Hi everyone!

I can't say much. It's getting late right now for me, but I felt like that I had to update. Cause I planned to do it on the 4th of July, but yeah right, like I would get the time to. Anyway, this chapter took me a while to do, because I was trying to figure out how to word it. I'm warning you now, the ending's a bit weak - something that I'm not happy about.

Okay, on with the story! What did Gabriella find? Why is she screaming? Let's find out...

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

The lights were dimmed down, candles were lit, rose pedals dressed the area, and soft piano music as playing from a hidden stereo. Gabriella squealed as Troy grabbed her around the waist and started spinning her around.

"Surprise!" Troy exclaimed once Gabriella's squeals subsided.

"Troy, what's all this?" she asked as he put her down and placed a gentle peck on her forehead.

"A surprise. I wanted a quiet evening with you tonight and what better way than a romantic dinner for the two of us," Troy answered, smiling brightly.

Gabriella walked over to the table and run her hand along the white table cloth and the single yellow rose and a single silver-covered platter. A bottle of sparkling champagne stood beside two glasses. "Troy, you are the sweetest person on this earth. Is there an occasion?"

"No occasion. I just wanted to do something special for my girl," he answered, walking over to her and hugging her around the shoulders.

"Awww...I wish I could've done something for you."

"You've done everything that makes me happy. Just having you here beside me tonight is enough."

Gabriella smiled, not knowing what to say next. Troy treated her like royalty; he gave her everything she could ever need, he was always planning little surprises for her, he gave her little gifts for no reason, he told her she's beautiful even when she's not trying, and best of all: he loved her.

"Let's eat Gabi, I'm starved and I hope you are too," Troy said, breaking the few moments of silence they were in. Holding her hand, Troy led her over to her seat and pulled out her chair. Gabriella smiled and thanked Troy as he went over to the other chair sitting beside the one Gabriella was sitting in. It was at this time that Gabriella noticed that there was only one plate.

"Troy, why is there only one dish? Aren't there two of us?" Gabriella questioned, angling her head in thought.

"Well...I thought why bother having two separate plates when we could just share?" Troy answered, reaching over and revealing what was underneath: spaghetti and meatballs sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

"You know, they oddly reminds me of something I've seen in a movie," Gabriella stated, taking a fork and spinning spaghetti onto it.

"Really?" Troy did the same, "How was your day with the girls? Anything exciting happen today?"

"We just went shopping and Sharpay showed me her sketches."

"Did you pick anything out?" Troy asked, slurping up a noodle into his mouth.

"Not yet," Gabriella answered. "Isn't it bad luck for the husband to see the bride in her wedding dress? I don't want anything bad to happen."

"It won't matter anyway. You'll look gorgeous in anything. I just hope that you'll find the right one," Troy grinned.

Gabriella beamed as she placed the fork in her mouth and slurp up an extra long noodle. Troy twirled his fork in the spaghetti and twisted some noodles onto it, then placed it in his mouth, looking away. Unknowingly, latched on his fork was the same piece that Gabriella had. As they both continued to eat the same piece, it grew shorter and shorter and until there was only about a couple inches left.

"You know Troy," Gabriella said, cutting off the piece and letting the rest of it fall back into the pile of noodles on the plate, "something special happened to Sharpay today."

"Really?" he inquired, wiping the sauce from his mouth.

"Yeah," Gabriella turned to look at him, "Troy, you are a messy eater, aren't you?" Gabriella took the napkin from Troy and swiped the spaghetti sauce that stuck on the corner of his mouth.

"I'm sorry Gabi, but I can't be perfect like you," Troy answered, reaching over and pulling the hair out of her face.

"Who says you're not perfect?" Gabriella responded, "You're perfect enough for me."

There was a minute of silence between the couple as they gazed lovingly at each other. The candlelight flickered as it cast a gentle glow on their faces, illuminating the ardor that shone in their eyes, kindling the love that they had ever since that first meeting.

Gabriella was the first one to break the stare, looking down to coiling more spaghetti on her fork and placing it in her mouth. Troy chuckled quietly to himself as he reached over to the champagne, opened it, and poured it into the two wine glasses. He handed one over to Gabriella and took one himself.

"To us!" Troy toasted.

"To us!" Gabriella exclaimed as they clinked their glasses against each other's. She tipped the glass and the wine trickled into her mouth, her first wine experience. The bitter liquid hit her tongue and completely overwhelmed her. When she swallowed, the wine burned as it traveled down her throat, but oddly after a while, she acquired a liking to the champagne.

"What happened to Sharpay today?" Troy asked, poking his fork into a meatball and placing it in his mouth.

"She has a date tonight with somebody who apparently loves the theater just as much as she does," Gabriella spooned more spaghetti for herself to enjoy.

"Really? She's found somebody?" Troy did the same.

"I don't know if he's the one, but I have a strong feeling about this. She really likes this guy from what I've heard." Gabriella continued forking more spaghetti for herself to eat.

The piano music softly played as the two continued to eat more spaghetti. Eventually, they latched on to the same piece. As the two continued eating, the piece became shorter and shorter. Until it reached the point where their lips made contact. They made eye contact for a brief second then Gabriella looked away, leaving the rest of the strand for Troy to finish. He picked up his fork and grabbed a meatball, offering it to Gabriella, who accepted gratefully. This led to Troy and Gabriella feeding each other small bits of spaghetti and meatballs.

"I'm glad you did this Troy," Gabriella stated, her head placed on her hand propped on the table.

"I'm glad I did too."

As the night continued, they continued feeding each other spaghetti and eventually started giving each other drinks from their own glass.

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"You know Troy, this night was really magical," Gabriella said, leaning against Troy for support. Her first experience with champagne was stronger than she had expected.

"Gabi, are you okay?" Troy held Gabriella close, "You seem a little...off."

"Of course I'm fine Troy. Why wouldn't I be?" Gabriella slowly answered, her eyes slowly dropping from drowsiness.

"Maybe I should take you upstairs?" No response. "Gabi...?" Troy looked down to find that she had drifted off to sleep. "Yeah, I should probably take you upstairs."

Carefully, he picked her up and carried her upstairs to their room. He softly placed her on the bed and pulled the blanket over her sleeping body. After placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, Troy traveled back downstairs and cleared the table.

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Like I said, the ending's a little weak. I just wasn't sure how to end it, so that's how I did it.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYONE!!!!!!!

With much love,
KAT