AN: Thank you for all your feedback on the last chapter! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter in particular, so hopefully it shows. I'm convinced that you guys will enjoy this lengthy chapter :)

Gondola

Robin Jones Gunn once stated that Venezia was the city that Italy wore proudly like a diamond-studded broach on the cuff of her tall boot.

The water looked dull and dirty, and overall, uninviting. No one would dare stick their feet in unless he or she was an ignorant tourist. The city in itself was a tourist magnet; it was a remnant of the once glorious center of commerce, eminent even in Shakespeare's time. The dome-like cathedrals and exquisite bridges often portrayed in photographs seemed misleading at the sight of the narrower passageways towards areas where many individuals actually resided. The dirt, grime, and rust became increasingly evident as one traveled through the minimal areas of solid ground.

Although pollution was ever present, no one could deny that the city still possessed an aura of magnificence.

As Gabriella stared out into the lagoon, colorful buildings, and narrow canals, she couldn't help but hear the sweet symphony of the violinist playing Vivaldi's "Four Seasons". As the Italian man in stripes standing on the top of the gondola rowed the boat, she couldn't suppress the feeling of contentment.

"Hey Gondola guy! Let's speed it up a bit, shall we?" Sharpay's shrill voice silenced the music and killed the mood. "I gotta buy myself a Venetian mask!"

Gabriella frowned. "Don't you have like ten of those hanging in your room?"

Sharpay waved the thought away with the palm of her hand carelessly. "You can never have enough of those."

"I always wanted to wear one of those to the Carnevale. But we're never in Italy during the winter," Bailee said with a pout.

Quirking her brow with interest, Gabriella looked at Troy questioningly, "What's the Carnevale?"

"It's this big festival in Venice that usually happened four weeks before Easter. It's supposedly a lot of fun and people mask their identity with, well, a mask. It's a way to bring back traditional Venetian customs, I suppose. Back in the Fifteenth Century, people used the masks to hide their identity and social status. It's sort of like a masquerade..."

Gabriella's eyes brightened with interest as she gushed, "That's so cool! It must be a whole lotta fun."

Sharpay tilted her head, tapping her fingers against the gondola with disinterest. "Doesn't sound fun to me. Why would I hide this," Sharpay cupped her own face and flashed them a smile, "beauty from the world."

Chad scowled. "Why wouldn't you?"

Sharpay growled, causing the four other individuals on the gondola to cringe slightly. Chad in particular seemed to be frightened at the sight of her.

"Did she just snarl at me?" Chad asked the others, his brown eyes blinking repeatedly in shock. "Dude, that legit sounded like a dog's snarl."

"Fuck off Danforth unless you wanna hear a real snarl from me. I can easily pull a Red Forman with my foot kickin' your ass."

"Okay, that's enough Sharpay," Gabriella said with a feeble attempt to calm her best friend.

"Bitch, go die," Chad mumbled under his breath, his hand leaning against the edge to feel the breeze. He did not intend for Sharpay to hear him, but unfortunately, Sharpay had ears like a hawk.

Out of rage, Sharpay stood up from her seat and attempted to balance herself as she reached over to grab Chad by the collar. The Italian man rowing the gondola stopped in his track and cursed at her in Italian to (according to Troy's translation) 'Sit the fuck down'.

"Bitch, get off me!" Chad screeched as he felt himself pulled up by the force of Sharpay. His eyes gleamed with fear at the look of fury in the blonde, swearing that she was the incarnation of the devil. Sharpay stared at him angrily with a look of ruthless determination. With a swift smack, she shoved him off the gondola. Chad lost his balance, tumbling out of the gondola with his foot caught in between the rim of the gondola. His chest constricted, barely breathing as he fell into the water of the lagoon. Troy, Gabriella, and Bailee gasped simultaneously, their mouths hanging from shock.

As Chad reemerged from the filthy water, his afro sagged and his eyes turned to slits as they glared upon Sharpay in anger.

"You bitch, you fucking pushed me off a gondola! Now I'm soaked in the people of Venice's waste products. Fuck you!" Chad screamed, gaining the attention of many tourists from nearby bridges who began pulling out their cameras and photographing the sight of the boy who fell of the gondola.

It was a rare occurrence that a customer ever fell off a gondola, and if they did, it was almost always by a fault of their own for not following regulations while riding the gondola. Or in Chad's case, they were deliberately pushed off one by a psychopath.

"Oh mio dio (Oh my God)," The rower whined as he struggled to pull the soaking wet teenager back onto the gondola without tipping it over.

"Chad, didja break your leg?" Bailee called out in a worrisome manner as the burly man in stripes lifted the boy out of the water and back into the gondola.

Chad seethed in rage as his eyes fixated back on the blonde, restraining the urge to strangle her. His hand gripped his ankle as he cringed in pain.

"All of you - out! Now!" The man yelled, his voice dripping with an Italian accent as he returned to his rowing, stopping the gondola into the nearest dock.

Troy helped a wet Chad hop out of the gondola on one foot. Sharpay crossed her arms as she exited the gondola, a smirk evident on her face in satisfaction.

"Oh, stop being so dramatic," Sharpay snapped in agitation. "You should've saw it coming!"

"I'm not being fucking dramatic. My foot hurts like a bitch right now. God damn you, I think I sprained my ankle," Chad hissed as he clutched his ankle, pain shooting through a particular spot as he touched it. The group found a nearby bench to rest at.

"You need ice or something cold to press upon that," Gabriella stated instantly, recalling the time when she sprained her ankle. She helped lift Chad's sprained ankle onto the bench as she continued. "You also need to elevate your ankle."

Sharpay huffed, still unconvinced that Chad was not feigning the pain. Gabriella looked amongst everyone, searching for a piece of cloth that she could use to wrap around the swollen ankle.

"Does anyone have anything we can use to compress his ankle?" Gabriella asked the group. Sharpay shrugged indolently. Troy looked around in an attempt to find something they can use to wrap the ankle around in securely.

Within a few seconds, he spotted Sharpay's decorative scarf hanging down her neck. He rolled his eyes at the sight - of course she would wear a fancy scarf when it was 80 degrees outside.

"Sharpay, can we use your scarf?" Troy asked nervously, fearing another outburst from her.

Sharpay scrunched up her face. "Hell no. I don't want Chad's foot on my scarf."

"Sharpay," Gabriella pleaded with her. "C'mon, you injured him. The least you can do is lend him your scarf for now."

Sharpay looked scandalized. "This scarf is Ferragamo, Gabriella! And I just bought it yesterday!"

Chad moaned in pain as he pressed upon his ankle but managed to speak. "Fuck you Evans."

"Sharpay, just give him the scarf or I'll tell your nonna you pushed someone into the water again," Troy said threateningly.

Sharpay groaned, pulling off the scarf and shoving it into his chest roughly, "There. Happy now?"

"Thanks," Troy replied gruffly as he turned his attention back to Chad who was sprawled out upon the bench. Gabriella drew closer to Troy, helping him wrap up the ankle.

"I'm going to go buy some more masks to display in my room now, if you all don't mind," Sharpay stated haughtily, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder as she left the group by the bench and headed on her way. "Call me if you need me. And please, don't need me."

Not a single person bothered to respond to Sharpay's remark.

Once Sharpay was out of their hearing range, Bailee sighed heavily and mumbled, "She's so mean."

"No kidding," Chad snapped, trying to deal with the pain that was shooting in his ankle as the scarf was finally wrapped around his ankle.

Tugging on Troy's T-shirt, Bailee's lip quivered as she asked her cousin a question, "Is Chad gonna be all right?"

Troy smiled, patting her back comfortingly. "Don't worry, he'll just need to rest his ankle from now on, but he'll be fine."

Chad sniffed his arm and made a disgusted face, "Dude, I swell awful."

Gabriella laughed and replied, "Well, you did fall into Venice's canal, which isn't the cleanest water so I'm not surprised."

"Yeah," Chad sighed sullenly as he rubbed his stomach. "Man, I'm hungry. I'd go get something to eat but my foot hurts."

"We could pick up some pizza for you if you wanted to, Chad."

Troy knew perfectly well that there was no real 'take-out' at these pizzerias. Thought, he was pretty sure that Chad was oblivious to that.

Chad shot his best friend a grateful smile, "Thanks man. That would be great."

Troy nodded his head, "No problem. I don't really wanna go alone though," He turned to Gabriella and looked up at her with hopeful eyes, "Come with me?"

Gabriella gulped nervously, wondering how anyone could ever deny him with eyes like that.

"Um," She stuttered. "I-I guess I could."

Bailee caught onto her hesitance and butted in, "I'll stay here with Chad so he won't get bored! You guys should go and get some pizza together."

Troy bit his lip to hide the smile that was currently forming. He knew that Bailee caught onto his plan - she was a smart kid.

"All right," Gabriella answered with a careless shrug, "Why not. I've been dying to try some Venetian pizza anyway."

Troy shot her a warm smile, ushering her to follow him. "Don't worry, you'll love it. It's great. Nothing compared to the pizza in New York."

"Great to know! I'm excited to try some."

She sped up to catch up with his pace, almost knocking into him as she edged over to walk beside him. At times like these, she deeply resented her uncoordinated movements and clumsiness.

She took a moment to gaze upon her surroundings until a realization hit her. She was strolling through the streets of Venice, Italy beside a gorgeous blue-eyed boy who attends her school's brother school. Their social lives back in New York undoubtedly crossed together, yet they somehow managed to spend all these years not knowing one another's existence. The irony of the situation struck her for a moment as she zoned out.

Gabriella looked up at him, her eyes focused on his chiseled cheeks, the sandy brown hair that framed his face and highlighted his sharp features. She felt a shiver run through her spine as she caught sight of his intense blue eyes. They were so light, so expressive. Though it seemed like she and Sharpay had few things in common (which was true for the most part), they both shared the same sentiment on one manner - their detest of their brown eyes. For the few times that she actually saw her father, she admired his blue eyes and wished that she wasn't stuck with her mother's eyes.

But now as she looked into Troy's eyes, she noticed the deeper and more beautiful shade that he possessed in comparison to her father. Her father's blue eyes that she always seemed to envy were nothing in comparison to his.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the boy beside her finally cleared his throat and said. "So Brearley girl, any restaurant in particular that you want to go inside?"

"You know I have a name, right?" She stated with a slight edge in her tone.

Troy chuckled. No kidding, he knew her name. Her name was always on his mind these days.

"All right Gabriella, it's your pick," He said as he made a gesture toward all the restaurants adorning the tourist area of Venice.

Quite honestly, every restaurant looked elegant and pleasant. It was truly a hard choice to make.

"Have you been to any of these?"

Troy paused for a moment, thinking back to his visits to Venice - which certainly weren't as numerous as she thought they were.

"I don't really remember," He answered sheepishly, "But I will tell you that there's almost no such thing as awful pizza around here. So pretty much anywhere you go, you'll love the food."

She nodded her head in agreement as her eyes scanned the options. "I'm sure I will," remarked Gabriella, sending him a subtle wink, "Italian food happens to be my favorite."

Troy smirked. "Oh, really? Well, you certainly won't be disappointed."

Gabriella couldn't help but grin. She forcibly tore her eyes away from him and back toward the pizzerias. Finally spotting a quaint looking pizzeria that seemed slightly more casual than all the other restaurants, she nudged Troy and pointed toward the spot.

"How bout we go into that one?"

"Sure."

"C'mon," She grabbed his hand on instinct, leading him toward the entrance to the pizzeria giddily.

Troy grinned brightly, following suit as he gripped her hand.

"Ciao," A waiter greeted them at the front of the pizzeria.

"Ciao," Gabriella returned the greeting, her cheeks flushing as she realized that she still didn't let go of his hand.

"Un tavolo per due, per favore (Table for two, please)," Troy requested in his best Italian, enjoying the look of surprise that graced Gabriella's face when she heard him speak Italian with seemingly little or no accent. He smiled in satisfaction, hoping she was more impressed with his Italian than she was with Chad's sleazy pickup line the prior night.

"Certo, mi segua (Certainly, follow me)," The waitress answered, urging the two to follow her as she found an unoccupied table for her. Gabriella frowned in confusion as her hand left Troy's.

"Wait, why are we sitting down? I thought were were only going to pick up some pizza for Chad and Bailee," Gabriella asked, following Troy's lead anyway.

"Yeah," Troy scratched the back of his neck nervously, "I forgot to mention that there really aren't any 'take outs' so to speak. Everyone usually sits down and drinks some wine even if it is just pizza."

Gabriella's look of confusion remained on her face as the waitress guided them to their table. "Then how will we get Chad pizza?"

"They don't have slices in Italy. It's usually an entire pie," He flashed her a smile. "I doubt you and I will finish it all by ourselves. We can just give him the leftover pizza."

"Ecco il menu. Buon divertimento (Here's the menu. Enjoy)!" The waitress said to them before scurrying off to her next table. Gabriella sat down across from Troy, shooting him an incredulous look.

"Your friend just sprained his ankle and you're leaving him to wait for us on a bench," Gabriella rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "Now that's not nice."

"Hey, he has Bailee to keep him company. It's not like we can carry him over here. I mean, other than the fact that it would look really, really odd, he needs his rest right now."

Gabriella shrugged with a nod as she replied, "I guess you're right about that."

Her eyes scanned the menu, appreciating the English translation that they included for every meal.

Truthfully, she felt herself grow slightly nervous at the idea of having lunch with Troy without the company of anyone else. Not to mention, it seemed odd given the outcome of events last night.

"Though I must say, I'm surprised you're not still trying to set me up with your friend," Gabriella said, hoping to eliminate the awkwardness that surrounded around everything that occurred last night. Knowing that they would have to talk about it sooner or later, she decided that sooner was better.

Troy's eyes grew wide from confusion, "Set you up with Chad? What do you mean?"

"Chad told me about the bet you guys had last night," Gabriella said, her voice laced with a tinge of sadness as she recalled her disappointment from last night. "How you bet he could 'score a chick'."

She stared at him, expecting to see signs of guilt or regret. She was surprised to only find confusion gracing his features.

"Whoa, hold on there. You thought I sent Chad over to you as part of our bet?" Troy asked, waiting for her nod as a confirmation.

Gabriella avoided his gaze, staring down at the fabric of the table cover instead as she nodded. Troy sighed heavily, his hand rubbing his temple.

"I swear to you, I didn't purposely send him over to you. True, we had a bet, but it was to see if Chad could impress an Italian girl with his Italian," Troy paused for a second to add, "-which by the way, he cannot speak Italian. I had no clue you were at the bar until I saw him come up to you."

Gabriella finally looked up at him, noticing the sincere look in his eyes.

"Believe me, Gabriella. I wasn't trying to set you up with Chad. Everything that happened last night was a complete misunderstanding. I was, uh, actually..." Troy looked away, staring down at the carpeted floor, "...looking for you last night around the streets. I know, it sounds pretty lame, but I thought I would run into you around there. Then Chad pulled me into the bar and, well, you know the rest."

Troy bit his lip and continued with his confession. "And I really want to apologize to you for the way things turned out last night. I just... I really wasn't expecting you to be friends with Sharpay. It's just that... me and Sharpay have a lot of history together... and it's not very good."

"You were the guy that she droned on and on about," Gabriella blurted out. "She used to talk so highly of you for a couple of summers. Then she told me she pushed you off a wharf and you broke your leg. I had no idea that was you. I want to apologize, too... on behalf of Sharpay."

Gabriella's eyes finally made contact with his. "Seeing as it is unlikely for her to ever apologize. She's not that bad usually. I've known her since we were five, so... yeah. I know she does some awful things - like pushing you off a wharf and shoving Chad out of a gondola, but... deep down I truly believe she's a decent person," Gabriella took a deep breath, "Though I realize what she did today was completely inexcusable, I just don't want you to judge me just because I'm her friend."

The waitress interrupted the conversation as she moved towards them with a notepad and a pen in her hands.

"Che cosa vorreste bere o mangiare (What would you like to drink or eat)?"

Troy looked towards Gabriella, waiting for her to point towards the pizza she wanted.

Choosing one that looked appetizing, she pointed to the one she wanted to order.

"Pizza margherita per favore," Troy ordered her request.

"What do you want to drink?" Troy leaned across the table.

Gabriella shot him a small smile, "I've always liked Pellegrino."

"Why, what a coincidence," Troy winked. "So do I."

Turning back to the waitress, he ordered a bottle of San Pellegrino to share. The waitress smiled at the two before retreating.

"Oh, and for the record," Troy continued. "I think you're pretty awesome and I definitely don't think of you badly just because of Sharpay."

He shot her an adorable smile, "I know you're nothing like her from your concern for Chad's ankle today. You're nothing but nice to him even though he was way too forward last night."

Gabriella laughed melodically, "Yeah, about that. He made me pretend to be into him so he could win that bet, by the way."

Troy's mouth nearly dropped to the floor, causing Gabriella to giggle at his silly expression.

"No way! What a liar, he told me that no girl could resist his charm. Pfft."

"I'm glad we can laugh about this now."

Troy smiled sweetly, "Me too."

AN: Once again, many thanks to everyone who left reviews telling me what they like about the story, what they want to see happen. I enjoy reading those kind of reviews and I'm open to all suggestions/ideas. Hopefully you're enjoying the story so far. Next up will be midnight strolls by the sea, ooh la la.