A Problem Shared

Summary: During a new year at East High, the gang are terrorised by a violent bully. They decide to take things into their own hands with disastrous consequences. An experience that will change them all. Forever. Packed with Troyella and Chaylor. See TRAILER for details. xx

Disclaimer: If you know it, I don't own it. Boo hoo.

13.

"It started at the beginning of the school year." Gabriella explained to a quizzical Sharpay. "Frank would… call us names or insult us or… whatever."

Sharpay raised a hand. "Wait," she said. "You mean Frank Morrison? In our class? You think he did this?"

As if there could be no other possibilities, Gabriella nodded with certainty. "I know he did this." She confirmed.

Sharpay's mouth hung open with shock. She known Frank was bad, but this…

Gabriella continued. "He's been threatening to do this since day one. We just never took it seriously."

"Threatening to stab Chad?" Sharpay asked.

"Threatening to kill all of us."

Sharpay was silent for a moment, surprised all this could be happening without anyone knowing.

"But why didn't you tell anyone?" she wondered.

Gabriella shrugged. "We did. I did. I told Mr. Matsui everything."

"And…?"

Gabriella frowned. "And things only got worse."

"Oh." said Sharpay, sensing that Gabriella didn't want to talk about that. She could see the guilt in her eyes and knew to delve no further.

"Do you think he'll make it?" Gabriella asked out of the blue, catching Sharpay off guard.

She sighed. "I'd love to say yes…"

"But?"

"But you didn't see him. All that… all that blood. You didn't see…" A tear fell down Sharpay's cheek and she brushed it away fiercely. A sad chuckle escaped her lips and she shook her head. "What was he even doing there in the first place?" she asked herself.

"Doing where?"

Sharpay raised her eyebrows, giving her best 'you wont believe this' smirk. "The girls bathroom. "She answered.

Gabriella gasped a little as the pieces fell into place. Now it made sense. Her mysterious yet familiar saviour, the reason Frank never came after her when she fled. He was too busy trying to kill Chad.

Sharpay heard Gabriella's gasp and saw the utter anguish in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Chad was in the girls bathroom…" she said shakily and as if in a trance.

"Yeah?" Big deal, Sharpay thought.

"He was there to protect me. Chad was stabbed for defending me."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"And what about you?" asked the guard who had introduced himself as Officer Samuel Watson, here voluntarily from the Albuquerque Police Department. He was going through Troy's story, asking questions about every single detail.

Troy was tired and it seemed like he'd told this same story about five times in twenty minutes. His mind kept wandering to the fact that, behind the door he stood so close to, his best friend could be taking his last breaths.

When he realised he had been asked a question, he widened his eyes, alert again. "Huh?"

"You say Chad punched Frank for attacking his girlfriend. Did you ever fight back?"

"Listen, officer-."

"Call me Sam."

"Sam," Troy corrected himself. "Is that really relevant right now? Frank has hurt us every single day for months. If not verbally then physically. If not physically then mentally. I mean, check out all that hate-mail in Chad's room. It's sick. And it's been going on for too long."

"Yeah, we've seen the post-its." Said Sam. "It's pretty…horrific."

Troy nodded. "So, enough with the questions. Please, just get out there and find that sicko."

"Don't worry," Sam assured. "We will."

"I hope so." Troy muttered before looking around at Gabriella who sat deep in conversation with a tearstained Sharpay. He wondered how he'd react if she had been stabbed by Frank. He couldn't bear the thought. He couldn't even imagine what Taylor must have been going through.

If he was ever caught, Troy didn't want Frank to be locked up in prison. That, in Troy's eyes, was too easy. Too pleasant. Frank deserved to suffer; feel the physical trauma that they had endured at his hand. Then he should be stabbed and left for dead.

What with karma and all. What goes around should come around.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The first thing Taylor noticed upon entering Chad's room was him. So small and still in the huge bed, covered in white sheets and among the jubilee of various machines that surrounded him. So silent within the beeping and whirring of contraptions and monitors so alien they seemed to be straight out of some sci-fi movie.

She hesitated, apprehensive to get any closer as, even at such a distant glance, he looked so dreadful.

His skin was as pale as his complexion would allow and his entire body was riddled with tubes and wires that ran from his arms, chest and mouth. Most of his face was covered with a mask that was hooked up to a machine behind him and appeared to be pumping his lungs with air. If it wasn't for all of this, he would have looked peaceful, as if in sleep.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the guard behind her speaking.

"You don't have long." He told her, not intending to sound so blunt. He felt for this poor girl and it wasn't right that anyone, especially not kids this young, should be hurt like this. But, the truth was, there shouldn't even have been visitors up there. If anything happened now, he'd be in deep trouble.

Taylor nodded and walked over to Chad's bed, sitting in the seat beside it. The guard remained by the door to allow her some privacy.

Taylor didn't know what to say. She wanted to say something, let him know she was there, but nothing came to mind. She wasn't even sure if he'd hear her, and how stupid would she feel then. She wasn't even sure if he'd want to hear her.

She didn't reach out to touch him, knowing he'd be cold and limp. She didn't even look at him, instead taking assurance in the heart monitor beside him, watching the line wiggle in a way that let her know his heart was beating and listening to it beep every beat of his heart.

"What are you doing?" She whispered, half expecting him to open his eyes and retort sarcastically in his usual way. He didn't. So she continued. "This isn't you. Not my Chad." She stopped, realising that, even now as he lay dying, she was slating him for it. She wondered sometimes why he put up with her often disdainful attitude. He could do so much better.

"You know, I don't know what I'd do without you." She admitted. "I don't think I would ever be happy again if you…." She stopped. "Oh Chad! Just say something." She begged. "Do something. Anything! Just let me know you can hear me."

Now, if what happened next was Chad showing Taylor he could hear her, he chose a lousy way of doing it. All of a sudden, the steady zigzag motion of the heart monitor Taylor had been watching, and the rhythmic beeps of his beating heart, stopped. The line was flat and a single long bell rang through the air. You didn't have to be a medical expert to know what was happening. Chad's heart had stopped. And that was never good news.

Taylor gasped and sprang up from the chair away from Chad, convinced that her words had done this.

The guard clearly shared her assumption as he barked; "What did you do?!"

One of Taylor's hands was clasped over her open mouth as the other ran frantically through her hair. She didn't know what to do.

A team of doctors and nurses ran in. They brushed her aside and got to work on Chad. Their hands moved quickly and mechanically over his body as though they had done this a thousand times before. Few words were spoken as they each did their separate duties.

"What's going on?" Taylor asked, although she knew the answer. She needed confirmation. Chad's heart had stopped beating. Technically, he was already dead.

A nurse spared a second to glance at the guard. "Get that girl out of here." She ordered before continuing with her complicated resuscitation task.

The guard gladly complied. He had kids of his own and didn't much want to stay and watch this one die with his girlfriend watching. He took her arm.

"Come on." He began to lead her to the door but Taylor shook free and returned to where she previously stood.

"You don't want to see this." He told her, this time more softly, sensitively taking her hand.

"Come on." He repeated. This time she followed, not taking her eyes off Chad until the door was shut behind them.

An agonising wait followed. In the corridor, Taylor paced relentlessly, Troy bit at his fingernails so ravenously that- if not stopped soon- he would surely gnaw of his finger tips, Sharpay wrapped her arms around herself and rocked backwards and forwards in her seat, Gabriella counted every second that ticked by on the clock and even the guards looked anxious.

Finally, a doctor emerged from the room looking worn and tired. She regarded the group of expectant faces that surrounded her and began a speech that she had been through many times before.

"We did all we could." She said.

Bile rose in Troy's throat. A shudder ran down Taylor's spine.

"I'm afraid we couldn't get Mr. Danforth breathing again."

A/N: Don't kill me! (I have plans)