A/N: I feel so bad because not only have I taken so long to write this, but I seriously considered just stopping this story. I really don't know what to do with it anymore, but after looking at all the people who reviewed this story and really want to know what happens next, I've changed my mind. It might still take me really long to update this story, but I haven't given up. I promise. Writer's block and school are just making writing this super hard.

Alright, so at the bottom of the page there's a small little purple button. When you finish reading this, I dare you to click it and see what happens.

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2:45PM—JFK International Airport

Troy walked, no he ran, towards the baggage claim. He quickly located his luggage and bought a rental car. His mind was spinning. He didn't know what he wanted anymore. Gabriella represented his past. She was once everything to him. Those feelings hadn't disappeared, but they weren't the same either. All his high school dreams came true. He was a professional basketball player and had his own company. The most important part of that dream, or what was the most important at the time, was missing. Gabriella wasn't his wife and he didn't have a cute little girl running around, singing, and playing basketball. Sharpay, on the other hand, represented all the desires that he wanted but never had the courage to go after. She was like the forbidden fruit that looked so sweet but tasted even sweeter. Now that he finally had her, he wasn't sure he wanted to let go.

His fingers shakily dialed her apartment. After three rings, Troy almost hung up when a lazy voice responded.

"Ryan? Is Sharpay there? It's urgent." He held the phone in one hand as he grabbed the keys to the rental car.

Troy couldn't hear anything on the other line. He checked to see if he was still connected and he was. After putting the phone back up to his ear, he heard Ryan speak. "Alright, well, I can't reach her on her cell. I know where she is, but I don't know if it's the best idea to go to her."

Troy sighed, exasperated. "Please, just tell me where she is. I don't really care if it's the best idea or not, I just need to find her."

"You're not going to like this, but she's over at Gabriella's. Don't ask me why, because I honestly don't know. She just told me she needed closure and not to go after her unless she's been gone for a while. Sharpay left a little over an hour ago."

"Alright, well, I'm going to go see her. I guess it's good that she's at Gabriella's because now I can kill two birds with one stone." He started the car and headed towards Gabriella's house.

"Well, that's terrible for the birds, but I guess it's good for you." Ryan could hear Troy smiling through the phone. He figured that Troy would need some cheering up if he was going to go see Sharpay. She was pretty mad at him right now. "Why do you need to talk to Sharpay, anyway?"

"Let's see...I came to New York and you and Chad forced me and Sharpay together. We ended up falling for each other, but then I told her Gabriella killed her mom and things were ruined. I visited Gabriella, but she wasn't the same anymore. Until now, I didn't realize that I love Sharpay, not Gabriella. I don't know if it's too late or not, but I need to find Sharpay and tell her that."

Ryan was shocked, but also glad to hear that. "Hmmm...I guess that's a good enough reason," he joked. When he didn't hear a laugh on the other line, he continued, "I'd hurry up, because I have no idea what Gabriella and Sharpay are doing right now. One thing I do know is that Sharpay is distressed. I can just feel it."

"Ryan...thanks." Troy mumbled something else before hanging up. I just hope she's not mad at me.

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3:20PM—Gabriella's house

Gabriella stared at Sharpay as she rubbed her sore cheek. Then her face adopted an expression that was a disturbing mix of pain and amusement. "How dare you...how dare you come here and treat me like this in my own home? Why did you come here if you were only going to torment me more? You've plagued my life since the moment I first met you."

Sharpay's face remained blank and emotionless. Never let her see you sweat, she thought morbidly. "I came here for closure. My mother died at your hands and I never knew why. You killed someone that I loved so much and expect me to just let you be? Gabriella, I came here for closure. Now I see it was just a bad idea."

She stood up to leave, but Gabriella just laughed. "You don't get the final word today. I do." With that, she revealed a knife she had grabbed from the kitchen when Sharpay first walked in. Gabriella lunged at Sharpay, whose expression was terror with surprise laced in.

"What are you doing?" Sharpay squealed.

"Everything necessary for my own fairytale ending," she replied. With that, she punched Sharpay in the face. Sharpay, lying on the ground, kicked Gabriella's feet out from under her, causing the brunette to fall as well.

Sharpay's eyes were burning with fury as she got up and tried to run. Gabriella's hand grabbed the blonde's neck and forced her against a wall. As she held the knife to Sharpay's neck, she stared mirthlessly into her eyes and asked, "Anything you'd like me to tell Troy? Maybe something you'd like me to repeat to Ryan after you're dead?"

While Sharpay's face remained angry, her voice betrayed her. "Never talk about...don't...leave them alone!" Sharpay's hand began to tremble as Gabriella loosened her grip.

Adrenaline began to pump through Sharpay's veins and she managed to escape Gabriella's grasp. She deflected the first of Gabriella's punches, but one to her stomach sent her flying into the wall. Her vision became blurry, but she still noticed something moving towards her. A loud thump was enough to tell her Gabriella had fallen as well. As she dusted herself off, Sharpay ran towards the door. Her hand reached the doorknob, but hesitated as she heard Gabriella speak again.

"You know, there is one thing I regret about the night I killed your mother." Gabriella sighed, but Sharpay refused to look at her. Gabriella's voice gained strength and anger as she continued. "Not killing you as well!" With that statement, she made another attempt to hit Sharpay. The knife missed, but Gabriella managed to push Sharpay with all the energy she had. Sharpay flew over to the wall with her head in the lead. One scream and one loud thump later, an unconscious Sharpay fell to the ground.

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3:30PM—Gabriella's neighborhood

Troy sat in a dark blue rental car, wondering if the decision he was about to make was the right one. His hand ran through his hair. It was a nervous habit he picked up during the college admissions process. A scream came from the inside of Gabriella's time told him there was no time left for rationalization. It was finally time for him to make a decision. Running his hand through his hair yet again, he approached Gabriella's front door.

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3:31PM—Gabriella's house

Gabriella jumped as someone knocked on her front door. Troy wasted no time and pushed the door open quickly. A cursory glance around the room left Troy speechless. He pushed Gabriella out of his way and knelt beside a fallen blonde. Tenderly, he tucked her blonde hair beside her ear. A tear fell from his eye when he confirmed that it was Sharpay. After checking for her pulse, he sighed in relief. She was still alive. Barely. The sadness he was feeling stepped aside and let anger take over.

"What the hell happened, Gabriella? What the hell did you do to Sharpay?" His blue eyes were full of fury. His hands were clenched in his fists and it took everything in his power not to hit the woman standing before him. She only stared at him, not answering his question, but he could see the answer in her eyes. Dark curls surrounded her face, but no longer did she look heavenly. Her breathing was heavy and her chest heaved in and out with each breath. Her dark eyes now looked hollow. A knife was clutched in her hand. That didn't tell Troy she had changed though. It was when he glanced at her, when he stared at her, and felt absolutely nothing that told him she wasn't the same Gabriella.

"You hurt her, didn't you?" It wasn't a question for him anymore. It was a statement accusing her for hurting the woman he loved. After seeing her small, unconscious, and broken body, he finally realized what was in his heart. It was Sharpay, it was always Sharpay. "Why, Gabriella? What happened to her?" His strong voice reduced to a whisper. "What the hell happened to you?"

Once again, he sat down next to Sharpay. He tried his hardest to hold the tears back as he fully examined the damage Gabriella had done. Gabriella could only stare as he revealed the bruises and cuts on her former friend. She was numb. She didn't feel anything as he dialed 911 and ordered that an ambulance and police get to her residence immediately. When he yelled at the operator that twenty minutes wouldn't be fast enough, she just stared. She made no response when Troy picked Sharpay up and noticed the wounds on Sharpay's head that were slowly bleeding. None of that surprised her, though. When Troy's fierce blue eyes met hers, she felt nothing. That did surprise her.

Troy carried Sharpay out of the house, mumbling to himself about how incompetent the emergency workers were. He set her down in the back of the car, ignoring the fact that there would be bloodstains on the rental. After kissing her forehead and promising she'd be alright, he drove to the hospital. The car sped along highways and roads, but not so much that she might fall and get hurt even more. Troy ignored the honks and sirens that followed him. All that mattered to Troy in that moment was making sure the woman in the backseat would be alright.

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3:35PM—Hospital

He felt the stark white hospital was mocking him. In a place where he wanted to scream in fury, cry his eyes out, and curse the whole world, the walls appeared white and pure. Troy had managed to avoid the police officers as he ran, with Sharpay in his arms, into the hospital. They followed him into the hospital, but saw his disheveled state and quickly exited. He had screamed that someone get her medical attention quickly. After the receptionist called for an ER team, he watched as they led her away from him. Now he waited to hear if she was going to be alright.

Ryan ran into the hospital and asked Troy what had happened. After hearing that Gabriella had done this to his sister, he was inconsolable. Troy was sure that one part of Ryan was furious that anyone had hurt Sharpay, but that other part of him was trying not to believe it. It was obvious to Troy that Ryan liked Gabriella, maybe even loved her. Now it was killing Ryan that the person he thought he had liked, maybe loved, had hurt his sister.

A doctor walked into the waiting room and Troy immediately recognized him as the one who grabbed Sharpay out of his arms. He motioned for Ryan to follow him and waited for the doctor to reveal the news about Sharpay.

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3:45PM—Gabriella's house

The numbness had disappeared when she remembered the look in Troy's eyes. He looked angry, upset, and disappointed. Even though the butterflies hadn't returned like she expected, the disappointment hurt her anyway. The fight with Sharpay was all a blur. She could barely recall a single moment; she couldn't remember when the violence started or when Sharpay's limp body fell to the ground. The moments Troy spent yelling at her, screaming at her, barely trying to conceal his pain—those moments she could recall clearly.

After sitting by a window, she allowed herself to recall, yet again, her argument with Sharpay. And more importantly, she contemplated her encounter with Troy, the (former?) love of her life. The details remained fuzzy, but she didn't care. The bigger picture, for her, was much more important. Suddenly she couldn't figure out what had caused her to act so brashly that afternoon, and even more so years ago. The obvious answer was that she was merely jealous of the blonde perfectionist, but Gabriella was convinced there was more to it. Her love for Troy, now and then, was an answer that just didn't cut it for her. No one had blamed Gabriella for hating Sharpay that evening after graduation. But what had led her so far as to commit murder? Tears began rolling down her cheeks when she realized there was no reasonable excuse besides an unadulterated hatred for the one person she once considered her best friend.

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4:00PM—Hospital

Her eyes are shut; her hands are cold, and her face is expressionless. The world around him is moving, but he can feel nothing. His hands grasp her right hand and he looks up to see Ryan holding her left hand. Ryan is crying and crying hard. His shoulders are shaking while his face is contorted and dripping with tears. If only Troy could feel that much emotion. Instead, he feels empty and he knows that's even worse. It had started when the doctor came to tell them what had happened to Sharpay.

The doctor seemed reluctant to say anything and Troy was getting impatient. He nearly scoffed when said doctor began to ramble on about the cuts they had found. Seconds after that, Troy was nearly choking the doctor and demanding he tell them what was going on with Sharpay. Ryan tried calming Troy down, but to no avail. The doctor managed to choke out that she was in a coma and suddenly he found himself on the ground. Emotions flickered in Troy's eyes and were followed by sudden emptiness. Since then, Troy was completely void of any feeling whatsoever. Following the doctor, Ryan had led him into the room. Both headed straight for her bed, hoping for any reaction to their presence. They had gotten nothing.

A lot of time had passed since they had stepped into Sharpay's hospital room. Ryan had set his head down next to Sharpay's and made no noise. Troy remained on the opposite side of him. Troy's left hand still grasped her right hand as the other toyed with her hair. Each motion he made was more robotic than the first. He still felt nothing. Suddenly, beeping filled the room and interrupted the silent mourning of both men. Smiling meekly at Ryan, he picked up the cell phone and walked out of the room.

"Chad, listen, man, this isn't the best time ever to call me." Troy's voice was weak and broken, mirroring the emotions inside his heart.

At first, all that could be heard on the other end was screaming and Troy's head began to throb at the noise. Suddenly, the screams were muffled and he could hear Chad's voice again.

"Dude, Troy, we WON! We won the championship game! Too bad I can't interrupt you kissing Gabriella again." Suddenly Chad wished he could take that last sentence back. Troy just remained silent but his heart found its way into his throat and suddenly he couldn't breathe.

"Listen...Troy. I didn't...I forgot...sorry? Uh, um, so where are you right now?"

"Well, I...it's cool, man. I mean, it's not…but it will be? I'm at the hospital right now. Sharpay...she's in a coma. The doctors don't..." Troy's voice suddenly stopped as tears began to fill his eyes. He couldn't comprehend what was going on. She was finally his; he was about to sort everything out. And then. Gone. Just like that. "Hey, I'll call you...later. Alright?"

"Yeah, sure, man. Oh, and listen, Sharpay...she's gonna be alright. Since when has she given up a fight?" Troy managed to smile through his tears as he closed the cell phone and made his way back to the stark white hospital room.

As Troy entered the room, Ryan stood up to leave. His usually vibrant eyes were now red and puffy; a lifeless smile decorated his pale face. Small teardrops were noticeable on Ryan's pale green shirt. Needless to say, Sharpay's blonde twin was basically anything but alright. Silently, Troy approached him trying to apologize and comfort with just one look.

The sound of Ryan's voice was so unexpected that Troy first believed he had only imagined it. His blunt accusations combined with the beeping of the machines brought him back down to reality.

"Sharpay is here because of YOU. She may never WAKE UP. I was sitting here, looking at her, and you know what I realized? It's not Gabriella who did this to her, it's you. Yeah, Gabriella did all that stuff...all that stuff that still hurts to even THINK about, but YOU were the one that told her. She went over to Gabriella's to find out why her BEST FRIEND would ever...I can't even bring myself to say it. She was finally starting to get OVER it. She was almost OKAY. I regret ever thinking you could help my sister. Now, please, get out. Right now."

"But, Ryan...I never—"

"Please, just leave." Even though Ryan's voice was hoarse from crying and no louder than a whisper, the intensity that Troy could see in his eyes was frightening. Not once had he seen Ryan this angry and this hurt. And, as hard as it was for him to leave, Troy allowed his legs to lead him out of Sharpay's room.

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A/N: Alright, I know it's short and you all deserve something much better, but I really just wanted to get this out there and then ask you what you wanted to see happen. Right now I have a vague idea for the ending, hopefully the next chapter, but if there's anything that you desperately want to occur, leave a review and I'll see what I can do.

I really hope you liked this chapter and I'm sorry, once again, that it took so long!

EDIT: Sorry for all the confusion. I went back and edited parts of some of the chapters and I re-did the beginning of this one before re-uploading it so you all could comment. Anyway, don't forget to review!