Thank you everyone for your very kind reviews! You are all legends! Well I hope this was quick enough for you!

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It Begins.

It was a warm, blue-skied day and the sun was shining warmly on the East High School, brightening the rooms and hallways. Troy, Chad and Jason sat at a table in the cafeteria, laughing at a joke Jason had just pulled, though weather or not he meant to, Troy did not know. The rest of the Wildcats team were in the changing rooms, and Zeke probably had his head down a toilet right now, (he had been sick during practise).

Suddenly two small warm hands slid over Troy's eyes, blocking out his view.

"Guess who?" a sweet voice said in his ear.

"Dad! I didn't know your hands were so soft!" Troy teased.

"Ha, ha, very funny" The person moved their hands, and Troy took the chance and spun round, then wildly tickled his girlfriend, Gabriella Montez.

She giggled and squirmed, but she couldn't get out of Troy's strong grip.

"Troy! Stop! I beg you! Have mercy!" she squealed. Troy stopped tickling her and instead pulled her down and kissed her.

"Urgh, not while I'm eating. Please" Chad whined, obviously disgusted by their behaviour. Troy pulled away and grinned. Gabriella then sat down next to Troy and opened her lunch bag, smiling to herself.

Troy and Gabriella had been going out for just over three months now. Troy had romantically taken her out for dinner and had asked her then, and who would say no to Troy Bolton, the Wildcat superstar?

After Gabriella had finished her lunch, she stood up and hugged Troy.

"I've got to go to the Scholastic team meeting, I'll see you after school" she said, trying to keep the sadness out of her voice. She hated being away from Troy.

"O.K then, I'll walk you home." Troy smiled back.

"Fine! Bye." She quickly kissed him, and then set off, leaving Troy staring after her.

"Come on Troy lets go." Chad said from beside him. They had agreed to do their homework, which they, being on the basketball team, hadn't done yet. Big surprise there then.

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As they drew closer to the classroom 5 minutes later, Troy noticed that it was incredibly quiet. Too quiet for Troy's liking. He looked around and saw that the hallway was completely deserted. A sound of footsteps brought him back to reality.

"Troy! Thank god" Sharpay panted. She looked red in the face, and her hair was messed up. She looked petrified.

"What's wrong Shar?" Chad frowned.

"You- you haven't heard?" She looked, if possible, even more scared now.

Chad and Troy both shook their heads.

"They broke in!" she squealed.

"Who?"

"2 men, big men, with guns, in black, I only just managed to get here. They've got everyone outside." Tears began to form in her eyes.

"I don't know where Ryan is." She whispered.

Chad moved forward and hugged her.

"Don't worry, he's probably outside."

"The last thing I said to him was get lost! What if that's the last thing I ever say?" Troy just hoped this was not true.

Suddenly, a loud noise rang out in the air. Sharpay screamed and Chad yelled. It was the noise of a shot being fired.

All of a sudden, Troy's breath hitched and he whispered "Oh my god" as a horrible thought struck him. Gabriella. What if she hadn't got out?

"You!"

A man turned round the corner, holding a gun out in front of him. Sharpay was right. He was dressed in all black, and he was huge! His face tensed as he saw them.

"In there." He said, his voice gruff, pointing towards the classroom door, next to them. Sharpay ran in first, followed by Chad and then by Troy.

Troy's heart raced as he moved backwards, standing in front of Sharpay and Chad, as if meaning to protect them. A few seconds later, the man walked into the room. He grinned when he saw Troy standing in front.

"Gonna protect them boy?" he sneered "I don't think so." He moved closer and Troy began to back away.

"No, no, no I need to tie your little wrists together don't I boy? Anyway, what's your name?"

Troy snorted "Like I'm going to tell YOU" his voice deceiving how scared he was. The man was almost upon them when he stopped.

"Is that so?" As quick as anything, he smacked Troy in the face, causing him to lose balance and fall over.

"Now, don't make me ask again."

"T-Troy B-B-Bolton"

"Basketball captain?" he said looking at Troy's shirt. Troy nodded. A little was blood trickling down his face where he had been hit.

"Well, wouldn't it be a shame if the little basketball-boy got hurt? NOW! COME HERE!" Troy stood up and cautiously stepped closer to the man.

"Turn round" Troy obliged and soon he found his wrists being tied up by a piece of rope. Oh dear he thought to himself. He looked pleadingly at Chad, but didn't say anything. As the man tightened the knot he said

"Now I'm going to gag you, O.K?"

"And what if I say no?"

He hadn't meant to say it; it just kind of slipped out. It earned him another smack to the head and this time it was worse. Pain erupted in his skull and he cried out.

"Any more wise cracks and I'll kill you, got it?" the man snarled in his ear. Troy nodded. Then the man shoved as hard as he could and Troy was sent flying to the floor, his head hitting the concrete ground hard.

"Now get up and face the wall. Do I make myself clear?"

Black and white spots erupted in Troy's eyes and he felt himself getting dizzy. He slowly stood up, shaking and walked towards the wall. Then he spat out some blood from his mouth.

"Now I need to tie you two up as well." A voice from behind him came. Troy just couldn't stand there. He couldn't let this creep hurt his friends, or rather, his best friends.

"Don't you touch them." He spat. This earned him a chuckle.

"You gonna make me kid?" the man grinned

"If I must" Troy spun round and ran towards him. Bad idea. A few seconds later he was flat on the floor and getting kicked in the head.

"NO!" screamed Sharpay, who was crying. "Please no!" she sobbed harder as the man kicked Troy across the room.

"THAT is what happens to people who don't listen O.K?"

Across the other side of the classroom, lay Troy, not moving. After getting whacked in the face by a VERY hard, steel-capped boot, he had fallen unconscious quickly. His hair was matted to his face by a deep crimson liquid, and his face was smeared in it too.

Chad had stood there watching his best friend getting beaten up, with a look of horror on his face. There was nothing he could have done, was there? If he interfered, he most surely would have got hit as well, which was what Troy, obviously, hadn't wanted.

Suddenly a scuffling and screaming brought Chad back to his senses. The noise was coming from outside the door. He frowned. A second later another person dressed in all black appeared. Chad noticed this one didn't have a face mask on though. The man had some stubble on his chin and a mop of dark brown hair on his head. But that wasn't bothering him. What he was holding was.

It was Gabriella and Taylor. Both had their wrists tied and being dragged by their hair.

"Taylor!" Chad cried, almost at the same time as Sharpay yelled "Gaby!" They turned to look at them and Gabriella suddenly went deathly pale.

"TROY!"