Shattered Reality Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Slash. Don't like it? Then why did you even bother to read the first chapter? I don't own anything either.

Warning: again, my Ryan muse has a bit of a potty mouth, so expect some language.

A/N: wow, finishing a story in less than a week... that's a record for me! lol. More from me afterwards... Enjoy!

Ryan awoke the next morning to his blaring alarm clock. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. As soon as he could see clearly, he saw his mess of a room. It was covered with picture shreds and broken glass shrew all about the room, and everything came rushing back to him, hitting him like a ton of bricks.

Troy had cheated on him. With Sharpay, his twin sister. Living right down the hall from the girl who betrayed him was not going to be easy.

Ryan finally got up, and began his daily routine of getting ready for school. When it came down to getting dressed, a thought finally dawned on Ryan. Normally, the twins coordinated their outfits the night before. But because of last night's fiasco, no clothes were picked out yet. Ryan shook his head, not caring anymore. He randomly chose an outfit out of his closet, not even bothering to shout to Sharpay across the hall what color she was planning to wear.

Once he was dressed and ready, a newsboy hat added for the final touch, he headed downstairs for breakfast. Unfortunately, Sharpay was already at the table, as were their parents. Mrs. Evans took one took at Sharpay's bright pink polka dot dress and Ryan's red checkered collared shirt, and raised her eyebrows at her children, but didn't comment.

Ryan was thankful that his mother kept her mouth shut, as he truly did not want to tell his parents. They knew he was gay and it didn't bother them, but Ryan really did not want to get into the details about this in front of his parents. Ryan finally sat down at his kitchen table and began pouring a bowl of cereal, every once and a while shooting a glare in Sharpay's direction. The twin's parents tried to start conversation, but all they got out of their children was a mumbled answer. The awkward breakfast finally ended, none to soon.

Finally, Ryan was able to get to school. He wondered what was going to happen between him and Troy. It wasn't common knowledge that they were a couple or even that Ryan was gay; only their closest friends knew the truth, and it hadn't been a big problem before. Everyone else in the school just assumed Ryan and Troy were good friends, as they had been seen together a lot after Twinkle Town.

As Ryan walked into school without Sharpay by his side, he knew people began to notice. Normally, Ryan and his sister were practically attached at the hip throughout the school day, or at least when they arrived at school. He knew rumors were gonna fly, especially when the student body found out they weren't even wearing coordinated outfits. This was the first day since about fifth grade that the Evans twins weren't matching, and to the students of East High, that was a big shock.

Ryan walked over to his homeroom, completely passing and ignoring Troy and all their friends surrounding Troy's locker on his way. He managed to not even glance at Troy, because he knew if he did, he would explode.

The one thing Ryan had forgotten about was that he sat right next to Troy in Darbus's class, his homeroom. When Troy entered the room and sat down, Ryan's whole body went rigid with anger, especially when Sharpay entered not even two seconds later. Having the two of them in such close proximity made his mind return to the night before, as he entered Troy's bedroom to see them kissing.

Ryan was snapped out of his nightmare-of-a-memory when he felt a small tap on his arm. He turned and found Troy trying to get his attention, and he snapped. "Troy, do you really think I want to talk to you right now? NO. So don't fucking try."

"Ryan, I…"

"Can it Bolton," Ryan hissed out.

Chad, who had been sitting right in front of Ryan and had heard that exchange, turned around puzzled. "What's going on with you two?"

"Why don't you ask Troy what he, no actually, who he did last night," Ryan spat out, sending a glare in Troy's direction.

Chad was about to, but got cut off when Darbus called the class to attention.

By the time lunch rolled around, Chad and the rest of Ryan and Troy's friends noticed the gigantic tension between the two former boyfriends, and that Ryan was furious and ignoring Troy. Finally fed up with all the questioning about that and the fact that Sharpay and him were not speaking or matching, Ryan finally dropped the bomb.

Ryan slammed his fist onto the lunch table, immediately shutting up his table of friends. "You want to know what's up with Troy and I? Guess who I found Troy in bed with last night… Sharpay. So shut up with the third degree, as that's all I'm saying, and leave me alone," Ryan said, looking at his friends for their reactions. Troy had hung his head, and was now playing with his spaghetti and meatballs with his fork; Sharpay looked almost like she was going to cry, puke, or both; Gabriella's jaw was dropped, and her wide eyes were going back and forth between Troy and Sharpay; Chad burst out with a 'Are you shitting me?' to which Ryan replied with 'I shit you not.'

The rest of the lunch period was even more awkward then the Evans' breakfast was, and Ryan was thrilled when the bell rang, indicating the period was finally over.

The rest of the day was a blur to Ryan, who spent it ignoring not only his sister and Troy, but also fielding questions from Gabriella, Chad, and Kelsi. When the final bell rang, Ryan couldn't be any happier. Until he realized he had rehearsal after school, with just him and Troy to work on their scenes together.

To say that anything productive got done at that practice was an understatement. Darbus got frustrated that her two leading men did not have the chemistry and alacrity that they normally had, and finally left the two alone to practice a scene. Ryan was not thrilled.

"Troy, let's just run this scene and have it perfect when Darbus gets back so we can leave," Ryan said, the first actual sentence he had spoken to Troy all day.

Troy sighed, and was about to start the run-through when he realized this was probably his one and only time to get everything out in the open. "Ryan, I got to explain things to you first…" Ryan sighed angrily and put his head in his hand, but didn't say anything in response, so Troy continued. "Ok, I know I fucked up. I said that already in your voice mail, but it's true. I knew what I was doing the entire time, yet I said nothing to you. And I truly do still love you. It's just…"

"Just what, Troy? That you wanted to fuck my sister?"

"Will you let me explain? Thanks. It's just that… I don't know… Ok, I was attracted to Sharpay a little. And I was a bit horny. I'm not going to place blame on Sharpay, because it's mostly entirely my fault. I was the one who initiated things with her first, and the one who kept coming back for more. Every time I was with her, you were always in the back of my mind, reminding me I had a boyfriend already, but I pushed you out."

Troy was silent for a moment, and Ryan responded. "All of this is oh-so-comforting to me, Troy. It ain't making me feel any fucking better."

Troy shook up head, frustratedly. "I know. I just needed you to know this. I actually have another tiny, little confession to make…"

Ryan eyed him, "What now?"

Troy hesitantly continued, "I think I fell for Sharpay…"

Ryan blinked a few times, staring wide-eyed at his former boyfriend. He finally figured out what to say. "Well then… it seems like you had picked the wrong Evans twin to date." Troy, his face spread with guilt, hung his head. "Troy, from now on, we speak to each other ONLY during rehearsals. Stay the fuck away from me any time else. Now can we please just do this scene and get it over with?"

Troy nodded; he was stung by Ryan's harsh words, but he knew he deserved them.

When Ryan arrived home, Sharpay was waiting for him. All while she tried to speak, Ryan pretended he couldn't hear her, as he flipped channels absent-minded on the television.

"Ryan, please, you gotta hear me out. What can I do to make things right between us? I never meant to hurt you, I swear it. We just got caught up in it, I guess…. But I couldn't help who I fell for," Sharpay added the last sentence in almost a whisper.

Ryan felt like he was just slapped on the face. First Troy, and now Sharpay. He finally looked up at her, his face conveying just how hurt his was. "Ya know what? Go have fun with your fuck buddy. You both are perfect for each other."

Leaving Sharpay sitting alone in their den, guilt overcoming her, Ryan quickly got up off the couch and ran toward his room, slamming the door shut as he entered.

His room still looked like a tornado had blown through it, with the broken glass and picture remains still blanketing his floor. There was only one thing still left untouched on his bulletin board, and that was the ticket stub.

Ryan gingerly reached up and grabbed it, softly smiling as once again, this faded piece of paper brought back so many terrific memories. As he traveled down memory lane, Ryan knew one thing for sure. He knew he would never totally get over his crush on Troy. Troy was his first real boyfriend and love, and he would never forget him.

Ryan took one last look at the ticket, and finally tore in up, scattering the bits of pieces on top of his already messy carpet; the last remaining memoir of their year-long relationship, shattered in this new reality.

THE END

A/N: well, there you have it. :-) I hope you all liked it!

I want to say a giant THANK YOU to all my loverly reviewers. (especially those loyal to me that followed me from Newsies into HSM! hehe). and now, it's your turn again, so REVIEW!

-Laura