Note: This is just a short story I wrote and I doubt I'll ever add more to it. So I hope you guys enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, I don't know anybody who's part of the HSM franchise. And this is not connected to any of my other stories.
Always There For You
Chad Danforth's gaze dropped to the floor as he sat in the sterile white room with overly cheerful posters on the wall. He could hear his mother and Dr. Baylor talking about what the next step would be, but his brain couldn't process a single word of it.
Cancer. He had cancer. But how? He wanted to ask. He was a healthy, eighteen-year-old boy, who always ate his veggies-only when his mom was looking, of course-and worked out a lot. He knew that history said differently, though.
"Now, I assure you Mrs. Danforth," Dr. Baylor said as he glanced at Chad. "We caught it very early so the chances of him being able to go back to his normal life are very high, but I want to recommend that we do surgery as soon as possible then follow that up with a couple months of radiation to be on the safe side."
"How soon can we do the surgery?" Mrs. Danforth asked.
"We have a strict policy about going over cases here before we do surgery," Dr. Baylor informed her. "But we could have it done next week."
"Okay," she replied. "Is there anything we should do?"
"Let the school know," Dr. Baylor told her. "School starts up in a couple weeks, but I don't want him there, the last thing we need is for him to catch a bug or something."
After Dr. Baylor left the room, Mrs. Danforth put her hand on her son's arm. "I'm going to go get the car and I'll meet you out front," she told him. "Okay, Chad?"
He nodded slowly.
Mrs. Danforth left the room and leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. She and Chad would get through this together, like they had last time.
"Karen, are you alright?" Nurse Betty Cross asked she walked over to her.
Karen nodded slowly. "As best as I can be right now," she told Betty. "Chad and I went through this with his dad and I at least had Chad to help me with things, but now-"
"Shh," Betty said, taking her hand. "You and Chad aren't alone in this. Our boys have been friends since they were kindergartners and we all will be there to help the two of you out."
"Thanks," Karen whispered as they embraced. "I needed that." She wiped the tears from her eyes. "I need to go get the car. Send Chad out in five minutes, okay?"
Karen walked out to the car and started it. She knew Betty was right when she said that she and Chad weren't going through this all alone, there were lots of people that would help them. She took a deep breathe then drove to the front of the doctor's office.
Chad was silent as he climbed into the car and didn't reach for the radio as he normally did.
"Do you want me to call anybody when we get home?" She asked her son, but he didn't reply. She sighed internally and tried to ward off the worry that was building in her stomach. She could only imagine what was going through Chad's mind, after all he had seen cancer tear through his dad's body and ultimately kill him.
When they got home, Chad went straight to his room and Karen went into the kitchen, knowing she had to do something. She grabbed the phone and dialed Chad's girlfriend Taylor McKessie's phone number.
"McKessie residence," a young girl's voice answered. "Baylee speaking."
"Is Taylor around?" Karen asked.
"Yeah, can I tell her who's calling?" Baylee asked.
"Tell her it's Chad's mom," Karen told her then pulled the phone way from her ear when she heard Baylee yell for Taylor.
"Hi Mrs. Danforth," Taylor greeted. "What's up?"
"Could you come over?" Karen asked her. "I need to talk to you and I think Chad could really use you today."
"Uh, sure," Taylor nodded. "Give me like fifteen minutes."
When Taylor arrived, Karen led her into the kitchen and motioned for her to sit. "Chad and I went to the doctor this morning to get the test results," she told the teenager. "And we found out that he has cancer." Taylor's eyes widened and started to fill with tears. "It's not the same cancer that his dad had, but Chad hadn't spoken since Dr. Baylor told us and I'm worried about him."
"Where is he?" Taylor asked her voice raw with emotion.
"In his room," Karen replied. "You can go up there if you'd like."
Taylor nodded, stood and headed for the door, but at the last second she turned and wrapped Karen in a hug. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
"I am too," Karen replied. "But we have to be strong for him."
Taylor nodded and left the room. She slowly climbed the stairs to Chad's room and knocked twice before going in.
Chad looked up from where he laid on his bed and Taylor could tell he'd been crying.
She closed the door and walked over to his bed. "Your mom told me," she said, softly. "Can I keep you company?"
Chad silently moved over on his bed and Taylor kicked off her shoes then laid down next to him. She rested her head on his upper arm and her left hand found his and their fingers laced together.
They laid together for several hours and neither had realized they'd fallen asleep until Chad's bedroom door swung open and Chad's best friends Troy Bolton, Zeke Baylor and Jason Cross appeared followed by Taylor's best friend, and Troy's girlfriend, Gabriella Montez. Surprised, Taylor shot up and in the process woke up Chad when she elbowed him in the chest.
"Ow," he grumbled as he rubbed the spot where her elbow had hit him.
"Sorry," Taylor apologized sincerely. She helped him into a sitting position then snuggled against him as he leaned against his headboard.
"How ya feeling, man?" Troy asked as he walked over to the bed with Gabriella at his side.
"What are you guys doing here?" Chad asked them then shook his head. "Sorry guys. I'm just-"
"You don't need to apologize," Gabriella told him. "And we're here because we wanted to let you know we're here for you."
"And our parents came over," Jason added. "You guys have always been there when we needed you guys-"
"Like when Jason ran into that parked car when we were rollerblading and your mom rushed him to the hospital," Zeke said. "And when Troy took that tennis ball to the-"
"He gets the idea," Troy cut Zeke off while his face flushed. "We're going to be right here for you throughout the whole thing."
"And hey, at least there's a plus side," Jason said and the others look at him confused. "You don't have to go to school."
"He'll still have to do school work," Gabriella pointed out. "Especially if he wants to graduate with us in June with the rest of us."
"I'll help you," Taylor told Chad. "Even if it means I have to drop out of some clubs and what not."
"No, don't drop out of your clubs," Chad said. "We'll figure something out, but I'm not going to let you drop out of your clubs. You love 'em too much."
"I can help out too," Gabriella offered. "You might actually get some homework done." She playfully poked Taylor in the shoulder.
"I don't mean to upset you, but are you going to be able to play basketball this year?" Troy asked his best friend.
"Honestly, I don't know," Chad sighed. "I'm having surgery next week then I'm supposed to do radiation and my dad was really weak after he had radiation, so…"
"But this is different from the cancer your dad had, right?" Troy asked his voice growing nervous. "I mean, it's not as serious right? I mean, it's serious, but not-"
"That's what Zeke's dad said," Chad answered. "But everything can change so quickly…" Ryan, Zeke and Troy nodded solemnly, recalling how quickly the cancer had destroyed Chad's dad's body.
Downstairs, Troy's parents Jack and Lucy Bolton, Zeke's parents Dr. David and Kristy Baylor and Jason's parents Betty and Kirk Cross sat around the dining room table with Karen, talking about Chad's diagnoses. Since their sons had all been best friends since kindergarten, the four families had become especially close and they had all pulled together when Chad's dad Alex had been diagnosed with cancer and in the aftermath of his passing.
"I don't know how I'm going to afford Chad's treatment," Karen confessed to Lucy as Jack said goodbye to the others. "We barely kept onto this house after paying for Alex's bills and even with his life insurance."
"Don't worry, Karen," Lucy said, putting her hand on her friend's shoulder. "We're going to help you out however we can."
"Yeah," Jack agreed as he walked into the kitchen. "Chad and Troy aren't the first generation of Danforth-Bolton basketball playing best friends to grace the halls of East High. Alex and I were just like 'em." He smiled at the memories. "But after we got married and had kids, we promised each other that if something happened to one of us that we'd look out for the other's family. I don't want you to stress over the finances, we'll help you out as much as we can and we'll figure something else out for the rest of the money."
"Thank you," Karen said and gave him a hug. "I think I'm going to go into the school tomorrow and talk to them, I-"
"We'll take care of the school," Jack told her. "Chad is a loved student and we'll make sure he stays on target to graduate."
"Thank you," Karen whispered as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Chad laid groggily on his hospital bed and tried to roll over, but found it impossible with all the equipment attached to him. He vaguely remembered Dr. Baylor telling his mom that they were confident that they had removed all the cancerous cells from his body. His heavy eyes dropped shut and he didn't open them again until he heard his door open.
"Shh he's asleep," he heard a voice say.
"I can't see anything," another voice cried softly. "It's too dark in here."
"I'll turn the lights on," Chad heard a third voice then cringed when the overhead lights came on.
"JASON!" A chorus of voices exclaimed.
Chad opened his eyes and found his three best friends, Taylor and Gabriella standing in his hospital room.
"Good going, Jason, you woke him up," Zeke punched him in the shoulder.
Taylor set a bouquet of flowers on the table by the window then came to Chad's side. "How are you feeling?" She asked him.
"I'm sore," he replied. "What time is it?"
"It's about five thirty in the afternoon," Taylor told him. "We wanted to come see you earlier, but Zeke's dad said we had to wait until now."
"And we brought you some stuff," Troy said as he walked with his backpack in hand. "We brought you some comic books and I brought my playstation so you could practice your game."
"Thanks man," Chad smiled.
"That isn't all," Zeke said as he held out the huge card he was carrying. "We got everyone to sign it. Even some people that we didn't know wanted to sign it."
"And the flowers are from the teachers," Taylor told him. She turned and Gabriella handed her the backpack she was holding. "Your teachers made lists of all the assignments they want you to do this semester and Mr. Luke said not to worry about any of the chemistry labs. And I figured we could get-"
"Taylor, can we talk about this later?" Chad asked her. "I'm still under the anesthesia."
"Oh, right," Taylor said, biting her lower lip. "Sorry."
"Don't be, I'm happy you're here to help," Chad assured her. He reached out and squeezed her hand. "I'd be happy even if you were only here with no intention to help me."
"Oh!" She exclaimed and dug through the backpack. She pulled out a little stuffed giraffe and held it out to him. "I got this for you, because I know giraffes are your favorite animals."
"I like it, thanks, Tay," he smiled.
"Looks like there's a party going on in here," Chad's nurse said when she came into the room. "But I think it's time for you all to clear out and let Chad get some rest."
"Do they all have to leave?" Chad asked his nurse. "I don't really want to be here by myself."
His nurse sighed then nodded. "Only one and you've got to be quiet," she told him.
"I'll see you later," Troy said to Gabriella.
"Actually, I was hoping Taylor would stay with me," Chad said, catching both Taylor and Troy off guard. "You understand, right man?"
"Yeah," Troy nodded. "Feel better."
After the nurse left, Taylor pulled a chair close to Chad's bed. "Troy could have stayed with you," she told him. "I wouldn't have minded."
"I didn't want Troy to stay with me, I wanted you," Chad smiled as he held his hand out to her. "Besides, you smell better than he does."
Taylor blushed and put her hand in his. "You should try and get some rest," she told him.
Two weeks later, Troy walked into his dad's office at the school and found him rubbing his forehead. "What's up, dad?" He asked.
"Close the door," his dad instructed. Troy obeyed then sat down on the other side of the desk. "Chad's medical bills are already piling up and his mom is afraid she'll have to sell the house. Your mom and I want to help out as much as possible, but we can't help that much."
"So what do we do?" Troy asked him.
"I don't know," his dad shook his head. "Chad hasn't started radiation yet, but he'll need to start as soon as he recovers from his surgery."
"Is there any fundraising that we can do?" Troy asked him. "I know the school is pretty strict about what we can raise money for, but surely we could do a fundraiser for Chad's medical expenses. I mean he is a Wildcat."
"What type of fundraising?" Jack asked his son.
"Well we could, um." The room fell silent for several minutes then Troy snapped his fingers. "I got it!" His dad grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. "Chad is part of the basketball, baseball and track and field teams. So what if we held some sort of sports contest thing? We could play actual games or it could be more of an exposition thing. We could sell tickets and all the proceeds could go to Chad's medical expenses."
"I like those ideas," his dad said. "I'll bring it up at the next school meeting." His eyes landed on the picture of himself and Alex when they were seniors in high school. "I hate that Chad has to go through this and I know is dad does, too." He shook his head. "He has a long, tough road ahead of him."
"Dad what will the radiation do to him?" Troy asked.
His dad sighed. "When his dad went through radiation, he lost all his hair and had some skins sensitivity," he said.
"Chad has been growing out his hair since we were freshman," Troy stated. "I don't know how he'll adjust to not having that birds nest." Then an idea hit him. "Hey dad, how soon do you think we could have the fundraiser?"
"Well the next meeting isn't until next week," his dad replied. "Why?"
"Do you think you could call an emergency one and see if we can hold the fundraiser at the beginning of next week?" Troy asked him.
"I could try, why?" He asked.
"Because I just had an idea," Troy said, standing up. "I'll fill you in later."
"Where are we going?" Chad asked as his mom climbed into the front seat of the car.
"You'll see," she smiled as she started the car.
Chad watched the scenery pass by and was surprised when his mom pulled into the full parking lot of East High. "What's going on?" He asked as she turned off the car. "Why are so many people here on a Saturday night?"
"You'll see," his mom said then handed him a paper mask. "I promised Dr. Baylor you'd wear this."
Chad sighed and put it on over his mouth and nose. Then he followed his mom into the school and as they got closer to the gym he heard Troy talking.
"Thank you for coming," his best friend said. "I hope you're all ready for a night of fun, but first I'd like you to help us welcome our guest of honor, Chad Danforth."
Chad was caught off guard as Taylor stepped over to him and offered him her arm. Then she led him and his mom to their seats. Chad was taken aback by the number of people in the gym the bleachers were packed and some people were seated on the floor.
"The first thing tonight is a student basketball game versus the PE teachers," Troy said into his microphone. "That will be followed by what you all came here to see. But remember, Chad doesn't know what that is, so shh."
After the coed basketball team gave the PE teachers a stomping, Chad watched as Gabriella took the microphone while the basketball team and members of the baseball and track and field teams lined up chairs in the middle of the gym.
"Okay, everyone," Gabriella said. "It's the moment you've all be waiting for and we know you've been looking forward to it because you guys paid big bucks to see these guys get their heads shaved."
"What?" Chad asked looking at Taylor.
"Chad, your teammates and friends wanted to show you how much you mean to them," Gabriella said into the microphone. "They've spent the last week raising money by holding a competition to find out who the East High student body wanted to see bald and they raised $5,000." The crowd cheered. "And after learning what the East High student body was doing, several local companies have agreed to match the amount of money raised and the Lava Springs Country Club has gone above and beyond and donated $10,000."
Then one by one, Chad watched as his friends leaned back and had their hair cut and eventually shaved. But he was surprised again when several girls, including Gabriella and drama queen Sharpay Evans sat down.
"They're not going to-" Chad started.
"No, but they are cutting their hair for locks of love," Taylor replied. "I would have done it but my hair is too short."
As his friends finished getting their heads shaved, they came over and greeted him. Troy was the last one and the two embraced.
"Do you think they'd shave my head?" Chad asked him.
"Yeah," Troy nodded. "Hey, we have another one."
Chad closed his eyes as he sat down and the hairdresser starting cutting his curly locks off until it was short enough to shave. His heart raced as piece of his hair fell to the ground. His head felt lighter, but already he missed his hair.
After getting his head shaved, he and his mom accepted the check from the fundraising then his mom decided he was too tired to stay for the rest of the festivities.
When he got home, he changed into a pair of his East High sweats and laid down on the couch to watch a movie.
Shortly after midnight, he was awoken by somebody ringing the doorbell. He got up and found his friends standing there.
"We were hungry and thought we'd see if you wanted to eat," Troy said holding up a pizza box. "So we got some pizzas."
Chad stepped aside and let Troy, Jason, Zeke, Gabriella and Taylor into the house.
"I like your hair Gabriella," he said as he touched the end of her shoulder length hair. "It looks really good."
"Thanks, Chad," she smiled and gave him a hung. "I couldn't let the boys have all the fun."
"Although, I think we need to get them some hats," Taylor muttered. "Too many white heads can blind a person."
"Ha ha," Troy rolled his eyes. "This was all about being there for our best friend."
Chad watched as his friends teased each other and smiled when he felt Taylor slid her arm around his waist. He knew he was headed down a rough road, but he knew that he had five best friends that would help him get through it all.