A/N: My new story. I kinda like it. But, you guys tell me what you think and I will decide if I should continue it.

I don't own:

HSM

I do own:

Storyline

Chapter 1 – I need a friend

Gabriella smiled gratefully at Sharpay. "Thank you, Shar."

Sharpay pulled Gabriella's locker open and helped to swap her books over. "I still don't think this is a good idea. You still can't write."

"Shar, I've been off for three months now. My speech is back and you know that I can write with my left hand too." Gabriella replied.

Her friend shut the locker and sighed. "Yeah but, this is high school."

"Yes and it's helping me on my way of being a doctor. Everyone kind of knows me. They know I'm not a bad kid." She compromised.

"Yes and when you moved here in September, they bullied you because you were a geeky farm chick. It's not a good idea. I can only imagine what Tay's going to say." Sharpay raised her eyebrows. "Oh and Chad's hanging around with the new guy I was telling you about."

Gabriella nodded in a bored way. "Shar, we've been best friends since I came here, when have I ever been interested in guys?"

"Hey, this guy plays basketball." Sharpay defended.

"So does Chad but I don't go crazy over him." Gabriella joked.

"Yes but there's something about him that reminds me of you."

"He lives on a farm?" Gabriella raised her eyebrows, mirroring Sharpay.

"Well, no. His Dad's the basketball coach and I can't remember what his mum does." She scratched the back of her head in thought.

"Gabby!" Taylor squealed as she ran up and hugged Gabriella. She pulled back and frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to come back to school." Gabriella explained, taking her books from Sharpay with her left arm.

"But, what about-" Taylor started.

"I'll get Chad to be my body guard if that would make you happy." Gabriella compromised.

Sharpay and Taylor raised their eyebrows at each other before grinning and nodding. "Okay."

Gabriella shook her head. "The point is that no one is brave enough to hurt me." She pushed herself from the lockers and slowly started to limp down the corridor.

"So, the doctor said you could come back?" Taylor asked.

"She told me to take it easy." Gabriella replied.

"Gabby!" A voice yelled.

She slowly turned around and was immediately picked up and swung around by an excited Chad, resulting in her books dropping to the floor. She giggled and grasped Chad's shirt to re gain her balance once her feet were on the ground. "I take it you're happy to see me?"

He frowned. "Hey, you're like my little sister. Of course I am. How are you, dude?"

"Well, the doctor said to take it easy. My speech is obviously back and I have a limp but I can't use my right arm at all." She replied sadly, bending down to pick up her books. She saw another hand go to take it and looked up to see a boy with intense blue eyes smiling back at her.

"I think you dropped this when Chad attacked you." He said, handing her the books.

She snapped out of her thoughts and took them gratefully. "Thanks." She slowly got to her feet and smiled. "He has a tendency to do that."

The boy held out his hand. "I'm Troy."

"Uh, Chad can you take my books for a second?" Gabriella asked.

"Why?" He asked in confusion.

"Just take them." Gabriella replied stubbornly, glaring at him.

His eyes widened and he took the books, leaving her left arm free.

Gabriella raised her left hand. "Gabriella."

Troy's brow furrowed as he shook her left hand. "So you're the famous Gabriella. Why didn't you use your right?"

Gabriella released his hand and took the books from Chad. "I'm sorry, I've got to go." She quickly turned around and limped off in the direction of her homeroom.

"What's wrong with her?" Troy asked Chad.

"I told you that she's stubborn." Sharpay interjected.

"Then why can't you tell me?" He persisted.

"It's a little more complicated than the flu." Taylor put in.

Troy sighed. "You guys talk about her all of the time but I only know her name. That and that she's been ill for three months."

"And she lives on a farm." Chad grinned.

Troy rolled his eyes. "The point is, I came here when she's not here and you guys talk about her all the time. I want to know what's wrong."

"We're not the ones to tell you." Zeke said as he approached, resting his elbow on Sharpay's shoulder.

"Zeke, get off." She snapped.

"What? You're just the right height." He defended as he removed his arm.

"Anyway…" Taylor interjected as the bell rang. "We'd better get to homeroom."

Troy groaned. "Ms Darbus? Guys, she's scary."

"We know." Zeke replied as they entered the classroom and sat in their respective seats.

Before Troy was fully in his seat, he spotted a young Filipino girl on the back row, her head bowed as she read a book. She lifted her left hand and curled some of her dark hair behind her ear. He smiled gently at her and stared at her. She seemed so perfect and he only knew her name. She looked like no other girl Troy had ever seen before in pair of baggy jeans with tears around the knees and a baggy grey t-shirt and a denim jacket. Her dark hair was simply hanging by her shoulder and despite her lack in feminine clothes; she seemed to fit in perfectly. "Gabriella…" He whispered.

"Mr Bolton." Ms Darbus warned.

He turned around and sank into his chair. "Yes, Ms Darbus?"

"As fascinating as Miss Montez is, I insist you listen to the morning announcements. Glad to have you back, by the way, Miss Montez." Ms Darbus smiled warmly.

Gabriella nodded in acknowledgement. "It's great to be back." As Ms Darbus continued with the announcements, Gabriella felt her cheeks tint a light pink. Troy had been staring at her. A geeky farm chick who was currently a cripple. That was why he liked her. He didn't know her.

Chad helped Gabriella sit down at the lunch table and smiled at her before placing her lunch in front of her. "There you go, Gabs."

Gabriella smiled. "Thanks. Maybe this was a bad idea. I mean, everyone has to help me. I can't do anything by myself anymore."

"We're all helping you. And Troy seems to have a special eye for you." He winked suggestively.

"Shut up. You and Sharpay have been trying to get me a boyfriend since I got here." She exclaimed, slowly chewing a French fry.

"That's because you deserve one." He compromised.

"But, I don't care about having a boyfriend. You know that. You guys have been trying for ages to girl me up. It's not going to happen." She exclaimed, standing up and grabbing her books, not feeling hungry anymore. She limped off out of the cafeteria.

Chad stared out of her sadly as he bit into his apple thoughtfully. Sharpay came and joined him. He was still staring at the stairs Gabriella had taken and had not greeted his best friend.

"Chad!" Sharpay yelled, gaining the attention of the teenage boy and most of the cafeteria too.

Chad turned to her. "What?" He asked as he swallowed.

"Eat with your mouth closed." Sharpay said slowly. "Anyway, where's Gabby?"

"She left."

"Why?" She asked as she opened a packet of crisps.

"I brought boyfriends up again." He mumbled.

Sharpay sighed and rolled her eyes. "Chad, Gabriella is hurting right now. Emotionally and physically. We have to be careful what we say."

Chad nodded. "I know." He said glumly.

Sharpay hugged him affectionately. "Cheer up. I think she's starting to like Troy, anyway."

"After one day? She's never liked a guy after a year!" Chad exclaimed.

"Yeah, but you know he was staring at her in homeroom? She blushed so bad." She giggled quietly.

"Maybe Gabby's growing up." Chad whispered.

"Maybe she's becoming a woman." Sharpay replied.

Gabriella limped up the final step and breathed a sigh of relief when she was greeted with a gentle summer breeze. Heaven. A simple, natural rooftop that the whole school was oblivious too. She didn't know why this happened to her and she didn't know why Chad and Sharpay were so determined to get her a boyfriend but she knew that what had happened meant she needed a friend, if anything.

She slowly sat down on the wooden bench and rested her books beside her. She let the breeze, the sun and the fragrance of lilies relax her nerves. She leaned her head back and a gentle smile pulled at her lips.

"Oh, I'm sorry." A voice apologised.

Her eyes sprang open and she smiled at Troy. "Hey. Take a seat."

"No. It's fine." Troy replied.

"Come on. Don't let me be alone." Gabriella pleaded.

Troy sighed and sat next to her. "Why don't you have lunch with Chad and everyone?"

"They were talking about my future boyfriend." She explained, laughing slightly.

"Who's that?" Troy asked.

"I'll tell you when I find out." She giggled.

Troy stared at her. "So, you, Chad and Sharpay seem close."

"Yeah. When I moved here, I was bullied a lot and one day, Chad found me in the gym shooting hoops. And then we were grouped with Sharpay for a science project and that's how it started." Gabriella explained, stretching her legs out in front of her.

"Why were you bullied?" Troy asked.

She shook her head. "It's so stupid. Why are people so judging?"

"Hey. It's high school. Hate it. Need it. Can't get to college without it." Troy nudged her shoulder jokingly.

Gabriella laughed. "Chad said you're the new basketball captain." She said brightly.

Troy groaned. "I love basketball but all the girls! God, it's so annoying. Besides, I don't even want to be captain."

Grabriella frowned. "Why?"

"Like I said. I love basketball but it's more like a hobby." He confessed.

"Then, what do you want to do? You've got the whole jcok doesn't belong with nerd thing going on."

"First of all, you're not a nerd. Second of all, I want to be a journalist." He replied.

"Why are you telling me this?" Gabriella asked. "You've known me for one day."

"So? Does that matter?" Troy asked.

"I guess not." Gabriella muttered, looking down as her left hand fiddled with her right. "And your Dad doesn't know about this?"

Troy shook his head. "No. Not by a long shot."

Gabriella glanced up at him. "And my friends?"

He shook his head again. "Sharpay scares me, Chad has a big mouth, Taylor seems sweet but we haven't talked that much and Zeke talks about Sharpay so much, I can't get a word in edgeways. You're the first person who has just sat there and talked to me. You didn't faint like the cheerleaders and interrupt like our friends."

Gabriella laughed slightly. "You get used to them. You know what to say and what to keep in your head."

"And what about me?" Troy asked. "Which one am I?"

"I'll tell you when I figure it out." Gabriella promised. "It's nothing personal. It's just that I've never been able to just talk to people. It takes time with anybody."

Troy nodded solemnly and and smiled at her softly, grasping her left hand. "That's fine. I've just been able to judge someone really quickly."

Gabriella sucked in a breath. "And what do you see when you look at me?"

"An intelligent and brave girl who I can trust." He whispered truthfully.

Gabriella blushed. "This is going to sound weird but can you hold my left hand?"

Troy grasped her left hand instead. "Why?"

"I can't feel with my right." She replied slowly.

A/N: I need your opinion. I have quite a few stories going on at the moment and I want to know whic three I should concentrate on:

'Just friends'

'My music, my troy'

'Not always'

'Just like heaven'

'Sweet revenge'

'Imaginary love' (coming once I've finished the prologue lol)