This was supposed to be a oneshot, then a two shot, but now it will be a threeshot I guess. I'm not sure yet, but I'm just doing this for fun cuz I never done a fragile Gab, mine are always so strong and decided, lol. Ok, so I hope you enjoy it. Ah, I have two other stories that you guys should definitely read as well - Brantwoods' Cowboy and Inked - yeah, cuz I apparently just want to die writing, lol. Anyway, It would make me pretty happy to have you guys reading my other projects too.... Ok, that's enough. Take caree!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"Please open your eyes,
Help me clear my clouded mind,

Won't you tell me that we're gonna be alright.
"

SAVE ME, RON POPE.

Gabriella was going to die.

She could feel it in the air, she could smell the scent of her dead body already. No, she was not overreacting, she had confirmation that she was going to die. Anna had warned her Sunday night that her life would be over by Monday afternoon. She was really going to be dead at age 17, without graduating high school, without having a family, without visiting Europe. Why couldn't her mother take her to Europe instead of Hawaii? It was never her dream to go to the beach, she never wanted to lie down on the sand, letting the sun burn her skin as if she was a toast. That was not what she wanted.

Anna, sweet and adorable Anna to everybody – but bitchy Anna to her, had used the same communication device Troy Bolton used to wish her happy birthday on the weekend, to inform her to be ready for her death Monday. The message was direct and short, but it was enough to start the first and last one of her sleepless nights.

She knew she shouldn't have trusted a jock. Troy had failed on protecting their little secret. The only reason Anna would have to take five minutes from her precious life and text her, would be to protect her reputation. The amazing soccer captain she had almost started fangirling about had stabbed her in the heart, with a very, very sharp knife.

Ignoring her trembling legs, Gabriella stepped inside East High School for the last time of her life. She let her eyes wander around the corridors, saving the colors, the lockers, the doors, the people. She wanted to take it all with her to heaven, or her next life or whatever the place was when you died by the hands of her enemy and own blood. Oh such cruel destiny she had.

Her small hands traced the EH's walls as she walked slowly to her locker, where she knew her cousin would be expecting her. Maybe she could kill herself later, after she said goodbye to Connor and Taylor. She deserved a last wish, didn't she? She was almost certainly she did, she had seen it her entire life in books and movies.

As she spotted the beauty that was Anna Montez and her perfect presence standing in front of her locker, Gabriella felt chills running down her spine. Her heart accelerated and she felt bile rising in the back of her throat. Ah, why her? Why couldn't her cousin pick on someone else? There were so many other dorks around school and she had to be the one she chose. Such bad luck.

Anna walked towards her, closing the small gap between the two Montez, her lips twisting disgustedly as she faced herself in front of her nerd cousin. God only knew what people would say if they saw her talking with Gabriella in the middle of the corridor. Popular people and nerds do not mix. She needed to finish this faster.

"Listen Gabriella…" she began with nasalized voice, wrapping one arm around her cousin's wrist tightly, "I'm going to ask you something and you are going to tell me the truth, or else you really are going to die like I informed you by the text"

Gabriella cringed, not only at the mention of her death again, but at the fact Anna was squeezing her wrist so strongly she was afraid she'd get home with another bruise today and it was only the beginning of the day, school hasn't even started officially. Damn it.

"Anna, you're hurting me…" she said in a small voice, almost pleading, but her cousin only rolled her eyes, "Please, let me go, I'll tell you everything you want to know, but let go of me"

Anna ignored her pleadings and locked her beautiful eyes at her cousin's contorted with pain face, "I bumped into that Greek girl Trisha Papadelias on the mall Saturday and she asked me if you and I were related"

Gabriella gulped slightly at Anna's aggressive tone of voice, but her insides relaxed completely when she realized Troy was not the reason her cousin was angry at her. He had kept their secret, he didn't tell Anna they talked, he never mentioned the fact he held her hand and sent her a text.

"I don't want to believe that you are telling every person in school that you are my cousin, I presume you are wiser than that, aren't you?"

She nodded helplessly and bit her lip weakly, "But it's not really hard to find out we are cousins, Anna…" Gabriella protested softly, "We do have the same last name…"

Anna squeezed her wrist tightly again and Gabriella winced painfully, tears stinging her eyes. "Shush, Gabriella" she searched around for any students, breathing in relief when no one heard what the shorter Montez had just said, "You don't tell we're related out loud even to that dorky boyfriend of yours. You know what, don't even think about it"

"Anna—"

"Gabriella, don't ever pronounce my name, okay? You are trash, garbage" she shook her head slowly, taking her hand off Gabriella as if she just saw herself holding someone that had a fatal disease, "Eww. I touched you"

She bit her lip as she felt tears prickling in the corner of her eyes. Why did Anna need to treat her like that? She knew how much Gabriella loved her, even after everything she done to her. She could still remember all the great times they spent together when they were kids, when they promised they'd be friends forever. All lies that she could not forget yet. She could accept that Anna didn't want to be friends with someone so different than her, but Gabriella would never understand the reason to that.

"Ohh, are you going to cry?" Anna asked teasingly and she looked up for a second, the biggest mistake of her life, to stare at her cousin's mocking expression. Sniffing, she turned around and ran as fast as her legs allowed to the only place she could hide from anyone in East High School. It was the only place she felt safe and free from the constant pain the jocks made her go through.

Her beloved library.

Gabriella pushed the heavy doors open, searching for any sign of someone inside, now walking slowly to the back of the library, a place she used to go everytime she felt like she needed to think. The bigger shelves were the perfect spot for her to be without anyone seeing her, without people laughing or mocking her for being such a baby. She hated to cry because of Anna, she hated to cry because she was bullied. She just wanted High School to be over.

The library was where she loved to be. Surrounded by books, far away from people that just hurt for pleasure. Not even Connor or Taylor knew where she used to hide. They couldn't imagine she loved being in the very far corner of the big library, hidden in the middle of dust and old books that no one ever searched for.

She slid against the dark wooden book shelves, finally letting her body release all the frustration of having another unpleasant encounter with Anna Montez.

Gabriella tilted her head back and breathed through her mouth as she felt hot tears streaming from her eyes and slide down her cheeks.

"Crap…" she mumbled fragilely to herself as a loud sob escaped her puffy lips and she locked eyes with the already red bruise around her wrist, wondering what she'd tell her mother this time. Things would be so easier if she didn't feel so embarrassed to admit she was bullied at school. Maybe her mother could help her, maybe the principal would talk to Anna, who was her bigger problem. But who would believe her? Anna wore the mask of the perfect person so well, she was afraid people would think she was crazy for accusing her.

She snapped out of her misery for a second as the loud you've got mail echoed in the empty room, scaring more than ever her already shaky figure. Gabriella retrieved it from her pocket and her eyes scanned the initials on the display: T.B.

Her mind protested that now was not the perfect time to fangirl with a message from the most attractive and popular guy in school and enjoy a bit longer her pain, but her heart accelerated immediately with the idea of receiving another message from him. She wiped her tears from her cheeks delicately and as she was about to press the read button, footsteps interrupted her, obliging her trained eyes to look up at the sympathetic eyes of no one else than Troy Bolton.

"Don't need to read the message anymore" he said calmly, sliding against the shelves opposite to her, sitting cross legged on the floor in front of her, in all his God like presence to her, mere mortal, "I found you already"

Gabriella shouldn't be paying attention to looks when she felt miserable, but Troy Bolton looked so beautiful, even when it was only 7:30 in the morning. Wasn't it a crime to be so handsome? Today his floppy hair was not hidden by the hoodie, instead of it falling freely in his eyes. His face was clean and fresh, as if the bath he took before getting to school was really long. His red t-shirt had a big white Wildcat on it and he wore dark jeans and tennis shoes as usual, as every other jock in school. But Troy was different, no other jock would mind looking for her and sitting with her in a place full of dust that smelled oddly.

"What are you doing here?"

"I followed you" he admitted in a low and pleading voice. Gabriella pursed her lips, her brow wrinkled in curiosity. "Is it too creepy?"

Immediately she shook her head negatively, "I saw you talking with Anna when I arrived and then you ran away. Was she mean to you? That's why you're crying?"

"I am not crying" she protested automatically, but as she felt a tear catch in the corner of her eye, she reached up rapidly and wiped it away with the back of her hand. She looked up at him and he was frowning deeply and Gabriella felt guilty. Why she felt like she couldn't keep secrets away from him?

"Okay…" she whispered, "But just a little"

Troy sat closer to her, till their knees were brushing lightly against the other. Gabriella tried to ignore the feeling like having butterflies inside her stomach as he got closer to her, mostly because she had a boyfriend, one she loved very much. One that even in the beginning of their relationship never gave her butterflies. Or if that was what she was really feeling, because she couldn't put in words her emotions right now.

"Where she hurt you?"

The mass of thoughts inside her head were making her confused. Why did Troy sound so pained as he spoke? Why she felt so weird near him? God, what was happening to herself and her body!

She timidly raised her arm, showing him her dark red wrist. Troy leaned closer, looking intently at her newly made bruise. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, shaking his head slowly, "This can't happen anymore, Gabriella" he closed his hand around her wrist, caressing with his thumb her sensible skin, soothing immediately her itching bruise, "You can't keep getting hurt"

"Anna was mad because some people know we are related" Gabriella explained in a whisper, biting her lip firmly and holding back a sob that wanted to roll off her mouth, "She gets upset a lot with me"

Troy sighed deeply, "I know. She's very immature some times"

She shrugged her shoulders and looked down at his thumb still stroking her skin gently, "I thought it was your fault… that you told her we talked and she got angry"

He chuckled lightly and raised his free hand to brush her hair out of her eyes, "Gabriella, believe me. I won't tell anyone our secret. It's just between you and me"

"Entre toi et moi" she repeated the words he used on her birthday and looked up at him, her puffy lips curving lazily in a half-smile, "I should have known"

Grinning, he ran his thumb down her cheeks, wiping her tears away, "I heard you have French classes. I thought you'd like it"

She nodded her head, unable to stop the smile from her lips. She watched as Troy observed her, as he raised his hand again to cup her cheek, frowning so deep that Gabriella felt the urge to run her fingers across his forehead and send his worries away.

Her smile faded away as he stopped the caress on her wrist, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing"

"Gabriella—"

"Can I ask you something?" Troy nodded firmly and his hand that once caressed her rested on her knee gently. She could feel every action of his body quicken her blood and agitate her mind. She never realized Troy was so touchy before, she had never seen him as comfortable as he seemed to be with her, sitting in the back of the library, hidden in the middle of books, with Anna or any of his friends. It was so strange to see him like this, as if his life depended of every touch of his hand to her skin. Strange, but yet amazing to think that Troy Bolton craved for her, even a little.

Oh, you wish Gabriella.

"Why do you want to be my friend Troy?"

"Because" he bit his lip, tilting his head to the side, thoughtful, "You intrigue me. You are different from anyone else in this school. I like it. I wish I could be just like you"

Shock clearly overcame her face as she stared in those big light blue eyes. Her breathing sped up, her mind in awe of what he just said. Troy seemed amused and she knew it was because her eyes were as large as fish eyes. Realization hit her hard – Troy was really a good guy. He was different from any other jock in the school, he was probably the best of them all.

"Why would you want to be like me?" she asked in a whisper and he shrugged.

"Isn't it obvious? You are who you are. You don't wear masks like everyone else just to please people. I'm tired of having to be someone I am not when I'm around them" he pointed with his thumb towards Gabriella, but above her head and to the direction she knew would take her to the library's doors and back to the East High's corridors. "I wish I could be myself with them. But I know they wouldn't like what I am"

"Who's the real Troy Bolton, then?"

Troy looked down as he blushed again, "The real Troy Bolton is right here with you. That's what I am, no masks… as transparent as water"

Okay, fangirling mode on. God help me. "I like the real Troy then"

"I like what I am when I'm around you too" his large hand stroked her cheek delicately and he let it ran down her arm, capturing her hand that was on her knees and intertwining their fingers, "You make me feel strong. Just as strong as I wanted to be out there… as strong as I want you to be... to face Anna"

"I couldn't"

"People like you can have the world if they want" Troy assured her and she considered asking what kind of person she was, but found herself hypnotized by his gaze, "You are so much better than every other jock here, Gabriella. You just need to believe that"

Gabriella nodded helplessly and he offered her a reassuring smile, his fingers rubbing the palm of her hand, relaxing her body completely, "You don't need to be saved from anyone, only yourself"

He raised their laced hands and touched his lips to the bruise on her wrist. She held her breath as his mouth began to trace the sensible skin at the same time her heart skipped a beat. "If you start believing you don't have to be treated like crap, they won't treat you like that"

"So…" she began slowly, "I'm the main reason I'm drowning in this mess?"

Troy smiled amusedly but let go of her hand, standing up swiftly. Gabriella bit her lip, she wanted him to be there with her forever if possible, just talking, just telling her what she needed to do to be a better person, the person she believed he already was.

"Look around, Gabriella. You're hiding in the library" he shrugged his shoulders, "And I thought you'd be the one to save us all"

"Oh…"

So he believed in her? Since when? Gabriella couldn't remember Troy staring at her, studying her nor even talking to her before. How could he consider her their savior? Why he talked like he knew her so well? God, what the heck was going on?

"Troy?"

"Mmhmm"

"Anna doesn't like me" she stated the obvious, looking up at his calm expression. "She wouldn't tell you anything about me"

"Aren't we a genius, Gabriella?" he asked contently, winking at her and almost making her faint. "It won't take you long to realize some things you should know by now. Just do me a favor"

"Anything" she mumbled automatically.

He crouched down in front of her and their eyes met, so intensely she thought her brain had stopped working. Troy leaned closer again and it seemed he was going to kiss her. She could feel he was going to kiss her. His hot breath tickled her lips pleasurably and she squeezed her eyes shut hard.

Oh my God. Should I want this as bad as I want?

Troy sighed loudly, cupping her face with his large hands, moving one hand to the corner of her mouth. His thumb stroked so gently her bottom lip that it was like he never really touched her. For a second she considered it was only her mind playing tricks on her, but it would be just impossible as his finger lingered on her skin.

"Keep your head up. Be the one to save us…" he pleaded in a low and husky voice, "Be my savior"

As she opened her eyes again, Troy was no longer there. Tilting her head back against the books shelves, she breathed deeply through her mouth. She couldn't be dreaming because her skin still conserved the effects of having him so close to her.

Jesus H. Christ, how did we get here in only a week?

"We're screaming through the dark,
Won't you save me from myself.
"