A/N: *holds out wrist* go ahead, slap me. I know how late this is and I am so sorry! I don't even have an excuse which is even worse! I guess my muse went for a walk and then it decided not to come back. Well, until now at least. I don't know when the next chapter will be up either so I'm sorry for that in advance as well!

There is some good news however, I have been writing little bits of feature chapters here and there in a GIANT word document so at least I have something to begin with. I'm mega happy with everything that I've written there so let's hope that you all like it too!

Okay, enough of my babbling. Thank you once again for all your reviews of the last chapter. It makes me smile everytime I get a new one! Hope you enjoy this (long awaited) chapter! (:

Oh, and I don't own anything to do with McDonalds, Tropicana or HSM.

"Just so you know, Chad is extremely happy about this."

"Just so you know, Taylor is going to kill me later if this doesn't go well." Troy glanced over at Gabriella's face, grinning before realising that she was, in fact, extremely serious.

"Look I didn't mean for it to…" He began.

"Kidding!" She grinned and burst into giggles, that perfect sound that Troy could never, ever get enough of. Troy glanced over to his and Gabriella's best friends who were sitting on the other side of the table and who, at the moment, seemed to be getting along just fine.

"Well Miss Montez, I don't think we should be worrying about that just yet, they seem to be getting on like a house on fire." He watched as she glanced over at them before looking back to him and nodded.

"Yeah I guess you could…"

"AHH! CHAD!" Troy rolled his eyes as the entire restaurant turned to glare at their table because of Taylor's yell.

"Sorry! I didn't, I mean, I never…" Troy burst out laughing as Chad tried unsuccessfully to wipe away the wine that had been spilt over Taylor's outfit.

"Stop it! You're making it worse! Chad! GAH!" Knocking over her chair as she stood up, Troy watched as Taylor began to make her way over to the washrooms on the other side of the room, Chad following behind like a lovesick puppy.

"Okay guys, nothing here for you to see. Everyone go back to enjoying their meals." Mostly everyone turned back to their tables as Troy tried to get the restaurant back to some kind of order. A few couples looked on with disgust at them having interrupted their romantic meals but they too eventually decided that nothing else was going to bother them and turned back too. Troy smiled once again as he sat back down,

"So I think that maybe Chad and Taylor are gonna kill us both after all…" He trailed off as he noticed Gabriella's face.

"Do you think that maybe I should go after her? I mean, she did look pretty upset." Troy's original amusement died down as he heard the concern in her voice.

"I shouldn't worry about it Gabi, they'll be fine."

"If you're sure…" She glanced over quickly to where Taylor had disappeared before locking her eyes back on Troy's face, biting her lip ever so slightly.

"I'm positive. Gabriella, seriously. Stop worrying. Besides, I think Chad really likes her so I'm sure she's in good hands."

"You think?" Troy nodded, eyes twinkling as Gabriella's face split into a smile. "Well, I'm glad. And just for the record, I think that Taylor quite likes him too. They're kinda perfect for each other in an imperfect kinda way. She's never really dated anyone like that before. They're usually quite boring men that she brings home. I don't think that she's had sex in years." Troy watched with interest as her eyes suddenly widened and a small blush graced her cheeks, realising what she had just said.

"Oh no. Do not tell Taylor I said that. She will actually kill me if she doesn't already want to after what just happened." Troy laughed.

"Don't worry about it. Truth be told, I think the sex thing is the same for Chad. Although he'll be damned to admit it!" Gabriella nodded.

"I know what you mean."

"Oh Chad…you're so silly." Troy snapped his head back up as Taylor's voice cut into their conversation and smiled to himself as Taylor and Chad reappeared in his line of vision. Both looking as though nothing had happened. As if proving his point, Taylor chose the moment to throw her head back and laugh a perfect schoolgirl giggle. Chad, on the other hand, giving Troy a thumbs up and a wink thrown in the direction of Gabriella who giggled ever so slightly before glancing back at Troy.

"See?" Troy whispered as the other two sat down in their once empty seats and began discussing what they were going to order as a waiter came into view.

"I told you everything would turn out alright." He saw her shrug out the corner of his eye.

"Fine Mr. Bigshot, you win this one…" She whispered back before turning quickly to the menu as the waiter approached, "Why the hell is everything in French?" Troy laughed,

"Because it's a posh restaurant that's why, and some of it's not in French… see?" He pointed to the drinks menu where it read 'Mineral Water'.

"Couldn't we have just gone to McDonalds?" He shrugged,

"Well, if you really want too. I just thought…"

"Please Troy, I don't want any…" She paused to squint at the menu, "…Escargot de Bourgogne."

"Well you probably wouldn't want any of those anyway. I don't think Snails in Garlic Butter is your type of thing." She rolled her eyes at him before pouting ever so slightly,

"Please?" He sighed, placing his hands on his heart in mock surrender.

"Fine Miss Montez, you win this one." She grinned as he turned to address the waiter who had been waiting patiently for their order.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting Sir but I think we have decided that we're going to go somewhere else." The waiter nodded, taking the menus and disappearing as though he couldn't care less.

"What? Where?" Troy shook his head as he realised that what he had said seemed to have grabbed the attention of Taylor and Chad who had been in their own little bubble all night. Troy turned to Gabriella as he stood up,

"You wanna tell them?" She nodded, her eyes twinkling with amusement and delight.

"McDonalds. I'm sure you could stay here though if you…"

"HELL NO!" Chad yelled, standing up in such a hurry that he knocked his chair over causing Troy to roll his eyes.

"Not so loud dude. They already hate you cos of what you did earlier." Chad grinned sheepishly,

"Ooops, sorry."

"And don't you think you better ask Taylor what she wants?" Troy laughed as Chad turned to Taylor to find that she had already stood up and placed her coat on.

"I never did French at High School," She shrugged, "Science was more my thing." Troy couldn't help but smile as Chad held out his arm for Taylor to take as they began to walk out the door. He turned to Gabriella, eyebrows raised,

"Happy now?" She nodded, still grinning.

"I can't believe I just got the Troy Bolton to give up a reservation at this restaurant for McDonald's of all places." He shrugged, knowing that she could probably get him to do a whole lot more.

"What can I say? I have a craving for a cheeseburger. I haven't had one in, oh, about three years." Her eyes widened disbelievingly,

"What? Three whole years! What is wrong with you?" He shrugged again as they followed Taylor and Chad out of the restaurant and over to Troy's awaiting car knowing full well what his answer would be.

"Sharpay." He muttered to himself as he opened the door and waited for her to climb in.

Xxxx

What on earth was she thinking? Bringing them here of all places. She sighed, shoving a couple more chips into her mouth and glancing around.

"Gabi will you slow down. You're gonna get stomach ache or something at this rate." She jumped slightly at the sound of Taylor's voice.

"Huh? What?" She shook her head, her surroundings coming back to her, noticing that the guys weren't there. Taylor rolled her eyes,

"They've gone to get more food, apparently they're still hungry. Now tell me what's going on in that pretty little head of yours. You've been away with the fairies ever since we got here." Gabriella sighed, glancing over to where Troy and Chad were laughing in the queue before looking back to her best friend.

"It's just, before we got in the car Troy said something about Sharpay being his problem which I don't think I was supposed to hear. She doesn't let him come to McDonalds Tay, but now he's here, with me. What happens if there's a photographer or someone who gets a picture and then it gets printed in the papers. Sharpay will begin to hate me even more than she does already. We should have stayed in that restaurant we were at earlier. It just seems that maybe what Anna said is true." Gabriella glanced back up from where she had been twirling her thumbs to Taylor who just sighed.

"Do you want it to be true?" Gabriella frowned, that was not what she had been expecting her to say.

"What?"

"Do you want what Anna said to be true?" She shrugged,

"No! Not at all! That's a horrible…" She trailed off at the look on Taylor's face, "Okay, maybe just a little bit." She bit her lip, "I'm such a horrible person Taylor."

"No you're not honey, you're just human and a woman. You have emotions that you need to take note of even when you don't want too. Just act normal around Troy and Sharpay and you'll be fine. Oh, and for the love of God please, please, please stop worrying. I hate having to keep checking that you're not having some sort of emotional breakdown. You're going to give me a heart attack at this rate which I would preferably not like to have until Chad asks me to marry him or something." Gabriella burst out laughing,

"Marry him? Taylor, you've only been on one date and that wasn't even by yourself!"

"I know but it just feels right y'know?" Gabriella nodded, still laughing, as her best friend sighed to herself, "It's not funny Gabi!"

"You're right, it's hilarious!"

"What's hilarious?" The girls jumped as Troy's voice cut into their conversation,

"Yeah, it must be good if Gabi's laughing that much." Chad added, sitting back down next to Taylor with three extra burgers, two packets of fries, a coke and a McFlurry. Gabriella wiped her eyes as her giggles decreased,

"Nothing," She began as Taylor shot daggers in her direction, "Just a, um, flashback, something that happened at High School that I've just remembered." Taylor nodded, plastering a fake grin on her face.

"Yeah…"

"Okay, you two are seriously bad liars, you do realise that don't you?" Gabriella's eyes flashed from Taylor who suddenly looked panicked once again, to Troy who was now leaning back in his chair, one arm over the back of hers.

"We're not lying!" Taylor squeaked, "Just, um, remembering."

"Yeah." Gabriella nodded forcefully, "So just shut up Mr Hotshot."

"Yeah Hoops leave 'em alone. If that's what they said they were doing then that's what they were doing." Gabriella grinned as Chad defended their actions.

"Aww thanks Chad." Taylor turned to the man sitting next to her, both of them becoming lost in their own little bubble once more.

"So what was it really?" Gabriella heard Troy ask as he leant forward, taking a bite of his second burger. She glanced over to their best friends before she turned to him, grinning,

"I'm only telling you this because it was really funny okay?" He nodded, leaning closer,

"And you have to swear that you won't tell Chad…"

"I swear on my mom's life." Gabriella giggled slightly, shifting in her seat.

"Okay, well…" She leant forward as though to tell him, taking a breath before, "Sorry I can't!" She burst out laughing once again at the look on his face.

"Aww don't worry Hotshot, I'm sure that look could totally work for some people." He shook his head, causing her laughter to double before she caught sight of his fingers.

"Oh no… Troy! You can't…" She collapsed into laughter once more as he began to tickle her. "That's what you get when you trick me Missy!"

"Troy! Stop! Troy!" Gabriella shrieked, "Please!"

"No, not until you tell me!"

"I can't! Taylor will kill me!"

"So?"

"Troy! I can't! Best friends honour!"

"Okay, I'll stop if you say that Troy Bolton is the best, most handsome, most clever guy in the entire universe." Gabriella shook her head, still laughing and squirming,

"I can't cos then I would be lying and my mom told me never to lie!"

"Why you…"

"Troy! I think you need to stop, we're attracting attention and that's never good!" Gabriella gasped for breath as Troy finally stopped, both of them glancing around at Chad's words. There were a few heads glancing this way but not enough to start worrying. Gabriella smiled at her choice of words. Worrying. Something she should seriously stop doing. Her Grandpi had always said that you had to enjoy life and live for the moment rather than worrying about what the future might bring. She glanced over at Taylor who was smiling at her.

"I think we should all stop worrying and just enjoy ourselves." She began, "After all we're all young, we shouldn't have any worries right?"

"Here here." Taylor said raising her Tropicana bottle, knowing full well the meaning behind her best friend's words; Gabriella smiled as she too held up her bottle of water, Troy and Chad finally raising their cokes.

"To the future." Troy added as they placed all their drinks together, laughing at the silliness of the situation.

"Um… Mr Bolton, sir?" The four of them turned to find a little boy no more than four years old standing next to Troy's chair.

"Hey there kid, what can I do for you?" Gabriella smiled as Troy addressed the boy; Anna had said that he was good with children and she had definitely been right.

"Um, I was just wondering if I could have you're um, you're aut-aut-aut…"

"Autograph?" Gabriella cut in kindly, the boy nodded eagerly.

"Yeah! I just wanted to let you know that you're my hero. I want to play basketball just like you!" Taylor shushed Chad as he began to mumble about something that Gabriella couldn't quite make out.

"My name is Tommy." The little boy added as Troy took the napkin and pen that Tommy had previously been holding.

"Okay Tommy…" Troy smiled as he wrote a message before signing his name, "Here you go. Remember practise makes perfect!" The little boy nodded, smiling before running back to his family, the other side of the restaurant. Gabriella watched before turning back to the man sitting next to her, Taylor and Chad still mumbling about something or other.

"What?" Troy asked suddenly, Gabriella sensing that he had felt her gaze.

"You're amazing with kids, you know that right?" Troy shrugged causing Gabriella to roll her eyes, "Well, you are. I just wanted to let you know." He nodded, clearing his throat.

"Thanks, I guess." Gabriella smiled as he turned back to Chad and Taylor,

"You're welcome." She whispered back, knowing now that no matter what she was definitely glad that she could make Troy Bolton a father.

Xxxx

"Oh Minnie you're so funny… yeah, why… oh, no way! That is so awesome! I always knew it would! Pink… yes, oh okay dahling; I'll see you at the party. Loves… yes, okay… mwah!" Sharpay rolled her eyes as she hung up the phone. Minnie was lovely, sure, but she always seemed to know the fashion news before she did and that annoyed her more than anything. Well, almost anything if you counted Gabriella Montez and her 'I can't dress' friend.

"Ryan!" She smiled as her twin brother appeared,

"Yeah Shar?"

"Minnie is a yes and she's going to let all the girls know which saves me a few phonecalls. I think I've given up on the colour idea. Minnie wants to wear pink and she said that she knew of a few others who would as well. I can't wait! After dinner I'll see if I can get through to that party planner I used for your birthday last year, what was her name? Laura? Louise?" She frowned for a moment, scrolling through her contacts quickly before glancing back to Ryan who shrugged.

"I can't remember either. I'm sure it'll be in your phonebook somewhere though. Oh, and food's out." Sharpay nodded and made her way back through to the kitchen table where Ryan appeared to have set out a feast fit for a Queen. She smiled to herself, well of course, she was a Queen in her own way.

"So… The Lakers won the game huh?" Her brother trying to make conversation pulled her rudely out of her thoughts. She nodded,

"Yeah but can we not talk about that. It's such a boring subject, it makes me yawn just thinking about it." Ryan nodded before chewing his food silently for a minute, Sharpay doing the same.

"This is really good, Ry." She complimented, "Much better than when I last came round."

"I've been working on it." He grinned, "So that when my niece or nephew are old enough I can teach them." Sharpay rolled her eyes,

"Don't count on it. If it's a boy Troy will ensure that he's into basketball and if it's a girl then I suppose she'll have to come shopping and thus into the fashion world with me. I can't believe I'm giving up my life for some annoying little creature that really won't be mine. I still don't understand why Troy would want such a thing." She glanced over at Ryan who had placed one of his hands over hers consolingly. She wiped a stray tear from her eye,

"I suppose that's what you do when you fall in love though. Give everything up for that one person." Ryan nodded sympathetically, wondering if Sharpay would actually ever really know what that felt like. He too was unsure when they had announced that they were getting married. To go from hating someone to loving them in that amount of time had scared him ever so slightly but it seemed to have worked out.

"Shar, it'll be fine. Now back to the party. Is this Gabriella girl going? I simply can't wait to meet her." Sharpay nodded, tight lipped as she groaned inside. The one thing that was simply going to ruin the whole mood of the event was that girl.

"I suppose she'll bring her friend too and Troy will want Chad there. Urgh, looks like I have a few more phonecalls to make than I thought." She went back to eating her food in silence, making lists in her head. The things she did for her husband. She just hoped that he would actually stay downstairs to appreciate this party unlike the one they had had just after their wedding where he had left early. She shook her head at the memory, which had been simply awful, trying to explain to all her friends who had so badly wanted to meet her new husband that he had, in fact, gone upstairs to sleep because he was so tired. A thought suddenly struck her.

"Ryan, we need to make sure we have all the background information on this Gabriella Montez. I cannot have any of my friends wanting to be more than just acquaintances with her. The last thing I want is to have to go through all this then realise that she is still in my life because I was so careless as not to ensure that there were a few stories going around about her…" She trailed off, raising her eyebrows at the man across the table from her. This is what they had been good at in High School. Spreading rumours and gossip in their favour. Ryan smiled crookedly,

"I'm on it. Straight after dinner. I know a couple of blogs that I can start on. Maybe I could write something about the new girl for Troy and the game. Throw a few things out there that could make it seem as though she is trying to worm her way into your tight friendship group…" Sharpay shook her head, frowning.

"No Ryan. I don't want people to hate her, well, not yet anyway. After all she hasn't really done anything wrong. She's just boring and has no taste. I just need a little something that will stop my friends from becoming closer to her. Something about fashion maybe? She is going to have Troy's child after all, we need to be somewhat civilised." Ryan nodded.

"Fabulous!" Sharpay drilled, her voice taking on a higher pitch before they continued eating. That was Gabriella Montez and then hopefully her friend taken care of. She could bank on the fact that Chad would be with the basketball team and not her for the evening so that was another thing that she wouldn't have to worry about for now.

"Err, Shar?" She looked over at Ryan,

"Yes Ryan?"

"Why is Troy at McDonalds?" She turned round in her seat to glance through to the lounge where she had left the television set on. Sure enough there was a photo of Troy coming out of McDonalds plastered all over the screen and if she looked further she could see Gabriella Montez, her friend and Chad Danforth all laughing in the background. The picture changed suddenly, the next item more important than the one before.

"Why that… Wait a minute, this is perfect!" Ryan frowned,

"It is?"

"Yeah, we need just a little something about Gabriella and that's it! You know I don't like Troy doing anything unhealthy and now she's corrupted that. All my friends need to know." She grinned; they hadn't even had to make anything up. She smiled, now all she had to do was get a planner for the party of the season. Hell, this could even be the party of the year.