An: This is the final chapter (I know, finally, right?). Anyway, for those who didn't read the original and therefore haven't read the sequel, there is one, it's called I'll Stand My You, but warning: read it at your own risk. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

The next morning, Troy awoke to find something warm pressed tightly against his chest. Smiling, he brushed the hair from Gabriella's eyes and kissed her forehead, hoping not to wake her. He could tell she had cried a little in her sleep, but she seemed calmed now.

Carefully, Troy slid his arm out from under her neck and got dressed for the day. Suddenly, Gabriella's phone went off but Troy quickly answered it before it could wake her.

"Hello," he greeted the person after stepping out of the room.

"Troy?" the girl said, partially shocked.

"Gabriella's still asleep, I didn't want to wake her," he explained, realizing it was Taylor. "I know what you're probably wondering, but a lot happened yesterday."

"I heard about Ms. Montez," Taylor started. "How is she handling it?"

"She's opening up to me," he told her. "She's doing better than I thought, but she's been really, super clingy to me."

"She will be for a while," Taylor replied. "She's probably scared you'll go and she'll never see you again, which is what happened with her mom."

"Maybe," he agreed. "Uh, do you wanna talk to her? I guess it's all right if I wake her."

"Yeah," she answered.

Stepping back into his room, Troy gently shook Gabriella until her eyes fluttered open seconds later. "Wh-what?"

"Gabi, Taylor wants to talk to you," Troy told her, handing her the phone.

Reluctantly, Gabriella took the phone. She didn't feel like talking about what happened this early in the morning, but she knew that Taylor was worried about her.

"Hi, Taylor," she greeted weakly.

"Gabriella, I heard what happened! I'm so, so, sorry!" Taylor cried. "If there's anything I can do, please tell me."

"There isn't," she replied. "Thanks, but I think I can manage."

"Are you sure?" Taylor asked, surprised by her attitude. "If you want, I'll round up the others and we can all meet at your place and help you get your things."

"That'd be great," she told her.

"What time?" Taylor asked her.

"Maybe around noon," she answered.

"All right, see you then."

Troy listened as her phone clicked off, glad to finally be able to talk to her. "Gabi, we need to go to the hospital…"

At this, Gabriella suddenly started bawling once again. She was deathly afraid of seeing her mother dead. She had seen her father dead and it left her with nothing but a heavily broken heart; she didn't want to do it again. And, now, she would need to make funeral arrangements for her mother, as terrifying as it seemed.

"Gabi," Troy started gently. "You have to do this. I'll be right there, though."

"You act like that's all I need!" she snapped.

"It's not," he whispered, wiping her wet cheeks. "I just know you need someone there for you, and I'm the one for the job."

"I'm sorry," she sighed. "I know I've been a pain, and I'm sorry our date got ruined yesterday."

"Baby, it wasn't ruined," he assured her. "We just had a change in plans, that's all. Besides, the goal was to spend time together. We spent plenty of time together last night. Heck, you live here now."

"Troy, Gabriella, come on!" the couple heard Jack yell from another room. "We have to get to the hospital."

Looking back at Gabriella, Troy gave her a reassuring look. "Gabi, you can do this. I'll be right next to you through it all."

Gabriella nodded, taking his hand as they walked out the door. Oddly, she knew he was right. She could handle this. She felt she could do anything with him at her side.

Four hours later, Gabriella had been to the hospital and was at her old house. The hospital visit was excruciating for her, especially upon seeing her mother's corpse. Soon, they were taken elsewhere, though she hadn't paid much attention to what was happening at the time. It was like she was in a trance. She signed several papers, but she didn't read them, nor had she really been listening to what everyone around her was telling her. Since seeing her mother's dead body, her mind had been numb, her eyes dull. Every once in a while, Troy had either held her hand or placed his hand on her knee for comfort, but she hadn't reacted to his touch at all.

Now, standing outside of her home for the last time, Gabriella's eyes that had lost their color were suddenly back to the chocolate-brown color Troy missed. Her once emotionless demeanor turned to sadness as they drew closer. His father had an errand to run and would be back in a couple of hours to pick them up and her things.

"Gabriella, are you okay?" he asked softly, holding her hand as she opened the front door. He knew something had to be wrong, for her reaction to seeing her mother was nothing compared to the night before.

"Fine," she replied, stepping inside. When she did, however, her eyes immediately flooded with tears that never fell. It was an inner battle: she didn't want to cry, but, at the same time, all she wanted to do was cry.

"I'll help gather your things," he told her quickly. "Where do you want me to start? Clothes, jewelry, make-up, what?"

"You can start with my books, CDs, movies, that sort of thing," she answered, handing him a large trash bag. "My books and CDs are in my room, but most DVDs are down here."

Troy nodded, watching as she went upstairs before going to his own task. Beside the television, he found the DVDs which all he recognized to be popular romance movies, such as The Notebook and A Cinderella Story, even the Titanic. Chuckling lightly, he pulled them all off of the shelves and carefully placed them in a bag, making sure nothing was scratched or broken.

As he did this, the door suddenly flew open. Before Troy could realize who it was, the guy tackled him to the ground. He tried to get up but was kicked in the stomach.

"Stay out of this, Bolton! I have a bone to pick with Montez!" It didn't take long for Troy to recognize Lance's voice. Hastily, Lance kicked him one last time in the head, making sure he was down.

Unknown to Lance, however, Gabriella witnessed what had just happened and was now in her room, on the phone and frantically waiting for police to answer. Sprinting up the stairs, he burst through the door and grabbed her phone, throwing it to the ground with a thud before she told more than her name. She backed away in sheer terror, unable to speak. Sending her a menacing look, he spoke, "Thought you'd be off the hook by sending me to prison, huh?" Lance snickered when she reached the corner. "Well, Hunny, you just won a free ride to Hell!"

Gabriella grimaced as he pressed his body against hers, having a feeling she knew what he would do. His hands traveled south, touching her through her pants. Gabriella felt sick inside but there was nothing she could do. She tried to push his hand away but to no avail, for he only became rougher. Lance smirked at her discomfort. "I can honestly say I can't wait to get inside you."

Angrily, Gabriella suddenly slapped him. Instead of anger, however, he was clearly amused. "Feisty, aren't we?" he taunted.

"I hate you! Get out of my life!" she yelled, finally finding her voice.

"I wouldn't talk like that if I were you," he warned, grabbing her wrist. "You're coming with me!"

Hastily, he pulled Gabriella out of the room, his destination outside. However, it was an ambush. Just as he stepped out, he found himself sprawled out on the floor.

"Gabi, run!" Troy yelled, holding Lance firmly to the ground. Being the stronger of the two, Lance got his arm free and quickly whirled out his gun as she started downstairs. Before Troy could get it, he shot in her direction. Although it didn't hit her, Gabriella turned and froze in place.

"Neither of you move a muscle or she goes!" Lance threatened, pointing the gun straight at her chest.

Gabriella stood fearfully, not even breathing for several seconds. Troy froze as well. He couldn't let Lance kill her. He promised her that no one would hurt her again, and that promise he intended to keep. If she went, he would die alongside her, he knew.

"Now, get the hell off me!" he barked at Troy who was in a stunned state, lost in thought.

Scrambling to his feet, Troy watched as he, too, stood, but in the second he let his guard down, Troy got in front of Gabriella. Grasping her shoulders, he yelled, "Run!"

"I'm not leaving you!" she replied stubbornly. This was her mess, after all. She wouldn't let Troy endure pain over her any longer. She was tired of being weak. Just once couldn't she fight her own battles?

Troy's eyes clouded with tears, wondering if this would be their last moments together. "Sweetheart, I love you. Please, just save yourself."

"I-I can't do this!" she cried, tears streaming down both of their faces, both dreading that this would be the end.

"Neither of you are going anywhere!" Lance yelled, using the gun to knock Troy out cold.

"Troy!" she cried, wishing he would get up, but he never did. Bursting into tears, she fell to her knees, unaware of the knife now in Lance's hand. Suddenly, she felt something slash her face then various other places of her body before falling into unconsciousness. Her last thoughts were consumed with Troy.

"…Seriously, that's not right!" Chad argued.

"Yes, it is!" Taylor defended.

"Not!" Chad denied.

"Guys, don't start this…" Kelsi interrupted. The two had been arguing for the past five minutes, but none of them remembered what started the argument.

"Fine," the two caved in, dropping the argument.

Opening the door, Taylor gasped in horror. A trail of blood leading up the stairs from the door immediately caught the pair's attention. Hastily, Chad ran upstairs and found possibly the worst sight he had ever seen. On the floor lie Troy, battered and bloodied. There were rips in his clothes from apparently a knife that Lance had used on Troy once he was done with Gabriella. However, there were no signs of her.

"No…," Chad whispered, his eyes clouded with tears, for this was his best friend of more than a decade.

"Chad, what--" Taylor covered her mouth upon seeing Troy's limp body to keep from screaming. The others, which consisted of Ryan, Zeke, Jason, Sharpay and Kelsi all held the same expressions.

"Oh my God! Is he alive?" Sharpay asked the one question on everyone's mind, but her question was answered when Troy finally began to stir.

"Troy, you're alive!" Chad cried in disbelief.

As he sat up, Troy noticed his entire body ached and remembered the fight. He searched the group for Gabriella, but she wasn't with them. Panic rose inside of him. Had Lance taken her? Was she still alive? "Where is she?" he demanded an answer.

"Gabriella?" Kelsi guessed. "We don't know. She wasn't here when we got here."

"Oh, God," he started, his mind racing, unsure of what to do. "We have to find her! That bastard must have taken her!"

"Troy, just calm down, they couldn't have gotten too far," Zeke assured him. "Someone call the police!"

"On it!" Sharpay replied, grabbing her cell phone.

"We can't wait on them! I have to find her!" Troy stated, taking action. It would take the police longer than it would them, he thought. They knew exactly who they were after, the police did, too, but he felt strongly that he could find Gabriella easier without them asking dozens of questions before and during the search.

"That's stupid! Even though they may not be far yet, there's still so many places they could be!" Chad argued. "Just be patient."

"I don't care! She needs me!" Troy yelled, but his voice dropped suddenly as he added, "I need her."

"What you need is the hospital," Taylor interrupted the argument. "You'll need stitches for sure."

"I don't care!" he said, tears falling from his eyes. Suddenly, he grew quiet, his voice barely audible, "I don't know what I'll do without her." This statement was true. Already, he felt completely lost. Ever ounce of confidence he once had was being drained from his being. However, this was only the start of his depression....

"Oh, Troy, don't worry, Gabriella will be fine," Kelsi assured him, patting his back comfortingly.

"She better be," Troy warned, his anger rising. He would find his angel, with or without them or the police. She was his to protect, not theirs. They never made her the promises he did, and so he refused to break them.

'Wherever you are, Gabriella Montez, Troy Bolton won't give up his search…'