A/N: Sorry! It took longer than I had expected to update this next chapter. Prepare for more drama to occur! Hope you guys enjoy it!

A month had finally passed since Troy had last seen Gabriella. His performances haven't been as amazing as they once were; in fact, he was lacking that specific spark that he was always capable of lighting. He was still on top of his game but the praises just weren't there that often anymore. He knew what it was that was causing this.

Troy was depressed. He hid it very well to the public eye though. Besides, he was an actor.

It was a Saturday afternoon and he was sprawled on his back against the sofa with his wife lying on top of him, watching a movie. Their relationship was still going strong but even Troy noticed a change in his wife…or was it just him that was changing. No, it couldn't have been him for she wasn't there for him that often like before.

He stared down at her as she watched the television silently. His mind was reeling a movie of its own.

It was a warm summers day during the month of June. Everything was set up and decorated beautifully along the pier. Underneath the enormous white canopy were twenty tables with blue centerpieces and a turquoise carpet that intersected the middle of the floor; the aisle for the bride. The canopy smelled of vanilla and featured natural lighting from the skylights at the top of it. Friends and family of the soon to be newlyweds sat amongst those tables, chatting to one another until it was time.

Troy made his way down the aisle with a small smile to cover up how nervous he was becoming from all eyes being on him. He looked straight ahead at his 'best girl', Kelsi, since he didn't have many male friends. Even if he did, none of them knew him any better than she did which was why he honored her with the duty of taking the place of the best man.

He stood next to her as she gave his arm a squeeze for reassurance. His eyes scanned the crowd and he began to think about how much it would've meant to him to have his parents there or to have Chad be the best man. He wanted their presences but he just couldn't face having to call them after he abandoned everyone. He was ashamed to tell them he would be getting married since no one even knew what was becoming of his life since he shut everyone out. They surely wouldn't have open arms to the idea or would they? They never even met Pamela before so they wouldn't be happy to know if he was getting married to a girl that they might or might not like.

Just the thought of his parents liking his bride brought his attention over to a girl that they would've liked, Gabriella. He imagined what she would look like wearing a long white gown that contrasted beautifully amongst her olive skin tone. Her long curly hair pinned up or cascading down her back as she would walk slowly towards him down the aisle with her perfect smile gracing her lovely features. She would've looked more like an angel than she already did. More like a princess from a fairytale with the perfect happy ending.

He mentally shook his head at the thought. Troy couldn't and wouldn't allow himself to think that. It was like cheating mentally.

Suddenly the wedding march began to play and Troy shot his eyes towards the front of the canopy where the opening was. The bridesmaids started coming in one by one and the groom started to feel anxious. His palms began to sweat and he was taken over by the invisible vacuum in the room for it was becoming hard to breathe.

Next thing Troy knew, the bride was standing at the end of the aisle, smiling at him as though he was the only person that existed. He felt a wave of relief when he looked into her eyes and saw that she was just as happy as he was. Nothing could ruin that moment. She walked with her father all the way to Troy and felt tears prickle her eyes at the spirituality of the moment.

Troy took in her appearance. She was wearing a beige strapless dress that puffed out at the hips. It was covered in sequins and beading on the bodice and on the bottom. Her hair was down in waves with white roses behind her ear. She was a vision of beauty in his eyes.

Pam began to stir in Troy's arms, knocking him out of the past. She was asleep with such an angelic and calm look on her face that Troy didn't have the heart to wake her up. He admired her features and thought about how unfair it was for her to not know that her husband was having thoughts about another woman; that her husband was depressed about a former flame and that he cheated on her with Gabriella. He frowned at how selfish he was being to her. Troy knew he wanted to do something but he wasn't sure how or when. How could he break her heart after promising her forever? He knew breaking promises came with consequences and he was still suffering from the ones he broke to Gabriella.

Troy's ears perked up at the sound of a name escaping his wife's mouth in her sleep. He started to listen closely because it came out in mumbles. His eyes watched her as she smiled in her sleep.

"Lance…" she said the name again causing him to furrow his brows in confusion.

Who's Lance?

"Thanks for coming again, Taylor. I needed a day to just relax and have some time to break free of my stress." Gabriella said to her friend as she held the door open to enter the spa.

"Its ok, really. I figured that since I haven't seen you since New York plus we needed some girl bonding time anyway. Besides, I know you've been hiding yourself with work so you need to just chillax for a bit." Taylor replied.

"I suppose you're right. Can't wait for that massage and pedicure…I'm in desperate need of it since the party is only a week away." Gabriella let out a deep sigh as they walked up to the counter and let the receptionist know that they were there for their 11 o'clock appointment. They were led to the back room where they could change into white fluffy robes.

"Speaking of the party, how did the planning go?" asked Taylor.

"Pretty stressful but it went well. I guess I should thank my awesome workers for that one…it was basically all them. By the way, you and Chad are allowed to bring one guest each with you to the event. VIP area with the celebrities and all the glitz and glam." She grinned at the excited expression that dawned the face of her best friend.

"Seriously? Girl, you shouldn't have! I would have been just fine without the VIP but if you insist…" Taylor chuckled along with Gabriella. "I have no clue who I should bring though."

"What about your sister? I think she'd love to go with you."

"Nah, she's married with kids and plus she doesn't travel anywhere without her husband and the babies. It's like her number one family rule."

"Well then how about your boss? You could earn brownie points around the workplace…"

"And be stuck having boring conversations the whole night? I think not. Negative."

"I don't know then, McKessie."

The girls finished changing into their respective robes and walked to the room where the massages were to be done. They laid flat on their tummies and opened the robes slightly and lowered them down their backs enough to cover their cheeks. The room was filled with a comfortable silence that overcame them with the soft music that played. The girls sunk into their own thoughts as the massages only got better, releasing and kneading their stress out.

The silence was broken once Taylor spoke. "So who's performing anyway?"

"We got Lady GaGa, The Pussycat Dolls, DJ AM, Metro Station, Katy Perry, and Flo Rida…basically the artists that people can listen and dance to. Amongst them will be other huge celebrities. I'm still in shock on how it was able to get done in a short amount of time and the fact that all these famous people are coming at all. I wasn't expecting such a huge response." Gabriella made a face to show her surprise at the situation even though Taylor couldn't see since they were both faced down.

"I'm so proud of you, Gabs. I really am. You deserve every bit of success that's being thrown your way. I just hope all goes well for you then."

"So do I. I hope I find time to spend with you guys too because I'm sure its going to be more than hectic that night."

"I'm sure of it but even if you don't, it'll be okay. I'll have Chad to hang with the whole night…what joy." Taylor said sarcastically. Gabriella giggled at it even though she knew that Taylor might secretly be happy about that.

"You know you'll enjoy every minute of it!" she teased on.

"Maybe…I might…" they laughed and it slowly fell into a complete silence again as their massage continued.

It's been hours since Pamela woke up and left to go shopping, leaving Troy alone in the apartment with Mugsy. He was playing a game of fetch with the dog and had to battle the toy back out of its mouth. He couldn't resist the chuckle that slipped from how adorable the growing dog looked trying not to let go of the toy. His eyes glittered with excitement when he got it back and threw it across the room again, watching as Mugsy ran after it.

The excitement was suddenly replaced with confusion.

Who was this Lance guy his wife mentioned?

Why was Pam saying his name?

Troy wanted an answer but wasn't sure how to go about it. Should he just come right out and ask? Should he wait to see if she said it again? Should he wait to see if she talks about him while being awake?

Why was she even dreaming about a guy named Lance?

Why did she have a smile when she said it?

'Maybe he's a new friend. Maybe he's new coworker. Maybe it was just someone that she dreamt of out of the blue…like a made up person. Hell, maybe he was the bum on the corner…Pam seems friendly enough to have fed him and probably started a conversation.' Troy dismissed the thought of the last one considering that Pamela would've mentioned her good deed if she would've done it.

Who is Lance?

Why has he never heard of him before?

Troy crashed back down into the real world as Mugsy dropped the toy and barked at his owner. He wanted to continue playing but Troy was way too focused on the situation at hand. He got up from his spot on the sofa and walked towards his bedroom.

Troy wanted to investigate.

He trusted his wife, didn't he? Why would he suddenly feel that he needed to search through her things? That was unlikely of Troy. He knew he shouldn't even think about doing such a thing since he was the one who had been unfaithful. Pushing the thought to the back of his mind, he walked to the night table that was on Pamela's side of the bed.

He opened its cabinet and pulled out its content hoping to find at least a picture or a letter from another man. No…Pam couldn't have been cheating. It wasn't in her nature to do such a thing. Was he overreacting about something so small? Troy wanted to find out.

He sat on the floor and began to look through the papers and magazines. He found old bills, old birthday cards, work papers, and dozens of magazines. A specific magazine caught his eye as soon as he read the name on the cover.

Clique.

It was Gabriella's magazine. Pam was a fan of it. He remembered that he mentioned that to Gabriella when he first spoke of Pam to his former flame. Back when he was just 'involved'.

His breath hitched high within his throat as he traced the cover of the magazine. He never actually read any of their issues but suddenly he wanted to. He looked at its date and saw that it was last month's issue; the month that Gabriella was in New York. His heart started to race and palms began to sweat. He read the headline on the cover for that month's magazine: Chasing After Your Dreams.

Curious as to what was inside, he lifted himself off the ground and walked to the kitchen counter. He left the magazine on top and wandered over to the wine cabinet.

He needed a drink…badly.

Troy opened the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of Vodka and poured some into a glass. Then he went to the refrigerator and mixed it with orange and cranberry juice. He needed to just relax and free himself of the shame and guilt that he's been carrying for quite sometime. Troy needed to be carefree.

Opening the magazine, he slowly turned the pages and skimmed what each one had. He didn't get too far before he stumbled upon a picture of Gabriella.

Troy froze. His heart picked up its pace again and his hands shook. There she was…in front of his eyes. It was just a picture but she was still there. She was smiling a big warm inviting smile and her eyes were twinkling. Troy couldn't help the silly smile that grew on his face just from looking at the small picture. The page had a lot of writing on it. He assumed it was a piece about her but soon realized it was the editor's note.

His eyes widened when it hit him that this was something that she had written. He sipped on his drink and began to read.

Hello again fellow readers!

Gabriella here to deliver another great issue thanks to all the support we've gotten. I'm excited that we've become such a success over the past few months and it wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for the dedicated fans of the magazine-that-could. Enough of my rambling and appreciation (although its more than necessary), I want to tell you all about the inspiration behind this month's issue: Chasing After Your Dreams.

I'm sure we've all had a dream that we wanted to go after. Whether its love, a desire, a passion, a future, or a simple dress; we all have something that we really want and should go after. Some of us have and have been successful in it and others have probably been too scared to even bother. A few weeks ago, I was one of those people that were too scared to chase after what I wanted most. I wasn't always the confident kind of person but that all changed for me during my teen years and had made its way with me into adulthood although it did slip for sometime. My best friend back from high school convinced me to chase after what I wanted most…what I felt that I couldn't live or love without and after sometime, I agreed. It was fun because we set out on a road trip across the country with another friend of ours and ended up in New York, the place where my dream was. I found it and I must admit, I was so ecstatic…not even, ecstatic doesn't even begin to describe how I felt. I was beyond that. Although I did find my dream unfortunately it was unattainable. I came back to California with a whole lot of nothing. It was upsetting that I didn't get what I wanted and I basically traveled for nothing but it was a lesson worth learning. You cant always be scared to go after what you want most…sometimes you got to take that leap and risk it, hoping for the best the entire time. It's thrilling and amazing if you catch your dream but can also be quite heart wrenching if you don't. Either way, it's an experience that should always be treasured no matter what the outcome is. So I encourage you all to after whatever it is that you want. You never know how things will turn out if you don't try. Hope you all have better luck than I did!

Until next time,

Gabriella 3

Troy sipped his drink and stared down at the page that he just read. He knew that she was talking about him. He was the dream. He was the one that she couldn't obtain. He was the one her let her down…again.

Although only a selective few knew about what happened, deep down Troy would always be the dream from the editor's note. That's one way of knowing who he was. His identity was kept private which he appreciated because if not then many random people would hate him. Troy knew he hurt her but he didn't think it was enough to influence a magazine. Had he really done that much damage? Now he felt worse.

He had to make things right again once and for all. He had to get to the bottom of ever question and situation going on in his life.

Moments later, the front door opened and Pam came strolling in holding onto several bags. She sat them on the couch of the living room and walked into the kitchen to greet Troy.

"Hey babe! I'm home." She said and kissed his cheek.

"Yes, you are. How was the shopping?"

"Pretty good…I got some good stuff from Bloomingdale's and I hit a sale in Macys. Got tons of awesome stuff in there."

"As long as you didn't max out your credit card…"

"Nope! Surely enough I didn't. I might be a lover of shopping but I'm a controlled one. Give me some credit, Troy."

"I'm just messin', babe." Troy stood silent after that as he watched his wife practically dig a whole in the refrigerator looking for something to eat. He needed to make a move and fast. The sooner he got answers, the sooner he could decide what to do. Should he just go for it?

Not wanting to waste anymore time and because he was anxious, Troy decided to touch what he assumed would be a rocky subject. "Baby…could I ask you something?"

She still had her back to him with her face in the fridge. "Sure…what's up? What's on you mind?"

He rubbed his hands together nervously and bit his lip. 'Am I doing to right thing?…Of course I am! I have a right to know if it's a big deal or not. Better to get it over with while the confidence is still there.'

"Who's Lance?"

Cliffhanger! Sorry but you'll have to wait for the next update to see what happens. So this chapter shows that Troy had always sort of second guessed his marriage ever since his own wedding day. He never quite let Ms. Montez go, but would he now? You'll have to wait to find out!

For those who are wondering, The Jonas Brothers Concert I went to on Sunday was AWESOME! They're such incredible performers and so entertaining! There wasn't one moment where I felt bored. I recommend going to one of their concerts if they're ever in your town!

If I have any typing errors, please excuse them because I felt too lazy to bother reading it over to check if there were any at all. Please Review!