Writing the love-hate relationships between Troy and Gabriella is probably the hardest form of stories for Troyella fans because there's so much time you have to spend NOT having them together, in fact having them the totally opposite. That's why I wanted to start this story also. This is more teenage-y and honestly, I'm more comfortable with writing these kinda stories. Even if I'm not exactly a teenager still.

Alright, heads up. I think it would deeply help your imagination if you guys knew that as I write this story, the character Andrew Baker looks a lot like Alex Pettyfer. Like if Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer played in a movie together, this would be a fanfiction about that movie but unfortunately there's no such movie and it's not exactly a slash between Beastly and High School Musical either.

I hope you guys like this story! Thank you so much for reading, reviewing and subscribing!


Chapter One: The Listener

In a pair of best friends, each person is one of two types: 1.) The Talker- the person who is basically the leader in the pair, the most outgoing. Think of it this way: if you're at a party and you keep having to stop talking to your best friend because people keep coming up to her/him because they want to say hi but end up talking to them for a good fifteen minutes- then you're looking at the Talker of your friendship. And 2) The Listener- the person who is most quiet. If you find yourself talking the most while you and your best friend are together, then your best friend is the Listener. If he/she is asking questions and very attentive, than you've got yourself a good Listener- someone who cares about you. If he/she is very far off and doesn't care: then you may have gotten your roles mixed up because the designated listener in your group is dying to blabber. Let me give you some examples. Here are the most popular friendships at East High:

1.) Chad Danforth and Zeke Baylor. Chad is very clearly the Talker in this pair. He's the one that sets both of them up with dates to parties and he's the one who throws the parties, too. Zeke is very lovable and fun but not quite as out there as Chad.

2.) Chad Danforth and Taylor McKessie. Now I know that Chad was the Talker in example number one but when it comes to couples, it gets very complicated. Chad is head over heels for Taylor. He'd do anything for her. Taylor loves Chad too but she is a genius, she'll never fall for someone and let them boss her around. That's why Taylor is the Talker in this pair.

3.) Sharpay Evans and Ryan Evans. Should I say anything at all?

4.) Ryan Evans and Kelsi Neilson. Just like Chad and Taylor, Ryan is the one who switched roles in this couple. Ryan can be humble to Sharpay but Kelsi is the type that needs someone to encourage her shy self to get out there. Ryan is there for her to do that.

5.) Lastly, Andrew Baker and I. It's pretty self-explanatory, now. He's the Talker and I'm the Listener. But, there's only one thing that makes me sit tight and shut my mouth more than the fact that I really am just extremely shy and inwardly. I love him. Yes, I am madly in love with the king of East High who boldly took me in as his rightful best-est friend. Every single second of every day, I am torturously aware that he is my best friend and my biggest fear is saying or doing something that might lose him forever. So, I'm quiet.

This year, I promised myself, would be different. It's our senior year and this year, after three years that I have constantly dizzied myself into thinking that he might actually have feelings for me, I've decided to do everything I possibly can to forget him. This is going to be hard because without Andrew, I am nobody in school. It's very unoriginal but I'm the girl that Andrew Baker chose from the menu. The one who is always by his side, through every heartbreak, every fight, every time he argues with his parents and every time he loses a game. To some, I am the stupid one who's just misusing the position. But in truth, I'm just the side salad because Andrew is not constantly in some mishap; he's a happy person who has happy things to do. Most of the time, I'm not needed. Every girl who Andrew has been with knows that he's not the guy whose heart you should break- or else you will be haunted forever by East High as the girl who tore him a part. Andrew won't get into fights with his friends from the football team because he knows how much they are worth. He hasn't been in an argument with his parents in an incredibly long time and he hasn't lost a game since middle school.

He's Golden Boy. But he keeps me around anyway and that's exactly why I think it's possible that he may love me back. I haven't always been this way. He and I were best friends since we were babies. In 8th grade, Andrew took a three week long trip to his grandparent's house in Florida and what can I say: it was the longest time we were a part.

He came back and I saw him in a new light. Like Taylor Swift says, "When you're fifteen, if somebody tells you they love you, you're believe them". Except, he didn't tell me he loved me, but I still believed it. Of course, his looks don't do anything to help me forget him. Perfectly sculpted, dirty blond hair, green eyes. God really went all out on him, I can tell.

Three years and two of Andrew's girlfriends later, he's still my best friend, he's not anywhere close to knowing how feel about him and we're about to graduate .


First day of school, I think as I stare up at the ceiling of my room. It's our last first day of high school. I wonder if things are going to be different. I remember when I was a sophomore I thought it would feel completely different not being a freshmen again. I was proven wrong the very first day of school when people still treated me like Andrew's second hand. This year, I already received a text from Sharpay Evans asking if Andrew will be able to make it to her party next Friday. I replied, as usual, saying that I would ask him. I sigh and decide it's about time to ask him if he wanted to go. She sent me that next about two weeks ago and I still haven't replied.

"Hey" I call into the darkness of my room.

"Hello" he greets back in a smooth voice.

"Sharpay wants to know if you'll come to her party on the 17th" I ask him. He groans and turns over in my bed.

"They really should stop treating you like my assistant" says Andrew and I smile. That's sweet. "You should tell them that"

"And miss the invitations to all those parties? I'll pass" I say. He chuckles.

"You'll have to come anyway. We need a designated driver"

"Aw. Shucks" I say. We both laugh now. He turns again and matches my staring-at-the-ceiling position on my bed.

In the excitement of our senior year starting tomorrow, Andrew snuck into my room at 5 this morning. I don't mind of course, but if my mother finds us in bed together –even if we were fully clothed and not under the sheets- she would freak. I have a feeling she might visit since it's first day of school too. I don't want to tell Andrew that he needs to leave.

"Senior year" he chimes. "Can you believe it?"

"Nope" I say. Along with senior year, though, a series of words comes as well. Like, prom and graduation. Worst of all: college. I have to refrain from shuddering.

"You know why I like you, Brie?" he asks. I only wish that he was serious when he says stuff like that.

"What?" I'm curious though.

"It's 6:00 AM on the first day of day of senior year and you're not up like the rest of the girls trying to decide what to wear"

This reminds me. "Shit!" I leap off my bed. "I don't know what I should wear!"

He turns over laughing and it takes all of my will power to join him on the bed again and crack up too. I'm in my closet, unfortunately for my heart, and trying to decide to wear. For the next half an hour, I do things to entertain Andrew. I threw on insane things that I haven't worn since middle school and let him laugh at me endlessly. In the end, I don't let him see what I'm actually going to wear. Instead, I shoo him away, back to his own house and tell him I'll see him at school.

"I'll pick you up" he offers me. It's bright outside. The sun was shining and we were on the balcony.

"You don't have a car" I remind him.

"Yes, I do" he says and then out of his pocket, he pulls out a pair of keys. "Senior present, apparently" he says, probably quoting what his parents said when they gave it to him.

"Wow"

"I know right?" he agrees. He steps over the balcony's railing and onto the branch of the tree.

"Alright, then. I want you here at 7:15 sharp" I tell him.

"Yes, ma'am" he gives me a wink and then climbs down the tree. I turn and walk back inside, closing the door behind me. My head is still spinning from his wink when I get into the shower ten minutes later.

I think its clear that when I'm alone with Andrew, I'm a completely different person. Some days at school, I can go through the whole eight hours without saying a word. Andrew will be distracted by his guy friends, the teachers will pick on the people who don't already excel in their class to answer their questions and just like that, I go unnoticed at school. It's only times when Andrew stops me in the hallway to share a story, or at parties when he always brings me with him and when he reserves a spot for me at lunch that I actually exist to the rest of the school. This summer, we spent maximum time together but very seldom alone. When we're with a group of friends, I can be totally butted out but times like this morning are extremely rare. They're the ones that I yearn for. The ones that make me think that he might have matching feelings for me.

I shake my head in the shower. No thoughts like those, I warn myself. But I can't. I don't want to forget him. He's so sweet and charming. He can be like that with any girl but I'm the one he chose. I'm the one that gets to have mornings like these with him. I want more.

Forty-five minutes later, Andrew honks outside. When I open the door, he's sitting in a red Porsche Boxster. I grin. As if the girls don't already swoon when he passes by, this has to add the last touch. He was wearing a sky blue t-shirt with jeans. Gorgeous, of course.

"Get in!" he tells me. "Can't be late for senior year!". I giggle.

"Your parents" I say when I close the door. "are awesome". He just beams. Andrew began to drive and the Porsche rumbled as it flew past my neighborhood ever so smoothly.

About half way through the ride I catch Andrew staring at me.

"What?" I ask.

"Your outfit" he recognizes. I look down to hide my blush. I forgot that he never saw what I was wearing for the first day of school. It was nothing actually. Just a white sundress. But he noticed. That means the world to me. "I bought you those" he points at the pearl bracelets on my wrist. I nod.

He did, for my birthday last year. I wore them at New Year's also but he only noticed now.

"You look…" he stared out at the road as he says this, "Nice"

I smile at him graciously. Nice. Nice is good.

We arrive at school and eyes are turning. I look down at my hands while Andrew takes the gazes more charismatically. He waves to a friend and laughs at the signals they make to each other. Five minutes later, we are walking to the school's entrance after the car is safely parked away. A burly, broad shouldered boy named Jason walks over to us, takes Andrew's hand and does that manly hug with him that guys always do. And from then on, I'm forgotten.

That is, until the deep growl of an engine roars through the parking lot. Then, everything is forgotten. From the far entrance of the school, a motorcycle speeds its way towards the school. Like when Andrew made his entrance, it seemed every single eye turned again towards the motorcycle. But for all different reasons.

It's because on the bike is Troy Bolton, East High's designated mysterious boy. He's been here for same time as the rest of us but absolutely no one knows him fully. There are rumors of course: that he's murdered someone in the past; that he's actually a super senior who should've graduated two years ago, or that he sells drugs in the old bathrooms outside the football field.

This year however, something is making everyone stare at Troy's motorcycle longer than usual. I glance at Andrew for a second and then back at the bike that was no more grumbling. I realize that not one, but two people were getting off of it. A girl. Immediately, I know what everyone's thinking. Mysterious boy has a mysterious girlfriend. But when she turns, her eyes are the sparkling blue that were the exact replica of Troy's. Sister. He has a sister. But where has she been all this time?

"Who's that?" Andrew whispers. Suddenly, I glance at him and I can literally feel my heart shatter inside my chest instantly. He's fascinated .Completely in awe. I look around and every boy is gawking at the pretty new girl.

"Hot, huh?" says Jason.

"Not hot" says Andrew. "Fucking amazing".

I turn my gaze back to the girl. I can feel ridiculous tears threatening my eyes. She is 'fucking amazing'. And I was 'nice'. At that moment, I felt like a baby. Like some toddler who cries for what she wants. I bite the inside of my cheeks hard and force the tears back to their respectful glands. The amount of effort I have to put into doing this is completely idiotic. Suddenly, I'm far more desperate to get over Andrew than ever.

Troy and her begin making their way towards the school. He stands behind her, looking at the ground with his hands shoved into the pockets of her jeans while she walks excitingly through the gathered crowd. As they get closer, I recognize that we will have to move so they don't run into us. When I start to move, I can see the girl's eyes settle over Andrew. She smiles at him enchantingly. I look up at him. He gives her a smirk. Then, I look back and now her eyes are on me. She beams again and I give her an unsure smile. Troy is trying to catch her attention now, trying to speak, but it doesn't seem to be working because her gaze never lifts from mine. Her eyes are fixed on me and I can't look away without making myself look extremely fidgety.

My heart begins to pump loudly in my own ears as she gets closer. Finally, she's face to face with me. Beside me, I can feel Andrew stiffen too. Is he nervous? He never got nervous around me…

It turns out she's even more intimidating about a foot apart from you than when she is fifty. You can see that her face physically has no flaw. It makes every tiny scar on my body seem like a whopping birth mark.

"You're Gabriella right?" she tells me. "Gabriella Montez?"

She knows my name. I have to swallow to answer, "Yeah, that's me"

"Gosh! Finally, I get to meet you! I'm Emily. Emily Bolton" She puts a hand out. I take it reluctantly.

"Oh, hi" I say nervously. "You're new here?"

"Yes, I just transferred from West High" she says. "Looking forward to starting anew"

I smile and nod, not knowing what else to do. Her face flashes red for a instant and then she starts to talk again.

"God, I know you don't know me. But um..I don't really know anyone here-"

"You know me" Behind her, Troy points out. I realize this is the first time I've heard him speak.

"Siblings don't count. Plus, motorcycle boy's little sister doesn't really put me out there as a person they'd like to get to know" she retorts. I can't tell if she was joking or really just being mean.

"Yeah, and getting to know people got you so far today" he says back to her. I don't know what this means at all.

"Anyway" she comes back to me. "Could you please show me around?"

I have to hesitate. This isn't just showing her around. I was, for some reason, the first person she comes to this school. By the looks of it, everyone wants to get to know her. It'll be like what I have with Andrew. I'll be her assistant. The go to girl. I look at Andrew and then at her again and remember how much I want to get over him this year before I head off for college.

"Yeah" I agree. "Sure".

The day continued like most days except now, I was looked at for not being the one with the popular boy but the one with the new girl. I helped Emily find her schedule, then her locker and then her homeroom which conveniently is the same as mine. She talked a lot, reminding me of how much I don't talk. But every time I ask a question right after a class, she talks from that point to the time when the next class starts. For example:

"I thought you said you were Troy's little sister? You're both seniors, though" is what I said once

"No, he treats me like his little sister. Like some baby. But really he was just born 7 minutes before me. It's always been like that for me and him. Our parents, well, they're gone, see and we were 11 when they died. We have foster parents but my brother has always taken care of me in that area. He's actually a really nice guy, you know. I guess, the motorcycle can be kinda intimidating"

And that's how we got from homeroom to AP Chemistry. She explained to me how he got the motorcycle when he was 16, her first drive on it and how he didn't let her practice drive without all the gear on. They're relationship was a genuine sibling relationship. It was adorable. Not what I expected from Troy.

By the end of the day, her voice was starting to give me a headache. I remember when Andrew and I were friends before I was obsessed with him, I used to get these huge migraines from listening to him too much. He used to talk nonstop. He still does. It's just that now I actually like to listen to what he says.

"Emily?" I start just after the last bell of the day rang. She was gathering her books into an organized pile so that she can carry it smoothly. The rest of the AP Psychology class had already left. Turns out, Emily and I have five out of six classes together. She likes drama. I should've figured. I took an extra science in fourth period instead.

"Yeah?" says Emily.

"Um..I have to ask" I start. "How do you.."

She smiles at me, that enchanting smile that she gave Andrew. "Know you?"

"Yeah"

"Troy" she answers with a smirk.

"Oh" This surprises me. A lot. "Does he talk about everyone?"

"Nope" we make our way out of the classroom and into the loud hallways. "Just you"

"What?"

"Gabriella" she stops in me in the hallway and pulls me aside so that we aren't run over by people. That smirk that played at her lips was gone and I can see all that irreplaceable kindness in her eyes.

"My brother, he loves you. He's always loved you"