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Troy stepped out of the Evans sedan following Sharpay, having been picked up at his house again for tonight's dinner with her parents. He extended his hand out for Sharpay to take as they walked into Le Ritz, the fanciest restaurant in Albuquerque. Two days had passed since his last run in with anyone from the gang, including Gabriella, and Troy was still nowhere closer to solving his dilemma of what to do. He had hoped to talk to Gabriella a little more yesterday at tutoring but she hadn't been there, the girl he had seen her laughing with was there to help him instead.
"Where's Gabriella?" Troy asked, looking at the girl sitting on the other side of the table from him. "No offense, but I'm just used to working with her."
"None taken," Audrina responded. "We were really light today, a lot of students cancelled appointments so Mr. Thomas let her go home. I'll let her know you asked for her though. I'm Audrina by the way and you must be Troy Bolton. What do you want to work on today?"
"Umm, I guess math?" Troy answered, unprepared for this event.
Audrina got up from the table and came back with the math book Troy was using in his class. As soon as they completed most of the homework Troy had to do and seeing that Troy understood the topic well, Audrina closed her book and sat there, studying Troy.
"What?" Troy asked nervously, seeing the look Audrina was giving him.
She stared back innocently. "Nothing, I was just checking out our basketball god up close. I can see why all the girls seem to go gaga over you, including Gabriella," she responded.
"Including Gabriella?" Troy echoed, intrigued by what Audrina just said.
Audrina nodded her head. "Yes, including Gabriella. I don't think she could forget you so easily after your split. From what she has told me, you had a lot of chemistry and a lot of deep feelings involved in your relationship before things changed this summer. That's the type of relationship every girl dreams of having. It's just sad it ended the way it did."
"I'm just starting to realize the depth of that sadness myself. If I could turn back time, I'd do everything differently," Troy confessed.
"Everything?" Audrina questioned.
"Well most of it, not the good times," Troy answered. "Anyway, I better get going. Thanks, Audrina, for your help."
"Anytime, Troy Bolton," she responded with a wink. "Have a good night!"
Troy took in the lavish decorations as they entered the building and felt out of place again, the way he always felt when they went to the more expensive and extravagant places to dine or shop or hang out. He adjusted his tie to loosen it a little more from around his neck and sat down in his own seat at the table they were shown to after seating Sharpay, who was wearing a pink sparkly skirt with a white top.
"Hello Troy, nice to see you again," Mr. Evans greeted as they were shown to the table a moment after, shaking Troy's hand firmly before hugging Sharpay tightly. "Pumpkin!"
Mrs. Evans smiles at both Troy and Sharpay and takes her own seat next to her husband. "I hope you haven't been waiting long. Daddy here had to get in one last hole at the golf course," she said.
"We actually just got here. Are we expecting more people?" Troy asked, seeing there were two empty seats at the table still.
"Why yes, I think Ryan is supposed to be bringing his new girlfriend tonight," Mrs. Evans replied. "I heard she is very sweet and talented. I hope you don't mind."
Troy shook his head contrary to his own thoughts. 'Gabriella and Ryan together tonight in front of the Evans? What did I do to upset the powers that be to deserve this?' he wondered.
The waiter arrived at their table and read off some specials that Troy wasn't paying attention to as he spotted Gabriella walk into the restaurant in a lavender dress with pink and white flowers on it. Of course, she was on the arm of Ryan, who was also dressed in a suit. They had huge smiles on their faces, which fell as they both spotted the table and the people occupying it already.
Ryan quickly turned his head to Gabriella and searched her face. "Gab, are you sure you want to go through this dinner? It was different when I thought it was just my parents. I swear I didn't know that Troy and Sharpay were going to be here too," Ryan stated, not knowing how Gabriella would handle this dinner.
"Don't worry Ryan, I'll be fine. What would your parents think of me if I just blew them off?" Gabriella questioned.
"You care what they think?" Ryan asked in return.
"Of course, they are your parents after all, Ryan. It's important to make good impressions, even if I did lifeguard for them this summer, well part of it," she returned. "Come on, I can put on a brave face if you can."
Ryan gave a sigh of relief. "You are amazing. Have I told you that lately?" he responded, leaning down and kissing her lightly. She smiled up at him when he pulled away, making Ryan's heart beat a little faster. "Let's go meet the lions, shall we?"
Gabriella giggled at this as they walked to the table. She knew she was squeezing Ryan's hand a little tight but she needed the support, despite her brave face.
"Mom, Dad, this is my girlfriend Gabriella Montez. Gabriella, these are my parents," Ryan introduced, ignoring the other couple as they already knew her.
"It's a pleasure meeting you both, Mr. Evans and Mrs. Evans. Thank you for inviting me along to your family dinner tonight," Gabriella said with a small smile focused on Ryan and Sharpay's parents.
"We are just so glad that Duckie here has finally introduced us to someone he was dating. You must be very special Gabriella," Mrs. Evans says, smiling bigger as she sees Gabriella's blush. "Have a seat, please. I assume you know Sharpay and her boyfriend Troy Bolton seeing you go to East High together?"
Gabriella nodded her head, daring a glance at the couple and is relieved to see Troy looks just as nervous as her. 'Good, that makes two of us. Hopefully, Sharpay won't cause any trouble tonight,' Gabriella thought to herself as Ryan helped her into her seat between him and Mr. Evans.
Mr. Evans smiled at the young girl who was dating his son and was happy to say he approved of his son's choice. "So Gabriella, Ryan tells us you are on the scholastic decathlon team and work in the tutoring center. Is that right?" he asked, wanting to learn more about her.
"Yes sir," Gabriella responded, having expected to be quizzed. "I like giving back to my community and helping students at East High is just one way I can help out. As for the scholastic decathlon team, we are meeting and practicing already. We are hoping to win again this year so we could have two consecutive wins."
Without a conscious thought, Troy’s mind drifted back to an entertaining memory last year when Gabriella had seen him for the first time in the gym and teased him about it being his stage. Gabriella had made a flawless shot shortly after she got there, and he chuckled at the memory of her making up her scoring a lot of points in a playoff game while she had also invented microwave popcorn on the same day.
Troy shook his head to clear his mind of the memory of when he and Gabriella had some fun on the basketball court before being interrupted by his dad. 'Random memory, but a good one,' he thought as he found himself smiling.
"That's quite an achievement, Gabriella. Ryan, I'm so glad you picked such a smart lady," Mrs. Evans replied, impressed with Gabriella's accomplishments so far in life. "I'm sure you will go very far, Gabriella."
"Speaking of far, I have a surprise for you, Troy," Mr. Evans said, turning the subject over to Troy. "I think it is safe to say that you will soon be seeing a scholarship offer from the University of Albuquerque as soon as you hit mid-season. The board needs to wait until then so no one thinks anything is inappropriate."
"That's great news Daddy!" Sharpay exclaimed, kissing Troy on the cheek, which left a red lip print mark on his cheek.
Troy stared at Mr. Evans, purely shocked. "Thank you, sir," Troy answered, not knowing what else to say. He heard a cough and saw Gabriella staring back at him, searching his face for something. Troy felt a squeeze on his right arm and looked down to see Sharpay's left hand around his upper arm.
"Isn't that so great, Troy? You're going to be the star of U of A with me as the theater star!" Sharpay excitedly said. "Won't that just be perfect?"
"Yeah, perfect," Troy answered a little hesitantly, accepting the kiss she gave him.
"Here son, you may want to wipe off my daughter's lipstick," Mr. Evans said, handing Troy a drink napkin.
"You know, that shade isn't that bad on you," Ryan teased from across the table.
"Haha," Troy responded, busy wiping his cheek and lips. "I'd like to see you wear it Evans."
Ryan laughed. "No way, Sharpay would kill me if I ever touched her makeup again. She almost chopped off my hand when we were five and I used her play makeup to color in my coloring book."
"It's because you ruined them, just as you screw up everything else!" Sharpay yelled. "I still don't forgive you for that! That was the best makeup set that Mommy and Daddy ever gave me until I was in my pre-teens."
"Whoa sis, chill out," Ryan said. "Just a joke. Man, Troy you have to do something about your girlfriend. She's super wired right now."
"Shut up, Ryan!" Sharpay snapped.
Mrs. Evans just tsks at her children's behavior. "Now now you two, behave or I'm going to send you both to your corners like the little kids you are behaving like."
"Sorry," Ryan muttered quickly, followed shortly by an identical apology from Sharpay.
Gabriella and Troy shared a smile over the Evans sibling rivalry incident, both finding the humor in it. The waiter came back to the table to take their orders, interrupting the moment, and left with a promise to refill their drinks. The conversation at the table went easier after that, neither couple addressing each other, just talking to Mr. and Mrs. Evans.
Dessert arrived and Gabriella found herself eyeing the small platter of s'mores hungrily. "Those look delicious," she commented, eyeing the piece with a small bit of vanilla ice cream on it.
"I'd have to agree with you. I'm glad you talked me into ordering this with you," Ryan said, picking up one. "Here, you should get first taste."
Gabriella smiled happily at him as he proceeded to feed her the first bite before popping the rest into his mouth. "Mmm, heavenly," Gabriella responded, closing her eyes to enjoy the chocolaty gooeyness. "I think I have a new favorite dessert!"
Ryan chuckled. "Can it be sweeter than this?" he asked before he leaned down and kissed Gabriella, lingering for a moment before pulling away.
She blushed in return, noticing that his parents had been watching. "Sorry," she squeaked out, feeling Ryan's arm as it wrapped around her shoulders in a comforting gesture.
"Well I thought that was sweet," Mrs. Evans said with a sincere smile on her face. "Don't you agree, Sharpay?"
"Ugh, sickly sweet," Sharpay stated with a disgusted look.
Luckily, no one had seen the disturbed look on Troy's face as he had watched the kiss a few moments ago. Troy realized his emotions were on his face and quickly managed to wipe his face clean as soon as he felt the familiar mix of jealousy, anger, and sadness he felt whenever he saw Gabriella and Ryan together creep up.
The party of six finished their desserts as Mr. Evans paid the bill. "Well as wonderful as tonight's dinner was, I think it is time we depart. But before we do, I have one small thing for you, Troy," Mr. Evans said. He presented Troy with a legal sized manila letter envelope with his name on it. "Open it."
Troy looked at the envelope and anxiously looked up to see everyone was watching him, Gabriella's in particular was felt the most. He opened the envelope and pulled out the contents. In the picture was a brand new Mustang painted in red with a white stripe down the middle. "Mr. Evans?" he asked, not believing what he thought this meant.
"Well since we told you the great news about University of Albuquerque, I thought it would only be fitting to give you a preview of your present that will be waiting for you when you accept. Of course, this is coming from me and not University of Albuquerque, but I wanted to give you something else to look forward to," Mr. Evans explained.
"Wait, you are giving me this customized brand new Mustang, just for agreeing to be part of the team this winter?" Troy questioned, not believing it.
"I see it more as a reward for your hard work in your career so far in basketball," Mr. Evans responded. "Do you like it?"
"I love it!" Troy exclaimed, feeling so overwhelmed. "That's so, absolutely, fabulous!"
Ryan chuckled at his terminology, seeing his twin had infected his vocabulary as well. He looked from Troy who was admiring the new car to Gabriella, feeling his laughter die as he saw the crushed look on her face. "Gab, hey, let's go," Ryan quietly said, helping her out of the chair.
"Mom, Dad, it's been a great dinner. I'm going to go take Gabriella home," Ryan announced before ushering Gabriella outside of the restaurant where she promptly started to cry.
"He's still the same Troy, who was I kidding," Gabriella got out, breaking down into tears. "My Troy is gone, Ryan, he's gone."
Ryan wrapped his arms around her, understanding her pain. "Shh, Gabriella. It is going to be okay, really," he whispered into her ear, pressing her closer to him so her head was resting in the crook of his neck and rocking from side to side. They stayed like that in their embrace as he felt her sobs continue, feeling his heart break with each one. 'She's still not fully over him,' Ryan thought sadly. 'Who was I kidding to think she would be?'
He watched as his parents with Sharpay and Troy came out of the restaurant finally, both couples getting to their cars but not before Troy spotted them in the dark corner of the parking lot. Ryan returned Troy's glare, challenging him to do something but Troy just got into the sedan after Sharpay. 'You don't deserve her Troy, not her love or her presence,' Ryan thought as he watched the sedan take off, Troy never having given them another look.
Slowly, Gabriella stopped crying and started sniffling. "I'm sorry, Ryan. You probably think the worst of me," Gabriella said, pulling away a little. "I just thought, silly me, I just thought he could overcome all these distractions and become the guy he used to be before this summer. Stupid, huh?"
"No, not stupid," Ryan replied, wiping away her tears and kissing each tear-stained cheek. "You were in love for the first time only to have it interrupted by a change of plans on his part. It's natural that you want him back but Gabriella, if he's really what you want, maybe we shouldn't continue to date each other."
Gabriella looked up into Ryan's eyes, seeing that he really cared for her. "No, I don't want that Ryan. We've talked about how people choose their paths in life and I choose you. Not just because Troy is a different person but because you make me feel like a better person just by being there," Gabriella replied. "Trust me when I say that I haven't felt as happy as I am when I am with you in a number of months, since the start of summer. You have reminded me why I believe in romance and love."
"Do you mean that?" he asked, wanting to make sure this is truly what she wanted.
"Yes, Ryan, I do. Thank you for being there and understanding this whole situation, I know it can't be easy for you," Gabriella said, looking into his eyes again. "I know I need to take things slow, and you have tuned in on that so well. That's what I am talking about though, you know me so well already, it amazes me and I couldn't hope for anything more at this point in time."
Ryan pulled Gabriella in for another hug before he tilted her chin up so that he could kiss her deeply. "I'll always be here for you Gab, no matter what happens. I've witnessed the same things you have this summer and I am just so overwhelmingly happy that someone else's loss is my unbelievable win. You mean so much to me already," Ryan confessed, not caring he was wearing his heart on his sleeve again.
"You mean quite a bit to me too," Gabriella returned with a smile, her brown eyes sparkling up at him. "I love our time together Ryan, and I know I am very blessed to have you in my life, by my side, right now."
Ryan kissed Gabriella for a few more minutes where they were before taking a step back and taking her hand in his. They walked back to his car and he helped her in before taking her home. That night, as Ryan and Gabriella both fell asleep in their separate houses, their dreams were filled of each other.