Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, names, places, anything from High School Musical or Disney. This story is copyright to the owner and may not be used without permission. I in no way affiliated with any of the High School Musical Cast, Disney, Kenny Ortega or Peter Barsocchini. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. Also, I do not own "The Luck One" by Nicholas Sparks.

AN: This story was inspired by/based off of "The Lucky One" by Nicholas Sparks. It will not be his book re-written word for word with HSM characters thrown in. As the story moves along I'm hoping to give it a life of its own. Enjoy!


Call Troy Bolton crazy, most people would. He had walked from his home in South Carolina across the country to New Mexico because of a photograph. The photo that had kept him safe while he served in Iraq. The photo that didn't belong to him. He didn't know who it belonged to or who the woman shown was. She had long brunette hair and brown eyes, wearing a shirt with UNM on it. He guessed her to be in her early twenties at the time it was taken. A german sheperd stood by her side. The background showed some sort of fair or carnival with food stalls and outlines of various rides. There was a short message on the back of the picture. "Keep safe. -G"

When it was found, the picture was posted on the bulletin board for its owner to claim but after a few weeks it was still hanging so Troy took it down. He thought that it would've been snatched up within the day of the posting. Being away from your family and friends for so long could make a person go crazy so the little things like that mattered just a little more.

The night he took the photograph back, Troy won more than a few games of poker even though he had never played half as much as the other guys. Not much was thought of it until Chad had mentioned something about it bringing luck. Chad was the kind of guy who normally joked around and lighten the mood. For some reason though, he became serious when it came to superstitious things. Kind of like athletes who believed the unwashed pair of socks they wore was what kept them "hot" during winning streaks then burned the same pair once something went wrong. So Troy entertained him and went along. Soon enough he too bought into the luck of the picture.

It was what happened after they got discharged from Iraq that made him pack up and start his journey with his dog Ace to find the woman. But that was a whole other story. One he didn't really want to think or talk about.

---

After checking into his hotel and dropping his bag off, Troy took Ace to find a place to eat. It didn't take long before they had found a little sandwhich shop. Dogs weren't allowed in so Troy left Ace to nap outside promising to bring him back something when he was done with his own meal. While he ate his burger Troy thought about what he was going to do next.

He had studied the photograph carefully and did some research before starting his trip. UNM most likely stood for The University of New Mexico and the hot dog stand in the background reading 'Albuquerque's Best Dogs' somewhat reinforced that. But still, those two facts alone didn't give anything. She could've been a tourist instead of a local. The shirt she was wearing could've belonged to a friend or relative. So there was a chance she didn't go to UNM. He had found the picture years ago so even if the woman had gone to the college and been from Albuquerque there was a chance she had moved to another city, state, maybe even another country.

If she really was here, he had a plan...or the closest thing to one. The photo was found in 2003 and now she was probably in her late twenties, maybe even early thirties. Albuquerque had a population of around ten thousand people. He gave twenty-five hundred of those to the under twenty category, and 3,200 to those who were 20 to 30. Give half of that for males and half for females and he had successfully cut ten-thousand to sixteen hundred people. Still a lot but it was less than before. There was a chance all the numbers were way off since math was never his best subject, but he had the picture. If Chad was right then its luck gave him kind of chance, even if it was a slim one. Plus, he had walked all the way here and there was no use in leaving without trying. No matter how foolish this whole thing seemed.

After finishing his food, Troy ordered a burger to-go for Ace and took it outside to watch him gobble it up in two minutes. "Glad you enjoyed it."

As they started to wander around town Troy thought about the best way of going at this. It would come off as strange for him to just go up to strangers and ask if they had seen her. It would be even worst if he asked women, they'd be more suspicious. Then again some men would be just as much, unless they had a bit of alcohol in them. Troy decided to backtrack to the bar he had passed earlier.

It felt like all eyes turned towards him when Troy walked in. Ace had stayed outside, it was pretty certain dogs weren't allowed but even if they were he was sure bringing his dog in wouldn't make a great first impression on some. The place was somewhat small so he didn't blame people for looking, it would be hard to ignore the bell the rang when the front used.

"Hey, mind if I join in?" The guys that were gathered around the table gave him a questioning look. He guessed they thought that they had known everyone in town, or everyone that came around to this place anyway.

"Sure, if you got some money." The man in a blue shirt said, as one of the other guys started setting up while others started pulling out their money putting it all under a half empty beer bottle. Troy played along with the guys giving wins when needed, and offered to pay for some of the beer. Eventually, the other guys loosened up and stopped giving him looks. About an hour in Troy casually pulled the picture out of his pocket while getting more money for another round.

"What's that you got there?"

"Oh just a picture I got while back. I met the girl and she said if I'm ever in town to look her up. Sad part is I lost her name and number"

"You don't remember her name?" One asked skeptically.

"Like I said, its been a while."

"Well, give it here. One of us have got to know her." All the other guys huddled around as Troy held out the picture. He noticed the skinny one who looked to still be in puberty with all the zits on his face turned frantic for a second before calming again.

"Oh you don't wanna mess with her. She doesn't date, her ex wouldn't like it." Troy nodded nonchalantly slipping it back into his pocket. He stuck around for a bit longer to ease any suspicions they might have had. It didn't stop the skinny man from excusing himself and using the pay phone on the other side of the poll hall to call someone while eyeing Troy. He concluded that the other person on the line was either the woman in the photograph or someone that knew her.

"Hey Collin? I'm at Staplers poll hall and there's some guy here with a picture of your ex wife."


AN: Sorry for the grammar and spelling errors. I don't have a beta so when you proof-read your own stuff you know what should be there so you just overlook it. I hope you all liked this chapter! Reviews would be nice :)