Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical and these characters all belong to the writers at Disney. If I did own High School Musical, there probably would've been a love scene; however, I must resort to writing fanfictions since Disney didn't deem a love scene appropriate. ;
"TROY!
The Earth ceased to rotate at that very moment; all of the oxygen had been sucked from the room as Gabriella Montez slowly, in a graceful arch, began her descent to the floor. After months of enduring more than any 17 year-old girl should have to- her body shut down.
Troy turned around quickly, stumbling in a drunken haze and almost falling down the stairs as he watched his ever- gorgeous ex-girlfriend lose consciousness. He looked to the person across the room that had screamed his name, Gabriella's best friend Taylor. He knew what she wanted from him and he saw her face harden in anger as he turned back around to continue the mundane conversation interrupted by Gabriella's fainting. Nothing remained that he could do, she brought it on herself.
FLASHBACK
"Here's to the future."
"No, here's to right now."
As Troy Bolton's lips pressed against those of his incredible girlfriend, he knew there would never be anyone else. The balmy breeze lifted her hair away from her neck and shoulders, tantalizing him, forcing him to think about what would come after they left Lava Springs for the night. They both shrieked as the sprinklers took them by surprise, soaking them to the skin and ruining the moment; although, a splash of cold water was probably a good thing for Troy in his current state. Though cold and shivering, they weren't disheartened. Everything was perfect because they had been reunited.
"Troy, I'm so sorry," Gabriella whispered desperately, laying her face against Troy's chest.
"Babe, what on earth do you have to be sorry for? I'm the one that messed up and acted like a complete jerk," Troy responded as his cheeks and neck colored in shame.
"That may be true," Gabriella said with a quick smile to soften the blow, looking deeply into his blue eyes, "but I should never have left you. I should have trusted you to make the right decision. I know you're worried that your parents might not be able to pay for college and I should have considered what a scholarship would mean for you and your family…."
Troy pressed his right index finger against her lips to silence her and said, "I appreciate your apology, but it's totally unnecessary. I didn't have to act like a complete ass and ditch you and my friends just to get a scholarship. Don't you worry; I'll figure something else out."
Gabriella laid her head back down on Troy's chest, comforted by his words. They watched their friends running through the sprinklers the way they did when they were little kids, refraining from joining them to simply revel in each other's company. Gabriella tried to imprint every
detail of that moment in her mind; the feel of the grass on her feet, Troy's now soaked t-shirt against her cheek, the warming sensation caused by his hands wrapped around her back. She had never thought that she would find such meaningful, deep love in high school, but she thanked God for giving her Troy everyday. Once again, in the comfort of Troy's arms, she felt safe and secure- ready to handle whatever life could throw at them.
END OF FLASHBACK
Taylor caught Gabriella on her way to the floor with strength she didn't know she possessed, not that it took much, and lifted her to lay her down gently on the nearest couch. Their other best friend, Sharpay, a very sweet girl despite her rough exterior, had passed out hours ago and her boyfriend Zeke had already taken her home. Sharpay's brother Ryan, also a close friend, had gone with them to help Zeke. Jason and Kelsi weren't much for the party scene, so they weren't present either. And since Troy obviously was not going to give her any aid, she would have to go it alone. She gritted her teeth in frustration as she considered what to do next. She stared down at the petite girl, thousands of questions running through her mind.
"Shit, shit, shit! Just how drunk is she? How could she do this to herself? What did she drink tonight? Should I call an ambulance? Holy fuck, what do I do?"
The Taylor McKessie that the students of East High were acquainted with was always calm and assured of herself. Taylor felt neither of those attributes while staring down at the limp form of her best friend; this was not a simple math equation, she did not feel properly equipped to
handle this situation at all. She tried to think back to the section in Health class when they had learned about substance abuse. 'Check the airway' was the first thing that came to mind. As Taylor reached for the Blackberry in the back pocket of her jeans, thinking to call 911, she placed two fingers directly in front of Gabriella's nostrils- sighing as she felt two steady, though shallow, breaths against her skin. She then took notice that the music had been turned off and people had quit what they were doing to stare at Gabriella.
"Is anyone going to help me?" Taylor screamed to the silent room, shocked that they only stood there watching the dark-haired girl get more ill by the second instead of offering to help.
"What's going on in here?" Chad Danforth asked aloud as he walked back in to the large family room of his home, occupied by almost 100 people, from the kitchen with a fresh drink in his right hand.
"Chad, thank God! Gabriella passed out- I need your help!"
Chad looked at Troy, his best friend since preschool, and regarded his impassive face before responding to Taylor, trying to ignore the terror in her eyes. "What is it that you think I could do?"
Taylor, having noticed the look Chad gave Troy, felt another surge of anger. After months of tension between her and Chad because of the Troy/Gabriella situation, that look almost caused her to snap right there. She knew they had problems but she never thought he would turn her away. "This is not the time to worry about Troy's fucking feelings, Chad! Gabs is sick! Are you just going to stand there?"
No one in the room moved a muscle, implying that was exactly what they would all do, no one dared defy East High's star basketball player. Before his and Gabriella's relationship ended he had always been popular and was known for being a real sweetheart, a genuine nice guy. After he and Gabriella broke up, he went through intense mood swings that even Chad feared after 14 years of friendship. Taylor and Sharpay were the only ones who could face him bravely, but Taylor was without backup at that particular moment.
"Fine, everyone get the fuck out of my way. I'll do this myself." Taylor had decided against calling 911 in favor of driving Gabriella to the hospital herself. She had stayed sober to play DD for Gabs since she knew beforehand that tonight would probably be a bad night, though she had no idea it would be this awful. It would be dangerous to call the cops to a house where there were so many intoxicated underage students, and she could get to the emergency room faster anyway. So she grabbed her keys from the purse hanging off her shoulder and walked to the front door alone. As she braved the intense snow without a coat on to walk to her car, everyone stared at the person next to them wondering where she was going while Gabriella was still lying unmoving on the couch. As the party remained completely silent, people barely daring to breathe, each person could hear Taylor cursing to herself as she unlocked and opened the passenger's side door. They could hear her bag hit the driver's side window as she threw it in the car across the seats. She hurried back in- leaving the front door open. Snow was blowing inside and when some ignorant underclassmen got the bright idea to shut the door to keep out the cold, Taylor stopped them short by giving them the infamous McKessie glare. Her face softened as she knelt down to whisper in Gabriella's ear once more to see if she would wake up.
"Gabs, we've gotta go. Can you walk? Can you wake up?"
The most Taylor received from the incapacitated girl was an incoherent moan that terrified her; she knew that Gabriella had to be in a lot of pain and if she wasn't now, she would be when she woke up.
"It's ok, Gabs. I'll take care of you." Taylor ran to get Gabriella's coat and purse from the hall closet near the door, without bothering to worry about her own coat to ward of the chill. Putting the purse's long strap across her body diagonally, she began to put the tiny pea coat on her best friend as their classmates looked on. Taylor made the decision to pointedly ignore her insensitive peers as she got Gabriella ready to leave.
The girls in the room who wanted so desperately to help, but were too scared, felt their hearts break as they listened to Taylor speaking in a soothing voice to Gabriella. They couldn't imagine how she must feel, or how they would feel in a similar situation; tears ran unchecked down their faces as they closed their eyes in misery. Taylor wasn't sure if Gabs could even hear her, but if she could, then she wanted her to know she was safe and her best friend would take care of her. She propped her up gently on the couch, picking up an arm and sliding it through one of the coat's sleeves as tears ran down her face.
"Gabs, don't you worry your pretty little face, I know you didn't mean to drink this much. You've had it rough lately huh, gorgeous? Maybe once you start feeling better we'll go on vacation or something, yeah? We could go to Hawaii! We'd meet some sexy surfers and eat all the crab legs you want. I know those are your favorite. Can you just taste that warm butter sauce? I know I can! What do you say? Now come on, let's get this coat on so we can get you to
the hospital, okay? There won't be any Hawaii if you don't get better. You will get better, hear me? I swear you will and you know you can trust me, we're best friends for life."
Once the coat was on, Taylor wiped a tear out of her eye before she put Gabriella's right arm around her neck and her own right arm behind Gabriella's back. Her left arm went under Gabriella's knees as she lifted her from the couch. She struggled for only a moment before stiffening and resolving to get Gabriella to the car no matter what. She silently thanked herself for the hours she had spent in the gym in the last few months building muscle tone. Even so, she wasn't sure how she had found the strength to carry Gabs- it was like one of those moments where mothers can lift cars in order to save their babies' lives all because of adrenaline.
Chad was feeling a sudden pang of remorse for allowing his girlfriend to deal with this by herself, so he stepped forward to help.
He was cut off before he could even vocalize an offer with a curt, "Don't even think about fucking touching her," from Taylor. "We've gotten this far without your help; I think I can do the rest. I hope each of you callous, insensitive bastards rots in hell. You all deserve each other." Taylor didn't waste any time making these insults, she was walking to the door while she talked.
Chad stepped back, looking at Troy as he did so. Troy had watched the entire scene without a single muscle moving in his face. He looked completely apathetic. On the inside, he felt as though his stomach was being stabbed with a thousand knives; his heart broke more and more with each passing second as he worried for Gabriella's safety. Yet, even with all those thoughts
running through his mind, he couldn't seem to make himself move to help her; something stopped him from stepping forward.
Gabriella's head rested on Taylor's shoulder and her long, dark hair draped over her arm as Taylor maneuvered her through the still-open front door, several students following behind her. She stepped cautiously down the ice-covered stairs, and shuffled through the increasing amount of snow on the ground. She set her gently into the passenger's seat of her car. As Taylor buckled Gabriella's seatbelt and shut the door on her sleeping form, she sent the most intimidating McKessie glare ever to the people standing on the porch watching. As Taylor looked back up the front steps of the formerly cheery house before getting into the driver's seat, she said to Chad and Troy, "You will both regret this until the day you die." With that she slammed the door shut and put her key in the ignition. Her taillights flashed as she carefully, but quickly, drove off into the night in the direction of the closest hospital.
Chad looked stunned by what had transpired as he walked back into the now quiet house. The only thought running through his mind was, 'She's never going to speak to me again.'
Troy did his best to deny Taylor's claim, though the image of Gabriella laying unconscious on the couch, completely helpless, had already begun to haunt him.
