That weekend, both Troy's and Gabriella's parents came down to Los Angeles. They had taken their parents out for lunch to announce the news of their engagement. Troy and Gabriella were on their way to the restaurant. "I wonder how our parents will react, especially mine. We both know how my parents are when-"

"Everything will be fine Gabriella. After telling our parents, we can break the news to our friends." Troy interrupted, assuring Gabriella. He didn't really show any emotion on his face, but he was just as nervous as she was. He had hoped that his parents will be happy for him. They parked the car in the lot in front of the restaurant and joined their parents at the table. They ordered their drinks and food. "I take it you two have something to tell us." Lucille smiled. Troy and Gabriella both glanced at each other before saying a word. They both told their parents that Gabriella was engaged. What Troy and Gabriella didn't expect was the reaction they got from their parents. They were greeting each other with warm hugs. Gabriella excused herself to go to the bathroom and on her way there, she ran into Ethan. "Ethan?" she asked.

Ethan looked at Gabriella, not entirely believing that it was her. "Gabriella? Hey, didn't mean to run into you there." he said and was about to walk away when she gently grabbed his arm. "What's going on?" she questioned. Ethan shook his head and smiled, "Nothing's wrong Gabs. I'll leave you to your celebration. Congrats again." The tone was just the same when she heard him congratulate her before. Something was up and she intended to find out. She watched him leave before going into the bathroom. Afterwards, she joined Troy back at the table who leaned over to ask about Ethan. She shook her head and began to eat her food.

After lunch, Gabriella drove to the mall to meet Taylor there. "Girl, you know I'm not happy that you're engaged to Troy, but I'm going to give him the ok." Taylor said. Gabriella rolled her eyes at the girls browsed through the various types of stores in the mall. They entered one of the stores and there they ran into Loraine. "You must be Gabriella." Loraine said. Gabriella nodded, unsure of why Loraine wasn't with Ethan. "You must be Loraine then. I hope this isn't too much, but I would like to ask you a question." Gabriella said.

"Sure, ask away." Loraine said.

"Well, it's about Ethan."

"Ethan who?"

"Jensen."

"Oh, him." Gabriella could easily tell that something was wrong with Loraine as well. "There's not much to say about him. You know, I thought he was the one, you know? I have never met a guy like him and to think that he was different, no. They're all the same. All men... are... the same." Loraine said.

"That's not true. Ethan's not like that kind of guy."

"That's what you think. Just because you work for him and because he treats you with more respect than the other employees doesn't mean he actually cares. He's had you from the beginning - the flowers, the diamond bracelet."

"The flowers-"

"You thought they're from Troy? Ha. C'mon, did Troy even know about where you worked? Doubtful." Loraine interrupted. Gabriella couldn't believe what she was hearing. Did Ethan really try to break Troy and Gabriella up? There was no possible way that was true. Gabriella didn't really know what the truth was anymore. She walked out of the store with Taylor and they went back to her car. "What are you going to do?" Taylor asked.

"I'm going to confront Ethan about this." Gabriella replied, then began driving down the street. She parked her car in front of Ethan's apartment. She got out of her car and walked up to the door, knocking. She waited a few minutes until the door opened. "Gabriella, I really don't have time to talk to you." Ethan said.

"I'm sure you have plenty of-" Sophie appeared at the door behind Ethan. A smile spread across her face as she hugged Gabriella. "Gabriella!" Sophie said. Gabriella smiled, hugging Sophie.

"Hey Sophie." Gabriella smiled. "Mind if I talk to your uncle for a little bit?"

Sophie nodded, "Sure. Come in." She grabbed Gabriella's hand, pulling her inside the apartment. Ethan sighed and closed the door after Gabriella entered. Sophie released Gabriella's hand and then went into the guest bedroom. "I'm sorry about Sophie." Ethan said, walking into the living room and sat down on the couch. Gabriella followed and sat down beside him. She shrugged, "I really enjoy her company. She's a sweet girl."

"She is. What brings you here?" he asked.

"Ethan, I'm really worried about you. What happened between you and Loraine?"

"We broke up. It's just that things weren't really working out. My dad was devastated when he heard the news. He thought she was the one and I told him that I was going to find another girl. Loraine's one of those girls, you know? She's business driven and I like that, but I want a girl who knows how to have fun. She just seems a bit uptight."

"She told me about the flowers and the diamond bracelet. She said the flowers weren't from Troy."

"What? Of course they're from Troy. If the flowers were from me, I would've given you roses or something. I didn't know you liked lilies. The diamond bracelet I gave you was because I was smitten. When I called you in for that interview, I had to hire you Gabriella. I wasn't going to go for you if you had a boyfriend and even if you two broke up, I'm not going to even try to replace him. I just gave you the diamond bracelet not for any reason." he said. Gabriella was hearing two different stories and wasn't sure which one was true, but it was clear that Ethan broke up with Loraine. "Do you care about me?" she asked.

"Of course I care about you. We're friends."

"Then why did you call me 'Miss Montez'?"

"You're engaged and so I figured that it'd be appropriate for work. Gabriella, if you're thinking about putting Loraine and I together, it's not going to work out."

"I saw the way you two looked at each other when you first met. I know what that's like and this break up is just a bump in the road that you two will get over. You two are meant for each other."

"Do your friends approve of you and Troy being together?"

"Yeah, except Taylor but she would rather have me be with Troy than-"

"Than any other guy?" Ethan scoffed, slightly shaking his head. "Right. We'll see how it works out between Loraine and I, but let's be honest, who's more ready to settle down? You or Troy?" Gabriella was stumped at that question. She wasn't sure herself. She bid her goodbye to Ethan and Sophie, then left his apartment as she got in her car. She drove back down the street to her apartment, parking out front. She entered, closing the door behind her and entered the kitchen to see Troy had been cooking something for dinner. "Dinner's not ready yet babe." Troy said as Gabriella opened the fridge to pour herself a glass of juice. "I know, but I have a question to ask." she said, taking a sip.

"What is it?" Troy asked.

"Are you ready for us to settle down?"

"Yeah, of course. I want to spend my whole life with you Gabs. What made you come up with such a question?"

Gabriella shrugged as she took another sip and said, "I saw Loraine and Ethan today, separately of course. They broke up and they both got me thinking, especially Ethan."

"Don't tell me you don't want to get married."

"I do want to get married Troy, to you. I just feel like we shouldn't rush into marriage and just enjoy the time we still have as ourselves."

"Ourselves?"

"Gabriella Montez and Troy Bolton? I mean, we haven't had any time spent together as the couple that we have always been and I miss us. I miss us going to the beach and just having fun. I miss us taking walks in the park while the sun beams down on our faces. I miss the late movie nights when we'd sit on the couch and eat popcorn together. I miss cuddling with you and not having sex afterwards. I miss those moments Troy and before we become officially Mr. and Mrs. Troy Bolton, let's just be ourselves for a while."

"Alright, we'll start tonight with me finishing dinner." he smiled. Gabriella smiled, leaning over and kissed him on the cheek. She happily walked into the living room, turned on the TV and sighed a happy sigh. Everything was right in the world, for now.