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Disclaimer: nah....no High School Musical or the Rush lyrics by Aly and AJ

Like my sister says: "Constructive criticism would help"
Love ya'll


Good Comes Last

by: Laugh, in laughnsmile96

Chapter Three: Rush



Don't let nobody tell you
Your life is over
Be every color that you are
Into the rush now
You don't have to know how
Know it all before you try

Aly and AJ, Rush

White walls surrounded Troy as he sat on a bench right outside where Gabriella had just been taken. He just sat there, stunned. The scene that Troy had caused was replaying in his head , like a broken record. It became a torture that would threat Troy's life forever. Troy could remember everything; the adrenaline surging through his veins, the feeling of complete drunkenness, the swerve the car, the scream of the lady he had hit, and finally when everything was done Troy remembered what it was like to have his life freeze right in front of him.

As the incidents that happened in the past hour tortured Troy until his mind begged for it to stop, a new emotion arose inside Troy. He put his head into his hands as a helpless tear slid down his face. Troy began to to hate himself. He started to think that everything that had happened in the past three months was all his fault. The thought killed him at how much it was true to Troy. His parents had stopped speaking to him because the one time they had come over to visit, Troy's parents found him drunk. He had kicked them out using harsh words. The friendship between Chad and Troy had weakened drastically because of their useless arguments. Most importantly, Teagan had broken up with him. It was all understood to him now for the wrong reasons. Tears hopelessly continued sliding down his tanned cheeks.

"Mr. Bolton?" Troy twisted his head to the right to see a young nurse, in blue doctor's apparel with a clipboard in hand. Troy nodded once, like a child ready for a scolding. The nurse's face stiffed, as if disgusted, and then relaxed. "Dr. Kane would like to see you". Troy nodded again, and stood up ,with his hands in his pockets. Silently, he followed the nurse ,looking down at the plain white floor, listening to the footsteps that echoed throughout the empty hospital.

They reached a wooden door, probably the only brown door where everything else was white. The nurse fiddled with the nob and then pushed to open. She stood next to the door, letting Troy go in first. He did, solemnly.

" He will be with you shortly" Troy looked at the ground. No response. The door behind Troy clicked and he was finally alone. His mind wandered, though, like there was no point of the silence around him. It would be easily replaced by his thoughts.

In no time, the wooden door pushed open again and Troy was not alone anymore. A pleasantly plump doctor entered the room. When he came into Troy's view, the man distinctly reminded Troy of Mr. Fulton. A file from his hand was placed on the desk. The memory faded.

"Troy Bolton" his voice was serious, showing slights signs of old age and origin from the United Kingdom. "You seem to have visited this hospital, too, earlier yesterday" Dr. Kane mocked. Troy nodded, not daring to look into the doctor's eyes. To him, the edge of the desk was always more interesting than anyone's eyes. Dr. Kane opened a profile of Troy.

"Says here that" he said. "You were diagnosed with Minor Neurotic Depression on December 23, 2008" Kane closed the manila file and gave Troy a deathly glare. "yesterday". Dr. Kane slammed the file onto the desk, angrily. "Troy, you know you aren't supposed to drive in your conditions!" Dr. Kane was yelling now. Troy nodded, again. Dr. Kane's anger flared deeply.

"Mr. Bolton! What were you doing, driving at night?!" Troy opened his mouth to answer but no words came out. He closed his mouth, swallowed and then opened to talk.

"I..I..don't know" he stammered shamefully. Dr. Kane's back was facing him now and he was looking out the window to the dark empty streets below.

"You don't know" he repeated. "You don't know why you were driving at 2 am and almost killed an innocent woman" At this Troy looked up.

"She's alive?" His eyes searched for hope in Dr. Kane's dark orbs but no sympathy was given from him. Dr. Kane's eyes lowered and deathly gaze snapped.

"We don't know but if she survives, it is not going to be without defects," Troy's hope dimmed. He stayed silent for a second, praying for the stranger's life.

"Mr. Bolton, you understand that you have made a bad decision..maybe the worst in you life time" Troy nodded with his closed trying to keep the tears from flowing.

"Yeah" he squeaked. "I know". Dr. Kane seemed to have felt pity for the man in front of him so he let him go.

"As a doctor, I have no authority over telling you what is going to happen to your life if Gabriella is alive" he paused. "or dead". Dr. Kane silenced and left the room. Empty, again.

Gabriella Her name echoed through Troy's mind softly and angel like. Somehow, for Troy, it was too familiar.


A half an hour passed until Troy finally gathered the courage to leave the room, and travel back into the white surroundings of the hospital. He had racked his brain to find how Gabriella was in his past. No luck. Finally, with his hands in his pockets and eyes still glued to ground, he left Dr. Kane's office. Troy walked to his previous seat and sat down again. He leaned his back backwards against the smooth pellucid walls and closed his eyes. For now, some sleep would do good.


The high pitched tune of his cell phone woke up Troy.

"Hello?" his voice was groggy and a slight headache pounded throughout his skull.

"Troy, where the hell are you?" Chad's voice sprang out from the phone line.

"Calm down, man. I'm at Los Angeles Hospital" Troy knew that was the wrong way to approach his friend.

"The hospital?! What are you doing at a hospital?" Chad yelled. Troy grimaced.

"Just meet me here. I'm coming down right now" A beep sounded at the other end of the line. Troy put his phone down.

"Mr. Bolton" another male doctor called for his attention. Troy gave it to him. "We have called the patient's closest relatives" Troy nodded, indicating that he was listening. "He is going to be here in a few minutes". The doctor finished and went back into the room. He? Troy winced. This is not going to be good.

"Doctor" Troy got up ,now and called after the guy. His kind side had taken over. "How is she?" The doctor smiled at him.

"We will see"

Troy shifted his gaze back to the ground. The doctor headed back inside the surgery room and Troy strutted towards the elevator.


Jesse wailed in his car as he sped past the many buildings, headed strait for the Los Angeles Hospital where his little sister was currently unconscious. He was ready to murder the one who had done this unforgivable sin. Anger and anxiety churned in his stomach forming a toxic substance that was on red alert. The night's yellow lights buzzed by, creating a bright pathway that followed him. More tears desperately streamed down Jesse's face. It was final, Jesse couldn't live without her. Gabriella was the one who had helped him out through the bad times. It was hard ,for Jesse, when the family had moved to Albuquerque from Vermont. It was hard for him to move especially when he was leaving all of his closest friends and girlfriend. But Gabriella held his hand and guided him through all of his hardships. When Jesse wanted to leave to London, Gabriella easily nodded and let him go. When he came back and their mom was on her death bed, she didn't even blame Jesse for Anya's death. Gabriella had gladly welcomed him back home when Jesse came to Los Angeles. Throughout all hardships, Gabriella held Jesse's hand- guided and encouraged him.

Gabriella's brother pulled out his cellphone and dialed his sister's best friend's number. He put the phone to his ear and listened. Finally, Taylor answered.

"Hello?"

"Taylor!" Jesse cried. "It's Ella. Some bastard hit her with his car," His voice was cracked, making it clear that he was crying. Jesse didn't give a damn, he would let the whole world know that he was crying if it meant that is sister would get out of the hospital safely.

"What?!"

"Please, we don't have time. She's at the hospital now. Call Sharpay. I'll see you there" they said their good byes and hung up.


Taylor slipped her shoes on and headed strait out the door of her apartment and towards her car. As soon as the car was alive, Taylor pressed speed dial to Sharpay. She didn't wait for any greeting from Shar.

"Shar, get to the hospital now! It's Gabi," that was all Taylor had to say for Sharpay to explode. Right now, those few words were the ones that would make Sharpay stop whatever she was doing and obey. Even if the girl was in a traffic jam, an important meeting, having some good sleep or even in a heated make out session with Zeke, she would just stop and get to where she is needed. That was who Sharpay was.

"I'll be there"

Tears brimmed in Taylor's eyes. Who could be so evil to do such a thing to Gabi? How many hearts did they want to break? The tears were free.


Close enough. Sharpay had received the phone call while she was dancing away with her husband at Club 49. The music blared so high it was hard to believe that what Taylor had said was coherent.

"What is it?" Zeke yelled over Kanye West's voice when he was singing "Heartless'. Sharpay stayed silent for a second but then the adrenaline poured out of her body, giving her a good swift kick in the rear. She grabbed the chocolate hand that she loved and scurried out of the night club.

"Sharpay?" Zeke staggered behind he, completely confused. They raced to Sharpay's pink Mercedes with the initials SE printed in perfect cursive on the car. As soon as they were seated with buckles clicked, Sharpay zoomed off towards the hospital.

"Will you please tell me where we are going?" Sharpay ,like the rest of her friends, was at the verge of a breakdown.

"Gabs...hospital..bitch...hit her" Sharpay stuttered in between her soft cries. Zeke's eyes widened.

"Then why are you going so slow, Shar!" he yelled. Like lightning, they sped off into the highway.


Jesse pressed his foot harder on the gas pedal, making his car give off a roar before taking off , twice the speed limit. Gabriella had to live. She was too important to so many people. The 27 year old man turned right into the Hospital parking lot. He turned the engine off once the car had been parked safely in a spot. Jesse pulled the keys out of their respective slot and rushed out of the car, strait to the entrance.

"Gabriella Montez" Jesse slammed his fists onto the counter making the nurse jump.

"Are you a relative?" the nurse asked. Jesse's anger flared but he had to control it. The nurse knew nothing of Jesse. He nodded.

"Older brother. Jesse Montez" the nurse searched the name 'Gabriella Montez" in her computer.

"Room 314, on the third floor" Jesse pushed off of the counter and sprinted to the elevator. He pushed the up button twice and seconds later the elevator doors opened, sounded with a 'ding'. He stepped in and pressed floor number three.

Eternity had passed until finally Jesse had reached the third floor but once the doors disengaged, a true horror struck him. In front of Jesse stood Troy Bolton, the Troy Bolton.

All of a sudden, everything began to make sense.