I've discovered what my two favorite things to write about are; people with special conditions (diseases, sickness, etc)—and putting the main character through an ordeal, haha.

Sorry it took me so long to post:: I was mad at myself, because the seizure in California was supposed to be the climax of the story, and it's the third chapter…so I had to develop the plot a bit. But I think it's still going to be a fairly short story. So here's the product of Louisa completely avoiding cleaning her REALLY messy room and typing on her precious laptop (which doesn't have internet…so I sneak movies and games up on here—but it's mostly just my center for typing stories without having people read over my shoulder and hogging the downstairs computer) But I am rambling again. R&R!

Chapter Three

I PRAISED SHARPAY Evans for the first and probably last time in my life for prying so much into Ryan's life. She contacted the only agent she knew he knew of and through him discovered the very address of the restaurant our runaway was in.

We had flown all the way down to San Francisco in our chase of Ryan; it was easy to track his travel plans, as he had used his father's credit card. Relief coursed through my veins when we seated ourselves in the cab headed towards the Fiery Phoenix. I thought of the dancer safely back home; when this whole nightmare would be over—and hopefully by then I would be master of my mind again.

But relief was the last thing on my mind when I entered the restaurant itself. Right as I walked up to the waiter to ask if a "Mr. Ryan Evans" was at a table, a loud outcry arouse from the proximity close to the stage where a rock band was suddenly hushed. People began standing up to see what the commotion was and a gasp could be heard from most of those who saw. Not hesitating for a second, Sharpay and I bolted through the passageway in between the tables and reached the panicking business man. What lay at his feet froze my heart, mind, and anything that lay in between.

Ryan Evans—sweet, adorable, queer drama king and dance master Ryan Evans—lay sprawled on the ground, only the whites of his eyes showing. Spittle leaked from his mouth and his entire frame jerked left and right, convulsing uncontrollably. It was as if he had no control over his body anymore.

Sharpay screeched ten times louder than was necessary. "Oh god no. God no. Not now, not now"

"Shar, what's wrong with him?!" I said before realizing I was screaming. "W-what's he doing??"

"He's having a seizure!" she whimpered, dropping to the ground next to him, trying to hold down his flailing limbs. "It must have been the goddamn—" it was a good thing her mother wasn't here to hear her say the words that followed, "—strobe lights!" Gabriella, Taylor, and Chad at last appeared behind us. Gabriella squeaked pitifully and clutched Taylor for support at the sight of a fellow high schooler in the middle of a full-blown seizure. Who can blame her?

The rest of the evening is very foggy in my memory. I vaguely remember hearing the sounds of sirens, and eventually doctors rushed in. They were not at all happy about being called for such a "small thing as a seizure"; evidently, this wasn't a big deal. Sorry, he was writhing all over the floor with his eyes rolled back in his head. Our bad. They gave us a few tips and briefly talked with Sharpay. She was taking the whole situation fairly well, considering everything; unlike a certain jock. Yours-truly sort of freaked out and knelt next to Ryan, constantly asking Sharpay if he was going to be alright. I think I cried quite a bit—that probably weirded out Gabbi, but I took no notice of it. Ryan had stopped thrashing now, but lay as still as a corpse, his entire backbone stiff. I guess you could say that I wasn't terribly calmed.

"OH MY GOD HE'S DEAD"

"Troy, calm down, I can explain why this-"

"HE DIED! HOLY F-"

"Heya, there are little kids in this restaurant!"

"JESUS CHRIST, HE DIED! AND IT'S ALL HIS FAULT!" I pointed towards the poor, distressed, confused business man wringing his hands before me.

"I didn't do anything! I encouraged him to stay and watch the band perform, that's all! But he just went nuts during the light show, I have no idea what went wrong!"

"YOU LIAR!" I bellowed rather rudely, now that I think about it, but I wasn't really thinking straight at the time, as you must have gathered.

"Troy, calm down and be quiet"

"DON'T TELL ME TO BE QUIET, SHARPAY. YOU'RE TWIN JUST DIED"

"He's not dead, he'll be fine in a few minutes-"

"AND THIS MAN KILLED HIM!"

"No, I've told you, I had nothing to do with this!"

"Troy, seriously, be quiet and listen"

"YOU LISTEN TO ME!"

"No, you listen to ME"

"RYAN DIED FOR GOD'S SAKE!"

"TROY; SHUT THE HELL UP!!!!!" At last the words sunk into my head, and I followed Sharpay's advice and shut my trap. "Geez, it took you long enough." Don't rub it in. "Ryan's going to be fine. He'll be up and dandy—though a bit shaky and dead tired—in less than five minutes. If you all will help me carry him into the taxi, I will tell you guys the truth once we are on our way to the airport."

It's amazing what a good scare will do to people who hate each other. Chad and Taylor almost tripped in their haste to help carry Ryan to the car.

"Ryan has epilepsy," Sharpay finally stated. Gabriella and Taylor were the only ones who gasped—they were the only ones who knew what that meant.

"Epihuh?" Chad asked, speaking for us less smart ones.

"Epilepsy. It's a condition where you have seizures commonly if you do not take your meds—the one thing this stupid fool forgot to take with him on his escape. I guess he was really freaked out or something." Sharpay shrugged. "Anyways, the downfall of anyone with epilepsy is strobe-lights. It just triggers something in your brain—I don't know all the details, the nurse used big words—which causes your body to pretty much shut down; basically, you have a seizure. They usually only last at very most about five minutes. Ryan's are normally three"

A groan from the other side of the cab made as all jump. Ryan's body at last relaxed and he massaged his forehead with his fingers.

"How're you feeling?" I asked him timidly, hoping he would not remind me of my unkind remarks the previous night.

"Like shit," he said bluntly, making me blink it surprise. Ryan cussed? "I'm sore and achy all over…where's Shar?"

"Right here, dummy," she answered, moving to sit next to him. I stared at her, but she gave me a look that clearly said "I'll tell you later." "You had a seizure back in the restaurant because of the light show. Damn it, Ry, why didn't you leave when the band first started playing?"

"I didn't want to explain it to the guy and it might have cost me my job"

"Kid, you've scared that guy so badly…I think it's pretty safe to say you blew that job interview. At any rate, we're taking you home"

"We?"

"Me, Chad, Taylor, Gabriella, Troy; the whole gang was worried about you"

He snorted in disbelief. "I bet they were." I felt like crying. He had no idea how my heart felt seeing him having a seizure. Not an experience I wanted to have ever again.

"We were!" Taylor insisted, at last getting up the courage to speak. "And are"

But I knew better. I knew that in about a week's time, the gang would be back to bashing Ryan as much as always and treating him just as rudely. But one thing would be different; I would not be joining them. I was done with making fun of gay guys, seeing as my own interests had taken a turn. I was willing to accept that I was homosexual, or maybe even bisexual. I just wanted to hold his precious frame in my hands, my heart screaming with joy that he was alright.

Sharpay helped Ryan up into a seating position so he could swallow his meds (with the help of a water bottle). She happened to glance my way and saw me staring at her twin. I quickly averted my eyes, but knowing that I would be interrogated later.

IT HAD BEEN two weeks since Ryan had run away. I knew Troy had been tactfully avoiding Sharpay, but I had no idea why. Other that, nothing much had happened.

Which was exactly what drove me nuts. Troy had been completely ignoring me ever since we chased Ryan all the way to California! He almost never called me, never texted me, never even tried to hang out with me! What had gotten into him? Was it me? Had his affections changed? If so, why didn't he just tell me??

Maybe he liked Sharpay, and that's why he was avoiding her. I really didn't know. She was pretty and all…but she and Troy seemed to hate each other so! It couldn't be her…then who?

What made it all ten times worse was my mother; she was always pestering me what had ever become of Troy; why she never saw him anymore. One day my frustration came to the point where I stormed out in the middle of one of our arguments. I knew deep down that it wasn't a big deal, but it was just the "straw to break my camel's back", as Darbus would have put it.

My feet led me our local park. The soft green light seeping down from foliage of trees relaxed me, and I breathed the earthy smell in deeply. This was more like it. Everything was going wonderfully until I walked headlong into some random kid and was sent sprawling onto the ground.

"Oh, sorry." I looked up, surprised. It was Ryan!

On a normal day basis, I would have wrinkled my nose in disgust and stormed off, leaving him in the dust. But instead, I took the hand he offered me and he pulled me to my feet. "I didn't see you there, sorry. I was just…zoning, I guess," he apologized in a tone quite different than he usually addressed me. It was a nice change.

"Hey Ryan," I greeted him, a smile breaking across my face. "You feeling better?" It was an honest question.

"Yah"

"Are you able to drive yet?" I asked, remembering somewhere in the back of my memory that your license was suspended a little while after having a seizure.

"No, but it doesn't matter; I walk everywhere anyways. My family always insists that I get in as much exercise as I can in one day"

"Don't you already dance a lot?" We were walking side by side now, just as if we did this on a normal basis. It was so weird…but it didn't feel weird. It felt good, just talking to someone without hate, distrust, or flirtatious advances.

"I do have long lessons, but I also run in early morning and late afternoon…plus I walk everywhere"

"Really?" I was honestly surprised by this. Ryan, the queer drama dancing king, didn't seem much like a runner. "Do you ever time yourself?"

"Yah"

"What's your lowest time?"

"9:48 for two miles"

I gawked at him. "Ryan, that's ridiculously fast!!"

"And you would know this…how?" I blushed, seeing why he would think this.

"Back at my old school, I did a bit of track myself"

"What did you do?"

"Long jump, high jump, and sprints. Don't ask me my times; they were terrible." He chuckled softly.

"I doubt that"

What was happening? Why was Ryan Evans being suddenly so sweet and understanding? Wasn't he the 'fag' that we all made fun of on a daily basis? But then, wasn't I normally rude to him...

I looked at him straight in the eye. I felt like I might drown in the shocking blueness of his eyes—and then he smiled. I did not remember he smile being that cute. He rubbed his left arm with his right hand awkwardly, and pink tinged his cheeks at my stair. Feeling myself also blush, I withdrew my analysis. Conclusion: Ryan Evans was very attractive, gay or no. But then, what was it that Taylor had said so long ago? "They are only two types of gay guys: the hot ones, and the ugly ones. There is no in-between." If she was at all accurate, there was no doubt in my mind on which side Ryan lay.

We chatted lightly for another hour without realizing we had walked the entire length of the park several times.

"Mind if we sit down?" I asked, giggling. "I'm not as fit as you; my feet hurt"

"Sure." We sat down underneath a large tree around the center of the park.

"Gosh I'm hungry." I suddenly said, my stomach gurgling.

"Want me to go get you an ice cream cone or something?" he offered. I smiled at him.

"Sure…but I don't have any money"

"It's alright; I'll treat." I blinked in surprise. This was completely unlike Ryan; he never treated anyone to anything unless it was his twin forcing him to. This was an entire new set of thought crossing my mind.

"You really don't have to-" I insisted.

"No, really; I have more than enough money that I never use." And he was gone. I leaned back against the tree and closed by eyes. Troy and I had never done anything this fun…or had a chat so simple and fun. All we ever talked about was people at school and drama…Ryan and I had managed to cover track, basketball, academics, and the mall. He did have good taste in clothing, so I made sure to listen hard.

"Here." He handed me a Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream cone.

"How did you know that was my favorite??" I gasped in surprise. He shrugged and licked his own chocolate cone with sprinkles.

"You just kind of seemed like a mint chocolate chip person"

"Oh really?" I laughed. "Then you have a theory about things?"

"I certainly do," he grinned cockily. "You are mint chocolate chip because you are very sweet and most everybody likes you—but you still can kick back. That's where the chips come in. I am chocolate because I am fairly simple once you get to know me…but nobody really bothers to because I seem so common." I blushed. "Sharpay is coffee because you either hate her or love her"

"And she's full of caffeine," I giggled.

"Very true," he agreed, and leaned back against the tree next to me. "You're catching on."

I curled my hair about my finger and threw back my head dramatically. "Well, but of course; because I'm just amazing like that"

"I know." I stopped joking around and looked at him, my ears burning.

"W-what?"

"I know you're amazing. You don't have to tell me"

"I was just kidding," I said, trying to joke off the situation.

"I wasn't," he said honestly, wiping his sticky fingers off on a napkin, and smiled at me. I had long ago finished my cone.

"You don't have to say that"

"I know that too"

I was back to staring into his eyes, which suddenly became about ten times bigger. I had leaned over and kissed Ryan Evans full on the lips before I had formed any idea what I was doing. I could feel him stiffen underneath me—he was gay after all. He was gay; then why the hell was I kissing him…and why was he kissing me back?!

One thing was certain; I had gone crazy and Ryan was a damn good kisser. Having lost complete control over my body, my tongue brushed against his lips, asking politely for an entrance. WHAT THE HELL WAS I DOING, I WAS CURRENTLY DATING TROY AND HAD NEVER FRENCH KISSED HIM! Ryan's mouth opened, allowing the entrance to my tongue. I shivered with sinful delight as my tongue brushed against his.

I clung to him with a strong feeling of being cheated all this while—Troy had never kissed me like this…like I needed Ryan's affection more than anything else in the world right now. I knew it wouldn't last, but I knew we both needed each other right then. Next thing I knew, Ryan and I were fully making-out underneath the tree. I also knew that what we were doing was wrong in every possible way…but I could've cared less and I explored Ryan's hot mouth with mine.

Don't worry; it's still a Tryan!!! This isn't going to be a Ryella, stop freaking.

The reason I was inspired to write this story was after my own best friend, who has epilepsy, had a seizure during a Transiberian Orchestra concert (they always have the coolest light shows). It was a very scary experience, but he was alright.

Most recently, we were at a party and swimming in the hot tub. My friend became really stiff and began to shake. He's such a class clown we thought he was fooling around when he tipped over headfirst into the hot tub (we thought he was trying to do a headstand). After he didn't come up for awhile, we had my other friend Jon tug on his hair to see if he would respond; he didn't. So we yanked him out to discover that he wasn't breathing. Of course, we called 911. When the ambulance got there, they told us that we really didn't need to call them. We were like "umm, sorry, he kinda wasn't breathing; we freaked". AKA, why this chapter is this way.