I was excited about this second chapter. I had only just posted the first chapter and was already getting reviews. This second chapter actually came out the same day as the first.

I believe I had developed a great deal between the first two chapters. I had included a narrative voice in this chapter, with lots of thoughts and rhetorical questions. I seem to have drifted away from this style of writing as I continued, becoming more sophisticated with my work, but seeing this is quite interesting.

I have only made minor adjustments with this chapter.

Lockdown by Tertiary Genesis

Chapter 2: Hungry

As Troy was halfway through entering the new pass-code, the door slammed shut and the sound of the bolt sliding to lock the door could be heard quite clearly.

The administration office was testing the Lockdown Protocol, which automatically closed and locked all the doors in the school.

Troy tried the pass-code to unlock the door but because he was only half-way through inputting it, it did not work.

They were trapped. Troy and Ryan were in the room together with no means of escape.

--XxXxX--

Ryan stared at the recently locked door with a confused look. He had that innocent quirk in his eyebrow which he gets when he does not understand something. "What just happened?" he asked the other, somewhat panicked, boy in the room.

"I believe they are testing the Lockdown system," Troy said in a matter-of-fact kind of tone.

"Oh," Ryan replied, still sounding baffled. "Well can you unlock it? I remember them saying it could be unlocked from the inside."

"I've tried that already, I think I screwed up the system on the lock while I was calibrating it."

"So we're stuck here?" Ryan asked, with his eyebrows raised.

"I guess so," Troy said with a sigh. "Only until they realize I'm missing and come looking for me of course" he added seeing the look on Ryan's face which mirrored his own feelings of exasperation.

"How long do you think that will be, because I was just finishing and about to head home?"

"I don't know. It may take a while for them to realize I am missing since I am not due to finish 'til later."

Ryan looked crestfallen upon hearing this news, but perked up when he was hit by an idea. "Maybe the door will just unlock when the lockdown is finished" he suggested.

Troy could hear the hope in Ryan's voice but did not want to falsely lead his friend on, knowing from past experience what can come of that. "Maybe, but I doubt it. If the code is missing, the system probably won't be able to unlock the door so our best bet is waiting for someone to break us out."

Ryan sighed and sat down on one of the foam blocks which littered the floor of their accidental makeshift prison cell. The dark walls had an uncanny way of making the room seem even smaller, which made the male Evans nervous… and hungry. He pulled his bag closer to his body and, as he put away his copy of Richard III, fished around for that snack bar he had in there.

Troy saw Ryan pulling out the food, and his own hunger had suddenly just dawned on him. His last meal was breakfast and it was already lunchtime. He had been planning on going down to the cafeteria where his dad had ordered pizza for the Wildcats, just after this one door. Obviously, that was no longer an option. As if to remind him that it was lunchtime, his stomach growled.

"Could I have some of that?" Troy asked Ryan, knowing that this answer would probably be a no.

Ryan thought for a moment. He was hungry and was not really in the mood for sharing, especially with the one who had locked him into his situation; but Troy was a friend. He had heard Troy's stomach growl so he reluctantly tore off the bottom half of his snack bar and handed it Troy, but was careful not to let his reluctance show.

Troy had accepted the bar and dragged a foam box beside Ryan and sat down opposite his nourishment provider. He was grateful for the food but was still surprised that Ryan had given it to him.

They sat and ate their respective small helpings of food for a minute. There was then a sound of doors unlocking and opening in the corridor outside. Their door, however, did not open confirming what Troy had predicted.

Troy looked at Ryan, noticing that he was still staring at the door expectantly, probably hoping that it would still open. When he saw that is was not going to open, he sighed and looked down at his empty hands, his food already in his stomach.

"So…" Troy said in an attempt to break the silence.

"So…" Ryan replied, knowing that Troy was trying to start a conversation to pass time, or at least just break the silence. He did not really know what he felt like talking about. He and Troy may have become friends since he helped direct a performance for Troy's friends during summer break, but he and Troy still did not have much in common, if anything. What did he, the drama geek, co-president of the Drama Club, have to say to the jock, Captain of the Wildcats, even if they were friends now?

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Troy asked, surprising both Ryan and himself with the question. Wow, he must have really needed to talk about something, to ask a question like that right out of the blue. It seemed so upfront and confrontational that Troy was considering taking back his question when Ryan chose to answer.

Ryan had paused for a moment, taken aback by the question, then gave a short but soft "no". He wondered why Troy would even think he had a girlfriend. What girl would want to go out with the snotty, rich kid who was both a drama geek and the lap dog of East High's "Ice Queen"? Did he seem like he had a girlfriend? Or was Troy checking if he was available? Huh? That was a stupid thought.

"I'm sorry I asked it," Troy said, seeing the troubled look on Ryan's face. "I don't even know why I asked it. It just came out. I guess it just shows how little I know about you."

Troy really did not know much about Ryan. He knew that Ryan was in the Drama Club, and that he was a twin, and that he was Sharpay's brother, and… he did not really know much past that. Troy had been interacting with Ryan since landing the male lead in the last East High Winter Musicale and had been interacting with him even more since Summer break, but he knew so little about the guy.

The reverse probably could not be said, since Troy's life was pretty much on the spotlight, being one of the more popular kids in school. Ryan probably knew more about Troy than Troy did.

"Nah, it's ok. I didn't really mind you asking" Ryan assured Troy. "I was just kinda confused as to why you asked, but it's ok. How are things going with you and Gabriella?" Ryan chose to continue the accidental topic of relationships to prove that he did not mind this topic of conversation, although since only one of them were actually in a relationship, it was not going to be much of a discussion.

"Everything is cool," Troy said, noticing that Ryan was keeping with the topic. Troy could see where this was heading: a one-sided conversation; so he tried to think of a way of turning the conversation in a way that allowed Ryan to also have some input, but to not seem rude and completely change the subject.

It was he, after all, who started this personal conversation about relationships. He could not just change the subject when the focus had turned to him. He talked a little about what he and Gabriella had done as a couple recently to stall as he thought of a different direction for the conversation to go. He then asked Ryan a question which seemed somewhat as abrupt as his first, "Is there anyone you are interested in?"

"Hmm…" Ryan thought for a moment. He had not really considered whether he was interested in someone before. He found the concept of school relationships to be pointless and immature; just teens acting out adult situations and pretending to have feelings they know nothing about. He had enough 'drama' onstage to not need it off stage; for that is what these high school relationships are about, right? To 'go out' with somebody so that one can dump the other and cause wars between groups, creating schoolyard politics. One of the few dramas Ryan did not want to partake in.

"Not really…" he eventually replied.

"Oh," Troy said, not exactly getting the response he had expected, or wanted. What was he expecting Ryan to say? He was expecting a name at least, right? How about his name? Whoa! What was that? How random. Nevertheless, he was expecting at least a name, right? Was his relationship with Ryan not deep enough for them to discuss personal issues at this level?

Troy knew he would be venturing into some uncharted water, going further with this kind of personal discussion, so he decided to test the water with a question almost guaranteed to get a personal response. "Well, what would your type be?"

"Umm…" Ryan had not really thought about what his type was either. He wondered why Troy was suddenly curious about this kind of stuff. Was Troy planning on setting him up with somebody? Was Troy just trying to see if he would be compatible with this person? Was Troy seeing if they would be compatible with each other? There's that thought again. Wow. Being locked in a dark room sure did play tricks on the mind. "Err…"

Troy could see some confusion in his friend's face. "Let me rephrase that. What is it that you like about a girl?" He thought that Ryan was having trouble understanding the question or maybe was just having trouble with the wording of the question.

What is a "type" anyway? Did he have a type? Troy considered this while Ryan was thinking again. The re-worded question did not seem to help Ryan make an answer.

Ryan did not see the point of rephrasing the question. It did not help him realize what he liked about a girl. Did he like the curves? No, he did not really care much for that. What about the breasts? No, not really. Come to think of it, he really did not see any appeal in the female form. Does that make him gay? Whoa! Maybe he just doesn't think about sex with girls like other guys his age. That just makes him weird, or mature, but not gay… right?

--XxXxX--

TBC…

At this point in my writing, I had no clue of any sort of plot, or what direction I was going to take this. I guess that is why I had them questioning their sexuality already. Charlz had suggested that I don't rush things, which I believe I did.

Another thought on this chapter was that I realized having two straight boys spontaneously falling for each other was being too fantastic. I guess that is where the gay thoughts came in.