This is my new story which I'm totally excited for. As you know, I don't own HSM or anything that you see here that is familiar. I gain absolutely no profit from this work and it is only for entertainment purposes. Please do not flame! Constructive criticism is welcome and I hope you enjoy this story. I will try my best to update of often as I can. Hopefully, my next update will be next weekend as I have exams this week.

As you all know, my beginnings suck but I promise it'll get better as you read on, and this chapter may be one of my worst as I'm out of practice with writing as I had my worst case ever of writers block and I'm still having it.

I'm desperately looking for a new title for this story! Suggestions are welcome and people that do help will get their reward!

ENJOY!

Chapter 1

The merciless rain pelted heavily down the surface of her black SUV car as memories floated endlessly through her brain. The young teenager found it hard to take in deep breaths as the thoughts that had haunted her for the whole of her life ever since that incident took place shaped in her mind.

Even the greenery of the area didn't help her keep her mind off it, neither did the buildings of her neighborhood that were slowly become familiar to her, but instead along with the desertedness of the streets, they only added to her misery.

Gabriella Montez drove slowly towards the east side of Albuquerque as the vivid flashbacks played in her mind and soon she succumbed into them, finding that it was harder to overcome than give in.

It was a dark and stormy night. The rain that pounded against the roof and windows of Gabriella's house showed no signs of stopping while the booming sounds of thunder made sure that the six year old would be summoned awake with a jolt.

The young and frightened child shook uncontrollably and wrapped her thin arms around her legs, bringing them to her chest, finally letting herself cry after trying and not succeeding to be brave.

The familiarity of her room and bed didn't seem to make things easier for her as her heart pounded frantically beneath her tiny ribcage. All it took for her to throw herself out of bed and out to find the comfort of her parents was another powerful rumble of thunder and once it came, it caused her to jump out of her skin and her small dimpled hands grabbed fistfuls of her 'My little Pony' duvet and push it off her trembling body. Her sobs echoed off the walls of the corridors and they seemed to scare her even more than she already was and she only quickened her pace.

Gabriella's running halted and suddenly she was taking cautious steps towards her parents' half-ajar door. She hid behind the door, in a manner in which they would not see her but she could see everything.

"Carlos, this isn't right!" Maria Montez told her husband of ten years gently her tone somewhat begging for him to listen to her. Her olive skin; the one
Gabriella had inherited, was flushed due to her anger towards Carlos Montez and her coffee irises were blazing with the sort of anger that Gabriella had never before seen in her eyes.

Carlos glared at Maria and started yelling at the top of his lungs.

"And you don't think that what the Americans did to us was right? They bombed our country unnecessarily and they killed hundreds of people! Why?" he demanded rhetorically. "because our country struck raw materials and decided against trading with them because it would have been a profit to us and our country needed it but the government didn't take 'no' for an answer and in order to get them, they started the war, remember?"
Maria nodded.

"I know the story and yes Carlos, it wasn't right for them to do that but what happened was thirteen years ago and I don't care if you were a soldier and plan to fight for your country but this isn't the right way to do it! Think about it! Right now, your family should be your highest priority! What do you think would happen to us if anything were to happen to you? And Gabriella? She's our daughter? Are you that blinded with you vengeance that you haven't considered her! How could you not think of her in this situation? What do you think she'll think if she one day finds out that her father is a terrorist that is planning to attack the country in which she was born and brought up in? Don't you think she deserves a proper family? Don't you even care about her? How do you think she'll take it?" Maria's tone softened at the last part but Carlos' anger only grew.

"Don't you dare question my love for Gabriella!" He bellowed. He took a step forward threateningly and wrapped his arms around his struggling wife ."And if you decide to tell anyone about what you heard, I swear to god, I'll kill you by myself!"

Maria gasped and started to hit her husband's hard chest with her hands balled up into fists, trying to push out of his iron hold on her but failing miserably.

"You bastard!" She screamed at him, tears of the fear of her daughter finally streaming freely down her paled face. She continued to bang vigorously at his chest, willing him to let her escape but he only tightened his grip on her until it actually started to hurt her.

Carlos sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, his nostrils flaring with vehemence. His raised his right hand from her waist and didn't hesitate to slap Maria across her cheek sharply. He glared at her as her stubborn demeanor didn't falter one bit and her eyes only showed hatred for the man she once loved and trusted.

Carlos, who was stunned by his actions let go of her waist and watched Maria scowl at him. "I hate you Carlos Montez. You are not the man I fell in love with and married. You are some sick asshole that is so hungry for revenge that he has just lost the best thing that has happened to him." She explained to him. "I'm taking Gabriella away with me. Don't expect to see us ever again and don't go looking for us please. I'm taking full custody of Gabriella and if you decide that maybe you do love her and want her, you'll have to get through me. There is no way I'm letting her live with you."

Five minutes later, Maria had her purse full of enough money for her and Gabriella to grab a flight to Chicago, where her parents stayed. From there, she would plan her next steps and someday, maybe, she would find closure from Carlos.

As she made her way towards the door, Gabriella realized she was headed in her direction and she was not supposed to hear these things and so she moved a little until the wall was what was between them. She quickly brushed away tears with the back of her hand that lingered n her cheeks and she closed her eyes and listened.

"Where are you going?" She heard her father ask. Carlos' voice was softer now and he couldn't believe that Maria was not joking when she said that she would leave.

"Anywhere but here!" Maria paused then for a second. She closed her eyes, her back to him before saying, "Expect the police here soon." Maria's voice held so much courage, it was the exact juxtaposition to what she felt inside and it surprised her but she knew that in order to save hundreds of lives, she'd have to.

Carlos' chuckle sounded next.

"You wouldn't!" He challenged. Maria turned to face him and raised her eyebrows at him. The aging man scurried to grab an item from his back pocket and soon he was pointing a gun at Maria. She felt her heart shatter into millions of pieces all over again at the sight of him holding a gun at her. She closed her eyes once again and let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Watch me." She told him and turned on her heel. She was fully aware of the fact that he was still pointing the gun at her and she was scared. Her whole body was shaking uncontrollably, betraying the strong demeanor that she was trying to portray.

There was a part of her that believed the man she loved was still there and deep down, he had a heart. There was still that part of her that believed that he would never hurt her and he would maybe try to stop her from leaving and if she did leave, he would go looking for her.

"Maria, don't make me do this!" His tone answered her unvoiced questions and she was sure that the person she was looking for was long gong and she had to protect her daughter and herself from the monster that had risen in his wake.

Maria quickened her pace and just as her fingers the cool surface of the door knob, Carlos' finger curled and pressed the trigger and everything after that was a blur for Gabriella as she had actually watched her mother covered in blood and then eventually die.

After that incident, Gabriella's life was very unpredictable. Her father was ashamed of himself and he couldn't take Gabriella's disappointed looks anymore so he did something he wasn't sure she wanted, but he was sure he wanted.

He had Gabriella rotating to and from various places around America, living with family members or friends that agreed to take care of her. At times when he had no where to place her, he found her living with him. She barely talked to him and their father-daughter relationship had dissolved into thin air and was replaced by awkward silences and them ignoring each other most of the time.

When Gabriella was eight, she'd decided she was tired of all the unanswered questions that swirled in her little head and sought out to find answers. She interrogated her father and he had manipulated her mind in some ways making her seem okay with whatever she thought he was doing wrong and even though he knew she was smart and was only making him believe that she understood, he realized that she knew way too much and his only solution to that was to show her to his boss, the man that was in charge of the whole plan.

When Gabriella was showed to him, he was surprised at how intelligent she was and he finally gave Carlos the choice that because she knew too much she would start talking someday and the only way to avoid that was either to kill her or to involve her and make her part of their gang.

Gabriella had no choice and so, every summer after the meeting, she spent at their training grounds learning how to shoot with a gun and how to defend her self. By the age of sixteen, Gabriella had mastered the art of shooting and was so good at it that she could shoot targets blindfolded.

The 'Salazar's, as the clan liked to name themselves, liked having her work with them. She had the face of an innocent teenager and she could spy for them because no one would even in their dreams think she was working with terrorists and that her ability with guns and fighting was amazing.

So far though, Gabriella hadn't been on a proper mission yet and she personally, she didn't want to be part of one.

Ever since her aunt Jenna had promised to look after her, she decided that maybe she could try and build a whole new life for herself. She wasn't doing any justice to herself, just going by life and waiting for something to happen but nothing ever did and soon she decided that she would start afresh, if not for herself, but for her mother.

The rain was still pouring and the sky grew darker and darker gradually by the minute. Just as she was about to turn, she honked and then began to turn, another honk sounded and there was a purr of blaring music that had to be loud as it was heard over the pounding rain. A large white truck came into view, charging towards her and before she think much, her quick reflexes acted and she found herself turning away from the other car but because her turn wasn't fast enough, her car swerved and skidded across the wet roads that were empty save her car and the car she had managed to collide with.

There wasn't much damage done. It wasn't a serious accident, it was only a slight collision that caused her to jump and emit an 'oof' sound on impact.

Once Gabriella recovered from the shock, she got out of her car after she killed the engine, even though it was raining and gasped once the icy droplets made contact with her skin. She ignored the rain and went to check on the front of her car, the part that had been hit. She crouched down by the headlight and noted that she needed to get it fixed and other than that, there was a dent in the hood which could be fixed she hoped.

Gabriella stood up when she heard a car door slam and turned to face the person who had caused the accident but as soon as her eyes met with the mans, or rather the boy's, she felt herself gasp and felt the wind being sucked out of her throat as the though a vacuum had been placed at her mouth.

Her fingers twitched to comb through his tousled chestnut locks and her eyes scrutinized his perfect face, taking every feature into her memory; the way his thin and masculine lips were pressed into a thin line (which she had to fight the urge to press her lips against him mouth for they seemed to cry out 'taste me!'), the way his long nose was shaped with defiance, but what stood out the most were his eyes. They were of a striking cobalt color but just like his face, they were cold and emotionless.

She willed her churning stomach and her frantic heartbeat to slow down and pushed away the thoughts of how sexy his built body looked in just a pair of dark blue jeans and a red and white sweatshirt. With a locked jaw, completely aware of how drenched she was, she took a few steps towards the boy that was probably the same age as her that had a strange affect on her which she didn't like one bit.

"You're lucky the damage isn't that severe or…" she started to accuse him but he cut her off rudely getting offended for absolutely no reason in her opinion.

"Or what?" he challenged, his tone angry. "You say it as though it's my fault but breaking news, it was actually yours! You should be the one apologizing, not threatening!" Gabriella was taken aback at his sudden out burst.

"Excuse me?" Her jaw hung slightly agape as she stared incredulously at him, her anger bubbling rapidly with her. "My fault! How is this my fault?" She demanded.

The intimidating stranger chuckled before voicing his reply in a deliberated sweet tone as though he was explaining something obvious to a stupid five year old.

"You didn't honk while turning and you lost control of your car, sending you on the other side of the road so apparently, I don't see how you're blaming me!" Gabriella's anger only multiplied and to refrain herself from lunging at him to dissemble his head off his body, she only glared daggers at him making the phrase 'oh if looks could kill…' ring in his head and she balled up her fist at her sides so tight that her knuckled turned white in protest, not going unnoticed by him.

"No, you asshole! I did horn before turning and because your honk was late, the shock of seeing a larger car than mine made me turn onto the other side and I hope you would not turn the same way, which you did! If you hadn't, we wouldn't be having this conversation! And sorry to burst you bubble but of course you didn't hear my horn, your music was on so loud, I could hear it before hitting you!" she yelled at him, half the loudness of her voice drowned by the pounding of the rain.

The boy stared at her for a moment, strangely feeling a surge of warmth course through his abdomen as he studied the way her ebony tendrils clung to her wet sun kissed face. Her dark chocolate eyes radiated anger and annoyance and he also noticed how behind it, every other emotion seemed sealed, as if there was a barrier protecting her soul. He had once heard a saying of how the eyes were said to be the windows to one's soul and if you searched hard, you'd find whatever answer you were searching for but the more he looked into her mocha pools, the more he found himself staring into a wall; a dead end.

In the seventeen years of Troy Bolton's life, he had never come across a woman that was as naturally beautiful as the woman in front of him was and something, he couldn't quit put his finger on but there was something about her that told him that she didn't try and she was modest. Maybe it was her posture, or the way she dressed, in a simple pair of wash jeans that now clung to her shapely legs which seemed to go on for miles and the simple blue tank top that showed off her slender arms accompanied with a black vest.

As she spoke, he was somewhat hypnotized by the way her perfect heart shaped lips moved, alluring him to slowly walk over to her and kiss her senseless so she could stop her ranting. At that thought, he felt his jeans getting tighter at his crotch and he groaned inwardly although that only made him hornier and his hungry eyes sought out to explore the rest of the seductress' body.

He watched as the naturally tan skin of her neck suddenly plunged into the fabric of her top, exposing a bit of her perfectly rounded breast that in Troy's heaven, he would knead and kiss. He loved the way her thin top hugged her every dangerous curve and the way her nipples pebbled under the thin material of her bra and shirt, making a soft but manly moan erupt from the back of Troy's throat as his fingers ached to touch her.

He forced himself to tear his eyes away from the goddess' swollen chest before he couldn't take the torture anymore and surrender into launching the sex driven beast he could morph into when excited.

His eyes raked over her flat tummy, to the awkward way something protruded out of her bellybutton and then he realized that it could only be a bellybutton ring. Suddenly, all he could think of then was having her in bed. Every part of her screamed "DO ME!" out to him.

He pursed his lips into a thin line once he heard her call him an asshole. No one ever had the guts to do that. Hearing someone call him that for the first time along with the effect she was having on him, which no one had ever had on him, he got furious at her.

"Just because you don't remember what exactly happened doesn't mean that you actually have the right to blame me and call me an asshole you fucking bitch!" If anyone knew Troy for something, it was that he had scary mood swings and that his anger had to be the worst they'd ever see from anybody else.

Gabriella soon realized that he was not going to admit to his mistake and that if they continued, neither of them would get anywhere, besides, it wasn't like they were ever going to meet again, were they?

She shook her head at him and turned on her heel.

"Fuck you!" she screamed at him, stomping off to her car. She got in and started the engine ignoring the 'BACK AT YOU!' he had replied with. Gabriella maneuvered her way around his truck as he just stood there and watched with a smirk, satisfied that in some ways, he had won their argument. She just glared back at him and shoved her middle finger in his direction making him laugh and widen his taunting smile as she drove off out of view towards her Aunt Jenna's house.

In the seventeen years of Troy Bolton's life, he was now sure that he had never seen another creature like her and hoped he would maybe meet again with her. He realized he didn't even know her name and his next mission was to find out more about her. He was sure they would meet again, after all the world is only a small place. He stood next to his car in the deserted streets of New Mexico, recalling their conversation. Troy looked down at his groin, his throbbing member claiming his attention and for the first time, he was thankful Mother Nature had provided a cold shower of rain.

There it is. To be honest, I was kind of in a daze while typing it so I wonder if it's good. Sorry for errors and please, REVIEW! The more the reviews the earlier the chapter and remember, suggestions for titles are welcome!