Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical…shocked, no?

A/N: Ok, I was talking to someone today about my writing and they said, without even looking at anything that I have written, that my writing probably wasn't that good because of my age…that really pissed me off….just had to get that off my chest. Ok I know you want me to get on with the Troy/Ryan goodness but this is a long fiction and it takes some time…but don't lose faith. You're patience will pay off! Also in this next chapter, Gabriella comes off as a bit of a ….er, whore. However, keep in mind that she has been dating Troy for over a year so her behavior really isn't all that uncommon.

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You guys are the ones who keep this fiction going! I really hope that you enjoy this next chapter,. I do believe that it is the longest one so far, if I'm not mistaken. Read on! Much Love!

A PROPOSITION

Troy awoke the next morning not so keen on the idea of going to school. He went through his morning routine of taking a shower and brushing his teeth at a groggy, slow pace. The bright light from the bathroom burned his eyes and proceeded to make his unbearable headache worse. He had known that he wouldn't sleep well the night before and his extinct had been, of course, correct. He had spent most of the night tossing and turning, haunted by the events of what had happened the previous day. Finally, around four o'clock in the morning, he had fallen into a dreamless sleep out of pure exhaustion and had awoken this morning lying horizontally in his bed rather than vertically and with a horrendous, splitting pain in the center of his temple. He had toyed with the idea of just staying home that day and calling in sick. It wasn't as if that would be a lie, he was sick. Though in the end he thought better of it. After all, since when does the school basketball star miss school because of a headache?

On his way to school he narrowly missed getting into a wreck at least 3 different times and he hit a curb at least four. Troy thought that he had never heard so much honking in his entire life. By the time he reached his locker Gabriella was already leaning against it running her fingers idly through her long hair. Troy had known that she would be there. She always was. Gabriella seemed to have an iron-clad theory, or rather paranoia, that any rift, argument or fight would inevitably lead to a break up, so she felt it was necessary to fix any problem immediately.

"Hey babe!" She greeted him in most likely the sweetest voice she could muster. She ran up to him and planted a kiss on his cheek. Then, she took his hands and placed them around her waist before entwining her own around his neck. He forced a smile as he looked down at her.

"'Morning Gabriella…about last night, I'm-" She placed a single finger to his lips.

"Don't worry about it. We're ok now." she assured him, playing with the hair on the back of his nape.

"We're ok?" He repeated her words.

"Yes and I'll show you just how much if you come over to my place tonight." She said with a suggestive grin, while tracing little designs on his chest with her finger, a weakness of Troy's that Gabriella knew all too well. Except this time, to his surprise, he wasn't affect at all by her actions. He really, in all honesty, had no interest in sex at the moment. Of course he wasn't going to let her know that.

"I'll be there."

"I thought you would." She grinned, causing her nose to wrinkle up in a way that Troy found, most of the time, to be adorable. "Hey I'm going to go study for my physics test with Taylor in the library. I'll see you later, ok?" She told him before pulling his head down and bringing her lips firmly to his. "Bye babe." She whispered next to his ear before heading off in the other direction, with an extra bit of swagger to her hips.

"Bye…" He called after her. A miserable feeling was growing in the pit of his stomach and it only continued to increase as he heard the front doors to the school fly open behind him.

He turned his head and saw Sharpay standing in the entryway in all her glory. Everything about her was the way that it had always been, matching clothes, matching shoes, matching purse, matching twin brother permanently attached at her side. Everything was the same. The way she flipped her blonde hair vainly behind her shoulders. The way the crowds parted as she walked briskly down the hall. The smug look plastered on her face. It all was clockwork. It was as if it had been practiced that way. Except for there was one kink in the system. Where eyes were usually planted on Sharpay and Sharpay alone, they were now focused on Ryan. Some people whispered, some people laughed, others were completely silent. Troy also recognized words such as "Fag" and "Queer" littering the air in hushed tones.

The whole time Ryan kept his eyes on his shoes and the only time he ever lifted his head his eyes found Troy's immediately. His lips curved upwards into what most wouldn't of recognized as a small smile. Even Troy wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't been looking for it and as quickly as it had come it was gone and Ryan was staring at the tiled patterns of the school floor once more.

He walked past Troy without a second glance and Troy reluctantly headed off to his first period history class. The day went on as normally as it usually did. He was waved at in the hall far too many times to count. He received high-fives from nearly all his friends. He had to be told to keep quiet in class several times and during lunch time he was surround by far more people than the table could hold. It was all so damn predictable and yet Troy felt like he had never had a worse day in his life.

On his way to Pre-cal he saw Ryan's locker. The janitor had evidently tried to clean off the word but the permanent marker had held strong. It was dulled slightly but still as plain and cruel as ever. He had Pre-cal with Ryan and he wasn't looking forward to how uncomfortable that was going to be. He took his place at his seat and couldn't help but sneak glances at Ryan as he entered the room. He hadtwo text books, a binder and an overwhelming amount of sheet music pilled into his strained arms. Troy knew it was going to happen before it did but that didn't stop the small skip in his heart beat as he watched it take place. The foot came out from the side of one of the desks and Ryan didn't even see it until he was falling to the ground. Luckily, Ryan caught himself before he could fall all the way but in the effort to catch himself the sheet music fell to the floor.

Bobby Hatchery, the person who had tripped Ryan, bent down and picked up one of the pieces of paper. "What's this shit?" He said quite stupidly before ripping it in half. Ryan winced as he saw this but he didn't make a sound. He just gathered up his remaining papers and sat down at his desk. The teacher came in then and the laughter that had filled the room, died down quickly. Troy stole one last look in Ryan's direction and he noticed that Ryan's head was down and it stayed that way for the remainder of the class period.

After school was finally over Troy began to head out to the parking lot, incredibly happy to be ending the day, but then he had a thought. Just maybe…… he wasn't sure why he even wanted to find out but his curiosity and (to his dismay) concern, was far too much for him. Before he knew it, he found himself heading in a different direction. One that led up the stairs, down a hallway and into a all-too-familiar bathroom. When he opened the door to the, for the most part private, restroom he wasn't surprised to find Ryan Evans sitting on the sink counter and to his bewilderment, Ryan wasn't surprised to see him either. They didn't say anything to each other. Ryan just looked at him before nodding his head in approval. Troy walked over to the counter and hoisted himself up, sitting across from the other boy.

They sat for awhile without speaking. Any other time this would have been weird or awkward but not then. There was comfort in their silence. Comfort in the fact that they didn't have to speak if they didn't want to. Comfort in the aspect that someone was just…there. Finally after a wordless period, Troy looked over at Ryan who was biting away at his fingernails without notice and cleared his throat.

"So…how was your day, Ryan?" He asked quite simply. Ryan just stared at him in shock before he, to Troy's surprise, let out a snort of laughter.

"You're kidding, right?" he said through his fits of giggles and Troy, realizing the stupidity of his question, began to laugh as well. They continued on this way for several minutes before their laughter began to die down and Troy looked at Ryan with serious eyes. "No, really, how did it go today?"

"Well, I would ask before or after the ridicule but considering that was pretty much constant…" His voice died off and he didn't continue. Troy didn't mean to say what came out next and he wasn't even really sure why he did.

"You know my father knew last night about what had happened to you." Troy blurted out.

Ryan just shrugged his shoulders. "Who didn't?"

"He wouldn't…he wouldn't stop talking about it and…it just drove me insane." He still wasn't completely sure why he was sharing all this.

"That's funny, my father refuses to talk about it at all." Ryan said, going back to chewing on his fingernails.

"May I ask why?"

Ryan just look at him then, his blue eyes piercing Troy's , before replying shortly and quietly. "because his son isn't gay."

Now Troy was confused. What was that supposed to mean anyways? "But I thought-"

"At least in his world I'm not."

"I'm sorry……."

"Yeah…me too." He said in a voice that was incased in bitterness. He jumped off the counter and looked at his watch. "Hey look, I've got to get going. See you later, Troy." He began to walk out but then Troy had a thought and he grabbed Ryan's forearm to stop him.

"Hey, I've got a proposition." Ryan cocked his head and waited for him to continue. "Why don't we meet in here everyday after school to just talk." Ryan looked unsure. "Look, it would give you someone to talk to and it would give me-"

"A way to relieve your guilt?" Ryan hadn't meant it the way it sounded. He just didn't trust anyone but even if he hadn't meant it they both knew that it was true. Troy jumped off the counter and brushed past him.

"Forget it"

"No, wait." Troy stopped and turned to face him. "look, I'm sorry….and I want to. It be nice to have someone to…talk to." He said the last part while staring at his feet. He seemed to be shy about the situation. Troy smiled at him.

"Good, see you tomorrow." And he walked out the door with a smile still on his face.