A/N: I know what you're thinking: is she ever going to finish a story again? I DON'T KNOW. Sigh. But I've thought up this and I actually have a plan (shock horror!) I only have a few more things to iron out. So here's a little preview for you :)

Chapter One

"Hi, I'm Gabriella Montez. It's our first day," I said, gesturing vaguely to my brothers crowding the small waiting area.

The receptionist looked over her glasses at us all. "Did you say Montez?"

I nodded, absentmindedly twirling my dark hair around my finger. "Yep."

She opened a drawer in a cabinet. "Your father called. Just bear with me."

While she was busy rummaging through folders and papers, I turned around, gazing out at the main corridor. East High School is so much bigger than Sun High: more students, more school spirit, and more ways I would lose track of my brothers.

I glanced at each of them in turn. I trusted them all and knew that they were all more than capable of taking care of themselves. Noah could fight Dwayne Johnson and come out with a scratch on his pinkie at most, both Nate and Tommy had black belts in jiu jitsu, and Alex. Well, Alex had received more than his fair share of warnings from his soccer coach for his overly excitable tackles. But we'd only ever known one thing: Midland, Indiana. And Albuquerque, New Mexico was the furthest thing from that small town. The Montezs were many things, but we were not made for the city.

I looked up at Noah leaning against the wall next to the reception desk, clearly checking out a cheerleader who was pinning something to a noticeboard. I elbowed him in the ribs.

"Ow," he grumbled, not moving his eyes away from the short skirt.

"Can you wait five minutes before you check out every cheerleader in a ten mile radius?" I mumbled, bringing my cell phone from my jeans pocket.

"Can you go five minutes without checking your precious cell phone?" he retorted, finally turning away from the cheerleader. "I'm guessing you haven't heard from the Lawbreaker?"

I didn't acknowledge the jab at my boyfriend and slid my phone back into my pocket. "I probably won't hear anything until after school. You know that he doesn't wake up until he absolutely has to."

"His track record of missing homeroom speaks for itself," Noah muttered and turned to gaze at a pretty blonde dressed head to toe in pink and rhinestones. Not his usual type, I noted. But a bigger school population meant more girls. The novelty would wear off soon enough.

Someone nudged me away from the reception desk and I stumbled. Noah caught my arm to steady my balance.

"You okay, Gabi?"

I nodded, tugging my arm from my brother's grasp. I frowned at the boy who stood in my spot, clad in black jeans, a white tee, and a leather jacket. He rested his elbows on the desk, bowing his head.

"Excuse you," I said sarcastically.

He glanced at me. "Excuse me," he offered just as sarcastically before turning away again.

A different receptionist emerged from the principal's office and sighed when she saw the boy standing there. "Mr Bolton, I'm surprised Principal Matsui hasn't asked us to add our little meetings into your class schedule."

He handed over a pink slip of paper. "I just can't stay away from you, Mrs Johnson. Ms Darbus told me to give this to you."

She regarded the slip in front of her with disdain. "I hope you haven't been disturbing our new students."

He looked at me and then up at Noah. He rolled his eyes back to Mrs Johnson. "I'm deeply offended. Why would you think I would disturb anybody?"

Without another word, he turned around and stalked into the main hall. I released a breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding.

"He just seems like a big ol' cup of sunshine," Noah muttered.

The first receptionist emerged from a side door with an armful of files. "Here we go. I have Noah, Gabriella, Nathaniel, Thomas, and Alexander," she mumbled, handing the files to each of us in turn. She glanced unsurely between us all, evidently noticing the differences in our appearances, but she was civil enough not to say anything.

"There's a campus map, list of extracurricular activities, contacts for members of staff, and your class schedules in your packs. Do you have any questions?" she asked with a look of dread, probably thinking we were going to launch into an interrogation about quantum mechanics.

I glanced at my brothers who were shuffling through their papers. "I guess not. Thank you."

I stepped closer to Nate, Tommy, and Alex and consulted my class schedule. "Noah, what do you have last period?"

"Gabi," Nate muttered.

I glanced at him and he pointed over my shoulder. I looked behind me to see my beloved older brother talking to a cheerleader, his charm already kicked into fifth gear.

"Noah," I hissed, gaining his attention. I gestured for him to join us and he reluctantly ended the conversation.

"You do know that I'm the oldest," he bragged, flicking my ear.

"Then act like it," I snapped. "What do you have last period?"

He fumbled with his papers. "English."

"I have math," Alex muttered.

"We have gym," Nate and Tommy said in unison.

"And I have drama. Final bell at 3:30pm. Everyone remembers where the car is?"

"Gabi, calm down," Alex told me as he got to his feet and grabbed his guitar case. "It's just school."

No, I thought as I watched him enter the main hall, being swallowed by the rest of the school. It's our first day at a school in a city where we don't know anybody.

I watched my other brothers grab their musical instruments and follow Alex into the throng of students. I heard the warning bell for homeroom and grabbed my violin case. As I left the reception area, I saw the guy in leather, Bolton apparently, leaning against the nearest row of lockers. He stared right back at me and the intensity of his gaze made me look away.

I took a deep breath and pushed myself into the crowd. If my fourteen year old brother could be blasé about this, so could I.