hey all!
i didn't really want to post up this chapter so soon, but i'll be busy for a while, so i'll give this to you guys to tide you over til i finish chapter 12. this is also probably my favourite chapter so far, so i was really excited to post it.
this chapter takes a break from the fluffiness, but rest assured there's still plenty of cute in it, its just mixed in with a lot of more serious and darker emotions. um, i dont want to spoil anything else, so ill just let you guys read.
Happy Anniversary
Troy and Ryan both agreed on keeping their relationship under wraps, at least for the time being. They also made a pact to avoid eye contact during class, if at all possible. They knew had set themselves some pretty tough tasks, but they had to do it. If there was any chance of them staying together without having the entire school breathing down their necks, they would have to act like nothing more than really good friends. And they had almost crossed that line, as their friends were starting to get suspicious. They couldn't be discovered. Not by anyone, and especially not Gabriella.
"Oh yeah. What about that girlfriend of yours?" Ryan asked one day afterschool, sitting in Troy's room.
Troy winced. "Yeah… I forgot about her. I'm really sorry Ryan. I really got caught up in the moment."
But Ryan wasn't about to hold any grudges. "Look, I was the one who was making moves on you. And I could have easily said no when you asked me."
Troy snickered. "I guess we were both a little preoccupied." He sat Ryan on his lap and placed a kiss on his golden locks. "But I'll break it off with Gabriella as soon as I can."
Ryan pulled away. "No don't!" Troy responded with a confused frown.
"What? Why Ryan? Don't you… don't you want this?" Troy looked at Ryan solemnly, but Ryan gave him a reassuring smile.
"Of course I do." He said, wrapping his arms around Troy again. "But if you break up with Gabriella right now, she'll get even more suspicious of us. She's already seen more than should have."
Troy squeezed Ryan tightly. "But it's you I want. Not her."
"I know Troy… I don't like it either… but we have to pretend we're still just friends. To the school, you're still going out with her."
Troy would have liked nothing more than to say 'to hell with the rest of the school', but he knew he couldn't. Unfortunately, they were still very much dependant on their image toward their peers. That's how it was in high school. Without the support of their peers, and worse yet their acceptance, Troy and Ryan would have to carry the burden of being different all by themselves. Troy couldn't do that to Ryan. He wouldn't.
"Okay." Troy sighed. "I'll do it, for you."
"Hey." Ryan said. "You're not in this alone. I'll be right here by your side, okay? We're gonna do it for us." Troy lifted Ryan's head up and placed a soft kiss on his warm lips.
"Thank you, Ryan." He held Ryan tightly, for he didn't know when he could hold him again. "I really am the luckiest man in the world."
-o-O-O-O-o-
Their first week was a bumpy one. Concentrating on schoolwork was pretty much out of the question, and they fought with all their might to just keep their heads down and their eyes away. They grabbed every opportunity they could, in the bathrooms at lunch, backstage during rehearsal. They just wanted to be with each other; to hold each other, to kiss each other, to be able show their love. Their grades fell, and the teachers got angry. Detentions ensued, but it was just another excuse to be together. It was almost like an adventure for them. Every day posed new challenges, new threats, and they faced them without fear. They were pretty sure that no one was suspecting anything, and everything went as usual. However, someone was suspecting something, and it was the very last person they wanted to…
Friday marked Troy and Ryan's one week anniversary, and Ryan wanted to surprise Troy with a CD he had wanted for ages. There was only one thing Ryan forgot. Friday also marked Troy and Gabriella's one year anniversary. He came skipping down the hall to Troy's locker when he met a horrifying sight. Gabriella had Troy pinned to the locker, savagely making out with him. Ryan's eyes went wide in disgust, and he suddenly had the urge to vomit. He dropped Troy's CD and tore down the hall to the nearest bathroom, tears spilling from his eyes.
Troy did not know what was happening. One minute, he was taking his History textbook off a shelf in his locker, the next Gabriella was on top of him, ripping at his clothes and swallowing his face. Troy pushed Gabriella away in horror.
"What was that?!" Troy spat.
Gabriella gave Troy a devilish smile. "Happy anniversary, Troy. Didn't forget, did you?" Troy's face was hot with anger.
"What makes you think you can do something like that?!" He shouted.
"Hello!" Gabriella said. "I'm only your girlfriend! Can't a girl show her man how much she loves him?"
"If you really loved me, you'd give me some room to breathe!"
"Why?! So you can run off to Ryan?" Gabriella shrilled.
Troy did not respond right away to this, but his glare intensified. "Leave him out of his. He's got nothing to do with it."
Gabriella let out a hollow laugh. "Hah! What kind of fool do you take me for, Troy?" She said. "You don't think I'd notice that my boyfriend spends every waking moment with someone else?"
"I don't have to justify my actions." Troy yelled. "When have I ever given you reason to not trust me?!"
"When you signed onto the musical with Ryan!" Gabriella yelled back.
"LEAVE HIM OUT OF THIS!" Troy shouted, enraged. His breaths came out in heaves as his glare bore holes through Gabriella. She looked back at him with an expression of disbelief, and shook her head.
"You've changed, Troy."
"Me? ME?" Troy exclaimed. "You're putting all the blame on me? This is your fault!" He declared angrily.
She shook her head again. "Consider yourself dumped." And she spun around as Troy shouted something else at her. As she stalked away, there was a crack under her foot. She looked down and lifted it, to see a broken CD case. On it was a yellow Post-It note.
Happy one-week, Troy! Love, Ryan.
She picked it up and faced Troy again. "Here's the reason that I can't trust you!" She screamed, hurling the shattered jewel case at him. She then sprinted away. Troy looked at the CD Gabriella had just thrown at him. It was Lucas Grabeel's latest album, the one he had wanted since it came out two months before. He read the sticky note on the front, written in Ryan's neat printing and adorned with a simple heart. A tear rolled down Troy's face. He clutched Ryan's gift close to his heart as he walked toward the bathroom. Troy had to find him, and that bathroom had become a bit of a sanctuary for both of them. He jogged down the hall and pushed through the door into the boy's washroom. He could hear someone sobbing in one of the stalls, the one that had a nest of toilet paper strewn about it. Troy quickly made his way over and swung the door open. He gasped when he saw Ryan was hunched over the toilet, tears leaking down his face. He bent down to encase him in his arms.
"Oh my god, Ryan! I'm so sorry." Troy said. Ryan's shirt was stained with vomit, but Troy didn't care. He squeezed Ryan as tight as he could without hurting him. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Ryan couldn't say anything. He sniffled and hiccupped uncontrollably, his eyes pouring out hot tears. Troy gently rubbed Ryan's back in an effort to comfort him, whispering an endless string of apologies. Ryan remained silent, aside from his sobs. Troy continued to hold onto him, sitting on the dirty bathroom floor with him, whispering to him. Slowly, Ryan started to calm down.
"Oh Troy…" Was the first thing he could say. "When I saw you with her… I—"
"Shhh…" Troy said. "It's okay now. I broke up with her." Ryan started to cry softly again.
"Do you still like me then?"
"What?" Troy said. "Of course I do! I always have Ryan! Always!"
Ryan sniffed. "Okay…I just thought maybe you and Gabriella…"
"Gabriella means nothing to me anymore." Troy said. "That sorry bitch can die for all I care." His anger toward her flared up briefly before melting away again. Ryan buried his face into Troy's chest.
"So much for our plan." He said spitefully.
"Forget the plan." Troy said. Ryan looked up at him.
"But Troy!"
"No 'buts' Ryan." Troy said firmly. "Gabriella knows now, and by tomorrow the whole school will too. And I couldn't really give a damn, because you know what? I love you Ryan Evans, and I don't care what anybody says!"
Ryan's face lit up when he heard what Troy had just said. No one had ever said that to him before, ever. He couldn't even remember hearing it from Sharpay or his parents, and Troy had just said it right then and there. And Ryan knew in his heart tat Troy meant it with all his being. Ryan willed himself to not cry again, but it was useless. Troy had just made him the happiest he had been his entire life.
"Oh Troy." Ryan sobbed. "I love you too." He threw his arms around Troy's neck and kissed him passionately on the lips. Troy willingly let Ryan kiss him, and returned it, still holding him tight. This kiss was completely opposite of his 'kiss' with Gabriella. He and Ryan shared a powerful bond, a mutual trust for each other, and it fueled their passion. Gabriella had no concept of this, and took things into her own hands. The end result was a revolting act of savagery and violation. Troy was so glad to be free of her now, and overjoyed beyond belief that now he and Ryan were together.
Eventually, they broke apart, and Troy lifted them from the cold tile floor. He helped Ryan wash up at the sink, then lifted him up and carried him to his car.
"Happy one-week Ryan." He said, smiling down at him.
"Yeah, happy one-week." Ryan said back. "Here's to many more to come." And he lifted his head to kiss Troy softly on the lips again.
omg... omg omg, so cute!
i just love making Troy that knight in shining armour, he fits the part really well.
i dont realy know what my problem is with this story, but i re-write so much of it, all the leftovers could be their own story. im serious! i keep writing things, then rethinking them, and scrapping them, and rewriting them. this chapter originally went in a whole other direction, but i really like the changes i made. i think its really really romantic.
and even in spite of the fact that i change things so much, i still pride myself in updating fairly frequently. how do i do it? well, i knida place it at the top of my priority list, which means important things like school get pushed aside... i dont' really reccomend anyone do that... im just really bad like that...
cant thank you guys enough for all your kind reviews! its your support that keeps me going!
ive got a hectic weekend ahead of me, and the beginning of next week isn't looking so bright either, so im not sure when i can get chapter 12 up. ill work on it more tonight before i go to bed and hope i can find enough time between work and other crap.
so yeah, that's all for now. thanks for reading!