Disclaimer: I do not own HSM

Chapter 15: One in a Million

They say that good things take time

But really great things happen in the blink of an eye

Thought the chances to meet somebody like you were a million to one

I cannot believe it, Ohh

You're one in a million

The Wildcats sat in Ms. Darbus's homeroom listening to the announcements.

"The Spring Musicale will take place the Monday after Junior Prom, starring our very own Ryan Evans."

Everyone politely clapped.

"And lastly Junior Prom. Once again, this year's theme is 'The Masquerade'. Dress up in school colors. Please be sure to purchase your tickets before next Friday. You may purchase your tickets from Miss Martha Cox. And don't forget to vote for your prom king and queen."

The bell rang signaling the end of homeroom. Everyone filed out. Troy and Gabriella walked hand in hand.

"Hey, I have to get to class early to uh…cram for a quiz. Meet me at the rooftop for lunch?" He asked her.

"All right. I'll see you then." She kissed his cheek and walked to her own class.

Troy made his way to his class. Martha had the same class as he had first period, and she always got to class early. He made his way to his next class. Ms. Darbus had made the announcement two days ago, but yesterday he had forgotten the money. He nearly forgot it today, but his mom reminded him. Thank the Lord for mom memories. He entered the class and saw that Martha wasn't surrounded by anyone. He approached her. "Hey, Martha. Can I have two tickets please?"

Troy stood by the railing of the garden. He fiddled with his ring as he waited for Gabriella to come up. She would be coming up those stairs at any moment now. He was extremely nervous.

It seemed silly considering that they had been together for almost half a year, but he was still nervous. Of course she was his girlfriend, but there was that .0000000009% chance that she would turn him down.

He heard the metal door open, and he looked over the railing as he watched her climb the steps. His heart beat faster with every step she took. It was hard to discern why it was beating so fast. Either he was really nervous, or he supposed that it was just the effect she had on him whenever she was near him.

After what seemed like an eternity, she finally stood next to him.

"So is there a reason why we decided to ditch our friends to eat alone?" She asked jokingly.

"Is it a bad thing that I want to spend time with my girlfriend?" He asked as he kissed her cheek.

"I was just being curious." She said in defense. "It's not every day we spend lunch alone together." She told him.

He started to fiddle with his class ring with his thumb as his other hand reached into his back pocket to get the tickets.

"You've caught me." Troy admitted. "I did sort've call you up here for a reason. I didn't want to do this in front of the entire cafeteria." He turned to face her and brought out the tickets. "Would you be my date to Junior Prom?"

Gabriella looked at the tickets. A huge smile spread across her face. "Yes."

Taylor, Gabriella, Martha, and Kelsi were getting ready at Kelsi's house.

"I cannot believe that Chad asked you in a normal way." Gabriella said laughing.

"I know, and he actually got it out too." Kelsi added.

Taylor laughed along with them. "I know. I think I was going to faint from surprise."

"Guys, once more, we look amazing if I don't say so myself." Martha commented as they put the finishing touches on their makeup. "And, Gabi, I love your new hair cut."

They all had on their dresses. Gabriella was the only one who stood out. All the others were wearing red and black patterns. She wore solid white, and it complemented everything about her. All they needed to do now was put on their masks, but they wouldn't do that till they were outside of the school.

"Thanks." Gabriella replied. When she had first gotten her hair cut, she had been worried that she had cut it too short, but with the assurance of her friends and Troy she had decided that she liked this new short look on her.

"You are totally going to beat Sharpay for prom queen." Kelsi told her.

"That reminds me. I did not nominate myself for prom queen. Now which one of you did it?" Gabriella demanded.

Kelsi and Martha shrugged. They didn't know.

Gabriella turned to Taylor. "Tay, I promise I won't kill you if you tell me you did it or if someone else did it."

"Gabi, if I told you, you wouldn't believe me in a thousand years." Taylor laughed.

"Try me, Tay." Gabriella challenged.

"All right." Taylor laughed. "The person who nominated you was Sharpay."

All of the other girls jaws dropped. "What?" Gabriella asked in shock.

"I warned you." Taylor said.

"How do you know it was Sharpay?" Gabriella asked skeptically.

"Well, um...I was planning on nominating you. I went to the office to do it, but I overheard Sharpay saying that she nominated you." Taylor admitted. "I believe her exact words were, 'I just want an assessment of how popular she is.'"

"She knows what 'assessment' means'?" Martha laughed.

"Yeah, I was surprised too. I even double checked to see if she really nominated you. She really did." Taylor told everyone.

"Well, we'd better get going. We don't want to be too late." Kelsi said looking at the clock in her room. Everyone else agreed.

The guys were going to meet them at the school this time. The girls had wanted to play a little game and see if the guys could recognize them with masks on and if the girls could do it as well. The boys groaned and complained that they wanted to see them sooner than that, but of course, the girls got their way. Of course they just had to make it interesting. It was going to be guys versus girls.

Taylor brought out her cell phone and looked at the time. "Oh hey, guys. We'd better get going."

They all checked themselves one last time before they went downstairs. Mr. Neilson was going to drive them all to the school.

They had fun driving for a little while and singing along with some songs by Prince. As they approached the school, they put their masks on. They were dropped off at the gym and entered. The gym was decorated in white, red, gold, and black banners, streamers, and balloons. The lighting was impressive. It brought out everyone's dress outfits. If you were there, it probably would've looked like a scene from Phantom of the Opera.

"Where do you think they are?" Taylor yelled to the girls above the music.

"I think that we should spread out and look." Kelsi yelled.

The all agreed with a nod and like that, they were off to play their game.

The boys entered at the opposite entrance around the same time the girls arrived. They looked around and tried to locate their date, but the room was a blur of red, black, gold, and white.

They were dressed in their tuxes and each had their masks on.

"Dude, there is no way we're going to find them." Chad yelled over to Troy. "And remind me again why you got your hair dyed."

"It seemed like something new to do instead of just getting my hair cut. Brie seemed to like it this morning." He commented.

Troy squinted into the crowd trying to get a glimpse of Gabriella's recognizable curls but to no avail. The gym was crowded with bodies that were dancing around too much for him to get a good look at the girls. It didn't help that Gabriella hadn't told him what color her dress was.

"Well, let's try to spread out and look for them. We've gotta beat them at this game." Jason yelled.

Encouraged by the competition, the boys quickly melted into the crowd to locate their date.

Troy stayed on the outside of the sea of people to try to find Gabriella without having to bump into anyone. He kept in mind that she wasn't probably going to be dancing since they had made this a little seeking game. He walked around for a bit until he saw her. Her hair was in a messy ponytail; her dress was white, and it fit her figure. She was the most beautiful person he'd ever seen.

He started to approach her. Her head was turning this way and that, probably in an attempt to find him before he found her. But it was too late for that. All he had to do was lay his hand gently on her arm.

She knew who it was before she turned around. She'd felt that spark she always did when he touched her. It set his touch apart from anyone else's, and it made him all the more special to her. He was a one in a million guy.

She turned around to be met by his striking blue eyes staring at her through the red mask that concealed the rest of his face.

He leaned towards her and said loud enough for her to hear him. "I win." He kissed her on the cheek. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you."

Troy felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and looked at the new text that he received. "Chad said to meet him under the hoop on the north side of the gym. Let's go." He took her hand into his and led her through the crowd.

They reached the section of the gym Chad had instructed them to go to, and found all of their friends waiting for them.

"So who found who first?" Zeke asked Troy and Gabriella.

"Troy found me." Gabriella told the girls.

"Aww. Gabi, you ruined our perfect streak." Martha told her. "I found Zeke first; Kels found Jase first; and Taylor found Chad first."

"Yeah. I was the first one to find Chad. That's why we texted you first. But seriously, it wasn't all that hard to find him. His hair gave everything away."

Chad looked defeated. "It's not fair. This hair is both a blessing and a curse."

Gabriella hit herself lightly on the head. "Now I know why I couldn't find you, Wildcat. You got your hair done! I was looking for that long light brown hair. You did this on purpose. Didn't you?" She asked as she ran her hands through his new hair-do.

"Nah. I just thought that it was time for a change. Your hair was confusing too. I almost didn't recognize you because your hair is a considerable amount shorter. But I love it." He told her. "So, anyways, what do we have to do for you guys?"

"Hoops, you weren't supposed to remind them that we had a bet." Chad told him.

"Oh, don't worry, Chad. We didn't forget." Taylor assured him. "We talked about it on the way here. You boys have to wash our cars and do whatever yardwork we want you to this summer."

"What?" All of the guys asked simultaneously.

"Yeah." Gabriella agreed. "You never said what the conditions were. We girls want you to work on our cars and do yard work this summer.

"But—you guys don't even have cars." Zeke argued.

"I know. It still doesn't mean that you can't wash our parents' cars." Martha told them.

"What?!"

"Awww. That's so cute. They think they can refuse us." Taylor said laughing.

"Oh, come on guys think about it." Gabriella tried to persuade them. "It's summer in Albuquerque. It's going to be extremely hot; you guys can wet each other and have fun while you do it… And it's not a bad view for us girls either." She said smugly.

"Gabriella!" Troy said. "Is there something that you're implying?"

"Nope." She said laughing. "Besides, it's not like any of us are getting jobs this summer. Taylor and I keep getting beat out by college students, and I'm pretty sure that's what's happened to you guys too. Might as well have fun working this summer." She pointed out.

"Huddle!" Chad called out.

The boys looked at each other. It was true that they weren't having any luck in the job hunting. It was also true that they would have fun while working. I mean, a job with your friends is fun wherever you go…right?

"Come on, guys. It'll be fun." Troy encouraged. "And it's not that bad. I offer Ms. Montez to do the yard work all the time. Afterwards, she gives me brownies. They're awesome."

With that last statement, the boys agreed.

The girls watched as the guys talked amongst themselves. It was amusing. After ten whole seconds of talking the boys turned their attention back to the girls.

"We accept these conditions." Jason told them.

The girls laughed and clapped their hands while the boys rolled their eyes. They heard the DJ speak for the first time since they arrived.

"All right. Choose a partner for this next dance, but don't pick the person who you came with."

The gym was thrown into chaos as everyone tried to find a partner to dance with.

Troy caught a glimpse of Sharpay looking for him. "Chad, quick. Let's just switch dates for the time-being before Sharpay comes over here and recruits me to be her tool for her dance solo."

Quickly Taylor and Gabriella went to the other's dates and went onto the dance floor. They all danced to "Pump It" By the Black Eyed Peas.

They all returned to the sidelines to catch their breaths.

"Dang, Gabs, you can really dance." Chad told her.

"Thanks, Chad. So can you, you know." She commented.

"Nah. I don't dance. Except for parties." He added.

It wasn't long before they took a break that Gabriella heard one of her favorite songs by Christina Aguilera and pulled Troy once more to the dance floor.

An hour later, Ms. Darbus went up to the DJ and grabbed the microphone. "It's time to announce our prom king and queen. Our prom king and queen this year are Mr. Troy Bolton and Miss...Gabriella Montez."

Somewhere in the gym, all of the Wildcats heard an ear piercing scream. All of the students covered their ears. Everyone knew who screamed. Nonetheless, Troy and Gabriella made their way to the DJ stand to receive their crowns. Once they had been crowed, Troy led Gabriella to the middle of the dance floor so that they could slow dance. Gabriella was a little nervous to dance in front of everyone, but like he did at the winter musical, he made her feel like they were the only two people in the room.

As the night went on, the Wildcats danced the night away.

The following week of school didn't hold much significance for out group of Wildcats. Most were preparing for finals, and the ones in sports were preparing for final games for the season.

Gabriella had convinced Troy to accompany her to the spring musical.

As she and Troy sat down in the auditorium and the musical began to start, Gabriella spoke to Troy.

"You know, Wildcat. I miss being up on stage."

Troy thought for a moment. "Well, maybe next year we'll do something. That Winter Musical tired me out. And you never know, we still have all summer."

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while. But I guess that's what happens when you take A.P. English. Please don't be mad at me. I know that this chapter wasn't what it was supposed to be, but the next chapter starts HSM2. And it will most likely get better.

The chapters will remain the same, but I'm going to upload chapter sixteen into a different story. Please Review.