Chapter 12: Why Parents Should Always Be There
By beachbumyeahh
"Hayden, sweetie, wake up." A gentle yet loud voice tried to shake her out of her dreamless sleep. Blair groaned loudly and rolled around, trying to block out the noise. She loved her Mother to bits, but she didn't love her enough to wake up at probably eight in the morning. It was summer after all.
"Blair, baby. Wake up. I made breakfast for us." Blair hid her head under her pillow and tried not to listen to her parents' voice. She heard a low grunt before her Father corrected himself. "I mean, your Mom and I made breakfast for all of us."
Her eyes suddenly snapped open under her pillow, all traces of sleep leaving her body. Your Mom and I? They made breakfast together? What kind of sick twisted shit was this? First Darbus telling her he loves her, and now this? Wait. When did Zeke come home? And where the hell has Sharpay been since that wretched dinner?
Something about this whole situation felt wrong. From what she knew, they absolutely despised each other. And now, they just happen to make breakfast together? Blair couldn't even help but flinch at the sound her father made. Did he just – did he just chuckle? She didn't even know he knew how to. The sound sounded foreign to her ears.
Oh my Lord.
Was the world ending? Were we all destined to die tomorrow?
Is that why her Dad's chuckling, because he might not be able to do it tomorrow? And is that why her Mother in the same house as her Father, because they were to be dead tomorrow?
Blair groaned again, shaking her head beneath the pillow. She had to stop watching those silly late night movies on TV. It made her think immaturely and one thing Blair will forever be sure of was that she had never been immature. She never had the chance to be immature, unlike all the other children on Earth. She didn't have a normal childhood.
"Blair, wake up." Another voice called out, a harsh sounding voice. It sounded oddly familiar but she couldn't quite place who it was. She could still hear her parents' soft laughter from beside her. They were really there. If only Blair could block out the annoying and mean voice, she would gladly leave the confines of her bed for her parents.
"Evans! Wake the hell up." She felt a sharp, painful poke on her back. She moved farther away from the people desperate to have her up. If they were going to treat her like this, she didn't want to get up. Plus, what kind of person wakes up at probably eight or seven in the morning?
Blair didn't have another second to ponder over the odd morning she was having as her feet were pulled towards the edge of the bed, bringing her body along. "What the hell?!" She shrieked as her body hit the hard, cold wooden floor. It was rather painful and whoever pulled her would certainly die. Whoever it was, it interrupted her would have been wonderful dream.
"I was trying to be friendly, but you just wouldn't wake up the way normal people do, Evans."
Great.
Cristiano Darbus was in her room and she was in her jammies.
Here comes the blush . . . and then, the screaming starts.
He took one step, then another, and he didn't stop until he saw the glass showcase in front of him. His eyes first traced the framed picture of his class' basketball team – they were good guys, every single one of them. And then, he found his Drama Club picture.
"I don't know about you, but whenever I see that picture, I feel old."
"Jesus!" Ryan jumped, his eyes finding a small brunette beside him, a ghost of a smile on her petite face. "Don't do that." He snapped, feeling his heart quicken – though Ryan wasn't exactly sure if it was because of the surprise or the woman itself. "Sorry." He mumbled quickly, after realizing his mistake of snapping at her.
"It's alright. I shouldn't have sneaked up on you like that." Kelsi removed her glasses and looked at him with her dark blue eyes that seemed to be bottomless. "It's been awhile, Ry. What are you doing here?"
"I felt like I should finally visit the halls of my alma mater." Ryan quickly replied, surprising himself. He fully intended to lie and come up with some great excuse. He didn't want her to know that this was the first time he's visited ever since graduation. But, she might have known since she taught here.
Kelsi nodded, diverting her eyes to the old frame. Aurora Darbus stood in the middle, a large, beaming smile upon her old face. On her one side, she had Sharpay Evans with an equally pearly smile. And the other side, of course, had Ryan Evans whose eyes were trained on the small girl with the mousy brown hair beside him. Kelsi looked straight at the camera, a small, timid smile on her face. There were a few people behind them - most of them hated his twin sister, Ryan remembered. He couldn't quite blame them, though. Sharpay wasn't known by every student during their time because of her kindness.
Ryan noted the awkward shuffling of Kelsi's feet as both of them stared at the picture. "Listen, Ryan –"
He knew what she was going to say before she even said it. "Is Blair here?" He suddenly blurted, moving a few steps away from the memories and away from her. He came here for Blair. Ryan didn't want to listen to whatever she might want to say. He didn't want to remember, didn't want to reminsce about the past.
She shook her head, putting back her glasses on. She openly frowned at him. "I had Cristiano call her but then he volunteered to go and pick her up. She's late for general practice. Our play's opening tonight, have you heard that?"
Ryan nodded, receiving three tickets Blair left by his house the other night. He had told the maid to tell her he was out, when he was really just in his office, waiting for her to leave. What an uncle he was. He just couldn't face her and face the questions she was bound to ask. Zeke was supposed to be home for opening night, but then again, this was Zeke. When had he followed his promises? Blair was used to this, Ryan was sure of it. But what would he say to his niece when her mother doesn't show up as well? Blair was a Baylor, not to mention an Evans as well – she was bound to figure out the truth, Ryan just liked to prolong it as much as he could.
"That's why I'm here, actually." Ryan ran a hand through his short, blond hair, vaguely remembering his high school days where he always, always wore a hat – Kelsi, too. "I thought Blair might want some support, a little bit of advice." He said, trying to lighten the aura around the deserted hallway.
Kelsi chuckled, turning around to walk, gesturing Ryan to follow her. "I assure you, Mr. Evans, your niece doesn't need the advice. She's better than you and Sharpay combined, especially when she's on stage with the third generation Darbus."
Ryan walked beside her, his hand unbuttoning the front of his suit, feeling too formal for the conversation. "Ha," He laughed, his lips creasing upwards. "I should probably think of that as an insult, but seeing as she is my niece and goddaughter, I'll try and see it as a compliment."
He felt weird talking with her. Ryan felt weird just being next to her. Kelsi looked entirely the same. She was still small and petite, though she did look more mature. She was wearing a face full of wisdom, a feature Mrs. Darbus also had. Maybe it was something all drama teachers learn to have after a few years of teaching? Ryan's mind chuckled, that was too farfetched, even for him.
They entered the auditorium and Ryan suddenly felt seventeen again. Sharpay would already be on stage, ordering everybody around to hurry up, screaming how they needed to make everything perfect for tonight. Gabriella and Troy would have their arms around each other, painting the last minute props Ms. Darbus decided to have. Chad and Taylor would be near the foot of the stage, fighting once again about God knows what. Zeke would occasionally stand beside Sharpay, pleading for her to take a break and chill out. Sharpay would glare at him and yell for him to get out of her happy place, but then, minutes later, would lead him to her dressing room to make up for her snappy attitude. And Ryan would be relaxing in the audience, his arm resting on the shoulders of their play maker.
But it wasn't their time anymore; it was their children's time. Blair, Cristiano, Alexander, and everybody else – it was their time to enjoy East High.
And he needed to stop thinking about the past. Ryan didn't need a flashback of what happened years ago. He dreamt about it sometimes. And it hurt. No one in the right mind would want to hurt themselves. So, he stopped thinking about the past.
"Oh, my God!" Blair cursed, throwing a pillow towards her former best friend's face. "Get out of my room, you perv! I'm in my nightwear! What if I was wearing something completely inappropriate? You could've seen me! And everybody knows how much of a pervert you are! I'm in jammies, Darbus! That's as embarrassing as wearing something inappropriate! And what the hell are you doing in my room without my knowledge? No, don't answer that. Why are you even here at this ungodly hour? Which maid let you in? I'll have her head off. You could've been a psychotic freak who could've suffocated me in my sleep, or rape me, or something!" She grabbed another pillow and it flew hastily towards Cristiano's chest. "Why are you even still here? I told you to leave, you freako! I need some privacy, for Pete's sake!"
Blair quickly stood up and glared at the intruder who was wearing his patented smirk. She heard deep chuckles vibrate from his chest. She hastily spun around and looked for her robe, an uncontrollable feeling of relief flooding through her veins. She was no longer angry as long as Darbus acted this way – he was her friend; and though they'd both denied it, they were each other's best friend. This would be the first time she's seen Darbus since the fight that left her vulnerable for days. It was nice to see him act normally, or as normal as someone like him could be.
Maybe he finally realized he wasn't in love with her and they could never be.
When she finally tied her robe around herself, surprised that Darbus had managed to stay silent as long as he had, she was greeted by a disapproving look on his face. Oh, no. If he was going to bring up the fact that they were supposedly "perfect" for each other – and not as friends, Blair remembered Darbus correcting her when she said they were perfect together as friends.
"What?" She snapped, brushing her messy blonde locks.
"Do you know why I came here in the first place?"
Blair snorted, completely un-ladylike of her, and glared at him. "Hmm, geez, I don't know." She sarcastically said in a very unfriendly voice. "You wanted to annoy the hell out of me like you always do?"
Cristiano uncrossed his arms and gave her a stern look. "I'm going to give you five seconds to rethink your answer, Evans." He sneered, also glaring at her with his ashy orbs.
"What are you –"
"One."
Blair sighed, feeling completely irritated. First she was forced to wake up from a very, very good dream and now, she was getting annoyed by someone who had made her cry and feel like shit for a week and a half. "Get of my room now, Darbus."
Why was she even surprised when he ignored her and continued to do his stupid counting? "Two."
She walked to her computer chair and sat on it, crossing her legs haughtily. "Seriously, what the hell are you trying to prove?"
Blair didn't get him. First, he tells her he loves her and stops being her friend because it was either boyfriend or no friend. And then now, he's in her room, making her remember their childhood together. Blair couldn't help but reminisce. When they were children, for as long as she could remember, they were the best of friends who always got into trouble. And then, they grew up and caused even more trouble. And even as Cristiano moved to Albuquerque and Blair was stuck in California, Darbus would still find a way to spend time with her.
Where the hell did they go wrong?
"Three." Blair decided to ignore him now. Let him count all he want, she wasn't going to waste her time on him. She hated him for making her cry, hated him for making her feel like the loneliest person on Earth, hated him for making her choose to lose her only friend than date him. But hate was such a strong word, and Blair wasn't sure of what she felt – it definitely wasn't love in the romantic form, that's for sure –, so for now, she'll have to settle for loathe. She loathes him.
She grabbed her sidekick from the table and began scanning her messages. Blair sighed when she received no calls or messages from the three people she really wanted to hear from – Ryan, Sharpay, and Zeke. It was supposed to be four people, but Blair didn't include Darbus since he was right in front of her now.
Blair managed to glance at today's date, the twenty-fourth of July. Why was that date so familiar?
Darbus slowly walked towards her without her knowledge. His voice was growing louder, she noted as she continued to fondle with her sidekick. "Four."
She then opened her calendar and realization dawned at her face. "Four-and-a-half, Blair!" She heard Darbus' voice call out, a hint of anger and amusement in his voice.
Blair suddenly shot up from her seat and was shocked to find herself face to face with Darbus, their faces only a couple of inches away from each other. All anger seemed to have vanished from Darbus' face as he paled extremely. His eyes went two sizes bigger and his body tensed immensely. Blair would've laughed at the panic Darbus showed if her heart hadn't sped up painfully and her stomach started to feel bloated with, dare she say it, butterflies.
She quickly stumbled away from him, wanting space to think about what she had been thinking and what she had been feeling. "Jesus Christ, Darbus," Blair croaked, and as much as she hated it, her voice sounded surprised and weak. And more than anything, she hated sounding, feeling, looking weak. She was a Baylor with Evans blood – people who had that kind of blood was never thought of as weak.
Ryan was strong. Sharpay was stronger. And her father was the strongest out of all of them; she remembered thinking a couple of nights ago. Ryan was there for her, practically raised her own his own – loving her as his own daughter. He was strong. Sharpay was stronger simply because she came back for Blair. But Zeke had always been the strongest in her eyes. Until now, Blair couldn't remove the image of a broken Zeke from his mind. Her father! Her tough, stoic, unfeeling, absent father crumbled because Blair had been young and ignorant. She hadn't known mentioning musicals would upset her father, would break his facade.
And when Blair was weak, she did the thing she did best – puts up a shield and hurts anybody in her way.
"I swear to God, if this is some sick way to show me you love me, it isn't working. You don't love me. I don't love you. We're not even friends. You treat me like shit. I treat you like shit. It's a cycle. Build a fucking bridge and get over it!"
There was complete silence in the room – as if the world stopped spinning to listen their argument. Blair's eyes stayed on his face. Darbus' face reminded Blair of his father – emotionless and scary.
"I came here for professional reasons, Evans. I didn't come here for my personal issues but for the club, for the play. We were scheduled to rehearse at seven in the morning and may I suggest that if you're not serious about this, quit now." Darbus hissed dangerously. "Leave our personal issues out of this and act professionally. Get dressed and I'll see you downstairs."
Blair bit the inside of her cheek and spoke up quietly, "Darbus –"
Darbus stopped walking but refused to turn around. "I treat you like shit because you refuse to allow me to care for you and love you. You're used to pushing people away. I know what it's like to grow up in a shitty family but sooner or later, Blair, you're going to need somebody – you're going to have to stop pushing us away." He paused for what felt like an hour, but it was barely a minute. "And I know I'm not much but I'll always be here."
"Please stop it, Darbus." She quietly whispered, wrapping her robe tightly around herself.
Cristiano turned around and looked at her. "I'm going to try this one more time, Blair." His feet shuffled nervously before he finally spoke up. "I love you, Blair Hayden Evans-Baylor. You know me. I don't feel this way about anyone but you. I don't love. I've never loved – until now. Believe me."
"Cris –" Blair internally cursed herself. "I just –" She sighed and let his words sink in. "I'm sorry." She quietly whispered, turning around and hastily walking towards her bathroom and locked the door quickly. She waited until the door closed quietly before she slid down the door and cursed herself angrily. Hot tears fell from her eyes as she dialled a number she knew from heart.
"Hey, this is Sharpay. Leave a message and I just might get back to you."
"Mom? Yeah, it's Blair again. I've been calling you for some time now. Where are you? Listen, I'm going to leave a really pathetic message here and I hope you won't judge me because of it." Blair bit her lower lip and wiped the tears away with the back of her hand. "Mom, I think I'm in – I think I like this boy. And I don't know what to do. I need you here. Isn't it your job to give me advice and tell me how I really feel? Like in those movies I used to watch with Leah – she's my childhood friend. Anyway, I mean, I've never had this kind of problem before and I really didn't have a mother until you came so I don't know how this works. I just – I don't know what to do, you know? I could really use a mother right now. And your mine, right? You're here. Just this once, please? I think I've hurt him really bad and I don't know what to do. I can't talk to Uncle Ryan about this since it would be really awkward. He's not in good terms with Cris – shoot. You weren't supposed to know the boy."
Blair breathed slowly, trying to think of the right words to say. She just kept on rambling on the phone. But her nerves were a wreck now and she just – she needed to let it all out to someone who cares. And Sharpay cares, right? She's her mother, she has to care about her daughter! She just has to.
"Your message has reached its maximum time. Please call again."
"Damn it," She whispered under her breath and dialled again. She listened to the machine's words and quickly started to talk when the machine allowed her. "Hey, I got cut off. Oh, and it's Blair again. Anyway, his name's Cristiano, Mom. He's – I don't know. He's great, to be honest. We're really alike. But I don't really know what to say to him anymore now that I've hurt him. I said some horrible things. And I can't just take it back! We have this system and you probably won't understand it over the phone. It's just - ugh. Was it always this hard with you and Dad? Wait, don't answer that. I just - I wish you would pick up and talk to me. I need you. I can't talk to Ryan and Dad – Dad's gone, as usual. I don't have anyone else to talk to but you. And I just – you're here now and I want to be like those other girls who turn to their mother for support. I want our family to be normal for once. I want to have a mother and father who are there and who will protect me from anything that would cause me harm. This is the first time I've really said anything about this, so . . . I guess – I just – I have to go. Bye."
Blair wiped her tears away and sighed loudly. Could the day get any worse?
She quickly stood up and scrambled inside the shower. Once the hot water was running freely around her body, Blair knew that the day was about to go from bad, to worse, and by the end of the day, it'll be the worst day ever.
"It feels weird to come here without Sharpay screaming bloody murder at you, isn't it?" Kelsi questioned. Ryan suddenly felt bad for her trying so hard to talk normally while he acted coldly. It wasn't hard only for him, but probably for her as well. He was surprised to find that she was already on stage, a clipboard in hand, as she went to check everything needed for tonight's play. A couple of students were there, approaching her every once in a while to question her about something.
Ryan walked towards the front, marvelling at all the times he'd performed here.
"Yeah. Weird." He mumbled, dropping his gaze to her eyes. Kelsi peered at him, her eye brow unconsciously rising in curiosity.
Ryan shuffled awkwardly and shoved his hands down his pants pocket and looked at her shyly. "It's just –"
"If you could just understand, we wouldn't even be in this mess!"
A dark figure passed Ryan and stomped off backstage, quickly disappearing from everyone's sight. Ryan turned around and saw his niece glaring at anyone who would make eye contact with her.
"What are you all looking at?" She barked out, her eyes burning with fury. Ryan felt concern flood his body. He cleared his throat, finally making his presence known. He'd seen classic Cristiano and Blair fights since they were in their diapers. But he'd never seen Cristiano walk away from a battle. Neither of them knew how to back down. So when Ryan saw Cristiano run away from his niece, he immediately knew something was wrong.
Blair's eyes immediately snapped towards his direction and he watched as her eyes softened at the sight of him. "Oh, Uncle Ryan. Hey. How long have you been standing there?" She innocently asked before smiling at him. "I have to go do . . . something . . . practice my lines! Yeah, that's it! Practice. Bye." She ran towards him, kissed his cheek, and slowly made a menacing walk towards where Cristiano was.
Ryan didn't even call her out to tell her not to call her uncle. He just stood there, rooted on the spot, not knowing if he should run after her or let Blair settle her problems alone. Why had he come here, anyway? Why'd he take a leave from work? It was obviously only bringing him trouble.
"That happens on a regular basis. I'm sure you're accustomed to that already." Kelsi said, walking towards him. She didn't know how different it was now. She hadn't seen the pair grow up. This wasn't normal. She also didn't know that Blair only leaves the house for rehearsals. She didn't know that Zeke was in France with Hurricane Sharpay. She didn't know how hard it was for him to try and constantly fix his sister's family. She doesn't know anything about his life anymore.
"Yeah." He mumbled again, unable to find the right words to say.
"Hey Mrs. Cross?" A long haired brunette suddenly appeared beside Ryan, looking at him briefly before turning her attention back at Kelsi.
"How many times have I told you it's okay to –" Kelsi began to say but the young girl with dark and rich brown hair groaned loudly, her eyes silently pleading her teacher something. Ryan felt out of place between the two, as if there was a silent conversation happening he knew nothing about.
"Oh!" Kelsi instantly brightened as she suddenly remembered something. She grabbed the teenager's arm and brought her closer towards the two of them. Ryan wondered idly who this young woman. "Come here, Alyson. I'd like you to meet Ryan Evans, an old friend of mine."
This girl, Alyson, blinked at him with her wide, baby blue eyes before offering her hand which Ryan shook lightly. "Hi, I'm Aly Cross. Are you gonna be a new teacher here? 'Cause seriously, we need a new drama teacher. I really can't take –"
"Alyson!" Kelsi scolded, although a bright and proud smile was on her face. "Ryan, this is my daughter, Alyson."
Ryan hadn't even heard anything after "Hi, I'm Aly Cross". He hadn't even known Kelsi had a daughter! Well, he had the idea that she must've had a young daughter but not a high school daughter! That's just – that's . . . He didn't bother to know anything about Kelsi's life. He tended to avoid her most among his old high school friends. And Ryan was never really home to be able to keep in close contact with everyone. He was either at Lava Springs, France, California or some other state that his country club invaded.
A loud crash from backstage and a very Blair-like shriek alarmed everyone, bringing Ryan out of his own little world. "Blair!" He bellowed out, finding himself already near the stage. He leapt upwards and dodged the curious students and ran as fast as he could to wherever the hell the shriek came from.
A/N: Erm.. 'Ello. :) That was.. well, I'll let you decide by reviewing, okay? In my defense, I tried soooo many times to redo the chapter, but I just can't, so I just decided to throw it all in. It might not meet your expectations, or it might. I don't know. :D BTW. this is the unbeta'd chapter since my beta hasn't sent the edited version yet. So, if there are any mistakes, please alert me as quick as you possibly can. :)
I like writing sad "I-need-my-parents" scenes with Blair. I don't know. I just love writing scenes like that. And kids, no matter how much we say we hate our parents and want them to go away so that we'll have our freedom, we can't live without them. You know what they say, "Parents. Can't live with them, can't live without them." LOL. :)
The next chapter centers back to ZS. I'm not yet done writing it, though I've already reached about three to four thousand characters, I think. I just need to add some more. I want to explain every drama between them during their stay in France, so yeah. :)
Oh! And as you've read, I gave Ryan a small storyline. I think Ryelsi and Jelsi are both cute, so yeaaaaah. :D And I've added another teen. :)
Cheers! Here's to hoping I can write better chapters!
Oh, and BTW again. I'm starting school soon, so my updates will probably go slower (if that's even possible). Check out my profile for more info on that issue. So, yeah. I think that's about it, right? :D Don't forget to watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on July 15? Or was it 17? I'm quite confused about the dates. But do watch! I think it'll be better than the previous one, which was OOTP. I'm an HP nerd, so it's natural. :)
TTFN. :D
