So here is chapter two! I hope you all enjoy it, it's a bit of a dramatic chapter so be warned that it will contain M rated scenes and as I've warned before because Seth isn't a good guy there will be scenes containing violence!

~TG~

'And now you're trying to fix me,

Mend what he did,

I'll find the part that is missing,'

-Pixie Lott – Broken Arrow

~TG~

Thunder crashed loudly like angry waves hitting the shore and the lightening lit up the sky. Gabriella had always hated storms, she was never sure why but for as long as she could remember she had been petrified.

She remembered one occasion when she was thirteen, a huge storm had moved in and it hung around for hours. To calm herself down she had sung one million green bottles all the way down to one and had finally managed to fall asleep.

She peeked above the duvet sheepishly, searching for her cell phone that she had left on her nightstand and hoping that she could grab it before another flash of lightening came.

The light from her cell phone illuminated the darkness that surrounded her and she cowered under her duvet. She held down speed dial one, patiently waiting for the call to be answered.

"Ella? Are you ok?" Troy's panicked voice sounded on the end of the line, immediately comforting Gabriella as she relaxed down into her pillow.

She shivered slightly, wishing she had kept on the heat before heading to bed.

"Yeah, I'm ok I think. I'm just really scared of the storm," Gabriella peaked above the duvet once more, glancing at her curtains sheepishly to check that they were still pulled firmly across the window.

Troy sighed, pulling on a pair of sweat pants and a sweater before making his way out of his bedroom towards the front door.

"Hang in there Beautiful, I'm just putting on some shoes and then I'll be there. Stay where you are, I'll use my key," Gabriella was quietly happy that Troy had decided to come and protect her from the storm; she had no idea what she was supposed to do if the storm carried on all night.

"Troy, you really don't need to do that, this storm is so bad! It's too dangerous for you to come out." Gabriella fought against her heart that was telling her to scream at Troy to come as quickly as he could.

As Troy quickly reassured her that he would be okay and hung up the phone he pulled his hood tightly over his head, sheltering himself from the freezing rain that was beating down from the skies.

It took him less than four minutes to speed through the storm to Gabriella's apartment just three blocks away.

Parking the car haphazardly outside Gabriella's building he rushed quickly towards the door and let himself in, running as fast as his thankfully athletic legs would take him up the stairs and towards her apartment door.

As he entered the dark apartment, flashes of lightening illuminated his path to Gabriella's bedroom.

He pushed opened the door slowly, observing the body in the bed completely covered head to toe and Gabriella's sweet voice humming to drown out the sound of the storm.

Sitting down on the edge of her bed; he gently pulled the covers away from her head, chuckling slightly at just how hot she had got hiding from the world under her thick duvet.

"I'm here now Beautiful, you're safe now." Troy whispered as he pulled off his pants and sweater, pulling the duvet over both of them and snuggling her into his protective grasp.

The moment he had met Gabriella he had vowed to protect her from everything that could do her harm. He felt as if he had failed her, he hadn't protected her enough from Seth's evil grasps but he would make it up to her…he had to make it up to her. If that meant getting no sleep watching her as she slept through a storm, then that's what he would do.

~TG~

Troy winced as he tried desperately to wiggle his fingers, realizing that he had absolutely no sensation whatsoever in his hand. His wince was followed by a frown; he definitely hadn't been sleeping on it.

Then he remembered.

Gabriella.

He opened his eyes slowly, the darkness of the morning signaling that the sun was yet to rise across the now calm Californian skies.

"Ella? Beautiful, you need to wake up. I've got to go to work this morning," Troy whispered into her ear, stealing the opportunity to press a delicate kiss against her temple while she slept.

She began to stir, shuffling to get herself more comfortable before opening her eyes fully and pulling herself closer towards Troy.

"It's so early," she moaned quietly, hating that Troy had to leave so early for work, leaving her alone to spend a day filled with nothingness.

She hadn't seen Seth since the incident; she had been more than thankful for that, she wasn't sure that she was still battling with the hope that he would change and be the loving boyfriend that she desperately wanted.

Troy had been frustrated when Gabriella had admitted she wanted to work things out with Seth. His distrust for the guy had only grown tenfold after seeing what he'd done to Gabriella.

"I know its early Beautiful, but I start work in an hour. Go back to sleep," Troy whispered, rolling out of bed and pulling on his clothes before tucking the duvet around Gabriella's shoulders.

He hated leaving her so early; in fact he hated leaving her at all. The way she had snuggled into his body, the way she had clung onto him for protection, and the way she had sighed as she slowly drifted to sleep had driven him crazy.

It pained him to keep his feelings hidden, to listen as Gabriella spilled her hopes of Seth changing and being the man that she knew she needed.

He wished with everything he had that she would see him as that man. He could give her so much more than Seth ever could, but while she was perusing happiness with Seth; Troy knew that it would be wrong to express his feelings for her.

He savored moments like these, moments where if he closed his eyes and thought really hard he could pretend that everything was the way he dreamed it to be. He could pretend that Gabriella was his girl, and that the love he had for her was finally out in the open.

"Will you come back later? Maybe we could have movie night?" Gabriella asked, drifting in and out of sleep as Troy brushed loose strands of hair from her face that had been tickling her nose.

Troy looked down at her sleepy features; wishing for nothing more than to be able to get back into bed and snuggle with her all day, but the clock was ticking and he had to get to work.

"Of course I will, how about I bring Chinese food?" Troy asked, pressing a kiss to her forehead as she nodded in reply.

With one final glance back at Gabriella, Troy disappeared through the door and began his journey to work.

It was becoming increasingly difficult to leave Gabriella after sharing such intimate moments with her; the only thing that kept him going through the day was knowing he would see her after he finished work.

The next six hours couldn't go fast enough.

~TG~

Gabriella loved waking up with Troy. Rolling over and finding him never failed to make her happy and it lasted all day long.

She was blind to the meaning of her feelings, putting the happiness down to the fact that she and Troy were such good friends that his company alone cheered her up.

She didn't have that with Seth.

She had only spent three nights with him and none of the following mornings had ever felt as good. One began with her wishing she could turn back time and refuse to have sex with him, and the remaining two had been filled with Seth's arrogant rambles about just how great he was.

"L is for the way you look at me, O is for the only one I see, V is very very extra ordinary it's even more than you adore and…" Gabriella's happy singing was interrupted by a harsh knocking on the door.

She looked down at herself and realized that whoever it was wishing to gain entrance to her apartment would just have to wait a little while until she put on some pants.

The one thing that Gabriella loved about living in her own apartment alone was the freedom it allowed her to have. If she so wished to prance around in her panties and a shirt, which is what she had been doing before disturbed, then that's what she would do.

"I'm coming," she called as she rushed towards the door, adjusting her soft grey track pants around her waist to ensure that she looked presentable.

In her haste, Gabriella had neglected to check who was at the door before opening it. This had been a routine she had undertaken since moving out on her own, something she had promised herself she would do in order to be safe.

"Hello Gabriella." Seth's slimy voice filled the air, forcing a harsh tension to build in Gabriella's previously happy and carefree atmosphere.

This had been the first time Gabriella had seen Seth since his vicious attack on her. She had hoped that they would be able to fix things; that he would change back into the man he was when she first met him, but now that he stood at her door with an evil glint in his eyes, she wanted nothing more than for him to disappear and to never return.

"Look Seth, I don't think we should see each other anymore," Gabriella spoke firmly, attempting to close the door and protect herself from the monster that stood in the corridor.

Her efforts were blocked as Seth wedged his strong foot between the door and the frame, preventing Gabriella from closing the door.

She had angered him and now she had to pay.

"This is because of Bolton isn't it?" Seth fumed, pushing hard on the door causing Gabriella to momentarily lose her balance as the door flew open. "I know he stayed here last night, you've been having sex with him haven't you Gabriella?" Seth grabbed hold of Gabriella's shirt and pulled her harshly towards him, bringing his face just nanometers from her as he breathed out heavily.

Gabriella shook, she couldn't believe that Seth was making such a wild accusation and was terrified of what the consequences of his anger would be.

She knew there would be no convincing him; no matter if her words were the truth, the rage in his eyes seemed unstoppable.

"No Seth, I've told you this before he is just my friend! He stayed over because of the storm but nothing happened!" Gabriella struggled to escape from Seth's strong grasp, desperate to make it to the door and escape from the building and into the street where she hoped random strangers would care enough to protect her.

Seth pushed Gabriella firmly, releasing his grip on her shirt and watching her fall harshly to the ground, catching her leg on the coffee table as she fell.

"You lying little bitch," Seth shouted, bending down to grasp her shirt once more and pulling her to her feet.

He had never felt anger like this before. How dare another man touch his girlfriend like that, and how dare she let him.

"I'm not lying Seth, I've told you before. Troy and I are just friends; you can even go and ask him if it would make you feel better!" Gabriella tried desperately to calm Seth, terrified that something terrible would happen if he continued down his current path.

Seth let out a low growl, feeling his anger increasing from deep within him like he never thought possible. He had come to the apartment with the intention of sorting Gabriella out, but now he was on a mission and there would be no stopping him.

"You know what would make me feel better? For you to shut your fucking mouth!" He raised his fist and swung it harshly, ignoring the pain he felt as it came into contact with Gabriella's jaw once again sending her flying to the floor.

Gabriella groaned as pain seared through her body, wincing as she felt blood drip down her cheek but too desperate to find escape to uncover just where it was coming from.

She scrambled to her feet, focusing her eyes on the door and the quickest possible way to get there. She used all the strength in her body to push past Seth and run towards the door, she knew that he would be faster than her but she figured if she got out of the apartment and into a public area there might be someone who could help her.

Seth watched on angered as she escaped through the door and began to run down the corridor towards the stairs, there was no way he could allow her to get away with this.

No girl cheated on Seth Keres and got away with it.

"I suggest you stop moving right now," Seth roared as he ran up behind Gabriella, grabbing her shirt and halting her steps.

Just a few more steps and she would have been running down the stairs…just a few more steps and she could have been free.

Gabriella's breathing increased dramatically as she came to the realization that now Seth had caught her it really was all over.

"Seth, please, just let me go and maybe we can talk." Gabriella pleaded; wishing and praying with everything that she had that Seth would let her go so that they could talk out their problems in a neutral safe environment.

But she knew her prayers wouldn't be answered. She had seen enough of Seth to know that he would never give up.

She closed her eyes and braced herself for impact.

"Talk? Talk? You crazy bitch, the last thing I want to do is talk to you! I don't even want to look at you, you disgust me! Sleeping with Troy and refusing to sleep with me, you've really done it now." Seth spoke calmly now, he pulled Gabriella's body closer to his own and took a step forwards forcing Gabriella's body to lean dangerously over the stairs.

This was it…Gabriella knew it.

She squeezed her eyes tightly together; forcing back fresh tears as she thought of all of the things she would be missing out on in life, all of the people she would leave behind if this turned out how she pictured it too.

"You've really done it now!" Seth repeated one final time before throwing Gabriella's tiny body down the long flight of stairs, watching proudly as she bounced from step to step and finally coming to a stop on the stone landing.

He walked down calmly and stood over her motionless body, taking note that she was still breathing shallowly and that blood was pouring from the back of her head.

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911.

He felt no remorse…no guilt, he truly believed that Gabriella had deserved everything she had received, the only reason he had called for help was to cover his back should anybody come knocking on his door for information.

He calmly asked for an ambulance and told them the location, but he didn't hang around. He kicked Gabriella's lifeless body one final time, before continuing on down the rest of the stairs and exiting the building onto the busy street below.

~TG~

Troy Bolton was fed up of work; it wasn't even like he was doing something he enjoyed. When he moved to California he had made us of his sailing skills by taking up a job with a local tour company who ran ocean fishing expeditions.

He hated sailing the speed boat, he didn't feel like it was real sailing but it paid well and looked good on his resume. The only reason he kept going was the knowledge that as soon as he graduated, he would be able to start doing a job that he loved.

Just he had docked the boat into San Francisco bay and seen that all the passengers had disembarked, his cell phone began ringing loudly from the pocket of his pants.

"Hello?" he answered swiftly, wondering who was calling him from a number that he didn't recognize.

"Hello, am I speaking with Troy Bolton?" The sweet female voice on the end of the line enquired gently, Troy's frown only grew deeper as he wondered who on earth was calling.

"Uh, yes speaking," he replied, anxious to know who this person was and what they wanted from him.

"I'm really sorry to bother you Troy, but we weren't sure who else to call. My name is Alexa and I'm a nurse in the emergency room at SFGH. I'm afraid there's been an accident and you are listed as a contact for a Gabriella Montez and you're the only one that is really close by. It's vital that you come as soon as possible." Troy absorbed the nurse's words, trying to make sense of the situation he had been presented with but failing miserably.

His life had come to a standstill.

There had been an accident, his Gabriella had been hurt in an accident and he had no idea if she was okay.

He didn't give the nurse on the end of the line an answer. He leapt from the boat as quickly as possible, not caring that it wasn't fully packed away and only focusing on the quickest way to reach the hospital.

It took him just four minutes to get to the hospital, he thanked god for the lack of traffic and consistent green lights.

He burst through the doors, desperate to find someone who could take him to Gabriella. As he approached the reception desk he was greeted by a kind looking lady from behind the desk.

"How can I help you young man?" she asked, ready to type in the name of the person that he was looking for to ensure that they could be found quickly, it was clear to her that this young man was in a hurry.

"Gabriella Montez. Somebody called me to tell me she was here; please I need to see her." Troy began to get desperate; as every second ticked by he became more and more anxious to find his Gabriella.

Just as the receptionist was about to inform him of Gabriella whereabouts, a young nurse approached the desk.

"Are you Troy?" she asked, watching as Troy nodded quickly. "Come with me, Gabriella is just through here." She spoke calmly, taking hold of Troy's arms and leading him through two large restricted access doors and into a large room filled with machines.

Troy broke down as he saw Gabriella's lifeless body laying in the large hospital bed, attached up various machines.

"What happened?" He asked hoping that someone could shed some light as to just how she had managed to get in such a mess when he had left her just find only hours previously.

He approached her bed and resting his forehead against hers, brushing a kiss to the bridge of her nose and whispering that it would all be ok.

"We don't know what happened but we are sure that she was attacked. She had fresh visible facial bruising and some on her arms along with a nasty gash to her leg. We think that she was pushed down the stairs." Troy's heart broke; he knew who had done this to her, he knew without a shadow of a doubt but now was not the time for let his anger take hold.

He had to be there for her.

"Is she going to be ok? Why isn't she awake? Is she breathing on her own?" Troy asked frantically, needing to know every little detail so that he could somehow formulate a plan in his mind of how he was going to fix this.

He had to fix this.

"We are expecting her to make a slow but good recovery at this point. She has suffered a head injury and scans reveal she has a cerebral contusion, which is a little like a bruise you would get on your skin except it is on the brain. We have sedated her in order to give her brain time to rest and allow the swelling to go down, at the moment she isn't breathing for herself because she is heavily sedated but that will change as her condition improves. She's a normally healthy young woman Troy; we are expecting her to do really well. We will be moving her up to the Intensive Care Unit shortly." Alexa reassured Troy as best she could, offering him up all the information she had to ensure that he was fully informed on Gabriella's situation.

She could see how much he cared about her, she wasn't sure what their relationship was but it was as clear as day that Troy loved Gabriella.

"Hey Beautiful, what's he done to you? I'm going to sit here right next to you until you wake up; I promise you that you won't be alone…not ever!" Troy whispered against Gabriella's bruised bloodstained skin, neither knowing nor caring whether she could actually hear him or not.

Hours passed and Troy had remained true to his word, the only time that he had left her side was when she had been taken by the nurses for some more tests.

Thousands of thoughts were running through his mind; he had no idea where he was supposed to go next, what was he supposed to do?

He held her hand tightly, occasionally pressing kisses to the soft skin of her fingers and palm. He couldn't believe they had ended up here, he was angry with himself that he hadn't protected her enough.

He looked up at the clock; it had been a long day and the hands on the large white clock only read 4 o'clock.

Nurses had been in and our throughout the day, informing Troy that Gabriella was stable and continued to do well despite her deathly appearance.

"I'll be back in a while Beautiful, I'm just going to make a couple of calls. I promise I'll be back as soon as I can." Troy pressed a kiss to her forehead, resting his against hers for a couple of seconds as he built up the strength to leave her alone.

He wondered into the corridor, smiling sympathetically at other families there were mingling around the area, taking breaks for the harsh reality that faced them through the doors to the main unit.

Troy flicked through the numbers in his cell phone, not entirely sure who he was supposed to be calling but hoping that his selected choice was the right one.

"Hello, University of California student advice center, how may I help you?" A sweet comforting voice answered the phone, reassuring Troy that his probing question would be easily answered.

He suddenly realized he wasn't sure what he was supposed to ask, he knew the outcome that he desired but he had no idea if it was even possible.

"Hi, my name is Troy Bolton and I'm a Ocean Sciences major. My um…my…girlfriend…was attacked today and she's in Intensive care, it's going to take her a really long time to recover and I was wondering whether, seeing as the academic year hasn't officially started yet, whether I would be able to defer for a year and return next fall with the group under me?" Troy asked, unsure as to how the lady would reply to his mismatched rambles.

All he knew was that he needed to be there for Gabriella, he needed to stand by her every second of the day to ensure that she was okay.

"I'm sorry about your girlfriend Troy; I really hope that she's ok. Listen, why don't I make a few phone calls for you and give you a ring back when I have a definitive answer? I will give your professor a call also and inform him of your situation." Troy smiled; relieved that there was something that could be done to ensure that he could keep his word to Gabriella.

He didn't care how many forms he would have to fill in and how frustrating it would be that he would graduate a year later, all he cared about was that he could be there for Gabriella every step of the way.

"Thank you so much, I really appreciate it. I'll look forward to your call." Troy spoke politely, allowing the lady on the end of the line to say her goodbyes before hanging up and once again searching through his phonebook for ideas.

This call would be much more difficult…he didn't even know who he was supposed to call.

Having searched an online telephone directory for the number he was supposed to be calling; he finally found it and typed it into his cell, waiting patiently as it rang.

"Stanford University student services." This time a male voice answered the phone, once again Troy was struck with an overwhelming feeling of confusion.

What was he supposed to tell them?

"My name is Troy Bolton, I'm not a student but I'm calling on behalf of Gabriella Montez. There's been an accident and she's in intensive care. I was wondering if whether it would be possible, given that the academic year is yet to begin, for her to defer this year until next fall?" Troy asked politely, reciting what he had explained to his own school in order to make sure his rambles were coherent enough for the man on the end of the line to understand.

Troy felt numb, he no longer had any control of how he was feeling and he wasn't even sure what he was feeling.

He just wanted this nightmare to be over.

"Wow I hope she's okay man. That shouldn't be a problem, I'll need a medical form because she isn't choosing to defer for personal reasons and I will fill in all of the paperwork for you. We will send a letter in the mail informing you of next year's start date. I hope she gets better real soon." The male spoke soothingly, assuring Troy that everything would be sorted the way he had hoped.

Troy was relieved that both he and Gabriella would be able to defer. He knew it shouldn't be a problem, he had known several students that had begun their studies and decided to take a year or two out before continuing just because they felt that studying at that time just wasn't right for them.

To have it for the most part confirmed reassured him that once Gabriella woke up, life would slowly begin to fall back into place.

Troy walked back into the unit, settling himself once again in Gabriella room and grasping hold of her had tightly.

The machines had stopped fazing him, when they had first arrived he had been terrified of them and the sense of unknown that seemed to surround all of the patients that lay motionless in their beds.

"You're so beautiful you know that?" Troy whispered, brushing a thumb against Gabriella's bruised cheek as he took in her appearance. "You're fast asleep, attached up to all of these machines but you're still the most beautiful girl in the world." He whispered again, hoping with everything he had that she could hear him, hoping that his words would help her to heal.

Had had to be there for her.

He needed to fix this.

She had to be okay.

Yay for chapter two being complete! I'm really enjoying writing this and I hope that your enjoying reading it. I know this chapter was pretty heavy with Seth and what have you but he will begin to feature less and less from now on and the focus will be much more on Troy and Gabriella so there will be much more love!