Sorry for not updating in a while guys. Had stuff to do. Anyways, this is a pretty dramatic chapter, ESPECIALLY towards the end. You'll probably love Brandon as much as I do by the end of it :)

Never in the 10 years that this hospital existed has it seen someone on crutches limp as fast as Troy did when he heard Gabriella scream. He and Brandon darted from Troy's hospital room and headed for the bathroom. They couldn't care less if it was the girls' bathroom. They reached for the handle and tried to pry it open, but it was still locked.

"Dammit!" Brandon cried as he violently tried to tear the door open.

"Kick it down!" Troy suggested. Brandon motioned for him to move to the side as he backed up until his back was to the wall behind him. He suddenly ran forward and kicked the door with all his strength. They heard a loud crack and then a crash. The doorway was open.

Brandon ignored the strong pain that was surging through his leg at the moment and ran into the room, looking around. His breath hitched in his throat as he eyed the mirror.

"Do you see anything?" Troy asked behind him.

Brandon couldn't find his voice. He just pointed his shaking finger to the mirror and froze. Troy followed his friend's silent directions until his eyes widened. The mirror was cracked with a few shards on the floor, but that wasn't the pair's main focus. It was what was currently staining the mirror.

Blood. And lots of it.

"Gabriella..." Brandon whispered, staring at the mirror.

"W-what does it s-say?" Troy stuttered, referring to the letters on the mirror that were written with the blood.

It was three simple letters that the two read aloud. They stared at the dripping word and said in unison "Boo..."

--

...Back at Brandon's House...

Troy, Brandon, Sharpay, Ryan, Chad, Taylor, Lucy, Jack, Gina, Jessica, and Robert all sat in the Montez living room, totally silent. Troy and Brandon had explained everything when they found the strength to walk out of the bathroom back at the hospital. They showed Ryan the room and he had the same reaction that they did. It was horrifying.

"I can't believe Brick kidnapped Gabriella..." Sharpay whispered, laying her head on Ryan's shoulder.

Gina nodded and wiped away another tear that had gathered at her eye. "What do you think happened?"

Brandon stayed silent. Troy sat beside him and shook is shoulder "Dude, come on. You haven't said a word since we got here."

Brandon just shook his head and continued staring into space, his eyes getting glossy.

Troy sighed and said "We need to find her."

"Should we get the police involved?" Gina asked, already reaching for her cell phone.

Troy shook his head "No. We have to keep the cops out of this. They'll only screw things up."

"But what if..." That went along for about 10 minutes before Brandon decided that he couldn't take it anymore. He stood up and quickly ran to his room, ignoring the protests behind him. He locked the door behind him and slid to the floor, his eyes wide and his face pale.

This couldn't be happening. Gabriella was in trouble and he wasn't there to protect her. He felt so at fault. If only he was in the waiting room where he could get to the bathroom faster, maybe he could've stopped it. He knew that if he told Troy that, the brunette would say otherwise but Brandon didn't care. He knew that it was his fault.

After getting up, he walked over to his bed and thumped himself on top of it. He got out his iPod and scrolled through all of his songs. There was only one band that could make him feel better in this situation.

He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding when he came to a song that he totally related to. He closed his eyes and clicked on the song, letting the music of Three Days Grace flood his ears.

At night I hear it creeping

At night I feel it move

I'll never sleep here anymore

Sometimes he swore that he heard the leaves outside his window rustling. He felt a chill running down his spine as the feeling of being stalked and watched came over him. The last time that happened was when he was sleeping in Gabriella's room because his room was being occupied by his aunt and uncle. He never slept there again.

I wish you never told me

I wish I never knew

I wake up screaming

It's all because of you

Even though he was thankful that he and Troy's friendship was reunited, sometimes he wished that Troy never told him about Wolf's plans. His life would still be fear-free and normal if he never knew. But every time he thought that way, he would slap himself in the face and decide that he was crazy for thinking that. He woke up screaming because of Brick, not because of Troy.

So real these voices in my head

When it comes back you won't be

Scared and lonely

You won't be scared, you won't be

You won't be scared and lonely

You won't be scared you won't be lonely

Every time Brick struck them with a threat, Troy comforted Brandon and told him that the next time Brick attacked, he wouldn't be scared and lonely like he was right now.

I know there's something out there

I think I hear it move

I've never felt like this before

I wish you never told me

I wish I never knew

I wake up screaming

It's all because of you

So real these voices in my head

When it comes back you won't be

Scared and lonely

You won't be scared, you won't be

You won't be scared and lonely

You won't be scared you won't be lonely

It's all because of you

I wish you never told me

I wake up screaming now

So real these voices in my head

So real these voices in my head

I wake up screaming now

I wish you never told me

I wish I never knew

Scared and lonely

You won't be scared, you won't be

You won't be scared and lonely

You won't be scared you won't be lonely

Scared and lonely

You won't be scared, you won't be

You won't be scared and lonely

You won't be scared you won't be lonely...

Just as the song finished, a knock came at Brandon's door. Brandon sighed, knowing who it was and called "Leave me alone Troy."

"Dude, come on," Troy pleaded "Everyone's worried about you."

"Tell them to save it for Gabriella." Brandon turned on his side away from the door to face his window.

He heard Troy sigh "Just let me in. I think I left my cell phone case in here from last week."

Brandon rolled his eyes and grabbed the Razor case that was sitting on his bedside table. He walked over to the door and quickly opened it. He put it in Troy's now opened hand and growled "There. You happy now?"

"Not until I talk to you."

"Well then I guess you're gonna be down in the dumps for a while. I don't feel like talking."

"Brandon-" Troy couldn't finish. The door was slammed in his face again. He grabbed the handle and twisted it before Brandon had the chance to lock it again. "Let go Troy!"

"Nope."

"Just leave me alone!"

"Not until we get this sorted out. I'm not leaving you Brandon."

He heard the angry teen inside growl in frustration as the door flew open. Brandon glared hard at Troy and demanded "What?!"

"Nothing. I just wanna make sure that you're okay."

"Well I'm fine Troy!" Brandon exploded "I just wanna be alone right now!"

Troy rolled his eyes and pushed past Brandon, walking into the room. He sat down on the bed and persisted "I'm not leaving until I get some answers."

Brandon gave a big sigh and threw his forehead against the doorframe. Troy wasn't leaving. Might as well not try to fight it.

He walked over to his best friend and sat beside him, saying flatly "What do you want?"

Troy rested a hand on Brandon's shoulder and replied "I want you to open up. What's going through your head right now?"

Brandon sighed again, for the umpteenth time that day. He studied his shoes while answering "I don't know."

"Bullshit Brandon," Troy refused "I saw the way you stomped out of the room a few minutes ago. You know exactly what you're thinking. Just tell me."

"That's the problem," Brandon explained "There are so many things running through my head right now and I can't get them straight. I don't know what's what. I feel depressed, angry, confused, regretful, at fault, and...just...I don't know. I'm just really lost here."

It was now Troy's turn to sigh and advise "Dude, just concentrate. Why are you depressed?"

"Because my sister got kidnapped." Brandon told him without even thinking.

"Why do you feel angry?" Troy then surveyed.

"I'm pissed at Brick for hurting her."

"You're confused because..."

"Because I'm trying to figure out where he took her, but all I'm getting is nothing."

"You said regretful too."

"Remember last night when I said 'me and Troy are gonna make sure that nothing happens to you.'?"

Troy nodded.

"I didn't keep my promise."

"You never said the word 'promise' in the sentence."

"But I implied it."

Troy opened his mouth to retort, but found that he was right. "It's not your fault."

Brandon shook his head "That's another feeling I have. If I had been in the waiting room with her instead of the hospital room, I could've gotten to her on time."

"Brandon, you didn't know that this was going to happen." Troy comforted his stressed brother "If you did, things would be different, but you didn't. It's not your fault and I'm sure Gabby would say the same thing."

Brandon stayed silent, considering his friend's words. A little voice in the back of his head told him that Troy was right, but a bigger one had a different opinion.

"Why are you so calm?"

"Huh?"

Brandon turned to him "Your girlfriend got kidnapped. Why aren't you spazzing out?"

Troy sighed "Because I know that freaking out won't do anything but make me feel worse. Trust me, I'm worried out of my mind, but I'm trying my best not to show it. I know that we're gonna find her. Besides, Brick won't hold her forever. And he won't kill her. I know he won't and you should too."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because if you think like him, it wouldn't make sense. Why would he just kill her and not give us the thrill of wondering if she's okay or not? He wants us to worry. He wants us to be concerned. He won't hurt her too badly. Trust me."

"Promise?" Brandon asked him, not knowing why he did. It's not like Troy knew for sure, but he was trying his best.

Troy was obviously hesitant, but smiled "Promise." With that, he held out his fist.

Brandon bumped it and followed with their secret handshake. "Thanks man. You always know what to say."

Troy shrugged "We're called best friends for a reason. Now," he stood up in front of Brandon "Let's go out there and find your sister and my hopefully future wife?"

"Your future what?" Brandon rose and eyebrow with a grin.

Troy rolled his eyes "Like you never think that way with Isabelle."

"Shut up."

"What?" Troy laughed "You know it's true."

"Doesn't mean I'll admit it." Brandon retorted.

Troy felt another smile tug at his lips "Don't we all. Now, let's go."

--

...3 Hours Later...

"I don't know about this Troy," Brandon concerned, rubbing his arm "Are you sure Brick didn't take her out of the state?"

Troy shook his head "Again, you just have to think like him. It would take a while to drag her out of New Mexico, hold her hostage for a few days, and then bring her back. He'll only take her for a little while, like a day."

"Then why are we out here looking for her?"

"The sooner we get her back, the better. I can't believe you're even asking that question."

Brandon shook his head at himself. Troy was right. Brick might not hurt her, but that wasn't 100 percent. They had to find her before Brick got any...temptations.

They walked for a few more minutes before Brandon growled "God, it's so dark. I can barely see my hand."

"Me neither," Troy agreed, squinting in a failed attempt to see where he was going. "Hey, do you have your iPod with you?"

Brandon reached in his back pocket and pulled out his 3rd generation iPod Nano. "Yeah, why? Are you getting bored?"

Troy rolled his eyes "No. Give it to me."

Brandon, confused, handed the music player to his best friend. Troy turned it on and scrolled down to the settings, went to the backlight option, and switched it to 'Always On'.

"What did you do that for?" Brandon asked after Troy gave it back to him.

Troy explained "We'll use that as a flashlight and you don't have to keep touching the wheel every time the light goes out."

Brandon nodded "Smart."

"Have you ever doubted me?"

The two laughed until Brandon suddenly stopped short, his eyes widening.

"What's wrong?" Troy frowned, noticing his strange behavior.

"Do you feel that?" he shakily said, looking up at Troy with frightened and dark eyes.

"Feel wha...wait. You mean that?" Troy replied, also freezing.

"Yeah. It feels like we're being watched..."

"HELP!!"

Troy and Brandon spun around and looked around, alarmed. Where did that come from?

"Did you hear that?" Troy asked, looking at Brandon's dark silhouette.

"I think the people in Hollywood and Australia heard it." Brandon replied, still looking for the cause of the scream.

"HELP!! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!" the shriek came again.

"It's obviously a girl." Troy observed, starting to move in the direction he thought the S.O.S. was coming from.

"Yeah," Brandon agreed, following Troy "But where's it coming from?"

"HELP!!" the girl screamed again "I CAN'T SWIM WELL!!"

Troy and Brandon turned to each other and gave knowing looks.

"The bridge." They said in unison.

Instantly, they ran for the middle of the lake and as they neared the wooden bridge, they could see a figure hanging off the side. It was obviously a girl from the dark hair that was blowing in every which way.

"HELP ME!! I CAN'T HOLD ON MUCH LONGER!!" she screamed. Brandon suddenly became frozen again. He recognized that scream now that it was held out long enough.

"Oh my God," he whispered to himself. He could see the girl's petite frame flailing in the strong wind that was blowing and she was fighting to stay above the deep water. She was wearing a grey jacket that looked just like the one Gabriella had worn that day.

"Brandon!" Troy called once he realized that the black haired teen wasn't moving behind him "What are you do-"

Brandon didn't let him finish. In less than a second, Troy's vision became blurred as Brandon whizzed past him and ran over to the bridge. Troy followed him quickly and soon realized why Brandon had taken off so quickly.

"Gabriella!" Troy and Brandon screamed at the same time, Brandon still propelling towards his endangered sister.

"Brandon! Troy! I can't hold on anymore!" Gabriella pleaded, tears streaming down her face. She looked down at the water and even though she was in the dark, she could see that the bottom was much farther down than she wished it to be.

"Gabby," Brandon screamed, just a few yards from her "Just hold on for a few more seconds!"

"I can't!" Gabriella wailed, her hands finally slipping from the bar. She screamed her lungs out as she propelled downward into the merciless lake.

"GABRIELLA!!" the two screamed. Troy didn't care if he couldn't breathe right. He ran faster than he ever ran in his entire life after Brandon.

As for Brandon, before he even knew what he was doing, he threw his shirt over his head and ran to the edge of the lake. He took a deep breath and dove into the ice cold water after his sister.

"Brandon, what are you doing?!" Troy shouted once he saw the outline of a shirt being thrown to the ground. When he heard a second splash, his eyes widened even more as he screamed "Are you crazy?!"

Brandon didn't think that Brick's timing could be any worse. His sister, who couldn't swim well at all, was sinking to the bottom of the deepest part of a lake and it was darker than a cave down there. The deeper he got, the darker it got. So when he saw two faint outlines of something human shaped, he didn't know if it was a trash bag or his distressed sister.

His question was answered when he saw something sparkle on one of the figures. Gabriella's necklace. Brandon swam to the bottom of the black hole and scooped his unconscious sister into his arms.

He heard that it was difficult to carry two weights when you were underwater, but he never experienced it for himself until now. They were right. To make things worse, he was running out of breath.

He felt Gabriella stir in his arms and fall limp again. He then knew that he couldn't give up. He had to ignore his burning lungs and use most of his leg power to propel them both up and out of this hellhole.

He then heard the sound of shouting coming from the surface. Troy. Brandon couldn't quite make out what he was saying, but he knew that they were words of worry. After all, how would you feel if your best friend and your girlfriend were at the bottom of a lake in the middle of the night?

Brandon didn't know how much longer he could last. He was running out of air fast and Gabriella's weight seemed to be getting heavier and heavier by the second. Even though he was in the water, things started to spin and his vision blurred. A major migraine stirred in his brain. This was it. His lungs were completely empty.

Just as he was about to lose consciousness, he felt someone grab his shoulders and haul him up to the ground. Gabriella was pulled out of his arms and set on the grass and then he was lied beside her.

Brandon collapsed to his knees and, since he didn't eat anything until after the explosion, brought his breakfast back up for everyone to see. He could just barely see the red included in the mixture.

"Brandon, you okay?" someone said behind him. Brandon turned around and could see Troy's blue, flashlight-like eyes shining with worry. Brandon nodded and took a few more deep breaths before weakly crawling over to his unconscious sister. He immediately pressed two fingers to the top of her neck and waited. He let out the breath that he didn't know he was holding when he felt a slow, but steady heartbeat thump against his fingers. He gently thread his arm under her knees and another one on her upper back and lifted her from the ground bridal style.

He looked at his best friend and lowly commanded "Let's get her home."

Troy nodded silently and followed Brandon in the path home that they knew so well. He moved closer to the wet boy and looked down at the girl in his arms. He stroked her wet hair and whispered "You're gonna be okay Gabriella. I promise."

Like it? Hate it? Tell me in your REVIEW!! Thnx :)

Rachel :)

MINI CONTEST:

I used 4 Jonas Brothers song titles in this chapter. One is really, really obvious and one is repeated. Clue: They're all used in the "Gabriella's in trouble" scene :)

Sneak at Next Chapter:

- Gabriella's in shock

"You okay Gabby?" Troy asked his silent girlfriend, pulling her into his arms.

Gabriella just nodded and let her head fall into his chest while she felt his hand run through her hair.

"Yeah, I'm fine..."

- Someone else goes missing

"Hey, weren't Sharpay and Ryan supposed to be here?" Zeke asked the group.

Suddenly, Ryan came running into the building, his face pale and his eyes wide. His whole body was shaking while he held a hand behind his back.

"Ryan," Brandon concerned "What's wrong?"

Ryan didn't respond. He just pulled his hand out from behind his back and set the object down in Brandon's hand. Brandon looked down at his hand and suddenly his breath hitched in his throat as he found himself staring at a black envelope.

"Not again..."

Trivia:

- The song is "Scared" by Three Days Grace

- I gave Brandon a 3rd Generation iPod Nano because that's the iPod I have

- Shortytori came up with the idea of Gabriella hanging off the bridge