So this idea for a oneshot I came up with last night, but I didn't get to finish typing it till today. You know Deal or No Deal, right? Well before dinner tonight I was playing the game on my Nintendo DS and for some reason or another I imagined it was Chad playing the game. Yeah, I've been writing way too much. o_0 Anyway, I got to thinking, hey what if it had that certain ending to it? So let's see how this one turns over. I haven't watched Deal or No Deal in a while (and I don't own it either, by the way) so when a case is chosen I can't name every model. I don't even know if any of them have been changed. So I'm just gonna wing it. I think I'll even play the game on my DS as the story goes so it's something to work from. And in case you're wondering about the earlier outcome, the result was taking home $125,000 with the last large amount being $500,000 and three cases left. It turned out to be a good deal. ^^
And now that that's over I shall say the next thing I'd change about HSM if I owned it. The whole thing can't be about Troy and Gabriella. The second movie was just the Troy Gabriella and Sharpay Movie. Don't you wanna see more of the other characters/couples, too?


Chad Danforth felt the adrenaline running through his body as he ran up to the stage. It was like prepping for a big basketball game; it was all or nothing. Now or never. Live or die. Eh, maybe that was a bit dramatic. But to Chad it was. He had traveled to the Deal or No Deal studio and actually had a chance to play the game. He was willing to play to win big money. Why? Let's just say he had his reasons.

Even for being on a taped show his attire was nothing out of the ordinary for him. His bright blue t-shirt read in yellow lettering: "Do Not Operate Without Manual". The jeans he had on matched the shading of his shirt nicely, though they were a darker shade such as navy blue or a tint or so lighter. His blue and white Adidas faintly echoed against the floor as he made his way to the center where the host of the show was standing. As he ran, his dark brown curly locks literally jumped up and down and extra bangs blew into his dark tanned face. His chocolate brown eyes glittered with emotions such as happiness, excitement, suspense, and nervousness. Finally, on his wrist rested two different watches, a black leather one and a basketball-patterned one that almost looked more for little kids than a twenty-five year old man.

Chad finally approached the hose of the show, happily shaking his hand. The host's skin tone was much lighter than that of Chad's and there didn't appear to be a single hair on his head. He was dressed in a black suit with matching shoes, a shirt underneath that appeared to be some kind of light red or salmon shade, and a dark red tie. It was none other than Howie Mandel who was greeting Chad and welcoming him to the show. The audience cheered for the contestant and their applause slowly died down as Howie began speaking more.

The first thing Howie noticed was the t-shirt Chad was wearing. "What's this?" he asked before reading the text out loud, "'Do Not Operate Without Manual'?" He teased Chad by backing away slowly, causing Chad and the audience to let out a laugh. "Should I be worried that you'll self-destruct during the game?"

"Of course not." Chad answered once the laughter died down. He was just always one to wear crazy shirts. "I have a lot of shirts like this. 'I Majored in Vacation', 'Laughing on the Inside', 'I'm With Crazy'…" He merely named a few, though with the last one he used his finger to mimic an arrow that pointed upwards at him.

Howie enjoyed contestants like this; it showed that they were ready to have fun. "So you like shirts like that, I gather." He noticed. "What else can you tell us about yourself?"

Chad clasped his hands together. "Well I'm from Albuquerque in New Mexico and I pretty much just graduated from the University of Albuquerque with a basketball scholarship and I'm lookin to hopefully get called up by a couple of teams."

"So you're a basketball fan then." Howie nodded.

"Yeah. Always have been." Chad replied. "I wanted to play for a big team like the Lakers since I was a kid."

"Well then we should see if you're as good as you say. Transfer all that energy you use on basketball to this stage and let's see if it gets you a victory. Because if it does…" This was the part Howie loved to pause at and build up the suspense, "…you could walk out here with one million dollars."

Chad cheered and pumped his fist into the air. "I'm ready."

"You ready to play?" Howie asked.

"I am ready to play." Chad nodded eagerly.

"Excellent, let's get started then." Howie declared. He turned Chad's attention to the twenty-six models each with their own respective cases. And, as Howie liked his models to match his attire, each woman was in a small red dress. They appeared to be a type of cocktail dress, each coming down to the knees and having a single thin strap on their shoulders. Along the bottom and across the waist were thin light pink patterns, though they were hard to make out from the distance the men were currently standing at. Chad had adored each of the models, always having one favorite over another. But in his mind, none of them could compare to the other woman he had on his mind.

Finally, Howie opened his mouth to speak again and explain the rules, as was required at the start of each game. "As you can see we have twenty-six models. Twenty-six cases. Each one has a different amount, the amounts were placed in the cases by a third party. We don't know which case has which amount. So first I'm going to ask you to pick your case. After that each round you'll choose a different number of cases. We'll start with six and decrease by one each round. Your goal is to get the lowest amounts possible. Whatever is in those cases is not in yours. You want to keep the high amounts in play for as long as possible." He clapped his hands together and briefly turned to face Chad. It was only half of the game he explained after all, but the second half would come in due time. Or at least after the first round. "Now Chad, have you thought about which case you would choose?"

That was a tough question to answer. He had thought it over numerous times over and over again. He liked so many of them for a different reason. "Well, it's a tough choice Howie." He finally said, amazed at how calm he was. "I have a lot of choices in mind but I think there's only one number for me. My jersey number has always been eight, so that's why I'm going with case eight."

The audience clapped as, in the second row, the model beside case eight picked it up and brought it down. She placed it on the glass table with a smile before walking off. Chad smiled as he briefly ran his hand down the case, having a good feeling about it.

"This is your case now. You can do whatever you want with it." Howie said. "You can choose to keep it throughout the entire game or you can sell it, but we'll talk about that later. So, now we can begin the game. We'll start round one with those six cases. You pick one and the respective model will open it. Chad, you may now pick your first case."

Chad nodded. He bit his tongue as he ran it around his mouth. Every case except eight was available now. "I would say my first case has to be ten. That's how long I've known my girlfriend."

Howie pointed to the blond model beside case ten. "Anya, open your case."

She obeyed and opened it with a smile. A $10,000 ticket was revealed. Chad cheered; it was a good start.

"Not bad. Somewhere in the middle." Howie noted. "Pick your next case."

"I'm taking a liking to twenty-one, Howie." Chad answered.

"Alright then." Howie faced the model and told her to open the case. It was $75,000. Chad had a look on his face that said, "Eh not too bad." Howie nodded, "You're still doing good. But try to keep away from the right side."

"Then I'll go for someone on the left." Chad decided. He snapped his fingers and pointed to the first one he saw, "Nineteen." The case was then open and a thousand dollars was revealed. Chad seemed much more pleased with that. Howie gave him the okay to continue, and Chad went on. "I think I'm gonna go for twenty-four this time." He said. "That's about how many years my folks were together."

"Let's see if it's a good choice." Howie said. "Open the case."

The case was slowly unlocked before the top was let down. It was even better than the first three, fifty bucks to be precise. Now Chad was even more thrilled.

"That's what we're looking for." Howie said, feeling the energy from the crowd. "You now have two more cases."

"Then I'm gonna go with number two." Chad said.

Once again it was a good choice. Only a hundred dollars. "You now have one more case. Choose wisely." Howie announced.

Chad nodded and pointed at case seven. That was the worst choice so far; it had $400,000 in it. Chad moaned and leaned back on the glass table.

"It's ok, you had a good round overall." Howie said with encouragement. "So now we're going to talk to the banker. He wants you to walk out with as little money as possible. He wants to see you get those high numbers."

And, as if right on cue, the phone on the table rang. Howie answered it and began talking with the banker, whose silhouette shadowed overhead in his own little room. "Uh-huh…ok…I see then…. Ok, I'll tell him." He hung up and turned to Chad, "Well it seems the banker is having mixed feelings about you. He thought you were doing just horribly until that last case. So he wants to see how far he can get you with. His first offer is $30,000. So it's your choice. Deal or no deal?"

Just as Howie opened up the case on the table, revealing a blinking button, Chad closed it automatically. No one ever took the first deal. "I'm still goin man."

As the audience cheered him on, Howie instructed him. "You now have five cases to open."

"Well, I think I'm gonna choose eighteen." Chad said. "I got a good feeling about that one."

"You heard him." Howie told the model. "Open the case."

And Chad's suspicion was right; it only had five hundred dollars. Chad cheered and jumped right into the next case. "I play basketball with my best friend and his number has always been fourteen. He's gonna kill me if I don't pink that number."

So case fourteen was opened. That was Chad's best case so far. It had the penny, the one that every contestant dreamed of getting from case one. Chad jumped and cheered as applause from the crowds ran through the studio.

"And now I see why he would have killed you if you didn't pick that case." Howie joked. After a light chuckle he said, "Pick your next case."

Things were going good for Chad; his next choice was twenty-three. It was just as good as the one before; only ten dollars. With two cases to go Chad then went with four, as it was the age difference between him and his elder brother. He was still going strong, only opening $750.

"You now have one more case to open." Howie said.

"Well Howie, some people have a fear of thirteen. They say it's unlucky. But I've got a strong feeling about it." Chad replied. "So I'm goin for thirteen."

Howie faced the model. "Leyla, open the case please."

She obeyed his instruction, "Let's see if it's luckier than some people think." That was the longest pause with opening a case so far. Chad clenched his teeth together as he watched. He then saw Leyla smile as she said, "I think we can make it work." She revealed $25,000.

Chad grinned contently, happy to avoid the six figures. But he wasn't out of the woods yet. The phone rang and Howie answered.

"Hello Mr. Banker." He greeted. There was about a minute wait as he talked to the banker before hanging up and turning back to Chad. "The banker's starting to have his doubts." He spoke. "He says it's nothing but pure luck. And that after choosing thirteen, yours is going to run out."

"Oh, come on." Chad moaned. "No way, I am on a roll here."

"Well let's see what you think of this offer he's giving." Howie replied, opening the case and Chad could see the button inside blinking again. Man why was it always blinking red? That never meant anything good. "His offer is $85,000."

Chad's jaw dropped. Man, what an increase. Just as he was about to speak, Howie pointed over to the couch on the side. "But remember, you're not in it alone. This is the round where you can start asking your closest friends for their opinions. They are here to help you decide."

More applause came as the three adults jumped up. The first one was about the same height as Chad, and had a paler skin color. His distinctive feature was a pair of blue eyes and his brown hair was the perfect combination of shaggy and tamed. He looked about as athletic; he wore a Celtics basketball jersey and a pair of baggy blue jeans to match. Next to him was another man around the same age. He was a bit more lanky and a pastel shaded hat covered his blond hair. His button-down shirt was mainly stripes of pastel colors, though a light brown was plastered on in a few spots as part of the pattern. He also seemed to have on a pair of sepia colored designer jeans and what looked like to be tap-dancing shoes. And next to him was a much shorter woman, about the same skin tone as Chad. Her straight black hair was almost down to her shoulder blades and her bright brown eyes were all on him. A lavender scarf rested around her neck along with a darker purple sweater vest and whit t-shirt underneath, black leggings, and black flats.

Howie walked over to the three lifelines as he did every other game. He started out with the first guy. "Welcome to the show. And you are?"

The man smiled and shook Howie's hand. "I'm Troy Bolton. I've known Chad forever. He's like a brother to me."

"Then you're bound to be a good supporter." Howie stated. He moved down to the guy with the hat, going through the same thing.

"I'm Ryan Evans. Chad and I play baseball together a lot. We're good buds." Ryan said.

"We have a stage full of athletes I see." Howie chuckled. "Nice to meet you as well." He finally walked over to the woman and shook her hand.

"I'm Taylor McKessie. Chad and I have been dating since high school." She said.

"Really?" Howie asked. "Going strong I see?"

Taylor smiled and nodded. "About eight years."

"That's terrific." Howie grinned. "These are what I like to see when people come onto the show. "So now it's up to you guys. You're here for Chad now. What do you think he should do?"

Even Chad could tell the answer was obvious, whether they all spoke at the same time or not. He smiled and practically slammed down the cover. "C'mon, no deal!"

"That's a big offer you just turned down." Howie observed.

"It's too early to quit. It's only gonna get bigger." Chad said. It was just like taking the first big lead in a game; it was nothing to get too excited about just yet.

"Well now you're down to four cases." Howie replied. "So let's see how well you do with your next four choices."

"That's what I've got my buds for." Chad grinned. He went to Troy first, remembering how his number fourteen case got Chad the penny. "Ok Troy what do you think? Got any suggestions?" he asked.

Troy rubbed his chin as he looked at the models. "I'm thinking the big sixteen." He said.

"Sixteen huh?" Chad rubbed his chin. Of course; in their senior year of high school, their basketball had sixteen minutes to make a major comeback. It ended up winning them the championship. He nodded and pointed to the case. "I'm taking sixteen, Howie."

"You heard him." Howie told the model. There was a deep sense of tension in the air as she slowly unlocked the case. She took a peek inside and had a disappointed look on her face. It made Chad's expression fall. The audience gasped and then the model smile. "Just kidding." She said before revealing the five dollars inside.

Chad cheered and hit high five's with Troy. Ryan raised his hand dramatically. "Hey can I give it a try?" he asked, wanting have a turn.

Chad chuckled and shrugged. "Why not?" He liked having this kind of backup with him. Chad knew the least amount of money he was looking for, even if it was way less than a million. But he didn't want to go home with less than a hundred thousand either, or way less. So he was hoping Ryan had good judgment.

Ryan looked at the models, eyeing each one of them closely until he pointed to number twenty-six. "Go for that one!" he grinned.

Chad chuckled. "You're only choosing her cause you're trying to score a date with her."

"Well you asked for opinions." Ryan said with a small shrug.

Well he had a point there. "Twenty-six it is then."

As the spotlight hit the model she teased Ryan by giving him the "call me" signal. After doing so and waiting for Howie to build up the suspense, she slowly opened the case. "It's not that bad." She assured them as she revealed the fifty thousand inside.

Chad rolled his eyes at Ryan. "Ok, you're off the case choosing committee." He teased. "I'm picking the next case. And I've got my eyes on number eleven." He announced.

"Let's see if this one will go any better." Howie said. "Open the case." And once again the top was slowly unlocked before going down. There was the ticket for three hundred dollars. Chad smiled at his choice. Man he was good at this game! "Now you have one more case to open." Howie interrupted his thoughts. "Choose wisely."

"I've got the perfect candidate." Chad smiled. He walked over to Taylor and wrapped an arm around her. "It's all you Tay."

Taylor smiled at him. "You know which one is my favorite."

"Number twenty-five?" Chad smiled.

"Number twenty-five." Taylor repeated with a nod.

The spotlight hit the curly-haired Hayley and Howie began moving more around the stage. "This is the last case of this round. Now you're doing pretty good so far, but can you keep it up?" There was a dramatic pause as he slowly pointed towards the model. "Open the case." The sound of the case unlocking was evident in the studio. Even though it wasn't down to the wire yet there was still suspense and nerves all around. The model leaned forward a little to get a quick look at the amount inside. Chad had a hopeful look on his face as he gripped Taylor tighter. But Hayley turned back to them and smiled. "Someone's got a good head on their shoulders." She complimented, opening the twenty-five dollar case.

Chad grinned widely and kissed Taylor on the forehead. "That's why you're my math girl." He whispered.

Taylor giggled and wrapped her arm around him as well.

The moment was interrupted by the phone. Howie answered it and began talking to the banker. "Hello Mr. Banker." He raised an eyebrow, "Oh really? .... Ok then, I'll give him the message." He hung up his phone and went over to Chad. "The banker says that the only reason you've been having a good round is because you have some kind of good luck charm. And he thinks he knows what it is."

"Ok, so I've got a good luck charm. What's he gonna do about it?" Chad shrugged. He was feeling pretty confident; he wasn't afraid to admit he had a special good luck charm.

"He says that he's going to have to put her away for the next round." Howie answered. "He wants her to go backstage and remain there. She's going to be completely tuned out for the next round so she'll have no idea what's going on."

Troy and Ryan exchanged looks. Chad raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what?" he asked. How did the banker figure it out?

Howie turned to Taylor. "If you'll come with me." He told her, then headed backstage.

Taylor looked at Chad, wishing him luck before she followed the host. All she really had to do was sit on a stool with a pair of headphones over her ears so she couldn't hear the outcome of the next round, or even of this round.

Howie then walked back out, and Chad looked more than a bit nervous. He wanted Taylor there more than anything, more than any other person with him or watching. "Don't worry, the sooner we get through the next round the sooner she'll be back out." Howie promised. "And there's still the matter of the offer for this round." He revealed the button on the table as he spoke, "And for you to leave now he is offering you $145,000."

Chad ran his hand through his hair anxiously as he paced around before collapsing onto the couch. Man that was the perfect amount that he could have used.

"Dude the game isn't over yet. You've got a good board going." Troy encouraged. "Don't take the deal yet. Go at least one more round."

"Even I think you can do better than that. The board looks more like it's in your favor." Ryan agreed.

With Ryan and Troy giving Chad their opinions, it felt odd for him to not have Taylor there telling him the same thing. Less than a minute since she was taken backstage and already Chad felt lost. But he knew he couldn't take the deal; Taylor was the main reason he wanted to win more than that. Finally getting himself together, Chad clammed down the cover.

"No deal!"

"You have a good game going here, Chad." Howie stated. "But you need to see if you can keep it up. Open the million or any other six figures and the offer immediately drops. So choose your next case carefully."

Chad leaned forward on the table and nodded. "Right." He said to himself. He'd gotten this far, so he wasn't going to back out now. He lifted his head to look at the remaining cases. Chad could feel the choices narrowing and his fingers clutched the surface of the table. "I'll go for six." He decided.

"You've only opened up one high amount so far." Howie announced as the spotlight hit the model. "We're about to find out if the banker's suspicion is right about your luck. Now…open the case."

The model closed her eyes and let the cover drop down. The audience moaned as $500,000 was revealed. Chad nearly hit his head against the table in disappointment.

"C'mon man, keep it going!" Troy called.

"That had to hurt." Howie observed.

"Yeah, it did." Chad admitted. He straightened himself up. "But I gotta keep going. And I'm going for number nine."

Almost no time was wasted; after the ok, the case was opened with yet another bad number. $750,000, to be exact. Chad groaned loudly as he literally hit his head on the table.

"This is not a good round." Howie stated. "The banker even looks like he's laughing it up now." It was true; with the silhouette of the banker visible, it clearly looked like the man was laughing in his chair. "I think he uncovered your secret to the success of the game. But you still have one more case to open this round. If you don't open another huge amount then you should be alright."

Chad gave a faint nod as he took in everything the host said. He did have a point; and it wasn't over yet either. But Chad really needed Taylor out there. She was his good luck charm. How could he do it without her? Ok, there had to be a way. Chad stood up again and took a deep breath, trying to figure out what else was wrong. Maybe it was the fact that he was randomly picking cases, all without reason. So which case had a good reasoning behind it to choose? Chad studied each one carefully, trying to figure it out. His eyes ended up on case fifteen.

"Well I need to change things up a bit. I think case fifteen is the way to go." Chad announced.

"Really?" Howie inquired as he walked up to the particular model, wanting to get a good look for himself when the case would open. "And why is that?"

"Troy's birthday is on the fifteenth in a few months." Chad answered. "And Taylor's is the same date six months after. So I gotta go for that case."

So you think that there is a lower amount in this case than the previous two you opened?" Howie asked.

"Yes I do." Chad nodded.

"So what happens if it's the million?"

Chad was hoping it wouldn't be the big six zeroes. But he couldn't think like that. It couldn't be in that case, it just couldn't. "I don't think it's in there. I'm feeling a lower number."

"Then let's see what's inside." Howie announced. He gave a nod to the model, "Open the case." They both looked in to get a sneak preview of the amount. Howie was ready to give Chad the look, the one of disappointment, but the model beat him to it with quite the opposite. There in the case sat the four hundred.

Chad cheered; he knew that case was a good pick, he just knew it. He did his secret handshake with Troy, though after seeing this episode of Deal or No Deal it wouldn't be so secret anymore, and hit Ryan a high five.

As they did that, Howie answered the phone and talked to the banker. And Chad wasn't liking the sound of it. "The banker things that he made a good move. Two out of the three cases you opened were six figures. He wants to see that again next round." Howie explained. "So he's keeping Taylor backstage for another round."

"What?" Chad gasped. "C'mon, that's whack." He ran right underneath the banker's little viewing area and held his fist up to it. "You hear me, Banker person? Whack I say, whack!"

The audience chuckled at Chad's antics, but Howie filled in the missing blank. "And there's still the matter of the offer. It went up, but only barely." Another dramatic pause. "$160,000. So you can take that and go home or you can keep playing. You still have four large amounts in play including the million. So it's up to you. Do you take that risk? I ask you now Chad, deal or no deal?"

Chad knew nearly more than half of the people in there were telling him no deal. And Chad knew he wanted more than that. Not too much more; he knew to quit when it got tricky. But it wasn't time to throw in the towel yet. He was still in the game and as far as he was considered it was only half time.

"I'm still goin on Howie. No deal!" he insisted even before listening to Troy's and Ryan's opinions. Besides the faster he finished the next round the sooner he could have Taylor back out.

"So that makes you down to the two cases mark." Howie said when it finally calmed down. "After this round we're going to start opening one case at a time. So you know it only gets harder from here."

Chad nodded. "Just like a basketball game." He said to himself. He took a deep breath and then spoke again. "I'm going with three."

"Are you going with your assumption that you need to pick special cases?" Howie inquired.

"Yeah." Chad nodded. "It got me good with case fifteen, it can only get better."

"So why three?"

"Let's just say it's a special number." Chad wouldn't think of announcing on nation TV what he'd been planning for the past three years.

"Alright then." Howie said. "We're going to see if you're on the right track." He clasped his hands together and pointed at the model. "Lisa…open your case."

She nodded and let it slowly unlock. She took a quick look in before showing what it was. "I'm so sorry." She apologized, and then exposed the $300,000 sitting inside.

Chad sighed; so much for his theory. But he had to shake it off. One more case to go before the next offer. Before he even let the hose speak again Chad blurt out the case he wanted. "Twenty."

"You're not wasting anymore time." Howie noted. "Are you going into a rush hour or something?"

"I gotta focus on the game. Gotta keep going and not let something keep me down for too long. It don't work in sports so it ain't gonna work here." Chad replied.

"Let's see for ourselves then." He said. "Open the case."

And it was done. A huge sigh of relief was heard when only two hundred was in the case.

Even Howie seemed surprised. But it was these kinds of contestants that made the game interesting, that built up the suspense in the atmosphere. "You cut yourself a break." He announced. "You have three large amounts left on the board. But you know something, it's not all bad. If you can avoid the six figures in the next round then the board will definitely be in your favor." Chad grinned and then Howie answered the phone as it rang. "Yes Banker?" A long pause. Howie rubbed his chin. "He's being oddly generous. I think you insulted him before." He told Chad, covering the mouthpiece.

"That's good then. He should be afraid of me. I could bust him up there any time." Chad replied. "What else does he got to say to me?"

"He says that you need to shut your yap or you're only going to have two supporters for the rest of the game." Howie answered.

Ok, that wasn't what Chad was hoping for.

"But there is the good news. His offer." Howie added as he hung up. "And like I said, it was very generous. It's still in the six figures. $195,000."

Chad ran his hand through his hair as he saw the amount flash on screen. It was heating up in the studio and Chad knew if he opened up a large number next then it would instantly drop. But he wasn't satisfied enough with $195,000. He needed just a little more.

"I think you could use one more round. The board is looking good for you." Ryan said, snapping Chad out of his thoughts. "One more round and then you can call it quits."

"There's only two amounts higher than that one, Chad." Troy added. "Do you wanna keep going and risk it?"

Now it was Howie's turn to ask. "Chad Danforth, deal or no deal?"

Oh great, now with the full name asking. What were they trying to do to him? He paced around thinking for about a minute. The board was in his favor but it was still a lot of money. "You know what?" he determined. He looked like he was going to push the button, then slammed the cover on it. "No deal!"

With that round done, Taylor was able to come back out. Chad didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her, no matter who was watching. "What'd I miss?" she asked.

Troy started walking over to them, but as the host Howie beat him to the punch. "You missed the last two rounds. Chad has turned down $145,000 and $195,000. And he still has three large amounts in play."

Taylor pulled out of the hug and gave Chad her look with her hands on her hips.

"Just a little longer, that's all it's gonna take." Chad said. "I got a good board goin."

"And you have to remember not to get greedy." Taylor replied. "It's going to cloud your judgment."

"Trust me, I'll know when to quit." Chad promised.

She sighed and threw her hands up in defeat before walking back over to the boys.

"We're moving on to picking one case at a time." Howie said. "So, talk with your lifelines and pick a case."

Chad walked over to the three. "Ok what do you guys think?"

"There's no turning back now. There's five cases left." Troy said. "You gotta pick it carefully."

"How about twelve?" Ryan suggested.

"Remember what happened the last time you chose a case?" Chad asked. "I don't think so."

"You picked numbers that reminded you of Troy and Taylor. I need a turn, too." Ryan said.

Well, Chad had asked Ryan to come with them. He and Ryan were pretty close friends and usually got along. So if it was the other way around, how would Chad feel if he was the one whose suggestions were ignored? Besides, twelve was Ryan's uniform number in baseball. It was important enough.

Chad nodded as he made his decision. "Case twelve."

"We are now reaching one of the many moments of truth." Howie said. "This is going to make or break the game." He turned to Jill, the model. "Open up the case."

"I've got my fingers crossed." Jill told them, crossing her fingers for them. Everything was then silent as she unlocked the case. She looked inside, and then turned to the group and smiled. "Is this good enough for you?" she inquired. There in the case lay five thousand dollars.

Chad cheered and pumped his fists in the air. The crowd went wild that he was still avoiding the million. "I got my luck back banker! What do you think of that now?" he yelled.

As if on cue, which it always was, the phone rang and Howie answered. "He wants to know what you think now." He said right away. The audience chuckled and then it died down as Howie rubbed his chin. A minute later he hung up and slowly walked back over to Chad. "The banker says you can't avoid the million forever. He says your luck's about to run out. So if you want to see the last of it disappear then he's not going to let you take home…" Here came the offer, "…$260,000."

The audience gasped and Chad almost fell to the ground.

"Ok you really need to take that offer!" Ryan insisted. He wasn't good with numbers but he was good with money. And he knew that one slip-up and Chad would be lucky not to go home with a dollar, which could be in his case eight.

Taylor glanced at the board. "Chad there is only one amount up there that can beat that price. Even if you do take the offer and the million is in your case it'll be ok because that's plenty of money. You don't need to get cocky now."

"This is a big decision Chad. So now I have to ask you, deal or no deal?" Howie finished.

Chad knew it was a lot of money. He knew that was around the amount he wanted to go home with. But he wanted to go at least one more time. He wanted to see what the next offer would be. All he had to do was avoid the two largest amounts now available, which were the million and $200,000. The board was still in his favor.

"This is the last five minutes of the game." Chad said, comparing it to basketball. "Everything heats up and the competition is fiercer. So it's not the time to quit yet. And I'll know the time to quit when the buzzer rings in my mind. So that's why I'm saying no deal!" Another slam on the button's cover.

"There are now four cases left." The host announced once silence overcame the studio again. "One, five, seventeen, and twenty-two. Include case eight which you hold, and one of those holds a million dollars. The lowest amount up there now is a dollar." He paused so the audience could cheer and clap. "We know what you're looking for. But the question is, can you find it?"

Chad knew the answers. He was looking for the dollar and hoping not to find the million. The game had treated him well so far, but he had to see how much longer it would last. Hopefully past this round. He thought of all the cases that got him the farthest so far. Twenty-four, the amount of years his parents were together, held fifty bucks; fourteen, Troy's official number, had the penny; twenty-five, Taylor's favorite case, had twenty-five dollars; fifteen, the date of both Troy's and Taylor's birthdays; everything else was pure luck. So Chad was hoping that choosing another special case would bring him the luck he needed to continue, not just pure luck.

"Seventeen." He announced. "It was a good year for me in high school and it's when Taylor and I started dating. I got a good feeling about it."

"You do realize the consequences if your instincts are wrong." Howie reminded him.

"Yeah." Chad nodded. "I'm ready for it."

"Then there's only one thing to do." How said. He slowly turned to the model, "Open the case."

It was probably the longest pause so far. The model seemed disappointed after seeing what was inside. Chad's face fell right away and the audience held in their gasps. But then the model smiled. "Just kidding," she giggled. And there was the dollar. The audience erupted into cheers and Chad jumped into the air. He spun Taylor around in delight and the man-hugged Troy and Ryan. "I knew I had a good feeling about that one!" he exclaimed. And as soon as the phone rang, Chad made a mad dash to answer it ahead of Howie. "In your face Banker! What was that you were saying before? How do you like me now?"

Once again the audience cracked up. Chad grinned and then made a face at the banker's reply. "Hey kids watch this show you know. Watch your language!" he gasped.

Howie laughed and took the phone from Chad. "I'd better take it from here." He let Chad take a few steps back and Howie began talking to the banker. When he was finished he hung up and turned to Chad. "I think you're getting on the banker's nerves." He said. "But the banker said that there's no way you can say no to this next offer. For you to leave the game now, he is offering you $330,000."

Right then nearly everyone in the room was telling Chad to take the deal. Ryan was once again encouraging Chad to take the deal. Chad ran his fingers through his hair again. He walked over to the three. "Hey one at a time."

"Chad that is a lot of money. I don't know how much you came here to win but you can't go another round. If you open the million then it's over." Taylor said. "I really think it's time to take the deal and go home."

"Dude it's your call." Troy said. "We know that you won't listen to us forever."

Chad bit his tongue as he thought for a minute. He took another look at the board. The lowest amount left was seventy-five dollars. Chad had a good offer right now; part of him was telling him to take it. But to him there was still the last minute left of the game. And that minute would be up after picking one more case. "Guys I have a really good game going. It's not time to quit yet."

"Chad…" Taylor started.

"One more round, I promise. That's all I need." Chad replied. "I can do it."

Ryan hit his head and Troy sighed. "I really hope you know what you're doing man." He said reluctantly.

"I do know." Chad nodded. He turned to Howie. "No deal." He walked back over to the table and closed the case. Many gasps filled the room and Chad leaned forward on the table, hoping he didn't make a mistake. No he wasn't getting greedy; just one more case was all he needed, he was sure of it.

"You're taking a big risk here." Howie announced. "If you don't open the seventy-five dollars it's over."

"I know." Chad nodded. "But I have to go one more time. And I'm ending it with case twenty-two. We were all that age when we graduated and we stayed together as friends all four of those years. It's really something special."

"Then we're about to find out if you made the right choice." Howie said stoically. He didn't like bringing contestants down with sour moments, but there were bound to be plenty of them on the show. The worst time to do it was when the game went perfectly. If Chad picked the wrong case it would crush him. "Open the case."

It was completely silent. Everyone was nervous. There was no other way to describe the feeling in the studio. Chad was trying to prepare himself for the worst, but secretly hoping that it wouldn't be so. Even the model was silent. There were no words to express anyone's feelings when he opened the case. In front of everyone's eyes there it was. Seventy-five dollars. The audience went wild and Chad was happier than ever. He knew the offer would skyrocket now. He knew what he had to do.

But the banker wouldn't give anyone a chane to celebrate. The phone rang right away and Howie answered it. Everyone waited in awe for the offer. Nothing else was heard except for the music in the background and Howie's voice.

"He says it's over." Howie said. "The banker said that if you don't take this offer then your life is going to be a living nightmare." He had mouthed the words 'hell hole' to Chad instead, though he couldn't say it on TV. "So this is the largest offer tonight. Everything he's given you hasn't gone down once. But he swears that if you don't pick $100,000 on the possible next round, the offer will drop faster than you can say 'foul ball'." He slowly popped open the case to show the blinking button. It was now or never, and Chad knew it better than anyone else. He eyed Howie, who now had a serious look on his face as he gave the offer. "For you to get out now, the banker will give you $390,000."

The reaction? Just the same as the previous offer. Everyone started yelling deal. None of the supporters had a chance to talk. The audience gave no one mercy. Over and over it was just "DEAL! DEAL! DEAL! DEAL!" But Chad couldn't hear it. He had something to say. He tried to quiet everyone down and they slowly but surely obeyed.

"This is my game. I've been playing it and I've been giving it my all from the first case." Chad announced. "I have seen plenty of offers that I knew I could have taken, that I knew was exactly what I needed. But I didn't want to take hom just what I needed. I wanted to take something more. I was ready to take the $260,000 but I didn't. I knew I could keep going. I had to keep going. And the thing that I need is more important than anything else. So now I know what it's time for. I'm not doing anything because some banker person tells me to. This is my game and I say when the buzzer sounds. And the buzzer is sounding now." Chad knew Ryan and Taylor kept telling him to take the deal for about two rounds now. And he especially wasn't going to lose Taylor's trust over some money. Chad was ready. He pushed the red button, "Deal."

The crowd went wild once again. Troy, Ryan, and Taylor ran over to Chad to congratulate him. Chad man-hugged Troy and Ryan and then engulfed Taylor in a big bear hug. Howie walked over to the group and pat Chad on the back. "So you're going home with almost $400,000." he announced. "How does it feel?"

"It feels great." Chad replied with a big smile.

"What are you going to do with that money? Have you thought about what to do with any money you won?" Howie asked.

"Actually, I have." Chad nodded. He took Taylor's hand and pulled her over to an empty area on the stage, though the camermen were still following them. Hey, the show was still being taped; it wasn't over yet.

"Chad what are you doing?" Taylor asked.

"Just hear me out." Chad said. He didn't care who was watching or who overheard them. But this was one of the things he came here to do. "I have thought about everything for three years. Since we graduated college. When I met you, you were just a neighbor who happened to be my age and attended the same school. But two years of actually talking to you and getting to know you and that all changed. We haven't gone out with anyone else for about eight years. Every time one of us wasn't around we would still find a way to talk to each other. We went to prom together and had the time of our life. We graduated high school side by side. And not being able to see you for practically four years because of college was hard. And the fact that we were able to stay together through it all and still be together now means everything. I knew that as soon as we saw each other after graduation that we were gonna work out. So for three years I planned everything. I wanted to make it big and I wanted to make it special." He reached into his pocket, "So that's why I got something for the occasion. From the first offer over $100,000 everything was enough to pay for it. I got it a few months ago and I wanted to win money on here so I could completely pay for it for good and so we could have something left over. That's why I kept going. Not for greed, but for you. For us."

Taylor raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "Chad where are you going with this? Do you even know where we are?"

"Yeah. I know." Chad nodded. He pulled out a black case from his pocket and got down on one knee. Everyone gasped, knowing exactly where this was going. "I didn't want to ask you this before because I wanted to make sure I'd have the money and I didn't want you to turn me down later if I didn't have the million." he continued. "So that's why I'm asking you now. Chad then took a deep breath. "Taylor McKessie, I want to give you my hand in marriage. Will you marry me?"

Everyone was in suspense as they waited for Taylor's answer. It wasn't about the game show anymore; now it was about something much bigger. They wondered how anyone could say no to it now.

But what came out of Taylor's mouth first wasn't what anyone expected. "Are you out of your mind Chad? How much money did you spend on one ring?" she yelled.

"For you, any amount." Chad confessed.

"And you really thought that if you didn't win a million dollars I'd turn you down?" Taylor continued. "What level of shallow do you take me for?"

None of this Chad was expecting. His face fell, taking Taylor's answer as a no. But Taylor wasn't finished yet. She wanted to get the yelling out of the way first. Now her expression softened. She knelt down to his level.

"I wouldn't have thought any different of you no matter where we were or what you did." she said warmly. "My answer would be the same evn if you proposed to me at a supermarket with a pen cap. You don't have to spend a lot of money just to impress me."

Chad looked at her with a confused look. "Wait...so are you saying what I think you're saying?" he asked hopefully. He slowly offered Taylor the ring.

Taylor smiled as sle placed her hand in his, her hand covering the ring. Her smile only grew and she had to force herself to hold in a squeal. "Chad, yes. Of course I'll marry you."

Chad smiled widely as he heard the cheers from all over the studio. He quickly slipped the ring onto Taylor's finger before pulling her in for a passionte kiss. She easily accepted and now they were both sitting on the stage of Deal or No Deal celebrating their engagement.

Troy and Ryan ran over and practically pulled them apart, each congratulating the other with a hug. Howie offered his congrats to the couple as well. "We already know you've got a great deal here." he chuckled. "So what would your next case choice have been before all this?"

Chad smiled as he took Taylor's hand and they both stood up. "Case one." he answered.

Case one was opened by its respective model, Claudia. There was the $200,000. The audience seemed to react well. However, it didn't stop their faces from falling. Then Howie said what the banker would have offered and the amount appeared on the overheard screen. $520,000. Chad gasped and put his head on Taylor's shoulder. But he didn't seem all that disappointed.

"And now, for your case. You chose case eight." Howie announced. He picked up the case and brought it over to the group. "Chad Danforth, you made..." One final dramatic pause as he opened the case. "...and even better deal!"

In case eight rested $100,000. The final model Ursula opened her case and eveyone saw the million. More cheers eupted from the audience and that meant Chad's game was officially over. As Howie announced to the cameras that they'd be back with the next contestant, Chad dragged Taylor off to the side and out of sight. The two laughed as they disappeared from everyone's vision.

"It looks like you've made yourself a great deal Chad." Taylor smiled as she leaned up against the wall, placing her arms around his neck. "So what are you going to do with all that extra money?"

Chad smiled seductively and put his arms on her waist. "I think I'll tell you tonight." he promised. "We're gonna have at least a good $230,000 left over and no one else is touching it but us. We can tlak about what to do with it all night long."

"I quite enjoy the sound of that." Taylor replied softly with a smile.

So then, no matter who was watching them as they passed by, the two shared a final long, passionate kiss for the evening. At least until they would return to their hotel room.


That was the longest one so far! So what do you think? I'm not sure if I'll be able to update anything else tonight, and tomorrow is sketchy. Seriously, it took me a ton of hours to type this up all together and you have no idea how long I was stalling to type out Chad's question. XD And I'm serious, I had to write down everything that happened on the game as I played it so I wouldn't forget. So it wasn't easy. Last time I ever type any oneshots dealing with game shows. =P So, I hope you enjoyed this one and whichever story I update next there'll be plenty more good stuff to come! Hopefully. XDDD