I was actually able to post something today! I got out of having to put in extra time at work today (thank you more snow) so that gave me a little bit of time to see what i could do with writing today. And i know there were a few comments from the last chapter so i'm just going to get to answering to them now so you don't have to wait a whole chapter for answers.
Tristan and Cassidy i'm glad that overall you're enjoying the story. What i mean when i say i have up to chapter 70 written is, i keep this story in a Word document. Then when it's time to post a chapter i copy and paste it on here and then post it. It makes it a little easier for me that way if i ever wanna sit down and read the story as a whole or see if there's anything in a chapter i need to change while there's still time before i post it. The only downside is when i'm busy i don't always open the document to copy and paste the chapter, which is why updates can be off or late sometimes. As for HSM4 i think we've all been wanting one since HSM3 and the closest we've come to that is Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure. So until that changes, if at all, the closest we're gonna have is all these fanfics.
Guest thank you for bringing that to my attention. So much stuff has happened in the story since the reveal of Sharpay being at Troy and Gabriella's wedding and i didn't even realize it got dragged out this long. While the intention was not to make anyone wait half a year to find out what the story is behind that, all i can say is that's how it happened. I can't say i'm going to go back and rewrite the chapters so an answer can be forced in sooner. If there have been too many hints on the topic, i do apologize. While i do now have a chapter written when it's revealed why Sharpay is invited to Troy and Gabriella's wedding, it still won't be posted for a while. One of the reasons is because so much stuff does happen and, while there may have been opportunities these past chapters or there will be opportunities to bring the topic up, it didn't feel like the right time. The other reason is, as of my typing this, you guys don't know the answer to Troy and Gabriella's wedding, if it's even still on. If none of the characters know what's going on then it doesn't make complete sense to worry about Sharpay's involvement. What i will do is reread what i have written from the next chapter up to the reveal and see if there's anything i change/delete/whatever or if the answer is really where it's supposed to be. If it is the latter then i will make sure it's not just a one-word or brief answer and that it really will be something that was worth the wait.
I hope i was able to answer your questions/comments to your liking and i do appreciate having things pointed out to me that i may have missed or not realized. It's only going to make me want to make this story better. With all that said, here is chapter 51!
Disclaimer: I do now own HSM.


Chapter Fifty-One

Saturday was going to be slightly hectic. The couples would be split up for lunch at 12:30. Troy and Chad would hang out; most likely play a little basketball. Taylor and Gabriella…. Well, that was questionable. Gabriella didn't like to be out of the apartment and her comfort was of the utmost importance. After basketball Troy and Chad would head back to the apartment, wash up and then all four of them would go out to dinner by six. Chad and Taylor planned to leave by eight so they'd be able to get home at a somewhat reasonable hour on Sunday. After all, Taylor had work on Monday and she had to be up early. And later in the afternoon Chad would have to be at the pizzeria to finalize everything. It sucked that they had to cut their time with their friends so short, but they did have lives to get back to. Hopefully they wouldn't have to wait so long to have another get-together. For now, they were going to enjoy the time they had.

Men and women often had different ways of communicating; both groups could be talking about the same thing and they'd handle the topic completely different. Such was the case of Troy and Chad versus Gabriella and Taylor. Some topics would be revisited at dinner later but that didn't stop the basics.

First there was the matter of the baby. Gabriella was still nervous just thinking about it, although deciding on a name brought some relaxation. Troy was completely excited and couldn't stop thinking about it; there was almost no trace of nerves or maybe even reality in his mind. Gabriella wanted to focus on the baby when it was born and wait at least five years before having another – as a side note, Taylor liked that idea as that was a good estimation of when she'd like to be married to Chad and start a family. On the other hand, Troy would want to have another kid as soon as possible; in his words, 'we're already starting so why not keep going?' Gabriella looked at the situation from a logical point of view, such as the money and time. She was even going so far as to considering looking at a slightly bigger apartment, if anything so the baby could have its own nursery. But Troy thought what they had was fine and they'd figure out a way to make room for everything. He didn't seem to be thinking about the financial or emotional aspects but rather fawning over the baby and playing with it. Gabriella and Taylor's conversation about the topic was long and detailed. The attempt at figuring out nearly every detail was most likely in their nature as brainiacs. Chad and Troy's discussion went similarly to how Chad described a man's prospective on intimacy – short and to the point.

Then there was the talk about jobs. Since only half of both couples were working the discussions were pretty much one-sided. Troy seemed giddy about his job…actually he seemed giddy about almost everything. He loved what he was doing, the people he was working with, and the environment. He almost couldn't stop talking about how quickly the kids were catching on to the point of A Christmas Carol. But as happy as Troy was and as much as he talked about the job, he didn't go into every little detail. He'd give a quick summary about one thing that happened and it would remind him of something else that happened at work. Taylor still went into every little detail about her work, partially because she had so much to catch Gabriella up on. And while Troy seemed to know exactly what he was doing, Taylor valued Gabriella's point of view on how to handle certain things. She wanted to make sure she ran every thought going through her mind so she could be prepared for anything. Unlike Troy, who knew exactly what he was doing, there were still times where the journalism field still seemed unfamiliar to Taylor. The group of people she was working with didn't always make things better either.

But when the two groups would be put together, despite the different point of views, dictation, intellect and interest, everything seemed to blend together perfectly. As such a close group of friends, their thoughts and ideas bounced off of each other well and, much like in couples, sometimes little things rubbed off on each other. This was proven when they sat down for dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings.

"Ok Chad, here's what you do," Troy said when Chad brought up his more-than-prospective job, "you know Mr. Evans. Just go into his office and say what's going on. See if he can give you a set schedule and bounce it off the pizza place."

"No one's allowed to just walk into Mr. Evans' office at the paper," Taylor corrected. "There either has to be an appointment or an emergency."

"I don't see the harm in him going into work with you and then just walking in there," Troy shook his head. "Mr. Evans likes him so I'm sure he'll cut Chad some slack. You can't even just tell a guy that he can't go in and talk to a potential boss. How are they supposed to establish any kind of employer-employee relationship if they're not given a chance?"

"I think you're looking too much into this," Taylor replied.

"I have a suggestion," Gabriella offered. "Wait until the new year."

Troy, Taylor and Chad raised eyebrows.

"Chad, if your position doesn't start until after the new year then when you go in on Monday you can ask ahead of time if they can give you a set schedule. That way when you start you'll already have a time frame established and you can spend a couple of weeks learning everything there."

Troy snapped his fingers, "I get it! Then when Chad gets the swing of things he talks to Mr. Evans about Lava Springs. And by then it'll be a little closer to baseball season so it's perfect."

"And he'll work near me so we can carpool and it'll give him an excuse to come into the office," Taylor finished.

Chad shook his head. "So when I go in I just walk up to Mr. Evans and talk to him?"

"That could be a problem, especially if it's busy or he's in a bad mood," Gabriella pointed out.

"I can always ask him," Taylor offered.

"So when you hand something in, you just tell Mr. Evans I wanna talk to him about something, set up an appointment for me and we go from there?" Chad asked. "But shouldn't I be the one to do that?"

"If you're busy I'm sure Mr. Evans will understand that," Troy told him. "Besides Taylor sees you every day. It's not like you won't have anything to report back to each other or something. And as long as Mr. Evans likes her, you've got a pretty strong person in your corner to back you up."

"Sounds good to me," Chad said as the waiter came over to take their orders. After that was done, they changed the subject.

"Ok so I have to ask," Taylor said, "what are you doing about the wedding?"

Troy and Gabriella didn't even need to talk to each other about it. Thinking both knew what the other wanted, they answered at the same time.

"Canceling."

"It's on."

Then they looked at each other. With shocked looks on their faces, they repeated what the other said.

"It's on?"

"Canceling?"

Taylor and Chad exchanged glances. But both knew better than to say anything.

"Troy how can the wedding still be on?" Gabriella asked. "There are still things we need to do, and if we cancel now we can get our money back. It's not even completely set yet so we can save the money for the baby."

"But canceling? Why?" Troy gasped. "Gabriella…are you breaking up with me?"

"Of course not," she answered instantly.

"Then why would you even think about canceling?" he questioned.

"We can still be engaged. It doesn't change anything. It just means we don't get married right away. The baby is more important," she said.

"But we have plenty of money saved up," Troy said.

"Not enough. We don't even have half the stuff we need," she replied.

"But marriage should come before the baby," he said. "As long as we all have love for each other then everything's fine."

"No everything's not fine," she insisted. "Of course the baby's going to need love. But love isn't going to buy diapers. Or feed it. Or make it better if it gets sick."

"But cancel the wedding?" he repeated.

"We can't keep telling our friends and family we're putting it off," Gabriella told him. "It's not fair to them. They can't keep clearing their schedules for something that might not even happen."

"But it's all set," Troy insisted.

"And it can still be set in a couple of years," she said.

Troy's jaw dropped. "C-couple of years?"

"Ok this is ridiculous!" Taylor interrupted.

"Thank you," Troy said. "See, Gabs? Taylor knows what I'm talking about. She's on my side. No one was more disappointed than her last time."

"Well…" Taylor started.

"Well? What well? What do you mean well?" Troy sputtered.

"Well are the two of you still going to be together next month? When the baby's born? In a few years?" Taylor asked.

"Yes," the answered in unison.

"Then it shouldn't matter when you get married. If your feelings for each other aren't going to change, if you know you're still going to be together no matter what happens then you do what you need to do," Taylor explained. "Yes, I hated it when you postponed the first time but I didn't understand why or what was going through your minds. And I was so excited and invested in it that I felt disappointed. That it was all for nothing. This time I felt like I wasn't even involved. There was nothing for me to plan or get attached to or anything. And unlike last time, when everything seemed so unsure, I know that's not the case now. I know you two are in love and nothing's going to change that. And I'm sorry Troy, but I have to side with Gabriella on this one. The baby comes first."

This was such an improvement for Taylor. Before Troy and Gabriella's move everything was changing for Taylor. She had no idea what to expect. And she'd gone so far as to not only question their feelings for each other, but the idea of love in general. It took a while, but it finally sunk in that Troy and Gabriella didn't define what love was. They were only an example of it. Their choices proved their love for each other in their own way. Just as it was for Taylor and Chad.

"What about you, Chad? What do you think?" Gabriella inquired.

Chad, on the other hand, was torn the last time. He wasn't happy about the wedding getting moved back. At the same time, he understood why his friends were doing what they did. He tried to keep that in mind when figuring out how he felt this time and what exactly to say.

"I think you guys are stupid," he answered honestly.

"What?" Gabriella asked.

"Ouch," Troy grabbed his chest pretending to be more hurt than he was.

"I think you guys are stupid for thinking too much into this and fighting about it," Chad said. "Troy, you know what you wanna do and you're fighting to keep the wedding going. But Gabs isn't just thinking about the two of you. She's thinking about someone else. And if this is supposed to be some sort of demented test to prove something to you two, then it kinda sounds like you're failing. And you gotta un-fail."

It was a strange way of looking at things, but Chad did have a point. He understood where both sides were coming from. Even though he wasn't going to admit to his disappointment, it wasn't about what he thought. This was something that Troy and Gabriella had to work out. Not just for their sake, but for their child's. And they had to figure it out fast.

"Is there anything else you two are failing at that you need to un-fail?" Taylor asked backing up her boyfriend.

Chad let out a laugh. "You sounded just like me!"

"Pass. Not un-fail, I meant pass," she attempted to correct.

"Guys, it's just one debate," Troy brushed it off.

"But you have to make sure you can agree on everything that's about to come your way. Or at least compromise," Taylor told them.

"Yeah, and I'm not a hundred percent on this, but I'm pretty sure compromise is something you need to do in relationships," Chad added.

"Dude, we're the experts, not you," Troy chuckled.

Chad raised an eyebrow. "Say that again?"

"Troy don't," Gabriella hit her head.

"You two broke up for a year. The most Gabriella and I broke up for was two weeks. We're engaged. We already know we're standing beside each other. Where are you two right now?" Troy explained. "And, come on let's face it, you wouldn't even be together if it wasn't for us."

"Shut it," Chad warned.

"Troy you don't even know that for a fact," Taylor retorted. "Just because you and Gabriella have technically been together longer doesn't mean you have anything over us as a couple. At least Chad and I have talked about things. We're taking the time to make sure everything is right for both of us before we move forward. You two just jumped right into it."

"I wasn't even thinking about-" Troy started.

"Not that," Taylor cut him off. "Everything else. Dating. Kissing. Engagement. Moving in. Planning a future. Just being together in general. Nothing was really planned for you two, you're pretty much just…" She paused to think of the right word.

"Winging it?" Chad finished.

"Thank you," Taylor nodded. "Winging it."

Troy turned to Gabriella. "Gabs, back me up here."

Gabriella shook her head. "I'm staying out of this. You got yourself into this one."

"We're in the middle of a couples contest and you're backing out on me?" Troy gasped.

"This is a debate, not a contest," Taylor corrected.

"I don't think so," Chad replied. "I've seen How I Met Your Mother. It's definitely a competition to see who the better couple is."

"If we make this 'contest' as simple and uncompetitive as possible, can we just drop the topic?" Gabriella asked, getting tired of it already.

The three nodded.

Gabriella took a napkin from the side and a pen out of her bag. "We're going to divide this into five categories and we're going to keep them short and to the point: jobs – what you both want to do and your feelings about it, where you see yourself living, marriage and what you want out of it, kids, and where you see the relationship going. Whichever couple accumulates the most points is the best couple. Mostly."

"And how do we score these points?" Taylor inquired.

"Based on how the couple talks about something. And if an argument starts, how quickly or easily overall it's solved," Gabriella decided. "Fair enough?"

The three nodded again.

"Ok. Chad, Tay, you start us off. Jobs. Go," Gabriella said.

Taylor looked to Chad.

"Hey, I told you how I felt about a job. Where I thought I'd be," Chad said.

"Do you regret it at all?" she wondered. "Not putting more attention into basketball when you had the chance and trying to get drafted for the NBA?"

"Sorta," Chad admitted. "I mean, it sucks that I maybe could've had a full time job as soon as you did and I didn't. And this whole real world deal wouldn't've been such a hassle. But knowing we suck at long distance and being able to have as much time as I've had with you, nah, I don't regret it."

"I don't either," Taylor admitted. "You said at one point that even if you could have gotten drafted you wouldn't travel unless I went with you. And I probably would have stayed in Albuquerque, to focus on my job. And knowing how things have been for my sister recently I'm sure she would have wanted me around, too. But then I'd be wondering where you'd be or what you'd be doing. Like after a game, would you go to the bar with the boys or just go to sleep?"

"Bar, maybe, but I wouldn't hook up with anyone," Chad said. "What about you? You said if you ran for president there'd be killing threats. You think I'd just be able to sit on my butt not knowing if you'd make it back or not?"

"That was a worst case scenario. I have no idea how running or the election or even the presidency would go. All I'd know is for all the traveling, I couldn't stand to be away from you," she said.

"But you're not happy with the paper," Chad pointed out.

"Not completely, no," she admitted. "But life works in crazy ways. It puts you on unexpected paths and with people you'd never expect to fall for. It was a rocky start and things can be questionable at times. But if working for the Albuquerquian…if writing…is anything like you then I know I'll be happy where I am."

Chad smiled. "And you think I'm doing the right thing? Part time pizza maker and possibly softball coach in training?"

"It's a lot to juggle but I stand by what I said," Taylor replied. "Both ways, you're getting experience. And if either of those can give you a taste of something you could see yourself doing and if you're positive you can handle both then I'm behind you. If this is how it's going to have to be for a while to get you settled and us one step closer where we want to be, then you've got my support."

"Looks like it's our turn now," Gabriella said to Troy.

"Ok. What do you think of my job?" he asked right away.

"Well you said at one point in high school all you wanted to do was basketball. And that you realized you loved theater, too. And now you get to do both. I think that's perfect," Gabriella commented.

"What about the hours?" Troy wondered. "Are you ok that sometimes I have to stay longer for the sake of the kids?"

"I want you home sometimes. A lot, actually. It gets really lonely," Gabriella admitted. "But I'm not going to stand in the way of kids' happiness. If that community center is something that they need, something that makes them excited about life and puts a smile on their face then yes, I'm ok with you staying there a few extra hours. And I know sometimes things have to get done there. So it's ok."

"What about you? What are you going to do then?" Troy asked.

"There's nothing I can do right now. You have to do what you need to at work. Right now my place is at home. To relax and make sure everything's ok for the baby," Gabriella said.

Troy raised an eyebrow. "So you're not looking for a job anymore?"

"I can't," she shook her head. "Some places won't hire someone in the middle of a pregnancy. And then there's maternity leave and if I have to take off because the baby's sick and needs to go to a doctor, there's no guarantee. If I ask for off then my job might be in jeopardy. Or if I'm stuck at work in something happens I can't get to the baby right away. I'm not going to let either of those things happen."

"So then when are you gonna look again?" Troy asked.

"I don't know," Gabriella admitted.

"You're not staying in the apartment," he told her.

"I'll have to for the baby," she replied.

"That's like five months away! What about now?" Troy responded.

"Now I'm thinking about five months into the future," she answered. "And I'm thinking I won't apply anywhere until at least two months after the baby's born."

"Two months?" Troy gasped. "So I'm just supposed to be the sole provider of a food, home, bills, the car and baby supplies for at least seven months?"

"Even if I did get a job soon enough, we'd still have to figure out what to do with the baby. If we'd leave it with a sitter or put it in daycare and that'll cost money, too. We need to weigh all of our options," she explained.

"What if you get too attached? You may not even wanna leave the baby with anyone, not even after two months. Maybe ever," Troy pointed out.

"I'll deal with that when it's time. I trust your judgment on your job, Troy. I trust that you know what you're doing. Why don't you trust me?" Gabriella questioned.

There was a somewhat awkward pause.

"So…how'd we do?" Chad asked hesitantly.

Gabriella sighed. "I guess you two won the first round."

"What's next?" Taylor asked.

"Where you live," Gabriella said.

"We already talked about that," Chad replied. "Our goal is to have our own place in a year. Hopefully."

"And it doesn't matter where, if it's an apartment or a house," Taylor added. "We don't know if that'll be where we raise a family or how long we'll stay there. Right now sometimes it's just annoying to be in the same space as our parents, because we have no privacy and feel like nothing is ours. We need to change that."

"Taylor already started saving so we've got a pretty good start," Chad said.

"But Taylor's working full time and you'll only have one paying part time job," Gabriella pointed out. "What happens then if she's the only one paying for everything?"

Chad shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I'll just put in what I can."

"Maybe when you're home, if you have any extra time, you can do some chores," Taylor suggested.

"What, like cleaning?" Chad complained. "I get enough of that from my folks."

"Not all the time," Taylor corrected. "If you have a day off then obviously you're going to need some time to relax. Maybe just a little dusting. Or if you can do some grocery shopping. I can make a list, all you'll have to do is buy everything and put it away. And if we have a dog then obviously you'll be the one walking it."

"And I get to play with it," Chad added. "But you have to give it a bath."

"And we work out a feeding schedule," Taylor put in.

"How did you guys even get from a home to a dog?" Troy asked confused.

Chad shrugged his shoulders. "Told you, Hoops, we already talked about it. We got plans."

"Maybe you have plans, but Gabriella and I are set. We have a home," Troy replied.

"But is it good enough for a baby?" Gabriella asked.

"Of course it is," Troy said after a brief pause.

"It's crowded enough as it is. We can barely fit a crib in our room. Where are we going to put its clothes? Where do we change its diapers?" Gabriella asked.

"We can clean. We'll make room," Troy replied.

"I think we'd be better off living someplace else," Gabriella admitted. "A little bigger."

"We can't afford a little bigger. What we have is what we can afford," he replied.

"So while you're working I'm just supposed to be a housewife? Taking care of the baby and trying to navigate over an obstacle course?" Gabriella asked.

"You said you're not looking for a job for a while. It sounded like this is what you wanted," Troy said.

"I want to be near people I like. People I care about. Where our baby can grow up around family," Gabriella said simply. "I…I want him or her to be born in Albuquerque."

Troy's eyes widened. "What?"

"All of our family is there. Your parents, my mom and sisters. Our friends. They don't have to drive ten or more hours to try and be here in time for the birth. We can just be there. Stay there for a few days, maybe a couple of weeks," she explained.

"I can't just take off for two weeks. I don't get maternity leave," Troy replied.

"You can ask for paternity leave," Taylor suggested.

"I don't think they do that," Troy replied.

"Then go to your job every day," Gabriella told him. "Just stay for a couple of days after the baby's born and then I'll go home to you two weeks later."

"So I'm just not supposed to see my kid for two weeks?" Troy questioned. "Why don't you just live in Albuquerque then?"

"I wish I could," she admitted quietly.

Suddenly this wasn't just a competition to see who the better couple was. This was turning into something bigger. And no one wanted to say anything about it. Instead the four of them stayed quiet until their food came, when they had an excuse not to say anything. It wasn't until a little more than half way through the meal that the 'contest' continued.

"This doesn't change anything does it?" Taylor asked.

"What are you talking about?" Gabriella replied.

"You're still getting married, right? Whenever that may be?" Taylor asked hopefully.

Gabriella looked to Troy, who was eating his salad at that point. He stopped just before taking a bite and looked to Gabriella. A moment later Gabriella looked down at her plate and fiddled with her chicken. Chad and Taylor exchanged a glance before turning back to their friends.

"What do you guys want outta marriage anyway?" Chad asked, remembering one of the questions.

Gabriella sighed and took a deep breath before answering. "I don't want any drama. I know our relationship can't be completely like it was in high school. But those problems we faced then, and in college, I want those to be in the past. I know we'll still face challenges but I don't want them to be do or die like they used to."

"Gabs we're always going to have problems. We're going to have some fights," Troy admitted. "I want our marriage to be kinda like my parents'. They have their quirks and they don't always get along but they have and do everything that matters. They support each other and love each other for their quirks. I want us to have that."

"But when we get married it's not going to be all about us," Gabriella reminded him. "Whether it happens next month or next year we're going into the marriage with a baby."

"That's all you've been talking about. The baby," Troy said.

"Because it is all about the baby," she replied. "Troy…is this even what you imagined? With kids or our marriage?"

Troy paused. "No…" he confessed reluctantly. "I thought we'd be waiting."

"Troy if this isn't what you want…" she started.

"That's not it at all," he promised. "Gabriella I can't wait to start a family with you. And I'm excited. And after we have the baby we can start on another."

"No," she responded quickly. "When we have the baby I want that to be our focus. The baby and each other. Because she's all that's going to matter."

"Or he," Troy said. "And…maybe five or six more later."

"I don't know about that many," Gabriella replied. "But as long as we're together and always there for each other I don't care where we are or how many kids we have or anything. I love you Wildcat."

"I love you too Gabs," Troy said.

"And we love that you guys are paying," Chad said.

He was met with doubtful looks.

"I can try can't I?" he asked, which garnered some laughter.

"What about you two?" Troy wondered. "Gabs and I just shared our thoughts. It's only fair you take a turn."

Chad chuckled. "Please, the kids part is easy. Girls."

"Boys," Taylor answered when Chad said girls.

"Really? You can't agree on that?" Gabriella asked.

"We can agree on three," Chad said. "That's something."

"And it's still years away. We have plenty of time to argue and prepare," Taylor added.

"For the girls," Chad finished.

Taylor playfully rolled her eyes. "You know what, sometimes I don't even care. As long as they're happy and healthy and they don't have your hair that's all that matters."

"Why can't they have my hair?" Chad pouted.

"I'm not going to be the one struggling to brush it every morning and trying to get them to school on time," she answered.

"Oh yeah? Well…" Chad paused to think of a good comeback. "Oh yeah…? Oh yeah?"

Taylor smirked. "You got nothing, do you?"

And the only thing that Chad could muster up to say was, "Oh yeah?"

Troy and Gabriella laughed. "How do you two even do that?" Gabriella asked. "You spend so much time fighting with each other and now you just kind of play off of each other and laugh it off."

"I think it's because we realized that the fighting makes us who we are," Taylor said.

"There shouldn't be any fighting though," Troy said.

"If Chad and I didn't fight we wouldn't challenge each other or grow as a couple," Taylor pointed out. "And I wouldn't want to be with someone who was just like me anyway. It would be way too boring. Chad and I share some things but we're still completely different people. And that's what makes us want to be around each other. And it's where I want to see our relationship go. So we can always learn something new about each other and we can continue to balance each other out and become better people because of it."

"Not to mention dumb blonds are overrated," Chad joked.

Taylor nudged him.

"But I'm kinda glad we don't get along about everything. And that we had our big blowouts already," Chad added. "So now when we do fight we can handle it better. And I kinda don't care where I end up or what I do. As long as I got Taylor, I'm good. I got nothing to worry about."

It was a funny thing how relationships work out. Back in high school everyone saw Troy and Gabriella as the golden couple. People would question why Chad and Taylor were together and would call them the on-off couple. Four, five years since then a lot has changed. Chad and Taylor still considered Troy and Gabriella the golden couple; the way they were together was something that Chad and Taylor strived to be. But seeing them disagree on so many things and actually having arguments was completely different. That was something neither of them had witnessed before. This was when Taylor and Chad realized that they didn't need to be like Troy and Gabriella; they shouldn't have to be. Why should they spend so many years getting along, seeming like they were in perfect harmony, when one thing could cause such a rift between them and escalate into three or six different arguments? They'd have no idea how to handle it if they were never in fights. It was a strange thing to be grateful for. And it was something neither of them fully understood until now. Fighting didn't just make Chad and Taylor who they were. It made them a much stronger couple. Much like how guys and girls could have one discussion and it'd sound two completely different ways, the bonds that Taylor and Chad had versus what Gabriella and Troy had were on opposite ends of the scale. But it didn't change who they were. Gabriella and Troy were becoming an even stronger couple now than they were before. But it didn't mean they were still the golden couple. And it didn't mean that Taylor and Chad were the new golden couple either. Neither pairing was perfect. And in the end, there was really only one thing that mattered.

Chad and Taylor were sure they won the contest.


Ok so this pretty much gives us Troy and Gabriella's perspective on their family and their wedding. When i wrote this chapter it was to get us caught up on Troyella after all that happened. And i also saw it as a way of comparing the two couples together. One thing i was most curious about is, what happens when Troy and Gabriella have a real disagreement? I mean, we've seen them disagree on stuff in the movies. Gabriella breaking up with Troy at Lava Springs, that was kinda fight-ish for them. But we haven't seen what happens to them when they have a full-out one, when they actually have something they disagree on. Troy and Gabriella, to me at least, always seemed like the cute couple that you'd never expect to see have an argument. This was me imagining what happens when they do have an argument; it seems like something they really don't know how to handle so it's new territory for them. Whereas with Chad and Taylor, them being complete opposites it's easy to imagine them fighting. And it's something they seem to have over Troy and Gabriella; because Chaylor can disagree on a lot of things they have a better understanding of their relationship and how to get past the rocky points. And, in my rereading this chapter before clicking the save button, it's not just about Troyella and Chaylor as couples and how they handle these situations. These are couples who are at different points in their lives and i think that has something to do with their dialogue and reactions. Troy and Gabriella are starting a family so not only is it something serious, but everything they have to decide on for their family is a huge deal. Chad and Taylor, while they are serious about each other, they're not at that same point Troy and Gabriella are (even though we all would like them to be). It gives them a little more leeway of joking around and just daydreaming about the future instead of acting on it and having to think about it right that second like Troy and Gabriella do. Could i have fit more dialogue in this chapter or maybe add a few more topics for them to talk about, especially since it has been so long since they all saw each other? Probably. But given the idea i had with this chapter i think it says everything it was meant to. And for anyone who likes seeing some Troyella in between all the Chaylor, i hope it was sufficient until they return again. As usual, thanks again for the comments. Thanks for the reviews and to everyone who just continues reading the story in general. Also, thank you to B for the well wishes on chapter 50, i got so caught up in writing all the other chapters and having so much going on in life as a whole that i forgot 50 was such a big number! xD Have a good week, everybody! :)