Disclaimer: Yes, this is for the last time in the story. I don't own HSM! WOOT!

A/N: Yes, the final chapter! Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed this story! Now for the last time, read, review and ENJOY! Please let me hit the two hundred review mark! PLEASE! It'd mean a lot to me!

Chapter Twenty Seven

True Love Never Dies

Troy and Gabriella seemed to have the most attention in the ballroom, but neither of them cared about that right now. They had each other and that was all that counted right now for them. As Troy had one hand holding one of her hands and the other holding her waist, Gabriella had her head rested against his chest with one hand holding his and the other on his shoulder. There couldn’t have been a sweeter moment than now.

And at their table, the rest of them were having a good time. For once, Chad and Taylor weren’t arguing over pointless issues, Sharpay wasn’t having one of her Ice Queen tantrums, Zeke wasn’t talking about his new recipes, Ryan wasn’t keeping quiet whilst having Shauna wrapped around his arms and Kelsi was opening up to Jason a lot more. The past few months had changed them all. But for better or for worse?

“You know what?” said Chad. “I think it’s time that our favourite couple get their chance to relax and realise just how much they love each other.”

“Are we going to do this or what then?” said Taylor, raising her eyebrow at him.

“Troy and Gabriella deserve it after what they’ve been through,” pointed out Jason.

“Of course we’re going to do it,” giggled Kelsi, as Jason started tickling her neck.

“We have to let them have their moment,” nodded Ryan, as he received a kiss from Shauna. “Thanks, Shauna. You really know how to make a guy feel special, don’t you?”

“I’d normally tell you to back off, but because this is the prom, I won’t,” sighed Sharpay sadly, and then rested her head on Zeke’s chest. “And hey, I got you to be worrying about. You can tell me about what you’re cooking up for me tomorrow.”

“I will gladly do so, my Ice Queen,” smiled Zeke, as he kissed her forehead.

“So are we all set then?” said Shauna, who sat up on her seat. “I guess this is it then.”

Meanwhile, at the dance floor, Troy and Gabriella were really relaxing. They had put behind their troubles and felt happy at last. But that was when Gabriella remembered something. He would tell her what was going on with Jake and Fran if she had come! Now he had something to explain to her!

“Troy?” she said, looking up at him.

“Uh yeah?” he replied.

“I got your message by the way.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, and I think you owe me an explanation.”

“About what again?”

“Jake and Fran. What’s been going on?”

“Oh yeah, I promised I’d tell you, right?” smiled Troy, and then watched as she rested her head again on his chest. He felt a little nervous by that, but tried not to show his nerves. “My uncle’s been sentenced recently. He’s been told that because of the special circumstances, he’s gone to the war in Iraq. I never did tell you that he did military training in the summer he left high school, did I?”

“No, but … Jake’s going to Iraq? Are you sure he’s not going to get killed?” she said, looking a little horrified.

“He’s a strong man and to answer another question of yours that you’re probably wondering, Uncle Jake is the one to tell me to follow my heart,” he said, and glanced down at her. “And so I did.”

“I never thought that he was like that. But I never thought of him as bad either.”

“I thought of him as bad, all right. I knew he killed your father, well, I didn’t know it was your father at the time. He killed a man and I thought badly of him. But when he wanted to kill himself, I did realise something. Family or not, I still cared about him. You see, Gabby …” He looked at her face. “He isn’t really my uncle. Jake was adopted into the family when he was only days old.”

“That’s awful! Did you only just find out?”

“He told me two months ago at the cliff. Then he told my dad when he went to see him. Jake said that he only got told not ago either. He said that when he was just days old, he had to be taken into care because his real father murdered his mother. I know it’s wrong, but Jake was born because … his father raped his mother. In the end, his father committed suicide, yet the cops knew it was him who killed his mother. Jake was taken into our family and looked after. When the truth hit him when he was in middle school, that was when he started going under …”

“I know it’s rude and all, but can we not talk about this right now? As much as I feel sorry for Jake, I really wanted to see you. I wanted to talk to you, but I kept being urged to focus on my studies. They were really important to me. I want this night to be about us and maybe …” She touched his face with her hand. “… Maybe it could turn into something more.”

Sharpay sighed. “That’s it,” she said, rising to her feet. “They are doing too much talking! We got to hitch them together! It’s a make or break moment here, people! The song has to come!”

“All right already!” moaned Chad, also rising to his feet. He nodded at the DJ.

The DJ nodded back and then spoke in the microphone. “Hey, folks, hope you’re enjoying your end of year prom. Now we’ve had all the funky music, but now it’s time to slow things down a bit. This song is for all you couples, so get down to the dance floor right now! This song is a dedication to two people and this is specifically a request. Yes, a pre-prom request! Oh boy, who does that, eh? This request is for a lucky guy named Troy Bolton and a gorgeous girl named Gabriella Montez.”

Everyone was now staring at them. Troy and Gabriella were staring at each other in confusion. They knew where to look at now. They looked towards the table where Chad, Taylor, Sharpay, Zeke, Ryan, Shauna, Kelsi and Jason were sat at. All eight of them waved to the lucky couple. It was obvious that it had all been planned. Darbus was there grinning as she was wearing a nice frock. Coach Bolton was smiling brightly. Now it was obvious that everyone wanted this to happen.

“A song for us, huh?” smiled Troy, as he took her hand.

“So what now?” asked Gabriella.

“Ah, you know. Let’s just play along with it. It’s what they want, right?”

“Ok then, but let’s have fun, all right?”

As the pair of them danced, the song came on and they recognised it instantly as one of the most beautiful and well-written love songs that they had ever heard.

Everybody’s got something they had to leave behind
One regret from yesterday that just seems to grow with time
There’s no use looking back or wondering
How it could be now or might have been
Oh, this I know, but still I can’t find ways to let you go

“Gabriella, you know that I love you, right?” said Troy, as he held her closer to him, so that their faces were only inches away from each other. “You know that you were the one that kept me going when there were difficult times.”

“But of course I knew,” smiled Gabriella brightly. “You were the same. I loved you, especially since we sang together for the first time. There was something about you that made you different to any other boy that I met. I didn’t know much about you, but there were sparks flying when we sang that song.”

Noticing that their plan was actually working, Chad, Taylor, Sharpay, Zeke, Ryan, Shauna, Kelsi and Jason took their places on the dance floor alongside the favourite couple. Everyone else was now coming to the dance floor, especially since they felt it would be one of the last songs to play in the prom.

I’ve never had a dream come true
Till the day that I found you
Even though I pretend that I’ve moved on
You’ll always be my baby
I never found the words to say
You’re the one I think about each day
And I know no matter where life takes me to
A part of me will always be with you

“Listen to the lyrics,” whispered Gabriella, as they continued to dance. “Do you hear them, Troy? Do you understand the words?”

“This is … magical,” said Troy in awe. “I never thought that they’d put on a song like this. It’s unbelievable. I can hear the words and understand them, Gabriella. It’s a beautiful song.”

Somewhere in my memory
I’ve lost all sense of time
And tomorrow can never be ‘cause yesterday is all that fills my mind
There’s no use looking back or wondering
How it should be now or might have been
Oh, this I know, but still I can’t find ways to let you go

“It’s true, you know?” said Gabriella, not really paying attention to everyone else dancing like Troy was doing. Once she had said that, his full attention was on her. “I want to let you go and move on because I felt like we couldn’t be together.” She looked up at his face directly and placed her hand on his cheek. “I can’t let you go, I know that now.”

“And it’s the same here,” he said, smiling when her hand was placed upon his cheek. It felt so warm and comforting. “Ok, maybe I didn’t want to let go, but still I’m not letting you go. I could never find a way to let you go. This is a beautiful moment, Gabby, and I want to cherish it forever.”

Chad smiled at the couple. Taylor slapped his hand and he looked down at her.

“What?” he whispered.

“Your full attention should be on me,” she said quickly. “Now carry on and let’s treasure this moment.”

“Why treasure it?” asked Chad, looking confused.

“Because moments like these don’t come very often,” said Taylor. “But, Chad, do you really love me? Am I worth your attention? I mean … we’ve broken through the barriers. You’re a basketball player. I’m a nerd. You sure this is right?”

“This is right,” he said, smiling and kissing her on the cheek. “It feels so right to me.”

I’ve never had a dream come true
Till the day that I found you
Even though I pretend that I’ve moved on
You’ll always be my baby
I never found the words to say
You’re the one I think about each day
And I know no matter where life takes me to
A part of me will always be

It felt like it was meant to be. Or at least to all the couples that were dancing right now. As Troy and Gabriella had each other, Chad and Taylor had each other as well. Those two couples knew it was meant to be. Did the others think the same as well? Through all of the struggles and pain, it had all come down to this.

“You won’t have to worry about Ryan so much anymore,” smiled Zeke, as he danced with Sharpay. “May I also add that you look so hot tonight? I’ve never seen you any hotter than you are already. Not that you’re not hot, anyway!”

“Zeke, it’s all right,” smiled Sharpay. “And you look so handsome. I’m finally falling for you. And I love it.”

“Everyone’s happy,” commented Ryan.

“But are you?” asked Shauna. “And to answer your question, I know that I am.”

“I’m happy. I finally found the one for me.”

“Gosh, I’m so nervous,” gulped Kelsi.

“Don’t be so nervous, I’m here,” smiled Jason comfortingly.

You’ll always be the dream that fills my head
Yes you will, say you will, you know you will
Oh baby, you’ll always be the one I know I’ll never forget
There’s no use looking back or wondering
Because love is a strange and funny thing
Oh, this I know, but still I can’t find ways to let you go
No, no, no, no

Now everyone was making out. Chad and Taylor had their lips locked, Sharpay and Zeke were unbreakable, Ryan and Shauna were really getting into the swing of things and Kelsi and Jason were kissing each other passionately. Gabriella coughed a little when she saw this happening. Troy was nervous, too, but nonetheless, cleared his throat.

“We’re meant to be, right?” he asked.

“I guess this is what it’s all about then?” she said, shrugging her shoulders.

“This is our night,” said Troy, realising something. “I had something planned for you, but … this is the night. Our friends gave it back to us. It’s our night at last. The night that I’ve been waiting for.”

“The night that’s ours,” added Gabriella, nodding. “I remember what you said now.”

And so the two of them gave into the wild passion and began to make out …

I’ve never had a dream come true
Till the day that I found you
Even though I pretend that I’ve moved on
You’ll always be my baby
I never found the words to say (words to say)
You’re the one I think about each day
And I know no matter where life takes me to
A part of me will always be
A part of me will always be with you

The song ended and everyone was cheering for the song. Troy and Gabriella eventually broke off. They were the last ones to do so and they were smiling at each other. It was true. No matter where life would take them, they would always be a part of each other. There was no denying that.

As the pair of them walked out of the ballroom and into the cafeteria, they gazed into each other’s eyes.

“Promise me you’ll always be there for me, Troy,” said Gabriella.

Troy grabbed Gabriella by the hand and smiled, nodding. “I promise I will,” he said.

“Hey! Troy!” shouted Chad, as the others were behind him. “Get back in here, will you?”

“Coming, Chad,” smiled Troy. Once they went back to the ballroom, he turned to face Gabriella. “You coming?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” smiled Gabriella.

The pair of them hurried to the ballroom – and they had the best time of their lives. It was definitely a night to never forget.

A/N: Well, I guess that's the end of the story. Thanks to the many readers that tuned in to read and watch the gripping story. Unfortunately, I've decided after much deliberation now, that there isn't going to be a sequel. I'd love to leave the story where it is now. But thank you to everyone who read this story throughout. I'd love to post up a list of reviewers, but there are just too many to count. Again, thanks for reading and I hope you read some of my upcoming stuff!