"Did we really need to invite Sharpay with us tonight? Doesn't she have her little minions to hang out with?" asked Taylor as she saw Sharpay wrinkle her nose at the rented bowling shoes Zeke was carrying for her from the front desk.

Gabriella giggled a little at Taylor's exasperated sigh. "Easy Tay. Just remember, for some reason Zeke has a huge crush on her and we're doing this for him, okay?"

"Yeah Taylor. If Gabriella can stomach her for the night, we sort of have to follow suit," added Kelsi as she finished tying her left shoe and got up, getting the feel of the rented shoes. "I mean she can't be that bad if Zeke likes her, right?"

Martha rolled her eyes at this. "Kelsi, you are so sweet and I love you but think back to this summer and all the stunts she pulled to get with Troy. She's not some innocent lamb here. You'll never convince us of that."

Kelsi shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not saying she is. I'm just saying that Zeke likes her and I agree with Gabriella, we have to support him unconditionally right, as good friends would."

"But good friends would also point out to their good friend that he's making a huge mistake too," pointed out Taylor. "I mean, you guys should have warned me about Chad being such a bonehead before I fell for him!"

"Right, like you are complaining. You're head over heels in love with him Tay, admit it!" teased Gabriella, laughing with Kelsi and Martha both as Taylor rolled her eyes. "Besides, you're a smart girl. We all figured that was part of Chad's charm that had you so attracted to him."

Taylor just shook her head, knowing that her friends had a good point. "So maybe it is sort of what attracted me to him. He's got that side to him that frustrates me to no end but he's also sweet in his own way."

Kelsi immediately thought of her own relationship with Jason. "I know what you mean. Jason can be slow at times but he's my goofball and I find it somehow endearing."

Taylor waited for Gabriella to add something but was surprised when her best friend didn't but instead gazed in the direction of where Troy, Chad, and Jason were hanging out near the snack bar, a few feet away from where Zeke was trying to convince Sharpay to pick a bowling ball.

"So Gaby, you and Troy seem to be doing well these days," commented Martha, also seeing that Gabriella's attention was now focused on a brown-haired boy who was laughing at something Chad just said before he looked up and connected his gaze with Gabriella's, a smirk appearing on his lips as he caught her looking. Gabriella blushed as she forced her eyes away before they shyly went back to meet his, this time giggling herself as Troy gives her his trademark wink that makes her always feel like melting.

Kelsi, seeing Gabriella had zoned almost completely, waved her small hand in front of those brown eyes that belonged to her close friend. "Gabriella, where are you? Here with us or over there with those three guys?"

Gabriella shook her head as her attention snapped back into place with her friends. "Sorry, guess I did escape a little there mentally."

"A little? Girl, you may as well be standing over there with Troy and flirting in that adorable manner you two have," joked Taylor, laughing as Gabriella playfully glared at her. "You know it's true!"

While the four girls were busy chatting among themselves as they waited on the others to join them, Sharpay was doing some listening of her own, albeit to a conversation the talkers didn't know she was paying attention to.

"Dude, so when are you going to ask her?" questioned Jason, knowing what had been on his friend's mind for a while now.

"Ask Gabriella what?" returned Troy, trying to look as innocent as possible.

Chad playfully nudged Troy on the shoulder. "Man, you know what he's asking and what we both want to know. When are you going to ask Gabriella to be yours exclusively? That's all you've been thinking of in the past week at least. I know you've been playing with that idea alone though for months. What are you waiting for?"

Troy shrugged his shoulders, glancing over at Gabriella again only to smile as he saw her enjoying herself with her girlfriends. "For the time to be right. As much as I hate to admit it, I recognize that Gabriella really cared, even loved, Tristan."

"But he's gone, out of the picture!" returned Jason quickly. "It's time to get this train moving before someone else derails you."

"It's not that simple J," replied Troy, knowing his gut and feelings were correct on this.

Chad thought about it for a few moments, looking at Gabriella and Taylor talking about something close together and then looking back at Troy, who was also back to staring at the brunette that captured most of his thoughts lately. "Well, Gabriella is a lot like Taylor so a move like asking her to be your girlfriend will take a lot of smarts and finesse. You sure you have either Bolton?"

Without a thought, Troy's hand shot out and pushed Chad on his shoulder, rolling his blue eyes as Chad over-exaggerated the pain from the point of contact. "You're really lame, you know that? Why you're still my best friend, I have no idea."

"Me either," chimed in Jason, laughing at Chad's annoyed look.

This time, Chad hit Jason, glaring at the other boy. "You're just jealous you aren't the best friend to the captain!"

"Hey, I'm never one to get into the middle of a romance!" exclaimed Jason, laughing some more. "Besides, your hits are like a butterfly landing on my arm. Hardly felt a thing!"

"Asshole!" yelled Chad as he smacked Jason hard on his other arm, earning the attention of a few people nearby, including the girls. Taylor shook her head at her boyfriend before she turned her back to him. "Great, now you got me in trouble for being a public jackass with my girlfriend. Nice Jason, real nice."

"In all fairness, you do that quite a bit all on your own," defended Jason, laughing again at Chad's glare. "Anyway, back to you Troy. So, you going to ask Gab soon or does some football captain back in L.A. still have a chance?"

Troy just shook his head, allowing a few stray locks of his brown bangs to fall over the upper part of his right eye. "Man, what's with all the pressure? I told you, I'm going to ask Gabriella but only when the time is right. It may be tonight, it may be in a few weeks, but I'll only do it when I think she's ready and will say yes."

"So it's the fear of rejection," pushed Chad, intrigued by this revelation. "You're still scared Gab is going to pick Tristan over you, even when the guy was dismissed weeks ago?"

Knowing this was an echo of a fear that Troy had fluttering through his mind several times in the past week, Troy clenched his jaw, keeping his eyes trained on a bright orange bowling ball several lanes down that went speeding down the lane only to fall into the gutter at the last second before it hit the only remaining pin left, the ten pin. 'What if we've come this far just to never be together, to miss the opportunity? Will time really make things better?'

Chad and Jason both exchanged a look as they watched Troy's face cloud over with a very thoughtful and not too happy look. "Dude, we were just trying to push you in the right direction. No need to get all upset, we'll stop," offered Chad, not wanting to make his best friend upset on his account. Teasing was one thing but making his best friend truly angry or hurt wasn't ever on Chad's list of things to do.

Slowly, blue eyes found brown as Troy shook his head. "I know man, I know. You just hit on something I honestly have thought about, wondered about. Tristan may be gone, Gabriella may have moved on enough to consider a relationship with me, but somewhere, somehow, my gut is telling me it's not over with him yet, that I could still lose her to him somehow."

"Then don't let him Troy," chimed in Zeke as he approached the group of guys, hearing Troy's revelation as he came closer. "There's a lot you can do and if Gabriella truly cares for you the way you do her, I don't think he stands a chance."

"Says the resident male romantic besides you Troy," joked Jason. "Speaking of, where's your pink date?"

Zeke rolled his eyes, tilting his head to the left at the same time. "Went to powder her nose or something," replied Zeke, turning his head to see Sharpay begin to saunter off in the direction of the restrooms.

As Troy's own thoughts continued to run through his head, he knew that the guys were right, that Troy himself was right. Gabriella knew herself better than anyone else. If she wasn't ready, she wouldn't say yes to him and Troy went into asking her to be his with the knowledge that it could happen so he was as prepared as he could be. 'At least I hope. Now it's just about finding the right moment,' he thought before pushing his thoughts aside to join the others in a talk about what weight of bowling ball they wanted, joining the girls shortly after.

'Good, they are finally distracted,' noted Sharpay as she ducked out of the restroom where she had been waiting for the four guys to walk down the steps they were standing around to start their quest for bowling balls or something else that took them out of her line of vision. Sharpay quickly walked outside of the bowling alley via the nearest door and immediately pulled out her pink cell phone. She dialed the familiar number and waited, studying her French manicured nails, as it continued to ring, sighing in relief when the other line was picked up.

"What the fuck do you want Sharpay? I told you, I'm not interested in your little game anymore. I'm done, I don't want to hear about it, and I don't want to see any more pictures," bit out Tristan, his voice rough yet oddly hollow sounding.

"Oh Tristan, get over it. Our plan is working, Troy is stressed that you are still a threat, which means that brunette tramp must be showing signs of still being into you. Don't you want this second chance Tristan?" taunted Sharpay, knowing exactly how she was going to win Tristan over.

Tristan's sigh could be heard before he said, "First of all, the brunette we are talking about is named Gabriella and she isn't a tramp. I'm actually thinking you are but that's too gentle of a name for you. Second, I had my second chance and I blew it all right? Even I know that and I can't put Gabriella through any more pain on my account."

"You truly don't care then that Gabriella is still yours for the taking? That Troy is going to ask her to be his girlfriend as soon as this weekend? Cutting off most of the chances you still have now? How can you not care about that? You're fucking in love with the twit, although I don't know why, and you were so into her that you agreed to start this with me! I even sent you that ticket and the second check!" yelled Sharpay, not liking the feeling of not getting her way again with this boy.

There was a pause from the other line as Tristan processed everything that had just tumbled out of Sharpay's mouth. "He really is going to ask her?" he asked with a voice that sounded so strained and pained that even Sharpay registered his emotions.

Instead of having some sensitivity to this though, Sharpay saw this as a window to make sure she drove her point in now, at Tristan's most vulnerable time. "Uh huh, yup. I just heard him talking to his stupid friends about it in the bowling alley. They are mighty flirty, I wouldn't be surprised if he asked her today or tomorrow actually. Between really seeing things light up between them and his fear that you will come back, if Bolton is smart, he'll do it ASAP. I overheard her friends gushing about how adorable they are together. Please, I know that you and Gabriella look so much better together, just like Troy and I do. So, with all that being said Tristan, are you in or are you out?"

Silence greeted Sharpay for several moments, a long enough time for Sharpay to pull away her phone from her ear to see if it was still connected, which it was. Before Sharpay could say anything, Tristan's voice returned to the line. "I can't do this to her Sharpay, I really can't. As much as Gabriella belongs with me, I understand I hurt her too much to expect her to want me or anything I can offer her. I'm not worth the breath she breathes."

Sharpay let out a loud huff at this. "What is it with you stupid boys and being all weak for her? Gabriella Montez is no saint and she is no hidden treasure. I should know, I have plenty of those. Fine Tristan, you want to drop away like a wimp and let her go, be my guest. Without you though, I have no reason to play fair with her. Maybe working on that breath of air she has that you seem so unworthy of is a good idea. After all, Troy can't be with a girl who gets horribly scarred, hurt, or even, sadly, dies right?"

"You wouldn't," got out Tristan, astonishment clearly heard in his voice now.

"Try me," offered Sharpay, smirking as she realized she had him finally. "I guess I better go call that hitman Daddy has on staff…"

"No! I'll take that plane ticket for tomorrow morning and put it to use. Just, don't do anything to hurt her all right?" returned Tristan quickly, alarmed at what Sharpay had suggested.

"Good. I want a full report on Monday when you are back in L.A. No one is to know of our connection, got it?" pushed Sharpay, elated now that she got her way again.

"Fine," grumbled Tristan before the line went dead.

Just as Sharpay was putting away her cell phone, a new call came in. She turned it over and smiled as she saw who it was that was calling. "Well hello world traveler, aka Ryan Evans! Finally landed and at home?"

"Yup and I have to say, my time in London at that acting academy was amazing sis, even if it was for a few weeks. I still can't believe that I'm back. I haven't heard from you in a while though. How are you doing? How is good old East High?" asked Ryan, curious as to what he had missed so far in the school year.

"Oh, everything is fabulous. Funny you should call though, I was thinking of a hitman for a special project only moments ago," returned Sharpay, smiling as she heard the gasp from the other line. "It was mentioned we had one on staff to someone…"

"Still the little liar I see. We have no such person on staff and you know it," replied Ryan. "Who is the poor soul you just scared into something devious I suspect?"

"No one you know, trust me Ryan. Don't worry your little hat covered head either, I never would go that far, just maybe close, to get what I want," stated Sharpay, checking her watch and seeing she'd been gone longer than she intended.

Ryan let out another sigh as he quickly put together what this was all about. "You're set on Troy Bolton again aren't you sis. When are you going to give him up?"

"Never. Someone has to save him from the lowlife destiny he has started himself on with that tart. I'll see you when I get home Ry!" said Sharpay, flipping her cell phone closed and waltzing back into the bowling alley, feeling much lighter than when she had left.

"Pink annoyance alert," muttered Taylor, being the first one of the gang to see Sharpay approaching them in the second half of their first game on the pair of lanes they were given.

Gabriella lightly elbowed Taylor, who was sitting next to her on the brown plastic chairs. "Hey, I thought you said you'd try being nice to her for Zeke's sake."

"That was nice," returned Taylor, making both Kelsi and Martha giggle as they overheard the exchange. "There are plenty of worse words I could have used. Chad has expanded my vocabulary in that regard quite a bit."

Almost on cue, Chad called out, "Gab, your turn up on the left side."

"Thanks Chad," returned Gabriella before getting up and picking up the green bowling ball she had picked out earlier from the rack. She looked at the dots on the floor and then the arrows on the lane, figuring out her pattern from there. Once sure she had the calculations right in her head, Gabriella started quickly walking towards the foul line, releasing the ball and stopping her slide before she went over the black line, satisfied when she heard before she saw the ball knock over all ten points.

"Yay Gabriella!" screamed Martha, being the first one to give her a congratulatory high five followed by Taylor and then Kelsi. "Thank God we have you on our team against the boys."

Gabriella laughed with the other girls as the guys rolled their eyes, Sharpay joining them from where she was standing next to Troy's seat. "Well, it is a team effort. Guess we are showing them that beauty and brains can outwit muscle huh?"

"You can say that again! We're on track to whipping them!" exclaimed Kelsi, straightening her glasses before she went up for her turn.

The decision to split the team into boys versus girls had effectively cut off any couple interactions as both sides got pretty competitive. At most, there were a few glances exchanged but there was more heckling than any other conversation between the two sides. Sharpay continued to talk with the guys though, standing fairly close to Troy, who had moved twice in an attempt to get her to leave his side and stick with Zeke. When Sharpay followed him a third time, Troy began to realize that Sharpay wasn't here because of an interest in Zeke like all of them had hoped but to be with him. 'As egotistical as that sounds, I think that's the sad truth,' he thought, shaking his head as he saw Zeke forlornly looking at the blonde girl, who had the audacity to place her hand on his shoulder.

This small action was enough to send Troy over the edge as he stood up, despite being in the middle of a conversation about how to beat the girls this late in the game, and grabbed Zeke's arm to pull him up from his seat between Jason and Chad. "I'm sorry man, Sharpay is here as your date. Please, take my seat so you can talk to her better since she doesn't seem to want to sit in a chair."

At first, Zeke gave him a confused look before he realized what Troy was doing. By that point of the night, Zeke had come to the same conclusion as Troy, which pained him deeply, but knew that it was his fault that Sharpay was there so he had to interfere where he could. As Troy sat down in Zeke's old spot, Zeke sat down and smiled up at Sharpay. "Feel like bowling the next game?"

Sharpay shook her head, turning her narrowed eyes that were trained on Troy who was now talking with Jason and Chad again back onto Zeke, softening only a little. Realizing that flirting with Troy wasn't working to get his attention, Sharpay decided on different a tactic. After she plopped herself into Zeke's lap, noticing the surprised look on his face but ignoring it, Sharpay smiled at him. "I would love to but you have to show me how to bowl without breaking my nails. My personal manicurist would hate it if I ruined some of her pretty art," said Sharpay in her best sweet voice, batting her eyes at Zeke, which despite his earlier thoughts, made him melt.

"Sure, I think we can figure out a way to do that," he replied, grinning back at her.

"Dude, that's so sick," commented Chad, shaking his head as he watched his friend and the blonde flirt, Zeke's arms now wrapped around Sharpay's waist. "Honestly, what the hell does he see in her?"

"Got me dude, got me," returned Troy, pumping fists with Jason who just returned from leaving an open frame and only scoring four additional points in the tenth frame. "I think this game goes to the girls, hands down. They are unreachable now, no offense J."

Jason just shrugged his shoulders. "None taken, it's the truth. Kelsi just bowled a spare so I have no doubt we lost this round."

Chad looked over at the four girls who were now jumping as Gabriella and Taylor seemed to have also pieced together the same conclusion and were congratulating their team and telling them the news, making Kelsi and Martha also squeal in happiness before Martha broke away for her turn. "Next game, we are so mixing it up."

It was now the bottom of the tenth frame and only Troy and Gabriella were left to bowl for their perspective teams. Troy made an over-exaggerated sweep of his arm, yielding the right to the lane to Gabriella, who only giggled and shook her head as she headed to her designated lane on the right, ignoring the heckling from Chad and Jason as she passed. Troy watched from behind, unable to tear his eyes away from her. 'Even in jeans and a simple shirt she still looks stunning,' he noted, grinning as he saw her shoot a smile at the other girls as they cheered her on.

Gabriella returned her attention though as to where she was walking, making sure to pointedly ignore Sharpay, who was still on Zeke's lap as she passed. She picked up the same green bowling ball she had been using, made the same calculations, and threw the ball, keeping her eye on it as it hit the pocket and she scored another strike. Gabriella heard Taylor, Martha, and Kelsi screaming as the teasing from the guys picked up, Troy's voice being noticeably absent. She looked back as she waited for her ball to be returned and saw that he was intently watching her, never taking his eyes off her for a moment. Blood rushed to her cheeks but she forced herself to look forward again as she prepared to bowl again but was rewarded this time with a split as she left the two and ten pins up.

"Aww, she's affected by Troy's silent flirting! Troy, why didn't you do that earlier dude!" exclaimed Chad, chuckling as he noted that Troy didn't even bother looking at him.

Gabriella's cheeks heated up more as she returned back to the ball return, waiting for it to come out, not daring to look at Troy lest she lose her concentration again but felt his eyes trained on her anyway accompanied with a warm feeling she got from being with him, even if it was just by being in the same vicinity. With her recently returned ball back in her possession, Gabriella made the necessary adjustments she thought she needed to make a spare and released the ball at the foul line, her brown eyes watching as it traveled down the path she intended, first hitting the two pin before it slid over and knocked down the ten pin. 'Success!'

Elated that she was able to do something that even Gabriella herself was doubtful in completing, Gabriella turned around and grinned, first looking at her excited friends on her team then to the disappointed team who was playing it up for her benefit before meeting Troy's gaze again. As it happened sometimes, Gabriella felt herself utterly enchanted by those intense blue eyes, leading her to be drawn towards him.

On her way towards Troy though, Gabriella's left foot caught something and she was sent tumbling down onto to ground, hitting it hard with her hands out in front of her before she could fall. Pain shot through her body but Gabriella quickly turned her head around to see what she had tripped on, only to see Sharpay discreetly dragging her oversized purse back to under the seat she and Zeke were sitting on, where the purse had been previously, with her heel. Anger filled Gabriella's body, replacing the pain from the fall, as her eyes narrowed again on the blonde who had the courage to look back at the brunette with an innocent expression.

"Brie, are you okay?" asked Troy, who was now kneeling on the ground next to Gabriella. "Did you hurt yourself? Well of course you did but anything serious?"

She felt Troy take her into his arms after she rolled onto her back, feeling her back now resting against his chest as Troy gingerly lifted her arms and hands closer to his face so he could look her over for any injuries. Despite the comfort of being in Troy's embrace, Gabriella was still in discomfort, knowing that she would for sure have bruises tomorrow on her legs and possibly her hands, but more so from the feel of a different set of eyes on her. Gabriella glanced up again and saw Sharpay watching her with Troy with narrowed eyes again, causing Gabriella to shake her head.

"Babe, are you sure you are okay?" asked Troy, concern clear in his voice. "Maybe we should get you to a hospital, make sure nothing is broken."

This broke through Gabriella's mind and she turned her head so her eyes met his concerned ones. She used her left hand and cupped his right cheek, giving him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "I'm fine Wildcat, honest. You're overreacting, it was a simple fall. You must be hanging out with my mom too much."

"Maybe but when you care for someone like I care for you, it's hard to not worry and be too careful about these things," replied Troy, his voice husky as his eyes searched Gabriella's face, breathing in her vanilla scent.

"I'm fine, just a bit bruised and stinging but nothing more, promise. Do you really care that much about me Troy?" Gabriella asked, this time being the one to search his face.

Troy adamantly nodded his head without a moment of hesitation. "Without a doubt. Actually Gabriella, and I know this isn't at all romantic, but will you, would you even consider, actually never mind."

Sensing something big was about to come out of Troy's mouth, Gabriella decided to encourage him with a light kiss on his cheek. "What is it Troy? You can ask me anything."

Seeing all the care and sincerity in Gabriella's eyes was enough to push Troy further. "Will you be my girlfriend Gabriella?"

A grin spread across Gabriella's face, all physical pain pushed aside as his words echoed through her mind and her heart. "Of course Troy, of course!"

Gabriella threw her arms around Troy's neck as he tightened his hold around her, both leaning in until their lips connected, sending tingling sensations through both of their bodies. Both were so into the moment that they didn't even hear the congratulatory calls from their friends who had just witnessed this pivotal moment in the relationship Troy and Gabriella shared. They especially missed the glare that Sharpay was now giving them with her arms crossed, ignoring the encouragement Zeke was yelling practically in her ear.

'Tristan, all I can say is that you better get your butt here this weekend and end this now between them or that trip Gabriella just had is just the start to pain I will cause her. I'm done playing nice,' thought Sharpay, plans already forming in her head in the case that Tristan was unsuccessful in his part of the plan.

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