THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT
AN: Hands up, who is feeling narky at fanfiction . net right now? Yes I know technology sucks and sometimes crap happens. But you don't leave an error message saying it'll be fixed in a few MINUTES for DAYS. For the record, I had this chapter ready to post with a 'Happy Oscars Day! Good luck Zac and V with their official duties tonight' author's note. I'm feeling seeeeeriously irate at the moment, like, I want to throw stuff at the wall but I also am just so incredibly excited, it's sad just how excited.
The author would like to remind readers that this story is rated M, this is not only for coarse language and sexual themes, but also for themes of generally adult/controversial nature. The real world is filled with moral ambiguity. Some readers may take offence to the portrayal of some of the adult themes being discussed. The author means no personal harm or offence.
Thanks Auds for picking at the awkward bit. Mwah!
Chapter 21
What you see is crystal wall, what you breath is silver air
But weigh this moment with a future of your dreams no longer there
What you'll see is burning black, and what'll you see is empty air
So weigh this moment with a future of your dreams no longer there
So will you keep on falling… until you reach the ground?
Missy Higgins 'Falling'
Ryan was nervously pacing outside of the yoga room at Lava Springs. The class was designated to begin in approximately eight and a half minutes. The instructor, Jon, had already arrived, greeting Ryan with a smile and a wave.
"Are you coming in, Ryan?" Jon had asked with a broad smile as he passed.
"I will be, I'm just waiting for my mom to get here," Ryan replied.
"Fantastic, see you inside."
And Jon disappeared inside the yoga room, consequently leaving Ryan to continue pacing.
He first spotted her emerging from the health spa and beauty salon; he suspected she'd been having her weekly facial and nail appointment. His eyes quickly averted, focusing on a small trail of ants that were marching along the pavement in front of him. Focusing on anything but the look in her eyes. Seeing his fathers' look of condemnation twenty four hours earlier had been hard enough. He was putting off seeing that same look from his mother.
However, it was a look that was never to arrive. Because as Derby Evans came to stand in front of her son, her hand rose for her index and middle fingers to tilt his chin up; and the look in her eyes as Ryan's gaze met hers was not one of condemnation or disapproval.
It was a look of love.
"Duckie," Derby said simply.
Ryan's eyes widened as he felt his mother engulf him in a warm, comforting hug; allowing himself to be enveloped within her arms. He felt involuntary tears prickling at his eyes.
"Hi mom," Ryan said quietly.
Finally, Derby let go of her son – wiping beneath her eyes carefully, being careful to not smudge her make up.
"We should go inside, Jon doesn't like it when people arrive late into the lesson," Derby said. "I'm sensing a lot of tension, I think we both need to cleanse our auras."
"That's it?" Ryan asked incredulously. "You don't… you don't want to talk about it?"
"What exactly do you mean by 'it', darling?"
"Uh… you know, the whole thing with you guys finding out that I'm gay?"
"Your father may have 'found out', but I most certainly didn't need some text message to be made aware of that fact."
"You mean… you knew?" Ryan asked, voice filled with surprise. "How?"
"Duckie, I'm your mother. We just… we know these things," Derby attempted to explain. "Anyway. So no, we don't need to talk about it, not at the moment anyway. Let's go in and enjoy our lesson. And then we'll go to the juice bar and discuss your father."
Ryan wrinkled up his nose. "Now that you've told me that's on the agenda, there's no way this class is going to be enough to de-stress me."
"Last time we tried to have girls night, Kelsi was texting to Jason half the time and Gabriella was on the phone to Troy. There will be none of that tonight," Martha declared valiantly.
It was late afternoon and Taylor, Martha and Gabriella were gathered in Gabriella's living room, the former two having just arrived. Kelsi was at her little brother's birthday party, and was due to arrive in a couple of hours around dinner time.
"If Troy calls me; I can't just not answer my phone," Gabriella said rolling her eyes.
"You can answer it. And tell him you're busy and you'll make out with… I mean… see him tomorrow," Martha said.
"So do these rules apply to me and Chad as well?" Taylor asked. "Because, since we just sorta made it official again, I shouldn't even be here. I should be out, on a date, with my boyfriend."
Taylor was sympathetic to Martha – knowing that in particular, it was Kelsi's conversations with Jason that bothered her friend. However she couldn't hide the smile on her face as she said the word 'boyfriend'.
"You've seen him like, every day since he got back from his dad's!" Martha pointed out. "And you saw him today! I'm sure you'll handle the night apart."
"I know we're all probably really annoying for you, going on about the guys," Taylor said carefully.
"There's no reason why you can't join in with boy gossip," Gabriella said. "You can't tell me that of all the guys at East High, there isn't at least one who you think is hot."
"None that I'll be sitting here gossipping about, anyway," Martha said.
"So there is someone?" Gabriella asked, perking up.
"Gabriella…" Taylor said quietly, warningly.
Martha sighed. "I kinda do like this guy but he's seeing someone so it's not really something I want to talk about, okay?"
"Maybe it would help you… you know, to move on?" Taylor said gently.
"What are you talking about, moving on?" Gabriella asked. "Can you take her? Might this guy be into you? That sounds rude but if you're into him and if he was into you but maybe didn't know that you were into him…"
"He's not into me, he's totally, completely into her," Martha said, her tone dripping with envy. She then added hastily, "Just to clarify, it's not Troy."
Gabriella rolled her eyes. "I really didn't think it was Troy for even a second. What is it… is it someone we're friends with? Am I missing something here?" Gabriella said slowly, glancing backwards and forwards from Martha to Taylor and then back to Martha again.
"Gabriella, don't worry about it, okay," Taylor said, trying to protect her friend from having to talk about it.
"I like Jason," Martha admitted, exhaling with a sigh as she said it.
Gabriella blinked a few times, her eyes widening. "Oh…"
"But it's cool. It's not like… I obviously am not planning to do anything about it. He's totally into Kelsi and even if he wasn't, she's one of my best friends so… it's just something that happened which I'm dealing with. I told Taylor about it a couple of weeks ago, which has surprisingly made it seem more… it's made it real," Martha explained. "Real that I have to just get over it."
Martha was very matter of fact, very frank about the issue. It seemed to be a weekend of confessions for the Wildcats. It was a different situation for Gabriella, in the world of girl talk. Advice to Taylor throughout her up and down sometimes friendship sometimes relationship with Chad had been that he was very clearly into her and that they could make it work. Advice to Kelsi during the months and months of flirtation with Jason had been that he was very clearly into her and she should just go for it.
The reality was that there was no chance for Martha and Jason. But it was the real world – sometimes crushes are unrequited. Gabriella wanted for all of her friends to be happy, but the situation Martha was in wasn't one which allowed for that scenario to play out.
"Yeah, I guess you do," Gabriella said quietly.
"Anyway," Martha said. "So now you know why I get sick of all the boy talk. It's not that I don't want to hear about you and Troy, or that I don't want to offer advice. And same for Taylor and Chad. It's that once Kelsi gets here later tonight, the boy talk also leads to her talking about Jason. And I am happy that she's happy, I really am. But it kinda bums me out at the moment. And then she starts talking just like how you did – how surely there must be some guy who I might be interested in. And the truth is that right now I'm just kinda crazy about him. So… yeah."
"I get that," Gabriella said, squeezing her friends hand. "So I'm sure that we can find heaps of stuff to talk about that doesn't have anything to do with the boys, okay?"
"Yeah!" Taylor said enthusiastically. "Like… umm… okay."
There was silence, only the sound of the ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway permeating throughout the room.
Gabriella cleared her throat. "So… midterms are soon."
Ryan had a fairly close relationship with his mother, he respected that she was very much so her own person separate from his father. She had her own interior design firm– which granted, she'd been able to set up thanks to Vance's money. Which in itself was money and a business he'd inherited. But Derby made the most of the opportunity, and she played a hands on role within her interior design firm. Certainly, she had a prominent visibility using the facilities of Lava Springs, but she also co-ordinated charity drives for the country club to sponsor and played an active role on the board of directors and also in the management of the club spa and health facility.
Gradually over the last few months, Ryan had been coming to terms with his sexuality. Telling friends was the first step to admitting to himself who he was. Beginning to converse, and now forge what he could only hope was going to be a relationship, with Chase – had been revolutionary. Chase was only a year older, but he'd come out to his parents when he was sixteen. They'd been wary but on the whole accepting, however there were extended family members who had found out and Chase had dealt with adverse reactions.
Nevertheless, no story, anecdote or advice could have prepared Ryan for that look of contempt in his father's eye. The disgust, which had then morphed into a shouted insistence that it simply couldn't be the truth, that Ryan must just be 'going through a phase' or 'having hormonal surges and experimenting.'
He didn't regret telling his friends. The feeling in that brief sliver of time where he'd felt so liberated and empowered was a feeling he wanted to hold onto forever. In that moment, he hadn't cared what they thought. Their reception had been everything he could have hoped for, it wasn't contrived, it wasn't forced – it was real.
But telling his friends was like saying good bye to the old Ryan, to the Ryan who was hiding, to the Ryan who was pretending to be someone he wasn't.
Over the last twenty four hours, Ryan's whole world had been turned upside down
And then, he spent the most refreshing afternoon of his life with his mother – something he never thought he would do.
And all they did was sit and do something they would quite often do. After yoga, they went to the juice bar and got smoothies, and they sat and talked.
They didn't talk about the prior morning.
They didn't talk about Chase.
It was just as it always had been, Derby wanting to know about Ryan and Sharpay's preparations for the East High's Got Talent Show, about his class president role, talking about redecorating in their formal dining room to something a bit more contemporary.
It wasn't that Derby was in denial, or that she didn't want to talk about it. She didn't need to talk about it. Because it simply didn't matter. And for those couple of hours, Ryan sat and talked to his mother, feeling completely free, completely at ease. Acting just as they always had, with just one added difference – there were no secrets.
However that comfort had to come to an end at some point, and Derby had quietly said to her son, "Your father is in Santa Fe today for business meetings but he'll be home for dinner. You'll be there, won't you?"
Ryan had sighed, and asked, "I suppose I should get it over with, shouldn't I?"
"If anything, I think your father will appreciate that you are man enough to confront him about it," Derby said optimistically.
And so that was why, at 5:30pm, Ryan was back at home, in his room. Sharpay was sitting on the plush arm chair that was in the corner, watching as he came in and out of his walk in wardrobe, wearing a different outfit each time.
"What about this one?" Ryan asked.
Sharpay twirled a lock of blonde hair around her finger, glancing up and down at the fourth 'straight' outfit that Ryan had put on. The baggiest jeans he could find – which weren't very baggy – a pair of scuffed up sneakers that he kept purely should he ever need such an item for a costume, a navy t-shirt with only the smallest amount of white detailing.
"You look like Troy," Sharpay said bluntly.
"He was kinda my model, to be honest. Since Dad loves him so much. Maybe I should do a red and white outfit – like, an East High t-shirt. Do I have one of those? I think I do, somewhere."
"Ry?" Sharpay said. "Isn't the whole point of this… thing… that you're not hiding anymore? Just… be you."
Ryan sighed. "I would wear this," he said, glancing down at his outfit.
Sharpay snorted. "What, out running?"
"No, even then I'd be wearing better sneakers and probably be wearing shorts and have a headband around my head," Ryan admitted.
Sharpay smiled, somewhat triumphantly. She promptly rose from the armchair and breezed past to enter into his closet. She narrowed her eyes and scanned along, selecting rich grey dress pants; and then pulled out a silk long sleeved shirt with a large checked pattern with different shades of blue. She finally moved over to his hat wall, and chose a grey and blue plaid fedora.
"Get dressed and come downstairs," Sharpay said simply, handing the items over.
Ryan took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay."
Twenty minutes later, Ryan, Sharpay and Derby Evans were all seated around far end of the 12 seater dining table.
Vance Evans was a man of habit. When he wasn't away on business, he would phone his house to inform the cook when he was going to be home for dinner. He would walk in from the garage, go into the bar and pour himself a single scotch on the rocks with a twist of lemon. He would then go into the dining room – where his doting wife would be waiting. Once upon a time, his twins would be there every night without fail; however with the package of adolescence and a growing assortment of extra curricular commitments, their presence was sporadic at best.
But when they were all there, their was a routine in place. A quick, tender kiss for his wife. A hug for his Princess. A pat on the back for his son.
He'd seen the black Audi and the pink Mustang in the garage.
Vance was prepared for the family, the entire family to be home.
He went into his house, into the bar, poured a single scotch on the rocks – and then on afterthought made it a double. He then plastered a smile onto his face and went into the dining room, where his wife and children were seated, waiting for him to take up his position at the head of the table.
"Vance," Derby said stiffly.
They'd gone to sleep not speaking to one another the evening before, Derby not impressed by his reaction to the discovery about their son. He'd awoken and left the house before her alarm had even gone off. The word she'd received about his whereabouts that day was passed on by the housekeeper.
"Derby," Vance said warmly, leaning over to press his lips to his wife's. Derby didn't exactly return the kiss, but she didn't pull away from it either.
"Princess, you're looking very pretty today. Is that a new dress?" Vance asked brightly, as he gave his daughter a half hug and kissed the side of her head.
"Daddy," she greeted him somewhat hesitantly, void of the bubbliness that would typically be associated with the greeting. "It's one of the dresses I bought in Montreal."
"Ryan," Vance said, his voice gruff. He bypassed his usual pat on the back in favour of sitting down at the head of the table and taking a long gulp from his glass.
"Dad," Ryan said.
"So, how was everyone's day? Sweetheart, how was your yoga class?"
Derby cleared her throat. "It was good, Ryan came along with me."
"Fantastic." Vance picked up a little bell that was on the table, dingling it. A moment later, the cook appeared in the door way.
"Yes sir?"
"We're ready for our salads, once you have them ready."
"Yes sir."
Vance glanced toward Ryan. "So, how was your sleep over last night?"
"My sleep over?" Ryan repeated.
"Yes, didn't you stay over at your friend Gabriella's? She's a nice young girl, very pretty."
Ryan coughed. "Uh, yeah, she is."
The cook came back into the dining room, carrying three salad plates up her right arm and the fourth in her left hand. She placed a plate down in front of each of them, and waited for Vance to take a bite.
"Excellent, love the dressing."
"Thank you sir. Main meals straight away after this course?"
"Yes, thank you. Anyway, so Lava Springs is hosting a Youth Ball in about a month's time. Maybe you could invite Gabriella to come with you," Vance suggested to Ryan.
"What? As my date?" Ryan repeated. He glanced warily toward Sharpay and his mother. For a brief moment, he wondered if maybe he'd hallucinated everything that happened over the last day and a half. Or maybe he'd fallen asleep upstairs before his father came home, and this was actually a dream.
"Yes. You spend a lot of time with her, don't you?"
"She's class vice president with me, and one of my best friends, so yeah, I do," Ryan said.
"Daddy, Gabriella is dating Troy, remember?" Sharpay supplied.
"That's right. Such a silly boy he is, he would have been lucky to have you. This dressing really is amazing, Derby sweetheart, do you know what this flavour is?"
Derby cleared her throat, she'd yet to actually take a mouthful of the salad. She promptly picked up her fork, stabbing a piece of coral lettuce and a cherry tomato, popping them into her mouth.
"I think it's an Italian dressing," she said.
"Maybe. There's just something different, I can't pinpoint what it is." Vance shrugged. "Okay, what about your other friend from school? The one that writes all the songs? She's a pretty young girl, I'm sure she'd look lovely if you put her in a nice dress."
"Um, yeah, Kelsi's cute, but she's dating Jason," Ryan said.
"Do I know him?"
"He worked at Lava Springs over summer, in the kitchen mostly," Ryan said.
Vance shook his head. "No, don't remember him."
"He filmed part of his movie here?"
"I was away that weekend."
"He's on the varsity basketball team?"
"Nope, not a clue."
Ryan exhaled. "Anyway. Kelsi is dating him."
"Oh well, I'm sure we can find you someone pretty to bring to the ball. Maybe one of Sharpay's friends. Or a couple of my work colleagues have daughters about your age."
Ryan picked up his fork and stabbed at a slice of cucumber with vigour. He'd thought the disgusted shouting from the evening before was the hardest thing to handle. However that evening, his father had redefined 'awkward situation'. Blatant denial and ignorance that the confrontation had happened was not something that Ryan knew how to handle.
"Uh, Vance, I think it's up to Ryan whether he wants to bring a date to the ball. Or, if he even wants to go, for that matter," Derby said delicately.
"Of course he wants to come! And why wouldn't he bring a date?! That's what all the other boys will be doing. Bringing girls with them. Right son?" Vance's usual bright and cheery tone was now dripping with force.
Ryan couldn't even say anything. He didn't know whether his father actually wanted to maintain this charade, or whether it was just a temporary thing and any moment now he was going to explode.
"Cook! Clear these plates away. I'm ready for my main," Vance announced loudly, not even bothering to tinkle his bell.
The cook didn't dare disobey Vance when his tone was so firm and strained. "Yes sir," she said quickly, snatching up the salad from in front of her boss.
"Thank you, Marci, that was lovely," Derby said, pulling back to allow her barely touched plate to be cleared away.
Ryan dropped his fork onto the plate, also pulling back and allowing his plate to be removed. He glanced over at Sharpay, making a face at her. She shrugged slightly, also not particularly understanding their father's behaviour.
One thing was for certain.
It was going to be an interesting evening.
Meanwhile, Zeke, Chad, Jason and Troy were having a boys' night – having been ditched by the female members of their social group. They'd first gotten together in the late afternoon, starting off at Chad's where they played two on two at the hoop in his driveway. By 6pm, they concluded that they were all starving and so scrounged up enough money to go out and grab dinner at Mario's, a pizza and pasta restaurant which they often frequented in post match team celebrations over the years. The pizzas were gourmet and fairly pricey, but the subs and burgers were decently priced and came with a side dish. Chad had ordered a sausage parmigana sub, Jason a chicken parmigana sub, Troy a pizza burger and Zeke a cheese Calzoni – being a pizza pocket. They'd saved money by going to the grocery store before hand and hiding two large bottles of soda from the shelf in the freezer section. They then ordered tap water at the restaurant and after dinner returned to the grocery store, the 2 litre soda bottles now cool enough to be consumed.
Zeke, Jason and Troy had carpooled down to Chad's place, with Zeke picking up the other two guys on his way through where they lived fairly close to one another. They'd all then used Chad's car as their means of cruising around. When Zeke had first gotten his '83 Mustang convertible, it had been the coolest thing since sliced bread. But Chad's Lancer was officially their cruising vehicle. The subwoofers were incredible, and with the turbo kit and blow off valve, a 'psssh' noise sounded when the gears were changed. Troy's truck was also beginning to make sounds at random points while driving – his friends thought they were cool, however Troy knew that he hadn't installed anything into his car to create the 'mrrrghwrmmph' sound and he would much prefer the smooth 'psssh' sound. He suspected he was going to need a new fuel pump within weeks. And so he was more than content to give his truck a rest and be chauffeured by Zeke and Chad.
After dinner, the guys had found themselves just parked in one of the outdoor lots outside of the Coronado Center. Chad had burnt his version of a best of 2007 CD – all the official compilations were filled with far too much bubblegum pop for his liking. They were standing around just outside Chad's car with the doors open and the music blasting. His skateboard had been pulled out and they were taking turns demonstrating their skills – or in Zeke's case, lack of skills.
"So, I bet the reward for that rock you got Gabriella was sweet," Zeke commented casually.
"It wasn't exactly a rock," Troy said, rolling his eyes.
"Whatever."
"You gave her a rock?" Jason asked.
"Yeah. I gave my girlfriend of almost a year a rock," Troy said sarcastically. "I gave her a ring."
Jason's eyes widened. "A ring? Dude."
Troy shrugged casually. "Yeah."
"So was it hot?" Chad asked, continuing with Zeke's line of questioning.
Troy rolled his eyes. "Our parents went to a party at this bar in town."
"And?" Zeke prompted.
"We played Scrabble."
Chad and Zeke exchanged knowing glances.
"Nice," Chad said with a smile.
"Scrabble is boring," Jason remarked. "Dude, I can't believe you got Gabriella a ring!"
"Why, what did you get Kelsi for Christmas?" Troy asked.
"A hat," Jason said.
"A hat?" Troy repeated.
"That's right. A hat," Jason said defensively. "Kelsi likes hats, in case you didn't notice. It's one of those… you know… the ones with the…" Jason motioned at his head, haphazardly waving his hand around. "The thing. And you know, with the thing. Anyway, I took a photo of it with my cell and texted it to Martha asking if Kelsi would like it. She approved. And Kelsi seems to like it. She's worn it like three times since then."
"Okay, enough girlfriend talk," Zeke said abruptly.
"You're the one who brought up Gabriella," Troy pointed out.
"I was asking you about getting laid, not about what presents you got each other," Zeke said.
"I wonder what they're doing now," Jason said.
"Who?" Zeke asked.
"The girls," Jason clarified, and Zeke rolled his eyes.
"Pillow fighting in their underwear," Chad said, a dreamy smirk on his face.
Jason grinned. "Nice."
"I might text and find out," Troy offered, pulling out his cell.
"No! Don't let him!" Zeke said desperately. "Once he starts texting, we'll lose him altogether!"
"Dude, it's one text!" Troy said incredulously.
"It's never just one text, not with Gab," Chad pointed out.
"Like you're one to talk!" Troy shot back. "You're constantly texting Taylor. You think you're all suave with your cell out under the table, but no, I saw it."
"I'm allowed to though. We just started going out again. I have to be all, like, doting and shit. You and Gab are practically married. Engaged anyway, with the ring. And you just spent like, a whole week with her. So you shouldn't need to be texting her at all."
"Uh, guys?" Zeke interjected.
Troy and Chad glanced up to see Jason had moved away from the group and was sitting on one of the concrete stoppers at the front of a parking spot a couple down from theirs.
"Sounds like you girls are having great fun."
"Cross!" Zeke said. "Get off the phone! We're having a guys night, we're not moping around after our girlfriends!"
"I'm finding out what they're doing!" Jason said. "Not moping. Kelsi just got there, she said they are listening to music and reading magazines."
Troy perked up at the word 'magazines'. "Oh really?" he said with a smirk.
Jason went silent, listening for a moment, and then looked a bit confused. "Kelsi heard you say that Bolton, and she told Gabriella and Gabriella got all embarrassed. I feel like I missed something."
Troy rolled his eyes. "You did JC, don't worry about it though."
Zeke rolled his eyes, and quickly snatched the cell phone from Jason's hand. "Hey Kelsi it's Zeke. I'm going to hang up on you now, don't take it personally, okay? …" Zeke laughed. "Awesome. Have a good night… yeah I'll tell him. See ya." Zeke hung up and handed the phone back to a dumbfounded Jason. "Kelsi said good night and that you should call her tomorrow."
"Dude, that was harsh," Chad said.
"If you were me, you woulda done it too. Come on guys! We don't need the chicks to have fun! We have spent just about the entire night talking about them. From the very beginning of the night you were all acting all depressed and sneaking glances at your cell phones," Zeke said accusingly. "Liven up! Seriously! Why don't we go to JC's and watch a movie?"
"My mom is being really bitchy at the moment, I don't know why. I'm hanging out with you guys to get out of the house," Jason said.
"All right then, we can hang out at Chad's new place, surely there's something fun in that whole common area?"
"The pool closes early in winter, like at 8pm. There's the gym, but we're gonna be drilled from Monday – I'm trying to enjoy my weekend off, thanks."
"PlayStation is always fun, we can go back to mine, or over to Bolton's to play with his new Wii," Zeke suggested.
Jason and Chad both perked up slightly at Zeke's suggestion of playing with the new Wii.
"I'm so sick of my parents it's not funny. Vacation was great, as far as parents go I admit they're not too bad. But this is the longest I haven't been around them since before Christmas, I swear," Troy said.
"Actually, my mom and dad have these really boring people over for drinks, so we can't go back to mine," Zeke realised.
"And we're back at square one," Chad said with a sigh.
"Where are the girls? At Gabriella's?" Jason asked.
Troy nodded. "Yeah, they're all staying there tonight."
"Why don't we go over?" Jason suggested.
Chad's face brightened. "Cross, you are a genius!"
"I am?"
"Look, I want to hang out with Gabriella but I don't think that Ms. Montez is going to appreciate us just rocking up," Troy interjected.
Chad had already opened his door, turned on the engine and shifted the car into gear. "Whatever. Let's go."
Zeke let out a sigh. He'd known he was fighting a losing battle. It was either get in the car or be left behind. Even if it did mean being led into the land of disgusting couples.
Taylor, Martha, Kelsi and Gabriella were all gathered in Gabriella's bedroom. Kelsi had arrived about an hour earlier after finishing with the clean up from her brother's birthday party, just in time for dinner. Both Taylor and Martha were on 'new year' health kicks, and so the girls had been super healthy and purchased roast chicken and collaborated together to make Caesar salad – the unhealthiest of all salads, but nevertheless healthier than the alternative of ordering pizzas. They'd been in contact throughout winter break and had decided while Gabriella was in Breckenridge that they would have this girl's night. With the previous days events hanging over them, and Ryan presently at home – now, more than ever, they felt the need to come together as friends.
However now there was something else hanging over their heads.
The evening had started out fine, Kelsi had come in to help with the final touches of the salads, they'd eaten, and then they'd retreated to Gabriella's room with their piles of magazines, make up and the facial products that Martha and Taylor had brought along. Taylor was sitting at Gabriella's computer, flicking through her iTunes music library; Gabriella was sitting on her bed with Martha kneeled behind her, brushing her hair. Kelsi had been also on the bed, with a magazine on her lap.
Taylor and Gabriella had done an excellent job of minimising the conversation about Troy and Chad. It helped that they had the Ryan situation to discuss and speculate about. Once Kelsi arrived they talked about the birthday party for a while, and then discussed the East High's Got Talent auditions that were coming up in just over a week's time.
But then Kelsi's phone rang, and the mood shrivelled from there.
Without even saying his name, all three girls knew it was Jason. There was a different tone in her voice when she spoke with him; she was softer, more giggly. The careful brush strokes that Martha had been raking through Gabriella's ebony tresses gradually became harder and harder as Kelsi sat in the corner, her tone becoming increasingly hushed and giggly.
"Ow!" Gabriella yelped.
Martha winced, realising immediately that she'd channelled her annoyance into Gabriella's hair. "Sorry."
"It's okay," Gabriella said, reaching behind her and squeezing Martha's leg comfortingly. "Just… careful with the hair."
"We're just listening to some music and reading magazines," Kelsi said.
She listened for a moment and then laughed. "Gabriella, you should have heard Troy just then when Jason repeated what I just said. He was like, 'oh really' in the background."
Gabriella blushed. "One track mind," she muttered. "I hope he realises that we don't just sit here and read the articles about sex."
"When do you read the articles about beauty or the celebrity gossip?" Taylor asked, eyebrows raised.
Gabriella opened her mouth to respond, and then closed it again. Taylor was right. She really did only read the articles about sex.
Kelsi chirped into her phone. "Hi Zeke!" She listened for a moment, and then laughed. "You feeling lonely with all the girlfriend talk? That's okay, just tell Jason to call me tomorrow, please."
She hung up a few moments later, still smiling from the conversation.
"Where are they?" Gabriella asked casually.
"Hanging out in the parking lot of the Coronado Center," Kelsi said, rolling her eyes. "What fun."
"Well we're going to have way more fun, just us girls," Taylor said, a little over enthusiastically. "No boys allowed."
With Taylor and Martha's cars both parked out the front of the Montez residence, the boys had been forced to park across the street. Troy had protested the whole way – to the utmost surprise of the guys. Suddenly, he was suggesting that maybe they should be going to his house to play Wii. It was a little late for Troy to be on board with Zeke, because Chad was in charge of the vehicle and he'd charged full steam ahead to Gabriella's house.
"Look, Bolton, suck it up. We're here. You can hang around out here in the street, if you like. And we'll go in and Gabriella will ask where you are and we'll tell her that you didn't want to see her," Chad said, turning behind him with his keys and pressing the alarm button.
"I just think it's rude, that's all!" Troy exclaimed, standing still on the side of the street, looking up at the house. "Arriving unannounced."
"I woulda thought you'd be the first person to have stormed the house," Jason said.
"It's not like I can't go a night without hanging with my girlfriend," Troy said defensively. "We shoulda called them and asked if they wanted to meet us out somewhere."
"They're broke and we're broke, all we would have been able to do is loiter around," Chad pointed out, rolling his eyes. "You're being so fucking weird about this, I really don't get you sometimes, Hoops."
Chad went to move toward the house, and Jason followed.
"Why do you care about being rude, anyway?" Zeke asked.
"Because! I kinda rely on Ms. Montez not hating me," Troy pointed out. "You know, so that when she is working late and stuff, she isn't letting my parents know that they are to make me stay home, or whatever. A part of that is her thinking I'm a good guy. Not one who brings his friends to her house at night without being invited and just assumes they can go in."
Suddenly, it all became clear. Chad turned around, a smug smile on his face. He nudged Jason. "Because he needs to get laid," Chad translated, his loud voice permeating through the evening air.
"Dude!" Troy hissed, glancing toward the house. He took a step forward to punch Chad on the arm. All four of the guys were now standing in the middle of the road. "I think the people down the street didn't hear you!"
"Oh, would you like me to repeat it louder, then?" Chad asked cheekily. Troy glared at him witheringly.
"Troy, why don't you just pull out your cell phone and call Gabriella and ask if we can come over then," Zeke asked impatiently. "Because standing out on the street with you guys isn't my idea of having a fun night."
"Gee, thanks man, and here I thought you liked hanging out with us," Troy said.
"This is fucking ridiculous. I'm not going to just stand here all night," Chad said.
"Let's go then," Troy said. "I said, we can go to my house and play the Wii, and…"
"No. We drove all the way here…."
"We were like, six blocks away."
"… and I refuse to leave without saying hello to the girls."
"Why do I get the feeling that Chad is going to throw rocks at the window and Taylor is gonna shimmy down the drain pipe?" Jason pondered.
"That's in a movie, you dipshit," Zeke said. "And Gabriella's room is over the backyard, so unless we go loiter around there… and then she wouldn't be shimmying down the drain pipe, she'd probably just use the tree like Troy does."
And at that moment, the light out the front of the Montez household switched on, flooding the front area in a pool of light. The boys jumped back, and then noted that the front door had opened – Ms. Montez standing in the doorway.
"Either you come in or you stop loitering around outside in the street," she said impatiently. "If you come in, you'll be keeping your voices down and leaving by 11pm."
Chad was the first to lead the way, pushing past Troy. "See! I said she'd be cool. Ms. Montez is cool like that."
Zeke and Jason quickly followed, and Troy, rolling his eyes, brought up the rear.
"Go on upstairs; the girls are in Gabriella's room," Ms. Montez told the boys. "I take no responsibility if they are wearing pyjamas or doing facials and don't want you boys to see them."
"Hi Ms. Montez, sorry about just dropping by," Troy said apologetically as he passed. "We won't be here long, we just uh… had to uh… ask for some… study advice?"
"On a Friday night when you've been on winter vacation for a few weeks?" Elena asked, raising her eyebrows.
Troy merely looked sheepish.
"Come on! I told you!" Taylor said.
"And I swear that should I ever see Jason's, I'll tell you," Kelsi added.
"I don't think that he would appreciate me talking about this," Gabriella said, her cheeks flaming.
"If you don't talk about it then we're just going to be left to think that there's a lack of something to talk about," Martha pointed out coyly.
Gabriella's mouth dropped open. "Okay, that is definitely not true. Besides, it's not like I've had a tape measure out. And I don't have a comparative basis. The words 'big' or 'average' have nothing to be relative to."
"Okay… what about… like a carrot?" Kelsi asked.
Gabriella scoffed. "No! Unless the carrot was on steroids."
"A cucumber?" Martha asked.
"What type of cucumber? And cucumbers come in different sizes, anyway," Gabriella pointed out.
"Why don't you just hold your hands up like I did?" Taylor said, rolling her eyes.
"She what?!" a male voice asked outside the room.
All four girls froze. Taylor jumped to her feet, going over to the door. She threw it open, to reveal Chad, Zeke and Jason all standing in the doorway.
"What the hell are you three doing here?!" Taylor demanded. "And how long were you standing there?"
"Like, a minute, I swear," Chad said, staring back at her accusingly. "I kinda wish we'd been there longer. And we're here because we were bored, so we came to visit our favourite friends in the world."
"And you thought you'd stand in the doorway and eavesdrop!" Gabriella exclaimed, hands on hips.
Troy had fallen behind the other guys, having talked politely to Ms. Montez for a minute or two, and it was at that point that he came up the stairs – to see a confrontation taking place in Gabriella's doorway.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"The girls were talking about salads or something when we arrived," Jason said, glancing backwards and forwards between the people. "And now it seems that Gabriella is embarrassed that we overheard."
"I'm not embarrassed I just think that eavesdropping is rude," Gabriella said, glaring at Chad. She then turned to glare at Troy, and demanded, "Why are you friends with him?" before moving past the guys and flouncing off into the guest bedroom.
"Chad, if you're going to eavesdrop outside of a conversation we're having, maybe it would be wise to keep your mouth shut and not give yourselves away," Martha recommended with a roll of the eyes.
"You were eavesdropping?!" Troy exclaimed.
"We actually weren't!" Chad protested.
"Really!" Jason backed him up.
"I was about to knock on the door and we heard like, one thing that she said," Zeke contributed.
"Something about cucumbers," Jason said. "Big deal, whatever."
Chad rolled his eyes. "She's just being stupid. I'll go talk to her."
Troy nodded, not particularly wanting to get involved in whatever petty issue was going on between Chad and Gabriella, he was happy to allow Chad to sort it out. Chad moved down the corridor and knocked on the spare bedroom door where Gabriella had disappeared into. He heard a quiet, 'come in', and so he eased the door open. Gabriella was sitting on the bed.
"Oh, it's you," she said. "I thought it would've been Troy. Look, Chad I…"
"No, Gab, let me talk. You've known me for like, almost a year now, right? Really, not much longer than you've known Hoops. And if there's one thing that you should have learnt about me it's that sometimes, I just don't have a filter between my brain and my mouth. Before, I know it sounded bad, but I swear we weren't eavesdropping…"
"Chad…"
"No, Gab, let me finish. I only heard that last thing you said about cucumbers and then what Taylor said and really, right now I should be having a word with Taylor if the conversation is what I think it was. But you know like, whatever, it was unintentional, and…"
"Chad…"
"Gab, I'm talking. I know that you think that we were eavesdropping but I swear to God that we weren't. And even if we were – seriously, what's the big deal? So you girls were talking about shit like that. That's normal. We're teenagers, we talk about it, and especially now since you and Troy… yeah. You know. Which is great, I mean, I don't care either way. But I think that you are the best thing that ever happened to Hoops and I know that he and I have kinda been through some fucked up shit lately and…"
"Chad I'm not mad at you!" Gabriella cut in
"I know that sometimes I…" Chad trailed off. "What?"
"I'm not mad," Gabriella repeated, a smile toying on her lips. "I believe you when you say you weren't actually eavesdropping – if you were, it would be more likely that you would have been able to keep your mouth shut. I overreacted in that moment and I was just about to get up and walk back in when you came in here and started your speech. Which, by the way, was great."
Gabriella rose from the bed, a somewhat dumbfounded Chad staring at her.
"You're not mad at me?" Chad clarified incredulously.
"No, I'm not. A bit embarrassed that you have an idea of what we were talking about, because I'm still getting used to this whole thing where everyone knows my business, even though it's been going on for almost a year now."
"That's high school," Chad said simply.
Gabriella rolled her eyes. "And yet, like, Jason and Kelsi can remain fairly anonymous." She sighed. "Okay. Let's go back into my room."
"You're really cool?" Chad asked, as the pair opened the guest bedroom door to exit the room.
"I'm really cool!" Gabriella insisted. "I do want to know what the hell you're all doing here though."
"Literally, we were bored and decided to come over," Chad told her, just as they entered back into her bedroom – where Troy, Zeke and Jason had all made themselves comfortable.
"Couldn't you have called first? I'm sure my mom was really impressed when you guys all came and knocked on the door," Gabriella remarked.
"I talked to her, don't worry, she's cool," Troy assured her.
"And we didn't knock on the door, we were hanging out in the street and she came out and invited us in," Jason pointed out.
"And can I just say, in my defense, I was about to call you to check if it was cool when that happened," Troy added. "I was saying it was rude all the way along to just show up."
"Yeah, coz you're a mama's boy. And a suck up," Chad supplied.
"Gabriella?" Elena Montez's voice asked from the doorway.
"I swear I had no idea they were coming over," Gabriella said straight away.
Elena rolled her eyes. "Sure."
"I didn't!"
"I'm going to watch a movie in my room. You can all go downstairs if you like."
"Is that your way of saying you want us to go downstairs?" Gabriella enquired.
"Yes," Elena said, before smiling and disappearing into her bedroom.
Taylor was immediately obedient, standing up from her position at Gabriella's desk and swiftly moving the door. Chad was next – following Taylor more so than following the instructions given by Ms. Montez. The Wildcats filed out of the room, heading down into the lounge area. Troy's arm slipped around Gabriella's waist as they trekked down the stairs after their friends, sneaking a quick kiss midway down.
Taylor and Chad had already squished up one end of the sofa, Jason had seated himself in an armchair and Kelsi on the floor in front of him.
"Hey Gab, mind if I grab a glass of water?" Zeke asked.
"Go for it," Gabriella said.
"Actually, I might grab one too," Martha said, both of them diverting into the kitchen.
Troy sat down in the second arm chair, his arm snaked around Gabriella's waist pulling her down with him to settle herself upon his lap.
"So um… have you heard from Ryan?" Troy asked Gabriella quietly, but loudly enough to be heard by the room.
She shook her head. "I don't know if it's good or bad."
"All we can do is think positively, I guess," Chad said.
"It went well with his mom today, so… that's good. His mom might be able to help with his dad and stuff," Kelsi pointed out, biting her lip. "Hopefully."
Jason's arms slung over his girlfriends shoulder as she sat before him. "All you can do is wait and see."
"I just wish I could do something to help..."
"All you can do is be a good friend, I guess, which you are, just by caring about him."
Kelsi glanced up at her boyfriend, smiling. Jason grinned back and leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers softly.
"And this is why I didn't want to come here!" Zeke announced.
He and Martha had re-entered the room both with a glass of water, to be met with the sight of Jason and Kelsi kissing, Troy and Gabriella cuddling and Taylor and Chad holding hands. Martha had quickly averted her eyes, looking down to reach down to put her glass on the coffee table and take the spare seat on the couch beside Taylor and Chad.
"Give it a rest, seriously," Troy said, evidently annoyed with Zeke's remarks. "If all you want is a girlfriend, then next week when we go back to school, I'll hook you up with someone. I could name about ten chicks off the top of my head who would go out with you."
"Besides, whenever you have a girlfriend, you don't censor your behaviour around us," Chad pointed out, backing Troy up. He then leaned in toward Taylor. "Did I use that word right? Censor?" Taylor gave him a small nod.
"Shouldn't you just be happy that your friends are happy," Jason added, joining in with the bandwagon.
Martha pulled out her cell phone, and busied herself typing a pretend text message. Zeke rolled his eyes and sat down on the carpet. "Yeah yeah, whatever."
He too pulled out his cell, quickly typing out a text.
How's the family dinner going?
The majority of the main meal at the Evans' house hold had been consumed in silence. Vance had asked Sharpay about her Mustang and whether he'd be able to have it taken in for a service one day in the following week. Sharpay had glanced at Ryan for a moment, receiving a slight nod from him that she could answer.
And then Sharpay's cell went off, and things went down hill from there.
She glanced at the screen and quickly typed back. It blows.
"Sharpay, could you put your phone away for one family dinner!" Vance Evans' snapped.
Sharpay's eyes widened – her father never, ever called her by her first name.
"Sorry daddy," she said quietly.
And it was at that precise moment that Ryan couldn't take it any longer. He placed his cutlery onto his plate, and then picked up the napkin that covered his grey slacks and tossed it onto the table.
"This is bull shit," he said evenly.
"Language, sweetheart," Derby reprimanded softly.
"What is bull shit, exactly?" Vance demanded, arms folding across his chest.
"I know… I know what you're trying to do. I know that you want to pretend you didn't hear anything, go back to pretending that this isn't real. But it is real, okay?"
"Ryan…" Vance said warningly.
"Dad, I'm gay," Ryan said bluntly. "I am gay. And I know that you don't approve of that, I know that you're disappointed in me. But we can't take yesterday back. It happened. You found out. And… and sitting here and pretending that this is some Brady Bunch style of situation isn't going to change that."
Vance glanced at Sharpay, who was sitting wide eyed beside her twin. "Princess, please leave the room."
"But daddy…"
"Sharpay! Now!" Vance said loudly, raising his voice.
"Shar, it's okay," Ryan said quietly, reaching over to squeeze Sharpay's hand.
Sharpay bit her lip and rose from her seat, backing out of the room. Vance then turned back to face his son.
"I don't accept that."
"You don't accept that?" Ryan repeated incredulously.
"That's right," Vance said, both stubbornly and naively. "You are too young to know who you are. I don't accept this decision. I don't…"
"It's not a decision that I made, it isn't a choice," Ryan cut in.
"There's always a choice."
"Not with this, there isn't! It's just how I am!"
"Well, not in my house, you aren't."
"Vance!" Derby exclaimed.
"Derby, I know you're on his side here but I feel extremely strongly about this matter."
"This is your son, our son you're talking about. Not some environmental issue, or political matter you have an opinion about!"
"I feel more strongly about this than any damn environmental issue," Vance scoffed.
"It's not like I talk about it, or flaunt it around!" Ryan said.
"Are you, or are you not, involved with that… that… boy that you were texting?" Vance enquired, his voice hollow.
"I don't know. Not yet, not technically. But soon, maybe," Ryan admitted quietly, knowing at that moment that admitting it was going to be detrimental.
"You will not live under my roof and partake in those sorts of activities," Vance said, disgust in his tone. "I won't allow it."
"How exactly are you going to stop me?" Ryan shot back.
"Who pays for your phone bill? Who provides you with a laptop, and a car?" Vance shot back. "Believe me, I have ways of stopping you."
"Vance, you can't be serious here. I think we need to talk about this, rationally, calmly" Derby said imploring her husband to see the logic.
"I am calm. And I am rational," Vance said. "I am not going to tolerate any of this, and that is final."
"What, so you're gonna… take away my stuff? Cut me off from the world?" Ryan said, in utter disbelief.
"If you can't abide by my rules, then yes, that may very well be what is necessary."
"That's not going to change the fact that I'm gay!" Ryan exclaimed. "It doesn't matter what you do, I'm still gonna be gay!" He stood abruptly from the table, glaring at his father. "So either you get used to that… or…"
Vance rose from the head of the table and took a step toward Ryan, staring down at him. "I cannot and will not accept that any son of mine is…" he swallowed, unable to even say the word.
"A homosexual? A faggot? Queer?" Ryan supplied.
Vance's palm squarely slapped Ryan's cheek, eyes blazing with disgust. Ryan's hand clutched at his stinging face, staring at his father in disbelief.
"Vance!" Derby exclaimed.
Vance was wide eyed, staring at Ryan in semi disbelief at his own action.
"You know what? Ryan said, his voice somewhat hoarse. He cleared his throat, and stared his father straight in the eye. "If you can't accept that any son of yours is gay, then maybe I shouldn't be here."
"Duckie, don't say that, of course you should be here," Derby said desperately.
"No mom. I don't think I should be."
Elena Montez was enjoying her weekend tremendously. She'd gone out for breakfast with her daughter, went for lunch with some of her work colleagues – which was something new they'd started doing, having sociable lunches. She didn't like to admit it, but she liked when Gabriella was at home and not out with Troy – putting her mind at ease somewhat. Even if there were presently eight teenagers socialising in the living room. Good Will Hunting was on television, one of Elena's favourite movies. So she was enjoying lying back in bed with a small bowl of popcorn and a glass of wine – a classy combination – and relaxing.
Elena heard the doorbell ring, and Gabriella's voice rang upstairs, "I've got it!!!"
Regardless, Elena swung her legs over the bed to rest on the floor. She glanced at the time, wondering who else could possibly be coming over at that time of night. She grabbed her bathrobe, covering up her sweatpants and baggy t-shirt, and then moved swiftly down the staircase.
As she reached the bottom of the staircase she could hear hushed murmurs from the living room. She kept walking until she reached the French doors which were wide open, and looked into the living room.
A ninth person was now in the living room. She could see the back of a short, blonde haired male head, sitting in the arm chair. Gabriella was crouched at his feet, clutching onto his hands. Troy was standing up just beyond them, looking on with a look of concern which mirrored the look of the rest of their friends, who were all sitting forward.
"What's going on?" Elena said questioningly.
The blonde haired boy stood up, turned around, and took a few shaky steps forward to face her.
Ryan Evans looked broken.
"Ms. Montez?" he asked; his voice desolate. "When you said that I could come back and stay again if I needed to… did you mean it?"