It's finished. I'm so happy! I have to thank my best friend Jacqui, just for reading through it and enjoying it as much as she did. If it were not for her and her random musings (she doesn't even like HSM), this story never would have happened. :)

---

For the Hundredth Billionth Time

Epilogue

---

One Year Later

"I don't get it," Chad said, perturbed. He inhaled the sweet air of the bakery and looked at the man standing next to him. "Picking up the cake was supposed to be my job. Why are you here and why are you doing it?"

Handing the cashier his credit card, Ryan gave a heavy sigh and scrolled through his Blackberry. "I am here, Chad, because although picking up the cake was your task, and the easiest out of all the ones assigned, you were supposed to have said cake at the Bolton home over two hours ago."

Chad bristled. "Well, Ryan, it's obviously not going to get there any faster with you playing superhero and picking it up now, because I happened to arrive here mere seconds after you did! It'll get to Troy and Gabriella's kitchen table at the same time!"

The cashier returned with a large box and Ryan accepted it, smiling in thanks. His expression did a total one-eighty when he looked back at Chad, however. "Gabi is not happy with you," he said, glaring. "Besides that is completely besides the point anyway."

Leaving the building, Chad flipped on his aviators and fell into step with Ryan, examining the area for photographers. They seemed alone. For the time being.

"I don't understand why she's making such a big deal about this," Chad said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I mean, it's not like Ally's gonna remember any of this!"

"Are you serious? It's her first birthday!" Ryan said, scandalized. "This is a huge deal!"

Chad rolled his eyes. Dear Gabriella Bolton had been going out of her mind the past three weeks planning an extravagant soiree for her one year old daughter. There was food and balloons and entertainment thanks to one Kelsi Neilson and it seemed that every one of their close friends and their grandmothers were assigned tasks in helping the day run smoothly. Gabriella's obsessive attention to detail was wearing everyone thin, even her doting husband who spent three hours hiding at the gym until she tracked him down and dragged him home.

Chad ignored Ryan's babbling, going on about how this was a super important birthday, memorable and monumental. Even as much as the sixteenth or eighteenth or twenty-first. He saw a familiar flash go off out of the corner of his eye and he stiffened. Ryan stepped closer to him, allowing their forearms to brush, as if sensing his discomfort.

"It's okay," he said, motioning across the street. "They're not here for us."

The tabloids and paparazzi had been ruthless when it came to desecting Chad and Ryan's relationship, though they were still unable to truly get to the bottom of it. Despite the constant rumors, the pair had decided that it would be best for both their careers and the relationship if they remained to say that they were nothing but close friends. It was difficult, though, being unable to show any sense of intimacy or affection in public, but it made the times they shared in private all the more special.

Chad glanced across the street and sure enough, the paparazzi were trailing that same Disney couple, who seemed to be even more boring than he and Chad, walking in step with each other and holding brochures for furniture. Chad cocked an eyebrow.

"Damn, those two can never catch a break, can they?" He asked as he watched the two enter their car. "And that's a girlie car he's driving."

Ryan scoffed. "First, it's an Audi, just like yours and second, it's hers. But, no, they never catch a break, but they also never cease to divert attention away from us."

Chad smiled softly. "I don't know how they do it. I can barely handle the attention you and I get. The speculation is really starting to get to me."

Things had grown very comfortable with Ryan, and the two had moved in together quietly three months earlier. They were still constantly finding out new things about each other, things about their relationship that they hadn't encountered before and at times it was so difficult it was exhausting. But the best things were the ones that had to be worked for, and Chad would be damned if he faltered for more than thirty-seconds.

Life with Ryan was everything he had wanted. Comfortable, happy and full of promise. But there were times, like now, when they were walking too close and the cameras weren't far off that made him worry. How much longer could they keep up this charade?

A nudge from Ryan pulled him out of his thoughts. "Hey, see them over there?" he gestured to the Disney couple. "They were dating for almost two years before anyone found out. There was plenty of speculation, of course, but they had complete privacy for almost two whole years. If they can do it, we can do it, at least for a little bit longer."

Chad blinked. "Are they engaged yet?" he asked, knowing that Ryan attended the same functions as the couple.

"No," Ryan laughed. "They should be, they're so domesticated already, but they know they're still young. Why?"

"So I can send them a fruit basket when they are," he said, slightly irritated at Ryan's obvious lack of knowledge when it came to Chad's gratitude towards the couple. "Make sure to tell me when they do. Make a note of it in your Blackberry or something. I mean it."

---

The large mahogany door swung open to reveal a petite black haired woman. She scrunched up her nose and placed a hand on her hip.

"Chad," she began, exasperated. "You're late. By two hours and twenty-six minutes."

Chad rolled his eyes and smiled goofily. "Gabs, never fear! I got the cake here, didn't I?" he pointed to the box in Ryan's hands.

"I sent Ryan to get it," she said outright. "The fact that you managed to get there at the same time doesn't change a thing."

Chad folded his arms. "Yes it does."

"No, it doesn't."

"Yes, it does."

"Chad, could you please stop upsetting my wife? I can't handle another one of her freak outs today," a familiar voice cut in.

Chad broke away from the glare he was currently shooting at Gabriella Bolton and fixed his gaze on her husband, Troy, who took that moment to enter the room. He stood beside his wife and wrapped an arm around her waist. Leaning down, he pressed a kiss to her temple.

"I wouldn't be having meltdowns, Troy, if I had a little more help around here," she snapped, though jokingly.

"I still don't see why you're making such a fuss about her first birthday," Chad eyed the couple. "She won't even remember it."

"But we will!" Gabriella said desperately. "A whole year has passed! I want to mark this occasion! She only turns one once!"

"Besides," Troy said, "It's not just a birthday party. It's our very, very belated housewarming."

Troy and Gabriella decided to make the move from their cozy apartment to a much larger house in the suburbs, a little while away from the hustle and bustle that they had grown accustomed to, but both agreed that it would be better for Alice's sake to grow up in a quite environment.

The day they moved out of the apartment was a weird one and when Chad came to help them pack up, he couldn't help but feel nostalgic, remembering the days when he slept on their couch and commiserated about how to tell them the truth about he and Ryan's relationship. Things seemed so much more complicated then, and while they weren't exactly easy now, they were sure a lot less complex.

And as he watched Troy and Gabriella pack up photographs and memories and then unload them at their new home, the fact that you could always start over touched him and he felt reassured.

The foursome walked to the kitchen, where Taylor was already situated organizing party hats and presents. She grinned upon seeing Chad and Ryan and leapt up to peck them both on the cheek and snap party hats on their heads.

"You guys have to be in full party uniform," she said laughing. "Rules are rules."

Chad scratched his chin where the elastic band fell. "This is itchy. Make it stop."

"Oh, hush," Taylor said, swatting at him. "You're fine."

"Where's the birthday girl?" Ryan said anxiously, setting the cake box down on the granite counter. Gabriella motioned towards the living room and began pulling out plates and candles.

"She's in the living room with Sharpay and Zeke," she said, sighing. "Sharpay's singing her the entire soundtrack from 'Anastasia.'"

Ryan's eyes doubled in size. "Oh, dear god. She didn't try to do all the voices in 'A Rumor in St. Petersburg' by herself again, did she?"

Gabriella nodded solemnly. "Yep. You may want to stop her before she starts 'Paris is the Key to Your Heart'...again."

With a shocked gasp, Ryan grabbed Chad's hand and pulled him into the living room. Seated on the plush leather couches were Sharpay Evans, grinning brightly and holding little Ally in her arms as she sang. Beside her, her husband Zeke pretended to be disgusted, but the ghost of a smile on his features told a completely different story.

"You stroll two by two down what we call 'la rue!" Sharpay sang in a ridiculous French accent, one of the many reasons she stopped pursuing theatre. She could never nail the accents. "And soon all Paris will be singing to you! Ooh la la! Ooh la la!" She tossed Ally in the air slightly and the girl burst into giggles.

"Stop it, Shar!" Ryan said desperately. "You're going to make her sick! Furthermore you're exposing her to poor musicals!" Walking in quick strides, he scooped Ally up from Sharpay's arms and tucked her under his chin.

"Oh, please," Sharpay scoffed, "You used to lament for ages about what a shame it was that 'Anastasia' was never a Broadway musical. Don't give me that bull now just because you're bitter."

"I know better now!" Ryan snapped, holding Ally to his chest protectively. "Don't worry sweetheart, Uncle Ryan's got you."

Ryan had taken an immediate shine to Ally Bolton, as most of their friends did, but since Chad was appointed godfather, it made for a lot more time spent with the two of them. There were few things Ryan loved more than watching Disney musicals and singing Broadway songs to Alice.

"You're going to be a brilliant star, sweetheart," Ryan cooed, twirling the little girl in his arms. She laughed joyously, her short black girls flying. "With your mother and father's combined musical talent, you're going to be on Broadway and win Tony Award after Tony Award!"

Chad laughed and snatched Alice from Ryan's grasp. "I don't think so. She's going to be a monster on the court, just like her Uncle Chad. Isn't that right, Hoops?" he placed his face close to Ally's and brushed his nose with her's, reveling in the way she grinned a toothless smile.

"Can we for maybe one minute stop trying to decide my daughter's future?" Troy said, sounding exasperated, but smiling anyway. Taking his daughter from Chad's arms, he placed her against his hip. "She's going to be whatever she wants to be. A singer, a dancer, a genius like her mother or an athlete. As long as she's happy."

Chad's heart filled with warmth as he saw the look in Troy's eyes as he looked down at his daughter. Any worries his best friend might have harbored about fatherhood had quickly diminished once the little girl entered the world and to say that Troy was a softy was an understatement. Gabriella and Alice had him wrapped around their fingers.

As it should be.

"Come on, everyone," Troy began to make his way to the dining room. "Gabi's got the cake set up and it's time to sing happy birthday."

"Yes!" Sharpay pumped her fist in the air, her engagement and wedding bands sparkling brightly. "I call solo."

"Shar, honey, there are no solos in happy birthday," Zeke reminded her, patting his wife's arm. The couple had finally married after a long engagement six months earlier and were still stuck in that honeymoon phase, one they were almost certain they would never grow out of.

"Then I'll devise a solo," she answered sharply.

Walking into the dining room, Chad laughed out loud when he saw that it was filled with pink balloons and streamers. Set in front of Alice's highchair was a two layered cake with bright pink frosting and icing sugar roses.

"Oh, Gabriella!" Ryan said, admiring the decorations. "It's beautiful!"

Gabriella grinned as Troy set Alice in her highchair and folded his arms over his chest defensively. "How do you know I didn't have anything to do with this?"

Ryan gave him a look. "You don't know the difference between beige and bisque. Even Chad here does."

"Hey!" Chad snapped, looping his arm around Ryan's shoulders. "That's only because this little one here," he walked over and nuzzled Ally's head, "Took far too long to come into the world!"

"I can't believe it's been a whole year," Sharpay said softly, and the friends looked around the room at each other, remembering the day Alice was born and everything that accompanied it.

Ryan stepped next to Chad and slipped his hand into his and Chad squeezed back. It had been a whole year since the day he had come clean with Troy and Gabriella. A whole year of stolen moments, new affections and promises of tomorrow.

Feeling the familiar warmth pass through him at Ryan's touch, he surveyed each of his friends, something he had done so many times it felt like second nature. For the hundredth billionth time in those twelve months, his chest filled with pride and affection for each and every one of them.

He looked from Zeke and Sharpay, both of whom had been so supportive every step of the way, with Zeke pulling him into a friendly one on one match when the tabloids were running some absurd story that had the smallest speck of truth to it. Not to mention, Sharpay and Chad had started getting together every Monday night to watch new episodes of 'Gossip Girl', even starting a pool to see when Chuck and Blair would officially get together and if Vanessa would ever get killed off.

He looked at Taylor, who in all her glory would always be there for him. Who would still let him call at four o'clock in the morning because he couldn't sleep and he found it soothing if she recited the multiplication tables to him. Taylor, who after many months, accepted a new key to he and Ryan's apartment and quickly filled the walls with new pictures of she and Chad, new pictures of the three of them.

Then there was Troy and Gabriella, the people who granted so much trust to him by naming him the godfather of their only (thus far) daughter. The people who taught him to be true to himself regardless of everything else. The people who loved him despite all his faults, who let him stay on their couch even though it was the worst possible timing ever. The people who accepted him, who knew him.

"Okay, everyone, on the count of three," Gabriella said, drawing back from the candles she had lit and going to stand behind Alice's chair where Troy had situated himself. "One, two, three."

The room burst into happy birthday and Alice clapped her hands, loving all the attention. When the song finished and Troy and Gabriella leaned over Alice to blow out the candles, Chad felt Ryan's lips press to his cheek and despite himself he blushed, leaning into his touch.

After peppering their daughter's face with kisses, Troy and Gabriella drew back and bent their heads together to share their own sweet kiss, while Sharpay and Taylor began dishing out the cake and setting it on plates.

"You want to get some air?" Ryan asked suddenly, and Chad nodded, needing a moment (which happened often to him now) to let everything settle in. After notifying the others, the pair stepped onto the back porch of the Bolton house, breathing in the fresh summer air and seating themselves on the bench in between Gabriella's garden and Alice's sandbox.

"You think we can have all this one day?" Ryan asked, gesturing to the backyard and the house. Chad looked over at him and smiled.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

For there were a million things against them, a million and three, really, but when it came down to it, all that mattered was that he was with Ryan and they were ready to work past all those obstacles one at a time.

It was all that mattered, really.