"Troy Bolton, you better have a good explanation for calling me to meet you at Starbucks at nine o'clock at night!"

Chad Danforth had officially arrived, and he clearly wasn't happy with Troy right now.

It wasn't long before Troy responded, "Gabi and I received an invitation to Sharpay Evans' wedding? I didn't even know that she was dating someone."

Chad rolled his eyes as he replied. "Why would you know, man? You've been avoiding her since we graduated high school." Not wanting his friend to feel worse about the situation, the African-American quickly continued, "Even if you hadn't been doing that, I don't see why this bothers you. Troy, Peyton's not a bad guy. I don't think I've ever seen her as happy as she is with him."

The former high school basketball star glared at his best friend. "I don't want to hear about how perfect Peyton Leverett is, Chad. That's not why I called you."

Not missing a beat, Chad asked, "Then why did you call?"

Letting out a sigh of frustration, Troy answered him. "How can I get her to call this whole thing off? I was stupid back in high school and let everyone's expectations dictate who I chose to be with. I know what I want now, and it's not Gabriella."

Chad couldn't help but laugh. "Are you kidding me, Bolton? You married her."

Troy groaned. "I know. I've regretted it since we came back from the honeymoon. I just didn't know why until I saw that invite staring me right in the face."

Chad merely retorted. "So you're jealous of Leverett, is that it?" He shook his head as if he couldn't believe what was happening right now. "Dude, do you wanna know who you are in the fairytale life of Sharpay Evans right now? Count Paris, and that's not good."

Troy grinned. "And why exactly is that a bad thing for me? That's the guy Juliet's supposed to marry, right?"

Chad slightly raised his voice at his former team captain, "Exactly. He's the guy that Juliet was supposed to marry, but she was by no means happy about it. I mean...sure, I bet they could've been happy marrying him if she had never met Romeo - but that's not what happened." He paused for a minute before he continued to speak, "Or maybe you'd prefer me to compare you to Romeo? But then Gabriella would be your Juliet while Sharpay is Rosaline - either way, you don't end up with Evans."

Troy's grin quickly fell of his face. "Is there any analogy in that brain of yours that ends with me getting the girl that I still see myself having children with?"

Not a second later, Chad responded, "No, there isn't. If you had asked me back in high school, then I could've given you one because that was your only chance of being with her. If you made a move back then, the two of you would've been Tony and Maria - and you could've became the prince in her fairytale. You and I both know that, back then, Evans would've dropped everything if it meant that she could be with you." He paused to take a breath. "Instead, you followed Gabriella Montez out to California and married her just last month...but if you had at least invited her, you may have still stood a chance at being her happily ever after and giving your West Side Story romance with Sharpay a happy ending by somehow rekindling whatever feelings she had for you during the reception or something - but you didn't." Another breath. "You know why you didn't invite her, Troy? Because you knew she'd see right through you...and you didn't want to hurt Gabriella even though you knew you fell out of love with her a long time ago. Speaking of invites, though...you do realize why she sent one to you, right?"

Out of exasperation, Troy started to raise his voice. "No, Chad, I don't. Why don't you enlighten me if you've got this all figured out?"

Pursing his lips, Chad answered his best friend since kindergarten. "Troy, she wants you to see that she found someone that loves her the way that she is - with no conditions attached. That was something that you could never give her because despite your whole 'breaking free' thing back in our junior year of high school, you never had the guts to pursue her despite knowing that she was what you really wanted...and I know it sucks man, but it's time to let go of her."

Troy gulped before he replied, "Why should I have to give up? She never did. Even though I had a girlfriend, she still kept chasing after me."

Noticing Troy's clenched fists resting on the table that the duo made their way over to upon Chad's earlier arrival, the playmaker's former sidekick grabbed both hands in a show of comfort. "That was high school. She chased after you back then because she knew that most high school relationships don't last past graduation - but we're in the real world now, Troy. When you chose Gabriella, she decided that it was time to move on...and you can't fault her for that just because she found Peyton and decided that he was the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with." Giving his best friend a soft smile, Chad continued speaking, "Who knows? Maybe one of the future Montez-Bolton kids will fall in love with and marry one of the future Evans-Leverett kids. As much as you'd rather be the father to Sharpay's children, you're just gonna have to hope that you eventually become the father-in-law to one of her children." At this point, he chuckled to himself. "I know it sucks, dude...but it's time to wake up and realize that the Troy & Sharpay love train has been officially deconstructed and will most likely never be rebuilt - at least not now."

After Chad's speech, Troy simply ran one of his hands through his hair after pulling it out of his best friend's hold. "So what do I do? I know that I love her now, and I don't know what I'll do with myself if I never tell her."

Shrugging his shoulders, Chad responded. "I don't know, man...but whatever you do, just wait until after the reception - or at least the ceremony. Let her and Peyton say her wedding vows before you say anything to her. That'll show her that you care enough about her to let her be with who she wants to be with. It'll show her that you're serious." He softly punched Troy in the shoulder as he continued speaking, "Just don't do something stupid like trying to kiss her. She'll probably just slap you."

Troy snorted in response, "She wouldn't slap me."

Chad grinned at Troy as he replied. "Maybe not, but her fiancé would definitely punch you if he found out about it." The African-American pulled his best friend out of the chair he was sitting in as he spoke once more. "Besides, this is the closure that both of you need. You both grew up thinking that whoever you lost your virginity to would be the one you married - but you were each other's firsts and both of you chose to marry different people."

All Troy could do was lower his voice as her responded, "Yeah...I guess you're right about that, but it doesn't make it hurt any less. I mean...you know that I spent almost half my life thinking I was going to marry her one day."

"In another life, maybe."

"Shut up, Chad."

"Just go home to your wife so the two of you can RSVP."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Good."

"Good."

"So, I'll see you at the wedding?"

"I'll be the one with my hand over your mouth to prevent you from objecting."

"Thanks. I might need it."