Apparently nobody got the Titanic thing (I highly doubt many people read author notes in the first place), seeing nobody even bothered to guess. So I'll just leave them as a mystery. Also, I've been tetchy with Sharpay's character. I think I'm losing her.
Ryan's been in the hospital for a long time by now, so he came home slightly better. He was strictly informed not to do any dancing or other heavy exercise of any sort till he fully heals, and he would have to check with the doctors at Ohio to see if he recovered yet. I just hope they're better than Albuquerque's.
Before I came home, I quickly removed all the stuff I told him to take back some time ago and gently placed them in their appropriate spot in my room. For all I know, they could be the last of Ryan I'll ever have left. The photo, however, was completely ruined, so I had to photocopy a new one and slipped it into the rhinestone frame.
The Wildcats decided to host another farewell party, seeing that the last one didn't fare too well. It ended up with two pies smashed into Chad's face and hair, Gabriella's head stuck in a kitchen pot, and silly string all over Troy's living room. Reasons are still unknown.
It was April 14th. Ryan was going to leave tomorrow. Tomorrow. April fifteenth before would seem like ages away, but now I felt as if Saturday were slipping beyond my grasps like ice and I couldn't grasp it again. I could literally feel my heart beating a countdown for the seconds I had left with Ryan, seconds I couldn't regain.
I was staring at Ryan's room, now bare of everything he owned. The drawers and the clothes closet were thrown open and empty; his navy blue covers were already shoved in an already overstuffed cardboard box somewhere downstairs. All was left was a skeleton of a room. Daddy said I could do anything I want with it: change it to my own den, a karaoke room, and even another closet. I wanted nothing of those. I just wanted to keep it the way it was, even if it left no sign of Ryan.
Ryan hobbled behind me, still weak from the injuries Jay had given him. I could've said or done anything: tell him I loved him, tell him I'll miss him, ask him to call me right when he landed on Ohio, but no, I just stood there and stared at his room, leaning on his doorframe. There goes two minutes of Ryan-time I'll never get back.
"Hey Shar," said Ryan, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"Hey," I said monotonously. I nodded to his stomach. "You okay?"
His hand automatically fingered his wounds. "I'm a lot better," he said.
I sighed, my eyes returning back to the bare room. There was nothing left to say anymore.
"I…can't believe you're leaving tomorrow," I said glumly. Wow. What wonderful last words. Ryan sighed sadly.
"Well, I guess we'll live out every day?" smiled Ryan. I raised my eyebrows. Ryan then kneeled down on one knee, because bowing would just make his wounds hurt more.
"Would the mademoiselle care to be escorted to anywhere?" he asked in a French accent. I rolled my eyes and slapped Ryan playfully.
"Surprise me," I said. Ryan smiled and clambered back onto his feet. He gently took my hand and led me down to the garage. He opened the passenger seat of his green Mercedes like a gentleman and beckoned me to get in. I slipped onto the leather seat as Ryan sat down in the driver's seat and revved the engine. I opened the windows and let the lukewarm breeze brush against my skin. Everything felt so peaceful, even though life was far from it. I watched the line of suburban houses pass by, remembering how I hated them so much. I didn't anymore, now that I know that everything will be fine. Ryan promised me so.
"Here we are, milady," said Ryan, still using his French accent. I peered out the window. I recognized the glimmering lake so smooth it was a mirror. I saw the ocean of wildflowers and the vast stretch of the emerald forest.
"Shea Park," I said, smiling slightly. Whenever we were little, Mother and Daddy would always take us here every Saturday to play.
"Yup," said Ryan, hopping out of the car. I nonchalantly slipped out of the vehicle and followed Ryan past the intricate entrance gate.
"This brings back memories, doesn't it?" said Ryan. The sky was thick with gray bloods that were tinted with a cold shade of blue that left a slight chill in the air, but that seemed to beautify the park.
"A little too many memories," I said, sitting down on a marble bench. "Remember when you tricked me by telling me there was treasure in the flower bed and when I went looking for it, you and Daddy got to eat some ice cream all to yourself?"
Ryan laughed. "Those were the good ol' days when you were gullible."
"Hey!" I snapped, laughing. "Now I know better."
"There is treasure in there, Shar. You just didn't appreciate them as much, back then?"
"And what's that?"
"The flowers, of course. It's like the stories Mom always told us, about the king who didn't want to dress in the gold and diamonds that cost lives to have, but instead with flowers that made him more beautiful than ever."
"You're getting awful poetic and philosophical these days," I pointed out. Ryan shrugged and plucked a bright blue aster off the ground.
"You know, this would look awesome in your hair…" he said. "But seeing that you don't appreciate Mother Nature's beautiful jewelry…"
"Oh, come on," I said. "I never said I didn't."
Ryan smiled and slipped the delicate flower into my hair. I patted the velvety petals appreciatively.
"And remember when we got in a big fight and you ran off into the forest in the third grade?" said Ryan, sitting beside me.
"Like yesterday," I said. "But then I got lost and scared, especially since Chad kept telling everyone about stories where monsters and ghosts lurk in the forest and eat little girls."
"Yeah, Chad was the storyteller back in the days," agreed Ryan.
"But then you came and tried to find me," I said. The words tumbling out of my mouth suddenly triggered the memory of Ryan saving me from Jay and the others. "And you found me and told me that you're there to protect me…and that everything will be okay…" I looked into his sky-blue eyes. "That's your motto, isn't it?"
Ryan smiled. It took me a while before I realized that our feet were moving, and it took me even longer to find out that we were heading right into the Forbidden Forest. The shadows were dark and looming, but it had a peaceful and a mysterious air around it. Right when we stepped in, a cold chill ran down my spine, but Ryan's hand was clasped tightly into mine, and I felt peace.
I so wished that Ryan didn't have to go. I wanted to amble in this forest and keep on clutching his hand forever…or at least, long enough so Mother and Daddy finally agree to keep Ryan in Albuquerque. I tightened my grip as we strolled deeper into the forest.
"I'm going to miss this place so much," murmured Ryan. It just hurt me so much.
"You'll come around and visit, right?" I implored. It was kind of odd; usually it was Ryan assuring me that he'll come around and me doubting every word he says.
"Probably, even if I have to stow away in a plane or something drastic like that," said Ryan. We walked in silence for another moment.
"I have to be honest with you…" I said softly. "Back before, I guess I didn't appreciate you being my brother. But now…now I know I'm so blessed to have you." I gave Ryan a one-arm hug. "Sucks though, huh, that I figured it out so late. They say you never know what you got till it's gone."
"They're half right," said Ryan. I glanced quizzically at him. "I'm not gone, and I probably won't be gone till I'm in my coffin. It's like what you said, m'dear Sharpay. I'm coming back, aren't I?"
"I guess…" I whispered. I took a deep breath, and before I knew it, melodic words escaped my tongue.
"It's hard to believe
that I couldn't see
How you were always there beside me…
Thought I was alone, with no one to hold,
But you were always there beside me…"
I raised an eyebrow at Ryan, beckoning him to join in the song. Ryan laughed softly.
"This feeling's like no other
I want you to know
That I never had someone
Who knows me like you do
The way you do!
I've never had someone who's good for me as you
No one like you.
So lonely before, I finally found…
What I've been looking for."
"You know, Kelsi's songs are really…really…what's the word I'm looking for?" I snapped my fingers a few times.
Ryan grinned. "I know what you mean. Scary accurate sometimes."
"The song's true though…" I murmured. "I didn't sing it just because I felt like it."
"Neither did I."
I began to really, really hate myself for acting cold towards Ryan for the past sixteen to seventeen years.
"Um…Ryan?" I asked. "You do know where we are going, right?"
"Of course I—" Ryan abruptly paused "Uh…of course I do!"
"Right…" I drawled I frowned and craned my neck to view the sky. Menacing gray clouds peeked through the clumps of jade leaves. I suddenly felt freezing drops of rain pelt my head.
"We better get out of here," I said, pulling Ryan away "It's going to rain."
"Hey, it can't get that bad," said Ryan. Famous last words. The rain started to strengthen until it was a downright downpour. I screamed as I was sloshed with gallons of rainwater as Ryan and I scampered through the rain. I could pick out Ryan's laughing and singing behind me.
"What are you doing?" I shrieked, my teeth chattering with the cold.
"Singin' in the rain!" he laughed. Before I knew it, he grabbed my hands and spun me around. I shrieked for Ryan to stop but as I tried to utter a scream, it came out as laughter.
"Ryan, stop it!" I laughed as we spun faster and faster until we both collapsed onto the slippery grass. We were all sopping wet, our blond hair sticking to our faces. Ryan suddenly sprung from the ground and ran around like a maniac, lifting up his arms like in the 'I'm king of the world' scene and running around like a little kid. Believe it or not, I joined in. I could feel my throat scratch with laughter as we flew through the meadow of beautiful flowers dotted with crystal raindrops. We pranced among the daffodils and the tulips like fairies, spinning and screaming and even the dance routines that we practiced earlier. It was wonderful, to dance in the rain with my last golden day with Ryan, with not a care in the world…
"…I think we learned a lesson today," said Ryan, his teeth chattering as he clutched his quilt tightly and sipped on hot cocoa.
"Yeah. When you're sibling starts pretending he's in a musical, it ends up with stuffy noses and slight colds," I muttered jokingly, my voice nasally because of my cursed stuffed-up nose.
So my sister and I went around running and screaming and laughing in the rain too. Luckily, we didn't get a cold, because we didn't hang around in it too long. My suspicious were correct: the last chapter would most likely be chapter eleven, aka the next chapter. Oh, and references made to TobyMac and Singin' in the Rain.