"Concrete Angel"

Disclaimer:
I own nothing!

Rating:
T [R (for child/domestic abuse & homosexuality)

Genre:
Romance/Hurt/Comfort/Drama

Pairing:
Tryan (Troy/Ryan)

I'll Come Running

Through the wind and the rain
He stands hard as a stone
In a world that he can't rise above
But his dreams give him wings and
He flies to a place where he's loved

Troy had been home for a couple of hours. He had finished his homework and a game of one-on-one with his dad when his phone rang. "Talk to me..." He greeted. Little did he know who would be talking to him or what exactly they would be saying.

"Troy? It's happening again!" was the frantic reply. Even though the voice was cracking and the person sounded as if they were crying, Troy knoew the couce immediately. "Ryan? What's wrong? What's happening again?!" He asked, his voice thick and tight with concern.

"My dad! He just got home! I heard the front door slam and I heard him yelling at my mom and Sharpay! Troy, he never yells at Sharpay! She's always been the favorite! He's gotta be drunk, Troy! This is gonna be the worst beating yet, I canfeel it! He might even kill me, Troy!" Ryan's voice was continuously filling with panic. Meanwhile, as Troy was listening to his boyfriend's predicament, he was scrambling around his room-throwing on a pair of jeans and some shows-grabbing his keys off the dresser.

Mustering up the most soothing voice he could manage-while trying to mask his own fears-Troy flew down the stairs two at a time while attempting to reassure his boyfriend. "Listen to me, Ryan! Everything's gonna be all right. I'm on my way, right now! It's gonna be okay!" As he said the last bit, he was just reaching the living room.

"Troy...Please hurry!" Ryan was pleading with his boyfriend, who he knew was the only one willing and able to protect him, terrified for his life. In a final effort to comfort his understandably terrified love, Troy replied "Wild horses could never keep me away from you!" With that, he hung up the phone-dashing through the living room and into the garage-and ran smack into his father.

"Whoa! Easy, champ! Where's the fire?" Jack Bolton asked his son with a light chuckle to his voice. Damn it! Troy cursed silently. Moving past his fatherm he explained "Look, dad, I really don't have time to explain right now! Just trust me when I say it's a matter of life and death!" Troy's reply left his father speechless in confusion. And oppurtunity which Troy took full advantage of and ran in to the garage and jumped inside his truck. Thankfully, the garage door had been left open when Troy and his father had come inside from playing one-on-one, and Troy floored it and drove out of there like a bat out of hell; speeding off in the direction of Ryan's house.

Meanwhile, Ryan awaited his father's inevitable beating while silently praying that Troy would get there before he could do too much damage. His thought processes shut down almost completely when his bedroom door flew open only to be slammed and locked once none other than the devil himself, Jason Evans, walked in. "There you are, you little faggot!" Jason Evans snarled at his son. I overheard your sister telling your mother the good news. About your little boyfriend. ...Congratulations..." Ryan could see the condescending tone in his father's voice. Hell, a blind man could see it! By now, Ryan had learned it was best to remain silent and just accept his fate. Soon, he felt a solid fist connect with his face and tasted the salty taste of his own blood in his mouth. However, Ryan was shocked when his father deviated from his typical beating and grabbed him by the throat and shoved him against the wall, choking him and strangling the life out of him. "You like that, faggot?! You good-for-nothing cocksucker!" All the while, Ryan remained silent, still praying for Troy to come and rescue him.

Meanwhile, Troy was rounding the corner to Ryan's house.. Turning in to the driveway, Troy shut off the engine. Throwing the door open, he ran to the front door-leaving the keys in the ignition-and slammed the truckdoor behind him. Coming up on the locked door, Troy mentally cursed as he pounded on the door. He heard shuffling and then the door opened to reveal Sharpay with red, puffy eyes and her mascara running down her face in black ribbons.

Upon seeing troy at the door, Sharpay yanked him inside. "You have to hurry, Troy! My dad's really drunk and he overheard me telling my mother about you and Ryan!...Troy...I think he might kill him!" Sharpay explained, a pleading tone to her voice. "Not if I can help it!" Troy replied, determined to save his love.

Ryan felt the tears running down his face, though it could have been blood for all he knew. His entire body was now, nothing more than a mass of cuts and scraped and bruises. But, he knew they were tears when he watched his father tear the 'T' necklace from it's comforting resting place around his neck and throw it across the room. It was his only link to Troy, at the moment, and his father had tossed it aside like yesterday's trash! His father smirked evilly at the sight of Ryan's tears. "I'll give ya a reason to cry, ya little faggot!" Jason Evans yelled as he continued to beat his son senseless. As his fist connected with Ryan's face yet again, Ryan heard a sickening crack and knew his nose was broken. It was at this moment-the moment in which Ryan had almost given up hope-that his bedroom door was kicked open! If he had been physically capable of such a deed, Ryan would have jumped for joy when he saw Troy run in. Troy! I knew he wouldn't let me down! He thought to himself. In that instant, he knew the shouting he had heard hadn't been in his head or from his mother or Sharpay, as he had suspected.

Watching Jason pin Ryan to the wall gave Troy all the confidence he needed to continue. He could feel a burning rage building within him. His blood was already boiling as he took in the sight of Ryan's current condition. "Hey! You get your hands off him!" Troy shouted, feeling the adrenaline coursing through his body. He had no plan of attack and was just winging it. Formulating a plan as he went along.

He knew it was on when Jason rounded on him, leaving Ryan lying on the floor, bleeding and drifting in and out of consciousness. "And just what the hell do you plan on doing about it?!" He shouted. The next thing Troy knew, a fist was flying in his direction. Narrowly dodging it, Troy threw back a punch of his own, hitting Jason in jaw and sending him stumbling to the floor.

"You little bitch!" Jason snarled. This time, he swung and managed to hit Troy square in the gut, knocking the wind out of him for a moment. Shaking it off, Troy continued fighting him off until they slowly made their way out of the room and to the landing by stairs. One final punch sent Jason tumbling down the stairs. Staring in shock for a moment at all that had happened, Troy shook himself out of it and ran back into the room where Ryan lay on the floor.

On his way into the room, Troy spotted the necklace he had given Ryan at school that afternoon. After picking it up and examining it, Troy thought to himself as he noted the broken clasp, Damn bastard must have torn it off his neck! Pocketing the necklace, he ran over to Ryan, kneeling by his side. Gently, he took Ryan's head into his lap, gently stroking the soft blonde locks, until Ryan slowly coming around.

Troy watched a small smile form on his lover's lips as piercing ice blue eyes stared up into his own. "Hey..." Troy greeted sofly, smiling down at his weak lover. "Troy...I knew you'd come..." Ryan replied, wistfully. "Of course I did...I love you and I wasn't about to let a damn thing keep me from protecting you...". They sat there like that for a few moments longer until Ryan felt he could stand on his own, or at least with a bit of help from Troy.

Troy helped him down the stairs, avoiding his father like the plague, noting his unconscious form at the base of the stairs. Seeing the boys come down the stairs, she run up to them to see what had happened. "What do you care? You've never even asked before, let alone try to stop it..." Ryan asked bitterly.

Although Sharpay understood her brother's bitterness, she could not help feeling a little hurt at his response. Despite what others may believe, she really did love her brother dearly. "I'm sorry, Ryan...I just...I didn't think there was anything I could have done except piss him off even more..." She apologized sincerely.

Sighing, Ryan replied "Forget about it...I'm too weak to argue right now..." As if on cue, his mother approached them. Even though she had done about as much as Sharpay to put an end to all the violence, she, too, loved her son dearly. She had just been so terrified of her husband to get involved.

"Honey, I really think it'd be best for you to get out of the house for a while...Go somewhere safe...Is there anywhere you can go..." She asked. She wanted to get him as far away from her husband as she possibly could before he came to. She knew it was not safe for Ryan to stay in the house right now. Deep down, they all knew it.

Watching as Ryan just looked to the floor, Troy chimed in. "He can stay with us...I can take him home with me and talk to my parents about it. We've got an extra guest room we never use and, once I explain the whole situation to my parents, I don't think they'll have any objections." He offered. He would do whatever it took to protect Ryan.

Nodding, Ryan's mother replied "I think that would be a good idea. What about you, Ryan? Is it okay with you?" She asked, hoping for no conflict. She knew Ryan realized the dangers of him staying in the house. She knew he had to be aware that he had to go somewhere fast.

Shaking his head, he replied "Not at all..." Truth be told, he felt a lot safer when he pictured the prospect of staying with Troy's family. His parents were great. He knew he would be safe with them. Especially with Troy there to protect him twenty-four/seven. And, of course, the extra time he got to spend with Troy was just icing on the cake.

"Good..." Ryan's mother replied, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you go with Troy, now, and I'll have Sharpay to get some of your things to bring to you, tomorrow, at school?" She asked, wanting to get her son to safety as soon as possible. Plus, she knew that her husband would leave for work before Sharpay went to school and that it would be the perfect oppurtunity for her to get her brother's things to him.

With everything laid out, Troy helped Ryan out to his truck. Helping the wounded man into the passenger's seat and walked around to the driver's side. The ride back to Troy's house was silent. Both boys knew no words were needed at that time. They were just glad to see that they had both made it out of that hellhole alive. On the drive back, Troy's hand sought out Ryan's and their fingers intertwined. Troy looked over at Ryan and smiled. Returning Troy's smile, Ryan knew in that instant that they would be okay.

Pulling up into the driveway, Troy helped Ryan out of the truck and into the house. Immediately, Troy's mother rushed to her son, hugging him close. "Thank God, you're all right! Your father and I were worried sick about you, the way you just took off like that! Don't ever do that again, Troy Alexander Bolton!"

Looking up at his mom, Troy replied "I'm sorry, mom. But, like I told dad, I didn't have time to explain! I had to get to Ryan! His dad was gonna kill him!" It was then that Jack and his wife fully noted both boys' injuries. "My God..." Troy's mother gasped.

"Jesus Christ!...Ryan...Your father did this to you?!" Jack asked the blonde in disbelief. Silently, Ryan just nodded his head. Before he knew it, the rest of the story just sorta spilled out. "He's never cared about me in the least. He always told me Sharpay was the favorite, that she was the only one that mattered. He hated me even more when he found out I was gay...That was when the abuse turned physical...Then, tonight, he came home drunk and overheard Sharpay telling my mom about me being with Troy and that's when he went bollistic..."

The entire room went silent for a moment until Jack spoke up again. "Ryan, that's terrible...Wait...Did you just say you and Troy are together? Romantically?" Realizing what he had said Ryan replied "I'm sorry...I probably shouldn't have told you. Don't be mad at Troy-" However, he was cut off. "Mad? Why would I be mad? It's obvious the two of you have feelings for each other. Even an old fuddy-duddy like me can see that! I'm happy for both of you, really..." Then, Troy's mother joined her husband, smiling as she replied "We both are...Ryan, sweetie, you're more than we could have ever asked for for our son...As far as we're concerned, you're part of the family..."

Ryan smiled at this thought. "Thank you...You guys have no idea what that means to me..." Nodding, Troy replied "Yeah, I'm glad you guys are okay with our relationship...But...There's one more thing..." Troy took his father's nod as a sign to continue. "Well...Ryan's mom doesn't think it's safe for Ryan to stay there anymore and, after what I saw tonight, I have to agree. I was hoping he could stay with us at least for a while. Until things settle down...?"

I hope you liked this chapter! Chapter 3's in the works as we speak. I hope to have it up next weekend, possibly the weekend after. It depends on how much time I get to write. I've got an idenpendent reading project for my World Lit class I need to work on which is due the 24th of this month. So, I may not get as much free writing time as I'd like. I'll try to update as often as possible. I love y'all! Thanks for the feed back! Hang in there with me & I'll update ASAP!