When Dreams Collide

Summary: Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez are focused upon one thing: the Olympic Dream. When the dreams of a gymnast and a basketball player collide, who knows what the outcome may be?

Hey, this is the first thing I've written in like, a year, so I really hope you like it and can forgive any mistakes! I realise that all the details to do with Olympic teams etc. may not be entirely correct but I'm trying to adjust things so it fits with the plot. If there's anything you feel I have got completley wrong then feel free to leave it in a review or PM me. It's kind of short, sorry! I really hope you enjoy! I don't own anything. Nada.

"Dreams can come true,
Look at me babe I'm with you,
You know you gotta have hope,
You know you gotta be strong."
Dreams by Gabrielle

When Dreams Collide - Chapter 1

Not many things were known to scare Gabriella Montez. In fact, she was nationally known as America's daredevil: fearless, determined and incredibly talented at what she did. As one of the top ranked gymnasts in the world, she had to be ready to take on any skill, no matter the difficulty, no matter the risk. Yet, as the petite sixteen year old strolled through Houston airport, pulling a suitcase and gym bag crammed with her belongings, there was an emotion in her chocolate brown eyes that could only be put down to one thing – fear.

The 5 girls around her- her team-mates- buzzed with excitement, hopping from one foot to the other in anticipation of the arrival of their plane. Gabriella smiled, and of course, she too was excited- she was just taking a moment to let the situation sink in. The past thirteen years of her life had been dedicated to getting her to where she was headed. She had spent the past few months with the rest of her team at the Karolyi camp (the USA gymnastics team training centre) being pushed to her physical limit. The endless training, aches and exhaustion had paid off, and here she was.

Gabriella Montez was going to the Olympics.

Twirling a soft ebony curl around her finger, her glazed over eyes were brought back to life by the snapping fingers of her best friend.

"Gabs, why the long face? We're going to the Olympics!!The OLYMPICS! In London! If that isn't an excuse to shop I don't know what is!" Gabriella couldn't help but laugh at Sharpay, the exuberant blonde had a tendency to focus on a limited amount of things- shopping, boys, glitter, and of course, gymnastics.

"I know Shar; I guess I'm just a little nervous, y'know? I've worked my whole life for this and it's kind of surreal that it's actually happening to me." Sharpay smiled and threw her arm around Gabriella's shoulder as the team began walking towards the terminal- the plane had arrived. Despite the fact that all the girls on the team were short, Gabriella was by far the smallest, measuring only 4'11. This meant that Sharpay was comfortably using Gabriella as an arm rest.

"Girl, this is going to be the best experience of our lives. Stress is for competition day- please just relax and enjoy yourself! We're going on a private jet to London- LONDON!" Sharpay squealed and bounded off to the front of the queue. Gabriella grinned and followed Sharpay onto the plane.

After much marvelling at the gorgeous interior of their plane, the girls and their coaches settled down ready for take-off. Over the past few months the whole team had grown extremely close- they were the equivalent of sisters. Aside from Gabriella and Sharpay, there was Hannah, the shyest on the team, Jordynn- the most outgoing, and Fiona and Georgina who had both competed in the 2008 Olympics and returned with silver medals.

As the excited chatter on board increased in volume, their team co-ordinator Martha Karolyi stood up, pulling a box down from the overhead storage area. The girls quietened down, instead exchanging animated glances as they realised what they were going to be given. Martha smiled and pulled out a leotard from the box.

"These are our 2012 Olympic Leotards ladies!" At the announcement, the team cheered and examined them as they were passed around. Gabriella's eyes lit up as she held hers out in front of her. They were gorgeous, a deep shade of red with a scoop neck. There was a band of silver studs going diagonally across the chest area and the 'USA' team sign on both of the sleeves. She grinned and turned to Sharpay.

"They're perfect!" Gabriella folded it up and put it inside her gym bag with her US tracksuit that all the girls would wear over the top.

"They're nice! More glitter would have been better but hey, we can overload on the face!" Sharpay smiled deviously at the prospect as Gabriella cracked up. "...I wonder if they'll be any cute boys!" Gabriella stopped laughing and stared in disbelief at Sharpay.

"Are you serious?!" she giggled, "I swear you have a one track mind, all I can think about is routine after routine and you're thinking about boys?!" Sharpay grinned.

"Oh come on Gabs, we'll be in the Olympic Village with the whole of team USA- the boys of which are extremely muscular and defined. It would be plain stupid of us not to admire what fate has put right there for us as eye candy!" The girls burst into laughter and Jordynn, who was sat at the other side of Sharpay chipped in.

"Did you girls see who the basketball team is this year? Pure hotness, I'm telling you. Waking up to see Troy Bolton, Chad Danforth and James LeBron every morning? I think I might pass out!" Gabriella rolled her eyes,

" Please tell me you girls won't let yourself get distracted from the competition by a lunkhead basketball player! We've given our lives to this sport- don't waste the hard work!"

"Chill Gabi, there's nothing wrong with admiring!" Georgina giggled, "And besides, if anything it'll make our gymnastics better, we want to impress!" At this, Martha turned around from in front of the girls.

"OK girls, that's enough. None of you are to let your gymnastics slip because of some boy you're infatuated with- even if it is Troy Bolton. You are forbidden from becoming romantically linked to any of them while we are there. No Olympic champion becomes Olympic champion by becoming besotted with a boy!"

On the other side of the country, twelve men were making their way through LAX. After been hounded by the paparazzi, they couldn't wait to get on a plane and take off to London. Troy sighed and turned to his best friend and team mate, Chad. "Hope this whole checking in thing doesn't take too long." Chad nodded his agreement.

"God I can't wait to just get there and settle and start winning us some medals!" Troy laughed at his friend's enthusiasm before elbowing the ball out from under his arm. "Hey! That wasn't nice!" Troy only chuckled more.

"I'm so psyched- our first Olympics man!" They pounded fists, quickly checking in and making their way to the terminal. "So, when's Tay flying over?" Troy asked. Taylor was Chad's girlfriend of 3 years and the main reason why most of the media attention was focused upon Troy- he was very much the bachelor of the team.

"Couple of days before we start playing." Troy nodded and they stepped onto the plane.

"You newbie's ready?!" They turned to see Kobe, their team-mate grinning at them. Both Troy and Chad were 19 and the youngest on the national team.

"Most certainly are, dude!" Troy replied and Kobe patted them on the shoulder.

"That's what I like to hear! We should be arriving in around 11 hours so try and get some sleep; we want to look lively and ready to go for the Opening Ceremony!" Troy and Chad nodded and buckled up, preparing for the long flight ahead of them.

As the two planes crossed through the clear sky, all thoughts were on the Olympic dream, as they always had been. Nobody realised that within days new bonds would have been formed, new priorities created and something so special would be formed that it could only have happened at the collision of dreams.