Author's Note: Hey guys! I hope I'm doing this right. This is my first submission on here. This is chapter one if my first HSM fic, which should have at least 11 chapters. It is Tryan and takes place before Gabriella shows up. I have -no- clue on how to do anything in here, so any and all help would be appreciated. Thank you, and enjoy!

A mop of unruly brown hair jolted forward as the young boy was rudely, although necessarily, awakened. He had a bad habit of forgetting to set his alarm clock.

"C'Mon, Troy! It's time to wake up. It's a big day!" His father said, with three more pounds on the door. Every day was a big day according to the athlete's father. But oh, that's right. It actually kind of was, it being the first day of a new school year.

Troy groggily shook his head, and relished in the feeling of his bare feet hitting the plush carpet. A slow attempt was made to reach his closet. He pulled out his favourite red and white long sleeved shirt, some blue jeans, fresh boxers and socks.

'Gotta show my wildcat pride on the first day!' Troy thought, with a small smile, and he quickly got dressed and brushed his shaggy brown hair.

He made his way downstairs, and received a warm smile from his mother.

"Hey, honey. Sleep well? I just put some bread in the toaster, would you like some?" She asked, putting away a bag if white bread. Troy stopped at the kitchen table, resting his hands on the back of a wooden chair. He smiled back at the older woman and nodded.

"Morning, mom. Yeah, you know me; I always sleep like a bear."

"He always snores like one, too." His father said, jokingly, coming from the living room.

"Hey, Troy, don't forget about the team tryouts on Thursday. I know you're bound to make it." He continued, patting his son on the shoulder.

"You know I wouldn't miss it for the world, dad." Troy replied with a hint of awkwardness. His father was always on his back about basketball. He considered him a "star player". Troy always thought it was because his dad was the coach. He was partially right.

"Great, I'll catch you two later." Troy and Mrs. Bolton said cheery goodbyes to the older man. And with that, the head Bolton left the early morning home to his work. Warm toast popped from the toaster with a click.

"Oh, sweet, toast!" remarked Troy, over enthusiastically. Mrs. Bolton gave him an adoring look as she sat down a plate holding two pieces of toast. Small crunches could be heard as Troy ate one of the pieces. A horn honked in front of the house. Troy jumped in the middle of a bite.

"Crap!" He exclaimed, grabbing the other piece of toast, and his book bag from under the table. He quickly tied his shoes and mumbled a "g'bye" to his mom while holding the half eaten piece of toast between his teeth. His mother waved to him as he boarded the bus to school.

—

Troy and Chad exchanged brotherly pats and hand shakes as the brunette boy sat next to his best friend on the noisy bus. Chad gratefully accepted the piece of toast Troy offered him.

"Hey, thanks man." Chad said with a grin.

"Yeah, no problem." Replied Troy, waving it off. The seats on the bus were small and cramped, so book bags sat on the laps of its passengers. Chad's book bag, however, was crammed under his legs, and on his lap sat a bright orange basketball.

"So overall your summer was pretty good?" Chad asked, nearly finished with his piece of toast.

"Oh yeah, you know. Mostly just playing hoops with my dad, and sleeping in until my dad wants to play hoops again. ...And working on that summer reading project. " Troy finished his statement with a look of detest. His best friend closed his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh.

"You forgot to do that assignment, didn't you?" Troy asked. He already knew the answer. Chad nodded, and Troy's stomach did a back flip. The boys wouldn't be able to finish their breakfast at this news.

"C'mon, man. You know you have to have all passing grades in order to be eligible to try out for the team! We're always on the team together." Troy let out a sigh and ran his hands through his hair.

"I know, dude, I'll do it. It's not due until tomorrow, anyway." Chad shrugged his shoulders. He's always behind on homework, this isn't any different. He could get it done in time, right? Troy looked at Chad doubtfully.

"You sure, Chad? We're always on the team together, and if we're not because you forgot to do some dumb assignment-"

"Yeah, I said I'll do it! Geez, you sound as worse as your dad." Chad interrupted angrily, his voice rising. Troy averted his gaze to his book bag.
"Sorry." He mumbled. The two boys sat in silence for the rest of the ride, choosing to listen to the chattering of other students instead.

'Chad's right, I should have layed off. I did sound as worse as my dad...' Troy pondered, fiddling with the straps of his book bag. He checked his class schedule. He had the drama teacher, Mrs. Darbus, for home room this year.

So did Chad.

—

The yellow Albuquerque school bus screached to a halt in front of East High. Other kids and teachers could be seen herding towards the inside of the large brick building. Cars of teachers and students alike scattered the parking lot. However, there was only one vehicle in the row closest to the school. Sharpay Evans' bright pink convertible sat there, and no one else dared to get close to anything the 'Ice Queen' owned or claimed possession of.

Troy and Chad silently left the bus, only smiling or talking to their other friends like Zeke or Jason. The jocks buzzed loudly about their sports filled summer vacation.

"Hey, I hope all of you have been pracing your moves this summer, 'cuz we're all gonna make the team this year and kick butt all the way to the championship!" Zeke said excitedly. Troy shot Chad a look. Zeke took the opportunity to steal Chad's ball, and dribbled around other students, staying out of Chad's reach.

"Hey, man, that's my ball! Give me my ball back!" Chad said, grinning, running after Zeke playfully while his ball was being tossed from friend to friend.

"Is everything cool with you and Chad?" Jason spoke up. Troy snapped out of his daze.

"Yeah, man. You can bet on it." Troy put on a small fake smile.

"Well alright." Jason shrugged and joined the rest of his friends. Troy continued to trek on through the crowd and into the school.

Classmates pushed their way to their lockers and homerooms, some even formed small groups at the edges of hallways. The Evans twins didn't have that problem. Crowds split apart for Sharpay, with her brother Ryan following suite. They had plenty of admirers flock to their lockers, wondering if summer break was as fabulous as them. Sharpay brushed them off like scum, while Ryan tried to genuinely talk with some students once or twice.

Sharpay walked confidently from her locker to the locker of a much smaller girl.

"Kelsi!" The blonde shrieked. Kelsi jumped, nearly dropping her papers and binders. She fixed her glasses before making eye contact with the popular girl. Ryan shifted slightly.

"Oh! Um, hi Sharpay. Ryan. ...How was your summer?" She asked the twins quietly. Ryan managed to wave to her with a smile before being interrupted by his sister.

"My summer was fabulous. As always. Now, did you do what I asked you to?" Sharpay's words became quicker and louder. Kelsi looked at the ground awkwardly before fishing through her binder to find the desired document.

"Here, Sharpay... And if you have any questions or-" Kelsi was stopped short by a zzp sound from Sharpay.

"Oh how nice of you! Toodles!" Brown eyes rolled in the popular girl's head as she quickly yanked the small stack of typed paper from the hands of the small brunette. Kelsi received a sympathetic look from Ryan. The twins carried on their way.

"You know, Shar," Ryan said in her ear, "that is cheating, and if you get caught-"

"Oh please, Ryan." She scoffed, strutting her stuff as people moved out of her way. "We'll be seniors next year. And I'm so close to being a star. When you're on top, you can just have peasants do things for you. Besides, stars don't have time for English assignments." Sharpay stated as-a-matter-of-factly. Both of the twins faces lit up as they found what they were looking for, but only one of them did anything to prove it.

"Troy! Troy, it's so great to see you!" Sharpay squealed as she scurried to the athlete's locker.

"Uh, hey,... Sharpay." Troy waved weakly, putting a fake smile on his face for the second time that day. Sharpay got dangerously close to the other boy.

"Troy! Tell me, wasn't your summer fabulous?" The blonde girl beamed.

"Oh yeah, it was really... Fabulous." He replied awkwardly, glancing at Ryan. Sharpay squealed happily and placed a manicured hand on the tan boy's arm.

"We're even both showing our school pride today! We match!" Sharpay started to wave her hands frantically near her face as if she was over heating. Her smile grew wider and more devious. Troy took in the appearance of the twins. Sharpay was right, they did mach. She was sporting a red pencil skirt, with white high heels and a white crop top. A lightweight red scarf hung around her neck and a red hand bag jingled with various make up supplies. Her male counterpart was looking great in white skinny jeans and a red dress shirt. A red fedora with a black ribbon sat slightly crooked upon his head. Ryan's black dress shoes shown across the floor in its reflection.

"So, I can count on you being on the basketball team this year, right" Sharpay looked up at Troy with an attempt at puppy eyes. Troy nearly choked.

"Oh yeah, totally, Sharpay. You know me, I'm 'the basketball guy'." Troy chuckled lightly while Sharpay let out a sour giggle.

"You know Troy, you and I are both so dedicated. ... It's like we're meant to be!" The blonde diva played with her hair while staring creepily at 'the basketball guy'. Both boys accompanying her wanted to gag. Suddenly, the bell rang. Troy was glad and rushed to homeroom.

'It's always so weird when she's so touchy-feely.' Troy thought as he walked to Mrs. Darbus' room, and unfortunately not any further from Sharpay. He turned sour as he saw the diva strut into the room. Ryan sat a few seats away from Troy, directly behind his twin, and it was oddly warm in the room to the young tan boy. Chad tapped him on the shoulder.

—

"Alright, people! Happy Monday, and, happy first day of school!" Mrs. Darbus shouted from the front of the room, punctuating her final word by hitting her desk with a ruler to get the attention of sleepy students.

"I am Mrs. Darbus, your homeroom teacher for this year. I am also head of the drama department here at East High. Speaking of which, the summer musical will be well on its way the next few weeks. The sign up sheet is in the main lobby for those interested." Sharpay and Ryan exchanged smug looks.

"We will also be accepting candidates for class president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer at this time until the end of the month. Sports season is also upon us, and might I remind you, it is best for you to turn in all your work on time, Mr. Danforth." The drama teacher hits the desk of Chad, who had been previously day dreaming, with a ruler.

Chad looks away, embarrassed, while some students snicker. Troy does his best not to crack a smile.

The eccentric teacher continues on with important notifications and reminders for the students. Jason, who sat in the back if the classroom asked what was for lunch. Chad mentions to Troy that he was thinking about skipping free period to work on the English assignment. Troy gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder. The students are eager to go to their next class when the bell rings.

Shuffling hurriedly, classmates quickly piled up around the door. All of the bustling caused Ryan's hat to slip off of his blond head. Just as quickly, the hat was in his hands, thanks to Troy, who was able to catch it before it hit the ground.

"Wow, thanks, Troy! Great catch." The skinny blond boy smiled at the the athlete.

"Yeah, no problem, Ryan" He returned the smile, maybe a bit too much. Chad pretended not to know Troy.

—

As the day went on, Troy and his friends were getting bored of school once again. They could only really look forward to practice. And lunch. All the different cliches sat at their own tables. Troy, Chad, Zeke, Jason, and several other jocks sat down at their table. Zeke was the only one out of the group who brought a bagged lunch. While everyone at his table was eating greasy school pizza and cartoned milk, the tall basketball player helped himself to a toasted sandwich, home baked cookies, and juice that was prepared that morning.

Jason took the liberty of trying one of Zeke's cookies. Never in his life had he tasted something so... Unique. He was surprised and curious as to where his friend got the sweets.

"Woah, Zeke." Jason's eyebrows rose as he took a bite. " These cookies are really awesome. Where did you get 'em?" Zeke shifted uncomfortablely in his seat.

"Oh, um... My mom made them! Yeah, she made all this stuff." He replied, quickly.

"Your mom still makes your lunch?" Chad chimed in. "No offense, dude, but that's kind of lame." The bushy haired boy took a cookie as well, and in between bites said "... But extremely satisfying."

—

Before Troy knew it, his first day was over and everyone was rushing out of the building. The Evans twins managed to have a note to leave school early, which wasn't really surprising to Troy. He was glad he didn't have to deal with Sharpay until the next day.

Under all the murmers of students and teachers, Troy could hear a pop song being played over the loud speaker. It was really catchy, so he started to hum along. He felt his flesh nearly leave his skin in a single bound as Chad suddenly got his attention with a tap on his shoulder.

"Hey, man, were you just humming?" Chad asks with a glare. Troy nervously rubs the back of his neck.

"Um, no, man. That's... Silly. Why would I even do that?" Even though they're brothers, from other mothers, Troy is able to sneak little white lies past Chad sometimes.

"Wow, thank god. Your guess is as good as mine. If you were even humming, next you'd be singing and prancing around. That Evans guy would show you his hat collection, and Sharpay would make you one of her poodles- preforming in musicals!" Chad shuttered. Guts were twisting inside of Troy.

"Yeah, relax, man. That won't happen." Troy couldn't tell if he was lying or not.

—

Leaves rustled in the wind around the Bolton's back yard. Rubber smacked against concrete as the youngest family member dribbled around his personal court. His dad was happy to play with him when he got home from work. They dribbled and shot baskets and ran around until Troy passed his limit. Troy's muscles screamed as he slowly went up the stairs, one by one. He wanted to just pass out on his bed right there, but he knew that a hot shower would help sooth his muscles.

Steam quickly filled his small bathroom. Little drops of water pelted his tan skin. A tune flooded his head. Piano notes, a song. The song from earlier. Troy began to sing, and in that moment he didn't care if anyone heard him.

" We'll do it all
Everything
On our own

We don't need
Anything
Or anyone

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lay with me, and just forget the world?

I don't quite know
How to say
How I feel

Those three words
Are said too much
They're not enough."

In those moments, Troy Bolton knew his life would never be the same.