Author's Note: FINALLY, I am updating. It's seems to have been a century since I've updated this. I've had this chapter half way written for a long time, but I could never find the time to fully finish it. Tell me what you think.

Chapter 10

The week dragged on and soon, graduation day approached. The ceremony was being held in the school auditorium.

The day started out rainy and cold. Troy slowly got out of bed thinking one thing: graduation was that day. Troy then glanced at his clock. It read 8:35. He then went to his bathroom and showered. He put on his old Wildcat t-shirt and some khaki shorts, and went downstairs.

When he reached the kitchen, his mother greeted him. "Troy! Today's the day!" Cara came up to him and kissed his cheek. Troy, being an 18-year-old guy, of course wiped it away.

"Yeah, it is," Troy said slowly.

Cara then pointed to the counter and said, "A letter from UCLA came."

Troy looked over at the counter and walked over to search for the letter. He first found the opened acceptance letter to the University of Florida. Then he found a thin envelope that had UCLA on it.

Oh God, Troy thought miserably as he picked up the envelope. A thin envelope means I didn't get in.

As he opened the envelope, his mind raced to Gabriella. Would he have to take her to Florida? What would she say?

The envelope contained a simple folded up letter. Troy read it carefully:

Dear Mr. Bolton,

We regret to inform you that your scholarship has been turned down for the 2006-2007-school term.

Troy's heart must have skipped a beat. He knew this would happen, but he didn't expect the words to seem so brutal. There was still more to the letter:

This does not however affect your acceptance into UCLA. On behalf of the staff and faculty of the University of California, Los Angeles, we hope that you will still consider enrolling in our institute. Also, please continue to support our school through sports and academics.

Sincerely,

Raymond Miller

Board of Admissions

That's it, Troy sighed to himself. I didn't get the scholarship. Gabriella…

Troy ignored his mother who was trying to comfort him. He had to go talk to Gabriella. "Hey Mom?"

Cara turned to her son, "Yes sweetie?"

"Um…I'm gonna go to Gabi's for a little bit."

Cara nodded. "Alright. Just make sure that you are at the school by 4:45, Troy. You don't want to miss your own graduation."

Troy nodded his head as he turned towards the door.

"Troy?" Cara called after her son.

Troy turned around to face his mother, "Yeah?"

Cara sighed. "I'm sorry about UCLA."

Troy nodded. "Yeah. I am too."

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHS

"I didn't get in. They even had the nerve to ask if I would still support them! I mean, what kind of asshole would write that? A kid just got a rejection letter, and they are asking me to support them!"

Gabriella sighed. Troy had been over at her house for about 30 minutes. He had just started to talk about the letter. "What are you going to do?"

Troy was still fuming, "Well, I sure as hell am not gonna support them now."

Gabriella shook her head. "No, I mean…what are we going to do now?"

"I don't know. I was thinking that maybe you could come with me to Florida."

Gabriella was speechless. She paused and then choked out, "W-what? Why are you asking me this?"

Troy sighed, "Because, I didn't get the scholarship. I can't possibly afford to walk on to UCLA. Do you know how much it's gonna cost? I want you and the baby to come with me to Florida. I'm sure that with your grades, you'll be accepted. We can get married dorm rooms…"

"Troy! Stop," Gabriella fought to calm down. "Troy, you can't expect me to follow you. I mean, if you wanted me to follow you to somewhere like Sacramento, than I'd do it in a heartbeat. But you want me to go to Florida? That's all the way across the country! I can't do that. What about my family?"

Troy was angry now. He stood up and threw, "Gabriella! I though we were family! You, me, and the baby."

Gabriella also stood up and yelled just as loud, "What are you talking about? The baby isn't even born yet! You can't expect me to follow you everywhere, Troy. If it was just me, than I might consider it. But I'm taking care of two people right now. Are you absolutely ready to do the same?"

Troy then hurled back. "Of course I am. I've been ready! I've been trying to hold us together ever since I woke up. I've been stretched to my thinnest. I've been stretched so far lately, that I've thought that I'd break anytime now!"

Gabriella spit out, "Well, I guess you've finally broke!"

"Yeah, because of this whole situation. It's my fault this happened! Okay? I shouldn't have got you pregnant."

Gabriella scoffed. "You can say that again!"

Troy looked hurt. "What's going on with you? Why are you acting this way?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "You want to know what's wrong? You are what's wrong. You haven't been doing anything. I'm the one who's trying to keep us together!"

Troy looked away. "You aren't the only one making sacrifices, you know. I've been trying to hold us together also. It's been hard, but I think we are worth it." Troy then turned to Gabriella, "Don't you think so?"

Gabriella paused. She looked down at her feet. Finally, in a shy and timid voice she responded, "Troy, I do think we are worth it, but look what's happening to us. We're already fighting and we aren't even married yet. I don't think either of us knows what to do."

Gabriella let out a sigh and fell back down on her bed. Troy sat down beside her and looked into her eyes, "I don't know what to do, you're right about that. But if you are honestly having huge doubts about getting married, than I think they are misplaced. We've been practically married since our sophomore year! I mean, we have always agreed to stay faithful to each other and to encourage one another. We've always had a commitment Gabriella; it just wasn't in an official form of marriage. I know we can do this. Just give it a chance, honey."

Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella and let her cry. He knew this was hard for him, but he couldn't imagine all the stress she is going through. With her mom pressuring her to get an adoption, the baby itself, Gabriella and his relationship, and all the posttraumatic stress from the accident--she was going through a lot. He realized that she needed him and he wasn't making it very easy for her during her pregnancy. Wasn't that what a good father would do? Troy thought of his own father and all of his dreams for Troy. It seemed to him that everything seemed to be going way too fast. If he were told last year that the accident and Gabriella's pregnancy would happen, he would think that the person who told him was crazy. Then again, this reality was crazy, but he was going to have to make a decision. He slowly thought it all out as he held his girlfriend tightly. He then came to a conclusion that was the most practical if he wanted to stay with Gabriella and the baby.

"Gabriella?" he asked his girlfriend as he pulled away.

"Yeah?" she answered as she wiped away her tears.

Troy grabbed her hand and said, "What would you say if I asked you to elope with me?"

Gabriella's face went from shocked to happy in an instant. "I'd say," she paused and searched Troy's face to see if he was sincere. She saw swallowed when she saw his eager face. "I'd say yes."

Troy beamed with excitement as he passionately kissed her. He then stood up and dug through his pocket and pulled out a silver ring band and slipped it on her left ring finger. Gabriella grinned as she stood up and gave him a kiss. Troy then led her out the door and downstairs. They had silently agreed to tell the parents before they did anything rash. They found Maria in the kitchen chopping up some fruit for breakfast. She looked up when she saw the two side-by-side holding hands. She put the chopping knife down and turned to face the two eighteen year olds.

"What's going on?" she asked glancing at their entwined hands. Gabriella eagerly lifted up her left hand and held it out so her mom could see the ring. Maria looked completely shocked.

"What's going on? You two can't honestly think about getting married. You are only 18!"

Troy exchanged a look with Gabriella and spoke up, "Mrs. Montez, we'd like your blessing."

Maria shook her head as she turned back towards the fruit. "You both are too young. It won't last especially if you have a baby involved."

Gabriella protested, "Mami, how do you know? Troy and I love each other, and we would never get a divorce."

Maria stopped chopping and turned to face her daughter. "I know because I heard both of you fighting upstairs. That's going to happen, I know it. It wouldn't be fair to either of you or this baby."

Troy intervened. "We love each other and this baby, Mrs. Montez. We are just stressed out and needed to vent. If I didn't love her, don't you think that I would have broken up with her a long time ago? "

Maria again shook her head stubbornly. "I just don't want you two to ruin your lives. You could move on if you just went through with the adoption. It's better for everyone. That way Troy can go to Florida, and you can go to UCLA, Gabi."

"I don't want to go to Florida, Mrs. Montez. I want to stay with Gabriella and go to UCLA," Troy responded boldly.

Mrs. Montez sighed and started, "Troy, you are making a mistake. You'll have thousands of dollars in student loans if you go to UCLA, and if you are seriously wanting to marry Gabriella, then you won't be doing either of yourselves a favor."

Gabriella immediately retaliated by saying, "At least we'll be together. Just because you didn't get to have your happily-ever-after with Daddy, doesn't mean that you should hold Troy and me back."

Gabriella stared fiercely at her mother waiting for an answer. Finally, Maria let out a sigh and responded, "Alright. I'll give my blessing, but only on one condition."

Troy, grinning from ear to ear, responded eagerly, "Anything."

Maria then said, "I want you both to call me or Troy's parents if you need anything, or it becomes too much for you both. If you intend on being parents, than you must know that raising a baby is no picnic. It's hard work and you have to work at it. It's the same with marriage; you have to work at it. So, I want to hear from you, all right? Call and e-mail me to tell me how you are doing."

Gabriella embraced her mother and kissed her. "Thank you so much, Mom!"

Troy gave Mrs. Montez an embrace also, and as he hugged her, Mrs. Montez told him to take care of Gabriella.

After all the hugging, Mrs. Montez told the two to go tell the Boltons. They both agreed and left the house. As they backed out of Gabriella's driveway in Troy's car, Gabriella finally said something.

"That went well, didn't it?" she commented as Troy gave her a smirk.

"Yeah, just wait until my dad hears that I'm giving up the scholarship. I'm warning you, all hell is going to break loose."

A/N: I know. Bad place to end it, but I just want to get this out. I'm too excited to hold off any longer.