A/N: The same with 'promises you weren't around to keep', this was done days ago but I couldn't log in :(

Don't own HSM x

Chapter 3 – Figure it out

Troy tugged on Blitzen's leash. "Blitzen, Mom is going to kill me if we're late. She said fifteen minutes, tops."

Blitzen sniffed at the leaf which was apparently endangering Troy. The high school senior rolled his eyes. He loved Blitzen immensely, but when his chances of seeing daylight again were getting slimmer literally by the minute, Troy was beginning to hate his dog. He would pick up sticks and leaves and pretty much anything. And Troy, being the responsible person he was, paid the vets' bills himself and refused to pay money on Blitzen because he choked on a stick. So, Troy was the one who stopped their jog to kneel down and pull out whatever Blitzen had picked up from his throat.

Troy looked down on his dog and couldn't help but smile at the look Blitzen was sending him. He was sat down on his haunches, his tail slowly wagging back and fore and his brown eyes were shining with innocence. Blitzen did the same thing every time he did something which Troy disapproved of. Troy chuckled. It was almost as if he was saying 'Daddy, I'm sorry'.

Troy ruffled Blitzen's ears. "Its okay, Buddy. Just hurry up. I have an essay with my name on it and Dad's already annoyed with me. Come on." Troy reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small bone-shaped treat. He threw it to Blitzen who caught it easily mid-air.

Troy chuckled and began his jog again. He was desperately hoping that Jack wasn't going to his room anytime soon. The University of Albuquerque had already accepted Troy on a full basketball scholarship. No drama or theatre or music…just…basketball. Something that was not acceptable anymore no matter what people said. So far, Lucille was the only one who knew his feelings towards the University of Albuquerque and he planned to keep it that way until the end of summer vacation when it would be too late for anyone to do anything about it.

He had done his research and had considered the Juilliard School in New York. But, although he didn't want basketball to run his life, he wanted it to still be there and so he quickly discarded the idea of Juilliard. He had narrowed it down to five colleges with good theatre and basketball classes.

The University of Southern California was famous throughout America for its sports department and Troy liked the arts department, too. New York University also had classes for Troy's fortes and he was more than happy with them. The University of Texas, Austin; Elms College and the University of California, Berkley, all had sports and arts department which sounded satisfying for him.

He was planning on sitting down with Lucille and looking through all of the application forms and prospectuses together and deciding on which one he should apply for. He felt slightly guilty about shutting out his father and friends but they shouldn't have pushed him into something he honestly didn't want.

It was so frustrating and bloody annoying to constantly think about the possible guilt he was feeling for going against his father's and friends' wishes. That guilt soon faded when a thought struck. One day, he could be on Broadway. He could be a Laker. He could be anything he wanted. It was his future.

The week that had past since his incident with Montez had caused him to just shrivel into a student who barely stayed awake during class, went to school because he had to and barely talked to anyone if he was spoken to. If anyone did actually speak to him – which was becoming less frequent – he nodded, shook his head or shrugged.

His conclusion was simple: damn everyone! It was his fucking future he could do what he fucking wanted. If he wanted to leave Albuquerque forever and never return, he could! If he wanted to go and marry a Knight, he bloody well would. Who the hell did Jack seriously think he was? He might be Troy's father but he wasn't Troy's decision maker!

Blitzen suddenly yelped and scurried back a few paces.

Troy came to a sudden halt at the dawning realisation of how he had dramatically sped up his jog to an intense run and then accidentally stepped on Blitzen's paw. "Oh, Buddy, I'm sorry." Troy pleaded, crouching down in front of the German shepherd. Troy ran his hand over Blitzen's back and sighed. "Daddy's just getting a bit angry and frustrated at the prospect of college." He suddenly grinned at the dog. "But don't you worry. You are number one on my list of luggage. You are definitely coming with me."

Blitzen's ears pricked at the obvious happiness in his owner's voice. He opened his mouth and licked Troy's cheek, his tail wagging furiously as he got to his four paws.

Troy laughed out loudly, his hands still resting on Blitzen's back. "Blitzen!" He gasped through his laughter. He finally managed to calm the dog down – Troy thanked the guy who discovered treat bribery – and Troy straightened up to his full height. "I love you too, Buddy." He ruffled the dog's ears one last time before they set off again.

Troy glanced down at Blitzen when he suddenly collided with something small and fragile-feeling. Blitzen yelped slightly at Troy's sudden stop and Troy hurriedly stepped back. "I'm so sorry."

The petite girl kept her head bowed, her hands holding a book open, and she continued on her way, only leaving an 'I'm sorry' behind.

Troy stared at her back. Her black curls were held up into a low ponytail, seemingly to stop them from falling into her eyes while she read. She was quite short and her legs looked to be actually tanned. Not the fake stuff the East High cheerleaders used. Her mid-thigh denim skirt showed off her slender legs even more and Troy cursed himself for not grabbing her and begging for her name while he had the chance.

He felt a tug on his arm and he looked down to see Blitzen tugging on the Leash. He growled at Troy's lack of momentum to get home.

"Stop growling at me." Troy exclaimed angrily. "You know better than that. I was just wondering what book she was reading."

Blitzen cocked his head to the side and growled again.

"Honestly!" Troy exclaimed. The dog might be stupid but he was definitely impatient.

* * *

(A/N: This is HSMandChelseaFCfan)

Gabriella was on her way home, taking the longer route home through the park – a place she rarely went through since it was on the East High and Bolton side of town – as it was a nice day and she was in no rush to get home, knowing all the guys would be there. She just needed some time to herself and to relax. Even though a week had passed since her confrontation with her brothers and Zeke, she still felt like she was drowning in all the constant talk of basketball in the house. And if Carl, Landon, Zeke and Greg weren't talking about it, they were watching it on TV or outside in the backyard playing it.

Another thing that was still going round and round in her head was the letter she'd received from Stanford. Only Sharpay and her mom knew about the acceptance letter still and to make her feel even guiltier about wanting to go to Stanford, her dad was putting pressure on her to go to the University of Albuquerque. He had even gone as far as inviting the dean of U of A to dinner tonight, something he'd eagerly accepted since her father had just invested millions of dollars with an added contribution in the sports facilities department. He told them he wanted his children to have only the very best when they attended.

Flicking her page, her whole mind deeply intrigued by the book in front of her, she carried on walking when she felt herself collide with something solid. She'd been so fascinated by her book she didn't even hear the yelp that came from the side of her. "I'm so sorry." She heard the voice call.

Keeping her attention on her book, she moved around the person, muttering an, "I'm sorry," before she continued walking away. She was too eager to continue reading, even though she had read the book hundreds of times before since it was one her favourites, 'Romeo and Juliet' by William Shakespeare, which was just coming up to some of the more interesting parts. She fell in love with the book after studying it a few years ago in her English class and had since dreamed that one day she would find her own Romeo who would sweep her off her feet and do absolutely anything for her if it meant they would be together.

Sighing at the memory, Gabriella knew it was unrealistic and she'd already given up hope of ever finding a guy like that since near enough all the guys she knew were nowhere near capable of being like that and like Sharpay said, 'you only get guys like that in a fairytale'. They both stuck together like that. And although it was obvious who Sharpay hoped was her Romeo, Gabriella was clueless. Gabriella had soon concluded that guys in Albuquerque only had one love: basketball.

Gabriella lifted her gaze from her book as she felt someone's eyes on her. Looking ahead she didn't see anything so she turned. Shrugging as she only saw the back of a guy with sandy coloured haired head and a dog next to him. She let her eyes linger a few minutes on the boy she assumed she must've bumped into and silently cursed herself for not getting a better look at him because judging him from looking at his behind, the front must have been a real something…well at least she hoped so.

She was brought back to her attention by her cell ringing. Pulling it out of her pocket, she rolled her eyes seeing Carl's number flash up. Ending the call as she wasn't in the mood to talk to him and knew if it was important he would leave a message or ring back, she shoved it back in her pocket. Seconds later and it started again and she saw it was Sharpay's number. "Hey, Shar." Gabriella had learnt a long time ago to never, ever, miss Sharpay's phone calls because she'd track you down before you've even ended the call and you would be in for a long lecture on whatever it was that was the latest incident for the day. Deciding it was much better to do it over the phone if she had to listen to Sharpay rant on because that way she could at least tune her out and put the phone down without her knowing.

The frantic voice came over the receiver. "Where the hell are you?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "I'm out getting some fresh air. Why?"

"I've been calling your house and Carl told me that they didn't know where you were as you hadn't come home yet. I was worried." Although she could be a pain sometimes, you couldn't deny how much she cared about the people she was closest to.

"I just needed some time alone." Gabriella told her as the blonde sighed.

"Want to talk about anything?" She asked softly, knowing how much was on Gabriella's mind.

Smiling, the brunette spoke. "No thanks. I promise if I need to talk, you'll be the first person I call if I can't talk to my mom."

Knowing her friend was telling the truth, Sharpay changed the subject. "So where are you? Any decent guys where you are?"

Gabriella laughed. Sharpay was forever trying to set her up. "I'm just walking around downtown. No Shar, not really. There was one guy who had a cute butt but I missed his face."

"Well even if he has the ugliest face, we can always fix that with surgery and Daddy's card; it's an improvement from you ignoring guys because of your stupid obsession with reading. Gabs, you have to stop being such a nerd. As long as he's not a Wildcat, any guy would be lucky to have you."

***

Troy arrived home and tried to close the door as quietly as he could, trying not to let his mom hear him sneaking in. Turning to Blitzen, he placed a finger of his lips. "Shh. We don't want to get into anymore trouble." He bent down and took the leash from the collar.

Blitzen seemed to understand his owner and slowly followed behind Troy as the eighteen year old approached the stairs. "Troy Bolton!" Blitzen barked hearing Lucille's voice as Troy groaned.

"Yes, Mom?" Troy gave her an innocent smile as he descended the few stairs he'd climbed.

Lucille scowled. "Troy Bolton, we agreed fifteen minutes. You're nearly fifteen minutes late. Where on earth have you been?"

"I'm sorry, Mom. We just lost track of time is all." Troy muttered apologetically. "You know how distracted Blitzen gets."

Lucille shook her head. "Let it happen again while you're grounded and your father will have to walk Blitzen if I can't trust you."

Troy nodded. "I promise, Mom, it won't happen again. We were on our way back and we bumped into this girl." A slow blush spread across Troy's face as he continued. "Then I was the one who was distracted."

Shaking her head at her son, she let him know she wasn't impressed from her expression. "Once more and I'll be taking your keys and everything else until you can be trusted."

"Thanks, Mom. Love you." Troy hugged her gratefully before whistling to Blitzen who followed him up the stairs, his mind replaying the events of the afternoon and for some reason, thinking about the girl he bumped into once again. Hopefully he would see her again soon because it was the first time in a long time someone had ignored him, Troy Bolton, and it felt good.

(A/N: This is me again)

Troy pushed his bedroom door open, allowing Blitzen in first, and stepped inside. He let the door fall shut and rolled his eyes as Blitzen jumped onto his bed. He lay down and started pushing Troy's comforter around until he was buried under it.

"Blitzen!" Troy exclaimed as he pulled the comforter away and looked down on his pet. "This is my bed. Yours is over there!" He pointed at a large brown dog bed in the corner of the room piled high with dog toys.

Blitzen got to his feet and bounced over to Troy. He began licking Troy's neck and cheek, his tail wagging furiously. His ears were perked backwards – just how they were whenever he was excited.

"Blitzen!" Troy exclaimed, stepping away to begin folding his comforter. "One day, you'll learn." Troy placed the folded comforter at the end of his bed and then turned to Blitzen who lay down and rested his head between his two front paws, his eyes locked on Troy.

Troy smiled and ran his hand over Blitzen's head. He pulled his shirt over his head and threw it carelessly into his hamper. He shed his shorts and they followed his shirt into the hamper. He pulled out some black skinny jeans and white and blue striped shirt. He pulled his clean clothes on and walked over to his desk.

He picked up the pile of clean laundry he had carefully positioned on his desk – would anyone question a teenage boy's organisational skills? – and set them on his desk chair. He lifted the white envelope which laundry had been hiding. He pulled out the papers he had read seven times and sighed as the familiar words registered in his mind again.

"Mom?" Troy yelled.

Lucille opened the door and shrugged. "What is it, Honey? I was only across the hall."

Troy pulled his mother into his room and shut his door. "What should I do?"

Lucille sat on her son's bed and stroked Blitzen's back. "What do you mean?"

"They've accepted me. On a full basketball scholarship." Troy sank down next to Lucille and handed her the letter.

Lucille hugged Troy close to her and kissed his forehead. "You'll figure it out, Baby, I promise."

Troy nodded against her shoulder. "I guess." Troy straightened up and sighed. "You're not going to tell Dad are you?"

"Do you want me to?" His mother asked, running her fingers through her son's bangs.

"Hell no!" Troy exclaimed. "Well, not until I've decided which college to apply for. And for me. With theatre in it."

Lucille kissed Troy's cheek and handed the letter back. "You'll figure it out, Sweetheart. I know you will."

* * *

Gabriella walked through the front door and rolled her eyes at the first words she heard come from her father's excited mouth. "Gabriella is such a pro at basketball and is so excited about going to U of A next year."

Next year? She barely knew what she was having for dinner. And now she was such a pro at basketball and going to the University of Albuquerque? It wouldn't even be as bad if her dad gave her the option to study something else apart from basketball. But, no. That didn't cross Greg Montez's mind when it came down to his children's education. It was all about damn basketball!

"I'm home." She called. Her book was still open in her hands and she slipped her shoes off.

"We're in the lounge, mi hija." Maria exclaimed loud enough for Gabriella to hear.

Gabriella bowed her head, her eyes gluing to the text once again. She honestly didn't care whether it was the Dean from the University of Albuquerque or the damn president of the United States, she would finish this scene! She shuffled through the hall, already knowing where the doorway was after many times walking whilst reading. She walked blindly through the kitchen and entered the lounge.

"Gabby…" Greg started in exasperation.

Gabriella held up a finger and continued reading, her mouth moving silently as her mind processed the words. A smile pulled at her lips at the romance of the scene. "I'll to the friar, to know his remedy: If all else fail, myself have power to die." She sighed silently as she closed her book – memorising the page number, of course – and looked up. Her eyes widened and she held back and annoyed groan.

A tall, dark haired and tanned man walked over and picked her up. "Hey, Sis, what's up?"

Gabriella giggled and jumped gracefully to the ground after she kicked his shin. "Danny! You can't do that every time you see me!"

"Why not?" Danny – the oldest Montez son - exclaimed, ruffling her hair.

"You're messing my hair up." She whined as she set her book on the coffee table. "Hey, Cody. How's Mel doing?" She asked, referring to her pregnant sister-in-law.

Cody, very similar to every other Montez male, approached and hugged his only sister. He was two years younger than Danny. "Great. She's doing fine. Pretty bad morning sickness but she doesn't mind."

"And Eddie…" She turned to the last of her brothers who didn't live in the house, "how's the gym doing?"

Eddie – one year younger than Cody – kissed Gabriella's cheek and smiled. "It's great."

Gabriella turned to Landon, Carl and Zeke. "I'm not going to ask how you guys are. But, what's the occasion?"

Maria stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her daughter. "Gabby, mi hija, you remember your father organising for Dean Russo to come by this evening. You know, the Dean of U of A." She shot Gabriella an apologetic look.

Gabriella nodded and cleared her throat slightly as she directed her attention to Greg and a plump man in a grey suit who she assumed was Dean Russo. "Of course I remember." How could I forget this God-forsaken meeting?

Dean Russo held his hand out towards Gabriella. "Your father tells me that you intend to follow in your brothers' footsteps."

Gabriella felt the blood drain from her face at his wording. She timidly shook his hand and nodded. "Of course. I just want my daddy to be proud of me." She dropped his hand and turned to look at Maria.

"Gabs, you okay? You look kind of pale." Danny asked worriedly.

Gabriella nodded slightly. "Yeah. I'm just going to get some water." She left the crowd of people in the lounge and leant against the counter by the sink. She was seriously contemplating taking her own joke seriously. Maybe she should get herself pregnant and then Greg would react half as bad when she told him about Stanford.

No matter which way she told everyone about Stanford, she'd be halfway to her death bed.