~***HSM***~

December 10th, 2016

At least Pasadena was a little closer than Stanford, even if by only 66 miles. Although Troy was right about the basketball part, he was exaggerating a little bit, because as much as he wanted to see Gabriella, he had been saving up since he arrived at Juilliard, even if he had to work two jobs while still maintain his grades and religiously attending practice, to be able to afford a decent ring for her. He was going to take Ryan with him to the jewelry store, while also texting Chad and his father. Mostly his father, Chad was just jealous that he couldn't come because his family was having this whole huge thing.

Besides, Ryan had good taste, and Chad would just make jokes the whole time, and then they wouldn't get anything done. Even if Ryan's taste was a little over his budget, he still had enough to afford a decent ring.

But the ring wasn't what Troy was really worried about. Would Gabriella really want to marry him this soon? Maybe he would just get the ring now and then save it for later. Yeah, that was a better plan than just proposing to her willy nilly.

Troy just couldn't help it. Gabriella was the love of his life, and he couldn't see himself with anyone but her. For god sakes, Kelsi and Ryan were getting married that next summer before their Junior year of College. The long distance sucked, but Julliard had offered him and Kelsi scholarships, while the Evans had enough money to pay for Ryan to go to Juilliard while Sharpay took a year off. Actually, Sharpay just moved to New York to try and pursue her theater career. At least she was closer to Ryan incase anything happened.

Troy jumped when he heard his phone. Of course it was Ryan, so he swiped right to answer. "Hey Ryan." Troy yawned. "Hi Troy. Are you ready to go look for a ring?" Ryan asked him cheerfully. "Yeah." Troy said, trying to hide how nervous he was. "Great. I'll see you in a hour." Troy could practically hear Ryan smiling. "Great." Troy hung up on Ryan.

~***HSM***~

Ryan greeted Troy with a hug. He hugged almost everyone. "Hey Ryan. I barely saw you two days ago." Troy chuckled. Ryan grinned. "I know. That was for Kelsi because she's sick and wanted a Troy hug but didn't want to get you sick since the championship is coming up." He smiled at Troy. Troy nodded. "Aww. Tell her I hope she feels better."

"I will." Ryan smiled at Troy. "Now let's go find a ring worthy of Queen Gabby." He giggled. Troy just rolled his eyes. "Are we taking the subway or are you driving?" He wonder. "Subway there, Sharpay will pick us up because my car's in the shop." Ryan told Troy. Troy shrugged. "Ok." He had a different savings account for a new car. He didn't need one right now because of the subway and buses, and he had a budget of $2000 for Gabriella's ring.

Troy followed Ryan onto the subway and grabbed one of the handles, staying standing. Ryan started to two teenage girls, a blonde and a brunette. They looked like they were barely juniors in high school. Troy could never understand how easy it was for Ryan to talk to stranger. He just sighed, contemplating the future.

The first three stores were a bust. Until Ryan made him go to Tiffany's. "Ryan, you know I can't afford anything in here!" Troy protested. "Come on man, just look and if you don't like anything in here then we'll go somewhere else another day." Ryan pleaded. "Fine!" Troy huffed, feeling out of place in a jewelry store for rich people.

"Just look around." Ryan encouraged Troy, following him around. Troy was sure that the trip would be a bust until something caught his eye: A beautiful silver ring with treble and bass clefs engraved into the sides. It came as a bridal set, the kind where the engagement and wedding rings did not fit together so that the engagement ring could be passed on. The engagement ring in the set had a single one carat diamond while the wedding ring in the set had three diamonds, a 3 carat diamond in the middle with a one carat on either.

"It's perfect." Troy breathed. "But I'm afraid to know how much it costs." Ryan nodded. "Don't look, I'll just tell you." He told Troy before looking at the display. "Don't faint on me, but it's $2500." Troy groaned. "I only have $2000." He sighed.

"Let me use my credit card and you give me the money you do have." Ryan told Troy. "I can't let you do that." Troy protested. "Well I'm buying it either way. Just think of it as a gift from me and Kelsi. Besides, I know you're not going to find a better ring." Ryan rolled his eyes. "For once don't be stubborn."

Troy rolled her eyes. "I'm not that stubborn." Ryan snorted. "Yes you are." He pointed to the rings in the case while handing his credit card to the woman at the booth. "Put it on the Evans account."

Troy watched Ryan pay for it, briefly wondering how much money the Evans really had. "You know I could never repay you, right?" He asked Ryan. "I know." Ryan just grinned at Troy.

~***HSM***~

Disclaimer: I like sports but know almost nothing about Basketball. Baseball is my family's sport, though my grandpa likes to watch college basketball. Go Cubs, Go!

Bonus for the Maya and RIley (Girl Meets World) Cameo. #SaveGirlMeetsWorld #GirlMeetsNetflix #GirlMeetsHulu

And I thought of the engagement ring last night. With bridal sets typical the engagement and wedding rings get soldered together before the wedding, but I have an idea that would require that not to be true, besides I like the idea of engagement rings being passed through the family.