DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical or any related characters.

A/N: Two more chapters to go and then DF is officially finished! It's quite sad really; I can't believe I'm actually going to finish this story, especially after my lapse. I'm still finding it a bit unbelievable but I know you're all glad that I continued it and that the direction I took with DF is to your approval. I can honestly say there's one more drama left and then it's all over. Done, finished, Troy and Gabriella can settle in and figure themselves out.

So without further adieu, the third last chapter of DF!

Dangerous Fascination

CHAPTER 23

FAIL

He'd spent the entire day doing two things.

Watching Gabriella closely and studying Taylor McKessie's movements.

The first had given him a certain amount of pleasure. He supposed that it was going to become a favorite past time of his, watching Gabriella move through the hallways, waiting for her eyes to flick to his in class as she realized that he was looking at her again as much out of a need to silently stake his claim on her and the pleasure it brought him.

Studying Taylor McKessie's movements through the day, knowing what she had spread with a few well chosen words to some well chosen people and what she was going to have done to Gabriella hadn't given him anything but a sour taste in his mouth. He would have considered himself a fool to believe that he and Gabriella could come to school and try and figure out whatever their relationship was out without anyone trying to interfere. That particular cynicism was the reason he'd been prepared for whatever information Christy had dug up about what everyone was saying about them.

He just hadn't expected what Christy had told him.

Even now, as the day neared an end, he was still surprised by the guts Taylor was showing by orchestrating this plan and trying to see it through. He was also surprised at the one major flaw in her plan. The choice people in the school had been the girls in Christy's squad and Christy had snickered slightly as she'd relayed to him what they had said, adding with an burst of laughter that they had told her because they were afraid of Troy getting angry.

Troy had smirked as she'd told him finding Taylor's underestimation of how the school thought of him amusing.

A revolution only succeeded if the masses were willing and the masses at East High were not willing.

Leaning back in chair, tipping it until two legs were airborne, Troy wondered when Taylor had become desperate enough to try and turn the school's population against him instead of focusing on the rather small issue of his and Gabriella relationship. He had a feeling that it had begun the night she'd come over to tell Gabriella why he'd left.

Though he couldn't be sure of her thought process and how she had arrived at the conclusion which had led her to not only try and destroy Gabriella's interest in him but him as well, he had to applaud the way she had gone about it.

It had been very sneaky, very clever and very Troy-like.

Unfortunately, Taylor had neither the reputation or knew enough of the right people to actually pull it off properly.

So now all he had to do was execute the counter attack which he had planned so meticulously during Homeroom. It had taken him a while to figure out the best opportunity, challenging him slightly until he'd realized that he'd actually missed the challenge of trying to outmaneuver someone. Then the pleasure of being challenged had dissipated slightly as he'd realized that she was trying to destroy something that, though he hadn't quite figure out how to handle it, meant something to him. Something which meant a lot to him.

Which was why, instead of having it happen at the beginning of the day, Troy had chosen to bide his time, making sure Chad or Christy were with Gabriella when he couldn't be and noting that Doug was hovering around her too, no doubt worried about what Taylor had planned.

Though it had amused him at first, Troy had reluctantly began to accept that Doug's presence wherever Gabriella was had been part of the reason Taylor had made her move yet. Apparently, Doug knew something and Troy was going to find out exactly what it was when his teacher finished talking.

"Mr Bolton, can you please inform us what a revolution is?" Mrs Kent's eyes challenged him slightly as the question pulled him away from his thoughts.

"A violent and bloody overthrow of government." Troy smirked slightly, the answer falling from his mouth before he even registered the question. His teacher raised her eyebrows.

"And can you tell me the revolution we're talking about?" She asked and Troy shrugged, letting the chair fall back onto four legs.

"The nineteen-seventeen Russian Revolution when the Romanov's were thrown overthrown and the Bolsheviks came to power after a civil war." Troy replied, knowing the material Mrs Kent had been trying to teach his World History class backwards and already bored with the Russian Revolution.

"Uh-huh. Thank you Troy." Mrs Kent dismissed him as the bell rang and, swinging from his desk without a glance, Troy took two strides and had caught up with Doug, who was packing his books slowly.

"We need to talk Howard." He muttered under his breath as Mrs Kent, who watched the two from behind square frames which made her lined face harsher than it should have been, pretended to be interested in her next lesson plan.

Doug's green eyes widened slightly as he glanced back at him. "I don't what about Troy." Forcing himself not to roll his eyes and remembering that he'd scared Doug the last time he'd spoken to him, Troy spoke again.

"Yes. You do. And you're going to help me because I don't want Gabriella to get hurt." It was said slowly so Doug understood every word and, as he spoke, Troy tried to keep his voice indifferent but was afraid that his voice had hitched a little on Gabriella.

Doug bit his lip and Troy leaned back a little, knowing he'd gotten his message across and gesturing towards the door. Doug, after a moment's contemplation, walked out first, his grip on his books tight. Troy followed and scanned the halls for anything unusual.

"What do you want to know, Troy?" Doug asked glancing around as well, except instead of looking for something unusual, Doug was searching nervously for someone as Troy deliberately steered him in the direction of Gabriella locker.

"Whatever it is that made you tell Gabriella to stay away from Taylor today." Doug's eyes widened in surprise at Troy's words and he darted Troy a look. "I was in the classroom when she walked out." He explained, feeling that he had to tell Doug something like that in case the boy was worried that the reason Troy wanted to talk to him was so he could cut through any hope he connected to Gabriella.

"Oh. Well, I overheard Taylor saying something about talking to Gabriella being the signal for Smith or someone to threaten her about being near you. Something like, 'if you don't leave Troy alone, we'll bash him up'." Doug finished and Troy felt something cold creep into his stomach at the thought of what Gabriella would do if Taylor had enlisted the help of the football captain. The last time Smith had been anywhere near Gabriella she'd been cowering away in fright.

"Hmm. Now, I suppose for Taylor to do that, I'm not meant to be anywhere near her, right?" Troy asked already knowing the answer and intrigued by the idea of interrupting the moment instead of being there when Taylor approached.

Pulling out his phone, Troy's thumb flew over the keys of his phone and he hit send. Tucking the phone back in his pocket, Troy rounded a corner, hardly noticing that Doug had fallen behind him. Feeling his phone vibrate against his leg, Troy pulled it out and read the clipped reply from Chad. As he typed his last text, Troy stopped walking and leaned against the wall.

Glancing up, he caught sight of Gabriella laughing by her locker, her ebony curls shaking as she shook her head and Chad standing beside her grinning at whatever they were laughing about. Hitting send, Troy watched as Chad said something else and Gabriella burst into laughter again as Chad pulled out his phone.

Troy tilted his head slightly when Chad's eyes scanned the halls and latched onto the shadowy figure of his friend as Gabriella turned back to her locker. Troy watched carefully, glancing up the hallway and seeing Taylor hovering near the classroom opposite Gabriella's locker. He only just acknowledged Chad saying something to Gabriella and the hug they exchanged before Chad strode away.

"What's going on, dude? I thought you were going to wait a little while longer." Troy raised a hand to silence Chad as he approached, nodding to Taylor as the brunette glanced down the hallway cautiously and then made her way over to Gabriella.

Glancing at Chad, who looked slightly confused, Troy decided to explain. "Apparently, she's got Smith lined up to threaten Gabriella to leave me alone. I though it'd be more interesting to interrupt them than to confront her about the other things." In full view of everyone in the hallway, too, Troy thought, frowning slightly. He didn't particularly want to cut Taylor down with an audience, having done it a few times before and not enjoying the harsh reality of the scenes.

"You're kidding me! Gabi's terrified of that guy." Chad snapped back and Troy glanced behind him at Chad's outraged tone.

"You sound like an outraged older brother." He commented and Chad glanced at him even as Troy looked back to see Gabriella running a hand through her hair frustrated. Scanning the hall as Chad scoffed slightly; Troy caught sight of Lions and figured that Smith was nearby.

"Yeah well, she'd make a pretty good little sister." Chad muttered darkly as he watched Taylor take an earnest step forward and Gabriella take a careful step back. "You know, you could look more worried." Chad snapped at Troy, who glanced at his friend.

"Why? I'm going to intervene, just not yet. Gotta wait until Smith is there." Troy glanced up the hall again and caught sight of Smith advancing down the hall with measured steps. He didn't look particularly happy, Troy thought, more like he'd rather be going to have a tooth pulled than talk to Gabriella again. He supposed it had something to do with their last exchange and watched as the burly footballer hesitated slightly.

"Smith's there. Are you going to go over now?" There was a touch of animosity in Chad's voice and Troy wasn't sure whether it was because he wasn't going to interfere soon or because Smith was talking to Gabriella.

"In a second." Troy replied, watching closely as Taylor glanced over at Smith and, with a slight tilt of her head, indicated for him to approach.

Calculating the time it would take for Smith to form the words and how quickly he could cover the distance between where he was and Gabriella's locker, Troy made the mistake of glancing at Gabriella and felt something in his stomach jerk at her pale face.

"Shit." He cursed and pushed away from the locker before Chad could ask him what was wrong.

Walking as quickly as he could, Troy wove through the students as Smith took a menacing step toward Gabriella and Taylor fought to keep the smirk from her face. He didn't have to turn to know that Chad was following him closely and, upon reaching his destination, Troy spoke.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" He didn't know that his tone of voice froze the blood pounding through Smith's veins nor did he know that Taylor had gone very still. What Troy was aware of was the shaking of Gabriella's pale frame and the instinctive fury at it.

"Troy! He…he said –" Gabriella's small voice had fury pumping as he took a step so she was shielded by his body.

"Something about if you didn't stay away from me, he was going to hurt me?" Troy's question obviously shocked Taylor whose mouth dropped open in surprise as Smith's hands clenched.

"Yes." Gabriella whispered and Troy shook his head.

"Desperate McKessie." The sneer in his voice was obvious as he saw Chad place a menacing hand on Smith's shoulder. "I seem to recall, Smith, telling you if I catch you doing something like this again, you wouldn't be able to walk out of the school." The quiet warning in Troy's words wasn't hindered by Gabriella's desperate grip on his arm.

Smith's eyes widened and he made a choking sound. "She told me to do it." Troy's eyes flicked to Taylor, who had folded her arms a nasty expression on her face at Smith's juvenile answer.

"I know." Troy said and jerked his head slightly. Chad forcefully turned Smith and pushed him away, a smirk on Chad's face as he watched the big football captain stumble slightly as his body moved faster than his feet.

Troy noted that Chad shoving Smith away had garnered the mild interest of some standing in the hall as he turned his attention back to a scowling Taylor.

"Now, McKessie, maybe you should think about who you're dealing with before you try and pull a stunt like that." Troy spoke calmly, watching as Taylor's scowl deepened and knowing that her mind was ticking over.

"I did think Bolton, why do you think I did it?" She spat it out at him and Troy sighed patronizingly, as if a particularly bright student had missed something.

"Because you hate the fact that I'm just that little bit smarter than you." He replied and Taylor scoffed. "Oh and you hate the fact that Gabriella didn't fall into your plan for her to help you win the Scholastic Decathlon, start an innocent, puppy love relationship with Doug and become your best friend." Troy watched with pleasure as Taylor stiffened at his words.

"I did not plan that!" She snapped as Gabriella's grip on his arm lessened somewhat and he had the distinct feeling she was peering around his side to stare incredulously at Taylor.

"Yes, you did. See, I know you Taylor. It pissed you off when Gabriella didn't fall into your plans the way she was meant too and it pissed you off even more when she chose to get involved with me." Troy smirked slightly. "So instead of letting it all go, you decide to try and manipulate East High into hating me and threaten Gabriella into not seeing me anymore." Troy spoke casually, as if it was common knowledge and watched as Taylor's folded arms fell away in shock.

"You're such a liar Bolton." Taylor hissed lividly, her shock short lived and her fury heightening slightly. Troy shrugged, tugging his arm away from Gabriella hand and folding it across his chest.

"No. See, with me, I choose to omit things, so, technically, it's still the truth, just not the whole truth. But with you, with you it's definitely lies." Troy shook his head slightly as if he couldn't believe Taylor could stoop that low. Instead, he was watching her carefully and waiting for the right time to provoke her into spitting it all out.

Then he would step back and let Gabriella defend herself.

"It isn't lies!" Taylor spat and Troy raised an eyebrow. One more poke, he thought to himself, just one more pointed comment and she'll lose it.

"No? So its more…fairytales?" Troy smirked and Taylor threw her hands in the air.

"Its not fairytales!" Taylor shrieked. "Everyone knows you are a user Troy. Everyone knows you got into the hard drugs when you were young! So what if I may have mentioned that the reason Gabriella was spending so much time with you because you'd gotten her onto a little bit of crack? It's not like it's not true!" Taylor spat out and Troy risked a glance at Gabriella's face as Taylor breathed heavily.

Oh, wasn't this going to be entertaining, he thought as Gabriella stepped forward.

"You said what about me?" Gabriella's voice was quiet as Taylor's hand flew to her mouth as she realized what she'd said. "You said what about me Taylor McKessie?" Gabriella's voice was dangerous as Troy took a step back, placing himself behind her in an offer of support.

"I – I…it was nothing Gabriella. Just nothing." Taylor offered the words weakly, as if she was struggling for a way to work it all out before Gabriella exploded.

"You told people I was on crack!" Gabriella suddenly shouted. "How is that nothing? Do I look like a drug user to you Taylor? Do you seriously think I would ever let myself get into that position?" Taylor shrank slightly at the menace in Gabriella voice even as Troy found himself amused by an anger he'd only ever seen directed at him.

"It wasn't mainly about you, Gabriella, what I said…" Taylor trailed off helplessly as Gabriella waved a hand around mercilessly.

"I heard. What is wrong with you? Do you seriously hate somebody you barely know so much you tell someone that they're a drug user and convinced someone else to do drugs?" Gabriella's voice bordered shrill and Troy glanced at Chad who was shaking in what he supposed was silent laughter. "You know what, don't answer that. Because you know what? You're a shallow minded bitch who can't see that there's something more to everything." Gabriella spat the words out furiously and, though Troy couldn't have found a better way to put it, he was more than surprised by the fact that it had flown out of Gabriella's mouth.

Before Taylor could form a coherent response and the crowd who had slowly begun to surround them could murmur, Gabriella turned around and pushed past Troy. Instead of catching her close the way he wanted to, Troy let Gabriella go, knowing he had to finish dealing with Taylor before he could go after Gabriella.

"Thanks Bolton." Taylor's hissed words had Troy looking back at her. "You totally destroyed my friendship." Troy raised an eyebrow as he noted Chad backing away slightly.

"I think you did that all by yourself McKessie." Troy replied, stretching his arms above his head leisurely. "Now, let's finish off what Brie started. Number one, pulling a stunt like the one you just did with Smith was not a very smart way of going about getting rid of me. Smith's terrified of me and no matter how much you paid him; he wouldn't have gone through with a threat like that." Troy said his voice low, cold and laced with fury.

"Number two, insinuating to someone that I'm a drug addict and have convinced Gabriella to use is plain stupid. My mother was a drug addict, Taylor, as if your brother apparently, so I know you didn't think that one through." Troy watched with satisfaction as Taylor's eyes widened and shock ran through her at his words.

"How do you know that?" She asked spitefully and Troy raised his eyebrows.

"I just do." He whispered. "Number three, trying to destroy me when everyone at East High refuses to see me angry is probably the dumbest thing you could have tried." Leaning away from her slightly, Troy smirked. "You underestimated me McKessie. You underestimated my reputation, my sources but most of all, you overestimated yourself. Revolutions only occur when the masses are behind it." Troy bowed his head slightly, hiding his smirk as Taylor stood there in shock.

Turning, he walked away, ignoring the whispers that broke out as he walked. Turning a corner, he was surprised to see Gabriella leaning against a locker as Chad spoke to her quietly. Walking carefully, Troy approached the two.

"Brie?" He asked quietly and she looked at him, her eyes suspiciously bright and Troy sighed. "Thanks Chad." He muttered quietly.

Chad nodded once and then backed away from the two carefully. Troy waited until he was sure Chad was a fair distance away from them before he reached over and carefully pulled Gabriella into his arms.

She snuggled into his body the same way she did when he'd slept with her and Troy whispered his lips through her hair as she clung.

"How could she do that to me?" Gabriella whispered and Troy sighed, knowing that Gabriella wouldn't listen now. It surprised him slightly how quickly she'd gone from angry to upset and then speculated that maybe her rant would have been longer if it hadn't been induced by shock at what Taylor had said.

"If I tell you now, you won't listen." Troy murmured into her hair and the arms around his waist tightened. "Come on, let's go." Troy didn't move just yet, knowing that Gabriella would need a few more seconds of clinging to him before she would willingly move.

Forcing back a sigh, he absently drew circles on her back. He had to admit, he hadn't thought it would be that easy but then again, Taylor had underestimated him in her haste to get rid of him. She obviously hadn't thought he would find out something like that so quickly and she clearly hadn't thought through any sort of argument if he had found out.

But that wasn't what he was so…disappointed about. No, what had disappointed him was that Taylor had stooped low enough to get someone who Gabriella was scared of to scare her again. What had disappointed him was that Taylor had underestimated not only him but the students of East High.

Rubbing Gabriella's back gently, Troy sighed. "Come on, let's go." He said softly and Gabriella nodded.

Stepping away from Gabriella, Troy wondered if she was going to let go of him and then decided that she wouldn't. Keeping his arm around her shoulders, Troy steered Gabriella towards the entrance and ignored the looks he was receiving.

He knew that Gabriella was going to want to talk when she recovered and he knew that he was going to have to explain why Taylor had done this when she recovered from the shock and hurt which were currently haunting her now.

Even as he steered her out, Troy knew that he was going to be okay talking to Gabriella. Especially after Taylor's failed revolution.

A/N: I'm not too sure about this chapter, thought Gabriella's reaction to it will become apparent next chapter. I just kind of think Gabriella'd go into shock instead of into a raging fury that last for a few pages with all that she's gone through. And Taylor underestimated Troy, of all the silly things she could have done. Anyway, I know it may not seem like the best chapter but as runninequalslife pointed out, the stories winding down so thats how the Taylor drama ends. Sorry if it was a little bit underwritten or whatever. I hope you all enjoyed anyway.