Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.

A/N: Thank you again for all the reviews! Enjoy…

Last Time…

The tears began to fall freely from his eyes, seemingly unstoppable. His lips trembled and soon it was too much, he uncontrollably let out a loud sob, gasping for air, for comfort, for anything but this pain he was feeling. His hand grasped his shirt, balling it up in his hand as his body racked with painful sobs. He needed something to hold on to, something to attempt to hold himself together.

How could he have been so happy this morning and now be sitting in Gabriella's apartment with his heart wrenching sobs filling the room?

It had taken Troy and Gabriella months to build their relationship, to fall deeper and deeper in love with each other. But it had only taken a few seconds and exactly fourteen words to bring Troy's world crashing down on him.

"I'm sorry it had to end this way, but I had to go home."

Chapter Twenty One – Anger

"Ms. Montez, homework is not allowed up here." Troy reminded his girlfriend, when he found her scribbling in her notebook, with a textbook open beside it. She looked up at Troy looking slightly flustered.

"But! But!" she protested, "Technically, this isn't even homework. I'm studying." Gabriella smiled innocently. Troy rolled his eyes and shook his head as he walked over to her.

"It's all the same thing Brie. The rooftop is strictly for relaxing," Troy explained to her, "and don't even say studying is relaxing to you," he interjected before Gabriela could object.

He slid onto the bench next to Gabriella, and reached around her so he could shut her text book. Gabriella sighed and put her book, notebook and pen away.

"If I fail that test, it's on your conscience," Gabriella informed him.

"Fine, but I have complete confidence that you will not fail that test," Troy responded.

"I wish I had that kind of confidence," Gabriella mumbled glumly. Troy looked down at Gabriella unhappily, he didn't like watching her this stressed out. Thinking of an idea, he stood up and held out his hand.

"Come on, get up," Troy encouraged. Gabriella made a confused face, but took his hand and stood up.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"We," Troy began, "are going to dance."

Gabriella let out a laugh, "What? Troy, there's not even any music."

"Ahhh au contraire my love," he smirked. Troy pulled out his ipod and walked behind a large potted plant. Suddenly, the introduction to "Hot Blooded" began playing. Troy reappeared from behind the plant, already dancing to the beat of the music. "I know you like doing this Brie," he reminded her, taking her hand in his. Gabriella laughed, but nevertheless began to move to the music.

Gabriella sang along with Troy as she bounced her hips from side to side to the rhythm of the song. Troy pretended to play the guitar while Gabriella pretended to play the drums. They both used their fists as microphones and sang the chorus to each other , getting closer as the song progressed.

Troy was jumping, still playing his 'guitar' while Gabriella let her hair run wild as she air-banged her head to the music.

Soon, Troy grabbed Gabriella's hand again so he could twirl her around, while they both bounced up and down.

The music began to fade and Troy pulled Gabriella close to him. They were both out of breath from jumping around and singing at the top of their lungs, but Troy grinned down at Gabriella, who was smiling brightly back at him.

Suddenly, the bell rang loudly. Instead of pulling Troy down the stairs with her, Gabriella simply started to fade in Troy's arms. She started to disappear through his fingers. He tried frantically to grab her, but his fingers went straight through her.

The bell rang again and Gabriella started to disappear more.

"Brie!" Troy called out, trying to get her to stay. "Don't leave Brie!"

The loud bell rang a third time, this time seemingly louder than the first two. Why did the school bell keep ringing? What was going on here? By this time Gabriella had completely disappeared.

"Brie, where are you!"

The bell rang continuously now as Troy ran frantically around the roof top looking for Gabriella.

Beep Beep Beep Beep

Troy groaned as he slammed his hand down on his alarm. He rolled over and opened his eyes. He smiled as his eyes landed on the picture of Gabriella and him which sat of his bedside table. Troy was about to get out of bed when the realization hit him like a ton of angry bricks; Gabriella was gone and it was Monday.

He had absolutely no desire to get out of bed, no will. He rolled back over and pulled the covers back over his head.

--

Troy walked through the empty halls of East High. He was late, but truthfully he really didn't care. His mother had come pounding on his door about half an hour after he'd shut off his alarm, yelling at him to get up. Lethargically, he'd gotten ready and here was now, walking miserably through the hallways.

He opened the door to homeroom and stepped inside, 15 minutes late.

"Ah, Mr. Bolton, how kind of you to grace us with your presence," Ms. Darbus greeted. "However winning front to front Championship games, does not give you the right to be late. I'll see you in detention afterschool today."

Troy sighed, but nodded and slumped to his seat in the front row. He glanced towards Gabriella's seat, in hopes that maybe, just maybe, she'd be sitting in her seat. But she wasn't, it was empty and haunting him.

Kelsi furrowed her eyebrows as she watched Troy. There was something wrong, something very wrong. He should be on top of the world with excitement. The entire school was buzzing about the game and they hadn't even played in it. So, naturally the captain of the team should be absolutely elated, but Troy looked like the polar opposite of that. He looked devastated and angry. He'd come into class seemingly indifferent to what went on in the world around him.

Ms. Darbus had a meeting that morning that she had to leave for five minutes before the class ended. So, for once Ms. Darbus stopped talking before the class actually ended and left her class to their own devices. And for once, Troy wished she hadn't left. He would no longer have something to concentrate on, something to draw his attention away from the haunting desk and from the pain and anger he felt.

"Dude!" Chad exclaimed. "Where have you been all weekend? I tried calling you a hundred times, but you never picked up."

"I was distracted, I guess," Troy said solemnly. Chad was confused, what did Troy have to be distracted about?

"Distracted," Chad snorted, "We won the Championships dude, that's pretty clear to me."

Troy sighed, "It's complicated."

Kelsi looked worriedly at Zeke, who also seemed to notice a difference in Troy's behavior.

Just then, Taylor practically slammed her hands down on Troy's desk,

"Troy! Do you know where Gabriella is? I've been trying to contact her all weekend and I haven't heard a word from her. She and I have this huge chemistry lab due today and she promised me we could review it together!" Taylor exasperated.

Troy's face froze, it turned to icy stone. His stare became cold and hard as Taylor looked expectantly and impatiently at him.

Kelsi's concern only grew as she watched Troy's expression. It seemed as though Gabriella had something to do with his hard gaze, but that didn't make any sense. How could Troy possibly be mad at Gabriella?

"No," Troy answered curtly.

"What do you mean no? You always know where she is." Taylor's snippy response, which had been brought on most likely due to the sheer magnitude of the lab that was due in just a few periods, only fueled Troy's anger.

"Sometimes people surprise you," he muttered disdainfully. By this time most of the gang had figured out that something was wrong with Troy. Their basketball captain was not acting like himself. He wasn't laughing and joking, like he did every morning.

"That's it! What the hell is up with you?" Sharpay demanded, throwing her arms into the air.

"We just won the state championships man, for the second year and you're acting like someone died."

'It feels like that' Troy thought. It would be impossible to tell his friends what had happened, what he knew. He could barely wrap his own head around the fact; there was no way he could tell his friends. But he had no choice because his friends were her friends too. They needed to know. Troy took a deep breath before he whispered,

"Gabriella left."

"Like on vacation?"

"No, she left. For good." Troy answered dryly.

A gasp radiated through the gang. Each member trying to process the information Troy had just relayed to them.

"What?" Sharpay exhaled. "Why?"

"I don't know. She just left without any explanation. She's gone. That's it. End of story." Troy's voice had risen considerably, the anger in him finally taking control of the depression.

He'd spent all of Saturday and Sunday being upset and miserable, but now he was just angry. He was furious at Gabriella for doing this to him. She had been such a hypocrite. She had been afraid he would leave her or break her heart, but she'd turned around and left him and broken his heart.

How dare she? She had given him no explanation, no warning, no nothing. He had given her everything he had and this was how she repaid him?

"Wait, but Troy, that doesn't…that doesn't even make sense," Taylor managed to get out. "Gabriella wouldn't do that."

Troy couldn't help but laugh, "Well she did."

"At least think about it Troy. Why would she leave? It makes no sense," Zeke tried to reason with Troy.

"Damn it!" Troy's fist collided with his desk top, "I don't know why she left, but she did and without any fricken explanation. She obviously felt like we didn't deserve one." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the note, the one Gabriella's had left him. "This is the note she left. This and a random book were all she left," he muttered disdainfully. Without another word, he pushed back his chair angrily, so he could stand up and storm out of the classroom.

Kelsi reached out to grab the note and read the note quickly. She shook her head softly, disbelievingly, as her hand covered her mouth in shock. She read the note aloud to her friends in a hushed tone.

For once, the entire group was speechless as they all took in the news. Even if a member of the gang had wanted to speak, no words would have come to their mouth. The words seemed to slip from each of their brains as they sat unable to fathom the news properly.

The piercing bell rang through their ears and each person got up slowly, moving sluggishly out of the classroom. Taylor stayed seated though, staring straight ahead. This made no sense. No sense whatsoever.

Taylor McKessie had a strong intuition about people. She read people like a children's book and Gabriella was no exception. Gabriella wasn't the type of person who hurt people. Taylor knew Gabriella cherished her friends in Albuquerque and she certainly loved Troy. There was no way she would hurt them intentionally. Gabriella wasn't the type of person to leave without any explanation. Though she was a private person, she was not one to leave loose ends for those she cared about.

Taylor sighed, there was something else going on, something bigger and she needed to figure it out.

--

Taylor practically ran to the lunch room after her chemistry class. She'd been staring at the note all period and with 15 dreadful minutes of the class left she'd noticed something that almost made her shriek. She wasn't sure whether to shriek with happiness or fear though. She'd been right, but in some ways she wished she had been wrong.

She rapidly approached her lunch table only to find a silent group of friends, with solemn looks drawn across their faces. She slammed the books in her arms down on the table, causing half of her friends to jump.

"Guys! Gabriella didn't leave!" She exclaimed. The entire gang looked up at her, some with somber eyes and others with angry ones.

Kelsi shook her head, "Taylor, don't do this. You saw the note, you have the note. She left," she said quietly.

"No, you don't understand," Taylor protested.

"No, we understand. It's you who can't understand," Troy interrupted. "She left us Taylor. How many times are you going to make me say it? She was cruel and heartless and she left us." Troy's voice was bitter and harsh.

"You're going to regret that last statement Troy Bolton," Taylor warned.

"Excuse me?" Troy was slightly taken back at Taylor's tone.

"Are you really that stupid?" Taylor asked slowly, "Do you seriously believe Gabriella would just leave?" She was addressing the entire table now, "How can you guys doubt her like this? This is Gabriella Montez we're talking about. She loved it here. She treasured us and she loved you Troy, she really did and still does," her voice softened.

Taylor pulled Gabriella's note out of her pocket, "Look at the note again," she suggested, pushing the note towards the center of the table.

"I've memorized this note Taylor, I don't need to read it again," Troy whispered.

"But have you looked at it? Have you really looked at all the details?"

The gang seemed intrigued by Taylor's challenge, so they all leaned closer to examine the paper. Taylor watched everyone's face carefully, waiting for them to figure it out. Kelsi's eyes lit up first,

"Oh my god," her voice was slow and quiet. She looked up at Taylor for confirmation. Taylor nodded. Kelsi's hand wacked her forehead, "How did I miss that?"

Zeke and Ryan figured out the puzzle seemingly at the same time, but neither boy said anything, they just placed a hand on their foreheads.

Sharpay was becoming impatient because she couldn't see anything special about the note,

"What is it?" she demanded to know. Taylor leaned over the table and used to finger to point to four words.

"Look at 'end' , 'home' , 'please' and 'love'," she instructed. "What's special about those words?"

Jason, Chad, Troy and Sharpay stared blankly at Taylor, they had no idea. Taylor pointed the first letter of each word,

"Look the first letter of each word is capitalized."

"So? There are other words capitalized too," Chad shrugged.

Taylor sighed, "But those words should be capitalized. These words are capitalized incorrectly. Gabriella is the grammar queen; she wouldn't make a mistake like this. What do those letters spell?"

"eeehuhpl?" Jason tried to sound out the word.

Sharpay slapped his forearm, "It spells 'help' Jason. Help, as in Gabriella needs us. She didn't leave on her own accord, someone forced her and we've been sitting here thinking she was bitch for leaving us. God, how could we be so blind."

The entire table silenced as Sharpay's words hit the gang. The air was no longer tense and angry, but miserable and scared.

Troy was still angry. He wasn't angry at Gabriella though. He was furious with himself, disgusted even. How could he even have doubted Gabriella for a second? He was such an ass. He was ashamed that he had even felt that way about Gabriella, even while she was absent. He hated himself. He was supposed to love Gabriella, to trust her. Why hadn't he seen it? Why had he been so blind to what had been right in front of him?

He didn't deserve Gabriella. She'd left something for him to find and he'd missed it. He'd read the note thousands of times and each time been blind to the obvious clue. He'd hated Gabriella for days because he believed she'd left him. She was so much better than he was.

It was his fault anyway, he'd left that night, he'd gone to a party. It made him sick to think about the fact that Gabriella was being taken while he'd been chatting up a storm at some party. He should have stayed. He should have been stubborn. He should have been there to protect her. James was right; he hadn't been able to protect her. He'd failed in his promise. He'd let James get to her. He'd let James come and take Gabriella from right under his nose.

Troy's rage at himself was becoming too immense, he needed to channel it. Unfortunately the table felt his fury.

He pounded his fists on the table,

"I swear to God, I am going to kill James," he spat furiously. Even though he knew he didn't deserve Gabriella, he still loved her and wanted her to be safe again. Taylor shook her head,

"No Troy, it wasn't James. Look it says, 'I had to go home'. I think it was her dad."

The color from Troy's face drained. He felt like he was going to be sick. The fact that it was her father was possibly worse than it being James. He couldn't breathe. Memoires of Gabriella's painful account of her life with her father flashed through his mind. He remembered the pain he'd seen in her eyes, the pain he'd heard in her sobs as she'd recalled the horrific events.

Gabriella's abusive father had her and there was nothing Troy could do about it.

A/N: Ok, so how many of you are going back to check to see if the note was actually written like that? How many of you noticed? Props to you if you did. Most of you thought James was the one at the door, but a good few of you thought it was her dad. The gang seems to think it's her dad. Do you agree with the gang? Or do you have your own theory? You'll find out who has Gabriella in the next chapter!

I apologize for any horrible mistakes in this chapter. I read it over really quickly. I really wanted to get this up tonight, because I'm going to be busy all weekend.

Thanks for reading. Please review!