"I mean. Ryan's run away."

I stood still… Frozen from shock.

"Gabriella?" Sharpay asked quietly. "Gabriella, are you there?" She sniffed. I dropped the phone and sank to the floor. "Gabriella!?" I could hear Sharpay cry over the phone. I crawled over to where the phone lay and held it up to my ear.

"He ran away?" I asked, trying not to believe it. For some reason I couldn't stand to think that Ryan was alone and missing. Even though he had ruined so much for me something inside of me kept holding on to the feelings I had for him.

"Yes, Gabriella. He's gone. I came home and I found a note for me from Ryan saying that something had happened and he couldn't take it anymore so he decided to leave… There's a note for you too. I haven't read it." She said. I nodded then realized that Sharpay couldn't see that.

"Can I- Can I come over?" I mumbled.

"Of course… You need to read the letter."

"Right, right. Um. I'll be over in a few minutes. I just need to do something first." I said and hung up. I walked slowly up the stairs to the bathroom. I stood in front of the mirror looking at my reflection for a few moments.

"What have you done, Gabi?" I asked myself. "This isn't Ryan's fault… This is yours" my reflection seemed to say to me, "If you hadn't gone back to Ryan's or if you didn't fall for him none of this would be happening, you'd be with Troy right now." I told myself. After a few more moments I walked downstairs and left for Sharpay's.

When I got there Sharpay hugged me tightly. To be honest it was a bit awkward because it wasn't a secret that Sharpay had negative feelings towards me and now she was hugging me, and crying.

"Sharpay… Shhh." I said trying to calm her down. I had been standing a few minutes with Sharpay crying in my arms and I was getting a little impatient. "Sharpay!" I said a little louder, startling her and making her stand up.

"Ahem. I'm sorry." She sniffed, finally letting the tears stop. "You want to see the letter, right?" She dragged me to Ryan's room. She stood in the doorway and pointed to the bed. "It's right there." She said, pointing to a letter that was lying on his pillow. From the doorway I could see that it said my name on the front. I walked over to the bed and grabbed the letter. I looked at Sharpay and she nodded. "I'll be across the hall in my room." I sat alone in Ryan's room for a few moments just taking in the surroundings. I looked at the floor and saw Ryan's shirt that he had been wearing earlier. I picked it up and held it close. I noticed that it had a few grass stains on it. I hugged it tightly and went back to looking at the letter. I breathed in deeply and opened the envelope. I unfolded the paper and started reading Ryan's message.

Dear Gabriella,

I'm sure you probably hate me right now and I can't express how much I wish you didn't. I know what I did was horrible and you have no idea how terrible I feel. I wish I could explain to you what happened in this letter but it's not possible. It would be hard enough to explain in person and if I had to do it in this letter I wouldn't be able to. All I can say is that what I did was wrong and I'm sorry. I didn't want you to get hurt because even though it may not seem like I do, I love you. You've made me feel something that I've never felt for anyone else before and that just makes this so much harder to do. I've left, Gabriella. I'm not sure if it's for good, but I know I can't be near you anymore. I can't control my actions and I don't know why.. Well, I do but it was never explained very well. Ask Sharpay what I mean by that. Anyways, Gabi, I have to go now. Please don't hate me… And please don't come looking for me. I need time to myself to figure this out. I'll miss you and I love you. Please stay safe.

Love,

Ryan

P.s. Please… Fix things with Troy. I know I messed that up severely but I want you to be happy and I know he can make you happy.

A few tears had escaped my eyes and had fell on to the piece of paper, smearing some of the words. I tried to read the letter again but my vision was blurred from my tears and I couldn't help but let a small cry escape my mouth. I lay down on the bed, holding his shirt and the letter and cried into his pillow. Even though I felt nauseous I was calmed by Ryan's scent on the pillow. I finally regained my strength and stumbled out of the room. I saw a pink door, which I assumed to be Sharpay's and I opened it. Sharpay was sitting, crossed legged, on her bed reading what I assumed to be her own letter from Ryan. I managed to choke out a few words.

"What's wrong with him?" I cried softly. It had never occurred to me to ask Sharpay about Ryan but now that he had mentioned it in his letter I did. She sighed and patted the spot next to her.

"You should probably sit down." She said. I walked over beside her and sat down. She faced me, "Okay, this might be a little difficult to hear and WAY confusing but even I don't really know how to explain it completely." She said.

"It doesn't matter, Sharpay. I need to know what's going on." I told her. She nodded and continued.

"First off, you need to know that when Ryan was little, he was the most amazing kid. He was nice, polite to everyone, a little shy but still fun to be around. He never did anything bad and he wouldn't hurt a fly," She said, remembering those times. I cringed at how much Ryan had changed, "but one day… I don't really know what happened. I think we were about 7. I was in the house and I heard Ryan start crying from outside so I ran to see what happened. He was laying under the swings crying and he had a nasty red bump on his forehead."

"He hit his head on the swing?" I asked and she nodded but gave me an annoyed look because I interrupted her story, "Sorry, continue"

"Anyways… I tried to ask what happened but all he would do was cry. I don't remember where our parents were but they weren't around so I brought him inside and I got some ice for his head. He calmed down a bit and he wouldn't talk. I kept asking if he was alright but he didn't say anything or even acknowledge the fact that I was talking to him. Then suddenly… It's kinda blurry but I remember that I was talking to him and he just got up and left. So, of course I was kinda pissed off 'cause well… He left when I was talking to him. I was a bit of a drama queen back then." She said and I rolled my eyes, "so, I went after him and I started yelling at him or something and he just started laughing. I remember I was so creeped out by it because Ryan was afraid of me back then and he would NEVER have stood up to me or not taken me seriously. So I asked him what was so funny and I can remember him saying 'who do you think you are? You're nothing" and then he laughed and walked away. I think I even started crying because Ryan never talked like that and he never said anything mean and that's when it started."

"When what started?" I asked, already confused. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Well you have noticed how Ryan kinda has… Uh… Split personalities?" she said. I nodded. "Well yeah. That. After that day he was different. Once in a while acted mean, he was sarcastic and full of himself. Most of the time he was just normal Ryan but the smallest things would set him off. We thought it was normal at first. Maybe just a phase but one day we came home to find that my hamster was dead. We asked him what happened and he told us that the hamster bit him so he killed it. Five minutes after he told us he seemed to realize what he actually did and started crying and apologizing, saying he didn't want to do it. So that's when mom and dad took him to a doctor. He was diagnosed with something really similar to schizophrenia and he was put on medication. After that he was completely fine. I think somewhere down the line he stopped taking his medication but he was always fine. But something happened just before you came to East High and it started again. It wasn't serious and he told us he was still taking his medication but every once in a while he would say something that was completely unlike him. And that day when you came to drop of our homework… It seemed to get worse again." She finished.

"Wait. Are you saying this is my fault?" I questioned. Sharpay's eyes went wide and she started shaking her head.

"No!" She said, "I'm just saying that's when it started happening again. He told us not to worry and that he was fine. He didn't want people finding out because he went through enough already with people calling him names and stuff." She explained. Another thought popped into my head.

"You said that something happened before I came to East High? Something that made him start changing again. What was it?" I asked. Sharpay looked away and sighed.

"I don't really know if it's my place to say." She said honestly but I didn't care.

"Sharpay! Please. I want to know."

"Okay okay. You know- You know how the popular guys don't really like him?" She said and I nodded, "Well, one day… I guess it was after the guys gym class. A few of the jocks… Including Chad and Troy, decided to play a prank on Ryan." She said, "Anyways they decided it would be really funny if they took his clothes and hid them from him. And I guess this was when he was in the shower or something so they took his clothes and threw them in the trash." I bit my lip in anger. I can't believe people at East High could be so horrible. "Okay, now don't get mad at me because this is the truth… But part of the prank was that Troy told him he knew where his clothes were and he brought him out into the hall and people were there and started laughing at Ryan because all he was in was a towel and then…" I stared at her, willing her to go on.

"… And then..?" I asked slowly.

"Ugh then Chad told everyone that Ryan was trying to make a move on Troy. That's why everyone thinks Ryan's gay." She finished. By this time I was fuming. How could Troy and Chad have done such a horrible thing? But then suddenly I realized something. I got up quickly and paced the room.

"Sharpay… That would have made Ryan hate Troy… Wouldn't it have?" I asked. She nodded unsurely.

"I guess. I know he didn't much care for him." She said and I continued pacing.

"What if this whole thing was just… A way to get back at Troy?" I asked feeling like an idiot. Had this entire situation just been made up so that Troy would be hurt in the end? Did Ryan just make this all up to get revenge? But hadn't Ryan told me he loved me? Maybe that was an accident and he hadn't thought that would ever happen. But it did.

"I don't know… I don't think Ryan would really do that." She said cautiously. I stopped pacing and stood in front of her.

"Yeah but his other side would." I said. Her eyes widened as she realized what had really happened.

"Oh god. I am so sorry, Gabriella." Sharpay said sadly. Apologies from Sharpay were new and very strange to hear.

"It's okay. I'll sort it out. I just have to find Ryan."

"But his letter said not to look for him." Sharpay argued.

"Sharpay! You're his sister! Who cares what he says? He needs to come home!" I sounded absolutely exasperated.

"You're right… We should go look for him. He couldn't be far." She said. I nodded in agreement.

"Okay we should get going now. It's already dark out and I want to find him before it gets too dark to even see." We both got up and started walking out the door.

"Wait Gabriella!" Sharpay said and I turned around.

"What is it?" I asked sounding worried. She stood still for a moment and then looked down at her shoes.

"Do you think maybe I should change my shoes before we go? I mean I could get serious blisters from these." She said. I rolled my eyes and went to get the car ready.

A/N: Okay so this is the SECOND LAST CHAPTER. The next chapter will probably be pretty long. This one was kinda just a means to get to the next one ahaha. If you have any questions about the plot just ask and I'll try to answer them all in the last chapter!!