Christmases When You Were Mine

Disclaimer:
I own nothing and make no profit from this story. No copyright infringement intended. This was just for fun!

Rating:
K+ (PG-13)

Genre:
Romance/Angst

Pairing:
Tryan

Lyrics Used:
"Christmases When You Were Mine"-Taylor Swift

"Not This Year"-Aly & AJ

Christmases When You Were Mine

It was a week before Christmas Eve in Albequerque. Ryan Evans could be found sitting on a local parkbench observing young couples walking through the crisp fresh-fallen snow. As he sat there, his mind drifted back to last Christmas. The last time he had been truly happy.

Ryan and his boyfriend, Troy Bolton, were celebrating their first Christmas together. Things hadn't been easy for them. Ever since they'd gotten together, their friends and families had fought desperately to make them reconsider. Mostly Troy's basketball teammates. They had even gone so far as to actually kick Troy off the team. Eventually, their parents at least came to be happy for them. However, Sharpay and far too many other kids at school had not been so forgiving. But, that hadn't mattered to either of them. They were happy and that was all they cared about.

Troy had given Ryan a "T" shaped pendant on an elegant silver necklace. "'T' as in 'Troy'?" Ryan had asked, happily as he opened his eyes after Troy had laid the beautiful necklace around his neck.

"Well-...Yeah..." Troy replied, failing to come up with any other reasoning.

Both boys smiled as they shared a chaste but passionate kiss before Ryan gave Troy his gift. He gave Troy a DVD of video clips of them together with the song "We'll Be Together" by Ashley Tisdale.

Ryan remembered the tears that leaked from Troy's eyes as they had sat down to watch the music video he had given him. But, then, he remembered the tears he, himself, had shed a few months ago.

"Ry...We need to talk..." Troy said reluctantly.

"Sure, Troy...What about?" Ryan asked, trying to remain upbeat though he knew all too well what was coming next. He wasn't an idiot. He knew what the words 'We need to talk' almost always meant.

"I think it'd be best if we stopped seeing each other..." Troy replied with a heavy sigh. He still couldn't quite understand why he was doing this. He knew everyone else was telling him that it was the right thing to do, but, he just wasn't so sure. It sure as hell doesn't feel so right! He thought to himself.

Ryan was silent. For the first time in his life, Ryan Evans was truly speechless. True, he'd never really been that outspoken, but, that was different. That was simply because he preferred to just keep his thoughts to himself to avoid conflict. But, now, he was truly at a loss for words. He couldn't even begin to grasp what was really happening. He knew Troy was under a lot of stress from the taunting and the teasing, but, he never thought it would ever actually come tothis"W-what?" He asked. "But...Troy, I thought this was what you wanted..." He added, confused as to why Troy would leave him. "I thought you loved me..." He added, his voice small and broken.

Troy felt his heart breaking with each word that was said. "I do, Ry...I really do...I just think this'll be best for both of us." Troy added, hoping Ryan would just let things go and not make this any harder than it already was.

"Well...I guess if this is what you really want, then, that's good enough for me." Ryan replied, resigning himself to the cold and bitter truth. "You know I've only ever wanted you to be happy. And, if this is what it takes, then, so be it." Ryan finished, tears leaking from his eyes.

"Thanks for understanding, Ry..." Troy stated, finally. Stepping forward, he embraced Ryan for one final time with a quick peck on the cheek. The embrace ended far too soon for either one. The tears flowed freely as Troy walked away.

As Ryan thought of these memories and all the others he had created with Troy, he grasped the 'T' pendant which he still wore, caressing it gently. He didn't really know why he still wore it. He supposed it was because it made him feel closer to Troy. After releasing the pendant, he picked up his guitar which he always kept with him during times like these. After tuning the strings, Ryan began strumming and singing the words coming to mind.

"Please take down the misletoe
Cause I don't wanna think about that right now
Cause everything I want is miles away
In a snow covered little town
My momma's in the kitchen, worrying about me
Season's greetings, hope you're well
Well I'm doing alright
If you were wondering
Lately I can never tell"

What Ryan hadn't been counting on, however was the fact that a certain brunette happened to be out for a jog nearby. Close enough, in fact, to hear Ryan's heartwrenching song. Troy Bolton was out for another jog when Ryan had started his song. Jogging was a habit Troy had picked up ever since he left Ryan. It gave him something else to concentrate on besides the regret of leaving the first-and, quite possibly only-person to love him for who he was inside and not for being captain of the basketball team. Ryan was the only person who ever accepted Troy as he was and didn't try to change him and he was stupid enough to leave him. He should have known better. Even leaving Ryan wasn't enough to get his old life back. Now, he had absolutely nothing left.

Troy was then pulled out of his reverie with a soft melodious voice drifted over him. He instantly recognized it as belonging to Ryan. He wasn't sure why, but, he found himself drawn to the sound. Slipping behind a nearby tree, Troy stopped and listened to the song. As he listened to the lyrics, he knew they were about him. He hated himself for doing this to Ryan. He couldn't help the tears leaking from his eyes as he listened to the heartwrenching melody.

"I know this shouldn't be a lonely time
But there were Christmases when you were mine"

Troy knew he was the reason Ryan was so depressed. He knew he had to figure out how to make things right. But, what if he couldn't? What if Ryan didn't want him back? These questions and a thousand others raced inside Troy's head as he listened to more of the song.

"I've been doing fine without you, really
Up until the nights got cold
And everybody's here, except you, baby
Seems like everyone's got someone to hold"

He didn't know how, but, Troy knew he had to at least try to make things right between himself and Ryan. But, how?

"But for me it's just a lonely time
Cause there were Christmases when you were mine"

As he continued listening to Ryan's song, Troy found himself relating to it just as much as it sounded like Ryan did. Maybe, I can win him back, afterall...Troy thought to himself with the first shred of hope since his mistake. I'll never know unless I try...

"Merry Christmas everybody
That'll have to be something I just say this year
I'll bet you got your mom another sweater
And were your cousins late again
When you were putting up the lights this year
Did you notice one less pair of hands"

Troy began slowly formulating a plan to show Ryan how truly sorry he was and how much he still loved him. He knew just how to get through to Ryan.

"I know this shouldn't be a lonely time
But there were Christmases when I didn't wonder how you are tonight
Cause there were Christmases when you were mine"

By this time, Troy had fallen to his knees listening to the song. It was here he sat, thinking of how to go about winning his one and only love back. He sat there, sinking through the inches of snow, thinking of how to convey his unchanged feelings for the blonde drama king. He was drawn out of his thoughts when the last line of the song seemed to speak to him the most.

"You were mine"

It was right then and there that Troy knew exactly what he had to do. He knew exactly what to say. Rising to his feet, Troy Bolton bolted as fast as his legs could carry him all the way back home. Upon arriving at his house, Troy ran straight up to his bedroom. After changing into some dry clothes, he picked up his own acoustic guitar his parents had given him for his latest birthday. After strumming on the strings for a few minutes, he found a melody he liked and the words began pouring from somewhere deep within him. They seemed to say exactly what he was feeling.