A/N: Next chapter! It's gonna be short since I split it up into two parts.

I just wanna say the people who read (and reviewed) the previous chapters rock! Don't forget to scribble a little comment this time! Oh, and enjoy! D

Troy averted his eyes and shifted his feet over the pebbles below him. They scraped against each other with a toe curling crunch.

"I'm sorry," Ryan said, monotonous. He sighed and sat down on the boulder again. Troy raised his gaze, a little pucker of confusion on his brow.

"For what?" he asked, the air chilling his bare skin. He plucked some bark off the tree next to him.

"For ...what happened in the store cupboard the other day," Ryan chewed on the inside of his cheek and stared at his hands which were balled into fists in his lap.

"I didn't mean to drop you... or anything," he explained slowly. Troy crunched over to Ryan and sat down next to him. He remembered that day Ryan and himself had been asked to run an errand.

((A/N: beware, flashback!!!))

It wasn't until the teacher came in that Troy felt the dreaded worry again. He had been asked to run an errand, with Ryan, to the store cupboard. So now they both stood confined in the tight space, their chest toughing and legs tangled.

" I can't reach that!" Troy said sighing as he pointed to box on the top shelf. Ryan shook his head, "me neither," they both looked at each other and laughed.

"Gimme a boost?" Troy asked. Ryan dropped to his knees immediately and cupped his hands together. Troy stepped on his hands and reached up high ,his fingers just scrabbling the edge of the box. Then he started to slip back down again. But not before Ryan grabbed both of his legs and lifted him back up again, grunting with effort.

Ryan couldn't help but notice the way Troy's pants had ridden down low on his hips, exposing the waistband of blue plaid boxer. He grinned, and then the smile vanished as he faltered on his feet, loosing his grip on Troy so they both went crashing to the floor, boxes falling around their heads.

Ryan yelped as Troy landed on his legs. He threw his hands over his head as boxes tumbled like rain upon him. He heard a dull thwack followed by a pained cry. Vaguely he wondered what had happened as the last sheet of paper fluttered down. Carefully unfolding his arms from his head he looked up at the high shelves, wondering if they would tumble.

"ugghh," Troy groaned from beside him, he was clutching his head with two hands like it was in danger falling apart.

"You're on my legs," Ryan pointed out as he felt the similar numbness start to tingle in his toes. There was something sharp digging into his back and he didn't exactly relish being squashed like a sardine in a tin.

Troy muttered something inaudible and shifted to the side, still clutching at his skull. Ryan drew his legs up to his chest and scooted forwards.

"Lemme look," her persisted, prying Troy's fingers away. Surely enough a purple lump was swelling on his head. Ryan prodded it gently with the tips of his fingers.

"Does it hurt?" he asked. The other huffed and Ryan could almost hear Troy rolling his eyes. Grabbing his chance Ryan tipped Troy's head up so that their eyes met.

((End of flashback))

Troy touched the fading bruise on his head, the twinge of pain expelled the blush on his cheeks. He knew what Ryan was really apologizing for, they both did, but neither uttered the black event.

"And I'm sorry for what me and the guys were gonna do," he said, hurriedly diverting the conversation away from such a dangerous topic. A small smirk picked at the side of Ryan's lips.

"what exactly were you going to do?" Troy opened his mouth to explain, "I know your friend was going to dump his lunch on me, but you looked like you wanted nothing more than to be swallowed up by the ground," Ryan laughed as the memory tickled him. Troy wrinkled his nose.

"I...uh we were going to humiliate you...I think," he explained awkwardly. Ryan prompted him on with an overly dramatic wave of his hand.

"Uh, well Chad was gonna spill the tray on you, and I was going to shove that ugly hat on your head...Then we wanted to take a photo and post it around school," Troy said, sounding more agonized by the second. He was more than surprised when Ryan laughed.

"Is that all?" he said, raising one eyebrow and pursing his lips. Troy nodded sheepishly.

"You couldn't think of anything worse?"

"Ye-...uh no, I guess not,"

Ryan stifled a laugh in his hands. They sat in a comfortable silence.

"That's very uncreative," he said disapprovingly, "Sharpay could easily do better than that," Troy resented that Ryan was insulting his intelligence, but said nothing. He knew he deserved much worse.

"In fact," Ryan said sneakily, casting a sideways glance at Troy, "I wonder what she'd say if she knew...it's so ...gay," The casual way Ryan said the word shocked him.

"I'm not gay!" he snapped immediately, slightly louder than he had planned. Ryan looked nothing more than amused.

"I never said you are," he smiled calmly. Troy's eyes widened. It was true know that he thought about it, a fierce embarrassment stained his cheeks again. He bit down on his lip, and tasted the metallic tang of blood.

"Are you gay?" Troy asked the first question that sprang to mind. Actually that question had been turning through his thoughts a lot lately, it was starting to annoy him. Ryan considered it thoughtfully.

"I...maybe, I'm not really sure," he admitted staring blankly at the trees. It was obvious neither of the two boys wanted to say anymore on the subject.

A cold chill passed through the clearing and rustled the trees, as if it was sharing whispered secrets with the world. Troy shivered.

"We should get back," he stood up and retrieved his borrowed shirt from the tree.

"School finished ages ago,"

The journey back was a quiet one. With the heaters on full blast in the truck Ryan was soon sweating. He wondered with exasperation how Troy could stand the heat. He discretely popped open the top two buttons on his shirt.

Troy stopped at the set of traffic lights they had passed earlier and reached down to tune the stereo in again. Ryan's abrupt question halted him;

"What are you going to tell them tomorrow?" he asked quietly, gazing out of the window. His elbow was propped up on the car's frame and his head was resting in his hand. Troy blinked in confusion.

"huh?" he grunted as the rest of the traffic sped off. He urged the truck to go a little faster.

"Well, we both disappeared at the same time, it's kinda obvious. They're gonna crucify you," Troy knew it was true, but Ryan's bluntness made him feel a surge of pity for the boy. He didn't quite realize how hard he'd made Ryan's life so far.

"I'll tell them the truth," Troy said, glancing in his rear view mirror as a motorbike sped very close behind. He swore under his breath and then smiled briefly. He couldn't see Ryan's face but he could feel the shock radiating from the passenger seat next to him.

"Anyway, it's Saturday tomorrow," Troy grinned and Ryan joined in despite himself.

"Where should I drop you off?" Troy asked sometime later, he slowed down considerably to take Ryan's directions into account.

"The bus stop, just up the road," he gathered his stuff from his feet and rested them in his lap.

"I'll get my mom to pick me up," he added, "It'll be very late by the time you drop me off and then get back to your house," he explained, already punching a number into his cell phone. The glare off the screen illuminated his face. Troy nodded, put-out by Ryan's abrupt need to depart.

He stopped stopped near Ryan's preferred drop off point but didn't cut the engine.

"I'll see you Monday," Troy said, "oh and I'll have your shirt dry-cleaned by then," Ryan laughed as he turned to get out of the car, struggling again with the door. He managed to shunt it open with his shoulder.

"You can keep it, I have loads more at home," Ryan got out into the chilly night air. Troy chuckled half heartedly.

"Thanks Troy," Ryan said and then abruptly slammed the door before Troy could say a word.

Feeling stupid he pulled off, heading for home.

A/N: Uhh, well I warned you it would be short! consider it something to fill the time while I work on the next chapter. I suppose it's like a filler, only the content is quite important here.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

Until next time mes amies!

Much love!

Gabriella