Author's Note: Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! Here's chapter 6!
Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical.
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"Wait, so you're meeting him for lunch in, like, twenty minutes?" Taylor asked on the other line.
It was the next day, and Gabriella had just gotten out of the shower. She was in her robe, and she had been searching for clothes to wear. Gabriella cradled the phone between her shoulder and ear while holding a shirt up to her chest in the mirror.
"Yeah, Melanie's going to be there too, so don't make it sound like it's only him," Gabriella spoke into the phone as she looked at how the shirt would look.
Taylor began to chuckle. "Well, you're only going to pay attention to him, so why does it matter?"
Gabriella rolled her eyes. "What are you doing today?" she asked, while throwing the shirt on her bed.
"Why does it matter what I'm doing? We should be concentrating on you for the next couple of days," Taylor replied.
Gabriella started searching through her closet. "And why should we be concentrated on me?" she inquired, bending under a rack of clothes to retrieve a pair of shoes.
Taylor let out a loud breath on the other line. "Because, your high school sweetheart just walked back into your life, that's why!" she exclaimed loudly.
"Yeah, but Tay, he came back into my life with a fiancée!" Gabriella retorted back while coming out of her closet with high heeled sandals in her hands.
Taylor snorted. "Yeah, that ditzy redhead? Please, a couple more days of him spending time with you, and he'll realize what an ass he is for getting engaged to someone that wasn't you," Taylor said smartly.
Gabriella sighed. "Melanie's still going to be there though, so it's not like he'll be alone with me at all," she responded.
"I'll distract her," Taylor said. Gabriella could picture Taylor standing in her kitchen, with a mischievous smile playing on her lips.
"No, Taylor. Don't do anything, the last thing I need is police all over my ass asking me questions. Remember last time? You said you would distract that guy at the party that wouldn't leave me alone?" Gabriella asked.
"Hey! That was a good idea! And it did save your butt, so shut up," Taylor replied.
"You threw an alarm clock at his head!" Gabriella cried incredulously, while taking pants out of her drawer.
"So? The point is it distracted him long enough for you to run away," Taylor argued.
"He got seriously injured! The police showed up!" Gabriella shot back, putting on her skirt.
"They showed up anyway, because the neighbors were complaining about the noise. Whatever, the whole point of this is that it worked, and it will work again," Taylor said, not wanting to argue over the incident anymore.
Gabriella sighed as she pulled her pink blouse over her head. "Look, Tay, I'm pretty sure I can take this on my own. If I need any help, I'll let you know, okay?"
"Okay, fine. Anyway, I'll let you get ready for this little 'lunch meeting' or whatever you people call it. Call me after, okay?" she inquired.
"Yeah, sure. I'll let you know how it goes," Gabriella replied, now looking at herself in her full mirror.
"Alright, I'll see you later," Taylor chimed.
"Okay, bye," Gabriella said as she hung up the phone. Gabriella put on her shoes, grabbed her purse and work pad, and then rushed out the door.
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"Well, I looked through your binder again last night, and we're pretty sure we like number thirteen," Melanie said, handing over the binder with it opened to the picture she was referring to.
Gabriella smiled as she reached across the table to grasp it from Melanie's hands. She took it and looked at the picture more closely, and she grinned as she remembered the wedding. It was a very happy couple, remaindered her of herself and Troy and high school. The groom was a famous baseball player, the bride was a biochemist. She quickly shook these thoughts from her mind, as if it would stop her from thinking such absurdities. She and Troy couldn't get married; she was planning his wedding now! It would be unethical, though she knew deep down that she really wanted to be Melanie at the moment.
She glanced back up at Melanie and smiled. "This is the design that you want?" she asked.
Melanie and Troy exchanged glances. "Well, we want something similar to that, but not exactly the same. Like, I want different flowers, and maybe a lighter pink than that," Melanie stated.
Gabriella nodded as she jotted it down on her pad. "What kind of flowers do you want?" she inquired.
"Well, I don't know what they're called, but they're white, and they have pink inside. You know what ones I'm talking about?" she asked giggling.
Gabriella raised her eyebrows as she tore her eyes off of her pad and onto the redhead. "You mean lilies?"
Melanie started to giggle uncontrollably. "Yes, those are what I would like," she said smiling at Troy.
Gabriella mentally rolled her eyes, but wrote down the information. "Are there any other flowers you would like besides lilies?" she asked.
Melanie was about to answer, but then her cell phone rang. She motioned 'one second' with her finger as she got up and left with her cell phone. Gabriella nodded and began to pick at her food that had just arrived.
"So, Gabi, how have you been? I really didn't get a chance to ask or even talk to you lately," Troy said, making conversation.
Gabriella looked up from her food and gave a warm smile. "I've been okay, nothing really worth telling. How about you?" she asked.
Troy returned the smile. "Not bad, my life has just gotten really hectic and strange, though," he answered leaning back in his chair.
Gabriella nodded in understanding. "Dare I ask why?" she inquired.
Troy had on a sly smile, but was interrupted by a very upset Melanie coming back to the table. Her face no longer had its happiness; her usual energetic smile was now a frown.
"Mel, what's wrong?" Troy asked as she sat back at the table.
Melanie just pouted, and put her arms across her chest. "I hate my job. I need to go back to California," she said as she slumped in her chair.
"Why do you need to go back?" Troy asked, now sitting up in his chair.
She sighed, and then looked away. "I don't know. They 'need me there immediately', apparently," she said mimicking her boss.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Troy inquired.
"What? Come with me? No! You need to stay here and plan the wedding with Gabriella! We talked about this, you know what we want," Melanie exclaimed.
Troy looked as if he had just gotten the death sentence. Gabriella tried her hardest not to laugh; she knew that Troy probably didn't listen to a word his fiancée said about their wedding.
"Are you sure? I mean wouldn't you-" Troy tried to reason, but Melanie shook her head and put up her hand.
"Troy, I'm sure. You stay here, plan with Gabriella. I want this wedding to happen in June, and it won't if you come with me. I'll go home and pack; I need to be on the next flight out, which my boss told me was in about three hours. I need to get moving, so I will see you soon," Melanie said before giving Troy a passionate kiss.
Gabriella quickly looked down at her pad, and started to scratch her head to distract herself. Once she heard them break apart and say their goodbyes, she looked back up at Troy. He was staring at his now finished lunch, and was playing with his fork. Gabriella smiled.
"You have no idea what she wants, do you?" she asked, with her eyebrows raised.
Troy snapped his head to look up at Gabriella. He smiled sheepishly, but then answered, "Not a clue."
Gabriella laughed and started to put her notes away. "Well, since you don't know, I don't know, let's do something easy today," Gabriella reasoned.
"And what would be considered 'easy?'" Troy asked putting enough money out to cover lunch.
"Well, photography is a very easy thing; there are only two choices; color or black and white. I would think that you guys would want color since we're living in the 21st century?" Gabriella asked starting to stand up.
Troy laughed and stood up with her. "Yeah, color sounds good. Where is it?" he asked.
"It's not far from here, real close in fact. It's about three blocks," Gabriella replied as they walked out of the restaurant.
"So are we walking?" he inquired.
Gabriella looked up at him. "Do you want to?"
He stopped walking and looked down at her. "Sure, I mean we haven't talked in ages, and it's not that far."
Gabriella smiled. "Okay, let's go," she said as she started out in the direction of the photographers.
Troy ran to catch up with her. "So, have you talked to Chad?" he asked.
"Yeah, I saw him yesterday," she replied, turning at the corner.
He smiled. "He's came with me for the wedding. I know it's still a month away, but he said he wanted to 'be here'. I know that's really just a cover up; he heard you and Taylor lived here so he came back. Of course he wanted to see you, but I think he wants to get back together with Taylor," Troy said walking beside Gabriella.
"He wants to get back together with Taylor?" Gabriella asked surprised.
Troy grinned. "Yeah, or at least I think so. He talks about her constantly, and is always asking if I saw her or what she looks like," he finished.
Gabriella began to laugh. "Well, Chad was never really great with hiding things."
"Yeah, or timing," he added.
Gabriella smiled widely as she remembered how bad his timing was on triple threat day. "Yes, his timing is terrible. I remember how mad you were at him that day you won the championship."
Troy smiled, but it faltered when he remembered where his status with Gabi was at. "Look, Gabi, I know this must be really awkward for you-" he tried but Gabriella waved it off.
"It's okay, Troy, people move on. We were in high school, and now we're out of college. Let's just try to forget about it. I mean, obviously Melanie doesn't know, so let's pretend we don't. Friends?" she inquired, holding out her hand.
Troy looked at her questioningly, but when he realized she wasn't kidding he took her hand and shook it.
He smiled, "Friends," he repeated.
Gabriella beamed as they continued to walk down the street. They talked about where their lives went during college, after and what they were doing now. Every now and then Gabriella would laugh at something Troy made a comment about, or playfully hit him in the shoulder. When they finally reached the photographers, Gabriella tried to pull the door open, but it wouldn't budge.
"Why isn't it opening?" she asked irritated, pulling on the door once more. She looked over at Troy, and saw that he was laughing.
"What's so funny?" she asked still trying to pry the door open. Troy finally came over and took her hands off the handle.
"Gabi, it says 'push'," he said still laughing and holding her hands. Gabriella felt the heat rush to her cheeks as she started to laugh at her stupidity.
"You know I've been coming here for two years and you would think I would know that you're supposed to push it," Gabriella said shaking her head.
Troy took one hand away and pushed it open. "Well, we all forget sometimes, or get distracted," he said with a smirk on.
Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, that must have been it. I got distracted," she said sarcastically.
Troy smiled as Gabriella brushed past him and into the room. He followed her as she walked up to a room and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, the door flew open and a woman in her mid sixties appeared. The woman smiled, and quickly ushered Troy and Gabriella inside. They both sat at a table next to each other, while the woman sat across them holding a portfolio.
"Good to see you again, Gabriella," the woman greeted as she sat down.
Gabriella smiled brightly. "Good to see you too Evelyn," she replied.
"Now, what can I do for you?" she asked, taking out samples of photography that was available.
"Well, we need color photos and a photographer," Gabriella stated plainly.
Evelyn sighed and gave Gabriella a look. "Gabriella, you know that can be expensive. You know the prices," she said.
"Evelyn, I know for a fact that you gave a very cheap price to the Jefferson's, and their wedding planner wasn't even a frequent customer. I come in here all too often, getting you more and more clients. Can you do the same for a very hard working wedding planner in your office right now?" Gabriella asked trying to persuade Evelyn.
Evelyn made a face of uncertainty, but then gave in. "Oh, okay. But only this once and I'm only doing it because I like you. And do you mind if I say something?" she asked Gabriella, looking at her and Troy.
Troy and Gabriella nodded, waiting for her to say something as she studied them. "You know, I deal with a lot of different people, and I saw you two before you came in. You both look beyond doubt in love and happy. I can tell you're both going to make it out there," she said happily.
Gabriella and Troy both looked away from each other, both feeling a blush run up their necks to their faces.
"Evelyn, we're not getting married, I am actually-" Gabriella attempted but Troy interrupted.
"She's my best friend," Troy interjected.
Gabriella stared at him in shock as Evelyn spoke.
"Best friends? Oh, well I knew it was something, because I could tell that you two are really close to each other," she said still with a smile.
Troy grinned. "Yes, we are fairly close," he said as he looked at Gabriella.
Gabriella smiled back, but then broke the intensifying gaze. She returned to Evelyn, and quickly spoke. "Thank you for the fantastic deal and I will be here next week to arrange the photographer," Gabriella said as she stood up and shook hands with Evelyn.
Evelyn smiled and showed them the way out. Once they were outside, Gabriella and Troy started to walk back to restaurant to get their cars. For most of the walk, Gabriella remained quiet in her own thoughts thinking about what Evelyn had said. 'In love and happy? Am I still in love with him? If I am, is that obvious? Does that mean that he is and he was showing it too?' she thought as she walked beside Troy.
"Are you okay?" he asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.
Gabriella stopped and looked up at him, searching his blue eyes. "Yeah, I'm all right," she answered still looking in his eyes. He returned the gaze, looking in her deep brown ones. Gabriella then bit her lip and started to walk again.
"Are you sure?" he asked as he caught up with her.
Gabriella nodded. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" she asked.
Troy shrugged. "I don't know, it just seems like ever since we walked out of the photographers you've been very quiet," he said.
"It's nothing really, I was just thinking about what you said," Gabriella replied.
"Me? About us being best friends?" he inquired.
She continued to walk. "Yeah, that," she said.
He stopped her, and made her look up at him. "Gabriella, you are one of my greatest and best friends. Just because we haven't talked to each other in a while doesn't change that fact," he said holding her chin up.
Gabriella sighed and looked down at her sandals. "I know, it was just a shock to hear you say it after so many years," she replied.
Troy laughed as he and Gabriella started to walk down the street together again. "Yes, well it was a shock to see you again," he stated.
Gabriella smiled. "I hope it was a good shock."
Troy looked down at her. "Yes, it was definitely a good shock," he said smiling.
"Good, I'm glad. It was nice to see you again too," she said reaching the restaurant parking lot.
Troy reached his car and turned around. "Well, I guess I will see you tomorrow. Actually speaking of tomorrow, what are we doing?" he asked leaning on his car.
Gabriella thought, and decided that they should do flowers. "Flowers," she answered simply.
Troy raised his eyebrows. "Flowers," he repeated.
She started to giggle. "Yes, you know, plants?" she asked still giggling.
"I know what they are," he said matter-of-factly, "but shouldn't you do that with Melanie?" he asked.
Gabriella cocked her head to the side. "Well, we already know that she like lilies, so it shouldn't be that hard," she replied.
"Oh, all right. Flowers it is. I'll pick you up at five o'clock? Chad wants to 'go out and talk' tomorrow, so I should be done by then. Does that sound good?" he asked.
"Yeah, that's fine. Do you need my address?" she inquired taking out a piece of paper and pen.
"Yes, that would be helpful," he responded.
Gabriella chuckled as she wrote down her address and phone number. She gave it to him and smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow then?" she asked.
He nodded and grinned. "Bye, Gabi," he said as he hugged her. Gabriella hugged back, smiled and started to walk towards her car. Once she got in the drivers seat, she grinned and watched Troy pull out of the parking lot. She secretly couldn't wait until tomorrow, but her mind kept wandering back to what Evelyn said. Now that she thought about it, maybe she was still in love with Troy Bolton.
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Author's Note: Whoa, another long chapter. I thought this chapter was sort of cute in some parts…and I bet all of you are happy that Melanie is gone for a couple of chapters. Hehe. Well anyway, I hope you like this chapter, I worked really, really hard and long on this one. Next chapter should be up soon! Please review! Thanks!
