DISCLAIMER: Certain characters, themes, and ideas have been taken from the world of High School Musical created by Disney and subsidiaries. No copyright infringement is intended and I claim no ownership of anything you recognize.

A/N: This one's for everyone who's posted a review, added this story to their alert list, or added me to their author alert. You all are amazingly wonderful and I am so grateful to have readers like you. Thank you for your patience with me…now on with the next chapter!

Chapter Four: Spreading the News

It had been two weeks since the conversation with Sharpay, and Troy and Gabriella were making the final plans for breaking the news to their friends. Gabriella suggested telling Taylor and Chad separately before the rest of their group. They would tell their close teammates and friends later in the week at dinner, but Gabriella thought – and Troy agreed – that Taylor and Chad should know first. Troy had arranged to work the evening shift at Chad's parent's restaurant so that he and Gabriella could meet their best friends at the park after school, under the guise of "shooting hoops."

Troy and Gabriella arrived at the park to find Taylor and Chad already engaged in a game of 1-on-1…apparently with no rules about holding or traveling.

"Alright you two break it up," troy joked, jogging over to greet his friends. Gabriella followed at a walk.

"Bolton! It's about time you showed up," Chad greeted him, pulling his friend into a one-armed hug.

"Yeah, lucky you came before I beat the pants off him," Taylor chimed in, hugging Troy. She turned to Gabriella, who had just arrived alongside Troy. "Hey girl! You ready to show these boys how the game is played?"

"I'd love to, but I'm afraid I'm not here to play," Gabriella replied. Taylor gave her a 'you're joking' look and grabbed her hand.

"Ha Ha, Gabi. I know you don't expect me to beat these boys by myself…not that I couldn't," she added, looking challengingly at Troy and Chad.

"Of course, of course," Troy chuckled nervously. He cleared his throat before continuing, "Actually, um…there's something Gabi and I want to talk to you two about. We didn't really come to play. So…you want to go for a walk?" He nodded his head in the direction of the nature trail behind the basketball courts. Chad gave him a confused look.

"Uh, suuure…" he replied slowly. They began walking toward the trail. "So what's up?"

"Well, its kind of a long story, and it's pretty major, and kind of important to us that you both know, because you're our best friends-" Troy started.

"And we really want you to be ok with this," Gabriella added.

"Because we really value your friendship and-"

"We really want your support, and-"

"Troy! Gabriella!" Taylor exclaimed, halting their verbal tennis match. She and Chad stopped walking and she asked, "What is it?" Gabriella and Troy looked at each other. Then they spoke at the same time.

"Gabi's pregnant."

"I'm pregnant. "

No one said anything for a second. Taylor took a step back. Chad kept looking back and forth between them as though they had three heads. Finally, Chad spoke up.

"Are you freakin' serious?" Troy nodded.

"Dead serious. We're going to have a baby."

"Wow."

"Yeah. So…" Troy trailed off, not knowing what else to say. Taylor finally spoke up.

"Oh my gosh, Gabi. I mean, I noticed you filled out a bit but I didn't want to say anything, and now everything makes sense, what with the job and the new clothes…wow, girl. I guess congratulations are in order," she said, giving Gabriella a big hug. She pulled away quickly, looking horrified. "I'm not hurting you, am I?" Gabriella giggled.

"Not at all. Hugs are totally allowed," she said, pulling Taylor back in for another hug.

"Wow man, what are you gonna do?" Chad asked, still looking shocked.

"Well, Gabi and I already talked to our parents and we're going to keep working until the baby comes. Then Gabi's going to stay home with our baby and I'm going to keep working. B-squared is going to stay with Gabi at her house and I'm going to be there as much as possible. Our moms agreed to help out with watching the baby once school starts in the fall, but we're both going to UNM so we'll be living at home," Troy answered.

"My mom talked about letting Troy move in after graduation to help get ready for the baby, so he's probably going to move in with me in June," Gabriella added.

"Wow. When's the baby due?" Taylor asked.

"July 21st, if he or she is on time." Gabriella replied.

"So wait…Gabriella, you're already six months along?"

"Pretty crazy, huh?"

"Yes! Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"Tay, please don't be mad. We didn't find out until Christmas. Then we had to tell our parents and get all our plans in order. We also had to visit the doctor for the official prenatal visit and to make sure everything was progressing like it should. We wanted to have everything confirmed before dragging anyone else in," Gabriella explained. Taylor still looked a bit hurt.

"But we could have helped. Do you have everything you need?"

"Not nearly," Gabriella replied. "But we have an appointment Saturday afternoon and we're going to find out if it's a boy or a girl then, so after we know that we can start getting more clothes and stuff."

"Has either of your moms set up a baby shower or anything?" Taylor asked. Gabriella shook her head no.

"There hasn't been any time. Plus, who would they invite? No one knows yet!"

"Speaking of, when are you planning to tell everyone else?" Chad chimed in. Troy responded.

"At dinner Friday night. We just wanted to tell you two first."

"I still can't believe this, man. This is huge," Chad said, letting out a deep breath.

"It took me a little while to get used to the idea too. But now, I'm so excited. Scared as hell, but still really excited too," Troy said, wrapping his arm around Gabriella's waist and rubbing the side of her stomach. Gabriella smiled up at him for a moment before turning back to their friends.

"Alright. So now that you know, how do you think everyone else is going to take the news?" she asked.

Taylor and Chad shared a look. It was going to take some time to plan their approach. Basketball was totally forgotten.

Friday evening came and Troy picked up Gabriella and Taylor at the Montez house. Chad's house was next and then they were on their way to dinner.

Once a month since last summer, their group of friends got together for dinner at Chad's parent's restaurant, Papi's. Zeke, Jason and Kelsi were already there by the time Troy parked. Marsha and Ryan showed up shortly thereafter. Troy and Gabriella had decided to share their news with everyone after dinner arrived and before desert, so that in the event someone was upset the entire meal wasn't ruined.

The waitress was clearing their plates while Jason related a story about the time he caught Chad lip synching to Michael Jackson's "Bad" in the men's locker room after practice. Everyone was cracking up at his visual reenactment.

"Hey, that is a good song," Chad replied defensively.

"But the fact that you know every move is kinda scary dude," Jason replied, still laughing.

"Don't be a hater. Just 'cause you can't move like this," Chad shot back, standing up and doing a spin. This sent everyone at the table into another bout of laughter, including Chad himself. "Alright alright. Enough about me, time to pick on someone else…so Zeke, what's new?"

"Ah hah, you're not pulling that on me," Zeke laughed, leaning back into the corner of the booth. "So what's everyone up to this weekend?"

"Cousin's wedding."

"Baseball game."

"Recital rehearsal."

"Doctor's appointment," Gabriella and Troy replied together.

"So you two are now planning your doctor's visits together? Y'all are too much," Jason chuckled. Troy and Gabriella shared a look and decided it was time.

"Actually, there's a reason for that…we actually wanted to talk to you guys about something," Troy said, putting an arm around the back of Gabriella's chair.

"Oh my gosh, are you ok?" Kelsi asked, turning to Gabriella and looking for visible signs of ailment.

"No worries, Kels, I'm fine…actually, I'm pregnant," Gabriella replied. The whole table fell silent.

"Surprise?" Troy said, trying to break the ice after the long pause.

"Wait, so you're serious?" Zeke whispered. Gabriella and Troy both nodded.

"We found out at Christmas time, but we needed to figure things out for ourselves before we told anyone. We find out tomorrow if it's a boy or a girl," Troy replied, subconsciously rubbing the side of Gabriella's stomach.

"So you're keeping it?" Jason asked.

"Yes," Gabriella replied firmly. "We didn't plan on this happening, but we're really excited now. Once we know if it's a boy or a girl we can start setting up for him or her. Plus, we can narrow down some names-"

"Gabriella, you're only 17," Martha interrupted. "Do your parents know?"

"Our parents have known for a few months now. Needless to say no one was thrilled by the news, but we've been preparing and planning for this as best we can so it's not like we're not trying to be responsible about it. Gabi's mom has been great helping with all the doctor stuff and all of our parents accept what's happening so no one's been disowned or anything. Though I thought my dad was going to kill me when we told them," Troy responded. "Anyways, you all are our closest friends and we wanted to tell you ourselves before you start hearing rumors floating around school. Gabi's going to start really showing in a month or so and we know once it gets out at school there's going to be tons of gossip and stuff. So yeah…feel free to jump in at any time, guys…" Troy trailed off, looking at Chad and Taylor.

"Hey man, you know I'll be there to help out with the new little Bolton. We're going to have a mini Kobe in no time," Chad chimed in.

"Or Kobette," Gabriella added.

"Doesn't matter to me," Chad smiled.

"And you know I'll be there whenever y'all need a hand. Besides, someone has to teach this child how to push her parent's buttons," Taylor said, grinning.

"Hey, there will be none of that," Troy jokingly replied. The return of normal banter seemed to relax the tense atmosphere at the table.

"Seriously guys, you know we're gonna be here for you. This kid is going to be the most spoiled baby on the block. He or she will have world class jazz squares by the time they're ready to hit the stage," Ryan said supportively, glad the news was now out in the open.

"Gabi, I hope you've got your 'Soccer Mom' bumper sticker ready – because from listening to all these guys your little one is going to be spending a lot of time on extra-curriculars," Kelsi stated.

Gabriella looked at Troy and smiled as she whispered, "Ready or not."

A/N: Thank you so much for reading…please leave a review!