Good God, my fingers hurt. I had to type this chapter up on the new computer while looking at the old one (it was 18 pages long)

Anyways, I hope that you're all happy with this chapter. A lot of you have been telling me that there aren't enough Troyella moments and, looking back on this story, you're all right. So I hope that the end of this chapter will leave you all like "Oh snap! There you go!"

Oh, and make sure to read the author's note at the bottom when you're finished. I really need your help with something :)

Chapter 13 – Finally

"TROY!!! HE'S GOT HER!!!" a worried, but familiar voice shouted in Troy's ear, enhancing his headache.

"What? Who has who?" Troy asked shakily, cracking his left eye open slightly.

"Brick! He's got Taylor!" Chad screamed in Troy's ear frantically, gripping his shoulders violently.

Troy blinked twice and looked up at his distressed friend. "Huh?"

Chad groaned heavily in frustration and stood up abruptly, pulling Troy up with him. "Do I have to spell this out for you?! B-R-I-C-K, H-A-S, T-A-Y-L-O-R!!!"

Troy, still rubbing the back of his head, asked "How do you know?"

Chad ripped something from his pocket and shoved it into Troy's waiting hands. Troy took the paper in his hands and immediately closed his eyes. A black envelope.

"Read it." Chad darkly whispered

Troy took a deep breath and took the red paper out of the envelope. Brick's messy handwriting read "Wow, Danforth. I always knew you were stupid, but this is a new record. Lesson learned: Don't leave your girlfriend in an abandoned hallway unprotected. It can lead to very…dangerous things.

Chad!"

"What?!" Chad shouted, throwing his arms up into the air and panic evident in his crazed eyes.

"What does he mean 'abandoned hallway'? Did you leave her by herself?!"

Chad's teeth clenched together in a loud snap. "Long story…"

"I've got time."

Before Chad could get the chance to reply, the clicks of high-heels sounded through the almost empty hallway. Chad whispered "After school, okay? Tell everyone to meet at my house."

Troy nodded as they quietly darted around the corner before they could get caught by the straying teacher.

--

"I can't believe I didn't see this coming sooner…" Troy shook his head angrily.

Gabriella hugged his waist and lay her head down on his shoulder, tearfully sighing "I think we all feel that way, Troy. He didn't attack for so long, we dropped our guard."

"All according to plan, obviously." Jason grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

The whole gang, minus Brandon and Taylor, was seated in the Danforth living room, thinking over and deliberating what Chad had told them just a few moments earlier. Even Matt, Chad's little brother, was stationed on the floor beside Zeke. He remained silent, watching his big brother pace anxiously across the carpeted floor. Chad's hands were pinned behind his back and his mouth emitted various incoherent mumbles, his eyes focused on the moving floor beneath his feet.

"Who do you think is next?" Sharpay asked worriedly.

Chad laughed once without a trace of humor and snapped "Who the hell cares?! The important question is where he took her and what he did to her!"

Sharpay pretended as though he didn't continue after that first retort. "What do you mean 'who cares'?! He could go after any of our parents, Izzy, or Kelsi for God's sake! Are you saying that's not important?!" Troy cringed at the sound of his cousin's name and Jason threw his arm over Kelsi's shoulder at hers.

Chad took an angry step towards her and nearly shouted "Of course I'm not, Sharpay, you know that! I'm not that stupid!"

"I never said you were!"

"Sure as hell sounded like it!"

Sharpay stood up from her spot on the couch and, fists curled, glared at him with tight eyes. "Look, Chad. I know you're worried about Taylor. We all are. But that doesn't mean that you can forget that she's not the only one who was taken by that freak! She's not the only one in danger here! Brick's targeting all of us, or haven't you figured that out by now? We're all in this together, so stop being so self-centered and take it down a notch, got it?!"

Gabriella shot out of Troy's arms and stepped in between the two furious teenagers and interrupted "Stop it! Just stop! The last thing we need right now is fighting! Calm down!" Chad and Sharpay, both with lingering glares, took two slow, deep breaths and eventually relaxed their tense muscles. Gabriella sighed in satisfaction and continued "Thank you. Now, you both have good points; Chad, we need to try and figure out where Brick took her, what he already did to her, and how long he's going to keep her, but Sharpay's also right. We can't single anybody out like you did. We're a team and nothing Brick does – or says – is going to change that. Okay?"

Chad, his eyes still zeroed in on Sharpay's, nodded and slowly whispered "Yeah. I get it."

His sudden hostility toward Sharpay didn't go unnoticed by Gabriella, but she chose to ignore it anyway. "Good, so what should we start with?" She absentmindedly shuffled back over to Troy and nearly shrieked as his arms wove around her waist, pulling her down and back onto his lap. She gave a relieved sigh and snuggled into his chest.

Chad, arms still crossed, turned away from the blonde in front of him and announced through gritted teeth "I say we start with wherever she is. Do you think he took her back to his place?"

Zeke shook his head. "Too obvious. That's where he took Gabby and Sharpay and he probably wouldn't do it a third time. Where else?"

Troy shrugged, drawing invisible circles on Gabriella's arm with his thumb. "The lake might be a possibility."

Ryan shook his head from his spot next to Kelsi on the floor. "Too public. Shar and I passed the lake on the way here and didn't see anything. Besides, you think someone would notice a girl getting beaten or harassed already."

Chad gritted his teeth and clenched his fists so hard they began to whiten against his dark skin. Ryan shut his mouth the second he noticed this.

Sharpay rolled her eyes and broke the tiny silence. "He probably did take her somewhere else."

Kelsi nodded. "Where, though?"

Jason replied "He was probably careful not to mention anywhere else he would take someone," He then asked Gabriella and Sharpay "Are you sure you don't remember him saying anything else about where he would take someone?"

The two girls shrugged glumly. Sharpay spoke up first. "Sorry. I was too busy getting beat senseless to notice anything being said."

Gabriella sighed "Same here. And I don't think he said anything while he was…" her voice trailed off as she remembered what happened before the beatings. She whimpered and buried her face in Troy's neck, his skin all of a sudden burning up furiously.

Ryan sighed, absentmindedly running a hand through his hair that, for once, didn't have a hat sitting on top of it. "Okay, so question one's a dud. What do you think he's done to her?"

Chad snorted, his nostrils flared. "If he so much lays a hand on her the way he did Gabriella, I'll-" His voice cut off, the anger spilling out at an alarming speed.

Troy suggested "Maybe he didn't, Chad. He seemed to stop with Gabriella, so maybe he's just…" He stopped short, figuring that they all knew what he was talking about.

"Like that's any better!" Chad howled, the glower in his eyes tightening by the second.

Matt, for the first time, spoke up abruptly. "Or, maybe he's not doing anything at all."

"Huh?" Every voice in the room asked, forgetting that he was even there.

Matt nodded "Think about it. Maybe he just has her locked up somewhere in the dark, letting her think that he's gonna do something. She's claustrophobic, right?"

Chad nodded slowly, his eyes drifting as his little brother's words started making sense.

The fourteen year old continued "He probably knows that and has her in some dark closet, making sounds every now and then to make her think that he's coming for her. Or just to startle her, I don't know."

Nine faces stared at him in disbelief. It was obvious that Matt was the smarter one with more common sense out of the two brothers and he was always the one to rationalize with one of Chad's insane plans, but here, when things really mattered, he was thinking…like Brick.

"That's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard." Sharpay said quietly, blinking at the young teen. Matt just shrugged.

"Yeah," Ryan continued after her. "But it's so ridiculous, it actually sounds like Brick. It makes sense."

Matt nodded and switched his attention to Chad. "Remember that time when you and Taylor were accidentally locked in the basement closet?"

Chad shuddered at the memory that was only two months old. They had gone down to get a spare ball for the game of ping-pong that they were playing and didn't know that the door lock was twisted when they shut it, locking them in. Taylor had started hyperventilating and then began sobbing, pounding on the door screaming for someone to get them out. No matter what Chad's efforts were, he couldn't calm her down until an hour later, when Chad's parents finally came home.

Chad groaned, letting the ground disappear beneath his feet and then reappear beneath his backside. "What are we gonna do?"

Troy shrugged "There's one last question. How long do you think he's gonna keep her this time?"

This question left the bunch silent and tense, letting their eyes search around that room at everyone else's.

"Gabriella was a whole day and Sharpay was only for a few hours," Zeke pointed out, and then paused. "Maybe Taylor will be even shorter. I mean, there seems to be a pattern here."

Chad shook his head in disapproval. "You can't get a pattern like that when it only happened twice. But if you're right, he should bring her back any minute now," Then he grumbled to himself under his breath "That gives me just enough time to figure out how I'll kill him."

"Should someone keep watch?" Jason asked, already getting up off the floor excitedly.

Troy nodded "Someone should stand outside and then someone else should take a walk through the neighborhood. Maybe even going over to the area of his house. Any takers?"

Jason sprang up off the floor and grabbed his hoodie that hung off of the arm of the couch. "I'll walk. Someone want to go with me?"

Chad rushed over to him and a ghost of a grin came to his face. "Me, of course."

"Should we split up?"

"Good idea. You take a mile up until the school and then the development behind it. I'll go toward the lake and up to West High. That might be where he took her, too." Jason's eyes widened and before he could object, Chad whispered "I'll be fine."

Sharpay said "Who's going to take watch outside? He might do what he did with me and I was out there waiting for almost twenty minutes."

Ryan raised his hand. "I've got that covered."

"Me too." Kelsi also volunteered. Ryan smiled appreciatively at her. "We'll hide in the bushes just in case he sees us and runs again."

"Doubt that he will," Zeke said "He might just stay and fight or, heaven forbid, take you both, keeping Taylor."

"Good point…"

Jason, crossing his arms, huffed "Can we go now?" He didn't want to miss the opportunity to find and fight Brick if he had the chance.

Chad nodded "Yeah, we're going. Call me if you find anything." He turned to the rest of his friends. "Same with you guys. We'll be back in a few hours."

Just as he, Jason, Ryan, and Kelsi reached the door, a knock came from the other side of it. Chad opened the door and his eyebrows furrowed together. "What took you so long?"

Brandon shrugged "Sorry. Dance business." He looked over his four friends for a quick second. "You going somewhere?"

Jason nodded "Chad and I are going to look for Taylor and these two are going to watch out front."

Brandon nodded in agreement and pushed past them into the house. "Somebody want to fill me in with what I missed?"

Troy waved him over and answered "Over here, Danger. There's not really all that much to tell, though."

After Troy told Brandon the key points of what happened in the hallway and what they came up with in the last few minutes, Troy asked "So what did take you so long to get here?"

Brandon grinned and rolled his eyes, explaining "Oh nothing. I was going to tell you guys, but we've got more important things to worry about."

"No, what happened?" Kelsi asked sweetly, lingering in the doorway after Chad and Jason had left. "We want to know."

Brandon took a deep breath, struggling to keep the huge smile off of his face. "You know the Albuquerque School of Dance?" Everyone nodded, so he continued proudly "Well, you're looking at the possible new future dance instructor for the senior classes!"

Gabriella shrieked and leaped into Brandon's arms, giggling "Oh my God, congratulations, Brandon! I'm so happy for you! When did this happen?"

"Middle of ninth period. I was practicing for the audition with the guys and lost track of time; that's why I didn't get Troy's text until later. Sorry about that, by the way."

Troy shrugged "It's all good. We'll get her back."

"God, I hope so…"

--

Two hours later, after Brandon had left, a sharp knock came at the door. Matt got up and answered it, his mouth dropping and gasping "Finally!"

Everybody in the living room turned their heads from the TV and watched as Matt helped carry a human body inside the house. Their eyes popped out of their sockets and worried words suddenly filled the room.

"Holy crap!"

"Is she okay?!"

"Where did you find her?!"

"Did you find him with her?!"

Chad entered the house with a heavy load in his arms. "Don't worry, she's okay. Just a little beat up and shaken."

It was true. Taylor lay in Chad's massive grip, slightly trembling and bruised from her harsh day in hell. Her face was buried in his chest and her arms were wrapped around his neck, not wanting to let go out of fear that he might let something happen to her again. Her clothes were slightly torn and ripped and she was bleeding in various places, but only small cuts and tiny gashes were visible on her dark skin.

Gabriella and Sharpay darted over to the couple and gave Taylor a good once-over. "Are there any broken bones or anything?" Sharpay asked, frantic.

Chad shook his head stiffly. "Nope, she's fine. She might be able to pull off falling down the stairs if she doesn't recover before her parents see her." He winced.

"What's wrong with your neck, Chad?" Gabriella quarried, sharing her gaze between Chad and Taylor.

"I'll explain later."

For the first time, Taylor showed her bruised face and whimpered "H-hey guys."

Gabriella stroked her hair and whispered "Hey, Tay. How are you feeling?"

She shrugged, wincing slightly from the slight pain that ripped through her shoulders. "Been better. But I've been worse."

"What did he do to you?" Zeke asked as she was placed on the couch beside him, in Chad's lap. Her arms didn't unlock from his neck.

"Well, after Chad left…"

FLASHBACK (3 Hours)

"Are you sure that you have to go?" Taylor pouted, staring up at her boyfriend with distressed eyes.

Chad leaned down and kissed her lips once more, whispering "I just have to talk to Jack for a quick second. I'll be right back, I promise."

Taylor sighed and rolled her eyes "Okay. I'll wait right here." She kissed him again, murmuring "I love you."

Chad grinned and pecked her nose. "Love you too. Be right back."

He gave her hand one last squeeze before smiling and taking off around the corner and disappearing from her line of sight. She took a deep breath once more and wrapped her arms around herself, feeling a shiver run down her back. She could've sworn that someone was watching her from somewhere in that hallway. She knew the feeling, as Chad would secretly watch her last year before she had accepted his invitation for their first date.

A muffled sound rang through the tense atmosphere, making Taylor jump and spin around to face nothing out of the ordinary. Just the normal row of lockers on both of the walls and the window at the end of the hallway letting the light shine through. She gasped as she looked through the window. There was one thing that wasn't normally there.

A black Volvo sat in the parking lot. Taylor had only heard of one person having that type of car. That stolen car.

"Oh my God…" she whispered, spinning around and preparing to run back to homeroom, but was cut off short, freezing.

There he stood, his tall, 6 foot frame towering over her tine 5 foot 2 inch body. His eyes were just as deep and horrific as ever, and his crossed arms were so huge and intimidating that Taylor had to concentrate to not pee her pants. His lips were curved into an amused grin as he chuckled "You like the car?"

Taylor's throat closed automatically and cutting off her oxygen path, her body trembling violently in fear. This isn't happening, she desperately chanted inside her head, this isn't happening, this isn't happening, this isn't happening…

But, as a result of the shock that had coated her conscious mind, she didn't notice when Brick had walked up to her, now less than a foot away. The loud bang of something being slapped onto the face of a locker beside her was what woke her out of her foggy mind, shrieking loudly. Brick grinned wider and, in a dangerously gentle voice, told her "Such a shame that poor Chad won't be back to see this. I'm sure it'll be very entertaining."

Gulping back a portion of the fear, Taylor stuttered "S-see what? You beating me?"

Brick's mouth dropped and his hand came up to his huge chest, feigning hurt. "Taylor!" he gasped "I've only had to beat a girl once! Otherwise, I just get someone to do it for me, you know that."

"Just because you did it once doesn't mean you won't do it again." She could feel her confidence rising as the words poured out of her mouth like the blood pulsing through her veins.

Brick rolled his eyes and sighed "Don't make me get physical, Taylor, I was planning to handle you the easy way."

"Handle me?"

Brick just raised an eyebrow. "Must I explain myself to you?"

"Tay, I'm back!"

Their heads snapped up in the direction toward the entrance of the hallway, Taylor breathing a sigh of relief and Brick's lips pulling up at the sides in an evil grin. His eyes slid to Taylor's, making her shudder.

"Taylor?" Chad's voice came again, coming closer and closer.

Brick laughed once, and then whispered "Well? Aren't you gonna answer him?"

Before Taylor had the chance to reply, his rough hands grabbed her by the arms and jerked her backwards, bumping her into the lockers. She screamed "CHAD!!!"

"Taylor?!" Chad was frantic now, his normal footsteps now racing on the tiled floor.

"CHAD, HELP ME-" The end of her sentence was muffled by his large hand blocking her words.

"Taylor!"

Chad flew around the corner just then, his eyes glazing over the empty hallway. He was about to scream her name again, but not before his eyes landed on the black envelope that was taped to his locker.

--

"LET GO OF ME!!!"

Brick laughed again, walked up the steps to his front door. Taylor's hands were taped behind her back and a tight blindfold blackened her vision. She fearfully sat in Brick's car before she felt him grab her and throw her over his shoulder to carry her into his house.

"Fine. Your call." With that, he shrugged her off of his shoulder and let her thump onto the carpeted floor.

"Oh fuc-that's not what I meant!" she shouted with a want to cuss at him, but remembered the time that she had said that she had to cut back on the filthy language.

"It's not my fault that you're not specific enough," He bent down to her level and, dropping some of the volume in his voice, said into her ear "I could've just dropped you on the hardwood floor in the kitchen."

"Then why didn't you? It's not like it would've been the worst you've ever done to us." She glared at him behind the cloth, thankful that it hid her worry.

Brick chuckled "Because I'm not the one who's going to be having all the fun today."

"I should be delighted to find out who is." Taylor retorted sarcastically, struggling to free her wrists.

A wide grin crossed his face. "I bet you would. Mel!"

Taylor's breath cut off suddenly, her eyes sheeting over into glossy tears and not seeing her captor's menacing grin in front of her. "Mel" could only be one person. One girl…

"No…"

"Sorry," Brick sarcastically shrugged "Nothing personal. Well, to you."

A small giggle came from the other end of the room, but not stealing Taylor's blinded attention away from Brick. After a few seconds, her eyes slammed shut and she swallowed loudly, preparing herself for the pain that she knew was coming.

"This is it?" Melissa's voice asked, disappointment trickling out. "I was hoping for someone more resistant."

"Trust me, if she was someone who would put up a fight, I would've gotten her by now."

"You think I couldn't take her?" She was angry now.

"No, I just don't want you to kill her with your massive fury." He sarcastically answered.

A low growl escaped her throat. "I can be just as aggressive as you, Wolf. Remember that girl I beat up last week? I put her in the hospital for a concussion and two broken bones!"

"Correction: minor, almost unnoticeable concussion and those two broken bones were her nose and her pinkie."

"Like you've ever done anything worse!"

"Remember that guy I accidentally killed? Imagine what I could do if I wasn't distracted and short on time." The smugness in his voice was evident.

"He probably killed himself. You couldn't have killed him even if you tried."

"He might have killed himself if I didn't do it first. He wouldn't want to have lived in the way I left him."

Melissa went silent for a moment. Taylor could hear the plain annoyance in her voice at her next words. "Whatever. I still beat her ass."

"Of course. I'm excited to see what you can do with an eighteen year old." There was the sarcasm again.

"And I'd be delighted to show you, Mr. Smart Ass."

Brick stifled back a laugh.

Melissa advanced on Taylor, who lay helplessly on the floor with her teeth nearly chattering out of nervousness and fear. Her stomach flipped and flopped in her stomach to the point where she had to bite her tongue to keep it down in its place. How hard would Melissa hit her? How long would the beatings last? Why wouldn't the questions stop haunting her, making everything worse?

The 13 year old was now less than a foot away from her face, slowly getting to her knees and waving her wrist in front of Taylor's nose to let her smell her heavy perfume. Taylor shuddered as she realized how close she was.

Melissa giggled menacingly. "What? Scared of a little seventh grader?" Her voice was now pointed to Brick. "You couldn't get someone who was at least a little tough?"

Brick's eye-rolling was clear in his voice. "Just get on with it, Mel."

Melissa sighed and gave Taylor's body a long, careful once-over, trying to decide what to start with and how to do it. Her eyes fell to the teen's temple and grinned. She held out her pointer finger and poked the skin, giggling again as Taylor shrieked in surprise.

"Brick, you suck. This is going to be too easy and boring."

"It's better than taking that English test you weren't looking forward to, right?"

"I'd rather be taking that test than plucking around this piece of crap. That's all it's gonna take."

Taylor gulped in realization that it was true.

Brick exhaled in impatience. "C'mon, Mel, before I'm thirty."

The sound of skin harshly connecting with skin sounded through Taylor's ears. "Shut up and be patient!"

"I have stuff to do. Do you want me to go against my morals again and do it myself?"

"Screw you, Brick." Melissa harshly mumbled. Footsteps quickly walked up to the teen laying on the floor before violently kicking her in the side. Taylor shrieked and flipped onto her back in painful shock.

Melissa gave a bored sigh. "This is gonna be sooo boring. This'll be the last time I ever do you a favor."

"Touching."

Melissa didn't reply. She just circled Taylor a few times, inspecting her whole body before giving the first blow to the head.

--

Twenty minutes later, Taylor found herself on the floor, bruised and bleeding like her friends before her when they were with these two monsters. Her body had gone numb about ten minutes ago and she had lost count of how many times she had screamed and begged Melissa to stop. Her hands were still tied and the blindfold was never removed from her eyes, making the beatings even more horrific, due to the lack of vision. She couldn't remember a time when she had ever been in such physical pain, not even when she was thrown twenty yards into a wall when the mall blew up.

She heard a masculine chuckle coming from none other than Brick, who sighed "Told you I wouldn't be having all the fun."

"Screw you, Wolf…" Taylor gasped, trying to breathe the shortest breaths possible and give her aching lungs a break.

Ignoring her comment, Brick said "I'm guessing that you'd like to go home now, right?"

"Wrong. I want to go to the hospital, smart one." She shrieked as she felt her lungs painfully extract.

Brick laughed again. How she hated that evil, attractive sound. "Sorry. That's not my decision. It's up to whoever finds you first."

"What does that mean? Aren't you taking me back to the others?"

Brick shrugged "I was, but this was so un-fun for me, I decided to spice it up a little. Have you ever been to West High?"

Taylor gulped against her throat's wishes. "Why?"

"It's a bad day to wear that shirt."

"What shirt?" She had been blinded for so long she forgot what she was wearing.

"Hint: it's red, white, and has the words 'East High Wildcats' in huge letters on the front."

Taylor gasped again, ignoring the evident pain in her neck. East and West High were obvious rival schools, with East High claiming victory at most of their events such as the basketball games, football games, track meets, dancing competitions, and decathlon competitions. They were all sworn off of the other's properties by an imaginary treaty and, unless you were suicidal, you would pay good mind to that agreement.

"You wouldn't…" she whispered in horror.

"I'm about to. Don't worry, I took a little trip while Melissa was working and two of them are out looking for you now. You won't be out there that long." He paused. "Well, unless they give up trying."

Taylor was on the verge of tears as she imagined the image of Chad, who she figured was one of the two looking for her, throwing in the towel. He wouldn't, she thought to herself, he wouldn't because he promised…

She felt Brick lift her into his huge arms and after shuddering, heard him whisper "Knowing him, he probably won't give up until he knows you're dead. That should be motivation enough to run all over the west side…unless he gets killed first."

Taylor's tears brimmed over as Brick carried her to the car and drove her to West High School, where she was thrown at the front door to wait for her boyfriend to rescue her.

--

"…and that's basically what happened." Taylor finished her story with a heavy breath, trying to control her betraying tears.

Gabriella was the one who spoke up first. She gawked "He left you at West?!"

Taylor nodded, grimacing at the sharp pain in her neck.

Troy gritted his teeth together as a string of profanities escaped his lips.

"Wait," Jason observed "Chad, did you get into a fight when you were on their territory? You have a huge bruise on your neck."

Chad hugged Taylor closer to him, trying not to disturb her wounds. "Almost. It took everything I had not to kick that guy's ass on the spot. He pushed me up against the wall by me neck for a second before a cop drove past and they ran off." He rolled his eyes. "Knew I should've gotten another hoodie…" He looked down at his white shirt with giant letters reading East Basketball across the front.

Sharpay, face now beet red and blood boiling, spat "This has gone way too far! We have to do something! Now!"

"Like what?" Ryan spoke for the first time "We can't get the cops involved and our parents won't help in the slightest. What does that leave?"

She remained silent.

Troy stood and paced back and forth across the room, pondering over the possible options that he knew they didn't have.

When his soft murmur was finally heard, Gabriella asked "What was that, Troy?"

"This is all my fault…" he repeated, stopping his movement.

"What?" Taylor croaked, appalled. Chad stroked her arm and whispered "Not so loud." Taylor ignored him. "Troy, you can't possibly be blaming yourself for this!"

Troy retorted "I am and I should be! If I hadn't started that whole thing with Brandon back in middle school, none of this would have happened!"

"Troy, you know damn well that you didn't start that! Wolf did! You didn't have a choice!"

"Yes I did! I agreed to it!"

"To save your best friend's life! Brandon would've been killed!"

Troy sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "Look, Taylor, I-"

"Don't even say it, Troy. If you had refused to turn on Brandon, you both would've been killed, not just him. It was Samantha's fault that she couldn't take a hint. She killed herself and that should've been the end of it. Wolf couldn't take it, so he made an imaginary grudge with Brandon and dragged you down with him. You're a hero, Troy. You and Brandon weren't the only ones who would've been affected by that."

Troy's eyes fluttered shut and all of the anger fled from his body, leaving him feeling light and open-minded. He took a deep breath again as Taylor's words filled his empty brain. He sighed again. He could feel the curious stares of everyone in the room boring into his paling skin.

His eyes opened halfway. He stared at the tan carpet on Chad's floor for a few long moments before lifting his head to look at Taylor's bruised face, who was staring right back at him with a tired but self-confident expression. It was then that Troy finally spoke.

"Everyone would be better off if I had just let him kill me. Brick wouldn't be after any of us, Brandon and Izzy's relationship wouldn't have been damaged because I never would've forced her to break up with him, and Brandon never would've gotten shot. Everything would've been avoided."

Jason shook his head "That's not true, Troy. Wolf could've been lying and would've gone after Brandon after he killed you."

Chad added "Brandon and Izzy's relationship wouldn't be as strong since you were a major obstacle for them getting together. Hell, they probably would've never met if you were dead."

A sniffle could be heard behind Troy. Someone grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly as she whispered "I would kill myself if you died, Troy. Don't think that I wouldn't, because I would do it in an instant. If you never would've agreed to that fight, me and Brandon's relationship with our dad would still be horrible right now." Troy's eyes flickered to Gabriella and closed again when he saw the endless tears falling down her face. "I don't think you know how big an impact you have on this gang, Troy. If you died, none of us would've gotten together and we would probably never talk to each other again. You hold us together. You keep us from going insane." She paused to place a hand on his cheek, causing him to open his eyes again. "You keep us alive."

He could do nothing more than stare into her soaked eyes, trying to search for a sign that what she said wasn't real, but found nothing but fear and love. He reached up to hold her hand in his, keeping them on his face, and swallowed back the warning lump in his throat. Without smiling, he nearly inaudibly said "I love you."

Gabriella flashed a watery grin and kissed his forehead, murmuring "We love you too, Troy. Never forget that."

He then grinned as her lips connected with his.

--

The doorbell to the Bolton house rang. Troy got up from the couch and strolled over to the door, pulling it open to view the strikingly gorgeous face of his girlfriend. He smiled "You know you don't have to ring the doorbell, right?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes and stood up on her toes, stretching her neck to quickly peck his lips with hers. "I like to keep you guessing." She grinned as she pushed past him into the house, then sighed "What a day, huh? Who'd have thought that Brick would actually give Taylor up to East?"

Troy shrugged and wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face in the crook of her neck. He rested his hands on her flat stomach and she laid hers on top of his, leaning into his touch and inhaling his sweet scent.

"I'm just surprised that none of us expected it before," he finally replied softly, kissing her neck. "He's not done with us yet."

"I know…" she mumbled, closing her eyes and stroking his knuckles with her fingers. "Sometimes it's just nice to believe that he is. Or he will be soon."

Troy lifted his head slightly to brush his lips across the sensitive skin beneath her earlobe, making her shiver. "It'll be okay," he whispered so quietly it was almost inaudible. "We'll get through this together, I promise."

The sudden urge to kiss him became overwhelming to the young brunette as she turned to face him in his arms, grabbing his face in her hands and molding her lips to his in an urgent kiss, shoving his body against the wall. Of course he kissed back, but this alarmed him as she never forced this kind of passion on him before. His hands gripped the suddenly annoying fabric that were her shorts and pulled her as close to him as possible, feeling her hands run up and down his muscular sides. He parted his lips for a fraction of a second to breathe, but found that he had given her the perfect advantage to shoot her tongue into his mouth, gasping a moan as his sharp teeth closed around it to hold it there firmly. His hands roamed her body hungrily, becoming more urgent and aware of the situation with every passing second.

They had placed themselves in this situation plenty of times before, always cutting the moment short before they got too carried away and did something that would lead to either regret or serious consequences. Gabriella and Brandon weren't exactly abstinent, but were always taught that it was more sensible to wait until they were married to someone that they loved. It was a tradition in their family to wait. She knew that if she and Troy went any further, both of their parents would have their input. And God only knew what Brandon would say about it…

All of these worries and concerns escaped Gabriella's conscious mind like the air from her lungs as Troy's hands fell to the backs of her thighs, pulling them up to wrap her legs around his waist. His hands then moved to grab her rear-end, supporting her and pulling her away from the wall only to turn to face the staircase. Gabriella ripped their lips apart, deeply breathing "Troy…"

Troy sighed in a defeated manner, resting his forehead against hers and breathlessly asking "I'm sorry. Do you want to stop?"

Gabriella took one more deep breath and looked up to meet his eyes, the hunger and want plainly evident in the deep, blue abyss. A glimpse of sadness twinkled in his eyes as well. This erased all the words relating to and matching the word 'yes'. She wanted him – no, she needed him – too, and no stupid tradition was strong enough to change that. Who cared what their friends, parents, or even Brandon, thought? This was her life, her boyfriend, and her decision. A decision that was suddenly simple to make.

Gabriella crushed her lips to his with a new force, soring her mouth but not feeling any pain, only need and passion, passion and need. Nothing was going to break this moment. Absolutely nothing.

"Bedroom…" she demanded into his mouth. She felt him smile against her skin as Troy's feet continued where they left off; quickly and carefully marching up the stairs to his room with his girlfriend securely glued to his waist.

Yay! They're a step away from sleeping with each other! Now all you have to do is decide weather or not they should or not (it's not official yet, they could always change their minds) So please review and tell me if I should have them sleep together :)

Also, I was reading over GFN a few days ago and found myself cringing at a lot of the stuff I put in it. So I got to thinking that once I was done with this and my future stories (WAY off into the future) I should go back and do some editing to the story. I'm honestly touched that you guys loved it so much that you gave me over a thousand reviews, but I don't like some of the beginning chapters that much anymore. Include that in your review too, please :)

REVIEW!!! Thnx :)

~Rachel :)

Sneak at Next Chapter:

- Troy and Gabriella's decision will be revealed

- Brandon has his input about it

- A shocking break-up from someone in the gang

"--? What's wrong?" Gabriella asked, sitting down next to her sobbing friend on the stairs.

"My parents are forcing me to break up with --."

"What?! Why?! He's such a good guy!"

"They don't think so. That's the problem. They think that he-"

Trivia:

- Brick has a black Volvo, which was Edward's car in Twilight (but Edward's was silver, not black)