciding to ditch the car today, she walked from her lonely apartment on 71 Broadway to the bar that she met him. Taking the cool summer evening, her phone rang and saw the face of her mother and father on the caller id. Stress.

"Hello?" Gabriella asked fearing they would invite her down.

"Oh Gabriella dear! We haven't talked in a long time!" She said in a rich Latin tone. And by rich, it means money. Her family was a bit wealthy and she could just picture her mom sitting in a hot tub drinking champagne. She'd be dangling one arm out of the tub, and the other elbow propped up to hold the phone to hear ear, home to expense jewelry.

"We haven't mom! I'm sorry. I've been very busy." She said walking over a pot hole. She shook her head. "Damn pot holes."

"Pot holes my dear?" She asked laughing. "How's Sharpay?" Gabriella pulled the phone away from her face and looked directly at the phone making faces at it. Ongoing walkers looked at her funny and she regained her posture.

"Engaged and happy." She replied in a monotone. The bar was in looking distance, causing a smile to flash across her face.

"You will be there one day love. So let's cut to the chase. I would love for you to fly down this weekend so we can all get together like a family. The Evan's and I would love to bring you down. I'll pay for airfare and everything. It's in about a month so I'd love for you to come." No. No. No. Don't say yes.

"Well if air fare is free, I guess so." Her mother squealed.

"Fantastic, oh by the way, how is your love life?" This question always came up whenever she saw or received a call from her mom. She thought of Troy immediately finding someone her parents would be proud about. An evil thought crossed her mind of taking him to her parent's house.

"This guy and I just started seeing each other." She said with no hint of sarcasm. She heard her mother gasp and explain to her father about a new man.

"I will pay for his ticket. Kisses!" She hung up, and Gabriella threw her phone in her purse, opening the door to the bar. Playing the innocent look on her face, she looked at the bartender and smiled quickly seeing the familiar smile flash her way. She walked up to the bar about to pull a trick out of her sleeve.

He couldn't help himself but stare her down as she walked her way over to him. Her hair made him want to run his fingers through it all night, plus the fact that she had a beautiful body. Sitting in front of him, she smiled politely and looked into his eyes as he did the same.

"Tequila straight up." He smiled, chuckling as he reached over to get the shot glass and the alcohol. "So, what exactly happened last night?" She asked as he handed over the shot glass.

"Well," Troy started making her smile upon hearing his angelic voice. "We talked a lot of Sharpay." She rolled her eyes starting to remember. She cut in with a yes. "Then we started talking about my future, where we live, and then what jobs we had. Then somehow we were making out." She raised her eyebrow.

"I could remember everything else, but the fact that we were making out." She giggled and he smiled looking at her untouched tequila shot. His head dipped down towards the glass and she looked at him confused, and then looked down at her shot. Her mouth formed a cute little 'o' accompanied by the nodding of her head. She took the shot, drank it down and looked back at him.

"So, I get out early tonight. Would you like to go for a walk?" She smiled.

"I'd love that." He looked around the bar as his African American friend walked past him. With an afro unbelievably huge, he was easy to spot out of a crowd. His face was chiseled perfectly complementing his strong work ethic.

"Hey Chad, take over my shift. Cool." Troy jumped over the bar and grabbed Gabriella's hand and walked away. She turned back and waved at him, turning around to leave the bar. Troy's hand remained in hers as they turned left, walking down the street. The sun still shone but the night was creeping up on them slowly.

"Tonight's beautiful." She smiled looking over the tall buildings to see the sky.

"Indeed it is." He smiled back. He was surely glad that he was finally with someone that felt right.

"So let's recap of last night-" She started but he spoke up instead.

"Twenty questions. Let's go. I'll start." He said calmly. She smiled thinking.

"Hmmm. What is your middle name?"

"Alexander. What do you do for a living?" She giggled.

"We said this last night!" She said looking deep into his eyes, their rare colored eyes were stuck glued to each other. She wanted him, and he wanted her. "I don't have work tomorrow; want to come back to my place?"

Lying in bed staring at the ceiling, panting with smiles on their faces, Gabriella looks to her side seeing the most amazing person lying next to her. He looks to her and smiles as well. Her hair looked amazing, and his was ruffled. He kissed her on the lips sweetly, no sexual or passionate tension to it.

"That. Was-"

"Amazing?" He finished. Turning to him and wrapping her arms around his neck, their foreheads touching, warm bodies pressed tightly against each other, she decided to drop the question.

"I was wondering, if you'd like to come to a family party with me?" She asked nervous. Already meeting the parents she knew he'd walk out. But she has a good explanation.

"Sure." He breathed kissing her nose, brushing a piece of hair back.

"But the catch is, it's in New Mexico." He raised his eyebrow tracing the outline of her face. "But before you freak out, its my mom and dad and the whole Sharpay thing and I just need you to help me forget about them." She rambled and he smiled kissing her lips gently.

"I will go. I know how much this means to you." He smiled sitting up in bed as she remained lying.

"You do?" She asked in bit of a muffle.

"Yeah. I saw your face when Sharpay was with her fiancé. It destroyed you and I care about you." He said honestly as a playful smirk came across her face.

"I've known you for a little over twenty-four hours and you're talking like a boyfriend." He chuckled and kissed her.

"That's because I want to be your boyfriend." She smiled.

"I will call it official if you come with me to New Mexico." He nodded kissing her.

"Deal."

"Besides, my whole family lives there." She looked at him and smiled. Knocking two birds out with one stone.

Well that was long. I hope you enjoy this series. I feel it's my best one. Review!