"So, tonight's the night huh? Going on the first real official date with the boyfriend," teased Tessa, laughing at her best friend, who blushed even deeper than she was already. "Aren't you kind of doing this in reverse? Aren't you supposed to date him first before committing to being his girlfriend?"

"But it's oh so dreamy Troy Bolton," added Taylor, who was sitting next to Tessa on Gabriella's bed while Gabriella sat on the other side of the bed, facing the two. "Do you know how many girls at East would kill to be his girlfriend, no matter what it took? Little do they know that eligible seeming Troy is more than taken."

"I bet that's a secret you are more than happy to keep and enjoy too McKessie!" exclaimed Tessa with another laugh.

"What can I say? They make my life hell at school so I take sweet solace in knowing that what they want the most is something they'll never get their conniving hands on," admitted Taylor, causing Gabriella to giggle.

'I am so thankful that Taylor and Tessa, along with Beth and Sarah, were so super understanding of my vanishing act. Tessa has been the only one to really try to wrangle the truth out of me, but she respects our friendship enough not to chase it down to the ends of Earth,' thought Gabriella with a smile.

Tessa and Taylor both catch that smile and roll their eyes. "Thinking dreamy thoughts of Bolton are we?" asked Tessa.

"Actually no, I was thinking of what wonderful friends I have here in Albuquerque in Beth, Sarah, Troy, and especially you two. Thank you for forgiving me for the worry I caused," said Gabriella.

"Hey, things happen and I know you must have really been in a bind if you left all of us, especially Troy, in the dark like that. Whenever you are ready to talk, we're here," offered Taylor.

"Absolutely," agreed Tessa. "You will always be our girl, through time and whatnot. Even with being known as the slut's friend or whatever it is they may call you at West now. I am proud of you sticking to your guns against a whole school of malicious teenagers Gabriella and for that reason alone, plus many more, I am happy to call you one of my best friends."

"Aww, come here you two," replied Gabriella, wrapping her arms around the two girls as they squeezed her back. "I don't think I would make it through even a period at West if it wasn't for you Tessa and you too Taylor even though you get spared seeing the drama first hand. Girlfriends really are the best salve for any emotional and spiritual wound."

Tessa rolled her eyes at this. "There you go again, Miss Emotionally Sentimental!"

"Hey! You started it!" responded Gabriella, laughing with Taylor at Tessa's exaggerated expression.

Taylor checked her watch and clucked her tongue. "All right, enough of our girl time of just talking! We need to get you going if you are going to be fully made up for tonight's date! Where is he taking you?"

"Umm, I think he said dinner and maybe a movie or something like that?" said Gabriella, trying to recall the vague details Troy had given her.

Tessa tapped her chin with her index finger while Taylor dove right into Gabriella's closet, trying to familiarize herself with Gabriella's clothes whereas Tessa already had a full visual inventory of the walk in closet's contents. After a few moments, Taylor reemerged with two different outfits, which Tessa quickly nixed. Feeling as if Taylor wouldn't find just the right outfit on her own, Tessa got up and joined Taylor in the closet after ordering Gabriella to put on some good music to "work" to. Gabriella rolled her eyes at her best friend's orders but got up off the bed to put on the radio, turning it up a bit as an energetic song filled the room and she felt herself start dancing and swaying to the music.

Taylor and Tessa popped their heads out of Gabriella's closet at the commotion and grinned as they saw their usually reserved best friend let loose, ridding herself of those pre-date jitters they both knew she had through dance. Taylor quickly looked at her watch and shrugged, indicating a few dances wouldn't hurt the schedule of getting Gabriella ready on time. That was all the encouragement Tessa needed to grab Taylor's hand as they both joined Gabriella in dancing around her room, grabbing a hairbrush, stuffed animal, and remote as props as the three girls started to full out sing the lyrics to the second song. Laughter, giggles, and squeals filled the room in addition to the song lyrics they sang as Gabriella, Taylor, and Tessa let themselves go from their reservations and just enjoyed the moment, getting so lost in the music that continued to fill the room, song after song.

Annette was curious at the sudden loud music coming from her daughter's room for such a long time. She made her way up the stairs towards the bedroom before she found herself wholeheartedly laughing as she watched the three teenage girls have such a good time. 'This is the true innocent fun that I remember from my teen years and I am so glad that despite everything Gabriella is going through that she can find this for herself.'

Eventually, Gabriella spotted her mother leaning in the doorway and grinned as she moved over to pull Annette into the room to dance with the teenagers. After a few moments of hesitancy, Annette found the rhythm of the modern song and started dancing with the girls, only stopping when the song was over to check the time, her motherly instinct kicking in. "Gabriella, what time did you say Troy was coming to get you?"

"Umm, 5:00, why?" asked Gabriella.

Annette gulped, preparing herself for what was to come next as she showed the three girls the time on Gabriella's alarm clock.

"4:35?!?" exclaimed all three girls at the same time.

"We gotta get you dressed girl!" screamed Tessa, knowing they were definitely up against a hard deadline that neither she nor Taylor were going to let Gabriella miss. "Come on Taylor! Let's go find her outfit. Gabriella, in the bathroom to wash up and do make up, now!"

Gabriella, panicked at having to be ready in such a short time, didn't even bat an eye at being ordered into her bathroom, Annette following close behind to help her daughter get ready. 'Stephen may not approve of our daughter dating Troy but I know he makes her happy and she needs all the happiness she can get right now,' thought Annette as she watched as Gabriella splashed cold water on her face and wiped at her neck with a wet washcloth before putting on some moisturizer on her face and her body. Next, Gabriella put on some light foundation before putting on some lipstick, feeling a bit alarmed by how shaky her hand had just gotten when it came time to do her lip liner.

"Here, let me," offered Annette, seeing that the butterflies had made their way back into Gabriella's stomach. "I can see this boy has a deep effect on you Gabriella. It's the first time I've seen you like this in a while."

Gabriella gave her mother a shy smile before she stopped moving so Annette could apply the lip liner and then the lipstick without trouble. When she was done, Annette stepped back and gave Gabriella an approving nod. "Now, for your outfit before we figure out how to do your hair for your BIG DATE!"

"MOM!" whined Gabriella, giggling a little. "You are so making me more nervous!"

Annette laughed. "Well, I guess that is proof right there that this boy means something to you, dear daughter of mine. Unlike your father, I am all for you being happy with your life, especially right now."

Gabriella smiled back at her mom. "Thank you Mom, that means a lot. I know that Dad isn't all that happy with this idea of Troy but he makes me feel so safe and wonderful and amazing, all at the same time. Daddy will understand won't he?"

Her mother hesitated a moment before she said, "Your father has a lot on his mind these days and not everything he says and expresses is his true heart. I know the man who your dad really is and he would be very happy for you but with the things going on right now, I think it is best he is out of town this weekend so you can enjoy this night with your special guy. Both Dad and I really just wanted the best for you sweetie."

Gabriella threw her arms around her mother and hugged Annette tight as Annette returned the embrace, etching this moment in her mind. The moment ended when Tessa and Taylor came into the room with grins on their faces. Tessa was holding up a black skirt with red, pink, and violet flowers printed sporadically across the material that would fall to Gabriella's knees while Taylor held up a red sweater seat and red heels.

"This is the best we can come up with in this short amount of time. Sweet yet with a hint of sultry with the cut of the tank under the sweater," informed Tessa with a smirk.

Annette laughed at this and shook her head. "You girls look like you have it under control up here. I better get downstairs just in case Troy comes. Be mindful of the time girls!"

None of the three girls gave Annette's departure much more thought as they got to work on getting Gabriella dressed, making sure she had all the right accessories and of course fixing her hair, pulling half of the wavy tresses up while leaving the rest to temptingly hang around her shoulders. When Tessa and Taylor were done, they stepped back to take in Gabriella who slowly turned around for their approval.

"PERFECT!" declared Taylor with a smile just as the doorbell rang. "Man, that has to be a record for putting together someone for a magical first date in the shortest amount of time with a beautiful result."

Tessa nodded her head. "I completely agree! Now, Gabriella, just remember to breathe as you go down those stairs okay? After all this work I really don't want you passing out and falling down those stairs. It'll mess up your fairy tale and very cliché walk down the stairs for your dear boyfriend to see you."

Gabriella couldn't help but laugh as this, silently very thankful that both girls were with her at this moment. Taylor and Tessa gave Gabriella a hug each before they dashed out of the room so they could watch Troy's reaction.

Alone in the room, Gabriella gave herself another moment to look herself over in the mirror, satisfied with the wonderful job her mother and two best friends had done with her. She started to walk out of her bedroom but returned to her bed to pick up her black purse that Taylor had picked out for her from Gabriella's closet. Gabriella then walked out into the hallway and made her way to the stairs, taking in a deep breath and letting it out before she came into view of the four people waiting for her downstairs.

'Wow, maybe these moments in movies really aren't all that exaggerated,' thought Tessa with a grin as she saw her best friend finally appear at the top of the stairs and then looked at the speechless Troy, who had not a shocked look on his face but one that spoke of his amazement of Gabriella's beauty.

Sparkling blue eyes met nervous brown eyes as the couple finally made eye contact before Gabriella slowly started walking down the stairs, never diverting her attention away from Troy. She did use this time though to survey Troy's appearance and was left wanting for nothing as he was handsomely dressed in a pair of khakis and a blue button up shirt that brought out his eyes even more. 'God, he really is cute,' thought Gabriella, blushing at the thought.

Troy caught that blush and chuckled, wondering silently what his girlfriend was thinking. 'Whatever it is, at least it is making her smile and blush. Brie really is so adorable when she does that. God, she really is gorgeous,' thought Troy before he walked to the base of the stairs to meet Gabriella, who finally reached the bottom step. "You look beautiful Brie."

Gabriella blushed deeper at this but rewarded him with a sweet smile. She met his lips halfway in a quick but sweet kiss, both mindful that there were other people in the room that they could trust but didn't deserve to be an audience of too much mushiness. They heard giggles and both looked over to see Taylor and Tessa happily looking back at them.

Annette laughed at this, thinking of how lucky Gabriella really had gotten this time around in their move. 'She really does need this support system of her friends right now, more than ever. I just hope they are all going to be there for her when the truth gets out,' hoped Annette in her mind as she witnessed Troy kissing Gabriella's cheek while he laced their fingers together, his left holding her right. Annette cleared her throat, knowing she should send the two young lovebirds on their way. "Troy, Gabriella, you two better get going. Just don't forget curfew tonight, all right sweetie?"

Gabriella nodded her understanding before she turned and walked out of the house with Troy's hand still intertwined with hers.

As soon as the door closed, Taylor and Tessa started jumping out of excitement of seeing Gabriella off on her first real date with her dream guy. "WE DID IT! WE DID IT!" screamed both of them, alternating between that and just screaming until they finally calmed down, realizing that Annette had been chuckling while she had watched the two teenagers.

"Well, I think this deserves a celebration of sorts. Do you two want to stick around and hang out with a mom for ice cream sundaes here in the house? It's only fair that we have our dessert before dinner tonight in celebration," offered Annette.

Both girls' eyes lit up at the idea. "I'm so in! No wonder Gabriella is so cool! She's got an amazing mom!" exclaimed Tessa.

"I'd love to stay before heading home for dinner Mrs. Montez," replied Taylor, always to be the one more composed than Tessa.

For the next forty minutes, the two girls and Annette fixed their sundaes and enjoyed them while they chatted about themselves but mostly about what the sweet couple out on their first official date were probably doing at that moment.

After twenty-five minutes of driving, Troy parked his parent's compact car in the parking lot of a nice seafood and pasta restaurant that was neither in Wildcat or Knight territory. Troy quickly got out and ran around to Gabriella's side of the car to open the door for her, his reward being a kiss from her as she got out of the car. Their hands naturally found each other as they walked towards the restaurant and entered with Troy holding the door open for her. 'Such the gentleman,' thought Gabriella as she gave him a small smile for his efforts.

The hostess sat them down at a table towards the back of the restaurant but next to a window. Not to break his good manners shown this evening, Troy made sure that he helped Gabriella sit in her chair before he sat down across from her, grinning as he saw the slight blush on her cheeks. 'She really is precious,' thought Troy before forcing himself to look at the menu.

After ordering their meals and their drinks, Gabriella and Troy were left to stare at each other, both suddenly feeling shy around the other. Troy decided to be the brave one and said, "So, garlic chicken fettuccini, nice pick."

Gabriella looked at Troy for another moment before she burst into giggles, causing Troy to laugh lightly with her. "Thanks Troy, I needed that," got out Gabriella between giggles before she calmed herself down. "I don't know why but after all this time, I think labeling tonight as our first official date got me all sorts of nervous."

Troy nodded his agreement. "I know what you mean, I've been going back and forth between nerves and excitement all day. What do you say we just forget the title of the night and just enjoy each other's company?"

"I'm all on board for that," returned Gabriella. "This is really a nice restaurant Troy. How'd you find it?"

"Oh, I've come here a few times with my parents before and I knew that it was a good enough distance away from any of our classmates so they won't be interrupting us or putting a snare on our special, non-labeled night. I know that we still have to be sly with this relationship of ours but I figured it was no reason to not take you to a nice dinner," explained Troy. "I mean, it's not our fault that everyone else is too closed minded to see that we are just right for each other despite the differences, school and social standing in the schools both. Sometimes I do wish that we could just be ourselves and not have to worry about someone seeing us and starting some stupid fight over it."

"I know," agreed Gabriella, "but unfortunately, that is our reality. But as you said, as long as we are careful, there's no reason why we need to punish ourselves by hiding indoors all the time. I'm glad we did this tonight."

"Me too," responded Troy. "So, tell me how your past week was."

Gabriella thought for a moment before she answered. "It was all right, a bit on the boring side since some of the classes are going through what I've gone through at my other schools. Like in Honors English we are covering Romeo and Juliet, which I've done in two other English classes and a drama class at my other schools but in that case I don't mind. I simply find that story/play so tragically romantic that it's actually a favorite but that's just an example."

"Tragically romantic? I hope you are just talking about Shakespeare's works and not our future," teased Troy. He soon realized that wasn't quite the right thing to say as Gabriella blankly looked at him back. "Sorry, probably shouldn't have joked about that in that manner."

She shook her head at this. "It's just that I've secretly pondered and worried in some ways that we could be like that so I don't really think it's a laughing matter. I mean, I don't think either of us will die in the end like the couple in the story but haven't you sat back and thought about how our lives parallel that story in some ways?"

"No," answered Troy. "In truth, I think you are far more intellectual than I am. I hate to be the typical jock here but I guess I never really give much thought to the literary works we read in school unless I'm doing homework. That didn't just make me sound brainless did it?"

Gabriella saw his worried expression and gave him a small smile. "No, not at all. Everyone is different, right? Just like I don't even begin to pretend that I know that much about basketball. That's a subject you could definitely dribble circles around me about. As for the parallelism, it's just that our schools are like the two different families and they are rivals so consequently they want to keep us apart. There's also the elements of drama and violence and tension that seem to follow us around too. I honestly don't want to see our relationship end up as a tragic romance, despite how much I adore Shakespeare's work."

Troy nodded his head. "I completely understand what you are saying here. What about us shooting for a classic fairytale romance then? One that ends in 'and they lived happily ever after'. I could be your prince who saves his beautiful princess from something horrible like controlling parents or a fire breathing dragon."

He had expected an immediate smile to this and was slightly curious as to why Gabriella paled a little before she recovered and put a forced smile on her face. "I'd settle for you being my Wildcat who cares for me as I truly am and nothing more or less," replied Gabriella, meaning every word she said.

"I think I can do that," stated Troy with a grin, forgetting the awkward moment right before her answer. "So, I think our golf team is going to meet up with West next week. Care to come and secretly support me? No one would question your appearance since your school will be there."

Gabriella thought a moment to her schedule and nodded her head. "Sure. Tell me time and place and I'll be there, Tessa dragged along and maybe Taylor if we can work that out so that's not so obvious she's there with us. Seriously, all this secrecy is just horrible, even for two people who want to be friends. Do you even know how this all started?"

Troy thought back to the history he had heard and his own motives from before to dislike the other high school. "Well, no one really knows when it clearly started but this rivalry between East and West started way before our class was even born. Some say it was over a Knight stealing away a Wildcat's girlfriend while others say it was over the East basketball team stealing away West's dynasty of being reigning champions several years in a row and not letting them have it back for ten years. There's a lot of variations but every story tells of tension and a reason why the two schools do not like each other, even for those students who have nothing to do with sports. I know for me, it was about your basketball members being complete jerks whenever we met them, even back in JV freshman year. Riley and I do have a history of bringing the worst out of each other but we've never been truly violent besides fouls here and there. I honestly used to hate all Knights because of those guys I've come into contact with through basketball. Golf guys aren't so bad but I had a sour taste in my mouth because of that basketball team."

She absorbed everything Troy just said before she said, "So you really were a big player in this rivalry before huh? What changed? You seem to be trying to keep things quiet now."

"Do you really need to ask that?" asked Troy. "You are what changed me. I don't even really know when it happened but as soon as I realized you were in town and were a Knight, it made me open my eyes a little more and realize that not all Knights are bad, especially when I met your Tessa, Sarah, and Beth. It made me see how stupid I've really been to be a part of this rivalry but I have to be honest and admit that I thought my reasons for being a part of it were right and true. Riley and his crew have always been jerks to everyone from any other school, especially East, and from I hear, he isn't that much kinder to his own kind. My belief about the Knights being the spawn of evil really was just a lack of grouping everyone together based on a single experience with the wrong crowd of Knights apparently."

"And you said you sound unintelligent! That was really well put Troy, honestly. I think I'm somewhat floored you attribute the change to me but it's nice to hear that from you and to know that you don't think so badly about Knights now," replied Gabriella. "What I want to know now though is what young Troy was like. I'm sure knowing Chad as I know him now that the two of you were a pair of mischief makers way before Jason and Zeke became part of your circle of friendship."

Troy chuckled at this. "You have no idea. There was this one time in first grade where Chad and I decided it would be fun to give Chad's little crush at the time a banana slug we found out in the school yard. Little did we know that when he handed it to her that she would scream her head off and cry. We got scolded by our teacher right away for it as she forced me to pick it up from the desk where the girl dropped it and put it outside."

Gabriella giggled at this. "I can totally see that happening today! But that's pretty mild actually, normal little boy behavior. At least you didn't drop a worm down her back! I had that happen to me in kindergarten. I remember crying so hard and the teacher trying to soothe me, telling me that it was a sign that the offender was just trying to tell me that he liked me."

Laughter continued between the two throughout dinner as they traded stories from their childhood days while also talking about some of the bad times as well when they were more serious. They continued to talk and get to know each other even better long after they finished their dessert and Troy paid the bill before Gabriella could say anything, leaving the waiter a generous tip for allowing the couple to occupy his table way past the average time for diners there.

Gabriella glanced at her watch and flushed, realizing that there was only thirty minutes until her curfew. "I can't believe how much time has gone by. I hate to do this Troy but we have to get going. I have curfew in half an hour."

Troy looked down at his own watch and nodded his agreement. "Wow, I didn't realize that much time had passed already. Guess the saying is true, 'time flies when you're having fun'."

Gabriella smiled back at him as he got up and helped her out of her chair. 'He really is such the gentleman,' thought Gabriella as she took his hand and they walked out of the restaurant, the waiter shouting out his thanks to them for the large tip.

After helping Gabriella into the car, Troy ran around and got into the driver's seat for the drive home. Both were fairly quiet now, letting each other think about their night together, both with smiles on their faces as they realized how right this felt. 'We really do connect on so many levels,' thought Gabriella. 'Troy even seems to know what I'm saying without much explaining, which is really nice. I've never known a guy to get me so well and so easily.'

'Brie really gets me, she sees the real me and not the stereotypical jock that all the East High girls see. She gives me the opportunity to show that I'm not dumb and when I sound dumb even to my own ears, she never makes me feel it. I wonder how I got so lucky to find her again,' wondered Troy, glancing over at Gabriella to see she had a sweet smile on her face. 'Looks like I've left a similar feeling on her as she has me.'

When Troy finally pulled up to the Montez driveway, he glanced at the car's clock and saw they had two minutes before Gabriella turned into a teenaged pumpkin. "We better get you inside."

Gabriella nodded and got out of the car when Troy opened it again for her, smiling wider as their gazes connected. He closed the door and held her hand in his as they walked up to her front door, Gabriella unlocking the door and popping it open to let her mom know she was home on time. "I've had a wonderful time tonight Troy, really. I guess we kind of forgot about the movie huh?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot. We can go tomorrow night if you want," responded Troy, hopeful she would accept.

"Sure, I'd like that," answered Gabriella. "I guess then this is good night until then?"

"Good night sweet Brie," said Troy, leaning in and kissing Gabriella soundly on the mouth, both enjoying the sparks and the warm sensation the meeting of their lips created.

Troy brought Gabriella's body closer to his, wrapping his arms around her waist in the process as she wrapped her arms around his neck, trying to get closer to him. A soft clearing of the throat brought them back to reality though as they pulled away and both blushed as they saw Annette standing the doorway.

"Good night Troy," said Annette with a smile, letting both teens relax at being caught kissing while they were still embarrassed by it.

"Good night Mrs. Montez, good night Brie," returned Troy, a blush still on his cheeks.

"Night Troy," answered Gabriella, kissing him softly on his cheek before ducking into her house with her mom closing the door. Once the door was closed, Annette gave Gabriella a knowing look, which made Gabriella blush even more, knowing exactly what her mother was thinking. "Okay, so I really like him and that was the best kiss ever. Do you really have to tease me?"

Annette laughed at this and held up her hands in defense. "Hey, I didn't even say anything!"

"You never do, I just know because of this mother-daughter bond we have," returned Gabriella. "Thank you mom for letting me go tonight. It was so wonderful! It's okay if I go to the movies with him tomorrow night, right?"

"Sure, but didn't you guys go tonight?" questioned Annette, confused by her daughter's plans.

"We were planning to but we ended up just talking all night at this great restaurant he took me too," explained Gabriella.

Annette grinned at this, already seeing the bond these two were developing together. "All right, just make sure you are home on time. Your father is also coming back late tomorrow night so be mindful of that, okay?"

Gabriella nodded her head. "Thank you. Good night Mom," said Gabriella while giving Annette a big hug, which Annette warmly returned.

"Good night sweet daughter," replied Annette as she watched her daughter go upstairs to her room. 'I only hope this all works out for you in the end.'

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