Disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue!

A/N: I'm glad you guys liked that chapter. This is chapter 10. There's only one more chapter after this! That's so sad…

This chapter has more of Sharpay and Ryan and the rest of the gang.

Enjoy!

"Listen, Troy, I know you don't remember me. But I was wondering, could you come over later today? There's something I want to show you."

Troy looked up from his bag, slightly surprised.

"O-okay."

"Thanks," Gabriella said, clearly relieved. "We can go right after school. Your dad can drop you off."

"S-sure. Th-thanks for h-helping m-me."

Gabriella smiled. "I really don't mind, Troy, it's only my lunch period."

"N-no. I mean th-thanks f-for h-helping me get b-better."

Gabriella paused, looking at Troy.

"Your welcome," she said quietly, pulling him into a hug.

"Th-thanks, D-dad," Troy told his father, getting slowly out of the car.

"Are you sure you don't need me to come in? I could come with you."

"D-dad, it's f-fine. D-don't w-worry."

Jack relented, rolling down the window as his son limped up the Montez's driveway.

"I'll be back in an hour!" he called, pulling away slowly, clearly reluctant to let Troy out of his sight.

Troy waved at his dad, then limped slowly up the driveway. Reaching the door, he rang the bell. Barely a minute later, Gabriella opened it.

"H-hey," Troy said, stepping into the entrance hall.

"Hey. Let's go up to my room. I have to show you something."

Troy nodded, and followed her up the stairs into her room. Gabriella opened the door, letting Troy precede her into the room. She shut the door behind them, then walked over to Troy.

His eyes were glued to the collage on her wall, looking slowly from one picture to the next.

"This is what I wanted to show you," she told him, coming to stand next to it. "I don't know why I made it. Something just told me to, and now I think I know why. I think it's supposed to help you remember."

Speechless, Troy stepped closer to the wall, tentatively running his fingers over the pictures. He turned to Gabriella.

"W-we were ha-happy to-together, w-weren't we?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at a picture of them after opening night of the musical.

Gabriella nodded, tears slowly trailing down her cheeks.

"I guess it didn't work," she said, almost to herself.

"I-I'm s-sorry," Troy whispered, reaching a tentative hand out to brush the tears from her cheek.

"It's not your fault, Troy. God, none of this is your fault."

He looked away, back at the pictures.

"I w-want to re-remember. B-but I j-just c-can't."

"You will," Gabriella said, trying to sound convincing. "I'll help you." They moved to her bed, sitting down.

"We can get through this together. Step by step. Like-"

"K-kindergarten" Troy interrupted, finishing her thought.

Gabriella gasped.

"You remember?"

He shook his head slowly, tuning away. "N-no. It j-just s-sounded right."

Gabriella sighed, but took Troy's hands in hers. "It's a start," she told him, looking intently into his eyes. "It's a start."

Gabriella walked to her locker the next day, spinning the lock without really seeing the numbers. As she struggled with her combination, Taylor and Chad came up behind her, startling her.

"What did Troy want?" Chad asked, leaning against the neighboring locker.

Gabriella shrugged. "His dad wanted him to empty his locker, so I helped him."

"What about last night?" Taylor asked, raising her eyebrows to hint at possible occurrences.

"Nothing like that," Gabriella practically shrieked, smacking Taylor over the head as she finally pulled open the locker door.

"It was a joke," Taylor said, raising her arm to protect her face in mock fear. "Seriously, what happened?"

"I took him to my room and showed him the collage I made. I thought it would help him to remember."

"And-" Chad prompted, standing up straighter to show his interest.

Gabriella shook her head. "Nothing. He did finish one of my thoughts, though. But he didn't know why he said it, he said it just felt right." She sighed heavily, and went about pulling her books from the locker, closing it quickly and turning to face them.

"But that's got to be good," Chad said, looking at her for an answer.

Gabriella shrugged. "He said he'd ask Dr. Andrews. I hope it means something, because it's starting to wear me down."

Taylor quickly hugged her friend supportively. "I have an idea. Let's go talk to Coach Bolton now, and see what he thinks."

Gabriella stood on Troy's doorstep, wringing her hands nervously. Seconds after she rang the bell, Mrs. Bolton opened the door, beckoning her into the entrance way with a smile.

"Jack called and told me what you were doing," she said, leading Gabriella into the living room, where Troy was sitting on the couch, absently flipping channels on the TV. "I think it's a wonderful idea."

Gabriella smiled in appreciation. "Thanks, Mrs. Bolton. I really hope that it will help him."

Troy looked up, aware that they were talking about him.

"H-help m-me?"

Gabriella nodded. "Come with me to school, there's something we have to show you," she said, walking over and taking his hand, pulling him gently to his feet.

"W-we?"

"You'll see when we get there," she told him, still gripping his hand.

"Are you ready to go?" Mrs. Bolton asked, holding up her car keys. Gabriella nodded. They walked out to the car and within minutes were well on their way to East High.

"W-where are we g-going?" Troy asked, looking out the window for a clue.

"School. We had an idea to help you."

A short while later they pulled up in front of the school, and Mrs. Bolton let Troy and Gabriella out. The latter led Troy into the school headed for the music room.

Opening the door, Gabriella led Troy in. Kelsi was sitting at the piano, Ryan and Sharpay standing next to her. Chad, Taylor, Zeke, and Jason were sitting by the window, watching Troy and Gabriella enter.

"W-what-"

Gabriella put a finger to her lips, silencing him. She led him to the piano, and took a seat next to Kelsi, leaving Troy to stand next to Ryan and Sharpay.

"We want to see if this helps at all," she told him, nodding to Kelsi. The pianist began to play, and the soft opening notes of "Breaking Free" filled the room. Gabriella and Sharpay began to sing in perfect unison.

"We're soarin', flyin', there's not a star in heaven that we can't reach."

Ryan joined in.

"If we're trying, so we're breaking free.

You know the world can see us in a way that's different than who we are."

Troy had closed his eyes, clearly trying to grasp something with his mind.

"Creating space between us, till' we're separate hearts."

All eyes in the room were on Troy as he opened his eyes, tentatively beginning to sing the next line, alone, his stutter barely noticeable as he sang.

"But your faith it gives me strength-"

Gabriella joined him.

"Strength to believe, we're breaking free!"

Kelsi stopped playing, as Gabriella hugged Troy happily, tears streaming down her face.

"You remember," she said, pulling away and looking into his eyes, acutely aware that every eye in the room was glued to them.

"I-I remember the w-words, a-and your v-voice s-sounds s-so fa-familiar. I d-don't know w-why, b-but I c-can s-see a m-moon, and a s-stage, and you're th-there. But it d-doesn't make s-sense."

Gabriella was smiling through her tears. "Troy, you're almost there. I know it. It wll make sense in time. You may not remember the details yet, but you're getting closer."

Sharpay came over and hugged him. "I knew you could do it," she said, clearly happy for him.

The rest of Troy's friends began to cheer for him, starting a group hug.

"Who wants pizza?" Chad's voice rose above the rest, and was met with an affirmative answer. The group all walked out together, heading for the pizza parlor to celebrate.

A/N: That was fun. Yay Troy! But wait…his memory isn't back yet. Almost. Maybe. We'll see. Only one more chapter to go! Reviews greatly appreciated.

Coming in Chapter 11: Three months later…what does Troy remember? How is his stutter? What about everyone else?

Also coming in chapter 11: A preview of my next HSM story, "Only Hope," which I've summarized here for your viewing pleasure. Yes, it is named after the Mandy Moore song of the same name (from A Walk to Remember-the best movie besides HSM EVER!)

Title: Only Hope
Genre: Angst/Romance/Drama
Rating: T
Main Pairings: Troyella, Chaylor
Warnings: Deals with depression, suicidal thoughts, severe illness, and other various issues
Tentative Summary: It's the summer before senior year, and the East High seniors are planning for their future. But something comes between Troy and his dreams, and threatens his very existence.