Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last chapter. You are all fabulous. This chapter is 100% new material. This is what happens when you change everything up to this point.

Chapter 50: You Will Always Have Me

Still black Friday 2008

"I had fantasies about both you and Chad being in my bed, but I always assumed less clothing and crying would be involved." Ryan joked as he arrived at his bedroom to find Chad and Taylor there.

"I didn't expect to find myself here after finding out my entire childhood was a lie," Taylor remarked.

"As somebody who's recently gone through that experience, I can understand the crying," Ryan remarked.

"It's probably better than me breaking my phone and punching out my father," Chad added as he pulled away from Taylor.

"I wish I could punch something." So did Ryan. Preferably Chad's father. Although he wouldn't mind just kicking Lucy in the shin.

"Just a reminder, there is a box of Darby breakables in the hall. My baseball bat is in Shar's room. You and Ryan can have some fun." Chad smiled at her.

"That seems like a fun date activity. I have been having a string of weird dates lately. Zack is waiting downstairs to talk to you, by the way. He wants details on yesterday with Charles." Ryan added.

"Of course he does." Chad rolled his eyes. "I will leave you here with Ryan, but Shar just texted. She's picking up food. I've been tasked with getting food orders. She will pick up anything you want."

"Something fried and something with a lot of cheese. I also really want pizza." Taylor remarked.

"I will let Sharpay know." With that, Chad left the room.

"Although in the meantime, you have this," Ryan said, holding out the hot cocoa and a little bag of the mini chocolate croissants.

"Thank you." Taylor kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank Zack. He had to go back twice to get it. He spilled the 1st cup on Chad's aunt."

"I saw the text messages. Your almost-boyfriend didn't have to," Taylor remarked.

"If anybody deserves hot chocolate and a chocolate croissant right now, it's you," Ryan said as he sat on the bed next to Taylor.

"I told Chad not to tell you. I didn't want to ruin your date."

"Chad is horrible at keeping secrets that he actually wants to tell people. It's kind of adorable," Ryan explained.

"If you say so," Taylor sighed exhaustively.

"Besides, you did not ruin my date because Kelsi did that just by showing up at the coffee shop."

"Zack texted Chad just to keep himself from punching Kelsi out when she stood behind him in line for 15 minutes. He said I was so much prettier than her."

"You are." That comment earned Ryan a smile.

"I think you should have Chad pick out all your potential significant others because he has better taste than you." Taylor joked.

"After the disaster that was Kelsi, I completely agree. Especially because Zack decided that our first kiss had to be in front of her. I got so many angry text messages that I had to block her number." Ryan honestly wonders why he didn't do that earlier. Especially after she asked for a ride to the airport earlier this week.

"It was for the best. Although I'm sad, there are no pictures." That's when Ryan passed his phone to Taylor.

"That's courtesy of Natasha. I'm not going to ask how she has my phone number, but I appreciate it." Which was why he wasn't blocking her number.

"That is probably for the best."

"Although I think I'm going to have to talk to her because she has some serious fallacies about my relationship with Kelsi that I'm going to have to correct." If Kelsi lied to Natasha, who knows who else she lied to? That might be why everyone took her side.

"That's a Monday problem," Taylor suggested.

"Maybe even Tuesday. Monday is going to be my Thanksgiving break recovery day." Because it's definitely been a long week, and he hasn't even got to talk to Gabriella yet. Thank the universe Vince told him about Darby before this weekend. He would be a crying mess right now otherwise.

"So, I'm not going to ask you how you are right now because having your complete worldview change in a matter of minutes sucks." And it's been a few weeks, and he hasn't even completely reconciled everything yet.

"It really does, but it could've been so much worse," Taylor remarked.

"Because you still have parents that love you when you could've ended up with a Darby. You just now have one more than you thought you did." Ryan said as he placed an arm around Taylor.

"Or a Lucy or a Charles. He's just creepy as fuck. I really want all the details of what happened."

"Zack really is downstairs getting all the juicy details. He wants to know if it's okay for him to stick around, or would you prefer if he left?" Ryan asked.

"He can hang out with Chad for a little bit. I just need you for a moment, then we all can watch a movie together and pretend this morning didn't happen." Taylor's suggested surprising him. Although he really does like the idea of spending time in the home theater with both of them together.

"Did you tell him why you had to rush back here?" Taylor asked.

"I may have let him read my phone. I know I should have asked first, but…" Ryan stopped, not knowing how to finish that sentence.

"You're not going to have secrets with him. Zack and I have to be equals if this is going to work." Taylor told him.

"Although you do have the right to tell me not to share stuff with him. Just like he does."

"And I will use that right but not today. Although I will tell Zack myself not to tell anyone else."

"Okay."

"So here's the plan; you're going to tell me what else happened at coffee while I lay my head down on your shoulder."

"I don't know if that will help you relax because I found out Darby was paying Kelsi's parents to keep us together," Ryan confessed.

"It helps me put some things in perspective. Yes, Vanessa gave me up for adoption but never pulled any shit like that." Taylor remarked. "I am so sorry."

"This is true. It's okay. We will both get through this." He wrapped himself around Taylor.

"We have each other at least."

Xxx

A little while later

"So, I'm no longer on speaking terms with my father, but Aunt Claudia has welcomed me with open arms," Chad explained. Zack managed to get the entire story of what happened between Chad and his dad this weekend. Zack was very appreciative of the fact his mom and stepsister accepted him with open arms. The former stepfather was another story, but he always has been.

"She seems like that type of person. I'm not going to be able to get out of going to Sunday dinner with you, am I? Apparently, my mom was friends with her daughter." His mom never talked about her time at U of A before leaving. It was so traumatic that she was upset about him going to school there. However, after he pointed out the school gave him the best scholarship and had a good computer science program, she relented. He ended up switching to graphic design, but the school still had a decent program for that as well.

"Oh, not at all, especially anybody who has a connection to Aunt Amy. Although we might be able to postpone it for a few weeks. I think Claudia wants mom to bring Jack over this weekend."

"And will I be meeting this Aunt Amy? I kind of want to know more about anyone who knew my mom in college." Because then maybe they would know about his dad. "She kind of broke contact with anybody from that time in her life," Zack explained.

"She died four years ago. Drunk driving accident." Chad told him sadly.

"I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. Thankfully, Amy only hit a tree and not another car. Then it would've been a complete tragedy like what happened with Uncle Jorge last year." Zack wasn't sure how to respond to that. His mouth just hung open for a moment. "Aunt Amy had a drinking problem."

"I'm still sorry for your loss."

"It was a loss. I think Aunt Amy totally would've been on my side. She always thought dad was an asshole and hated him. Apparently, he hurt one of her friends in college, and she never forgave him." Chad explained.

"So, your father was always a dick?"

"Yes, it should have been obvious when an almost 23-year-old fucked a 16-year-old. But I didn't see it when I was a kid. Now I wish my mom would've left his ass a long time ago. Then I could have got the good stepdad." Zack raised an eyebrow at that.

"My mom is dating my best friend's dad," Chad told him.

"That would be Troy and…" Zack wasn't sure how to finish that sentence. He knew that Troy's mom was a horrible person who took $1 million to keep Troy and Kim apart. She also used Gabriella to do it. Everything culminated in Gabriella being in a mental hospital right now.

"Yes, that's all a mess. Basically, after realizing his wife was a horrible person, Jack finally acknowledged he was really in love with his best friend. I don't know if they have had sex yet, and I never want to know."

"At least until the half-sibling shows up." Zack joked.

"Don't joke. I'm still trying to process the twins." Chad said just as his girlfriend walked into the house carrying two dozen bags, with her assistant Jason following behind. He met Jason earlier this week after the basketball game. It was at that moment Zack remembered that Jason was Taylor's younger brother. If Zack will be sharing a boyfriend with the girl, he probably should get her little brother on his side.

"I see that you did a lot of damage to the black card," Chad remarked.

"A lot of the stuff is clothing for Maria since she's going to be here for a while. I also had to replace the dishes after our Darby exorcism. Although I did get a nice robe for Gabriella. I still hate her. However, she did punch out Lucy, so she should get something comfortable for her hospital stay." Apparently, everybody hates Lucy with a fiery passion.

"I'm not sure if her doctor will let her have a robe right now, but I'm sure it's the thought that counts," Chad remarked.

"So, why exactly is my father playing with Alex on the front lawn. He never did that with Ryan or me growing up." Zack could detect a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"I feel like that was more Darby than Vince. Taylor needed a few moments alone, and I wasn't going to leave Alex with Vanessa. Although your dad deciding to play on the front lawn was all him." Chad explained to his girlfriend.

"I shouldn't really be surprised. Have you heard from Kim?" Sharpay asked as she sat down next to Chad but not before kissing him soundly. Now that he had a perspective boyfriend seeing other people make out doesn't hurt as much.

"Yes, they were kicked out of the hospital. They're on their way and are bring food."

"Oh, good, we will have lots to choose from. I decided to get delivery because we have so much stuff in the car I don't think I could have also added food to that."

"There's more stuff in the car?" Chad asked, shocked. "How did you get so much you were only there for half a day?"

"She's a power shopper, and she wouldn't let me go into Toys "R" Us," Jason explained.

"Maybe if you behave, I'll reconsider going to Toys "R" Us in a couple weeks."

"Let's see how you would do if you found out that Ryan wasn't your biological brother. All I did was take a cell phone and run away." Jason shot back.

"And sent Troy those letters." Zack knew about the letters that Chad was referring to because Madison read them out loud to the infamous Aunt Julie last night.

"I may have reacted badly, but it feels justified under the circumstances," Jason said, taking the seat across from him.

"At least you're acknowledging that. Do you think Taylor is up for seeing Jason?" Sharpay asked.

"She is currently with Ryan. So we should probably send a text message first before sending Jason up there. We don't want to traumatize the child." Chad joked.

"I don't want to know." Jason made the familiar face of a 12-year-old who wanted to know nothing about their sibling's sex life. Zack can understand that after the time he walked in on his sister and her boyfriend when he was 12. That was equal parts traumatizing and enlightening.

"I'll take Jason up and knock first. I won't be nearly as traumatized." Chad smirked at him.

"Oh, I'm sure you won't be. Remind me to schedule a shovel talk sometime next week. I neglected my big sister duties with Kelsi, but I'm remedying that now." Sharpay threatened.

"I'll put it on my calendar. In the meantime, I promise never to be a Kelsi." Sharpay smiled at his words.

"I feel like I'm missing something," Jason said, confused.

"Ask your sister," Chad responded.

"If Taylor still even wants to be my sister." Chad and Sharpay shared a sad look. Poor kid.

"I understand how you feel. At least a little." Zack started to explain. "I didn't know that my stepdad was my stepdad and didn't know that my sister was my stepsister and not my half-sister until I was about your age." When everything kind of imploded because he cheated on Zack's mother.

"And what happened?" The 12-year-old asked.

"She is still my sister. DNA doesn't change that. I only call her my stepsister for clarity's sake sometimes, but she's my sister." Zack reassured Jason. "I think that's going to be the same thing with you and Taylor."

"Okay, I'll go upstairs." Jason reluctantly said as he got up from the couch.

"Do you want us to go with you?" Sharpay asked.

"No. I'll be okay," Jason said as he walked over to hug Sharpay. Zack wasn't entirely sure about that because Jason was shaking most of the walk upstairs. Thankfully he was able to find Ryan's room because his name was on the front door. It was adorable. He quickly knocked.

"Hey, Jason is here and wants to talk to you. So please put on any articles of clothing that may have fallen on the floor." Zack remarked.

"We're dressed." Pity, Zack replied mentally to Ryan's words. "You can come on in."

"I think if this arrangement is going to work, I must ask you not to corrupt my brother," Taylor told him. Although she wasn't crying at the moment, it was obvious that she was earlier.

"I will make a note of that," Zack replied.

"I spend quality time around Chadpay. I'm already corrupted. I am still your brother?" Jason asked earnestly.

"Ryan and Zack, can you give us a couple of minutes? Maybe you can show Zack the guestroom." Taylor suggested, and Zack found that to be a wonderful idea.

"I definitely want to see the guestroom. Although I am enjoying the optics of your childhood bedroom. Will I get to see this again tomorrow?" He smirked at Ryan.

"If you behave," Ryan said as he bent over to give him a gentle kiss. Zack is surprised he did that in front of Taylor, but he is not against it.

"You think they're going to be okay in there?" Ryan asked once they were out of the room.

"I think so. Taylor was mad at me for corrupting Jason. So she definitely still sees him as her little brother. He needs to know that." Zack said, thinking back to those few weeks when everything fell apart.

"You have a point."

"Jason and Taylor just need this moment to talk."

"I'm still worried," Ryan mumbled as he walked Zack toward one of the many bedrooms in this place. It was very obvious that Ryan was wealthy.

"Understandable, but let me take your mind off of it for a moment," Zack remarked before kissing Ryan once more.

Xxx

"You're all dating each other, right?" Jason asked moments after Ryan left the room. Her little brother was very observant. And maybe knew way too much for a 12-year-old. She knows he reads their mom's library for fun.

"No." Jason just looks at Taylor darkly for a moment. She knows a half-lie isn't going to work here. After finding out that their parents have been lying to them their entire life, Jason deserves honesty from her.

"Zack is really gay. We're both dating Ryan. Sort of. I don't do labels." She explained.

"Except when you tried to date Chad. That ended up with a baseball bat to the plasma." At least he was kind enough not to bring up the fact she almost hit him. Taylor is still so ashamed of that.

"It was more Gabriella that did labels, and I went along with it because I was an idiot. I am not trying to be an idiot right now. Things are still kind of new, and we're navigating." She's learning to do what's best for her. Which will begin with this conversation with Jason.

"That's good. So they told you that Vanessa is your biological mom?" Jason asked.

"Yes. I ended up running up here. Chad found me crying and throwing up in the bathroom." Taylor explained.

"That reaction is to be expected. I also cried." Jason told her as he sat in Ryan's recently vacated spot.

"And then ran away, or so I've been told by Troy."

"I only ran away six blocks. I probably would've gone back if I didn't see Sharpay's car. She accidentally left the doors unlocked. It was a nice place to hide." Jason explained. "The seats are very soft, and there was a blanket."

"As long as there was a blanket. I trust Chad and Sharpay to keep you safe." She really did. Taylor knew that both Chad and Sharpay adored Jason. They would protect him in the middle of this family drama. Taylor realized quickly that all of this was also affecting Jason.

"I just didn't want to be around mom and dad right now or even Aunt Vanessa. They lied. I don't like being lied to." Jason confessed.

"I know, and I'm mad about that too." As well as hurt and angry. She doesn't know why they kept this a secret from her? But she also wonders why Vanessa gave her up. Was there something wrong with her? Was there something wrong with her biological father? What led to her decision? Taylor didn't have the answer to those questions. She wasn't sure how to get them.

"Then I wondered if you are still my sister. Because I am a bit of a brat. You heard what I did with Coach Bolton's cell phone."

"Yes, from Troy. He is grateful to know the truth. And now he really wishes he would have told his mom to go fuck herself. Yes, our parents lied to us, but at least they didn't sell us out for $1 million." That's what Taylor has been telling herself for probably the last hour since she found out the truth. They weren't as bad as Darby, Lucy, or even Charles. Maybe someday she could forgive them but not today.

"I'm going to be nice and not make you contribute to the swear jar for that."

"How gracious of you. I get that you had those thoughts because I had those thoughts as well. Like are they actually still my parents? What does that make Vanessa? Is she still Aunt Vanessa even though she's the one who gave birth to me and gave me up?"

"Or why couldn't we have always known? They could've just told you from the beginning that she was your mom, but she couldn't take care of you, so that's why you were living with your other mom and dad." That question has also passed through Taylor's mind.

"I don't even entirely know. I kind of ran up here and threw up before I got any explanations, and Chad sent them away." Yet, she has about three dozen text messages from all three of her parents right now, but Taylor is not ready to answer any of them.

"I don't blame you. Dad tried to talk to me yesterday, and I just couldn't do it. Sharpay is protecting me. She said I could stay here all weekend. Somehow she got mom and dad to agree to it." Jason explained.

"That's who she is." Thankfully Taylor sees the truth now. She also feels even more guilty for half the stuff she said about her in school. "She's a really good person. Unfortunately, I've only begun to see that."

"Sharpay told me it's okay to be angry." She placed an arm around Jason.

"She's right about that. I am angry because I feel like everything has changed in the last two days. My best friend is in the hospital, and my parents are not actually my biological parents. That's a lot to handle in 48 hours."

"You also got a new boyfriend who has a boyfriend." Jason joked.

"At least I'm aware of it this time."

"This is true. Am I allowed to mention that Chad and Sharpay are engaged, or are we pretending that didn't happen?" Her brother asked.

"It's okay. I think so much has happened these last few days that it is not even something that I feel like worrying about."

If anyone actually had the right to be upset, it was Ryan. Chad truly loved him. He was happy. With everything Sharpay has gone through, she deserves some happiness. Bonus points for Darby being absolutely appalled at the idea. Taylor briefly wondered how she would react to her son dating both her and Zack simultaneously. It would probably give Darby a heart attack. The thought alone made Taylor giddy.

"This weekend has been a lot. It's technically not the weekend yet." Jason sighed in exhaustion.

"It's Thanksgiving, so the weekend started on Wednesday. We are in the middle of it, and it's been hell."

"Yes. I went shopping with Sharpay today, and she wouldn't let me go to the toy store." Jason pouted.

"How horrible for you."

"However, we did go to the jewelry store. I got this for you while shopping." Jason said, pulling a black velvet pouch out of his pocket.

"You got me a present?" Taylor asked, surprised.

"I picked it out. Although, Sharpay paid for it. I think you're going to be getting a lot of gifts from her over the next few months. When Sharpay feels guilty, she gives a lot of presence. She got Maria a new wardrobe."

"That does not surprise me. Although I don't know why Sharpay should be feeling guilt towards Maria."

"I don't either. You can open it now." Jason said, placing the velvet bag in her hand. Taylor quickly opened it to find a necklace inside. It was heart-shaped, but butterflies were carved on the front. She's always loved butterflies. So did Jason. She remembers when Jason was little, they used to chase them around the front of the house.

"It's a locket. Although we're going to have to pick out a picture." She smiled at that.

"I'll pick out the perfect one of us. Even though I doubted if my parents are still my parents, I never doubted that you are my little brother," Taylor explained.

"Are you sure about that?. There's a pretty good chance Monday morning I'm going to tell all my friends that you have two boyfriends." He would so do that.

"Ryan has maybe a boyfriend and a girlfriend, sort of. Since one of your friends is Jimmie, I think that might be helpful." That kid needed all the help he could get.

"Which would be better than hearing about stories from basketball camp and Jamie."

"Okay, we really have a find out if it's the same Jamie. If it is, he needs to be arrested…" Taylor stops speaking because maybe she shouldn't have this conversation in front of a 12-year-old. Or it should be her mom having that conversation because she is not ready for that.

"You know what? I'm not going to finish that sentence. Thanksgiving has been traumatic enough. I will think about happy things."

"Like your boyfriend probably making out with his boyfriend right now." Jason is definitely going to tease her mercilessly about this. He did with Chad, and it actually made her happy he was doing it again. It meant that at least something didn't change, even though it felt like everything did.

"Or we can see what food Sharpay brought."

"We decided to order pizza with cheese fries. So it should be here soon."

"Then we can just stay up here until the food gets here. At least I have the hot chocolate," Taylor said, grabbing it from the nearby dresser and taking a drink. "Or rather lukewarm chocolate, but it still tastes good."

"As well as a bag of mini croissants." She thought it was just one, but apparently, there were three in there.

"Zack got them for me. I'm going to get used to this boyfriend sharing." Zack is so sweet. Definitely improvement on Jason Cross. Taylor will be getting more details about that disaster later. Note to self, hang out with Martha during winter break and convince her to dump his ass.

"Just promise not to make out in front of me."

"I'll try to show restraint. Here you can have the other croissants since we will have pizza soon." Taylor said as she passed one of the croissants to him.

"Thank you."

To be continued...

There was a few more heart to hearts in this chapter, but I decided that Taylor and company should get their own chapter.