A/N: Okay guys. Sorry for not updating for two days straight. I just have so many things going on that I can't even have some "me" time. Okay, back to business. Thanks for all the reviews! You guys rock! Thanks to my new reviewer: Troyellafan
laguanabeachfreak442 - Yeah, I love that song! You'll find out what happens next.
CassieLovesRyne - That was a long review! Don't worry, you didn't bore me. You're funny!
Troyellafan - Thanks for reading! And I'm a Troyella fan too but I'm also a Ryella fan! Lucas is just so cute!
puppylove223223 - Thanks!
lol925 - Yeah, I'll probably write an alternate ending. But I have to come up with a good one! I don't want to find out what the "or else" is so I'm updating!
Ann-Krol - Yeah, Sharpay is a great sister! Yeah, nobody could resist him! I know I can't! You'll find out what happens.
Anyway, here's the next chapter. Hope you guys like it!
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Something Has Changed
Chapter 12: Hero
Ryan was on the ground all right. But he was on the ground not because he got shot. He was on the ground because he tripped.
Ryan didn't really notice that a gun was pointed at him, so he continued to run. But his shoelace was untied so he tripped on them just before the guy shot the bullet. He was lucky that he tripped because if he didn't, then it would be bye-bye Ryan Evans.
When Ryan heard the gunshot, he thought he was shot. But when he realized that no blood was coming out of him from anywhere, then he knew that he wasn't. But he still lay on the ground incase they fired again.
Gabriella screamed again, thinking Ryan got shot because she couldn't see him. But before the guy could shoot again, the driver sped away, taking Gabriella with them.
Ryan lay there for a while. Thinking how lucky he was that he had tripped and didn't get shot. He was very lucky indeed. Now, he just has to explain to Mrs. Montez what exactly happened. Which was not that easy.
Mrs. Montez didn't hear Gabriella scream. But she sure heard the gunshot. She decided that it wasn't safe to go outside. And when she heard someone ring the doorbell, she didn't dare answer it.
"Go away! I'm not answering the door!"
"Mrs. Montez, it's me, Ryan!"
"How do I know if it's really you?"
"Mrs. Montez, GABRIELLA WAS KIDNAPPED!"
When Mrs. Montez heard that, she went to the door and opened it and then forcefully pulled Ryan inside and practically threw him at the couch.
"Please tell me that you just said that so you could get in!"
"I'd love to but she really was kidnapped, Mrs. Montez."
A couple of seconds passed and then Mrs. Montez started to cry and say some things in Spanish. Ryan couldn't understand so he just stood up and tried to comfort her. But it was no use.
"I saw the whole thing Mrs. Montez. Two masked men took Gabriella and then carried her in their red corvette and took out a gun and almost shot me. But then they missed and they drove off."
"Please tell me you know who they are! Ryan, please! I don't want to lose my baby!"
"I really wish I knew Mrs. Montez. But I don't." I don't want to lose her either. Ryan thought.
"There must be some kind of clue that you saw!"
"Um… the license plate! I remember it was, SMG – 715."
"Great! You remember that number while I go call the police!" Mrs. Montez said as she was frantically dialing 911.
"911 what's your emergency?" The lady on the other line said.
"Can you help me? My daughter was just kidnapped!"
"Please calm down ma'am. What is your address?"
"610 Orchid St."
"All right, thank you, we will send police right over to track your daughter down."
"Thank you very much!" Mrs. Montez said and she hung up.
A few minutes later, they could hear sirens in front of their house. Which means the police arrived. Ryan opened the door to find three policemen on the doorstep and let them in.
Then Mrs. Montez told Ryan to tell the police what exactly happened.
"Well, I just walked Gabriella home and then I turned around to go home. Then a red corvette sped by and then the next thing I knew that Gabriella was screaming. Then I saw the two masked guys bring her up to the corvette. I tried to go after them but I couldn't. A guy pulled out a gun and pointed at me, but I didn't know it. I was lucky because I tripped so they missed. But they sped away after that. I got their license plate number. It's SMG – 715." Ryan told the police officers.
"Thank you for your help son. That license plate number might be a big help in this case." One of the officers said.
Then the policemen started calling numbers and tried to track down that red corvette with the plate number that Ryan gave them. Then they landed on one person. Troy Bolton.
Mrs. Montez and Ryan came with the police to the Bolton residence to talk to Troy. How could Troy do this? I thought he loves her! Ryan thought. Then they came up to the house and rang the doorbell. Jack answered. When he saw three policemen, Mrs. Montez, and Ryan on the doorstep, he knew something was wrong. Still, he asked.
"Anything wrong officers?"
"We're here to speak to Mr. Troy Bolton, is he here?"
"Yes sir. He's out in the back. Hold on one minute while I call him. Make yourselves comfortable." Then Jack let them come in and they sat on the couch.
"Troy!" Jack shouted, just then Troy came.
"Yeah dad?"
"Go in the living room, someone needs to talk to you." Jack said. Troy obeyed and went in the living room. He got scared when he saw three policemen, Mrs. Montez, and Ryan there.
"Is there a problem here?"
"Yes there is. Gabriella Montez was kidnapped just a while ago and the license plate on the car of the kidnappers matches the one on your car."
"Wait, Gabriella was kidnapped? When?"
"Sir, we're the ones asking you questions. Not vice versa. You own a red corvette, don't you?"
"Yes sir."
"Do you know where it is?"
"Of course. It's right outside."
"Care to take a look?" The officer said. Then Troy looked from the window and his car wasn't there.
"My car! It's gone!"
"Did you kidnap Gabriella Montez?"
"Why would I kidnap her? She's my girlfriend."
"I see… do you know anyone who has a set of keys to your vehicle?"
"No. Only I have the keys. And an emergency one is kept in the car." Troy just realizing his stupidity of putting an emergency key in the car put his face in his hands. "Oh, man!"
"Ma'am, I think this case is going to be longer than we thought." When Mrs. Montez heard that, she started crying and saying things in Spanish again.
When Ryan got home, he told his parents and Sharpay and Terrell that Gabriella was kidnapped. Richard and Summer got worried and got protective, sending their kids to bed at 8:00.
On Monday, the whole school knew Gabriella was kidnapped. It was all over the newspapers, the mail, milk cartons, everywhere you could possibly think of.
When the gang met for lunch. They didn't chitchat like they used to when Gabriella was there. They were silent. Every single one of them. Especially Troy.
That afternoon when Ryan and Sharpay got home, they checked the mailbox. Ryan was surprised that he actually got mail. He rarely gets mail. When he looked at the envelope, there was no return address. Ryan opened it and he was shocked at what he saw. It was a ransom note for Gabriella.
They cut out letters from newspapers and magazines so Ryan wouldn't figure out the handwriting. Ryan read it. It said:
If you want to see your precious girlfriend again, meet us at the old warehouse on Friday with a million dollars at hand. Don't be there early because we won't be there. And you're probably wondering how we know who you are and where you live. Well, we just happen to squeeze the info out of Ms. Montez. We'll be waiting.
But why are they sending it to me? I'm not her boyfriend. Maybe they thought I was her boyfriend because I was the one they saw her with. The warehouse? Ryan thought. Don't worry Gabriella, I'll save you. Ryan didn't show Sharpay or anybody else the ransom note because they might actually kill Gabriella if they found out that the police found out. So he kept it to himself.
At Friday night he had a plan in his mind. Now he just had to put it in action. He was just walking out of the house when his parents and Sharpay stopped him.
"And where do you think you're going?" Richard asked.
"I'm going to… Troy's house. It's guy's night. Don't wanna be late." Ryan said.
"Well, let me drive you there, just to be safe." Richard said. Ryan accepted.
"Something isn't right." Sharpay whispered to Ryan while eyeballing him. "But I trust you." Sharpay said. Then Ryan got in the car and Richard drove him to Troy's. When he got off he said goodbye to his dad and then Richard drove off.
When Ryan was finally alone, he walked to the warehouse while changing clothes and be dressed as one of the kidnappers thinking that it would help if he blended in. He put his mask on and then went in. First he tried to sneak in but the gate made a lot of noise so the two kidnappers noticed him.
"Hey! Who are you?" One of the kidnappers shouted at Ryan.
"Oh… um… the boss sent me here." Ryan said, changing his voice.
"You're Billy? Okay, stand guard right here with little miss brainiac. We're gonna take a little break." With that, the two kidnappers left Ryan and Gabriella alone. Gabriella was tied to a chair with a kerchief in her mouth preventing her from talking. Then Ryan came behind her and took the kerchief off. Gabriella started screaming and Ryan covered her mouth again.
"Ssshhh. It's me Ryan. If you don't believe me, listen to this." Ryan said. Then he started to sing "Because of You" again.
Because of you, my life has changedThank you for the love and the joy you bring
Because of you, I feel no shame
I'll tell the world, it's because of you
After Ryan sang, he took off the kerchief again but this time Gabriella didn't scream.
"Ryan?" Gabriella said. Then Ryan lifted his mask so Gabriella could see his face but put it on again because the kidnappers might come back again.
"I just have to wear this to disguise myself. Don't worry, I'll get you out."
"But how'd you know I was here?"
"Ssshhh, I'll explain everything later." Ryan said. Then he started untying the rope that was holding Gabriella's wrists and ankles together. He got it off and took her outside without being caught. Then they both started dialing 911 and called the police. A few minutes later, the police came and positioned themselves all around the warehouse. Then when the two kidnappers came back, they were surrounded with cops.
"You two are under arrest for kidnapping." An officer said while handcuffing them.
"What? But how'd this happen?" one of them asked. But no one answered. Instead, the police just shoved them into the police car.
"So how'd you know I was here?"
"Um… the kidnappers sent me a ransom letter." Ryan said pulling out the letter from his pocket and handing it to Gabriella and she read it.
"But you're not my boyfriend so why would they send it to you?"
"I don't know. Maybe they saw me walk you home on Saturday and they thought that I was your boyfriend."
"And you went through all this trouble and danger just to rescue me."
"Hey. What are friends for? After all, I got your back."
Okay, I admit, Ryan is perfect. Gabriella thought. "Ryan, I've been wanting to tell you this but I just didn't know when." This is it. Tell him you love him. Gabriella thought. "I-"
"Gabriella!" Troy shouted. The arrest was in the news. That's how Troy and the others knew where they were. Then he rushed to Gabriella and kissed her. "Oh, my God, I was so worried! Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Gabriella answered. Then Troy started pulling her off into the crowd. Gabriella looked at Ryan longingly before she disappeared in the sea of people.
When she was gone. Ryan just sighed. Then Sharpay was at his side.
"Hey, hero."
"Hey."
"What's wrong? Aren't you supposed to be happy? You just saved a person's life! Let alone it was your dream girl's!"
"Yeah. I am happy."
"You don't sound like it."
"Can we please not talk about it?" Because even when I save her, Troy still gets her. And that's just not right! Ryan thought. Just then his parents arrive at his side too.
"Ryan Mario Evans, you are…" Richard started. Oh, great, now I'm gonna be grounded just because I risked my life to save a girl. Woohoo. Ryan thought. "… a hero." Richard finished. Ryan just looked at him with a confused expression on his face.
"You risked your life for another person. And that just makes us proud." Summer said. Then she hugged him. "But you're still grounded for the weekend for lying to us."
"I can take that." Ryan said. For Gabriella.
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Okay, that was my twelfth chapter. Sorry if it's a little rushed. I wanted to make it two chapters but it'll be too short so I just made it one long one. Hope you guys liked it! I'm still thinking what I'll put in the next chapter.