Sharpay sat in the commons as she read the assigned reading from her English class. She was lying on the couch when she saw Taylor walking by. "Hey," she said springing up from the couch. "Long time no see," she said.

"Yeah," Taylor frowned. "I've been sleeping over at Chad's these last few weeks." She held up her bag. "Making a clothes run." She shrugged as she looked down at the book Sharpay was reading.

"Dante's Inferno," She said with groan. "Ferguson is twisted man who has nothing better to do but assign mass amounts of reading that makes your brain feel incapable of comprehension."

"I feel your pain," Taylor said with a frown. "I'm reading Theories of Mass Communications for my public relations class."

Sharpay got up from the couch. "In every attempt to put this off, I go with you." Sharpay said with a giggle as they made their way down the hall.

Taylor stuck her key in the door and paused to look over her shoulder. "Prepare for awkward."

"So prepared," Sharpay said swiping some hair from her brow. Both girls giggled as they made their way into the room. Silence fell over everyone as they noted Gabriella sitting on the edge of her bed with Kelsi sitting on the floor both of them looking up at Sharpay and Taylor.

"Sharpay?" Kelsi spoke first and Gabriella let out a sigh of relief.

"Kelsi," Sharpay nodded with a smile. "How are you handling Ferguson's reading?"

"Spark notes." she said with a giggle.

"Urg," Sharpay shoulders fell as she walked over to Taylor's bed and fell back on it. "Good at least I don't feel bad about giving up."

"That bad?" Gabriella asked looking at the cover of the book Sharpay flung to the floor.

"It's terrorism." Sharpay huffed.

"Never mind her, she's a politics major." Taylor said walking over to her closet and opening the door.

Kelsi let out a sigh, "Sorry to hear about Troy by the way." Kelsi said with shrug.

"What happened with you and Troy?" Taylor said putting her overnight bag down by the dresser and placing a hand on her hip.

"Disaster," Sharpay sat up and brought her knees up to her chest. "I mean, I love him and I think the world of him."

"But," Kelsi supplied when Sharpay didn't continue.

"I don't know," Sharpay said with a shrug. "It felt like something was missing. Like I wasn't getting the whole package?" she said with a frown.

"Maybe he isn't the one." Taylor said with frown. "Make you glad you didn't get that tattoo," She said with a wink.

"Tattoo?" Kelsi sat up a little more placing her books to the side.

"One night in a drunken state of stupid," Sharpay began.

Taylor let out a laugh as she picked up. "She wanted to put Troy's name on her ass."

"Wow," Gabriella said in a low voice. "That's pretty intense." Gabriella sat quietly on the bed with her notebook in her lap as she listened to Sharpay go into details about the tattoo.

"It was going to be tasteful." Sharpay defended.

"It was going to be on your ass." Taylor said as she threw a pair of jeans into her overnight bag.

"So is there a chance you both will get back together?" Kelsi asked.

"Well, No, I mean, I don't know," Sharpay shook her head. "I guess he's like an old sweater after a bad day."

Kelsi let out a sigh, "I wish Ryan would notice I existed."

Sharpay let out a small huff as she rolled her eyes. "Trust me he knows you exist. He's a guy." Sharpay said as she lay back in the bed. The room was quiet for a while before she propped herself back up on her elbow. "What about you Gabriella?" she asked, "Boys giving you the run around too?"

At the shock of being acknowledge Gabriella looked up with her mouth hung open.

"You do like boys don't you?" Sharpay asked with concern.

"Yes," Gabriella said in a hurry, "I've just ... I'm on a break." Gabriella said looking back at her hands and as she picked on her notebook.

"Last guy was a real loser, huh?" Sharpay let out a sigh, "Well you and me both. We're in serious need of a little me time."

Taylor plucked out a red thong from her dress and twirled it around her finger. "Speak for yourselves I happen to adore my boyfriend." Taylor said with a laugh.

"Fine Gabriella and I are now best friends." Sharpay said turning her face up and earning a giggle from the others.

Gabriella ventured out into the hallway escaping the giggles from inside her room. Silence fell all around her and she crossed her arms in an effort to hide her body. Her doctor had called it Rape trauma syndrome. There were two main types of self blame: behavioral self blame which was undeserved blame based on actions and characterological self blame a undeserved blame based on character. Gabriella looked up and down the hall on her way towards the rest room, her pony tail swaying with each movement. Victims who experience behavioral self blame feel that they should have done something differently, and therefore feel at fault. Victims who experience characterological self blame feel there is something inherently wrong with them which has caused them to deserve to be assaulted. Gabriella let out a sigh, of the two she'd been declared the former. In most ways she did blame herself for what had happened. She wasn't quick enough, wasn't prepared, dressed to revealing and to wrapped up in her social life to see the danger.

When she got to the bathroom it was empty, she did a sweep making sure no one else was present before she walked into the stall in the middle. In addition to the self blame there was the shame that went with it. Shame was also connected to psychological problems, such as, eating disorders, substance abuse, anxiety, depression, and other mental disorders as well as problematic moral behavior. Her father was the one who put her in therapy after her first suicide attempt.

Washing her hands in the sink she looked at the faint scars on her wrist, vivid reminders of that time in her life. Looking back up into the mirror she was jerked from her thoughts by the reflection of man behind her. His features were blurred and his face was covered with a mask. Just as she went to scream he was gone. Turning around she was presented with the empty bathroom. No one was there. Her heart was beating rapidly and her breath echoed against the bathroom walls.

Looking down at her stomach she lifted her shirt to see the scars on her abdomen. They too were faint reminders now of attack from so long ago. The jagged edges from where he ripped at her clothing. A knot formed in her throat and she cover her mouth to mute any sob that dare to come from her lips. Suddenly the overwhelming nausea hit her and she raced back into the stall bent over she winced in pain as she vomited.

Troy walked into the dorm with his cell phone pressed to his ear. "I don't know she just said she couldn't do it anymore," he said with shrug as he walked down the hall he listened to his mother on the other line doing her best to give him words of wisdom. "I know mom, it just sucks we would have been two full years next week. It just feels like I wasted a lot of time." He passed Gabriella's door and felt the urge to knock. Pausing he let out a sigh, "Hey mom I have to go, my RA duties are calling." He said into the phone. "Love you to mom." He hung up the phone and was about to knock when the sounds of violent coughing caught his attention.

His eyes shifted down the hall and he instinctively began walking towards the sound. The close he got the more he could hear sobs mixed in with the cough and sounds of someone throwing up. He came to a stop in front of the girl's bathroom and pushed the door open just a little. "You alright?" he asked cautiously.

"I'm fine," a voice said. "Go away."

He recognized the voice as Gabriella's. "You're not fine." he said walking into the bathroom and letting the door close behind him. He came up to the middle stall where she sat huddled on the floor using a towel to wipe some of the tears and snot away. "Jesus," Troy said taking in her pale features and trembling hands. "What's wrong?" He said shrugging off his bag and putting it down on the side of the stall so he could come closer.

"Please don't touch me." Gabriella said quickly her body tense up at the sight of his extended hand and he froze.

"Alright, I'm not going to touch you." He assured her. "Tell me what I can do."

There was silence for a long time as he watched her almost battle out the urge to speak or turn away from him. "Can I have some water?" she said in low voice finally.

"Yes," he said reaching back into his bag and taking out a water bottle. "Here it's still sealed I just got back from the student center." He held it out to her and then thought better of it placing it on the floor between them. "Would you like me to open it?"

"Yeah," she said throwing the tissue she'd been using into the toilet.

Troy twisted the cap off and then placed it back in between them. He watched as she took the bottle and brought it up to her lips. After two long swigs she put the bottle down and used the back of her hand to wipe away more tears. Troy reached up to get more paper towels offering them to her the same way he did water bottle. As she took them he took a moment to really look at her. It was the first time he saw her with super baggy clothes on. She was wearing a white t-shirt and pair of red running shorts, her hair pulled back into a pony tail.

Someone had done a number on her, someone hurt her and the thought of it made him feel sick. Whoever it was had been a man, a man who probably used his strength to beat her up and cut her down. The idea that someone would take advantage of a her, who even lay a hand on her. He felt himself get tense. If he could give that guy a little bit of his own medicine he would, and he'd make it hurt.

"Thank you," she said adjusting herself a little.

Troy relaxed a little trying to bring the tension in the air down to a comfortable lull. "Do you need anything else?" Troy asked watching as she coughed a little.

"I'm alright." She said tilting her head so that she could see him full on.

Troy was quite they both were as they watched each other. Then as the moments ticked by he watched the color return to her face and her breathing slow down. "Are you sick?" he asked in a low voice.

"No,"

"Pregnant?" he asked.

"No,"

Troy nodded. "Did you eat something?"

"Yeah," Gabriella nodded with a forced smile pulling at her lips. It was well practiced and it almost seemed real but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Alright," Troy nodded as he let out a sigh and then brought his hand up through his hair. "You're going to be okay?"

"I feel better already." She said making a move to get up.

Troy got to his feet as well picking up his back pack and keeping his eyes on her. "Are you going to be alright on your own?"

"Yes," she said with a frustrated tone. "Thank you for the water and your concern, but I'm fine." she said going to move past him when he didn't move she stopped and they stood there face to face her breathing becoming quicker. "Let me through." she said in a demanding tone.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Troy said with soft voice. "I don't know who did, and for whatever reason you don't want to tell me. I understand, I can live with that for now, but one day we're going to have to talk about what just happened." Troy said pointing to where she'd just been.

"I already told you it was something I ate." She said looking at with a clenched jaw her eyes darting around in the stall her breathing being coming a little more rapid. She didn't like small spaces. She didn't like being trapped at this realization Troy held up both his hands and moved to the side letting her walk past him. He watched as she left the bathroom and disappeared into the hallway leaving him in the girl's bathroom alone.