Forgive me? Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty please?

Chocolate Vs. Strawberry

So, I think just about the whole world knows now, right? I'm engaged to Troy Alexander Bolton... and not too happy about it. That none other than Sharpay Evans has been arranging our 'relationship' for the past two weeks, doesn't really make it any better. I'm sure you've heard she got us to move in together? And there's a video of me and Troy fighting over the wedding cake outside world's most famous pastry on youtube... Chocolate vs strawberry.

It's a fight I remember us having when we were five, I think. As a matter of fact, I think it is how we got to know each other. When me and Troy met, I was like, four, and he was just five. Both of us were at the park with our mums, and both of us got ice-cream at that little ice-cream stand that's there every spring and summer. I ordered strawberry, and Troy, who was standing next to me, told me I should've taken chocolate, because it was 'waaaaaay better'. I didn't agree, and that was our very first fight in a long line.

But even though many hard words fell between us on that first sunny afternoon, ('Strawberry sucks, chocolate rules!', 'Chocolate stinks, strawberry is waaaay better!', 'Your eyes look like chocolate, chocolate is better!', 'You're a boy and boys are STUPID!') we decided to be friends. Who could've known, that such a silly little thing, decided by two five years olds, would effect their lives so much afterwards? 'Cause you can think about us whatever you want, that we had an impact on each other's lives, is one thing no one can deny.

But actually this column is supposed to be about my engagement... than again, it's also supposed to be my diary. You might've guessed it's an idea of Sharpay. Just like everything else that's happened in my life lately. Though, admittedly, Troy moving in, wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We still fight pretty much always, but we've managed to avoid seeing each other whilst still living somewhat normally. And I gave him the basement. I haven't been there yet, and I'm not sure what he's done to the place, but judging from the amount of people coming over, I most likely don't want to know. I wouldn't be surprised if he'd turned it into some club...

It's funny. Your engagement should be one of the happiest moments in your life, but I spend mine dodging bombs. But don't worry, I won't kill him.

Gabriella Ann Montez

"So... it's pretty good writing, ain't it?" Chad looked at Troy expectantly, but he didn't look up, his eyes didn't move from the page that had Gabriella brand new column. The new issue of Star Elite had come out just yesterday, and Chad thought it would be wise for Troy to read his fiancée's thoughts. Next to the article was a picture of Gabriella, smiling widely, and underneath there were Troy and Gabriella, standing a meter apart, very obviously screaming at the top of their lungs. "Ain't it?"

Troy still didn't responded. In his head he was five again, and he remembered how he'd tried to convince Gabriella of the greatness of chocolate ice-cream. Somehow he'd never managed to convince her of that, even after all these years she still wanted strawberry. And he still wanted chocolate. And they still fought about it. He scanned over the article again, and chuckled softly. 'Your eyes look like chocolate, chocolate is better.' At the time it seemed like a good argument. Your eyes look like chocolate... since than he'd made that comparison so often, that he almost couldn't look at chocolate without seeing her eyes appearing in front of him. Big pools of chocolate coloured happiness... Who said he'd never been romantic? His fourteen your old self was pretty damn romantic, and prone to drowning in Gabriella's eyes... It had taken him ages to get over that.

"Hey dude, what do you think?" Troy looked up slightly startled. He'd almost forgotten about Chad. He grinned slightly.

"Just thinking about that first fight..." He chuckled. "I still can't believe she thinks strawberry is better as chocolate." Because it so obviously isn't. Strawberries are fruit, after all. And fruit is healthy. Healthy food equals disgusting food. Chocolate on the other hand, wasn't healthy. On top of that, it had variations. There was milk, white, hazelnut, pure... Strawberry only had strawberry.

"I noticed in the video on youtube. Seriously, fighting over a wedding cake for a wedding neither of you wants to happen? How pathetic is that?" Troy rolled his eyes, and leaned back in the cushions. They were hanging in the basement again, and he was sprawled across one of the couches, Chad on the other.

"It's not about the cake, Chad. It's about the principle." Chad snorted, and he continued. "I mean, c'mon! Strawberry better as chocolate?!" Chad rolled his eyes, getting off the couches to get a beer. He glanced over his shoulder at Troy.

"You've got issues." Troy rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Grab me a beer as well. And put some decent music on." Chad slipped behind the bar, reaching in Gabriella's spare fridge to fetch two beers, before tuning in on a different radio station. He walked back to Troy, throwing one of the bottles to Troy. Troy caught it with one hand and took a swig, when something on the radio caught his attention.

"And we've finally managed to get permission to air this, and I'm sure all of you will love this. As the only radio station, we now present to you: Gabriella Montez, with The Way I Loved You!" Troy spit his drink out, as he looked at Chad in shock, who was looking back at him with wide eyes. As Gabriella started signing on the radio, they heard the real Gabriella storm down the stairs. Seconds later the door was thrown open.

"I'm on the radio! I'm on the radio! I can't believe-" And than she abruptly stopped talking. It took throw exactly three seconds to figure out why: it was the first time Gabriella saw the transformed basement. "The basement." Chad got up carefully, expecting an anger tantrum. Gabriella could write down she wouldn't kill Troy all she wanted, it didn't mean she'd actually be able to control herself. Troy looked at his beer. She didn't say my basement, which is what she would have said if she was just mad about the changes. She said the basement, which meant she remembered.

*Flashback*

"So, we'll marry, right?" Troy nodded. He and Gabriella were sitting in his tree house, it was about a month after they'd talked guest list. "That means that we'll live in the same house as well." Troy frowned slightly, and than nodded. That made sense. "What will our house be like?"

"Well, it will be really big, with a large garden. 'Cause I'll be rich from playing with the Lakers. Of course we need a basketball court, and I want a game room, and a video room, with this huge television!" He looked at Gabriella excited, eyes glistening. Gabriella however, was looking back at him in distaste.

"We will not have a game room, or a video room, and especially not both!" Troy looked at her insulted. "I want a classy house. A pretty house."

"It's my house as well, I want to have a say!" Troy protested angrily, and Gabriella glared at him.

"You can have your say alright, just no video or game room! I'm sure you can think of something better..." Troy frowned slightly, distracted from his anger by this new challenge. Gabriella smiled softly, watching as his nose wrinkled slightly in thought, before his face cleared up and his eyes started glistening again.

"What about we have a normal and pretty house, with a big fridge in the kitchen, and a big television in the living and bedroom..." Gabriella nodded carefully, waiting for him to continue, knowing there must be more. "But we'll have this totally awesome basement, which is just totally awesome!" He looked at her excited, and she giggled softly.

"Ok, I guess. But how will that basement look?"

*End Flashback*

After that they'd made a sketch of how the basement would look. They'd made a sketch of this very basement. Of course Troy could've done something different, but it didn't feel right. They'd planned it like this, wanted it like this... the both of them. And he couldn't really think of anything better anyways.

"You made the basement." Gabriella looked around, the shock still in her body. The black bar, complete with the five silver stools. The basketball shaped bean bags, standing in front of the huge television, next to the bar against the back wall. Behind the bean bags was a set of two white couches, surprisingly enough still clean, positioned in an angle of 90 degrees, with a glass coffee table in the middle. In the exact centre stood a pool table, and against another wall was a low closet, made of light coloured wood. One corner was hidden by a water wall on one side, and a few plants on another, but Gabriella knew there was a lip shaped red couch behind them.

"Well…" Troy rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "It seemed to be what it was supposed to be." Gabriella nodded.

"It is." Her eyes finally caught the curtains that were draped on seemingly random places in the large space, and her breath caught in her throat. She quickly looked at Troy. "Has anyone seen-" He cut her off before she could finish the sentence.

"No one. They're officially forbidden." She nodded. Slowly she walked up to the curtain above the closet, she brought her hand up, hesitated slightly, and pulled the cloth off. Underneath the curtain was an enlarged picture of her and Troy. Both of them were smiling into the camera widely, sitting close together on a small bench, with ice cream in their hands. She smiled softly, that must've been about a month after they met, when both of them were five.

"Strawberry for you. Chocolate for me." Troy was standing beside her.

"Yeah." She noticed another curtain behind the bar, and slowly walked up to that, Troy following her. In front of it she halted, but before she could reach out, another hand pulled the curtain away. Troy revealed an enlarged picture of her. She was pretty sure it had been at her 24th birthday party. She was looking to the side, instead of the camera, and laughing at someone and in contrasts to the other photo, this one was in black and white. She breathed in deeply, before walking on, to the third curtain. Troy trailed behind for a bit, looking at her picture, before following again.

The third picture was slightly bigger as the other two, and when she removed the curtain she saw a picture of her and Troy on the swings. She giggled. They used to be on swings lots, especially when they were about nine, or ten, like they were in the picture. Gabriella had just swung forward, and was laughing widely, Troy on the other hand, was just swinging backwards, his smile just as big as hers.

"We used to love that." Troy nodded, chuckling.

"Oh, yes we did. But I personally like the last one best." Gabriella looked at him, before walking to the last curtain, that hung next to the stairs, and was easily the largest. In front of it she stopped again. She'd already had two pictures of their childhood, one of her and because she doubted there would be one of them fighting, this would probably be- Troy tore the curtain away, and Gabriella momentarily stopped breathing.

It was a huge picture of both their heads. Troy's head hung above hers, and even though you didn't see more as their heads, it was still obvious he was lying on top of her. Her hair was sprawled over white sheets, and their lips were only inches apart. The point was, that it wasn't that proximity that shocked her so much. It was the look in their eyes. They were looking each other straight in the eye, and she didn't think she'd ever seen such an intense stare… she could almost see it run from his blue eyes, to her brown ones. A small thread of visible happiness, undeniable attraction and… the complete trust of a first love.

"I think it's my favourite too." Tears blurred her vision, but it didn't matter, the image was branded in her mind anyway. She hadn't known that picture had been taken, and she wasn't sure when, or by whom, and it didn't even matter. The picture was there, it hung on the wall, and it would stay there. It would remind them of their very own once upon a time.

Even if their happy ending, wasn't too happy at all.

I do think that everything revealed in this chapter makes up for my month later update… partly. So, perhaps I still deserve a review? Pretty please?

xoxo

Naomi