Hey guys, boy does this feel weird. I haven't written in forever, I haven't even finished Lost Time. It just seemed like Lost Time was going nowhere and I lost the spark I had in it. I will continue it eventually; I just want to write a sort of 'practice' story to get my motivation back. Thanks for reading:)

Love. It's a very strong four letter word. I never thought I, Gabriella Montez, would ever feel or grasp the meaning of it, yet alone find it. Maybe it was good karma, or maybe I just have really good luck. I will never understand how I came to deserve what I have today. Usually, when the word love is involved with things, it's used in statements like, "bye mom, love you!" or "goodnight, love you," or just using that baby voice people use when they're talking to their pets, "you are sooo cute! Oh I love you so much!" But although I may tell my mom I love her on a daily basis and I love my friends so much because they've been with me through thick and thin, there is no way to describe the love I have for one certain person, a boy specifically. Troy Bolton.

How did I find this love with the one person I was least likely to have it with? It's a weird story actually, but here it goes…

"So, what do you think this year's games will be like?" Taylor McKessie asked as she sat in class, waiting for the announcement to be made for all students to report to the auditorium for East High's annual 'Wildcat Games.'

Gabriella turned her head slightly to meet the questioning look of her best friend, "I don't know…but I hope it's not as stupid as last year."

Gabriella Montez was not your typical high school student. She was a straight A student, favored by most of her teachers for her outstanding academic record and was definitely not the most popular, let alone the most known person in school. You could say she was kind of…invisible, apart from her few friends.

"Oh yeah, last year it was obnoxious. I mean, come on seriously, pudding?" Taylor replied.

Gabriella giggled at Taylor's remark, "well at least we know it has something to do with girls because all the girls at East High had to put their names in that box at lunch, remember?"

Taylor rolled her eyes, "Mhm, I was dreading it. If it weren't for Ms. Gleehan starring me down, I wouldn't have stuck my name in that ugly cardboard box."

Will everyone at this time please report to the auditorium.

"Here we go." Taylor grunted as she and Gabriella stood up, taking their time and being the last two out of the classroom.

As they walked through the giant doors of the auditorium, they noticed that most students were already seated, talking amongst themselves about the 'excitement' of the annual games. Taylor and Gabriella found seats near the middle, next to their other two friends Kelsi and Martha and among many other unrecognizable teenagers. There were bright lights in the direction of the large stage. Of course, the colors red and white were everywhere, even the seats were red. East High has spirit is an understatement. A few students were still coming in, searching for seats by their friends.

"So are you guys excited?" Martha spoke up.

"Yah, sure." Gabriella smiled, unenthusiastically.

Gabriella looked up to the stage, noticing now that there was a type of wall put up in the middle of the stage and on one side of the wall there was one seat and on the other side there were five seats. A few minutes passed and the double doors closed as the lights began to dim. There was a drum roll in the background, and Gabriella couldn't help but be curious about where it was coming from.

A voice on the loud speakers got everyone's attention, "now let's get a big round of applause for your basketball team!" And at that, the double doors burst open and the East High basketball team came flooding in excitedly. The crowd went wild, people yelling encouragements such as "Go wildcats!" Gabriella couldn't help the small smile that appeared on her face at the people around her. They were all ecstatic just because a bunch of boys in jerseys ran in.

The team made their way onto the stage, lined up so you could see them all. Mr. Matsui, the principal came running out from back stage. As the applaud died down and all the basketball boys were on stage, Mr. Matsui took it as his cue.

"Welcome everyone to East High's annual Wildcat Games!" The crowd went wild once again. Gabriella turned to Taylor who she could see was fighting back a smile, it was hard not to smile with all the excitement in the air. Mr. Matsui began naming off all the basketball players. After a few moments, he was at the last two in the line.

"…Chad Danforth! And last, but certainly not least…your captain, Troy Bolton!"

At that, everyone got to their feet. Troy Bolton was an idol. He was the most wanted guy at East High and he knew it. He entered a building and immediately was the center of all conversations. Girls swooned over him and guys envied him. He was like a god with his perfect, shaggy, light brown hair and his tanned, toned body. To make him even more appealing, he even had a signature wink, that only if you were lucky, you'd get to see. The only few girls that probably weren't all that interested in him were Gabriella and Taylor, probably because they were smart enough to not go crazy over someone just because of their looks and reputation. After a long moment of clapping and yelling for their basketball captain, the principal continued.

"You all are probably wondering what this years games are going to be about. Well, you may be surprised to know that they'll be centered around this group of boys here….for the first part of the games. We will choose some of you from the crowd to dare these boys to do whatever it is of your liking, but let it be known that there are boundaries. I have authority to make you choose another task. Each player will get one task. So, starting with number 25, Mikey Blane, which one of you will be the lucky student to kick off the wildcat games?"

Immediately all hands in the auditorium went up. After seemingly thinking it through, Mr. Matsui chose on a small, blonde girl. The blonde girl came up to the stage and the voice on the speaker spoke up once more, "let the games begin!"

After about an hour and a half of dares like dressing up in a cheerleaders uniform, eating five servings of 'mystery meat', and making three free throws while wearing high heels, it was down to one player left. Of course, it was none other than Troy Bolton.

"So, you are all probably anxious to know who I'll choose to dare Captain Troy Bolton! But, I will be choosing no one." The principal stated with a smirk on his face.

Everyone in the many seats of the auditorium started yelling things like, "what?!" "Why?!" "That's not fair!" They were pretty confused. Even Troy was confused as to why he wasn't participating in it.

"Calm down!...Settle down!" Mr. Matsui screamed through the black microphone. "We will be playing another game with Mr. Bolton here. As you all may remember, the student body consisting of the girls had to participate in putting their names in a mysterious box during lunch period. I will draw five names from the box and those five girls will come up here and take a seat in one of the five chairs."

Gabriella could tell that everyone was confused, yet somewhat excited. She didn't care as much though, there was no way her name would be called, it wasn't likely.

Mr. Matsui continued, "Troy here will be taken away as I draw these five names. When the girls are seated and ready, Troy will be brought back out and will be seated on the opposite side of the wall so he will be unaware of who the girls are. He will ask ten questions of his choice and each lucky girl will be able to answer, truthfully that is. He will have the choice of eliminating girls if he doesn't agree with her answers. The last remaining girl will win a date with him!"

Every single female in the stands went frantic. All Gabriella could hear were squeals and screams of excitement. She just laughed at the absurdity of it. Win a date with Troy Bolton? Not a big deal, he's probably just a conceited, lunk head basketball player, as Taylor says. She wasn't one to judge people without meeting them, but it just seemed probable. Everyone loved him, everyone wanted him, and he played basketball amazingly, who wouldn't be full of it with those kinds of qualities?

Gabriella put her attention back on stage, she watched as the whole basketball team, including Troy was escorted off. At the same time, a teacher brought the big, cardboard box onto the stage and placed it next to Mr. Matsui.

"Now, the moment you've all been waiting for…" Mr. Matsui lifted the lid off of the box and began rifling through it, "the first lucky lady is….Melanie Carter!" Gabriella watched as a tall, red head jumped from her seat. She was squealing with her hand over her mouth as she practically jumped out of her seat and sprinted towards the stage.

"Second is…Tasha Bellof!" Another girl with black hair, brown skin, and a face that just had a mean look to it stood from her seat with a smirk on her face.

"Next is…Hannah Cryler and fourth is Bailey Reesen!" Two more girls, one with blonde hair and the other with dirty blonde hair, stood up from their seats and excitedly ran to the stage.

"And last…Gabriella Montez!" After a few seconds Gabriella could hear girls around her sighing in disappointment and other girls even crying. She just assumed the last girl got picked, but she wasn't really paying attention until Kelsi nudged her in the shoulder.

"Gabi! It's you! Go!" Kelsi yelled enthusiastically.

"Wh…What?!" Gabriella was shocked. No. This couldn't be happening.

"Go Gabi!" She heard Taylor yell from her other side. She slowly got to her feet as she watched as all eyes were on her. She could hear people whispering around her, "who's she?"

She hesitantly walked up the stairs and sat down in the remaining chair. She kept her head down, trying desperately to cover her face, because maybe if she didn't look, it wouldn't be real. But it was. She took a deep breath and looked up, confidently. She kept telling herself, 'it's okay Gabriella, I'll get all his questions wrong and then it'll be over.'

She couldn't see Mr. Matsui because of the wall but she heard him announce Troy's re-entrance onto the stage. 'Oh crap, here we go.'

Mr. Matsui put his mouth to the microphone again, "okay, whenever Troy is ready, he'll begin his questioning." Mr. Matsui gave a nod of approval to Troy. If Gabriella could see past the wall, she'd see the nervous look on Troy's face. He had no idea this was coming and he was pretty sure none of these girls would meet up to the characteristics he was looking for. Secretly, he has always wanted someone he could really talk to, someone who would listen. His friends were great, but it's just not the same. It seemed impossible to find a genuine girl who he could potentially fall for because most girls just liked him for his looks and basketball abilities. He took a deep breath and told himself, 'just get it over with, you're eventually gonna have to go out with one of these girls. Keep your cool Troy, people are watching.'

"Okay, well I guess I'll ask you girls my first question!" He said in a confident manner, so no one would see through his wall of worry. "What's your favorite basketball team?" He always liked a girl who at least had some sense of the sport he loved.

The first girl, Melanie answered quickly, "East High of course!"

Troy saw through that, the only reason she picked East High was probably because it's the only team she knows and because it's the team he's on.

Contestant number 2 said shortly after, "Wildcats all the way!"

Troy appreciated the support, but he kind of felt like they were just sucking up, not answering honestly.

Girl number 3, "Same here, go East High!"

Girl number 4, "I completely agree, my fave is my school team!"

Troy wasn't shocked, girls never seemed to have minds of their own around him. He briefly wondered if any of them even knew the NBA existed.

Gabriella smiled as she flashed back to the days she would sit on the couch for hours with her father watching basketball games. Not because she particularly loved the sport, but because she loved spending time with her dad. She took a breath before softly saying, "The L.A. Lakers."

Troy lifted his head, suddenly becoming alert. The Lakers were his favorite team too, aside from his own. Maybe this game would be interesting after all.

"Okay, question number two…if you had the choice of yogurt or mac n' cheese, what would you choose?" Troy continued.

"Yogurt!"

"Yogurt, duh!"

"Yogurt!"

"Is the mac n' cheese fat free?"

Troy chuckled, "no."

"Then yogurt!"

Gabriella sighed, they all didn't know good food if it bit them in the butt, "mac n' cheese."

Troy froze, what is up with this one girl that seems to be completely different than all the others. He brushed it off and continued, "favorite color?"

"Pink!"

"Purple!"

"Mine's pink, too."

"Prob red."

Gabriella looked up, momentarily forgetting where she was and just answering the question honestly, "it kind of depends on my mood. Right now, it's blue, for reasons I don't really know." The other four girls glared at her. Who the hell did she think she was?

Troy smiled, and continued.

A few minutes passed and he already knew which girl he would choose. Girl number 5 seemed to have a completely different opinion than the other girls. She seemed to have a mind of her own, a mind that intrigued him. Questions 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 went by quickly. Gabriella never seized to amaze Troy, even though he had no idea who she was.

Question number 9, "What would you do or tell someone who needed comforting, someone who felt like the world was against them?"

All five girls were somewhat thrown off by this question, it being quite deep compared to the previous questions. The first four girls knew exactly what Troy wanted to hear, it was obvious. But could they convince him that their answers were sincere?

Melanie responded, "Everything will be okay, the sun always comes up tomorrow!" Troy laughed, the perky tone would be the last thing he'd want to hear if he was down.

Tasha smiled, "Chin up, life sucks sometimes so rub some dirt in it and get over it." Tasha Bellof was known to be one of the meanest girls at East High. She apparently thought Troy would be attracted to her 'tough girl' answer. Wrong.

It was Hannah's turn and she took advantage of the spotlight, "be aggressive, be-e-e aggressive!" She cheered, slumping in her seat quickly when the audience started laughing.

Bailey looked deep in thought, "ugh, do they like chocolate?"

"Yes, probably."

"Well then I'd buy them chocolate."

Troy couldn't help but laugh. He straightened in his chair, anxious to know what mysterious girl number 5 would say.

"I'd tell them that the world pushes everyone, every now and then. It's the way you react that matters. So be sad, get it all out, maybe eat a pint of ice cream, I'll even eat one with them. But then I'd promise them that everything will be okay eventually, because if it's not okay, it's not the end. And that's always good." Gabriella smiled, knowing that she would want to hear something similar if she were upset.

Troy could sense the honesty in girl number 5's voice. He very well knew that contestant number 5 was different from anyone he'd ever met.

Troy blinked back to reality, "um..before I ask my last question, I'd like to eliminate three girls." Mr. Matsui nodded in his chair near the steps.

"You girls are great, but I don't think you're for me. Sorry girls 1, 3, and 4." Melanie stomped out of her chair. Hannah started bawling and Bailey just looked into space as they were escorted off of the stage. That left Tasha and Gabriella.

Gabriella had no idea why she was still there. She was sure Troy would want one of the other girls, definitely not her.

Troy pretty much knew for sure that girl number 5 was the one for him, but if he eliminated all of the other girls, he wouldn't be able to ask his last question.

"Girls number 2 and 5, describe what you think is love."

Tasha took this opportunity to win the man that was meant to be hers. No way would she let the other loser win him, "I think love is very special. When you're in love with someone, that someone will do anything for you...like buy you things and compliment you all the time."

Troy just scoffed, expecting compliments all the time was not love. He anxiously waited for girl number 5 to respond.

"W…when you fall in love…yes, you'd do anything for that person, but not because you feel you have to, but because all you want to do is make that person happy. They wouldn't expect you to do things for them. To be in love...I'm guessing, is like floating; just knowing that the person you love, loves you back, is like all the hard stuff in life isn't so bad because you have that. You finally know what people mean when they say they have butterflies in their stomach. You wanna be with that person always and well… forever." Gabriella smiled at her response, she didn't care about the glare she was getting from the girl next to her or the whispers in the audience in front of her. She was asked a question and so she answered it.

Troy was in a daze. Every word that came out of her mouth was angelic. He never thought he'd find a girl like this. All he wanted to do was rip down the damn wall separating them and see her. See his dream girl.

It wasn't until Mr. Matsui came and placed his hand on Troy's shoulder did he get snapped back into reality.

"So Troy, who will it be? Mystery girl number 2 or mystery girl number 5?" The principal said in the microphone for the whole school to hear.

"I'm sorry...girl number 2, but I think girl number 5 is more for me." He grinned, who knew he would find the perfect girl during this years games. The crowd went wild, Taylor's squealing could be heard throughout the whole auditorium.

"Nice choice Mr. Bolton, now the moment I'm sure you've been waiting for, the wall please." Mr. Matsui gestured toward the wall and a tall man came and grasped the side of it to take it away.

Troy waited in anticipation to finally see the one girl who he thought he would never find. He knew she'd be beautiful, how could she not? The wall was slowly pulled away revealing an astounded Gabriella, alone on the other side, with her mouth wide open. After Gabriella was chosen by Troy, Tasha was escorted by one of the teachers back to her seat. Tasha would've slapped Gabriella, if it weren't for everyone watching.

Gabriella stood from her seat, still shocked as she looked at Troy's frozen face. He was mesmerized. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She had dark brown, curly hair that flowed past her shoulders. She was wearing jeans with flip flops and a white tank top with a zip up hoodie. Casual, but still gorgeous. He couldn't believe he'd never noticed her before. It was understandable seeing as he had girls all over him constantly, after a while he began to block them out. Mr. Matsui jogged towards her and gently led her towards Troy. Troy's frozen face turned into a huge grin. All that was left was learning her name.

"Troy Bolton, meet Gabriella Montez!" Mr. Matsui said into the microphone.

"Gabriella..." Troy whispered, immediately loving the sound of it. "It's really nice to finally meet you." Troy said in a soft tone, so no one else could hear.

"Um, it's nice to meet you too." Gabriella responded, still unsure about this whole thing. He may now know a lot about her, but she knew nothing about him.

Mr. Matsui turned his head to the clock, "oh my, time does fly by! This confirms the end of the 'Wildcat games'! See you next year!" He said a little too dramatically.

Static came out of the speaker before the voice said, "all students report back to your classrooms until the bell rings signaling the end of the day."

As students got up from their chairs, stretched, and then made their way out of the auditorium, Troy and Gabriella just standed there, on stage. Even Mr. Matsui had left.

"Um, maybe lat-" Troy was cut off.

"Look, you don't actually have to ask me out. We can just say you did for your sake." Gabriella didn't know what else to say. She didn't want him asking her out, out of pity or a sense of obligation. She still had no idea why she remained but she knew there was no way for the most popular guy in school to like her, the book worm. She made her way to get off the stage but as she turned to walk away, a warm hand took a hold of her wrist.

"W..Wait, please." Troy pleaded. He had just found her. He wasn't about to let her go now. "I know we don't really know each other, but I don't want to just say I did and don't."

Gabriella was shocked, that was happening a lot lately, "What?"

"I would really like to take you out Gabriella." He smiled as he said her name, he loved her name.

Gabriella smiled, she loved the way he said her name. She looked at him hesitantly, "why?"

"Because you're like no one I've ever met. All the other girls, they're answers weren't…the truth. They all seemed like they were just saying what they thought I wanted to hear." Troy replied. He gestured for them to start walking. They were making their way down the aisle of the auditorium.

"I just answered truthfully." She smiled.

"I know, and that's why I chose you." He smiled, "do you wanna go get something to eat? It's pretty much the end of the day."

Gabriella blushed, Troy Bolton was definitely not what she thought he would be like, "Um sure, what do you have in mind?"

He thought about it for a second, "hmm, how about mac n' cheese?"

Gabriella couldn't help but smile, "I love mac n' cheese."

Troy held the large door open for her. He felt like he'd known her forever, even though they had just met. He slowly reached for her hand to encompass it within his. He smiled as he saw her blush and then he winked at her, his signature wink, "I know."