Hey everyone familiar and new, thank you for following my work I hope it continues to keep you enthralled/interested/less bored than normal :D

Ang

1.

"Troy Bolton?"

His body was slumped across the desk. His left arm stretched right forward so that his fingers dangled over the edge and his right arm folded so that his forearm cushioned his forehead.

He was sound asleep in the middle of class.

The voice didn't rouse him, but he murmured in his sleep and a trickle of laughter chased around the room.

Mr. Montez stood at the end of his desk and tipped his head with barely held patience.

"Troy?" He called again, his deep voice loud in the quiet room.

Troy did rouse this time, with a sudden lift of his head and a sleepy breath in through his nose.

"Mm?" He questioned, squinting, then looking around until he met his teacher's gaze.

"Oh, hi, Mr. Montez." He grinned sheepishly, flicking his fringe back as he sat up straight.

"Something about history you find boring?" Mr. Montez wondered.

"No, not at all," Troy opposed.

"Care to share who kept you up all night?" Mr. Montez asked with an arched brow as the class tittered again as he returned to the front of class and waited for Troy to explain.

Troy pursed his mouth and flicked his eyes up, knowing he was being made an example in front of the class.

"Your daughter." He smarted back with another casual grin, creating a face of fury on his teacher's visage.

"Very funny, Troy. Perhaps you can tell me some more jokes whilst you're in detention?" Mr. Montez suggested and Troy's smile dropped, paling his face.

"I was kidding…" He offered nervously, lifting his hand to appeal the punishment.

Everyone knew Gabriella Montez was the teacher's daughter, teacher's pet and perfect pupil. It only made sense she was joked about when in the presence of her father.

Only Troy knew he shouldn't have crossed that mark. Being caught napping in class was making him lax. He had seen Gabriella around, mostly scuttling; shoulders down, head down, but he was still intrigued by her.

And he knew better than to cross her father.

Blame the sleepless nights, he mused, taking his detention slip with a tired snatch from Mr. Montez before going back to his notes.

Now what was he gonna do?

--

"Please, Chad." He whined.

"No way." Chad folded his arms, rocking back in the plastic chair at the lunch table.

"It's just for an hour." Troy repeated.

"I'm not babysitting." Chad said firmly, flicking a look across to the next table; where the brainy bunch sat. "Ask Taylor." He suggested.

Troy sighed and ran a hand through his hair stressfully. "I already did."

"Hey…you okay, dude?" Chad checked.

Troy lifted his blue eyes and tempted telling his buddy about the predicament he was in, but the risk was too great.

He and Ellie had been doing just fine by themselves for the last few months; they didn't need help or people sticking their noses in where they weren't needed.

But he needed a sitter while he sat his detention. He didn't trust his little sister to make it home from school, safely, alone.

She was prone to disappearing and acting out since the death of their parents just a few months ago. If he didn't have enough to deal with in losing his parents; he had to now pick up the pieces of his sister's shattered life and take care of her; too.

They had both made a pact not to let anyone split them up or take Ellie away.

Troy had promised they would manage just fine by themselves until he was 18 and old enough to become her legal guardian.

He flicked his eyes across the lunch hall, measuring his school-mates for babysitting duties. Ellie might be twelve years old, but she still needed watching.

He sighed, picking up his satchel as he wondered how he would find help by this time tomorrow, biting his lip worriedly at the thought of Ellie coming home to an empty house.

He'd already quit the team to give up his evenings to look after her and now he had to make sure he stayed out of trouble, too.

"Dude?" Chad reminded him he had asked him a question, some time ago.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He lied, pressing his lips together, and then moving off from the lunch table, deep in thought.

--

'Babysitter for hire! $5 an hour, meal required.'

Troy smiled, typing the number into his phone and dialling it right away. It was like a ray of light at the end of a dark, dark day.

"Hello, Gabriella speaking?" The young, female voice answered and Troy grinned bemusedly at it.

That was Montez' daughter advertising for work?

"Uh, I need a babysitter." Troy blurted out, still shocked at who was on the other end of the line.

"Oh! Great!" She said excitedly, bringing another smile to his lips as he pictured her awkwardness melting away to reveal a girly demeanor.

"Is tomorrow too soon?" He asked.

"No! Not at all, sooner the better!" She replied lightly and he chuckled.

"Awesome. So, uh, how does it work?" He wondered belatedly.

"I can meet you tonight and go through your requirements and if you are happy, I'll start work tomorrow. I can tell you my conditions when we meet." She added.

"It says here you want food." He stated.

"An evening meal whilst in employment, yes." She explained, her posh tone making him chuckle. If she really knew who she was talking to, that excitement would soon fade and she'd give him the same treatment she normally did- avoid him like the plague.

He still hadn't worked out if she hated him or was scared of him, but either way, it didn't make him happy.

"Okay, tonight. Can you come round?" He asked.

"Sure, what's the address?"

--

"Oh." Gabi's mouth dropped open as she stood outside the Bolton home, greeted by Troy himself.

She knew a bit about Troy; almost everybody did, since his parents had been killed in an awful road accident just a few months back.

Before that, he'd been popular, sporty, always smiling. Then he had disappeared for a while and she had missed his lanky form around the halls, missed hearing his laugh.

And then he'd come back.

Only he wasn't the Troy everybody knew so well; it was clear to see he had changed. And all of a sudden she found herself even more intrigued by him; maybe even daring to believe they could somehow have something in common.

She had lost her own mother when she was just eight years old and her rather strict; teacher father had brought her up single handedly.

She loved him to bits, but her venture into babysitting was definitely a hidden attempt to get out of the house and meet normal people.

Only she hadn't quite expected this.

"What does that mean?" He asked with a twizzled brow, trying not to smile.

"Nothing…" She said quickly, the breath leaving her lungs and rendering her speechless.

"There's something about me you don't like?" He wondered.

Actually there's a lot about you I do like, she thought to herself.

"No!" She said forcefully, blushing.

He chuckled then and it surprised her. "You better come in, Montez."

She nodded and stepped inside, gripping the strap of her over-the shoulder bag tightly as she crept into the beautiful house and darted looks around.

She had chosen her smart green plaid skirt and mint green cardigan with white ballet pumps; her hair braided neatly either side of her head.

Her large brown eyes looked up to him and met his startling blue ones.

"Don't you have adults here?" She wondered all of a sudden.

He stiffened as she watched his back, coming into the family room.

"My aunt and uncle. But they're on vacation." He said tensely.

"Oh." She said again, sitting in the seat he gestured to, flicking her eyes down his body to check what he was wearing.

He had on some sports trousers and a t-shirt that bared his muscled arms and she found herself peeking at them while he wasn't looking.

"So, I have detention tomorrow and I need someone to get my sister from her school and bring her home, help her with homework and stay here till I get home." He said businesslike, folding one long leg across the other where his fingers rested on his calf.

"Okay, I can do that. Do you have food here so I can make a meal for us both?" She quizzed with those large eyes of hers directed on his.

Troy smirked as his tummy twitched at her beauty. He'd never seen anyone quite so unique and unknowingly beautiful in his life.

"How about I bring some chips home with me?" He asked with a little smile that she couldn't work out.

"Chips?" She questioned, like she had never tasted them before.

He almost laughed out loud at her insulted face.

"Yeah, those little chips of potato, deep fried…" He described.

She tilted her head and pressed her lips together. "Fine, okay."

"Is that not good enough for you? Do you want gourmet?" He cheeked.

Gabi squinted at him, knowing now why he was smiling at her with that silly little amused grin.

He was taking the piss. He was just like everyone else who thought she was stuck up and pompous just because her father was a teacher. If only they knew how normal they were at home.

Well maybe she could show him a thing or two, she mused. She didn't care about what anyone else thought at East High; but for some reason, she cared what he thought.

She frowned at that, and then looked at him again.

"Do I get to meet your sister?" She asked.

"Of course…" He stood and shouted up the stairs, leaving her to nervously perch on the edge of the sofa.

Finally a dishevelled teen came down, dressed in gothic clothes; lots of make up and chipped black nail varnish.

She might have had the same glossy brown locks that Troy enjoyed, but she had died them black and it paled her face. A face which was sulky and unhappy.

Gabi smiled hopefully at her.

"Hi there, I'm Gabriella, I'm going to be your babysitter tomorrow…" She began preppily.

"Great, you got me Mary Poppins." Ellie smarted before barging past Troy to run back up the stairs.

"That's Ellie…" He said with a pained look on his face. "You still want the job?"

--

"How was school?" Gabriella asked her young charge.

"Really? We're gonna do this?" Ellie rolled her eyes.

Gabi blushed and felt hurt at the tone of the young girl. She had maybe hoped to find out more about Troy from her, but that didn't seem feasible now.

"I was just making conversation…" She murmured, not sure how to continue now that she had been cut off.

"Troy got detention. Do you think you'd be here otherwise?"

Gabi opened her mouth and closed it again, speechless.

"Please don't tell me you have a crush on my brother…" Ellie added disgustedly.

"I don't even know him all that well." Gabi argued. "I just needed a job and here I am."

Ellie seemed to respect this as she looked away, gripping her backpack straps.

"Can we go to the park?" She asked innocently.

"We should get home; I'm meant to help you with your homework." Gabi replied.

"Mom always let me." Ellie argued, faltering Gabi from her original words.

"I really don't know that Troy would be happy…"

"Troy's not my dad." Ellie smarted back. "As much as he likes to think he is…." She muttered, making a beeline for the park.

"I really don't think this is a good idea…" Gabi commented as she followed Ellie as quickly as she could on her small legs, kind of running to catch her.

"Why not?" Ellie threw back at her, heading straight for the roundabout and jumping onto it, leaving Gabi at the sidelines, hand on hips.

"We need to get home, Ellie." Gabi said firmly.

Ellie gave her a cold glare and smirked, but didn't move from her spinning position.

"Would you be like this with Troy?" Gabi wondered.

"Most probably, yes." Ellie shrugged, jumping off and pushing past Gabi to get to the swings.

The air left Gabi's lungs in shock at the girl's abrasiveness and she looked behind her, somehow knowing the death of her parents was affecting her deeply.

Was it affecting Troy the same way?

She shook her head of her worry for the boy she barely knew and followed the wayward teenager, sitting on the swing next to her, but still, waiting for her to finish whatever game she was playing.

"Wanna give up yet?" Ellie wondered on the upswing.

"Nope." Gabi replied, lifting her eyes to the smaller girl. She had the same startling blue eyes that were only accentuated by the dark liner she had pencilled onto her eyes.

"Fine." Ellie smarted.

Gabi couldn't get her down. She waited a while, then asked her, finally pleaded with her, then began to stress and worry as the night got darker.

They must have been there an hour; Troy would be home soon and she had to get her back before then and help with homework.

"You want to stay out here all night?" Gabi asked eventually, jutting her hip.

"Yup." Ellie replied, still swinging.

"In the dark?" Gabi punted back. "With strangers creeping around?"

"Yup." Ellie said again, causing Gabi to sigh quietly.

"What in the heck is going on?" Troy's voice demanded loudly as he threw open the gate of the playground and it sprang back with a jarring clash, causing Gabi to jump with fright and cower at his menacing tone.

His body was tense and his face tight with anger; a face she had never seen before.

"She won't come down." Gabi supplied gently, darting her brown eyes up to his.

"Hey Troy." Ellie smiled, stopping her swing and jumping down; heading out of the playground, leaving Gabi gaping with her audacity.

"I thought I left you to look after her, not take her to the park at night!" He accused.

"Oh sure…" Gabi folded her arms. "Like I haven't just spent the last hour trying to get her to leave?"

"This was a bad idea." Troy returned, sinking his hand into his soft-looking hair and sighing.

Gabi felt tears spring to her eyes, feeling like she had failed her after-school job before she had even started.

"I'm sorry, I tried…" She offered with a broken voice, heading toward the gate herself, an ache in her chest as she felt she'd let him down.

"It's not your fault." He offered from behind her, his voice intending to comfort.

She turned, her tears cascading her cheeks as she pressed her lips together.

He walked over to her, his face creasing in concern at her tears, lifting one finger to gently wipe a streak away, making her flinch and step back from him.

"I'm sorry I shouted at you." He added.

"I should have tried harder…" She acknowledged. "I understand."

"She's like that all the time…" He replied easily, another sigh following. His blue eyes met hers with a little frown, his lashes so long and beautiful, she found herself staring into his eyes.

She nodded, not sure what to do now. She was frozen, trapped by his soulful gaze, half ready to escape the playground and half wanting to just throw herself at him.

"I was worried about you…err…Ellie. I was worried about Ellie." He amended.

"I can imagine." She answered. "It must be hard."

He was mostly dropping his gaze to his converse but he met her eyes again, tentatively.

"Do you still want chips?" He asked hopefully.

Gabi smiled as she let out a relieved breath, suddenly feeling the weight lift in the heavy moment.

"I would love some." She approved.

--

"I bet you're used to much better stuff than this." Troy remarked as they sat in the lounge, Ellie now working quietly on her homework, mostly thanks to Troy's perseverance.

Gabi picked up a soggy chip and ate it with pleasure, amused at his perception of her.

"These are amazing!" She smiled. "I never get chips at home."

"That's not a bad thing!" He chuckled.

"It so is…" She sulked.

Ellie looked up to them and gave them both a disgusted look, making Gabi squirm a little in her seat.

"How's the trigonometry?" She asked the younger girl.

"You fancy my brother." She accused again, causing Gabi to open her mouth wide and blush deeply. She didn't dare answer her in fear of incriminating herself.

"Elle…" Troy said beside Gabi, leaning forward.

"What?" She barked back.

Troy looked to Gabi then, wondering if his sister was right. He flicked his eyes over her plaits that cascaded her face and he found himself following her tongue darting out to lick her lips.

He wondered then if she had ever been kissed. He quite liked imagining she hadn't, and that he could be the one to teach her.

"I'm sorry…" He offered to her eventually. "I'm not sure this is what you had in mind when you took up babysitting…" he mused.

Ellie stuck her tongue out to him and he flopped back into the seat.

"It's okay." She replied.

Troy tipped his head as he watched her more obviously now, wondering what was going on in that head of hers.

"What's it like, having a teacher as a dad?" He asked.

Gabi sat up and faced him, wishing he hadn't asked that question. Almost everybody did and then teased her silly about it. She was kind of hoping he might be different.

"That bad, huh?" He asked, reading her look.

Her eyes went wide with her shock at his deduction and he held back a smile at her innocence.

"Pretend I never asked" He carried on talking , finishing his chips and screwing up the packet, taking her empty one, too and Ellie's and placing them in the bin.

"What do you get up to out of school?" He asked instead and she was still looking at him in puzzlement.

"You don't have to pretend to be nice." She said then, surprising him even more. Even Ellie looked up from her work book.

"I'm…I'm not…" He stuttered.

She let her doe eyes rest on his face for a few moments while she considered his reply.

"Tomorrow we'll go back to being strangers roaming the same school halls." She mused, getting up.

"We're not strangers…" He argued confusedly, standing too.

"You owe me $10. I'll be going now." She said firmly.

Troy blinked, conscious that his height was intimidating to her, from the way she kept darting him worried looks and he realised she was afraid of him. Probably didn't help how he had gone charging in there after finding Ellie missing and yelled at her like a crazy person.

He pressed his lips in, reached into his pocket for the money and handed it to her.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He said.

"Goodnight, Troy. Goodbye, Ellie." She added, letting herself out of his house.

--

"Did you really need to be that rude?!" Troy asked Ellie as he turned back to face her.

"I don't like people thinking they can tell me what to do." She mumbled into her exercise book.

"Ellie, I can't always be here. I might need Gabi to come over again, are you going to make it even more difficult for me?" He wondered.

"We don't need her." Ellie argued, looking up, her blue eyes clear and hurting.

"What if I want to play basketball again? What if I have a date or go out with my friends? We need someone." He reasoned.

"I'm old enough…" She frowned.

"No, you're not. I miss them like you do, Elle, but you have to help me out here." He appealed.

She sighed, her lower lip quivering as she was about to break into tears and he crossed the room to hug her, feeling her resistance and holding her tight.

"I can't do this!" She wailed, sobbing harder and he sighed, stroking her back as she spilt her hurt onto his shoulder and he could only wish their pain was over and that things were easier.

He still felt it himself every day. Every day he woke up, still expecting his mom to be calling up to him to tell him breakfast was ready, still expecting his dad to be encouraging him with his basketball; and he still woke up with the sound of echoing silence. He still had to get up, early, make breakfast for Ellie and organise his own school day, too.

He still had to avoid the authorities and tell lies to everyone he met about why they were alone in this big house, with no-one around to care.

And worst of all, maybe the hardest thing for him to cope with, he still put his own grief on hold to comfort that of his sister, finding his nights increasingly sleepless and his emotions bottled and compounded until he felt like he could let it all go.

Troy Bolton was a walking time bomb, ticking and ready to go off.

--