Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any other such thing involved! It belongs to Disney.

I got off of the school bus and rushed straight up to my house. I had sort of a long and confusing day at school. Most people would think I were over exaggerating since I was only in the third grade. But today I had a substitute teacher that was a little more strict than my regular teacher. Luckily, today was Friday. Over the weekend, my substitute teacher had assigned me and the rest of my class to do a crafting project on one person whom we admire the most. I had decided to do it on a family member but it was tough to decide one of which to do it on. Planning the project wasn't too difficult for me to do. I was always very interested in art as well. As I rang my door bell, My daddy answered the door and I was beeing greeted with many licks to my face by my black Labrador, Hyper. When we first got Hyper as a puppy, I gave him that name because he was very hyperactive. I know. Not very creative. But, I was only five when we got him. I am eight years old now.

"Hey, sweetie. How was your day?" My daddy asked giving me a big hug.

"It was good. Today Mrs. Henderson was out sick so we got a substitute" I said explaining my day to him as I made it futher into the house while almost being knocked down by my dog.

"Oh. Was the sub nice?" he asked.

"I guess" I rolled my eyes as I sighed. Usually whenever I would get a substitute teacher, they wouldn't be so nice because the class would use our regular teacher being gone as an excuse to fool around during school. But at least I knew better and was well behaved.

"Aspen!" a familiar small voice called out to me. I looked up the stair case and running down came my little brother, Isaac. When he reached steady ground, I smiled down at him. Isaac Drew Bolton was a very smiley and curious five year old. And just like our dad, he had light brown hair and had one of his bangs swooped to the side and he had big blue eyes. He stood four feet and three inches tall and he was in kindergarten. Looking at my mama, daddy, and with my brother and I, no one could ever deny that we were family.

"Hey, little brother" I said ruffling his hair around so that it was messy. He swiped my hand off of his head. He hated it when I messed with his hair.

"Don't do that!" he exclaimed giving me and angry look. My dad chuckled at us.

"All right now, you two. Your mom has a snack waiting for you guys" he said motioning us to the kitchen where I saw my mama setting out juice for Isaac and I to have with our after noon snack. I ran up and gave my mama a hug. She bent down and gave me a kiss and continued to prepare our after noon snack.

"A peanut butter and jelly sandwich for my little princess. And a tuna sandwich for my stong little man" she said setting our plates at the table where Isaac and I were seated.

"Thanks mama" I said checking my sandwich to see if Mama had accidentally swiched mine with Isaac's sandwich... again. Since my mom was a busy bee, she usually mixed up the Isaac and I liked. The both of us were very different. Not just because we were brother and sister, but because more things happened to interest me than Isaac could pay attention to. I liked basket ball, skating, and learning and trying new things, Isaac liked base ball, dancing, and learning things the hard way. I was a daddy's girl, and Isaac was a mama's boy. We liked things our parents liked but one thing we could agree on was that the both of us loved to get on each other's nerves.

"So what did you learn in school today, Aspen?" Mama asked.

"Pretty much to never make a substitute teacher mad because it results in getting homework over the weekend" I said.

"Well, Daddy and I are hear to help you if you want us to" Mama said with a smile.

I smiled back at her. "No thanks, Mama. My homework is a project I have to do on the person I admire most" I said.

"Who are you planning on writing it on?" Daddy asked.

I slumped in my chair nervously. I really loved my family but I could only write about one person. "I don't know yet" I responded.

"Well, take your time, baby. Don't rush through it" Mama said. Phew. That was a close call. I didn't want to make Mama, Daddy or Isaac feel bad if I had chosen whom I was righting about right in front of them. I never wanted to uspet my family. After I was finished eating, I immediately put my dishes in the sink, thanked Mama for my snack and rushed up to my room and shut the door behind me to work on my project. I stared blankly at my paper for a while. 'Write about one person you admire most. Be very detailed and describe this person and tell why you have chosen them' I read over the given direction for the umpteenth time. I was used to writing but I had never thought following a simple task would be this difficult. Whom and which one of my family would I write about? The crazy things was, it didn't even have to be a family member. But I wanted it to be. There were no other people in this world I admired more than my family. After another long while, I felt tired and decided to take a break. I didn't see why I needed to stress this much on a Friday. And especially since it was a project that I would be done with in a matter of an hour if I made the effort. Just then, Isaac had decided to walk into my room with out even having the consideration to knock.

"Hey, Sissy" he said walking futher into the room before I stopped him in his tracks.

"Isaac, how many times have I told you not to come in without knocking?" I asked.

"Too many to count" he said hopping on my bed and jumping on it with hiss shoes on. I began to get angry and rushed over to the bed and stopped him from jumping more on it.

"Isaac! If you're going to jump on my bed, at least take your shoes off, please" I said calmly.

"Sorry" he said timidly as he removed his shoes before resuming using my bed as an indoor trampoline.

"Whatcha doin'?" he asked the two most annoying words to hear out of his little mouth. Usually those words to me meant he was going to be nosey and find some way to use one of my flaws against me. But luckily this time, I was as blank as an unused notebook.

"Nothing that concerns you, now go and play with your toys" I said shooing him off.

"I thought you were working on your project?" he asked. I sighed in frustration and rolled my eyes.

"I'm trying to but you keep on jumping on my bed and distracting me!" I said. He smiled as he continued to jump on my bed. I had it! I was fed up now.

"Get out!" I yelled pointing toward my door. He stopped jumping on my bed and stood there silent looking as if he were going to cry. He started quivering his lips and making a pouty face and sniffled.

"I'm not falling for that this time, Isaac" I said folding my arms looking at my brother. He sniffled louder and his eyes were filling with tears. I thought before responding. I think he was actually about to start crying. I tried to think of ways to shush him up, but it was too late. He had bursted into tears.

"Mommy!" he sobbed. He wailed louder until my mom had came into my room with a worried look on her face.

"What's going on in here?" she asked looking around and to go and see if Isaac was physically hurt in any way.

"Aspen is being mean to me!" he said between sobs and continued to wail loudly. My mom picked him up and held him and patted his back as he cried into her chest. My mom looked at me furiously and all I could do was shrug.

"Aspen, you need to start being nicer to your baby brother. All he wants to do is play with you. You couldn't do that?" she asked. I wanted to say something but Mama had already left the room with Isaac still crying like a baby. I was tired of Mama and Daddy babying Isaac every chance they had. It wasn't like he was two years old still needing to be fed a bottle of milk or anything. But I have to admit, Isaac was very clever when it came to blaming me for things that weren't my fault whever I wanted a little bit of space. My daddy came in without warning and startled me.

"Princess?" he asked. I jumped at his presence after being lost in my own thoughts.

"Yeah, Daddy?" I responded. He sat down on my bed and told me to come closer to him. When I did, he pulled me onto his lap. Ah, man. This usually meant it was lecture time. I hated it when he did that.

"How come you couldn't play with your brother. Hm?" he asked. I bowed my head an pouted.

"He's annoying sometimes, Daddy. And I was trying to do my homework" I said.

Daddy nodded. "I know, baby. But you have to remember, he's a lot younger than you and he doesn't realize when he's getting on someone's nerves. And you're his sister. He expects you to want to play with him" he said.

I sighed and looked Daddy in the eyes, "He's five years old! He should get the hint when he's annoying someone" I argued. I hopped off of Daddy's lap and went to sit back over at my desk to continue working on my homework.

"Princess, I know you're stressing about your project but try to take it easy. Spend this weekend with your brother. You might come to find that he's a cool little guy" he said. I rolled my eyes in disbelief. Daddy saw my look and came over and kissed my face a lot of times making me giggle.

"Just do it. For me?" Daddy begged. I hated it when he begged me to do things I had no interest in doing. Especially if it involved spending time with my bratty little brother. But like I said; I never wanted to disappoint my parents. I guess it couldn't hurt spending a weekend with Isaac.

The next day;

I was wrong. It was already Saturday and this was turning out to be the worst weekend by far. I had did what Daddy asked me to do; hang out with my little brother. I did everything Isaac liked to do. We played base ball, danced to silly songs, and even climbed trees. Nothing seemed to satisfy him because according to his silly little mind, I wasn't doing any of the activities right. What could I do about it? I didn't know how to play base ball. I couldn't dance to 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' because it wasn't my idea of a song to dance to. And, I was scared of heights so I couldn't even get up the tree in our front yard! Playing with my little brother was no walk in the park. But I had to if I wanted to avoid being scolded for uspeting him again.

"What do you want to do now, Isaac?" I asked our of breath. Isaac looked up to the sky thinking. I sighed, praying he wouldn't pick something that involved so much movement. I was already tired from doing all of his favorite things.

"I want to play truth or dare. And I dare you to jump on top of a school bus and shout 'My little brother, Isaac, is the coolest kid in the whole world'!" he laughed.

I felt myself heat up with anger and I snapped. "That is it! I've had it with your silly games and ideas! It's nap time for you, mister!" I said pointing my finger to him.

"But nap time is when Mommy says it's nap time!" he argued.

I bowed my head and gave up. There was no way I could break this kid. I felt like an adult trapped in an eight-year-old's body when it came to trying to play with Isaac. "Fine. If I go up stairs and lay down with you, will you go to sleep?" I compromised.

"Really?" he jumped with excitement. I raised on eyebrown confused at his excitement.

"Yeah, why not?" I said in monotone. It was actually a good idea considering how tired I saw. I would lay down with him until he fell asleep and then I would go back and try to work on my project for when I returned to school Monday. The two of us went upstairs but then we were being stopped in our tracks by Daddy.

"Where are you two going?" he asked.

"To take a nap" I said trying to pull Isaac into his room.

"At 12:30?" he asked looking down at his watch.

"Yeah, we did a lot this morning, Daddy and now we're very tired, right Isaac?" I said looking at my brother who stared blankly at Daddy.

"No" he said dumbfoundely. I sighed and pulled him by his arm into his room.

My Daddy looked at us strange as we entered Isaac's room.

"Troy, what's going on?" Mama asked.

"I guess they're bonding" Daddy said. They smiled at each other.

I layed down on the bed with Isaac until he fell asleep. But he wouldn't stop moving around and jiggling the bed. My head started to spin when he did.

"Isaac, go to sleep!" I said. He layed still for a moment before moving around again.

"What will it take for you to go to sleep!" I asked desperate for him to take a nap.

"Tell me a story?" he asked with an innocent smile on his face. Ha! If I could I would smack that 'innocent' smile right off his face if I could get away with it.

"Forget it!" I said as I violently let myself back down on the bed and shut my eyes.

"Don't make me cry!" he threatened. What do I do now? I had never felt so defeated even when I haven't lost yet. But it felt like he had more power over me than I could imagine.

"Okay, Fine!" I gave in. I sat up on the bed, as did he. I tried to think hard before telling a story he would find interesting.

"Once upon a time" I began. I thought harder for a moment. He gazed at me with his big blue eyes waiting for me to proceed.

"Ugh. There was a little boy named Isaac. He had a fancy penny collection in his big giant blue crayon" I resumed. I sighed and decided to go along with what ever had came up in my head.

"He loved all sorts of things like tuna sandwiches, cartoons with funny faces and big ugly monster like creatures on posters!" I said acting out. He laughed as I did.

"He also loved to play sports and dance to songs that lit his spirit. And he was a brave little boy. He could climb trees, chase squirls in his very own backyard and wrestle with his dog! But he also had a playmate. And guess whom it was?" I said.

"Who?" he asked.

"A big sister" I resumed.

"I wanna tell the story now!" he said bouncing in his spot on the bed.

"All right, calm down. Go ahead" I said.

"My sister was very smart and very pretty and loved to paint and things like that" he started off. I smiled bashfully and his beginning part of the story.

"She is also the sweetest sister anyone could ever have. She's my favorite person in the world besides Spiderman. If I didn't have a favorite super hero, my sister would be my most favorite-est super hero in the whole world" he said concluding the story.

"Thanks, Isaac" I said pulling him into a hug.

"So, you're not mad at me anymore?" he asked innocently. I smiled at him and ruffled his arm again.

"I was never mad at you. But you just get on my nerves sometimes and you do annoy me a lot of the time. But you're still my little brother" I said.

"I know. And I wont deny it, but I have fun annoying you" he smiled.

"But why?" I asked.

"Because, when you're in trouble, I get all of the attention while I watch you drown in your misery" he laughed evily.

I sighed and looked at my brother. He watched way too many movies for his age. But at the same time I shot off a smile at him for his reasons he annoyed me for. "You know, you are a lot smarter than what I give you credit for, little brother" I said.

"You'd better get used to it. There's a lot more where that came from" he said with a big smile on his face. I pulled him in for another hug until he yawned. I knew he was tired for real this time. I layed by his side until he fell asleep. Once I heard the sounds of him snoring, I carefully and quietly made it out of his room and downstairs into the living room. I lied down on the couch feeling tired myself. I heard bold footsteps walk into the living room.

"Hey, kiddo. You wanna go to the park and shoot some hoops while Mom and Isaac wait here?" he asked swirling the basket ball in his hands. I sighed of exhaustion.

"No thanks, Daddy" I said yawning.

"How come you're so tired?" he asked me sitting down on the edge of the couch.

"Daddy, when you have a little brother that has more energy than you, then you'll understand" I said. He chuckled at me and I raised my head up.

"What?" I asked curious to why he thought what I said was so funny.

"I think I do know, honey" he said grinning at me.

"How?" I asked.

"Because when you first came along, you were just as energetic as your brother is right now" he said.

"I was?" I asked feeling confused.

"Sure. You used to run around here like your little butt was on fire. You hopped and jumped around, you would always get excited when your favorite shows would come on TV, and you used to jump on me all the time when I came home from school" he explained.

I tried hard to remember when I did all of that. I must have been really small if I can't remember something he said that he made seem so vivid.

"How old was I?" I asked giving up on figuring out how long ago this experience was.

Daddy looked up at the ceiling trying to remember as well. "This was right around the time Isaac was born. But you've always been a feisty child. That's when I used to call you 'little tyke', remember?" he asked.

"Daddy, I was three" I said. Daddy laughed and picked me up. Even though I was eight, he always thought that I was still small enough to be held. I didn't mind it. Because I was always his little girl to him and I loved it. Te both of us went up to him and Mama's room and the both of us lay down in his bed. I snuggled next to Daddy and closed my eyes until he asked me a question.

"So did you and your brother have a fun time telling stories? I heard you two in his room" he pointed out.

I giggled. "Yes, Daddy" I said. I was just about to fall asleep until Daddy woke me up again.

"Did you figure out who you're gonna write about for your project?" he asked.

"Daddy, I'm trying to sleep" I whined. He chuckled again and kissed me on the top of my head as I drifted off to sleep. In my mind I had already chosen whom I was going to write about. But Mama, Daddy, and Isaac wouldn't find out until tomorrow after I finished and gave my presentation before taking it to school on Monday. I had planned on working on my project the minute I woke up from my nap.

Sunday was finally here and I had finished my project. I had butterflies in my tummy. I was nervous to show my family whom I did for my presentation. I had come to a compromising decision but I only hoped it would be acceptable. I also pretended that this pre-presentation was minor practice for when I went up in front of the class the next day. After being called to the kitchen table, Mama, Daddy, and Isaac were all seated and ready to hear my paper. I stood nervously before reason what I wrote, also making sure everyone's eyes were on me.

I read my paper aloud.

"I chose to do my project on my family" I said. I pulled up a big poster of pictures of me and my family on recent occasions and old events. Some were of the day I was born, and when I first learned how to walk. Some of Daddy and Mama when they got married and took a family picture with me when Mama had Isaac in her tummy. And some of Isaac when he was born and when him and I would play together and Grandpa and Grandma's house. I could say the poster was a masterpiece.

"This is my Daddy, Troy Bolton. He is really good at basket ball and making my Mama happy. And most importantly, making giving me the ability to aim and shoot perfect hoops without even trying" I said pointing to a picture of Daddy on the poster. He smiled at me and then winked. I winked back at him. The next picture I pointed to was of Mama. "And this here is my Mom, Gabriella Montez-Bolton. She's the best mom in the whole world and has brain of a genius, the voice of an angel, and a heart of gold" I said. My mom smiled. I felt her heart light up and it was a good feeling.

And finally I pointed to three pictures of my brother and I. "And this is my little brother, Isaac Bolton. He's probably the best little brother I could have ever asked for. We're only three years apart but, let's not get it twisted now, he's still very clever for a five year old. We get on each other's nerves and we annoy each other to the point of no return but most importantly, we love each other. I would do anything for him. And my achey legs are living proof that it's a true fact, seeing as though I spent my entire weekend dancing, playing sports, and climbing trees with him. Isaac is the person I admire most. Why? Because I get to be his big sister for the rest of his life, love him, and guide him through hard times. And because he'll do the same for me and still promise to be my little brother in the end. I admire him because he's my little brother. And I couldn't ask for a stronger bond" I said.

"Bravo!" Isaac exclaimed applauding with the rest of my family. By the expression's on Mama, Daddy, and Isaac's faces, I could tell they were impressed by my presentation. I wrapped everything up and neatly set it on the kitchen counter for tomorrow when I went back to school. Isaac and I had went out into the front yard so that I could push him on the tire swing Daddy tied on the tree a year ago.

"Aspen?" Isaac asked innocently.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Why did you decide to make your paper about me?" he asked.

"Because I didn't realize until we hung out this whole weekend that you're really a cool person" I said.

"How come?" he asked again.

I laughed at his curiosity. "Well for one, you sure know how to make someone meet your demands. You're overly excited in a good way. And you're the coolest brother I know of" I said.

"But, sometimes I think you hate me and you don't wanna be around me" he said. My heart got heavy for a moment. I resumed pushing him on the tire swing.

"I don't hate you. And it's not that I don't want to be around you. I just need my space some times. But no matter how much you annoy me and how bad I wanna yell at you for it, I still love you Isaac. You're my baby brother" I said. Isaac smiled at me and asked him to push him harder. I did love my little brother. I'm glad I had some one to look after and take care of. My dad was right. Once I actually got the chance to hang out with Isaac, I had come to find that he really was a cool person to have a brother. I smiled to myself and thought about the next step in our young lives we would take. It was to be a very long, but promising journey. Just my little brother and I.

A/N: Very short, but still tried to make it very sweet. Just an idea I had in my head while trying to finish the last chapter of "You're With Me" (still working on it). I hope you guys enjoyed this short little One Shot =]