I hurried with this one… THANKS for your reviews. I loved all of them. 
 Enjoy and review!
LY Mitchi

Then, his mind wandered back to Gabriella and her words.

I can't if you keep on denying what's happening between you and your dad.

Before he could clearly think about her words, he was already changed and lying down, closing his eyes, sleep taking over him.

Two and a half weeks passed since Troy and Gabriella kissed, and since she left him standing in the hallway.

Neither Gabriella nor Troy had spent a night without thinking about the kiss, even though Troy thought about it less than Gabriella did. He was practicing every single day, not caring about his foot or lack of food. His foot stopped hurting, and so he practiced with extra intensity… but he "forgot" to eat, with the sole exception of two apples in three days.

Instead of a daily meal he had a new routine – cutting. Every evening, he sat in his room, making deep cuts on his left arm. Slowly, the cuts all over healed.

Troy's dad and stepmom had been back for a few days, and his dad was making him practice even harder and longer – the big game was coming up and the wildcats needed to win.

Troy

Tomorrow was the big game. An important one – a very important one. My dad made it clear to me that the team needed to win.

I sat on my bed, the familiar razor blade in my right hand, watching the blood running down my left forearm, revealing a three inch long cut on the inside. I didn't feel the pain anymore. I brought the blade back to my arm, cutting down more than half the length of my arm. A sharp pain instantly overcame me and I immediately dropped the razor. I had cut myself really deeply – blood came to the surface at high speed, and soon I felt dizzy. I walked to my bathroom, quickly searching for the first aid kit. When I found it, I took out a bandage, and bandaged my forearm. I planned to wear an extra shirt to hide it the next day.

After cleaning up the blood and washing the razor blade, I changed and went to bed. I was exhausted and thinking about the upcoming game didn't help me feel any better. My growling stomach kept me awake for an extra hour, stopping when it knew I wouldn't eat. My stomach needed to be content with the apples.

The Next Day, During the Game

The game lasted for twenty – four minutes. I counted the seconds until the game would end. I was tired and my breathing was shallow. Chad looked at me from time to time, but I didn't care. I had other things to think about. My view was "decorated" with black spots, but I couldn't faint, or else my dad would kill me.

I saw at him smiling at me. Evilly…

Jack

The team was sixteen points ahead. It was a thought that made me smile, but I also smiled because of Troy. He was already near fainting, but he kept on playing, and I wouldn't change the players. I was pushing him to the edge – he deserved it.

Troy

I concentrated on the game again. I passed the ball to Chad because I couldn't score at the moment. Just as the ball left my hand, the captain of the other team rammed me with such force – I felt myself fainting as his shoulder hit my jaw.

Gabriella

In less than a second, the entire gym realized that the other team's captain knocked out Troy. I looked at Chad, who motioned me to come down. I descended from the bleachers and waited by the door.

Shortly afterward, Chad came up to me, looking worried. "They're taking him to the hospital."

"Really? Did they find out?"

He shook his head. "They only said he got knocked out by the other captain. They want to make sure his head's okay."

I nodded and watched as one of the paramedics told Coach Bolton not to worry, because his son would be fine. Then, they put Troy on a stretcher and left the gym, with Chad and I following closely behind.

Chad told Coach Bolton that we'd go with him. Chad drove to the hospital, his car closely behind the ambulance. While driving to the hospital, we called our parents, telling them not to worry.

At the Hospital

Chad and Gabriella arrived at the hospital and hurried to the porter.

"How can I help you?" he asked, smiling at them politely.

"We're here because of Troy Bolton. He must've arrived a few minutes ago."

"Are you family?"

"I'm his best friend and this is his girlfriend."

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you anything."

Gabriella looked down, tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn't deny it anymore… she was falling for Troy. The porter must've noticed, because he looked around to make sure no one was there and said, "just sit down in the waiting room. He's in surgery."

Gabriella looked up, her eyes wide. "Surgery?"

"I can't tell you more, I'm sorry… and if a doctor comes, he can't tell you anything either unless his parents show up."

Chad nodded. "Thank you," he said. He led Gabriella to the waiting room, and the two of them sat down.

"How will we know how he's doing?" Gabriella asked.

"I guess we'll have to wait until his dad comes," Chad said hesitantly.

"You think he and Troy's stepmom will show up?"

He shrugged. "I hope so…" Gabriella nodded, and Chad consoled, "he'll be fine, don't worry."

"I hope so…" She leaned her head on Chad's shoulder and closed her eyes, hiding the sadness showing in them. After some time, the porter returned, telling them that Coach Bolton couldn't "make it".

"He won't show up," Gabriella whispered when he was gone.

"I know," Chad sighed.

"Why did you tell him I was Troy's girlfriend?"

Chad looked at her. "First of all, you want to see him too, and second, you will be."

Gabriella blushed and closed her eyes again.

Three Hours Later

Gabriella slept in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs while Chad paced back and forth. A doctor entered the room and asked, "Troy Bolton?"

Chad woke up Gabriella, and they both turned to the doctor. "Yes?" they both asked, earnestly, and in unison.

The doctor turned to the two of them and asked, "are you apart of his family?"

Gabriella looked down solemnly as Chad pulled her close and explained the situation.

The doctor looked at his papers and said, "he lives with his dad and stepmom?"

Chad nodded.

"Well that explains certain things… do you know if his mother can come?"

Chad nodded again and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, while the doctor went to wait at the porter. Chad dialed the familiar number, the one he hadn't dialed in the past two years. After a few rings, Troy's mother, Lucille, picked up and asked, "hello?"

"Hey, it's Chad Danforth."

"Oh…" She sounded surprised. "Chad, what can I do for you?"

"It's about Troy…Jack and Sarah won't show up, but someone has to be here."

"Where are you?" She sounded worried.

"At the hospital… Troy got knocked out at a basketball game."

There was silence. "Nick! Come on, we have to get to the hospital!" The voice seemed far away. "Thank you for calling Chad," she said quickly before hanging up.

Chad turned to Gabriella and said, "she's coming."

"They found out?" Gabriella whispered. "Otherwise he wouldn't have said that."

Chad nodded. "I think so too."

Much Later

Lucille and Nick just arrived, and they were with a doctor while Chad and Gabriella waited in a separate room.

"How is he?" Lucille was worried sick.

"He's fine, if you consider the circumstances."

"What circumstances?"

"He was in surgery when we figured out that his right ankle healed the wrong way after it'd been broken. We had to break it again in order to fix it… two weeks, and it'll be perfect again," the doctor answered, as he looked to face Lucille.

Lucille looked down and asked, "is there anything else?"

"There were complications because of his weight. He doesn't weigh enough if you look at his lifestyle and how tall he is. It appears that he's lost a lot of weight in the past two years."

"What?!" Lucille's eyes widened. "How?"

"His stomach's totally empty. It seems like he's barely eaten anything in a long time… that's the main reason he lost consciousness. He had a total break-down."

Lucille didn't know what to say.

"There is something else…we found scars, cuts, and bruises all over his body. Some of them are really deep. When he fell, his head bumped on the floor with great force, but it'll be fine. We found some self – inflicted wounds on his left forearm, and some were still open. We needed twenty – three stitches." He stopped and looked at Lucille.

"Cutting? You're telling me my son cut himself?" She couldn't believe it. Cutting?Losing weight? He'd always worked hard for basketball, but why would he work so hard that he thought he needed to hurt himself?

"Yes, he definitely did."

"Why?" Lucille couldn't think anymore, all she wanted was to see her son.

The doctor looked at her, unsure of how to say the following information. "I have a theory, but I'm not sure. However, it is an explanation for all his injuries, and why his father and stepmother haven't showed up."

"What is it? When can I see him?"

"Soon, be patient," the doctor said, lowering his voice. He looked up at Lucille and told her his theory hesitantly. "It's... possible child abuse."

Lucille paled and Nick looked shocked. "Wh-what? Child abuse?! Yo-You…"

"As sad as it sounds, yes. But there's no proof of it, so we'll have to ask him."

"He'll deny it," Chad spoke up loudly. "He always does." Gabriella nodded her head, agreeing with Chad.

Lucille and the doctor looked at them. "You two knew?"

Gabriella looked down and Chad said, "we told him we know, but he denied it. We didn't know what to do."

"It's okay." Lucille was thinking about the information she just received. Her son… abused by her ex-husband and his new wife! It was more than she could take.

"Well, now that this assumption has been proved, we'll call the police as soon as he wakes up. You may see him now, Ms. Bolton, but Chad and Gabriella need your okay to do so."

Lucille stood up and nodded. "They waited for so long."

The doctor led them to Troy's room; the jalousie was closed so no one could look inside. "He's asleep. Please be quiet, he needs the rest."

They all nodded as the doctor opened the door and let them into the room, before leaving.

At the sight of Troy, Gabriella cried and buried her head in Chad's chest. Lucille walked toward her son, crying. She stared to brush his hair back, and sobbed, "I'm sorry, so sorry… if I'd known…" Nick got a chair and gently pushed her in it. He, Chad and Gabriella sat down again.

All of them paled, but they weren't as pale as Troy was – he was as white as the sheets, his tan complexion having disappeared. An oxygen mask was fixed to his face, and a bandage fixed the needles of two infusions – blood and dextrose. Gabriella knew he needed both to recover and get his weight back to normal again. Even through the blanket, Troy's thinness was still visible. His left arm was heavily bandaged and everyone knew why – underneath was the evidence of his despair, of his longing to find a way out. A gray clip on his index finger measured his heartbeat and underneath his hospital gown were many cables leading to different machines. Gabriella didn't know what they were measuring or showing. From underneath the hospital grown he wore, several cables were leading to different machines. Gabriella didn't know what they were measuring or showing. She leaned her head on Chad, letting her tears fall.

After two hours, Lucille finally spoke up again. "Chad? Thanks for calling again."
"No problem." He looked at Gabriella – she was holding Troy's hand, letting her tears drop onto his pale skin.
"Gabriella?" Lucille waited for her answer.
"Yes?" She didn't look up.
"Are you his girlfriend? I know it sounds stupid to ask like that…"
Gabriella shook her head no.

"But they both have huge crushes on each other," Chad grinned at Lucille.
Lucille smiled while Gabriella glared at him.
"What? It's true!"

Then the conversation faded and they spent the rest of their time trying to think of something else than Troy's condition.

I tried to hurry; I wrote it while I was ill…I hope you like it.
5 REVIEWS PLEASE!!!
LY Mitchi