Reluctant Hostility Chapter 7: What Are Friends For?, a high school musical fanfic

Reluctant Hostility © Midnight113.

Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or have any affiliation to it.

Synopsis: It's been three months since Gabriella left school so she could take care of her mom, three months since she had lied to Troy and three months since she'd last seen him… until now. Sequel to BH. T&G

Chapter Seven

What Are Friends For?

"~*~"

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Staring straight ahead, Gabriella's grin widened once she spotted her target. It had been three days since she had last seen Troy, when he had so generously brought her soup to the penthouse and apologized for his behavior at the park.

Over the past couple days, Gabriella was not only feeling better physically, but mentally as well. She felt inspired and ready to take on the world, or at least Troy. All because he had suggested they should be friends. She'll admit, she was surprised with his proposal of friendship. Just knowing that he wanted her in his life in some way was enough for her, at least for now. She'd have to work on gaining his trust again but it was worth it. The future they could have together was worth any obstacle that was flung their way because Gabriella knew, no matter how much he tried to not show it, Troy wanted it just as much as she did. The challenge would be to get him to admit that.

Now that she was feeling better, Gabriella decided to pay her new 'friend' a visit at, where else? The bookstore of course. Placing her finger up to her lips to keep Taylor quiet, Gabriella came up behind Troy's body as he kept rattling off something about shipments. Lifting herself up on her tiptoes, she pressed her chest against his back and placed her palms over his eyes while leaning into his ear. "Guess who?" She whispered, taking satisfaction in the way his body tensed up against her.

She listened to him let out a sigh before bringing his hands up to grip her wrists and pull her hands away. "What are you, twelve?" He muttered, turning his head around to give her a little glare.

"As your new best friend, it's against the rules to patronize me." Gabriella informed him with a brilliant smile.

"So now there's rules?" Troy raised his brow, folding his arms across his chest. Gabriella found it difficult to gather all her strength and not drool while staring at his prominent muscles that were protruding through his trademark white business shirt.

Gabriella nodded with a smirk. "There's always rules when we're involved. Haven't you learned that yet?"

Troy snickered. "Apparently not, I just hope these rules aren't as stupid as those boyfriend rules you and Sharpay follow."

"You take that back right now! Those rules are sacred… especially to her." Gabriella finished. "And who are you to talk anyway, you proved they work." She reminded him of the little tests she had put him through all those months ago to see how he'd hold up as her boyfriend. "Or don't you remember?"

"I remember alright." Troy spoke through clenched teeth. "I can't believe I bothered with all that. Being friends is so much easier." He commented.

"You didn't feel that way before, may I remind you."

"No you may not." Troy mocked her and they both were caught in a staring contest, neither one wanting to be the first to break away.

"Oh! I'm just so happy you two are getting along again." Taylor clapped her hands together as she grinned, gaining both their attention as they turned to look at her.

"Pssh." Troy rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Letting out a loud gasp, Gabriella clutched her chest and frowned. "Whatever? Troy, how could you be so insensitive?"

"It's easy actually." He shrugged.

Ignoring him, Gabriella continued, "You know, you need me in your life. Otherwise it would be dull and boring and full of nothingness."

"Not exactly, that's just what I want you to think."

"Humph, sure it is." Gabriella folded her arms, mimicking his stance. Taylor stood off to the side, quietly observing the two as they bickered back and forth like an old couple. Her face had a small smile forming as she busied herself with paperwork, looking over at them from time to time.

"What are you doing here anyway? I thought I told you the bookstore was off limits." Troy turned around to grab some papers and stacked them together.

"Can't a friend visit a friend at their place of work?" She inquired curiously.

"As long as you don't bug me, I guess we should be fine. Go annoy Taylor." He motioned with his head over to their friend who was still nonchalantly paying attention to them.

"I don't bug anyone." Gabriella brushed past him, keeping her eyes narrowed on his before she turned to her friend and gave her a cheeky grin. "Do I Tay?"

Shaking her head, Taylor frowned. "Nah-ah. I'm staying out of this."

Gabriella hummed in mock annoyance, ignoring Troy's chuckle as he grabbed some more paperwork and walked around the counter. "I'll be in the backroom if you need me." He stopped and looked around the dead store before sighing. "I doubt that will happen."

The two girls watched as he walked away, the backroom door chiming as he disappeared through it. Gabriella frowned, walking over to the counter and hopping up on it. "Have you guys come up with anything yet to help the store?" She asked, swinging her legs back and forth.

Taylor's face matched her own as she shook her head. "No, we've been brainstorming but the only solution appears to be selling the place before it goes bankrupt."

"Come on Tay, there's got to be something we can do. I don't… I don't want to see Troy lose this place. It's all he has." She spoke, shielding her disappointment when she realized that it's all he seemed to want at the moment.

Shaking her head again, Taylor dropped her arms against her pants and sighed. "Well if there is something else we can do, I can't think of it."

Gabriella sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I can't either. We can't just give up though. We can't let them win."

"I agree." Taylor nodded, placing her hands on the wooden surface of the counter and tilting her head down. "I need coffee."

Allowing a small giggle to escape her lips, Gabriella hopped off the counter and nodded. "Me too, I'll go get us some."

"Thanks Gabs, you're a lifesaver."

Gabriella scoffed, waving her friend off as she made her way to the front door. Her steps began to slow as she neared the entrance to the store. "Coffee." She mumbled under her breath, looking through the glass door and out at the road. Her eyes began to widen in realization as it dawned on her. "Oh my God, that's it." She shouted, twirling around in her spot and marching back over to her friend who was regarding her as if she were a crazy person.

"Yeah I know, that's why I suggested some." Taylor commented, unsure as to what Gabriella meant.

Shaking her head, Gabriella began to jump around in excitement. "No… no, no, coffee! That's the answer Tay!" She shouted, looking up towards the back door and quickly setting off in its direction.

"Uh… what?"

"Troy!" Gabriella yelled, pushing open the back door with determination as it chimed. Coming around the wall, she listened to him groan loudly as he dropped his head onto the mountain of paperwork in front of him.

"Great, now you're following me back here too?"

Dismissing his comment, Gabriella instead grabbed his swivel chair and turned him around abruptly until he was facing her. Leaning forward so that her face was lined up with his, she sent him a devious grin. "Listen to me."

"Do I have a choice?" He attempted to joke but Gabriella would have none of it. She gripped the collar of his shirt to get his full attention and smirked happily when she watched his eyes widen and his breathing hitch.

"Coffee." She spoke in his face.

Not sure what she meant by it, Troy raised an eyebrow at her. "I'd love some?" He answered unsure.

"No!" She groaned in frustration. "Focus Troy. I feel like coffee and maybe even a little cookie to go with it."

Troy nodded. "O-kayyy..." He began slowly, "Do you want some money?"

"Oh my… Troy!" She tightened her hold and shook him. "Let me finish."

"Alright, jeez." He rolled his eyes. "So far I've got coffee and cookies."

"Exactly."

"Exactly what?"

"Think about it, why should I walk all the way down the block to the café when I could get what I want right here?"

Troy remained silent for a moment, her words processing in his head. "Go on." He motioned with his hand as her grip loosened around his collar.

"That's the answer to all your problems. You need to renovate this place, add a café and a stage where students from Harvard can come and read poetry or… play music and sing. A place where they can do research for papers, surf the web or just relax. All while sitting back and enjoying a hot cup of coffee and some fresh baked goodies." Gabriella's face slowly curved into a grin. "Do that while maintaining the same intimate and warm atmosphere that makes 'The Treasure Trove' so special and those corporate pigs won't stand a chance." She ended triumphantly, taking a step back to gauge his reaction.

Troy's eyes had shifted to the tile floor as she spoke, taking her words into careful consideration. His cerulean eyes slowly lifted to meet her anxious face as she waited for his response to her idea. "Well? What do you think?"

"It's crazy." Troy countered, he hesitated a moment before looking down at his hands. "It'll never work." He didn't sound so convinced though as he sat there staring at his knuckles.

"It might." Gabriella argued. "It might work Troy and if it doesn't… you can't say you didn't try to save this place."

Keeping his gaze lowered, Troy began to shake his head. "Where would I get the money for that?"

"You could pull it from the store, or raise it. Ask for a loan from the bank…" She trailed off.

"I don't know." He quickly replied.

Leaning against the folding chair, she gripped it tightly within her small hands and sighed. "What do you have to lose?"

"Everything." Troy scoffed, looking up at her. "It's crazy."

Slumping her shoulders slightly, Gabriella nodded. "You said that already."

"Crazy enough to work." Gabriella turned around and surprisingly stared at Taylor who was standing there listening to them.

"Taylor…" Troy began, standing up from his spot next to the desk. "We can't afford to do something like this, if we spend the money to renovate we would just end up closing our doors sooner rather than later."

"It is a good idea and I bet Annette will agree when you tell her about it." Taylor replied. "She might even help finance it if we can't get a loan."

Troy plopped back down in his chair, exhausted and beat. Letting out a whoosh of air, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Gabriella felt a sudden pull to go over to him and take all the stress and pain away… but she stayed put. She knew she couldn't do that, not yet. "Troy?" She whispered.

She watched his eyes open slowly as he peeked at her through a hooded gaze. Giving it one final thought he finally nodded. "This is crazy."

"The best ideas are." Gabriella smiled. "Is that a yes?"

"Yeah… but only if you do most of the work. You better not skip out of town again and leave me with your mess." He pointed a finger at her in a threatening way but Gabriella merely shook her head and smiled.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"So we're going to do this?" Taylor asked, taking a step forward so that she was right next to Gabriella.

"I guess so." Troy agreed and the two girls squealed in delight before hugging each other in a tight death grip. Troy winced in annoyance at their girlish behavior and plugged his ears. "Could you not do that? I'd like to keep my hearing, thanks."

Gabriella giggled, letting go of Taylor to go hug Troy. Gabriella came up behind him and bent down to wrap her arms around his neck, giving him a tight squeeze as she lowered her mouth to his ear. "Thanks Wildcat."

Troy was frozen, his hands stilled on his lap completely caught off guard by her gesture. Before he could do anything, Gabriella pulled away and turned back to Taylor. "So when do we get started?"

"Well first we need to tell everyone, see what they think and get their input and ideas on how to go about this." Taylor began making a list in her head.

"I think this calls for a meeting." Gabriella stated, looking over at Troy who was staring back at her with a shocked expression still trying to process everything that had just happened. Gabriella sent him a reassuring smile before continuing, "I know just the place."

"Chad, could you not hog all the pizza?" Taylor scolded, taking her seat next to Gabriella at 'Tony's Pizzeria'. After the bookstore had closed, Gabriella and Taylor had taken it upon themselves to phone and text all their friends so they could meet at the restaurant and discuss the situation concerning the bookstore.

Sitting at the head of the table was Troy, looking more relieved than Gabriella had seen him in days. He was in a heated discussion with Zeke about the pizza they were currently eating and Gabriella couldn't help but smile. Kelsi and Ryan were cuddled up next to each other on the far side of the table while Sharpay and Chad were next to them.

Fiddling with her straw, Gabriella stared down at her plate as she began dishing the pizza that has just been delivered to their table. She had planned on letting Taylor explain the purpose of this urgent get together except, there was still one person missing from the group. They had decided to wait on Jason, who was out on a date with Martha and had agreed to show up as soon as he could.

Twenty minutes after everyone had arrived, Jason finally came bolting through the entrance to the parlor. "Dude, took you long enough!" Zeke shouted across the table once he noticed his roommate enter through the glass door.

Panting slightly from exertion, Jason grinned and sent the table a meek wave. "Sorry it took so long, I had to drop Mar back off at her place and then I couldn't find parking. Never fear though, the king has arrived so you may commence with whatever it is that's so important." Jason plopped down in the empty seat at the end of the table and eyed the pizza before grabbing a slice.

"Hey, didn't you just eat?" Chad asked curiously, his mouth half-full as he watched Jason devour his pizza.

"When?" Jason replied through his mouth full of food.

"On your date?" Chad rolled his eyes.

"Oh… yeah but…" Jason looked down at his slice of pizza and took another bite before replying, "I'm still hungry."

Gabriella, Kelsi and Taylor all burst out into a fit of giggles as Sharpay murmured something under her breath about how alike Chad and him were. Shaking her head, Gabriella looked around the table and felt completely relaxed and content. It had been so long since she'd seen all her friends together in the same room. She realized then that she had missed them all profoundly and felt even more guilty for the way she had handled everything.

"Alright, let's get started." Taylor rose from her spot at the table and picked up her fork, using it as a hammer on the wooden table top to get everyone's attention.

"This isn't a court room Tay." Zeke joked, smiling up at her innocently.

"Silence." She turned and glared at him playfully before returning her attention to the table. "Alright, now… you all are probably wondering why Gabs and I called you here."

"For free food." Chad barked out and Sharpay took it upon herself to give her boyfriend a slap on his arm.

"You be quiet and eat your pizza." She scolded him.

"Yes honey." Chad obediently conceded and shoved more of his dinner into his mouth.

Satisfied, Sharpay turned and nodded, "Go ahead Taylor."

"Okay, well… I guess I should start by telling you all about the bookstore. It's not doing very well."

"What?" Kelsi piped up, leaning forward and untangling herself from Ryan's comforting hold on her. "How come I didn't know about this?"

"Well, Troy and I didn't want to say anything yet. Not before we figured out what we were going to do about it at least." She responded with a frown looking over at Troy.

"Why? What's going on?" Kelsi asked with concern lacing her voice, looking between them both.

"There's a new bookstore a few blocks down that opened up. It's corporately owned which means, it's big and nice."

"And new and fresh." Troy mumbled out, his face twisted in a painful scowl. "Not to mention, they have more money than us."

"Right." Taylor nodded. "So, we've been trying to come up with a plan to save the store without it going out of business and Gabriella here…" The entire table turned, focusing their attention on the small brunette who blushed slightly when she noticed a certain pair of blue eyes resting on her figure. "May have come up with the perfect plan that just might work."

"Cool, what is it?" Ryan asked, rubbing Kelsi's arms in a circular motion to help soothe her.

"Well…" Gabriella began, looking down at the water in her glass as she focused on the lemon floating in it. "It wasn't just my idea, Taylor helped."

"Oh shush." Taylor waved her off.

"No really Tay, you're the one who said 'coffee' not me."

"Coffee?" Chad asked in-between bites.

"Yeah," Gabriella nodded. "More specifically, a café… with lattes and baked goods. Maybe even a stage for students from the college to perform and read poetry or something." She explained. "You know, a hang out place that's warm and inviting with lots to offer. It's the one thing that 'The Trove' is missing and it could very well be the one thing that saves it." Gabriella looked around the table, watching all of her friends reactions. Her eyes finally fell on Troy's soft gaze as he studied her coolly.

"That's a great idea Gabs." Kelsi exclaimed as Jason, Zeke and Ryan all nodded quickly.

"Thanks." Gabriella mumbled, tilting her head down to hide her blush.

"Okay, so… what does this have to do with us?" Chad asked as Sharpay shushed him.

"Well…" Taylor looked around at all their faces before taking a deep breath. "We would need your help to make it happen. First off, we need a permit before we can even think about baking and selling goods. Then we have to secure finances in order to renovate. I was planning on talking to a bank tomorrow to see what our options are for a loan but if that didn't work… we would have to either pull if from the store or finance it ourselves which means we would have to do all the work."

"We would need all the help we can get, time is pretty crucial at the moment." Gabriella added. "We need to get those customers back to 'The Trove' or else, there will be no 'Trove' left."

Sharpay nodded, leaning forward on her elbows. "I can help, with the money part not the physical labor." She made a face at that. "Me and hammers don't mix." She shook her head, her blonde hair bouncing as the table laughed.

"Thanks Shar." Gabriella smiled genuinely. She knew she could always count on her best friend.

"Troy, dude what do you think about all this?" Chad asked, looking over at his best friend.

Looking up from his plate, Troy looked around the table before meeting Chad's eyes and shrugging. "It's… It's a good idea. If we had help." Troy's eyes lifted to Gabriella's and she couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face at his admission.

"Well, as long as there's food involved, I'll help." Chad agreed before Sharpay shoved him.

"Chad!" She scolded. "We're helping because these are our friends and they need our help not because you might get free food out of it." She scolded her blunt boyfriend.

"Oh right." Chad gave a sheepish grin before rubbing the back for his neck. "Yes, I will offer my services of handyman for the good of my friend's bookstore. Oh… and because it's morally right." Chad nodded, seemingly happy with himself while Taylor and Kelsi placed their hand over their faces and shook their heads.

"Thanks man." Troy clapped his friend on the back as he looked over at the others. "What about you guys?"

Zeke nodded his head. "Of course, count me in."

Ryan and Kelsi both agreed while Jason gave a thumbs up.

Taylor jumped excitingly and clapped her hands together. "It's settled then. Operation, 'Save Treasure Trove' is go."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves Tay." Troy put his hand up, commanding her attention. "Money first, renovation second."

"Oh don't be so pessimistic all the time Troy, you're allowed to be happy once and awhile you know." Kelsi reminded him sternly from across the table. Gabriella watched with interest as Troy's eyes shot up at her comment and then rested on the plate in front of him before he slowly locked eyes with Gabriella.

Tilting her head curiously, Gabriella stared after Troy as he quickly averted his eyes before nodding and excusing himself to go to the bathroom.

"What's up with him lately?" Jason asked, completely oblivious as the whole table groaned.

"Really Jase?" Kelsi teased as Gabriella giggled.

"Don't worry about it." Gabriella told her old friend.

"What?" Jason looked around before it dawned on him. "Oh…"

"Yeah." Sharpay scoffed.

Inhaling a deep breath, Gabriella smiled before standing up. "I'm gonna go get some fresh air. I'll be right back."

Everyone nodded before getting lost in conversation regarding the bookstore. Gabriella listened as the murmurs became more distant until she had her leather jacket around her and was pushing the large glass door open. Stepping through it, she rubbed her arms as the chilly, night breeze swept through her.

Walking over to the familiar iron railing, Gabriella smiled remembering all the memories she had in this particular spot. Leaning against it, she stared out at the traffic and listened as a dog barked from the apartment complex across the street. She was so focused on the horns honking and the sirens blaring that she didn't even notice his presence beside her until he bumped her shoulder.

Turning her head in his direction, Gabriella silently studied Troy's face from the side. He looked exactly the same as he did three months ago, except, there was this small part of him that was different. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but it was there nonetheless.

They stood in silence for a minute before Troy broke it. "So it looks like our friends are just as crazy as you are." He murmured in her ear.

Nodding slightly, Gabriella's grip tightened on the railing as she leaned back. "I guess so."

Keeping his eyes on the side of her face, Troy smirked. "Maybe this friendship thing is starting to have some perks after all."

Letting out a quiet giggle, Gabriella allowed her eyes to shift over on his figure as she narrowed them playfully. "And it's just beginning too."

"You know, I was having my doubts at first." Gabriella gave him a puzzled look as he clarified, "About if we could be friends or not without there being anything else between us."

"Uh huh." Gabriella nodded, waiting for him to finish. "And?"

"It should be easy enough, but if this idea of yours fails… I don't know." He teased, shrugging and sending her a look out of the corner of his eye.

Gabriella opened her mouth, appalled by his lack of trust in her plan. Shoving him in the shoulder, she laughed, "You jerk, I'll have you know it's a foolproof plan. It has to work and it will."

"We'll see." Troy agreed with a light smirk playing on his lips. "You better hope it does."

"Or what?" Gabriella's voice lowered as she inched closer to his side, turning her body so that she was facing him fully now.

"Or what?" Troy repeated her words, keeping his body straight and only moving his head to look down at her.

Shaking her head, Gabriella leaned her head up and asked, "What are you going to do if it doesn't work out?" She lowered her voice even more until it was just a whisper in his ear. "You gonna stop being my friend?" She taunted, loving how his body froze and his eyes glazed over.

"I don't think that would be possible." His voice echoed in her head, deep and husky in tone.

Taking a moment, Gabriella pulled her head back to study his face. "Why is that Troy?"

He appeared to be thinking seriously about something, his eyes running over her face and resting on her lips before moving back to her brown eyes. He regarded her with a critical eye and then finally opened his mouth, "I… uh… think we should get back in there." He pointed over his shoulder towards the parlor and nodded.

"Why don't you just say what you were really thinking?" She urged him before getting a coy smile on her lips and changing the subject. "We always seem to find ourselves out here huh?" She gestured to the outdoor seating area they were standing in. "Remember the first time we ever talked out here?"

Troy kept his eyes on hers before moving them around the area, taking in their surroundings. "Yeah, it's almost as if it's easier for us to talk out here than it is in the actual restaurant." Troy chuckled.

Moving herself closer to Troy's body, Gabriella's voice became saucy as she pushed herself against him. "We did more than talk that day."

Widening his eyes in alarm, Troy tensed and then nodded quickly. "Right, let's go back in before they start to miss us."

Gabriella watched with a teasing smile as he pushed off the railing and headed towards the door. "We're going to have to talk about it sooner or later Troy." She called after him, referring to the kiss he had initiated at the park last week.

Placing his hand on the handle, he turned to her and smirked. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're so difficult." Gabriella mumbled, following him. "I'm not giving up you know."

Letting out a playful sigh, Troy shook his head. "Of course not…"

"I mean it."

"I'm well aware."

Nudging past him as he opened the door for her, Gabriella looked over her shoulder and smiled as she brushed her hand across his arm. She loved watching his reaction; how his eyes bulged out of his head and his whole body tensed. "Careful Gabriella." He hissed under his breath.

Innocently lifting her finger, she pointed at herself with a smile. "Who me? What did I do, I'm just being… friendly." She ended with a smirk. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

Chuckling, Troy narrowed his eyes. "And I'm the difficult one?"

"Well duh, you're the guy here." She turned around then and sauntered off as best she could, heading towards the table where their friends were.

"Gabs!" Jason shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth for added effect.

"Jase!" Gabriella shouted just as loud in a playful, mocking manner.

Chad whined, "Enough with the bellowing already, just ask her."

Lifting her brow curiously, Gabriella looked over at her friend. "Ask me what?"

"Two things. First… who's better looking. Me or Zeke?" Jason lifted his chin and pounded his chest. "Say me."

Gabriella scrunched her face up as she looked between the two. "Do I have to answer that?"

"Yes." They both hummed.

"Just put us out of our misery Gabi." Sharpay begged.

"They've been having this argument for ten minutes now." Taylor added, covering her face and shaking her head.

"You've known us the longest." Zeke nodded. "So your opinion will be the one that matters."

"Oh okay." Gabriella rolled her eyes. "In that case, I pick Chad." She motioned with her head towards the end of the table as Troy took a seat next to his friend.

"I agree." Troy clapped him on the back and nodded.

Both boys sulked and whined as Jason complained, "But he's not a choice."

Chad stuck his tongue out at them. "I'm always a choice when it comes to excellence."

"Alright Mr. Excellence, settle down." Sharpay patted his chest and then pecked his lips as he smugly nodded and leaned into her. Troy and Gabriella shared a subtle glance as they both tore their eyes away from their friends.

"So what was the second thing you wanted to ask?" Gabriella changed the subject. "And it better not be another 'who's better' question." She pointed at Jason.

His shook his head and tilted his baseball cap. "Nope, I was just wondering how long you're going to be around? Do you have to get back home soon or are you back in Boston for good now?"

Gabriella bit the inside of her cheek, not expecting his question. The entire table turned silent as they all looked towards her then; she could feel those blue eyes on her but she didn't dare look over and meet them. "I… um…" Shifting in her seat, Gabriella began playing with her ring as she looked down at the table.

"That's a silly question Jase." Sharpay jumped into the conversation. "She's here now isn't she?"

"Well, yeah." Jason rubbed his neck. "I guess you're right." Gabriella met Sharpay's eyes from across the table and mouthed a 'thank you' to her friend for the small save.

"It's just good to have you back Gabs, we missed you." Zeke replied from beside her and leaned over to embrace her in a warm hug which she returned with a shy smile.

"I missed you guys too." She replied. "I'm sorry I disappeared like that."

"It's okay Gabriella." Kelsi sent her old roommate a reassuring smile. "Like Shar said, you're here now."

"Exactly." Ryan finally spoke up after quietly listening. "That alone should be celebrated." He lifted his glass of water in the air and grinned. "A toast to Gabriella." The volume of his voice rose as everyone, even Troy, lifted their glasses up while Gabriella slouched down in her chair in embarrassment; covering her face as other patrons in the parlor looked over at them.

"Shhh… be quiet." Gabriella scolded as she cupped her face, hiding herself. "Ryan." She hissed as he continued, waving her off with his other hand.

"For retuning and… for coming up with this great idea to help the store."

"We love you Gabs!" Sharpay shouted, knowing the loud proclamation would mortify Gabriella further in embarrassment as Taylor shouted in agreement.

"To Gabriella!" Ryan announced before everyone clinked their glasses together and took a sip of their drinks.

Gabriella blushed profusely before her eyes met Troy's from the end of the table. His glass was frozen in the air as he stared at her. Finally, after a quiet moment, he blinked and titled his glass in her direction with a genuine smile. "To Gabriella." He whispered before taking a sip of his soda. She knew that was his way of saying 'thanks' to her and she blushed in response.

Picking up a piece of pineapple from her pizza, Gabriella flicked it towards Ryan. "You're such a dork!" She accused as he chuckled and ducked away from her assault while the entire table laughed. "But thank you anyway for humiliating me like that in public, I really appreciate it."

"Why you're most certainly welcome." Ryan chanted with another laugh as Gabriella went to throw her straw wrapper at him.

"Alright, alright." Chad lifted both his hands in the air. "Now that we've settled that… who feels like dessert?"

The table groaned.

"What?"

"How can you still be hungry after that?" Sharpay asked, her perfectly manicured eyebrow raising slightly as she looked at him.

"I'm always in the mood for dessert." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively towards her.

"Oh no." Ryan and Gabriella mumbled, knowing where this was headed.

"Oh really?" Sharpay flirted back.

"Okay stop!" Troy put his hand up. "How about, since you two feel like having dessert, you both go do that in private while I get the check." Troy nodded.

Gabriella looked over at Troy curiously. "You're paying?"

"Why not?" He shrugged. "I'm feeling pretty good right now, it's the least I can do for everyone."

"Dude, I got this." Chad commented, reaching for the bill.

"Honey bunch, I told you last time I would be picking up the bill the next time we went out." Sharpay grabbed the check out of his hand.

"But pumpkin…" Chad began arguing wanting to pay and impress his girlfriend.

"I can pay for our half." Zeke piped up as Ryan agreed, both moving to take out their wallets.

"We can split it." Gabriella commented and Taylor nodded. "After all, this was our idea." She motioned between them.

Sharpay scoffed, "Nonsense." Troy leaped forward out of his chair before anyone could say or do anything more and grabbed the check from Sharpay's hands. He noticed how her mouth dropped open in shock.

"I'm paying and that's final." Troy stared her down with his eyes, leaving no room for argument.

"Wow. You must be feeling good." Sharpay stared at him, still in shock before smirking. "I wonder why that is? Maybe it has something to do with your sudden knowledge of soup?" Troy's face paled as he cleared his throat and began walking to the register.

Gabriella held back a snicker as she listened to him mumble under his breath.

"What? What does that mean?" Jason asked, looking around as Zeke laughed quietly to himself.

"Don't ask." Chad shook his head.

"Okay, I'm officially lost." Taylor shook her head before looking at Gabriella. Kelsi noticed this and turned to her friend, "You know what they're talking about Gabs?"

Gabriella shrugged her shoulders innocently. "No clue." She smiled wide and watched Troy get in line at the front counter to pay. He turned his head and looked over at her for a moment before rolling his eyes and quickly averting his gaze, pretending he hadn't just been looking in her direction.

Yup… no clue.

A/N: So I consider this a turning point for the story because now, they have a solution for the bookstore and it was Gabriella's idea. I've been planning this for awhile actually and eventually you'll see more of Troy's feelings regarding her idea and their... ehem... friendship. I'm so glad you all like how they're progressing and getting closer again. Thank you all for the continued support and ideas, it means a lot and really helps me develop my writing. Let me know what you think and as always, my apologies for any grammatical errors. Hope you all have a Happy Easter!

P.S. Because I was so curious, I decided to watch Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure and was definitely disappointed like I knew I would be. It just didn't feel like HSM to me, but Sharpay's dialogue and humor was done very true to her character which made it worth watching. Kind of bittersweet actually, it made me want a true HSM reunion. I just wish they would have had someone do a cameo... unless I'm blind, I certainly didn't see one.

And just because... Zanessa Forever.