Take Me There
Chapter 9
Previously...
Making his way to his closet, Ryan grabbed a white tee shirt and a pair of sweat pants. Since the day was almost over, there was no way he was dressing like he usually did. Making his way back towards the bathroom, he turned and looked at Chad.
"You're mom called while you were sleeping. I told her I'd have you call when you woke up. You can have the bathroom now if you want. I'm gonna change in my dressing room. There are some clothes you can wear in the second drawer on the left. Meet me in the living room in thirty and we can order something to eat."
Ryan turned and walked back out. Swaying his hips as he went, knowing Chad was watching.
Ryan was right. As soon as he left the room, Chad leaned forward and watched as Ryan made his way back down the hall. One thought kept repeating itself over and over in his mind.
"That boy is so gonna be the death of me! But its gonna be a hell of a ride along the way."
Groaning, he flopped back onto the bed and placed a pillow over his face.
HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM
Since both of the boys had slept their day away, they decided on staying in and hanging out. Ryan ordered room service and when it arrived, Chad was already drooling. There was enough for both of them and the rest of the Wildcats basketball team. Speaking of the team and all of Chad's other friends, Ryan brought up the yet to be discussed subject of his sexuality.
"So, Chad, I know you said that your mom was the only one who knew you were gay, but don't any of your other friends know? I mean you and Troy are best friends. How come you never told him?"
"I don't know really. I mean, there have been times when I almost had the words out of my mouth and then all of the sudden, I would chicken out and change the subject really fast."
"So, no one at school knows?"
"As far as I know, no, no one knows. Unless I haven't been as good at keeping it a secret as I thought."
"Well, if its any consideration, I never imagined that you were gay. Shocked me, is what it did."
Chad laughed at Ryan's lame attempt to lighten the mood. It was the thought that counted at least. It was hard for Chad to think about all the times he had tried to tell his friends, especially Troy, that he was gay. But no matter how many times he started the conversation, he would back out at the last minute. It got to the point where Chad was almost afraid to say anything around Troy and the guys. He was afraid that the slightest slip up would let his secret out.
Thinking about it now, Chad really admired Ryan for having the courage to come out to his family and everyone else. They weren't for sure, but they had guessed that all of East High knew about Ryan by now. Sharpay never was the type of girl to keep a secret for very long.
Ryan knew once school started back he was in for it. He knew not everyone would be ok with it. The only thing that made it a little better was knowing that he would have Chad by his side.
"Ry, what are you gonna do once school starts back? I mean, I know we've talked about how its possible that everyone already knows. Sharpay does have a big mouth. How are you gonna handle things? I mean, she kicked you out of Drama. Can she ever do that?"
"For now, I'll let her think she can. But she has no authority to do that. Only Ms. Darbus can and I highly doubt she's gonna kick her star male lead out."
"True. But what about everyone else? How are you gonna go to school everyday knowing what people are more than likely saying about you behind your back?"
"I'm gonna walk into East High with my head held high. If someone doesn't like me just because I'm gay, then they can get over it. It's their issue, not mine. I'm ok with it. I've accepted it and moved on. I think the better question, is when are you gonna tell Troy and the guys?"
"I'm glad you can get over it that easily. I wish I could. But Ry, I don't think I can tell Troy. I mean, what if he freaks out on me. What if he's homophobic?"
"You mean to tell me that you have been friends with him since pre-school and you don't know what his view on gays are? How did it never come up?"
"Oh, it came up before. And its not like he was being mean or bashing the poor guy, but it was the look in his eyes. It was like he was disgusted. That's what made me decide it wasn't the time for Troy to know."
For the next few minutes neither boy said anything. Both were lost in thought over the conversation they had been having. That's when Ryan had an idea.
"Chad, I think I may have the perfect way for you to find out just how Troy and the rest of your friends feel about people who are gay. How about you invite them to the country club tomorrow. Once they are all here, I'll come into the picture and make it perfectly clear that I am gay and that you are ok with it. How does that sound?"
"But Ryan, what if one of them reacts bad? I don't want you getting any backlash because of me."
"Chad, I'll be fine. If anyone get out of control, I'll just call security and have them removed from the property." Ryan smiled. Chad laughed.
"Oh you would so love to do that, wouldn't you?"
"Maybe I would, maybe I wouldn't. There's only one way to find out. Call Troy and whoever else and invite them up." Ryan picked up the phone and handed it to Chad.
"Are you sure? I mean, completely sure?"
"Yes, now call."
Taking the phone, Chad dialed Troy phone number. After only two rings, someone answered.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Mr. Bolton. Is Troy around?"
"Sure, Chad. Hang on a second and I'll get him." Chad could hear Mr. Bolton calling for Troy. A few seconds later, Troy picked up.
"Hey, Chad. What's up man! Long time no talk!"
Chad laughed.
"Yeah, hey man. Sorry I haven't been around much. This new job keeps me kinda busy."
"I can tell. So, how are things going? You didn't get stuck working for some old dude, did ya?"
"Na, he's not old. But that's not why I called. I wanted to see if you were free tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I guess so. Why?"
"Well, I wanted to invite you and the rest of the gang up to Lava Springs. I'm off tomorrow and my boss said it was cool if I invited some friends up." Chad snickered when he used the word boss to describe Ryan. Looking over to him, he could see that Ryan was trying to stay as quiet as possible.
"Dude, for real! Like we can spend the whole day at that fancy country club!"
"Yeah, if you guys are free."
"Of course we are! Have you called anyone else?"
"No, I was hoping you could. I may be off tomorrow, but I'm still on the clock today." Again, Ryan tried to hold back his laughter.
"Sure. Who do you want me to call?"
"Other than you, I was thinking Gabriella, Taylor, Kelsi, Jason and Zeke. How does that sound? You think they are all free tomorrow?"
"They should be. I'll call everyone and make sure. Give me your number and I'll call you back in a few."
Chad gave him Ryan's room number and told him to call back as soon as possible so he could let his boss know how many people to expect.
"All right man. Talk to you soon."
"C-ya." They both hung up.
Chad turned to look at Ryan, he rolled his eyes.
"You can laugh now." And boy did he ever. Chad didn't think he had ever seen Ryan laugh that hard before.
"Oh, hardy har-har! It wasn't even that funny!"
"Oh, God! Wait til the find out that I'm your boss! No matter what happens, it will so be worth it just to see their reactions."
Chad picked up the closet thing he could find, a pillow, and threw it at Ryan. It smacked him square in the face. Stunned, Ryan's jaw dropped.
Chad took one look at Ryan's face and busted out laughing.
"You suck, Chad!"
"Maybe I do, maybe I don't!" Chad smirked at Ryan. Again Ryan was stunned. He had not been expecting that.
"Is Chad flirting with me?" Not thinking about what he was saying, Ryan asked.
"Are you flirting with me?" He automatically smacked his hand to his mouth.
Chad smiled.
"Maybe I am and maybe I'm not." This time, Chad winked at Ryan. Ryan blushed.
Ryan decided to change the subject before it got too intense. He knew he liked Chad, he just wasn't sure if he was ready for Chad to know yet.
"So, what do you want to do tomorrow when your friends get here?"
"What can we do? I'm not really off."
"As of now you are. I am your boss after all. So, what do you wanna do?"
"I dunno. Hang by the pool, I guess. Maybe golf a bit. I know Troy was on the school golf team, so maybe he might wanna play a round."
"That sounds fine. I'll call down to Mr. Fulton and inform him there will be a few extra guests tomorrow."
"Sounds good to me."
Ryan called Mr. Fulton and told him that he and Chad would be having a few friends over tomorrow. Unbelievably, he said that would be fine and he would inform the kitchen they would be cooking for a few more.
"He was cool with it. Kinds shocking really. Oh well, never look a gift horse in the mouth and all that." Ryan giggled.
Before Chad could say anything else, the phone rang. Ryan told Chad to answer incase it was Troy. Turns out it was.
"Hey, Chad. Sorry it took me a few to get back to you."
"No problem. So, is everyone in?"
"Yep. I called Gabi and she called Taylor. Taylor called Kelsi and Jason was there as well and they both agreed. Kelsi got Jason to call Zeke and he said he was in."
"Great. Everything sounds good. So, how about you guys be here around 10:00am."
"That early?" It sounded as though Troy was whining. Chad laughed.
"Yes. Get over it dude. I'm sure you've caught up on all your sleep since school has been out. Unlike some, you don't have a job."
Troy laughed.
"True. So, I guess we'll see you in the morning. I think we are all gonna carpool in Taylor's car."
"All right man. Talk to you tomorrow."
"Bye dude." Chad placed the phone back on its receiver. He let out a deep breath he had been holding. That's when he felt it. Ryan had reached over and taken his hand in his own. Looking up at Ryan, Chad saw a smile on his face.
"Everything is going to be fine. Don't worry. I'm sure everything will turn out just fine."
"I hope you're right, Ry. I really do."
For the rest of the night, they sat on Ryan's bed watching old movies. Ryan ever talked Chad into watching a couple of musicals and to Ryan's shock and Chad's as well, he liked them.
Since Chad had never made it home to get his room key, he decided to stay with Ryan again. Ryan was more then happy to comply. If it meant waking up in each other's arms again, they were all for it.
HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM
Morning came all to early for both boys. Even though they had woken up wrapped in each other's arms again, neither boy brought it up. Ryan had set the alarm to wake them at 7:00am so they could shower and be ready by the time Troy and everyone arrived.
Since Chad couldn't get into his room to get any of his clothes, he had no choice but to wear something of Ryan's. Believe it or not, he actually found something that fit. He ever kinda liked it. It wasn't anything to fancy. It wasn't too sparkly. The jeans were black with small jewels outlining the pockets and going up and down the legs. His shirt was a dark orangish color with some kind of weird design on it. It matched the pants so he wore it.
Ryan had even convinced him to pull his hair back. After an hour of arguing over it, Chad had finally given in. Ryan smiled and pulled out a bandana. He put it over Chad's hair. Chad found this a tad bit weird.
"Dude, what's with the bandana? I thought you just wanted my hair pulled back."
"I did. But you can't wear a hat with all your hair flying everywhere. I mean, duh!" Ryan smiled a bright, innocent smile.
Chad stopped dead in his tracks.
"WHAT? A HAT? WHEN DID I EVER AGREE TO THAT?"
"You didn't, but come on, you would look soo good in a hat. Please, just this once. For me."
"But Ryan, I mean come on. If they don't already know I'm gay, they will the minute they set eyes on me."
Ryan had to laugh at this. He thought it was hilarious.
"Chad, get a grip. It's just a hat. Please. Do this one thing for me and I'll do whatever you want in return."
Chad's eyes lit up.
"Really? Anything?"
Ryan gulped.
"Well..uh, almost anything. Nothing illegal."
"Ok, fine. I'll wear a hat. But please, nothing that sparkles." Ryan laughed and walked over to his closet and pulled out a hat that would match Chad's entire outfit to a 'T'.
It was a simple black hat. Kind of like the one he had seen Ryan wear at the baseball game. Whereas that one was black and white, this one was completely black. He actually kinda liked it. He would never admit that to Ryan, but he liked it.
Placing it on Chad's head, he took him by the arm and pulled him to the full-length mirror in the hallway. When Chad saw what he looked like, he was stunned.
"I look good." Was the first thing he said. Ryan laughed.
"Yes, you do. Now, it's almost ten. You need to get downstairs and wait for everyone. Call my cell when you are ready for me to come down. I'll meet you down by the pool. Sound good?"
"I guess so. I'm just so nervous."
"Chad, its not like you are coming out to them right here and now. Remember, we are gonna wait and see what their reactions to me are. We, I mean you, can go from there."
Chad smiled. He pulled Ryan into a hug.
"Thanks, man. You have no idea how much this means to me." Pulling back, he grabbed his cell and dashed out the door, leaving Ryan standing in the hall watching his walk away.
"Please God, if you are listening, please let today go well. For Chad's sake." Ryan made his way back into the bathroom to finish getting ready.
It was going to be a long and interesting day.
A/N: So, there ya go. Another chapter and you didn't even have to wait three days! Yay me for writing it so fast and Yay you for reviewing, like I know you are all gonna do! ;) First off, let me just say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has left a review! When I checked today, I saw that I had surpassed 100 reviews! That is amazing and it means so much knowing that so many people are reading and liking what they read. Thanks guys! Until next time, Tootles:)
Next chapter: Troy and the East High gang learn what Chad has been up to since summer started. How does everyone react when they see Ryan there, with Chad? Stay tuned and find out. :D