Future Starts Slow

Seven Years Later

Troy and Gabriella haven't spoken, nor seen, each other in seven years until Jason and Kelsi's wedding. They managed to avoid saying much to each other until the actual wedding day, especially since Troy and Gabriella are in the wedding party.

Gabriella was walking up and down the building looking for her lost earring when she bumped into Troy in a hallway. "Oh! Hi, Troy." Gabriella said. She tried to go around him but Troy blocked her way.

"Hey, Gabriella…can we talk?" Troy asked her nervously.

"I'm kind of busy right now." Gabriella checked her watch. She went up to a mirror in the hallway and began putting on her red lipstick.

Troy put his hands in his pockets. "You can't avoid me forever, Gabriella. And besides, Sharpay paired us up, remember?" He said.

"Damn!" Gabriella said under her breath. She finished applying her lipstick and looked at his reflection in the mirror. "So…I hear you and the Barbie have broken up again."

Troy sighed. "Yes. Are you seeing anybody?" He asked her nervously again.

"Troy, what do you want from me?" Gabriella exclaimed.

"Look, I'm just trying to have a peaceful conversation with you, Gabi! That's all!" Troy tried to keep his voice down.

"Troy, the last time we had a conversation, we broke up, remember!" Gabriella snapped.

"Since you brought it up… I recall being pushed into a dresser and get sick before a big game because someone pushed me onto some sprinklers seconds before they turned on. Sound familiar?" Troy snapped back.

Well since you brought it up. I remember walking in on you cheating on me with a girl who has pompom for a brain!" Gabriella yelled. Then Sharpay came running down the hall to see Troy and Gabriella staring daggers at each other.

"If you two are done, you should know that voices carry and the wedding starts in just over fifteen minutes." Sharpay said with her hands on her hips and then walked away.

Troy and Gabriella sighed. "Look, can we just get along for today? For Jason and Kelsi." Troy said calmly.

"Fine, but only for Jason and Kelsi. Now if you would excuse, I have to find my other earring." Gabriella walked away. And then she noticed Troy was following her. She stopped and turned around. "What now?" He smirked at her. "What?" She asked grinning too. Troy pulled her earring out of his pocket.

"Taylor found it and I volunteered to return it. But I admit I wanted to talk to you first." Troy said, so charming. He politely handed over her earring, smiled and winked at her. They slowly began to walk away in opposite directions. Troy made a quick glance at her over his shoulder and Gabriella made a quick glance at him too.

The Wedding

The wedding was taking place at the Ceremonial Rose Garden in Albuquerque, New Mexico on a beautiful spring day. A Moment Like This by Kelly Clarkson began to play. Zeke and Sharpay walked down the aisle first to the altar followed by Chad and Taylor, and then Troy and Gabriella.

Sharpay and several wedding coordinators planned the whole affair. The bridesmaids wore beautiful strapless light blue dresses. The groomsmen wore black tuxedoes with the same shade of light blue vests and ties. Jason stood at the altar wearing a white three piece tuxedo with a light blue vest and bow tie. His hair was cut short and parted.

Then the Wedding March began to play and everyone stood. Kelsi walked down the aisle on her father's arm in a simple but elegant strapless embroidered ivory colored wedding dress. Jason smiled as he watched her. When they reached the altar, her father pulled up her veil and kissed her cheek. Jason held out his hand to Kelsi and she took it. They stepped up on the altar and faced the reverend.

The Wedding Reception

The wedding reception was taking place in a large white tent on the grounds. The wedding party sat a long table. The rest of guests sat at circular tables surrounding the dance floor. "Kiss, kiss, kiss…" They chanted. Jason and Kelsi kissed and everyone cheered. They looked so happy.

Troy was then handed a microphone and he stood to make his speech. He grabbed a glass of champagne. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! When Jason asked me to be his best man, I was honored until he told me Zeke said he just didn't want to do the speech. So here I am, stuck giving the long, boring speech wishing him and Kelsi a long, happy marriage." The wedding party and guest laugh.

"Jason, Playmaker, I've known you both for a long time and I consider you both family. I cannot think of a better match, besides Chad and Taylor of course." The wedding party and guests laugh again. "But I do know that you two will take great care of one another and most of all, you two are meant to be. The best of luck to you both. To Jason and Kelsi!" He raised his glass.

To Jason and Kelsi!" Everyone chanted and they lifted their glasses.

Later on, Jason and Kelsi cut the cake and smashed the pieces into each other mouths. And not long after that cleaning themselves up, they did their first dance to.

There was an uncomfortable silence between Troy and Gabriella as they sat next to each other but they kept smiling for their friends' sakes. After Jason and Kelsi walked off the dance floor, Reunited by Peaches and Herb started playing, confusing Troy and Gabriella. Troy looked towards the DJ booth and saw Chad. Chad gave Troy and thumps up and a stupid grin while Troy gave him a dirty look.

But Troy decided to go for broke. "Gabriella, would you like to dance?" He asked.

Gabriella grinned. "I'd love to." Troy stood up and held out his hand towards Gabriella. She took it and they headed to the dance floor. They moved in close together and began to slow dance. Why does this feel like a fairy tale? I don't want to feel this way with him, thought Gabriella. Troy could not help but take in the sweet fragrance Gabriella was wearing. He had missed this, holding her in his arms, but he had to screw it up.

Jason and Kelsi left to catch their flight to Italy so the party began to break up around 8:00. The wedding party stayed longer than everyone else to take advantage of the open bar and DJ booth. Troy said that Gabriella could hitch a ride with him.

They were outside waiting for the valet to pull up with Troy's car. It was a cool night and Gabriella shivered. Troy noticed so he took off his tuxedo jacket and put it around her shoulders. "Thank you," she said softly. They grinned at each other.

In the car, they headed to the Plaze Hotel in Troy's rented silver BMW 6-Series. It was an awkward silence that Troy decided to break. "So I heard that you got into med school?" Troy asked her while keeping his eyes on the road.

"Yeah, I did. I'm a cardiothoracic surgeon now." Gabriella said.

"Wow! That's amazing!" Troy said. They both couldn't think of anything else to say so the rest of the ride was silent. They finally pulled up to the Plaza Hotel. Troy got out of the car and jogged around to the passenger side of the car. Troy opened the door for her and got out the car.

"It was nice to see you, Troy." Gabriella said. She gave Troy back his jacket and she kissed him on the cheek. She then headed to the side entrance of the hotel. Gabriella was almost to the side door when someone grabbed her and pulled her only the wheelchair ramp. She screamed at the top of her lungs.

Troy had just opened his car door when he heard Gabriella scream. He instantly dropped his jacket and ran towards the side door she was heading for. "Gabriella!" Troy called as he looked for her. Troy then heard whimpering and he realized it was Gabriella. "Gabriella?" Troy walked over to the wheelchair ramp and found a frightened Gabriella. "It's okay." He held out his hand to her and she reached for his hand. Then he was suddenly hit was something hard on the back of his head.

"Troy!"Gabriella cried as Troy fell to the ground. The attacker dropped a wooden bat on the ground, thinking Troy was out cold. Then the attacker started moving towards Gabriella, who was crawling backwards trying to get to the door at the top of the ramp. Gabriella was halfway there when he grabbed her twisted ankle.

Gabriella tried to shake out of his grip despite the pain but he was too strong. Troy then came up and pulled the guy off of her. Troy pushed him to the ground and two began throwing punching in each other. The attacker then punched Troy on the jaw and pulled out a gun. Troy knocked the gun out of his hand and it heard it slide down the ramp.

The guy kneed Troy in the stomach and went for the gun but Troy jumped on top of him. The two rolled down the ramp punching each other. When they reach the bottom, Troy punched him as hard as he could. Troy ached all over as he slowly stood. The guy looked out cold. He looked at Gabriella, panting. "Troy." Gabriella whispered.

Troy then heard a click behind him. He slowly turned around to see their attacker holding the gun. Troy was too scared to move an inch. He didn't know why but Troy looked his would-be killer in the eye. Then he heard a gunshot and Gabriella screamed. Troy looked down and saw that he wasn't bleeding. The attack dropped his gun and collapsed. Troy looked around and saw the patrol cop holding a smoking gun.

Later, an ambulance took the attacker with a police car following it. Troy was sitting in another ambulance holding an ice back on the back of his head. An EMT finished wrapping up Gabriella's ankle. It was just a sprain. Nothing ice and over the counter painkiller couldn't fix. She sat next to Troy with a blanket wrapped around her. "You okay?" Troy asked and she nodded.

Lieutenant Maria Sanchez and her partner, Detective Scott Marks, pulled up in a company car. "I swear I could be home right now but no, some pro basketball player was attacked and we have to look into it." She complained.

"It's just not some pro player. It's Troy Bolton! C'mon. We'll get their statements and then be on our way." Marks said. Sanchez scoffed and rolled her eyes. They then approached Troy and Gabriella. Gabriella was shaken up. "Mr. Bolton, Miss Montez, I hate to have to do this but I need your statements. Do any of you know the man who attacked you?"

Troy shook his head. "His name is Paul Curtis. He's my ex-fiancee. We broke up last year. He didn't take it very well." Gabriella said. Troy put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"Is there anything else you wish to tell us?" Sanchez asked. Gabriella hesitated for a moment but then shook her head.

"Oh and Mr. Bolton, if it's not too much trouble, may I have your auto…?" Marks started to ask but Sanchez elbowed his arm. She shook her head at him and gave him a stern look.

"Gabi, I'll take you up to your room." Troy said and Gabriella nodded. He put his arm around her and slowly entered the hotel. People watched them enter the elevator. It was a silent ride up to the fifth floor. Gabriella pulled out her electronic key and unlocked the door to room 523. Troy opened the door and they entered the hotel room.

Troy sat her down on the bed and got her a glass of water. He handed to her and she took a few sips. He sat down next to her and there was an uncomfortable silence. "Gabriella…what didn't you tell the cops?" He asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Troy could always tell when she was lying and she was lying now.

Troy knelt down in front of her and held her hand. "You can tell me."

Gabriella stood and put the glass on the nightstand. "I broke off the engagement for a reason. One day, we are having a big fight over announcing our engagement. I wanted to wait but he wanted to do a press conference or something. I asked if we could wait a couple more weeks and then…"

Gabriella just stopped speaking as if she were ashamed. She walked over to the hotel window and spaced out for a minute. "Gabriella?" Troy stood and approached her.

Gabriella began to cry. "And then he hit me…hard. He cared more about his public image than he did about me. So the next morning I packed up my things and left." Troy embraced Gabriella and she cried in his arms.

Then the two looked into each other's eyes. Troy's intense blue eyes still captivated Gabriella. Troy slowly leaned in and their lips met. They kissed tenderly and Gabriella wrapped her arms around his neck. Troy groaned in pain and Gabriella pulled away. "I'm sorry!" Gabriella said. She turned and faced the window again.

Troy touched her arms with his smooth hands. "I'm not." Troy said and caressed her cheek. Their lips met again. As the kiss deepened, Troy pulled down the zipper on the back of her dress. Gabriella unbuttoned his dress shirt. The two then slowly lay down onto the bed.

The Next Day

Troy and Gabriella walked hand in hand the next morning at the airport. They slowly walked up to the gate for the flight to Phoenix. "Well…this is my gate." Gabriella said while pointing towards the gate.

"Yeah. My plane is that way." Troy pointed in the opposite direction. The two hugged as Gabriella's plane docked at the gate. They both said their goodbyes and Gabriella began to walk towards her gate.

Gabriella stopped halfway to the gate. "What the hell." Gabriella turned around and ran back to Troy. "One for the road." She threw her arms around him and he dropped his duffel bag onto the ground. Troy held her and their lips met in a passionate kiss. The kiss seemed to last for hours to them. The two finally broke apart for air. Troy held her hand until it slowly slipped out of his fingers.

Troy then slowly walked away towards his gate. Troy was near his gate when he just started smiling.

Gabriella was reading and Troy was just standing around. It was New Year's Eve; the day they met. Next thing a spotlight was shining on them. They were both pushed onto the stage and he looked at her for the first time.

Troy stopped in his tracks as he remembered that moment. His gate was right in front of him but he kept looking back. Should I go back? Troy thought as he looked at his gate and then back in the opposite direction again. He then turned around and started running back to Gabriella's gate. He didn't stop for anyone.

Gabriella's gate came into view. Troy froze as he looked out the windows to see her plane was already on the runway. "Damn it!" Troy kicked air. He sadly watched the plane disappear into the clouds. Troy then had no choice but to go back to his gate and catch his flight back to L.A.

Some Weeks Later

"Okay, I'm too scared to check." Gabriella said to Taylor McKessie. The two were sitting down in Gabriella's living room in her apartment. A timer then went off on the table.

"Oh, you're going to check." Taylor said to her sternly. It was her job as best friend to not let her friend chicken out. Taylor grabbed Gabriella and pulled her into the bathroom. Gabriella just handed the pregnancy test to Taylor. Taylor looked at the results and her eyes widened.

"Well?" Gabriella asked nervously.

"Congratulations." Taylor replied nervously. Gabriella grabbed the test from her hand and saw that it was blue.

"Oh my god. I'm pregnant." Gabriella said.