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"EEK! Opening night, opening night!" Gabriella screams as she enters the dressing room. Kelsi laughs at her from the piano where she was doing scales to warm up. "Oh Kelsi, you have to be nervous too! This musicale is definitely the best you have written so far!"
"Well, I wasn't nervous until you just said that!" Kelsi responds, pushing away the nerves again.
Troy pops his head in the dressing room and grins as he sees Gabriella dancing around. "Still a bundle of nerves before going in front of people and singing huh? You never change," Troy teases, seeing Gabriella smiling back at him.
She walks over to where Troy is standing in the doorway. "So I'm not used to being the center of attention, unlike the Wildcat Superstar we have in our presence who is used to being fawned over by every girl and envied by every guy at East High and probably West High," Gabriella throws back at him.
Troy places his right hand over his heart, acting wounded. "You make me sound like such an arrogant, egotistical, and popular jock! What an insult to such a dedicated thespian," he responds back with laughter in his voice.
"At least you said it and not me," Gabriella says, laughing.
Troy takes a step closer to her and starts tickling her sides, causing her go giggle and attempt to squirm away. "TROOOY!" she whines, desperate to get away from his tickling fingers.
Kelsi watches the two friends as Gabriella keeps trying to get away from Troy's grasp as he continues to torture her. 'They really are one of the sweetest couples. Maybe one day they'll make it back to each other's arms,' Kelsi thinks, laughing herself as Gabriella has turned the tables on Troy and starts tickling him back.
"Hey, that's not fair, stop!" he screams, only increasing the intensity of Gabriella's tickling. Troy manages to wrap his arms around Gabriella, effectively putting her tickling attempts to a stop but also pulling Gabriella close to his body. They start leaning in towards each other, centimeters apart, when Gabriella hears Kelsi let out a gasp.
Gabriella pulls away from Troy and spots Hunter over his shoulder. "Hunter!" she screams, breaking away from Troy's grasp and running into Hunter's open arms. "You made it!"
"I told you that I was going to try, remember?" Hunter reminds her, hugging Gabriella tightly. "I convinced Johnny we needed to make a stopover here in Albuquerque tonight before we go on to Toronto to start shooting."
"Hey Gabriella," Johnny greets. "Break a leg tonight!"
"Thanks," Gabriella responds. "How did negotiations go?"
"Perfect, everything is lined up and settled. Took some time because of some small details Johnny insisted we get ironed out, but it's all good to go," Hunter says. He looks up from Gabriella and smiles as he sees Kelsi smiling back at him and Troy giving him a jealous look. "Hey guys, break a leg tonight!"
"Speaking of, you better go out and get some seats. It's actually a sold out night, believe it or not!" Gabriella exclaims excitedly.
Hunter kisses Gabriella's cheek and backs up. "I can believe it! A leading lady like you in the musicale, I wouldn't be surprised if all the nights were sold out and the fans demanded an encore performance. Go out there and get them Gabriella, tonight is your night!"
She smiles at him as he waves good-bye and vanishes with Johnny, putting back on his hat before exiting. Gabriella turns back to Troy and Kelsi, finding Troy is standing there with an unreadable expression. "Troy, you okay?" she asks, concerned.
"Of course. That must have been a surprise to have your boyfriend show up tonight. I'm glad he was able to make it and bring that smile to your face," Troy responds, pain in his voice.
"Troy, don't," Gabriella starts.
Troy shakes his head, stopping her. "It's all right, really Gabriella. Remember, we're just friends. Now, let's go out there, get into character, and give it the best performance, all right?"
Gabriella nods as she watches him head over to the guys' dressing room. Before she can allow herself to fall into the trap of dwelling on what just happened, she forces it behind her as she goes over to her corner where all the costumes are. She fingers the first costume and pulls it out, placing it on a desk nearby.
Kelsi approaches Gabriella and gives her a quick hug. "Don't worry Gabriella, everything is fine. Now go out there and sing your heart out!" Kelsi says, making Gabriella smile back.
"You too! I know all your composing and hard work will get recognized tonight for sure," Gabriella responds, making Kelsi blush. "Now go out there and play your heart out playmaker!"
Soon, the musicale starts and Gabriella finds herself standing next to Troy before their first entrance. She looks over and sees Troy is still tense. "I thought you weren't nervous," she says, causing Troy to look over at her.
"I'm not, I'm fine," he denies.
"Liar," she softly says. "Whatever it is, I know you will be fantastic tonight and, well, I should have said this earlier but thank you Troy for stepping in and taking on this role. I know you weren't all into the singing for a while but whenever I needed you, you always came through. Thank you."
Before she could have second thoughts, Gabriella leans up and kisses Troy on the cheek, kissing also the corner of his mouth by accident. Troy looks down at Gabriella and is about to pull her into his arms when Ryan says, "I wonder where they are!" which is their cue.
Troy and Gabriella enter from stage left, getting into character before stepping foot on stage. The rest of the musicale goes on without a hitch, the cast being delighted that the audience was so interactive. They laughed at all the jokes and seemed to also sober up and drop in mood during the dramatic parts.
Troy and Gabriella have managed to stay in character the entire time, never betraying that they were all mixed up in real life about each other. During their final duet together, each gets lost in the other, as it has been happening all week in rehearsals, and perform, staring only at each other.
Hunter watches from the audience with Johnny on his side, along with his parents and Christine. He nods as he sees Gabriella complete a difficult verse and finds himself smiling as he sees her smile brighten as Troy sings the complementing verse right after, taking her hand in his. 'They seem really happy together, like they really are in love and are beyond acting now. Maybe the time has come for me to do what I should have done a little while ago,' Hunter thinks to himself as Troy places his hand on Gabriella's cheek and leans down to kiss her. 'I can't allow her to continue on like we are if she's really cheating herself from true love with Troy.'
Gabriella raises herself up a little onto her toes to meet Troy half way as they share a kiss that convinces everyone in the theater that their characters have truly found love once again in each other. She pulls away and smiles up at Troy as he wraps his arm around her waist as they start into the next and final number.
They take their bows, and scream as the crowd continues to cheer, causing Sharpay, Ryan, Gabriella, and Troy to go back out and take another bow. With that done, the entire cast jumps on stage and starts screaming, adrenaline running high. "We did it!" Ryan screams.
"Great job playmaker!" Troy says, congratulating Kelsi who just joins the group. "They loved the songs you composed!"
"No, they loved you guys singing!" Kelsi responds. "You guys were amazing! Promise Troy that you and Gabriella are going to do both winter and fall! You both are an inspiration to watch!"
Troy looks over at Gabriella, who is smiling. "We'll think about it, how about that?" Troy offers.
"Good enough for now," Kelsi says.
"Way to go Wildcat!" Gabriella says, finally approaching Troy. "You were wonderful. Not too bad for learning everything in just over one week!"
"Hey, I had a great partner," he says, smiling down at her. "I think you're like a fine wine. Your talent and beauty only gets better with time."
Gabriella laughs and smacks Troy on the arm. "Did you really just use that cheesy pick up line on me? Eww, Troy Bolton I didn't know you knew any of those!"
He laughs as he brings Gabriella to him for a big hug. "What can I say? You bring out that hopeless romantic, although cheesy, side of me."
Hunter watches the two from the doorway, shaking his head at the innocence and sweetness of the moment. He was intending to just leave when Christine runs by him and onto the stage. "Gabriella, you were wonderful!" Christine screams, instantly being picked up by Gabriella. "You're so pretty."
Gabriella laughs at the little girl. "Well thank you Christine. We'll have to sing together the next time I see you okay?"
Christine nods excitedly. "Hunter has a present for you," she announces, indicating to Gabriella that Hunter was around. She looks back over at Troy, who nods his head and turns around to talk to Sharpay and Ryan who were now next to him.
Gabriella walks over to where Hunter and his parents are standing with Christine still in her arms. "Hi," she greets.
"Gabriella, your voice is amazing! You did such a wonderful job sweetie," Mrs. Smith says. "Hunter way undersold you."
"What?" Gabriella asks, turning her attention to Hunter.
Hunter puts one hand up in defense. "Hey, I said you had a voice of an angel. Evidently that's an insult now."
Laughing, Gabriella returns the hugs of Mr. Smith and Mrs. Smith, setting Christine down in the process. Hunter steps toward Gabriella and hands her the bouquet of two dozen mixed roses he was holding for her. "Congratulations Gabriella on a success. You were definitely very impressive out there," Hunter says, giving Gabriella a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Your love the two of you share really shows now."
That last part catches Gabriella off guard and she looks over at Hunter worriedly. Mrs. Montez comes backstage at that moment and sweeps her daughter up in a huge hug, presenting her with a mix of wildflowers with a single sunflower in the mix. "Gabriella, you did our family proud tonight! I don't think I've ever heard you sing better than you did tonight!"
"Thanks Mom," Gabriella returns, giving her mom another hug.
Johnny appears next to Gabriella next, offering his right hand, which she shakes. "Excellent work Gabriella. Now, I know you may not be interested right now, but I would really like to get you into a recording studio sometime soon to do some voice tests. I remember you saying you weren't all that interested in a career in singing but after tonight and the sound party, it is my responsibility to ask you to give it a second thought. I'd love to represent you if you choose to go down that path," Johnny says, giving her one of his cards. "Seriously, think it over Gabriella. It is your senior year and all."
Gabriella grins, looking over at Hunter, who smiles and shrugs. "Is this all for real?" she asks.
"Want me to pinch you?" Hunter offers, humor evident in his brown eyes. "I think we do need to talk though Gabriella, I think it's time." She looks at him, unsure if he means what she thinks she does. "Don't worry about it tonight. This is your night, along with Kelsi's, Sharpay's, Ryan's, and Troy's. Go out and have fun with them tonight at the after-show dinner and I'll call you tomorrow when I get to Toronto."
The smile that is on Gabriella's face all night since the end of the musicale drops off as she begins to worry. "Are you sure?" she asks.
"Yes, now put that smile back on Gabriella Montez, seriously!" Hunter directs. "It's for the best, I promise you. We better go, Christine needs to be put to bed and we have an early flight in the morning. Look out for my call in the afternoon before tomorrow night's show?"
"Sure," Gabriella says, trying her best to put a smile back on her face. She hugs everyone from the Smith family good-bye, along with her mother, and promises Johnny in parting that she would give his offer serious thought. Gabriella heads to the dressing room to change into the floral skirt and top she brought. Once done, she lets her hair down from the up do, picks up her bag with her stuff, along with her flowers, and heads out to join the rest of the cast in the hall.
"Ready to go?" Ryan asks, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I think we're going to Denny's. Nothing like late night grease, right?"
Gabriella laughs and nods her head, following Ryan to his car as Sharpay, Kelsi, and Troy pile into the back. "Let's party!" screams Sharpay from the back, just as Ryan rolls out of the parking lot.