Two

I was quickly packing my books inside my backpack, I didn't know how I was gonna get to school but I'd have to think of something. I quickly walked downstairs and found my stepsister Lauren having breakfast by herself. I looked down the hallway to see my mom and husband number 6 AKA Roger locking lips and sharing saliva in the kitchen. I rolled my eyes at the sight and sat down next to her. Lauren was a really sweet girl, she was the only person in this enormous house I knew I could trust…her brother Landon on the other hand was the biggest jerk you could ever find. I think his friendship with Chad Danforth was making a big influence in his life. Lauren finished her breakfast and I decided to ask her what was going through my mind.

"Are you going to school on your car?" I asked as she tied her shoes. She was wearing black converse with black jeans and a black t-shirt, I didn't know if she noticed but her style was kinda Punk or something like that. She looked up and I saw how her eyes lit up at the simple mention.

"Yeah. Why?" She asked as she stood up with her backpack hanging on her shoulder, she brushed her black curls off her face so she could take a better look at me.

"My car is getting fixed and the school is really far away, so I was wondering if you could give me a ride" I smiled at her. She nodded furiously and I stood up.

"I can give you a ride" I heard a deep voice say behind my ear. Landon. Frustration instantly covered my features as I tried to ignore him. I walked behind Lauren to the garage and he just kept bothering me the whole way there, pulling my hair or my clothes, I swear I could kill this guy. I wished I could just knock him out and never have to see him again.

"Oh come on Gabs, you know you want me" He wrapped an arm around my waist, I slapped his hand away and continued to walk behind Lauren, I could tell by her expression he was getting on her nerves too. Landon was cute, he was tall, black hair and blue eyes, and if he wasn't such an asshole then maybe we could get along. His blue eyes made me remember the guy that was fixing my car…what was his name again? Trevor? Travis? Uhh… Troy! Of course, is not like their eyes were exactly the same. Troy's eyes were more intense, I could only shiver when I remembered how cold his stare was and the magnetism he had was explosive. Nope, I couldn't compare Landon to Troy; the difference between them was just too big.

I was wondering how I was gonna get to the mechanical workshop to pick up my car, I even had Troy's helmet inside my backpack; don't ask me why because I had no idea, I just felt I needed to bring it. Maybe I should give it back to him if I see him; I don't want my mom to be asking questions about it. I jumped inside the passenger's seat of her black BMW as she got into the driver's seat. Landon leaned into the window and looked at me with lust in his eyes; I swear I couldn't stand the guy.

"See you at school gorgeous" He then looked at his sister "Bye sis" Lauren started the engine making him back off, Lauren drove away, leaving Landon behind.

"I swear sometimes I wish I was an only child" She mumbled under her breath, I smiled, Lauren was a really nice person, and it was too bad she was actually related to an idiot like Landon. We got to school in less than 10 minutes; maybe I had to consider the idea of getting a BMW, I loved my Mercedes but I had to admit I had a soft spot for Lauren's car. She smoothly parked inside the school parking lot and looked at me with a smile. I could tell that she liked me, even when our family was so dysfunctional at the moment, and my mom and husband number 6 seemed to be unable to take their hands off each other in front of us. She was the only part of the strange group of people I call family that I actually liked. We got out of the car and I instantly saw Landon on his Ford driving inside the school, I rolled my eyes and walked to the main entrance of East High School. I walked to my locker and opened it to grab a book I needed for my first period.

Suddenly I saw something I wished I never saw. Chad Danforth was walking in my way, to tell me something about my car I hoped. His smirk told me it wasn't for anything good. I took a deep breath before facing the biggest jerk on East High besides Landon. His big afro stood next to me, I could notice him but I tried to ignore him. Silence filled the hall as everyone now was paying full attention to us. Chad grabbed my arm and pushed me against the locker next to mine. He looked at me with his brown eyes full of hate and something else I didn't want to name. He got closer to me making me breathe heavily. He grabbed a piece of my hair and played with it for a while.

"Hey nerd, I saw you yesterday" He said with disgust, his smirk never left his lips. I looked around the hallway searching for help, Landon was just standing there with the rest of the basketball team looking at me and laughing at how scared I seemed to be. Truth was I was terrified, but I wasn't gonna let them know that. I looked into Chad's eyes as the sudden rage filled my system.

"Are you done fixing my car yet?" I said loud enough for the other people in the hall could hear, some laughed and others just stared at Chad. I noticed his anger went up another level as the words went out of my mouth, I wasn't gonna let him treat me like he was any better. He lifted his fist ready to punch my face with anger, I closed my eyes ready for whatever was about to come, I was ready to face the pain and everything but nothing happened, I waited…

"Ryan!" I heard a girl's voice yell at the other end of the hall. "What are you doing?" She asked. I opened my eyes to see Ryan Evans holding Chad's arm not letting him punch me. Ryan was also really furious. He pushed Chad away from me and stood in the middle.

"Evans" Chad greeted.

"Danforth" Ryan did the same way, and the girl who was yelling a moment before stood between Chad and Ryan.

"Ryan what are you doing?" She said with an Indignant expression "Why are you defending this freak?!" She grabbed Chad's arm.

"This so called freak is my best friend and don't you have something better to do than being Danforth's dog?" He didn't even looked down at his sister Sharpay as she gasped at his words. In fact Sharpay was everyone's dog, if you're popular of course. She was the head Cheerleader and Ryan's twin sister. "I don't want to see you near Gabriella again Danforth" Ryan said, his blue eyes were dark and dangerous…somehow he reminded me of Troy; ok so now whenever I see blue eyes I'm gonna remember the guy?

Chad grabbed Sharpay's arm and walked away. Ryan took a moment before looking at me, he tried to smile but I knew he was just trying to hide his anger from me; his blue eyes weren't looking at me. I closed my locker, grabbed his hand and pulled him down the hall to our first class. I smiled at him to let him know I was fine. He was my best friend here at East High; even though he and Sharpay were twins they didn't have anything in common. She was a cheerleader and he was in the math group, she loved fashion and he was happy just to wear some jeans and a black t-shirt. Ryan was the total opposite of Sharpay and everybody knew that, even his natural blonde hair was now black establishing a clear difference between the two. I loved Ryan's personality; I guess that's why we were such good friends.

"So you're getting in trouble even before school started…that most be a record" He joked around and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "You're lucky I decided to be early today"

"Yeah well…I didn't do anything to provoke Chad's anger" I said rolling my eyes.

"You don't have to do anything to provoke his anger…he's mad just to see you breathe." Ryan said, and I saw his eyes return to their usual blue, which meant he was getting back to normal.

"Well, he's going to be mad for a long time!" I smiled as we walked inside our classroom. Ryan and I's friendship was as easy as breathing and I would die if that changed.

I dragged myself out of my last classroom, I was tired as hell and all I wanted to do was pick up my car, go to husband number 6's house and throw myself on my bed. Ryan was waiting for me outside the classroom and he wrapped an arm around my shoulders like he usually does. We walked over to my locker and he waited as I put my books inside it.

"What are you doing tonight?" He asked me, I sighed as I grabbed my backpack, remembering the stupid helmet I was carrying inside it.

"I have to go pick up my car, it's getting fixed" I said shrugging my shoulders. He smiled.

"Want me to give you a ride there" He asked, I would totally loved that; I mean I bet Lauren was already on her way home and I was never going to ask Landon for a ride. I nodded furiously as we both walked out of the school. There were a lot of people standing in the parking lot, it seemed like there was some kind of unusual activity going on, I looked at Ryan and he seemed as confused as I was. We went through the crowd to get to Ryan's car; he got into the driver's seat of the very beautiful grey Honda, I was about to get into the passenger's seat when something caught my eye, I looked back to see the center of everyone's attention, there was something familiar about it and I nearly passed out when I recognized the black Harley Davidson parking in front of the school, I saw the person driving the bike, he had a helmet but I knew exactly who it was and I know he was staring at me.

"What are you looking at? Get in!" Ryan said leaning over the passenger's seat to talk to me. I looked back at him and then at the mystery guy catching the entire East High attention. I looked at Ryan with a strange expression.

"I'll be right back" I said and I walked in direction to the guy on the bike, I knew who he was and as I approached him I felt my heart racing and I was breathing heavily, I felt Ryan's confused stare on my back, I knew he would follow me soon. When I reached the Harley the guy took off his helmet and looked at me with his cold blue eyes. Troy. I looked down nervously, since when was I nervous to be around a guy?

"Hey" I said, his expression didn't change at all but he didn't look away either.

"Hey" His deep and strong voice filled my senses and I felt like my heart just skipped a beat. There they were, the blue eyes I've been thinking about the entire day, looking back at me with such an intensity that I thought I was gonna break. I felt Ryan's hand on my shoulder, I looked up at him and his blue eyes were as dark as this morning, meaning he was mad…really mad. I looked back and forth between Troy and him not knowing what was going on; Troy's expression was the same. Troy finally told me the reason he was there.

"I thought I should pick you up, since you don't have your car" He said, his cold eyes never left mine as he said it. Oh dear lord.

"That's ok…I'm giving her a ride" Ryan said grabbing my arm.

"But we're both going the same way…so why shouldn't we go together" Troy replied, I felt hypnotized by his voice and his intense eyes. I nodded at his words.

"Yeah…he's right Ryan" I said, Ryan looked down at me like I had a second head.

"You don't know this guy Gabriella" He said.

"It's ok he's the one fixing my car…right Troy?" I replied, Troy looked confused, maybe he didn't know I knew his name, he just nodded. "I'll be ok Ryan" I said sitting behind Troy.

"You still have your helmet right?" He asked me, I nodded and I got it out of my backpack. Is this why he asked me to keep it? He was thinking of picking me up at school? I had to smile to that. Ryan looked at us like his eyes were about to pop out of his face.

"Gabriella…" By his voice I could tell he was trying to warn me.

"It's ok" I said putting my helmet on. Troy started the bike and I felt the now familiar engine roaring under us. Troy grabbed my hand and pulled it around him; I wrapped my other arm around him, I knew Ryan was seriously pissed but I couldn't help it. Troy waved at Ryan before driving away.

I didn't know what was going to happen next, I just knew I felt good to have him by my side, Something was telling me things were about to get interesting.