Alright… here it is, the last chapter. I can't believe it's finally over. I was going to keep going with the story, but I decided that I'm going to use the rest of the plot in a new story that I'm writing. Thanks to all of you who have replied, and added this story to your alerts. You're feedback has been wonderful, and I greatly appreciate it. Let me know what you guys think of the end.
Dinner went semi-smoothly. Quincy made it very obvious that he was hitting on Ryan, but no one said it out loud. Chad knew he was only doing it to make him jealous. It was working, but not for the reasons Quincy hoped. Every time he smiled, touched, or winked at Ryan, Chad's glare grew. It didn't help that Ryan was flirting back. It took everything in him not to make a scene in the middle of the restaurant. Luckily Sharpay kept the conversation flowing nicely.
Once dinner was over, they walked back towards their dorm, giving Ryan a mini tour of the campus on the way. As soon as they reached Sharpay's door, her phone rang.
"Dylan?" Chad asked with a knowing smile. Dylan was a guy in her philosophy class that had been chasing her for weeks. She was playing hard to get, but Chad knew that she was into him.
"Shut up. I'm gonna take this, you guys go inside." She took her keys from her purse and tossed them to Chad, as she answered her phone. The three boys entered the room, leaving Sharpay in the hall.
"So Sharpay has a new guy? Why have I not heard this?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah his name is Dylan. I'm pretty sure he's in love with her." Quincy spoke up.
"They aren't dating or anything. He's really smitten with her though. He kind of reminds me of Zeke following her around."
Ryan laughed at Chad's description of guy, while Quincy looked confused.
"Who's Zeke?"
"One of our friends from high school," Ryan said. "He was practically in love with Sharpay. He followed her everywhere, did anything she asked him to. He made her cookies, brownies, and other pastries on a daily basis."
"They never made it official though. Zeke took her to prom and what not, but they were never a couple," Chad added.
"She was still too hung up on Troy."
Quincy turned from and Ryan to address Chad, "You're best friend Troy?"
"One in the same. They never dated either. Troy always has and always be in love with Gabriella."
"Couldn't agree more. Troy comes to New York practically every weekend to see her."
"He never comes to visit me," Chad stated acrimoniously. "Some best friend he is."
"That's because he gets to do things with Gabriella that he doesn't get to do with you."
Chad shot a disgusted look at Ryan. "If you're talking about sex, you are sick. I do not want to think of my best friend having sex with anyone."
"When did you become such a prude?" Ryan asked.
"I'm not a prude, I'm just saying. Troy is like my brother. Would you want to be filled in on Sharpay's sex life?"
"Good point."
"It sounds like you guys have amazing friends," Quincy said. "Have you two been friends along time?"
Chad suddenly felt very uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was headed. He knew he shouldn't. The length of their friendship was the only thing in question, but Chad did not want it to turn into a question about their relationship.
Ryan, however, smirked at the question. "You could say that."
"Yeah, Chad is fun to hang out with." Quincy put his arm around Chad's shoulder. "We have fun, don't we Chad?"
Chad quickly cut his eyes to Ryan. "Uh... sure."
Quincy turned back to Ryan, smiling, "We have a special relationship."
The smirk never left Ryan's face. "Is that right?"
Chad shrugged Quincy's arm off. "We're just friends," He said, while unsure if he was addressing Ryan or Quincy.
Quincy chuckled as if Chad was playing a joke. "Chad's a little shy."
"Since when?" Ryan asked, knowing that Chad was anything but shy.
"I'm not shy, Q. Shut up, man."
"Don't be so modest. We all know that I'm irresistible." Quincy flashed a smile not only at Chad, but Ryan also.
That's when Chad finally snapped. "Alright Q, that's enough. Get lost."
"What? We're hanging out, just having fun."
"Not anymore."
"You're jealous," Quincy stated. He moved to put his arm around him again. "You know you're the only guy for-"
Chad quickly cut him off. "I'm not jealous. At least not for the reasons you think I am."
Ryan laughed loudly. He knew exactly what Chad was referring to, but the fact that Quincy had no idea was hilarious.
"I don't get it."
Chad ignored him. "Go find Sharpay or something. Ryan, do you want to go for a walk?"
Ryan, who was still enjoying the scene that was unfolding, nodded. "Sure, it's pretty nice outside. Quincy, good to meet you. I'm sure I'll see you again."
Quincy reached out and pulled Ryan into a hug. "Good to meet you too."
Chad pulled Ryan out of Quincy's grasp, extremely annoyed at their body contact. "Let's go, Ryan."
Chad pulled Ryan out the door, as Quincy stood in the doorway. Sharpay was still in the hallway, sitting on the floor, her back pressed against the wall, her phone pressed against her ear, with a huge smile on her face. When she saw them start to walk away, a look of annoyance crossed her face. "Where do you two think you're going?" She asked holding the phone away from her mouth.
"For a walk and no you can't come." Chad answered, as he continued his path down the hallway still holding Ryan's arm.
"Chad, you can't hog my brother!"
He finally stopped at the end of the hallway. "Watch me." He and Sharpay were practically yelling to hear each other.
"He came here to see me, not spend all his time with you."
"That's what you think." Before Sharpay could protest, Chad added, "Don't worry I'll give him back later." Without waiting for a response, Chad dragged Ryan around the corner and out of sight of Sharpay and Quincy, who was still standing in the doorway.
"So now I'm an object for you and my sister to fight over?"
Chad turned and looked Ryan directly in the eyes. "Yes." He dropped Ryan's hand but continued to walk. "We've always been in competition for your attention. I usually won."
"I see college has made you full of yourself."
"I've always been full of myself... except when it came to you."
They exited the building, walking out into the cool night. Chad had no destination in mind, but figured it would be nice to just walk and see where their feet took them.
Ryan decided to change the subject. "So you and Q, huh?"
"You jealous?" Chad raised his eyebrows.
"Not for the reasons you think I am," Ryan repeated Chad's earlier words.
"Very funny, but no. Don't listen to a thing Q said. He's cool, we're friends, he's my roommate, we hang out a lot, but he's practically admitted to being in love with me and I don't feel the same way. I've told him many times but he refuses to listen."
"You ever hook up with him?"
Chad didn't want to answer that question, but knew lying was a bad idea. "Once, about a month into school. We went to this party Sharpay invited us too, and both of us ended up slightly intoxicated. He told me he thought I was hot from the moment we met. Next thing I knew we were making out in his bed. I stopped before things went too far. The next day he asked me out on a date, but I turned him down. I felt bad, making out with him just to turn around and tell him that nothing could ever happen between us. He never really did get the picture though, so I no longer feel bad about telling him I'm not interested."
"Why didn't you go out with him?"
"You really want to know?"
Ryan hesitated as if having a debate with himself before answering, "Yeah."
"I was still in love with you."
"Was?" Realizing what he asked, and immediately regretting asking it, he said, "Never mind, don't answer that."
"You sure?"
"Yeah." Ryan couldn't handle whatever answer Chad gave him. Even after all this time, he knew that it would still break his heart if he heard Chad tell him that he wasn't in love with him anymore. If he was still in love with him, well, what was he supposed to do with that information? They still lived 3,000 miles away. Feeling a little bold, however, he added, "I miss you in New York."
"Really? Sharpay says you love it there."
"That means I can't miss you?"
Chad chuckled. "Guess not."
"You guys talk about me?"
"Sometimes. Only when I bring it up. If I ask, she'll talk about you, but she doesn't volunteer information. Plus she's pushing for me to be with Q, so I think she wants you to be as far away from my mind as possible."
"Why she pushing for Q?"
"She thinks it's unhealthy for me to still be hung up on you. She thinks since Quincy already likes me, that it would be easy for me to move on with him."
Guess that answered the earlier question, Ryan thought. "Makes sense I guess."
Neither wanted to continue in the direction of the conversation, so Chad changed the subject. "So tell me all about New York."
"You don't want to hear about that."
"Why not? When I actually do ask about you, Sharpay can't stop gushing about how much you love New York, and how happy you are. Now that I think about it, she must do that to try and prove to me that you've moved on, so I'll do the same.
Ryan sighed. "That's what I tell her... that I'm happy and I've met a lot of people. That my classes are amazing and I love the campus, and everything is great..."
"But..."
"But its not."
"You want to expand on that?" Chad grabbed Ryan's arm and dragged him over to a bench on the other side of the walkway. He sat down while prompting Ryan to do the same.
"Not really."
"Come one, we've always been able to talk to each other."
"We aren't together anymore."
"What does that have to do with talking? Talk to me."
Ryan hesitated, not sure where to start. "Truth is I hate New York." Chad looked shocked, so Ryan decided to explain. "It's cold, I've decided that snow is gross, the people are all snobs, I'm talking worse that Sharpay snobs, my roommate hates me, I was so excited that me, Gabriella, and Jason were all going to be going to school in the same state, but I never see them, I hate my classes, and like I said... I miss you."
"Damn, I wasn't expecting that. Why lie to Sharpay though?"
"She's really happy here. I don't know if you realize it, but she loves it. I know you have a big role in that too. I don't want her to worry about me. This is the first time we've ever been apart for an extended amount of time, but she's enjoying herself without me. I don't want to take that away from her."
"She misses you, a lot. To her the only flaw of California is that you aren't here and that one flaw is a major one."
"Yeah, I know. I just... I don't know what I was going to say actually." Ryan gave a slight pout. "New York sucks," he added, sounding childish.
Chad chuckled, putting an arm around Ryan's shoulders, giving him a sideways hug. "I agree. Now I feel bad about stealing you away. Maybe we should head back." Chad started to stand up but Ryan pulled him back down.
"No. I can hang out with her all day tomorrow. Right now, I'm enjoying spending time with you."
Chad smiled at him. "Me too."
They sat in silence for a few long minutes. They enjoyed being in each other's company, and they didn't need to fill the silence with words.
After sometime, Ryan broke the silence. "Chad?" He practically whispered.
"Mmmhmm..."
"I'm glad you aren't dating Quincy... or anyone." Chad turned to look at Ryan, to find him already staring at him.
Not really knowing what to say, Chad just stared at Ryan for a moment before leading to give Ryan and intimate kiss on the lips. The kiss was slow, light, and sensual, and Ryan swore it was the best kiss he ever experienced.
When Chad finally broke the kiss, Ryan shuddered. "Wow, I forgot how much I loved doing that."
"Me too. I've missed you so much. I can't even begin to explain it." Chad threw his arms around Ryan hugging him close. Ryan stayed quiet, knowing Chad wasn't finished. "I'm so happy you're here." Chad was starting to get choked up. "We've been apart for seven months, and my feelings have never gone away, never even lessened." Ryan heard a slight sob. "I'm so sorry."
Ryan tightened his hold around Chad. "I know, me too."
Chad pulled back just enough to attack Ryan's lips with his own. These kisses were much deeper and much quicker that the previous one.
After a few minutes, Ryan pulled away. "Chad, let's go. People are staring."
Chad grabbed Ryan's hand and all but started running towards the dorm. "Stay with me tonight."
"What about Sharpay? She'll get worried and Q will be..."
"Let me take care of Q. As for Shar, well, she's out of luck. Like you said, she can have you tomorrow."
Chad continued to drag them across campus. He was a man on a mission. When they finally got to his building, he walked straight to his room. The room was already unlocked, so he threw open the door to see Q sitting on his bed. Why he felt the need to sit on Chad's bed, instead of his own, Chad had no idea.
"Get off my bed, and get out."
Quincy got off his bed, but made no move to leave the room. "You can't kick me out. This is my room too."
"I'm serious Quincy."
Quincy ignored the demand, and instead focused on the fact that Chad was still holding Ryan's hand. "Sharpay told me about you two in high school."
"Then you understand why you need to leave," Chad said harshly, dropping Ryan's hand.
"Chad..." Ryan tried to cut in, but Quincy talked over him as if he wasn't even standing there.
"I don't get why you didn't tell me. The least you could have done is be honest with me. The reason you didn't want to go out with me is because of Ryan."
"I told you I just got out of a serious relationship."
"You didn't tell me it was with Sharpay's twin brother," Quincy spat.
"It wasn't any of your business," Chad shot back.
"Okay, can we just..."
Again, Quincy cut Ryan off. "You lied to me."
"I did not. What difference does it make if it was Ryan or some other random guy? It does change the fact that it was with someone I wasn't over. It was a fact that you needed to know."
Chad and Quincy stared at each other. Chad looked frustrated while Quincy just looked hurt.
"I'm going to leave you two alone." Ryan started to back out of the room.
As if remembering he was there, Chad turned to look at him. "Please don't leave."
"It's fine. You guys work it out. I'm going to go find Sharpay." With that, Ryan turned and left the room.
"You happy now?" Chad bitterly asked.
"Actually, I'm not."
"What do you want from me, Q?"
Ignoring the question, Quincy answered, "I love you."
Chad sighed, and closed his eyes in frustration. "Q... I've told you many times that… I'm flattered, I really am, but I just don't feel the same way about you. It wouldn't be fair to either of us if we pursued a relationship. I like hanging out with you. You're my friend, but that's all you'll ever be. I'm sorry."
"Because of Ryan?"
Chad nodded. "Yeah, I'm sorry," he repeated.
"I'm sorry too." Quincy made his way towards the door. "I'm gonna go stay in Sharpay's room, I think Olivia's with her boyfriend for the weekend. I'll send Ryan back."
"You don't have to leave. You were right, I shouldn't kick you out of your own room."
"Don't take back your demand just because I told you I love you. Plus, I don't really want to be here to see the Ryan and Chad reunion show."
"I wouldn't do that to you. I'll leave, you can stay."
"Don't worry about Chad. I'll see you later."
As Quincy left the room, Chad flopped down on to his bed, throwing his hands over his face. He felt bad about Q, but he didn't know what it was going to take to make him realize that they would never be more than friends. Quincy had never actually admitted to being in love with him. Why did he have to admit them today of all days? It ruined his good mood. A few minutes later, Ryan walked in.
"You're a good person Chad Danforth." At Chad's doubting glance, Ryan continued. "Sometimes dong the right thing can be the hardest thing. I'm proud of who you've become. It sucks Q's heart was broken in the process, but it's not your fault."
"Thanks Ryan," Chad responded, squeezing his hand.
"You're welcome."
"I've missed you so much. I know I already told you that, but it's true."
"I've missed you too. A lot more than I realized. I miss being with you, but it's more than that. I miss talking to you, just being in your presence.
Chad shifted so his head was in Ryan's lap, and he could stare directly up into Ryan's eyes. "I know what you mean. Life isn't the same without you."
Ryan leaned down and kissed Chad soundly on the mouth. When he pulled away, Chad could sense something changed. By the look in Ryan's eye, it seemed like he just solved a puzzle.
"What?" Ryan just smiled. "What is that look for?"
"I love you." He said is so simply and so naturally. It felt like he was born to say those words to Chad.
Chad broke out into the biggest smile. "I love you too." He tried to pull Ryan's head down for another kiss, but Ryan pulled away.
"Let's go find Sharpay."
"You're kidding right?"
"No, come on."
"What the fuck? Why the hell would you want Sharpay to be present for..."
"Just come with me."
They made their way to Sharpay's room. They knocked and a few seconds later Sharpay opened the door. "What are you guys doing here? I thought you were..." She stopped, looking back to where Quincy was sitting at her desk.
"Ask you crazy brother," Chad said acrimoniously, as he pushed past her into her room. "I have no idea what's going on. If it were up to me would still be in my room, having..."
"Shut up Chad." Sharpay demanded, and looked at Ryan expectantly, but he turned to Quincy instead.
"Quincy, I'm really sorry but..."
"You want me to leave." He said standing up.
"I'm sorry I really need to talk them. Last time I promise."
Quincy left the room without saying anything else or looking at Chad at all.
Once the door closed, Sharpay asked, "Ryan what's this all about?"
"I'm moving." Ryan stared at the pair, who both looked perplexed.
Chad was the first to respond. "What are you talking about? Moving where?"
"California."
Chad's face became even more perplexed, but something inside Sharpay clicked.
"Oh my gosh, you got in?" She jumped off the bed and into Ryan's arms.
"I got in."
"Got in where?" Chad asked.
The twins ignored him. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Tell you what?" Chad tried again.
"I wanted to tell you in person."
"Tell her what?" Chad was getting angry.
"I'm so excited!" Sharpay squealed.
"Hello?" Chad finally yelled. "Can someone please tell me what's going on here?"
Ryan smiled, and obliged. "A couple of months ago I decided I didn't want to attend New York. I told Sharpay I was going to apply to other schools, to see if I could get in somewhere with a better theater department, even though New York has one of the best departments in the whole country, and she thought I loved New York."
"Wait, you don't love New York."
"Oops, I forgot you didn't know about that yet. Whatever, that's not the point. The point is I applied the USC film school. I got in. I'm moving to California and I'm going to USC."
Sharpay squealed and hugged Ryan again.
When the broke apart they both turned to gage Chad's reaction. He sat staring at Ryan, trying to take in the new information. "You're moving to California?"
"I am."
"Are you serious?"
"As a heart attack."
"If this is a joke, I'm seriously going to kill you."
"It's not a joke. Next fall, I'm going to be enrolled at USC." Chad said nothing, still trying to decide if Ryan was telling the truth. "Chad, are you okay with this?" Ryan was starting to get a little worried.
Finally Chad let out a shout of glee as he jumped off the bed, and hugged Ryan tighter than ever before. "So I take it you're happy about this?"
"Are you kidding? I'm ecstatic. You're going to be at the same school as me. We can see each other all the time."
"Well, I don't know about that..." Ryan joked.
"Shut up, we will." He hugged Ryan again. "I'm so happy. I love you." He slammed his mouth on Ryan's. He didn't waste anytime in prying Ryan's mouth open with his tongue, deepening the kiss.
Sharpay cleared her throat, keeping them from going further. "I am still in the room."
"That can easily be arranged." Chad opened the door and tried to push her out.
"This is my room, and that is my brother. You've already taken up all his time since he's been here."
"Either you leave, or you can watch us have sex. We're doing it one way or another."
"You're sick Danforth. Fine I'll just go stay in your room, but make sure you do it on Olivia's bed. I don't want your sex germs on my bed."
"You got it. Bye Sharpay."
"Thanks, Shar," Ryan tried to yell before the door closed.
Chad wasted no time in returning his mouth to Ryan's. "So you're really going to USC?"
Ryan stroked the side of Chad's face. "I really am."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
They smiled at each other, before returning to their make out session.
"It has been too long since we've done this," Chad said breathlessly, as he removed Ryan's shirt.
"Way too long. Now, no more talking."
"I like the way you think, Evans."
Chad threw one more smirk at Ryan, before kissing me hard on the mouth. Clothes were shed, sweet phrases were whispered, body parts were caressed, their names were moaned by each other. The two were so good together, it was like they had never been apart. Ryan Evans and Chad Danforth were the epitome of true love