Author's Note: And the writing block commences! I'm trying to figure out how to move into the next chapter of Lessons in the Language of Love without jerking through it, and as for United We Stand, I changed the plot line a bit, so you might wanna check that out. I've had this idea for a while, so I hope you all like it! This chapter is a bit of an introduction; family lists, profile-type thingies, and all of that fun stuff. One half is in the POV of Gabriella, and the other half is in the POV of Troy. Enjoy!

Two is company. Three is a crowd.

So what's twelve?

Well, I can tell you what twelve is.

My family.

I, Gabriella Montez, am one of twelve children.

Growing up, my mom had wished that she was part of a big family. Why, I have no idea. We would've had enough trouble with two of us, let alone twelve. My dad, on the other hand, came from a family of eight children. He kind of knew how to deal with the big family—and he was especially good at allotting bathroom times.

I, personally, don't understand why in the world my dad would want a big family when he already had one.

But I'm not supposed to be talking about me.

Anyway, there's not exactly any easy way to tell you about my large family. So I'm going to do what I always do: I'll give you a list.

Josh: The oldest out of the twelve. He just got out of college, and has also just moved in with his completely bitchy—but rich—girlfriend.

Jaden: Second oldest, my sister. She's in her junior year of college. She does everything: dances, sings, does well in school, expected to find a cure for cancer… people are constantly comparing me to her.

Me: Third oldest, senior in high school.

Lizzie: Fourth oldest, sophomore in high school. She looks up to Jade, so, in other words, she constantly follows her around when she's at home.

Daniel and David: Fifth and sixth oldest, twins. They're in eighth grade, the geniuses of the middle school.

Carrie: Seventh oldest, in sixth grade. I'd have to say that I'm closest to her. The poor girl is exactly like me; and everyone makes fun of her for it. I think that's why we're so close.

Jonathan: Eighth oldest, fifth grade. He's more commonly known as JJ among us, and it annoys the hell out of him. If you ever wanted to anyone him, that would be the way to do it.

Freddie: Ninth oldest, third grade. I swear, he's almost as smart as Danny and Davie. Everyone thinks that we should wait a bit before making that assumption, but I know what I see. Third graders don't magically do their twelve year old older sister's homework.

James, George, and Benjamin: The triplets—fearsome threesome, terrible trio, whatever you wanna call them. They're in kindergarten. And I swear… the three of them, in the same kindergarten class? God help the poor teacher that gets them.

Christmas is coming up—in three months, as a matter of fact. It was at least two weeks before Halloween, around my dad's birthday. And what does he tell us?

That we were moving.

To Albuquerque, New Mexico.

My family is the biggest in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Eight children.

And that's not even that big, when you think about it. In all honesty, that's just… eight children. My dad was a basketball player, than he ended up owning a diner and a fancy restaurant here, so that got us even more money.

We're pretty well off, to say the least.

I'm the oldest. I'm a senior at East High, and I play basketball. That's pretty much all I have to say about me. But this introduction is supposed to be about my family, and not me, so I guess I should keep on writing.

The second oldest, or the second and third oldest, are Kayla and Layla—identical twins. They're juniors at East High, born not that far after me. Around eleven months, in fact.

The fourth oldest is Ethan. He's a freshman at East High, and just made the JV basketball team. People are hoping he'll be as good as me, apparently.

The fifth oldest is Kevin. He's in eighth grade. He's kinda quiet, not at all like his loud older brothers and sisters.

The sixth and seventh oldest are another sit of girl twins: Jenny and Jill. They're in sixth grade at East Middle, just like Kevin. And, thankfully, they're not identical.

Then, the youngest is Tyler. He's in third grade—there was a bit of a gap between Jenny Jill, and Ty.

People were always gushing over my family—how big it was, all of that fun stuff. In fact, some soccer-mom types came up with the Albuquerque Records Book. It has all of the "biggest and most amazing things" in Albuquerque. And guess who's in it?

Yeah, that would be us.

Around the beginning of my senior year, though, something amazing did happen.

Another family moved in.

And it was bigger than mine.

And—even more than that—one of them, Gabriella, is in my grade.

Gabriella Montez looked up at the large red and white school. Her sister, Lizzie, stood behind her, chattering into her cell phone. Taking a deep breath, Gabriella motioned to Lizzie, who nodded her head. She began to climb the steps into the school, and she soon lost Lizzie in the sea of students.

When Gabriella got to the top of the stairs, she stood on her tiptoes and looked around for Lizzie. She had a gorgeous mass of curls—something common for the women of the Montez family—but, instead, spotted several other people, being herded into the school by someone that looked to be her age.

The boy had sandy brown hair and a tall, muscular build. In front of him, he was pushing three other kids into the school, while returning greetings to various people. But what caught Gabriella's attention most was his striking blue eyes. He looked up and his eyes connected with hers.

He smiled, motioned for the three people to wait there. The two girls rolled their eyes and walked into the school, while the boy waited dutifully. Gabriella felt her breath catch in her throat when she saw that he was walking towards her.

"Hey," he said when he reached her. "Are you new here?"

Gabriella smiled, surprised at her openness towards him. She had initially told herself that she wasn't going to give her father the satisfaction of knowing that she was having a good time at East High.

"What gave it away?" she said.

"Well, you kinda have that blank, 'holy shit' look." He smiled, and Gabriella felt her stomach drop. "I'm Troy." He held his hand out.

"Gabriella," she said, taking his hand. They shook hands for barely a few seconds, but it felt like forever to her.

"Want me to show you around the school?" Troy said. Gabriella nodded her head, then looked over his shoulder. "Are you looking for someone?"Yeah," Gabriella said. "She has the same exact hair as me, so she shouldn't be that hard to—"

"Found her!" Troy was pointing over to where the boy he had left was standing. "And she's with my brother."

"Lizzie!" Gabriella called out.

Lizzie looked up at Gabriella and smiled. "I'm going with Ethan!" she called out.

Gabriella nodded her head as Ethan raised a hand towards Troy. "See ya, bro!" he called out.

Troy and Gabriella exchanged glances. They smiled, shook their heads, and walked into the school

.

Author's Note: I hope you liked this chapter! Thanks for reading. Review?