"A Dream When I'm Not Sleeping" © hollybaggins; September 30th 2007

This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. It is based upon High School Musical, copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and High School Musical 2, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks.

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Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing! In a perfect world, I would be receiving plenty of money for writing this, with Zac Efron sat on my lap ;) Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world. This fiction is rated 'M' for language, sexual situations and total Troy Bolton hotness (do not read if you can't handle the hotness!) If you are under 17, it is advised you do not read on. As for everyone else, enjoy! Reviews/constructive criticism welcome.

Holly xx

ONE - A Chad Chat

Troy Bolton locked his eyes on the basketball hoop directly in front of him; his mind completely focused on his goal. His fellow East High Wildcat team mates closed in around him; their attempts to tackle the ball from his grasp failing as he tricked them into thinking he would be dribbling left before heading to the right. Troy smiled inwardly as he heard his best friend Chad Danforth groan, "I knew he'd do that!" before leaping into the air and effortlessly slam dunking the ball through the hoop.

From the centre of the outdoor practice basketball court, Troy heard his father and coach, Jack Bolton, clap his hands together loudly and blow his whistle. "Alright, Wildcats! Gather around!"

Troy wiped his sweaty forehead, out of breath and grinning to himself as the team circled around their coach, awaiting further instruction. Chad leaned forward, his hands resting on his knees as he struggled for breath.

"Sorry, Danforth; have I tired you out already?" Troy patted his friend's back as Chad heaved in another deep breath.

"Dude, you play like that at our next game, I will happily kiss your feet." Chad and Troy had been best friends since pre-school, both sharing the same love and devotion for basketball and both star school basketball players destined to play with the pro's. Troy had been voted captain of the Wildcats early last year, though the two friends often shared the status when playing in major tournaments against rival schools.

Jack Bolton clapped his hands together again as the team lined up. "We have our next game against West High in three weeks, and if they thought the championships last semester were tough, then they're going to fall apart at this next one! We are going to slaughter each and every one of them – reap in all the glory and take our status as champion's one step further!"

Chad's breath suddenly returned to him as he stepped forward towards Coach Bolton and began the team's infamous chant. "What team?"

"Wildcats!"

"What team?"

"Wildcats!"

"What team?"

"Wildcats!"

"Wildcats?"

"Get your head in the game!" High-fives were exchanged as the team cheered their successful practice session. It was the first day back at school and despite having time off for summer break; the team had played as though they had never been away.

"Great practice session, guys," Jack Bolton stated as the bell rang signalling the end of the school day. "Hit the showers and I'll see you tomorrow morning during free period in the gym." The majority of the team clapped and cheered as they jogged back towards the school whilst Troy and Chad continued to play on the now empty court. "Are you not coming home, Troy?" Jack asked his son as he shot yet another hoop.

"Nah, me and the guys are gonna stay here for a while," Troy replied as Zeke Baylor and Jason Cross joined in. "I'm meeting Gabriella after school." Jack grinned knowingly as he nodded his head in acknowledgement and followed the rest of the team back inside.

"You are on fire today, Bolton." Chad stated as Troy tackled the ball and dribbled it to the other side of the court, Zeke and Jason on his tail. The ball passed through the hoop and back into Troy's hands.

"And why shouldn't I be?" Troy passed the ball to Zeke who proceeded in practising on his own free throws.

"Dude, it's the first day back at school. It's the most depressing day of the year." The two boys collapsed on the grass at the sidelines of the court as Jason and Zeke continued practising. "Already, Darbus has it in her head that we're all going to sign up for the next musical. If Sharpay had kept her big mouth shut about the whole talent show fiasco at Lava Springs, then we'd have nothing to worry about."

Troy lay back tiredly on the grass, shielding his eyes from the bright sun which continued to grace Albuquerque's skies even though it was coming up to mid September. "I thought you enjoyed that show," was Troy's response. "In fact, you were more for it than I was."

"Troy, there is a difference between a show were we're all together having fun and a show that is run by Ms 'Twinkle Towne' Darbus. I could not handle being directed by that beast."

"She wasn't so bad." Troy yawned.

"Don't tell me you're thinking of signing up for the next musical," Chad sighed. "Because if you do, Gabriella will. And if Gabriella does then Taylor will. And if Taylor does…" he drifted off. "Let's just say that you don't meddle with female emotions. You do not want to travel into the unknown. If Taylor signs up and I refuse… let's just assume that I won't be seeing the nicey-nice side of my girlfriend for a long while."

Troy chuckled as Chad lay back on the grass beside him. Taylor and Chad had started dating just before Troy had finally plucked up the courage to ask Gabriella out – their relationship looked from the outside as one where they each tried to score points over which one was the more dominant. But on the inside, their friends saw a loving, caring side to them both; and they all found it funny when they caught the two being so romantic with each other when they thought no one else was looking.

"Actually, no, I'm not signing up this year. The last one was fun and everything but I really need to concentrate on my basketball this year. You know, it's not that long until graduation… and my scholarship depends on my skills-"

"Don't you dare think of turning back into Troy the Jerk." Chad sat back up and glared down at his friend.

"No, I'm not going to turn back into Troy the Jerk." Troy sighed as he sat back up and stretched his legs. "I know what's important in my life and I'm not going to turn my back on it again. I know I can concentrate on my future goals without pushing people away. Don't worry, dude, chill."

Chad narrowed his eyes, trying to read deeper into his friend's mind. During summer break, when the gang had worked at the Lava Springs Country Club, Troy had turned into someone Chad had not recognised. The tempting prospect of a scholarship had turned Troy into someone who had ditched his friends at any opportunity and even put off dates with Gabriella. Whilst everyone else could see that Sharpay Evans was only helping to push Troy's future forward for her own benefits, Troy didn't. After Gabriella had left him as a result of his behaviour and Chad and the other Wildcats refused to talk to him, Troy had finally seen sense and had turned back into the guy they all knew and loved.

"So…a basketball scholarship?" Chad questioned as Jason and Zeke continued to try and out-do the other with their ever-improving skills. "So I take it you're going to be applying to the University of Albuquerque?"

Troy nodded and chuckled as Jason groaned aloud in frustrated as Zeke tackled him yet again.

"And Gabriella?"

Troy looked back at his friend and shrugged his shoulders in dismay. "I always knew I'd be attending at Albuquerque. Dad's got contacts there who've seen me play and I've had all sorts of offers. But Gabi…" he drifted off with a sigh. "We haven't really talked about what happens after high school. Gabi's moved around so much that I guess it won't really make much difference to her where she goes. She just wants to make the most of what's happening right now."

"And…just what is happening right now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, don't act like that, Bolton; you two are crazy about each other." Chad slapped his friend's back. "Taylor and me – we know what we're doing after high school. I'm the same as you, man, I want to go to Albuquerque; and Taylor's gonna use that sharp brain of hers to try and get in there too. Or at least, somewhere local."

"So, you guys are getting serious then, huh?"

Chad shrugged, almost in shyness. It was only Troy – and of course, Taylor – who got to see the other side to Chad Danforth. "Well, yeah. I guess so. I mean, we don't know where it's gonna lead but we're looking to the future. As for you and Gabriella…hell, everyone can see you two are… how should I put it? Ooh, soo in luuurrrveee!" Chad's best high-pitched, girly tone did not impress his friends, who shot him a glare.

"Your point is?"

"My point is, it took you and Gabriella literally a lifetime to even admit that you liked each other. Then it seemed to take another lifetime to get your first kiss out of the way-"

"Only due to constant interruptions, Danforth, and you can point the blame to yourself for that."

"What I'm saying, Captain, is that this is the last year of school. After this, we're not going to be able to hang out like we do now. We'll be working towards the future, towards where we want to be in life. My point is that you guys need to get the next level of your relationship out of the way before we graduate because, like I said, we all know how into each other you are; and like you said, you have no idea what's going to happen to you both after high school."

As Troy began to take in his friend's words, he heard that oh so familiar voice creep up from behind him. Chad had already acknowledged the girls who were making their way towards the basketball court. Jason and Zeke stopped what they were doing whilst Chad stood up to greet his girlfriend as they finally approached them.

"Hey there, Wildcat." Gabriella cooed as she sat herself down beside her boyfriend of nine months. Kelsi Neilson and Martha Cox walked over to the court to greet Zeke and Jason whilst Taylor and Chad followed hand in hand. As Troy looked over to his girl, he smiled softly at her causing her to give off that cute, girly giggle.

Suddenly, he rolled his body over hers, causing Gabriella to lie flat on her back with Troy resting on top. "Miss me?" he questioned as he placed a kiss on the tip of her nose. Gabriella just smiled, knowing just what he would say next. "Of course you did," he grinned as he pressed his lips to hers. Gabriella chuckled into the kiss, loving the fact that they had their own little inside jokes. As the kiss deepened, she wrapped her arms around his neck… only to suddenly push him away.

"Troy…you're all sticky and sweaty." Gabriella scrunched her nose up as she attempted to push his body off hers.

Troy grinned devilishly, keeping his weight upon her body as she struggled against him. He grasped her hands in his own and entwined their fingers. "You love my sweat."

Gabriella began screaming with laughter as Troy proceeded in running his sweaty face and hair over her neck, chest and face. Her hands were pinned above her head and her legs were tangled in Troy's, making her struggles seem as though she was making no effort at all to get away. "You're so in for it, Wildcat," Gabriella chuckled as Troy stared down at her face.

He ran a finger slowly down her cheek, taking in every contour of her features. God, she is so beautiful… "Nah, I don't think so. Besides, I think you need to shower. You're all… sticky and sweaty…" Troy scrunched his nose up then laughed as Gabriella smirked in mock hurt at his joke.

"Hey!" Chad called over from the court. "Bolton! Are you going to lie there all day getting soppy or are we going to play some basketball?"

Troy sighed aloud, giving Gabriella a look that told her that he was not amused at Chad's not-so-impressive ability of being able to interrupt at the worst times possible.

"You go play, Wildcat; we'll have plenty of time together later on." Gabriella pecked his lips one final time as they both sat up.

"And I got the perfect night planned. I'll take us both home, we can get changed…put on something really nice. Then we'll get into my new truck-"

"Old new truck," Gabriella interrupted with a grin. Troy's truck had belonged to his father and wasn't the most reliable of vehicles. Jack and Troy had fixed it up together and as a result, Jack had passed the keys over to his son who had been so excited at finally owning his own set of wheels, had named it his new truck.

"Old new truck…" Troy re-phrased with a smile, grazing Gabriella's fingers with his own. "And then I thought I'd take you out on a romantic night… And that's all I'm telling you for now." Gabriella smiled as they both leaned in for another kiss…

"Bolton! Come on!" Chad called out again.

"Coming," Troy called back. "We're not busy or anything…"

Gabriella laughed as they began to walk towards the court. "Go get 'em, Wildcat," she smiled as Troy bounded onto the court and the four boys began playing two-against-two. Gabriella seated herself at the sidelines at the other side of the court with Martha, Kelsi and Taylor.

"What?" Gabriella raised her eyebrows, seeing the other three girls looking at her with smirks on their faces. She shook her head with a smirk of her own and watched as her man scored yet again.