I do not own High School Musical. I do, however, own Tobias, because I made him up. I'm going to try to keep this story going, unlike Friendless, which is on an indefinite hiatus. I've written part of chapter 2, but I can't get further and what I've written is too short for my likings. Also, Elsewhere, a Tryan story from way back is also on an indefinite hiatus because I have lost my feel for it and have no clue where to go with it. I'm getting far with my Twilight story, Moonlight Horizon, so it's still my main focus, but this will be focused on, as well. This is set sort of during HSM3, but clearly it's AU. Also, it won't be so choppy like the first chapter is. I just want to get to the good stuff, haha.

"Troy, your father and I need to talk to you, please!" Mrs. Bolton called up the stairs.

"Alright, be right down!"

After about ten minutes had passed, East High's star athlete, Troy Bolton, descended down the stairs and walked into the living room, 'What's up, parentals?" He asked politely.

Troy's mom smiled, "Take a seat, honey."

Troy's smile faded slightly as he took a seat, "This doesn't sound too good."

"It's good, but the circumstance isn't," Mr. Bolton said.

Troy nodded, "Okay, well…what is it you need to tell me, guys?"

Mrs. Bolton nodded, "Okay, well, I don't see how we can break this to you any easier, Troy, so I guess I will just come out and say it. As you know, I can't get pregnant anymore and your father and I wanted to adopt a child."

Troy nodded, "Okay…"

She looked at her husband before continuing, "Well, we went to the adoption agency, and they took us to one of the local houses from where we would have been adopting the child. We looked around and I saw this boy. He was absolutely beautiful…but he looked sad. As if the world held nothing for him and he was just waiting for the ground to open up and swallow him whole."

Troy raised an eyebrow, "You got all that from a baby?"

Mrs. Bolton scoffed softly, "Oh! God, heavens no, Troy! I'm not that intuitive! He's a 14 year old boy. I asked the lady about him, and she said that they didn't know much about him personally. I spoke to your father and we agreed that he was the one. He's not a baby, but I really think that if he were to live in this type of environment that it could really change him for the better."

It was Mr. Bolton's turn to speak, "Troy, I know that this is a lot to process and take in. Normally, we would have asked how you felt before we decided to take any action, but you're graduating soon and going off to college. We didn't think that it could hurt, and I thought that maybe if he spent some time with you that it'd help as well."

Troy nodded, "I'm okay with it, but did you ever stop to think that maybe he doesn't want this?"

Mrs. Bolton gave a look of disappointment, "Well, we did ask him, Troy. And his reply was 'why not?'. I really want to help him, or at least try to. It's better than staying at that place."

Troy thought about it for a few moments. They had already adopted him, probably, so there was really no point in trying to form some form of debate. He always wanted a younger sibling, but he wasn't sure that a random teenager would really be a good idea. He let out a soft sigh and looked at them, "When does he get here?"

Mrs. Bolton let out a sigh of relief as she took her husband, Jack's, hand and looked at Troy, "Tomorrow. I'm going to pick him up during halftime at your game and then you guys will have to fill me in on what I missed."

Troy nodded. His mom never really cared for basketball, but she always supported Troy and Jack's passion for it. Now it was their turn to support her passion, "No problemo."

Jack Bolton nodded and smiled, proudly, "Alright, son. Now get up to bed and get a good night's sleep. Need you well rested if we're going to beat the North High Cougars!"

Troy nodded, "On it, Coach," he smiled and ran upstairs. Tomorrow was definitely going to prove to be a big day.

----------------------~~~~~~~~~~~~~------------~~~~~~~-------------

"Wait, they're adopting a kid?" Chad asked Troy as the group all took their seats at the lunch table. Chad sat next to Taylor as Gabriella took her seat next to her and Troy next to her. Kelsi and Ryan sat opposite them.

Troy nodded, "They already adopted him, Chad. My mom's just picking him up tonight."

Chad shuddered, "Sounds like a real-life Stork."

Taylor smacked Chad in the back of the head, "Storks are real, smart one."

"I know that! I meant the story ones-that deliver babies."

"Except he isn't a baby," Gabriella interjected with a smile.

Ryan took a bite of his apple parfait, "So, Troy, how do you feel about it?"

Troy shrugged, "Doesn't matter how I feel about it. They already adopted him and I'm leaving for college soon anyway."

Gabriella furrowed her eyebrows, "Your feelings about it still matter though, Troy."

He nodded, "I know. And I'm fine with it, really. I just hope that it won't be utter chaos…even though it's inevitable," He reached across the table and took a small bite from Ryan's apple parfait.

"Hey!"

Troy just smiled innocently, "If it helps, it's delicious."

Ryan nodded, "I know it's delicious, Troy, that's why I got it."

The group laughed as the bell rang and they all dispersed to get to their next class.

------------~~~~~~~~~~~~-------------~~~~~~~~-----------

Chad handed Troy a folded up piece of paper. The brunette unfolded it and read it,

Hoops,

You ready for the big game tonight? We're going to beat the Cougars to the ground and wipe the floor with them, man!

Troy snickered and looked at Chad, giving him a nod. He then turned back to his work as he waited for the bell to ring. He wasn't nervous for the game, because the Cougars sucked…but he was nervous because he wasn't sure if he really wanted his parents to go through with this. It was too late, though, but he still couldn't help it.

----------------------~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-----------------------

Troy was sitting in the locker room with the rest of the Wildcats. They were 24-3, which proved that Troy was right-the Cougars really did suck. It was halftime, and they were resting up a bit, but he couldn't help but fidget as he thought of his new brother and what he'd be like.

"Troy!"

Troy instantly shot up and looked around, "Right, Coach!"

The rest of the team just stared at him. He looked around and made eye contact with Chad, "What?"

Chad pointed his thumb towards the office, "Coach isn't in here…"

Troy blinked a few timed, "Oh…right. Well, we're kicking their asses right now and I say we don't show them any mercy. Someone needs to show them that if they can't play the game, then they shouldn't be playing against us. It's now or never, so get your head in the game."

"If you say we're all in this together, or to push it to the limit, I swear I will poison your food, Bolton." Zeke said, crossing his arms with a smirk.

Troy nodded and smiled, "We're going to win boys…you can bet on it," he gave a wink to Zeke, who rolled his eyes.

"Chad…do your thing."

Troy's best friend nodded, "Hey, what team?!"

"Wildcats!"

"What team?!"

"Wildcats!"

"What team?!"

"Wildcats!"

"Wildcats!"

"Get'cha head in the game!"

----------~~~~~~~~~~~---------------~~~~~~~~~~~--------------

Troy drove his truck home with his dad in the passenger seat, "I'm truly not surprised that we won."

Jack Bolton looked at his son, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were getting cocky."

Troy shook his head, "I'm not getting cocky, I just know that they suck. It's their reputation, Dad."

Mr. Bolton nodded, "Troy, when we get home…can you please make sure not to make him feel uncomfortable?"

Troy nodded, "Dad, I never do that. Trust me, I'll watch out with what I say."

Jack nodded, "You sure you're okay with this, though?"

Troy laughed, "Dad, considering the fact that the kid's already packed up and moved into the house, I'd say it's too late to start worrying about my opinion. But yes, I am okay with it."

Jack nodded and looked out the window as Troy drove. Not but 10 feet from the house, the truck broke down and Troy groaned.

Jack let out a sigh, "So close…come on, I'll help push."

Troy shook his head, "Nah, Dad, it's cool. I can push it up to the garage by myself. You go meet your new son."

Jack raised an eyebrow, "Troy."

Troy shook his head, "I didn't mean for it to sound like that. Seriously, go meet him, or get better acquainted or whatever it is people do. I'll be inside in a few minutes, k?"

Jack nodded, "You sure?"

Troy smiled, "Sure, I'm sure. Otherwise I wouldn't have mentioned it. Okay, I still would have, but I really am sure this time, Dad."

His father smiled and patted his shoulder before getting out of the truck and walking into the house.

"Lucille?!" Jack yelled out for his wife.

"In the living room, dear!"

Jack smiled and walked into the living room, smiling at his wife and the teenager sitting down next to her.

"Did you guys win?"

Jack nodded, "54-5."

Lucille scoffed, "Oh, boy! Well, Tobias, you remember Jack, right?"

The teenager nodded and shook Jack's hand, "Thank you for letting me into your home, Mr. Bolton."

Jack smiled, "It's Jack, or Dad. Whichever you're more comfortable with. But please, not Mr. Bolton."

Tobias nodded, "Sorry, Jack."

Lucille lightly rubbed Tobias' back, "So, where's Troy?"

Jack took a seat across from them in a chair, "His truck broke down again ten feet away. He'll be in in a minute."

"You didn't help him?" She asked.

Jack shook his head, "I offered, but he said he could do it. He said to just come in and get acquainted with Tobias."

Tobias bit his bottom lip as he looked down at his knees. He had heard about Troy from Lucille. He was the star of the basketball team, a jock. He knew enough to know that jocks were total jerks and he figured that what Jack said was code for 'he doesn't give a damn about meeting him.'

"Mom? Dad?"

"In here, Troy!" Jack called back.

Troy walked into the living room and immediately his eyes fell on the boy sitting next to his mother. He was wearing black jeans, black Vans, a black striped hoodie, and a gray t-shirt with black stripes underneath. His hair was black, but Troy could tell that it was his natural hair color.

"Hi, honey," his mother smiled, "enjoy your victory?"

Troy nodded, "Sort of."

Lucille smiled, "Troy, this is Tobias. Tobias, this is Troy."

Troy gave a slight wave, "Hey, Tobias."

Tobias gave a small nod, still keeping his eyes on his knees. Beside the couch sat a few suitcases. Troy bit his bottom lip, looking at his parents, before speaking again, "You want some help unpacking?"

Tobias just shrugged. Lucille smiled. Jack nodded, "Why don't you two do that while Mom and I cook up something to eat?"

Troy nodded, "Fine with me."

Tobias stood up and grabbed a couple of his suitcases; Troy grabbed the other two behind him. He carried them upstairs and moved in front of Tobias, leading him down the hall to the guest room. He opened the door and set the suitcases down beside the bed, Tobias following suit.

"Tada," Troy smiled, "This is your room now, obviously. The door over there on the right leads to the bathroom."

He looked over at Tobias and noticed that he was still staring at the floor, "Not to be rude, Toby, but giving you a tour isn't really going to help if you keep staring at the floor."

Tobias cringed a little before looking up at Troy. Troy furrowed his eyebrows, "Sorry, do you not like to be called Toby?"

Tobias shook his head and spoke to Troy for the first time, "No, but I don't mind if you call me that. As long as it's just you."

Troy tilted his head to the side and shook it off as he grabbed a suitcase and set it on the bed. He unzipped it and flipped it open, "Where do you want these to go?"

Tobias shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. Troy bit his bottom lip and walked over to him, "Are you always this quiet?"

He shook his head, "No."

Troy raised an eyebrow, "Hm. Do you feel intimidated by me or something?"

Tobias shot him a look, "No!"

Troy smirked, "Yeah, that wasn't obvious at all. Toby, it's all good. I know that you've probably been through a lot but it's okay here."

Tobias rolled his eyes and sat down on his bed. Troy took a seat next to him, "Why don't you tell me everything that's bugging you?"

"Because it's none of your business."

Troy smiled, "Well, technically, you're my little brother now, so it is sort of my business. If you really don't want to talk, then okay, it's cool. If you feel like talking, you know where to find me. But right now we have some unpacking to do, ok?"

Tobias shook his head, "I can do it myself."

Troy pursed his lips, "I know, but I get the feeling that you think I'm some asshole or something and I want to prove you wrong because you are wrong."

Tobias looked down and spoke softly, "It's not that, it's just I'm some random kid who's jumped into your life. You don't hate me for it?"

Troy shook his head, "No, of course not."

Tobias didn't know why he was telling Troy this, but he couldn't help it. He felt that he could trust Troy with this information, more than Lucille and Jack themselves, and he hadn't even known Troy for five minutes.

Okay, so that's chapter one. In most of my stories, the characters are gay, but if I make anyone gay in this story, it'll be Ryan. This story is about Troy and Tobias, so it's labeled as TroyxOC, but it is NOT a pairing like Tryan or Troyella. That would be weird and strange and anything else synonymous with weird.