"I'm here without you baby,
but you're still on my lonely mind.
I think about you baby
and I dream about you all the time.
I'm here without you baby,
but you're still with me in my dreams
and tonight it's only you and me."

Can't Help But Remember

Prologue

I remember it as if it was yesterday when I first saw her. I was 20 years old and a junior in college, majoring in Drama. It was on my summer break and boy, it was the best summer break I've ever had…

I stepped out of the truck and looked at the Californian beach excited. I loved the beach and especially in Los Angeles. I loved going there with my family. Even when I was in college I tried to spend as much time as possible with them and I loved going on holidays with them. It wasn't that hard, because I was in the University of Albuquerque and they lived in Albuquerque itself.

I ran over to the sand and contently let my toes graze the sand.

"Troy?" I heard my two year older sister Susan call out. She graduated the summer before and now taught History in our former high school, Albuquerque East High. I chose to ignore it and I closed my eyes, enjoying the sunlight falling down on me.

"Troy!" my sister called out again. I smiled to myself. I loved getting her all worked up.

"TROY DAVID ALEXANDER BOLTON, COME HERE THIS INSTANT OR YOU WON'T BE GOING TO THE BEACH THIS SUMMER AT ALL!" Lucille Bolton's voice suddenly shouted. My eyes snapped open in horror and I quickly raced back to the truck, before stopping in my tracks, hearing something. Something beautiful. Something that made my heart flutter. A giggle. A simple giggle.

I turned around and felt myself run out of air at the sight of her. There she was, in all her glory. The most beautiful girl I had ever seen. She looked like she could be a model stepping from a magazine cover straight away. Her black hair was cascading down in big bouncy curls and framing her face perfectly. Her body could belong to a goddess, I thought. It had all the curves in the right places and she had tanned long legs. She smiled and I thought I'd faint. It was perfect. Her lips looked very soft and I wondered how they would feel against mine. Then her eyes. They were big and a dark shade of chocolate brown and had a pretty spark in them. They reminded me of the eyes of Susan's old teddy bear. Adorable was the first word that came to mind.

I never believed in love at first sight, but suddenly I started to understand what people meant when they talked about it. I was sure I was experiencing it right now.

"TROY!" Susan screamed.

"Coming!" I called back, turning around for a second and looking back, to be disappointed to see the girl had disappeared. I frowned and sighed, before returning to the truck, looking back every now and then to see if the girl maybe reappeared. But she didn't.

"What took you so long?" Jack Bolton asked me with raised eyebrows. My father was always so nosy to what I was doing. God! I was not little Troy Bolton who did nothing but play basketball anymore! I was a grown man.

"Nothing," I said quietly.

"Really?" Susan asked sceptically as she put her hand on her hips. I just wanted to just roll my eyes. As if she would scare me!

"Nothing! Really!" I said louder, not very convincing if I must say so.

"Okaaaaaaay," Lucille said, smirking at me and dragging the last syllable out. Now I couldn't hold the eye roll anymore. Mothers.

"Come on, let's get to the hotel," Susan said, hopping into the car, me, Jack and Lucille following.

In the car, I gazed out the window. I couldn't get this girl out of my head. I wanted her. And I was going to get her. I was sure of it.

I remember when I first talked to her. I was so nervous. And Troy Bolton was never nervous.

"Are you serious? Oh my God!" I heard an angelic voice exclaim as I was in the lobby of the hotel. I turned around and felt my heart flutter. There she was again.

I had found out that she was staying in the same hotel and I wanted nothing more than introduce myself to her and to know her. Every time I tried, something happened and I was sick of it. I was going to introduce myself right here and right now. She could talk to that other girl another time. Now she would be talking to Troy Bolton and no one else. Okay, maybe that wasn't exactly what I was thinking. I was more thinking like: should I go talk to her? Maybe she won't like me. Oh god, she doesn't like me.

Girly, I know.

I picked up all of my courage and stepped up to her, trying not to stutter when she looked at me confused and weirdly.

"Hi," I managed to get out. The girl stared at me even more confused and I stared straight back, not being able to get enough of those gorgeous eyes.

"Eh… I'm gonna go back to my room. Bye," the other girl said, sounding rather awkward. I didn't turn around as I didn't know her and I was finally standing right in front of my dream girl.

My dream girl looked behind me to probably see the other girl walking off.

"Rachel!" she exclaimed desperately, before turning to me with fire in her eyes.

"What. Do. YOU. Think. You're. Doing?!" she exclaimed angrily. I smiled, finding her anger extremely hot.

"Don't you smile! I don't even know who you are, but you already disgust me!" she exclaimed, cocking her hip to the left and giving me a once over.

"Don't overreact, baby. I've been watching you. And I couldn't pass the chance to get to know such a beautiful girl, right?" I asked cockily, cupping the soft skin of her cheek in my hand. I still don't know where that confidence suddenly came from. Maybe it was the fiery look in her eyes. Or maybe it was the chicken soup I've eaten. Chicken soup always makes me do weird things. Eh… yeah. You didn't need to know that.

Her eyes widened and I smirked. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," I replied with the sexiest voice I could muster up.

"Okay, so let me get this straight. You think you can interrupt my oh so important conversation with Rachel and than you think you can seduce me?" she asked, looking at me disbelieving. I grinned,

"That's exactly what I think."

"You're unbelievable," she said, shaking her head. I kept smiling, because something in her eyes and body told me different. She was just as captivated by me as I was by her.

"Really? I thought I was rather genuine," I said chuckling.

"You know how much it takes to not slap you?" she hissed, "and you're not funny!"

"You thought I was at the beach five days ago," I smartly replied, smirking as she blushed. I had her.

"I didn't know you were a jerk by then," she said, obviously trying to come up with an excuse.

"Oh," I said, pretending to be hurt and putting my acting skills into good use. She seemed to buy it and smile apologetically.

"Well, bye," she said, turning around and starting to walk away. I grabbed her arms and turned her around. Before she could answer, I hastily pushed my lips onto hers.

At first she tried to push me away, but I kept my tight grip on her. God, her lips tasted so much sweeter than I had imagined. I felt her relax into the kiss and I smiled against her lips, deepening the kiss as I did so.

When we ran out of breath, we pulled away and she looked at me, confusion in her eyes. "Why did you do that?" she asked whispering.

I smiled, "You didn't think I was letting you go without introducing myself and knowing your name, did you?"

She blushed and let a shy, adorable smile take over her face, "Well, then. Gabriella Montez."

Perfection dripped from the sound of her name. Gabriella. I saw that she stuck her hand out. I smirked and leaned in.

"Troy Bolton," I whispered against her lips and pushed her hand away, before kissing her again.

Pulling away, she smiled. "Nice name."

"Why thank you. Your name sounds great as well."

She smiled and I smiled back. We kept staring at each other, before I pecked her lips and smiled at her,

"So, Gabriella. Would you like to go out with me some time?" I asked hopefully.

Gabriella blinked up at me and nodded.

"Good."

But as you know, love isn't all good. It can make you and break you. And unfortunately for me, it broke me at the end of summer. She broke me.

We were lying in my bed panting after another steamy session. We were growing really close and doing things you didn't do fast in a relationship. But it was like we found our soul mates. At least, that's what I thought.

I had found out that Gabriella, who I had nicknamed Brie, and I had a lot in common. She was just like me majoring in Drama, but she was at Juilliard. She also liked to sing and play the guitar, just like me. And she loved peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! I loved making those!

I looked over her and smiled as I looked into her eyes. I sighed inwardly. I was falling in love and fast.

"Brie?" I asked softly.

"Yes?" she whispered back, just as soft, her brown eyes gazing up in my eyes, and the tenderness in them made me fall even more in love with her.

"I think I'm in love with you," I whispered, tucking a black curl behind her ear. I imagined it how she would react. I imagined that she would jump in my arms and kiss my passionately and tell me she loved me too. I imagined it all. But it didn't happen. Reality was quite different.

"What?" Gabriella asked, her eyes widening as she wriggled out of my arms and sat up in the bed, letting the sheets cover her naked body.

"I think I'm in love with you," I repeated, this time louder. Life's a bitch.

"No! You don't love me!" she frantically exclaimed, looking at me shocked before getting out of the bed and gathering her clothes.

"Yes, I think I do," I tried to convince her.

She turned to me and shot me an intense glare.

"No, you don't, Troy!"

I stood up and walked over to her, grabbing her hands, "Why don't you believe me? What is wrong with me loving you?"

"What's wrong? Maybe that you live all the way in freakin' Albuquerque! Newsflash, Troy, New York is at the other side of the country! And I'm two years younger!"

"You're an adult and we could visit each other, so I don't really see the problem," I said, slightly hurt by her outburst.

"I do! Tomorrow I'm leaving back for New York and you'll be back in Albuquerque soon and you'll meet some beautiful blonde and fall for her and forget all about poor little Gabriella from that one summer in LA," Gabriella screamed.

"I don't even fall for blondes!" I yelled back. I was getting kind of mad right now.

"Who said she had to be blond? She could be a redhead or another brunette or Afro-American or …"

"You're rambling, Brie," I cut her off softly.

"I don't care," she snapped as she stepped in her heels. She looked at me. Her eyes slightly softened and she smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry, Troy."

"If you're sorry, why won't you accept the fact that I've fallen for you?" I asked her, my chest heaving up and down in anger and hurt.

Gabriella placed a kiss on my forehead and stroked my brown hair out of my blue eyes.

"In a few years, you won't remember me, Troy."

She smiled at me before standing up to walk out of my room. Out of my holiday house. Out of my life.

"Of course I will remember you," I tried desperately, trying not to cry.

She stopped at the door and shook her head, "No, you won't."

As she shut the door and left me heartbroken, a single tear left my eye.

A/N: New story! I wanted to work this one out so bad. First of all, I want to give a little inside on the pairings beside Troyella. I recently kinda began to like the idea of Troy and Kelsi being together and I wanted to try to write about them. Since I'm Troyella fan until the end and I can't have him end with someone else then her, I decided Trelsi will be the other main pairing, fighting against Troyella if you get what I mean. Besides that, it will also include Ryelsi, Jaspay (I'm having a thing for unexpected pairings these days…) and Chaylor. Second, I will put a song at the top of each chapter. The name of the song and artist can be found in the disclaimer. I hope you like it! Please review!

- sweetbutterflies

Disclaimer: Everything related to High School Musical doesn't belong to me. It belongs to Disney. I don't own Here Without You by 3 Doors Down either. This belongs to Universal Music Group. Please be aware of that and don't sue me.