Flame of my Heart

by hotsodagirl

Genre: Romance

Rating: T for Violence, Alcohol Reference, and some Language

Sodagirl Says: Here is the new, revised edition of my first published High School Musical fanfiction, Flame of my Heart! I decided to revise the older chapters of this story because one day I read everything I had written so far in one sitting, and I decided I really didn't like the way I had written these beginning chapters. So I began to rewrite them. Now, if you are a new reader of this fanfiction, the storyline, as well as the way the chapters are set up, may seem a little off, not to mention the rating and summary have both changed throughout the course of this story. If you all will just bear with me, I will have more chapters revised and posted soon and then things will be right.

Of course, it's not as if I made any major changes to the plot. The only things I have changed are the way I have written the story and minor details. For example, in this chapter a bouquet of roses that are supposed to be sent to Gabriella for her and Troy's anniversary are mentioned, but if you continue to read the next chapters you will notice the roses are never brought up again. That's because I just added that in and I will include the roses when I get to that chapter's revision.

If you are a new reader, I just want to say thank you for reading and I hope you'll stick around through the rest of the story modifications and the new chapters I post afterward. If you have already been reading this story, I also want to thank you! Because this story wouldn't be what it is today if it weren't for you. You all have been awesome reviewers and you put the biggest smile on my face when you leave me good and/or long reviews! Seriously, as a high school freshman your reviews are huge compliments to me! So thank you so much for sticking around this whole time and through the rest of the story!

Okay, so again for you new readers or anyone else that just feels like reading this, I'm going to tell you a little bit about the story. There are two main couples – Troypay and Ryella. This story also includes Troyella for the first five chapters and mentioned Chaylor throughout the whole thing, but they're not a major couple. If I continue to write according to my plans, this story should be 25 chapters long, unless I have to stray from those plans like I have had to do in the past. I think there's an ample amount of drama in this story, as well as a plenitude of romance between the couples and sweet brother-sister moments between Ryan and Sharpay. As mentioned above, there is violence, alcohol reference, and a small bit of language (I don't ever cuss, so I only have the characters in my stories do so if I feel it's necessary). The first chapter is kind of short; I don't really know why

And if you couldn't already tell, I tend to talk a lot so I'm sorry if for some reason you hate long author's notes. :P I'm going to go ahead and let you read now, but first I have to say two things. First is the essential disclaimer, which is that I (sadly) do not own High School Musical, its cast (although I wish I owned Lucas Grabeel :D), the phrase "mocha tinted complexion" (my friend wrote this character description of me one time and used that phrase. I loved it so I just had to use it in here), or anything associated with HSM aside from the plot of this or any of my fanfictions. The other important thing to say is that sometimes I get behind on updating due to my advanced classes and such, so you can check out my profile for any news on story updates and other things.

Enjoy the new, revised edition of Flame of my Heart!

Chapter One: Screams in the Night

Her scream rang out clear in the dark night. It was full of fear – fear of her family, fear of nature, fear of life itself. Such anxiety must be heard, and it flowed into the ears of a certain blue-eyed boy, unconscious at the time, unknowing of the changes that lied ahead of him because of this single noise.

Troy Bolton, awoken by this sudden sound, sat upright in his bed and looked around the room, his eyes not even halfway open. He heard the scream again, so he knew it wasn't a dream. But who? Was it Candice? No, his nine-year-old sister was spending the night at a friend's house on the other side of town, and surely the scream hadn't come from his mother. So who could it be?

It was 1:00 a.m., Sunday morning. Basketball star and coach had returned from an extended practice only two hours before, swiftly changing into the more casual and relaxed relationship of father and son. Worn out, exhausted, and weary, Troy had clambered jadedly up the spotless, beige-carpeted staircase and crawled into bed, instantly falling into slumber, dreaming of his brown haired beauty. Gabriella Montez. It was now an hour into their two-month anniversary, and he was sure he could make this the best day of his girlfriend's life. He had planned everything out perfectly - from the bouquet of roses he had already ordered to be delivered at the crack of dawn to the fancy, candle-lit dinner that would conclude the evening. As he leaned back on his pillow and allowed his eyes to slowly begin to shut, his mind wandered off into another realm, where anything he envisioned could become reality. And there she was, sitting across from him above her china plate of fettuccini alfredo with a coquettish smile forming across her glossed, ruby lips. The flame from the single wick that burned steadily in the center of the table danced across her face, lighting up the features on her mocha tinted complexion that were framed by the sleek, auburn hair she twirled instinctively around her fingers. She was beautiful, thoughtful, and extremely accomplished: everything a guy could want in a girlfriend. She was perfect, and she belonged to him.

A second scream caused his to jerk upright once more, evaporating the fantasy dinner from his thoughts. There was only one element that remained from that imaginary setting - the shadows cast by the ever-burning flame. Rubbing his eyes, he looked around at his room and noticed for the first time these shadows as they flickered across his walls, light filtering through the transparent window from the outside. Outside. The screams were coming from outside. 'Why didn't I think of that?' Troy thought, yawning sleepily. He dragged himself out of bed and groggily analyzed the glass pane. Fog had settled over the house, obstructing any possible view of the surrounding neighborhood. The only way to investigate the situation would be to open the window. Unlocking the two latches on either side of the casement, he flexed the noticeable muscles exposed from beneath his white undershirt and slid the oversized transom upward, opening his room to the exterior world. The clean, filtered atmosphere of his sanitary home disappeared as the smoke he had thought to be fog spilled inside, polluting the air as well as his lungs. Gasping for air, he began to cough and looked frantically around for his phone.

Spotting his Verizon Chocolate cell phone across the room, he stumbled across the room to reach it, a million thoughts running through his mind at once. 'What do I do? Call 911. Who lives next door? Who was screaming? What if someone is hurt? What if they're trapped in the fire?' His hands shook as he dialed 9-1-1. 'Come on, answer already.' At length, an emergency official answered. Troy quickly gave out as much information as he could, his head spinning from lethargy and panic. The only clear notion in his head was that he had to hurry; someone could be in trouble. The instant he was able to hang up, he leaped across the room and ran downstairs in a burst of speed only possible in an urgent situation such as this, shouting for his parents the entire way from bedroom to front lawn.

It would seem that her screams would have been heard by the other neighbors, but fate had a hand in this situation. Every event of her life, as well as his, was a key incident that had led up to this very moment, the single moment that would alter several lives forever, and it would only do to have the basketball superstar be the one to come to the rescue. As it was, Troy was the first individual to seek and aid the broken family that stood before their flame-engulfed house.

She stood next to her brother, their parents standing, strangely unfazed by the scene, behind them. It was no surprise to see a sparkling pink purse on her shoulder, matching perfectly with her pink 'Drama Queen' tank top and identically printed pajama shorts. However, her blonde hair was pulled back into a fairly messy ponytail, an odd sight of the perfectionist. Another uncommon sight were the tears that fell from her dark brown eyes, making a mess of her already smeared make up, as her twin brother put his arm around her and mumbled comforting words in an attempt to calm the frazzled girl.

A perfectionist when it came to his looks, the same as his sister, it was a rare thing to see him in the state he stood. His disheveled blonde hair hung loosely around his face, neither gelled nor under a hat, and he was dressed much more grungily than was the norm. He wore baggy jeans and a white wifebeater, although it was hardly visible under the voluminous coat he wore, buttoned almost to the collar. One under normal circumstances would be curious as to why another would wear such a bulky garment at this time, as it was well into the month of March.

But Troy did not contemplate the reason of his clothing choice, their appearances, or the seemingly indifferent attitude of their parents. He couldn't, simply because the whole ordeal was quite astonishing. She was the last person he had expected to see, and it took a good amount of strength just to speak her name.

"Sharpay?"

Sodagirl Says: Okay, so hopefully you will review now if you haven't already, or even if you have! Can you do that? I mean, review a chapter more than once? Well, if you can't but you want to review anyway you can either PM me or include whatever you want to say about the new revision in the next review you do for a brand new chapter, okay? Thanks for reading!