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Beware of the fluffiness!

The next morning, Sharpay found Troy sitting against his locker, doing absolutely nothing. She took a seat beside him, causing him to turn and look at her. She gave him a small smile but he ignored it and looked back to a spot on the ground.

"You wanna talk?"

Troy shook his head.

"Okay, then you can listen. I know your date with Gabriella didn't go as planned. Ryan could even tell. You guys didn't even talk or look at each other yesterday. Music class was brutal. Did you see all the looks Ms. Darbus shot at you? Not the point. Okay, I know that you love Gabriella. I also know that you were planning to tell her. Is that what this is about? Did she say that she didn't love you?"

Troy turned and looked at Sharpay.

"I told her I loved her and she ran. She reminded me of a stupid promise not to fall in love with her and ran! You happy?"

Sharpay placed a comforting hand on Troy's shoulder, surprised when he didn't brush her off.

"No, I'm not. You're my friend, Troy, and I hate seeing you like this. But, Gabriella is also my friend so I have to try to understand it from her point of view, too."

♪

After school, at four thirty, Sharpay's black BMW pulled into the Montez driveway. She quickly checked her makeup in the mirror and strutted up to the front door. She rang the doorbell and waited patiently until Gabriella opened the door.

"Hey, Gabriella. I was hoping we could talk for a while?"

Gabriella nodded and allowed Sharpay in.

"Mama! I have a friend over!"

Mrs. Montez came out of the kitchen with a glass of orange juice. She handed it to Gabriella.

"Here, honey. Hello. Would you like something to drink?"

Sharpay shook her head.

"No thank you, Mrs. Montez. I just need to talk to Gabriella for a little bit."

Mrs. Montez smiled and nodded.

"Mama, this is Sharpay."

"Hello, Sharpay. It's nice to meet you."

Sharpay shook Mrs. Montez's outstretched hand.

"Nice to meet you as well."

Sharpay followed Gabriella up to her bedroom, where she took a seat in the desk chair. Gabriella made herself comfortable on the edge of her bed. Sharpay leaned forward slightly and took one of Gabriella's hands, surprising her.

"Troy told me what happened after I left."

Gabriella swallowed and nodded, already knowing the reason for Sharpay's visit.

"Gabriella, do you love Troy?"

Gabriella looked into Sharpay's eyes and didn't see the Ice Princess she once was. Instead, she saw a mixture of confusion and concern. In Gabriella's eyes, Sharpay saw the truth. Gabriella did love Troy. Gabriella took her hand away from Sharpay and played with her fingers.

"I do... But I'm not supposed to!"

Sharpay was calm and patient with Gabriella, something that surprised the brunette greatly.

"Why not? You know Troy loves you."

Gabriella sighed and looked down at her hands.

"I know. That's what makes this so hard and complicated."

"But it doesn't have to be! You and Troy can get together and everything would be fine! Even perfect! Look, Gabriella, I've known Troy Bolton forever and he has never been this way with anyone except you. If you don't want to be with him, although I don't know why, at least talk to him. Try to save your friendship before there's nothing left to save."

Sharpay stopped and gave Gabriella a small smirk.

"You will never hear me say anything like that again. Don't get used to it."

Gabriella looked at Sharpay and saw the amusement on her face. She giggled quietly and returned Sharpay's smirk.

"That was definitely a moment to remember."

♪

Troy opened his bedroom door and found Gabriella standing there. He looked at her with shock and confusion.

"Your aunt let me in."

Troy nodded and opened the door wider, allowing Gabriella entry into his room. Troy remembered everything that had happened between him and Gabriella and a scowl appeared on his face, hiding his excitement that she had come to see him.

"What do you want, Gabriella?"

Gabriella winced at his harsh tone. She stood by the door and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, Troy. I overreacted on Friday. You didn't keep your promise, but... can you really keep yourself from falling in love? I realized that I got upset at you for something you had no control over. And the thing is, Troy, I promised myself that I wouldn't fall in love with you, that I wouldn't hurt you by being with you. I broke my promise, too, because I do love you. It took Sharpay coming over and knocking some sense into me, but I do."

Troy sat on his bed, shocked by Gabriella's confession and confused by her rejection.

"So... If you love me, why can't we be together? Am I not good enough for you?"

Gabriella gasped and took a few steps towards Troy, taking his hand in hers.

"No! Troy, you are amazing! Any girl would be lucky and blessed to have you. I'm just afraid that I might hurt you."

Troy stood up and wrapped his arms around Gabriella's small waist.

"But the only girl I want is you, Gabi. It hurts more to not be able to have you."

Gabriella felt tears rolling down her cheeks and moved to wipe them away, but found Troy's hands already there.

"I love you, Gabi."

Troy leaned towards Gabriella, bringing his hand up to cup her cheek. He looked into her eyes and found them full of love. As there lips met, Troy felt a jolt shoot down his spine. Gabriella brought her arms up and wrapped them around Troy's neck, pulling him closer. She ran her hand through his soft hair and felt him shiver. When the lack of oxygen became too prominent to ignore, Troy pulled away, his arms still wrapped tightly around Gabriella. Troy leaned his forehead against Gabriella's, closing his eyes to catch his breath.

"I love you, too, Troy."

Troy opened his eyes and saw Gabriella looking at him, a content smile on her face.

♪

They're finally together! (In the tune of "We're All in This Together) :)

Jay