(A/N: Sry it took so long to update! Ahh!.. hopefully this was worth the wait:)

Rating: T… just incase :-)

Disclaimer: I don't own HSM… yadda, yadda, yadda, you know all of that jazz !

Now onto the story:

Chapter 3:

A New Year of the Same

Troy's POV

Well, I finally got back to my room. I had gone to find that Gabriella (I think that was her name.. that's what she programmed into my cell). I wanted to make sure she was okay. She might have only been an acquaintance, but I don't want her to get hurt! I mean, she completely vanished from the balcony. Anyhoo, she wasn't there so I decided to go back to my room and go to bed. We leave tomorrow, and school starts also, so I gotta get some shut-eye.

Gabriella's POV

Oh, wow. Oh, wow, Oh, wow, oh wow, OH WOW! My heart is pounding, I can feel it. I just got back to my room as I'm greeted by my mom. "Yeah, I'm fine… fun…chocolate," I mumble back to her. I run into my room. I lay down on my bed and quickly snatch my cell phone. I sigh as I smile at Troy's picture as I set it as my background. I'll be greeted by his beautiful face every time I turn on my cell phone. Perfect. I flip the cover back up and study his face. Soft white snow flakes are lightly touching his soft brown hair. I sigh blissfully again as I stare into his all-knowing light blue eyes.

My daydreaming is shattered by reality hitting me in the face. Tomorrow when school starts I won't be in my comforting old classroom back in Maryland. No, my mom HAD to get transferred to Albuquerque, New Mexico. What is even IN New Mexico?? I sigh and then I can feel my face starting to flush as the normal first-day-of-a-new-school questions flood through my head. Will people like me? Do I dress too immature? Will they think I'm weird? Will they think I'm nerd? While thinking I begin getting groggy, and fall asleep.

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The Next Day At East High… Troy's POV

As usual I'm greeted by, well, the whole school as I get off the bus. It's almost like a movie, and I'm the guy everyone loved. Ha, I wish. I just smile at everyone as I say "Happy New Year."

"Yeah, a happy Wildcats New Year!!" Chad replies. The Chad starts doing his weird little "Wildcats" cheer thing.

"What team!?" Chad yells.

"Wildcats!!" we all reply, like trained animals.

"What team!?"

"Wildcats!!"

"What team!?"

"Wildcats!!"

"Wildcats" Chad says. Oh, this is where he mixes it up a little bit.

"Get 'cha head in the game!!" we respond. Wow, that was exciting. Ha, oh well. You gotta love Chad. His stupidity, weirdness, and enthusiasm. He's a great best friend.

We finally get inside after I spend a while greeting everyone. Some people are close friends, some are strangers. Whatever.

Crap. I can see the Evans twins rounding the corner. Of course they're in proper formation: Sharpay in front, then Ryan beside her and just a few inches behind her. Sharpay is not carrying any books and is text messaging, probably herself since her only real friend is her brother though even that friendship is questionable, on her sidekick. Ryan, on the other hand has a backpack. Geez, they back light. The twins walk toward me and my friends. Sharpay pouts a little (in a flirty way) and pushes her way through my group, groaning. I look at Ryan as he walks by and he looks back and then walks around the group.

Ryan's POV

This is getting heavy. The bag, I mean. We just walked by Troy Bolton and his "possy." Okay, so I admit we made eye contact, but Troy Bolton and I-. No. We don't even talk… anymore. I shake these annoying Troy Bolton thoughts out of my head. I look at my sister as she pushes people aggressively out of her way and tells a 9th grader off. She is such a drama queen.. but you gotta love her. Besides, she cares about me, and I don't want to get her mad at me or who knows what she'll do! But really, Sharpay isn't really that mean. I'm pretty sure there was some kind of life altering event that happened just a little while ago that made her the "Ice Queen".. she wasn't ALWAYS this cold..

FLASHBACK!

A 9th grade Sharpay walks down the hall in her clear, rhinestone covered heels with her brother trailing in his signature hats. She is carrying a notebook and lip gloss, which she had just applied to her mouth. Another girl bumps into her and she drops her stuff. She glares at the other girl and then snaps her skinny, pale, manicured fingers as the other girl quickly dives onto the ground to retrieve Sharpay's stuff. After giving the girl another mean glare, the three teens head in their respective directions.

END FLASHBACK!

FLASHBACK!

A 5th grade Sharpay is putting her book bag away in the books closer, and Ryan is standing next to her doing the same. The class bully, who is fat, has curly red hair and lots of freckles, runs in and steals Ryan's hat. Sharpay trips the bully and he falls to the floor. The bully turns to look at Sharpay and stares at her (what he thought) beauty in fear. "You really don't want to do that," Sharpay snarls, while putting out her hand. The bully hands the hat to Sharpay and then scampers off. Sharpay hands Ryan the hat who immediately fixes it on his head and mumbles his thanks.

"No problem, Ryan. Besides," she giggles, "that line works every time."

END FLASHBACK!

FLASHBACK!

Kindergarten Sharpay shows her knocking over another girl's building blocks and then stealing them to use for her and Ryan's block mansion they were creating.

END FLASHBACK!

Okay, so maybe she's always been like that. I sigh, deeply. Then I laugh to myself. At least she's always been there for me. And I'm always there for her, to back her up, in return. It's the best I can do.

"What are you laughing at? Oh God, don't tell me you're high," Sharpay says.

I stare at her. "Wtf?" I think. "Where did THAT come from??"

"Kidding!" She laughs.

"Oh, I think that was her trying to be funny," I think as I fake laugh. I sigh in my head. "Oh, nothing," I finally said, smiling, genuinely to my best friend, "Let's just go find out lockers." She drops the issue of finding out what I'm thinking as we go look for her locker number so she can decorate the inside with a mirror and the outside with a pink paper star. We then, later, will go find my locker to go throw our stuff in before we finally head to homeroom.