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Gabriella had just entered her room again in the palace after walking around Louvis, the city in Copanvy where the royalty spent most of their time in and where the palace was located, when her long time maid, Philippa Sanchen, came in with a worried look on her face. "What is it Pip?" asked Gabriella, instantly concerned.
"Princess, your grandparents and parents are waiting for you in the library," stated Philippa, not looking Gabriella in the eyes. "They've been waiting for over an hour for your return so I suggest going right away."
"Pip, what's happened?" questioned Gabriella, still refusing to go into the room with both pairs of family members present without a clue as to what she was walking into.
Philippa sighed. "I think it has something to do with your visit to the States but they wouldn't say more and none of the other servants know anything further. I tried to find out more but they are being very silent on this one."
Gabriella nodded her head. "Thank you for trying anyway Pip. I guess this was bound to happen after they let me rest for a day or so," stated Gabriella as she started the walk to the library on the opposite side of the palace. Philippa stayed behind in Gabriella's room to tidy things up but Gabriella was grateful for the sudden appearance of Paul by her side.
"You're walking into a hornet's nest, I have to warn you," murmured Paul as they continued to walk side by side. "I've already gotten my scolding from my superiors and I can only imagine you are going to get worse. Mine is just a hairline's breath to a suspension."
Gabriella turned her face towards Paul and saw the grim expression on his face. "Well that's just peachy," replied Gabriella, feeling her nerves collect as they finally reached the doors to the library. "I'm in for it this time aren't I?"
Paul returned her look with a sympathetic one. "The only thing I can say you have going for you right now is that you haven't been in paparazzi trouble for years so they can't claim a habit on this one."
"And that doesn't sound all that promising why?" returned Gabriella, not expecting an answer as she took in a deep breath and forced herself to enter the room on the other side of the doors.
All four heads snapped up at the sound of the door opening and then closing, making Gabriella wish that she had the ability to disappear once she saw the disapproving looks from her grandparents and then the worried look on her parents' faces. 'Yup, they definitely took it easy on me yesterday when they greeted me briefly and then left me alone to rest after making sure I was fine.'
"Hi?" offered Gabriella, unsure of what else to do at the moment.
"Sit down young lady, now," commanded Edward in his deep voice as he indicated the sole chair between the two couches that were occupied by her family. "We have many things to talk about."
Gabriella was sure to hold in the groan that she felt bubble up as she did as she was told, not having to wonder for long what she was in for as her grandmother laid into her barely after she sat down.
"What were you thinking involving yourself with that boy again? Honestly Gabriella, what are we to expect if we can't let you take a simple trip to New Mexico without getting involved in these stupid scandals? You can't say it isn't his fault either because your life was fine until you clearly met up with him again!" exclaimed Lauren, getting straight to the point. "You were there for less than a week and you managed to make headlines again and in his arms! Do you know how horrible that is for us?"
"Gabriella, I think what we all mean is that we're worried about you, and how you are recovering from this GHB drug you were slipped that Paul briefed us on," threw in Stephen, shooting his mother a look before turning back to Gabriella. "Are you truly all right, recovered?"
Gabriella nodded her head, keeping her eyes on her father and her mother, afraid to face her grandparents who she knew were seething at the moment. "I'm fine. The doctor that used to care for me when we lived there treated me as well that early morning and I had Taylor and Tessa as well as Troy there to care for me when we returned to their apartment."
"Your friends share an apartment with this boy that you stayed with?" asked Lauren, shock in her voice. "What were you thinking?"
"No, Troy, that's his name Grandmother, does not live with Tay and Tessa but he helped them watch over me while I was recovering at their shared apartment. Troy is just…a friend," said Gabriella, less conviction in her voice in the last part of her statement. "I'm sorry I've caused all this ruckus."
"You better be! Do you even comprehend the type of damage control we had to do? Have you even realized that you just invited the paparazzi back into your life? Better yet, did you even think Gabriella?" questioned Lauren, not soothed at all by the hand Edward laid on hers in an effort to comfort his wife.
Tears gathered in Gabriella's eyes that she managed to hold back as she stared back now at her grandmother whose face was just as red as her anger was. "I'm sorry Grandmother, honest I am. I didn't know that my drink had the drug in it, you have to know that. I didn't purposely go out there to cause trouble. I was drinking bottled water, the best precaution I could think of to avoid something like this. I behaved as you would have expected me to, as you have instructed me to ever since we came here all those years ago! Grandmother, Grandfather, can't you see that I've tried so hard to fit in here? To be the perfect princess you want me to be? It was a mistake, that night, and it will not happen again."
"You bet it won't because you're not allowed to be anywhere near that boy," returned Lauren, determination in her eyes. "Do you understand? He's nothing but trouble."
"Mother!" exclaimed Stephen, shocked at this turn of events. "Troy Bolton if anything helped save Gabriella. You can see it in the pictures of how he rescued her out of there, you can see it by the accounts Paul and Curtis both give."
"Not to mention that Troy is Gabriella's first love Mother," added Annette, unable to hold back her own feelings and words on this. "She loves him still, to this day, but has stayed away from him because she knew what you and Father expect of her. Gabriella has sacrificed so much more than any young girl and young woman should ever be asked to and she had done it without complaint. What more do you want from her?"
Lauren's eyes flashed as she now focused on her daughter-in-law. "Annette, I don't think you are in any position to talk. You are the one that took our Stephen away, away from his destiny and the arrangements we already made for him. Of course you would stick up for this boy of hers because you were him those years ago. He's only going after her now because of her being royalty, don't you see? Not to mention he is far beneath anything that would be good enough for Gabriella."
"I think what Lauren means is that Gabriella needs to be more careful now as she is about to start the search for a suitable husband now," said Edward who fought to be the rational, emotionless person in the room, despite his own ranging thoughts and emotions. "Gabriella, I understand that this probably wasn't all Troy's fault but this is how it looks in the press. They associate him with you and recall not only this past week but the trial over your rape and everything that's negative. You must see that isn't good for you, for us as a royal family."
"You make it sound like Troy raped me Grandfather and not Riley Sutton," stated Gabriella, looking back at her grandfather. "I can tell you that without Troy, I would have been in a much worse state than I was when I came here that summer immediately after and even when we came back for good that year in December. Troy means everything to me but you don't have to worry about him anymore."
Lauren was about to argue but stopped herself at these words. "So you realize that he's awful for you?"
Gabriella shook her head. "No, he's perfect for me but he's found someone else perfect for him. I learned this past week that Troy is engaged to be married next year so you don't need to worry about me falling into a troublesome relationship with a guy that you so clearly don't approve of even though I'd give anything to be back with him."
"Oh sweetie," said Annette as she stood up and hugged her daughter who gratefully returned it. "I'm so sorry. Did you find out when you woke back up?"
Gabriella shook her head. "No, the day before. We were at the club because the girls wanted me to have some fun, to try to cheer me up."
"And that speaks wonders for your other friends," remarked Lauren dryly, ignoring the warning look on Edward's face. "Gabriella, you are no longer seventeen years old. You'll be twenty-five in December and you need to seriously evaluate your life and your future. You are going to be the future Queen of Copanvy but you cannot hold this crown up high with all this trouble, these scandals in your life. It's clear to me now that we most certainly need to arrange a marriage for you soon."
"Mother, please, take it easy on her," pleaded Stephen from where he was now standing behind his daughter, a comforting hand on Gabriella's right shoulder. "Can't you see that this isn't the best time to badger her into this? She's already agreed to meeting the appropriate suitors and she understands what this past few weeks mean for her. Enough for now, please."
Lauren opened her mouth only to stop as she felt a firm squeeze of her hand from Edward. She glared at him while he returned her hard stare without flinching. "I think Stephen is right, we aren't doing any good by digging into our granddaughter while she is hurt. Gabriella dear, you should also know though that your weekends will be booked for the next month or two."
Gabriella pulled herself out of her foggy thoughts when she heard this and dared to look her grandfather in the eyes. "What do you mean?" she asked quietly.
"To help damage control your image, we've arranged for you to do charity work. On Saturdays, you will be working at a teen center while on Sundays, you will be working at a homeless shelter. You've already developed a reputation for doing these philanthropic activities on your own but your grandmother and I have decided you need to be seen at these two places for the next several weeks, at least until everything quiets down again. I personally think you'll enjoy them as you do the other volunteering you do," explained Edward, glad to see the agreeing nod Gabriella just gave him. "Good, I'm glad that we can agree on that. Lauren, aren't you due for tea with some nobility or something?"
Lauren just looked at her husband and nodded her head, accepting his help up off the couch. "Gabriella, I expect better of you. You've done so well to improve over the years, please don't throw that all away over a boy who is clearly not even available."
Gabriella watched in silence as her grandparents left the room and sank back into her chair once the door closed behind them, neither sparing her or her parents another look. She almost laughed as she heard the audible sighs from both of her parents as they came back around and sat down on a couch so they could face her again. "We're so sorry sweetheart," said Stephen. "Your mom and I were more worried about your health but you know your grandparents, they are very much set in their old ways."
"I know," murmured Gabriella, trying to sort through her thoughts. "I've been taught enough and seen enough since we've come to Copanvy to know to expect that from them. I think the news that Troy is getting married next year at least helped sooth Grandmother's concerns, if only a tad."
"That may be true but it's clear that it doesn't help you feel any better. How do you feel about that?" asked Annette, knowing even better than Stephen how their daughter really felt in regards to Troy.
Gabriella took a moment before looking back at her parents. "I'm not going to lie, it hurts but I at least know that he's happy. She, umm her name is Celeste, she seems really nice, more bubbly than I thought he would go for but it has been a long time since we've been together. Apparently, he never mentioned me to her."
"I'm sure he didn't want this fiancé of his to be jealous of you," assured Stephen, a smile on his face. "After all, what other woman could compare to the loveliness of my daughter, inside and out?"
Gabriella rolled her eyes at this. "God, you are such a dad!"
Annette and Stephen just laughed, both glad that Gabriella was able to joke now. "So you are dealing rather well with this it would seem."
"Maybe I am now but I had a tough time to start. Going out that night before the whole GHB thing helped, just to relax with my girlfriends again, the ones closest to me for sure, but I was the one to really let him go. All those years ago when I could have fought to keep him, to say let's try the long distance thing, I let him go," remarked Gabriella with a small shrug. "I believed in that old saying about letting someone go and knowing if it was true if he comes back and knowing if it was false if he didn't. Well in this case he didn't, but I know in my heart what we shared was deep and special, that it was true love. It just wasn't enough."
"I'm sure it was Gabriella but with the time that has passed, I'm sure that you are right, that Troy tried to move on as you have tried as well. Maybe you can still be friends," offered Stephen.
"Quite possibly but we'll see. If you two don't mind, I actually called a session with Emma that starts in about twenty minutes and I wanted to freshen up a bit," stated Gabriella, causing worried looks to appear on her parents' faces. "No, no, I'm okay. I just, knowing I was slipped a date rape drug has me a bit unnerved and I just want to talk to her about that on a professional level. I'm fine, I'm not going nutty, promise."
Stephen chuckled. "That would be the day, our daughter going nutty."
Gabriella got up and hugged both of her parents before heading towards the door, stopping short to turn back to them. "Thank you Dad, Mom, for standing up for me today. That meant a lot."
"Anytime sweetie," replied Annette, giving her daughter a smile before Gabriella slipped out of the room to get ready for her therapy session.
Troy bounced the basketball back to Chad to check it and caught it as Chad returned it before Troy faked left and then right to make a smooth layup, winning the third of their one-on-one games. Chad let out a frustrated groan and shook his head as he grabbed his water bottle and sat down against the nearby wall of the gym they were playing at, only to be joined by Troy shortly after.
"I cannot believe you are kicking my ass like this! I'm either way out of shape or you got really good with the pros," stated Chad with a shake of his head. "I'd like to think it was just you getting better since college."
Troy chuckled after he took a few sips of water from his own water bottle. "Sure, keep thinking that Danforth."
"Shut up!" exclaimed Chad, shoving Troy a little on the shoulder. "Man, it's great having you back home Bolton, I've missed this."
"Same here man, same here. It's amazing how very different I feel being back in Albuquerque. Don't get me wrong, I love New York but it's so much faster than life here in New Mexico. I miss those days where you and I played on the same team and I knew where I was going in life. Now, I'm not so sure man," confessed Troy.
Chad eyed his best friend for a while, trying to find the right words for the situation. "Well to me it seems like you still are that same guy who knows what's up, what he wants out of life. You're working to get yourself up to that level to play regularly for a professional NBA team, you've got a fiancé that you love, and you've got all of us clowns back here and spread across that went to high school with you to support you all the way. What more do you want dude?"
"Gabriella," murmured Troy unconsciously, realizing too late that he had said her name aloud. He confirmed this by seeing the shocked look on Chad's face. "I meant, umm, not having to listen to Celeste's gabbing on the phone all the time."
"Right, and I'm the next Shaq, old ankle injury and all," replied Chad, sarcasm dripping from his every word. "Dude, who do you think you're talking to? It's me, the guy who has been through almost everything with you. I was there when you and Gabriella were the super couple, the untouchables."
"Yeah, well, we certainly have left that in our past," mumbled Troy before drinking again from his bottled water. "We ended up being not quite so untouchable."
"Troy, if this is how you feel, why are you engaged to Celeste? Why aren't you over in Copanvy trying to fight for Gabriella's hand again? The Troy I knew in high school would have dropped everything to be with his girl in a heartbeat," returned Chad, confident that he was right. "You moved heaven and earth to be there for her back then. If you still feel the same, what are you doing here? What are you doing with Celeste? Yes I know she's gone back to New York now while you stayed here to help with the wedding and all, which Tay and I appreciate with you being best man and all, but don't you think that you owe it to both women to be honest with them?"
Troy stared at Chad for a few moments, letting his best friend's words sink in further. "When did you get so deep and advice column like?"
Chad grinned. "Listening to Taylor and her older sister multiple times over the years along with watching Oprah man. Hey, you know it's been for the good otherwise I wouldn't be marrying the woman of my own dreams. Gotta admit though, I never would have thought back in our old East High days that we would be getting married, let alone before you."
"Well, as you pointed out earlier, things change bud," answered Troy. "And for the record, I'm happy you finally got enough guts to actually propose to Tay. You two make each other better and happier and that's great man."
"Hey, that's not a bad line to use for your best man speech," teased Chad. "All right, all kidding aside Troy, what are you going to do?"
"What is there to do? Gabriella has her life in Copanvy, one that sounds like she is still under control of her grandparents and her responsibilities there and I do love Celeste Chad, don't doubt that. Maybe I just feel so confused because Gabriella is my first love and they do say that first loves never really leave your heart," stated Troy, now playing with the basketball in his hands.
"That's true too. Look Troy, all I'm saying is that if you still feel for Gabriella what you felt all those years ago, you shouldn't give up and use poor Celeste as a substitute for the best thing you've ever had. I can tell you and her are happy together, that you do care for her, but I have to wonder if you are getting married to her because you want to or if you are settling. Don't get mad at me, just think on that," Chad said as he placed a hand on Troy's shoulder.
Troy just nodded his head, showing silent agreement with Chad's words. "Want to be victim again in another game? It'll help clear my thinking."
"Sure man but I have to warn you, with you all distracted like this, I may just win a game," kidded Chad as he got up and then gave Troy a hand up. "Home team advantage?"
Troy laughed. "All right, I guess I can give you at least that in payment for your therapy session back there."
The two best friends from pre-school played another two games after that, Troy winning both but almost losing the last to Chad with a one-point margin. After showering at the gym, they both hopped back into Chad's car and drove to Chad's apartment where Taylor had dinner prepared for them to eat. They were ecstatic to see it waiting on the table when they made it home, both men grateful for Taylor and her good cooking as they dug in with Taylor just shaking her head at the two, thinking in her mind that as much time had passed, neither male had really changed that much since high school, in more ways than one.