Disclaimer: Anything pertaining to High School Musical belongs to Disney, not me. Don't sue!

Song of Inspiration: Welcome To My Life by Simple Plan

"Slut."

"Bitch."

"Skank."

"Whore."

Those were the comments I heard as I walked down the hallowed halls of Albuquerque's own East High School. Let me explain a little more. My name's Gabriella Montez and I'm 17 years old. I moved to Albuquerque after my mom got transferred here. Before we moved, I met Troy Bolton at a ski lodge and saw a part of him that not even his parents knew about – Troy Bolton, basketball superstar, could sing. Shocking, isn't it? Anyway, on my first day of school I ran into Troy and, well, let me just say that it wasn't easy to be the school nerd and be friends with the big man on campus. It got worse when we got a callback for the Spring Musical. Our friends tried so hard to keep us apart but then realized that we were miserable without each other. We went to callbacks and got the parts over Ryan and Sharpay Evans. We started dating not long after that. Ever since then, people have liked me even less, a feat I thought to be impossible. In the back of my mind I know that they're just jealous, but sometimes I wonder. The hotshot basketball star isn't supposed to be with the school nerd. He's supposed to be with the head cheerleader! Why did he choose me? I'm nothing special. I'm average looking – black, curly hair, tan skin, brown eyes, petite. I never really fit into any of the cliques at my other schools. He could've had any girl he wanted; yet he chose me. Now usually I just ignore the comments and keep on walking, but lately I've started thinking about what those girls are saying. Especially today. Ten years ago, on this very day, my parents were in a car accident. My mom came out with a couple of broken bones multiple scrapes, but my dad, well, he was in a coma for a year and my mom finally decided to pull the plug on the life support. I don't think I'll ever fully recover from that emotional blow. My dad and I were like peanut butter and jelly; you can't have one without the other. When he died, it was like a part of me had gone with him. As I was reminiscing, one specific comment caught my attention.

"I heard her dad was in an accident like 10 years ago. I bet it was suicidal. He was probably ashamed to have a slut as a daughter!"

I went up to the girl, fury written all across my face, and slapped her with all the force my petite body could muster. Then, I told her off.

"Don't ever talk about my dad that way! He was the best father in the world and he was taken away from me in the blink of an eye. You be thankful that you even have a father because you won't always. You can say all you want about me but never insult the ones I love. Especially my father."

My voice was so low and held so much fury and hostility in it that even I was afraid of me. When it comes to the people I love, you don't want to mess with me, because I'll hunt you down and beat you to a pulp. I ran away before I could start crying. In the back of my mind I could hear somebody calling my name and asking me to stop but I just ignored them. I wouldn't give these people the satisfaction of seeing me cry. I didn't know where I was headed, but I could guarantee that it would be far away from here. I'd been running for about 10 minutes when I finally stopped, gasping for air. I looked around and realized I was at the park by the pond; my favorite place in the whole world. I should've known I'd end up here. This is where I always come when I'm upset. I put my stuff down by the tree and sat down. I checked to make sure that no one was around. When I was sure that I was alone, I started to cry. I cried for my father and I cried for myself. I felt like no one was there for me. My father had unintentionally deserted me and I was kicked when I was down. I heard someone sit next to me and I turned to face them, bracing myself to yell and make them leave. I found myself looking into the most beautiful cerulean eyes I've ever seen and felt my heart rate speed up. Troy had found me.

"What's wrong," his concerned voice asked.

"Nothing," I said stubbornly.

"It sure doesn't look like nothing."

"Well," I started to say, but then I hesitated. I looked at his face and he smiled, encouraging me to go on.

"It was ten years ago,"

Flashback

"Now you be good for the sitter, mija," the man said

"Yes Papi," the young girl said with a roll of her eyes.

"Come on Bernardo! We don't want to miss our reservations. Le amo Gabriella," the girl's mother said while walking out the door.

"Remember Gabriella, you will always be mi angelita. Le amo!" Bernardo said while leaving.

"Le amo papi! Hast luego!"

End Flashback

"No long after that we received a call from the hospital saying that there had been a car accident. My mom came out with a couple broken bones and a lot of scrapes. My dad, though, went into a coma. After a year, the doctor told us that there was no chance he'd ever wake up. He was a vegetable. My mom told the doctors to pull the plug on the life support and he died. That was ten years ago today."

"Gabi," he said, pulling me into his comforting arms, " Why didn't you tell me before? I would've helped you."

"I didn't want your pity, Troy. Anyway, I thought I was fine up until that cheerleader made a comment about my dad. That's when I lost it."

"What did she say?" he asked, still holding me in his arms.

"I'll only tell you if you promise not to overreact."

"I solemnly swear not to overreact," he said with a mock salute.

"Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise."

"She said that the car accident was my father's way of committing suicide. That he was probably ashamed of having a slut like me as a daughter."

After I said this, he froze. Troy's eyes darkened from his signature blue to an angry gray and his fists clenched in fury. I saw a muscle in his jaw twitch. I was actually afraid of Troy.

"Troy," I said, trying to calm him, "Troy! Calm down. She's probably right anyway."

This got Troy's attention. They were filled with concern once more. He turned to face me.

"Don't you ever think that, Gabriella Montez. You are the most caring, compassionate, beautiful person that I've ever met and I'm so very proud of you. I've never had the honor of meeting your father, but I'm pretty sure – no, I'm positive – that he's proud of you, too."

"You really think so?"

"I know so."

"Papi would've loved you, Troy. I swear, you two are exactly alike."

"If he was anything like you, I know we'd get along famously."

"Famously? Did you seriously just say that?" I said, giggling.

"Why yes I did, Miss Montez! Do you have a problem with that?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, I do! What are you gonna do about it?"

"Well," he started, a mischevious glint in his eye.

"Troy," I said in warning," Don't do this, Troy."

Before I even finished the sentence he pounced, tickling me mercilessly. Laughing, we rolled down the hill. When we got to he bottom, he had me pinned to the ground, arms above my head. I looked him in the eye and I knew three things. I knew that my dad was watching me from heaven. I knew that Troy and him would have gotten along "famously." Finally, I knew that everything would be okay. Of course, all these thoughts and revelations flew from my mind as Troy brought his lips down to meet mine, and it was just me and him, the man I love, together, forever. Welcome to my life.

A/N: My first real attempt at a story. The others were kinda just practice. Please! If you value sanity, press the review button! Let me know what you think! Ideas for other stories are welome, as well as praise/flames.