S O M E D A Y

PART ONE: Once Upon A Time

SUMMARY: Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

DISCLAIMER: I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: A massive author's note is included AFTER the chapter for the purpose of not putting off anyone new to my work from the word go because I know author's notes irritate some people.

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Chapter 1

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"Okay… right hand green!" Ryan called.

No, it wasn't some type of finger painting exercise. Rather, it was a game of Twister. Gabriella had her right foot on red, her left foot on yellow, her left hand on yellow and her right hand on blue. Troy and Chad both moved swiftly, leaving her to manoeuvre herself in a seemingly impossible manner. She gritted her teeth, picking up her right hand and shifting her weight to the left, reached out underneath Troy, her head between his legs.

"Uh Gabriella? If you decide to lift your head in a sudden movement, could you let me know in advance so I can jump away?" Troy said.

"Maybe if you and Chad didn't keep purposely taking the ones close to me, then I wouldn't have to have my head in a position which is precariously dangerous for you," Gabriella pointed out.

"It is quite unfair for Gabriella," Martha sympathised. "They are taller. And can stretch further."

"That was an oxymoron Troy," Taylor said. "She wouldn't really decide to move her head suddenly… if it happened suddenly it would just happen. Not after making a decision."

"Hurry up and spin the fucking wheel before I fall!" Chad yelped.

"Ooh keep talking if he's about to fall, I'm quite comfortable here," Gabriella said.

"You're comfortable between Troy's legs?" Zeke quipped.

Gabriella blushed. "That's… that's… not how I meant it!"

"I said hurry the fuck up Evans!" Chad reiterated.

Ryan smirked, and spun the dial again. "Okay… right foot blue."

This was easy for both Gabriella and Troy, however Chad groaned as he was left to contort himself into a literally impossible position. Being Chad, of course he attempted. He failed, crashing to the ground in a thud, and in the process knocking over Gabriella, who caused Troy to land in a thud as well.

"Ow, are you TRYING to break my leg?" she whined where Troy's arm had whacked her.

"Would you have preferred I fell the other way and kicked you in the face?" Troy enquired cheekily, as he sat up.

"Fuck, I landed right on my funny bone!" Chad groaned.

"Was it funny?" Jason enquired.

"Not in the slightest."

"No really, my shin really hurts," Gabriella said with a pout, rubbing her leg.

Troy leaned over, pressing his lips against her leg gently. "That better?"

She giggled. "Is that how you fix all injuries?"

"Uh huh," Troy said. "I think I saw you bang your lip as well."

"Maybe," Gabriella agreed.

The young lovers drew in the gap, lips connecting in a sweet, chaste kiss.

"What about my injury Troy?" Chad asked cheekily. "My arm is REALLY sore. Are you going to kiss it better?"

Troy raised his eyebrows, and made a sudden movement toward his buddy. Chad snatched his arm away.

"Dude! I was kidding!" he said hastily.

"Okay get off the mat, I wanna play now!" Kelsi said enthusiastically, poking Chad and Troy in the back to prod them to move.

"Me too!" Ryan said, tossing the spinner aside.

"I'll spin the wheel," Martha volunteered.

… … …

If you had told this diverse group of people eight months earlier that they would be together, hanging out, voluntarily – they would have laughed at you. It wouldn't have happened. Only in homeroom, drama class and in the wider space of the cafeteria would they all be in the one room at the same time. If you had asked each of them over the winter break who they would be spending their spare time with during the summer break between junior and senior year, the answers would have been a far cry from the situation which had transpired.

You would have been given stock standard answers about basketball and parties from Troy, Chad, Zeke and Jason.

Kelsi would have given you a passionately excited speech about her plans to work on her new musical composition, and some of her rock ballads.

Ryan would have mentioned the amenities of the Lava Springs country club, and taking on some additional dance classes over the break.

Taylor would have listed off the AP English reading list for the following year.

Martha would have told everyone else that she would enjoy reading – but secretly known she would be taking hip hop classes.

Gabriella wouldn't have had a clue what city she would even be living in the following summer.

Basketball was played. Books were read. Music was written. Dance classes were taken.

But in addition to the above, Troy, Kelsi, Zeke, Gabriella, Jason, Martha, Chad, Ryan and Taylor had been spending time socialising. As a group. Together. In one room, at one time.

Finally, the summer was theirs. It had been theirs until things had gone awry at Lava Springs. But things were better now. It was tentative – Troy couldn't just say sorry and then make up for everything. You can't just say 'build a bridge' and have it be that. The bridge has to be build. The talent show night was the first in a series of steps.

… … …

Zeke, Kelsi and Ryan were now in a laughing mess on the mat.

"Hey, do you guys like SingStar?" Ryan asked.

"Troy and Gabriella would," Chad remarked.

Troy threw a cushion from the couch across the room, with perfect aim, hitting Chad smack on the forehead.

"Drunken SingStar is the best!" Zeke commented. "I played it at my cousins last year after having a few too many beers."

"Go on, plug it in," Taylor encouraged Ryan.

"What's SingStar?" Martha asked.

"It's like karaoke kind of. You get points for singing in pitch," Jason told her.

"Sounds fun," Gabriella said with a grin.

"Oh, shot gun singing Nirvana!" Chad exclaimed, looking on the back of one of the song lists.

"Uh… So do you reckon Sharpay will come down any time?" Zeke asked casually.

Ryan glanced at him. "Uh… to be honest, no."

"Oh."

"She's just screwing with you man, flirting with after the talent show. Get over it," Chad said with a sigh.

"I don't think it was like that," Ryan said, defending his sister. "She had a rough night…"

"So she just wanted a bit of cold comfort?" Chad supplied.

Zeke was looking crushed. Ryan sighed. "Do you want me to go ask her if she wants to come down?"

"Oh… if you like. It doesn't matter," Zeke said casually.

Chad groaned. "I'm gonna need to drink more. Troy, come with me."

"You're like girls needing a friend to go to the bathroom," Taylor giggled.

Troy and Chad ignored her comment, and headed in the direction of the small kitchen (that's right, the SMALL kitchen… there were multiple kitchens), straight to the refrigerator to pour a couple of glasses of coke.

"I feel a little weird here man," Troy confided in Chad. "I mean, we've known the Evans twins for like 9 years. And now suddenly we start hanging out at their house?"

"We're hanging out at RYAN'S house," Chad said. "Just forget Sharpay is here."

"I don't think Gabriella wants Sharpay to come down."

"As if she will. You saw the look on her face earlier when we all rocked up. She didn't want anything to do with us."

"Fine by me," Troy said darkly. "Besides, it's not just Sharpay that makes me feel weird being here."

"Ryan's a cool guy. We've hung out with him a bit lately," Chad said, referring to himself and the rest of the group.

"Yeah, I noticed. Always conveniently when I'm teaching one of the golf classes."

"That's coincidence, man. And I don't think you are one to be getting weird about us having a new friend when you spent half your summer running around with the Redhawks."

Troy threw his hands up in the air. "I thought we'd moved past this?"

"We have," Chad assured him. "Just saying is all. I hadn't really thought about the fact that we've been hanging out when you weren't there. We'll have to plan a bit better, coz I reckon you'll think he's a cool guy also if you get to know him."

Chad retrieved the bottle of bourbon from the cupboard Ryan had indicated they were fine to take whatever from.

"Can you imagine yourself thinking that six months ago?" Troy smirked.

"Fuck, two months ago I wouldn't have thought I'd ever think that," Chad admitted. "Things change."

"Tell me about it."

"Speaking of change… I decided I'm gonna ask out Taylor. Like actually. Really. On a date."

"When? You've been saying that since the last day of school man," Troy pointed out.

"Tonight. Now. Soon. Before I get too drunk," Chad said decisively, right as he was pouring the bourbon into their glasses.

"Come on, a little more," Troy encouraged.

He rolled his eyes, but complied, pouring more alcohol in. "Guess I'd better go ask her now if you're trying to get me drunk sooner than I'd planned."

"You reckon Mr and Mrs Evans really don't care about us drinking?"

"Man, I doubt they hardly even know we're here. And I know for a fact they would never come into this kitchen."

"You nervous?" Troy asked.

"About drinking?"

"No. About asking Tay out."

"Nah, she'll say yes," Chad said confidently. He then paused. "I think."

"How you gonna ask?"

"Well, I was going to take her out into the moonlight, and gaze up at the stars, give her a flower and then the string quartet was going to arrive…" Chad said sarcastically. "Dude, I'm just gonna ask her out! There is no 'how'!"

"Of course there's a how!" Troy exclaimed. "To start with, you need to decide where you're gonna go to ask. You don't want to get interrupted halfway through. And you need to think about where you are going to suggest you go. Or, are you going to just say, let's go out, and then she might think you just mean as friends. Or, she thinks it's as more and she plans it and takes you somewhere like… I dunno… the OPERA."

Chad was beginning to feel a little worried. He tossed the drink back, drinking the whole lot in one quick chug.

"Maybe I should be drunk for this."

… … …

Ryan stood poised outside of his sister's room, a pineapple vodka mixer in his left hand. He carefully knocked on her door in the "knock knock knock-knock knock, knock knock" that he would always use on her door.

"What?!" Sharpay's annoyed reply came, knowing it was Ryan.

Ryan slowly opened the door. Sharpay was snuggled up in her pristine four poster bed, with Boi sitting primly beside her, a pink bow adorning his head.

"Hey Shar," Ryan said quietly.

"Are you drunk?" Sharpay demanded.

"A little tipsy," he admitted. "Listen, do you wanna come down and hang out with everyone?"

"No," she said simply.

"We're playing SingStar. You LOVE SingStar."

Sharpay ignored him, her eyes glued to her television screen.

"I'll sing Baby One More Time with you," Ryan persisted.

She ignored him.

"Zeke wants to see you," Ryan added.

Sharpay picked up the remote control and turned up the sound, drowning him out.

… … …

Chad decided to ignore every last bit of Troy's advice about thinking about what to say. He followed his gut instinct. It was what he followed with every decision he had made in his life, and he wasn't about to change. Chad strode up to where Taylor, Kelsi and Ryan were engaged in a conversation, laughing about something, and he grabbed Taylor's hand.

"Come with me," he requested, tugging her away.

Taylor allowed Chad to pull her away, taking her into the first empty room he could find, a dining room.

"What's up?" Taylor asked.

"Would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow night?" Chad asked.

Taylor blinked. She and Chad had been doing this dance of flirtation for almost six months. To be honest, she had doubted whether they would ever become anything more serious.

"Uh… sure…" Taylor managed to say.

Chad grinned. "Off the hook. I'll come pick you up tomorrow night at 6. Dinner and a movie sound like a plan?"

"Uh… sure…" she stammered, echoing her previous response.

"Awesome. Come on, let's get another drink."

"Uh… sure…"

"I hope your vocabulary extends again by tomorrow night," Chad remarked. "Anyone would think you've been hanging around us lunkheads too long."

… … …

Troy came out of the bathroom. Alcohol always had a tendency of creating more bathroom trips. Jason was heading up the corridor towards him.

"J-man," Troy greeted him.

"Hey Troy… can I uh… Can I talk to you about something, man?" Jason asked, feeling a little uncomfortable.

Troy raised his eyebrows. "Uh… okay?"

Jason glanced around, and then pulled Troy back into the bathroom and closed the door behind them. The two guys stood around in silence, Troy waiting expectantly, Jason feeling uncomfortable and trying to form the words.

"Do you think I have a shot with Kelsi?" Jason finally asked.

"Only way to know is to ask her," Troy said.

"No really. You reckon I have a shot?"

"Well, I know she definitely thinks you're a cool guy. I honestly wouldn't know whether she would want more. I could ask Gabriella if you want?"

"No!" Jason said quickly. He sighed. "I just… I don't know how to talk to her, how to start the conversation. It's fucked, man. Like, at Dee's farewell party a couple of weeks ago, I found it real easy to talk and flirt with Monica and Liana and their crowd. But then with Kelsi I just… go all weird."

"Because you actually LIKE her," Troy explained. "Trust me, that's what I was like with Gabriella in the beginning."

"So what do I do?"

"Just… be yourself."

"That's great advice Troy. 'Be yourself'," Jason said sarcastically, shaking his head.

"What do I look like, a fucking relationship counsellor?"

… … …

After emerging from her conversation with Chad and retrieving another vodka mixer drink, Taylor located Gabriella who was talking with Ryan in the lounge room, setting up the SingStar game.

"Chad asked me out," Taylor whispered, not wanting Chad to overhear. He was in the next room talking with Martha and Kelsi.

"Like actually? On a date?" Gabriella asked. "When are you going?"

Taylor nodded, a wide smile lighting up her face. "Tomorrow night."

"Finally," Ryan said, rolling his eyes. Even as a newcomer to their group, he knew that Chad and Taylor had been flirting for ages.

Gabriella gave her friend a quick hug. "Tomorrow, we go shopping, and we talk about it in WAY more detail!" she declared.

… … …

Troy wandered out into the backyard after talking with Jason, and found Zeke sitting out by the pool.

"Enjoying the quiet?" Troy asked.

"Something like that."

Troy noticed that Zeke was staring up at the second floor. He sighed.

"Is that Sharpay's room?"

"Yeah."

Troy groaned. "Dude… you're bordering on stalker here."

"Shut up."

"Hey man, I wanted to ask your advice about something. Uh… about Sharpay," Zeke said, staring down at his sneakers.

"Man, I am so the go to guy for girl advice tonight," Troy remarked.

"Since you got to know Sharpay over summer, I thought maybe you could help me," Zeke said honestly.

"The best help you can get is to just get over her, man," Troy said honestly. "You do realise the reason I spent time with her was because she was fawning all over me."

"Yeah, thanks dude, I needed to be reminded of that," Zeke said bitterly.

The truth was that this had been a source of tension between Troy and Zeke. This was the first one on one conversation the guys had been involved in since they had all started working at Lava Springs. Zeke hadn't enjoyed watching the girl that he had a crush on obsess over his buddy.

"Maybe you did. Dude, she's known you've been interested for like six months. If something was gonna happen, it would have happened."

"But after the talent show we hung out… and then at the pool party we were dancing…" Zeke protested.

Troy sighed. "True. But… okay. Truth. You're right, I spent a lot of time with her, and I do think I know her better than I did before. I know you think that there are these hidden layers to Sharpay, and I think you're right man. But the layers… they're fucked up. She's complicated. I think there's a lot of issues, with her, with her family… it's just one big complicated mess that you don't wanna get into," Troy advised.

Zeke sighed. "I guess."

Troy suddenly heard the sounds of Jason's slightly off pitched singing coming from inside.

"Sounds like the SingStar has started. You coming in?"

"Yeah, in a bit."

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After playing several rounds of 'Pass the Mic' on SingStar, and consuming several rounds of alcohol in the meantime, the novelty of the karaoke was beginning to wear off, even in this group of singing inclined individuals.

"I think we should all crash down here and see how long we can stay up!" Kelsi said excitedly.

"Yes!" Troy agreed hastily.

He found the upstairs portion of the Evans mansion even more intimidating then the downstairs, with the labyrinth of fancy guest bedrooms.

… … …

Gabriella went upstairs with Ryan to help him with organising mattresses, blankets and pillows to drag downstairs.

"So uh… did you and Troy want a room or…" Ryan asked.

Gabriella's eyes widened. "Ryan! No! We're… we don't…"

"How would I know?" Ryan said defensively. "I'm new to this whole social circle. Figured I should ask."

"Well thank you but… no! Absolutely not!"

"But are you guys okay now? I know that things went a bit crazy back with uh… you know… my sister and stuff," Ryan said.

Even though Ryan was not responsible for his sisters actions, a part of him always felt personal guilt for the affect that her plotting had upon other people.

"Good but... I think there's still a lot of talking left to do about it. I guess the important thing is that we both realised that our relationship is more important than any of what was going on, and we're willing to work on it. I really think that everything is going to be fine."

… … …

Gabriella wasn't sure how it happened. The mattresses had been dragged downstairs and they were all just sitting around on the floor; chatting, randomly watching MTV, eating the remnants of the chips and lollies that were scattered throughout the room. There had been no permanent decision made about a sleeping pattern. She and Troy had been sitting together… and then lying together kissing… and the next thing she knew the rest of the group had given up on the staying up late plan and were dimming the lights, leaving her snuggled up with Troy on a double fold out mattress, the one big comforter to share between them.

Troy didn't seem to be making a big deal about it, he just grabbed a pillow and handed it to her, spread out the blanket and proceeded to settle down.

'It's just sleeping, Gabriella. You've slept in the same bed as a boy before. Sure, it was your cousin… and you were 9… but it's no big deal.'

She rolled onto her side, facing away from Troy. The logic behind it was that if she could pretend he wasn't there then maybe it would be less of a big deal. However Troy seemed determined to make his presence known. He was wriggling about, trying to get comfortable but obviously not having a lot of luck.

"Troy?" Gabriella whispered questioningly.

"It's hot, I can't get comfortable," he complained.

"Then don't use the blanket," Gabriella suggested.

"I can't sleep without a blanket."

"Then... I don't know... take off your wife beater. I don't care."

Troy was grateful for this suggestion. He normally just slept in his boxers, especially during summer. He'd lashed out and found a pair of striped pyjama shorts in the bottom of his cupboard to demonstrate a bit of discretion, and when he'd wound up with Gabriella kept his wife beater on. The material against his chest was proving uncomfortable and prickly; making it impossible to get comfortable. He peeled off the shirt and finally settled down.

He rolled over onto his side, to face the back of Gabriella's head. Slowly but surely, he inched his way forward, until he was nestled right behind her. His arm fell onto her waist, draping across her tummy and drawing her even further into him.

"So this is spooning," Gabriella whispered.

"Mm hmm," Troy murmured, softly planting kisses along Gabriella's shoulders and neck.

"It's probably not helping you if you're warm," she whispered.

"Don't care."

Gabriella couldn't help but smile, allowing herself to cocoon within his warm embrace.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE –

I am updating this as at November 4, 2008; however this story was first published on June 24 and it was finished on October 23.

This is the first chapter of the first part of The Someday Trilogy. This ramble here may seem a tad daunting but is important so pretty please persevere!

There are quite a few stories out there which explore senior year. This version is one which was created prior to knowledge of High School Musical 3. I personally am really excited about is my post high school stories that I want to tackle in the future. But I feel as though I can't write about those experiences without going through the earlier experiences. To appreciate the place where they wind up, I feel as though you need to understand where they have been. So even if I never posted this, if I'd just skipped this whole period in time and gone ahead and written the future fic – I would need to write Someday, just for myself. So why not post it, I figure.

This story is divided into three (3) parts which I could post as three individual stories in their own right but it's a continuing series of plots and subplots. The first part forms a larger part of the length, however a shorter period of time. It fills a few bazillion chapters, going from… hmm, summer between junior and senior year, until… probably just after Thanksgiving. Or thereabouts.

The second and third parts become more disjointed, with interludes between the parts; allowing for time to be more or less skipped. These parts will also, in contrast to the pace of the first part, cover time in a fraction of the amount of chapters as the first section.

Any similarities or dissimilarities between my story and High School Musical 3 are unintentional. I have written my entire trilogy in my brain, I began to envisage it before HSM3 was even confirmed; I wrote ALL of this before the release of HSM3. For the purpose of this story, HSM3 is irrelevant.

I also know the M rated thing is becoming particularly popular, and not only popular but also being written really really really well. AussieEllie is a fave of mine in this category. So I know that exploring 'the firsts' isn't as exciting as it once was. But again, as an author, it's something I need to do. As an author, as a person, as a woman in love with Zachary... ahem.

So. This is rated M. It is not a light M. It is a heavy M. It is an M for the reasons that the majority of stories in this fandom are rated M. There will be a plot to support this element of the story, but, the porn will remain in its place. If you've read my work previously, you'll know that I write in relatively comprehensive detail. A single conversation can go for like 3000 words if you get me on a roll. Part 1 of this story in particular will more so follow the pace and style of Here With You, but dealing with more mature relationships and emotions and also going into a lot more detail with different characters.

I am not going to change my writing style to make you less likely to blush.

I will not skim over these scenes.

IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS, DO NOT READ THIS STORY.

I encourage feedback and constructive criticism about my work, but I will not tolerate any kind of abuse if you find it offensive that I am writing in this kind of detail. I've warned you now, so if this is going to bother you, then I suggest you either don't read OR read and skim over those parts.

Another thing I feel the need to make a remark about is in relation to the pairings I will be incorporating. At its heart, Someday is a Troy and Gabriella story. But I am going to attempt to explore multiple subplots, including other pairings (Chad and Taylor predominantly) and friendships (Ryan and Gabriella FRIENDSHIP note FRIENDSHIP will be prominent) and just generally the issues that come with the high school package. There might be whole chapters with hardly any Troyella. I hear you gasp, BLASPHEMOUS! If you leave me a review saying "Good, but more Troyella" then I will be grateful for the review count going up but I will not listen to your advice in the slightest. If all you want is Troyella fluff, go elsewhere.

Anyway. Enough rambling.

I prepared this story with the assistance of a whole crew of fabulous people, predominantly with the beta reading work of Ayen aka ZVKG-ai; and Martin aka emptrajan.

A final note is to anyone who has not yet encountered me. Hello. I am Pandora147 aka Dani. When I wrote this story, for a good portion of the time I was backpacking around the world, woo hoo go me. This provides a lot of context to some of my random author's notes throughout about where I am in the world. :-)

I am really really excited about this story and I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter and are excited about what lies ahead.

So after all that... Thoughts? Review please :-) xo