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"I miss you too Celeste, but I'll see you in less than two weeks when you arrive in Albuquerque," promised Troy with a smile. "Love you, bye."
Chad and Zeke both stared back at their high school best friend and just shook their heads at the goofy grin on Troy's face as he flipped his cell phone closed and put it back in his pocket on the right side of his khaki shorts. He looked up and immediately narrowed his eyes on his two friends. "You can change the scenery, the time, and the girl and he still remains the same," commented Zeke with a smile of his own. "It's good to see you again Troy."
"I agree, it has been too long," replied Troy, who gave Zeke a hug.
Troy and Chad had arrived at the airport fifteen minutes before to pick up Zeke and also Jason, who were both coming into town a little less than two weeks early before the wedding to help Chad out as well as reunite with their other high school buddies. While Troy had walked away to answer Celeste's call, Zeke had come through the security area and joined Chad after a hug. They were discussing Zeke's flight from Miami when Troy had ended his conversation with his fiancé and returned with that look on his face.
"Anyway, what time is J's flight due in?" asked Zeke as he dropped his duffle bag onto the ground next to him. "Do we have time to go get my luggage or is he going to be in soon?"
"Actually, his flight was due in half an hour but the board read that it had landed already when I was over there," stated Troy. "Maybe we can wait a few before going to grab the suitcase?"
Zeke nodded his head in agreement. "That's cool with me. So what's this I hear about you having a run in with Gabs? Tessa told me it was quite dramatic."
Troy and Chad both stared at Zeke in shock. "Wait, you still talk to Tessa?" asked Chad.
"Dramatic? What did she tell you?" questioned Troy.
Zeke stared back at his two best friends and silently tried to decide how to answer both of them without treading onto that very sensitive ground. He had never been so happy to see a familiar brown haired guy heading in their direction from the security area as he was then. "J! Jason, over here!" called out Zeke, purposely ignoring both Chad and Troy, who were still eyeing him over.
"Hey guys, what's up?" greeted Jason, a grin on his face as he hugged each of them in turn. "So Mr. Best Man, when's the bachelor party?"
Troy couldn't help but shake his head at Jason. "Man, how you have changed. It's actually a co-ed bachelor/bachelorette party. Dinner and a night out at a club or two," Troy informed both Jason and Zeke. "Taylor's sister wouldn't let me get away with anything unsupervised for some reason."
"Dinner at Hooters at least?" asked Jason, eyes bright.
Chad howled at this. "Are you kidding me man? With Taylor there, that's the number one restaurant not to go to if I want to get married two days later."
Zeke laughed at this. "I tend to agree with that. Chad is prone to mischief, whether Taylor is with him or not and it's twice as bad when she's with him."
"It's all right, we'll have fun. I mean, we'll have the whole gang back together, the first time in a very long time to have every single person. Now that Jason's here from Portland, he adds to you Zeke from Miami, Tessa and Sharpay are both here in Albuquerque, Martha is flying in from somewhere in Texas, Kelsi and her husband are coming in from Sacramento, Troy is already here from New York, Ryan will be coming in from Los Angeles, and of course, we have Gabriella coming from Copanvy. That's the entire gang back in Albuquerque for at least a few shared days. It'll be just like old times," commented Chad with a smile, not sure though if this was the right thing to say as he saw a pained look on both Troy's and Jason's faces just then while Zeke smiled back.
Zeke too saw their expression and couldn't help but ask, "Hey, you two all right?"
Jason and Troy looked at each other and saw they wore what they suspected were identical expressions. "It's just hard to think about seeing our exes I think Zeke," answered Jason, seeing the truth of his words on Troy's face. "Kelsi and me may have broken up in college but I still care for her. She was so far away in L.A. while I was in Oregon for school and it just didn't work. I ended up ending it but that doesn't mean I stopped caring. In some ways, I was kind of heartbroken to hear that she got married last year."
"I hear what you are saying J, I feel like I still care for Tessa that same way but she and I have managed to get to a good place where we are comfortable being just friends. I think for us, our romantic emotions have left for the most part but there is always going to be a special place in your heart that is reserved for your first true love, which you have to admit these girls are to us," replied Zeke, giving Jason and Troy a sympathetic smile. "It was great while it lasted right?"
Chad had carefully watched Troy's face during Zeke's little speech and saw the flicker of pain masked by the turmoil on his face. 'He still is fighting that battle within himself, I can see it still. Troy really is a good guy and is trying to do right by Celeste but he can't not deal with these renewed feelings for Gab this weekend. Taylor has already called it but this is like the last chance for something to happen between them before he goes off to New York to plan his own wedding and Gabriella goes back to Copanvy to rule a country.'
Troy cleared his throat as he forced his face to become neutral again. "Well, why don't we get those bags of yours you two? Then we can grab an early dinner before a guy's night in? Chad and I figured we could recapture our old days with video games and horror flicks all night."
"Awesome!" exclaimed Jason.
"I think that's doable," added Zeke with a grin.
The four guys headed for the baggage claim, instantly falling into a comfortable conversation about, well, sports, each grateful that it really didn't feel like any of them had been apart from each other for longer than a few months. In fact, it actually truly felt like old times.
Chris watched with curiosity as he spied on Gabriella and a black haired guy that he recognized as Patrick Diaz, who had just entered the lobby of their dance studio, feeling safe to do so as he didn't believe either had seen him quite yet. He silently peeked around the corner of the hallway that led to the studio's elevators and watched as Gabriella and Patrick talked before they hugged and Patrick kissed her right hand. Chris saw the blush creep up Gabriella's cheeks before Patrick turned around, leaving Gabriella to stare after him for a while before she herself turned around to head towards the elevators.
As she did that, Gabriella immediately spied Chris, who was now doing his best to look like he hadn't just spied on his close friend. "Christopher Sonders! What are you, four?"
Chris chuckled at this as he fell into step with Gabriella's pace towards the elevators. "Hey, I'm just looking out for my close friend. I had to see which guy this was and how you really felt. That blush is pretty charming, I have to admit."
Gabriella playfully swatted at his shoulder, giving him a stern look before shaking her head. "You are incorrigible you know that? Yes, that was Patrick and yes it has been going pretty well in the three weeks or so that we've somewhat dating. At least it has been better than the eight other guys I've been forced to meet with."
This gave Chris immediate pause before he hit the top floor on the elevator button panel. "Eight others? Ella!"
"Not my fault, trust me. It sounds like I'm speed dating right? Well that's how it feels to me. You know what I confided in you last weekend at rehearsals when it was just you and me? Well my grandparents are determined to see this through. Whenever I don't have something going on with Patrick, I walk into the palace to find a different guy waiting for me. The first two were definitely busts, then there was Patrick, the two after him were boring as anything, and then the two after that just seemed interested in getting into my pants and the money. The last two were okay and I'm supposed to be seeing the last one, Toby Moreno, tomorrow night after practice," replied Gabriella dryly as she and Chris exited the elevators. "I think if anything else, I'm glad they gave me mandated volunteer work on the weekends and I also have ballet rehearsals so it limits the time they can play with as far as my social calendar goes."
"So did Patrick go to the homeless shelter with you this morning then?" asked Chris, curious as to how Patrick ended up picking Gabriella up as Chris himself had picked up Gabriella from the palace early that morning and then dropped her off at the homeless shelter after their morning rehearsal.
Gabriella shook her head. "No, he came by after and we grabbed some lunch before heading here. Why?"
"Just curious is all," answered Chris with a smile. "Meet you in the studio in ten?"
Gabriella nodded before the two split ways to go to the different changing rooms. Once Gabriella was done, she entered today's rehearsal studio and rolled her eyes at Chris, who was already stretching out on the floor, giving her a pretend look of disappointment that she was later than he was. "Oh shut up Chris, we all know you ran to get here before me, I heard you take off running just before I opened the locker room door."
Chris chuckled at this. "All too observant. So, while we are stretching and before Rodger gets in here, tell me more about what I'm going to be facing in two weeks! You sure you want to bring me and not oh so charming Patrick or even Toby?"
"You keep this up and maybe I will," teased Gabriella with a smile on her face. "Well, I'm leaving a few days before you to help my best friend with more last minute wedding stuff to sort of make up for the fact that I wasn't allowed to go to her bridal shower as a royal engagement cropped up on that same weekend, and then I will pick you up on Friday of that week. There's a bachelor/bachelorette party the night before but I know you have work so don't worry about that. After I pick you up, I imagine some errand running, then the rehearsal and dinner that you are invited to, then Saturday is the actual wedding. Morning after is some farewell brunch for just the old high school gang and their dates and then you and I mister have a flight to come back here on that day."
He nodded his head at this, understanding that it was a packed schedule. "Well that's all and good but what of the other stuff besides the schedule?"
"Meaning?" prompted Gabriella, not sure what Chris was aiming at.
"Meaning, Ella, am I going to have to deal with an emotional and heartbroken partner and friend while she wistfully watches her first love with his fiancé?" asked Chris, seeing the truth in her brown eyes before she hid them again.
"I don't know what you are talking about. Yes, you will get to meet Troy along with the other gang. You've met Sharpay and Ryan before but I think you'll get along well with my other friends," replied Gabriella.
"Ella, why do I get this feeling you plan on hiding yourself away from this guy this whole week you'll be there? I thought you said when you came back that you were going to try to be friends," stated Chris, truly concerned for his close friend. "You know, if you want, we could pretend I'm one of your suitors to make him jealous, see if that wakes the idiot up."
Gabriella rolled her eyes at this. "Stupid middle school games aren't going to work on him and I don't think I want them to. Troy has made his decisions in life and I have made mine. We just aren't meant to be."
"Says you now but that's not the tale you told up until about a month or more ago. Admit it Ella, you still harbor him in your heart," pushed Chris. "It's okay, I promise I won't sell this to a tabloid."
"You better not," returned Gabriella with a fake glare before she reluctantly nodded her head. "So what if he is still in my heart? He is engaged to a woman who seems to be good for him, who has made him very happy according to Chad. It's not like he and I would work out anyway, not with this mandate of my grandparents and their council. He'd only get hurt worse if we started something now and I can't do that to him, not when he's happy. Besides, no one knows about this sort of arranged marriage thing going on and I'd prefer that it stay that way as I really don't want the press knowing. That's all sorts of drama brewing right there if it does. Could you imagine? 'The Royal Marriage Watch' or some bs like that."
"Umm, you do realize that there are pictures of you and Patrick and some of these other guys in the news right?" questioned Chris, not knowing now if she realized that.
She nodded her head before she stretched to her right, over her right leg and then her left. "I know, Martin took most of those but there hasn't been a murmur of the actual arrangement. People just think I'm finally coming out of my shy shell and dating again, which is fine. I knew at least that my grandparents would be discreet about this as it would be a mockery to the royal line if it became known that they were showing off their granddaughter like she was a prized horse to be sold."
Chris let the matter drop as Rodger came into the room and quickly stood up, giving Gabriella a hand. "Rodger, which dance would you like to start?"
Rodger gave it some thought before he decided it was time to choreograph the last dance. "The dance before the finale I think. We have about two months until you both are taking that stage as the leads and I want to make sure we have everything choreographed two weeks at latest after Anna and you both come back from the States. Both warmed up then?"
Gabriella nodded her head along with Chris. "I think we're both still loose too from this morning."
Rodger smiled at this. "Good, that's what I like to hear. You both have proven so far that I made a smart choice of picking you two with your dedication. I just want to see this production do well come October, all right?"
"We wouldn't have it any other way," replied Chris with a grin.
Rodger nodded at the two before going over to the stereo and popping in a CD that had the second act on it. He played the song a few times before he got back up and started marking Chris' positions with him, leaving Gabriella to watch as she continued to stretch. They spent three hours in the studio and still weren't done but they were definitely farther along than they were before they started. Gabriella hugged Rodger before she and Chris went to go change and then met again in the hallway as Chris was giving her a ride home.
"Want to get some dinner?" offered Chris. "I don't know about you but I'm starving."
Gabriella let out a laugh. "You're always hungry, you sort of remind me of my good friend Chad from back in Albuquerque. I wish I could but I have another guy to meet back at the palace."
"Ah, so that's why you are dressed up in that cute little summer dress, hair flowing, light makeup on. I should really be good at picking up on the signs by now but it seems like I always play the role of the oblivious guy," commented Chris, smiling at Gabriella before he turned his gaze back onto the road in front. "Do you know anything more on this one?"
"Nope, never do. I'm just praying it's over before I know it," returned Gabriella with a sigh. "The things one does for her country."
Chris chuckled at this before he shook his head. "I don't think I ever thought that I would hear it that dating was a forced royal duty but I can see where you come from on this one. It must suck to have all that on your tiny shoulders."
"You don't even know the half of it," murmured Gabriella quietly as she continued to look out the window. "You really don't."
Chris allowed the comfortable silence to linger in the air between the two close friends for the rest of the drive, stopping only when they arrived at the palace. "You going to be all right Ella?"
Gabriella gave him a small shrug. "One way or the other I will be. See you in the morning Chris and thanks for the ride."
Chris gave her an encouraging smile. "See you in the morning Ella. Good luck."
She gave him a small smile and a wave before she turned and faced the main doors of the palace, taking in a deep breath before plastering a smile on her face before she walked into the evening of unknowns once again.