I have no affiliation to anything, anybody, or anyplace in the High School Musical series. This is purely for fictional and entertainment purposes.

Summary: East High School is filled with drama, relationships, and betrayal. There's no way to escape the fear, the intensity, and the love that occurs each day. You just simply have to survive the fever.

Wildcat Fever

Who Are You?

"You look pretty today, honey." Miss Montez smiled at her daughter as she came down the steps into the kitchen.

Gabriella was dressed in, what she hoped was, her best school outfit for her first day. She wore a pale pink skirt, a black light-knitted sweater, and a pair of Mary Jane's. Her hair was styled in her natural curls, cascading gently down her back in an elegant and smooth fashion. She wore light makeup; mascara, blush, and powder.

Only in her mind though, she wanted to look good for Troy. Maybe she had a little crush on him.

"Thanks mom," she replied. She set her bag down on the chair and sighed. "I'm kind of nervous."

"Why? Isn't Troy in your class?" asked her mom.

She nodded. "Yeah. But, I don't know anybody else. What if they think I am weird or too short?"

"Just be you," smiled Miss Montez, pouring her daughter some orange juice. "Now, eat some breakfast."

Troy looked at himself in the mirror. It had taken him nearly one hour to get ready for school, passing his regular time of only fifteen minutes. He was only late because he kept trying on different clothes. He had tried on a pair of shorts that were too baggy, a shirt that was too dirty, and a pair of shoes that were too tight on his feet. He couldn't be walking around school with a grimace on his face.

Especially around Gabriella.

Yes, he was trying to look good for her. He had never seen or known a girl like her. Though, it had to be a sin of some sort to be like this. He did have a girlfriend. But, he was getting tired of her. Sharpay was bossy, needy, sparkly, and rude. He couldn't take it much longer. Even his mother hated her. Although, his father could care less.

He finally decided on a blue button down, a pair of dark jeans, and white sneakers. He styled his hair in its floppy style and smiled, clicking his tongue at his reflection. Hopefully he didn't look like a total jackass.

He grabbed his backpack and waved goodbye to his mother in the kitchen, heading out the front door. When he did, though, he spotted Gabriella exiting her house as well. He smiled and shouted out her name.

"Gabriella!"

She looked at him and smiled shyly. "Hey!"

"Are you still riding with me?" He admired her style for the day and sighed, thinking that she looked beautiful.

She shrugged, but walked toward him. "It's not that far of a walk."

"Oh, come on. Some guy might see you and kidnap you for looking so pretty." Foot in the mouth. "I mean, it's no problem if I drive you. Remember?"

Gabriella didn't miss his earlier comment and tried to hide her blush. Yet, she nodded and smiled as he opened her door and started up his car.

When they arrived at school after driving in a comfortable silence, Gabriella was met with a crowd of students outside a fountain and around the lawn. She simply froze in the car, not sure what she should do.

"What's wrong?" asked Troy, eying her frigid state curiously.

"I'm nervous. What if nobody likes me? What if nobody wants to be my friend?" she asked frantically.

Troy suddenly held her hand and smiled at her. "Hey. I'm your friend. That's enough."

Gabriella looked at their hands and smiled. Her heart dropped when he let go and opened her door for her. She got out and started walking next to him. She barely had time to get to the door when a hue of blonde and sparkles got in her face.

It was a girl and she had a really creepy smile that wasn't even a smidgen of friendly. "Hi! I'm Sharpay Evans. I'm the most popular girl in the school."

Gabriella simply looked at her with furrowed brows, confused and disgusted at the same time. "Uh, hi. Gabriella."

"Of course you are." Sharpay suddenly put her arm around Troy. "This is my boyfriend, Troy."

Gabriella looked at Troy, waiting for him to say something. However, he simply kept his eyes on the ground. She didn't fail to notice his arm around Sharpay's waist. So, she walked away with a simple nod and left the couple alone. She didn't even look back.

Sharpay suddenly glared at Troy, removing her arm. "Who the hell was that?"

Troy shrugged and scoffed. "Beats me. I barely know her. She's my new neighbor and my mom wanted me to take her to school. She doesn't have a car."

"How sad," said Sharpay.

"I know, right?" chuckled Troy.

In the back of his mind, he was mortified and regretful.

Gabriella skimmed her schedule, happy that she got some AP classes. Those were her favorite classes. They tested her knowledge and kept her busy. It was what she liked. She loved to learn. What could be better?

She exited the office after saying goodbye to the receptionist and ran straight into another body. She gasped. "Oh my gosh. I am so sorry. I wasn't looking."

"It's okay." The person looked up, revealing herself to be Taylor. "Hey, you're new. Aren't you?"

Gabriella furrowed her brows. Who would know her before she started? "Yeah. How did you know?"

"My AP teachers let us know that we would be having a new student today. You must be Gabriella," she said. "I'm Taylor."

"Nice to meet you," smiled Gabriella. "AP, huh? What classes do you have?"

They scanned each others schedule and confirmed that they had at least four classes together. They had English, Calculus, World History, and Government.

"Awesome! Well, we have homeroom first. You're not in mine, but I can show you where yours is." Taylor smiled and led Gabriella around corners and down a few halls before stopping at a plain doorway. Students were already beginning to file in. "Here you go. His name is Mr. Lorene. He's easy to get along with."

"Great. Thanks Taylor," smiled Gabriella. She waved goodbye as she entered the classroom. The first thing she saw when she entered was Troy. He was sitting on a desk and talking animatedly with a few other boys. She smiled and walked toward him.

"Hey, Troy." No response. "I was wondering when I would see you in this school." Still no response. "Troy?"

"Dude, some midget is trying to talk to you," laughed one boy.

Troy turned around, looked her up and down, mentally apologized to her, and began chuckling. "Can I help you? Just because we're neighbors doesn't mean I have to socialize with the likes of you."

Gabriella stood there, agape. She was purely shocked by his behavior. This wasn't the boy she had met yesterday. Who was this man? "Fine, Troy. If you want to treat me like this and act like a jackass, be that way."

The team only laughed with Troy, though he was beginning to feel even more regretful.

Gabriella exited homeroom, completely upset at Troy's behavior. He was supposed to be her friend. Not some jerk. Why would he do that?

"Gabriella!"

Speak of the devil. She simply rolled her eyes and stopped, turning around. "Shouldn't you be afraid of speaking to me, Troy?"

He sighed heavily and kept his voice to a whisper. "I'm sorry. But, it's who I have to be."

"Excuse me?" Gabriella was offended that he was whispering.

"I'm popular, okay? I have to be like this. It's just the way it has always been," he explained.

"I still don't understand why you have to be a jerk," said Gabriella.

Troy sighed again, shaking his head. "You just don't get it."

Gabriella simply looked at him, hurt by his comment. "Then, maybe I just don't get our friendship."

Troy watched her leave and rolled his eyes. He was about to leave when he felt a body purposefully bump into his. When he saw who it was, he snickered darkly and folded his arms across his chest. "Chad. What do you want?"

"You know what I want," said Chad, getting closer to him.

"The scholarship? Get over it, man. It's fair game. First come, first serve." Troy was about to leave when Chad pushed him back. "Dude. I wouldn't."

"Or what? You'll hit me?" challenged Chad.

"If I have to. I'm not afraid to hit you, Danforth."

"Then do it, Bolton." Chad pushed Troy backwards, spreading his arms out in a challenge.

Before either one of them could hit, Jack arrived. He got between them with a glare. "Break it up. It's only the first day. Save it for the court." He looked at Troy with an even stronger glare. "Why can't you be tougher than him? He isn't afraid to start a fight."

Only Troy heard what his own father said.

Sharpay walked towards Gabriella and slammed her locker shut, putting her hands on her hips. "Stay away from my boyfriend."

"Excuse me?" asked Gabriella.

"He doesn't like you. He said so himself," said Sharpay. "This morning, when you left, he told me that his mother made him help you because you are his new neighbor. He barely knows you. I mean, you don't even have a car." She scoffed with a light laugh. "How pathetic."

Gabriella glared at her, only to find her glare grow stronger when Troy approached them. She pushed him back with as much force as possible. "I hate you, Troy Bolton."

Troy watched her leave, flabbergasted. He turned to Sharpay. "What did you say to her?"

"Exactly how you feel," she simply stated.

Troy sighed and rolled his eyes. "You're really something, Sharpay. And, I don't mean that as a compliment."

He was doing pretty well for himself, being the first tryout. He knew he would get on the team, though. Even if his father didn't think he was good, he still put him on to work him even harder. It was even worse at games. Luckily, nothing bad had ever happened at games. Troy would just throw up during breaks. Disgusting.

After a brutal tryout, the boys went into the locker room to change and go home for the day. The first day of school was finally over and they could do whatever they wanted until six in the morning. Troy walked over to his gym locker and rummaged through his clothes. He suddenly saw his locker shut with a slam. He turned to see Chad glaring at him.

They didn't say a word.

Chad threw the first punch at Troy's jaw, causing him to collide with the lockers beside him. They soon were both on the ground, struggling to beat each other to a pulp. Troy was already growing a bruise on his jaw while Chad was getting a black eye. The other boys were either trying to break it up or cheer them on.

"Enough!" screamed a deep voice.

Chad and Troy broke apart as a few team members held them back. They all stared at their coach. Troy stared at his father, seeing nothing but darkness in his eyes. It only made Troy break apart from the team, grab his clothes, and leave the locker room immediately.

Gabriella couldn't stop staring. What was wrong with her? She was staring at a boy that was a complete asshole. She still didn't understand why he had to be mean to her. What was wrong with her? Nobody even knew her and they had to label her as some midget or geek? She was just a person.

She watched him as he ran a few times on the basketball court at his house. His face looked slightly disfigured, though. She knew she had to talk to him, but she didn't want to be first. She didn't do anything wrong. This was all him.

As if her prayers were answered, she watched in surprise as he ran into her backyard and landed swiftly on her balcony from the tree. She didn't say anything. She just looked at him and waited.

"Gabriella, I'm sorry." Troy got closer to her.

Gabriella finally noticed the bruise on his jaw. She gently touched it, seeing him wince. "What happened?"

"One of my teammate's hates me. He'll do anything to get into a fight with me," he explained.

She sighed and looked away, staring out over her balcony. "Troy, I can't handle you. You're just a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

"I know. You don't deserve that. I understand," said Troy. "It's just hard."

"What's hard?" asked Gabriella, looking at him. He was now standing next to her rather closely.

"I don't know how to be my true self. I can only do that around you," he said.

"Why just me? Why is it so hard to be yourself around your friends? If you can't, then they aren't your real friends. They don't deserve to know the real you," she explained.

Troy smiled lightly, chuckling. "So philosophical."

Gabriella cracked a smile and shrugged. "Troy, I want to be here for you. I really do. But, it's difficult to figure you out when you are at school and at home."

"What do you want me to do then? I don't want to let you down," said Troy softly.

She simply looked at him, lightly touching his cheek with her fingertips. "Just be the Troy that I know you are."

Author's Note: Just a reminder, this story will be updated EVERY FRIDAY!