AN: As promised, this is my new story that some of you voted for me to start now in my poll about a month ago. This is based slightly off the novel Are You Alone on Pupose? by Nancy Werlin. Slightly because I only really took a few mostly small things from it, which I will reveal later on as the story progresses, but everything else is all mine. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it!

Disclaimer: HSM is not mine.

Clutching her books to her chest, Gabriella Montez made her way through the crowded hallways of her new school. It was the first day of her sophomore year, and she was once again starting over thanks to her mother's job. However, this time, she knew it was permanent for at least the next three years. The unfamiliar faces that she passed now she would have to get used to, as impossible as that seemed.

Entering the office, Gabriella was greeted by a friendly-looking man whom she correctly assumed to be the principal, Mr. Matsui, he had said. A young, dark-skinned girl who looked to be around her age was also in the room.

"Gabriella, this is Taylor McKessie." Taylor smiled at her and said a quick "hi, nice to meet you" before Mr. Matsui continued. "Taylor will be showing you around. In fact, I believe that you have several classes together, correct?"

"Yes, sir," Taylor confirmed, turning back toward Gabriella. "You can ask me anything. I know this school like the back of my hand."

Gabriella nodded shyly as Mr. Matsui started talking again. "Then, if that's everything I'll let you girls go ahead and start the tour."

Smiling warmly, Taylor motioned for Gabriella to follow her out of the room. She felt awkward being in a new place, but she felt even stranger meeting new people.

"I'll show you to our homeroom first," Taylor said. "We had Ms. Darbus last year, and we'll have her for the rest of our high school years unfortunately."

"Is she strict?" she asked.

"She's not the worst, but that just means that we're also stuck with the same group of...students all four years," she replied, slightly hesitant as though she had to search for the right words to say.

"So, you're saying the kids are that bad? Which ones should I look out for?" she prompted.

"Let's just say that it's not difficult in this school to differentiate friend from foe," she explained.

Gabriella was about to ask more questions when she heard what sounded like a locker door slam from several feet away. Turning instinctively, she gasped in horror upon seeing a fairly short girl, a freshman or sophomore perhaps, being pressed against a locker by a boy.

"Why the hell didn't you do it?" he roared, his hand clenched tightly around the girl's neck. Why was everyone just standing around, she wondered. Why wasn't anyone doing anything?

Not realizing what she was doing, Gabriella stepped forward into the now empty space surrounding the scene. She hadn't caught much more of what the boy had said, nor did she care. The girl was crying now, pleading with him to let her go.

"Gabriella, what are you doing?" Taylor called from behind her. "Are you trying to make enemies on your first day?"

Gabriella ignored her and took a few more steps. Suddenly the boy turned toward her. For a moment, he looked stunned, but the look soon passed. Without thinking, he let the girl go and she scampered away. Gabriella, however, stood still.

"What do you want?" he snapped. "This isn't one of your little girlie soap operas, so go back to whatever planet you fell off of."

Gabriella couldn't move; couldn't speak. She shouldn't have left Taylor's side, she realized. That was her first big mistake.

"Are you mental or what?" he taunted. "Do I need to put it in smaller words so the mentally challenged can understand?"

"Bolton, leave her alone," Taylor demanded, now standing beside her. "She's new. She just wanted to see who the school dirt-bag was."

The boy glowered at Taylor. Gabriella backed up a few steps. She had seen many students in her previous schools who were just like him. Luckily, she had avoided becoming their target for she had moved around so often. Now, however, she knew that lady luck wasn't on her side.

The bell rang as he started toward them. He looked at Taylor as he spoke, "You're lucky this time, but it'll only be a matter of time." Looking to Gabriella, his eyes didn't soften, nor did his voice. "As for you, I'll let you off this time, but if you get in my way again then don't expect your time here to be very enjoyable." Purposely, he brushed past her, knocking the books in her arms to the ground instantly. She prayed that this would be her first and last encounter with him, but it was a false hope.

Beep...beep...beep....

Groaning, Gabriella rolled over on her bed and slammed her hand down on her alarm clock, shutting it off instantly. Groggily, she sat up and wiped her eyes. That was the third time this week she had had that dream and it was now Friday. Why did God want her to relive her awful first day of East High after she had succeeded in forgetting it? All it was was a constant reminder of her first mistake: getting in the way of Troy Bolton.

Walking to her closet, she scanned her clothes for the perfect outfit. She had two years to learn what not to wear. Skirts and dresses were definitely out. She shuddered as she remembered what happened the last time she had. White was also not a good choice. Black was the safest color, but that only led people (as in her tormentors) to believe that she was Gothic, which she clearly was not. She rolled her eyes. No matter what clothes she wore, she knew she would get mocked for it in some way, for that was the way it had been since day one.

Even though Troy had let her off the first day, he failed to mention the others, his friends. And, even worse, his girlfriend. Little had she known at the moment, his girlfriend, Sharpay Evans, witnessed what transpired that morning. Within a few hours, she had gone from being a nobody to the latest addition to their hit list. But, she never regretted what she had done that morning, and Kelsi, the girl whom she had saved, was now one of her closest friends.

She frowned, still looking through her wardrobe. It was the middle of November, meaning that a t-shirt was out or else she would have to wear a sweater, which was just more articles of clothing up for potential destruction.

Finally, her gaze fell upon her favorite shirt. It was a short-sleeved turquoise blouse but she felt confident that she would survive the first few minutes of school until she made it to her locker.

Pulling out that and a pair of skinny jeans, she dressed quickly and gave herself a quick glance in the mirror to make sure it looked okay. She sighed miserably. The outfit looked perfect, but she was a wreck.

Her right eye was noticeably discolored around the pupil, though not as bad as it was at the beginning of the week, but she felt that anyone who looked at her would know. That was from when Sharpay Evans, a.k.a. Troy Bolton's girlfriend, punched her on Monday for not letting her cut in the lunch line. It may have been worse had there been less witnesses.

After brushing her hair, she chose to pull it back into a loose ponytail, knowing that it didn't really matter what she looked like. No one ever noticed her, the geeky math whiz, anyway, unless they were like Troy Bolton and wanted to make her life hell.

Quickly but accurately, she masked the skin surrounding her eye with cover up. From afar, no one would ever know, she thought, satisfied. After finishing applying the rest of her make up, she grabbed her slightly tattered and worn book bag and headed downstairs. As expected, her mother had already left for work and her father was upstairs sleeping. That was the problem with having a father who worked the night shift and a mother who worked day shift, she thought. Very rarely were they all home (and awake) at the same time.

Quietly, she poured herself a bowl of cereal and ate it alone as she did every other morning. She now had exactly ten minutes to finish getting ready. She relaxed, knowing that there was no last-minute rush this morning. She had only missed the bus three times in the last two years, but each time she felt worse.

"Why didn't you catch the bus?" her father would ask, aggravated after she woke him.

"I-I...was up late working on homework. I-I'm sorry," she would say. Technically, this wasn't a lie. She had been up late doing homework, though it wasn't her own. Troy Bolton and his group of friends had this thing where they "hired" a "nerd" to do their work for them which they officially started after her arrival. She didn't really consider it "hiring" since they weren't being paid unless they didn't do the work, and then they would get punished. She was primarily Troy's target, for they considered her to be the smartest, and he was considered the "best", and so they assumed it worked like that. Gabriella, however, thought that Troy chose her, not because he was the "best", but because he was the most brain dead. She snickered at this thought.

After she was finished, Gabriella rinsed out her bowl and placed it in the sink, knowing that she would have more time to wash that and whatever dishes her father left for her that day. Briefly, she turned on the television and turned to the weather channel. She groaned. It was supposed to rain that afternoon, meaning that she would probably have to reschedule her mall trip plans with Taylor and Kelsi.

Turning it off, she looked at the clock again. Two minutes left. Hastily, she grabbed her bag, not noticing the paper that slipped out the front in her rush.

As Gabriella made her way through the crowded halls of East High, she kept her eyes focused on the path before her, knowing that if her gaze strayed then she would see something she would rather not, such as Chad Danforth bullying her best friend, Taylor, as usual. She sighed, making her way to the end of the hall where her locker stood on the end.

Exactly five seconds after she reached her locker, he was there; right on schedule. She anticipated the feelings as he pushed her face-first into the locker. Sometimes she felt that that was all he knew how to do was push people around.

"Montez," he started, relinquishing his hold on her. She turned to face him, her eyes full of anger and rage. The fear had mostly worn off after the first year and a half. She was used to the way he treated her...mostly. She just never wanted to do anything to set him off too badly, then she was afraid. "Calculus and English homework. Now."

"Do I even get a 'please'?" she remarked, reaching inside her bag. She handed him his calculus work, but his paper for English was nowhere in sight. Confused, she checked her bag again. Still nothing.

"Well?" he said, growing more and more impatient and annoyed.

"Um...uh," she stammered, panicking. She knew what happened the last time she forgot to do his work. He had cornered her after school with a few others, consisting of half of the basketball team and Sharpay. Before she could dwell on it too much, she shook it from her mind.

"Did you do it or not?" he demanded. "Quit stalling."

"I did it, but I can't find it!" she cried. "You have English third period! Just give me until then and I'll have it!"

Angrily, he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, satisfied when he saw the fear surfacing in her eyes. "Have it to me by then. Or else. Would you like a repeat of last time? Do I need to refresh your memory of what happens when you cross Troy Bolton?"

"N-no," she stuttered as he let go of her. Looking into his angry blue eyes, she couldn't help but wonder what all the other girls, those who had never been his bully victim, saw in him. Every other girl groveled at his feet, but she never understood why. He was a jerk; didn't everyone see that, or was it only her? "I-I'll have it."

"You better," he warned, letting her go. His hold was tight, for her arms ached long after. It was nothing new for him to leave bruises. Not a week went by that she didn't acquire at least one from somebody.

Entering her first period class, Gabriella slunk into her chair. She had no luck finding Troy's paper, and so she knew there would be hell to pay later. She could fake sick, she thought. Or ditch the rest of the day, but that would only prolong her suffering. But, it was Friday. He would surely forget by Monday morning, she thought, hopefully. Until his teacher asked for his assignment....She sighed. She just couldn't win.

"Hey, Gabs," Taylor greeted her, sliding into the chair beside her in the far back corner of the room. "Did Bolton rough you up too much this morning?"

She shook her head. "The worst will come after school. I think I left his English paper at home."

Taylor looked at her, wide-eyed. "You have study hall with him after this, right?" She nodded. "Um...okay, after this class, leave. Don't come back for the rest of the day."

"But, Tay, my dad will punish me, then I can't go out with you and Kelsi tonight," she pointed out. "Or for God knows how long."

"Gabi, would you rather get in trouble with your dad or in trouble with Bolton and his lunkhead friends?" she questioned

She groaned, but then an idea came to her. "How much do you trust me?"

"Depends," she answered cautiously, although she fought back a smile. "What are you planning?"

"You know I have my license but not a car yet," she started. "Can I borrow your car long enough to go home and get that paper? I promise I'll be back by the start of third period."

Sighing, Taylor searched through her purse until she found her keys. "You're lucky you're friends with me."

Gabriella smiled in appreciation as she took the keys. "I know."