Summary: Ever since Troy and Gabriella almost kissed at the basketball game, they've both been too shy to try for it again. Troy has been becoming more and more involved with basketball, and Gabriella's finding that math and science has been taking up most of her free time, as well. When Chad and Taylor notice this, what are they to do? Well, they start thinking of ways to get them together, of course! However... what happens when Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C all fail? They think of more ideas, of course! Soon enough, what starts out as just a few plans (A, B, C, and D) turns into twenty-six of 'em (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, ect.). Will any of the ideas actually work? Will Chad and Taylor be able to get Troy and Gabriella together before the musical? Will all of Chad and Taylor's plans ruin Troy and Gabriella's friendship, in general? Why on earth am I asking you, when I already know (haha, stole this phrase from someone)!

Rating: PG (K+)

Genre: Romance/Humor

Pairings: Troyella (Troy and Gabriella), Chaylor (Chad and Taylor), Sheke (Sharpay and Zeke), and Jelsi (Jason and Kelsi). However, later on, I may just have to add a Relsi (Ryan and Kelsi) in there, 'cause I simply adore this couple!

Disclaimer: Yeah, so I don't own the any of the original HSM characters, nor the original plot. However, I do own this plot. Fin.

Chapter One: The Beginning

"Come on now guys! Head in the game, head in the game!" Coach Bolton shouted at the team of boys.

"Come on, Wildcats! Show me what you got!" Troy Bolton shouted above the dribbling of the ball and the squeaking of the tennis shoes on the newly cleaned gym floor.

Coach Bolton let a small grin slip upon his face as he watched his son and the other boys following his lead. Chad thrust the ball at Zeke, who caught it with ease and threw the orange ball to Troy. Troy caught it, just as it was about to go over his head and started moving to the basketball hoop. Another team member blocked his way, trying to take the ball out of Troy's grasp (they were doing a scrimmage). Troy, thinking fast, threw it to Jason, who was only a few feet away and wide open. Troy ran up the court on the opposite side, watching Jason run up on the other side. Just as another teammate was about to try and steal the ball from Jason, the boy quickly tossed it to Troy, who ran (dribbling all the way), paused for a minute in front of the hoop, and shot it perfectly into the basket, his feet just barely leaving the ground.

Troy grinned cheerfully, and did a tiny jig, as he ran back over to his teammates. "Alright, great practice everyone! Now, that's exactly what I wanna see in the game!" Troy said gleefully.

"Well, that'll do it for today, boys. Go ahead and hit the showers!" Coach Bolton instructed the boys, and they all ran towards the locker room. Just as Troy was passing his father, Coach Bolton placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and turned him around, grinning. "You get better everyday!" he said. Troy didn't exactly know why his father had chosen to tell him this… but it still felt great to know that his father was proud of him. Troy grinned, and replied with a simple, "Thanks, dad."

"Well, you better go ahead and get along then." Mr. Bolton told him. "I've got a few things to go over, anyway. I'll see you at home." With that, Troy ran to the locker room, and Jack went off to his office.
Troy stopped shortly, turning around. "Oh, dad!" he called across the gym. Troy jogged up to his father and began again. "I'm gonna practice with Gabriella for the musical, so I won't be home 'til sometime around 4:30."

"Alright." Jack sighed, looking down at his son. It wasn't that he had anything against his son's new talent… it was just that… well, now this girl and the musical seemed to have started to take over Troy's life, whether he noticed it or not. Jack wasn't quite sure if he liked the idea of this, when Troy should've really been focusing all of his attention on basketball.

Troy searched his father's eyes, seeming to almost read his thoughts. "It's okay, dad." Troy reassured him with a small grin. "I've been practicing every day at home, as well. You know that, you've seen me loads of times. Trust me, I can handle both things. Besides, you know what they always say, right? Well… maybe they don't always say it… but it is a pretty good life lesson I guess…" the boy trailed off, looking down at his shoes for a few moments. "Anyway," he began again, turning his head back up towards his father. "I really want to sing and play basketball too, so I'm willing to try my best and make sacrifices for that." he finished, with yet another wide grin.

Jack let the words sink into him before replying again, "I know… just… don't put too much pressure on yourself, alright? It's not healthy-really, it isn't."

Troy nodded. "I know… and I can do it." He grinned once more before running off again, calling behind his shoulder: "Alright, well I'll see ya at home, dad! Gotta go catch up with Gabi before I'm too late!"

"Great job, Gabriella!" Taylor was complimenting her new best friend. "Thanks a ton for helping out with this. They can never get enough help, you know." Taylor gestured towards four students, whom both girls had started tutoring, just a few days ago.

Gabriella looked up to the clock, and quickly said, before running off herself, "Oh! I've gotta run-don't wanna be late to practice. I would really hate to make Kelsi wait for me… let alone, be alone with Troy for God knows how long!" Gabriella said as she giggled to herself, and ran out of the science lab.

Taylor grinned at Gabriella's back. The two were perfect for each other-Gabriella and Troy, not the two girls, of course. The only thing was that… well… they both were just a bit shy when it came to their relationship being anything more than just good friends. Taylor knew this. Chad knew this. Zeke knew this. Sharpay knew this. Ryan knew this. Kelsi knew this… and Jason knew this. Basically, just about the whole school knew this. Taylor really wished that there was some way to get the both of them together… but that would take great plotting… and she sure as heck couldn't do it alone…

It seemed as though a tiny light bulb in the girl's head suddenly lit up at the thought. She needed to go find Chad! Taylor rushed the small group of students out of the lab-quickly putting everything away while she was at it. Within five minutes, Taylor was completely done with everything and she, herself was racing out of the science lab and down the many hallways of East High. Where she was headed… to the locker room, of course!

Author's Note: Yeah, so this is my first attempt at writing a HSM fic. So far, I've only done "Harry Potter", "Star Wars", and "Lizzie McGuire"… most of 'em flopped (except one HP one that I'm still working on at the moment)… so I hope that this one won't! Sorry for the shortness… but I had to begin somewhere. 'Sides, it's late and I've got to go to bed real soon. Well… tell me what ya think! (The humor and everything else will come in later chapters… I've already got about the next four ones planned out!)