Author's Note: Chapter 3! Yay! For some reason this one took a long time. Thanks for the reviews. ;) But anyway…on with the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical.
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"Are you our wedding planner?" the redhead asked with her hand outstretched.
Gabriella stood there in shock, trying to take this entire new information in. She shook her head and closed her eyes, thinking maybe she didn't hear her correctly.
"I'm sorry, what?" Gabriella asked once she opened her eyes.
Melanie just smiled and giggled. "Are you our wedding planner? Troy and I are getting married," she repeated.
Those last words hit her like she got slapped across the face. Gabriella felt her world crash down around her and her heart breaking. She continued to stare at the girl, but then snapped out of her reverie, put on a fake smile and took her hand.
"Oh, yes I am. Hi, I'm Gabriella," she said shaking her hand.
Melanie's eyes widened in shock as she got excited. "Oh, no need to tell me. I know who you are! You're one of the best wedding planners in the country! The Andersen's recommended you as well. Do you remember their wedding?" she asked as Gabriella led them to chairs in front of her desk.
Gabriella nodded. "Yes, I remember them. They wanted a pure white wedding," she responded taking her seat behind her desk.
"I thought that wedding was beautiful. I just had to get you to plan my wedding; I didn't care if I had to fly all the way out here! Troy didn't know who was planning it, I wanted it to be a surprise," she exclaimed happily.
Gabriella smiled kindly, though she could've sworn she heard Troy mumble, "It's definitely a surprise alright."
"So have you guys met?" Melanie asked, looking at Troy.
Troy gave a slight laugh as Gabriella smiled faintly and looked down. "You could say that," Troy replied.
Melanie gave a confused look, but turned back to Gabriella. "Did you check the date for the wedding? Is June 4th okay for you?" she asked.
Gabriella gathered up all her energy and strength to give a warm smile. "Of course June 4th is okay! It's your wedding; I'm not the one getting married," Gabriella said kindly, though she faltered a little on the last sentence.
Melanie gave an excited clap. "Great. That was our first date," she said while smiling at Troy.
'Oh God, someone please get me out of this mess. Look at her, looking at Troy, eyes filled with love and care. And he's returning the gaze…Oh Lord; I think I'm going to be sick.' Gabriella thought to herself silently.
"June 4th it is," Gabriella said with a slight smile as she jotted it down on her notepad. As she was writing it down, she saw a tear fall down onto the paper, splattering all over the page when it hit the surface. She wiped it away swiftly, as Melanie was whispering something to Troy. Gabriella took a deep breath and lifted her head up.
"You wanted cream colors?" Gabriella asked biting her lip.
Melanie nodded. "Yes, please. I would really like pink and orange; I think they look really good together," she answered.
Gabriella nodded as she added that to her notes. "And is it true that we're going to a wedding you planned tomorrow?" Melanie asked, trying to hide the thrill in her voice.
"Yes, if you want to come. You don't have to if you don't want to," Gabriella responded, looking up from her notes.
Melanie looked as if she would explode in joy. "Of course I want to come!" she cried out.
Gabriella gave a genuine smile. "Well, the wedding ceremony starts at 10:00 am, at South Baptist Church," Gabriella answered.
"Great! I can't wait!" Melanie said, practically falling out of her seat. Gabriella looked over at Troy, who was looking around the room. He was staring at all her pictures, and his eyes locked on one as he spotted the one of himself and Gabriella on graduation. He smiled; he remembered that day as if it just happened.
Flashback
"Congratulations, Troy! We graduated!" she yelled over the cheers and screams of people.
Troy smiled widely. "Yeah, we did. You know, I am going to miss you," he said sincerely.
Gabriella's expression changed. "Troy, what are we going to do? You're going off to UCLA and I'm going to New York," she said sadly.
"I don't know. But whatever happens, you can promise that I will always love you," he responded, enlacing his fingers with hers.
Gabriella's face lightened. "You promise?" she asked.
Troy laughed softly, but kissed her on the lips. "Yes, Gabriella. I promise. I will love you no matter what happens."
End of Flashback
He looked back at the person who sitting behind the desk, noticing that this person wasn't the same. She no longer had the happiness in her eyes, like the way they glowed when she saw him walk in her office. Now her eyes were filled with grief and sorrow. His mother always told him 'Eyes are windows to the soul,' and now he truly understood what it meant. He could tell she was broken and shattered, he knew those smiles she was giving were fake; he knew her too well. He was brought back to reality as Melanie nudged him in the shoulder.
"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" he asked clueless.
Melanie laughed. "I said, are you coming with us to the wedding tomorrow?" she asked.
"Oh, yeah, I'll come," he answered sitting up in his chair.
Melanie smiled. "Fantastic. Is there anything else we need to do today?" she asked Gabriella.
Gabriella snapped her head to look at Melanie. "No, there's really nothing else today. Keep that binder tonight; tell me tomorrow which ones you like best, and then we can deal with the flowers that will match as well as the dresses and tons of other stuff. First we need to get the theme perfect," Gabriella responded.
Melanie grinned, and then clutched the binder to her chest. "Well, Miss Montez, thank you so much for helping us plan and arrange this, I don't think we could do it alone," she said standing up.
'Shut up. You can plan and 'arrange' your own damn wedding for all I care,' Gabriella thought in her head. "Call me Gabriella, and it's no problem. It's my job," Gabriella replied kindheartedly shaking her hand.
"Well, thank you again, Gabriella," Melanie said with a huge smile while turning to leave.
Gabriella turned to look at Troy. She smiled and shook his hand also, but when their skin touched it sent an electric current through their bodies. Both of them felt it, and they both chose to ignore it as they continued to shake hands.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Gabriella," Troy said as he walked out of her office.
Gabriella smiled at him as she watched his retreating back get smaller and smaller and finally disappear around a corner. She let out a sigh she didn't know she was holding in as she plopped back in her chair.
"So, how'd it go?" a voice asked in her doorway.
Gabriella turned her head so she was able to see the speaker. She saw that it was Jamie, walking over to her desk with a grin on. Gabriella gave Jamie a scowl.
"You knew I dated him in high school! And you gave me his wedding? Were you nuts?" she asked, now sitting up in her chair.
"The bride requested you. What was I supposed to say? 'No, I'm sorry she's not available because she doesn't want to see her ex-boyfriend?'" she asked, now making herself comfortable on the chair where Melanie was just sitting.
Gabriella rolled her eyes. "No, you could have made something up! Say I'm sick! I have too many weddings! Which I do by the way, and this one is huge! I don't know how you expect me to do it all in a month!" Gabriella exclaimed.
Jamie sighed. "Gabriella, let me make this clear. You are one of the best wedding planners in the whole country. People are flying across God's creation to have a wedding planned by you! You will not turn them down! That would just be a huge waste of money! Besides, if you land this wedding and it turns out spectacular like all your other ones, I can guarantee you'll be my new partner," she finished.
Gabriella looked at her boss in shock. "Partner?" she asked incredulously.
Jamie sat up and grinned. "Yes, partner. You may want to think about actually doing their wedding now, won't you?" she asked as she stood up and left the room.
Gabriella fell back into her chair as she let out a frustrated sigh. She sat there thinking, and decided that she needed to go home for the day. Relax, and finish the touches on the wedding for tomorrow. She got up, quickly grabbed the things she needed and left the building.
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"Whoa, wait. As in freaky-callback-boy, lunk-head-basketball-man Troy?" Taylor asked with wide eyes.
It was now late at night, and Gabriella called Taylor to come over. Taylor agreed immediately, hearing the sadness and frustration in her best friend's voice. They were in her living room, eating ice cream, both of them having their own pint.
"Yes, that Troy!" Gabriella answered while getting another scoop of ice cream out of her carton.
Taylor laughed. "I really fail to see how this situation could possibly be funny," Gabriella snapped.
"I'm sorry Gabs, but think about it. What are the chances of having you plan Troy's wedding?" she asked, still giggling.
Gabriella stuffed ice cream in her mouth. "Apparently, really good chances," she replied.
Taylor stopped eating and looked at her best friend. "Tell me, Gabs, because I'm really interested to know. Why is that you're the one making everyone else fall in love, but yourself?"
Gabriella let her head fall back onto a pillow. "Taylor, we talked about this-"
"Gabriella, you haven't been on a date in three years. How come you plan everybody else's love life, but you don't have one of your own? Honestly, before you know it you're going to be old and life will be gone," she said while snapping her fingers at the last part of the sentence for effect.
"Tay, it's just…I don't know. I have tried to let go, I really have. But when his fiancée, Melanie came into today, it just felt like I've been screwed over and got slapped in the face. I need time, I can't just jump out the door and go out with someone," Gabriella said getting in a more comfortable position.
"You still have feelings for him, don't you?" Taylor asked, looking at her friend with a grin on.
"What? No, of course not! I haven't seen him in years! And he's getting married!" Gabriella cried out, looking at her ice cream carton.
Taylor shook her head. "Ahh, Gabi, you have gotten better at lying, but who taught you how to do that? Gabs, it's okay if you still do."
Gabriella snapped her head up. "What do you mean 'it's okay if I still do'? It's not okay! He's getting married. You know the thing where people pledge themselves to another person forever?" Gabriella exclaimed.
Taylor smiled and sank back into the pillows. "So, you do still have feelings for him?" she said matter-of-factly.
Gabriella sighed, rolled her eyes and got up. "I'll choose not to answer that question. I'm going to bed. Feel free to raid the fridge," she said as she walked towards her bedroom.
"All ready ahead of you," Taylor yelled behind her as she held up a tupperware with rice in it.
Gabriella shook her head, bid Taylor goodnight and went into her room. She passed her answering machine, and saw that the little red light was blinking to signal that there was a new message. On her way to her bed, she hit the play button, plopped down on the bed, threw off her heels, and then started to stretch out her feet as the message began.
"Hey, Gabster! It's Chad, how are you? No time, no talk! I heard you had quite the surprise at work today. (At this point he was chuckling) Give me a call when you get in, my cell number is 548 2564. Talk to you later!" his voice then faded as the machine stopped.
Gabriella sat there, not knowing what to do. Her eyes wandered to her digital clock, and saw the neon green lights glowing '10:47'. She decided that she would call him tomorrow; she needed to get to bed. She had a busy day the next day, and she needed to get up early. She yawned as she changed into her pajama pants and camisole and tossed her dirty clothes in the hamper. Gabriella crawled into her bed, and thought about her day. As her mind wandered back to when she met Troy, she felt a tear drop from her eye and fall down onto her satin sheets.
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Author's Note: Whew, another chapter done. Chapter 4 is also in the process of being done, and it should be done in a couple of minutes. Maybe I'll post it tonight if I get a decent amount of reviews...hmmm. Well if you want it, it's up to you to review. Next chapter will include the wedding, they go to and some other things…Hehe. So, please review! Thanks!
