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Saturday morning rolled around the next day to find Gabriella and Taylor both up and dressed way before the 10 AM wakeup call they had set for them and the guys who were across the hall.
"Guess we're both too excited about our win, huh?" asked Gabriella.
"Most likely. Now I know how Chad felt after their win those weeks back," murmured Taylor before she saw a pained look cross Gabriella's face. "Oh I'm sorry, Gabriella. I shouldn't have brought it up."
Gabriella waved it aside. "Don't worry about it. It's in the past and we've moved on from it. Still hurts to think about it, but it's still fairly fresh. I'm sure it'll become less painful as time continues to move on. Besides, having Sharpay at U of A will help while I'm at MIT and Troy at Duke."
"So she is going there. Ryan tell you?" returned Taylor.
"Yup," said Gabriella. "And I'm glad for it. I will have enough issues to deal with before Troy and I leave for our separate schools without having to worry about Sharpay Evans and her schemes. To be honest, I am just sick of it all."
"I don't blame you. It wouldn't surprise me though if the Ice Queen made one last dire attempt before graduation. Girls like her don't give up easily and it seems like she has recovered from her guilt," stated Taylor.
"Maybe there will be another strike, but I'm not going to let her win and have the final word this time, that much I know," replied Gabriella.
Taylor smiled. "Good to know you seem to be ready for anything. Well, I do have a confession."
"What?" asked Gabriella.
"I stole Chad's room key last night before we left their room after watching that movie. Want to go wake them up and create a positive memory of waking your boyfriend up in a hotel room?" suggested Taylor.
Gabriella looked a bit apprehensive but then put a smile on her face. "Sure, let's do it!"
The two girls giggled as they got they got themselves together and then headed across the hall, making sure they had their own room key with them for a mad dash back if they needed it. Taylor slipped the key in the door and held in her laughter as the doorknob showed a green light before she gently pushed the door open. Gabriella held in her own laughter as she followed Taylor in and both were greeted with gentle snoring coming from Chad.
"You never told me he snored," remarked Gabriella in a whisper.
Taylor just shrugged as they both moved to stand by their boyfriend's bedside. Taylor silently counted down from five on her fingers as Gabriella watched her best friend's countdown and studied Troy's peaceful sleeping expression. When Taylor reached one, Gabriella launched herself onto the bed and started tickling Troy's sides while Taylor jumped on the bed screaming Chad's name.
Chad was the first to wake up as he almost fell to the floor from Taylor's bouncing and sat up as he grabbed Taylor around the waist and brought her down onto the bed to stop her from bouncing. Gabriella laughed at the two of them as Troy slowly started waking up and swatted at her hands that were still tickling his sides.
"Gabriella, stop," whined Troy as he unsuccessfully tried to stop her torture. "I'm up!"
"Doesn't mean I have to stop," returned Gabriella with a grin. "This is payback for all those times you tickled me!"
Before she knew it, Gabriella was laying on her back with Troy now tickling her. "Not fun now, is it?"
"TROY! STOP!" screamed Gabriella, thankful that he relented. "I just wanted to get you up is all."
"Well all you had to do then, silly, was do this," said Troy before he leaned down and kissed her.
Chad coughed and said, "Umm, other people in the room!"
Troy pulled away and smiled down at Gabriella. "I know, Chad, don't you worry. Your interrupting though is off now. You used to always be able to break our kisses before the happened," remarked Troy. "Now it's later."
"Well, I'm rusty. I can certainly work on that skill if you want me to," replied Chad with a smile.
"No!" exclaimed Gabriella and Troy at the same time before they all laughed.
Gabriella got off the table and joined Taylor as they walked back into their room while they waited for the guys to get ready before they set off for the UCLA campus in the car Ms. Montez had rented out for them the night before.
The four teenagers were eating lunch at the Disney Soda Fountain on Hollywood Blvd. after their tour of Chad's future home for the next four years. Seeing the campus in person again made Chad even more excited to graduate East High while it also made Taylor realize that their separation was inevitable at this point. She didn't bring it up though because she knew she, just like Gabriella, just wanted to enjoy the time she had with her boyfriend now.
Living a little dangerously, the four decided to order the Sorcerer's Sundae, which was a huge sundae in a container that was shaped like the Sorcerer's hat from the movie. The different flavored ice cream scoops were placed in the rim of the hat, along with all the hot fudge, whipped cream, cherries, nuts, and sprinkles that adorned the ice cream.
Taylor took a few pictures of it before Troy and Chad dug in first. "Oh my God, how are we going to eat all this?"
Gabriella laughed at her. "Umm, don't you see? With the way these two are going at it, we're going to be lucky if we get any ourselves!"
After nodding her agreement, Taylor picked up a spoon and started eating at her little corner as Gabriella did the same. True to Gabriella's prediction, it was all gone in the matter of ten minutes.
"Ugh, I do not feel so good," complained Chad. "But that was so delicious!"
"I agree, man. Bad for the stomach now but wonderful tasting," agreed Troy.
The bill came and the two boys paid before Gabriella and Taylor could attempt to, declaring it their celebratory lunch for the girls. Chad and Troy were still complaining as they walked out of the restaurant/store so Gabriella and Taylor decided to exercise them a little.
Taylor looked at Chad and said, "Well, since you two are so overstuffed with sweets and food, why don't we go walk around here? There's some great sites to see. There's the Walk of Fame and Graham's Chinese Theater."
"Yeah, lots to walk around and see," added Gabriella.
"Sure, if that's what you girls want, but we aren't going into that mall across the way I know you two are both eyeing," stated Chad.
"Yeah, we know your way of thinking by now," agreed Troy.
"No, we weren't thinking of shopping, really," responded Gabriella with a laugh before she and Taylor dragged the guys down the street to check out some of the Walk of Fame before crossing the street to explore all the hand and feet marks outside the theater.
Taylor made sure to take lots of great pictures of the three and also had a stranger snap some of all four of them playing around. Eventually, Gabriella and Taylor did make their way back down to the mall that Troy and Chad had refused to go to before but sweet talked their way into the complex. Gabriella and Taylor found some pretty good deals at some of the stores while they shopped. The two laughed after they spotted Troy and Chad in some chairs in the middle of the courtyard, eating what looked to be cream puffs.
"Honestly, what are we going to do with those two?" asked Taylor as she rolled her eyes and laughed with Gabriella as they exited their final store.
Chad spotted them and chuckled. "Looks like my girl out shopped yours, Troy."
Troy surveyed the number of bags each held and saw that Chad was right. "Evidently she did, and to me that's not a good thing for you."
Chad smacked Troy on the arm, which made Troy laugh more. "You two want to head down to Santa Monica, to the pier down there?" suggested Troy. "I'm gathering that you are done shopping."
"And we're hungry again," complained Chad.
"Chad, we ate only three to four hours ago and you just polished off a cream puff," pointed out Taylor.
"Well yeah, but it's going to take some time to get down there with this stupid L.A. traffic and we have to find parking so that adds at least another hour," returned Chad.
Taylor looked over at Gabriella, who nodded. "We may as well go. Besides, what trip to California would be complete without being able to say we stood on the beach at some point?"
"My smart girlfriend does have a point," said Troy as he wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her head. "Come on Taylor, you know you want to."
Taylor eyed her boyfriend and her two friends. "All right, let's go."
"That's the spirit," replied Chad as the four friends walked down to the parking garage where their car was.
Traffic was just as bad as Chad had predicted so the four had an early dinner on the pier before they walked down to the end of the pier to catch the sunset. Taylor and Chad walked off a little distance away from Gabriella and Troy so that both couples could enjoy the moment alone.
Gabriella smiled as she felt Troy's arms snake around her waist as she leaned up against him, both quiet as they watched the sun start to slip down past the horizon, turning the sky from a light blue to a pink and red.
"It's so incredible, to see that sun slip away and know that it will be back tomorrow," murmured Gabriella. "Like no matter what is happening in this world, that is the one constant I know will always happen, the sun rising and setting."
"You're talking about our uncertain future aren't you," returned Troy in a soft voice as he tightened his hold around her waist.
Gabriella shook her head. "No, actually, I was just making an observation. Isn't it incredible how from where we stand, it feels like we're on the edge of the Earth, despite our knowledge that it is round? Like from here, you can't see anything else but just ocean straight ahead. Makes me feel really small."
"Well you are short," teased Troy before he sobered. "I know what you mean though, like we are just small little creatures in this big wide world. That's why I'm glad I found the girl for me already, before I had you within my reach and lost you. I love you, Gabriella."
Gabriella smiled as she watched the last of the sun disappear completely before she turned around in his hold and smiled back up at Troy. "I love you too, Troy."
She placed her hand on the back of his neck as Gabriella brought Troy closer to her so she could place a sweet kiss on his lips. Troy grinned as she pulled away slightly before he pulled her back to him and deepened the kiss.
The couple pulled away as they saw a flash of light and looked over to see a cheerful Taylor with camera in hand.
"Hey, I told her not to do it," defended Chad. "You can't blame this on me!"
Troy and Gabriella laughed as Troy just pulled Gabriella closer to him in a hug. "We're not blaming anyone," said Troy. "Come on you two, let's go down to the beach. It's less crowded now and we can take that stroll Taylor wanted to do with our feet in the sand and cold ocean water on our feet."
"Wait, how do you know it'll be cold?" asked Chad.
"Because it's the ocean," replied Troy. "Come on buddy, get with the program. Maybe Gabriella or Taylor should tutor you!"
"Hey, I'm going to get you for that!" exclaimed Chad.
"You'll have to catch me first!" yelled back Troy as he took off running down the pier, dodging people as he went with Chad on his heels.
"Seriously, when will those two ever stop these chasing antics?" asked Taylor.
Gabriella smiled as she and Taylor started to walk back down the pier themselves while they kept an eye on the guys. "Probably never," replied Gabriella with a laugh that Taylor joined as they continued to follow the guys until they were all on the beach. Troy and Chad were a distance down the beach, still running, but Troy was leading Chad back over to the girls once he spotted them. "Then again, I don't know if I would ever want either of them to change."
Taylor watched as Troy dodged a lunge Chad made for him, which resulted in Chad falling into the sand, face first. "I guess you're right. We do need comedy in our lives, right?" stated Taylor before she ran over to help Chad up.
Gabriella followed behind and smiled as Troy fell into step with her and intertwined their hands on their way to join the other two. Once Chad was upright again, the four took off their shoes and walked down the stretch of beach together, enjoying the feel of the sand under their feet. Occasionally, they ventured into the shallow part of the ocean water to get the feel for it but always ran out shortly after due to the chill. They talked about the scholastic decathlon win, their day together here, Chad's visit to UCLA, and a little bit of their futures. Mostly though, the four just enjoyed their time together, knowing this moment would be one they would each smile about when thought upon in the future.