Summary: During Senior Year, Troy and Ryan find themselves involved in the hunt for a supernatural killer. Tryan Slash.

Disclaimer: As much as I wish I owned Disney, I don't. So I don't own High School Musical either.

Warning: This is Slash, which means hot boy on boy action, if you don't like it, don't read it.

Warning: It's horror, so there will be some deaths, but I promise that Troy, Ryan, Gabriella, Chad, Taylor, Jason, Kelsi, Zeke, and Sharpay all survive.

Warning: There will be werewolves.

Chapter 1

My name is Ryan Jonathon Evans, and I have a secret. No, it's not that I'm gay. I'd hardly consider that a secret. I've been told Helen Keller would be able to tell at twenty paces. It's that I'm a monster. But now I'm getting ahead of myself. I should start at the beginning.

It was Friday, June 29, 2007, the day after the staff only pool party at Lava Springs; and for the first time I could remember, I had friends. I was still adjusting. Until the night of the baseball game, no one had ever called my cell phone except my parents and sister, now it seemed like everyone had the number.

Gabriella and Kelsi were my two most frequent callers. Gabriella was the closest thing I'd ever had to a best friend, and Kelsi had discovered that I didn't terrify her like my sister did and had decided that I, and I quote, "Had to choreograph her new musical, no one else could possibly do it justice".

I was lounging in the spa with my mother, enjoying a seaweed scrub when my phone began vibrating on the nearby table. I reached for it and flipped it open.

A text message from Chad. "Game starts at 5. Don't be late."

I glanced at the time, 4:30.

"Sorry mother, but it looks like I'll have to cut our afternoon short. The staff's having another baseball game tonight."

She removed a cucumber from her eye and gave me a smile. "See Ducky, I knew hiring your school chums for the summer was a good idea."

"Yes Mother, you were right, as always."

She replaced the cucumber slice. "Don't be out too late, dear."

I arrived at the diamond at 5 till.

"Hey. Evans."

I turned to see Chad with his mop of hair already hidden under his baseball cap.

He tossed me a Wildcats cap. "You're sister kidnapped Zeke, so you're on our team this time."

I tossed him a smile. "You just don't want to lose."

"So?" He laughed and clapped me on the back.

With me pitching for the Wildcats team, it wasn't really fair to the other team. I only gave up one run in the bottom of the ninth. At least it looked like everyone was having a good time.

Everyone was in better spirits then at the last game, and of course Troy was here this time. I noticed that while he was decent at bat, his skills in the field… well they sucked. Baseball was definitely not his game. It was nice to know that I could out perform the school's golden boy in at least one thing.

Sharpay and Zeke showed up sometime during the seventh inning, he tried to join the game, but Sharpay held him firmly at her side. She actually had the poor guy fanning her in the stands. At least she let him go long enough to cook up the food for the post game barbeque.

Gabriella brought more of her mom's delicious brownies. I over heard Zeke trying to pry the recipe out of her, but she refused to part with her "family's secrets".

Eventually Troy had to shoo Zeke off just so he could get some time to talk to his girlfriend.

I was sitting between the couples of Troy and Gabriella on one side, and Kelsi and Jason on the other. Taylor and Chad were sitting across the table, while Sharpay hovered around Zeke and the grill, trying to make herself look useful.

I sighed, everything was perfect, but I felt butterflies dancing in my stomach. I didn't want to go and ruin everything, but I knew I had to. I'd resolved a long time ago not to live a lie… I'd just never had to do anything about it before. Well, I guess that's not entirely true. My family knew of course, and they were fine with it… but if I was going to really be friends with the people surrounding me, I'd have to do it. But why did it have to so hard?

I felt Gabriella's elbow in my side. "Why so quiet Ryan?"

Well, no time like the present. I looked from her to, the others surrounding me at the table. "I'm gay."

The table went silent, and I felt the bottom drop out of my stomach. That was it, I'd just gone and ruined everything, and none of them would ever want to talk to me again.

Then I heard the one thing I never expected to hear. Laughter. Chad was snickering. I looked at him, and he couldn't contain it anymore, he broke into full laughter. I heard Jason start laughing too; and felt Gabriella place a reassuring hand on my arm.

Chad was gasping for air now. "That's what's had you so worried for the last half hour?" He wheezed between laughs.

Jason had regained enough composure to speak. "Well duh. We're jocks, Evans, not blind."

Kelsi cuffed the back of his head.

"Ow. What?"

She just gave him a long sigh.

I turned to see Gabriella and Troy smiling at me.

"I'm sure that wasn't easy for you Ryan, but we're all fine with that." Troy looked so sincere as he said it. The reassurance in his eyes, his amazing eyes, was all it took.

All the knots in my stomach released, relief flooded me so fast that I started giggling, which sent Chad and Jason into new fits of laughter. Even Gabriella and Taylor joined in. I felt Kelsi patting me on the back, and Troy flashed me one of his most winning smiles.

"What's so funny?" Everyone turned to look at Sharpay; she was never one to be left out of the loop, any loop, ever.

"Hey Sharpay," Chad had regained enough composure to speak again. "Did you know your brother's gay?"

"What? Like ohmigawd! I had no idea," She said in her best airhead voice, a look of feigned shock frozen on her face.

That forced even Troy and Kelsi into the laughter.

Troy turned eighteen in late July, and somehow I wound up invited to the party. It was just a small get together really, the basketball team and there girlfriends. I guess I got invited, as always, by virtue of being Sharpay's brother.

It was a good party, Troy's dad barbequed, and we all went swimming in their pool. I thought I saw Troy staring at me as I climbed out of the pool to head for the diving board, but when I turned to look at him his eyes were fixed on Gabriella. I convinced myself I must have imagined it.

The rest of the summer was great. There weren't anymore baseball games. Lava Springs only had enough interested staff to form two teams, and as lopsided as the second victory had been, the rest of the staff didn't feel like playing the Wildcats again. But there were plenty of excuses to have parties and hang out, and that's exactly what we did.

Kelsi's new musical was genius, and I felt honored to be doing the choreography for it. And Gabriella insisted that I go shopping with her at least once a week, claiming she was "lost without me".

Gabriella had also taken it upon herself to become my personal match maker. I appreciated her effort, I really did, but hanging out with her became a little grueling after that. I swear she was determined to grill me on my feelings about every male at East High, every single one.

I pointed out that even if there was another gay guy at school, he obviously wasn't out, and that I couldn't be in a relationship like that. If I was going to live openly, I needed a partner who could do the same.

And so we found ourselves in the mall's food court on a Sunday afternoon.

"I'm sure any guy would be ecstatic to come out for you Ry, you're the best catch in school."

I laughed. "Hardly. I'd say Chad, Jason, and of course Troy rank way above me, just for starters."

"Don't put yourself down like that. You're an amazing guy. And trust me; lately I'm beginning to think Troy wasn't such a great catch."

"Trouble in paradise?"

She snorted, and had to battle to keep diet soda from coming out her nose. "He's a good guy, he really is. But he worries so much. You have no idea. Whenever I blink he's brooding about something else."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, and that's the worst part, he doesn't feel like he can share his worries with me. For all I know he's upset because his socks got dirty."

I snickered. "Somehow I don't think that thought has ever crossed his mind."

She took a final sip of her soda and stood. "We haven't even had sex yet."

I felt heat crawl into my cheeks.

Gabriella noticed my blush and laughed. "Sorry Ryan, too much information, I'm sorry."

I blanked my mind, driving away all thoughts of my best friend's boyfriend and sex.

She took my hand and pulled me up from the table. "Come on, there's a sale at Lady's Footlocker."

"Footlocker? You're kidding right."

She hadn't been kidding, and I couldn't talk her out of buying the most hideous pair of green tennis shoes. She insisted she needed something comfortable for gym class.

It was little more than a week before the start of my senior year. And for the first time I was invited to the Staff's end of summer party. I can honestly say it was the best summer of my life. I was sad to see it go, but at least it was going to go with style.

Our parents were spending their… thirty-third honeymoon? Something like that in France. Sharpay and I had spent two weeks with them, before flying back for the party, so it had been two weeks since Sharpay had seen Zeke. She insisted on looking her best for the party, and so instead of going directly to the country club we'd come home so she'd have her entire wardrobe available.

"Sharpay, hurry up."

"Don't rush perfection, Ryan."

I sighed and leaned against the wall, pulling the brim of my lucky pink cap over my eyes. "He won't even notice what you're wearing."

"I'll notice."

"We're going to be late if you don't get out here in the next 5 minutes."

"Of course we are. If we arrive at the same time as everyone else we won't be able to make a proper entrance."

Had she always been this hard to get out of the house? I pondered the question for a bit and decided she had. So why is it annoying me so much right now? Because before we'd just be late to see her friends, now we were being late to see our friends.

Her bedroom door opened, and I looked up adjusting my cap again.

"Well?"

"Fabulous as always, sis."

She pulled the keys for her car from her fashionable hand bag and tossed them to me. I stared at them puzzled.

"You're driving; I don't want to risk my pantyhose near the pedals."

Well, this was certainly a new development.

I sped like a jackrabbit being chased by a pack of starving coyotes, and managed to get us to Lava Springs only 15 minutes late.

I knew from the parking lot that everyone was already there of course. Curiously I noted that Gabriella's mother's minivan was here, as was Troy's beaten up old truck. They'd come separately, strange.

We made our grand entrance, well Sharpay's grand entrance. I followed behind, her dutiful fashion accessory. I noticed that hardly anyone looked in our direction, except for Zeke, who sprang out from behind the grill to rush up to Sharpay. Normally such a small reaction would have annoyed Sharpay, but she didn't seem to notice, her eyes fixated on Zeke, and I swear she squealed with happiness as they embraced.

I took advantage of her distraction and slipped into the crowd. I found Troy and Gabriella sitting at a table with Kelsi and Jason, who were all over each other. They were sitting next to each other, and both were smiling, but they weren't touching. Usually Troy's arm was omnipresent across her shoulders or around her waist. Something was definitely strange here.

Kelsi noticed me first, and pulled her lips free of Jason's long enough to say, "Hey Ryan."

"Hey," Jason said as he pulled her mouth back to his.

Gabriella turned and rose in one fluid motion, embracing me. "Ryan, it's so good to see you, it's been forever."

Troy glanced at me. "Hey man," and then looked away quickly.

Gabriella released me and propelled me into her recently vacated seat next to Troy, and took a seat on my other side. I was now sitting between Troy and Gabriella.

I turned to look at her, a mischievous smirk etched upon her face.

"So how was your trip?"

"Good. Paris is always nice this time of year. So what did I miss while I was away?"

"Oh, nothing much." Her smile obviously concealed something. She might have had the voice for musicals, but her acting skills needed some work.

I heard a long sigh from behind me, and turned to catch Troy looking at me. Our eyes met for just one moment, before he jerked his head and looked away. What was going on?

I turned back to Gabriella, intent on getting answers, just in time to see Taylor come running up and pull her away.

"Oh my God, Gabriella, you're never going to believe this…" I heard her say just as her voice faded away and they vanished into the crowd. The last I saw of Gabriella was a strange smirk on her face.

I turned around and was confronted by more of Jason and Kelsi's prolonged make out session.

"So, Paris huh?"

I glanced to my left and saw Troy carefully staring straight ahead.

"Yeah."

"It sure is loud here."

"Um… yeah."

"So, Paris…"

"Are you feeling alright Troy?"

He gave a nervous laugh. "Fine, yeah."

I just arched an eyebrow.

He glanced at me again. Wait, was he blushing?

"Hey, you want to go for a walk?" He managed to look me in the eye while he said it. It looked like he was holding his breath.

"Sure."

Troy made some feeble attempts at small talk until we'd passed the second hole on the golf course. Then we walked in silence until the ninth.

"Nice night."

I smirked. "You said that already."

"Yeah, I guess I did." He paused, and sat on a carefully placed boulder at the edge of the course. I saw the moonlight shining on the desert behind him.

"So was there something you wanted to talk about?"

"Yeah, there was. I mean there is."

I noticed how the moonlight brought out the highlights in his hair, and how much he looked like a scared little boy at that moment.

"So… you're gay right."

I felt a strange thought starting to take shape in the back of my mind. I grabbed it and held it down. Thoughts like that were something I couldn't afford, there was absolutely no way that that was what was happening here. Guys like Troy weren't gay, it just didn't happen, and hope was dangerous.

I realized it had been a nearly a minute and I hadn't answered his question. "Yeah, remember the baseball game?'

He laughed. "Yeah."

"Troy, what's this about?"

"How do you know?"

"What?"

"How do you know you're gay?"

"I uh… I just know."

"Have you ever… have you ever been with a guy before? Do you need to be to know for sure?"

"Don't you think that's a little personal?"

"Yeah, I guess it is."

We just stared at each other in silence then. I noticed that he looked a little calmer; determination was beginning to show in his eyes.

At that moment I realized how beautiful he was. Wait, what? Troy, beautiful? No, this wasn't happening. I didn't find my friends attractive, down that road lay madness.

He cleared his throat. "Well, you see… the thing is…"

I held up my hand. "Wait, what was that?"

I'd heard a noise in a nearby bush.

"What?"

"Shush." I held my hand up again and took a step towards the bush. The full moon cast eerie shadows on the grass. I heard a twig snap. I thought that I saw something move in the darkness.

"It's probably just a jackrabbit."

"Probably." I took another step closer, and that's when it struck.

I felt it before I saw it. A vice like grip ripping into my leg.

I screamed, at least I think I did, and fell to the ground. I tried to kick at it with my free leg. I landed a blow between the thing's eyes, but it seemed unphased.

I heard a shout, and a large rock hit the top of its head. It released its grip, which if anything hurt worse than the initial bite.

Another rock struck the thing's snout. It snarled and turn to face its assailant.

I saw Troy step into my field of vision, and lash out with his fist. It looked like he'd barely grazed it, but it let out a yelp and started to back away, eyes flashing between Troy and I.

He tossed one more rock at it, and the thing turned tail and fled into the desert.

The pain was excruciating, it felt like my entire leg was on fire.

I tried to climb to my feet, my leg collapsed before I even put weight on it.

He was there in an instant, holding me down.

"Don't move; let me look at it first."

I felt his hands move down to my ankle and fumble to pull my pants up.

"It's fine, just a bite." Wait, why did my voice sound so far away?

He turned from examining my ankle to look me in the eye. I could see his lips moving, but couldn't hear what he was saying. I just stared into his hypnotic eyes as the world faded to black around me.