Okay guys, this chapter is the beginning of the end of the story. There's still a little bit to go through, but there's only like 4 more chapters left. And yes, if you're a Simple Plan fan, you'll probably recognize the title of this chapter (Hint hint, wink wink) :)
Troy sighed and held his head in his hands. It's been approximately 14 hours and 8 minutes since the Troyella breakup, but who's counting?
The blue eyed teen got absolutely no sleep the night before. He couldn't help but feel that he broke up with her for no reason. He was starting to get the impression that she didn't cheat on him, but he still knew that she was hiding something from him. Why else would she make up those excuses? For her health?
Troy groaned and stood up, throwing his lunch tray in the trash. He ignored the protests and questions that he received from Chad and the gang and turned the corner, letting his feet take him anywhere. He didn't care. He just wanted to get away from the memories of him and Gabriella goofing off at lunch.
He walked for a good 10 minutes before finding himself in a foreign setting. He sighed and walked into the room. The music room. This brought back memories. He and Brandon would go the music room in middle school and goof around with the drums and guitars. Kelsi and Sharpay would help them make up silly songs that they would sing when they were either depressed or bored. They had so much fun before...it happened.
Troy grabbed a stray guitar and sat down on the stool beside the piano. The only people who knew he played guitar were Brandon and Jason. Troy learned when he was 10 and loved it ever since. He took private lessons with Jason, who was a pro guitar player, and was almost as good as him. Jason has played ever since he was 4, so no one could name a non famous person who was more experienced than him.
Troy strummed a few chords and felt the words fly to his brain like wildfire. He was pretty good at making up lyrics quickly, but not like this. It was like a song that he listened to 100 times. He took a deep breath and started singing:
"Take a breath
I pull myself together
Just another step till I reach the door
You'll never know the way it tears me up inside to see you
I wish that I could tell you something
To take it all away
Sometimes I wish I could save you
And there're so many things that I want you to know
I won't give up till it's over
If it takes you forever I want you to know
When I hear your voice
It's drowning in a whisper
You're just skins and bones
There's nothing left to take
No matter what I do I can't make you feel better
If only I could find the answer
To help me understand
Sometimes I wish I could save you
And there're so many things that I want you to know
I won't give up till it's over
If it takes you forever I want you to know
That if you fall, stumble down
I'll pick you up off the ground
If you lose faith in you
I'll give you strength to pull through
Tell me you won't give up cause I'll be waiting if you fall
You know I'll be there for you
If only I could find the answer
To take it all away
Sometimes I wish I could save you
And there're so many things that I want you to know
I won't give up till it's over
If it takes you forever I want you to know
I wish I could save you
I want you to know
I wish I could save you..."
Troy's head shot up like a rocket when he heard the clicks of high heeled shoes take off down the hallway. He sighed one last time before placing the guitar back where he found it and walking out the door, Brandon's face etched in his mind the whole way.
--
...The Next Day...
Troy slowly walked to homeroom the next morning, the lyrics to his song still replaying in his mind. He just couldn't seem to forget them.
He walked into homeroom and smiled at all his friends and classmates. Sharpay sat at her seat in the front of the room filing her nails, humming a tune quietly. Troy just ignored it, but he stopped dead in his tracks when he recognized the tune.
"Shar?"
"Hmm?"
"What are you humming?"
"Oh nothing," Sharpay replied with a grin. "Just something that I heard somewhere. You know it too?"
"I don't know. Where'd you hear it?" Troy asked, afraid of the answer.
"I heard someone playing in the music room yesterday at lunch. Would you happen to know anything about that?" Sharpay cockily asked, raising an eyebrow and the grin on her face widening with every passing second.
Troy groaned and collapsed in Ryan's seat. "How'd you find me?"
"Me and Kelsi went to go look for you after you left and heard something in the music room. I didn't know you played guitar."
Troy shrugged "Brandon and Jason are the only ones who know."
"So I'm guessing you learned back when you and him were still friends." Troy nodded and lowered his gaze to the desk in front of him.
Sharpay sighed "Troy, just tell him the truth."
"What truth?"
"Troy, I know why you ditched him back in 7th grade. I know about who's forcing you to stay away from him."
The color in Troy's face drained and his eyes widened. "How'd you know about that?" He asked lowly.
"I found out the day after it happened. Chad just can't seem to keep his mouth shut, now can he?"
"Asshole..." Troy growled, glaring at his friend who was flirting with Taylor.
"Troy, you have to end this. It's child abuse." Sharpay worried aloud.
Troy nodded "I know. It's been happening for 5 years now. I'm getting sick of it. Why didn't you say anything earlier?"
"I didn't want you to feel pressured even more. I figured that you already had enough weight on your shoulders."
Troy nodded as a thank you. "Thanks. It worked."
Sharpay giggled "What are friends for?"
Troy outstretched his arms and Sharpay accepted them, concealing him in a friendly hug. "You're a lifesaver Sharpay."
"Me?" she asked, shocked. "You're the one who's saving Brandon from that monster."
"I know," Troy sighed "But it's people like you who kept me from cracking."
Sharpay just smiled and nodded. At that moment, the bell rang and Ryan came flying in, covered in sweat.
"Woah!" Troy said, getting out of the blonde's seat. "What happened to you?!"
Ryan, breathing heavily, answered "Car...ran out...of gas. Had...to...run...in 3 minutes."
Sharpay shuddered. "Thank God I caught the bus and didn't catch a ride with you."
Ryan nodded and fell into his seat. Troy maneuvered over to his seat a few desks away and waited for the morning announcements to end, Sharpay's words still replaying in his mind.
--
...2 Days Later...
It's been 3 days since the Troy and Gabriella split and mysteriously, Troy hasn't seen her since. He was actually starting to worry about her. What if this was a blast from the past? Brandon broke up with a girl in middle school and she killed herself because she actually thought that he loved her.
"Don't worry Troy," Chad comforted his friend, as if reading his thoughts. "I'm sure that she's just sick."
Troy slowly shook his head. "I don't know man. I don't have a very good feeling about this."
The bell finally rang, signaling the end of the day. As Troy stood up, he froze. A plan started forming in his mind. He grinned and ran out the door to his car.
10 minutes later, Troy pulled up to a familiar house. He got out of the car and trotted up the stairs. He rang the doorbell and anxiously waited for an answer.
When the door opened, the person answered perkily "Troy! Hi!"
Troy smiled nervously "Hi Ms. Montez. Is Gabriella home?"
Gina sighed "Sadly, no. I haven't seen her for the past 2 days. Oh! Where are my manners? Come in!"
Troy nodded and stepped inside the house that he hasn't been in for 5 years, besides Gabriella's room.
"Are you hungry? I'm making brownies." Gina offered, leading him to the kitchen.
"Sure, I haven't eaten all day." Troy gratefully accepted. "The school was serving tuna casserole today."
Gina laughed and pulled the freshly baked brownies out of the oven. "So, what brings you here? Surely you've known that Gabriella hasn't been around for a few days."
Troy nodded and sighed, pulling a brownie from the plate. "That's what I came to talk to you about. I...uhh...broke up with her on Monday and haven't seen her since."
"Oh my God. Why?" Gina gasped.
Troy sheepishly said "A while ago, we made a promise to never hide anything from each other while we were together. I called her while I was in the hospital and she sounded really rushed and nervous. Then I heard a guy in the background."
"Oh my God. Was she cheating on you?"
Troy shook his head "I thought she was at first, but then everyone came to me and said that she wasn't. She kept telling me that she wasn't and I eventually believed her, but she still didn't tell me what she was hiding. I just found it hard to keep trusting her after that, so I broke up with her until she could tell me."
Gina sighed and finished her half eaten brownie. "Wow. Who would've thought that my daughter could get herself into such a mess?"
Troy laughed and took another brownie. "Yeah. But now I have a feeling that I broke up with her for no reason. Like she was hiding something from me for a reason."
Gina grinned "Well, I know Gabriella and she would never hurt the one's she loves, including you. Trust me, she can't stop talking about you."
Troy blushed and stuffed the brownie in his mouth to keep from saying anything else.
Gina just laughed again and said "You know, Gabriella and Brandon are alike in so many ways. If they weren't twins, I would be kinda scared. Anyways, do you remember that time last where Brandon didn't come to school for a week?"
Troy nodded.
"He was fighting with you and got sick of it, so he ran to his father's house just to be with Gabriella. He figured that she was the only person who could help him, even if his father was there."
Troy nodded, looking at the ground when she mentioned him fighting with Brandon.
"He came back home with a new energy in him. I knew that those two helped each other out a lot, but never like that. It was like nothing was wrong in his life."
Troy sighed, keeping his gaze on the ground.
"Chase called me a few months ago and told me that he had gotten out of rehab. He was a whole new person and you could tell he wasn't lying. He was permanently sober."
Troy smiled and reached for another brownie, but it immediately dropped as he froze. His eyes widened as a thought ran through his mind.
"Are you alright Troy?" Gina asked, noting his strange behavior all of a sudden.
"You said that Brandon ran to his dad's house when things got complicated around here?"
Gina nodded.
"Gabriella was there and helped him feel better about it. They're alike in a lot of ways and always run to each other when things get hard. Your ex got out of rehab a few months ago and then Brandon ran away after he stabbed me without telling anyone where he was going. Then Gabriella just ran away a few days ago." Troy looked up at Gina, who had a confused look on her face. "Ms. Montez, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
Gina continued to think for a few moments before gasping "Are you saying that she's at her father's house?"
Troy nodded "This is probably the same situation that happened last year, only it's Brandon who's helping out Gabriella instead of the opposite."
Gina smiled widely and threw her arms around Troy. "Troy, you're a genius! Thank you so much!"
Troy hugged her back and replied "Don't worry about it. It was nothing."
Gina parted from her daughter's ex boyfriend and said "No, you helped me find my children! I was about to send a search party to find her!"
"What about Brandon? He's been gone for a month and a half now."
Gina answered "I knew he was there. Where else would he be?"
Troy shrugged "He could've gone to Isabelle's house."
"Who's Isabelle?"
Troy laughed "She's my cousin that moved here a few months ago. Brandon saved her from getting raped at our last dance and they eventually got together. But then she moved back to California."
Gina huffed and placed her hands on her hips "Why wasn't I informed that Brandon was with someone who wasn't Amy?"
Troy again laughed "I don't know. I was trying to forget about it too."
Gina rolled her eyes playfully, then said "Troy, can I ask you something?"
Troy nodded "Sure. What is it?"
"What happened 5 years ago?"
Troy again froze. He sighed and whispered "I'm sorry. I can't tell you."
"Troy..."
"Ms. Montez, I promise you that you'll eventually find out, but I just can't tell you now."
"Do you honestly hate my son?"
Troy shook his head "Not at all. Brothers can't ever hate each other."
Gina smiled "Good. That's all I wanted to know. When can I find out the reason?"
Troy answered "Hopefully in a few days. I need to get this whole thing over with. I've waited way too long."
Gina nodded "Please bring my kids back to me. You can get them to come back easier than I can."
Troy skeptically asked "What about Brandon? I'm afraid to get on the bus with him on it, let alone the same car."
Gina shook her head "He took his car and so did Gabriella."
Troy sighed "Good point. Okay, I'll do it."
Gina hugged him again "Thank you Troy. You're a lifesaver."
Troy smiled "Again, no problem. I'll hopefully be back tomorrow."
Gina nodded "Alright. And Troy?"
"Yeah?"
Gina took out a container and put the rest of the brownies in it. "Take these. Give some to Chase too. He can't resist them, just incase he refuses to let them leave, which I doubt will happen but hey, you never know."
Troy smiled at her and took the box. "Thanks Ms. Montez."
"Troy, please call me Gina. You've known me for years and Ms. Montez makes me feel so old."
"Okay. Thanks Gina."
With that, Troy ran out of the house and got into his car. When he was about to pull away, he said to himself "Oh shit." He stopped the car and got out. He opened the door to the Montez house and called "Gina?"
"Yeah?" Gina came out of the kitchen with chocolate on her hands, obviously making more brownies.
"I forgot to ask for the address to the house."
"Oh! Of course, silly me." She washed her hands and wrote down the directions for the house. She gave them to Troy and said "Thanks again for this Troy. You really are a son to me."
"Not in the last 5 years, but before, you were like a second mom to me."
Gina nodded with a smile and ushered him out of the house. Troy got back into his car and started it again, starting to the house that would unknowingly change his life forever.
Yay! The next 2 or 3 chapters will be the most shocking chapters EVER! Just a warning, you'll be on the edge of your seat. Troy's reason finally comes out next chapter!
Oh yeah, and 2 more days until the deadline for the contest! I've only gotten 3 stories and there were 9 entries! Come on people! I wanna read what you've read :)
Rachel :)
Sneak At Next Chapter
- Troy arrives at Chase's house
The door finally opened. "Umm, hello." Chase greeted, confused.
"Hi Mr. Montez. I-I'm Troy Bolton. Is Gabriella here?"
- Troyella make up
"So we're good?" Troy asked, outstreaching his arms.
"Yeah. I love you Troy." Gabriella replied, burrying herself in Troy's chest.
"Love you too Gabby."
- Troy's reason is revealed
"You lied to me and ruined my life! How can I forgive you for that?!" Brandon yelled.
"Just let me explain Brandon." Troy calmly said, taking a step forward.
"Explain what?! How you never cared about me?!"
"No! How I've spent the last 5 years protecting you from getting killed!" Troy finally exploded, causing Brandon to back up.
"What?" Brandon whispered.
Trivia
- Troy was supposed to sing the song after school, but I decided not to
- The song is "Save You" by Simple Plan (Going back to the first author's note)
Announcments:
One more thing. shortytori322821 made the trailer for the first episode of this on youtube. She's making this into a series on youtube! Gotta love her! She wants 8 comments before finally uploading the first episode! Go watch it and comment! Her penname on youtube is the same as it is on here.
Plus, I also deleted most of my oneshots and songfics and just made a "story" with them. It's called "BlackBeauty613's Oneshot's and Songfics" So if you're looking for one of my short stories and you can't find it, just click on that story and rummage through the chapters until you find it :)