A/N – Stessa here! Hi everyone! Thanks for the reviews.

Chapter 9

Sharpay looked around the room, a happy smile on her face. Everything was finally settled. It was two weeks since she and Troy had cleaned out Ryan's room, and her own too of course. Two days ago she had picked up her stuff at the dorm and had a teary goodbye with May, promising to keep in touch, and now she had unpacked everything, and made a few changes in Troy's house, which all turned out quite good.

She could actually picture herself living here, now. It had needed a woman's touch, no doubt about that, but it was kinda cosy and great now. They shared his bedroom, which she loved, and the kitchen was great too. She could picture herself cooking dinner for Troy there, and them snuggling together beneath a blanket on the couch in the living room.

She had decorated a wall with pictures from her old room, and a from Ryan's too, her beauty products were placed among his stuff in the bathroom, and her clothes were placed in the closet he had cleared out for her. A picture Ryan had painted in the second grade, was hinging in the kitchen, because she believed the colors matched best out there, even though his picture pretty much was a mess of different colors, though she knew it was supposed to be him and her dancing.

Troy hadn't said much about it, but she knew he didn't hate it. He told her she should do everything to make the house hers as well, since she was going to be living there. It wasn't just his now, it was hers as well.

She sighed happily and stole one last glance at Ryan's picture before leaving the kitchen. She had to go get ready, because Troy was taking her out tonight. She had no idea what he was up to, be he'd told her to dress up fancy and get ready for some delicious food. She couldn't wait to see what it was. It was important, she knew that, because he looked serious when he told her this morning before he left for his parents' house.

She picked out a simple black dress, because she knew she could pull everything off, and black dresses made her look older and more sophisticated, which she liked. She hurried into the shower, which was combiner to their bathroom. It was really cool, because they had one downstairs as well, for guests and such.

She showered, letting the hot water wash all her worries away. She had really started to feel better after they had cleaned out Ryan's room. She believed it was closure, and it helped her move on for now. she would still remember Ryan, but she was through being sad all the time. from now on, she'd remember him and the good time. when they'd laughed, and danced, and had fun.

She stepped out of the shower, and toweled off, looking at her naked form in the mirror. She was just as tanned and thin as when she was in high school. She shaved and put lotion on, hoping that tonight would be memorable. She kinda had the feeling it would, she just didn't know exactly how.

She put on her dress, and did her hair and makeup, looking at the clock every minute to check that she wasn't late. Troy had told her, he'd pick her up after having been at his mom and dad's, and then they'd head straight out. She still had 15 minutes, enough time to get her purse together and find her black heels.

She did so, and went outside, waiting by the front door, for Troy to come. When he finally did, she locked the door, and got into his car, greeting him with a quick kiss on the mouth, "Hi."

"Hi Pay."

"Where are you taking me?" Sharpay asked, buckling up.

"It's a surprise," Troy mumbled, "But I'm glad you're dressed up like that. And you look good."

"Thank you." Sharpay smiled, giving him the once over too, "So do you."

He was actually wearing a tux. Not a really fancy one, but he had on a tie and fancy dress pants. They were going someplace expensive, otherwise he wouldn't have been looking like that, she knew that.

She couldn't wait to see what would happen later on in the evening.

--

Once they were in the car, Troy demanded that Sharpay kept her eyes closed.

"But why?" Sharpay pouted, eye closed slightly.

"It's a surprise. You'll like it," he said, grinning. He let his hand brush against his pocket to make sure the small box was still there. It was.

"Fiiiine," Sharpay said with a sigh, and let her eyes close all the way.

Soon, the car stopped in front of a fancy restaurant.

"You can open your eyes now, Pay," Troy said. He watched as she slowly opened her eyes and a smile lit up her whole face.

"Troy! You shouldn't have!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him.

"You deserve it," he said, returning the hug. "Now, let's go." He got out of the car and opened Sharpay's door for her. They both walked into the restaurant, fingers entwined.

Since Troy had made a reservation, they were seated quickly and pondered for a while about what to order. When their food came, the conversation began. They talked about simple things, celebrities, careers, and food. Once they had both finished eating and Troy had insisted on paying the bill, Troy knew it was time.

"I want to show you something," he said. He took Sharpay's hand and lead her behind the restaurant where a picnic blanket, a radio, and some candles were set up.

"This is so pretty!" Sharpay exclaimed clasping a hand over her mouth.

"There's one more thing," Troy said. He got down on one knee in front of her and it all clicked in Sharpay's mind. Tears formed in her eyes.

"Sharpay Evans, you are the best thing that ever happened to me and I'm so glad you decided to go to that reunion, because if you didn't, I would've never gotten to know you so much better than I ever did before. You're the most beautiful person I've ever met and I love you with all of my heart. Will you marry me?"

Troy pulled the small velvet box out of his pocket and showed her the beautiful ring. Sharpay recognized it immediately. He saw the confusion on her face and explained. "Your father wanted me to give this ring to you when I proposed so It'd stay in your family." Sharpay nodded simply. "So, will you marry me?"

Unable to speak, Sharpay knelt down next to him and wrapped her arms around him. She moved her lips to his ear and whispered, "Of course I will. I love you." A smile lit up Troy's face and he pulled away from Sharpay enough so he could slip the shimmering ring on her finger. Sharpay held her hand out in front of her face and admired the beautiful diamond.

With his free hand, Troy turned on the radio and 'Keep Holding On' by Avril Lavigne flooded through the speakers.

"It's our song," Sharpay said, softly. Troy nodded. They had claimed it their song after they danced to it. Their first slow dance as a couple.

"May I have this dance?" Troy asked, standing up. Sharpay let a giggle escape her lips and nodded.

"Always," she said standing up as well. She gently placed her arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist. It was then that they both knew there was never a moment as perfect as right then.

A/N: Paige here. That was the last real chapter! So sad, I know: (. But, no worries! An epilogue will be coming your way soon!