WARNING: This chapter may contain "harsh" language, so if you are extremely offended by swear words, I wouldn't read this if I were you.

Anyways, sorry I haven't updated recently, but with my current season coming to a close and school in full swing, I have been very busy. I try to write when I get time, but most of the time it's in a notebook, and I can never seem to find time to type it. My apologies. Anyways, enjoy!!

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"Holy shit!"

Troy instinctively pulled Gabriella closer, opening his eyes slowly against the new light. Gabi, it seemed, had already seen whatever was in the doorway, as she had turned her warm face into his side, pulling the sheets up to her chin. A quick glance at her told Troy she was indeed blushing. Troy lifted his eyes to the doorway and froze.

"What the fuck are you guys doing here!?" he responded acidly, glancing at the clock next to his bed. It read 3:00. They had only been asleep for 45 minutes, and Jackson shouldn't be dropped off for a couple more hours, so why were Chad, Zeke, Sharpay and Taylor standing in his bedroom door.

"We were supposed to eat at Denver's this afternoon, remember?" Taylor said slowly. It seemed she was the only one capable of coherent speech. "We were supposed to meet in the lobby at 2:45. When you didn't come down, we came up."

Troy racked his brain, searching for the memory that he had been told of this, but he couldn't concentrate with a naked Gabi curled up next to him.

As he was thinking, Sharpay regained her voice and with it, let out a strange noise that was a mix between a growl, and shriek, and somewhat of a squeak. Zeke reached for Sharpay's arm, but she jerked it out of his grasp and pointed at Gabi.

"You," she spat, pointing now in the general direction of Gabi's room. "Now."

"Now, Pay, baby. Let's be reasonable," Zeke soothed, but his words fell on deaf ears.

"Gabriella Marie Montez, if you're ass isn't in that room in five minutes, so help me, I will…well, you don't even want to know," she growled and spun angrily on her heel, stalking back to the kitchen. Zeke and Taylor followed shortly, dragging a still-sputtering Chad behind them. Thankfully, their friends had thought to close the door.

"Gabi, babe, you better do what she says, I don't think anyone wants an angry Sharpay roaming loose," Troy said softly, reaching up to stroke her head.

"Troooooooy," she groaned, voice low.

"What? You ok?" he asked, sitting up, bringing her with him. She still clutched the blanket to her chest. He sighed and grabbed a towel from his floor, wrapping it around his waist. He went into his closet and emerged moments later with two pairs of sweatpants and a large t-shirt. Troy grabbed his boxers from the floor, putting them on under the towel before abandoning it all together and pulling on one of the pairs of sweatpants. He passed the other to articles of clothing to Gabriella, along with her bra and underwear, which he had grabbed from the floor. She slid them on under the covers, mumbling a thank you, and rose slowly.

Gabriella walked to Troy and reached up to place a peck on his lips before crossing through the bathroom. Just before she was out of view, she turned to him. "If you hear any screaming, call the police." And with that, she exited, dramatically closing the door behind her.

(WITH GABI)

Gabi sat nervously on her bed, playing with the hem of Troy's shirt. She didn't really want to know what Sharpay was going to do to her, but she was about to find out.

Sharpay burst through the door, angrily, it seemed, and glared at the small girl on the bed before taking a seat on the large window seat. Taylor made a more courteous entrance, closing the door softly behind her and sitting next to Gabi on the bed.

No one said anything for several minutes. All were trying to figure out what to say.

Surprisingly, it was Taylor who broke the silence. "Gabs, would you care to explain. We're...I'm not angry. I'm just curious and confused."

"Well, we did the interview, which was so great, by the way. The reporter was really nice and she totally respected our boundaries and stuff," Gabriella gushed, meaning to continue on this track, but the murderous look in Sharpay's eyes stopped her. "Anyways, what started it was when she left, Troy jokingly fell against me, so I shoved him back and he almost fell over. So I started laughing and he got moody and went into the kitchen for food, only there was none."

"I was still laughing, and I followed him, and all of a sudden, he was…holding me, I guess. Like, he spun around and grabbed me around the waist and pulled me to him. It was so weird. But then we kinda started making out, and one thing led to another, and…" she trailed off, glancing nervously at Shrapay, for good reason. The blonde looked like she about to murder someone.

"I'm going to kill Bolton," she ground out. Her hands were clenched in her fists, and she was getting s bit red.

"Why?" Taylor asked calmly, much too calm for the current situation. "What did he do?"

"He…did it with Gabi," she said, voice growing louder.

"What's wrong with that?" Taylor responded coolly. "They are adults, Shar. And they love each other. That's what adults who love each other do; they have sex."

"She's not ready!" Sharpay lost what little control she possessed. Her answer was so loud, Gabi was sure the guys could hear it. "They were apart for five years, and there's Jackson, and Troy totally seduced my Gabi into thinking that she was ready and…and…and…"

"Sharpay, hush! Gabi wants to say something." Gabi was staring at Sharpay with a mixture of love and horror on her face, with a small amount of comprehension.

"But I was ready," Gabriella said meekly. Sharpay scoffed, but let her continue. "Troy stopped. He wasn't going to go through with it because he thought I didn't want it. He asked me if I really was sure, if I would regret it when it was over. I told him that I was 100% sure. Guys, that interview was all I needed. It was my closure, my way of getting everything off my chest. That was what was holding me back from loving Troy with my whole heart. I'm good now."

"You're sure about this?" Taylor asked softly. "We support you no matter what, but we don't want to see you get hurt again."

"No, I swear I'm fine. Even if I were to get pregnant again, I'm confident in my position and Troy's."

"Wait, did you use protection during you little adventure?" Sharpay asked bluntly. Gabi flushed crimson and sputtered, but nodded. "Good. I would really kill Bolton if he hadn't thought of that. You really aren't ready for another baby, and I know this for a fact."

"Sharpay, now you're just looking for an excuse to kill Troy," Taylor said. Sharpay thought for moment, and nodded vigorously, a slightly malicious smile on her face.

"Yeah, pretty much," Sharpay said. Her tone was much happier, which in turn made Gabi happy. She knew Pay was just making sure she wasn't forced into it. Troy would never do that to her, but it was nice to know her friends were looking out for her. But now that Shar was convinced of the mutual consent of that afternoon, she was happy.

"So tell us, Gabs," Taylor asked coyly. "How was it?"

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(WITH TROY)

Troy waited in his room until he was sure Sharpay was with Gabi. He did not want to face her until Gabi explained. He was sure she would inflict bodily harm to him, which was something he did not want to risk.

Once he heard Gabi's door open loudly, he made a hasty exit, fleeing to the kitchen. He knew Chad and Zeke would be waiting for him there, but he really had no other option.

As soon as he stepped into the kitchen, Chad was in his face.

"Do you have any idea how much you've scarred me for life in the last 20 minutes!?" he cried, throwing up his arms in a most Chad-like way. "And I can't believe you would do that to Gabi!?"

"Do what?" Troy was thoroughly confused.

"You know what I mean! I mean, just a few months ago, she was gone, and then we found her, and…" Chad was rambling, and making some interesting hand motions. Troy looked at him, then at Zeke, who was also staring in a mixture of mirth and confusion at Chad. Troy decided to stop him before he got too into his long-winded explanation.

"Chad, stop," Troy said carefully. Chad closed his mouth. "Thank you. Zeke, would you please explain in regular English what Chad was trying to say?"

Chad opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by Zeke, who pushed a cookie into his hands. Chad immediately lost his train of thought and began eating his cookie, moving around the counter in what he thought was a genius defensive maneuver. It would have been extremely funny normally, but given the current situation, neither of the observers found humor in it.

"What Chad was trying to say, I think, is that you probably shouldn't have slept with Gabi, considering the time frame and such. Do you honestly think that after everything that has happened in the past few months, she was emotionally ready for that? I'm pretty sure that's what Sharpay is saying to Gabi right now too," Zeke said, gazing at Troy with an eerie calm on his face. As if on cue, all three of them suddenly heard a shriek from the other room, followed by 'She's not ready!'

"Ok, well, apparently you were right about the whole Sharpay thing. You know you're wife well, don't you Zeke?" Troy said, laughing softly at the expression on Zeke's face. "And to answer you're other question, yes, I do think she was ready."

"Would you care to explain how you came to that solution?" Zeke pressed, brow wrinkling as he tried to understand Troy's reasoning.

"Guys, I think you're misunderstanding everything," Troy said slowly, choosing his words as carefully as he could. He knew these people better than anyone and they all cared for Gabi nearly as much as he did, in a different way. His exact words would be reported to Sharpay and Taylor, and vice versa. "I love her, guys. Every time she cries, I want to cry. When she laughs, I can't help but laugh too. She is my weakness. If she wants something, no matter how outrageous, I can't keep myself from giving it to her. She wanted that. I wasn't going to do it; I didn't think she was ready. But the way she looked at me, the way she said what she said," he groaned and leaned on the counter, putting his head in his hands. "I can't not do it. I just can't. You guys have to know what that's like."

Neither Zeke nor Chad said anything, and Troy simply assumed it was them being stupid or shocked. But after a minute, he looked up, confused. They were staring in shock at the doorway. Turning, Troy immediately saw what had entranced them so. Sharpay was standing in the doorway, a thoughtful look on her face. She seemed to be considering something. She looked up and noticed Troy was looking at her too. She stared for a moment, then turned and walked back towards Gabi's room.

"Sharpay! Wait!" Troy called, about to go after her. She reappeared in the doorway. "Don't…say anything about what you heard to Gabriella, 'kay? I want to tell her myself, when I'm ready."

She nodded slowly and disappeared from the kitchen. Troy sighed and slumped into a chair. Zeke sat down next to him, and Chad sat across the island.

"Well, that was easier than I thought," Zeke said half-heartedly, attempting a joke. Troy responded with a weak smile.

"This has been way too stressful for me. I need a drink," Chad moaned. Zeke and Troy turned to stare at him with surprise. "What? I do!"

"Wow. After everything that's happened to me and he's the one that needs a drink," Troy said incredulously. Zeke shook his head and Chad Troy a thumbs-up and a cheesy smile. After a moment, they all burst out laughing. It shouldn't have been that funny, but given the current stress levels of all involved, they basically snapped.

They didn't even notice that the girls had entered the kitchen, or that they had filled up pots with water, until it came pouring down over their heads. Sputtering, the guys lurched of their seats, looking every which way to attempt to identify the source of the attack. Their eyes finally fell on their girls, who were laughing hysterically, holding pots that had water dripping out of them.

"What was that for? Now we don't have any clothes!" Chad exclaimed, holding his drenched shirt away from his equally-drenched body.

"Just the way we like it," Taylor said huskily, causing all the boys to stop what they were doing and stare with a mixture of disbelief and happiness at their lady loves. Gabriella, Sharpay, and Taylor put on their sexiest faces, popped provocative poses, and waved at the now slightly breathless men standing in the kitchen.

Chad leaned over to Zeke, who was standing next to him, and whispered none to quietly, "This is weird, dude!" Zeke nodded wordlessly.

"Brie, Tay, I think we better go. We have some errands to run, boys. We'll pick Jackson up on the way home. We're going out to dinner to make up for this missed lunch," Sharpay said, turning to walk back to Gabriella's room, since her purse was there. Gabi and Taylor turned with her and went to Gabi's room. Sharpay stopped and turned to toss one more comment at the dumbfounded basketball players. "Oh, and boys? You're dripping. Clean it up."

They just stood there for several minutes before they found their voices. The girls had already left, not before poking their heads back into the kitchen to find their men in the same position they had left them in.

"What…just happened?" Zeke said, looking unhappily down at his still dripping body.

"Dude, I don't know but I'm glad we keep clothes at each other's houses," Chad said, pulling his wet shirt off and wringing it over the sink. Zeke moved to do the same while Troy went to the bathroom and grabbed three towels. He tossed two to Chad and Zeke and used the third to dry off as much of himself as he could, before throwing the towel on the ground to soak up the puddle of water on the tile.

They quickly cleaned the kitchen, mopping up the water that was sprayed around the room. Troy then texted Gabriella to find out what kind of restaurant they were going to. He didn't want to be underdressed. Her response was to be semi-formal. After informing Chad and Zeke of this, they all retreated to various bathrooms to get ready. All of the couples had a room and necessities at one another's places. It was so common for them to crash randomly at someone's home other than their own that they finally just left stuff there.

As Troy relaxed under the warm spray of the shower, he let his mind drift back over recent events. It seemed that luck was finally back on his side. Basketball season was going great, his friends were all relatively content, he had his Brie back. Nothing could go wrong, right?

It took him 20 minutes to remember. Troy was brushing his teeth when it finally crossed his mind. He froze on the spot, staring with horror at his reflection.

'Shit!' he thought desperately. 'I never told my parents! Thank Gad for that two month vacation to Europe I sent them on right before this all happened! I'm sure this wouldn't be in the tabloids there.'

Quickly, he spat and finished getting ready, throwing on random clothes as he bolted to the kitchen. Zeke and Chad were already there. Troy grabbed his cell and hit speed-dial 4, ignoring the questioning looks his friends were shooting him.

"C'mon, pick up," he muttered, tapping his foot impatiently as he leaned against the island. Just as he was about to give up, his mom answered.

"Hello?" Lucille Bolton chirped. Troy breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Mom? It's Troy," he said. "How's Europe?"

"Oh, Troy, it's beautiful here!" she gushed. "It's too bad we fly back tomorrow. Your father and I will have to come back someday. Jack, Troy's on the phone."

Troy heard his father voice a muffled hello.

"Mom, put me on speaker," Troy said. "I need to ask you something."

There was a hint of concern in his voice, and it made Lucille go quiet. She mumbled something Troy couldn't understand to Jack before putting the phone on speaker.

"What did you want to tell us, dear?" Lucille asked quietly. It was clear from her tone that she was worried about her only son.

"Um, I don't really know how to say this, but a lot has…happened…since you guys left. I, uh…sort of found Gabi," he said slowly. Lucille drew in a sharp breath. She hadn't forgiven Gabriella for breaking her baby's heart. "Mom, its fine. We had a long talk, and there's a lot that you need to know, but I…no, we need to tell you in person. She has a good reason for doing what she did."

There was a long pause on the other end. Jack was most likely relaxed. He always said Gabi had a good head on her shoulders, and his was the voice of reason when she left. He had been telling Troy and Lucille for years that there was probably a completely legitimate reason for what she had done. Neither of them had ever really listened to him, but Troy knew now how right his father really was.

Finally, she sighed. "If you say so, Troy. I'll give her a chance to explain."

"Thank you." Troy let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding. "We'll have dinner tomorrow night after you guys fly in. I'll call you with more details later. Oh, one more thing. I need you guys to avoid all the gossips magazines and stuff until me and Gabriella explain everything to you."

"Ok, but why?" Lucille agreed.

"Well, the press basically got wind of what happened and starting spreading lies, so Gabi and I had to do some damage control. I don't want you guys finding out about it that way."

"Alright, sweetie, we'll avoid the tabloids until our dinner," Lucille said. She was confused as to why she hadn't been told of what happened before the press, but she knew her son probably didn't want to worry her on her vacation.

"Thanks Mom," Troy said. "This means a lot to both of us."

"…Of course." It was clear that Lucille wasn't buying that Troy had forgiven Gabriella completely, but she would figure it out soon. "We'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Son," Jack spoke up. He knew how much Lucille disliked Gabi these days, but she would get over it. "I'm glad you have Gabs back. She's good for you."

"Thanks Dad," Troy said. "Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow. Love you."

"Love you," the chorused before hanging up. Troy let out a sigh of relief and let his head roll back, closing his eyes.

"What was that about?" Chad asked. Troy regretfully opened his eyes. He had almost forgotten about them.

"I never told my parents that Gabi was back. I didn't want them to see the stories before we explained everything," Troy explained wearily. Glancing at his watch, he jumped. "Damn! We have to leave in 15. Be ready."

And with that, he ran back to his room to finish getting ready.