Chapter 24 – Ending the War

AN: Hey guys… thank you very much for the reviews that I got last chapter (even though I have noticed a great decline in the number of reviews I am getting for this story.) That's okay, I know that it is getting really boring and so I will try to tie it up as soon as I can. Then I will focus only on "Fate Works In Strange Ways" for you guys!

Anyway… Sorry I have been MIA for the last week but I have been on a school vacation in Ottawa and so I have had no Internet access. It was actually quite funny coming home and having to have to sort through hundreds of e-mails from Fanfiction, youtube, and just other users. Sorry again for the lack of update.

PS! – My poll seems to now be working (sorry for that inconvenience) so would you please vote (it has to do with my next story).

Here's the next chapter!

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Sharpay's P.O.V

"That was Troy." I said as I hung up my cell phone.

"How is she?" Kelsi asked worriedly.

"Not good."

"What's happening?" Samantha asked. She had officially been adopted as 'one of the girls' and was no longer considered an outcast. Just as Tim and Jackson were also adopted as 'one of the guys'. However, there was a difference.

They still hung out together.

"Well, you see, the doc – "I was cut off by somebody tapping me on the shoulder. I turned around to see none other than Chad standing before me. I rolled my eyes.

"What do you want Danforth." I said, venom in my tone.

"You don't have to be so rude."

"Get on with it." I said impatiently.

"Fine. I just wanted to know how Gabriella was doing. Actually, we all wanted to know." He said, motioning back towards the guys that were hanging behind him.

"Why?" Taylor asked.

"Because, Troy is somebody I care about, even if I have been a jerk to him lately. We haven't heard anything since that day that Gabriella was found, and we want to know if she is going to be okay."

If she was going to be okay.

Tears sprung from my eyes at his words.

"Whoa, why are you crying?" Zeke asked.

"She's not going to be okay." I said.

"How do you know?" Jason asked curiously.

"I just got off the phone with Troy. Gabriella has woken up." A small smile fell onto Chad's face.

"She woke up? That's great. If she woke up from a coma then she obviously has to be okay. Right?"

"Wrong." Taylor cut in. "There could still be long-term effects from the brain damage. Am I right?" I nodded.

"What kind of effects, exactly?"

"Depends." Taylor continued. "If you hit the area that controls speech, you can be mute the rest of your life. If you hit another area, you can be paralyzed." At those words I collapsed to the ground, sobs wracking through my body.

"Shar?" the group around me crouched beside me.

"She's never going to walk again."

"Huh?" Chad said.

"Gabriella. She's never going to walk again." A unison gasp was heard. Tears began filling up in the girl's eyes, while the guys were shocked speechless.

The hallway was silent.

"Wh…what?" Chad asked.

"She won't walk again."

"Are they sure?" Taylor asked.

"Yes." My voice cracked as I replied. "She hit… some part of her brain that controls movement. The doctors are positive she will never walk again.

"But what about dancing?" asked a girl on the dance team.

"Yeah." Another agreed. "She won't be able to dance. I guess we'll have to appoint a new team captain."

"Agreed." A preppy blonde said. "Maybe I can take her place."

"NO!" I yelled. "Gabriella is the best dancer in the school. Though she can't walk, she can still be there to support us. Therefore she will still be captain, coaching us from the sides." The girls nodded, some of them embarrassed that they just wanted to kick Gabriella out. I looked around to see Chad looking down, a pale look on his face.

He was unusually silent.

"Chad?" I asked gently. He looked up at me, and instantly I saw the tears that had begun to build.

"She doesn't deserve this."

"There's nothing we can do about it."

"It terrible! I'm terrible!" He crumbled to the ground, wrapping his arms around his knees and letting his tears out. The school was shocked to see their king cracking and breaking down in the middle of the hallway.

This was the weakest I had even seen Chad.

"It's not your fault Chad." Taylor said gently as she crouched down beside him. I bent down beside him on the other side.

"It's not like you caused the car accident." I added.

"It's not that. I've been a terrible person to Gabriella. When she first came here and started his bickering with Troy, I encouraged it. I lied to his about things that Gabriella said so that he would continue on with the argument. Truthfully, I had figured out that Troy liked Gabriella at least a year ago, but tried to keep them apart."

"You didn't want the social order to crumble." Zeke commented.

"That's not a reason to make two people's lives miserable. Gabriella must have had a terrible life, with her father dying, and then it became worse when she got here. If I hadn't interfered, maybe her and Troy would have found each other sooner. What's worse is Gabriella's life just keeps going downhill." Chad sighed, wiping his tears away with her hands.

"You're really broken up because of this." I commented.

"I know. Which makes me think about how Troy is feeling. I mean ever since they have gotten together, she has become his world. He refuses to leave her side until she gets better. Together, they must be going through hell."

"Sort of like they have been in school too." Taylor said looking down. Chad began fiddling with his fingers.

"We haven't made it any easier for them, have we?" he said.

"Nope."

"Well, we should do something about it." I said.

"Like what?" asked a blonde dancer. I looked at Chad, who raised his head and looked at me with understanding evident on his face.

"We have to stop the tension and problems at school." He said.

"And how exactly are we supposed to do that?" Jason asked.

"Stop the war." I said. Chad nodded his head in agreement.

"We have to stop fighting and dividing the school." He added.

"Then what will we be." Zeke asked.

"One student body. A group of people who all get together and help one another instead of fighting and backstabbing one another. We have to create a peaceful environment for Gabriella instead of a tense one, so that she can finally have a memorable, happy high school experience."

"Can we really do that?" a voice asked from the crowd.

"Of course." Samantha said.

"How?"

"It's we're a team." I said.

"Which we are." Chad added as he stuck out his hand. I grasped it tightly and we shook hands. "Truce?"

"Truce." I said. The school began cheering, everyone hugging one another.

"WHAT TEAM?" Chad yelled loudly.

"WILDCATS!" I cheered back with the rest of the school.

"WHAT TEAM?"

"WILDCATS."

"WILDCATS?"

"GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME!" As the cheering surrounded me, a smile graced my face.

Things were going to be different in the school.

The war had ended.

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AN: Again, sorry for the lack of updates. The next chapter will be the epilogue of the story, and will show Gabriella's reaction to the school ending the war, and where she and Troy are now.

So please, review if you want it to come out!

Xoxo,

Lar

Ps. Don't forget to take part in my poll!