EDIT (11/25/09): This was formerly titled as Intertwined, but then I found out that there is a slight difference between intertwined and entwined. I'm the type of person that would sleep over such a minor detail, so I changed it. Oh and I'm never satisfied with summaries so if you see that it changed again, just know that it's cuz I'm picky about wording. Same story though. In short, Entwined was previously titled as Intertwined. Sorry in advance for any confusion.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with the HSM franchise in any way, shape or form. Nor do I hold any rights to Willow by Julia Hoban.

Summary: Gabriella's not the same girl she was when she meets Troy at the ski-lodge. That girl was murdered in the car crash that killed her mother. When Troy comes back into her life, it hurts more than anything she could ever inflict on herself. He's a reminder of the blinding light and the shattering of glass; all of it. Troy, who is convinced that she's still the same girl he met on New Years Eve, refuses to give up on her when he discovers her secret. For the first time in a long time, she begins to feel something more than the pain and it scares her.

A/N: Hello to all my faithful readers and those reading one of my stories for the first time! I feels like I haven't been on FanFic in forever. =/ Anyway, I'm excited about this story and I love writing it. This story is slightly based on Willow by Julia Hoban, except with my own twists. Just as a warning, Intertwined does revolve around the topic of self-injury. It's nothing too graphic, but some people are uncomfortable with the topic. Thanks for clicking on my story and I hope you enjoy it.

April 5, 2010

"You're going to be late!" Adam calls up the stairs.

Gabriella rolls in her bed. She's been awake for awhile now, but she's been dreading this moment. Today is her first day at East High, her first day back to school in general. But she doesn't want to think about that right now so she pushes the sheets off her body and makes her way into the adjoining bathroom. She begins her routine of washing her face, then brushing her teeth and finally rolls her left sleeve up. She examines the damage and is careful to not reopen the wound. She gingerly rubs her skin with anti-bacterial soap and then rinses it off with hot water.

"Gabriella!" Adam warns her once again.

She shuts the water off and rushes back into her room. She thoughtlessly chooses a blue long-sleeved shirt and dark washed jeans. She takes down her hair from her messy ponytail and briefly brushes out the knots in her curly locks.

Adam sits at the table, reading the sports section of the newspaper when Gabriella enters the kitchen. He's in his early thirties and has a tall built. He wears his black hair combed to the side to match his business attire. His brown eyes look up to meet Gabriella's when he hears her footsteps. "Good morning! Gen fixed you some breakfast before she left this morning. It's a bit cold, do you want me to warm it up?" He had already set down his newspaper and was getting ready to stand.

"I've got it Adam, go back to your paper." Gabriella heats up the oatmeal and pours herself coffee. "Do you want more coffee?"

"No thanks." He hasn't picked up his newspaper, but instead sips on his coffee. "Are you excited about today?"

"Nervous is more like it."

"Don't be. Think of it as a fresh start." That was typical Adam, always looking to the bright side of things. Maybe that's why Gabriella enjoyed being in the presence of her brother-in-law. "Gen said that you should be at the front office by 7:30, so you've got 20 minutes before we leave, okay?"

Gabriella nodded at him as she took her oatmeal out of the microwave and leaned against the counter. Adam excused himself from the room, leaving Gabriella alone with her thoughts. She looks around the kitchen as she makes her way to the table to sit down and enjoy the meal her sister made for her. Despite the fact that Genevieve and Adam had opened their home up to her, she still doesn't feel like she belongs.

Because no matter what they do, what any of them do, the bottom line is that Gabriella's presence would always be a reminder of that cold, winter's day.

***
***

Gabriella stares at the guy sitting across her. To call him 'gorgeous' would be an insult because he was much more than that. She's probably not the only one starring at him. But there is a big difference between Gabriella and the other observers in the room. The girls look at him with lustful and admiring eyes. The guys look at him with envy filling their veins, wishing that they were him. For Gabriella, it's none of those feelings. She looks at him and feels like she's suffocating. The room closes in on her. The sounds of glass crushing mixed with tire screeches and her mother's scream play in her ear.

I've got to make it stop.

She stands up abruptly, pulling her bag over her shoulder. All eyes look up from their textbooks to see her walking up to the teacher's desk. She doesn't notice them because the images in her head won't stop.

Mrs. Jameson looks at her with pity, she obviously knows her story. She's been getting that look since Adam introduced her as Genevieve's sister in the main office. "Is something wrong, Gabriella?"

"I uhmm…was wondering if I could be excused to the restroom. It's uhmm...that time of the month." She includes the latter for added sympathy, not that she really needed to.

"Sure, by all means. Just sign out." She gestures to a corkboard by the door.

She nods gratefully and quickly scribbles her name, time and destination on the lined paper. In a matter of moments she finds herself alone in the halls, willing herself to not break into a run towards the bathroom.

Why does he have to be in my class?
The day was going well.
Okay, not well, but alright.

Gabriella finally enters the bathroom and immediately locks herself in a stall. She leans against the closed door and rifles through her bag. She pulls out a make up bag, nearly dropping it on the floor from her hurried pace. Her fingers slide into the bag in search of the cold metal.

Yes!

She holds the make up bag in her left hand, knowing that it's purpose has not fully been served. The thin metal rests between her index finger and thumb as she uses her other fingers to pull up her left sleeve, her finger nails dragging over her marred skin.

The blade sinks into her skin once. Twice. Three times.

Her mind reels as she basks in the feeling, knowing that she can't stay in ther for too long. For Gabriella this is better than anything a doctor could ever prescribe. The images in her mind had stopped. The painful noises had stopped. All she could hear was the sound of her heartbeat slowing down.

She gingerly drops the blade into the make up bag and skillfully takes out a sterile wipe with one hand. She cleanses the red droplets off of her arm and discards the wipe into the sanitary box beside the toilet. The make up bag finds its way back into her bag, but not before supplying a large Band-Aid. She rips the thin paper packaging apart and removes the glossy backing. She is careful to place it so that it covers all three off her life savers.

I wonder if I can switch out of this class and into a different science class. Gabriella thinks as she reenters the classroom. She scribbles down the return time, shaving a minute or two off so it wouldn't look inconspicuous. Her classmates don't acknowledge her reappearance as they are too busy working individually, well, all except one.

"Okay, class, close your books. The majority of your last test scores were disgraceful." Mrs. Jameson captures everyone's attention. "Would someone like to help me pass out the papers?"

A perky redhead pops up from her seat and practically skips to the front of the room to retrieve the papers.

"Brittany is passing out the rubric for your next project that's due in two weeks." Collective groans fill the classroom. Mrs. Jameson rolls her eyes. "To make it a bit easier on you, you'll have a partner," She pauses and watches as friends exchange glances, "that I will assign." She smirks as the class groans again. "Before you start complaining, it's a simple project and it's purpose is to balance out your test scores. Instead of complaining, you guys should be thanking me."

The whole process makes Gabriella nervous. If she was jostled back into time to three months ago, then maybe she would be a bit more confident. Her old friends would of described her as loud and blunt. People were lured in by her sweet smile and kind heart. But it's different now and her people skills aren't in tip top shape. She anxiously waits for Mrs. Jameson to call out her name. Half the class has already been paired off. Much to her dismay, the guy sitting across from her has yet to be matched up.

"Gabriella Montez and," Mrs. Jameson pauses to scan the room, "Troy Bolton."

The brunette bites down on her lip. Of course it is because the world is conspiring against me. She thinks as she feels several pairs of eyes drilling into her. She knows that he's looking at her. The other pairs of eyes shooting daggers at her. Brittany glares at her as she shoves the packet onto Gabriella's desk.

Great, like I needed another reason to be hated.

The bell rings before she knows it, signaling the end of her first day. Gabriella quickly gathers her things and exit's the room before anyone could stop her; before he could stop her.

"Gabriella!"

She knows that she has to talk to him eventually, but that moment was not now so she walks faster. Through the noisy halls, she faintly hears someone call his name. She takes this opportunity to rush to her locker.

Gabriella was making her way down the front steps when she heard his voice. It was huskier than she remembered, if that was even possible.

"Gabriella, wait!"

She takes a deep breath and turns around, not daring to look him in the face. The last time she did, it had proven to be catastrophic. She wonders if he remembers her because she certainly hasn't forgotten him.

"I'm Troy Bolton," he says in a friendly tone that tells her that he had no clue who she is.

Of course he wouldn't remember me.
All we did was sing together.

"You're Gabriella Montez, right? My science partner?"

She nods, still not willing to look at his face. Over his shoulder, she notices that people are starring at her.

I can't deal with this right now.

"I'm going to be late for work," she says bluntly. "Can we talk about our project tomorrow? Before class?"

"Yeah, sure thing," he says dejectedly. "See you tomorrow."

Gabriella gives him a quick nod and turns on her heel. She walks away, taking fast and long strides .

***
***

"Gabriella!" a three-year-old calls out to her as she enters one of the play rooms.

She offers a small smile to the group of little kids who looked up from playing with their stuffed animals. Just a month after the accident, she began working at Dandy Daycare until closing at six. She wasn't ready for school just yet, but being around the innocent minds helped her cope. It was the only thing that didn't make her feel so destructive. Noelle, Genevieve's college roommate, owns the daycare and is one of the few people that doesn't look at her with pity.

"Hi Noelle, how are things today?"

"Hey Gabriella!" the petite Chinese woman greets. "Pretty quiet since you haven't been here full day," Noelle says as she helps Gabriella clean up the scattered toys. "I think some of the kids missed you."

"Trust me, I wasn't too thrilled to be away from them either. I forgot how odd high school life was."

"Ahhh..but those are the best years of your life. College sucks." Noelle smiles encouragingly. "Why don't you take the front desk today?"

"Are you sure? You've been with the kids all day.." Gabriella trails off, not wanting to sound to eager.

"Puh-lease! I've managed the daycare all by myself long before you came along," Noelle says with a playful smirk. "You think that you can catch up on the paperwork for me?"

"No problem." Gabriella says triumphantly as she exit's the playroom and walks down the hall. The foyer of the daycare was separated from the rest of the building by a L-shaped counter. She enters the small workspace behind the counter and immediately makes herself at home. After her little incident earlier in the day, she didn't feel up to chasing the children around. She was so focused on the computer screen in front of her that she didn't even hear the front door chime.

"Excuse me, I'm here to pick up Sydney."

Shit! She thinks as she struggles to control herself. "I need a photo ID, please." She manages to get out in a professional tone as she allows her hair to work as a curtain. She finds it ironic that she asks this of him when she's very aware of who he is. She barely looks up as she takes the ID from him and prints his name, the date and time on a sign out sheet. "Just sign on the last line," she says as she hands him the clipboard and his ID.

"Gabriella?" he asks in disbelief. "You work here?"

"For the past two months," she deadpans. "I'll get Sydney."

Blue eyes obviously run in the family.

"How did I not see the resemblance before?" Gabriella asks the seven-month-old baby in her arms. Of course she saw the last name, but she didn't think anything of it. They couldn't be the only Boltons in east Albuquerque.

The baby looked up to her in amazement, reaching up to pull one of Gabriella's curls. She giggles at the women carrying her as the curl sprung back. Sydney claps her hands enthusiastically and does it again.

Gabriella skillfully opens the counter door with one hand as they enter the foyer to find Troy starring down at his phone. "Here she is." Sydney squirms as she is handed over to her big brother. Their arms brush against each other for a brief second and his skin seems to burn her through the blue cotton material.

"Thanks," he says with a smirk.

"No problem, " she deadpans as she makes an effort to quickly exit the room.

"Gabriella!" Noelle's voice rings out from the backroom. "Can you bring me the call list?!"

"Sure thing!" Gabriella calls as she closes the counter door behind her, thankful for the physical barrier she put between then. She rounds the corner of the counter and makes her way to the back work space. She snatches the small black book of the children's contact information and walks through the hallway, peeking through the various rooms for Noelle. "Here you go," she says as she hands the book to her boss who's sitting on the floor with one the children in her lap. "Awe, what's wrong with Monica?"

"She's starting get a fever, so I wanted to call her mom and make sure it's alright to give her Tylenol." Noelle informs her as she flips through the book. "Was that the welcoming bell I heard earlier?"

"Yeah, Sydney's older brother came to pick her up."

"I never knew that she had a brother."

"Neither did I."

Noelle finds the number and begins to dial it. "Can you bring Monica to the nap room and keep an ear out for her since it's near the front office?"

"Of course," Gabriella says as she bends down to pick up the yawning three-year-old from Noelle's arms. "C'mon sweetheart." Monica's head falls comfortably onto Gabriella's shoulder as she was pulled against Gabriella's small frame.

"Gabriella?" Monica's sweet voice says.

"Yes? What's wrong?"

"Me no feel good."

"So I've heard." Gabriella tells her as they approach the nap room. "Ms. Noelle is asking your parents if you can have medicine so you can feel better, alright?"

"Okay."

"You have the Minnie Mouse sleeping bad, right?" Gabriella asks as she scans the dim room illuminated only by a small lamp in the corner.

Monica nods into Gabriella's neck.

She walks by the rows of sleeping bags that lined the cushioned floor and comes to a stop in front of one with Minnie Mouse's silhouette gracing the front. She bends down and carefully pries the little girl off of her. "Here we are."

Monica wobbly stands up and slips into her sleeping bag. "Thank you," she whispers.

"Your welcome sweetie." Gabriella whispers back as she stands up and exit's the room. As she walks behind the counter she notices a figure leaning against it. "You're still here," she says shocked and slightly annoyed.

"Yeah, I figured that since I'm here, we can talk about the project."

"I really should get back to work. I've got paperwork to do," she says dismissively as she sits down in her seat.

Just leave and let me be.

"It'll just take a second." Troy pleads and if she was looking she'd see the hope in his eyes.

"Really, I can't right now," she snaps, her patience wearing thin. "Noelle's not paying me to sit around and talk about homework."

"Okay. Fine. See ya tomorrow, Ella," he says, but makes no effort to move.

Gabriella feels her throat tighten at the sound of her old nickname. The one she refuses to respond to since the night of the accident. She tells herself that she's just being paranoid. That he didn't just call her Ella because if he knew who she was then he would of said something earlier. Right? "Bye," she squeaks, turning around to face the computer screen.

"Seriously?" Troy asks in an amused tone as he looks down at his baby sister and then back to Gabriella. "You're just going to sit there and pretend like it never happened."

Gabriella tears her eyes away from the glowing screen and dares herself to look up at the man standing in front of her. She chickens out and instead watches Sydney play with a small plush monkey. "What are you talking about?" she asks, but she knows exactly where this is leading too.

"Ella, why didn't you tell me it was you?" He sounds happy to see her. "I can't believe you're here, Ella. Actually, what I can't believe is that I didn't recognize you. I mean your hair is different, but you're just as beautiful as I remember." Troy's cheeks turn red as he pauses and processes what he just admitted. He shakes his head, the grin never leaves his face. "So, did you and your mom move to be closer to your sister, Mrs. Moretti? I can't believe that my old English teacher is your sister! My mom's going to freak when she finds out. She's been trying to get in touch with your mom-"

"She's dead." Gabriella spits out bitterly and as if she could sense the vileness of the situation, Sydney begins to cry. "My mom died and Ella died right along with her. They're dead and it's my fault." The brunette pauses, watching his face pale as her words sink in. "I killed her. I killed them."

Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Critique?
Thanks for reading and I hope you stay tune for more!
Much love,
Kae xoxo