Hey people :)

Thanks for your continued support, I'm sorry it's taken me a while to get this up and also to update unlike my previous quick updates! Be assured I will strive to post the remaining stories listed in my profile at which time, I will probably be looking to retire from fan fiction for a while!

Hope everyone is well :)

CHAPTER 1

"Well, Miss Montez, I didn't expect to see you here…" Principal Turner cast his unimpressed grey gaze upon her. "I would like to be able to say that you're the first student who got sent to my office on their second day at East High but unfortunately you're not the only new student requiring my attention today…"

"I'm not?" Gabriella Montez frowned at this news.

"No, you're not. And once your misbehaving counterpart arrives, we'll proceed with punishment," he mused, somewhat not surprised by her presence.

Gabriella looked behind her, as if willing the other miscreant to appear. The lack of his presence was only prolonging her agony.

"Ah! Mr. Bolton!" Principal Turner looked up and Gabriella sank into her seat and rested her chin in her palm to avoid looking at the other student.

She felt a presence as someone sat beside her followed by the uneasy feeling she was being stared at.

"What are you looking at?" She snapped rather testily as she finally gave her partner in crime her attention.

Blue eyes startled as a boyishly handsome face looked affronted. Long, messy brown hair was tamed by some kind of bandana and the guy had on a jacket that went down to his ankles. Ankles she noted, that were wrapped in doc martens. No wonder he was in trouble she mused of his less-than-fashionable look.

"Not you," he quipped back, quick smart and faced front as the Principal sat and coughed for quiet.

"So…" Lowe Turner began with a heavy voice, instilling enough authority to make both teens bite into their lips guiltily.

Gabriella lifted her brows.

"Miss Montez, you felt the need to test your boxing training by punching Chad Danforth in the face during girl's soccer…" He recounted and Gabriella scowled as the boy beside her turned to her with an impressed grin.

"Mr. Bolton, despite your previous report card assuring me you're a 'quiet, studious' student who prizes his flawless A's, you have managed to wreak minor havoc by releasing biting ants into the cheerleader's lockers …"

Gabriella spit out laughter at such an idea- one she wished she had thought of herself. The cheerleaders here were really annoying! Trust her to act first and think later unlike 'Mr. Bolton's' cleverly planned coup.

"Is something funny, Miss Montez?" Principal Turner wondered, gazing at her.

"Nope."

"No. I wouldn't find two weeks of detention funny either…"

"But-"

"Wha-"

Both teens sat up in defense.

"I'm also calling your parents to inform them of your…glorious start in your new school," the principal added and Gabi closed her eyes in regret.

"So it's okay for Chad Danforth to say girls can't play football but it's not okay for me to hit him for being a douche?" Gabriella finally defended.

"I feel if the boot were on the other foot, Miss Montez, you might feel a little differently," Mr. Turner suggested and she rolled her eyes.

"Only because I made his nose bleed…"

"If you want to prove him wrong, perhaps you'd like to try out for the team?" He enquired lightly.

"They don't take girls," she sighed despondently.

"To the contrary, Miss Montez," Mr. Turner assured. "Unlike your last school, we allow both boys and girls to try out for the team here."

Gabriella looked up warily. "And play?"

He nodded. "And play."

She frowned, surprised by this.

"However I am not sure the coach would encourage violence between team-mates," he quipped with a self-satisfied smile.

"He was being an ass…" Gabriella muttered under her breath when the boy next to her cleared his throat. She had almost forgotten he was there.

"Uh…sir," he began.

"Yes, Mr. Bolton?"

"I have commitments after school…I can't possibly do detention every night," he explained.

"What kind of commitments?" Mr. Turner asked.

The boy blushed and flicked a sideways look to the girl sharing the office. "Do I have to say in front of her?"

"Mr. Bolton, you both decided to cause trouble in your first week here and you'll be spending the next two weeks together, you may as well get used to having Miss Montez around…"

"Fine," he sighed. "I have dance practice."

Gabriella jerked her head up at this news. He had what?!

"We have an afterschool modern dance class you can attend for the next two weeks," Mr. Turner suggested.

"But my parents have paid-"

"And I'll explain to them the importance of discipline at East High, Mr. Bolton, don't you worry about that…"

"Like that'll help," he sighed to himself much the same way Gabriella had insulted Chad under her breath.

"Okay, I'm done with the pair of you. Report to me after school…" Mr. Turner instructed and they both shuffled out of his office, turning to look at each other once the door was closed.

Gabriella had to look up to view the 'quiet' trouble maker beside her and he had to look down to his detention buddy, such was their height difference.

"Gabi," she said and stuck her hand out, beating him to his intended introduction.

"Troy," he replied and enveloped her hand.

"Nice bandana," she stated and let go of his hand to scoot off; her track bottoms and athletic top showing off her petite physique and a long ponytail of dark curly hair that cascaded her back.

"Nice everything," he murmured to himself as he followed more slowly.

/

Gabi landed her bag heavily on a desk in the room Principal Turner had directed them to. She sighed and span in circles, finally taking the chalk from the board to draw a football formation which she had almost completed when a teacher came inside the room.

"Gabriella Montez and Troy Bolton?" The teacher checked- Mr. Phillips, the soccer coach.

Troy saluted from his sprawled position behind a desk and Gabi looked up with a certain nervousness.

Great, of all the teachers to be landed with on detention, it had to be the one she wanted to impress!

"I take it you're the brains," he looked to Gabi, "…and you're the brawn?" He teased and the pair of them smirked at each other while Mr. Phillips checked his notes.

He looked up, then down, then up again and finally squinted at Gabi. "You hit Danforth?"

"Mm-hm," she nodded proudly.

The coach blinked a couple of times.

"What?" She felt agitated at his judgement. "He said girls couldn't play football…"

Mr. Phillips wandered over to survey her handiwork on the board.

"4-4-2?" He questioned.

She nodded. "Take out anyone upfront and two strong defenders means attack is the only option…"

Mr. Phillips quirked his brows. "Well, you sure are feisty…"

"Why does everyone say that?" She frowned a little huffily and went to sink into the seat beside Troy.

"You're the dancer?" Mr. Phillips checked with Troy and he looked up, staring at the man for a long moment to quell his judgmental tone.

"Yeah, I am. So what?"

"Jeez, I got a great two here," Mr. Phillips sighed of the two angsty teens before him as he flicked his eyes back and forth.

Gabi smiled at him sweetly and Troy just stared at his desk.

"Okay, apparently today's lesson is team work. You gotta go clear the yard of litter together," he explained and they both opened their mouths to protest. "You have an hour," Mr. Phillips added and shepherded them out.

"This sucks balls," Gabi sighed sulkily as she found a used condom and peered at it in disgust.

Troy looked at her under his tethered fringe with an amused smile. "You've sucked balls, then…"

"Oh, ha-ha," she shot back, showing him her find. "I mean, some guy is having sex in the school yard and we get detention for…well, nothing as nasty as that," she fumed, struggling to deposit the used sheath into her bag.

Suddenly a metal pole intercepted hers and she shot her eyes up to find Troy gently swiping the item into her bag with a lot more patience than she had exhibited.

"Be nice," he chided with all the gall a man who released biting ants might.

"From the guy who gave the cheerleading squad bites all over," she remarked sourly.

"Not me," he corrected with a little smug grin. "My ants."

"That was pretty mean," she insisted.

He shrugged. "Sharpay Evans said I looked like some kind of 'child molesting weirdo' and Martha Cox said I probably had an STD…"

"Wow," Gabi marveled at the snotty girls' insults. That was low, even for them.

"Still think I'm mean?" He wondered lightly and she pursed her lips.

"Why don't they like you?" She wondered, truly intrigued. Okay, so he was a bit 'Lost Boys', but he evidently wouldn't hurt a fly.

"I'm new," he guessed. "And different."

"Ewww, oh my god!" Gabi whined at her next find, feeling her stomach lurch.

"What?" He looked over, intrigued.

"Why aren't you finding the disgusting stuff?" She flipped a pair of white, but muddied, panties his way and he picked them up with disdain.

"Does no-one have any self-respect here?" He grimaced at their findings.

"What you mean you didn't lose your virginity in the school yard, Troy?" She teased with sparkling eyes, their brown depths only just revealed to him. "Frankly, I'm shocked at your prudishness."

"Oh, these are your panties then?" He teased right back, showcasing the underwear by flinging them around on the end of his pincers. "Getting into the swing of East High?"

"Please, as if I'd wear lace," she derided of the flirty design. "I'm more a boy fit cotton boxer's kind of girl…"

"Boy fit boxers…?" He echoed in confusion, finding a breathing down the back of his neck that made him jump.

"Now that you've discovered the joys of women's underwear, perhaps you'd like to move onto the sand pit, Mr. Bolton?" Mr. Phillips asked and Troy twisted his lips as he bagged Gabi's find and shot her a look which he found her trying not to laugh at.

"And you, Miss Montez," he prompted at her amused look.

"Okay but if I find anymore evidence of sexual encounters, I'm leaving," she announced firmly as she went.

/

"That was disgusting," Gabi sighed as she washed up beside Troy.

"You do realize this is the boy's toilets," he looked over at her with a frown, surprised she had followed him right in.

"Do you need to pee? Go right ahead, I've seen one before…" She nonchalantly shared and he sighed and locked himself into a cubicle to relieve himself.

"Okay you two…" Coach Phillips called as he came inside the restroom. "Bolton, your mother is here to collect you…"

Gabi looked up at the teacher with hopeful eyes as she took paper towels to dry her hands. She heard Troy come out of his cubicle and wash his hands again.

"Ah, your mom couldn't be contacted, Gabriella," he told her in a soft voice and she frowned. "I'll drop you home myself."

"Where the hell is she?" She asked, her voice strained and Troy came up behind her to take towels.

"We can drop Gabi home," Troy told his teacher. "My mom won't mind."

Coach Phillips looked up. "If you're sure?"

Gabi frowned between the two guys, still confused at her mother's absence. Okay so she worked but she had a number, for god's sake. It wasn't often she got a detention.

"Is that okay with you, Gabriella?" The coach asked secondly and she stared at him, then looked at Troy. She didn't trust herself to speak right now so she just nodded.

And although Mrs. Bolton was perfectly polite meeting her and taking her home, she dropped out of the large 4x4 and headed up her path with silent determination.

Little did she know she would be locked out, too, for her mother had locked the inside of the front door and gone out the back with the key. She looked down her path to see that Mrs. Bolton was still waiting, apparently to ensure she got inside safely. She stood for moments with indecision.

Should she go back and ask them to take her home with them? How stupid would that sound? Or wait for her mother to come home and open the doors? Clearly, she was mad at her and this was probably some warped punishment she had thought of.

"Everything okay?" A soft, concerned voice asked and she realized Troy had gotten out of the truck to check on her as she remained frozen in her drive, hurt and afraid to tell anyone what was going on.

"Uhm, I'm locked out, actually," she held up her key and blinked confusedly. "My mom locked the door by mistake…"

More like on purpose, she amended silently.

Troy tilted his head. "You can come to mine for dinner and call your mom to pick you up from there later…" He suggested.

"Shouldn't you check with your mom first?" She worried.

"Nah," he grinned, flashing a set of perfectly white teeth that surprised her, and a glimpse of an easy-going guy she wouldn't expect from all appearances.

She looked down to the ground, embarrassed to even be in this situation.

"We don't bite you know…" He teased gently and she found herself looking up and smiling shyly back.

"That's no fun," she joked as she fell into step beside him as they headed back to the truck.

/

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Bolton," Gabi said for about the hundredth time that evening as she lay out spare pajama's from her own collection- pink and soft Gabi noted. Her other thank you's had covered dinner, after-dinner hospitality and finally over-night welcome as the lack of contact from her own mother became increasingly worrying.

Just what the hell was her mom trying to prove? That she was a complete psycho? Who let their child stay with an unknown family after the second day at a strange school where they'd just been reprimanded for punching someone out? Punching a boy out, even?

No-one, that's who.

Troy had vanished up to his room after dinner which left Gabi with the sofa downstairs to herself all night; something she was semi-grateful for, but she also felt oddly abandoned. The quiet tinkle of her cell-phone told her that her mother had finally bothered to call her back.

"Gabi?" Maria Montez checked.

"Mom, where the hell are you?" Gabi hissed.

"I'm sorry, I had to work late and I was sure I would be home by now…I had no idea you couldn't get into the house until I got your message…"

"Mom, this is embarrassing. I'm staying with people I never even met before- couldn't you call me?" Gabi demanded.

Maria was quiet for a moment on the other line. "I'm sorry, chica."

"Sorry isn't good enough. Can you get me now?" Gabi asked.

"That's just the thing, honey. This new job I have, I had no idea. They flew me to Tahiti and I have to stay until morning. But I promise you I'll be back to meet you from school tomorrow…"

"You expect me to go to school in the same clothes?!" Gabi all but screeched, and then blushed as she realized where she was. She'd wake up the whole street with her anger, she mused.

"Just one day, darling. I'm ever so sorry. I'm sure Mrs. Bolton has something," Maria excused.

"I am not wearing someone else's underwear, mom," Gabi spelt out with gritted teeth, then winced as she saw Troy's sleepy form leaning at the bottom of the stairwell in a t-shirt and pajama bottoms- clearly woken by her yelling before. "I have to go," she quickly ended the call with a sigh.

"So, you're going commando to school tomorrow then?" He enquired with a warm husk of amusement at hearing her conversation.

"I'm sorry I woke you up," she apologized shamefully. "And I don't think I want to create a name for myself just yet," she added ruefully.

Troy came over and slumped in the chair.

"I can put stuff in laundry now for you," he offered.

"No it's okay. It's late and I've already burdened you enough," her sad tone cottoned him onto the fact something was up and she hadn't expected him to care.

"Where's your mom, then?"

"Tahiti," she said accusingly. "Can you believe it?"

He shrugged.

Of course, he didn't know. He didn't know why they had moved here or what her mother was like. He didn't know anything- how could he? They had only just met. And besides that, she didn't like to talk about it. Her mother brought her up single-handedly and she never felt like she had a right to complain about her absence. Why start now?

"Well, you should go back to bed," she hinted as she watched his eyes close drowsily.

"Hm," he nodded and folded his arms and sank lower in his chair for a moment.

"You'll get a bad back sleeping like that…"

Without his bandana and his jacket and his boots, he looked different. A different kind of different she wasn't sure she liked. She kind of preferred him with his long hair tied with a scarf and looking all…well, dangerous, kind of. Except he wasn't, he was really quite sweet.

"Goodnight," he suddenly stood and rolled up like a zombie, making her smile as she comforted herself again in her sofa-bed.

She prayed for the morning to come.