Thanks once again for all the wonderful comments you left! It really motivated me to get this posted before leaving for the weekend.

AN: I do not own HSM or any of the characters.

Chapter 3

August 25th, 2012

"Hey Gabriella! This is the worst best friend in the world! I'm sorry for not returning your call earlier. But it seems we're still stuck in the worst game of phone tag in history. Give me a call back whenever you can. Hope Cambridge is treating you well! If I don't get a chance to talk to you, good luck tomorrow on your first day of class! Bye!"

Sighing, Gabriella pulled the phone off her ear to save Troy's voicemail as she walked through the campus of Harvard Law School. Her heart dropped when she had pulled out her phone to see another missed call from Troy. Today had been Orientation Day for all first year law students, and Gabriella and Taylor had just finished their last session for the day. Taylor needed to go to the bookstore to pick up a book she left yesterday, but wanting to explore the campus, Gabriella agreed to meet Taylor at the café near the bookstore after a little while.

After listening to his message, she searched through her address book for his number. Gabriella couldn't even remember the last time she and Troy had a decent conversation. If she thought hard, she estimated that it was soon after she and Taylor moved into their new apartment. Troy had said something about taking summer school classes in Berkeley, but she hadn't really heard from him since he went back to California. After three rings, Gabriella sighed again as she heard the ever too familiar message that was beginning to get on her nerves.

"Hey, this is Troy! Can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave a message at the beat, I'll give you a call as soon as I can't bye!"

"Hey Troy, this is Gabriella. No, you aren't the worst best friend in the world. It takes two to play phone tag, and I'm not much better. Thanks for thinking about me and remembering that today was my first day of class. Technically tomorrow is the first day of official class. Today was just an orientation day. Anyway, I just wanted to see how you were doing. Whenever you get a chance, give me a call back so I can-

Gabriella gasped as her body slammed into a hard surface and was sure she would have fallen if it wasn't for the two hands that grabbed her on both sides and steadied her. Looking up she came face to face with the most amazing emerald green eyes she had ever seen. All Gabriella could do was gulp as it took her about five seconds to realize that she was still on the phone leaving Troy a message.

"Um.. sorry about that Troy, but yeah I'll talk to you later. Bye…" she trailed as she closed her cell phone. "I am so sorry about running into you!"

"It's ok," said the dark brown haired stranger as he gently released his hands from her sides.

Realizing that she was staring, Gabriella turned to look away from his intense gaze. "I must have been enjoying the sights of the campus too much that I didn't realize where I was going. I'm such a klutz."

The boy laughed as he held out his hand to offer a hand shake to Gabriella. "It's really okay. No harm, no foul right? Anyway, my name if Trevor Donovan."

Shaking his hand, Gabriella dared to look into his green eyes again. Trevor Donovan was a good foot taller than her, and while it didn't look like he spent hours in gym bodybuilding every day, his muscular built hinted that he was definitely athletic and healthy. But what drew Gabriella most to him was how his green eyes stood out as they contrasted with his spiked dark brown hair. Gabriella had to concentrate once again to not get lost in his eyes. While they were not the blue orbs she was used to, there was an appealing quality to this set of eyes.

"It's good to meet you Trevor. My name is Gabriella Montez."

"So what are you doing here at Harvard Law School besides admiring the scenery?"

"I'm actually starting my first year here."

"Oh yeah! Orientation was today, huh? Did the professors all make their speeches about how this will be the most intense three years of your life?"

"Yes! I think they scared my roommate, Taylor."

Trevor chuckled as Gabriella couldn't help but think to herself how nice his smile was. "Well, to be honest with you, it's actually worse than they made it sound. But, for your roommate's sake, let's just keep that between you and me."

Gabriella giggled. "Great, well in that case, I need to figure out where the library is located. You-"

She was interrupted by a vibration inside her purse. After saying a quick apology to Trevor, Gabriella rummaged through her bag looking for her phone. Seeing the silly picture that Troy demanded that she let him take and his name and number flash on the screen, Gabriella bit the bottom of her lip. She hadn't been able to talk to her best friend in days; however, this was the first time in a long time that she had felt butterflies in her stomach while talking to a boy that wasn't Troy Bolton.

Making a tough decision, Gabriella hit the "Reject" button and slipped her cell back into her purse hoping that Troy would pick up when she called him back later tonight. Looking back up at Trevor, she apologized once again. "I'm sorry about that. I was trying to say that you seem to know a lot about the professors here so I can only assume you go here too?"

"Fine deduction Ms. Montez. I believe you're going to do quite well here at Harvard," joked Trevor smiling at Gabriella to let her know that he didn't mean any harm with his joke. "Yes, I'm happy to stay that I have survived long enough to make it to my third year here."

"Wait," began Gabriella as she began to dig through her purse. "I knew your name sounded familiar. Here it is!"

Taking a peek at what Gabriella just produced from her purse, Trevor began to blush as he realized it was last June's copy of the Harvard Law Review.

"You're one of the editors of the Harvard Law Review. I was trying to keep myself entertained during Dr. Hollis' introduction to Contract Law, and I scanned through the list of editors. I'm sorry if I'm sounding like a stalker right now. It's just a really big accomplishment!"

"Um… yeah, it is a pretty great honor," stammered Trevor slightly unsure what to do with the praise.

"Great honor? You're being modest! Many of the finest lawyers and judges have been part of the Havard Law Review. I mean come on, Obama had this position too!"

"Well, I wouldn't go as far as comparing me to the President," said Trevor who was now blushing profusely. He pointed towards a direction that was behind him. "So, do you want me to show you were that library is?" he asked hoping to divert the attention away from him and to have an opportunity to spend more time with Gabriella.

"I would love to, but" paused Gabriella to take a look at her watch. "I'm supposed to meet my roommate at the café in five minutes." Regret quickly filled her as she realized their time together was going to be cut short.

"Raincheck?" offered Trevor.

Gabriella grinned as her stomach flipped. "Definitely," she agreed ignoring the fact that a map of Harvard was sitting in her purse, and she was more than capable of finding it herself.

"I know this may seem forward, and I promise I don't normally do this. And I promise again that wasn't just some lame pick up line either. But, I'm beginning to ramble, and I want to get this out before I embarrass myself anymore, but may I call you sometime?" asked Trevor as he let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

Gabriella smiled as she tried to suppress a squeal. "Sure."

"Awesome," replied Trevor with relief obvious in his voice. Pulling out his cell phone, Gabriella and he quickly traded numbers. "I'll give you a call later. It was good meeting you Gabriella Montez."

"Likewise," she replied as their eyes lingered on each others for a beat before Gabriella broke eye contact to make her way to the café. Turning back, she watched Trevor's retreating figure. When he was out of hearing range, she finally allowed the squeal that she was holding in out.

Feeling her phone vibrate again, she grinned as she saw who it was. "Hey Pay! You'll never believe what just happened…"


Present Day (May 29, 2020)

"I know I sent you the invitation, but I never got married," stated Gabriella looking up to see Troy's reaction only to see that the expression on his face was unreadable.

Before he could respond, a waitress came over. "Are you guys ready to be seated?"

Grateful for the interruption, Troy quickly glanced over to Gabriella who nodded her head in approval. Turning back to the waitress, Troy nodded at her as well to indicate that they would like to be seated. The waitress showed them to a booth in the corner of the diner that was quiet enough for them to talk.

After handing them their menus and taking their drink orders, she left Troy and Gabriella in an uncomfortable silence.

"So, you didn't get married," said Troy in hopes of starting the conversation up again.

"No, I didn't."

Troy nodded trying to process all the information that had bombarded him in the last 5 minutes. "What happened?"


April 2nd, 2013

"Gabriella!" yelled Taylor as she entered their apartment. Not seeing her right away in the living room, Taylor continued down the hallway heading to Gabriella's room to look for her. "I checked with the florist, and she said they're still in the process of acquiring all the lilies you guys asked for. But if she's not able to get that many, she suggested maybe pairing them up with-"

Taylor stopped at the doorway as she saw her roommate and best friend on her bed with tears rolling down her cheeks. In her hands was a small white RSVP card. "Gabi," started Taylor as she walked towards the bed to put her arm around her. "What's wrong?"

As she sniffed, Gabriella handed the card over to Taylor. "He's not coming."

Taking the card from her, Taylor looked at the card in question and a look of realization came upon her face as she read it.

Name: Troy Bolton

___ accepts

__X_ regrets

"Did he give a reason?" asked Taylor.

"Turn the card around."

After Taylor did so, she realized that Troy had scribbled a note behind the card.

Dear Brie,

I'm really sorry about not being able to come, but your wedding is around my finals. And with graduation looming, I can't really afford to mess up. Please know I wish you and your fiancé happiness as you begin your new life together. I truly regret not being able to meet him. Maybe if you're in Albuquerque during the holidays, we can meet up.

Love always,

Troy

Sighing, Taylor put down the card and pulled her friend into a hug. "Oh Gabi, I'm sorry."

While her intent had been to comfort her friend, it had the opposite effect as Gabriella continued to cry more. "He's my best friend, Tay. How am I supposed to go through this life altering moment without him?"

"Gabriella, you love Trevor. You have a great guy and you're going to marry him in a little less than a month. Just follow your heart."

Taylor allowed Gabriella to cry on her shoulder for a few minutes before Gabriella felt like she had enough of the tears. Slowly walking her way out of the window, she looked out at the view with a thoughtful expression on her face. "You're right Taylor. I have to follow my heart. And I've decided that my heart is telling me that I can't do this."

"Really, Gabriella?" questioned Taylor. "Don't take this is a sign that this isn't right. Everyone gets cold feet right before their wedding."

"That's the thing Taylor! I don't think this is cold feet. Even when Trevor proposed, I felt that it was too quick. But he's just so nice and charming and amazing! I know that if we got married, he would make me happy. And while we were doing all the wedding preparations, I thought I was happy. But getting this today… I… I don't know anymore. I would be happy, but not in the way I feel like I should be with a husband. Don't you think it's bad that I can picture my life without him?"

"So are you saying you're still I love with Troy?" asked Taylor with a shocked look on her face. Ever since they arrived in Cambridge, she watched the friendship between Gabriella and Troy deteriorate. While she knew that despite their lack of communication, they would always be each other's best friend, Taylor wasn't aware that Gabriella had harbored any more romantic feelings for Troy.

"Taylor, I will always love Troy," she stated simply. "But, I'm not the naïve girl I was back in high school. I don't think that just because you love someone it means that you're meant to be."

Taylor nodded as she took in her friend's confession. "What do you want to do then? Call off the wedding and ask Troy for a second chance?"

Gabriella considered her options for another moment before she turned to look at Taylor who was still sitting on her bed. "Yes and no. As hard as it will be to hurt Trevor, I know that it'll hurt him more in the long run to be married to someone who doesn't truly love him. I don't see any other choice but to call it off."

She walked over to her desk and picked up a framed picture she and Troy took during the summer right before college when Sharpay and Ryan invited the whole gang to spend the day on their yacht at the lake. Gabriella ran her hand over the picture of her 18 year old self and Troy as they made funny faces at the camera. After she sighed, she gently placed it down. "But regarding Troy. I don't even know what's going on with his life right now. For all I know, he could be seriously dating someone else right now."

"Or, he could be waiting for the day you re-enter his life."

Seeing that Gabriella was now considering this new possibility, Taylor offered, "I could ask Chad what Troy has been up to lately."

"No," replied Gabriella quickly. "I don't want to come storming in and turning his life upside down. It sounds like he's on a really focused path right now, and I don't want to mess it all up. Besides, this decision is about me. Not Troy and me. I shouldn't be thinking about this anyway. I'm about to hurt one of the sweetest guys I have ever met."

"When are you going to do it?"

Gabriella looked at the clock next to her bed to see that it was quarter to seven. "I'm meeting him for dinner pretty soon. I should do this tonight. If I wait any longer, it would just be cruel."

"Do you need anything?" asked Taylor knowing that hurting someone she loved was not going to be an easy task for Gabriella.

"No, but I think I need a moment alone to collect my thoughts."

Getting up from the bed, Taylor walked over to Gabriella and pulled her into a hug. "Let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks."


"What happened between me and Trevor is a long story," Gabriella started as she looked across the table at Troy. "But to basically make a long story short, it just didn't work out. Right before the wedding, I realized that Trevor wasn't it for me. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but I knew it had to be done."

"How did he take it?"

"He didn't understand at first. But eventually, he realized that he deserved someone who loved him as much as he loved her. And he finally did find the right girl. I actually went to their wedding about six months ago."

"Wow, that's brave of you to go a wedding of an ex-fiance."

Gabriella let out a laughed, and it made Troy smile just to hear it again after going so many years without it. "I know right? But Trevor said that they had me to thank. He was fully ready to get married to me, but it took my rejection for him to realize that I wasn't the one."

Before their conversation could continue further, the waitress had arrived with their food. As she slid their plates onto the table, the two friends looked at each other with grins on their faces excited to see what the rest of the night had in store for them.


I hope this chapter came out the way I wanted to. Just to give you some insight on what I was trying to do, I did want to stress that Gabriella really did love Trevor, she just wasn't in love with him, which for me there is a difference (some people may disagree). I believe Gabriella and Trevor would have been happy if they had gotten married, but I happen to be a very idealistic person who believes that if you can picture your life without someone then you aren't in love with that person. And in my story, Gabriella feels the same way.

Now the question you're probably wondering: at the point where Gabriella decided to call of her wedding, was she in love with Troy? For right now, all I will say is that even Gabriella doesn't know the answer to this question.