AN: Thanks for the reviews everyone! I love receiving them as much as the next person, and it makes all the hard work I've put into this story (have I mentioned that at one point I had 25 pages of bonus info?) worth it. So, again, thanks. Also, I forgot to say this in the last chapter, but just so I can keep up with the times, we'll pretend that HSM 1 took place in January '07, and HSM 2 in, summer '07, so they're in the class of '08. Sound good?

The chapter title comes from the musical Dreamgirls!

Title: Forget Yesterday
Rating: T
Author: MadiWillow
Summary: The kids at East High are all seniors now, and looking forward to spending every day as if it were their last together.
Genre: Humor/Drama
Chapter: I Want You Baby

"Gabriella! Gabriella! Guess what!?" came a shriek from outside. Gabriella sat at her kitchen table, amused, as Taylor burst into her house through the front door and ran into the kitchen, skidding to a halt where Gabriella was sitting. She bent over and clutched the table for support, breathing heavily.

Gabriella grinned at her friend. "What is it?"

"Chad – h-he asked me o-out," panted Taylor, plopping down into the chair across from Gabriella.

"Oh, Taylor, that's great!" exclaimed Gabriella, beaming.

Taylor scoffed. "More like, it's about time." She shrugged. "But oh well. It finally happened!" she said giddily.

"I've never seen you like this before," commented Gabriella. "You're acting like a 'love-struck bimbo.' The same type you hate, might I add."

Taylor flushed. "Yeah, well."

"Here, let's celebrate," said Gabriella, striding over to her refrigerator and grabbing a pint of Moose Tracks ice cream. She brought it and two spoons over to the table, popping the lid off and scooping some out.

"Ice cream at eleven in the morning?" laughed Taylor, taking her own spoon.

Gabriella shrugged, her mouth full of ice cream. "It's hot."

The sat in silence for a few minutes, eating their ice cream. After a moment, Taylor said, "Chad's taking me out to Chili's tonight."

"Oh?" smiled Gabriella. "Are you excited?"

Taylor thought for a minute. "No, I'm terrified!" she cried suddenly.

Blinking in surprise, Gabriella asked, "Why?"

"Well, you know how I'm kind of, like, a picky eater?"

Smirking, Gabriella responded, "Uh, yeah."

"So..." Taylor nodded her head, urging Gabriella to take the hint.

"What, you're embarrassed about it?" asked Gabriella, and Taylor nodded again. "Oh, God, Taylor, you've been out to dinner with Chad before!" she exclaimed exasperatedly.

"But not just the two of us!" Taylor reminded her. "It's always with a big group. And he's never actually seen me order before. And whenever I get my food, I, like, disguise it."

Gabriella stared incredulously at her. "So what are you gonna do?" she asked. "Never go out to dinner one-on-one with Chad until you're, like, married?"

"No!" cried Taylor defensively. "I – well, can you and Troy come on a double date with us?"

"Taylor, you can't avoid your problems," said Gabriella.

"Thanks, Oprah," said Taylor dryly. "No, I just want you to be there so it's not as embarrassing."

"Oh, gimme a break," said Gabriella. "What, do you think that Chad is gonna stand up in the restaurant, yell at how weird you are, and storm out?"

Taylor narrowed her eyes. "No." Her expression softened as she pouted. "Please, Gabriella?" she begged. "Please, please, please, pleeeeeease?"

Gabriella sighed. "Fine. But I'll have to talk to Troy about it first."

"Oh, he'll say yes," said Taylor off-handedly. "You've got him whipped."

Before Gabriella could respond, their attention was brought to Gabriella's mother, Maria, bopping into the kitchen. She had a pair of earphones in her ears and Gabriella's video iPod in her hand. "I lean like a cholo," she sang, her eyes closed as she started leaning back. Gabriella watched her mom in horror while Taylor threw her head back and laughed.

Maria's eyes opened and she caught sight of the two girls. "Oh, hello Gabriella, Taylor," she said, smiling, and taking one of the ear buds from her ear. "How are you girls today?"

"Well, my day was going good," said Gabriella, "until I saw you singing that song."

"Oh, but Gabi, it's okay for me to sing it!" said Maria excitedly. "Because I am a cholo. Well, chola." She laughed.

Gabriella blinked at her mother. Maria didn't get the hint, and pressed play on the iPod. "I'm brown, I get down, the girls love how I lean..."

"Hey guys," greeted Taylor as she and Gabriella entered the den a few hours later. Troy, Chad, Ryan, and Jason were grouped around the pool table, leaning on their pool sticks and staring intently at the table. None of them answered.

Gabriella and Taylor walked up to them and watched in interest as Chad chewed on the inside of his cheek. "Eight ball in the left corner pocket." He placed the stick on the table, took about five minutes to line up his shot, and then hit the ball. It sunk into the aforementioned pocket, and he pumped his first triumphantly in the air.

"Alright, man!" cried Troy, and the two hugged each other the way guys do. Jason and Ryan put their sticks away, defeated.

"Aw, maybe next time," Chad mocked them, putting his own back.

Troy looked over and jumped at the sight of Gabriella and Taylor. "Hey, when'd you get here?" He walked over and pecked Gabriella on the mouth.

"Oh, sometime during your exhilarating pool game."

"Hey Chad, Gabriella thought it would be really fun if we went on a double date with her and Troy," announced Taylor, and Gabriella whipped around.

"I what!?"

"A double date?" repeated Chad.

"Wait, we're going out tonight?" frowned Troy.

Taylor said quietly, through clenched teeth, to Gabriella, "Please?"

Gabriella glared at her but sighed anyway. "Yeah, I thought it would be really fun. It was all my idea." She glanced at Chad. "But if you don't want to --" she said quickly.

"Oh, no, you want to, right Chad?" Taylor smiled at him, and he relented.

"Yeah, I guess that's good."

"Are you okay with it, Troy?" Gabriella asked, rounding on him. "Because if you're not, I'm totally cool with it. We don't have to go."

"But Troy wants to go," Taylor cut in. "Right?" she snapped at him.

Troy looked fearfully back and forth between Gabriella and Taylor. "Am I missing something?"

"Just say you're going," demanded Taylor.

"But only if you really want to!" Gabriella reminded him.

Troy stuttered, "Um, o-okay?"

"Okay what?" asked Gabriella and Taylor at the same time.

"Okay, I'll go?"

Taylor beamed. "Then it's settled!" she said happily, clapping her hands together. Gabriella glared at Troy, who looked completely baffled. "Where're Sharpay and Zeke?" Taylor asked, glancing around.

"Shh!" hissed Chad. "Don't say her name. It might... summon her."

"I don't know," answered Ryan, ignoring Chad. "Sharpay got home after I went to sleep, and she didn't open her door when I knocked this morning." He shrugged. "Maybe she has a hangover."

"Why don't you keep sodas in here?" Jason called from behind the bar.

"Because it's a bar," said Troy. "My dad doesn't like keeping anything non-alcoholic in there."

"And we still can't drink, right?"

Troy blinked. "You want to drink at two?"

"Fine. Are the sodas in the kitchen?"

"Yup. But I'm not sure if I would go in there," Troy warned. "Last night, my grandmother watched 'Fiddler of the Roof' so she's really emotional. Something about my mom and aunt growing up and me not being Jewish."

Jason waved him off. "I can handle it." He disappeared through the doorway and into the hall.

"How do you do this?" asked Gabriella, frustrated, as she tried to position a pool stick in the same way Chad had. When she tried to hit one of the balls, she accidently caused it to bounce up in the air.

Troy laughed. "Come here." He put his arms around Gabriella from behind and helped her hold the stick the right way. He gripped her hands and helped her sink an orange ball. Even after the ball had sunk, Troy kept his arms around Gabriella, and she smiled, her eyes closed, as she leaned back into him.

"Wow, now I know why Sharpay gets nauseous around you two," said Taylor, making a face. She turned to Chad. "We'll never be like that, right?"

"I couldn't act like that if I tried," said Chad.

Troy removed his hold on Gabriella and blushed. She placed the pool stick down on the table, her cheeks red as well, but they still held hands.

Jason scrambled back in from the hall, a pack of sodas in his hands, and slammed the door behind him.

"Did she get a hold of you?" asked Troy knowingly.

Jason nodded. "When I was coming out of the kitchen, she came in and started asking me what that 'ipish' was." He frowned. "Then she told me I had to take a shower."

"Yeah, she told you you smelled bad," said Troy.

Jason opened the pack and tossed a Coke to each person. "Oh, Troy, I invited Kelsi to come over today. I hope that was okay."

Troy furrowed his brow. "Uh, yeah, it's okay."

"I didn't have to ask you first, did I?"

"Why are you being so tight-assed?" asked Chad, annoyed.

"Well – you told Zeke that he had to ask before he invited Sharpay over," Jason reminded him.

"Yeah, because that was Sharpay," Chad stressed. "If Kelsi was Lucifer, then I'd have a problem. But Kelsi's cool." He paused, before adding, "A little over enthusiastic, but still cool."

Jason looked relieved. "Oh, okay, good."

The door burst open, and Sharpay and Zeke stood there, grinning widely with linked hands. Sharpay was wearing a pair of sweats and a tank top, and her blonde hair was pulled up into a messy pony tail. Zeke was wearing the same clothes as the night before.

"Hey guys," said Zeke smoothly.

"Taylor, Gabriella, I wanna talk to you," said Sharpay giddily. She scrambled forward, grabbed the two girls' arms, and dragged them outside.

After Sharpay slammed Troy's back door behind them, she turned to face Gabriella and Taylor, who were standing on the lawn with expressions of confusion and irritation. "Sharpay, what --" began Taylor, but she was interrupted.

"We did it!" Sharpay nearly screamed.

Gabriella and Taylor stared at her blankly. "Who did what?" asked Gabriella.

"Me and Zeke. We did it!" Sharpay said again. "You know. It."

The two other girls gasped in unison, their cans of soda falling and spilling all over the pavement, but they took no notice. "Oh, my God!" cried Gabriella.

"How was it?" asked Taylor immediately.

"Taylor!" Gabriella blushed.

"It was amazing," said Sharpay dreamily. "You know how old people try to scare you out of doing it by saying its awkward the first time?" Her friends nodded. "Well, it's totally not!"

"Not at all?" asked Gabriella curiously.

"Nope." She smirked. "At least, not the first four times we did it."

"Four times, girl!?" yelped Taylor.

Sharpay nodded furiously. "Yeah. Well, last night we were went for a walk through that one park, Caitlin Park or something, and, well, we did it!" She beamed.

"Your first time was in a park?" repeated Taylor insipidly.

Sharpay nodded again. "On a bench."

"Whore."

Ignoring her, Sharpay continued, "And then we went back to my house and did it again!" Her face was glowing. "And then when we woke up this morning, we did it twice more!"

"Wow," said Gabriella, in awe.

"I know!" Sharpay sighed. "Zeke is just so hot. Doing it with him was just... amazing."

"Okay, you know, we don't really have to know everything," Gabriella said uncomfortably.

Taylor checked the time on her phone. "Hey Gabriella, do you think we should go get ready for the date? It's at five."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure. Although I still don't think I should go."

Taylor glanced fearfully at Sharpay, as if afraid that the latter would volunteer to take Gabriella's place, but she was too busy lost in her own thoughts. "Let's go back inside," said Sharpay excitedly.

Gabriella and Taylor exchanged looks, but followed Sharpay back inside. As they entered, Troy, Chad, and Ryan were looking disgusted, staring at Zeke, while Jason looked intrigued. "What was it like?" he asked eagerly.

"Zeke!" exclaimed Sharpay, placing her hands on her hips. "Did you tell them?" she accused.

Zeke stared at Sharpay, looking like a deer caught in headlights. They stared at each other for a minute, before Sharpay lunged at him, throwing her arms around his neck and starting to make out with him like no tomorrow.

Everyone looked away, annoyed. "If you guys start undressing, we're leaving," snapped Chad.

"Yeah, and I'll start locking all the doors," added Troy.

There was no verbal response; Zeke simply pushed Sharpay up against the wall as they continued to make out.

"Yeah, well, we're leaving now," said Taylor, motioning to herself and Gabriella. They bounded toward the door, but Chad's voice stopped them.

"Wait, you're just gonna leave us here with these horny rabbits?" he cried desperately, gesturing to Sharpay and Zeke.

"Well, we have a date in two and a half hours!" Taylor reminded him.

"No, we have a date in half an hour," Chad corrected her.

"Thirty minutes!?" she exclaimed. "You gotta be joking."

Chad shook his head. "You're lucky I'm giving you that." He shot a side-glance at Sharpay and Zeke, who were still attached at the mouth. "We'll pick you up at Gabriella's in thirty minutes." When he saw them still standing there, he waved his arms at them. "Go on! You're on the clock!"

Exactly forty-five minutes later, Troy, Gabriella, Chad, and Taylor were being seated at Chili's. The restaurant was nearly empty, as it was only three o' clock.

"I'm starved," stated Chad, taking the menu from their waitress and looking over it.

"Yeah, me too," agreed Gabriella. "Hey Taylor, what are you gonna have?" she asked pointedly.

Taylor glared at her. "A hamburger," she responded.

"This is nice," Troy commented, draping an arm around Gabriella. "Well, it's a lot better than being back at my house, I guess."

Chad rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it. If I wanted to watch porn, I'd watch good porn."

The waitress took their drink orders, and returned after only five minutes with them. As she passed the beverages around, she asked if they were ready to order.

"Yeah, I think so," asked Troy, glancing at Gabriella. She nodded.

"I'll start," said Chad. "I'll have a bacon cheeseburger with everything and fries," he said simply, closing his menu and handing it back to the waitress.

"I'll have the same," agreed Troy.

"Hm..." mused Gabriella. "I'll have the chicken taco."

"Good choice," the waitress commented.

"What about you, Taylor?" asked Gabriella, smirking.

Taylor narrowed her eyes at her. She turned to the waitress and said, "I want a burger, but with nothing on it. Just bread and meat. Plain and dry. Medium-well."

"Nothing on it?" the waitress repeated, dumbfounded.

Taylor nodded defiantly. "Nothing. Oh, and on my fries, I don't want any seasonings on it."

"So plain all around?" she sneered.

"You got it," said Taylor pleasantly, handing the menu back. The waitress left, and Gabriella started giggling.

"What a bitch," she said, eyeing the waitress as she walked away.

Taylor grinned but was avoiding Chad's eye. Chad, however, was staring at her.

"I love how you can do that with confidence," he remarked.

Taylor raised her eyebrows and glanced at him. "Um, what?"

Chad jerked his head. "You know. That ordering. Whenever we go out to eat, you always order everything plain, and the waiters always look at you like you're crazy, but it doesn't even faze you."

Taylor blinked, momentarily taken aback, but then smiled at him. "Yeah, it doesn't bother me at all."

Gabriella snorted, and the three others stared at her. Taylor glared, and Gabriella hid her smile with her hand. "Bless me."

Taylor leaned into Chad and grinned, and he pulled her toward him.

"You're not gonna make out, are you?" asked Troy tentatively. "Because if you do, I swear I'll leave."

"And go where, Bolton?" asked Chad. "I'm pretty sure your house is out of the question."

Troy frowned. "You're right."

Sharpay and Zeke were laying on Troy's couch, wrapped around in each others arms and still making out. Jason, Ryan, and the newly-arrived Kelsi were sitting in seats as far as possible away from them.

Jason glanced wearily at the couple and then muttered to Kelsi, "You, uh, get used to it."

She glanced at him apprehensively. "Really?"

Jason sighed. "No."

"Hey, this'll stop them," said Ryan quietly, and then, slightly louder, he said, "Shar, 'The Sound of Music' is on."

Sharpay removed her lips from Zeke's long enough to say, "TiVo it." Zeke took the opportunity to start kissing her neck softly, and she moaned.

Jason raised his eyes to the ceiling. "I hope to God they don't do it in here."

Sharpay and Zeke jumped up simultaneously, gripping onto each other. "We'll be right back," said Sharpay hurriedly, and they quickly ran out of the den.

"Great!" said Jason, standing up happily. "So, whaddya wanna do now, Kelsi? Play some pool, watch TV, listen to music." He waved his arms. "It's all up to you."

"Can you teach me pool?" she asked excitedly.

"Sure." Jason grabbed her hand and led her over to the pool table, handing her a stick. "Okay, first step is to rub the end of it with some blue chalk," he began, handing her said chalk.

Ryan walked over to the stereo and started flipping through the stations, twirling the knob for a few minutes to find a good one. However, before he could make much progress, the door burst open.

Ryan, Jason, and Kelsi looked up to see Gabriella and Taylor entering the den, their faces depicting looks of shock. Troy came in angrily after them, and finally Chad, dragging with him the half-dressed forms of Sharpay and Zeke, both of whom were red as tomatoes.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" snapped Chad, glaring at them.

"What happened?" asked Kelsi.

No one seemed to be able to answer them. They all gaped for a few seconds, and then finally Troy said, "We ran into them doing it. In my backyard."

"In the middle of the day!" Taylor exclaimed.

Sharpay turned redder, if possible, and wrapped her arms around herself. "Well, you guys didn't have to start yelling at us," she said bitchily.

"You were doing it in my fucking backyard!" Troy yelled.

"It's a free country," she shot back.

"You're right," Troy agreed. "So I guess I'll change the locks."

"Okay, okay," said Zeke. "Look, we're sorry, and we won't do it in your backyard anymore."

"Anymore!?" exclaimed Troy. "Has this been a multiple occurrence?"

"We don't do it ever again," Zeke rephrased.

"Or on my couch."

"Or on your couch," agreed Zeke.

"Or anywhere within five hundred feet of me," Chad supplied.

Zeke glared at him. "Whatever."

"No, man, I'm serious."

"Okay, well Zeke, we better get back to my house," said Sharpay urgently, grabbing his hand.

"No, let's go to my house, it's closer," said Zeke, and they sprinted out of the den.

Chad shook his head. "I'm gonna have nightmares for the rest of my life about that."

"Tell me about it," said Troy massaging his head.

"We just saw Zeke having sex with the devil," sighed Chad. "Let's hope she doesn't get pregnant."

Kelsi shifted on her feet. "So uh... does this kinda stuff happen a lot here? Because if it does, I might not come back."

AN: I'm not a big fan of this chapter, but I hope you liked it.

UP NEXT:

The girls enjoy one last summer hurrah, which the boys accidentally stumble upon.