AN: We meet again. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews, I got less this time, but hey, 15 reviews a chapter is preeeetty good, I must say.

So this chapter may be a little sad/happy, but the next chapter is so sad that you're gonna cry. If you cry while reading fanfiction, you will cry in the next chapter. And when you do, you're gonna be like OMFG I HATE YOU MADIWILLOW! and you'll probably murder me...

So anyway. R&R (I think that means read and review, well, we'll find out).

Title: Time Will Tell
Rating: T
Author: MadiWillow
Summary: Gabriella is raped in senior year and falls pregnant. Without telling her friends about it, she and her mom move to Florida. Six years later, she sees an old friend... and it all goes downhill from there.
Genre: Romance/Tragedy
Chapter: Chapter 4

About a week later, Gabriella was in the middle of a lecture during her 4th period class, right before lunch. She was only half into what she was saying, while the other half was thinking about what her mind had been constantly stuck on – Troy.

Troy, Troy, Troy. She couldn't stop thinking of him. Part of her wished she'd just forgiven him, accepted his apology, and moved on. They could've been friends. Or better – they could've picked up where they left off. But she just couldn't forgive Troy. Even though she knew he was sorry, it just didn't seem like enough. The one person she thought she could trust with her life had let her down, and a simple "I'm sorry" was not enough to regain that trust.

"Alright, now, you guys," Gabriella looked up at the clock. "We have about 20 minutes left before the bell, so that's plenty of time to start your homework. If you happen to finish before class is over, you can turn it in for five points extra credit."

The door to the room opened and Gabriella looked up, expecting to see a teacher or a Student Helper with a pass. But what she did see caused her breath to catch in her throat.

Troy.

"Hi, Gabriella," said Troy breathlessly at the back of the room. All of her students whipped around to face him. A couple girls giggled.

Gabriella could see why. He looked so good, like always. And he did it without even meaning to. His jeans were wrinkled, his blue sweater had a couple of food stains, and his hair was messy. But he still looked as handsome as ever, and Gabriella couldn't keep her stomach from jumping excitedly at the sight of him.

"Um, excuse me, Mr. Bolton," she put emphasis on the last words, hoping to give him a clue to not call her Gabriella in front of her class. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, well, Miss Montez," he winked at her, causing her to roll her eyes. "I need to talk to you."

Gabriella was starting to wonder if he had any other words in his vocabulary.

"I'm sorry, I'm in the middle of teaching a class," she said, turning back to her students.

"Gab-Miss Montez," said Troy urgently. "I really, really need to talk to you."

"No, Troy," hissed Gabriella.

"If you won't come with me, I'll just say it here," he took a breath. "Gabriella, I'm sorry I didn't believe you about-,"

"Troy!" Gabriella yelled, striding over to him. "I'll be right back, class," she said stiffly before grabbing Troy's wrist and dragging him out of the room. Once they were in the hallway, she pushed him against the wall and hissed angrily, "What is wrong with you?"

Troy grinned a little. "I wasn't going to actually tell them. I knew you'd stop me."

Gabriella rolled her eyes at his game. "So, what do you want?" She put her hands on her hips impatiently.

"Gabriella, you have to forgive me," said Troy quickly. "I love you, okay? I still love you, even though I'm still mad as hell at you for not communicating with me after you moved. But I love you, and I want to be with you."

She stared, dumbstruck, at him. He still loved her?

"I-I don't know, Troy," she said quietly. "I want to forgive you, but... I just can't."

"Why not?"

"You just hurt me too much!" she cried. She blinked a couple times; she would not cry again, she wouldn't. "I can't accept that. I need time. Maybe, soon... I can."

Troy nodded. "Okay, I can deal with that. Can I take you out to lunch somewhere?"

Gabriella grinned at him. "Sure. Lunch is in about fifteen minutes. You can sit in the back of my class and wait."

"Alright,"

They entered the class again to find the students talking to one another. "Hey, what about that homework? Extra credit, remember? I know some of you that need it." She smirked. The class looked over at Troy. Miss Montez had changed back into her normal self – what had he done?

Gabriella's cell phone started to ring. She quickly rushed over to it as the class chorused, "Oooooh, no cell phones!" She was going to turn it off, but after she saw the Caller ID, she answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Miss Montez?"

"Yes?"

"I'm Dr. Smethwick of Albuquerque General," said a deep voice on the other line. "I need you to come down right away."

"Why, is something wrong?" she asked. She glanced over at Troy, who was still standing in the back of the class, looking at her inquiringly.

"Well, yes," said the doctor. "You should come down-,"

"No, no, tell me now! What's wrong?"

The doctor sighed in defeat. "There was a shooting at East Elementary-,"

"A shooting? Oh, my God!" breathed Gabriella, sitting down heavily on her chair. "Is Eva hurt?"

"Well... yes. The intensity of her injuries have not yet been determined, but she's about to be wheeled into surgery."

"Why? What happened?" moaned Gabriella. Troy strode forward to the front of the class and stood behind her, his hand comfortingly on her shoulder.

"She was shot once in the arm, and once in the head,"

"No!" screamed Gabriella, breaking down. She started to sob while her 4th period Physics students stared. Troy bent down and hugged her. She regained control of herself enough to stutter, "Is-is she g-gonna be al-alright?"

"We don't know," said the doctor sympathetically. "Please, come down as soon as possible."

"Okay, I'll be right there." She hung up the phone with shaking fingers.

"Gabriella? What happened?" asked Troy cautiously.

Hoping this scene wouldn't undermine her as an authority figure, Gabriella answered him, trembling. "There was a sh-shooting at Eva's school. She's-she's been... shot..." She paused to take a steadying breath. "They need me to get down there now, but..." she looked at the class. "I'm not allowed to leave a classroom unattended."

"Don't worry, I'll stay here," Troy assured her.

"But you're not a licensed teacher..."

Troy glanced around and his eyes landed on the classroom phone. "Does that call the office?" he asked, pointing.

Gabriella nodded. "Just dial 9."

"Okay, so you go, I'll call the office and tell them we need a sub or something. I'll stay until they sent someone over." Gabriella was still hesitant, so he added, "Come on, Eva needs you."

Gabriella's eyes were shining with tears. She stood up, grabbed her bag, and said, "Thanks Troy," before kissing him on the cheek and leaving.

Troy had a goofy smile on his face after the kiss, and turned around so the class wouldn't see it. He picked up the phone, dialed 9, and waited.

"Mrs. Standon speaking," said a curt voice on the line.

"Um, hello? This is Miss Montez's room."

"Yes?"

"Well, Miss Montez had to leave campus because of an emergency," he explained awkwardly. "I'm staying in the class for her, but I'm not a teacher so..."

"An emergency?"

"Yes, her daughter was shot,"

There was a pause before she said, "We don't have any free subs, but we'll send a counselor down in a few minutes. Do not leave the class."

"Okay, thanks." Troy hung up and turned back around to face the class. All the students were staring at him.

"Um... didn't Miss Montez say something about homework?"

"We don't have to do it yet. It's due tomorrow," said a voice at the back of the class.

"Oh... okay," Troy sat down in Gabriella's vacated seat. He drummed his fingers on the desk.

"What were you talking to Miss Montez about?" a girl in the front asked.

Troy raised his eyebrows. "That's kinda private."

"Well, whatever you talked to her about made her happy," the girl said. "She's been upset for a couple weeks."

"Oh..."

The next few minutes of the class was spent in silence until a man in tan slacks and a blue button-down shirt entered the class.

"Hello, I'm Mr. Brittain," he introduced himself as he reached Troy, holding out his hand. Troy stood up and shook it. "I'm a counselor here – they sent me down because Miss Montez had to leave for some reason?"

"Um, yes... there was a shooting at her daughter's school and she's in the hospital," explained Troy.

"Oh, good Lord," breathed the teacher. "And who are you?"

"I'm Troy Bolton," he answered. "I'm her friend. I came here to take her out to lunch when she got the call."

"I see," he nodded. "Well, thanks for taking the class. You can go now."

"It was nothing," Troy said before he left. As soon as he was out of the class he started to sprint toward his car. Once he reached it, he sped down to the hospital. There was no way he was going to let Gabriella face this alone. Even though she hadn't forgiven him yet, he was going to help her get through this, like a friend.

He parked his car when he got there and practically ran to the front office. He asked the receptionist, panting slightly, "Where is Eva Montez?"

The receptionist pressed a few keys on her computer and answered, "Eva Montez is in surgery right now. You can't see her until she's out."

"No, but I need to see her mother-,"

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait," she repeated.

Troy swore in frustration and sat down in the nearest chair. He'd just wait, that's all. Gabriella had to come out sooner or later.

He sat, bored, for a few minutes before his phone started to ring – loudly. A couple people looked over at him, glaring. "Sorry," he muttered as he left the waiting room to answer his phone. "Hello?" he said, standing next to the hospitals entrance.

"Dude! Hey! Thanks for calling!" said a sarcastic voice. "I thought you were pulling a you-know-who on us."

"Oh, hey, Chad," said Troy. In all this worry and thought about Gabriella, he'd completely forgotten to call his friends, who lived up in Monte Vista, which is where they'd all lived before Troy decided to move back to Albuquerque. He hoped that eventually his friends would come too. "Um, about Gabriella-,"

"Whoa, dude, you said her name!" exclaimed Chad. "You haven't said it in years!"

"Yeah... look, I think we need to not be mad at Gabriella anymore," said Troy.

There was a silence. "Why? Gabriella was a bitch for not calling us-,"

"Chad, stop," growled Troy, even though he'd been saying the same thing just a month earlier. "Gabriella lives here too and I know why she didn't call us."

"Really? Why?"

Troy paused. "I-I don't know if I can tell you."

"Dude, come on! It can't be that bad!"

"Look, I can't tell you," said Troy firmly. "I'll ask Gabriella when I see her if I can. She might wanna tell you herself."

"I don't know if I'll listen,"

"No, you better listen," said Troy with more fierceness than Chad had ever heard him speak with in a long time. "If you don't listen to everything she has to say, she'll never forgive you. And trust me, once you know what it is, you'll never forgive yourself."

"Whatever you say, man," said Chad skeptically.

"And don't tell anyone else I ran into her, okay? Just keep it to yourself for now."

"Alright, whatever,"

"See ya later,"

"Bye,"

Troy hung up and went back into the lobby, only to find that Gabriella was entering it from the other side. Her eyes were red and teary.

"Gabriella!" said Troy throwing his arms around her. "Is Eva okay?"

Gabriella shrugged, her body pressed up against his. "She's still in surgery... I came out here to call you... what are you doing here?"

"I came to see help you through this," said Troy, trying to sound supportive.

Gabriella smiled weakly. "Thanks." She sniffed.

Troy led her back into the waiting room and they sat down. "So... I was just on the phone with Chad."

She looked at him sharply through her tears. "You didn't tell him, did you?"

"No! I mean, I told him I ran into you, but not about... you know," he mumbled uncomfortably. "I just told him that I knew why you hadn't called us and that if you decide to tell him, he'd better listen."

Gabriella laughed a little. "Yeah... but I just don't know if I can tell anyone else."

Troy was silent. "Do... do you want me to tell him?"

"No, I don't wanna make you do that," said Gabriella quickly.

"But I don't wanna make you relive it again," said Troy. "You're too emotionally drained, worrying about it, and now Eva-," Gabriella let out a sob "-I'll do it."

"Are you sure?" she whispered.

Troy nodded. "I'll call him back now, if you'd like."

Gabriella shook her head. "Wait 'till I'm gone."

Troy nodded again. He put his arms around her and held her close to him. She clung to him as if her life depended on it, and they stayed that way, holding each other, for a long, long time.

Finally, a doctor came over to them and said, "Miss Montez?"

Gabriella looked up and untangled herself from Troy. "Yes?" The two of them stood up quickly.

"I'm Dr. Smethwick, I spoke to you earlier?"

Gabriella nodded. "Is Eva going to be okay?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes. We're think so, anyway."

Gabriella sighed in relief and sat back down in her chair. Her hands covered her eyes, and she was shaking with happy tears. Troy sat down next to her and rubbed her back.

"There will be some after effects," said the doctor.

Gabriella wiped her eyes and looked up at the doctor. "Like what?"

"Well, she's going to have a sling for her right arm," the doctor explained. "And she may have to re-learn how to walk."

"Walking? She can't walk?" breathed Gabriella, standing up.

The doctor shook his head. "We don't think so. She hasn't woken up yet, but it the bullet that penetrated her skull pierced part of her brain."

"Is there anything else she forgot?"

"Well, she may have to take kindergarten again," said the doctor. "She probably forgot a lot of things. But if she's a quick learner, it might be possible for you to help her re-learn them. As for memory and things like eating and drinking, she should be fine."

Gabriella sighed in relief again. "Thank you so, so much," said Gabriella, standing up shaking the doctor's hand.

"You're very welcome," he smiled warmly. "Would you like to see her?" he asked. Then, glancing at Troy, he added regretfully, "I'm sorry, but only one visitor at a time."

"Oh, no, it's alright," said Troy.

The doctor led Gabriella away. Once Troy was sure she was gone, he took out his phone and called Chad.

"Hey man!" said Chad. "That didn't take long."

"Gabriella told me I can tell you," said Troy. "She said she couldn't do it."

"What, is she a coward?" asked Chad nastily. "Is she too afraid to face us?"

"Chad, shut up!" yelled Troy. He glanced around the lobby again, where he was getting more glares, and took his conversation outside. "You wanna know why she left? Because she was raped."

There was a very long silence on the other end, so long that Troy they'd lost their connection.

"Chad, are you still there?"

"Yeah, I'm here," said Chad, his voice quiet. "She was... was raped? Why didn't she tell anyone?"

"She said it hurt too much," explained Troy. He hated having to do this. "She felt ashamed, so she wanted to pretend like it hadn't happened."

"Then why'd she move?"

"Because... she got pregnant,"

"...What?"

"Yeah," said Troy sadly. "She begged her mom to have them move away. She didn't want everyone to find out. And she was too ashamed to talk to us. At least that's what she said."

"Wow... I had no idea. I feel terrible."

Troy laughed bitterly. "Well, at least you didn't say those things to her. She tried to tell me about Eva – her daughter – but I just assumed she'd cheated on me. I was awful. I had to hear about it from her daughter."

"Geez," muttered Chad. "So her daughter is... five?"

"Yeah, she's in kindergarten," Troy sighed. He figured he might as well tell him about where he was too. "Speaking of which... I'm in the hospital right now."

"Why?"

"Well I was trying to get Gabriella to forgive me – which she won't because she says she needs time, and I completely understand – when she got a phone call. There was a shooting at her daughter's school."

"Oh no," groaned Chad. "Let me guess. Her daughter got shot?"

"Uh-huh," said Troy. Now that he was voicing everything about Gabriella, he realized how much she'd been through. She was so strong to still be standing. He didn't know he he'd be able to do that. "They think she's going to be okay, though."

Chad whistled. "Jesus,"

"Do you think you could tell everyone else about what happened to Gabriella?" asked Troy, hoping Chad would be up to the challenge. "I don't want them to be angry at her anymore. I can't bear that we said things about her."

"Oh yeah, don't worry," said Chad earnestly. "I'll tell them. Actually, they're coming over to our place tonight, so I'll tell them then."

"Alright, thanks man," said Troy. He looked over and saw Gabriella coming back into the waiting room. "I gotta go."

"Okay, see ya," said Chad. "You'll probably get lots of calls later from everyone, wanting to talk to Gabriella."

Troy laughed. "Bye."

"Bye,"