Gabriella Montez is only eighteen, but she has been believed to have the knowledge of someone the age of eighty. Emotion knowledge, that is. But she could never take credit for the things she knows. She didn't study the human emotions, or sit at home and research other things. She knows the things she knows today due to personal experience. And even though she is just graduating high school, people have expected her to have a wonderful future. She is just shy of 5'3 and has long, curly chocolate brown hair. Her hair matched her eyes almost perfectly and her little height made her all the more adorable. At least, it did in Troy Bolton's eyes.

Troy Bolton was nineteen and 6 feet exactly. Over-towering compared to Gabriella. His eyes were sky blue and his shaggy light brown hair made him one of the most handsomest men Gabriella ever saw. In fact, he was the most handsomest man she ever saw. Last time Gabriella saw Troy was the summer of 2006, almost six years ago. Gabriella was in Maryland for the summer with her family. And one night, at a summer party, their paths crossed.

June 18th, 2006...

As Troy took a sip of his Coke, his best friend Chad chugged down a large sip of Corona Extra. Troy looked away, holding the plastic cup by it's rim, and sighed to himself. He hated being so alone at parties. He had come with Chad and he thought they were going to have a fun time, but once Chad found out there was beer, Troy immediately felt alone. He considered himself a good kid. He never drank, never did drugs, never even stayed our past curfew. When he had one, that is. And even though his father praised him for his good ways, Troy always felt like he was missing out. He's thought about it many times before. What it would be like to be bad-ass and break every rule. But the last thing he wanted to see was his father upset with him. When his mother died of cancer, Troy became everything his father wanted him to be. A good student, an innocent child, and an amazing basketball player. His eyes scanned the backyard of the party-thrower to find a place where he could get some peace and quiet, but he failed and only saw people bouncing up and down to the loud music coming from the speakers.

"Hey, Chad, I think I'm gonna go take a walk or something." Troy shouted, leaning over a crowd of people to try and get his friend's attention. Chad took another sip of his drink as he looked over at Troy and nodded, shutting his eyes while doing so. The thought of weather Chad really cared or not escaped Troy's mind. He made his way threw loads of people before finally reaching the side of the house. No one was there except for a few couples making out in their drunken urge to have someone else spit in their mouth. Troy rolled his eyes. How ridiculous, he thought.

Troy looked around the other sides of the property, seeing how empty it looked without all the under-aged drunken teenagers. Before long, he found a nice place where he could think and reflect. A fire pit sat before an old, worn-out couch. Smiling to himself, he walked over to the pit and picked up some firewood sitting beside it. He tossed that in before finding a pack of matches and swiping one against the paper. Once it turned into burning fire, he threw it onto the wood and watched as they caught flame. Rushing his fingers threw his hair, he fell back onto the couch and took a deep breath.

Gabriella was sitting on the steps that led from the downstairs to the backyard. Her close friend, Sharpay Evans, sat beside her. But she wasn't pay much attention to her. Sharpay was too busy clinging plastic cups with people walking by. Sighing, Gabriella took another sip of her Dr. Pepper before looking over at Sharpay.

"So glad your having fun," Gabriella muttered. Sharpay's eyes shot over in her direction. Then she replied with a confused:

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just, I'm not really having a lot of fun" Gabriella's eyes looked down at her soda can, which would soon be empty. She used her other hand to rubbed her forearm, feeling a bit cold. Sharpay frowned.

"I'm sorry. Why don't you walk around for a bit? See if you can find any childhood friends." Gabriella highly doubted seeing any old friends, everyone's eyes were glazed and no one was really speaking properly due to the beer. Even if she had, how could she have an actual conversation with them? She couldn't even hear herself think with the loud music buzzing in everyone's ears.

"I think I should just head home." Sharpay frowned again, watching as Gabriella stood up and walked up the steps. She then turned her attention back to the basement door and continued clinging cups with people.

Gabriella took one last sip of the Dr. Pepper before throwing it away in the trash. She crossed her arms tightly against her chest, trying to keep herself warm by rubbing her forearms. It wasn't a far walk to the driveway. It was more like a few steps. She glanced around, slowly placing one foot in front of the other as her thoughts danced in her head. She had reached the other side of the house before she had realized how lost in thought she was. And as she shook her head, she saw a light out of the corner of her eye. It was a light mixed with the colors orange and red and a little hint of blue. It wasn't long before she had realized it was a fire. She then saw a figure sitting on top of an old beat-up couch. She took slow steps towards the fire, biting her lower lip hard between her shiny white teeth. And once she had gotten close enough, she noticed the figure was a boy. A cute boy from behind. She walked over to the side of the couch before asking;

"Is this seat taken?" Troy turned his head to look at whoever had asked and once he saw Gabriella, a wide smile formed on his face. What a beauty, he thought. Gabriella returned the smile, looking at how perfect the boy's hair was and how wonderful his smile was. They stared at each for a moment, then Troy finally spoke.

"No, it's all yours," His voice was gentle and kind. Something that was hard to find in a man these days. Gabriella brushed off her jeans, took a seat on the couch, and watched the fire as sparks feel off.

"Thank you." She said quietly. Troy nodded, keeping his eyes focused on the fire. He thought it would be rude to stare so he glanced over at her a few times but never held his gaze for long. She stuck her hands out to catch the warmth of the fire as Troy crossed his arms against his chest, trying to act casual.

"So, have you been drinking?" Stupid question, he thought while he shook his head. The last thing he needed was her thinking he was going to make-out with her if she were drunk. Gabriella peered over her shoulder and shook her head slightly.

"No, I'm not much of a drinker. How about you?"

"No." He seemed to answer quite quickly. Gabriella smiled before turning her head back in the direction of the fire. Troy rushed his fingers threw his hair, leaning down a bit so he could see part of her face. He placed his elbows on his knees to keep balance. "Are you a friend of the person who's throwing this party?"

Gabriella tucked her lips inside her mouth and shook her head, looking in his direction. "No, but my friend is. She dragged me here thinking I was some rebel and that I would drink and party. When really all of this is giving me a huge headache." Troy chuckled as he put his hands together and started playing with his fingers. "You?"

Troy shrugged, "Not really. I don't even think the friend I came here with knows him." Gabriella giggled at his response. She tucked her lips in again as she looked over at him and took her hands away from the fire. She tucked her hands between her legs and leaned back against the couch, releasing her lip as she did.

"Why are you out here alone, then? I mean, aren't you suppose to be with your friend?" She bit her lower lip, waiting for his answer.

"He's off drinking the night away. And I don't drink, it would upset my dad."

"Is he strict?"

"No, I just hate seeing him disappointed in me."

"Oh..." Gabriella trailed off quietly, seeing how innocent Troy actually was. She looked down at her feet for a moment, sliding her hands up her legs. "I'm Gabriella Montez." She spoke in a soft voice. So cute and adorable. Troy smiled and said:

"I'm Troy Bolton. Nice to meet you."