Take Me There
Chapter 3
Previously...
"Mrs. Danforth. What your son is trying to get me to tell you is that..well..um..I'm gay."
She only smiled.
"That's nice, dear. Now, you boys run along and have a wonderful summer." With that, she turned and left the room.
"See, I told you. Now come one! We gotta head back." Chad grabbed his keys and headed out the door.
Ryan couldn't believe it. She was ok with it. This was what a real family was supposed to be like. Ryan smiled.
Maybe this summer would be better than he could ever have imagined. Just maybe things would turn out ok. He smiled as he followed Chad out the door.
HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM
One week.
That's how long Ryan had been hanging out with Chad and so far things were going great. Ryan had made sure Chad knew from day one that he in no way wanted Chad to "work" for him, no matter what Mr. Fulton called the job position. Ryan had made him understand that he just really wanted someone to hang out with. Chad was cool with it. He was actually cool with everything so far.
Today Ryan had decided to take it slow. It was a beautiful day outside and he wanted to make the most of it. He was sitting outside by the pool when Chad walked up to him. Taking the chair next to Ryan he sat down.
That's when Chad had an idea. Turning to Ryan he asked if he had ever played basketball before.
"Hey, Ry, you ever play b-ball before?"
Looking at Chad over the top of his designer sunglasses, Ryan answered.
"Honestly, Chad. What do you think?"
"Ok, so, I'm taking that as a 'no' then."
"A big 'no'."
"Then I believe it is a little over-due, don't you?"
"What?"
"That I teach you some of the finer points of the game, duh! Now, come on!" Chad grabbed Ryan's hand and began dragging him towards the basketball court. Ryan was trying to protest, but Chad wasn't listening.
"Chad, please! You have to be kidding! I can't play basketball! I haven't the first clue as to what I'm doing!"
"That's why I'm teaching you. Now hush and come on!"
Upon reaching the court, Chad stopped, grabbed a ball and tossed it to Ryan. Ryan completely missed it and it flew right passed him.
"Ok, rule number one. When someone throws you the ball, you catch it." Chad smiled.
Ryan walked over to where the ball had landed and picked it up. Turning back around to face Chad, Ryan saw that he had taken his shirt off.
"Oh my freaking God! Is he trying to kill me? Why, oh why are all the cute boys straight?" Picking his jaw up off of the ground he walked back to Chad.
"Um...uh, so, what exactly are you going to 'teach' me?"
"Just the basics. Nothing to advanced. I mean, have you ever tried to play ball before?"
"Honestly, no. I've never saw the appeal in it before. I'm starting to see it now though." The words were out of Ryan's mouth before he could stop himself.
Chad only grinned.
"Ok, so I'm gonna start you off with something easy. Now, I want you to watch what I do. Then you are gonna try and do the same thing as me. Got it?"
Ryan nodded his head, afraid to speak again.
Chad lined up his shot and made a basket easy. Turning to Ryan, he spoke.
"See, it's easy. Now you try." This time when Chad threw the ball at Ryan, he caught it.
"That's a start. Now, line it up and go for it." Chad stepped back and gave Ryan some room.
Ryan walked up to the free-throw line. He tried to do it like Chad had, but he ended up over shooting the ball and it went straight over the backboard. Before he could move, Chad walked over and picked up the ball.
"Ok, I can see I have my work cut out for me. Let's try this another way. Come 'ere." Chad motioned for Ryan to come to him.
Nervously, he walked to him. Chad positioned him in front of the net. Instead of just handing him the ball, he placed himself behind Ryan. Ryan assumed it was to show him exactly how it was done.
Whatever Chad was saying, Ryan never heard a word of it. All he could think about was how good if felt to have Chad's arms around him. He jerked back into reality when Chad place the ball in his hands, then placed his own hands on top of Ryan's.
"Now, this is how you are supposed to line it up. Can you tell the difference from now and when you tried it a minute ago?"
"Um, yeah. Sure." Ryan blushed, hoping Chad couldn't tell how nervous he was. If he did, he never mentioned it.
"Now, just follow though and let the ball soar." Ryan could hardly believe it when the ball when in the net.
Turning around, he saw the huge smile on Chad's face.
"See, I told ya it was easy. Wanna try one on your own now?"
"Yeah." Taking the ball, Ryan lined it up. Again, it was nothing but net. He was so excited he started jumping up and down. He wasn't paying attention to where he was jumping and bumped right into Chad, knocking them both to the ground.
Ryan landed right on top of Chad. Chad was laughing, which caused Ryan to start laughing again.
"Ry, I never knew you felt this way about me." Chad winked at him.
Was Chad teasing him? Ryan could only hope.
"Funny, Chad. You are such a pig!" Ryan swatted Chad in the chest. "Get over yourself!" Ryan began laughing right along with Chad.
It seemed like forever since Ryan had been around someone who didn't care that he was gay. If it had been anyone else Ryan had fell on top of, he knew they would be freaking out. Not like Chad, who was making a joke. Ryan knew he could easily get used to this.
As much fun as they were having, Ryan should have known it couldn't last forever. That's when he heard her voice, breaking through their laughter.
"Oh, my God, Ryan! Have some decency! Keep your queer tendencies private! No one wants to see that! Take your boy toy and get out of here."
Sharpay Evans. Ryan's sister. Just when he thought all things in his life were finally going good, she shows up.
"Sorry, Sharpay." Ryan picked himself up off of Chad. He seemed to shy away as soon as Sharpay had shown up.
Chad picked himself up off of the ground and turned to Sharpay. It was then that Sharpay saw who her brother had been on top of.
"Chad?!"
"Yeah." Chad seemed annoyed.
"Oh my God! What are you doing with my brother? How can you let him touch you!? Oh God, you don't know, do you?"
"What? That he's gay? Yeah, I know. So what?"
Sharpay looked like a fish out of water.
"How can you stand to be around him? He's disgusting! He's not normal!" With each word, Sharpay's voice only seemed to get louder. She was drawing everyone's attention to them. Ryan was beginning to get nervous.
"You have got to be kidding me?"
"No, why would I joke about something like this! Mother and Father have practically disowned him for it. That's why he's living here for the summer. We don't want him at our home anymore."
"Shar, No! Please, don't do this!" Ryan was pleading with her not to tell Chad everything.
Turning to face Ryan, Sharpay spoke in her meanest Ice Queen voice.
"Never call me that again! Only my family gets to use that nickname and you are no longer related to me in the least. I have no brother anymore."
Ryan started backing away. He knew if he didn't leave now, he was going to cry and there was no way he would show Sharpay what kind of affect her words had on him.
"Please. I'm sorry. I just couldn't live a lie anymore. I wanted my family to know the truth." He managed to get out with no tears falling.
Walking over to where Ryan stood, Sharpay stopped.
Shocking Ryan and everyone around them, she slapped her brother across the face like he was a rank stranger.
Ryan stumbled back. His hand went up to his face where Sharpay had slapped him.
"You have no family. We are through with you." Ryan didn't stick around any longer. Picking himself up, he bolted for his room. He never stopped, not even when he heard Chad yelling his name.
Chad was furious. No one deserved to be treated like that. Especially not Ryan. Marching up to Sharpay, he jerked her around to face him.
"How dare you! He's your brother for Christ's sake!"
"I have no brother. Not after what he has put our family through."
"Get over yourself, Sharpay! He didn't come out to all of you because of you, he did it for himself. He was living a lie. And this is what he get's for telling the truth. You all treat him like he's some sort of freak!"
"Well, he is. All fags are. Its not natural." She spoke as if she actually believed her own words.
"Ya know, I always knew there were close minded people in this world but I never knew how close they were. How anyone can judge someone because they happen to like someone of the same sex is beyond me."
"Gosh, Chad, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were just like my brother. Queer. I'd be careful who you say things like that too. Not everyone would be so willing to give you the benefit of the doubt."
"News flash, Sharpay! Not everything is as it seems."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Figure it out yourself."
Chad never stuck around to hear what she had to say. He took off in the same direction Ryan had left in. He had one thing one his mind. Finding Ryan. Right now, Ryan was all he cared about.
HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM
Once Ryan had reached his room, he threw himself down on his bed. As soon as his door was closed, he let the tears fall. It was bad enough that he knew what his family had done, but now Chad did as well. He could just see it now. The pity in Chad's eyes when he looked at Ryan again. Ryan didn't want anyone's pity.
Sitting up, he glanced in the direction of his mirror. He could see the large, hand shaped bruise that was starting to form. More tears began falling. He couldn't believe his own sister could treat him like that. Like he was no better than the dirt under her Prada flip-flops.
It wasn't long after reaching his room, he heard someone knock. Getting up and walking to the door, he was surprised when he opened the door and saw Chad standing there.
"Chad, what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see if you were ok."
"I'm fine."
Chad could see that Ryan was lying. His eyes were red and puffy and his cheek looked like it seriously hurt.
"Ry, I know your not. You don't have to hide it from me. Its ok to cry."
Ryan looked up at Chad as he spoke. Chad's expression softened. Ryan was in pain. Not only physical but emotional as well. Walking over to him, Chad took Ryan's hand and pulled him down onto the bed. He then pulled Ryan into a hug.
"Its ok. You can let it out. I'm here for you and I'm not going anywhere. I promise."
With those simple words, Ryan let the floodgates open. He cried harder than he ever had. He cried for what he had lost. A mother and father. His sister. His sense of belonging.
And Chad was right. He was there. Deep down Ryan knew he would never leave him. And somehow it made things a tiny bit easier.
A/N: And there's chapter 3! How did everyone like it? Leave a review and let me know! Oh and how could I forget, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who had been reviewing and adding this story to their favorite and alerts! I'm so glad you are all liking it! Look for the next chapter tomorrow! Until then, Tootles:)