Vindictive
by hotsodagirl
Genre: Drama/Romance
Rating: T, because I know what I have planned needs to be rated at least that.
Sodagirl Says: Hey everyone, this is my latest story, Vindictive. About a month or two ago I got an idea for a one-shot from something someone said in my English class, but I could never figure out a good way to write it. Then recently, after a lot of thinking and occurrences in my life, inspiration struck and I realized that by changing the positions of a few characters I could write a story that was way better than that one-shot ever would have been. So therefore I bring you this story. Obviously, with another story and a few one-shots in the works, I won't be updating as constantly as people like, but there's not much I can do about that. I usually update my stories every couple of weeks (or longer, if I have writer's block) so I will try to work on this as much as possible. It depends on what kind of inspiration strikes and how many people will actually like it. Personally, I really like the idea of this story so I hope you will enjoy reading it.
Okay, now for a little warning. This people and events in this story might seem a little out of character, but that's okay because that's kind of the point. It's not much like the stuff I usually publish. It's kind of like High School Musical meets real world high school, or at least my high school, plus my own added twists. So don't expect everyone to be all happy and nice to each other. There won't be very much fluff, if there even is any. If your high school sucks as much as mine does than you should connect with this story once it gets going. This first chapter isn't exactly like my school, though. People don't do what Sharpay does here. Close, but not quite. But you'll get to that in a little bit.
Speaking of Sharpay, I just want to warn you all that she's not really going to be in this story except for this first chapter. This story is centered mostly around Ryan and aside from this chapter I don't think Sharpay is even going to be in it anymore. She might show up again at the end and maybe somewhere else, but I don't know yet.
So anyway, time for the disclaimer that we all love. Sadly, I do not own High School Musical or its cast. I would really love to own Lucas, though. And Jared (Murillo. He's so hott and he's in the movie too!). And probably Zac, too. But I don't. :( I only own my fanfictions, my ideas, and my room. And if you could see my room, you'd know why I said that. Posters, pin-ups, and cut-outs everywhere. It's pretty cool. Yeah. Enjoy the story!
Chapter One: Sharpay
She hated East High School. Hated it with a passion. She had been raised in a generally Christian manner, had been taught Christian values that the student population – who had been, at one time, a group of sweet, innocent children – seemed to know nothing of. She recalled a time when no one partied, a time when people didn't smoke, dip, or drink. She remembered when stupid was considered a bad word and hell would cause a collection of horrified gasps if spoken. It was an era where anyone could become friends, because no one was judged and everyone was naïve, simple, and harmless. People didn't backstab each other, nor did they spread hurtful gossip and rumors for fun. They didn't try to break each other down to build up their own reputations. And no one, no one, thought of violence. Not like this.
But things were different now. Everyone had experienced a complete turnaround from those simple days, and no one seemed to care. The jocks surely didn't care as they shouted insults at her and her brother each day, purposefully poking fun at them throughout class. They were merciless, cursing and screaming, laughing hysterically at the cruelest of words. They wanted to break her down. They despised her, because they knew she had always been better than them, and they were determined to crush her. Well, I won't let them, she thought, glancing down to the purse at her side. It was of medium volume; not bulky, yet big enough to carry multiple items of considerable size in. It was perfect for that day, and she knew precisely of the day's upcoming events as the limousine slowed to a stop before the entrance to the school. Although she was the only one who was aware of it, this day would be the beginning of the downfall of East High's hierarchy.
Her brother stepped out of the vehicle first, turning and extending a hand to help her out onto the dark pavement. She accepted it silently, her mind focused on the future as she exited into the clear, sunny day surrounding the seemingly pleasant campus. She squinted slightly from the brightness of it all, a small, iniquitous smile forming across her lips. It was perfect. No one would suspect anything bad to happen on a day flawless as that one, especially not from her, the Ice Princess. She was stuck-up, the student population would agree, but incapable of violence and wrongdoings. Or so they thought.
She opened her purse and carefully moved its contents around in a search for her sunglasses. The bag was open only wide enough for her hand to fit through, and not a hair wider. A nearby observer would be unable to see anything inside, and she planned to keep it that was until the time was right. So, as she located her sunglasses, she withdrew them cautiously, quickly placing them atop her head and closing the handbag. She smiled at her brother, who smiled back without a clue. He was completely unsuspecting of what she was about to do. She had excluded him from this plan, for she was almost positive that he wouldn't have agreed with her ideas. He would have tried to alter her way of thinking by forcing her to believe there was another way. But there was no other way. This was something she had to do, and she had to do it today. She had been ordered to. But she couldn't show this. She had to act natural. So, exactly the same as every day, she walked into the school with her brother at her side and an icy glare upon her face. She walked in the direction of her locker, although she knew she and her brother would never arrive. They had to pass the popular crowd on their way first, and that was where she would end things.
The whispers came first, the murmurs of ridicule and mockery. She heard them every day, and she knew they would soon be followed by shouts of abusive swearing, taunts, and jeering. This day was like any other, as the voices became louder and clearer. "Fag," a basketball player fake-coughed. "Bitch," a cheerleader sneered. The voices began to multiply mix together, creating a buzz of snickers and offensive remarks. "…in love… he's so gay… look at her tacky outfit… do anything she says… her lapdog… such drama geeks… wish someone would push their limousine off a cliff… sure that 'Daddy' bought it for her… make our school look fucking screwed up…"
Items then began to sail through the air: crumpled papers, candy bar wrappers, pencils, anything small enough to toss. Before long, someone had even tossed their juice bottle at the girl, the cap conveniently loose so that red liquid splashed all over her outfit when it hit. She stopped in her tracks, her jaw falling slightly as she took in the sight of her spoiled outfit. Laughter and choruses of 'ooh' filled her ears. She hardly noticed her brother's concern, focusing her attention instead on the group of vulgar barbarians. Staring into them, she saw the brainiac Gabriella Montez laughing as she handed Troy Bolton another bottle, who immediately began twisting the cap from it. It was then she knew that it was time.
"Don't you dare," she said seriously, pulling an item from her purse. Gabriella was the first to notice her stance, and immediately became solemn. Troy saw her next and grew equally somber. Then, one by one, the rest of the group saw what the other two had seen, and soon each and every person had become fearfully silent. The Ice Princess's brother even gaped at his twin sister, shocked by her actions. For clutched in the hand of the girl's outstretched right arm was a gun, fully loaded, and it was pointed directly at the couple. She smirked, obviously pleased with what she had caused.
"What, nothing more to say?" she asked harmlessly, chuckling at the silence. "No, I didn't think so. Now, everybody get down on the ground, put your hands behind your head, and don't anybody dare move a muscle unless I tell them to." All followed her orders with the exception of her brother, who had without his twin's knowledge slipped away from the area. Some of the grounded students noticed this, but said nothing. They were too afraid to do anything that might contradict the blonde's orders.
So, oblivious to her brother's absence, she strode the length of the group with an air of superiority and power. Her heels against the clean, white tile were the only things that made any sort of sound in the hall, and it amused her. She soon stopped her pace and stood beside the petite brunette she had grown to detest, pointing the barrel of the gun at the brunette's boyfriend.
"Gabriella Montez, would you please stand?" she asked pleasantly. The girl in question rose slowly, afraid for the safety of both herself and the basketball champion. Her gaze shifted nervously, flickering from the gun to the boy and finally to the vengeful girl, who was grinning at her maliciously.
"Gabriella," the blonde said, sweet as before. "How nice it is to see you on this beautiful morning. How is your day going so far?" The Hispanic girl bit lightly on her lip, hesitant to say anything under the amiable façade of the one who held the power to kill her boyfriend on the spot. The Ice Princess looked at her expectantly, shoving the gun closer to Troy's head. "I asked you a question," she stated, her sugary tone giving way to impatience.
"My day has been good." She spoke with urgency, yet her voice was near to silent. Her fear had led her to become almost mute, and the soft, shaky speech was all that she could muster. In spite of this, the blonde accepted it somewhat and continued on with her prattling.
"Peachy," she said icily. "Now then, I have another question for you, and I expect this one to be answered promptly. Are we clear?" Gabriella nodded. "Good. And the thing I would like to know is this: Could you be a dear and tell me what happened on the date of January 9, 2006?" Another nod was accompanied with a flinch. The brunette knew she didn't need to be a genius to know where this was going.
"That was the day of the musical auditions," she answered quietly, glancing worriedly down to her boyfriend. "Troy and I sang, and… we got a callback." The blonde smiled knowingly. She had the girl right where she wanted her. She was scared, afraid, and intimidated by her power. The Ice Queen liked it that way. She opened her mouth to speak, to concern the girl further, to explain ever further in her own words how that was the day that had ruined her life, and was exactly why someone else's would be ended today. But then she heard them.
Voices. Tiny voices.
She was the only one that could hear them, which made her actions all the more bizarre when she gasped intensely from seemingly nowhere. Some of the members of the floor-sentenced group even risked leaning up from their position on the tile to see what had happened. But there was no evident reason as to the terrified expression upon the girl's face, only that she seemed to be petrified beyond all reason. She turned slowly, her eyes wide as they stared off into a corner of the hallway at beings indiscernible to the others. Her body began to shake; her breath came rapidly as she slowly stepped backward. All eyes were on her; the group was confused yet somewhat eager to see what would happen next.
She suddenly raised the gun, which had still been pointed at Troy's head, and instead pointed it toward the same corner she had her eyes fixed on, her hands trembling so greatly to where the weapon could have shot off in almost any direction had she timed her shot wrong. It was obvious, however, that this was not the first time Sharpay Evans had handled a gun. Even squeezing her eyes shut as she pulled the trigger multiple times, she managed to shoot five bullets in close to the same exact spot. Following the shooting of the gun, she was calm for a moment lasting at the most two seconds, and not an instant longer. She was only calm because she thought she had destroyed them. She thought she was safe.
In reality, the only danger the girl had ever faced in her entire lifetime, aside from the taunting of the so-called popular crowd, was her own mentality. What most people didn't know was that, in the beginning, she actually had kind intentions for all that she did. She never would have wanted to disrupt anyone's lives, and so she stayed quiet. Not wanting anyone to worry over her or her problems, she hid her true feelings from everyone. By doing this, however, she began to give off a stand-offish aura and soon became the representation of iciness everywhere. It was when the mocking and heckling began that she began to lose it. It had been one thing when everyone in every group who wasn't a jock or a cheerleader got messed with, but it was another thing entirely when other groups were accepted and the only people who received the ridicule were herself and her brother.
It was soon after Gabriella had come to East High that Sharpay began to see things that weren't actually there. They were unlike anything she had ever known; they definitely weren't human. No one else could see them, because they only truly existed in her mind. She had subconsciously created them as a result of her mental instability. No one had ever suspected, until this moment, that anything was wrong with her, for they had told her to remain normal, and that terrible things would happen if she ever told anyone about them. They burned visions in her mind of the things that could happen had she not done their bidding. They had told her to kill Troy Bolton.
But she had failed to carry out her mission in their time frame, and now they had come for her. It didn't matter that she had shot all of them. One by one, they rose from their collapsed positions on the ground. They stood, seemingly frozen in place, for a short amount of time, simply staring at her. Then the first one took a step forward. The others followed suit, and soon the five were slowly making their way past the grounded teenagers and toward their target. It was then that the girl screamed, turning immediately and bolting off in the opposite direction, the same direction that her brother had departed in. Almost on cue, though, her brother reappeared, following behind two police officers. The two armed men grabbed her without delay, straining to keep a hold on her struggling body. Again she screamed, struggling against the grasp of the officers. She had to get away. She had to get out of the school. They were going to kill her. She kicked one officer in the shin, and took the chance to bring her elbow up into his throat when he faltered for only a second. The other officer tried to keep his hold on her, but she moved too quickly for him. She clawed at his face, gouging his eyes, and kicked her heel to his stomach as he raised his hands to his face. Both men on the ground, she readied herself to run.
Then she heard their voices again.
She froze, listening to them speak, and her brother came to her, holding her between his hands and shaking her lightly. He called her name, but she seemed not to hear. Her attention was focused on that one corner of the hall; nothing could make her look away. To others, it was as if she was in a trance. In her own mind, she couldn't ignore the voices that spoke to her. They told her she wouldn't die, but that she would indeed go far away, and that her absence would cause trouble in first the one she cared most for, and then the ones she did not. They would make sure of that, and they would stay in her mind until their mission was fulfilled. Then they turned, and they promptly disappeared.
More police officers arrived within seconds of their departure. Ten of them came, all getting a firm hold on the girl, and only then did the threatened hostages take their chance to quickly rise and run, getting as far away from the girl as possible. The only student to stay within any form of distance of her was her brother, and she looked at him sadly. She cared most for him. He would be the first to suffer. In her mind the girl had seen an image of the future, and she didn't like what would happen once she was gone. She leaned towards him as much she could, her range of motion limited by then men's firm grasp and the handcuffs they clasped around her wrists. They would take her away soon; she had to tell him what would happen.
"They're going to get you," she whispered, trying to move closer to him. The officers held her back and nine began to move her away, taking her already. She wasn't ready. "No!" she yelled, struggling once more. "Ryan, listen to me! They're going to get you! Don't let them get you!" She screamed as the men dragged her out the door, pulling her violently thrashing body to a police car. They threw her into the backseat, slamming the door closed before she had the chance to escape. She knew she was trapped then; knew she was going far away and wouldn't be back until after the damage was done. Her body fell limply to the side, useless, and although she felt like crying, she smiled. Yes, they would get him. But he would get them back. He would finish her mission for her.
Her violence was only the beginning.
Sodagirl Says: Okay, well that's chapter one. By the way, it's just a coincidence that both this and chapter 17 of my other full-length story, Flame of my Heart, involved guns. :P I'm not some kind of gun-crazy freak. Also, I know this first chapter might have seemed kind of weird, but I hope you'll stick around to see what all is going to happen to Ryan now that Sharpay has been taken away.
Anyway, I'm not really sure right now if this is going to be the average length of my chapters for this story or not, but I can assure you they'll either be around this length or they'll be longer. Oh, and I forgot to mention the importance of my profile earlier. I'll post updates and other stuff on there that'll explain if I haven't updated in a while or whatever. So make sure you check there every once in a while. I also like getting private messages, as well as reviews. So on that note, I'm going to let you review now. Thanks for reading!
This story is dedicated to those that love the drama I create in Flame of my Heart! Love to all!