Hey, everybody! So, ever since I finished off Unexpected & Use Somebody, I really wanted to write about Troy & Gabriella in a completely different setting. So, here it is! Set in the future, after high school and college. =)

I hope you guys like it!

And, I don't own anything. I wish I owned Troy Bolton. But I'll leave him with Gabriella. =P

Chapter 1

If there was one thing Gabriella Montez hated, it was a mess. She didn't like her life to be turned upside down unexpectedly; she liked things to be orderly, organized, and neat. Which is why she started all her Saturday mornings the same way: with one big mug of coffee, the morning's newspaper, and her comfortable deck chairs in the backyard of the townhouse she shared with her roommate and best friend, Sharpay Evans. Her roommate was nothing like she was. Sharpay was flashy, outgoing, and energetic. As an upcoming actress, she was often seen on the party scene in LA, which caused Gabriella a weird type of anxiety whenever she showed up next to her at red carpets. Nevertheless, they were best friends since their high school drama club back in Albuquerque had thrown them together.

"What the hell are you doing up so early?" a cranky voice interrupted Gabriella's thoughts. She turned around, to see her Sharpay leaning against the sliding door, her blonde hair a tousled mess, and dressed in a silky pink robe. "It's Saturday morning for God's sake," she muttered, plodding her way towards the other deck chair and flopping on top of it dramatically. Then again, most of Sharpay's actions were done dramatically.

"We go through this every weekend, Shar," Gabriella laughed. "Here, have the rest of my coffee so you can be alive," she nudged her mug towards her best friend.

"Caffeine!" Sharpay cried excitedly, sipping it little by little. "Okay, I'm good. So, what are your plans for today?" she asked, leaning back in her chair.

"Absolutely nothing," Gabriella sighed, content. "I've been working like crazy these past few days, so I'm taking a well-deserved break,"

"Uh, no can do, girlie. There's a party at Game tonight," Sharpay reminded her. Gabriella groaned. Game was a restaurant that Zeke Baylor and Chad Danforth, two of their close friends from high school, had opened. In the past year, it had become a popular eatery in the heart of Los Angeles and after garnering a positive review from one of the city's harshest food critics; they were throwing a huge party to celebrate.

"I forgot that was tonight,"

"Well, you have to go. Taylor's coming over in a few, she needs to raid my closet," Gabriella smiled at the unlikely pairing. Taylor McKessie was, by no means, Sharpay's closest friend. In fact, they really only had Gabriella in common to begin with. But since most of their high school friends had ended up in California, Taylor and Sharpay had struck an unexpected friendship with each other. Gabriella always suspected it was their boyfriends, Zeke and Chad, who had set it up.

"Of course I'll go," she relented.

"And bring Brian," Sharpay threatened playfully. Gabriella sighed. Brian Caraway was her boyfriend of several months. He was a physiologist and they had met through Chad, who worked part-time as a sports coordinator on several movie and television sets. While their relationship was still in it's early stages, Gabriella knew it wasn't going to last long.

"Sure, no problem," Gabriella shrugged distantly.

Game was located on the corner of a hectic street in Los Angeles and that night, it was filled to the brim with local celebrities, press, food critics, and several of Gabriella's closest friends from high school. After walking the necessary red carpet, she found refuge in the softly lit restaurant. Tables groaned under the weight of delicious food – a mix of comfort and gourmet cooking – and the bar sparkled with white lights, flooded with people placing their orders. For a minute, Gabriella lost herself in the shuffle of the crowd, before spotting Chad and Zeke, occupying one of the high tables sprinkled throughout the place.

"Hey!" she cried, giving them both a one-armed hug. "Congratulations on the review, you guys! You totally deserve it," she grinned.

"Thanks, Gabi!" Zeke smiled back, before excusing himself to check on the kitchen.

"It means a lot that you're here, Gabs. After all, you were the one who sat through all of Zeke's disgusting baking concoctions way back when," he joked.

"They were pretty gross, but hey, all of it paid off, right?" she smiled. "Where's Taylor?"

"Over there, talking with Sharpay and Kelsi," he nodded in their direction and Gabriella gave a small wave at the group of girls. "Where's Brian?"

"Oh, we didn't come together. He's working late, so I went ahead first. He'll be here soon, I think," she shrugged her shoulders, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Anyway, I think I'll catch up with Kels. Congratulations again, Chad. You guys worked so hard for this," she grinned, giving him another hug, before joining her girlfriends in a small alcove near the bar, decked out with comfortable couches.

"I'm so excited to see you guys tonight. It's been ages since we last hung out!" Kelsi Nielsen piped up, sipping her white wine. She was a budding composer back in high school and once she set foot in LA, had managed to build her own record label, which was now supporting several big-name acts.

"Kelsi, we saw you last week for lunch," Gabriella pointed out.

"Oh, you know what I mean. Sharpay is always at some audition or modeling gig, Taylor practically lives at the hospital, and Gabi, you're…always MIA," she laughed.

"I am not MIA! I'm busy! Working," she pouted. "Hey, where's Martha?" she asked. Martha Cox was another one of their friends from high school, who had moved out to LA to work at an upcoming dance studio. Over time, she had transformed the place and was now running it.

"You didn't hear? She's holding auditions at the studio for the upcoming Chris Brown tour! It's amazing, that place is really growing," Kelsi said. The conversation went on for a while, the girls catching up on each other's lives, until Gabriella suddenly felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist. Looking up, she found a pair of soft brown eyes and lips that lightly pressed against hers sweetly.

"Hey, sorry I'm late," he apologized, running a hand through his floppy brown hair. Brian Caraway was one of those men who never seemed to age. He was the well-liked, all-star quarterback in his high school, with a penchant for excellence – which meant he was a straight-A student and graduated at the top of his class. His effortlessly, boyish brown hair always seemed to be falling into his eyes, which were a deep chocolate brown, not unlike Gabriella's own.

"No worries. We were just talking about how you and Gabi should go on a trip together, actually," Sharpay said excitedly. "Zeke and I went to the Bahamas last month and it was amazing,"

"Ew, don't need the details, Shar," Kelsi joked.

"I'm just saying!"

"As nice as that sounds, Sharpay, I can't afford any time off at the hospital right now. Plus, with everything that's about to start up…" Brian shrugged his shoulders. "It's so busy,"

"Brian's actually going to start his own medical practice! Isn't that exciting?" Gabriella grinned, rubbing his shoulder affectionately.

"That's great, Brian. But from one doctor to another, you really should take a vacation. When was the last time you guys did anything fun?" Taylor piped up. Gabriella swallowed nervously. It was true that if she and Brian ever had a date, it consisted of take-out and popping in an old movie. They rarely went out and it wasn't unheard of in their relationship to go several days without talking. At first, Gabriella didn't think much of it, citing the short distance between them as being in a mature, adult relationship. After all, Brian was an up and coming physiologist and Gabriella was working her way through the corporate ladder. Career came first for both of them.

"We…" she started to reply, until Chad and Zeke came to join the group. The conversation quickly steered to congratulating the boys and Gabriella breathed a sigh of relief. The truth was, she was second-guessing the whole Brian relationship and had been since Sharpay's BBQ birthday party, when he decided to spend the whole night on his Blackberry, answering emails about his new practice. It wasn't so much that she was disappointed in his interest with his line of work; she, of all people, knew how important work could be. It was that their relationship had an infinite amount of comfort and safety, but no sparks or excitement. She found herself caring less and less when he called late or canceled dinner plans with her. Gabriella took a quick look at the small group of her friends and thought back to the times when they fell in love – maybe it just took some time.

On Sundays, Gabriella liked sleep. She liked curling up in her comfortable bed until her clock hit double digits and the alarm went off. She liked snuggling her face into the fluffy pillows and she liked stretching across her double bed, feeling like a cat. However, on that particular Sunday morning, Hurricane Taylor, Kelsi, and Martha decided to descend on her quiet townhouse. She heard music thumping and she could smell the scent of freshly made waffles and pancakes. Begrudgingly, she dragged herself out of bed and made her way downstairs.

"What the hell?" she mumbled, leaning against the kitchen doorway. Kelsi was busy tossing fruit into a blender, Taylor flipped hot pancakes off the stove, and Martha was busy making French toast. "Why are you guys here?" she asked, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Breakfast!" Kelsi announced happily, before pushing the button on the blender and a loud, crunching sound filled the house. Gabriella groaned and moved towards the coffee pot, pouring herself a large helping and sipping it quietly.

"And you decided to make it over here?" she asked the girls, her eyebrows rising in skepticism.

"Oh, come on! It's a gorgeous day and we just wanted to see our favorite girls!" Martha said, clapping excitedly to herself. Gabriella scoffed and looked at Taylor, who had a bemused look on her face.

"Tay, give it up,"

"It's fucking hot outside and we want your pool," Taylor shrugged and went back to the pancakes.

"Of course," Gabriella chuckled to herself. Her friends were crazy, alright, but they were a good kind of crazy. "You know Sharpay's just going to kill you. She hates mornings and interruptions,"

"Oh please, she's up already. We called her before we came over," Kelsi said dismissively, just as Sharpay waltzed into the kitchen. She plucked a strawberry from the fruit bowl and munched on it, leaning against the island.

"Gabi, you look hideous," she remarked. Gabriella snorted and picked up a plate of pancakes for herself.

"Thanks, Shar,"

"Seriously, go change. The boys are coming over. Barbecue time!" she grabbed a pancake off the plate and nibbled.

"Shar, seriously? Another party?" Gabriella grumbled. The night before, she and Sharpay had stumbled into the townhouse at 3 AM, tired and exhausted. She had been looking forward to lazing around and doing absolutely nothing on her Sunday afternoon.

"It'll be fun, you party pooper. Now go shower and change – you stink," Sharpay giggled. "Oh, and call Brian. He needs to relax, too," she added.

"Brian won't come, he's got to work on his new practice, remember?"

"Ew, boring. You two are perfect for each other," Sharpay laughed.

"Hey, Shar, lay off," Taylor warned. "Gabi?" she asked, suddenly realizing that her best friend was now leaning against the kitchen island, staring off into space. "You okay?"

"What? Oh, I'm fine. I just…I'll be in the shower," she shrugged, pushing herself away and heading up the stairs.

"You don't think there's trouble in paradise, do you?" Sharpay mused, twirling a lock of blond hair around her finger.

"Nah, maybe…she's probably just cranky," Taylor shrugged, dismissing Gabriella's strange behavior. But still, she couldn't help noticing her best friend wince slightly whenever Brian's name was brought up in casual conversation. 'Note to self, force Gabi to tell me soon,' she thought, before going back to flipping pancakes.

Several hours later, the whole gang was lounging about the girls' pool. Martha, Kelsi, Jason, and Chad were in the middle of a feisty water-basketball game, while Zeke worked the grill. Meanwhile, Taylor, Sharpay, and Gabriella sat on the deck chairs, their legs stretched out, and sunglasses shielding their eyes from the heat.

"If only everyday were this perfect," Sharpay wondered out loud.

"I could do without this intense heat, though," Taylor commented, sitting up and fanning herself uselessly with the back of her hand. She looked across and saw Gabriella, immersed in the iPhone she clutched in her hands. "Gabi? Are you working?"

"What? Oh. No, I'm not, I promise," she shrugged. "It's…it's just Brian," she sighed.

"What's wrong?" Sharpay asked, suddenly interested. She lifted up her sunglasses and turned to face her roommate, who had a troubled look spread across her face.

"It's nothing big, really. I'm trying to text him about tonight and he just keeps blowing me off. I get that he's busy with his plans for the practice, but you would think he'd remember he has a girlfriend," she laughed dryly, tapping her phone forcefully. Gabriella shook her head softly. The night before, she had wondered about the nature of their relationship, how incredibly disconnected they had been. But she was determined to make it work – after all, Taylor and Chad weren't perfect, neither were Zeke and Sharpay. Gabriella knew relationships weren't easy and she knew Brian was a hard-working, dedicated, physiologist. She had decided to see it through, she owed both of them that much. But now, with Brian's constant avoidance, she was re-thinking. Again.

"Gabi, just let him simmer. Like you said, the practice is taking up a lot of his time. There's that huge surprise party after it starts up, I'm sure he'll be fine by then," Kelsi, who had abandoned the water-basketball game, was sitting on the edge of Sharpay's deck chair, toweling her hair.

"Yeah, I guess. It's just weird, that's all. We've been so wrapped up in our own lives, it's hard not to wonder whether or not it's worth it anymore," she pointed out, running a hand through her curly locks. "You know what? I think I'm going to take a nap. I'm feeling really out of it," she said, pushing herself off the deck chair and slipping a tanktop over her bikini. The girls nodded and watched their best friend walk away, her head still bent over her iPhone.

"Where'd Gabi go?" Chad piped up, noticing the brunette had left. He pulled himself out of the pool and headed towards the girls. Zeke and Jason joined him and the gang pulled close.

"Just upstairs. She's fighting with Brian, I think," Sharpay replied. "If you ask me, he's being an ass. Gabriella's the best thing that's ever happened to him, you would think he'd realize that!"

"Shar, you know he's busy with the practice," Taylor said.

"That's the lamest excuse in the world. I'm busy with filming, but I still see Zeke every night. Tay, you practically live in the hospital, but you and Chad are perfectly happy," Sharpay pointed out, sitting up. "Let's face it – Brian can't balance personal and work. He can't. Gabi can. It's the biggest deal-breaker in the history of relationships,"

"Sharpay, you have no idea what goes on with them. They're trying to work it out. You have to look at it objectively and from both sides," Chad said, his voice rational and stern.

"All I'm saying is, Gabi is chasing after the perfect relationship – one that she had…" Sharpay started.

"Don't. Don't do that," Taylor warned.

"With Troy," she finished defiantly. A murmur went through the group of friends. Kelsi and Martha averted their eyes, while Zeke clutched the towel so hard, his knuckles turned white. Jason choked on the lemonade he was drinking and Taylor shook her head sadly.

"It's been years, Sharpay. You didn't have to bring that up," she said.

"Why not? Nobody talks about it anymore; maybe this is the time that it should be brought up! Clearly, she's not happy with Brian," Sharpay spat, crossing her arms. She heard a sharp intake of breath and cast a glance at Chad, who was wringing his hands together nervously.

"Actually, she has a point," he said softly. Everybody's heads whipped to meet his gaze.

"Chad? What are you talking about?" Taylor asked, placing a hand comfortingly on her boyfriend's shoulder.

"Troy. He's…he's coming back,"

There it is! How do you like it? I hope I conveyed the Gabriella/Brian relationship okay, basically he's obsessed with work and just as Gabriella was about to give it another shot, he goes and reminds her again how difficult their relationship is. =)

Read & review! Thanks, everyone! =)