A/N: Okay, so my excuse this time? None. I am just purely that lazy that I didn't get this up sooner. That and I had a really good idea (at 11am, actually, if you can believe that) for a oneshot, that turned out much longer than I expected (already 17 plus pages) and therefore, not a oneshot, but it'll be cool anyways. So, my apologies for the lateness, and I don't own HSM, or anything like that. Gabriella fans should not be disappointed by this chapter. If anyone was actually reading this for the Ryelsi, not the Tryan, you'll probably want to stop after this chapter, although I'm not going to say anything else about it. Oh, and this is the longest chapter yet.

The next morning, I woke up, as most people do. I was very comfy right there in my bed. I rolled over and realized there was someone else there as well. I screamed and hopped out of bed. The person sat up.

"Stop screaming, you're gonna wake up Sharpay," it said.

"Oh, thank God, it's just you," I said, suddenly realizing who it was and that I still had pants on.

"Yeah, it's just me," Kelsi said. "Who else could it be?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "After last weekend…well, I was a little scared."

"It's just me, and we didn't do anything," Kelsi said, laying back down and rolling over. "Stupid gay boyfriend," she mumbled to herself.

"I heard that," I said. "If you don't wanna be my girlfriend anymore, don't."

"No, I wannabe," she said. I laughed. "Not the Spice Girls again."

"The Spice Girls are amazing!" I argued. She closed her eyes and shook her head. It's true, though. The Girls named Spice are, like, the best people ever.

"Excited for the reunion tour, are we?" Kelsi asked.

"Hell, yeah! I got my tickets before Sharpay did!" I said. Kelsi sighed in a "You are so gay" type way and I scowled. "I'm going to breakfast." I grabbed my shirt and hat and left the room.

Upon my arrival in the dining room, fully dressed, I found it mostly empty. The only occupants were Troy, Chad, Chuckie, and Taylor. I wondered what time it was.

"What's up guys?" I asked, sitting down and helping myself to the food on the table.

"Nothing much," Taylor said. She looked at Chad, who snickered.

"Okay, what did I do that I don't remember this time?" I asked, sighing.

"Nothing," said Troy. "They know." I looked at him, confused. "Ry, they know."

"Oh," I said, getting it. "Oh, okay. Did I know that?" Troy shook his head.

"Nah, told them this morning. Hope that's okay," he said.

"Yeah, that's fine. What time is it?" I asked. "And if the words 'Summertime', 'Party time', 'Time of our Lives', 'Anticipation', or 'School's out, scream and shout' come up in the answer, some heads are gonna get knocked together." Chad laughed.

"That only happens when I ask," he said.

"It's 9:30," Troy said, looking at his wrist (which still didn't have a watch on it).

"I have to ask," I said. "You do know you're not wearing a watch, right?" Troy just continued to look at me like I was insane.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Never mind," I said. Chad gave me an "I'll explain it later" type look and I dropped it.

"Anyways, so congrats," Chuckie said.

"Thanks," I said.

"Yep," Troy said. He smiled at me, and I felt awkward.

"You know what they say," I said. "Love the life you live, live the life you love."

"Bob Marley," Chad said. Everyone looked at him. "He says that."

"Yeah," I said.

"And life's what you make it," Troy said.

"So let's make it right," Taylor finished. "Miley Cyrus."

"Who?" Chad asked.

"Miley Cyrus," Taylor repeated. "Hannah Montana?" Chad gave her a "Yeah, cuz I really watch the Disney Channel type look" and rolled his eyes.

"We're getting deep today, aren't we?" he said.

"Apparently so," I replied. "So what else is up, besides 'deep feelings' and secret relationships?"

"Nothing," Troy said. "Where's Kelsi?"

"My bed, still, probably," I said. "Almost had a freaking heart attack this morning."

"Hey, she's your girlfriend," Troy said.

"No, she's my 'girlfriend'. There's a big difference," I said.

"And the difference is the use of air quotes?" Taylor asked. I nodded.

"So, you have a girlfriend and a boyfriend?" Chuckie asked. "Lucky."

"Okay, I have a 'girlfriend' and a secret boyfriend," I clarified. Troy nodded.

"This is interesting," Chad said, sarcastically. "Glad I got up." Taylor slapped his arm.

"You're supposed to be being supportive of this whole situation," she said. "They're your best friends, after all."

"Yeah, well, I'll best friend them later," Chad said, yawning.

"That's not even a verb," Chuckie said.

"Yeah, well, you're not even a verb," Chad said. Troy and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"If someone said 'yeah, well, your FACE isn't even a verb' right now, I don't think I'd ever stop laughing," Troy said. I nodded.

"Fine. I'm your best friend. So tell your boyfriend if he breaks your heart, I'll break his neck," Chad said. "And that goes for both of you."

"Thanks," I said.

"Yeah, thanks, man," Troy said. "I'm sure we needed that."

"That's what best friends are for, people," Chad said. "And you're welcome."

"Okay, then," said Taylor, choosing to ignore this semi-gay remark from her boyfriend. "Wish my best friend said that."

"And your best friend is…?" asked Chuckie.

"Gabriella," Taylor said. There was a pause while everyone looked at her. "Okay, good point. Still, though. That's nice."

"Yeah, whatever," Chad said. "Can I go back to bed now?" At that moment, either by random coincidence or some all-knowing power behind the plot of my life, some people walked into the dining room that would make it impossible for Chad to go back to bed all day, which would make him cranky. Three girls and two guys had appeared in the doorway to the hall.

"Hey, guys," I said. It was Gabriella, Sharpay, Martha, Zeke, and Jason. "Is Kelsi still asleep?"

"You tell us," said Sharpay. "She's in your bed." She slid into a chair on the other side of the table next to Troy, whose groan went unnoticed by Sharpay. Gabriella and Martha sat down as well, on my side of the table. Zeke sat in the chair on the other side of Sharpay, and Jason walked around the table to sit across from Taylor and Chuckie.

"Oh, well, then, she's still there," I said. "I left when she started dissing the Spice Girls."

"She didn't!" Martha said.

"Yeah, she did," I said. Martha shook her head.

"That's just not right," she said.

"I know, right?" I said.

"Like, duh," Sharpay said, sarcastically.

"Anyways," Zeke said, "good morning. If it is a good morning. Is it?" I looked around.

"I think it's a good morning," said Troy. I smiled inwardly. Today was going to be a good day, I could feel it. If only Gabriella would apologize…

"Ryan," Gabriella called sweetly over to me. I looked at her.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Last night better than last Saturday night?" she asked. It's a start, I guess.

"Probably. I have a tendency not to remember Saturday nights," I said. She laughed, even though she didn't really have a reason to. Troy rolled his eyes and I smirked in a "Enh, what are you gonna do?" type way. "Although, I've gotta say any night when I don't get taken advantage of by you is a good night."

"Oh, burn," said Zeke. I slapped five with him across the table and laughed.

"Fine. Be that way," Gabriella said, getting up from the table. "P.S. I don't really hate you that much." She stormed out of the room. I sighed.

"God, she needs to stop acting like Sharpay," I said, also getting up from the table. My comment mustered laughs from around the table. "I'll be back." I left the room and looked down the hall both ways to see where she had gone. There she was, sitting on the stairs. I couldn't tell if she was crying or fuming. It's such a fine line. "Gabs, I didn't mean it."

"Yes, you did," she said.

"Fine, I did," I said, sitting down next to her on the stairs. "But I'm sorry, at least, unlike some people." Wow, I am just on fire today. She didn't say anything. "Gabi–"

"I know. I deserve it," she said. This was not the response I had been expecting.

"I-What?" I said.

"They all say 'That Gabriella is such a bitch. She should go back where she came from.' That's what they say," she said. "And I know it's true."

"Gabriella Elizabeth Montez, you know that isn't true," I said. "Come here." I put my arms around her in a hug. "Anyone who says that isn't worth your time."

"Don't you think that?" she asked.

"No, of course not. Right here is right where you belong," I said. "And if anyone tells you differently they'll have me to answer to." She giggled. "Okay, fine, they'll have Sharpay to answer to."

"Thanks, Ryan," Gabriella said, smiling at me through her tears.

"You're welcome," I said. I sat there hugging her on the stairs for a moment, then realized what I was doing. "Shit."

"What?" she said.

"It just occurred to me that if Kelsi randomly appeared right now, we would both be in some deep shit with her," I said.

"Yeah, I guess so," she said. "I should go. And, Ryan–" She looked me in the eyes and I looked back wondering what she was up to. "–for what it's worth…I'm sorry." She kissed me again and got up from the stairs. I'm not going to brag, but her kisses are like candy. Seriously. She must have been wearing flavored lip gloss. It tasted good.

"Where do you think you're going to go?" I asked. She stopped walking down the hall and turned around. "You can't drive."

"Oh, right," she said. "I…"

"Come back here," I said. "Let's go back to breakfast, shall we?" She nodded and walked back to me. I put my arm around her and she put her head on my shoulder. "We should do something together sometime."

"Like what?" she asked.

"I don't know, but we should hang out sometime. Just us," I said. I didn't know why I was suggesting this, but I knew it was the right thing to do.

"Okay," she said. "Maybe a movie?"

"Sure," I said. "We'll go to a movie sometime this week, okay?"

"Time and place, baby," she said. I looked at her.

"What did I say about that?" I asked, sighing. She blushed.

"Fine. Just 'time and place', no 'baby'," she said.

"Thank you," I said. We went through the doors into the dining room again, and I sat her down in her chair, and then continued over to the chair where I had been sitting and sat down myself. Troy was looking at me funny. I gave him a "we'll talk about it later" look and he nodded.

"So, what's up with you guys?" Sharpay asked, in that voice she uses when she's trying to imply that something that didn't happen, happened.

"Nothing," I said, maybe not entirely truthfully.

"I'm hungry," Chad offered.

"Well, there's a change from earlier," Taylor said. "Are you all about food and sleep?"

"Didn't we already have this conversation?" Chad asked. "No, that is not all I am about. I am also about basketball. And you." Taylor laughed. "Really, I'm serious."

"I know," Taylor said. "That's what's so funny."

"Anyways, since it is a good morning, perhaps we should all go and enjoy it," Zeke said.

"Yeah, quit treating my house like a hotel," Sharpay said. Some of the kids laughed. "I'm serious." She didn't really look it. "No, really, I have to get back to the club sometime today."

"So do whatever you want. We don't need a mom," Chad said. Sharpay scowled at him. "I'm not afraid of you," he added, somewhat unconvincingly.

"Sure you're not," I said. "Is there anyone in this room that can honestly say they're not scared of Sharpay?" Two hands went up. Troy and Zeke. I raised my eyebrows at Zeke, and he put his hand down. "That's what I thought. Let's face it, Sharpay is a scary individual."

"Not as scary as the Boogeyman," Zeke said. Chad pointed at him.

"Good point. That dude's creepy," he said.

"You're still scared of the Boogeyman?" Taylor said. "Do you have your mommy look in your closet every night?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Taylor," Chad said. "I don't trust her to look. I look myself. In my closet, under the bed, and in my sock drawer."

"In your sock drawer?" Troy asked.

"You do not want some sketchy dude in your sock drawer. Trust me," Chad said. He looked dead serious about this Boogeyman nonsense.

"Okay," I said. "So we've covered that the Boogeyman is scarier than Sharpay, and that we don't want sketchy dudes in our sock drawers. Is there anything else to be covered?" Everyone around the table shook their heads. "Okay then. I'm going to get dressed."

"You have clothes on," Jason pointed out.

"Yeah. These are the clothes I was wearing yesterday, Jason," I said. He nodded in a way that tells you that he suddenly understands. I stood up and left the room. I wandered down the hall in the direction of the stairs, not having a real destination in mind, especially if Kelsi was still in my room, which I figured she was. I was still wandering down the hall when Troy came out of the dining room, three minutes later.

"Ryan," he said to the hall at large.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"I don't know," he said.

"That's nice, I guess," I said. "How'd you know I'd be wandering around the hall?"

"I didn't," he said. "I hoped you were."

"I really should be getting dressed, but I don't want to go up there," I said. "Kelsi's…"

"Yeah, man," Troy said. "What are you gonna do about her?"

"I have no idea," I said. "I think I might have made a deal with her that she wouldn't tell anyone I was gay, and I'd be her boyfriend. But, God, I do not want to be her boyfriend anymore, you know?"

"Yeah," he said. I slumped against the wall. "You just have to weigh the possibilities with the consequences. For instance, Kelsi loves you. She wouldn't tell the whole school you were gay. It'd hurt you too much. On the other hand, she might be bitter, and tell the whole school out of spite. What you have to figure out is which you'd rather be. Kelsi's boyfriend, or that gay dude."

"Honestly," I said, "I think I'd rather be 'that gay dude'. Kelsi is insane. Why the hell is she sleeping in my bed?" Troy shrugged.

"I don't know," he said. "She is your girlfriend."

"Okay, you need to stop saying that," I said.

"It's true though," he said.

"Yeah, but I don't really wanna…whatever," I said. "She's my girlfriend. How does that make you feel?"

"I'm not sure, exactly," he said. I gave him a look. "Jealous, maybe."

"Really?" I asked. He nodded.

"She has it, I want it," he said. "That's what jealousy is."

"I know that," I said. "I just didn't realize that you would be…you don't come across as a jealous person." I paused for a second and remembered the few weeks before the talent show. "Okay, so you do get jealous, but…why were you all jealous when…oh."

"Right," he said.

"So you get jealous easily, huh?" I said.

"No. Maybe. A little," he said. "But only when it comes to you."

"That's cute," I said. "Okay, I'm gonna go break up with Kelsi." He nodded and I went up the stairs to my room to face what I was sure was going to be death.

I stood in front of my bedroom door. You might be wondering by this point why none of us seem hung over. Well, we were. I, though, was the least hung over I'd been after a party all summer. Life was good. Anyways, I stood in front of my bedroom door. I took a very deep breath and opened it. Kelsi was still lying on my bed, although she was very clearly not asleep.

"Good morning," I said.

"Good morning, RyRy," she said.

"Okay, I hate to do this, but we have to talk," I said.

"Talk, then," she said. I sat down on the edge of my bed and sighed.

"Look, Kelsi, this whole girlfriend-boyfriend thing isn't working out," I said. "It's honest to God not you, though, I swear." She didn't say anything. "So I don't think that we can continue this."

"It's because you're gay, isn't it?" she said. I half-frowned at her, mostly out of disbelief. What the hell kind of question is that?

"What? Of course," I said. "Why else would I be breaking up with you?"

"I don't know," she said, rolling over to face the windows.

"Kelsi, don't get me wrong. You are an amazing friend, and I appreciate everything you've done for me in the last week, but I think we need to go back to being just friends," I said.

"Okay," she said, still not looking at me. "If that's what you want, it's done." She might have been crying.

"Kelsi, please don't cry," I said.

"I told you, it's my fault. Why shouldn't I cry?" she said.

"No it isn't your fault," I said. "You can't help who you love. It's not a choice, just like it's not a choice to be gay. Trust me, if we all had our way in this, we'd always be together. But there'll be other guys for you, Kelsi. But, trust me, you'll always be my only girl."

"I know," she said. "I love you."

"I love you too," I said. "When you're ready, why don't you come downstairs. There's breakfast and everything." She nodded. I gave her a hug and left my room. I walked halfway back down the stairs before I remembered that I had left the dining room to change. I didn't think it was a good idea to go back in there now. I finished the stairs, and took a left down the first floor hall to my closet annex. It's the sixth door on the right. Sharpay has one too, but hers is full of shoes. I changed into a different pair of pants, a red shirt, and a red and white striped (ish) hat. I went back down the hall, and after poking my head into the dining room to find it empty, continued into the living room, where I found Troy, Chad, Taylor, and Chuckie.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked.

"In short, they went home," Chuckie said. I nodded.

"So, I broke up with Kelsi," I said.

"So Troy was saying," Chad said. "Did she go back to sleep?" I shrugged.

"I have no idea," I said. "She's still in my bed, so maybe."

"Um, I was thinking," Troy began.

"Mark your calendars," Taylor said. "It's a festivous miracle!"

"Yeah, so anyways, I was thinking, and I thought, 'Maybe it's not such a good idea to tell Kelsi about the "us" thing.' Not just yet, anyways," Troy said.

"Good thinking," I said. "She'd go insane."

"Totally," Chad said. "Worse than I did."

"Yeah, but that was different," Troy said. "It's not like you wanted us for yourself." There was a pause. "Right?"

"Dude," Chad said. "If I wanted you for myself, you would know."

"Too bad," Taylor teased. "Guess he doesn't like you after all, Troy." Chad simultaneously flushed and turned white.

"I do not want Troy," he declared.

"If I wasn't that sure you were straight, I'd be offended right now," Troy said.

"Thanks, man," Chad said.

"Hey, what about me?" I asked, mock offended.

"Yeah, what about Ryan?" Taylor asked. "Do you want him for yourself?"

"Why are we even having this conversation?" Chad squeaked, now thoroughly embarrassed. "I don't want any of you for myself. Except you," he added to Taylor, pulling her to himself and kissing her.

"Dude, we get it, you're straight," Chuckie said. "You don't have to flaunt it."

"Yeah, well," Chad began, although it was obvious he didn't have anything to say.

"Chad feels he has to go do something very manly at the moment to assert his masculinity," Troy said. "Like…going shopping…or…dancing."

"Yeah," Chad said. "I mean, no! Those things aren't manly!"

"Okay, so then what is?" I asked.

"I don't know," he said.

"Well, you'd be the one who would know," Taylor said.

"I would say basketball, but apparently that's not a straight guy thing to do anymore," Chad said.

"We could go play, if you really wanted," I suggested. "Or not."

"Can't we watch a movie or something?" Chuckie asked.

"Sure, let's do that," Troy said. "What should we watch?"

"No idea," Chuckie said. "Something good." We all got up and went through into the entertainment room, where the DVD collection was kept. I flipped through the DVDs with Taylor attempting to look over my shoulder, but failing miserably.

"How about Harry Potter?" Chad suggested.

"Sounds good," I said. I pulled the first one out of its case and put it in the DVD player. I sat on one of the many little couches in the room. Troy sat down next to me, and I got a little weirded out. I ignored that, and we watched the movie.

"I know this is just my opinion, but Daniel Radcliffe is smoking hot," Chuckie said.

"Hell yeah," Troy said. I didn't know exactly what to say. I had never really thought about him that way.

"Oh, sure, this is a totally straight-guy thing to do," Chad said, burying himself lower in the couch he was sitting on.

"Oh, come on, you know you like it," Taylor said. Chad opened his mouth to say something, but Taylor silenced him in a way I'd rather not describe, that continued through most of the movie.

A/N: I love teasing Chad. Thanks for reading and please review!! (Even if it is just a smiley face, or to tell me that I'm an awful writer, and that I shouldn't write after midnight ever, ever again. Although, that's kind of mean.)

PS, Chad and Taylor aren't up to anything bad, probably just making out, or something. Although, you know I wouldn't put it past them. They wouldn't try anything in the same room as Troy, Ryan, and Chuckie would they? I didn't think so.

PPS, about that "oneshot" I'm writing…it was originally intended to be a Troyella for my sister, but, you know me, I just can't write Troyella. So it's Ryella (and Chaylor and Jelsi) and either Troypay or Zekepay, I haven't decided yet. If you wanted to leave me a review (or a message) and give me your opinion on that, that'd be cool. The summary's on my profile (yeah, I know it says Troypay…blah, blah, blah.)