Well, guys... it's been a while, hasn't it? Over a year – I'm so embarrassed, and ashamed. I've probably let a lot of you down, those of you who actually enjoyed this and wanted to see how it ended. For those of you who are still around, I apologize deeply and hope to finally be able to finish this soon. And I also hope that you will still be able to enjoy it after so long. If not, I truly am story. Perhaps next time I should finish the story before I post any of it, just to make sure that I don't leave things hanging! ):

XoXoXoX

Ryan came down the stairs, whistling a cheerful tune. After his last rehearsal with Gabriella, he felt incredibly light-hearted. He knew Gabriella's heart still belonged to Troy, but somehow that didn't seem so intimidating anymore. He felt like, even if his chances were slim, he actually had a chance. That thought gave him hope and made him feel as though a burden had been lifted off him.

He popped into the kitchen to select his breakfast and then plunked it down on the table, settling into one of the chairs to eat. He had only taken a few bites before the newspaper caught his eye. It had been tossed onto the table by its previous reader, strewn about carelessly. One of its visible headlines called Ryan's attention. He picked it up, frowning; his expression slowly melted into shock as he read the article.

It detailed the events of a car accident – two students from East High had been killed in a collision with a drunk driver.

He set the paper down, staring into space. The victims hadn't been friends of his. He hadn't ever even met them. But he knew them. He'd seen them in the halls. Had shared a few classes with them. And now they were just... gone. They were... they were dead. Torn from their loved ones through an event they could not have prevented.

And what about the ones they'd left behind? Would they have regrets? What had their last words been to each victim? Angry ones? Hurtful ones? Were there things that should have been said that now never would be?

Ryan dropped his head into his hands, suddenly overcome. He hadn't ever thought this way before. Had just glazed over these things. Had brushed them off as if they should have no significance to him. Now he just felt sick, couldn't explain why it suddenly mattered so much. Yet he felt he couldn't ignore it anymore. Things had to change. Had to change right now.

He couldn't go through life expecting that things would never change, that he would always have another tomorrow for things he couldn't bring himself to do today. There was too much to be lost.

He pushed his chair out from the table, breakfast forgotten.

XoXoXoX

Sharpay scrutinized herself in the mirror, leaning in so that her nose nearly touched her reflection. Though no one was around to notice, she was checking herself over a fourth time, a change from her usual set of three checks. She, of course, had noticed, but would not admit even to herself that it might possibly have something to do with her date.

Her date with Zeke.

Who she didn't really like.

Much.

Satisfied that there were no (visible) blemishes on her perfectly made up face and that each strand of her hair was in the proper place, she leaned back from the mirror and flashed a pearly white smile at herself.

Then she yelped as Ryan appeared behind her and gently, awkwardly wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"Ryan!" she protested indignantly. "What are you doing?! I just finished fixing my hair, you're going to ruin it!"

He merely tightened his embrace and whispered something barely audible in her ear.

Then he departed as quickly as he had arrived, leaving Sharpay to stare at her reflection once more, wondering if Ryan had just spoken those words, and if so, why.

And wanting to say them back, despite feeling like that would be the last thing she could ever admit to him.

Suddenly, the fact that he'd ruined her perfectly placed hair didn't seem to matter anymore.

"I love you," he'd said...

XoXoXoX

Nose in a book, Gabriella nearly fell off her bed when her phone rang, startling her. She scrambled to reach it before it stopped ringing. Her lips curved into a smile when she saw that it was from Ryan.

"Hey, Wildcat!" she greeted him.

"Gabriella..." came the reply, and immediately her smile vanished. He didn't sound right. Not at all.

"Ryan...?"

"Gabriella, do you--are you busy?"

"No, I was just reading... Ryan, is something wrong?"

"I... want to... can we take a walk?"

Deciding she would let him get away with avoiding the question for now and wait until she saw him to get more information, Gabriella agreed to his request.

"Where do you want to go?"

After a pause, he asked, "Is there a park near your house?"

"Yeah, it's only a couple blocks away from here..."

"Good. I'll drive over to your house and we'll go there... Is that alright? I can be there shortly..."

"Yeah... yeah, that's fine..."

"I'll... see you then."

A sudden silence indicated that he'd hung up. Gabriella pulled her phone away from her ear and stared at it. What was going on? What could possibly have happened to make him act so strangely? She was glad he planned to come soon; she was worried about him, and she didn't want to spend all day wondering.

XoXoXoX

The walk to the park was uneventful, with Ryan saying hardly anything and Gabriella commenting on the weather, trying to be cheerful. Then they were there.

Ryan examined the surroundings purposefully until he located a slightly secluded spot with a grouping of trees. Gently, ever so gently, he took her hand in his, interlocking their fingers, and led her to the place. She knew she should pull away. Should drop his hand. Should say something. But she was entranced, spellbound as she watched him. She couldn't bring herself to let go.

They reached the trees and he turned to face her, slowing slipping his fingers from hers. Then he took both of her hands in his, stroking her skin softly with his thumbs.

"Gabriella..." he began, and then he swallowed. He struggled for a moment as though fighting for the right words. "Gabriella... I'm sorry to surprise you like this. Sorry to... seem like I'm acting inappropriately. I promise you, I'm not trying to get you to do anything wrong. I just... I wanted to hold on to you, while I do my best... to tell you..."

Gabriella looked up at him quietly, uncertainty in her eyes.

"This morning... this morning I saw an article, in the paper... It was... well, a car accident... and the kids, they were... they went to school with us... It was the first time I've ever really paid attention to... to something like that, and I... it just, it was so overwhelming. I got scared. What if one of those kids had been me? Or Sharpay? Or... or..."

He swallowed again. "And I thought how, if it had been, how I'd have things... things I'd regret never doing, never saying. I'm sorry for getting all freaked out and weird like this, I just... I don't want to have regrets, you know? If... something ever happens... I want to be proud of the choices I've made up until that point. So I... need to say something."

He closed his eyes, and Gabriella felt his hands trembling against hers as he breathed deeply, preparing to tell her what he'd come here for.

"Gabriella... ever since last summer, you have been such a good friend to me. You invited me to join you when no one else seemed to care, brought me along and let me have fun with all of you. I've gotten to have so many new friends and do things I never would have thought possible, and I have you to thank for that.

"And... something else happened, too." He looked at her and smiled tenderly. "I saw how beautiful your smile was. I noticed that I wanted to make you laugh whenever I could, just because I wanted to hear you when you did. I wanted to dance with you outside of rehearsal. I made sure that I could walk with you between as many classes as possible.

"You know why?" He reached up to brush her cheek with his fingers.

Gabriella suddenly found that she had stopped breathing.

Then, his forehead was lightly pressed to hers, and his gaze was so piercing that she couldn't have looked away if she tried.

"I've fallen for you, Gabriella Montez..." he whispered.

Then he was stepping away from her, reluctance etched into his face. He slowly eased his grip on her hands, allowing them to slip through his fingers. Then he thrust his own hands into his pockets, and took another step back from her.

"I know that you're with Troy, and I'm not trying to steal you from him," he said, looking at the ground. "I've seen the smile he puts on your face... and what I want most is for you to be happy. But... please..." He looked up again, blue eyes pleading with her. "It's okay if you feel awkward around me now, I knew what I was getting into when I decided to tell you all of this... just... will you please still be my friend?"

Gabriella stared at him, overwhelmed. Where did she go from here...?