Title: Because of a Love Letter

Disclaimer: I do not own the High School Musical trilogy or any of its characters and no profit is being made. It all belongs to the Disney Co-operation and Peter Barsocchini. This is purely a work of fan-fiction.

Author's Note: I highly doubt anyone will read this, but just thought I should give you all an update about what's been happening here and why it's taken so long for me to update the story. Well, in a few of my previous updates, I mentioned about the exams coming. The same is happening now. Which is why I've been unable to update or even find the time to open my laptop. Some of the other things I've been up to in the mean time are: reading romance novels, and reading Twilight fanfiction. I just recently started reading and some of the stories have been really amazing. My current favourites are 'Breaking Waves' and 'Edward's POV vol 1 New Moon, Mid-Eclipse' and 'Edward's POV vol 2 Mid-Eclipse and Breaking Dawn'. Another heads up- This is most likely going to be my last post... for now! Like I said before I am NOT abandoning the story. I just need the right time to sit and type the chapters which I'm not finding. The next time I update will probably be in late May. I know! That's a crazy time away. But trust me when I say that I'm GOING TO FINISH THIS STORY. No matter how long it takes.

CHAPTER 7: New Friends

Lunch.

With Troy's friends.

What a wonderful thing indeed! Gabriella thought sourly.

As soon as the three stepped into the cafeteria, Taylor immediately escaped and left Troy and Gabriella to bask in the attention of all the other students. Gabriella squeezed her bag strap, so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She felt faint by all the horrified looks and murderous glares being thrown at them from everybody. She looked up at Troy, who was a head taller than her. He appeared unfazed by all the looks. Instead, he nudged her forward, towards the lunch counter.

"Do you need to buy lunch?" Troy asked as he pulled out his lunch card from his pocket.

Gabriella glanced around. "Umm… no. I already brought lunch from home."

"Great." Troy swiped his card at the register and picked up one of the trays from the table. He turned to her, "Shall we go?"

"Yeah…" Gabriella muttered so lowly, Troy had to bend down to hear her.

Troy looked around and realization dawned on him as he figured out what was bothering her. Holding the tray in one hand, he rubbed Gabriella's arm sympathetically.

"Gabriella, people are gonna stare at us. There's nothing we can do to stop them." He consoled her.

Gabriella huffed. "They can at least try to be discreet about it."

Troy laughed and spoke, "Try avoiding eye contact with them. You could maybe stare at me in the meantime. We're anyway supposed to make it look like head over heels for each other." He winked at her.

Gabriella gwaffed. "Right… I'll try but seriously, this is creepy. How the hell do you keep up with this?"

Troy laughed this time. "Centuries of practice and experience." He said boastfully.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Just two years."

Troy held Gabriella's hand with his and pulled her towards his friends' table. As they walked by the other tables, Gabriella picked various pieces of conversation. At one table, a guy was trying to divert a girl's attention - maybe his girlfriend or his crush, she wasn't sure - from Troy Bolton.

"Why are you staring at Troy Bolton? I'm so much better than him and he has a girlfriend for God's sake." Gabriella hid a smile.

Troy looked down and smiled at her. Despite his doubts about the whole plan, he was glad that Gabriella didn't seem too perturbed in all the attention and looks people shot at her. He knew she felt uncomfortable. It was probably the first time people were paying attention to her. And not all of the attention was welcoming. He just hoped that his friends wouldn't embarrass or say something to stupid when he introduced Gabriella to them.

As they walked by the group of cheerleaders Gabriella eavesdropped their conversation, not that they were whispering.

"Can you believe this? I mean, what the hell?" Said one. She was dressed in her cheerleading uniform, the number 5 printed on it. She had brownish-blond hair that fell straight along her back. She was attractive with emerald green eyes that were lined with shimmery eyeshadow and shiny glossed lips.

Gabriella quickly looked away from them as Troy tightened his grip on her hand.

The other said, "I know. This one is worse than the pink blond. Look at her. She looks like an elementary school kid." The girls giggled.

Gabriella self-consciously looked down and tugged at her sundress, missing Troy's frown and his disapproving glance at the girls. They quickly made their way to the boys' table. Once Troy and Gabriella sat, they caught everyone's attention at the table. The boys immediately stopped talking and turned to stare at Gabriella. Cringing under their scrutiny, Gabriella quickly took out her lunch. Opening the box, she grabbed a piece of chicken with her fork and stuffed it in her mouth, just to give herself something to do.

Noticing the silence, Troy looked around the table. "Are you guys just gonna stare at us or do you guys plan on finishing lunch before the next period?"

This seemed to evaporate the awkwardness lingering in the air. The guys broke out of their stares and laughed. Gabriella was quiet as she took in everybody seated at the table. The three boys were seated across Troy and Gabriella. She looked at them one by one. .

The boy nearest to her was Chad Danforth. Troy's best friend, she thought remembering the way she would see these two together wherever they went. He was probably the one that brought fun into their group. Every morning she would see him bellowing greetings to every student he knew as he walked by the hallway. She looked at the brown curls bouncing on his head and wondered how he had grown his hair to be this long. He had dark skin that bore similar resemblance to Taylor's skin. He was dressed in a bright green graphic t-shirt and tan shorts.

Beside Chad was Zeke Baylor. Gabriella didn't know much about him. His skin was slightly darker than Chad's, the color of milk chocolate. Gabriella noticed the warmth in his brown eyes and the welcoming smile that danced on his lips and loosened her shoulders from their frigid stance. She guessed that he would be the peacemaker of the group. She realized that he was one of the people with whom you could easily be friends.

Last of all was Jason Cross. Gabriella didn't know what to make of him. He seemed aloof and probably was wondering who she was. Gabriella blushed at the thought. She hadn't known him as long as she knew Chad and Troy. The only memory she had of Jason Cross was when he was first introduced to class when they were thirteen. She knew being his friend could be easy too, given his laid back nature.

Gabriella's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she noticed most of the seats at the table empty. "Where are the rest of the team?"

Chad chuckled, his dark curls bouncing on his head. "We're Troy's best friends. The others asked us to give our thanks to you on their behalf."

Just then Zeke said, shaking his head at Chad, "We didn't want you to feel too crowded. More like Troy didn't want you to feel crowded." He ended with a chuckle. He winked at Troy when he sent him a grateful smile.

Gabriella smiled, glancing at Troy, who smiled back at her. She turned back to Chad and asked, "Thanks for what?"

"Your make-out session with Troy. If it wasn't for you, we'd never win the match."

Gabriella felt her cheeks burn with heat. Troy glared at Chad, Zeke hid a smile at Gabriella's embarrassment and Chad chuckled at being able to make her blush. Just as Troy opened his mouth to reprimand Chad, Jason spoke.

"Wait, you both kissed? When? Why?" Jason asked, astonished, as he looked back and forth between his friends and the couple.

Zeke was the first to react. "Dude, where have you been living?" He shook his head in disbelief.

"What! How am I supposed to know who kissed whom on a given day?" Jason said defensively.

This time Chad spoke up. "Dude, what did you think the whole school was talking about? On top of that, the kiss happened right before the game began at the gym."

As the boys argued, Troy and Gabriella sat still staring at the boys. Gabriella looked at Jason in wonder. Apparently, not everybody got the news about Troy Bolton's new girlfriend. As she thought more about it, Gabriella felt herself loosen her frigid posture and couldn't help but chuckle at Jason's obliviousness. She looked at Troy, who had his lips pressed together to contain his laughter. Looking down at Gabriella, Troy couldn't control his laughter anymore and his mouth burst open with a flood of chuckles and laughs poured out. It was contagious and soon everybody joined in. Many students seated at the surrounding tables turned around to see the cause of their merriment.

"Dude, how did you not know this? Why do you think I brought Gabriella to sit at our table?" Troy said, reeling from his laughter.

Gabriella stared eyes wide, as Jason's cheeks turned a faint pink.

"By the way. Thanks for that. I can see how much you guys believe in my talent at playing basketball." Troy commented sarcastically.

Chad laughed. "Dude, of course you're an amazing player but, what happened before the game certainly put you in a good mood and ensured that we won the game."

Gabriella choked on her bite and looked at Troy. Troy avoided her gaze and chose to glare at Chad instead. Chad shrugged and went back to eating his lunch. Silence prevailed over the table.

"So, how did you guys get together?" Zeke asked.

Troy and Gabriella shared a glance. They hadn't talked about this. Troy stared at Gabriella, wondering what he could tell his friends that would make sense. Gabriella stared back at him, looking like a deer caught in headlights. What were they supposed to say?

"We're seriously not sitting here to look at you guys make gooey eyes at each other."

That did it. Troy and Gabriella broke from their stare. While Gabriella turned pink, Troy whipped his head to glare daggers at his best friend. Gabriella felt the blush deepen when she saw Jason stifle a chuckle and Zeke at them knowingly.

Zeke cleared his throat. "So, you wanna tell how it happened?"

Gabriella caught Troy looking at her expectantly. She licked her lips and glanced nervously at the rest of the boys. Realizing Troy wanted her to tell them, Gabriella opened her mouth and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"We met at the City Diner." This caught everyone's attention at the table.

Troy looked at Gabriella, raising an eyebrow. Jason and Chad stared at Gabriella, fascinated.

Chad asked next, "So, what happened?"

Troy kept his eyes on Gabriella, wondering what she would say next.

Gabriella ignored Troy's look and swallowed. "Umm… I walked in and saw Troy sitting at the table alone. Once he saw me, he invited me to sit with him." She stared at Chad, Jason and Zeke who were engrossed in the story… just like the students sitting at the neighboring tables, eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Once I sat at the table, we started talking about random things - he told me about his breakup - and he ordered bubble tea and chicken popcorn for me." Gabriella continued, rubbing her arm. "We kept in contact after that day and now, here we are."

The guys stared at her as they digested this story. When no one said anything, Chad spoke, "Well, this is good. You are so much better than that pink blond."

Gabriella cringed. If only they knew. The whole reason she was here with Troy was to make Sharpay jealous and they thought she was better than her. The boys laughed at her expression. Gabriella was surprised to find Troy laughing right along with them. She had thought that he would probably try and defend Sharpay. She erased the thought. It was probably a part of his plan to act as if he had gotten over her.

As they ate their lunch, Jason asked, "So, how come you were at the game? I assumed that you didn't understand the game."

Gabriella laughed. "I don't actually. I just came there to wish this guy good luck." She said, pointing her head towards Troy.

"Wait, you don't know how basketball works? You can't be a Wildcat and not know basketball!" Jason said, outraged.

Gabriella giggled at the look on his face and Troy rolled his eyes.

Chad groaned. "Why does Troy date girls who don't know basketball?"

Troy gave Chad an irritated look. "Dude, seriously just eat your lunch."

Chad defensive raised his hands. "What? I'm just saying… Maybe we can teach you how to play basketball?" He tilted his head thoughtfully.

Gabriella vigorously shook her head. "No! No way! You'll hate me once you find out how terrible I am at sports." This was ridiculous. Gabriella? Playing basketball? Yeah, the world was officially insane.

"Guys, she's just met us. Go easy on her."

Gabriella looked at Zeke from where he sat at the table and give Chad a look. Zeke looked back at Gabriella and winked. Gabriella immediately settled and allowed herself to shoot a grateful smile at Zeke.

Glancing down at her watch, Gabriella abruptly got up and started packing her lunch box.

Troy looked surprised at Gabriella packing her things. He panicked, wondering if his friends had scared off Gabriella. Trying not to show his anxiety, Troy slowly got and looked at Gabriella.

"Umm… Gabriella, what's wrong?"

Gabriella looked back at him startled. "Uh, there's only ten minutes left to go to class."

Troy relaxed and let himself laugh.

"Okay, I gotta go. I have biology class." Gabriella turned to leave but immediately stopped when Chad called.

"Are you sitting at lunch with us again tomorrow? You're really fun."

Gabriella smiled shyly. "You guys are really fun too." Gabriella's smile widened when she saw Jason, Zeke and Chad share excited glances. She looked at Troy who wore a satisfied smile on his face. "Umm, sure I guess." Gabriella shot Troy another look and turned to leave the cafeteria.

Troy stared behind Gabriella and smiled. He was pleased that the boys liked Gabriella and Gabriella liked them as well though seemed to be shy around them. He turned to his friends, to see them grinning.

"She's a nice girl." Zeke commented casually, a small smile playing on his lips as he watched Gabriella walk across the cafeteria.

Chad chortled. "She's the first girl I've seen turn red in the face like that. I didn't know girls these days could even do that." Jason laughed.

Troy glared. "Dude, give her a break will you? She's just met you. Don't have to hog her like that."

Chad raised his hands, shielding himself. "Geez, so protective of your girlfriend."

Rolling his eyes, Troy froze in his seat. He got up and ran towards Gabriella.

Just as Gabriella was about to leave the cafeteria she felt someone grab her arm. Turning around to scold the person, Gabriella's breath caught as she saw Troy's face hovering inches from hers.

He was slightly out of breath when she spoke. "I need to give you something."

Gabriella looked around and groaned internally when she realized that they had the entire cafeteria's attention. She looked back at Troy and asked, "What now? I'm getting really late to class."

Troy smiled. "Another part of our deal I need to complete."

Gabriella watched curiously as Troy slipped a hand in his pocket and retrieved a folded piece of paper and a small pack of Skittles. Gabriella watched in surprise as Troy brought the note between their faces.

"A love note." Troy said, smirking. He placed the note in Gabriella's hand. Next, he tore open the pack of Skittles and poured the colorful beads into his hands. He looked at the cafeteria and stopped when his eyes fell on Sharpay. Gabriella followed Troy's gaze and shuddered under Sharpay's glare. Noticing her shudder, Troy turned back to Gabriella and smiled. He shuffled through the candy beads and found a purple one.

Troy quietly whispered. "Open your mouth."

Gabriella stared at him, not comprehending what was happening. She chose to listen to him and opened her mouth, still staring at Troy's face, she felt his fingers slip the small candy into her mouth. She stood motionless as she felt the tip of his finger slightly graze her lower lip. She closed her mouth and glanced back at the cafeteria. Spotting Taylor and Ryan at one of the tables, she looked to see them laughing at Sharpay's scowl. Gabriella flushed when both sent her identical grins and secret thumbs up.

Looking back at Troy, she saw him intently staring at her. "Umm… I gotta get to class." She motioned at the doors behind her.

Troy nodded. "I'll be at the parking lot after school."

Gabriella dipped her head in acknowledgement and walked out of the cafeteria. As the remnants of the candy melted inside her mouth, Gabriella placed the piece of paper in one of the pockets of her bag. She still couldn't understand what exactly had happened down there. Troy's friends seemed really nice. Chad seemed easy going, go-with-the-flow kind of guy. Zeke was definitely friendly and Jason was… well, Jason. There didn't seem to be much going on with him. Gabriella was still stunned that Jason was unaware of the rumors and talks going around school.

"You almost had me believing you guys were really a couple."

Gabriella jumped at her hearing her friend's voice. She looked beside her to see Ryan and Taylor walking to her left. Taylor gave her a knowing smile and Ryan smirked at her.

Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"Gabi, Ryan's right-"

"Of course I'm right."

Taylor shot him an irritated look and continued. "As I said, you guys pretty much fooled everyone in the cafeteria."

"He gave you a note! And, he fed you chocolate!"

Gabriella shook her head at their silliness. "Terms of our contract." She waved her hand apathetically.

At this, the other two stopped walking and stared at her quizzically.

"You wrote a contract? That I'm assuming you and Troy… signed?" Ryan asked in disbelief.

Gabriella shrugged her shoulders. "Well, it's more like a list of things we need to do to make everyone believe we're a couple."

Ryan shook his head and laughed. He looked at Taylor who also laughed.

"God Taylor, your friend is something else."

Taylor beamed. "I know. This year sure is going to be interesting."

Gabriella snorted as she saw them high-five each other before laughing again.

"You guys are idiots."

"Gabi, wait!" The two called after Gabriella and ran to catch up to her.

"How are you going home?" Taylor asked as she and Gabriella made their way out of the school building.

Gabriella adjusted her bag and answered. "Troy's dropping me home."

"Okay, well, see you tomorrow." Just before Taylor left, Gabriella stopped her.

"We're still on for tomorrow right?"

Taylor looked back at her. "Yeah. My house?"

Gabriella nodded. "I'll be there after school."

Soon after Taylor left, Gabriella walked to Troy's car and saw no one there. Leaning against his car Gabriella watched as students rushed out of the door and made their way to their cars or the school bus. Some of the girls who passed by glared at Gabriella while the others just looked at her resignation. Gabriella felt herself wanting to cower and shrink under their gazes. So, she could not have been thankful when she spotted Troy walking out the door along with his friends. His hair was damp and clung to his forehead. The others seemed to be in the same state as well.

Troy felt a smile split onto his face once he spotted Gabriella leaning against his car, arms folded across her chest, looking around at all the people nervously.

"Looks like I gotta get going."

Chad chuckled. "Yeah, it's not good to keep the lady waiting."

"See, you guys later." Troy said, as he walked towards his car quickly.

"Hey, how long have you been waiting here?' Troy asked once he reached his car and proceeded to open the door.

Gabriella looked at him. "Umm… not long."

Troy nodded. It must still be awkward for her to be the center of attention. Once the car unlocked, Gabriella did not waste any time and immediately got in. Closing the door after Gabriella turned to Troy.

"So… you had practice?"

Troy chuckled as he started the car.

"Yeah, I took a shower after practice. Mom would kill me if I came home smelling like sweat."

Gabriella smiled.

"Uh… Troy we also have to pick up my sister."

Troy peeked at her and laughed. "Yes. I haven't forgotten. I know you have a sister." He laughed even more as Gabriella blushed scarlet at his words.

Within a few minutes, they pulled up at the middle school gate. Gabriella scanned the crowd and waved once she spotted Isabella making her way towards them. Getting into the car, Isabella grinned.

"Hey Troy!"

Troy grinned back at her, just as ecstatic. "Afternoon, Izzy. How was school?" He reversed the car and drove to their house.

As Troy and Isabella spoke back and forth, Gabriella felt an unfamiliar feeling settle in her chest. The sight of those two together made her elated in a way she could not understand. She chalked it to Troy Bolton being able to easily converse with Isabella. Gabriella wasn't sure how much time had passed before the car stopped in front of their house. Gabriella and Isabella got out of the car. Before walking to the front door, Isabella looked back at Troy.

"Will you drop us to school tomorrow as well?" The eyes shone with expectation and pleas.

Troy smiled and nodded. "I sure am. How else am I going to save you from Gabriella's driving?"

Gabriella scoffed and rolled her eyes. "It's not that bad!"

Isabella and Troy gave her a look. Isabella turned back to Troy again. "You're really fun. I can't see you tomorrow."

Troy's smile widened. "I can't wait to see you tomorrow too."

"Bye!" Isabella said, as she ran up the front porch steps and entered the house with her key.

"Bye Izzy!"

Troy looked at Gabriella whose lips had curled at the banter between Troy and Gabriella.

"So, the first day wasn't so bad, was it?" Troy looked at her eagerly.

Gabriella smiled. "Uh… no. Your friends are great to hang out with. They're my new friends, I guess."

Troy smiled in return. "Good. They like you a lot too. Chad especially, since he can make you blush. Your sister is a lot of fun too."

"I'm glad. I just wished you wouldn't have bonded over my terrible driving skills." Gabriella said wistfully.

Troy laughed. "Yeah. Well, it sure is something we both agree on."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Right. I'll see you tomorrow then?'

"Yes. Same time."

Hitching the bag higher on her shoulder, Gabriella said, "Alright. See you tomorrow. Bye."

"Bye."

Once the car was out of sight, Gabriella turned and walked to the front door. Stopping in front of the door, Gabriella looked up and closed her eyes. It took a lot of effort to pretend to be Troy Bolton's girlfriend. Everyone didn't seem to suspect anything and she was grateful for it. Now she just prayed that Isabella wouldn't tell their mom anything once she came back from work.