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"GABRIELLA!" screamed three familiar voices as soon as Gabriella and Chris got out of the rented car that Paul was driving with Emma in the passenger seat. Gabriella grinned as she saw Sharpay, Taylor, and Tessa all flying towards them, not surprised when Tessa at the last moment went straight for her boyfriend leaving Gabriella happily hugging Taylor and Sharpay at once.
"How was your trip? It's so great to see you!" Taylor expressed, squeezing Gabriella extra tight.
"It was good, minus Chris's constant impatience. I think he was going to drive the flight attendant crazy with all his wants and needs," joked Gabriella, her brown eyes twinkling as she looked behind her to see why Chris hadn't snapped back at her with his usual retort. 'Of course, his mouth is too busy doing other things.'
Sharpay and Taylor also looked at Tessa and Chris, who were locked in a rather heated embrace just a few feet away from them. "Seriously, I am so locking my bedroom door when we get back into the house. Those two are going to be like rabbits doing it anywhere I'm sure," remarked Sharpay, squishing up her nose at the thought of her roommate and best friend having at it with her boyfriend in her room or even close to it. "Don't feel bad though Gab, she was just as excited to see you too but I think the hormones kicked in last minute."
Gabriella shrugged her shoulders before she hugged Sharpay again. "No biggie, we're here for a while. Well Chris is going back before me but will be back I think. All the time in the world and trust me, I am so relieved to be within US borders again."
Taylor gave Gabriella a knowing look at this and tilted her head to the side as she studied the brunette. "Everything okay back in Copanvy?"
"Yes and no. I'll fill you guys in later when we're in more secure areas. Shar, are you sure it's okay for Paul, Emma, and myself to stay with you?" questioned Gabriella, taking in the sight of Sharpay's house she now owned and shared with Tessa with Tessa chipping in for utilities and food.
"Are you crazy? Of course! I can't imagine you staying here for this long without being with us every moment that's possible. That'd be such a waste of your visit and we hardly get you here," returned Sharpay. "Besides, I figured if Chris was going to be here the entire time he's here for, I'd need some company to help me block out their nightly noises."
Gabriella and Taylor giggled as Sharpay merely smirked, waving a hand to Paul and Emma, who had now stepped out of the car. Realizing that they'd need help with all of their combined luggage, the three girls passed the still making out couple to each grab a suitcase and a bag, Paul raising an eyebrow as he saw Sharpay join in carrying in the bags. "Since when?"
"I'm not a total spoiled princess now a day," returned Sharpay haughtily. "Just sometimes."
Emma laughed, watching as Paul rolled his eyes. He grabbed the suitcase Emma was going to carry in, smiling more as Emma gave him a grateful look before she made sure the car was locked and followed Taylor, Sharpay, and Gabriella into the house, leaving Tessa and Chris still locked in a scorching liplock outside.
The bags were dropped in the entryway as Sharpay began the tour of the house, starting downstairs, making sure to show Emma and Paul their room among everything else, before they went upstairs to see Sharpay's and Tessa's rooms, the entertainment room, the study, and an extra bedroom with a private bath that would be Gabriella's temporary home for the next few weeks. Gabriella silently chuckled at how much pink was in the house but noted that most of it was done tastefully with a few exceptions, not surprised that Tessa's room was a teal color, standing out quite a bit from all the other rooms in the house.
"Wow Sharpay, your house is just beautiful," murmured Gabriella, taking in the pieces of art that hung on the walls of the more formal living room.
Sharpay grinned, looking around the room herself. "Thank you. Mommy's interior designer did wonders in here. It's nice not having to be in that small apartment now. It was a good test but I so can't live in those small quarters for long. Ryan thinks it made me claustrophobic."
Taylor laughed. "That very well could be. I can't count how many times you complained that you were living in a shoebox."
"Speaking of Ryan, how is he doing?" asked Gabriella as they all sat down on the couches and chairs in the room. "How's the L.A. life?"
"Just fabulous of course. He's actually getting into directing these days," Sharpay remarked, thinking back to her last conversation with her twin last weekend.
Gabriella nodded her head, remembering a clip that Ryan had sent her a month or so ago of something he had directed himself, a short clip that he had promised would lead to a full movie if he could get it sold to get more help in funding. "Sounds like he's been busy, with directing on top of the producing he's been doing. Perhaps he will end up being the more famous Evans twin after all."
Sharpay scoffed at her best friend's teasing. "As if! I've had plenty done with my name in lights!"
"Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight," said Tessa, letting out a sarcastic laugh as she and Chris both entered the room and sat down together on a chair with Tessa sitting in Chris's lap. "I don't think the community theater counts really."
"Remind me why I let you live here?" returned Sharpay, narrowing her eyes on Tessa.
"Easy there you two. Gabriella and everyone else have just traveled a long ways to be here. The least you could do is save the blood bath for later, like tomorrow," stated Taylor, being the usual peace officer between Tessa and Sharpay whenever they looked set to go in for the kill with each other.
Tessa and Sharpay both stared at each other for a few moments longer before the tension between them instantly dissolved with their laughter, making the others in the room laugh as well. "God Pay, those are always so much fun, especially when Taylor is here."
"Are you kidding? Only when she's here otherwise we'd for sure kill each other," bantered back Sharpay, smiling at the other girl.
Paul and Chris both just shook their heads, knowing they'd never really understand those two. "Chris, want to help me move all the luggage and bags to the rooms?" asked Paul, feeling the need to leave now while he had the chance.
Chris anxiously nodded his head, kissing Tessa quickly before scooting her off his lap so he could get up and follow Paul out of the room with more speed than he had displayed in a while off the stage and dance floor.
"Well, I think you girls managed to scare both men off quite effectively," commented Emma, a clearly amused look on her face.
The younger girls all burst out in giggles, interrupted by a shriek when Tessa realized she never even properly greeted Gabriella. Tessa sprung from her seat and ran straight towards Gabriella, engulfing her in an awkward hug as Gabriella was still sitting, glad that Gabriella clearly didn't feel slighted as she returned the tight embrace. "I am so sorry. I totally was going to greet you first but seeing Chris after all this time, well…"
"Hormones kicked in. We know, I told her that already," teased Sharpay, her light brown eyes twinkling with laughter.
Seeing Tessa pull away to glare at the blonde, Gabriella shook her head and laughed a little. "Don't worry about it, I totally understand. Important thing is you greeted me now and gave me the best hug we've shared in a while."
Tessa beamed at her best friend from high school before sitting back down in the seat Chris had left her in moments before. "Who would have thought that blondie and I would be living together now all those years ago when we first met at your mansion Gaby? Seriously, recalling that day, I think I was more about Zeke in the first part but I remember everyone's apprehension about Pay finding out about you guys."
"And I still don't know why. Gabriella is too sweet to get all bitchy about, not to mention she and Troy were super cute. Speaking of, how's that going Gab?" questioned Sharpay, looking pointedly at the brunette.
Gabriella swallowed the lump that instantly formed in her throat, knowing that the moment had finally come, when Gabriella had to tell Tessa and Sharpay about the tradition of the arranged marriage, something she was still grateful Taylor had managed to keep to herself all this time. Taylor felt Gabriella's glance at her and looked over, giving Gabriella an encouraging look that seemed to solidify what Gabriella was about to respond with. Nervously, Gabriella nibbled on the corner of her lip, trying to find the right words to explain everything when she herself was still lost as to what would happen in the future. She was saved though when her cell phone went off with a ringtone she and Emma both recognized as being Troy.
"Hey Wildcat," she greeted, unknowingly beaming as she heard his voice on the other end after she fished out her cell phone and answered the call.
"Hey beautiful. How's New Mexico treating you?" asked Troy. "You settled in yet in Sharpay's new place? Is it obnoxiously pink and sparkly?"
Gabriella giggled, making sure not to look in Sharpay's direction at that moment, instead focusing on the charm bracelet on her right wrist. "Actually no. I'm sure you'll see for yourself when you come. When are you coming anyway?"
There was a pause before Troy replied, "Most likely end of next week. I may miss Chris in his return back here. Last game before holiday break is tomorrow night as you know but I've also been summoned to a few meetings, gentlemen from the council as my coach told me. Do you know anything about that?"
Paling a little, Gabriella got up from where she was sitting on the couch, ignoring the curious looks she knew were on her best friends' faces as she left the room, going into the kitchen in the opposite corner of the house. "It has to do with that last session I had with them. Remember how I told you that I told them I wanted you and no one else? And the compromise that came out in the end? They want to talk to you, to learn more about you and probably your knowledge of Copanvy. I was hoping they'd wait until after the holidays. They sure don't waste any time."
"Guess that shows how serious they are. Should I have anything to worry about? I am meeting with some guys on your birthday, their names being Miles and Peter," stated Troy, causing Gabriella to go silent for a few beats. "Brie, you still there?"
"Yeah, I'm here," chimed in Gabriella, her mind moving rather quickly as to what they would ask Troy. "Just be truthful, be your charming self, and I don't think you'll have any issues forthcoming. Might want to read up some more about Copanvy is all I can recommend."
"Thought about that already and have been doing some reading. Guess volunteering at the homeless shelter and at the elderly home has helped here, listening to the stories people tell me while I'm there and all. Guess there are reasons for all things, even when you think otherwise," remarked Troy. "So, speaking of your birthday, what do you have planed? Or should I say, what does Sharpay and Tessa have planned?"
"Nothing to my knowledge. I've requested absolutely nothing be done but have settled to a small dinner. With everything going on about the mandate to be engaged by my birthday, even though it has been lifted to be some more time from now, I just am not all that celebratory. I think I'm more looking forward to Christmas, seeing my parents here and being with our close friends," stated Gabriella, gazing out the window over the sink, watching a few birds fly around the yard.
"I'll be there too, don't forget that," he reminded her, hearing the sad tone in her voice now. "Everything is going to be okay Gabriella, honest."
An unconscious sigh escaped her lips as Gabriella leaned her elbows on the edge of the sink, caught up in just watching the birds as they flew around and played outside despite the cold. "I hope you're right Troy, I really do."
"I know I am, how's that for confidence," teased Troy, trying to get Gabriella to at least giggle, frowning when he didn't hear it. "Gabriella, are you going to be okay?"
"Yeah, I will be, don't worry," replied Gabriella, shaking herself out of the funk she had fallen into moments before. "Guess I better get back to the girls before they think I completely ditched them for you. I'm telling them everything today."
"Everything? You sure?" asked Troy, inwardly agreeing with her decision but knowing that it would be tough.
"Yeah, it's time. If you and are I are serious about trying to make us work, the truth will have to come out to our friends and I want them to hear it from me, I owe them that much after all the history we all have," said Gabriella, knowing in her heart that she was right. "I'll talk to you later, maybe on Friday?"
"Try tomorrow before the game or after. You can't get rid of me that easily Brie," joked Troy, relieved to hear a small giggle from his girlfriend. "I love you."
"I love you too," she replied, ending the call feeling a little bit better about what she was about to do. A soft clearing of the throat caused Gabriella to spin around quickly, relieved to see it was just Emma in the doorway. "How much did you hear?"
"Enough to know that I'm going to make myself scarce and find where my husband went to and is probably hiding away with Chris. Perhaps he's meeting with Curtis and the exterior team too, who knows. I want you to have privacy for this and will make sure those two don't return back into the room too early," offered Emma, smiling at the younger woman. "You have that incredible strength in you Gabriella that I know you'll do right by any decision you make, this included, no matter how difficult it may be."
"Thanks Emma," returned Gabriella, allowing the older woman who was not only her therapist and friend but also her older sister figure with Paul being her older brother to hug her.
The two women walked back towards the room where Tessa, Taylor, and Sharpay were quietly talking, Emma giving Gabriella one last encouraging look before splitting off her own way to find Paul. Neither of the three said anything as Gabriella sat back down, seeing the clear message on Gabriella's face that she had something big to say. Fidgeting a little, Gabriella took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, finally forcing herself to meet the curious gazes of Tessa and Sharpay, seeing the silent encouragement from Taylor.
"There's something you need to know, something that makes your simple question Sharpay more complicated than you would think," started Gabriella, letting her eyes focus on the space right above Tessa's head while she gathered the rest of her thoughts. "What I'm about to tell you needs to stay among us, among our best friends from high school and that's it. The guys will find out too when the time is right but this is really important, that you all know that keeping this secret could cost Troy and me our possible future if it ever got out."
"Possible future? What are you talking about?" asked Tessa, worried by the serious expression on Gabriella's face at that moment. "What could be so bad that you aren't even sure if you have a future with Troy let alone a secret that could shake up your future with him? Is it some woman? Sharpay and I can totally take her down."
"Without a doubt," agreed Sharpay, her blood boiling at the thought of some other woman causing a threat to her best friend's love life.
Gabriella shook her head, this time looking all three of them in the eyes. "No, it isn't another woman. I don't know how much news Copanvy is registering on the radars here, probably not much, but in Copanvy there have been numerous articles and pictures of me dating several men, specifically as of late Patrick, who you met, and a man named Sergio. There was also an isolated article that exclusively covered the story of a night where Troy and I had a heated argument, wondering who he was to me and what that meant for Patrick as future king. The thing is, Troy and I are very serious about each other but we can't be together in the open, not in Copanvy, not right now."
The ticking of the crystal clock resting on the grand piano echoed through the room as Tessa and Sharpay were trying to decipher what Gabriella meant while Taylor waited with her breath held for what would come next.
"Why? Why can't you be together?" asked Sharpay, puzzled by this.
"Because I am royalty and such, to keep my right to the throne, not only is my blood required but so is my cooperation in an old tradition, a law even, that dictates I must be married to a man arranged for me. In the past, the candidate was just chosen and the royal had no say in the matter if they were first in line of their siblings. My dad was allowed to marry at will because he had his brother Mario, who would have been king, but was never blessed to marry my mother despite that. That's a different story though. For me, what this means for me, is that I need to marry someone the council and my grandparents both approve of by my next birthday, having previously been required to be required before this Saturday. Luckily, they have given me one more month or so to choose," said Gabriella, becoming anxious as neither Sharpay or Tessa said anything. "I told them in our last meeting that I chose Troy and it was thrown out there that I may have inadvertently stepped down because of it."
"For choosing the love of your life? Are they out of their fucking minds?" burst out Tessa, fully enraged that someone else could be standing in the way of her best friend's happiness, just as those stupid kids at East and West combined tried to do, what Riley and Alicia had almost succeeded in doing.
Taylor shook her head, speaking up for the first time. "It's a royal tradition that their country holds to Tessa. I can see where they would want to stick to it for the sake of formality. What are you going to do now then Gabriella?"
"Wait a second, you understand that they want to keep our best friend away from the man that she loves that loves her whole heartedly back? I admit, I hated Troy Bolton's guts when I thought he had hurt Gabriella way back in high school but what he's done recently, moving there for her, breaking off his engagement, albeit that took longer than I thought, that's all proof of how much Troy is in love with Gabriella. How can you say that?" threw out Tessa as she swung her gaze at Taylor.
"I'm not saying I agree, definitely not, trust me. Just look at it from their point of view though, they have no other way of looking at things. This is a small country that is ruled half by this council and half by the royal family. Their way of thinking isn't like ours Tessa despite the elections held to elect officials for different offices, including the Copanvy Royal Advisory Council. To answer your accusation though, no, of course I don't support them. I support Gabriella and Troy who in all rights and purposes, if Gabriella hadn't been a princess by birth, would have been married far before me and Chad," stated Taylor, looking Tessa square in the eyes. "I can't even believe you'd think that of me."
Sharpay just listened to the banter, realizing that Taylor knew an awful amount about Copanvy and how things worked there, something clicking into place as she thought. "Oh my God, Taylor, you knew this already didn't you? When?"
Seeing the situation begin to escalate, all of the hostility being directed at Taylor who did nothing wrong, Gabriella stood up amidst the accusations that were still swirling around her. "Enough! Listen to me, all of you. Yes, Taylor knew but it was because she stumbled upon me and Troy kissing in a hallway in the palace and she reads me like an open book, just like any of us in the room read each other. Don't get pissed off at her for not telling you, I asked her not to. If you are going to be angry, be angry at me. I'm the one that didn't tell you out of fear that Troy would be yanked away from me earlier than I ever expected. I'm the one that didn't tell you because telling anyone made it seem too real, too final. I'm the one that held this secret in from you all because, well, I still didn't want to believe it and I didn't want you to try to figure out some scheme to make it happen because this, this is something that can't be played with like that. There's an entire country I am responsible for and I've been battling that feeling since day one when Troy came back into my life."
She looked around at her three best friends who knew her so well, despite the time that had passed since attending West and East High, wondering why they were so quiet, fearing that they were all upset at her for this, for holding so much back. 'They'd have the right to, all of them, but I can't let them just harass Taylor for doing something I asked her to. She has kept it even from her husband.'
When no one said anything but continued to sit there in the charged silence, Gabriella just shook her head, feeling as if she had failed all of them. "I'm sorry, honestly I am."
Sharpay was the first to speak, stilling Gabriella's movements to leave. "Why are you sorry? We should be the ones that are sorry. We're just fiercely protective of you, sometimes over protective and we just want what's best for you."
Taylor nodded her head in agreement. "It's been a hard secret to keep Gabriella but I understood then what was at stake, as I know Sharpay and Tessa both do. None of us could hate you for doing what you did, knowing that it would mean the downfall of you and Troy."
"What does that mean though? How could people knowing about how crazy you and Troy are about each other cause this supposed downfall?" asked Tessa, getting over her initial shock. "Are these idiots on the council so stupid not to listen to your grandparents when they tell them that Troy is the right one for you?"
Gabriella sadly shook her head, taking a seat again on the couch, feeling sympathy over the situation waft towards her from all three women. "That's the thing. They are the ones that told me that if I ever told Troy, and they found out, they would deport him to never allow Troy to come back to Copanvy. The other day, Grandmother and Grandfather were asked point blank about their feelings on Troy by the council and neither said anything, my dad had to speak up. I've talked to my grandmother recently and understand more of her reasoning, the history she has experienced, but despite that step in the right direction, getting her to listen to me for once, I don't know if I'll ever truly get their blessing in regards to Troy being my choice."
"So Troy doesn't know?" questioned Sharpay, a bit surprised that Gabriella could hold something like that back from Troy. "He doesn't know about you needing to be engaged by this Saturday? The reason why you've been seeing these other guys?"
Hesitating a little, Gabriella decided to speak the truth. "No, Troy knows but that is the utmost secret. I came clean a little while ago and trust me it was intense, I almost walked out on him, losing another opportunity with him, but he stopped me. God, the love I saw in his eyes that night… I can't imagine what I would do without it."
Tessa moved so that she was now sitting next to the woman she had met junior year in class at West High, wrapping her arm around Gabriella's shoulder, letting the other woman rest her head on her left shoulder. "Hopefully you'll never have to find out. So what are you going to do with all this? What does this mean for you and Troy? Are you really going to let them kick you out of the country for living with the choice your heart has made?"
"I have no choice if they want to, they can. Patrick said something to me the last time I saw him that has stuck in my head, how I've really come to love Copanvy as my home, especially her people. I feel like I'm being selfish, wanting Troy above all else when I know I could do so much good for the country," confessed Gabriella, feeling somewhat better being able to talk openly now among her best friends that had known her before she was Princess Gabriella to the world's eye. "But, I'm willing to risk it all to stay with Troy so long as he's willing to ride it all out with me, which I know is tough too."
"If there's one thing I know about that man, it's how crazy in love he is with you Gaby. I saw it the day Ryan, Kelsi, and I came over and he quickly hugged you so I knew he was dating you, and I've seen it more recently at Chad and Taylor's wedding, even in Copanvy when he had just gotten there and moved for you," stated Sharpay, trying to be as encouraging as she could. "With all this secrecy, am I to take it that no one else knows, like the general public?"
"Not really. Just the upper class, the advisory council, and the royal family so far as I know. In the past, the marriages were never questioned by the general public, thinking that it was all courtships seen outside of the limelight when there wasn't so much attention that sort of thing, when paparazzi weren't really in existence per se," explained Gabriella.
"Ah, the world before paparazzi. How wonderful that must have been for all those famous," remarked Tessa, thinking of not only Gabriella and her family but the royal family of England as well as all the actors and actresses that became celebrities due to the invasion of their privacy by people who got paid well for catching embarrassing pictures of them at all hours of the day. "How are you getting around with Troy now if you are hiding the fact that you are together? At least I'm guessing you are together."
Gabriella smiled at the knowledge of how well they all knew her without knowing the situation that well. "We are, have been I think a long time before we even per se had that special 'talk' together. I turned down Patrick's proposal because I knew there would never be anyone for me but Troy, hurting Patrick in the process."
"What of all those giddy feelings you had for him in the start?" asked Sharpay, curious now as to how Gabriella came to where she was today.
"They grew and I fell in love with him but it wasn't the same love I share with Troy. Maybe it's wrong to compare but I knew already some time ago that Patrick is a great friend but I can't really love him as I should, how he deserves. Over time those feelings also disappeared, leaving me feeling even worse about everything, not wanting Patrick to be forced to spend the rest of his life with someone who couldn't return those feelings," answered Gabriella, feeling Tessa squeeze her upper arm with her hand in comfort. "I know Patrick loved me, up until I broke his heart again the last time I saw him and that's why I couldn't do that to him."
"I'm sure he understands Gab, he must if he knew you at all," assured Tessa, leaning her head on the brunette's. "Well, that was all quite heavy. Anything else you want to tell us?"
"I'm pregnant?" volunteered Gabriella, watching in amusement as Sharpay and Taylor both dropped their lower jaw. "KIDDING!"
"Ugh, you are horrible!" exclaimed Sharpay, throwing a pink frilly pillow at Gabriella, missing and hitting Tessa instead, causing all four women to burst into laughter, especially as the pillows began to fly around the room, lightening the mood quite a bit.
That was exactly how Chris, Paul, and Emma found them several minutes later, the two men just smirking as Emma ran back and grabbed her camera to take a few pictures to capture the carefree moment the younger women shared, knowing it was the first time in a long time that Gabriella was acting like the old Gabriella, a woman who was carefree, was having fun, and had hope once again in her heart and soul.