Chapter 20

Troy stood on the last step and stared at the doorway. It couldn't be. Ryan. His Ryan. Here? He watched as the person looking like his love ran upto him and flung his arms around him. Troy wrapped his arm around the person and could ran his hands over his body. It felt like Ryan. Ryan pulled away and looked at Troy.

"Troy?" Ryan's look was desperate. "Say something. Please" Ryan's voice cracked slightly as he tried to get his boyfriend to speak.

"Ryan?" Troy's voice was weak. His gaze still on this figure in front of him. His mind couldn't grasp that Ryan was in front of him, that he had come to find him. It had to be a trick, it had to be due to the drugs.

"Yeah Troy, it's me" Ryan leant in and pressed his lips to Troy's. The feel of Ryan's lips against his own made Troy snap out of the trance that he was in and come to terms that Ryan was actually there, that he had found him. He kissed Ryan back, using all his energy, wrapping his arms around him as tightly as possible.

After a couple of seconds Ryan pulled back and looked at Troy. And he slapped him, right across the face. He pulled his hand back, shaking it slightly as it stung.

"What the hell was that for?" Troy screamed, shocked that Ryan had just slapped him.

"For leaving me. For coming here. For not calling me" Ryan started to cry as he shouted a reply back to Troy. He couldn't believe he had just slapped him but he couldn't stop himself. He could feel all the anger from the past few months building up inside of him.

"I'm sorry. I needed to be alone. I know I hurt you but I also hurt myself. Not being with you killed me Ryan" Troy placed his hand on his cheek and rubbed gently where he had been slapped. He was impressed though. He never expected Ryan to have such a punch him in. There was more to him than met the eye.

"How do you think I felt Troy? Having to put up with the comments and the bullying at school? Waiting by my phone hoping that maybe, just maybe, you would call letting me know that you were okay"

"I really am sorry Ryan. I didn't mean to hurt you" he gave Ryan a hug and was glad when he didn't pull away. He let out a sigh

"God. It's so good to be in your arms again" he quietly moaned into Ryan's shoulder. He pulled back and looked at the boy in front of him. He had never looked so beautiful to him, even though he looked sullen. He used his thumbs and carefully wiped away his tears, before leaning in and placing his lips on Ryan's.

Ryan complied with the kiss and placed a hand on Troy's cheek. The kiss was heated. All the past months anger, rage, sadness was put into the kiss. After a few minutes they finally pulled apart, breathing quite heavily. They looked at each other and smiled.

"I missed you" Troy breathed heavily.

"I missed you to" Ryan said between breaths. "Come home"

"I – I don't think I can" and it was the truth. He didn't think that he could go back home. He knew that he couldn't stay at Jumping Jacks but he wasn't sure if he could go back to Albuquerque.

"Please Troy. Things have changed. Well mostly, Chad and Jason. They feel terrible about what happened and wanted to apologise. They screwed up. They still want to have you in their lives."

Troy let out a small laugh. That was difficult to believe. The two people who were supposedly his best friends and had turned on him the moment that he had come out as gay. He didn't believe that they had changed. Ryan sensed his doubt.

"I thought that as well, but they really have changed. They have been sticking up for me at school against the few small minded people who still think being gay is an issue"

"Really?" So maybe they had changed, Troy thought to himself but he wasn't sure if that was a good enough reason to go home. There was still his dad. He had tried to kill him for being gay. He didn't know if he could go back to someone who had that much hate for him.

"Your dad has moved out. Your mom kicked him out, no charges were pressed but she told him if he ever came around again she would call the police. So please Troy, I need you. We all do"

Troy could tell the desperation in his voice and nodded. "Sure" Ryan hugged him again and kissed his cheek.

"I love you so much Troy Bolton"

"I love you to Ryan Evans" Troy smiled and placed another kiss on his boyfriend's lips. This was what he was waiting for. That feeling. The one that made him feel safe. Like nothing could hurt him. This was the feeling that he was missing.

"Let's go home" Ryan pulled apart and held out his hand to Troy. Troy nodded and took it and turned with Ryan to leave.

"Troy?" Troy turned around and saw Jackson walking towards them, tears stained his cheeks.

"Jackson. This is Ryan"

"I know. I saw. Please don't go. I love you"