A/N: Okay, okay, yell at me, moan at me, heck, throw tomatoes at me. I'm sorry I haven't uploaded but I've had an essay to write and this chapter is REALLY long. lol. Anyway...take a look. Don't own HSM
Chapter 5 – Welcome to East High
"Hey, Babe." Chris murmured as he wandered over to the six teenagers, wrapping an arm around Gabriella's waist.
"Oh, hey, Chris. You remember Troy, right?" She asked, turning her head to smile at Troy.
"Right." He muttered. He turned to Gabriella and kissed her quickly. "Hey, I've got to visit my grandparents tonight so I won't be able to see you."
"That's okay. I've got to fix my truck anyway." She giggled slightly.
"Well, I need to go to my locker. Talk to you later." He kissed her once more before untangling himself from her and jogging down the corridor.
Gabriella turned to her friends to see Chad and Taylor had now arrived. "Troy, this is Chad and Taylor. You met them over the weekend."
Chad smiled slightly at Troy's arm around Gabriella's shoulders. "Hey, Dude."
Troy grinned. "Hey. Hi Taylor."
Taylor laughed softly, opening the locker on the other side of Gabriella's. "Hi Troy."
"Wait. Does every one of your friends have lockers here?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded. "Have done since we were freshmen."
Troy chuckled. "Wow."
Jason and Martha approached and Jason immediately kissed Kelsi on the cheek and Martha went over to her locker which was by Ryan's. "Gabs, who is this?"
"Jase, this is Troy. Troy, this is Jason." She introduced as everyone made their way to their respective lockers if they weren't already there. Gabriella ducked under Troy's arm and rummaged through her locker, bringing out some ring binders and a small pencil case.
Troy turned to Ryan who was looking through the locker next to his. He lowered his voice to a whisper, hoping nobody would hear. "I know what you mean about Chris."
Ryan raised his eyebrows. "Yeah?"
Troy nodded. "Have you talked to Devon about him?"
"No, why?" Ryan asked worriedly.
Troy sighed and rolled his eyes. "I can't tell you. I promised."
"Yan, here's your hat from last week." Gabriella declared, waving a blue hat vaguely in the direction of Ryan, her head still ducked in her locker.
Ryan took it off her and placed it on the top shelf of his locker. "Thank you, Tez."
"Tez?" Troy asked in confusion, shutting his locker after realising he had left it open.
"My nickname for her. As in Montez." He explained.
"Oh." Troy realised. He turned to lean on his locker when he smiled slowly. "Who is that?" He whispered to Ryan, pointing to a coffee-coloured skin girl. She was tall and she showed her legs off with a short white skirt. Her torso was enclosed in a tight, pink tank top over a white shirt.
Ryan turned around, shutting his locker and frowned at Troy. "Her? That's Scarlet Addison. Head cheerleader. Senior. Bitch from hell."
"Why is she a bitch?" Troy asked.
"Three words: cheerleader, model, actress." Ryan raised his eyebrows. "Besides, everyone knows she's been after Chris for years. She and Gabriella are sworn enemies. Not forgetting her daddy's a lawyer who always competes for clients against Aidan. She's done some modelling and acting around Albuquerque, too." He explained.
Troy nodded slightly. "But… Wow."
Ryan kinked his right eyebrow up. "You're not seriously considering her, right?"
"Why not?" Troy asked, his eyes strained on Scarlet who was talking to two other girls.
"Did you miss me explanation of why she's enemies with Tez?" He asked in disbelief.
Troy waved a dismissive hand as he slowly made his way across the corridor. "Yeah, yeah." He coughed slightly to get Scarlet's attention.
She held up one finger, not turning from her friends. "And then he was just fabulous in bed. I'm so glad that little slut was busy doing laundry last night." She finished her conversation as the other two girls giggled. She turned to Troy and gazed over him slightly, resting on his eyes. "May I help you?"
"…no, I'm telling you, last night was like talking to a mirror, to myself, almost. We just kind of clicked once again. Like when we were six." Gabriella giggled to Taylor and Kelsi.
"Really? So, you guys are cool?" Kelsi queried, hugging some notebooks close to her chest.
Gabriella nodded. "Yeah. But, he is so grouchy in the morning." She whined. "How are we going to share a room?"
"Whoa!" Sharpay exclaimed, stepping into the conversation. "You are sharing a room with someone other than Taylor for more than one night?" She laughed hysterically. "I would love to see you to the end of the week."
Gabriella hit her friend's arm. "I am not that bad!"
"Oh no? Let's review. When Kelsi stayed at your house for a week while her parents were on their second honeymoon… What happened, Gabriella?" She grinned triumphantly.
"I may have yelled at her because a pencil was in the wrong drawer…" She muttered. "But… URGH! That's not the point!"
"Really?" Taylor asked in disbelief.
"Yes because-"
Sharpay pointed over Gabriella's shoulder. "You might want to re-think yours and Bolton's friendship."
Gabriella twisted her head and narrowed her eyes at Scarlet. "Excuse me, girls." She strutted over to Troy and Scarlet. "Hey, Troy." She giggled before turning to Scarlet, her smile immediately turning to an icy glare. "Addison."
"Montez." Scarlet replied with the same tone. "I see you finally found a guy who you can bond with. Oh, wait," She started apologetically before her tone changed to a bright and cheerful one, "that leaves Chris for me!"
"I haven't broken up with Chris." Gabriella protested.
"No because he'd break up with you." Scarlet replied.
Troy sighed. "Ladies, ladies!" Troy held his hands up. "Brie, calm down. I just came over to introduce myself. Hi, I'm Troy." He extended his hand towards Scarlet.
She looked at his hand, then at him and then at her friends before bursting out laughing. "You think we could be friends? What did you do, mug my grandmother?" She joked, leaving him and Gabriella alone as she walked away, laughing with her friends.
"I'm sorry, Troy." She whispered, reaching for his hand.
He intertwined their fingers together and smiled down at her before drawing her into a hug. "Why didn't I listen to you?" He mumbled into her hair.
Gabriella giggled and pulled back, reaching up with her hand that wasn't holding her books to push his bangs out of his eyes. "You did. And I'm glad. You're comfortable right?"
He nodded. "You know me… Kind of."
"Right. Well, I think that with your parents and…stuff, you need to be happy. And, besides, you are way better than Scarlet Addison! What made you stoop that low? Was the short skirt and tight shirt not enough proof that she's a bitch?" She exclaimed.
Troy held his hands up. "She's hot!"
"And I live in Antarctica." She muttered sarcastically. "The day you go on a date with that pile of trash is the day when I don't read. She won't go out with you."
Troy's face fell slightly, his eyes flashing slightly. "Yeah. You're right."
Gabriella sighed, pulling Troy closer to her so he wouldn't be dragged away in a mad rush of students. "Troy, I didn't mean that no girl would go out with you. I meant that Scarlet wouldn't. She's way too into Chris. And she's extremely picky. You have to wear the right clothes, talk the right way, act the right way and be an athlete." She explained.
"So, her hopes aren't too high?" Troy joked.
She slapped his chest as the bell rang and she gasped. "Troy, we're late!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him through the hurrying students and finally stepped into Ma Darbus' classroom. "Welcome to homeroom." She walked with him up to a woman who was in, maybe, her late forties. Her blonde hair was tied back in a bun and she was wearing bright, flouncy clothes. "Ms Darbus?"
Ms Darbus looked up from her papers and smiled at one of her favourite students. "Ah, good morning, Miss Montez. How may I help you?"
"Uh, this is Troy Bolton." Gabriella introduced. "Troy, this is Ms Darbus. You have her for homeroom and drama."
Troy handed her a sheet of paper from the folder Mrs Bridges had given him. "Good morning, Ms Darbus." He said brightly.
Ms Darbus scanned over the paper and set it neatly on the small table next to her throne-like chair. "Well, welcome to East High. As you know Gabriella, and I assume most of her friends," She smiled slightly as Gabriella rolled her eyes.
"Ms D, it was one student! I couldn't help it. It's my friends or nothing!" She exclaimed. "You 'accidentally' lead one new student into the wrong classroom and no one lets you forget it." She muttered.
Ms Darbus laughed. "Anyway, there's an empty seat behind her so feel free to sit there."
Gabriella pulled Troy to the back of the classroom and sat at the desk on the row in front of the back row. "Is your cell phone on silent?"
Troy nodded, sitting at the desk behind Gabriella. "Why?"
"Ms D hates cell phones." Gabriella explained before turning to the front just as Ms Darbus rose from her chair.
"Good morning. This morning's announcements: spring musicale sign up is in the lobby along with the scholastic decathlon. Scholastic decathlon competitions start next week, please talk to either Miss McKessie or Miss Montez."
"Freak." Scarlet muttered but was heard clearly throughout the homeroom.
"Detention." Ms Darbus barked before returning to the announcements. "Basketball tryouts are in the gym during free period. Current basketball team members are required there, too."
Troy leaned forward. "Do you think I can try out?" He whispered in Gabriella's ear, not noticing her shiver slightly.
"Uh…" She subtly breathed deeply, trying to control her butterflies. Butterflies?! Why the hell do I have butterflies around Troy? "Yeah, that'd be cool. Chad, Jase and Zeke are on the team, too. As you don't have a gym kit, ask Chad to borrow his because he'll be in his basketball uniform." She explained quietly.
Troy nodded, leaning back in his chair. Maybe East High wasn't so bad…
Gabriella closed her locker, smiling as Troy's arm wrapped around her shoulders as he walked to his locker, pulling it open. "Hey, Troy."
He smiled across at her before turning to his locker. "Hey, Brie."
"How's your first morning as a Wildcat?" She asked, bringing out a notebook and a pen before shutting her locker.
"Uh… Was I the only one completely lost in math?" He asked quietly, shutting his locker.
"No." She muttered. "I just enjoy it."
Troy frowned down at her as she started leading him to the gym. "You weirdo." He mumbled, kissing her hair.
She giggled softly. "Yeah, I guess I am."
"What's that you got there?" He asked, eyeing her notebook up.
"Oh, it's…uh, nothing." She mumbled, hugging it to her chest.
"Brie…" He murmured in her ear. "I'll buy you ice cream. Or make you ice cream. That's pretty good, too."
She sighed held it out for him to see. "It's just a bunch of lyrics. It's nothing exciting." She mumbled.
He removed his arm from her shoulders as he flicked through it. "Not exciting?!" He exclaimed. "This is amazing. I didn't know you wrote music!"
"There are lots of things you don't know about me, Troy." She smiled softly.
"Come on, Brie. We stayed up until one in the morning talking last night!" He exclaimed as she took her notebook back.
"And?" She questioned. "I didn't tell you everything about me." She walked into the gym as he walked into the locker room. She took a seat in the bleachers, a couple of rows up, and opened her notebook, unable to believe she had told practically a stranger she wrote music. Only Devon knew that!
"Hey, Gabby!" A familiar voice exclaimed.
Gabriella jumped and quickly shut her notebook, placing it beside her. "Oh, Jason, you scared me!"
"I did, huh?" He chuckled, sitting beside her, already in his red jersey. "So, you and Troy seem really close."
She nodded. "Uh-huh."
"You alright?" He asked worriedly.
She smiled brightly and nodded once again. "Yeah. I'm fine."
"So, you and Chris okay?" He asked.
She nodded, smiling softly. "Why wouldn't we be?"
He shrugged. "No reason. I had just had a thought this morning that there might be new boyfriend material on the horizon." He said in an uninterested voice.
"What?!" Gabriella shrieked. "Boyfriend material? Troy and I are just friends!"
"Troy?" Jason asked in a mutter. He pretended to remember the name. "Oh, Troy! I was talking about Justin from Drama. But, if you were considering Troy, I mean…" He chuckled when Gabriella shoved him.
"That was so not funny!" She cried.
"Well, is it true?" Jason asked quietly.
Gabriella sighed. "No. He's my best friend. That's all I want to be. I'm Chris' girlfriend."
Troy rose from the seat in Coach Benson's office and grinned. "I made the team?"
Coach Benson smiled at the teenager's obvious happiness and stood from the chair behind his desk. "Yes. Votes for captain are in two weeks and I can see you have potential."
"Well, I was captain at my old school." Troy admitted.
"You were? Well, you have real talent and leadership qualities." Coach Benson replied. "And Miss Montez seemed to enjoy watching you."
Troy blushed slightly and frowned. "She was looking at me?"
"All the time. And when she wasn't she was writing whatever it was." He waved his hand slightly.
"She was looking at me?" Troy asked dumbly once again.
Coach Benson rolled his eyes. "Yes, Troy. Usually, when she watches practice – which is quite often – she cheers for everyone but she never took her eyes off of you."
"Oh. Well, I think I should go and tell her that I made the team." He muttered.
Coach Benson nodded. "I'll have your uniform ready for Wednesday. What number were you at your old school?"
"Fourteen." Troy replied. "Why?"
"You're in luck. No one on the team has that number. It's all yours." Coach Benson grinned.
"Thanks." Troy mumbled, still in shock over the fact that Gabriella – his best friend – had been staring at him. He turned around and left Coach Benson's office, wandering over to his gym locker and folding his gym kit neatly and putting it on the top shelf. Coach Benson had had a spare gym kit for Troy but needed to order the basketball uniform for him.
Troy left the locker room and was wandering down the deserted corridor when he spotted something up ahead, causing him to duck into the nearest classroom. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes tightly, unable to believe what he had just seen. How could someone do that?
He breathed out and left the classroom, relieved to see the hallway was now empty. He walked towards Gabriella's locker and smiled slightly when he saw her rummaging through her locker with a look of concentration on her face. He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around he waist, causing her to shriek in surprise. "Nice to see you too, Montez."
Gabriella turned her head to face him, breathing heavily. "Bolton, you gave me a heart attack!"
"Well, you were too wrapped up in your own thoughts to notice me so it's clear that I'm not at fault." He defended, tightening his grip on her.
She giggled and shut her locker, turning in his arms to face him. He released her and she felt a sensation in her stomach that she hadn't felt before. She felt the need to wrap her arms around herself to substitute for Troy's but settled for folding her arms instead. "So, what did Coach say?"
Troy sighed loudly, digging his hands into his pockets. "Well, he said that although I'm good at basketball-"
"He did not say that you didn't make the team, did he?" She demanded. "Because if he did, he is not going to live to see tomorrow!" She growled, storming past him.
Troy laughed and spun around, grasping her arm, causing her to spin around. "He said that although I'm good at basketball, he was more impressed with my leadership skills. He said I have captain potential. I made the team!" He exclaimed excitedly.
Gabriella squealed and jumped towards him, flinging her arms around his neck. "Oh, Troy, I'm so happy for you!" She pulled back and slapped his arm, glaring.
"Ow!" Troy yelled, rubbing his arm. "What'd I do?"
"I thought you were going to say you weren't on the team!" She yelled, clearing going into a strop, being emphasised from the folded arms and the cute pout on her face.
Troy tried to hold in his laughter but failed miserably as he hugged her tightly. "Oh, Brie, I'm sorry but I just…wanted to."
She pulled back and smacked his arm again. "Stop laughing, I'm mad at you."
"You can't stay mad at me forever." He pointed out. "Especially when I'll be making you ice cream." He grinned brightly, making her smiled slightly.
"No. Ice cream has always been my weakness." She admitted, shrugging slightly.
Troy's smiled fell from his face and he sighed and held both of her hands. "Brie, I need to tell you something." He whispered.
Gabriella looked up with inquisitive eyes. "What's wrong?"
He took a deep breath. "Well, here's the thing…"