Chapter 5
A month and a half later the four friends were in the mustang driving to New York, Troy was tense but he was determined to see through the promise he had made to himself about saying goodbye to his past. He had come to realize he could let go of that pain without letting go of Matt his brother, Ryan was sitting up front with him.
"You couldn't bring the Aston?" Chad asked him as they hit the high way the soft top was down.
"You mean besides the fact that we wouldn't have fitted you in the back." Troy said.
"It is a softer ride than this thing." Chad said.
"You can get out and walk if you like." Troy said to him. "Keep complaining I'll leave you at the next stop." Troy said to him with a grin.
"I like the mustang its just not as nice as the Aston." Chad said.
"Its fine Chad, you okay back their Gabriella." Troy asked him with a grin.
"I'm cool did you pack munchies?" Gabriella asked.
"In the glove compartment its about a hundred miles to the next stop we can have some lunch." Troy said to her she laughed.
"We'll change drivers there by the way." Troy said looking in the mirror to see Chad brighten at that. "I need some sleep anyway." Troy said to Ryan. "I didn't sleep to well last night my pillow wouldn't stop talking." Troy said to Chad and Gabriella who laughed. "When he wasn't talking he was snoring." Troy said to them and Ryan snorted indignantly.
"I do not snore Bolton." Ryan said to him Troy laughed. "You look exhausted theirs a lay by coming up why don't you and Chad swap over now." Ryan said to him Troy yawned but indicated to come across the lanes into the lay by a short time later.
"Crash Chad and you can walk home." Troy said to him Chad snorted in amusement as he handed him the keys. "Go easy on my clutch." he added as he jumped into the back of the car as a patrol car stopped behind them. "Just my luck." he muttered.
"Is everything okay here?" the patrol man asked.
"Sure is officer, we are on a drive to New York." Troy said to the man.
"Can I see a driving licence from the drivers and prove of ownership from the owner." the officer asked.
"Ryan the documents are in the glove compartment." Troy said to his boyfriend who opened it up and handed Troy his papers Troy fished out his licence from his wallet as did Chad and Ryan they handed them to Troy who gave them to the officer.
"You owned this car long?" the officer asked.
"About a year, it was a present from my dad." Troy said to him. "It was in a bit of a state so I restored it to its former glory." Troy said.
"Classic cars are a favourite of mine." the man said.
"They are mine I have an Aston Martin but with four people space is an issue in one of those." Troy said to him.
"Classic?" the man asked.
"No that's a boy catcher." Troy said the officer laughed.
"I can imagine I need to do my checks I'll be back in a moment." the officer said to them.
"I can't believe this when ever I take this thing out somewhere I get pulled over it must have an old age sign on it somewhere." Troy said drumming his fingers on the side of the car the officer came back a few minutes later.
"Sorry for the hold up just procedure." the man said to them.
"No problems we good to go." Troy asked.
"Yes you are have a save drive." the officer said stepping back. "Would you mind if I took a photo of this beauty?" he asked.
"Not at all." Troy said brimming with pride.
Five minutes later and a very bored looking set of friends drove of Troy was quickly snoring lightly in the back of the car head on Gabriella's shoulder she had an arm wrapped around his shoulders as he slept.
"If he wasn't gay I would be very jealous." Ryan said to her she laughed.
"His adorable when his asleep." Gabriella said to Ryan.
"You should see him without a shirt on and asleep its enough to give even a lesbian a wet dream." Ryan said Chad choked out a laugh.
"You check him out often?" Chad asked.
"Of course what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't." Ryan said the boy laughed.
"I guess." Chad said to him.
Hsmhsmhsm
"Troy stop time." Ryan said shaking his shoulder.
"Oh right did I fall asleep?" he asked Chad snorted.
"Just before we left the lay by." Ryan said to him Troy nodded.
"God I'm hungry." Troy groaned.
"Glad to hear that." Ryan said to him he laughed.
They walked into the diner together Troy's stomach groaned as if to let them all know that it was lunch time, Troy sat on the inside of the table some how managing to get into the corner with his larger frame.
"You used to be able to get into somewhere like that a lot easier than you do now." Chad said.
"That was when I was under six foot Chad, now I'm six two and I have been working out a lot more than I used to it makes it hard to get into tight spots." Troy said to him the boy grinned at him Ryan squeezed his thigh.
"You did a lot in Australia last summer?" Gabriella said.
"Next summer I want to see whether I can get granddad to lend me the family jet to fly us all out there, for a month do some surfing one last time as a group." Troy said to them.
"We aren't never going to see each other again." Gabriella said.
"I know, but in August I'm off to Harvard to study politics' and law Ryan is doing something I don't really understand there, we are doing very different things in September." Troy said to her Chad looked at him oddly.
"I thought you'd want to be a basketball star." Chad said.
"I've had enough offers, but money and fame isn't an issue for me it never has been, I talked it out with my parents and brother and they know I plan on following a different game." Troy said to him the bushy haired boy nodded in understanding.
"Wow you a major in something other than sports I'm shocked and at a school as renowned as Harvard, your going to be great." Chad said. "How exactly did you get in there?" he asked.
"Scholarship." Troy said. "We were both offered different scholarships of course but well we wanted to be at the same school so we accepted." Troy said to him the boy laughed. "I'll have the full English breakfast please." Troy said to the waiter who nodded.
"Your grandparents have a jet?" Chad asked.
"Yeah technically any of the family can use it but I usually have to ask them, would you guys be game if I got the okay." Troy asked them both. "The boyfriend and girlfriends would of course be invited along as well." Troy added.
"Damn straight we would." Gabriella said.
"Its not as hot in our summer over there, Christmas is going to be intense." Troy said to his friends.
"How hot?" Ryan asked.
"Hot enough to have dinner on the beach Christmas day." Troy said to him.
"Yikes." Ryan said. "I better make sure we have a lot of sunscreen when we go over." Ryan said Gabriella laughed.
"Red tomato Ryan." Chad said giggling as they ordered their food.
"Thanks and for ice cold cokes please." Troy said to the waiter.
"Your drinks will be here shortly." the waiter said as he disappeared.
"Is that how we are going over to Australia." Ryan asked.
"Yes, Alex and Jen will meet us here before flying onto nana and grandpa's." Troy said to him he smiled.
"Horrible flying times." Chad said.
"Yeah but I sleep well even with all the noise so its never an issue for me." Troy said to his friend.
"Oh god I'm in trouble." Ryan moaned.
"No your not we'll have Alex bore you to sleep." Troy said to his boyfriend who laughed.
Hsmhsmhsm
They arrived in New York three days after they left the house, taking trains and planes to get their after they had given into the fact that they wanted to get their faster and spend more time in the city that never sleeps as Troy had put it.
"Hey pull up here Chad." Troy said to him.
"What this is the old house?" Ryan asked.
"Yes this is the house gorgeous isn't it." Troy said to him wistfully. "I fell out of that tree when I was six, we decided to climb it I actually made it to the first branch sat down on it and broke the damn thing along with my ankle wrist and collar bone." Troy said to Ryan.
"Troy." someone called from across the street.
"Tommy, hey." Troy said walking across the street hugging the teen.
"What brought you here." Tom asked him.
"Just visiting the old neighbourhood, we are going up to his grave in a little while." Troy said point to the flowers in the back of the car.
"Man its not been the same since you guys moved out so who are these guys?" Tom said Troy smiled at him Ryan looked worried.
"Ryan is my boyfriend his the blond, Chad is my best friend in Albuquerque, Gabriella is my ex girlfriend and a fag hag through and through." Troy said Gabi snorted while Tom chuckled. "How is everyone?" Troy asked.
"Samantha died last year cancer I know you sent flowers." Tom said.
"Yeah mum decided that we weren't ready to come back here, this place as to many bad memories for me and my parents." Troy said to him with a sad smile. "I would have been here if I could." Troy added to him.
"We all knew why you didn't come back Troy everyone understood." Tom said.
"Like hell they did." Troy said Tom chuckled. "The people that mattered understood everyone else was to pissed to care why we didn't come." he added Tom nodded.
"We had a bench put in the park for him the whole neighbourhood put in for him." Tom said.
"Matt would have liked that thank you." Troy said to him. "Look we have a lot to do but we are here till tomorrow afternoon, so would you like to get together for some dinner." Troy said to him with a grin on his face.
"We are having a BBQ tonight here if you'd like you should come a lot of the old crowd will be here." Tom said.
"We'd love to." Ryan said.
"Yeah we have plenty of time tonight." Gabi said to him.
"Love to dude." Chad said.
"Great." Tom said. "Its good to see you Troy we have to exchange numbers and emails before you go back." he added.
"I'd like that, I can't believe that I missed you guys so much." Troy said to him with a grin.
"Time flies we graduate this school year." Tom said with a grin Troy hugged him again.
"I really don't know what to say other than sorry, I should have come here along time ago I missed you Tom I miss my best friend from my time here." Troy said to him with a grin on his face. "Its been to long, let the guys know that we are in town and if they are willing I'd love to see them again." Troy said to the blond.
"I'll spread the word, there are a couple of guys who would love to see you." Tom said with a smile as Troy jumped back into the car in the drivers seat. "Eight tonight." Tom said.
"Thanks Tom." Troy said before driving off.
"That was your best friend?" Chad asked.
"Yeah he was mine and Matt's best friend." Troy said to him. "He was devastated after it happened I think he was almost as bad of as I was, Matt and I were playing with him on our lawn." Troy said adding another piece of the puzzle for them as he pulled into the park.
"This chair could be anywhere." Gabriella said.
"I doubt it, we used to love the skate park or the adventure playground over here when we were kids, it will be there if anywhere." Troy said to them all as they got out of the rental car and headed down to the skate park their were a lot of kids around. "Hey any of you know where the seat for Matt Bolton is?" he asked.
"Troy Bolton… no way… its Sean I'll take you over to it… wow man its been to long." a red head said.
"Sean these are my friends and partner, Ryan Gabriella and Chad, this is Sean Alexanderson an old neighbour he moved out of the street a year before it happened two streets down from us." Troy said to them.
"So which one of the boys is your partner?" Sean asked Troy chuckled.
"The blond, Ryan… you going to be at Tom's tonight?" he asked.
"Yes I wouldn't miss it he called me first to say you were in town for a day or so and that you were going to be at the party." Sean said to him. "There it is… I'll see you tonight." Sean said hugging Troy before walking back to the skate park.
Troy looked at the plain bench it was nothing special but it screamed out from the rest it didn't have any graffiti on it, "They took care of it." Troy said to them Ryan wrapped his arms around Troy's waist.
"They did." Chad said.
In memoriam
Of Matthew Hunter Bolton
1989-1997
A friend brother and son
Gone but by no means forgotten
Troy smiled touching the plaque Gabriella and Chad pulled back to give them some space, "My family was well respected and loved when we lived here, people were stunned when he was killed hundreds came to the church for the funeral it was something he would have hated." Troy said to Ryan who tightened his grip.
"Why?" Ryan asked.
"He was incredibly shy around people he didn't know, he would have preferred something very small." Troy said. "A lot of people wanted to say goodbye, he was buried wearing his favourite team kit it rained a lot the day of the funeral he would have hated that as well. He loved the sun and the heat wrong city of course." Troy said Ryan laughed. "He would have liked this." Troy said to him wiping away his tears.
"Why did you get such strange names and yours was a first name." Ryan asked.
"You think Troy's strange?" Troy asked.
"Well no not exactly its peculiar though." Ryan said.
"Its rare is what your looking for, I was originally meant to be Jermaine Troy Bolton, but dad said he liked the idea of being able to call me TJ so they swapped it around. You know you're the first person to call me that since Matt died." Troy said to him with a grin on his face. "I kind of like it from your lips." Troy added.
"Shall we have a seat." Ryan said Troy nodded sitting down on the bench.
"Jesus I used to hate these things they are so uncomfortable you know." Troy said laughing. "If he was alive you know I wonder what he would be like, how different we would or how alike we would be." Troy said to him with a grin on his face. "I see his face almost everyday as he was that morning, I know he will never age that he will always be eight years old in my mind." Troy said to him with a smile.
"I would like to think you would be alike." Ryan said.
"So would I, so long as we weren't finishing each other sentence's. I would have drawn the line at that, you know no matter how hard we tried we would always wear the same clothes right down to our briefs." Troy said to Ryan who laughed a lot at that. "We used to drive mum spare we would swap places in class, we were so damn a like." Troy said to him sadly. "I held him in my arms as he was dying I was covered in his blood for the two weeks after I slept in his bed I wouldn't let mum wash the sheets I wore his clothes because they still had his smell on them." Troy said to a sob escaped his lips Ryan wrapped his arm around Troy's shoulder. "I miss him every day I hold his bear to my chest every night, it lets me be a little closer to him." Troy said shuddering.
"I get it." Ryan said kissing his cheek. "I may have no idea what it is like to lose my twin but I do understand." Ryan said to him.
"I know." Troy said to him. "I love you Ryan, thanks for coming with me." Troy said to him Ryan smiled.
"We all wanted to come for some moral support, everyone loves you Troy your best friends are over their waiting for us we should probably get going." Ryan said. "We can come back tomorrow before we go to the airport." Ryan added.
"Your right." Troy said to him standing up he pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket taking a photo of the plaque. "Mum and dad will love to see this." Troy added.
"Yeah they would and so will Alex." Ryan said.
"Probably not, but I'll send him it anyway." Troy said to the blond as they rejoined their friends.
"You okay?" Gabriella said him.
"Getting there, just one place left to go." Troy said to them with a sad smile.
Hsmhsmhsm
Troy approached the grave which was white marble, it was clean and flowers lay next to the headstone, Troy bent down opening the card he smiled as he places his own next to them, "Hey their bro." Troy muttered. "How you doing." he said a smile crept on to his face.
"I brought some friends for you to meet, well for them to meet you anyway, your still with me in my heart I carry you around in there. I met a blond called Ryan well I've known him for a while so its not new to me, see I love him and I need for you to know that I am ready to try and move on with my life. I'll never forget my twin brother but its time I put these bad memories in the past and move on with my life." Troy said to the air.
"Mum and dad miss you as much as I do and you know how much Alex cares, I know your watching up their Matty so be happy that I at least am trying to move past this pain in my chest. I know that none of us get up here as often as we should, your in the family plot next to our ancestors, though and you have flowers from a girl you heart breaker you. Even in the grave your getting the attention you used to hate as a kid." Troy said to him he felt warm arms wrap around his waist and Ryan's chin sit on his shoulder. "This is the blond menace I told you about… I miss you bro more than I can really say… Ryan as a twin sister who is a pain in the ass you'd love her by the name of Sharpay she is everything you'd hate in a girl loud craves attention you know typical blond." Troy said to the grave Ryan laughed.
"We are here for a couple of days so I am coming up here to see you again before I go home." Troy said his hand reaching out to the tombstone touching it. "Your always in my thoughts and prays, Matt I love you." Troy said closing his eyes tears silently rolling down his face.
"I'm ready." Troy said to his boyfriend opening his eyes he turned to face his friends Chad smiled sadly at him Gabriella waved though he could see that tears were flowing freely from them chocolate coloured eyes Ryan smiled. "You messed my shirt up Ryan I should kill you for that, look its all wet and damp." Troy groaned Ryan laughed as he wiped away the tears.
"Your still causing tears Matt you should be proud." Troy said laughing merrily.
Hsmhsmhsm
Troy rang the door bell while the others waited next to him, the door swung open to reveal a middle age woman with black hair standing there before them, "Troy, Tom said he saw you in the street today and said that you'd be coming by tonight. I didn't really believe that you would, its good to see you and your friends. Would you mind introducing them to me." she said.
"Sally this is Gabriella, the bushy one is Chad and the blond is my better half Ryan." Troy said to her.
"Wow you have grown so much, your gay huh. Please come in Tom and the rest of the gang are out the back with the rest of the guests, can I take your coats dinner shouldn't take that long to come." she said taking their jackets from them.
"Thanks Sally." Ryan said.
"Your welcome just go through to the kitchen Troy you know the way." she said.
"My mum and Sally are best friends, they talk on line I think, I think she probably comes here with dad when they are away on business and don't tell me." Troy said to Ryan. "I know they are still in contact any way." he added.
"Hey you three." Tom said as they stepped out onto the patio.
"Troy, its good to see you." Tom's father said to him hugging him. "Tom said you'd come up to see Matt." he added.
"I haven't been back here since it happened really, mum and dad didn't want me to see that until I was ready to face it." Troy said to him.
"We go by as often as we can make sure everything is well kept for him, your mum and dad come up on the anniversary every year." he added Troy nodded.
"Its only because I became involved with Ryan that I decided that I really needed to lay my demons to rest about what happened here." Troy said to the man.
"I understand which one is Ryan." he said Troy pointed him out.
"You always did have an eye for good things." he said to Troy who laughed.
"I'm sorry I haven't been up here." Troy said to him.
"Kiddo, this place is a place of nightmares for you, everyone knew that. You can back again though didn't you, so it's a sign that your ready to move on and with Ryan no less." the man said Troy laughed as Ryan came over with a glass of coke for him.
"Ryan this is James, Tom's dad." Troy introduced them.
"Its nice to meet you sir." Ryan said.
"Likewise." James replied.
"So when do you go back?" Tom asked him.
"Tomorrow afternoon enough time to do some shopping and then be back where we left my car." Troy said to him.
"You having a good time though?" Tom asked them.
"Yeah we've had a good few days." Ryan said. "Its nice to finally know where he comes from." Ryan added.
"You not big on telling people what happened?" Tom asked.
"It was kind of personal so I wasn't really up on telling people about Matt until recently." Troy said to him the boy nodded. "You should come down and visit us at easter, we are in Australia over Christmas for my nephews christening but easter we aren't doing anything." Troy said to Tom. "We have the room and the time." Troy added Tom looked at his dad who nodded.
"I'd love to." Tom said.