AN: Alright, as I've said in my other updated piece this week, I am done with grad apps and now neck deep in everything else life has to offer from work to school to work to school to church to church to church to church. So, please forgive me, as I've had an INCREDIBLY difficult time finding any time to write. BUT good news is, I am forcing myself now, even if it's just for sanity's sake and hereby promise that every Wednesday, give or take a day, I will try to update at least one chapter. =] Keep me stickin' to this people. REVIEW THE HECK out of me so that I'll stay consistent. Now, without further ado, part 1 of the next 3 drama filled chapters.

He couldn't take his eyes off of her. From the moment he had first seen her, sitting at that piano, playing that song, he knew that he wasn't going to be able to stay away from her once she was within reach. But barging in on her phone call had been enough to calm him down; to bring him back to the present instead of diving head first into the past. And then she had to go and sing.

When she and Zeke had come in on the song, after the bridge, the sound of her voice brought him chills. In high school, Kelsi had always told Ryan that her music was from her heart not from voice, but that had never stopped Ryan from thinking that she sang beautifully. She wasn't as skilled or trained as Sharpay, nor naturally gifted as Gabriella, but Kelsi definitely had talent. Not to mention she had perfect pitch and could fall into a melody easily with a harmony if necessary.

So when he heard her voice, stronger, more confident, but still as sweet and angelic as ever he become overwrought with feelings that he had been trying to keep at bay since he first saw her; as well as the questions that came with them. What had happened seven years ago? Where had she gone? And why hadn't she waited like she said she would? He needed them, now more than ever, and by the end of the evening he intended to get them.

He caught Kelsi's gaze after the song ended and saw the recognition of what was coming cross her face. He strode forward, heading to her with a mission, when a hand came up to catch his wrist. "Ry," he turned to find himself face to face with Taylor, her smile wide and her hand holding out the microphone him. "The DJ is asking for you, he wants to go over the program."

"Uh..." He was slightly dazed from the sudden change in direction, "I was just gonna..." he turned to see Kelsi cornered by Troy and Gabriella, smiling and laughing, nearly crying happy tears as they talked.

"Is something wrong Ryan?" Taylor asked, her brow creasing into concerned folds.

"No," Ryan replied, sighing deeply and turning toward his friend, "No, nothing." He looked back at Kelsi once more as Taylor left and found that she was watching him still, waiting for his cue. He motioned toward the table and gave her a small nod, making it clear that they were going to talk and she could not leave the reception without doing so. She sighed deeply as well, silently agreed, the anxiety written all over her face. He tried to smile, so reassure her, but wasn't sure what he was reassuring her of, they had a lot to discuss.

He watched her make her way across the floor to the table where Martha was sitting, before turning toward the DJ's booth.

Kelsi slipped into the seat beside Martha, sharing a smile with her, as Jason held out a picture of his kids to her, Martha cooing over the three. She leaned in to listen to Jason has he gushed about his girls and his son, but Kelsi couldn't focus, her mind trying to prepare for the conversation to come.

Feeling a pair of eyes on her Kelsi looked up across the hall at where the entourage stood to see Sharpay looking her over in the same way she had in high school all those years ago: indifferent with a touch of disdain. She gulped and pursed her lips. When she and Ryan had dated she had seen first hand just how close brother and sister actually were and as dismissive and domineering as Sharpay could be, she was also very protective of her brother. She also knew that if Martha, Troy, and Ryan were any indication, she had hurt a lot of people in falling off the grid, Sharpay included, and it made Kelsi wonder how Sharpay would react when she found out about Riley. She thought perhaps it might be even worse than Ryan finding out.

"Kels are you okay?"

She turned to Martha and turned on a bashful smile, dropping her gaze into her lap and nodding. "Yeah, I'm sorry," she sighed, "I just..." she glanced at Sharpay, "I just can't believe how we've all gotten here. I mean, this is Troy and Gabriella's wedding."

Jason nodded, "I know, it feels like yesterday we were all stressing out about finals and college applications. We really are old."

Martha laughed and swatted at Jason, shaking her head, "Don't say that, no we aren't."

Kelsi shrugged and sat back, crossing one leg over the other, "I don't know, I feel old."

Jason chuckled, "Maybe it's the kids."

Kelsi let out a loud nervous laugh, not able to stop herself as Jason's words hit the conversation. Both Jason and Martha glanced at Kelsi curiously as she took a large sip from her glass of champagne the waiter had poured. "Kels, are you alright?"

She opened her mouth to respond, her mind drawing a blank on what to say, when a voice cut through.

"Kelsi!"

The three turned to see Derby Evans making her way over to the table and Kelsi sighed in relief at the distraction. Smiling she stood and let the older woman take her into her arms, "Oh I was so excited to see you up there I was beside myself, wasn't I just beside myself Vance?"

Mr. Evans came up beside his wife and nodded, "Absolutely beside herself," he agreed. "It's good to see you Kelsi."

"You too Mr. Evans" The older man hugged her and Kelsi smiled, remembering how much she loved the Evans family.

"Alright everyone, if we could please find our seats, we'll get the rest of the evening started with a few words from the parents of the bride and groom." The three turned to see Ryan smiling out at the crowd, his gaze sweeping through the hall, resting for a beat longer on Kelsi and his parents. Kelsi felt her knees grow weak again.

"Oh we must catch up dear, promise to stop by our table later?"

Kelsi turned back to them and smiled, "Of course, yes." She waved goodbye and then turned back to the table. She sighed and then turned back toward the table and sat down, turning to Martha who looked as though she was about to question her again when Jack Bolton's voice came through the sound system. Kelsi sighed once again and turned toward Mr. Bolton, trying very hard to avoid Martha's scrutinizing gaze.

Thankfully, the speeches of Mr. Bolton and Ms. Montez did well to dispel the track of the original conversation and as dinner was served the first hour or so was blissfully full of small talk and nothing too revealing. Sharpay, Zeke, Taylor, Chad, and Ryan had made their way over to the table adding to the conversation and, thankfully, keeping away from Kelsi, largely, in part, to Zeke shielded her from any early onset awkwardness. But as they finished the main course it seemed like Sharpay had a different agenda.

"So, Kelsi, that was a great song you wrote, for Troy and Gabriella. You always did have a flair for the romantic."

Kelsi swallowed the chicken in her mouth and blushed, "Thank you, Shar. That's very kind of you." She recognized the gleam in Sharpay's eye and tensed in preparation for the coming onslaught.

"It's a little strange though that the song was on Paige Aker's personal stationary. I was curious as to why that was."

"Shar-" Zeke tried but she threw him a hard stare that stopped him in his tracks.

Kelsi took another sip from her champagne glass, which had been filled at least twice already and sighed, leaning back in her chair. She knew that she had to be careful of how this went. "Well," she sighed, "I guess it's time I 'fess up," pulling a tight smile to offer her friends. "Paige Aker is a name I came up with a few years back to use for work. I wanted to give myself an excuse to step outside my comfort zone of the shy, quiet Kelsi Nielsen and so, Paige Aker was the way I did it."

She held her ground against the surprised stares, though Ryan's seemed to be the one burning the hottest into the side of her face and she tried to shrug it all away, sipping again at her champagne.

"But why, Kels?" Ryan's voice cut through her gaze locking onto his as he leaned towards her. "Why would you need a psuedonym at all? What's wrong with "Kelsi Nielsen"?"

"Nothing," she said, crossing her legs. "I just...I don't know. As Kelsi Nielsen I was too reserved to make my stamp all on my own. I was ready to just be Terry's assistant for the rest of my days and then...one day I came up with Paige Aker," she smiled, "P.M. Aker and thought, what better way to become a whole new person than become a new person? Someone who didn't take no for an answer and could believe that her work was worthwhile." She turned her attention to the whole table, "I did it back when I was young and needed her, which is not to say I technically need her now, but she is me, all the way and so...there really is no difference now."

"And besides," Jason asserted, "It looks like Kelsi Nielsen is making a comeback right? Legally Blonde and all."

Kelsi laughed and shook her head, "I still can't believe you heard about that. You and Troy must have your hands deep in the broadway circuit."

Jason shrugged and picked at his chicken, "Eh, Troy might, but, like I told you, I want you for the movie Kels, so I had to go out and find you. Remind me to thank Terry for wanting to use your actual name or else I probably never would."

"That's right," Sharpay chimed in, trying to bring the conversation back to the inquisition she, most likely, meant it to be. "You must have been going by Paige Aker for all these years. Why not tell us? Did you think we wouldn't want to know."

Kelsi set her jaw and sighed, dropping her gaze to her hands and choosing her words carefully. "It wasn't that at all it just...happened so fast you know? I started going by that name and things started happening. Life happened and I'm sorry that I wasn't better at communicating, but...if you'd been there you would have understood."

"You didn't exactly give us a choice Kels." She cringed at Sharpay's words and sighed, looking up to see her stand and head toward the bathroom, clearly upset and unforgiving. The silence that engulfed the table was deafening in a way and tension began to build until Chad piped in.

"What movie?"

Jason jumped into the conversation with Chad and Taylor turning their attention to him, but it all turned into a buzz as Kelsi finally looked up to see Zeke first, pursing his lips apologetically, then to Martha who reached a hand over to her. "Well, I understand Kelsi, life just happens. But I'm glad you're back and that you've doing so well. I'll admit, I was worried that something bad happened to you."

Kelsi sighed and shook her head a slight smile playing on her lips as Riley's face came to mind, "No, nothing bad at all..." She squeezed Martha's hand back, relishing in the camaraderie of her friend before Ryan's voice cut in.

"So that's why nobody could get a hold of you all those years? Because you were going under a fake name?" Kelsi turned to him and bit her lip, pained by the betrayal clearly written on his face. "Why wouldn't you have at least told me Kels? You said...you wrote..."

Kelsi furrowed her brow, not liking the selfish tone in his voice. That's what he was upset about? She wanted to scoff. Fingering her glass she downed it's contents in one final swig before setting it down on the table and folding her hands. "You came back to New York three months early Ry, and made no contact whatsoever. Then you signed on for another tour, still without a word to me. At that point it was pretty clear what your choice was and...so I made a choice."

He looked taken aback leaning forward right away to grab hold of her hand, starting, "Kelsi, that's not-"

But she pulled away, scooting her chair back and away from him, "I don't blame you Ry, I really don't. I'm proud of you and everything you've been able to do, but...I couldn't put my life on hold anymore and I wasn't going to beg for you to stop yours. I respected your choice and so...I think you should respect mine, especially because it, in no way, was an easy one." And with that she stood, grabbing her purse and excused herself from the table. She made a beeline for the bathroom before changing direction at the last minute as she remembered Sharpay had headed in there. She stepped, instead out onto the balcony and bit her lip hard, taking every ounce of her remaining strength to not look back.

The balcony was small big enough for up to three people and well decorated with twinkle light lit shrubs framing the doorway. It was one of many lined against the wall of the hotel and led into the entrance hallway just east of the restrooms and the payphones. She felt well hidden and out of sight from the rest of the ballroom and took a moment to breath in deep and get some, much needed, oxygen to her brain. Resting her hands on the stone railing Kelsi dropped her chin to her chest and sighed feeling the resolve that she had slip down to the trees below with her tears.

She had no idea where any of that came from, but she could hardly call it a lie. It was all true. Ryan had come back and he had not come looking for her. If he had wanted to be a part of her life or wanted her to be a part of his life he would have at least told her about all that was happening in his life with the new tour and everything. But he didn't. She had to find out through fan blogs and entertainment news coverage. So what could she have done? Gone looking for him? Tell him about Riley? Risk him giving it all up just to be honorable and then later hating her and Riley for making him miss out on it all?

No. She had made the only decision she could at the time. She had made the best decision for all of them. Yet, even that did not make her feel better because she couldn't justify keeping a man from his child, regardless of how much sense it made. Ryan would probably not be able to see passed it and it very well could make or break, not only their relationship, but his relationship with their daughter. It was all too much. All much harder than she expected.

Kelsi blew out a sigh like she was blowing out of a straw and pulled out her pocket mirror to check her face. "Great," she whispered, seeing that her eyeliner had begun to run. Reaching for a tissue in her bag she dabbed at her eyes until the black streaks disappeared and returned the used tissue to her bag. She quickly searched for her eyeliner and began to reapply, trying to ignore the red rim around her eyes as well as the color rushing to her nose. Her breathing had yet to return, but she focused all her attention on returning her face to normal, not wanting Troy or Gabriella to see her weepy on the happiest day of their lives. The champagne was already going to her head and didn't want to risk too much open emotion, lest it betray her in the end.

Hearing footsteps behind her Kelsi turned to see Zeke standing in the archway, watching her with sympathetic eyes. "Are you alright?"

Kelsi gave a wet laugh and nodded, turning back to the mirror, "I'm okay. Just...needed some space."

Zeke stepped closer to his friend and snaked an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a side hug as Kelsi bit back more tears. "I'm sorry " he said, rubbing circles into her back, "I know that was hard for you."

"He's going to hate me Zeke," she whispered, burying her face into his jacket. "Everything I told him was true, but...he's still going to hate me when he finds out the rest of it."

"I don't think Ryan could ever hate you Kels," he reasoned, wrapping his arms around her as she shook her head.

"I've never withheld information about an illegitimate child before."

Zeke couldn't help the solitary "hah" that escaped, but he gripped Kelsi tighter, "It will all be okay. We'll figure this out, but we don't have to do it tonight."

Kelsi let out a shaky breath and nodded, "Yeah...but it has to be before Riley and I leave. I can't go on like this anymore." Zeke nodded and pulled away, resting his hands on his shoulders as he looked her in the eye.

"I think that's the right decision Kels. Ryan does deserve to know."

She bit her lip and sighed once more, dropping her chin down to her chest again. "Before now I always justified it with my distance from all of them. But..." she looked up, "Martha and Jason and Gabriella and Troy made it abundantly clear that there is no getting rid of them now and so...it's only a matter of time before..."

Zeke rubbed his hands up and down her arms and nodded, reaching down to guide her chin to look up at him, "I think it's time Kels, and I think...all that stuff that came out about Ryan not coming back? That was all true too and it needed to be said. If you had waited until after he learned about Riley and...everything that happened, you would have never been able to get it out, but he is partly to blame too and you need to hold him accountable to that."

Kelsi closed her eyes and nodded, her mind racing with all the things that needed to be said. Her thoughts came to one solitary, terrifying thought and she squeezed her eyes shut to keep from crying out again. "Zeke," she sighed, looking up at him, "What if he decides that he doesn't want anything to do with us? What if...what if he is so angry that he just cuts us off."

Zeke sucked in a large breath and pulled Kelsi into a hug, finally hearing a dry sob escape her and fall onto his shoulder. "He could," he whispered, resting a hand on her head, "but then he wouldn't deserve you anyway." Kelsi again heaved a dry sob into her friend and Zeke hugged her to him, shushing her as he stroked her hair. "But, we'll figure it out Kels. I promise."

He pulled away from her once more and locked eyes with her, giving her an encouraging smile as he pulled a tissue from his pocket. "Do you trust me?" he asked as she took the tissue from him and wiped at her eyes.

Kelsi nodded and wiped her nose, "Yes," she sighed, trying to return the smile to Zeke.

He patted her once again on the shoulder and nodded, "Good, now, let's go, we'll play the rest of the evening by ear, but...let's try to wait until most of the guests leave before we start World War Evans yeah?" At this Kelsi couldn't help the small chuckle as she nodded, letting Zeke lead her by the arm back towards the hall. "It will all be alright," Zeke reassured her once more, just before the turn into the ballroom. "You wait and see Kels, Ryan might be angry at first,...but he's going to want to be in his daughter's life and, if tonight is any indication, he still desperately wants to be a part of yours."

Kelsi sighed and peeked around the corner to see Taylor and Chad up making their Best Man and Maid of Honor speeches, the rest of the guests laughing at the funny anecdotes and cooing at the sweet stories. "Well, that could all change tonight," Kelsi whispered, her eyes locking on Ryan's smiling form. He wasn't smiling as genuinely as he imagined he should be on their closest friends' happy day, but she was glad he was smiling at all. By the end of the evening he might very well be livid. Turning to Zeke she held his gaze for just a moment before turning back, "Riley is my main concern. Even if Ryan never wants anything to do with me again, as long as he wants to see Riley and be her father...I'll consider it a win."

Zeke didn't speak, he just slipped an arm around Kelsi's shoulder once more and pushed her forward, "Sounds like a plan," he said, knowing that that might very well be the only plan in this situation. "Come on," he coaxed her, "Let's go."

He led Kelsi to back to the table, leaving the hallway seemingly empty. But just as the two got a safe distance away, a figure emerged from behind a twinkle light lit shrub, her eyes wide, her mouth agape and her blonde hair wafting in the breeze coming from the balcony.

AN: Hope you enjoyed that. I'm in a cliffhanger mood this week, so keep the reviews comin' and check out any of my other stories if you've got a chance. =] toodles and God bless fanfiction.