A/N: So yeah, not so long a wait this time, but yeah, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story. I have gotten a lot of them too… lol…
I want to Dedicate this chapter to those reviewers who kept me going the most.
Crushie
BillyBobbers
Theferretmenace
Swimchickmp
XxAnnaxx
Hotsodagirl
Night's Girl
Sylvia
Nicki
The last two actually helped me with the plot and everything, because they are two of my best friends! Thanks!
"This has been the best Christmas since dad died." Ryan hugged his sister, and they both went to bed.
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Three days later, it was Sharpay and Ryan's 18th birthday. Zeke and Kelsi took them out to the movies for their birthday, while Troy watched Kimi. As they were out, Sharpay asked what Kelsi's parents said about getting engaged.
"Well, first of all, I went home on Christmas, and I told my parents to sit down on the couch. They sat, and I told them that I had something to tell them. My mom immediately asked, 'You're pregnant aren't you?'" Sharpay burst out in laughter.
"Yeah, well I told her no, and so I took a deep breath, and then I said, 'Ryan asked me to marry him.' And my parents both started yelling at me in Russian."
"Russian?" Zeke asked.
"Yeah, I was born in Russia, and that is where my parents adopted me from, we then moved here to the United States when I was Six months old."
"Oh." Zeke replied.
"Then my parents asked me what I said."
"And?"
"And I showed them my engagement ring, and they started yelling at me in Russian again."
"Dang." Ryan said, he had already heard the story, but the fact that her parents yelled at her for getting engaged still floored him.
"Yeah, and then they asked if I am only getting married because I want my green card. Of course I told them that I was not getting married for my green card, but for love. They had an arranged marriage, so they don't really understand love-marriages real well." She said. After the movie, they went to Taco Bell, and were having dinner when someone called Kelsi's cell phone.
"Hello… No mom, I am out with Ryan and Sharpay… It's their birthday… Mom, we're going back to Ryan's, and we will be there in about half an hour. I will talk to you later, goodbye." She said. The twins thought she had been talking to her mother, but Zeke really knew that Kelsi had been talking to Troy. Fifteen minutes, the four people left Taco Bell, and headed for the Evans' household. Sharpay went to the door, and unlocked it. She swung the door open, and heard a loud chorus of 'SURPRISE!'
"Oh my gosh!" Sharpay said.
"Wow, you guys totally got us." Ryan said. They all joined in the festivities, meaning, eating the cake Zeke had baked early that morning, and mingling with the guests. There were a bunch of people there, including Mr. and Mrs. Bolton, and Zeke's parents. A bunch of people from school, most of them mainly was the Drama Club.
After dinner, which was Sharpay and Ryan's favorite food, they all decided to open presents. Sharpay got things for Kimi, beauty products, and stuff having to deal with music. Ryan got clothes, music, and other things that he had wanted.
"So, I officially can't kiss you anymore." Ryan said to Kelsi. He had a serious look on his face.
"What?" She asked, nearly panicked.
"Because, I am eighteen now, and you are jail bait. I can't kiss you for another two months and eleven days."
"That's not fair." She pouted, realizing Ryan was being sarcastic.
"Well, I'm sorry, but I cannot break the law." They laughed.
"Kiss me you fool." She said. He kissed her, before they both started laughing.
"Oh, get a room!" Sharpay shouted from next to them.
"No!" Kelsi joked.
"I don't want to see the making of my niece or nephew right here in my very own living room!" Kelsi turned red and laughed. Sharpay walked away. The rest of the party went along without a hitch. The party lasted until eight p.m. when people had to go home.
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Over the next four months, the only thing that really happened was that Kelsi turned 18. Her and Ryan had still not set a date for their wedding, but the date for Prom had been set.
"Sharpay, will you go to prom with me?" Zeke asked the day the prom was announced.
"Why, of course I will." She replied.
"It's on the sixth of May, so be sure to have a beautiful dress ready." He said, kissing Sharpay's cheek.
"I have to go though, so I will see you tomorrow. I love you."
"I love you." She replied. Sharpay went to go get Kimi from the school's daycare. Kimi had started crawling, and standing up. She had yet to walk or talk yet. Ryan met her and Kimi at the car, and they went home. That evening, Sharpay, Gabriella, Taylor, and Kelsi went to the dress shop to find their Senior Prom dresses. They didn't find anything that they liked just yet, but the woman wanted to close their shop, so they decided to come back the next day.
The next day found them with the perfect dresses. They were measured, and the owner of the store ordered the dresses.
"Do you want to pay for the dresses now, or do you want to set up a payment plan?" She asked.
"I'll pay for them now." Sharpay said.
"Just you?" She asked.
"Yeah, my friends can pay me back later. They will have to do a lot of baby-sitting."
"Baby-sitting?"
"Yeah, I am a mother of a seven-and-a-half month old little girl."
"You are so young though."
"I know, but I made a mistake almost a year and a half ago, but it ended well. I have a lot of people who help me and my brother with my baby." The woman nodded in understanding, and rang up the dresses. Sharpay cringed when she heard the woman say that she owed $1,347.96.
"We will pay you back." Gabriella said.
"That's okay, whenever you can get the money, just pay me back at your own pace." She said, writing the check.
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On prom night, Mr. and Mrs. Bolton were going to baby sit Kimi."
"You go be a kid on your prom night." Mr. Bolton said.
"Although, don't do anything that will cause you to have a Kimi number two." Mrs. Bolton said. Sharpay laughed, and went back upstairs. She was taking care of Kimi at the Evans' house. The guys were all ganging up at Troy's house, while the girls were going to be at Sharpay's.
"You're dress is so beautiful." Sharpay said to Taylor.
"Yours is too." She replied. Sharpay had a light pink dress, and Taylor had a creamy orange color dress. Kelsi had a red dress, and Gabriella's was sky blue. They each did their makeup, then had their hair done by Kelsi's mother, who was a stylist. When it was nearing six o'clock, they all went to Sharpay's room to put on their dresses.
"Help me lace up." Gabriella said to Sharpay. She began pulling on the laces on the back of the dress while Gabby held onto the bedpost. When Sharpay got it tight enough, she tied it. Gabby stood in front of the full-length mirror that was on the closest door, while Taylor was zipping up. Once everyone was ready, they applied some last minute lip-gloss and glitter. They were spraying on some perfume when the doorbell rang.
"Mom, can you get that?" Kelsi shouted down the stairs. Mrs. Neilson did so, and let the guys in. All the ladies checked for any flaws, grabbed their boutonnieres, and filed out of the room. They each walked down the stairs, and went to their prom date. Mrs. Neilson was snapping photos as they all exchanged the boutonnieres and corsages. Kelsi's mother then had a group photo of everyone, then had couple's photo's, and then had Sharpay and Troy with Kimi, then Troy and Gabby with Kimi. She had one of Sharpay and Zeke, and then all four of them. After a good half an hour, Sharpay announced that they had to go to dinner, or else they would be late for their dinner reservation. They all piled into the large black Ford Expedition, which belonged to Mr. Bolton.
Once at the restaurant, they were seated at a large table, and they were joking around, waiting for their food. They were finished eating by eight thirty, when they paid, and got ready to go to the dance. Once at the dance, they danced for a while, and then decided to go get their pictures done. They were going to go get a group picture, then the couple's photos. Each of the ladies went to the bathroom to touch up their makeup.
"So, are you three having as much fun as I am?" Sharpay asked. They all laughed.
"Yeah, I think I am having more fun." Taylor said. Chad had learned how to swing dance when he was younger, and he had taught Taylor some, so they were swing dancing to Mambo No. 5, by Lou Bega. They had the whole routine going on, meaning that Taylor had been swung around Chad's body many times, and all sorts of stuff. Everyone had gathered around to see this amazing talent, and they got a round of applause afterward too.
"Yeah, I think we are all having the best time possible." They went out to the photo line where the men were waiting for the ladies to get back. They signed up for their pictures, and did the couples photos first.
Kelsi made sure her ring was going to be somewhat visible in the photo. They had a great time doing pictures, but afterward, they went back to dancing. At 1 a.m. the dance was over, so everyone filed out of the building. They all went back to Sharpay and Ryan's house.
"Well, goodnight everyone." Sharpay said. Ryan went to take Kelsi home, Troy left and took Gabby home, Chad also left to take Taylor home, and Zeke stayed behind to say goodbye to Sharpay. Kimi was sleeping, and Susan left.
"Well, I had a great time tonight, but I am tired, so I will see you tomorrow at church." Zeke said.
"Yes, tomorrow at church. Don't fall asleep driving though." She said.
"I won't, I love you." He kissed her.
"I love you too." She replied. They hugged, and he left. Sharpay went upstairs, took off her dress, and fell onto her bed. She didn't even bother to take her hair down, or wash her face for that matter. When Ryan got home, he took off his tux, tossed it on his desk, and fell onto his bed, just as Sharpay had done half an hour prior.
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Graduation approached less than a month later. Kimi was now nine months old. When Sharpay was going through her things, making sure all of her graduation things were in order, Kimi was cooing from the floor next to Sharpay. Ryan came in, and was watching Kimi trying to stand up. She was getting good at it. She could stand on her own now. She had yet to take a step though. Sharpay was straightening her outfit for the next day when she heard it.
"What?" She asked. She heard it again. She turned around, and repeated the question.
"Banana." Kimi said. Sharpay gasped.
"Oh my gosh!" Sharpay said.
"Her first word!" Ryan said. Sharpay took a step toward her daughter to pick her up, but instead, Kimi ran to her screaming, "Banana! Banana! Banana." Sharpay picked her daughter up, and kissed her.
"Banana." Sharpay repeated.
"Banana."
"You want a banana?" Sharpay asked. She went downstairs, and got out a banana for her daughter. She dialed Troy's cell phone number, and waited impatiently for him to pick up.
"Hello?" he answered.
"Her first word was 'Banana.'" Sharpay said.
"Are you serious?" he asked.
"What Kimi?" Sharpay asked. She held the phone out towards their daughter, so that Troy could hear Kimi yell 'Banana' a few more times.
"And she ran to me too." Sharpay said.
"That is so great!"
"I know. You should come over here, so that you can see her walk, and talk." Sharpay suggested.
"Gabby and I will be over shortly." He said. They hung up, and they came over.
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The next day, Sharpay nervously waited for graduation. They were practicing their walking into the auditorium, and it was quite fun. That night, Sharpay put Kimi in the hands of Susan, who was sitting in the front row. Jack was sitting in the Staff section of the audience. They were all seated in front of the whole audience, the Graduating Class of 2007 was. They started off with the principal giving a short speech, and then the Valedictorian giving a speech, Taylor approached the stand.
"Thank you for being here today. This is a big step in the lives of each of us teens. We have went through many obstacles to get here, such as, terrifying upperclassmen, annoying underclassmen, exhausting homework, and for some of us, even the birth of a child. Through all these obstacles, we came out on top, and are sitting here today before you, visible proof of victory." Taylor went on about what was going to happen in the future. After Taylor was finished, it was time for a musical number. Troy and Gabriella sang the classic, 'Breaking Free'. When they were finished, it was time for the Salutatorian's speech. Ryan approached the podium, and began his speech about the past.
"When we were little, we didn't care about what we or our friends wore. We would play together as if we had known each other for a lifetime, when we had just met ten minutes ago. Our parents let us dress ourselves, but they always ended up dressing us anyway, because our outfits were too outrageous. Those were the days, when we didn't have a care in the world. Sometimes, I wish I could go back, before middle school, and high school drama happened. Perfect family, best friends, and a lot of toys.
"Now that we are grown, we realize that there are other battles we need to face. Puberty started it all. Boys starting to like Girls, and visa versa. We slowly began to take on more responsibility, but then, when we got to be older teens, some of us had a huge amount of responsibility dumped on us. There are times when some of us thought that we wouldn't be able to make it out of high school alive, yet here we stand. Your graduating class of two thousand seven." He went on for a few more minutes, while Sharpay tried not to cry. Her brother was exactly right, she didn't ever think she would graduate from high school when her father died. After Ryan was finished, he sat back down in his seat, and the counselor came up for a speech. He played a short video dedicated to the seniors, and then announced that he was going to hand out diplomas. He called name after name. Sharpay's name got nearer, and she got even more nervous.
"Sharpay Evans." He said. She walked to the front of the stage, and received her diploma. Ryan was next, as he was the one sitting to her right. After everyone had gotten their diplomas, the counselor said, " And I announce the class of 2007!" all the seniors stood up, and pulled off their caps. Sharpay was following suit when Zeke stopped her.
"Sharpay, I have to ask you something." He said quickly.
"What?" she asked curiously.
"Will you marry me?"
THE END