Gabriella nervously looked in the mirror again, taking in her appearance and her head filled with flaws to the way she looked

Okay, so this chapter is a long time coming, but I promise I'm back in a position where I can write now, so expect regular updates! I hope you enjoy it, and don't forget to leave a review!

Gabriella nervously looked in the mirror again, taking in her appearance and her head filled with flaws to the way she looked. Sighing loudly she moved her hands up to the ponytail she'd just pulled her hair into and started to undo the band that held it there.

"Bee, stop," came Troy's gentle voice, stilling her hands as the first curls started to drop back down. "You look gorgeous with your hair pulled back like that."

Gabriella looked up into the mirror, her darker than normal eyes meeting with Troy's bright blues, her heart skipping a beat as she took in his perfect appearance.

"I don't look… right!" She cried out tearing her hands from his and spinning around to face him, her curls falling down to frame her face and cascade down her back.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Troy comforted her, pushing a few curls off her face and behind her ear. "You look perfect, it doesn't matter what you're wearing, how much makeup you have on, and how you wear your hair."

"I don't know if I can do this, Troy," Gabriella whispered, finally confessing to Troy the one thing he'd been sure of all morning, Gabriella was afraid to go back to school.

It was Wednesday morning, two days after Gabriella had been attacked, and both Troy and Gabriella were getting ready for school.

Troy had been watching his girlfriend scrutinize herself for the past twenty minutes before he stepped in, knowing he needed to convince her that it didn't matter what she wore, he would be by her side the entire day.

"Brie, I promise either me, Chad or Taylor will be with you every second today, okay?" He said softly, placing his hands on Gabriella's hips and pulling her closer to him. "But if you need to get away from it all, you have our spot. Just go there and txt me, I'll be there as soon as I can."

Gabriella nodded tearfully, and Troy gently wiped her tears away with his thumbs, catching them as they rolled down her flushed cheeks.

"I love you, Gabriella," Troy said with a gentle smile, his heart beating faster as Gabriella raised her head so their eyes could meet, and he noticed her eyes were a few shades lighter, almost back to her normal colour.

"I love you too," Gabriella giggled, wiping away the last of her tears before she stood on her tiptoes and placed a chaste kiss on his lips.

"Come on, beautiful, let's go have some breakfast," Troy said, wrapping one arm around Gabriella's waist, leading her downstairs.

When they got downstairs they found the kitchen empty, a note taped to the refrigerator from Troy's Mom.

Troy and Gabriella

I've been called into work early and your Dad had a staff meeting so you're on your own for breakfast. We'll see you both tonight.

Have a good day at school.

Love, Mom.

"Looks like I'm cooking this morning," Troy said as he read the note quickly.

He smirked and turned to Gabriella, taking her hand in his and lacing their fingers together, having an overwhelming need to be touching her, no matter how small the touch was.

"Really? Well in that case I'll have waffles, some strawberries, and some bacon," Gabriella teased, taking a step closer to Troy.

"How does cereal and milk sound?" Troy asked with a grin, his eyes darting between Gabriella's now sparkling eyes and her tantalizing lips.

"Perfect." Gabriella whispered against Troy's lips before starting to move her lips against Troy's, feeling him kiss her back, a slow, passion filled kiss.

The pair broke apart after a few minutes, both had flushed cheeks and were breathing heavily and they wore identical smiles.

"How about that cereal?" Troy asked, turning to the cupboard to get out two bowls as Gabriella caught her breath and tried to keep her mind on breakfast.

"Have you got froot loops?" Gabriella asked and Troy rolled his eyes.

"Gabriella Montez. Are you 17 or 7, young lady?" He mockingly scolded her, feeling her arms slip around his waist as he stood in front of the open pantry, locating the cereal she had requested.

"Seven?" Gabriella asked with a shrug. "Seventy, who cares, froot loops are the best!"

"Your wish is my command," Troy answered, producing a box of the brightly coloured cereal and handing it to her. "Milk's in the refrigerator, as per the norm."

Troy found cornflakes for himself and poured them in the bowl, followed by the milk before he carefully carried the bowl to the kitchen table, setting it down in front of the chair next to Gabriella.

"Do you want an orange juice, Bee?" He asked as he headed back to the refrigerator.

"Please." Gabriella replied with a mouth full of cereal, causing Troy to roll his eyes at her again.

Troy was so pleased that Gabriella seemed happier, her eyes had their sparkle back and her smile reached across her face once more. He just hoped her day would continue to go well, so they could get their lives back on track once more.

Fifteen minutes later and there were two empty bowls in the kitchen sink and two teenagers heading out the door, climbing into the white truck in the driveway and starting the drive to school.

Their hands were laced together once more and sitting on Troy's thigh as they drove along the busy streets.

I don't wanna close my eyes
I don't wanna fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing
'Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
I'd still miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing

Gabriella sung along to the song on the radio, her sweet voice filling the small space and putting a smile on Troy's face, he couldn't think of anything he'd rather listen to than his girlfriend singing to fill a silence.

"Brie?" He asked as the song came to an end.

"Mm?" Gabriella asked, playing with her curls as she looked out the window.

"Are we still doing the song for the audition?" He asked nervously. He'd never admit it, but he was quite looking forward to the audition, getting to sing with Gabriella was something he enjoyed, and knowing she'd be so happy if they got the part made him determined to do his best so he could give her the happiness he knew she deserved.

"You don't have to keep calling it the song, you know it's not going to bite you if you use the name," Gabriella teased. "And yeah, we're still singing Breaking Free. If you want to?"

Gabriella's eyes connected with Troy's as he glanced from the road at her, noticing how she was batting her eyelids in an overly dramatic fashion.

"Of course I want to, Sharpay." Troy teased, knowing that the blonde drama queen he had referenced to was famous for her flirtatious ways to get what she wanted.

"Oh shit. Troy," Gabriella gasped as Troy pulled into the student car park of East High.

"What?" Troy asked, worry filling his tone.

"Sharpay is going to kill me if I audition," Gabriella said worriedly. "You know her and Ryan are the leads of every school play. Maybe we shouldn't audition."

"Who cares? Sharpay needs to get off her high horse and realise there are better people out there than her, you being the top one on my list." Troy responded as he cut off the engine and turned to face his girlfriend.

"But she's going to make my life a living hell if we win. We probably won't even win, I bet we'll suck and everyone will just laugh at us." Gabriella rambled.

"Are you saying I can't sing, Miss Montez?" Troy asked, feigning shock.

"I mean. You'll do good. But I won't. Everyone will laugh at me. They'll wonder why you have such a bad singing partner…" Gabriella carried on her rambling until Troy's lips crashed down on her own.

Gabriella's thoughts of Sharpay were immediately gone when she felt Troy's lips against her own, kissing her hard and urgently, his tongue probing her lips open and dipping inside, tasting every inch of her mouth as she scrambled across the seats to sit in his lap, both forgetting they were at school until the warning bell sounded out across the grounds and they hurriedly broke the kiss.

Troy looked up at his flustered girlfriend, her cheeks bright red, her lips slightly swollen and he couldn't help but press his lips to hers once, twice, three times more.

"Let's go learn!" He joked as Gabriella struggled to regulate her breathing.

"Let's," Gabriella replied less enthusiastically as she slid out of the truck, allowing Troy to follow her, each slinging a backpack over their shoulders as they instinctively found one another's hands, their fingers lacing together perfectly as they walked the short distance from the carpark to the hallways of East High, stopping first at Troy's locker, then heading to Gabriella's locker where Chad and Taylor were waiting for them.

"Hey Gabs, hey Troy!" Came Chad's greeting, pulling Gabriella into a quick hug before slapping hands with Troy.

Taylor, Troy and Gabriella shared greetings as the boys waited for their girlfriends to finish getting their books from their lockers.

"Practice in free period today?" Chad asked Troy and Troy immediately looked up at Gabriella.

He'd forgotten that he'd have basketball practice in free period today and he was suddenly worried about what Gabriella would do for that time.

"Me and Gabriella will go to the library?" Taylor offered, as if she had read Troy's mind.

"Is that okay with you, Bee?" Troy asked, slipping his arm around Gabriella's waist as she finished in her locker and closed it with a soft bang.

"That's fine with me, I need to catch up on yesterday's notes and I don't really want to see you getting all sweaty and stuff." Gabriella wrinkled her nose in a way that Troy found adorable and he smiled down at her.

"Okay, you will be safe with Tay, everyone's scared of her," Troy teased, receiving a light slap from the darker girl as the four headed down the emptying halls to their homeroom, all four laughing and joking together, forgetting their worries.

--

Gabriella walked out of her science class with Taylor as they made their way to the lunchroom. It seemed that today would be a normal day, Gabriella hadn't heard anyone talking about what happened so maybe nobody knew. This thought made her sigh in relief.

"What was that about?" Taylor asking with a raised eyebrow.

Gabriella quickly caught herself and blushed, "Nothing."

"Aww are you thinking about lunkhead lover boy?" She asked knocking Gabriella in the hip jokingly.

Gabriella smiled, "Mhmm you know it." They busted out laughing at Gabriella's comment as they walked into the lunchroom. They made a beeline for their normal table where Troy and Chad were already at.

Troy turned around at the sound of Gabriella's laughter which made him smile. Troy made eye contact with her as he patted his knee for her to sit on. She skipped over and plopped down in his lap giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"Somebody is in a better mood," Troy teased.

Gabriella just giggled before sitting beside him and picking some of the food off his plate to eat. They all started talking about the upcoming basketball game when Gabriella stood up.

"Where are you going?" Troy asked suddenly alarmed.

"I'm going to the restroom is that ok with you?" She teased with her hands on her hips.

Troy squirmed in discomfort, "Is Taylor going with you?"

"No. I think I can pee by myself Troy," Gabriella said her voice turning serious when she sensed his discomfort, "I'll be fine. I promise."

Troy reluctantly nodded his head before giving her a quick kiss. Gabriella walked out of the lunchroom and made her to the restroom. She walked in and went into a stall locking the door. Gabriella heard the door open and the sound of laughter.

"That's amazing. I can't believe people believe her," one girl giggled.

"I dunno I mean I don't think-"

"NO!" the first girl spat, "Montez totally begged for what happened to her. I mean she's dating Bolton now. She's nothing but a whore, she's probably doing it for attention!"

"Melody's right. I think she just wants everyone to notice her," a third voice chimed in and Gabriella felt her stomach knot up at what the girls were discussing.

"Look at me, I'm Gabriella Montez. I got raped but that's okay because I have Troy Bolton and I can just flash that in everyone's faces," the first girl, Melody Howell - the cheerleading captain - mocked in a high pitched voice, causing the other girls to giggle.

Gabriella felt her breathing quicken and she quickly closed her eyes to stop the tears that were threatening to fall from her dark eyes.

She wondered how anyone could be so cruel, to not only suggest that she wasn't affected by what Brian had done to her, but to think, and convince others, that she was making up the latest attack.

"I bet she lead on Drake and James, and then when they were about to give her what she asked for she changed her mind," Came the voice of the second girl.

"I think you're right, Chloe. She's just lucky that Bolton was around otherwise she would've got what she deserved," Came the voice of the third girl, who Gabriella assumed was Phoebe, another cheerleader that was always seen with Melody and Chloe.

The cheerleaders finally finished in the bathroom and left, still giggling about Gabriella. Once she was certain they were gone Gabriella unlocked the stall and fled through the empty hallways, the tears finally falling down her cheeks, staining the bright red skin and dripping onto the floor below.

Gabriella quickly darted through the doors that led up to her and Troy's secret place, the rooftop garden, and once she reached the top of the stairs her body crumpled into a heap, her shoulders heaving as the sobs racked through her body.

Back in the cafeteria Troy was growing concerned with how long Gabriella was taking to get back from the bathroom.

"Troy, she'll be back in a minute," Taylor said softly, her hand wrapping around Troy's forearm in a comforting way.

Troy looked up at Taylor, his blue eyes were darkened with worry, as they met with Taylor's dark browns.

"I'm gunna go look for her, Tay." Troy said, covering Taylor's hand with his own and sending her a soft smile.

Taylor removed her hand and slid her body closer to Chad's, needing to feel his reassurance as Troy's worry rubbed off onto the two of them.

"Okay," Taylor replied softly, nodding in Troy's direction as he stood up from his seat before quickly exiting the bustling lunchroom, looking around the empty corridors as he tried to decide which of the nearby bathrooms his girlfriend would've gone in.

Having a gut instinct to go right he complied and headed towards the girl's bathroom, once he was in the corridor he suddenly realised he couldn't just waltz into the girl's bathroom if he didn't want to get in trouble, and he hoped there was a girl nearby he could ask for help.

Thankfully when he arrived at the bathroom a girl was exiting.

"Hey! Excuse me?" He called out to the girl, and she turned and looked at him. "Was Gabriella Montez in there?"

"There was nobody else in there." The girl replied with a slight shrug of her shoulders and Troy sighed out loud.

"Thanks," He said to the girl, spinning on the spot as she walked away, trying to decide where to try next. "The rooftop!" He suddenly cried out.

He hurried as fast as his long legs would take him down the corridor, the same one Gabriella had run down only minutes before him. Before he even opened the doors that led to the garden he could hear Gabriella's sobs and his heart felt like it was being ripped in two.

He raced up the stairs faster than he ever had in his life, tripping over his own feet several times, but still managing to reach the top.

Scooping Gabriella into his arms as he sunk to the floor Troy finally let his own tears start to fall, and he wondered if their lives would ever be the same as they were before Gabriella was raped.