An: Here is the first chapter, I hope you enjoy it! X
Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or "Low" which is by Kelly Clarkson.
Chapter 1: A broken heart.
"What?!?" Gabriella was shocked. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She grabbed his hand but he pulled away. "You can't mean that!" She stood up and walked over to him. She was in his room, surrounded by pictures of him playing basket ball, him and his mates, and him and Gabriella over the last year. She had believed they were in love. Clearly she was wrong.
It had been nearly a year since he had asked her out. He did it after the final performance of Tinsel Town.
Flashback
Troy and Gabriella had just left the stage after receiving a standing ovation for their final performance of Tinsel Town. They had sung their hearts out all night, and now they were full of adrenaline. Troy ran up to Gabi, who was being congratulated by Sharpey for a great performance, and grabbed her waist in a tight hug.
Gabriella smiled as she felt his arms wrap around her. She hadn't admitted it to anyone, but during all the rehearsals and performances, she was slowly and surely falling in love with none other than Troy Bolton. What she didn't know was that Troy had also fallen in love with her.
"Can I speak to you?" he whispered in her ear. He took her hand and led her over to the other side of the room. He took hold of her hands in his, stared into her eyes and spoke. "Gabi," he said, his voice strained, "would you… will you…" he took a gulp before continuing "would you go out with me?" He asked, then looked away from her, preparing himself for the rejection. He was shocked to feel Gabi's soft lips pressed against his cheek. Then her harmonic voice filled his ears, saying the words he had been praying she would say for months.
"Yes, I'll go out with you." Gabriella whispered in his ear, smiling widely. He spun round to face her.
"You will?" he asked, shocked. She nodded her head and he then lifted her into the air and spun her round. She giggled. He loved to hear her laugh; it made him feel so happy inside. He placed her back on the ground and smiled at her.
End Flashback
After that day she had fallen in love with him. They had been labelled the IT couple. Everyone thought they would be together forever, get married, have kids and grow old together. She had considered it many times, she thought she and Troy wanted to be together forever, or at least until college. Obviously Troy didn't want it to last that long. He wanted it to last no longer than today. He had just shown her that.
She felt her heart break as she heard his next words.
"I'm sorry Gabi, I just think it would be better if we called time on our relationship, at least for now." He explained calmly, his back to Gabriella.
"But why now? What changed Troy? I thought you loved me!" Tears were forming in the brunettes glistening brown eyes. No response came from the blond stood in front of her. She walked away as the tears flowed down her soft cheeks.
Troy realised he had to tell her the real reason, or he would lose her for good.
"Gabi, I'm sorry it's just…" he trailed off as he turned around to see his bedroom door close. He had missed his chance. He collapsed on his bed, mentally yelling at himself. He closed his eyes and started to cry for the first time in years.
Gabriella ran down the stairs of the Bolton household, and was rushing towards the front door when she bumped into Louise, Troy's older sister.
"Gabi, what's wrong?" Louise asked concerned. She had seen Gabriella as a little sister since she and Troy had started dating.
"It's over!" Gabi stated before rushing through the front door. Louise was left with anger flowing though her.
"TROY!!!" She yelled up the stairs, before following her words to her brother's bedroom and slamming the door open.
Gabriella wandered down the silent streets in the twilight. It was a summer night, the air was warm, yet Gabriella was shivering. The tears had subsided, yet inside Gabriella was still being torn apart. She started to sing. It was her way to release her sadness.
Everybody's talking
But they don't say a thing
They look at me with sad eyes
But I don't want the sympathy
Its cool you didn't want me
Sometimes you can't go back
But why'd you have to go and make a mess like that
Well I just have to say
Before I let go
Have you ever been low?
Have you ever had a friend that let you down so?
When the truth came out
Were you the last to know?
Were you left out in the cold?
Cos what you did was low
The street was eerily silent. The sun had set, leaving Gabi alone in the darkness.
No I don't need your number
There's nothing left to say
Except I never thought it'd hurt this much to be saved
My friends are outside waiting
I've gotta go
Have you ever been low?
Have you ever had a friend that let you down so?
When the truth came out
Were you the last to know?
Were you left out in the cold?
There was a rustle. Gabi stopped, scared.
"Hello?" She called. Her voice echoed around. She shrugged and carried on singing, assuming it was just the wind.
What you did was low
What you did was low (low)
I walk out of this darkness
With no sense of regret
"Oh do you?" A deep manly voice said into her ear. She froze. She knew she should run, but her feet seemed to be stuck in place. He slipped a hand across her mouth, pulling her close to him. "Don't make a sound" he instructed her before dragging her into a side alley. She felt fear running through her. She struggled, trying to release herself from his grasp, but the mystery man just held her tighter the more she struggled. He got angry as she continued to struggle. He slammed her against a cold brick wall.
"Hello there pretty," he said before smashing his lips against hers. Gabi tried to make out his face but it was too dark.
As he removed his lips Gabi took it as a chance to release a scream. Bad move. He slapped her and grabbed her by the throat and pinned her to the wall.
"Be a good girl!" he whispered to her menacingly before proceeding to unbutton her shirt slowly while kissing her neck.
She bit her lip to stop herself from making any sound as he placed kisses down her chest once he had fully removed her shirt. He moved his hand towards the back of her bra. She tried to escape once more, panicking about what was going to happen next, but he slammed her against the wall again, more viciously than the last time. Her head collided with the cold bricks. She yelped in pain.
She was fighting with all her strength to stay conscious as he started working his way towards her hips. The blackness was starting to force its way forward as she felt the button on her jeans pop open.
Tears leaked from Gabriella's eyes. She felt him push his body against hers. She couldn't withstand the pain anymore and let the darkness consume her and she felt the man remove her from the wall and the hard concrete floor connected with her back.
"How could you be such an idiot?" Louise yelled at her younger brother who was lying face down on his bed. "Well?" she demanded impatiently.
"I didn't want us to end up like mom and dad." Troy explained quietly into the pillow below him. He felt sick with the guilt of hurting Gabriella so much.
"What?" Louise asked more calmly, feeling sympathy for her brother. She sat down on the edge of his bed. Troy turned over and stared at his bedroom ceiling, examining it closely before explaining.
"I love Gabriella with all my heart and soul, more than anything else in this world. But I don't want us to end up like mom and dad have." A clear film of tears began forming once again in his eyes.
"Oh Troy!" Louise exclaimed. She couldn't believe all of this was because of what they had been told last night. She leaned over and gave her brother a caring hug before leaving him alone. She knew she had to call someone.
"Hey Chad, its Louise." Chad was immediately worried by the tone his best friend's sister's voice.
"What's Troy done this time?" He enquired, half jokingly, half serious. He heard Louise take a deep breath and realised it was worse than he thought.
The rain was pouring down when Gabriella regained consciousness a while later. The mystery man was no where to be seen. He had left Gabriella as she was before she blacked out. Her shirt was lying on the ground, soaked through. She took a deep, shaky breath, and then nervously stood up, wiping the tears from her eyes and collecting her clothes. She walked back home, filled with misery and shame.
"I'll be over tomorrow morning, first thing. I didn't think he would react this badly, and definitely not in that way." Chad placed the phone back on the receiver then sat on his couch, a confused expression on his face.
AN: What did you think? Please review! x