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Troy cringed as awkward silence filled the air. He snuck a glance at a mortified Gabriella, who had her head in her hands. Lucille threw a dirty glare at her. Jack blinked perplexedly, nervously smiling at Gabriella's parents. Greg crossed his arms across his chest, a somber expression on his face. Maria drummed her fingers against the varnished tabletop, inspecting the lavish villa her daughter was currently residing in.

"This is a very nice home you have here, Mrs Bolton" she complimented coolly.

Lucille forced a bright smile, her eyes narrowing slightly. She didn't like the look on Gabriella's mother's face. It was too calm, too collected.

"Thank you, Mrs Montez" she replied, equally icy

The women continued waging their cold war, glaring fiercely at each other. Gabriella inwardly groaned. Of all the times her mother had to be overprotective, it had to be during the most important nine months of her life. Great. Greg cleared his throat.

"Well, this has been sufficiently awkward, considering we're basically in-laws" he drawled sarcastically.

Troy spluttered on his drink. In-laws? It wasn't like he and Gabriella were married! Gabriella dutifully patted his back, rolling her eyes. An image of a white picket fence and cozy cottage flashed in Troy's mind.

He wouldn't mind having that with Gabriella.

Gabriella watched anxiously as her parents stared down Troy's parents. Greg cracked his knuckles threateningly, while Maria coldly glared at them. Gabriella wanted to crawl under the table and die. The silence seemed like it was going to drag on forever.

"I'm home! And I brought Selena over again! I hope you guys don't mind..." Nick's cheerful voice trailed off as he walked into the living room, his girlfriend trailing behind.

Jack sighed in relief as his youngest son blinked quizzically at the visitors, consequently breaking the ice. Maria raised an eyebrow.

"Did you get that one pregnant too?" she fired icily at Troy, referring to Selena.

Selena's eyes widened, horrified. Nick gaped. Gabriella slapped her hand to her forehead.

"Hey! That's my girlfriend you're talking about!" Nick angrily retorted, wrapping an arm protectively around Selena's waist. Lucille was flabbergasted.

""I beg your pardon! I refuse to hear you talk about my son like that! I know Troy can seem like a bit of a playboy, but I can assure you, he means well!" Lucille defended her son.

Maria scoffed, folding her arms over her chest.

"From what I heard from Gabriella, Troy goes out with a different girl every night! And they all get thrown away the next day like last season's clothes! If that's not a playboy, I don't know what is!"

Troy glared at Gabriella. She bitched about him to her mother? Gabriella shrugged apologetically. It was before they had met, anyway. Jack sniggered heartily, slapping his son on the back.

"That's my boy!"

Troy turned beet red. Nick snorted. His brother had the worst luck. First he knocked up Gabriella, then got busted by his parents and now he was sitting through a conversation with Gabriella's parents. Nick merely shook his head. Greg rolled his eyes.

"Enough. We've wasted enough time talking about your son's inability to keep his pants on. Let's get down to business" he rubbed his hands together.

Lucille opened her mouth to retort, but Jack cut her off.

"My son is taking full responsibility of Gabriella and the baby. They're currently staying here with us and will continue too, hopefully"

Maria clucked her tongue.

"That won't do! I want my daughter home, safe and sound and away from that life-ruiner!" Maria nearly screeched.

"Mom!" Gabriella whined exasperatedly.

Troy felt his stomach sink. Had he ruined Gabriella's life? He never really thought about that. He had always relied on his parents' money, barely scraping though with mediocre grades. But Gabriella was different. She was top in the grade, and had a list of extra-curricular activities the length of his body. She had a bright future in front of her, destined to become something great for their society. And now this baby was going to halt it for at least a couple of years. A wave of guilt washed over him. It was all his fault. Troy was going to continue wallowing in self-pity when a nudge from Gabriella woke him from his reverie.

"You okay?" she whispered, her eyes darting nervously to the arguing mothers.

Troy shrugged, a bittersweet smile playing on his lips.

"It's kinda awkward when you have two women screaming at each other about who's the better mother. Or worse. Depends on how you want to look at it" he quipped.

Gabriella laughed softly, her eyes sparkling. Troy swore his heart skipped a beat.

It had been doing that a lot lately.

Gabriella glanced back at their parents, who were now red-faced and hoarse. Nick lounged lazily, watching the scene unfold with Selena leaning comfortably against his chest. Her dark eyes flickered back to Troy. She was taken aback by the serious expression on his face. Gabriella felt her heart pound faster as she stared at his face. Was it normal for a guy to look so good at every angle? Troy hid a smirk as he felt Gabriella's eyes on him. It wasn't like she could help it, he thought smugly. He quickly sobered up as he remembered what he was going to talk to her about. Troy took a deep breath, and turned to face Gabriella. Gabriella flushed, embarrassed about being caught staring at Troy. He fidgeted in his seat as Lucille and Maria continued to argue, now on the subject of 'how to teach your children to abstain from sex'. Apparently, Maria was winning.

"So what are you going to do?" he finally squeezed out.

Gabriella looked perplexed. Troy rolled his eyes.

"About the whole living in which house thing?" he prompted, gesturing to their arguing parents.

Gabriella's mouth formed a perfect 'O'. She bit her lip, deep in thought. She was glad that her parents had finally accepted her and her baby, but she had grown to love each member of the Bolton family in a such a short amount of time. She loved how Lucille was fussed about her like she was her real daughter, and how Jack would be there to calm his wife down, jokingly teasing her about Troy. She loved how Nick knew exactly what pushed Troy's buttons, and how the two brothers would fight it out. She even loved Selena, who was around frequently enough to be called part of the family, for her bubbly cheerfulness and for always making her laugh. Gabriella absolutely adored the Bolton family.

Especially a certain, sandy-haired boy sitting next to her.

She loved the way he smiled at her, how it made her breath catch and her heart beat faster at the same time. She loved the way his hair would fall into his eyes, how he would brush it back and wink cheekily at her. She loved how he cared so much about their baby. Troy had already bought and built the crib, the rocking horse and cubby house. Gabriella had melted at that scene.

I guess I just love him, she mused, sneaking another glance at Troy. Troy waited as Gabriella thought it over. His heart was pounding erratically. He desperately wanted her to stay. Gabriella made him feel like no other girl had before. He was nervous, excited and deliriously happy when he was with her.

And he didn't want to lose that yet.

"Well, I guess I want to go back home-" Gabriella started.

Troy felt his heart plummet to his feet.

"-but…" she snuck a shy glance at Troy "I really like staying here with you. And I think it'd be good for the baby if he had both his dad and mom living in the same house together, don't you think?"

Troy grinned. Gabriella blushed heavily. It was the same as confessing her feelings for him! He turned to announce this to their parents when Greg spoke up, closely examining Troy. He looked like he had a smile on his face.

"Troy, do you have feelings for Gabriella?" he asked simply.

Troy was stunned. Gabriella's eyes widened, snapping immediately to said boy. Lucille and Maria stopped arguing, curious to find out the answer. Jack shook his head, already knowing his son's true feelings. Nick and Selena straightened up, their ears straining to listen. Gabriella felt herself lean forward, anticipating the answer. Troy looked around at the eager families, before his stormy blue eyes locked with Gabriella's own. Her chocolate orbs bored into his own, and Troy felt himself melt. It's now or never, he thought. He took in a deep breath, staring intently in Gabriella's eyes.

"I…I think I'm falling for her"

There was a thud, and Gabriella fainted.

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