A/N: Happy one-year anniversary of my membership to fanfiction! Here's a story for your enjoyment. A potentially not-so-onesided Ryella. I know, shocker. I kind of reverted back to my original writing style with this, so let me know if you like it. Enjoy and review, if you please.

Silence

He stared at his reflection in the mirror: pale, skinny, and sunburned from too much time spent by the pool. Nothing to marvel at, but it would have to do. He donned his psychedelic swim trunks (they held certain significance, of course) and exited his room at the country club, sure to grab a fluffy white towel with the "Lava Springs" insignia inscribed into it on the way out.

He always felt odd walking around half-naked like some Troy Bolton-esque Neanderthal. He scoffed at the very thought of the jock, who frequently ran around the country club wearing nothing more than his underwear.

Alright, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but the man was seriously too confident in his bodily appearance…as though he thought that it was his only positive attribute in the world.

And Ryan would not be one to argue with that mentality.

He made his way to the pool so that he could sit in his usual lounging chair. However, as usual, his chair was currently acting as the drop-zone for Mr. Neanderthal's shirt. Ryan reluctantly lifted the putrid excuse for "clothing" as though it were deadly and placed it promptly on the ground. Then, he took his seat and began his daily routine.

Ryan Evans enjoyed sitting by the pool from about noon to one thirty. It wasn't so that he could soak some rays in the sun all day long, as his sister did. His fair skin was more likely to turn beet red than it was to actually tan. It wasn't because he enjoyed swimming…quite the contrary, actually. He was not the most talented swimmer in the world at all. Rather, he went to the pool to watch the person that would potentially save him in case he started drowning.

But Gabriella Montez seemed fairly oblivious to his reasons and had not yet noticed his continual habit of returning to the poolside every day at the same time. Or, if she had, she showed no signs of it. Instead, she preferred to watch her current, undeserving boyfriend, Troy Bolton, splash around playfully in the water during his lunch break.

Sickening.

Ryan could feel his lip twitch as he watched the two exchange looks and giggles. He was fighting the urge to grimace as he poked his head out from behind his novel. Troy Bolton…that gross excuse for a human being. After what he did to Gabriella, he shouldn't even be working at this club.

And yet the fact that the two were together in the first place was all Ryan's fault.

Oh, if only he hadn't intervened. If only he had been able to maintain his Evans gene for long enough to know to ignore the gloom and doom that surrounded Troy and Gabriella every minute they were apart from each other. If only he had let them stay broken up. Gabriella had left Troy for a reason. He had just chosen to ignore that and arrange for the two to sing together in the talent show. He thought that maybe it would be the right thing to do, getting his friends back together and fixing things up for talent night.

Pfft…yeah, right. Twenty-twenty hindsight really sucks sometimes.

As Troy and Gabriella got closer and closer together again, Ryan found that his newfound friendships were growing farther and farther away. Everything went back to the way it had always been: Troy with Gabriella, Chad with Taylor, Jason with Kelsi, Zeke with Sharpay, and Martha even hooked up with Vince, the maintenance worker.

And then there was Ryan.

With no one.

It had been about…oh, the second that he had seen Gabriella and Troy back together on that stage that Ryan realized what a terrible, awful, horrible, dreadful, appalling mistake he had made. As he watched Troy hold her hand and pull her closer to him, something inside of Ryan exploded. He was smiling on the outside throughout the show, but his face was falling rapidly on the inside, even when he had been presented with the Star Dazzle award.

That wasn't the award he'd wanted.

He had watched carefully after the show, but not once did he hear Troy utter a single, measly little apology. Not once. And that was when he realized that Troy did not deserve Gabriella, who was sweet, kind, perfect, beautiful, splendid, enticing, and…well, you get the point.

That buff, grotesque jerk only wanted her because…well, it was the way things had always been, and why change now? To him, Gabriella was just a convenience; a spring that would always come bouncing back after a short period away. Troy would never learn his jerkish lesson. And this…oh, this made Ryan angry.

Not irritated, not frustrated, angry.

So, he had assumed the role of protector/guardian/spy/stalker over all of the goings-on in the lives of Troy and Gabriella. Or at least all of the happenings between noon and one thirty. He didn't want to look too obvious.

But he did like to look at Gabriella in her swimsuit.

He watched in mounting spite as Troy made his way out of the pool and Gabriella climbed down from her perch as lifeguard. Troy pulled her close, obviously wanting her to experience the "bliss of touching Troy Bolton's bare chest," and forced her into a kiss. Mind you, this kiss was probably mutual…but Ryan only saw Troy as a monstrous monstrosity and could see nothing more than forced affection.

But Ryan didn't do anything about it; he just sat in silence.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

Ryan went out again the next day, making sure to bring another book and some pliers to peel Troy's shirt off of his chaise. He sat down and tensed strangely when he saw that Troy was not in the pool yet. Perhaps he was just running late.

That would be just like him. Late for a date with the most perfect woman in the world. The loser took everything for granted.

Ryan sniffed slightly in condescension, but then proceeded to tilt his hat indignantly and skim the pages of the book in which he was not really interested. Every now and then he let his eyes drift upward from its pages to the true holder of his attention, but he would always glance away like a frightened student in the middle of a heated lecture. He cursed himself inwardly for acting such a coward but did nothing about it.

And when Troy came out at half-past noon, Ryan simply remained silent.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

He nearly tripped on the way out of his room that noontime. He had barely managed to throw his swimsuit on after a mandatory session of yoga with his mother that morning. He had nearly forgotten about his self-appointed duty because he was so immersed in the exercise, but deep down, his heart cared more about Gabriella than his own inner relaxation.

He dashed out onto the pool's terrace and glanced at his watch (which was waterproof, very expensive and impressive, by the way, Gabriella, if you were ever willing to notice). Exactly noon. Ha. He hadn't been late. Beat that, Mr. I'm-So-Perfect-Everybody-Wants-Me-For-My-Body.

Ryan grinned at his own inner sarcasm, then looked around, hoping no one had seen him laughing at nothing like a fool. Thankfully, the pool was unusually empty today. Ryan shrugged and made his way over to his chair, which was surprisingly clear. The moment he sat down, Ryan peered up to the top of the lifeguard rock to look for his target, but was perplexed to find she wasn't there.

A sudden tap on the shoulder alerted him, causing him to spin around as though he were a ninja ready to attack whatever dragon was about to devour him.

Oh, but it wasn't a dragon. Far from it. It was the beautiful maiden waiting to be rescued.

Ryan's eyes widened at the sight of Gabriella waving at him, but he said nothing.

"Hey, Ryan. I haven't talked to you in awhile. I noticed that you've been hanging out by the pool pretty regularly," her lilting voice carried off, carrying with it Ryan's sense of realism.

Darn it. He had been found out.

He simply nodded at her and smiled, shrugging slightly at her comment and gazing absently at the repulsive necklace she wore. It was the only thing about her he didn't like. It was from Troy, and quite blatantly so, displaying the letter "T" on her chest for all the world to see. It was like he had branded her. And it dismayed him.

"Well, I made sure your chair was clear today since I haven't been really busy. I heard that everyone's out on the golf course, playing with Troy," she commented, the slightest hint of jealousy or (dare he hope it) anger in her voice.

Ryan nodded slowly, opening his mouth to reply but getting no further as Gabriella cut him off.

"Well, I'm glad you're here so I at least have some company. I really need to go back up and sit on my little podium on that rock, though. If Mr. Fulton sees me off of there, I'll get my 'third strike' or whatever," she said, rolling her eyes and using air quotes. "But you can just sit around and relax. It's just good to have someone you know around, I guess. I've been kind of lonely lately."

I'd imagine so…Ryan thought bitterly, again ravaging against Troy Bolton in his thoughts.

"I'll talk to you later, Ryan. I really gotta go," Gabriella apologized, starting to scamper off toward her rock. "Oh, and I like your watch. It looks pretty expensive," she squeaked, turning around to him and giggling before she finished her journey.

Well I'll be an untalented singer/dancer named Troy Bolton…Ryan thought, a smile spreading across his face.

He watched as his infatuation climbed up on her lifeguard stand.

But he remained silent.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

The next day, Ryan found his chair earlier than usual, hoping to make up for yesterday's almost-tardiness. He saw with a half-smile that his chair was completely clear of all Troy apparel. That just about made his day.

Until the beast came out from the kitchen and walked straight to the bottom of Gabriella's post.

Ryan watched from under his hat with narrowed eyes as Troy walked that stupid little confident saunter. He crossed his arms and snuffed, tapping his foot impatiently, as though waiting for something. Ryan eyed Gabriella as she calmly stepped down from her spot and stood unabashed in front of Troy. Troy's mouth moved for a few seconds before Gabriella cut him off, looking rather upset. Ryan's eyebrows lowered and he dropped his book, suddenly completely immersed in the apparently heated conversation.

Idiot threw his hands in the air wildly, gesticulating like a man with flaming arms who had no water to douse the fire. Conversely, Gabriella seemed to be trying to remain calm, simply shutting her eyes every now and then in obvious annoyance.

Or perhaps…pain?

The flame in Ryan's heart began burning more profusely than usual as he watched the pair shout at each other. They were so loud now that he could hear vague pieces of their argument, like "forgetting something" and "not paying attention" and "being a jerk…"

Okay, so he might have made that last one up of his own accord, but that was the basic gist of what Gabriella was trying to get out to Troy; meanwhile Dunderhead over there was just crying to her to forget those things and move on with their relationship.

What foul piece of dog poop.

Finally, Ryan watched with a growing sense of hope, awe, disbelief, scrutiny, and wonder as Gabriella ripped off her "T" necklace and threw it to the ground, much like Ryan had been throwing "T's" shirts to the ground the entirety of the week. Ryan felt like rejoicing and clapping in appreciation as Gabriella began to stomp away, but then, his heart stopped in his tracks as he saw Troy grab Gabriella's arm forcefully and pull her back to him. He continued to shout angrily, and he shook her violently. Ryan saw the look in Gabriella's eyes turn to fear and he knew his time had come.

He would remain silent no more.

"Hey, Bolton, quit!" Ryan yelled, all of the anger in his voice boiling over into that one command.

Two pairs of incredulous eyes turned to stare at him. Ryan continued to march towards Troy, trying to keep the absolute hate out of his demeanor. When he got to the couple, Ryan got up into Troy's face and, eyes aflame with rage, he said in a surprisingly calm voice, "Let go of her and go away."

Now, Mr. Wussy had never heard Ryan so incredibly, frighteningly, stupendously, outright angry before, so he merely sized up his competition unpleasantly, and, seeing that the other guy would not back down, despite his relatively puny size, Troy tilted his head sideways contemptuously and threw his hands up in the air, thus complying with Ryan's demands, before he turned and skittered off in the opposite direction.

Ryan and Gabriella just stood, watching after him for awhile, then Gabriella turned to face Ryan, her eyes wide with shock and amazement.

"Thanks, Ry," she muttered softly, using his nickname for the first time since she had begun to spend more and more time away from him and with Troy.

Ryan simply ducked his head in acknowledgement before he bent down to pick up the necklace from the ground. He held it as though it were a snake ready to bite.

"Shall I dispose of this for you?" he asked gently, willing his hypothesis to be correct.

She continued to gape, but managed to nod affirmatively, now reduced to silence, as Ryan took away her pain.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

The fulfillment of his duties had left Ryan somehow still empty inside, so he pulled on his psychedelic swim trunks the next day and strolled out to the pool deck.

Again, it appeared the world had forgotten about the pool. It was a cloudy day and a tad bit chilly as well, so Ryan regretted not wearing a shirt. That did explain why no one else was gathered there to swim, though.

He leisurely walked over to his lounging chair and placed his towel on it before sitting down and staring off into space. Gabriella was not on her usual mount. He looked around nervously, afraid she had once again quit or some other mishap had befallen her.

However, just as he was resorting to his worst thoughts, he saw her slim figure emerge from one of the nearby changing rooms. Her cheeks held stains of sorrow, and he could not remember the last time he saw a girl look so distraught.

She simply sat down at the foot of his chair and they sat in mutual silence. Ryan's eyes flitted over her form quickly, trying to ascertain what exactly she wanted from him. This became apparent only when water droplets began to pour down her cheeks and her body convulsed into strangled sobs.

Instinctively, Ryan pulled her closer to him and allowed her to hug his frail form to gain some comfort. He had neither the pectorals nor the abdominals that Troy Bolton possessed, but he could provide comfort to the ailing girl better than Mr. Neanderthal ever could.

"I just want someone who will always be there for me when I need him. Is that so much to ask?" Gabriella mumbled to herself in between pitiful gulps for air as she cried into Ryan's bare shoulder.

"No," he answered tenderly. "I'll be there for you."

Gabriella pulled back slightly to look at him, and Ryan became apprehensive again, afraid he had said something wrong. But, of course, he had not. What he said was the truth. He had always been there for her, hadn't he? Even when he hadn't needed to be for this entire past week.

And this seemed to be dawning on Gabriella.

She fell back into him and sniffled, but he could feel her lips form into a smile. "Thanks, Ryan. I know you will."

He gave a fleeting grin, but then returned to rubbing her back gently to soothe her. Perhaps he did stand a chance with her. Perhaps now he could make up for his earlier mistake of reinitiating a rocky relationship between the princess and the dragon.

He just needed to start by being the strong and silent one.

And he could do that.

Please tell me whether or not you liked this and tell me why. It would be helpful if you pointed out any errors or left a little constructive criticism, as well. Thank you so much.

--DPSG1