Title: Untouchable.

Rating: M (of course)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with High School Musical, or the High School Musical trilogy and franchise. I don't own Disney or anything of the sort. The only thing that is mine is the plot.

Authors Note: HI GUYS :) I'm back after a couple of weeks now. So I've already said Hello, and this is my new story, it's called Untouchable, and it's been in my mind for a few weeks now or a couple of months. But I have to admitt when Just Can't Walk Away was coming to an end I was like 'oh my god', I really couldn't think of another plot and I was really afraid that I wouldn't think of something. But I'm back and I'd just like to say that this story deals with ALOT of issues. And this story really isn't for the faint hearted, they are in depth real life issues that are going to be dealt with in this story. I don't want to give away too much. You'll find out.

So again I'd like to say that this story is giong to be alot different to the one's I have written before. It's not going to be as Troyella fluffy, at all. As you'll find out. It's going to deal with deeper issues like I said.

So before we start I just want to say that I am really, really, really nervous about this chapter, I don't think I've been as nervous about a chapter ever. So I would really apprciate you're feedback, weather you liked it weather you didn't. And what you didn't like please so I can work on it :)

So before we get started. I really hope you enjoy it! And I really hope you stick with me as it's really different. So here we go :)

The glowing sun was blazing down onto the olive skin causing it to glisten a little bit with salty liquid, as she sat in the blades of long green grass and pulled them between her fingers feeling them detach from the earth. Her chocolate irises were focused on the ground and her two top dazzling while teeth were gently stroking her rosy glossed plump lower lip. She was supposed to be happy. This was meant to be a time where things were meant to be looking up for her. It was a time where she was away from the hellhole that was East High, High School Albuquerque, New Mexico for the next 3 months. And today? Was the first day of her freedom. She had her slightly sweaty palms rested on the top of her knees that were hugged to her chest. She could hear the giggling and the raised voices arguing over something or nothing in the distance but she couldn't bring herself to smile. There was a slight crackle of a fire behind her that she could hear. But she didn't know who's bright idea it had been to light the fire. It was stupid in her opinion. The sun was shining down brightly causing her olive skin to catch even more colour and there was a fire burning in the distance. How silly was that?

"HEY FOODS READY!" A loud booming voice rung throughout her ears. But her visions were now focused on the view that was infront of her.

It was absolutely stunning. She was sitting on a slight hill with her legs hung over the edge now and she was feeling the cool breeze slightly brush over her legs as she swung them slightly. Beneath her she could see the glistening water of the lake and off into the distance. There were wild flowers all over the grass which consisted of bright oranges and purples. This is where she felt at home. This was the place where she felt at ease, where everything else faded around her and it was just her.

"Hey babe, did you hear? Foods ready" The source of the calm, soothing voice came from behind her. She turned around to see his stunning clear spheres staring down at her. Her boyfriend of 2 years.

His hair was shaped around his flawless face. His bangs hung perfectly around his eyes but not enough to shield her from staring into his stunning pools. His nose pointed slightly at the end. And his heart shaped lips were thin. But her gaze floated down to his god like sculpted body. There was a defining line between his two muscley pectorals and further down was his perfectly formed 6 pack. It wasn't just a slight six pack where you could slightly see the faint lines. It was perfectly moulded like the lines were tattooed and burnt into his tanned skin and slightly below was the 'golden trail' leading down to where his swim shorts lay.

17 year old Gabriella Montez nodded her head slowly before she swept the stray bangs that were hanging infront of her face. Her long, black curled hair was pulled up into a pony tail to stop any chances of hot air causing it to frizz. "You ok?" Her boyfriend asked her before she looked up at him with an innocent stare and jerked her head slightly to beckon him to her.

"I have to tell you something." Gabriella innocently informed him. Within seconds he was sat at her side staring at her with slight panic written into his orbs.

"What's wrong?" An also 17 year old Troy Bolton asked her, his voice seemed slightly on edge.

Gabriella sucked in a shaky breath and ran her hand up to her raven hair before she began to speak. "It's back." The cloudy tears pricked her vision as she bit down on her bottom lip to stop her body from shaking.

"What? What do you mean?" Troy encircled his arm around her thin body and pulled her to him invitingly, despite the fact it was absolutely scorching and it was making Gabriella sweat more that their skins were connecting yet it comforted her.

"The cancer, it's back." She whispered and her boyfriend closed his eyes at the comment and brought her closer to his built chest if that was even possible. She had to bite down on her bottom lip to muffle her cries.

"Fuck, Gab I...." Troy began. His hand rested up on her head and rested it against his pectoral where she could hear the distant beat of his heart. Beating in perfect sync with her own heartbeat. "Why didn't you say anything earlier?"

Gabriella shrugged her small shoulders slightly. "Its summer and I just, I didn't wanna bother you."

Troy gently cupped her rounded chin in his large hands so she was met by the gaze of his cyan orbs. "Hey." He spoke sternly. "Summer or no summer, your problems are my problems you hear me?" The seventeen year old nodded her head slowly, closing her eyes in the process. "You can always tell me anything, especially something like that." At this point he lifted her small body and placed her on his lap and pressed a hypnotic kiss to her temple, Gabriella felt the familiar shivers run down her body at the feel of his lips pressed up against her skin. "When did you find out?"

Gabriella smiled sadly. Her father had been taken into the hospital for a check up to make sure that the deadly cells had gone when they had found some abnormal cells again. And they had performed more tests and found out that the fatal disease was indeed back again, for the third time. "Last night."

The junior rested her head against his bare chest again this time the beat of his heart was much more intense in her ear. "You should have called me straight away."

She nodded slightly. "I know but, maybe I thought if I didn't tell anybody it wouldn't be true. Silly huh?"

Her boyfriend chuckled sadly. "It's not silly. But 3rd time lucky maybe?"

Gabriella wasn't naive, she never had been. Deep down she knew that maybe he wouldn't pull through after all he had fought off the disease twice before what made this time different? When she had found out the previous night she hadn't even hung around to find out the extent of the disease she just went to the place where she felt safe. The place where everything went away. "Maybe, he starts chemo again on Wednesday."

His lips found hers in a sweet gentle kiss that made electricity transfer from his lips and to flow all of the way around her body, his hands game to rest on the curve of her hip until he pulled away and looked at her adoringly. "Then I'll be there."

Gabriella looked at him her face busted into a smile and she had to curb a happy sob, he had always been there. "HEY STOP FUCKING THE FOODS GETTING COLD!" She smiled slightly at she decided to bring herself back to reality, to try and at least enjoy it for the rest of the time they were here at least until Wednesday. Gabriella and her small group of friends would come up here in vacations and basically whenever they wanted just to have a break. It wasn't like she was going to Thailand or anything where she had always dreamed of going but it was a break and she was with her friends and that was all that mattered to her, at that particular time anyways.

"You gonna be okay?" Gabriella's fingers reached down to where his were resting on his hips and she laced their fingers together feeling them connect.

"For now? Yeah." She sighed, finally deciding to pull herself together. Troy adoringly peppered a few kisses to her raven hair and her temple finally pressing a chaste kiss to her lips. Gabriella responded a little but not enough to take it any further.

"It's gonna get better baby, I promise." He spoke gently and took the opportunity to wipe away one stray tear that had fallen on her porcelain face with the pad of his thumb. He then shifted Gabriella so he could stand and he began to walk away.

"Troy..." Gabriella stared up at him, although the shining sun shielded her vision causing her to place her hand over her brow. Her boyfriend instantly turned around looking down at her small frame. "Promise you'll always be there for me?"

"It'll take a bulldozer to ever take me away from you. I promise I'll always be here. No matter what."

Promises were a lie.

A friend could promise that they would meet you for approximately 12:00pm to go shopping or to the movies or to just do whatever. But then that friend could arrive at approximately 12:03pm. 12:03 isn't 12:00, therefore they were late. And the promise was broken. Same with other things. Another example is when two fiancé's are standing on an altar, in a church with God as their witness. Surrounded by their family and friends and a minister is present to bring the two souls together for life. The minister would then say "will you love them, comfort them, honour and protect them, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon them your heart's deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto them as long as you both shall live?" And both people say 'I do'. They then promise that for life. And then a few years later they divorce. Their promises were broken shattered into thousands of little pieces. Therefore:

Promises were always broken.

To promise something would just be a blatant lie.

The seventeen year old was mechanically; keeping a good posture and making sure her ears were over her shoulders and making sure her shoulders were cantered over her hips. She was mechanically keeping her chest up and out sticking out her plump breasts a little and keeping her shoulders relaxed. Her next step was to then rock her heel and swing her foot forward, in a natural swing. The cold air was causing the small blonde hairs on her arm to stick up as it had momentarily left her mind to pick up a jacket that morning. She was trying to hug the textbooks and writing books to her chest to warm her up. The temperature had drastically dropped over the past couple of weeks and people were walking around wearing scarves and ugg's and all thoughts of what to wear on a morning had slipped her mind.

"Hey, Gabs looking fierce today." An unfamiliar voice caused her slim black brows to rise in awareness and then knit close together in confusion.

Gabriella Montez looked at the girl, and mechanically controlled her cheek muscles to cause a smile to come onto her face. "Um, thanks I guess." She called back, reaching to caress the skin that was on her earlobe that she only did when she felt uncomfortable.

The girl was small, her hair was a golden blonde and her bangs were pushed to the side, she was wearing herself a baggy crop top with a white vest underneath with jeans and a pair of knitted Ugg's. She carried on walking until a warm burst of air hit her as she walked through the crimson doors. East High.

East High School stationed in Albuquerque. Gabriella had registered back as a senior 4 months ago. Gabriella used to love school. It was the one thing that she 'got'. She loved how everybody was so East High spirited, whenever there was a game day whether it be basketball or baseball or football, or even lacrosse, everybody would always be dressed in the East High colours of red and white. The two colours were plastered everywhere, the lockers were red and white, the bulletin boards even the trays in the cafeteria were red. And everywhere you looked there was a cushion of an 'E'. Despite all the disputes and disagreements that would happen under the school roof, everybody had that one same thing in common, everybody possessed the East High Spirit.

Gabriella's rounded head was telling her that she shouldn't have been in school that day. That she should have been at home sleeping. But Gabriella couldn't even recall the last time she went through a whole night without waking up. Without lying in bed on a night and feeling the same butterflies in her stomach of worry. On a night time, as soon as she lay in the bed the shadows came alive to her, it made everything more real, made her think of things a hell of a lot more. But it seemed that she didn't even need sleep to function anymore. Just as long as she had cups of coffee and energy drinks through the day. She was fine. Despite the purple shadows under her eyes and the slight swelling around them she was absolutely fine. But Gabriella's version of fine was a complete different definition to anybody else's. The definition of fine was "being in a state of satisfactory health; quite well". But Gabriella wasn't one of them things, well she was of a good health but she wasn't healthy in other aspects of her life.

"Good morning sunshine." A deep cheery voice greeted, Gabriella recognized the voice as one of her best friends from preschool. Taylor Mckessie. Her skin was silky, a chocolate shade, her black straight bangs were pushed to the side, drifting over her small brown eyes, and her short hair was styled into a bob that was rounded to just beneath her chin. Her pink lips were twisted up into a smile as her steps fell into sync with Gabriella's. Taylor and Gabriella had become best friends instantaneously when they were children; there was no one without the other. They told each other everything. Obviously, they had their differences Gabriella was stubborn and shy and Taylor was high maintenance and determined and sometimes their own personal qualities hadn't gone down well with the other. The longest they hadn't spoken for was around a week. Because Gabriella had been too stubborn to admit that she had been wrong. Taylor's own thick charcoaled colour sleeve brushed against Gabriella's skin, making her wonder why wasn't she feeling the cold?

But the past few months events had made her emotionally numb to everything that had gone on around her. From her father's diagnosis of cancer three times to other things that had caused her emotional pain she had been numb. The journey to Gabriella's destination was silent. Until she was infront of her own bright red locker. But to her it had turned dull. All bright colours had turned dull to her. Everything was dull. She twisted the knob hearing the slight clicks when she was entering the combination that she knew by heart to open her locker. Hearing the final click she opened it and placed the books inside, grabbing the ones that she would need for the next period.

"So what are the plans for the weekend? You up for the party everybody's been talking about?" Taylor was sending her a look of encouragement through her eyes, it was a look that Gabriella had been getting for the past 6 months when everybody was telling her that she had to do something, to keep her mind off things.

"Did I hear something about a party?" Gabriella's eyes glanced inches upwards to see a tall guy standing there. He stood around eight and a half inches taller than Gabriella seeing as in she was quite short. His hair consisted of an afro that stood about an inch off of his head it was a dark chocolate brown colour and it hung over his face. To say it had a life of its own was an understatement. His skin was a few shades lighter than Taylor's and was Taylor's boyfriend of around a year now. Chad Danforth. They had gone through the whole 'friends with benefits' thing for around 6 months before finally agreeing that they could fully commit to the other. And throughout the full six months Gabriella had been banging on to the two of them about how they were so perfect for each other and how sex with no strings attached didn't work for anybody.

Gabriella and Chad Danforth had been best friends since the age of around 4 or 5, but he hadn't known Taylor. Chad lived a few doors down from Gabriella so they had play dates from time to time and growing up if she had ever needed anything then he would be the guy to go to. Gabriella wasn't even sure if she would have made it through the last six months if it weren't for him coming to her house maybe once every two days to make sure that she was ok. He was also insanely protective over her and Gabriella loved the aspect about him. At first when Taylor and Chad had first started dating she thought that Taylor would have been jealous but now Taylor had come to live with it.

"I was just asking Gabriella if she wanted to come at the weekend. You know get your mind off things." Taylor's voice became more powerful towards the end of the sentence. Her eyes were wide, emphasizing how much she wanted Gabriella to go.

Gabriella spun around so her back was leant against the red and white lockers. "You know, I was walking across the quad to my locker and this girl I think she was a sophomore, and she shouted to me 'looking fierce Gabs' and for a second I thought she was making fun of me. See I spent all night last night at the hospital, I went home at 7am and had a half hour to get ready and that consisted of jumping in the shower to wash the hideous smell from me just ever so quickly putting the curling iron through my hair." Gabriella's fingers ran through the small curls that were in her hair that morning. "I think I have mascara on one eye and not the other and I'm dressed like it's spring vacation." Gabriella sighed and referred to her white sleeveless blouse that had buttons at the top and cut off in the middle of her thighs. She was also wearing dark skinny jeans that complimented her legs making them more muscular and a pair of flats.

Both Taylor and Chad sighed from the side of her and Gabriella saw Taylor's white teeth sink into her bottom lip. "Bad chemo." Chad asked, his voice laced with concern and it was more of a statement than a question.

Gabriella nodded her head as she felt tears swell in her eyes clouding her vision, she let out a shallow breath to prevent herself from crying. "The worst so far."

Her older brother figure immediately strode to her and placed a comforting friendly hand on her arm. "Why the hell didn't you call me?"

Her slim shoulders shrugged reflexively. "I didn't wanna bother you. It was late and I kinda wanted to be alone."

Taylor sent her a sympathetic smile and immediately brought her arms out that Gabriella fell into. They hugged for a few seconds before Gabriella pulled away to prevent herself from getting emotional. "Honey you could never bother me. Or us. You know that right."

Gabriella nodded. "I know." She responded sadly before glancing down at her nails that were in need of some polish or a manicure.

"What happened? How is he?" Chad referenced to Gabriella's father. Carlos Montez. He was only 38 years old. And had been diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of 35 which had devastated herself and her mother. Gabriella had only been a sophomore and at the age of 15 and 16 it had been too much for her to handle. The cancer had returned twice after that and at this particular time Carlos's frail body couldn't handle the chemotherapy and he had been really sick in the hospital. Gabriella had spent all of the previous night at his bedside after being encouraged by him to go to school because that's what he wanted. Chad had been deeply involved in the whole process of Carlos's cancer, he had been close to Chad and the Danforth family since Chad was a child and he had always been there for Gabriella whenever she had to go to the hospital so she knew he would have been shocked that he didn't call her.

"They say they might release him later on today, they said that it was something to do with the platelets in his blood and he started bleeding after his chemo and they couldn't stop it so." Gabriella shrugged slightly. "I just hope he comes out." She stated honestly.

"He will. He's a strong guy." The tall eighteen year olds afro bounced in relation to his head as he nodded encouragingly at the smaller girl.

"But sometimes strong guys give up the fight." Gabriella responded sadly, part of her knew it was the truth and if he didn't get better soon then he would give up the fight. It was the last thing she wanted but something she may have had to come to terms with.

"Ugh I hate Christmas...." A high pitched voice complained before Gabriella heard a loud bang echo on the locker next to her own, causing her to jump out of her skin and look at the blo... wait brunette?

"Brunette? Hair?" Gabriella stood dumbfounded her mouth wide open. "What?"

The edges of the girl's lips twisted upwards into one of her famous pout/smirks. "You mean what happened to my hair? If you would have been with us on New Year's you would have seen it a lot sooner. I just wanted a change. What don't you like it?"

The girl spoke honestly, the way she always had. Gabriella hadn't spent New Year's with her friends like what was 'socially' expected with her because she had spent it with her mother and her father at home watching the fireworks on the television. Because the truth was that she deep down she didn't think she would get another New Year's or Christmas with her father, it would be the last one they would spend together as a family."No, I like it. I really do. I just, it's different." Gabriella took the opportunity to run her fingers through her other best friend's new brunette hair. Two weeks ago she had been a blonde. A platinum blonde and she had lived up to every aspect of fulfilling that role. And now she was a brunette. It was a fiery brown, with a red tint as she lifted the tendrils through her fingers towards the light.

"Fabulous." Sharpay Evans beamed.

Sharpay and Gabriella had been best friends since seventh grade. The newly found brunette's stunning milk chocolate eyes then drifted towards the other two people who were standing around before smiling at them brightly with her shockingly pink glossed lips parting to show her whitened teeth. It was no secret that the Evan's family were rich. Sharpay must have spent around $4,000 dollars a year just on having her teeth whitened. Sharpay was like a human Barbie doll. She spent thousands of dollars on hair extensions, that now had been brought to Gabriella's attention was money well wasted. And every single outfit she wore made her look absolutely day she was wearing light denim skinny jeans that made her skinny legs look even thinner than they actually was. She was wearing a pink cami that stuck to her flat stomach and hugged around her swelled breasts, and over that was a beige cardigan. The truth was that Sharpay either always would be wearing something glittery or pink. Whatever she would be feeling that day.

"So why do you hate Christmas? Present you know I thought that would be something you'd like." Taylor playfully insulted, causing a smile to rise onto Chad's face, but Gabriella was far from smiling.

"Because like two days after New Year's I'm back at this little hole in the wall. Y'know finals graduation is all that seems to be going on in people's lives at the minute." This caused Gabriella's head to whip up and look into Sharpay's eyes who were looking at her almost apologetically. "Apart from you. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Gabriella whispered knowing that Sharpay didn't mean anything by it. That was the thing about her she would be upfront about what she thought, she was cocky but sometimes she said things and didn't intentionally mean for them to sound the way they did. She had to learn how to think before she spoke, it had been something Gabriella had told her many times.

Sharpay looked down to her manicured nails and began to pick out any dirt that may have been in there. "I saw your mom yesterday. She's getting big now huh?"

Gabriella nodded. Another thing that saddened Gabriella about her father's cancer was the fact that her mother was just over 6 months pregnant. Gabriella had been shocked at first that the two of them had decided to have another child, but then she realized that Maria had given birth to Gabriella right after senior year and she was only thirty five now. Carlos had been two years older than Maria and in college when she fell pregnant. Maria had described those days to Gabriella as the scariest of her life. They had provided all that they would for Gabriella but now Maria had had a stable career as a doctor and Carlos had been a CEO in a company. But Carlos had had to come out of work to deal with his illness, and Maria's career had also been disrupted. But before the deadly illness had struck the family it had made perfect sense for them to have another child.

"Yeah, yeah she is." Gabriella responded with a slight smile on her face although it appeared twisted.

"Hey guys." Another deep husky voice greeted. And despite everything that had happened Gabriella still felt a flutter in her heart and butterflies emerge in her stomach every time his voice spoke. "What's going on?"

"Nothing man." Chad shook his head at his best friend.

Troy Bolton. Gabriella smiled weakly at him and he returned the smile before walking over to her. Everybody at East High loved him. The guys wanted to be him and girls wanted him to be 'inside' them. Most people would have thought all of the popularity would have gone to his head but Troy was genuinely a nice guy. He got on with more or less everybody minus a few people here and there and he would try and help anybody he could. But to Gabriella he was so much more than that. He was the reason that she woke up on a morning and the reason she went to sleep at night. As cliché as it sounded he was. She needed to see him just to get through the day. She just needed to feel his touch, even if it was just a slight stroke on her arm or something more. Gabriella was head over heels for him. She couldn't help it.

Troy's arms embraced her causing sparks to erupt all over her small body. Gabriella's small arms wrapped around his torso, she inhaled deeply breathing in his scent and she felt electricity spread throughout her body as his thin lips pressed up against her forehead. It was what she'd need to get her through the day. "You ok?" He murmured before pulling away. Gabriella nodded before he smiled at her. He stood next to her in the circle of the people who had formed.

"Hoops you gonna be at practise at lunch?" Chad asked.

Troy nodded his head rapidly. " Yeah, I made a promise didn't I?"

8 months and 2 days ago a promise had been made to her.

And 6 months and 2 days ago was the day Gabriella stopped believing promises that came out of anybodies mouths.

Especially the ones that would come or ever came from her ex boyfriend. Troy Bolton's mouth.