A/N: I wrote this one-shot very quickly, 'cause it came on my mind last night. I'm sorry for any grammar mistake. Reviews or advices are very much appreciated ;) Love you- xo Mel

Hellish angel

"Forever?", she asked, her back against the side of the door of the passenger seat, her knees bent and her knees tapping against his thigh. He took her dangling hand and laced his fingers with hers, as she giggled and moved her head side to side. He fixed his cloudy and foggy blue eyes into her dark ones, taking his lifeblood from the sight of her.

"Forever."

He exhaled heavily and their eyes locked. They both let their heads fall back and their eyes close, as a new world of kaleidoscopic and psychedelic colors appeared before them and the tourniquet fell to the ground.

The syringe was still inside.

Los Angeles, April 2010

He run his thumb over her cheek and the dark circles under hey eyes. Her tight curls were stuck to her head and her lips were chapped and dry. He kissed them, lightly, slowly, as if that was the first gesture of a lifetime together. Her eyes fluttered open and a small, fair smile took place on her face.

"Morning", she slurred and hook her leg over his. He smiled back and pinched his dripping nose, rolling on his back to retrieve his boxers and pants. He sat up and started dressing himself, while she watched his back muscles contract. Crawling over to him, she let the sheets fall down and throw her arms around his torso, rubbing her small fingers over his chest. He looked down at her arms : her once golden skin had gotten much paler than he remembered and her fragile veins were very much visible under the holes he had brought into her life. He bit his lip, hunching over to do his shoes. She let her arms rest on his back, as her cheek rubbed against his shoulder.

"You're meeting Mike?", she asked. A inch of hope could be heard in her voice. A hope he wished never to hear from her again.

"Yes.", he said, trying to put an end to the conversation. She kissed the side of his neck and got closer to his ear. A slurred whisper made its way into his ear.

"Can I come? Pleaseee ", a whisper which could pass as a drunken one, if he didn't know better. He wished he didn't know better.

He turned his head, meeting her dead eyes instantly. With no hesitation, he held the back of her head and pressed a long, hard kiss on her lips. He gave all he had into that kiss. All that was left of their happiness and, with remorse, what was left of him. Of what he once was, when he met her. Of what they once were, when they met. In that kiss it could be found the essence of Troy and Gabriella.

What they once had been but were no more.

"No, baby. You can't", he whispered against her lips and before she could reply, pusher her softly onto her back.

"You just wait me here. I'll be back before you even notice", she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him on top of her. Her thumb brushed the stubble on his cheek, while her other hand caressed his sweaty hair.

"I love you", she whispered, so softly he almost didn't hear it. For a moment, the sparkle in her eyes came back and he saw a mere evanescence of her old self. He smiled, as she pushed his head down on her chest and let her lips touch his forehead. She brushed them all over his skin the feeling of the dead skin of her lips reminded him of the wrecked soul she had become.

"You're my angel, my hellish angel ", her arms let him go seconds after the words left her mouth and he felt like she knew. He smiled softly, prying his hands away from hers.

"I won't be long".

The rain was heavy against the roof of the Audi he was sitting in. A black Audi which obviously didn't belong to him but to someone else. Somebody who had come to him weeks ago and opened his eyes about the whole thing. Somebody who had made him look around and took in his surrounding and the devastating abyss he had created and in which he had dragged the love of his life.

At first, he had refused to listen to him. He had refused to extend his hand and cry for help, but as time passed by his eyes kept taking notice of everything that was falling apart and into a disastrous spiral of decline and delirium. So, he had took the anoited and crumpled business card he had relegated and forgotten in his backpocket and, from a public and dirty phone book, he had called him.

He had called Mark Jarrod.

Troy lowered his cap on his face, in order to keep him from watching his red, puffy eyes. But he knew, he knew that Maria Montez, who was silently sitting in the back of the car, was well aware of his state of emotion and how hard all this was to him.

"I want the best for her", he reasoned, "she loves the countryside. She's always dreamed to live there, she…she…", he bit his lip hard and held onto the car door tightly.

"She won't suffer. Do you hear me ? She won't… She mustn't…", he held his head high and looked straight into Jarrod's eyes, holding his tears back. The man nodded and looked back at the woman, sending her a half smile. He turned back to Troy, handing him a brochure.

"Here's there's all you need to know, everything and y-", he pushed his hand away, opening the door quickly and hopping out. He took a deep breath and looked up in the sky, for a few minutes he thanked God for the silence he was giving him at 6 AM. A silence he so needed at the moment.

He turned back to the car where the elders were waiting and put his hands in his pockets.

"Follow me", he said.

And as he walked in front of them, with his head down low and his hands fisted in his pockets, he knew he was doing the right thing.

The only thing he could do to show her his love.

The rusty lock creaked as soon as he inserted the key and before he could even yell that he was home, a small, slim figure rushed down the stairs. She was about to launch herself at him when she stopped dead in her tracks half down the staircase. Her once shiny and long curls swinged around her back, while the tight top on her chest showed no sign of bra underneath. She crossed her arms covering the marks on her veins and looked at Troy with a hard glare. Maria Montez shivered at the sight of her daughter in that state. She put a hand on her mouth and chocked back a sob, as Jarrod hugged her shoulders, squeezing her to his side.

"What is she doing here ? ", she asked him in a stern voice, looking him straight in the eye. "I told you I never wanted to see her again. Why did you bring her here ? And why is he here too ? I want them out, Troy, right now ! ".

The calmness in her voice showed him just how mad she was and how close she was to losing it all. He made a few steps towards her, rubbing his nose and coughing.

"Baby, they're here t-", she interrupted him with a sudden yell, which scared everybody in the room.

"Right. Now !"

Their eyes locked. The tension between them was more than high, it was suffucating, deteriorating, intoxicating. For a moment, he thought about pushing the two intruders out of the door and go back to his lifestyle with her, to keep her for himself. To keep his happiness intact. Because as long as he had her, the journey to dissacration was nothing but a journey to heaven. A selfish journey to heaven he had no right to impose on her. So, right now, he had to get rid of the selfish part and let her decide her own fate.

"NO ! ", he yelled, punching the plasterboard wall and holing it. She jumped back, gasping and taking a few steps back. As he got near, she stepped further, before turning around and making a sprint to the bedroom.

"Damn it", he swore and run after her, just in time to see the door being closed to his face. He laid his hand on the door, hitting his head against it. He slided his fingers down the peeled off, darkened paint and breathed in sharply. Twisting the doorknob, he called out for her.

"Baby, c'mon… Open the door… ", he pleaded, while a faint go away came from the other side of the door. He hit against the door a few more times, before giving up and letting his fists rest against his hips. He briefly looked behind him to see Jarrod and Maria Montez staring at him with a sad look in their eyes. The old woman took a few steps towards him and caressed his cheek, a single tear running down hers. He was right, she knew. He turned back to the door and rested his head against it.

"Fine. Then you just listen to me…", he took a deep breath before continuing, "your mother and your father-"

"He's not my father ! "

"Fine ! Your mother and Mark contacted me a while ago. They… they think that it would be best if you took some time off, you know… to have time for yourself… to take care of yourself, actually. And… and they, well… we… we booked a room for you at a…", he looked back at the older people behind him, "a beauty farm, on the coast.. right on the beach, where you can see the sunset and… yeah, well. We thought you could go today and I'd catch up in a few days… what do you think ? "

He waited a few minutes for a reply. When it didn't come, panic started to creep up inside of him. He held the doorknob tight and started twisting it, shaking the door with his shoulder and side, hitting repeatedly against the weak wood.

"Baby ? Baby, talk to me. Gabriella!"

Allo f a sudden, the lock clicked and he took a step back. Her dark figure was revealed behind the dirty wood as soon as the door was pulled open by her pale arms. Her cheeks were covered in tears, as her eyes appeared to be made of glass by the amount of water held in them. She took a few steps towards him and bit her lip slowly, but hard, hard enough to feel pain go through her, trying to subdue the one caused by the new revelation.

"You're not going to come, are you ? "

At 6.00 AM, Troy Bolton loved the silence. At 6.45 AM Troy Bolton hated the silence. A silence who wasn't needed but which was a persistent ghost over the intense stare he shared with Gabriella Montez, the love of his life. He handed her a letter, never breaking their stare.

He didn't need to give her an answer, she knew.

Hey,

Do you rememeber that time on the swings ? Do you remember that time with the horses ? Do you remember that time at Santa Monica, when we swam so far from the coast that we thought we wouldn't be able to get back ? Do you remember that feeling ? The feeling of happiness, serendipity, freedom ?

That's what I wanna be able to give you. I want to be your freedom. But I'm not. I'm your hellish angel. And as long as I'm with you, you'll be anything but free. In order to be your freedom, I have to be my executioner.

You once said I saved you, but I didn't. All I did was saving myself by drowning you in my life, to make it better. You made everything look better. But I made everything look worse. I love you, Gabriella. I wanna love you like you deserve to be loved, so I'm setting you free.

For once, I wanna be the man I never was.

Here's my heart to you, you'll always own it,

Your Hellish Angel.

Los Angeles, September 2014

He had his back to the wall, hidden from the rest of the people in the park. The hood of his sweatshirt fell right above his eyes, which were shadowed by his shades. He patted his food down on the concrete nervously, looking around every 5 minutes.

Kids were running around happily, playing ball and trying to touch the sky on the wings. He half smiled for a second, almost hypnotized by the sight. He remembered being so young and full of dreams. Dreams who had soon shattered around him.

A pat on the shoulder made him turn around and meet another pair of shades. He looked back around him and slowly slided his hand out of his pocket, touching the other guy's hand and exchanging fifty bucks with a small pocket of white pills in the blink of an eye.

"Is it good ? ", he asked.

"The best on the street", the guy replied, looking around before quickly making an exit.

Troy was about to do the same, when a melodious and sweet voice made him look back at the playground.

"Troy, sweetie, slow down ! I don't want to take you to the hospital if you fall ! "

That voice. Even after 4 years, that voice made him shiver like never before. He knew she was back in town, hell she'd been back in town for 3 years now but not once in ever had the thought of meeting her again crossed his mind. He slowly turned around and looked at her.

She was an angel. She looked like an angel fallen from heaven, wearing a pencil skirt and a blue blouse underneath her heavy coat. A little boy, about 3 years old, run to her, hugging her leg and jumping up and down.

"Mommy, mommy ! Did you see ? I was flying ! "

A laugh escaped her mouth and Troy found himself smiling at the sight. She was fine. She was healed. She was Gabriella again. But he was so focused on letting his heart melt, that he didn't see a man approaching. A well dressed and wealthy man, who sneaked his arm around her waist and pulled her to his side, kissing her lips briefly.

He let his briefcase fall to the ground and knelt down to the little guy's heigth.

"Daddy ! "

"Hey champ, ready to go home ? "

Troy's heart stopped for a moment. But in that same moment, like fate, Gabriella's head turned his way. She was laughing, but that laugh slowly turned into a sad smile as her eyes fixed with his. Or, for the matter, with his shades.

He didn't move. He didn't do anything. He simply stayed there : him watching her, her watching him.

"Troy…", she whispered.

"Yeah ? ", the little guy's voice startled her and caught her attention. She pushed her hair behind her ear and smiled down at him, scooping him up on her hip.

"Erm, I was thinking about getting an icecream ? ", she replied, as the kid started squirming in her arms. She took advantage of his happiness to look back at the place where the man he once loved was standing only to find him gone. She kept her eyes there, only to realize it hadn't been an illusion. He was there, indeed.

"Everything's alright, honey ? ", the man who had meanwhile gotten up asked her.

Not taking away her eyes from the spot for one second, she squeezed her baby in her arms and let out a sigh.

"Yeah, I thought I saw somebody but… It was nobody".

At the same spot she was looking at, the syringe was still rolling on the ground.