The trio headed to Subway for lunch, taking it to go and headed down to Golden Gate Park. Gabriella had brought a blanket so they could have a picnic. She led the guys over to hers and Troy's favorite spot across the lake from the Japanese Tea Garden. Standing there looking across the water while Gabriella laid out the blanket, Lucas was amazed.

"That is..."

"It's awesome, isn't it?" Troy asked him, coming up beside him.

"Yeah!"

Gabriella sat down on the blanket. "Have you ever been to San Francisco before, Lucas?"

Lucas and Troy both turned around to see the blanket laid out for them and came back to join her.

"Yeah. Years ago. I've never been here though. This place is huge."

"Yeah, it is," Troy agrees. "We've lived here for a few years now, in the area anyway, and we've been here several times. I'm sure we've not even seen it all."

"It's really awesome! I didn't have any clue it was like this."

Gabriella smiled. "It's one of my favorite places in the city, and I'm in love with this city." Gabriella smiled over at Troy for a moment before looking back at Lucas. "Where are you from, Lucas?"

"North Carolina. Tree Hill, North Carolina."

Gabriella's eyes widened. "Wow. You're a long way from home. What brings you all the way to the West Coast?"

"A girl, actually."

"Awww," Gabriella gushed. "The girl?"

Lucas nodded his head, taking his sandwich out of the bag.

"That's so sweet. So, where is she?"

Troy looked down, sighing heavily and taking his sandwich out as well. "Bri..."

Gabriella looked over at Troy. "What? I'm getting to know him, baby."

"It's ok, Troy," Lucas nodded, unwrapping his sandwich. "She's back in North Carolina."

Gabriella shook her head. "I don't understand. You said she brought you here..."

Lucas took a deep breath. "It's because of her that I'm here. I told her I loved her and she couldn't say it in return."

Gabriella frowned softly, reaching over and taking Lucas' hand. "I'm so sorry."

Lucas looked down at Gabriella's hand on his and over at Troy. He could understand why he loved her. They were actually perfect for each other, and he'd only known Troy less than a day, and Gabriella less than a few hours. He was glad that they were able to fix their problems. He turned his hand, taking Gabriella's smaller one in his.

"Thank you, Gabriella, but I'm ok." Lucas looked over at Troy. "Last night was really bad, but Troy was there to help me get through it."

Troy swallowed the bite of sandwich he was chewing in his mouth. "Just like you were there for me."

Gabriella smiled. "I really can't tell you how glad I am you were there for him, Lucas, but I think you know how grateful I am. You two needed each other." She had been miserable all night, but as long as she knew Troy was alright and that he had someone there with him, that's all that mattered. "Is it alright if I ask you about her?" she asked, pulling her hand back and sitting back on her feet to eat her on sandwich.

"Yeah. It's ok." He'd figured he'd spilled his guts to Troy last night, more than he'd planned to, the least he could do was tell Gabriella about her. "We've been best friends since forever. She's..." Lucas took a deep breath. "She completes me." He knew that was a cheesy line, but it was the truth. She had always been his better half.

"Awww. What's her name?"

"Haley." He smiled, taking a bite of his sandwich.

Gabriella smiled. "So you and Haley grew up together. Went to school together. But you said you told her you loved her and why couldn't she say it in return?"

Lucas sighed. "She's married to my brother."

"Oh," Gabriella gave him an eek face before wincing. "I'm sorry, Lucas. That's gotta be difficult on you."

Neither Gabriella nor Troy had brothers or sisters. Taylor had an older sister and Chad had a younger brother. Some of their other friends had siblings, but neither one of them really knew what it was like to have siblings. Chad was as close as it got for Troy and Taylor was as close as it really got for Gabriella. They had kinda lost touch with the rest of their friends from East High, and the friends they'd made here weren't nearly as close as Taylor and Chad were.

"So, I left," Lucas said, taking another bite.

"You don't think there's any chance she loves you in return?"

"It would be a dream come true, but no. She loves my brother, and I had thought rashly. I usually don't do that, but I told her and because of that, I just couldn't stay anymore."

Gabriella gave him a sad smile. "So, now what?"

Lucas shook his head. "I really don't know. I guess I'm in Limbo."

"I told him he can stay with us as long as he needs to, baby," Troy said. "I hope you don't mind."

Gabriella smiled, shaking her head. "No, of course not. I'm hardly ever home anyway. You two should really spend some time getting to know each other. Troy, you could show him around. Maybe you won't be so lonely."

"I'm not that bad off, baby."

She giggled, winking at him. "I know, but I think it's a good idea anyway."

"I like it," Lucas said, nodding over at Troy.

So did Troy. He was sure they really needed to talk about things, but they couldn't do it while Gabriella was around. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure Gabriella needed to know, but he had agreed with Lucas that no one would know. He didn't want to keep it from her, but he really didn't want to hurt her with it later.

Gabriella decided that even though she didn't go to class, she still needed to go to work. She worked part time as a paralegal at one of the most prestigious law firms in the state. One of her teachers was a partner in the firm and he hired her personally. He told her as soon as she graduated, she would be part of their team of lawyers. She couldn't miss work even if she'd missed classes. She left Troy and Lucas sitting on the couch in the living room, telling them she'd be back later that night, usual time. Usual time was usually any time between 9 and ten. Even if she wasn't full-time, she worked close to full-time hours and that was a lot of the reason why she and Troy never spent a lot of time together.

"You and Gabriella are happy together," Lucas said, taking a drink of his beer. "I can tell why you wanted her to marry you."

"Thanks," Troy said, saluting him with his beer. "I love her. I do. I know she's my forever."

"You know, I thought Peyton was my forever, but seriously, in these last few days, nothing I've ever felt for her comes close to what I feel for Haley."

"So, are you saying it's Haley or no one?"

Lucas thought about it for a while. "I don't believe I could ever be with someone ever again and not think about her."

"You know, I know what we did last night was about them, but this morning, I don't think it was."

Lucas agreed, but he didn't think Troy would say anything about it, especially now that he and Gabriella are ok. "No. You're right. This morning was just about us. I'm still not gay though."

They both laughed and Troy nodded. "Neither am I. I love Gabriella, and I'm going to be making love to her, but I'm just saying, if you ever need or want me, in any way, I'll be here for you."

"You don't feel like you're cheating on Gabriella?"

Troy sat there for a moment before shaking his head. "I really don't know if I do or not. I mean, she doesn't even touch herself without me around, so I know she'd think I am, but I really don't think so. I guess technically, yes, but actually, I don't think so."

"I don't feel like if I were in a relationship with Haley, if we were together," Lucas told him, "I don't feel like I'd be cheating on her. We're just two guys..."

"Being guys," Troy finished his sentence.

"Exactly. You get me, Troy. You understand me. Just like Haley. I can't explain it. I believe in fate, you know, and I do believe that we were probably meant to meet in that bar last night."

Troy nodded. "I feel the same way, Luke."

Lucas smiled at him, winking. "But don't go thinking of my cock while you're making love to Gabriella."

Troy laughed. "Don't worry. I don't think about anything but Gabriella when I'm making love to her."

Lucas laughed, swallowing another sip of beer. "Good."

Troy lifted his beer to his mouth. "Good."