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

A/N: Hey guys, I just have to ask this one more time, please don't make me rush this! I have a very set way on how I want this fanfic to go. Other than that, I love ya'll, especially the people who tell me that ya'll like that I'm not rushing this! You make me want to do the happy dance! Which is scary because I can't dance what so ever. Anyways…..

Special Thanks To:

Repeated Reviewers:

pollypocket911: Thank you for telling me that I'm a good writer because even if I tell that to myself it isn't as much as someone else saying it, and I'm really glad that you like the story! Thank you! Much Love!

ZacEfronLuver: You are probably my most frequent reviewer and I really appreciate that! I will write more soon, and I hope you're enjoying the story!

MyFictionalAnnihilation: Thanks for the correction...I personally hate math! ha! Also, I think that it's really great that you take people into your group when they 'come out'. That shows what an amazing person you are.

.x.x.Mystic.x.x.: I always look forward to your reviews because I love your writing and it makes my heart happy that you love mine! I will do my own happy dance when your new chapter comes out! Can't wait!

Mondler4EvEr: Thank you for making me feel better, because I'm sixteen and your fifteen and your writing is better than mine and the fact that you think that I am a good writer means a lot coming from someone like you.

Braids21: First I've got to say that I love your screen name! Also, it's ok that you missed my last update because you reviewed for this one! In fact you were the first to review! Go you! Thanks so much!

New Reviewers:

rwb16: Thanks for liking my story and it will become Troy and Ryan soon enough! I promise!

sharpayxevans: Hey a new reviewer! When I read that you thought my story was "incredible" you put a smile on my face after a very bad day. So my personal thanks to you because you made my day!

DarkPhoenix1987: Hi, you're a new reviewer! Thank you for saying that you think my story is getting good and I hope you enjoy the future chapters!

Thank you for being my inspiration! Much Love!

MEETINGS

It went on that way for a couple of weeks. Meetings everyday in the bathroom. Their bathroom. Sometimes they talked for hours. Just little conversations that meant nothing and everything. They were never really specific on what they discussed. Sometimes it was about school, other times it was about interests. They talked about everything. Well, almost everything. Some subjects were off limits. Ryan's father for instance was obviously dangerous waters. Troy remembered the one time that he had tried to bring it up. He had asked in a casual voice why Ryan's father was never at any of the plays that Ryan was in and Ryan had just stared at the wall, at the floor, at the ceiling, anywhere but at him, and Troy had known. Just one moment of Ryan's reluctance and Troy could see that he was not welcome in that part of Ryan's life. At least not yet.

Some of the best conversations were when they really didn't talk about anything at all. Just unimportant jokes and stories that held no value to them. They didn't have to talk about bullying and neglect and pain because there was comfort in their meaningless words.

Troy also began to find things out about Ryan. Things he had never noticed before. Things that he hadn't picked up on in the almost eleven years that they had known each other. Like the way Ryan would pick at his fingernails whenever he got nervous. Or the way he liked to swing his feet as they dangled off the edge of the sink counter. Never anything drastic, just little quirks and habits. Troy had picked up on almost every one of Ryan's little rituals and could now almost pin point them religiously. Troy also noticed how easily Ryan could make him laugh. He was witty, a trait that Troy would never have pinned on Ryan, and given the chance he could pull humor out of almost everything. Almost. Sometimes they would test each other. One of them would say something slightly dirty and then wait to see how long it would take the other one to take it a step further before inevitably stepping over that invisible, but ever present ethical line. Those little games usually ended up with one of them a lovely shade of ruby and the other laughing their ass off.

There were also days when things didn't go so well. Days when Ryan was tormented at school and they spent their little meetings in silence because Troy didn't know what to say and he didn't think it would help anyways. Those were the days when Troy would just watch Ryan. He had become accustomed to Ryan's appearance, the way he dressed, the way he looked, the very way he carried himself. Ryan's blonde hair had a habit of falling into his eyes and sometimes when he didn't move the strand out of his face it annoyed Troy so much that he had to stop himself from reaching over and brushing it aside himself. Yes, Ryan did dress differently from everyone else, and Troy was sure that Ryan had triple the clothes that he himself had but Troy liked the fact that Ryan was different. There was fresh air when it came to Ryan, something new. Then there was his eyes. Ice blue. Piercing. Haunted. Brilliant. So many words. Never enough.

Troy hated some of those days however. Loved them and hated them because they made him want to keep coming back and he knew it would never work. One of these days someone was going to walk in through that bathroom door and everything they had built would be destroyed because as soon as someone would ask "Hey are you and Queer friends?" Troy knew what he would say. No….always no. In their world they were friends. In fact Ryan was probably the best friend that Troy had ever had, but to anyone else but them, even the people they were outside the restroom walls, they meant nothing to each other. And if Troy was ever confronted on this he would go on living his lie, because when they saw each other in the halls there was no caring, no compassion, no friendship. Both of them knew this and that was why these meetings were becoming so difficult because they made them want to forget.

So they would forget. At least for now. They would go on having their discussions and their laughs because the thought of it ending started to become too much. Troy knew that he was going to lose his friend one day but everyday that he spent with Ryan made him hope that that time would be later rather than sooner. Ryan was unlike anybody he had ever met. He was hurting but he also knew that others were hurting as well. Troy had never felt so…..at home with anybody in his life. Ryan listened to any problem that Troy had even though Troy knew that his problems would never amount to what Ryan was going through.

It was also starting to get harder and harder to just stand by and watch as Ryan was harassed . Sometimes Troy got so angry that he would cut holes into his palm with his fingernails from clinching his fists as he watched what people did to Ryan. He felt protective over him but he never would act on these instincts because he couldn't. If he did their cover would be blown and that would just make things worse for everybody.

If it bothered Ryan that Troy never stood up for him he never said anything about it and Troy had the feeling that this was because Ryan never wanted to say something that might drive him away. However, what Ryan didn't realize was the fact that it would be very hard to drive Troy away. Troy began to start wanting to spend more time with Ryan than he should. More that his dad, more than his friends, even more than Gabriella because Ryan wasn't like them. He didn't tell Troy how to act and he never expected anything from Troy other than for him to just be himself. Everyday Troy cared more about his secret friend and everyday that past, every little conversation that was shared in private between them, was just a reminder that good things don't always last