Disclaimer: "Angelic Ami does not own High School Musical ... not even me!" All right, shut up, Sharpay. "But -" It's bad enough I don't own you or the Wildcats already!

A/N: Well, I'm sad to say that this is the end of the story. Thanks for all your reviews that you've sent in. If you're confused by any aspect of the story, then please don't be afraid to send me a PM. To anyone that asks, I won't be doing a sequel to the story. Please read, review and enjoy! Thanks, you guys!

Chapter Eighteen

Looking Towards The Future

Gabriella sat backstage feeling frightened. She looked towards the cameramen, who were shooting for their newest show on MTV called Newly Famous. After all, she was now a famous singer, who had just hit the big time and signed on to a record label to release an album. This had been her dream ever since she had sung with Troy for the very first time. But of course, five years had passed since Maxwell’s death and not much had changed with her.

Where’s Troy? I hope he won’t be late on the most important night of my life, she thought, then glancing around to only catch her mom. “Mom! Where’ve you been?” She then heard in her earpiece that she was on in five minutes. “Oh my god! Mom, I’m on in five minutes! Have you seen Troy anywhere?” Gabriella paced around looking like she was going to panic even more and then explode in front of everyone.

“Gabby, you need to calm down and stop pacing around!” scolded Maria, as she took her twenty-two year old daughter and sat her down. “First of all, the paparazzi were asking me questions about you and they wouldn’t let me get in without at least one answer. So I just said no comment.” And Gabriella rolled her eyes. “That was their expression, anyway. There’s no need to get so scared, sweetie, Troy will be here.”

“So you haven’t seen him anywhere?”

“No, I’m sorry, honey.”

This only made her even more nervous. She wanted to get back to her feet again, but Maria forced her down. What made Gabriella feel relaxed a little was the arrival of her friends. Chad, Taylor, Sharpay, Zeke, Ryan, Jason and Kelsi were all wearing smiles on their faces and it wasn’t due to the fact that they were wearing special VIP backstage passes either – their close beloved friend was about to make her debut to the whole world. She could easily remember what had happened the next day following Maxwell’s funeral.

“You could’ve stayed off school for another day if they knew you were THAT upset,” said Troy, as he hugged Gabriella close to his heart. “Everything’s going to be all right now, though. The gang and I always here if you want to talk to us, Brie. You understand, right?”

“Yeah, of course I understand,” smiled Gabriella and nodded, ignoring the tears that were trickling down her cheeks.

No one was staring at her considering they knew what was going on, but some could never understand the pain that she felt. After they slammed their lockers shut, familiar faces met them. Chad, Taylor, Sharpay, Zeke, Ryan, Jason and Kelsi stood there with sympathetic expressions upon their faces. Before anyone could say anything, Gabriella burst out laughing much to Troy’s surprise.

“What’s so funny?” asked Chad. “I hope I didn’t leave ketchup on my cheek again.”

“But then I’d lick it off for you,” whispered Taylor, but the others heard her and just rolled their eyes.

“I was laughing because the looks you were all giving me … reminded me of the puppy dog face,” chuckled Gabriella, as she smiled at Troy, who was nodding his head and still felt confused by it all. “So … why don’t we just be happy? I can’t be upset all the time, right? I need at least some happiness in my life.”

“You should’ve stayed at home with your mom if you knew that –” began Kelsi.

“Kels, already tried that approach,” cut in Troy, although it was politely.

“If I lost someone, then I’d be devastated and demand everything to be pink until I can get back to normal,” said Sharpay, but then everyone burst out laughing. “What? I do not have an obsession for pink, it’s an accessory colour.”

And then a tall girl with long blonde hair, blue eyes and a fit figure came up to Ryan. “Hey, Ry,” she said. Sharpay felt annoyed putting her hands on her hips. She had invented his nickname and felt insulted because she saw that this anonymous girl was actually calling him by his nickname! “Are you going to be in the auditorium later?”

“Sure thing, Alyssa,” nodded Ryan. “I’ll catch you later!”

“What was THAT?” asked Sharpay, looking annoyed.

“It was just Alyssa, that’s all!” he protested, raising his hands up in innocence. “She and I have been … hanging out lately. She’s a cool girl, Shar, and you got to see her dancing. She’s got some good moves!”

Zeke patted Gabriella on the shoulder. “We’re here if you need us, ok?” he said.

“Sure thing,” smiled Gabriella. “Look, guys. Thanks for everything. I don’t know what I’d do if –”

“We’re Wildcats,” said Troy. “We’re all in this together. So you’re not alone.”

Gabriella smiled at Troy. She could always count on her boyfriend to make things right with his words and actions. Maybe this was one of the few things that made her fall in love with him in the first place. She didn’t know. But right now, she could care less. She had the best friends in the world with her and a caring boyfriend.

“Hey, Gabs,” smiled Chad, kissing her on the cheek. Over the past few years, the pair had become like brother and sister. Whenever Gabriella needed to talk to him about guy stuff relating to Troy, he was her guy to turn to. “I see that your mom had to step in and make sure that you don’t collapse.”

“I’ll collapse if Troy doesn’t get here soon!” yelled Gabriella, but only the gang and her mom heard her since there was so much rushing about backstage. The support act was due to finish any minute now and her husband wasn’t here! She grabbed the scuff of Chad’s neck. “You better find him and bring him here or else I’m going to get nasty!”

But then Sharpay pulled Gabriella off Chad. As Taylor just sniggered at what had happened and teased Chad for it, Sharpay turned to face Gabriella. “Well, this is a side of Gabriella Montez I was really hoping that wouldn’t come out one day,” she said, grinning and Gabriella just rolled her eyes and gave her an evil look. “C’mon, I’m kidding. How long have we known you for, Gabriella? Apart from your mom here, we’ve known you for just over six years. You need to relax and you know Troy as well! He always gets to your gigs on time …”

“Well, this is the first actual BIG one!” emphasised Taylor, as she hugged Gabriella. “We are all so proud of what you’ve accomplished so far, Gabby. And this is only just the beginning! There are so many things to come, Gabriella. Your first album is just so incredible! I absolutely L-O-V-E it!”

Ryan rolled his eyes at Taylor spelling the word love.

“And I thought Shar was bad,” he grinned.

Jason and Kelsi, on the other hand, were being quiet. Zeke wrapped his arms around Sharpay and then showed Gabriella the engagement ring on her finger. Gabriella seemed to have forgotten Troy for a moment and squealed like she never had done before.

“Oh my gosh! You two are getting married? Since when?” she gasped.

“Since last week,” Zeke spoke up and held Sharpay close to his chest. “It was just too perfect. Troy doesn’t know yet before you ask.” Gabriella sighed at the sound of her husband’s name and Zeke lifted her chin. “Gabriella, what’s up? Are you upset because Troy’s running as late as usual?”

“No, I have something really important to tell him,” she sighed, looking down at the floor.

Even Maria was intrigued as to why Gabriella wasn’t talking much or letting anybody in. Jason was the next to speak up. “Troy’s not here because he was running late from the last game, coach kept him behind for a few minutes,” he said without meaning to.

“JASON!” everyone stared at him.

“What? I remembered,” Jason shrugged his shoulders hopefully.

“Anyway, Gabriella, you need to get ready for the big show now,” said Kelsi, as she handed her a small sheet of paper. “Remember the order of songs that I tell you. Come Back To Me, Let Go, Say OK, Never Underestimate A Girl, Let’s Dance, Drive, Afraid, Promise, Whatever Will Be, Rather Be With You, Psychic and Lose Your Love … now you need to get ready!”

“That’s too much to remember!” panicked Gabriella, breathing too heavily. “What am I going to do? Troy’s the only one who can calm me down!” She tried to shake off the nerves that she was currently feeling. Ok, Gabriella, just try to relax. Troy will be here, Troy’s going to be watching me sing live for the very first time just like the rest of the world. You got to get yourself ready for the biggest night of your life! She watched Sharpay walk towards her.

“Remember those vocal exercises?” she asked. “Brrr, brrr, brrr, brrr, brrr … MA!”

Gabriella felt backed into a corner when she did that.

“Ok, now I know how you felt that summer,” she laughed nervously, nodding.

And then it seemed that all her prayers were answered in one moment. Troy burst backstage as if he’d been sprinting for several minutes and then groaned when Gabriella literally jumped into his arms. “Whoa, I guess that my beautiful, hot and sexy wife just so happened to miss her incredible hotter husband.”

She smacked him on the shoulder. “You were nearly late! How dare you be nearly late for my very first live concert!” she screamed ballistic at him. She calmed down eventually after a few kisses and cuddles. “Troy, I can’t believe you made it, though. I am really relieved that you actually got here.” But then she froze and slid back down to the floor. “But I gotta go now. The concert starts in ten seconds! How do I look?”

“It doesn’t matter how you look, darling,” smiled Maria. “Just go out there and –”

“Do your best,” cut in Troy. Maria looked annoyed, but allowed him to continue with an approved look on her face. “We’re right behind you to pick up the pieces. I know that this has been your dream for a long time, Gabs, and remember that we’re Wildcats until the end.” He gathered everyone around in a circle. “We’re all in this together.”

Gabriella looked like she was going to cry because the girls already had done so, but Troy shook his head quickly.

“No, no!” he said. “Don’t ruin your makeup now! You need to get out there and show us how well you can do!” He kissed her full on the lips and then broke off moments later when the others were either giggling or rolling their eyes. “Let’s hear that beautiful voice you’ve been saving.” He gave her his usual wink.

Gabriella felt nervous, but knew that with the Wildcats behind her, she’d do fine. “And now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for! She’s a pop sensation with seven number one hits and more success to come with six nominations for the Teen Choice Awards! Give it up for … GABRIELLA MONTEZ!”

As Gabriella went to the stage to receive a massive welcome from the audience, Maria tapped Troy on the shoulder. “Troy, Gabriella didn’t scream at you because you were late,” she admitted. “There was something that she wanted to tell you.”

“I wonder what it was?” he wondered out loud, but then smiled when he saw Gabriella starting to sing Come Back To Me. “Well, we can always leave it until the end of the concert. Man, she is so beautiful.”

“So fortunate enough to have such a great famous basketball player that so happens to play for the Lakers is what I say,” smiled Ryan. “Besides, Alyssa is dancing out there. God, she looks so hot out there. I’d love to go on and join, but I’d probably get mistaken for a Baby G obsessed fan.”

“Is that what they call her nowadays?” asked Kelsi. “Baby G … well, she still has that innocent look about her.”

“Phew! You must be so exhausted!” said Troy, as he and Gabriella arrived back home at their secluded home in L.A. “I guess singing really does takes its toll out on you, huh? I wouldn’t know because I pursued my first dream. But hey, who knows? Maybe the Player of the Year might want to get into singing again.”

“It’s been years since you even looked at any lyrics,” Gabriella rolled her eyes, as she fell back on to the sofa softly. “I am so tired lately. I would want to go to bed with my hot husband, but there’s something really important that I need to tell you and you just had to be the first to know.”

“Lemme guess, Zeke got himself injured again? He didn’t play a game tonight, I swear that he is so gonna –”

“No, no! It’s much more serious than that. And speaking of Zeke, he finally popped the question to Sharpay last week. They were going to tell you tonight, but they must have forgotten all about it and besides, they had to get home as soon as they could because Sharpay’s got an early start in the morning – rehearsals.”

“Ohhh,” nodded Troy, but then his eyes widened. “Wait, Zeke finally popped the question? I can’t believe he finally did it! He was worrying about it for months, but I guess he’d do it sooner rather than later.” He received an annoyed look from Gabriella, but ignored this. “You couldn’t know, neither could Taylor, Sharpay or Kelsi.” A few moments of silence occurred until he broke it. “Say, what do you want to talk about after all that, huh?”

Gabriella just sighed sadly and then took Troy’s hands interlinking them with her own. “It’s Maxwell’s fifth anniversary tomorrow,” she said. Another few moments of silence erupted. “Mom has something planned, though I don’t know what it is. Do you know?” Troy shook his head. “Ok, so maybe that’s done with then –”

“Gabs, don’t avoid the topic of Maxwell every now and again,” he said, taking her hand and kissing it. “I know that you feel the pain nearly all the time because he was your father figure and closest thing to a father because your own left when you were too little to understand it.”

“I can’t help it, Troy,” said Gabriella, as a tear streamed down her face. “I miss him so much and God took him away at a time when we were maturing. The day that Maxwell died was the day that I decided that life was too short for me to hang around and wonder what’s gonna happen to me in so many years’ time.”

“And look what it’s done.” Troy smiled. “It’s made you the person that you are today and you haven’t changed one bit for the world. You’ve become a lot stronger and independent. I’m just so happy for you, Gabriella.” His cell started to ring. “Hold on, I gotta take this call. Sorry!”

As Troy went out into the other room, Gabriella rose to her feet to see a familiar face standing there in the mirror. Nikki wasn’t giving her vacant expression this time, but a smile crept upon her face.

“So this is how it’s turned out to be,” she grinned.

“Well, I learned a lot from that day,” nodded Gabriella.

“What now, huh? You haven’t seen me for years and I feel your anger.”

“I thought that I had accepted it … I guess that I really need to lay into him.”

“Pu-lease do lay into that basketball player! It’s time that you told him the truth.”

Gabriella sighed sadly. “I guess I won’t be talking to my mind anymore, huh?” she smiled, as she then noticed that Nikki’s figure in the mirror was beginning to fade away slowly, but surely. “Looks like I know who I was in the end.” She looked to see Troy was finishing his call. “Nikki, goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Gabriella,” smirked Nikki, crossing her arms. “Just try not to get too overemotional and get into Bolton’s head before it’s too late. Get the truth out, he can handle it – he’s a man!”

As Nikki finally faded away, Troy looked suspiciously at Gabriella and hugged her around the waist. “Hey, what are you doing here?” he asked. “You haven’t looked into the mirror for a really long time.”

“That’s only because I see myself,” chuckled Gabriella.

“Wait, you mean that –”

“Yeah, Troy. I found myself in me, Nikki won’t be coming back at all, I suppose.” They went to sit down, but then Gabriella decided that it was best to let the truth fly now. This was a make or break moment. “Troy, that thing that I wanted to talk to you about … firstly, let’s just say that I’m going to be taking a break after my concerts.” Troy looked confused, but allowed her to continue. “Everyone’s been getting on with their lives and so have we. It’s just that, um …” She grabbed his hand and laughed loudly. Then she placed his hand on her stomach. “You’ll be welcoming a new member of the family in six months time.” Troy’s mouth literally dropped. “I guess that you don’t need me to fully explain that then? You know what’s happening then?”

“Gabriella … you’re pregnant?” whispered Troy.

“That’s right, Troy,” she nodded, wanting to cry at that moment. She had been keeping this secret for a long time and boy; it had been difficult, all right. “I’m three months gone already.”

“Three months … wow, Gabs, I didn’t know at all, but –”

“I’ll be fine, Troy. This is our baby that we’re going to bring into the loving world.”

“But you’re sure that you want to go through this, Brie? I’m all for being a father for the first time. I get this feeling that maybe you feel pressurised into doing it. There’s plenty of time in a few years for this. But are you definitely sure you’re ready for motherhood?”

“Well, you said that you’re ready for fatherhood, so I could actually say that I’m ready for motherhood then,” nodded Gabriella, confirming this. And Troy picked her up into his arms with such strength that she started to giggle. “If you do this every time I’m pregnant, I think that we’ll have a big family now that I come to think about this. I like this!”

“Mrs Bolton, you have just made me the most happiest guy on the planet,” he smiled.

“I love you, Troy,” whispered Gabriella.

Troy chuckled a little. “And I love you too, Gabriella.”

And so the love struck couple went to the bedroom to get ready to go to sleep. Through all the hard times, they overcame everything. Despite Maxwell’s sudden death, they would feel the pain. They would know that he wasn’t going to be there. He hadn’t been there for the wedding, but Gabriella knew that he was actually there in spirit. So much had happened in the past five years that nothing much had changed, unless you counted the fact that Maria did actually meet that guy Lucille knew who had been single around the time of Maxwell’s funeral.

Troy held Gabriella close in his arms kissing her neck and her stomach, as they both began to fall asleep. They felt warm and Gabriella loved it. Troy was actually feeling excited at the fact that he was going to be a father so much that Gabriella could feel his heart beating faster with each beat. She laughed a little, as she felt it and then she rested her head on his chest. Here were two young celebrities determined not to let one death get them down. One unfortunate yet amusing incident had triggered all of this: the experiment that had caused Gabriella to turn invisible. Who would have thought that something so small would create something so big?