The New Year, a high school musical fanfic

Just a short oneshot before New Year's. And, yes, I'm from Australia so I spell 'mom' as 'mum', 'realize' as 'realise', 'color' as 'colour', etc.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the HSM franchise, I don't own Disney. Dang.

28th December

3:14pm

"So Gabi, what are you doing for New Year's Eve?" Taylor McKessie asked her best friend, Gabriella Montez. After a few moments, Gabriella hadn't replied and Taylor sighed good-naturedly when she realized that, as usual, Gabriella seemed to be mesmerized by her boyfriend, Troy Bolton. Gabriella and Taylor were sitting on the grass in Troy's backyard, watching Troy and Chad play basketball.

Taylor nudged her friend. "Gabs?"

Gabriella finally tore her attention away from Troy. "Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry," she said absentmindedly. "What was the question again?"

"I just asked what you were doing for New Year's," Taylor reminded her. "But you seemed very fixated on Troy."

"Yeah… ugh, he's so gorgeous, isn't he? I mean…phwoar!" Gabriella praised her boyfriend.

Taylor cleared her throat. "So, New Year's?"

"Oh, Troy's taking me out somewhere. He hasn't told me where yet. He's so sweet, he's like…perfect."

Taylor shook her head. Obviously, their conversation was going to go nowhere with Gabriella so focused on Troy. She decided to just let Gabriella be, and the two of them watched their boyfriends playing one-on-one in silence.

Soon, the boys finished playing, and walked over to join the girls on the grass.

Troy pecked Gabriella's check. "Whatcha thinking, baby?"

"Just…thinking about you," she replied flirtatiously. "You looked amazing out there. You know, with your shirt off, and your muscles flexing, and sweat running down your chest? It was…sexy," she concluded.

"Yeah?" Troy breathed. It was uncommon for Gabriella to speak as she did then, so seductively. The two of them had been having sex for a while, but Gabriella still felt uncomfortable to bring up the topic around him. It wasn't that she didn't feel completely comfortable around Troy; it was just that she was painfully shy, especially when discussing topics such as sex.

"Yeah." Gabriella nodded. "So, boyfriend, what are we doing for New Year's?"

Troy wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Hopefully each other," he spoke suggestively, breathing into her neck, tickling her.

Gabriella giggled. "No, seriously," she said, lightly pushing him away.

"New Year's?" he questioned her. She nodded. "You'll just have to wait and see," he told her, smirking. Gabriella began to pout.

"Pouting? No, babe, c'mon. That's not fair," Troy complained, avoiding looking at her. He knew that if he happened to catch sight of her face, he'd give in immediately to her begging, she was just that beautiful.

"Fine, I'll stop," Gabriella sighed. Troy waited a few seconds before glancing at her to ensure that she had, in fact, stopped pouting.

Troy's mother poked her head out of the screen door connecting Troy's house to his backyard. "There's food in here, if you want it!" she called out to the group. Troy stood up and offered a hand to Gabriella, which she gladly accepted.

31st December

9:00pm

"It's Troy, I'll get it!" Gabriella called to her mother after the doorbell rang. Troy grinned at her when she opened the door.

"Brie, you look beautiful," Troy told her honestly. She was dressed in a strapless black knee-length dress.

She smiled at him. "Thanks, Wildcat. You look pretty handsome yourself." He was wearing a black button-down shirt and dark jeans.

"Ready to go?" he asked her. She nodded.

Gabriella's mum came to the door. "Hi Troy." She smiled at her daughter's boyfriend.

Troy smiled back. "Hey, Ms. Montez. Happy New Year."

"You too, Troy. Well, I guess I'll see you later, Gabi." Gabriella nodded and kissed her on the cheek.

"Bye, mum," she said as she and Troy left.

31st December

9:15pm

"So, where are we going?" Gabriella asked Troy.

"Hold on, babe. We're almost there," he winked at her.

Sure enough, soon Troy turned his truck into a small, empty parking lot. Gabriella looked around, but it was hard to see, since it was dark. Troy hopped out of the car and raced around the other side to open Gabriella's door for her.

"Thanks, Mr Bolton." Gabriella smiled at him.

"No problem, princess," Troy replied, grabbing a few bags from the back of his truck. He led her to the edge of a park. "Wait here," he told Gabriella, and set up a picnic rug, surrounded by a few candles. Then he returned to where Gabriella was standing and led her over to the rug.

Gabriella was able to see slightly better with the illumination of the candles. The park, though small, was beautiful, and Gabriella could faintly see lights in the distance. She assumed that those lights were coming from the big park in the middle of town where many people gathered on New Year's Eve. She looked down at Troy's setup and sighed. "Aww, baby, this is so romantic," she gushed.

Troy just smiled before gesturing for her to sit down on the rug. He began to serve her some food, and the pair ate dinner in silence, occasionally catching each others' eye and smiling. After they had finished eating, Troy took out a portable cd player and set it on the ground. As soon as he pressed play, soft, romantic music filled the air.

"Ms Montez, care to dance?" he asked Gabriella.

"Of course," Gabriella accepted, and stood up.

Troy wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her forehead softly. Gabriella closed her eyes for a few moments before snaking her hands up around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder. She loved the way the two of them fitted together perfectly, like they were made for one another. Both of them closed their eyes, enjoying the feeling of just being together.

Troy broke the silence. "You know, when I said you looked beautiful before- you know, when I picked you up? - I wasn't telling you the whole truth."

Gabriella looked at him in confusion. "Oh?"

"I mean, you did look beautiful," Troy explained. "But you didn't just look beautiful. You are beautiful. You…you're so smart, and pretty, and I don't deserve you. Because you're beautiful on the inside too."

There were no words to describe how happy Gabriella was feeling at that moment. All she could do was gaze up at Troy with a dazed look in her eyes and a stupid grin on her face. She knew that what Troy had said had been cheesy, but she couldn't help but love him even more, because she knew that he loved her for her personality, not just what he saw. She knew he would love her even if she lost all her hair, and teeth, and suddenly grew several warts and moles on her face.

Troy looked at his watch, breaking their moment. "It's five to twelve," he told her. "Want to sit down?"

Gabriella nodded, and after she had settled onto his lap, his arms around her waist, they started talking again.

"So, resolutions for the new year?" he said into her ear.

Gabriella thought for a moment. "Well, I want to do more exercise. Actually go to the gym sometimes. And, obviously, work hard at college to get good marks."

"Like that'll be hard for you," Troy remarked.

"So, what about you?" Gabriella asked. "How about you actually try to do some housework when we move in together next semester?"

Troy scoffed. "Yeah, right."

Gabriella laughed. "Who knows, maybe I'll teach you how to use the vacuum cleaner!"

"Yeah, yeah, I doubt it. No, I already thought of a resolution."

"And?"

Troy looked her right in the eye. "I want to keep you."

Gabriella looked skeptical. "That's your resolution?"

"Hey, it's not as easy to be charming as you think!"

"It's okay, I love you whether you're charming or not. In fact, I love dorky Troy as much as cool, charming Troy," Gabriella teased, poking his side.

"Brie, you have no idea how hard it is keeping a girl like you. There are so many other guys out there just waiting to whisk you away if I screw up."

"Oh, babe. I thought you already knew this; you have me. You have me, I'm yours, and I am insanely in love with you."

Troy smiled at her. "Well, just in case, I got you something," he said, and pulled out a ring box from his pocket.

"What is it?"

"It's a promise ring, beautiful. Just so that you and I- and everyone else, for that matter –know that you're mine. One day, in a few years' time, I'll propose to you. But until then, I want you to have this," he said, and opened the box.

"Troy, it's beautiful!" Gabriella exclaimed.

Troy slipped the ring onto her finger and the both of them admired how it looked there.

"Hey, there are only a few seconds until midnight," Gabriella realised.

Troy and Gabriella turned to look at the park, where they knew the fireworks would soon go off.

Troy intertwined their hands and had to lift hers up again so he could see his ring on her finger, proving she was his.

"I love you," Gabriella whispered in his ear.

"I love you too," he whispered back.

Gabriella slightly shifted in Troy's lap, turning around to face him. Suddenly, the fireworks didn't seem important at all as they gazed into each others' eyes.

Troy leaned in. Just before he closed his eyes, he caught a glimpse of Gabriella, his angel, closing hers, her face a picture of perfection.

Their lips met and Troy and Gabriella melted into each other, both in bliss as the other was the only thing on both of their minds.

As they continued to kiss, Troy found himself thinking about what the year would be like. He and Gabriella would be moving in together, 15 minutes away from both of their colleges. He imagined coming home to her, kissing her goodnight, waking up to her in the morning. He imagined opening the mail box and seeing mail for himself and Gabriella. He imagined proposing to her, something he was planning to do the day she turned 21. He imagined the two of them finishing college, setting up a home, preferably in Albuquerque. He imagined them having kids, raising a family, spending the rest of their lives together.

Suddenly he couldn't wait to learn how to use that vacuum cleaner.