Hello, all! This is my first venture into the realm of High School Musical fanfic, so let me know what you think. I might be willing to make this into a twoshot if it's well received, so say something if you want a second chapter!

-Nicole

It had been a long day, to say the least, and Troy Bolton was exhausted. College was an entirely different experience than high school, and he liked it a lot. He'd fallen into a routine – rehearsal for his acting classes, basketball practice, bartending job. This week, however, had been particularly taxing. He had just moved off campus into a new apartment with his roommate, Thomas, and basketball practice had been extra-long because championships were coming up. What Troy wanted more than anything was sleep.

Walking in the door after work, he dropped his keys on the counter and rubbed his eyes. It was after two in the morning.

"Hey, Thomas," he said, looking at his roommate on the couch. "Why are you still awake?"

"Homework," Thomas muttered miserably. "This paper is due in four hours."

Troy chuckled. "Good luck with that, man. I'm going to bed."

After heading to his room and changing into a t-shirt and pajama pants, he flopped down in the center of his bed, staring at the ceiling and wishing he didn't have so much to do. Troy was missing his friends. He was at Berkeley, in California. Chad and Sharpay were all the way back home in Albuquerque. Taylor, Ryan, and Kelsi all ended up on the east coast. He missed Gabriella most of all, even though she was the closest to him, at Stanford.

Troy and Gabriella had been friends their entire lives – she was a part of his earliest memories, the good ones and the bad ones – their friendship had braved it all. She was a steady thing in his life, someone that would always be there. When he found out she was going to Stanford, he immediately made his decision about Berkeley. He wanted to be near his best friend. And maybe, just maybe, he was falling in love with her, not that he had admitted it to anyone, including himself. But despite the lack of distance between them, they still hardly saw each other. They texted every day and video chatted whenever they could, but it wasn't the same as being together in person. He hadn't realized how busy he would be, especially in his final year.

Troy's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the apartment door.

"I got it, Troy," Thomas called out. He heard the shout through paper-thin walls.

Probably just the neighbors introducing themselves, Troy though. He hadn't really wanted to move off campus, but his parents encouraged him to, believing that it was "the next step in adulthood". He sighed and closed his eyes. A few moments passed as he listened to the faint murmuring through the walls and the closing of the front door, before there was another knock, this time on his closed bedroom door.

"It's open," he called halfheartedly, not moving. He really didn't have the energy at the moment.

"Hey man," Thomas said, swinging the door open. "There's a girl here to see you."

Troy sat up immediately as his door opened, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

"It's two in the morning, who could possibly be here…" he trailed off when he noticed her. Behind Thomas' tall and lanky form stood a beautiful, petite girl with dark curls and brown eyes. His best friend.

She always shows up right when I need her to.

A huge smile crossed his face.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, excitement lacing his one. "What are you doing here? I was just thinking about you!"

"I'll leave you two," Thomas said with a smirk, backing out of the room and closing the door, leaving Gabriella standing near the doorway. She was smiling, but it wouldn't quite reach her eyes.

"Hi Troy," she said softly, her voice cracking slightly on his name.

"Gabriella, what's wrong?" Troy noticed immediately that something wasn't right, and it tugged at his heart. Gabriella was the kindest person he knew. He wanted to punch whoever or whatever had made her upset. He was already fuming.

"Jordan…" she started, and tears rolled down her cheeks.

That son of a bitch, he frowned. He'd never really liked Gabriella's boyfriend, but he couldn't explain why. The guy was perfectly nice and polite, and everyone else seemed to love him.

"Ella, don't cry," he said gently, standing up off the bed. He held a hand out and she took it, allowing him to pull her into a tight hug.

"I broke up with him," she sniffled into his shirt, the words sounding muffled.

"Wait, what? What happened? Last time we talked everything was great with you guys…" he trailed off as the crying girl grasped his shirt in her fists, tightening his arms around her and placing his head on top of hers. They stayed that way for a moment, silent but for Gabriella's quiet hiccupping. Then she shifted in his arms, turning her head into the crook of his neck.

"We were…" she stopped for a moment, trying to collect herself. Troy stepped out of their hug, placing his hand on either side of her face and wiping the tear tracks away.

"Come on," he said, tugging her toward the bed. He sat down, leaning against the headboard, shifting over so she had enough space to sit next to him. She climbed onto the bed and sat right next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"It was our six month anniversary a few days ago," she said. "He took me out to dinner, and it was so nice…" She got quiet.

"What happened?" Troy asked softly. He brought his arm around her shoulder, playing with the tips of her hair.

"We went back to my dorm afterward, and we were just talking, and kissing, and he tried to…"

Her body was racked with sobs again.

"Wait, I don't understand," Troy started.

"I said no," Gabriella cried into his shirt. His heart went cold as he understood.

"I'm gonna kill him," Troy said, his tone dark as he pulled Gabriella closer.

"He didn't actually…" she began, getting quiet. There was silence for a moment, Troy hanging on her every word.

"He didn't rape me," she finally said. The words were difficult for her to say, he could tell. "My roommate came home and she saw what was happening, and he stopped. And I told him the next day that I couldn't be with him anymore. But I'm so afraid, Troy, I can't…"

His heart broke as her voice cracked.

"I'm sorry I'm just unloading all this on you right now, I know you've got a lot going on, but I saw him hanging around outside my dorm building and I just didn't know where else to go," she sniffed.

"Hey, hey, where's that coming from?" Troy interrupted. "Look at me, Ella."

She met his gaze with wet eyes. "I'm sorry."

"I'm always here for you," he said. "Always, no matter what. You're my best friend, Ella. I'm never too busy for you, you got that? You're safe with me. He won't hurt you, not anymore."

She nodded, a tiny smile gracing her face.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"Do you want to stay here tonight?" he asked.

"I don't want to intrude…"

"Hey. What did I just say?"

"…Yes. I'll stay."

Troy glanced at the clock on his bedside table. It was after three.

"You really should get some rest. Have you even slept, since…?"

Gabriella shook her head, biting her bottom lip. With a sigh, he let go of her, swinging his legs off the bed to stand up. He looked her up and down for a moment. Her eyes were red-rimmed from crying and there were dark circles under her eyes. She hugged her knees to her chest, watching him. He was struck with a sudden urge to kiss her, to make the pain go away.

She doesn't deserve any of this.

Going into his closet, he grabbed spare sheets and a pillow. He flipped the lights off and opened the bedroom door, letting the light from the hallway flood into the room so he could see her.

"Go to sleep, Gabriella. It's late. I'll be on the couch if you need me, okay? We can spend the whole day together, tomorrow. I don't have rehearsal, and basketball practice doesn't start until four." He paused. "I won't let him hurt you, Ella."

She frowned and nodded. He dropped the sheets on the foot of the bed and sat down next to her on the edge of it. She was rubbing her hands together, like she always did when she was worried or afraid. He grabbed one of her hands, stopping her, and he just held it, running his thumb along her palm lines.

"Goodnight, Ella," he said. He let go of her hand and moved to stand, but she grasped his wrist and yanked him back toward her.

"Don't go," she said, her voice shaking. It was barely a whisper. "Stay with me."

Troy looked from her hand, clinging to his arm, to her eyes, which were sparkling with unshed tears. He took her hand and laced their fingers together.

"Okay," he said quietly.

He loved her. God, he loved her.

How could I say no?

She crawled under the covers in the bed as he closed the bedroom door, shifting over so he had enough space to climb in next to her. He slid under the blankets. They each kept their distance, Troy practically on the very edge of the bed. His heart was pounding like crazy, lying so close to her. He laid on his side, watching her body rise and fall as she breathed. Her back was to him, and he reached out to run his fingers through her hair, comforting her. He stopped after a while, once she was asleep, and shifted onto his back, staring at the ceiling again.

"Troy?" Gabriella asked, her voice deafening as it sliced through the comfortable silence. He felt the bed sink as she shifted. He turned to look at her, and suddenly their faces were very close.

"Yeah?" he responded. She swallowed and brought her hand up to his face, running her thumb across his cheek. She leaned closer, until their foreheads were touching. Troy's breathing was shallower than normal.

She has no idea what she's doing to me.

Then her mouth met his, her lips moving against his own. His arm reached for her waist, grasping her hip and pulling her closer. Her hand ran through his hair, fingernails scratching his scalp. His arm snaked under her, reaching her hair, hands running through the brown curls. Then she pulled back, breathless, finding his bright blue eyes in the darkness. They were both silent for a moment, just looking at each other.

"I realized, when Jordan tried to…" she swallowed, not finishing her sentence. "That I didn't want to be with him. Because he's not you." His heart lifted, beating even faster. He stared into her eyes, his smile brightening his face.

"I love you, Ella," he whispered. Gabriella smiled, her eyes watery.

"I love you, too," she said. He leaned forward again, kissing her lips softly, pulling her form closer to his in the middle of the bed. Her head tucked into his neck, hands grasping his shirt, his face buried in her hair, breathing in her scent, they laid together in the silence.

Troy couldn't help but smile. With tired eyes falling closed, he felt her breathing even out as he traced words between her shoulder blades.

I love you. I love you.

I love you.