Gabriella stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom, slipping on a cream colored sweater. "What about this one?"

Taylor flopped back on the bed and Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Gabriella, every outfit you have put on has made you look hot!"

"I can't look hot, Sharpay, that's exactly the problem! I can't look hot at dinner with Troy's grandparents! What if they think I'm a slut?"

"God, it's just dinner, Gabriella," Taylor said, rolling her eyes at the dramatic scene in front of her. "It's not that serious. Besides, your whole family is going to be there."

"I just want them to approve of me," Gabriella huffed, taking off the sweater and throwing it into the growing pile in the middle of her room. She sat down on the floor in front of her mirror clad in a pair of black fleece leggings, brown leather boots and a lacy black bra. 'This is terrible."

"Gabster, Troy's here!" Chad called up the stairs, sending Gabriella into a panic.

"I'm not going," she announced as she heard Troy thumping up the stairs toward her room. Taylor and Sharpay gathered their things to leave while Gabriella groaned, lying down on the floor. Troy opened the door and came upon his half-dressed girlfriend on the ground with her arm strewn across her eyes.

"Good luck," Taylor said before she and Sharpay walked out of the room.

"What's going on in here?" Troy asked, crouching down next to her and forcing her to move her arm.

"I don't know what to wear," she sighed. "So I'm not going," she repeated.

"Gabriella, don't be ridiculous," Troy sighed, pulling her up from the ground. "Not only are my grandparents dying to meet you, but I'm positive that they'll adore you - regardless of what you put on," he said, walking into her closet with her following behind him. "Now, come on and pick something. Grans and Pop told me to hurry back with the very pretty girl that my parents won't shut up about and I can't keep them waiting," he grinned.

Gabriella sighed again before sifting through the tops hanging up in her closet. She picked out a royal blue blouse, slipped it over her head and turned to face her boyfriend. "Alright. Let's get this over with."

Troy chuckled, wrapping his arms around her. "Hey," he murmured, pressing a kiss beneath her ear. "Look at me," he said, waiting until she did so to continue. "My parents already love you," he kissed her lips. "And my grandparents will love you just as much, if not more," he kissed her again. "I promise."

She rested her head against his chest, feeling his heartbeat against her forehead. "What if I say something stupid?"

"I'll say something stupider."

"But what if they hate me and then I have to stay there for the barbeque tonight and just stand there and be hated?"

"They're not going to hate you. Stop this already."

Gabriella let out a loud sigh. "Okay, okay," she said, leading them out of the closet and closing the door behind them. "Let's go before I change my mind and put my sweatpants back on and never emerge from my bed ever again."

Troy laughed, pulling her out of the room.

"Bye, Mom, bye, Dad, bye, Chad, see you later!" Gabriella called over her shoulder as Troy towed her out of the house. She climbed into the open door of Troy's black Audi and sat in silence as he pulled off on the short drive to his house. As the car rolled closer, Gabriella fidgeted more.

"Relax," he said, placing a hand on her thigh.

"I'm trying."

"I meant what I said earlier," he said, soothingly rubbing his thumb along a path of her thigh above her knee. "My grandparents are going to love you. My mother has literally not stopped gushing about you since I told her I was bringing you to dinner."

"Okay," she sighed, resting her hand atop his. She threaded their fingers together and brought them up to her lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Now, I must tell you something, dear," Eloise Bolton, who insisted that Gabriella call her Grans, held tightly to Gabriella's hand as Troy went to get her jacket to take her back home. "You're the first girl my little Troy has ever introduced me to, but I suspect that our sweet child hasn't really had a real girlfriend before. Or at least not one who's worth keeping, like you are."

Gabriella flushed, brushing a piece of stray hair from her face.

"You make sure he treats you well - we raise our Bolton boys to be nothing but gentlemen. And if he doesn't, you just let old Grans know and she'll take care of it, okay?"

Gabriella giggled, allowing Eloise to press a kiss to her hand as Troy walked back into the room.

"Oh, no, Grans, what craziness are you over here telling her?"

Eloise chuckled, releasing Gabriella's hand. "Nothing she doesn't need to hear, sweetheart. Now, where is that Chad?" she asked, standing up from the bench. "Cannot believe he has not said hello to me yet!"

Gabriella laughed, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend's waist. She rested her chin on his chest and flashed him a big smile.

"What are you smiling at?" he asked, a grin playing on his lips.

"At you, as always," she murmured, leaning up on her toes to press a kiss to his lips.

"So what happened to the girl who was so afraid to meet my grandparents because she was convinced they would hate her?" he asked, leading them to the open hammock a few feet away from the table where both her parents, his mother, his grandparents and Chad were sitting.

She giggled, sitting down in the hammock and watching their fathers and his grandfather at the grill. "I don't know. I just get worried sometimes."

"Hmm," he said, pulling her to lie with him in the hammock. "What did you really think?"

"I'm having fun! Your grandfather is quite a character."

"Yeah," he chuckled, "that's Pop for you… I'm not going to hear the end of how amazing you are for maybe the rest of my life."

"Just more members of your family who like me better," she teased, sticking her tongue out.

Troy shook his head, tickling her sides. "Don't rub it in… BUt it's like I said, nothing to worry about. My family is easy. If we're going to be honest, had I not known the Danforths all my life before they adopted you, I would have been scared as hell to even talk to you…"

"What? They're nice people!"

"Protective as hell," he scoffed, pressing a kiss to her head as she rested it on his chest.

"Gabriella, are you ready to go?" her father called, drawing the two of them out of their little escape.

"Yeah, sure, Dad," she said, sitting up. "I'll see you in school, okay?"

"Of course. I love you, Brie."

"Love you, too," she said, pressing a kiss to his lips. "Bye."

"It was lovely to meet you, Gran," Gabriella said, pressing a kiss to the old woman's cheek.

"Likewise, my dear. I'll be sure to let Troy know he's got a keeper on his hands," she said, giving the girl a wink before Gabriella and her family walked out.

After helping his mother put away the food and cleaning up the grill, Troy walked in from the backyard to find his whole family sitting in the living room, his grandfather holding a glass of scotch, his mom and grandmother each holding a cup of tea and his father a bottle of beer. "Wow. Hello, degenerate family."

Jack Bolton chuckled, taking a swig from his bottle.

"Come sit," Eloise said, patting the space on the couch next to her. "Come have a talk with your dear old Gran."

"Uh oh," Troy teased, sitting down next to her. "What's this all about, Gran?"

"Just want to give you some advice. That Gabriella," Gran said, a smile gracing her lips. "She's one of a kind, Troy. She's sweet, and smart and charming–"

"I know, Gran."

"And you most certainly better not let her get away."

"Trust me, Grans, I know," Troy laughed, relaxing into the couch next to his grandmother and watching the TV.

"So, tell me all about your weekend," Sharpay said, dropping her salad down at the table and sitting down across from Gabriella.

"Hi, Shar," Gabriella sighed, putting down her book and looking at her watch. "Nice of you to be on time."

"Sorry, hey. Rehearsal ran late," she said, opening her salad bowl. "Now tell me all about your weekend."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, opening her own sandwich. "The weekend was nice. Troy's grandparents are super sweet and super adorable. I spent the day just bonding with his grandma. She's too funny."

"She liked you?" Sharpay said, an eyebrow raised.

"Why do you sound so surprised?"

"I don't know, from what I understand she's super judgemental and picky. Not that we were ever as serious as you and Troy are, but he never introduced me to his grandparents."

Gabriella laughed, wiping her mouth off with a napkin. "Are you surprised or jealous, Shar?" she teased.

"Oh, please," Sharpay rolled her eyes in response. "Trust me, Milstein gets the job done in ways Troy never ever could."

"Ew! Omg EW!" Gabriella groaned, throwing her hands over her ears. "Come on, that's way TMI."

Sharpay shrugged, taking a bite of her salad. "Just being honest. It has nothing to do with jealousy, I'm just genuinely surprised. Troy's family is really protective. Granted, he hasn't had that many girlfriends, but he never introduced his only other long term girlfriend to anyone other than his parents. And even that took quite some time."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying Troy really likes you, which I'm sure is no surprise to you. But he also must be thinking long-term about the two of you together."

Gabriella choked on the sandwich she was eating. "What?"

"You heard me," Sharpay said, rolling her eyes and taking a sip of her juice.

"You think?"

"Please, I've known Troy for almost all of my life. I've never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you. The boy is head over heels in love with you."

Gabriella smiled, resting her cheek on her hand as her boyfriend walked into the cafeteria.

"Ugh, gross, you have the same look. You guys are so sweet it makes me want to throw up," Sharpay scoffed, digging into her salad.

"Hi," Gabriella sighed as her boyfriend sat down next to her.

"Hi yourself," he smiled back, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "What's cooking, good look bng? Hey Shar."

"Bolton," she nodded, taking another bite of her salad.

Troy rested his arm around her shoulder and leaned back in the booth. "How's your day, babe?"

"Fine," she shrugged, putting her book in her backpack and settling against her boyfriend. "Long. Don't wanna go to practice today."

Troy frowned, looking at his girlfriend. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she sighed, stretching her arms above her head. "I think I'm just tired."

"I can put you to bed, baby," he purred in her ear, making her giggle.

"You fiend."

"I'm serious. Come over after practice, Mom and Pop are going out to the country house early."

Gabriella laughed, leaning over to rest her head on his shoulder. "I'll see how I'm feeling after practice, babe."

He planted a kiss on her temple before digging into his own lunch.

"Did I just hear that the Bolton residence is unoccupied this weekend?" Chad said, rolling up to the table with Taylor hot on his heels.

Troy rolled his eyes. "No, it is occupied."

"Not by your parents, it's not. I have super sonic party hearing," he said, tapping his ears.

"Can it," Troy snapped, throwing a grape at his best friend's head as he sat down. "My house is only open to my girlfriend this weekend," he said, making Gabriella smile.

"So when should we come over?" Ryan asked, plopping down next to his sister.

"Yes, Evans, I knew you'd be with it," Chad said, high-fiving Ryan from across the table.

"Ugh, guys," Troy said, running a hand through his hair. "We're not having a party at my house."

"Party at the Bolton's?" Jacob said, appearing behind Sharpay all of a sudden. "Sounds lit, I'm there." He placed a kiss on top of Sharpay's head before sitting down on the other side of her.

"Ugh, not my hair," she groaned, running her fingers through her bright blond tresses.

"Sorry, princess," Jacob said, rolling his eyes. "How's everyone doing? Ready for the weekend?"

"Jake, the week just started," Gabriella laughed, making Jacob groan.

"Don't remind me," he said, biting down into his sandwich and carrying on conversation with the group until the bell rang.

The day dragged on for Gabriella until Troy met her at her locker after the final bell. "Hey," she smiled, walking down the rest of the hall to find him leaning against her locker.

"Hey yourself," he said, pressing a kiss to her lips when she reached him. "You okay?"

"Just a long day," she sighed. "About to get even longer."

"Cheer, yeah?"

"Yeah," she said, resting her head against his chest before pulling away and opening her locker to gather her things. "I'll see you later?"

"Yeah," he said as she closed the door. "I'll probably be at your house if I'm being honest."

Gabriella laughed, turning her chin up to kiss him again. "I'll see you later."

"I love you, baby."

"I love you, too," she said, walking toward the gym as he walked toward the front door.

"Gabriella, you're behind! Again! Get it together!" Amber snapped, shutting the music off. "Honestly, what is going on with you?"

Gabriella lost it, unable to hold her tongue. "I've had enough, Amber! I wasn't behind - I know the routine better than you do! Stop taking your grief over the fact that Troy didn't pick you out on me!" she shouted, throwing her pom-poms down. "Get over yourself!" she huffed before storming off, much to the blond's surprise.

"Don't you dare walk out Gabriell- ugh!" Amber called after her, stomping her foot as the door slammed shut behind Gabriella.

"Way to go, Amber," Charlotte, one of the other cheerleaders, rolled her eyes. "As much as you hate to admit it, Gabriella's the best dancer on this team and you just royally screwed up."

Gabriella fumed, taking her spandex off and throwing them on the ground of the locker room. She pulled her leggings onto her body and slipped Troy's sweatshirt on over her tank top. "Amber can kiss my ass," she muttered under her breath, stuffing the spandex in her bag and fishing her car keys out. "Un-fucking-believable." She walked out of the building and toward the student parking lot, where her silver SUV was parked. She pressed the unlock button on her key remote and climbed into the driver's seat. "I can't wait to watch them crash and burn," she sighed, pulling out of her spot and driving the short distance to her house.

"You're home early," Chad raised his eyebrows when she walked into the living room.

"Hey, babe," Troy smiled at her before turning back to their video game.

"Hi," she huffed, walking past them into the kitchen.

"What's her deal?" Chad asked, turning to his best friend.

"No idea," he said, putting his remote down and walking into the kitchen after her. "Hey."

"Hi," she repeated, going into the candy drawer and taking out the Twizzlers she made sure were kept stocked.

"You really have had a bad day, huh?"

She sighed, "that's an understatement." She bit aggressively into one of them, turning to face her boyfriend.

"Wanna talk about it?" he asked, sitting down on one of the stools at the island bar.

She sat down on his lap, grabbing another Twizzler from the counter. "I think I'm quitting."

"Quitting what?"

"Cheer. It's too much. Amber wins."

"Uh oh. What happened this time?"

"I think she might just be a demon sent straight from hell, Troy. I'm a nice person, generally, and I don't do much. I try to create as little drama as possible. All I ask is to be happy in my relationship, but of course that would be the one thing that Amber wants from me."

Troy chuckled, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "That's the usual, isn't it? You can't help that you fell in love with the golden boy of East High."

Gabriella snorted, rolling her eyes and hopping off his lap. "Yeah, for some reason the heart wants what it wants, golden boy," she said, her mocking tone obvious as she started to walk away.

"Hey," Troy said, turning the bar stood around before grabbing her wrist and turning her to face him again. "I love you, you know that?"

She smiled, stepping to stand between his legs. "I do. You drive me crazy, but I love you, too, golden boy."

Troy laughed, running his hands up her back to grab her face and pull it to his.

"Ugh, can you not, the kitchen is sacred," Chad said, walking in and making Troy pull away.

Gabriella rolled her eyes, leaning back in to kiss her boyfriend despite Chad's complaint. "Stop stealing my friend," Chad whined, stomping into the kitchen fully. "He was supposed to be mine for another half hour."

Gabriella giggled, pulling away from Troy, who had a stupid grin plastered on his face. "He's all yours, Chadster."

"Thank you," Chad said, grabbing a soda from the fridge before turning to his best friend. "Let's go, Troy." Chad walked out of the room, fully expecting Troy - who was still sitting on the barstool - to follow him.

"Go, have fun with Chad," Gabriella's voice snapped him out of his stupor. "I'm gonna go shower, I'll come join you guys in a bit."

"I'd rather have fun with you," he murmured, a mischievous look unfolding on his face.

Gabriella laughed, pressing another kiss to his lips. "Goodbye," she said, walking up the stairs and leaving Troy to return to Chad. Once she got to her room, she locked the door and stripped of her clothing. Walking into her bathroom, she ran the shower on hot and sat on the edge of her tub. She pulled her hair out of the messy braid she'd put in for practice before getting in the shower.

Twenty minutes later, she stepped into her room, her head wrapped in a towel and her body surrounded by a fluffy robe. She felt a little better, she realized while moisturizing her body, after taking a shower. She couldn't keep letting Amber get under her skin; it was unneeded stress. She threw on a pair of cropped leggings and one of Troy's sweatshirts before running a brush through her hair and walking back down the stairs to the two of the most important boys in her life.

"Oh, hi, Gabi, honey, you're home early!"

"Hey dad," she smiled, walking to give him a hug. "Yeah, tough day, I left dance early."

"Everything okay?" he asked, looking down at her in his arms.

Gabriella sighed, resting her head on her father's chest. "I think I'm gonna quit."

Charlie Danforth pressed a kiss to the top of his daughter's wet head. "If that's what's best for you, I support you, honey."

"Thanks, daddy," she smiled, leaving his arms and going to join Troy and Chad in the living room.

The two, Troy sitting on the couch and Chad lounging in the chaise, had switched from playing video games to watching ESPN. Gabriella planted herself on the couch next to Troy, leaning against him. "Hey," he murmured, nuzzling into her wet hair. "You okay?"

"Feeling better," she smiled, turning to face him. "Tomorrow's gonna be interesting?"

"Yeah? What makes you say that?" Chad chimed from his spot next to them.

"Well today I quit cheer, so it'll be interesting to see what happens with Amber."

"Interesting," Troy and Chad both echoed before turning back to SportsCenter.