A short note on that Alex Character: I have to say some of your reviews took me by surprise. I didn't think that I made Alex that slimy and unlikable. But the majority of you thought of him as horribly conceited and slimy and so I didn't even try in this part to make him more likable… I just made him disappear a lot sooner than I'd first intended. So he won't be around for the grand finale, the Christmas Party. I hope you're okay with it.
Christmas something
Part Four
It took Ryan three horribly long seconds of watching Chad stumble through the dining room to pull out of his Alex-induced stupor and away from Alex's possessive embrace.
"Chad!" he cried and jumped up from his seat so fast that the chair toppled over with a loud bang. Every head in the room turned towards the noise and the blond boy who caused it.
"Chad, wait! I'm not…" Ryan shouted and took a step towards where Chad had halted in his flight. "It's not like you think, Chad. He's not my boyfriend!"
"No?" Chad spun around and threw a cold glare back.
"No!" Ryan emphasized, "He's…"
He broke off and gulped at the hurt and anger gleaming in Chad's brown eyes.
"He's not… I mean, we're not..." Ryan pleaded desperately and threw a quick glance at the man sitting smugly at the table, "… it's not like that, Chad!"
"Then why that look, huh? Why?" Chad growled forcefully and when Ryan didn't reply right away he continued: "You know what, Evans? Look at him all you want, cause I don't care anymore!"
He turned around again and started walking through the crowd staring at him.
"Chad, please!" Ryan cried and hurried along.
The last thing heard before the two boys disappeared from sight was:
"Fuck off, Evans!"
"Mommy, why is Chad angry at Ryan?" Linus' quiet and frightened voice cut through the following silence.
"He's not angry, sweetie. They're just…" Alyssa stopped helplessly.
"But he used the f-word! And he shouted at Ryan. Mommy, why did Chad shout?" Linus inquired further.
"Because Alex was being a complete idiot!" Tom suddenly exclaimed. All heads turned towards him at once.
"Huh?" Alex replied slowly, "What do you mean? I didn't do anything! I thought that…"
"I don't care what you thought!" Tom's normally healthy-tanned face had turned an angry shade of red and his eyes blinked furiously at his son. "You had absolutely no right to put on a show like that! You and Ryan haven't been together for…"
"What do you know about me and Ryan?" Alex's face had grown hot as well, "You never cared about it before! And by the way," he huffed haughtily, "I never broke up with Ryan and neither did he! So technically we're…"
"Oh, shut up already!" Sharpay suddenly piped up, "I'd think that Ryan not answering your pestering calls for weeks and weeks after he caught you cheating on him qualifies as breaking up good and proper, don't you think?"
The blond girl looked at Alex, challenging him to deny her words, and indeed the young man tried to defend himself again.
"It wasn't like that! If he'd only let me explain…"
"He doesn't need to hear your shabby excuses! He doesn't need YOU! He's perfectly happy without you, Alex! In fact, I've never seen my brother happier than in the last three months. And you know why's that?" Sharpay shook her blond locks and stood up. "Because he's in love with Chad! And they're good for each other! Chad makes him happy and… and glowing! And I swear to you, if your stupid show now screwed it up then you're gonna get to know the real ice-princess!"
"Mommy?" Linus tugged at his mother's arm to get her attention. "Why is everybody angry? What did Alex do? Or is it Chad? Did Chad do something wrong?"
"Honey, it's not… you don't…" Alyssa broke off and looked around for help. She was at a loss of how to explain the situation to her youngest. And how could she? She didn't even understand it herself. Chad and… Ryan?
Then, to everyone's surprise, it was Sharpay who came to her rescue. The normally superficial Drama Queen took a deep breath and walked around the table over to where the two small Danforth's were sitting stunned by her outbreak.
"Hey boys," she switched to the sweetest for-children-only voice in a matter of seconds and her next words showed once more that there's more to the ice-princess than meets the eye:
"How about we let the grown-ups work this out by themselves and go watch cartoons instead?"
"I don't wanna watch cartoons!" Linus whined.
"Not even Roadrunner?" Sharpay smiled sweetly.
"No, I… ugh, Roadrunner? Or can we watch Charlie Browne's Christmas?" The tiny face had turned into a sheepish smile and Miles had already jumped up from his seat.
"Sure, Charlie Browne it is, okay?"
And then Sharpay took both kids by the hand and led them out of the dining room, a proud "That's my princess!" from Vance accompanying her to the door.
An awkward silence settled over the dinner table after Sharpay had left with the kids in tow. And then everyone looked at Alex expectantly who finally seemed to have caught on to the fact that he was to be blamed for the whole fiasco.
"So…" the now pale young man whispered defeated, "Chad and Ryan, hm?"
"Apparently," Tom sighed and threw a cautious look at Alyssa to gauge her reaction.
At the same time Vance let out a nervous laugh and buried his face in the menu, studying it thoroughly .
"Does anybody care for a Digestive?" he asked casually.
"Vance!" Darby's firm voice cut through the paper barrier like a knife and made her husband drop the menu quickly. "You can't hide from this topic forever, darling. Sooner or later you'll have to accept that our son is different."
She sent a gentle smile over the table and Vance replied with a sigh.
"I know, honey. But… do we have to talk about it now?"
"Yes, we do!" Darby replied with a quick glance at the still shell-shocked Alyssa. "Ryan's gay and we've known it for quite some time. And you've been ignoring that fact for several years now, darling. I know it's not an easy thought to accept but… eventually you're gonna have to come to terms with it. Your son is gay, yes…" Darby's eyes lit up when she continued, "…But he's also a charming and polite and don't forget an incredibly gifted boy. He's gentle and amiable and on his way to become a good and upstanding young man. We're very blessed to have him as a son and we love him unconditionally."
The blond woman took hold of Alyssa's hand on the table and gave it a gentle squeeze. Her clear blue eyes shone with love and understanding for the confusion shown on the dark woman's face and she added after a slight pause:
"And I'm sure the same can be said about Chad, too. Am I right?"
"Oh, sure you are," Alyssa quickly answered and looked up from their joined hands, "I love Chad. He's a great boy and nothing will ever change that. It's just that… I always wished for him to… well, I just never thought he would be gay I guess."
"Of course you didn't, dear." Darby replied honestly. "No mother does, but at one point you simply get to see the truth and you have to accept it. It's not Chad's fault… or yours or anyone's… it's just the way things are!"
"But… what do I do now? I mean, I have to talk to him or… I don't know, I…"
Darby interrupted gently: "Just let things go their way. When he's ready to talk about it he will come to you, believe me. That's what our Ducky did after all. When he's ready he'll come!"
"Alright," Alyssa tried a tentative smile while her brown eyes glistened with unshed tears.
The two couples (plus one dejected Alex) sat around the table in contemplative silence till Alex finally addressed his dad cautiously:
"Dad, do you think I should go and talk to them? Try to clear things up?"
"No, leave it! I think you've done enough damage for one day," Tom replied stiffly.
"Damn it, I told you I didn't know…" Alex couldn't keep the anger from his voice and he stood up quickly. "I just wanted to make things right again!"
"By jumping Ryan right on sight when you hadn't spoken to him in half a year? And you knew he didn't want to talk to you!" Tom shook his head sadly and avoided Alex's eyes. "I didn't raise you to behave like that."
"You didn't raise me at all, Dad!" the younger man replied in a bitter voice and started walking out of the room.
"Alex!" Tom shouted after him.
"Forget it, Dad! It was a bad idea coming here, I see that now. Don't know what I was thinking at all."
Tom's eyes followed his departure until Alyssa softy addressed him:
"If you wanna go after him, it's okay."
"No," he send her a smile back, "it's probably for the best like this. And… I think someone asked about Digestives earlier. I wouldn't object at all right now."
"Okay," Vance gleamed and signaled for the waiter, "finally!"
"Fuck off, Evans!"
Ryan had been so shocked at hearing Chad's angry shout that he'd actually forgotten to walk on. And when he'd finally been able to move his feet again Chad had already passed most of the entrance hall.
Ryan had tried to suit up but… then he'd come to the conclusion that Chad had to have secret super powers.
Clark Kent's super speed or… an invisibility cloak like Harry Potter had.
Because one minute Ryan had caught a glimpse of Chad's curly hair rushing outside through the big entrance door and the next, when Ryan had opened said door panting and gasping and turning his head around frantically to discover Chad outside, the jock had miraculously vanished.
Truly desperate now, the blond boy had tried to follow the footprints Chad's sneakers had left in the thick snow. But… Ryan had never been a boy scout and therefore…
It was hopeless, there were just too many.
Head hanging low and shivering quite a lot Ryan returned to the entrance hall and from there went straight into the elevator. Once the doors slid closed behind him he slouched down onto his heels and buried his face in shaking hands.
But he wouldn't cry!
No matter how hard it was for him to hold the tears that pricked behind his eyelids like sandpaper… he wouldn't cry!
He would drag his dejected body over the plush carpet on fourth's floor and he would hold his composure until he'd reached the safety of his own rooms.
There he would let loose, there he would rage and shout and crumble and cry.
And there he would fall into bed exhausted, unable to find sleep for a long time. And when sleep would finally come Ryan would dream about Chad, the embodiment of a dream come true and about Alex, the walking nightmare.
What a lovely Christmas this was!
TBC
I'm sorry if this was rather short and not very happy. But I promise: a happy ending will come! Soon!