A/N: So, this chapter might get a little confusing at the very end. My suggestion would be read it over a couple times if you're confused. It should make sense, but I wasn't sure. Anyways, thanks so much to everyone who is reading, and reviewing! You're reviews make me want to update sooner! Thanks so much, you guys are incredible! I hope you like this chapter!

Time to get it done.

"BALL!" Troy could feel his voice strain and snap as he screamed at the top of his lungs. The yellow glowing gym felt more like the playoffs for the NBA instead of the first game of the season. It was for Troy at least. He ran out to the top of the key and held out his hands. One of the juniors, Lance, tossed it over his shoulders, just missing the guys in purple black's heads by an inch. He felt his powerful legs run towards it and grabbed it, like his fingertips held glue.

He pulled the ball below him and somewhere in the distance, the crowd was cheering at though he had just taken off all his clothes. His fingertips pushed the ball down while the piercing blue eyes looked around at the other white jerseys' running, trying to get an open spot. They then glanced up at the glowing score board to see that there was only thirty seconds left of the first game. Thirty seconds left to get this done right. Even though they were up by ten points, Troy wanted more. So much more. He wanted everyone to know that this was his time to shine. This was his season, and no one else was going to take that away from him. No one.

"Let's go Bolton, LET'S GO!" The East High student body bellowed while Troy continued to dribble and look to the other players, none of them seemed to be getting open. The cheerleaders dressed in their bright, scarlet red uniforms chanted on the sidelines. Most of them had drool dripping down the sides of their faces from the pouring sweat that slid down Troy's smooth skin. But that was beside the point. He didn't notice though. He couldn't. His mind was only focused on the other nine players on the court, the two baskets, and the orange ball that was pounding beneath his calloused fingers.

"Shoot it Bolton!" Andrews screamed and Troy listened. A tall guy dressed in the Cobra's purple and black uniforms jumped in his view to keep him from shooting. Troy suddenly realized he had no choice. So he reached up and purposefully made the guy slap his wrist, just before he heard a screeching sound that made the entire gym grow silent. Troy turned to the center of the gym to see the man with graying hair on the sides of his head and a shiny whistle in his mouth run towards them in his black and white outfit. He held his breath as the ref glanced at Troy before turning to the coaches.

"Foul, defense, number thirty-three." The entire gym erupted in cheers like a volcano releasing its fury. He suddenly felt several hands from his teammates, including Chad, pat his back. The cerulean eyes looked up at the red neon scoreboard. Twenty seconds left. He could do this.

"Come on Troy, you got this." Chad stated with Troy slowly stepped up to the line. All sound was sucked free from the world. The only thing he could hear from that moment was the loud "thudding" that was pounding against his chest. His breath was vibrating through his body and he felt as though time was slowing down to an almost unbearable level.

Troy played a game whenever he did free throws. It was almost natural, something that he did since he was a freshman. He'd make a bet with himself. The ref held up two fingers at the base line and then passed the ball to Troy. Salty sweat collected in his eyebrows as he also felt it trickle down the back of his neck. Slowly, he bounced the sphere with both hands twice, before spinning it around in his palms. If this goes in, I'll go see her tomorrow. The sapphire eyes looked up at the spider net and felt the energy surge through his calves as he bent his knees. In one powerful motion, he bounced back up and watched as the ball sank into the net perfectly.

"That's it Troy!" The crowd yelled and cheered while Zeke threw out his hand for Troy to slap. A grin burst onto his face, not a cocky smirk, but a truly happy smile. He glanced towards Coach Andrews, whose fist was in a triumphant ball. He turned back and the ref bounced in the ball again.

He could do this. The gym became still again with everyone now staring at Troy in anticipation. In his own world, he couldn't hear anything. The lights to him seemed to be dimming, only leaving spotlights on the hoop and him. The cyan eyes blinked again, in slow motion, and when he opened them back up with his head turned to the bleachers. The home side, where Troy's eyes narrowed down on a certain dark beauty. The toffee eyes scrunched in confusion while the side of his mouth curved in an upward motion. It was a weak smile, not smirk, but it was enough to make her eyes grow two sizes to big. If I make this, I'll talk to her tonight at the after party.

In a perfect, fluid push, Troy let go of the ball and watched it as it didn't even bother hitting the rim. Time once again returned to him as a stupid grin belted onto his face. "Way to go Troy." Chad slapped his back as they got back in position and the Cobra's came back with a flying force.

It didn't matter. The obnoxious sound of the buzzer rung through the gym as the entire student's section stampeded down the bleachers before Troy had comprehended the game was over. He suddenly couldn't contain his joy as he throw his arms up in the air, adrenaline still wiring through his veins, shouting at the top of his lungs. As quickly as that happened, a million and one hands seemed to be grabbing the bottom of his legs. Troy's eyes popped out of his head in surprise for a moment, before realizing they were lifting him up in the air, chanting "BOLTON, BOLTON!" He leaned back and absorbed all the praise, shouting in victory again before the school decked out in red gently set him back on the hardwood.

"Nice game man!" Troy felt a pat on the back as he turned around to see Chad standing there, grinning like he just won the lottery. Still feeling all hands wanting to touch him as though he was a god, he pulled Chad into a guy hug.

"Yeah. You didn't suck either." Troy smirked while Chad smacked him on the back of his head. He laughed while all of the sudden, the black eyes glanced to the side with a smile that broke out onto his face. Troy followed his eyes and saw a brown girl standing a few feet away with a grin of happiness on her face.

"Tay!" Chad yelled while he scooped up Taylor in his arms, twirling her. Troy felt a small warmth in him as Taylor giggled a little, probably high from winning the first game of the season.

Troy turned away and felt all air violently ripped from his body. If everyone placing their hands on him wasn't enough to make him feel hot, it was the sight that was before him. Her long cascading hair fell over her vibrant red tank top that scooped low enough so he could see the top half of her cleavage. She bent her head back a little, laughing at something and Troy suddenly felt a slight jealousy ripple through his evident veins. A blonde, her ex boyfriend blonde, grabbed her waist and pulled her up to spin her around while she was giggling her sweet angelic laugh. Why couldn't he just get the courage to talk to her alone outside of music pro?

"You played amazing Troy!" A cheerleader snaked her arms around Troy's neck without him even noticing, nor did he wrap his around hers. His eyes had then moved over to see Chad talking to a woman with the same color completion as him. His father then wrapped his arm around his shoulder, congratulating him. Chad had an embarrassed look on his face, only making Troy's jealousy shoot through the gym roof again. It pissed him off, because he would have given anything to have a parent at his game.

Anything.

A sudden suction of air occurred behind him. He slowly turned around and found his eyes growing wide. Standing in front of him was the girl he had thought about since freshman year. The hundreds of students that were cheering and still touching Troy right now didn't matter, for all he could see was the woman that made him want to drop to his knees in her holiness. But the thing that completely took him by surprise, making his stomach perform a gymnastics routine, was the fact that she was staring at him with her hazelnut colored eyes. "Great game!"

His mouth was sandpaper. All nerve endings in his tongue were lost as she stared sexily back at him. Come on Bolton. Say something. Anything. Don't stand there looking like an idiot. You're Troy Bolton! The most popular guy in school. You've laid girls easier than you've looked at them Say something. "I…uh… thanks?"

Gabriella giggled as she rolled her eyes. "Don't get used to it. I wouldn't want to boost your ego even more." She stated before turning around in the sea of students. Troy followed her black head until it was completely lost in the wave of cheering fans.

It was as though they won the Superbowl.

That was of course, stupid, because they did not win anything close to that. But that was absolutely no reason for them to not celebrate. It's what teenagers did right? Their sport's team did something good, they'd go to a house, get completely smashed, and then figure out a way to slip home without their parents finding out. It was a passage of being in high school wasn't it? In college, they wouldn't be able to try it, since they were on their own anyways. Half the thrill of getting drunk was sneaking a way around the parents.

At least Gabriella knew her mom would be too busy getting screwed to catch her.

"Hey!" The blonde head announced as he plopped down on the soft couch next to her. Gabriella smiled at him while his light eyes locked onto hers. Ryan gently draped an arm over the back of the couch, not touching her though. The lights were dimmed in the living room of one of the junior basketball guy's house, with music swimming through the air in the background. There were people talking, flirting, drinking, and some making out in corners as well.

"Ry, you're drinking!" She exclaimed while pointing to the red cup that was filled with a clear unknown liquid. Ryan, unlike his snotty sister, was famous for remaining sober. He wasn't a party killer, but he "liked remembering", as her always told Gabriella last year. It used to annoy her a little, because she wanted to be with someone who would be able to have fun and let loose. Now that they were broken up though, she really didn't care.

"Nah, it's just water." He pointed out in his somewhat high voice.

They broke up over last winter, after going out for a little under a year. She had absolutely no feelings for him now, mainly because the two were so close. He could be there and talk to her about absolutely anything, a trait that made her fall for him to begin with, but now, she was ok with just being friends.

"Damn, and I thought you crossed over to the dark side." She nudged his shoulder a little while he shook his head at her in a teasing sort of way.

"Never." He responded and she lifted her own red cup up to her kissable lips to take a small sip. Her eyes glanced over to the side to see her best friend's eyes on the phone that was whipped out in her hands.

"Tay… what the hell are you doing?" She asked to the girl next to her as she glanced up to see that Chad was glaring at the two girls from a chair away where some girl was trying to flirt viciously with him. "You're not texting him are you?" Gabriella demanded an answer while trying to rip away the piece of technology.

"Just let me finish…" Taylor begged before Gabriella finally grabbed the small black object that was warm against her touch. She slammed the cover to it forcefully before shaking her head. "Gabs!"

"You're with us right now. Not tall dark and handsome ok?" A smaller girl, with short, bouncy hair that framed her glasses worn face said on the other side of Taylor. Her name was Kelsi, and was one of Gabriella's closest friend, whom she met sophomore year.

Gabriella glanced over to see that Chad was still in dagger mode. "I'm going to go get something else to drink." Gabriella stood up, feeling the blood rush to her head from moving to fast as the room spun for a moment. After regaining her composure, she headed off towards the kitchen where the drinks were being served, getting looks from the guys on the way.

It was easy for Gabriella to get lost in bliss such as alcohol. God's greatest gift, so she thought. When she drank, there were absolutely no thoughts of years ago. No thoughts of what her mother was doing, or rather who for that matter. Not a second of the pain she when through. The acid tears that slipped down her face so long ago. No thoughts of the reason she had three scars running across her stomach. No thoughts about anything except getting completely smashed and what guys were hot at the party.

"Please tell me I have some sort of a chance." A voice sliced through the music, making Gabriella's head turn to the side to see a chocolate boy walking to her. A sympathetic smile played on her lips while she leaned forward on the cold counter, glancing out the dark window at the brisk outside. Chad made it to her, leaned his hip up against the side as she set her elbows down on the granite and looked back at her best friend, to see once again her black phone was out and her fingers were working furiously.

A sigh slipped through Gabriella's slightly parted lips. "She's just into him because he's older. I'm not sure if he even likes her or not." She stated and looked down into her red cup, noting the tangerine colored liquid swirling around in a mystical way. Chad's face that was usually so bright in color had turned dull as he looked longingly at Taylor. "Cheer up, go find a girl to fuck and you'll feel better."

Chad chuckled a little while he leaned down towards Gabriella's head. "So… you want to get a room?"

Her eyes rolled and she hit his shoulder. Chad's face winced as though he was in pain. "Dream on." She responded, knowing that Gabriella and Chad were just friends, and that's all they would ever be. Though to her, it wasn't a bad idea. She couldn't deny that sex felt good. It took away one's problems easily. In the three times that she had done it, not once did she think about her past. It was like alcohol, only waves of pleasure that shot through one's body at the speed of light. It was perfect… for taking your mind off hell.

"Hey Chad…" A sudden voice interrupted her thoughts as she looked to the side, seeing one of the cheerleaders with a devious smirk on her face. "Great game tonight." She flirted and looked him up and down for a moment.

Gabriella shook her head as Chad beamed. "Thanks Holly."

She smiled sexily for a moment before glancing around the room. "Where's Troy?"

Chad's face suddenly fell, a complete opposite to Gabriella's that lifted up. Her heartbeat increased to a race pace while the brown orbs immediately scanned the house. Brown hair, blue eyes. Brown hair, blue eyes. Where was he? Her stomach was back flipping in tumbles, trying to find the player. Not that she was interested or anything. "I saw him go upstairs with Carrie a half hour ago."

Her heart sank to the floor. Gabriella looked down at the alcohol in her cup with a depression creased on the sides of her eyes. Did she care? Of course not. It didn't surprise her; Troy usually was with a girl somewhere. But she still couldn't help feel the emptiness and disappointment at the information just given.

"Oh well…" Holly responded, covering up her disappointment from the lack of the Wildcat's god. "Maybe we could uh… follow their lead." She suggested while used her two fingers to climb up built his chest.

The fallen face previously shot with light again. Chad looked back to Gabriella with lust written in his black eyes. A smirk, worthy of Troy Bolton himself, stretched across his features as he gave a small wave to Gabriella. "I'll catch ya later."

Her eyes followed as she watched Holly take Chad's hand and lead it to the stairs that were sitting in the corner of the room. They then looked back to Taylor, whose body was still rested on the couch, but at least her phone was put away. It may have been her active imagination, or the alcohol creeping through her body, but she swore she saw Taylor's eyes look to Chad before he walked upstairs with the cheerleader. Another sigh parted her lips as she looked down to see that the scarlet cup had been drained and she could see the little beads of liquid sitting on it. The coffee brown orbs looked back up to scan the faces again, a little hope sitting in the pit of her stomach that she would catch the one guy who everyone seemed to be looking for that night.

But as she learned from past experiences, hope was about as useful as an appendix.

She needed another drink.

A million needles were piercing into his body at once, making him cry out in pain.

But the girl underneath him took that as a cry of pleasure. "Troy…" She let the moan roll off her red tongue that Troy tried to silence with his own. He angrily gripped her bare back and pushed her to his skinned chest, attempting to feel something. "Mmmm, baby… slow it down a little alright? Let's make this last." She whispered into his ear before turning to look at him with her firing brown eyes, trying to coax the anger within him. She should have known better then to think she could though.

Troy rubbed his jeans against her groin in an attempt to make himself harder than what he was. His back was being stabbed, over and over again and it seemed that the only way to make the sword stop was to be inside this girl. Pain shot through all of in nerve endings instead of pleasure. He groaned again, a twisted groan that did not sound like he was being turned on. More like a groan that was produced when people got punched in the face.

"Come here." Troy grunted as he flipped over so he was now beneath her bony body. Her legs fell on either side of him and squeezed tightly. Carrie giggled a little as Troy desperately tried to unbutton what held the denim together. His erection, that should have given him a needing pain, felt more like it was chopped off with a butcher knife. Troy's lips reached up and violently slammed his against hers. His course hands forced her head long blond head down so he could grab it, making her kisses harder.

The sound of something dropping in the bathroom rang through the kitchen. His body tensed as the metal hit the linoleum of the bathroom that was right next door.

"You were on your game tonight." Carrie whispered in a bewitching way in his ear as her now completely nude body slid down his. The moonlight shone a white light on the dark gray carpeted floor, moving up to the blue bedspread which the two bodies were stationed on. The light reflected off Troy's hip, almost making the huge mutated piece of skin on it jump out at Carrie. It was rippled, and stretched down his hip and stopped right before it reached the top of his thigh, well hidden under a pair of shorts and a shirt. Even if he was shirtless, he had managed to hide it with his boxers. With the drag of her fingers, knifes were sticking in his chest and slowly oozing blood down. He writhed in pain, though Carrie thought he was begging for her now. "You're scoring more than once tonight."

"Fuck!" Troy seized the sides of the navy blue bed spread and gripped tightly. His lungs were being crushed like a truck decided to run over him slowly. He could almost hear each rib crush beneath her. This was supposed to feel good. Yet, this is what Troy felt every time he did this. He felt as though he was dying. A slow, twisted, pained death. He was pretty sure he was going to die.

A sick maniacal laugh came from the small bathroom as the cerulean eyes looked up to see a matching pair looking back at him. But they were different. They were as cold as the icicles that hung from the small shack in the bitter cold. So frozen they almost looked white. And where the white part should have been? Completely blood shot. As though someone had decided to stick a fork into her eye. "You're going to be late for school."

He thrusted harder, deeper, not caring if she was bleeding between his legs or not. Troy's body was on fire. It was as though someone had exploded a fire bomb in his frozen heart and let the pieces shatter into smithereens. Sweat trickled down the back of his bronze neck as Carrie's head was being thrown back wildly. "God Troy… that's it… I'm gonna cum…"

Her arms slithered around his neck, giving Troy the fear that they were going to turn into anacondas and crush it. "Come on…" He begged his body to rebel. Pleaded with himself to give him the sensations he wanted, instead of this pain. But it looked like he was going to have to impatiently wait until he orgasmed to get that feeling.

He had to take it away. The feeling of being dipped into a boiling pot of water. Troy's skin seemed to be bubbling and blustering above her. Pain shot through his entire body as he cried out again. But it would be worth it. It should be worth it in just a matter of seconds. Once he hit his peak, the pain would be replaced by pleasure. It happened every time Troy had sex, but it was so worth it. Her walls closed around him tightly as he heard his name being screamed through the air like a knife as his head bowed and he threw it back himself, feeling a ripple of relief course through his body as a savior. Pleasure waved through his veins, finally getting the feeling he had hoped for. Cold water was thrown on Troy's boiling body as he released himself into the condom he was wearing.

Troy slowly stood up as his mother's twisted face giggled again. He walked around her, hearing the creek of the old shack's floors echo through the room. Just before he was about to leave the kitchen, he turned around to see a small injection needle and a rubber band being set on the table. His eyes looked to the dark, black blood that trickled down the side of her forearm from the vein that was punctured…

The imitations of the deep blue ocean shot open with such a force it almost knocked him backwards. His breath was short, not from what he had just done twenty minutes ago, but from the vision of the blood running down his mother's arm. Troy felt his body spring a little as he sat in his green boxers on the bed, praying for some mercy from God that he would just take Troy out of this nightmare. The terror that he lived through everyday called life. Give him another life to live, because he hated this one.

His eyes closed as he ran a hand through his matted down hair from sweating so much that day. Carrie's nude body was sprawled across the bed with the bright blonde hair that reminded him of Sharpay's covering her nude chest. He wasn't sure if she was drunk and passed out or if she was just tired from what he just did to her. Maybe it was a combination of both. The cyan eyes opened again, feeling a pang in his heart as a soft tear trickled down his face.

Troy Bolton didn't have sex because he wanted game. He didn't do it because he wanted to be a player, though that was his cover up. The reason he was inside so many girls wasn't because he wanted to brag to everyone else he had screwed them. Never once did Troy do it for pure pleasure. And absolutely, never, EVER did he have sex because he loved the other woman. He had never been in love. For one reason and one reason only.

He didn't have a heart to love. It had been killed a long time ago. Stabbed by a thousand needles.

Another tear dropped down Troy's smooth face as he looked down at his textured hands. He had sex for one reason and one reason only. It was like alcohol. It hurt like hell, but if he could get high enough, he'd take away the pain. The only reason he had sex with so many girls was because he was looking for the one. The one who would take away his pain, not cause it. Every time Troy had sex, he'd flashback to his past. His hell of a life that he wished to God had never happened. He was looking for the one that didn't feel like he was dying before hand. When he orgasmed, it was fine. He felt the waves of pleasure that he should. But what Troy really wanted was someone who could make him forget everything that had ever happened to him.

Ultimately, he wanted to find the one girl who would make him forget he was Troy Bolton.