Chapter 17

((Hey everyone…I'm updating again…YAY! I'm not sure how many more chapters there will be but I'm thinking 1 more after this one…don't be mad if you wanted more…I may take a break from a story for a while or I may start another one…I'm not sure which…r&r…XOXO, CHRISTINE))

"Please step forward, Miss," commanded the security guard at the airport in North Carolina. She stepped through the metal detector, coming out clean. She grabbed her carry on baggage from the x-ray machine which made it through no problem. David was the same way.

"Where's our gate?" David asked Katie.

"That way," Katie pointed at the sign.

"Katie!" called a voice that Katie didn't recognize. "Katie!"

She turned around and gaped. Ms. Montez was hurriedly making her way towards Katie and David. "Oh shit!" Katie mumbled to David. "This could be a problem." She turned towards Ms. Montez putting on a fake smile. "Hi, Ms. Montez!"

"Katie!" she returned enthusiastically. "What brings you here?"

"We're flying out to surprise Troy and Gabriella," she bluntly answered pretending to be thrilled at the sight of Ms. Montez.

"Oh, that's so nice, so am I. You'll be staying with them I presume."

"Of course," replied Katie nervously. "Just for a few days, you know, with all the exciting news. The engagement and everything. I'm just as excited as Gabriella."

"I bet," Ms. Montez smiled.

"Flight 233 to Connecticut is now beginning boarding," an attendant called into a microphone. "First class only, please."

"Well, that's me, I'll see you when the plane lands," Ms. Montez said in farewell as she rummaged through her purse for her ticket, while making her way to the gate.

"This is just great," David muttered. "What are we going to do, now? Our cover's completely blown."

"Not yet," Katie disagreed. "Ms. Montez knows we plan to surprise Troy and Gabriella. Hopefully she won't ruin the surprise and let slip to the two lovebirds. In the meantime, we'll make sure Ms. Montez's trip to Troy and Gabriella is, ah, unsuccessful."

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Gabriella was vacuuming the living room, frantically trying to tidy up the house for the arrival of her mother. Since Troy and Chad were the only two living in the house before Taylor and Gabi, the house wasn't quite at its cleanest.

"Gabi, calm down," commanded Troy. "The house looks fine. It's really not that bad. I'm sure your mom won't care."

Gabriella turned around, sharply, and stared at him. "This house could use a good cleaning!" she yelled over the raucous sound of the vacuum. "It's filthy. It just wouldn't feel right welcoming my mother into a messy house."

"It's not that bad!" Troy argued.

"Yes it is!" She pointed the vacuum at him as if it were a gun. "Stay back, Troy, and let me clean!"

"Whatever," he retrieved to his room.

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Once the plane landed, Ms. Montez unboarded and retrieved her bags from baggage claim. She had ordered a limo to pick her up and transport her to Troy and Gabi's. Katie and David, however, didn't need baggage claim, so they beat Ms. Montez to the limo-pick-up-zone. They made their way towards the man with the sign that said Ms. Karen Montez.

"Hello, I'm Karen Montez," Katie lied.

"Phone number?" the driver asked in confirmation.

"675-3857," Katie recited perfectly. She had memorized it off her phone while she was on the airplane.

"Alright," the driver said opening the door for Katie and David. "Please step in the car, so I can take you to your destination." They got in. He shut the door and climbed into the driver's seat. "Your destination is 142 Sea Springs Lane in Hartford, correct?"

"Yes," Katie affirmed. He drove away.

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Ms. Montez had been waiting for her limo for nearly an hour. She was starting to get angry. "I don't have all day," she growled pulling out her cell phone to call the company. "Hi, I was supposed to have a limo pick me up from the airport an hour ago."

"Name?" requested the operator.

"Karen Montez."

"The computer says you were picked up and delivered to 142 Sea Springs Lane in Hartford, Connecticut," the operator boredly informed her.

"I don't see how that can possibly be. I am still at the airport, and I have been waiting for over an hour."

"Look, I don't know who you are, and why you are doing this, but I can assure you Karen Montez is long gone from the airport. Her driver called in 15 minutes ago to report her being dropped off at her destination. I will take no more of this. Good day, miss." The lady hung up on her.

Ms. Montez sighed angrily. She headed over to the information desk. "Hello," she said to the lady working at it. "My limo never picked me up and the limo company won't help me out. Is there an alternative way that I could get to Hartford?"

"A Pace Bus leaves in thirty minutes," the attendant informed her. "There are 10 stops before Hartford."

Ms. Montez sighed. "I guess that's my only option. Thank you." She made her way to the shuttle bus waiting area.

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"Now what are we going to do?" asked David. He and Katie were hiding in a bush right outside the house.

"I'm gonna text Troy and have him meet me at the Café we saw on our way here," Katie answered.

"How are you gonna get him to meet with you?" David asked incredulously.

"I'll just tell him I wanna arrange a surprise party for Gabi. Her birthday's in a couple of weeks. He doesn't now that I'm upset that they're engaged. He thinks I'm thrilled." She pulled out her phone and typed a message to Troy:

Troy I am in town meet me at the Café at 3:00 I wanna arrange a surprise birthday party for Gabi Katie

A few minutes later she received a text back from Troy that said, I didn't know you were coming to town a surprise part is a great idea see you at the café

"Score," Katie smirked. "Okay, David, now you're gonna buy Gabriella balloons and chocolates all saying Congratulations!. We want them to think that you're over Gabriella and you're happy about the engagement, and when you least expect it, you'll make your move, and we'll make sure Troy sees. Then he'll be all depressed and he'll come to me for comfort."

"Sounds like a plan. Just one more thing. What if Ms. Montez finds her way here in the middle of this?"

"She won't. I'll take care of that."

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Ms. Montez was just about to board the bus when her cell phone rang. She checked the caller I.D. It was an unknown caller.

"Hello, Ms. Montez. This is Susan from the limo company. I'm sorry for what happened earlier. We are sending a car right now. It will be there in about fifteen minutes."

"Thank you."

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"How did you know she was still at the airport?" asked David.

"Before we left, I checked the bus schedule. It leaves in about 15 minutes. There's not another one that takes that route for two hours."

"That's stupid. Other people might need to take the bus."

"Well that's what the bus system is like, here. She'll be out of our way for a while, now."

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"So I was thinking we hold her surprise party in a gigantic really nice club," Katie suggested. "Are there any good ones around here?"

"Yeah," Troy answered. "There's the Pink Flamingo and the Cosmic Star. Oh and there's Club Aquarius, but that would be incredibly expensive."

"Then let's do Club Aquarius. I hear that's where all the celebrities go. Gabi would love having her birthday party in the celebrities' club of choice."

"But the money…"

"Doesn't matter," Katie cut him off. "I'll get my dad to pay for it. He loves Gabriella. He'll do it."

"Alright then."

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Gabriella entered the house to find balloons, chocolates, and roses everywhere. They all said Congratulations!

"What is all this? What do they mean by congratulations? Troy, are you in here?" No answer. "Troy, honey, I know you're in here. Have I ever mentioned you're the greatest fiancé in the world?"

"No but you have said that I'm the greatest boyfriend," replied David standing up. He had been hiding behind the couch.

Gabriella was caught completely off guard. "What are you doing here?"

"Congratulating you," David answered. "I know that I've been acting like a bastard these past few weeks, and I'm really sorry for that. Forgive me?"

"What's all this for?" asked Gabriella.

"I'm congratulating you."

"With roses?"

"I know, they're great right?"

"Yeah, but usually a boyfriend or in my case fiancée gives roses, not an ex."

"Well, this is not usually."

"Oh, dark chocolate with milk chocolate swirls, my favorite."

"I knew you'd like them."

"So," said Gabriella, "what brings you out here?"

"You," David casually replied.

"David…" Gabriella began.

"No, just listen," David commanded. "Troy Bolton is out right now with Katie. I followed her here to try and stop her. She and Troy…well they're…together."

"So this is why you came out here," Gabriella told him angrily. "You're trying to convince me that Troy's cheating on me so I'll come crawling back to you isn't it. Well FYI, David, Troy is out with Chad right now, playing basketball. He's not out with Katie. Nice try, David."

On cue, the door began to open. When David saw this, he aggressively threw himself on top of Gabi, making out with her. He held her down, making it look like she wasn't fighting him at all.

"What the hell is going on!" yelled Troy. "You're cheating on me! I can't believe you! This is it, we're through!" Troy ran out the door slamming it. He got into his car and drove away.

"Troy!" Gabi wriggled her way out of David's grasp. She attempted to run after him. "Troy! Come back!" She fell to the ground crying.

((dun…dun…dun…whats gonna happen? Even I don't know…reviews please…I think the next chapter will be the last one…thanks for staying with this story through the long long break…actually I have an idea…should I end it here…with a David Katie victory…or should I add one more chapter…vote I your reviews…I cant wait to see what you guys want…XOXO, Christine))