Author's Note: I'm not really fond of this chapter...but like I re wrote it several times and it came back like this, but whatever. Yes I updated again! WOOT WOOT;;Beauty and the Tragedy

Chapter Five: Hide & Seek

"Sharpay..let's invite Taylor and Kelsi over. I'm bored." Gabriella said and then Sharpay squealed and got out of her cell and started calling her best friends.

Meanwhile, Gabriella saw her cell phone vibrating on her side table, she reached over and grabbed it and answered it.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Gabi, honey, It's Dad," Caleb Montez said.

"Oh hey Dad, when are you coming home?" she asked.

"Do you mind if I stayed the night with Natalie and help her out?" Gabriella smiled softly.

"Yea, no problem dad. Sharpay is here and we're inviting Kelsi and Taylor over too, if that's ok," she said

"Yeah that's fine. I'll see you tomorrow, sweetie," Caleb said.

"Alright, bye daddy," Gabriella said and hung up. Gabriella looked and saw that Sharpay was looking at her.

"Dad, he's staying the night at his friend's," Sharpay nodded.

"Kelsi and Taylor were hanging with their boy toys and Zeke was hanging too, so is it ok if they boys come too?" Sharpay asked, still holding her cell to her ear. Gabriella nodded and Sharpay squealed. After awhile, Sharpay hung up.

"So what's the update on the boy next door?" She asked and looked at Gabriella.

"I don't know. He plays basketball. He's good too," she said and Sharpay raised her eyebrows.

"How would you know this?" Sharpay asked.

"Ok..I was on my balcony talking to him," she admitted and Sharpay squealed.

"That boy is fine. You should date him beotch," Gabriella looked at her friend like she was crazy and laughed it off, with Sharpay joining in. About 15 minutes the door bell rang, both girls squealed and ran down the stairs. Gabriella swung the door open and their stood their 'gang' of friends. She let them in and they went to the living room.

"So what are we doing? Because I'm bored," Chad Danforth, Taylor McKessie's boyfriend asked. Everyone laughed at him.

"We are going to hang out, because Caleb isn't here tonight," Sharpay said grinning.

"I don't like that grin," Jason Cross, Kelsi Nielson's boyfriend said. Everyone nodded, except Gabriella.

"We're going to party like it's 2009!" Sharpay squealed.

"Um, Sharpay...it's 2008," Gabriella said and everyone busted out laughing.

"I got an idea!" Chad shouted standing up.

"Wow, Tay, Your boyfriend has a brain," Sharpay said and earned a smack from Taylor.

"Any ways," Chad said glaring at Sharpay then turned back to the group. " Let's play midnight Hide & Seek."

"chad it's not night and we played that when we were 10." Zeke said.

"So? It's fun. It's like 7pm now, so we can start early and it's getting dark," Chad said.

"I'm in," Jason and Kelsi said in unison.

"Me too," Gabriella said, Sharpay agreed as well as Taylor and then Zeke agreed.

"Gabs, where are your flashlights?" Chad asked.

"In the garage. How many do we need?" Gabriella asked standing up and walking to the garage with everyone following behind.

"Well we could pair up so all we need is 4. Gabriella you get one by yourself. Is that cool?" Sharpay said and Gabriella nodded getting the flashlights. Gabriella handed Zeke and Sharpay a pink one, at Sharpay's request. A blue one too Taylor and Chad, a red one to Kelsi and Jason and she got her Yellow one. They headed out into the front yard.

"So who's counting?" Chad asked.

"I will. Kelsi and Gabi, can pair up and I'll take the flashlight, We'll just trade off," Jason said and everyone nodded.

"Count to 100 and then start looking," Chad said.

"Ok what are the rules?" Kelsi asked.

"We have to stay in the neighborhood. Don't go onto the mean old lady's yard, or she will shoot you," everyone laughed and Chad continued, "Stay in a good distance from Gabi's house and don't get caught." Everyone nodded. " Ok...everyone...GO!" Chad said, Jason started counting.

Gabriella and Kelsi turned their flashlight on in the dark and started running towards a house not watching where they were going and hid in a bush.

"So Gabi, who's the new guy next door? I've seen him at School, but like that was Friday," Kelsi said whispering. Gabriella looked at her pettie friend and gave a soft smile.

"His name is Troy and he's pretty nice. Keeps to himself, a little," Gabriella said and Kelsi nodded. After awhile Jason shouted 'Ready or not Here I COME!' and Gabriella told Kelsi to turn the flashlight off.

"It won't turn off!" Kelsi said in a whisper. Gabriella groaned, She forgot that when you turned on the yellow one it was hard to turn off. Gabriella got the flashlight and started shaking it.

Meanwhile...

Troy was sitting at his desk, drawing in his sketch book. But this time he was working on a new picture. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw a flash of light come from his window. He got a confused look, and stood up and went to the window and opened it and looked out. Then the light was shaking back and forth. He looked down and started laughing. He saw his next door neighbor in his bushes and trying to turn the light off. Troy went out of his room and down the stairs, out the front door and to the side of his house, where the light was at and looked into the bushes and there was Gabriella and another girl with glasses, whispering back to each other. He decided to make his presence known.

"Are you going to keep flashing the light on and off?" he asked and he received a squeal and scream from both the girls.

"Gabriella! Kelsi! I'm coming to fine you!" The girls heard Jason shout. Gabriella looked around and saw Troy still standing there and then stood pulling Kelsi to her feet.

"We need some where to hide!" Gabriella said in a whisper. Troy looked at them and then to his right and saw a guy about 50 feet away looking for them, with 4 people trailing behind him. Troy looked back at the girls and nodded.

"Follow me," he said. Gabriella started following him and noticed Kelsi wasn't behind her.

"Where'd she go?" she said to herself.

"Where'd who go?" Troy asked behind her. Gabriella felt all the hair on the back of her neck as she felt his breath on her skin, and she shuddered.

"My friend," she replied. Troy looked around and noticed the girl she was talking about with that guy and 4 other people.

"there," Troy said pointing towards the group.

"Gabi! I found you!" Jason said with the others coming behind him.

"No actually Troy found me and Kelsi," she said. " Where'd you go?" Gabriella asked Kelsi.

"I dropped my bracelet and then Jason found me." she said.

"Yeah and the light was giving everything away," Chad snorted.

"Chad this game is soo stupid," Sharpay complained.

"For reals," Taylor said.

"Who's you friend, Gabi?" Zeke asked, meaning Troy. Gabriella looked at Troy then back to her friends.

"Guys this is Troy Bolton, he live next door," she said.

"Sup Man?" Chad said. Troy looked at him and nodded his head towards him,

"Nothing really, look umm, I'm going to go back to what I was doing," Troy said and started walking towards his front door and then was stopped by a voice.

"Did you consider trying out?" Gabriella asked. Troy turned back around and saw that all of them were looking at him.

"I don't think so, Remember art, music?" Troy said with a sly smile. "Remember my offer?" he smirked and went inside his house and back to his art.

"Trying out for what?" Jason asked, as the gang was walking into Gabriella bedroom, 10 minutes later.

"Basketball team, Apparently Gabriella caught him playing basketball and thought he was good," Sharpay answered.

"Not good, amazing," Gabriella said, sitting on her bed and sitting Indian style.

"Bolton? Our new coach is Coach Bolton," Zeke informed and Gabriella nodded.

"It's Troy's dad, " she said.

"What offer?" Taylor asked.

"Oh...that..He wanted to show me some of his art he did," Gabriella said, blushing.

"Awww, Gabi's got a little crush!" Sharpay squealed.

" I do not!" Gabriella protested and everyone laughed.

"So what's his story?" Chad asked. Everyone now, we're sitting in chairs or on Gabriella's bed.

"Oh, His parents, little brother and him moved here from California a few months after his grandfather died. And his mom and dad say he's a really good artist, But from what I've seen him...when he's drawing it's usually grey colors." Gabriella said.

"Oh, yeah like the gravestone or something when we met them on Thursday?" Sharpay asked and Gabriella nodded.

"Yeah," Gabriella said.

"So are you going to take up his offer?" Kelsi asked. Gabriella looked up and then to her balcony and she could see Troy's window from there and saw him with his iPod on and drawing.

"Maybe...Maybe I will."

Sorry for my grammer and Spelling...I'm not very good;; tehe.

-ash