Gabriella was staring hard at her reflection in the mirror when the old restroom door squeaked open behind her. She reflexively straightened up and put a more passive look on her face. When her eyes met Mack's in the mirror, she quickly looked away and dabbed at the corner of her eyes with a paper towel.

"Hey," Mack said slowly as the door swung shut. "We were just wondering if you were okay in here."

"Yeah, sorry, I'll be out in a minute." Gabriella replied, hoping Mack would leave.

Mack didn't move, instead taking a chance and saying, "You know… it's okay if you're not okay."

Gabriella looked over her shoulder at Mack, and she could tell that Mack could see right through her façade.

"I'm not okay," Gabriella admitted, feeling silly for trying to hide it in the first place.

Mack moved next to Gabriella, leaning against the sink. "Is it Troy?"

Gabriella nodded. She didn't know why, but she suddenly felt like she could tell Mack anything.

Gabriella took a deep breath and then explained, "Up until now our relationship has been almost perfect, like something out of a movie. I guess I expected it to always be like that because I believed Troy and I were meant to be or something. Troy is a great guy, and I care about him a lot, but this summer he's just been blowing me off. He's making all these plans for his future, but it feels like he's not including me in those plans, so what's the point? I feel so stupid. Life isn't a movie, and even movies have to end."

Mack whispered to herself, "Do they have to end?"

Her summer with Brady had been like something out of a movie, and if she was being honest with herself, she didn't want it to end, ever. And she didn't think Gabriella wanted her movie with Troy to end either.

"Yes, they have to end," Gabriella said resolutely.

Gabriella's abrupt statement shook Mack from her thoughts about Brady. When she looked at Gabriella again, she was giving Mack a weird, glazed-over stare.

"Um, Gabriella… are you okay?"

Suddenly a song started playing out of nowhere, making Mack jump. She searched the ceiling for speakers, but she didn't find any. "Where is that music coming from?" she asked, but Gabriella didn't answer, still giving Mack that disconcerting stare.

Finally Gabriella said, "Troy, listen."

Mack cocked her head. "I'm… not Troy. I'm Mack."

"I gotta say what's on my mind. Something about us doesn't seem right these days."

"Oh! Okay then…" Mack said awkwardly, feeling extremely uncomfortable about Gabriella breaking into song in a public restroom. "You know, you could just talk to me instead of singing at me. That would probably be easier."

Gabriella continued singing, not missing a beat. "Life keeps getting in the way. Whenever we try, somehow the plan is always rearranged."

"Oh, you're singing to Troy… to me," Mack realized. "Gabriella, you know this isn't normal, right?"

Gabriella didn't respond, acting as if she didn't hear Mack at all.

"It's so hard to say, but I've gotta do what's best for me. You'll be okay."

"Seriously, where is that music even coming from?" Mack asked anxiously, looking around and wondering if music came from the sky on this side of the wormhole.

Gabriella took both of Mack's hands in hers. Mack frowned as tears welled up in Gabriella's eyes.

"I've got to move on and be who I am. I just don't belong here…"

"In the gas station restroom?"

"…I hope you understand. We might find our place in this world someday, but at least for now, I gotta go my own way."

"Go your own way? Where are you going?" Mack asked.

Gabriella dropped Mack's hands and spun around gracefully. She then pushed the restroom door open with both hands on a downbeat.

Mack stared as the door clicked shut in time with the music. "Wait! Am I supposed to follow you? Okay, I'll follow you!" Mack decided, scurrying out of the restroom after Gabriella.

"Where did you go?" Mack shouted when she didn't see Gabriella, earning the stares of the convenience store patrons.

"Don't wanna leave it all behind, but I get my hopes up, and I watch them fall every time."

Gabriella appeared from behind a Twinkie display.

"Another color turns to grey, and it's just too hard to watch it all slowly fade away."

Mack haphazardly followed as Gabriella danced through the aisles of the convenience store. The other customers all looked on sympathetically, only moving to conveniently step out of Gabriella's way when she floated past.

"I'm leaving today 'cause I gotta do what's best for me. You'll be okay."

In her pursuit of Gabriella, Mack didn't notice the wet floor sign or the puddle of lemon-lime Gatorade on the ground. She lost her footing and grabbed blindly at the closest shelf, knocking over a pyramid of tuna cans as she flailed around, only to fall hard on her butt.

"You were wrong! I'm not okay!" Mack reported.

"I've got to move on and be who I am. I just don't belong here, I hope you understand."

"Okay, that's enough of this," Mack said, pulling herself to her feet. She hurried to the aisle next to Gabriella's and ran down it.

"We might find our place in this world someday, but at least for now, I gotta go my own way."

Mack jumped in front of Gabriella, cutting her off from exiting the canned goods aisle. Then she grabbed Gabriella by the arms, and much to her own horror, she forcefully began to sing: "What about us? What about everything we've been through?"

Seemingly unsurprised, Gabriella replied, "What about trust?"

"You know I never wanted to hurt you," Mack sang, the music taking her over.

"And what about me?"

"What am I supposed to do?" Mack asked, partially freaked out by the fact that she couldn't stop singing but also freaked out by how emotionally invested she suddenly was in this song, and this stranger.

Gabriella looked devastated, yet resigned. "I gotta leave, but I'll miss you."

Mack shook her head, trying to break out of the musical trance. She looked at her own hands as if they were foreign objects and then immediately pulled them away from Gabriella, not knowing why she was holding her like that.

The sky music seemed to soften in response, and only a gentle piano accompaniment remained. Gabriella crossed her arms over her stomach and looked at the ground as she finished the song.

"I've got to move on and be who I am. I just don't belong here, I hope you understand. We might find our place in this world someday, but at least for now… I gotta go my own way."

The sky music faded away, and the other patrons continued to go about their business, as if nothing had just happened.

Gabriella was still staring at the floor as if she didn't quite know what to do with herself.

"Gabriella?" Mack asked gently. "Did you just break up with Troy… with me?"

Gabriella looked up at Mack, the confused look on her face breaking Mack's heart.

"I don't know," Gabriella answered. "Everything just feels so wrong."

"You can say that again," Mack said with a trembling voice, but she wasn't looking at Gabriella anymore.

She was staring at the magazine rack, where every cover was labeled with August 2006.

"Gabriella? This is going to sound like a strange question, but just humor me: what year is it?"

It was Gabriella's turn to look concerned for the girl standing in front of her. "It's 2006."

Mack nodded slowly. "Thank you," she said politely. "Now if you'll excuse me for a moment…"

She then turned on her heel and made a break for the exit, screaming, "BRADY!"

A/N: Words in italics are lyrics being sung (well, most of them), in case that wasn't already clear. Teen Beach Movie came out in 2013 and presumably took place in present day, aka summer of 2013. The New Year's Party at the beginning of HSM rings in the year 2006, so HSM & HSM 2 take place in 2006. I think.