Author's Note: Hey! I decided to update early so...here you are! R&R!
Chapter 24: Appearances and Disappearences
Later on that evening, Chelsie and Ryan are out on their date. Ryan is taking Chelsie to a very posh restaurant called Caspian. As Ryan hands over the keys for his blue BMW for valet parking, he holds out his arm. Giggling, Chelsie takes his arm as he guides her through the front door.
Maitre De: Do you have a reservation?
Ryan: Yes, under the name, Travolta. John Travolta.
The maitre de raises an eyebrow and looks down at the book. He looks back up.
Maitre De: Very well, I shall escort you to your table.
Ryan: Thank you.
The Maitre De guides them over to a table in the corner of the restaurant. It was very secluded with lit candles and red roses in a vase. A waiter comes along and hands them their menus. He scuttles away.
Chelsie: Why did you use John Travolta's name for the reservation.
Ryan: Well, this place is usually booked weeks in advance. And I wanted to come here for our date tonight.
Chelsie: Ah, so you used his name knowing that they would make an exception for him.
Ryan: Exactly. And they can't do anything about it because they fell for it.
Chelsie: (laughing) Very clever.
Chelsie looks around the restaurant. Everyone else is in suits and fancy dresses. She feels a little under-dressed.
Chelsie: You could have told me we were coming here; I would have dressed up a bit more.
Ryan: Well, I think you look absolutely beautiful anyway.
Chelsie blushes, smiles and looks back down at her menu.
The gang are seated round a table in the dining area. Kelsi walks over with a bag.
Kelsi:(looking at Jason) Hey, I just ran into Sharpay in the bathroom and she decided to give us our gift.
Troy: What gift?
Jason: Oh Sharpay wanted to get us "I'm-so-glad-you-two-are-together-now" gifts. Which we now expect from the rest of you.
Kelsi playfully slaps him and starts to open it. She pulls the gift out.
Taylor: It's a photo frame.
Kelsi: Yeah.
The photo frame was very modern, intricately designed and was made from what looked like silver with gold accessories. There was gold writing on the front, "I'm so glad you two are together now!" and in the picture itself, was Sharpay.
Jason: I'm guessing she doesn't want us to forget who it came from.
Kelsi: No wonder! She left the price ticket on and it cost $3500!
Zeke: Woah!
Kelsi: I can't believe this!
Chad: Yeah, I can't believe that none of you seem to have noticed I'm here!
The group turn around and there was Chad with two crutches and a big goofy smile on his face.
The group: Oh my God!
Taylor:(standing up to help him) I thought you weren't getting out until tomorrow morning.
Chad: It's called the art of sweet-talking. Or perhaps I whined and moaned until the nurses got fed up of me.
Troy: Well that's great, man, glad you could finally join us.
Gabriella: Yeah the groups not been the same without your hair.
The group laugh and start chatting again until Troy needed the bathroom. As he walked over to the men's room, the door was locked. Slightly confused, he decided to head up to the bathroom in his suite. He hurried across the dining room and into the lobby. He was about to get in the lift when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and found himself in front of two unbelievably huge, bald men.
Man No1: Are you Troy Bolton?
Troy: Uh... yeah
Man No2: Come with us, we have something for you
Troy: Can it wait? I really have to go...
Man No2: Don't worry it'll only be a second.
Both guys start to push Troy towards the exit. He tries to protest but they take a firm grip on his arm. They take Troy outside and towards a black car on the corner of the car park. Troy starts to panic realising that this can't be good. One of the men open the door.
Man No1: In here.
Man No2 shoves Troy into the car and shuts the door. Both men hurry into car, lock the back doors so Troy can't get out and drive away from the hotel...
Gabriella, Chad, Taylor, Zeke, Jason and Kelsi are sitting round the table blissfully unaware of the problems facing Troy at this moment.
Chad: You know I've realised something.
Zeke: Newsflash! Chad Danforth's head is no longer full of fluff!
Chad prods Zeke with his crutch.
Chad: Anyway, I've realised that we've have been on holiday here for almost a fortnight, we go home in a few days and every night, we have eaten at the same place at the same time. We've never gone out.
Jason: Wow, what a sad little bunch we are.
The group laughs
Chad: Anyway, since we aren't here for much longer how about on the last night we'll
all go out. We can get dressed up and go to one of those really fancy restaurants.
Taylor:(in mock shock) You mean the kind that don't have tomato ketchup in little sachets?
Chad: Hahaha, I mean it, what do you guys think?
Taylor: I think it's a great idea
Gabriella: Sure why not? Troy will want to make a speech.
Kelsi: Where has Troy got to?
Zeke: I don't know, he needed to go to the bathroom but the ones over there are locked so he looked like he was going to use the ones upstairs.
Gabriella: Well he's taking awfully long time. (pulls out her cell phone) I'll call him.
Chad: You sure you wanna hear while he's trying to pee?
Troy was in the back of the car and was seriously starting to panic. Both men were in the front, one of the men driving along the dark road and both were silent. He tried to get answers.
Troy: Where are you taking me? Who are you? Come on, just stop this car and let me go!
He leaned forward but the man in the passengers seat pushed him back into his chair hard. Troy heard his cell phone ring. Shakily pulling it out of his pocket, he saw Gabriella's face on the screen. For a split second, he thought about what if he never saw Gabriella, the love of his life again. He couldn't bare it. He answered the phone.
Troy: Gabriella?
Gabriella: Hey Troy, where are you?
Troy: I...
At that second, the man in the passengers seat turned round and tried to grab Troy's phone.
Troy: Hey, let go!
However, the man had a firm grip on it and was able to pull it out of his hand, ignoring Troy's protests. He closed the flip on the phone, cancelling his short conversation with Gabriella.
Troy: I...Hey, let go... No...leave it...don't...
The line went dead. Gabriella looked at her phone in shock.
Taylor: What's wrong? Where's Troy?
Gabriella: I...I don't know. He...he sounded...
Chad: Gabriella?
Gabriella: It...it sounded like he was in a car. And not alone. Whoever was in that car, I think, tried to get the phone off him. Guys, I..(her eyes started to well up) I think something's happened to him, I think he's in trouble.
Zeke: What?
Kelsi: What do we do?
Chad: Okay, we don't panic. Right, Gabriella, you keep trying to call him, Taylor you stay with Gabby, Jason and Kelsi, you go to the lobby and ask if they've seen him, Zeke, go up to our room and check if he's there, I'll go look in the car park and we'll all meet in the lobby in ten minutes to see if know anything. Okay?
Glad that someone had taken charge of the situation, the group all got up and left the dining room. Gabriella looked at the screen on her phone. It was a picture of her and Troy, with Troy's arms wrapped around her. Chad was also in the background of the picture with a hose, about to spray the happy couple with water. She looked at Troy's goofy smile.
Gabriella: Please, please let him be okay...
To be continued...
A/N: Oooh, scary... R&R! x x x