8:36am Saturday 4th December 2010 – Albuquerque Bolton Residence

Lucille Bolton opened the door and gasped. "Gabi! Oh, it's so good to see you," she squealed, pulling her son's girlfriend in for a hug.

"Hi Lucille! It's good to see you too." nineteen year old Gabriella Montez hugged her boyfriend's mother just as tight.

"You look great." she pulled back to admire how Gabriella has grown up in the past year, only to pull her back into the bone crushing hug.

"You look great yourself," Gabriella giggled.

"What? No, 'Troy! It's good to see my only son- scratch that-my only child! I missed you so much!'" came a voice behind the two.

Pulling back, Lucille finally noticed her son standing next to his girlfriend. "Troy! Oh, my baby boy! Look at you! C'mere!" Lucille pulled her nineteen year old son into her warm embrace.

"I missed you mama," Troy murmured, placing a kiss on her cheek.

After Lucille let Troy go, they got their luggage and placed them near the front door and gathered in the kitchen.

"So where's Jack?" Gabriella asked from her place on the counter top.

"East High," she rolled her eyes.

Gabriella frowned. "But it's winter break… and Saturday?"

"Yeah, that's dad for ya. He's probably working on some plays for the team." Troy shook his head on the stool next to Gabriella.

"So how were your finals?" Lucille decided to change the subject, resuming her cooking for lunch.

"Urgh, don't remind me." Troy dropped his head onto Gabriella's thigh and she played with his hair.

"It was alright…" Gabriella giggled at Troy. "So how's everyone here?"

Lucille laughed. "Just a few weeks ago, Chad came 'round, pleading me to hide him from Sharpay."

"Really? What did he do this time?" Gabriella laughed.

"I'm not quite sure, something about smoothies and outfit…" Lucille mused.

"So what happened?" she asked, stifling a yawn.

"Let's just say, Chad might not be able to have children in the future…"

Gabriella burst out laughing, and not too soon, Lucille joined in.

"So Troy, I heard you won the game you were playing against UCLA," Lucille turned to her son and frowned when she didn't get a response.

"Troy?" Gabriella gently shook Troy, only to hear a light snore as an answer. "Err… he's asleep…" Gabriella whispered.

Lucille laughed quietly. "Why don't you wake him and you two can have a rest? I'll call you up when lunch is ready."

Nodding, Gabriella gently woke Troy up and together, they stumbled up to Troy's room with their luggage and fell asleep in no time, cuddled up in Troy's warm bed.

Near the end of senior year, the feud between Sharpay Evans and Gabriella Montez finally came to an end. During the last two years, despite the distance, the two have become best friends and to this day, love each other like sisters. Yes, even when Sharpay summons her inner Ice Queen.

"Danforth! Get back here right now!" Sharpay screeched, chasing Chad Danforth around the waiting area. "Be a man, Danforth! Say it to my face and see what happens!"

"Do you think we should help him?" Gabriella asked from her seat next to Troy.

"Nah, he brought it on himself."

"But he's your best friend!"

"How do you think Shar can run in those heels?"

"Urgh, fine, don't help." Getting up from her spot, Gabriella waited until Chad ran past her to grab a red face Sharpay. "Calm down, Shar!" you could practically see steam coming from her ears.

"But-"

"No buts! We wouldn't want Zeke's first time visiting you to start off you chasing Chad, now would we?"

"Okay… calming…" Sharpay breathed in and out deeply. After Gabriella and Sharpay became friends, Zeke finally worked up the courage to ask her out and have been maintaining strong with the help of phone calls, texting, webcam conversations, etc. After all, distance makes the heart grow fonder.

"There we go!" Gabriella smiled. "Now let's all sit and wait patiently for Zeke."

They all took a seat and started talking amongst themselves. Soon after, Chad and Sharpay were at it again. They were arguing about who was better for Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie for Chad and Jennifer Aniston for Sharpay.

Sighing, Gabriella felt Troy give a comforting kiss on her temple and looked around the airport. Her whole face lit up when she finally spotted a distraction to end the silly argument. "Look! There's Zeke!"

Sharpay looked to the direction to where Gabriella was pointing and squealed loudly, completely ignoring Chad.

They all watched happily as the couple reunited before joining themselves in greeting Zeke.

Walking along the trail that outlined the perimeter of the park, Troy and Gabriella walked hand in hand, talking and enjoying each other's company.

"I can't believe how much everyone has changed, yet they're still the same," Gabriella commented, moving closer to Troy to keep warm.

"I know," Troy chuckled. "I heard from Chad that Taylor would be coming down Thursday 23rd, are you excited?"

"So excited! I haven't seen her since last spring break!"

Troy smiled at the bright grin that graced Gabriella's features. She was so beautiful, with her cheeks flushed from the cold, her eyes light and sparkly from excitement. He loved her so much. As the days past on, he grew more nervous because he planned for a very special night this Christmas. He knew they were ready to take the next step of their relationship, but was just waiting for the right moment.

"What?" Gabriella questioned.

"Huh?" Troy snapped out of it at the sound of his girlfriend's voice.

"You were staring at me…"

"Oh… urh… I was just thinking about stuff…" he replied nervously.

They came across a bench and sat down, Gabriella cuddling into his side.

"What kinda stuff?" these were the times that Troy found hard to keep a secret because Gabriella had such a curious nature.

"Just how much I love you." It wasn't a lie; it just wasn't the whole truth.

"Really?" she asked unconvinced.

"Yeah. You're just so beautiful, I can't believe that you love me back…" he admitted.

Gabriella smiled softly and was glad that her cheeks were already flushed or otherwise he could see her light blush. "I love you too. You're just so perfect and amazing that sometimes I can't believe that you're still with me…a Freaky Math Girl."

"Hey, you're my Freaky Math Girl."

Giggling, Gabriella kissed his jaw. "Well, you're my Freaky Call-Back Boy," she said cheekily.

Laughing, Troy poked Gabriella's sides, loving the sound of her squeal and laugh at the same time.

After Gabriella managed to get out of Troy's grasp, she shot up and ran for the playground where a few kids were playing, but before she reached it, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist and spin her around, both laughing the whole time.

Losing his stance, Troy fell to the grass clad ground, bringing Gabriella with him.

"Oft!" Gabriella landed on the ground with Troy landing on top of her, but he quickly lifted most of his weight off as not to squish her.

Caressing her arms, Troy looked into her chocolate brown eyes that held the door to her soul, feeling warmth inside of him, contradictory to the cold weather.

"I love you," he murmured out.

"I love you too." Leaning down, Troy captured Gabriella in a soft and gentle, yet passionate and adoring kiss.

Pulling back, they stared at each other lovingly when Gabriella suddenly gasped.

Panicking, Troy looked at Gabriella. "What?"

"It's snowing!" she squealed, getting up from under Troy. Laughing, Troy looked up and smiled before chasing after her.

Stirring in her sleep, Gabriella slowly awakened to the feel of kisses down her neck. Running her hand through Troy's hair, she moaned softly as he hit her sweet spot.

Trailing kisses up her neck and towards her mouth, Troy pulled back just as he was about to kiss her lips, emitting a protesting noise from Gabriella. "Merry Christmas, baby," he murmured, slightly touching her lips.

Gabriella's eyes shot open and a smile broke out on her face. "Merry Christmas, Troy!" she whispered excitedly. Pushing Troy off her, she was about to run down the stairs to greet his parents a merry Christmas and help Lucille finish off some of the food for the Christmas party the Evans were hosting, when Troy pulled her back on the bed and placed himself back on top of her.

"Whoa, where do you think you're going?" he asked rhetorically.

"Downstairs?" she asked cutely.

"No you're not."

"I'm not?"

"Nope. Its Christmas morning and I want to spend it making out before I have to share you for the rest of the day."

Rolling her eyes, Gabriella looked at Troy incredulously. "Are you serious?"

"As meat loaf."

Looking at Troy with a 'what-the-hell' look, Gabriella burst out laughing at the statement that her boyfriend said.

Pouting, Troy pretended to sulk. "Are you done yet?" he questioned as he watched as she tried to stifle her giggles.

Pulling Troy closer to her, she placed a kiss on his awaiting lips. Troy immediately deepened the kiss, rubbing his right hand on her thigh. Troy slipped his hands up his Wildcats basketball shirt that she was wearing, pushing the material up as his hands found her chest.

Gabriella pulled away from the kiss, only to have Troy attack her neck instead. "Troy…" it was supposed to be a warning, but came out as a moan. Forcing her eyes open, Gabriella pushed Troy's hands out of her shirt. "Troy, your parents are downstairs!" she giggled.

"So be quiet!" he teased against her neck.

"Troy!"

"Hi Ryan!" the Boltons and Gabriella chorused.

"Hey guys! Come on in! They're all in the living room!" he opened the door wider and ushered them into the living room where the 'Wildcat gang' and their parents were mingling.

Looking around with an ecstatic smile on her face, Gabriella spotted something- or rather someone. "Mami! You're here! I though you weren't coming?"

Maria Montez turned around at the sound of her daughter's voice and grinned. "Surprise!"

Letting go of Troy's hand, she ran full speed ahead and nearly tackled her mother, hugging her senselessly. "Merry Christmas, mummy!" Gabriella mumbled into her mother's shoulder.

"Merry Christmas, mija!"

After Gabriella and Maria pulled out of the hug, Gabriella and Troy went around, talking and laughing with their best friends, Chad, Sharpay, Ryan, Taylor, Kelsi, Jason, Zeke and Martha.

As the clock struck eight, the group all gathered in the dining room, ready to eat their delicious Christmas meal. Throughout the dinner, the group reminisced, discussed, laughed and overall enjoyed each other's company after a long and stressful year.

Once they finished their dinner and had desert, they assembled back into the living room for presents. Chad decided to play Santa and took place in front of the tree.

"Okay, this one is to Kelsi, from Taylor." Chad handed the nicely wrapped gift to Kelsi and she accepted it.

Unwrapping the small box carefully, Kelsi squealed once she saw what was inside it. A beautiful silver charm bracelet delicately sat on Kelsi's hand. There were six charms; one was a musical note, a heart, a number '6' – her lucky number, the letter 'K', East High's Wildcat head and a hat.

"Thank you so much! I love it Tay!"

"Glad you like it!"

The process went on, people hugging as thanks, gasps from unexpected gifts, laughs at pictures that were also attached to the present, etc.

Chad purposefully saved Troy's gift for Gabriella last. He was in on the plan and helped Troy while he freaked out and had second thoughts.

"Lucky last, Gabriella, yours is from Troy."

Gabriella smiled at Chad as he gave her the very small box. Unwrapping the paper and opening the cardboard box, Gabriella frowned as she took out a film canister. "It's a canister…" she shook the container and heard a rattling. Raising her eyebrows at Troy, she saw how nervous he looked.

She looked around the room and saw the people who have become her family over time. They looked somewhat anxious. Some confused, some excited and others just as nervous as Troy. Curiously, she looked back towards Troy who was fidgeting.

"Open it," he instructed.

Following as told, Gabriella lifted the lid off and tipped whatever was contained in it into her hand. She gasped, tears building up in her eyes. It was a ring. It was silver and had a heart with a diamond on both ends of the shape. It had another diamond on the left of the heart. There were three streaks that went through the heart that completed the ring, connecting to the three diamonds. Looking inside of it, Gabriella saw an inscription: 'Forever'

"Did you know that they charge you twenty more bucks for the ring box? Cheap asses, everything costs money these days. I couldn't afford it because of the amount of money I had to pay for the ring, so I opted for this instead," he rambled nervously.

Looking up, she tried to hold back a sob. "Troy…"

"I know we're young. It's not what you think. Although I am going to do it, just not yet. I love you, Gabriella, so much. 10 o'clock 31st of December 2007. New Years Eve. That's when I first saw you. You looked beautiful as a sixteen year old. Your long wavy auburn hair, sparkly-aqua coloured sweater, black velvet pants and ballet flats." Troy chuckled nervously.

"It was love at first sight, for me. We talked for two hours after we sang. As we walked outside where the snow was gently falling down, the countdown began. It was a new year before I knew it. The fireworks that lit up your face, showed sparkling effects in your eyes. I just wanted to kiss you right there. It was definitely the start of something new.

"This is a promise ring. You wear it and it means that I promise to marry you one day. You're it for me. You're the one. I love you so much, I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I can't wait for you to be Mrs. Troy Bolton. Forever." Clearing his throat awkwardly, Troy took the ring out of her hand. "Will you, Gabriella Montez, wear this promise ring, and promise that you'll be forever mine?" he asked properly.

By now, all the girls in the room were crying. Gabriella's tears that ran down her soft delicate face were what Troy concentrated on, though.

"Y-you remembered what I was wearing?" she asked tentatively.

"I even remembered what necklace you wore… it was the one your father gave you," he admitted sheepishly.

Chad was about to say something, but Sharpay slapped him on the head while Taylor shoved her hand on top of his mouth.

"Yes," Gabriella whispered out and everyone had to lean forward to hear her, but Troy could hear her perfectly.

His head shot up and his eyes widened. "Yes?"

"Yes!" Gabriella said louder, nodding her head with a big smile on her face.

Everyone cheered and clapped. Troy pulled Gabriella in a tight embrace, burring his face in her hair.

"I love you, Troy… so much."

"I love you too Ella. Forever." He pulled his head back slightly, enough for him to kiss her. The kiss was a promise. A promise of forever.

(A/N: there's a link to the ring in my profile)