Disclaimer: I don't own HSM, Troy, Gabriella, or any other recognizable anything. I don't even really own the idea, as it's based off of a novel. So that's Jodi Picoult's too. All I do own is my own spin to it, really.
A/N: Okay, so, just a quick note, whenever you see 'Eth' in this story, it's pronounced like Eeeth, not Eh-th. As in, a short form of Ethan.
And, remember, this is
years before the prologue. Enjoy!

Chapter 1- 'A Normal Family'

Gabriella's POV

"Leila, breakfast!" I call, placing her waffles on the table and getting a fork out of the drawer.

A few seconds later a little girl still in her pajamas came trudging in, rubbing her eyes.

"Morning Layliebug," I say, kissing her forehead. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, I guess," she yawned, climbing into her seat at the kitchen table. "Hey, where's Ethan?" she asks, suddenly realizing her older brother wasn't anywhere to be found.

"Still sleeping, I let him sleep in," I explain, pulling up a chair next to her, my own plate of waffles in front of me.

"Why does he get to sleep in when you woke me up at seven?" She asks.

I laugh. If at two years old she values her sleep this much, how will we deal with her as a teenager?

"Because," I explain, "Now, when he wakes up he won't get any waffles, will he?" I say, popping my fork into my mouth.

"Oooh!" She shrieks "And they're chocolate chip! His favorite!"

"Yup," I smirk "Glad I woke you up now?"

"Yemm momwy" she says, her mouth full.

Once we finish our meal, I start cleaning as Leila paints at the kitchen table.

Finally, three hours later, I hear footsteps approaching the kitchen as a head of dark brown hair pokes its way into the kitchen.

"Mommy made waffles and you missed them! Hahahaha" Leila says, mockingly.

"Leila, don't torment your brother," I sigh.

"Mom! That's not fair! You could've waken me up!" He shrieks.

"Ethan, you're such a grouch when you wake up. I wasn't in the mood for that today. Besides, you always beg me to let you sleep in anyway," I sigh, annoyed already, and it was only ten o'clock.

"Fine," he pouts "So, what, do I just not get breakfast?"

"Eth, do you ever not get breakfast?" I ask, already opening the cabinet and grabbing a box of cocoa pebbles and a bowl. "Get yourself a spoon, buddy."

He does so, albeit grumpily. I ignore the rolling of his eyes, and turn my attention to my daughter who, by this time, was in a yellow sundress, her sandy blonde hair in pigtails.

"What are you painting, Lay?" I ask, making my way back over to the table.

"A butterfly!" She tells me happily, pointing at it.

Leila is a pretty great artist for a two year old, but, as I look at it, I hadn't expected it to look quite so much like what she had intended. The wings were a beautiful orange with black and white dots, just like a monarchs'.

"Wow, that's gorgeous, honey. I love the wings!"

"Thanks, they're orange, my favorite color!" She smiles up at me, her beautiful eyes the same blue as her father's shining with happiness.

"I know, it's lovely," I smile back, "Where are you going to put it?"

That was the thing about Leila, every painting she made, she had in mind a spot where she wanted to hang it, of course, several wind up in a chest in the living room, along with other miscellaneous crafts by Ethan and herself.

"Can we put it in the dining room?" she asks, hopeful.

I wonder why she chose there, as we rarely ever eat in there, even on holidays we prefer the small kitchen table which is much more home-y. But, whatever her reason, I know she has one.

"Yeah, of course, sweetie, just leave it out a little so it can dry first,"

"Mommy, I'm done" I hear Ethan say, and I walk over to get his bowl to wash off, not wanting to have to fill the dishwasher this early in the morning.

"See, cereal isn't that bad, huh?" I ask lightly, ruffling his hair.

"No, I guess not, but still…"

I laugh, Why, I wonder, do kids make such a big deal out of everything?

"Alright, now what do you two want to do?" I ask, knowing they'll be complaining of boredom in a few short minutes.

"Ride bikes?" Ethan asks, his chocolate brown eyes filling with anticipation.

"Yeah, sure, Leila, that sound good to you?"

"Yes!Yes!" She shrieks, jumping up and down. Although it was already mid-June, there'd been so much rain that we had all been cooped up in the house, but today had clear skies, and we all need an escape from the house.

"Ethan, why don't you go brush your teeth and get dressed?" I suggest, although I wasn't exactly asking.

I wait for him to sigh or roll his eyes at this, but all I get is a 'yes mommy' and I see my four year old son run up the stairs.

"Okay, Leila, let's get your shoes on, okay?" I ask, grabbing her white sandals with little yellow flowers plastered on the straps.

She nods, and sits down, sticking her feet out for me to put them on.

"Okay," I start, holding up her left sandal, "Which foot does this one go on?"

She hesitates for a few seconds before raising her left leg "This one!"

I smile and nod "Yes! You got it, sweetheart," I say, slipping her sandal on and attempt to buckle it, wishing we had gotten her Velcro instead.

Just as I buckle her second sandal, Ethan appears back downstairs, dressed and ready to go. I look down at his feet and see his has his sneakers with the basketballs on the sides on and laugh at the work of my husband.

"Okay, guys, let's head out!" I say, following them into the kitchen and through the laundry room which leads to the garage. As I enter the laundry room, I'm prepared to push the garage door button on the wall once I reach it, but Ethan beats me there, and attempt to stand on the railing of the stairs leading from the house to the garage to reach it. Exactly the way Troy and I have taught him not to do it.

Oh no! I think, as I see him began to wobble. "Ethan! Get down! Quickly!" I shout, running over to him. I catch him just before he would have hit the ground and breathe a sigh of relief.

"Ethan! Never ever ever do that to me again, okay? I was so scared!" I say, hugging him close to me.

"Sorry Mommy," he says timidly, knowing he shouldn't have attempted that.

I sigh, No use getting mad over this I think. "It's alright, Eth. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"Alright, then no serious harm done, but just don't ever do that again," I tell him, standing up, and putting him on the ground. "Go grab your bike now, bud," I add, clicking the button and I hear the garage door noisily raise itself. Looking around, I see Leila a few feet away, looking uncertain.

"Hey, baby," I say, walking over to her. "You okay?"

She nods and holds out her hand for me to take.

We walk over to her bike, which is a light lavender with a wicker basket covered in plastic butterflies of all colors, and I release her hand. "Can you take your bike out front and wait in the driveway with Ethan while I get your helmets?"

"Sure Mommy!" She says, pulling her bike behind her, the training wheels wobbling as she skips out of the garage, and I smile behind her.

I rummage through tennis rackets, basketballs, golf clubs, roller-skates, and several other miscellaneous knickknacks before I find a Spiderman helmet and a Princess Jasmine one. I carry them outside and help first Ethan and then Leila fasten them onto their heads.

"Alright, now, Ethan, remember, only to the stop sign unless you come get me so Leila and I can come with you, okay?" I remind him, and he nods excitedly. "And, if you want me to go get your other bike out, we can, okay? Don't feel like you need to use this one," I say, knowing ever since we got him a new bike without training wheels, even if he doesn't feel steady he won't use his old one.

"I know mommy, I promise," He says, already hopping on the bike and peddling down the hill of the driveway and into our street. I smile down at him, still amazed at just four years old he's already riding a two-wheeler. I watch Leila slowly peddle her way down the hill, carefully avoiding any bumps, and as she smiles, victorious, once she reaches the sidewalk. I pull over the chair that's currently on our front porch down to near the sidewalk, as to watch them better, and sit. As Ethan passes me again he turns and smiles and I wave and give him thumbs up.

After both of them have ridden back and forth down our little street what must have been hundreds of times I pull out my cell phone to check the time. 12:32. Wow, It's already been almost two hours? Time really does fly. "Ethan! Leila come on guys! Time to go in now!" I call as I see them turn back around and swiftly ride over to me. Ethan arrives back first, quickly jumping off his bike and unsnapping his helmet, running over to me.

"Mommy! Did you see me?!" He asks excitedly.

"I did! You were great!" I encourage. He smiles hugely, and turns as we hear Leila turn into the driveway. He runs over and helps her off of her bike, unsnapping her helmet, causing me to smile at such a great kid he is.

"Okay, you two ready for lunch?" I ask, and the quickly nod their heads excitedly. "Alright, you two bring the bikes in, I'll grab the helmets and the chair, okay?"

"Okay," they say in unison, grabbing their bikes and racing each other into the garage.

A few minutes later we're all in the kitchen, and I'm looking through the fridge. "What do you guys want for lunch? Chicken fingers?" I ask, realizing I'll probably have to go to the grocery store tomorrow.

"Oooh, yes please!" Ethan says, while Leila just nods.

"Alright, I'll start them now, you two can go watch TV or play for…" I pause to look at the directions on the box "…about 15 minutes,"

They shuffle into the hall, no doubt heading to the playroom, and I preheat the oven and get out the ketchup.

A little under twenty minutes later I pull the tray of chicken fingers out of the oven and put three pieces on a plate for Ethan, three on a plate for myself, and two on a plate for Leila, then grab two juice boxes out of the fridge and toss them onto the table. I cut up several pieces of watermelon for them to share and, finally head off to go get them.

"Leila! Ethan! Lunch!" I shout, walking into the hall, by the playroom. As I walk in, both quickly scurry up and follow me back to the kitchen, sitting down and chomping away.

After we eat, I put Leila down for a nap, which she clearly was in great need of considering she didn't even protest not being allowed to stay up with Ethan like she always did.

"Just me and you, Eth. What do you want to do?" I smile down at him.

"Can we watch a movie?" He asks. I think about this. We haven't watched any movies in a while, and after a tiring few hours of playtime, I'm sure he could use a break to relax.

"Sure, what do you want to watch?"

"Um…do we still have Toy Story?" He asks, and I can't help but smile. Toy Story had always been my favorite, ever since I first saw it when I was only a few years older than he is now. I thought back to all of mine and Troy's movie nights in high school, and how many times I had begged him into letting us watch it.

"Of course we do. Want me to make some popcorn?" I ask, already digging into the movie cabinet, locating it quickly.

"Yes, please. Extra butter," He smiles, and I laugh.

A few hours later, just as the end credits are coming on, I hear tiny footsteps upstairs.

"Leila." Ethan says, his eyes not leaving the screen.

"I know, I'll go ge-" I start, but am interrupted by a voice behind me.

"Mommy…" Leila says, crawling onto my lap.

"Hey Princess, good nap?" I ask, and she nods into my chest, holding onto me.

"Yeah…" she says, the grogginess still in her voice.

"I need to start dinner now," I sigh, kissing her on the forehead. "You and Ethan can watch some TV while I start," I murmur, tossing my son the remote.

I walk into the kitchen and start everything we'll need for our citrus lime chicken.

Just as the chicken is about to finish cooking, I hear the garage door open, and smile brightly, as the kids run into the kitchen, just as the door leading from the laundry room opens.

"Daddy!" They shriek, running over to hug their father's legs, as he bends down to kiss them hello.

"Hi Ethan, hi Leila! Have a good day?" He asks, as they nod.

"Yes!" Ethan pipes up. "Leila and I rode bikes, and Mommy and I watched Toy Story,"

"Oh, really? That's awesome, you'll have to tell me more during dinner, okay?" Ethan nods, and scampers back to the television room. "You have fun riding too, sweet pea?" He addresses Leila.

"Yeah, tons! And I painted a picture, I'll show you later, okay Daddy?" She asks.

"Of course Lay. Why don't go with your brother now?" He suggest, and she runs off too.

Troy now walks over to me, wraps his arms around my waist, and lays his chin on my shoulder.

"Hey, beautiful," he whispers into my ear, and I smile. "Good day?"

"Mhmm," I sigh. "We had lots of fun, it was such a relief to be able to leave the house today. But I missed you," I say, turning around to kiss him, glad to have him back home.

"I missed you too, and them," He smiles. "Smells good, what is it?"

"Citrus lime chicken," I say, and, as if on cue, the timer goes off. "Speaking of which…" I sigh, pulling it out.

"I'll get them," he says, ducking out of our kitchen.

As we sit down, the kids animatedly chatter away, Troy and I jumping into their conversations at random intervals, and, I feel completely totally and blissfully happy.

I didn't know that in less than twenty-four hours my entire family's lives would be flipped upside down.
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A/N: And that was chapter one! Much different than the prologue, I know, but this is just how the story has to work, so stick with it. Within the next one or two chapters, the plot will get started. So enjoy the upbeat-ness of this chapter while it lasts.

And, please, review!
~Bri