Disclaimer: Sadly, I didn't get what I want for Christmas, so I still don't own anything.

AN: Sorry this is a little late, I knew I was too busy to read updates around the holidays so I figured some of you would be too, so I waited to post this. But there should be another update in a few days to make up for lost time. Hope you had an amazing Christmas or holiday.

"As you can see, I didn't change your room one bit since you left." Mrs. Montez said, feeling like the best mother on the planet for this.

"Mom, you didn't have to do that. I told you, you could do whatever you wanted with it last time I was in town."

"Well you better be glad I didn't missy, or you would be sleeping on the couch right now." She had a point. But there was one major down fall with this…the pictures. They were everywhere, reminding her of her high school days and the early part of the college years. They would definitely have to come down as soon as possible. She didn't think she could sleep with all her old friends staring at her. She had secretly hoped her mom would have packed up all her stuff and turned it in to a gym or something equally pointless. Now she would have to do it all herself, a task she definitely wasn't looking forward to, but it was better than looking at the pictures day in and day out.

"Well, thanks Mom. But you know, you don't have to treat me like a guest. This was my home once too."

"Really? I never would have guessed." Mrs. Montez's harsh voice responded.

"I know, I know! I should have come and visited more often, I'm sorry! It is just a lot harder than it seems, with school, then work. I can't just pick up and leave whenever I please. But I really am sorry, and I missed you mom, so please stop holding this over my head and just be happy I'm home now." Gabriella already felt bad enough about drifting from her friends; she didn't need this from her mother to make her feel even worse.

"Oh Honey, of course I'm glad to have you home, I just wish it was under different circumstances, and that you really wanted to be here….I know you don't."

Gabriella couldn't deny that. "But it has nothing to do with you mom. You are the only good thing about being back in Albuquerque."

"Really?" Mrs. Montez sounded like a little girl who needed reassurance.

"Really." Gabriella said while giving her mother a much needed hug. "So are we good?" She asked after pulling away a few seconds later.

"Of course we're good. We always will be." Mrs. Montez said while wiping a single tear away; she was just so emotional about having her baby girl back home. "Get yourself settled before dinner, hija." With her parting words, she walked out of the room to give Gabriella some time to herself.

It looked like time had been rewound back to five years ago. When she says nothing has changed, she meant everything has changed. Gabriella's room looks almost exactly as it did before leaving for Stanford, with a few minor exceptions, such as pictures she had placed around her room the first Christmas she had come home. Pictures of her and Troy in relationship bliss during the first semester off on their own. Although the room looked similar, it felt very different to be in it. She no longer felt that warm tingly feeling that came with looking around her room and seeing all the familiar sites. Now it just brought heartache.

Gabriella walked over to her bedside table and picked up the picture that was placed there. It was one of the last pictures she had taken with Troy, which made the picture even more bitter sweet. Sweet because it brought back the memories and the feelings she felt when his arms wrapped around her from behind and his lips brushing her shoulder. Bitter because this memory hurt more now, when having visual proof of it right in front of her, than it usually did when she thought about it.

After walking to her closet to collect a spare shoe box, she went back to her nightstand and picked up the picture once more. With one more longing look at it, she placed it into the box. One down, way too many to go.

Stepping out of the shower, Troy wrapped a towel around his slim waist. Not even bothering with a towel to dry his hair, he just shook his head from side to side, to rid it of the excess water. This is his secret tip for getting his hair to look so stylish, yet natural. None of the girls could resist it, and he was well aware of that fact. Most men would take advantage of this, but Troy wasn't most men. He was still pinning after his long lost love, the person who he considers his sole mate; the one that got away. Even four years later he couldn't get her off his mind, like now, when doing the mundane task of taking a shower. It's hard to be with other girls when one particular one was constantly taking up the spaces of his mind.

Sighing, Troy wiped his hand along the mirror to clear the fog enough to see his reflection. He had a little bit of stubble due to laziness the previous day, a laziness he figured would extend on to today. "Gabriella loved the scruffy look," Troy thought. "Stop it man! You seriously have to move on…and stop talking to yourself while you're at it, it's kind of creepy."

Deciding not to shave, Troy walked into his bedroom to try and find something comfortable for his night in. If those were his plans, he was in for a rude awakening.

"Yo, dude!"

Troy jumped a good foot into the air and almost lost his towel. Chad Danforth was sitting on his bed playing the Xbox 360. "Shit man, you can't just let yourself into my apartment!" He said, grabbing onto his towel before he scarred Chad for life. Although, that could be good payback for always coming in unannounced and uninvited.

"Sure I can. If I didn't I'd lose my title as Chad Interruptus, a title I am very proud of by the way." Chad said with a proud grin on his face. "Not that there is much to interrupt these days." He added, under his breath.

"I heard that." Troy said from the closet.

"Good. You really need to get out more Hoops. I cannot have any best friend of mine sit around at home on a Friday night like some loser."

"Loser or not, I'm too tired to go out." It was the only excuse he could come up with on the top of his.

"Oh puh-lease! You used to play a game and still have enough energy to go out and party. Now all you do is stand on the sidelines and yell at some other kids to run and make baskets."

"And that takes a lot of energy! You try coaching the East High Wildcats. I have a new respect for my dad, we were a pain in the ass." Okay, maybe it wasn't that tiring, but he really didn't feel like going out tonight.

Troy walked out of his closet in a pair of sweat pants used for vegging out in front of the TV.

"Nu uh! Going out tonight wasn't a suggestion man, it was a demand. So turn back around and put on something you can actually leave the house in." Chad got up and pushed Troy back into the closet, figuring he would never move if he didn't give him a little push.

"Chad, stop it. I really don't think I have to listen to you. I'm a grown man that can make my own decisions."

"You're right, you don't have to listen to me. But what about Taylor, she threatened bodily harm to the both of us if I couldn't convince you to come out tonight." Troy's eyes got big as he turned around and walked deeper into his closet. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Nobody challenges the Taylor and lives to talk about it."

"So where are we going?" Troy asked about twenty minutes later, after he had finished getting ready.

"I think Tay wants to go out to dinner then maybe out to a bar. Nothing too fancy, we have to start you out slow" Chad joked.

"It has not been that long since I've gone out with you guys!"

Chad laughed. "Keep telling yourself that, maybe one of us will start believing it."

Ding-Dong

Troy raised his eyebrows and looked at Chad. "I have no idea who that could be."

Chad did everything he could to avoid Troy's gaze. "Do you know who it is?"

"Uh…" Chad tried to stall.

"Chad! Tell me."

"Well I kinda brought backup just in case the Taylor threat didn't work." He knew Troy hated to be ambushed and preferred going to other people's places rather then having them over at his, it was some weird thing that none of them understood.

Troy groaned and went to answer the door to stop the incessant ringing. Clearly, whoever was on the other side was very impatient.

"Are my eyes deceiving me or did Troy Bolton just answer the door?"

"Ha! Funny Jason." Troy responded.

"No, I'm serious, I haven't seen you in forever, I thought you were like abducted by aliens…or something" Jason was never the brightness crayon in the box.

"Yeah…or something." Zeke Baylor chimed in. Put them together and the stupidity level shoots through the roof.

"Alright guys, I get it! I've been pretty anit-social lately."

"Lately? Try the past three years Troy." Chad said. He tried to joke about it, but it was hard to not feel rejected when your best buddy ignored you over a girl he was no longer even with. "It really is time to move on from her, man. She is controlling your life."

Troy hated when they brought her up, and for the most part, nobody ever did. "This isn't about her Chad. I just don't like to go out and party anymore, that was the old immature Troy." Maybe if he told himself this enough times he would actually start to believe it.

"Whatever man, lets just go. We are meeting Taylor and Kelsi there and we don't want to piss them off by being late." Chad said, trying to change the subject. He knew he had taken it too far.

"Yeah, alright. Just let me go get my cell phone." Troy said, returning to his room.

Troy went to his bedside table and pulled open the drawer to retrieve his phone and keys. Instead of grabbing the desired items, he picked up the picture that was lying beneath them. He ran his finger along the curves of Gabriella's beautiful face and soft curls. It was his favorite picture of her so he couldn't bring himself to pack it away into the box in his closet, where all the other Gabriella centric items rested. After taking a few more moments to look longingly at the face he missed so much, he placed it gently back into it's hiding place and grabbed his phone and keys before running out to meet the boys before they got suspicious and came looking for him.

So maybe he wasn't over her.

Wow, Gabriella couldn't believe how little the café had changed. It seems that everything has been at a stand still since she left. She remembered coming in here almost every day with all her high school friends. It was consider the hang out and everybody on staff knew them by the name and order.

Now, five years later, she was back in there, but this time, with her mother. Her favorite booth was still in the back corner place and the same paintings still hung on the walls.

"Jerry!" Gabriella shrieked. Apparently the owner of the café, Jerry's, still liked to hang around and mingle with the customer. He was the cutest old man she had ever seen. He was short, with white hair and slightly over weight, which made him even more adorable and squeezable. Like always, he was wearing his adorkable suspenders over a white shirt. Gabriella always thought if he would grow a beard he could pass as Santa Clause.

"Oh. My. Gosh. Is that really you Gabi?" He said with the biggest simile she had ever seen.

Gabriella ran over to him and gave him a big hug. They had always had a special bond. "Yep, the one and only. I'm back in Albuquerque."

"Well I'll be. I'd say you haven't changed a bit, but I'd be lying." Gabriella pulled away to look up at him "You've only gotten even more beautiful."

Gabriella blushed. He was always the charmer. "Likewise, Mr. Jerry. Well, handsomer that is."

"Why thank you Gabs! For that I think you should get to sit in your old booth."

"I would love that." And she really would, it would let her pretend for a little while that things had never changed.

After Gabriella and Mrs. Montez slid into the booth, Jerry took their order personally, instead of sending a waiter over. "So, do you still eat a Cheeseburger with only pickles and ketchup? And I can't forget the extra fries."

Gabriella grinned and nodded her head. She couldn't believe after all this time that he still remembered her exact order.

Jerry glanced over at the door as the bell rang indicating somebody had entered. "Well I assume they will be joining you, I'll go get your order started." He walked away and waved at whoever was at the door.

Gabriella sat there confused about what he had meant by 'they'. It was only her mother and herself. Her thoughts were interrupted by loud chatter coming from the front of the café. As she turned around in her seat to see what all the commotion was about, her eyes locked with a very familiar pair of shocking blues. That's all it took for her world to come to complete halt.

AN: If you wan't me to continue with this story please review, just to let me know you are enjoying it...or not. I got 0 reviews for the last chapter so I really don't know if people are liking this. It doesn't have to be a big long in depth review, just something to let me know there are actually people reading this. Now if you want to tell me what I'm doing good and what I can improve on, that would be greatly appreciated as well.