Hey guys

I hope you guys liked the last chapter.

Before we move on to the last chapter of this story I want to thank all of my readers who took out the time to read this story from the start.

A special thank you to GenesisYD, pumpkinking5, Mari021, RJ Cadigan, Simone, LadyAnimation and all the other guest reviewers who kept on sending their reviews for almost all the chapters and motivated me to keep on writing and updating this story.

So now without further ado let's get on with the last chapter of this story.

How will Gabriella react to the surprise planned for her by Troy?

The boys work with Kelsi all weekend to prepare the surprise for Gabriella.

Gabriella had some meetings with her scholastic decathlon team so she was busy with that.

The East High scholastic decathlon team had won their first-round so they now had to prepare for the next rounds.

Troy was delighted to hear that Gabriella's team was doing so well.

He had followed the team for some time but because of the status quo, he was forced to act like he didn't care or didn't know.

Personally, Troy felt that their decathlon team was very strong but since Gabriella's arrival he was convinced that the team was now unbeatable.

Gabriella had also told him about what Taylor thought of him and Troy felt insulted.

Troy had a feeling that Taylor might not be happy to learn of his relationship with Gabriella so he was prepared to surprise her with his intellect.

Most people in school knew that Troy had switched classes but only a few knew that he was actually in AP classes now.

Since Taylor and Gabriella were not in the same classes, she wouldn't be aware of the switch.

Finally, it was Monday and Troy couldn't wait to surprise his girlfriend during lunch. Chad, Zeke and Jason helped Troy set everything up in the cafeteria while Kelsi brought Gabriella there for lunch.

Gabriella didn't want to go there without Troy but Kelsi reassured her that Troy was waiting for her there.

Gabriella entered the cafeteria but she couldn't see Troy anywhere.

She turned to Kelsi and was about to ask where Troy was when she heard a familiar tune playing.

She turned around to find Troy standing in the middle of the cafeteria holding two microphones.

Chad, Zeke and Jason were standing next to him with a speaker from which the music was being played.

Troy starts singing the first paragraph from the song (Start of Something New) while walking up to his girlfriend.

He gives her the other microphone and gestures for her to join in.

Gabriella smiles at her boyfriend and starts singing the next paragraph.

They both lose themselves in the song just like they had when they first met.

Everyone in the cafeteria watches the wildcat captain sing with the geeky girl in perfect harmony.

They were all mesmerized by the performance of the unexpected couple.

No one had expected Troy to get a girlfriend, let alone a girl who was known to be a geek.

Even some of the faculty was watching the young couple perform.

The teachers had known both of the students for some time now but they had never expected them to sing so well.

Most of the teachers had known Troy for years because of his father and they couldn't believe that the boy could actually sing.

Miss Darbus couldn't wait for the next musical where she could cast Troy and Gabriella in the lead roles.

Jack watched his son and his girlfriend sing their hearts out in the cafeteria with a smile on his face.

Chad, Zeke and Jason had never heard Troy sing before and their buddy turned out to be a natural performer.

They didn't say it out loud but they were worried about Troy embarrassing himself in front of everyone with his plan to surprise his girlfriend.

Kelsi was content watching her beloved cousin sing with the girl he loved.

She was also recording the entire performance for her aunt.

Taylor was watching Troy and Gabriella from one corner of the cafeteria.

She now understood the mistake she made by trying to break up Gabriella and Troy.

She still believed that Troy was just a lunkhead basketball man, unlike her and Gabriella but she couldn't deny the chemistry they both had.

Taylor could clearly see the love Troy and Gabriella had for each other.

She decided to apologize to Gabriella later for planning the whole ambush incident.

Troy and Gabriella sing the last note together while everyone in the cafeteria cheers.

Troy suddenly gets down on his knees and says, "I know that we're already dating but I still wanted to do this. So Brie, do you still accept me as your boyfriend?"

Gabriella giggles and replies, "Of course. I love you, Wildcat."

Troy smiles and says, "I love you too, Brie"

All the students cheer for the couple while Troy and Gabriella kiss.

After school Taylor waits for Gabriella at her locker.

Gabriella arrives after some time with Troy when she notices Taylor waiting for her.

Gabriella tries to tell Troy to let her talk to Taylor alone because she didn't want him to get insulted by Taylor again.

Troy refuses saying that he would have to meet Taylor later so he might as well get used to how she talks about him.

Unknown to Gabriella, Troy actually planned to clear all of Taylor's doubts about him.

Gabriella says, "Hey Taylor"

Taylor replies, "Hey Gabriella. I wanted to apologize for ambushing you during the decathlon meeting. I actually planned the whole thing."

Gabriella says, "I know that you planned it with Chad. Martha told me everything after a few days. I don't understand why you did all that but I forgive you."

Troy adds, "Chad told me everything about your plan. I understand that you probably wanted to protect Gabriella like Chad tried to protect me. I promise that you won't have to protect Gabriella from me. If I end up hurting her accidentally you can do whatever you want to me."

Taylor replies, "For a lunkhead, you're quite perceptive. I'm impressed."

Gabriella says, "Taylor please stop calling him a lunkhead. You don't even know him. Troy is in all my classes and I know that he's a lot smarter than you think."

Taylor looks surprised and asks, "Gabriella, aren't you in AP classes?"

Gabriella nods in response while Troy replies, "I'm also in the same AP classes Taylor. Brie and I study together as well."

Taylor asks, "But, how?"

Gabriella smiles and replies, "Well actually, Troy always had the grades to switch but he didn't want to abandon his only friends so he chose to stay in the regular classes. He's been doing really well in AP classes as well."

Troy adds, "After I found out about the whole ambush plan, I was feeling betrayed by my so-called friends so I made the switch to get away from them. I really enjoy my classes."

Taylor says, "I never would have guessed that you were actually that intelligent. I guess I shouldn't have judged you without even knowing you. I have to ask though. Why did you want to get away from them so badly?"

Troy replies, "Their selfish actions had cost me Gabriella's friendship. I know it seems weird considering I'd known her for a very short period of time compared to them, but Brie was really important to me. Those guys had become my friends because we were teammates. I know that everyone wants to be my friend but that's only because I'm the captain of the basketball team. My teammates were the most genuine friends I ever had until I met Brie. We became friends before she knew that I was the basketball captain and after she learnt that nothing changed in our friendship. Brie didn't care about popularity or anything and that's what drew me to her. Because of the ambush incident, I lost her. I felt so betrayed by the guys that I even avoided practice just so that I don't explode on them. Chad and I had a few shouting matches as you might have seen last week."

Gabriella adds, "It was only because of Kelsi that I realized that even though I felt betrayed by Troy, it wasn't completely his fault. Troy had been betrayed by the people he considered to be his best friends for years. In fact, the ringleader was the guy Troy considered to be like his brother. Kelsi also helped me realize that I really like Troy and that I shouldn't let something like this get between us."

Taylor guiltily says, "I'm really sorry for the part I played in this. I hope that we can move forward with a clean slate."

Troy smiles and replies, "I'd like that"

With that, they all walk home together meeting Chad on the way.

Taylor tried to keep an open mind but it was extremely difficult with the way Chad was behaving.

They all started hanging out together in school which led to the end of the status quo.

East High had now become a wonderful place where now everyone could do what they really wanted to do.

The students at East High had now learnt that clichés don't exist in the real world and being popular in high school meant nothing outside.

This was all possible because of the two students who decided to 'Break Free' from the Status Quo.

~The End~

So that's the end of this story.

Once again a big thank you to all the readers for reading this story and supporting me as an author.

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