Chapter Six

After getting off the phone with her mother, Gabriella realized more than ever how much she missed her. Her mother always knew the right things to say to put her mind at ease. She would hold Gabriella in her arms and told her everything would be okay. If only her mom were here at the moment, she would feel a lot better.

She thought back to the request she had made of Sharpay. She had meant it, hadn't she? She couldn't talk to Troy, not at this time. She thought she was ready, but at the first sight of him, she had fainted? How would she even find the words to say anything? You need to get a grip of yourself, thought Gabriella. How could one person affect her so much?

She decided to get up and unpack her suitcase. No use just lying around, she thought. She wandered over to the huge closet and saw a black dressing bag hanging inside the door. There was note in Sharpay's hand writing: "For you Gabs. Wear it proud!" Gabriella felt excited as she unzipped the bag and found the most gorgeous dress she had ever laid her eyes on. It was the emerald green and the dress had a vertically shirred bodice and a bead trimmed strapless square neckline and an empire waist. The ruched texture of the dress would show off her figure greatly. She had to thank Sharpay for this. To complete the look, Sharpay had even added a pair of silver Manolo Blahniks, just like the pair Carrie Bradshaw had stolen at baby shower on an episode of Sex and the City. Gabriella contemplated on whether she should try the dress on and couldn't resist.

She slipped the dress on and stared at herself in the full length mirror. The dress definitely fit her like a glove. She felt sexy and chic. She decided to take her hair out of the bun and let the curls drape around her shoulders. This was definitely the look she was going for. Maybe Sharpay was right when she said one should always look their best at the reunion because there was no way another look could beat what Sharpay picked out. She had never thought about wearing green before and the color looked great against her tan skin. She needed the girls' opinion. She knew she could just walk down to the pool area but she still didn't feel comfortable leaving the bedroom, just in case she ran into Troy. She called Sharpay on her cell.

"Gabriella? Is everything okay?" Sharpay asked as soon as she saw Gabriella's photo light up on her pink Blackberry.

"Everything's fine. I found the dress in my closet. It's perfect! I want your and Taylor's opinion ASAP." She said excitedly.

"Are you sure you want us to come up? Don't you need to rest, sweetie?"

"I'm fine. I promise. Besides, my mom called me and I haven't been able to go back to sleep. So come on up here."

"Okay, on our way."

Gabriella smiled as she hung up. She needed the perfect accessory to go with the dress. She went to her suitcase and pulled out her simple, white jewelry pouch. She dumped the contents onto the dresser and looked for the perfect necklace. She was grabbing the simple white gold necklace with a small diamond pendant, the one her mom had given her for graduation, when she realized the necklace was interlocked with another one. She was working on untangling them when she immediately recognized the silver "T". She gasped and dropped the necklace as she felt tears start to come out. How did the necklace get there? She remembered putting it away years ago. Never to look at it again and here it was staring at her right in the face. Troy had given her the necklace on the very last day of their junior year as a promise to her. It was one of the sweetest things he had done for her.

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't hear Taylor or Sharpay as they walked in. "Come on, Gabs! Give us a twirl!" Sharpay called out.

Gabriella turned around and faced her friends. As soon as they saw the look and tears on her face, they both reacted and ran to her.

"Gabi, what's wrong?" Taylor asked.

"I found this in my jewelry case." She held up the necklace with the "T" on it.

"Oh, my God. How did it get there? I thought you got rid of it years ago." Sharpay asked.

"I did. I put it away in this shoebox with all things Troy." Gabriella sighed as Sharpay and Taylor gave her a lock at the mention of a Troy shoebox, "Give me a break guys. I couldn't let myself throw anything away that Troy gave me. Trust me, I tried."

"How would it just end up amongst all your jewelry?" Taylor asked with concern.

"I have no idea. I don't recall going through the box in the last few years. It's just been sitting up on a shelf in my closet. How weird is that?"

"Maybe it's not weird, maybe it's fate," Sharpay said, giving Gabriella a look.

"No more talk about fate. I don't know what came over me earlier. Let's just leave the subject of fate alone, please."

Taylor and Sharpay exchanged a glance and shrugged their shoulders. They both knew there was no point in arguing with Gabriella once she was determined and had her mind set.

"Alright Gabs, we'll leave fate out of this. What are you going to do with it now?" Sharpay asked.

"I should just throw it away, right? If I'm to move on, I should let go of it." Gabriella said firmly.

Taylor put a hand on Gabriella's shoulder. "Are you really sure that's what you want to do?"

Gabriella nodded. "I think so. I have been thinking and I need to focus on what's ahead of me, not the past. I'm going to be strong and leave Albuquerque with a clear mind."

"Gabs, you might not want to hear this, but we're going to say it anyway." Sharpay grabbed her hand and looked at her with concern, "Troy was devastated when I told him you didn't want to talk to him, much less be alone with him. Are you sure about this? Because I hated the way I spoke to him. I was such a bitch."

"I can't talk to him. I just can't. I'm not ready, nor do I think I ever will be. Maybe there's a reason why we stopped our relationship. Maybe this is how life is supposed to play out for the both of us. He goes his way and I go mine." Gabriella said, trying to sound brave.

"What? Go your own ways and be miserable?" Taylor scoffed. "I know you say you're not ready, but I think you're just scared to admit what might happen."

Gabriella sighed and took a long look at her friends. "Why is everyone trying to push us together? What's with all the pressure? If I'm not ready, then I'm not ready. And leave it at that. I'm starting to think the reunion is a bad idea after all. Maybe I should just change my flight and leave before anything else happens."

Sharpay rolled her eyes and placed a firm hand on Gabriella's arm. "Gabs, stop being a drama queen. You know Tay is right that's why you're getting so defensive. Honey, it's okay to admit if you're scared. We'll be here for you no matter what. And we'll leave the matter alone about you and Troy. We'll make sure and tell the others, too. You decide what you want to do. No more pushing from us, we promise."

"I'm just so confused." Gabriella cried. "It's like a part of me wants to talk to him, but then there's a part of me that's fighting it. It has to mean something, doesn't it? I thought that the first time I saw Troy I would know exactly what I want, but I'm now more confused than ever. Besides, it's not fair to Eric. Not after he told me he loves me."

Taylor put an arm around her friend. "We're sorry you are going through this, we really are. I wouldn't know what to do either. I think it's just a matter of what your heart wants."

"At this point, I don't think it knows what it wants." Gabriella said sadly. "But I think I'm pretty sure I still don't want to talk to Troy. I have to figure things out on my own."

"I know I promised not to push, but I have to say something else. You have to at least have a conversation with Troy. At least hear what he has to say. Eric's said his piece. It would only be fair." Sharpay offered.

Gabriella slowly nodded her head. "I guess I have to agree with that. It's only fair. I'm not saying it'll be tonight, but it'll be sometime before I head back to Boston."

Taylor smiled. "Sounds fair to me. Now, wipe those tears and show off this fabulous dress."

Gabriella gave both her friends a hug and wiped the tears from her eyes. She stood up and smoothed the dress over her body. She turned around to give the girls the whole view.

"Wow. I swear that dress was made for your body. I have never seen you more fit and toned lady." Sharpay said after letting out a whistle. "You are a hottie!"

"It's all thanks to yoga," Gabriella said, feeling herself blush. She was usually so modest with her looks that whenever people praised her about it, she felt self conscious.

"I'll have to make sure and give Jillian a big bonus or something. When I gave her a call and sent your measurements and picture over, I didn't think she would find anything this great, but I'm obviously wrong. The whole look is fabulous."

"I definitely agree. Now let's just hope I look as good as you two tomorrow night. After the way you described your dress Shar, I'm going to need to be in top form with you two." Taylor joked.

"Taylor, you're gorgeous and you know it." Sharpay teased her friend.

Sharpay took a look at her Dior watch. "Oh, wow. It's already 5:30. Where has the time gone? Anyway, we need to get ready for the BBQ. I'm going to go check on Zeke and see if he's got everything he needs. See you both in a bit."

Once they were left alone, Taylor walked over to her friend. "Gabriella, are you really okay?"

"I think I will be. Thanks for being such a good friend."

"Of course. Always. Well, I will leave you alone to get ready then. See you down by the pool in a while?"

"Sounds like a plan. See you in a bit." As Taylor left the room, Gabriella took the dress off and hung it back on the hanger and into its' garment bag. She went through the clothes she brought and decided on a simple periwinkle blue V-neck dress. She brushed her hair and decided to leave her curly locks down. She applied some lip gloss on and felt her look was complete. She slipped her feet into a pair of black kitten heels. She took one last look in the mirror and decided she would be brave tonight. Perhaps brave enough to face Troy Bolton? We'll see, she thought, with a small smile on her face. She headed out to the pool area to see if help was needed.

Troy was looking out at the expansive green hills and was struck by the beauty of his city. He had driven the extra thirty minutes out to the Lava Springs Country Club so that he could clear his mind as he walked around the golf course. He had also screamed like he wanted to. He didn't care whether the other members were annoyed or not. He knew this was the one place where he could do it. He remembered the summer they all worked here; the summer before their senior year. It was all the same summer that he had almost lost Gabriella because he had been so focused on the U of A scholarship that he hadn't realized how he was treating everyone.

Just thinking about Gabriella made his heart ache. He had ignored the fact that she had a boyfriend, but to hear her tell him that she loved him was the worst feeling in the world. He wasn't the type of person to steal someone else's girlfriend, was he? He hadn't even told Chad or Zeke or Jason any of this. He knew what they would all say. They would tell him this was the sign that he had to let her go. She was happy with someone else. He couldn't break that.

And then Sharpay had told him that Brie didn't want to talk to him. But he knew in his heart, he had to talk to her. At least just to tell her how he felt. Maybe she didn't even have to say anything; he could do all the talking. Yeah, right, he thought, and be a complete loser? He had been so close to her today and it had given him some hope. He just had to overcome all the obstacles.

He knew he would have a hard time of getting Gabriella alone. He was sure Taylor and Sharpay would stick to her side like glue tonight. He was sure they were determined to keep him away from her. Maybe he could convince Taylor to help him. While Sharpay had said all the harsh words earlier, it seemed that Taylor was uncomfortable with it and he had noticed the sympathetic looks she gave him. He would have to try, wouldn't he? Maybe he could convince Chad to help in on the plan as well. Who am I kidding? Troy thought. He was all alone in this. They all obviously thought he and Gabriella were better off apart. Troy felt defeated. He just couldn't win, could he? The moment he learned that Gabriella would be in Albuquerque, he had also learned that she had a boyfriend that she loved.

No matter what, he had already decided that he would fight for her. He had to tell her how he felt at least. And with that, Troy walked out of the Lava Springs Country Club and got into his jeep and drove back to the Evans' mansion. It was definitely BBQ time. He would have to face his fear of rejection sooner or later anyway.

Author's Note: Please go to my profile page to find a link to the dress that Gabriella is wearing to the reunion. Just imagine it in a emerald green jewel color. :D