AN: I apologize for the lateness of this. I was ready to update last night, but for some reason fanfiction's login page was down. =P Anyway, enjoy! Please review.

Zeke leaned back in his seat and watched as all his friends danced to the thumping beat of the DJ. Troy and Gabriella were picturesque, their smiles evidence to the bliss of the day and he was glad that he had been a part of it. Ryan and Martha were dancing beside Chad and Taylor, all laughing and teasing each other, just like they had so many years ago. But Zeke did note that Ryan's gaze would flicker over to Kelsi from time to time who sat with Mr. and Mrs. Evans at their table catching up like old friends. He knew that look, that longing that never went away no matter how much time had passed, and shook his head. This was going to be hard for both Kelsi and Ryan and it was probably going to get a lot worse before it got any better. But, if that look was any indication, they would be able to pull through and have the happy ending they both deserved.

He turned as someone slipped into the seat next to him and smiled instinctively at the sight of Sharpay. She had been gone for a while and he hardly expected anything less, but the look on her face brought concern. Usually, by this time, Sharpay would go back to her cool ice queen exterior, pretending that Kelsi didn't even matter to her anymore, but the look she had on her face now, the look of betrayal still etched on it, told him that something else was wrong.

"Hey," he said, sitting up to face her, "Are you okay?"

He reached out to take her hand, but she pulled away, crossing her arms in front of her and fixing him with a steely gaze, "How long have you been in contact with Kelsi? How long have you known that she has a child? Ryan's child?" Zeke stopped and felt his mind go blank. He didn't know how to respond, didn't even know where it was coming from and opened his mouth to say so, but Sharpay stopped him. "I heard you both, out on the balcony. I heard everything and I don't know who to kill first, you or her. But you can rest assured that one of you will be held accountable."

"Shar-"

"Don't you 'Shar' me!" She spat at him, her whispered tone making him flinch, dropping his chin to his chest. "How could you Zeke Baylor? How could you have known any of this and not said anything to anyone? Especially Ryan!"

Zeke held his hands up, gesturing for her to lower her volume, but Sharpay only fixed him with a sharper glare. "Okay," he said,shifting himself closer to her, "Okay." He sighed and dropped his gaze. "I ran into Kelsi my first week working at La Petit. She and her boss Terry were regulars and she just happened to bring Riley who was already two years old at the time." He looked up to meet Sharpay's gaze and felt his heart grow heavy at the swirl of emotions going on in her eyes and sighed. "I didn't say anything because Kelsi asked me not to. She begged me, Sharpay and so I kept it a secret. It took me forever to get her to even admit that Riley was Ryan's, but once she did and she told me the rest of the story, I didn't think I should tell any of you. It wasn't my story to tell and, even if I did, I was afraid Kelsi would run again. At least this way I could watch out for her and maybe convince her to tell stop hiding."

Sharpay stayed stone silent and Zeke felt his heart pound with every second that passed. He wasn't sure what was going on in her head, but could see that she was incredibly upset. "She kept a child away from my brother, Zeke. That is not okay."

Zeke nodded, "I know. It's not okay. But it's a lot more complicated than that."

"What is so complicated?" Sharpay said, throwing her hands out in front of him in frustration. "She had Ryan's baby, she should have told Ryan! She should have told all of us! Did she really think we wouldn't be there for her?"

Zeke grabbed at her hands and tried to soothe her nerves, but Sharpay pulled away from him again and he let out a deep sigh. "Look, I don't think Kelsi was thinking we would shun her, but, from my understanding, Riley came right when Ryan's career sky rocketed. She had been waiting for Ryan to come back from tour, but he ended up extending it without telling her and so, she thought that he had made his choice. He was choosing his career and, from her perspective, reaching out to him with the news that she was having his baby would only ruin that for him."

"That's ridiculous-" Sharpay said, but Zeke cut her off, grabbing her hand.

"Not to Kelsi. Not at the time," he sighed. "Shar, I know your upset and I know you're going to side with Ryan, but, just for a moment, think of it from Kelsi's point of view. The man she loved had the chance to fulfill all of his dreams and she didn't want to do anything to jeopardize that, even if that meant making rash decisions and deciding that he was better off without her. Can't you relate to that?"

At that point Sharpay's gaze snapped to his, her anger evaporating into something else entirely as she took in his words. They weighed her down into her seat and Zeke took the opportunity to grip her hand in his. They both stayed silent, the music bumping around them and the conversation fading into deep thought. Zeke watched Sharpay as her gaze shifted to their hands, knowing that his words had done well to satiate any emotional outburst. But just as he was about to speak something caught both of their eyes and they turned to see Ryan carefully making his way over to Kelsi and his parents. The music faded from the pounding R&B into a slow ballad and the DJ spoke into the mic.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your bride and groom."

Everyone clapped as Troy and Gabriella came forward, Troy grabbing the microphone as Gabriella beamed at the crowd. "We would just like to take this opportunity," Troy began, "to thank you fall for coming and sharing this special day with us." He smiled down at Gabriella before continuing. "Gabriella and I are so excited to start our new lives together, but can't thank you all enough for being a part of our lives thus far. We truly would not have been able to get here if it weren't for all of you."

He handed Gabriella the mic and she sighed into it, her smile infectious as she looked out into the crowd. "Yes, Troy and I just really want to express our gratitude and our excitement for the future in the best way we know how. And seeing as this wedding has already been like all those musicals we used to do back in the day, thanks in large part to our closest friends," she giggled as Chad and Jason cheered, as did the rest of the crowd, "you all wouldn't mind if Troy and I sang our final number would you?"

The hall erupted in cheers as both Troy and Gabriella played to the crowd, nodding as they smiled at each other. Troy grabbed another wireless mic from the DJ and pulled his bride out to the dance floor. "Alright, well, this song is the first song Gabriella and I ever sang to each other. It's to this song we met and started our life together, it's only fitting that it be the start to the next chapter too. So, please, everyone join us."

The music began to play, a gentle piano, with a sweet swaying melody. Ryan came to stand just a few feet from Kelsi, offering his hand to her. The expression on her face giving away just how entranced she still was with Ryan and it only took a moment before she put her hand in his. Both Sharpay and Zeke watched as Ryan led her onto the floor and Sharpay breathed in deep, "Well," she whispered, "I guess we'll see what happens next."

Zeke nodded, "I guess we will."

'Livin' in my own world,
Didn't understand,
that anything can happen
when you take a chance,'

Kelsi's entire body tingled at their proximity. The way he held her brought back memories of all the years they had spent together and reminded her of just how perfect they fit. They danced in a dream like rhythm to the music, her body feeling the music rise up in her and she wished the feeling would stay forever.

'I never believed in
what I couldn't see.
I never opened my heart, ooh
to all the possibilities.'

"I know, that something has changed," she sung under her breath.

"Never felt this way," Ryan joined in, pulling her gaze to his, "And right here tonight, this could be the-"

"Start, to something new,
It feels so right
to be here with you, ooh,
And now, looking in your eyes,
I feel in my heart, ooh
the start of something new..."

Kelsi felt her breath catch in her throat as Ryan pulled her closer, his hand placing hers over his shoulder and slipping down to her waist. He rested his forehead against hers and she felt her eyes flutter to a close, his breath on her face distracting her and making her more dizzy than the three glasses of champagne she had had.

"I'm sorry Kels," he whispered, taking her breath away, "I was stupid. I made the wrong decision."

She dropped chin and shook her head, "No, Ry-"

"No," he stopped her, "Please, I have to say this."

His tone pulled her attention back on him and he held her gaze, his blue eyes hypnotizing her as they continued to sway to Troy and Gabriella's ballad transition of the song. "You were right. I didn't contact you after the tour because I wanted to go on the next one. I made the wrong assumption of thinking you would just continue to wait. That, even if I went on another tour, you would still be working and there was no harm in that. But that second tour was a wake up call. I knew then and there that all of the big stuff that was happening to me: the tours, the record deal, everything! It didn't mean anything if I couldn't share it with you and I knew it was time to get serious. I wanted you there and so I came back for you."

Kelsi was in a daze by his words, the reality that he had come back for her clouding her head and she didn't know how to respond, but he kept talking. "I scoured all of New York. I even had my agent hire a P.I., but you did very well to be off the radar. And I thought, for sure, I was never going to see you again, especially since none of our friends seemed to know how to find you either." He brought a hand up to brush along her cheek, her eyes fluttering shut again as his touch seemed to electrify her. "But now you're here. Now you're standing here, in my arms and I'm not going to make the same mistake twice. I'm not going to let you go."

She felt tears well up in her eyes as his words embraced her they way she had yearned for them to all those years alone. She had only dreamt of him saying things like this and now that he was she wanted to do nothing more than just let him whisk her away. But then, he caressed her cheek, and whispered, "Please, forgive me," and reality came crashing back.

Ryan wasn't the one that needed to be asking that, and as painful as it was, she knew she had to set it right. "Ry," she whispered, "Come with me. We need to talk." And with that she pulled away, dropping her hand down his chest and reaching for his own. She led him off the floor and passed Zeke and Sharpay who were watching both of them with a fixated stare. Bringing him into the hallway, out of sight from the entire ballroom, she finally pulled her hand out of his and crossed her arms in front of her. She faced him, but kept her eyes fixed on his shoes, the words sitting on the edge of her tongue, but unable to escape.

With a deep breath she turned her eyes toward the ceiling, already feeling the tears run down her cheeks. "Kels?" Ryan asked, concerned, "What's wrong?" He stepped towards her, reaching out to wipe her tears, but she batted him away, her next breath shaky with emotion.

"What you did Ry, hurt me. It did. But what I did after is so much worse and it should be me asking for your forgiveness, not the other way around."

Ryan's brow crinkled even more and he shook his head, "I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

Kelsi closed her eyes and turned to her purse, pulling out her wallet and opening it with shaking hands. Taking out a photo of both her and Riley sitting at their piano back home laughing. It was from the morning of Riley's sixth birthday and Kelsi had just bought her a new piano book. In the picture they were playing together and laughing at the funny songs in it. Riley was smiling so big that her eyes were scrunched up tight, and her hair was in wild blonde curls, but Kelsi had always loved that picture because it reminded her so much of Ryan. She looked at it and bit her lip, her entire body beginning to shake, before looking up at Ryan, his expression still confused and a little afraid. "Kels-?"

"Please," she whispered, "you can hate me all you want, just...don't hate her."

"Wha-?" Ryan's words caught in his throat, "Kels, what are you talk-"

And with that Kelsi held out the photo to him, watching as his gaze dropped first to it, then his hands gingerly reached out to take the photo. She swallowed hard as his face filled even more with confusion. "This," she squeaked, "is Riley," suddenly noticing his hands begin to quiver, if only slightly. "She is my daughter," Kelsi sighed, "and she just turned seven." Ryan's face paled almost immediately, his eyes narrowing at the picture, though he didn't bring it closer to his face. He stood stalk still and Kelsi could feel her stomach plummet as she whispered, "She's your daughter too, Ry," she sighed again, "You're her father."

AN: *whew* it took FOREVER to get here, but finally the story can progress into the more complex relationships. Up until this point it has been baited in a way and I'm excited to dive into the gray area politics of morality. Question: what do you think about what Kelsi's decision to keep Riley from Ryan? Can you understand it? .DUN!

-scribbling wordsmith