Author's Note: We're getting close to the end.....thanks for reading and all the kind reviews I've received. I appreciate it!!!

Chapter Twenty

Gabriella was on the phone with Sharpay and Taylor. It was their bi-weekly conference call. Gabriella couldn't believe that three months had passed since the weekend of the reunion. It was also three months since she had last spoken to Troy. She had kept up her end of the bargain and had not give in to calling him, texting him, or emailing him. She had made a promise and she was sticking to it.

"So, Gabriella, how is everything going in Boston?" Taylor asked.

"Things are going well. My work load has increased immensely now that it's the middle of summer." Gabriella replied.

"Have you even had time to find some fun?" Sharpay asked.

Gabriella laughed. "I wish." She said. "But from time-to-time, I've gone out for drinks with some co-workers and Eric."

"So you and Eric really are friends now?" Taylor inquired.

"Surprisingly, we are. And I'm relieved that it doesn't feel awkward to hang out with him. I'm glad we're still talking. He recently started dating someone and he seems pretty excited about it."

"Doesn't that feel weird though?" Sharpay asked.

"No, not really. As much as I cared about Eric, I knew I could never give him what he wanted. So I'm glad he's found someone who possibly can."

"Speaking of exes," Taylor interjected, "Are you talking to Troy yet?"

Gabriella felt sad as she thought about it. "No, I haven't spoken to him since I left Albuquerque. I'm just trying to move on from Troy for now. We both need the time away from each other."

"But Gabs," Sharpay said, "isn't eight years and three months enough time? I mean, the whole thing with Julia was a lie. We told you about that as soon as we found out. We didn't want to interfere then, but now that it's three months later, you have to give the poor guy a call or something at least."

"Yes," Taylor suggested. "Sweetie, that man is miserable in Albuquerque. He just wants to hear from you. Can't you just text him at least? Tell him you're okay, that you miss him?"

Gabriella was quiet as she thought about what her friends were saying. "I don't know, guys. I've just gotten used to not thinking about him. I'm trying to move on."

"What?" Sharpay exclaimed. "Gabriella, we know you. For the last few months, we can hear it in your voice how much you miss him. You can tell yourself you're moving on, but you're not. You and Troy belong together."

"Yes you do." Taylor interjected. "Even after all the drama that happened at the reunion and with Julia, you know you belong together. Troy hasn't given up hope, how can you?"

Gabriella sighed, "Because I just have to move on, okay? Despite the sweet things that happened at the reunion, it doesn't change the horrible things that also happened. We said some things to each other that we shouldn't have said. I really need a break from all of it, okay?"

"But Gabs," Sharpay told her. "You can't be mad forever. Troy Bolton loves you and he wants to be with you. Don't you love him?"

"Of course I do, I always will," Gabriella started, "but things happen for a reason. Maybe it's better this way."

Taylor snorted. "What's better this way? That you both are miserable for the rest of your lives? Gabi, we love you and all, but we have to say this – you're being stupid."

Gabriella gasped. "What's that suppose to mean?" She wasn't sure if she should be concerned or angry.

"Just that you're being stupid about the whole Troy situation. You both love each other and it's obvious you belong together, but you're preventing it from happening just because you're scared." Sharpay offered. "It's just that you and Troy don't realize how lucky you are. Lots of people spend years looking for their soul mate and yours is readily available and waiting for you and you won't even consider it."

Gabriella sighed. "Alright, enough already. Can we just talk about something else?"

"Gabs, just don't give up on you and Troy, okay?" Sharpay asked her.

"Fine, I'll think about it. Sound fair?" Gabriella told them.

"Good enough for me." Taylor said.

"Me too." Sharpay replied.

"Now seriously, what's been going on with you both? Taylor, how's Chad?" Gabriella asked.

"Well, Chad and I are dating exclusively. We'll be doing the long distance thing, but it's worth it. I'll be heading out to L.A. in a month or so."

"That's great news, Tay!" Sharpay exclaimed. "While you're in L.A., you better come visit me and Zeke."

"Of course, I will. Anyway, besides Chad, I'm enjoying my new role as an editor for Ms. Magazine. I love it!"

"Congrats Taylor!" Gabriella said. "I know how excited you were when you told us about switching jobs. I'm glad everything is working out. Sharpay, what's going on with you and Zeke?"

"Well, I still have my talk show which is great. But the most amazing thing happened the other day, I've been asked to launch my own line of cosmetics. Isn't it fabulous?" Sharpay exclaimed.

"That's wonderful." Taylor offered.

"It really is great, Shar," Gabriella said. "When do you start working on it?"

"I meet with the cosmetics team next week. I'm so excited. Anyway, enough about me, wait till I tell you about Zeke's new gig?"

"What?" Gabriella asked.

"Zeke's been asked by the producers of Top Chef to be a guest judge on an episode devoted to desserts. Isn't that wonderful?"

"I love that show." Taylor and Gabriella said at the same time. This erupted laughter between the trio. "When does his episode appear?" Gabriella asked.

"It'll be later in the fall." Sharpay said.

"We promise not to miss it." Taylor told her.

"So," Gabriella started. "How is everyone else doing?"

"Well, Kelsi and Ryan are really having fun with their pregnancy. Kelsi's getting so big! She's already seven months. I can't wait for the baby to be here." Sharpay exclaimed.

"Do they know if it's a boy or a girl?" Taylor asked.

"They want it to be a surprise, so I've been buying a bunch of neutral colored things for the baby. I've decided white is a great color for babies." Sharpay joked.

Gabriella started laughing. "I'm going up to Manhattan for their baby shower in a few weeks. I can't wait to see them."

"Alright, Gabs, you and I are going out on the town when I'm there, too!" Sharpay said.

"Aww, I wish I could make it to the shower, but because I'm going to L.A., I can only take so much time off. No fair, you'll have fun without me." Taylor told them.

"Not as much fun if you're not there with us," Gabriella lamented. "Anyway, we do need to have our little own girls weekend sometime. I could sure use it."

"Well, Gabs, it's a good thing you mentioned that." Sharpay said.

"What do you mean?" Gabriella asked.

"Taylor and I were talking the other day and we were going to surprise you with a visit this weekend, but we might as well let you know right now." Sharpay teased.

"You're both going to be in Boston? Oh my God! That's great news!" Gabriella shouted into the phone.

"Ouch Gabi," Taylor teased. "Excited much?"

Gabriella laughed. "It's just that I've missed you both so much and I'm glad we'll be together soon. We'll do dinner, go shopping, get pampered, and so much more. When are you getting in?"

"Well, instead of flying, I'll be taking the train up, so I'll get into Boston at about 5:30 Friday night." Taylor said.

"And my plane gets in at about 4:30." Sharpay replied.

"I'll come pick you both up." Gabriella said. "I'll leave work early, swing by the airport to get Shar, and then we'll come by for you, Tay."

"Sounds like a plan!" Sharpay agreed.

Then Gabriella groaned as she looked at her calendar. "Why is it only Tuesday? Friday seems so long away."

Her friends giggled at her reaction. "Before you know it, we'll be together." Taylor told her.

"Alright, I better get going since it's almost 10:30 and I need to get some sleep. Good night ladies!" Gabriella said.

"Good night!" Sharpay called out.

"Good night!" Taylor repeated.

Gabriella smiled as she closed her cell phone. She couldn't wait for the weekend to come. It was exactly what she needed. She missed her best friends and couldn't wait to hang out with them. A girls weekend would definitely keep her distracted enough to stop thinking about Troy Bolton.

Troy sat in the chair adjusting his carry-on bag. He looked at the ticket in his hand. In about five hours, he would be in Boston. He couldn't wait. He hadn't been to Boston since he left the Celtics a few years ago. He just hoped that Gabriella would be happy to see him. He felt a rush of excitement thinking about seeing her for the first time in three months.

He would get into Boston by 11:30 pm, so it would be too late to do anything that night. He just hoped that Taylor and Sharpay kept up their end of the bargain. The plan would only work if they kept to the devised schedule the three of them planned. He was going to win Gabriella back and he felt confident this weekend was the one. On Saturday, while the girls took Gabriella out shopping and to lunch. Troy was going to go to Gabriella's apartment and she would come back to find him waiting for her. He would ask her to be with him again and voila, they would live happily ever after. Troy just hoped that the plan went the way he wanted it to; otherwise, he would feel like a fool.

He was sad that so much time had gone by without hearing from Gabriella, but Taylor and Sharpay had insisted that she still loved him and missed him. Gabriella was just going through a phase. He had missed Gabriella like crazy over the last three months. It pained him that she hadn't returned any of his calls, text messages, or emails. But Taylor had told him, she just needed time and not to take it personal. Troy did his best not to care, but it wounded his ego.

He knew that by now she had already learned that Julia was never pregnant. He had hoped that Gabriella would have called him about it. Thinking about Julia made Troy angry. He couldn't believe the nerve of her. For the rest of the school year, Troy ignored Julia and only talked to her if it related to matters of East High. Otherwise, he made it clear that he didn't value her as a friend. At the end of the school year, Julia put in a transfer to another school in the district.

Troy spent the rest of the school year being busy with basketball practice, hanging out with Jason and Martha and their kids, and playing with a Siberian husky named Huck that he adopted from the local Humane Society. Huck was a wonderful companion and they had bonded immediately. He liked having Huck around. It made life a little less mundane.

Now that is was summer, Troy went into the school from time-to-time to set up his syllabi for the next school year; otherwise he went out to Lava Springs and played golf. One of the perks of being a teacher was having three months off. He loved it. If he could have, he would've gone to Boston once school was out and spend all his free time with Gabriella. Troy smiled as he thought about seeing Gabriella and got in line to board his plane. Soon enough, he thought.

Gabriella couldn't remember the last time she had this much fun with Taylor and Sharpay. When they got in the night before, they had gone out to Dali, one of Gabriella's favorite restaurants. They had ordered sangria and lots of tapas. They had eaten a little bit of everything. After dinner, they had walked to a little bar and had some more drinks. Luckily they had all gotten back to Gabriella's apartment by 1:00 am and fell asleep immediately.

That morning when they woke up, Gabriella had made them all breakfast. They left her apartment at about 10:30 to do some shopping. They were new walking down Newberry Street checking out all the posh little boutiques. Gabriella loved walking down the street and seeing all the cute shops. They had browsed through the racks at Betsey Johnson, French Connection, Chanel, Diesel, and Marc Jacobs. Gabriella bought some new heels at Marc Jacobs, Taylor had bought a couple of pairs of dress pants from French Connection, and Sharpay grabbed a little bit of everything from everywhere.

Sharpay checked her watch and saw that it was 1:00 pm. She looked at Taylor and winked. They had about a couple of hours before they were supposed to get Gabriella back to the apartment for her little surprise. "Hey, let's grab some lunch. I saw a sushi place down the street. Are you all okay with that?"

Gabriella nodded, "After the shopping excursion we just had, sushi would be excellent."

Laden with their shopping bags, the friends made their way to the restaurant. The lunch crowd had died down now that it was after 1:00 pm. They were seated at a booth and the waitress took their drink order. Gabriella ordered some hot tea for the whole table and some waters.

As they browsed at their menus, Gabriella was trying to decide what she wanted to eat. The bento boxes were always a good choice. It came with a variety of food. "What are you thinking about getting?" She asked them.

Taylor closed her menu. "I'm getting bento box A – chicken teriyaki, with tempura, and sashimi. You?"

Sharpay wrinkled her nose. "I'm going to get the seafood steamer basket. It sounds delish. Gabs?"

"I love the salmon teriyaki, so I'll get that." The waitress came back and took their food order. Gabriella took a sip of her tea and smiled at her friends. After the waitress left to put their order in, Gabriella looked at her best friends and smiled. "I'm so glad that you're both in Boston."

"We are, too, Gabs. Thanks for hosting us!" Sharpay said.

"Anytime. I'm just glad to get visitors. As much as I love my life out here, it can get lonely from time-to-time. I have some good friends out here, but I just feel so comfortable being with you both." Gabriella smiled at them.

"I feel the same way back in L.A." Sharpay told her.

"Same here." Taylor said.

"I wish we could all live in the same place so that we could see each other anytime we want. I'm just glad that we've kept touch over the years." Gabriella said. She noticed Sharpay was looking at her watch. They just placed their order a few minutes ago, she knew the food would be out very soon. Sharpay must be really hungry, Gabriella thought.

"Where would we all want to live if we had to pick the same place?" Taylor asked.

Gabriella thought for a bit. "Hmmmm. Maybe I would consider moving back to Albuquerque in my old age or something. It really is beautiful there and I always considered it 'home' after all the times I've moved around."

Sharpay raised her eyebrow at Gabriella. "Oh really? Of all places, you'd pick Albuquerque. Interesting."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Just because I pick Albuquerque does not mean it has anything to do with Troy Bolton." But even Gabriella knew that was a lie as she said it out loud. She would always love Albuquerque because it was the first place that she felt like she belonged and called home and most importantly, it was the first place she had fallen in love.

Sharpay raised her hands in the air and shrugged, "I never said anything about Troy Bolton." She said in a serious voice, trying not to smile.

Taylor laughed. "That's right, Gabi, no one ever mentioned Troy. In fact, didn't you tell us we weren't going to talk about him this weekend? And here you are mentioning him."

Gabriella could feel her face getting red. She shook her head at her friends, "You two are relentless, you know that? Alright, as of right now there will no more mention of Troy. Agreed?"

Her friends agreed just as the waitress brought out their food. As they started eating, Gabriella was content as the conversation died down as they concentrated on their food. She noticed Sharpay check her watch again. "Shar, why do you keep looking at the time?"

"I, uh, I told Zeke I'd call him at 3:00. I was just making sure we were making good time. And see, we are. It's only 2:10 right now." Sharpay flashed her watch at Gabriella. Gabriella looked at her friend with curiosity. Something was up because Sharpay went back to eating and concentrated on her steamer basket like it was her last meal, obviously avoiding her gaze.

Gabriella just smiled and went back to her food. They ate and talked a little bit more. As they paid their bill, the girls walked out of the restaurant and tried to decide what the best way to get back to Gabriella's apartment was. Gabriella had suggested they continue shopping, but Taylor said she was exhausted and wouldn't mind taking a nap before their evening activities. Gabriella agreed and the friends decided to take a cab back to Gabriella's.

By the time they got back to the apartment building, Sharpay saw that it was close to 2:55. Perfect timing, she thought. They greeted Luther as he held the door open for them. The elevator took them to the fifth floor. Gabriella led the way to her apartment door. She was just about to put her keys in when Sharpay exclaimed, "Taylor and I need coffee, ASAP."

Gabriella turned to her friends and said "What? I have a coffee machine, I can make you some."

Taylor said in a louder voice, "No, it's okay. We saw a Peet's Coffee down the street. We'll get some there."

Gabriella laughed. "Taylor, I'm right here. No need to shout. Anyway, I'll just go with you. Let's just drop our shopping bags inside."

"No," Sharpay exclaimed. "We'll bring you back something. Here take our bags and put them in the guestroom." Gabriella felt her arms sag as Taylor and Sharpay dumped their shopping bags on her. They walked down the hall to the elevator and once they were out of sight, they peeked around the corner just in time to see Gabriella put the key in and opened the door. Sharpay and Taylor silently screamed and squeezed their hands together.

Gabriella walked into her apartment and gasped. Her living room was literally filled with colorful blooms of hydrangeas and lilies, her two favorite flowers in the world. The hydrangeas were in shades of blue, purples, and pink. The lilies were white and yellow. It was gorgeous. She felt like she was in her very own secret garden. How did these get in here? Before Gabriella could ponder some more, a figure walked out of the kitchen and into her living room. Gabriella gasped as she looked at Troy Bolton standing a few yards away from her.