Yup i'm posting another chapter this week! There is actually a reason for this, which i will get into explaining at the end authors note. Besides with how long i keep you guys waiting sometimes i know better than to stall at the beginning here. So enjoy a chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical.


Chapter Twenty-Nine

It was the first week in October and it already looked like it was going to be a busy month. Aside from getting ready for Halloween there was also Eddie's party to think about, which also meant costumes were in order. Taylor was looking at baby things to buy for her sister and trying to figure out where a good place and time would be to have a baby shower. One of Chad's nephew's birthdays was in October so he and his parents had to call Bethany and probe her for gift suggestions and see when they could make it to celebrate his birthday. Then it was also a matter of what to get Mrs. Danforth for her birthday, not to mention to decide on a cake to sneak into the house. That woman sure loved cake. Chad still had to work out with his parents when he and Taylor could take a weekend to visit Troy and Gabriella. But probably the biggest deal in October was Chad and Taylor's anniversary.

October was a significant month for them. In freshman year of college, it was around Halloween when they broke up. Chad attempted to erase that day, not to mention the circumstances of the breakup, from his mind. But one year later, when Taylor started at UNM, was when they got back together. Chad remembered that perfectly. It was pretty easy to figure out that they had a couple of classes together, but the problem at that point was trying to get Taylor to talk to him. She'd ended up joining him for lunch one day, only because there were no other tables left in the dining hall at that time. Well, there were two; one was broken and the other was covered in sticky food and garbage. But that was beside the point. They had ended up meeting a few more times for lunch, when it was convenient for Taylor. Chad never complained one bit. He was grateful at any time to see her. Then one day when class ended Chad was staring at a paper he got back; he'd gotten a really bad grade on it. And he already received a message from that professor saying he was falling behind in class. If he didn't pass the midterm then there was a good chance he'd fail the class for the semester. It was a harsh, annoying, confusing professor; Chad hated him. Luckily Taylor had noticed something was wrong and offered to help him. She met with Chad during their breaks between classes and even after classes to re-teach him the material. Chad didn't want to admit how much he cherished that time with Taylor. He was afraid if he'd said anything about his feelings, he would lose her again.

Then, the night before the midterm, Chad and Taylor pulled an all-nighter trying to study for it. The lack of sleep finally got to Chad around four a.m., when he ended up accidentally kissing Taylor. But even in that sleep-deprived state Chad realized he screwed up and left instantly. He could barely focus on the midterm that day. It got to the point after the test when Chad actually tried to avoid Taylor. He'd been so scared of losing her again that he thought if she couldn't see him then she couldn't say anything to him. They couldn't risk anything that way. But October 10th was when everything changed. Chad skipped class that day and Taylor ended up bringing him his exam. He got a B+. Which was pretty damn good, considering how distracted he'd been during the test. And he had Taylor to thank for everything. As scared as he'd been to do anything, Taylor was the one that hugged him and said how proud of him she was. It was in that moment that Chad realized if he didn't say anything then, he'd risk being awkward around her forever. He thanked her but also apologized for kissing her and admitted that he didn't want to let her go. Chad was never one for school, but studying with her was the thing he always looked most forward to. If it had meant spending time with Taylor, then Chad would do anything to have that time. And then Taylor kissed him. And it was in that moment that Chad realized he was with the one. He missed her so much and he felt so lost and confused without her. But when he held her and kissed her, nothing else mattered. It felt like everything was perfect. Chad may not have dated a lot of girls before Taylor, but even he was smart enough to know when he was with someone special. He didn't even ask her out on a date after that; he just jumped right to the girlfriend part. They'd been together since.

October 10th of this year would mark their three-year anniversary. It was a pretty big deal; Chad wasn't sure how many dating couples made it that far anymore. He wanted to make it special. But he couldn't afford a super nice dinner. He couldn't take her out on a magical, romantic night. He couldn't do something like take her mini golfing, to a movie, dinner and then a carriage ride or something. He didn't want to do something lame like a picnic in the park. And he certainly couldn't do the thing he wanted to do most.

Chad had a pretty good idea of what romantic things were and he knew Taylor liked that sometimes. But sometimes he did need help. He needed that help when he asked her to prom, when he knew he said the wrong thing but didn't know what kind of big, romantic-y type gesture to make. That was when Chad turned to Troy for help. Troy knew about these kinds of things. He could come up with ideas like sneaking a swim or picnicking on a golf course or surrounding his girlfriend – or, rather now fiancé – with a bunch of flowers and dancing with her. Chad had no idea how his friend could come up with things like that on a regular basis. Chad was lucky if he could pull that out of his butt once every other month. But Chad knew that if anyone could help him plan a special anniversary, it was Troy. He texted his friend and asked when he could Skype chat. So Chad had to patiently wait until shortly before dinner; that would be when Troy was done with work and would get back to his apartment.

"Hey man. How's it going?" Troy waved through the computer screen.

"Dude, you have no idea how much is going on here," Chad shook his head.

"Your text sounded pretty urgent. What's up?" Troy wondered.

Chad knew this was going to sound lame when he told Troy. Maybe somehow he was making too big a deal out of his, but he always wanted to please and impress his girlfriend and to do that he needed help. "I need help," he admitted. "Me and Taylor's anniversary is next week and I've got nothing."

Troy couldn't help but chuckle. "Dude, it's prom all over again. Do you really need me to come to your rescue?"

"Not my rescue. It's not like she's mad at me this week or anything," Chad said which got Troy laughing. He stared at Troy and his friend cleared his throat.

"Sorry. You were saying?"

"Dude, how long is three years?" Chad asked. "Like for two people being together?"

"I'd say that's a long time," Troy answered.

"Exactly. So I wanna do something really nice this year," Chad said.

"What'd you do last year?" he wondered.

"We drove out to Chastity's to housesit for her for a weekend. We baked a cake, ordered pizza, and we watched three of Tay's favorite movies," he answered.

Troy chuckled. "Didn't you do anything you like?"

"Well the year before that, our first year back together, I took her bowling and to the batting cages. Then we showered and went out to a nice dinner," Chad said.

"So maybe this year do something you both like," Troy suggested.

"It's not like we can really go out anywhere," Chad said.

"What about finally popping the question?" he wondered.

"With what money?" Chad scoffed.

"Well…how much do you have saved up?" Troy asked.

Chad thought for a minute. Most of his money was in his saving's account. A little bit of it was leftover graduation money, but the rest he had miraculously saved from Lava Springs. "200. Maybe."

"It could be worse," Troy said attempting to look on the bright side.

"Yeah but how much do rings go for?" Chad asked. "I don't wanna spend like 100 bucks or something on one. I want it to be nice. I can't afford nice right now."

"Then maybe you should tone down the marriage talk a little," he suggested. "Taylor will wait, but it's not gonna be worth getting her hopes up that it'll happen sooner rather than later."

Chad rubbed his forehead. "I can't keep living like this, Hoops. Just…I dunno, talk me through a plan. A cheap, romantic plan."

Troy scrunched his nose. "I'm not a miracle worker."

"Dude." Chad really didn't want to beg. But if he had to resort to it then he would.

Troy sighed. "If you want a cheap but nice enough dinner, go to someplace like Applebee's. Then maybe walk her around the mall, go to stores you like and take some crazy pictures and then share a dessert."

Chad shook his head. "That's so high school."

"Hey, you wanted cheap," Troy said.

"Next," Chad decided.

Troy thought for a minute. "How about a nice long drive around town? And then take her to the park?"

"Driving means gas and gas costs money. I can't throw that out the window," Chad shook his head. "Hate to break it to you, man, but the park's a little old. And we met up there enough times. I don't think it's really anniversary material."

"Got it," Troy snapped his fingers. "Classic Doctor Who. Have a whole marathon of classic episodes. Get a house to yourselves, try to cook something nice for her, eat some popcorn, and you got a bedroom right there."

"Seriously?" Chad raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, you're a strong guy. It's not that hard to carry someone up the stairs if they fall asleep on you and that's not what you thought I meant was it?" Troy realized midsentence.

Chad shook his head.

Troy shuddered. "Never mind."

Chad would have liked to take the opportunity to ask Troy if he and Gabriella had done anything. It'd get the topic off of him seeming like a useless boyfriend and it could put the attention on Troy. But Chad just wasn't in the mood to. And he needed help. Unfortunately he just didn't like any of Troy's ideas. They were good plans, but they didn't seem like Chad and Taylor plans. They seemed kind of old school. Were Chad and Troy really that out of touch with each other, or was Chad just that helpless in the money department that only Troy's suggestions were the ones that would work out?

"What am I doing, Hoops?" Chad finally asked, feeling defeated.

Troy smiled lightly. It was either an honest thing or just an attempt to help his friend feel better. "You're trying to impress someone who doesn't need to be impressed. Maybe Taylor really does like romantic stuff once in a while, but I'm sure even if you come up with the simplest thing she'll be happy. And at least if all else fails, everyone loves getting presents."

Luckily a present was the one thing Chad already had figured out. He had a few different ideas, but he was pretty sure what he came up with was a winner.

"You did get her a present…. Right?" Troy asked hopefully.

"Yeah man, I actually got her a present," Chad nodded.

"Details?" Troy inquired.

Chad really didn't want to give away anything. It was kind of a surprise and he wasn't sure if Troy would get it. It was something kind of related to Chad and Taylor's early days in high school together. It was special. He knew Taylor would love it.

"It's something different. I spent some time working on it in between applications," Chad answered. "It actually kept me distracted from everything for a while."

"So you made something?" Troy guessed.

"Kind of, I guess," he admitted. "It's hiding right now. I'll send you a picture of it before I wrap it."

"Look at it this way," Troy suggested, "if you spent a lot of time making a perfect present then maybe you're not as bad with this stuff as you think."

Chad smiled. "Thanks man."

"Chad! Can you come down here?" he heard his mother call.

"Be right there," Chad responded. He turned back to Troy, "I guess it's dinner time."

"Good luck with the plans," Troy said. "Keep in touch. But I'll definitely see you at Thanksgiving."

"Awesome. And Christmas?" Chad asked.

"Depends," Troy answered. "Oh, and expect a wedding invitation to come soon. I think Gabriella's mom is also thinking about a bachelorette party so she might be in touch with Taylor about that."

"Then I'll figure out your party when it happens," Chad said.

"Cool," Troy nodded. "Talk to you soon."

"Later Hoops." Chad turned off his computer screen and then went downstairs. The kitchen table was set for dinner and his parents were sitting there but there was no food. "I thought it was time for dinner? I just had to end my call with Troy."

"I'm sorry sweetie, but we need to talk to you," Mrs. Danforth said.

Chad groaned and took his seat. "What'd I do this time?"

Mr. Danforth was about to open his mouth when his wife stopped him. "You didn't do anything. But your father has something to say." Mrs. Danforth looked to her husband and he sighed.

"Son, I'm sorry about the way I reacted to you wanting to go to grad school," he apologized. "I'm just trying to think about what's best for your future and right now, moneywise, that isn't it."

So that's what this was about. They were bringing up the grad school topic again. Chad still hated the fact that Cassie had to help him through that and actually argue with his father about that. She didn't talk to him about it, but his mother gave him the briefing on how the conversation went: Mr. Danforth was holding his ground and if Cassie didn't have to leave then she probably would have kept fighting. It was pretty sad that Mr. Danforth would even argue over a pregnant woman about something and not give in.

"Dad it's fine. I'm not going to grad school," Chad sighed. "We don't need to talk about it anymore."

"No we don't. But your mother and I did come to an agreement," Mr. Danforth said.

Chad raised an eyebrow.

"She's convinced that more school would be good for you and we can afford something. I stand by what I said. But we were able to compromise," he explained. "If you want to look at a class or two offered in January at U of A or if you can somehow find something to take during the spring semester, depending on the price, we will put out the money for it."

"You can still do what you've been doing, you can still see Taylor," Mrs. Danforth promised. "But you will have to continue looking for a job. If you can pay us back for anything related to the class at any point after you start working, whether it's for a book or half the price of the class, we'd really appreciate it. We just ask that you keep up the job hunt and help around the house."

It sucked that things pretty much had to stay the same for Chad. He wasn't sure how much one or two classes would help compared to a second degree, but maybe there was something he could do. If there was some kind of teaching or sporty class or something with kids that could work great. And if Chad ended up working with kids he would need to get CPR-certified so some class like that would probably help, too. And if it was as close as he was going to get, then he wasn't going to complain. If he was getting the ok from both of his parents to do something, then it had to be a sign of something good.

"Thank you," Chad said with a smile. "It sounds great."

"It better," Mr. Danforth mumbled earning a nudge from his wife.

"Go call Taylor and tell her the good news. Let Cassie know, too, and see if she has any suggestions," Mrs. Danforth said.

"Thanks Mom," Chad smiled. He got up from the table and headed back upstairs.

Suddenly everything seemed to fall into place for real. Even anniversary plans. Chad wasn't sure how it happened, but he was pretty sure he knew what to do now.


So as far as this chapter goes i know it's not one of the longer ones. But considering we saw how Chad can be at coming up with ideas (cough cough prom cough) it seemed accurate that he'd ask Troy for help. And while Chad asking Taylor to prom was one of my favorite HSM moments i do think it showed that Chad relied on Troy too much for help. So i wanted this chapter to kinda be a stepping stone to show that while Chad does need advice, he doesn't need Troy's help for every romantic type thing. And it only seemed fair that there be a conclusiony type thing to Chad's potential grad school drama, so when i ran out of things that Chad and Troy could say in their conversation this seemed like a good place for it. Now onto the reason why i decided to post this chapter today. You guys know i have this story going as well as 16 and Pregnant, plus a few other stories up i haven't touched in what feels like forever. Plus, i'm debating about a sequel for this story depending on how far it goes and i also have plans for a future fic. But now i'm writing all these ideas i have for ANOTHER future fic (thank you, Girl Meets World, for putting the idea in my head in the first place!) and when i sit around and daydream or try to think about what to add to this chapter i find myself thinking about what the characters in the future fic would do. So i'm really hoping that having this chapter up, seeing you guys' reviews and having the actual document open will inspire me to write SOMETHING here. i wish i could say i'd watch at least one of the HSM movies for inspiration but with the way my part time job is going (not to mention the hours have me working during lunch times meaning i essentially skip lunch) doesn't exactly help. Cause let's be honest, if i work 11 to 3 or 4 or something, the first thing i wanna do when i get home is eat. Heck even if i work a morning and get home at a reasonable time for lunch, after i eat all i wanna do is watch TV or play Pokémon. Doesn't exactly help with inspiration or writing or anything like that. :/ Any way here's hoping i can start another chapter and not inconsistently keep you guys waiting on the story. Also here's hoping to a good week! xD