A/N: Wow. I for once have no words.

Thank you, to everyone. You're reviews last chapter... oh my gosh. Thank you. A thousand times over. Thank you. They really put things out there to see that I have some incredible readers. I was at a pretty rough time when I posted the last chapter, and your reviews just... made me smile. So much. As completely weak as this sounds, a couple of them made me tear up. It's so unbelievable that I have some amazing people looking out for me. I'm ok now, since I took a step back and looked as some things going on in my life. But I'm doing a lot better, so just... thank you so much. Words can't decribe what it means to me. So just, I wish I could give you all hugs lol.

Anyways, I hope you guys like this chapter. Those of you who don't like the heaviness of this story probably will hate me for these next couple chapters, cuz this one is pretty powerful. So, I hope you guys enjoy it! Oh, and I do have to say, I took a couple lines out of "Scream", but Zac seemed to sum up MY Troy's emotions pretty well in the couple of lyrics. Thank you again!

It was hard to imagine anything "normal" existed anymore.

"Dude, I gotta talk to you." The harsh whisper breathed in his ear as Troy's blinding eyes narrowed confusedly. His thousand pound head spun on its hinges and glanced pathetically sideways, to note the chocolate ringlets that bounces as Chad plopped excitedly down in the maroon library chair next to him. His brown, energetic face danced with happiness in a way that Troy hadn't seen since before Taylor and Matt started dating. Distantly, Troy closed the calculus book that was flapped opened and did his best to focus on Chad's beady eyes.

It wasn't working too well.

So much was swimming through Troy's mind he was certain he would drown. The first and front thing in his head was the looming worry of his mother. How long could they keep Charlie away? The constant threat of him returning tainted Troy's thoughts like blood. And the second, new terror in his blood stream. What was going on with Gabriella? Before she was so… so composed. Yeah she had broken in front of him before, but not like this. Her body seemed to be smashed into a thousand pieces.

Reflexively, his weak eyes left his best friend's face and traveled across the library to see Gabriella's thin shoulders hunched over a large book just as his was a moment ago. It could have been his imagination, but he swore she was feverously trembling from the tangle of the books that blocked them from each other. Taylor was stationed next to her as well, looking fearful but nothing compare to his beauty. "What's up?" Troy's shaking voice sounded as though it came from someone else's body than his own.

Chad drummed his short fingers onto the dark wood of the table impatiently. They were in free period, and Troy thought that if he could focus his brain on something else other than what he was thinking all that Monday, maybe it would help. Of course… it didn't. Gabriella was obviously sitting with Taylor, so he didn't want to disturb her when he walked in, though the look on her face craved him.

"We talked." He beamed as though someone had just given him a Ferrari for his birthday.

Troy's chestnut eyebrows rose suspiciously as he caught a glance sideways to now see that his girlfriend's perfect head leaned intently, yet distantly at the same time towards Taylor, who seemed distressed about something. "As in… spoke without screaming at each other?"

Chad chuckled nervously before letting his eager eyes stare down at his palm that matched the table. "Uhh… well… there was some screaming… and some other stuff…"

Troy's face furrowed in a confused look. Maybe it was the fact that he was half paying attention, half trying to keep the front up that there was nothing wrong. The last thing he needed was everyone in the school thinking that they're basketball captain was a completely messed up freak. Which he was anyways. "What do you mean… other stuff…" Chad grinned cheekily before lifting up the bright orange sweatshirt he was sporting. On the smooth surface of his skin was a purple welt that looked to be the size of a doorknob. Troy's eyes widened at the site. "What the hell? Did she hit you with a bat or something?"

"Mr. Bolton!" The librarian with slender glasses and tight blonde hair pulled into a high pony tail hissed. He felt the burning sensation of a pair of dark chocolate brown eyes on him along with everyone else in the library, but resisted the temptation to fall vulnerable to her pained gaze that he would fall there too. A barrier Bolton. That's all he needed to survive this day.

"Try a doorknob." Chad's black eyebrows rose suggestively. Why was he so smug? But it took a moment before Troy's eyes grew wide. He had given Gabriella a bruise one time from a doorknob which led to heated foreplay.

"What the hell happened?" His shaking voice spit out in a harsh whisper.

Chad glowed under the bright lighting, confirming Troy's suspicions. What? Didn't they hate each other a couple days ago? "Well… we got into a fight…"

"I'm shocked," Troy mumbled sarcastically and Chad glared fiercely at him. "Sorry."

Chad nervously looked from left to right before leaning towards Troy across the table, reflexively dropping his voice. "One second we were yelling… the next we were on the floor uh… bearing all…"

Troy's eyes widened once again. "YOU FUCKED HER?!" He questioned in a strained whisper.

Seriously, who went from hating each other to doing each other? It was a preposterous idea to him, but then again, Chad and Taylor really never hated each other. Chad smiled brightly again before nodding his head to answer Troy's question. "Can you believe it?"

Troy stole another glance to the side to see that his girlfriend's tortured eyes were the same size as his. Did she just hear the information he did? He couldn't help but think of what was going through her head right now, and how desperately he wanted to know what was making her in so much pain. It hurt him even more to see her like that. "What does she think about it?"

Chad shrugged lightly. "I dunno. It was Saturday. She called and said she wanted to talk to me, so I told her to come over," a happy sigh escaped his lips. "We yelled one second, and then we were on the ground," he finished with a dazed look on his features that made Troy believe he was replaying the experience in his head. Troy shuttered at the thought. "And now I have no idea what to do."

Troy's white orbs looked unconsciously down at the yellow pigment surrounding a violet dot on the inside of his forearm to see his battle wound. The shot seemed to be looming in his memory every once in awhile also. A part of him had been scared out of his body at the impact point, and while it happened he couldn't help but see the nightmare of his mother using again. It was Chinese water torture to him. "What do you mean?"

Chad looked exasperated now as Troy stared distantly in the distance. "I just… I don't know if she was just pissed or if she wanted it… I gotta talk to her…

Troy looked longingly back at the table to see Gabriella's fragile figure draped over the table, staring off into the unknown as her best friend's lips were moving rapidly. What the hell was going on? Why did she look just like he did? Her perfect face, it wasn't right. She could not be as broken as him, he wouldn't allow her. He loved her too much for her to be broken. He wanted her whole, more than he wanted himself whole. "Yeah…" his soft voice sounded desperate without taking his eyes off the love of his life. "You do."

"I have no idea what to do!"

How could anyone associate such pathetic problems with pain?

Gabriella's eyes turned back to her distressed best friend to see she was searching for answers in Gabriella's twisted face. The library was all too small, and all she wanted to do now was run a few strides to the right to meet the other pained figure so maybe some of this would be diminished. "Wow… that's exciting I guess." Gabriella weakly stated before glancing down.

"It's not exciting. God, what have I done?" Taylor moaned before her head fell into the soft cushion of her forearm. "I've got to talk to him." Her voice mumbled beneath the tight skin.

The conscious part of Gabriella nodded, while the other part flashed an image of a smashed car in the icy night. A shutter rippled down her spine. She had to put up a front. She had to be like Troy and hide whatever she was going through. It was the only thing she could do. Troy seemed to have mastered it. At school it was as though nothing could ever go wrong, while inside he was burning red. She had to be like that. She had to be strong for him, put up the barrier that he was so well at. "Yeah you do… how'd you feel about it though?"

Taylor's black eyes looked down towards the barren floor, unable to keep the grazing smile off of her face. "He's better than Matt… that's for sure." Quickly, she shook her head as though to rid that thought. "Ugh! What am I saying?"

Gabriella attempted to resist to the temptation to look over and see Chad, for she knew her heart would be smashed if she saw Troy's horrified face. How could she handle such a perfection mutated into something terrible? Not that Troy wasn't as hot as he used to be. The passion that seemed to be stimulated during his low times were enough to make any woman fall to her knees. But Gabriella would have given anything just to see one earth smashing smile cross his face. "How does he feel?" Gabriella questioned softly, trying to be there for her best friend but knew that the clouded thoughts of her father and Troy couldn't be replaced anytime soon.

"I don't know…" Taylor mumbled sadly. "I'm such a slut."

Gabriella's tiny head shook, trying to force compassion into her hallowed eyes. It was completely unsuccessful. "No… you're not. You've felt this way for a long time…" Gabriella encouraged weakly. "It was going to happen sooner or later."

Her dark best friend sighed before leaning back in the chair she was in. "What do I do?"

Unable to contain herself anymore once the sound of two chairs scraping the edges of the mahogany wood, Gabriella's fluid-filled head turned to the side to finally see the muscular figure of her boyfriend stand along with his best friend. "Talk to him." Gabriella murmured soundlessly before watching Chad glance to their table for a moment, then walk towards the entrance of the library.

The opposites then found each other and made the heated connection. Gabriella's midnight black eyes locked unbreakably with the two silver moons and felt her breath weld into her throat. Troy's slung his backpack over his shoulder lazily before beginning to stride towards where she was sitting.

"And that's my cue," Taylor whispered understandingly. Gabriella couldn't remove her gaze from his hard features. "Thanks Gabs, I'll just talk to you later."

Gabriella couldn't hear her get up and walk towards the doors as well. Slowly, she rose from the table and began to feel the magnetic pull jerk behind her navel. Unable to withhold the pressure any longer, Gabriella found the bounce in her step and bound to where he was. Troy dropped his bag carelessly before Gabriella practically leapt into his arms. Warmth traveled through her bloodstream in responds to his frozen touch. His strong biceps enclosed her tiny torso, desperately shoving his face into the ocean of her waves. Gabriella's own head smashed up against his iron chest, feeling his love being absorbed through the tissues of her skin.

People stared in awe and jealousy at the connection. No one had any idea it was because both hearts were breaking, but it didn't matter. Just after Troy pressed an electric kiss onto the cylinder of her neck, he brought his stone face around to connect their orbs again. "Are you feeling ok?" He questioned. How bad are you falling apart? Was what he really meant. The two had become so entwined that they seemed to understand what the other was saying, even if they didn't have to produce words to say it.

"I'm not sick, but my head is killing me," I'm not committing suicide, but this hurts worse than anything. Gabriella responded with dim eyes. "You look tired." I'm afraid you're dying inside.

Troy chuckled a fake laugh that Gabriella knew was a cover up, just before he smiled a pretend smile that looked too twisted to Gabriella, but could have fooled anyone else. "I'm a little tired." My world is shattering.

Neither said a word as they untangled from each other and reached for their bags. Their eyes connected once more before walking towards the heavy door, both expelling the same idea from their gaze.

I need you.

The beat of his heart raced rapidly against his chest as his arms violently flung the ball to the hoop.

"Fake right, break left, fake right, break left…" Troy murmured harshly under his breath before closing his tortured eyes. A sharp, pointed object flooded his vision before he let out an excruciating groan. He had to get rid of it, so his colorless eyes ripped open again as he drove towards the basket, bounding with each heavy step until his lay up landed into the basket with grace. The echo of the bouncing ball sang through the gym as his shockingly bright eyes glanced upwards to see the slim figure running in a circle, tormented.

They had decided to come to the public gym together, for neither one seemed satisfied enough when they finished their practices. Troy knew that Gabriella wanted to forget everything, which was why she was so determined to run… again. He shared her pain, for focusing on basketball seemed a lot easier than just sitting around and waiting for the grief to swallow him whole.

"Come on Bolton, focus…" He told himself before becoming unconsciously distracted again to see the shirtless Gabriella's gaze. His horny eyes normally would have been stationed on her lack of clothing, but tonight it was different. Gabriella's stare. Runners had been known to have a "million mile stare", as though nothing could break their focus, but from below, this was different. It was difficult for him since she was running so fast she could have won state by four minutes, but from the cloudy blur of her features, Gabriella looked shattered.

How could things be this bad? As Troy pounded the orange sphere into the yellow hardwood, his thoughts circled a thousand miles a minute. It was a good thing the facility would be closing in just a half hour, for the two seemed to have the place to them. At least a week ago, he had Gabriella's beaming happiness to look forward to. Now all he could see was pain and dread. He couldn't stand it.

Did he do this to her? Is he the reason that she seemed so torn all the time, was because of him? A strike of lightning hit his upturning stomach. It had to be. He had to have dragged her down with him. She promised that she had been far down the pitiful well, but he knew from the day they first kissed that Gabriella was too sweet to try to interfere with. He knew from the beginning that he was going to pull her down to drown in the murky water, but he selfishly put that on the backburner. And now he was in deep.

"You fucking bastard." Troy felt hot tears burn in his normally cerulean eyes. The flex in his arms began to rebel against him, not wanting to be in his body under the dim lighting anymore. Angrily, a molested yell produced from his scratchy throat before he forcefully chucked the ball through the thick air to the white brick wall, then immediately crashing to his weak knees. Secret prayers that God would just take him right there drown in his mind. Death couldn't be worst than this. Death was nothing compared to the feeling of ruining the only good thing on earth.

He destroyed her, and he knew it.

Silent, yet acidic tears trickled down his face. Why? Why… why… WHY? Why her? Why Gabriella Montez? Why did she come to him? Why did he love her? Couldn't he love someone else who wasn't perfect? Couldn't he just go back to not loving at all? It'd be nothing compared to the swelling by squeeze feeling in his chest. Just knowing that Gabriella wouldn't be tainted anymore would please him. He would never talk to her again if it meant that she would be safe. Safe from harm. Safe from pain. Safe from needles. Safe from everything.

Safe from Troy Alexander Bolton.

Troy knelt pathetically on the frozen ground, unable to find the energy to bring himself back up. But he had to. He knew he needed a spring of strength to keep him going. He had to protect her. Keep her as far away from humanly possible from his past. Troy would do everything and anything in his power to keep her from anymore torment. Gabriella couldn't brush his past. He wouldn't let that slip. He couldn't kill her anymore than he had.

Slowly, his powerful legs surged with power. It was almost as though thunder and lightning were bouncing off the echoes of the gym. A short, surprising flash of his normally sparkling determined cyan eyes lit the gym before crashing back to white again. As he came up, his potent hands gripped the orange sphere of life that rolled back to him. The ball was in his hands now. It was time to play man to man with life, no more zoning. Take it headstrong by the horns. Never would he tear Gabriella again. As he was sick of, as he once told Chad, playing the defense. Watching the others as he tried to respond to their reactions. He wanted to be on the offence. Keeping his past away from Gabriella was the only way to save her, he had to.

The storm above his head seemed to crash with lightning when a sudden shock rippled through his veins. It was a soft, yet piercing yelp that sliced through the air like a knife. Troy's desperate eyes shot upwards as his stomach fell to where he was lying on the floor a moment ago. Panic screamed through his body. "What?"

One level up, Gabriella's slender shadow was bent over, trembling violently. He watched frozen in his spot as her thin shoulder smashed into the wall of the track, feeling her way around until her tiny hand fell upon the door handle, and pushed through to where Troy knew the hallway was to reach the locker rooms. Another round of fear waved through the gym. Without a second thought, Troy's muscular calves sprinted towards the doors, dropping the orange ball, forgotten. "No…" He rammed through the door with his shoulder and tripped over his own feet to crash into the brick wall. Ignoring the pain shooting through his already injured arm from the shot, Troy jumped up the stairs two at a time before making it to the top, blank hallway.

Then he saw her broken frame. She leaned supportively against the wall, the screeching sounds of her heavy breath causing Troy to panic once again. Without thinking about anything else for the first time all night, he sprinted furiously towards her, immediately wrapping his arms around her tiny waist from behind. "Gabi… baby…" He exclaimed while she gasped unsuccessfully. Reflexively her arms dropped and covered his balled hands resting above her bellybutton.

"I…I can't… breathe…" Her entire body trembled, and despite her words, Gabriella leaned backwards into his stone chest to take as much of him in. Troy spun her in a tornado before removing himself from her air space. Her tiny chest beneath the kiwi sport's bra heaved. "No... Troy… don't let… go…"

He didn''t understand what she was saying. "I'll call the hospital… don't move." He ran a soothing hand through her cascading waves. His panic was so high that he didn't notice her breath was evening out as he breathed.

"No… Troy…" Gabriella moaned before inhaling and seemed to gain oxygen this time. "Please… I just…"

But her erotic breaths suddenly mutated to something different. Slowly, her back that was ground up against the wall slid downwards. Troy attempted to hold her weight, but found that she was doing this voluntarily. The heavy breaths transformed into distressed sobs, causing Troy to drop to his knees immediately again. "Baby, was it is?"

"Everything," Gabriella whispered before strapping her arms around his shoulders, crushing his body to hers. "I couldn't stop seeing it… I was running and panicked… I couldn't breathe…"

"I'm here ok?" Troy promised, tightly squeezing her again. It finally made sense. She must have been running and saw disturbing images, causing her to have almost a panic attack. "Don't be afraid."

Gabriella shook her head violently. "I have to face it," She whispered as though she would wake something terrible if she spoke too loud. "I have to."

Troy closed his eyes before trying to pull Gabriella into him, to protect her from harm. But how could he protect her from himself?

That was easy. Never hurt her with his past again.

The secret would go to his grave.

But wheezing Gabriella had other ideas…