Glad you all like this! I was happy with the reviews you all gave me.

And for all of those that read my series about Troy and Mack, I have decided to write a story about their childhood. It will be a bunch of one shots in chronological order. The first chapter is June 1992, and it will go on like that. It should be up soon, I just need to finish the first chapter and title the story...

Also, I'm working on Gabriella's Gift and Those Four Words, and toward the end of this story, I'll start to post them.

Besides Topher, Ryan's the main character. He may be a little OOC, but bear with me. I always picture Ryan not stupid – just no common sense.

Chapter 2 – Ryan Knows

"Hey Topher!"

He groaned and stopped in his tracks. What was with this new school? At his old school, when he had been the new kid, no one wanted to talk to him and treated him like dirt until a new 'new kid' came. Here, it seemed that everyone already knew his name.

He turned around slowly to see Ryan and the blond girl who had shown him to homeroom walking up to him. Mentally, he told himself to run. The blond girl practically threw herself on him at lunch and Ryan...he was creepy.

"Hi Topher," the girl said, a smile on her face.

"Hi," he said nervously back to her. He didn't know her name, but he remembered how Chad had called her a mountain lion.

"Sharpay," she said quickly before she giggled.

Ryan rolled his eyes before pushing her slightly out of the way. "Are you going with Chad and the guys," he asked. Topher nodded and stood still, waiting to see if Ryan and Sharpay would leave. "Do you know where they are," Ryan asked, as if he already knew the answer.

"No," Topher said. "But I assume-"

"Don't assume with Chad," Ryan cut in. "He changes his mind about meeting spots everyday." He began to walk down the hall. Then he noticed that Topher wasn't following him. "Are you coming or not?"

Topher thought about it for a minute. Was this Ryan guy going, and if he was, did Topher really want to go? Ryan seemed to be everywhere; around every corner watching Topher as if waiting for him to do something.

But what was he waiting for?

"Come on Topher," Sharpay said at his side. "What's the matter?"

He shook his head and brought himself out of his thoughts. Ryan was waiting for them at the end of the hall and Sharpay was dragging him toward Ryan. 'Sharpay is strong,' Topher thought to himself as she led him down the hall. Once they had met with Ryan, the two blonds walked in front of Topher. This was his chance to leave. They were in their own little world talking about some musical and they wouldn't even notice he left.

He turned around quietly so the two wouldn't hear him and started walking away. Sighing with relief as they turned a corner without him, he began to walk normally only to collide with someone.

"I'm so sorry, I should have been watching where I was going," came a small voice from beneath him. He looked down to see the girl he was staring at during homeroom...the one Ryan had told him about during first period. As he raked his mind for her name, she looked up at him almost mesmerized.

"Troy," she whispered.

Topher looked down and furrowed his brow. "Who," he asked.

She looked into his eyes and shook his head. "You just reminded me of someone," she said quickly. "My name's Gabriella. Gabriella Montez."

"Topher, Topher Harrington. Or you can call me the new kid," he said adding a bit of humor to the situation. It was something he had never done before, but Gabriella made him feel more comfortable than he had at this new school.

She laughed. "I know what you mean. I was the new kid last year."

Topher smiled as he looked into her eyes, deep pools of brown. He heard a quiet cough and he turned his head. Chad, Jason, Zeke, Ryan, Sharpay and another girl – who was holding Chad's hand – were standing over them and Topher could feel his cheeks reddening with embarrassment. "Sorry," he muttered to Gabriella before standing up.

"You ready," Chad asked giving him a look Topher didn't comprehend. He just ignored it and walked up to Chad, who looked over to the girls. "Ladies, want to come?"

Sharpay and the girl Topher had yet to meet looked to Gabriella. "No thanks," she said looking at Topher. "I have to catch up on some homework. But I'll see you guys tomorrow."

She stood and picked up her backpack before turning her back on her friends and walking away. The other two girls followed her down the hall, leaving the boys. "So," Chad said. "Who's up for ice cream?"

Chad, Zeke and Jason started walking down the hall and for a moment, Topher just watched them. They seemed so connected. He never saw one without the other two. "They've known each other since kindergarten," Ryan said from behind him. They started to follow the three boys down the hall. "They never used to be so close. It was always Chad and Troy."

"Who is this Troy guy," Topher asked.

Ryan thought for a minute. "He was the popular, funny, sweet, athletic, nice jock, if that makes sense. His life was pretty much basketball, but he did do a musical...then he disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"Yeah about a year ago," Ryan said. "He never came home one night. He was with Chad, Jason and Zeke, but he had a headache so he left early. As the days turned into months, we lost hope that we were going to find Troy alive."

"So he's..."

"No," Ryan said quickly. "We still haven't found him. In some ways that better, that way we don't know if he's alive or if he's dead."

Topher just nodded. The two continued their walk and before long, they had caught up to Chad, Zeke and Jason. When they got to the ice cream place, they ordered and sat under a tree to eat. "So dude," Chad said, licking vanilla ice cream off his hand. "What do you think of East High so far?"

"Uh..." Topher didn't know what to say. Did he lie and say it was the best school so far, or did he tell them what he really thought. That the school was full of weird kids, that Ryan reminded him of a stalker, that he wanted his mother to get transferred somewhere else because he didn't feel comfortable in a school where people disappear.

Ryan sensed that he was uncomfortable and remembered that Topher said that he didn't really like attention. "So Topher, how old were you when you first moved?"

"I don't know," Topher said. "I can't remember much about my childhood."

Chad, Jason and Zeke looked intrigued, but Ryan cocked his head. "Why?"

"Well, last year, we were moving to West Virginia and I didn't want to because I had just gotten used to where we were living before. So I tried to run away with my bike, but I flipped and hit my head on a rock. Woke up in the hospital a week later and couldn't remember a thing."

"So you said that was about a year ago," Ryan asked. Topher nodded his head. "Do you remember flipping over?"

"No," Topher said getting uncomfortable. "My parents told me that's what happened."

"And you don't remember anything before that?"

Topher shook his head. "Not really. A few things maybe..."

Ryan suddenly became quiet, piecing all the information together. About a year ago, Troy disappeared. About a year ago, Topher flipped his bike and lost his memory. Topher was attracted to Gabriella, just like Troy had been. The two boys looked almost identical. Then it hit him, hard like a punch.

Ooh, cliffhanger, even though you all probably know what hit him.

Tell me what you think!

Review!