Disclaimer: In case you've forgotten, High School Musical is not mine. It hasn't changed any over the past month, sorry!
"Now I'll finish you!" a deep, masculine voice said from within the shadows. A young, battered and bloodied teen-aged girl whimpered in fear as she watched the boy hold the gun to the side of her head.
"Troy, help me!" she cried to the other teenage boy standing in the distance.
The boy stood there helplessly. It was as though his feet were nailed to the floor, for he couldn't move. A few seconds later, a shot rang out and the girl's cries for help ceased.
"Gabriella!" Troy Bolton cried, sweat dripping from his face. He breathed heavily before opening his eyes, only to realize that he was in his bed and it was all just a dream.
"Dream? More like a terrible nightmare," he mumbled, running his hand through his shaggy brown hair in frustration. Every night for the past ten months, he had the very same dream. And, every time, he would wake in a cold sweat, screaming out her name.
"Ten months," he muttered aloud, falling back onto his bed and staring at the ceiling. Ten months ago, his girlfriend, Gabriella Montez, was kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend, Lance Mathews, and no one had seen or heard from her since. In fact, no one even knew if she was still alive.
"Police don't know what they're doing," he grumbled, frustrated, thinking back to how the police refused to let him and their other friends get involved, claiming it was 'police business' and civilians shouldn't get involved. Instead, they forced Troy to go to the hospital to get stitches in the back of his head from wheretheknifedugintohisscalp. Needless to say, the police nor anyone else found her, and the police had pretty much given up now. Their friends even started to lose hope in finding her, but he refused to give up thesearch. He knew she was out there somewhere, and he was going to rescue her one way or another, with or without help. The longer Gabriella was in Lance's hands, the worse Troy felt for not being there to protect her. He felt as though he failed her, and that he let her down by not being there when she needed him the most. One of the promises he made to her was to protect her no matter what, and he wasn't going back on a promise, especially not one made to her. Of course, he realized he couldn't always be there, but he had to try. Until the moment his heart stopped beating he would try to be there, if only in spirit, like he was for the past ten months.
Troy smiled inwardly as he thought about how Gabriella would probably slap him for acting this way. She always thought that there was nothing special about her, and that nobody should ever worry about her because, according to her and Lance, she was worthless. However, he knew that that wasn't at all true. She was special to him in every way. She had a pure heart, making it difficult to not love her. Her inner beauty was a rarity, and no one came anywhere near her in outer-beauty comparison. If anything, he was worthless and she was a princess. He didn't deserve her.
He sighed sadly as the mental image of his brutally beaten Gabriella entered his mind. He imagined her body, covered in blood, badly beaten and covered in bruises. The image made him wince. Unfortunately, he knew that was probably how he would see her. It broke his heart to ever see her like this, even if it was imaginary, but he knew it was his fault. Everyday he sat at home, moping, or while he was at school pretending to be okay, she was getting worse.
Every night he prayed on bended knees that, if there really was a God out there, that He would keep his angel safe or at least alive until she was back in his arms. If He did this, then Troy vowed to never ask for anything again. And, if he didn't, he had one final request. He wanted to die.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Troy groaned but told the person to come in, already knowing it was his mother.
"Troy, are you okay?" Cindy asked. It was the same asevery other morning; she heard her son screaming out for Gabriella, and every morning she would ask him if he was okay, and the conversation would end the same as always.
"Just fine, Mom," he lied. This was his typical response, even though he was anything but fine.
"Troy, stop with the lies," Cindy stated, taking Troy completely out of his mind-set. He looked at her, confusion etched all over his profile, for that wasn't her usual response. Cindy sighed, "I know you're hurting, but it's Christmas Eve. Can't you try to be a little happy?"
Troy shook his head. "It's just another day. Besides, no one can give me what I really want, anyway."
Cindy sighed. "What if she doesn't come back, Troy? What if she really is...."
"Don't say it!" he snapped, his hands balled into fists. "She's alive!"
"I'm just saying you can't just stop living because she's not here," she explained, ignoring his outburst. "I know you love her, and I know you miss her. It's okay to be upset and cry sometimes. No one expects you to be jumping for joy, but wallowing in despair isn't going to help her or you."
"Mom, as you said, it's Christmas Eve. You know what I was going to give her," Troy stated.
"I know you were giving her a promise ring, hon, but that's no reason you can't still celebrate Christmas," she argued. "You can give that to her at anytime after she's found."
Troy shook his head. "It's not the same. Mom, I wanted to give it to her tomorrow morning. I wanted it to be special. I wanted her to look completely unharmed, for this to have been over months ago. I didn't want to just find her, and then five minutes later slap a ring on her."
"No one said you had to give it to her right away," she replied.
Troy rolled his eyes. "Look, can we just drop this already? I'd rather not discuss it right now."
"Fine, but if you ever want to talk about it, you know where your dad and I are," she stated. Troy relaxed slightly, for the conversation was turning back to it's normal routine.
Once Cindy was gone, Troy returned to his daydream of Gabriella. It was how they should be now. It was Christmas morning and she was unwrapping a small ring box. As soon as she would open it, she would gasp, giving him the opportunity to place it on her small finger. Then, he would make her his solemn vow that the past would never come back and hurt her again, andthathewouldloveherforever.
He sighed. It was nice to imagine, but that would never get to happen. She wouldn't come to him tomorrow as if nothing happened to her. If she ever came home, she would return scarred and broken, possibly beyond repair. She would be a different person, and he didn't know if the changes were temporary. Even still, she would be Gabriella Montez, the girl who stole his heart.
Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he cried out suddenly, "My Angel, please come home. Let me know where you are; give me some sign. Please! I love you! I need you! My life is Hell without you!" As he said this, tears flooded his eyes, clearly overwhelmed with sadness. The truth was, he missed Gabriella, a lot more than he ever let on. Everyone around him knew that he missed her more than anything, but only he knew the extent of his depression. He was distant with everyone including his best friend, Chad Danforth. Some days, he went without speaking to anyone, depending on how horrid his dream was the night before. He would give anything just to be able to hold her in his arms again and never let her go. Even after all this time apart, she still meant the world to him, and he would do anything to get her back, he just didn't know how or where to start.
Glancing through the pictures on his dresser, he found a picture frame that contained a picture of Gabriella right before she moved to Albuquerque. He kept most of her belongings in his room, including all of her clothes, pictures, jewelry, etcetera, knowing that she would need them once she was found. At the same time, they made him feel that much closer to her, and every time he went through them he learned something new about her, even what her father was like.
As this thought struck him, his eyes landed on a family portrait of the Montez family. There was Maria Montez, Gabriella's deceased mother, smiling down on the bright and bubbly six-year-old Gabriella next to her. Gabriella was leaning against a man who, if he were still alive, Troy knew would've greatly intimidated him. If not for his burly frame, his eyes would've done the trick. They appeared to be just like Gabriella's, full of warmth as he hugged his wife and daughter closer to him. What struck Troy the most about this picture was the look in Gabriella's eyes as she stared at her father. He could tell she was definitely 'Daddy's little girl'. Back then, he was her world. When he died, her world was gone, just like when she left him, she took his world with her. Not only that, but she took his soul.
As his gaze drifted back to her father, Troy shifted his position a bit. He had nothing but respect for him, even though they never met. At the same time, he was afraid. He was afraid of being a failure in his eyes. If he was there, Troy knew he wouldn't think he was good enough for her, especially not now. He let his daughter, his only child, get kidnapped. And, instead of looking for her, he was moping around endlessly. He was a failure to him, to her, and to himself.
After several seconds, his eyes found the first picture he was looking at. He stared at the picture for a few minutes, examining everything from her soft, beautiful, brown hair, to her captivating chocolate-brown eyes, and to her lips which were curled up into a soft smile. For months, he had yearned to feel these said lips on his own. It was the most amazing feeling he had ever experienced, and he remembered exactly what it felt like to kiss her. He stood up and held the picture in the palm of his hand, being careful not to drop it.
A small tear slid down Troy's cheek and landed on the picture. He missed being able to physically see her. All he had were a few photos to remember her by, but they were nothing compared to the real Gabriella. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever met and there was nothing artificial about her, which Troy didn't find in many other girls. She didn't need make-up, because no matter what she looked like, he still found her to be stunningly beautiful.
Troy remembered the night he first met her. It was New Year's Eve, and they were forced to sing karaoke together, but not too far into the song, they grew comfortable with each other and had soon forgotten their audience. Their voices flowed perfectly with one another, just like the two did outside of music. Like their voices, they were the perfect match, according to their friends, but the more time Troy spent with her, the more he realized this as well.
She was the first girl he ever met who didn't like him because of his school status. In fact, he still remembered the times she told him that he could be anyone that he wanted to be and she would still love him no matter what. That meant more to him than he ever told her, for not even his own father had said this before. For Jack, he had to be the basketball star. For Gabriella, all he had to be was Troy and she was happy. He wished that he had told her how much that meant to him, but it was too late now.
Sitting back down on his bed, Troy felt another tear slide down his cheek as he thought about the times he had let her down and hurt her. Not long after they met, he had broken her heart by saying that singing with her meant nothing to him and that she meant nothing to him. He thought she hadn't heard him, but when he found out she did, he felt terrible. Then, when he denied that he loved her in order to save her from what at the time was an uncomfortable position, he didn't know that he had broken her heart again in the process. He didn't know at the time that she was in love with him or else he would've kept his mouth shut. Of course he loved her, too, he just didn't think that that moment in time was the right time to tell her.
The last time Troy had hurt her was not only emotionally but physically as well. After promising her that he would never hurt her, he did it anyway. After Lance's cousin, Veronica, came onto him and kissed him, Gabriella got upset and accidentally slapped him, but when she tried to apologize, he let his anger get the best of him and hit her. The fear and terror on her face and in her eyes haunted him to that day, just from knowing that he was the cause of it. Even though she had forgiven him, he refused to forgive himself after what he did to her. He was meant to protect her, not hurt her. She was hurt too many times and he just added to her pain. He still didn't understand how she could've forgiven him so easily but she had. She always forgave him in the end for every mistake he made in their relationship, which showed him that she really did love him.
Troy sighed heavily, thinking back on all the things he missed about Gabriella. He missed her laugh, her smile, her voice, her touch and everything else about her. He missed the way her soft hair felt when he ran his fingers through it. He missed the feeling he got every time he kissed her. Her smile always made him feel good inside, just from knowing that she was happy. He missed being able to hold her in his arms; and kissing and touching her were things he loved doing and he knew she loved it when he did. And, when she told him that she loved him, he felt like he was on top of the world and that nothing would possibly go wrong. But, most of all, he just missed her.
Staring down at the floor, he thought about the reason why she was no longer with him. After the passing of her mother, her ex-boyfriend escaped from prison and kidnapped her. Troy, who had been knocked out and concussed at the time, had always felt that it was all his fault for not getting her to safety in time. He told her to run, but she refused to leave him, just like he refused to leave her.
"Hard to tell what that creep isdoing to her," Troy said to himself bitterly, thinking about the many things Lance could've done or was doing to her at that very moment. He not only abused her in the past, but he had also attempted to rape her. Troy knew that, given the amountof time alone with Lance she had, he had to have done something to her sexually, and that just made Troy angrier. Gabriella revealed to him before that her virginity was something she wanted to hold onto for awhile, and, unlike Lance, he respected that and never crossed the line. He knew she wasn't ready for sex in their relationship, and he agreed that it would be best if they waited until after they were out of high school to go further into their relationship. He knew that not many guys out there were like that, and that most guys his age were only looking for sex, but he had the utmost respect and admiration for Gabriella and he only wanted what she wanted from their relationship.
With as much confidence as he could muster, Troy tightened his grip on the frame and stared at her picture as though he was speaking to her, "I'll find you, Gabriella, no matter what. I won't let him hurt you anymore, I promise. I love you, please, hold on!"
"Stop! Please, stop!" Gabriella cried just before her captor punched her in the mouth. Before she could fall, however, he roughly grabbed her arm in a tight grip, causing her more pain than what she was already experiencing. Her already bruised arm throbbed that much harder under his hold, but he never let his guard down.
Lance smirked and let her go, only to shove her hard down to the ground. "Worthless slut," Lance scoffed and gave her a swift kick to the side, laughing as she struggled on the floor. "You have to be the weakest bitch I've ever seen. There's only one good use for girls like you, and that's-"
"Just leave me alone, Lance! Haven't you done enough already?" she cried, knowing exactly what would be his next words.
Lance looked at her menacingly, his green eyes bore into her own brown ones, making her feel trapped like a deer in the headlights. "You're a waste of time. You're nothing. I don't answer to you. You should know that by now," he said coldly.
"Why do you waste your time beating me, then?" Gabriella retorted, earning herself a punch in the jaw.
"Adds onto Bolton's suffering," he replied, grabbing her face, forcing her to look at him. "And yours. You've both done some bad things to me in the past. It's payback time. What better way than to cause more harm to his beloved girlfriend?"
Looking down, she didn't speak. When she did, Lance shoved her back to the ground, getting on top of her. "Since you don't want to talk, I'll make you talk!"
Gabriella screamed as he roughly forced her hands behind her back, tying them with a piece of rope. His lips connected with hers, preventing her from screaming. His tongue forced its way deep inside her throat, making her want to gag.
Suddenly, a cold hand traveled down the inside of her pants, making her want to throw up. His hand stroked her in very personal areas before it was joined by the other which made its way up her shirt. "You like this, admit it! You want more!"
"No!" she yelled, hot tears flowing down her cheeks. No matter how many times he did this to her, she couldn't get used to it. It was the worst pain she'd ever felt, physically and mentally. And, each time, she felt that much more guilty. She was saving herself for herboyfriend; what would he think? Would he be angry with her, disgusted even? Surely he didn't want his first time to be with someone who could no longer be considered a virgin. "T-Troy is the only one I ever wanted this from! Just, please, stop this! Stop touching me!"
"What's that? You do want more?" Before she knew it, he had yanked down her pants, but before he could go any further, she regained her courage and kicked him in the groin. He groaned, withdrawing his hands and giving her a moment to compose herself. Quickly, she ran for the door, only to realize it was locked. Frantically, she kept trying, although she knew an escape was futile. Suddenly, Lance slapped her across the face before tossing her down the steps. She landed with a thud, appearing to be unconscious. Without a word, she listened as he left the room. Slowly, she sat up.
Fingering her stinging cheek, she watched as he went up the stairs and left without saying anymore to her. Although she couldn't see it, she knew that there were new cuts and bruises forming on her body. Gently, she touched her forehead and felt a liquid substance running down her face, which she recognized instantly as blood.
Gabriella sighed in relief. Today's beatings weren't the worst she had experienced; in fact, she considered it to be one of her better days. Usually, Lance would have beaten her badly enough that she would have been knocked unconscious.
The room she was trapped in, the basement of the place that Lance had taken her to, was pitch black, which was a lot like the color her life seemed to be at the moment. The only light came from a tiny crack at the bottom of the door. There were bugs, mice, and other unidentifiable creatures also living in the basement. It reeked of blood and dying animals, which by now, Gabriella still hadn't gotten used to. Every now and then, she felt something crawling up her body, even up her pants or shirt sometimes, but she didn't care anymore. At this point, she didn't care what shape her body was in; she just wished she would die.
This was like prison to her. In fact, she thought it was probably worse than prison. In prison, she knew that inmates were fed three meals a day and Lance wouldn't be able to get to her. She never had to worry about being raped by him, either. In fact, Gabriella would have preferred prison than being there with him. She would rather be dead than be there.
Slowly sitting up straight, she groaned as seemingly every bone in her body started to ache even more. She figured that even if she would manage to escape, her body wouldn't hold up to the trip anyway. It was true, she had been trying to escape. She'd been trying to get away from there since the moment she arrived, but, no matter what she tried, her efforts always turned out to be futile. And, to make matters even worse, when Lance found her trying to escape, he would always beat her and the beatings always worsened each time. Worse yet, he raped her twice as many times that day if he caught her trying to leave. He would make it as terrible for her as possible. What she experienced five minutes ago was nothing compared to what he would normally do to her. After he would strip her down to nothing, he would touch her body all over, then when he was finally through with her, he would always leave her a bleeding mess. Her virginity had always been important to her, and it was something that she wanted to give up only when she felt the time was right and when she was with the man that she loved, not one that she hated.
Gingerly, she brought her knees to her chest and hugged them tightly, wishing that the nightmare she called her life would come to an end. Her stomach ached from hunger and from the bruises, but she had a feeling that something else could be wrong besides that.
"Hopefully it's just from hunger," she told herself, but she wasn't convinced. She knew that there was a chance that it was something else, that possibility being that she could be pregnant, but she tried hard not to entertain the notion.
Sighing heavily, she tried to imagine her life before Lance kidnapped her. She was the happiest she had ever been, with great friends, a loving boyfriend, a role in the musical that would've taken place two weeks later, her grades were perfect and everything else seemed to be in order. Then, she remembered, everything started going downhill the night before, when her mother was killed in a car wreck. But, to Gabriella, Maria wasn't dead. She could feel her mother's presence all around her ever since she got there. She felt as though her mother's spirit was the only thing keeping her alive.
"No, Gabriella, that's not true," she mentally scolded herself as her mind moved to the one subject that always brightened her mood a small fraction, that being her loving and caring boyfriend, Troy Bolton. Aside from her mother, he was the only reason that she wanted to stay alive. No matter how bad her life seemed, he was the one who always managed to make it better by just the simple touch of his hand.
Gabriella smiled a small, sad smile as she thought about Troy. Every time Lance raped or beat her, she would always try to imagine that she was safe and secure in his arms, and that he was kissing her, touching her (in a non-perverted way), and assuring her that she was safe and that he loved her. It felt almost as if he was right beside her; like he was her guardian angel.
She sighed sadly. She missed him more than anything. She missed his smile, the one that always managed to cheer her up no matter what mood she was in. She also missed the way he looked at her, which always showed his love and affection for her; it was a look that no one else had ever given her before, and she missed that. It was the exact same look in her father's eyes when he looked at her mother, she recalled. There was also the feeling of his arms wrapped around her; his arms were strong and protective, and, if she could, she would spend every last moment of her life in the safety and comfort they produced. The truth was plain and simple: she missed everything about him. She was constantly yearning to feel his gentle touch and the passion in his kiss. He knew his limits and never tried to cross the line, which was the exact opposite of Lance. He would never violate her or put her in a position she wasn't comfortable with, which was one of many reasons why she loved him. He was extremely protective of her, which she liked because she knew she could count on him to never let anyone hurt her, when he was there, that was. And, she knew that Troy would never intend to hurt her, and even the times he had, he more than made it up to her; whereas, with Lance, he showed no remorse whatsoever when he hurt her. Troy was the one that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with; and someday, she had hoped to give her virginity to him, but, now, she couldn't because the man that she hated stole that right from her.
Over the course of the time they had known each other, the bond between herself and Troy grew stronger with each passing day until the day she was kidnapped. Not only was there an immense amount of love between them, but they could also trust each other with anything. They told each other everything: their secrets, their fears, their hopes, their dreams, etcetera. When she would have nightmares about Lance, Troy would always pull her into a comforting embrace and assure her that Lance would never get a hold of her because he wouldn't let him, but, unfortunately, it happened anyway.
Gabriella always wondered what would happen if they ever saw each other again. Did he still love her? Did he still care at all about her? Had he moved on with his life? Did he miss her at all? Did he ever think about her? Was he still the same person that she knew, or had he changed? Could their relationship ever be the same as it once was? These questions of doubt and more always seemed to pop into her mind, but she always chose to ignore them, knowing that Troy would never just abandon her at the time she needed him the most. She wanted so badly for him to somehow find her and rescue her. He was definitely her knight in shining armor, for he was always trying to protect her from everything that he possibly could, but instances like these were out of both his and her hands.
Closing her eyes and hugging herself tightly, she almost felt Troy's loving embrace engulfing her and holding her tightly. She almost felt his warm breath on the back of her neck as he told her that it would all be over soon. But, almost didn't count.
For the first time, a different question hit Gabriella, this one hitting harder than the rest. A few tears slid down her cheek and mixing in with the string of blood running down her face. 'Is he even trying to find me?'