Author's Note: I am soo sorry for the wait on this chapter. It took me awhile to get back into writing after my dad took me on a surprise vacation type thing. Anyway, here's the next chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical.
----
Troy closed his eyes and sighed as Gabriella closed the door softly. He knew he had just crushed everything; everything that they could have had in a relationship, even if it was only and purely just friends. He marched down the stairs hopelessly, lost in his own thoughts. He felt stupid for almost kissing her; although deep down he knew he really had wanted to. And it felt like she wanted to also, but the timing was off. Way off. 'Of course that man just had to come in at that particular moment,' Troy thought bitterly. He then groaned as he got in his car and started off in the direction of his hotel. He was staying in the Hilton, because no one from his family lived here, or from Melanie's. Chad just moved in; there was no room set up or ready for guests. Throughout the drive, Troy was mentally hitting himself for his foolishness.
"What is wrong with me?" he asked himself out loud, hoping that something would answer for him. When nothing did, he moaned and pulled into the parking lot of his hotel. Troy stumbled out of his car, startled of his vibrating cell phone that was in his pocket. He took it out, and answered it without looking at the caller ID.
"Hello?" he asked while shutting the car door.
"Baby! Where have you been? I've been trying to call you all day!" Melanie screeched on the other line.
Troy took his free hand and rubbed his eyes. "Sorry, I was planning with Gabriella," he replied.
"Oh, I see. Did you tell her everything that we wanted?" she asked sweetly.
"Yeah, I think so," he responded cautiously while entering the lobby.
He heard Melanie giggle on the other line. "What did you two finish?" she asked.
"Uh, we got photographers and we picked flowers," he said, although his voice faltered at he last part, reliving the memory with him and him and Gabriella.
Melanie gasped. "Flowers? Which ones did you pick?" she asked excitedly.
Troy stepped into the elevator. "Lilies and daisies," he replied quietly.
"Daises? Why would you pick daises? Oh well, I guess we can't change it now. Anyway, I'm thinking that if we're having the wedding pretty soon, we need to design the invitations. Obviously I can't design them because I'm here, so could you make up a sketch or something tonight?" she inquired.
Troy's face grew with confusion. "Wait, you want me to design invitations?" he asked surprised.
Melanie giggled. "Yes, silly. It doesn't have to be beautiful, I'm sure Gabriella can fix it if it's horrible," she replied.
Troy sighed. "Melanie that seems sort of like a girly thing to do," he proclaimed.
"Troy, I know I'm asking a lot, but can you please just do this for me? I can't do anything, because I'm stuck in here California. I still don't know how long he wants me here. Please, can you just do this?" she pleaded.
"Fine, I'll design the invitations," he said defeated as he walked out of the elevator onto his floor.
Melanie had squealed so loud that it caused Troy to hold the phone away from his ear, and a by-passer to look at him strangely. Troy managed a weak smile, before getting his key out and entering his room.
"Thank you, Troy! You are the best fiancée that anyone could ever ask for!" she shrieked.
"Yeah, yeah," Troy replied, now flopping down on his bed.
"So sweetheart how was your day?" she asked suddenly calmed down.
Troy closed his eyes and sighed. "It was…interesting," he concluded.
"Interesting?" she repeated, "how so?"
He let out a laugh. "Long story," he answered. There was no way he was going to tell her what had exactly happened.
"Okay," she replied, obviously not convinced. "I miss you," she said breathlessly.
"I miss you too," he repeated, though his voice held less emotion.
Obviously hearing the lack of emotion, she asked, "Troy, are you okay?"
Troy sat up on his bed. "Of course I'm okay, why wouldn't I be?" he asked.
He heard Melanie sigh on the other line. "I don't know, you seem sort of different," she said softly.
"I'm sorry, I just have a lot of things on my mind," he replied, standing up and looking out his window.
"You can tell me, you know. That's one of the reasons why I'm here, Troy. To talk to," she said interested.
Troy sighed. "It's nothing I really want to talk about at the moment. Mel, I'm pretty tired, so I'll do the invitations now. I'll call you tomorrow," he responded, playing with the curtains.
Melanie let out a long sigh. "Okay, if you say so. I love you," she rang into the phone.
He swallowed, searching for the words. "I love you too," he choked out, hoping he sounded genuine.
"Bye," Melanie answered a little suspiciously.
Troy let out a sigh of relief as closed his phone. When and why had it become so hard for him to say 'I love you' to Melanie? Last week he said it to her, and he meant it. Or at least he thought he did.
"What is happening to me?" he asked out loud. He let out a frustrated sigh and sat down at the small round table in his room. He grabbed a piece of paper, and started to doodle invitation ideas. Most of them were pathetic, as Troy had a full waste basket full of crumpled paper. After awhile he finally did one he actually liked and considered, but as he looked closer his eyes widened as to what he wrote.
You are cordially invited to witness
The joining in Holy Matrimony
Of Troy Alexander Bolton
And Gabriella Anne Montez
On the 4th of June
Two thousand fourteen
Precisely at nine o'clock…
Troy gaped at what he had written minutes before. He quickly threw the piece of paper at the end of the table, shocked. He shook his head, and then swiftly grasped another piece and copied what he had written before, except this time, he wrote Melanie's name. He sighed, got up from his seat and look at the clock. The bright, red lights flashed, '9:56'. He groaned and changed into his pajamas, falling back onto his bed in a deep sleep without even getting beneath the covers.
----
The next morning, Troy woke up to the sound of his cell phone ringing. He looked at the clock, and saw that it was past noon. He cursed loudly, and then jumped up to get his phone.
"Hello?" he asked quickly, trying to regain his balance after almost tripping over the wastebasket.
"Hi, Troy?" a quiet voice asked. Troy knew that voice anywhere.
"Yeah, it's me Gabriella," he answered, a smile etching up on his lips.
"Oh, well, um what time do you want to meet today? I have a couple of things we could do," she replied.
"Uh, is one o'clock okay?" Troy asked rifling though his suitcase.
"Yeah, one is good. Meet me in my office, okay?" she asked confident.
"Sure, oh, and Melanie made me design the invitations last night, do you want me to bring it?" he inquired, not paying attention to how many things he was throwing out of his suitcase.
"Yeah, bring it. Well, I'll see you soon?" she asked.
"Yeah," Troy replied.
"Okay, see you later," she said as he shut his phone.
Troy raced into the bathroom, turned on the water and got into the shower. Once he was done, he quickly threw on a shirt and jeans, snatched an invitation off the table and bolted out the door.
----
EARLIER THAT MORNING
Gabriella walked briskly around her building, clutching the very thick folder to her chest. Her long legs took her across the hallways as fast as they would take her, aching a bit after she stopped abruptly at a door. Gabriella knocked loudly, and entered when she heard a voice yell for her to come in.
She burst through the door, and rushed to Cindy's desk.
"Cindy! Take the wedding, I can't take it," Gabriella said breathlessly as she slammed the folder down on her desk. Cindy opened the folder, and saw the names Troy Bolton and Melanie Dashsend on the first paper. She looked back up at Gabriella.
"Why? The rule is you have to take a wedding unless…" Cindy stopped in mid-sentence, and then looked up at Gabriella with an eager expression.
"You're in love with the groom?" she asked all excited standing up.
Gabriella looked away and sighed. "That's not the point, Cindy! Just take the wedding, take the partner offer, and let me mope around in peace," Gabriella grumbled.
Cindy looked at Gabriella with sympathy. "Gabriella, I'm not taking this wedding. You started it, you finish it," she said closing the folder.
Gabriella snapped her head up at Cindy. "What? I know you want the partner position, so take it!" Gabriella exclaimed.
Cindy sighed and walked around the desk. "Yes, but I don't deserve it. You do, Gabriella. You work your butt off just to make sure that not a single flower or piece of confetti is out of place. You make everyone's dreams in love come true," she replied, leaning on her desk.
"It still leaves my problem," Gabriella shot, "I broke the rule. I can't take it."
A smile wretched its way onto Cindy's face. "So you are in love with Troy Bolton?" she asked smirking.
Gabriella rolled her eyes. "We are not having this conversation. Thank you for all that you said about me working my butt off, but you need to take this wedding," Gabriella retorted.
Fed up, Cindy stood up straight and slammed her hands to her sides. "You cannot let this guy ruin your career! You worked so hard for this! And now you're going to let a guy who walked back into your life ruin it for you? I don't think so!" Cindy cried.
Gabriella looked up at Cindy in astonishment. Cindy had a blazing look in her eyes, and Gabriella could tell she was being serious. She thought about it and then realized Cindy was right. She wasn't going to let her emotions get to her, or in the way of her career. She could do this.
"You know what? You're right. I can plan this wedding! And I will! I'll treat him like every other person I've dealt with! Because I can do this! And because I'm a damn professional!" she shouted as she took the folder back in her arms.
Cindy smiled. "Good job. Now go call him and plan!" Cindy ordered as Gabriella marched out of the room. She strolled down the hallways, swiftly moving in and out of people's way. When she reached her office, she opened the door and walked behind her desk. She let the folder drop onto her desk as she picked up the phone and called Troy.
She made plans with him; he was to be here at one o'clock, a half hour away. She sighed as she grew impatient, since Troy had done the invitations; she felt there was no need to do anything else today. From Troy's artistic abilities, she knew there would have to be some edits and changes to them. She put her head in her hands, thinking about the previous night. After Troy had left, all she could think about was him. She thought about high school memories, what had almost happened at the florist, but she mainly thought about how she wanted it to happen. She spent the night crying quietly, not bothering to call Taylor. She looked a mess; her hair was pulled back into a black headband, letting her curls out of control dangle on her back. She put on little make-up, and she was dressed in black pants and a simple grey top.
She was starting to doze off when someone entered her office. She looked up, and saw Troy standing in her doorway. She straightened her position, ready to not let her feelings get the best of her.
"H-hi Troy," she stammered out as she stood.
Troy smiled faintly and sat in one of the chairs. "Hey Gabi," he replied as he sat down.
"So, you said you had an invitation idea?" she asked, getting straight to business.
He nodded and fumbled in his pants pocket, and then pulled out a folded piece of paper. He handed it over to her, their hands making contact. Gabriella felt a shock, causing her to take in a quick breath. She quickly closed her mouth and took the paper. She opened it carefully, and looked at the drawing. It was appealing; it had a red border and grayish handwriting. She didn't bother to read the handwritten parts; usually they were all the same. She put the paper down and looked at Troy.
"That's really great, Troy. I think Melanie would love it," she said smiling.
"Thanks," he replied with a smile.
She placed the invitation aside, and asked Troy what he wanted to do for centerpieces. They continued to talk about this for awhile, before deciding that they would be pink candles with lilies around the perimeter. Gabriella also brought up the issue of tuxedoes and dresses. Troy said that his groomsmen were flying out in a week, and that they would go for a fitting when they came. She nodded and wrote it down, as Troy looked at his watch.
"It's four o'clock already," he said surprised.
Gabriella snapped her head up. "Four o'clock?" she repeated.
Troy nodded meekly as Gabriella's eyes widened. She then grabbed the invitation that Troy did and turned to him.
"This is the one you want?" she asked.
"Yeah, if that's okay," he answered.
Gabriella stood up. "Of course it's okay. I need to get it to publisher though, before leaves for the week," she replied.
"Well, then I guess we'll call it a day?" Troy asked as he stood up also.
"Yeah, I guess so. Tomorrow we'll probably arrange the church and reception locations," she answered walking towards the door.
Before she reached the door handle, Troy reached out and grabbed her hand. She whipped her head around, and looked at him questionably.
"Gabriella, I'm sorry for last night," he said sincerely.
Her expression softened when she realized what he was talking about. "It's okay, Troy," she answered softly.
He smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow," he replied as they walked out together.
"Bye," Gabriella said as they walked in separate directions. She bounced down the hallway, stopping at the publisher's door.
"Mary?" Gabriella asked as she stepped in the room.
"Yes?" a pudgy, brunette woman answered.
Gabriella smiled as she walked towards her desk. "Before you leave, can you make at least 100 copies of this?" she asked holding out the paper.
Mary took it, and looked at carefully. "Sure, I'll edit it on my computer, so it doesn't have all the crease marks," she answered, "I'll drop them off to your office when they're done."
"Thank you," Gabriella grinned as she walked out. She made her way back to her office, and sat back behind her desk. She put all of her notes into one pile, and stuffed them into a new folder. Gabriella placed the folder on top of her monitor, and then yawned. She let her head fall onto her desk, where after a couple of minutes she fell into a light sleep.
----
"Gabriella!" Jaime roared into her office.
She snapped her head up, cracking her neck in the process. "Yes?" she asked wearily. She looked over at her clock, it was 5:30.
"So, I see you're getting married to Troy Bolton, now?" Jamie asked angrily as she headed into her office.
"What are you talking about?" Gabriella asked puzzled, massaging her neck.
Jamie huffed and threw down a bunch of invitations on her desk. "Apparently, you're getting married to Troy Bolton according to this invitation!" she bellowed.
Gabriella slowly picked on up, and read its contents.
You are cordially invited to witness
The joining in Holy Matrimony
Of Troy Alexander Bolton
And Gabriella Anne Montez
Her mouth dropped open; she didn't even bother to read what the invitation said! Though behind the shock, she smiled; Troy was the one who made the invitation. She was snapped out of her happy moment by Jamie's yelling.
"Gabriella, now we have 100 invitations with the wrong name! And Mary just left for the week. What are you going to do?" she asked breathlessly.
Gabriella put the invitation down, and looked up at Jamie. "We'll get it done by another publisher."
Jamie's expression softened. "Fine, do what you need to do. I don't care how, just do it," she said as she left Gabriella's office in a huff.
Gabriella looked back at the invitation as soon as Jamie left the room. She swallowed as she looked at Troy's name and her name beside each other. Maybe treating him like all the other people she has dealt with will be a little bit harder than she thought.
----
Author's Note: I'm not really happy with this chapter. I tried to write it differently at least four times, and this is what I came up with. I'm not entirely happy, though I will try to get the next chapter up real soon. Please review! Thanks!
