AN: WOW! 14 reviews for the last chappie?! Thank u so much! OK so the past chapters have been most fluff...the drama is starting real soon!

Declaimer: I own nothing.

Ps: HAPPY 19TH BIRTHDAY VANESSA HUDGENS:D (I know im late...its just that I started this chappie a while ago and it was her b-day bak then)

(( No One P.O.V ))

Gabriella was sitting on her desk Monday morning marking some tests. It was now February, Gabriella's fourth month in Albuquerque. She placed down her pen after finishing marking the last test paper and looked up. The only people in the room besides her were Mark, Johnny, and Mr. Thomas. Claudia had a class and Taylor hasn't arrived yet. Mark kept glancing at her but Gabriella pretended that she didnt notice. He even tried to speak to her but Gabriella just smiled and continued her work. She stood up from her desk and walked over to the coffee machine just as Taylor rushed it.

"Sorry I'm late! Got stopped by someone" she panted. I frowned lightly and Mr. Thomas cleared his throat.

"Mrs. Danforth, please dont let it happen again." said Mr.Thomas before heading out of the room. Taylor nodded, setting her briefcase on her desk. Gabriella walked over to her with her coffee in her hand.

"Good morning Tay" grinned Gabriella. "Why were you late?"

"Morning Gabs. On my way here, Sharpay stopped me and said Amy has something to tell us. She'll be dropping by after school" replied Taylor taking out her students sheets to mark.

"Oh. Do you know what's it about?" asked Gabriella sipping her coffee. Taylor shook her head.

"Not a clue. But it's not a bad thing, Sharpay assured me." After getting out all her stuff out of the brief case, Taylor placed her bag down and walked over to the front of the desk and sat on it.

"So, how are things with you and Mark?" whispered Taylor. Gabriella shrugged.

"Nothing new and nothing changed. He's been staring at me all morning and even tried to have a chat with me. But I just smiled and basically ignored him," replied Gabriella quitely, glancing at Mark over her shoulder who quickly looked away.

"Well, he's not the only one who's been staring at you" smirked Taylor. Gabriella blushed. She knew excatly who Taylor was talking about. Troy. Over the past months, Gabriella started to have a crush on him. And the way he interacts with Alex made her like him even more. He was so sweet and such a gentlemen, not to mention handsome. His piercing blue eyes and stunning smile makes every girl's heart melt. Everytime he walks into the room or someone mentions his name, Gabriella's face lit up. Even the girls noticed this but Gabriella denied it saying that he was just her best friend. She wasnt even sure, heck she was positive, that he didnt feel the same way. Gabriella was also scared. Scared of this new, uncontrollable feeling which she knew was more than just a crush. Scared of opening her heart to someone knowing that she would be hurt and broken again. She didnt want to go through that pain again. She wasnt ready for a relationship yet. She was grateful for the beautiful friendship she already developed with Troy and as much as she wanted it to be more, she was just scared and not ready.

"Taylor I told you already. Troy and I are just friends!" Taylor raised her eyebrows and tried her best to hide her grin and keep a steady face.

"Who said anything about Troy? I was talking about Brent, the guy at the grocery store. But unless you noticed something about Troy which I dont know about.." Gabriella's face reddend more. Taylor burst out laughing at Gabriella's horrified and embarrased face.

"Taylor Danforth! That was so not funny!" Taylor continued to laugh and wiped the tears which formed from laughing.

"Oh my god Gabi. You should have seen your face!" Gabriella narrowed her eyes at her and with a playfull huff turned around and walked to her desk.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

"Dont forget, your reports on your experiments are due tomorrow!" called Gabriella just as the bell rang indicating the end of Chemistry class. School was over and Gabriella was gathering her stuff. Students rushed out the door and a few remained to clean after their expirements on chemical reactions. A couple of girls, the head cheerleader Brittney Stoner and the head of the Drama Club Alyson Woods, walked up to Gabriella. Gabriella looked up from her sheets and smiled at the girls.

"Ms.Stoner, Ms.Woods. How may I help you?" Gabriella asked. The girls glanced at each other and smiled. Gabriella was a lot of students favourite teacher. She was known for her well manners and kindness.

"Ms. Montez, as you know, the cheerleading squad and the Drama club will be responsible for the Spring dance next month." said Brittney.

"Yeah I heard about that. What about it?" asked Gabriella.

"Well, we were wondering if you could um.. talk to Mr. Morgan to uh..raise our budget" said Alyson nervously. Gabriella frowned.

"But girls, your budget is pretty good. Why do you need a higher one?" Brittney rolled her eyes.

"Ms. Montez, the higher the better! And we want the dance to be the best and most memorable East High ever had! We cant achieve that with the old lame school speakers. We need more lights, flashy decorations, new speakers, better tables and high quality food!" exclaimed Brittney, using hand gestures to emphasize her points.

"Ms. Stoner its only one night and the school's speakers and lightning is pretty decent" Gabriella tried to reason with her.

"But its the school's Spring dance! The best night-besides Prom dance- of the year! Dont you know how important it is?" whined Alyson. Actually, Gabriella doesnt know how important it is. During her high school days, she only went to a couple of dances during freshman year and sophomore and both nights ended pretty bad. On her Junior year and Senior she decided she wouldnt go since its just a waste of time and people go wild during these nights. Gabriella wasnt really a wild person and she preffered to stay home cuddled on her sofa reading than go to a party.

"And its not like we're asking for much. We're just asking to raise our budget a little bit," added Brittney. Gabriella sighed.

"All right. I'll do my best but I cant promise you anything," said Gabriella. The girls squealed and high-fived each other.

"Thank you so much Ms.Montez! Your the best!" exclaimed Alyson before the two rushed out of the class excited. Gabriella giggled and walked out. As she was walking down the nearly empty hallway, she heard her name being called.

"Gabi! Gabriella!" Gabriella spun around and saw Amy rushing towards her. Gabriella remembered what Taylor told her that morning and smiled.

"Hi Amy," greeted Gabriella.

"I'm glad I found you Gabs. This school is huge! I dont know how you've managed to know the place around here" exclaimed Amy. Gabriella laughed.

"Got used to it by time. Anyway, I heard you have something to tell us" said Gabriella.

"Yes I do. But I think its better to gather the gang so I'd only have to say it once since I dont have much time left. I have to be back at work in.."Amy glanced at her watch "..half an hour. Ryan will be telling Zeke and Jason." Gabriella frowned.

"But it's 3:15. What time do you finish work?"

"The magazine is really under pressure now so I have to stay a bit longer at the office," replied Amy. "So, is there a place where I can talk to you guys together?" Gabriella nodded.

"Sure. We could gather at the sports department where I'm sure Chad and Troy are," said Gabriella. Amy scrunched her noise and shook her head.

"Can we go somewhere else? I mean, I dont want to go back to work smelling like gym socks" Gabriella laughed.

"Well then how about my department? No one's there as far as I know."

"OK sure. Where are Sharpay and Kelsi?" asked Amy.

"I think they are at the theater, doing some last minute work," said Gabriella.

"OK cool. I know where that is. I've been to some of Sharpay's and Kelsi's productions." said Amy.

"All right then. I'll get Taylor and the boys and we'll meet you in 5 minutes" said Gabriella as Amy headed to the auditorium. Gariella got out her cell phone and to text Taylor

Hey Tay, Amy's here.

Meet us in our department in 5 minutes.

I'm on my way to get the guys

Gabi.

Gabriella hit the send button and placed her phone back in her pocket. She knocked on the door softly and heard a muffled 'come in'. She opened the door and poked her head in.

"Hey guys" smiled Gabriella. Troy and Chad were sitting watching a basketball game while the other team coaches were either revising their game plans or having a snack. The Sports department is very different than Gabriella's department. The walls were a shade of blue and all sorts of balls of all different games were scattered around the room, on desks, tables, and some were hung on the wall. Trophies and medals sat on rows of shelves at one side of the room.

"Oh, hey Gabs. What's up?" smiled Troy glancing at Gabriella for a second before returning his attention back to the game.

"Amy's here. She has something to tell us. So get your butts off that sofa and come along with me." Both of them kept staring at the TV screen. "Now!" added Gabriella. The two men groaned and mumbled before reluctantly getting up.

"Wow Montez. I'm impressed. No other woman could control Bolton like that, well except for his mother. You must be one special girl," smirked the football coach. He had heard of the oblivious couple and loved to tease Troy about it. Both Gabriella and Troy blushed and Troy glared at him.

"Oh trust me, she is when it comes to my man," said Chad slapping Troy's back.

"Look who's talking! The guy who's afraid of his own wife!" replied Troy. Chad grinned sheepishly and shrugged.

"What can I say? Taylor can sometimes be..scary" he shuddered. Gabriella and the others laughed at him.

"Right. Now come on let's get going. Amy and the girls are waiting," said Gabriella walking out the door with Chad.

"Good luck with your girl Bolton. Dont let her slip away" said one of the coaches.

"Believe me, I wont," said Troy smiling, staring at where Gabriella just left. He snapped back to reality and blushed as the other men where laughing. "I mean, she's a great friend. Why would I? She's just my best friend," added Troy.

"Thats not what it looked like ten minutes ago" Troy groaned and walked out the door hearing Gabriella's yells. He knows exactly what they were talking about..

(( 10 minutes ago..Troy P.O.V))

I was sitting with Chad watching a basketball game. We decided to chill for a while and watch a basketball game since we didnt have practice this afternoon. The only other people besides us were the football coach, Richard Jackson, and the soccer coach, Eric Jones.

"So Bolton, how's it going with that Montez girl?" asked Eric.

"Her name's Gabriella!" I snapped. I hated it when people called her that. She's a human being with a name, so people should call her that and not 'that Montez girl'.

"Woah there Bolton. Chill" said Richard smirking.

"Sorry man. Anyway, nothing's going on between us. We're just friends. Nothing more, nothing less." I said, trying to convince them as well as myself. But I knew I was kidding myself. I've tried so many times to convince myself that she's just my friend and that my feelings towards her are brother/sister feelings. But I know that I'm wrong. Way wrong. What I feel towards her is far from what a brother should feel towards his sister. I dont like her as my little sister as Chad, Zeke, Jason, and Ryan do. My feelings are much more different. Over the past few months, I have gotten to know Gabriella more and started to like her more. I sort of have a crush on her...a huge one. Her gorgeous smile, her shining chocolate-brown eyes and her amazing personality. She's nothing like any other woman I've met before. She's funny, kind, caring, sweet, generous, and just stunning beautiful. I also love and adore her son! He's pretty smart and cute. I love playing with him and teaching him basketball as if he's my own son. Woah there...my son?! Where did that come from? But yet again, what makes a father...a father? It's not just being biologically related to his son, but it's the special bond that he shares with him. And in my outlook, Alex and I have bonded pretty well.

"Oh ok. I guess I can set up my brother with her then," said Eric. I whipped my head around and glared at him.

"Don't you dare!"

"Why not? I mean they're both single. They might make a cute couple." I tried my best to stay cool.

"I think Gabriella is capable of choosing her own men." I said.

"In other words, he's waiting for her to choose him" said Chad. I slapped his head as all three laughed.

"Come on Bolton. Just admit it," said Richard.

"Admit what? I told you guys we're just friends! Now please, let me watch this game peacfully," I sat back and watched the game. Just then, there was a knock on the door and Gabriella's head poked in.

"Hey guys," she said. My face lit up and I glanced at her smiling.

"Oh, hey Gabs. What's up?" (Im gonna repeat the whole thing again. Its the same as above)

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

(( No One P.O.V))

Gabriella, Chad, and Troy walked to the Science department where Amy and the girls were waiting. Gabriella opened the door and walked in followed by Chad and Troy. She noticed Amy, Sharpay, Taylor, and Kelsi sitting and chatting. She also noticed Mark at his desk. Oh great. What's he doing here at lunch time?! Gabriella sighed and took a seat between Kelsi and Troy while Chad took a seat next to Taylor.

"He's was here when we came in," whispered Kelsi sympathetically. Gabriella smiled at her and nodded. Amy stood up and stood infront of everyone.

"Great, now that everyone's here, I would like to ask you guys something," said Amy who seemed totally oblivious to Mark. The gang nodded their heads giving her their full attention.

"All Fashion magazine (made up. That's where Amy works) is having a fashion show in New York in a week. Since I'm the editor of the magazine, I was allowed to bring along a maximum number of ten people along with me for the show. So, I was wondering if you guys wanted to come along with me and Ryan to New York this Saturday?" asked Amy. The girls squealed and jumped-except Gabriella who sat there shocked-and hugged Amy. Troy and Chad were grinning widely.

"Oh my god Amy! Are you serious?!" squealed Sharpay.

"Yep. We'll only be gone for a week. This Saturday until the following Saturday. The fashion show is on next Wednesday."

"Oh we are so going!" exclaimed Taylor.

"Thank you so much Amy!" said Kelsi. Amy shrugged and smiled.

"No problem. And you dont have to worry about any financial problems. The magazine will be paying for your trip and the hotel you'll be staying at." she said. This caused the girls to squeal louder.

"A free vacation to New York for a whole week! And attend a fashion show as well! This is gonna be so much fun!" exclaimed Taylor happily.

"But what about work? And the children?" asked Gabriella who hasn't spoken since Amy announced her invitation.

"I'm sure Morgan could give us a week off," said Chad.

"Yeah. And Natalie and Mickey could stay with their grandparents. I'm sure Maria could look after Alex right?" said Taylor. "Besides, Hellen is available if you need her" she added. Gabriella was still not convinced.

"I dont know you guys. I've never left Alex alone for this long" she said.

"Dont worry Gabs. It's only a week and he wont be alone. Maria will be there with him," said Troy.

"Oh Gabi please come. It's a small vacation for all of us. It wouldnt be the same without you," pleaded Kelsi.

"Yeah. We cant leave our little sister behind," added Chad.

"Gabi it's New York! A free trip to New York!" said Sharpay. "Imagine us shopping there, visiting the city's greatest malls and centers. Besides, you can meet up with all of your friends back there right?" Gabriella groaned inwardly hearing this. Friends? Pff..yeah right. My only best friend there was Kristy. But her husband's job was transferred to L.A so they had to move there. And..oh no! What about Robert?? What if I see him there?! No, this time I have my friends. And I dont care who the hell he's with, I'm not going to let him spoil my fun. But still... Gabriella didnt want to spoil the mood and definitely didnt want to make her friends suspicious, but they were too excited to notice. So she smiled and nodded.

"All right, I'll go," the girls squealed and hugger her tightly. Troy looked at her suspicious. He decided to talk to her later privately.

"This is going to be so much fun!" said Taylor.

"Yeah. New York city, here we come!" added Sharpay. Amy laughed.

"All right then. I'm glad you all could make it. I have to go now and make a few phone calls. I'll see you guys later," she waved before walking out the door. Just then, Troy's cell phone buzzed indicating he has a new message. He flipped it open and read the message.

"That's wierd," said Troy frowning. Everyone looked at him confused.

"What's wrong?" asked Gabriella.

"I just got a message from Morgan. He says the gym is a complete mess. But we didnt have any practice today and the guys wouldnt have possibly gotten in, since Chad locked the gym, didnt you Chad?" asked Troy eyeing Chad.

"Me? I thought it was you!" Troy groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"Chad! You had the keys! You were responsible for that!" exclaimed Troy. Chad shook his head and stuck his hands in his jacket pockets.

"I dont have the keys, you-" he stopped when he felt something metal in one of the pockets. He took out his hand and saw a keyring holding a few keys. "Oops?" he smiled sheepishly. The girls burst out laughing while Troy just rolled his eyes.

"Come on Chad. You have some cleaning to do," said Troy opening the office door.

"Me?! What about you?!" Chad stood up from his seat.

"Nah. I'll just stand and watch you tidy up the place and then make sure you actually lock the door when we leave," said Troy crossing his arms across his chest.

"That's not fair!" grumbled Chad. Taylor shook her head at her clueless husband and grinned.

"Hunny, it is your fault so it is fair," Chad glared at her while the girls laughed at him..

"Great. My own wife is against me," mumbled Chad. Troy sighed.

"Dude, lets just get this over with," he stepped out the door followed by a grumbling Chad.

"You better hurry Chad! Dont forget, we need to pick up Mickey from your mother's place," called Taylor before the door slammed shut. The girl gathered at Gabriella's desk.

"I see he's still the same clueless Chad, huh Tay?" teased Kelsi. Taylor giggled and nodded.

"That's my man."

"Anyway, arnt you girls excited for this trip?!" squealed Sharpay. Taylor and Kelsi nodded furiously while Gabriella just gave a light nod. They kept talking on how fun it's going to be until Sharpay gave a loud shriek, which startled everyone including Mark who has overheard everything.

"Oh my God!! That is so cute!" shrieked Sharpay, pointing to the framed pictures on Gabriella's desk. There were three framed pictures on her desk. To the left was a picture of Alex grinning widely at the camera. On the right was a picture of Troy sleeping in his apartment's living room couch with Alex sleeping on his stomach on top of Troy. Gabriella had been out that night so Troy offered to baby-sit Alex. When she arrived at Troy's apartment, she found them sleeping and just couldnt help but take a photo of the cute sight. The one Sharpay was pointing at was the photo in the middle. It was a pictue of Troy, Alex, and Gabriella near a lake in the park. Alex was on Troy's back, his grinning face popping out from Troy's left shoulder. Troy was smiling widely and bending down a bit, with one arm holding Alex and the other tightly wrapped around Gabriella's waist, who looked like she was laughing with both her arms resting on Troy's arm.

Taylor and Kelsi 'aww'ed at the picture while Gabriella, who was blushing furiously, placed the photo facedown.

"How could I have not notice this before?" said Taylor.

"Um..I just..uh..had it in here recently..so um..yeah" Gabriella's face was deep red. Kelsi turned the photo back up.

"Gabriella these pictures are so cute! You guys look adorable together. You dont have to be embarrassed. And look at the one with Troy and Alex sleeping," gushed Kelsi.

"Yeah, like father and son," added Sharpay but quickly clasped her hands over her mouth when she realized what she had just said. Taylor sent her a stern and Sharpay smiled apologitacally.

"I'm sorry Gabs, I didnt mean to.." Sharpay stopped seeing the look on Gabriella's face who was staring at the picture smiling softly. Like father and son..

"Hmm, Shar. I dont think you were the only thinking that," teased Taylor. Gabriella snapped out of her gaze and blushed.

"I dont, its just that..uh..he's um.." Gabriella stuttered. The girls burst out laughing and Mark, who stood behind them pretending to go through the file cabinat just to take a look at the pictures, tried his best not to grab the photos and smash them into pieces.

"Oh Gabi, just admit it. You are totally in love with him," said Sharpay.

"Am not!"

"Gabriella, there's nothing wrong feeling in love you know," Kelsi patted her shoulder. Gabriella's jaw dropped.

"Kelsi! I am not inlove with Troy! He's just my best friend. A really, really, great friend -"

"Whom you are totally in love with," inturrupted Taylor. Gabriella groaned. She knew no matter what, she could never convince her friends...even if what they are saying is true.

Mark sat at his desk, grinning evilly. He had heard everything. And knew exactly what to do...

AN: I decided to stop it here. Sorry for not updating for a while. So...Gabi's going bak to NY...wat will happen?? And wat does Mark has up his sleeve? You'll find out soon! Next chapter is just a sort of filler...nothing big. But the drama starts in NY. Thats the biggest hint :D Now plzz R&R!