Chapter 19: Perfect

Troy woke up the next morning the way he wanted to wake up every morning: with the girl of his dreams in his arms. Seeing that it was only 6:13 Troy didn't want to wake Gabriella up but he had to get home to change. Being careful not to wake his girlfriend Troy got out of bed and quickly dressed. Being the sweet guy he was Troy found a notepad and wrote something down before placing the piece of paper on the pillow next to Gabriella's head. Kissing her on her forehead Troy quietly left the room and walked out the front door into the crisp October air.

At seven o'clock Gabriella woke up to the sound of her alarm clock beeping. Turning it off Gabriella felt around for Troy but found he wasn't there. Opening her eyes Gabriella panicked a little thinking that last night was just a dream. She soon relaxed when she found the note on her pillow.

Morning Brie,

You looked so peaceful that I couldn't bring myself to wake you. Sorry but I had to leave to get a change of clothes. I'll meet you at your locker.

Love, Troy

Smiling Gabriella placed the note on her side drawer and got out of bed to wash up. She felt that today was going to be a good day.

At 7:45 on the dot Sharpay honked her horn making her presence known. Grabbing her school bag Gabriella walked out of the house and locked the door before getting into Sharpay's car.

"Morning Shar," Gabriella greeted as she shut the door.

"Morning Gabi, anything exciting happen last night?" Sharpay asked as she began driving towards East High.

You mean besides getting Troy Bolton as a boyfriend? "Nothing I could think of."

"Me either," Sharpay responded as they neared the school. She parked her car and the two got out to be greeted by Taylor and Kelsi.

"Morning guys," Taylor and Kelsi said to their friends.

"Morning," Sharpay and Gabriella responded as the four made their way into the school. Not needing anything from their lockers they all made their way to Gabriella and Taylor's lockers before heading to homeroom.

Gabriella smiled as she saw Troy waiting at her locker, just like he had promised. Feeling her presence Troy looked up and smiled at his girl.

"Hey," Troy said as he pulled Gabriella in for a quick kiss which she quickly responded to.

"Hey yourself," Gabriella said. Kinking her eyebrow she added, "You left early this morning."

"Sorry but I can't go to school wearing the same thing two days in a row."

"I guess you're right," Gabriella agreed as she gave Troy a peck on the lips. Remembering that Sharpay, Kelsi and Taylor were there Gabriella turned around to see all three of her friends with their mouths wide open. "Girls, close your mouths before flies start buzzing in."

Being the first to recover Sharpay glared at Gabriella. "I thought you said nothing happened last night? What is this?"

"What?" Troy asked as he wrapped an arm around Gabriella's waist. "A guy can't kiss his girlfriend good morning?"

"Girlfriend?" Sharpay asked as Taylor and Kelsi stood there, still stunned. "You have a lot of explaining to do missy."

"Nothing, I just took some great advice and told Troy how I felt, after he revealed his feelings of course."

"Good job Gabi," Taylor said sincerely.

"Yeah, you finally built up enough courage. Way to go," Kelsi added.

Squealing happily Sharpay pulled Gabriella out of Troy's arms, much to his discontent, and into a hug which Taylor and Kelsi soon joined. When the bell rung they made their way to homeroom with the new couple following behind, their fingers laced. Chad was the first to notice the couple as they enter the room and was soon followed by Zeke and Jason.

"Dude!" Chad exclaimed catching the attention of everyone in the room. "You finally told her! Congrats man!"

"Yeah, it was about time you two got together," Zeke replied from his desk.

"Okay, was it that obvious?" Gabriella asked.

"To anyone who could see," Jason said, laughing at Gabriella's expression afterwards.

It was the night of the Halloween dance and the girls were getting ready at Sharpay's house. They all thought that each couple should go as a matching pair, and after little pouting, so did the guys. Sharpay and Zeke decided to go as Tarzan and Jane just because Sharpay wanted to dress up in leopard prints. Kelsi and Jason were going as Sandy and Danny from Grease. Taylor and Chad, after much disagreement decided on Will and Elizabeth from Pirates of the Caribbean, in their pirate outfits. As for Troy and Gabriella, they were going as Cinderella and Prince Charming.

When the doorbell rang Ryan went to answer it. He wasn't much for Halloween so he was going to stay in a pass out candy while watching some movies.

"Hey Ry," Troy said as he entered the house with Jason, Chad and Zeke. "Sure you don't want to go to the dance?"

"Yeah, I just don't get the whole Halloween deal," Ryan answered. "I'll go tell the girls that you're ready."

Walking to Sharpay's room Ryan knocked twice before opening the door. "Your dates are here."

"Thanks Ry, tell them we'll be down in a minute," Sharpay said as she put the finishing touches to her costume.

The guys were sitting in the living room when "Jane", "Sandy", "Elizabeth" and "Cinderella" came downstairs. Each guy smiled respectively at their date, unable to actually form a sentence.

After the sixth song Gabriella was getting tired. As she began to walk back to her seat Troy stopped her. "Follow me," he told her. They made their way out of the gym, down the hall and up a flight of stairs. When they reached the rooftop Gabriella was speechless, the sight in front of her was beautiful. "Wow" was all Gabriella was able to utter.

They sat on the bench as Troy's arms found their way around Gabriella's waist. The couple sat in silence for a while until Gabriella spoke out, "Thanks Troy."

"For what?"

"For showing me how to love again," Gabriella said simply. Troy smiled at this and kissed his girlfriend's hair softly. "Anything for you Brie."

"Promise me we'll be together, always," Gabriella whispered.

Smiling Troy turned her around. "This is my promise to you," Troy said as he reached for something in his pocket. He retrieved a necklace with a "T" pendant and placed it around Gabriella's neck, closing the clasp behind her.

Gabriella was surprised to feel cold metal against her neck. Feeling it she found that it was necklace. Turning around Gabriella asked with a smile, "'T' as in Troy?"

"Well, yeah," Troy answered with a smile of his own. Grabbing her hands gently Troy pulled Gabriella into a sweet kiss. "I love you Brie," Troy said against her lips.

"I love you too Troy," Gabriella responded. "Now and forever."

"Hearing you say that is like music to my ears, it's perfect."