Hello out there! This is going to be a series of one shots about the High School Musical characters and the relationships they ended up forming.

On A Hill

The bell rang at quarter to three like it always did. Instead of meeting Gabriella by the lockers, he ran out of the school and immediately to his truck. Throwing his bag on the passenger seat, he started the engine and was out of the parking lot before anybody really noticed that he was gone.

"I have to find her!" is all he kept saying to himself. "I have to find her".

As his car whipped around corners at a speed all to fast, he couldn't help but to remember how their friendship started and how it ended up being the relationship it is now. He couldn't quite place when she became so important to him; all he knew was that she was. Sometimes she was more important than his other friends, and even his girlfriend. Matter of fact he rally only remembered the reason they started talking in the first place was because of Chad.

They belonged to different groups, but after that faithful winter musical everything changed, and for the better in his opinion. Even after the fiasco at Lava Springs this past summer, it could not prepare him for the type of bond that the both of them had created.

Troy continued to drive through his town that was dangerous for him and the other drivers on the rode. All he could do was search, his only thoughts were of her and how he was going to find her. The most obvious thing to do would be to go to her house but he could bet his state championship that she wouldn't be there.

He felt the vibration of his cell phone against his leg. He knew who it was before he pulled the phone out of his pants. Sure enough there was Gabriella's picture flashing on his screen. He promptly threw the phone on the seat next to him where it landed right beside his bag he discarded there earlier. He was on a mission and his focus could not be on Gabriella at the moment.

He heard the phoned indicate that she left him a message, while he continued to drive.

"Come on Troy think. Where could she be" he yelled while slamming his hand on the wheel. "Think"!

Thoughts of her started to enter his mind at a frantic pace. The more nervous he got about finding her the more he would think of things that happened over the last few months. She had missed school that day, which wasn't uncommon since she was missing school on a regular basis since the start of the second quarter. He wasn't too worried until he received the text message in the middle of 7th period.

In simple bold letters it read 'She's gone.'

He had been on pins and needles since then, waiting anxiously for the bell to ring.

He knew in his heart that she didn't need to be alone at this point in time. If anything she needed a friend to help her through, just like she needed him on the night that she and Chad called it quits.

He attributed that night to fate; for whatever reason Gabriella had left her phone over his house that day after they had a pretty serious make out session. The phone rang and he heard her heavy sobs through the receiver asking for Gabriella. He immediately told her that Gaby wasn't there and he asked why she was so upset.

She paused for a minute before responding. It was like he could hear the wheels in her head spinning. Finally she broke down telling him that she and Chad were over, and even though she was the one that broke it off, she felt horrible because she considered Chad to be her first love.

They stayed on the phone that night for hours until almost dawn. He listened, consoled, encouraged, and even made her laugh by the end of their conversation. It was the beginning of many conversations they had during the evenings. He learned things about her that he never would have figured out in a million years.

He told her about why he loved basketball and sports so much, why he liked to sing, and why his parents never had anymore kids. She told him about her fears of college, the future, what her favorite movies were, and even a place she like to go to be alone.

"That's it" he screamed while slapping himself on the head.

Troy made an illegal u-turn and headed to the place he knew she would be. He was angry with himself for taking so long to figure out her whereabouts. Before long he was entering into Albuquerque's city park. He drove along the parks rode and before long he saw her car sitting in a vacant lot. He parked his truck next to her car and turned of the engine.

"She needs you to be strong Troy" he was saying to himself. He continued to say that over and over until finally he opened the door, took a deep breath, and started walking towards the gazebo that was fifty yards away.

Once he reached the gazebo he stood there for a minute and took in the beauty that was surrounding him. On the other side of the gazebo was a small path that lead to a stream at the bottom of what looked like a hill. Millions of trees surrounded the stream, lots of them leaning so close to the water it looked like they would break and fall any minute. Fall was definitely in the air as all the trees were starting to just barely turn different shades. A group of swans were by the stream and decided to take off, like majestic birds in the air. Troy noticed a family of ducks swimming and bathing in the cool water and that's when he saw her.

She was standing their alone at the top of a tiny hill that had formed at the bottom of the path. Troy decided that it was now or never and he headed his way down to her.

Once he got closer he noticed her tapered breathing and he knew she was crying. He stuffed his hands in his pocket and continued to inch himself closer.

She heard him coming. She knew it was him and that he would figure out where she would be eventually. She smelled his cologne on the air and knew he was right behind her but she refused to turn around and look at him.

They stayed that way for sometime, him behind her, while Troy was staring straight ahead and she was crying silently into the afternoon. Finally he got the courage to reach out and grab her shoulder.

"Taylor" he said softly while softly touching her shoulder.

She didn't say anything in return; she simply turned around to finally face him. The tears in her eyes were coming down in a steady stream that made her eyes puffy and her cheeks have a glossy appearance to them. He knew she had to be crying for hours.

Troy grabbed her hand and intertwined it with his.

"Taylor…I'm so sorry" he began, "You didn't deserve this but I want you to know that I will be here for you as long as you need me" he said strengthening his grasp on her hand.

She nodded her head in agreement. Troy pulled her hand closer to him and he grabbed Taylor into a hard embrace. As soon as she was enclosed in his arms she broke down into hard sobs. Troy tighten his embrace on her, "Its gonna be okay" he said while holding her and rubbing her back.

"She was my mom. How am I gonna make it with out her" cried Taylor in his arms.

"I'm here, you don't have to go through this alone" he responded, his voice shaking slightly.

Taylor was crying so hard that she began to shake violently. Troy continued to hold her without letting go.

Taylor knew that Troy would be there through this devastating experience if it was the last thing he did. And even though she couldn't feel it now, she was happy and had an overwhelming since of gratitude that she wouldn't have to experience this on her own. She knew her friends would be there for her but she felt a sense of security with having Troy right there with her in the thick of it all.

"Its gonna be alright" he said quietly while tears fell slowly down his eyes and onto his cheeks.

Nothing else needed to be said. There they stood, best friends on a hill embracing each other, expecting nothing more than love and friendship.