Hey Guys!!

I just wanted to let y'all know I'm done WRITING this story. There is still...7 more chapters plus an Epilouge for you guys to enjoy! So no crying yet!!

Now, a lot people said that they DID want a sequel, and the people that didn't gave me AMAZING reasons as to why they didn't. I'm gonna give you guys a little summary on what I'm thinking about...but I may not do it, cause when you guys read the last Chapter it'll feel very finished.

Summary

The school year has just ended for Gabriella and Alex, and everything seems to be going great for Troy and Gabriella. There is a problem being avoided: Alex doesn't know that his Kindergarten teacher and father are dating. Once the last day of school arrives, Troy decides to tell Alex. How will he take it? If that isn't enough; Amanda decides to take custody of Alex after Child Services thinks Troy is unnacceptable to be a parent because of the upcoming basketball season. The only way for Troy to keep Alex? To get married.

DUN DUN DUN! Hahaha! What do you guys think?

PS. Brad is Drew Seeley. Most people got it right! YAY YOU GUYS! Hands out cookies

Disclaimer: Look, if I owned Disney, I would be out with Mitchel Musso right now, not updating. ;)

Chapter 16:

((Gabriella's POV))

Okay, when I walked into Taylor's classroom so she could tell me about Brad, I expected a major girl-talk session, and hopefully a picture. I did not expect a hott guy standing there, talking to Taylor. I wasn't 100 sure the guy was Brad, but if he wasn't, then Brad was just gonna wait, because this guy was mine.

I knocked on the door softly and Taylor looked up. She said something to the guy and pointed to me. He turned around and started at me. I couldn't explain what happened when he looked at me. I felt…weird… There was something there, I could feel it. He had piercing blue eyes, but they weren't intimidating. They seemed to have a weird affect on me, like they were calming me down after nine years. He had short brown hair that looked like it at been gelled at some point this morning (I know my hair products.).

I suddenly became self conscious of the fact I was only wearing a tee shirt and jeans. Out of all days, the one day I don't dress nice, Taylor brings a cute guy. Some friend she is. At least my shirt was form fitting, not baggy like some of the teachers, and the jeans were purposely tight around the hips….maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

"Come on in Gabi," Taylor said, smirking slightly at me. I knew that look; that was the 'You look fine, stop being a nerd and come talk to the hott guy' look.

"Are you sure, I don't want to interrupt," I said, smiling sweetly. Despite the sweet smile, my eyes said 'Shut up, I can't move because the guy is so cute'.

"No, not at all," the guy said, smiling, "We were just talking about you."

Oh, great. It's good to know that your best friend and a cute guy have been talking about you without you knowing. Especially when that said friend knows everything about you.

Through my disturbing thoughts, I grinned and walked over to him.

"Hey, I'm Brad," he said, holding out his hand.

"Gabriella," I said, shaking it, "nice to meet you."

When I touched his hand, I really couldn't explain what I felt. It wasn't a spark, like I felt when I shook Troy's hand. So it wasn't fireworks…at least yet anyway. It was…a glow. It was a slower form of electricity, a kind that I could trust and felt like it would grow into a spark after a while. Even if I was completely off, the point was, there was something there.

"So…Taylor said you sing?" he asked me.

I blushed. I mean, come on, I hadn't sung since High School, but technically, I did sing. If singing in the shower and the car counts.

"…Sometimes," I murmured.

"What kind of music?" he asked. He seemed genuinely interested. Wow. This was new. Here was a guy who liked music enough to actually want to have an entire conversation about it.

"Mostly Musicals and some Pop here and there," I said.

That sparked a huge conversation. So, here I was. I was talking to an incredibly cute guy that my best friend set me up with about music. I mean, could this be any more perfect?

We didn't just talk about musicals either. We talked about everything; high school, college, friends, family, pretty much anything you could talk about with a person. By 8:15 AM I knew everything about Brad Daniels I possibly could, and he knew as much as Taylor did about me, and she'd known me for eleven years. The funny thing about Brad was that I felt like I could talk to him about anything, even Troy. Not that I did. Believe it or not, I didn't even think about Troy for thirty minutes. I know that sounds dumb, but c'mon; Troy Bolton had been the first, last, and in between thoughts in my head for the last eleven years. I couldn't remember a time when I wasn't thinking about him. So now, here I was, not thinking about the guy I swore I was going to marry. My thoughts were now swirling madly over this cute, sweet, guy that I barely knew. What does this mean? Could I actually be losing my feelings for Troy?

((Taylor's POV))

I walked into school that morning, busting with excitement. Brad, the guy I was determined to set up with Gabriella, was coming in to talk to Gabi before school started. To be honest, this wasn't just about making Troy jealous. I was so tired of Gabriella being upset about losing Troy. I understood where she was coming from, because I think I'd die if something ever happened to Chad, but at the same time, I felt like, sometimes, she was blowing it out of proportion. That's where Brad came in.

See, Brad was one of my best guyfriends. He and I had met one night during college. It was a couple days before my final exams in senior year, and as usual, I was freaking out. I was sitting there, bawling my eyes out in the library. I was so stressed out, Chad was in class, and Gabriella was ½ way across the country. So there I was, looking pathetic, as tears rolled down my face and stained my chemistry book. A guy I barely knew (Brad, if you didn't guess), came over and sat down and asked me if I was okay.

Flashback… (3rd POV)

"Are you okay?" Brad asked, softly.

"No," Taylor sobbed. "I-I'm just so stressed and my boyfriends in class, and my best friend is half way across the country!" It hadn't registered in her mind that she was telling this to a complete stranger.

"You're a senior, right?" he asked.

Taylor nodded. "That obvious?" she asked.

Brad chuckled and nodded. "Only because I'm a senior too; final exams killing you too?"

Taylor nodded again. "Yeah, every class I have has said the test is going to be the hardest one of the four years I've been here, and if I don't pass, I can't become a teacher!" she started crying again.

Brad chuckled again. "That's a bunch of crap, you know that right?" he asked, closing her books.

"What are you doing?!" she screeched. "I have to study!"

"Look, everything you have learned is stored in your brain. They say it's the hardest test of the year because it's on everything you've learned. But at the same time, think of it as a giant review…you already know the answer key, because you've learned it all," Brad said.

Taylor sniffled, "I guess so…" she whispered. "I'm Taylor, by the way. Taylor McKessie."

"Brad, Brad Daniels," he introduced. "Are you going to be okay?"

Taylor laughed and shook her head. "Not until I know I got an A on my exams," she said.

"Ah, you're an A freak," he teased. "I'm one too."

Taylor laughed. "Is that what your friends call you?"

Brad nodded. "Ever since sixth grade, that's all I was obsessed with getting: A's."

Taylor giggled, "That's how my friend Gabi and I are too…she's at Yale."

Brad looked impressed, "And you're not? I would've thought someone like you would've been asked to apply."

Taylor found herself blushing slightly. "I did get accepted, but I didn't want to leave my boyfriend," she said, softly.

"Wow, smart and sweet. That's a combination you don't see everyday," Brad said.

Taylor laughed, "Too smart for my own good sometimes," she said. "Why do you think I was crying my eyes out five minutes ago?" she asked.

Brad laughed, "I figured it was something girls do on a daily basis," he teased.

Taylor slapped him playfully. She was surprised at how casual she was acting around Brad. She didn't like him, obviously, she had Chad. But she already felt like she could be good friends with him.

---End of Flashback---

And that's where it started. Brad and I became really good friends and we kept talking every now and then. So when I was sitting at home on Thursday night, thinking about how to get Gabriella and Troy together, it hit me. Brad. I felt like an idiot then because it had been so obvious and I couldn't believe that I hadn't thought of that before! Brad was the perfect guy for Gabriella. Gabriella needed someone that wouldn't be flirty or someone that would only care about the fact that she was pretty. Brad was that guy.

"So…do you want to do something…maybe next Friday?" I heard Brad ask Gabriella. "I mean, I'd do it this Friday, but I'm going away."

Gabi's face lit up more than I have ever seen it light up. "Sure! That'd be awesome," she said, trying to play it cool, but I could tell she was freaking out.

"Great! I'll see you then!" he said. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

"Can't wait!" Gabriella said, grinning, despite the fact that her face was getting redder by the second.

Brad grinned and walked out of the classroom, humming a slow song to him.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Gabriella and I started squealing.

"He asked you out! And you said yes!" I squealed.

She nodded, "I know!" she exclaimed.

"How do you feel?" I asked, somewhat nervous.

"Surprisingly…amazing," she grinned.

OOooh. Gabriella has a date!!! R&R!

TTYL!

Molly