We Love Pretending

Chapter 36 - Moving On.

"And what are you planning on doing now?"

The room was deathly silent, with hardly anyone breathing. But it wasn't as unusual as it had started out to be. When they had first entered, it had been unnerving. But now it was simple; now not so hard to ignore. Every single person was sitting on the edge of their seats, waiting for either Troy or Gabriella to answer the question. They'd been doing that for hours too. Nobody could settle; the pair at the front of the room couldn't either. One word from them and everything could fall through. One word from them and everything could go right. And every single word they uttered was being written down. All eyes were glued to the pair, shifting around, trying desperately to look like they were fine.

There was at least 500 people in this room, including them. All from various papers, some with cameras. It was just slightly larger than the group that had been following them around for the last 4 weeks, after their confrontation with Charlie. The old sound heard was the occasional click of a camera, or scribble of a pen to paper, and every time she heard something, Gabriella tensed. She looked around the room with a straight face; any show of emotion would be noted, and so far she'd managed not to cry. That could be down to the circles Troy was drawing on her palm, resting in his lap.

Gabriella looked to Troy, asking him silently to answer this question. He nodded, smiling slightly, and then raked a hand through his messy, untamed caramel locks. He grasped her hand tightly, for reassurance, and she squeezed. "What do we do now?' He asked himself, thinking deeply. 'We carry on, just like everyone else does. We go on through life, taking one day as it comes. Of course, the movie is still on schedule, so shortly we'll be filming."

"The movie is still going ahead?" A balding man's face dropped, and he suddenly looked like a fish. Gabriella wanted to giggle, but retained her laughter by answering his question.

She nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yes. Of course. We're really looking forward to it; getting back to work and doing what we love, you know. It'll be exciting. We weren't going to let this stop us from making the movie. The blockbuster of the year is still rolling."

The were a few fits of laughter: something that made Gabriella beam. Troy looked to his side, taking in the sight of his beautiful girlfriend smiling. She glowed, and he couldn't be more thankful that the last month was behind them. After this conference, they could really move on. Start again, and be happy.

"There were a few rumours that a certain ex-girlfriend of yours, troy, would be taking a short roll in the film. Will that still be going ahead?" A black girl at the back of the room shouted forward, and all at once the tense, silent atmosphere was back.

And image of Charlie shot into Troy's head, and he wanted to shove it away again. He'd learnt to control his anger when thinking of… that particular person. But he still felt saddened by the fact that she did what she did. Getting back to the question, Troy shook his head.

"Charlie in the movie? That was never, ever on the cards. Whoever you heard that from, was completely wrong. Absolutely wrong. She was never invited to have a part in the movie, nor would we want her in it if she was now. So no, she won't be in the movie."

Gabriella breathed a sigh of relief at her boyfriends words. It still hurt her, like a stabbing pain in her heart and soul, when Charlie's name was mentioned. She, too, had learned to control what she felt. So the water works did start up once more. Things were really starting to look up. Things were getting better.

"And as for your relationship. What are you, exactly? There were rumours that you are actually dating, but are those true?"

Gabriella glanced down at their entwined fingers, and then up to his dancing eyes. He smiled, urging her on. She sighed, they'd have to do this sometime. Everyone waited for the answer, all eyes on Gabriella's lips. "Eh,… before, we were really good friends. But now… yeah, we're together for real."

A few 'aww's circulated the room, and Troy smiled, blushing slightly. He brought their hands up to his lips, kissing her knuckles gently. Something that didn't go unnoticed by the photographers, who eagerly snapped away.

Troy looked to the side of the room, just in front of the curtain hanging behind them. Leaning against the wall were their two faithful publicists. They smiled at the couple, and Troy nodded, signalling that they were coming to an end. One walked onto the stage.

She gestured to the audience. "Is that the end of the questions?"

Some people nodded, others keeping silent. It had been a long few hours, answering all their questions; letting them have a glimpse of the life they both led. But now it was time for it to end; to close the door on their personal life, and lock it away.

Grasping hands, Troy and Gabriella stood up from their seats, each loving the feeling of being able to get away from here.

"WAIT!"

Everyone swivelled around in their chairs, and Troy and Gabriella stood still, looking around the room for the person who just shouted. Around the covers of the curtains, body guards got ready to fight just in case the intruder was going to pounce. Some tutted, saying it wasn't appropriate behaviour for a conference.

Troy looked around. "Yes?" He asked slowly, his eyes taking in the area, bringing Gabriella closer in case of danger. He eyed the crowd suspiciously.

"I have a question." Someone called from the back of the room, a scared and intimated tone taking their voice.

Everyone turned to look at the person. She was quite tall, with shaded glasses perched on her nose, and long straight black locks framing her face. She had a suit on, tailored perfectly for her body, but beneath were the scares of the fight they'd all had 4 weeks ago.

It was Charlie.

A disguised Charlie.

Troy tightened with soft anger, and Gabriella tensed dramatically at his side. They in took breath, waiting for others to realise who she was; but no-one did. Troy urged Gabriella to relax, and she did so, letting him chill too. They sat down again, and waited for her question.

It took a long time coming.

Troy looked down from the stage they were sitting at. He almost wanting to smirk; she'd disguised herself well. Her bright green eyes were covered, and her makeup was so different, she was near to unrecognisable. Wearing a suit, wasn't a regular occurrence, even to meetings for her work. Which happened to be for a newspaper. But the black hair just topped it off. It was the one thing that always stood out - her straight blonde hair. Newly dyed, he realised it suited her better. But now, he much preferred brunettes.

They both watched her closely, while she composed herself. She stood straight, and asked. "Do you have any last words for Charlie? Other than what you said to her a month ago? Anything you really want her to know?"

It was more of a question for herself, than from them, and they understood it perfectly. She wanted to know what they really thought, really felt. Gabriella grasped Troy's hand tightly, and he let her answer.

She sighed. "Really? I want to let her know that, and I think I speak for both of us,' She looked at Troy, who nodded, even though he didn't know what she was going to say. She turned back to disguised Charlie, and continued. 'we want to wish her the best of luck in the future, and hope that she finds someone who can love her just as much as we love each other.' Unintentionally, they shuffled closer to each other. 'But we really just want her to… leave us alone. Let us get one with our lives, and move on. She should do the same too."

The whole room was silent after Gabriella said her piece. People were again scribbling away quickly into their notebooks, no doubt turning it into a newspaper article in their head. Gabriella smiled gently at Charlie, hoping that she got the message: we don't hate you, but we don't want you in our lives either. Troy raised his head carefully, locking eyes with the ex-girlfriend he knew so well. She was going to shatters; it was quite clear she was broken. But she'd done it to herself, and they both wanted nothing to do with her.

Charlie nodded. "Okay…' she pretended to finish writing their answer. Then she looked up weakly. 'Thanks for your time. All questions over."

They stood up quietly, the reporters getting up off their chairs, gathering their things together, and heading out the back door. Gabriella and Troy were led back behind the curtain, and they both sighed in relief that everything was now over. They could move on, now.

Troy drew Gabriella close, crushing his body into hers, letting her know he was there. She snuggled deeper into his jumper, loving the closeness. He kissed her forehead. He knew how hard that must have been, to tell Charlie what she did. Inside, Gabriella still felt mad and upset at Charlie, but being the lovely person she is, she suppressed that, and said something beautiful, and most importantly true. They did want her to be happy; in some ways she deserved it. But they wanted her to also leave them alone. She had done enough damage.

People bustled around them, with them being in their own little protective bubble. They pulled back, and Gabriella gave Troy a small smile. He sighed. "You were brilliant out there, with, you know."

She shrugged. "I meant every word."

He stroked her cheek tenderly, and she leant into his touch, closing her eyes briefly. She sighed; she knew she could stay like this forever. "I love you." She mumbled into the soft palm pressed against her cheek.

He looked her deep in the eyes. "Ditto."

LATER.

Gabriella lay silently on the grass of Troy's back garden. The moonlight danced off the trees, bouncing delicately onto her body, highlighting her skin. She closed her eyes and let the warm breeze wash over her like warm water. While her eyes were shut, with Troy singing gently to himself in the kitchen, she took this time to think about what had happened these last amazing, but peculiar six weeks.

When this whole journey began, she had had no idea what to think. All she'd been told was she was going to meet her new director Frank Letino. She'd jumped on a plane, running away from the frightening prospect of Max and all the problems that followed her when they were together. So she ran, meeting many amazing people along the way before being acquainted to Mr Letino. One of them being Sharpay. She had helped Gabriella so much on the few times she'd seen her, and Gabriella knew she wanted to stay in touch. Whether it was showing her the best way to skip a round with the paparazzi, or just taking her hand and walking her to the correct door, she was a lovely person. A good solid heart I her body, that she used wisely. Her fiancé Zeke was much he same. Sweet, intelligent, with a love for Sharpay that could be noticed a mile away - they were meant for each other. But there would always be one person who meant the world to her; who she met before Mr Letino; and who hopefully would always be by her side of the rest of her life.

Need she say his name?

Troy Bolton.

Official man of her dreams, who'd taken her under his wing, mended her, and sent her flying into the sky without a care in the world. With him, she could be herself, knowing that he would never judge her or comment rudely about anything she did. She was at ease; a situation she'd never been able to with Max, or any other guy for that matter. She could let go, be free, and be careless. Because she could always fall back onto his shoulders for support. And he to her too.

Of course, nothing was really that simple, and everything came in the way. Charlie, being the most prominent thing. She felt tears behind her closed eyelids at that name, and she began to wonder where the strength came from this afternoon, taking to her in a civilised manner, even though nobody around knew it was her. She'd found the strength from somewhere, deep inside, and knew that she had to continue to be strong, for everyone's sake.

But everything was behind them now, and she was definitely ready to step back into the world like she used to, with the same confidence as before, but with more on top; because Troy would be right beside her. When they'd got back from the conference that afternoon, before dinner, they'd gone over specific parts of the script together, really getting into character. It had been a lot of fun, and they both realised how excited they were to be doing this project. She couldn't wait to play that roll, and nothing could stop her know.

Suddenly she felt someone collapse onto the ground beside her, and knowing who it was, she turned on her side, melting into the opposite body. He wrapped his arms reflexively around her, gathering her partly over his body, and he kissed her closed eyelids. They fluttered open after the contact.

"You look… radiant."

She sighed happily, her breath wafting over his mouth, drawing him closer, their lips almost touching. She smiled against his God Like face. "Thank you, not bad yourself."

They closed the gap between them, their bodies moulding into one; like a jigsaw. The magnetic force between their lips only grew larger as the kiss progressed. With Troy's hand running through her long brown locks, she let out a breathless moan, only for it to be swallowed by Troy's careful mouth. They kissed for a long time, completely wrapped up in each other.

Troy pulled away from her, watching her face intently. The fire he found in her eyes lighted his, and soon he was desperate for her touch.

"Maybe we should go to bed."

She nodded quickly, pulling at the buttons holding his shirt together. "Maybe we should. But, just to let you know, sleeping isn't on the table."

He drew her mouth back to his.

"Who needs sleep anyway?!"

A/N; Well, that's another chapter up and out. I really hope you enjoyed that. This story is coming to an end soon, with probably only two chapters left. So enjoy them!

I huge thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter. NEARLY 50 REVIEWS! Wow, thank you so much. You guys are making my 1000 target soon become a reality. I'll probably cry and jump for joy (at the same time!) if you get to 1000.

Anyways, enough of my blabbing, off you go & review…