When Gabriella's alarm rang the next morning at ten, she was very eager to get up

When Gabriella's alarm rang the next morning at ten, she was very eager to get up. The only reason that she had actually set her alarm that morning is because she had agreed to go to Ryan's house to start tutoring him at 10:30. Luckily, she was able to get ready in only 10 minutes.

"Where are you going this early in the morning?" Ms. Montez said as Gabriella walked toward the door, backpack over her shoulder and all ready to go. She forgot that she had not told her mom what she was doing or where she was going.

"Oh, I promised a friend that I would tutor them this summer."

"Well, that's nice of you. Which friend?"

Um," Gabriella started to say. She knew that she couldn't lie to her mom, and she would have to tell her who it was. "Ryan."

"Evans? Isn't that the boy who tried to win the lead of that winter play that you did?"

"Yes, Mom, he did, along with his sister, Sharpay." Gabriella was getting a little annoyed now. She wanted to get to Ryan's house before he got dressed.

"Who names their child Sharpay? That's a type of dog. Wouldn't you feel sorry for your kid?"

"I don't know, Mom." Gabriella said, checking her watch. It was 10:15. "But I really gotta go. I promised that I would be over there at 10:30."

"OK, Gabby. Have fun with your friend!"

"I will, Mom," Gabriella said rolling her eyes as she walked out the door and got into her car.

She arrived at Sharpay and Ryan's house at exactly 10:30 that morning. She had planned it so early in the morning because hopefully she would see Ryan in his pajamas. Just thinking of that made her smile. She rang the doorbell when she got to the front step, and looking in the Evans's living room still amazed her, even though she knew what was to be expected. To her joy, Ryan answered the door, to her luck, still in his pajamas.

"I was just planning on getting dressed, but I knew you were coming." Ryan said smiling. His blond hair was wet, which made it look a dark blond, but was sticking out on the sides of his head a little bit, but not so much as it was a total mess. He hadn't even brushed his hair before she got here. It was odd for Gabriella to see him unperfected, but she liked this Ryan better. Gabriella smiled too, meeting his gaze once more, but quickly looked away. She came here strictly for business, not to flirt.

"So where should we start studying?"

"I guess we could go in my room."

"Yeah, we could. You know the way better than I do." Gabriella said as she followed Ryan up the spiral staircase. The stairs were lined with red carpet, as if every time someone walked up or down the stairs, they were considered royal. Walking down the hallway, Gabriella stumbled across many pictures of Ryan and Sharpay on the wall. It seemed like there was a picture of them every year of their lives: when they were just born, their first birthday, their first Christmas, their second birthday, Easter, their third birthday, Christmas of the next year, their fifth birthday –

"Here's my room," Ryan said, interrupting Gabriella looking at all the pictures.

"Wow." Gabriella said wide-eyes as she entered Ryan's room.

Ryan's room, first of all, was huge, as was the rest of the house. It had to be big to put every single thing that Ryan had in there. Against the back wall, there was a stage. It wasn't just a small stage, it was huge including a stereo with two microphones sitting near the edge, probably where he and Sharpay practiced their songs. Gabriella saw two papers on the stage, and as she walked over there, she could just make out the words on the top of the sheets: "Bop to the Top". All the walls were painted a pale green in order to make the room seem bright, but no so bright that it was over the top. A twin bed was sitting against one of the walls, covered in dark green sheets. Looking around his room, a thought came through Gabriella's mind that she though that she would have never known. His room is pretty normal. I mean, I thought it was going to be really over-the-top drama, but it's cool that he's not like that at home. I don't think that I could have handled that. But I can handle this. She suddenly remembered what she was actually here for, not to see Ryan's room.

"So, do you wanna start? I did come here to tutor you, you know. What should we do first?" Gabriella said, not wanting to sound too obvious.

"Yeah sure. I guess we could start with math, I'm horrible at it." Ryan said, smiling.

"Lucky for you, I'm not." Gabriella said, walking over to Ryan's bed and putting her books down. She got her math book and walked over to a table a few feet away from one of the walls. "What 'cha waitin' for?" Gabriella smiled as Ryan walked over to the table, sat down, and scooted his chair almost right next to her. She could smell that he had just taken a shower probably just minutes before she got there. She could tell he was trying to impress her. Big time.

What neither of them knew, however, was that Sharpay was standing right in the doorway, leaning on the door frame with a smile on her face. She looked over at Gabriella, and Sharpay saw Gabriella staring at the room's occupant with a look on her face that said, "Oh, I so want him!" while he was writing on his paper, trying to figure out how to do this problem. Sharpay knew what these tutoring sessions were about. Gabriella liked Ryan, and she could really use that to get what she wanted most: Troy.

Going down the stairs, she tried to think up a plan. Her country club plan didn't work, and this one had to. She had to get Troy somehow. Suddenly, an idea hit her. If Gabriella realized that she liked Ryan more than she liked Troy, then she would she would eventually break up with him to go to Ryan. Which meant that Troy would be available. Sharpay stopped in her tracks as she remembered what Troy said to her after she had tried to kiss him: "Maybe when I don't have a relationship with anyone else. I promise." She smiled to herself, hatching up a plan to tell her brother when he was done getting tutored by Gabriella. Looking over her shoulder, Sharpay saw Ryan smile as he closed the door into his room, locking in him and his tutor. She barely saw him mouth the words "for privacy" as he closed the door. This is going to work out perfectly, Sharpay thought, a mischievous smile spreading across her face.

"Troy, we need to talk," Gabriella said as she turned to face Troy. She had told him to meet her at the park the next morning. As agreed, he had arrived right on the minute with a worried look on his face. Gabriella had to tell him sooner or later, and she knew that sooner would probably be better in this situation.

"What's up?" Troy asked. As he looked into her eyes, she got a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach, like it wasn't right for him to be looking at her. She knew why it was, and that was what she would tell him.

"Well, I went over to Sharpay and Ryan's house to talk to Sharpay about flirting with you at the country club, and Ryan answered the door. We got into a conversation and he told me that he was really into reading. I told him that he could be really smart if he actually tried, so about two weeks ago, I told him that I would tutor him. Well, -"

"And after a few weeks you realized that you really liked him more than you like me and you want to break up with me?" Troy said with a sad look in his eyes, not meeting Gabriella's gaze this time.

"How did you know?" Gabriella said, looking down.

"I could see it in your eyes. And you also said, 'We need to talk' which usually means you wanna break up with me."

"Oh, yeah that always gives it away," Gabriella admitted. At least I didn't have to say it, Gabriella thought. It was a lot easier to hear someone else say that you want to break up with them than for you to actually say it. That was the lesson that Gabriella realized at that very moment. However, it still hurt just as much.

"I mean, Ryan?! How can you like that evil –"

"I just do, OK," Gabriella interrupted, not wanting to know what Troy was planning on calling Ryan. "I don't know how, it's not my fault. I can't help who I like!" She was trying to explain it to Troy, but he didn't seem to understand, judging by the confused look on his face.

"Yeah, I know but… I mean, Ryan!! You could do so much better than that! I was hoping that if you ever broke up with me, that you would go for someone that's not…Ryan!?"

"Yeah, I know. It scares me too. But I told you, it's not my fault. We're still friends, right?" She saw the look on Troy's face. He wasn't answering. He wasn't even looking at her. "Right?"

"Yeah, I guess we are."

"Troy, I want you to know that whatever happens, I will always consider you as a friend, even if you don't consider me as one. And if I don't like Ryan after a while, and I still want a boyfriend, you will be the first one I'll come to. Troy?" Gabriella realized that Troy was looking at his feet with a glazed look in his eyes. "Troy, are you listening to me?" Gabriella asked as she went over to touch Troy's shoulder. She felt so bad at this point, she wasn't even the least bit surprised when he pushed her hand away as soon as her hand touched his shoulder. "Troy, please listen to me!"

"Why should I listen to you? You have done nothing for me. You never listened to me. When I was trying to tell you that I didn't like Sharpay, you wouldn't let me talk. So why should I listen to you now?" Troy said as the glazed look in his eyes started to turn into anger and he started to walk away. Nonetheless, a pang of either guilt or hunger for some odd reason surged through his body

.

"Troy, please!"

"No! What you said about me never considering you as a friend is true, so you won't have to worry about me butting into your life anymore. And you know what? I'm happy about this breakup because you know who I promised that I would have a relationship with when I didn't have a one with anyone else?" He knew that he didn't mean it, but the way he was feeling right now just made him say it, and he regretted it painfully once he did, knowing that this would be something he wouldn't be able to fix.

"Who?"

"Sharpay! So now, I'll be happy because I'll finally be with the girl that I really wanted to be with. I'll never know what I saw in you!"

"Troy, you didn't mean that."

"Yes I did. Did I stutter?" But his conscience told him that Gabriella was right. He didn't mean it, and he never will. He loved Gabriella, but only in a friendly way, not a romantic way. She was beautiful and she was smart, but somehow, after almost kissing Sharpay, he realized that he wanted Sharpay more. Suddenly, he thought of a song that he had both heard and sung earlier in the year, sung by the girl that he wanted now.

I've never had someone that knows me like you do

The way you do

And I've never had someone as good for me as you

No one like you

So lonely before, I finally found

What I've been looking for

It was then that he realized that he felt the same way about Sharpay. Gabriella's voice interrupted his train of thought.

"No, but –"

Thinking of what had been said in their conversation earlier, he thought about what he was going to say next. "I did mean it, and I'm gonna go see Sharpay right now. And I'm gonna tell her all about how you dumped me so now I can have her. And for the record, you don't have to worry about seeing me again." Troy said, stuffing his hands into his pockets and stomping off. Gabriella could feel tears running down her cheeks as she realized what she had done: not only lost a boyfriend, but a friend too.

Weeks went by and Gabriella was shocked when the completely unexpected happened on a Thursday afternoon: Ryan asked her out.

"Hey Gabriella," Ryan said one morning. "Can you explain this to me a little more, I don't get this question."

They were sitting in his green room, surrounded by the silence that comes with tutoring. Ryan's voice startled Gabriella because she was reading at the time, and she was so engulfed in the book that she was leaning back in the chair, expecting nothing to come. When she heard his voice, she jumped and literally fell out of her chair. As embarrassed as she was as she hit the floor, she couldn't help laughing. In a matter of seconds, Ryan was by her side, offering his hand to help her up. She took it, feeling the butterflies coming back into her stomach, and looked into his eyes. She now realized what the real Ryan was like, not the Ryan that she knew at school. The Ryan she knew at school was an inconsiderate, shallow, self-absorbed jerk. But the Ryan that her hand was holding onto was a sweet, funny, considerate, compassionate, regular guy. It was then she realized that he was everything she always wanted, even more than what she saw in Troy, which she thought would never happen in her life. He gently pulled her up like it was nothing, and Gabriella was still smiling to herself. Even through all the confusion in her head, she was able to clear her mind with thoughts of Ryan that parted through all the confusion, smiling all the time, no matter what he felt. Always trying to make a joke of everything, no matter how serious it was. Just trying to have fun in life, something that Gabriella never thought about. She always thought that life was all about succeeding and doing your best. But at that moment, she finally realized that you only have one life to live, why not make it fun. Sure you can excel, but what fun is being smart of you can't laugh about it? What fun is it if you can't have, well, fun with it? Ryan's voice interrupted her thoughts again.

"Are you going to help me or not?" Ryan asked, smiling at Gabriella. She no longer got the butterflies as she met his gaze, but instead she thought of a song she sang earlier in the year with her ex-boyfriend that she now cared nothing about.

This could be the start of something new

It feels so right to be here with you…

On the last part, she let her voice out, singing to Ryan. "And now looking in your eyes, I feel in my heart." The sweet voice of the boy beside her blended with hers on the last line, filling the room with a sound that would even make the prettiest-singing birds jealous. "The start of something new."

Ryan smiled the sweetest smile that she had seen yet, which Gabriella returned.

"So are you going to help me or not?" Ryan asked for the second time, but somehow, he was not annoyed by her not answering.

"Sure," Gabriella said as Ryan sat down at the table. Gabriella sat down in a chair next to him and scooted closer to Ryan than the chair already was. She was helping him with math, which was his worst subject. She was reading the question, not understanding why Ryan wouldn't get it. Now that she had been tutoring him, his teachers had noticed a miraculous improvement in his grades. She had overheard his teacher talking to him one day and she went over there to tell the teacher that she had offered to tutor him. The teacher said that she should have known it was Gabriella, but she didn't understand why Gabriella would help Ryan, since he had tried to take over her part in the play. She said she was just trying to help a friend, which was the completely opposite reason that she had offered. But the teachers had bought it, and that was enough for her.

Gabriella looked at the math question, trying to find a way to explain it more than it was explained already. "A group of eight people go to the movies. The student tickets are 3.80 a piece and the regular tickets are 5.75 a piece. How many student tickets and how many regular tickets did the group buy if the total cost of the tickets is 34.30?" Gabriella tried to explain the question more, but Ryan seemed to get it all of a sudden. He decided to give the question a different approach.

"Hang on, I think I get it. If I took you to the movies and we bought two student tickets, the cost would be 7.60? What do you say? Saturday night?"

Gabriella was so taken back by the offer, that she had no idea what to say. Sitting there with her mouth open, stuttering, she thought about what had just happened. Ryan had asked her out, she knew that for sure. He was smarter than he looked, and he had gotten the scheming gene from his sister, which made a double threat. Reading the question, he knew that he could ask her out by using the question as bait to lure Gabriella over right to his line. And as she had bitten the bait, he reeled her in for the catch, getting a perfect run. The song right before must have made the bait a lot bigger, making it more likely for her to bite it

All she could do was stutter. "I, uh, um, I, uh, I, uh, don't know what to say," All she could think about was what Troy had said to her. She was never able to get that out of her head: "So now, I'll be happy because I'll finally be with the girl that I really wanted to be with. I'll never know what I saw in you!...And for the record, you never have to worry about seeing me again." When she thought about what he had said to her, she had made up her mind already. "Yeah, Saturday would be great. Can't wait!" she said smiling. Looking at her watch, she saw it was already 1:00. Her mother would kill her for being so late for lunch. "I gotta go. See ya Saturday!" Gabriella said, looking into Ryan's eyes.

"Cool," he said, taking her hand and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. Her face burned at the touch of his lips and sparks flew through her body, but she shook it off. She gathered up her books off of Ryan's bed and walked down the stairs. She dropped them, however, once she saw who was in the living room, kissing. The couple looked up in surprise as they heard the clutter of Gabriella's books falling on the hardwood floor. She looked into the face of the boy, but it wasn't long before he looked away. Wishing that this was all a dream, she quickly shut her eyes. She wasn't sure if she could take that. When she opened her eyes, however, the boy was gone, and the only person she saw in the living room was Sharpay, watching a movie. She heart skipped a beat as she realized that what she had seen was all a dream, but she was still breathing hard. Hearing the noise of a car pulling in the driveway, she looked out the window, seeing an all-too familiar car pull in. It was Troy. She crept up the stairs as Troy walked in the door. From the top of the stairs, she saw and heard what was going on below her.