A/N: Okay, so this is my first story. Let me know what you think. Hope you all like it.

Oh, and a HUGE thank you to LunarEclipse360 for putting up with me lol. If y'all haven't read her stuff, you should. She's awesome!

And since everyone else puts a disclaimer in their stuff, here's mine and it applies to the whole story (so I don't have to write it a zillion times) I DO NOT OWN HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, just the plot of this story and any original characters.

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"Gabriella, are you ready?"

Gabriella nodded and turned to follow her cousin Rusty who was carrying her lone bag of possessions. As she shut the cab door she took one last look at the cemetery. The remnants of a family reunion gone horribly wrong. The driver put the car in drive and began the short trip to the airport. Gabriella sighed and fought back tears as she watched as all she knew of her twelve years of life faded away behind her. The airport and the flight from Ohio to Oregon passed as a blur. Before she knew it, they were on their way to her new home.

Gabriella looked out the window and let her mind wander, once again fighting tears as she remembered the events of the past week.

"Mom," Gabriella begged. "Please can I just stay one night at Jenny's house? It's her birthday and everyone is gonna be there!"

"Gabriella," her mother replied, "you know you need to spend time with your family. They will all be going home in just a few days. Who knows when you will get to see them again?"

"But mom," she whined. "They have been here for a week and a half! I have been spending time with them. I just want ONE night with my best friend for her birthday. Is that too much to ask? I'll be back tomorrow afternoon and will spend the last few days of the reunion with family. I promise!"

"Fine, but only if her mother can come pick you up."

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" she squealed and hugged her mother before running to her room to call her friend and start packing her bag.

An hour later Jenny and her mother pulled up. "Thanks mom!" Gabriella yelled running out to the car. "I love you!" She hopped in and the car pulled away.

"Gabriella?" Rusty's voice pulled her back to the present time. She looked over at him. His blonde hair and blue eyes made him the object of all her friend's affection. He gestured out the window nervously. "We're here," he said softly.

Gabriella looked at the house in front of her. It wasn't anything like her spacious home in Ohio. It was small, square and boring. "Why does it have two front doors?" she asked.

"It's called a duplex," Rusty answered. "There are two separate units in the building. We live in one side and another family lives in the other."

Scratch that, she thought. It's not small, it's tiny. She looked at the house again and scowled.

Rusty sighed. "Look, I know it's not what you are used to, but it's the best I could do on such short notice and my budget. I am after all, a poor college student." He looked to Gabriella who was still frowning. "I'm sorry Gabs, I really am, but I'm trying as hard as I can. This is all brand new to me, too." He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Please, will you just give it a chance?" Her expression softened and she nodded slowly. "Thank you," he said relieved. "Care to take a look around? I haven't been inside yet either."

Rusty motioned for Gabriella to go ahead while he got their bags out of the car. She was surprised that the door was unlocked. She opened the door and walked into an open living room. The far wall was actually a bar to separate it from the kitchen. Just to the right of the bar there was a door leading into a bedroom that she assumed belonged to Rusty. Across from it on the wall to her left was another doorway. She walked through it into a hallway. She found herself facing a bathroom. The short hallway extended to both sides. On her left there was a small room that didn't have space for anything more than the computer desk and office chair that were already there. To the right she found what she decided must be her bedroom. It was bigger than the office, but not even half the size of her large room back home. It had a twin sized bed and a nightstand.

"We can go shopping in the next few days for some new furniture and clothes for you," Rusty said from behind her. "I got approved for a credit card so we don't have to wait for the checks from... well... everything to start coming in."

Gabriella took a deep breath. She decided that this was her new life and she might as well make the best of it. "Thanks, Rusty. I'd like that," she said as she smiled at him.

"Ok, Rusty, I think everything is settled," she heard someone say from in the hallway. The mystery man stopped in the doorway.

"Hey, thanks a bunch for moving all this stuff while I was gone. I really appreciate it and I'm sure Gabs is happy to have a bed to sleep in. Gabriella, this is one of my frat brothers, Jake. Jake, this is my cousin Gabriella," Rusty said motioning between the two for the introductions.

"It's nice to meet you," Jake said smiling at Gabriella. "Hey man, I don't mean to run out on you, but I had a late night last night and it's been a long day. I'm going home to hit the hay." He shook Rusty's hand and waved to her before turning to leave.

"So are you hungry? Do you want to order a pizza before bed?" Rusty asked her.

"No thanks," she said. "I'm pretty tired so I'm just going to go straight to bed. I'll see you in the morning though." Rusty nodded and started to walk away. "Hey Rusty?" she asked. He turned to face her again and raised an eyebrow. "Thanks. Thanks for everything."

He walked over to Gabriella and gave her a hug. "No problem, Gabs. Goodnight."

Gabriella changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed wondering what her new life had in store for her. Before long she drifted into a peaceful sleep.

The next day was spent shopping for new clothes, furniture and decor because what little Rusty did have in the fraternity where he was living before he received the news that he was Gabriella's legal guardian wasn't really appropriate for a twelve year old. The few days after that were filled with painting, hanging things on the walls, furniture deliveries and way too much Chinese takeout.

Gabriella and Rusty fell exhausted onto their new couch in the living room. "Man I'm worn out," Rusty exclaimed, "but this place sure does look great!" She nodded in agreement. "I'm too tired to cook and too tired of Chinese to eat it again anytime soon. Wanna order a pizza for dinner and vow to start cooking real meals tomorrow?"

She nodded again then leaned her head back and closed her eyes. "Meat lovers," she said. Rusty ordered the pizza then returned to the couch where they sat relaxing in a comfortable silence. Twenty minutes later the doorbell rang. He hopped up and walked to the door pulling his wallet out of his back pocket, digging through it as he opened the door. When he looked up he was surprised to see a man, woman and boy that appeared to be about Gabriella's age.

"Hi! We're your new neighbors," the man said less than enthusiastically. "I'm Jack Bolton, this is my wife Mary and our son Troy."

"Nice to meet you," Rusty said shaking their hands. He motioned for Gabriella to come to the door. "I'm Rusty and this is my cousin Gabriella." She smiled and looked at Troy who was standing with his arms crossed staring at the ground with a sour look on his face. She rolled her eyes.

"I know people think it's old fashioned," Mary said, "but I made you some cookies." She held out a plate filled with chocolate chip cookies.

"Oh thank you!" Rusty said. "I'm sorry I seem to have forgotten my manners. Please, come in!" He opened the door wider and ushered the three in taking the plate of cookies into the kitchen.

"Gabriella it's so sweet of you to come help your cousin get settled in," Mary said as they all sat on the couch.

"Well actually," Gabriella said softly, "I live here too."

If she was caught of guard or felt awkward, Mary didn't let it show. "I should have guessed. This place has too much of a woman's touch to be a man zone. How old are you?"

"Twelve."

"Oh great! So is Troy! I'm so glad to have someone his age in the neighborhood, especially as our neighbor! Plus, you'll already know someone when you guys start school in a couple weeks!" She gave Gabriella a warm smile.

She smiled back at her. "I've only gone to one school my entire life back in Ohio. It was small so everybody knew everybody else."

"Well every year the skating rink has a night for kids with skating, pizza, dancing karaoke, all kinds of stuff. I think it's next week. You can go with Troy and his friends, right Troy?"

Troy's head shot up. "But mom," he started to protest as Jack elbowed him in the side. He sighed and looked back at the ground. "Right."

Once again, the doorbell rang. While Rusty got up to answer it and Mary kept talking about skating, school and making new friends Gabriella studied Troy. She had to admit that Mary's enthusiasm about school was contagious and surprised herself by getting a little excited. She was less than excited about hanging out with Troy. He had a bad attitude and she didn't like it. She could only imagine what his friends were like.

"Pizza's here Gabs," Rusty said pulling her from her thoughts. "Would you guys care for any?" The Boltons all shook their heads no. They started to leave but Rusty insisted they stay so he could talk to them about school. This was all new to him and he had no idea where the school was, let alone how to go about getting Gabriella registered. Mary told him which school zone they lived in and explained that if they went and filled out the transfer papers the next day and Gabriella could come with them to regular registration the next week so Troy could give her a tour of the school. They all had milk and cookies then the Boltons went home and Rusty and Gabriella went to bed.

When it came time to go to registration the next week, Troy had the same bad attitude and sour look on his face. Gabriella wished she knew what his problem was. When they arrived he was instantly surrounded by other kids. He had temporarily lost his scowl when his mother said, "Aren't you going to introduce them to your new friend?"

He rolled his eyes. "Josh, Mike, Kyle, Sam, Thomas, Hillary, Beth, this is Gabriella."

The boys nodded while Hillary and Beth started talking to her. She was happy to know they were all going into the seventh grade. She was even happier to find out she had one or both of them in all of her classes. That happiness was short lived when she heard the boys talking about their schedules and realized that Troy was in all of her classes as well.

"Troy! You can Gabriella have all the same classes!" Beth exclaimed. "Isn't that awesome?"

He groaned. "Just great."

Gabriella decided she would much rather have Beth and Hillary show her around the school than Troy, so she told Mrs. Bolton and off they went.

"So what is Troy's deal today?" Hillary asked. "Is he mad at you or something?"

"You mean he isn't always this delightful?" Gabriella asked sarcastically.

"I thought you two were friends?" Beth questioned.

She laughed. "Just neighbors. His mom is trying awfully hard to get us to be friends though. I'm supposed to go to something at the skating rink with him tomorrow night, but I don't think I want to deal with him."

"So come with us," Beth said.

Hillary nodded. "And if he wants to be a pain, let him," she added. "Two can play at that game." She exchanged knowing looks with Beth. Gabriella didn't know what it meant, but she was pretty sure she liked it. The girls finished the tour, discussed their plan and exchanged phone numbers before Mrs. Bolton took her and Troy home.

The next day Gabriella, Hillary and Beth worked out the details for that evening. Just as planned, when Troy came over to get her to leave for the skating rink she answered the door in her bathrobe with her hair a disheveled mess. "Sorry Troy," she said. "I'm not feeling very well." For the first time, Troy smiled at her. Without saying anything he turned and walked away. She rolled her eyes and shut the door. As she got out of the shower, she heard Troy outside yelling goodbye to his mother and leaving with his ride to the party. She quickly got dressed, brushed her teeth and dried and styled her hair. Just as she was putting her shoes on, the doorbell rang. She yelled goodbye to Rusty as she opened the door and ran back to the car with Beth where her mother and Hillary were waiting. On the ride there Beth did Gabriella's makeup with a silver shimmer eye shadow, mascara, and a thick coat of clear lip gloss. When they walked into the skating rink and found Troy with the other boys he did a double take. Before his signature scowl appeared on his face Gabriella could have sworn she saw a hint of a smile.

"I thought you were sick," he muttered.

"I'm feeling a little better," she said softly, sticking to the plan.

Troy's stare followed the girls, specifically Gabriella, as they walked away and got pizza and soda. "That Gabriella girl is kinda cute," Josh said grinning at his friends.

"Don't get any ideas," Troy said.

"Why not?" Josh asked raising an eyebrow. "Do you like her or something?"

Troy suddenly realized what he had said. "NO!" he exclaimed. "I, uh... I just don't want her hanging around all the time. It's bad enough I have to live next door to her. Besides, she's too quiet to be friends with us."

"So, do you think he's buying the quiet and shy act?" Hillary asked from the table across the building where they were eating their pizza. They all looked over at the boys. When she saw Troy looking their way Gabriella turned away and pretended to blush. He rolled his eyes.

"Definitely!" Beth said excitedly.

An hour or so later the whole gang was hanging out by the dance floor and small stage when the DJ announced that karaoke would be starting and if nobody volunteered he would be picking random people to sing. Beth and Hillary stood up saying they had to go to the bathroom and asked if Gabriella was coming. Knowing it was all a part of their plan she said she would stay there. The two girls made their way towards the bathroom. When they saw that none of their friends were looking they darted off to talk to the DJ. After a minute or two they returned and winked at Gabriella.

"Troy, we all know you can sing, why don't you volunteer?" Beth asked. She knew Troy would sing something like he had for the past couple years, but she also knew he would wait awhile and that he loved to have his ego boosted.

"I will, later" he said. "No need to go out there first and set the bar so high no one can measure up. Gotta let all the amateurs go first." He laughed as his buddies elbowed him and rolled their eyes.

"Gabriella, do you sing?" Hillary asked her.

"Oh, no," Gabriella said quickly as she blushed. "I don't like being in front of people."

After one kid completely butchered a song and a few other mediocre performances the DJ came over the speakers. "How about a duet? Anyone up for it?" he asked. When nobody volunteered he grinned. "Alright... you know what that means. I get to pick the singers myself." He began to walk around scanning all the kids before stopping at their table. "I remember you from last year," he said to Troy. "So get up on that stage. Now which one of these lovely ladies should sing with you?" Beth and Hillary giggled and pointed wildly to Gabriella. "Alright, your friends have volunteered you. Get on up there." He grabbed her hand and pulled a protesting Gabriella to the stage. Troy smiled remembering Gabriella say she didn't sing. He couldn't wait to see her embarrass herself.

The music started and Gabriella fidgeted nervously. The familiar music poured out of the speakers and filled the room. Troy had a cocky look on his face. She knew he was waiting for her to make a fool of herself.

"Living in my own world, didn't understand," his voice rang out as he began singing. Wow, he can sing, she thought. "That anything can happen when you take a chance." He smirked at her knowing the next few lines were hers.

Gabriella smiled. Their plan was working perfectly. Get ready to wipe that cocky little smirk off you face, Troy Bolton, she thought. She threw her shy act out the window and gave him a challenging look as she sang her part. "I never believed in what I couldn't see. I never opened my heart to all the possibilities."

The smirk on Troy's face was quickly replaced by a look of surprise and confusion. He looked at Beth and Hillary who were laughing at him then back at Gabriella who returned his cocky smirk from only moments before. Alright, little miss Gabriella. Two can play that game, he thought as he stepped back up to his microphone. They spent the rest of the song trying to out perform each other. He surprised himself by having fun. When the song was over and the crowd was on their feet cheering he locked eyes with Gabriella and gave her a small nod and a smile. She smiled back as Beth and Hillary ran up to the stage clapping and laughing and pulled her back to the table. Troy followed and sat down.

"That was amazing! You girls had that planned, didn't you?" Kyle asked as the girls giggled. "I do believe you just beat Troy Bolton at his own game!"

"Yeah, Troy," Mike agreed. "It looks like you might have some new competition."

"I was thinking more along the lines of partner in crime," Troy said. "What do you say?" He held his hand out to Gabriella.

She smiled. "Deal," she said shaking his hand as the laughter and chatter returned to the table.

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Gabriella was putting her dishes from lunch in the sink when she heard the familiar sound of a dribbling basketball. She walked outside as her best friend pretended to dodge and spin around imaginary opponents. "He shoots, he scores!" Troy exclaimed as the ball swished through the hoop.

"And the crowd goes wild!" Gabriella said from behind him mimicking the sounds of an ecstatic crowd.

"Oh hey, Bri!" Troy said as he turned around. "I didn't see you there."

"Do you do anything but play basketball anymore?" she asked him.

"I have to if I want to make the team. My dad says high school tryouts are harder than middle school."

"Troy, everyone makes the team freshman year. They have an entire freshman team."

"Who said anything about the freshman team? I'll be the first freshman to make varsity." He winked at her as he took another shot. It bounced off the backboard and right to Gabriella. She shot the ball perfectly through the hoop.

"You're lucky it's not a co-ed team," she joked as she picked the ball up again. "Otherwise you'd lose your varsity spot to a girl!"

He snatched the ball from her. "Ha ha. Funny." They played an intense game of one on one before Gabriella plopped herself down in the grass. Troy took one last shot and followed suit. He laid back next to her and put his hands behind his head. "So, only two more weeks until we start high school. Are you ready?" he asked.

"Of course. The question is, are they ready for us?" she asked and turned her head to look at him.

He grinned at her. "They have no idea what they are in for." They laid in silence for a few moments before he suddenly sat up. "I'm thirsty. Let's go get some lemonade." They went inside Gabriella's house. He sat at the bar while she poured two glasses. Just as she sat down to join him Rusty burst excitedly through the front door.

"You're in a good mood," Gabriella commented to him.

"That's because I have some good news. I just got an amazing job offer!" he exclaimed.

"Rus, that's great! How soon do you start?" she asked.

"A week from tomorrow," he answered. He lost his smile and got serious. "Gabs, there is a downside to this job."

"What's that?" she asked nervously.

"It's in Phoenix... Phoenix, Arizona."

Her eyes widened as she exchanged worried looks with Troy. She sighed. "When do we leave?"

"Friday."

That gave her five days. Suddenly she wasn't so excited for the summer to end and school to start.

Thursday evening the gang was celebrating their last night together at the pizza parlor arcade. Gabriella was staring at her glass, stirring the ice in circles with her straw.

"Bri? Hello?? Earth to Bri," Troy said as he waved his hand in front of her face. She snapped out of her trance and back into reality. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking," she said.

"About what?"

"A new place, new school. Starting over again from scratch."

"I don't remember you having any difficulty making new friends when you moved here," Troy said winking at her.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah if I'm lucky I'll have some conceited jock living next door to give me a warm welcome."

"Hey!" he said and pretended to pout as everyone laughed.

"So are you guys gonna confess your love for each other before you go?" Hillary asked with a sly smile.

"You know what they say," Beth added, "absence makes the heart grow fonder."

Troy and Gabriella groaned. "Not again," she said. "Why won't you two just give it up?"

"Why won't you two just admit it?" Josh asked.

"What? You're in on this now too?" Troy asked.

"Hey, I just call it like I see it," Josh answered.

"Come on, Bri," Troy said standing up and grabbing her hand. "We only have an hour left and we don't need to spend it listening to their gibberish."

The hour flew by and before she knew it Gabriella was saying goodbye to her friends in the parking lot. "Bye Gabs," Beth said hugging her. "Call us when you get there."

"We're gonna miss you," Hillary said giving her a hug as well.

"School sure won't be the same without you," Josh added. Gabriella hugged the rest of her friends and she and Troy got in his mom's car. When they got home Troy walked her to the door.

"I'll see you in the morning?" he asked.

She nodded and gave him a hug. "Troy?" she called after him as he started to walk away. He turned to face her. "Stay with me tonight?" she asked.

He nodded. "Let me go tell my mom and take a shower."

Gabriella walked inside and took a look at the empty house. The moving company had come the day before and loaded all their stuff up in the truck and began hauling it off to Arizona. Rusty had left that morning to sign the papers for their new house and meet the movers to help unload. All that remained in the house were two bar stools, a few of her clothes and an air mattress in her room. Rusty had agreed to let her stay by herself for the night and have Mary and Troy take her to the airport the next morning. She walked into the bathroom started the shower and got undressed. Once the water was warm enough she stepped in and let it cascade over her body. Knowing Troy would be coming soon she quickly washed herself and shut the shower off. She toweled herself dry and went into her bedroom thinking about leaving the next day. She put on her matching black boy cut panties and spaghetti strap tank top. She was lost in thought about to step into her long flannel pants when Troy walked in.

"My mom made some of your favorite cookies," he said as he walked down the hall. "And I brought-" he stopped short when he reached her room and realized he had walked in on her half dressed. He knew he should turn away and give her privacy, but he couldn't help but stare. He was suddenly seeing his best friend in a new light. My God she's gorgeous, he thought. After he had looked her up and down and taken in every square inch of her, his gaze went back to her face. She gave him a questioning look. He blushed and turned away, embarrassed of being caught and worried what she might think.

"No wonder Beth and Hillary have their little theories," she joked.

"I... uh... you see... I mean... uh..." What's wrong with you Bolton? It's just Gabriella, he thought. Just say sorry and walk away. "Sorry," he said softly and began to walk out of her room.

"Troy," she said smiling at him as he turned around. She crossed the room to stand in front of him. "It's fine. No reason to start acting weird. I mean friends don't care about stuff like that, right?"

His heart sank at the word friends. What the heck was wrong with him? Why was he suddenly feeling so strange? "Right," he agreed. As she started to step into her flannel pants again something came over him. "Bri?" She looked up at him. What are you doing? he thought as he took a step closer to her. He cupped her face in his hands. Don't do it, Troy. All his thoughts flew out the window as he lowered his lips to hers. He felt her tense up and began to pull away.

Gabriella was shocked. Her best friend was kissing her. She didn't know what to do. This was so weird. But oh so right, she thought as he started to pull away. She closed her eyes and gave into the kiss wrapping her arms around his neck after dropping her pajama pants on the floor. Troy gently brushed his tongue across her lips. She opened her mouth and his tongue plunged in, twisting and tangling with hers. His hands dropped to her lower back and pulled her closer to him as his kisses traveled across her cheek to nibble on her ear. He kissed his way down to the crook of her neck where a soft moan escaped her lips. His hands made their way under her shirt and roamed until they reached her breasts. She gently ran her hand through his hair and pulled his head back.

Troy had a worried look on his face thinking maybe he had gone to far, but when their eyes met Gabriella's were full of fire and passion. "Troy, please," she begged huskily. She reached down and undid his shorts, letting them fall to his ankles. Her eyes met his again and she silently pleaded with him to finish what he had started.

He lifted her tank top over her head and plunged his lips to hers again, backing her up and lowering her onto the air mattress. On his knees straddling her, he all but ripped off his shirt and boxers. She shivered under his fingertips as he softly ran them down her body and pushed her panties down her legs to her ankles where she kicked them off. His hands lovingly caressed her legs all the way up to her inner thigh. He teasingly brushed over her warm center which was already moist with anticipation for him. She arched her back into him and moaned his name. Her body tensed as he began to enter her. He stroked her face and gently kissed her neck until she had taken all of him in. He paused hovering over her long enough for her to give him a small nod to continue. He began slowly moving in and out of her. As the pleasure overcame the pain she began moving her hips in rhythm with him. With her meeting him thrust for thrust, he sped his pace. He felt her walls tightening around him as his climax drew nearer. She wrapped her legs around his back and pulled him in tight as a tidal wave of passion overcame them both and he burst inside her. He collapsed out of breath next to her.

When their drumming hearts slowed down and their breathing steadied, Gabriella turned to him. "I love you, Troy," she said quietly.

Troy wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She belonged here in his arms, not in Arizona. He sighed and kissed her on the forehead. "I love you, too, Bri."