A/N: I do not claim to own anything pertaining to "High School Musical", the song "Stay My Baby" or Starbucks coffee.

Warnings: Slash, (duh) self-pleasure. If you are below the age of twelve and you chance upon this do not blame me for any potential scarring that may occur as a result of reading.

Chapter 6: Qualms

His blue eyes opening, a sleepy and unenthusiastic Ryan slid out of bed and stumbled into the restroom. Lucid visions of perfectly toned golden pecs and abs and a taut rear continued to dominate his mind. The sound of Troy's voice groaning his name at climax lingered in his ears. He could still taste the other boy and he was covered in his strong musky scent. "Axe…" he murmured, identifying the aroma. Through the walls, he could just make out music coming from his sister's stereo. Probably forgot to turn it off in her hurry to achieve perfection for our first day back. His stomach churning violently served a harsh reminder of the reality that he wanted so desperately to escape. There was no "our" anymore. There was no Sharpay and Ryan. There was Sharpay, the beautiful queen of East High, loved and adored by all. And there was Ryan, her shadow that no one noticed and no one cared about.

Peppy, carefree lyrics filtered through the walls and although muffled, they were still audible to the blond male.

Summer love isn't meant to be

And it's only a fantasy

That's what everyone's tellin' me

Stay my baby

Even though it's a little rushed

Let me know that you'll keep in touch

If you don't, it'll hurt too much

Stay my baby

The knowledge of how the lyrics accurately fit his situation with Troy struck Ryan and brought back memories of the dream and the encounters leading up to it. The reaction these memories had on him brought his arousal to life within the boxers that were so large, they nearly slid off of his trim waist. Troy's boxers, he told himself. He had wished for something tangible, now he had it. His stiff cock begging for attention, Ryan knew he had to deal with this problem now. Slipping Troy's boxers down to his knees, he gripped his member and pumped hard and fast, choosing not to linger and cater to the full extent of the needs his hormonal young body had. In place of his hand, he envisioned Troy's; warm, large, strong, and threw his head back, unleashing an uninhibited moan as he could only when the house was empty.

Oh, tell me right now

Oh, how it's goin' down

"Damn Miranda Cosgrove!" he growled. The swear was followed by a series of indiscernible grunts and huffs, one syllable standing out. "Troy! Troy!" The cherished word, tasting of fire, ambrosia and bearing the scent of Axe inundated from his mouth as naturally as water flowing downstream. He whacked his pulsing, throbbing penis, his legs quivering with pleasure.

Inside of his bedroom, the cat, Hollybell, flicked an ear.

Troy took a seat in homeroom. Around him, was the usual back to school chatter of his classmates.

"Hey Chad," an older member of the basketball team teased the curly-haired boy, "did you get to home plate with McKessie?"

Troy listened to his friend give a snort. "Hell no! I've got more respect for a woman than that!"

The brunette smiled to himself. Since Chad was the only son of a single mother of three, the brown-eyed boy really had no choice but to be very attentive and mindful of a woman's needs. Oh, he probably got an earful from his mom when he and Taylor started dating. His friend's relationship status was second priority to him at the moment, however. He watched students file into homeroom with their favorite teacher, Ms. Darbus, his eyes and his heart searching for a hat adorned head of blond hair.

Jason Cross and Kelsi Nielson entered class together. The soft-spoken composer allowed her brunette curls to grow out over the summer. The raven-haired boy his shaggy locks trimmed and got lighter brown highlights.

Taylor McKessie walked into the classroom next, her head held high in a dignified manner. Her waves of ebony hair had been cut into a neat bob. A smile graced her features and she swerved toward a grinning Chad.

Troy's gaze hardened as the one person that he didn't want to see sauntered in, her now longer dark curls bouncing against her shoulders a cheerful smile plastered onto her face.

"Gabriella!" Kelsi and Taylor greeted the petite girl.

Other than Chad, who had been witness to the break-up, no one else could feel the tension between the primo boy and the scholar that had at one time been East High's "It" couple. Now, the golden boy and his ex glared at one another with undisguised hostility. As Gabriella took her seat at the back of class, they shot one another a last scornful look before Troy redirected his attention to the door.

He could feel her gaze boring a hole in the back of his head.

Sharpay Evans strutted in through the door dressed in a pink top, black mini skirt and silver stilettos. A purse hung from one shoulder and diamond studded sunglasses were perched on her nose. Troy already knew that the person he wanted to see would not be trailing on the drama queen's heels.

Zeke followed her; perfectly content carrying an iced frappucino, which obviously belonged to the blonde female, from Starbucks.

Chad gave the taller boy an irate stare as if questioning his sanity to which Zeke could only shrug in response. The two of them took their seats the instant before the bell rang. Several students continued their bubbly conversations. Others of a more studious nature like Taylor and Kelsi paid attention to the "back-to-school" announcements. Even as Ms. Darbus took the floor with one of her usual long-winded speeches, Troy's mind was on the person who's absence made the entire classroom seem like an empty void to him. Every time the door opened, he found himself looking up, his heart jolting expectantly only for it to sink in disappointment.

Where is Ryan?

Panting heavily, Ryan ran down the familiar white-tiled hallways, his heels clicking. His lungs burned and his sides ached. A little voice in the back of his head warned him, you can't handle this, and somewhere inside, he recognized that he was reaching his limits. The morning's frantic search for and outfit left him no time to eat, not that he trusted himself to. Bolting out of the door, he hollered a goodbye to the household pets and hopped on his moped, zipping in and out of traffic to get to school on time. He narrowly avoided a head on collision with a semi going down the highway.

Since he had parked his vehicle in the parking lot, he had been running, kicking out his long, well developed legs in a mad dash that any athlete would envy. Reaching a point where his vision blurred and his head became light, he knew he had to stop. Slipping his messenger bag off, he rested against a locker, beads of sweat rolling down his burning forehead.

Everything hurt. His lungs burned with each breath his shuddering chest struggled to reign in. Bravo, Evans! You've done it once again. Blackness swam before his eyes. It was dark water and he was fighting to stay afloat. A bell rang, the sound resonating in his skull, buzzing with horrible vibrations that wracked his brain.

Bodies filled the hallway, tightening the air around him, suffocating him.

"What the hell?" A boy remarked, roughly brushing past him on his way to his next class.

"Move it fag!" Another voice joined in.

Further down the hall, Ryan could see a mop of shaggy brunette hair and a pair of ocean blue eyes on a virile from making their way down the hall, the crowd parting to allow their passage. "Ryan!" The voice belonging to these features called.

All of the sounds around the performer died out. Footsteps thundered with sickening volume.

"Ryan!"

The earth slid out from under Ryan's feet and he fell forward, hard tile awaiting his landing. His head hit the floor and then everything went black.

Waves lapped softly, the strength of their tide carrying the body of the fallen blond downstream. The current was smooth, not littered with rocks and debris. Control of his motor skills abandoned him and Ryan allowed himself to be washed away, slowly erased from existence. No one will come looking for me, he thought with a feeling of tranquility.

Troy might, a tiny voice countered. What will he do when he finds out you're dead?

Dead?

Am I dead?

"What's wrong with him?" A voice, male inquired.

"A lot of things, Chad. Most of them having to do with his fucked up sister," a deeper voice replied.

The current was gone, the cool water replaced by strength and warmth that enveloped him. Then he remembered. He had passed out in the hallway and now Troy and Chad were missing class to take him to the nurse. Stupid! Look at what you've done now! His eyes fluttered open, revealing the close proximity of the golden boy's chest and how tightly his shirt stretched over the muscle of said part of his body. Blushing slightly, Ryan forced himself to look up, his eyes moving to the boy's neck, where a red mark was just visible above his collar, one that he had put there, and finally focusing on his face.

Troy glanced down, noticing the pair of alert blue eyes peering back at him. "He's awake, Chad!" He called, getting his friend's attention. Laughter came from the classroom the transport group had paused in front of, causing the teacher to direct a glare at the brunette before shutting her door.

"Keep it down, man. The whole school doesn't need to know," Chad advised his friend with a laugh.

"Coulda told me that earlier," Troy grumbled under his breath so only Ryan could clearly hear him.

"What'd you say?"

"Nothing," Troy answered innocently, a mischievous smile playing across his face. His demeanor soon changed as he looked at his cargo. "How are you, Ry? Are you okay?"

"I think so," Ryan admitted, feeling both embarrassed and guilty at his actions.

"Can you walk?"

The blond nodded. Troy set him back on his feet. Ryan stumbled slightly, his knees buckling for a moment, and in that brief time window, the other boy's arm was around him, steadying him and giving him control of his body once more. They caught each other's eyes, the contact baring their souls to one another. Troy smiled first and Ryan reciprocated. Inside of him, a barrier was being eroded by Troy Bolton. His eyes. His voice. His touch. His smile.

Chad cleared his throat, pulling them away from one another.

Rolling his eyes, Troy gave his bushy-haired friend a half-hearted glare. "Yeah, Chad's here too. He carried your hat and your bag."

The other athlete held up the black fedora that had at one point been sitting atop the blond's head and the bag that had been worn across his chest. "Yep," he affirmed. "Sorry to interrupt your love fest, guys, but if you've got things handled…"

"Thank you." Ryan's gaze softened but his eyes revealed nothing. In the company of the other boy, he had already sealed himself back up. "Both of you." His expression blank, he pretended that he was still Ryan Evans, king of East High's theater and not a listless, self-loathing shell of the person that held such a moniker. He took his hat back from the athlete and placed it on top of his head.

"I think Ryan'll be okay, but…" Troy trailed off, leaving the remainder of his sentence open to interpretation as the blond's bag was handed over to him.

"Right. Well, I'll head on back to class then. Taylor's gotta be missing this."

Troy and Ryan both let out a pft of laughter.

"Later man." With a wave and a knowing smile, Chad set off, leaving the two alone in the empty hallway.

"I don't want to go to the nurse, Troy," Ryan stated, breaking the silence that had set in with Chad's departure.

"I know." Troy took the blond's hand and changing direction, moving instead toward the southeast exit, the twosome resumed walking.

Confusion filling Ryan, he prompted, "Where are we going?"

"I'm taking you home," Troy answered.

He'll miss school because of you! The smaller boy's inner voice roared. He opened his mouth to protest only to have the words die as they formed on his lips from the look Troy gave him.

I'm doing this because I want to, it said. You can't change my mind.

He didn't try to. Looking at Troy, his heart was light freed from the dead weight that leadened it down. Freed from the constriction that smothered him. Liberated from the guilt that suffocated him day and night. He knew Troy was an impulsive and committed young adult. To have someone like that- care about someone like me?

No. He would not allow his thoughts, his fancies to stray to things of that origin. He couldn't. He loved the brunette and was falling for him in a more powerful way than he ever would have considered possible. But is Troy really ready to desecrate himself and destroy his reputation to be with vile scum like myself? Not even his harsh, frank inner voice had an answer for that.

Exiting the building, the pair of males headed for the parking lot. Ryan found the words to the song that greeted his ears that morning, Miranda Cosgrove's "Stay My Baby", dancing through his head.

Everything'll be okay

Everything'll be all right

I know that it'll go my way

If you stay my baby

I'm never gonna give you up

I'm never gonna have enough

So now 'til forever

Stay my baby