Someone Completely - Chapter 35 - Earthquakes

Gabriella cried. She leaned back against the bathroom wall and just let herself cry. She'd forgotten about the party and the video. It felt like a million years ago now. She'd always been a bad girl sometimes, but it was things like this that had caused her to take on that clause that she would always party in a different town or school district than she went to school in. It was stupid girls like Stacy who thought that they should be allowed to take things out of context. It was a party. Most people had been completely drunk. Who hadn't been with someone or made a complete ass out of themselves at a party?

Taylor knocked on the stall door, while Sharpay just shimmied underneath it and into the stall. She opened the lock and went to sit next to Gabs. "Oh sweetheart, she's just jealous. She's been here for years and Troy's probably fucked her a few times and then it's like he realizes that you're alive and no one else exists. She's miserable and she's just trying to make you miserable too."

Taylor sat across from them. "Gabs, you knew this might happen, right? I mean Coach had the video pulled off youtube, but that didn't mean that it was permanently deleted or anything."

Gabriella nodded as she wiped a few more tears from the end of her nose. "No, I mean, I knew it was still out there. I just seemed like the party was ages ago. I had forgotten about the stupid video. God, I feel so stupid now."

Shar hugged her which forced Gabriella to lean over against her shoulder. "Oh Gabs, we've all done something gossip worthy. Why do you think I keep all my little secrets stashed up about everyone?"

Taylor raised her eyebrows, "I never thought I'd say it, but her little secrets actually did some good today."

Shar smiled, "That's right. And you know what, I've got tons."

Gabriella shook her head, "No, we can't do that. I mean thank you for trying to protect me, but we can't do that, you guys."

Taylor looked confused, "Why?"

Gabriella pushed her hair back, "Because we need to lead by example. Especially Troy and I, we have to be respected, not feared. We're leaders now and we have to act like it."

Sharpay looked at her, "But, it wasn't you who threatened her, Gabs. It was your—"

Taylor jumped in, "Your enforcers. Just think of us as your line backers."

Sharpay looked at Taylor over Gabriella's head as she hugged her close again. She mouthed the words, "Line backers?" with an expression that showed her confusion. "Yeah, honey, we're your enforcers."

Gabriella just laughed softly against Sharpay's shoulders. "Oh, Shar like you really know what an enforcer or a linebacker really is?"

Sharpay smiled, "See, that's the reaction I like to hear. What else can I say to make you laugh?"

Gabriella leaned up again, "Thank you." She looked across at Taylor, "Both of you. I couldn't ask for better friends to have beside me."

Taylor smiled, "Not so long ago I didn't understand you, and I said some terrible things. But, I think I'm beginning to get it now. Or maybe it's just that you're allowing yourself to be integrated. Either way, I'm glad that we can do this. I'm glad that we're all in this together."

Gabriella nodded and the three girls shared a giggly hug.

Troy looked around the building as thoroughly as he could without looking scary himself. He knew that Chad was watching the people more than the objects. Troy wanted to know if something was out of place. Chad would notice if someone was out of place.

He caught Chad's look. "What man?"

Chad shook his head. "Nothing."

Troy looked around the gym and out to the recess area, but from the side of his eye he could see Chad looking at him worriedly, "Dude, you're really distracting. What?"

Chad sighed, "Well, we all thought you'd react by now. I mean that video of you and Gabs went out to everyone. We all know how furry protective you get of her in normal circumstances. Aren't you pissed about this?"

Troy shook his head, "We have other things to focus on right now."

Chad nodded, "No, I get it. It's just—she was pretty upset back there."

Troy nodded, "I know, but she knows that I love her. She knows there's nothing I can do about that now. She also knows that we have a job to do today that's way more important than any rumor."

Chad nodded and looked around again. "Man, I'm just saying, if someone posted a video of Taylor and I going at it, I'd kill the bitch that did it."

Troy shook his head and looked directly at Chad. "Dude, it was just a stupid high school prank designed to upset Gabriella and make me not want her. But the stupid girl failed to understand what Gabriella and I have. That girl, whoever she was, doesn't even matter in my world."

The earth began to shake. Troy looked around the East High classroom and spotted every member of their pack currently present. They immediately sprang up and headed to the doorway. Two blocked people from going anywhere but along the hallway's edges and the other four got into the hallway and started helping teachers arrange students along the walls in their drill style positions.

Troy couldn't think of a better place for students to be when the fight reached them. He could feel it. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that 2 miles away, the battle was already underway without them. He finally found his dad, "What do we do? How do we help?"

Chad was immediately behind him with Zeke and Jason quickly in tow.

Jack looked down at Troy, "You'll have your chance to fight."

Troy saw something in his father's eyes he'd never seen before. There was a fire that Troy would never have associated with his loving, basketball-pushing dad. Then he saw a flash of despair ghost through his eyes and he knew whatever could be hurting his dad would be a wound to him as well, but he needed to know. "What's wrong?"

Jack looked back at Troy and then at Zeke. "Boys, there's no point in keeping this from you. The elementary school and pre-school have been destroyed. We don't know yet who got out and who didn't. It's a little crazy over there to take a head count."

Troy looked like a crazed man. Then in the flash of a millisecond, he was in full wolf form ready to sprint directly to Gabriella.

Jack motioned for Chad to get a hold of Zeke even as Jack grabbed Troy by the scruff of the neck. He waited a few moments as the two tired themselves briefly. He looked both wolves in the eyes, "We don't know what's happened yet. All we know is that this fight is someone else's fight that's spilling over into our realm."

Troy cocked his head to the side. He let out a cry for his mate. He needed to be with her. Within his mind, he was racking the thoughts trying to figure out why he would have ever agreed to a plan that put her outside of an arm's reach from him.

Zeke shifted back to human form, "My mom? My mate? Alpha?" His voice held desperation and despair. There was a fear that only comes from sudden understanding of loss in his eyes.

Jack wrapped a blanket around the boy's shoulders. "Both of you sit here amongst the other students. You're our last resort. Anyone you don't trust gets through you can vent every feeling of pain on them you like. You'll know your enemies when you see them.

Troy sank against the wall. He was shivering in human form again. He was sick to his stomach. He'd failed. He only wished that he had died with her.

That was when the building shook again as though the earth were about to open up and swallow them whole. He felt the shaking, but couldn't bring his mind to register what could possibly have the power to shake the earth this way.

An enormous boom was heard throughout the school coming from the roof overhead. Troy jumped along with every other student. He heard a number of screams. He saw the majority of kids wrapping arms around each other, now completely terrified by the idea that whatever it was, it was big enough to kill them. Suddenly clique affiliation no longer matter. At this point, everyone was as close as brother and sister.

Troy met eyes with Zeke. They both transformed into wolves and sat like two guardian watch dogs over the hallway lined with students.

Big D, a.k.a. Derreck Baylor was fighting furiously with Danforth and Eduardo right beside him. He felt the wings beginning to tear under his fangs. The "good" angels had told them that in days of old, the gargoyles had torn holes in the demon's wings to keep them grounded before the gargoyles went in for the kill. So now, Big D began puncturing holes in the wings of this demon as well. He knew Eduardo was spoiling for something to beat on and Danforth would be glad to see this all ended.