Walking up his driveway slowly he took a moment to reflect on what he was going to tell his mother about the musical. He hadn't really shown interest in anything like this before, art was one thing but singing? Another useless hobby. Troy looked at the door and momentarily wondered if there was something wrong with him. Something that made him want to sing dance and draw rather than bounce a basketball and wear a varsity jacket.

When he finally let himself in he made his way to the kitchen and came to stop when he saw his grandmother in the kitchen drinking tea rather than his mother. "Hi Grandma?"

"Hey, how was school?"

"Same old, same old," he hesitated, not really sure where to start. "Where's mom?"

"She's over at the hospital, she called me and asked me to get a start on dinner, said she was going to be late," his grandmother said stirring her tea.

Troy smiled and looked around the clean kitchen. "So..."

"What do I look like? I'm old not Rachel Ray order a pizza," she said getting up from the table.

Troy tossed his head back as he laughed at his grandmother's reaction, "Yes Grandma, is there anything you would like on it?"

"Get the soft crust not that thin crap, hurts my gums," she picked up her tea and began walking to the other room. "Let's play that game contraption of yours I'm only on level five back at the house."

Troy chuckled as he picked up the house phone and dialed the number on from a menu left on the fridge. "You're on Grandma."

Not every kid can say they can go a few rounds of call of duty with their grandma, but then again Troy's grandmother was no ordinary grandmother. Troy remembered when she use to visit them when they lived in California when she would talk about her house falling apart, the kids next store bringing her leftovers. A smile slowly crept onto his face as he began shooting, she tried to set him up with the girl next door once.

"I'm so kicking your ass," his grandmother said with smile.

"Grandma, you know that girl that lives next door?"

"The daughter,"

"Yeah, she's going through a lot right now, I mean I heard a rumor going on around school that she stabbed someone with a pair of scissors. I know it isn't true but,"

"Her father's back in town, I can tell by all the yelling and breaking glass."

"Breaking glass?" Troy looked over at his Grandma, "Do you think something's wrong."

"No, that's just the way some people communicate like me and your grandfather I needed scotch he needed brandy after a glass each our lovemaking was like an eclectic fence."

"Too much information grandma," Troy said with a smile. Troy looked over at the doorway and froze.

"Mom," Troy murmured in surprise, "Grandma the jig is up," he said leaning closure to his grandmother whole looking up at his mother who was looking at the pizza box with disappointment.

"I asked you to make spaghetti."

"It's Italian it's in the same family."

"Betty, I really just needed some help with a simple dinner."

"And I did, the boy is fed and we had a heart to heart," Grandma stood up and smiled. "Lucile, the boy's fine, he's a teenager at his age Jack would eat a pack of M&M's and be fine for dinner."

"I'm too tired," she said with a chuckle as she put her purse down. "Troy, I'm sorry honey but I'm just going to go to bed."

"That's alright mom, I'll walk you home grandma," Troy said ending their game.

"Night Troy," His mother began to walk up the stairs and Troy began to walk his grandmother out the door.

When his grandmother was inside, safe and warm he went out through the back with a trash bag. The backyard was quiet and he looked around the yard at the flowers his grandmother planted along the back of the house. In the night everything looked different. Then he heard a sniffle and he stilled listening again for sound and catching it from behind him. Making his hand into a fist Troy spun around only to come face to face with nothing. He relaxed and rubbed the back of his neck then from the corner of his eyes he caught something pink and looked over into the next yard where Gabriella was sitting on a lawn chair under a pink blanket.

Once the trash was disposed of Troy jumped the fence and into the yard next door and over to where she was sitting. "Hey,"

"Hey," she said looking up at him, her eyes were puffy, her face damp. Troy took a deep breath and looked down at the magazine disregarded on the floor and picked it up. The cover was written on a picture of a young woman with an older man, only the younger woman had a pair of devil horns and a mustache. Examining it more he found a boxed picture to the side of Gabriella and Eddie. That when he read the headline.

Music producer, Luis Montez trades in his family for the glitter and frame. Details inside about his children and wife taking the news.

"I see," he said holding up the magazine. "You lied to me."

Gabriella arched her brow and looked at him with confusion. "No, I didn't."

"No you did," he said matter of fact, "you told me you couldn't draw and these devil horns are pure perfection."

Letting out a short laugh she looked up at him and rolled her eyes. "Funny," she said looking back down at her hands. "You know there is no one I hate more than reporters."

"Not hard to see why," he said slowly coming to sit next to her in the chair beside her. "Is any of this true?"

"Me getting into fights at school, Eddie being socially awkward, mom's drinking and my dad's divorcing my mom for someone who is practically three years older than me." Gabriella said looking up at him with a raised brow. "The stuff about the money isn't true, my mom doesn't want anything from my dad, the crap about me and Eddie getting shipped out to New York to live with my dad. Might be true. I mean it was originally part of my big escape plan but now I don't know. It's tainted. If that make sense?"

"What was your escape plan?" He asked looking down at the picture of her and Eddie.

"I wanted to go to Julliard. Just bury myself in dance and song, ever since I was a little girl I've wanted nothing more than to be a ballerina," Gabriella chuckled. "I wanted to go to get more attached to my dad, maybe remind him of what he was missing out on, get him to come home or at least notice me but now…"

Troy nodded and looked out into the yard tossing the magazine as far as he could. "That sucks."

Gabriella giggled as she watched the magazine fly and she leaned back in her chair. "I'm sorry about earlier."

"Not a problem, I get it. That's a lot on some one's mind."

Gabriella took a deep breath, "Is there anything you might be bad at?"

Troy turned too looked back at her with an inquisitive look. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you're perfect? Maybe too perfect," Gabriella said with a shrug, "You dance, sing, draw, you're a nice a guy, your funny, good looking, easy to talk to, good with cars, great at kissing." Gabriella blushed a little and Troy couldn't help but look down at her lips in memory.

As if an instant reminder his smile dimmed a bit and he leaned back in his own chair. "I also play basketball."

"All guys play some kind of sport," Gabriella said watching him as he looked up into the sky. "That's not surprising."

"Yeah well, I play basketball really, really well," he said not breaking his glaze with the stars. "In my other school it was the only thing I did, it was my thing."

"I find that hard to believe, you don't seem like the kind of person who has a thing," Gabriella said looking up at the stars as well.

Troy adjusted his arm behind his head for comfort, "When my dad was alive he loved basketball, when he wasn't away he volunteered as coach at my school, it was something we did, it was how we bonded."

"So what? Now that your dad's gone you don't want to do it anymore?"

"No, it's not that," Troy looked over at her caught up in the sight of her for a moment before looking away. "It's just back then I didn't really care about the things I do now. I was fine with being Troy the basketball boy."

"What happened?"

Troy shrugged, "The amount pressure and the stress happened, not knowing who my friends are, who likes me for me who's just there to make a name for herself. After a while I wasn't me anymore I was just the basketball guy." Troy let out a sigh, "When your 16 it's a lot, I mean I'm 18 years old and I think it's a lot now."

"I know what you mean," Gabriella said rubbing her bottom lip with her index finger. "Taylor and Sharpay have always been my real friends from the beginning, we met in daycare, before my dad made it big, before being a cheerleader, class president, Scholastic Decathlon co-captain and yearbook editor." Gabriella looked down into the yard. "In fact, they seem to be my only friends since I got kicked off the squad."

"Cheerleaders are evil." Troy murmured, "In my past experience they have been nothing but gold-digging, popularity seeking whores who want to be impregnated by a man on his way to the top."

"Nice to know you're not bitter," Gabriella said with a huff.

"Winning changes people. Just the idea of what I can do and what it means for the school. It just creates problems. Like being blackmailed onto the team by your principal."

"He can't do that," Gabriella said looking over at Troy.

"He can. If I don't win. I don't go to college."

"I don't understand how he could do that to you."

"Because he's right," Troy said with a huff, "I can't find another way to get the money, art scholarships are hard to come by, and with my history I'd be a joke. Playing basketball is the only way I'm going to get the money I need and the right kind of attention from some really good schools." Troy turned to look at her. "Plus my mom and Grandma have already arranged their schedules to never miss a game."

"Troy, that's a lot a pressure."

Troy smiled and gave her a wink; "I'll be fine," Troy shrugged his shoulders. "Hard parts over, I've got good friends, Eddie, Chad, Zeke, I mean what more do I need?"

"Are we friends,"

"Are we? I mean, will you have a problem with being my friend since I am a basketball star now?" Troy said leaning forward to look at her better.

Gabriella let out a giggle and looked away for a moment before looking back at him "Like your position on basketball team is going to stop me?" Gabriella said rolling her eyes.

Troy got up from his chair and slipped his hands in his pockets. "Well I better get going, it's late, and I don't want mom to freak," he said with a shrug. "Are you going to be alright?"

Gabriella shrugged her shoulders.

Troy took a deep breath and looked down at her, "You know that I'm here if you ever want to talk. I get the feeling we understand each other more than you think."

"I know," she said with a smile, "I think that's why you're so easy to talk to."

Troy leaned down and removed his hands from his pockets. "Good because whether you live here or in New York I'd really like to keep you in my life," he said looking into her eyes.

Gabriella took a deep breath as she looked back into his blue eyes. "I'd like that too."

Troy smiled and brought and warm palm against her cheek, he felt her lightly press into it and then as he softly brushed her skin with his thumb he leaned up and placed a soft kiss on her lips. The kiss lasted for a moment but for them it felt as if time stopped.

Gabriella felt the warmth fade as he pulled away and got up. "Night,"

"Night," Gabriella smiled as she bit her lower lip and watched him leave from the yard the same way he entered.

"Is that Aaron?" a voice from behind her sounded and Gabriella jerked in the direction of her father.

"No," she said with a small frown "His name is Troy,"

"Eddie's friend?" He came over and sat down in the chair where Troy was.

"Yeah," Gabriella said looking down and playing with the seam of her pink blanket.

"He seems like a nice guy." He said looking out into the yard at the magazine. "Does he play any sports?"

"Basketball," she said in a low voice as she followed his glaze.

"Fine sport, are you guys dating?" Things were quiet for a moment and then Gabriella stood up.

"I'm going to my room."

"Gabs, I know things are different, but I really do care for you guys and I want you guys to come live with me," he said getting up as well.

"I'm not so sure about anything anymore. Right now everything is on hold until I get word back from Julliard," Gabriella said looking back at him. "However, I don't want to hold you back so you might as well leave and marry your new pride and joy, because whatever this is or use to be. I'm over it."

"Gabriella I'm your father and I know what's best for you and your mother is going through a rough time right now," he pleaded.

"That's right and I'm not about to leave her just yet unless I have too," Gabriella continued to walk away from him.

"Gabriella, don't walk away from me."

"You taught me how," she called back as she disappeared into the house.