A/N: Well, I liked this chapter. I hope you do, too. Please review :) Don't own HSM. I don't know why the last paragraph messed up but I've sorted it out and reuploaded it :)
Chapter 1 – Best friends
Chad Danforth swatted his mother's hand away as she tried to straighten his hair out. "Mom, let it go. We're just meeting our neighbours, not the president!"
Julie shot her son a glare which he knew too well and allowed her to fix the array of curls which crowned his head. "We might as well make a good impression."
Jay Danforth chuckled and nudged his younger brother's shoulders. "Now do you see why I cut my hair?"
"It's my signature." Chad defended, folding his arms and plastering the best pout he could muster onto his lips. "Dad?"
Steven Danforth shrugged and scratched his cheek nervously. "I already had to go through that five minutes before we left the house."
Julie sighed and finally realised that no matter how much she tried, her youngest son's hair would never be able to be tamed. "Will you three quit it?" She pushed the doorbell and the family waited patiently until the door opened to reveal a petite young girl open the door with a large box in her arms which was clearly weighing her down.
Gabriella groaned in annoyance at the box at forced a smile at the people in front of her. "Hello. May I help you?"
Julie hit Chad's head and he rushed forward to take the box off of Gabriella. "Yes, we're the Danforth's. We live next door. We thought we'd introduce ourselves. But, if you're busy or anything, we can come back later if you want."
Gabriella shook her head. "No, it's cool. I just hope you don't mind chaos. My parents are currently arguing where to put my books in my room." She shook her head slightly.
"Honey, I live in a house with three males. Chaos is my middle name." Julie joked as she smiled at the young girl.
"Well, if that's the case, come on in. Try not to trip over the boxes, we're in the process of unpacking." She explained through a giggle. She pulled the door open further and allowed them all inside before leading them to the lounge where countless boxes were stacked in – what seemed to be – a logical order. She smiled at them all and took the box off of Chad, placing it on the floor. "I'm Gabriella."
Chad shook her hand and nodded in acknowledgement. "I'm Chad. This is my brother, Jay, my mom, Julie, and my dad, Steven."
"Well, just wait here two seconds and I'll call my mom and dad down." Gabriella excused herself as she walked into the hallway and jogged up the stairs. She entered her room and was greeted by the Spanish accents of her parents. "Mama, Papa!" She exclaimed as she interrupted their squabbling. "Los vecinos están abajo. ¿Por qué no puedo ordenar mis libros?" (A/N: The neighbours are downstairs. Why can't I sort my books out?)
Encarnita sighed and placed the few books she was holding back into the nearest box. "No quiero que usted cepa. Con el traslado y-" (A/N: We didn't want you to strain yourself. With the move and-)
Gabriella folded her arms and snapped her head to the side so she was looking away from her parents. "Ni siquiera decir que." She snapped, forcing the tears back down. (A/N: Don't even say it.)
Mariano walked over and embraced his only child tightly. She was so strong, so brave and so confident that she looked fearless. And Mariano knew that she did to other people. But, her parents knew her better than to believe the attitude she put on for the rest of the world. "Mi hija, usted no tiene que ser valiente que nos rodea." He whispered as he kissed her hair. (A/N: My daughter, you don't have to be brave around us.)
Gabriella pulled back and ran a hand through her dark hair which had been cut and now hung just below her shoulders in a soft mass of ringlets. "Let me introduce you to the Danforth's. I really don't want to talk about this." She turned around and started to walk slowly out of her room.
Encarnita placed a hand on her husband's arm and smiled encouragingly. "She's not being fearless for herself. She's being fearless for us." She whispered.
Mariano nodded and interlocked his fingers with his wife's. He knew that Encarnita meant what she said for they were alone and yet she was speaking English. The first time that had happened, Gabriella had come into the picture. The last time that happened… He suddenly shook his head, getting rid of the thoughts that haunted all of the Montez's dreams. "I know, Nita." He allowed her to kiss his cheek and then gently pull him down the stairs and into the lounge where he saw Gabriella laughing and joking with four African-Americans – two of which had crazy and wild afros.
Gabriella turned to the doorway and smiled brightly at her parents. "Oh, Mami, Papa, these are the Danforth's: that's Steven, Julie, Jay and this is Chad. He's eighteen and he goes to East High, too."
Mariano stepped forward and shook Steven's hand. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Mariano and this is my wife, Encarnita and you've met my daughter."
Steven returned the handshake and then turned to Encarnita to kiss her cheek. "Same here. Your daughter is one of the funniest people I have ever met."
"What about me?" Chad exclaimed.
Jay slung his arm around Chad's shoulders in a false sense of sympathy. "Oh, Bro, I hate to break it to you but the funniest thing about you is your singing."
Gabriella giggled and jumped when her cell phone started ringing in her pocket. She took it out and smiled softly at the name flashing on the screen. She turned to everyone and shot a pleading look to her father. "Please?"
Mariano sighed and finally relented. "Make it quick, though."
"The quickest conversation we will ever have." She promised before kissing her father's cheek.
"The quickest conversation you've ever had with the person I assume is on that phone was half an hour last night." He said dryly.
"Yes and he was comforting me because of our move. But, I'll make it fifteen minutes, tops." She smiled innocently and was about to leave when she felt herself being pulled back by a firm grasp on her hand. "Mami, qué tiene de malo?" (A/N: Mami, what's wrong?)
"Usted necesita decirle." Encarnita whispered in her daughter's ear. (A/N: You need to tell him)
Gabriella shook her head slightly. "No lo creo. No puedo hacer eso con él." She whispered before turning around and walking out of the room. (A/N: I can't do that to him.)
She pressed the answer button and held the phone to her ear, smiling at the dulcet tone of Troy Bolton. "Hey, you."
She giggled as she climbed the stairs. "Hey, yourself. How are you?"
"Fine. What about you?" He asked softly.
"Fine. But, this needs to be quick. We're meeting the neighbours and Papa only gave me fifteen minutes." She said regretfully as she gracefully fell onto her bed.
Troy chuckled. "That is totally cool. I just wanted to hear your voice before my parents are taking me out to some family reunion."
Gabriella giggled. "Troy, you know I love you, right?"
"Where did that come from?" He asked worriedly. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm totally okay. I just need you to know. That's all." She whispered. "And this summer, my parents said that we're going back to Spain to Amado's place."
"Really? Finally! It's been too long since we saw each other." Troy exclaimed.
Gabriella sighed. "I'm sorry. But, a lot has been going on and we haven't had the time – or the money – to have a real vacation since Spain two years ago." She spoke quietly as tears rimmed her eyes.
"Well, you promise that you'll be in Spain the summer coming, right?" Troy asked carefully.
Gabriella smiled gently as his eagerness to see her again. "Yeah. I promise. I have to go. I love you."
"I love you too." Troy whispered. "You know you can tell me whatever's bugging you, right?"
She giggled at his easiness to read her by just hearing her voice. "I know. And I will. Just not right now. A lot of things are happening and I don't think I can take you knowing for a while."
"Okay." Troy whispered, knowing there wasn't really anything he could do. "Bye, Brie."
"Bye." She whispered as she hung up the phone and threw it carelessly across her room. She groped around her bed for a pillow and pulled it tightly over her face, muffling her sobs. She wanted nothing more than to see Troy again. The first and only guy that had made love to her. The one thing that took up the whole of her mind. She wanted to see him so badly. To hold her, and comfort her and for her to see him before-
The knock at her bedroom door made her groan and remove the pillow to wipe her cheeks. "Come in."
The door opened and Chad stepped in quietly. "You okay?"
Gabriella sat up and smiled at his concern. "Yeah. I'm fine."
"Boyfriend?" Chad whispered, sitting on the edge of her bed with a worried expression on his face.
"Something like that." She muttered. "I don't even know, okay? I think we just kind of assumed we were boyfriend and girlfriend after we, um, well…yeah." She finished with a deep blush and avoiding Chad's eyes.
"Ah." He realised. "Well, is everything okay? You seem kind of upset. Did you fight or something?" He asked, searching her face for any kind of answer.
She shook her head. "No. I'd actually prefer it if we were fighting. It's probably much easier to understand reasons behind fights."
"What are you talking about?" Chad asked, reaching for her hand.
"You know what? It doesn't even matter." She whispered as she raised her head.
Chad opened his arms. "You want a hug? They're free-eeeeeeeeeeee." He sang the last word out and had a large, cheesy grin on his face.
Gabriella giggled and shuffled forward so she allowed Chad to hug her tightly. "Are you going to agree to be a best friend to me?" She mumbled into his shoulder.
Chad pulled back and reached out to her bedside table and pulled a Kleenex tissue out of the box and wiped her cheek. "If you want a best friend like me. Although," He paused slightly to start counting on his fingers, "eight other people are part of the package."
Gabriella nodded and took the tissue out of his hand to blow her nose. "If I have one best friend that's you, it's cool. Just promise you'll look after me. I'm not good with meeting new people or starting a new school."
"I'll introduce you to eight great people and show you around East High, Albuquerque and be your best friend if you want me, too. Besides, you might be able to help me. My girlfriend doesn't think I'm romantic and a bit of female advice might help." He grinned innocently.
"Chad Michael Danforth, you better not be annoying Gabriella." Came Julie's threatening voice.
Gabriella muffled her giggle with the back of her hand as Chad rolled his eyes. "No, Mom. I'm not annoying her."
"Well, come down here and offer to help carry boxes to her room." She ordered.
"Will do, Mom." Chad grumbled as he turned to Gabriella. "Do you want help carrying boxes?"
"I am flattered." Gabriella joked as she slid off of her bed and walked over to pick up her cell phone. She quickly inspected it – surprised and happy that it was free from damage – and pocketed it in the jeans she was wearing.
Chad jumped to his feet and chuckled. "You really do have an awesome sense of humour."
Gabriella shrugged slightly. "I've learnt that it helps a person get through life." She whispered.
"Are you okay?" Chad asked softly, stepping forward hurriedly.
Gabriella nodded and quickly stole a glance at the digital clock on her bedside table. "Hey, um, go on downstairs and pick up any box with my name on it. I've just got to go to the bathroom. By the way, do you speak Spanish?"
"The furthest my Spanish goes is hola and baloncesto." He joked.
"Basketball?" She giggled. "Well, go on down. I'll be five minutes."
* * *
"Gabby, you'll be fine." Encarnita encouraged, kissing her forehead.
"But, my stomach." She whined, placing her hand over her abdomen.
"That doesn't work anymore." Mariano said sternly, holding his daughter's hand. "You'll be fine." He coughed nervously and locked eyes with Gabriella. "Nos informó a la escuela de…" (A/N: We informed the school of…)
"Don't even go there." She whispered as she kissed his cheek. "Hasta la vista." She said softly as Chad started leading her away from the front office, leaving Encarnita, Mariano and Principal Matsui in the corridor. (A/N: Good bye)
"So, let's see your schedule." Chad exclaimed as Gabriella dug through the folder she had been given before she found her schedule and handed it to Chad. "Well, the good news is that you have Drama and English with me. But, that's it. But, you have everything else with my girlfriend. I take it you're an elevated IQ temptress girl, too, huh?"
"What?" Gabriella asked as Chad showed her a locker and opened it for her.
"It's what I called my girlfriend." He mumbled quietly, handing the schedule back to Gabriella.
"And she said yes?" Gabriella asked slowly.
"For some very unknown reason…yeah." He chuckled.
"DANFORTH!" A voice screeched down the corridor.
Chad and Gabriella both turned at the sound of the angry voice and saw a fuming African-American girl marching up to them. "Tay, Honey, uh, what's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" She asked in a shaky voice, an angry smile forced onto her lips. "How can you ask that? Where were you all weekend?" She demanded.
Chad motioned to Gabriella and waved slightly. "Tay, this is Gabby. Gabby, this is Tay…my girlfriend who I love very much." He smiled innocently at the outraged female in front of him.
Taylor turned to Gabriella and smiled softly, shaking her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you." She turned back to Chad and her expression changed from sweet to angry in less than a millisecond. "Where were you?"
"I was helping Gabby settle into her new house. Why?" Chad whispered which made Gabriella giggled silently.
Taylor through her hands up into the air and pointed down the corridor. "Leave."
"What did I do?" He exclaimed helplessly. "Gabby, do you know?"
Gabriella studied Taylor's creased forehead, narrowed eyes and mouth which was twitching to turn into a snarl and she turned back to Chad. "I'm guessing you missed your anniversary."
"Thank you!" Taylor breathed sincerely. "See? Everyone knew about it but you! Go!" She pointed once again down the corridor and Chad planted a kiss on her cheek before fleeing in fear of his health.
Gabriella finally burst out laughing with Taylor as she skimmed her schedule to find the appropriate notebooks before digging out her English, Geometry and AP Biology books out. "I take it you wear the pants in this relationship?"
Taylor rolled her eyes and sighed. "Well, someone needs to control him. The only things he thinks about are food and basketball."
"What about you?" Gabriella asked, closing her locker and hugging her books and the welcoming folder to her chest.
"Pfft!" She scoffed. "I'm lucky if I get into his thoughts once a month."
"So you're with him because…" Gabriella trailed off as she started walking down the halls with Taylor.
"He's useless without me. Before I came along, he was the basketball jock and on the odd chances he does think of me, he's really sweet and I love him. And I know, at the end of the day, that he loves me too. And now he's known as so much more than the basketball jock. He's got good grades now, he's popular for more than flinging balls in baggy shorts. And I'm proud to be the reason of that change. You know?" Taylor exclaimed softly, a gentle smile pulling at her lips. "Why did I tell you all of that?"
"I already knew." Gabriella shrugged. "He told me yesterday."
* * *
Jason Cross shared a high five with one of his best friends, Zeke Baylor, as they reminisced about the basketball game they had played the previous Friday. "Those West High Knights are going down in the championships."
Zeke grinned and nodded. "Hell yeah!"
"Hold your horses, guys. The championships aren't until after Christmas. It's just the start of the season." A smooth voice greeted the two friends.
"Yeah, but it's our senior year!" Jason exclaimed. "We have to win and go down in Wildcat history!"
Troy smiled and nodded. "And, believe me, I intend on making that happen."
They shared a three-part high-five and laughed loudly, ignoring the stares coming their way from students gathered in the hallway. "We are expecting striking things, Captain!" Zeke teased, using the title which Troy had rightfully owned since he was a sophomore.
Troy sighed and threw his head back slightly. "My last year being Captain of the Wildcats."
Jason and Zeke shared a look before Zeke turned to his open locker and took out a plastic bag of cookies before handing them to his best friend. "They were for Pay but she won't mind. She hates seeing you depressed."
Troy chuckled and gladly accepted the bag. "Yeah. I know."
"Guys, I need help!" A voice yelled as a frantic Chad skidded to a halt next to Troy.
"What happened? You get baloney in your hair again?" Jason joked.
"One time and I swear Jay put it in there while I was sleeping." Chad growled through gritted teeth. "Anyway, I forgot our anniversary. What do I do?"
Troy, Jason and Zeke stared at him blankly before howling with laughter. "Dude, there is no way you can make this up to her. You know she values your relationship like her life!" Troy exclaimed, slapping his shoulder.
Chad groaned. "You are the worst best friend ever."
Troy grinned and winked. "My parents will be glad to know I finally have a purpose in life: annoying you."
Chad glared and looked at Zeke hopefully. "What have you got in that miraculous locker of yours?"
"I've got crème brûlée or chocolate muffins with white chocolate drops. Or both which I am assuming you want." Zeke offered, handing him a Tupperware container and a plastic bag.
Chad took them gratefully and smiled in relief. "You are my saviour. Well, kind of. There is no way this will get me off the hook. But, it might soften her up."
Troy saw Taylor approaching was about to open his mouth to tell Chad when everything…froze. His breathing stopped, his mind drew a blank at how to come about making his voice box work and his eyelids had lost the ability to blink. The girl she was talking to. It wasn't Sharpay, Kelsi or Martha like he expected. But…her. The girl he had dreamt about every night since he had gone to Spain on vacation two years ago. She was here. In Albuquerque, New Mexico. "Oh, God." He muttered.
"I think he stopped breathing." Jason said worriedly.
Zeke slapped his best friend on the back until Troy coughed. "Are you okay?"
Troy finally nodded with wide eyes. "Who was that girl Tay was with?"
Chad peered over Troy's shoulder and smiled at the dark curls bobbing wildly as she talked with Taylor. "Gabriella-"
"-Montez." Troy finished with a dreamy expression on his face.
"Yeah. She just moved here from Winona in Texas." Chad explained. "You know her?"
Troy turned his head to face the direction which Gabriella had walked with Taylor – even though he couldn't see her anymore – and sighed. "I more than know her." He paused slightly as he turned to his friends. "I'm in love with her."