Chapter 16

Forgiving

Troy breathed a sigh of relief when Gabriella agreed to listen to him. After Sharpay turned him down, he realized that he needed to straighten some things out in his own life before he started messing around with his heart, or another girl's, for that matter.

Troy motioned to a bench in the parking lot.

"I promise I won't try to kiss you or anything. I learned my lesson, believe me," he said when he saw Gabriella's unsure face.

They walked over to the bench and sat down. Troy saw Ryan shooting him death glares while hugging his sister who was still crying. Did he know? Troy supposed that Ryan had every right to be angry at him anyways, since Troy helped his twin sister run away.

Troy looked at Gabriella. She looked somewhat uncomfortable.

"Gabriella," he said. "I have been a total pig-headed hormone-driven fool. I should have never tried to kiss you, and I'm sorry for messing with your heart and telling you things that I had no place to speak in. I want to explain to you why I think I did what I did. I don't want you to think that I'm making excuses, but I do want you to have some sort of understanding of where I was coming from, because I don't want you to think that I am always like that. Okay?"

Troy noticed that Gabriella was listening intently. That was a start. Maybe if he was lucky, she would even forgive him.

"About a week and a half ago, I overheard my parents talking about something that I never thought in a million years they would do. They had done something disdainful, something that, if it ever came out and I hadn't known, would have ruined my integrity. I was so angry at them, so I left. I drove all day long until I came across Nowhere. By the time I reached your town, it was getting dark, and I was running out of gas, so I decided to stop. There was something about you that I was just so intrigued with. You aren't like any other girl that I've ever met. With my emotions running high and my interest in getting to know you, I think that I just cracked."

Troy was relieved to see that Gabriella was still listening to him.

"I'm truly and honestly sorry for putting you in such a tough position. I blew it, and I hope that you can forgive me."

Gabriella was silent. Troy could tell that she was processing what he had just said. He just hoped that she believed that he wasn't normally like that. Troy never thought that he would be stupid enough to kiss a girl that he knew was taken.

"Troy, you're right. Your actions were detestable, and I hope that you never do what you did ever again. But I am also aware that I had a part in this whole fiasco. I wasn't so innocent either, and I would be fooling myself to believe otherwise. So, I will forgive you as long as you forgive me."

Troy smiled at Gabriella. He felt so relieved.

"I forgive you too," he replied.

"And I also want you to know that I told Ryan. So if he isn't exactly friendly to you, I hope that you understand."

Troy's heart dropped. Ryan deserved to know. Gabriella was his fiancée, after all. But Troy was also aware that Ryan probably wanted to hang him from the nearest tree. He gulped and glanced up at the palm trees decorating the parking lot.

Of course, Troy also understood why Ryan would want to. Troy had managed to kiss the guy's fiancée and then run away with his sister. He wondered if he and Ryan could ever be on civil terms. Troy realized that it would probably be a good idea to try to make some sort of amends with Ryan if he ever wanted to have a shot with Sharpay.

"Since you told Ryan, maybe I should apologize to him, too," Troy said to Gabriella.

Gabriella nodded. "That might be a good idea, but you might want to consider waiting for a day or two. I only told him yesterday."

Troy sighed. "I just hope that I have the nerve to apologize in a day or two."

Gabriella gave him an encouraging smile. "I think Ryan will accept your apology. When I told him, he was really angry, but once he cooled off, he was very quick to forgive."

"Thanks," Troy said.

Gabriella smiled. "I'm glad we talked."

Troy agreed. "Maybe we should get back to Ryan and Sharpay," he said.

Gabriella looked over at the siblings, who looked deeply involved in a conversation. "I think we should give them a little time to talk."

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Ryan had never been so relieved to see his sister before in his life. Over the years the two had grown apart. Ryan tried to remember what sparked the beginning of their separation. Gabriella. Ryan felt a twinge of guilt inside. He became so preoccupied trying to impress Gabriella that he had totally forgotten about his own twin.

It seemed so dumb now, though. Ryan was certain that Gabriella would have liked him just as much, if not more, if he hadn't worked so hard to impress her.

Since Sharpay had disappeared, Ryan felt more like himself than he had in years. Now that his sister was in his arms, he was especially aware of how he had ignored her.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered into her hair.

"Why?" Sharpay asked. "I'm the one who ran away."

"Yeah, but it's all my fault."

Sharpay took a step back, out of Ryan's embrace.

"How on earth is this your fault? I chose to leave. You didn't even have a clue that I was thinking about it," she said.

Ryan put his hands on her shoulders. "Exactly. I haven't exactly been the best brother these past few years. Let's face it. When Gabriella came into the picture, I started ignoring you. I guess it took you running away for me to realize that I haven't been a good brother."

"Ryan, don't be ridiculous. I didn't run away because you started ignoring me. I left because I just didn't fit in with Nowhere anymore. There's no denying that my future there consists of checking out groceries for happy little housewives and their screaming children everyday for the rest of my life. It just didn't seem fair. I had to see what else was out there."

"I understand, Sharpay. You weren't given the benefits of seeing the world like most people have. Fine. Let's stay for a little while and then Gabriella and I can take you home, and we can straighten everything out with mom and dad."

"Ryan, no. You don't get it. I'm not going home. Ever. I'm going to make a life for myself outside of Nowhere."

Ryan's breath caught in his throat. Why did he have to be so freaking emotional for the past several days? And how could Sharpay possibly not want to go home?

"How are mom and dad?" Sharpay asked.

Ryan sighed. Did he tell her the truth? Did he really have an option?

"They were upset that you left."

"Did they come after me, too? I'm surprised that they let Gabriella come."

"Listen, Sharpay. There are a lot of things about Nowhere that we simply don't understand. It's certainly a unique place."

"Yeah?"

Ryan could tell that Sharpay wanted him to get to the point.

"Okay, well the truth is that Gabriella and I snuck off the night after you and Troy did because our parents didn't want to search for you."

Sharpay looked hurt. "Why?"

"They felt like you had shamed the family and we would be better off without dealing with your decision."

Ryan could see Sharpay's eyes become glassy. "I guess that's best, though. I wouldn't have come back home even if they came after me," she said quietly.

"Maybe," Ryan said. "But I bet it still hurts."

Sharpay let out a shaky laugh. "Yeah."

"So how did you end up here?" Ryan asked.

"Do you really want the whole story?"

"Yeah."

"Okay," Sharpay said, taking a deep breath. "It all started long before Troy came to Nowhere, when I realized that I would not be able to live a happy life unless I knew that I could see the ocean."

Sharpay went on to explain to Ryan how she fell for Troy when he came to Nowhere and then how she convinced him to take her when he left, omitting the part about overhearing Troy and Gabriella's conversation from that night. Then Sharpay told Ryan about how she and Troy snuck away in the night, and how he was able to keep the car in neutral until they were out of town. Then how she and Troy drove all day and then he spent extra money so they could have their own beds when they stopped at a hotel. She told Ryan about how she met Troy's grandpa and they were staying with him. She described how interesting and wonderful of a man he was and how she was shocked that he was given only a month to live because of cancer. She ended by describing her and Troy's trip around town earlier that day and how he showed her the ocean for the first time.

"Ryan, this past week and a half has been a roller coaster for me, but I've never been happier."

Ryan sighed. "Troy seems to have been a very nice guy to you."

"You know, he really is a good guy. I can understand if you don't like him much right now, since he helped me run away, but he really meant to do good by it. You should give him a chance."

Ryan looked at the pavement he was standing on. Only if Sharpay knew the other half of that story. The part where the same boy kissed his fiancée, fully aware that she was engaged.

He couldn't just let her believe that Troy was some sort of good guy after what he had done.

"Sharpay, just be careful around that kid."

"Why?" Sharpay asked.

"Well, there's something I know about him that you don't, okay? He kissed a girl that was engaged, and he knew she was."

"I know."

Ryan looked up. "What?"

Sharpay sighed. "I might have left one minor detail out of my story. I was hiding behind a rock when I heard Troy tell Gabriella that he was leaving, and I heard them say some things about what had happened between them. Troy knows that I know. And I can also say that I know he regrets what he did. I know that the guy hasn't given you any reasons to like him, but I can also say that after what he went through before he came to Nowhere, he was an emotional wreck. Unfortunately, the brunt of that seemed to come down on you and Gabriella."

"Sharpay, it's not that easy."

"Why not?"

"Because," Ryan said, almost sounding whiny. "I'm a guy, and he kissed my women."

"Well, maybe if you stopped acting like such a control freak, this wouldn't be such a huge problem."

"Sorry. It's just been a major blow to my ego."

"Well at least you're willing to admit it."

Sharpay smiled at him. He knew that smile. It was the smile she gave when she knew that she was right. Ryan had been defeated, and there was no denying it.

"Hey," Gabriella said, approaching Ryan and Sharpay with Troy.

Immediately, Ryan's guard went up. He was going to need a couple days to calm down. He didn't want to, but he had to trust Gabriella.

Troy seemed to notice Ryan's look, because he said, "I know there might be some tension here, but I still want to invite you guys to stay at my grandpa's house with me and Sharpay. There's not much space, but there's another empty bed in the guest room that Gabriella could have, and Ryan, you can take my place on the couch. I can just sleep on the floor."

Gabriella smiled and Ryan frowned. He really didn't want to stay at the enemy's house, but it really did seem to be the best option.

"Thank you, Troy," Ryan said curtly. "Gabriella and I would be much obliged."

Ryan saw Gabriella give him a knowing smile. Just her affirming him made him feel better about his decision.

A/N: Oh no! What will happen now that they're all at Troy's grandpa's??? Thanks for the reviews from last chapter and please review this one! ♥