[Author's Note]: I personally didn't like how this chapter came out in comparison to the previous two. Reviews and critiques would be greatly appreciated, as they'll improve the quality of the next chapter. =P
"You're what?"
"We're prengaged!" Troy repeated, feigning enthusiasm. Somehow fusing two bombs into a single nuke seemed less devastating in his mind.
"Pregnant and engaged," Gabriella clarified somewhat timidly, extremely intimidated by her prospective in-laws.
"Although not engaged because pregnant. . . ." her boyfriend further explained, immediately realizing and dispelling all thoughts of a shotgun wedding.
"Ok. . . ." Jack Bolton started out slowly, struggling to embrace the challenge rather than dismiss it. "Now, I know we can't stop you from doing. . . whatever, but I also know that they taught you about protecting yourselves back at East High. Hell, the Health Department, my department, was the one that taught you."
Unfortunately for Troy, the last statement was true. It was awkward enough to get "The Talk" from your dad, but far more embarrassing when he presents the same Public Service Announcement to thirty-two of your peers, who plead of you the following morning to stop the torture.
"We were using a condom. . . ." Gabriella admitted bashfully to her lap, avoiding all eye contact.
"And you still got pregnant?" Mrs. Bolton asked somewhat bewildered.
"Couldn't you have double-bagged it or something?" Coach Bolton inquired, panicking slightly and rising from the couch to pace the living room.
"Come on, dad. Every hoops player knows rubber wears out and tears with friction and prolonged activity," his son responded with a small smile, nodding towards a cracked and worn basketball resting by the door leading to the court outside. He hoped a little humor would diffuse the tension in the room.
Jack Bolton couldn't help but smile. College had made his son cleverer. Not necessarily more rational (Troy was a nineteen year-old father-and-husband-to-be, after all), but at least more clever.
"Look, Dad," Troy began, discarding his excited façade, "Gabriella and I haven't made the best choices in the past, but that doesn't mean we can't make the right decisions for the future."
"Mr. and Mrs. Bolton. . . ." Gabriella spoke softly, encouraged by her boyfriend's courage as he gently placed her hand in his own. The Boltons turned to face Miss Montez, who redirected her gaze to face her future family. "I know this is awfully hasty and immature of us, but. . . it just feels right to us. And after everything your son has done just to be with me and vice-versa, I know our child will always have his or her parents."
"The only thing really worrying me about this pregnancy," she explained, "is that our baby won't have all of his or her grandparents, that I won't have my parents-in-law to help my mother teach me how to be a fantastic wife and mother. . . ."
Jack and Lucille Bolton were speechless. Upon initially hearing the news, they failed to realize this would be their first grandchild and also failed to recognize how highly their future daughter-in-law regarded them. However, Gabriella's mother, who was unusually silent until this revelation, began to quietly sob from her seat.
"Mrs. Montez, we're so sorry for putting you through all th--" Troy tried to comfort her before being cut off.
"No," she started, wiping stray tears away with her sleeve before beaming at them. "This is what I wanted for the both of you. Not necessarily in this order or this soon, but it's what I wanted."
Turning to her daughter, she added with a sniffle, "It's what your father would have wanted for you."
"Mom," Gabriella replied in a soft tone, "I know Dad loved us. And I need your support, your strength, to be able to raise this child, to show that love him or her as much as Dad loved us."
As the emotional Montez women hugged, Troy added, "This can be a struggle if it's just Gabriella and me, but I know we can handle this if we're all in this together."
And with an accepting hug from both his parents, all the teenage Bolton had to worry about was telling the rest of the Wildcats.
"You're what?"
"I'm sorry!" Gabriella explained to Sharpay. "I accidentally left your present at my house."
With Christmas Day less than two days away, the East High gang was gathered at Troy's house for a festive holiday party and gift exchanging. Their parents were isolated to a smaller get-together on the opposite side of the house, making it easier for Troy and Gabriella to tell their friends. However, the young couple had yet to reveal their pregnancy and engagement, opting to wait for a calmer moment that evening. Currently, the guys were playing a two-on-two game outside with Ryan refereeing while the girls stayed indoors, counting presents and swapping private information on their boyfriends.
"It's ok," Sharpay replied, calming herself down using one of Ryan's relaxation techniques. "This gives you an extra day to exchange it for something I really love in case you have any doubts or I don't like it."
"What did you get me?" she asked slowly.
"That pink, sequined dress from Forever 21?" Gabriella replied, nervous about her friend's reaction.
"And you left it at home?!" Sharpay screeched.
"Whoa! Turn down the volume!"
This plight heralded the return of the former East High hoopsters, each of whom strolled over to his respective girlfriend and either wrapped around her like or blanket or kissed her lightly on the forehead or lips. After toweling off and post-game trash talking, the basketball boys took their lady loves' hands and seated them before the Christmas tree, eager to dive into the sea of presents at the base of the luminous fir. Deciding now was the ideal moment, as their friends were somewhat distracted from the results of the game with Jason and Troy outscoring Chad and Zeke by a good seventeen points, Troy and Gabriella collected their presents for the group, save Sharpay, and distributed them to their respective recipients.
"Open the cards first," Troy insisted, his somewhat confused friends hesitating before following instructions. There were scattered gasps as the more proficient readers were the first to read:
"Dear [Insert Friend's Name],
In exchange for all the memories and support you've given us these past few years and will undoubtedly bestow upon us for the rest of our lives, we humbly present you this gift and wish you a Merry Christmas.
Love, Troy and Gabriella
P.S.: We cordially invite you to our wedding on August 20th, 2009, and the birth of our first child the following month."
"Subtle, weren't you?" Zeke commented, smiling fondly at his invitation.
"You couldn't afford Christmas cards and wedding invitations?" Chad joked.
"Dude, I couldn't even afford lunch that day we went to Olive Garden," his childhood friend admitted with a hint of shame lining his voice. Beside him, Gabriella gave him a smile paired with a look that told him "You're so lucky they didn't catch us."
"Wait a minute," Taylor began, rounding on the boys who were displaying fewer signs of shock than the girls were. "You weren't surprised by the fact that Gabriella is pregnant or that her and Troy are getting married in less than a year?"
"Well, Troy's been talking about getting a ring since October," Chad explained of his best friend, who was twiddling his thumbs to the side with Gabriella peering up at him with intense passion.
"Yeah, and when he wasn't talking about marrying Gabriella, he was off having sex with Gabriella," Jason added tactlessly.
"Hey!" Gabriella started, worried that her friends would get the wrong idea. "We weren't just 'having sex'; we were being intimate and spending time together!"
"Either was, it was phenomenal," her boyfriend commented with a glow and a smile.
"And it apparently led to little Troyella Boltez," Zeke added with a nod towards Gabriella's belly.
Everyone pondered for a moment over the future Mr. and Mrs. Troy Bolton, the silence broken when Ryan finally stood up and hugged Gabriella.
"Congrats, you guys," he told them with a sincere smile as he turned to present Troy with a more masculine handshake. His sister followed suit, and one-by-one, the group clustered together in a mass of hugging and congratulations.
The girls were shedding joyful tears while the guys made training schedules for the basketball prodigy growing in Gabriella. But whatever plans were made, the Wildcats had band together to ensure the perfect wedding for Troy and Gabriella and euphoric birth of their child.