A/N: Hello all you wonderful people! I'm trying to update faster, instead of just once a week, but it looks like it's not happening. I'm trying my best though! There was a snow-day this past week so I got to work on this more, and there's no school on Monday (prez's day), so I'll try to work on the next chapter an have it up before next Saturday. Anyway, thanks for the awesome reviews! They are greatly appreciated!
thunderyoshi: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it and I hope you keep reading!
megan: Thanks! Glad I made your day! And maybe we could work on our evil laughs together!
Ledagirl321: You're so funny! I love your weirdness, it strangely resembles mine! Sisters! lol, anyway, here's an update!
Vanessa Turner: Haha, I like how you just expressed your feelings with two words. And the right words too! I would've said the same thing!
Queen Desvel: Thanks! Who's your friend? Tell him/her that I said thanks! (gives both of you brownies) I hope you guys keep reading!
TheFabMax: So many questions you have! But all will be answered very soon... lol
lol925: I feel the same way you do towards Leslie. Oh, and I didn't really pay attention to the house color, so sorry if I was wrong! It was just the first color that popped into my mind! Actually, orange was but I don't think Gabriella's house was orange... OO
Tigerlily Brown: Thanks! Here's an update!
Anyway, here's chapter 22! I hope you guys like this one as much as you liked the last one! I made it longer, just a little over 3000 words, without the Author's notes. I hope it's long enough for you guys!
This Is War
Chapter 22: Reunion
"Ryan? Sharpay?" Gabriella said as she entered the living room. She looked back and forth from Ryan to Sharpay. "What are you two doing here? How'd you know where I was?" Gabriella asked. But before either one of the fraternal twins could answer, someone rang the doorbell and Mrs. Bolton answered it. Gabriella sat in one of the armchairs next to the couches and put her hands over her face.
"Can I help you?" Mrs. Bolton asked the blonde girl on her front step as she opened the door.
"Yes ma'am. Are you Mrs. Bolton?" Leslie asked.
"I sure am." Mrs. Bolton said in a cheery voice. Leslie started shaking her hand.
"It's very nice to meet you Mrs. Bolton. I'm Leslie Davis. Troy's girlfriend." Leslie said, still holding Mrs. Bolton's hand.
"So this is the one and only Leslie Davis. My son has said many different things about you. You are quite a unique girl." Mrs. Bolton complimented. "What brings you here to Albuquerque? Troy didn't mention anything about you dropping in for a visit."
"Actually, I'm here for a different reason. I knew that you and Mr. Bolton live in Albuquerque so I called up Troy and asked him for your address and now here I am. I just thought I'd come by and finally meet the parents."
"Come on in. I was just making lemonade for other guests. You can join the party inside, come on." Mrs. Bolton invited and Leslie stepped into their threshold.
"Leslie, I don't know if you've met my other guests…" Mrs. Bolton said as they went into the living room and came to a view Leslie thought she would never see.
"Leslie, honey, this is Ryan and Sharpay Evans. They're Troy's friends from back in high school."
As soon as Gabriella heard the name 'Leslie' she took her hands off of her face and looked to see. As she saw, her face made a horrified look and she gulped.
Ryan and Sharpay both had shocked expressions on their faces. "Leslie?" They said at the same time.
"Hello Ryan, Sharpay." Leslie greeted, giving them a fake smile.
"Glad to know you're already acquainted. I suppose you already know Ryan's daughters."
"Yes, Rachelle and Roxanne Evans. How are you girls?" Leslie asked in her fake sweet voice, trying to put on a show for Mrs. Bolton. She looked at Rachelle and Roxanne and they gave her nothing but sour and disgusted looks.
"Leslie this is-" Mrs. Bolton came over to Gabriella and was about to introduce her but was cut off by Leslie.
"Gabriella Montez." Leslie said. Just the person I was looking for. She thought.
"Yes! Small world! Very small world! Well, anyway, you kids can chat for a while, while I get the lemonade and cookies ready." Mrs. Bolton said before she resumed her place in the kitchen.
"Girls, why don't you go with Mrs. Bolton and help with the lemonade and cookies?" Sharpay told the twins and they obeyed.
Leslie looked from Ryan, to Sharpay, back to Ryan, and then to Gabriella. She walked over and stood behind where Gabriella was sitting and started pulling on one of Gabriella's brown wavy locks.
"So Gabriella, you decided to pay a little visit to my empty warehouse a few days ago. How did that go?" Leslie said, as she pulled harder on a string of Gabriella's hair, causing it to snap.
"How did you know it was me?" Gabriella said, with a slight tremble in her voice. Ryan and Sharpay never took their eyes off of Leslie and Gabriella.
Leslie opened her purse and pulled out what appeared to be Gabriella's bobby pin. Gabriella still had a horrified look on her face and started sweating uncontrollably.
"Familiar isn't it?" Leslie said as she stuck the bobby pin to Gabriella's hair. The pin matched perfectly with all the other bobby pins in tact.
"I guess a bitch never changes her ways." Leslie insulted.
"What did I tell you about calling her a 'bitch'?" Ryan said loud enough to show his rage, but soft enough so Mrs. Bolton wouldn't hear.
Leslie sighed. "Oh Ryan, I'm sorry you had to be tangled in this mess. You shouldn't have found out in the first place. No one should've found out in the first place." Leslie apologized to Ryan in her fake sugary voice. She then turned her attention to Gabriella and tapped her head. "How did you find out anyway?" Leslie asked.
"That's none of your business." Gabriella said, trying to sound brave. But she couldn't even fool herself.
"Isn't it?" Leslie asked as she pulled another hair out of Gabriella's head. She came down to her ear and whispered. "I think it is."
Before Leslie could do anymore harm, and before Ryan could lunge at her, Mrs. Bolton and the twins entered the living room with glasses of lemonade and cookies in tow.
"Snack time kiddies!" Mrs. Bolton teased as she and the girls set the lemonade and cookies on the coffee table.
"Thanks, but no thanks Mrs. Bolton. I just looked at the time and realized that I have to run. It was nice meeting you though! See you later! Bye, Ryan, Sharpay, Gabriella." Leslie said in her sickeningly sweet voice that made Ryan, Sharpay, and Gabriella's skins crawl.
"Bye, hun! Hope you drop by again soon!" Mrs. Bolton called after Leslie as she closed the front door behind her.
"All right, you kids just call me if you need anything else. I'll be upstairs, okay?" Mrs. Bolton said before she climbed the stairs.
As Mrs. Bolton disappeared from their sight, Gabriella immediately started crying and trembling with fear. Ryan came up to her and hugged her, smoothing out her hair and kissing the top of her head.
"Why are you hugging me? Aren't you mad?" Gabriella asked Ryan. Ryan lifted Gabriella's face so it was aligned to his.
"Right now, I love you more than I'm mad. And I don't want Leslie to hurt you. You hear me?" Ryan said as he continued comforting Gabriella.
"Where am I going to stay?" Gabriella asked. "I can't go back home because Leslie would know to look there first."
"You're staying with us then. We have tons of guest bedrooms that we don't mind you to use." Sharpay offered.
"Heck, you're not staying in the guest bedrooms; you're staying in my room. I don't want anything or anyone to touch you right now. I'll be there at your side to protect you. Don't worry." Ryan said. "But we still need to talk about why you took the girls." He quickly added.
"That's fine with me. But still, why aren't you screaming right now? I just took your daughters almost clear across the country. You should be angry instead of helping me. Why do you care so much?"
"Because." Ryan sighed. "I got your back."
"Honey, I have to go to the bathroom, okay?" Kelsi told her husband as she rushed to the bathroom while Jason recovered their luggage at the baggage claim at Albuquerque International Airport the next day.
"She's been going to the bathroom lately." Chad noticed and told Jason. "Is that normal for her?"
"I don't know. Maybe it is, since it's almost the baby's due date." Jason said.
"She's got two more months to go!" Taylor retorted.
"Yeah, but the doctor said that if the baby was going to be born premature, it would be better if it were to be born at seven months than eight. And tomorrow is the seven-month due date." Jason said.
"Oh, I didn't know that. Did you know that, Tay?" Chad asked his wife.
"Of course I do."
"So why wasn't Devon born two months earlier?"
"Maybe because he didn't want to come out yet? I don't know! Ask him!" Taylor said sarcastically. Chad, on the other hand, took it rather seriously and turned to his son.
"Hey, little D, why weren't you born two months earlier?" Chad asked, earning himself a slap on the arm from Taylor.
"Just wanted to know!" Chad said as Kelsi came back.
"Honey, didn't you make it to the bathroom? You want to change? I've got your bag right here." Jason said as he saw Kelsi's wet pants.
"What in the world are you talking about? Of course I made it to the bathroom! And I don't want to change, I'm perfectly fine wearing what I'm wearing, thank you very much." Kelsi said.
"Are you sure about that, Kels?" Jason said as he signaled for her to look at her pants. Kelsi struggled to look since the baby was in the way, but when she did catch a glimpse, it all clicked together and she almost passed out.
"Jas," She whispered, as she held onto Jason's hand very tight. "I think it's time."
"Troy!" Chad shouted as he ran toward his friend.
"What took you guys so long? And where's Kelsi, Jason, Taylor, and Devon? The taxi's here and the meter's running!"
"Um… Kels, Jas, Tay, and little D are on their way to the hospital-" Chad said but was rudely interrupted by Zeke.
"What happened? Are they hurt?" Zeke asked frantically.
"No, no… Kelsi… she's-" Chad tried to explain but was interrupted by Troy.
"Did she trip? Is the baby okay?"
"They're fine! If you would just let me finish! Okay, Kelsi's water broke. The four of them are on their way to the hospital in an ambulance right now."
"I thought she wasn't due in another two months!" Zeke exclaimed.
"So did I, apparently she's due." Chad said.
"You guys wanna get in? The meter's running and I don't got all day." The taxi driver said and the three guys put their bags in the trunk and got in the back seats.
"Hi dad." Troy said as he walked into his previous Albuquerque home, taking in the familiar scents and sights that he left long ago.
"Troy, what are you doing here son?" Jack asked as he enveloped Troy in a bone-crushing hug.
"Nice to see you too dad. I see you've still been working out and playing basketball." Troy said, referring to how strong Jack had hugged him. "And can't a son visit his elderly parents every once in a while?"
"Hey, we're not elderly. We're just growing up." Troy's mother said as she came and hugged him. "It's nice that you visited."
Troy came inside, put his bags aside, put his coat up on the rack and sat down on his favorite spot on the couch.
"So Troy, what brings you to this side of the country? Shouldn't you be teaching basketball at the school in New York?" Jack asked.
"Actually, I'm here because we are on a wild goose chase. First we were chasing Gabriella, then we started chasing Ryan and Sharpay, now we're chasing Leslie, I'm not even sure if we're still chasing them."
"Wait, 'we'? Who's 'we'?" Troy's mother asked in concern.
"Oh, mainly, the whole gang. We're chasing Gabriella because she came here with Ryan's kids without Ryan knowing and now Ryan's chasing her and Sharpay tagged along and Leslie is trying to chase them and it's all very confusing I know so why don't I just shut up now and not tell you about it." Troy said, trying very hard not to confuse his parents. Too late.
"Okay. Sorry I asked." Mrs. Bolton said. "Oh honey, Leslie was here yesterday. She's a very sweet girl."
"She was here yesterday?" Troy asked.
"Oh yes, so were Gabriella, Ryan, Sharpay, and the twin girls. I never knew they knew each other so I was surprised when they already knew their names without any introduction."
"Wait, Leslie talked to Gabriella? And Ryan and Sharpay?" Troy asked with a nervous look on his face.
"Yes, I think they got along very well, since they already knew each other."
"Mom, do you know where they are now?"
"I don't know where Leslie is, but Ryan and Sharpay took the twins and Gabriella to their house and made her stay there. I don't know why, they've been acting really strange lately."
"All right, thanks mom, bye! Be back home before dinner!" Troy said as he shot up from the couch, grabbed his coat and ran out of the house in the direction of Chad's.
"He always says that, but he never does it." Jack said as he leafed through the newspaper.
"Remind you of someone familiar?" Mrs. Bolton said, eying Jack.
"Who?" Jack asked with a smile on his face.
"You okay Mrs. Montez?" Ryan said as he lifted Socorro up so he can put her in the wheel chair for her daily stroll through the whole hospital.
"My, my Ryan. You are a very strong young man. I'm not exactly the lightest thing in this room but you seem to have no problem with it." Socorro said as Ryan lowered her into the wheel chair.
"Well, I guess all that dancing paid off." Ryan modestly said as he secured Socorro in the wheel chair.
"You ready Mrs. Montez?" The nurse asked as she started pushing her through the doorway.
"Bye Gabby! Bye Ryan! Be back in about an hour!" Mrs. Montez said as she bid goodbye to the pair.
Ryan sighed, trying to ease the awkward silence. "So, Sharpay took the girls to the cafeteria, Mrs. Montez is taking her stroll, leaving us in this frighteningly white hospital room. I guess this would be a good time to talk about what happened." Ryan said as Gabriella toyed with her fingers over and over again.
"Why'd you do it?" Ryan simply asked, waiting for an answer to come out of Gabriella's mouth.
She hesitated, but then gave him the answer anyway. "Because I didn't want them to get hurt and I didn't want you finding out."
"So you would risk everything you have and travel with my girls almost clear across the country just so they wouldn't get hurt? Why?"
"Because they're your daughters and I know that you love them. I know how devastated you'd be if they'd ever get hurt, so I took the liberty to take them with me."
"But how come you didn't just tell me in the first place?"
"Because if you knew, I know you'd take them with you and move far away from me, in fear of Leslie hurting the girls." Gabriella replied.
Ryan shook his head and sighed. "Gabby, I would never move away from you. Sure, maybe I'll be stricter and tougher on the girls and maybe acquire more bodyguards and security but nothing, not even Leslie Davis, can make me move away from you again. I've already done it once. I didn't get to see you for ten years. Did you know how much that pained me?" Ryan said as tears were forming in his eyes. Gabriella looked at him guiltily.
"From the day I saw you again, I promised myself that I would never let anything separate us. I know I've said it before and I know you think I'm just saying it to make you come back to me but I love you. I don't care if you don't love me anymore. I love you. I always have and I always will. I just wanted you to know that I really do mean it." Ryan said as he wiped away the tears that had formed.
Gabriella just stared at him for a few minutes, taking in what he had just confessed to her. "Wow." She said. It was all that she could muster for the time being.
"Well… I pictured this moment differently. I never would have thought that I would be expressing my feelings to you in an empty, white, hospital room." Ryan said, laughing a little, making Gabriella laugh too.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Ryan asked.
"I said 'wow'."
"'Wow'? What's 'wow' gonna do? You're one of the smartest people I've ever known. Surely you have a more broader vocabulary that you would like to use." Ryan teased. Gabriella just blushed and smiled. She inhaled deeply and spoke. "You know what I think?"
"I would like to."
"This is what I think. I think-" Before Gabriella could finish her sentence, Ryan planted a kiss on her tender lips. A soft, innocent one, kind of like the ones they've shared many times before. Only this time, shorter. Ryan quickly backed off as his ears began to turn red.
"Sorry, I just-" He tried to apologize but Gabriella shut him up with another kiss. This one is more passionate and held more meaning.
As they released, Ryan took deep breaths. "Wow." He said.
"'Wow'? What's 'wow' gonna do? I'm sure you have a broader vocabulary that you would like to use." Gabriella said, mocking Ryan's earlier words.
"Ha, ha, very funny." Ryan said. "But what's it supposed to mean?"
"It means, that I'm sorry I freaked and I'm sorry for assuming wrong things about you, and I'm sorry for taking the girls, and I'm sorry for making you chase me all the way over here. It basically means I'm sorry."
"Yeah, I think I caught that." Ryan said sarcastically.
"But there's one more reason."
"What would that reason be?"
"I love you too." Gabriella said. Ryan and Gabriella were about to kiss again but then a nurse came wheeling in a strangely familiar patient in a wheelchair with the patient's eyes closed.
"Hi, how are you two?" The nurse asked Ryan and Gabriella courteously. They nodded as they saw the nurse struggle to put the patient on the bed next to Mrs. Montez's.
"I can help you with that." Ryan volunteered and quickly picked the patient up from the wheelchair and laid her on the bed. She never awoke from her slumber.
"Thank you son." The elderly nurse thanked. Ryan nodded. She looks really familiar. Ryan said as he looked at the patient's features. Apparently, Gabriella thought so too.
"Excuse me ma'am, why is there a new patient?" Gabriella asked the nurse.
"Oh, this young lady just came from the delivery room. She gave birth to a beautiful baby girl just a couple of minutes ago. She still has anesthesia so she still has to recover from that while her husband is tending to the baby in the nursery." The nurse informed them. Gabriella nodded understandingly.
"Do you know her name?" Ryan asked eagerly, still looking at the figure on the bed. He couldn't really tell exactly who she was because her hair was messed up and she was very pale.
The nurse looked at her clipboard. "Um… her name is… Cross. Mrs. Kelsi Cross."
Mmmm... what will happen next? Is Gabriella really safe? What is going on in Leslie's whacked up mind? Question, after question, after question... It will all be answered sooner or later... I choose later... Muahahahaha! Hey, I'm getting better at my evil laugh!
Like it? Love it? Hate it? Want to choke me for wasting your valuable time? Let me know in a review! Virtual ice cream for reviewers!