Ok time to get the second part of the finale up here. Yes, I'm updating two stories in one day. kinda shocking considering how lazy I've been feeling. But I come bearing good news. i'm gonna get more organized since i'm one of the most disorganized people I know. I went out today and bought an organizer...and some pencils...and some pens...and a journal. Yeah, and the pencils and journal are both HSM related of course. So hopefully that'll help me get more stories in and whatnot. But as of right now, what I'm going to do while I'm at work is, while I have any time, do sort of like a rough draft for the next chapter of my Beauty and the Beast HSM version and then that can get up semi-quicker. That way I'll have more time at home to finish this and any other stories i hope to finish soon. And hopefully soon I'm planning on writing a few other fanfictions or oneshots for other TV shows and such. Already have plans brainstorming for those. So in the meantime, hope you enjoy part two of the finale.
Chapter Seventeen: The Finale, Part Two
Previously: On the last fiction-episode, Dylan was struggling preparing for his finals and getting himself ready for graduation. It sprung an argument between parents Chad and Taylor which worried Dylan greatly. In the meantime, Sharpay was having a sister-ish conversation with Kelsi. Sharpay was overjoyed that she and Zeke could finally adopt a child of their own but Kelsi reveals that she can't have anymore children of her own. Sharpay is the only one who knows and she's sworn to complete secrecy. Dylan tried to find out why his parents are fighting and if there's something he can do but his questions go unanswered. In the midst of studying for his last final, he and Cheryl overhear Chad and Taylor arguing. Chad leaves with a suitcase in hand, leaving his family behind. So will this family problem distract Dylan from his upcoming final? What will Sharpay's and Zeke's first son look like? Will Kelsi come clean to Ryan about her secret? And is this really the end for Chad and Taylor? We now return to The Finale....
"working hard or hardly working?"
Dylan picked his head up to see his sister walk into his room. He was quite surprised, actually. Their father had walked out of the house a couple of days ago and Dylan was freaking out. And it wasn't just because he feared that meant the end of his parents' relationship. He was also very concerned because of his last final for school before graduation and, wouldn't you know it, he couldn't concentrate because he was so worried about the family. And yet Cheryl still seemed to find a way to make a joke about something. Pheh; Dill hadn't seen her joking when her teacher was being a jack-a, and on the first day of school for her no doubt. So what, she was only able to joke around when it was anyone but her who was having a bad day or something? Alright so yeah, Dylan was letting his fear and frustration get the better of him as such thoughts ran through his head, but he couldn't help it. If there was a bright side, at least he wasn't yelling and cursing at his not-even-ten-year-old sister. so what he ended up doing was sighing and dropping his pencil on his textbook on his desk top.
"I can't focus. It's my last final before graduation and if I don't ace it..."
"Please I've looked at your grades." Cheryl rolled her eyes.
"Since when? You're still learning how to read." Dylan replied.
"It helps. I can tell the difference between B's and D's now." Cheryl told him. "Cause all you get are B's and A's."
"Cherry I really don't need this right now. Unlike you, I'm actually worried about Mom and Dad." Dylan replied.
"i was worried." she pouted.
"Yeah, when you saw him leave." he replied. "You've been all chill-ax for the past day or two already."
"Maybe because I actually know how to get distracted?" she guessed, shrugging her shoulders.
Dylan stared at his younger sister and shook his head. "You are one crazy little girl. One day you're hyper, the next day you're worried, and the day after that you're trying to tell me to calm down?"
"I guess so." she said. "Besides, Dad has to come back right? It's not like he left forever."
Dylan bit his tongue. Now he knew why Cheryl was so calm. She really thought Chad was going to come back. She just didn't understand the concept. when parents argued and one of them left with a suitcase, surely that had 'divorce' written all over the scene in really big hard letters. Either that or it was a very angry way of saying they needed some time apart or something. But Dylan had heard their fight and he highly doubted it. There was no way Chad would come back unless it was to pick things up for himself. And as much as he hated to admit it, the thought of only being with his mother freaked him out. Dylan had always been close to both his parents and even though he was adopted, he felt like they both were there for him his whole life. He couldn't get through college with them apart and hating each other. And what about his sisters? Trina was still an infant so she'd go through her whole life barely knowing Chad, and Cheryl was so close to him.
"You're more naive than you led on to believe, you know." Dylan stated shaking his head.
Cheryl raised an eyebrow. "What's that mean?"
"not now Cherry. I gotta try and get somewhere to focus." Dylan replied. "Keep an eye on Trina ok? mom's still in the shower so she'll be out soon." He gathered his books and left the room.
Cheryl sighed and blew some bangs out of her face. "However long that'll be." she muttered.
-insert couple here-insert couple here-insert couple here-
Ryan sat at the home computer typing vicariously. his eyes were completely focused on the screen and it looked like almost nothing would distract him. For Ryan, that was ironic. Normally when he was dancing or teaching a class almost nothing could distract him. But he seemed so much more into what he was doing now. Aside from his eye looking at the screen, Kelsi's eyes shortly joined his. She entered the room and looked at the screen, standing behind Ryan.
"I just put Travis to sleep." she stated.
"That's why it's so quiet in here." Ryan realized.
"Let's be honest, when we're not doing anything music related it's always quiet in here." Kelsi said.
"Guess so." Ryan said.
Kelsi raised an eyebrow as she stared at the screen. She could see what it said, and she could get a faint idea of what Ryan was doing...but she had no idea what exactly he was doing or what the reasoning was. "You seem very into the Internet tonight. Looking for more reruns of Dancing with the Stars on YouTube?"
Ryan chuckled. "I wish. Nah, I'm actually doing research on schools."
Of course he was. Well, at least he caught onto Kelsi's joke. "What for? I thought we agreed not to start thinking about colleges for Travis until he started showing his talents. Or at least until middle school."
"not colleges." Ryan shook his head.
"Well you're not going back to school for anything are you?" she wondered. "Because I'm pretty sure I don't need to go back to school for anything."
"Actually the schools are for Travis. But I'm not looking into colleges for him." Ryan answered.
"So why the sudden interest in an education for him? He just learned to speak two months ago, and he's still got the cold legs thing going so he hasn't even learned to walk yet." Kelsi replied.
"I know. So he's a late walker is all. It's not a big deal. Sharpay didn't start walking until she was two." Ryan chuckled. He quickly turned to Kelsi and pointed on her. "You won't tell her I said that, right? She's always fed everyone the story that she learned to do everything at six months."
"My lips are sealed." kelsi promised. "So about those schools..."
"Well it is only gonna be a matter of time before Travis starts Prekindergarten soon." Ryan shrugged. "I thought it'd be a good idea to start looking at the schools now and seeing which one would be the best for him."
"They'd have to be close by." Kelsi reminded him.
"Of course. I eliminated all the ones that are a half hour and more away. That narrows it down to three places, and it covers PreK and Kindergarten, Well, one of them does anyway. I even started looking into some elementary schools which start as early as Kindergarten and end at fifth grade, and one at sixth." he said.
Kelsi was quite surprised. She didn't know that Ryan was so into this. He was taking it so seriously...more so than anything else, even dancing or his own job. That meant one of two things: that he was really sick, or that he was really letting it show how much he cared for his son. No one ever suspected that Ryan never cared of course, but it was almost like he was finally letting it shine how much he did and that it was something that needed to be taken seriously, that parenthood and raising a child was more than just fun and games. It was quite amazing, actually.
"You're really incredible, you know that?" Kelsi asked, finding herself at a loss for any other words.
Ryan chuckled modestly and shook his head. "I might have been told a few things to that extent." he said as he stood up. 'Come on. It's getting late. Maybe we should go to bed."
Kelsi took one step back as Ryan took a step forward. "I'm not tired right now. I think I'll grab a quick snack or something."
Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Kels...are you ok?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. I'm just not tired right now." she replied.
"Kelsi..." Ryan started.
"I'll be in the kitchen." she interrupted before he could say anything else. With that, she turned around and left Ryan in the room by himself and hopelessly confused.
-RK-RK-RK-RK-RK-
After taking his last final of his high school career, Dylan walked into his house and nearly slammed the door behind him. No ,that didn't mean he was angry. It just meant he was stressed. Beyond stressed, actually. he always thought he would get a B on an important test, partially because sometimes it seemed that hard to him and partially so he wouldn't feel so overconfident that he aced it when it'd turn out he got below an A instead. But neither of those were the cases today and it was obvious why, so there was no need for further explanation.
"Hey, you're home." Taylor said as she picked up her head from the food she was making. "Dinner's in about an hour. I was expecting you home earlier."
"But you didn't call." Dylan said.
"That's because I know you were nervous about your exam and you maybe wanted to go out somewhere and clear your head after you took it." Taylor answered.
"I guess I did a little." he admitted. He looked down and twiddled his thumbs as his mom went back to chopping vegetables. "Hey Mom...can I ask you something?"
"Of course. As long as it's not the talk." Taylor replied.
Dylan raised an eyebrow from confusion. "What?"
"nothing." she responded quickly looking at him. "You were saying?"
Dylan stared at her for a minute. Then he shook his head, deciding to get to the point. "What's going on with you and Dad?"
Taylor blinked. "What?"
"Tell me, Mom. "he nearly begged. "I need to know."
"Your dad's going to come back for graduation. He had somewhere to go." Taylor said.
"that's not good enough." Dylan insisted. "Mom how bad is it with you and Dad? How worried should I be?"
"You shouldn't be worried at all. You should be focusing on school. You just took your last final and have a graduation ceremony coming up." Taylor told him.
"You mean the one that I just failed?" Dylan questioned.
Taylor's eyes widened. "What?"
"I flunked Mom, ok? I flunked. I took a round trip ticket to Flunk Central and missed the train back to Straight A Village!" Dylan said exasperated.
Well he certainly had his father's sense of humor, that was for sure. Related or not. Too bad he wasn't laughing. And it wasn't a laughing matter. "Dill, honey what's wrong?" Taylor asked concerned as she walked over to him.
"What's wrong is you and Dad. I'm freaking out ok?" he replied. "I was lucky to get halfway through my final. And whether I was here or at the library I still couldn't focus on studying. Cause all I could think about was you and Dad fighting and Dad leaving with a suitcase probably never coming back."
"Dylan, you're jumping to conclusions..." she started.
"forget the fricken conclusions!" he spat. "I'm about to graduate and Dad isn't here. I need him here Mom. I need both of you. can't you just put your differences aside and try and get along for one day?"
"Dill, let me explain..." she tried.
"No need. I get it. I get exactly what's going on." Dylan shook his head. "What I don't get is why you and Dad couldn't tell thinks everything is gonna be ok but it's not. Ok? It's not gonna be alright and it's not gonna get better. I'm tired of you guys fighting and I'm tired of you guys keeping me out of the loop. And for all I care you can both just skip out on my graduation cause I'm not going!" He ran around and left the house as fast as he could, slamming the door behind him much louder.
Taylor raised an eyebrow. She had no idea what got into Dylan. He's never acted like that before, let alone acted out. It actually worried her. This was not Dylan. It couldn't be Dylan. Something was terribly wrong. Knowing she couldn't handle it on her own and she would need some assistance, and also aware that Dylan wouldn't open up about anything that easily, she had to make a call. Walking over to her phone, she dialed a number and waited for an answer on the other end.
"Chad? We've got a problem."
-???-???-???-???-???-
"He was doing WHAT now?" Sharpay exclaimed.
"Sharpay please don't make me say it again." Kelsi begged as she sat on the couch in Sharpay's living room yet again watching Sharpay pace around the room back and forth. Kelsi was surprised she hadn't moved into Sharpay's house yet. Almost three times a week she saw herself sitting on the couch and watching Sharpay pace back and forth no matter which one of them was talking. It was like their own deranged way of bonding, it began to feel like.
"Kelsi you have to tell him." Sharpay insisted.
"I know but I just don't have the heart to." Kelsi admitted. "you should have seen him, Sharpay. Ryan was so excited to be looking for schools for Travis."
sharpay rubbed her forehead. "Kelsi you still have to tell him. What if this is a sign that Ryan wants to do this again?" she looked down to see her nephew Travis, who had grown much more hair since the last time she saw him, tugging on her dress. Sharapy shook her head at the little boy. "No, no. Pull on something that won't fall down." she told Travis as she picked him up.
"I'm sorry Sharpay. You want me to take him?" Kelsi asked.
"I got him," she assured her. "But Kelsi this isn't a secret you can keep from Ryan. Either you both live with just Travis or you look into adoption. Maybe even surrogate parents."
"I could never." Kelsi shook her head.
"Well, I hate to break it to you hon, but there's no way around it. I know I promised I wouldn't tell anyone, but this is my brother we're talking about. My little brother. My little twinbrother. Who I work with almost every day at school and who I've known since literally day if you don't talk to him about this then I'm going to have to tell him myself. "Sharpay said as she held Travis in her two arms.
"Sharpay, don't." Kelsi begged.
"There's no way around it Kels. I'm sorry. But I finally got used to practically being related to you and this whole demented sister bonding thing we do. i don't want all that to go down the drain just because you can't tell Ryan Travis is going to be your only child." Sharpay said.
"And what if it's alright for Travis to be an only child? I don't have any brothers or sisters." Kelsi replied.
"That's perfectly fine. But if Ryan ever brings up the question about giving Travis any siblings you have to tell him. There's no getting around it." Sharpay said.
"But how am I supposed to tell Ryan I can't give him anymore babies?" Kelsi gasped, becoming so frustrated from the conversation.
That's when Sharpay's mouth dropped open. It surely wasn't a good sign. and if anything, it was a hint that Kelsi opened her mouth at the wrong time. "Maybe right now..." she said slowly, not letting the dramatic tension take over for once. She pointed toward the door where Kelsi turned her head and Ryan stood right there in the doorway. Yes he looked surprised. But he also looked hurt. Why? He didn't even open his mouth to speak. It was a very tense, very awkward moment. There was no other way to describe it. The whole scene just spoke for itself. It was the classic 'person opening their mouth at the wrong time just when the person they were keeping the secret from appears behind them and overheard the whole thing, then runs out leaving not wanting to hear anymore about it' deal. Yes, it was that self explanatory. Because that's just what Ryan ended up doing. He didn't say anything to either of the girls. He just ran out. And after that it was nothing but quiet.
-couple-couple-couple-couple-couple-
This was it. At long last, the morning of the senior class of East High graduating. All around Albuquerque the students were taking pictures with their family and getting ready. they got dressed and put on their gowns, talked to their friends to figure out meeting spots at the school, and all the basics. This year was especially going to be big. The graduating class was one of the largest ones in the history of East High so the principal decided to hold the graduation ceremony at the University of Albuquerque. The ceremony would take place in the large college gymnasium, as the day would end up being quite hot. Plus the gym had air conditioning so everyone would feel much more comfortable. But there was just one minor issue - or rather major issue.
Dylan sat on the couch in the living room, his arms folded and his back slumped. He was in more than just a bad mood. Even Cheryl could see that. She was sitting next to him and looking back and forth between her brother and the TV. "You look mad."
"Thanks captain obvious." he muttered. "We're stuck watching some kiddie show at eight a.m."
Cheryl pointed at baby Trina, who was sitting in her bouncy chair in front of the couch. "It's a show for babies. She's a baby."
"It's Blue's Clues." Dylan retorted.
"Ok cranky, no need to be all cranky about a show about a blue dog with an old guy who thinks he's a lot younger than he really is and leaves to go to college when we all know he should have been in college a long time ago but the actor really only left the show to pursue a different career." Cheryl said.
Dylan stared at his sister and raised an eyebrow. How did she figure that out and where the heck did all of that information come from? Who was he kidding? How would she even know all that?
Cheryl just watched him and shrugged her shoulders. "I read it on the Internet to help me learn to read more."
"And yet she can't read the entire kid's book for the Lion King." Dylan muttered.
"Huh?" Cheryl raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing." he replied quickly.
What none of the kids had come to notice was that Chad had come in through the front door ever so quietly and was having a just as quiet yet brief conversation with Taylor. He put his suitcase down and his keys on the hook, almost as though he were there to question was, why was he back all of the sudden? Obviously a call had been made and Chad had no choice but to answer it. one thing he was sure of: he was there for his family.
"I'm home." he whispered to Taylor as he walked through the front door.
"What took you so long?" Taylor whispered back. She had been standing near the door almost as if she had been waiting for him to come.
"My flight was running late." Chad apologized. "Is everything ok?"
"No everything is not ok. I'm worried about Dylan." Taylor replied. "He thinks he actually failed a final for real."
"What?" Chad asked. "He never fails."
"He barely got halfway through his last exam." she told him. "Chad, he was worried about us. He must have heard us fighting and it distracted him from his studies."
"So what'll we do?" Chad asked, getting more worried now. "This isn't like Dill. He doesn't stress easily, he doesn't fail...what's next? Talking back?"
"Well he did snap when I asked him about that final." she stated.
"Ok that is definitely not our son." Chad shook his head.
"I know." Taylor replied. "We have to talk to him."
"Today?" he asked.
"Yes, today."
"But today's graduation. We were all gonna be there. What about that guest we talked about?"
"He doesn't want to go."
"What?"
"Dylan's been there on the couch with cheryl and Trina watching Noggin all morning. He really doesn't want to go to his own graduation. We have to change his mind."
"So what do we tell him?"
"There's only one thing we can do."
Chad nodded as though he knew exactly where this was going. "Tell the truth?"
Taylor nodded. "We have to tell him everything."
They locked eyes but didn't move or say anything. Chad then gave a single nod and kenw what they had to do. "We're goin in."
The two of them walked away from the door and over towards the children. Cautiously they stepped forward. It was going to be more than awkward, they knew that. But they had to do it. Not only would it possibly be the only way to get Dylan to attend his own graduation, but it might be just what they needed. To clear the atmosphere and show their honesty with their kids. Nothing else needed to be explained or done. It would all be witnessed, and most likely with an unexpected outcome. Taylor stepped forward first and turned off the TV, then joined Chad to face the kids.
"Dad you're back!" Cheryl exclaimed.
"Yes, what a surprise. Come to break it to us gently?" Dylan asked sarcastically.
"Break what?" Chad asked.
"Forget it." Dylan shook his head. He got up and was about to walk over to the stairs. This was not like him at all. Surely something had to be done. Neither Chad or Taylor had to take such drastic measures to keep their son under control. Normally if any of their children got in trouble it was Cheryl. But in her case she really took after Chad. After all he had always been the trouble maker. But this was completely different. While Dylan wasn't theirs biologically he did pick up a few of their qualities in being raised by them. Getting into trouble easily was not on that list of qualities. The parents exchanged glances, not entirely sure what to do at first. They looked back at Dylan and Chad was the first to speak up.
"Dill come back here. We didn't even get to start yet." he said simply. But still Dylan moved. He was at the foot of the steps and about to walk up to his room.
"Dylan McKessie-Danforth, get your butt back down here and sit!" Taylor demanded. While it got Dylan to stop dead in his tracks, Taylor automatically put her hand over her mouth. She never had to scold Dylan before. Slightly reprimand Cheryl a couple of times, maybe. Yell at Chad for their usual fights, always. But never yell at Dylan. And when that happened there was something wrong, indefinitely. "I can't believe I just did that." she couldn't help but squeak through her closed mouth.
Dylan couldn't believe it either. So that's what it felt like to get punished. It was so...uncomfortable. He didn't like it. And while he was still mad, he didn't really wish to get yelled at again. He slowly walked back over to the couch and sat down. But Dylan was sure to keep his irritated tone heard so his parents knew how upset he was with them. "What?"
"Dill we just wanna talk." Chad said as calmly as he could.
"And you couldn't think of that before?" the teen demanded. "I heard you guys arguing. Cheryl and I both did. And I can't believe you'd keep something like that from both of us. Why didn't you tell us when the fighting started?"
"What are you talking about? "Chad asked.
"you know exactly what I'm talking about! So can you just tell us so I can go up to my room?" Dylan questioned.
"You're not going anywhere Dylan. You're staying down here." Chad insisted.
"i don't wanna stay down here. And I don't wanna go to my stinking graduation either."
"Well you didn't think it was so stinking last week."
"And where were you anyway? Oh that's right. Not here."
In the midst of the boys' arguing Cheryl and Trina looked back and forth between each one as they gave their retort. Now Cheryl wasn't concerned or relaxed. She was just plain entertained. It wasn't every day...or even every other day...that her brother and father got in the middle of some kind of smack-down. And Trina...well let's be honest, she had no idea what was going on. But she seemed more into this than she was in the TV show. If they had popcorn right now Cheryl would probably be eating it and Trina would be on the edge of her seat. But that wasn't the case so they just listened to the fighting.
"I had other business to take care of." Chad replied.
"You mean other other family?" Dylan demanded.
Taylor raised an eyebrow and looked at Chad. "What other family?"
"No other family." Chad shook his head.
"Dad stop lying. I know what you were doing. you have another family that you were gonna see and dump us to be with them. You were cheating on Mom!" Dylan gasped.
"What?" Chad and Taylor's mouths dropped.
"Yeah. And now you guys are gonna get a divorce." Dylan added.
"A divorce?" they repeated.
"Dylan where would you get an idea like that?" Taylor asked.
"When you guys were fighting." Dylan replied. "Remember?"
"Don't you even think about leaving this house Chad." Taylor demanded. "We're not finished yet."
"We're finished when I say we're finished!" Chad argued, sounding like he didn't intend on backing down any time soon. "I know how much you hate this, and I'm not too thrilled about it either. But it has to be done. You know it, I know it, heck I bet all of New Mexico and part of Idaho knows it!"
"Idaho is not one of the states surrounding New Mexico!" she yelled.
"Well no need to get worked up over my issues with geography!" he yelled back. "I'm outta here Tay. Don't try and stop me."
"You're walking out on your family if you leave."
"I'll be walking out on my family if I don't leave."
"You know what? Do whatever the hell you want! I don't care anymore!"
"Fine. Go and not care all you want. I'm outta here. And I'm taking my half of the DVD set of the first season of Smallville!"
"Take whatever you want Chad. But I'm taking your half of the closet after all of this!"
"Fine!" He screamed, then stormed out the door and slammed it behind him.
"Fine!" Taylor yelled back and stormed her own way into the kitchen.
"Wait...you thought...?" Chad asked. He shook his head. He couldn't even find the words to describe how he was feeling or how shocked he was. He was almost ready to fall over just thinking about the assumption his son just made.
Taylor moved some hair out of her face trying to gather herself. Had they really frightened him that much? "Dill..." she sighed as she walked over to him. She sat down beside the teen and hugged him gently. "We're sorry. We didn't mean to scare or upset you."
"Yeah. Just because we fight doesn't mean we stop loving each other." Chad added.
"But you had a suitcase." Dylan said. "You said you'd be letting down your family if you stayed."
"It wasn't a whole other family." Chad shook his head. "It was my sister."
"Your sister?" Dylan blinked.
"You have a sister?" Cheryl asked. "Since when? Last week? How do you get one on the spot?"
"It doesn't quite work like that." Chad said.
Taylor sat upright and kept a hand on Dylan's shoulder. "Your aunt and I never got along. And especially after the last time we saw each other, we left off on a bad foot."
"so she walks with a limp?" Cheryl asked.
"No." Taylor shook her head. "It means we fought. We were lucky enough to tolerate each other any other time we saw each other. But last time we got into a fight. We said some things and it didn't end well."
"How unwell are we talking?" For some reason Cheryl's curiosity was peaked by this. Dylan was just sitting there and listening, taking everything in and matching it with everything he and Cheryl overheard their parents say.
"Very bad. I'm surprised they didn't start an all-out cat fight turned war." Chad said. He sat down on the other end of the couch, placing Trina on his lap and scooching close to Cheryl, who was now up against Dylan. "It was bad enough for my sister to say that we were making a mistake getting married and starting a family. and your mom saying that she wished I never had a sister and they never even met. But she called earlier and got sick. And even if my sis and I hate each others' guts a lot of the time, I wanted to see her and end everything on a lighter note in case we wouldn't see each other again. That's why I was so insistent on going."
"And your Smallville DVD's?" Dylan finally asked.
"An insignificant factor in the argument we had before your father left." Taylor said simply, deciding to leave it at that.
"So you guys aren't getting a divorce?" Dylan asked.
"Of course not." Chad said. "We're not gonna break up that easily. We love each other and we love you guys."
"Told you not to worry." Cheryl sang to Dylan.
"Hey you were worried first." Dill replied.
Chad chuckled. "The point is that we're here and we're together. And we're not at the ceremony. Why haven't we left yet?"
"Because no one is dressed in their proper attire." Taylor said, eyeing her kids. "Cherry, you first. Go change into your new outfit."
"After I have a Trix Ice Pop. "Cheryl decided as she hopped off the couch and headed to the kitchen.
Chad glanced at Taylor and raised an eyebrow. "And you're the one who tells me not to feed them junk for breakfast." he teased.
"Hey, it's better than when she actually wanted to eat that Hershey chocolate bar for lunch." Taylor said.
"It was dark chocolate." Chad shrugged.
"Which still doesn't make it a lunch." Taylor said. She looked at Dylan. "You have some graduating to do young man. Go and get changed." she said calmly.
"Yeah. You don't wanna be late for that." Chad added.
Dylan looked at both of them and nodded. "Ok. I'm sorry I went conclusion jumping and I probably failed my final."
"Hey it's just one final." Chad chuckled. He looked at Taylor who raised an eyebrow and gave him her look. Yes, the look that made a chill run down his spine and know he had to change his answer quick. "I mean you really should do better once you start college." he quickly corrected himself.
Dylan couldn't help but laugh. "Ok. See you guys in five." He smiled at his parents and got off the couch, heading for upstairs. As he reached the foot of the steps, Dylan turned around to look at the two of them. He could see them cuddling up to each other on the couch. They looked so much more happier. Chad had his arm draped around Taylor and Taylor had her head resting on his shoulder. And they looked happy. After the scare Dylan had gone through, he honestly didn't think that he'd ever see suc a sight again. It was so...peaceful. So relieving. And it made him feel better than he had felt in days. As much as he'd love to just stand there and secretly watch them longer, he knew he couldn't. They were right; he did have major graduating to do. And with both of his parents there he couldn't feel happier.
-CT-CT-CT-CT-CT-
"Ryan please just listen..."
"How could you not tell me?"
Kelsi stopped following Ryan around the house and just stopped where she was, staring at him. She didn't want it to go down like this. She was sure no one did. But it wasn't her fault. It was the wrong place at the wrong time sort of thing. And Ryan had overheard. There was no escaping it now. But as much as she wanted to give a straight answer, when Kelsi opened her mouth to speak nothing but stammers came out. "I...uh..."
"Kelsi this isn't something you keep to yourself. Or even just tell Sharpay. Talk to me, Kelsi. I need to know these things." Ryan told her.
"I know." Kelsi nodded. "But you avoided me all night. You wouldn't let me get a say in at all."
"How long have you even been keeping this from me?" Ryan asked. "Because however long it was, I still had the right to know. I still do. And I had to find out by walking into my sister's house and overhearing you."
"That's not how I planned on telling you." she shook her head.
"I'm sure it isn't." Ryan replied. "But Kels...when were you planning on telling me?"
Kelsi looked down, then back up at Ryan. "I guess whenever you asked if we could give Travis any siblings. You were so excited about him getting ready to start PreK soon, and you were already looking for elementary schools for him...I thought that meant you were ready to have another baby. And I just choked, ok? I couldn't tell you."
"Can you at least tell me one thing about it?" he asked.
"Same story it always seems to be when something like this happens. The first baby screws up the system." she sighed.
"You could have just told me. I wouldn't have been mad, Kelsi. I can understand if we can't have anymore kids. But I can't know this if you don't talk to me. I thought we always understood each other." Ryan said.
"We do, Ry. We do." Kelsi said looking him in the eyes.
"Then why keep this from me?" he asked.
But Kelsi couldn't bring herself ot answer. That was just it. She had no straight answer. She had no decent excuse. She had just been so afraid of Ryan's reaction that she panicked. Oddly enough the only person Kelsi was able to bring herself to confess to was sharpay, and that was a complete accident. No one was supposed to know. She was hoping the topic wouldn't even come up. But it had. But just because Kelsi had thought about her wording and how to word everything over and over again, didn't make it any easier. "I don't know." she finally said quietly shaking her head.
Ryan sighed. As hard as it was to believe, he wasn't angry. Disappointed maybe, but not angry. "It's ok if we can't have any more children, Kelsi. It's no big deal."
When Kelsi didn't believe Ryan, she just stared blankly at him.
Ryan merely shrugged his shoulders. "Multiple child families are overrated anyway. We don't need more kids to make me happy. Just the fact that I have you and Travis, that's more than enough for me. And Sharpay and Zeke are adopting. We're getting a nephew. Our family's growing, Kels. I'm happy just the way things are." he explained. "Besides, this means we can spoil Travis more."
Kelsi shook her head but it almost looked like a small smile crept onto her face. "You're not serious..."
"Oh, very serious." Ryan chuckled. "He's gonna be a male version of Sharpay!"
Kelsi's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "Ryan!" she gasped.
Ryan just laughed and made a run for it down the hall of their house.
"Ryan you are not serious!" Kelsi called as she chased after her laughing husband. "Get back here Ryan, I'm not done with you yet!"
-RK-RK-RK-RK-RK-
"Congratulations to the graduating class!" the principal exclaimed.
With that, the students stood up from their seats in their caps and gowns and exited the gym row by row while the band played. Yup, Dylan had made it to the ceremony just on time. It took a lot of rushing and almost no time for pictures but it was worth it. His family was together and that's all that really mattered to him. With his diploma in hand, Dylan followed his row out. The hallway outside the U of A gymnasium was packed with students. They were cheering and sharing hugs and everything. Dylan scanned the crowd for any of his friends, knowing that in due time he would catch up with his family. They'd be waiting outside with the rest of their families for their kids to exit.
"Yo dude!"
Dylan grinned as he turned to his old friend Cooper. They exchanged high fives and a man hug.
"We finally did it! We are outta high school!" Cooper cheered. "Took ya long enough to get here."
"Sorry man. I had a few family matters to take care of." Dylan apologized.
"I'm sure you did." Cooper nodded. "Point is that you made it. But man did you really miss out on some alone time with your lady friend." He snapped his fingers and nudged Dylan.
Dylan chuckled, knowing Cooper was talking about Dylan's girlfriend Kiara. "I'll make sure to give her a call if I don't see her." he said.
"And you're sounding calm about her for once." Cooper noticed.
It was true. at once Dylan had been nervous just thinking about talking to Kiara. But even after the two started dating Dylan still got the chills once in a while. Everything had always been one step at a time with them. But onw they were out of high school and dylan didn't know what was ahead. And yet, he didn't care as much as he thought he did. He wasn't sure if he would think about girls for a while now or if he'd just try and get used to the college scene first while enjoying the summer with his friends. He wasn't like a lot of teenagers. He didn't care about going to third base with a girl or even having a girlfriend - well in some cases anyway. He hadn't thought about living on the edge or trying to be cool or show anyone up. But Dylan knew what was most important to him and that's what he cared about now.
"I've spent the entire block of finals worrying about my parents and if they were gonna stay together." he confessed to his friend. "I should've realized all along that our family's going strong and that they're always there. I think that's what I really needed for today."
"Hey what about me?" Cooper gasped, feigning pain. "I'm supposed to be your best friend."
Dylan couldn't help but laugh. "Well if you wanna be kicked behind homework on my most important list and go from number two to number three..."
"I'm just fine with being number two." Cooper said right away with a chuckle. "Now c'mon. Let's go catch up with our 'rents."
Dylan nodded in agreement and the boys headed up. They left the gym area and headed outside. It didn't take long for Dylan to find his family. He didn't even waste any time; he ran right over to them. He grinned widely and exchanged a high five with a very hyper Chad.
"How does it feel to be officially out of high school?" Chad asked eagerly.
"A lot better thn I thought." Dylan admitted, the smile not once leaving his face.
"Well we're really proud of you." Taylor said enveloping him in a hug. "And we're glad you actually decided to make it."
"I'm just glad everything's back to normal." Dylan said. "I kept thinking that something was wrong. But I let my stress get the better of me and I didn't wanna leave everything we cared about in high school."
"Smart move Dill." Chad nodded. "we almost left something behind in high school. But it's never too late to get it back." Chad said wrapping his arm around Taylor, who was holding Trina in both her arms.
"I guess so." Dylan nodded with a smile. He moved in on Chad's side and Cheryl on Taylor's side, the five of them sharing a family hug.
"We're not gonna take a bazillion pictures are we?" Cheryl moaned. Yup, she had to go there.
"No, but I think this is a good family photo moment." Chad said. He looked over at Cooper. "Yo, Coop-man." He saw Cooper turn to them, then Chad tossed his camera over. "Mind snapping a pic for us?"
"You kidding? It's the first time I touched a camera since I broke my last one." Cooper laughed.
"I'm not even gonna ask." Chad muttered.
Cooper just shook his head and took a picture perfect photograph of the family. "I gotta go find my folks." he said tossing his camera back to Chad.
"Tell them to keep an eye out for us later. we'll have a celebratory dinner or something." Chad called as Cooper ran off.
"Celebratory isn't a word, last I checked." Taylor shook her head.
"Well it is now." Chad said. "I made it up all by myself."
"You mean like picklijuice?" Cheryl asked.
"No...that's two serparate words you smushed together into one word." Chad said.
"But she made it up all by herself." Taylor replied mocking Chad.
Chad laughed and playfully nudged her, which caused Taylor to nudge him back.
Dylan laughed as he watched his parents. "So should we get out of here and take some pictures? There's plenty of room in our backyard."
"Sure thing." Chad said. "But first there's someone here to see you."
Dylan cocked an eyebrow. He watched as Chad and Taylor moved aside and a man about the same age as them stepped forward. Something about him just seemed so familiar. His skin was much lighter and his hair...was it a red shade, or black? Maybe it was black with red highlights. Dylan couldn't tell right away, most likely because he was in shock seeing the face. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew he looked familiar somehow. And it didn't hit him right away...until he heard the man's voice.
"Hey Dylan. It's been a long time."
Dylan shook his head as he stared at him. Something in the back of his mind told him he knew this man. But he couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Who's that guy?" Cheryl asked.
That's what got Dylan to answer. He wouldn't believe it if he weren't seeing it, but it was real. He wasn't sure if he should be happy or scared, but he knew that he had to answer. And he knew that this was a reunion he'd never forget. He was still in shock, but even with all the talking from students and their families in the background Dylan miraculously found the words to reveal the man's identity.
"It's my father."
TO BE CONTINUED….
Dun dun dun! Another cliffhanger! Yup, I've had at least that last part planned for a long time. Well, something like it anyway. Took me long enough to do this, too. I had to keep typing and going back. First I took a break for dinner, then I had to stop because it was thundering and lightning big time so I didn't wanna type a bunch of stuff up and end up losing it to a power outage (which ended up not happening anyway), then I got caught up in talking to some friends online and that made it difficult to type this at the same time. I guess I didn't technically update two stories in one day now, cause by the time this is posted it's actually the day after I updated my Week at Lava Springs. But I did start it almost right after I finished that chapter. Anyway, this means only one more chapter to go! I don't want to give anything away especially since nothing's typed yet, but I will give you some hints about what will happen. If you remember the story that started these oneshots, you'll know who Dylan's real father is. That's whos there to see him. And while Kelsi's and Ryan's dilema has been solved in this chapter that means the final chapter will have Zeke and Sharpay finally adopting their son. Yup, letting the minor couples and such shine through with this finale so sorry for anyone who had been enjoying the Troy and Gabriella related chapters and anything like that. Let's just wait and see how it all ends. Before signing off I just wanna say thanks for all your patience with these oneshots and I'm glad so many of you had been enjoying them. Let's hope the last one of the bunch will not disappoint!