Thanks to naughtycate, Holy Cross Baby, spotzy, tashLOVE and liv3.in.lov3 for reviewing the the last chapter.

This chapter is nearly 1,000 words longer than all of the other chapters have been and I know going into it that half of you will love this ending and the other half will hate it. For those that hate it, don't worry... tomorrow (assuming I get 5 reviews today) I will be posting the alternate ending where she ends up with the other guy. So either way, I'd love to hear from all of you... if you love who she ends up with, tell me; if you hate who she ends up with, tell me.

Chapter 7

On the Tuesday of homecoming week, Gabriella surprised Chad by asking him to go to the dance with her. He had been extremely surprised by her request and when he had asked her why she wanted to go with him, she told him that they were still friends and that she forgave him for what he had done.

Chad was still in disbelief Friday morning as he got dressed for school. In his wildest fantasy he hadn't imagined that Gabriella would forgive him so quickly then actually want to still be friends with him.

After getting dressed, Chad went downstairs and paused as he neared the kitchen when he heard Jack and Troy talking.

"So the big dance is tonight," Jack commented. "You have a date?"

"I'm not going," Troy shook his head.

"Why not?" Jack asked him.

"Just don't feel like going," Troy shrugged.

"You wanted to take Gabriella and she's going with Chad," Jack said, reading between the lines.

"Pretty much," Troy replied.

Chad backed away from the door and went back up to his room. He had to figure out a way to make things up to Troy.

Hearing a knock on his bedroom door, Chad stood up and took a deep breath before giving the person permission to come in.

"Oh good you're up," his mom said. "Jack made scrambled eggs for breakfast."

"I'll be right down," Chad assured his mom.

After a quiet breakfast, Chad left for school and spent the whole day trying to figure out how he was going to make it up to Troy. It wasn't until he saw his friend Zeke standing in the office complaining of a sore throat that Chad knew what he was going to do.

So after school got out, he waited for Gabriella at her locker and when she showed up he told her he wasn't going to go home with her because he wanted to take a nap. When she asked if he was okay, he said he was fine, but that his throat was a little sore.

Arriving home, he continued his charade by talking to his stepdad and Troy before he went up to his room. He kicked off his shoes and grabbed his Gameboy DS then climbed into his bed.

His plan was foiled when his mom came into his room with a thermometer and demanded to check his temperature.

"Chad, what's going on?" She asked him. "You don't have a temperature."

"I want Troy to take Gabriella to the dance," he told his mom. "But he won't do it unless I can't go." He gave his mom the pouty face he'd perfected over his childhood. "Please don't rat me out."

"Alright," his mom nodded. "What do you need me to do?"

Armed with a mission, Zoey left Chad's room and knocked on Troy's door. "Come downstairs, please," she said before she went downstairs.

Troy followed and hopped onto the counter. "What's up?" He asked.

"Chad is sick," his dad stated, having been filled in on Chad's plan. "He won't be going to Homecoming tonight."

"It's a shame really," Zoey said, shaking her head as she poured herself a mug of coffee. "Gabriella bought a really pretty dress and she'll never get to wear it." She stopped and looked at Troy. "Unless…"

"Unless what?" Troy asked, looking from his stepmom to his dad.

"You could take her," Zoey suggested. "Chad feels really bad that he's ruining this night for her."

"Chad would rather ruin the night for her then let her go with me," Troy muttered.

"I don't believe that," Zoey stated. "Why don't you go upstairs and ask him?"

"Go," Jack said when Troy didn't move.

"Fine," Troy grumbled. He went upstairs and knocked on Chad's door.

"Come in," Chad called in weak voice.

"Hey, dad and Zoey told me you're sick," Troy said, coming into the room.

Chad just nodded.

"They're also making me ask you if it's okay if I take Gabriella to the dance," Troy said. "For you, of course."

"Really? You'd do that for me?" Chad asked.

"Yeah," Troy nodded.

"That would be great, Troy," Chad stated. "I told Gabriella I'd pick her up at 6 and we were going to have dinner at the Tres Amigos before we went."

"Alright, anything else?" Troy asked.

"Her corsage is in the fridge," Chad replied.

Two hours later, Troy stood in front of the bathroom mirror and tugged on his suit jacket.

"You look very handsome, Troy," Zoey said from behind him. "Gabriella will be a very lucky girl tonight."

"You and dad aren't going to do anything to embarrass me tonight, are you?" Troy asked as she helped him with his tie.

"I'll keep your dad off the dance floor," Zoey laughed. "Alright, I think you're ready to go."

"Thanks," Troy said. He glanced at himself one last time before he left the bathroom.

"See ya at the dance," his dad called before Troy walked out the front door with Gabriella's corsage in hand.

He drove over to Gabriella's house and took a deep breath before he climbed out of the car. He didn't know if she knew that Chad wasn't coming and he was nervous about how she'd react.

Knocking on the door, he waited until who he assumed was Gabriella's dad answered the door.

"Are you Troy?" The older man asked. Troy just nodded. "Come in, Chad told us you were coming."

Troy entered the house and couldn't believe the changes that had been made to what had been his second childhood home.

"Gabriella doesn't know that you're taking her," her dad told him. "But Chad called to tell me that he was sick and that you're a respectable boy. Now I like Chad and he's a good boy, so I trust him when he says you are too, but don't try anything funny with my baby girl."

"Dad, stop torturing Ch- Troy?" Gabriella stopped her decent from the stairs when she saw Troy. "What are you doing here? Where's Chad?"

"Chad is sick," Troy replied. "So I'm here to take you."

"Why didn't Chad call?" Gabriella asked.

"He called and talked to me," her dad stated. "He didn't want to ruin this night for you, Gabriella. So when Troy offered to take you to the dance, Chad told him that was okay."

"You offered to take me to the dance?" Gabriella asked, looking at Troy.

"Yeah," he nodded.

She smiled and continued her decent of the stairs. She walked over to him and held out her hand then he slipped on the corsage. Her mom snapped a couple pictures of them then she and Troy went out to his car.

"Troy, wait," she said before he could close her door.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Chad told me you really like me," she said. "Do you?"

"Yeah," he blushed.

After a quick meal at Tres Amigos, Troy and Gabriella arrived at the dance and were immediately spotted by Taylor and Sharpay.

"What are you doing here with him?" They demanded.

"Chad's sick," Gabriella replied. "So Troy brought me." She smiled at him.

"What do you mean Chad's sick?" Taylor asked. "We just saw him."

"You were at our house?" Troy asked.

"No, our dates took us to the pizzeria for dinner, Chad was there," Sharpay stated.

"You've got to be mistaken, Chad is sick, I saw him with my own eyes," Troy said. "He was in bed and miserable."

"Well he must have made a speedy recovery because he was chowing down on a pepperoni pizza," Taylor stated.

"There's your mom and dad," Gabriella said, pointing across the gym. "Maybe they know something."

"Is Chad really sick?" Troy asked his dad and stepmom as soon as he, Gabriella, Sharpay and Taylor got to them. "And don't lie, Taylor and Sharpay saw him at the pizzeria."

Zoey looked at Jack before she shook her head. "He wanted you to take Gabriella tonight, Troy," she informed him. "He felt bad for meddling and wanted to make it up to you."

"But why?" Troy asked. "He told me to stay away from her."

"Because we really like each other," Gabriella said. "He came to talk to me last week and said he liked me, but he didn't like me as much as he finally realized you like me and I liked you."

Taylor wrapped her arm through Sharpay's as they watched their friend walk away with Troy.

"That's so sweet," Sharpay said as tears pooled into her eyes.

"I wish our dates were like that," Taylor sighed. She moved her eyes to the food table where her and Sharpay's dates had been the whole night. "Why did we come with them, Shar?"

A throat behind them cleared and they turned to see Chad's mom. "Might I make a suggestion?" She asked. They nodded. "I know a really sweet guy, who knows how to dance, that is sitting at home by himself."

Sharpay and Taylor looked at each other and smiled.

"But we don't have a way to get there," Sharpay said.

"Jack, keys," Zoey ordered.

Confused, he tossed her the keys and watched in horror as she handed the keys to his car to two students.

"What are you doing?" He demanded.

"They're going to get Chad," Zoey smiled.

Meanwhile, Chad sat on the couch watching TV. During a commercial break, he got up to get a drink but was stopped when he heard the doorbell ring.

"Troy isn't here," he told Taylor and Sharpay when he saw them on the other side of the door.

"We know," Taylor stated. "We're here for you."

"What?" Chad asked, confused.

"Go get dressed," Sharpay ordered. "We'll wait here."

"But I -" He started.

"Troy and Gabriella already know you aren't really sick," Taylor informed him.

"How?" He asked.

"We'll tell you when we're on our way to the dance," Sharpay told him.

Chad went up to his room and changed into his suit. When he came back downstairs, Taylor and Sharpay where in the living room looking at photo albums.

"You were so cute," Sharpay cooed.

Chad grabbed his baby book from them and put it on the shelf. "We can go," he stated.

"You were such a cute baby," Taylor said, pinching his cheeks. "And here, Coach Bolton would probably be happier knowing you were driving his car and not me or Sharpay."

When they got to the dance, Chad gave Jack back his keys before Taylor and Sharpay drug him out to the dance floor for a fast song.

When a slow song came on, he felt a tap on his shoulder and found Gabriella and Troy standing behind him.

"Wanna dance?" Gabriella asked him as Troy started dancing with Sharpay and Taylor.

Chad nodded and took Gabriella's hands.

"Thanks, Chad," Gabriella said, looking up at him. "What you did tonight was the sweetest thing anybody has ever done for me."

"Well you can be assured that if he doesn't call you, I'll kick his ass," Chad said loud enough for Troy to hear.

"Alright everyone, it's time to announce your homecoming king and queen," the vice principal said a half hour before the dance was to end. "Your king is- Chad Danforth."

"What?" Chad said in disbelief. "How? What? Why?"

"Word traveled fast that I'm not single," Troy said, clapping his brother on the back. "Go get 'em."

Chad walked up to the stage dumbfounded and accepted the crown as his queen was named. He never believed in his wildest dreams that he would be the homecoming king. The night got even weirder when he was leaving with Troy, Gabriella, Taylor and Sharpay and several girls walked over and shoved their phone numbers into his pocket.

"So much for being second best," he said as he walked out to Troy's car with one arm looped through Taylor's and his other looped through Sharpay's.

"More like second in command!" He and Troy said at the same time before they both cracked up. The three girls watched in amusement as the two brothers hugged for the first time in a long time.