A/N: I hope you like it :)

Don't own HSM x

Gabriella scooped the cereal onto the spoon and sniffed it before letting it fall back down. He smelt…odd. It was way different from food in Costa Delta. Lucille had eaten something she'd called 'toast' which had looked and smelt like burnt bread with butter. The cereal just looked like mush. The box in the centre of the island read Corn Flakes but Gabriella doubted it was corn. It didn't look like it. American's were funny people if they ate this for breakfast each morning. She didn't know how it tasted but it looked awful.

Her clothes weren't all that cheerful, either. She'd woken up at six fifteen AM and had a shower for half an hour. Lucille had helped her to dry her hair and helped her to arrange her curls into a delicate side ponytail with a few strands of hair framing her face. Then Gabriella had dressed in a pair of denim capris pants and a white camisole and had brought a petite, tight fitting denim jacket down with her. Lucille had given her a backpack and some text books and notebooks along with a variety of pieces of stationary.

Everything was so different. Gone were her pink silk nightgowns, her three course breakfast and her morning piano recital. She didn't even know if the Boltons' had a piano. But, she wanted one. Or a violin. Or any instrument, come to think of it. She wasn't a spoilt princess. She didn't take anything for granted. In fact, she did a lot of charity work to gain knowledge about the underprivileged people of her country. But, if she had her morning music recital, performed by the royal entertainer, she'd be in Costa Delta with her parents.

She picked up the spoon again and prodded the cereal that had turned soggy. She slipped the spoon between her lips and chewed slowly onto the lone corn flake. It wasn't too bad. It barely tasted of anything, be honest. She could only taste the milk. She took another, bigger, spoonful and ate it slowly. She glanced up at Lucille who was wiping the kitchen counters down. They had been talking but, once again, Gabriella had slipped into a silence.

She felt guilty about it. She was grateful to Jack and Lucille for allowing her to live in their home for who-knows-how-long. She was grateful to Connor for giving her some pleasure through her depressing time. It sounded strange but, she was probably mostly grateful to Troy. He had friends at school and she was intruding. It couldn't have been easy for him. But, this was her first day at East High. She supposed that his true opinion her would depend on how she acted in school and around his friends.

She stood from the island stool and took her empty bowl over to the sink. She began washing the bowl and spoon up and sighed. "Thank you, Lucy."

"Did you like it?" she asked politely.

Gabriella nodded despite herself. "Yes, it was lovely." She placed the bowl and spoon on the draining rack and then reached for a tea towel to dry her hands. "Thank you for letting me stay here."

"It's okay. I'm happy to help. And, don't worry, Troy will come around. I promise," she said sincerely.

Gabriella sat back down at the island and pulled her book towards her. She'd picked a random one up from the shelves in her room that morning. She flipped it open and began reading. "Where's Troy?" she enquired after a moment.

Lucille glanced at the clock. "He should be down in a minute. He'll drive you to school and Jack will enrol you."

Gabriella nodded. "Okay." She lifted her head. "What will I tell people? I mean, they can't know who I am."

Lucille sat down on the opposite side of the island. "Gabi, you'll tell people that you're our goddaughter, okay?"

The Latino girl frowned. "What about my parents?"

"Tell people they're…on a second honeymoon," Lucille thought up. "A second honeymoon. That's it."

Gabriella nodded unsurely. "Okay. Is East High a good school?"

"The best in Albuquerque," Lucille replied. "Although, I'm a little biased. I'm originally from Minnesota and I met Jack in college and I moved down here to be with him because he wanted to stay in Albuquerque. But, it's a good job for Jack and Troy likes it and he hasn't been in too much trouble. Yeah, it's a good school."

"What about Troy's friends?" Gabriella whispered.

"Troy's friends are great. They're really good for him. He knows that they're friends with him because they want him in their lives, not because they want popularity. He's known some of them since kindergarten but he loves them all the same," Lucille explained.

"Do you think…When do you think I can go back?" Gabriella whispered.

Lucille shrugged sadly. "I'm not sure, sweetheart. I don't know all that much about Jack's job at the programme, if I'm honest. So, I wouldn't like to say. But, he told me about his promise. If he hears anything, he'll tell you right away."

Gabriella nodded as Troy walked into the kitchen and sat down at the island next to her. She frowned at his appearance. His dirty blonde hair was sticking out in all directions, making it obvious that he hadn't even considered making an effort to sort it out. He was wearing a casual white shirt with a red East High sports jacket and a pair of faded blue jeans that exhibited more creases than Gabriella could count. She wasn't familiar with American fashion but she questioned if everyone wore clothes that were in need of an iron. She glanced at Lucille and then decided that it wasn't everyone. Lucille, as always, wore a smart white blouse and some black pants.

Troy reached for the bowl in the centre of the island, and then reached for the corn flakes. His eyes kept fluttering closed and he was pouring the corn flakes into the bowl blindly. He set the box down and reached for the milk carton. The milk splashed clumsily into the bowl and he briefly cracked one eye open before shutting it. He tipped the carton up straight before lifting it slowly to his lips and taking a long gulp.

"Troy!" Lucille exclaimed. "We use that milk, too. Gabi will not appreciate you drinking from the carton."

Troy opened his eyes and set the carton in the middle of the island. "Sorry, Gabi," he mumbled.

"It's okay," she said softly. "I don't mind. I've had my breakfast."

Troy began scooping his cereal onto his spoon and swallowed the cereal without thinking about it. "How long have you been awake?" he muttered.

Gabriella shrugged, her eyes locked on him. "A couple of hours. Your mother and I have been talking for a while."

"She'll like that," he murmured as a drop of milk began rolling down his chin.

Gabriella gestured to her chin. "You've got a little…" She reached for a napkin as he frowned at her. She began wiping his chin, her eyes locked on his. Her fingers brushed against his skin and she felt the hint of stubble. His eyes softened from the harsh grey she'd grown accustomed to, to a gentle blue. Her hand dropped from his face and set the napkin onto the island. "I'm sorry."

Troy nodded and turned back to the cereal in front of him. "It's okay," he whispered. "Just don't do that at lunch today."

Gabriella licked her lips. "Okay. I guess that'll mean I'll blend in?"

Troy nodded. "Yep."

Lucille stood up and walked over to her son. She began fussing over Troy's appearance and he just allowed her to sort him out. She ran her fingers through his hair a couple of times until it wasn't as messy and fell down over his forehead. She straightened his shirt and jacket out and didn't even touch the jeans. "Put those jeans in the wash tonight, please, Troy?" she asked.

"You'll put them in the trash," he muttered as he took his bowl and spoon to the sink and quickly washed them out.

"They need to be," Lucille exclaimed.

"Why?" Gabriella asked innocently.

"Troy's had those jeans for two years. It's hard to believe they still fit considering the rate he's still growing. They're torn and misshaped and faded. The colour ran in the washer. They need to be thrown out. And Troy knows that if he puts them in the washer, I'll put them in the trash, where they belong," Lucille explained.

Troy walked back over to the island and yawned. "I love these jeans," he muttered.

Jack dawdled into the kitchen and kissed Lucille quickly. "Morning, honey. Ready to go, Troy? Gabi?"

"Is he okay?" Gabriella asked.

Lucille nodded. "They both are. They just struggle with mornings. Jack will wake up when you get to East High and Troy will wake up by second period."

"Oh," Gabriella whispered as she shut her book and placed it neatly into her backpack. She pulled her denim jacket on and reached for her bag. "Goodbye, Lucy. Thank you very much for my breakfast."

Troy stared at her as he picked his own bag up and shrugged it onto his shoulder. "Are you always happy-go-lucky on a morning?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that," Gabriella said slowly. "I just enjoy mornings."

* * *

After a fairly short, but silent, ride to East High, Jack began filing forms to register her at the school. He gave her a few papers including her schedule, a map and a list of possible school activities she could sign up for. Jack, Troy and Gabriella had all agreed that she was Jack and Lucille's goddaughter from Wisconsin and her parents were on their second honeymoon. Troy had been instructed by Jack to take care of her but she knew that he wasn't too thrilled about it.

Gabriella's opinion of East High was far from impressed. There was red and white everywhere. That wasn't so bad. But, the students were so loud and boisterous. They didn't seem to have any respect for each other. It seemed so scary. And it didn't look the cleanest of places, if she was honest. She didn't know what classes were like in a public American school but, she was a little bit nervous. She'd never had to share teachers before. She'd always been home-schooled.

She swallowed and looked at Jack. What if she couldn't do it? What if she couldn't just blend in? What if Troy's friends didn't like her? What if someone found out she was a princess? Jack had told her over and over again how her parents were safe as long as no one found out. As long as she was Gabi Hudgens from Wisconsin, she was as good as invisible which meant that Gerald had no idea as to where she is.

She looked down at her schedule. "Jack, where's law? And Flemish? And German? And…" She trailed off when she saw Jack and Troy staring at her with raised eyebrows. "I'm sorry."

"Whatever you were taught back home is different to what you'll learn here. Those are your classes which are the same as Troy's," Jack explained.

"So, if I follow Troy around, I'll be in the right place?" she asked quietly.

Troy shrugged. "Sure. I've got practice at free period, though."

"And Gabriella's welcome," Jack said pointedly, shooting Troy a stern look. "Gabriella, if you'd like, you can watch basketball practice."

She nodded timidly. "Is that what other girls do?"

"Kelsi comes sometimes and Sharpay does, too. You can sit with them," Troy offered.

Gabriella nodded slowly. "Okay… Jack, are you sure you haven't heard anything?"

Jack nodded sadly. "I'll tell you what, I'll contact Ania and ask her, okay?" He rested a hand on her shoulder.

Gabriella shrugged and looked down at her map, blinking back the tears that were blurring her vision. "Do what you like," she muttered before turning around and bravely facing the mass of students crowding the halls. "Excuse me," she said politely to the couple of teenagers stood in front of her. "Excuse me," she said louder. "I said excuse me," she said pointedly.

The group of girls, a couple of cheerleaders, turned to her. One with blonde hair and a tan which Gabriella was sure was fake, stepped forward. She towered over Gabriella, her dark eyes piercing through Gabriella. "Excuse you? Why? You see, here at East High, there's a list of priority. Teachers, Troy Bolton and his posse, jocks, cheerleaders, drama clubbers, skaters, geeks, dogs, vermin…new students."

Troy suddenly appeared behind Gabriella, looking much more awake than Gabriella remembered. His arm was secured around her shoulders and he looked down at her, sending her a wink. "Hey, Regina. How are things?"

She giggled. "Things are absolutely great, thanks. What are you doing with…this?"

Troy narrowed his eyes. Despite how he didn't need Gabriella suddenly appearing in his life, he cared about her. He couldn't imagine being away from his parents, especially with them practically being threatened. It was in his nature to care for people, whether he knew them or not. But, after thinking things over last night, Troy had come to the conclusion that Gabriella didn't need him acting mean around her. Sure, she was an 'official' princess but, she seemed honestly nice and she deserved a chance. Troy squeezed Gabriella's shoulders. "Regina, I'd like you to meet Gabi. She's my parents' goddaughter. An old friend of the family. She'll be here a while."

"Where's she from? Disneyland?" she sneered. "This is high school, not Cinderella's palace."

Gabriella flinched at the irony. "I was being polite."

Troy rolled his eyes. "Regina, Gabi's a close friend of mine. I've visited her in Wisconsin every summer since we were six. I'd appreciate it if you treated her nicely."

Regina glared at Gabriella. "Fine," she hissed. She turned to Troy and her voice lightened to a cheerful tone. "Bye, Troy." She turned back to her friends, obviously giggling about her interaction with Troy Bolton.

Troy breathed out and began steering Gabriella through the crowd. "Bitch," he muttered.

"Why are you touching me?" Gabriella demanded.

"I'm saving your ass from getting kicked," he hissed. "And mine, too. If I don't save your butt, my dad will kick mine." He stopped by a locker and let go of her, dialling his combination in. He pulled it open and began sorting through his books.

"I wanted to get through the crowd," she mumbled.

"God gave you elbows for a reason. That's what Chad always says," he said dryly as he threw his bag into his locker and then shut it. He sighed. "Listen, don't talk to cheerleaders…or look at them, come to think of it. I try not to."

"She said jocks were above cheerleaders. Aren't you are jock?" she asked in confusion.

He nodded. "Sure I am. It comes with advantages, of course. I get to jump the line at the water fountain, I got to sit on the backseat of the bus when I used to ride it before I had my truck, I'm never one to not have a partner for a project, and I'm never picked last for teams in gym…" He sighed. "But, there're downfalls. Having your own stalker club is one of them."

"Those girls stalk you?" Gabriella asked slowly.

Troy chuckled. "Close enough. I've had to change my cell phone number three times." A thought suddenly occurred to Troy and he leaned against his locker, looking over at the young Latina girl. "Does that happen to you?"

Gabriella frowned. "I've never had a cell phone."

"I meant: are you ever unsure about if people actually like you?" Troy asked quietly.

She smiled sadly. "Yeah. But, then again, I only really actually talk to people at balls or parties. Even then, they're much older than me."

Troy was about to question her when the bell rang. Panic flashed through his cobalt eyes and he grabbed her hand without thinking. "We're going to be late," he exclaimed before he dragged her down the corridor. After pleasantries were exchanged between Ms Darbus, Troy and Gabriella, the homeroom teacher sat the latter at the spare seat at the back. Troy cringed when Ms Darbus declared that they both had detention…during free period.

As Ms Darbus began the announcements, Chad, who sat behind Troy, leaned forward. "Who's the chick?"

"Gabi," Troy replied. "And she's not a chick."

Chad frowned. Troy never got close to the new kids. "Whatever, dude."

* * *

After Gabriella's first period of drama, which wasn't so bad although Ms Darbus scared her, Gabriella found herself following Troy into Spanish. He headed to the back of the classroom and greeted the boy who sat behind him in homeroom with a hug. Gabriella glanced around the classroom and, as it was the lesson of her mother tongue, she wanted to sit at the front. She approached a desk with a guy sitting on it. He had dark hair and dark eyes. He was good looking. But, he wasn't as good looking as Troy. This guy had a certain…cockiness about him.

She cleared her throat. "Excuse me. I'd like to sit here."

The boy laughed with his friends. "Of course you would. I'm sat here." He did a high-five with each of his friends before he stood up. His eyes immediately travelled over her body, appraising her appearance. He smiled flirtatiously at her and held his hand out. "Drake," he murmured.

"Gabi," she introduced herself politely.

"Sure, you can sit here," he exclaimed, gesturing to the desk.

"Thank you very much. I'm sure I will enjoy it." She smiled at him as she took her seat and began digging through her backpack for a notebook and a pen.

Drake grinned at his friends as he sat in the seat behind Gabriella. "I think I'll enjoy Spanish much, much more now, boys," he said quietly.

Troy narrowed his eyes and grabbed his bag before he stormed to the front of the classroom and sat next to Gabriella. "Hey, Gabi," he said cheerfully.

She turned to him and smiled. "Hi, Troy."

The bell rang and the class settled down as the teacher, Ms Cabot stood up. "Hola alumnos."

"Hola Ms Cabot," the class chorused.

Ms Cabot smiled politely at Gabriella. "We have a new student joining us today. Gabi, why don't you tell us about yourself?"

Gabriella rose from her chair and glanced around. "Hola, mi nombre es Gabi. Tengo diecisiete- Ow!" she cried when Troy kicked her leg. "Perdóneme. Tengo dieciocho años. Hablo Español, francés, chino, griego, alemán, flamenco- Ow" she cried again. She looked down at Troy who was shaking his head. "Gracias." She sat back down and picked her pen back up. (A/N: I don't know if that was right but it was supposed to mean: hello, my name is Gabi. I am seventeen- Ow! Excuse me. I am eighteen years old. I speak Spanish, French, Chinese, Greek, German, Flemish- Ow! Thank you.)

"Wow. Very impressive, Miss Hudgens," Ms Cabot praised. "It'll be a pleasure to teach you.

Troy propped his head up onto his hand. This was going to be harder than he thought.

* * *

Lunch rolled around and Troy found himself sitting at his usual lunch table beneath the cafeteria balcony. His tray of pizza, apple, muffin and carton of milk was in front of him but he hadn't touched it. He was surrounded by his friends, the only person missing being Gabriella. He had no idea where she was. After going to the bathroom and telling her to wait by his locker, he'd lost her. Jack was going to kill him, he was sure of it.

He couldn't believe it. She spoke a million different languages and was brilliant at basketball. A princess was actually good at basketball. She had stumbled a little bit and Troy had soon picked up to stay close to her so he could catch her when she fell. It seemed strange. A princess that was clumsy. Who knew? But, it still didn't stop her from standing out. She's seventeen, well everyone else thinks she's eighteen, years old and she speaks more languages than Troy could imagine anyone knowing with that kind of fluency.

But, the worst part of all of that? He knew that Drake Parker was already planning a way to add her to the long list of girls he'd made his way through. He was as good a player at girls as Troy was at basketball. The ironic thing, though, was, Drake was always a rebound. The girls went to Troy, he'd politely decline and then while they were upset, Drake would come in and 'comfort' them. Soon, after they'd slept together, of course, Drake would grow tired and dump them. But, the girls didn't care. They just wanted to tell their friends that they'd slept with Drake Parker.

"Wow, you're deep in thought," Chad nudged his best friend.

Troy frowned. "I know," he mumbled.

"What's up?" Sharpay piped up, not lifting her eyes from her pocket mirror.

"Nothing."

"Not true," Kelsi exclaimed.

Troy lifted his head and glared playfully at the composer. "Shut up." He sighed. "Does anybody know where Gabi is?"

"I think I do," Ryan said quietly as he pointed to the lunch queue.

Troy quickly looked over at the lunch queue and rolled his eyes. Gabriella was completely ignoring the line and took place in front of Drake when he obviously offered for her to step in front of him. She was now speaking to the lunch lady and hesitated when the lunch lady handed her a plate of pizza before she moved onto the fruit. Troy stood up. "I'll be back," he muttered before he headed over to the lunch line. He placed a hand on Gabriella's back. "Gabi," he muttered.

She turned to him after picking up a pear. "Oh, hi Troy."

He followed her along the line and reached over to pick a muffin up for her. "Where did you go? I told you to wait by my locker," he hissed.

"I needed the bathroom and when I got to your locker, you weren't there," she explained as Troy paid for her lunch.

Troy grasped her arm and began pulling her over to the lunch table. "Sit down," he ordered quietly.

"You can't tell me what to do," she said strongly.

Troy raised his eyebrows and pushed her gently down onto the seat. He sat down and turned to her. "By the power of Troy Bolton, I order you to sit down. Happy now?"

Gabriella dropped her bag and glared at him. "If Regina's list of priority is right, I have no choice, do I?"

He leaned close to whisper in her ear. "If you want to blend in and keep both of our butts safely intact, no, you don't." He straightened back up and smiled at his friends. "Guys, this is Gabi. Gabi, these are my friends. That's Chad, Chad's girlfriend, Taylor, Sharpay, Sharpay's boyfriend, Zeke, Sharpay's twin brother, Ryan, Ryan's girlfriend, Martha, Kelsi, and Kelsi's boyfriend, Jason."

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Stop it, Troy! You're confusing the poor girl. Ignore Troy, I do. Most times."

"Gee, thanks Tay," Troy muttered sarcastically.

Gabriella giggled quietly as she pushed her tray away slightly, leaving space directly in front of her on the table. She unfolded a napkin and set it on the table before placing her plate of a rather large slice of pepperoni pizza on top of it. She reached for her knife and fork and began cutting it up.

Troy rolled his eyes. He glanced at his friends to see them staring at Gabriella in disbelief. He kicked Gabriella in the shin again and picked up his own slice of pizza, taking a bite. "Hey, Gabi," he said with his mouth full, "this pizza is great, isn't it?"

Gabriella looked across at him and her eyes widened. She leaned closer to him. "Is this how regular teenagers eat pizza?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah."

Gabriella put her knife and fork down, glancing at the group of Troy's friends, and swallowed hard as she picked the slice of pizza and took a bite, creating a moustache of tomato sauce. She leaned into Troy again. "Is this alright?"

Troy laughed and nodded. "That's great." He smiled to himself as Gabriella continued eating her pizza and all of his friends turned back to their original conversations. Sure, Gabriella was struggling to blend in but he had a feeling he'd enjoy her company no matter what.