BETTER IN TIME

HSM one-shot

A/N: My second one-shot! Yayness! So, I have no idea how I came up with this, I just did. It's rated for hints of rape and attempted suicide. I'm still working on Behind These Hazel Eyes, I've just been uberly depressed so I can't think happy thoughts. Chapter Seven will be up ASAP. By the way, this is my first M story, so bare with me and it's set between 2 and 3.

Disclaimer: I don't own HSM, HSM2, or HSM3

I'm just a fan.

Gabriella Montez held her face in her hands, trying to stop some of the many tears that were falling down her cheeks and dripping down to the floor. She absolutely couldn't believe what had just happened minutes earlier. Of course, he was probably long gone, either bragging to his friends what he had just done, or trying to find another innocent, young woman to take advantage of; a young little virgin to take one of the most sacred possessions away, one that she'd never get back, even if she begged. He never had acted like that, especially to her. One of the most, if not the most important person in her life had become her worst nightmare.

And who, or more importantly what was responsible for that? What influenced, or forced, that decision upon him? To take something so pure and important to a young woman by force no doubt, was cruel.

She had smelled it on his breath as he kissed her earlier, and on his clothes; and as he stripped those clothes to do the dirty deed as she was tied to the bed, her body already showing signs of serious welts and bruises. Alcohol was to blame and that foul stench and those horrid memories were still burned into her mind, as well as the sheets.

She wanted to burn both memory and sheets, and ride herself of the events that turned from bad to worse. She thought she could stop him from using her like that, but overwhelming shock had taken its toll on her, deteriorating her strength and conscience into nothing.

Earlier that evening, she had stared up into the warm blue eyes of the man that she had fallen in love with who had arrived to keep her company while her mother was out of town on a business trip in Denver. Their innocent flirting and kissing had heated up in a matter of minutes as his hands tried to pull off her blouse in an attempt to go further. After she had refused after several failed attempts, the blue-eyed brown-haired boy became furious, grabbed her wrist, and forced her up the stairs.

And thus the dirty deed was done and there was nothing she could do about it.

She knew nobody would believe her, especially at school. Teachers and students at East High in Albuquerque, New Mexico absolutely adored Troy Alexander Bolton and believed he could do nothing wrong, no matter how hard he tried. But Gabriella Montez knew the truth, and would have to live with it for the rest of her life, no matter how hard she tried to exile the memory from her mind.

With shaking hands and much difficulty, Gabriella Montez slipped on sweatpants and a baggy shirt. She grabbed the monkey that her father had bought her a long time ago and her cell phone from her nightstand and walked out of her room, shutting the door behind her. She was definitely not sleeping there that night or any night anytime soon, even if she had to beg her mother. She made sure the front door was locked and stumbled into the bathroom. She turned the water on, making sure it was hot and slowly slid off her clothes. She locked into the mirror and was shocked at what she saw…

Bruises were already starting to show in several areas including her neck, wrists, breasts, and inner thighs. She was disgusted, both with herself and Troy. She knew she couldn't stopped this whole mess, but she had let her personal feelings, including love, get in the way of stopping the person who used her for his own personal pleasure.

Several of their conversations had ended up on the subject of sex and of course, Troy was the one who initiated it. He wanted it, but Gabriella didn't. She didn't exactly doubt her relationship per se, but she didn't want to lose the thing she could only lose once to somebody she maybe wasn't going to spend the rest of her life with.

Gabriella shook her head, clearing the fog from her mind, realizing she was still in front of the mirror while the hot water from the shower snaked down the drain. She stepped inside, pulling the pale blue curtain closed. She let the hot water trail down her chest and stomach, sticking to her legs as it followed the trail before, falling down the drain.

She winced as the water hit her bruises but sighed in relief as the pain eased. She was trying to wash away all the thoughts from that evening, imagining it follow the water down the drain. Her hands were still shaking as she washed her hair and body, trying to bury the disgusting details into a deep, dark unknown corner of her mind she would never visit ever again. After what seemed like hours of trying to rid herself of the painful memory, the stench of his breath and her sheets and the feeling of his cold hands on her body seemed to disappear, she turned the water off. She pushed the curtain aside and wrapped the towel around her. She walked over to the mirror and glanced at her reflection, thinking she definitely looked better than she did earlier. There was actually life to her face and her deep brown eyes.

She slipped into her pajamas and grabbed her monkey and phone, walking out of the bathroom. She walked past her bedroom, feeling a creepy chill wash over her as her mind subconsciously revisited what had happened hours before. She shook her hand and walked into her mother's room, enjoying the warmth and comfort it brought, the polar opposite of her room. She put her phone on the nightstand and slipped under the covers, snuggling into the pillow. She wrapped her arms around her monkey, trying to forget about everything that had happened.

And for the second time that night, wet, sticky tears fell down her cheeks.

Sleep didn't come easy for Gabriella that night. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the frightening dark blue eyes of the man who had taken advantage of her just hours before. After what seemed like hours, her eyelids finally closed and her mind succumbed to a much needed sleep. She had horrible nightmares that the event would continue night after sleepless night until she became nothing.

She jerked awake, noticing the morning sun was shining through the curtains. She stretched, taking a mental note that the aches and pains were back just like the night before. She grabbed her phone and slipped out of bed, trying to be careful. She walked out of her mother's room quietly and down the stairs. In a few hours, she wouldn't be alone in the house; she'd feel safer, more at ease. But she definitely couldn't tell her mother what had happened. No matter how much she hated herself for it, she still loved Troy, which she knew she shouldn't of.

She could still see his bright blue eyes meet her warm brown ones as he promised that everything would be alright after high school, even though she knew it wouldn't. She could feel his comforting embrace as he told her that everything would be perfect and nothing would go wrong.

But of course last night, everything that could possibly go wrong, did.

Gabriella shook her head as the tune on her cell phone started ringing. She looked at the screen and saw Taylor McKessie's name. She held the phone up to her ear, trying to sound cheerful, "Hey Tay."

"Morning sunshine. I was wondering if you'd wanna hang out before your mom got home. We could watch a movie with Chad and Troy…"

Gabriella's eyes widened as she heard Taylor mention Troy. She didn't want to speak to him, let alone see his face again, "Ya know Tay," She interrupted, "I think I'll pass. I have homework to do before tomorrow and laundry to do before my mom gets home. Plus, the house is a mess so I'd better get going on that…"

"Well do you want some help? We could get it done in half the time and still get to hang out with the boys…"

UGH. Gabriella just wished she could scream it out loud to anybody who would listen. She didn't want to do anything that involved Troy, not now, not ever. She thought he was his this sweet, amazing boyfriend, but add alcohol and he turned from Prince Charming to a monster.

"I think I'll pass Taylor. I'm the one who made the mess so I'm the only one who should clean it up. But I'll see you at school tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay Gabriella. I'll see you tomorrow."

Gabriella nodded, "Okay, bye Taylor."

"Bye Gabriella…"

Gabriella hung up the phone, sighing in relief that she got out of that one. But if she kept making up excuses when her friends wanted to hang out, she knew they'd start getting suspicious. And then she'd have to tell them why she was avoiding them. And that was a bridge that she refused to cross…

Gabriella spent the next few hours doing what she told Taylor she had to do. She put a load of clothes in the wash, only stepping inside her room to get the basket. She tried to gather up the courage to take her sheets and bedspread off to give them a much-needed wash, but she couldn't. She had walked out of her room with a mixture of shame and failure.

She tried to keep herself as busy as possible so the hours when her mom would come home would melt away like quicksand. Finally she heard a car door close outside the front of her house and she rushed to the window. She saw a woman with long, dark hair step out of a taxi and grab her suitcase from the sidewalk.

"Mom…"

Gabriella rushed out the door and into the long-awaited arms of her mother. She automatically felt the tears flow down her cheeks, but for once during the weekend, these were happy tears, mixed with a much-needed relief.

Her mother pulled away, looking at her daughter's tear-stained face, "Hey…mija, what's wrong?" She asked, wiping away Gabriella's tears.

Gabriella shook her head, "Nothing mom, I'm just glad you're home," She grabbed her mom's suitcase and walked with her inside their home.

Her mother followed, closing the door behind her, "Okay, anything happen while I was gone?"

Gabriella shook her head. She knew she should've told her mother what had happened, but she just couldn't. It was already traumatizing enough to keep it inside but tell people? She couldn't bare it, "Naw, just homework, laundry, and cleaning. The house is definitely too big for one person. Are you hungry? I made supper."

Mrs. Montez shook her head, "No honey, I ate on the flight. I shouldn't have gone, I missed New Mexico."

"And we've missed you. Promise you won't leave until after I graduate and go off to Stanford?" If I go off to Stanford…

Her mom nodded, giving her daughter another warm, comforting hug, "I promise. You sure nothing happened while I was away. You just don't look like the Gabriella Montez I left on Friday."

Gabriella leaned against the kitchen counter, trying to avoid the concerning gaze of her mother. How could she tell her that her one and only child had been raped by the guy she was in love with, and still in love with? But how could she still be in love with that creep? How could, after all the bruises and pain and everything that he had done that weekend, could she stilli want him to hold her in his arms and kiss her and tell her everything would be alright?

Maybe I'm a masochist…

A part of Gabriella's confidence was restored as she and her mom talked, watched TV, and ate chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. However, when her mother brought up Troy, she mumbled something and quickly changed the subject. She knew her mom must know something was up, she knew everything about her daughter, and she was always there for her.

But why couldn't she gather up the confidence to tell her this deep, dark secret that was literally eating her up on the inside? She had no idea and it scared the shit out of her.

Soon after they started, Gabriella fell asleep on the cough. Her mother smiled and draped a blanket over her daughter and put her monkey safely in her arms. She was oblivious to the bruises on Gabriella's body and to the frightening images as her mind revisited Friday night and the boy that caused her tears.

And little did both of them know that later, a bundle of joy would show up…

At school the next day, Gabriella Montez tried everything to avoid confrontation with Troy, whether in the hall or class. Every time she saw him in the same hallway, she'd walk right back out. In class, she sat with people that she had never talked to or hung out with. But the scary part?

Troy seemed oblivious to everything that had happened last Friday…

Oh please. Who in their right mind would forget raping somebody?

"Maybe he does. He was drunk that night. We- I mean I smelled it everywhere…" She mumbled.

Shut up! You're only defending him 'cause you're still in love with him. Forget it. The Troy Bolton you thought you knew is long gone. You're turning back into a pumpkin in 3…2…

"Stop it! Just stop! Get out of my head, you're not real." She whispered loudly, covering her ears.

If I'm not real, you must be going insane…

Gabriella stopped in her tracks. Crazy? Gabriella Maria Montez…crazy? She was having a fight with her mind, the mind that she was supposed to have complete control over. Her life was turning into a mixed-up, crazy, science fiction television show.

And she wanted out of it. Out of this state, this city, this mind she was fighting. All of it.

She climbed up the stairs to the roof. This place was supposed to be Troy's secret hideout, the place he could go to get away from everything whether it was basketball or school or anything. He could get away from life and the choices people were trying to force upon him, no matter what it was. And Gabriella really needed that right now. She slowly and carefully walked toward the edge of the roof, thinking how easy it would be to end everything: the heartache, confusion, pain, anger, sadness, and the annoying voice inside of her head.

I know what you're thinking about doing. You don't have the guts.

"What makes you say that?"

Suicide hurts more than it helps. Sure, you'd rid yourself of your so-called problems, but it would sure bring hell to a lot of others. Think of your mom. I don't know what kind of fucked up person would want to put their parents through losing their only daughter. You're her life, even though she's not yours. Hell, maybe ever Troy would feel bad, knowing that what he did forced an amazing girl to kill herself because of it. Ryan would lose the person who helped him out of his sister's shadow after twelve long years. Sharpay would go mentally insane with the sudden lack of competition. Chad would go insane because he'd have to listen to Troy go on and on about how he fucked up. Chad would complain to Taylor so much that she'd go insane and end up at a mental hospital. And Kelsi would be forced to write songs for Ryan and Sharpay, which would make her, go visit Taylor in the psycho place. And how did all of this happen? Because you offed yourself. Need I go on?

Gabriella imagined all of those horrible events start to unravel as if it really happened. She imagined it being all of her fault that her friends went insane because she committed suicide…

She imagined jumping off the roof and the people down below discovering her body, flattened by the force of gravity. She saw the police and the flashing red lights of the ambulance as she was put in a bag and saw the coroner zip it up around her body. She saw the tear-stained faces of her mother and her loved ones as they hauled her body into the ambulance…

She shook her head, "No, no, NO! Stop telling me these things!"

You know what would happen if you killed yourself…

Gabriella stepped away from the roof's edge as tears formed in the corners of her eyes. Her inner voice was right. How could she do that to people who meant so much to her? The very essence of her being revolved around her family and her friends and the impact they had on her life…

She walked over to her bag, grabbing something out of it, "If I can't red myself of this heartache, I can get rid of you." She put the object to her wrist, sharp side down on her flesh.

This isn't like The Host. You can't just cut me out like they did. I'm here for forever and you can't do anything about it. I'm you whether you like it or not. Accept it or not, that's your decision.

"Gabriella don't!"

A boy ran over to her and wrapped his arms around her. He grabbed the razor, that was ready to cut away the pain and heartache, and threw it across the roof.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Do you know how dangerous that is? Why did you do that? Why!"

Gabriella felt the tears fall down her cheeks like sheets of rain upon the glass. She looked up into the eyes of the guy who had just saved her from putting herself six feet under before she reached the young age of eighteen. She was half hoping that the boy would be Troy Bolton, apologizing his ass off and begging for forgiveness. But it wasn't Troy. The boy's blonde hair was held neatly in place by a black and white plaid hat, matching his entire outfit. Ryan Evans had saved Gabriella Montez from slicing her wrists open and pouring blood onto the roof where it would wash away under the light rain that had begun to fall.

She tried to pull away from his arms, calculating the probability of her grabbing the blade and doing the deed before he stopped her again, "Let me go Ryan. What are you doing here anyway?"

Ryan kept a protective grasp around her, "What am I doing here? Looks to me that I'm preventing you from cutting yourself, or even worse. I overheard your conversation with…yourself and decided to follow you 'cause I figured you'd need a friend. Looks like I'm right," He replied, thinking of any flaw she could find in his alibi, "Now what's wrong?" He subconsciously started rubbing her back, trying to comfort her. She was always there for him so he decided it was time to return the favor.

Gabriella finally pulled away from him, keeping her distance from the razor, trying to cover up that she was trying to find it. She slid her hands into her pockets, staring out at the faded grassy hilltops in the distance, wishing she could travel beyond those hills. Away from East High. Away from the events that were now a part of her past. Away from Troy Bolton.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you Ryan…" She moved away a strand of wet hair that was sticking to her face.

Ryan Evans watched her, burying his own hands in his pockets, "Try me. I just saw the Gabriella Montez try to commit suicide. I'll believe anything at this point. Except if you told me that they combined the DNA of chickens and pigs and that pigs now fly." He chuckled.

She turned to face him, her gaze at the ground. Her eyes trailed up, meeting Ryan's. Should she tell him? That deep dark secret that she hadn't even told her mother, the only person besides her father, that she had trusted with everything?

C'mon, just tell him. You know you can trust him. He had trusted you at the country club last summer…

There was that inner voice again. She wish she had skipped the attempt at jumping off the roof and went straight to the blade. Would she have chickened out then too? It was too late to figure that out now and who knew when she would get another chance?

"C'mon please Gabriella…you can trust me, I promise…"

She bit her lip, her gaze still on the floor, and her hands still hiding in her pockets. How could she tell him that she was raped by Troy Bolton? She never thought that she would ever have to deal with actually having to tell somebody about the horrible event that had happened. She thought she'd be able to keep it a secret for forever, just lock it up in her mind and heart and throw the key into a black hole, nobody knowing where it would end up. She sighed, finally meeting his gaze, "I was raped last weekend…" She whispered.

Ryan's eyes widened, not taking his eyes off of her, "Wait, raped? By who? Are you okay? How the fuck did that happen?"

"My mom was out of town on a business trip in Denver. He came over to keep me company, but it turned into something more, much more, something I absolutely didn't want. He was drunk; I smelled it on his breath as he kissed me. I tried pushing him off, begging him to stop, but he tied me down and raped me…" She hid her face in her hands; unable to stop the tears from pouring down like the rain that was still falling from the sky.

Ryan closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms around her, flabberghasted with the whole thing. What kind of fucked up, twisted person would rape somebody as innocent as Gabriella Montez? What was the world coming to? "Who did that to you Gabriella?"

Gabriella shook violently with sobs that overcame her. How could she betray him like that? How could she gather up the courage to tell him?

"It was Troy…" She whispered, sobbing even more.

Ryan's eyes widened, "Troy Bolton? He did this shit to you? Man, when I see him, I'm going to kill him…" His jaw clenched and he could feel his hand tighten into a fist, quickly turning white.

"No Ryan! Please, don't. It's over and done with. Let it go, please?" She looked up at him, her eyes glistening with tears.

"He should go to jail for it, Gabriella. Raping someone is a serious crime that shouldn't be taken lightly. Turn him in, please?" His tone had a pleading, almost begging quality about it.

He's right you know…

Gabriella shook her head, trying to stop her inner thoughts from voicing their opinion, "I can't do that, Ryan…"

The boy stared at her, unable to comprehend what she was saying. How could anybody not turn in somebody like that? But he knew the answer: she still loved him, even after everything he did to her, "You're still in love with him…" He bit his lip, looking at the rain-drenched ground.

She nodded, wiping her tears away, "Yeah I am. I know you must think I'm insane, loving him even thought he did that to me. He was my first relationship, my first love. He was the first one who didn't care that I was a 'freaky math girl'. It was new and exciting; I guess I got too caught up in it all. God, how could I be so stupid?!"

"Hey, hey, hey," He soothed, rubbing her back, "Don't blame yourself. None of this is your fault, it's all his. Does your mom know?"

She shook her head, "No, I couldn't. She would say the same thing you are: turn him in. And I can do that, he means so much to me, and I know he shouldn't."

He sighed, "Gabi, you have to tell her. She's your mother; you're her only child. She deserves to know what's going on in your life. Please tell her…"

That night, Gabriella Montez told her mother everything that had happened that weekend when she went on her business trip. But she wouldn't have been able to do it if Ryan Evans wasn't there, holding her hand, supporting her. She was glad that she was able to have one person who she could talk to, and she definitely needed that after she told her mother. She was not happy that Gabriella didn't tell her sooner, and that it happened in the first place. Of course, as Gabriella had predicted, her mom told her to turn him in, but she had refused. And even though Gabriella was nervous as all hell that night, she knew their relationship was even stronger after she had confessed.

And now came the hard part: Talking to Troy Alexander Bolton.

Again, Ryan was the one who suggested it, telling Gabriella that it would give her closure and self-confidence that she desperately needed to move on with her life. A week after talking to her mother, she had confronted him about the whole situation. He had denied it at first but after she pushed, he finally confessed. He didn't even sound like himself as he admitted to coming to her house and doing the deed. Ryan was off in the wings of the theater, ready to interfere if Troy was even thinking about doing something to cause harm to Gabriella. He had to hold himself back from kicking Troy's ass for raping Gabriella in the first place. But Ryan was right. She had felt closure and more confidence as the conversation ended. She was very grateful that Ryan Evans was there with her through everything.

And she was starting to fall in love with Ryan James Evans…

A few years later, Gabriella opened the front door, smiling as she heard two people giggling in the living room. She put her bag down, glad her night classes were only a few hours long so she could have more free time with her family and friends. She walked over, leaning against the doorframe, watching the people. One was a man in his early twenties with blonde hair that was still covered by a hat that matched his outfit like in high school.

Some things never change…

The man smiled at Gabriella, enjoying looking at the love of his life and the woman he would do anything for, "Hiya stranger."

Gabriella smiled genuinely at him, "Hiya back."

Ryan Evans turned to the little toddler with curly brown hair, smiling at the little girl. "Hey Lilian, who's that?" He whispered, the smile still on his face.

The little girl looked up at Gabriella, a huge grin on her face, "Mommy!" She squealed. She jumped to her feet, running over, clinging to her leg.

"Hey Lilikins." Gabriella smiled, running her hand through Lili's hair.

Blue eyes met brown as Gabriella's mind revisited the most horrible, yet amazing night of her life…

A/N: BUM BUM BUMMMMMM! Kind of a happy, yet sad ending. But I like it and I hope you do too! I'm working on Behind These Hazel Eyes so be patient!

By the way: If you or a loved one is in an abusive relationship, don't sit back and do nothing. You or your loved one deserves someone special who'll treat you or them right so do something about it.

22 handwritten pages. Personal record.

R&R please and thank you!

Graduation; May 17th. Here I comoe :]

Rian

One quick note: a HUGE thanks to my muse for Better In Time: Josh Graban. Without his "Closer" CD, most of this wouldn't be what it is.