2 weeks after that fight and 2 minutes after their previous battle, which Troy had won, he and Brandon had found themselves in homeroom. Brandon was glaring at him strongly while Troy was just grinning smugly, the memory still fresh in his mind.

Brandon had insulted Troy's ability to play basketball. Troy had first ignored it but had lost control when Brandon said something incredibly rude. They were in the halls and Troy almost lost consciousness, but with all of the cheering and support from his friends he found that impossible. He pushed Brandon off of him and released all of his fury into his fists, which repeatedly knocked the wind out of Brandon. After getting off of the floor, he kicked Brandon in the head which woke him. He started for Troy, but his friends held him back. Troy just flicked him off from behind. And that was the end.

Brandon couldn't take his eyes off of Troy. He just hated him so much. He felt like throwing something. He had his opportunity when Ms. Darbus left the room to fetch someone. He rolled up a stray piece of paper and stuck it in his moist mouth. He spit it out and aimed at the back of Troy's head. He settled on his target and chucked the spit ball at it. Troy suddenly ducked and instead, the ball landed smack dab in his girlfriend's mouth.

Troy turned around slyly and said "Oops."

Brandon stared at him blankly and stuttered "How... did... you... kn-"

Troy answered "Amy was ranting about something that included her mirror which was pointed right at you."

Brandon's eyes switched from surprise to hatred. He stood up and got ready to charge, but was halted by Amy spitting out the ball and screaming "BRANDON, WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

Brandon replied carefully "Amy, baby listen. I was aiming for-"

Amy cut in "Troy? Yeah I know! Why? What did he ever do to you?! Nothing, that's what! This fight between you two is too much! We're over! Over!!" With that, she stormed out of the classroom.

Brandon's heart dropped, but none of it showed in his eyes. He looked directly at Troy who just sat there, killing himself in trying to not laugh. His face was reddish purple and it looked like he was choking on something. He tried to hide it coughing, but the laughter caught up to him. He doubled over onto the floor while tears of laughter flooded his face and met with the floor. It contagiously caught onto everyone else, except Brandon. He felt the room boil with rage from him. The laughing students turned into red targets in his eyes. But there was one black one.

Troy.

He charged for him and grabbed his neck. Troy looked up at him, but surprisingly didn't look scared. He looked as if he knew that Brandon was about to let go in a few seconds. Brandon searched his eyes for a clue of his behavior, but found nothing. But he didn't have to. The footsteps heading for the room in the hallway was the clue. It was Ms. Darbus and someone else on their way back to the room.

Brandon reluctantly let go of his strangle hold on Troy and whispered in his ear "Don't even get close to thinking that this is over."

Troy replied "Oh no my friend. It already is."

Brandon shot him one last glare before quickly walking back to his seat. Just as he sat down, Ms. Darbus re-entered the room with someone partially behind her, probably hiding. No one noticed until she loudly clapped her hands twice to capture their attention. She cleared her throat and said "Ah, thank you. Ladies and gentleman, we have a new student in room 505 (just made it up). Please welcome... Gabriella Montez."

Troy spit out the water that he was drinking. Chad, who sat behind him, hit him on the back, which seemed to help. Troy choked out "Gabriella who?"

He heard Chad groan "Oh God! Not another one!"

Suddenly, a small petite brunette emerged from behind Ms. Darbus. Troy just stared at her. She was, she was-

"TROY!!!"

Troy jumped and turned around to Chad. He was looking at Troy suspiciously. "What?"

"I said she looks just as bad as her brother. Are you Ok?"

Troy nodded falsely. But he wasn't Ok. He was far from Ok. He couldn't figure it out. If Brandon, his worst enemy, was such a hard ass, then how can his sister appear so... sweet and shy?

"Listen to yourself Troy! APPEAR! Chad's probably right. She might just be as bad as her brother. Watch yourself." He thought to himself.

After Ms. Darbus ranted about how Gabriella moved from her divorced father's house, she pointed to the empty seat in the back. As she nervously walked past Troy, her turquoise skirt brushed against Troy's arm. He felt a spark rush through his body as he cheeks burned. What was happening to him? He had never felt so vulnerable in his entire life, especially when something Brandon related was included. He looked at the ground to try and hide his pink face. Little did he know that someone very unpleasant was watching him. Watching him gain a crush on his now very protected sister. No matter what, Brandon was going to make sure that Gabriella stayed very far away from Troy Bolton.

----

When homeroom let out, Brandon made a break for Gabriella, figuring that Troy would try to talk to her. He smiled at his sister and said "So, how's it going so far?"

Gabriella nodded nervously. She replied "Alright I guess. Except the guy in the front row kept looking at me. Who is he?"

Brandon rolled his eyes. "Troy. Stay far away from him, Ok? He's nothing but trouble now. Trust me, I know."

Gabriella's eyes widened as she exclaimed "That's Troy?! Wow! He's changed a lot!"

Brandon nodded. He had told her about Troy as soon as they started fighting and she had helped him so much. He didn't think that he could've survived without her help. He smiled at the memory.

FLASHBACK

Brandon slammed the door to his house after school. He furiously brushed away the tear making its way down his face.

He couldn't believe it. He tried out for the basketball team and didn't make it. Instead it went to Troy Bolton, his now ex-best friend. Troy had promised to convince the coach that if he made the team, he wouldn't join unless Brandon was on it too. He had obviously forgotten his promise to his best friend. Brandon had screamed at him and started their first physical fight, which Troy had won.

He headed for the kitchen, but instead he heard his parents shouting at each other.

Again.

This has been going on for 2 years. If they were going to separate, he wished that they would already. For his sake and Gabriella's. He called out helplessly "I'm home! Does anyone care?"

Obviously not. They just kept screaming at each other. Brandon had to strain to keep himself from crying any further. He charged up to his room and slammed the door, but was surprised to find Gabriella sitting there, crying her eyes out. Brandon threw his book bag on the floor and rushed to his sister. He held her close and whispered "Hey hey! What's wrong?"

Gabriella sniffed and choked out "I can't stand mom and dad fighting like this! It's just not right!"

Brandon clutched her tighter and replied "I know. But we have to be strong and be there for each other. Especially in a situation like this."

Gabriella looked into his eyes and smiled. She kissed his cheek and said "Yeah. I heard about your fight with Troy. What happened?"

Brandon's eyes darkened. "He betrayed me and lied to me. Hope that basketball gives him a concussion! Then he'll just forget about me even more!"

Gabriella stoked his back and looked at the tears in her brother's eyes. She's only seen him this upset when it came to their parents, never with Troy.

"So what now?"

Brandon sighed at her question. He figured that the best solution was to just forget about it. And Troy.

"I guess I'll just steer clear of him and hope for the best. But luckily I have you to help."

Gabriella giggled. They chatted for a few minutes before they heard the door slam. She jumped out of his lap and ran to the window. Their father had just stormed out of the house and headed for his car. He screamed something back, thinking that the teens couldn't hear. But he was very wrong.

"Go back to Charles you dirty rotten slut! Apparently he's the one who's got all the fucking money around here!"

Mrs. Montez screamed back "You know damn right I will! And that's because he actually works for it and doesn't pull those fucking get rich quick schemes! Get out and never come back!"

Mr. Montez threw his beer bottle back at his wife. She tried to dodge it, but instead it hit her arm. The glass seeped into her skin and blood emerged onto the surface. She cried out in pain and fell to her knees.

Gabriella did the same, but Brandon wasn't quick enough to catch her. He helped her up off of the floor and led her back to the bed. They sat down and he let Gabriella sob into his chest. He tried to be strong for both of them by holding back his tears, but he wasn't strong enough. He let the cry session escape his eyes freely.

Gabriella sobbed "I need to get out of this house! Can you drive me to the mall? I'll tell my friends to meet me there."

Brandon nodded and added "I'm going to the movies with Drew."

Gabriella's head cocked to the side. "I thought Chad was your other movie friend."

Brandon shook his head and answered "He's on Troy's side now."

Gabriella nodded sadly. She wiped her eyes and brought out her cell phone. She dialed a number and put the phone to her ear. When someone answered, Gabriella smiled and said

"Hey Sharpay. Can you and Taylor meet me at the mall in 10 minutes?"

Sharpay responded "Sure! Is there a reason?"

Gabriella nodded and replied "Yeah, I just... need to be with my friends for a while, that's all."

Sharpay said "Ok! See ya there!"

After saying goodbye, Gabriella hung up and sighed. She looked at her brother entering the room after getting his movie date together. They smiled at each other while Brandon asked "You good?"

"Yeah. You?"

Brandon nodded. He gave his sister one final hug before heading for the door. He whispered in her ear "Don't worry. We'll get through this together. Just you and me. I promise."

END FLASHBACK

Brandon shook his head free of the memories and led his sister to their next class, which they had together. He intended to keep his promise, even though they were apart for the last 8 months. Gabriella didn't change much except for the fact that she was bigger and more mature. She hadn't picked up her father's bad habits, which was good for her. He could never understand how his father just left important things around on the floor for someone to step on or leave food out in the open to get good and rotten and have the flies attack it. He used to be neat and organized. What happened? Right now, Brandon didn't really care. He never cared. He was just waiting for him to either clean up his act or to leave. He chose to leave and Brandon didn't have a problem with that. As long as their mother was happy, he was happy.

As they walked down the hall, Troy walked up to Gabriella and opened his mouth to speak. He was stopped by Brandon crushing his foot heavily. He was about to scream, but stopped himself from drawing the attention. He limped to his next class, glaring at Brandon along the way. Brandon just matched the smile that Troy wore earlier. This was going to be a very interesting school year.

Truthfully, I'm not too fond of the ending. But there's Brandon's soft side. If you don't hate him as much, that's a good thing. That's what this chapter's for. lol! So there's a teary chapter. Kinda clears up where Gabriella's from and what happened to make them so close. Now Troy's the bad guy. Kinda like a roller coaster isn't it? lol! Not really. Anyways, REVIEW!!! Thnx!

Rachel :)