True Drama

- a High School Musical story

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I swore I knew the melody that I heard you singing.
And when you smiled, you made me feel like I could sing along
But then you went and changed the words, now my heart is empty.
I'm only left with 'used-to-be's and 'once-upon-a-song's.

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Chapter One

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They were only three weeks into rehearsals for Twinkle Towne and though Troy had worked his ass off to get to where he was right now, there was nothing more he wanted to do than sleep. He hid a yawn patiently behind his script, blinking a couple times, trying to clear his vision. Gabriella was chatting cheerfully with Kelsey as most of the cast lounged around waiting for Darbus to come back and tell them to get working again. They had just spent the past half an hour learning a complicated dance number involving a lot of leaping. Troy felt just as sore as he did after a basketball practice. Hiding a grimace as he carefully stretched his calf muscles, he didn't anticipate the booming voice of the "musicale" director directly behind him. In surprise, he started and ended up off balance, only to be caught at the last moment. He glanced down to see Gabriella by his side, steadying him with a gentle smirk.

"Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? Me falling for you?" Troy's only reply was an amused smile as his arm wound around her waist. They stood comfortably beside one another, gently supporting the other, even if it didn't last long. Darbus shepherded the rest of the cast onto the stage and shouted,

"FROM THE TOP!" Troy groaned and let go of Gabriella reluctantly.

"I think that has to be one of her favorite things to say." he muttered, his dark-haired girlfriend's giggle reaching his ears even as she took her place. They ran through the dance twice more before being released. The announcement that practice was over was greeted with cheers as most of the cast limped away - Troy, unfortunately had to stay. Vocal practice for fifteen minutes before heading to basketball practice. He nearly groaned aloud again at the thought of doing more in his exhausted state. Well, this is what I wanted. And it was true, he wanted it more than anything, so he set his smile and moved to the piano where Gabriella was perched on the bench beside Kelsey. Gabriella glanced up and noticed the tensing at the corners of Troy's eyes, a sure sign he was exhausted. There was little he could hide from her. She stood and wove an arm around his waist, waiting for the tension throughout his body to fade. Slowly but surely it did as he relaxed into the embrace, settling his chin on top of her head. They listened patiently to the hyper pianist who instructed them on the newest song. It was a small one, only a reprisal of a previous song, but with different words. Familiar notes reached Troy's ears as her hands skimmed over the worn keys of the piano - Breaking Free had become a popular song around the school and it wasn't uncommon for someone to be caught in class humming it.

"We're livin', dyin' - without you there is no will in me to go on. We're smilin', cryin' - together we're living the life that we deserve." Kelsey sung the new words in her soft soprano, giving Troy an idea of the harmony he would be singing. Troy hummed it, trying out the new words on his tongue. A few mess-ups and laughs later, Troy and Gabriella had gotten the easiest part down pat. Troy twirled her across the stage, singing with wild abandon. Gabriella joined in, laughing, their voices echoing across the auditorium. They linked hands and Troy spun Gabriella out like a pro and laughed at the surprised look on her face when she twirled back into his arms.

"I didn't know you could dance." she said delightedly, and Troy smirked, bending down to kiss her. As they broke away he smiled a sheepish smile, his arms loosening from the proper dance hold to wrap warmly around her, pulling her even closer to him.

"I guess there's a lot you don't know about me." he said, mysteriously, before smiling widely and winking. Gabriella just rolled her eyes, laughing. Movement caught Troy's eye and he glanced up for a moment to see a man standing at the entrance, watching the two carefully. Gabriella caught his glance and followed his line of vision to the man. There was a sudden tenseness in her body and she stumbled, but Troy caught her easily. "What's wrong?" he asked immediately, turning to look at her. Gabriella couldn't tear her eyes from the man. "Ella?" She slowly slid her gaze to his. Her eyes were wide, there was a fear in her face that couldn't be ignored. Something about the man scared her. Troy held her tighter, his protective instincts kicking in. "Who is he?" he asked quietly, not really expecting an answer. But what he got in return shocked him.

"My dad."

Troy started. "Your what?" he asked, amazed. He hadn't heard anything about Gabriella's dad, at least not anything more than that he had left her mother years ago.

"My dad." she repeated, watching as the man slowly moved forward down the aisle. The fear had almost left her eyes, all that was left was a resignation. "I can't believe he found us." Those words sent a chill down Troy's spine. Had this man been looking for his Ella and her mum? "It was going so well." she murmured and gently broke away from Troy to walk to the edge of the stage. Troy saw Kelsey duck behind her piano only to peek out around it again. He summoned his courage and jogged to the edge with Gabriella as well. The man paused at the first row of seats, looking up at the two of them. Troy could see a few similarities if he looked hard - the only way he knew for sure was the man's eyes. Gabriella definitely did not have her mother's eyes - she'd obviously gotten them from her father. "Thomas." Gabriella said flatly and Troy heard a bitterness there that didn't match the cheerful, smiling Ella that he adored. He already disliked this man for making his girlfriend sound so horrible jaded.

"Gabi." the man replied warmly, a smile on his face.

"What are you doing here?" she asked bluntly, groping blindly for Troy's hand which he slid into hers immediately, squeezing comfortingly.

"Ah, a father can't visit his daughter anymore?" he asked, not losing his cheer.

"You don't qualify as a father anymore. You lost that privilege when you left. Again." Gabriella said, her voice hard. There was a rough edge to it and Troy could tell she was close to tears. He slid closer, trying to support her just by his presence. He didn't feel right saying anything, so all he could do was stand there. He hated being helpless, but he remained quiet.

"Oh don't be so mean to your old man Gabi, besides, I brought along someone I thought you'd might want to see." At that, almost like he had been waiting for it, a tall young man strode down the aisle, easily reaching the bottom in several strides. Gabriella inhaled quickly. "Ah yes, you remember Jamie, don't you?" The tension had reached its peak and Troy nearly blurted something out in his urge to break it, but fortunately it was broken as one of his friends from the team skidded in - it was obvious why he'd volunteered to come - it was Chris - though most people called him by his last name - Cross. Well, Cross was one of Troy's closer buddies - but he was also the one with the crush on Kelsey.

"Yo, Troy, practice, remember? Coach is going cuh-razy - half of the team is missing already from detentions and if you don't make it soon, he's gonna blow a gasket." Troy nodded simply.

"I'll be there in a couple minutes, tell him I'll be down soon." The boy winced, but nodded and darted out of the open door. Silence reigned for a moment before Gabriella took a deep breath.

"Troy, this is my dad, Thomas. Thomas - this is my boyfriend, Troy. And Troy, this is Jamie - an…old friend." she got out, averting her eyes.

"Aw, Gabs, say it like it is - Jamie Reynolds, ex-boyfriend." Jamie was grinning widely, having struck a casual pose against a row of chairs. Something rose in Troy that he really didn't want to identify, but it made his stomach twist and throat constrict. Something told him it was jealousy though he already knew it. Troy nodded at both men and he felt Gabriella clutch at his hand.

"Troy, I-" Ignoring the presence of two huge problems that had just walked into both of their lives, Troy pressed a gentle finger against her lips, only to replace it with his own for a soft, chaste kiss.

"I know." he said, his signature sheepish smile breaking across his face. Gabriella smiled back. "Nice meeting you both," Troy said, his voice clear and strong as it rang across the theater. "but I need to be getting to basketball practice. I'm already late and that's not the best example for a captain to set." He couldn't help add the captain bit in and he knew from the knowing smile on his girlfriend's lips that she knew what he'd done. "I'll see you later Ella, or-"

"I'm coming." she said definitely, weaving her fingers with his firmly. "I want to watch your practice." Her eyes told the truth: she didn't want to be alone with her dad and Jamie.

"Great." he replied, moving off the stage into the wings with Gabriella, only to hear footsteps after them.

"Don't mind if we join you, do you?" came Thomas' voice. Troy swallowed a retort, and turned, a smile pasted on.

"Of course not, though it's pretty long - you might get bored."

"Or not." came the reply and Troy just smiled, continuing on, keeping Gabriella as close as possible. Once they paused at the entrance to the boys locker, Troy turned to face his girlfriend, keeping their faces close. Whispering, he gestured towards the gym entrance three feet away.

"Go in, while I'm watching. I'll be up as quickly as possible - sit at the benches near my dad. Alright?" She smiled shakily, but nodded. True to his word, Troy watched as she entered the gym, no sign of her nervousness. Both Thomas and Jamie watched her enter before turning their gazes to Troy, who simply smiled back. He missed the disconcerted looks of the two men. He entered the locker and changed at warp speed, making it up to the gym just as Jamie and Thomas reached the benches by Gabriella and his dad.

"On the court, Bolton!" shouted his dad just as Troy paused by the bench. He grimaced, sent a 'look' to Gabriella, who returned it, before jogging into place as a point guard. The scrimmage was fairly small, considering how much of the team was scrubbing at the cafeteria floors due to a food fight blamed on them, but it was still very hard work. Maybe harder considering how much each member realized how handicapped their side was due to loss of players. Troy shouted criticisms and praise along with his father, easily losing himself in the game.

"SUH-WISH!" shouted three members of his team as Troy sank another three pointer after assisting Jay with one of his own. Troy heard the delighted laughter of his girlfriend and turned to see her smiling widely at him, applauding. Behind her sat Thomas, who's face was completely closed off and Jamie who was watching the game with avid eyes, a genuine grin on his face. The game continued and Troy lost himself in the game again, but checked on Gabriella every time possession of the ball changed. She had relaxed somewhat because Jamie and Thomas had gotten up for water, Thomas having wheedled at the younger boy. The bright orange container sat at one end of the gym and Troy only spotted them once before he heard his name called. He twisted sharply, snatching the ball from midair and snapped back to set his feet - the entire motion was instantaneous, but so was what happened next. Troy's ankle went out from under him and there was a loud crack followed by a thud and a loud cry of pain as Troy hit the floor, the ball flying into the stands somewhere. No one had been near the captain when he dropped to the floor, but even though the players were closest, Gabriella and Coach Bolton made it to his side first. Chad, Cross and Zeke were right behind them.

"Troy! Troy!" He heard his name, but his vision was blurred due to the pain. He coughed, breathing harshly. There were gentle hands on his cheeks, guiding his face. He blinked rapidly, clearing his vision, and saw Gabriella's face above his, worried. "Don't you dare try moving mister." Troy opened his mouth to protest, found that she was quite correct, and closed it, settling back on the floor. He was very thankful she didn't ask him what hurt, because everything hurt - his ankle was aching as if someone had run over it with a dump truck and then poked it a couple more times with a sharp burning stick. The pain was quickly becoming more and more intense and he lifted his fist to his mouth to bite down, trying to hold back a whimper of pain.

"Why'd he fall?" whispered a player and Troy heard his dad answer for him. They sounded far away - a lot farther away than they should've. Gabriella was saying something about an ambulance coming, them having sent Chad to call for one because Chad was the fastest runner.

"Water, on the court. I don't get it, we clean these floors every day, before practice - there's no way -" Troy cast his eyes around on what was in his limited area of vision - the last thing he saw before he finally blacked out from the pain was Jamie, holding a plastic cup, leaning against the bright orange water cooler.

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Authors Note: I'm just a tiny bit obsessed with this movie. Can you tell? D I honestly think it's so horribly adorable that I have to see it every time it comes on. I nearly kicked my VCR when it didn't set right to record it. But this is just the first chapter of…I have no idea how many. Teehee. I honestly don't really know where this is going, but the second (and third! D)chapterarein the process of being written. Fellow fans of HSM - let me know what you think. )