a/n: Whoop! A HSM story. Weirdly enough I got this idea walking to the store and it just wouldn't go away. So I wrote it in drama class, but my teacher doesn't mind cause I spend sooooo much of the day with her as long as I get the work done shes cool about it. Please review!

Disclaimer: I don't own HSM. I'm in high school for crying out loud, if I had written something so awesome I would have dropped out.

Warnings: Mentions of abuse, suicide, character death.

"Troy," A girl slipped her small hand into her the loose grasp of her boyfriend. "What's wrong? You haven't been paying attention all day. Are you still sick?" She reached up to place a hand on his brow to check for a fever, but stopped when he flinched.

The teen let out a short, harsh laugh as he glanced away from the mountains he had been staring at. "I wasn't sick."

"But that's what your dad said."

"Well, he would."

Gabriella looked up at him, her brown eyes filled with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing," Troy shook his head and looked back at the mountains. "Have you ever realized how beautiful it is here? It's so peaceful and sometimes I feel like if I just try hard enough I could touch the sky and mountains." He closed his eyes and turned in a circle, his face lifted towards the sun. "I think when I die I want to be in the mountains. Somewhere so wild and free; somewhere I don't have to be perfect."

"You're perfect just the way you are." Gabriella smiled as she sat on the bench on the roof of her school, watching as her boyfriend slowly spun in the sunlight.

As suddenly as he started the teen became motionless again, "Try telling my parents that."

"They already know. What more could they want of you? Your popular, are an amazing actor, your head of the basketball team. Other parents would be jealous of them for having a son like you."

"But somehow all of that still isn't enough for them. I don't think they'll miss me at all."

She tried to pull him down to sit next to her. "Miss you? Like when you go to college? Of course they will."

Troy shrugged and walked over to edge of the roof and pulled himself up onto the short wall that rimmed it. "Do you think if someone fell from right here they would die? It would be so fast, just two seconds of flying and then rest forever."

"Troy, you're scaring me. Please get down from there and please stop talking about stuff like that."

He jumped down and strode over to her, wrapping her in his arms. "I'm sorry, baby, I didn't mean to scare you." He looked down at her and cupped her face in his hands. "I don't understand how I managed to find someone as perfect as you; I don't deserve it. If I did something to scare you I'm sorry." He grinned crookedly at her. "Plus you know me. I wouldn't do something dumb like that; jumping off a building so short has no assurances of dying."

"Shut up." She lightly punched his shoulder, frowning when he winced. "What happened to your arm?"

The boy shifted his gaze so that his blue eyes looked at his feet. "Nothing. I must have hurt it in practice."

"But it was fine the other day after practice, and you were sick yesterday so you didn't go." She reached up to move his sleeve aside but was stopped by a strong hand.

"Gabi, its nothing. I must have hit it on something yesterday. I was sick and dizzy, I probably hit it on the corner or something."

"But you said you weren't sick yesterday." She pulled her hand out of the grasp. "I thought we were going to tell each other the truth about everything." She reached up again and pulled the sleeve up on an now unresisting Troy. "Oh my god." She gasped, taking a step back as her hands flew to her mouth. A livid bruise colored the skin on his shoulder; the mottled purple turning into a sickly yellow on the edges of the shape of a hand. "Troy, who did that?"

"I deserved it. I broke curfew; I deserved to be punished."

Gabrielle continued staring at the shoulder as she took another step backwards, "Please tell me your dad didn't do that." She took a shaky breath. "No, this wrong. Your dad couldn't do that to you."

"Why shouldn't he? Maybe it would ruin the perfect image he worked so hard to create. Cause of course nothing can go wrong in the perfect world of Troy Bolton; his father would never hit him, he would never have to skip school because the bruises his father gave him was so obvious it would make people suspicious. Since you know that fantasy land and dream world don't exist with me you can go ahead and find someone perfect." He kicked a post that held up a screen to shade the bench.

"No, Troy, he can't do this to you, its wrong. You need to tell someone."

Troy whirled around to face her. "Who says he can't? I'm a failure and I deserve it. He's only doing whats best for me."

"Please, tell me you don't believe that." Gabriella stood, tears sliding down her cheeks. "No one deserves that."

"I don't know." Anguish filled the boy's voice as he sunk down the wall.

"We have to do something to stop this." She sat down next to him and slowly began to unbutton the front of the flannel shirt he wore. "Look what he's down to you." She began sobbing harder as she looked wide-eyed at the bruises the marred his chest and stomach.

"Don't worry. I'm going to solve everything this afternoon. That's why I wanted you to come up here." He pulled her towards him and pressed his lips to hers. His kiss was desperate and pain-filled, his way of trying to reassure her and steady his nerves. After a moment they pulled apart and he looked down at her. "I love you so much." He wiped the tears from under her eyes. "I never wanted to hurt you like this. I'm sorry." He stood and hastily began buttoning the front of his shirt. "But you won't have to worry anymore soon. I only know one way to fix this, and I'm so sorry I have to do it to you. I love you and you made life worth it, but I can't let you be hurt by me. I was so scared I'd end up like him, but I hurt you by letting you know. Gabriella Montez I love your more then life, please don't be mad at what I have to do." He leaned in to kiss her again, this time more softly. He stepped back and ran a hand down the side of her face. "Find someone good you deserve it."

Troy turned on his heel and fled down the stairs followed by a sobbing Gabriella. When he reached the battered pick-up truck in the parking lot he jumped into the drivers seat and jammed the keys into the ignition. When the passenger's door was opened he sighed. "Please, don't come with me."

"No, you're not thinking straight and you need someone to keep an eye on you right now." She buckled her seat belt.

"That's what I was scared you would say." He pulled his car out of the parking lot ignoring the disapproving look on the girl's face as disregarded the seat belt.

After driving for nearly an hour the girl spoke again. "Troy, please slow down. You're going to kill us."

He slowly eased off the gas peddle, "I wouldn't mind that if it was just me in the car."

"Can we please go home? My mom will help you, she'll call the police." In response Troy gritted his teeth and continued driving towards the nearing mountains.

-_-_-

"Gabi," Troy gently touched the shoulder of the girl who was dozing, her head slumped on the window. "We're here. I'll be back in a couple of minutes, don't worry." He kissed her cheek and stepped out of the truck, slamming the door behind him. With this sound the girl bolted upright, blinking into the late afternoon sun as she glimpsed the receding silhouette of Troy.

She squinted for a moment trying to catch a better look of the boy that had captured her heart; he was carelessly holding something in his hand and he was walked between the trees and as the sunlight shifted she thought her heart has stopped beating as she saw what he held. "TROY!" She fumbled with the seat belt and flung the door open. "Please, Troy, stop." She ran after him, but stumbled as her flip-flops caught on a branch. "Troy, please. You can't." She called after him as she hurried through the forest trying to follow the trail he left as he walked. There was a certain peace in the land, birds sang softly as the trees swayed in the breeze, but the girl ignored this as she desperately continued her search.

As she ran through a meadow she stopped short besides a chuckling stream and the image she saw was one that would be forever etched into her memory; the most popular boy in their school looked utterly broken as he leaned against a thick pine tree, his eyes closed as he pressed a handgun to his temple. She stepped towards him, stopping when she a small twig snapped under her foot. Immediately his eyes flew open and he stared blankly at her for a moment and then slowly lowered the gun. "He was right. I'm weak. It should be so simple, just one finger being pulled back. But I can't even do that right."

"Troy, you aren't weak. You're strong and that's why you can't do it." She knelt in front of him and gently turned his ashen face so that he looked at her. "You can't do this."

"I don't know any other way." He turned the gun over in his shaking hands. "I have to do it, but I can't." His voice broke off and the girl hugged him to her as he quietly sobbed, his tears soaking the shoulder of her shirt.

"Shhh, baby, it'll be alright." She rubbed small circles on his back. "Everything things going to be fine now. I'll do what ever you need me to."

"I know you would." He pulled away from her and leaned against the tree again. "I haven't asked you to do anything the whole time we've been together have I?"

"No, you never wanted me to do anything. You were like a knight in shining armor who swooped in and made sure I didn't have to do anything. I would have been willing to do what ever you asked, but you never let me."

"I have one thing to ask you to do for me." He turned the gun around and placed it in her open hand. "Please. I can't do it, would you do it for me?" Troy looked at her pleadingly and almost with out realizing it she wrapped her hand around the gun and took it from him. When she hesitated he wrapped his hand around hers and she shivered, feeling the callouses he had gotten from weightlifting . "All you have to do is press." He raised his arm so that once again the gun was placed to his forehead their two hands wrapped around the cold steel.

They sat like that staring into one another eyes as they waited for the other to tighten their hold on the trigger. After what seemed like an eternity Troy pulled his hand away and closed his eyes. "Please. Please. Do it." His voice was so heart wrenching for a moment Gabriella considered actually pulling the trigger and ending his pain.

Then she shook her head, mahogany locks flowing around her shoulder. "No. I won't do it. This is to much to ask me to do it. I would never kill you. Please, just forget about this. It's getting late, people are going to start worrying about us soon."

"Gabi, Brie, I have to do this." He looked at her, his expression so steely she knew that no matter how hard she pleaded he would eventually do what he had come to the mountains for.

"Troy, you're killing me. I can't live without you."

"Yes, you can. You did it for years before you ever meet me and you'll keep living. It'll hurt at first but someday you'll move on."

"I'm sorry. I love you, but I can't let you do this." She tossed the gun into the underbrush several feet away.

"I knew I shouldn't have brought you; it would make it to hard to do this, but I swear to God I'm not going home to him."

"You don't have to, you can come home with me."

"He would know where I was and he would come for me. He would hurt you then and I can't let that happen."

"I can't do this. I have to go. I love you so much I can;t listen to you talk like this." She stood and slowly began backing away from him, praying he would follow her.

He slowly got to his feet and grabbed her hand, pulling her back towards him. "Goodbye." He kissed her forehead and took a deep breath. "Go back to the truck, the keys are there, and turn on the radio so you don't hear it." He kissed one last time and turned to retrieve the gun.

"No, please." Her voice broke and she tried to pull him back, but he shrugged her hand off. "I love you. I wish I would have let you help me. But if you do this know that you'll see me again soon, because I'll just follow you."

He jerked around to face her. "Don't. Don't ever do what I'm going to. You have so much to live for. Live for me, remember me. Do everything I wanted to. We had to write a bucket list for English, do as many of those as you can for me. Now go." He stopped down and picked up the weapon, its deadly beauty glinting in the sunlight.

She turned and ran, not heeding where she went as tears blurred her vision. Her ragged breathing was painful as each breath was ripped from her chest. She stumbled and caught her self, ignoring the blood that oozed from small scratches where sticks had torn at her legs. Finally she glimpsed the truck ahead of and slowed to walk. As she neared it her foot caught on a rotten log and she fell to her knees. "I'm sorry, Troy. I'm so so sorry." She sobbed, to drained to try and rise again. Gabriella sat there for a moment listening to the quiet sounds of the forest; birds continued softly chirping unaware of the teens, insects buzzed as the worked, and the trees continued to whisper to her in the wind. Birds flew crying hoarse warning calls to the others as they flew into the air, animals fled into the safe covering of the trees, and Gabriella collapsed as the sound of a single gunshot filled the forest.

a/n: Soooooo? What did you think? Please, please tell me. Its not all that hard to do. Also I might do an alternate ending this where Troy goes home with Gabriella.