A/N: Warnings: I shouldn't have to point out to anyone who has read this far that this is slash, but, if two boys loving one another up makes you want to rip your hair out and climb the walls, you should probably avoid any of my stories. Fear for your sanity, ye who tread here.

Chapter 24: Delusion

A spotlight fell on Ryan's form, its glare giving his ivory skin a polished glow. "I'm Ryan," he said. "I'm seventeen. I'm a hedonist and a nympho."

"Hi, Ryan," disembodied voices chorused. As if this was their cue, the overhead lights came on, fully illuminating the rest of the room. Around him, his friends and peers occupied chairs that stood in a circular formation. His gaze panning, he found Troy sitting at his left and Sharpay at his right. Kelsi, Jason, Martha and Chad were all seated to his left as well. Zeke was on the opposite side of Sharpay. Finishing off the circle sat Taylor McKessie directly across from him, clipboard at the ready and pen in hand, poised to write.

"Ryan," she spoke in an authorative tone, reminding the theater king of a therapist.

This must be my session, he found himself thinking.

"We will now begin by explaining the case of Ryan Evans," Taylor's voice resonated in the expansive white space.

Case?

Beside him, he felt Sharpay lean forward, signaling that she meant to speak. "He's insecure. He doesn't like or appreciate himself."

"He's learning to," Troy's voice broke in. "How could you have expected him to with a sister who loathes him for something that wasn't his fault?"

Ryan looked to the brunette athlete. His ally, his lover.

"He-betrayed-me," Sharpay argued, enunciating each syllable.

"I didn't!" The blond male argued. "I never meant to hurt you! I couldn't control it! David was on me and I-!" He was cut off as a pair of lips pressed themselves to his. He stared, his eyes stretched wide, stupefied at his sister's face mere centimeters from his own. His heart thudded heavily in his chest cavity, the feeling serving as a sharp contrast to the ones Troy evoked and at the same time being frighteningly similar.

And then, she pulled away, looking into his eyes with a dark glossiness over her brown orbs. He was overcome with a deep sadness as a part of him was ripped away. "You betrayed me," she whispered, "and now I have to take you back…?" Sharpay withdrew, turning away from him only to be taken into Zeke's arms.

Troy's strong arms took Ryan in and the blond's heart swelled; heartache and bliss battling one another for dominance. "Ryan is a good person," Troy's chest vibrated as he spoke and Ryan could feel the motions of his lover's jaw against his hatless head of gelled blond. "He's made my life worthwhile. He's brave, selfless, drop-dead gorgeous and makes me feel like I'm perfect even though I'm far from it."

Ohh Trooy.

"He's a good friend," Kelsi inputted with a sheepish glance at her feet and a light blush on her face.

"He's got some poppin' moves," Martha added, then, leaping out of her seat, she began to demonstrate by showing off her hip-hop dancing abilities.

Chad and Jason nodded their agreement and with an anxious glance at Sharpay, Zeke soon joined them.

Safe in Troy's arms, Ryan felt empowered and as everyone around him voiced their assonance with his lover's opinion of him, his confidence began blossoming.

Taking note of the goings on, Taylor at last inquired, "Is there a second opinion to be offered?"

"He helped Troy break my heart," a girlish voice that could only belong to one person replied. Gabriella Montez stepped into the white space and one by one all of the other occupants began to vanish until Ryan and Troy alone remained. "I wanted both of you and then you had to get with each other."

Anger surged through the blond male's slender body. 'You blew your chance with Troy!" He wrapped his arms around the golden boy clinging, tightly to him as he glared at the dark haired female. "He's mine and I'm not letting him go!"

Troy's grip on him tightened as well. "I love Ryan. I'm his, he's mine and you won't get in the way of that." His declaration rang out.

Their words held enough sustenance that as they reached Gabriella, they seemed to wound her physically. "As long as Chace is around, I'll never stand a chance with her!" She whimpered, holding her hands up as if to deflect blows being thrown at her.

With her? Ryan pondered. There was a flash and an image of Allison; Kelsi's drama partner filled his mind. He had a feeling, or was premonition the better word in this instance, that the image of Allison originated from Troy's subconscious, that somehow, his lover was projecting the images into his mind of something that he had seen in his absence.

Gabriella's physical form began to separate into a pile of fuzzy eight-legged creatures.

SPIDERS! Ryan's brain screamed in recognition. Letting out a shriek, he scrambled to get away from the arachnids, squinching his eyes shut. Disappear! He prayed fervently. Make the spiders disappear. His skin began to crawl with the sensation of hundreds of Gabriella spiders creeping up his arms, his legs, his back. Get off! Get off! GET OFF!

His eyes re-opened and the spiders were gone. A thick blackness met his gaze. Possession of his body returned to him and it was carpet that lay against his bare back. His left arm was numb, the lack of circulation causing it to have "fallen asleep". Flexing his fingers, he attempted to restore blood flow to the momentarily useless limb.

"Ryan?" Troy's hushed voice drifted into his ear canals. His eyes adjusting, the blond could just make out the form of his lover in the dark.

"Yes?" he called softly, if only to indicate to the brunette his location.

Troy did not implore as to how the petite male ended up on the floor, instead he hoisted him off the ground with an amused, "Come here you nympho, you," and laid him on the bed.

Burrowing into the smooth texture and warmth of the virile boy's bodice, Ryan chuckled, "Only because you made me one."

Troy's arm wrapped securely around him. "Don't worry, Ry. I won't let the spiders get you."

"My hero." He hugged the brunette tightly as he had in his delusion, knowing not even the interference of hundreds of Gabriella-spiders would give him incentive to let go. A light smile played on his red lips as he closed his eyes. "My hero."

Two bodies exhaled a single breath, sharing a sigh. Sleep accepted the invitation into the room and soon it whisked the twosome off, letting them sink soundless into its comforting arms.

A/N: Next chapter! ANGST. Stay tuned.