Ok, so here comes Chapter Eight already. How exciting. Oh yeah. Don't ask about the name. It's always been my favorite name. I'm naming my first girl that.

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

I Trust You- Chapter Eight

Ryan slammed against the wall of the boy's bathroom at the Albuquerque mall. The boy roughly grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him to face them.

"Please leave me alone, I don't even know who you are." In response the boy struck Ryan hard in the face. Ryan could taste the blood in his mouth, but didn't retaliate.

"That's not important right now. What is important is what you want on your grave!" Ryan couldn't help but roll his eyes; even he could think of something more original to say. After a few minutes of continuous punches and kicks, and a threat to have his head 'flushed' down the toilet, the bathroom door opened and the beatings ceased.

"Hey, what's going on in here?" Ryan recognized Troy's voice.

"Nothing, we were just leaving" They pushed past Troy and Chad without another word, snickering slightly. Troy walked over and helped Ryan up. Ryan pulled out a few paper towels and used them to help stop his nosebleed.

"Did Sharpay send you?" He asked, pinching his nose.

"Yeah."

"Go out there and tell her I'm fine and not to worry. Nothing's wrong. It doesn't hurt."

Troy shrugged at Chad and left the bathroom as Ryan turned on the faucets to wash his face.

Sharpay sat outside the bathroom, nervously bouncing from one foot to the other.

"Where's Ryan?" She asked as Troy and Chad came out.

"Still in the bathroom, but he said to say that he was fine and that it doesn't hurt." Sharpay sighed. She expected Ryan would say that. "Was he hurt?"

"Well, his nose was bleeding, but I think that's it." Ryan came out. Troy was impressed that Ryan was able to clean the blood off of his shirt. Ryan smiled as if nothing had happened.

"Where's Gabriella, Kelsi and Taylor?" He asked.

"They're finding a new table to sit at because someone gave up our seats" Chad said. Sharpay shot him a glare just as someone called out to them.

"Troy! Over here!" They looked over and saw Kelsi and Taylor waving. Gabriella seemed to be deep in conversation with another girl. Sharpay frowned slightly. She hadn't met her before. As they got closer Gabriella stopped talking to greet them.

"Hi everyone, this is Shaylee, I just met her in the McDonald's line. She's going to be a new student next year at East High. She'll be in our grade."

"Hi" She said, in a slightly airy voice. She had deep teal-blue eyes, and cherry-red, loosely curled hair.

Sharpay wondered why Gabriella would be talking to her. Gabriella was the prettiest girl in the school, but now it seems like she might have some competition. Actually, that was a lie. It looks like Gabriella will just have to excel in other areas.

Shaylee stared at each of them in turn, as if she were some sort of scientist examining different specimens to determine their species.

"Your eyes are a little too close together," She said suddenly pointing to Sharpay. "Your nose is slightly off-center," she said pointing to Gabriella. "But other than that you two are picturesque."

"Shaylee's a photographer." Kelsi explained. Apparently Shaylee'd been doing this for a while. "She's been around the world to take pictures. Some have even been put into magazines. They're really good" She added, pointing to a pile of photos.

Shaylee blushed slightly. Sharpay became envious of the way she could turn pink in the cheeks and still remain so pretty…

"They aren't that good," she said, stuffing them back into her folder.

"So, Shaylee, where are you from?" Troy asked, sitting next to her in what he hoped to be casual way. Gabriella glared at him.

"Originally or where was I before I came here?"

"Both."

"Well, I was born in Australia, and last year I lived in Berlin."

"Berlin as in Germany?"

"Ja." She replied smiling. Sharpay became envious of that too.

"So, have you ever been to America before?"

"Yes, we lived here for a few months before I decided to take photos in Africa."

Their conversation was interrupted when Ryan's phone rang.

"Hello?" Ryan's face paled slightly as he glanced at a nearby clock. "Yeah Dad, we'll be on our way." He closed his phone. "Shar, what time did you say we'd be back?"

"About 12:30."

"Oh, well, dad called. It's almost 1:30 now. We should probably get going." Sharpay mentally kicked herself. She should have been watching the time. Of course Ryan would be receiving their punishment for being late. 'I'm so sorry Ryan.' She thought.

"Well, it was fun visiting with you guys." Ryan said politely. "Nice meeting you Shaylee."

Shaylee nodded. Sharpay pretended to be too distracted to remember to say goodbye to her.

Within ten minutes, Sharpay and Ryan arrived at the Evans mansion. Sharpay opened the door as quietly as she could. The hall seemed empty. She motioned Ryan in and they made their way as quietly as they could upstairs to their rooms. Sharpay waited till Ryan's door was closed before going into her room. She closed the door behind her and sat at her desk.

"How nice of you to come back home." Sharpay jumped slightly at the sound of Richard's voice. It sounded different. Like he was upset. Like he was going to beat her. Like it did every time he talked to Ryan.

"Ryan!" Sharpay screamed. The door banged open just as Richard's hand slapped Sharpay forcefully across the face. Sharpay was more stunned than hurt; it was the first time Richard ever hit his daughter.

"Don't touch her!"Ryan ran forward and caught their father's wrist just as he was raising it again and shoved him away from Sharpay. He put his arms protectively around Sharpay standing between the two. "Go hide in my room. Lock the door. Don't open it." All Sharpay could do was nod dumbly. "Don't call anyone. Don't tell anyone. Don't call mom-" Ryan was suddenly cut off when his head was grabbed and slammed face-first forcefully into the wall behind him. Blood stained the wall and dripped onto Sharpay's carpet. Ryan slumped down as his father continuously kicked him. Just then the front door opened.

"I'm home!" Mary Evans called. Richard stopped, kicked Ryan once more, then went downstairs to greet his wife. Sharpay stood motionless for a few moments, then ran and kneeled next to Ryan. She'd never seen so much blood before in her life. Ryan's face was covered with it, and his hair was matted with blood. Sharpay tapped his shoulder gently. He didn't respond. His eyes were closed, and his breathing very shallow. She cradled his unconscious head for a while, her tears mingling with the blood on his cheeks.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way Ryan. So sorry."

Mmm...blood makes me sick. But, as I said before, Shaylee is like my most favorite name. It's celtic/gaelic, so I thought, well, Ryan is gaelic, Sharpay starts with sh, Troy ends with y and Shaylee has a Y in it, so why not? By the way, for those of you who don't know (I'm sure most do), Ja is German for yes

Go to my Profile to see a link to see a picture of what I pictured Shaylee's hair to look like (I love that color! you might have to copy the link to your toolbar).

Anyway, please Readand Review! (over 2000 hits and getting close to my 100 review goal!)