Lost

Summary: Troy, the basketball guy, had always been the popular guy, the cool guy. Every girl thought of him as their dream date. But Troy, he was waiting for the special one to come. When she finally did, she melted Troy's heart. Troy fell heads over heels, and he was sure she did the same about him. But one day during summer, she suddenly dissapears. Her house is empty, her mom is gone. There's no trace left behind. She left Troy lost, confused and waiting. Why did she leave? When she comes back.. will it be the same as it was before? It is uncovered, her fatal disease. To what extent will Troy go to save her?

Will leave you tearing at the end, promised )

A/N: I hope everyone likes this story and please read and REVIEW if you want me to continue it )

The first chapter is in present time, then the next few chapters are going to be of what happened in the past (one year ago before she left)

Chapter One: Begin the Tale

Troy Bolton looked up from his seat. Dazed. What happened? This must've been the millionth time this question was in his mind. There wasn't a day that went by when he wouldn't ask himself this question again. Images of him and her popped into his mind once again. They were so happy, so perfect. Where had she gone, all of a sudden? Why would she suddenly move, without telling him, or anyone? Was it me? Did I do something worng?

A shake from his friend shook him from his thoughts. "Dude, you dazed out. Again. Are you okay? You gotta snap out of this." Chad, holding his usual basketball put his free hand on Troy's shoulder. Troy threw his hair back and looked up at his friend with his bright, blue eyes. Troy nodded silently.

"I'm okay. What's up?" Troy said. It's been six months, he had gotten used to these occasional daze outs he could not even control himself. After all, he had to get on with life. "Is it basketball again today after school?"

Chad nodded and chuckled. "What else? Studying?" Chad felt a slap coming from the back of his head. His girlfriend, Taylor had just smacked him. Troy laughed a little. They were a funny couple, even he had to admit that. Troy got occasionally jealous, but he felt happy for them.

"Yes, you SHOULD be studying. Our mid-terms are coming up!" Taylor reminded Chad. Chad let out a groan. He hated tests, homework and most of all, his girlfriend's nags. Troy shook his head and picked up his books. Free block was about to end.

"Come on, lets get to class." Troy stood up and patted Chad on the back. Taylor looked at Chad. It didn't take an IQ of 170 to figure out what Troy had been thinking about. Taylor let out a sigh of worry. He was not the only one that wanted to know the mystery behind the disappearance.

Troy and his friends walked back to their lockers and got their books for their next class, science. Her favorite… Troy thought as he picked up his science text book. He looked at his bookmark and sighed.

Troy started to walk towards his science class. A bunch of nearby cheerleaders leaned against their lockers and flicked their hair back as soon as he walked by. "Hey Troy." The head cheerleader said flirtatiously. Troy politely nodded and moved on. The head cheerleader sighed in disappointment for the third time in two days. "He'll be mine, some day." The other girls laughed and they continued their gossip.

Troy shook his head and walked on. Girls, he no longer found interesting. Don't get him wrong, he's not gay. He just no longer found it fun to stare at them, or their body parts. He still thought some of them were pretty once in a while, but only as acknowledgement. Nothing more.

He sat down in science class. He flipped open his text book as the teacher began her lecture. He tried to focus, but as usual, he was not successful. Ms. Jackson came by his table and knocked on there. "Asleep yet, Mr. Bolton?"

Troy snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head. "No, Ms. Jackson." He answered politely. Ms. Jackson shook his head. "Can everybody turn to page…" She continued on. She's been trying everyday for half a year to get him to pay attention. Never works, never have, probably never will.

The science class dragged to an end soon. Troy got up and was about to leave when Ms. Jackson suddenly stopped him. "Wait, Mr. Bolton. Can you please stay for a minute?"

Troy nodded and walked to her desk. Ms. Jackson was around 30 years old, she was a nice teacher. She had just come to East High three months ago when their science teacher went away for retirement. She was nice, but Troy just wasn't really into anything anymore, especially not science. Without his personal tutor, anyways.

"Mr. Bolton. Ever since I have been here, you are not focused during every single one of my classes. I have heard you used to be a fairly good student. Is it something I'm doing?" Ms. Jackson wanted to help Troy, know if it was something she was doing wrong. Perhaps she was teaching wrong.

Troy merely shook his head. "No, Ms. Jackson. It isn't because of you." Troy turned to go away. But Ms. Jackson obviously was not finished.

"Then why is it you never pay attention in class? If this continues, I think I'll have to notify your parents. You know how convenient it is for me to talk to your father." She mentioned his basketball coach father, Jack Bolton.

"It's nothing. I'll try harder from now on Ms. Jackson." Troy looked at the room around him. He didn't really feel like being focused.

Ms. Jackson shook her head. It looks like she would have to talk to his father. "You may go now, Troy." Troy nodded and walked out of the science room.

Chad and the team met him at the cafeteria. Chad and Taylor walked off hand in hand. "We're going to the library to study." Chad murmured. His friends, including Troy, laughed and shook their heads as the couple walked off. Troy ate his lunch, occasionally adding into his friend's conversations. He tried to be as normal as possible, as usual. "Troy, can you come with me for a minute?" Troy finished chuckling with his friends, looked up to find his dad looking at him.

Troy nodded and followed his father into his office. Surprisingly, he saw Taylor there. "Chad! Taylor! What are you doing here?" Jack pulled out a chair from the desk and motioned Troy to sit down.

"Ms. Jackson just talked to me. Troy, you haven't been very focused in class. And she told me that this is not a recent problem. I talked to Chad and Taylor to try and understand more about the situation." His friends nodded in agreement. They knew what's wrong.

"Troy, you have to put it down. We don't know, we have even asked the police. It's obvious they're trying to hide from us. From the world. You have to forget her and move on. I miss her too, she was my best friend." Troy knew who she was talking about. He eyes went from his friend to the ground.

Suddenly, Ms. Jackson walked in the room. "As Troy's teacher, I'd like to know what's wrong with him as well." The coach nodded in agreement.

"I hope you guys won't mind that I had overheard some outside. Who were you guys talking about?" Troy sighed and shook his head. He had to face it sometime, to talk of her again, to let go of her. For now, he was not ready to let go, but he could talk about her. Chad put a hand on his shoulder. This was a big step for Troy.

Troy took out his wallet and showed him a picture of him and the girl. Ms. Jackson looked at the picture, and studied it for a minute. Troy nodded and sighed.

Chad put his arm around Taylor as Troy began. With a grim look at the picture, Troy began his tale. "It was one year ago…"

One Year Ago...

Troy Bolton, the basketball guy, got off the school bus to be trampled over by his friends. "Hey Guys." He grinned happily. He was the popular guy with wavy blond hair and sparkling blue eyes. Chad, his best friend, put his arm around his neck in a head lock with his free hand (the one that wasn't holding his basketball).

"What's up my man, ready to lead us to the championships?" Chad grinned. They continued to walk along as they usually did, with lots of girls in the hallway flirtingly looking at Troy. "Yeah, I'm ready!" Troy said, while he smiled politely and nodded at the girls.

Troy and his boys sat down in their home room and awaited Ms. Darbus to begin class. Troy sat down and finished laughing with his friends. He fiddled his finger as Ms. Darbus walked in. But his attention steered off to a girl following behind Ms. Darbus. She had dark wavy curls for her hair, and chocolate brown eyes. The moment Troy saw her, something in his heart felt… different.

The girl stood beside the teacher's desk as Ms. Darbus shushed everyone. "Welcome back everyone. Winter vacation is over and I hope everyone is ready for school. May I introduce our new student, Gabriella Montez." The girl, Gabriella, waved lightly and smiled politely. Gabriella looked around the classroom and sat down at the empty seat behind Troy.

During the rest of home room, Troy kept trying to steal glances at the girl that sat behind him. He couldn't do it without the whole class noticing. That girl, Gabriella, left an impression on Troy like none other.

When homeroom finally ended, Troy and Chad parted ways as Troy headed to science class. Troy shook his head, laughed at his own sudden impulsive obsession and walked on. Just after he had convinced himself he was a bit stupid for having such sudden thoughts on a stranger, he saw Gabriella walk into the science room along with Taylor, whom he knew Chad had a crush on although he keeps pretending to be enemies with her.

He watched as she took a seat, this time in front of him. Class started and flew by, with Gabriella not knowing that there was a charming guy behind her staring at her the whole class. Troy awaited her to come out, outside the classroom, and decided to talk to her. After all, he was used to girls loving him, so how hard would it be to get this one to like him?

"Hi!" Troy said as Gabriella came out of the classroom. Gabriella jumped back a little, taken by surprised and smiled politely. "Hi!" She said back.

"Well, I'm Troy Bolton and since you're new to the school, I thought I might show you around." Troy flashed her one of his irresistible smiles. Expecting a yes, he looked at her with calm eyes.

"It's okay. Taylor had already shown me around the school." Gabriella said, and with that, she walked away. Troy stood there, stunned. Did a girl, just turn me down? Troy watched as she walked away with Taylor.

Troy felt a light punch on his right arm. He turned around and saw Chad. "What's up? I saw you talking to that new girl." Troy shook his head and laughed. "Oh, it was nothing. I was going to show her around, but Taylor already did."

Chad perked up at the name 'Taylor'. Troy chuckled. "Yes, Taylor. The girl you like?" Chad blushed but quickly hid it. "What are you TALKING about? I have NO IDEA what you're talking about." Chad slapped Troy's chest and led Troy to their next class.

Troy went through the day without seeing Gabriella again, until their last class, English. Gabriella sat far from him this time though, but he could still see her, and look at her.

"To welcome all of you back, I have decided to give all of you a project. I want all of you to either write a poem, or a song. It has to follow the poem format and use at least seven different literary devices." Mrs. Robin. "This will be a partner project." She added.

Troy groaned. A project, already?! He thought to himself. He continued to listen to the teacher, in hopes of hearing something he would actually like.

"I will randomly pick names from this hat to determine who the groups." Mrs. Robin continued. "Chad and Taylor." She began. Beside him, Troy saw his friend's mouth turn into a grin. But as Chad saw Troy, he quickly made his face into a frown. Troy laughed lightly.

Troy didn't even want to hear his name. Another project, he never has luck on partners. They're either stupid girls who only want to spend their project time flirting with him or they're guys. "And finally, Troy and Gabriella." Suddenly, Troy heard his name. Troy and Gabriella? I'm with the new girl!

His eyes went to Gabriella's and their eyes met for the first time. Gabriella smiled and Troy smiled back.

Troy stopped Gabriella again after class. "So, when're we going to work on our project?" Troy grinned. He had never had a better, or prettier partner for that matter. Gabriella laughed. "I thought a jock like you wouldn't care about your English mark." Troy laughed uncomfortably. Did she hear something about me? Does she have a bad impression of me already?

"Just kidding. Want to work on it tomorrow after school?" She suggested. Without thinking Troy smiled. "It's a date then." Gabriella eyed him suspiciously. "Uh, I mean, like, a date set to work together, a working together thing, a work together, a" Troy stopped himself before he embarrassed himself any further.

Gabriella smiled at his clumsiness. "Okay. I'll see you later then." Gabriella turned and walked away. Troy mentally punched himself. How could I embarrass myself like that? I've never gotten so nervous because of a girl. Gah, what is with her?

"You got what you want, eh?" He heard Chad's voice behind him. Troy laughed. "Haha, like you didn't? I know you got Taylor." Chad blushed, but didn't deny it. Troy followed Chad to the gym for basketball practice.

Troy couldn't take his mind off the 'new girl'. All day, all night, any time, any where. It must be a spell, for him to feel this way after only a few hours of meeting her. It was really unbelievable. He found himself looking at her during class, awaiting their 'date'.

Finally, the second day of school came to an end. Troy went to Gabriella's locker to await her. "Hey!" Troy smiled as she came over. Gabriella smiled slightly. "Hi Troy. I have an idea for our project already. I'll tell you about it when we get to… we haven't thought of where to go yet." Gabriella looked at Troy, hoping he would come up with an idea.

"Uh, how about… your house?" Troy asked, hoping she wouldn't think that he was trying to get into her house. Gabriella smiled and nodded. She packed up her books and closed her locker.

Troy found himself staring at her. "Let's go, shall we?" Gabriella's voice woke Troy up. He hoped that she didn't notice him staring.

Troy and Gabriella walked to her house, alone. Gabriella hugged her books tightly and kept silent. Troy wanted so much to break the silence, and to break into her heart. "So, how do you like East High so far?" Gabriella sighed, and let go of her arms. She began to relax.

"Well.. it's a very big school." Troy chuckled. She continued, but gave Troy a smile. "I like it here, the people here.. are very nice." Troy smiled, hopefully, the "people" included himself.

They soon got to her house and they settled in. Her mom wasn't home yet, so they were basically in her house alone. They sat down at her kitchen table.

"So, I thought about it for a while, and I was thinking maybe we could do a song." Gabriella began. Troy was about to interrupt, but decided to let her finish first. "Teachers ALWAYS like songs better than poems. Maybe we could get Kelsi to help us out. I met her in choir class already."

"A song..?" Troy stuttered. Gabriella let out a little laugh at his shyness. "I .. can't sing.." Gabriella laughed a little more. At least I'm making her laugh.

"We'll practice a lot, you'll do fine. Please?" Gabriella made her eyes bigger and smiled. Troy, having already liked her, melted as she did this. He nodded in agreement, but almost immediately regretted it.

"Great! Then I'll get her to help us out." Gabriella took out her text book and began reading the literary devices out loud to Troy. Troy spent more attention examining her face, than listening.

As Gabriella finished, Troy was knocked from his dream. "Well, go home, read over those and come up with some ideas. I'll talk to Kelsi tomorrow." Gabriella smiled again, and Troy smiled even bigger.

Troy knew it was about time for him to go, but he wanted to just wanted to be with her a while longer. To get to know her a bit better. "Uh, Gabriella. I was just thinking,.." That I really like you even though I've only known you for two days!! Troy didn't say that part out loud. "that maybe we could work on it again tomorrow after school at my house?"

"So soon? Okay, I want to get it done too. That sounds good then." Gabriella got up and showed him the way out. Before he left, Troy decided to give her a good goodbye. "I hope our project will turn out good.. um.. Yeah." Troy mentally kicked himself again.

"Yeah, me too!" Gabriella leaned against her door.

"Okay! Um, uh, how about you give me your number? So I could call you if I have any ideas about the project?" That must've been the lamest line Troy ever used to get a girl's number.

Gabriella chuckled. "Okay, here it is." She wrote it down on a piece of paper and gave it to Troy. "Hey, Troy?"

Troy looked at her. "Thanks, for being so nice." Troy grinned. It was working, she was beginning to like him. Troy nodded. "Yeah, anytime."

Troy smiled to her. "See you tomorrow, Gabriella." This could be the start, of something new?

I know, it used to be two chapters, but I thought about it, and thought maybe I should just combine it into one, just to get you guys all to read the best parts all together. Like a big premiere chapter?

Anyways, hoped you guys like it, and review please