Chapter Two: Insecurity

She didn't really know what to say now. Gabriella never was the new girl in school. She spent all her life in Chicago so far with the same friends from Elementary School to High School. Her social environment had never changed before.

Now she was standing in front of 30 students at East High High School and just got introduced to her future classmates by a weird teacher, as Gabriella had to admit. She already learned that the guy in the back of the room was a total jerk, the guy in second row had way too much hair on his head but was wearing funny clothes referring to the "Have you hugged my shirt today?" shirt he was wearing. And then there was this guy next to weird-hair-funny-shirt-guy. He had those ocean blue eyes every girl would melt into but right now, all Gabriella could see was sadness in the eyes of the brown haired boy.

She tried to make him smile by using one of her famous Gabriella Montez smiles her friends in Chicago appreciated. He looked back at her and even though it was barely visible, she was sure she saw him lighten up a little.

"Gabriella, there's a spare desk next to Ms. McKessie" said Ms. Darbus pointing to the place in the front row in front of Troy. Gabriella took her backpack from the floor and moved over to the desk, very aware of the fact that everyone was still staring at her.

"Welcome to East High!" Greeted Chad Gabriella from behind with a beaming smile. She placed her books on the desk and whispered a 'thanks' towards Chad before turning back around to face Ms. Darbus again.

Ms. Darbus, who just finished checking the attendance of all her students in English class, now turned her head towards Taylor and asked "Ms. McKessie, would you mind walking Ms. Montez around school the next days? Showing her the cafeteria, the lockers, the theatre, etc.?"

Taylor looked at Ms. Darbus. "No problem at all," she said now facing Gabriella, making her instantly feel more welcomed.

"But don't develop her into one of you geeks, McKessie," stated Chad. If looks could kill Chad would be dead like a mouse by now, because Taylor was looking at him angrily.

"Well done, Chad," whispered Troy and hit him lightly on the shoulder. "That's the way to get the girl, man," continued Troy annoyed and rolled with his eyes.

Gabriella couldn't help but grin at the conversation going on around her. With a smile on her face she thought 'this is going to be an interesting new school'.

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"So, and last and also least...," told Taylor the petite brunette standing next to her by changing the famous line a little, "...the smelly gym." Gabriella chuckled. "This is where the Basketball Team practices every day after school."

"And what's so bad about that?" Questioned Gabriella seeing the annoyed look on Taylor's face.

"Well, let's just say the jocks at this school aren't really the people to hang out with. You remember that pompom-haired guy from English class today? He's one of them. And don't even get me started on the cheerleaders...," remarked Taylor while walking around the gym showing Gabriella the benches for the audience.

It was already late Friday afternoon and Taylor agreed on showing Gabriella the most important places at East High before they both headed home for the weekend. Taylor and she got along pretty well and even if it was a little early to tell, Gabriella was pretty sure they'd become good friends eventually.

Gabriella smiled. "Oh, I see," she said smirking at Taylor while looking at a huge red and white banner hanging from the ceiling with the catchy phrase 'Go Wildcats" on it. Taylor pretended not to hear the mocking tone in Gabriella's voice and continued.

"What were your extracurricular activities at school in Chicago?" Asked Taylor curiously, smiling at Gabriella. She knew this question was coming, but considering Taylor was captain of the Scholastic Decathlon Team and several other science related projects, she'd rather not tell about her past in Chicago.

Blushing slightly she answered. "Oh, I wasn't in any group actually. Things are a little different in Chicago," Gabriella tried to say.

Taylor laughed out loud. "You were a cheerleader, weren't you?" she asked directly while still grinning. Gabriella's face turned red like a tomato now, but she couldn't resist starting to laugh as well.

"Actually, yeah," she smiled. "But that's not all. I was head cheerleader dating the captain of the basketball team," Gabriella confessed.

"Seriously?" Taylor stopped laughing. "I would have never guessed that," she told her new friend. "If you want to try out for the cheerleading squad, you should talk to Mackenzie Bennett. She's the head cheerleader here at East High and also the most popular girl in school."

"Nah," answered Gabriella. "I wasn't actually planning on cheering again. I gave that up a few months ago." Taylor just nodded realizing she might have hit a soft spot in Gabriella's life.

"Come on, let's get out of here," said Taylor changing the subject showing Gabriella the way out of the gym. "Do you need a ride home?" Asked Taylor cheery, stepping out of the school building heading towards the student's parking lot.

Gabriella shook her head. "No, that's okay. My mom's going to pick me up in a few minutes," she told Taylor. Both girls stopped walking. "But thanks. And not just for the offer to take me home," said Gabriella thinking about whether to hug the girl in front of her or not.

"It was my pleasure, Cheerleader-Girl," responded Taylor chuckling and gave Gabriella a small hug.

Gabriella laughed when the girls ended their embrace. "Oh, please call me Gabi and you better forget about the whole cheerleading thing. I really don't want the school to know about that," said Gabriella nicely. She was glad that nobody knew her as the popular head cheerleader here and she wanted to keep it that way.

"My lips are sealed, Gabi," promised Taylor while using the new nickname of her friend for the first time. They exchanged a last smile before Gabriella headed off to her mom, who just honked the horn to make Gabi realize she'd arrived.

"Hey mom," she greeted her mother, who looked quite a lot like her daughter, only 20 years older. She got into the car and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Hey sweetie. How was the first day?" Clara Montez asked her 18 year-old daughter.

"It was okay. I already met a very nice girl who showed me around school after last period," answered Gabi. She looked at the back of the car and asked irritated: "Where's Cameron?"

"Oh, I left him home with dad. He was a little tired and I wanted him to sleep before we go over to the Bolton's tonight for dinner," explained Mrs. Montez the absence of the youngest family member.

Gabriella had totally forgotten about the dinner at their new neighbours' home. She was way too excited about school in the morning and she wasn't even sure if she wanted to go to that dinner tonight. She remembered the argument she had with her mother yesterday, when she asked if she could rather stay at home with Cameron since he was only three months old. Unfortunately, her mother insisted on going, since it would be impolite towards the Bolton's. Besides, explained her mother, they have a son Gabi's age and maybe he could show her around town after dinner. Gabi had just rolled her eyes since a guy was the last thing she needed right now, but she knew her mother wouldn't give in.

They drove into the carport next to their new house and stepped out of the car. "You have one hour to get ready, Gabi. Wear something nice, please and take a look at Cameron while you're upstairs," said Clara Montez while closing the car door. Gabi rolled her eyes at the clothing comment, but didn't reply, because she knew it would only make her mom get angry at her.

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An hour later Gabriella, dressed in a white summer dress, her parents and little Cameron, who was sleeping in a carrier Mr. Montez was holding, were standing in front of their neighbours door determined to ring the bell.

"Ready?" Clara asked her family and grinned. Both Gabi and her dad nodded, a little annoyed by the cheerfulness of Mrs. Montez.

The door was opened by a brightly grinning Amanda Bolton. "Hey guys, come on in," she said and motioned the family to get into the house. "Clara, Noah, this is my husband Jack," she said pointing towards the tall brunette standing behind her. They exchanged handshakes and Gabriella's parents slipped off their shoes.

Jack and Amanda were now looking at the petite dark haired girl standing in the hall playing with one of the little hands of Cameron. "Don't you want to introduce your adorable kids to us?" Said Jack grinning, looking at the teenager and the baby-boy.

"Oh sure, this is my daughter Gabriella and the cutie in the carrier is Cameron," stated Clara Montez and observed as the Bolton's leaned down to a brightly smiling Cameron and shook hands with Gabriella.

"It's nice to meet you," smiled Gabi looking around in the big house.

"You too, Gabriella," smiled Amanda sympathetically, "Our daughter Lexie is sleeping upstairs right now, but I'll make sure you get to know her later tonight. She's not much older than Cameron I guess." Amanda looked upstairs as if waiting for someone.

"Troy Alexander Bolton, get your cute little buttocks down here to meet the Montez'!" Yelled Amanda and Gabriella and her parents couldn't help but laugh a little at the straight-forwardness of their new neighbour. "I'm very sorry about Troy. He's probably playing one of his favourite video games again and totally lost track of time," explained Amanda rolling her eyes.

"Sounds like a normal teenage guy to me," shrugged Noah and grinned at his wife.

Right at this moment they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Gabriella could already see the Vans, the light blue jeans and the black button-down shirt of Troy's, before she gasped unnoticeable. She was staring into the same baby-blue eyes hers met in the morning. 'God, he is so handsome,' thought Gabriella while still having her eyes locked with his.

"I'm sorry mom. I totally lost track of time while…reading," Troy tried to hide his computer game addiction.

"It's okay honey. Those are Clara and Noah Montez and their beautiful daughter Gabriella and their son Cameron," Amanda said motioning towards the carrier now standing on the ground.

Troy shook hands with the adults, grinned at the little baby-boy and finally looked up at Gabriella. He didn't say a word. They locked eyes again and Troy took her one hand in his to shake it carefully. They were staring at each other for a few seconds, but for Gabriella it seemed like forever, until Jack interrupted the gaze.

"Troy, Gabriella's also a senior. I'm sure you guys will have some classes together," he pointed out not realizing the looks on the teenagers' faces.

"We do," said Troy and Gabriella in unison smiling at each other.

"What do you do?" Asked Amanda irritated.

Gabriella and Troy started laughing. "We do have classes together, English at least," revealed Gabriella.

"Yeah, and if you hadn't make me practice during calculus today, dad, we would have seen each other there too," said Troy slightly embarrassed for knowing parts of Gabriella's schedule already.

'He knows what classes I take?' thought Gabriella smiling from the inside. From what she could say now, Troy seemed to be a nice guy and fun to hang out with. After ending their conversations in the hallway, the two families minus Cameron and Lexie, who were both sleeping upstairs now, moved to the dining room to start eating dinner. Gabriella and Troy were sitting next to each other exchanging glances from time to time while talking with their parents about Gabi's first day at school and Troy's upcoming basketball championships. When the parents started to talk about the architecture of their houses, Troy placed his hand over Gabriella's to gesture her to get out of the room. She smiled at him and both stood up. Gabriella let loose of Troy's hand, which shot a small wave of disappointment towards the body of the boy.

"I'm going to show Gabriella around town a little, okay?" Asked Troy his parents, when he was standing at the dining room door.

All four adult heads nodded. "But be back at ten pm, you guys," said Amanda agreeing with Clara on the curfew. Gabi and her mother exchanged a look and Gabi nodded slightly.

"Let's go then, Gabriella!" said Troy enthusiastically, while putting on his jeans jacket.

"Do you mind if I look at Cameron first? I just want to check if he's still sleeping," asked Gabi insecure.

Troy smiled. He liked that Gabriella was so protective of her little brother. "No problem at all. That gives me the chance to introduce you to the adorable Lexie Samantha Bolton," laughed Troy and followed her upstairs to the babies' room.

Gabriella carefully opened the door and went over to the carrier and the crib that were standing next to each other. Troy looked over Gabriella's shoulder and both started to smile, because Lexie and Cameron were looking at the two teenagers giggling.

"They are so cute," said Gabi turning her head around to look at Troy who was smiling at her. Their eyes met again and Gabriella noticed a little spark in Troy's eyes that made her weak in her knees. They continued staring at each other, both having a big smile on their faces, when Cameron started to cry and interrupted the moment.

Gabriella took Cameron off of the carrier and rocked him in her arms. "Shhhhh, everything's alright, sweetie. I'm here." She walked around the room continuing to rock the little boy in her arms. Troy was still standing in front of the crib staring at his shoes having his left hand on the back of his head feeling lightly uncomfortable.

Gabi looked at Troy and smiled, but he didn't notice her. "Troy, I'm just going to take Cam down to my mom. I think he's hungry. Meet me outside?" She asked while putting Cameron back into the carrier and picking it up.

"Sure" he said smiling lightly. Gabriella left the room and Troy sighed noticeable. Looking down at his little sister he realized that she fell asleep again.