It had been so easy to meet Ryan's parents. Way back when Sharpay and Ryan were twelve, Sharpay had accidentally outed him to their parents over dinner. She hadn't seen anything wrong with the fact she and her twin brother were in complete agreement over which boys were the cutest in the latest issue of Tigerbeat. Or that Ryan would be willing to read Tigerbeat at all. Now, five years later, Ryan's parents didn't just find Chad tolerable, they found his lack of tattoos and body piercings, his overwhelming enthusiasm for the game of basketball, and his total devotion to things like friendship and hard work absolutely endearing.
They had long come to terms with that fact their son was gay, and, as much as it enraged Chad to think about, he was certainly not Ryan's first boyfriend. Ryan's parents had been playing this game for years, and they no longer found anything intimidating or strange about it. In fact, they were always rather eager to tell Chad how much they preferred meeting Ryan's boyfriends to Sharpay's current interest of the hour (minute, second). Ryan, apparently, had impeccable taste. It made Chad equal parts outraged, envious and reassured. While he hated that there had been others before him, he knew his worries were completely in his own head, because Ryan had always been pretty forward about just how much better Chad was than any one else he had ever met. At least once a day he found his entire body pressed up against Ryan's and, well, their state of dress varied by location, but there was one thing consistent about these moments, and that was Ryan's lips brushing softly against his ear, warm breath causing Chad's entire body to flush, and Ryan whispering how incredible he thought Chad was, down to every crazy curl.
Ryan also wasn't shy to remind Chad about the endless line (alright, perhaps that was an exaggeration, the line definitely had a termination point) of girls that Chad had dated throughout his years in high school. Ryan always insisted it was himself who had something to worry about. He would always follow up a comment like this by calling any girl looking Chad's way some ancient word Chad had never heard before, but he was nevertheless always positive it reflected harshly on her moral character. Chad would always respond to these moments by trying to hide the fact that adoration, affection and love were all swelling so quickly inside him he could hardly bear to look at his boyfriend, and his adorable hat-covered head. So, yeah, they adored one another and the whole past relationships problem, at least, was completely superficial.
The other aspects, not so much. Ryan's parents had opened their home to Chad so easily. They fed him dinner regularly, let him swim in their pool, and they even professed to thoroughly enjoy Chad's innate ability to get on Sharpay's nerves without even really trying. He found it depressing that he might never be able to find this level of comfort in his own home. Or with the countless other people in his life that were still in the dark about his definitely-way-more-than-just-friends relationship with the exceedingly dazzling and charming, and also extremely male, Ryan Evans. However, as much as he saw their friends as something that would perhaps be awkward to handle for a little bit, he didn't find them at all threatening. His parents, on the other hand, well really the difference was the he lived with them. And they had raised him, and made sure he ate the right things, and always tried to give him everything he wanted, but still made sure he got all those important lessons about respect, and the value of a dollar and all that other parental nonsense. So, really the difference was everything. Chad had thought they had done a rather good job raising him, and he only wanted for them to be proud of what they had worked so hard at for the past 17 years. And, for some reason, he felt like that could all be on the line over this one tiny thing.
It wasn't a tiny thing, though. Ryan was a part of himself. He wasn't just his boyfriend, he was one of the things that made Chad a unique and individual person. Not because dating Ryan made him gay, but because he loved Ryan. And loving Ryan meant that every single aspect of himself was now a little bit brighter, a little bit more sparkly, a little more inclined to dance at a moment's notice.
Chad loved Ryan, and that made Chad want to return everything Ryan had ever given him, but ten-fold. He knew Ryan wouldn't care if Chad postponed the whole parent introduction drama for a couple of more months, but it would really be selfish to do so. He felt no uncertainty about Ryan, so it would only be fair to be honest about that. He wanted Ryan to talk about The Phantom of the Opera with his Mom (and also maybe introduce her to some other options for theatrical entertainment). He wanted to tell to his dad about his boyfriend's considerable baseball talents, and possibly have a heated argument or two about the prospects of various major league teams while barbecuing in the backyard. He saw it all so clearly in his head, everything he desperately desired, and he knew it was all right there for him to take. No one was saying he couldn't have all that. No one was telling him he was destined to fail. No one was telling him he had to be ready to risk it all for one person, but he was finally ready to do it, anyway.